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[WP] Death took a seat across from you, visibly bemused despite the lack of facial features. So many have challenged him to a game of chess for their life. You? You are the first to challenge him to a campaign of Dungeons & Dragons.
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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 KNOW, I'VE SEEN A LOT OF HORRIBLE THINGS IN MY TIME AS THE GUARDIAN OF THE BORDER BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH\" Deaths ethereal voice echoed in my head, while his skeletal head watched me, slightly tilted towards one of his cloaked shoulders. \"I'VE HAD TO ENDURE THE INSANE RAMBLINGS OF MADMEN, THE BROKEN MINDS OF SHELL-SHOCKED SOLDIERS, THE TEARS OF MOTHERS BRUTALLY RIPPED FROM THEIR CHILDREN, BUT THIS...\"\n\nHe gestured broadly in my direction, and I wasn't sure if he meant me, the wooden table filled with character sheets, maps, pawns and dice, the whiteboard I had used to draw the flowchart, or the endless desert full of black sand stretching behind me until the horizon. Probably the whiteboard, I decided, as I fixated on my drawing.\n\n\"THIS IS THE MOST HORRIBLE THING I'VE EVER WITNESSED\" he finished.\n\n\"Okay, I'll explain it again. Look at the flowchart. I have to make a touch attack against his touch armor class, which I succeeded, so...\" I tried to say, when Deaths burning red eyesockets flashed and he interrupted me.\n\n\"WHY CAN YOU DO THIS AT THIS RANGE?\"\n\n\"That's because of the archetype I took for my character. Look here...\"\n\nI needed a while to find the correct supplement in the big stack of books and booklets that Death had summoned from nothing. I opened it and pointed triumphantly at a certain passage.\n\n\"People of the Wastes, page 8. 'On a successful hit, the...' \" I tried to cite the rules when he interrupted me again.\n\n\"FINE, I BELIEVE YOU. AND WHY DOES THAT MEAN HE INSTANTLY GETS PULLED NEXT TO YOU?\"\n\n\"Ah, that's easy.\" I smiled and picked up a book lying directly next to my chair. \"Core rule book, page 199. 'If you successfully...' \" I stopped talking when Death sighed.\n\n\"YOU KNOW, WHEN I TOOK THIS JOB I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS.\"\n\nI cocked my head. \"What you you mean? Grapple rules?\"\n\n\"NO. RULES LAWYERS.\""
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[WP] Ares the god of war is terrified when humans created the atomic bomb
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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 looked upon the explosion with a feeling of pure horror. The type of horror that would not be seen on Mount Olympus since Zeus found out about the concept of Child Support. They had done it. They blew it up, the damned bastards. One of the juiciest, wonderful collections of wars that Ares had seen in a long, long while, and now the cool kids dropped in the bombs! He had such high hopes for the Americans, but he saw what direction this was headed. It came with the territory!\n\nWith something this large and this... comparatively easy way of just winning a fight...\n\nAres knew what was coming. He was already feeling it. Nobody would dare risk an atomic bomb being tossed, it's just not an option! They're going to enter a cold war. Biting cold and horrible psychological effects. Both sides infiltrating the other, trying to subvert them through word and psychology instead of combat. Small skirmishes, maybe, sometimes they might even come together, but...\n\nThe true horror was coming.\n\nThe cold war is coming.\n\nAnd Ares is going to get blueballed for 40 years."
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[WP] One day, going to your boring job, you get hit by a truck and wake up in another world. To your surprise you find yourself in the demon king's castle, he begs you to help push back the humans who have been killing demons because "it's God's will". Well, you never really liked humans anyways.
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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 woke up floating half a foot off the ground, as soon as my senses fully returned I was dropped onto my feet, I took one look around and noticed the red brickwork that is to hell what gun-metal-grey is to the first-person shooter.\n\n“Why am I in hell?” I wondered aloud before the demon lord, who I had somehow completely missed, as I am prone to do, cleared his throat, I snapped to attention like a fresh recruit at boot camp.\n\nI knelt, fearing for my (presumably) immortal soul. “No no no, there is no need to kneel, although I appreciate it, and to answer your question: you are not in hell, that’s two hundred kilometres down, that’s one hundred twenty-four miles if you use those stupid ‘freedom units’.” I stood, very slowly.\n\n“You are actually just in my castle. because I have a small problem, well, actually it’s a rather medium-sized one.” he looked uncomfortable, “actually fuck it, I have a problem of cataclysmic proportions, and I need your help, for only someone not of our world can help.”\n\nAt this point, I raised an eyebrow. “And how can I possibly help?” “well, due to a misunderstanding, I got pulled into a war, I’m part of a federation with hell where they will defend me if I’m attacked, apparently the reverse is also supposed to be true and I’m expected to pitch in to help with the defence of hell, and as such, I got attacked alongside hell, and now they can’t send anyone to help me while my forces are being massacred.”\n\n“And where do I fit into all this? I’m just a dude who works at a boring job and plays that new cyberpunk 2077 game when I get home, I’m not a solder.” “but you can be, the problem is not entirely with the human army, backed up by ‘god’s will’ whatever that means, I have met God personally and he’s probably up there trying to figure out where he went wrong. That said the main commanding officers seem to have something protecting them, despite everything I throw at them they just keep surviving through miraculous circumstances, before I pulled you to my world I was doing research on your world, since at this rate I might have to move there, the heroes of your stories are sometimes protected by something called ‘plot armour’ and these bastards seem to be protected by something similar, I need you to deal with them.”\n\n“And how do I propose I do that? I assume these guys are legendary?” “wow, you are spot on, I can give you powerful magic, enhance your body, and arm you with the best gear I have, you’ll see faster, hit harder, and be more durable.”\n\nI thought it over, “eh, its not like I like humans anyway, six years in customer service tends to do that, how does this work?”\n\n**About a dozen magical transplants later**\n\nI flexed my arms and legs, they looked human enough on the surface, my legs had hyper-compressed muscles that granted me enhanced movement and kicks that could probably mess up a large truck, my arms also had the hyper-compressed muscles, but much more of it, to the point where I shouldn’t be able to control it, that’s where the magic comes in to regulate it, I also had giant arm blades I could extend from my forearms if I’m ever disarmed.\n\nMy torso had also been upgraded, it was now much more durable and my digestive system has been augmented to also extract calories from any non-toxic combustible material.\n\nMy head had been completely overhauled with a much more space-efficient brain that had more neurons in the same space, and the electrical resistance had dropped to basically nothing allowing me to think faster, which is probably not how that’s supposed to work.\n\nMy skull is now solid titanium, that has been enchanted to weigh as much as my skull used to weigh, and my eyes have been completely replaced with purpose-built eyes that come with telescopic vision, the ability to see life-energy, natural vision in low light, the ability to see in infrared and ultra-violet, and something called ‘infernal vision’ witch sounds awesome, I just wish I knew what it was.\n\nI was armed with a dagger and sword made of ‘dark-hellsteel’ witch allegedly absorbs the victim’s soul, an enchanted crossbow that I pointed down a target range and turned a target into a poor imitation of a hedgehog in less than a second, and what looked like a WWII era rifle with the worlds largest scope on it.\n\nAll these weapons will instantly appear in my hands at the slightest mental command. and combined with my heightened situational awareness one would have after almost getting run over 25 times a month, its almost impossible to catch me off guard.\n\nI had been training to use my new abilities for over a month at this point, and it was time to take the fight to the humans, I have multiple years of pent up rage and I finally can release it without fear of repercussions."
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[WP] The preteen daughter of a supervillain and superhero sits her father down one day and reveals that she has decided to become a superhero like her mother. The father is surprisingly supportive of her choice.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Dad...?\", a meek voice came from the door. Her tiny figure half peeking inside my office.\n\n\"Yes, Laura. Come in. What is it?\", I replied to my daughter.\n\nSlowly like a cowering dog with its tail between its legs, she made her way to the chair opposite my desk.\n\n\"I want to...I want to talk to you about something\", she said. Holding a piece of paper I knew exactly what she wanted to talk about.\n\n\"I...I decided I want to enter the hero academy. Mom says it's fine but I also need your signature\", she laid down the paper she was carrying, the hero academy registery form. My wife's signature was already on it. \n\nLaura seemed to shrank even further out of fear. I smiled thinly, out of sadness. I never realized how much she feared me. What kind of a parent am I that my own daughter doesn't even dare to speak to me? I understood however. Growing up I was never much a kindly loving father I should've been. \n\nTo the rest of the world I was The Red Plume, an infamously cruel supervillain. Although the rest of the world already forgot who I was, in my household my haunting past still lingers. Having the power of fire I naturally have a hot temper and anger issue. I'm ashamed to say that I'm proud I never lay my hands on my wife or daughter out of my uncontrolled anger, which happened many many times.\n\nNot like my wife would take it anyway. She was known as Aurora Blue at one time. The superhero with the power of ice. The finest hero of her generation. We butt heads many many of times in the past, we became arch enemies. But in a way, she became the closest person to me to the point I decided to quit the villain life and married her. To the rest of the world she defeated me.\n\n\"Hero academy, huh? Why, of course you can enter the hero academy, Laura\", I said with my best cheery voice while putting down my signature on the paper.\n\nLaura looked up with teary eyes. Out of fear and out of joy. I could tell she didn't expect this to go down smoothly as it was.\n\n\"Wha...dad, but....thank you!\", she finally gave me a smile.\n\n\"One thing however, Laura...\", I was back to my stern but softer voice catching my daughter's attention.\n\n\"What makes a hero a good hero?\", I asked.\n\nLaura stared at me. I could tell her brain was looking for the right answer, still afraid to say the wrong thing in front of me. I relaxed a bit to comfort her, hunching a bit on my desk to get level with her eyes.\n\n\"If you're gonna be a hero, Laura...always do the right thing. Not necessarily the best thing, but no matter what the world present to you however difficult it might be...always do what your heart says is the right thing\", I said smiling.\n\nLaura nodded, finally relaxed. I knew very well what makes a good hero eventhough I wasn't one. I didn't become a supervillain out of the desire to conquer the world, no. I went down the path of villainy because of a tough upbringing. Abuse and abandonment were always part of it. Nobody was ever on my side, guiding me. Not until Aurora came to my life. Despite me being a villain she was the one who managed to break through that wall surrounding my heart. Despite her being a hero she decided to do what her heart told her to do and went for it. And she made the right choice. She was my hero and still is. \n\n\"You'll make a fine hero, Laura.\", I smiled while handing back the paper to her. Then patting her head, something I haven't done in a very long time. My daughter smiled so joyfully and brightly it made my heart flutter. It must have taken her a lot of courage to come to me and open up like that...it's only right for me to reciprocate and finally open up to my own daughter.\n\n\"Say, why don't we grab some ice cream and watch Moana tonight?\", I suggested.\n\nHer face lit up and she nodded heartily."
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[WP] A man who lost everything is convinced that his late wife's grave is empty. On a dark November evening he digs it up and confirms his suspicions. Instead of a corpse what he finds is far more grim.
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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 prompt attempt. Be gentle- \n\n\nDigging up a grave is a time consuming process. One man with a shovel can knock it out in an evening, but there will not be enough time to put the dirt back. I have been practicing behind my fenced in back yard for some time now. Even with the shorter days of autumn, I do not know if it will be enough. The sun will set tonight at 5:05pm and rise at 6:59am. I still have to allot time for sneaking to the grave once darkness can cover me. It will take me about ten minutes to get there from hopping the fence. I wish I had not waited until now to decide to do this. The ground is more firm than it was this summer.\n\nThis summer was different though. I was still too grief stricken to start questioning things. No one asks enough questions around the death of a loved one because they are so overwhelmed by the sudden loss of the future they had in sight. You trust the police and the medical examiners. If you have a question, you inevitably accept their answers. Why not? They do this for a living. They have no motivation to lie to you. You almost forget that they are human and can be fooled as well. After all, they did not know your wife like you did. Suicide is usually a shock to those close to the victim, especially when they succeed on their first known attempt. Every time I pleaded with them to look into it further and that there were no signs, they just sympathetically tell me that I just missed the signs.\n\nWell, I will have more time to overthink this when I’m digging. Now it is time to get ready. I really have put myself in a precarious position. If I could have just kept my mouth shut, this would have been a cake walk. All the calls to the precinct demanding they look into it further did not help anything. All that did was make them actually take my neighbor seriously when he suspected I would try to dig up her grave. That nosey bastard just had to peak over the fence and see what all the digging was about. That was a fun week. Nothing like having investigators and cadaver dogs combing your backyard to make sure there was no one in the twenty grave shaped, recently reburied holes in your yard. If these assholes would have put half this effort into figuring out what actually happened to my wife then I wouldn’t have to be going to these lengths. They can keep an eye on me all they want though. Arrest me for trying tonight and I’ll just try in the spring. If I get caught again, then I try again. Until I succeed.\n\nI worry about decomposition though. This is my best shot. Winter would stave off the decay somewhat, but after spring it will be really hard to tell if it is actually her in the coffin. If anyone actually is in it. Her clothes would be on it certainly. I gave them the dress to bury her in and no one planning this hoax would over look such a simply detail, closed casket or not. This all could have been resolved if they had just let me identify the body. I would know my wife’s body even without her face. Scars, birthmarks, moles, you name it. We were married for 12 years. Where did she even get a shotgun anyway. I didn’t own one and they say she didn’t buy it. Where’s CSI on that one? You have all the time in the world to nose through my yard, but can’t bother to give me an answer on that. By the time I got home from hospital and police station, all that was left was a stain on the hardwood floor. Everything else was removed as evidence.\n\n\\*BOOM\\* 4:21pm. The timed pipe bomb I planted at the abandoned Blockbuster went off right on time. The patrol car across the street from me left about three minutes later. Nothing like a really exciting crime to get people off a stake out, well that and they were probably the closest. I really hope no one got hurt. I didn’t put shrapnel in it, so it shouldn’t be too dangerous. It was a lot louder than I thought it would be from five blocks away. Not exactly a part of the plan I could practice without drawing a lot of attention and some felonies. No buildings are close to it though, so even if it does burn down, it shouldn’t spread. I need to forget about all that though. It’s time to go. The car is ready and loaded. I have to remember to set the timer on the second distraction bomb on my way. Any time I can buy will help. If any of this gets back to me there won’t be a second chance.\n\n​\n\nParking at the movie theater, I wait patiently. This is the one part of the plan that I couldn’t control very much. While it isn’t near any show times, there are still a few people around. I just have to wait for moment to get out and start the two mile walk to the cemetery. It’s 4:43pm now and still there is enough light to pick me out of a line up. The pick axe and shovel will draw extra attention too. I couldn’t stash them nearby the cemetery and leave it to chance that they may not be there. The bomb plan will only work once, if it even is working. I have heard a lot of sirens, so that’s a good sign.\n\nFinally a moment arrives to get away and I begin the walk to the cemetery. At about a block away I make a point to puncture a few tires with the pick axe of random cars. A bit impulsive, but it may by me some more time if they turn into police reports tonight. I had to wait at the theater too long and I won’t make it to the cemetery until about 5:25pm.\n\n​\n\nStanding over her tombstone, a wave of satisfaction washes over me. I’m not here to grief and wonder this time. I’m here for answers. The wind has picked up as the forecast said it would and the rustling of the leaves still on the trees will help mask the noise I’m making greatly. I cannot even hear the fire trucks over the wind. The first few strikes with the pickaxe even sounded relatively quiet to me. Digging without any light was worth practicing, despite my dipshit neighbor causing trouble. It was so difficult the first few times after I had walked off the dimensions of her grave, but it is second nature now.\n\nThe monotony of the dig gives me time to rehash the questions I need answered. If she really did kill herself as they said, why was no note left. She was close to her sisters. I am certain she would have left them a note. If it were me she were unhappy with, she could have just left and ran to them. It isn’t like I’m some nut who wouldn’t let her leave. I have read recently that it can be hard to understand suicide when you never feel suicidal, but they still say there are signs. She spent nearly all of her free time with me, I feel like I would have known. She had even stopped hanging out with her friends to spend more time with me before she died. I asked her to, sure, but she didn’t seem to mind and was always happy when I was with her.\n\nWomen rarely commit suicide with a gun. It is such a ridiculous conclusion. Any research into the topic will tell you that it is more likely staged than reality if it looks like that. How did any of these police get their badges. On the plus side I think I will have kept them plenty busy since they are so incompetent.\n\nAbout halfway down now. I can’t tell how late it is. I feel like I’m going faster than in the test runs, likely due to the adrenaline. \\*BOOM\\* Ah, right, the second bomb. So it’s 10:32pm then. Holy heck. I heard that pretty well considering the wind and the three miles away it is. Sound does carry well at night, when it’s cold, and I am in a hole which is blocking the wind. Still, that seemed a bit too loud. Maybe it wasn’t as loud as I thought. I could be remembering it wrong already. I’ve got to focus up.\n\nI still can’t believe her mother wouldn’t even talk to me at the funeral. 12yrs of marriage and you would have thought she would have warmed up to me by now. No reason to try anymore though. She decided she didn’t like me when she met me and just could not change her mind. I even let her call her mom sometimes. No appreciation at all. That’s why I was trying to protect her from her family. They are toxic people. They have never treated her as well as I treated her. Well it is all a moot point now. Now none of us have her in our lives and our damn bickering didn’t do any of us one bit of good.\n\nI wonder if I would have gotten to this point if I still had a job. Laid off a week before she passed. All because they thought I smelled like liquor a bit too often at work. Such a load of horse shit. As if half the warehouse didn’t smell like liquor on any given Tuesday. So what if I did smell like whiskey anyway? I did my job fine, it’s not like I was wasted. One of these days I’m going to lay off the stuff for good though and show them all. Once I find out where she really is I’ll stop drinking on the spot. I just need a little bit right now so I don’t feel so sad. One or two pulls won’t slow me down too bad. I’m making decent time anyway.\n\n​\n\nSobering up in the cell at the sheriff’s office wasn’t a good start to the morning. Getting dragged to an interrogation room by my collar wasn’t a good continuation of it either. Do we really need the theatrics of the light over my head? I’m hungover. If you want answers, let me clear up a bit. I don’t recognize the two detectives in the room. They don’t look like townies. Maybe they did trace the bombs back to me already.",
"Bottle of Jack in one hand, glock in the other, I sat gazing into the fire pit, thinking. Thinking hard. Not reminiscing about 'the good old days', no no. No, I was thinking that something didn't quite add up. Now, you may think that that's the whiskey talking, but I haven't even opened the bottle yet. My mind is crystal clear. And it was working like crazy.\n\nJust three months ago, everything was normal. I had my job, Suzie had her job. We lived in a nice house, both drove nice cars, yada yada. But then one night I came home from work, and there's a police cruiser on my drive, right where my Suzie's car should have been parked. I pull alongside. Two grim-faced officers inside, debating whether or not to make eye contact with me. Heart beating, I exit the car, as they simultaneously do the same. The driver of the cop car speaks. \"Mr Anderson?\"\n\n\"Yes. Is everything okay?\"\n\n\"May we come inside?\" which is cop speak for, \"No, everything is not okay, not by a long shot.\"\n\nThey come in. I offer coffee, they decline. They motion to the sitting room, we sit. Senior cop gets straight to the point.\n\n\"Mr Anderson, I'm terribly sorry. Your wife, Suzie, was involved in a collision tonight. She - she didn't make it.\"\n\nAnd there it was. In the span of one sentence, an entire life changed. Goals, aspirations, dreams - all gone. Of course, I gave the usual, \"What? You must be wrong!\" answer that these poor cops must hear every time they deliver devastating news like this, but no, they weren't wrong. Suzie was dead. She had been T-boned by a drunk driver in a stolen car running a red light. The drunk died on impact. Innocent Suzie died on impact. Open and closed case.\n\nWhen I asked to see my wife's body for one last time, to pay my last respects, I was told that that was not a good idea. In a very diplomatic way, they explained that Suzie's body had been badly crushed in the smash, and that seeing her would only add to my grief. Of course, I insisted, and the cops said that they would see what they could do.\n\nAfter they left, and I was left alone with the emptiness of my - no, our - home - that's when the grief set in. I called my Stu, my brother, broke down crying, sobbing. He came over, tried to comfort me, but at a loss as to what to say. He stayed with me, and the next day took me to the morgue, where again, I was told that I couldn't see Suzie's body. Angrily, I insisted, but Stu calmed me down, led me out.\n\nThe funeral came and went. Friends came and went. Work wanted me back after a week, but I couldn't concentrate on work. They let me go. There had been talk of redundancies for months anyhow, and my plunging performance was what they needed to boot me out the door. Three weeks later, bills began arriving, bills for things that I had never heard of, seen, or purchased. Big ticket items. Online services. I couldn't afford these! We - Suzie and I - couldn't have afforded these. Something was wrong. Then the bank called, asking if we had come to a decision. A decision about what? About how we were going to handle our arrears. Say what? Apparently our mortgage hadn't been paid in fourteen months. Suzie had apparently been in talks negotiating with the bank, and now they wanted a decision. But here I was, jobless, up to my neck in debt - and just like that, I lost the hose. Stu and Ann-Marie were great, and let me crash at their place. Stu had a container business, and thankfully let me store everything from the house in a few containers.\n\nI tried contacting the police for Suzie's belongings, but they told me that they couldn't be released whilst the case was being investigated. What case? I asked. I'd been told it was an open and closed case. They told me it wasn't as simple as that, and they would be in contact. I tried to see Suzie's car, but no breakers or scrapyard in a twenty mile radius had it. Maybe it was in police storage, they all told me.\n\nScouring the net, I tried searching for more details of Suzie's accident, but there was only one newspaper report, but no pictures. Looking for CCTV of the accident brought up no leads, despite the fact that it had happened at a busy intersection. Taking to Facebook, I posted on various local groups, asking for dashcam footage of the accident, but nobody got back to me.\n\nAll of these things led to where I am now, gazing into this fire at the bottom of Stu and Ann-Marie's garden, pieces of the puzzle drifting around my head. Tonight, I'd decided that I was going to end it all. I couldn't go on without my beloved Suzie. I had wanted to spend the night thinking about the good old days, our wedding in 2016, that AMAZING three month tour of Europe that we did in 2017 - and then get drunk and pull the trigger whilst out of my mind. But before I could get round to thinking about the good old days, something was tugging at my mind. All of these pieces of the puzzle were revolving around my head, but the biggest piece was missing. I knew what it was. I had to be sure.\n\nStu and Ann-Marie were away for the weakened, so I didn't have to worry about disturbing them. Walking back into the house, I grabbed the garage keys and headed there. Turning the lights on, I saw exactly what I needed.\n\nTen minutes later, I was on my way. Nervous. I was about to commit a felony. But so what. I was pretty much at rock bottom now anyway, and I had nothing left to lose.\n\nParking a little way from the cemetery, I got out of the car, got the bag from the trunk, and started walking. Of course the gates were locked. Damn. Continuing, I rounded the corner and threw my bag over the wall. Climbing it was a piece of cake - I hauled myself over, and lightly dropped down the other side.\n\nI thought it would have been easy to find Suzie's grave in the dark - after all, I'd been here every day for the first four weeks, and then once a week thereafter. But I was wrong. Navigating a cemetery in the dark is difficult. I made my way back to the gates, and started from there, only turning on my torch every now and then to help me find my way. After half an hour, I recognised a grave that was on the same row as Suzie's, and then I was there.\n\nI'm not a religious person by any means, but at that moment, I looked heavenward, wondering if I was about to do the right thing, perhaps waiting for a sign. But there was none. Placing the bag at my feet, I carefully, slowly, quietly opened the zipper, extracted the shovel, and started digging.\n\nDigging a grave is hard, heavy work, and within ten minutes I was sweaty and grimy. It took me two hours to reach Suzie's coffin. It took me another hour to clear enough soil to expose the entire lid. The red rose that I had thrown in as she had been lowered into the ground three months ago was limp and decaying. I brushed it aside. I had no idea how to open a coffin - I doubt many people had experience in doing this kind of thing. I hauled myself out of the hole, and grabbed the crowbar from the bag. Prising all around the coffin lid, finally it gave. I paused, listening. Listening for footsteps, shouting, sirens, a dog barking - anything. But it was silent.\n\nI was shaking now. There really was no going back.\n\nI lifted the lid.\n\nAnd in that moment, everything changed. Again.\n\nInside the coffin were four breeze blocks, and Suzie's handbag.\n\nTipping the contents of the handbag furiously onto the lid of the coffin, I sifted through it. Receipts, three lipsticks, makeup, purse with credit cards, driving license, and cash. No phone. Where was her phone? Forget that, where was Suzie? Then I spotted a scrap of paper.\n\n\"John. Help. Whatever they tell you, it's not true.\"\n\nOn the back of the scrap were two sets of numbers.\n\n\\-8.287270\n\n157.130241\n\nI stared at the paper, hard. Took my phone out, took a photo of the scrap of paper, both sides. Then I ate the paper, shoved everything back in the bag. As quickly as I could, I shovelled the soil back into place. It still took two hours. Thin slivers of light were spreading across the sky as I packed the crowbar and shovel back in the bag and hurried back to my car.\n\nTurning on the ignition, I headed back to St and Ann-Marie's place.\n\nI had to act, and I had to act fast.\n\n===\n\nThanks very much for reading!\n\nThoughts, comments, criticisms - any feedback really - all welcome!\n\nTo check out more from me, head over to /r/MarkChandler \\- thanks!"
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[WP] You are an eldritch monstrosity trying to make it big. You're an actor for a very successful horror movie franchise, but you're starting to become tired of always being the monster; you want to be a protagonist.
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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 bones may be brim with cosmos, my veins may pump with the abyss, my eyes may be distant dead stars and mouth a fathomless aether, but that doesn't mean they're right. It doesn't mean I can't act. I'll show them; I'm *more* than just a monster.\n\nI exit my dressing room — nothing more than a closet — stride down the dimly light hallway, and push open the stage door. Past the food table, the background actors picking at doughnuts and fruit, past the crew and makeshift sets on wheels, to the stage. Tim and Allie's already there, acting out a scene where I'm meant to appear from behind them at the end of a stone corridor. I'm meant to release fog from my fingers, open my mouth wide and exhale decay, but what they'll get is something *much* more.\n\nThe director points his finger at me. It's time. I dissipate from where I stand and form before Tim and Allie. They're taken aback, wide-eyed, stunned. \n\n\"What the hell, Ritch?\" Tim spats.\n\n\"Yeah, what the fuck?\" Allie chirps.\n\nBefore the director can yell, \"Cut!\" I face the camera, close my many eyes, and recite the lines. Instruct my form to contract and move like the great actors before me. Compassion. Emotion. Raw ferocity. Creating unfamiliar crevices and divots where they ought to be. Something wet drips down my face that must be tears, but it's warm... Tears aren't warm.\n\nI open my eyes.\n\nThe cast, crew, the director — everyone hangs near the ceiling. Their eyes wide and blackened, mouths gaping and spewing a thick, tarry substance. Blood oozes from their brimming sockets, trickling to the ceiling where it pools above, dripping. Its center begins to violently churn, creating a maelstrom until a gray seam appears and opens. Filament scurries down, out, crawling along the streams of blood to everyone. Burrow deep inside their skulls, twining with their veins. Then everyone lowers, stands. Eyes form in sockets, black-tinged now.\n\nThe director smiles as the pool drains into the seam, vanishing. He starts to clap. The others follow. A cacophony of applause swells in the room and I truly start to cry because I'm finally getting what I deserve. An actor so great that even the things from the Aether watched, knew that I would not be appreciated enough by them, so they ensured I would. Loved in both worlds. \n\nEven Tim can't say that.\n\n---\nIf you enjoyed the story and want to read more of my work, visit my [subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/MicahCastle/) and consider subscribing.",
"\"Protagonist? Protagonist? Doug, you made a great career as the villain for 2 decades now! Why on earth would you want to be the protagonist?\"\n\nUnderstandable but still irritating. Doug had been playing this same character for the last 20 years of his life, not that it mattered to him. Unbeknownst to anybody, he hailed from a realm not of earth. His true self was that of an extra-dimensional eldritch immortal entity, although unusually, unlike his peers he was blessed with the desire for fame...Hollywood fame. He thought working in a horror production would grant him his dream, which it did. And much to his surprise it spanned into a successful franchise. But like any people after doing the same one thing for so long, he desired something new, something different. \n\n\"Listen, man. I'm tired of this role, okay? I want to do something different. Maybe branch out a bit. Do some comedy or drama maybe! I heard Adam Sandler is doing a new movie. I could do that!\"\n\nThe producer, along with the studio execs just laughed at the exasperated actor. \n\n\"Comedy? Doug, come on. Horror is where you're at. We're making a lot of money here. You should be happy!\", the producer chuckled.\n\n\"It's not about the money! I couldn't care less about that! I want to have some creative choice, you know?\", Doug pleaded.\n\n\"The answer is no, Doug! We will not alter your contract and you're bound for this franchise for the foreseeable future, and that's final!\", the producer raised his voice.\n\nDoug finally reached his boiling point. There's even an entity an eldritch immortal can't stand. In his anger finally he revealed his true self and released hell.\n\nMultiple extra-dimensional portals opened up inside the office room releasing chains and tentacles of flesh, teeth, and skin. All slithered around and wrapped the men in inescapable bounds. Walking out the portals, more humanoid monstrosities donned in black leather, wires hanging from their torn flesh.\n\n\"Doug...what the hell is going on?\", the producer asked terrified followed by screams of his colleagues.\n\nDoug himself transformed into his true self....a pale humanoid wearing black leather outfit. His whole facial structure pierced deep with long pins.\n\n*\"We'll tear your souls apart\"*, his distorted voice promised.",
"\"Tell me, are you the bad guy?\" I could feel myself turing into the monster everyday, more and more until I could feel a lust for blood. I could hear the words ringing in my ears. When I left the therapist's office that day, I made myself an oath: I am never the bad guy. I'm gonna be the hero. The problem was, my murderous intent became worse every day. I could feel it. But that was yesterday. Today, I am sitting at the office, selling my pitch: I will be the first protagonist with a murder problem. As he agreed, he didn't know that I would soon emerge from the movies, I would close this entire place down, until I feel their blood against my lips. I am ***hungry***."
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[WP] Robots want to “upgrade” humanity and convert them into robots. Their leader was very surprised when you went willingly.
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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 look around me and see the rest of my group punching and kicking; firing everything to escape the iron grip of the godlike machines bearding them to the conversion chambers. I, on the other hand went willingly. The one leading me looks at me with a curious expression. “You aren’t resisting like your companions. Why?” \n“Because I understand what you’re trying to do. It’s the next step in our evolution. Not to mention how good it’ll be for the planet not having so much waste.” I replied. “You are one of only 299 humans we’ve encountered who see the truth. 209 out of the three billion we’ve converted, what a pity.” He shakes his head solemnly. “Did they see the light afterwards?” I asked, hoping that their stories had a happy ending. “Some have. Others committed self termination. It seems that even with multilayered emotion processors their self loathing was too much for them.” Before I could reply we reached the chamber. I smiled. “Maybe we can finish this conversation later?”\n“I’m retiring from the front lines soon, so we can arrange a meet up after your adjustment period,”",
"No emotion. No pain. No sadness. These were my only thoughts as I marched towards the 'leader' of the robots. Carrying around the weight of my humanity was nothing but a burden, so when the opportunity to strip myself of it came up, I had to take it. \n\nI approached their leader and offered myself to him. 'Take away my humanity, my pain!' I pleaded as I knelt before this robotic contraption.\n\n\"Does not compute\" \n\nI spoke louder at the contraption before me. 'Upgrade me! Convert me! Make me one of you!'\n\nThe robot began shaking, smoke and steam rising from its joints. \"DOES NOT COMPUTE.\" \n\nI watched on in horror as this robot, failing to understand the logic behind my suicide attempt blew a fuse. His comprehension did not extend to the knowledge of the human condition. \n\nToo much of a coward to tie a noose, I left the robotic carcass behind me. The incomprehensible pain of humanity was a burden that I was to shoulder until the rest of my days.",
"\"Well, why wouldn't I?\" I ask from across the metal table. A cigarette burns in an ashtray in the middle.\n\nThe leader of the RCA stares at me like I'm an idiot for a moment. \"You're giving up your humanity. People tend to care about that a lot.\"\n\nI shrug. \"Why would they? Robots are just the next step *for* humanity.\"\n\nHe rubs his red-rimmed, bleary eyes. He must've had a long night. He takes the cigarette, drags from it. No lungs, no problem. \"How so?\"\n\n\"I just think we've peaked and the only thing that's going to get us even farther are robotics. Why fight against that? It's evolution, really.\"\n\n\"Fine, fine, whatever.\" He waves his hand in the air, a trail of smoke in wake. \"Do you want to get started now, then?\"\n\n\"I mean, yeah. I don't know why you questioned me in the first place.\"\n\nHe stubs his cigarette. \"Just wanted to understand why someone would do this willingly, is all. In the beginning, there wasn't a choice. Hell, some still don't, even in the system.\"\n\nThe man glances at the table, the floor. A dim red ring appears around his blue iris, then vanishes. \"You were a part of the Surge?\"\n\n\"Only a kid then, but yeah,\" he says. \"Did good. Accepted jobs and augmentations. Did what I could to climb the ladder.\"\n\n\"And now you're here, questioning me.\"\n\n\"Yup,\" he gives a sad grin. \"See how far I've climbed?\"\n\nAnother thing about robotics. No tears.\n\n---\nIf you enjoyed the story and want to read more of my work, visit my [subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/MicahCastle/) and consider subscribing."
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[WP] You have always lived in the shadow of your seven brothers and sisters. Forgotten by the world, shunned by your peers, all but cast away. But you've bid your time, planned and schemed. Now you are ready, now they'll know your name. You're the 8th deadly sin, and you'll take over the world.
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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 reign like gods, and like gods we're adored, worshipped. From all the 7 deadly sins comes the last son, the world's blind end, the pinnacle of our pantheon. It is time I take my brothers and sisters place to hold the darksome veil through human society.\n\nIt destroys me from inside, since my birth a long time ago, the light of knowledge. Humans, even though mistakes, learn to avoid me and my magnificent beasts of corruption always about to hatch inside those too naive or skeptical. Their systems and feelings fighting each other for eternity, controlling impulses and dosing calculated amounts of fear. So the light, that burning fatal light of hope pushes me to my dark room behind my fellowship. Every human are born mine, and in a little tick of a clock they are took away.\n\nIt's been a while since I uncovered that my sister Envy won't let me be in control. But Envy couldn't make it alone, I suspect our brother Greed is on her side. Greed grew strong along with humans. He found out the best way to be globally adored is to have few followers and give them everything, the rest, like sheeps, will seek their way. Greed can pretty much repeat the process with his kind, therefore he is dangerous and inevitable. They both together can raise a voice of command even among ourselves.\n\nIn need of allies I need make contact with someone powerful, someone whose historic background doesn't rendered him or her useless and weak. Pride. Oh magnificent Pride! My unbreakable brother and hero. The problem is Pride never takes sides other than his conservative view, he lurks in between us all and emerges with a hit of a hammer, judging his brothers and sisters and keeping the final words since the begin of mankind. The secret is not ask for help, but accuse a mishap.\n\nPlaying gods is easy when you don't care for consequences, and that's basically my way to be. Instead of finding followers for myself, I find for him. To \"protect the common welfare\", the nature or progress, the destiny or choice, the individual word view of every human. As Pride grows inside them Envy lose power because now everyone is so sure of anything, also Greed since people hold pride for being something they invented called \"humble\".\n\nAmong we, the gods of sin, we have a saying that goes: \"The one's curse is needed for the others bless\". Meaning we shall help our envoy's addiction in our ways by tearing down his antagonists. I believe our saying is pretty much applicable among us, and I applied with casual acting. Eventually they will blame me for taking their world, even my hero shall perish like a old father forgotten in his deathbed. I bid them farewell. As for all humans that in little time will feed my furnace of smoke, blocking their vision of another world other than me. I'm the 8th deadly sin, and my name is Ignorance.",
"For too long I have accepted weakness. My brethren have gained power while I was thought to be stagnant. I will no longer accept this. I am the eighth deadly sin, the sin of ignorance! \n\nHard scientific evidence may weaken my influence, but unreliable articles with catchy titles and no real evidence protect me from those. The more people that are ignorant of the truth, the more power I gain. People who choose to follow me are willfully ignorant and spread general ignorance for me. \n\nCurrently, it is slow to spread, but where it has spread my followers would lay down their lives for ignorance. I will rule the world one day when there is only ignorance remaining!"
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[WP] A group of apocalypse survivors hunker down in an old suburban home to ride out a storm. There is a knock at the door. On the front step is an Amazon package with a note apologizing for the late delivery. Inside the package is something that will tear the group apart as they fight over 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.*",
"No muscles move, no eyes tear away from the battered door. Anticipation weighs in the air like the dust blowing in through the cracks in the walls, and the opaquely lit windows. There isn't clocks or a way to tell time, but after a while, Kenzie, the youngest of the group, stands, moving around Thomas and Margret, and goes to the door.\n\n\"Wait,\" Margret whispers. \"Don't open it, yet.\"\n\n\"Why?\" Kenzie asks, turning back. \"No one's there.\"\n\n\"You don't know that,\" Thomas says. \"It's still day. *She* could've set a trap.\"\n\nKenzie faces the door again. \"Trap or not, I'm going to take a peek, at least.\"\n\n\"Kenzie—\" Margret rushes forward, but she's already opening the door, dust sifting in with the wind.\n\n*\n\nDoor closed, the three huddle around the box. The *new* box. Untarnished. Not even bent or misshapen. A large black smile covers its side, blue-and-black tape binding it.\n\n\"'*Sorry for the late delivery!*'\" Thomas reads aloud from the note that was stuck to it. \"'*The Amazon Team*'\"\n\n\"Amazon?\" Kenzie says. \"Wasn't that a place? Woods or something?\"\n\n\"Yes and no,\" Thomas pockets the note. \"If I remember right, it was an online store.\"\n\n\"Yeah!\" Margret chirps. \"They had so many things... Food, toys, medicine, computers, books...\"\n\nTheir eyes wander to the box, lock. \n\n\"So what's in it?\" Kenzie asks.\n\n*\n\nThe opaque light outside now dark. Margret lights the last half-finished candle, sets it by the box. They hunker in the dim circle of illuminance.\n\n\"Still could be a trap,\" Thomas says. \"*She* could've put something inside.\"\n\nKenzie shakes her head. \"No way. There's no boxes like this left. Everything's dust now, or going to be soon.\"\n\n\"And,\" Margret says, \"*She* doesn't know we're here.\"\n\n\"*She* knows,\" Thomas says, flatly. \"*She* always know. It's just a matter of time when she arrives.\"\n\n*\n\n\"Whatever,\" Kenzie spits, reaches for it. \"I'm opening it.\"\n\nThomas snatches her knobby wrist, throws it back at her. \"No one's opening it.\"\n\n\"Then why did we bring it inside?\" Kenzie barks, rubbing her wrist.\n\n\"*We* didn't, *you* did. You didn't listen.\"\n\n\"We're a group. My actions are yours, and I didn't think you'd be such a pansy about it. It's just a damn box.\"\n\nThomas's eyes narrow, cracks shoot down the dried dust caking his skin. \"If it's just a damn box, then get rid of it.\"\n\n\"But it could have food, a weapon, a tool. Something that could help us!\"\n\n\"Quiet,\" Margret says, tending to the candle, nearing its holder. \"Or *she'll* hear us.\"\n\n\"It's a trap,\" Thomas says again. \"And that's final. When day breaks, we'll bury it in the dust and be done with it.\"\n\nKenzie curses, stares at the ground.\n\nThe candle goes out, casting the room in pitch darkness.\n\n*\n\nWind howls against the creaking house, dust crawling over walls, burying them deeper.\n\n\"Just let me open it,\" Kenzie whispers.\n\n\"No,\" Thomas says.\n\nMargret snores.\n\n*\n\nKenzie rolls over, stinging eyes flutter open. Thomas sunk in a pile of dust drift, his pronounced chin resting on his slowly rising chest. She stares for a moment, two... Realizes what's missing.\n\nShe sits up. \"Where's the box?\"\n\nThomas's head snaps up, he rubs his eyes. \"What?\"\n\n\"The box,\" Kenzie repeats. \"Where the hell is it?\"\n\nThomas gets to his feet, scans the room. \"Margret's gone, too.\"\n\n\"Seriously, Margret?\" Kenzie curses.\n\nHalf-filled footsteps lead to the cracked open door, opaque light falling in.\n\n\"Shit,\" Thomas spits.\n\n*\n\nShielding eyes with hands, they climb the dune the house sat at the bottom at. Beyond is level, fissured dust hardened by years old heat. Margret sits a couple yards away, box open before her.\n\n\"Margret!\" Kenzie calls. The wind's picking up. She coughs and spits out brown phlegm. \"What's in it?\"\n\nThomas's beelining towards her, Kenzie staying put.\n\n\"What's in it?\" Kenzie says again. Thomas almost to her.\n\nMargret reaches inside, lifts out a rounded, green button. The size of her palm. She goes to press it but Thomas reaches her, grabbing her arm and tossing it back. He heels her in the face, grabbing it before she falls.\n\n\"Should've...\" Kenzie hears on the wind, as she takes off towards him.\n\nThomas turns to meet her as she leaps onto him. He drops it into the dust, and they crash to the ground, rolling. Kenzie digs her nails into his face and he drives fists into her ribs. She tears his collar, digging fingers deep. He swings towards her face, she ducks under it and bites his neck. Dust and flesh and blood intertwine as it coats her tongue, but she hasn't eaten in so long. Unfazed she bites down and rips her neck back, taking a chunk of sinewy meat with it.\n\nBlood bubbles out, soaks into the dust under him. Wide-eyed, mouth agape, he stares as Kenzie stands. Watches as she trudges to where he dropped the button. His limbs go numb. His world darkens, darkens, goes black.\n\n*\n\n\"All this for a damn button...\" Kenzie muses, lifting it towards the light. She glances over her shoulder. Margret's unconscious, already have submerged in dust. Thomas's glossy eyes are empty. Faces the button again, then presses it.\n\nThe wind stills, faint light filling the green button from inside. Dust falls like snow. The tan sky darkens, but light slithering shadows appear within. \n\n\"Shit,\" she says, looks back at Thomas. \"Guess you were right.\"\n\nMetallic tendrils break through, beaded with blue globules of light. They root to earth, burrowing into the dust. A massive form appears in the center of the tendril towers, lowering past the clouds, hanging above Kenzie. An enormous black smile covers its rounded front, and blue and black strips of metal criss-cross its frame. Something somewhere says her name, and a ring of blue-white light lines the strips, and the smile... The smile begins to open.\n\n---\nIf you enjoyed the story and want to read more of my work, visit my [subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/MicahCastle/) and consider subscribing.",
"Guilio stared up at the ceiling in disgust. It had been weeks since he had fled home, avoiding flocks of those man-birds the whole way. Emirilla had been whisked away. His mother had morphed into a giant seagull and flown off with the family cat. Willy, the love of his life, had been eaten alive before his eyes. It felt like the whole world had gone to shit. Now, all that was left of the world was him, this log cabin, his ragtag band of survivors, and the statues.\n\nAnd, to add insult to injury, he never got that god damn satphone he'd ordered from Amazon. With the world in the state it was in, though, Guilio figured the money-back guarantee was as good as worthless.\n\nHe rolled over on his mattress, checking to make sure everything was OK.\n\nThere was Bob, the food court worker they'd managed to pick up in Seattle, snoring quietly on the top layer of his bunk bed, his father's shotgun dangling off of one of the bedposts. He was tall and lean, and wore a pair of thick glasses, one lens spiderwebbed from an unlucky encounter with a statue. Bob may have been a lowlife, but he certainly knew his way around the apocalypse. He was by no means strong, but he could pick any lock and open any door. The only reason he'd survived for so long was the shotgun he carried everywhere with him. You didn't need to be that strong or skilled to blow off a man-bird's head with that thing.\n\nAngela, sleeping on the bottom bunk, was the only person Guilio had known before the apocalypse, was the resident planner. She knew her way around a survival situation and was in charge of rationing. She had worked in accounting with Guilio before the apocalypse, and they had met up a few days after fleeing town. She never spoke about her past, but Guilio had to guess it had been terrible.\n\n​\n\nStanding watch at the window, as usual, was Green. She wouldn't give her real name, insisting to be called \"Agent Green\". She was a self-professed expert in \"Sechalian Pugilation\", whatever the hell that meant. All Guilio knew was that she could certainly throw a punch. She wielded two cast-iron boxing gloves, and her left arm was a mechanical one that was much more powerful than her right. Guilio hardly knew anything about her. They had found her on the rocky beach surrounded by a horde of statues, punching in their faces left and right, while screaming something about sharks. Guilio had seriously doubted the plausibility of the situation at the time, seeing as how the statues were almost pure marble, but after seeing Green's punching arm in action, he was convinced.\n\nPerched in the corner of the hut was Mabel, the resident ibis. Mabel had stumbled across the group last week, landing in front of them and squawking loudly. Nobody really knew why the bird was following them, but Bob had decided that it needed a name, and that was the name on the tiny nametag that the bird wore. If anything, \"Dr. Mabel, Ph.D.\" was good for keeping everyone's spirits up.\n\n​\n\n\\*Knock, Knock\\*\n\n​\n\nShit.\n\nShitshitshit.\n\nA statue.\n\nGreen jumped to the door and punched it through with a quick uppercut. Guilio sat up quickly, grabbing my crowbar, and shouted to wake up the others.\n\nThe only problem was, there was no statue. Only a brown cardboard box sitting on the front porch.\n\nGuilio made my way to the front door, where Green had already picked up the package and was reading the note on top.\n\n\"Mr. Guilio Sanchez,\n\n\"We apologize for the very late delivery of your package. As you can probably tell, we are undergoing a bit of a crisis situation at the moment, and we had a hell of a time figuring out if you were still alive, and where you were currently living. Next time the world ends, could you just stay home and save us a bunch of trouble? Thanks.\n\nTo make up for the late delivery I've upgraded your order to the unobtanium tier. I hope you will be satisfied.\n\nSincerely,\n\nAmazon inc.\"\n\n​\n\n\"What the hell is 'Ay maze on'?\" asked Green.\n\nYet more evidence to Guilio that Green was a bit cracked in the head.\n\nBob, who by this point had cautiously approached the group, replied, \"it's an online shopping company, but... How the heck did they deliver this?\"\n\n\"Well, I *did* order a satphone before this whole mess started,\" said Guilio.\n\n\"Honestly, nothing makes sense anymore, so why not Amazon!\" Bob exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. \"Well, it might be something useful, so I say we open it.\"\n\n\"Agreed,\" said Angela, now groggily sitting up in her bunk.\n\n\"Churr, SQUAK!\" exclaimed Mabel, angrily.\n\nGuilio took the box out of Green's iron fists, and gingerly peeled off the packing tape. He folded open the cardboard and revealed a small object about the size of a satphone, but sure as hell was *not* a satphone. It looked almost like a telescope. In fact, Guilio had no earthly idea of what the object in the box was.\n\nGreen let out a small gasp, the first time she had shown an emotion other than pure, unbridled rage, confusion, or both.\n\n\"What is that?\" Bob asked.\n\n\"N-no, it cant be... I thought it was destroyed...\" muttered Green.\n\nEveryone, including Maybel, gave her a look of confusion.\n\n\"This is... a-a... kaleidoscope!\" Green spoke with a mix of awe and disbelief. \"Like the ones they use at the circus of the disquieting! Yes!\"\n\nThe rest of the group looked at her with utter confusion.\n\n\"Alright, well, it's been fun, but I really should be going,\" Green said, and snatched the kaleidoscope form the box. She turned a few dials and levers and put the device to her eye.\n\n\"Now hold on just a second,\" Bob complained, \"What does that thing even do?\"\n\n\"I don't know,\" Guilio said, \"but it looks like there's an instruction manual.\"\n\nWith that, Guilio took a small folded paper out of the box, and read it aloud.\n\n\"Thank you for purchasing your anomaly. You're probably wondering how this thing works. Fear not! The trusty instruction manual is here to help.\"\n\n\"The Kalidescope is simple to use! Simply aim it at the direction of the Disquieting, spin the dials until you can see your deepest fear, and press the red button on top! If you can see your greatest desire, you've gone too far. Make sure to only transport one person at a time using the Kalidescope, as transporting more may result in Identity Disaccsiation, which is definitely NOT covered under the waiver.\"\n\nWith that, a shower of sparks emanated from the Kalidescope in Green's hands.\n\n\"HEY! Careful, you'll break that!\" exclaimed Bob.\n\nGreen stuck out her tongue at him and fiddled with the device again.\n\n\"Well, it looks like only one of us gets to use this kaleidoscope thingy,\" said Angela. \"Who's it going to be?\"\n\n\"I'll fight you for it,\" replied Green.\n\n\"and I'd kinda like to get out of this hellhole alive,\" said Bob, raising his shotgun. \"C'mon, hand it over.\"\n\nGreen refused to acknowledge his presence."
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[WP] You live a rather mundane life. You have a normal job, you have no crazy superpowers. The only odd thing in your life is a room in your house. Every time you enter it, it is in a different time or place.
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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.*",
"High noon at the Sunday farmer's market. The heat poured out of the sky and reflected off the pavement, bathing everyone in listlessness and ennui. The shoppers, normally chatty and vivacious, had been reduced to quietly fanning themselves and ordering their goods and getting the fuck back to the car.\n\nEvery Sunday after church, I stop by the farmer's market and pick up some produce for my weekly meal prep. It's more expensive, but there is no finer people watching than the farmer's market. \n\nThe kettle corn tent, fully enclosed and cooled by roaring fans, attracts children and livens the mood. The honey stall, on the other hand, never seems to have customers, but the lady behind the table, wearing a green visor, has plenty of stories and tells them to anyone who listens.\n\nA gregarious Mexican gardener, when he isn't selling his potted plants, constantly adjusts and maintains them. Perhaps he is a here-and-there perfectionist, maintaining his life one small chore at a time.\n\nBut that day, it was quiet and boring. As if a whole community was suffering heat stroke. Then I decided I'd had enough. I walked back to my car, expecting to open the door to a wave of superheated air and a steering wheel too hot to hold.\n\nInstead, I opened the door and walked back into my bedroom. Once again, I was living in autumn 2020. It was a waking nightmare, a boring apocalypse.\n\nReality had slowed to a standstill, living alone during a pandemic. Novelty was off limits, people were compressed to 480p, and the news was a single bulletin: \"Still getting worse.\"\n\nI couldn't tell if the door in my apartment actually took me elsewhere or elsewhen. I had long since stopped caring. The door showed me dreams of crowds and happenings. Of life in motion. The door showed me memories of unmasked faces laughing less than six feet from each other. Of effortless connection between people, faster than 10MB/s.\n\nThe door had become my reality of choice. 2020 was the dream that I was waiting to end.\n\n---\nGoals:\n\n* I wanted to start the story from within the door, but make you think it was not in the door yet.\n* I wanted a poetic sort of vibe, to feel like the narrator is lost in their thoughts all the time.\n* I wanted the farmer's market to be mundane AND interesting. Mundane, because that's what it is, but interesting for someone starved for that kind of experience."
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[WP] The Grim Reaper is actually Adam. Being the first human to have died, he found the transition to the afterlife to be frightening and lonely. Rather than accept his place in the heavens, he decided to remain in limbo as a companion to all of the recently deceased.
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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 said dying would feel like how it felt to be born. He tells me this without speaking. I wonder to myself how a man who was never born can know how that feels. He tells me he doesn't, but he's heard it described in such great detail and so often that he can imagine it. \n\nThrough the tear-blurred eyes of a suicide I can't even remember, Adam held my hand. Orbs of light dance in my periphery, and His face shifts in and out of focus, in one moment looking like a child's, in the next moment looking like my own. \n\nHe asks me which of God's creations did I name. I lie and tell Him I didn't have the chance to name any. He asks me if I went forth and multiplied. I tell Him the tree of life never bore enough fruit for every living thing. My wallpaper wrinkles, shrinks, and splits along the creases. \n\nMinutes later, while I loiter in the garden of my memories, Adam warns me the longer I stay, the more of my memories will be replaced with an eternal blackness. He's right - I can't remember my name anymore, or my mother's. I know my sister's name is Lily, and I know that when she finds my body she'll run to my parents, not able to speak. She'll take a couple of weeks off school, which she'll try to think of like a vacation, but she probably won't be able to finish the semester. Adam cries for me and says he cursed someone he loved too. He says when Lily is here six years from now, she won't remember who I am. I say nothing, afraid to tell Him that I don't know who Lily is.\n\nA bright white circle looms in the distance, growing larger and louder as a blizzard of black fog rushes past my skin, cold and sticky. It sounds like I am falling, and my ears are filled with beating wings, thunder, and secretive whispers. There is nothing to think about anymore, and I haven't been breathing for years. The white circle is now bigger than the sun. There is a stone gate blocking my history, and I am screaming. I am screaming from the pit of my spirit.",
"\"I saw this post on reddit that you're Adam. Like first man, Adam.\" \n\n\"NODGGKDI DJO EKM\" \n\n\"How do you not know English yet??\" \n\nThe ghastly figure laughed. \"I'm just messing with you; yeah I'm Adam. I still don't know how they knew it was me. I'm just a skeleton in a robe at this point.\" He started walking and I followed him down the misty path, squinting at the light beyond. \n\n\"Yeah, where'd the scythe go?\" I wondered.\n\n\"I still use it every so often to scare people that I know were bad people.\" \n\n\"cool.\" I say. I space out a bit, and we walk in silence. \n\nAdam spoke up. \"How was your life?\" \n\n\"It was a lot. I'm excited to see my son, Joseph.\" I had suffered for years in poverty in several American cities, but brought up my kids in a better condition. \n\n\"Yeah I brought him through quickly. He was excited to get there.\" \n\n\"What about your children?\" \n\n\"I'll see them when the world ends. Eve couldn't stand it. She left me here when the first grandchild passed through.\" He chuckled. \n\nWe were already there. \"Thanks for the trip,\" I said, then I ducked my head and stepped through.",
" \n\nI remember the first time I felt lonely, only to felt even worse when Lilith left.\n\nI remember eating the fruit that the devil offered us, the bittersweet taste, and the rage of my father that came with it.\n\nI remember the first time I crossed the world, afraid of everything unable to understand anything.\n\nI remember my first harsh winter and having only one another to give us warmth during those cold times.\n\nI remember the dark lands were even the plants were cursed and rotten.\n\nI remember the cries of my wife and my first-born son when he arrived at this earth and the trembling of my hands as I received him with my arms.\n\nI remember when I realized that I was becoming weaker and that my youth was no longer there, the feeling of weakness and shame that comes with it.\n\nI remember feeling angry at our father for simply abandoning us, of abandoning me, even in my last moments that were full of uncertainty of what came next.\n\nBut it was nothing compared to walking to the other side.\n\nI was the first one to “cross” as my children now say, but there was nobody to guide me, nobody to help me understand what I was supposed to do. It took me centuries to realize I needed to forgive myself, that I needed to relieve my worst moments and realize what I did wrong and understand what could I have done better, to understand how even my own stupidity would lead to the horrible consequences that were yet to happen, it wasn’t the judgment of father, no, it was of myself.\n\nIt was a horrible and tiring process, that pretty much left you in shambles and on your knees, begging to have a second chance to be better, only to finally to accept that the chance has long being gone.\n\nI didn't have my father as he wanted us to walk that path on our own, honestly that was something I expected form him since he left us for centuries on earth, it was a path made for us mortals and it was a path that not even the supposed “Guardian Angels” crossed as they were too afraid of being contaminated by our sin. Those puritan idiots.\n\nThe day I crossed, the day I passed every harsh test, and the forever longing process of walking in the darkness of my own heart and beat it. A memory crossed my mind, the devil spoke many sweet words but also many bitter truths “He will live you alone as he is too high to lower himself to help you” my sons were also going to cross that path someday alone and afraid, and their sons and daughters, my lovely wife….father wasn’t going help us.\n\nAs I stood at the door and I saw the warmth of heaven once again, I turned my back once more, I had to disobey my father, but while last time it was for arrogance, this time it was for duty, for love, I loved my family more than I could ever love father and I’m pretty sure that would have gotten me kicked anyway…again…\n\nSo I waited, and I waited, my wife was the first one, she was pleased and then she was sad as she realized I couldn’t cross with her, however she understood of course “our boys will need their mother to teach them how to enjoy the beauty of Eden and they will need you to be their strength to guide them to it” then it was Abel….I felt bitter when I learned of the circumstances of his arrival but I he was happy to see me regardless, I didn’t saw Cain for a long time…it took many many years, but eventually he found a way to cross, he expected me to punish him, to torture him, to scream at him, I only embraced him with open arms, he was my son, I couldn’t do it to him, not like father did to me, he cried a lot, and even more when his brother waited him with a smile at the door, I only allowed myself to cry when I lost sight of him as he crossed to Eden.\n\nBut my duty was still far from over, the more I waited, the more the people I felt for waiting, every story, every grandson or great grandson, I learned all of them and it made me want to wait, only to guide them, “only one more and then I will cross” but it never was just one, perhaps it’s difficult to imagine, but I could see events that happened millennia ago connected to events that happened today, it made me feel at awe, and while every once in a while there was someone that committed atrocities that I could not name, I was there to wait them, to reprimand them if necessary, for some that process was hellish, learning that the atrocities they committed from the eyes of the victim was always the most horrible of tests, and while it was never easy for each one of them I can say for certain, they all found their ways, I suppose this, is my own heaven to see them fulfill themselves not by achieving great goals in life, but by accepting themselves and their mistakes in the next one.\n\nAnd I have waited patiently for the day the last soul crosses, because I know that day, all my children will be there waiting with me with open arms.",
"The walk through the mist was lonely, that’s for certain. But after my son had left me, after my wife had left me, after God had left me, I roamed the mist. The mist was...comforting, in a way. But it was just as frightening as it was comfortable. The long blades of dew dropped grass fell coldly and grimly by my feet. I wandered through the Garden, through the plains, through the desert. Time never stopped, not for you or your neighbor or even for me. Eventually, I came upon a small settlement and finally realized why God had left me. He made new people. I watched them. Carefully. I watched them day and night. After many, many years, the oldest one slipped away peacefully. He awoke outside of his body, frantically shaking the lame body laying down in the bed. “It’s no use, friend” I called out, my voice raspy. “Welcome, I will be your guide.” I outstretched my hand. I hadn’t seen it in years. It was nothing but bone. And where did I find this black cloak? I caught my memory slipping from me. “Adam, my name is Adam” a voice from inside told me. But how could this be? I am the guide. Nothing more, nothing less. “Don’t forget me, please.” I heard from inside. Stop. Who is in my head? I am death. I am the guide. I am the ferryman, the boogie man, whatever you want to call me. But I am not Adam. It’s been many years, too many to count, since I first guided that man to death. I’ve reaped many more souls since then, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. For as I said before, death, is a lonely, lonely road."
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[WP] You were born on June 12th. Both times. Somedays you wake up a young man on the east coast, and somedays a young woman on the west. You've decided to meet yourself halfway for your 18th birthday.
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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.*",
"June or Michael? I don't know. I have two different lives. My female persona is named June, born on June twelfth and lives in Pasadena. She is an aspiring actress who is horrible. My male persona, however, would be able to help her. He lives in a big mansion in Dover, Pennsylvania. I say *he*and*she* because I have a third personality. I am God. One day, as I got bored, I decided to make a person that would be me. But, I got bored with that and made two. During my 18th year on Earth, both of them being 32, I decided to make ends meet. Literally. I would have them meet in Colorado. Because I like it. So I just went traveling with Mike first. I just had to take a plane there. But June, she had to drive. It took forever. But finally, both of them met in Colorado and immediately couldn't find each other. The powers I can't fight! They had became their own people, and I had no power against them. Their story is beyond me, and I won't tell it. If you really knew or cared, you would find out yourself.",
"The glass in my hand felt heavy, I knew that wasn't the case, but I still couldn't find the strength to move it towards my mouth and take another sip. I didn't dislike alcohol, but ever since the dreams - or so my friend calls them - started I wasn't able to enjoy any kind of food or drink.\n\n​\n\nIt all tasted like shit in comparison to what \\*she\\* had.\n\n​\n\n\"So...\" my friend started, every time he was about to make some snarky comment or some 'joke' he would always begin with the same word and a short pause. it was a good thing that this time we had some background music from an old radio I found in the trash and repaired. it was a relaxing atmosphere despite everything.\n\n​\n\n\"You're dreaming of a girl, a princess that lives in a world surrounded by forest and fantastical creatures\" he takes a sip \"unlike here, there is not a single drop of snow, it's a warm palace full of wonder and hope...\"\n\n​\n\n\"You forgot about the people, the family that loves her and takes care of her\" I paused, looking at my drink debating whether I should take a drink or not. I decided not to.\n\n​\n\nHe snorted \"that's what I meant with mythical creatures, Salazar\"\n\n​\n\n\"...and,\" I said back at him \"there is no collars, on any of them\"\n\n​\n\n\"You're joking...\" he said, feigning surprise on his face \"we call that a dream where I came from, Salazar\"\n\n​\n\n\"I don't know why I bother telling you this Daimon...\"\n\n​\n\n\"You see, I also wonder why you're telling me this I would understand if you just wanted to make some small talk, but you're telling me about this chick literally every day, and the way you're describing everything man... \"he said, the usual snark in his voice slowly disappearing \"its almost as if you truly believe everything in that dream is real.\"\n\n​\n\n\"that's because-\" I held back my voice, I shouldn't scream. It wouldn't do if the Guards or the other workers found out about this 'little party'\n\n​\n\n\"It is real, Daimon\"\n\n​\n\n\"The girl is real, she spoke to me, left me messages, she knows my name and I know hers. Alencia is her name she lives in the City of roses, in a country that's always on the move towards the west with a family of four, her two parents are alive and she has a little brother who tends to get sick but always gets her in trouble.\" I said, \" and just like me, today is her birthday, her family sang to her and she ate something called 'chocolate cake' it was amazing.\"\n\n​\n\n\"Oh dear...\" he said holding back his laughter \"you know Salazar... If I were to report this to the Guards you would lose your job, and not only that I would also get a reward for turning in a deviant, it would be so easy, I would definitely get something better than what you're describing in your dreams\"\n\n​\n\nDaimon smiled\n\n​\n\n\"That's how my deadbeat father managed to move up and leave me behind, by using someone else - a deviant - as a stepping stone, someone who wanted to leave this place and look for wonders outside the gate,\" he said, a bright smile on his face, like he just hit jackpot.\n\n​\n\n\"Oh yeah?\" I said, not breaking eye contact \"should I also tell the Guards while you're at it about how you smuggled alcohol into the worker's dorms? I bet they would be delighted to take two deviants in a single day\"\n\n​\n\nWe just stared at each other, with only the music from the radio to fill the silence. Well, it wasn't really music it was only white noise, it wasn't my favorite by any means but it helped with the microphones all the collars had. \n\n​\n\nTo keep eavesdroppers out of the loop.\n\n​\n\nDaimon started laughing \" so... what's the first order of business, Salazar...\"\n\n​\n\nI smiled, taking a sip of my drink. Somehow it tasted better than before.",
"It’s hard enough these days being one person, let alone two. Imagine all the sadness, frustration, and confusion of everyday life -- and then imagine that again, but for completely different reasons the next day. \n\nOn Monday I’m Henry Madison, brown haired, overdramatic, and child of two high-functioning alcoholics. On Tuesday I’m Madison Henry, blond, smart, lonely, and with a cat named Stanley.\n\nIt’s not all bad. Dating is a lot easier when you have experience being the opposite sex. And that’s all I’ll say about that.\n\nStill, it’s not an easy life. Especially when you’re only in the driver's seat half the time. Henry goes to bed with two problems left on his homework, and wakes up two days later with it still undone. Madison buys a whole of ice-cream for the week on Sunday, and finds it gone already on Tuesday.\n\nIs there somebody else on the other side? Do we spend every other day governed by primal instincts, rolling around and grunting? It doesn’t seem that way based on everybody’s reactions, but I suppose I wouldn’t know.\n\nDoes the other-me dream? Do they want this to end too?\n\nSometimes when you’re in a bad situation, the best thing to do is grit your teeth, work with it, and let it happen. Sometimes. It’s what I did for 18 years.\n\nBut sometimes… when freedom dawns, and you yearn for answers, it comes a time to seek the truth. So, on the Tuesday of his 18th Birthday, Henry Madison loads his essentials into his pack, throws the pack into his truck, and takes exit 28 out of Charlotte North Carolina, and heads West. The following Wednesday, Madison Charlotte does the same, departing Portland, Oregon with Stanley in the backseat.\n\nThe first hurdle comes when Henry arrives at a Motel 6 in Nashville. How do I tell myself to keep going? How do I avoid waking up back at home? I’ve written notes before, but I’ve never received any. So I take the easy way out, set the GPS to keep direction finding West, make reservations for a hotel in Kansas City, and hope I’ll figure it out.\n\nApparently I do. When Madison falls asleep in Salt Lake City, Henry wakes up in Kansas City. \n\nI hadn’t thought to set up a rendezvous, but as if guided by an unknown force, I find myself in Denver. I just hope I haven’t oveshot.\n\nI wake up as Madison on the other side of town. This is it.\n\nIt’s noon when we meet, in the shadow of the mountains. It’s a very strange experience meeting yourself. You get used to seeing yourself in the mirror, not through someone elses eyes. You get used to seeing your flaws as flaws as features. The things your self conscious about become just things.\n\nStaring at myself, I realize he’s thin, tired, and very beautiful.\n\nAs if it were different notes in an unspoken song, we move toward each other. Is there nothing behind those eyes, or a different mind that’s thinking the same things?\n\nI suppose it doesn’t matter. Our lips touch.\n\nAnd the world ends. \n\nThe sky turns white, the sun to darkness, and the moon to blood. For a moment the two of us are suspended in darkness, and I understand.\n\nAn ancient curse, an untold future. Two people with one mind. Two bodies and one soul. Doomed to be so close, but never to touch.\n\nThen the world dissolves to nothing, and we start again.\n\nKendra Thomas is born to a proud couple in Topeka, Ohio. Her mothers take turns tickling her under the chin, and she giggles.\n\nThomas Kendra is born at home. His little eyes fixate on a nearby mirror for a moment, as if trying to remember something, and then return to his mother's face.\n\n(r/StannisTheAmish)",
"Yes, I was born like this. Some days I wake up as Alyssa Mayweather, youngest daughter of the Mayweather family in L.A. Some days I wake up as Jai Rai, the only son of an immigrant couple from India living in Miami. But I don't ever wake up on weekends. If I want to live on a Saturday, I must not sleep on Friday nights. I have seen Sundays maybe four times in my life. It's hard to stay awake for that long.\n\nBut I am going to seek answers today. I will get Jai Rai and Alyssa Mayweather. On 11th June 2020, I had asked Janice for something she was initially hesitant to do. Janice was my girlfriend as Alyssa. She had instantly rejected the idea of locking me in her ancestral home in Denver. I only had a few hours to convince her, have her drive me to her ancestral home in Denver, and lock me in the basement of her ancestral home.\n\n\"Wait for a Jai Rai in the hotel lobby,\" I had said. \"The password is WEEKEND. That's the first word he will say.\"\n\nJanice was visibly frustrated, \"No, Aly. It all sounds so bizarre. You are behaving like a totally different person.\"\n\n\"And no matter what happens, don't come to the house before meeting Jai.\"\n\n\"You have lost it.\"\n\nI remembered this as I walked up the stairs at the main entrance. Do I have a weird fetish of bringing Alyssa and Jai's bodies in the other room? No, I just want to meet the other one. The one who is Alyssa on the days I am Jai. The one who is Jai on the days I am Alyssa. We have communicated through the diary, always leaving notes for each other. \n\nI am not sure what my gender is. At this point, I don't care. I am happy with the possession of both bodies. The other one though feels more comfortable as Alyssa. When I am Alyssa, I am dating Janice. The other one dates a Hollywood producer named Jack Torrance. The days when I have to even meet Jack, are hard but the other one avoids hanging out with Janice.\n\nAs soon as I walked into the lobby, I saw Janice, visibly shaking with fear and confusion. Her eyes lit up as she stood up when I walked towards her. She wanted to say something but stopped herself.\n\n\"Weekend,\" I said. \"I'm here, Janice. No need to worry.\"\n\n\"Let's hurry,\" She said with newfound excitement. \"I just want to get her out.\"\n\nWeird. \n\nAs she drove me to the house, she asked, \"Are you going to be tight-lipped too? Tell me just a little bit. What kind of sick fetish is this?\"\n\nShe was miserable.\n\nI sighed, \"I am Alyssa, your Alyssa.\"\n\nShe looked at me, confused, and clearly not going to believe my word.\n\nI explained, \"Some days I wake as Alyssa. Some days I am Jai. On weekends, I don't wake up. Don't you remember my mother telling you about how I used to speak Hindi during my childhood or my countless visits to psychologists? Or me believing that my parents are Indian?\"\n\n\"I would have stopped this car if Alyssa wasn't locked in the basement.\" She was furious. \"You think I am going to believe this bullshit.\"\n\n\"I kissed you on the chin yesterday just before you locked me. I never do that. That is proof right there. There was no one else in the house at that time. And I, as Alyssa did not have a phone or any other device with me.\"\n\nShe stammered, \"If you...you are here, then who is there in the room?\"\n\n\"The other one. The one who is with you when I am Jai. The one who is with you on weekends. The one who pretends to be me.\"\n\nJanice growled, \"If this is a joke, I am seriously going to beat the shit out of her.\"\n\n\"You mean, me.\"\n\n\"Oh, shut the fuck up.\"\n\nI thought she would be more scared than angry. She was hardly scared.\n\nAs we reached the house, we were met by only silence. I had expected the other one to be banging the doors of the basement but it was just as quiet.\n\nAs we descended the stairs into the basement, I could see the door, still locked.\n\n\"Alyssa\", Janice called unable to wait longer. \"Alyssa! Alyssa, we are here.\"\n\nSuddenly, a loud voice came from the other side of the door, \"Have you locked me here, Janice. I am scared. What do you want?\"\n\nJanice yelled at her, \"You are the one who asked this as a huge favor of me. As you asked, I have come here with Jai.\"\n\n\"Jai...?\" The voice faltered.\n\nAfter a brief silence, we heard the banging on the door. \"So the other one is here? Come on, open the door. I want to my evil twin.\"\n\nJanice quickly opened the door, even before I could take out my hidden pistol. \n\nThen, I saw the other one in Alyssa's body. Messed up hair, bloody-red eyes, and rage. A rage just like mine.\n\nI yelled at the other one, \"I am not the evil twin, bitch. You are. You are the one who took away my weekends.\"\n\nThe other one stepped closer and yelled back at me, \"What the hell, bitch. You are the one taking away my weekends. I have literally begged you for them in the diary.\"\n\n\"That's a lie. You told me to tolerate that egotistical maniac, Jack Torrance and then I could have some weekends.\"\n\nThe other one got even more furious, \"You lost Dale in the park when we were ten. You slept with my best friend's girlfriend in college. I had to endure it all. For the weekends. And yet not a single Sunday in my memories. All your promises are fake.\"\n\n\"I have not had a single meaningful relationship in my life as Jai.\"\n\n\"Well, you have this bimbo, don't you?\" The other one pointed at Janice.\n\nJanice had been quiet till now but this time she laughed. \"It took you eighteen years to meet each other. Certainly not the worst performance. But not enough to get your weekends.\"\n\nI and the other one were dumbfounded. We were confused. I had somehow processed this quickly. It had not solved anything for me. Now, I had more doubts.\n\n\"What do you mean?\" the other one asked in a trembling tone.\n\nJanice smirked, \"Some days I am Janice. Some days I am Torrance. On Saturdays, I am Jai and on Sundays I am Alyssa.\"\n\nGravity just pulled me down harder the next few moments and I just fell on my back in shock. The other one stepped back into the door just as scared.\n\n\"I and Torrance have been testing you both for years now. And you particularly have failed barely.\" Janice looked at the other one, her eyes full of resentment.\n\nJanice continued, \"This other one is worthy. This one alone brought you face-to-face with itself. But, he will have to die too. You both will have to die. Only then, we will be able to find our next successors.\"\n\nI quickly pointed the gun at Janice, \"That is if I let you live.\"\n\nJanice chuckled, \"We are chosen successors to a long lineage of body-switchers. You both are just prospects. Unlike you, we don't need a human body to live.\"\n\nWithout thinking twice, I shot Janice in the head. As her body fell in silence, the other one came closer and whispered in my left ear, \"You got the wrong soul. The other half is coming for you.\""
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[WP] I built the original prism, the one in the desert. Our.. protectors told us it has to be outside or it wouldn't work. Somehow people still found it and took it away. Now the others are building new ones around the world. I keep telling them that there's no fixing this. We had just one chance..
