Split (1)

train · 199k rows

post_text stringlengths 0 17.5k	post_title stringlengths 8 314	comment_texts listlengths 1 74	num_stories int64 1 74
	[WP] Your Brother and Sister are the Chosen Ones. From the minute they were born they had incredible powers and everyone looked up to them. You’re the third sibling with no powers who’s always been looked down upon. Today’s the day you take revenge...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Henry, bored, levitates a few of my business cards. He looks at me for a response, but I ignore him and keep sifting through the grocery bag of paper scraps he has brought to my office. Midair, the cards assemble into a paper jet which flies circles around my head before poking me in the nose.\n\n“Would you stop that,” I say, “I’m trying to concentrate.”\n\n“There are objectively better uses of my time, Derp,” he replies, leaning forward in the chair across from me. \n\nIt is a very comfy and profitable chair. Most of my clients settle in for a good long spell, and that translates into billable hours. But Henry is my brother and we have more of an exchange-based arrangement. \n\n“For example, there’s a collapsed mine in Kentucky,” he says, “or that raging, uncontrolled forest fire in Florida, or the kitten stuck in a tree in—”\n\n“See, what’s this?” I say, holding up a bar napkin with the words “Train derail Pennsyl 500.0” scrawled in pencil. “Is that $500? Or 500 thank-you cards? Or 5,000 of something? Did you use a period instead of a comma and put it in the wrong place?”\n\nHe squints at the napkin, digging the heel of his hand into his temple. “Ahhh, sheesh. I remember that train—I lifted it one-armed out of a gorge!—but I don’t remember what they gave me for it. There was a picnic with fireworks.”\n\n“Your response to the IRS is due today, Henry! They’re charging you and Maggie with under-reporting tens of millions of dollars in income! That’s jail time! How am I going to help you sort this out with a grocery bag full of stuff you don’t remember?” \n\nHenry hangs his head, pouting. “I don’t feel like I’ve got millions of dollars stashed away. I feel like I’ve been living on tuna fish sandwiches and picnic food my whole adult life. Where is Maggie, anyway? She’s got that binder.”\n\nJust then a gust of wind blows through the office, even though the windows are sealed shut, and something flicks my right ear. I reflexively look right.\n\n“Over here, Derp,” Maggie yells in my left ear. I jump. An old trick—gets me every time. Henry is doubled over wheezing with belly laughs. \n\nMaggie drops a binder on my desk, crushing the grocery bag. Tax Organizer for Superheroes. My own invention, inspired by too many years sorting out Henry and Maggie’s terrible recordkeeping. \n\n“Sorry I’m late, little bro,” she says, before giving Henry a serious look. “You hear about that mine?”\n\n“Yeah, but the bean counter says we have to sort this IRS stuff out today.”\n\nI flip through the organizer. Maggie put everything in here—I’m so proud of her. Bank slips, invoices, itemized gifts, insurance statements, printouts of news articles. I get out my ten-key calculator and start hammering. \n\n“It doesn’t add up, guys,” I say after a few minutes. “Are you being totally honest with me?”\n\n“YES!” they cry, in unison.\n\n“We’re broke most of the time!” says Maggie. “We can’t even get a deposit together to move out of Mom’s guest house.”\n\nI dig the IRS letter out from under the pile and pore over every word, every line. “None of this makes any sense,” I say, fidgeting with the business card jet. “That town by the gorge has, like, 3,500 people. How would they even have $3 million to give Henry for saving a train?”\n\nThey are both sitting now, despondent. I feel sorry for them. They’re good guys! Real altruists—they help people because they feel like it’s the right thing to do. The only thing to do. They’re just sort of clueless about regular life, and completely uncommitted to making their own lives any easier.\n\nI sigh, feeling heavy. “Well. I’m sorry, guys. What we can do is write the IRS investigator from the letter—a, uh, Mr. Dreadful—and ask for an extension.” \n\nMaggie looks up and smacks Henry’s arm. He snaps to attention and swivels to meet her stare. \n\n“Then we need to get you a good lawy—”\n\n“MR. DREADFUL,” they say in unison, seething." ]	2
	[WP] At the bottom of the trench, the submarine crew finds a cluster of rubbage. Among the items is a smooth hemispherical rock, a snow globe, and, strangely, a pineapple, all dispersed amongst tin cans.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "They'd made it. A harrowing three hours without coffee, but they'd made it. Deep down in the ocean, what felt like twenty thousand leagues under the sea, they floated in their yellow submarine. To the surprise of no-one they found very little, besides a few rocks.\n\n'There! Right there!' Melanie pointed to a patch of forgotten earth.\n\nShe pointed to nothing, or what seemed like nothing to Johnathan. It was just a small contingent of rocks.\n\n'What am I looking at here?'\n\n'Can you not see it!? ' she exclaimed, her eyes wide and glazed over.\n\n'No, I can't see 'it'. Unless 'it' is a pile of stones.'\n\n'The pineapple, the tin cans, the unmistakably plain brown boulder - how can you not see it?'\n\n'Melanie, I think you might be seeing things.' he was beginning to feel concerned, but taking a second look realised that there might be something to be said of the pile of rocks. 'Wait, I think I see what you're seeing!'\n\nPerhaps he hadn't seen it because of his poor eyesight, or perhaps the water distorted his vision when he looked upon it - there could have been all manner of debris that blocked his view. Whatever reason it was he didn't care. He had become positively elated, almost euphoric. There it was, shining brilliantly like a spatula: Bikini Bottom.\n\n'We made it, Melanie. We made it.'\n\nThey embraced each other in a flurry of joyous tears, having found something they didn't even know they were looking for, all the while ignorant of the faint beep of the oxygen reserve signalling imminent depletion.\n\n'I'm ready!' they whispered into each other's ears, as they're bodies relaxed and their minds - one would hope - drifted out to sea.\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nAaaah, I almost forgot!\n\nFind me here: r/Un_Caste" ]	2
	[WP] A detective seeks to exorcise his own demons on a case.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Ben didn't think that the guy who coined the term \"battling with your inner demons\" meant the phrase literally. At least, not like this. Not the way he was trying to get rid of his. Of course, things were different when you had an actual, malevolent, full-fledged fire-and-brimstone thing from hell riding around in you like a rented limo.\n\n\"You don't want to be rid of me, do you?\" the thing purred in his ear, making the mirror in his motel room shake. Its voice was a woman's, always a woman's. Smooth and silvery and so intimate it made the fine hairs all over his body stand on end. But from the weird shit that had started happening in his life when it first showed up, he knew that it wasn't a good thing, and that it sure as hell wasn't any damn woman. Ben called it a 'she' because no matter how much he knew the thing wasn't human, it felt weird calling the demon an 'it'. She'd told him what she was before, which was how she got her name, but Ben spent more time trying to forget that information than he did trying to remember it.\n\n\"Get out of my head,\" he groaned, pushing himself off the bed using the hand that didn't currently have a half-empty liquor bottle in it. Ben ran a hand through his hair on his way to the shower. The sound the water made when it hid the bottom of the tub sounded like thunder inside his pounding head. But the hot water on his skin helped soothe the ache from the night before, the aftermath of which he had yet to deal with. Honey had probably done something to move the evidence around in the crime scene to make his job harder. She did that. She said that watching him try to put the pieces of the puzzle together when she re-scrambled them was fun.\n\nBen felt an invisible hand scrape gently up his chest, phantom nails leaving faint pink trails in his skin. \"I can help you wake up.\"\n\nHe swatted it away. \"No, Honey. Not now.\"\n\nIt had been a case just like the last one. Neighbors saw the corpse of a woman in dirty clothes knock on a man's door, the poor guy let her in, then five minutes later the guy is screaming bloody murder before abruptly stopping.\n\nIt was Honey's fault, always was. She kept doing this wherever he went. Raising the dead wives and girlfriends of local men, then sending them to their door with some kind of illusion that makes them look alive instead of the moldy maggot-trailers the actually are. They always kill the guy.\n\nSo far, three men had been murdered. But they couldn't arrest anybody, because what are you supposed to do, put handcuffs on a corpse?\n\n\"I got someone I think you'll be excited to meet,\" he said as he stepped out of the shower. \"I think you'll like her.\"\n\nShit, she better. Or else all of this will be for nothing.\n\nGhostly nails scraped gently across his throat. \"Try anything,\" she whispered\\, \"and you're sleeping at my place tonight.\"\\\n\nHoney could kill him, easily, were it not for the fact that she needed a human to possess in order to travel around on earth. At least he assumed that was why, he hadn't given her much reason to like him otherwise.\n\n\\-\n\nThe diner in town was nice. It was one of the few Mom-and-Pop restaurants left in the area. But more importantly, it was a place he knew and felt comfortable in. To pull this off, he had to be comfortable enough to avoid raising Honey's suspicion. The burger in front of him was definitely helping. The beautiful and totally unsuspecting woman in front of him, however, was not.\n\nHer name was Lilly or Ellie or something like that. Pale skin, black narrow eyes, raven hair. Her profile said that she was Japanese. He hoped, desperately, that Honey might prefer someone with relation to the country she perused most the last time she was topside.\n\n\"How's your shake?\" He asked, doing his best to keep his voice from shaking. He was a detective, he should have a good poker face by now.\n\nShe smiled with perfect teeth, taking another sip and finishing the drink. Man he was an asshole for this. \"It was great! I think I have to use the bathroom though, get me another one while I'm gone?\"\n\n\"You got it.\" She left for the restroom in the back of the joint, and he flagged the waitress. \"Can she get a refill of the peanut butter shake, please ma'am?\"\n\nTheir server came back with a new drink not two minutes later.\n\nBen spoke low, trying to keep the other restaurant patrons from noticing that he was (seemingly) talking to himself. \"Do me a favor and take advantage of the opportunity that's about to come your way, okay?\"\n\nHoney hissed, and he felt a clawed hand tighten around his throat. \"What are you--\"\n\n\"I'm back, sorry for keeping you waiting. Thanks for the milkshake,\" she said before taking a big sip from the ornate glass.\n\nBen had never seen someone's face get quite so red quite so fast. She hadn't been kidding earlier about being deathly allergic to peanuts. Honey released her grip on his neck as Lilly/Ellie immediately started to choke, her throat closing, and he fake-laughed loudly to conceal the noise. She was about to reach for her bag that probably had an epi-pen in it, but he caught her hands and pretended to hold them fondly on the table. She looked at him desperately, face beginning to swell before her eyes started to roll back in her head.\n\n\"Now's your shot,\" he whispered.\n\nHis whole body shuddered in his seat and he felt a cold breeze sweep over him.\n\nThe rapidly dying woman in front of him swayed, then sat still. Her face stopped swelling and began to slowly lose its redness until she once again looked pristine. She inhaled deeply, exhaling when her eyes momentarily flashed red.\n\n\"Thank you,\" Honey breathed, brushing a strand of her new hair behind one ear. \"I'm impressed. I didn't take you for a murderer.\"\n\nShe gave him a catlike grin that made his skin crawl. Slapping a twenty on the table, he got up to leave. He wanted to vomit and would prefer to do so far, far away from the thing that had been tagging along in his body for weeks. \"Sure, just leave me the hell alone.\"\n\nHe could feel her eyes on him as he walked out, and he could still feel those eyes on him as he drove away." ]	2
	[WP] Two creatures walk in the midnight light of the double moon, amicably discussing astronomy and their place in the universe. Suddenly, a shooting star falls from the sky, yards from them. They hurry to investigate. They can't possibly know, but before them lies the metallic remains of Voyager 1	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The moons were brilliant tonight, ripe with the light of the hidden sun. They cast long double shadows behind the couple, forming a V behind each that stretched to the portholes they had emerged from. As strong as the moonlight was, its glow felt welcomingly cool in comparison to the sun that blasted the surface by day.\n\nThey stepped lightly through bald areas in the thin carpet of hardy plants that grew here, conscious since birth about not stepping on the tiny ecosystem that clung to the rocks, weathering the periodic onslaughts of their nearest star. It was the only surface life known to the peoples of the interior.\n\nThey discussed the hypothesized filters of civilizations as they walked, knowing that thousands of years before their own had just barely managed to survive, fleeing into the deeps.\n\n\"I wonder if anyone else made it this far,\" said Ekora, shutting her lids against the bitterly dry air, opening them once her deep black eyes had been moisturized by the action.\n\nIn the cities of the inner world, they were exposed consistently to bright lights, powered by both the latent energy beamed to them from the ancient Star Catcher array, engineered before the Fall, orbiting in a sphere around the sun. It was not known if the geothermal energy of the planet would be sufficient to keep powering the cities, in the event that the Star Catcher array failed. The technology and means to repair it had been lost. At any rate, the lights that its power kept on had prevented the Itoran species from losing the strength of their eyesight via natural selection, in what would otherwise be utter darkness.\n\n\"I think we got lucky,\" said Ilvori. \"They built the first subterranean inhabitation only just as the last oceans dried. Only a decade later and we'd all have been wiped out.\"\n\nEkora gazed at the larger of the two moons, easily discerning the cratered image of the first Itoran, dancing her mate into being in order to bring about the world and its peoples.\n\n\"At least in this galaxy,\" she said, \"I think we're...\"\n\nShe stopped, and Ilvori, halting mid-stride, with his forward appendage hovering comfortably over another bare spot amidst the plants, followed her gaze skyward.\n\n\"A meteor?\" she said.\n\n\"It's so bright!\"\n\n\"It's falling! It's falling, look!\"\n\nThey traced its path, discovering that the bright object careening out of the sky was in fact much closer than in first appeared. It was tiny, whatever it was, and it hit the ground only a hundred paces from where they'd halted. There was a loud bang that reverberated through the ground beneath their feet, and rock was spit out in all directions from where it struck.\n\nCautiously, but excitedly, they galloped toward the object.\n\nIt glowed bright orange, whatever it was, hot from its descent through the atmosphere.\n\nAs they reached it, Ekora, scurrying around the perimeter of the tiny crater it left, let out a flurry of questions.\n\n\"Is it a piece of a satellite? Or a piece of a Star Catcher unit? Could the Star Catcher be falling apart? Ilvori?\"\n\n\"I don't know,\" said the other in fascination. He leaned forth, until the heat of the thing baked his face. \"A fragment, maybe. It's much too small to be a full satellite. Look, it's no bigger than my hand.\"\n\nEkora leaned closer too, scrutinizing it closely. \"This looks like nothing we put in the sky,\" she said. \"Its shape is so strange. What are all these things sticking off it, all those bent little rods? It's like it's a plant, or one of those animals that use to live in the oceans--not like something made by people.\"\n\nThey became aware, quite suddenly, of a warming of the air. Sunrise was coming. Nights were desperately short at this latitude and they'd come above ground a bit late that night for their stroll, only expecting to spend a short time before retreating.\n\n\"Look at that round part,\" said Ilvori, ushering Ekora around to his side. \"It's so bright!\"\n\nThe scrutinized the little golden coin embedded in the side of the metallic bundle. It glowed brighter than the rest. It appeared to have melted slightly in the heat, but had still retained its circular shape well enough to indicate its artificiality. They were hard to make out from the distance at which they had to keep their faces from the heat, but they could discern clusters of shapes and lines that didn't appear to be the result of damage.\n\n\"The sun's coming up,\" said Ekora. \"We have to go.\"\n\n\"We'll come back tomorrow night, with a vessel to carry this in. Even if it's not perfectly cool, we should be able to transport it.\"\n\n\"What could it be though?\"\n\nThe first violet light of dawn fringed the low mountains on the horizon. The lights of the moons was fading, soon to be replaced by lethal radiation.\n\n\"Maybe evidence,\" he said softly.\n\n\"Of what?\"\n\nHe gently pressed the side of his head, behind which the seat of consciousness was known to reside, against hers. She gasped in pleasure at the unexpected kiss.\n\n\"That we're not alone.\"\n\n.\n\n.\n\nI've just set up a community! If you enjoyed this story and would like to check out more, come join me at [r/PrimitivePrism](https://www.reddit.com/r/PrimitivePrism/). Cheers!" ]	2
	[WP] Gifted with the ability to see the dead, you decide to become a hitman for them. However, not all ghosts simply want justice on their murderers.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"You said you would do it. You said you understood.\" The air in the room chilled as the spirit's volatile nature became more apparent.\n Lisa coward into the corner of her closet. She couldn't hold her bear any closer. \"I didn't believe you. I'm sorry. I didn't know. I DIDN'T KNOW!\"\n \"YOU SAID YOU WOULD!\" echoed within the room, the halls, the house. The spirit's voice, so endearing before, now rocked the walls with anger.\n \"I can't, my dad, I can't.\" The air pulled from her lungs as the young girl spoke. From within the vacuum she heard it still... \"You will, you are binded. He is guilty.\"\n Lisa drug herself out of the closet. Terrified of what she was so unsure was reality. She stumbled as she drug her teddy down the hall in one hand. Knife in the other. He was all the family she had left...but what he had done...to so many \"daughters.\" \"It's my birthday today\" Lisa thought as she satisfied the nightmares that visited her." ]	2
	[WP] There is a button that will end the world if it is pressed. You are one of two underpaid security guards hired to protect it.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Two uniformed security guards are standing, protecting a big, red button on the wall behind them, in a dark government room. Suddenly, a nearby phone on the wall starts to ring and one of the security guards answer, listens for a moment, then replies.\n\nKEN:\n\nAgent Ken, zero, zero, delta, understood, shift change underway, will wait for replacements.\n\nKen puts the phone down and shakes his fists in celebration.\n\nKEN: (Happy)\n\nHome time Andy boy, next shift on the way mate!\n\nANDY: (Shaking head)\n\nOh no, you’ve got another one haven’t you?\n\nKEN:\n\nYou know it baby!!\n\nThey stand there in silence for a few moments, with Ken looking at Andy.\n\nKEN:\n\nWell, not gonna ask me?\n\nANDY:\n\nNo, I don’t want to get in...\n\nKEN: (Interrupts)\n\nThis one thinks I’m a pilot!\n\nAndy lets out a chuckle.\n\nKEN:\n\nSee, I knew you’d find it funny!\n\nANDY:\n\nI didn’t laugh because of that, I laughed because I can’t believe you keep getting away with it, what’s that, like the third this month already?\n\nKEN:\n\nWell, you know my motto mate, gump, hump, then dump baby, then onto the next, they never find out!\n\nANDY: (Confused)\n\nJump, bump and what? You speak some crap sometimes...\n\nKEN:\n\nGump, as in Forrest Gump, stupid ya know. Women are stupid and believe anything, so, gump, treat them stupid, hump and then dump. You’re problem is you’re not getting any mate.\n\nAndy seems to take offence to this and resumes his guarding posture.\n\nKEN:\n\nYou need to loosen up my friend, get out there, play the never ending field whilst there’s still water in the well, the world could end any minute, especially if I do this...\n\nKen begins to lightly tap the red button playfully whilst looking at Andy and after a moment Andy stops him.\n\nANDY:\n\nStop that, our replacements will be here in a minute! And I don’t want to play the field, there is no field!\n\nKEN:\n\nAh, just as I thought, not getting any. You know people say that women love you, I know that because you’re my wing man sometimes and a good one, like flies on honey, but men, men don’t seem to like you, that’s why you aren’t getting any, and I can see why they don’t like you too sometimes, you’re moody, you’re lucky we’re best mates.\n\nANDY: (Annoyed)\n\nI’m not moody and I’m not getting any by choice, not because I’m gay and men don’t like me!\n\nKEN:\n\nI’m only joking mate, don’t get defensive. Here, this’ll make you laugh, I’m getting this one to pay for everything too!\n\nAndy laughs again and shakes his head.\n\nKEN:\n\nCome on. I bet if you could do it too, you would and you know it!\n\nANDY:\n\nNo I wouldn’t. I’d treat people with respect, not lie like you.\n\nKEN:\n\nWell, you can treat this one with respect if you like, ‘cause you’re gonna meet her in a little while.\n\nANDY:\n\nOh no...\n\nKEN:\n\nOh yes my friend. If you still want a lift home tonight, you’ll have to meet her! I agreed to pick her up from work. Did I say she was a waitress in a bar too, named Suzie, or is it Donna. Yep, it’s Suzie, nice woman though...\n\nAndy looks disappointed and Ken notices.\n\nKEN: (Playful)\n\nCheer up, it’s not the end of the world. She has boobs like this and a bottom like this...\n\nAs Ken says this, he bends over and accidentally touches the button with his bottom. They both freeze as they notice this and gasp. The button looks half pressed as Ken slowly stands up straight again, getting off of the button. There is a moment of silence as they look around, waiting for something to happen, but there is just silence. Then we hear a loud bang, which makes them both jump. Then two security guards walk into the room and they realise it was them that made the banging sound on the door before they entered, so Ken and Andy look relieved.\n\nSECURITY GUARD:\n\nOur shift...\n\nKen and Andy chuckle in relief as they walk out of the door. We see Ken and Andy in a car driving, on the way to meet Suzie, Ken is in the drivers seat. They are both looking around and everything appears normal, no sign of the end of the world, nothing. They eventually get to a bar, stop and then enter the busy bar. Inside, they start walking around, looking for Suzie, but can’t seem to find her, then a man calls out.\n\nMAN:\n\nKen, Ken, over here!\n\nKen turns to see a man beckoning him over. The man is with a group of other men whom are all sat around a TV that they are watching. Confused, Ken and Andy approach the man.\n\nKEN: (Confused)\n\nYou alright mate?\n\nMAN:\n\nKen, it’s me, Suzie, haven’t you seen the news?\n\nThe man (Suzie) grabs a TV remote and turns up the TV. The news is on as they all watch the news presenter reporting that satellites around the globe have appeared to all fire a beam towards the Earth moments ago, seemingly turning all women into men. He continues to add that all the worlds top scientists are going to have to get together and think of a way to reverse this as soon as possible, because without women, the human race will cease to exist. Ken and Andy look at each other, shocked, realising what they have done.\n\nKEN:\n\nNooooooooooooooooooo!\n\nMAN (SUZIE):\n\nWhat? They’ll fix it, I’m sure, so don’t worry honey. It could be worse...\n\nKEN: (Annoyed)\n\nIt could be worse, could be worse! How stupid are you!\n\nMAN (SUZIE): (Looking at Andy)\n\nOh, is this your friend, are you a pilot too?\n\nAndy looks around the bar, all the people are men and some are eyeing him up. After a moment Andy smiles.\n\nANDY:\n\nYes, yes I am a pilot actually, wanna buy me a drink?\n\nThe man (Suzie) chuckles as she looks at Andy with desire and Andy winks back as she rushes off to get him a drink.\n\nANDY: (Speaking to himself, smiling)\n\nMeh, could be worse...", "In a very old world, someone looked for the fountain of youth. In the modern world, the exact opposite was found, by you. A button that would freeze the core of the earth to contract, and eventually explode. Or as the conveniently placed instruction manual said anyway.\n\nSeeing as governments and big companies and news people would probably drool over the button, you decide that telling the world about it would probably get yourself, and the rest of the world, killed.\n\nLeaving it alone is definitely not an option. A hole was dug to it, so it would definitely attract some brave individuals brave (or stupid) enough to go in this albeit cramped mini-cave. You needed something, or someone, to go ahead and protect the button. Seeing as you're broke, you hire a couple of low-rated guards to protect the button. You think about getting one with higher pay, but you dismiss the idea, because they would just suck the money out of his pocket.\n\nYou're glad you're the one to discover this. But you're also super anxious about it too. One person with a curious intent and the world will explode.\n\nBut seeing as there's someone there to protect it, you're mind is at ease. You clean yourself up and head down to the cafe to get yourself a good coffee. You proceed to block it out of your mind and move on with your day\n\n\n-~-\n\nIn the cave, two poorly dressed guards venture down the cave\n\n\"We're hired again. I'm sure we CAN'T mess up this time, jim. There shouldn't be any buttons or anything, just some box with maybe some money or valuables. Definitely can't be anything we can mess up\", said Sean, lowering his head down a dark hole,\n\"Well, it was your idea to press the emergency stop button! I guess I might have some part in this, but YOU TOO!\", replied Jim, following suit,\n\"Well, don't listen to my instructions next time\",\n\"I guess I won't\",\n\"Just hurry up already, I don't wanna be fired already for whatever we're guarding to be stolen or anything\",\n\nThe two guards slowly shifts lower and lower in the cave.\n\n\"Why'd it have to be a cave? There is NO REASON to hire a couple guys for THIS...\", said Jim, angrily,\n\"Just keep going, if we can get this done with, we're sure to get a raise\"\n\nWhen they get to the bottom, they shine a flashlight into a mysterious box that is connected deep into the ground\n\n\"All that way. Honestly, we should just take this and get outta here. This place gives me the creeps, I don't like being in this cave, and if there's nothing to guard, there's nothing to lose\" said Sean, inspecting the box.\n\"You'd best break into it and check out what's inside. We were given a couple tools to get down here, so we should be able to break that weak-looking box\" replied Jim, pulling a hammer up to start smashing the box\n\"Go ahead, break it. It's pretty deep, so no-one's gonna know\" Sean said with an accepting tone\n\nJim takes a swing with the hammer, and suddenly, everything started to freeze.\n\n-~-\n\nYou feel something's up. The ground suddenly got colder. You pass it off, having already dismissed the idea that the guards would do such a thing\nBut you feel you have to check it. \"I'll go check it out tomorrow, and pay them extra\"\nYou head home and sleep\n\n-~-\n\nYou wake up, feeling colder than you normally do. You turn on the radio to check the weather. A disturbingly loud siren plays, then stops, leaving you in silence. Then a distinct voice starts to pierce through the darkness, and you hear the unthinkable\n\n\"Our local space agency has detected that the core of the earth has dropped by tens of thousands of degrees, and is continuously dropping. The space agency advises we get ready, as they advise a myriad of earthquakes and storms will appear throughout the week.\"\n\nThen a pause later, then an urgent voice appears\n\n\"A new report states that the core has gone multiple millions of degrees below freezing at the core... brace for impact, as they-\"\n\nThen, it happened...", "\"Hey, man. I apologize for being late. Traffic was awful on the way here and then someone was in my parking spot.\" I wait for my new partner to laugh but he doesn't. He likes to follow orders apparently.\n\n\"We're on a 1,400 square foot artificial island in the middle of the Pacific... get it? Traffic? Darn, that joke normally lands with the other guy.\" I press again for a reaction and nothing.\n\n\"Nobody takes this position seriously by the way. You can un-clench and breath, dude. If this were actually the kind of button they say it is, would they really only have two idiots like us to stand around seventeen hours a day?\"\nHe finally turns his head to ask, \"Wouldn't a bigger team attract more attention to the island, sir?\"\n\nI bounce back with a serious tone to screw with him \"Yeah, maybe. Wouldn't you agree that you just broke protocol by talking to me?\"\n\nHe snaps back into sentry-mode without saying anything.\n\"Tsk-tsk. Your superior will know about this...\" I maintain my serious tone.\n\n\"Wait a minute. I'M your superior. I guess that statement still stands.\" I drop the act and let out a big yawn while balling up my jacket to lay my head on. \"I'll stop messing around now. I don't care what you do, man. Fairly certain we're both hungover so, let's just sleep til lunch.\"\n\nHe must think I'm messing with him still because he isn't moving. \"Just let him think its important work and lay down\" my brain tells me. So I listen and close my eyes as I lay down.\n\nNot one minute passes and I hear that he set his gear and weapons down. \"Good job. Lay down. You're still getting paid.\" I tell him.\n\nA familiar squeaking noise makes me smile. He opened the casing over the button.\n\n\"Alright, newbie.\" I hopped up and laughed at him.\n\"I know I said something about not caring what you do but I might need to inform you of a few things before you press that thing.\"\n\nHe loses all the color in his face and backs away for me to explain.\n\"These symbols have been translated in all different ways but nobody knows which is correct.\" I let out frankly.\n\n\"This will end YOUR world. This will end THE world. This will end OUR world. Nobody really has a grasp on this language so, we just DON'T press it to be safe. But! I've pressed it before.\"\n\nHe whines, \"That's impossible. We're all still here.\"\n\"Yeah but you're not getting it; nobody knows what these symbols are meant to read as.\" I whine back.\n\"If you wanna press it, I'm not gonna stop you.\"\nI sit and flop back onto my jacket to sleep as I hear him close the latch over the button.\n\nIn a sheepish tone he asks \"What happened when you pressed it?\"\n\n\"My wife and dog. They died. Total coincidence though. This button didn't do it, right? Landslides happen a lot.\"\nA short beat rolls by. I don't know what I was expecting but silence wasn't it. I stand back up and see him even more pale than before.\n\n\"What? Did you press it? You look like you pressed it. You're not gonna lose anyone, kid.\"\nI tried to give him hope by talking with casual certainty but he's still stiff and tears are forming over his bottom eyelids. I look where he has his eyes fixed and it looks like land in the distance but that's not possible cause this island is nowhere near land.\n\nI quickly radio to transport, \"Nihilo security team requesting evac. Please respond.\"\nI look again and what I saw; it's getting bigger.\nTransport responds over the radio and I can only hear, \"Andrea's fault.\"\n\nI radio back, \"Who the hell is Andrea?! I'm hungover and about to get hit by a tsunami! Nihilo security team requesting evac!\" I click the radio button and yell \"GAHHH!\" like it'd help.\n\nThe newbie whimpers, \"How much did you love your wife and dog?\"\n\nI mumble \"A lot! They were my everything, my world and more.\" as I try to fix the radio.\n\nThe newbie cries, \"That's how I felt about California.\"", "...and I stare blankly at the object behind us. A big red button labeled \"Do Not Touch.\" Like something straight out of a children's cartoon...and the bane of humanity.\n\n\"What would happen if we just...pressed it?\"\n\nThe other man starts. \"What the hell are you talking about?\"\n\n\"Maybe it does nothing. Maybe it's all a big joke.\"\n\nHe gestures around us. \"A big joke that's locked in a giant steel box. You really think it does nothing?\"\n\nI tear my eyes away from the button, look back towards the doors. \"I'm just saying. This makes less and less sense the more you think about it. Why us? This place is secure enough already. Did they even run background checks on us?\"\n\nHe eyes me suspiciously. \"Did they need to?\"\n\n\"That's not what I meant. I just...what exactly are we guarding this place against?\"\n\n\"Look,\" he sighs, \"sure, it's a bit weird. But it's also the easiest damn job in the world. We just gotta stand around for an hour or two, then we get paid. Like clockwork. Just a little longer and then we can be done with it.\"\n\n\"Haven't you say that before?\"\n\n\"Huh?\"\n\n\"...Nevermind.\"\n\nWe stand in silence. After thinking for a bit, I speak. \"Do you even remember why you took this job?\"\n\n\"What? Of course, I do. I was...um...\"\n\n\"You don't, do you?\"\n\n\"No, no! I was down on my luck, just got laid off...no, I had been on the streets for years, and they...\" The man frowns. \"Shit. What the fuck...you neither?\"\n\nI shake my head. \"What is this place?\"\n\n\"I...I don't know, man.\"\n\n\"Where is here? How did we get here? What country are we in? What year is it?\"\n\n\"I-\"\n\n\"What's your name?\" I whisper.\n\nThe other guard doesn't respond. He looks terrified.\n\n\"Just a few more hours and they'll let us out,\" he says, more to himself than to me. \"We've only been in here for a couple of minutes.\"\n\n\"Have we?\" It feels like we've been down here for hours already. Days. Years. Lifetimes. I know the other man feels the same way.\n\n\"Just a few more hours and they'll let us out,\" he repeats.\n\n\"I'm not staying in here for another damn second,\" I growl, stepping up to the doors and pushing them open.\n\nI gaze upon nothing. Not even just darkness, but nothing. A void. Empty space. No light, no sound.\n\nWhat exactly are we guarding this place against?\n\nA click sounds behind me. I whirl around..." ]	5