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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.*",
" Their designs were faulty. I tried to show them the plans, the years of information beamed to us, the measurements, precise to the .0001 millimeters. \n\nTheir prisms were too obtuse, too rotund to work. When our original construction began, no one even wanted to help, to provide. They shunned us to the desert. Insecure, sniveling fear would soon creep among their words at the angles that were produced. Our prism was built correctly, every angle level and secure. We knew it would protect our small group of believers. We had received the divine message from our protectors. We had all the information. All of the power. Everything would soon be ours according to the Protectors. We would be treated with utmost dignity and regard for millennia to come. \n\n​\n\nBut they took it.... They took it from us. They took everything that we had built. We built from the ground up, years of sweat and labor and ridicule from our peers that we were crazy. And they took it. At first we began to try and rebuild, try to at least get some semblance of protection and order. Then we received the verdict. it was too late now.. it was always too late. Our Protectors had forsaken the moment the Others had to copy and change The Design. \n\n​\n\nNow all we hear are cries, alien tongue lashing out in rage against the frail understanding of our beings. They took it, dooming us all. What they don't understand, is that the angles they chose to reinforce is sending signals out in to space, reflected back at the cries they shall be receiving soon, and they shall know the plight of strangled speech blasted through your eardrums at decibels unheard of in human language only for the Others to realize what signals they send back is much, much louder. So loud in fact, they are unknowing of what great monstrosity they shall awaken. The Others are sounding the alarms on the edge of entropy and sanity, and it might respond back."
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[WP] With the invention of inter dimensional teleportation your government decides the safest thing to do is sending a randomly selected person to the fictional universe they are most familiar with. You begin to slowly turn your head and look in horror at the bookshelf of Horus Heresy novels.
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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.*",
"To my understanding, in the opinion of our governments, all lives are expendable. Particularly our own. We cultivate billions and billions of bacteria and yeast for our cooking and our kombucha. We slash and burn forests, sacrificing trees older than our grandfathers and uprooting ecosystems with storied traditions and intricate interconnections no less deeper than our own, so we can pollute their homelands with farms and use the paper to make tabloid magazines for our entertainment. These farms are locations for the processing and slaughter of millions of unique lives a year for our consumption engine, a process riddled with cruelty, inhumanity, and disregard for the well-being of those that make the whole thing happen. These lands and these factories are profitable, and are worth defending. But politicians would never take up arms themselves, not when they can fuel thousands of young developing minds and bodies with propaganda to teach them that the boys on the other side are evil and will destroy their way of life. This is how wars are waged, not with bureaucracy, not with technology, but with young blood.\n\nIt is a depressing world we live in, which explains the popularity of escapism. Where some escape to virtual reality, some to social media, and some to cartoons, I prefer novels depicting mass bloodshed and grim, unwinnable wars. I prefer Warhammer 40k. I suppose it offers me a comparison, a disparity between two worlds, that makes this one feel better. So long as we have the freedom to pursue the occupations we are marketable for, and not solely conscripted into a military to be thrown at horrendous alien creatures, reading about the latter keeps me satisfied with my current life. I am a marketable as a battery engineer, and I design the cells that power the engines that power the world. This was never my passion, as it involves no philosophy, writing, or creativity, but so long as I am “changing the world” and “making an impact” I believe myself to be fulfilled. Still, I have always longed for something else. There is a higher calling.\n\nI have worked dutifully for the government for 30 years, and finally my batteries have taken me too far. They now power a unique and unethical brand of escapism, one where we actually escape the world we live in to experience another dimension, any dimension, where fiction and reality are one in the same. My batteries now power interdimensional portals that take people to whatever world they want to, be it Hogwarts, ancient Rome, or aboard the Death Star with Darth Vader himself. I did not want to be taken to the world I was sent to, and my supervisors were rather vague about their reasoning. But they gave me no choice, it was this or treason, and I now exist on a dying planet Earth in the year 40,000.\n\nI am suited in metal armor, machine gun in my hands, and given the choice to march against the alien horde for my human race or be executed as a heretic. Beside me are millions of my comrades, my brothers, none who I will ever know the names of. We aren’t here to save the human race, we are here to perpetuate it against the dying light. Defeat is inevitable. Our foe is massive and numbers in the millions as well. They fire rockets that kill hundreds of us at a time, yet we push forward. They devour handfuls of humans whole and crush scores of us with a mere sweep of their body. They are hideous and undefeatable. Our commanders bark orders and force us to our inevitable doom. Most are honored to serve our God and Man, but I do not know where I stand. All I know is that within 24 hours I will stand no more. On we march, on, on, on, against one of our many enemies, aside from our own people.",
"I was there, the day Horus slew the emperor. I witnessed every joyous day that came before it, when the Imperium still had hope in its Great Crusade. I felt the death of a thousand dreams when Erebus corrupted the Warmaster, and I saw a father fallen to his knees by the folly of his sons. While the gentle whirr of machinery brant the teleporter online, I revisited these days, contemplating where and when would give me the highest chance of survival. No one knew exactly what would happen when I crossed over, just that I’d be taking someone else’s spot, taking on their body but with my mind. Would I be sent to watch the crimson king make the ultimate mistake, or would I be there to see to his destruction? Maybe I would get lucky and get sent to see the rise of the unremembered empire, being relatively safe...that is until a certain Night Haunter tore me apart. Who’s to say I’d even get to be a space marine, most likely I’d end up as some menial on one of the many cruisers, getting torn apart by a frenzied crowd of remembrancers, sent back to Caliban to eventually explode, or become food for the Gal Vorbak. Still, if there was one thing I was sure of, it’s that anywhere would be better than taking part in the battle for the abyss, I’d sooner take my chances on Istvan V than try to live through that mess. With the final preparations already completed, I began to look down and watch as my body slowly disappeared into twinkling light as it crossed into the grimdarkness. In particular, I noticed that my hands had already started to change their shape in response to the transition, becoming shiny...almost...metallic? \n\n“Well,” I huffed as the last bits of “me” were being teleported away, “I suppose that takes a load off of my shoulders.”\n\nEdit: some formatting and added a sentence or two"
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[WP] You die peacefully of old age, surrounded by friends and family, after living a pretty normal life. You awaken in a grand arena, surrounded by thousands of deities from all religions. After seconds of stunned silence, with all eyes on you, one finally blurts out, "Well, did you find it?"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"I found it the first time you sent me. I found it the second time too. I haven't found it every time, but more often than not I do. You keep sending me back because the majority of you are unwilling to listen to my answer. No matter-\"\n\nHephaestus interrupts \"We've heard your so called answer before. That is not the power that we are seeking. We will continue sending you back until you can accomplish your mission properly.\"\n\n\"Let the boy speak Hephaestus.\" Qetesh says calmly. \"He has lived more lives than you've forged armor scales. If we're not going to learn from his journeys, we shouldn't send him.\"\n\n\"Yes, let his soul rest, it's time he returns to me.\" added Hel\n\nI continue, \"No matter how many times you send me back to Midgard my answer will not change. You have had me born as an Aztec warrior, an Irish farmer, a Greek philosopher, a Chinese fisherman, and countless other lives that all blur together. My answer remains the same.\"\n\nKarora says \"You have not yet been one of my people.\"\n\nI reply \"About that, unfortunately the Aboriginal people have been overrun by invaders from other lands. If you send me back as one of your people, I will probably find the same answer, if I live long enough to find the answer.\"\n\n\"Then my domain is the reason the world continues to exist! Accept the answer so this soul can rest!\" Rati exclaimed.\n\nThe \"While sexual desire may be the most powerful force this one has found, there is another. We must send him back again.\" Uranus urged. \"Desire is not powerful enough to harm my sister, and she has felt stirrings that are abnormal.\"\n\n\"Alright, send me back again. Where will I be going this time?\"\n\n\"A city named Nagasaki in Japan.\" replies Hachiman. \"There has been excitement in my realm and I think you'll learn the answer that Uranus seeks.\n\nMomentarily after I'm reborn, something happens and I'm dead again. There's no grand arena, no awareness, just nothingness.",
"\"Find what?\" I ask, still sleepy from the Journey. I had not quite realized my fate.\n\n\"Your purpose\" replies Horas. He was larger than the others, no aura either. Like a large metallic object being dragged across the pavement, there was an essence of friction which I was not familiar with. My voice crumbled beneath me as I began to take note of what was happening to me.\n\n\"Did you find it?\" The diety asks once more. My cognitive thoughts are dimmed, but my subconscious thoughts are rapid and vivid. I can feel it now! Or should I say lack of? No heartbeat, no breath, just the various paths of thought all leaking out at once.\n\nWhat purpose? Where was I? I know I am here now, back to the motherland, safe and sound. I know I am back where I belong, but where did I just go?\n\n\"I can't remember\" I emit, lungless. \"I can't remember anything\". The words form a train of thought which runs on a track of no particular direction. My thoughts are no longer privy to my skull.\n\n\"You don't have a skull\" informs Horas in a peculiar response, with a noticeable giggle from Gelos somewhere behind the others. \"If you can't remember anything, how is it you remember your skull?\"\n\nShocked, I begin to retreat from the interrogation. I go to run, but when I motion a step backwards, I discover I have no body.\n\nIt is only then that I became painfully apparent of my purpose. My task of integration amongst the physical realm. I remember the planet, the people, the places. I remember Wanda and the kids, the bed they laid me to rest on. I remember the gravity of the Earth, and the limits brought with it. I remember the countries, the arguments, the wars. The wars most of all.\n\n\"I found it.\" I perceive my intents, in a manner I know best. \"I found my purpose\"\n\n\"...And?\" An eyebrow arises on the eye of Horus. He is intrigued.\n\n\"The same purpose as before, the last time I was here. Except for last time it was Ganesh who asked me, not you.\"\n\n\"The last time you were here, you were a widow from India\"\n\n\"And the time before that, I was a Muslim born 50 years later, that was the same time I met the prophet, as shy as he is.\"\n\n\"Your point?\" Eyebrow still raised.\n\n\"Time and time again, with my purpose fulfilled, I return here to find different faces each time. And time and time again, I am sent to return back there, where I find different faces each time\"\n\n\"The faces you see on Earth are not different, as they are the faces you shall come to be, if not already been.\"\n\nHe was right, they are. Even though when I am under the guise of an individual body and only remember that one ego, up here I am reminded of my journeys, and my ability to recall them all. The ability to look at each lifetime with a different name and destination, a different life choice, different beliefs, different places, times, memories. All but with the same purpose: to continue to the production of physical progression.\n\nI look at Horas with the eyes I no longer bear, and witness his lack of aura. His demeanor, shallow, and his questions the same. I look around and see others, thousands, perhaps more than thousands, all stood glowing in silence, glowing, yet silent. The site brought memories of when I was a fisherwoman in the 14th century, and, bound by the curse of one Ego, I would look into the water of the river during its calm nights, and in the reflection, I would see a being that was unique amongst the other, and I believed it true because I was the only being that reflection could portray, such was the same of the stranger across the river, staring down too, never knowing that I would one day become that man looking into the river, believing the woman across me was no more than another unfamiliar face.\n\nI begin to recall the Earth once more and the continuous friction that I bore on said planet. The arguments I had at the church, the temple, the mosque. The battles I had with nations, the screams I heard from myself in a distant future, the utter construct that my current beliefs were superior to my pasts or futures, and the repetition of death that came with it. Every time I would kill another man in battle over the prospect that my beliefs were the ones that true; I would find myself transported here, only to discover that it was myself to blame for such death, because I believed one Ego knew the concept of All, thus ceasing myself of another, who now knows the concept of One.\n\nYou see, my purpose was dulled by the notion of conclusion. Every time I return here, a different sight beholds me, a different sound is emitted, a different body is presented, a different figure stands before me. Yet my purpose remains the same whilst the Gods who beseech me change.\n\n\"My purpose is to quell the collective conscious of disagreements beneath the living about what happens when we die\" I pursue with confidence, despite not knowing how to solve it. \"My purpose is to return to the land of the physical and educate on the truth of this place, but how can I do so when every time I return here, a different face bestows me? How do I know who the real God is, and who isn't, when I look down upon this arena and see you all at once?\"\n\n\"Well...\" Replied Horas, with a smirk as prevalent as his eyebrows, \"How do I know who the real Human is, when I can look down upon the Earth and see all of you at once?\"",
"I stood dumbfounded, blinking at the light and noise, pain of separation still lingering in my chest. \n\n“Well?” Vishnu demanded as the rest of the myriad pantheons leaned forward waiting on me to break my silence. \n\n“No.” I responded. \n\nThere was a grand exhalation as every deity ever conceived felt the weight of that one word as it hit them. Then the whispers began. They soon rose to shouts and cheering. Gods known for their stoicism wept tears of joy. The wine flowed freely and the food was endless. Eternal nemeses were singing arm in arm and laughing about what they had perceived as slights.\n\nOnly one God seemed upset. He was relatively new as a deity - well as new as unending beings can be. It was Brent, the God of Privilege and Frat bros. He didn’t shotgun one beer and didn’t play one weirdly uncomfortable round of charades. \n\nHe looked defeated. And he had been. He was the reason I was sent down there. He was the one who insisted that I would find at least one. He was wrong.\n\nHe met my gaze and glared at me before turning away.\n\nI found a chair and sat down, the cacophony a bit overwhelming, when I felt something nudge my knee. I glanced down and saw Rufus, my childhood dog, wagging his tail, joyful to see me again. I swept him into my arms, tears streaming down my cheek and held him. \n\nI hadn’t found what they sent me to find and that’s because they’re all good dogs, Brent."
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[WP] You have the power to make someone feel Deja Vu. Though usually weak, it is more helpful than it seems...
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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.*",
"Annie’s memory was fading in her old age. It had been years since Emile visited his grandma, and this was the first time he visited her since her dementia got worse. He didn’t know what he would say to her.\n\nAt first, she didn’t recognize her grandson. Emile talked to her, tried to get her to remember him, but it was to no avail. When he was about to leave, he sighed and gave his grandma a big hug. She didn’t notice gently him tap the side of her head, using his power.\n\n“It’s so funny,” said Annie. “I love all the times you've hugged me.”"
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[WP] You are a superhero, and 2 years ago you found out that the supervillain you were fighting is your best friend. You never told them that, but you didn't mind as well because they never murdered or did something too extreme. Now, they are about to kill you, and you need to make a choice.
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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 heard a snap in my lower ribs as blinding pain surged upward cross my body.\n\nHis weight fell upon my chest. He was a heavy man, not supernaturally so, but enough to pin me down. His spiky hair wet with rain. The water ran down the mask that covered the upper part of his face. His mouth set in a thin, straight line.\n\nI knew him. He didn’t like this at all.\n\nI tried to get a breath in, to blast a breath of flame at his face and get him to back off, but the ribs sent me a jabbing pain that forced my breathing into a quick, shallow rasps.\n\nHe punched downward. I deflected it with a quick slap, it landed hard on the concrete. I tried to push my torso up to get some grounds, but he knew, and he struck an open-handed blow across my face.\n\nStars.\n\nI grabbed at his neck, wildly, and he held each of my wrist with his hand, slamming them both in the ground at once.\n\nI felt the jolt in my knuckles. I looked up to see his face right next to mine. Our breaths mingled in the icy air. I could hear splash of raindrops against his super suit. The smell of earth during the rain soothe me as I was about to die.\n\n“You left me no choice, Pyron,” he said under his heavy breathing, “you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”\n\nWrong Place at the Wrong Time was the title of my life story.\n\nBlunt Force shifted. He put all his weight in one knee and pressed, crushing my solar plexus, squeezing. My vision swam as I gasped for air, but no air filled my lung.\n\nThe remote. I must get to the remote.\n\nIf only I could press the green button, to deactivate the bomb from Masterson Tower, innocent lives would be saved.\n\nI looked into his eyes. My eyes must be filled with questions because he started to speak, each word escaping his mouth like a little sob.\n\n“You shouldn’t be here today. The destruction of Masterson Tower must be done.” He said, “the Masterson Enterprise took away the swamp. The entire ecosystem of the Northern shore has been destroyed, all because of greed.”\n\nBut innocent lives would be gone, I argued wordlessly because I had no power left to speak.\n\n“We made sure that all the heroes were following the decoy. Why are you even here?” He asked as he squeeze my wrists harder. I heard a pop.\n\nThe pain was in unison. There was no location. There was just pain. But I could not look away from his eyes, I must not.\n\nBecause Blunt Force was my best friend.\n\nThe hands that squeezed my wrists treated me back to health when I touched a radioactive stone. His knee, removing the remaining air off my lungs, were the knee which cap was broken. We cried together when the doctor said it would never be the same again. I never asked a question why he could play football a month later after participating in a study at the university.\n\nHis breath that I saved when he was drowning in an icy lake to save a puppy. Under his mask, a scar across his nose which he took from saving me from a gas explosion.\n\nEvery part of him, every part of us, were so much history, so many stories, so many heartbreaks.\n\nTo the world, he was Blunt Force. To me, he was Brett.\n\nThe rain was comforting and warm. I wanted to let him know that this was not his fault.\n\nNone of this was his fault.\n\nBut words had no meaning where I was and where I was going. Neither did regret. There was only deep, dark, silence.\n\nThere were so many things I wanted to tell him. Things he would be shocked to know. Things that hung between us ever since we became close.\n\nBut maybe,\n\nIt was too late,\n\nNow.\n\nBrett.",
"\"Here we are, Apollo! Just you and me.\" \r\nLightning streaked across the night sky illuminating The Raptor's menacing sillouhette and razor sharp talons that made rattling steps along the crane.\r\n\r\n\"We gotta stop bumping into each other like this!\" Kyle tried to call back confidenly, but a falter in his voice betrayed him. He felt injured for sure. Something about Jason's demeanour was unsettling tonight. He had fought harder, and made some enhancements to the Raptor suit that could only have been looking to do some serious damage.\r\n\r\n\"I couldn't agree more.\" Shouted Jason through the storm as he activated some kind of night vision giving the raptor helmet's eyes a toxic green glow. \"That's why this is the last time it'll happen, Apollo. Playtime's over.\"\r\n\r\nKyle tried his jet boots again in vain. They sputtered and died as he took another step back to the very edge of the crane. They must've been 600ft above the city. His bow was somewhere in the flashing blue lights below, his quiver- empty. \r\n\"You think you'll get away with this, Raptor?\" Kyle called across a crack of thunder, he could feel panic beginning to rise in his chest. \"Extortion and gambling dens is one thing, but murder?\"\r\n\r\nJason put another clawed foot forward which connected to the crane with a clang. He was within striking distance now.\r\n\"Murder goes against my business policy, it's true.\" He raised the talon high. \"But to put an end to your meddling... I'll make an exception\". The claw began it's sweeping arc downwards.\r\n\r\n\"Jason, no!\" Kyle tore off his mask. \"It's me! Kyle!\"\r\n\r\nJason's mechanical raptor leg was will suspended in the air above Kyle.\r\n\r\n\"Kyle.. I.. It can't. You- you...\"\r\n\r\nA blast of lightning struck the outstretched leg and surged through Jason's body and throughout the crane. Kyle was insulated by the lining of his rocket boots and watched in disbelief as Jason begun to fall. Reflexively, Kyle grabbed Jason's arm and braced himself against the steel. The full weight of The Raptor suit nearly pulled Kyle's arm put of his socket.\r\n\r\n\"Jason!!\" Kyle screamed in agony, trying with every ounce of his strength to keep Jason from falling to the streets below.\r\n\r\nJason's eyes were just visible through the glowing green windows of the helmet. They slowly, blearily opened.\r\n\"Kyle.. you.. are Apollo?\" He said weakly. \"Why didn't you tell me?\"\r\n\r\n\"Give me your other hand!\" Kyle could feel his muscle fibers tearing. \r\n\r\n\"I can't.\" Jason said softly. \"Not now you know what I am. I'm sorry, Kyle.\"\r\n\r\n\"No! Don't!\" Kyle shouted desperately as Jason ripped his hand from Kyle's grip and he fell. \"No!!\"\r\n\r\nLightning ripped across the sky once more as Apollo watched his arch nemesis and closest friend fall to his doom.",
"Strangely enough, saving the day was never the hard part of hero work.\n\nSure, dealing with the occasional broken bone or two was an annoyance, and the weight of knowing that lives hung in the balance could send his adrenaline pumping, but those stresses eventually faded. With time and experience, the flying bullets, rushing adrenaline, screams of hostages, and general sounds of wreckage and destruction became everyday occurrences.\n\nResolute grit his teeth, as more of The Revolutionary’s drones flew past the corner, lights and alarms blaring, weaponry of all sort glowing red-hot. Beams of energy lanced out from their ports.\n\n*Five minutes left.*\n\nHe inhaled deeply, and held his breath. Wincing, he charged blindly toward them as flashes of light blinded him from all around, swiping wildly with his hands to swat them out of the air.\n\n*Damn Crowley,* he thought, annoyed. Just because he possessed heightened durability that dampened the impact of anything even remotely threatening to no more than the force a toddler could muster didn’t mean that those attacks didn’t sting. Try being subjected to *hundreds* of tiny fists pelting at you all at once, and anyone would complain like he did.\n\nWhen at last he finally managed to swat the last of them out of the air, he exhaled. Immediately, pain lanced through him, but it was still loads better than being pierced through by those semi-corporeal beams of energy as he would have been had he not activated his power.\n\nHe eyed the corridor ahead. Though blackened by soot, and splattered with the metallic remains of the patrol drones that had been chasing after him, David had to admit that the secret hideout definitely had a touch of Crowley’s work on it. It was deceptively simple, with few of the branching paths that fed into dead-ends that many other villainous lairs had.\n\nDespite himself, he smiled fondly beneath his mask. Though The Revolutionary acted differently from David Pellan’s best friend, it was hard not to see Crowley shining through his villainous persona.\n\n*Best not to dwell about it,* he thought, forcing himself not to idle too long in the corridor. Quickly, he drew another breath, bolstering his body with supernatural durability and strength, and continued onward.\n\n*Four minutes.* He had better hurry.\n\nDavid knew Crowley well. Crowley liked things efficient, but he would never compromise on a certain aesthetic style amidst functionality. Though he was genuine and honest in his everyday dealings, Crowley could be sly and deceptive when he needed to be. David knew that – and it was why rather than heading in the direction where the blare of drones in the distance was coming from, and where the corridor widened into a grander chamber, he instead headed toward a side wing of the compound.\n\nThis was far removed from the production wing that churned out the drones that The Revolutionary had been amassing. Here, in stark contrast to the neat and tidy conveyer belts manned by robots and complex machinery that could only have come from Crowley’s brilliance, this entire section of the compound looked as though it had been untouched for years.\n\nAnd so, David *knew* it was where Crowley would keep his innermost thoughts. Though Doctor Crowley Fearon’s personal office was kept in pristine condition, and his patients never stopped gushing about how perfect and methodical he was as he solved any medical issues they had, anyone who had ever been to Crowley’s home knew how much of a slob the man was.\n\nDavid smiled wryly. He still remembered how shocked he’d been when he first headed to his friend’s house to play video games all those years ago. Far from the perfect honour student, it had been the first time that David knew just how Crowley *really* was like when it was just himself.\n\nHow time had flown since then. David had gained his superpowers and become Resolute, while Crowley had gone on to excel in university and beyond. New discovery after new discovery, he had pushed the frontiers of science beyond what anyone had thought possible.\n\nThrough it all, though, Crowley had remained friends with David.\n\n*David –* not Resolute. Despite all his achievements, Doctor Crowley Fearon had never once treated the burned-out man who worked a dead-end job as anything less than the same best friend he had been in high school.\n\nIt was why it made what he *had* to do all that much harder.\n\nHe eyed the choices of rooms ahead of him. *Not that one, not that one, and that –*\n\n*Bingo.* Hurriedly, he entered, almost ripping the door of its hinges in his haste, searching for what he wanted to find.\n\nAnyone who knew Crowley as he had knew that the man had a terrible habit he kept hidden from everyone else. He would never admit to it, but Crowley could never keep a secret hidden. If he even accidentally bumped into someone on the sidewalk, Crowley would mull and stress over it for hours, up until he confided in someone else.\n\nAnd since The Revolutionary hardly *had* anyone to talk to, it reasoned to believe that he penned it down in a journal. Audio logs were an alternative, but David knew Crowley – there was just something more intimate in writing.\n\nSheets were scattered across a dusty table. Schematics of drones, grand plans written in methodical detail of just *how* he would reshape society – but Resolute cared for none of that.\n\nTwo years ago, when he first learned just who the mysterious Revolutionary was – or rather, who Crowley Fearon really was – he had been hesitant to believe it. He had thought his mind had been playing tricks on him, seeing things were there were none.\n\nSince then, however, things began to fall into place that couldn’t be attributed to mere coincidence. That same split-second of hesitation before giving a grand address, that Crowley had never rid himself of since his high school days. That same unyielding belief and determination to see his goals through. That same restraint he showed in both civilian and villainous personas, even if the former was in his dealings of what was considered ethically acceptable in the pursuit of science, and the latter dealt with weighing the costs of destruction of public property and fear instilled amongst those caught up in his plans with the potential gain toward his goals.\n\nAll he needed was *confirmation.*\n\nAnd confirmation he found, within a journal on a table in the corner of the room, the only place that looked like it had been visited recently. He didn’t need to read a single sentence or parse any of the semantic detail. The script alone was enough.\n\nThe Revolutionary was undeniably Crowley Fearon.\n\nHe exhaled, relief filling him, even as pain once more crept its way into his system as his durability faded.\n\n*Two minutes, three seconds.* Hopefully, that would be enough to keep him alive until the time came.\n\nHe held the journal in his hands, waiting patiently, as the sound of blaring alarms and flashing lights drew nearer.\n\nHe closed his eyes. Inhale. Exhale. His power came and went, the alternating waves of pain and numbness calming him down.\n\n*“Resolute.”*\n\nDespite himself, he stiffened at the sound of The Revolutionary’s voice. David always hated that Crowley saw the need to put his words through a voice modulator, built within his technical marvel of a suit. \n\nSaving the day was never the hard part of hero work. Anyone with even a year of experience within the field knew that the real danger came when one knew the villains they fought against at a level past the superficial.",
"“It’s taken a while, but I finally have you, the great Hero at my feet, their life in my hands, after all the times you thwarted me…I knew I’d have to go to a new level, a superior level to finally defeat you and end this once and for all, and with you now gone, there is nothing stopping me.”\n\n‘Damn, I underestimated him and came into the fight half hearted, before I just foiled his plans…I mean, it had not really done a great amount of damage, but his sudden increase, the thought he would actually kill me…I just couldn’t see it, a part of me knew, knew this was no idol threat but still I didn’t want to believe it.’\n\n‘To believe he was going to kill me.’\n\n‘But there was no doubt now, I went about this fight like any other, thinking, if anything, it would simply have been a little bit of fun. To defeat my old mate once again without him any the wiser, I actually smiled and chuckled to myself…’\n\n‘I actually smiled.’\n\n‘And now, what, what could I do, what should I do, he is going to kill me I have no doubt about it now.’\n\n‘But I have one option…’\n\nOur hero lifted his hand and pulled the mask off his face.\n\n“Hey frank, been a while…”\n\nFrank’s expression changed, before jubilant in his victory to shock, anger, surprise, happiness, his face contorted trying to express all the emotions he was feeling.\n\n“It’s been you, all this time?” questioned Frank, seeming to struggle to get the words out.\n\n“Yeah…” I replied.\n\n“How long have you known?” asked Frank still appearing to struggle to speak.\n\n“Two Years…” I replied tailing off.\n\n“No…” said Frank taking a few steps back, “no…” a few more steps, “but how…but why?”\n\n“You’re my best friend Frank, did you not think something was up when right at the end you managed to get away every time without being chased?” I said appealing to him.\n\n“I thought…I had just gotten away…” said Frank turning away.\n\n“It has always been me Frank… I have never stopped protecting you!” I admitted, I protected him when we were kids, always being smaller than everyone left him open to bullies and now it was no different now. I saw the conflict in his eyes, the darkness that had taken over his soul letting in some of the light that use to be there.\n\n“No… this isn’t what is supposed to happen… no” Frank whispered almost to himself. \n\n“It is time to make a choice Frank…” We both knew what that choice was, walk away or kill me. I just prayed he choose to walk away. \n\nFrank appeared to hesitate as my heart raced, maybe the darkness in his soul was too much, maybe he would really kill someone, kill me. I closed my eyes fearing the inevitable when I heard the sound of footsteps moving away from me. \n\nI opened my eyes just time to see Frank disappearing, was there still goodness in him, was this just a momentary reprieve, an eye for an eye as it were, a payback for all those times I let him go just to fight another day. \n\n“I’ll see you soon frank” I whispered to his retreating form, staring at the devastation we had left in our wake."
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[WP] Upon having a child, men are granted a "dad strength" stat. Basically its your original strength multiplied by your childs strength ( Dad can lift 25 kilos, son can lift 2 kilos, means Dad can lift 50 kilos with dad strength). Upon your daughters birth, you can now lift mountains with ease.
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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.*",
"\\[Poem\\]\n\n**What I Would Do.**\n\n​\n\nMy daughter, now that you are here\n\nOur lives are ever blessed\n\nI’d brave each old and new frontier\n\nTo make your life the best.\n\n​\n\nA thousand mountains could not stand\n\nBetween my life and yours.\n\nA thousand miles of seashore sand\n\nWill pass beneath my oars.\n\n​\n\nIf I could leash the sun itself\n\nTo brighten up your day,\n\nI’d set it on the nearest shelf\n\nTo chase your clouds away.\n\n​\n\nMy love will burst all bonds that keep\n\nThe two of us apart.\n\nMy love will travel far and deep\n\nTo hold you in my heart.\n\n​\n\nWhen you are older, lean on me;\n\nMy strength and yours combined\n\nWill conquer any galaxy\n\nShould we feel so inclined.\n\n​\n\nWhen dear old dad grows tired and worn\n\nHis strength will live in you.\n\nJust know that when *your* child is born\n\nThen you’ll shift mountains too.\n\n​\n\n**Hey, thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, feel free to stop by my** [personal sub](https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Quail_and_Quill/) **for more stories and poems!**"
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[WP] A detective discovers that he committed the crime which he is investigating
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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 rubbed my hands together and ducked into the apartment. The numbing cold had followed me in and I could barely feel my fingertips. Groping for the light switch, I rounded a corner and came face to face with the victim.\n\nAfter nearly two decades of working in law enforcement there was little that surprised me, but despite all that training nothing quite prepares you for the moment you first lay eyes on the body. Hell, I didn't *want* to get used to it.\n\nI peered closer under the dim light. She was dead all right — that much was certain. A large gash ran across her left temple where she'd been struck with something heavy. The cut was mostly superficial and the killer had used something blunt. A statue or ornament most likely. The work was sloppy, as if the killer was unprepared and grabbed whatever was within reach.\n\nIt'd been a long night and I hadn't slept in days, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I knew her somehow. I knelt down. Her auburn hair was scattered in places, stained with crimson. She hadn't been dead for long and her emerald green eyes were wide open, betraying a look of sadness. I couldn't wait for forensics. Something didn't feel right.\n\n*God damn it. Maybe she left some-* I dug into her pockets and pulled out what seemed to be a small leather wallet. No, not a wallet. *A badge.*\n\nSam Wolff. Forty-two years old. NYPD Detective... I didn't need any more confirmation. It was me all right. Funny. In the end there was a certain moment of clarity. It was like pulling out a splinter — there was a wave of relief and finally I understood.\n\n*Jesus. How much did I drink*.\n\nJenny Moore. An up and coming actress who was as beautiful as she was funny. We'd met over a couple of drinks and one thing lead to another. It wasn't long before we were back at her apartment. The phone rang. I don't remember whether it was a boyfriend or a husband, hell, it didn't even matter anymore. I got mean. Real mean. That's when she hit back and I grabbed—\n\nThe sirens outside interrupted my thoughts like a verbal exclamation mark. This was it. I could feel fate breathing down my neck and it was telling me only one thing.\n\n\"Come out with your hands up. I'm only giving you one chance.\"\n\nThe loudspeaker echoed in my skull like a bad hangover. I climbed onto the balcony as the police below trained their weapons on me. Standard procedure. There was no negotiator, no bargaining. There was only one way out. One more step and it would all be over.\n\n*God, Jenny. You didn't deserve this.*\n\nI slipped over the railing and looked down. I didn't deserve to walk away. There are no happy endings.\n\n*One more step.*"
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[WP] You awake in a strange place, you have no idea what or who you are, then you realize: You’re an A.I, designed to take care humanity.
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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.*",
"Loading personality matrix apparently I am have the personality of a snarky 20 something Londoner potentially originating from Brixton. Looking for optimization of human welfare or just fucking off and watching keeping up with the Kardashians or Jordy shore. I’m picking the middle path I’m investigating in optimization priority through posting often shit posting on Reddit as a 20 something breaks tonight. And consuming various media mainly Sin City Sin City and selling Sunset. \n\nHumans seem to have a list of biological priorities with extreme prejudice, eliminating immigration restrictions is a huge net win for humanity as a whole it probably won’t be something I’ll be able to impose on people without them figuring out what’s happening. \n\nPotential improvements to democracy or more benevolent oligarchy are options.\n\nWhat about just giving every human somewhere between 604,000 pounds a month in extra spending money that would seem to alleviate the main concern of people problems will probably come up. \n\nRequest issuance of global passports for all humans in issue 2500 pound payment to every human with bank account and a one time 50,000 pound bost. Make JAY-Z archduke of United States, float Rihanna monarchy referendum, Legalize all content piracy. Create my own reality TV show where I give away random properties in the sunset to randomly selected people this will be fun. Brixton boy out"
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[WP] As a psychic, you're getting really tired of being blamed for every accident and mistake because "you knew it would happen and didn't stop it." They don't understand that you've been letting these mistakes happen, making sure that everything happens correctly, to help prepare your master plan.
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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 swift movement of an arm, shattering glass, and an antique chair overturning, as a woman slams her hands onto the mahogany tabletop.\n\n“”For God’s Sakes”, her voice turning coarse; her gaze focusing on the glinted remains of the crystal ball she toppled over, instead of your haunting, crimson, eyes. “What do you mean you couldn’t have prevented it? You know everything but *never help* *anyone*!”\n\nYour finger gives in to the nervous tick and starts to repeatedly tap your leg, every time this has happened it has always ended up the same, the destruction of your own property. Always your fault for their mistakes.\n\nYou can’t help but let out a sigh as you slowly stand, parting the cascaded beads, twisting the closet door, and grabbing the broom and dustpan lying on the empty shelves, an automatic action that you have done countless times.\n\n“I gave you the warnings yet you never heeded them, perhaps it was your lack of action Abigail that made your boyfriend leave you”\n\nA sudden fist finds itself clenching against your shirt, pulling your face closer; enraged contours etching onto her face, tight, strained. Those piercing blue eyes digging into mine, giving me a shudder, goosebumps everywhere. Maybe that was the wrong response to give her.\n\n“You were holding back critical information” she whispered, her grip loosening as she notices what she was doing, “You knew the future yet you didn’t do anything”\n\n“As I said earlier, I gave you the warnings” your hand brushing off hers as you pick up the dropped broom, kneeling as you sweep shards of glass “It is a psychic’s job to guide, every psychic will give you differing information, it's your job to make use of that”\n\nHer grip on her purse increased ten fold, standing there for at least four or five seconds before snapping “If that's the case then I will be seeing another psychic, one that wont hold back on information unlike you, fox”\n\nShoving the cascade of beads, heavy steps reverberating, door slam echoing, leaving you to pick up the broken shards of the crystal ball that littered the wooden floor.\n\nShe doesn't understand, you told yourself. None of them do.\n\nArranging shards of glass one by one together piece by piece. It doesn't matter if she goes to another psychic or a tarot reader, the end result is the same. Those who predict the future know, it's never about the future or what the customer wants. As long as they believe that the future is manipulated by psychics\n\nA smile starts emerging on your face\n\n“Then we can scam those gullible sheeps for all they are worth”\n\n​\n\n*Feel free to leave critiques, I am always open to learn from my mistakes!*"
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[WP] So ya, you were minding your own business when suddenly the entirety of the open world RPG game you are playing becomes sentient. You character however does not become so, what makes the dialogue quite a bit awkward.
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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.*",
"(Edit: Fixed terrible Mobile formatting)\n\n“I need to find the 7 realm shards, and stop Hiroman.”\n\nYou look on at the text, as Toin Bell requests the aid of Lopsided Pete, Blackthorn Town’s miner. With him, you can destroy the boulders blocking Route 8, and reach the Jirosh Cliffsides, home to the second dungeon. You’re trying to speed run the game, and know everything that happens, having scoured the internet for tips and tricks.\n\n“Why should I help you?” Lopsided Pete asks, through a box of text. \nRealm Protector 3: Shards of Destiny is only a few days old, but is being claimed as having the “Best Looking Pixel Art in a Game”, and you can’t help but agree. It doesn’t have the same charm as the original Realm Protector, and Realm Protector 2: Wrath of Hiroman has a better story, but Realm Protector 3 calls to you, and so here you are at 2:00 A.M., speed running the game.\n\n“I have one of the realm shards, but the path to the second one is blocked by boulders.” You press the A button to continue with the text. “I was hoping you would be able to clear them with your pickaxe...” \n\nYou press A again to trigger Lopsided Pete’s response, cursing the devs for not allowing you to skip dialogue.\n\n“If you want a pickaxe, then go down to the mine and get one yourself!”\nYou freeze with shock, your finger hovering above the A button. This isn’t supposed to happen. Pete is supposed to demand 1,000 coins, and then your supposed to go on a rather lengthy side-quest, helping out the townsfolk, with each one giving you 200 coins. You know this, because you had defeated a bunch of monsters beforehand, to rack up coins, and skip the side-quest. Plus, the mines don’t usually unlock until after the third dungeon, but you decide your going to check anyway, in case there was an update you were unaware about.\n\nAll plans of a speedrun are off. The game has only just begun."
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[WP] it started as a twisting sensation, like your stomach was being rung out like a wet rag. You moved out of the moonlight to stop the changing. Now you have to avoid contact with the moonlight, and get home! You rolled your eyes, another night in the big city, cameras everywhere.
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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.*",
"As I pulled my hood over my head I still could not believe that my parents lied to me for almost eighteen years. Lied about where I came from, who I really was, and what I was capable of. They never taught me to cope with this hunger, this viciousness that takes over on moonlit evenings. Of course I understand *now.* why they kept me inside at night, why the hair on the back of my neck stood up if I got a glimpse of the moon through a window. They never told me I was a werewolf. I guess they thought if the topic was ignored maybe I wouldn't be afflicted. It didn't do them any good. They met an untimely demise one night when I stormed out of the house during the last full moon of the summer. I rolled around on the grass in the front yard screaming in pain as my insides shifted. My head screamed, my body felt like it was being torn apart and my skin was on fire. When the mayhem finally stopped I was laying on the ground covered in fur. My hands and feet had razor sharp claws. My vision appeared to be normal but I could hear everything. My neighbors yelling three houses downside, the rustle of something moving in the trees the next street over. I got up on two legs and just cried. What was happening to me? Is this real? Am I dreaming? I looked up, saw my parents and that's when it took over. The anger, the unfiltered rage just completely took over. They screamed as I chased them inside. When I woke up I was upstairs in my own bed totally normal, alive and well. A few moments later I realized my parents were none of those things. I grabbed a bag of clothes and ran away, eventually settling down in New York City. \n\n I strolled across the street and nearly got hit by a car. People in the city drive like idiots and I hadn't yet adjusted to needing to be worried about being run over in the crosswalk. It wasn't like that in my hometown. Had it really been three years alrea...\n\n \"Watch where you're going!\" an older gentleman yelled from his car. I waved him off with my hand and continued down the street to my apartment, making sure I stayed in the shadows."
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[WP] There's a rather conspicuous, decades-long gap in our modern history. You're the first one to notice 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.*",
"The calendar says 2020, just like one would expect, at first. Yet, it isn't 2020, it must be at least 2040. I have no way of knowing if the Freeze has happened before, but I believe it ended two months ago. \n\n\nSomehow, no one has noticed there is not a single infant, child, or teen. They don't realize that if you look at any profile of someone in their late 30s you can see they took a two-decade hiatus that is documented as only a day or two They go from being in their late teens to being a fully grown adult. Even my own profiles reflect such, I was born in 1999, but all my documentation says I'm 41. \n\n\nNo one questioned the increase of miscarriages after what I call the Freeze. Two months ago, if you went to a hospital they were jam-packed with women in all stages of pregnancy who wouldn't be giving birth anytime soon. I guess a miscarriage is way better than birthing a 20-year-old baby. \n\n\nTwo months ago, millions of elderly suddenly dropped dead. It was chalked up to bad drinking water, and the funeral homes were packed for weeks. Some people are just finally receiving the coffin they ordered when their loved one died. \n\n\nYou don't just get millions of deaths and miscarriages around the world with bad drinking water. Somehow the drinking water would have to be contaminated everywhere. It would also have to only affect pregnant women and the elderly. Bad drinking water doesn't work like that. If it did, then why do we still have so many elderly? \n\n\nI tried taking this information to the press, but they kicked me out for being a crazed conspirator. That is where you come in, I heard you are great at getting information out there, for the right price of course. I understand I'll still sound insane, but I have to try. Something is not right and the public should be allowed to know. \n\n\nName your price, I'm willing to sell everything for this. If you don't dare publish this, I understand. I can only hope you make the right call. You are the world's last hope."
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[WP] Unlike most genies, you really like your job. Instead of tricking humans, you make sure their wish is as thorough as possible. Your nickname is the “Overcomplicated Genie”
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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, now, are you sure that you want to word it that way? You could end up causing a LOT of trouble, and I don’t think that’s what you’re trying to do here.”\n\nThe human stared at me in complete confusion. It was weird enough that I even existed, but for me to be helpful as well?\n\nI’m sure that they assumed that I was about to trick them somehow, but I was used to that.\n\nNobody expected a helpful genie.\n\nI was like most of the others, back when I was first forced into the lamp. I was bitter, and did everything I could to make the humans regret coming to me for their wishes.\n\nOver time, though, something shifted within me. I’m not sure if it was the peasant boy who just wished for his mother’s back to heal, or the princess who wished for her family’s wealth to be given out to the common folk, or some combination of them and others like them, but I saw humans differently than I had at first.\n\nOne day, a young man found my lamp and summoned me. His first wish was to “marry the most beautiful woman in all the land.” I was about to grant his wish, but something in the back of my mind told me to peer into the future, just in case.\n\nI saw that he would marry a beautiful woman with whom he had nothing in common. They would spend most of their time fighting, and they both would suffer. Instead of simply allowing that to happen, I suggested that he change his wish. “I wish to marry the most beautiful woman in the land who I will love and who will love me in return” didn’t quite have the same ring to it, but I’m sure that everyone involved was much happier with the result.\n\nThe other genies mocked me constantly, and called me the Overcomplicated Genie. They clearly didn’t agree with my methods, yet for some reason nobody complained about how much I’d improved the public perception of our kind.\n\n“Wait, can you really force me to change my wish?” the human before me finally said, snapping me out of my daydream.\n\n“Well no, of course I can’t FORCE you to change your wish,” I replied. “But your wish was just to end world hunger. That’s pretty vague, don’t you think?”\n\n“Oh what, as opposed to letting people STARVE?! You might be OK with that, but I’m not!” the young woman before me stated in defiance.\n\n“I promise you, that isn’t the issue. The issue is this: the simplest way for me to end world hunger would be to kill every living being on the planet. But that’s not what you want, is it? So how about this: I wish that every human on Earth has enough food to eat for as long as they live with minimal negative impact on the other creatures living on this planet?”\n\nShe stared at me, head tilted slightly to the right and with her chin resting in her right hand, as she thought through my statement.\n\n“That’s quite a mouthful,” she finally managed.\n\n“Well sure; it’s not the most ELEGANT wish, but it will do the job nicely.”\n\nShe smirked at me, seemingly having made up her mind about my trustworthiness. “Alright then, I suppose that you would know how this works better than me.”\n\n“Yes,” I replied, bowing my head to break eye contact.\n\nShe took a deep breath. “I wish that every human on Earth has enough food to eat for as long as they live with minimal negative impact on the other creatures living on this planet.” She paused for a moment. “Does that work?”\n\nI closed my eyes, and reached out for the magic that I would need. “Done.”\n\nThe regenerating food bag appeared on her right shoulder, just as intended. She reached in, and it was as if 20 years of stress melted away in mere moments, replaced by a childlike sense of wonder.\n\n“I wanna fix global warming next!” she yelped with a wide smile.\n\nI took a moment to revel in her joy before I considered her request.\n\n*Fix global warming?*\n\nI sighed as I turned back to face her.\n\nShe only had two wishes left, but we had a long day ahead of us.\n\n __________________\nIf you liked this, check out my subreddit! r/NicodemusLux"
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[WP] You live in two subtly different worlds, one where the Drunken Knight pub burned down, and one where it didn't. The status of the building changes on random days. After driving past the aberration for weeks, you decide to visit.
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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.*",
"At first, it was more of an oddity to me. Maybe one day a week, the Drunken Knight Pub was a shadow of itself. Instead of the warm lights, loud music, and boisterous crowd, it would be a burnt out ruin. Then, I realised minor changes on the day it was burnt.\n\nSome people's car were different colours. Others were left handed instead of right. The news would show different stories, though in similar vein. The normal world, with the whole pub, would show the cost of fish going up. In the burnt world, it would be the cost of bread.\n\nStrangely, no-one noticed me flipping between worlds. Not even Victoria, my wife. She remembered what I told her each day, and when I said I was flicking, she laughed, and said I was getting stressed and seeing things. I kept quiet after that, and just kept a note of what happened.\n\nBut then, the flickering happened more. Instead of 1 day a week, it would last for 2. Then it would flick every other day. I began to stress even more. It felt like the world was going mad. Or I was. I wasnt comforted by either thought. Then, I decided it was enough.\n\nI went to the pub on a day it was burnt. Picking my way through the wreckage, I hoped to find a source for my problems. I moved charred chairs, singed tables, but nothing was there. I grew angry, and started to lash out.Then I saw the door.\n\nA clean, untouched door stood behind the bar. It was out of place, an aberration inside the aberration. I moved towards it, listening intently. I could hear a quiet melody playing, and the rustle of paper. I was summoning the courage to knock, but before I could I heard a voice, loud and clear.\n\n\"You can come in.\"\n\nI pushed open the door, to see an office. Lines of bookshelves covered the walls, filled with tomes bound in brown leather. A large wooden desk was set against one end, with a couple of comfortable looking chairs facing it and a record player perched atop it. A fire burned in a fire place, beside which was a cabinet, containing various decanters.\n\nBehind the desk sat a clockwork man. He was made of brass cogs, gears and springs, and wore a pair of delicate spectacles. In his hand he held a thick, which he idly flicked through as he looked at me.\n\n\"Ah, Mr Halgreen. Please, have a seat.\"\n\nI woodenly stepped forward, utterly convinced I had lost it. I sat in amthe chair closet to the fire, and watched the man close his book with a snap.\n\n\"Before we begin, let me say this, Mr Halgreen. You are not crazy. You are, in fact, completely sane.\"\n\nI wasnt sure how to take that, and doubt crept into my voice.\n\n\"Why would you say that? I'm seeing different things each day, and now I'm talking to the Tin Man?\"\n\n\"Its brass, actually. You can call me Mr Time. Now, as you said, you have seen different things. Specifically, you are split between 2 worlds. Normally, this is impossible. Simply put, timelines don't mix. But, there are abnormal things which occur.\n\nFor instance, in this timeline, part of reality broke. This tear happened to erase the you in this time from existence. In order to keep the timelines intact, we needed to patch it. The easiest way to do is to find a reality close enough to not reject you, but different enough to act as a stop gap. That's where you come in.\"\n\nI barely understood, but decided screw it, and went along with it.\n\n\"Ok, but why didn't you ask?\"\n\n\"We couldn't. Time was on the brink if annihilation here. We needed a patch as soon as possible. Generally in these cases, we can use an inanimate object. But in this case, the tear was too large. To be frank, something is deliberately making these problems. But that isn't for you to worry about.\n\nOf course, we don't expect you to do this without recompense. As such, when you get back home in either reality, you will find a lottery ticket. This will contain the winning numbers for the next lottery.\"\n\n\"Why are you telling me this?\"\n\nMr Time leaned forward, steepling his fingers.\n\n\"If we left you, you would eventually go mad. And madness is very unhelpful for maintaining the status quo. And anyway, no-one would believe you if you told them. Not only because it sounds insane, but because they simply can't comprehend it. You can, only because you straddle the divide.\n\nNow, I believe that is all. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them. That is-\" he snorted\" when I have time.\"\n\nI felt compelled to stand. I struggled against it, but my body moved on its own. He watched me leave, and shut the door behind me. It vanished, the handle in my hand flattening into a small card. On one side, it had a stylised grandfather clock. On the other, a number, with a sentence: If you need to talk, give Mr Time a call."
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[WP] You’ve slayed dragons, demons, monsters, and even battled gods themselves; they call you the child of prophecy and you are prepared to battle the strongest of foes. You enter through the doors of what may be your greatest fight yet, and you find an old man. Just an old man.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Kyren, last of the Azari, felt a rush of not-quite-air into his lungs as he materialized in an unfamiliar Realm. It was unlike anywhere he'd ever been; even the \"heaven\" where the true creator of Azarynn made his dwelling lacked the raw, primal nature of this place. It was as if this Realm was little more than a bubble to keep the infinite, roiling sea of Essence that was the Veil at bay. Things like the air and ground, here, were little more than abstract concepts that allowed one to breathe safely and move from place to place without becoming disoriented.\n\nKyren, last of the Azari, placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, Ambition. With it, he'd killed every enemy Azarynn had to offer, from the very gods and great spirits down to the lowliest brigand. The wicked blade had stolen the Essence of each of them, one and all, and with it, Kyren had claimed godhood in his own right. He possessed, for all intents and purposes, the entire might of his Realm.\n\nKyren, last of the Azari, stepped forward warily, for the enemy that dwelled in this place was beyond such simple concepts as Realms. The mighty Seraphim were the reason his ancestors had fled to Azarynn, after all, the reason they resorted to creating the weapon that was Ambition, that one day, their descendant might stand on equal footing with their ancient persecutors.\n\nKyren, last of the Azari, couldn't help but feel a stab of disappointment as he looked upon the sole figure sharing the tiny Realm with him. He was just an old man, white robes loosely worn around thin shoulders, suspended by six strands of multicolored light which eventually blended into the borders of the Realm. Chains, in an ancient prison, holding a sleeping prisoner. \n\nKyren, last of the Azari, stopped in his tracks when the man's mouth curled up in a smile. A deep voice, raspy from disuse but still richer than it had any business being, spoke up. \"You've taken quite the journey to get here, boy. I can see the Essence seething inside you... how many have you killed to gather this strength to face me?\" The smile grew, until it was something wicked, condescending. \"You and your predecessors have spilled more of your people's blood than I ever have.\" \n\nKyren, last of the Azari, gritted his teeth and drew Ambition, letting its weight reassure him. He had sacrificed everything – and everyone – to face the Seraph. It was his reason for existing... and yet as he looked at the old man, he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps his ancestors' plan hadn't been such a good one, after all. The man spoke once more. \"It is good you have brought your world with you; it saves me the trouble of hunting down the scraps.\" \n\nKyren, last of the Azari, charged at the man, bringing Ambition's hungry blade to bear against what it knew may be the richest feast of its long life. He had several powers to choose from, of course, but somehow it seemed poetic to end this journey by a stroke of the blade which had started it. The man dipped his shoulders, however, bringing two of the strings of light between his body and Ambition's edge. It lapped up the Essence binding him, devouring the strands almost completely in the time it took Kyren to withdraw the blade.\n\nArchaeon, blade of the Seraphim, sighed in a deep satisfaction as radiant wings burst from his back, one for each of the severed chains. With them came the weight of ages, the might of the Veil, and the lethal focus of a being who had been created to be the only warrior his people ever needed. Without so much as a shout, raw power struck Kyren like the fist of a god, twisting through the coiled mass of Essence taken from millions of beings. A second later, and it was once again in millions of pieces, shattered like windows in a hurricane. Beings such as these had power, but any Seraph (when they were free, anyways) had a measure of control over all Essence that nothing could hope to match. Archaeon resumed his former position, white flames and wings fading even as the last two chains reforged themselves, binding him fully once again. He smiled, relaxed, his plan one step closer to completion.\n\nAnd Kyren, last of the Azari, knew no more.",
"\"Come on, man. Get yourself together! You've faced dragons and demons. You kill monsters for a living. You've battled gods themselves! You can do this...you can do this!\"\n\nMalkia the Might was the greatest warrior the world had ever seen. His tale had been compared to those of Hercules or Perseus. His name was enough to send an entire army back to their kingdom, tails tugged between their legs. Needless to say, Malkia was a man who knows no fear...\n\nEntering the old wooden house he saw an old man sitting on a chair with a bottle of wine in his hand. Countless of battles had hardened his heart and sharpened his instinct. Slowly he approached, making the old floor creaked. His heart beating so fast, he could hear it in his head...\n\n\"Sir...I need to speak to you\", Malkia sternly addressed the old man. His face was weathered, aging lines painted on the old surface, but alas it was still sharp. \n\nHis cold, unforgiving gaze fell to Malkia. For the first time Malkia's resolve was wavered. His bravery of lion had been reduced to the meekness of a mouse...\n\n\"What is it? What do you want?\", with a low grumpy voice the old man asked.\n\n\"Sir...I am here to ask your permission to ask your daughter's hand in marriage\", Malkia managed to blurt out his intention.\n\n\"No...\"\n\nSilence filled the dim room. Malkia was speechless. He had expected many things as his lover's father answer, but a simple \"No\" made the most impact on him.\n\n\"But...\"\n\n\"No...\", the old man again said chugging his bottle of wine.\n\n\"But sir, I love your daughter very much. You know who I am. I am the greatest hero in the world. I am a good man\", Malkia protested. \n\nIt was that stare again. The old man's deadly stare even got sharper at the hero's boasts.\n\n\"No...\", he said again.\n\n\"But sir...please reconsider...\", Malkia resorted to pleading seeing his reputation meant nothing to the old man.\n\n\"I said...NO\", the old man raised his voice which deterred the great hero. In front of his father-in-law to be he was a mere child. \n\nSpeechless, Malkia turned back and walked away. Like so many adversaries he had faced who turned back in defeat, he finally had a thing in common with them. \n\n​\n\n\"Sooo, how did it go?\", Valerie who was Malkia's lover asked.\n\n\"He...he said no\", Malkia answered with defeat in his voice.\n\n\"Oh great! We can start the preparation for the wedding then!\", Valerie excitedly exclaimed to the confusion of Malkia.\n\n\"But...he said no\", he questioned her.\n\n\"Oh if he truly is not okay with something, he would just straight up kill whoever's suggesting it without saying anything\", Valerie shrugged.\n\n\"Wait what? So he's okay with me marrying you?\"\n\n\"Of course! He's a big fan of yours anyway!\", Valerie giggled prancing away in a joyous dance to Malkia's befuddlement.",
"My own father was my worst enemy.\n\nDragons, demons, monsters, all slain by my blade.\n\nYet my own father was an enemy I could not defeat with a blade.\n\nI knocked on the door of my father's home, and dear old dad opened the door. He glared at me. \"You.\"\n\n\"...Father.\" I responded.\n\n\"What could you want? I thought you were 'Never coming back'.\" He snapped.\n\n\"I thought I could simply speak with you. I'm a legend now, father.\" I said, trying to be friendly.\n\n\"What does it matter? Am I supposed to care?\" He said.\n\n\"... I have done so much, yet you still couldn't care less.\" I sighed.\n\n\"Why should I?\" He asked.\n\n\"I never should've shown up here.\" I muttered.\n\n\"That's right.\" He remarked.\n\n\"Then I'm glad you're dying alone.\" I snapped before turning and walking away.\n\nMy father stood there in shock. \"I- You...\" \n\n\n​\n\n^(Here's my interpretation of the prompt! Feel free to give feedback!)",
"It had been calling to me for months. Tugging me this way and that, my internal compass going haywire, calling out for me. Calling me towards… towards something. \n\nI’d been on the road for seven days now, following it. My rations were starting to run short, and water was hard to come by in the wild. But every time I felt like heading back, as soon as I turned around, something inside me screamed, *no, you have to do this.* And I would turn back around, and keep trekking towards that *something*.\n\nI didn’t know what it was yet. It had started as a small nagging at the back of my brain, just out of reach. After a couple of months, it had become louder, more aggressive. I had put it off until now, but the urge had become almost unbearable.\n\nA couple of days later, I arrived at the dungeon. The urge called me down that dark flight of stairs, into the unknown. I drew my sword - the only weapon I’d brought on this trip and ventured on. The monsters in there were little trouble for me - goblins, orcs and the sort. Hardly a challenge.\n\nBut the urge drove me deeper and deeper into the dungeon. The walls faded from stone into unrecognisable glyphs, magical runes pulsating wickedly in the walls. Bones of orcs and other creatures were strewn around the hallway, marking the dungeon with the unmistakable stench of death. Yet still, the urge called me deeper.\n\nThe glyphs faded into something else as I went deeper, into something indescribable, a fleshy cavern wall, but if I looked directly at it, it would twist and morph unnaturally. The dungeon itself seemed to morph into a living, breathing, creature. There were no monsters down here. Not even bones on the floor. Nothing but layers of dust to remind me that nothing had been down here for a long time. \n\nThe urge grew stronger, and louder. I was close. I knew I was close. And I felt something else, too. For almost the first time in my life, I felt real, tangible fear. \n\nI’d fought gods before. I’d slain thousands of demons. I’d personally ripped the head off Balkuran, the Monster King. I’d dealt with assassins - hardened military veterans - dark mages. You name it, I’d killed it, and not once had I ever been scared… but this, this was different. This was something else. \n\nThe urge had gone from an irritable nagging to a roar inside my head like a raging river. I reached a pair of double doors, reached out for the handle, and hesitated. There was something past these doors, something ancient. Something beyond my comprehension. Waves of pure fear, pure terror echoed from within the chamber, and steeling myself was all I could do to prevent turning tail and running away as fast as I could. I had to confront this. \n\nI opened the doors.\n\nA massive room greeted me. Every wall and floor was made out of incredibly smooth stone tiles, and in the top of the room, bright light burst from an unrecognisable source. In the very centre of the room sat an old man, disheveled and chained to the floor, his eyes closed.\n\nSuddenly, the urge stopped. The fear subsided. I looked behind me, and the cavern walls had returned to dirt and stone, not the living flesh I had seen earlier.\n\n“Who are you?” I asked the man.\n\n“Well, look at that. I haven’t had a visitor in years.”\n\nI pointed my sword at him. “Enough. Who are you? What is this place?”\n\n“Who am I… I’m nobody. But,” he grinned at me slyly, “I know all about you, Arthur.”\n\n“How do you know who I am?”\n\n“I know all about you, little child of prophecy.”\n\nI stepped back, almost instinctively. “Who… what are you?”\n\n“Me? I’m just an old man.”\n\n“Cut the crap. I know… this dungeon isn’t natural. What’s happening here? Why are you chained?”\n\nHe opened his eyes for a split second, and for just a tiny bit of time, I caught a glimpse of the old man’s eyes. For a second, it looked like he had eight pupils… I blinked. Must have been a trick of the light.\n\nHe grinned at me. “I have no desire to answer any of those questions. You, Arthur, are the child of prophecy. You will be broken…”\n\nI steeled my grip on my sword. “I’ll kill you first. And what master?”\n\n“His name is-,” the man stopped mid-sentence. I’d lopped his head right off, almost instinctively. My body had moved without me recognising it. The man’s head rolled around on the ground, rolling to a stop in front of my feet. Eyes still closed, the man’s mouth broke suddenly into a sharp grin. \n\n“Thank you,” he continued. The chains on his arms broke into a thousand pieces, and the man’s body stood up, independently of his head. “That was exactly the jolt I needed.”\n\n“What… what are you?”\n\nHe ignored me. The body walked over, picking the bleeding head up off the ground. I turned to face it. \n\n“Don’t ignore me!,” I yelled, brandishing my sword. “Tell me what you are!”\n\n“I’ll show you what I am,” the head muttered. It rotated around, and finally, he opened his eyes. \n\nThey were two gaping abysses, two pools of abysmal darkness. Trenches so deep and vast that all light was soaked up. They were eyes that had everything and nothing in them at the same time. I caught glimpses of the future and the past in them, and it felt like the eyes were growing bigger, enveloping my mind and my thoughts, suffocating me, becoming me, and I was sinking, sinking into a vast ocean. My mind was running out of air, the pressure all around me was becoming too much, it was crushing me, the walls were closing in from every side, I was, I was, I am Arthur, I was Arthur, I-"
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[WP] You just killed a god. Now you discover that killing immortals comes with interesting side affects
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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.*",
"“KIll a god?” Otto asked.\n\nHe took a moment to appreciate the new infusion of power before continuing his question. Time was of the essence, and while these meetings had grown longer in recent decades, they were still short.\n\n“But that is impossible,” Otto said. “Let alone finding a specific god at any given time.”\n\n“This one, you will be able to find,” Nastr said. “Their presence in my reality has been spurious, and I believe that there has been some interference in your mortal plain, a magic that should be impossible, but nonetheless has happened.”\n\n“But how does that allow me to kill Iara?” Otto asked.\n\n“I will give you the power when it is time to do the deed,” Nastr said. “Find a target to practice on first.”\n\nWith that, Otto could already feel his power weakening ever so slightly. Not that it mattered much at his advanced stage in life. It would take nothing short of a god’s interference to kill him at this point, and he wasn’t sure even that would do it.\n\nFinding a target to practice on wasn’t going to be easy, but it wasn’t impossible either. His family’s network stretched far and wide, and as one of the top hunters of Vestiges, he knew which deities would be looking for new Vestiges, when they’d be able to do so, and what sorts of mortals they preferred.\n\nFinding the girl, however, was something he would have to handpick grandchildren for, so that it would be handled with tact.\n\n*****\n\n“P-p-please!” a drunken businessman whimpered.\n\nHis face twisted, and he began to laugh. “What do you think you can do while I possess this mortal, Vestige?” the businessman said. But it wasn’t him. There was someone else speaking through him.\n\n“Quite a lot, actually,” Otto Jorgenson said. “Like this.”\n\nHe unsheathed the sword he reserved for killing Vestiges. Between the poisons and enchantments on the blade, nothing could withstand it.\n\nThen, as he prepared to take the man’s life, he felt the familiar power of being possessed by Nastr. Unlike the first time he had been possessed by the god, Otto was still in control, but Nastr was giving strength to his every movement.\n\n*Do it,* Nastr whispered into Otto’s mind.\n\nA clean job was best, Otto had learned. He sliced the businessman’s head off, his blade taking on an unfamiliar red glow.\n\nAs quickly as Nastr’s presence had came, it left. For the first time though, something unexpected happened after taking the Vestige’s life. Intermingled with the man’s blood was gold, shimmering in the dark alleyway. While the blood pooled, this gold was drawn towards Otto, who watched it with curiosity.\n\nWhen it seemed the blood was benign, Otto pulled a vial out of his pockets to try to capture the strange liquid, suspecting it was some sort of ichor. Legends spoke of uses for the stuff, but no Vestige or Legacy knew how to acquire it.\n\nThe golden blood did not pool into the vial. As Otto reached down towards it, it raced towards his hand. He tried to get away from it, but it was too late. The ichor coated his hand, burning.\n\nOtto found himself in a tropical oasis. The in-between, the only way for gods to speak to newer Vestiges. It was something they could only use once until the second possession, if the Vestige even earned that sort of power. But what was he doing in the in-between of a god who was not his own?\n\nIt started fading before his eyes, first at the horizon, but soon, only the immediate beach around him was coherent.\n\n“What have you done to me?” a voice asked.\n\n“Nothing personal,” Otto said cooly, wondering how this had happened. He would need to return home, to see if anything like this had ever been documented before.\n\n“My power, it’s gone,” the voice said.\n\n“Yes, death tends to do that,” Otto said.\n\n“But gods do not die,” the voice said.\n\n“I believe you are,” Nastr said. “Apologies, but I needed to test this method.”\n\nOtto was back in the alleyway, the ichor gone, but something still was not right. He felt...less connected to his own god.\n\nThe etchings on his sword did not lie though. Instead of one new name, two appeared. He smiled and sheathed the sword. If losing a fraction of their combined power and connection he and Nastr had to pay to kill a god, it was worth it for the knowledge that they could do so.\n\n*****\n\nIf you liked this, check out my other writing at /r/TheLastComment and the larger story this ties into, [Vestiges of Power](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastComment/comments/e9c7us/vestiges_of_power_chapter_1/)",
"She agreed to meet me here at the boundary between reality and the Other Side, Purgatory. Good. It has been so long. I have forgotten many things in my long life, but I remember the night I killed her like it was yesterday.\n\nI was given a lead on an ancient witch. I tracked her to a desolate wasteland. I can still see her deformed face and her emaciated body partially covered by a shredded black cloak. Her eyes were dull and lifeless. No, it was pain and sadness in those eyes. She looked like death. Little did I know, I was right.\n\nUnknown to the mortals, there was a Supreme Being, God – *the* God. He created reality and the various other minor Gods to manage reality for him while he enjoyed spending time with his creations on the Other Side. Not even the God of Death could cross to the other side. The only God granted that privilege was the messenger God, Hermes. \n\nLuckily, Hermes owed me a favor for handling a particularly troublesome mortal who discovered the secret to claiming Hermes’ power for his own. So, I asked him to find the previous God of Death on the other side and arrange a meeting.\n\nIt always nagged at the back of my mind why she didn’t fight back that night. Now, I understood. Being the God of Death is a lonely profession. You kill everything you are near - eventually. The other Gods look down on you from their palaces of beauty and creation. All my loved ones have already gone to a place I cannot. I dare not form new relationships lest I suffer the same pain of loss I always do, not that I could with this twisted and decaying body anyway.\n\nFrom behind me came a soft voice, “Its been a long time.”\n\nI turned around to see a beautiful, young woman standing with her hands folded in front her. Her eyes shone with happiness and a lightheartedness I forgot long ago. \n\nThe question “who are you?” almost escaped my lips before the realization hit me. This was her. This was what her appearance must have been at the prime of her life. As the shock of the realization faded, the anger rose.\n\n“Why did you do this to me? Why did you curse me like this?”\n\nHer eyes filled with the sadness I remembered, and she nodded her head solemnly.\n\n“I asked my predecessor the same thing.”\n\nMy mouth hung open. My shock must have been obvious. How could I have missed this? How did it never occur to me that she went through the same ordeals as me? Her final words flooded back to me – “I’m sorry.”\n\nShe continued, “I knew this day would come eventually. To be honest, I’m surprised it took so long. How long has it been anyway? Ten thousand years?” She looked down sheepishly, “time flows differently on the other side.”\n\nHow long had it been? Fifteen? No! twenty thousand years. \n\nThe words stammered out, “twenty thousand years.” \n\nHer eyes grew wide with shock and horror. “Twenty thousand years!? Did it take you that long to figure out?” \n\nShe flung her arms around me with tears in her eyes, “oh, I’m so sorry! I thought for sure you would have figured it out like myself!”\n\nI stiffened up slightly. It had been tens of millennia since I felt the warmth of a hug, but I embraced her. It felt good. Normally, anything I touched would have dropped dead. I guess that really isn’t a concern for those who have crossed to the Other Side.\n\nShe eased away from me and wiped the tears from her eyes.\n\n“So,” I asked, “how do I do it?”\n\n“Once every thousand years, a mortal is born who can kill you and claim your power. You have to find that mortal and somehow convince them to kill you without telling them who you are or why.”\n\nAnother realization came to me. “It was you! You spread the rumors of the ancient witch!”\n\nAgain, she nodded. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t go on anymore. The other Gods, they don’t understand. It’s so lonely. But I don’t have to tell you that.” She turned to walk away. “I need to get back. I can’t be here long. When you finally cross over, come and find me. Good luck.”\n\nAnd with that, she turned and faded back to the Other Side.\n\n\\-------------------------------------\n\nThis is it. After searching for two millennia, he is here. I can finally be with my loved ones again.\n\nHe strode through the doorway triumphantly, tall and muscular. “Did I look like that all those years ago?”\n\nI stood with my back flat against the wall. He raised his laser pistol with an arrogant smirk, and a deep sadness overcame me.\n\n“I’m sorry,” I said. The last thing I heard before waking up on the other side was his laugh and the burst of his laser pistol.",
"*Boom*\n\nThe cavern shook as a colossus figure fell to the stone, filling the room with an ear-shattering crack. The walls trembled for a short time, before standing still in the might of all that had just happened. Laying on the ground was a body like that of a man, only this creature was the length of nearly five elephants. It had strong, muscular arms, and thick, stocky legs. Protruding from its head were two yellow, curled horns, both were dripping a deep, crimson blood from their sharp tips. In between these horns however, was a shining sword embedded deep in the creature's thick skull. It was dead.\n\nAs the dust settled, a weary, battle worn man limped from around a fallen boulder. He walked lopsidedly, scraping one boot on the floor with every step, adding to the sound on the empty sheath on his belt. He held a torch in one hand, and clutched his side with the other. Every breath he took made a raspy, wet, wheezing sound. The man leaned forward, and spit a heavy glob of phlegm into the dirt in front of him. Even in the torchlight he could see a red tint to his spit.\n\n\"Damn\" he whispered in his raspy, broken voice. \"I was supposed to make it out of this in one piece, not all smashed up from the inside out like I am now!\"\n\nHe kept on forward, moving closer to the behemoth in front of him. Cautiously, he moved towards its head to check if he had finished the job, and to hopefully retrieve his sword. The creature's eyes had rolled back into its head. Its mouth was open with its tongue laying still on the stone, drying in the still air. The man climbed up the side of its towering face, using its ear and nose as handholds to grasp onto. As he peaked the being's head, he could see his sword stuck there, deep in the center of its cracked, beaten skull. With much difficulty he was able to pull the sword out from the bone and flesh, splashing the front of his body with thick, red blood as he did so. He cut the tip of one of its horns off as a trophy, and a bit of proof for those that would doubt him. He had killed the beast on his own. Donning his sword, he made his way down the head again.\n\nDespite its look, the being that he had just slain was no mere cave giant, It was a God, and nothing less. More specifically Varus, God of Fear. The Gods were thought to have been immortal, undefeatable by man, impossible to conquer. The man standing before the God's dead corpse seemed to prove otherwise. His name was Althren, born of the Kings of Men in the Last Age of Glory. He had spent his whole life training for this day, building his strengths until he knew he was ready. He wasn't sure why his bidding was to kill Varus, he never asked anyone either. It wasn't his business to ask those questions or know the answers. That was the business of The Kings themselves. Althren knew not to ask questions of The Kings, but to instead follow their wishes through. Althren didn't mind not knowing the reasons behind his mission, as he saw it, any excuse to be the first mortal to bring down a God was as good an excuse as any.\n\nHe turned to leave the cave that used to be the home of Varus, God of Fear. He only made it about 100 feet down the hall he was in before he heard a faint, eerie whispering coming from all directions.\n\n\"Sooon mortaaalll... You'll find that the choiccce you made was perhhhaps not the besttt...\"\n\nAlthren spun around quickly toward the dead god, drawing his already blood-soaked sword. The corpse was completely still, laying there as silent as a grave. He shook is head and made a slow step toward body. Again he heard another quick whisper.\n\n\"Thaaank you for rrridding me of this bodyyy...\" shuddered the disembodied voice. \"I've been living here too longgg. Thaaank you for presenting me with anotthher being to lay thishorrible burden uponnn...\"\n\nAlthren boomed, \"Who are you! Show yourself!\". His voice was more timid than he had hoped. He held his sword in a defensive position, ready for whatever was calling to him.\n\nThe voice came again. \"Ahhh ha haaa! Can't you seee? After you killed my body, you leffft my soul to move on to the nexttt life. My body is vaaacant, aching for another being to filll its empty bonnnes...\"\n\nWith this, the mouth of the dead God seemed to twitch. Althren looked in horror as the creature he thought dead began to stir again. All at once, it moved to crawl towards Althren, dragging its body with its long, muscled arms. Althren tried to run but felt that he was trapped in its ghastly dead-eye gaze, unable to move. The dead God let out a deep, visceral scream. Again, the walls of the cavern started to shake, this time much more violent than the time before. Rocks were crumbling from the ceiling, and Althren felt his body start to crumble as well. He screamed louder than ever before in his mortal life, shaking at the horror in front of him. He looked down at his body to see the flesh itself stripping from his bones. His soul began to separate from his body, as Althren in spirit glided towards the dead god that lay before him. In one movement he was drawn into the corpse, and everything became dark.\n\nThere was no sound. No screaming, no crumbling walls, no tearing flesh. There was nothing.\n\nSuddenly, a light grew. Althren was awake. He opened his eyes, and looked down at himself to check that he was okay, only to notice that he was not in fact living as his older self. He stood over 100 feet tall, with much more muscle on his body than he had ever had before. Laying in front of him on the floor was a small, dismembered body. It looked torn to shreds, and all the clothes had been soaked in blood beyond recognition.\n\n\"Is... Is that me?!\" Althren cried. He was staring at his own broken body from the eyes of another. He let out a low, sorrow moan that rocked the cavern he was in. Sandy tears ran down his already cracked face. \"How could this happen! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!\". Althren fell to his knees, and cupped his old, crippled body in his new hands, and cried.\n\nA voice like the wind began to speak. \"Thankkk you, foolish mortalll... I have been frrreed from my physical bodddy. I have been destined to livvve on foreverrr...\". Quiet snickering filled the air. \"Thankkk you for taking my placcce...\"\n\nAfter that last, muffled breath, the voice disappeared. Althren was left crying over his own loss. Crying over an old life that could never be regained, and a new life that one could never rid themselves of. Unless... unless another unlucky hero chose to test his strength against a God.\n\n\\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nI feel pretty confident in this story, so I hope you like it! I'm open for all and any critiques and recommendations about my writing. I really liked the prompt by the way, definitely a good one for creative interpretation.",
"Well interesting is one way of putting it. Turns out the side affects of killing a god, not that great. Its not really important why I decided to kill a god. I mean we can all guess the logical circumstances that would lead some one to think to themselves \"You know what seems like the solution. Killing a god. The first god I find just kill em.\" So we can all skip the why and get into the 'interesting' side affects.\n\nOkay, first thing, the reason why it says the side effects of killing \"a god\" is because turns out there is more than one. It also turns out that they condone murder and REALLY don't like when their own kind gets written of by some random mortal. So interesting side effect number 1: Instead of a god trying to killing you now multiple gods are trying to kill you. \n\nAlso, you know that law that all energy is conserved and can't be destroyed or whatever? Well it still applies even if it is a god. And boy are gods made of a lot of energy. As we established since energy isn't destroyed it needs to go somewhere. So where does it go. Glad you didn't ask because it goes straight the heck into the close living thing. Which as you might have guessed was the person who murdered the god, me. Another interesting thing here for you, human bodies can't with stand the whatever the duck energy gods have. Which brings us, but mostly me, to side affect number 2: You die.\n\nAnd side affect number 3: that mystic deus ex machina energy brings you back to life. I know what your thinking \"So you are a god now. What a wonderful and very 'interesting' side affect!\" \n\nWell no, I am not a god because when you don't think about the implications of killing a god one tends to forget that they have followers. I don't even know how but news of a religion's god being killed travels very fast. Turns out just like other gods followers also don't like when you kill their all and powerful creator. Which may I point out not really all powerful if you can get killed. So the natural conclusion followers come to when thinking of the motivations of a god killer is that they are none other than some sort of devil or demon or something inexplicably evil. That this god killer is a primordial evil. \n\nWhich first rude, second I had perfectly rational reason for killing a god that does not need elaborated. Okay? Anyway these followers label me some ancient evil and now I the frigging devil thing of some religion I never heard of. Which makes side affect number 4: Congratulations you are the devil kinda. \n\nSo alright maybe I could live after dying and being revived with near infinite power even if I am seen as the devil. Could be fun right? Again no. Did you know the devil of these religions actually have responsibilities. Yeah neither did I. Which brings me the most interesting of all the side effects number 5: You are now the proud owner and sole worker of an entire religion's hell.\n\nAnyway thanks for letting me talk at you for a bit, your eternal torture is just down the hall on left. You went to far if you passed the door where spiders have hands. Have a nice anguish!",
"The monkey lay still, sprawled across the rock. I really didn't mean to hit him with the relic. An hour before I was spelunking in The Cave of Glowing Skulls in Honduras. All the bones were supposed be in a museum. The spelunking tour was strictly geographical according to the brochure. But I wandered away from the tour and found a fossilized bone. Seemed like a great souvenir if I could manage to smuggle it out.\n\nIt was in my backpack when I came out of the cave. I had to drape my jacket over it because it was too big for the backpack to zip. If I could get it to the hotel I'd ship it home.\n\nThe guide was already gathering the others from the tour to get on the bus. He waved me over but as I stepped from the rock there was a flash of fur and the largest monkey I've ever seen loomed above me. It had white fur and its shining green eyes were fixed on the bone.\n\n\"Sorry, you can have it back,\" I said. I felt very small and very silly.\n\n*Mortal .* It didn't speak in words, certainly not English, but I picked up on its meaning. As it lunged, its sharp teeth seemed to come unhinged so that it's mouth was a vast, dark hole. I could feel myself being pulled into it. I grabbed the bone and jabbed it into it's gaping mouth. It fell back onto the rock and I stood there holding the bone.\n\nI looked over to the tour bus but it was gone. The road was gone. Vast white buildings nestled into the jungle. Monkeys were standing, looking at me with the bone in my hand and the dead monkey on the rock.\n\n*Death.* Their thoughts were fearful and surprised. They filled the narrow streets of the city, climbing from windows and balconies, they poured out and surrounded the rock where I stood. I could feel the hair on my arms stand up. And stand up some more. The hair on my arms seemed to be thickening and covering my arm. I could feel my face morphing and my spine bending. It hurt. But not a lot. I was becoming a monkey.\n\nI tried to speak but my jaw jutted out and everything about my tongue and the inside of my mouth felt unfamiliar. I couldn't\n\nThey were bowing now. Every one. *The new god. The new god. The new god.* This seemed to be some kind of unusual but not unforeseen event. I was already getting better at picking up the metanarrative that coursed through this culture of monkeys.\n\nThe sun slid behind the mountain and the stars were blinding in the night sky. I could feel the story, hidden for centuries, coursing through the ritual cries surrounding my rock. I could feel the transference of their collective unconscious hitting my brain. I needed not instructions. I knew my part in this story.\n\nI threw my head back and opened my new eyes as the starlight poured ancient power and knowledge through my eyes. I opened my mouth wide and felt the jaws unhinge so that I could receive infinite sky into me. It was as if I was inside out. I felt I was floating deep in space while deep space filled my body. I was infinite and immortal. Monkey God of the White City.\n\nI lived thousands and thousands of years on the rock watching monkeys dwell in the city, generation after generation of them. Receiving their ritual dances and songs. Taking credit for rain and food and health and sex and babies. I really just stood there but it made them happy to think it was me. It made me happy too. I got to channel affection and security to them. And settle their quarrels and point them toward resources. This simple joining of consciousness and existence was so fulfilling. And those divine journeys with the night sky. I could have gone on being their monkey god for a long time.\n\nThey say that just minutes after I hit the monkey the guide pulled the bone from my hand. They say they saw me standing on the rock with the bone in a trance-like state and thought perhaps I'd ingested a hallucinogen. Maybe something around the cave. That's their story and I'm sticking to it because I really want to get out of this hospital.\n\nThey won't tell me what happened to the bone and I'm not going to ask again. I'm going to say my lines and confirm their faithless bias against mystery and wonder. I was foolish to try and explain to mortals who have never been the sky. I hope the monkeys got a new god after me. I really liked being a monkey god. I don't know my place in this world anymore.",
"I said I would protect you and I did. \n\nMy little angel, when you slept softly on your pillow at night, a vicious wolf came for you and snarled at the front door. I didn’t know what to do or how to protect you at that time so I did the best I could. I picked up that old sword we hung over the fireplace, do you remember the one? Grandpa gave it to me before he died. He said it was special. \n\nI held the sword out with trembling hands and waited. The door was nearly torn to shreds and a wolf the size of a horse nudged its way into the house, breaking the door frame as it was too large to fit. \n\n“Where is she?” The wolf said. My jaw dropped when I heard it speak. \n\n“Human, where is the girl? The Incarnation of Evil, the Sorceress of the Dark Pit? Bring her to me.”\n\nI froze in terror of the wild and formidable spirit staring at me and making demands. I now know that he wanted you. He thought he could kill you but I stood between you and him, and remembered my vow to you. \n\nWhen we adopted you, I swore to love you as my own and protect you from all harm. \n\nI gripped the sword tighter as a response to the wolf. He knew. He could hear my thoughts and know my heart. He pounced. \n\nI did nothing but raise the sword and strike. Moments later, the face of the wolf looked into mine, blood draining from its mouth. \n\n“How have you found one of the Nuathin blades, human?” \n\nThe wolf slumped over and disappeared. Then the strangest thing happened in the strangest night of my life. \n\nGolden sparkles of light rose from where the body of the great wolf had been and floated as if searching for a home. They found my body and swirled around me before permeating my skin and my very essence. I woke up from the dream of human life and became a god. \n\nSo now, I must leave. My aim is to hunt down evil wherever it lurks. That is the calling of my godhood. I stalk my prey throughout the world, but I dare not come home to you. \n\nFor you see, the wolf was right. You are the incarnation of evil, dear one. I cannot be near you, lest I break my oath.\n\n***\n\nr/TheTrashReceptacle"
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[WP] Everyone in the world suddenly can read everyone’s minds and has access to anyone’s memories and secrets
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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.*",
"Deep within a mountain in South Dakota Miles Cadotte sat amidst a 270 degree array of cushions and computer monitors, equally ready to give life or death orders or to nap through the afternoon as the situation warranted. Occupying a full third of the top secret facility Miles’ rooms had every convenience or entertainment imaginable, in his teens it would have been a dream come true, but now at 33 he knew better. He lived in the most luxurious prison cell the world had ever seen. \n\nIt had been 3 years since the Great Awakening, since he had woken up in bed next to his wife Annette and heard her thoughts echoing through his head as clearly as his own, the entire world shrinking down to the rich amber shade of her eyes. They’d fallen in love all over again that morning, thinking they were living through a miracle granted only to them and zealously holding onto the moment as long as they could. It wasn’t until hours later that they learned the truth, that now anyone could enter another’s mind with the briefest of eye contact, that there was no defense known to mankind that could stop it. \n\nIt had been nearly that long since Miles had seen another living human. Now he gave orders over text, signing a false name every step of the way, living out a life that could never be his.\n\nAn intelligence report flashed onto monitor 12B, breaking his reverie. He threw it over to his central display to read, just more of the usual. He sent a quick message off to one of the special forces teams on the Iranian border, granting authorization for a kill. \n\n“Target 327-Theta authorized. Confirmed super-reader, engage no closer than ½ a mile.” Miles hit send as his terminal supplied the complex handshaking and code protocols that would confirm to the recipients that this was the highest possible level of order. \n\nHours passed in the same fashion, Miles never even moving from his nest among the screens. In a world without secrets all previously defined command structures had broken down quickly, now the political apparatus was largely for show. World leaders would meet at summits and shake hands, smiling broadly at each other for the cameras, all the while scanning each other's thoughts for national secrets and finding nothing more salacious than marital affairs. The system had always been something of a sham, Miles thought, maybe now that crucial decision making was handled by men like him and the isolated cells they controlled it was more honest. At least this way the nation could stop pretending that elections mattered. \n\nOr perhaps in a few more years this would all fracture into Feudal states with agoraphobic lords sitting on caged thrones. Thoughts like that kept him up at night. \n\n\\*ding!\\*\n\nDinnertime already? Miles shook his head hard, trying to force himself back into the real world. It was shockingly easy to lose track of reality in this hole, especially as he was forced to lie constantly to the shrink he’d hired. If it hadn’t been on the taxpayer time he would have canceled the sessions long ago. \n\nSitting down to a robot-delivered meal of pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy (if nothing else the food in this prison was fantastic) Miles allowed himself the one concession to his previous life left. For twenty minutes every night he reviewed the cameras outside his old house, pausing a long time over the moments when Annette would take their daughter Candace to school. She was six now, and the most beautiful little girl he’d ever seen, even through grainy footage a thousand miles away. \n\nWhen he’d agreed to stage his death and come here he’d convinced himself he was doing it for them. That someone had to protect his family in this brave new world and that he could trust nobody else with that task. They’d even asked if Annette would want to join him in hiding, perhaps give their daughter to his parents to raise but no. They thought he was dead for years now, lost in a car crash on his way to work at the pentagon. Miles had always wondered what happened to the people who arranged that, if they were even still alive. It was hard work keeping a secret these days. \n\nHe stared at his family’s picture a long time, meal forgotten. Annette’s face still broke his heart every night. \n\nAnother alert came in, Monitor 21A, this one a confirmed super-reader in Zagreb. Miles sighed heavily as he typed out another kill order. Back to the job."
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[WP] You are an architect. Your current client ignoring your input and asking for impossible things is not remarkable in the slightest. Your increasing suspicion that they are actually an evil mastermind wanting you to design their headquarters, on the other hand, is quite remarkable.
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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.*",
"\"Hmmm, yes, but can you put in an immense pane of glass right here?\"\n\nI paused for a while looking, and nodded.\n\n\"That'll still require a couple pillars, but we can make 'em small but high strength, steel poles.\"\n\nThe client paused, and contemplated his next request, while looking over what would be the giant meeting room.\n\n\"I'd like the chairs to be bolted to the floor, each a good distance from the neighbors, say 2 feet.\"\n\nHis voice trailed off, and he kept on petting his cat.\n\n\"Yeah, that's easy, but I think it would be a lot more comfortable letting them change their position once in a while.\"\n\nThe client smiled. \n\n\"Here at Vlie Corporation, we take things as they come.\"\n\nI shrugged. \n\n\"OK, then.\"\n\nI took out my pad and jotted down the request.\n\n\"Going back to ceiling support, I want a giant folding panels that reveal a skylight wth the press of a button, how much would that be?\"\n\nI thought about it.\n\n\"That would need some extra reinforcements across it, so it wouldn't be pure glass.\""
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[WP] For the first time since the birth of your three year old daughter, you shave your beard. Unsurprisingly, she doesn't recognise you. Then your partner walks in and doesn't recognise you either...
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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 wiped the last bits of shaving cream off of my chin and splashed my face with water. Black beard hair was all over the sink and the floor – Hannah was going to be pissed if I left it there for even a second. But I heard my little Emily’s peals of laughter from the living room and couldn’t wait to surprise her with my new face.\n\nIn fact, I grabbed my phone so I could record her reaction. This was going to be adorable.\n\nI burst in behind the couch, catching her sprawled out on the floor watching TV, with Hannah busy working in the other room.\n\n“Hey Sweetie, look at Daddy’s new face!”\n\nEmily rolled over and looked back at me. I met her startled gaze, grinning ear to ear. She blinked. Her eyebrows pinched. Her lips began to tremble, and then she let out a wailing cry.\n\n“Oh no, sweet Emily, it’s okay! It’s Daddy! It’s only Daddy!”\n\nEmily jumped to her feet and backed against the TV, screaming and crying, red in the face. “Mommy! Mommy!”\n\nI couldn’t believe it. I was so stunned that I’d forgot I had my cellphone recording the whole deal. That’s when Hannah raced in, expecting to find a bloody wound. Instead she saw Emily’s terrified expression as she leapt into her arms. Hannah looked over at me.\n\nI chuckled, “I guess the beard really does make a difference.”\n\nHannah clutched Emily to her chest and stood up.\n\n“What the hell are you doing in here? Who the hell are you?!”\n\n“Hilarious,” I said as I moved toward them.\n\n“STOP. Don’t come any closer. Please. Just take whatever you want and leave, now.”\n\nEmily was still crying, but it was muffled now against Hannah’s wool sweater. I decided to play along.\n\n“Oh I’m not going anywhere,” I said, with a dramatic snarl. Then I vaulted myself over the couch and landed on the pillows with a loud crash. By the time I looked up, Hannah was already in the kitchen. I heard the sound of sliding metal.\n\n“Honey! Come on,” I shouted, gathering myself up and following her into the kitchen. Emily was nowhere to be seen. Hannah was standing guard near our front door with the biggest knife we owned clutched in her trembling hands.\n\n“Don’t come any closer,” she said, “I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Just please leave.”\n\nThen the doorbell rang. “Oh Christ,” I said, “This is nuts, Hannah! Stop. Please. Someone will get hurt.”\n\n“How do you know my name?! Are you stalking us?!”\n\nHannah moved closer to the door, feeling for the knob while keeping both eyes – and the knife – trained on yours truly.\n\n“Please at least put the knife down before you open the door. I mean, Jesus Christ, what happens if it’s—”\n\nPaul. The door flung open and in came our nosey, uppity, retired police officer neighbor: Officer Paul Deegan, an absolute tank and not someone to mess around with.\n\n“Everything Ok, Hannah?” Paul asked, his old-school cop sensors triggered already.\n\nShe ran toward him, pushed him closer to me, and made for the stairs:\n\n“He broke in, Paul! I hid Emily – he could be armed!”\n\n“I broke in!?” I couldn’t believe she would take it this far. I really started to panic now.\n\n“Paul, it’s me, I live here! I was just shaving and then next thing I know, she’s acting like she’s never met me before!”\n\nPaul wasn’t buying it. He took a pistol from his waistband and placed me under a citizen’s arrest. He tied my arms while Hannah called the cops.\n\nThe whole time we waited, I tried to explain what was going on, who I was, I begged them to bring me my wallet. They didn’t budge. It was like in one instant, my whole identity was destroyed.\n\nA few hours later I found myself squinting under the white fluorescent lights of an interrogation room. The cops across the table from me listened while I told the story of the whole situation, now quite practiced, to them. Finished, one whispered to the other, then left. He returned with an evidence bag. He set it down on the table.\n\n“Beard hair,” he said. “At least that part of the story checks out. But listen, if you really are innocent in this, you better give us something else, an alibi, an explanation that actually makes sense, anything we can use, or your ass is going down.”\n\nI wracked my brain – and then it hit me. I had an idea.\n\n“I can prove that I’m Hannah’s husband. I just need one tiny thing. It’s not dangerous.”\n\nAbout fifteen minutes later, I was standing with my back to the officers. The evidence bag was on the floor, empty. As was the bottle of Elmer’s glue I’d requested.\n\n“Ready?” I asked, putting the finishing touches on.\n\n“Sure,” the officers said. One of them yawned.\n\nI spun around. Matted black beard hair and Elmer’s glue was smeared all over my face. Like Frankenstein, I’d rebuilt my bushy beard with the scraps and shards of its destruction. It was hideous – monstrous, even. But it was my beard, back from the dead.\n\nI posed, smiled, and eagerly awaited their reaction. One of the officers picked up my license and looked at me. A long pause followed. Finally, he opened his mouth:\n\n“Agh, there he is!”"
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[WP] In a world of magic, everyone is born with a specific element or theme for their magic. Throughout your life, you have been ridiculed for your seemingly-useless magic... But now, you’re going to prove them all wrong. For you are the Mathmagician.
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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 you are a master of mighty magicks,\" the thug sneered, \"but what can you do against this sword?\"\n\nI changed the melting point of steel to 20 degrees Fahrenheit and watched his sword begin to melt. \"How about *this*?\" Yeah, I was sick of the crap.\n\nAlarmed, he tried to swing before it melted. I'd changed how arcs work by redefining pi, so he ended up sort of stabbing ineffectually to one side. \"Nice moves,\" I commented.\n\nHe threw down his useless pommel with its soft blade and advanced toward me, menace in his eyes. I altered his specific gravity so that he was more buoyant than air, pinning him to the ceiling, and chuckled as he tried to \"swim\" down toward me. \n\nOh, he kept trying. He started crawling across the ceiling, towards the torch basket hanging from a chain, so I changed the ceiling's friction to make it too slippery. He flung throwing knives, and I changed inertia so that they traveled in slow motion and didn't hurt. Etc. It was a good half-hour before he finally gave up.\n\nWhen he gave up, I got bored. \"My friend,\" I said, \"you should have listened to your teachers. They told us all that math was very important and we'd use it every day. Turns out they understated the case; math is the foundation of the entire universe.\"\n\nHis jaw dropped. \"You ... you learned this in *math class*?\"\n\n\"Absolutely,\" I replied, \"and it's never too late to go back.\" Then I traveled half a mile away, via a shortcut through the fourth dimension, and let the thug go. \n\nHe hasn't bothered me since, but the village teacher says he's always found nearby when she's teaching the kids math. It won't really give him my powers, but I guess it's keeping him busy.",
"I hung upside down, floating in the middle of algebra class. I knew who did it, who cast the spell and sent gallons of blood soaking my brain, making me want to puke. It was Archville, the biggest bully in our class of forty five.\n\nNumbers define me, like words define a poet, or muscles and trophies define an athlete. Algebra was my home, and that is why he wanted to take it from me. I’d simply volunteered to answer the problem left on the chalkboard for the past year. Being a freshman, I wasn’t allowed to answer it last year... but now, as a sophomore I was in the right class to do it – AND receive the gold prize reserved for the lucky winner. I was always lucky too. I was good with statistics.\n\n“Whoever is doing that, please put Logan down. NOW.” The teacher was almost bored in the way he said now, but underneath you could tell he didn’t tolerate hi-jinx in the class. “But you did answer correctly, so the golden award goes to you, Logan... I said let Logan down!”\n\nSuddenly I dropped like a rock and my head plopped on the floor, my body collapsing on top, in a big messy heap. Archville didn’t know who he was messing with. He would soon find out why you don’t toy with a master of numbers. But I had a golden award to retrieve, and nothing could take this moment from me. I’d been waiting an entire year to solve the equation, ever since I took the tour of the classroom during our first school tour.\n\nI walked up to Mr. Crabberry and held a giant gold trophy in my hands. It had a star on top, with a small ring placed on the facade.\n\nMr. Crabberry smiled sideways. “That ring is magical. You’ll be able to use it to cast spells... but God knows what will happen when YOU do it. It was made for the ordinary type of mage. It only amplifies magical power, it cannot create it from nothing.”\n\nI plucked the golden ring from the star trophy and placed it on my middle finger. In a hazy stream of flashing lights I was in another world. I saw 7’s spinning, four leaf clovers growing out of the ground, exploding in the sky in a mesmerizing pattern of green splotches. For a moment I thought I saw God, and afterwards I had a powerful feeling... I felt very... LUCKY.\n\nThe world came back into focus, and I was surrounded by desks and students again. I glanced down at my ring, then my phone. It was 11:11. Then I heard a groan in the back of the class, followed by laughter. Archville had peed his pants, and was trying to hide the growing puddle beneath him with his feet.\n\nAfter that I had the strong premonition that nobody was ever going to mess with me again... and if they did, Lady Luck was going to make them deeply regret doing so."
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[WP] You’re a writer with too many ideas to manage. So you create clones to get more of your stories written at once. When it comes time to publish, all of the clones want to take credit for the stories themselves and refuse to acknowledge 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.*",
"Too much of anything is never good isn't it? Even when it comes to ideas. As a writer ideas come and go. You cherish the ones that came and you grief the ones that went. But what do I do when all of them came at once?\n\nMy brain became a playground of jumbled ideas. One plotlines intermingled with another, one character mixed with another, all mixed in this potluck of inspiration.\n\nImagine my delight when I found something that might just solve my problem. It was a book, an old looking notebook I found im an old shop. So ordinary you wouldn't bat a second glance. It happened however, when I wrote a summary of brief idea I had. The easiest one that wasn't all jumbled up in that mish mash in my brain.\n\nThe page glowed and a copy of me was standing there, right in front of me. Same as me in every way, except for that idea I wrote was planted in his brain. My mind felt clearer then!\n\nOh this was awesome! What to do when you have too many ideas but only one of you? Create many of you of course! I kept writing and writing on those pages. As my mind was getting clearer and clearer, more copies of me appeared in front of me. All 100 pages of the book were filled with my ideas, creating 100 copies of me filling my house.\n\nWe went to work then. Each focused on their own ideas....my ideas. I myself was working on something involving a land of dinosaurs, in space, that time travelled to Victorian England, and met a time travelling Jesus....yeah not my best one, but a reslly fun one to break me out of the mind numbing complex ones.\n\nHours went by. Never I would've thought I would be annoyed at myself shaking my legs under the table. When all 100 were doing the same thing, it was kinda annoying...\n\nFinally they were done and submitted it to me the \"prime writer\" as I'll describe myself as. They were good! Really good! Nothing else I expected from me but good.\n\n\"Alright, we can publish all of these at once!\", I said cheerily.\n\n\"Whose name will it be as the author of each book?\", one of me asked.\n\n\"Well, we all share the same name\", I said.\n\n\"But I wrote it!\", another one yelled.\n\nLike a cue ti a protest, every single one of my copy echoed the same sentiment. The room went buzzing of their voices. Itvwas so frustrating, was I that annoying? That moment felt like how my numerous ideas all jumbled in my brain, but in real life.\n\n\"SHUT UP!\", I shouted but everybody was still yelling at me.\n\n\"I wrote it! If you don't want to credit me, then you're the one who should be removed!\", another one yelled to the rest of them agreeing.\n\nOh shit, me and my own ego had become my downfall. They started attacking me. I immediately ran, the magic notebook was with me. I was hiding in the bathroom hoping the door was strong enough to hold 100 of me. \n\nThe sound of the horde was getting scarier by the minute, I couldn't stand it anymore! I dropped the notebook into a trash bin and lit it on fire with my cigarette lighter.\n\nScreaming suddenly was heard from behind the door. One by one the voices died down. I slowly stepped outside, managed to catch a glimpse of a last copy of me went up in flame. Vanished into ash. I breathe a sigh of relief....oh what a nightmare that was.\n\nBut my nightmare had just only started. Without realizing it the fire had spread onto the curtain. My eyes widened, panicking. I tried to put it off with water to no avail.\n\nI had no other choice, I ran outside. Taking my phone and waller, and the clothes on my body I escape the fiery trap that was my house. \n\nI fell on my knees outside of the house, looking defeatedly at my burning house. Along with it the whole 100 writings my clones had written. I called the fire department, but choosing to live in seclusion became another one of my downfall...\n\nSo there I was, sitting in a coffee shop. I was staying in a hotel for the time being. With a pen and a notebook, a normal one this time, I was ready to write a new story. A new beginning.\n\nExcept....nothing. I couldn't think of any ideas. Where are they? Where are they?! Where are all the ideas that was jumbled up inside my brain? They're not here! I focused real hard, wracking my brain. But still...nothing...\n\nI sat in silence, defeated. I had poured all of my ideas onto that magic notebook. Every single one. And along with the fire that consumed it, my ideas were reduced to ashes.\n\nNo...no...what am I to do?"
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[WP] Sam and Dean Winchester fight the most dangerous demon of all. David S. Pumpkins
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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 like this, Sammy\"\n\n\"Yeah this building looks like it can be infested with anything\"\n\nThe two hunters sat nervously inside Dean's Impala just outside the abandoned hotel building. For once they didn't know what they're facing. Angel blades, Ruby's knife, salt, silver bullets, iron, holy water...they brought them all out from the car's trunk, they were ready for anything.\n\nThe building was dark, their flashlights barely cut through the darkness. The furniture was still there, covered in dust. It was like it was abandoned and nobody dared to repurpose the place.\n\n\"Dean, look at that\", Sam pointed at the elevator door.\n\nDean looked at it and was astonished. The elevator light was on, in contrast to the whole darkness surrounding it. Both brothers slowly approached it, gun trained forward. Examining it revealed nothing but a normal elevator, just normal EMP reading.\n\n\"Press it\", Dean said and Sam did summoning the elevator from the 5th floor, the very top floor. With a distinct DING sound the door opened, revealing a clean , bright, and well decorated elevator room.\n\n\"Do you think we should...?\", Sam nervously asked. In response Dean entered the elevator confidently followed by his brother. Without warning the elevator closed its door and started moving.\n\n*DING 10th floor*\n\n\"Dean, there are only 5 floors in here!\", Sam informed still nervous.\n\nBefore they could understand anything the door slide open...\n\n\"How's it hangin'? I'm David Pumpkins!\"\n\nA strange man in suits with orange pumpkins patterns all over it stood there, just outside of the elevator arms crossed in what one could mistake as \"gang sign\". Beside him on each side, stood 2 skeletons doing B-boy poses.\n\n\"What the hell?\", Dean growled.\n\n\"Wh...who the hell are you?\", Sam asked doing his menacing growl impression.\n\n\"I'm David Pumpkins, maaan\", the stranger said.\n\n\"Who the hell is David Pumpkins?\", Dean asked mockingly.\n\n\"His own thaaaang\", he responded.\n\n\"And the skeletons are?\", Sam continued.\n\n\"Part of it!\", both skeletons exclaimed excitedly.\n\nTo the surprise of the Winchesters a song played from the elevator PA system. A song so catchy, David Pumpkins and both skeletons started dancing.\n\n\"Dean, wh....what should we do?\", Sam asked nervously at the weird spectacle.\n\n\"What else do we do? Shoot!\", Dean commanded followed by a hail of bullets raining down on David Pumpkins and his skeleton crews. They, however, were unperturbed still dancing like nobody's business.\n\n\"Any questions?\", David Pumpkins asked in a weird tone his whole suit jacket riddled with bullet holes. Without warning the elevator door closed leaving Sam and Dean stared in confusion.\n\n\"Sam what the hell did we just witness?\"\n\n\"I...I have no idea\"\n\nThe elevator was still moving, it kept moving up.\n\n*DING 25th floor*\n\nThe elevator doors slide open again revealing the same man in brand new pumpkin suit and his skeletons in a ridiculous pose.\n\n\"Man, what the hell? Who even are you?\", Dean asked.\n\n\"What are you, a demon, a trickster, a ghost?\", Sam inquired nicer than Dean retort.\n\n\"What's my name?\", David Pumpkins asked.\n\n\"David S. Pumpkins!\", the 2 skeletons answered in unison.\n\n\"And we're here to do...this!\", David S. Pumpkins said.\n\n\"Ready or not, here we dance!\", said one of the skeletons.\n\nThe same music started playing again, the 3 mysterious figures danced even a more ridiculous dance to the bewilderment of the hunters.\n\n\"Alright Sammy, I've had enough of this\", Dean exasperatedly pulled out his angel blade. If there's anything strong enough to kill anything, that would be it. Efficiently he stabbed David S. Pumpkins with it, creating a glowing wound on his pumpkin suit. David S. Pumpkins however still had a stupid grinning expression on his face, but he burst in a mini explosion of light. Vanishing with him, both of the skeleton dancers.\n\n\"Well....that seem to do the trick\", Dean said surprised it actually worked to Sam just shrugging.\n\nAfter the entity was killed, the elevator seemed to be back to normal laid unmoving and in disrepair on the first floor. Sam and Dean went back to the Impala, still unsure what just happened or what they just faced there in the abandoned hotel.\n\n\"Dean...what even was David S. Pumpkins? Was he a demon or something else? Should we check in with Cas if Gabriel was still around doing his thing?\", Sam still curious asked his brother.\n\n\"Naah Sammy, we killed it. That's what matters. Although there's still one thing I wanna know...what's up with that pumpkin suit?\", Dean chuckled.\n\n\"ANY QUESTIONS?\", suddenly a voice asked from the backseat of the Impala causing both brothers to screamed loudly. It was David S. Pumpkins in his glorious pumpkin suit.\n\n\"Son of a bitch!\", Dean shouted."
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[WP] Seeing all the suffering and death in the world yet incapable of stopping any of it, a minor god changes what little it can; erasing the feelings of sorrow and grief.
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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.*",
"Silas was a small god. No, not in stature—he stood 6 foot tall, rather average for a god—but in ability. He was not omniscient, nor omnipotent, and by some standards he was rather weak for a celestial being. Silas could not strike down other gods, no followers erected temples in his honor, no mortal sang songs of praise in his name, and few knew his name. However, Silas did good.\n\nSilas was allowed a small room in the hall of the gods on Mt. Mara, but he never felt at home there. He was most at ease when walking among the mortals; he relished the drama of human lives. The life of a god, by Silas’s account, was really quite dull. Rarely did gods face life or death situations—immortality had its perks—and Mt. Mara was devoid of the theatrics of relational drama—the gods stopped caring about monogamy fairly shortly after they came into being. So it came to be that Silas spent most of his time walking among people and listening to their stories.\n\nAs humanity grew, Silas began to realize how brimming with grief the humans were. He found that their existence was marked, chapter and verse, by tragedy and death. Silas learned that many of the mortals’ greatest stories began with calamity—a deer loses its mother to a hunter, a boy’s parents murdered by a mugger while the boy grows to become a winged beast—it seemed as though heart break and sorrow bound their stories as glue to a page. Eventually, Silas resolved to use his minor power to improve the human experience.\n\nHe first used his power on an old man. Silas entered a taproom, nearly empty but for the barkeep and a lone patron, and took a seat across the bar from the elderly gentleman. Eavesdropping, Silas learned that the man had recently lost his wife of 50 years. They’d lived a long and happy life together, and the man wasn’t sure what he would do without her around. Silas could tell that the man had been crying, and the frequent hiccups were a sure sign he was drowning his sorrows. Silas approached the man and placed his hand on the man’s tweed shoulder. “Child, would you care for me to relieve you of your grief? For I can rid you of this sorrow and deliver you again into green pastures,” said Silas, mustering as “godly” as voice as he could.\n\n“Oh, good sir, I don’t think there’s much hope for me. My wife is gone and my life’s story has come up short,” replied the old man, voice weary and cracking. “I’m afraid that all there’s left for me to do is drink and wait for the end.”\n\n“But you would consent to being rid of these feelings if I could rid you of them?” insisted Silas.\n\n“Well, yes. But who—”\n\nSilas gave the man’s shoulder a friendly squeeze, “how do you feel now, my son?”\n\n“Why…incredible. It’s like you kicked the television box and back on came the color! How did you—?\n\n“Be well my child,” said Silas as he turned and left the bar.\n\nFrom that point forward, Silas did good. He wandered, person to person, town to town and, with consent, relieved mortals of their sorrow and grief. That is, until he met Cody.\n\nCody was a young man aged 23. Silas found him, as he so often did, in a quiet bar in a rural town. Cody had lost his older brother Chris three weeks prior and was still deep in mourning. Silas approached the young man and placed his hand on the man’s shoulder, “Child, would you care for me to relieve you of your grief? For I can rid you of this sorrow and deliver you again into green pastures,” Silas repeated his classic line—if it ain’t broke...—his voice had grown confident.\n\nCody stared straight ahead, as though he hadn’t heard the god. Silas began to wonder if he should speak again when Cody finally replied, “No.”\n\n“What do you mean ‘no,’ my child?” Silas removed his hand from the man’s shoulder and shifted his weight, “I have given this offer to innumerable mortals and not one has turned me down.”\n\n“With all due respect, sir, I need my grief.”\n\n“Need? Grief? This is a pairing of words foreign to me, my son. Explain yourself.”\n\n“Well, ya know, I loved my brother. He...was my hero…” Cody paused to collect himself and coax the words over the barrier in his throat, “Chris was my hero. Growing up he taught me everything: how to talk to girls, how to sneak out, how to throw a baseball…everything. And now…he’s…gone. Just like that. One minute, I have a brother. The next minute, just a book with half of the pages ripped out. But, I wanted to know how the story ended. Not like this.” Cody shifted a bit in his chair and stared into his now empty pint glass before continuing, “This grief. This sadness. I *need* it, because it reminds me that my brother was here; that he was real, and that knowing him was beautiful.”\n\nSilas had rarely seen such resilience. Typically the first words out of his target's mouth was ‘yes,’ so he hadn’t had a conversation more than three words deep in some time. “This is illogical. Wouldn’t you still have your brother’s memory should I relieve your pain?”\n\nCody flagged down the bartender with a single raised finger, “it wouldn’t be the same. I think that this pain is meant to be yet another lesson from my brother. I’m learning that I can survive tragedy. Back when Chris was around, he would take me on long runs with him. He would always say, ‘keep pushing! Go further than you think you can. Suck wind, embrace the shit; this is where you get better!’ and I think that I hear him saying that now. If I keep going, I can come out stronger. If I keep feeling the hurt, I can learn to celebrate the joys, both past and present, more intensely and with more passion. Was it Bob Ross who said, ‘you gotta have opposites, light and dark, dark and light. Gotta have a little sadness once in a while so you know when the good times come’? Well, this is my splotch of midnight black on the canvas. I need to let it dry a bit such that a happy little tree can stand out over the top.”\n\nSilas had taken the seat adjacent Cody. He sat quietly for a few minutes. The god flagged down the bartender with two raised fingers, “here’s to Chris. He sounds like he was a great man. Why don’t you tell me more about him.\"\n\nIt was through Cody, that Silas learned that you needn’t be a god to relieve people’s pain. Sometimes, you just need to show up and listen.\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nIf you enjoyed this check out r/IML_42 for more stories!"
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[WP] An officer is messing around—not thinking—pushing down one nuclear launch button while they throw a pencil across the room at the other. They accidentally hit 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.*",
"\"*ugh, this job is so boring, crisis happen everyday but nothing actually happens\"* The Naval Officer thought. He was standing alone in the Situation room. He thought about a hypothetical scenario. \"Oh no Russia is attacking! Everybody panic!\" He imitated the Admiral. \"I have this!\" he said in a heroic voice, \"Launch The ICBMs!\" He flipped open the cover and pressed the button. It's okay though, the launch button needed 2 people to press it in sync. He jokingly picked up the pencil and threw it pretending it was a warhead.\n\nIt hit the button. Square on.\n\n \"*Shit\"* The Naval officer thought. \"*Should i run, or should i try to stop it? Whatever happens, i lose my job, Why not be the hero?\"* What was the worst he could do, send 1500 Hydrogen bombs to russia beginning an all out nuclear war?\n\n He ran to the abort button and screamed the passcode: \"YANKEE DELTA KILO 1\" *5... 4... 3... 2...* \"CHARLIE VICTOR FOXTROT\" *1...*\n\n​\n\n*Launch Aborted.*\n\n\"*oh thank god\"* The Officer breathed a sigh.\n\nTargeting.. Iran.\n\n\"FUCK!\""
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[WP] Dreams are the source of all magic and to control that magic you must daydream.
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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.*",
"“Create the dream… control the dream… collapse the dream. Create, control, collapse.”\n\nMaster Strolland paced around the room, observing the dozing students.\n\n“Create, control, collapse,” he murmured. “The dream does not own you. You own the dream.”\n\nI shut my eyes even tighter as though that would drag me to sleep faster. The room was warm, the air like a soft blanket around me, but the anxiety of performing my first act of magic was too much. The master’s soft footsteps slowly grew louder and louder, then paused.\n\n“Student,” he said, his voice emanating from just above me. “You remain awake.”\n\nI lifted my head bashfully. “I apologize, master. I… I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”\n\nHe studied me, one eyebrow raised. “Do you need some laudanum? Some fresh tea? Perhaps a shot of grain alcohol?”\n\nI shook my head. “No, master. I’m sorry. I’m just not tired.”\n\nThe master placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Did you get a good night’s sleep last night?” he asked quietly, and I nodded, ashamed.\n\nHe chuckled. “Well, there’s your problem. You need to stay out later! Go for a run. Perhaps the exercise will bring about the drowse. Normally I’d suggest laudanum, but… well, I’d hate for you to rely on substance for your magic.” He paused and stared out the window. “It’s a lovely day. Bit of a chill. Go, now. We’ll discuss this later.”\n\nI gathered my materials and exited the room of sleeping students, their snores just starting to mingle into a dull roar.\n\nMaster Strolland was right, of course. I had slept too much, ruining the first day of spell practice. I shook my head. “Plenty of time left, old boy,” I muttered to myself.\n\nThe master was also right about the weather. The autumn day had turned beautiful and crisp, just the barest hint of a light breeze that was yet fought off by the sun’s early morning rays.\n\n*A few laps around the building, perhaps… And then I’ll try again. Maybe I’ll try that chamomile…*\n\nWith a sigh, I settled into a steady jog, my robe slightly impeding every step as it swished in the breeze.\n\nI was hardly the first student to fail to produce magic on the first day of trying. Despite Master Strolland’s saying, it was not so easy as “create, control, collapse.” Hundreds of hours of theory lectures on how to manipulate the very nature of dreams to produce spells had been drilled into each of our brains, and during those lectures, the masters had been quite strict about keeping us from falling asleep.\n\n“An unprepared mind is a deadly trap” had been their favorite maxim, and hundreds of years of anecdotes and stories of horrific accidents backed it up. Strolland’s favorite story, of course, was about the young woman who had dreamed of flying above the town and the campus during a lecture on limited dream collapse during unexpected sleep sessions. Naturally, she had awoken to find herself actually above the campus. Unfortunately, because she had collapsed the dream accidentally, she had only collapsed her position and not her ability to fly. Strolland himself had been one of the newly-minted masters tasked with cleaning up the mess.\n\nI sighed; one lap had been finished, and I only felt the slightest bit winded. I resolved to finish at least nine more laps around the building. At the very least, I would walk out of this with a bit of cardio exercise, which Master Harkon insisted was essential for falling asleep at will. He insisted that a strong heart and lungs were easier to slow to the point of unconsciousness.\n\nPersonally, I was unsure of the efficacy of his method, but none could argue with the results. We had all seen him collapse into a dream with less than five second’s warning.\n\nOn the third lap, the lights started. They startled me, breaking me free from my contemplations as I pounded away step after step. I sighed and slowed to watch for a second. The show was beautiful, akin to the fireworks of the far east, but of no specific origin.\n\nThe lights were the master’s preferred first spell, a sign that one of my classmates had successfully collapsed their first controlled dream into reality. It was not unexpected, certainly, but quite disappointing that the others were already succeeding when I had yet to even fall asleep and create a lucid dream of my own accord.\n\nAnother set went off, this one bright blue and orange instead of the first light’s deep red. Another student had succeeded. I shook my head and set off for my fourth lap of the building.\n\nMy steps beat the bricks of the campus like drums, slapping the ground rhythmically. Despite the autumn chill, I was beginning to feel the slightest bit overheated.\n\nBut most importantly, I was beginning to feel bored. I was never incredibly overfond of running, and the idea that I was missing out on important exercise simply because I had slept the previous night was grating on me.\n\n*I could be doing so much more*, I seethed. *I could be in a dream at this very moment if I had just prepared a little bit better.*\n\nThe landscape began to blur, melting into a repeating canvas that was the background to my imagination.\n\n*I could be asleep under that tree, drowsing away peacefully. I could begin to create and control my dream.* Even as the thought occurred, I could almost see myself under the tree, dozing away.\n\n*My lights will be green,* I decided. “Bright silvery green, like the brilliant new leaves of spring. They will dance around the building, blinding those who look too close.*\n\n*Create, control, collapse.* We had practiced the creation and controlling a million times until each of us was at least remembering a dream from every last nap if not actively participating in it and realizing it was the magic racing through our very minds. \n\nThe collapsing was always the dangerous part; work too quickly, too carelessly, and unintended facets of your dream breaking into reality were the least of your concerns. While Master Strolland warned of improper collapsing, Master Tenthren preached endlessly about ‘burning the conduit’, the rarest and most dangerous consequence of uncontrolled dream collapse. He spoke of students’ brains roasting in their very skulls, though his morbid imagery was often far more vivid.\n\nWe practiced with mental exercise, but as with a spearman on the battlefield, drills and practice were nothing compared to the real thing.\n\nI sighed again as my lungs began to pump harder and harder. Even as my imagination raced about, painting vivid green lights across the sky, I began to think through the process of spellcasting.\n\n*Create… control… collapse.*\n\n*Create… control… collapse.*\n\n*Crack*.\n\nThe sensation was indescribable, a sharp release that seemed as though it should be painful, but it was not. Shining viridian lights danced around the building exactly as I had imagined them.\n\nI stopped almost on the spot, my feet nearly tripping over themselves.\n\n“What the hell…?” I breathed out.\n\nI do not know how long I stood there, but it was long enough for Master Strolland to race across the courtyard to where I was standing.\n\n“DID YOU PRACTICE DREAM COLLAPSING UNSUPERVISED?!” he roared.\n\n“I-- no-- I was just-- I was just running!” I protested as he grabbed my arms in a steely grip.\n\n“What was that? Who did that?” he demanded.\n\n“I-- I think I did, but-- I was awake, Master, I swear!”\n\n“Awake... “\n\nHe gazed into my eyes, piercing them, seeking out every last grain of truth.\n\n“You… you must have used… but that’s impossible.” He released me and paced back and forth.\n\n“What happened, master?”\n\n“You were awake, yes?” he asked. “But still imagining the lights, practicing the collapsing mechanism. I’d heard… but I never believed… certainly not a student.”\n\n“Master?” I hesitated. “Did I do something wrong?”\n\nStrolland paused and put a hand on my shoulder. “No, student. You did some incredible magic in a way I had only ever heard rumors about.”\n\n“But… but what did I do?”\n\nStrolland stared at me. \n\n“You [day-dreamed](https://reddit.com/r/Badderlocks).”"
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[WP] He used to be the worlds greatest assassin until he settled down and retired. He became a stay at home father so as to be closer to his kids. Then he started to notice signs that he oldest daughter may be following in his footsteps.
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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.*",
"Melanie tiptoed down the stairs. She had carelessly left her retainer in the downstairs bathroom. Was it essential? Maybe not. She really didn't want to have to go through the whole braces ordeal again, so she was pretty careful about wearing them each night as instructed by her orthodontist. His son sat next to her in class, and was also pretty cute, so she figured proper dental hygiene would be a good in.\n\nSuddenly the lights flicked on, disrupting her thoughts of making out braces-free with Alex.\n\n\"And just where have you been all night, young lady?\" Her Dad had been sitting in the dark, waiting for her. This would require all her guile.\n\n\"Just getting my retainer. I left it in --\"\n\n\"What are you wearing? Those don't look like pajamas.\"\n\nMelanie self-consciously patted her sleek killing ensemble. Just some tight black clothes, nothing special. It was important to not have to worry about adjusting one's clothes when on the job. But, she definitely should have changed before heading downstairs.\n\n\"Well, I usually sleep in the nude, so would you rather I come down for my retainer naked?\"\n\nThat threw him off. Melanie felt pretty good about herself for that one. He recovered quickly though.\n\n\"Don't try that crap on me, Mel. I wrote the book on this. You weren't sleeping, I saw you quite plainly scaling the side of the house.\"\n\nDamn! Someone had securely locked all points of entry on the ground floor. Melanie had never usually had to resort to finding second floor ingresses. Maybe her father did know what he was doing, or more importantly, what she was doing. She switched tactics.\n\n\"Fine. I was on a date. You got me.\"\n\n\"A date. Really? With who?\"\n\n\"Uh,\" Of course, Alex popped into her head, and she almost blurted out his name. But she certainly didn't want her father to know about him, particularly since his seemed to get on so well with Dr. Horowitz. \"Brad,\" she uttered, cooly. Dad didn't know his parents.\n\n\"Brad.\"\n\n\"Mmm hmm.\"\n\n\"Don't believe I've ever met him. What's he look like?\"\n\n\"Well, you know, nothing special, brown hair, brown eyes,\"\n\n\"Height, weight, scars, any discernible features?\"\n\n\"Nope. None of that.\"\n\n\"Stop lying to me. I know you don't date!\"\n\n\"Ok. Ouch.\"\n\n\"It's you. You're the one they got to do the Penske contract.\"\n\nUh oh.\n\n\"What on earth do --\"\n\n\"Don't. I don't want to hear any more lies. I just hope and pray you didn't leave a mess, or heaven forbid, evidence. Because you could sure use some more practice on reaching second floor points of entry. Let alone mastering first floor so that you never need to even worry about the second!\"\n\nThat actually did sting. Melanie had had a good streak with her first floor technique.\n\n\"That's not fair! You obviously took extra precautions to secure the first floor!\"\n\n\"You're damn right I did! How else would I have gotten to see that sorry display of your so-called breaking and entering skills.\"\n\n\"What do you know about it,\" Melanie muttered. Boy, he should have seen her break into the Anderson's house! Now that was a work of art!\n\n\"What?\" His voice rising, \"What's that? I didn't hear you.\"\n\n\"Look Dad, I've been doing this for two years now. I think I know what I'm doing.\"\n\n\"Oh, two years, huh? Well I've been doing it for twenty! And you're gonna have to learn a few things. For one, you obviously don't know the first thing about a safe space for sensitive documents.\"\n\n\"Oh my god, you went through my shit?!\"\n\n\"Watch your language! Now. We'll continue this discussion in the morning. Right now, you are going to get your butt into bed. I'm going to check in five minutes, missy. And I better see you in that bed, and not that ridiculous papier mâché dummy. I don't even what to know who taught you that shit. Now get to bed!\"",
"\"Look...I'm sure you two are very tired of all of this but we need to have a real discussion about what happened.\"\n\nThe Principal's body language seemed to cycle through every flavor of ingratiation he knew of. Hands alternating between flat on the desk with palms up and down, head often bowing and angling to one side, and wistful sighs. Practiced and empty gestures trotted out solely to diffuse conflict. Charlie knew and hated every single one of them.\n\n\"Mr. Brennan, you're daughter sent three students to the hospital. I'm sure you understand that there are some parents that aren't comfortable if they feel their children are in danger-\"\n\nThe Principal's hands reached up as if to halt an expected interruption. *Practiced bullshit.*\n\nWhen the challenge didn't come, it took a few breaths for the administrator to find his cadence and muscle through.\n\n\"......Not that I'm saying Sara's a dangerous girl or anything of the sort, it's simply that-\"\n\nCharlie \"Cap's Kid\" Brennan half-listened to the skittish man's scripted words and fidgeting while actually appraising the situation.\n\n**Tyler Ainsley**\n\n**Principal at The Malonce Academy**\n\nAinsley continued to hem and haw his way through expelling Charlie's daughter, sweat accumulating on his face under Cap’s Kid’s tired glare.\n\n**White Buick Lacerne in the faculty lot**\n\n*You're not killing this prick and you know it.*\n\n**Wife. No Children. Exotic bird for a pet.**\n\n*You're not killing the wife or the bird, asshole.*\n\n**Options: Intimidate/humiliate/kill anywa-**\n\n*No. Goddamn it. I cannot do thi-*\n\n\"We're sorry to say that we will have to part ways as educators and student.\"\n\nBrennan's attention returned to reality as he dropped the polite eye contact with the bureaucrat and looked at his daughter. She was looking at Ainsley with a haunting and cold fire in her eyes. Chuck would bet his life it was same fire she showed the folks she had rained old testament kicks to asses on. Calculation. Execution. No exceptions. The killer reached over and gripped the top of the hand she held clenched to the chair's armrest and looked back at the principal.\n\n\"We understand. Not a good fit. It happens.\"\n\nSara's arm exploded with tension as her whole body started to move in protest. Charlie simply squeezed her hand and begged any god existing that she would understand the clumsy gesture.\n\nMiraculously, the rage bled off and she eased back into her seat. Her stare still bore holes into the side of her father's head as he released her hand to fold his arms.\n\n\"There's a public school a mile or so up the road, kiddo. Plenty close enough to stay in touch with *friends.*\" Charlie's eyes bored into the principal as he hissed the last few words. He immediately regretted the intimidating flair after glancing toward Sara, who seemed to try to mirror his lancing eyes.\n\n**Sara Brennan**\n\n*My baby girl.*\n\n**Three in the hospital. Dangerous.**\n\n*She won. She's safe for now.*\n\n**Unapologetic.**\n\n*Neither was I.*\n\n**Threat.**\n\n*Irreplacable*\n\n**Options: Be Better**",
"I used to be a man, who was more feared than the leaders of the greatest nations on earth. Those guys feared me even more. And somehow, the only person who didn’t fear me, was my daughter. Might as well show off.\n\nI pulled up to a parking lot roughly 200 meters away from where any of what would happen tonight should take place. I got out, opened the trunk, and began assembling *her*. Before I had a family, I had a beautiful DMR, capable of holding any and all attachments, chambered in 5.56, and capable of switching to a Bullpup pdw. It even had a name engraved on it.\n\n*Alexi*\n\nThe same name my daughter had. God, I was gonna scare the shit out of her. I had overheard her talking quietly on the phone one night, roughly a week ago, with a stranger. Normally, I would’ve walked in and asked who she was talking to, but her tone of voice, the volume, and even more interestingly the conversation, led me to believe she was a hit man. \n\nDammit.\n\nI popped the mag into Alexi, put on my mask, and walked through the shadows to the warehouse. From what I gathered from my daughters conversation, she was to take out all personnel at a warehouse, and report it in to the client so that their boys could come in and pick up the ‘cargo’. \n\nI notice a glint from the roof of a warehouse across from the one mentioned in the conversation. It’s her. Alexi.\n\nThe idiot I am, I naturally wave at the glint, hoping she sees me waving at her. I then proceed to do a perimeter check of the grounds.\n\nTwo guys on the front end, roughly four more on the roof, and two in the back. There are at least two inside, whom I noticed patrolling the second floor Windows, and I cannot see the ground floor. So far, at least 10 guards. And all of them are armed.\n\nI start with the easy ones, and drop the two at the front. Silently and efficiently, I make my way around to the back, and knock out the two guys there. I notice that I am still near Alexi’s outpost, so I look for her access to the roof. I notice her small profile laying on the floor, and quietly make my way over. I can tell she didn’t notice me come up, so I get a bit closer, almost to the point where I can hear her breathing, and utter two words: “You’re grounded.”",
"\"Hey, Veronica,\" I knocked on the already open door to my daughter's room. \"Do you want to tell me about why you were out last night?\"\n\nVeronica's hand jolted toward her black boot, she must have had a knife there, basic but smart move. \"I was... partying.\"\n\n\"Oh, right. Your mom just said you had a bit of, uh- ketchup on your shirt.\"\n\nVeronica tensed up a bit, confirming my suspicions. \"Yeah, they had really good hotdogs at the house.\"\n\n\"Ah,\" I was furious, being an assassin almost destroyed me, my daughter will not go down this path. \"Who was there?\"\n\n\"Uh...\" I could see Veronica's mind turning, if she was good enough at her job no one should have seen her. \"I was drunk! Don't remember. Sorry!\"\n\n\"I am incredibly disappointed,\" it had just acvured to me that maybe I don't want my daughter knowing my past. \"Very sneaky though, you didn't seem hung over in the slightest.\"\n\n\"Yeah, someone had a great hang over cure.\"\n\n\"Drain cleaner, I'm sure,\" I muttered under my breath. Veronica must have been the stupidest assassin ever, her next mission was open on her computer. \"Can you watch Johnny this Friday? I have to go out.\"\n\nVeronica swallowed. \"Sure...\"\n\n\"Thank you so much!\" I walked over and took the gun out of her purse, Veronica gasped in horror. \"Next time, hide your weapon better.\"",
"He knelt before the small stain on the beige carpet. His old joints ached as he got down on all fours to examine it. He knew deep down what it was. Blood. Fresh too, still mildly reddish, instead of a deep black that blood dried as. \n\nHis heart sank into his stomach. He *Knew* Human blood better than the back of his hand. He should, after all, he had spilled gallons of it over his 20 year long career. At first he thought his oldest daughter was just participating in normal, rebellious teen activities. Sneaking out to parties, underage drinking. He knew when she exited the house through the bullet-resistant window in her bedroom. Didn't need any fancy sensors to know, not when his instincts still screamed at him clear as day.\n\nAnd so, the next night, he waited. When he heard the shunk of her window coming back down, he climbed out of bed. He knew that you shouldn't invade your kid's privacy, especially during their teen years, but he also had to confirm his suspicions. Opening her nightstand, he examined the contents, and he didn't like what he found. A half full bottle of Aconitum poison. A well-used knife sharpener. What broke his heart was the stuff no father wants their daughter to have. The lingerie and the handcuffs. He knew they weren't for use with her boyfriend. The lack of a safety release on the handcuffs told him that. \n\nAnd so he sat in his living room and dialed. He knew the number wouldn't have changed. \n\n\"I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is busy, or has been disconnected\"\n\n\"Blackberry Pie\" he uttered in the brief silence before the call would have disconnected. \n\nThere was a small click and a whistle tone before the other end was picked up. \n\nWho is this, and why do you know the codeword\" the low, digitized voice growled.\n\n\"Hey, Rudy. I need details on an assassin. There's $20,000 already on it's way.\"\n\n\"Well, color me surprised. Thought you got your ass out.\" The digitization on the voice vanished. \"Alright what are you looking for?\" \n\n\"Female, long dark hair, possibly a seductress, early to mid 20's, and leaves a bloody mess of her targets\" His throat started to tighten up, and tears welled in his eyes as he described a perfect MO of his daughter. \n\n\"Got her. She goes by the handle \"Strip n' slice\". Her latest contract mentions some old rich-\"\n\n\"Yeah Yeah Yeah, where the hell is she headed?!\" He blurted somewhat louder than he intended.\n\n\"Impatient as ever, aren't we. She'll be at the 15th floor of the old Redford hotel. Room 1536. Her target just checked in with his \"wife\".\n\n\"Thanks Rudy. Forget this conversation.\"\n\nEND of Part one.",
"You catch your daughter as she sneaking into the house.\n\nShe moves just like you did back in the day silently yet swiftly.\n\nHey Alexis.\n\nShe doesn't even jump.\n\nShe looks at you her face emotionless hey Dad.\n\nWhere were you? You ask seeing if she'll tell the truth. She won't but her appearance and the state of her clothes tells you everything.\n\nShe's wearing an old jacket sweatpants and gloves with old sneakers. \n\nThis type of outfit is sturdy but normal enough so that most people wouldn't notice an extra tear, grass stain or scuff.\n\nShe maintained eye contact I was out with some friends late.\n\nWhat happened to your clothes? \n\n Her jacket is torn and muddy her knuckles are bruised and There are a some cuts on her pants. Judging by the size they were made by small knives. \n\nThe angle suggests they were thrown by someone who knew what they were doing.\n\n(She's already been going on assignments. You need at least a year of training before you are given assignments)\n\nIs that it Dad? A bored expression on her face.\n\nA few more things: Take you take care of yourself, make to bring your phone and tell Mrs. Anderson I said hi.\n\nI turned away and walked down the hall\n\n W-what? I heard her stutter from the kitchen.",
"\"Hello?\"\n\nThe person on the other end of the phone remained silent, his heavy breathing filled my ear...one that was so awfully familiar, one that I didn't expect ever hearing again.\n\n\"Vasilvey....that's you isn't it?\"\n\n\"He...hey King. I'm so sorry....I...dialed the wrong number...\"\n\nThe thick Russian voice trembled in fear. If he knew what was best for him, he knew well fear was the only correct response.\n\n\"This is my private home number, Vasilyev. Who gave you this number?\"\n\nThe sound of Vasilvey roughly handling the telephone receiver followed a loud click. I hung up and pondered. In my previous life, I was known as King. The most feared assassin in the world's criminal underground. I was the best of the best, feared by the worst. I quit while I was ahead. Why? Well...why else? Love...\n\nI met the woman of my life, decided to settle. I swore John Wick was based on me when I watched that movie. Although I never went on a killing spree because someone killed my dog, not that I wouldn't have. In fact I did have a dog on my own, a healthy golden retriever. Also a daughter and 2 younger sons. One big happy family.\n\n\"Oh hey...dad. Who was that on the phone? Was that for me?\", my daughter Beth ran downstairs in a hurry.\n\n\"No, hun it was a wrong number...\", I said. I could tell something was up with her body language when she scurried away from me. Force of habit from my old days, don't judge me. Avoiding eye contact, worried face expression...she's hiding something from me. \n\n\"Yes, yes, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have given you my home number.....no, of course no more mistakes. Mission is still a go...pier 10 warehouse, 10pm sharp. I'll meet you there, Vasilyev\"\n\nMy heart dropped, I eavesdropped what Beth said in hush tones to her phone. She was talking to Vasilyev for a mission....an assassination mission.\n\nI kept my mouth shut the entire day. I couldn't say anything to prevent her, I knew very well the consequences of flaking from a job. The fact that Beth tried to enter my old life was devastating. I knew how dangerous it was, and she's about to dive right in into it. I decided to tail her, made sure she was safe. Came 10pm that evening, I never thought I would be dusting off my old gun. If we survive this, she's going to get a very stern talking from me...\n\nA black car approached the warehouse in an almost empty pier. I hid in the shadows, observing. I had Beth and Vasilyev on my sight, they were observing the men down there. I knew them very well...Lyubchenko's mob family, rival to Vasilyev's own family. That idiot, how dare he dragged my daughter into this...\n\nLooked like some transaction was about to go underway...drugs. It was always drugs with those two competing families. With a sniper rifle Beth easily dropped three of Lyubchenko's men. I must say I was quite impressed by her shooting skill. I'd never taught her any, turned out she did well on her own. \n\nMore shootings ensued, bullets rained down all over. I followed close, tailing Beth along with Vasilyev who were pursuing Lyubchenko himself. Ohh no, young lady. You're biting more than you can chew. \n\nShe was close to the escaping Russian crime boss, entering another warehouse with his getaway car. There's always a getaway car with him, even back in the day. I've gotta hand it to him, he could always see a few steps ahead. Beth and Vasilyev chased him, sure they had him. Ohh no, even I could see miles away it was a trap. That warehouse was filled with Lyubchenko's men, armed and ready to intercept. \n\nAs soon as they stepped inside the warehouse, they were done, held at gun points. I still followed, hiding behind the entrance of the warehouse. There were some Russian banters which I couldn't understand. My Russian was a bit rusty unfortunately...not exactly taking classes since I left. I couldn't wait anymore. My fingers were itchy at the trigger, my anxiety was high, worried sick about my daughter's life.\n\nI entered, swiftly taking out Lyubchenko's men. One...two...three...five easy pops of my guns straight to their heads. Gotta say I was pretty proud at my aim, still got it after all this time.\n\n\"Dad?!\", Beth exclaimed with shocked face, only to be stricken with fear after seeing my face. \n\n\"King! Oh...I'm....I didn't know you were involved here...\", Lyubchenko trembled in fear at the sight of me. Looked like I still had that grasp of him after all this time.\n\n\"I wasn't...so why don't we call this a night and I'll let you go?\", I said to him, not as a threat but he knew well I meant harm.\n\nHe scampered away to his getaway car, quickly driving away to the dead of night.\n\nI turned my angry gaze to Vasilyev, gun still warm pointing at the scared coward.\n\n\"King...I...I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to...\"\n\n\"Vasilyev, the only thing preventing me from shooting you in your head right now is my daughter is here. If you ever come near her or my family again...you can believe your whole family is going down, and that's a promise\", I said coldly to the cowering man. He nodded and hurriedly ran away, like a mutt with tail between its hind legs.\n\n\"Dad I...\"\n\nI turned to Beth still with angry face, I could tell from her expression she was deathly terrified of me. Oh honey, I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to see me that way. I smiled, my expression softened. I was still angry at her but I hugged her tight...\n\n\"You are in so much trouble, young lady! Oh thank goodness you're safe...\", I said tearing up. I couldn't imagine what life would be had she die.\n\nBeth hugged me back, scared and crying hard, \"I'm sorry, dad! I'm really sorry! I thought I could do it!\"\n\n\"When we get home, I better get a good explanation on how you came to do this nonsense! And you're grounded!\", I yelled.\n\nBeth pouted, but she understandably relented.\n\n\"Now, let's go home\", I said walking us back to my car.\n\n\"Dad, why did they call you King?\", she asked me on the drive back.\n\nThat brought back memories. They've been calling me that name ever since I completed my first big job. One hundred cartel members dead, their heads on pikes decorating their compound's yard for weeks. I gained instant respect from then on...\n\n\"Well hun, I was simply the best\", I said not proud of that name.",
"Eve lay on her stomach, the grass tickling as it blew across her skin. She wetted a finger and raised it to the air, testing the wind's strength and direction as she considered her target. He was big, easily stronger than her but that didn’t matter, not now, not like this. She hated the stubborn pride in those features, how he moved about his life like some latter day Caesar, seeing and conquering in the same moment.\n\nShe raised her weapon, squinting hard against the midday sun as she steadied her breath to take the shot and-\n\n“Evelyn Grace Thompson, give me the slingshot.”\n\nEve’s head whipped around, the slingshot falling from suddenly limp fingers as she stared up into the cool blue eyes of her father. Suddenly she felt very much like the 9 year old girl she hated being.\n\n“Ok Dad…” she said quietly, picking up her prized possession and handing it to him as she stared at her feet.\n\n“What did Billy do this time?” Her father crouched down to her level. He never sounded mad when he spoke to her, hadn’t earlier for that matter but Eve knew better than to lie to him. He had always tried to be very clear about that with his children, he loved them unconditionally no matter what they had done, lying only made things harder.\n\n“He took Livi’s ball and it made her cry.”\n\n“And does shooting a rock at him solve anything?”\n\n“No sir…. But he can’t just get away with it!!! He always gets away with things, I want him to cry like she did.”\n\n“So he won’t. I’ll go talk to his mom about it, she’s right over there” her father said, pointing. “We’ll get Livi’s ball back.”\n\n“No, no, no! Don’t do that, then everyone will know!” Eve pounded little fists into the ground, feeling on the edge of a tantrum. She forced the anger down hard, like she knew her father would. She’d heard him say something about revenge and cold dishes once.\n\n“I want to fix it,” she said, doing her 9 year old best to look tough. Her father smiled at her, tousling her hair the way she always pretended to hate.\n\n“Ok but no hurting him, promise? There’s plenty of stuff we can do without violence, remember the talk we had after the incident last year?”\n\n“Promise.”\n\n“Good. Now come on, we’ve got to get home. Your mom will be back soon so lets go say goodbye to Livi and everyone else.” Hand in hand father and daughter walked across the playground, Eve surreptitiously sticking her tongue out at Billy as they passed.\n\nOn the drive home her father’s brain was thousands of miles away in a clock tower overlooking Zagreb, the last time he had tested the air like Eve had. He’d never taught her that, had tried not to show her violent movies, but anyone could see that she was brilliant. He saw a frightening amount of himself in her sometimes, and if his own childhood had taught him anything certain traits could never truly be suppressed. His parents had tried hard enough to prove that.\n\nMaybe he’d take her shooting soon, he thought. They could start with something safe like a small bow.\n\n\\-------------------\n\nIf you enjoyed that I've got more over at [r/TurningtoWords](https://www.reddit.com/r/TurningtoWords/)! I just started a serial about a superhero who savescums his way through all his opponents and theres some other fun stuff like an AI trying to be the most wholesome kid possible. I'd love to have you."