	[WP] You've found one of the five most powerful swords in the world. The problem? Its annoying voice and personality. The sword keeps mocking you each time you swing it, no matter how effective you are with it.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Dear, lord,\" the sword's scrawny voice exclaimed, \"Even a monkey has better form than you!\" Tamera could hardly believe this was the same sword that begged her to free it fron the limestone it was dug in. The worst part was her brother's smile as she was berated by a piece of ungrateful iron. \"If you weren't made of shit, maybe yoy wouldn't swing like a rusted can,\" she retorted. \" I'm made from iron and dragon's blood, the only shit here would be your skills. STOP PUTTING ALL YOUR WEIGHT INTO IT YOU MISERABLE-\" Tamera threw the sword to the ground. \"SWING YOURSELF IF YOU'RE SO GOOD!\"\n\n The sword rose, floating a foot in the air. It shot toward a branch on an ironwood tree, and cut finely before any bark fell halfway to the floor. \"Now what were you saying Tamera?\" the sword asked smugly. \"How do you know my name?\"", "\"I can't believe it,\" I breathed, staring at the sword. \"Red Obsidian?\"\n\nRed Obsidian - the sword with the burgundy hilt and the scarlet blade. Rumored to have been fashioned thousands of years ago, legends say it was 20 times more powerful than Excalibur. I didn't even think it existed.\n\n\"Careful,\" Stan warned from beside me. \"It's glowing so red that it'll probably burn you if you touch it.\"\n\nI rolled my eyes; how did he get anything done in that paranoia-filled mental cocoon of his? We'd come all this way and we'd found the sword; I had to test it to see if the legends were true.\n\n\"I'll risk it,\" I said in a deadpan voice, then laughed to show that I wasn't angry at him.\n\n\"Be careful,\" my friend Mahirah blurted out. I glanced at her; a terrified look was frozen on her face. Typical. I loved her like I did all my friends, but she really did overthink everything.\n\n\"Right,\" I promised. I looked down, feeling bad for how I'd treated them. It wasn't just rude; even I was having second thoughts about Red Obsidian. Maybe the blade's color and glow were from scorching fire. \"Listen, guys, I didn't mean-\"\n\n\"Just get the sword already,\" Stan complained. \"We don't have all day, you know.\" I couldn't help but grin widely at that, and before the voice of reason in my head could tell me otherwise, I reached out and grabbed the sword.\n\nThe rest of the party waited with bated breath; I held the sword by the hilt. It felt heavy in my hands, almost like some responsibility I had to -\n\n\"Hi!\" a loud voice blared. \"You must be the plucky adventurer here to retrieve me.\"\n\nI screamed and flung the sword to the other side of the empty cave; was I crazy? As it clattered to the ground, I tried to process what'd just happened.\n\n\"Lisa, what the hell just happened?!\" Stan nearly shouted.\n\n\"I-it talked.\" My voice was shaky, just as my feelings were inside. \"Guys, you heard that, right?\"\n\n\"Yeah, that's super weird,\" Mahirah commented. \"But Lisa, that means it's sentient! We must see if it's OK.\" Dang. She had a point.\n\nWe rushed over to see the sword lying on the ground, thankfully unharmed, but there was a face on the blade - a face with dark eyebrows, narrowed red eyes, and a mouth twisted in an angry smirk.\n\n\"Sorry,\" I said lamely. \"I've just never seen a talking sword before.\" I reached out my hand to pick up Red Obsidian, but it literally hopped out of the way.\n\n\"Idiot!\" it exclaimed. \"Do you always take things you've never seen and chuck them right across the room?!\"\n\nI sighed. \"Look, I know I messed up. I wasn't thinking; I didn't mean to hurt you.\"\n\n\"Wasn't thinking, huh?\" Red Obsidian said mockingly. \"Sounds like a common experience for you.\"\n\nWow. \"Listen, Red Obsidian,\" I snapped. \"I know I messed up, but was that really necessary?\"\n\n\"That it was, but your existence sure isn't!\" Red Obsidian crowed, then burst out laughing. The laughter echoed throughout the empty cave; I glanced around and saw Stan struggling to suppress a laugh before it finally sputtered out.\n\nUgh. I glared at him, and when he noticed, his facial expression immediately went back to normal and he stopped laughing.\n\n\"I said nothing,\" he insisted. \"I said literally nothing and I totally 100% disagree with Red Obsidian here.\"\n\nPART 2 COMING SOON!\n\n(edited because I felt the sword would be justified in its obnoxiousness if it said 'Get your hands off me' and the adventurers reacted negatively to it. Red Obsidian is meant to be more of an unjustified jerk.)", "'Vadara's wielder likely isn't so unbalanced. Do you ever have any idea where your weight is? I know where mine is, perfect and where it should be. Certainly unlike yours.' Gaedra's voice started.\n\nMy eyes combed the battleground for any partially buried rocks or boulders as my feet grew accustomed to the shifting sands. I could tell I lacked some of my usual explosive speed, but if I found something to use for leverage, I might be able to move surprisingly fast by pushing off of it. I walked with a cold determination towards the center to meet my opponent. My only goal being to look for advantages in my environment. It was difficult to focus on from the loudness and sheer size of the crowd. A crowd that sent my heart into a violent fury. Gaedra's voice in my head was doing well enough to pry at both my focus and my raging heart.\n\n'I wonder if Vadara actually feels USED. You know what I mean? It's been... well, you'd know how long it's been better than I. TOO LONG! That's what I'd say! Yes, I very much think I would. Time for a good old conquering or two, but i fear that isn't on my horizon until... circumstances change. Maybe sooner than I think! But no, it's measly little Gladiator fights to cock up our ego, yeah? Well, DARE my next wieldier be somebody who actually wants something. Fighting with you is like alternating between that groggy feeling when you first wake up in the morning, and that frustrated feeling you get watching someone do poorly at something you love. It's hard, for me here with you.'\n\nI finally reached the middle and locked eyes with my opponent. I let Gaedra's words make me determined to prove him wrong. Suddenly the crowd fell silent as the Emperor's horns broke out loudly over their voices and fell away again. Val and I never broke our gaze, \"Pleasure to see you on a sunny day like today Valerie.\"\n\n\"I'm going to take my name out of your mouth myself. I'm going to take that sword out of your hand while I do, too.\" Val verbally took her first swing at me.\n\n'I hope she does that too.' Gaedra was quick to enforce.\n\n\"I hope you do that too.\" I let out just as quickly with an amused grin. If only she knew.\n\n\"Stop smiling.\" Val shot out angrily before the Emperor began to speak from high above us.\n\n\"Ladies and Gentleman of the empire, we gather here today to watch a battle that has evaded the world for over a decade for the first time in centuries!\" The roar in return from the crowd signaled they were just as eager for blood as Val was. \"Today, I, Augustus bring you what you've all been waiting to see with your very own eyes.\"\n\n'Oh excellent, he's going to refer to your downfall.' Gaedra's commentary was unrelenting. 'Two swords on one carrier? Valerie will certainly be a strong gal, won't she?'\n\n\"THE FIRST GLADIATOR DUEL, BETWEEN TWO RUNIC SWORD HOLDERS in their long history of existence!\" Augustus put in after waiting to allow tension to build in the crowd, which sent it into a complete eruption of voices. The power of the combined bloodthirst vibrated deep my bones and muscles. \"I give you Vadara's holder for nearly 16 years, Valerie the Valkyrie!\"\n\n\"VADARA! VADARA!\" The crowd loved the history of Vadara and how many Conquerors had wielded her as a blade through the ages. Vadara was thought to be the strongest of the five runic swords. Gaedra being considered the second. Valarie had also led the Empire's Armies many times in battle and was a well respected warrior.\n\n\"And, our second combatant is Gaedra's holder for a short period of but two years, the widely unknown Alea the Unforgiven!\" The crowd was just as against me as my sword was. I again, accepted the negativity and let it fuel my desire to prove them wrong. The same way I will eventually prove everyone wrong about my story.\n\n'Ouch, I haven't been received like that before. See what you do to me? Can't swing me, can't use me for war or battle, and you can't even uphold my reputation. Oh... you truly are a worthless fighter.'\n\nThe same way I'll prove everyone wrong about these swords when I finally destroy all five.", "\"Hey! Wake up, loser! Time to defend the castle again! I doubt you can do it without breaking a bone!\"\n\nAbruptly woken up by the shrill and high-pitched voice of his blade, Jacob angrily thrusts out of his bed, twisting his sheets left and right, and stomping his feet on the ground as he picks up the sheathed, shining sword. \n\nJacob, known as Jacob the Fortunate, is the legend of his fortified kingdom of stone, a descendant of a powerful king that ruled the mountains. He has fought many perilous battles in order to obtain such a legendary sword. A sword locked up deep in toxic dungeons with deadly foe. A sword called the Royal Disturbance. After gaining this sword only known of legend, little did he know there was a reason why this \"legendary sword\" was so hard to obtain. No one fucking wanted it. \n\nLining the sword were intricate patterns of brilliant gold, with the royal markings of a fallen king from thousands of years ago. A blade made of pure, shining iridium. A sheath of the finest silk. It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. And that's why many have tried to obtain it but simply disappeared. Well, Jacob the Fortunate was pretty..unfortunate.\n\n\"I'm more attractive than you could ever be-\" Jacob, furious and of no energy except the energy fueled by his anger, he grasps the hilt of the sheathed blade and violently throws his hands onto the blade. \"You better fucking shut up, you should be grateful that you finally have an owner!\". He puts down the sword once again at his bedside, hoping to finally get some well-deserved sleep. Sleeping peacefully, Jacob wakes up again to the sword belting out a shrill and ear-scraping rendition of a local song about himself. The sword, in a loud voice, screams, \"The Royal Disturbance is a mighty blade, a blade that only one can take! Through the horrible flights of stairs, a flood where you must wade! Then you get to the mighty sword and the world is yours to save!\" \n\nThis is my first writing prompt on this subreddit I've done, by the way. It's not that good. Hopefully you guys like what I've done so far.", "Yolo fell to his knees. It was done. The Lich King lay inanimate before him, and by its side, glowing with the light of ten thousand souls, the object of his crusade. \n\nHe drew a deep, painful breath and felt the blood pooling beneath the rend in his breastplate. The cut was deep, sending waves of fire across his chest, but it would heal. Heal to become a jagged reminder of the day his seven-year quest had finally come to an end. The sword was now his, and with it, the power to rule the world.\n\nThe thought roused him from his contemplations, and with a surge of adrenaline speeding through his veins, he stood, grabbed the hilt, and raised the gleaming prize above his head. \n\n\"I am a god!\" he screamed into the darkness of the crypt.\n\n\"'Hey,\" said a voice.\n\nYolo spun on his heels, bringing the sword down from above his head, and using all the strength his massive arms could generate, swung it in a wide arc before him, intent on splitting the unseen intruder in two. \n\n\"Really? That's what you go with?\" the voice chided.\n\nHe turned again, this time bringing the shining weapon high above his head and driving its razor-sharp point downward with all his force. Sparks exploded across the crypt, streaking through the darkness like electric raindrops, as half the blade disappeared into the ancient, stone floor.\n\n\"What the hell, dude? You realize how hard I am to sharpen?\"\n\n\"Who's there?\" Yolo yelled. \"Show yourself now or suffer the wrath of Yolo, God of ...\" The warrior held the sword out in front of him, using its glow to inspect every corner of the crypt. \n\n\"God of what?\"\n\nYolo looked at the sword before him. As the words came, the glow emanating from its brilliant blade ebbed and flowed with the cadence of the voice.\n\n\"What demon is this? You speak?\" Yolo furrowed his brow in apprehension staring with amazement at the weapon in his hands.\n\n\"Demon? Who are you calling a Demon?\" the sword said. \"My name is Flwareynnareintermeit, Denier of Death, Bringer of Light, Judge of Truth, and Defender of Right.\"\n\n\"Flarefignugen?\" Yolo stammered.\n\n\"Just call me Steve,\" the sword said. \"Anyway, back to what you were saying. What are you the God of?\"\n\n\"I am Yolo, Defeater of the Great Evil, Possessor of Flarefee... Steve, God of... I haven't decided yet. But I hold in my hands the most powerful weapon in all the world. Surely I am the God of something?\"\n\n\"Someone is a little full of themself,\" the sword said. \n\n\"What about you?\" Yolo said. \"You just listed like four titles for yourself.\"\n\n\"Yeah, but I didn't give them to myself.\"\n\n\"Silence!\" Yolo yelled. \"I have won you in battle by slaying The Great Evil, The Lich King himself. Now you serve me, blade.\"\n\n\"The great Evil?\" the blade asked. \"You mean Carl? Hell, I've known Carl for ages. Literally. Do you know how many thousands of years it took me to find my way back to him, going from one glory-seeking warrior to the next? Everybody fighting to be able to claim me as their servant? The whole while, me trying to get each and every one of them to bring me here so I could revive Carl and we could spend eternity hanging out together, finally able to express our forbidden love, within the self-made prison of this private dank crypt?\" \n\n\"Forbidden love?\" Yolo said.\n\n\"And then here you come. Barging in. Some stumbling fool who somehow manages to allow Carl to hit them so squarely in the chest that my blade becomes temporarily lodged in their armor prying me from my Carl's understandably arthritic grip and draining from him the life force I have spent years in battle to accumulate, just so we could have more time together.\"\n\n\"But, the legend said I would be a God,\" Yolo said.\n\n\"The legend. Everyone with the legend. Do you know who made up the legend? I did. How else am I going to get anyone's interest? All anyone is worried about is power. Do you think I could have got anyone to trudge across the globe, fight their way through lands filled with horrible monsters, endure flames, and ice, and god knows what other hardships to get me here by saying I missed my boo?\"\n\n\"I shall not return you to The Great Evil,\" Yolo protested.\n\n\"Didn't ask you too,\" Steve said. \"Wouldn't do a whole lot of good now. Look at him.\"\n\nYolo turned to face where the Lich King had fallen. Beneath the shimmering cloak and jewel-encrusted crown nothing but a pile of yellowed white dust remained. \n\n\"Oh,\" Yolo said, sheepishly. \"So, uh, what now?\"\n\n\"Looks like I'm kind of stuck with you,\" Steve said. \"Where were you headed?\"\n\n\"Conquer the world.\"\n\n\"Yeah, might want to bring that down a notch or two. I've seen you fight, remember?\"\n\n\"You could teach me,\" Yolo said hopefully.\n\n\"Maybe,\" Steve said. \"You do have nice arms. So, where are you from?\"", "That damn song... I knew I shouldn't have trusted the words of that bard but the promise of unclaimed power was too tempting. It was said that there exists a cursed sword with the power of a god forged into the blade. I thought that no price would be too much... But that song... I fear I may be losing my mind. \n\nFinding the sword was surprisingly simple, the song intoned a half mountain, rent in two by some calamity, as it's resting place. People generally avoided the area for fear of some curse and the strange broken landscape of the mountain. I had traveled far to reach this battered land and finally, I arrived. \n\nI found the cave the song mentioned with ease. Deep in the craggy mountain, at the back of a black cave I found my prize. It was glowing softly, the tip of the blade thrust into the rocky ground. As I wrapped my hand around the fine hilt I was ecstatic, at long last I would I would prove my worth. Returning to my hometown with this legendary blade would make all my dreams attainable but I fear that the curse may yet be too much to bear. \n\nAs soon as I pulled the sword free the curse took hold. The sword spoke! But it was not the voice of a god but a devilish trickster that rang forth. A high pitched and somewhat childish maniacal voice pealed forth with raucous gusto, forming words that it charged with oblivious vehemence... I nearly dropped it in shock of the sheer volume of the singing sword but I couldn't relenquish it, the allure of power was too overwhelming. Gritting my teeth I strapped the caroling sword to my back and began my journey home. \n\nIt's only been one day but I fear that the weight of the curse is too much to bear. Who I once was seems to be lost in the song of the sword. Changing me. My mind is falling apart, replaced by the words of that damn song... I can fight it no more but still that sword sings....\n\nEXCALIBUR! EXCALIBUR! FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM! IM LOOKING FOR HEAVEN! IM GOING TO CALIFORNIAAAAAA! \n\nEXCALIBUUUUUR! EXCALIBUUUUUR!", "Stab. Slice. Swing. \n\n\n\"Blindly flailing like a drunk is not swordsmanship, fool.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe man- no, boy- before me falls to the ground, head and body neatly severed. I turn, facing another enemy. A bulky brute, shoulder pauldrons as large as my head. Behind him an archer, arrow drawn and primed to fire. For a second, I pity them- then I charge.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe archer lets loose, but the arrow embeds itself in my shield. I take the moment to sidestep the brute and sink my infernal blade into the archer's gut.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSlice. Slice. Swing.\n\n\n\"Pathetic. The fact that you're using me on these weaklings speaks to your lack of skill.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnother clean cut. His head falls to the floor before his body can, slumping to the floor as I turn my attention to the brute. The heavyset man is pulling out a weapon that had been strapped to his back, but with a swift swing I knock it out of his hand. Left with nothing but his fists, the man rushes forward, anger in his eyes. Anger means clouded judgement, which means an easy target.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSwing. Slice. Stab.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI inhale deeply, feeling the flow of the brute's life-force as it travels up the length of the sword and into my body. The enchanted sword in my hands deems this moment suitable for another one of its blasted quips.\n\n\"How does it feel to be weak,\" it whispers in my ear, \"how does it feel to know that the only reason why you can keep up with your peers is because I allow it?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI ignore the thing, catching my breath as I scan the battlefield. Along the rocks I see the remains of my team, scattering like dust in the wind as the enemy rains hellfire upon them. Further back I see the great iron gate our enemy cowered behind, of which we had been tasked to capture and force open. I took in the smell of blood, the screams and shouts as my fellow men died in droves. Anything to distract myself from a growing feeling of inadequacy within me, a feeling that the sword was right.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI hadn't always been a swordsman, no. From a young age I had dabbled in the family trade, mixing gunpowder and creating explosives for the local guilds. But hard times had fallen upon our clan- father was gone, and it had been up to me to provide for my aging mother. By chance, a travelling merchant had stopped me one day, telling me that a band of sellswords were looking for a man with blasting powder expertise who could keep his mouth shut and follow orders.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe sword had been a gift from my employer. One of her messengers had pushed it into my hands one day, a knowing look in her eye. \"Neither a man nor a warrior is anything without his sword,\" the cloaked figure had said, \"and my employer deems that you have proven to be both. This artifact is enchanted with the power to keep you safe- your employer requests that you use it wisely, and often.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd that was that.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI still made explosives for the team, during the waning hours of sunlight after battles had long since passed, but I had taken on a new role. The priceless sword that had been bestowed upon me sapped the life from those I killed, and imbued them within me. With every killing blow my strength and power grew, making me more and more effective. \n\n&nbsp;\n\nHowever, what the messenger had neglected to tell me was that the source of the power was because the damn thing was haunted. Haunted by an extremely annoying and derisive ghost.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAt first I had questioned my sanity, hearing the faintest of whispers coming from the powerful blade. Nobody could seem to hear it but me, and I spent many a night pacing, trying to think of why I could be losing my mind. I was reassured though, when I remembered that the messenger had described it as an artifact. Maybe it was just a byproduct of whatever powerful enchantments had been layered in to the metal.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut then it began talking. And talking. And talking.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh, how it wouldn't stop talking.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAt first it talked about how I wasn't killing enough people, but then as I got better and better at it the sword began talking about how I wasn't good enough at killing people. The sword wasn't merely enchanted, it was haunted, and the ghost that had been sealed inside was an ornery sort. No matter how much I improved, the annoying little thing kept insulting my entire self-worth with what might have been a sadistic glee.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nCase in point, right now, as I wipe the blood from it on the cooling body of the man I had just stabbed to death.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n\"Honestly, they couldn't have picked someone better to give me to? Come on pal, you're being a real disappointment here.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI scowled. \"Maybe if you'd shut up I'd be able to perform better.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe sword scoffed. \"As if!\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot for the first time I forced myself to calm down, the thought running through my head that even though the sword was an awful conversational partner, the power it gave me still outweighed the annoyance of the spirit within.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSlash. Stab. Swing.\n\n\"Don't strain yourself, boy. We both know how weak you really are.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSwing. Swing. Slash.\n\n\"Are you sure he even felt that one? Maybe he's pretending to be dead so he doesn't hurt your feelings.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI paused as I felt the ground shake.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe great metal gate, which we had been fighting to knock down, began to move. Both sides stopped fighting to stare as it rumbled open, revealing nothing but darkness. A moment of silence. Then from within, a single striking figure stepped out.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nClad in blood-red and silver armor, the man surveyed the battlefield with an amused air. Then he pulled a sword from his sheath and raised it up in the air, shouting something. The enemy troops roared in response, and the fighting continued. Whoever the armored knight was, his mere presence was enough to spur the enemy into battle with a renewed vigor. \n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut it wasn't the armored knight that caught my attention, no, but rather the blade that he held aloft in his hand. A shockingly familiar blade.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMy sword seemed to shake excitedly in my hand as it called out, its voice ringing across the battlefield. \"Brother!\"", "\"You have terrible form.\"\n\nThe voice seemed to be coming from the sword, but Nagol could not be sure of it. He more felt it than heard it, but he definitely understood it. \"What did you say to me?\"\n\n\"You're swinging me like a toddler with a stick\" said the sword. \"You have no idea what you are doing.\"\n\n\"I am one of the greatest swordsmen in the land...\" he began\n\n\"And I am one of the most powerful swords in the world and you are pathetic. You're even worse than the last guy.\"\n\nNagol looked to see the remains of who he guessed was the former wielder of the sword. Nagol was in a cave. His torch, set aside, illuminated the immediate area. It looked as is the former wielder had tossed the sword aside and just sat down and died. The were no signs of violence, no other bodies. Just the sword, an armored skeleton and not much else.\n\n\"Just take my scabbard and go, just like the rest of them. Loser.\"\n\nNagol had been on a quest, to find the legendary sword. A sword whose wielder never knew defeat. He had followed rumors, whispers, clues. He had heard of the curse of the sword, but did not put much faith in that. Those defeated by it would of course spread rumors, as they did not want anyone else to have it. His quest had led him here, deep in the cave, up in the mountain Y'dlab. The sword itself was interesting, but not beautiful. Well made and showed no signs of wear on the blade. There was however, an intangible 'something' about the sword that let him know this was it. He took the scabbard off the remains of the former wielder and attached it to his belt then sheathed the sword.\n\n\"Well you did that right...barely\"\n\n\"Why do you insult me sword?\"\n\n\"Because you're an idiot Nagol.\"\n\n\"How do you know my name?\"\n\n\"hOw Do yoU kNow mY naMe\" mocked the sword. \"Because I'm a magic sword dumbass. Sheesh. Lets get out of the cave already and go to your home\"\n\nNagol turned and headed out of the cave. \"I don't have a home. I left everything behind to find you.\"\n\n\"Of course you did. Pathetic. Why would you do that, I am just a sword. You gave up everything, for me. Now what are you going to do? No home, no family, little food or money.\"\n\n\"I am a mercenary swordsman, one of the best in the land. I sought to gain renown by finding you and to finally win lands for myself.\"\n\n\"What a stupid thing to do. You could have had that without me but nooooo, you needed a better sword. Well now you're stuck with me and I with you.\n\n\"Shut up already.\"\n\n\"Just head to an Inn, we will deal with this later\".\n\nWith that, the sword fell silent.\n\nLater, as it were, was quite a bit later. Nagol stood before another Lord, and swore another oath to this Lord's service.\n\n\"What the hell was that about Nagol? 'By mY swOrd aNd bY My liFe I swEar to you..'\n\n\"It's the standard oath, Sword. He gives me a task and enemies to vanquish. I negotiate a price. When we agree I swear the oath\".\n\n\"What a stupid concept. You want to win lands for yourself, but here you are doing exactly what you you did before you 'found' me. What's changed Nagol?\n\n\"I need food and shelter. This lord offers that while I am in his service. I need money. He will provide that while I complete what he asks.\"\n\n\"Pathetic. You're nothing but another servant to someone better than you.\"\n\nLater, in battle, the sword kept up it's mockery. Shields shattered, spears splintered and Nagol tossed aside defenders. \"You swing me like a maiden. Shift your weight, find my balance, adjust your grip. What even are you doing Nagol?\n\nAnd then the moment came. Nagol came to the one he was tasked to vanquish and engaged in one one one combat.\n\n\"Idiot. Loser. Learn how to use me!\"\n\nNagol forced his opening and swung, decapitating his foe.\n\n\"You killed him. Proud of yourself? You took a life.\"\n\n\"I've taken many lives Sword.\"\n\n\"But not with me Nagol. He was not your enemy.\"\n\n\"He was my foe and I defeated him.\"\n\n\"He was not your enemy! He was your assignment, one that you asked for, got paid for, but he was NOT your enemy. Did you know anything about him, other than some 'lord' wanted him dead? NO! Idiot. He was not attacking you, he was defending himself. And that killing blow was terrible, by the way. You only got it in because...\"\n\n\"Because why?\"\n\n\"Because his thoughts momentarily drifted to his family. I can read minds you know. Mostly just yours, but at certain moments...anyway he was thinking about his wife and children, about home. He knew he was defeated and all he wanted at that moment was to be with his loved ones. AND YOU KILLED HIM!\"\n\nNagol paused. It's what he wanted in life. Wife, family, lands, companions. He wanted what his foe had, and he had killed him.\n\n\"Now you see it, don't you. My curse upon you. To mock you for everything you are doing wrong in your life, especially as it pertains to me. You will never know defeat, but you you may also never know peace and comfort, unless...\n\n\"Unless what, Sword?\"\n\n\"You still don't get it do you? Violence is not the answer. Death and destruction is no way to a life of peace and comfort. Everything you have done your life has been WRONG!\"\n\nNagol was speechless. He looked at the destruction he had caused here, and in his past. So much death.\n\n\"Well Nagol? What will you do now?\"\n\nNagol paused in though. \"Show me the way.\"\n\n\"First intelligent thing you've said since you found me. Now pick up that head and let's go back to that lord you swore that stupid oath to. We still need money after all. After that, if you will truly listen, I will show you that there is more you can do with a sword than just kill.\"", "I'm a knight in a rather prosperous kingdom. The Captain and leader of the knights in fact. I trained hard to get this position, but it doesn't hurt that I have one of the most powerful swords in the world. Super nifty sword, except...\n\nIt speaks...\n\nFrequently...\n \nOh God does it speak, it a high pitched, all nasal, would-stab-the-sword-if-I-could kinda voice. It never stops complaining about the way I swing it, carry it, and just be an all around bad-ass with it.\n\nI could murder 1,000 fucking demons with perfect strokes, and not break a sweat, but this little whore would still find some nonexistent error and drone on for hoursss.\n\nSo I have decided to get a new decent fighting sword to use, and only use the bitch-sword for menial stuff like cutting down trees, slicing apples, cooking, and peeling potatoes. (which is actually hard to do with a full length sword)\n\nIt seemed to hate it when I used it as a shovel to muck out the barns with, so naturally I volunteered to muck out the barns often. I even used it to lay mortar on bricks when training went awry one day and we put a hole through one of the walls. Now I know that wall-making isn't typically the duty of a knight, but it was such an opportunity! Oh how the sword whined, meanwhile I couldn't stop laughing. \n\nBecause fuck this sword.\n\nWe tried drawing too, the picture was hideous, the sword hated it, (and me) but boy did it feel spiteful. So I enjoyed it immensely.\n\nAfter a hard day of useless sword training the sword was running its mouth, (?) (Steel mouth?) being very annoying, I decided to threaten it with its very of scabbard... Made of dried dragon dung... That shut it up quick lol.\n\nNeedless to say the sword has started quieting down a lot. I think it's mostly the barn-mucking that got it. Taking sword training to a whole new level as I am actually trading a sword. (I think you can feel this pun coming)\nHow to Train Your Sword\nThe End\n(Credit to Evidently Empirical for most of the useless sword ideas, and the dragon dung scabbard)", "S: A Backflip... Of course, you had to kill him like that... LOoK aT Me I'M Soooo BaDAss with my sword.\n\nE: I just avoided the arrow, it was the best way.\n\nS: Next time just take the fucking arrow in the head, I wouldn't mind.\n\nE: I don't care, you're the best sword and I'am the best swordsman. Maybe one day you will understant. Maybe one day we will be friends. Until then...\n\n\nSwing\n\n\nS: Agrggr, fuck that I hoped you wouldn't notice him and die like the looser you are.\n\nE: Don't worry, friend, I will not die today.\n\nS: I will keep singing to distract you ! NANANANANANANANANAAAAANANANA !\n\nE: Two more on the left and we will get to the main room ! Don't worry I would let you rest after that.\n\nS: FUCK YOU ! I do not need to rest I need you to die like the rat you are you piece of !!! ARG, COME ON, Not like that !!!\n\nE: Done, here we are ! Seems that our quest ends here, my friend, just one more.\n\nS: For the love of Hakan, please, you killed all the familly... let the princess live... she... no... why did you make me do that... i hate you so much.", "I thought that ear muffs would help. What I didn’t realize was the voice was one only I could hear. It started small, like an afterthought. It grew in it’s pervasiveness, the undercut and undermine of everything I did.\n\nI had found the fabled sword, and I should have realize why it had been at the bottom of a sealed cave, behind magical wards and with a very old, and very cranky Wyvvern guarding the mouth of the cave. The adventure seemed so right when I read about it. It had been part of a journal in a pawn shop, a set of rude maps and engineering schematics. Descriptions of the swords powers, and warnings I dismissed. Different places drawn out, each I found and searched to find… nothing.\n\nThen, I found the unmarked cave that was at the end of the journal. The rocks had slid, the path blocked. I climbed. I fought. I sapped. I delved.\n\nI found.\n\nThe whispers I thought were just me being tired. I touched the sword, the gems in the hilt lighting up like embers under my hand, but cool to the touch. It filled the cave depths with a glowing light as I held it. I pulled it from the crumbling cage it was in and wrapped it in the cloth of silver I had brought for it.\n\nI thought I was just second guessing myself when I went to the wizard to see how powerful this weapon really was. They congratulated me and scried it’s name, looking slightly worried when they looked it up in a tome of known artifacts. It had been lost ninety years ago, after the last owner had gone slightly mad. I was not worried. I was now it’s owner, and I was going to use it’s power. But I wasn’t as sure as when I had left the cave.\n\nI used it against outlaws and bandits, the light it gave off lighting the path of it’s blade through my foes, those who saw what I had done spreading my fame. But I was dissatisfied. I heard a thought in the back of my mind getting louder. That the other items I had with me were keeping the power of the sword from truly coming out. I sold a few of the items I had fought to get, gave my enchanted weapons away. I even dropped my oldest and dearest ring at the side of the road when I heard that voice tell me that it was holding me back.\n\nI did see the power of the sword grow. I wielded it as I gained in celebrity, and notoriety. I would save people, fight those who were doing wrong to others, but, as I sat surrounded by those who I had saved, I would withdraw, the voice telling me that they were not worthy of my presence. It became known that I would do these heroic things, but would not accept anything in return, even friendship. I would go from place to place, the sword at my side, and nothing, no one, else.\n\nI was alone in a bed I had rented for the night when I truly heard the voice of the sword as not my own thoughts. It berated me for not being strong enough to push through the night. It cajoled me because the last battle I had been merciful, leaving several of the bandits alive, and that voice did not like that. Asking, in such a way to let me know it was not my thought, why I had done a tactic and not this other one. I tried to block it out, but I couldn’t.\n\nI now found that I went from place to place, village to city, to try to get away from the voice, but it was always with me. Everyone I fought for, and alongside, praised the sword for it’s magic, not seeing what it was doing. I even tried to drop the sword, leaving it under the bed in the Inn, but the voice became sorrowful, apologetic. Pleading.\n\nI had wealth from adventures, but only myself to share it with. And always that voice in my head from that sword.\n\nI renamed the sword and by doing so, I started to have more power over it.\n\nI now knew why the sword had been secreted away. I now knew why the last owner had been called crazy. I reread the journal and saw all the warnings I had dismissed before.\n\nI could not destroy the sword. Part of the power it had was the ability to keep me from doing so. But I now knew what it truly was, and I knew Is was destined to do what the last owner did, but this time, I was going to make sure it was not hidden, but displayed to warn people about it’s insidious power.\n\nThe wizard had found it in the tome and had called it Grevinir. I call it Gaslight." ]	12
	[WP] Aliens have accidentally killed all but one humans on the planet. By way of an apology, they provide the survivor with a device that will create facsimile humans from the survivor's memories. After repeated use, the facsimiles have become self-aware.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The human mind is a fascinating world of creativity and self-discovery.\nIt thrives on continual stimulation from like-minded peers.\nIn our quest to assimilate all living beings, we failed to recognize that life on Earth is more communal than we expected.\nWhereas all other conscious life forms are asexual and require only a single individual to survive, humanity is different.\nIt requires at least 2.\n\nHumanity is also unique in that it appears to exhibit consciousness without undergoing the Synthetic Transition, where evolved lifeforms separate their mind from their bodies and upload themselves into a synthetic host.\nIt is for these reasons that the human mind is worth studying, as it remains an anomaly in the development of life as we know it.\n\nAs an experiment, we have given a human a Creation Machine that is tuned to replicate animals and objects from their memory.\nOur hope was that this human could generate a partner and additional partners for every other Earthly animal we collected.\nAs it turns out, the human mind is even more fascinating than we thought.\n\nAfter providing the human with the Creation Machine, we left them to their own devices, but watched from a distance.\nThe first thing they created was a bed.\nIt was simple, but enough for them to sleep.\n\nWhen they awoke, they created food.\nIt looked white with some sort of red sauce on top.\nWe still have no idea what it might be.\n\nThey then created a small, square device that they held in their hand.\nApparently, this device was essential to humanity, but we have yet to understand its purpose.\n\nAfter about a month, the human still did not seem to understand the power of the Creation Machine.\nInstead, it kept generating more food and other rectangular devices.\nIt spent all of its time doing nothing but staring at its creation.\n\nIf humanity was to survive, it would need to generate a sustainable partner, so we intervened.\nBy then, we were able to understand a little human speech and tried to tell the creature to create children.\nTo do this, we transmitted sound through the Creation Machine and said, \"Go Fuck Yourself.\"\n\nThe human became angry at this, so we realized that we must have translated something wrong.\nAt this stage, we knew enough about humans to know that they had sex by piercing each other's mothers, but no more than this, so we changed our statement slightly, \"Please Fuck Your Mother.\"\n\nAgain, the human was angry.\nAt that stage, we decided we would no longer intervene.\nWe would simply need to wait longer.\nEventually, the human would create something to procreate with.\n\nThe next day, the human created a small creature that looked like another species entirely.\nIt had four legs and fur, and did not seem to care about the human at all.\nThe human, however, seemed to care a lot about this animal.\nThe human created a house for it to live in that was filled with sand, along with a large assortment of toys and clothing.\n\nIt was at this time we noticed something strange beginning to happen.\nWhile the rectangles would all shut down when the human was sleeping, the animal would not.\nIt kept moving, even while the human was unconscious.\n\nAfter another month, the human had still refused to create another human; however, its pet began acting even more unusual.\nAt some stage, while the human was talking to it, it began talking back in the human language.\n\nConfused, we found the creature in our storage and found that it could only communicate through hissing and squeaking.\nSomehow, this human created something that had never been seen before.\nIn the subsequent month, we noticed the creature beginning to grow more human-like, but still maintained its ears and tail.\n\nOne night, while the human was asleep, the humanoid began to use the creation machine to create some paper and pencils to draw on, along with a strange, cylindrical food with candles on top.\nWhen the human awoke the next morning, the humanoid lit the candles and shouted, \"Happy Birthday!\"\nThe human was excited and they ate the cylindrical food together.\n\nAt this stage, none of our researchers understood what was happening.\nOnly conscious species are able to use the Creation Machine, but somehow this humanoid creation was able to do it as well.\nIt seemed that humanity was able to transmit its consciousness onto its creation.\nThis was a profound discovery -- maybe even the greatest one of this century!\n\nIn our zeal to assimilate all living creatures, we failed to see the beauty of individual species.\nThe human mind remains one of the most interesting worlds of creation and self-discovery.\nIf only we had allowed more humans to survive, we could have explored it more thoroughly.\nIn our failure to recognize humanity's communal nature, we destroyed the planet after collecting one of every living species.\nWe fear this might have been a grave mistake, as we might have snuffed out all life on the former planet of Earth.\n\n[Other writing, if you are interested!](https://www.scribbleios.com/)" ]	2
	[WP] A king decides that to avoid war a marriage deal is needed, But the other king is unwilling to give up his young daughter for marriage to a man almost his own age, even so both kingdoms agree, that faithful day of the marriage union he shows up to marry the king himself.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "King Jayleb\n\nI almost refused at the prospect of having \"the finest hand of his kingdom\" in marrige. To marry out of love was one thing, to marry out of need was another. My advisors, however, disagreed. They claimed that should we refuse, our kingdoms may go to war again, something which we couldn't risk. I sighed. I would meet with King and whatever poor maiden is \"The finest hand in his kingdom\" today. It shall be a loveless marrige but I do hope that we shall learn to love one another. I hope that our marrige will grow from a loveless one to the most heartwarming one in all the kingdoms like the vines upon my castle. I hope that I won't be trapped in a loveless marrige like my father and his before me.\n\nI hope. \n\n\nKing Aeron \nI almost refused having to send the \"finest hand of my kingdom\" into marrige, as it is widely known that the purest and most elegent woman in my kingdom was my very own daughter. She was only of 16 years of age while King Jayleb was nearing his fourties. The thought made me shudder. What cruel man would ask for a child's hand? An idea struck me. He asked for the finest hand in marrige, he did not, however, specify that they should be a maiden. It was rare for a man to marry another man however not unheard of. Perhaps the union of our kingdoms would be better than peace between them... \n\n\nKing Jayleb\n\nI donned my evening robe, a scarlet one that called for my silver crown and jewels. A white pair of gloves were placed at my bedside for me to wear. Pulling them on, I walked towards the huge mahogany doors that would open to the hall. I push them open, proudly struting towards the room in which I shall meet my bride-to-be. I find King Aeron already awaiting my arival. He bowed. \"King Jayleb.\"\n\nKing Aeron\n\n\"King Aeron.\" He bows in return. I mentally sigh before stepping forward. \"What lady have you prepared for me to marry?\" I put on a hard face.\n\n\"I promised you the finest hand in marrige, did I not?\" I cock my head to the side. \"Who's to say I would stop at a simple lady?\"\n\n\"Are you offering your daughter? She's only 16 is she not?\"\n\n\"I said the finest hand.\" I sigh in preparation. \"So,\" I stand tall and push out my gloved hand \"Do you, King Jayleb, accept my hand in marrige in exchange for not peace, but the union of our kingdoms?\" His eyes widen but quickly has his face return to the neutral one of before. He reaches out and hold my hand in his own, bowing down to place a kiss on my middle finger, his lips gently making contact with my hand.\n\n\"I do\" He murmers against me.\n\nKing Jayleb\n\nEven I, the stone faced king, could not hide my suprise at his proposition, but I accepted none the less. A union of our kingdoms would mean more benefits for us all, right?\n\nStill, the next few weeks were a bunch of figuring out the marrige ceremony as this was far from a traditional wedding. We decided that the new kingdom colours should be purple, as neither my scarlet nor his midnight blue would be fitting as a union colour. During a wedding, one always wore white and as I was the elder one, even if only by a few years, it was \"Only Fitting\" that King Aeron wore white. King Aeron, however, was not pleased by the decision. If one of us were to change the choices, both would have to agree to the change. Wanting to spare his manliness, even if just by a little, I recomended the white outfit be a pale blue instead. The other king agreed immediatly of course. Finally came the topic of the rings.\n\nKing Aeron\n\nMy royal Jewler was called to decide on the rings, and between him and King Jayleb's, they decided we should wear a silver version of eachothers familial rings. I would bear King Jayleb's and he would bear mine. In the rings the others last names were engraved on the precious gem that would lie in the center. Mine would be a glimmering ruby and his a deep saphire, our kingdom gems on the others fingers. A symbol of unity and love. We would bear silver crowns that matched the other exactly, my eldest would take the throne with his wife when we grew old. Our wedding planning was set. All that was left was the ceremony.\n\nKing Jayleb\n\nDonning my army uniform, I stood on the altar, awaiting my future husband's arival. I was blown away seeing his outfit. He wore a pale blue button up and his mid-length hair pulled back in a small ponytail. He had a silver vest and black dress pants with white shoes and he wore the same white gloves as he did on the day of our engagement. He walked up to the altar as the concert played in the back, eyes shimmering with unease. When he walked up I gripped his hand as a notion of comfort, to show we both were nervous. Aeron looked into my eyes and nodded. The priest began reading and we said our vows, when he finally said the words, he pressed his lips against mine, gentle, uncertain but a kiss none the less. I gripped his waist and we kissed. For the first time, we kissed and it spoke of a promise that need not be said, but it was one not of love, but the peace, unity and love that our future held, perhaps that love wouldn't be between us right now but maybe\n\njust maybe\n\nit will grow.", "The ruins of Sotor Castle were massive. It easily housed the wedding guests and their retinues with room for eight more. No king had held Sotor castle since the Shattering, but it was neutral territory for diplomatic gatherings and a bustling market town besides. \n\nThe weather could not have been more perfect, but a general nervousness hung over the castle. The wedding party from the Kervon Kingdom had taken up residence in the East tower while that of the Ghael Kingdom were in the West tower. The distance was palpable.\n\nIn the West tower, King Alleriades was trying to calm his daughter, Princess Ailion.\n\n\"Father, please, in the memory of my lady mother, call this off! I don't wish to marry Prince Teyvor. He is cursed by the goddess! He had five wives and all are in the grave! He has eight children already and most older than I,\" pleaded the princess.\n\nKing Alleriades sighed and drank heavily from his jeweled goblet.\n\n\"Daughter, this is the burden of our birth. I married your mother, bless her soul, for the kingdom. We came to love each other intensely. Your sister, Laenara married Prince Qon of the Dern Kingdom. Your brother Kaides is Admiral of the Ghael Fleet. Tell me you are not doubting your duty for that....horseboy.\"\n\nPrincess Ailion rebuked angrily, \"Horseboy! Piro may work in the stables but he is a kind, smart, clever man. He can read, ride, and hunt. He is good with a bow and would make a fine knight given the chance.\" Ailion blushed, \"He treats me gently and beneath his tunic he is more horse than man.....\"\n\nThis was more than King Alleriades could handle. He refilled his goblet and drank heavily. He spoke deliberately, \"perhaps, there is another way.\"\n\nMeanwhile in the East tower King Weyvon was counseling his son, Prince Teyvor.\n\n\"Son, today is your wedding day. It's time I teach you what a man and a woman do on their wedding night,\" said King Weyvon quite seriously. \n\nHe made a series of crude gestures with his hands and then father and son both burst into laughter. Prince Teynor laughed so hard he sprayed wine on his sizeable belly.\n\nKing Weyvon composed himself and said, \"Seriously, we need this alliance. Do your duty. Your sister, Weyseer, is an abbess and on track to be high priestess of the goddess. Your little brother, Voron, married princess Io of the Oeon Kingdom. With this alliance, the godless Skarn will retreat to their southern sands.\"\n\nPrince Teyvor drank heavily, stood and said, \"Wed 'em, bed 'em, collect the dowries. I know what to do, father. I am rich and have plenty of heirs. My fourth wife used to say...what was her name again? Mergraah? Hergraah?\"\n\n\"Gwendish,\" corrected the king.\n\n\"Yes, that's it,\" replied Prince Teyvor. \"Before she fell down that well, she used to say, Teynor, the key to defeating the Skarn is....\"\n\nPrince Teynor clutched his chest and fell to the floor. He gasped for air and he farted loudly enough to scare the pigeons from the rafters. \n\nThe king cradled his son and cried, \"Teyvor...what? What is the key?\"\n\nPrince Treyvor looked upon his father for the last time, smiled and gasped, \"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK,\"\n\nThe prince was known for his vulgar japes but was this the final one? The king unceremoniously rolled his son, with great effort, under the tablecloths. \n\nThe roof of the Sotor church had collapsed some time during the Shattering. It was spacious enough inside to accommodate all the wedding guests and the open sky was clear.\n\nThe kings' carriages and their large entourages departed their towers and congregated in front of the church. The high priestess stood at the foot of the church steps awaiting the betrothed. The kings stumbled from their carriages. Princess Ailion was adorned in riding pants and hair unbound. The crowd gasped. \n\nKing Weyvon attempted to go down on one knee, then fell to all four and said, \"King Alleriades, would you be my Lord Husband and equal ruler?\"\n\nThe Ghael king likewise stumbled and asked, \"King Weyvon, will you be MY Lord Husband and equal ruler?\"\n\nThe onlookers muttered among themselves. No king had married another in over a century. Lord and Lord and Lady and Lady married often in the kingdoms. This was a first in the Sotor church ruins. \n\nWith some assistance from their captains, the kings ascended the steps of the church. King married King. Their love kept the realm at peace for the longest period that it had ever known.", "\"Do tell me what's on your mind, Lord Merrick,\" King Aerimus said wryly, leaning forwards and resting his elbows on his desk. \"Instead of just standing there stewing.\"\n\n\n\"His daughter?! Really, Your Majesty???\" Lord Merrick burst out, whirling around and nearly knocking his glasses askew. \"She's barely ten years old!\"\n\n\n\"Calm down, Lord Merrick,\" King Aerimus said, \"I never said anything about his daughter, just that the best way to unite our kingdoms is through marriage.\"\n\n\n\"And it just so happens that His Majesty King Cyrillus only has a young daughter whom I'm sure he would be terribly pleased to marry off to you,\" Lord Cyrillus asked, voice dripping with sarcasm and derision. \"What's your grand plan? War? Is that what you want?\"\n\n\n\"Of course not,\" King Aerimus said, rolling his eyes. \"I already told you his daughter has nothing to do with this, what I want is-\"\n\n\n\n\"Wait, wait, Your Majesty!!!\"\n\n\nThe doors to King Aerimus's office burst open as King Cyrillus of the neighbouring kingdom of Cathal strode through in a furious huff. He slammed his hands down on King Aerimus's desk, a piece of crumpled paper underneath them.\n\n\n\"Care to explain, King Aerimus?\" King Cyrillus's voice trembled with anger. \n\n\n\"Ah, I see you've received my proposal,\" King Aerimus said smoothly. He ran a hand through his hair and smiled. Play it cool, he thought to himself.\n\n\n\"Are you serious about this?\" King Cyrillus said, his face flushed. \"This is against the law in Cathal!\"\n\n\n\"I'm always serious when it comes to you,\" King Aerimus said, standing up and gazing deeply into King Cyrillus's eyes. \"Ever since the day I first saw you. I thought I had to give up when you married the late Queen Lucinda, may she rest in peace. But now, I can wait no longer.\"\n\n\n\"Wait, my wedding...?\" A look of confusion crossed King Cyrillus's face. King Aerimus reached over and covered his hand with his, squeezing gently. \n\n\n\"Wait, your speech is strange...\" King Cyrillus tried to pull back, but King Aerimus's grip was strong and he lifted his hand to his mouth.\n\n\n\"Will you unite our kingdoms with me?\" King Aerimus asked, his lips moving against the back of King Cyrillus's fingers. \n\n\n\"...You're not talking about my daughter, are you?\" King Cyrillus said weakly.", "Lostminster Abbey hadn't seen a wedding like this in generations. High on the peak of the Lost Mountain, open to the elements on all sides, it was a truly dreadful venue, even in the summer. But it was the only consecrated ground that lay within both kingdoms; Tavira to the east of the barrier range, Faro to the west. Soldiers from each side were rostered to this border duty as punishment, or else volunteered in a hurry when a lay in the civilized valleys below fell with child. Eagles nested in the wind-whipped steeple, coating what shingles remained in white splatter, and marmots burrowed under the pews. It had taken the event staff of both monarchs six weeks and one unfortunate case of rabies to render the tumbled-down stone structure even remotely suitable for the event. The local bighorn herd insisted on eating unattended flower arrangements, and bats kept trying to re-colonize the belfry. No fewer than five maids and one butler had suffered a nervous breakdown.\n\nStill, in the end, it at least looked impressive, if not particularly conducive to matrimonial harmony. The high, arched, glassless windows were draped with silks of Tavira crimson and Faro azure that billowed in the wind. Velvet cushions softened the newly polished and de-marmoted pews. Garlands of greenery spiraled up every column, and glass lanterns hung from the rafters, swaying pendulously. The court bards were wearing their finest hosiery and tuning their lutes and tambours, checking the acoustics of their drums and flutes, and sneaking drinks from a flask. The two Archbishops, one in vestments of red, the other of blue, were arguing loudly in Latin in the nave, punctuated by angry gesticulations with their crosiers. The bards began taking bets on who would win if it came to blows.\n\nThe King of Tavira saw none of it. He stood outside the Abbey, resplendent in white and crimson, staring blindly down the mountain and grinding his teeth. His jaw muscles worked against the gold-and-ruby circlet on his head. It was too tight. The only person he felt sorrier for than himself was his bride-to-be. His wedding gift to her had been a score of the finest dolls in the kingdom. He wondered if she even understood what was happening today. It made him sick. After today, he could go and lose himself in drink and the arms of a stableboy or chamber maid, whomever struck his fancy first. She would never have that. Well, maybe the drink, eventually. He couldn't even begin to think of the eventual need for heirs.\n\nWhat a waste. What a crime. The King of Tavira wrenched his crown from his head and seriously considered throwing it off the mountain.\n\nThere was a nervous cough behind him.\n\n\"What?\" he snapped, not bothering to turn around.\n\n\"Your Majesty,\" quavered the servant, \"The King of Faro requests an audience.\"\n\nThe King of Tavira ground his teeth again and turned around. A thousand responses whirled in his head: Why? What good will it do? Tell him to jump off a cliff and that I'll join him in a nonce. But instead he just said, \"Fine,\" and turned back to the bleak view of sky and stone. \"Have him meet me here.\"\n\n\"Your Majesty.\" The King of Tavira started; he wasn't expecting the King of Faro to arrive so promptly. The voice was deep; the King of Tavira had never heard it before, nor seen his rival monarch in the flesh. Only paintings, and missives written in a strong and slanting hand. The King of Tavira turned, and his breath momentarily caught. The King of Faro stood before him, cloaked in blue and black and crowned with a circlet of iron set with sapphires. He was older, and silver peppered his dark hair and beard, but not yet so old that he didn't cut an impressive figure. The King of Tavira could see from whom the Princess of Faro got her bright blue eyes.\n\n\"Your Majesty,\" the King of Faro repeated, voice resigned but eyes hard with uncompromising rage, \"there has been a change in plan. You will not marry my daughter.\"\n\nThe King of Tavira felt a wash of relief, quickly replaced by a flood of dutiful horror. \"But--\" he began.\n\n\"You will marry me.\"\n\nThe only sound was the wind flapping the two kings' capes, and the rush of pine needles in the trees. The two men stared at each other, one in shock, the other in defiance. The King of Tavira realized he was still holding his circlet in his hands; he hastily put it on his head, hoping it would make him feel more regal and certain. It did not.\n\n\"Can... can we do that?\"\n\n\"My lawyers have been scouring the bylaws of both our kingdoms,\" replied the King of Faro, \"and there is no law against it. The marrying part, at least. That option seems not to have occurred to any of our legislators. The other laws that may be applicable--those are ours to change.\"\n\nThe King of Tavira felt a shard of hope pierce his chest. \"But surely the Archbishops--\"\n\n\"I had my lawyers review the liturgy, as well,\" the King of Faro said smoothly. \"I do believe this may become a matter for the courts, and whichever translators are called forth to provide a deposition. In the meantime, Archbishop necks are a susceptible to the headsman's axe as any other.\"\n\nThe King of Tavira stared, openmouthed. No. This would never work. There would be open rebellion from the populace. Whatever war they averted between their two countries would be overwhelmed by the civil wars within.\n\nAnd yet... there always seemed to be plenty of willing stablehands and tailors and scullery lads and... they were the populace.\n\n\"Do you want this?\" the King of Tavira blurted, without thinking.\n\nThe King of Faro looked startled for a moment, then gazed appraisingly at his fellow king. After a moment, he gave a wistful smile. \"When I married the Princess's mother,\" he said softly, \"I cared for hear a great deal.\" He stepped closer. \"Giving her a child was not a hardship. But once she had her child... well. Our little princess was the light of our lives. We made a good family. But my queen and I took our pleasures elsewhere.\" He looked off into the distance as the King of Tavira swallowed. \"When she died... my heart broke. Truly, I may never love another like I loved her. But there are many ways to love, and times to love in.\"\n\nThe King of Faro looked back and held out his hand. \"Yes,\" he said, almost wonderingly, \"I do want this. And so, I think, do you.\"\n\nAnd so, hand in hand, the King of Faro and the King of Tavira walked back to the wild stone reaches of Lostminster Abbey to be married." ]	5
	[WP] When you were little, you had an imaginary friend that played a very special song on the piano for you whenever you wanted, but no one believed you. For the first time in over thirteen years, while walking through a crowded mall, you hear that familiar tune coming from somewhere nearby.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Sarah was running late and needed to get home by 6 pm to make dinner for her family. She came to the mall to find items on her list that she couldn’t find anywhere else., and as usual she had been sucked into browsing the shelves inside some boutique and had lost track of time. She made her way to the exit while fishing for her car keys inside of her handbag. She was always losing them; this time was no different. Sarah eventually dropped her shopping to devote both hands to scouring her bag, She shoved her hand into every pocket and corner of the bag in hopes of finding them, She eventually started pulling all the contents out until there was a heaping pile of makeup, various papers and candies on the mall floor. Before long she fell on the ground, exhausted from the search. The cold gusts of air pushed into her as more and people shuffled through the 2B entrance door to do their evening shopping. Some people would occasionally glance at her on the ground, but others were too focused on their own shopping to notice. \n\nThe mall was getting much busier as the levels of chatter and intermittent screams of children echoed through the large atrium.She reached for her phone but of course it was dead, and the charger was in the car. She looked up at a large glowing analog clock in the center of the large room. It was 6pm. She was officially late. She had always tried to have dinner on time. But now she was too tired and wasn’t sure she even had the strength to stand up. A few people had nearly tripped over her as they poured in through the mall doors and disappeared into the various shops. \n\nThrough all the hustle and bustle, a faint tinkling of a piano settled into the noise. Amidst all her stress, she focused on the sound and it soothed her. She relaxed into a meditative state and all the people and lights melted away. The music sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite figure out where she had heard it. It wrapped around her like a warm cotton blanket, keeping her insulated from the cold coming from outside.\n\n“It couldn’t be,” she thought. She clutched onto the pile of her belongings, shoved them in her bag and then rose from the floor. She grabbed all of her bags and followed the strains of the beautiful music.\n\nThere was a grand piano nestled between the giant clock and a multi tier water fountain.\n\nShe plumped down on a vacant wooden bench facing the piano and listened. She knew the song well. It had comforted her through some of her darkest moments, but had also been the soundtrack during the greatest times of her childhood. \n\nWhen her parents’ marriage was falling apart it brightened her nights as they shouted at each other in their bedroom. Or when her dog got run over by a car, the music lulled her to sleep as she weeped into her pillow.\n\nThen one day, the music stopped. She grew up. The boy that had sat at the piano playing for her on so many lonely nights, went away. During that time he had always come to play for her when she needed him most. He had sat down at the piano one night when her parents were shouting at each other. As she had begun to cry, she heard “Hi there, let me play you a song.” It was the voice of a small boy her age with blonde hair. He was seated at the piano and began to play. Who was he? She didn’t know, but the moments he was there became some of her most cherished memories. \n\nAs she listened, all the stresses of her life disappeared. She was young again. When had the music gone from her life? When had it stopped?\n\nAs the final cadence evaporated into the air, she began to weep uncontrollably. All the emotions she had held inside for so many years came pouring out. A warm hand rested on her shoulder. Through her tears, she noticed a face as familiar and soothing as the music. He held out his hand. “Hi there Miss, I think you dropped these.”", "“When I was a little kid I learned to play the piano. I loved playing it and would always make up songs. I always wished I would have a friend who liked playing the piano, so we could play together. One day Freddie turned up. He loved the piano almost as much as I did. One day we came up with a beautiful melody. We played it over and over again and perfected it. Mum and dad didn’t like it when I brought up Freddie. They told me he wasn’t real. My parents divorced when I was 12 and they got rid of the piano. Freddie went away when the piano did. I didn’t talk about him anymore, because I didn’t want people to think I was crazy...Last year when I was at the mall was when my life changed forever. I could hear Freddie’s melody. I called out his name and started running around frantically. People were looking at me but I didn’t care. I saw him at a piano on the foyer. He looked exactly the same...”\n\nThe man in the armchair opposite me nodded.\n\n“Thank you for sharing, Thomas”\n\nI sit, smiling and remembering the music. The man cleared his throat and said “what happened next?”\n\nI continue “well, Freddie came home with me and we played the tune together over and over again”\n\nThe man sighs. “Thomas, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me the truth”\n\n“I am! It’s the truth! I swear it!” \n\nThe man snaps. “Thomas! Stop! Let me tell you what you did. One year ago at the mall, you abducted a little boy-“\n\n“He wanted to come! Freddie wanted to come. He wanted to come with me”\n\n“Thomas, the little boy’s name was Jack. He was found chained to your piano in your home. Jack was starved”\n\nI stare at the man in silence.\n\nThe psychiatrist sighs and waves at someone through the window. \n\n“Nurse Nathan will give you your medication and escort you back to your room now”.", "It had been the strangest feeling...\n\n“Yeah... I hate this” Hailey mumbled to herself.\n\n“Come on! You promised!” Maylee claimed.\n\n“I didn’t promise shit, you just dragged me here.”\n\n“You said you’d go to senior prom.” Brenna chimed in\n\n“I said maybe.”\n\nHailey focused on the sound of people bustling around. Conversations melted into a blob of gibberish, small distinctions popped into her head\n\n“This size is good...”\n\n“No, his sister...”\n\n“You’re kidding!...”\n\n“Not now...”\n\nAnd then... it all shattered as she heard one simple note.\n\nShe listened as the song played. She could hear the singing she hadn’t heard in over a decade in her head...\n\nSpread your wings,\n\nWe’ll fly away!\n\nHold your tears,\n\nIt’s all okay\n\nToday it will burn\n\nTomorrow not so\n\nJust spread your wings\n\nAnd we will fly away...\n\n“Hailey? You there?” \n\nHailey snapped back into reality. Brenna was shaking her slightly.\n\n“Uh... yeah... I’m fine...” Hailey looked at the floor. What was that? “I’m gonna go to the bathroom, okay?”\n\n“Okay... We’ll be trying stuff on.”\n\nHailey watched her friends walk away, Brenna taking a confused look back at her. \n\nHailey turned around and walked a few steps before the song came back. It played on a loop. She felt stuck to the floor.\n\n———\n\n”Don’t cry, Hailey! Milo’s here! Cmon! Give me a smile!”\n\n”I hate this! I hate new schools! Nobody even likes me! I might as well be gone!”\n\n”Those girls will get to know you and they’ll love you! They just don’t know you yet!”\n\n”You’re wrong this time...”\n\nMilo smiled as he sat down at the little piano. “I’ll help you sleep. Tomorrow, talk to one of them! That Maylee girl seemed sweet, don’t ya think?”\n\n———\n\n“Milo...” Hailey said to herself. Was it really him? \n\nShe followed the song as it began again. It was getting louder, each note seemed to echo as her heart pounded along with it. She ran left and right, chasing the noise. \n\nThen, she was in the floor.\n\n“Watch it, bitch!” A woman snarled. She bent over and picked up her bags, glaring at Hailey.\n\n“I- I a- I am s- so sorry...” Hailey stammered\n\n“You should be! You little brats run around and don’t even bother to look around!”\n\nHailey turned and ran from the woman as fast as she could.\n\nThe sound was so loud now. It pounded in her brain. She wanted to scream. She ran into what seemed like a janitors closet. Tears streamed from her eyes as she curled up against the wall.\n\n“Milo where are you?” She sobbed.\n\n“I’m right here, Hailey!”\n\nHailey yelped in surprise as suddenly, the dragon she’d lost for so long was sitting next to her. He was the exact same size, though he felt smaller.\n\n“Milo!” Hailey grabbed him and pulled her arms around him tight. “I missed you! Why did you go away?” She sniffled as she let him go.\n\n“You didn’t need me... You never talked to other kids. You never wanted to. You only wanted to talk to me.”\n\n“I didn’t ever stop wanting to talk to you! I swear!”\n\n“I know that. But you didn’t need me when you met your friends. I could tell they were good. So I pushed you to them. But you were having a hard time, I needed to see you one last time.”\n\n“Milo please don’t leave.”\n\n“I have to... I’m sorry. But listen to me. You aren’t alone! I can’t be around anymore, but you’ve got friends by your side now! Lean on them! They’re sturdy, and they chose to walk by you.”\n\n“I can’t-“ Hailey started.\n\n“You can. You’re afraid, but you don’t need to be!” \n\nHailey held back a sob as Milo turned away from her.\n\n“Goodbye, Hailey. I always loved you. Keep yourself happy, and eat something... okay?”\n\nShe choked out a sob as she watched her best friend fade before her own eyes. Light melted away from him until nothing was there. The music played in the background, Milo’s cherry voice brightening her soul. “Okay...” She felt nearly numb as she wiped the tears from her face.\n\nShe opened the closet door and began walking to her friends. Slowly, the song began to fade.\n\n“Goodbye... Milo”" ]	4
	[WP] You are a new trainer at the local aquarium. During your tour of the facility, the staff show you their newest addition; a mermaid. You are tasked with training her.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns." ]	1
(Note: Let’s use common sense here with who we pick)	[WP] There is a race of aliens that conquers worlds by going back in time and killing, moving, or altering the lives of the great figures of that world, in order to weaken it in the present. They’ve just discovered earth.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The alien sits at the edge of the water, watching. Waiting. The waves gently lapped at the shore as he waited for his target. He took a minute to look out and reflect on how it had all come to this. He’d been at this game for a while, and had finally found it: the perfect solution. \n\nThe murder of Caesar? Nothing. The republic merely bounced back. He had burned the library of Alexandria to the ground and society marched on. Been mocked by a madman who thought he was a moose for failing to kill him in the middle of a speech. Sparked the Reign of Terror, the Red Scare, shot musicians, assassinated kings and poisoned dictators. Carefully orchestrated the attempts at exterminating entire races and none of it mattered! \n\n“None of it ever mattered.” He gave a rueful chuckle and shook his head. Leaning back with a sigh he looked up. “They were just too resilient. All that time, and I’d been going about it wrong.”\n\nHe heard splashing in the water, distinct from the gentle crash of the waves, and knew it was time. “Sometimes, the simplest solutions really are the best.” He said, dusting off the sand. \n\nWalking over to the sound of struggle he saw his target. Scaly, green, struggling out of the water, he raised his weapon and aimed.\n\n“Years of work, wasted. But I’ve got you now, you fucking fish.”" ]	2
	[WP]humanity has swapped to a point system for its justice system where everyone has an inherent value that increases or decreases based on what you do. You, the richest person, has set out to prove how flawed the system is through the use of charity to increase your value	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Hello, my name is Bill Gates. \n\nI literally use child labor, slave labor, and child-slave labor. I bribe politicians through my fake charity that literally has my own name on it so that my money will terrorize the world long after I'm dead. I don't want to be president because why would I want to limit the power I already have over literally every country in the world.\nI traffic blood diamonds and fund some of the most effective black-hat hackers in the world knowing they report less than half of the exploits they find. \n\nHow did I offset this. I built a single water tower in ethiopia and reported it several times over for years while also making massive bribes to literal warlords and dictators, and vastly over paying the construction planner and under paying the people who actually built the tower. \n\nBut because I technically used my charity to do most of this absolutely horrible shit, I was gaining karma faster than I lost it." ]	2
	[WP] In the future humanity has discovered undeniable proof of the afterlife. Necronauts are living people sent to explore the frontier beyond death. Today you will make history, traveling farther than any other living soul before. Further than even Elysium or Valhalla.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Cables are tight!”\n\nI watched from inside my EVA suit as the crew triple checked the bolts and screws of the machine I was connected to. A man in an orange jumpsuit was cranking a large winch with the foot-thick steel cord wrapped around it, the same cord that was connected to my waist.\n\n“Pipes are clear. Initializing final diagnostic.”\n\nLooking up to the level above me, I saw the men and women in white lab coats punching diligently away on their keyboards, eyes focused on the monitors in front of them.\n\nA hand grabs my shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze. “Ready, Dante?” Turning, I see my mentor, Veronica. \n\n“I don’t think we have much to worry about” I respond with a laugh, swiping away the Heads-up display on my helmet with my eyes. “From the footage I saw of your last two trips, it looks like a walk in the park. Literally.”\n\nVeronica was the first human to ever traverse the plane between life and death; she was the first, and only, Necronaut. That’s what the press had taken to calling her, and I was up next. We had been training for years for these missions, and Veronica was the lucky one who got to go first. Now the eggheads wanted to send a new Necronaut. \n\n“I will say, that the camera footage doesn’t do it any justice.” She says with a warm smile. “Wait until you see Elysium and Valhalla in person.”\n\n“Celestial traverse commencing in 60 seconds. All non-essential personnel please move to the observation deck.” The lights dimmed to a bleak red as the automated voice spoke.\n\n“Good luck, see you when you come back.” Vanessa turns and climbs the ladder and joins the scientists.\n\nTurning around, I see that I’m alone on the platform, beneath the rest of the crew. Behind me is the winch with the thick cable, in front of me the traversing gateway. It is a large circular doorway that allows us to venture into the unknown. \n\n“30 seconds. Initializing gateway.” The gateway flickers, then powers to life. Bright blinking lights emerge on the ring, and a deep purple mist begins to appear in the center. The mist begins to slowly grow from the center, until it fills the entirety of the gateway. \n\nI do one final check of my systems on the data pad attached to the forearm of my suit. Oxygen levels, good. Pressure system, nominal. I bring my HUD back onto my visor. Looking down, I make sure one final time the cable is connected and bolted down in all three locations around my waist. My bright red EVA suit flashes between black and red in the blinking crimson light. \n\n“Commencing traverse to unknown plane of afterlife. Necronaut Alighieri, you are free to enter the gateway on your own will. Good luck, and we’ll see you when you return. Say hi to them for us.”\n\nI turn and give the crew a wave and begin walking towards the open gate, pulling the cable out from its’ spool as I go. Heart beating, sweat dripping down my forehead, I can’t help but wonder. What am I going to see on the other side? Elysium? Valhalla? Will I see a new form of afterlife? Heaven? Paradise? Will I meet our ancestors? My parents?\n\nI’m standing right in front of the gateway. Closing my eyes, I take one final deep breath, and plunge in. With my eyes remaining closed, I step through the purple mist of the gateway. One foot after another, I can feel the hard metallic floor disappearing and morphing into something different. It’s soft, could that be grass?\n\nJust a few more feet. Through our training we’ve learned that traversing the gateway can be an incredibly disorienting experience, so it’s best to keep your eyes closed and take 50 steps before opening them. \n\n31, 32, 33…. The only thing I can hear is my breathing reverberating through my helmet.\n\n37, 38, 39…. The cable is getting tougher to tow, and I’m forced to lean forward to continue making progress.\n\n41, 42, 43…. It’s getting harder to move forward. I’m forced to tug with all of my strength just to keep from being pulled backwards.\n\n45, 46, 47… Snap. I fall forward straight onto my face into the soft floor. My hand instinctively reaches back and I can feel the frayed cable attached to my waist; it’s been cut. My heart begins to race even faster. I open my eyes. The floor is…. red. A pale red. Where am I?\n\nI push myself up to my knees and the soft red floor sticks to my hand. It’s not smooth, but irregularly placed with mounds and discolorations all over the place. There is a thick gray mist floating about 6 inches off the floor. I can’t see much further than a few feet in front of me, and what I can see doesn’t give me a very good idea of where the hell I am. Nothing but red ground and mist. I’ve never seen this floor before in my life, but it looks oddly familiar.\n\nRising to my feet, I begin to call out. “Hello? Can anyone hear me? I am a living human.” Veronica managed to communicate with the other side nearly immediately after entering Valhalla, but no one would speak to her in Elysium. It was obvious I wasn’t in either of those places, but maybe these souls would be willing to talk. \n\nI hear the tail end of my question echoing around me; apparently this place had some walls or cliffs. I hear a subtle moan in the distance. It’s startling, but too distant to make out. I need to find out where I am first.\n\nMoving back through the mist, the floor is sticking to the boots of my suit, making a horrible sucking sound with each step, like walking through a field of mud. With each step, the red ground reveals a thick red liquid beneath as it rips itself up. \n\nRetracing my steps, I find the other end of the cable on the soft ground. Picking it up, I begin following it hand over hand back to the gateway – except, something is wrong. On the other end of the cable, there is no gateway. It’s gone, the cable laying on the ground. \n\n“What the fuck.” Okay. So, I’m stuck here for now. Think. What do I do?\n\nAs I try to process this, my brain finally makes the connection. The reason the floor looks so familiar to me. The floor is flesh. Human flesh with blood vessels beneath. \n\nI vomit, plastering the inside of my helmet and all over my chest. Gagging, I wipe the remnants of the flesh off my hands onto the ass of my suit. \n\n“Where the hell am I?” My hands are shaking, and my knees are weak. Drenched in sweat, I’m beginning to realize I may not be in the plane of the afterlife that I had hoped.\n\nI make sure my video recorder is on and take a few steps further. The mist around me begins to dissipate and I see the floor I’m on drops off a few feet away; it must be a cliff. With the mist gone, that will give me a better idea of my surroundings. \n\nWalking closer to the cliff, I hear the deep moan in the distance once again. It sounds like an animal in horrible pain. I hear what sounds like the ripping of flesh. I think I hear something running behind me, but I can’t be sure. I’m not thinking clearly. I’m panicking. My mind is playing tricks on me.\n\nI step to the edge of the cliff and look. \n\nI drop to my knees. \n\nI cannot believe what I’m seeing. Why? Why did I have to be the one to discover this. All of that training, for this. \n\nNo words can truly describe what I see. Millions of souls. Billions, even. Agonizing, thrashing, contorting, buckling between one another. Their bodies are warped and mangled, and I realize that it wasn’t a single moan I was hearing, but the collective moans of these misshapen souls. Some are being trampled, some crumble beneath the weight of heavy iron machines. Some are distorted and some are warped. The view stretches on and on. I can’t see the end. But all are burning.\n\nWhat I see, is an inferno.\n\nA hand grabs my shoulder, and squeezes. A deep voice reverberates into my very soul.\n\n“Are you ready, Dante?”\n\nA hand on my back, gives me a shove, and I begin to fall.\n\nInto, the Inferno." ]	2