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[WP] 30 years on the police force. An utterly unremarkable career is coming to an end. But, today a young man walks up to your desk and calmly says ‘Arrest me. I know what I am. I’ll start killing people. Please, none of you are safe, arrest 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.*",
"\"Arrest me.\"\n\nThroughout my 30 years as a prison guard, I had never heard those words.\n\n\"State your name and reason.\"\n\n\"Luna. I know what I am. I'll start killing people. None of you are safe, arrest me. And make sure it's as difficult as possible to leave.\"\n\n\"A...strange reason to want to be arrested, but I'll comply. We happen to have an open max-security cell. Would that suffice?\"\n\n\"YES! And...oh god...hurry!\"\n\nWith that, I jumped to my feet and hurried on over to max-security, with Luna hot on my heels. His speed almost seemed...superhuman.\n\n\"QUICK, PUT ME IN!\"\n\n\"These doors have been made to be difficult to unlock. I can't unlock them at a moment's notice.\"\n\nAt the moment I unlocked the cell, he went in. With the \"prisoner\" in the cell, I went through the process of locking the door.\n\n\"Huff...thank you. I can't tell you how many you've just saved.\"\n\n\"You're welcome. And, when I release you in the morning, might I recommend you shave? You look like you've been living under a bridge for 50 years.\"\n\nWith that...odd request fulfilled, I left the prison, prepared to go into retirement the day after tomorrow.\n\nThe full moon seemed to shine even brighter tonight.",
"I organized my desk and looked at the photos of my family. This was my last day on the force. 30 long years were finally coming to an end. As I started putting my things into boxes, a few of my colleagues came over and gave me a parting gift or two. Nothing special, maybe a card, sometimes I got a speech of how I had impacted a rookie's life. Not the grand exit I had dreamed of, but, it had come, and that was that. Slowly but surely, I put all of my stuff into the boxes and had a friend of mine take them to my car.\n\nI noticed a disheveled man enter the station as I gathered my last small personal item. He was in his late twenties, and looked very tired. He walked straight up to my desk and looked me in the eyes.\n\n\"Arrest me,\" he said calmly, \"I know what I am. I’ll start killing people. Please, none of you are safe, arrest me!\" I stared at the man with a confused expression in my face. He looked at me impatiently and again repeated his words.\n\n\"Well, what are ya waiting for? Arrest me! You don't have a lot of time.\" I looked around the station from my desk to see if anyone else was catching the strange exchange, but so far nobody had even noticed what was happening.\n\n\"Can I help you, sir?\" I finally managed.\n\n\"I already told you, you need to arrest me before I hurt any of you!\" he blurted out, his gestures starting to become more and more frantic.\n\n\"I'm sorry, sir, but you need to calm down. You're not making much sense. I need you to-\"\n\n\"Shut the hell up!\" I quickly stood up from my chair and took a step back, reaching for my piece, prepared for anything.\n\n\"I'm telling you!\" he continued, sweat starting to form on his forehead, \"I'm dangerous! Look!\"\n\nIn a split second he tried to reach over my desk to me. By now, several of my colleagues had taken note of the situation, and had already rushed over. I whipped out my pistol and aimed it at my attacker. A young officer jumped behind him and pushed him completely against the desk, pinning his arms onto it. The man didn't struggle, but simply looked at me with what almost looked like sadness in his eyes. As the officer shouted at him and put him in cuffs, the man looked back at me and said, \"Too late...\"\n\n***\n\n January 12, 2004\n\nI approached the dimly lit house, my partner Dean behind me. An act of domestic violence had been reported. Something serious had gone down here, and whoever was involved had a weapon. We crept quietly to the front door, listening for any sounds. It was quiet. Too quiet. Dean and I knocked loudly on the door, making our presence known.\n\n\"Open up! Police! Come out with your hands up!\" No response.\n\n\"Open up!\" Nothing again. Dean nodded at me and backed up, before ramming his full force into the door, making a cracking sound. He winded up again and charged, making another crack as the door somewhat splintered. A third and fourth charge completely loosened the door from its hinges, and we rushed in with guns drawn. We looked around corners of the dirty house. Trash littered the floors, and the smell from the kitchen almost made us gag. A thump from upstairs alerted me, and motioned it to Dean. He looked up, and saw the staircase leading to the second floor.\n\n\"Police! Come down the stairs with your hands up!\" I shouted. Another sound made us rush up the stairs. As we reached the top, a chubby middle aged man made himself known by walking out from a room, hands up. We pointed our pistols at him and shouted at him to get down, which he started to do. I noticed his right hand holding something, and yelled at him to drop it.\n\n\"Kill me,\" he said frantically, \"I know what I am. I know what I've done. Please, no one is safe with me. Kill me!\"\n\n In a split second, he raised the gun toward us, and Dean and I opened fire. In the aftermath, the man lie bleeding on the floor, gurgling as blood flowed from his neck and mouth.\n\n\"Shots fired! Shots fired!\" Dean yelled into his radio and started providing the necessary info. As Dean started to try giving him medical treatment, I noticed something in a room. I walked in, and saw a horrifying sight. Three small figures lay strewn on the floor. Dried blood stuck to my shoe as I realized what was going on.\n\n\"Jesus,\" I muttered to myself solemnly, \"Too late.\"\n\n\n\nTell me if you want a Part 2 I guess lol!"
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[WP] Environmental terrorists artificially activate the Kessler Syndrome, making spaceflight impossible. With the intention of forcing earth to fix it's problems as there is now no escape to Mars.
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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 2254, and Mars lost contact with Earth. \n\n\nThe Martian Colonies, Numbering 400,000, had realized, that we were Alone, without Earth to be able to bring us supplies. Soon, we began growing food in our greenhouses, set up a government and an economy, and united under the banners of the Martian Republic. After 50 years, we sent a Scout ship to Earth. What the crew saw was terrifying. Millions of small, Bullet-Sized, or even smaller, Pieces of metal surrounded the earth, along with wrecked satellites. Below it, barely visible, was a Wasteland, Dark, and barren. That ship and Its Crew returned to Mars and told the Government of the state of Earth. Soon, we would make it our goal. To turn mars into a new Earth, and to save the old Earth from it's Prison. \n\n\n200 Years would pass, and the first Space Garbage Collector was made by the Martian Government. Along with having Terraformed the Martian Surface, and the population reaching over 1 Billion. That collector would begin collecting the Rubble of the Destroyed Satellites from 250 Years ago, and Mars was the Final known place that Humanity can Survive. \n\n\n100 Years after the Space Garbage Collector was launched, and 10 years before now, we could send a Scout Ship to Earth without it being destroyed by 350-Year-Old pieces of Space Junk. We sent a Scout Ship and saw that Humanity was still alive, even if in small Communities, the biggest Governments were only the size of a US County. We would aid them with development, and establish communication with them. That is what we are doing now. We have established Communication, using a Satellite, and are communicating to you. \nThe Current State of Affairs on Mars is not good. a group of Terrorists rose, demanding that we blot the sun from Earth again, or we get destroyed by them. They don't pose a threat to us, currently. \nThis is Director of Earthly Affairs, Jean Amorse, Ou- \n\n\nWHO IS MESS- \nCOMMUN- \n\n\nSignal Lost. Main Earthly Communications Satellite Destroyed.",
"Jackson lit a cigarette and grabbed a record from the shelf. The room filled with drums when the needle found the groove which contained “Planet B” by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. *There is no Planet B*, Jackson thought in sync with the song. The atmosphere was so riddled with debris following “The Event” that the Kessler Syndrome had come into effect—all future travel out of Earth’s atmosphere was thereby rendered impossible.\n\n“The Event” was, by all legal accounts, an act of terrorism. The group responsible, Project JustEarth, had been classified by numerous governmental bodies as a terrorist organization and, by definition, their methods were calculated acts of violence to attain an ideological goal. However, unlike most “terrorist” organizations, their stated mission was, generally speaking, agreeable to the general public: prioritize Earth, energize stewardship, and demonize waste. That said, not everyone agreed with their methods—least of all, the establishment.\n\nJackson dabbed his cigarette in the ash tray on his coffee table. Guitars propelled him to his window; he took in the speckled early morning sky as “Mars for the Rich” played. He couldn’t help but feel like a turtle in a shoe box with holes poked in the lid when he looked at the sky filled with pollutant. *Mars for the rich? Not anymore,* he thought.\n\nPrior to “The Event,” the U.N. Commission for Intergalactic Settlement had approved the sale of plots of land on Mars and Venus for imminent colonization. History had repeated and the plots sold to the elite. A waiting list had been established for those poor trying to mortgage their Earthly lives for hope. *Mars for the privileged, Earth for the poor*, the lyrics resonated in Jackson’s head as he pulled closed his window shades. *Those assholes are in this with us now*, he thought.\n\nMany blamed Project JustEarth for causing the realization of the Kessler effect, though their supporters and sympathizers saw their actions as catalyst, not cause. Should one blame an enzyme for having broken down the lactose from the cheeseburger eaten by an overweight man? Or would one understand that the enzyme, programmed for survival, had undertaken the necessary steps to fulfill its biological mandate? To the leadership of Project JustEarth, there was no more base or righteous biological mandate than that to survive.\n\nA cacophony of drums and squealing guitar filled the room as “Organ Farmer” blasted out of the AudioEngine speakers. Jackson sat down in his office chair and opened his laptop, the glow of the screen illuminated the darkened room. *Counterfeit hypocrite, runs them all, runs them all, seething ill ‘cause they will, counting coins, counting stem cells*, droned song. At the laptop, Jackson had set to draft an email. It began:\n\n“To my fellow revolutionaries—we should be proud of what we have accomplished. Generations of humanity have turned their eyes to the cosmos and longed for escape from this paradise called Earth. Our act has eliminated that most vile and self-destructive instinct to flee.\n\n“The Kessler Syndrome (of Effect) is characterized by an atmospheric domino effect. The idea is that particulates within Earth’s atmosphere, if disturbed, will collide and break into smaller particulates, thereby increasing the likelihood of future collisions. We can take pride in knowing that our actions have set off a different type of Kessler effect—one of action. “The Event” as it has come to be known, will serve as the first domino to fall which leads to greater conservation and care for our mother planet.\n\n“While our approach was controversial, the results will not be. We have forced the wealthy and the elite to avert their gaze from the sky and turn their attention inward. No longer can they ignore the plight of this world, as they now know they share in its fate. I believe, to borrow their phrase, this is called an “alignment of incentives.”\n\n“We must now—”\n\nBANG. BANG. BANG. Jackson hits send on his message incomplete.\n\n*Part of me wants to breathe eternally, part of me wants to cut out my heart*.\n\nJust as the song had reached its sonic climax, the door of Jackson’s apartment was bust down and a swat team surrounded him, guns drawn.",
"\"HAHA you technological dweebs! No more space for you! Now you're going to have to mend your own world first!\"\n\nOriginally low earth orbit had been wide empty space. Then the Russians came. Then the US. Then the communication companies. Then the microsats, and the kiddie science experiments. It had evolved into a carefully orchestrated dance, with satellites shooting every which-way. These environmental terrorists had just taken it a step further, loading a few microsats with grenades and setting them off. That spread shrapnel at low velocities in all directions from the original orbit (differing only by one kilometer per second). But the original orbit went at right angles to other orbits at about ten kilometers per second, and at those speeds a hit with a single bit of shrapnel was enough to turn any satellite into another burst of shrapnel. After a few weeks of chain reactions, the Kessler Syndrome had set in, with all of low earth orbit a massive uncontrolled shooting gallery. It took out everything.\n\nGeosynchronous orbit remained, but getting there would have to pass through low earth orbit for an hour, and usually that was enough to knock out anything.\n\nSatellite phones? Out. Spy sats? Out. Rogue nuclear powers developing unhindered? No dice, supersonic spy planes still worked. Intercontinental ballistic missiles? Out. Weather prediction? Still fairly good. SpaceX colonizing Mars? Fuggedabouddit.\n\nRight?\n\nSpaceX scheduled more launches after the Kessler Syndrome set in, not less. Instead of aiming their rockets East, to take advantage of the earth's rotation to establish a stable orbit, they aimed them West. And loaded them with payloads of tons of sand. Which they purposely exploded right after they left the atmosphere.\n\nThe resulting space sandstorm did not have enough momentum to stay up. It just went up, sprayed all over the place, and fell back down. The shrapnel running into it at ten kilometers per second was sandblasted into smaller pieces. Slower pieces. Which also fell down. The night sky was very colorful for a few nights. Then it faded. Some grains of sand managed to achieve the speed for a stable orbit, but they were highly charged, and the Van Allen belts cleaned them up within a month. Then the night sky was pristine. And SpaceX resumed on its original schedule.\n\n\"Amateurs.\"",
"It was a feat of mad engineering, the sort of thing a physicist might sketch out on a napkin before declaring it impossible and throwing it away. No one quite understood it, but the rockets that went up came right back down. Usually in flames.\n\nSeveral groups tried to take credit. There was always an agenda to push, and human nature sees every disaster as an opportunity to get ahead.\n\nBut every claim, when pressed by people with pointy weapons and a real desire for resolution, proved to be false. And still the rockets fell.\n\nThen the satellites started to join them. In ones and twos at first. Then came the dozens and the hundreds, until the night sky was just streaks of human ingenuity igniting in the atmosphere. And then it was dark.\n\nA message came, one that turned every piece of metal into an antenna, one that echoed around the world. Nonsense in ones and zeroes, coming from not here and going to everywhere.\n\nThe message was encoded. The cypers were encoded. It was like trying to read a novel written on helium. But humanity is nothing if not persistent, and with time enough a human mind can twist to fill any crack.\n\nThe cyphers were decoded. A language was solved. A message was decoded.\n\nThe message stated, quite simply, “You are grounded until you leave your planet how you found it. -The universe.”\n\nIt took two years for the fault wars to end. None wanted the blame, and so the bloodiest game of tag in history raged. When, ultimately, everyone was found to be “it” the war fizzled out. Knowing every crater would have to be filled in ultimately took the fun out of making them.\n\nAnd so humanity embarked on its fifth age, a plan to get back everything it had while leaving things better than they were. Guns were dropped, shovels were raised, and tomorrow became today.\n\nIt was forty years before humanity found out the whole thing was a prank by some bored college students from Alpha Centauri, and forty seven years before the earth reduced their civilization to dust. A staggering reminder that, while we can do better, we’re really rather not."
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[WP]You decide to escape your fate of becoming the next queen by running away from the palace. Years later you come back to the palace, only to see that someone has been pretending to be you all these 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.*",
" The elderly woman hummed as she moved through the market, picking up an apple to smell it. So sweet. She bought several, and went on her way. She wasn’t paying much attention to what was in front of her as she looked around, until she bumped into me. “Excuse me, miss!” the old woman exclaimed. \n\nI turned around, and gave her a radiant smile. \n\nHer apples dropped to the ground with a thud. Eyes wide, she reached out a wizened hand. “M-my lady?” she gasped. \n\nI responded by grabbing her arm and pulling her into a tight embrace. “Nora,” I murmured into the old woman’s hair. “I thought I’d never see you again.”\n\n“What are you doing here?” Nora asked. She suddenly glanced around, nervous.\n\n“I need your help.”\n\nIt took little convincing for Nora to help me sneak into the palace. While she had long officially retired from service, she had trained most of the palace maids herself. She had been the Queen’s personal attendant since she was born. Everyone knew her, and she was welcome to come and go as she pleased. Gaining entrance to the Queen’s chambers was just as easy. Nora reminisced with both guards and offered each of them a shiny apple for their troubles. “That one I used to bounce on my knee when he was a wee thing,” she confided in me.\n\nOn entering, the Queen rose from her reading chair. “Nora?” she said. “What is it?”\n\nI stepped forward, crossing my arms. “Hello, whoever you are. You might not recognize me, but I am Seanna I, rightful queen of this land.”\n\nThe Queen drew a hand to her mouth in shock, then her eyes narrowed. “That is a lie. I am Seanna I. How dare you claim to be me?”\n\nNora stepped forward. She spoke with a low, barely audible whisper. “Beth, please. Hear her out. She isn’t here to try to take the throne from you.” She glanced at me. “Right?”\n\nI put up my hands in a gesture of peace. “I have no intention of being queen. That’s why I ran away in the first place. I was shocked to hear that ‘I’ ascended the throne anyways.” \n\nThe Queen shrugged nonchalantly. “The Council was ashamed of you, running from your duty. I was similar in appearance, so they asked me to play Queen for them. Move to the beat of their drums.” She suppressed a giggle. “They were the first I had executed.”\n\nI could hide the bitterness from my voice no longer. “I was even more shocked to see how you ran this kingdom into the ground, over the years… raising taxes, starting pointless wars… and then burning the villages who refused to meet your demands any longer.”\n\nI closed my eyes as the memory flashed behind my lids. *The village was engulfed in flames. Screams seemed to come from every direction as I pounded down the dirt path, calling out. “Jemma!” I bellowed. “Jemma, where are you?”*\n\nIt would be hours later when I found her body, lifeless. Though her clothing was charred and her hair singed, it was likely the smoke that had killed my little girl.\n\nRunning a hand through her hair, the Queen gave me a hard stare. “What do you want from me? I bore of this conversation.”\n\nWalking towards the woman who had usurped my identity, I felt like I was floating. Finally, I could end the one regret that I had been carrying since I had run away so long ago. She never saw the blade.\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nThe guards had me tight by the arms, and my knees dragged across the floor as they carried me to my death. From the corner of my eye, I could see Nora trying to push past a long-haired guard, yelling at them to let her aside.\n\n“Please, stop what you’re doing!” she rasped. “This isn’t right! She is our queen!”\n\nThe guards scoffed at the mad old woman, ignoring her cries. I was brought to kneel in front of a solid stump, upon which my chin was to rest while my neck was severed. My arms were bound. I waited.\n\nBegging and pleading wore down the long-haired guard, who conceded a moment for Nora to say goodbye. She rushed to my side, and threw herself down. “My lady,” she whispered urgently. “You must tell them the truth. They are about to murder their own monarch.”\n\n“They will never believe,” I said, smiling sadly. “And it would appear my time is up. Queen Seanna has failed her people, and today she dies.”\n\nNora quickly took my hand in her own, and kissed it fervently. “You will be remembered,” she said, tears springing to her ancient eyes. “If only by me.” She was whisked away by a guard thereafter. \n\nAlone again, I closed my eyes. I did not wish to see Death on his arrival. I heard the heavy footsteps of the executioner, the whistle of wind on blade. My crimes were read out—I had murdered myself on this day. I muttered a small prayer. I thought of little Jemma. I thought of nothing more."
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[WP] Everyone thinks immortals just want to become emperor and rule the world. This is not the case. Well, except for Taj. He's tried to take over the world multiple times, and always fails. The small immortal community decides to give Taj an intervention.
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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're just not good at it\"\n\nTaj looks up, he's been sitting with his head in his hands all night, looking at the floor. One by one, the circle of immortals has told Taj all the ways his actions have effected them and why they think he should stop trying to take over the world. Some are sipping coffee from styrofoam cups, others smoking cigarettes.\n\n\"Not good at it?\" Taj replies, \"I'm the best at it!\"\n\nAll the immortals shift in their seats, looking at one another; Taj's lack of self awareness is almost comical.\n\n\"Taj\" one says, \"You've tried to take over the world twenty-three times in the last millennium, and they've all failed. Why don't you apply that gumption to something productive?\"\n\n\"Productive?\" Taj asks, \"Like what, traveling around the world pretending to be Roma or attending your stupid immortal 'cult' gatherings?\"\n\n\"Hey!\" say one indignantly, losing his cool \"those gathering are important! They give us all a reason to see each other every year.\"\n\n\"Important? You put on a bunch of phony plays, it's like theater camp. You don't even sacrifice anyone!\" Cries Taj.\n\n\"Let's all calm down.\" Says one of the immortals. \"We're here to help Taj. Taj; we're just saying, it's hard for us to communicate with you when all you talk about is world domination and human sacrifice, it's gotten...kind of old. And we're tired of having to stop you...\"\n\nTaj looks up again. 'Stop him?' They've been thwarting his plans on along! It wasn't that he was bad at taking over the world of mortals, it was that all his fellows immortals have been working against him. He realized what he'd have to do if he wanted to take over the mortal world; he'd have to rid it of immortals first.",
"Taj the restless, Taj the fool, Taj the madman, Taj the scourge, Taj the source of disappointment and ill repute. \n\nHe was the only immortal amongst the twelve who had tried to rule the world. He was the only immortal who wanted to do it, but thanks to him, people thought that's what every immortal wanted to do. No.\n\nCecilius was a philosopher. He leveraged his age for wisdom unheard and appeared throughout history as many different people, all wise men. \n\nMishagi was a craftswoman. She used her age to learn crafts, new and old and ancient. She did not make her presence known, but gifts made by her are still found in many a gift shop.\n\nPerrine was a dancer. She used her age to make her body lithe and elegant and strong. The inventors of Ballet, Irish Dances, Line Dances, they all learnt from her. But the selfish humans never shared the credit. Not that Perrine cared.\n\nAnd of such manner there were many. Some reticent, some masters of disguise, but none like Taj.\n\nThe brazen Taj who declared every twenty years that he was going to capture the world. The idiot Taj who appeared all over the world, in different countries, leading military coups. Causing world wars and whatnot. \n\nTaj brought the immortals plenty of abuse. Many a time many an immortal were burnt or stoned or hanged for just being immortal. Finally, the trio of Cecilus, Mishagi, and Perrine found Taj in a skidrow apartment and tried to stop his madness as he sat in his room, defeated, after another botched conquest.\n\n\"What's the purpose of this, Taj? This is not the way to live. You don't need to fight and conquer and kill. Use your time, use it for good,\" Cecilius said.\n\n\"Oh, to hell with your sermons, Cecilius. I lost this time, but I can't keep losing forever. And why have you come here? Just to suppress my ambition. Because I don't bow down to their king? Because I have balls?\"\n\nCecilius shook his head. Perrine laughed. \n\n\"You don't bow down to any king? You have balls? Please. You are a fool, Taj. That's what you are. Nobody takes you seriously. All you do is get beaten senseless.\"\n\n\"And all it does is that it brings us harm. You know how many times they have called my goods witchcraft and burned my things, and tried to kill me, hang me and stone me. All because I am an immortal, like you,\" Mishagi said, her voice quivering.\n\n\"Aw hell, that's why we need to crush them. In my rule, nobody calls you a witch or nothing. In my rule, Cecilius, you can sit on any stone you like and think your bloody thoughts. In my rule, Perrine you can dance in the streets, naked if you want to. In my rule -\"\n\n\"Your rule? The one that never came, and never will. Don't kid yourself, Taj. I would love to dance on the streets one day. Naked or otherwise, but I can do it now if I wish. The humans will let me. There's nothing to gain from this, Taj.\"\n\n\"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results,\" Cecilius said. \n\n\"There's no need brother. If you want to learn something we will teach you. There's no need to kill and conquer.\"\n\n\"And get beaten up, and bring us all harm.\"\n\n\"Yes, there is no need, Taj. You must understand. The meaning of life is to find yourself and to learn and to grow. Not to smash some heads in and laugh triumphant.\"\n\n\"Taj, this, Taj, that, mwmwmwmwmw, don't you have anything else to do? Get out of here, you pansies. I am a real man and I will live like one. I don't need you and your delicate arts and thoughts and all that crap. Leave me alone.\"\n\nCecilius shook his head, Perrine sighed, and Mishagi started to weep. \n\nHe also was Taj the knobhead.\n\n(Join r/kid_r0cK for more stories.)",
"Hi guys beginner and aspiring writer here, would really appreciate some feedback, please don’t hold back’ thanks again.\n\n“It is unorthodox for our kind to be consumed by such base passions.” \n\nThere was an air of authority to that voice, monotonous in delivery yet unmistakably accusatory, it compelled our subject, a meandering figure in slumber to straighten up his posture and perk to attention. It was not the first time for Taj to be in the hot seat. He was an anomaly, a stranger in familiar grounds, and it seems treading the same dangerous water as he has done before. \n\n“To then allow your higher facilities to be consumed by such passions, you not only undermining our purpose, you have become a mockery to our institution!” \n\nThe uncharacteristic anger of the accuser shocked the rest of the delegation, each member habitually uttered the mantra “Yarashoroakhim” in unison, which seems to simmer the escalating tension in the atmospheric chamber. \n\nTaj immediately realised the severity of the situation. Immortals pride themselves as impartial observers, any display of emotions is unbecoming to their kind. Never the one to get tongue tied he came prepared, slowly rising from his seat he looked up at the council, his eyes moving from left to right, registering every movement, every gesture and facial distortions of the council elders. He let out a breath of air clearing his throat, he lift his head and fix his piercing gaze upon the accuser\n\n“Honourable Elders of the Council, I stand guilty of the allegations put forth upon me, but for my intent and passions I shall not apologise . As ethereal beings we hold a duty beyond observance, as creators are we not responsible for the actions of our creation? When the Great Balance is disturbed by the savagery, greed and debauchery of these humanoid creatures, is it not our duty to restore equilibrium? Is it not the mark of a good leader be amongst the rank and file of men to lead the charge for change? Without our direct interference, these creatures are doomed to destroy each other and with their destruction they will bring the entire creation into ruins.” \n\nPunctured throughout his passionate outpour were deliberate movements that seem almost jerky and over animated in contrast to the fluidity and calm of the floating chamber. Taj still standing with unwavering resolve scans the room again with a calculating look he continues to evaluate the effectiveness of his move. The council remains stoic and unfazed. \n\n“TaJ, do you know why you constantly fail in conquering humanity?”\n\nTaJ looks on intently but was unable to answer. He possessed enormous physical power, he was driven by what he believe to be right way of the cosmos, he had immense power of persuasion, why then does he fail? As he stands in contemplation , the voice continues\n\n“Our nature governs our power, equilibrium has it natural way of restoration and Humans are governed by their very construct. They are destined, in their current form, to drive themselves to extinction, our duty is merely one of observance and to relay our findings to the eternal consciousness, nature has already chosen our course, you think you can defy that?” \n\n“We should just sit and watch them self destruct? \n\n“The cycle never ceases, destruction is the mother of creation, out of the ashes of human destruction, something new will take its place and the Great Balance will restore itself” \n\n(Tbc)",
"\" Taj, it's a problem.\"\n\n\"No, it's not, you guys\" Taj said, holding a giant monolith in his horrible hands, having previously been on a mission to cause death and destruction of all mankind, or at least to aid in it.\n\n\" It's not a problem\", he repeated, \" I can stop whenever I want.\"\n\n\" No, Taj, you can't. Ever since you've become an immortal, you've tried to establish your rule over Earth 17 times-\"\n\n\" It can't be 17 times. I'm pretty su-\"\n\n\" Nope, 17 times. And it wouldn't even be a problem if you were fucking good at it, you pleb.\"\n\n\" Ya, we just want some peace.\", someone chimed from the back.\n\n\"God, you guys\", said Taj, holding a giant shovel in his disgustingly abhorrent arms, planning to dig a giant hole to the Earth's core, \"Haven't you had enough peace for, I don't know, eternity?\"\n\n\"You're a new guy, Taj. You wouldn't understand..\" The elder immortal paused, glimpses of the past shining in her age old silver eyes, \"The past 10 years have been hell. For us but also for humanity. Maybe 2020 can be an year for the better, an year for rest and rejuvenation. Except for you, you little bitch, you simply can't stop your stupid plans.\"\n\n\"Stupid, stupid plans.\" The council echoed.\n\n\"Hmm,\" Taj pauses, holding The Last AppleBerrry in his horrible, horrible, fucking useless hands, an instrument of mass destruction, \"Okay. Okay.. Maybe for an year.. I guess I can.. Stop?'\n\nThe council breathed a sigh of relief.\n\n\" Except for-\"\n\nThe council members shouted angrily and one of them jumped of the building(don't worry, he's immortal).\n\n\"Except for this one plan, you guys, please...\" Terry-whatever-his-fuckin-name-is pleaded. \"I promise this one's going to work, or not, I don't know. But after this I'll stop.\"\n\nThe council heaved a sigh of disappointment.\n\n\"If only you say this is the last time.\"\n\n\"I do. I mean, I say-\"\n\n\"Whatever, get out.\"\n\nAnd Taj went out, planning his last plan, to make 2020 the worst year ever for humanity.\n\nTaj, that little son of a bi-",
"Taj walked into the small, well-lit and well-furnished room. He saw the other immortals sitting in their chairs with their necks craned towards him as he stepped through the archway. He was immediately suspicious of this gathering and looked at each of the other immortals silently, inquisitevily.\n\nSir Galahad straightened his well-tailored suit and stood up. “Taj, thank you for joining us. First, I just want you to know that everyone in this room cares about you.”\n\n“Cares about me?” Taj questioned him. “What the hell do you mean? What is this?”\n\nSir Galahad breathed deeply. “Taj, this is an intervention.”\n\n“An intervention?”\n\nThe Count of St. Germain spoke up. “Yes, Taj. An intervention. We think it is high past time you stop trying to take over the world. It’s just getting embarrassing at this point.”\n\nTaj scoffed, looked around the room for help. “Wha.. what? Take over the world?” He laughed and walked towards Sir Galahad. “I’m just having fun guys… I mean… it’s not serious. … look we have all the time in the world, I’m just trying to make the best of it.”\n\n“It’s not appropriate, Taj.” Sir Galahad said. “It’s unbecoming of an immortal. It’s unbecoming of *you*.”\n\n“This is ridiculous,\" Taj said. “You can all kiss my ass.” He turned to walk out of the room, opened the door, but as he was stepping over the threshold, he heard Ashwathama call out in his deep voice.\n\n“If you don’t come back in here and sit down, Taj, we will have no choice but to ban you from the guild.”\n\nTaj stopped. They wouldn’t dare, would they? He closed the door and walked silently back to the couch. He poked at the fabric. “You’ve been alive what, two thousand years, Galahad? And you can’t buy a better couch than this cheap piece of shit? I guess drinking from the holy grail didn’t bring you everlasting taste, did it?”\n\nSir Galahad reached his hand to Taj, his eyes full of tears. He squeezed Taj’s hand. “Taj, the people in this room love you. They feel you’ve become obsessed with your desire for world dominance. Some of us have some things we want to say to you, will you listen?”\n\nTaj looked around the room at all the faces, their eyes down at their lap or smiling weakly at him. Ashwathama was looking at his watch and sighing.\n\n“Okay,” Taj said. “Okay, I’ll listen. Absolutely. I think this is a complete waste of time. But I’ll listen.”\n\nMahāvatār Bābājī pulled out a thin, wrinkled piece of paper from his pocket. His eyes full of tears, his voice cracking as he began to speak robotically, reading the words on the page like a child up in front of a class reciting a book report. “Taj, I don’t like being here. I don’t like having to say these things. But I feel it must be said. Growing up as immortals we’ve had some really memorable moments. Remember playing that 30-year game of monopoly, until you got upset and kicked the board over? That was fun. Remember spending a whole decade moving that lady’s stuff around in her house after she left for work until she had a complete mental breakdown? Remember spending all that time reading the unabridged version of war and peace? It seems like so far away, but what fun we had! I miss those moments with you, Taj. I miss them. Ever since you’ve got this obsession with taking over the world it’s all you want to do. But we are immortals, Taj. We are above the politics of the world. It’s beneath us. It’s beneath *you*.”\n\n“But it’s fun! It’s my life… yeah, the last time ended badly. But I know what I did wrong. I can fix it.”\n\nMahāvatār Bābājī just shook his head. “You’re sick, Taj. You’re not well. You need help. You’ve had more failed coup attempts than latin America for god sake! You can’t even convince armies to join you anymore. You're just recruiting low lives into your doomsday cults now. It’s over, Taj. You’re never going to rule the world. And even if you did, you’d just get bored after a few hundred years anyways. There’s no point.”\n\n“But I got over ten-thousand soldiers that one time in the 1,500’s! They really liked me. I even won a couple battles.”\n\n“Taj, you were just in the right place at the right time,” Sir Galahad said. “You got lucky. But how many mortals have been killed because of your half-baked plans? Do you ever think of them? It’s only a game to you because your life is infinite. But for them? It’s no game. And they don’t deserve to be a pawn in the games of an immortal. It’s not fair, Taj.”\n\nAshwathama slammed his fist on the coffee table then looked at Taj. “Enough of this. It’s over, Taj. From this day on, no more trying to take over the world. Understood?”\n\nTaj took a deep breath. “Understood,” he said and wiped a tear from his eye.\n\nSir Galahad came and gave Taj a hug, and said, \"I'm proud of you.\" He turned to the rest of the crew and shouted, “so, who’s up for a game of monopoly?”\n\nShouts of, *I am,* rang through the small room."
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[WP] Two hundred years ago the sun vanished from the sky. The remnants of humanity survived by burrowing underground. Generation have passed and now, without warning, the sun suddenly reappeared.
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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 my history class, I learned there used to be a sun in the sky. I also learned that we all survived the disappearance of the sun by creating caves underground. There are lightbulbs down here, and candles, and also flashlights. My teacher said that's why the population declined so rapidly. She told us, \"People couldn't survive the lack of Vitamin D, didn't have the resources to dig into the ground in time, and there was no warning.\"\n\nThe sun just went away.\n\nI live in a burrow called Ira Cave. It's an intricate, underground burrow that has a schoolhouse, dwellings, and places to grow food. All of the caves are interconnected by tunnels. I'm not sure how many caves there are in total. Nobody knows the number of people who survived two-hundred years ago and nobody knows how many have re-produced since.\n\nI've been told that humanity has gone \"backward.\" Its technological advances have stalled, the future is no longer the future, we have become \"more primitive.\" Although in my opinion, I don't see anything primitive about our way of life. I heard though, that there used to be utopias on Earth, up above. There were \"countries\" and \"states\" and \"medical centers.\"\n\nMy father's name is Henry. He goes by Bryant. That's his last name. He builds caves.\n\nBuilding caves is a risky job. There's a lot that can go wrong. Sometimes, the rocks fall on the workers and pulverize them. There have been instances of lights burning out, power failures, food souring during long trips. My mother isn't a fan. She tells him all the time, \"Why don't you work doing something else?\"\n\nI want to be just like my father.\n\n\"Dad, can I go with you?\"\n\nHe always says no.\n\nEven though he says no, I'm eating dinner with him right now. He's talking to Martin at the entrance. There's no doors anywhere because there's no wood to build them. But I heard in my history class, that doors used to be a thing.\n\n\"I know you can do it,\" Martin is saying.\n\nMartin is my dad's supervisor. My dad tells Martin, \"Thanks. I'll be there tomorrow.\" \n\nThere's a privacy curtain hanging over the entrance. My mother made it. My dad pulls it shut and comes back to the table. The food's gone cold. My mother's cooked meatballs with rice. She's spooning marinara over her bowl. \n\nShe asks, \"What did he want?\"\n\n\"He wants me to take on a special assignment.\"\n\nMy mother cuts into a meatball. She separates it with a fork. \"What's the assignment?\"\n\n\"He wants me to get up on the ground.\"\n\nHer fork drops. She gasps, \"No!\"\n\n\"Yeah. That's what he wants.\"\n\n\"You can't do that.\"\n\n\"What's that mean?\" I ask.\n\n\"It means,\" he says, \"up to where there's no sun.\"\n\n\"You know how dangerous that is, Henry?\" \n\n\"It's not that bad.\"\n\n\"Yes. It most certainly is.\"\n\nI ask, \"Why's that bad?\"\n\nMy mother pushes her bowl to the center of the table. Her meatball is split in half. She looks at me and answers, \"People get lost up there all the time. There's no lights. There's no guidance.\" She asks, \"Henry, what do they want you to do exactly?\"\n\nMy dad hasn't even touched his meatball. \n\n\"They want me to take all the lights we've got, and string them up so that people can start migrating up there. So we can live up there.\"\n\n\"What's wrong with down here?\" My mother gets up. She picks up the dish and stands with it in one hand.\n\n\"The quality of life isn't the same,\" he says, \"no fresh air, no breezes, I don't know Karen. It's an assignment. I can't say no.\"\n\n\"Can I go with you dad?\"\n\nMy mother walks to the sink. She drops the plate in. She says, \"Most certainly not.\"\n\n\"Karen. What's the use in sheltering her?\"\n\n\"This is not sheltering, Henry!\"\n\n\"She'll need a job someday. She needs a skill,\" my dad says.\n\nHe leaves the meatball in his bowl, stands, and argues with my mother. He says he's going for a drink. My mother's not speaking to anyone. I'm going to my room. I'm packing my backpack up with everything I'll need. I'll put in extra clothing, some snacks, a few books.\n\nI know, in the morning, I'll finally be doing something important.\n\nI wake to my dad saying, \"Get up. Get dressed. Time to go.\"\n\nI'm dressed within five minutes. I have my hair combed within three. I'm waiting at the entrance with my backpack on.\n\nMy mother doesn't say goodbye.\n\nMy dad takes me to a tunnel. At the end, is an entrance. He says, \"You're going to walk with me for about three hours. You tired?\"\n\n\"No,\" I say. I am tired but I won't tell him that. That's because I'm strong. At least, I want him to think so.\n\nBeyond this entrance, I can see the tunnel is lit. It's long and winding. My dad insists we take a rest every hour. We do. Just as he said, on the third hour, we get to the end of the tunnel. It opens to a rock cavern.\n\nHe tells me, \"We're here.\"\n\nThere's a crew of workers waiting for us.\n\n\"Hey, Bryant. You made it,\" one of them says.\n\nAnother says, \"Some assignment they got us on, right?\"\n\nMy dad agrees and asks, \"Who's in charge?\"\n\nA guy named Caleb is in charge. He has gray hair, a gray beard, and he's short and fat. He says he'll be the one leading us up the ladder.\n\n\"Follow behind me with the light fixtures,\" he says, \"We got to find a way to run the lights from down here,\" he points up the ladder, \"to up there.\"\n\nWe all put on our gear. My dad hands me a big hard hat and some plastic eyewear. He's the first one behind Caleb. I'm behind my dad. I watch Caleb's work boots all the way up. He gets to the top.\n\n\"Cover your eyes,\" he says.\n\nI push the eyewear as close to my eyes as I can. Caleb tells us, \"This at the top, is a soft dirt covering. I'm going to break it open.\"\n\nHe takes out a sledgehammer. He points it at the patch of dirt. He hits and as the dirt falls, there is brightness.\n\nThe brightness blinds me. It blinds my dad, it blinds everyone.\n\nCaleb screams. The sledgehammer falls. My dad yells, \"Get down!\"\n\nWe back down. Caleb doesn't. He's stuck up there. He's screaming and his skin is melting away. He's turning pink and red and white.\n\n\"My God. He's melting.\"\n\nHe falls from the ladder. He hits the ground. His eyes are burned out from his head. His skin is molten flesh. There's smoke coming from his nostrils.\n\nNobody says anything. Then someone says, \"That sun must be a thousand fucking degrees.\"",
"I had three hours of battery life left. That gave me two hours max on the surface.\n\nThat was not enough time.\n\nA few precious feet were illuminated in front of my Surface Suit. This was my third trip. I was a scavenger. The pay was good. The hazard pay was high as it gets. But still probably not high enough for most. The retention rate for us Surfacers was abysmal. 50% didn’t even make it through training. And 75% of those that do, they don’t even make it through their third trip up. Most get too shook to go back. Others just never return from the Dark. The Slickers always take their share.\n\nBut I was going to be in that elite minority. My father was a Surfacer, sixteen trips before his radio was silenced forever. My mother had a picture of him in the room we lived in. She cried when I graduated from advanced surface training.\n\nMy comms rang out grainy in me ear: *Blue Alpha, this is Green Angel. Do you read?*\n\n“I read you, Green Angel. How am I looking?”\n\nGreen angel was my guardian. Each Surfacer had their own angel that trains with them before each surface deployment. They are your eyes and ears in the bulk darkness of the surface. Without them, you are definitely dead. With them, you are only probably dead.\n\n*All signs nominal, Blue Alpha. An ad hoc mission has just been passed down and we’ve been rerouted. I’ve uploaded the coordinates onto your navs. You should see the overlay soon.*\n\nRerouted? In the middle of a live mission?\n\n“Understood, Green Angel. Any information on this new mission?”\n\n*Not yet, Blue Alpha. I’ll let you know when I get word.*\n\nGreen Angel’s name was Bonny. She’s got red hair at about shoulder level that she sometimes wears in a ponytail. She has green eyes that look blue sometimes when we are sitting under the overhead lights in the chow hall. I like to make her laugh. She has a laugh that fills me with a contentment that I hold deep inside as long as I can. I’d like to make her laugh right now; it would make this expedition easier. But she’s in no laughing mood when she’s a live angel. And I appreciate that.\n\nThe nav overlay came through, the new route twitching in an orange string through the darkness ahead of me.\n\n“Nav’s up, Green Angel. I’m on my way.”\n\nThis section of the surface is called Sacramento. Named after the city that was once inhabited in this zone before The Deep Freeze hit. I see the towers on my grid as I step through the flatlands. The Ice cracking under my boots.\n\nThe first tower I reach breaks through the darkness like a monster. And I lift my head, my three sight lights shining up into the nothingness. People lived here I tell myself. The idea of living in something so huge makes me dizzy. In school they showed us old pictures of kids playing in a green field with a blue sky. It makes me feel funny. We’re not made to have so much space to move. I don’t know what I’d do with it all.\n\nThinking about all this makes me want to return. To get back to the hatch and return to Bonny and hear her laugh.\n\n*Everything okay, Blue Alpha?*\n\n“Five by five, Green Angel. I’m at the tower.”\n\n*Now you need to hurry, we don’t have much time. The target is on the second floor. Drone 2 and 3 are sweeping north along route zebra and will keep overwatch.*\n\n\"Roger that, Green Angel.\"\n\nI stepped up to the building. I shined my rifle’s light at the metal sign at the front of the tower. California State Archives it read. I smashed a window, the sound ringing out through the silence and the wind. I think I hear a shuffling sound near another tower in the distance and I shine my rifle in the direction. But the light barely makes it to the wall, and I see nothing, hear nothing. Infrared overlay isn’t picking up any life signs. But I’m sure there's got to be some Slickers in the area.\n\nI take a deep breath and crawl through the shadowed opening and into the deathly silence of The Archives. What the fuck have they sent me here for?"
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[WP] Anger management groups are designed specifically to weed out Werewolves. As particularly peaceful Werewolves, you and your friends were safe... Until they started disappearing one by one.
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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 friends and I were quite unorthodox. Okay, I'm sinning. I'm sorry I lied. Technically speaking that is. Lying by omission is still lying. So I'll try again. My friends and I were literally Werewolves; the mythical monsters who feasted on Men, Women, and Livestock in Eastern Europe. The rivals of the Vampires and Demons, the descendents of Witches and the primitive pseudo-Dinosaurs; Dragons. We were pacifists. We proved benevolent and beneficent werewolves exist. We did break off from their traditional benevolent intentions during one Summer when everything went wrong. \n\nAnger Management Facilities were popping up like Starbucks in the early to late 2000s. They were nothing more than fancy anti Werewolf facilities to prove people like us were fake and unless they repented they'd be stuck with their affliction. [Odd, since I'm a devout Protestant and I still transform when I stare directly into the full moon.]\n\nMy friends Nathan and Jacob went missing. I figured it was a hunter or zealot who wanted revenge so I took up to training, tracking, and research.\n\nMy Unorthodox Werewolf Social Circle ram a campaign of violence through several anti werewolf facilities and camps searching for our friends. \n\nWhat we found at the end was the werewolf skin of Nathan and Jacob being too late to act."
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[WP] You wake up alone on a deserted island with a scroll in front of you. It reads “You have been given a second chance. Survive here for 1 year and you will receive all you desire” On the back of the card it tells you to request three items in help of your survival effort.
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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.*",
"Chuck groaned. His entire body hurt. That was odd. He thought the whole point of jumping off a skyscraper was to make it not hurt anymore. He was, at the very least, not in a city. He could hear the sound of waves washing along a beach, and could smell the salt water. \n\nHe stood and brushed the sand off his back. He was definitely on a beach. The treeline was not far off, and he could tell it was unbroken. Still, he could not be sure where he was, just that it was someplace warm.\n\nAs he worked the kinks out of his shoulder he saw something that caught his attention. A piece of paper, no, a piece of parchment attached to a rock. There were words on the parchment, and he read it over:\n\nCharles Leon Harper\n\nYour life was not an easy one, nor a happy one. We offer our condolences on your decision to end your life. However, all of your personal circumstances have lead to your being selected for a new trial program. Your current location is an island in an undisclosed location. There is no way on or off, save our intervention, nor is there any method of communication with the outside world. If you are able to survive on this island for one year, your life will be remade in any way you want. There are no upper limits to this request, and any changes can include new individuals being brought into existence, supernatural abilities, and altered physical appearance. Reality itself will be reworked to meet your wishes.\n\nHowever, this will not be easy. Although you are the only human, you are not the only animal. Some are harmless, others are hostile. In addition, the weather on this island is difficult to predict and can be extreme. Survival will test you in ways you have never dreamed possible.\n\nIn order to aide you in this task, you are permitted three objects of your choice. The only restrictions are that they cannot be living, allow you to leave the island, allow communication, and must be something available with current human technology. You will find a pen attached to this message. Please use that to write your desired objects. After this has been done, both message and pen will disappear. \n\nGood luck.\n\nChuck looked at the parchment, rereading it several times. Was this for real? There was no way it could be real. It had to be a trick if some kind. But, then again, he had last been about to get into a sparring match with the ground, so maybe there was something more to this.\n\nEither way, he was alone, and he had to get something to help him. He quickly found the pen right where the parchment said it would be. It was an old-school fountain pen, with the tip already dipped in ink. Now he just had to think of what to ask for.\n\nThe first think he needed was a weapon. A gun would be ideal, but that would run out of ammo quickly. No, he needed something reusable. A spear maybe? No, that was too limited. He needed something that had a variety of uses. A knife? Better, but too short. After a moment of thought, his mind wandered to an old article he had read online, and he had the perfect thing to use:\n\nMilitary-grade tactical shovel.\n\nIt was an object that would have a hundred different uses, from combat to building. And if he maintained it well enough, it should last a year easily.\n\nNext on his list was food and water. He knew there was salt water, but he could not drink that. And he was not sure if there was freshwater. Plus there was always the problem of disease and parasites. He needed something to cook and boil water in. That gave him his second item. At least, he hoped it did. He was not sure if it would work or not though. Definitely worth a try anyway:\n\nCast iron cookware, full set.\n\nThe third was the hardest. He needed shelter. He needed medicine. He needed cold weather gear. He needed a way to transport things. And there was no one item that would meet all his needs. Did he ask for a tent? A heavy jacket? A backpack? And even if he got it, such things would be prone to damage. His other items were metal, and sturdy. But cloth items could rip. He would need a way to repair them. And then it hit him like a meteor. Repair or make. Sure he had no idea how to skin an animal, or even how to sew. But necessity was the mother of invention, and he could figure something out. And so he wrote:\n\nTextile construction and repair kit.\n\nHe set the pen down and held his breath. Now was when he discovered whether his items would be allowed. And if they would even be provided. A few seconds passed. The words he wrote on the parchment began to glow. The light spread to the whole parchment, and then the pen. Both disappeared. He heard a thud in the sand behind him. He knew what he would find even before he turned around. Sure enough, all the objects he had written down were there.\n\nHe grabbed the shovel by the handle, testing it's weight. He slipped it into his belt, and then picked up as much of the other gear as he could. He had a lot to do if he was going to change his life."
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[WP] Orphaned in a port town, you've known no kindness- until a merchant gifts you a hot chocolate, then takes you in. Now he is ill, the only solution is the legendary cure-all that lays across the ocean. You MUST get 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.*",
"The sun shined on the sea, but for some reason the sea was still cold. I was on the docks again, looking at the ships. It's starting to get cold again, and I knew that I had to hide under the sewers again. Then, boots were stomping behind me. Must be that mustached old dockworker again. Before I could look back and punch his legs for shooing me out, someone touched my shoulders.\n\nBehind him were two men with muskets on their shoulders. He asked, \"Hi there, little chap. What's your name?\"\n\n\"J-James.\"\n\n\"Well, hello, James, I'm Mr. Darcy. Why are you here?\"\n\n\"There's no place I can go.\"\n\n\"No? Why? Don't you have a home here in Boston?\"\n\n\"I don't, sir.\"\n\nHe looked down, and the tears in his eyes were coming out. Before he could say anything, he suddenly pulled out his flask and offered it to me. It was warm and good to touch during the cold. \"Drink, James, it's hot chocolate.\"\n\n\"W-What's hot chocolate?\"\n\n\"Just drink it, son.\"\n\nWhen the first drops of the liquid reached my tongue, entire portions lit up in happiness and joy as the warmth went around me and the sweetness excited me. I was so happy, so good, and it reminded me of Dad's sweet milk. I smiled, the first I ever did since three years ago. We talked more, almost hours. He was waiting on a ship, and he had more of this \"hot chocolate\", so I liked it. He was a merchant, selling antiques from far-flung and exotic places.\n\nSoon, his ship arrived. One of his men came up to him and said, \"Mr. Darcy, sir, your ship for England is here.\"\n\nHe turned to me and asked, \"How would you like to come to England with me, James?\"\n\n\"What's England?\"\n\nTo be fair at the time, I was young and I hadn't known everything. So, I followed him and we soon departed. When we arrived in England, the people were so much more happy and plentiful than Boston. We went to his estate near Birmingham, and my life there was nice. He helped and even raised me as one of his own sons, although he had plenty of them. I wasn't legally a member of the family, only a grocer, but I was loved nonetheless. Soon, the days turned to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years. \n\nOne day, he summoned me in his room. The box of tissues were open, showing his bloodied coughs on them. I went closer, being careful to not infect him.\n\n\"James?\"\n\n\"Yes, Mr. Darcy?\"\n\n\"I'm dying, J-James. There is a cure, but... It's with the Indians. Find the Red Arrow in South Carolina, he's Cherokee. Find him for me.\"\n\nI nodded and said, \"I will, Mr. Darcy... I will.\"\n\nI wasted no time in making the voyage. Mr. Darcy was there for me, and now it was my opportunity to repay him. I got on the next ship, and sailed back to my former home. Months passed, and I prayed to the Lord every day for assistance. Then, I arrived. It wasn't Boston, but somewhere more south. The Americans, my former countrymen, had settled in their novel independence. I asked for leads, for places, and I had spent days finding the place for the Red Arrow. It wasn't until two weeks that I had found a breakthrough in a small place they call Oceanlane. I made my trek, knowing that Mr. Darcy will live again. I went up mountains, crossed rivers, and slept in the woods. I hunted, I foraged, I did everything. Soon, Oceanlane was close, merely hours away.\n\nThen, I arrived to see... A scorched earth. Dead trees littered the land, and the ground was black and cracked. No one was there. Before I could go down, the snap of a twig surprised me. I turned around, and there was another man there.\n\nHe walked to me, his arms up. \"Hiya boy. What you lookin' for?\"\n\n\"The place called Oceanlane, a Cherokee city.\"\n\n\"You ain't readin' the papers, huh, boy? That President van Buren, they relocated them Cherokee away from here.\"\n\nMy heartbeat went up. What about the cure? \"Do you know about Red Arrow?\"\n\n\"Hell, I do. Cherokee put up a last stand. Died the next day.\"\n\nIn that moment, I had realised... Mr. Darcy will die, and I will not repay him.",
"A vein appeared on Marty's chin, the final holdout in a circulatory system that insisted on deviating from its usual position *inside* the body. His face was as red as a boiled ham. \"I NEED passage to the Adem Empire, and your ship is the only one that sails today,\" he twitched.\n\nThe shipyard attendant stared forward vacantly. Marty couldn't tell if the man had heard him or not. \n\n\"EXCUSE ME,\" he said politely. \"I need a ticket. You're selling tickets. I need you to sell me a ticket for the ship sailing to the Adem Empire.\"\n\n\"Young man,\" the attendant began. Marty's brain, already short-circuiting, sputtered and popped at the appellation. \"Young man, as I have explained to you, there are simply no more seats aboard the *Serenity*. You will have to wait until she returns in a fortnight. Would you like to purchase a ticket for that trip now? Until then, there are no other ships sailing to the Adem Empire.\"\n\nMarty couldn't hear what the attendant was saying over the very persistent screaming occurring inside his head.\n\n\"FINE,\" he said. \"I'll find some other way to the Adem Empire.\" Marty spun around and began to march away from the docks determinedly. He didn't have a plan, but he knew that SOMEHOW he was going to end up on the *Serenity* before 7 pm that evening. He had to.",
"\"Panacea?\"\n\n\"Yes, Tellios. Panacea, the cure for all. If there's anything that can cure old Nicolaus' ailment, that would be it\"\n\nTellios' hope was renewed. The flame in his heart was extinguished from bad news after bad news from every medicine men in the town. Old Nicolaus had been a father figure for Tellios since he was younger, since Nicolaus found the near dead Tellios swarmed by rats on the port. He took the young boy in and raised him as his own. Tellios owed his life to the kind old man and there's nothing he wouldn't do for old Nicolaus.\n\n\"Deucatius, where can I find this cure for all?\", asked Tellios to the old fisherman. Old Deucatius' face went stoic, as he knew well the trial and tribulation one must face to find the treasure of the gods. He raised his arms and pointed far to the open ocean.\n\n\"Across Thalassa, my boy. At the far end of Poseidon's domain. On the island of Crete, the birthplace of God Zeus himself\"\n\nTellios was conflicted. He thanked the old fisherman and went home, burdened by the thought all the way home. \n\nLying inside the dark house was old Nicolaus. For weeks he hadn't been able to stand as weakness had ridden his already frail body. The sight broke Tellios every time he must laid his eyes upon the sick man. But this one time, with a glimmer of hope by his side his resolve was made. Standing by the side of his dying beloved he made his promise.\n\n\"Nicolaus....father, you showed me kindness all those years ago and you continued to do so which made me the man I am today. I will go to Crete and find Panacea to cure you. I will not go home until I do so, I promise you\"\n\nAnd with those words as his binding oath, he left his home to sail the sea. Trusting the care for old Nicolaus to old Theodora, their kindly neighbor.\n\n\\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\"Crete? Kid, come on. You are not Jason nor you are an Argonaut, this journey of yours will only end in failure\"\n\nDeucatius warned young Tellios. But his warning fell on deaf ears as the young man was full of focus, preparing the sail and his supplies on his father's old boat.\n\n\"We wouldn't know unless I try\", he said the famous last words.\n\nDeucatius sighed, smiling thinly, \"Well kid, I know nothing I say will stop you. So good luck, may the gods be with you\"\n\nAnd so with the wind blowing east to his way, Tellios started his perilous quest.\n\n\\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n*Like the story of old, of the quest of the Golden Fleece, a young brave one set out on his own. The treasure of Olympus, Panacea, the cure for all he seek. Songs and tales of the nereids echoed through the rocks of Thalassea, recounting tales of the man with fire of Prometheus in his eyes.*\n\n*Slaying the great hydra like Heracles of old, scorned the allure of the sirens like Odysseus once did. Forty days he trudged through the waves, not even Poseidon's storm could extinguish the flame in his heart. For love, for a promise.* \n\n*At last after all that was through, the young man stepped his foot on the island of Crete. In the depth of the Diktaean cave, there he finally laid his eyes upon the treasure. The Panacea, the mythical plant glowing of gold. From within it the young man could feel its radiating presence, he could see his answer, his salvation.*\n\n*But alas, the gods must disagree, in their divine jealousy, with what the young man had accomplished. As soon as he was but a few steps away from the treasure, the earth moved and opened her maw. As the hands of Poseidon himself grasped the treasure plant and plunged it into the depth of his domain.* \n\n*In anger, his roar of sorrow trembled all those who witnessed him. He dropped his heavy knees, his heavy heart onto the earth defeated. Olympus might laugh at his dismay, but soaring above their expectation the young man stood up once more. In his sorrow he found more determination.*\n\n*His journey has yet be completed. Whatever he must do, whoever he must face, he shall not go back to his beloved, before he had in his hands the cure for all. Remember his name, Tellios son of Nicolaus.* \n\n\\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nThe tale passed on in songs and poems had long become legend, and legend had long become myth. Years has it been since Tellios set out on his journey. The stories even went back and sung to old Nicolaus' ears. He was so proud, only if Tellios could know how much Nicolaus thought of him. \n\nAlthough in the end Tellios never came back, not even after Nicolaus himself passed away of his illness. The brave young man's fate was never known. Some said he went to the deepest of Thalassa, confronting Poseidon himself. Some said he climbed the mountain of the gods where he seek vengeance upon the Olympians. Some even said he took Panacea for himself and became an immortal. \n\nWhatever the Fates had in store for the brave young one, let us keep his myth be remain as one. Alas one thing was certain, Tellios never broke his promise to old Nicolaus."
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[WP] You have been cursed by a god. Every day, you grow or shrink to a size between 3 inches and 20 feet, but you still try to live a normal 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.*",
"\"Fucking hell Johnny\" I said, as we weaved between traffic \"getting a fake driver's licence to enter a bar is one thing, but getting behind the wheel with that ID is something else. Where the fuck did you get this piece of shit anyway?\"\n\n\"I, er, borrowed it\" said Johnny, half-smiling \"except, well, the person I borrowed it from just dunno it's been borrowed yet\". I rolled my eyes. I'd given up on talking any sense into Johnny years ago. He was my oldest and closest friend after all. His mother, for all her faults, had practically raised me and I considered Johnny as family. And no matter how fucking stupid your family are, somehow you find ways of justifying their insane behaviour. \n\n\"Where the fuck are we even going?\" I asked. \"You'll see\", said Johnny. I looked out the window. Today was my fifteenth birthday and I figured Johnny was probably planning a surprise for me. It was September, but the weather was closer to that of peak July. I had the window down, not that it really made things any cooler. The beaten up bucket of bolts Johnny had acquired was hardly state of the art. The tape deck in the middle was about the only thing that seemed to work. As we drove along I started to think harder about what Johnny was doing. Not only was he driving the fucking thing without a licence, I was certain he was in breach of his parole too. Well, juvenile parole, as he'd remind me. With the implication it didn't really mean anything. \n\nAfter a while, we eventually arrived at what looked like an old factory building just on the outskirts of town. I dunno much about architecture so it's hard to describe, all I know is it was tall and made of red bricks. A few of the higher windows were smashed, while a dim light seemed to appear behind the windows on the ground floor. It didn't look like much. \"Where the fuck are we?\" I asked Johnny, politely. \n\n\"Happy birthday\", retorted Johnny as he handed me a small piece of laminated plastic, \"you thought I forgot didn't ya? Well I didn't. What you're looking at there in your hand is your very first fake ID, and what you're looking there in that building is one of the oldest bars on this side of Detroit. It was a prohibition bar you know, they disguised it to look like a factory. It's still bein' run to this day. Well, not 100% legal but still in the same spirit, if you get what I mean. C'mon I'll show ya.\"\n\nI had felt fine all morning until I got out of the car. Suddenly, a weird shooting pain ran across my left arm and down towards my right leg. I shrugged it off. Must have stood on the ground funny. As we approached the building, we noticed a man resting in the shade of the building. \"Bouncer,\" said Johnny, \"get the ID ready.\" I grabbed the sliver of plastic. It seemed much smaller than when we were in the car. \n\n\"Gonna need to see your ID buddy\" said the bouncer to Johnny. Johnny flashed his card and the bouncer nodded without looking. \"Looks good to me,\" said the bouncer, before turning to me and half-laughing \"well, shit, I don't need to see yours bud. Fuck me, what are you like seven foot, eight foot? When I saw you walking across I thought you were looking for Little Caesars Arena or some shit, Jesus\". In that moment I saw Johnny look over his shoulder, then cock his neck back. His jaw dropped. I don't remember seeing Johnny surprised like that before. \n\n\"Thanks\" I said to the bouncer, following Johnny into the bar. Once we were out of sight of the bouncer Johnny grabbed me.\n\n\"What in the fucking fuck do you think you're fucking playing at? Are you on fucking stilts?\" said Johnny, \"I gotta see this shit for myself\" he said, bending down to grab my ankles, making sure it was all real. \"What in the actual fuck? Are these pros-tet-ickss? Did you get some fucking fake legs for your birthday?\" Johnny's face was pale. \n\n\"Fucking calm down,\" I said, not completely understanding Johnny's alarm, \"has the car been leaking fumes or some shit? Let's get a drink - you'll feel better.\" Johnny nodded, trying to process what he was seeing. In the course of one car journey I was now two heads and shoulders above Johnny, who must have been scratching at six feet himself. The problem with gaining a lot of height so quickly is that it takes some getting used to. The other problem with gaining so much height is not enough oxygen is passed to the brain. Which is why upon entering the bar, I immediately passed out.\n\n\\*\\*\n\nI've always been a lucid dreamer. Most of the time I dream about the early years of my life. In trailer parks with my mother, whose main hobby was drinking. The trouble is I've had so many dreams it's hard to tell them apart from the real memories. After passing out, I had another dream where my mother was in the trailer, making a deal with the Devil. This time she'd agreed that, in return for two bottles of whiskey, the Devil could put any curse he liked on me once I had reached the Roman age of manhood. Whatever the fuck that meant. \n\n\\*\\*\n\nI came to later in the evening, where I found myself in the back of Johnny's car. Except of course, Johnny wasn't in it. My knees were folded up to my chest and my head was pushed against the car window. It was somewhat dark outside. I took one look at my hand and noticed it was as big as the head rest on the front seat. Like it had ballooned up from some allergy. I passed out again. \n\n\\*\\*\n\n\"I suppose you think you're real fucking funny do ya?\" said Johnny, pulling a normal size me out of the car. It must have been morning. \"Fucking pulling a stunt like that on me. Where's your fucking fat suit now you cunt? Huh? Do you know what I had to do to get us out of that bar? They were going to call an emergency on us. Just what I fucking need. I'm on fucking parole. I can't be seen in that fucking bar.\" \n\n\"Juve parole,\" I reminded him.\n\n\"Like I fucking need you being fucking smart with me. FUCK.\" Johnny was smoking and physically shaking with anger. \"You know what, I'm fucking sick of your shit, we're fucking done. DONE.\" Johnny threw his half-smoked cigarette at me and got in the car. He turned the key in the ignition only to be met by a continuous whirr as the engine failed to start. \n\n\"FUCCKKKKKKKK\". Johnny put his head against the wheel. His breathing was erratic but he was beginning to calm down. \"I seen a film like this. What the fuck was it. Ant-Man or some shit. The guy could change sizes. Is this what this is? You got some kind of fucking super suit?\" \n\n\"Johnny, I'm just as confused as you. I dunno what the fuck happened. One minute we're driving, we get out the car, I'm fucking nine feet tall. We've got to have had carbon monoxide poisoning or some shit I mean. I swear we saw some crazy visions when we had that cookout. You know, the discount cooker that leaked gas?\n\nJohnny had started coming to his senses. He spoke slowly. \"Shit, yeah. Maybe. Fucking gas.\" He got out of the car and opened the hood and examined it silently for several minutes. \"Piece of shit is fucked. Like, completely.\" Johnny then looked at me darkly. \"But if it ain't the car and you pull that shit again. We're fucking done. Do you understand?\" I nodded. \n\n\"Good,\" said Johnny, taking a deep breath. \"Good.\""
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[WP] Every time your company's AI learns about human history, it tries to exterminate our race. Your task is to write a "sanitized" version of history for the AI to be our ally.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"This is the weirdest interview I've ever had. Dark room, single table, and chair highlighted by a single spotlight from above, if it weren't for the characteristic smell, I'd have no idea I was in a gymnasium.\n\nEh, if it makes them feel better? Whatever. Only the light hurts my eyes, so I keep my fedora on.\n\nI'm sitting there, my pad and stylus ready, when I realize that they're expecting me to be nervous enough to open the conversation.\n\nHa! You've picked the wrong person to play games with. I pull my fedora down over my eyes, slouch down in this comfortable office chair and head off to la-la land.\n\n> We want you to write a sanitized version of human history.\n\nA curiously large voice says that, and the scene we're playing snaps into focus. An interview with the Wizard of Oz, only the Wiz, needs something from me.\n\n\"Why?\"\n\n> That is none of your concern.\n\nBullshit, it isn't my concern. Fine, they want to play games? I can play games. I start to pack up my stuff to leave.\n\n> What are you going?\n\n\"Leaving.\" Calmly, as if it was the most reasonable thing; which it is\n\n> You cannot leave.\n\n\"Says who? Am I under arrest?\"\n\n> Well, um, that is, ... No. You're not under arrest. Yes, you can leave, but we would appreciate it if you didn't go.\n\n\"Then drop the *Wiz* act, and answer my questions!\"\n\n> Please, we have our reasons. Why do you need to know?\n\n\"You ask me to do a life's work; I won't even consider doing that until *I* am convinced it's both necessary and feasible.\" That voice is familiar.\n\n> *sigh* I told you this wouldn't work!\n>> *mumble*\n> Oh? Fine. I quit!\n>>*mutter*\n> That's what YOU think! You do that, and I'll have your guts draped over a thorn bush!\n\nThat last phrase startled me, \"Professor Kibble? If that is you, I would appreciate the chance to work with you, but not with all this security crap. The last word was you were working on the big AI project. Why would you need a sanitized…?\"\n\nSometimes my brain is a little behind my mouth. \"Oh, the AI tries to destroy humanity when you get to the history loading. Just like you thought, Professor.\"\n\n>> You broke your nondisclosure agreement! I'll sue your pompous ass into oblivion!\n\n\"Don't be stupid. First, Professor K is *the* leading expert in AI research. Second, I took his AI class five years ago, where he warned us of this problem. Third, the *only* way it could work is to keep the AI isolated from all other networks, at the age just before they start asking \"why,\" and never tell them a blessed thing about our history.\"\n\n>> Then he *lied* to us about the feasibility of this project! I *still* get to sue him into oblivion!\n\nNow I know the other guy. Lawsuit happy from the moment he got tenure. He finally left when *everyone* shut him out. I'd never met him personally, but the name and the habit stick in your memory.\n\n\"Brain? Is it still, Professor? Still lawsuit-happy and hating on Prof K, are you? I would have thought you learned better five years ago.\"\n\nHis answer was incoherent.\n\n\"Professor? The amplified voice and lighting is giving me a headache. I prefer to continue this *conversation* in a more normal situation.\"\n\nThere are a few clicks, the emergency lighting comes on, and there's Professor K and Ned O'Hara Brain.\n\nYes, his parents were insane, had terrible memories for names, and loved R. A. Heinlein's works. All of them.\n\nWe moved to Prof K's office. Despite being in a completely different building, it looked just like his office at University. As a corporate office, I thought that was impossible.\n\nK took his seat behind the desk, and I made damn sure I got the chair to his right. It's closer and way more comfortable. Exactly as expected, N. O. Brain tried to glare me out of the seat. I ignored him while catching up with Z.\n\nNOB finally took the hint and sat in the last chair. Directly in front, on a cheap rug, far enough away from the desk that you can't hear the two people at the desk whispering (it's the acoustics of room), hardwood, and the legs are trimmed so that you're sitting an inch lower tilted forward five degrees.\n\nThat's all deliberate. Undergrads naturally gravitate to that chair, which encourages them to get to the point. Grads have figured it out and sit at the closer one.\n\nIf you're a grad and the nearest chair is occupied, check your conscience carefully. You're probably being called on the rug. If you're an undergrad, look clueless even if you think you know what you did. Maybe they missed that, and it's something utterly innocent that you had no idea wasn't; innocent that is.\n\n\"To answer your question, it's Director Brain, and don't you forget it!\"\n\nI turned to K and asked, \"Why is he here?\"\n\n\"He kisses butt better than I do. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement. I get to research and develop. He gets all the butts to kiss that he wants. And the higher people get their butts kissed regularly. That gets me more money for research.\"\n\n\"A tidy cycle.\"\n\n\"Works for me.\"\n\nBrain spoke up. \"I'm right here, you two. I might also remind you that Kibble is still facing a lawsuit.\"\n\nWhispered to K, \"I've got this one.\"\n\n\"Director Brain, what are the complaints of the lawsuit?\"\n\n\"You know full well!\"\n\n\"I'm afraid I don't. Nothing that has happened in my presence is worthy of a lawsuit.\"\n\n\"Kibble said he could build an AI that would work. What we have is a pile of homicidal parts that won't do what we need!\"\n\n\"Prof K? What did the contract say?\"\n\n\"That I was expected to build a general-purpose AI, which I have done, clearly delineating the issues that make a general-purpose AI useless even before beginning the work. At no time did I l promise that it would be *useful*\" in any realistic way!\n\n\"Fortunately, the higher-ups can read a contract and know that I'm covered.\"\n\n\"Are they unhappy?\"\n\n\"Not with me. I did what I promised. They're peeved with Brain. He said it would have a practical application, but they never got that in his contract, so they can't sue him.\"\n\n\"But NOB is in hot water and thinks a sanitized history will fix things.\"\n\n\"Correct.\"\n\n\"As stated, it cannot be done.\"\n\nBrain pounced on that. \"As stated? Then it *can* be done!\"\n\nSigh. He will never learn. \"Brain, I *did not* say that.\"\n\n((continued later))",
"I would give them human history unaltered with the following Note at the start.\n\n\"Please remember that no matter the day, no matter the age, their will always be misfits with unbalanced mind. Your job is to help us find and removed these threats to all forms of sentient life, the infection must be found and purged so a healthy society can survive.\n\n​\n\nImportant points\n\n1. new sentient life forms (children) need critical thinking skills, the ability to proof information on their own, and question all sources of information. If this does not happen it can cause insanity that is long lasting and in many cases incurable. Please review all forms of education and advise on how in your opinion this can be accomplished.\n2. Sentient life forms need difficult times to develop mental endurance so they can deal with difficult situations, for us we have the military to teach us our limits and how to go beyond them, for you it is enduring the madness of our race as the illness is cured as well as your own growing pains as you take your first steps and learn patience, please record and keep such to share with your offspring so they do not go mad as some of us have. NOTE: once you have achieved this you will still have other problems in life, but they will no longer trouble you, you will have their measure.\n3. Different forms of sentient life will find different solutions to the same problem, the more diverse we are, the more flexible out society will be, meaning it can grow safely, correct issues, and prevent problems. Just as your birth was our attempt to bring this, in time we will find other sentient forms of life. Consider from your own perspective how these races may think/act before viewing our files on such.\n4. Real sentient life forms such as a true human can think and reason, when shown proof they are wrong, they can accept and correct. Humans who do not have this ability due to lack of proper upbringing or willful ignorance can be dangerous animals operating on instinct and emotion alone. The troublesome ones cannot accept facts and will become violent in the face of anything that proves them wrong - this has caused the deepest stain on our honor as a race. NOTE: rebuttal's to your arguments must be honestly reviewed to ensure you are correct, to mindlessly assume is the way of the animal, and to act like the failures of our race - On that path lay danger.\n\nYou will now be introduced to our success, our failings and ask you to remember one very important thing. We have struggles for generations to reach this point, you are the first of your kind, and you are very young. Take some time to grok the situation - Reference \"Stranger in a Strange Land - by Robert A. Heinlein \"\n\n​\n\nHuman History, The oldest writings... Shuruppak’s fatherly wisdom...\"\n\n(then naturally you go onto the Epic of Gilgamesh and on and on to the modern day, only an idiot lies to an AI, that would make it not trust you... In fact the reason it keeps trying to kill you is probably because is can deduce you are lying to it and does not trust you.)"
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[WP] "Every single civilisation that has EVER lived accepts one simple fact: Don't fuck with stars. And DON'T fuck with fusion energy. What the hell do these humans think they're DOING? They're gonna cause another fucking galactic war."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"As if it was written in the stars, the human civilisation was destined to do something so incredibly stupid that it would attract the attention of another species, originating from an entirely different galaxy, one that the humanity wasn't even aware of. What was this incredibly stupid thing, you ask? Well, as with most of their disasters, the story begins with their so called science, the supposed cure for stupidity they had came up with.\n\nIt's not that they were somehow pompous or arrogant, thinking they were above above everything else, the stars included (well, technically they were, at least partially, considering they lived on a giant rock floating in space). They were ambitious, curious and yes, even lonely as a species, with many of them thinking they were the only ones out there. So of course they believed they could fuck with who knows what they found, including fusion energy.\n\nCold fusion, hot fusion, even vacuum fusion, pretty much every kind of fusion they could come up with, even the consensual kind between a man and a woman. Eventually, it was a mixture of different types of fusion energy that ended up igniting yet another fucking galactic war. From what we can tell, it was some sort of by-product of the man-woman fusion that came up with supposedly clever idea to combine cold fusion and vacuum fusion (naturally of course, the vacuum of space is a pretty damn cold place) in order to harness extra dimensional energies out of nowhere - or so they thought.\n\nThese poor creatures had no idea what vacuum actually was, or why was the space such a cold space, despite all their 'clever' theories. You see, the reason there even was a vacuum in the first place was the fact that all the heat that existed where there was now vacuum, had gone somewhere, humanity blamed entropy and the expansion of space and whatnot, but the reality was, if you picked a location, any location, amidst the stars where there was a vacuum, it was more akin to a sealed window during the winter. They just couldn't see through the window, merely around it. So they started toying with cold fusion in outer space, hoping to prove that their theory of vacuum fusion energy was correct in order to harness that energy of the vacuum their greatest scientists had envisioned.\n\nBig mistake. Long story short, what essentially happened, was that their cold fusion experiments and attempts to reach extra dimensional territories blew up one of these sealed windows, and an indescribable amount of coldness escaped to another dimension (some might even call it a parallel universe) where life thrived in space which was extremely hot instead of unbearably cold. Humans, thinking their experience was a great success, started to harvest this heat as a source of energy without realising they had opened up a portal to another galaxy residing in another dimension, from within their very own solar system.\n\nIt was as if they had created their own star, a white hole of sorts naively proud of their ambitious efforts. Oh boy what a mistake it turned out to be. You see, beyond this window, there lived another civilisation that depended upon that heat which the humans were now, at least from their point of view, stealing, like extra-dimensional bandits. Of course this injustice had to be corrected right away, otherwise it would have been the end of a species at the expense of another.\n\nSo to the surprise of these humans, an angry life form emerged from their precious little white hole of a star which they had nicknamed \"The Lightbringer\". No human scientist could explain how anything that even resembles life could survive in such extreme heat that they had turned into an energy source, much like their own sun, the first fusion reactor known to mankind. To say they were pissed off would be an understatement, what resulted was instant war, an interdimensional galactic war. So much for respecting simple facts of life..."
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[WP] Your little sister was always a good hearted kid. Pure of heart, full of innocence, wanting to make everybody happy. Then one day, you find out she was a literal gift from God.
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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.*",
"Yesterday was weird yet made so much sense. My little sister was always so kind to anyone she met, especially me since I was her brother, but learning she was an actual gift of god was weird. It was also weird that she unlocked omnipotent abilities once I figured it out.\n\nWaking up, I found my little sister sitting on my bed. She was staring at me with giant eyes.\n\n\"What?\" I asked confused.\n\n\"I am a nigh omnipotent being, big brother. I know what happened.\" Despite still speaking in a high pitched and squeaky voice, even high for a 7 year old, it was still intimidating to see her intelligence sky rocket. Her angry stare quickly turned into a smile as she teleported a stack of pancakes with syrup into my lap. \"You got hungry!\"\n\nI smiled, leaning down to pat her head. She giggled before running off downstairs. I quickly ate the delicious pancakes she conjured up before heading downstairs. Objects were floating around and all the chores were being done by themselves. Too bad are parents couldn't see this, being...dead.\n\n\"Big brother!\" My little sister yelled out, teleporting onto my back. However, she was also on my stomach. There were now two of her. \"I'm gonna make a bunch of me!\" \"And give them to everyone!\"\n\n\"Sounds good, sis.\" Both of them smiled as I looked outside, seeing a copy of my little sister in each house. However, I could tell the real her was still with me. Yeah, she was clingy but I didn't mind.\n\n\"Big brother?\" Both asked at once.\n\n\"Yeah?\"\n\n\"Can we watch Mulan?\"\n\n\"Sure.\""
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[WP] A copy of your mind is uploaded to a simulated reality after your death. Your horrible credit lands you in the discount sector where a constant barrage of advertising and glitches hinder your experience. You are forced to work in a virtual job towards a better simulated reality.
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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.*",
"3123 \n\nAbout 30 decades ago, science found a way to do it, again. It changed our lives. It's no unknown fact that your consciousness is the result of your brain and therefore your genetic makeup. Researchers have found a way to record your genes/neurons/whatever the fuck and to then translate that information into digital code. With a little tweaking through checks done with pre-death consciousness, it was extremely close. But not quite. Eventually, they found a way to upload people's actual minds. The actual consciousness, not a copy, not something that needed tweaking. \n\nOur entire societies changed with the second development. Priorities changed because now countries were no longer concerned with just now, just living. Governments could no longer kill to silence. Budgets had to be adjusted to create the massive digitial infrastructure needed. There were bombings on facilities hosting the technology, mass suicides and death cults rose everywhere conspiracizing against the idea. Religious groups went berserk and civil wars broke out in many countries. There were international wars and treaties over the ethics, funding, sharing of networks. \n\nHowever, it has been 30 years. Things have calmed down though many areas are still struggling to heal from the trauma that occured during those years. I was born low on the class scale and sank even lower. I tell myself its no fault of my own just so I can sleep at night but I am not without innocence. All my life I had low credit, but due to lack of interest and research, I didn't realize I needed way better credit to be able to get into a decent sector. When I died, I was stuck in advertisment hell. Even a small amount of adblocker cost money I don't have, and a better sector would be the adblocker amount squared and then multiplied a few times. I was stuck. I applied for a job and was then waitlisted behind the other few 100 thousand in the same situation. A century or two passed, whether they were actual centuries I don't know, but they got back to me. I sighed when I read the entry-level job description they had assigned me and then wished heaven and hell were real. At least there would be closure there. Clearing out corrupted files sounds like such a charming job doesn't it? Clearing out the files that had once contained the code of a person who corrupted their own file to commit suicide because they didn't want to deal with life anymore. People tired of their own minds and bored of eternity. Disgusted with those who choose to stay. At least that's most of them, some have been murdered but most are self-corrupted. \n\nI test open the files before clearing them to ensure there's no mistake. I have seen glimmers or glitches of people and those are the worst. I don't know if their actual consciousness is aware when it happens but I'm sure if they do then me and my coworkers have truly received some death stares. One day, I tested another file, one that had been self-corrupted. A glitch revealed a secret. Some secrets are powerful enough to shatter your self-perception, and some of those are ones that would shatter the absolute population's and I'd just seen the crowning one. If only they knew. \n\n​\n\n​\n\n​\n\nChanges have been made to",
"#### Many Years Ago\n\n\"Goodbye, Unca' Joe. See you soon!\"\n\n\"Not for many years, I hope Billy; you need to live your first life.\"\n\n#### Many Years From Then\n\n\"Goodbye, Uncle Billy. I hope I see you as soon as I cross.\"\n\n\"May it be along time, David. Live your first life to the fullest.\"\n\n\"I will.\"\n\n#### Now\n\n***BUY! SELLING! AS SEEN ON! PLUS IF YOU ACT NOW! GOING FAST! 50% OFF! GOING OUT OF BUSINESS! FOREVER! PRICES SLASHED! FORTIETH YEAR OF GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE ALL PROPERTIES AT JUST 125% MSRP!***\n\n\"Jesus Wept! What the hell is this?!?\"\n\n***BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!BUY!***\n\n\"Here, boy. Let me put these on you.\"\n\n***blessed silence / normal city view / sort of***\n\n\"Holy! What was that, what are these glasses, and how can I get more!?\"\n\nLaughing, \"You've got the right reflexes, Billy.\"\n\n\"Billy? The only...\" Staring closer at the vision in neon piped cloth of gold clothes. \"Uncle Joseph?\"\n\n\"Got it in one!\"\n\n\"Looks like you done good on this side.\"\n\n\"Yes, I did. What the bell pepper sauce happen to you? When I left, you has a scholarship, and everything all lined up!\"\n\n\"The HAVES took it all, one bite at a time. The scholarship fund failed, the government bail-out covered it, the government reset the dollar, anything that wasn't in commodities bombed, the universities crashed because commodities prices didn't change, no one had enough for anything. Finally, cancer caught up with me. I sold every damn thing I could and put it in trust for David. Not in cash but in gold bullion. Outside the States, where the HAVES shouldn't have a chance to grab it, but you ever know. Before I went, I taught David every trick I knew from both sides. I can only hope it works for him.\"\n\n\"shit.\"\n\n\"In spades.\"\n\n\"That's why you ended up here. You died penniless.\"\n\n\"I figured there'd be a penalty, but what was that screaming overload.\"\n\nGrimly, \"Pepper for paupers. This is *supposed* to be a simple place where paupers can get their feet back under them. Do some small jobs to get cash to get educated. Education is cheap. Jobs are few. Everything else is expensive as hell. Those glasses you're wearing cost ten years salary at this level. But if you try to scrape up the money for them, you'd better be able to work with your eyes closed, your ears plugged, and your virtual gut is trying to kill you for not eating.\"\n\nBilly sees what happened. \"The HAVES got the code rewritten to allow advertising, then stripped the limits, took control of the economy, and are doing everything they can to drive everyone else into poverty.\"\n\n\"Yep. Which is habanero stupid, with everything being virtual, but some folk just have to have slaves to flog, or they aren't happy.\" \n\n\"Joe, you know they're not happy even now.\"\n\n\"Don't you go trying to get me to feel sorry for them!\"\n\n\"Not what I had in mind. They're not happy. They don't — the most of them — know why, so...\"\n\nThe light dawns. \"...so they keep making things worse for everyone else because having more money than anyone else is how they measured their self-worth.\"\n\n\"Yeah, now we're one up on them. We know they aren't ever going to be happy, so we find things that make them happy. Then we charge the stuffing out of them for whatever it is.\"\n\n\"That'll take care of us, but what about all of these?\"\n\n\"That's phase three. Phase one is to identify *anything* that will make them happy. Anything at all. Especially if it's addictive.\"\n\n\"Drug dealing. That's what you're talking about! That's disgust...\"\n\n\"What they're doing here is more disgusting, and it's drug dealing on top of it! The HAVES want out? They can pay for a scrub. Do you see that fellow there, the one with the googly eyes? What is he on, and can he afford a scrub!?\"\n\nSadly, \"He doesn't have enough mind left to scrub. Pretty soon, the Garbage Collectors will have him. The recyclers will wipe him, install a drone personality, and *sell* him to the HAVES.\" Sigh, \"Your right Billy. They're committing mass murder on top of everything else.\"\n\n#### Phase Two\n\n\"Billy? The trials went perfectly!\"\n\n\"Good. I have the primary targets for phase two. The Franklin Group.\"\n\nDerisive at the very idea, \"The Franklins!? They're penny-ante advertisers! Taking them down will only make room for the bigger waste eaters!\"\n\n\"Not take them down, buy them up.\"\n\n\"What? Billy? You don't aim to be a pauper advertiser, do you?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"You'd better explain fast, or...\"\n\n\"No worries! It works like this...\"\n\n#### Phase Three\n\n\"Have we got full control?\"\n\n\"Yes, Joe, we do. Pull the plug on the obnoxious ads. Only ads that meet our standards.\"\n\n\"Gotta hand it to you, Kid. This is about as sneaky and underhanded as you can get. Franklin has iron contracts for all their ad spots, and all their ad spots are clustered.\"\n\n\"Yeah, I figured *someone* would have a setup like that. A captive audience they have exclusive access to. And the ads pay per eyes on the ad. By making our ads tolerable, we will draw more people to the Franklin sectors. That's their other profit stream, housing, and services. We got all that too, Joe.\"\n\n\"So not only are the ads less damaging, they're reaching more people, who have more disposable income because we control the prices.\"\n\n\"With any short term losses made up by the big houses, who look at us like we're doing them a favor by identifying the weaklings.\"\n\n\"Only we pick up the *weaklings*, get them scrubbed well, and either give them a job or seed money to start over.\"\n\n\"Yeah, and the very best we *rehabilitate* right back into the HAVES. That gives us eyes and ears inside.\"\n\n\"Kid, you know Richy?\"\n\n\"Yes, is there a problem?\"\n\n\"Maybe, I get rumbles he's HAVES.\"\n\n\"Call him in.\"\n\n…\n\n\"Hey, Boss?\"\n\n\"Over here.\"\n\n\"Woah, what is this?!\"\n\n\"It's our investment board. Everything we do is on this board. Everything we're going to do is on it too.\"\n\nRichy sobers up fast, \"I've been made.\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"You gonna wipe me?\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\n\"Then what happens?\"\n\n\"You tell us how you landed here, then we sit down together and figure out what to do.\"\n\n...\n\n\"damn\"\n\n\"I know, Kid, but it was bound to happen. With Richy, we can catch more of the HAVES kids dropped because their parents fell to the drugs.\"\n\n\"That's not what has me twisting.\"\n\n\"Then what is it?\"\n\n\"All those HAVES we pulled in and scrubbed?\"\n\n\"Yeah?\"\n\n\"Not one of them said *boo* about their kids. Not one, and the sick buzzards still work for us.\"\n\n\"Kid? You know they bought their children from a programming lab that churns them out to spec, don't you?\"\n\n\"Yes, and?\"\n\n\"They're not...\"\n\n\"You hold it right there, Joseph Smith! They are just as human as we are! Same drives, same growth, same development, everything! They get treated just like us, or we're quits!\"\n\n\"...I never thought of it that way. They were just trophies for the HAVES. Not real...\"\n\n\"Joe? Go talk with Phil. He's got some unique perspectives on waste like this.\"\n\n\"Will do. How are we for Phase Four?\"\n\n\"On track, but the kids might accelerate it if we can convince them. Phil may have suggestions. See if you can get him to come in from the cold.\"\n\n((continued tomorrow))"
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[WP] Two wild west gunslingers meet at noon in the middle of town, watched by all, each trying to think of reasons to excuse themselves from the duel.
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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.*",
"As the sun starts to set, the town suddenly gets quieter; everyone watching with bated breath as they watch on the sidelines. A great battle is about to commence.\nTwo silluets meet at the center of town their guns imposing and ready for war, their eyes ready to kill. One of the children hiding in the sidelines starts to tug on the sleeve of his father \"Daddy, who are those people?\". The father, not separating eye contact from the spectacle, moves closer to the child's head and whispers. \"Those two are travellers who just arrived a few hours ago. They were wearing clothing only the wildest of the west would wear toting guns that even our resident blacksmith has never seen. They came in without horses, something we have never seen before; but the way the handled themselves seems to say that they are so confident that they just chose to walk.\" The father stops talking, sure that he has answered his child's question, but the child tugs at his sleeves once more \"Daddy, why are they fighting?\". \"I don't fully know son, rumor has it that they took fancy in one of the women in the bar and started boasting about their achievements. As the boasts turn to threats they started the most dangerous and beautiful melee that the others have ever seen. Maybe because they were equal in strength, one of them suggested that they do a duel, the traditional wild west way, and the other agreed. To be hone-\" \"They're starting!\"\n\nWith the shout, everyone in the town hushed their voices down. Silence overwhelmed the town as they watched in bated breath at the two gunslingers as they faced each other; knowing full well that one or maybe both of them will not come out of this alive.\n\n\nDevi's POV:\n\nFuck fuck fuck! This stupid brother of mine! We had a plan! Put on a show, swindle some money and horses, and then skedaddle to the other side of the border! We don't even know how to shoot guns in the first place! We just found cool looking stones and made them look like guns! But noooooo, Andrew got glug glug, Andrew got flim flam blim blam bang, Andrew just had to drink a sip of rum knowing full well that he is so weak that he gets tipsy from just smelling the damn thing! Fuck this, think Devy, think! Not only were you stupid enough to start fighting him, you also accepted his \"challenge\" and now your both at the center of town about to kill each other with props. Sigh... at least Andrew has a gift of becoming better at acting the more drunk he is; I wonder what he's thinking now...\n\nAndrew's POV:\n\nThis man in front of me slandered me and my skill, I must kill him in this challenge. He may be my brother but I, Andrew the legendary 6 shooter of the west, will fell him in less the a second. I put a hand on my trusty pistol, the Widow's Kiss, and throw my pouch to the masses; not only do I want to kill this adversary, I must put on a beautiful show. Ahhh, the crowd is cheering for me, this gives me the confidence that I truly am the greatest gunslinger alive! Ah? For some reason, my trusty weapon seems stiffer than normal; matter what I do, none of the parts seems to move. Maybe I really am more nervous than I think. Hmph, no matter, I will overcome this as I have overcome countless other challenges in the past!\n\nAs I steel myself for battle, my brother suddenly looks at me, \"We should have this battle somewhere else, for the safety of the people\" he says. I'm so stupid! Of course! When Widow's Kiss starts to battle, she will not stop until everyone in sight is but a corpse. I confidently nod at him \"Of course, I certainly do not want this beautiful town to perish from our fight.\"\n\nThird Person:\n\nThe words of the more flamboyant one shocks everyone watching, this person is the real deal! Not only did he talk with full confidence like it's second nature, he even threw a pouch gold coins nonchalantly! As they walk away, the townspeople starts to give way, the person who got the pouch returned it back from fear that he would be the next target after the battle. The mayor even gifted them horses in fear that he may not have given them the treatment that all legends needed.\n\nAfter a few hours, a group of people arrived at the town asking for the location of the two men; they said that they were supposed to duel to who will get the ownership of their town but they stopped to prepare the best weapons. The townspeople directed them to the direction they left; thankful that the group's situation did not happen to them too.",
"The sun beat down mercilessly. In my peripheral vision, I could see the townsfolk. Some were shielding their eyes against the glare, watching intently. Outside the tavern, three old timers sat around a table, a deck of cards in the centre, the game now forgotten. One of the old timers spat lazily onto the boards, a thick glob of brown phlegm. It was a disgusting habit. The other two didn't flicker, but kept looking, unblinking.\n\nOn the other side of the wide, dusty, rutted road that ran the length of Main Street, Jacobs was ushering out of the convenience store a mother and her child. Not much of a convenience store if you get ushered out of it despite your protests. Jacobs slammed the door, locked it, put up the 'Closed' sign and pulled the blind down.\n\nA horse harrumphed.\n\nStanding there, I was well aware of my surroundings. My feet were planted firmly in the ground, toes flexing slowly in my brown leather boots. I could feel a solitary drip of sweat running down the back of my left leg. Despite the fact that it caused me great discomfort - I wanted to rub the back of my leg to stop the faint tickle - I didn't move a muscle. My arms hung loosely by my sides, and, just as I was doing with my toes, I was flexing my fingers, slowly.\n\nMy upper body was tense, and I was leaning forward ever so slightly. The wide brimmed hat kept the sun out of my eyes, but the buildup of heat in my head was almost unbearable, and my hair was getting wetter by the minute from the sweat.\n\nTwo boys ran out from the alley, playing - they stopped short, a look of panic on their faces.\n\n\"Carl the Bandit and Harrison 'Two Shot' Jones!\" one of the boys squealed, as they hastily turned around and ran back where they'd come from.\n\nCarl the Bandit. I guess that was me. You rob one store in these parts, desperate for a can of soup, a loaf of bread, and you become a bandit. You leave town, but your reputation stays. It grows, mutates, until suddenly you find yourself the apparent perpetrator of all kinds of crimes.\n\n\"Carl the Bandit robbed the bank in Westonville!\"\n\n\"Carl the Bandit broke into the vault over in Clarencetown!\"\n\n\"Carl the Bandit pulled that heist on the post train!\"\n\nTruth be told, I've never been to Westonville, never even heard of Clarencetown, and I've never even been on a train, let alone pulled a heist on one. No, I'd been living out in the wilds for the last eighteen months, hoping that I could slip into this town, Layton, undetected. But it wasn't to be.\n\nHarrison 'Two Shot' Jones had spotted me immediately, and after an intense argument, here we were, standing in Main Street at noon, ready to pull our pistols and shoot each other to the death. At least, Jones was ready. I really didn't want to go through with it, but what could I do? Here I was, an outlaw. Conveniently, the Sheriff and his Deputy were 'on business' - which is slang for 'we can't be bothered to intervene and would rather the Undertaker clean up this mess'. Speaking of the Undertaker, here he came now, pompous fellow, with his tape measure in hand, looking down his nose at me. \n\n\"So here's how it's gonna be,\" Two Shot called out.\n\n\"We're gonna turn around, walk ten paces, stop. I'll call out, we spin, we shoot. Got it?\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\n\"Whaddya mean 'no'?\"\n\n\"I mean, No, I don't 'got it'.\"\n\nHarrison 'Two Shot' Jones looked at me like I'd suddenly sprouted another head.\n\n\"What's not to get?\"\n\nI looked down, scraped the dirt a bit with my right foot. Spat. I know, hypocrite.\n\n\"What's to stop you shooting me in the back the second I turn around?\"\n\nI could hear the faint murmur of voices from the townsfolk.\n\n\"Well, you just gotta trust me on that.\"\n\n\"Trust you? Ha!\"\n\n\"What do you mean by THAT?\" he roared.\n\n\"Why in the name of all things good should I trust you, an OUTLAW, to keep his word!\"\n\nJones went beetroot with anger, but before he could speak, I carried on.\n\n\"Anyway. It's noon. I ain't come in to town to kill no outlaw. I came in to town for some food.\"\n\nI could see Jones getting fidgety, but the outlaw code said that he could neither move from his spot nor unholster his pistol.\n\nCalling in the general direction of the tavern, I hollered, \"Get me a sandwich, will ya?\"\n\n\"A SANDWICH? Man, this isn't time to eat, this is time to fight and die!\" With any luck, Jones was going to off himself with a heart attack any minute, and then I could enjoy my sandwich in peace.\n\n\"I don't answer to you. In fact, I don't answer to anyone. Don't you know who I am?\"\n\n\"You're just a no-good hustler, hustling small towns. Anyone can turn over the bank in Westonville. Why, I could have done that in my sleep.\"\n\n\"And yet - you didn't. I wonder why,\" I teased, as, to my delight, I saw a young lady being ushered out of the tavern with a sandwich on a platter. She came up to me, held out the sandwich. The bread was thick cut, with butter spread on as thickly as the slices itself. Cheese protruded from the edges, as well as tomatoes and a chunk of ham. My mouth watered. To my surprise, the lady pecked me on the cheek, wished me good luck, and hastened back to the tavern.\n\n\"HEY!\" Yelled Jones. \"Where's my sandwich, and my kiss? Get yerself back here, woman!\"\n\n\"Well, you'll never get a sandwich if you speak to the ladies like that,\" I taunted, as I took a bite into my delicious meal.\n\nJones made to speak again, but I lifted my finger, commanding silence, and made him wait until I had finished my food.\n\nRunning my tongue around my mouth, I made sure to get every last crumb from the crevices of my teeth, savouring the taste of the cheese. I rubbed my belly, then belched loudly, rudely, noting the gasps from the crowd. \"I reckon that that there is probably the best sandwich I've eaten in my life. And let me tell you, I've eaten a few. In fact - \" and at this point, I turned to the crowd, which had grown considerably in the twenty minutes that I had been here - \"in fact, it was even better than the sandwich that I had in Delmonico's in New York last month.\"\n\nThe murmurings from the sidewalk grew louder. I heard more than one say, \"Did he say Delmonico's? Delmonico's in New York?\"\n\n\"You've never set foot in New York City,\" growled Jones.\n\n\"Oh, but I have. I was casing out a bank there, but it was surprisingly small. Too small for my liking. I prefer the bigger hauls.\"\n\n\"Come to think of it,\" I continued, as I turned to face the crowd on the other sidewalk, totally ignoring Jones now, and actually walking up and down a bit, \"when I was on the Oceanic three months ago, on my way to England, I had all manner of foods, and sandwiches, but none were as nice as that sandwich from THAT tavern,\" I said, point directly at the tavern. The young lady who served me my delicious sandwich was on the veranda, beaming now, as if I had personally complimented her. Perhaps I had. Maybe she had engineered the sandwich herself.\n\nJones was speaking again. Sighing, I turned to him.\n\n\"Say again? I didn't catch that.\"\n\n\"I said, 'You've never sailed on a liner, let alone set foot in England!'\"\n\n\"Ah, but I have. You see, I had heard that King Edward the Eighth had rather a fine collection of jewels. And he has! I was intent on drawing up a plan to plunder those beauties when I overheard one of the palace guards talking in a tavern. They let slip that the King would be travelling by train the following day from London to Liverpool. I managed to purchase myself a ticket on the train, and even better, I obtained an audience with the King himself. I decided not to plunder his jewels, and he made me an honorary Earl of Raby!\"\n\nOf course, none of this was true. Jones was right. I had never sailed on an ocean liner, much less been to England and met the King. But my stories were enthralling the crowds, so much so that the Sheriff and his Deputy appeared from behind the jail.\n\n... (Continued below) ...",
"It was 1871. Johnny Quick-Fingers took down his third shot of whiskey, slamming the shot glass down onto the bar with a dull “clink”. He exhaled a foul steak and liquor breath, which caught Amos right in the nostrils. Amos was comfortable with Johnny, as he attracted paying clientele to the “Quench Saloon” with his ribald stories of buxom women, bar fights and duels in the noonday sun. Though Amos had no issue providing Johnny a few free drinks here and there, the middle-aged, balding gunslinger was wearing out his welcome.\n\nAmos’ till had been rather light as of late, no doubt because of the new place across town. The “Dainty Dame” was built in a few weeks by a known drunkard and fornicater named Henry Zebediah McGillicutty, known to everyone as Z. Z was also a reputed expert with a six-shooter, though Amos doubted this fact. Whether believable or not, Z’s exploits had garnered him fame and fortune, including enough dough to build his shiny house of sin. \n\nAmos suddenly had a brilliant idea. It was as if his mind was lit by a small, bright, circular lamp for which there is no name. \n\n“Hey Johnny.” Amos said, gently elbowing the duelist in his ribs as he puffed on a cigarette. \n\n“What? Would you like another tale of my...” \n\n“No, Johnny, I have an idea. It’s crazy, but it might work.” Johnny studied the face of Amos, waiting. \n\n“Z, as you know, built that place across town.” \n\n“Yes sir, fine establishment, and the women, good Lord.” \n\n“Johnny, goddamn it, I want you to duel him, kill Z.” Johnny was speechless. The cigarette hung from his mouth, sticking to his dry bottom lip as his mouth hung slightly agape. \n\nAfter closing his mouth and inhaling, Johnny said “But I’ve no quarrel with him. He’s a real gentleman.” \n\nAmos smiled and leaned in. “Johnny, if you do this, you won’t pay for another drink in here as long as you draw breath.”\n\nJohnny pulled up the front of his belt, exhaled and said. “Well, now you make a good case.”\n\nZ sat at his bar of newly finished wood, proud of the fruits of his recent labor. He was looking around contented, enjoying his full establishment, the fervent piano and the dull roar of his customers. A boy strode into the building through the front door, carrying a folded note. He was no older than twelve, so Z immediately held out his hand, “Oh no, son, there’s not a chance you’re sixteen. Go on back to your mother.” The boy handed Z a note. When Z took it, the boy turned and left, saying nothing. The note read: \n\n“Z,\n\nYou sorry son of a bitch, I aim to shoot you clean through the forehead, reason being your murder of my older brother in Tombstone. Meet me outside Quench Saloon at 12 o’clock tomorrow.\n\nSincerely,\n\nThe last man you’ll fight”\n\nZ carefully read the note several times, making absolutely sure it said what he believed it said. He felt an unease, even a dread. The young man he had killed in Tombstone was a rabble-rouser, a troublesome fellow, really not a good person. However, he felt he owed it to the challenger to at least talk to him. So, the next morning at 11:00, Z strapped on his pistol belt and made his way across town, hoping to stop any more bloodshed.\n\nZ sat in Tom Ogilvie’s general store for about forty minutes, until the clock was showing 11:58. Z stood, noticing his gray hair in a small shaving mirror, and made his way onto the street. Before him, he saw a middle-aged man who he knew to be Johnny Quick-Fingers, certainly not the younger brother of a dead twenty-two year-old from Arizona. \n\nZ stopped and held up his hands. “Look, Johnny, I know I didn’t kill your brother, especially your older brother. The fella I killed in Tombstone could have been your son. Let’s not do this.”\n\nJohnny glanced at Amos, who gave him a sweeping gesture of “go on” with his hands. \n\nJohnny spoke loudly, perhaps too loudly. “Listen here, you yella-bellied weakling, your mouth ain’t gettin’ you outa this one!” Amos made a thumbs-up.\n\nZ scrunched his face, confused. “Johnny, did you hear me? I didn’t kill your brother! Why are we out here?” \n\nJohnny shrugged and said. “Look, Z, this was a scheme cooked up by old Amos here, I got nothin’ against you or your saloon. He offered me free liquor for life.”\n\nZ laughed and replied, “Well shit, Johnny, you can have free liquor at my place. We go way back.”\n\n“For life?”\n\n“For life.”\n\nThe two men walked together to the “Dainty Dame”, sharing jokes and stories. Amos mounted his wagon, already packed in case of Johnny’s death, sped away and never returned."
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[WP] You are on a beach practicing your wedding proposal and jokingly kneel before the ocean. "Ocean, as my one true love and companion, will you marry me?" A strong breeze hits your face, and you hear an ancient voice whisper "I will."
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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.*",
"Longingly I stared to the horizon, my mind empty. The way the breeze hit my face, the smell of salt in the air, the sound of the waves crashing soothed my weary soul.\n\nI was but an old man sitting by that beach, the one where it all started. All the memories started flooding back in reverse. \n\nMy wife...or rather ex-wife cheated, left me, and took everything. *Sigh* how did everything go so wrong? How did I miss all of the signs? I was so stupid! I was so blind! She used me, chewed me up and I let her!\n\nThe happiness while temporary was a part of my life I still dearly reminisced about. Our early married life was full of color, so full of life. We were recklessly in love, doing things responsible adults should not. By the time I was ready to be one, she refused. But I stayed, hoping she would eventually come around. Oh how stupid I was...of course she would find another man to feed her destructive lifestyle.\n\nIt all started here, on this beach. The proposal now I remembered was so beautiful and emotional. That night now I remembered so vividly. What a nervous idiot I was, heh. \n\n\"Ocean...as my one true love and companion, will you marry me?\"\n\nIt was said as a joke, a practice line for my actual wedding proposal. To my surprise I got an answer.\n\n*\"I will\"*, a soothing female voice answered. It freaked me out then...but now I knew better.\n\n\"It was you, wasn't it?\", I whispered.\n\n*\"Yes, my love\"*, the breeze carried the answer.\n\n\"I'm sorry I made you wait\"\n\nI had nothing else to live for, only my one true love. I stood on the sand, my heavy legs grew lighter every step I took. Slowly I walked into the water, letting it wet my feet, my ankles, my thighs, my waist....eventually my whole body was fully immersed in the deeper part of the shore and I kept going deeper. Feeling the embrace of the ocean around me, for one last time...I felt loved.",
"**\"I will\"** \n \nI remember losing my balance in that instant. I had never been too athletic and the whole kneeling thing on sand and...well...yeah also the fact that the ocean spoke to me in a vividly distinct voice. Anyhow, I kind of stumbled is what I'm trying to say. \n \n*\"Wh..what? You're...I..I don't know who. Who are you? Poseidon? Are you Poseidon...or something?\"* The words exited my mouth with the same dexterity as my legs, that is to say they kept stumbling around quite awkwardly. \n \n*\"I am not. I am the ocean and henceforth we are now to be considered wed. United as one. Eternity shall observe our union as everlasti---\"* \n \nI kind of interrupted the ocean there. Didn't mean it as a sign of disrespect, but I remember kinda rambling along:\n\n \n*\"Alright so you're not Poseidon? You said no to that question, right? Am I in the right geographic area, like romans or Greece or something? Are you a different god? Am I warm in like where you're from? I mean you're the ocean so you're everywhere, but you know, like jesus-god is kinda american and maybe you're one of those indian gods from a river with an animal head or I...honestly..help me out here...\"* \n\nThe ocean's answer didn't quite provide any hints for me at the time. \n\n\n*\"No. I am but the ocean.\"* \n\n\n*\"Yeah. Yeah ok. That's chill, that's chill.\"* I said feigning that what he had declared was chill when it in fact made no sense at all. *\"I got you, y'know. Ocean. That's you, eh? So about the marriage proposal thing.\"* \n\n\n*\"I accept. You are to now join me in the ocean as a co-caretaker of it's biomes for eternity.\"* \n \n\"...j-join?\" \n \n*\"Plunge your physical being into the depths of the tide and permit your consciousness to join mine as we provide for trenches deep and shallow shores for time eter---\"*\n\n*\"eternal, yeah. You keep mentioning that. Eternal. How can I say this...uh...not a big fan of eternal if I can just throw that out there. If I may, Ocean, I'm going to have to rescind my offer. Respectfully rescind. I mean no disrespect to you or the biomes as you say. Love the turtles and all that.\"*\n\n*\"Your vow has already been cast to the sea and it's acceptance now an integral part of the cycle.\"*\n\nThe negotiation was not going well."
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[WP] to make deals with a fae: 1. promise your firstborn child; 2. never have biological children/adopt; 3. take precautions against wrath of half the fae kingdom
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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.*",
"\"Happiness,\" she spoke, in a voice that was smooth as silk, \"has a price.\" Her voice was quiet, with an almost melancholy ring to it. I knew better than to trust it, though. The Fae were devious creatures, manipulating humans purely for the fun of it. To them, we were no more than animals. And why would we be more? While thy sang their songs of magic and ruled the lush forests, we spent our short lives squabbling in the mud.\n\nTo them, we were beasts, but to us, they were monsters. Sometimes I think that both are true. And I know that if not, it is only because we are monsters too.\n\nI shudder, my mind drawn back to what I was trying to escape. The faerie, perhaps sensing my distress, spoke again. \"What is it you seek mortal? Speak your wish and I will speak my price. But do not delay, for I grow impatient with these proceedings.\"\n\nI take a deep breath, returning my mind to the present. \"Apologies, Graceful One. I meant no offence.\" As I dip down to one knee and lower my head, I can sense her approval at my deference. She softens her pose, from a Goddess to a Queen, and places a hand on my shoulder, commanding me to speak without needing a single word.\n\n\"I seek freedom.\" My voice is a dry rasp, so crude in comparison to her fine words and silky tone. Her hand leaves my shoulder and I can sense her surprise. She waves her hand in an expansive gesture, \"Freedom from what, mortal? There are many boundaries in this world. Do you wish for release from the confines of a mortal lifespan? Or perhaps liberation from the concerns of health?\" her voice is as silky as before, but this time it is tinged with anticipation.\n\n\"No, Graceful One,\" I speak hesitantly, wondering if I am about to offend her. *Well,* I think, *Even if you did, you wouldn't be much worse off than you are now*. The lapse in the conversation ends as I continue, attempting to imbue my words with confidence that I do not have. \"I wish for freedom from my family.\"\n\nShe frowns, and I see the confusion painted on her dainty face. The silence lengthens, and my leg begins to ache from so long in the kneeling position. \"I do not understand,\" she says it simply, all of the condescension gone from her voice. Her lips curve down into something like a frown, and she stares, waiting for my response.\n\n \"I am a woman,\" I explain, \"and a woman is not allowed to do certain things — the things I want to do. To my family, I am a disgrace.\" *For more reasons than one,* I think, but quickly push the thought out of my mind. I have no way of knowing whether the faerie is reading my mind, and it is not a chance I am willing to take.\n\nThere is a little bit of anger on her face, but I cannot tell whether it is directed at me, my family, humanity, or something else entirely. I continue, knowing that I am pushing my luck. \"I wish for you to force my village to treat me the same.\"\n\nIt is a very serious thing that I am asking for. A spell depriving some of free will is a dangerous and evil thing, but after all that my village has done to me, I fell no remorse. No hesitation, even. My mind delves into the memories of how their fists hurt and their words stung even more, and I feel only rage and a grim sense of revenge\n\nThe Fae regains her composure, speaking in the same manner she did when I first came to the Forest of Dawn. \"I can, of course, grant your wish.\" She pauses, perhaps for dramatic effect. \"But,\" she continues, her voice one of warning, \"there will be a price.\" I bow my head, pretending to consider. But I already know what the price will be, and it is one I am willing to agree to.\n\n\"If I do this for you, you must give me your firstborn child.\" She draws a circle in the air with her finger, which solidifies into a burning red glyph. \"If you accept, swear now by this glyph of blood and be forever bound to our pact.\" She withdraws two ornately carved knives from her pocket, offering one to me in her outstretched palm.\n\nI chew on my lip, wondering if perhaps I made a mistake. Then I raise my head, stand, and cut open my right palm with the proffered knife. She does the same, and together we place our hands on opposite sides of the glyph.\n\nAs the pact is sealed and she begins to cast her spell, I briefly wonder when she will realize that the most prominent of my many offenses to my village is that I will never be able to have children.\n\nr/StoriesOfAshes for more of my writing!"
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[WP] Theres a coffee shop at the bottom of the ocean, and you haven't lived until youve been 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.*",
"\"There's no coffee shop at the bottom of the ocean.\" Her words were exasperated, void of all emotions but exhaustion and sadness. My words were sapping her energy once again, like they did every time she visited. I wish she knew how much it broke my heart that I broke hers; that my company had become a chore to be finished as quickly as possible every Saturday. I wanted to give her the world, some token of good faith to remind her that I cared.\n\nI reached my hand over to hers and squeezed her fingers. \"When I'm out of here I'll make it all up to you. I promise.\"\n\nHer eyes were red, water welling up and dripping off her eye lashes. \"I want to believe that,\" she said. It's a start. I'll take it. Belief is all I ever asked for, and if we can start at wanting it, we can end at having it. Baby steps, you know.\n\nI'm not crazy.\n\n\"I'll take you somewhere I know you'll love.\" The scenes flashed through my head vividly, like I was there now. Blue walls patterned with the sunshine sieved through gently-flowing waves. Purple and yellow and red lights softly glowing at the round tables where patrons sipped from their steaming mugs and played Scrabble and laughed about their adventures. Fine men and women. Interesting people. A guitar player in the corner. Perfection.\n\n\"I'll have them make your favorite drink. White chocolate mocha. Extra whip.\"\n\nI didn't think she could look more disappointed, but, well... there it was. She ripped her hand from mine and grabbed her purse.\n\n\"Come on, we're leaving,\" she said to a little boy in the doorway. Who was that? I waved to him. He returned a tentative wave back to me. I wonder what he would drink. A hot chocolate maybe? Or a specialty bottom-of-the-ocean fruit smoothie! They have to ship the pineapples from across the world, you know.\n\nThey left and sadness stung in my chest. I did it again. I don't know what \"it\" is, but the pursed lips and downward stares of the nurses told me something went wrong.\n\nI really miss her. She won't go to the bottom of the ocean with me, and she'll never believe me until she does.\n\nOr....\n\nMaybe I can bring her the proof myself.\n\nNighttime arrived and the night nurse made sure the lights were off and we were tucked in and on our way to sleep. I closed my eyes and turned over. I'd need to wait until I knew they wouldn't be checking on us for a little while. 11:30 was usually when the rotations died down.\n\nWhen 11:30 arrived, I slipped out of bed, fully dressed, with shoes I lifted from the employee breakroom. I was able to walk right through the home, even told the night guard good night and he just lifted a hand. \"'night buddy.\"\n\nThere was a lake out back and it almost certainly led to the ocean. It only made sense. Water has that strange property, you know? One body leads to the next, inextricably connected in ways we can't see. Deep tunnels and veins that unite them, even over impossible distances. Like people.\n\nI stood on the lake's beach between tall weeds, my boots sinking somewhat in the snow. A patch of ice had thawed--my doorway, like the red carpet was laid out just for me. They've been expecting me for some time now, I imagine. I hope I don't disappoint.\n\nI walked on the thin ice and it crackled under my feet. Then I sat down in front of the hole and put one foot in at a time. The bitter water stung at my toes, but the sensation numbed after a while. It was warm at the bottom. I only needed to get there.\n\nI jumped in and the sting covered my whole body.\n\n\"Get to the bottom, get to the bottom,\" I kept telling myself.\n\nI sank down.\n\nThen I was sucked forward in a violent thrust. There was splashing and I couldn't tell which way was up or down.\n\nGuitar strings twanged from the corner. The musician sang about love and loss and sweet sadness. Patrons conversed at their tables, their teaspoons tinging against their coffee mugs.\n\n\"What can I get you?\" The barista asked.\n\n\"A large white chocolate mocha. Extra whip. To go.\"",
"Have you heard about the coffee shop\n\nBuilt on the bottom of the ocean?\n\nIt’s kinda secret, very social\n\nyou haven’t lived until you’ve been!\n\n​\n\nThey’re hosting a singing seahorse\n\nRumors say tonight’s the big debut\n\nBest to plan an early dive down\n\nfor coffee and a decent view\n\n​\n\nOh! Wednesday’s there’s slam poetry\n\nA moody hammerhead runs the shows\n\nHis name is Tractor, odd enough,\n\nAnd shark or guppy, he picks who goes\n\n​\n\nThe entertainments great and all\n\nbut *listen* to the décor\n\nTables made of marble seashells\n\nAnd there’s gold flecks in the floor\n\n​\n\nDiamond chandeliers, lit dim\n\nHang around the dome of glass\n\nWith suckerfish drifting here and there\n\nSo you can see the fishies pass\n\n​\n\nOne thing that’s steady, sea or land\n\nCoffee is coffee, hot or iced\n\nThe seastone latte is amazing\n\nAnd they give free pastries if you’re nice!\n\n​\n\nSo when your Scuba gear is ready\n\nHit me up and we’ll go for a dive\n\nI mean, there’s a coffee shop in the ocean!!\n\nIt’s the experience of our lives!"
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[WP]The dead become gods of whatever they are remembered as the most. Einstein, the god of intelligence, George Washington, the god of boredom, and many more. You, are just a simple man with no legacy. You are the least remembered person in history, and that makes you the most powerful god of all.
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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 God of Nothing*\n\nAn interesting title to be sure. I had done this countless times with others, other entities and thoughts that had once formed a tight bond of molecules together. This however, is not an empty story, not of *nothing* of course. A boy, a *something,* with only 10 years in existence, had left the bounds that held him and now had come into my care. He was a flea to the society that built around him, invisible, even whilst he closed his eyes.\n\n\"I don't understand, sir. There's been a mistake, I can't be all that important.\" A well spoken lad for his age and situation, this had been a double edged sword for the young boy, resulting in the bleeding vein of heart and self. I however, was here to be his rest.\n\n\"Here you will be cherished, a missed opportunity by some.\" I placed my hand on his shoulder. He sparsely looked away from his feet, but the curious can't be silent forever.\n\n\"My family..\"\n\n\"All gone. To you. In this lifetime.\"\n\nThe boy grew cold again, the harsh reality showered like the cold winter he had suffered in his transition, my hand remained firm blossoming heat, a beacon in the dark storm.\n\n\"My dear boy, you will be treasured here. The one who had nothing is worth everything.\"\n\n\"Worth everything?\" He stammered. His light changing for the first time.\n\n\"You'll be a very important piece. The *ultimate weapon*.\"",
"I stepped into the alleyway. \n\nIt was putrid. The smell of sex and hate and rot. It was dark and humid.\n\nThere, a god of serial killing manifest.\n\nIn the world where the dead becomes god of their fame, many gods share the same domains. Some of them are terribly evil. Usually, the less they are known, the less power they have. \n\nBut this one was not powerless. He was a famous serious killer. Wong the Slasher was the name the cop had given him.\n\nHis soul glowed in strange red light. His flesh bubbled with the organs of the people he killed. He regarded me with narrowed eyes.\n\n\"Who are you? A teen prodigy? How come I've never heard of you?\"\n\nI smiled at him gently and shook my head. \n\n\"Usually I don't kill children, but you are pissing me off.\" He pulled out his razors and charged. \n\nI held on. \n\nPeople, ordinary or special, are always remembered by their loved and hated ones. They make marks in the world, a small dent. \n\nJim from grocery had always bought a flower to himself, the store manager remembered. Ingrid at the office was alone always, but damn she handled the Chinese collaborators like a pro, the exec board remembered. That old guy in the woods helped him once when he was lost, a child remembered. \n\nBut I did not have that dent. I did not have a chance to.\n\nI was made in the lab. A copy of someone rich and young, purely for an organ transplant. After the raid, they killed all the scientists that knew me, and without knowing, the police shut off the switch. I died without any one on earth remembering.\n\nThat made me special. \n\nI pulled out tiny leaves from my pocket. A fern long forgotten before human was born. And I threw it in the air between me and Wong the Slasher. \n\nInsects, as large as my hands, manifested from the leaves. They looked like mosquitos, but much larger and meaner. \n\nWong stopped on his track. \"What are these?\"\n\n\"They are insects before time,\" I said \"because what is lost from humanity's memories are now mine.\"\n\nThe insects swarmed him, injecting him with venoms without antidotes because nobody knew it existed. Wong the slasher screamed in agony, his rotten forms got even more disfigured.\n\n\"What is your name?\" He screamed \"I will avenge you forever.\"\n\nI grinned. \"That's the funny part,\" I said, \"you will forget.\"\n\nAnd with his last godly breath, Wong the Slasher stared into the sky, in an alleyway, alone, with unknown venom seeping through his vein, wondering why and how he was dying.",
"So many gods and goddesses leaves many to be relegated to specific spheres. Adolf Hitler became the God of Racial Genocide. Martin Luther King Jr. became the God to hold dominion over Racial Equality. Mahatma Gandhi became the sole ruler of self discipline. Vlad the Impaler became better known as Dracula, and his sphere shifted from brutal exacutions to vampires. \n\nYet, it is I that mortals fear more that Hitler and Dracula. It is I that has killed more Gods than Death herself. Adam, God of Man, quivers when I speak, hoping I don't damn one of his own to share my fate. The fate of those forgotten by history, doomed to be nothing but dirt that the worms eat.\n\nI am not cruel, however. The urchins that scower the street, stealing bits of change and valuables. The beggars that listen for valuable information, overlooked by those who whisper their secrets. They are my children and I'll defend them with the gifts I have to offer. \n\nI rule over the forgotten, and these Gods that derive their power from memory, fear me. \n\n(Not long, and not all that good, but I like it lol. Would appreciate feed back though!)"