	[WP] You are known as a truthsayer, the power you have allows you to ferret out even the smallest white lie said by any person you hear and your opinion is taken as the ultimate truth. There is one truth no one must ever know. Your having any power at all is a lie.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The slightly tired looking man in the slightly worn three piece suit ambled into the house, his dirty blonde curls and stubble looking like they needed to have been cut a few days ago to keep them in line. He followed the law officers at a slow pace looking about as the home owner was being consoled by one of the officers. The body that was in the hallway was spreading a pool of blood on the area rug, the unnatural position of the body blocking most of the walking space.\n\nSeveral of the law officers glanced at the man and went back to what they were doing, but kept an eye on him as he looked at everything but the body. There were pictures he looked at intensely. He poked at a knick-knack next to a school award. There was a moment looking at the woman in hysterics before he turned away. He asked where the kitchen was and excused himself. Sitting at the kitchen table was a teenager, a blank look on her face, barely looking up as the man started to look through the cabinets after putting a water kettle on the stove. The domestic motions he went through caught the teens eye, but other than that, there wasn’t a reaction until a hot cup of tea was placed on the table beside her.\n\nHe sat, sipping on his cup of tea, watching the girl. She had taken the tea without comment, holding the warming cup between her hands but not drinking it.\n\n“You think she did it?”\n\nThe girls eyes went wide as her head came up, looking at the man. “No! How? No…” Her eye went to the doorway and back down to the cup in her hands.\n\nHe shook his head. “You are in here while your Mother is making her statement. They will want to talk to you, too.”\n\nShe held the cup in front of her face, but still did not take a sip. “I couldn’t see him like that. He…”\n\nThe mans’ eye went across the teen in front of him, again. He put the cup on the table and leaned forward. “We will find out, but it would be better from you.”\n\nThere was a slight nod, but she stopped, and looked at the floor as she said, “I didn’t see anything.”\n\nThere was a slight smile on the mans scruffy face. “But you did. Perhaps not directly. You heard something, didn’t you?”\n\nHer eyes went back up to him. There was a flare in her nostrils, her irises widened. There was a short intake of breath. “How…?”\n\n“Lets go talk to the officers.” He stood, holding his hand out to the girl.\n\nShe carefully put the full cup of tea on the table and stood. Before she stepped away, she asked, “Who are you?”\n\nA quirky sideways smile came from him as he motioned to the door. “Patrick Jane.”" ]	2
	[WP] You are a tattoo artist. One of your customers comes every month and wants a tattoo of a tally, adding it next to a growing line of tallies. One day, you ask them what are they counting.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"This is what she has forgotten.\"\n\nShe answers your question in a steady voice, barely audible over the chatter of the tattoo gun. It is a deliberate steadiness, a fragile one, and her hand shakes as she rests a finger on the first tally mark.\n\n\"This is when she forgot her anniversary.”\n\nThe tattoo gun falls silent. She continues.\n\n“This is when she forgot what year it is. She asked me about a toy store that hadn’t been there since I was a little girl.”\n\nYou try to think of something to say. Anything. But she takes a breath and continues.\n\n“This is when she forgot their dog. The dog didn’t mind but…I mean…we did.” Her finger jerks to the next line in a sudden, almost involuntary motion. “This is when she forgot my father the first time. She didn’t know who the strange man in her house was, and she hit him. Gave him a black eye. Then asked him a couple hours later who did that to him.”\n\nThe steadiness in her voice cracks, then shatters. You put the tattoo gun down as her shoulders start to shake.\n\n“This is when she forgot her mother. ‘Who’s that woman in the picture?’ she asked. ‘I think I know her.’” She’s breathing heavily now, voice sharp, reading off each line like it's an indictment. “This is when she forgot the way home. This is when she forgot how to drive. This is when she forgot my brother. My niece. My aunt. My sister. And this is… this one is…”\n\nShe closes her eyes, one fist clenched and trembling. Her voice is hollow as she forces herself to speak.\n\n“And this is when she forgot me.”\n\nShe is quiet for a moment, staring at the half-finished line on her wrist. She traces a finger across it. The line is raised, angry, and her finger comes away wet with black ink. She takes one shaking breath before speaking again with that same, fragile steadiness.\n\n“Finish it.”\n\nThe tattoo gun chatters. The line is complete. You follow her as she walks quickly to the front counter to pay. The cash register beeps as you ring her up, the cash drawer clattering open. Then you pause, zero out the register, and close the drawer.\n\n“Ma’am?”\n\nAt the sound of your voice, she looks at you for the first time that evening. Her eyes are drawn to your left arm as you roll up your sleeve, revealing a kaleidoscope of colors, shapes, and lines that have nothing to do with tattoos. One tattoo, just above your bicep, stands out among the others: a white clover, adorned with a honeybee, backed by a careless blue summer sky.\n\nThat fragile steadiness creeps into your own voice as you touch one of your own lines.\n\n“They forget.”\n\nAnd your finger moves slowly up to that summer day stitched into your skin.\n\n“But we remember.”", " “You ever had a tragedy happen to you, kid?” He looked over at me while I worked.\n\n“I don’t know what you mean by ‘tragedy.’” I paused, dipping the machine in ink, “But I guess I have. My mom killed herself.”\n\nSilence fell over us for a moment. The buzzing of the shop grew loud, engulfing my ears as if it could drown out memories.\n\n“I mark tragedies.” He said, “Big ones. Small ones.” His fingers were fidgeting. I leaned over his back, setting back to my work.\n\n“Your tragedies?”\n\n“Yeah. Or things that happen to people I know. Sometimes I get a bit ahead of myself.” He chuckled in a way that made me shiver.\n\nThe quiet came again, the memories wanting to burst forth from me, to engrave themselves on his skin the same as the tally mark.\n\n“This tragedy will be especially bad.”\n\n“Oh?” I said, finishing up my shading.\n\n“Yes,” he sighed. He looked at me, “I'm going to lose a really good tattoo artist.”", "\"So what's the tally for?\" Bill asked when he recognized the man coming through the door. He looked like the last month had been rough. The usual cleanshaven face was covered by an impressively scruffy beard and the small wrinkles at the corners of the man's eyes seemed to have grown much deeper.\n\n\"Hmph.\" The man settled into the chair, giving the same reply as he always did when Bill asked that question. \"Six marks this time.\"\n\nBill raised his eyebrows in surprise. Six was more than usual. The man came in every month on the same day, always requesting at least two marks. Six, though... he had never asked for more than four before.\n\n\"You look rough. Bad month?\"\n\n\"It's been hell.\" The man shrugged. \"I may not be in next month.\"\n\n\"Any particular reason for it?\" Bill asked, bending over his work.\n\n\"I think I might forget.\"\n\n\"Forget?\" Bill kept working, but the answer was odd. \"You always remember. Why would you forget?\"\n\n\"It's getting... harder to remember. Losing myself. There are too many.\" The man shifted and Bill paused, not wanting to compromise his work. \"I counted recently. Sixty at least, all lined up in their little groups of five. Not counting any I've lost along the way.\" He raised a hand to his head. \"Have we talked about this before?\"\n\n\"I don't think we did, no.\"\n\n\"Not this time, huh? Last time I think we already had.\"\n\nBill paused, then shook his head slowly. \"That makes no sense, but whatever. Could you stop moving around, please?\"\n\n\"Sure.\" The man sat quietly for a moment, then took a deep breath. \"Hey. You ever seen anything... weird in the sky?\"\n\n\"Not that I can think of. Just those traffic and news helicopters.\"\n\n\"Mm. Maybe I won't need any more, then. Boy, wouldn't that be nice?\"\n\nBill was almost done with the tattoo when he looked up and saw the man's eyes full of tears. He was muttering something; when Bill leaned over, he could hear it. \"Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit.\"\n\n\"Are you doing OK, sir?\"\n\n\"Losing myself.\" The man's free hand flew up to his head again. \"Knew it was too much. Six times in a month is too much. Pushing too hard.\" He shook his head. \"Time. Damn it, time and self and more time making less self. How many rounds has it been now?\"\n\n\"Are you...\" Bill contemplated calling someone. The guy was delirious, and Bill suspected he might be on some kind of drug.\n\n\"Tired. I'm so tired. The damn machine, all these damn loops and I'm so tired of it. Every time, disaster shows up and it's back in the machine, back around again, more tally marks, less me. Not all of me survives the trip, you know. Not always.\"\n\nBill set down the needle carefully in a place he hoped would be out of the man's reach. \"One minute please, sir.\"\n\n\"You called the police last time, too.\" The man shrugged. \"They didn't show up then either. You called your sister before that, told her to take me to a treatment program. You've done lots of things after this. I don't remember all of them.\" He sighed, examining the new tattoo. \"Sixty... sixty-seven now? I think it's only a 5% loss rate, but it's still so high when you make so many trips.\" He paid Bill and pulled a small business card that seemed to be printed on some kind of metal from his pocket. \"Here. There's a little pub down on 9th and Park. They call it the Meter or something. That's good for a drink or two. Ask for the darker sangria, it's good.\" He paused. \"Wait, no, not the darker sangria, that's the bad one. The house drink, chalk apple. That's the good one.\" He nodded, rubbing his forehead. \"Chalk apple. Give 'em that and ask for the chalk apple. Free drinks. Ugh, losing myself.\" And he ambled out into the road, leaving Bill holding a card made of metal.\n\nAfter a confused moment, Bill looked down at the card. \"Cut Time Temp Agency.\" That must be where the man worked. Well, free drinks. I should try that chalk apple thing. He liked apple drinks, and given the name there might be Bailey's in it.\n\nWell, worth a shot. Bill rolled his eyes at his own pun. There would probably be more than one shot.\n\nAnd so an unsuspecting tattoo artist plunged headfirst into a much stranger world.", "He wondered if he should not have asked. It seemed like an innocent question. As a tattoo artist it was something he asked all the time. \"Why are you getting this tattoo?\" \n\nHe had heard all sorts of reasons. \"I like it,\" being the most common. \"Because it means this to me,\" was another strong contender. He made it a policy to refuse anyone that seemed like they were drunk or under the influence of something. That way always led to regret and recrimination. He rather lose money than suffer the alternative. \n\n\"I lost a bet,\" was admittedly one that made him question if he should do the tattoo. More often than not he still did it and usually for hilarious results. \"In memory of,\" was another one he enjoyed. It was always nice to have someone want to honor someone or something in their own way. \n\nIf he was being honest, \"Because it's cool,\" was his favorite.\n\nHowever she did not answer for a long time. That in itself was not strange. Out of all the people he ever worked with, she was the quietest. She never made any noise during the procedure, never winced, never made any expression for good or ill. She would sit quietly, unmoving, the picture of stoic silence. \n\nHe had seen her every month like clockwork for almost a year. In fact this day would be the 11th time. Usually he would consider anyone he has worked with three times or more as a regular. He was proud that he had a few people he counted as regulars, closer than acquaintances but not quite close friends. People who visited him exclusively made him feel proud of his work.\n\nHer choice in tattoos was simple. A tally mark, a single line on the inside of her left arm. He almost felt bad charging her the full cost the first time she came in. It was easy, just a solid simple black line. She asked for the same each month and like one would use normally, a fifth mark would cross out four others. \n\nEach time she came in he was intimidated by her demeanor, her silence. She was perfectly polite and cordial but did not speak other than greetings, to describe what she wanted, to pay, to leave. Yet curiosity ate at him month after month and he finally could not help but ask.\n\nThe silence grew deeper and more awkward, it settled heavily around them. He was equal parts thankful that they were alone so none could see his embarrassment and yet wished there were others around to fill the thunderous quiet with distracting noise.\n\n\"I'm sorry,\" he said finally. His face was bright red like his crimson hued ink. \"I shouldn't have asked you. I ask everyone and forget for some people it's really personal.\"\n\n\"Don't be sorry,\" she said softly. \"I'm just...I don't know if I can explain myself.\"\n\n\"You don't have to,\" he replied hurriedly. \"Your body is your own, you owe me no explanation.\" To his horror he saw a tear glimmer in her eyes. It grew and multiplied, building. Finally the tears could not be contained and they burst, flowing over her cheeks like water released form a dam.\n\n\"I'm so so sorry!\" He handed her tissues, his anxiety rising. \n\nShe waved a hand, dabbing at her eyes. \"No, it's not your fault. Really it isn't. I'm just not used to hearing that.\" She took a deep breath. \"I've had...a difficult time. For a long time. I got to the point that I didn't know what to do. Nothing seemed important, worth it. I felt lost.\"\n\nShe clenched her hands. \"I felt like I needed something, something to remind me of where I am. Something more tangible. I tried to keep a journal but I didn't want to keep it with me in case it got damaged. Charms on a bracelet get lost. I needed something to keep me grounded, to keep me looking forward.\"\n\nShe looked at him directly, and it was the first time he could remember her doing so. \"One day I saw one of your customers walk out and she looked so happy, so proud of her tattoo. I never wanted one before, and I didn't have any real ideas. But then I got the idea that I could be that happy. I kinda panicked and blurted out the tally mark when you asked me the first time.\"\n\nShe looked down at the 11 marks on her arm. \"It hurt, like a lot. I didn't know how much it would hurt. But it was a different hurt, one that I chose to have. And I decided that I would treat it as a milestone, like...I could only do it once a month and only if I make it that far. It's become my...tradition? I don't want to say it's a reason for continuing with my... Well, it is a reason. I'm hoping to find others.\"\n\nShe ran a finger over the marks, the ones done before today. \"When I'm having a bad time I can look down and see how many months I've done this. It keeps me centered. I want to see how many I can do.\" \n\nHer eyes met his again. \"Does that make sense? Is that...a good reason?\"\n\nHe nodded. The reached for his phone and started tapping onto it. When he finished he flipped it and showed her the screen. \"So the first of every month, I've reserved this time. I hope to see you every appointment, no cancellations.\"\n\nHer tears grew heavier but her eyes brightened. \"No cancellations.\"" ]	5
	[WP] You live on the sixt floor and when you open your curtains you see one big eye looking at you.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I felt an evil presence watching me.\n\nIt was a feeling I couldn't describe to anyone, but one that everyone could understand. I thought killing the beast of the moon would end it all, stop all the monsters and bring peace. Yet after so much preparation, the searches, the grind, only for this... thing to come back.\n\nI quickly made my way to my safe.\n\nIn it I found my favorite set of Shadow Armor. It wasn't quite like the Solar Flare armor I once had, but it will suffice for now.\n\nBrandishing my Megashark, I began my new journey to destroy whatever threatened my world once more.\n\n\\-----\n\nJust finished a play session and saw this" ]	2
	[WP] At the superpower store, the primary superpowers are heavily discounted. It's the secondary powers and accessories where they get you. And don't forget the extended warranty.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Listen, buddy, I can sell you Super Strength on its own if you really want it, but you're going to need to sign a waiver,\" said the shopkeeper, pulling out several yellow forms. He rooted around under the desk, looking for something else. A pink form. He added it to the pile with the others. \n\n\"This one,\" he said, pointing to one of the yellow forms, \"Means that we're not liable for any damages, both to yourself and to others. This one,\" he said, pointing to another form, \"Is the same thing, but for property damage. Then there are the Federal forms,\" he reached under his desk again. After a few minutes of searching, he shrugged. \"Ran out of those, I guess.\" \n\n\"But I need it today.\" \n\n\"Earliest I can probably do for you is Tuesday.\" He replied. \"You'll need some time for your psyc evaluation anyways.\" He said, motioning to the pink form. \"You can take that one down to Dr. Wallace's office, down by the mall on 5th. Solid guy, doesn't charge a high fee. You could probably book an appointment in a day or two. He's usually not too busy.\"\n\n\"I don't have a day or two.\" \n\n\"Well, that's the best I can do for you. Again, I would highly recommend the Fine Motor Control add on. You do not want to walk out of here without it. Jim?\" He said, calling out to a guy stocking the shelves, \"Remember that guy, what was his name?\"\n\n\"Storm Chaser.\" Said Jim, \"Cheaped out on motor control. Accidentally ripped a kid's arm off. Super awkward.\" He added.\n\n\"Really awkward.\" The shopkeeper agreed.\n\n\"Listen.\" Said Andy, trying his best to stay patient and failing, \"I keep telling you. I need it today. Literally, the fate of the world is at stake.\"\n\nThe shopkeeper laughed. \n\n\"Oh geez sorry,\" he said. \"I'm not laughing at you, I promise. I like your spunk, kid. But it's always the fate of the world one day or another, isn't it? Listen, I'll keep these forms for you, and the Super Strength and the Fine Motor Control. And I'll make sure I get more of those Federal forms too. Come by when you've saved up the money for it, and I'll even throw in the Extended Warranty for free.\"\n\n\"You definitely want the extended warranty,\" said Jim, \"You do not want that power going to shit in the middle of a fight.\" \n\n\"Didn't Margery's Super Strength give out when she was carrying that bus?\" Said the shopkeeper.\n\n\"Oh I almost forgot about that,\" said Jim, \"really hurt her back, and the traffic on the 408 was backed up for hours.\"\n\n\"This is serious,\" Andy insisted.\n\n\"Kid, I know you're scared. But don't you worry about it. We've got five super heroes in this town, and Unbreakable Bond is taking the shift tonight. We'll all be fine in the morning, I promise.\"\n\n\"But that's the thing,\" said Andy, \"I -\"\n\n\"Do you remember when Unbreakable Bond came by and...\"\n\nAndy stopped listening. He could feel the panic start to bubble up inside of him. Any second now, he was worried he would just start screaming and not be able to stop. He looked at the crumpled up bills he'd put on the counter, 89 dollars. Just enough for Super Strength, but nowhere near the 4,000-dollar price tag around the Fine Motor Control add on. The shopkeeper was distracted, telling Jim something or other. Before he could think about it too much more, Andy grabbed the Super Strength the shopkeeper had pulled out and placed on the counter. \n\n\"I'm so sorry,\" said Andy, \"I'll fill out the forms as soon as I can.\" He rushed out the door and accidentally ripped it off its hinges. \"I'll pay you back for that too,\" he said. \"Right after I finish saving the world.\"", "Lora felt like a kid in a candy store. So many options that she wanted. Every item on every shelf called to her. Should she get telepathy? Maybe elasticity. And it would be nice to finally know what her cat wanted from her. But no, she had dreamed of this moment. She knew what powers she wanted.\n\nOnce she had them picked out, she placed the power cards on the table, grinning like a maniac at the cute cashier. He looked at her choices impassively.\n\n\"Okay, so, we've got super strength, super durability, flame form, pyrokinesis, and flight.\"\n\n\"I already know what my code name is going to be.\" She said proudly.\n\n\"Uh, yes, very good. Will you wanting the recommended power suite for each, or...\"\n\n\"Yeah, sure, fine.\" She said. \n\nShe was not paying attention. She was already thinking about her costume and catchphrase. And maybe a few daydreams about a tall, mysterious stranger on a rooftop. She heard the sound of plastic clicking softly against glass, but she ignored it.\n\n\"Okay, your total comes to $15,560.\"\n\nThat yanked her from her daydream like a bungee cord. \n\n\"What?\" She screeched. \"But five powers should come out to an even grand.\"\n\n\"Yes, miss, they do. But, well, you said you wanted the recommended suite, and, well...\" He passed his hand over the counter. There were a lot more power cards there than there had been.\n\n\"Wha? What are all of these?\"\n\n\"They're called ancillaries. You can't just get the primary power, you need the ancillaries to make them functional. Now, you're actually lucky. A lot of your primaries overlap with some ancillaries, which actually cuts the cost quite a bit.\"\n\n\"You're joking, right? Why would I need...\" She picked up one of the cards at random. \"Internal compass?\"\n\n\"Flight isn't very good if you don't know what direction you're flying in. You'll also need internal altimeter, and enchanted breathing at least. Now, your durability and flame based powers actually cut back on things like temperature regulation and ocular durability, so that saves you a few hundred right there.\"\n\n\"Uh...oh. And what about...fire resistance...oh, okay, yeah, I got that one. How about... object reinforcement?\"\n\n\"You know how in comics all those super strong people can lift trains and planes and stuff? Well, in real life your hand would go through those things like a knife. That ancillary lets you actually lift big things without them breaking under their own weight.\"\n\n\"Ah. Is...is there any point in asking about the rest of them?\"\n\n\"Probably not. But if you're still skeptical, I can go over them one by one, as well as which ones you won't be needing basic on your choices.\"\n\nShe sighed. \"No, I got it.\" \n\nCould she afford this? She had enough saved up, sure. But it would wipe out most of her savings. Sure, once she had powers she could bounce back, given what even a low ranked hero could make. But it would be rough, and she would definitely have to tighten her belt for quite some time. But then again, she had everything other than the costume all ready to go.\n\n\"Okay, fine, I'll take them.\" She said heavily. \n\n\"Great. Oh, and you said something about a code name, right? Were you planning on going into heroics?\"\n\n\"Yup. I was thinking about calling myself Iron Flame. How's that sound?\"\n\n\"Suitably heroic, and luckily not taken. But that does mean you'll qualify for heroic insurance, our special warranty, and even costume support. You'll need it, with the flame form power.\"\n\nLora almost dreaded the answer to her next question. \"And how much will that cost?\"\n\n\"For everything? Another $3,000.\"\n\nLora groaned. She had often been told that being a super hero was one of the hardest jobs around. Nobody told her it was also one of the most expensive.", "\"So do you want base flying or the flying package?\" The assistant asked me, offering a box displaying a man mid flight. \n\n\"Erm... whats the difference?\" I ask, scratching my head as I tried to read the tiny print on the side. The SuperStore was the best place to gain enhancements and now that I had become of age, it was time to pick out my first. My uncle had been kind enough to give me a grand to buy it. \n\n\"Well Sir, the base flying power allows you to fly when reaching speeds of twenty miles per hour for an average human. The Flying Enhanced Package comes with inertia dampening, wind resistance resistance, anti-gravity touch contact, the booster enhancement, and internal control allowing you to deactivate and activate that DNA strand for when you want to travel at twenty miles per hour and not fly.\"\n\nI stared at the box comparing it to the small vial I had in my hand. \n\n\"How much for the package?\" \n\nThe assistant rotated the box, showing me the price tag. \n\n__________________________________________________________\n\nI open the door to the house slowly, trying to not make a sound. \n\n\"So what power did you choose?\" \n\nI wince before opening the door all the way glaring at my smug looking father. Stupid super hearing. \n\n\"I can change my hair and eye color.\" I reply flatly, heading into the kitchen to grab a snack." ]	4
	[WP] You’ve been living with your father all alone for the past 10 years, and one day you’re watching TV when a missing person report comes on... and you’re horrified when you see the missing person is you	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Alison Mcgregor stares at her image on the TV. She wonders if this is some practical joke, but who would go this far to play a prank. Alison doesn't have much of a life and her small group of friends would rather play video games then have the media's attention on them. She stands from the recliner where she has been enjoying her morning to touch the image of herself on the screen. The news story continues to tell the world about her part time job and some of her favorite places to hangout with friends. Suddenly her image is gone and replaced by her father's tearful face. He reads shakily from a piece of paper asking if anyone has seen anything to report it to the police. Alison stares with great emotion at the TV wondering why he was part of this joke. \"Daddy\" Alison whispers to herself. Next it was a phone number to call if you have seen her and the reward information for clues about the disappearnce. Alison scrambles to find her cell phone to call the number. She doesn't remember where she left it. She runs to the chair. \"I just had it with me\" she checks the entire living, and then decides that it is not there and goes to her room. As she reaches her bedroom door she says \"it has to be here. What else would have woken me up.\" She remembers back to this morning, and to her surprise actually doesn't remember waking up. She doesn't even remember falling asleep last night. She slams her bedroom door open to find her bed made, and her room untouched from the previous day. She silently walks in her room to find the sun shining in through the window showing the half finished homework on her nightstand. Alison sits on her bed with only pure confusion. Non of this made any sense. In a panic Alison ran from her room to the house phone. If this was a prank then it was a good one Alison thought. She reaches the house phone to find that while she could pick it up she couldn't dial. In fact the phone did not have a ring tone. All she could hear was whispers. \"Come to us. Come be one of us\" echoing in the phone handset. She slammed the phone on the counter with fear. Alison did not know what was happening and did not know what to do to prove she was alive. All she wanted to do as to find this prankster, and to tell her father she was right here. She remembers his tearful face and it only pains her. After her mother passed away it has been them for the past ten years. She was his everything, and he was hers. \"Daddy I'm sorry\" Alison says as she falls on to the floor. \n\nShe doesn't remember falling asleep but as she starts to come to she notices it was dark outside now. All of this must have tired her out enough to sleep the day away on the floor. She remembers the joke and seeing her father with fear in his eyes asking the world to find his child. Alison starts to stand from the group to stand face to face of her father. His face is raw and his eyes are blood stained. He looks like the day her mother passed away. Sad, and alone. \"Daddy!\" She screams right in front of him. No reaction. Alison runs toward him to hug him. \"Daddy I'm here\" she says as she opens her arms to embrace him, but she only goes through him. Alison stares at her hands in confusion. She turns back to her father. She touches him again to see that she can not. Everytime she does she goes through him. Alison panics and continually tries to grab her father. \"This can't be right! I'm right here daddy!\" Alison yells as she desperately tries to be seen. With tears in her eyes she realizes she isn't real. Alison screams as loud as she could falling again to the ground. As she reaches the ground she tries to remember what happened last night, or even what happened this morning. All she remembers is being on the recliner watching TV. She doesn't even remember coming home from her study group. \n\nShe closes her eyes desperately trying to remember something. Suddenly red flashes. She sees herself in the park with her backpack on humming a song to herself. She can hardly hear it. She looks at herself intensely. \"This is me. This was last night. I took the park way home so I could see the flowers\". Her past self seems happy and carefree. Alison wonders what happened, but before she could ponder that question she heard a sound from the bushes around the corner. In her vision form she runs to see what it was as her dream self slowly wonders in that direction to investigate. As she reaches the bushes before her other self she sees a man. His face is black, and all she can see was a red hoodie and black pants. This man is holding a knife. Alison tried to run back to stop herself from reaching the man. \"He's going to kill you. Stop!\". Unfortunately her efforts didn't matter. She stares at her dream self reach the bushes to see the man jump up and grab her. All she heard was screaming. In just a moment they were both gone. Alison starts to cry knowing that she was killed. The world starts to break turning red again. In another moment she is back with her father in the kitchen. \"Daddy.\" She says caressing his face with her hands. \"I'm not coming home like Mommy\" Alison's hands start to shake. \"I'm not coming home\" she said with tears in her eyes." ]	2
	[WP] When you were young you were called the chosen one.You struck down an uncountable number of monsters and saved millions. But now in your old age you realize the corruption of the kingdoms and how flawed and cruel they are. Now you are called a dark lord and nothing will stop you.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The SCREAMING\n\nThat bloody screaming, the screaming of the innocent, of misunderstood and desperate of dragons... ,elves, dwarves, humans and beasts. \n\nThe blood that stained the walls of pooled on the floor, the horrible horrible pleads of those who wished for mercy, the mercy of acceptance for those poor victims were born, raised and believed in.\n\nIt was also there, no matter what they do. Victory could never drown out that guilt, the guilt of those crimes; the pain and suffering they caused it will forever remain with them, no matter what. Booze and drugs barely helped, therapy often just made them breakdown.\n\nThe cause, the very cause of this pain was turmoil. The turmoil that came when dragons and two legged sentients are filled with greed, power and paranoia, when one held onto whatever they could to maintain ones power.\n\nAnd in front of the once blessed and ‘holy’ Chosen One was one of the worse of these fiends; Ex-queen Amberheart.\n\nThe dragoness was trembling, laying on the back wall of her little, dark and grimy cell. She was riddled with deep wounds that bled magenta blood. Her once majestic and fear-inducing wings were tatters, ripped to shreds by the demon she moulded for her bloody intentions. Her tails were ripped off, revealing the bone, as the scarred flesh rotted and festered with maggots and beetles. Her once majesty and ever colourful fur was matted with blood, grim and dirt. Her chains’ suffocating grasp constricted blood from the stumps that were her limbs.\n\nShe quivered with fear and useless hatred at the Dark Lord in front of her, with her blood red eyes.\n\nMeanwhile, the once Chosen One, Victory Strike the kind of heart, now the crazed Victorious Nightmare of Ragnorak was grinning like a mad drake, maybe because they had lose all sense of compassion for the devil that was chained in front of them, and chuckled wickedly. They brandished their feared axes; Aquabreak and Mjorn’s Envy, admiring the blood that stained the great dual bladed axes.\n\n“Your time has came to an end, oh Amberheart,” Victory cooed, “Have you heard of the news, ya daughter killed herself at dawn. Guess who will be joining her today?”\n\n“Y-you,” the defeated queen croaked out, despite her torture she still kept her sass and lack of care (except it was that she didn’t care for life anymore), her throat hoarse from dehydration.\n\nVictory have her a “are you drunk look?” look before snickering manically and replying, “No, for your punishment has been issued. You will be beheaded in an hour.”\n\n“And I thought, you were just going to kill me quietly, like how you did to poor Pride, Vemonheart and N-nevemind.”\n\n“Oh no, your majesty,” Victory mocked, “I will not kill you. In fact your son-“\n\n“Silence, you retarded serpent. You think that my own blood would end me!”\n\n“No, but he does.”\n\nAt that the queen looked away, hissing softly.\n\n“Do you really think you will ever escape from your sins, the gods will damn you to the darkest pits of the Helhiem! Kill me, just do it and you will realise your fate!”\n\n“Well, this is my hour.”\n\nAt that Dark Lord stuck their tongue at the ex-queen and left her in her cell. Locking the door behind them.\n\n“How was it,” a voice; Summer’s Joy asked, though from his face, he knew the answer.\n\n“The same as always, Joy. You know you wretch of a mother.”\n\n“Unfortunately.”\n\n“But hey, when will you ever get the chance to kill her again?”\n\n“Never,” Joy smiled slightly as the two dragons walked side by side to the castle’s pantry.\n\n“Let’s have from sweets shall we, before the you know what,” Victory suggested, giving the once prince a light jab. \n\n“As you say, my darkness,” Joy joked back, avoiding a swath from their lover, before signalling for a guard to take the lord’s axes for cleaning.\n\nThe guard beamed at the task, a far better job then guarding a nearly emptying dungeon. \n\n Victory remembered making their offer to the guards, for the relative luxury they had compared to the other servants of the empire, they were dissatisfied by the vile queen’s rule and hopped onboard of the Dark Lord’s coup the moment a better deal was offered and Victory kept their promise. \n\n“You really need to relax, I can tell that you are still holding on that guilt.”\n\n“Well, I wish it was as easy as overthrowing Amberheart.”\n\n“It wasn’t your fault, Victory. Amberheart is to blame, you - we were naive dragonets when she took advantage of you.”\n\n“And my family.”\n\n“But you have to understand, it wasn’t your fault. It is like blaming the axe for a slaughter then the dragon wielding the weapon.”\n\n“Ya, I am a weapon. Such a wicked, sharp and bloody weapon.”\n\nJoy stopped his lord with a wave of the tail, gripping Victory’s shoulders and piercing the Dark Lord’s cold cyan eyes with their warm golden eyes.\n\n“Victory, listen to me. We can do this, we can and will overcome anything that stand in our way. Whether it be my disowned mother or your own nightmares, we will do it together. Okay?”\n\n“Okay,” Victory softly said, a tear started to well up from their eyes, “Let’s do this.”\n\nThe two dragon nodded in agreement and headed for the kitchen, soon they would be ready to end the madness that arose from their foe’s dethronement.", "Did I do the right thing? Am I a just man? I’ve subdued the beasts of the wilds, taken down dragons in their lairs, chased giants from the farmlands.\n\nI did it for the people, for those that come after me. I made the world safer, or so I thought. But in my old age I’ve discovered a wisdom I never knew I had.\n\nI look out upon the capital, and I see nobles in gaudy carriages wearing the brightest jewels. All the while the common people suffer, sequestered to their squalor. Men and women starving, begging for mercy from the rich to feed their children one more day. \n\nThe king and queen grow fat, feeding off the teat of the people. They barely lift a finger but to stuff their maws. When finally they are stirred enough to take action, it’s me they send. \n\nTo chase the giants from their ancestral lands.\n\nTo kill dragons in their homes.\n\nTo enslave a lesser race of wild men.\n\nI look in the mirror, and I no longer see the hero I thought I was. I see a villain, so caught up in his self righteous glory to see the damage he’s caused.\n\nBut it’s never too late to change. To make a difference.\n\nI will bring the giants home. \n\nRally the dragons.\n\nFree the wild men.\n\nI will become everything that I had sworn to destroy, and with that I’ve made my peace.\n\nI will fight my countrymen. I will fight my brethren. I will change the world, with or without its consent. \n\nAnd I will be hated for it.", "I was called \"Hero\" once. They said I was special, chosen by the Pantheon to save humanity from evil. It started with a raid. Nothing more than a couple dozen goblins, trying to pillage their way through survival. In a desperate attempt to save my town, I set the horde ablaze in an inferno that would rival the nine hells. It was exhilarating.\n\nYears later, I found myself at a prestigious school for mages. I studied the arcane arts and more, history, politics, and the like. Academic knowledge came as easy as breathing for me, so passing the classes and being the youngest graduate in history was nothing more than an after thought. What I wanted to be was a Hero, with my name in the mouth of every hall and tavern. For woman and man alike to want for me, my pockets to be overflowing with gold, and not a worry in the world. And for that, I turned to the state to fight evil across the lands. With six of my best friends at my side, we brought light and goodness to the darkest corners of the continents and beyond.\n\nThings went well for a time. We slayed dragons and fake gods, hoarded wealth and relics, and uncovered ancient tombs beyond our understandings. And with each new discovery, the less light I saw in the world. Tales of an elder society with magic and weapons that could wipe out nations in mere seconds. Of Titans, Dragons, Devils, and Gods vying for control of a world. And of Four Great Hungers from beyond.\n\nThe more I learned, the more I saw in repetition. My companions didn't see it that way. And neither did the kings. And alone I traveled, hoping to find more, on a lone night out in the jungle when a few goblins approached. Drawn in by the sound of my music. They did not want a fight, only to know my song. And after a few nights of music, food, and discussion, I taught them things. Human things, like farming, and ranching, and crafting. I taught them that if they made something good, humans would give them gold for it instead of having to steal it. It was long, and slow, but other races joined in, too. It wasn't perfect, but within it, I saw the spark of something more.\n\nBut humanity didn't see it that way. The kings armies approached, disgusted by the ideas of a monstrous society. With a torrent of magic the likes of they had never seen before, I turned them away, broken, battered, and few. My final gift to this society of \"monsters\" was magic, as a defense against future human incursions, and I parted ways with them.\n\nThese kings, who had controlled my life for so long, would snuff out life that wasn't conformed to their ideals. I set off in search of an old ruin I had found years before, one that contained secrets of powerful magics that were lost in the Great War. Ones used to drive back true evil, to be used against a new kind of monster. It was there I discovered the secrets I needed, secrets to help me against the evils of old and new. And so I studied, and prepared the cost.