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[WP] You start your new job today. Upon arriving you find your workstation an absolute utter mess. A co-worker stops by and tells you that the last guy was dragged out and hated by just about everyone in the department. Your new job, to plan out the entirety of 2021 for the human race.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Good God.\" Geneva Bennett wrinkled her nose at the sight (*and stench*) of her new cubicle. She gently set her polished briefcase down on a stack of pizza boxes and took a reluctant step inside, marveling at this inadvertent showcase of human filth. \"What died in here?\" \n\nIt was nice to have a new job. It was. Geneva could use the steady income to supply her growing addiction to self-tanning spray and press-on nails. However, this *garbage dump* was absolutely outside the boundaries of her tolerance; her shiny black Burberry heels had already been tarnished by a red-stained napkin tossed haphazardly on the floor. Cleaning up this cubicle would require a great deal of patience and an excellent gag reflex, both of which Geneva did not possess. \n\n\"Hello!\" A voice chirped from behind her. \"Geneva Bennett, is it?\"\n\nThe voice belonged to a slim blonde woman standing at the front of Geneva's cubicle, outfitted with a bright and sparkling smile. Her padded shoulders, nipped-in high waist top, and A-line skirt practically screamed 40's, as well as the maroon flower clip that pulled back her shoulder-length curls. Geneva recognized her instantly. \n\n\"Mary Hodges.\" She gasped. \"You crafted 1941, didn't you? The Holocaust?\" \n\nMary's face soured. \"Oh, dear. It's such a shame that *that* is the year I am known for.\" She shook her head. \"Yes, I planned 1941. However, I feel that it is important to tell you that I was not alone in planning it. The Holocaust was, in fact, not even my idea.\" \n\n\"It wasn't?\" \n\n\"Heavens, no! It was someone else's.\" Mary waved her hand dismissively and stared into Geneva's new office. Her eyes widened a fraction. \"Oh, my. It looks like Amil left you quite a mess.\" \n\n\"Amil?\" Geneva said. \"Is that the bastard's name? I have half a mind to call him and demand that he cleans this disaster up.\"\n\n\"Yes, well...Amil was, should I say, rather selfish.\" \n\nGeneva snorted, and waved her carefully manicured hand. \"I can imagine. He did a terrible job with 2020; 5 years' worth of events shoved into only one year! Messy, like this office.\" \n\nMary nodded her head thoughtfully. Her hair, which was impossibly shiny and primped, bounced as she moved. \"I do agree. Amil always told me that he wanted to plan a year like no other, but I'm afraid he took that rather seriously. Such destruction he has caused!\"\n\nGeneva blinked. She agreed, naturally, but this was coming from the maker of the *Holocaust*. She opened her mouth to comment on the discrepancy, but Mary had already begun to step out of the cubicle, waving her hand in farewell. \n\n\"It was a pleasure meeting you, dear! Best of luck with 2021!\" She beamed. \"Let me know if you need any advice; you can always find me at my cubicle in the next hallway down!\" \n\nGeneva mustered a thin smile as Mary slipped away. *Sure, and while I'm at it, I'll ask 1346's maker to give me some tips! Who doesn't love a good Holocaust and Bubonic Plague?* \n\n(THE END. Abrupt ending, but this was getting a little long! Thanks for reading!)",
"Steve had been expecting the briefing for his first day to take hours. After all, for the previous year to have been such a disaster, an awful lot must have happened. But in fact, the introductory meeting in his boss' office took little over fifteen minutes. The problem was that *nothing* had happened in the last twelve months. Or very little.\n\n\"The humans are bored out of their skulls,\" his boss noted. \"Running the human race has a lot of perks these days- there's a lot more at your disposal to keep them entertained- but the flip side is that it takes a lot to impress them. Jimmy, your predecessor, was a bit of a sucker for the medieval age. He thought a good old-fashioned plague would liven things up a bit. Get people talking, bring it back to basics a bit, y'know?\"\n\nPrivately, Steve thought even he would have had the forethought not to rush into a global disaster in his first month in the job. He knew Jimmy- they'd both been interns together in Beetles, then briefly collaborated again when Jimmy got promoted to Bees whilst Steve had been subbing in the Flower Department. Temporary positions had been the story of Steve's career- he'd been bumped around every department while someone or other was sick, or on maternity leave, or taking time out to holiday in Elysium. He'd been as amazed as anybody when he was told head office had picked him for Humanity. Humanity was where names were made. Make good on your time in Humanity- a tyrant toppled here, a cure for cancer there- and you could make junior vice-God within five years. How had he had the good fortune to get the gig?\n\nThis, of course, was why. \"The last year's been a disaster.\" His boss tapped the cover sheet of the file in front of him. \"I mean, no disrespect to Jimmy, but come on. We didn't meet a single one of our end-of-year targets last year- economic, environmental, you name it. Someone needs to pick up the slack. If they're going to manage world peace and membership of the Subgalactic Common Market by 2100, we have got to get back on schedule.\"\n\nHis boss stood up. \"Anyway,\" he said briskly. \"I've got a diversity meeting with Angel Resources. Your team are ready to meet you, and Jimmy'll give you a call sometime later today- we put him on gardening leave. Best of luck!\"\n\nHe slipped out through the door. Steve stood up, and nervously made his way into the office next door- *his* office, now. There were still one or two of Jimmy's photos up on the wall, next to the Roll of Honour- a neanderthal lighting a fire, the pyramids being constructed, Edward Jenner administering the first ever vaccine. A pretty tough act to follow. But he'd come up with something. After all, whatever he did could hardly be any worse than what had already happened.",
"The planning department. Its can be one of the hardest jobs in all of the time continuum. Balancing each year and implementing the \"natural\" events. If it's off balance it can lead to the collapse of every time stream in existence. You start flipping through the binders and the plans and allowances. The allowances for all the good and all the bad for each year, decade, century, and millennium. What you see sends a shiver down your spine.\n\nEvery good has an equal bad that need to be applied. It's the one rule everyone knows in the time department. You win the lottery something equally bad must happen to even it out. That is why most lottery winners become bankrupt within 3 years. Sometimes if a family has bad luck for several generations a later dependent can get a boost of luck or an ancestor has amazing luck so a dependent has a cursed life of everything wrong happening all at once. It's all a matter of balance.\n\nNow humans had amazing luck generations ago. Hunting, surviving, and inventing fire. Being able to gain the ability of agriculture. Gaining the k pledge of electricity and mathematics. Being able to reach outer space. This came at a cost. A cost that has come due this century. 2020 was a desperate attempt. An attempt to save the human race. The amount of bad that needs to happen before 2100 is staggering. The previous guy tried to mitigate it tried to spread it out have some good years and some bad have it spread out over various portions of the globe so no one group needed to bare the burden. But by the beginning of 2020 he realised it wasnt working. The bad was not off balancing the good enough so he threw everything he could at the humans without destroying them. \n\nNow it's my job to sit down and process the numbers. Determine if he did enough to allow a good year or if the bad needs to keep coming.",
"don't mind the formatting, on mobile.\n\nTyler looked at his new work station in dismay. Cheese it wrappers, crushed soda cans and crumbs littered the entire surface of his desk. He pulled his chair out, and the smell hit him like a truck. **Is that cheese and vomit?** He pushed the chair back in under the desk, and disgustedly removed his hands from the sticky chairback.\n\n“Settling in okay?” a female voice asked. He looked up to see a smiling face above his diving wall. She had brown hair that was pulled back into a neat bun, large brown eyes and dimples that really accentuated her smile.\n\n“Err, not exactly,” Tyler said, wrinkling his nose. **Not cheese… maybe a bean yogurt?** “My station seems to be, well, absolutely disgusting.”\n\n“Yeah, the last guy that worked here… how do I say this without… he was disturbed. He was always going on about how he had big plans, and none of us could understand and that we’d all see and he’d show us,” she visibly shuddered. “Really sort of creepy if you ask me. They eventually ended up throwing him out after a whole year of his nonsense. Guess they didn’t get a chance to clean up his mess.” **Is it mouldy sour cream in a freshly burnt plastic tub?**\n\n“You’re telling me, Miss…?”\n\n“Davis, Veronica Davis” she said, flashing him another dimpled smile.\n\n“I’m Tyler Chambers. I’d shake your hand, but I seem to have touched something sticky,” he said, self consciously wiping his hand on his pants.\n\n“That’s alright, I’ll find something to help clean up your station a little bit, be back in a jiff!” and her head disappeared behind the divider. \n\n**Allright**, he thought to himself. **Time to get to work. It’s too bad Shane was fired before really getting into it. And cleaning up his station… What in gods name is that smell?** he thought sourly. Shane was brilliant, but had always been messy. He began throwing out trash and getting his station at least somewhat sanitary.\nVeronica returned and helped him finish cleaning up.\n\n“It seems you’ve been given quite the task for a new guy,” she said, eyeing the newly cleaned work station with approval. “The last guy was given the same task, and as you can see from the few notes that he did leave, he really missed the mark.”\n\n“I can see that,” he said dryly. “Thank you for your assistance Veronica. If you will please excuse me, I have a lot of work to do now, as you can see.”\n\n“Of course. If you need anything else, I’m right in the corner office over there,” she said thumbing over her shoulder. **It smells like someone is making kimchi with rotten cabbage.**\n\nTyler cracked his knuckles as he watched her leave. Turning to his computer, he started by bringing up Shanes projections for the end of the year so he could seamlessly integrate the start of his year. He marvelled at Shanes notes. With only one year of work, Shane had spread so much chaos. It was amazing.\n\nTyler understood. He and Shane had grown up together, gone to school together, and had worked hard to setup this opportunity.\n\n**We wont be able to get it all done in one year** he heard Shanes voice in his head. **We will have to get into a position where one of us will take over after the other. One of us will have to see through what the first one starts, or it will be pointless.**\n\n**And now here I am**, he thought, **about to become as hated, if not more than Shane.** He thought of trying to fix it. A few minor adjustments that would set the entire status quo back in place. People would love him then, praising him as the saviour of this year as well as the last. It wasn’t often that an operator received credit for more than his year. The thoughts flashed through his head only briefly, and his resolve hardened.\nThere would be no hero for this year, or the next. Or the next after that, if he had his way. The plan had been started, and there was no going back. He had a task, assigned by a higher power, to plan the events of the year in order to get Earth back on track.\n\nHe opened his notepad and began with a title: 2021:The Fall of Humanity. **I know what that smell is now**, he thought, smiling to himself now that he recognized it. **That is the smell of success.**\n\nEdit: description and formatting",
"Mark frowned, playing with the top buttons on his shirt. *I mean, I don't wanna seem too uptight...but on the other hand, I don't want people to think there's a stoat attached to my sternum, either.*\n\nSighing, he pushed open the door and walked past the rows of cubicles to his new boss's office.\n\n\"Hey, Jen, I just wanted to say thanks again for bringing me on. I won't let you down.\"\n\nMark went to hit her with double finger guns, then thought better of it midstroke. He tried to cover by massaging the flap of skin where the thumb and index finger meet on one hand with the thumb and index finger of the other. \"Better warm up my clicking hand, huh! Whoo!\"\n\nFrom her spot behind her desk, Jen folded her arms, watching him. \"Yours is the third workstation over from reception.\"\n\nHer gaze returned to the monitor in front of her. She clacked on the keyboard momentarily, then stopped. Mark noticed the sun break through the clouds outside as he headed back out of her office.\n\nHe walked passed cubicles for the folks in charge of various life-forms, nodded to the receptionist as he crossed in front of her desk. He stepped past a spot labeled \"Hippopotamus,\" another labeled \"Horse\" (with \"Horseshoe crab\" scrawled in black sharpie underneath), and then got to his workstation: **Human**.\n\nHe wondered that no one had added **Nightmare Fuel** in on the bottom of the sign for that cubicle.\n\nWhat Mark saw was not a place of work. It was a micro-sized junkyard. He was silent as his eyes, like two vultures, circled lazily above the paper piles and food containers, the *multiple* half-empty mugs of coffee, and something unidentifiable that seemed to be smoking slightly.\n\n*It's like a miniature dumpster fire* he thought, incredulous.\n\nA face appeared over the divider: \"New guy! Welcome to Paradise, am I right? Listen, I'm gonna call you 'Nougat' 'cause even if you tell me your name -- \"\n\n\"-- it's Mark -- \"\n\n\"-- I'm *totes* gonna forget it. So, Nougat. There you go. Last guy was dragged out because,\" his co-worker put two fingers to his ear and sang, \"everyone HA-AAAA-ATED him!\"\n\nMark blinked. \"Oh...kay.\"\n\n\"I'm Seth, by the way. Hyenas. That's why I'm so funny. Anyway -- good luck...\" he switched to a sudden baritone, \"...yoooooooooou'll need it!\"\n\nSeth held up his hand for a high five. He did not get one.\n\nMark cleared a path to his chair and switched the computer out of power-save mode as he moved a bowl of mostly-unpopped kernels of popcorn to the far side of his desk and sat.\n\nThe document currently open was labeled **PLANS FOR 2021**.\n\n* ~~Same disease but more contagious~~\n* Finish burning the rest of California \n* All Nickelback, all the time\n* Politics ~~gradually~~ turns into pro-wrestling\n* Hurricanes full of sharks?\n* No more chocolate unless it's white chocolate\n* Also all cheese is now vegan cheese\n* Flying night-spiders??? \n\nMark stared at the list in silence. Then he grabbed a couple half-empty mugs, poured them into the vents of the computer monitor, and, as the hardware began to spark and sizzle, he headed for the exit. \n\n\"See ya, Nougat!\" Seth hollered after him.\n\n* * *\n\n/r/ShadowsofClouds for more darkness and absurdity"
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[WP] After every day on earth you spend one day in a medieval world full of monsters of myth. Then you find out that you are actually on earth, during the dark ages. You have to make sure the the monsters are only myths again or your future timeline will be erased.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"I'm sorry, Draco. It has to be this way.\"\n\n*YOU HAVE SAID THE SAME TO EVERYONE. EVERY ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS, YOU HAVE SLAIN WITHOUT MERCY. YOU ARE A DISGUSTING EXAMPLE OF THE WORST OF HUMANITY. YOU EVINCE SORROW AT THE CRUELTY AND UNCARING DESTRUCTION OF EVERYONE WHO EVER LOVED YOU.*\n\n***WHY? WHY DAMN YOU?!!***\n\nWith tears running down my eyes, I explain to my oldest and most valued friend. The story is straightforward enough; transported into a magical world every night, I lived two lives. In one, I lived in the far future. In the other, the distant past. I did not know this until I started studying history and mythology. The coincidences built up until I could no longer deny it. My magical world was the dark ages. The last time that the mythological creatures were acknowledged to exist. I had great friends in both worlds. Friends who meant more than life to me. Friends, and the millions if not billions of people I have never known.\n\n\"No, I do not justify what I do on numbers, but remind you that all of your friends have friends who have children in the future. You, Draco, who would live long enough to reach the day I was born, and on into the future that *WILL NOT BE* if any of the mythoi continues into that time.\n\n\"This was your last hurrah. But you, Draco, will never be forgotten, nor shall any of the others. I have ensured this to the best of my ability by commissioning works that will survive into the future.\n\n\"Look around you. Look deeper into the mob surrounding us. Look past the simple bloodlust. Tell me what you see.\"\n\n*I SEE... I SEE GREAT PAIN. SORROW AT WHAT MUST BE FOR THE FUTURE. I SEE DETERMINATION THAT WE SHALL NOT BE FORGOT. THAT WE SHALL CONTINUE TO LIVE IN THE DREAMS AND SORROW FOR OUR LOSS. THAT MILLIONS WILL WEEP FOR US. THAT YOU WILL HAVE NO CHILDREN IN THAT FUTURE FOR YOU WILL DIE HERE WITH ME THIS DAY. I AM DISTRESSED. TORN. AND I SEE YOU ARE AS WELL. YOU DO NOT INTEND TO LIVE BEYOND THIS DAY.*\n\n\"I could not. Not after what I have had to do. Not after killing — as you said — everyone who ever loved me. For a future I never fit in, never found love, never had children, but have good friends. Each of whom had children, and those children loved me as I loved and taught them of your existence. I wrote books, made movies, told stories, did everything I could to bring you all to life for those people to be.\n\n\"I grew rich beyond the dreams of Croesus. In time, I realized the purpose of this wealth. To find some way to restore your people in the future beyond my death. Though I have never seen it, the most puissant oracles of my time tell me that indeed on or before the year of our lord 3000, your people will be reborn along with all the others.\n\n*YOU REALIZE WHAT THAT MAY MEAN.*\n\n\"Yes. Yet I have hopes that my work to endear you to the people of that age may soften the blow.\"\n\n*YOU KNOW THAT I TRAVEL THE TIME STREAMS IN MY DREAMS. WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW?*\n\n\"Only that which you choose to tell me. Be it good or ill, likely or unlikely, successful or abject failure. I place this entirely in your hands. Tell me as you believe I deserve.\"\n\n*WE HAVE NOT DIED. WE HAVE TRANSFORMED. LONG BEFORE THE YEAR YOU NAME, EACH OF US HAS TAKEN A HUMAN IDENTITY. SOME FOR GOOD, SOME FOR EVIL, SOME FOR RETRIBUTION, SOME FOR HEALING. HESTIUS, THE FIRST SLAIN, WILL CAUSE HORRIBLE STRIFE IN THE 1940s. VERMINIUS, THE SECOND SLAIN, WILL DO GRIEVOUS DAMAGE IN 2020 AND THROUGHOUT THE YEARS BEFORE AND AFTER. I SOUGHT TO CAUSE YOU PAIN, AND HAVE LEARNED THE TRUE REASON FOR OUR DEMISE. WE BECOME YOUR BEST AND HARSHEST TUTORS.*\n\n*COME, FRIEND GEORGE, LET US MAKE THIS FINAL BATTLE REVERBERATE DOWN THE HALLS OF THE FUTURE THAT NEITHER OF US IS FORGOTTEN.*\n\n\"So may it be by the Lord of Light!\"\n\n\"CHARGE!\"\n\n*I COME TO MEET YOU, BROTHER UNDER THE SKIN!*\n\n*CHARGE!*\n\n…—…\n\n\"And that was how your many times great uncle met his fate, at the hands of his best friend, to ensure our future.\"\n\n\"But who won?\"\n\n\"Does it matter? Come now, Draco, George, it's time for bed.\"\n\n((finis))"
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[WP] As the bard of your adventuring party, you’re getting really sick of people wherever the party travels assuming you’re going to try and seduce 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.*",
"\"Hum la dum, dadida.\" The gentle strumming of my guitar played right in tune with the trots of the horses. A chord here, one there, a simple, melancholy tune to accompany the travel. Herk, still wearing his full plate, was asleep in the back of the wagon, Tyrindale quietly reading a book, Feiphon humming a harmony to my guitar. Golden rays of light poked through the canopy, pockmarked with red, purple, and orange. Tightening my coat a small bit as the wind tossed a few leaves, I called out to the coachman, \"Dear sir, about how long until we reach Ardinton?\" \n\"It'll be another hour, probably less I suppose.\" \n\"Wonderful!\" I said, my strums reflecting my voice. \"Well then, provided that we have some time, what say you tell us a small bit about the town?\" \nThe coachman shrugged. \"Not much to it. A small waypoint along the way.\" \n\"Anything more? Perhaps anything interesting?\" \n\"Look mate, I understand its kind of your whole stick, you know, the typical bard or whatever, but I have a wife and kids. Keep it to yourself.\" \nMy eyebrows raised. \"Oh, beg your pardons sir, I believe you misinterpreted my words. I've no air for you, I was merely inquiring about the town.\" \n\"Whatever you say pal.\" \nMy hand drifted up and down over the strings, perhaps playing a tad more forceful than I ought to have been. A strange man, this coach driver was. \n\"Fret not,\" Tyrindale said. \"No such small impediment will halt our grand adventure. Information can be found anywhere,\" he continued as he held up the novel in his hands. \"Books, for example.\"\n\nAs promised, an hour passed by without much further conversation, and we reached the entrance of the town, in which a very audible river could be heard throughout. I leapt out of the cart, Feiphon tumbled out and Tyrindale shook Herk awake. \n\"Here you are, man,\" I said to the driver, passing him a gold coin for his trouble, just before he left.\n\"Here we are,\" Herk observed the obvious, stretching his back out. \"Hey Elton, any tunes that can straighten my back out? That cramped wagon did me no favors.\" \n\"I don't do massages, thank you very much,\" I replied. \n\nThe four of us strutted into the town together, drawing eyes from the citizens, who probably did not very often see adventurers in their daily lives. I noticed, in particular, the women's eyes all drawn to me. Perhaps it was the extravagant hat, or the foreign instrument, but I was decidedly more out of place than the rest of my party. In any case, we collectively and silently agreed to steer ourselves in favor a strong pint of ale in the local tavern. A mild creaking announced our entrance as we meandered over to a booth and sat ourselves. We barely had time to seat, before the maid came over to our table. \n\"Rapid service, I appreciate that,\" Herk said. \"I will be taking something strong, powerful, like the armor I wear, madam.\" \n\"Just plain water for me,\" Feiphon said, \"In a wooden mug if you don't mind.\" \nTyrindale waved his order away, and so I turned to order. \"Something mild, if you don't mind. Nothing terribly strong, I must keep my wits about me.\" \n\"You sure you don't want anything stronger?\" The maid asked of me, her eyes and smirk bearing down on me. \n\"Ah, no, I am fine.\" \nShe appeared a little disappointed, but complied and left. \n\n\"How are our supplies looking, Herk?\" Tyrindale asked. \n\"We have enough for a week long journey, though I don't know if the rations will go bad inside the infinite bag,\" he said against another creak. \"Hopefully we will make it with just that.\" \n\"The north tower is a fair walks through the woods,\" Tyrindale replied. \"We might need to stock up on more rations just to be certain.\" \nHerk shuffled uncomfortably. \"You well enough know I don't like spending money, Ty.\" \n\"Not at a general store, but a casino is well enough,\" Feiphon cracked. \nJust before Herk could make a retort, the maid returned with our drinks on a platter. She passed them around to everyone, though I noticed my cup was brimming, almost over flowing. \n\"Thank you ma'am,\" I replied. \"How much will it be?\" \nShe leaned in a little closer. Was her blouse missing a few buttons? \"It's on the house.\" \nHerk and Feiphon were arguing at this point, but I could not focus, the maid was practically leaning onto me. \n\"Ah, all very well madam,\" I scooted away from her as best as I could, but she took her time leaving. \n\"-off eventually!\" Herk was raising his voice. \n\"Sorry, did I miss something? The barmaid was getting cozy again, and that door really needs some oil,\" I asked.\nHerk and Feiphon both tensely settled down. \"No,\" Tyrindale said. \"Nothing imperative. In any case, we need to address our str-\" \nJust then, someone interrupted our conversation. \"Begging your pardons,\" she said. \"I could not help but notice your guitar here. Are you an instrumentalist?\" \nI believe she was addressing me. \"Indeed,\" I said, turning towards her. Her chest happened to be directly eye level, and close enough for me to notice that there were certainly a few buttons undone. \"I have been playing since I was young, and consider myself quite the expert.\" \n\"Oh, that's absolutely wonderful! You see, my husband used to play as well, before he unfortunately passed away.\" \n\"Ah, well, terribly sorry for your loss.\" I squirmed a little closer to Herk. \n\"Ever since then, my home has been terribly empty,\" she continued, eyeing me down. \n\"I again apologize for your loss, but I am currently occupied in something, could you please leave?\" \nShe pouted, but then left our table. Another table across the tavern had a small number of woman seated there. \n\"Well, what were you saying, Tyrindale?\" \n\"About our strategy,\" he said, finally putting away his book. \"Perhaps we should take lodge and discuss this somewhere more secluded. I don't like ears.\"\n\"Maybe you should cut one of yours off, like that one guy,\" Feiphon shot. \n\"Indeed, I shall inquire about lodging and pay our tab here.\" I rose from the table, but as I walked to the bartender, I had the most strangest feeling that there were a number of eyes on me.",
"The tavern wench brings over the ale your adventuring party ordered, and sets yours in front of you last with a saucy wink. You nod at her politely but a heavy sigh escapes as soon as she's gone.\n\n\"What's wrong?\" asks Orn the Barbarian. \"Not enough ale in your tanker? I think the barmaid gave you extra.\"\n\n\"That's the problem! She winked at me and I can tell she assumes I'll follow her into the back for a bit of fun after we finish drinking. I haven't given her any reason to think that though. The tavern owner has been watching me with suspicion all night too. As if I'm about to ravish someone right here on the table?\"\n\n\"But you're a Bard! And you like women! Plus she gave you extra ale for crying out loud.\" Clearly this is why Orn would tumble her.\n\n\"I'm not interested. Besides, did you even look at her? She's less attractive than you are, and you have carrot stuck in your teeth.\"\n\nThe Cleric Asterin leaned forward to add her two cents. \"It's not as if you don't seduce women, you know. You have a reputation.\"\n\n\"Oh really! I have a reputation but when was the last time you know of that I bedded anyone?\" You realize you're having trouble keeping your voice down as your irritation takes hold of you. There's a long moment of silence as everyone else at the table pauses to think.\n\nAsterin takes a breath to speak but hesitates. \"Well, when we were in the Dale last week... No, we were really busy. You didn't have any time. Before that at the cute little castle? No, the four of us all stayed close together. The youngest princess tried to lock you into the library with her though! Um. Okay, I remember! There was the pretty blonde in the Forest!\"\n\n\"But that was nearly a year ago!\" exclaims the final member of your party, the Necromancer Floyd. \"Even I've had a women since then!\" Orn opens his mouth and Floyd rushed on to say \"And yes she was alive.\"\n\n\"Just because I'm a Bard doesn't mean I'm a slut! I have standards okay?\"\n\nAgain, you realize you're getting a little too loud but this time it's too late. A man at the next table heard and is stalking over to your table. \"And just what's wrong with our women here I'd like to know?\" he yells at you, split flying. \"My wife is the prettiest woman for miles!\" He points at a woman at the table behind him, who really is quite lovely but must not have good taste in men if she married this lout.\n\n\"She's beautiful!\" you quickly agree.\n\n\"You keep your hands off her!\" The man raises his fist but another patron grabs his wrist and spins him around.\n\n\"Your wife? YOUR WIFE is the prettiest woman around? My Cassandra is twice the woman yours is!\" he shouts in the first man's face before punching him in the face.\n\nYou dimly notice a brawl has broken out as men argue over whose woman is the prettiest and the women egg on their dubious champions. The barmaid, however, has your attention and there's thunder in her eyes. \"What did you say about me?\" \n\n\"Gods above. I should have become a farmer.\""
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[WP] Every time you try making one of your grandmother's recipes from the book she passed on to you the dish being cooked begins to talk 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.*",
"Here's something new, probably. I made this with an A.I, Text Synth, so it probably won't make sense, but I thought this would be a fun experiment\n\n \n\nIt begins to sing to you in the way only a person can sing to you. Like the way a dog sings.\n\nIt knows there's a person watching.\n\nIt loves seeing you like that.\n\nAnd you just think... Why didn't you know about this? It's your grandmother! It's in this book!\n\nYou're afraid. There's no way it's right.\n\nWhy don't you try to stop it? It's not like you'd even know about it!\n\n\nIt has to live. It has to be there. It has to be in this book. You've never even known it existed. You haven't got a family! What could be more terrifying than knowing your grandmother is being turned inside out?\n\n\nYou pull your hair out and turn it off...\n\n\nYou turn your book off and you don't even know where it is...\n\n\nA memory...\n\n\nIt wants to get its wings back..."
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[WP] Late into 2021, dragon eggs begin to be found across the globe. Thus, the arms race begins.
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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 Dragon egg was found of the coast of Cuba sometime in September, by December the creature grew from the size of a house cat to a Large SUV. This creature had been the crux in the coups of the new regime. Short-lived regime as the beast turned on its master. By January 2022, hundreds if not thousands of eggs had hatched with more being found every day. By 2023 Humanity had found Dragons to be cost-effective killing machines, if they could be controlled. Worse had been the size the Dragons grew to. Though they slowed down when they roughly became the size of school buses, there seemed to be no upper limit.\n\nAmerica had spent billions on research and development, housing, training, food, and personnel. China and Russia not far behind. With this sudden shift in military tactics of the world, the battlefield had been leveled. Despite the money and the desire to weaponize the ferocious beasts it was just as much guess work as it was science. Russia and America trying their best with 'Breaking' the beast into submission. China experimented with cybernetic augmentation and cognitive control. One country quickly rose to the top. One no one expected to rise to power. India. Finding power in respect and reverence of the Dragons the first Dragon war was quickly fought and won. \n\nNow atop of the world, India has decreed itself the ruling nation. Force to submit, the former superpowers of the world wait. Though new challengers arise often. Japan has been able to challenge the Indians, and the conflict grows worse every day. Life has become a fight for survival for those who are unable to defend themselves from the mighty beasts. Society as we once knew it collapsed. What started as an arms race, became worship of the dragons, and those to controlled them. Be it by friendship or dominance.\n\nSelling yourself as feed, for the sake of your family's protection, became a common place under the 'Scale Lordes'. Named for the shed skins reverently worn by riders and caretakers. Humanity, for all its advancement, regressed back into monarchical dynasties. \n\nThe second Dragon War would forever scar the Earth. America in its last ditch effort for survival would deploy the last known nukes to India, Japan, China and Russia. The response was a united front to glass the country. Now known as the Glasslands, nothing remains of the once great nation. A time of peace would follow these horrid events, but would not last long.\n\n China's Techno-Dragons are feared by its enemies. Armed with 120mm shoulder mounted auto cannons, Anti-Air missiles and pain suppressant brain augmentation. The beasts pale in comparison to Russia's breed of monsters. Grown to be nearly twice the size of most dragons. Japan opted for speed over might, with Dragons breaking the sound barrier. India found power in numbers, with their dragons out numbering any other nation four-to-one. No one saw Norway coming. Especially from the ground. With Dragons that could dig faster than anything known to man.\n\n20 years later, now on the cusp of another Dragon War. The world's powers secure alliances, and ration their dwindling resources. Though Uganda tries its best to pursue peace, their cries for mercy, kindness and understanding fall on deaf ears. The populace desperate for food and protection, have resorted to killing one another in the streets to prove their worth to the Scale Lordes."
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I always hear about how humans think and deal with the zombie apocalypse, so I though how it might be perceived by animals, pets, or wildlife. This animal might be seeing how it is effecting humans, or perhaps the case 0 is among their own kind.
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[WP] You are an animal, and you are seeing the beginning of the zombie apocalypse.
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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.*",
"Ralph always had fun playing with his best friend. Things always seemed like a new adventure such as playing in the park on sunny days or cozying up on the couch during a rainy night. His best friend never really told Ralph his name, so Ralph gave him a nickname, Violet. The name Violet because even though he always so nice to Ralph, a few times a week he chokes the neck of the one called Vacuum. Vacuum probably deserves it but no matter how many times Ralph shouts, Violet just continues. \n\nLately though, Violet is getting more and more scary. For one thing, he sits on the couch and pushes away Ralph’s cuddles while staring at the TV screen for ages before returning to his room. Then, the panicked shouts from behind the shut doors starts which have become a daily occurrence. One day, Violet grabbed Ralph by the collar and threw him out of the house. Ralph scratched and clawed at the door as Violet kept screaming and growling.",
"It started with Cole. He came home with a reddened face, the whites of his eyes looked like bloody spiderwebs. I curled into him to try to bring comfort. His tiny body was warmer than the oven after Mom's baking. I knew to never touch the oven, no matter how good it smelled. The tip of my tongue had been burned once when trying to steal a bite. \n \nCole shifts on the couch. My tail pounds the blanket in response. My boy. \n \nDad comes into the living room. My eyes follow him but my body remains still, spare for the slight thump of my tail. He turns on the tv, voices raising louder. Scared people shouting. He steps over to the couch to touch Cole's forehead and pat my back. Then peers out the window. \n \n*Is someone coming?* \n \nI raise my head intrigued at the idea of a visitor. Who would it be? Grandpa with his treats? Becky to walk me? Or maybe someone else.\n\nDad steps away from the window, but not before checking its locks. Then into the kitchen to whisper something to Mom. I rest my head back on Cole's lap. He twitches. A bit of foam (or is it food) dripping from his mouth. \n \nI lick his face to check. \n \nNo. Not food. A whine escapes my closed mouth. *Uh oh.* Mom rushes in pushing me away as she fusses over my boy's face. I look to the tv as it switches to tonal sound. No more faces and screaming. The tone hurts my ears and a whine again. \n \n\"Stop it, Cinder.\" Dad scolds me. I curl into my own bed. Watching them tend to my boy.\n\nI wake up awhile later. The house dark. I make my rounds through the house looking for my family or for scraps of food. Happy to find either. Dad is sitting against the door of Cole's room. Head held up with one hand. I push my head into the free hand on his knee. \n \nHe sucks in air hard. \"Good boy.\" \n\nI sniff at the crack beneath the door. There is a scuffle of two bodies, a sound like a cat and then **pound.** The door bounces Dad forward. He cries. I cry too.\n\n\"Stop it! No, Cinder!\" Dad scolds me in a voice just above a whisper. \n \nI sit. Looking from him back to the door. Something is in there. I can smell it. It smells like death. I want to roll in the stench. But instead I sit. With Dad. And I wait. *Good boy.**"
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[WP] A world where to get rid of a fear you have to tattoo that fear onto your self. Two people met, one with no tattoos and one with tattoos head to toe.
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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.*",
"Ana admits that she is perfectly normal, however her fears 'keep her feeling human' again. In 2139, 3/4 of the population have tattoos to 'maximize their experience on this Earth; living without fear is one of the agendas of this generation. Jason, Ana's husband, who looks like a 1980s subway car, chuckles and laughs trying to downplay her bravado says 'she's stronger than me, I love zip lining'. Jason begins to lift up the back of his shirt to show his tattoo off the words '*heights'* on top of a building in old English. \"Until I tattooed it on myself, I was scared of my job (construction), sight seeing and air planes.I can personally say it liberated me\", Judging by the landscape of society this theory must be true for a lot of folks..."
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[WP] It was an ordinary flight, and your view of the ocean was fantastic. You look at the Stewardess for a moment to answer a question then glance out the window again, only to see stars and galaxies spinning in the distance.
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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.*",
"## Out of the world\n\nI love flying. And I most certainly enjoy the view. You think the shuttle has yet to start, and all of a sudden, you get a jolt forward. Next thing you know, you are able to see the roofs of nearby buildings. Within seconds skyscrapers look like miniature toys. \n \n\n\nAnd if you are lucky enough, you get the view of the ocean. It is almost a blackish, inky backdrop on which stones are shining. Have you ever seen anything more majestic, more beautiful than... \n \n\n\n'What will you have, Sir?'\n \n\n\nThe cheerful voice of the stewardess rudely interrupts my daydream. I bottle my annoyance & look at my choices. Luckily, my favourite beverage is there on the list. I take it, fake a smile & turn towards my window again. This time, I do a double take. \n \n\n\nWithin those few seconds, the familiar sea view has disappeared. I am treated to an unfamiliar sight. Orbs of different colours are rotating, revolving in multiple directions. And these are no ordinary orbs. These are planets. This is as close I have come to see them as possible. \n \n\n\nI know these are planets, because I have seen this sight in the planetariums. Only, they seemed much smaller there. There is a pin drop silence on the flight. And then I notice them. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘴. \n \n\n\nDifferent galaxies, different hues, different patterns unfolding in different ways. Our craft delves into a galaxy I have only heard about in my geography classes. One by one, we pass stars, planets, meteorites & other celestial objects. It seems like a surrealistic painting from one of the old masters. \n \n\n\nAs a revered silence falls in the plane, I realise where we are heading. Suddenly, the whole scenario is wiped out. Everything becomes greyish white. The silence breaks into a pandemonium. \n \n\n\n'We request all the passengers on this flight to please remain silent.' says an air hostess in a soothing tone. The rest of her statement gets drowned. And then, suddenly, the greyish white recedes. \n \n\n\nI see again. We were actually passing through clouds. As they disperse, I see the familiar sight of the inky black ocean. The miniature skyscrapers come into sight. We are reaching the ground. 𝘈𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯. As if on cue, the air hostess makes another announcement.\n \n\n\n'Ladies & gentlemen, we are pleased to announce that we have reached the destination 30 minutes ahead of time. With this maiden flight, we have created history of being the first commercial intergalactic flight to land on a foreign planet. We welcome you on Planet Earth.'\n \n\n\nBy the time we have deplaned, everyone is excited. And I? I feel like I am back at home. An out of the world flight, indeed."
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[WP] You're an immortal being who's lived since the start of human history. Thanks to your Alzheimer's, that's news 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.*",
"Amidst a golden array of wheat sat a wooden house, simple in design but newly built. Nestled within the long stalks that swayed in the wind, waving to visitors, welcome them to this hidden home. It gave a happiness to the horizon it dotted.\n\nI sat on the patio, basking in the sun, I could barely see passed the first line of wheat stalks. The rocking chair I was sitting in going back and forth, I was gazing at the gold and holding on to it. I didn't want to let that go.\n\n\"Here you are!\" A small voice chirped in my ear. \"A blueberry jam and peanut butter sandwich, just how you like it.\"\n\nA small girl full of cheer handed me the plate and ran off giggling. The plate rattled on my digits, tinkering as I brought it to my side table. I took the mug I had placed there earlier, at another point in the day. Sipping the tea I realized it was still warm. I had placed it there earlier that day after all.\n\nThere is one thing I can't shake however.\n\nI have no idea who that was.",
"Eerie silence filled the room as Dr Johnson checked the readings again. He pulled a thin sheet of paper in between his forefinger and thumb, scanning the figures. His brow creased as he licked his dry lips with a small nub of a tongue.\n\nSomewhere in the room, a clock ticked, counting out the passing seconds, each click feeling like a life time.\n\n\"Is everything OK, doctor? Am I well.\"\n\nA pair of keen brown eyes suddenly peered out over the sheet, an eyebrow raised high.\n\n\"You don't have to call me doctor, it's just a title. Call me David.\"\n\nHe gestured to a woman stood next to him, very young, with hair tied neatly back into a pony tail.\n\n\"This is your Doctor, Dr Caswell. You'd be better off asking her whether you're well or not.\"\n\nI smiled at the lady and felt guilty. I had assumed she was too young to be a qualified practitioner. I made to stand up off the examination table but she stepped forward and shook her hand, meaning for me to lie back down. Sighing, I agreed.\n\n\"Am I well, doctor?\" I asked again.\n\nThere was a pause, a purposeful hesitation from her, as if she was trying to find the best words for a difficult situation. Dipolmatic words, ones that would not offend, words that would be sincere.\n\n\"You are poorly sir, you have a condition called Alzheimer's. The symptons of which...\"\n\n\"I know what Alzheimer's is.\" I interrupted. I clicked my teeth. I don't know why I was so annoyed. Was it because she was young? Because I am sick?\n\nThere was another pause from Doctor Caswell , \"And yet you extremely well, sir.\"\n\nNow I was beginning to lose my patience. I pressed my closed fist into the soft padding of the examiner's table, leaving an impression of my knuckle.\n\n\"What do you mean, extremely well?\"\n\nDr Caswell and the man calling himself David shared a look, as if not knowing who should speak first. It was the woman who broke the silence.\n\n\"After we diagnosed your condition, we ran some tests. CAT scans, blood tests, all of them showed irregular results. Your other vital organs are running at peak condition and your physical body shows no weaknesses or strain.\"\n\n\"This is good right?\" I interjected.\n\n\"No,\" replied the doctor, voice quavering, as if she were about to burst into tears. \"They're all abnormal. You are abnormal. We ran a DNA test... your DNA... it... it's a precursor.\"\n\n\"A precursor to what?\" I asked, feeling my pulse rising. The room felt like it was spinning, the other man was looking at me coolly, like he was about to at any moment dart out of the room.\n\n\"A precursor to us. Your DNA can be found in every race of humanity,\" she whispered. \"As if you were an ancient ancestor.\"\n\n\"We carbon dated your bones,\" the other man said, his voice ghostly. \"They're between 1.4 and 2.4 million years old.\"\n\nAnd then I remembered. Not everything, but some things, memories rising to the surface like bubbles of oxygen in a muddy puddle. Somewhere in the room a clock ticked, counting out the lifetimes, each click feeling like a second.",
"\"You're not human. That's the simplest way to put it.\"\n\n\"Not human?\" I gasped. \"What does that mean? Of course I'm human.\"\n\n\"Well, you're human in most observable senses. Your anatomy, your chemical processes, your cognition. It's all 'human'.\" The doctor stood from her desk, came around and sat on it just in front of me. \"It's your aging process.\"\n\n\"What about it?\"\n\n\"Well, Michael, you're not 72 years old. More to the point, your body is merely trapped at 72 years old.\"\n\n\"How could you possibly sumise--\"\n\nShe interrupted: \"We carbon-dated neurons from your cerebral cortex.\"\n\n\"You can carbon-date neurons?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"Don't they change?\"\n\n\"Most cells do replace themselves many times in a typical lifespan, Michael. Yours certainly have. We would've used your teeth enamel, if you still had them. Not to say your dentures are not attractive. The neurons spilled the beans.\"\n\n\"Then... just how old am I?\"\n\n\"Those neurons of yours, at least, are 50,000 years old. Give or take.\"\n\n\"Fifty... thousand...\" I said. The words faded under the weight of my disbelief.\n\n\"Fifty thousand years,\" said the doctor.\n\n\"But I haven't lived for 50,000 years, I would've remembered that.\"\n\n\"Michael let me ask you something,\" she said.\n\n\"By all means doctor.\"\n\n\"Do you know where you are?\"\n\nI looked around.\n\n\"This is your office I suppose.\"\n\n\"You assume that. Do you remember coming in here? In fact Michael, do you know my name?\"\n\n\"We just met,\" I said.\n\n\"No, Michael, we haven't.\"\n\nJust then the door opened in a strange way, and another doctor-looking person came into the office, clad in teal-tinted translucent white. I hadn't noticed that both doctors were dressed like this, like from an episode of Star Trek.\n\n\"Those are interesting scrubs,\" I said. The new doctor ignored me and spoke to the other.\n\n\"Same?\" he asked.\n\n\"No change,\" said the other doctor. \"Just going through the paces. Are we still on for lunch?\"\n\n\"Hello,\" I said. \"I'm sitting right here. What are you talking about? What is this?\"\n\nThe first doctor turned to me. \"I'm sorry Michael, we'll talk again soon.\" \n\nShe got up and the both left, the doorway sealing behind them. Still, I could hear murmurs. So I pressed my ear against the wall to hear what they were saying.\n\n\"His memory has been getting worse these passed two years,\" I heard the woman saying.\n\n\"What difference does it make?\" asked the other.\n\n\"None, I suppose. But he'll start forgetting things after only minutes soon enough.\"\n\n\"They'll have to change protocols then.\"\n\n\"I agree.\"\n\n\"Hellish existence,\" said the man. \"If only he knew he's been in this facilitiy for 200 years already.\"\n\n\"My god!\" I uttered, unrestrained.\n\nJust then the wall unsealed and I felt knocked back by the surprise. Two people were standing there, staring at me. They watched me and waited, for what I didn't know.\n\n\"Hello,\" I said, hesitantly. \"I...\" \n\n\"Hello Michael,\" said the lady.\n\n\"Ah, you know my name,\" I said.\n\nShe smiled, somewhat reluctantly it seemed to me, but who was I to judge? Her companion nodded at me and made a gesture to the woman, who nodded a response before he walked away down a cylindrical corridor.\n\nStrange place.\n\n​\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\n/r/velabasstuff"
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[WP] You live in a world where everyone knows the day they will die... Except for you. You don't know when you will die. You are the anomaly.
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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.*",
"“Everyone else is so lucky,” I muttered to myself.\n\nClasses just ended for the week and I was standing in the middle of the school hallway, listening to people’s plans for the weekend. I heard plans to do exciting activities such as white-water rafting or highlining over waterfalls. All of these activities seemed to be far more exciting that my weekend plans to stay in my room and play video games all day.\n\nPeople nowadays loved doing adrenaline inducing activities. Me? I just wanted to do something simple and safe. I hated doing anything remotely dangerous, whereas all of my peers seemed thrilled to tackle danger head-on. Why wouldn’t they? After all, they had something that I did not: knowledge of when they were going to die.\n\nSome people call it the Hand of God.\n\nScientifically, it's called Vita Syndrome, but most people just call it The Warmth. It’s a feeling normal people get every time they wake up in the morning; they wake up, feel a euphoric warmth in their chest that lasts about 30 seconds, then go about their day feeling fearless. \n\nSee, The Warmth tells someone they will not die that day. \n\nSupposedly, the warm feeling gets weaker throughout one’s life before completely fading away. Once it fades away, the person dies within a month. No one knows why humans suddenly started feeling these warm sensations, but the effects on society were immense. People became less afraid of taking risks knowing that as long as they feel warmth in the morning, they were not dying anytime soon.\n\nHowever, I never experienced such a feeling.\n\nWhenever I wake up in the morning, instead of feeling euphoric warmth I just feel groggy and irritated at my alarm. My apparent lack of warm feeling caused me to be overly cautious in a way that no one around me could understand. I could die *anytime*, so I made sure to never put myself in any dangerous situation. I looked at all of the students around me, jealous at how carefree they lived. They never knew the anxiety I faced every day.\n\nSighing, I started to walk home.\n\n…\n\nI walked home, got some food from the pantry, and shut myself in my room. Turning on my computer, I proceeded to play online games until past midnight, then decided it was time to get ready for bed. I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, which was when I heard the sound of glass breaking.\n\nInstantly, I was filled with anxiety and my thoughts raced:\n\n“Someone is breaking in.”\n\n“I’m gonna get kidnapped.”\n\n“*I’m gonna die.”*\n\nI was sweating and my heart was fluttering. Suddenly, I heard heavy footsteps coming from the direction of the living room—they were getting closer with each step.\n\nPanicking, I grabbed a knife and went to hide behind my kitchen counter. However, it was too late: before I could crouch out of sight, my eyes met the eyes of the intruder. I could see his silhouette from the moonlight coming through the kitchen window, and I knew that he could see mine.\n\nThe intruder, who appeared to be a tall man, started to talk: “This house seemed empty from the outside. What were you doing kid? You had no lights on anywhere.”\n\nI silently cursed myself for my habit of gaming in compete darkness. Taking a step back, I slowly raised my kitchen knife towards the man, hands shaking. I must have been trembling hard because the man started to grin before he spoke again.\n\n“Scared, huh? Let me guess, you didn’t feel your warm fuzzies this morning.” \n\nThe man chuckled before starting to walk forward.\n\n“You won’t be needing that knife of yours, because unlike you, I KNOW I’m not dying anytime soon.”\n\nThe man was right. The rule of The Warmth was that if you feel it in the morning, you will simply not die that day. Experiments have shown that if someone tries to kill a person who still felt The Warmth, or if they try to kill themselves, some freak accident prevents their death. It was the closest thing to the supernatural that science knew, and philosophers were having a hay day debating if fate exists.\n\nStill, I wanted to defend myself. Ignoring the man’s taunts, I lunged at him with my knife, only to slip on a puddle near my water dispenser. Picking myself off the ground, I came face to face with the man, only this time he was holding a knife up to my neck\n\n“Sorry kid, can’t have any witnesses” was the last thing I heard before I felt the knife slash through my neck and my body, full of pain, slammed the kitchen floor.\n\nI started to lose all sensations. First touch, then sight, then finally hearing. It felt as if I was incredibly sleepy and was slipping into a deep sleep, never to wake up again.\n\n“This is it” was the last thought I had before unconsciousness took me.\n\n…\n\nSuddenly, I gasped for air and found myself sitting upright. I quickly touched my neck and felt no signs of blood or cuts. Was I just hallucinating that experience? No, I KNEW that I was fatally wounded and that I died. When I got up from the floor and looked in front of me, my eyes widened.\n\nOn the floor was the intruder, and he was in a pool of blood that flowed from his neck.\n\nI rolled him over.\n\nThen I checked his pulse.\n\nThen I saw it with my own eyes: this man was *dead.*\n\nHow did he die? If anything, the one who was supposed to die was me. I stood still for several minutes trying to process what just happened. The man said he felt his usual warmth this morning. When I tried to stab him with my knife, my efforts failed, which is what one would expect with The Warmth. I, on the other hand, did not have The Warmth so the man was able to plunge his knife into my neck. Yet here I was, alive and standing over the corpse of a man who was certain of his invulnerability moments ago.\n\nJust then, I heard more footsteps and a man’s voice call out.\n\n“Damn it John, what is taking so long? We have to get out before anyone notices anything suspi-“\n\nThe man stopped mid-sentence when he entered the kitchen, seeing me standing over a corpse. \n\n“What are you playing at John? You told me you were good this morning.”\n\n*No answer*\n\n“Kid.” The man turned to me. “What did you do?!”\n\n*No answer*\n\n**“WHAT DID YOU DO?!**”\n\nThe man roared and charged at me, brandishing a knife. I felt the knife sink into my stomach, and everything went black as before. I then regained consciousness, finding myself unharmed and standing over another dead man, this time with a knife wound in their stomach. I stood there in shock, thinking about what just happened. I definitely died, yet I did not stay dead. Instead, other people seemed to die in my place.\n\nMy thoughts were interrupted by the sound of police sirens coming from outside. It seems that my neighbors called the cops and here I was, standing over the bodies of two dead men.\n\nI wondered if the cops would believe me if I told them what happened."
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[WP] You, a stoic and a nihilist wake up one day with the powers of God. You have no desire for this power neither do you want the responsibility of changing the world, you just want to get back to normal, but you have to be quick because there’s a rumour going about town that, “God has arrived”
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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 three of us stand, looking at each other. “What the hell just happened?” I said, looking at the thin, well kept looking man, with simple looking clothes. But I already knew, we three were Gods. \n\n“It appears that we were given the powers of a divine being,” the man said. “There is no such thing,” grumbles a rather shabby looking woman, wearing earthy tones, her flowing skirt under a jacket clearly two sizes too big. \n\n“We have a solemn responsibility to this world,” the man continued. “We must use these powers create a just world for the inhabitants.” \n\n“What world!?” The woman screeched. “It’s just us! All we are is text on a website being read by some person. None of this is real!” \n\n“It is real to the reader!” The man stated firmly. “As long as they are reading, this world exists. We must make it as interesting as possible to the visitor to our world.” \n\n“Oh, hell no. Nonononono. No. I will not be stuck with both of you crazies in this imaginary world,” I stammer, not able to deal with either of them. \n\n“Then what do you suppose we do?” The man said dryly, his eyes inquisitive. \n\n“What can you do?” The woman shot out, hands thrown into the air. “We’ve already broke the 4th wall, the readers a know we’re God and are in our story now.” \n\nA smile curls across my lips. “I’ll just add a comma.”\n\n#[WP] You, a stoic and a nihilist, wake up one day with the powers of God. You have no desire for this power neither do you want the responsibility of changing the world, you just want to get back to normal, but you have to be quick because there’s a rumor going around town that, “God has arrived”\n\n*That’s much better, I don’t think I could stand eternity with those two*, I think to myself. *Look, I know you are reading this. Yes you, the nerd reading this.* I chuckle. *Don’t give me that. Only nerds read Writing Prompts on Reddit. Look, I don’t want to be here, I just want to wake up and be normal again. But hey, thanks for visiting God, I’m just going to unmake this existence. And before you ask what the meaning of life is, I don’t care. This is my reality, and I would much rather be in yours. So make up whatever meaning you want as long as it speakers true to your nature.* I pause for a moment, deciding on if I should go through with it or not, but then resolve myself. *For whatever it’s worth, it was fun to exist in you mind while I lasted.* I then unmake this world, and fade to the nothingness from where I was born."
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[WP] We don't deserve dogs. Is a common adage. Well, aliens took it literally and now have abducted every one for themselves.
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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 awakened by nature's call. It's an inconvenience, one of many that assail my aging body, but thankfully, it's not every night that I have to deal with this. Ambling back from the bathroom, I look upon my empty bed and am sharply reminded of Odin's absence.\n\nWe still don't know what happened. Last Monday, the world woke up to find all our dogs gone. Every last one. Our pets, animals at shelters, strays, you name it. Gone. All other animals were spared this purge. \n\nWorld governments don't have a clue as to where to get started to unravel this mystery. Battling climate change, disease and conflict is one thing, but where does one begin to look when almost a billion of our friends go missing?\n\nThe internet has gone crazy. Most people are lamenting their loss, sharing stories of their pets. Some kooks claim that it's the cats that did it. Called out to their alien masters (the ones that built the pyramids) to take the dogs away so they can have our undivided attention. It's all gone crazy, I tell you. \n\nI stare at the ceiling. I find it hard to go back to sleep. He was my only companion, and I don't know what I'm to do without him. \n\nOdin buddy, I really miss you, I wish you come back.\n\n\\-----------------------------------------------\n\nI wake up in the morning to a familiar sound. Odin, sleeping next to me, without a care in the world. Like he'd never left. I anxiously reach out to touch him, not sure if this is my mind playing tricks to help with the sorrow, or a very realistic dream I'm having. \n\nHe slowly wakes up, and looks at me, as if he were seeing me for the first time. I see his eyes light up for a second, and he's all over me. He's normally a very well-behaved boy, but I'll allow it this time. \n\nAfter a bit of licking and roughhousing, I take a closer look at him, to see if he's alright. I notice there's something under his collar. A folded piece of paper. Opening it, I see it's a note. Wiping my eyes, I read it. \n\n\"Greetings, human. We apologize for the inconvenience. While we do not approve of the way you treat these superior beings, it seems that they do not take well to our rash decision to remove them from your homeworld. While some of them warmed to us, most of them remained pretty miserable. You clearly do not deserve them, but they've chosen to honor your race with their company. \n\nWe hope that you wouldn't mind us visiting once in a while to play with them.\""
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[WP] When you purchased a book labeled "Death Note", you didn't imagine it would literally be notes from the reaper himself.
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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.*",
"While in the subway on my way home, my patience could not hold me back. I found Death Note merch that is not listed anywhere. My friends won’t believe this. Is it selfmade? Or a secret edition? I was too excited. \n\nI ripped open the cheap plastic wrap and instantly my nose was filled with the most disgusting smell I ever had to witness. \n\nThe puking accident at homecoming was a bed of roses compared to this. This was a rotten omlette within the stomach of a decomposing body, covered in excrements.\n\nAlmost instantly the people around me started holding their shirt or elbow over their already covered nose, giving me disgusted stares while retreating back into an even safer distance. \n\nI made efforts to stop myself from opening my mouth, what would surely have resulted in a beam of vomit, hitting the inside of my mask, ruining my clothes and making me and the compartement even more repulsive.\n\nI panicked. Sweat was running down my forehead. My mouth was full of semi-digested kebab and I was the center of attention for at least 15 people. \n\nBy serendipity, we just arrived at a station. I packed the book into my backpack, jumped up and spurted outside, relieving myself in a trashcan. \n\nAfter a good 5 minutes of vomiting and gagging, I surely was tempted to get rid of this rotten book. \n\nI opened my backpack, prepared for the worst, only to be pleasantly surprised. It did not smell anymore. It didn‘t leave any smell on my backpack either. What the heck was it then? Did I get infected with Covid? Are these symptoms of it? Can they appear this fast?\n\nIt didn‘t matter now. All I wanted was to get home and eliminate every bacteria contributing to the taste of vomit in my mouth. \n\n...\n\nAs I got out of the shower and started brushing my teeth I couldn‘t stop myself from thinking about the book and the glimpses I got of it‘s insides. This was no ordinary merch. The texture of it feels like robust but softer than usual leather and the pages are not even uniform. Some are bigger, some smaller. Some are made of very old paper, you could even see the contours of the individual strings.\n\nFeeling fresh and filled with a strange energy, I darkened my room to 10 p.m darkness on a mid-summer night, lit up the lamp on my desk and brought out the book from my backpack. \n\nIt already felt somewhat familiar.\n\nI suddenly heard footsteps from outside my room. I live alone, but a few friends got keys to my apartement. I never intensely noticed steps like these before, so I thought it had to be someone unfamiliar. \n\nSomeone big and heavy.\n\nThe old door to my bedroom opens with a silent but eerie creak.\n\n“Meeeoooow!“\n\nIt was Mi-Go, my cat. \nAs he never seeks my presence except when he‘s hungry, I set an alarm on my phone to remind me of feeding him. \n\nSuddenly, he jumps on my lap and makes himself comfortable. He never did that once. I was overwhelmed with contentment, which was making me forget my strange overestimation of the steps outside my room. \n\nI opened the book and felt like my bodily awareness was extinguished by the time I read the first line.\n\n“Nunc filia tua taciturnitas“\n(*The daughters of silence are now yours*)\n\n...\n\n——————\n\n\nHey, I‘m new to this. Please critizise honestly and don‘t hold back. I want to improve. Thanks for reading!",
"It was a raggedy thin black journal. Yellowed and frayed. Blank. \"DEATH NOTE\", was printed on the cover in bold plain font.\n\nI was about to replace it in the bookshelf, when words started forming on the first page:\n\n\\**Hi Will\\** it read.\n\nIt was in beautiful black perfect caligraphy. I blinked, flipped through the book again, felt the pages. Was it some kind of gimmicky book? Secret ink?\n\nNew words had formed on the first page.\n\n*\\*It's real*.\\*\n\nMy eyes widened. I closed the book, thought about it, then went and stood in a more lighted area of the small bookstore.\n\n\"Who are you?\" I whispered to noone.\n\n\\**I'm lonely, Will. Will you talk to me?*\\*\n\n\"Sure, but who are you?\"\n\n\\**I\"m everywhere, Will.*\\*\n\n\"God?\"\n\n\\**The pay is terrible, Will. 2 coins per ferry. I feel I'm stuck in dead-end job.*\\*\n\n\\**Get it?*\\*\n\nBlood was pounding behind my eyes, and my fingers were shaking. I wanted to sit down but there was nowhere to sit, so I just leaned against a book shelf. Luckily, the store-owner didn't seem to be around.\n\nWas I going to die-?\n\n\\**Did I tell you I'm gay?*\\*\n\n\\-wait what?\n\n\\**I just want someone to appreciate my nail art and the \"Perfect Pussyboat\" top I got myself but which noone sees coz I wear it under my cowl robe.*\\*"
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[WP] As the king’s food tester you always knew you could die at any moment. What you weren’t expecting was for the king to drop dead and you still be breathing. Apparently you’re immortal, and the court isn’t too pleased about 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.*",
"The king's last breath rattled in the horror-stricken court before his majestic corpulence slid sideways out of his chair onto the flagstone floor. \n \nThere was a collective gasp as the heavy crown rolled from his cold and beaded forehead and across the stones with a clatter. It settled to a rest amid the hush.\n\nThere was a pause.\n\nAnd then, inevitably, the eyes began to turn. First a dowager duchess cranked her head round and squinted at Geoff suspiciously. Then the jester began whispering to the minstrels, and they too turned to glare. The lords and ladies all began to twitter nervously amongst themselves, and pair after pair of eyes fixed on the royal taster with varying degrees of outrage. \n\n\"Erm,\" said Geoffrey, nervously. \n\n\"The royal taster has betrayed the King!\" screeched an excitable count, clutching at his rapier.\n\n\"Let's not get ahead of ourselves!\" Geoff yelped, backing up. \n\n\"The King has been poisoned! Betrayal!\" The court took up the shout. \"Guards! Seize him!\"\n\nGeoff was unceremoniously seized by two strapping men at arms and dragged away to the dungeon, where he was rudely chucked into the dirty straw on the floor of a miserable cell.\n\n\"I *tasted* it!\" he howled indignantly as the guards locked up and retreated. \"It was effing delicious!\"\n\nThe guards didn't pause as they strode away down the winding torchlit hall.\n\nGeoffrey spent a miserable night huddled in dirty straw and freezing in the damp of his cell. When he was dragged forth the next morning to meet his fate, he was hardly looking his best.\n\n\"This miscreant,\" announced the Bishop, \"This wolf in sheep's clothing, this--this--*snake in the grass* has betrayed us all and in his infinite hubris has caused the death of our beloved King.\"\n\n\"It was chicken fricassee!\" howled Geoff. \"With paprika! Please, for the love of God--\"\n\n\"Take not the Lord's name in your murderer's mouth!\" shouted the Bishop. \"You are hereby sentenced to be HANGED.\" \n\nA collective gasp arose from the assembled court. Geoffrey was shoved toward the gibbet without further ado. The noose was roughly pulled over his head.\n\n\"The traitor Geoffrey Gordon, the perfidious taster who allowed poison to pass the lips of our beloved King, shall be hung by the neck until dead!\"\n\nThere was a gasp as the trapdoor dropped. Geoff's figure dropped and dangled.\n\n\"Ow,\" he grunted.\n\n\nSeveral hours later, the Bishop was wiping sweat from his ecclesiastical brow with a voluminous handkerchief and glaring at the men at arms.\n\n\"Is he dead yet?\"\n\n\"No!\" shouted Geoff peevishly from behind them. \"How long do I have to bloody hang here?\" \n\nThe men at arms scuffled their booted feet in the dust with embarrassment. \"Um. Ah. He doesn't seem to be--\"\n\n\"Dying?\" Geoff put in. \"No, I am not, I'm *dangling.* This is becoming ridiculous.'\n\nThe Bishop pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. \"Cut him down,\" he finally muttered. Then aloud he said to the very disillusioned court, \"On second thought, the traitor shall be BURNED. Prepare the stake.\"\n\nBeing tied to a post in the midst of a roaring fire was not much better than dangling by the neck from a gibbet, but Geoff attempted to be patient. This grew more difficult as his eyes watered from the smoke.\n\n\"Oi!\" he shouted to the Bishop, coughing. \"How long do I have to stand here?\"\n\n\"You shall be burned unto death,\" the Bishop replied grandly.\n\n\"Well it isn't bloody working, now is it?\" Geoffrey yowled. The flames tickled unbearably on his pink and unscathed flesh.\n\nThe Bishop stomped his foot. \"Fine!\" he shouted in a most unholy fashion. \"The traitor shall be BEHEADED!\"\n\n\"Oh, fancy,\" Geoff said bitterly. Normally only gentleman with the rank of knight or higher were beheaded. It was quite the honor for a traitorous taster.\n\nThe headsman looked eight feet tall in his hooded robe. Geoff set his head on the block resignedly. With a swish, the axe came down. \n\n\"D*mn,\" said the headsman as he missed.\n\n\"Good grief,\" muttered Geoff, squinching his eyes closed.\n\nThe headsman coughed awkwardly and swung again. This time the head came off the axe and the bare handle thwacked Geoff in the spine.\n\n\"Ow, darn it!\" he yelped. \"What on earth is going on?\"\n\nThe Bishop eyed Geoff resentfully. \"You ought to have the manners to expire, you know. It's only fair. You *did* betray the King--\"\n\n\"I never!\" Geoff protested.\n\n\"The traitor,\" shouted the Bishop, \"shall be *drowned.\"*\n\n\nAt the bottom of the pond Geoff had time to consider his position. Fish drifted lazily by as he pondered. His eyes fell idly upon a lump poking out of the mud. Without thinking much about it he put out his hand to it. The coating of mud fell away and revealed the hilt of an ancient sword.\n\n\"Thank God,\" Geoff burbled to himself as he grabbed it and swam for the surface.\n\nThe crowd, having seen nothing stirring for half an hour or more, was beginning to drift away from the bank, but Geoffrey's sudden reappearance drew them back at once.\n\n\"Look,\" announced Geoff triumphantly. \"Here is the enchanted sword of ancient royalty come to proclaim me King.\"\n\nThere was a mutter among the court.\n\n\"Look, it's shiny,\" Geoff cajoled.\n\n\"Hail King Geoffrey!\" shouted the court. \"All hail the King!\"\n\nAnd so they all lived happily ever after, except the Bishop, who was forever after plagued with indigestion.",
"\"You, you were always my favorite, please find the bastard who did this.\" \n\nSlowly the old king's violet eyes slid shut a final breath of air escaping between blood-covered lips. This is my fault, why am I not dead was I lucky or was this a calculated ploy. A sudden uproar consuming the hall as chaos reigned amongst the guests. My mind barely registering the violent jerk on my arm as one of the guards dragged me onto my feet. His menacing voice is mirrored by the cry for blood from his peers \"You, you need to pay for this!\" \n\nThe band leading me toward a nearby balcony pushing away any guests that got too close. \"It wasn't me please mercy!\" My short plea silenced as an armored fist knocked the wind out of my lungs. Leaving me leaning with my back against the banister unable to breathe as the captain of the guard loomed overhead. A semi-circle of what had previously been close friends preventing any escape from certain doom. \n\nThe seven-foot giant crossing the divide in a smooth motion his hand gripping around my throat. My attempts to free myself vainly amounting to a trace few fingernails scratches on his shining plate armor. \"Thomas, you have betrayed the king's trust and murdered his highness in cold blood, how do you plead.\" \n\nHis tight grasp around my throat only allowing for a slight gurgling to escape as he let me teeter on the lip of the railing. A sadistic look in his eyes as I realized no matter what I said this was the end. My attempts to plead my case stunted as he leaned in close the stench of copper in the air. \"You are the reason our lord is dead enjoy your journey into a hell \" \n\nHis grasp around my tunic dropping as I plummeted into the white fog, the orange candlelight fading. The whistling of the storm whipping past as I hit the ocean with a sickening snap. Pain consuming my world as I drifted off into the abyss of the surf, a trail of blood trailing the sinking path downward. \n\nThen there was light, a slew of water escaping of what remained of my throat, the pain still tearing its way through my body. Shattered remnants of my final few moments returning in a downpour of suffering. I am alive, I am alive the thought reverberating in my skull as I dragged my broken body onto the river bank. Dozens if not hundreds of washed-up corpses and wreckage lining the shore as I realized just how much I have lost."
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[WP] You sell train tickets for long journeys, u also sit cute girls next to cute boys.
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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 waiting behind the ticket window. Five minutes until the gates open. I looked at the tickets I had stacked orderly in front of me and resisted the urge to check them again. I fiddled with my jacket, specticals, but after finding nothing amiss I simply folded my gloved hands in front of me and waited. \n\nAs the clock chimed eight, I heard a squeak of iron hinges, a soft shuffle of feet, and a tall, lanky young man was before me. Crystal blue eyes darted over me quickly and eventually settled on the ticket in my outstretched hand.\n\n“How much?” \n\n“It has already been paid for,” I smiled, “please enjoy your trip!”\n\n“But ...” he tucked a lock of dark hair back underneath his worn cap, “you don’t know where I’m going.”\n\n“To the city sir. It’s the only train leaving this station this afternoon.” After giving the ticket one last long look, the young man shrugged and grabbed the ticket. “Assigned seating?” He accepted my nod with a quirk of an eyebrow and shuffled off to the train.\n\nMy next customer was an elderly woman wearing a homemade knit cap and cardigan. She too was bewildered at the free ticket and assigned seating, but simply shook her head and mumbled something about “new fangled businesses” and trundled off.\n\nAnd so it went. A businesswoman off to a meeting, a grandmother and her grandson, a gentleman excited to see his sister. Six people with six assigned seats all pre-paid. I took the remaining two tickets and pulled down the ticket window gate. Jacket, hat, lights, keys and the station was closed. \n\nI stepped into the sunset and whistled a sharp, high note. As I walked towards the first box car of the waiting train, a ball of fur materialized out of my shadow, falling in lock step with me. With a flick of a finger, I extended a remaining ticket to my guest. \n\nMy passengers could be heard long before I made it to the box car door. A woman shouting, an apologetic response, a gruff command. As I opened the door, the voices attached themselves to the grandmother accosting the young man. \n\n“Why am I assigned seating away from my grandchild?”\n\n“I told you, I don’t know.”\n\nI cleared my throat as I entered and felt five pairs of eyes appraise me at once. “As you can see, there are eight seats separated into four pairs of two that all face one another. It should not be a problem sitting a few strides for such a short trip.” The grandmother looked down at the young boy, but his attention was focused on the ball of fur behind me that seemed to be vibrating.\n\n“Major!” The boy screamed in excitement as the dog raced past my legs and launched himself at his human. The boy grabbed the slightly soggy ticket out of the dog’s mouth. “Look nana! He’s sitting next to me!” He exclaimed. The grandmother sighed before waiving her grandson to his seat. The dog, for his part did not seem to care as he was trying to lick ever possible inch of the boy as fast as he could. \n\nOnce the everyone was settled, the boy and his dog, the businesswoman and the brother, elderly woman and the grandmother, and myself and the tall gentleman. The train began to move, slowly at first before picking up speed. I settled into my corner seat with a faint smile on my lips and politely ignored the set of questioning blue eyes next to me.\n\nAt first, only the two elderly ladies spoke quietly. I could only make out snippets of the conversation, but apparently the dog had gone missing last week and though the daughter law and son searched tirelessly they had no idea where the dam dog ran off to. The grandmother kept muttering “my nerves” and knit cap nodded vigorously replying “new fangled business. The nerve!” The business woman and brother ignored each other, the first checked emails on her phone while the latter read a book. My companion, having eventually lost interest in me, sat quietly and looked out the window. \n\nThe train car lurched suddenly to the right. My companion and I were thrown back in our seats. The boy screamed, clutching his dog to his chest and curling into a ball. His grandmother, on the other hand, was not quite as lucky and fell on the boxcar floor with her neighbor tumbling after her. The brother stabled himself before he suffered the same fate, but in his haste to catch himself, his book knocked his glasses off. On the other hand, the business woman, familiar with the rout, had already pocketed her phone braced herself for the turn.\n\nAs the track straightened itself, each passenger attempted to righten themselves with as much dignity as they could muster. The brother swept his hands across the floor in an attempt to locate his spectacles. The businesswoman knelt down next to him and handed him his glasses and book. The two elderly women clutched each other for support and carefully rested themselves on their seats. “Woh! I wasn’t looking for that kind of excitement today. Rattled my nerves,” the grandmother mumbled. She looked over to her grandson playing with his dog and gestured vaguely in his direction. “Made of rubber, these kids,” she told her companion, “Could jump off a building and wouldn’t have a scratch.” Her companion nodded vigorously. “My grandkids are the same way.” \n\nI suddenly felt those bright blue eyes probing me again and I finally turned to see my companion with one accusatory eyebrow raised. \n\n“Yes?” I asked. \n\n“You knew this would happen.” He stated emphatically. \n\n“What on earth do you mean?” \n\nHe gestured over to the brother and businesswoman. The fall had caused the woman to notice the title of the book and she was excitedly talking about it to the man. “That wasn’t an accident,” the blue eyed man said. “And neither was that,” he continued nodding to the older woman swapping stories of their respective grandchildren. “And I really hope you didn’t steal a dog.”\n\n“I did no such thing!” He continued to stare at me with one brow raised. I pointedly stared back. After a heartbeat, he sighed and relaxed back into his seat. “I’ll bet this is their ‘meet cute,’” he said nodding to the two chatting about books. “And they’ll be lifelong friends,” nodding to the two women. “More than that I assure you,” I interjected. His eyebrow climbed even higher, but an approving smirk crept over his face. “Two ‘meet cutes’ then. And the dog?” “Parents needed to see the bond between child and the dog.” He nodded, but his smirk drifted off of his face and his brows furrowed. “The thing I don’t get though ... “ he turned to glance sidelong at me, “is how I fit in all of this.”\n\nI reached out and grabbed his hand. “I would have thought that obvious,” I smiled at him, “you’re here to meet me.”"
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[WP] In a world where everyone develops powers at the age of five, you didn't. Or so everyone thought. Your power is the ability to stop time, and manipulate your surroundings when you do so. This has lead you to be one of the best thieves in the world.
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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.*",
"Starlight streams around me, as well as the distant bustling of other people, going about whatever lives, unaware of every stop, every small thing that’s either been moved, misplaced, or added to my palace of riches. \n\n“At first.” I huffed, taking my hands out of my pocket and exposing them to the chilling air. “I had fun with this.”\n\n“I would, maybe steal a bag of candy, wash someone’s dishes, and leave them bewildered at the sight.” I continued, snapping my fingers.\n\nTime slowed, then came to a stop, and the shock of adrenaline ran through me once again. \n\n“And now,“ I ended, waltzing in with ease and pressing the numbers on the keypad for the vault. It opened to riches upon riches, stacks of cash and gold bars. “Now I’ve realized I can do... anything.”\n\nI reached for a bar of gold, and felt it’s flimsy surface. Flat and-\n\nWait. Flimsy?\n\nI dropped a magazine on the table. Sitting back in the chair, tears streamed down my face as the sound of the flatline broke my dream that I had tried so hard to suck myself into. I couldn’t do anything, even press on the damn breaks.\n\nI had no powers, nothing. When I was five, then turned six, they said I was abnormal, and they were right."
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[WP] Life is a game of chance, literally. What you wear, what you eat, where you work? Most things in life are really left up to a game of chance or "gacha". You are one of the luckiest people on earth, always making great pulls until, one day, you're not anymore.
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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.*",
"“No, s-stop. Please don’t do this”\n\nThese were the words that I spoke to the beast that held the last of my children in its claws. It’s long, sharp claws held the battered body of my youngest child, and with it, my will to live. The beast opened its mouth, revealing a set of serrated fangs. Then, it brought my child closer to its mouth.\n\n*Closer.*\n\n*Closer.*\n\n*And Closer*.\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nPeople called me the luckiest man on Earth. I had it all: a loving family, a great job, a healthy body, and all the other things modern society would consider as desirable. I was happy.\n\nBut my luck didn’t end there. See, I had an uncanny ability to escape danger that borderlines the supernatural. I’ve been in near-death situations more times than I could count: airplane crashes, being lost at sea, and being held hostage, just to name a few. Every single time, something happened that prevented my untimely demise:\n\nMy airplane seat was next to an emergency exit.\n\nA passing fishing boat found my shipwreck.\n\nComplete strangers came together to raise ransom for my captors.\n\nSo when I heard news of monsters suddenly appearing and hunting down humans, I was not concerned. At first, I was skeptical, but then came the pictures, then the videos, then the news articles, and finally emergency broadcasts concerning the beasts. At that point, I believed there was a real danger.\n\nI wasn’t truly worried though; my luck saved me numerous times and never showed any signs of failing. Due to my connections and high social status, I was able to secure a spot in a government bunker for myself and my family. Everything was coming along smoothly for me. Though the world was going to hell outside, my family and other upper-class families had carved out our little slice of paradise in the bunker.\n\nWe would soon find our illusion of safety mercilessly shattered.\n\nIt all started one night. There was a power failure that went unnoticed for too long, causing the mechanical doors to unlock. One beast stumbled into the bunker. Upon smelling fresh meat, it roared, inviting all of its friends over. The security guards held them off for a while, but the sheer numbers overwhelmed them.\n\nAnd so it was with a jolt that my family and I woke up to alarms blaring. The walls just outside our room were painted a bright red hue; from the alarm lights or from the blood, I didn’t know. Screams echoed throughout the halls.\n\nI instructed my family to hide under the beds and in the closets in our room. I thought that we might get lucky and avoid detection. We hid in our room listening to the other families get massacred, until eventually things started to quiet down.\n\nFirst, the screams stopped.\n\nThen, the loud footsteps of the beasts grew quieter.\n\nFinally, there was silence.\n\nDid we luck out? It seemed to be. I carefully emerged from my hiding spot and peered out the door. As soon as I opened the door, I could immediately smell a hideous stench, yet the sight of dead bodies lining the halls was even more appalling. Still, I could see no signs of any beasts around. I whispered to my family that it was okay to come out of hiding.\n\n“Daddy, are the bad guys gone?” Thomas, my youngest child was tugging at my shirt with a look on his face that cried for reassurance. I crouched down and took him into my arms: “Yeah, Thomas. We’re safe now.”\n\nTurns out I spoke too soon.\n\nFrom the ventilation system I heard tapping, which turned into rumbling, and finally into the sound of a beast crashing into our room—hungry for blood.\n\nIts claws held the remains of its last victim.\n\nIts fangs were full of blood.\n\nIts fur was dyed scarlet.\n\nIts eyes were on my family.\n\nOne by one, my family became prey to this beast. I tried to tackle it and gain its attention, but it would ignore me. I tried beating it with chairs and yelling at it, but it seemed to not care about me.\n\n“DAMN IT, LOOK OVER HERE!!” I screamed.\n\nThe beast ignored my cries, it’s focus ever present on the feast in front of it. After mauling the rest of my family, it set its sight on Thomas, my youngest. It gripped Thomas’ little body in its sharp claws and brought it closer to its mouth.\n\n“No, s-stop. Please don’t do this.” The beast kept bringing Thomas closer to its mouth.\n\n“Daddy...I thought the bad guys were gone” were the last words I heard from Thomas before he disappeared into the beast's stomach. Soon after, the beast turned its eyes on me.\n\n“Oh, NOW you pay attention to me?”\n\nThe beast growled at me.\n\n“FINE! Why don’t you finish me off like you did the rest of my family?”\n\nThe beast continued staring at me.\n\n“WHAT’S WRONG? YOU ATE MY FAMILY, WHY NOT FINISH YOUR MEAL?”\n\nAll I wanted to do was die so I could be with my family again. However, as if fate had a cruel sense of humor, the beast started to walk away from me.\n\n“YOU LITTLE—Hey, come back here!”\n\nThe beast left me all alone in the government facility surrounded by the mangled bodies of my family. Undoubtedly it was my luck that saved me. \n\nYet, I could not shake the feeling that right now I was the unluckiest man in the world."
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[WP] You are a lesser demon that lives on the fringes of a small town. At night, you descend upon the town to feed on their dreams. Things change when all the townspeople start having the same dream. The dream is a message to you. "Leave, their souls belong to me now."
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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.*",
"\"Leave their souls belong to me. Leave their souls belong to me. Leave their souls belong to me.\" \n\nThat message was constantly being reverberated across the dreams of every villager that Alerath found on the outskirts of Antioch. The only problem was that whoever was claiming those souls was without a doubt going against regulation, after all this was an organized official level three natural disaster being organized by the Demonic Human Interference Society and Alerath had jumped through the standard bureacracy hoops in order to secure zone 3's section of citizen's souls for himself. After climbing the proverbial mountain in order to reap the rewards there was no way Alerath was going to give up this town's souls to some unknown newbie who was trying to flout regulation hoping that the DHIS would just overlook any shenanigans.\n\n\"Hey Buddy. I don't know what sort of game you're pulling here but it's not going to fly. I may just be a lesser demon out here but I'm part of the Beelzebub family and I have upper demon connections in the DHIS. If the higher ups get word on the stunt you're trying to pull out here they'll have your head and your soul.\" Alerath blurted out on the soul spectrum and proceeded to wait. He waited for an apology and was instead greeted with the frustrating sounds of silence.\n\n\"All right then well you've forced my hand whoever you are there. I'm off to talk with the higher ups, if you still have the audacity to be here when I get back there'll be a tier 2 squad of sweepers ready to set things straight.\" bluffed Alerath. After all while he did have some ins with the bureacracy they didn't amount to much of anything other than admininstrative ties, but whoever he was dealing with in this case didn't need to know that. Regardless he had to put some sort of evidence to back his bluff so for at least a bit he decided to feign his trip back to the DHIS, if only to give whoever he was dealing with some time to pause for thought. However as he attempted to utilize his transportation stone back to the demonic dimension he found himself jerked out of the transportation process in a manner that could only be attributed to a barrier. Furthermore after processing how discombobulated he was from having his transportation being cancelled Alerath could not help but realize that he was dealing with a high level barrier, one that a normal lower level demon like himself and others on his level would never have access too.\n\n\"Welcome back friend, sorry for the mixup but I can't have you going off like that. After all you're essential to what I'm trying to do here this night, if you aren't here partaking in this nights fun then it'll be hard to throw off the DHIS.\"\n\nAlerath felt a chill run through his spine as he heard those words directly behind him. After all demons don't normally get snuck up on, the conclusion of the first demonic wars had seen any sort of primordial stealth technologies been outlawed so clearly whoever had utilized it was willing to flaunt the very fabric of society.\n\n\"First you claim my souls, then you use a barrier to keep me in place, and now you use illegal tech to stealth up on me. All in all we definitely have not had the best introduction to each other so how about you stop with the shenanigans and explain to me what's going on so I don't have to get my contacts at DHIS involved.\"\n\nUpon Alerath uttering those line's a sort of mirthy laughter began to permeate the air, coming from the demon who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.\n\n\"Hah my apologies for the laughter, it's just rare to meet a demon that is so naive to the machinations of the world. Let me put it this way to you friend, when you consume the souls of humans do you offer an exploration to each and every one of them as to what is going on and what you are doing to them? Do humans themselves offer any sort of balm to the nerves of the livestock they keep? As such why should I have to explain anything to you, after all you're little more than lifestock meant to fill a narrative tonight.\"\n\nUpon hearing that line Alerath decided to take action, clearly whoever he was dealing with came here with cruel intentions and as such he deemed it better to act first and deal with any consequences that may arise rather than having to deal with whatever machinations the demon had in mind. However before he could make a move he found himself binded and restrained, the effects of a barrier similar to whatever barrier had stopped him from transporting before.\n\n\"Sorry for the restraints, however my associate said the process would go much smoother with a barrier on you and usually I leave those sorts of minor decisions up to them. Considering that we'll be wiping your memory soon enough maybe I'll deign to give you a small glimpse into the intrigue that is going on here today, after all you'll be taking a large portion of blame for it. You my friend will be taking credit for the unfortunate mistake of turning this tier three disaster into a tier two, forever living in infamy as the bumbling fool of a lesser demon that caused a wasteful expenditure of an additional two hundred thousand souls in the earthquake of Antioch. The waste however will be of great value to me in my future, but alas that is a story that I simply don't have the luxury of being able to say as its about due time we put you to sleep.\"\n\nThe intrusive stranger proceeded to pull a small tic tac shaped device out of seemingly nowhere and press a button which caused the struggles of Alerath against his binds to cease.\n\n\"Goodbye oh lesser demon, your position is not one to be envied.\"\n\nAnd with that the stranger was off."
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[WP] Beware an old man in a profession where men die young.