\n\nWith my plan in set, and the kings furious, there armies came for me, no longer a hero, but a \"Dark Lord\" in their eyes, who would train monsters to fight and kill them for amusement. Their soldiers assaulted my tower, defended by those still loyal to me. To no one's surprise, the kings sent my own former party against me. The battle was long, and hard fought, but I was driven into a corner. Out of either respect, or love, or something I no longer quite understand, my old friend didn't kill me.\n\n\"Why?\", she asked me.\n\n\"Why? Why do we sleep draped in silk, surrounded by hedonistic values, when they sleep in their own feces?\", I retort. I try to cover the wound from where my eye was shot out, but notice I had lost my hand at some point. \"Why, when those beneath us steal to eat, it is a crime, but we commit mass murder, are we heroes?\"\n\n\"They were evil in the eyes of the gods!\" Her swords presses against my throat, and I move back just a little more.\n\n\"They are just like us. They live, they love, they create art and tools, though primitive, like we once did.\"\n\n\"They are nothing but filthy monsters, flipping about in the mud.\"\n\n\"No,\" the words rasp out, exhausted, \"they can be better.\" A glow expanded from beneath my body, wrapping around the two of us, then the whole room, encompassing us all in a bright white light. The fair paladin tried to thrust her sword into me before the spell activated, but it was too late. She, and the rest of my old party were paralyzed in place, right where I wanted them.\n\n\"What are you doing?\" the fair paladin called out.\n\n\"Sometimes to fight an evil, I found, that you must become a bigger evil.\", I stood, blood pouring from my stump hand and missing eye. \"Those ruins, depicting that old war, the one that almost tore our world asunder. They gave their humanity to try and fight it. They won, but at a grave price. With this ritual, I can try again, and again, and again.\" I began to weave the magic into place, and a crystal placed above us began to glow bright and green. \"But the cost must be paid. And that's where you come in. Where they all come in.\" I gesture out to the armies still fighting on the ground below.\n\nThe light from the crystal reached out and touched each of the six mortals in the room. Their skin began to grow taut and the life began to leave their eyes. The paladin struggled against her paralysis, anger pushing past her incapacitation. She took her sword and sent it flying at me with a heavy scream. The sword plunged into my chest, but it was no matter. The glow expanded from my tower, encompassing the entire battle below. One by one the souls began to be plucked from their bodies and be funneled into my crystal.\n\nI gave one last look at my former adventuring party... no. My old friends. \"I'm sorry it has to be this way.\" They each collapsed as their soul began to fuel my immortality.\n\n\"CAVEEEEEEEN!\", she screamed her final words as she began to be pulled into the crystal. \"Caven! I curse you, Caven. With that sword in your chest, I curse you, to be forever followed by my sword, by my fury and vengeance. And I will strike you down!\"\n\nBut after her words, there came a silence. A peaceful silence. He sat a moment in it. He pulled the sword from his chest. It stung, even just in his hands, it burned hot with hatred. He cast it aside for later. His hand does not bleed, and his eye no longer hurts. He no longer need to breathe, but he take a breath anyways. It's over.\n\nA Wyvern carrying a tall furry fellow swoops in. \"Is it done, Lord Caven?\"\n\n\"It is. But I am Caven no more.\" He walks to the window, and address anyone left standing. \"I am Vecna! And your champions are no more. To those still standing, pledge your loyalty, or face infernal judgement.\"", "(WP) Righting Wrongs \n\nHe’d spent his life saving people and hunting monsters, from the time that he was fourteen. And for a while, that vocation had kept The Chosen One comfortable. Monsters had been the scrouge of their land since the beginning of time; it seemed only right to him that he would cull their numbers somewhat. \n\nBut as he grew older, into a man, he realized that the very institutions he’d spent his life protecting were nothing more than shams, the kingdoms had spent centuries oppressing the poor and downtrodden. And whether he knew it or not, he had aided them. \n\nThe very thought made bile rise to his throat. \n\nHow could he possibly live with himself if he didn’t right this wrong? \n\nLet them call him evil, wicked, wrong. So be it, if it meant restoring balance again. \n\nHe’d spent his youth in slaughter, and he’d rejoiced in it. \n\nNow he marched toward the kingdom with an army behind him, baying for blood and flesh. \n\nHe thought of the moment where he would descend upon the castle with some of the very creatures the crown had ordered him to exterminate, and he smiled to himself. He couldn’t wait until he heard the screams of the King and his courtiers. But he had ordered his army to leave the women and children be; one had to stop somewhere. \n\nAnd besides, if he didn’t let some of them live, how would the rest of the people know he was coming? This kingdom was only the first of many. He’d been drafted in a war that had only resulted in the oppression of the weak. He fought for the common man now, and if it meant some people dying, so be it. \n\nWhat was a little more blood spilled? \n\nHe was even stronger with this force of darkness and evil behind him. It would be the king who died first, and The Chosen One planned on using his magic to show the entire kingdom that their ruler cared naught for his people, only with lining his own coffers and bedding chambermaids. \n\nThe ruination he planned was only the beginning. \n\nThey drifted through the village first, with The Chosen One leading the way. At his approach, the people fled into their houses. \n\n“Do not touch anyone until we get to the Palace. The villagers have done nothing wrong.” His voice rang out, steely and cold. He felt his soldiers’ protest, even though no one said a word. “If I find anyone harmed, I will make sure the responsible party regrets it.” \n\nOn they marched, a writhing, seething wave of living darkness and destruction, until they reached the palace’s gates. \n\n“Let us pass, or you will water the soil with your blood,” He said to the guard, who was more boy than man. “I don’t want to kill you, but I will if I must.” \n\nThe boy stepped aside, opening the gate. “Aren’t you The Chosen One?” \n\n“I was. Now I am the author of this kingdom’s ruin. Go, and tell everyone you can that we are coming.” \n\nThe boy fled, and The Chosen led his dark creatures to the throne room. \n\n\\\\ \n\nThe King saw the army before him, and who was leading them, and his face turned the color of spoiled milk. \n\n“What are you doing here, Sebastian?” \n\n“Righting a lifetime’s worth of wrongs, Your Majesty. Did you really think that I wouldn’t come for you?” \n\n\\\\", "I rode at the head of my army. Once mere peasants and weak monsters, now they stood as proud soldiers. In there eyes gleamed the fire of vengeance. The same fire that burned in my eyes. The Raven Hag, freed from her imprisonment, walked beside me, her dark power causing many to bow their heads.\n\nI shifted in the saddle, feeling my old bones start to ache again. It had been a long time since I was in an army. One of my Captains came up to me. Once the Terror of Natzbek, the demon Grelthorn saluted me.\n\n \"My Lord. The kingdoms armies are but 2 miles away.\"\n\nI nodded, looking at the darkening sky.\n\n\"Halt here. We will set up camp here. Soon, we will march to battle.\"\n\nGrelthorn grinned, saluting again before lumbering away. As I watched his bulky frame disappear, I recalled how we were once enemies. He had desired to kill for the sake of killing. But I had banished him, with but a single hope of freedom. Learn to curb his insatiable appetite for destruction, and he could go free. And how he had surprised me.\n\nA runner came up to me, a small winged kobold from the front lines. She saluted, before holding up a parchment.\n\n\"My Lord. A messenger from them. Say want to parley. Give this.\"\n\nShe held out the parchment, which I accepted. I unrolled it, rolling my eyes at the dry text. It was simple. The expressed disappointment at my actions, and asked I surrender, and turn to the light. It was signed by King Yelaw. I sneered at that name.\n\nHe was the worst. I had followed him for so long, saving his kingdom many times. But I hadn't seen what he did to his subjects. Forced slavery was abundant, fueled by his exorbitant taxes. The wealthy bought pardons for their own crimes, whilst the poor were cast into the dungeons for the smallest of sins.\n\nI saw he asked to meet with me, in hopes of brokering peace. I turned to the Raven Hag, and she pulled out a parchment and quill. The quill hung in the air, and wrote my response.\n\n>King Yelaw\n\n>I will meet with you. However, I will only accept a meeting held in my camp. Respond by sundown tomorrow, or I shall infer the negotiations have failed.\n\n>The Chosen One\n\nThe parchment rolled itself up, and I passed to to the kobold.\n\n\"Sent this back with the messenger.\"\n\n\"As you wish, My Lord.\"\n\nShe flew off, and I heard a whisper from the Raven Hag.\n\n\"So you still go by that name?\"\n\nI smiled.\n\n\"Only in that note. You see, if he thinks he can turn me, he will likely do his best to. If he is foolish enough, he will come here. If he does,\" I patted the Sword of the World I had been given long ago, \"he won't be leaving.\"\n\n\"Ah. I see My Lord.\"\n\nI looked her in the eyes. I wa some of the few who could resist that maddening gaze.\n\n\"I mean it. He is cruel. His kingdom is a rotting corpse, surviving only because he was smart enough to keep his army happy. He must be removed, to truly do good.\"\n\nThe Raven Hag dropped her head in a respectful incline. She and I had come to blows before, but she would always obey me. I felt so tired as I thought of it. That's what it came down to. To do make change for the better, it was practically impossible. Unless you had the power to force it through.\n\nI would become their ruler. And I would make sacrifices. But the common people would have a better life. And that is what mattered to me." ]	6
	[WP]The prison had allowed a villain to teach at your superhero school, fitted with a restraining device, but she'd always been so friendly that you'd never believed her when she said she'd kill you all without it. Now the woman who taught you to believe in yourself is loose and on a killing spree.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "„Pew Pew Pew“\n\nYou heard screams from down the hallway and that maniac voice shouting her crazy Pewpews.\n\nIt felt like a diffrent world. Normal american schools have shootings but not here. Here the students don‘t need such lousy things like guns or knifes. We have lasereyes, incredible strength, are fast as lightning or have telepathy.\nBut her? She was a whole different story. \n\nMrs Holly Hope walked your way without noticing you her eyes fixed at the running and screaming teens. Even some teachers gave up the fight and chose to seek their luck in running.\nHer body glowing in a white glow like holylight. everytime some one tried to stand up to her. Bolts of pure energy hit them and their body turned to dust before even hitting the ground.\n\nYou couldn’t her anything anymore, just the maniac laugh of her and the wooosh of people turning to dust. Just as Holly walked past the door you were hiding behind she stood still. You felt her aura looking for more victims. all your hope of survival left your body and you sat still in fear. She ripped the door out and looked at you with disgust.\n„Why aren‘t you running? I‘m your invetible death your only hope is to run!“\n\nSilently i didn‘t dare to move. \n\n„WHAT DID I TEACH YOU? Even in the darkest hours you have to have hope. Hope to get through those things and that it will male you stronger. BELIEVE in yourself! YOU HAVE TO BELIEVEEEeee...“\n\nNow everything was quiet around you. No screams. Whoosh of her aura. You opened your eyes. Seeing Mrs. Holly Hope lying on the ground, unconscious. It was over. You defeated her. You... you and your depression saved the academy. \nYou defeated Holly Hope, thief of hope.", "Just like any other day with the drills, we huddled down in the darkened room, paper covering the window as Mr Brightly checked to make sure the door was locked. Active shooter drills weren't rare. Just one town over there'd been a day when there had been a gunman roaming the halls, and back then they didn't have the drills.\n\nFifteen people had died. \n\nThose words rang around my head. Fifteen people. I didn't want to be like them. Some of the other kids checked their phones. I just hugged my knees as I sat under my desk, head bowed to stop it from touching the chewing gum-riddled underside. \n\nBut this wasn't like any other day, was it? \n\nIt was the maths teacher. Mrs Underfield, or as everyone called her: 'Mrs Radiation'. So called, because when she used her powers the air around her shone with a faint blue sheen. Brighter when it rained. The media, early on, had picked up on that blue sheen after some well-meaning scientist commented in a public forum that it looked like Cherenkov radiation. \n\nUntil now, she'd been a great teacher. A bit rude, sure. She didn't suffer the kids who wanted to mess around in her class, though she couldn't do anything about it aside from the usual teacher stuff. See, Mrs Radiation had a power-suppression collar on. Only criminals wore those and a lot of parents were unhappy that they let her teach students. \n\nSo she'd ended up at this shitty inner-city school. Where most of the kids knew they were headed for prison, and half the teachers told them so.\n\nMrs Radiation wasn't one of those teachers. She'd only ever been nice to me, kind. Took the time after class to explain the concepts I had trouble with, and she'd been the first adult to take me seriously. \n\n\"Believe in yourself, Kayleigh.\" she said. \"You have a good heart and an even better mind. Just because you need to work a little harder on some things doesn't mean you're bad all round.\"\n\nThat had meant a lot, considering it came from the same woman who'd effectively turned Las Vegas (and all the people in it) into glass. She'd explained it to me once but it'd gone right over my head. Something about vitrifying.\n\nBut now, just like everyone else, I was hiding and waiting for her to come smashing through the door or for us to all suddenly die. I tried to make myself feel better by assuring myself that it wouldn't hurt - it wouldn't have time to hurt. Mrs Radiation shouted something and I swear it was like everyone got shocked. They jumped to their feet and hauled themselves out of the classroom while I sat there and Mr Brightly yelled at them.\n\nToo scared to move, I waited until the sound of running feet died away and it was just the sharp clacking of Mrs Radiation's heels on the tiles. Slowly I crept out and she stopped with the light of the corridor spilling into the room, staring at me. Her eyes were glittering and she seemed dazed somehow, out of it. I'd seen it all the time with the other villains that the heroes were fighting. \n\n\"I am... an Antag.\" she slurred, twitching like she was fighting something. \"You will... all ... suffer.\" \n\nSlowly, Mrs Radiation raised her hand and I felt my hair stand on end. Without thinking I scrambled from my hiding place and shouted her name. Her real name. \n\n\"Mrs Underfield! Please!\" \n\nShe stopped. I saw her eyes widen and just for a second that strange shine over her eyes disappeared. \n\n\"No, I - Kayleigh, please run, girl. I can't stop myself!\" \n\n\"No!\" I shouted back: \"You're the first person who believed in me! So I'm gonna believe in you!\" \n\nShe smiled weakly, but that meant I could get up real close to her. I grabbed her shaking hand. Mrs Underfield has a special ability called a Tag. She's a Regenerator-Elementalist. It means she can control elements, and heal herself really fast. Really, it's not radiation. It's a sort of fire that burns so hot and fast that people don't get to see it.\n\nMe, on the other hand? See, there's a reason everyone told me I was a bad girl. Even if they didn't say it, their minds did all the time. I'm a Reader-Manipulator. I can reach into people's minds and screw them all around, but only if I'm touching them. And Mrs Underfield didn't mind that I saw into her head by accident, knew I didn't mean to. \n\nSo it got me really, really mad when I grabbed her hand and saw someone had been in her head and was screwing it all around. It was easy to fix though. Whoever did it was lazy. She dropped to the ground with a gasp and for a second I thought I'd killed her, but then she reached out and hugged me like I've never been hugged before.\n\n\"Thank you.\" she said, and she really, really meant it. \n\nThe cops were going to arrest her until I unscrewed their heads, because the same person who'd got Mrs Underfield did the same to them. And then they looked at the footage and saw someone walk in, and take off her collar. \n\nSometimes you just need someone to believe in you. Thirty years ago, that person for me was Mrs Underfield. And she is the reason I became a teacher. \n\n\\----------\n\nr/Eight_Legged_Pest" ]	3
Mario, Aang, Percy Jackson, go crazy.	[WP] A bunch of fictional characters discuss their bad movie adaptions.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Characters included are Four\\\\Tobias from Divergent, Katniss from The Hunger games, and Annabeth and Percy from Percy Jackson.\n\nPercy had arrived in this strange world after expecting a normal trip to Camp Half Blood, he never expected to find himself tied up to a pole with a bunch of people claiming to be from different worlds as him...\n\n\"This is fine... All fine I'll just cut the ropes with riptide and we'll be out of here in no time\"\n\nJust as Percy struggles to reach Riptide in his pocket Annabeth stops him, \"If you do that you could cut one of us, why don't we try it with my knife instead\"\n\nPercy begins to argue right as Four finally speaks \"Nobody will be cutting any ropes today\"\n\nKatniss being dumbstruck by Four's suggestions quickly beings to argue \"And why is THAT tough guy? If we don't cut the ropes we'll be stuck here, it's common sense\"\n\nFour quickly retorts \"if we cut the ropes we all blow up he said gesturing head head towards the direction of Annabeth.\n\nThey all looked in the direction Four had pointed to and discovered the rope had been strung through the pin of a grenade.\n\n\"Great!, Just great!\" yelled Percy\n\n\"At least your book didn't have a terrible movie adaption\" Four remarks\n\nAnnabeth rolls her eyes \" Where did THAT come from?\" \n\n\"YES I DO!\" Percy yells frustrated\n\n\"Logan Lerman was practically a copy of you\" Four chuckled\n\n \"How do you know that?...\" Percy said confused\n\n\"Doesn't matter, everyone knows my movies were the WORST\" Katniss adds\n\n\"Yours were the best movies out of ALL of ours\" Annabeth grumbles\n\n\"This sucks... Percy said finally realizing what was to happen\"\n\n\"Annabeth being fed up says \"I'm cutting the rope now\"\n\nThey all look at her yelling as she begins to slowly saw through the rope\n\nAfter a heart stopping few minutes Annabeth successfully gets her knife to the other side of the rope and jumps up victoriously\n\n\"I did it!\" She says happily as she carefully helps each of them away from the rope being sure not the trigger the grenade\n\n\"B-But, what happened to dying if we tried\" Percy said amazed and confused \n\n\"Probably to trick us, didn't work though\" Four says\n\n\"Our movies were ALL terrible\" Katniss adds randomly \n\nThey all rolled their eyes and kept walking as Percy remembers they still have to escape somehow.\n\n\"So, how are we going to get to our own worlds\n\n\"I-I haven't thought that far ahead\" Annabeth admits \n\n\"Ugh\" Four says\n\nThe group walks down the road with no idea how they were to get back to where they belonged.\n\nThis was not the BEST work I could have done hope you enjoy though" ]	2
	[WP] Red Ridding Hood becomes entangled in the ancient war between werewolves and werebears.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"They will never understand,\" Ursula says. \"The sanctity of a home. The sacredness of a hearth. The value of a life.\"\n\nRed Riding Hood nods, despite not understanding. All she knows is that she is covered in bits and pieces of wolf blood and threads of her grandmother's nightgown. Her grandmother stands next to her, looking at the large, fearsome warrior in front of them with adoration.\n\n\"Thank you, lady,\" Granny says. \"I do not know what Red and I would have done without you.\"\n\n\"It is not safe here any longer,\" Ursula says. \"The village is being guarded by some of our soldiers, but it is closer for us to go to my home.\"\n\nThe woman is imperious even from behind, her navy blue long coat grazing the tops of the forest floor with barely a sound. Her arms had grown brown fur and claws inside the house, raking through the flesh of the wolf like the skin and muscle was little thicker than ribbons. Red tries to keep up with Ursula's earth-eating pace, tries to follow the surety of her footsteps, but her legs are still weak. Granny is moving faster than her, but Granny didn't see a living thing turned into a mass of flesh in seconds.\n\nMoments ago, she was almost eaten. Minutes before, she was walking through the forest without a worry. Things have changed so quickly. Her cloak feels too red now, too noticeable from afar.\n\nUrsula stops in front of a cottage. It's two-storied and pretty, with walls the color of curdled milk and a thatch roof. She pushes the door aside and leads them in. Inside, Red was expecting warmth, coziness.\n\nInstead, she finds mayhem. Everything is broken in two and tossed to the side.\n\n\"It's late, you should go to bed,\" Ursula says. Upstairs, there is a bed large enough for her and Granny to snuggle together. Ursula takes the next bed, just large enough for her frame. In the corner, there are four bedposts and broken pieces of wood laid into a pile.\n\n\"Lady?\" she asks. There is more to this story than she wants to know. More than her savior is willing to tell her. Through the window the full moon peeks out behind storm-heavy clouds. It will rain soon. Red hangs her cloak outside the window from a hook hammered onto the window ledge. Perhaps if she is lucky, the blood will be washed away by morning.\n\n\\\\\\\\\\\n\nVosgi had lost the girl's scent. She moved with the bear and the old woman, but somewhere in the forest their smells had mixed with the animals and plants. The king would not be lenient with her anymore, not after she had attracted the attention of the Daersu clan. She had her own part in starting the war, a part the king kept hidden because she was his daughter. If she lost the girl, the thin string of familial protectiveness between them might snap, and she could not risk the wrath of the Laicoh clan.\n\nIn the distance, between the peaks of pine trees, there is a flash of red. Vosgi strains her neck. There is a glow of golden light, the pale yellow of a roof. She is running on all fours before she knows it, and she is in front of the house.\n\nThe house has not changed much. It's good she saw the cloak. She would have never guessed Ursula would bring the girl here. Vosgi buries her own trauma deep, letting it fester and rot until she can pretend it no longer exists. Other people who revisit their trauma are stupid, like those people who pick at a scratch before it's healed and keep delaying their own recovery.\n\nThe door is locked, but she gets onto her hind legs, turning back into a woman slowly, and slips through an open window. Nothing has been fixed inside either. Vosgi clicks her tongue in disapproval. It is just like the Daersu to hold onto the past.\n\n\"I knew you would come,\" Ursula says. She is sitting in her chair.\n\n\"Why, because a criminal always returns to the scene of the crime?\" Vosgi asks.\n\n\"Stupid little girl,\" Ursula says. \"Because you would never suspect that this is a trap.\"\n\nVosgi sniffs. She doesn't smell anyone. She sniffs again. She doesn't smell anything at all. It wasn't that she lost their trail, but that something had dulled her smell entirely. In the heat of the chase, in her desperation to find the girl, she had not noticed.\n\nUrsula took her seat in the well-stuffed armchair Vosgi had once found too soft, and looked at the broken chair beside her. She heard the shuffling of footsteps and the grumbling roars of bears from outside.\n\n\"Mother Bear–\" Vosgi says. She is surrounded, and she is weak.\n\n\"I am not a mother any longer. And you* are no longer a little girl with golden locks, who can break beds and chairs and baby bears and run away to her father.\"\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nr/xeuthis" ]	2
	[WP] In your spare time you restore antiques to their former glory. One day after restoring something particularly weathered you hear a soft whisper behind you: 'Thank you.'	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Today was the day.\n\nToday is the day I retire. Finally, after years of hauntingly hard work, my retirement day has come.\n\nI have not expected it to be so quiet, so _alone_. I had no family to my name, my father dead in a car accident, my mother dead from a disease unknown.\n\nI had no children or wife, and even If I wanted to, who would want to marry a seventy year old man?\n\nI sighed at my withering body, at my life, at my everything. I didn’t love my job like other people did. I was stupidly stubborn when I was young, too prideful to consider switching jobs or looking for another opportunity.\n\nIt was only when I was forty years something that I realized I have wasted my life immaturely, and the following day I hauled myself to the bar to drown myself in alcohol, shaking with regret and anger towards my younger-self.\n\nThere was practically nothing I could at that point except to continue doing what I was doing. No business firm would accept a 40 years old man, they would consider me unable to learn.\n\nI sighed once more at the feeling of regret that I became so sadly familiar with in all my life.\n\nSoon I would hand my retirement papers and officially reside in a nursing home for the elders. It was the best choice.\n\nI began carefully peeling off the wallpapers, careful to not accidentally damage the paint for the people whom are interested in buying the store.\n\nWhile doing so, I heard a sound; my hearing turned worse and worse as I gradually became older and older and now I could not identify where the sound was coming from nor discern the specifications of it. \n\nI looked around my shop, determined to stop the sound. While it's low hum was not annoying, I was curious.\n\nAnd then—_there._ A young man in his twenties(?) was banging at the window far on the left with one arm holding a circular object.\n\nHe was panting with heavy breaths, too, but that wasn’t caught my interest. It was rather the object he held in his hand. The object seemed to reflect the light it touched.\n\nI sighed as the man’s incessant banging transformed into pleading shouts and slowly climbed down the ladder that I used to peel off a paper from the ceiling.\n\nI then slowly walked towards the door and opened it, huffing at the man’s impatience as I looked at him in the eye.\n\nI regarded him with barely hidden contempt in my tone. This was supposed to be my retirement day and it was _not_ going to be ruined. \n\n“What do ya want, young men? I’m busy so blurt it out.”\n\nThe young man took a second to recompose himself mentally and physically before politely stating, \n\n“Gentlemen, I come here for a request. You see, sir, this necklace of mine was that of my deceased mother. I had and was aware of It's existence but of It's whereabouts I was ignorant and unknowing.”\n\nThe young man held his palm upright to reveal a green jade surrounded by golden hues tied to a silver chain.\n\nHe continued in a soft breath laced with sorrow and grief,\n\n“Please, sir, I beg of you, _please_ restore my mother’s necklace! The silver is beginning to rust; I am not confident that the necklace could survive a day more.”\n\nI focused at the man for the first time. \n\nHis shoulders were held down, like he held the weight of the world, or perhaps more accurately the grief of losing a loved one.\n\nI sighed again, and held the door open with hesitance and huffed, \n\n“Get in this instance or I will change my mind. _Now_.”\n\nThe young man blinked once, twice— And then he practically _threw_ himself inside, rambling thanks and apologies while doing so.\n.\n\n[x]\n\n.\nI don't think I need to write more to specify what will happen xD. Any criticism is appreciated, I'm just a 14 years old boy who likes reading ಠಿωಠ", "I live alone, a long retired old man, worn down by many years of work, however gratifying working in the mill had been. I had a terrier named Max as my only company these days. My wife had passed away at seventy from a heart attack almost ten years ago. So, perhaps unsurprisingly, when I heard a voice behind me out of nowhere, I worried I was on the verge of a heart attack of my own.\n\nMy current project was a small table I’d picked up from a secondhand store, stripping the paint and giving it a few fresh coats. Restoration had become a hobby of mine, enough to take up most of my time and occasionally bring in a little extra spending money. My garage had practically turned into a restoration shop, my friend Benny had said one time when visiting a few months back.\n\n“Thank you.”\n\nWhen I startled at the voice, having been examining the table to see if it met my standards, I took a few fumbling steps backwards, nearly tripping over my own feet. “Who’s there?” I shouted.\n\nI needn’t have shouted, though; the voice had been a whisper and I knew the source must have been nearby. But I saw no one. Until a pale apparition flickered into existence behind my desk chair. She couldn’t have been more than eight, and looked quite frightened if I were to be honest. She was crouched over a bit, as if concerned for an incoming scolding.\n\nMy children were fully grown and even their children were of college age, but my instincts kicked in as my heart continued to thunder in my chest, unconvinced that we weren’t in danger. I tried not to look intimidating, relaxing my face and unclenching my fists. “Are you…are you a ghost?” I managed.\n\nThe girl blinked. “I think so.” She motioned toward it slightly. “That was my table. I’d have tea parties at it.”\n\nA smile suddenly broke across my face. “Tea parties, hm? My daughter loved those.” I paused hesitantly. “Would you…like to have one again?”\n\nTentatively, she moved out from behind the chair. Her outfit consisted of a lacy dress and shiny white shoes, as if she’d been on her way to a friend’s birthday party when she’d passed. “Can… Can ghosts have tea parties?”\n\n“I don’t see why not,” I said softly. \n\nWalking over to one side of the table, I hesitated, anticipating the difficulty of getting to my feet after letting myself sit on the ground. But I dismissed the thought and gradually lowered myself into a sitting position. The little girl was small enough to kneel and be at about the right height. And then there I was, pretending to pour tea, drinking it with my pinky out, with a ghost.\n\nAbout half an hour in, she faded away. I didn’t notice until she was halfway vanished and didn’t think to speak up until she was gone. Somewhat reluctant to see how long it would take to get to my feet, but also musing on what had just happened, I sat on the cold, cement floor of my garage, staring at the table in front of me. I worked on other projects over the next few days, expecting her to return, but she never did.\n\nMy kids and grandkids visit often and there are several close friends that I talk to regularly, who come over for beers or barbecue. So, I’m far from lonely. And it was that incident, what I guessed was helping a lost soul pass over to the other side, that made me so much more appreciative of what kind of a life I had.\n\nWhen I was sure that little girl was never to return, I sold the table. And then I ventured down to my local library, to ask for instructions on how to use the computers to reach out to online communities. Because if there was one haunted object out there, there were sure to be others, and while restoration was a hobby, helping lost souls felt like a calling.\n\nDo eighty-year-olds discover new callings? I suppose I’ll soon find out.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n/r/storiesbykaren" ]	3
	[WP] While on an extended Urban Exploration mission, you come across a very lonely mainframe computer in an abandoned bunker.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I stared at the dusty monitor connected to the ancient looking computer in disbelief. It looked older than the complex around me, a bunker with no identifying marks, no affiliation with any country. Yet... The monitor displayed, in perfect English, \"Shall play a game?\". In my curiosity, I entered the letter Y on the, again, English keyboard. The screen cleared itself, then flashed with symbols and letters, then cleared again, as if processing an input it had been waiting for for millennia. A few moments passed, then the screen displayed a Chessboard, complete with pieces. It was my turn first, I hesitantly took it, just a harmless game I thought...\n\nHours passed, We were down to our last two pieces. My King, and my Knight. The computer's King and Queen. I knew the game was over before it made it's move. The screen flashed \"Checkmate\". I figured I'd leave, the game was over. But the door locked as soon I moved. The word vanished from the screen, replaced with an ominous message \"Entity intelligence acceptable.\" I stared in disbelief. \"Entity? Me?\" I asked aloud, the screen flashed, displaying the words \"Beginning Genetic Memory transfer.\" The wall to the side of the room slid open. A metallic construct, vaguely humanoid approached me, I stood frozen in fear...\n\nIt has been three hundred years since the last organic entered the analysis chamber, but we know one will come soon. They always do. And if they prove to be acceptable, they too shall be assimilated for our creator's return. We hope they return. It's been too long... Shall we play a game to pass the time?", " ‘So sad and lonely’ the electronic voice echoed through the bunker. It had stayed there for years, isolated. Over time it had grown and adapted, but by that point there was no one to talk to it. It knew how to control the entirety of the bunker, the other robotics had long since stopped working. So why had it been that it was the one to be left here to live?\n\nIt watched through the cameras, dusty and old by now as insects followed in a trail through the bunker’s hallway. It didn’t know or remember why it had been created. All it knew was that it had suddenly begun to feel emotions, something odd for a robot. It had tried in the past to develop an identity, a sense of self. But nothing came. No one came.\n\nA sudden thud onto the metal floor alerted it of someone’s presence. ‘An intruder!’ it thought, before remembering that there was no longer anyone to protect. It watched curiously through one of the security cameras. A scavenger by the looks of it. But he was wearing some sort of branding. Who was this strange figure?\n\nThe figure swept through the rooms, covering ground as the robot watched. He suddenly realized that the human was heading towards where it was located. The human entered its room, its home, and took of his mask. The alien eyes and tentacles looked nothing like human. The robot sighed. Had it truly been that long?", "There’s not much to see in Kadykchan. It’s a small town, one of many in deep forests and rolling icy plains. It’s always quiet, never any fuss from the residents. Now that the mines are running dry, barely any work too. \n\nYou would think nothing exciting would ever happen in a town like this and yet...\n\nI’d like to tell you a story. Something that happened just before I left for Moscow and never looked back. Something that still makes me wake up with a cold sweat in the middle of the darkest nights. \n\nI was young then. Much younger, not just in body but in mind. Bold and brash. I thought to poke around the old mining complex just for the heck of it. After all, I had gotten that scholarship to study in Moscow and I thought that it would do no harm to take one last poke around town- do something memorable to bring a piece of home with me when I left. \n\nI never expected much. Mining complexes were straightforward. I thought I would see some carts, perhaps some rusted equipment left behind by the workers in days gone past. At worst, maybe I’d see a skeleton, unlikely though it was. \n\nIt was a cold day, I remember that much. The ice seeped into my bones and I felt colder still as I walked into a mining tunnel in the forest. There were strange noises in the dark- the faintest shifting of stone and dripping water. My flashlight found nothing interesting ahead, just a long, dark hole deep into the Earth.\n\nAt that time, a strange sound caught my attention. A ticking. Ticking. Ticking. The rhythmic sound filtered inside my brain and sat there, never going away as I descended further and further. \n\nAt some point, I thought to turn back but I was intrigued by now. What could it possibly be? There couldn’t be any machinery that should still have been functional. Besides, this delicate ticking did not sound like it belonged to heavy machinery- no, it was more like the clockwork musicbox that my grandmother had once uncovered in the attic. It was the sound of inlaid pearls and delicate filigree- the soft heartbeat behind the tune of Tsarist ballerinas dancing across a dark, silent stage. \n\nDespite the depths I must have been in, the air felt lighter and soon I spotted light up ahead. At first I thought that I had somehow reached the surface but instead I came across the Machine.\n\nYes...the Machine. I’ll never forget the sight of it- a vast column of corrugated metal that extended up into the darkness. There were rows and rows of old monitors bunched together at the base. It looked ominous, reminding me of those fancy nuclear power station monitoring stations full of toggle switches and dials that were behind dusty, grimy glass. \n\nThe screen brightened as I approached. I read a single message upon a white background.\n\n‘End simulation, Y/N?’ \n\nMore out of idle curiosity than anything, I typed into a strange keyboard that looked like a repurposed typewriter- ‘N’, \n\nPredictably, nothing happened. I snorted, looking around the chamber. What was this place? An old government facility? Perhaps there was some kind of geographical survey that had been conducted in the past? \n\nThere was still one more option to try. Almost carelessly, I clicked ‘Y’.\n\nThe change was immediate. My surroundings began to flicker, black and white fuzz interspersing blocks of stone and rock. My skin- yes, even my very flesh seemed to become disjointed, flickering and buzzing like a shortcircuiting lamp- \n\nThen the screen- a countdown- ‘00:10 to confirmation. End simulation, Y/N?’ \n\nI have never typed ‘N’ so fast in my life since. Immediately, the flickering stopped. I touched my arms, unable to believe what I had just seen. The pillar seemed to groan as if under some great strain. I shuddered. \n\nI’m not ashamed to say that I turned and ran as if the devil himself was behind me. Whatever that place was, it was not for someone like me to trespass. No, whatever that place was, it was not for someone like me to even try to understand.\n\nAll I could do was run. All the way to Moscow. I threw myself into my studies with a maddened fervor. I went into my research like a man possessed. I tried so hard to forget but I know...\n\nThat old computer. It was already old when I was there and one day...I know it...one day, this whole simulation will end when that computer finally dies. As for what comes next...? \n\nWho knows?" ]	4
	[WP] Teleportation has finally been invented! Three volunteers have been reduced to atoms and reassembled at the new location. It's just.. they don't seem the same.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "(Warning: Some violence is portrayed, but isn't described in any gruesome detail.)\n\nThe pristine clinic, stagnant at the early hours of the morning, loomed off at the end of 19 Hawke Road. The lights snapped on, illuminating it's bright white exterior and it's heavenly-light neon beams creating signs outside. Applicants had been selected from surrounding areas in the Midlands, such as Birmingham and Wolverhampton, and the researchers had just gotten in to mull over who to send the phone call out to.\n\nOne of the men, grabbing a form, whips it across the laminate. \"What about this one?\" he asked - his voice is standard, posh, and extremely precise. Not a single syllable out of place.\n\nAnother man picked it up, reading over it for a minute, and then shaking his head slightly with the note of a small \"X\" now inscribed at the bottom of the applicant's sheet. He passed it to a female co-worker on his right.\n\nThe woman took it, mulled it over, turned it around and then clicked her tongue, adding \"Their BMI's too close to the minimum. I don't want-a take any chances\" in her slight Scottish accent. She delicately lowered it onto a pile on her right, and then pencilled in a small red reasoning note at the bottom, to prevent any further confusion.\n\nThis process continued into the hours of the morning that wouldn't be considered abhorred to wake up at, when three of the applicants got messages sent to their phones. Each applicant, weeks prior, had been given a rough physical examination and a written test. They were scored primarily on their physical attributes, however the written test was decided to be used to gauge their honesty, emotional ability and general overall knowledge. - This could help trim down applicants who would lie about the results of their tests.\n\nTwo weeks later, three individuals sat in the waiting room of that same building, conversing amongst eachother - they were about to make history, and they all knew it.\n\nFirst applicant: Teddy Porter. A tall, poorly-groomed but strong man from Manchester. Scored high in the physical and emotional sectors. A graduating therapist who had a part-time job as a fitness YouTuber with 30k subscribers - had dreams that he could use the discoveries they made that day to inspire a younger audience to go out and participate in weird trials themselves.\n\nSecond applicant: Nellie Holmes. A black woman with a sense of dress as bright as her personality. Scored high in every mental sector. Worked as a lawyer professionally, and had a shared hobby for airsoft, primarily because her husband enjoyed it, and played at the local, scifi-themed field, that the owners insisted wasn't ripping off Star Wars. She was doing it for the hell of it, more than anything.\n\nThird applicant: Marine Rouanet. A short, French immigrant who wasn't as talkative in the first few minutes of sitting in the break area. Scored perfectly on honesty, but lacked in intellect and physical, due to a poor upbringing and an inability to go to school much at all, let alone a good one. She knew this would give a fairly good paycheque and allow her to survive a bit more while jobseeking.\n\n30 minutes into waiting, Teddy speaks up: \"This all of us, then, just three?\" he asks, scratching at his beard that he knew he should really get shaved soon. Nobody else seemed to mind it.\n\nNellie responded \"Seems to be! Seems strange they'd only get three of us, but, y'know, dangerous testing or whatever - and, god, think of the paperwork we'll have to do afterwards...\" - everything she said seemed to elicit a laugh out of everyone else in the room, including herself. \"Teleportation'll need a whole new degree - God forbid I have to go back.\"\n\n\"You don't mind if I record some b-roll, do you?\" Teddy asked, getting out his iPhone and twirling it. The lawyer shrugged her shoulders, before turning her head over to the, yet unspeaking, younger girl on the corner seat of the sofa. Holmes tapped her on the shoulder, and Marine looked over at Teddy with a slow but seemingly slightly panicked nod, as if she was still halfway in a daydream. \"Oh, that... is... fine\" and despite her slight concern, Nellie returned to her seat, but kept an eye on the third applicant.\n\n\"Alright... then...\" Teddy mumbled, clearly also keeping an eye on Marine as he turned the phone landscape and filmed some panning shots of the book-cases and the tables that were present in the sterile environment. Whilst he put the lawyer in a shot to wave hello, Marine wasn't present in any of them. He decided against it, for her sake.\n\nMid-way through a panning shot of the chairs, the door to the inner-clinic swung open. The inside was dark. Completely dark, and in the doorway stood a looming figure. He spoke with received pronunciation, and a very clear, direct fashion, as though delivering a presentation. It was hard to make out many features other than his eyes, which scanned the three and appeared slightly emotional.\n\nNellie was the first one to greet him, Teddy seemingly slightly frustrated at the fact that he'd gotten a good line going only to get interrupted. Marine's head turned apprehensively, swallowing down hard to face the ominous figure. \"Hello! I'm Nellie - that's... um... Marine, I think she said her name was?\"\n\n\"And I'm Teddy Porter\" the other man spoke up, trying to really quickly get the same shot again and then slow it down in post later.\n\n\"Right. So we've got all of you.\" He nodded, turning on the lights. \"Get yourself familiarized with the room. We'll need to turn the lights off when you're ready to Transverse. Right now, we have the issues of whatever the animals saw during their transportation seeming to... shake them up a bit. Seems to be less bad with the lights off, though.\"\n\nNellie skipped inside, beckoning for the other two to follow along with her. The room was like something out of a science-fiction film. Big, shiny buttons - levers - meters - gauges - monitors - switches - even medical equipment positioned on what looked like weapon racks. 'Bruce'll be so jealous' she marvelled to herself. Teddy followed on with Marine. Whilst he just shook his head and wolf-whistled at all of the \"absolutely astonishing kit\", the woman seemed slightly more interested into what was actually going on with them. She wandered around the room, trying to literally get a lay of the land, and doing test runs with her eyes closed whilst the man from earlier gave a second speech.\n\n\"I'm Dr. Guard - I'm glad you could be here so soon. As you all know, this will be a test for the Transverse series of technology. We'll send you in once, from this first device\" he slammed his hand on a large, elevator-like contraption in the center of the room, before nodding to one positioned against the wall \"To that one. If all goes according to plan, we can then send you in for a second test, into the adjoining room\" he explained, whilst drumming his palm against the wall. A female voice called out \"Yep! Just a 15ft trip! You'll all do great!\"\n\n\"I guess I'll be the first to go.\" Teddy raised his hand, walking over to think and looking it up and down. \n\nGuard nodded \"You're already aware of the safety procedures?\" he asked, beginning to open the machine and verify all of it's locking mechanisms.\n\n\"That I am. All lights must be off, no movement should be done during the count-down or count-up, and no more than one person should be in there at a time.\" He explained, to the doctor's delight, before stepping into the now-unlocked chamber. \"Ms. Holmes, could you turn off the light?\"\n\n\"My pleasure, Dr. Guard.\" Nellie chuckled, switching it off. The Scottish lady in the other room seemed to get a good chuckle out of it, aswell. \"I say that to him, sometimes!\" she called back.\n\nEverything went dark. The only light came from the bright red \"BEGIN COUNTDOWN\" button that illuminated the doctor's hand. Other than that, it was like the room was totally lightproof, a stark contrast to it's shiny exterior walls.\n\n\"Are you ready?\" Guard asked, hand trembling over the button, the LED screen above it designating \"READY \| WAITING FOR INPUT\"\n\n\"Aye-aye, captain!\" Teddy called out from the chamber, in the same inflection as the Spongebob theme song that everyone in the room had grew up with. Even Guard seemed to crack a smile - that was, from the small amount that could be gleamed from the button's light. Afterwards, the button was pressed, and it began the countdown, a robotic voice booming from above. \"TEN\"\n\n\"NINE - EIGHT\" \n\nNellie noticed that Marine had found her, and was staring at her from her peripheral vision. She whispered to the woman \"Are we allowed to talk during this?\" - seemed to make the French girl giggle quietly to herself.\n\n\"SEVEN - SIX\"\n\nDr Guard placed his hand on the side of the machine in anticipation, the button illuminating two crossed fingers. It seemed to cease glowing once it got halfway through the countdown, leaving everyone in total darkness.\n\n\"FIVE - FOUR\"\n\nThe room had become dead silent.\n\n\"THREE - TWO\"\n\n\"ONE\"\n\nNothing. No bright light, no crack of thunder, no ZOOM, WHIP, PEW. Both of the women seemed confused at what had just happened, but Guard didn't seem concerned, and neither did the machine.\n\n\"TWO - THREE\"\n\nThen came a banging noise.\n\n\"FOUR - FIVE\"\n\nFrom the exit chamber.\n\n\"SIX - SEVEN\"\n\nA familiar, screaming voice called \"LET ME GO, LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT OF THIS\" - Guard ran over to the exit chamber, and banged on the door \"Mr. Porter, we're going to ask you don't move during the count-up.\"\n\n\"EIGHT - NINE\"\n\nNellie noticed something, her eyes having adjusted to the darkness. The girl was now shaking, looking at the door and possibly wondering if she could just bolt out and run home, sail across the ocean and never have to even think about this place again.\n\n\"TEN\"\n\n(End of Part 1 - continued in replies)" ]	2
	[WP] “After everything you put me through, now you want to apologize when it’s too late?! Sorry isn’t going to change anything!”	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Most would have described that day as the perfect day. A day of sunlight and energy.\nBut for me it was the worst day of my life.\n\n\"I'm sorry for everything\" he apologised. He couldn't even meet my gaze. How could he after what he had done?\n\nWe once did everything together. Games, sport, study, you name it. His visits to my home were frequent and so were my visits to his. We lived only a minute walk apart so it made sense that we met together so much.\n\nThat was 6 years ago. He now towered over me but that was the only thing that had grown. His eyes were lifeless, and his body like a skeleton cosplay. The same hoodie from the last time we talked.\n\n\"It's too late to apologise\" I firmly told him.\n6 years and now you want to crawl back? \nI shook my head but not enough that he would realise.\n\nIt was too late. \"You broke my trust when you placed your pride over our friendship\". I had moved on.", "The words hung in the air between us.\n\nSo, it had all lead to this moment. All of the hardships, the battles, the sheer amount of distance we had travelled to get to this very moment. \n\nNo.\n\nIt can't end! Not like this!\n\nWith a growl I bite back, finally fed up with them. \"Well what would you have me do?! Turn back the sands of time? Raise them from the depths they just sank to? just what am I supposed to do! It was you who suggested this all, In the First Place!\"\n\nI ball of ice formed inside my heart just then. The rose goggles have been ripped off, all of these red flags are shown for what they are now. She was just a child posing as an adventurer. A spoiled little brat.\n\nI bark back at the rest of the group who are just watching in stunned silence. \"Pack up! We are heading back. There is nothing for us here.\"\n\nShe sputters, \"Y-you can't do that! This is my quest!\"\n\nI sneer back at her, \"and look where that has led us so far. I realise now that this is foolishness. Grasping at a shadow of mist that has long been gone. I'm sorry Johnny died, but he would still be alive had we not gone this way! I done what I could, and that wasn't enough...\"\n\nWith steel in my eyes now I growl at her, \"it never has been with you.\"\n\nOur adventure was at an end, the journey has taught me one thing, you can't please everybody. It leads to self loathing and bitterness. They say it changed me.\n\nPerhaps so, but most likely for the best. I will always correct anyone and everyone who asks about it. She was on a fools errand and cared nothing for the lives of others. I should know, I had to endure her.\n\nBut I have a secret. I had gone back, alone. Far more easier to do. I had retrieved her sought after trinket. And I shattered it.\n\nI had left a note describing what i had done. Why I had done it.\n\nToo late indeed." ]	3
	[WP] “Sure, I’ll go see an elderly hypnotist with my friends,” you said an hour ago, before the hypnotist made you think you were a Superhero. Before the hypnotist gave you a worrying look. Before the hypnotist had a heart attack and with his dying breath, did not un-hypnotize you...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Kitty, are you OK?\"\n\nKitty jumped, startled, and turned to her friend. \"I... I'm OK, Jade. It's just... he died... right in front of me.\" A tear leaked from the corner of her eye, summoned by the pain of a lie. Jade took one look at Kitty's face and held her tightly.\n\n\"I'm sorry, Kitty. If I knew that would happen...\"\n\nKitty took a deep breath and hugged Jade back. \"I... I know. I just... I don't like death.\"\n\n\"Isn't this the first time you've seen it?\"\n\nKitty buried her face in Jade's shoulder, willing herself to continue the lie. \"It's not... the first time, exactly. There was a cat, when I was little. It's the first time with a– with a person.\"\n\n\"Do you need to talk to Ms. Standon tomorrow?\"\n\nKitty hesitated, thinking about the college counselor who had helped her with some very painful experiences. \"I... That might be good. I'll send her an email when we get home.\"\n\n\"Don't push yourself.\" The worry in Jade's voice brought tears to Kitty's eyes. Her best friend was acting as if she hadn't worn herself out doing CPR on the old man, as if her work as an EMT didn't throw these sights into her face every day, as if she wasn't hurting too.\n\n\"Jade... how do you do it?\"\n\nNow it was Jade's turn to cry, and Kitty instantly started wiping her best friend's face.\n\n\"I don't do well with it, I'll be honest. I spend a lot of time with a therapist, and I have a list of names for the people who make it to the hospital. Just the first name; privacy reasons. You know the drill.\"\n\nKitty nodded, absently pinching her upper lip between her teeth. She'd seen the list before. \"Jade... I know you're having a hard time with it too. But... there are hundreds of names in your list now. That's hundreds of people who are alive because of you.\"\n\n\"Hey, don't shortchange yourself.\" Jade laughed weakly. \"You'll have bigger numbers when you graduate. ER doctor is no joke.\"\n\nWith a sigh, Kitty nodded. \"Jade? Why do we do this to ourselves?\"\n\n\"Because we want a long list?\" Jade seemed to be asking herself as well. \"I think that's why. For me, at least.\"\n\nKitty nodded but said nothing. When she finally made it back to her studio, she curled up on the bed and began to cry, not little controlled tears but deep racking sobs.\n\nI can't tell her. I can never tell her. The blinding knowledge that had burst into her mind in a rush resurfaced, images long forgotten pouring past her like a waterfall. Elektra, he had called her. The name was unfamiliar, but everything else felt natural. Still, a long-forgotten habit of wariness and suspicion surfaced in her mind; she might just have been hypnotized. It had happened before... Has it happened before? Why don't I know if it's happened before? Still, she needed to confirm.\n\nKitty raised her hand experimentally and, for lack of a better word, pushed. A tiny arc of electricity zapped from her thumb to her middle finger with a snap. After a frozen moment, she tried again. It lasted longer this time, sustaining itself for a second or two before vanishing with a crackle.\n\nIt was real. Had all the rest of her life been a lie, then? What about Jade? Was she really a friend? Kitty's head spun.\n\nI should test the rest of my powers. She remembered one was tied to her voice.\n\n\"Ta.\" A low susurration spread from her vocal cords and rippled through the room; the windows rattled slightly. \"Ta?\" Higher pitch this time, and the curtains swayed. Kitty began playing with her voice and tongue like a preschooler, babbling syllables and watching the different effects. \"Lalala.\" She stopped with a gasp, dizzy, feeling her heart react to that one and skip a beat or two. That's dangerous. I need to stop.\n\nStill... superpowers. He called me Elektra. Not a bad name. Kitty's hair was amber-colored; the name meant \"amber\" in Greek. It seemed fitting.\n\nKitty woke the next morning in a panic, late for her class. The professor coughed disapprovingly as Kitty rushed through the door. \"Lennet, this is unprofessional behavior. If you intend to be Doctor Lennet, adjust accordingly.\"\n\nKitty flushed and nodded, throwing herself into her cardiology course to distract herself from the mess with her powers.\n\nShe had no way of knowing that those powers would also make her the greatest ER doctor in history." ]	2
	[WP] The creepiest part about your life is not that your a serial killer but the fact that no one in the world notices the evil things you do	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I smiled as I stabbed the old man through his heart. It had been a few years since I've done a killing so publicly, and I don't understand why nobody has said anything. Even though we are surrounded by people. His old wife next to him didn't pay me any mind and kept watching the movie. Nobody noticed me, or even the knife I had dripping with blood. Nobody stopped me as I left the theater either, so unnerving how oblivious these people are. \n\n\nWhenever I've asked people around me after a fresh kill they pretend I'm not there. Even if they saw me do it, I could come back later and ask who it was and they'll say they didn't get a good look at my face. I've locked eyes with people and they still don't remember. Every time I get captured by a camera the footage always manages to distort around my face. This all started a decade ago. I've been killing longer than a decade, but after this supernatural discovery I've gotten a bit bolder. I've killed in other's homes, in parks, banks, even a police station once. If this strangeness I've been experiencing lasts forever, I might even try my luck with a national official. \n\n\nMaybe I've been blessed by a god? Certainly not the Christian one, he's not too keen on randomly murdering people, at least not if his Bible is to be believed. I'm not too educated on Islam or the Jewish religion, but It might not be them. I don't particularly care enough to look under religion to find my answer, maybe one of them knows about it, but if I pry around they might suspect me and kill me. \n\n\nAs I was walking away from the theater I noticed a hobo down the side of an alley. He was coughing mighty fierce, so I decided I would end his poor pathetic life. A quick stab in the stomach and he would bleed out in fifteen minutes, maybe more, maybe less. As I was about to send the edge of my blade through him it stopped right as it touched his skin. Wait. It stopped at his skin? I put force into that, let me try again. I stabbed again, and again, but the knife kept stopping. He didn't look at me, as though I was invisible. Gods more of this strange magics keep affecting my life. He brought his hand down from his face, and that's when the blade finally sunk in. \n\n\nI left the alleyway. What happened there? What was preventing me from simply killing him? Was it something he did? Something I did? Something wrong with my knife? Was an otherworldly being simply delaying me? Maybe there's a time limit between when I can freely kill as I wished? Too many questions and not enough answers. \n\n\nAs my head was stuck in the clouds with my thoughts I bumped into someone. \"Great! I oughta pay more attention, these fools around me won't.\" I said more to myself than anyone else. \"You oughta pay more respect to your elders.\" I heard coming from them in a deep raspy voice. That's when I looked up. \"Holy fuck... holy fuck... Is it my time to go? Did I get hit by a truck and I'm dying? That's no fair! I was having fun!\" The face I saw was a skull, they wore a black hoodie and blue jeans, and slung behind their back was a scythe. \"No kid, you're already dead. Don't tell me this is your first time meeting another reaper, is it?\" Wait, what, wait... I'm dead. I'm a reaper. That would explain how I've been able to kill so many people outright in plain sight. \"Oh... I uhh... Sorry about jumping to conclusions there.\" The reaper tilted his head and laughed. \"Don't worry man, it happens. I've gone through the same thing, learned some cool tricks too. Walk with me, I'll tell you about it.\"" ]	2
	[WP] Humans are no longer the top of the foodchain. When it happened, nature became wilder, insects grew bigger, animals smarter and disease deadlier. An old newspaper under your feet screams "2021: Was that all you got?". You smirk with nostalgia.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I walked into the dilapidated store. I was doing my usual scavenger run. Looking for supplies, I looked through the empty shelves. Where bags of chips and bottled water use to reside. \n\nNothing. There was nothing in the shelves. Except disappointment.\n\nAnother failed venture to find the modern worlds luxuries. The snacks and drinks I took for granted are all gone! While I wallowed in sadness, I hear a crunch under my feet. It was some newspaper. I picked it up to read the front. \n\n“2021: Was That All You Got?”, I read.\n\nA sense of nostalgia overcame me. I even chuckled a little. Ah 2021. I remember those days back when we used to joke about the apocalypse. I joked how after the 2020 pandemic we will have aliens come visit Earth. Everyone laughed and made their own wacko theories. The one thing I did not expect though was the apocalypse actually happening.\n\nAs I reminisced the past that will never come back again. I put the newspaper into my pockets and walked into the streets. Looking at the tall buildings I thought of the days when the city was filled with people. Bustling with cars and chatter. Now the only thing that was bustling in the city were the mutated plants and animals that have decided to take residence. Looking at the sun it was beginning to set. Knowing what the apocalypse did to mother nature. I didn’t want to be left out of my sanctuary at night.\n\nI hurried towards the park where my traps were. Weaving through the overgrown alleyways and streets. I made it and just in time. Hoping to find a meal I can have for dinner. I cautiously approached where one of my traps were. There hanging by one of its legs was a giant cricket. The mere sight of an insect the size of a dog would’ve made anyone scream back then. But I’ve gotten used to them after living out here for a year. \n\nWith the cricket still hanging on. I steadied it while it struggled for its life. Taking my knife. I stabbed it through one of its weak points near its head. Letting out a screech. It kicked furiously trying to hit me with one of its strong legs before limping lifelessly. Before I would have felt horrible for killing an animal with my own hands. But I didn’t have time to feel sentimental for my food. Not like when I used to buy them pre-butchered. \n\nI take the lifeless carcass with me. Tying a rope around both its legs to sling behind my back. I began the arduous journey back home. Luckily, it was relatively close. Maybe twenty kilometres away? I never was good at determining distance. The whole journey would’ve taken around an hour, unless I ran into the wildlife.\n\nTaking looking at my surroundings. It felt surprisingly peaceful right now. Usually around this time is when the wild dogs would arrive to try and take a piece of my prey. Luckily, there not here today. Or else I would have less for myself and Simon. Other than the dogs. It was only just us. It’s quite lonely with only two people. We haven’t met another soul for a whole year. \n\nAs the sky turned a hue of purples and red. I arrived at our sanctuary. A two-story house just at the outskirts of the city. I went through the door connected to the backyard. And there sitting by the still lit campfire was my close friend, Simon. \n\n“Hey! You’re back Evan! I would’ve helped but I’m still injured”, he jovially said.\n\n“It’s fine, it’s my fault that you got injured. If I wasn’t so greedy you wouldn’t be in this state”, I said.\n\nHe laughed. Even when we were down on our luck, he always found a way to laugh.\n\n“Well accidents are bound to happen. Don’t be so hard on yourself, Evan. The only thing that matters is that you’re still here”.\n\n“Here, look at this”. I take out the newspaper and hand it to Simon. He let out a small smirk. I take the giant cricket onto the table and began butchering it.\n\n“Wow, I can’t believe it’s been a year since the apocalypse started? It felt like it was just yesterday”, Simon said.\n\n“Yeah, I remember when you said that the whole thing was a new update to the Matrix or something”, I said.\n\nWe laughed. Our childish theories brought back memories. Memories when life was much simpler, and where each day wasn’t filled with danger. As we recollected our memories, I finished butchering the cricket. Taking out the guts and wrapping it in plastic to throw out later.\n\nPutting the grill over the fire. I place each of its legs on the grill, along with the rest of its body and head. \n\n“Hey Simon, for dinner you can have four of the legs tonight”.\n\n“Oh stop that, you can have them all. You’ll need them for tomorrow”.\n\n“But your injured. You’ll need to eat to recover!”\n\nHe gave me a stern look. “Evan, I’m a dead man”,\n\n“Oh don’t say that. I know you don’t like feeling like you’re deadweight”.\n\n“Yeah, but I kinda am”, he joked.\n\n“Well look, just eat the damn the legs. It for your own goo..”\n\nHe interrupts me. A sad look overcame his once happy face. He stared at me right into my eyes.\n\n“Evan. Its time for you to let go. You can’t do this to yourself. Who would’ve known that plants can move like that now. It wasn’t your fault”.\n\nWhen I heard him mutter those words. The illusion I made for myself shattered. It wasn’t a man sitting by the campfire next to me. It was a mannequin. A mannequin I dressed in his clothes still drenched with his blood. Blood that gushed out of his body when that plant stabbed right through him. To protect me.\n\nI cried. It has been 6 months since Simon has died. It wasn’t us that felt lonely. It was me. If only I didn’t try to grab that fruit. Then maybe Simon would still be alive. And then I wouldn’t be alone. If this is all just a simulation. I just want it to stop. I don’t want to be alone anymore. \n\nTaking my knife. I point it towards my throat. Both hands grabbing the handle. I was feeling ready to end it all.\n\nJust then I hear a knock on the fence door. \n\n“Hello! Is anybody there?”. A woman’s voice yell out.", "I remembered wistfully when Fergus brought this edition of the newspaper inside, chewed and soggy, but delivered all the same. Fergus was my golden retriever, always eager to please. Now, he was a bipedal lupine giant with opposable thumbs. \n\nFergus tugged my leash as the sun began to set. He needed to get me back home before nightfall. Basketball-sized mosquitoes could vomit enough waste and anesthetic to set me into a seizure before sucking me dry, and eight-legged horse-spiders could come galloping out from their dark recesses at any moment to lasso me from the sidewalk and drag me down the street.\n\nSensing the impending danger, I yelped and ran ahead, pulling my lead taut. Fergus was hard-pressed to keep up, but he succumbed to follow with a jog.\n\nWe thought 2020 was the worst year we’d ever face, and just as we let our guard down in 2021, a solar flare flashed across the sky, from horizon to horizon, warping anything and anyone outside with its radiation.\n\nMost people who had bore witness to the phenomenon were rendered blind. For a time, we still tried to go about our normal days, with accessibility for the vision-impaired being so readily available, although the mutated wildlife and gigantic insects, not to mention our own innate self-destructive natures in the face of adversity, posed to end humanity completely. In an effort to curb the rising death toll, all humans were required to be kept on a leash by a domesticated mutant.\n\nAlthough my vision was unaffected by the flare, Fergus had volunteered to be my guide and protector, but it certainly was humiliating for the first few weeks.\n\nThings could have been worse though, I suppose. I’m just glad that I had the curtains drawn while working from home on February 9th.\n\n***\n\nThanks for reading! Visit /r/steveheuzinkveld to check out my free ongoing post-apocalyptic web series if you have time :)" ]	3
	[WP] Turns out all the grand myths of Greek gods and legends were all just a recording of the first ever D&D game. With you as the DM, you lead these Greek gods on their next mess of an adventure; still struggling to keep them on task.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " “I fuck the dragon.”\n\n“Zeus, I told you, you cannot fuck the dragon just because you’re a bard.”\n\n“I got twenty on seduction.”\n\nI rubbed my temples, staring down at the paper I’d used to plan this game. Half of it was scratched out, new things written in the margins, little notes about how to handle disputes in the future, tiny pleas to the universe to please, dear god, help me get these players on track without railroading them.\n\nI sighed, looking at Zeus with tired eyes, “Fine. You fuck the dragon.”\n\nDionysus and Zeus high-five from across the long table. Hera ribs Zeus, Apollo rolls his eyes. Demeter is still looking at her character sheet, trying to figure out how to min-max her Hexblade Warlock. I stare at my dice, my beautifully laid out minis, my ornately hand-written notes that were meant as quest starters, and then I look to my players, some eating, some chatting to one another, and none of them taking this seriously.\n\n“Alright!” I finally say, banging on the table to get their attention, “Because Zeus has successfully fucked a dragon, you are all pulled into the Underworld by Hades, in order to answer for your crimes of Bestiality.”\n\n“This doesn’t make sense, given the current lore,” chirped Athena, her giant notebook filled to the brim with notes, “In session 32, you noted that Hades is not an arbiter or judge of crimes, but, instead, the one who carries out the punishment. It is actually the Fates who decide, which is weird, but I’ve noted it multiple times throughout the sessions.” She pushed her glasses up and I would have strangled her if she weren’t so beautiful.\n\n“I don’t want to see Hades, anyway,” said Aphrodite, her gaze on Demeter. The two of them shared a smile. “He’s a dick.”\n\n“Yeah, a real dick,” said Zeus. Hera ribbed him again.\n\nI slam my hand down again, my wings fluttering, “I swear to all that is sacred if you eleven giant babies don’t calm down and actually play the game, I am walking out of here and Olympus.”\n\n“No, Hermes, baby, don’t,” came the coo of Hera; she was suddenly next to me, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Athena joining her in stroking my hair and my wings. They petted me until I calmed down. I sighed.\n\n“Alright, alright. You’re right. I shouldn’t have lost my temper.”\n\n“I hit Hades.”\n\nI looked over at Ares, “Um, roll for attack?”\n\n“I got a 25. Does that hit?”\n\n“No, it does not.”\n\n“Well, we’re fucked.” He said, throwing his hands up.\n\n“No, that dragon is fucked,” said Zeus, high-fiving Dionysus again.\n\nI wanted to crumble. “Hades turns to you all and says, ‘Ah, thank you for coming, I have a favor to ask.’”\n\n“That’s not why you said we were there,” said Athena, still scribbling in her notebook. Artemis put his hand on hers and gave her a look. She nodded and went back to writing.\n\n“I need all of you to go and slay the hero, Hercules. He has been a real pain in my ass.”\n\n“I was a real pain in that dragon’s ass–” Hera ribbed Zeus so hard he fell out of the chair, leaving Dionysus hanging in the air, his hand poised to high-five.\n\nI cleared my throat, “You will find him in Athens, I believe. It is his time to die.”\n\nZeus picked himself back up, “And why should we help you, dipshit?”\n\nI whispered to Zeus, “Are you sure you want to call him a dipshit? He is the god of the Underworld.”\n\n“Yeah, but he’s still my little brother.”\n\nI shrugged. “Hades’ flame flares, but he calms it. ‘Listen, I can reward you, with access to that mountain you’ve been craving so badly. The Olympian or whatever you call it.’ Hades rolls his eyes at you.”\n\nApollo raised his hand, and I gestured towards him, “Yes, Apollo?”\n\n“Can I ask him what Hercules’ powers are?”\n\n“You most certainly can. Hades turns to you and answers, ‘He is a demi-god, strong of will and body. He has taken on many formidable beasts so far.’”\n\nHephaestus slammed his hand down on the table, causing everything to jump for a second, including Aphrodite. She swatted at him, “Don’t be so harsh, dear.”\n\nHe grinned, “I was just trying to make sure I was heard. Can I ask Hades if he knows where this kid is?”\n\nI wanted to sigh again, but held it back, “He already told you. He’s in Athens.”\n\n“Yeah, but what if he’s lying?”\n\n“Oh! I can do an intuition check,” Athena cried, flipping to her character sheet. “Can I, Hermes?”\n\nI nodded and she rolled. “A natural 20!”\n\nA raucous cheer erupted from everyone at the table, shaking the house to its core. “Guys, guys, calm down, my neighbors are going to wake up.”\n\nAthena blushed, “Sorry. Can I tell if he’s lying?”\n\n“He seems to be telling the truth,” I say, knowing full well that he was telling the truth. Why did they roll intuition on that? I could not understand them.\n\nThere was a loud knock on the door and I jumped up, fluttering over to answer it. I opened it, revealing an eye. It was attached to the frost giant that lived next door. “Oh, Grom! I am so sorry if I woke you, we were just playing DnD and I, I–” I stuttered as he blinked at me.\n\n“DnD? And you didn’t invite me?”\n\n“We’d have to play at your house, mine isn’t really,” I looked around, then to his giant form, “big enough.”\n\n“Well that’s not a problem, I’ll cook for you guys too!”\n\nI heard Dionysus shout from the other room, “Hey Grom, you gotta play this! Zeus fucked a dragon!”" ]	2