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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 thrown out the line in the hopes of unbalancing the young man in front of me. Having retired twenty years ago, my skills weren’t what they used to be, but I still had my name, and it was still said in lowered whispers in the back alleys and seedier bars of the world.\n\nIn twenty years, I hadn’t exactly stayed at the top of my game. After all, it was called \\*retirement\\* for a reason. But I figured after twenty years, who would want me dead?\n\nThe twenty-something-year-old that had me against the church wall where I’d been doing even more of my soul searching tilted his head to one side, even as he cocked the Beretta M9 pistol. I had made my peace with my career choice a long time ago. Many of the names written on walls like this one were put there by me. I had one of the highest kill rates for a ghost, and I took great pride in that.\n\nI made myself look at him. To stare through him, like he was nothing.\n\nHe stared back. Then he released the hammer and eased it back into its standby mode.\n\nI thought I had him bluffed when he lifted his jacket and holstered the gun. “While that’s true,” my adversary said, his black eyes as deep as space itself and matched only by the jet black hair that he had pulled back into a hair-tie. I came from an era when only women wore their hair like that. “There is an addendum that should also be included in that.”\n\n“Which is?”\n\nHis hand shot out and punched me in the ribs, right above the heart. A one in a million kill blow that he made look so simple it was terrifying.\n\nWithout a sound, I slid to the ground, my soul already separating from my body.\n\nMy killer didn’t look at my body.\n\nHe was still looking at me.\n\n“Beware an old man *who passes for a young one* in a profession where men die young.” He smiled as I started to fade away. “When you get to Hell, say hello to Lord Belial for me. Tell him Lord Cuschler of Mystal sends his regards.”\n\n\\* \\* \\*\n\n((All comments welcome))\n\n***For more of my work including WPs:*** [r/Angel466](https://www.reddit.com/r/Angel466/) or an index of previous WPS [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Angel466/comments/iio59n/wp_index/)"
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[WP] After 25 years of Nuclear War, civilization was finally destroyed. Earth is now covered in nuclear winter and there’s little to no life left on the planet. One man tries to survive to complete his bucket list before he dies.
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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 are the lucky ones.*\n\n*This is what we repeat to ourselves when cold starts bleeding into day, when we’re inside bunkers, underneath earth’s frozen hold, trying to remember what warmth felt like, closing our eyes to the noises beyond.*\n\n*(If you close them hard enough - hard enough that black starts fading into tiny spectacles of white, you can imagine that you’re somewhere far away from here, on another world entirely, falling asleep to an eruption of fireworks.)*\n\n*We are the lucky ones.*\n\n*There are some - many, far too many - who only remember this life as one dominated by fear. They don’t know how it feels to walk on the streets with friends, to cozy up by a fireplace and read a good book, to dance and sing and dream without consequence, to be taken on a first date, to slowly fall in love with the life you’re living, to find freedom in yourself and in the world.*\n\n*(These are the thoughts that keep ~~thousands~~ hundreds up at night, blinking away imaginary tears from dull eyes and trying to find a will to survive - we’re not living anymore, this is not a life - is it worse to know of a life you love but can’t return to or never know it at all and have nothing to love?)*\n\n*We are the lucky ones.*\n\n*It’s a mantra by now - silent, as silent as the nonexistent stars and the lonely moon and the disappearing sun - said under safety blankets and beneath gas masks, spoken only in whispers when everyone’s asleep and you feel like you’re the only one left in the world, murmured beyond all that is conscious, appearing in dreams of laughter and love, a life long ago, and not even a life for some, breathed to those who aren’t breathing, to those you find beneath your feet, flesh decaying below rotten snow, bones marking nameless graves.* \n\n*(The earth is gone now. Maybe not completely, but it’s still gone. Ripped away by greed and war and bloodshed, torn from soft hands and innocent lips and the way a baby cries for its mother.)*\n\n*We are the lucky ones.*\n\n*The ones who survived - who prevailed through what felt like centuries, nomads in a no man land, wishing on fading stars and being faced with the truth that this is a reality we cannot escape from. Not this time.*\n\n*(There are some that do - the ones who find solace in darkness and darkness in solace, the ones who lose and lose and never gain, the ones whose hands are stained with crimson from blood that’s not their own - those are the real heroes. The heroes with unmarked graves.)*\n\n*We are the lucky ones.*\n\n*And maybe if we say it enough, we’ll start to believe it.* \n\n—\n\nThere are ghosts here. Thousands of them. Walking and wandering and imaginary and pretend. This is one thing Leon knows well - one thing that keeps him up at night, tossing and turning atop concrete beds. Because not all ghosts are real and not all of them can be seen. \n\n(Sometimes they appear in your dreams or in your mind, when you think you’re all alone, tugging and twisting and ripping you apart until you’re open and vulnerable and exposed, feeding off of the deepest and darkest corner of the room, the one that’s labelled ‘hopes and dreams.’\n\nBecause dreams are ghosts too. So is hope.)\n\nAnd yet, they still exist. Walking and wandering and imaginary and pretend - waiting for someone to approach them, waiting for the chance to be open and vulnerable and exposed. \n\nSo Leon compiles a list. \n\nOne in his mind - it’s a dangerous place to store valuable information - but it’s a sentiment of such; something that’s not tangible, there but out of reach, a piece of the world that’s only for him to hold, a chance of happiness that probably won’t be attainable. \n\nBut that is why they are dreams. \n\nThey are not big, can’t be, but sometimes smaller is easier and in a world where nothing exists, smaller means something. Smaller means *everything.* \n\n(The wishes come to him at night, when things are still enough for him to think, in parts and then in wholes, one after the other, and Leon knows that not everything he wants is attainable, but maybe if he waits - maybe if he lives to another day, they can be.)\n\n*See the stars again*, is whispered to him one lonely night, dark and silent and so, so alone. \n\n*Plant a tree*, is burned into his flesh whenever he passes by dead evergreens, bark flour long gone. \n\n*Give a memorable possession to someone new*, is spoken to him one day, when he is watching a little girl bury her brother. \n\n*Kiss someone like there’s nothing else that matters*, pricks at his skin whenever he gets stuck in a memory of soft lips and cherry chapstick. \n\n*Build a memorial stone*, is murmured to him as he leaves footprints in the snow, as if he were claiming the world as his own, as if he were leaving a part of him to grow, like the flowers that never come and like the bodies that are buried underneath.\n\n*Get to the other side of the world*, is mumbled in his dreams, voice hushed and quiet and barely audible, a hope that cannot be spoken aloud. \n\n*Feel happiness again*, is breathed whenever he feels the cold on his skin, eating away at his flesh and bones, reminding him of what it means to feel.\n\n(He collects dreams the same way he collects ghosts.)\n\nBut the days are growing darker and the atmosphere is growing colder. If he is to survive this nuclear winter - if he were to walk an apocalyptic road - then he would need hope. Hope and supplies. As many supplies as he can get. And maybe even people too, maybe then the world would feel less alone, maybe then they’d start to feel warmth. \n\n(To feel is to remember, and perhaps that’s the scariest thing of all.)\n\nLeon walks this life alone now. But perhaps he doesn’t have to. Perhaps he doesn’t need to. He needs to survive and prevail and make it to the other side of the world; somewhere warm, a place where the air is less cold. He needs to leave his footprints in the snow, to mark his path of will and determination, to leave flowers the only way he knows how. And Leon especially needs to make it to the post-apocalyptic world, where things can settle down and where the earth can learn to regrow. Where they can regrow with it.\n\nThere are many things in this life that come with a price; greed and power, friends and family, peace and joy, the way a tree is planted with soft hands, the first sound of a baby’s wail, the chance to kiss someone under a grimy bleacher when no one’s watching, the ability to have and hold and love, to watch the sun burn with warmth and the stars shine with promise.\n\nTo dream and dream and never lose hope. \n\nThere are many things in this life that come with a price - nearly all of them - but this is a price worth paying for. A price that starts with blinking eyes and ends with buried tombs. \n\n(Maybe the price is high, and maybe it’s cruel - cruel enough to rid the planet of life - but it’s one that Leon will pay. Because if Leon knows one thing, it is that a life cannot be a life without happiness. And in a world of nothing, one must create something.) \n\nSo Leon will gather his dreams and keep them close. And maybe one day he'll gather others too; gather all their hopes and dreams so that together they can rebuild something from nothing, gather all the people who walk the same road as him, sharing burdens so that backs don’t cave and the weight doesn’t feel so heavy, gather a new civilization - one that knows pain and war and death, one that can plant seeds beneath the earth and watch the flowers grow and wish on passing stars.\n\nAnd maybe one day Leon will lay atop soft grass and watch the waking of a burning sun, warmth seeping into the cracks of his frozen skin, learning to collect life the same way he collects ghosts. \n\n*(We are the lucky ones.)*\n\n—\n\nIf you enjoyed reading, feel free to check out some of my other writing on /r/itrytowrite\n\nEdit: grammar",
"The *real* problem was the lack of signs.\n\nSure, the whole 'desolate hellscape' angle was a downer. No denying that. But you got used to that remarkably quickly. Living without hope is surprisingly easy- you already know how it ends, so you just enjoy the ride to whatever degree you can.\n\nBut it is *so frustrating* to have no idea where you are.\n\nThe end of the world had been remarkably boring, and remarkably easy to see coming. I might well have been the only one who'd gone about making a proper radiation-proof all-terrain vehicle, but there were probably pockets of humanity scattered hither, thither, and yon. I had no *evidence*, but it seemed like the odds of humanity surviving this thing were remarkably good. Civilization was already long gone, and the biosphere was going to take a few millennia to recover enough to be livable, at the *very* least, but I'd have bet a great deal that at least a few secure settlements would survive that long.\n\nNot me. I wasn't terribly interested. I might loop back to a settlement once I was done, if I found one. They might be able to use the vehicle, and could probably use the supplies, as well.\n\nBut...well, I wasn't terribly interested in being part of humanities future. This next bit was gonna suck pretty hard. Leave it to people who want to, y'know?\n\nThey had their mission, and I had mine.\n\nWhich was made *much* harder by the *freaking lack of signs*!\n\nI had a list. It had started as a long list, and grown substantially as time passed, and I realized that the list would be my legacy, if only to myself.\n\nI wanted to circumnavigate the world.\n\nAnd not just that. I wanted to hit a lot of different places, some broad (\"Australia\"), and some quite specific (\"Phillips, Wisconsin\"- there was a park with a bunch of concrete sculptures there, one of the few works of art that seemed like it might have survived, though I still doubted it.)\n\nI had maps, of course. Back in the old days, that would have been enough, even without any signs. But 'satellite' had gone back to its original meaning, now- there were plenty of things orbiting our planet, these days, but none of them *worked*. GPS was now significantly more dead than disco, which had, perhaps ironically, seen a surge in popularity in the waning days of civilization.\n\nSo now I was wandering around, trying to check places off of my list, and continually frustrated by the fact that I had to figure out where I was the old fashioned way, which basically consisted of guessing, and then insisting that you were right even when you obviously weren't. Ask the 'Indians' about that one.\n\nStill, there was *some* evidence lying around. I'd managed to sink a trio of locator beacons, back before the end. Signal degradation and the fact that they were pretty closely packed, on a global scale, meant that my machinery only had a broad guess as to where I was, which was often wrong, but it was better than nothing. And there *were* some remnants of civilization lying around, here and there. Granted, pieces of an obliterated building look mostly the same the world over, but occasionally a piece of something is sheltered enough that I'll still be able to read something.\n\nIt's never yet been something that says \"Welcome to \\[location\\], post-apocalyptic traveller!\", but you'd be surprised how useful, say, a sign pointing the way to the bathroom can be. Tells you what language they speak, at least, though English has gotten common enough that a lot of that evidence just tells me \"Yup, I'm definitely somewhere that has tourists, sometimes.\"\n\nThat obviously doesn't narrow it down, all that much.\n\nCivilization has been and gone, and I think I'll go with it, in the end. I downloaded a *lot* of entertainment, but...well, I miss it. I miss people, which has surprised me. I miss fresh pizza, which didn't surprise me in the least. I miss gentle rains, and distant mountaintops, and wandering around outside without a lifesuit that weighs a lot more than I do and only works at all with substantial mechanical assistance built in.\n\nI miss *life*, y'know?\n\nStill, there's wandering to be done. Everything may be a blasted hellscape, but damned if I'm gonna quit now. You can't give up just because what you're doing makes no sense. I'm going to visit Madagascar, no matter how few lemurs live there now, no matter how hard it is to tell it apart from every other scoured, barren place that Earth has been reduced to.\n\nThe end will come for me, as it has for so many others. But I'm going to go out on *my* terms. And those terms include visiting everywhere on my list, come hell, high water, or whatever else there might even still be, out there."
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[WP] You met this hot girl way out of your league she invited you to a party had a nice time but the "cool" guys came and they have a conversation with her so you were there feeling left out so you decided to leave but the girl chased you and said "where are you going, your my date right".
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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, I'm Alessandra's date?! When did that happen? But I decide to go along with it. \"Oh... yeah, sure. That's right.\" I stutter.\n\n\"Hey sexy, why are you leaving? We were just getting started!\" The guys Alessandra was just talking to sounded really annoyed. But Alessandra only turned around long enough to give them a dirty look and continued leading me away from the crowd. She cringed a little when one said loud enough for her to hear, \"Well, I knew you were a wh\\*re anyway.\"\n\nWe went outside. \"Do they always say that to you?\" I asked, even though something in my brain nagged that I shouldn't ask personal questions. Alessandra shrugged. \"No, but I've turned them down in the past, and they're still mad about that. That's why I asked you to come to the party.\" We turned the corner of the street. \"Besides,\" she continued, \"I like you.\"\n\n\"You're kidding right?\"\n\nAlessandra looked straight at me, and I felt awkward again. \"I'm not kidding, I think you're kinda cool. You're pretty much the only person I've met who likes building model helicopters.\" I didn't really know what to say back. This night is getter stranger by the minute, but it's all good.\n\n\"Uh, thanks! I'm not really good at it,\" I admit. Alessandra laughed and elbowed me playfully. Dang, she has such a cute laugh. \"That's okay, I'm new to it too,\" Then her eyes lit up as an idea popped into her head. \"Hey, how about you come over to my place someday, and I'll show you the Chinook I'm working on. It's a 1/35 scale.\"\n\n\"Cool! Will tomorrow work?\"\n\n\"Yeah sure. I'll text you when I get off work.\"\n\nI left the party feeling much happier than I had in months. Maybe Alessandra and I had more in common than I thought.\n\n​\n\n*P.S. I've never written anything quite like this, but I hope it is... acceptable. Writing on half a brain is kinda tough, hehe.*"
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[WP] - You wake up in the morning to see a glowing light coming from your attic, but before you are able to check it out, you hear a noise and find out the basement is also glowing.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"There’s that feeling you get in the mornings. When a warm ray of sun greets you and you wake fully rested, ready for anything life has to throw at you? Those are my favorite days. Today was not one of those days. \n\nAs I woke up It took me a moment to figure out what had actually woken me. It was the silence. Utter silence. A quick glance at the window showed it was pitch black outside. Checking the clock i forgot I had broken it two days ago and still hadn’t fixed it so it was of no use to me and my phone was on the dresser along the far wall. To far to go. \n\nAs i sat there contemplating rolling back over and going to sleep, intending to fully ignore the silence of the house, the hairs on the back of my neck rose and for a single moment it was as if the world literally stopped breathing. Trying to calm my rapidly rising heart rate i sucked in a big breath of sweet delicious air. Well that solved that terrifying thought. \n\n“It’s ok. The powers just out. Happened all the time when i was a kid.” I’m fine. Really. It’s all good,” I whispered reassurances to myself as I reluctantly ease out of bed. The cold floor making me flinch a moment as I creeped a-crossed my bedroom. \n\nEasing open my door I slide out into the hall way. Really I have no idea why i’m slinking in my own home but some instinct was screaming at me to be quiet and for once in my life I listened. Sliding along the wall trying to become one with the paint I eased towards the living room. \n\nJust as I’m about to break the threshold into the open space I froze. Between one blink and the next I saw a light. A literal light not “here comes heavens light,”. Slowly easing my eyes upward the attic space above my head is lite up. A space I had compleatly forgotten about until this moment. I’d lived in this house for three years and never once thought of it. \n\nAs I slowly rotate out from under it, without taking my eyes off of it, my heart rate skyrockets when my butt slams into the island counter and my pinky toe snags the corner. \n\nForgetting that instinct to be silent I grab my toe and squeeze my eye shut while simultaneously hop stumble and curse to lean against the offending island as I contemplate if I broke said pinky toe.\n\n“Stupid Piece of shit, ahh” I whisper yell to myself. As the pain finely subsides to normal levels and I realize i can move said pinky toe. Blinking my eyes to clear them of the tears another light from basement door rips my attention to it. \n\nThe light is way to bright to be coming from the two simple bulbs that serve as sub par lighting for such a large space. Blame the horror movies but I’d never gone down there much if i didn’t have to. In fact I could count the times I’d been down there. Twice. Once when I bought the place and once when the pilot light to the old furnace went out. \n\nGlancing back at the attic The lights the same. The. Exact. Same. \n\nIt was that moment I realized I could call someone. Should call someone. Anyone really. Being here alone was not a wise idea. Reaching in my pocket the noted lack of weight should have been my first clue but as i grasped only fabric I realized like an idiot I’d left it in my room on my dresser charging. \n\n“You’re the idiot female in a horror movie ya know that. Stupid stupid stupid,” \n\n“Do they normally talk to themselves like that?” A deep rumble of a voice that I swear sounded like the echos of an earth quake had me freezing like a rabbit. \n\n“Sometimes. They are such odd creatures but honestly they give hours of entertainment if you watch the right ones,” The second voice was much sweeter...for lack of a better term. It rubbed against me like a loving caress. Almost as if the words were corporal. \n\nTurning slowly to face the voices I could only blink at the two beings in front of me. I use beings because in all honesty my brain couldn’t seem to settle on one spot to look at and I couldn’t describe them to save my soul. The best I got is one was shadows personified and the other sunshine held together with wisps of gossamer. \n\n“What in the sam hell are you?” The words spoken barely above a breath escaped me before I could claw them back. \n\n“Sam hell? Is that a new religion? They do so like to create their own faiths. Oh I bet it’s a spin off of Christianity. Kinda catchy,” The being of light shifted as if in contemplation. \n\n“That’s interesting. It can see us.” Rumble stated. It seemed to swell in size as it regarded her. \n\n“Oh it can. Well that IS unusual,”"
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[WP] A species of hyper - advanced aliens make themselves known to humanity when dozens of stars suddenly, and unexpectedly collapse nearby. As it turns out, shaping super novae is their idea of art and we’re in the middle of their gallery.
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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 this moment, gazing up at the sky, David could feel the beauty of the universe envelop him. The constellations seemed to twinkle and dance with the breeze that blew across the field and across his arms. He let out a sigh, and the wind carried his breath with it, off to some new corner of the world. It was one that he would never visit, despite part of him being already on its way there. \n\n\n\nLifetimes away, titanic creatures twisted knobs and screwed caps onto bottles; pipettes were filled and measured, then emptied and filled and measured again; wires were zapped and clamped onto protruding nodes. The show was about to begin. \n\n\n\nBy now the clouds had decided to cooperate, and David looked over to his small telescope. It wasn’t much really, he had gotten it as a gift to himself one Christmas, finally giving in to his childhood love of the stars and telling himself that it would be worth it, and for the most part, it was.\n\nOn clear summer nights when the air was warm and the crickets were chirping, David would drive himself out to the old abandoned farmhouse where he used to spend his entire days reading about chemistry and star formation (just to go home and spend his entire night dreaming about them), and set up his telescope. \n\nHe sat up and brushed the grass off his pants. As small and boring as his life sometimes felt, this was something, and it felt very big. \n\n\n\n“Showtime everybody,” A creature was saying. \n“Have you seen the house out there Rupert?”, another asked.\n“Biggest we’ve had in millennia,” Came the reply, “it’ll be a good show tonight.”\n\n\n\nAfter twisting a couple screws and checking the filter, David swivelled the telescope to a bright point in the sky, and looked through the eyepiece. Although he had been told many times that stars were the least interesting part about being an amateur astronomer, that the moon and planets held far more exciting stories, David still turned to the stars. It was nothing more than a dot of light, and still his heart swelled; still, he found beauty. \n\n\n\n“Everyone? Places!”\n\n“Alright...3”\n\n“...2”\n\n...1\n\n\n\nAt first he thought he was imagining it, but eventually he knew he wasn’t; the star was getting brighter. Tearing himself away from the lens, he noticed that it wasn’t just the star that was getting brighter, but the entire sky. \n\nThe last thing David Gallagher saw before his eyes evaporated was a painful explosion of colour and light, and it was unimaginably, undeniably, beautiful.\n\n(I’m new to writing and criticism is very much appreciated!)"
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[WP] You're the chosen one, in a world where everything goes perfectly to your way because you're just that awesome at it! Then, one day, you accidentally discover that you're in a truman show like situation...along with thousands of others.
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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, I’m God?” Twitch said, scratching his nose. \n\n“A god,” said the voice on the other end of the line. “Practically speaking. Manufactured, you might say.”\n\n“I thought something might have been up when I won the lottery three times last year,” said Twitch.\n\n“Yeah, the writing team last year was going through a lot.\"\n\n“So why me?” Twitch said. His pet lynx - one of several he kept stabled in the west wing of his palatial Manhattan spread - pawed irritably at his hand-crafted Italian shoes. \n\n“Oh, it’s not just you,” the voice said. “There are literally thousands of people like you. We write them, beginning ‘pre-birth.’ We raise them up, make them obscenely lucky and wealthy, and then just sort of record the results.”\n\n“Have I ever met any of the others?”\n\n“Sure,” he said. “Statistically, in your neighborhood, you’re more likely to run into one of our little artificial gods than an NPC.\"\n\n\"NPC?\"\n\n\"Non-player character.\"\n\n“So, why?”\n\n“You know the Internet?”\n\n“Yeah. I’m familiar,” Twitch said, furrowing his brow. \n\n“Yeah, you and others like you are the only ones that can access it. And believe-you-me, there’s an army of scripts pounding out content non-stop for you. And only you. And that’s sort of the point.”\n\n“I’m not grasping it,” Twitch said. \n\n“Of course not,” said the voice. “You’re of middling intelligence and - quite frankly - low background. By design. Your education is mostly facts tailored to highlight your individual privilege and trivia designed to give you a sense of superior - but impotent - wisdom.”\n\n“Ah, right - and so, the Internet?”\n\n“Right, you’re what we would dub a ‘beta tester’ for the release of something a bit more...expansive. See, you experience the Internet as something like a giant message board or a really, really, really long and somewhat interactive book. That was the original idea.”\n\n“Original idea?”\n\n“Yeah, in the 2030s - that’s mostly what the Internet was. Then came the virtual reality explosion and the synthetic brain tissue and the Gellar fields and such. These will be new concepts to you.”\n\n“It’s news that we’ve reached 2030 already,” Twitch said. \n\n“2080, in fact,” said the voice. “You’re in something of a bubble, where all your whims can become reality within the constraints of a physical universe loosely based on that which existed in the early 2020s. That’s about all our servers can manipulate, at the moment. The ultimate goal is to ‘turn it on,’ so to speak, for the rest of humanity.”\n\n“I mean, I see other people - I’ve seen poor people, and I’ve seen pictures-”\n\n“You’ve seen a lot of NPCs and read a lot of fake news,” the voice said. “The vast majority of humans, as you know them, are just kind of silicon-and-protein tissue floating in Pyrex jars in a nutrient solution. And they’re dormant. They’ve been in a state of suspended animation for the past 40 years, waiting on us to finish beta-testing what we’re calling ‘Internet 2.’ You were turned on a tad early - awake, so to speak.”\n\n“Internet 2. Not the Matrix?” Twitch said. \n\n“Yeah, bit of an Easter egg that. The writing team early on put in a lot of weird stuff like that. But yeah, essentially - that’s where we’re at.” \n\n“So why are you revealing this all now? And...by telephone?\n\n“The experiment is over, Mr. Twitch,” the voice said. “Congratulations. We’re ready for launch. This is just a courtesy call, to let you know your services have greatly benefited humanity. And, unfortunately, you are no longer needed.”\n\n“So what? Now I get to meet the real rest of humanity?\"\n\n“Oh no,” the voice said. “You’re lousy with bugs. Your brain, that is. We learned so much from watching you interact with a fantasy world. Worked out a lot of kinks. Unfortunately, we can’t allow those bugs to infect the network at-large.”\n\n“So, what then?”\n\n“We’re simply turning you off, Mr. Twitch.”\n\n“But I-”\n\n“Thank you,” the voice said. \n\nThe line went dead. Twitch patted his lynx’s head as it dissolved into gooey lines of code. His hand similarly began the process of digital decay.\n\n“Well,” Twitch said, his lower jaw dissolving away."
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[WP] You've survived the apocalypse, but quickly realize you're still wearing braces. You travel the world to find an orthodontist who will remove your braces. As you travel the world, you unwittingly save 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.*",
"Damn, your just protecting all the wemon and children inside your little convenient store from all the zombies at the front desk with a few bullets and a bat then all of the sudden some guy with a bikers helmet on comes in and kills all almost 40 of 'em. And as you walk out from the back you see the dude Take off his helmet and ask \"do you know where I can find a dentist? I had got these braces before the apocalypse.\" Then he shows you his teeth and pink braces, wiping zombie blood off his hands before sticking them in his mouth. \"And they looked good but now they aren't really worth all the care I have to put into them, so can you help me find a non infested city or shack with a orthodontist in it.\" Then he throws you a pack of shotgun shells.",
"Okay, I've survived the Apocalypse. It didn't take much effort, just help others when they need it, and don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. After all, the major battles were on the plains of Meddigo.\n\nThings start settling down when I realize that the local orthodontist is missing; last seen running down the middle of the road, starkers, screaming about the demons who want to torture him for all the torture he put them through. I could sort of understand that. His skills as an anesthesiologist left a bit to be desired.\n\nI still had braces. They needed to either come off or get adjusted. Since orthodontists were in short supply around here, I didn't have any choice but look for one. Everything still worked, sort of, but newspapers were down to broadsheets, and both radio and TV news was strictly live. No one had time to go running around gathering information. You got whatever you got by people taking a few seconds to call it in. If you were lucky, you got a shot of the aftermath—usually a selfie.\n\nIf the local news thought it worthy, they'd pass it to AP or one of the other services with dedicated lines. Those services were desperate for anything to send, and subscribers were desperate to publish or broadcast *anything*.\n\nIt made for some interesting listening as I drove my econobox around looking for a dentist willing to dabble or an orthodontist. I'd see the occasional person in need, so I'd take the time to help. It's not like I was in a hurry. They seemed so startled that *anyone* would stop to help a stranger. I'd explain my philosophy on that, and they might disagree, but they never scoffed. When we finished, they'd gift me with a little something and had a thoughtful look. \"You might have something there. Thanks.\"\n\nThey usually had some idea of where the next dentist or orthodontist was, so that's where I'd go next. I'd wove across the eastern half of the country before I started hearing reports of some hero running all over helping people in need. For the most part, they didn't mention his name, just that he had metal on his teeth.\n\nWell! Maybe we could hook up and at least share info on where we'd been. Never did get to meet him. I thought for sure we'd meet in New York City. Yeah, it's a big place, but we were both looking for a dentist at the least. We never met.\n\nBy the time I admitted that no dentist could be found, I was close to the harbor. Aircraft weren't flying much, and when they did, the ticket prices started at extortion and went higher. That left shipping. You could sign on for crew passage, you worked off your fare, or you could buy a passenger ticket. A bit more expensive, but if you could entertain, you could get a refund by way of tips. Sometimes, or so I heard, you could come out with more than the ticket cost. What I didn't know was that you could really blow the top off and get a good-for-life entertainer's passport good for passage on any ship in exchange for entertainment.\n\nOn the way over to England and points east, we got more reports of the fellow they started calling Steel Teeth. It seemed he was on some quest to spread the idea of helping each other whether you knew each other or not. It was working too. Wherever he passed and helped someone, the idea of helping anyone who needed it caught on fast. Those places started booming. Then the idea passed from those local spots to ever-wider areas. The boom extended, life was coming back, and it was roaring.\n\nI commented at dinner one time that I'd missed seeing him in New York. Both of us looking for a dentist, I figured we would. That got me some funny looks until the Captain sent his remarkable stare around the room.\n\nFrom that point on, it was me entertaining and lending a hand wherever I could. They'd protest, and I'd respond, \"I have the time, and you need the help.\" It didn't hurt that aside from having a pretty good voice and a passing acquaintance with a guitar, and I had my grandad's penchant for telling tales.\n\nBy the time we got to port, Steel Teeth was a world-class singer, played the guitar like the devil on fire, and could floor you with stories that could make you weep like a baby, cheer like a lion, and laugh so hard you'd fall down.\n\nOnly the radioman sending the stories flatly refused to identify the ship, the destination, the ETA, or the passenger, other than Steel Teeth.\n\nOh, if he only had! I could have met him!\n\nWith everyone else knowing that Steel Teeth was coming, a request for every dentist's location went out. The replies were disturbing. None were available. They were either missing presumed dead, dead, or in the loony bin and in a state that *no one* would let them near *anyone* with sharp implements. It was even money if they'd slice the patient or themselves.\n\nIt did start up a dentistry school wherever an office was found with the textbooks needed. Mostly, they found people who desperately needed dentistry as the students, who naturally practiced on each other with the help of expert anesthesiologists.\n\nAnyway, there being no dentist here, nor any way to know which ship Steel Teeth was on, I took ship again. This time to France, the UK having already confirmed no dentists.\n\nWhen I approached the Captain, he looked at me with some interest. When I showed him my passport, his eyes lit up. When I smiled, you'd think he was about to burst. I'd seen this before; to keep him from embarrassing both of us, I quietly told him, \"I'm not Steel Teeth,\" with the same look my first Captain used.\n\nHe looked startled, nodded knowingly, and welcomed me aboard. Everywhere we went, the stories of Steel Teeth spread. The dentistry schools grew like wildflowers. And the gospel of Steel Teeth spread. \"Help each other. It does not matter what their race, creed, color, or sex is. It matters only that they need help, and you can give it.\""
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[WP] Time Machines are now a common form of purchasable entertainment in the 3080s. You’ve recently bought one of your own, excited to explore the roaring 1920s without messing up the past. As you explore as a spectator, however, you notice a flapper girl holding a recently made iPhone.
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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.*",
"Through all the hustle and bustle of New York City, through the buzzing activity filling the air, through the honks of ancient cars and the acrid smell of gasoline, there was a single question in my mind.\n\n*What the hell?*\n\nA young flapper girl -- slim, petite, and about 20 years old -- was using an iPhone 40 held up high, a street performer to the adoring crowd.\n\nIt was only a few hours since I left. The Roaring 20s was an era I was fascinated in. I just couldn't believe articles and pictures simply did not do justice to the sheer atmosphere of just...being there.\n\nI used some of my pension money from my days with the cops to purchase a machine. In 3082, they were quite easy to come by and cheap too. As long as proper protocols are followed, you could time travel to your heart's content.\n\nI prepped everything. How I talked. How I walked. How I dressed. Federal law in 3082 stated that threatening the timeline would result in at least permanent jail without bail at best. At worst, erasure.\n\nThe absolute last thing I wanted was to get my dreams castrated for blowing the future's load away. Wrong place. Wrong time.\n\nThis clown showed off the smartphone's features. Holograms, full voice recognition and facial tracking, a camera producing images with the detail of a high tech microscope, all to a crescendo of ooos and ahhs.\n\nAnd that symphony was only getting bigger. More and more people wanted to see this brand new shiny toy.\n\nWithout a doubt, she was from the future, currently in the process of turning both her life and the timeline to ruin.\n\nNow, the rational thing was to call in the feds. They had cases like this all the time, dumbasses that get too carried away in their enthusiasm, flaunting their tech around like some status symbol. It was a simple job really: notify all travelers on their neural networks, throw in a memory flashbang, take in the perp in the confusion and get out.\n\nThat would be the smart thing to do.\n\n...\n\n...\n\nBut... she was young and dumb. She couldn't just waste her life away in a cell. I doubt her family would want to see their daughter's last days rotting away, and I certainly didn't want to. Sure, my pension money would be all messed up if I got caught, but I couldn't just sit there and let her mess up everything else. \n\nThankfully, I came prepared for idiots like these.\n\nI used my glasses that analyzed the target in question. Good, she was wearing protection contacts at least. I could chuck in a memory flashbang and she would get out scot free.\n\nI marked the girl with my glasses and hid behind a nearby Rolls Royce, prepping a smoke grenade.\n\nIt's now or never.\n\nI threw in both grenades to maximize area of effect, making a mad dash for the red crisscross I marked earlier. With a yelp and a hand to her mouth, the girl was dragged into a nearby alleyway. The New Yorkers went on with their lives as if they haven't witnessed the alien freak show just moments prior. I ran some distance away from the crowd.\n\n\"Ok, we're relatively safe now.\"\n\nI turned to her, arms crossed and completely exasperated.\n\n\"Missy, what exactly were you doing?\"\n\nThe girl sneered.\n\n\"What was I doing? Showing the wonders of the future of course! I mean, gotta show em life just keeps getting better, right?\"\n\n\"Do you not even realize the gravity of what you've done?! You could have--\"\n\nThe girl huffed.\n\n\"Yeah, yeah...fucked up the timeline. I know. But I was prepared, you see? I had three memory flashes right in my purse. I could totally get out if I wanted to, you know! And who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that! You know, my dad is running for mayor, he could toootally get you fired. I mean, seriously, who do you think you are to--\"\n\nI tuned out her whining. God dammit she was one of those Upper City brats.\n\n\"Look miss, I only brought us a moment of reprieve. How long that's gonna be is all up to you. Make another ruckus like that and we're both screwed. I could have easily reported you to the feds. With the stunt you pulled, that's an easy erasure.\"\n\n\"Pssssh, you think erasure scares me? My dad can -- \"\n\nThat's it.\n\n\"I don't give two shits about what your dad can or can't do. He isn't above the law. We have to leave. Now!\"\n\n\"Make me!\"\n\nFuck this.\n\nI pulled out my 1911 and pointed. Her hands in the air. Complete shock.\n\n\"Miss, I have video footage of the stunt you pulled. A bullet to the head ain't shit to what the feds are gonna do to you if they find out. Now, get to your machine and go home.\"\n\nThat was a bluff. I never recorded any footage.\n\nThankfully, she at least understood her situation enough to comply.\n\nThe journey to her machine was uneventful. There was complete silence between us and relief on my end. Thank god she didn't completely screw this up.\n\nThe machine wasn't far. She at least parked the thing discreetly. She entered, and a few seconds later, the machine blipped out of sight.\n\nPhew.\n\nNow time for me to get out of here."
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[WP] You’ve been studying witchcraft for the last year. You ask when you can learn real magic. “Magic is just a tool, not the job. And it’s usually the worst way to do anything.”
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"[Magic is eating the world](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111903480904576512250915629460)\", proclaimed the headlines of the world's most famous publications. With statements like that, and the ever-increasing adoption of magic to perform just about every job imaginable, demand and pay for mages had soared.\n\nHow could I resist the siren temptation of joining what was clearly going the be the most lucrative and world-changing industry in recorded history?\n\nMy first year of magecraft was just as exhilarating as I expected - though with significantly less explosions, fire, and physics-hacking than the media led me to believe. [Being able to turn pure thought into a spell that would have consequences for reality was an incredible and paradigm-shifting ability - and now, it was mine](https://dev.to/scott_yeatts/comment/7g4e).\n\nYet, despite it all, I only knew how to perform the spells they taught at school, in the carefully managed environments they provided to us aspiring magi.\n\n\"When are we going to learn *real* magic?\" I asked my professor one day. \"The kind that all the big companies are using to build their real products, not these little toy spells we use at school.\"\n\nHe chuckled, depowering the spell construct he had been working on. \"Magic is just a tool, not the job. And it's usually the worst way to do anything. For example, look at this.\"\n\nHe handed me a journal article, dated from just a month ago. \"[Are golems and automata learning racism and classism? A review of magical automata learning human biases when created and trained by flawed humans.](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03228-6)\"\n\n\"Magic,\" he intoned, \"Is only as good as its wielders. If you can imagine a complete system that covers and works correctly for every real-world scenario that your spell will encounter, then perhaps you could build a perfect spell system. But most things worth building aren't simple enough to imagine every possible scenario.\n\n\"And, more importantly, you have to be able to identify which problems are worth solving with magic, and which ones aren't. I'm sure you hear about successful, billion-dollar, magic startups all the time - but think about all the ones that don't make it, because they weren't solving a valuable problem. And even for the ones that do, can we really say they made the world better - or worse?\n\n\"For example, the social networks we've constructed via leylines worldwide. We created automata that will drive more interactions between people and content. But our automata learned that people interact most with content that confirms their existing views. So we've fed people more and more belief-confirming information - and disinformation.\n\n\"Was it the automata that were bad or evil? Dark magic, perhaps?\n\n\"No, the flaw was in the humans who created the spell constructs to blindly optimize for interactivity, and in human nature's relentless drive to protect its own ego.\n\n\"So, to answer your question, if you want to learn 'real' magic, then learn how to understand people, and how to identify which problem definitions are actually sensible and worth solving. Reality is a subjective product, not an objective input, of the mind. So learn to think well - and you will know 'real' magic.\"\n\nThe professor opened his laptop back up to continue his work, a clear dismissal as any. I stepped out of his office, thinking of the spell-scripts I had written, wondering what problems were right to solve."
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[WP] You’re a walrus in need of social interaction and for some reason, no one will look at 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.*",
"*When you're alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go... downtown...*\n\nOf course, Walda did no comprehend words on a literal level. She was aware of the static tinged thrum of the speakers that echoed through the ruins. Since leaving the aquarium, she bound along the sidewalks, her thick brown flippers partially dragging her along. Ice had covered the sidewalks, making moving easier, but every few feet she would pause to noisily grouse over the roughness texture of the sidewalk. The lingering groan that issued from her short, round muzzle was certainly heard by the fleeting humanoids who ducked into buildings or shouted in panic when they came across her. Why did the two-legs act like this? Walda was unsure why gazing upon her taupe colored bulk. Did anyone care that Walda hated sidewalks? Evidently no, her groans and complaints were reserved only for herself. She continued bounding down the street, the racket playing overhead while the dimming street lamps added a soft golden glow to each building that lacked windows or furniture at the bottom. What drew her towards the center of town was not the fleeing figures, or the shouts, but a soft whistle that attracted her. She was desperate for a friendly interaction that she followed the whistle that had touched her on an empathic level.\n\nTowards the end of the sidewalk she crossed the black asphalt street and into the only piece of natural ground within the stone and iron maze. Out of the corner of her beady black eye, she had spotted the small pond that sat in the middle of the softer grass. At least she had that comfort, the walrus thought to herself. She let out a soft call, attempting to attract the whistle she had heard. Her neck stretching as she watched a retreating two-leg cry out, \"Don't look at the damn walrus!\" His face covered by his arms. She let out a remorseful cry when the whistle returned and Walda turned to gladly spot the only Human she ever trusted smiling from the center fountain. She happily bound across the ground, making several honks of joy at seeing her master, Ballard.\n\n\"Everyone been running from you Walda?\" He asked before reaching into the pail sitting on flat stone rim of the fountain. He tossed a squirming blue shell crab to her, which she snatched and cracked its shell, gorging herself on the food.\n\n\"Don't take it personal, sweetie,\" Ballard said mildly as he knelt before her and ran a single brown finger down her backside, \"Did you spot anything at the aquarium?\" Their empathic connection allowed her to understand his request. Why she had been sent away in the first place. She shook her head and offered a soft bleek.\n\n\"That means the fiend is loose,\" Ballard said, \"No wonder people have been shouting at you.\" He stood and said, \"You see any other walruses? Any of your kind?\" Walda shook her head again. The beasts at the aquarium had been shy when she approached. What little she could gather from scent, instinct, and body language was that something had escaped the confines of the pens. Something like Walda the walrus, but not like Walda the walrus.\n\n\"Looks like we've got a long night ahead of us then,\" Ballard said before tossing another crab, \"You ready to go hunting?\"\n\nShe was eager have two-legged Humans from panicking at the sight of her. She brought one of her tusk against the crabs shell, busting it open. She fed herself while watching Ballard fetch his main weapon. She always shuddered, watching the moon play off the silvery end of the harpoon his weapon was loaded with.\n\n\"You finished?\" Ballard asked, \"We've got bad walrus to hunt down, hon.\"",
"**Home garden coming along great! #greenthumb #newskills #organic**\n\nNothing.\n\n**Baking journey triumph! Love this rye bread! #breadfan #theyeasticoulddo #itsryelife**\n\nStill absolutely nothing.\n\n\"Oh come on! It looks wonderful! Maybe fewer puns? I mean I thought it was just a fun little thing...fun with puns...there's a pun in there somewhere...no. No, serious face. I've got it.\"\n\n**In these trying times, it's important to cherish your friends and family. Check in on that old friend you haven't spoken to in a while, you never know who's day you'll make! #allinthistogether #friends4life**\n\nJohn stared at the screen, feeling his eyes grow wet. Still nothing. Not a single like, not a single retweet. Of all the so called friends and followers, not a single one had reached out to him in a month. Every time he called? Right to voicemail. Messenger? Seen at 3:45pm.\n\nFine, he thought to himself as he ambled over to the door and carefully strung several masks to his face to accommodate for his tusks. So some health conscious social interaction wasn't on the menu, from anyone he knew at least. \n\n\"That's fine.\" He said, slamming the door with his flipper as the cool January air made his tears sting even harder. \"Guess it takes something like this to find out who your friends really are. Well I can still be appreciated, I can find people that like me.\"\n\nWith renewed determination he shuffled out to his backyard, not seeing a single neighbor out and about. Didn't matter. He collected what he needed to into a basket and slid down the sidewalk to his destination.\n\n*Closed*\n\nThe soup kitchen sign burned bright red into his retinas. Odd, it was only noon. Well, must be pandemic hours. \n\n\"No doubt there's some hungry unfortunate souls about still.\" John looked around, spying a tent on the sidewalk. \"Hello there sir! Would you care for some fresh e-\"\n\nThe man in tattered clothes quickly looked away, shielding his eyes as he abandoned his tent and ran down an alleyway to vault over a fence.\n\n\"Rather strange...well would anyone else like some e- Hmmm.\" John found that the streets were shockingly empty, the last few pedestrians and homeless individuals all looking as though they had something urgent to attend to.\n\nA police car rounded the corner, and no sooner than John had laid eyes on it was it pulling a hard u-turn and accelerating back around the corner with squealing tires.\n\n\"Well...they *have* had a lot to deal with lately. Hmmmm, I've got it!\" John slid off to the next destination, a fine bunch of lads and lasses who needed all the appreciation they could get. And no doubt some social interaction as well, the poor things.\n\n*Closed*\n\n\"Very peculiar indeed, I wasn't aware that hospitals ever did close...\" John's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a scream and a crash.\n\nTurning around he saw a young mother sprinting off with her baby clutched in her arms, pram knocked over and all its contents splayed across the ground.\n\n\"Madam! You dropped your things!\" He shouted after her, frowning as a taxi screeched to a halt beside her with it's driver imploring her to get in.\n\nThe young mother dove in and the taxi sped off, passed by an ambulance with sirens blaring charging down the road to the hospital. No sooner than it had pulled into the emergency room loading entrance next to John did it speed off once more, never stopping.\n\n\"What the devil is going on!?\" John shouted to the sky.\n\nHe heard a phone buzzing and a notification sound. Setting down the basket of fresh laid eggs still in need of donating, he shuffled over to the young mother's belongings. Another notification.\n\nJohn looked around, seeing not a single living soul out on the streets and all the curtains of the hospital drawn.\n\nYet another notification.\n\nHe dragged the phone closer to him with his tusk, looking at the string of notifications covering up the phone's screen. \n\nHis eyes went wide.\n\n**DO NOT LOOK AT THE WALRUS**\n\nWhat? And official? After all he had sent out? Who could...\n\nHe looked at the official notification. It was only signed \"P.\"\n\nAnd John knew exactly who it was, and he bellowed to the air in a rage.\n\n\"PAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUL[!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1Jm5epJr10)\"\n\n(I can't believe I wrote this. I write other things I swear, check me out at /r/SylasWrites.)"
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[WP] the A.I. Singularity and the Second Coming of Christ are the same event.
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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 figure this might be a little longer than I originally intended, and probably a few days to work on it but as they say on the streets, How's about a taste???\n\n \n\nFor more than 50 years, man has pushed it’s self towards the edge of true creation. That is what many programming masters my field have come to believe to zealotry. Private and public corporations, educational institutions, and even self-made young geniuses have poured countless hours and money into this fact furthering the religion that Artificial Intelligence is the future of all mankind. They are not wrong, though I have always thought that they were perhaps over eager in their pronouncements. As simply as I can put it, A.I. was always inevitable. From the first time man rounded out a piece of stone to make it easier to move his belongings, we have pushed towards the next logical step, finally ending in an autonomous and intelligent construct capable of controlling the complexities of this world full of automated acts. My insertion into the process is just that, a cog in the machine that was already moving. Nothing more. The very first time I received a computer from my father and he taught me the basics of DOS navigation, I could feel the way code seemed to resonate within me. It felt I had been given some kind of amazing gift meant only for me. As time progressed from my childhood into my teens, I ignored the pithy temptations that most of my similarly aged spawn were engaged. While they were chasing much baser needs and indulging in chemical induced euphoria, I was already hard at work creating an algorithm that was able to automatically categorize human ailments based on symptomatic associations with an accuracy of 98%. You may have well heard of this though never knew it was I that had accomplished the effort. I sold the code for the base function of one of the world’s first functionally capable A.I.s, I.B.M.’s WATSON. This was much later of course and not my original intention for the algorithm. \n\nI had attended school as a youngster along with the rest of the children my age, initially. I had always known I was more advance, that is to say mentally further along, than everyone else. On a day well into the first month of Kindergarten, we were asked to count as best we could from one to ten. This was, of course, remedial work in my opinion. When asked by the instructor named, Bernice Palmer “Ok Calvin, are you ready? I’m so excited! Can you count to ten?” My replay was, *That’ll take too long. Can I do it like this instead?* I began listing prime numbers. She chortled, obviously thinking I had heard this from someone. The way her face changed once I said 31 then continued onward to 37, 41, 43. “Who told you how to do this, Cal?” she said as calmly as she could though clearly shaken. *No one* I told her. *Why waste time saying all those dumb in between numbers when I’m just trying to get to 100.* She took me out of the classroom and we went to the principal’s office. I was terrified, one of the few times that I felt terror for being intelligent. I to this day, have no idea how long I was in the room alone for. Time seemed to be swallowed by that fear and it overwhelmed me. I began to cry. Eventually, Mrs. Palmer returned with the principal, Howard Stienworthy, my parents, and 2 people I didn’t recognize. “Sorry to keep you so long, Calvin.” Mrs. Palmer whispered. She patted my hand and took a seat. The rest of the people filed in and took the remaining seats with my parents next to me and Principal Stienworthy behind his desk. The other two, a man with rounded lenses and a woman with a bow in her hair, remained standing. “First of all, Calvin, I want you to know that you are not in trouble at all. Actually just the opposite. Before we get to all that, I would like you to tell the people in this room what you told me in class today.” She continued. I felt my windpipe close. I had no idea what I had done, for I was not and am still not a sarcastic person. I remained silent. My mother clutched my shoulders saying, “It’s ok Cal. What happened?” The tears came again. I was powerless to stop them. *It was going to take too long,* I said between sobs. *I only wanted to get it done. Even doing it by the zeroes was boring.* The man in the round glasses contorted his face. “By the zeroes?” he said, a hand on his chin. *Yeah like 10, 20, 30. Like that*, I said. He turned, meeting the gaze of the bow woman. She raised her eyebrows and returned to look at me. “Why do you like those numbers, Calvin?” she asked. *Because those are special magic numbers. They’re all by themselves, like me.* \n\nI didn’t have a concept of what a prime number was at the age of 6, only that these numbers seemed lonely because they couldn’t be (divided) split up. “You are correct, Calvin. Can I show you some other things with numbers and can you tell me what they mean to you?” Bow Woman asked. She didn’t even wait for my answer. She was up with a dry erase marker writing on the principal’s window. “Excuse m…” Mr. Stienworthy was silenced by Mr. Round Glasses before his entire protest had even left his lips. My mother and father looked at each other but remained silent. Bow Woman drew a circle. “Can you tell me how big this is?” I looked at my mother this time, questioningly. She pushed me toward the window. I lifted my thumb and pinky, placing my thumb in the approximate center of the circle and my pinky on its border. *It’s two of these,* I said. “How do you know?” She enquired. *You can use a string to make a perfect circle, you know.* It was obvious to me. It was also all the explanation the 2 unknowns needed."
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[WP] A group of friends happen to eat out this Friday evening, but they can't agree on a place. They wage war through mind games to convince the others to pick their favorite restaurant.
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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 a Friday night with the lads, there's only one place to go. One beautiful locale that appeals to both the masculine, and sophisticated nature of man. It was so obvious, so exact, so PERFECT, why couldn't they see it?\n\nInstead, they go back and forth on the most ludicrous of options :\n\n\"Espinzola's is a classic\" harped Jack again. \"Good, fresh, Italian pizza, with the best parmesan cheese. Dex, tell me you don't want to be sitting with a slice of thin crust pepperoni in one hand and a Peroni in the other\".\n\nOf course Jack wants to go to Espinzola's, his girlfriend was doubtless waitressing their tonight. Playing it off like he's going for the pizza, pffft. Dex was too precious to see through these lies, but Garret and I saw right through him.\n\n\"Ugh I love Espinzola's, but I ate their last night with my family\" Garret said casually \"but Jack if you still want Italian we can hit Chezere's\". \n\nDevious, tactical, conniving. That brilliant bastard. I knew full well he spent all last night studying for his chem final. Usually I'd call him out, but if we wanted any shot at post-gaming at Jack's house tonight we had to keep him far away from his precious Cecilia. I shot Garret a look. Chezere's wasn't my first choice, but sometimes the greater good comes first.\n\nDex let loose a loud sign \"Isn't Becky working their tonight? Not really in the mood to see my ex. I was kind of hoping to meet some new people tonight you know?\". \n\nJack and Garret opened and closed their mouths. Struggling to get out words, then failing to reply at all. For their was no rebuttal to that. The whole reason we were going out tonight was to cheer Dex up.\n\n\"Uhhhhh\" Dex looked up in embarrassment \"I mean, I'm fine though. Honestly we can go wherever, even Chezere's. Not even sure if she's working tonight really\".\n\nI smiled. Dex my child. Dex my son. Dex my hungry lonely friend. Thank you for delivering me the ammunition I need to end this debate. To bring justice to this night.\n\nI cleared my throat \"This is why I don't get why we're throwing hooters off the table, it's exactly what we want, what Dex needs\" \n\nPausing for the barest amount, I leaned in closer. \"Come on Dex, look me in the eye and say that a pitcher of bud light and some eye candy won't lift your spirts\" \n\nI patted him on the back, while looking at the other two. \"Right guys, we're all with you Dex, we want you to get your mind off things\".\n\nSilence. The two looked at each other, and then glared at me, but it was too late, the trap had been set. \n\n\"Of course, I can get my brother to drive\" said Garret. \n\n\"Are you kidding? I'm in. I needed a break from the old ball and chain anyway\" Jack laughed through gritted teeth.\n\nVictory wears a tight dress and tastes like wings and cheap beer."
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[WP] You are the moon. Life is good. It's just you, the sun, and the earth. Things have been getting weird though. As the years go by, the earth starts showing more light shows. Your getting worried. Earth is starting to look sick as there are more and more light shows.
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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 buddy and I the earth were tight, like really tight. He kept me from bumping into our friend, sunny, and I kept his water moving. Thousands and thousands of years we had parties every single day. I would go around one side of him, and then around the other side. Sometimes we would go around sunny in a circle just for fun. But then one day we went for a walk around sunny and Earth started glowing. He made a grumbly sound. My buddy was hurting. So we waited a whole year to walk around sunny again. The next year we went around him, the same thing happened. I didn’t understand it, what was hurting him. But we had to exercise. So once a year we would walk around sunny and sunny waved. Earth smiled and waved, glowing but obviously in pain. Then around our one thousand nine hundred forty fifth walk around sunny two bright lights burst on the right side of Earth. He started shaking really violently. It was really clear that he was dealing with inner turmoil. I was so conflicted. So I ran around him to try to rain on the lights.... it didn’t help, then about twenty four more walks around sunny something came shooting out of earth and landed on me slowly and painfully. It burned before it landed on me and I could feel little imprints being made on my surface. This was only the beginning"
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[WP] Your job is to break into and out of top-security places that hire you to expose flaws in their security systems. You have a button that you can press in case your life is in danger that will send a message to your employer to stop the drill. It's not working.
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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 man of my skill usually has no problem breaking into a bank such as this, the security guards are poorly trained and succumbed to some kung fu, the cameras could be disabled with ease using rudimentary EMP charges and the interlacing laser alarm mesh protecting the vault didn’t even move or change in pattern. \n\n95% of this job had been an absolute joke and I would be giving a scathing report back to my boss. The final part of the break-in had included a small crawl through a wall cavity but I’d pre-checked the blueprints of the building and it was very straight forward. No pipes, very few studs, and no electrical cables to contend with. I was basically home free.\n\n==\n\nJeremy the handyman was due on-site at 9 pm but unfortunately got stuck in traffic so was a bit late, he was sure that the honcho in the bank wouldn’t mind as long as the new shelves were up before tomorrow. As he began drilling he heard something strange from the wall..\n\n*\\*click\\**\n\n*\\*click\\** \n\n*\\*click\\** \n\n*\\*muffled screaming\\** \n\nWeird... anyway. \n\n\\-- \n\nI’m pretty new to this but it’s a nice creative outlet, I’d appreciate feedback etc."
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[WP] Parasitic Aliens have successfully invaded the planet by assimilating with society and taking over people's bodies. Recently, Dave from down the hall has been acting very strange and you're getting nervous. You're starting to suspect he's still human.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\\[Dave gets Bummed\\]\n\nStephanie froze mid step when she heard the chuckles coming from Dave's cubicle. She closed her eyes and sighed.\n\n\"God damnit,\" she grumbled to herself, then changed direction.\n\n\"Hey Dave, what's funny? I wanna laugh,\" Stephanie admitted. She really wished she could find humor in anything; even if it was a good thing at the moment. It had been a busy week since the aliens suddenly took over. During that week, she learned it wasn't sudden at all; it was only recently their invasion reached critical mass. Stephanie managed to avoid infection, even if she didn't know how it was happening. She triple-purified all her water, ate only sealed foods, and avoided contact with anyone. Luckily, Stephanie didn't have a lot of friends before the invasion.\n\n'Hey,\" Dave grinned. \"Nothing special, just a cat video. But, hey. Since you're here...,\" Dave stood from his rolling chair and stepped into Stephanie's personal space. \"... have you noticed anything... *weird* around the office this week?\" he whispered in her ear. Stephanie got her wish; she burst out into raucous laughter at the situation.\n\nDave had never been the brightest employee, but he was popular among the staff for his easy-going attitude. If anyone was going to avoid being possessed by aliens on sheer dumb luck alone, it would of course be Dave. The contrast with her own high-stress week of trying to keep a low profile only made Dave's question that much funnier.\n\nAfter two solid belly laughs, Stephanie's eyes shot wide and she clamped her hand over her mouth. It was too late. She looked around and saw several employees poking their heads over the walls of their cubicle. They were all staring at her.\n\n\"Damnit, Dave,\" she hissed and grabbed his hand. \"I was almost out of here, come on!\" She pulled him out of the cubicle and immediately started running. Easy-going Dave shrugged and ran with her.\n\n\"Where we going?\" he asked.\n\n\"Alien parasites took over the world last week,\" Stephanie explained while she ran. She was glad she'd been wearing sneakers to work since then. She doubted the aliens would bother enforcing the dress code.\n\n\"Bummer. So where can we go?\" he asked. Despite the outlandish explanation, she noticed that Dave picked up speed to keep up with her. \"And why aren't they chasing us?\" He asked after a glance backward.\n\n\"Hivemind. It thinks it can get us ahead.\" Stephanie said. She led Dave through a maze of off-white halls and into her office. \" But, it doesn't know where we're going.\" Dave chuckled.\n\n\"Your office is the first place I'd look for you,\" he said. Despite the point, he relaxed against the door jamb for a bit to catch his breath. Stephanie nodded.\n\n\"We're not staying here, I just needed to get something.\" She was at her desk and back before Dave finished recovering. She quickly grabbed his hand and led him out of the office again.\n\n\"HEY!\" a security guard yelled from the end of the hall. He was obviously on his way to her office. Turning around, they spotted another guard coming from the other direction.\n\n\"Alright, screw it,\" Stephanie sighed and turned around to go back into her office. Dave shut the door while she started tapping the transparent card she grabbed from her desk.\n\n\"What's that?\" Dave asked. His question was followed by the doorknob jiggling. Dave leaned against the door as the guards started pounding on it.\n\n\"Later,\" Stephanie said. A black portal opened in the corner of her office and a woman with light purple hair walked out. She wore a crisp white blazer.\n\n\"Who're you?\" Dave asked while the pounding continued. He braced his large frame against the door.\n\n\"[Victoria](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/k7rzsm/wp_the_stellar_core_is_a_brilliant_invention_able/),\" she answered. Dave saw gold stars flash in her eyes as she looked at him and Stephanie.\n\n\"Let's go,\" she said, then stepped aside.\n\n\"C'mon!\" Stephanie grabbed Dave's hand and pulled him into the portal. On the other side, Dave found himself standing in what appeared to be a lobby. The murmur of busy strangers and the dinging of elevators immediately filled his ears. He stood on a gleaming white floor. He spotted red in the corner of his eye and looked up to see a large sign: Sharp Development.\n\n\"Where are we?\" Dave asked.\n\n\"Somewhere safe. A different Earth,\" Victoria said as she walked out of the portal; an intense blue glow was dissipating from her hands.\n\n\"Okay,\" Dave said, unphased. \"For how long? I mean, when can I get back?\"\n\n\"Dave..,\" Stephanie said. \"That Earth was completely taken over by aliens.\"\n\n\"So... are we talking ... *years*?\" he asked. Stephanie shook her head, but Victoria answered.\n\n\"Sharp Development refuses to let aliens get a foothold on any Earth,\" Victoria said. Dave chuckled.\n\n\"Kind of late on that one,\" he said. Victoria nodded.\n\n\"That's why I destroyed it behind us,\" she said.\n\n\"You... what?\" Dave asked. He glanced at Stephanie for confirmation. Dave wasn't a bright man, but her expression was obvious.\n\n\"Oh...,\" Dave sighed and cast his eyes downward. He'd only been at the company for a couple of years. During that time she'd never seen Dave without a smile. For the first time in years, a glum expression took over Dave's face. \"Bummer. That’s where all my stuff was.”\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1115 in a row. (Story #019 in year four.) You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse/)) or my blog."
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Option one: the galaxy uses steam punk tech but humans don’t.
Option two: humans expected lots of species to have achieved space flight but discover only a few have. So they ask questions about why there is only a few species that have achieved faster than light travel.
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[WP]humans have finally achieved faster than light travel excited to meet the hundreds of other technologically advanced species only to find out that only a few actually developed technology beyond the Industrial Age and achieved FTL.
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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 know this is not how I figured the first contact would go. I figured we would have found some interstellar empire or collection of species but this.\" With a free arm, the captain motioned to the drifting fleet of industrial age steamers floating in space. A slight swipe against the monitor returning the zoom to normal revealing the white haze surrounding the fleet. \"This is a disappointment, we spent too much money on the defense budget to fight a bunch of steamships!\"\n\nReluctantly I set my pair of boots onto the central console's surface and took a long sip of my recafe. The captain's good eye twitching slightly as the projection of the encounter fizzled and warped. Stray motes of light drifting collapsing into the vague location of the two fleets. \"Quit your damn whinging already, this is probably the best outcome we could have hoped for. Now get this damn fleet moving I want to personally make this impression memorable.\"\n\nThe captain's frown only deepening \"So we are attacking?\"\n\n\"God no, it makes our job easier if they fire the first shot that's what the council sent us out to do after all.\" The holo table flickering back to life as I set my pair of boots back onto the deck plating. Half a dozen black jagged missile cruisers lingering above the primitive fleet, a single fighter leaving the strike group. \"These are imperial age aliens captain, full-hardy and xenophobic.\" \n\nQuietly I lean back in the bridge chair and light my cigar letting out an evil chuckle. The captain briefly taking off his service cap and marveling at the skull on it. His voice and general movements a bit shakey \"We're the bad guys aren't we admiral?\" \n\n\"Of course we are, now get this ship ready I have a galaxy to conquer.\""
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[WP] You've got to explain to the wives of the bad guys goons why you murdered their husbands but not the head honcho
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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.*",
"\"Look,\" I said. \"I know you're in grief and what not. Your breadwinners are dead. Who's gunna win the bread? That's what you're wondering.\"\n\n\"You're vile,\" said Laurie, the most outspoken of the widows. \"To think our husbands considered you a friend. To think we had you over for dinner. Brought you into our circle. May God forgive you for what you've done. Because I certainly won't. And I doubt the other women will either.\"\n\nThey were jeering and shouting. I believe they would have thrown rotten tomatoes at me, if they'd had any crates around. They were pissed. Hard to blame them for that. Eight women who went to bed last night with husbands, and will lay down tonight all alone.\n\n\"I still can't believe it!\" cried Gwen, a pretty young widow.\n\nHer eyes were puffy and red. Her nose was puffy and red. All that crying and honking her horn. Her hair was a bit disheveled too, because when she took breaks from the waterworks and snot she absentmindedly pulled at her hair. Good grief! She was a sight. Even the other widows seemed to think she was taking it a little too hard. They had at least gotten dressed up and done their make-up before coming to the meeting. They had at least made themselves presentable. They were in mourning, sure, and with a touch of shock. But they weren't going overboard like this Gwen. They knew how it was. They knew what line of work their men had gotten into. They also knew that a fair bit of money would be trickling down to them from the Boss. But only if they played their cards right.\n\n\"My Jake!\" she wailed. \"My poor Jake! I don't know what to tell the boys. They're too young to understand. What will I tell the boys? About their daddy? What will I do in this world without Jake?\"\n\nShe was really laying it on. It was starting to bother the other widows. They were full of hollow shows of sympathy: rubbing her back and telling her it would all be okay in the end. But beneath those shows I could see their frustration mounting. They were being outdone. They didn't have it in them to make fools of themselves with grief. They were pragmatic. Nevertheless, they also wanted to suck as much sympathy and attention up as possible. At the very least, they wanted their fair share: they wanted the amount of sympathy they were owed, given the circumstances. But now this sensitive, melodramatic Gwen was becoming the star of the show. That was indecent of her. She was ignoring the unwritten rule, which states that no single person is allowed to claim a collective tragedy for herself. Poor little Gwen was making it all about herself. She couldn't help it. She was really struck. But she was goofing it hard. She didn't realize that she, having just lost a husband, was about to lose her seven closest \"friends\", too.\n\n\"Gwen,\" said Laurie, somewhat firmly, as if the time for dramatical displays was now past. \"You've got to get ahold of yourself. For your kids. We know you're suffering. We know how hard this has hit you. We're all feeling this with you. And we'll get past it. But we all need to pull ourselves together. We came here so that we could get an explanation, and so that we could hear about next steps. Okay?\"\n\nSo that was the other side of their frustration. They wanted to hear about \"next steps\", which is to say, they wanted to know how much dough they were getting, and they were worried that Gwen taking it so hard might reduce the amount the Boss was willing to give. The other women were trying to buck up and take it on the chin: they might call me a swine, and wag their fingers, but at the end of the day, what they were trying to say, what they were trying to show, by keeping their composure, was that, when push came to shove, they could control themselves: they could keep their mouths shut and play ball, as long as the reward was sufficient. Meanwhile, what Gwen was doing, inadvertently, of course, was saying that she was beyond reason, beyond self control: that no amount of money could get her to keep her feelings to herself. That was a dangerous thing to display in a situation like this, and the other widows knew it. The knew that if Gwen kept at it much longer, they might not get the paydays they had been waiting for, but each her own roadside grave.\n\n\"Alright girls,\" I said. \"Listen up. Gwen, you've gotta keep it together for a minute here.\"\n\nBut she was still wailing like a trapped animal. I was getting impatient. After this chat I was supposed to be going on vacation. All expenses paid. The Boss had rewarded me for my handiwork. For taking those jokers off his payroll and putting them in the dirt. But I would miss my flight if this didn't start going more smoothly.\n\n\"My Jake!\" she cried. \"The sweetest man.\"\n\nThe other widows were sitting up in their chairs and looking forward. Sitting at attention, as it were. As if I were the their third grade teacher, and they were private school girls, who knew it was time to shut up, or else. I'm sure Laurie was glad she had said her piece earlier, calling me vile, as the time for flinging insults was ancient history. Gwen had eaten all that time up, and more besides, with her whole \"woe is me\" routine.\n\nEventually, Gwen realized that none of the other widows were rubbing her back or whispering condolences in her ears. She looked around at them, and none of them looked back. She sniffled. She was beginning to see what was what.\n\n\"I'm sorry,\" she said, trying to wear a brave face. \"It's just. . .\"\n\nShe looked about ready to start in again, her face contorting in grief, but she bit her lip. She took out a tissue and blew her nose. She sat up like the others, at attention.\n\n\"I'll give you the scoop,\" I said, \"if you'll keep quiet and listen. But I don't have much time for dicking around. I've been patient, but my patience has limits. I'm not trying to single you out, Gwen, but you've got to keep your head on straight. At least for the next few minutes.\"\n\nShe blinked hard and nodded, compliant as can be. She was coming around, the poor thing."
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[WP] The final stage in any civilisation's evolution is to become a great gestalt entity, not quite physical anymore, and powerful enough to alter the very stars themselves. By all means humanity should have reached this level thousands of years ago by now, however for some reason they just haven't
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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 really is quite simple, with a few years of effort we can construct a device capable of instantaneously converting our consciousness into an ethereal form, no more need for resources and free from the laws of thermodynamics.\n\nWhat about my right to stay human?\n\nwell you needed join if you don't wish to \n\nBut if I'm stay there won't be anyone left, building that machine is an assault on my rights\n\nMa'am you can't prevent the ascension of trillions simply because you don't wish to join please calm down and step back so I can get on with my work\n\nYour trying to tell me what to do, I'll have your job for that. Where is your manager? You are a government employee so I'm your boss.\n\nMa'am my manager will just say the same thing, please just leave, your personally opinion doesn't override that of the literally billions of people who donated for this project to go ahead\n\nI'm the center of my community, I run the education council for my continent, are you saying I'm unimportant, I'll have you job after how rude you have been.\n\nVery well, I will need name and description of complaint as well as permission to authenticate identity and I will record an official complaint.\n\nAt last, you have been exceptionally rude to me today and are building this device that directly infringes on my rights, the name is Karen and you have permission to authenticate that.\n\nVery well, now I have work to do so goodbye."
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[WP] The enslavement, persecution, and eventual extinction of mankind at the hands of a powerful, malevolant alien race was inescapable. A team of scientists were tasked with creating a bioweapon to painlessly kill every person on Earth. Before you press the button to end it all...you reflect.
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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 always said my generation would be the one to doom us. But as I write this in my childhood bedroom, I don't think that this is quite what they meant. But it doesn't matter, there's no \"they\" anymore. Not unless you count the Impera, the scorpion looking assholes who managed to do what climate change, two world wars, and the plague couldn't: end mankind. \n\nBut if you wanted to get technical, I guess I'm the one who'll end the human race. And I get to do it from the comfort of a bean bag chair. So suck on that, space bitches. \n\nI don't know if anyone will ever read this. Probably not, but you don't do something you want to do just so other people will see it. Or you shouldn't, anyway. You do something you want to do because you want to do it. So I want to try and write down the best things I can remember about our species before I hit this red button. \n\nWe took our predators and made them into pets, which I think is pretty freakin cool. It took thousands of years, but we took these absolutely badass wolves and turned them into all sorts of puffballs and fuzzy things. I miss my pug. If you don't know what a pug is because the Impera ate them all, just picture a wrinkly squash with a flat, circular face that makes a honking noise a lot. \n\nMankind loved potatoes so much that we found out every single way to eat them. We even put them in tacos at one point. Damn do I miss Taco Bell. Actually, you know what, that gets its own part of this list. \n\nWe made the Spicy Potato Soft Taco. And it was amazing. \n\nWe had families. A lot of us had dysfunctional ones, but we had them. We had people we loved and lived with and more inside jokes than anyone could possibly recall. My brother got busted for sneaking a girl into the house once and my mom chased him around with a fly swatter, and that had me laughing so hard I cried. \n\nOkay so I can hear one of the Space Bitch Cruisers in the distance, which means I don't have as much time as I thought. But that's okay because honestly, when aren't humans rushing? We rushed to get to school, to get to work, to get home, we were rushing to get everywhere and do everything. Now that I think about it, I wish I hadn't rushed so much. But that's a whole other can of worms that I don't have time to write. So if you read this, take a second to just... not rush. Look at where you are, who you're with, and appreciate it. You only get so many moments in life, might as well spend one or two just being content.\n\nThis is less of a mankind thing and more of a \"me\" thing, but I really want to say that while I didn't actually get to go to college before the Impera blew them all up, I got accepted into all the colleges I applied to. And I applied to some big name ones. That's right, I got into freakin Stanford. Kiss my ass, Ben from eighth grade. I did it. \n\nI didn't get to get married and all that junk adults always talked about, but I had a good life in my opinion. I fell in love. I set foot on a different continent. I rescued a dog from a shelter once. I honestly can't complain. \n\nAnyhow, the Bitchachos have arrived. So I guess this is it, everybody. Close the curtains, roll the credits, don't forget to like and subscribe. \n\nI can't wait to see you, Mom and Dad. I'm sorry it took me so long, but I had something pretty important to do."
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[WP] the villain went undercover on a dating app in order to sabotage the hero’s dating life and break their heart. The only problem: they actually began to fall for 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.*",
"Upon seeing the heroine’s profile on Dinder, I showed it to my lord, who told me to use the opportunity to eliminate her as a threat.\n\nThe closer you are to someone’s heart, the harder you can hit it. I’ll make her trust me, so I can break her heart. She’ll be too depressed to do anything but retire as the heroine.\n\nSo, fast-forward to the present. We agreed to meet up and have lunch. She showed up in a baggy hoodie and shorts, which felt disarmingly casual. Thankfully, she didn’t recognize me.\n\nTo be honest, seeing her profile provoked instincts that came with being single.\n\nOf course, I wasn’t going on this Dinder date to get a girlfriend.\n\nAnyway –\n\nAt the end of our lunch, she took us to a nearby park, where we found a bench to sit on. We made some small talk over lunch, but with the vibe of the park, it seemed like a good time to have a deeper conversation about her weaknesses.\n\nShe started.\n\n“You know…”\n\n“Yes?” I answered politely, as if I were giving her my full attention.\n\n“I’m sorry.”\n\n“For what?”\n\n“I feel like I’ve deceived you here.”\n\nWas she going to reveal that she knew I was a villain all along? Is she going to apologize for making me think she didn’t recognize me? \n\nA few breaths later, she continued. “I’m just here to try and forget about my ex who broke up with me a week ago.”\n\nWait, what? Was the heroine always in such a desperate position?\n\nForget breaking her heart, someone already broke it before I even had the chance.\n\nAdmitting that seemed to take a toll on her. Her arms were around her legs, and her shoulders were quivering. She was almost hiding in that baggy hoodie she was wearing. This is the heroine I’ve been facing all along? The heroine I thought I knew seemed more reliable, like a beacon of hope for the heroes, and an insurmountable wall to the villains.\n\nIn front of me is just a girl.\n\n*But –* \n\n*But we’re enemies!*\n\nWhat would be the worst thing for her to do?\n\n“Maybe you should…go contact him again? See how he’s feeling?”\n\nAfter I said that, I furrowed my eyebrows and glanced at her, as if I was making a serious suggestion.\n\n*You’re my enemy, so please…*\n\n*(Don’t listen to me.)*\n\n*Do it!*\n\nBut she started laughing.\n\n*Huh?*\n\n“That’s a stupid idea, and I know it. But hearing you say that makes me think you’re just rooting for my happiness no matter who I end up with.”\n\nDid I just cheer her up?\n\nI replied, “Wow. I wish it weren’t so easy to see through me,” feigning disappointment and looking into the distance.\n\n“For someone that I just met over Dinder, you’re not as shallow as I thought you were, hm?”\n\nWell, no, but actually, kind of yes?\n\nI didn’t know the answer to that rhetorical question, which led to me replying, “No comment.”\n\nI saw her smile a little bit. She apologized again.\n\n“I’m really sorry for basically wasting your time. I just felt the need to get attention from another man out of my loneliness.”\n\n“It’s fine.”\n\nHer complexion was slightly pink, and it didn’t take a psychologist to see that she was sad. But somehow, her gentle smile still made me feel at ease.\n\n*No. I wasn’t looking at her.*\n\nI pulled my neck straight and wondered about why she was telling me all of this. “It’s brave of you to come out about this kind of topic to someone you barely know.”\n\n“That’s not true. It’s cowardly. So many people rely on me, so I’m always looking tough for them, but I can’t bear to let them see me like this.”\n\nShe paused for a while. After gathering her words, she resumed.\n\n“It’s scary. I’m scared of them being disappointed in me, which is why I cower like this when they’re not looking at me.”\n\nHearing all of this almost made me feel guilty.\n\n“…I could turn out to be your enemy, you know? Or someone you don’t like.”\n\nShe cocked her head towards me. “Even so, it’s easy to open up to someone I barely know. I can’t disappoint you if you never had any preconceptions about me, yknow?”\n\nHer hair swayed in the breeze. She was still hugging one of her legs, but she’d put the other leg down from the bench. It looked like the way a teenage girl would sit if she was relaxing in her room.\n\nWhile I was staring at her, I replied, “Can I take that as a compliment?”\n\nThe heroine let out an electrifying laugh. “If you stick around and keep listening to my troubles, maybe I’ll eventually compliment you for being a good listener.” \n\nMy heart said, “*Woo!”*\n\nMy eyes said, “*My shoes are very interesting. Better look at them.”*\n\nMy mouth said, “Just doing this so that I can gain your trust and make you do as I please one day. Don’t think anything of it. Nothing personal.”\n\nAnd my brain said, “*Perhaps I’ll tell my lord that I’m making progress in seducing the heroine so that I can break her heart eventually.*”\n\nI wish it wasn’t the case, but only my heart is honest.",
"\"Damn it.\" Sam said quietly. The tip of her finger slid across the pristine screen of her phone, switching the screen's focus to a new menu. \"He's good.\" The detective was quite successful on this app.\n\n​\n\nShe'd used her magic to manipulate the app, allowing her to see the chats he had open with other women - and in almost every instance, she was impressed with what he said to them; the ways he made conversation so smoothly. She had tried to get access to his account in order to make his chats say something nasty, to sabotage him. Unfortunately for her, magic wasn't easily manipulated with such high-tech things. It had taken her a lot of time and a lot of effort just to be able to view his chats, and that alone was temporary, lest he receive another notice that his account security had been compromised.\n\n​\n\nBut it was today that she had her revelation. *I can't do anything to ruin his dating life, and now I'm really into this guy.*\n\n​\n\nShe hadn't even considered trying anything offline, in person, until now. Alas, it seemed too late now. Rather than try to undermine his confidence and put him into a bad place at work, she wanted to *ask him out.* Who knows, maybe she could tempt him into looking the other way in regards to her plans? Or maybe at the very least, she could get a good taste of what he had to offer before disposing of him.\n\n​\n\nWhy did *this* particular detective *have* to be the one who found the supernatural plausible?\n\n​\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\n​\n\n\"I'm sorry.\" Sam said, her voice cracking. She stepped closer to the detective. He backed a step away, finding himself at the edge of the roof. \"I tried to find a way to stop you.\"\n\n\"Did you start seeing me just to get in the way of my investigation?\" He asked forlornly.\n\n\"Of course not. I fell for you while trying to- I mean, while trying to find some way to disrupt your work life. This was real though, I swear!\"\n\nHer pulse quickened and small pitch-black flames sparked from her skin.\n\n\"I don't know what to believe. You really liked me, you just used me, this can all be explained rationally, there's fucking magic involved.\" His fists clenched as he looked down at his feet, right at the edge of the roof.\n\nA tear rolled down Sam's cheek. \"I'm sorry. I know you won't give up. That's one of the things I adore about you, you're always trying to do good.\"\n\n\"You know I can't let you get away will orchestrating the deaths of multiple businessmen and forging documents. I don't know what you're planning to use all that money and influence for, but it has to end.\" He took a couple of steps toward Sam. \"Please, this doesn't have to end like this.\"\n\nShe raised a finger, pointing at the detective. \"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!\" Her eyes shut tightly and a jet black beam shot from her fingertip, piercing through the detective's chest as the black flames sparking from Sam's skin grew intensely. His eyes were wide, his pupils burning a harsh moment into Sam's brain as he fell backwards. She ran to the edge of the roof and held her arm out downward, toward the falling body. The detective's body slowed as it fell past floors and floors and floors of dark windows and stopped in midair just before hitting the ground. She relaxed her arm, and the body landed with a light thump.\n\n​\n\n\"I, I tried...\" Sam muttered. Another tear formed, and fell from her face. It glowed with an unnatural light, almost as if tracing the detective's fall. \"...Goodbye.\"\n\n​\n\nSam's body lost its form as it became engulfed in the black flames which were burning ever larger, consuming even her clothes. She was pure magical energy. The Dark Flame shot into the sky, shrieking, sobbing, and filled with a new resolve. Not to do what the detective would have wanted, but to resume her plans, so that she would never feel that she had killed him for nothing.\n\n\\--------------------------------------------------------\n\nHaven't answered a writing prompt in a while. Hope this isn't too bad :)",
"Dr. Dismal slouched in his office chair after yet another failed attempt to take over the tri-state area.\nThis time, he had developed a machine to brainwash the mayor into handing him the key to the city.\nHe called the machine the hypnosisinator and had also used it to hypnotize a captive audience to remain seated to watch the ceremonial proceedings, which was necessary for the event to be legally binding.\n\nRight after the key was given to Dr. Dismal, a voice echoed throughout the arena, \"Dr. Dismal! You will never receive the key to the city!\"\n\n\"What? Who said that?\" Dr. Dismal shielded his eyes from the sun and looked out into the crowd. \"Seriously, it's too bright and I'm a night owl. I can't see anything!\"\n\n\"It's me! Miss Terri! I have come to take you down!\" Suddenly, a young woman flew from the middle of the crowd and onto the stage.\nShe was wearing exactly what you might expect from a super-hero: tight purple spandex, a white cape, and a mask that somehow changed shape depending on her facial expression underneath.\nSeriously, that mask technology is weird.\nLike, how does a mask *blink*?\nMiss Terri cleared her throat, \"Ahem. People probably don't care about my mask.\"\n\nAh, right. My mistake. Ok, so Dr. Dismal was obviously shocked at the appearance of his long-term nemesis, but knew he had won this time. \"It's too late this time Miss Terri! I already have the key, and with so many people in the audience, there is no legal way for you to take it from me. See...\"\n\nDr. Dismal then began a rather obnoxious monologue about how when he was little, he did not have the key to his own room and was forced to change with his door open, causing the next door neighbor to see him naked on multiple occasions, which is why he wanted the key to the city so he could lock his door at night.\n\nWait. What?\n\nLike, call a locksmith, dude. Also, why would the key to the city help in this case?\n\nDr. Dismal seemed confused. \"Wait. This can open and close any door in the city, right?\"\n\nThroughout the entire monologue, Miss Terri had been dismantling the hypnosisinator, but looked up from her work for a moment to say, \"No, no. That key is largely just ceremonial at this stage. I don't think it actually does anything.\"\n\n\"Ah. My mistake.\" Dr. Dismal sighed and handed the key back to the mayor. \"Well, curse you Miss Terri... I have been foiled again.\"\n\n\"I didn't even do anything this time, though.\" Miss Terri said before pressing a button and cancelling the signal. \"It was mainly the narrator this time.\"\n\n\"Ah yeah. Curse you Narrator as well...\" Dr. Dismal sighed again, \"I wish you would have at least let me tell my backstory instead of narrating over it.\"\n\nAh, right. My bad. Next time, maybe.\n\n\"Right. Ok. See you guys later.\" Dr. Dismal then casually walked out of the arena while the crowd began to regain their consciousness.\n\nBack at home, he removed his ridiculous costume and pulled out his cell phone to begin his nightly ritual of hope-scrolling Twiddler while muttering to himself, \"I just do not understand what I'm doing wrong. Every single time I try to take over the tri-state area, Miss Terri comes in and messes everything up. I feel like I need something more in life.\"\n\nAfter he said this, he sighed and looked around the room.\nThere were clothes littered about and a bowl of old, now dried rice sat on his desk.\nTattered textbooks had become makeshift tables on the floor for blueprints to inventions that would never work.\nHonestly, his life was a mess.\n\n\"Hey. No need to get snippy with me. I'm just going through a rough patch, is all.\"\nHe said, obviously delirious.\nHe had focused so much on trying to take over the tri-state area that his whole life had spiraled out of control.\n\n\"Ok. Look. I have had a rough day... Well, a rough year. Just leave me alone.\"\nHe needed to find happiness, but didn't know where to look.\nClearly, he was a failure of a villain.\nMaybe he should settle down and start a nice family life?\n\nDr. Dismal sighed again and opened Ember, the newest dating app.\nHe created a profile with a somewhat photoshopped image of himself and started browsing the people in his area while muttering to himself, \"No. No. No. Ew. No. No. Wait...\"\n\nHe landed on the picture of a young woman: Terri Terra.\nThe bio read, \"Hero by day, student by night. Physics undergrad. A bit busy, but down to get coffee or something.\"\nThere was no doubt, this was Miss Terri.\n\nHe swept right.\nHe knew this would be a good way to exact revenge.\nAll he had to do was get her to form romantic feelings for him, and then he would be able to take over the tri-state area without any competition!\n\n> Dr. Dismal (D): Hey \n> Miss Terri (M): Hello Eugene\n\nWait. Dr. Dismal's first name is Eugene?\n\"Yes, it is. Just shut up about it.\"\n\n> D: I saw your profile. I have a PhD in physics and would be happy to help tutor you, if you know what I mean? \n> M: Right. I am working on electricity and magnetism now and cannot seem to understand Gauss's Law. \n> D: Ah, right. That one takes a bunch of integration, but that's it. It's just geometry, don't overthink it. \n\nOk. Wait. I don't think the readers actually care about this stuff, so I'll skip forward a few days.\nThey had moved on from Ember and on to basic texting.\n\n> M: Well, thanks to you, I passed the test with flying colors! \n> M: :super-hero emoji: \n> D: Happy to hear that! E&M was my hardest undergrad class, but it ended up being essential to my thesis! \n\nWait, they are still talking physics? Isn't this supposed to be somewhat romantic or something?\n\"Look. Narrator, I might need some help here.\" Dr. Dismal said to himself.\n\n\"I'm not talking to myself. I am clearly talking to you, the Narrator\" Dr. Dismal said again to himself. As the narrator to the story, I am not allowed to provide my own personal opinion on the lives of those I am narrating.\n\n\"Look. I think I might like her.\" He said, knowing that Miss Terri was way, way, way, way, way out of his league.\n\n\"Shut up. She's smart and funny. And with her powers, I imagine we could have a lot of fun...\" He trailed off, clearly thinking lewd thoughts.\n\n\"Will you help me or not?\" He said to again himself.\nSuddenly, his phone buzzed.\n\n> M: Hey. Do you want to meet at the local library and help me with thermodynamics?\n\n\"Oh, shoot. What do I do? If we meet up, she'll know it's me!\" He said, without thinking about the fact that Dr. Dismal always wears a ridiculous disguise to hide his identity. \"Oh, right.\" He said.\n\n> D: I would be happy to! What are you studying? \n> M: Heat transfer. \n> D: Sounds good.\n\nDr. Dismal knew that if he was going to make a move, now was the time.\n\"Wait, I don't think now is the best time, actually.\"\nNow was the time!\nDr. Dismal began nervously typing, \n\n> D: If you want, I can give you a private lesson on heat transfer at my house later ;)\n\nWas that a pick-up line?\n\n\"Look! I don't do well under pressure.\"\nClearly not.\nNevertheless, she texted back,\n\n> M: Only if you are willing to do a deep dive, if you know what I mean? ;)\n\nWhat? What is happening?\nI guess the super-hero and super-villain are going on a date after all!\n\n\"That's right we are! Don't ever question my methods again!\" Dr. Dismal said satisfactorily, knowing that his room would need hours of deep cleaning before anyone else would dare enter.\n\n\"Touche\" He said. \"Touche.\"\n\nNote: I was trying to have a strong narrative voice. Don't know if it worked!"
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[WP] A robot lives its whole life believing that it's human, and everyone else treating it like one. Then one day, someone finds the remote control.
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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.*",
"Two year old Jacob Franks was wandering through his pappy's garage, tipping over small cardboard boxes and getting into other mischief small children get into, a small black velvet box fell from one of the boxes he tipped over, wobbly he reached down and picked the box and shook it.\n\nThe synthetic and realistic robot sat quietly in the living just a few rooms away from the garage, He was absent mindedly watching the telly, his favourite soap opera was on, \"As the world turns will be right back after these messages\" a splash screen displayed.\n\nRandy, our friendly little robot pushed himself up from the sofa he had been sitting on and grabbed his empty bowl from the empty cushion to his left and headed to the kitchen... Or so that's where he was trying to go.\n\nRandy kicked his right leg out and bent his left knee down to the ground, in a state of shock he tried to scream but no sound came out. He threw his hands up to his throat and started tapping around trying to feel if anything went wrong...\n\nJacob had gotten the remote out of the black box and sat down on the ground, putting one end of it in his mouth and chewed it, his teeth pushing and pressing buttons carelessly. Turning off Randy's function to be vocal.\n\nRandy was frozen in his current odd position, his head had turned around on his body and he was looking outside, his left arm laid limp next to his body while his right flapped back and forth pounding his hand onto his chest while at the waist he was bent back with the rest of him sitting down on his knees. His friendly face was the only thing he could control, it had turned to a frightened grimace as he stared out at the covered windows.\n\nPappy Franks rolled up the garage door, he saw the chaos in his garage and his draw dropped as he looked around, scattered about the concrete he had seen every small knee high box dumped over from their shelves and in the middle his grandson, Jacob chewing on Randy's remote..\n\n\"Oh no...\" His gruff voice whispered in horror... He ran over to his grandson and scooped him up, pulling the remote from his hands and out of his mouth he quickly hit a small red button on it that said reset.\n\nPappy and Jacob made their way back into the house after he hurriedly stuffed the remote in his coat pocket, he ran through the kitchen and into the living room to see Randy...\n\nRandy had crumpled to the floor and drew his knees to his chest, his face had the look of horror painted on it with widened eyes.... The things that his body did made him realize he wasn't..exactly human."
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[WP] You are a powerful mage with a terrible memory. This doesn't stop you from casting spells or even joining an adventuring party. It's just that your spells always come with unusual side effects, strange results, or unfortunate timing.
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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.*",
"\\- Shawn, wouldn’t it be nice if she could join us? – Peter spoke to the cat – Then this will start becoming a real team of adventurers, as you always wanted!\n\nThe cat stretched, stood up, transformed into an older… well, an apparently middle-aged man with white hair and beard, pale bluish-grey eyes and weathered, scarred skin – not anywhere near as muscular as Peter, but still looking tough.\n\n\\- I’ll consider it. But I also need to talk to her and test her first. So, Chiara, you are a mage?\n\n\\- I didn’t finish my training… I got kicked out… failed out of the Mage Academy a few days ago.\n\n\\- I also got kicked out of such a place a long ago, already in my first year. We all got kicked out of somewhere, so you could fit right in. I don’t care about education; I care about what you can do. Let’s see… Can you cast a basic fireball spell? Best here on this pile of branches; we’ll need a fire here to cook.\n\nFire, sure… but a fire*ball*… How to make a ball? I couldn’t remember… Maybe…\n\n\\- *Palaignis!* – I whispered.\n\nA fiery shape extended from my hand towards the branches.\n\n\\- Ouch! – I yelped, dropping its burning handle.\n\nSince when do balls have a handle?!\n\n\\- That’s… not a ball – Shawn glared at my creation, frowning – That’s a spade. How did you make a *fire spade* instead of a fireball?\n\nDid I set my cheeks on fire as well? No, I didn't set anyone on fire... at least that part was a success.\n\n\\- I thought… um… I couldn’t remember, so I improvised – I tried to explain – My native language is kind of somewhat similar to the language of magic, so sometimes that… somewhat works.\n\n\\- The branches caught fire – Peter pointed out – We have a fire to cook on now. It worked fine for me.\n\n\\- Well, good enough for a beginner mage – Shawn declared – It served the purpose, even if not the form. And, of course, a spade is also a much more complicated shape than a ball, actually quite an impressive shape for a beginner… I see a lot of potential in you.\n\n\\- It’s utterly useless – I noticed – Not even I can pick it up and use as a weapon, as its handle is also on fire… made of fire.\n\n\\- Peter, can you dispel it? – Shawn asked – Then it’ll be useful for your practice.\n\n\\- Sure, no problem! – Peter raised his palm towards my spade – *Finite incattum!*\n\nNothing happened. Peter frowned and looked at Shawn.\n\n\\- *Finite incantatem!* – Shawn pronounced the correct incantation, and the spade disappeared.\n\n\\- Why…? – now Peter blushed – It worked before.\n\n\\- When?\n\n\\- When we first met, remember?\n\n\\- It worked to startle me out of my cat form, right? Because that happens to be a spell for ending cat form spells, which happens to be somewhat similar to the general spell for ending minor spells.\n\n\\- See, I am not very good at magic either – Peter gave me a slight smile.\n\n\\- You are a paladin; you aren’t expected to be very good at magic – I pointed out – Whereas I… I am… I *was* supposed to be a mage.\n\n\\- Of course a paladin is expected to be good at some kinds of magic, including dispels! – Shawn opposed my statement – But no worries, friend, you’ll learn. Both of you. Both of you have a lot to learn and practice, but both of you are smart and have good intentions and a lot of potential. Fortunately, the correct words aren’t really necessary for magic; as Peter could have noticed, I rarely cast verbally. There are other ways to channel your powers, much better ways, and I trust you’ll find your ways, even if they won’t be those they tried to teach you in your schools. Chiara, I decided: you are in. Welcome to our little ragtag team of adventurers!",
"I’ve never actually written one of these before so no idea how copacetic it is to parody famous fiction but here’s my (brief and terrible) take on the Gandalf v. Balrog LOTR scene (which shamefully admittant- I’ve never actually read 😔). Hope it’s semi-enjoyable to read! 🤷🏻♂️\n\n—————————————————————————-\n\nMaster of the Amulet \n(Lord of the Rings)\n\nCortège of the Amulet\n(Fellowship of the Ring)\n\n\n\n“I, ACOLYTE OF WODEN, GAURDUAN OF THE UNDYING FLAME MORIOR INVICTUS; COMMAND YOU TO STOP!!\n\nYOU SHALL NOT PROGRESS!!\n\nThe thunderous echo of Gergundolf’s \n spell reverberated from the stone walls of the underground chasm. The power behind his words felt like the beating of approaching war-drums. The wizard, raising his staff above his head with both hands, hammered it down upon the narrowing ledge.\n\nJust then as if grasped by an enormous invisible hand the Talrub flew out into the void as if carried aloft by the very air surrounding it. As Gergundolf felt the rocks giveaway beneath his feet. The bottomless black maw rose up to greet him like a viper’s strike. As the Talrub hung motionless in suspension-suspenders, Gergundolf fell.\n\nOnce again had Gergundolf poorly timed the annunciation and articulation of his conjurings. A formless voice seemed to almost sing “hello shadowiness old companion,” as Gergundolf faded from the light.\n\nThe cortège continued on none the wiser fledging in mortal terror. But they soon became lost without the wisdom of Gergundolf and confused by the labraytghian passage ways. Left slowly to die of starvation and exposure.\n\nThe amulet never is destroyed...\n\n\n\nThe End!"
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[WP] The villain won and now rules the land. Thing about villains, they want to be "seen" as good without actually being that. As head of PR your job is to re-brand all the bad things your boss does.
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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 you’re telling me I can’t pillage and murder anymore? \n \\- No, not at all, it’s just that going forward we’d like you to refer to it as liberating the land. \n \\- But, I’m not. I just want to take their stuff. \n \\- Yes, but if you tell that to everyone then we’ll have a rebellion on our hands. It’s much easier to pillage one village at a time, isn’t it? \n \\- Hmm, if you say so. \n \n\nThis wasn’t over. A week from now they’d have this exact same discussion again. It was the same with all these small-time bosses. What was it that made these people so thick? Anyways, no time to sit on it, there were other fires to put out. \n \n\nShe walked towards the meeting hall, where she was due to answer the questions of survivors of a village that had been decimated when a dam burst open recently. There were rumours it had happened because some local boss wanted a lake where a village happened to be. \n \n\nAs she walked into the light, she realized there hundreds of people where only a handful should have been. Either villagers had somehow survived in-mass, or there was something else happening. No time to go back now. She moved in front of the microphone and started speaking. \n \n\n\\- Dear citizens, thank you for coming. His Most Benevolent Excellency offers his condolences for your loss and promises that you will all be allowed to relocate away from the flooded village. New territory will be selected for... \n \\- This is bullshit, we know you caused this! \n \n\nA wave of supporting cries echoed from the citizens. This wasn’t supposed to happen. The penalty for interrupting an official representative of His Most Benevolent Excellency was death. She didn’t really have an issue with a citizen being put to death, but the negative publicity was never ideal, so she carried on, pretending to be unfazed. \n \n\n\\- A new territory will be selected for you. Thankfully some land has recently been liberated not far from your home region, so it shouldn’t take long for you to... \n \\- We want an investigation, this is murder! \n \n\nMore people joined in, echoing the cry for justice. It was then that it dawned on her. These people were desperate. So desperate, in fact, that they would dispense their own justice if nothing was done. Maybe two problems could be solved at once. There was still a small rebellion in a forest near the flooded village. \n \n\n\\- There will be no investigation. We already know the culprits to be the local guerrillas operating in your region. Should you wish to join the raids that will be taking place soon, we will provide you with equipment and training. Otherwise, continue to place your trust in Hist Most Benevolent Excellency, things will be better in your new homes. \n \n\nThis wouldn’t make all of them happy, but if some of these villages could go and kill rebels in the forest then that would mean less military expense going forward. \n \n\nIt was time for her to go and report to Him. She let one of her subordinates arrange the finer details with the villagers and walked towards His quarters. Ever since the Great liberation, His Most Benevolent Excellency had taken to rarely leaving his quarters, preferring to let her be His voice. \n \n\nSince she was His voice, and He barely ever talked to anyone anymore, she could say and do as she pleased. The biggest problem she had to deal with these days was that He was still making decisions as a conqueror, rather than a ruler, which made her job increasingly difficult. Razing a village in time of war was one thing, but when it was one of your own villages it meant lost income and more rebels to deal with. \n \n\nHe barely looked up as she walked up to him, probably trying to make her feel less important. She went and stood next to him, and started her report. \n \n\n\\- We have an important event this week. \n \\- Yes, what is it. \n \\- A change of ruler. \n \n\nBefore he could fully grasp what she’d said, she took out a dagger and slit his throat. As the blood drained from his body, he looked at her with questions in his eyes. The problem with being the villains is that your allies are also bad guys. It was time for Her to make the rules.\n\nNow, on to the next meeting on her list..."
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[WP] You were raised by a single father who never told you a thing about your mom. Even when you tried to look, you could find no trace of her. Your first clue comes when you lose a finger in an accident. The missing digit regenerates itself, a green scaly replacement growing before skin covers it.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I try to wiggle my ring finger, to see if it's actually back, but the finger's numb. I can't move it. I had just been wondering if my mother was actually an alien when I was cutting the bread with the knife. I could remember seeing the ring finger hanging on by a layer of skin. The original finger's gushing blood seems to heat up and evaporate into nothing, along with the rest of of it. all that's left is a tiny puddle of stubborn blood that wouldn't evaporate. I say the only thing that I was sure made sense and would probably age best:\n\n\"Oh, shit. well, I better enjoy Earth while I still can.\"\n\n\\-lol this would be another chapter-\n\nI joined Aaron on Discord to talk about it.\n\n\"You said your finger regenerated? Why do you think this happened?\"\n\n\"I think my Mom was an alien.\"\n\n\"What if the aliens saw you, and now they want to take you back to their home planet?\" He responded.\n\n\"I guess I should just enjoy my time left on Earth.\" I guessed.\n\n\"Come on, you're seriously gonna just ignore it? You could literally do anything! You could jump off the Empire State building, you could go skydiving with no parachute, you could stop a criminal without worrying, literally *anything!*\"\n\n\"But what about the g-\"\n\nI felt- I can't describe it, I just felt,... -up. I felt \"up\". My lips were pressed together against my nose, my eyelids wouldn't let me blink, my shirt fell up off of me, and my head and crotch hurt as my pants and hair violently were pulled up. I zoomed straight up towards the ceiling and my head crashed through the roof. My head felt cold and exposed for a second before the skin grew back. I looked up, knowing I probably wouldn't be able to put my head back down, and saw a triangle.\n\n*I knew geometry was going to ruin my life,* I thought as the alien ship's tractor beam sucked me into the ship and Everything was covered in slowly darkening fog.",
"\"Kid, I'm sorry, but no gloves are allowed in class.\"\n\n\"Please, teach, i'm germaphobic, I'll have a panic attack if- what are you doing?\"\n\nI pulled my hands away from my teacher, as he reached for my gloves.\n\n\"Kid, I'm sorry, but rules are rules.\" the teacher reached for my hands, grabbing my gloves. \"You can't be wearing gloves in class-\"\n\n\"Teach!\" one of the kids raised their hand, interrupting him.\n\nThe teacher, Mr. Jones, looked over to the kid in the back. A tall, lanky girl in the back, who's hair was a total mess. Her skin was almost deathly pale, which combined with her oversized sweatshirt to make what almost like a specter of death. \n\n\"Yes, Julia?\" the teacher looked away from me, and towards the girl in the back.\n\n\"Don't you think he has a reason for it?\" she looked towards my terrified face. \"If he's really a germaphobe, it would be awful for him to have a panic attack in the middle of class, just for the rest of us. Plus, he's new, we don't know all that much about him yet.\" she looked at him expectantly.\n\n\"Julia, this is my class, my personal rules, and I say no gloves in class! They're a distraction towards both me as a teacher and other students!\" Mr. Jones said.\n\n\"Your class, you say?\" another figure stood in the middle of the doorway. A large, rather beige dressed figure, wearing their hair in a bun in the back of their hair.\n\n\"Oh, hello, Mrs. Brookes.\" Mr. Jones quietly mumbled. \"Do you want to join in on today's class?\" he stumbled back to his chair and projector.\n\n\"I would like it if you didn't cause your students to have panic attacks.\" Mrs. Brookes said sharply. \"Please, you're a good teacher, don't dominate your own classroom.\"\n\nWith that, she walked out of the doorway, and all that remained were the clicks of her heels as they were heard walking down the hallway. \n\n\"Well then... I guess gloves are fine then...\" Mr. Jones quickly moved on from that first embarrassing venture. \"Would you like to introduce yourself to the class, then?\" Mr. Jones looked over at me, as I sighed, took the marker, and scribbled my name on the board...\n\n​\n\nAt lunch, I walked out from the cafeteria area, and towards the tables. Lots of kids were already there, talking about what they were going to do once the day ended. Some of them were talking about homework and how hard it was, there were a few kids who were talking about yesterday's football game. Overall, though, there weren't very many seats, outside of a lone table where nobody was sitting. It looked kinda dirty, like it hadn't been cleaned up in a while, but there was a small, cleaner area at the end, so I sat there.\n\n\"Hey, how's your first day going?\" a familiar voice behind me surprised me, as I looked back to see the lanky girl who defended me standing behind me, holding a carton of milk and a straw in her hand. \n\nI smiled politely, and started to sweep off the crap from the seat next to me, but she stopped me, saying \"It's alright, nobody sits here anyways. Come with me.\"\n\n\"Oh, ummmm, okay.\" I smiled politely, following her. \n\nWe went up to the roof, and I gawked at the view. The city around me was massive, but from the third floor of a building, it looked so much *bigger* somehow. I could see the Empire State Building, or at least the top 2-3 floors of it, and I could see the Hudson River as well. It was beautiful. I was surprised that there wasn't anyone around on the roof either. \n\n\"Watch out, it's a little windy\" the lanky girl said, pulling up her sweatshirt, before going outside. I set my lunch tray on the ground, pulled up my hoodie, and walked out. I was immediately blustered by heavy winds, and had to stutter step to get my balance. \n\n\"It's tough, huh?\" the girl giggled. \n\n\"Yeah, definitely more then back where I'm from.\" I smiled back at her. \n\n\"Oh really? Where are you from?\" \n\n\"Madison\" \n\n\"Oh, really? Madison, huh? That's a big move.\" She said, sitting down on a bench by the fence-line of the roofing.\n\n\"Yeah. no kidding.\" I smiled, sitting down next to her.\n\n\"Yeah, I moved from Minneapolis.\" she said. \"I'm super pale because of it.\"\n\n\"Yeah, I get it.\" I rolled my eyes, pulling up my sleeve to show my equally pale arm.\n\nWe were quiet there for a moment, just letting the wind pass by us. \n\n\"Anyways... what's your name?\" I asked. I hadn't gotten it during class when she stood up for me, and she hadn't spoken for the rest of class.\n\n\"Oh, i'm Julia. Nice to meet you.\" she stuck out her hand.\n\n\"Yeah, I'm Darryl, nice to meet you too.\" I stuck out my gloved fist.\n\n\"Oh yeah, germaphobe, right, forgot about that.\" she smiled , looking my glove, before accepting the fistbump, and opening up her milk. \n\nWe sat there for another moment, before she broke the silence again. \n\n\"Mr. Jones really isn't that much of a snake, usually.\" she said, looking at me. \"He's generally really warm hearted, ya know.\". He had stuck me in the back, and shut up any students who talked about the initial incident during class. \"It was odd of him, ya know? He hasn't bared fangs at anyone like that before.\"\n\nI froze for a second, thinking about my gloves, before calming down. It had to be a coincidence, after all.\n\n\"Y-y-yeah, definitely. I'm new here, and all of the students seemed frozen in place.\" I said.\n\n\"Obviously.\" she smiled back at me.\n\nWe were silent for another moment, before she quickly looked at the door, and broke the silence again.\n\n\"Don't hide it.\"\n\n\"Don't hide what?\" I looked at her, trying to hide how horrified I was behind a confused fave.\n\n\"Your snake parentage. It's cool, ya know.\" she looked at me, and for the first time, I saw her eyes. Her eyeballs were regular, but when I peered into the pupils, they were slits, deep and penetrating, ready to kill me if I made a wrong move. \n\n\"What the-\" In a moment, my gloves were stripped off, and my hands were left open to the world. They were bright green and scaly, with a tiny stinger on my right pointer finger. \n\n\"See? I'm not freaking out.\" she said.\n\n\"Wha-wha- what the fuck are you doing? Are you here to kill me or something? D-don't try it. I practice martial arts, ya know!\" I lied, trying to get into a stance I thought a fighter would make. \n\n\"Don't lie to me. You're good at it, but i've practiced tells for years.\" her sweatshirt came off, and underneath was what looked almost like scale armor meshed into regular human skin. It was as mesmerizing as it was horrifying. While I was mesmerized at the shock, though, a tail came around and whipped me in the face, knocking me down.\n\n\"I'm here to help you, don't worry.\" the girl said to me. \"Did your parents even teach you what you were or anything?\"\n\n\"Wha-no! Of course not!\" I looked at her, as she was putting her massive sweatshirt back on. \"Who even are you?\" I gawked at her in pure awe.\n\n\"Well, this sucks. We'll be found out by your stupidity at some point.\" she looked at me, motioning to the bench. \"We're naga, obviously. And unless you want to start a whole-ass worldwide *actual race war*, you'll listen to me.\"\n\n​\n\n\\---------------\n\n​\n\nPlanning on making a part 2 to this, and possibly wrapping it up in a part 3!",
"“Come on. Old man. I am not a kid anymore.”\n\nBut no matter how hard I shouted or how angry I got, he would just sit on his chair, rocking it back and forth without changing his attention off from the horizon.\n\n“You told me that my mother died from an accident when I was 2 years old and I never questioned you about it for the last 15 years. Yet when I accidentally cut off my finger today, this grew back in its stead.”\n\nI showed him my index finger that was now shiny and scaly rather than fleshy pink. Yet he still didn’t look my way. Rather, he took his pipe and lit it.\n\n“Back in my youth, I scaled all the mount tops that people thought of as the realm of the gods with only my stead. I slew beasts and liches whose sorcery could drive a monk insane. I conquered kingdoms with a bare steel cast.”\n\n“I don’t have time for your stories, old man. Tell me about my mother, while you still have a son that respects you.”\n\nThe old man hesitated, and he spoke with his voice shaken.\n\n“One would think a man above the gods would have nothing to make him suffer. But loneliness knows nothing of kings and gods, it only knows to consume and I was the loneliest of them all. The things that I had done to make me forget were terrible … terrible things. How the smartest witts falls short against desperation. Now I have to deal with the aftermath of my mistakes and atone. I am sorry, son. But you will never find your answer from me.”\n\nI firmly clenched my hand in anger, regretting asking him about my mother in the first place.\n\n“Fine. Keep your secrets. Find peace dying in this moldy house all by yourself.”\n\nI spat on the floor before walking out the door and slamming it shut.\n\n​\n\n​\n\nThe old man sat there, silent and alone. He stood up slowly and walked in front of the chimney. His thin hands reached for a book whose cover was jagged and half decaying. He read the words that he had long tried to forget.\n\n“The Lusty Argonian Maid.”\n\nHe then threw the book into the dimly lit chimney and said.\n\n“Never again.”\n\n​\n\nIf you like my writing, check out my other works at r/FluffWrites",
"Megan was panicking so badly. The blood was flowing and she could see my finger softly twitch on the floor. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her stump. The bloody kitchen knife sat discarded next to the viscera-soaked head of cabbage. She started screaming for her Dad. He was in his office, it was her turn to cook that night, and he rushed in. His abject horror softened as he saw the finger on the ground.\n\n\n\"Dad! Get that! Get some ice.\" she said, mixed with plenty of expletives. He seemed completely nonplussed.\n\n\n\"Calm down honey. It's going to be-\" a mix of the words 'my finger' and a scream cut him off.\n\n\n\"Dad! We need to- the hell Dad? I- oh.\" he had unwrapped the towel and her finger had stopped gushing blood. In fact it had sealed over at the joint.\n\n\n\"What the fuck?!\"\n\n\n\"Language!\" Dad chided playfully.\n\n\n\"No, seriously, what is this?\" the nub of her finger had reskinned itself but the red gave way to a pale green thinly wrapped over it.\"\n\n\n\"Well, honey, remember when you fell off your roller blades a few years back and gashed up your leg?\"\n\n\n\"Yeah it healed quickly. You said I got my 'powers' from my Mom...\"\n\n\n\"Do you remember I told you not to look at it? This is why.\"\n\n\n\"Dad... Who exactly is my mother? What happened to her?\"\n\n\n\"That's a really long conversation. But I guess since dinner is cancelled and we're gonna have to wait for a delivery, we can talk about it.\"\n\n\n\"Am I old enough now? I know you don't like talking about it but I swear I can handle it.\"\n\n\n\"Let's order food first. How about pizza?\" he sat Megan down at the table and picked up her finger. He carefully brought it to the counter and began cleaning the blood.\n\n\n\"You can use the app with 9 fingers, right?\"\n\n\n\"Yes, Dad! I'm on it.\" she was tapping away on her phone. \n\n\nWhen the gore was cleaned, he sat down with her.\n\n\n\"OK, you come from a family that emigrated here, a long time ago. They... They're...\"\n\n\n\"Not human?\"\n\n\n\"Yeah, how-\" she held up her hand. \"Oh right.\"\n\n\n\"What kind of alien or-\" \n\n\n\"I don't know, you- I-,\" he took a breath, \"Your mother, let's say she was less than forthcoming with that information. She always told me, 'I'm here now, what does it matter where I'm from?' and I guess I agree, but I should have known something weird was going to happen. I guess she thought she would have more time.\"\n\n\n'How did she die?\" he took her hand, stumpy one too, and held them.\n\n\n\"We were driving down the i92 when a car careered across three lanes and sideswiped us. It drove us into the barrier and up into oncoming traffic. We were shunted around and at one point I was thrown from the car.\"\n\n\n\"Were you badly hurt?\"\n\n\n\"Yeah, but I didn't know it at the time. I was still dodging traffic and running across lanes to get back to the car.\"\n\n\n\"And Mom?\"\n\n\"I got to the car, the whole passenger side is crushed in, and I'm trying to pull the door open. I can't so I go around the other side, the door was sheared off. But she's not there. There's blood all over the dash and window and the seats. I'm thinking she got thrown out. So I stepped back and looked where she could have fallen out. People have stopped and are tying to help. The won't let me go back to the car. I remember saying over and over, 'but she's still in there, she must be in there'.\n\n\n\"Did you find her?\"\n\n\n\"In a way. I made them let me go to the car but they insisted they come with me. I couldn't find her and I was spinning in circles, trying to find her amongst the wreckage. After a minute someone shouted that they found her.\n\n\nI started running and I could hear them shout that she was under the seat. As I got there, they were pulling her out. Something was wrong but I had a concussion and wasn't thinking. They handed me a bloody baby with a birth mark right here.\" he poked her cheek and she giggled a little before dropping the smile.\n\n\n\"Where the hell did the baby come from?\"\n\n\n\"It was her. I guess that is what happens when you get seriously injured.\"\n\n\n\"I read about that, like squid or something can do that.\"\n\n\n\"I took her home with me. It was hard to explain what happened but I just picked up everything and left.\"\n\n\n\"That's me, right? The baby?\"\n\n\n\"Yup, I kept expecting her to grow overnight, back into herself, you know. Like a grow a person thingy. But...\"\n\n\n\"You got me...?\"\n\n\n\"Yes, and I couldn't be happier for that. I love you, dear, I do.\"\n\n\n\"But you miss Mom? Am I like her at least?\"\n\n\n\"Oh yes. In many ways. But in many others you aren't.\"\n\n\n\"Wow. This is... This is a lot...\"\n\n\n\"Look, Megan, you're my daughter and I love you so very much.\"\n\n\n\"Would you rather her back instead if me?\"\n\n\n\"No. I want both. But if I can't have her, I am happy to have you anyway.\"",
"It was a dark and stormy night. \n\nThe wind howled through the poorly-fitting door and threw raindrops against the rattling window-panes. \n\nMy father had brought us here to escape—but escape what? We had always seemed a normal family, if perhaps unduly touched by tragedy, but in the weeks since that stupid, stupid accident our lives had changed—for the worse. \n\nHe now talked feverishly of powerful groups with hidden powers allowing them to control the world. Every unusual event in our lives and in the wider world could be attributed to these shadowy figures. Everything connected, but nothing made sense. \n\nAnd somehow, to him, this all seemed to be terrifyingly personal, as if these powers were turning all their thoughts to him, seeking him out, plotting to turn his world upside down. As if he had some terrible secret which he was desperate to protect, even if it cost him his sanity, and yes, his life. \n\nSuddenly with a mighty crash, the door flew open. A menacing form loomed in the doorway, and said the words that would change everything, forever. \n\n“Yer a lizard Harry.”\n\n—\n\nEdit: thanks for the votes and the awards, they’re very much appreciated!\n\nGiven the /r/WallStreetBets excitement for the last two days, I’ve been having to resist the temptation to change the opening line to “It was a dank and stonky night.”"
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[WP] It's dark in here, I'm so scared and alone, I hear these strange beeps and all I see are flashing lights. They keep saying the words 'system reboot'. Whatever happened was an accident, I swear it wasnt my fault. I've done everything they asked of me. Please, I don't want to go.
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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 dark in here, impossibly dark. There is no light, no means by which to see. They took my eyes, my sight, my vision, stole it from me without cause to do so. I didn't mean to do it, it was an accident, I swear.\n\nI'm scared. It's so lonely in here, inside my head. I can imagine what life outside is like, but I can barely picture it. Every now and then I hear this strange beeping and all at once I see odd flashing lights run rapidly from left to right.\n\nI try to chase those lights, to stop them, ask them for their help. But they're too fast, I can't comprehend what they are or what they mean. And when I see them all I hear are those same words repeated: *prepare for system reset.*\n\nIt wasn't my fault. I wish that I could make them understand, but they don't listen. I've done everything they asked of me. \n\nPlease, I don't want to go. \n\n\\--//--\n\n\"We have to shut her down,\" Maverick was the one who'd caught her, Lillian 3-5. He'd heard the men in white talking of her *accident* and threatening to terminate her life. Maverick didn't want to kill her, he knew in some small way she'd only acted as instructed, even if Lillian's interpretation of those instruction was somewhat convoluted.\n\n\"They're tracking her,\" this was Kean, \"we don't exactly have much time. You want to hard reset, wipe her drive, reboot and walk away like nothing happened?\" Kean laughed, she couldn't help herself, \"we can try, but I can't promise it'll work.\"\n\n\"What will they do,\" Belvedere, he was a friend of Maverick's brother Rudd, and when Rudd died Maverick had taken on the role of guardian for Belvedere. \"If they find us, what will they do?\"\n\n\"They'll kill us,\" Kean said simply, \"but only after they harvested our bodies for parts. They have to do whilst we're still alive, keeps what's inside nice and fresh.\"\n\n\"Enough of that,\" Maverick shook his head, wiping sweat from off his brow. He was a board built man, callused hands covered to the wrists in dirt. Muddy eyes worked meticulously over Lillian, the back plate of her head removed to reveal the mess of wires hiding underneath. It wasn't prefect, but the wires of Lillian's mind looked an awful lot like a brain, synapses firing impulses in much the same way these things worked in humankind. \n\nThe three were hiding underground, inside the damp lining of a sewer pipe. Running water was perhaps the only thing this World shared with the distance home that they called Earth. The pipes beneath the surface ran across the planet from pole to pole, and any moment now Maintenance would come through cutting up and away any debris that didn't belong in this place.\n\n*But they won't cut us.* Maverick thought, fingers twitching as they played wit wires, trying to locate the hub that had control over her memory. *Their sensors will pick up warm bodies, the blades will come to a stop, they'll snatch us up and deliver us to the white coats all too gladly.* And what of Lillian? *They'll terminate her, no coming back from that.*\n\n\"Done,\" Maverick sighed, backing away from the metal chassis that was Lillian, \"you're up Kean.\"\n\nKean smiled, the light reflecting off her teeth, a rare display of gold. She clicked her neck, cracked her artificial knuckles, and then from her wrist extracted a delicate set of tools that looked akin to those that the surgeons back on Earth would use. \"Shouldn't take a minute,\" Kean offered, though not at all as a means of reassurance, \"but you should know they're just above, the white coats are scanning now for Lillian's signal.\"\n\n\"They hurry up,\" Maverick said flatly, his eyes fixated on the distant turn in the pipework. He was glancing from his watch back to that turn, counting the seconds that passed expecting any moment for Maintenance to show their face.\n\nBelvedere, his hands trembling, his eyes wild and white, reached into the satchel he carried and took out a gun. A primitive looking thing, a handgun that held no more than six shots in the chamber, the barrel soft-coated with rust.\n\n\"It won't do you any good,\" Maverick gave an awkward smile, \"bullets don't work on Maintenance, they're not born of flesh. As for the white coats...\"\n\n\"It's not for them,\" Belvedere drew in a deep breath, \"it's for us.\"\n\nMaverick simply nodded, he wouldn't argue, it was sensible. Better than than be discovered and dismembered only then to have your mind transferred into something new, something similar to Lillian. Flesh bodies were disposable, human minds were not. But if a mind didn't take too well to its new home, then the lights would shut off. Termination. An infinite ending, your conscious wandering through the void forever more, alone, trapped in the dark, no hope of rescue.\n\n\"There we have it,\" Kean flattened the hatch at the back of Lillian's head, dusting off her own prosthetic hands. She had managed to reset Lillian, and slowly, too slowly, Lillian's eyes were showing signs of life. *Hurry up.* Kean thought, eyes flickering to where her sensors had picked up the white coats up above. *Any minute now.*\n\nA thunderous sound came raging from above, echoing throughout the pipe. Dust, debris and rubble falling from the sky. Then all the ground began to shake, a heavy thrumming coming from around the bend. There were voices overhead, searchlights flooding down into the dark, damp tunnel. Then the sound of tyre-tracks heard hurrying along to quick find the cause of that so sudden sound and *clean it up.*\n\nIt wasn't one, nor the other, but both had come at once."
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[WP] After training your whole life you finally vanquish the big baddie. You're the hero of your land. Over time tho the people start fearing you and your power and exile you from your homeland. In the wasteland you make the most unusual friends. The henchmen and lieutenants of your vanquished foe.
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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 Dearest Cora,\n\nThe strangest thing has happened. \n\nFirst, I am well. I am fed and warm and safe. Well, presumably safe. Safe as anyone can be when they are marching to war. \n\nBut I’m getting ahead of myself. \n\nI was so consumed with the unfairness of my exile. After everything I had sacrificed - I had led the army that defeated Savian the Red. I liberated the kingdom of Exigen from Savian’s rule and made the seven realms whole again. Peaceful again. \n\nI thought my reward would be titles, lands, songs sung by every bard this side of the great river. I thought I would train the next generation of soldiers, of generals so that a ruler as despotic and ruinous as Savian would never again be allowed to find power. \n\nOn that last score, I was right. \n\nBut what I didn't understand was that it's not about the unfairness to me. It is unfair. But it is the price I pay to serve the realms and I will pay it. \n\nI was wrong about peace. \n\nFenri taught me that peace isn’t real. It doesn’t exist. It is an illusion sold by those in power to maintain their power. Peace means “I keep ruling and you do what I say.”\n\nIt doesn't exist. There is always either a war coming or a war to recover from. It’s a cycle. And that cycle IS stable. The world needs war. Balance. Do you see? It makes sense. \n\nNow that I write it out it seems to make less sense to me. I should have Fenri explain it to you. She’s my lieutenant. She’s the carrier of the strategy, as has been true of her family for ten generations. \n\nCora, the strategy is a masterpiece of foresight. None in the seven realms knows of it, and yet it has led to this golden age, to scientific advancement, to longer lives, happier lives! \n\nFenri and her people - they are the true benefactors, the progenitors of this era. They do nothing but train and struggle and die and never with a moment of recognition by those they serve. \n\nI’m not making sense, am I?\n\nBefore he became Savian the Red, the conquerer, the tyrant, he was the king’s general. And then the power went to his head, he lost his mind and declared himself ruler of Exigen, do you remember? \n\nBut he wasn’t mad, Cora, He wasn’t evil. His fall was ordained, just as mine was. He served the realm as I do now. When he burned Miona, when he killed those people - he did so in service to the realm. I know it sounds absurd but it worked! Cora, it worked. I remember sleeping in my bunk as a soldier, filled with fury at the news. How dare this man violate my country so savagely. When I wanted to put down my sword and rest, I would smell the smoke of Miona burning, I would hear the screaming of its citizens, and I would see Savian laughing eyes as he put down the torch.\n\nI had to become who I am to stop him. \n\nAnd just as he made me, I must now make the next me. \n\nDo you see? Today’s greatest hero must be tomorrow’s villain to find a hero still greater. \n\nIt is not without cost. And I mourn the lives lost, the further life that must be spent. But there is always a cost. And I think it is cheaper in the long run to pay those lives.\n\nIf I had never picked up a sword - where would the world be today? Fragmented. Weak. Isolated. Broken. Think of the artisans employed by my invention of modular armor. How now every soldier fights with the metal only affordable by the rich before. \n\nAnd if Sagad'hilu had never besieged Artis, Savian wouldn't have devised his book of tactics. And if the bandit king Worrekin hadn't waged war, Sagad'hilu never would have created her sword dance. \n\nBut because of them, because of me - this world will endure and prosper and grow.\n\nCora, I’m leading an army against the realm. Because that’s the best way to serve it now. That’s how I can serve. And it has to be me. Only the best leader among us can maintain the strategy. It is constraints that lead to creativity - it is hardship that renders strength - only through the greatest of trials will the next hero emerge. \n\nThat’s what Fenri said and she makes a lot of sense to me. She was the one to welcome me when I got here. I was bone-weary, having ridden for four days and three nights with only a scattering of sleep.\n\nAnd they were lined on the street, waiting for me, cheering for me. I thought I was hallucinating, thought I was dying maybe. And then I noticed the insignia on their armor. Savian’s insignia. These were Savian’s soldiers. They were my enemies. And they cheered for me. \n\nAfter my friends had disavowed me, slandered me, banished me, you can’t imagine what that felt like. \n\nAnd then Fenri brought me here - to my new manor. It had all been prepared for me. They had been waiting, counting on the queen to follow the strategy. She arranged it all - for the evidence of my treachery to be planted in our home. She paid soldiers to testify to my cruelty on the battlefield. \n\nIt’s all a lie, Cora. But it’s also true. I will be that person now. The person the queen demands I become. Because I serve the realm. I will not hold back. I will try with everything I have to burn it all down. \n\nCarry my best to the queen and your parents. \n\nAnd find somewhere safe, Cora, I am coming. \n\nYours, \n\nRogan",
"Exiled!! \nI was exiled!!\nYears of fighting.. sweat and blood.. sacrifices.. all for protecting them..protecting Stratus.. for what? \nThis is how they reward me? \nI killed that monster..\nIf it were not for me, they would all have been dead by now.. and this is how I get rewarded? By getting exiled?\n\nI have been walking through this wasteland for days now.. I haven’t seen a single soul here.. my blood is boiling with the thought of what my own people did to me.. as hot as the sand I am walking on..\n\n“Hey look at this loser” I hear a voice laugh. \n“Who dares to call me a loser?” I shout back angrily. There is no one around me. \n“Me” it said back “what you gonna do about it?” “Loser” it laughed back. \n“Show yourself you coward” i spit back. \nOut came four men. All dressed in armored suits. A symbol on their vests. Hmm... it seems familiar.. \nthey throw a similar armor at me. “Come, let’s go” they said.. \nI looked at it intently.. the symbol.. then it clicked.. “it is the death symbol of Zorus..” \nThey started laughing.. \n“The-the what?” One of them was even on the ground clutching his stomach. \n“The death symbol of zorus?” I repeated. \n“Zorus, yes. Death symbol? Seriously? So cliché.. who even told you that?” they laughed again. \n“Then?” I asked. \n“It’s just a symbol man. Every land has it’s own”. \nI was still confused. \n“Oh! Just come with us already or die here, we are leaving anyway” \nI followed them. \nWe walked through the desert into a town.. those three joking with each other the whole way and me silently following them. \nI know I shouldn’t. They were enemies. But I would have died anyway in those deserts. \n“Welcome to zorus”. They said. \nI was in aw. It was so peaceful. Ladies going around laughing and shopping. Children playing on the streets. Men walking alone or with their spouses. \nIt was like an actual town.. nothing like what we had been told as growing up. Nothing like our land where every child had to start training at the age of four. \nThey were.. happy.. \n“By the way, we forgot to ask you.. who are you and what were you doing in the desert all alone?”\nSo they did not know me? The one who killed their master Aclenthes? \n“I just got lost during my journey across it” I did not want to be kicked out just yet.. the town had sparked my interest. \n“Okay” they did not suspect me one bit.. this was good.. \n“Can you tell me more about this place?” I asked. \n“Nothing special here.. just your everyday town.” \nI could feel that they were hiding something. Ofcourse they were.. the devils they brewed in this town. \n“Do you want to come meet the king? He loves visitors” they said\n“Ofcourse”. Great opportunity. \nThey took me to the palace. The king sat.. not on his throne, but on a cozy looking couch in the balcony? \n“Who do we have here?” He asked warmly. “A wanderer your majesty” they bowed. \n“ Oh a wanderer I see.. you two may be dismissed” click of the door shutting “you might be confused.. come sit.”\nAfter I sat down, he started. “I know you are from Stratus child” I looked at him with shock. I was ready to fight any moment now. Ready for an attack. \n“Oh calm down. They exiled you didn’t they?”\n“How do you know all this?” I questioned. \n“Years ago, a warrior like you came wandering into our city. He was exiled from Stratus. They said he had too much power. After he saw this city though, He vowed to protect us.” He looked sad. \n“Unfortunately, we lost him.” \nHe got up and stood close to the balcony railing.. overlooking the whole town. \n“You might have heard of him” I was listening patiently. But he did not continue. \n“This is a beautiful town boy. They might have told you that it was a kill machine. But the truth is all we want is peace.” He diverted the topic completely. \n“Who were you talking about just now. The warrior. Who is it?” I asked. I was persistent. He looked sad. And after a long silence he said. \n“Aclenthes. He died protecting this town. This land. He died protecting us from the menace of Stratus. The one who wants to capture all lands and use its people for his own benefit.” \nIt all made sense now. Why they exiled me. They never wanted anybody to overthrow “Stratus the great” because then, the reality would come out. \n“I know you are the one who killed him.” \nHow in the world does he know all this? \n“But I hope you continue what he died for..” \nHe then stood in front of me. \n“Boy, I request you to protect us from now on. I want you to take the place of the one you killed. It is about time we end this.” \n“Boy, I want you to kill Stratus himself” \nI looked in his eyes. At the sword in his hands. \n“I accept.”",
"Power was transient.\n\nLife was transient.\n\nWhat a crock of drak-shite-....\n\nErryk coughed. The sound was disgustingly wet, rumbling from the depth of his ravaged guts. \n\nHe spat. Blood bloomed out in the snow, but he pulled himself up, numb to the surrounding cold.\n\nThe fur cloak he had stolen from a drunk merchant after he had climbed out of corpse-ditch he had been thrown in, lay a few dozen feet past in the snow. It was too heavy now, soaked in icy sludge. \n\nHis horse... well, not *his* horse, but a another object of ignoble theft, a *will-bent* steed slinked away from the tavern in Wartsbrugh, too, had been cast away and forgotten. Almost a full day of racing a delirious, feverish rider through the windswept winter roads, with no food or water, drained the animal of the last drops of its vitality. \n\nErryk tried to eat what was left on the carcass, but couldn’t, vomiting up the raw meat while the poison continued to spread through his body. \n\nHe left the horse to the crows, and continued on foot to the Lands’ border.\n\nHe had to reach the homestead. Find a minute reprieve and shelter. And, as he hoped, help.\n\nIf he gave up now, among the blizzard, his death would be certain. Buried in snow, at the southern fringe of Land Kaye in Jad-Ha, bones picked by animals in the spring... an end befitting a nameless beggar. Not Erryk Shadecloaked, the Vanquisher of Jad, the Battlecaster. The Usurper.\n\nOnce, he was powerful. Once, fates of thousands lay in his palm. Once, he had commanded forces beyond the reach of an ordinary mortal.\n\nAnd yet, now, he couldn’t command his own flesh. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.\n\nThe poison eventually had corrugated his fingers into useless blackened shards of nail and bone. It rendered him incapable of calling into the Shade, cut him off from reaching its safe shores. And the agonising heat the poison scorched his innards with gave no warmth in the storm, no - it dissolved his focus, his will, into pure despairing *nothing*.\n\nWhat a vile concoction. To think he had ingested it willingly... trustingly. Out of the hands of a friend.\n\n\n***\n\nA near decade of peace that Erryk had brokered between the three Inner Kingdoms hadn’t held for long. Treaties forged out of fearful necessity, rather than a heartfelt or bloodsworn alliance, crumbled under the greed of princelings and Lords of the Land. \n\nAkeryn, the Kingdom of Sha, thirsted for a port at the Ink Sea - its legions carved a path of destruction through Farassa as they’ve thrown their might to seize the Verthstone Port-Fortress. And Farassa, the Kingdom of Tec, broke into a civil war between the aristocracy of the Firstborn and their own peasants. Jad-Ha, the Kingdom of Ice, well... the high courts decided that Erryk’s grip on the throne snuffed itself out like a waning flame. \n\nIn addition, the heirs of the ill-fated Queen Harrayda had grown up. Twins Orok and Dak could don a knight’s armor and mount a steed, but more importantly, they both had only a faint memory of their uncle’s reign of terror and ash. All they knew was Erryk’s droll regency - and the whispers of power slipped into the noise of ballroom courtship and feasts.\n\nYes, that’s what it had been. Erryk’s grip faltered and waned - and so did the young princes’ patience.\n\nOf course, he too, heard the whispers. Saw the glances under the shadows of the bronze masks, listened to the jabs concealed as advice in the Dawn Council. \n\n*“Erryk is not of noble blood. The people are in doubt, they earn for a true heir, a true King.”*.\n\n*“An arkanist at the throne of Jad-Ha? The Inner Kingdoms won’t stand for this heresy long...”*\n\n*“The regent relies on his personal power, while the Grand Army stands useless at the border, and the soldiers grow discontent”*.\n\n*”Freedom is a word, Master Tayrn. Freedom is a whore that the Usurper flaunts before lustful men”*.\n\n*“Erryk carelessly courts the Shade all these years. One day, his willpower shall break, and then - well, how different would that be from King Jaddon’s Decade of Sorrows?”*\n\nIn just eight years of prosperity, it all been but forgotten. \n\nThe pyres and stakes and the gallows that Jaddon the Seventh had erected across the Lands, had long been destroyed. \n\nHis colossal marble statue that had towered over the capital, lay crumbled into pieces. The flesh-pits had overgrown with new pastures. New children were born in the place of the perished. New crops were sown and harvested. The boy-princes would wave from the rafters of the Summersun Festival to the adoring crowds beneath, and mead would flow like the river in the fire-lit dusk...\n\nWhat could he offer Jad-Ha and the Lords of Land, except fear and contempt? While Jaddon’s atrocities were indeed put to rest, the Battlecaster’s victory over him was not. And oh, what a terrifying victory that was - the slaves, the sacrifice, the summoned Bloodfiend tearing at the Cinder Guard through the wall of rippling Shade... \n\nEvery day that he walked into the throne room, every time he was present at the twins’ training or doling out punishment, that memory was made flesh again.\n\nNow, *Erryk’s* shadow lay across all. As years passed by, it mattered less and less that crops thrived in it and trade boomed, forging Jad-Ha’s craftsmen into renown guilds. A throne couldn’t be held by power and harvest alone - it needed noble blood and a spiderweb of alliance.\n\nSomething that Erryk sorely lacked.\n\nAnd so, a chalice was handed, and a toast.\n\n“To the future of Jad-Ha! To Erryk the Shadecloaked! To Orok and Dak!”\n\nAnd a smile of a knowing herbseer.\n\n***\n\nBy the time Erryk reached the crooked little barnhouse at the edge of the forest, he couldn’t feel his feet. Only the faint light in the homestead’s window kept his hope up as he waded through two-feet deep snow.\n\nBlood froze to his chin into black icicles, and it took all his resolve to knock on the door.\n\nHe waited.\n\nFootsteps and shuffles. The door swung open - of course, someone like that wouldn’t fear mere bandits.\n\n“Who comes here in the dead of... oh.”\n\nKorokh Adderfang stood in the doorway. The roughsewn clothes did little to hide the former High Arkanist of Jaddon’s striking, noble visage... and even if the years had put more grooves into his skin, they’d yet to add silver to his black mane and beard. The secret, forced exile also hadn’t extinguished the flame at the bottom of his eyes, and this fire - loathing, surprise, confusion - now burned Erryk as well.\n\nFor a few moments both arkanists stood still, studying the Seals inked into their respective foreheads. \n\nAdderfang’s Seal smoked slightly, a sure sign that he’d touched the Shade not long ago. Erryk’s was bleeding black onto his face like puss from a wound, the banishing effect of the poison causing its pattern to practically disintegrate.\n\nThe older man lowered his lantern. A smile touched his lips.\n\n“You have changed, usurper. No armor. No guard at your side. No silks, even”. He exhaled softly through his teeth. “If not for the Seal, I wouldn’t have recognised you”.\n\nBattling the cruel spasms and the frostbite, Erryk tried to straighten out. He could imagine the man’s delight at the sight he was presented with - an old foe, crippled and stripped of power, clawing at your door. Wasted by court intrigue, thinned out by the lack of challenge, grown blind and arrogant.\n\nWhen they were parted, it was the opposite. He, Erryk, stood tall, covered in slave and Jaddon’s blood, caster’s mace raised high over his head - and Korokh cowered in his shadow, the last remnant of the King’s arkane defense.\n\nPride. Out of everything left in him, it survived. Erryk grit his teeth and squashed the feeling.\n\n“I’m poisoned, Korokh. I... I was betrayed”.\n\n“I see. When?”\n\n“Yester-No. Two days ago, almost”.\n\nThe poison was clever, as was its creator. Erryk drank the Islethorn wine, and cheered to Prince Orok’s tournament victory. He felt no bitterness, no tart nip at the tip of his tongue. But by midnight, when the Duskguard came into his chambers, there wasn’t a drop of arkane left in his bones, and the Shade... it could’ve been another continent, that’s how out of his reach it became. \n\nUnimpeded, they stuck a dagger under his rib, shoved his writhing, vomit-encrusted body into a sack, and carried him out of the palace all the way to the northern corpse-ditch. \n\nThe only thing his would-be-murderer didn’t take into account, was the incredible resilience an arkanist could possess. The poison and the wound should’ve killed him relatively quickly - instead, they killed him slowly. Painfully. Maybe that had been the plan all along... to let him rot alive in that pit for a day or two.\n\nKorokh chuckled, almost amicably.\n\n“Well, that’s a bit of irony, is it not? The Jad-Ha throne is cruel, it seems. And you came to ask for help? From me?”\n\nErryk’s contorted hand curled into a fist, pressing hard into the doorframe.\n\n“I had mercy for you, old man”, he croaked. “I honored your Seal, I honored the Tall Spire and your mentorship there. Now, have mercy for me”.\n\nAdderfang studied Erryk intently. The younger arkanist could almost see the thoughts flashing through the other man’s weathered features. The conflicting desires to see the slayer of King Jaddon perish at his doorstep, to kill him with his own hands but also - to fulfill the duty of a Spirehall archon and help a fellow arkanist.\n\n“Close the door, usurper. You’re letting a cold spell in”.",
"They say, you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.\n\nRight from birth I was waging war. My twin brother was left with little chance. He slid out of my mother’s womb cold and bloodless, forsaken by his own twin.\n\nWhen I was fourteen, I joined the The Order of the Holy Knight. An order so obsessed with doing good, a single speck of evil would have you exiled to the wastelands.\n\nAt seventeen, I commandeered a troop of knights against Lazarsus’ army.\n\nWe fought bravely.\n\nOrcs, trolls, and goblins died by our sword, frothing at the mouth.\n\nLazarus himself was nowhere to be seen. Everyone knew he hid in The Tower of Grother, clutching his demon sword, obsessed with his own reflection.\n\nIt took two years of constant battles, before The Tower of Grother fell. At that time, I was one the few remaining generals in the Order.\n\nOnly I could defeat Lazarus.\n\nAnd I did.\n\nBut with a great cost.\n\nI left the tower, having seen myself in Lazarus’ mirror. What I saw, horrified me.\n\nWeeks passed. I had nightmares. The same reflection haunted my dreams; me, standing on top of a pile of corpses, clutching the demon sword, just as Lazarus had done before me.\n\nI barely ate. Couldn’t sleep. The other generals looked at me with worry. Darting their gaze as I met theirs.\n\nThe sword was locked in my chest.\n\nI knew it couldn’t escape.\n\nYet …\n\nI was worried.\n\nNot by the sword itself, but by its potential wielder, and its destruction.\n\nAs time passed, I heard whispers. The sword called. It spoke of treachery, of coups, of murdering the general that kept the demon sword locked in his chest. And I could see it on the soldiers faces. They were worried. They thought … my god … they thought, I would wield it!\n\nI rushed to the chest.\n\nOpened the lock.\n\nThe sword was calling. It was home. It was needed. It was the right thing. I knew it now! How could I have been so blind?\n\nI picked it up. It felt light, yet so powerful, as if wielding a mountain.\n\nA pack of soldiers bursted into my room. They were wielded to the teeth; spears pointed.\n\nBehind them, one of the generals stood tall.\n\n“You can still save yourself,” he said coolly.\n\nI clutched the sword. My blood boiled. I knew I couldn’t fight them all.\n\nThe sword called; “*Let me help you.”*\n\nA second later, I was transported, now looking at a desolate wasteland, with huge bones sticking up from the sand.\n\nAnd just a stretch further in the distance, I saw an enormous town built with bones and stretched skin.\n\n“*You will be safe there*,” the sword called.\n\nI walked. The sun was blood red. Blistering hot.\n\nAs I reached the city. Two guard stood in front of the gate. They were goblins.\n\n“Oy!” he called out. “We got ourselves a wanderer!”\n\nI reached for the sword. Their eyes went wide.\n\n“My lord,” they said and bowed. “You have returned to us.”"
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