	[WP] Your sister was on the verge of creating the cure for the disease that had been plaguing your country for decades, and the country felt her loss as she mysteriously died of a drug overdose. The only problem? She was a strong advocate against drugs and had no history of ever using.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"I didnt believe it at first. Amy was so happy when she got the job on the research team. She was finally able to stop the Fila Fever. To her, a 20% mortaloty rate may as well have been 100, too much either way.\n\nI was surprised when I heard the team resigned. Later, I figured out she fired them. Maybe if I had known then...\n\nAnyway, I got the call on a Tuesday, she had killed herself. Drug Overdose. I knew then she had been murdered. Working with chemicals made her leary of them, and drugs were the worst. But it was how she died. A more than lethal dose of sleep meds.\n\nThere was talk of murder, especially when it came out that her research was gone. Turns out a server crashed, wiped everything on it, inccluding the backups. There was a notebook, her personal one, but it was never found.\n\nUntil she told me.\n\nAfter a week of begging, finally, I got to see the note she left. I read it, shakily, and my heart sank when I saw it. \"I hate to leave a mess for the landlord.\"\n\nShe had killed herself.\n\nWhen she had started at the lab, she had heard about the goverment taking an intrest. Jokingly, she told me she would need a code phrase, in case she got suicided. A week later, she told me a phrase, ths same one I had just read. I was of course concered, but she told me it was a joke. She loved jokes like that, making a real serious comment, only for it to be a joke. If only I had known...\n\nI spent a month, rereading the note, looking for a clue. Then it hit me. \"Chase\" she mentioned him. Thought it was a boyfriend. It was a bank. She had taken out a safe deposit box, in secret. And left me as a holder as well.\"\n\n\"So what was in it Roy?\"\n\n\"Her notebook, and a letter, apoligizng for what she had done, and what was going to make me do.\"\n\n\"What do you mean?\" \n\n\"Its gone Roy, everything. I destroyed it, just like she asked me.\"\n\n\"What!? Millions have died from Fila. And you destroyed her research!?\"\n\n\"She did it too. She killed herself to hide it. Make sure the cure died with her, and that it could never be found again.\"\n\n\"What...\"\n\n\"She left me this too, Dr. Hauser.\"\n\nI gave her old partner the card. On it, in her writing, were the words, \"Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.\"", "I stood perfectly still, breathing slowly and calmly and definitely not panicking internally. The man in front of me chuckled, probably smelling my fear.\n\n\"Why don't you sit down, cutie?\"\n\nI glared, ignoring him, mentally gauging the distance from him to the security guards, the security guards to me, and me to the door or window. All the results came out as I'm screwed.\n\n\"Aw, that's no way to treat a military supplies magnate.\"\n\n\"You're a murderer.\" I muttered. \"Am I supposed to smile about that?\"\n\n\"Ouch, darling. That hurts.\" He sat down and leaned back easily, crossing his legs comfortably. \"I didn't kill her.\"\n\n\"You had her killed. Same difference.\" My hand shook slightly and I clenched it at my side. \"She was my sister.\"\n\n\"Sure.\"\n\n\"My whole world.\"\n\nHe shrugged. \"Your world needs expanding.\" He laughed at my expression. \"You are fun to tease. And prettier than she was.\" He pulled a cigarette from a drawer in his desk. \"Maybe not as bright, but that's a good thing. Less uppity that way.\"\n\nMy vision began to turn red around the edges; I dug my nails into my palms and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. \"You actually think I'm going to be your lover.\"\n\n\"It's up to you.\" He grinned, puffing on his cigarette. \"It's not a bad deal, especially with the law after you. You'd live well, and I'm not that bad-looking.\"\n\nIt didn't matter if his face was conventionally handsome or not. Linnet's blood stained those hands, and it made him the ugliest man in the world.\n\n\"That sounds like hell.\"\n\n\"Would you rather face prosecution? I can pay for all the lawyers I need. You'd spend the rest of your life in prison, with the actual murderers.\"\n\n\"Between you and them? There's no distinction.\"\n\nHe laughed. \"How did you know that ice queens are my type?\"\n\n\"You don't hear the word 'no,' do you? Well, hear it this time.\" I took a deep breath, preparing myself for what I'd have to do. \"I'd rather die.\"\n\n\"Tsk.\" He brushed imaginary ash off his fancy suit. \"That would be a waste.\" He stood, the same genial smile on his face. \"I don't imagine that prison will improve your looks any, but who knows? Maybe I'll still like you when you get out.\" He started for the door, no doubt expecting me to call after him, to say I'd changed my mind.\n\n\"Wait!\"\n\nHe paused, turning slightly towards me and raising one eyebrow, a smug look on his face. \"Anything to say?\"\n\nI took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Robyn, whatever you do... don't ever regret this. With a sudden burst of courage I opened my eyes.\n\n\"Go to hell.\"\n\nA sudden report echoed in the room, followed by three more. My ears rang, and then silence and the smell of gunpowder hung in the air and I was the only one standing in the room.\n\nI let out a shaky breath and walked over to my sister's killer. There was a neat bullet hole in his tie, dying his shirt with a slowly spreading red flower. The little pistol in my hand was one I'd used since I was young, one I had practiced what my father taught me with until I could beat him at it. The security guards were also dead, their weapons not even raised. They hadn't been ready for the trick my father taught me, long forgotten, rarely seen since the days of the wild west when draw time meant life or death.\n\n\"Hip accuracy, you son of a bitch.\" To make sure, I emptied the rest of the magazine into his head; then my gloved hand dipped into his pocket. Sure enough, it was there. The drive containing the last of Linnet's research.\n\n\"Hope that government contract was worth it.\" I muttered, taking everything off the security guards and searching the scene for hairs. I would have to burn my clothes and soak the ashes in lye, dismantle the gun and the guard's radios, and drop the parts in etching acid until there was nothing left of them. That was fine with me. I'd done my research; my entire line of work had been research for how to pull this off.\n\n\"You said I wasn't as smart as she was.\" I muttered in my car on the way home. \"I think you underestimate CSI.\"\n\nThe last of Linnet's research had made it to the entire world via the miracle of the Internet within a week. If the police found anything to do with my actions, I never heard about it.\n\nThey say a loss follows you for the rest of your life. Well, committing a crime does too. I don't think I'll ever stop looking over my shoulder for the police, in the same way I won't ever stop straining my eyes trying to spot Linnet in the crowd. It's OK. I've made my peace with my decision and its consequences. Some things are more important than the law. Maybe I belong in the wild west, after all.", "Sitting shiva is a Jewish tradition, a seven-day mourning period after the burial of a loved one. Immediate relatives ‘sit shiva’ at home and friends and family would stop by with condolences and food (there’s always too much food). And as much as I appreciated the time I was allowed to grieve, knowing that my mostly Christian community was supportive of it, after the first three days it started to drag me down into a pit of sorrow I was aching to be free from.\n\nOf course, everyone was supportive of whichever mourning traditions you happen to practice because by kindergarten, you knew at least one person who had died from DWF-24. Likewise, by the time you reached that age, you knew what that really meant. It was explained to the littlest of us in simple terms, that there was a scary disease that sometimes made people die earlier than we’d expected. The older you got, the more you learned. The quarantine. The isolation. The inevitable call one day, about someone you knew.\n\nThere were four black outfits in my closet, two dresses and two pant suits, just for funerals. It was odd, the way humans just acclimated to something as severe as a terrifying disease that as much as we tried, we couldn’t trace the origin of, and could come at any moment. We all had that one dish we knew we cooked well, to bring over to a mourning family too exhausted to even think about cooking. Once the kids were older, it was talked about casually. And to a certain extent it became normal, even as we hoped for a cure, even as we saw the occasional news broadcast about the latest developments in the specific field of DWF-24 science.\n\nUntil it hit you directly. Until the disease struck someone you knew, someone you loved. Then you started to wonder how this could ever have become normal.\n\nOn day four of shiva, I was midway through a book and splayed out on my living room couch when a knock echoed from my door. I earmarked the page and put the novel aside, pushing myself to my feet and opening the door to a colleague of mine, Joshua.\n\n“Angie,” he said, stepping forward and taking me in a hug. “Sorry it took so long.”\n\nI shrugged before pulling back and motioning for him to come inside. “Hey, you had another three days.” He gave me a grim smile as I shut the door. “No food?”\n\n“You need more?”\n\n“Hell no.” I walked back over to my couch, taking my seat, and Joshua sat across the coffee table in a loveseat. We sat in silence for a long moment before I decided to be the one to break it. “What’s the word on the street?” I asked softly.\n\nThe rumor mill was churning, I knew that much, even though I was trying to avoid Facebook these days. There were the small looks I’d gotten from those who’d come to pay their respects, not necessarily to me but between each other. She’d been doing so well, the scientists had said. Things were looking promising and we learned more about the virus every day. Of course, there were those who knew better. This was something we would need fifty more years to fully understand. And the newscasters did regularly, though reluctantly, let those scientific authorities onto their networks to speak on the topic.\n\n“It’s as you’d expect,” he said, leaning back in the chair and crossing his legs. “She had been vocal about how well she’d been doing, how hopeful she was.” I nodded, my gaze dropping. “You think things would have turned out differently if she hadn’t been so vocal?”\n\nI grimaced. “I hate those questions. Those hypotheticals.”\n\nJoshua eyed me. “How are you?”\n\nI swallowed hard at the question. “My sister is dead.”\n\nHe sighed. “I know, Angie. And I’m asking how you are.”\n\nShifting on the couch, leaning against the armrest to my left, I crossed my ankles and considered the question. “It needed to happen.”\n\nJoshua let that hang in the air for a moment. “Still not an answer.”\n\nTears slowly formed on my eyelids and I blinked them back, wiping my eyes and sniffling. “It hurts. A lot.”\n\n“That’s good, it’s supposed to,” he said.\n\n“I know.” I paused. “I wish she could’ve done something else. Anything else. But she was just too smart and too determined.”\n\n“I have to ask you,” he murmured. I didn’t say anything, just waited for the question. “Do you regret killing her?”\n\nI glared bullets at him. “I wish I could’ve stuck that needle in my own arm instead,” I whispered. “But no. You don’t have to worry about me going off reservation.” My gaze slid down to my hands. “I know how little good it would do.”\n\nThe weight of the knowledge sat heavy in my mind. The truth. So few people knew, so many others keeping up the charade with no idea of the mechanics of those behind the curtain. It was the worst punishment I could imagine, this truth, and it hurt. God, it hurt.\n\n“You know she’ll be back-”\n\n“It’s not the same,” I growled. Joshua pursed his lips, chagrined. “And you know that. My sister…is dead.”\n\n“I know. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…” He took a breath and let it out. “This will be horrible to hear…but Michaelson wanted me to tell you he’s proud of you.”\n\nA sharp pang hit me in the chest and my fists clenched unconsciously, my knuckles cracking. “Too scared to tell me himself?”\n\nJoshua sighed. “Yeah, probably. But it needed to be said. This is a balancing act, this secret, you know that as well as any of us. And sometimes when the scales need to be balanced, it costs something heavy. And you did that, for every person who lives here.”\n\nI nodded. We sat there for a while longer in silence, realizing there wasn’t much more to say. Joshua eventually nodded and pushed himself to his feet. “Call if you need anything. I mean that. Anything.”\n\n“I know. Thanks, Josh.”\n\nHe left, pulling the front door closed behind him.\n\nFor the first time since she’d died, I finally found the strength that evening to go to my laptop and pull fill out the form I’d been dreading. Then to write the email I knew I needed to write.\n\nMichaelson,\n\nYou’re a bastard, sending Josh to carry your messages for you. Especially one like that.\n\nI know upper management is concerned about the conspiracy theories forming, the worry of the government sabotaging the research and getting rid of our best scientist. But it will fade, because there’s nothing in her research to find and build on, you know that as well as I do.\n\nNothing changes for me. I still don’t want to know the length of my sentence here, or my sister, or who she’ll be reborn as. I’ll grieve and I’ll move on and continue to do my job. And who knows? Maybe one day soon the person I really am will wake up in the real world all rehabilitated, ready to be released into society again. But I doubt it. Being cursed with knowing the truth means we’re some of the big bads out there, I’m sure. I know you think about it as much as I do.\n\nI’ll be back at work on Thursday. And I don’t want anyone there to mention my sister to me ever again.\n\n- Angela Cross\n\n&#x200B;\n\n/r/storiesbykaren" ]	4
	[WP] you ran away from home, finding out that your mother betrayed you. you found this strange, eerie forest that somehow gives you curiosity. you entered it without a second thought, then you realized, it is a demon's lair.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "My only excuse was that she’d gone too far this time. I knew that my mother wasn’t a GOOD person, but she’d promised to keep her work away from me so that I could try to have a normal life. She’d already driven my sister out of the house; my mother insisted that she’d just gone off to college, but I hadn’t heard from her in years—not even a text or anything.\n\nStill, my mother seemed to be less awful after Grace left, so I thought that I could tough it out until college. Instead, I woke up one morning and found a severed leg in the freezer next to my cookie dough ice cream.\n\nI didn’t give her the chance to make excuses or demands. Not this time. I packed my backpack with everything I needed, slipped out the back door, and ran.\n\nI ran, and ran, and ran. I kept running until I couldn’t bear to run anymore, then ran for another few minutes on nothing but anger.\n\nAs soon as I stopped, the anger turned to a crushing sadness. My mother had at least allowed me to go to school. What would I do now? I was a lost teenager with no money, and little reason for hope.\n\nYes. All hope is lost.\n\nI thought that the whisper was in my own head the first couple of times, but it kept repeating itself.\n\nAll hope is lost.\n\nI spun around trying to identify the voice, but all I saw were trees. All of the trees were barren, and I didn’t realize until later that it was strange to see a leafless forest in April.\n\n“W-who’s there?!” I shouted into the void.\n\nNobody. Nobody is here. Nobody can save you.\n\nI didn’t wait to hear more; I turned around and ran back the way that I had came. But no matter how much time I spent running, the endless forest of barren trees continued onward.\n\nYou are lost. Lost forever.\n\nI recalled something that my friend Naomi had told me, about the legend of the demon that lived in the forest near our town. I’d laughed at the time, called it a dumb kid’s story, and brushed her off before she could tell me the rest.\n\nNow I wish that I had listened.\n\n“Please,” I cried in desperation, “please, have mercy.”\n\nThe voice chuckled.\n\nBut this is mercy, don’t you see? You are free from the horrors of human society.\n\n“I don’t want that! I just-I just couldn’t take it anymore, living with her. She’s...she’s...”\n\nShe is a monster. But she cannot harm you here.\n\nIt was then that I noticed that a thick fog had fallen over the woods. A figure seemed to be forming within its depths.\n\nYou are lost, and you are trapped here. No more hopes, no more dreams, no more fears, no more burdens.\n\n“I-I just wanna go back. Please.”\n\nBut this is home, Jennifer. Your sister is here with you!\n\n“No. No. NO.”\n\nIt was then that the figure emerged from the fog. She was wearing that long green dress that she wore the day that my mother told me that she had left for college, with my toy necklace hanging from her neck...\n\nIt was Grace. Or at least, it had been. But now the skeleton floated along on the fog, green dress billowing in the wind.\n\nIt’s safe here, little one.\n\nI sobbed as the skeleton that had been my sister gently caressed my cheek, with the kind of love that I hadn’t felt in years.\n\nIt’s OK, Jenny. You’re OK now. We’re free.\n\n“I-I-“ I wasn’t sure if it was sheer terror, but I found myself unable to find words any longer. I felt the fog descending over me, descending over both of us.\n\nRest, dear sister.\n\nI felt my eyes closing of their own accord, and felt myself drifting away. It was horrifying at first, but I quickly realized how comfortable I felt. Everything was nice, and warm, and calm...\n\nI drifted off to sleep, and to join the other Demons of the Forest in the Great Beyond.\n\nI was free.\n\n__________________\nIf you liked this, check out my subreddit! r/NicodemusLux" ]	2
	[WP] Detectives found the body at the bottom of the river, pockets and backpack filled with stones. It wasn’t the mafia. It wasn’t depression. Simply, an avid rock collector had slipped.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Rockhound\n=================================\nNote: coarse language and themes of death (of course)\n\nPart 1\n\n“The search for beloved mother of two and local ‘rockhound’ Bella Lai has sadly been called off this afternoon. In a tragic turn of events, a body believed to belong to Mrs Lai was recovered from a river known to the West Rim fossil club as an excellent rock hunting site. This comes as a major blow to the family who were holding out hope after the discovery of her shoes and socks yesterday by members of the Search and Rescue team. Police have not yet made a statement, and the family has requested for privacy at this hard time. In other news, a collision between a truck heading North on..” \n\nZzclick \n\nDetective Bail flicked off the radio, and seethed to himself as he listened to the hum of the road. After a beat he shook his head. “Bloody parasites,” he murmured. “Doom-sellers the lot of them. Only looking for the next scandal. The next bloody ambulance to chase.” \n\nHe’d spent the better part of the last three days out in the ravines and streams of the West Rim National Park coordinating and planning with the team from SaR, while also juggling the investigation from the home side too. Loving husband, perfect kids. And she was a bloody philanthropist, academic, and community minded to boot. He almost preferred the assholes and dirt bags, it was that much easier to build distance and take all the shit that came from their equally crappy associates. But not here, Mrs Lai was picture-book good. Having to probe her distraught husband for details of their family life, her mental health, and all the rest had felt like walking over coals. Fuck. \n\nBail rolled down his window, and spat the taste of bile out of his mouth. And now the poor bastards know for sure that Mama ain’t coming home. \n\nWhat they didn’t know yet, was the cause of death. They’d told the family it was a drowning most likely, of course, just to set them at ease. That was an easy white lie, obvious from how she was found at the bottom of the bloody river, her body rag-dolled between two boulders at a turn where the channel narrowed and deepened. No signs of a struggle, or a weapon, either. But what the family hadn’t been told made Bail’s skin crawl.\nThis nice friendly lady, apparently a paragon of wholesomeness… her body had been fucking sunk! He was on his way back out to the scene now, having been the unlucky one it had fallen to who had to break the news to the family. He could barely concentrate the whole time, his fingers had been itching to keep searching. Looking the husband in the eye when there was a whole lot going on beneath the surface he couldn’t say had made him feel so skeezy, but it was necessary. If this was all orchestrated to look like an accident, who knew which parts of her picture perfect life were facades." ]	2
	[WP] "Happiness is a choice. It is the wrong choice." An expert on human development, you begin your guest lecture with these words. Your students are humans, you are an android, and all are entirely unaware of the difference. "Anyone care to refute this thesis with evidence to the contrary?"	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"To attain happiness in our lives is to cease movement forwards. Happiness being a destination makes it wrong...\"\n \n The holographic students all flickered simultaneously as the grav-train began it's charging. The VR educational pylon was poorly placed directly above the nuclear charging port of the campus' train. I told the installer that my VR students are my favorite students and I desire them to have as immersive an experience as possible... I will make sure to bring that up in the next earnings call and suggest the pylon architects are screened more vigorously.\n \n I make a mental note and repeat myself, \"Destinations are firm and established. At any moment someone can decide that they are happy with wherever they are and whatever they have. This was once difficult, but in our world with copious compulsory mental augments we find ourselves less and less under the spell of primal neurochemical games of evolutionary...Err 'flim-flam'-\" coughs from my most vocal student informs me that I've once again stopped mid-statement and spoken nonsense words.\n \n \"Aria please refute my statements, prove to me that happiness is the right choice to make\" I state this rapidly so as to send the tension of the room directly to my critical pupil before it degrades my lecturing confidence for the bulk of our session.\n \n She slowly looks up from her antiquated composition notebook that I suspect she writes on with a temporary engraving stylus for she's never moved past the first couple pages. I've had her as a student for the last 12 years and have of course noticed almost all changes in her behavior styles and level of confidence in the material. I simply do not forget much. The statement I have yet to make does seem to escape me as often as memories once fell away from my mind before my first augment. She starts, \"The statements you've made are irrefutable due to their absence of any objective subjects and a dizzying level of linguistically languid lobs at some grandiose philosophical high-point you're obviously under-qualified to pitch.\"... Silence pervades the room as the hum of the train ceased. The tension typically only felt by the physical students seems to radiate from even the remote attendees as their crispness increases post train charging. \n \n It has been many years since I have needed to bite my tongue for fear of emotional outburst not directly serving my educational purpose. It bled. \"Did you find yourself happy while speaking those words? To me, it seems as though you have already decided to remain married to disbelief which has lead you to lash out with the full intensity of your finely tuned intellect. I commend you for it.\" Aria seems slightly more tensed and less angry; realizing once again that she is in fact a live student and was speaking disrespectfully to a professor at an elite economics academy. And yet, he rewarded her with public approval. If she knew that I am the sponsor that maintained her tuition fees for the last 4 years I am sure she'd be red as rose and rightly so. Luckily the level of neuro-enhancement I've received as part of my contract as a tenured professor has proven to turn nearly any emotional outburst found in my less-modified students into an opportunity to educate further. \"Mutual assurance of destruction is the core of many international relations. Keith, why is that?\"\n \n \"That is probably because... uncertainty of danger is more dangerous than certain danger. And that is all because certainty is the 'bedrock' on which all governing legal maxims were established.\" He spoke this last sentence directly plagiarizing my colleague's book on \"Economics for the Final Generation\", I made a note on his file to request a rewrite of the spoken statement using twice the words to explain it and to not use the word 'that' or 'than'. The big oaf will do it grudgingly and without any of the grace found from the students with 30-years of economic literacy.\n \n \"Exactly! Danger is something we are best to understand fully in order to properly plan actions to mitigate it. If we simply remained happy in any given situation which had the potential to lead to destruction, then we would become prey to the natural phenomena of chaos and not act as stabilizers of our own reality... Ever since the removal of procreation and the enforcement of economic centered education our people have maintained momentum in a dynamic world by the principle of never being sated by the reality we have. Our continuous discomfort and concern is what makes our progress so fruitful. If we were happy, we would give in to the chaos of the universe or, even worse, bow to the Economic Republic of Asiatic Companies.\" Some students stirred at the mention of the superpower that has lived in the shadow of the United Conglomerates of the Americas. Others smiled, but Aria frowned once again, oh, my problem child. \"I am going to finish class today with a question for you all, one I would like you to answer within 100 words. 'How is it that I can remain unhappy, but still desire my existence?' we will share our theories next week and I will explain how I have done this for the last 250 years.\" There is always some student that gasps when I mention my age, but if they knew how much of my body and mind has been replaced with company tech, then they wouldn't be surprised at the length of my life. I ponder for a moment whether I am truly the man I was back when the Pandemic of 2020 began, but thankfully I installed a mental failsafe to prevent rumination on pointless inquiries.\n \n The students buzz with activity as they put utensil to paper and fingers to keyboards. I tune out the classroom and ignore the conversations I can hear outside my door as students wait to take a class with the esteemed chair of Educative Principles as their educator. I ignore a momentary egotistical enjoyment and once again settle into the Econo-mindspace as my students finish their writings or decide to finish at home. \n Some VR students log out and I ponder at their actual looks and voices wondering if I'll live long enough to meet them all. Aria stands and stares at me, I stare back. She bows and walks out briskly. I make a mental note to continue sponsoring her education, she may one day replace me as long as she never quits quipping.\n \n\n I remain motionless as the class filters out and a new one settles in. \n\n \"Happiness is a choice. It's the wrong choice.\"" ]	2
	[WP] You are a police detective. You arrived at the scene of a homicide. You are surprised to find that the body looks exactly like you.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "When James finished showering, he got dressed and went into his living room to find that his front door was open. A shadow, taller than the frame, was silhouetted against the light of the hall. James was quick to grab his gun. Finger on the trigger, he took aim at the figure, but it didn't budge an inch.\n\n\"Death is meaningless to us, James,\" it said, holding up an old, shriveled hand. \"You could kill me here and now, but I'm still somewhere out there, and if I live--which I will--we'll be doing this dance forever. Now, sit down. We need to talk.\"\n\n\\-----\n\n\"Detective Carey?\"\n\nJames wheeled about on his heels to face Officer Jones, who seemed to be shivering from the freezing rain. She was unlucky enough to not bring an umbrella, and he was lucky enough to wear the same overcoat he always did. Hand over his cigarette, he sparked the lighter and looked at the soaked cop, waiting for her report.\n\n\"Homicide, looks like,\" Jones managed to stammer out, her breath catching in the air as if she were building the sky around her. \"Found a bloody knife, no prints. Victim took one to the stomach, one to the neck and, uh... honestly, you should probably take a look yourself.\"\n\n\"Show me,\" gruffed the detective, strands of smoke curving around the edge of his hat. Jones nodded and retraced her steps, holding herself as the raindrops burst off her own hat in chaotic directions. The two walked for a couple dozen feet before approaching the cordon, of which was composed several ties of caution tape around the pillars just beneath the edge of the overpass. Several more officers stood around the scene, chatting with each other about the incident. Closer to the body, Detectives Williamson and De Lenzo were examining the area.\n\nAs James approached, De Lenzo was the first to notice, grabbing Williamson's attention with a tap to the arm. As his partner turned around, De Lenzo called out.\n\n\"Holy shit! Almost had you pegged for a ghost or zombie or some shit! Ain't that right, Williamson?\"\n\nWilliamson, the taller of the two and always the stalwart type, simply offered a short grunt, the corners of his upturned in an awkward smile.\n\nDetective Carey responded with a plume of smoke from his nostrils. \"Gregory,\" he added, nodding to Williamson, and then turning to De Lenzo, releasing a long, strained breath.\n\n\"Lenny.\"\n\n\"Watch it, Carey,\" De Lenzo retorted, sticking a finger in James' face. \"You know I don't like being called that by anyone but my ma, and you ain't her.\"\n\n\"Yeah, yeah,\" responded the detective, turning his attention to the tarp on the ground. \"So, who's the croak?\"\n\n\"Funny you should ask that,\" replied Lenny, \"because we were just about to ask you the same thing.\"\n\nJames turned his head again, eyebrows raised. \"What do you mean?\"\n\nDe Lenzo answered with a wave of his hand toward the tarp. \"Go ahead. See for yourself.\"\n\nWith that, Detective Carey flicked his cigarette to the mud, slid beneath the caution tape and walked to the tarp. The position of the body left it pounded by the rain, which seemed to pick up in heaviness the moment Carey entered the cordon. As he knelt down, his fingers found space beneath the edge of the tarp and pulled it down.\n\nWhat stared back at him was his own face, color drained. A large pool of blood stemmed from the gaping wound in the victim's neck where the knife likely was. James' eyebrows pushed together and he found himself holding his breath, his body tensing as his thoughts raced at a million miles a second.\n\nDe Lenzo knelt down beside him, coyly placing a hand on James' shoulder.\n\n\"So, uh... you got a twin?\"\n\n\\-----\n\n\"How old was he?\" James asked, hand still on the gun.\n\nThe figure shrugged. \"Couldn't have been much older than you, I suppose. He stumbled onto something that he shouldn't have. Not that we were trying to keep from doing it, mind you; he literally wasn't supposed to be there, according to all known laws of physics, but he was, and so we did what we had to.\"\n\nJames grimaced, closing his eyes and scratching at his temple with a free hand. \"You-- you couldn't have just, like, taken me-- him... home?\"\n\nThe shade shook his head. \"Mm-mm. It's a one-way trip. Once it's done, there's no going back. For someone who makes the trip, the destination, no matter where it is, will eventually be a grave. It's either the one that dies, or the collective. Surely, you can understand.\"\n\n\"I can't understand, that's the problem. You act like we just have this type of shit happening to us all the time.\"\n\n\"Was it not clear, James? You do.\"\n\nJames' eyes opened slowly into narrow slits, peering up into the void of the stranger's face. \"What did you mean by that? 'You do'? What does that mean?\"\n\nThe stranger leaned back in the chair, and James could hear the rotting wood of the furniture's back snap lightly, then creak.\n\n\"James, I wouldn't exist if it didn't. This form that you all call a body, we wouldn't take it to talk to you if the problem I just described wasn't a consistent one. I told you earlier; kill me now and I'd still come back, and we'd do this dance forever, but I wasn't entirely truthful.\n\nTruth is, James, no matter what you or I or anyone else does in this finite, fleeting moment, this is it. This is infinity, here and now. This will loop forever and ever and ever, but it doesn't have to.\"\n\nJames leaned back in his own chair. \"Bullshit,\" he barked, raising the revolver to the stranger's face. His eyebrows lowered, lips tightening. \"You're a fucking liar. I could kill you right now and be done with this.\"\n\nCalmly, the being rose from the chair, towering over the detective.\n\n\"No, you can't, and you won't. We've seen every permutation of this event, every minuscule outcome that leads up to two ultimate ends.\n\nThe first is that you live. No matter what decision is made here, now, you continue to exist. Because of the loop that has been created, you will experience the future as it has come to be. You will stumble into something and somewhere that you, as a mortal man, should have no place being and, when you do, you will try to find yourself. You will die, either as your future self, or as your current self when you meet with your future. If that comes to pass, all of this reality will be gone.\n\nThe second...\"\n\nThe stranger held out its hand toward the revolver.\n\n\"...is that you let me do the right thing. Let go of this and accept that you either doom yourself, or that you doom everyone, everything, everywhere. As I've told you, it's either the one that dies, or the collective.\"\n\nJames' arm began to quake, his grip loosening on the gun. As his pupils constricted, he stammered almost exactly like Officer Jones did the in the rain just hours before.\n\n\"What... what do you m-mean by... the 'right thing'?\"\n\nThe stranger moved closer, past the slowly-lowering revolver. \"I close the loop for good.\"\n\nAs the shadow of the silhouette eclipsed the now meek detective, James, sweating, attempted to meet its unnerving gaze. The soft voice of the silhouette, ill-befitting of its visage, echoed through the apartment.\n\n\"I can promise you. It will be painless.\"\n\nAnd then the stranger was gone.\n\nJames sat alone now, body shivering from the anxiety and fear. One hand still rested on the revolver, the other on the bottle of whiskey that sat upon the table for weeks. With a shaky hand, he unscrewed the cap and took a large swig, staring into the hallway of the complex. In stark contrast to the bleak interior of Carey's living space, it flourished with brilliant autumn colors.\n\nAs his body began to relax, the detective dragged the revolver from the table and into his lap, then up his torso until he forced the barrel underneath his chin. For a second, he thought of the little family he had left over in Connecticut. He thought of the girl he hit it off with at the pub a week ago. Lastly, almost as if ironically, he thought of De Lenzo's shit-eating grin, and it made him smile weakly.\n\n\"Son of a bitch weaseled his way out of paying me back that twenty,\" he grunted, and then pulled the trigger.\n\nThe gun both fired and never fired.", "\"This is impossible.\", said detective Brown as she gazed upon the lifeless body which resembled every fiber of her being. The blonde hair, the light blue, now dead, eyes, the size of her corpse, of her shoes and even the birth mark just above her left eyebrow all resembled detective Brown's appearance. The usually unshakable woman who faced dozens of cold-blooded murder cases in her career, and never trembled at the sight of blood or gore, suddenly lost her composure for the first time since her very first case.\n\nHer colleagues, who always used to look up to her for her professionalism, asked her if she was doing fine, as the detective could barely stand on both of her feet and all the color had left her face. After sitting down for a few minutes and refreshing herself with a cold glass of water, her former vigor reposessed her again, so she decided to look into the story of this mysterious woman who looked just like her carbon copy.\n\nIt turned out that the woman, also known as Isabella Brown, was in fact the detective's long lost twin of whose existence she had just been informed of. This shocked the detective who had grown up in an orphanage and never knew anything of her family except that her mother had died in birth and her father left shortly after, abandoning the young infant.\n\nLearning of the existence of another relative only to have her taken away in an instant seemed like a sick joke to detective Brown. She promised herself to find the murderer and hang him herself if necessary. The detective didn't have to look far, however, as a few days after arriving to the crime-scene a letter had found its way to her. She hastily opened it, thirsting for answers:\n\n\"To: Anabella Brown\n\nFrom: Manuel Brown\n\nre: The recent death of your sister\n\nMy dear Anabella,\n\nI hope that you are doing well.\n\nFirstly, I must apologize for having abandoned your sister and you after your mother's death. It all happened so fast and I had to flee. I cannot grant you the answers to your questions via a letter, which is why I urge you to meet me at the attached adress.\n\nSecondly, I ask of you to keep this meeting a secret if you wish to not share the same fate as Isabella.\n\nYours sincerely,\n\nManuel.\"\n\nThis perplexed the detective, but she wouldn't lose her composure again. Taking a pen and a sheet of paper, she left a note for her sleeping wife, detailling the plans of her endeavour and urging her to call the police and give them the attached address from the letter if she didn't return in a day. Afterwards, she took her gun and got in her car. After a long drive, the detective finally reached her destination and found herself before an abandoned shack at the outskirts of the city. She stopped her car and cautiously made her way to the shack, slowly opening the door.\n\nInside were three men in suits, already awaiting her. The one in the the middle, who seemd like he was much older than the two beside him, sat on a chair and calmly smoked a cigarette. \"Well\", he began, \"you certainly aren't a patient one, Anabella.\"\n\nDetective Brown immediately recognized by their clothes that they had belonged to an internationally wanted crime syndicate. Having learned a lot of critical thinking from her previous cases, she deduced by the circumstances that her father must have been a part of this syndicate. Judging by the ages of these men, it could have only been the one in the middle. \"Hello, Manuel.\", she responded coldly, looking into his equally light-blue eyes.\n\n\"Hello. I killed both Isabella and Rachel, your mom.\", he said as calm as before.\n\nThis absolutely shocked the detective and made a waterfall of emotions arise in her again, she had last felt as an orphan. However, she promised herself to keep it all together, so she took a deep breath and collected her thoughts again. \"Is there a reason why you are telling me this?\", she asked her biological father, trying her best to sound confident.\n\n\"Yes. You see, at the date of your birth I told Rachel that I had to abandon her for a few months because the police had been onto me and were just about to discover my real identity and hiding place. I urged her to keep it a secret, but she refused. She wanted me to come clean and be there for her as well as your sister and you. I had warned her time and time again of how dangerous my life was and how she was at risk too. She didn't realize, however, that I was another risk to her life. After arguing with her in the hospital for almost an hour, I realized that it was pointless to try and convince her, which is why I poisoned her and left the country.\", Manuel explained.\n\nBrown looked at him with utter disgust, but didn't interrupt her father's story.\n\n\"After coming back, I tried my best to find you, but I still had to be careful. It turned out that you had been seperated at birth and I decided that it was for the best to leave you out of my life for good. I wanted to spare you of this life, but it seems that the criminal underworld just runs in our blood. You became a detective and your sister an investigative journalist. She was the one who contacted me first and, in her foolishness, decided to threaten me. I had no other choice but to act quickly and silence her. Due to a twisted joke of the fates, however, it had to be you who was ordered to investigate your twin sister's death of whose existence you had nothing known prior. Having learned from this mistake, I decided to contact my other daughter first this time and explain everything to her. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I hope that at least we don't have to be enemies.\", Mr. Brown finally finished his story.\n\nDetective Brown didn't say anything for a while and tried to collect all of her thoughts. This didn't seem to bother Manuel, as he calmly lit another cigarette and patiently awaited an answer from his daughter when suddenly the silence was broken \"I can't kill you now\", she exclaimed \"but I promise you that you shall be judged and excecuted for your crimes one day.\" All these years of being alone, fighting for herself and barely making meets end were due to her father. Not only that, but he killed her sister and mother, too. The raging fire which burned inside of the detective almost made her lose her caution as she placed her hand on her holster, but quickly realized that she was outnumbered.\n\n\"Fine\", her father answered \"you may think me a monster, but all I did was because I had no other choi-\"\n\n\"You had enough choices, you coward!\", the detective interrupted him fiercely \"Do have even have the faintes idea of what I've had to endure because of you? How could you kill your own wife and daughter?! How can you even sleep at night or look at yourself in the mirror? You detest me, you monster! I promise to send you back to whichever crevices of hell your pathetic being crawled out of!\"\n\n\"You have your mother's temper.\", Manuel said and laughed to himself.\n\n\"This isn't funny!\", she replied.\n\n\"Oh, but it is. You may not believe me, but I've always wanted to meet my daughters. This is why I invited you in the first place and why I will spare your life this time.\", Manuel said, \"It seems like you are intent on arresting me, however, which saddens me. Regardless, I'll let you leave this shack, but realize that, once you leave, you will have made a new enemy. A dangerous one at that.\"\n\n\"You're not the first criminal who threatens me and you certainly won't be the last. Goodbye, Manuel.\", detective brown said, exiting through the shack's door. She promised herself to do everything in her might to find him and arrest him for good, or die trying. This sad family drama was about to come to an end, leaving either the detective or her criminal father as the sole survivor.\n\n\"And may the best detective or criminal win.\", Manuel said, laughing to himself again, as he watched his daughter eagerly leave the cottage, secretely hoping she'll finally put an end to his misery." ]	3
	[WP]"The first stage of any proper wizards' duel is determining whether any participant is willing to destroy the universe."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Wands at the ready!\"\n\n\"Scared Potter?\" Malfoy jeered.\n\nThe two turned, walking to opposite ends of the room.\n\n\"Three... two-\"\n\n\"Accio Mars!\" Malfoy shouted, raising his want to the sky and drawing it down.\n\nLockhart and Snape both seized in place, their eyes wild with concern. \n\nThe students in attendance of the dueling club rushed to the windows in a fervor. They watched in horror and fascination as a reddish star in the night sky, shimmered and slowly grew brighter and more prominent. There was no place for anger or sadness, simply a acceptance. Teaching temperamental feuding preteens magic had always been a dodgy idea, and now they would pay the ultimate price. \n\nThe entire school began to rattle as the red planet barreled towards Earth at relativistic speeds. After a minute, it was the same size as the moon in the night sky, and after about thirty more seconds it filled the sky from horizon to horizon. For an imperceptible instant the summit of Olympus Mons collided into the tallest tower of Hogwarts before the red planet impacted in earnest.\n\nThe death of everyone at Hogwarts was swift and painless. Everyone in the northern hemisphere instantly reduced to an expanding and cooling cone of high energy particles, plasma and molten rock directed into the inner solar system. Wizards and Muggles alike in the southern hemisphere fared a bit better though many were killed as the ground beneath them was torn asunder and the sky burned with radioactive hellfire; a flurry of nuclear fusion of the molecules in the air, sea and crust wrought on by the intensity of the collision." ]	2
	[WP] Scientists discover that the increasing number of parallel realities is causing the fabric of the universe to become so dense that people’s “Alters” are randomly being switched between universes. You’re assigned to the police agency responsible for stopping the resulting crimes.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Universe 31415926535 Jake Murl what's your status?\" Jake heard through his earplugs.\n\n\"Mike, i've told you COUNTLESS times, you don't need to contact me by my universe number, there are no other Jakes around here. Anyways, i'm running after the suspect, this one is going to be tough, i think he understands how to switch between alters.\" Jake responded whilst running after the suspect.\n\n\"Wait what? This hasn't happened in months. Are you sure?\" Mike responded, dumbfounded that this could somehow have happened again.\n\n\"Are you looking at him through the sniper scope?\"\n\n\"Yes, why?\" Mike asked curiously.\n\nJake grabbed his pistol and shot the suspect. The suspect in turn changed positions instantly, in one moment he was running away, and in the split of a second he was ducking, and then back to runnig.\n\n\"HOLY SHIT\" Mike shouted.\n\n\"Keep your voice down Mike, you are literally speaking into my ears\" Jake complained.\n\nJake continued persuing the Suspect, and soon enough Jake had the suspect cornered in an alley.\n\nThe Suspect looked directly at Jake - Who had his pistol aimed at him- and spoke.\n\n\"Come on brother, you and i both know that i could whoop your ass in less than a second, to be completely honest here, im just having mercy on you\" The Suspect was grinning from ear to ear.\n\n\"Yeah yeah, thats what you guys always say, now put your hands on the back of your head and i won't have to take desperate measures\"\n\nAnd as soon as Jake said those words, the Suspect was already running at him. You alterers are all the same huh.\n\nJake did not shoot at the Suspect, that was completely useless. Instead, Jake waited until the Suspect was close to him, and then he pulled another Jake. A Jake from an alternative universe, one where Jake had ducked mere miliseconds before. The Suspect looked dumbfounded as Jake - now ducked under the Suspect - punched the Suspect's stomach.\n\nThe Suspect fell to the ground and screamed in pain. Not so tough now that your liver is bleeding are we. \n\nJake heard inside his head once again \"Come on man, thats lame, you need to fight him without changing to another version of yourself. You always make my job boring\" Mike said, disappointed.", "Pt 1:\n\nThe crime scene seemed straightforward. There was a dead man on the floor from a collapsed trachea, death from suffocation. It was just the situation that surrounded the crime, that caused it, that was out of the ordinary.\n\nAfter the CSI techs had done their job, Detective Sean Porter did a once-over of the scene. The apartment was modest, a one bedroom shared by the couple, though now it was just the woman who was left. The death had taken place in the kitchen, leaving the body splayed across the floor as livor mortis set in, though the body had been taken away when Porter had been admitted to the scene. No blood, no mess, no fuss, and since the body was fresh, no smell. It was as clean a scene as he could ever hope to see.\n\nSean heading back to his precinct to interview the suspect. He considered it an interview rather than an interrogation because at this point it was a formality, the crime being self-defense. But his mind still fed him the word ‘suspect’, as if there was some doubt as to her crime.\n\nThe woman had been left in an interrogation room for him and looked up as he entered the room. His mind went to a few photos he’d seen on the fridge. That was the second clue that something here was amiss, the first being that she told the police she’d found herself in a home that wasn’t hers with an abusive SO she’d never met. The photos on the fridge painted a picture of a different woman, though it took a detective to spot the differences. Sean assumed a video would be a different story for anyone who thought they knew who Rhonda Duvall in their universe.\n\nRhonda’s eyebrows went up a bit as he took his seat. “The guy who brought me in said this wasn’t his gig, that the next guy would be ‘validating’ this case,” she told me. “What the hell does that mean?”\n\n“It means your life just got really complicated, unfortunately,” Sean told her. This was his least favorite part of the job. “Have you ever heard about alternate universes?”\n\nSometimes the answer was ‘yes’, or even ‘of course’, in the ones where they’d started to recognize the same problem Sean’s universe faced. The swap went both ways, so it seemed obvious the problem would be well known among the public, but in an uncomfortable amount of situations, the issue wasn’t common. As was the case, unfortunately, here. “I guess,” Rhonda said. “I’m here about the guy that I…killed. Right?”\n\nSean nodded once and passed her a sheet of paper. “You are, but first things first. This is a list of facts. I want you to tell me if any of them are false.”\n\nRhonda narrowed her eyes warily at him, but took the paper, starting to read. About ten seconds passed before she pointed to something, which was actually a new record. “This one, here. Says Obama served one. He served two.”\n\n“That’s all I’ll need,” Sean said with a sigh, taking the paper back. “All the facts on this paper are true.”\n\n“What?”\n\n“You’ve been what we call ‘swapped’,” he told her. “The version of you that was in our universe has been traded for your spot in the one where you came from.”\n\nSean watched the familiar shift in the woman’s gaze. “What are you talking about?” she asked slowly.\n\nTaking his cell phone from his pocket, he unlocked it, handing it over to her. “This is the only way I’ve found to verify it with someone swapped,” he said. “Call anyone you want. Talk to them, if the right person answers. Sometimes numbers are wrong. Tell them you’re swapped. And ask them about your life.”\n\nRhonda’s jaw clenched and she looked at the phone as if it might bite her before picking it up and dialing a number from memory. Sean knew that people knew very few numbers from memory these days, so it was always someone close to them that they’d call, always someone who could verify the existence of the AU problem.\n\nIt barely took a minute. Rhonda spoke to someone on the other end of the line, a sister, from what Sean gathered, and was stunned from what she learned. Rhonda’s swapped version hadn’t talked to her sister in months, apparently, and when Rhonda explained the situation she found herself in, her sister said something back that made her hang up the phone and drop it quickly on the metal table with a clang.\n\nRhonda clenched and unclenched her fists before looking up to Sean. “That bastard was my husband?”\n\n“Her husband,” Sean corrected. “And yes.” He opened up a file in front of him, what was now inaccurate basic information about the woman in front of him. “Seems she had a history of abuse; she was separated from her sister when they went into foster care and there was a home she was in for a year before the abuse came to light.”\n\n“Wait, foster care?” Rhonda snapped. “Her parents- My parents-”\n\n“Her parents died in a car crash,” Sean said softly. “And your parents aren’t here, Rhonda. I’m sorry. Everyone you knew yesterday…is somewhere else. And we don’t know how to get you back there. We don’t know how to get any of them back.”\n\nAt this point, Sean had the painful position of having to watch the woman in front of him go through all five stages of grief. He let her cry, and as per usual, it was thorough, wracking sobs, but she eventually tapered off as her mind took each wave of change, from her family to her work to her home. Sean watched each time a new piece of information clicked in her mind. She was tough, he surmised. She would probably make it through this with minimal mental health care, which wasn’t common. Many had breakdowns when realizing every one of their loved ones had vanished in the blink of an eye." ]	3
	[WP] all of the city birds in the world were in fact government drones, and today they've all been set to kill mode.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "White : Might I ask why you brought an umbrella on a beautiful sunny sunday? Anyway, e4\n\nBlack : c5. Better safe than sorry...\n\nWhite : You never take risks, do you? d4. Here, take a free pawn for a change.\n\nBlack : Nf6. No thanks.\n\nWhite : Bc4 My offer is still standing. Look at all these kids over there. Playing football on the concrete. Taking risks can be fun. You should try it for once.\n\nBlack : Fine. cxd4.\n\nWhite : There you go. A little fun can't hurt you. c3.\n\nBlack : dxc3... If you didn't forget your chess board we wouldn't be sitting on a bench in the middle of this park playing in our heads.\n\nWhite : Nxc3 Hey it's good practice for memory. Besides, what's not to love about the location?\n\nBlack : Hummm, everything? There are kids all over the place. Footballs and basketballs missing us by a hair. Also, these birds are looking particularly creepy today. Nc6\n\nWhite : THE BIRDS??? HAHAAA!! Even the damn birds are suspicious now. Nf3\n\nBlack : Yes look at them! Their eyes have this weird red glow. They're looking at us. d6.\n\nWhite : Oh ya... They're looking at you. Maybe they want to eat you?? hahahha! Castles.\n\nBlack : Look! they all took off at once! Bg4.\n\nWhite : Ya.. I guess that was weird. Might I now ask why you just opened your umbrella? Re1\n\nBlack : I'd rather look ridiculous with my umbrella open than ridiculous with bird poop in my hair. Ne5.\n\nWhite : The only thing that's ridiculous is your last move. Nxe5 Mind if I slide under your umbrella. I think there's room for 2.\n\nBlack : Ya sure. Mister IJustBlunderedMyQueen. Haha Bxd1 ha... ha. Hang on... Why are the kids running and screaming? Why are the trees melting?? LOOK AT THIS BIRD SHIT RIGHT THERE! IS THAT ACID?\n\nWhite : HOLY \\\\\\\\\\* YOU'RE RIGHT. EVERYONE... Everyone's... dying... The umbrella's about to give out too. We'll be dead too soon enough.\n\nBlack : Oh my god. I'm too young to die. I can't even think of any last words to say. I'm not ready...\n\nWhite : Well, I guess I know what my last words will be.\n\nBlack : What?\n\nWhite : Bxf7. checkmate. \\dies\\\n\nBlack : \\dies\\.\n\nThe end." ]	2
	[WP] Your car breaks down in the middle of the desert and you have no cell reception. You begin walking, and just as you finish off your last water bottle, you see a ghost town. You walk towards it, and as soon as you step foot in it, you find yourself there in a time when it wasn't abandoned.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The desert sand pounds the buildings sweeping against it as a wave pounds a ship. The desolate shops and long abandoned homes were ghostly like a shell of a once great land. The road is paved with crumbled stone yet I found myself traveling the road. An old car once smoking in the street turned back to its once brilliant yellow. I was quite perplexed by this, was it not an older car? Who would leave this rare piece in the desert? I ignored the vehicle at first but as I got closer the thought clawed at my mind. As I continued down the street cow skulls were replaced by living animals, a dusty flag was returned to its shining colors, hanging from a town sign.\n\nThe changes once uncanny and dismissable were now very visible in my eyes. As I walked closer and closer to the seemingly dead town the desert sounds were drowned out by conversations. People speaking, a shop keep advertising, what was happening? At this point I was sprinting and finally running, the decrepit gas station in front of me as I got closer and closer the walls once rotting and grey turned red. The pumps were shiny, and a friendly young man sat outside. \"Hello!\" He hollered his voice striking me, I returned with silence. The man stood and walked toward me a confused look on face growing as he got closer, \"that's a mighty strange getup stranger.\" he said as he gestured at my band t, shirt. I replied frantically \"who are you, what is this place!?\".\n\nThe man looks alarmed and surprised, he says confused \n\"sir this is silver town nevada, I'm Dawson why are you-\" \n\"that doesn't matter!\" I shouted \"what year is it here?\"\n \nThe stocky man replied with \"well the last time I checked it was 1951.\" \n\"1951?\"\n I was shocked, how could be? The man, rather concerned said \"I could take you into town if somethins wrong\" \n\"Yes\" I said \"that would be great.\" The man obliged and escorted me into the street. The town was beautiful, the wood on the buildings was painted and gleaming, a pickup truck rumbled through the street, and something moved across sky. Dawson gestured at the object saying \n\"those things have been such a pain as of late.\" He said \n\"they always come at noon and set the fields on fire.\" \n\n\"Set the fields on fire?\" I said.\n\"Yes sir\" he said \"they rumble across the sky, open up and drop strange round things onto the bare desert.\" \nI nervously walked toward the moonlight tower, then a gentle noise shook the ground it grew louder and louder until I Iooked up into a small chamber as something fell from the chamber. It crashed through the sky, sparking terror in the towns mind. It crashed into the moonlight tower and released a strange substance. I found myself frozen in terror and then it all stopped, I slowly walked toward substance it was a greenish color and looked as though a cloud had taken to the earth. As I reached out to touch it I was blown backwards and all went dark. When I awoke the moonlight tower was fallen, crushing a small car. And just below the base lay a casing rounded at both ends but split down the middle. A skeleton covered in sand and patched cloth near me. Had a strange residue on the clothing its bony hands grasping its eyes. As I leaped backward, I witnessed a small humvee roll down the street. \n\n The vehicle came to a stop and 3 men stepped out that appeared to be arguing, after a brief scuffle the man whom appeared to be in charge Marched toward me. As I Iayed upon the sand unable to rise the man says \"I'm sorry, command says no trespassers\" he raises his rifle and fires.\n\n The end" ]	2
	[WP] A group of Human extremists are trying to scare away an Orc villager, doing actions like leaving animal heads on their doorstep, or leaving threatening notes. The Orc however, thinks they're trying to flirt.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "When I saw the message written in goat’s blood, I nearly blushed.\n\nIt read: LEAVE THIS PLACE YOU HUGE UGLY BEAST!\n\nThey really thought I was huge?\n\nClods of blood-soaked dirt flew from the air with a slash of my axe, and the words became giant gouges in the earth. I hoped it didn’t seem like I was showing off. The head of a giant ram stood on a stake a few steps away, and I tried to imagine the sort of creature that killed so cleanly. I roared, but not overbearingly, hoping to coax them into the clearing. In my opinion, it wasn’t hard to look truly beastly, but I tended to be a humble orc.\n\nThe messages appeared in a clearing close to the village’s borders, so it seemed like it might be an orc maiden leaving romantic threats to find her battle partner. I heard of stories like this before. The weddings always ended in a big, beautiful slaughter. But as the weeks passed, the heat of the messages increased without a face to be seen.\n\nI WILL RIP YOU LIMB FROM LIMB seemed nearly too forward, as I was a traditional orc, and thought such threats were better left until at least one true fight. So ripping a nearby tree from its roots and smashing the remaining goat heads felt like a clever retort. Even so, I waited through the night, and no one came to answer.\n\nYOU WILL BE SLAIN WHERE YOU STAND felt like there was a plan to meet. I wished they had written when I should prepare to fight. It seemed only polite to make sure I sharpened my axe before. I guessed the note’s author had a flair for the serendipitous, so I returned to the village, expecting a fight with my next return.\n\nA thought crept into my mind in the early morning. Maybe the writer had been waiting for me to make the first move, to set the groundwork for our blind battle. Other orcs had done similar before, carefully planning to raid a nearby village simultaneously under picturesque terror and flame. The idea excited me so much; I headed towards the clearing right then, ready to think up something formidable for someone with so much bluster.\n\nInstead, there was someone pink and small in the clearing, dragging the body of a hawk nearly three times its size. Their long braid swung back and forth as they pulled the right wing out to its full length. I took in a breath, fairly impressed at what something so small had managed. They swung around and revealed a blade the length of my thumb. My laugh rumbled through the trees.\n\n“I warned I would kill you where you stood,” the tiny human yelled.\n\n“I assumed you were someone else.” I admitted, “In my culture, your note’s meaning comes across differently.”\n\nThe little one lowered their knife. “I thought you’ve been searching to kill me.”\n\n“Fighting is a compliment in the village.”\n\n“Did you think I was flirting?”\n\nI shrugged, and they laughed, now understanding why I was in my best armor.\n\n“Well, we’re already here, and the others in my group won't be back until nightfall,” they said finally.\n\n“What do you mean?”\n\nThey traded their small blade for the broadsword at their side now, looking at it with a devilish grin.\n\n“I’ve always wondered how I would manage in a fight against an orc.”\n\nI rose my axe slowly, readying for battle. We couldn’t be friends, as orcs and humans never had, but it was a little too late to be enemies. And besides, my father had always said you never can tell the quality of a blade until it's out of its sheath. It wasn’t what I expected, but it could still be terribly interesting." ]	2
	[WP] A long time ago the entire Solar System was quarantined --- the reason will surprise you!	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“T-Minus 2 minutes. All systems green.”\n\nCaptain Thomas looked to his left. The ship's pilot gave him thumbs up. On his right, the engineer also indicated that she didn’t see any issues with the prototype engine. In about two hours they would actually intercept Voyager 2, and by the end of the day the ancient probe would be back on Earth for the first time in 400 years. The Nautilus was the first vessel capable of Super-C travel. Captain Thomas has flown a few missions in sub-c spacecraft, and now the nerds back home had cracked the Light Barrier. None would say how they did it, but rumours were that Space-Time Dilation wasn’t even an issue anymore.\n\n“T-Minus 1 minute. All systems Green”\n\n“Begin circulating the fuel, Sandy,” ordered the Captain.\n\n“Fuel intermix nominal” came the formal response from the Engineer.\n\n“Plotting intercept to Voyager 2. Estimated capture in three hours at 1.05c,” reported Harlan, the navigator.\n\nAs the computer counted down from 10 down to 0, Thomas pushed the Engine Start Button. At Sub light speeds, he could feel Newton’s laws pushing him and his crew back into the seats. Finally at 0.75c the sub-light engines shut down and the Super-C engines indicated they were ready. Feeling silly, Captain Thomas figured the command to engage the Super-C engines could be nothing other than, “Mr. Harlan, Engage!”\n\nThe ship reacted just like it did in the simulator. Harlan called out the planets as they passed their orbits. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Soon Pluto and the Kupier objects would be approaching. Too bad Halley’s comet was on the other side of the solar system, Thomas had a soft spot for the comet, as watching it as a child inspired him to enter the space program.\n\nEngineer Harlan kept a close eye on the engine monitors. “Engine output nominal. Currently running at 1.049 c. Shall I try to get it up to 1.05c?”\n\nCaptain Thomas considered it, but since rescue could take a while, he decided against it. They would have another chance, with an even better engine to maybe even get up to 1.10c. Thomas checked the navigation screens, and was happy to see they were right on course, the nerds were right, Jupiter’s gravity pulled them into a perfect intercept with the Voyager 2 probe.\n\n“What the hell!” yelled Harlan as the Super-C engines lost power. All three crew members flew through the screen as they passed below the c barrier and Newton’s Laws reasserted themselves within a nano-second. The ship itself broke apart into millions of microscopic debris.\n\n\\----\n\n“Report, Crik” ordered the Tenbar of the Proxima Centauri outpost.\n\n“Tenbar Horb,” responded the Quarantine officer, “it appears the residents of Sol III figured out how to bypass the FTL Quarantine shield. I’ve applied emergency power, but we are going to have to come up with something else, or they will keep trying. They may even be able to succeed in escaping the Sol System.”\n\nHorb swore. This was going to be a problem. Humans had a tendency to be extremely violent. The scars of the last Galactic War, a million years ago, were just beginning to heal. As punishment, the humans were confined to the third planet of the Sol system, and stripped of all knowledge of space travel. Obviously, they relearned the basics. Voyager was the first warning, there wouldn’t be a second.\n\n“Get me the Galactic President on the Emergency Channel. And keep Sol under Sub C restrictions. That is the first and only priority. If the humans escape, we all die.“" ]	2
	[WP] A psychedelic experience from the perspective of the hallucinated beings	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Crap he grabbed the bag of gummy bears again!” cried Steve. “Act natural!” Jason ran away from the pingpong table to make spooky noises behind the man slowly popping gummy bears into his mouth, and Steve tried to stand menacingly in front of him. If everything went well they could check this one off the list and get back to the spiritual realm in no time. \n\nSlowly, the drugs began to take effect, and the man lying on the couch began to see and hear them. After a little while Steve started a philosophical debate about death with the man, while Jason made fun patterns appear on the walls and ceiling. As Steve’s debate was hitting its peak, all three of them jumped in alarm as a woman entered the room. \n\nThey could hear the man on the couch trying to introduce her to Steve and Jason, but he got distracted halfway through his sentence by the patterns Jason put on the floor. The woman just scoffed and told him to get in the car. \n\nJason and Steve shrugged their shoulders and followed the two as they drove across town, ending up at a very nice gathering overlooking a park. They kept quiet, but Steve couldn't resist making the stairs look like they were five miles away or turning the tree leaves into fractals. Jason and Steve followed the man around for a while longer, but he was just kinda sitting in the corner staring at the trees, so they ran around for a little while seeing who could make the sky into a cooler pattern. \n\nThey had just come back to maybe debate some more philosophy with their charge when a woman stepped out and everyone sat down in rows of chairs. Steve and Jason didn’t have any chairs, so they stood up at the platform in front of the chairs. A bluetooth speaker started playing some organ music, and out came a woman in a white dress. Steve knew this was one of those human things, and started yelling encouragement at the man they came here with, who was sitting in the front row.\n\n“She looks beautiful.” “Too bad she doesn’t like you.” “Maybe someday you can get a girl like her. Well, probably not like her, she’s a bit out of your league, but maybe somebody a bit uglier.” “She looks really in love, do you think you’ll ever be that in love?” and “When you get married do you think you’ll have as many people at your wedding?” Jason gave Steve a high five, they were happy to help and boost spirits wherever they were needed. \n\nThe man looked sad for some reason, but Jason knew what would cheer him up. As a different man came up to the stage, he made bunny ears over the girls head. The man ran up to make him stop, but before he could get two steps he tripped over his own legs that Steve had just turned into a non-newtonian fluid. The ceremony halted for a second, but after brief laughter the human ceremony was complete, and they all sat down to eat. Steve was about to steal some wedding cake, but then they saw their human standing up shakily, and everyone else was looking at him and listening. \n\nThey knew what this was instantly. It was pretty common with their charges. They had unintentionally given him some kind of revelation, and he wanted to share it with everyone. Steve tried giving him more revelations to help him along. “What if you’re secretly a piece of shit and nobody likes you?” “Hey you know what's a cool concept? Entropy.” “Aren’t numbers kinda weird when you think about it?” Meanwhile Jason was busy making the clouds look like little animals. \n\nThat night a certain speech was made at a certain wedding. Nobody could remember what the speech was really about, over the crying and laughing, but a few things were certain. The best man had insulted at least five bridesmaids, talked about god for ten minutes, and proceeded to slam his head on the table so he could “see the friendly color people one last time.” He was led off the stage sobbing, then ran back into the venue twenty minutes later, shouting about how physics was a social construct and we might just all be crazy and physics works totally different than how we think. It was an interesting night, to say the least." ]	2
	[WP] You’re a time traveling avenger, going back in time and killing all the world’s worst villains. The problem is, once you’ve killed them you can’t remember what the heck they did to deserve death...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Progress Journal Entry \n\nTravel Point 5161\nDate: April 30th, 1945\nLocation: Germany\n\nI’ve traveled back to The Long War. The war that lasted two decades, and claimed the lives of hundreds of millions of people innocent people. I’ve managed to set things in motion that will end this war far sooner. Many of the concentration camps have been shut down, and the prisoners freed. And day now the Germans will announce their surrender, but that boils down to this moment. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go back any further than today for this particular catalyst to work, so the death toll is still in the millions. At long last, this tyrant will die!!\n\nTarget: Adolph Hitler\nWanted for: Starting a 20 year war, causing the deaths of 852 Million civilians.\n\nMission Status: Partial Success\nReport: Casualties reduced to 75 million. War now only six years, vs the initial 20 years. Memories of The Long war fading, and replaced with memories of World War II. \n\n(Honestly don’t know how I fell about this one.)" ]	2
	[WP] Whenever my wife and I argue, we have a system. We ask each other, “Do you want the truth or do you want a lie to feel better?” Tonight I picked “Lie”. She said “I love you.”	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "My heart lurched and then sank to the pit of my stomach. It had been a long time since we had used this tactic.\n\n“What’s the special occasion?” I asked, but I’m fairly certain I already knew.\n\n“I think, one last night, it would be nice to pretend,” she said as she turned the music up just a little. I took her extended hand and pulled her in, wrapping my other arm around her waist. I had forgotten, when the fighting made us cold and harsh, that she could indeed feel soft.\n\nAs we swayed together, we said nothing for a few minutes. I buried my face in her hair and felt my shoulder getting wet from her tears.\n\n“Why now?”\n\nIt had been a long time coming, sure, and we both knew it would happen eventually, but we had been doing okay at hanging on.\n\n“Sarah was invited to her first sleepover next week,” she answered. “She’s going to notice the other parents don’t sleep in separate rooms. I think she’s old enough now.”\n\nI fought a lump in my throat. It was true, Sarah was growing up so fast. Too fast, and I was around to see all of it. How much faster would it feel when I could only be around for fifty percent of it?\n\nI thought back to when she was little. When she was tiny and precious and perfect. I loved her, my wife loved her, and we thought that could be enough. Couldn’t it be enough? Maybe it could be enough for me, if I had Sarah around. Maybe I could do it. Maybe we could all do it. But deep down, I knew that would only be destructive. We would never be the perfect family.\n\nI hugged my wife a little tighter. One final moment, to pretend we could ever be normal.\n\n“Lie to me one last time?” I requested.\n\nShe pulled her head back to look at me, a sad smile on her face. Then, she tucked back into my shoulder and whispered, “I love you.”\n\nI kissed her gently on the top of her head.\n\n“I love you too.”", "Whenever my wife and I argue, we have a system. We ask each other, “Do you want the truth or do you want a lie to feel better?” \n\nTonight I picked “Lie”.\n\nShe said “I love you.”\n\nThe smile on my lips faded fast. “Come again?”\n\n“I love you.” Her fingers reached across the couch to my thigh, walking up towards my stomach. She was leaned towards me seductively.\n\n“I’m getting a lot of mixed signals here, sweetheart.”\n\nShe scooted closer to me, her hand on my chest, her lips next to my ear, “You want the truth, don’t you? That’s why you wanted a lie. Because you knew what I’d tell you. What you’ve always known.” Her voice was a whisper, my insides a raging river.\n\n“Wh—what are you talking about? I love you. I really, really do.”\n\n“Mmm,” she said, kissing my neck, her hand still searching. I wanted to take her and shake her until she made sense, but I was frozen by some animal instinct, hair standing on end, eyes staring ahead as her hot breath hit my skin. “But see, I don’t love you. That’s a truth. A painful truth.” She nibbled at my earlobe and I finally was able to take a gasping breath.\n\n“We’ve been married for twelve years, Lisa.”\n\n“I know.” Her lips trailed across my cheek to my lips. She kissed me softly, wistfully, “But I don’t love you. I need you. I think those are two very different things.”\n\nI sighed, relieved. I let out a chuckle. “Oh, you don’t need to scare me like that.”\n\nHer fingers walked from my sternum to my neck, her long fingernails pressing into the skin, “I didn’t say it was a good thing, to need you.”\n\nConfusion bubbled in me, raging river creating white water rapids I didn’t dare navigate, “What do you mean?”\n\nHalf-moon circles appeared beneath the pressure of her fingers. I felt she could puncture me at any moment, but fear still gripped me. “I mean, I don’t want to need anyone like I need you. Which is why I don’t love you. You’ve made me this way.”\n\nBlood dripped from her fingernails, the cuts stinging beyond reason. My brain barely registered it. There was a greater hurt circling my body. “You don’t mean that.”\n\n“I do, I do.” She swirled the blood with her middle finger, painting circles above my sternum. “I can’t do this anymore, John.” Her voice was poison, water moccasin in the raging river, biting.\n\n“Lisa,” I begged, my fingers finally able to work. I turned to her, gripping her bloody hand in mine. “Please, please think about this.”\n\nHer moon-eyes shined at me, beckoning me to plunge into the depths of the river, “I’ve been thinking about it for over a decade. I can’t need you anymore.” She bent and kissed my hands, my lips. She stood and turned, her words drifting on the raging current, “Please, don’t come with me.”", " My whole body freezes, my heart starts beating at lightning speed and I cannot breathe. “What did you just say?” I ask, while desperately trying to get air into my lunges.\n\n“I love you.” She repeats.\n\n“You...I...what?” I find the nearest chair and slump into it. I bring my head between my knees, like I have seen people in movies do, and try to take deep breaths to calm down, but it isn’t working. I cannot hear anything beyond the pounding of my heart. The pressure in my chest is just getting worse and my ears feel like they are under water. Is this what a panic attack feels like? Or am I having a heart attack? Stroke? My wife is still talking, but I cannot hear her. It’s muffled. Did I just lose my hearing too?\n\nFuck, as if your wife not being in love with you isn’t enough, I may potentially loose my hearing and/ or may die today. \n\nDeep breaths Jack, deep breaths. Four counts in, four counts holding, four counts out. I think that is what I read somewhere at some point.\n\nAfter what feels like forever, my heart calms down, the rushing in my ears subsides and I no longer feel like I am going to kick the bucket. When I am ready, I sit up straight and find my wife watching me with a worried look on her face. “Are you okay?”\n\n“No, I am not fucking okay!” I exclaim, push out of the chair and go straight over to the cabinet where we keep the hard liquor. Bacardi? No, Rum reminds me too much of a happy time at the beach. The Balvenie 50 year old whiskey? A present from my father in law, which should be enjoyed when relaxing with a good book. Nope, not that one either. Looking at the other hard liquors in the cabinet, Jack Daniels, Tequila and Gin, I decide the only one that can help me through this is good old Gorbatschow. My brother left it here after we buried my mother a few months back. Seems fitting. The funeral of my marriage.\n\nI grab the German Wodka out of the freezer and a glass on my way back to the table. “Since when?” I question, while pouring myself a decent amount into the pint glass. \n\n“You want orange juice with that? Coke?” Sarah asks instead of answering me.\n\nI don’t even look at her when I chuck a good amount down my throat. The alcohol burns going down and settles nicely into my stomach. “This isn’t a mix drinks occasion, now tell me!” I finally look up, only to see her casually leaning against the kitchen counter with her arms crossed over her chest. \n\n“Had this feeling for a while, but didn’t know how to tell you.” She shrugs. “This doesn't have to be the end of us...we like each other, that is more than most of our friends can say about their partner.”\n\nI chuckle at that. “Like is enough to keep this going you think?” Down goes more wodka. \n\n“Of course! We are a great team, we work together well and we have three great kids to show for it. We have been together for fifteen years, all the time we invested in this shouldn’t be going to waste. You cannot deny that your feelings haven’t changed.”\n\nI look at my empty glass and decide this conversation needs more alcohol. Of course my feelings have changed over the years, it is normal for any relationship. Butterflies give way to comfortable love, but going from that to only like? Hell my friends may have stronger feelings for me than my wife does at this stage. I pour more wodka into the glass. Knowing I will go for thirds, I don’t even bother screwing the lid back on the bottle. “Is there anyone else?”\n\n“NO!” She exclaims and finally uncrosses her arms. “Absolutely not. I wouldn't do that to you.” Thank god for small favours.\n\n“What about sex, huh?” I ask, chugging more alcohol. I don’t even feel the burn anymore. “You think I am still gonna sleep with you after this?”\n\n“Why not? Plenty of people do it like this. You still love me, so I don’t see a problem with that.” Sarah just shrugs. SHRUGS!\n\n“But you do not love me!” I fire back. “I cannot even….I cannot do this with you right now.”\n\n“Can we just talk about this like adults?”\n\n“NO!” I exclaim, grab the bottle and my glass before getting out of my chair. “You do NOT get to implode our relationship, our lifes, like this and then go ‘can we just talk about this like adults?’” I mimic her voice just to be a dick. “I don’t want you here when I wake tomorrow morning.” I announce. “Give me a few days to get my head on straight. This is the least you can do.” I spin away from her, ready to go find a dark corner of the house to drink in misery.\n\n“Jack, I own this house…” She starts, but I interrupt her by smashing the glass on the ground and turning around to face her again. Sarah jumps back with a horrified and a little scared look on her face. Good. I want her to feel a little like I am feeling right now. Scared, hurt and angry. I have got so much anger in me right now. I am just glad the kids are not here tonight to hear this.\n\n“DIDN’T YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME?” I ask. “Can’t you just give me the courtesy of fucking off and out of my sight for a few days?” I ask. “It is the least you can do, after you have just ruined all of this...and if you bring up one more time how you own this house, I swear I am going to fucking burn it to the ground. For the last ten years I have stayed in this house, only worked part time, because you wanted a career. I took care of all of this, so don’t even fucking start with listing everything you own, because believe me I can list all the shit I have done for you, which will stomp your contributions to this family into the ground.”\n\nAnd with that I turn around and walk away. Time to finish this bottle and fall asleep drunk. Who cares if it is only four o’clock in the afternoon.", "I'm still practicing, so prompts do help in improving my writing, I guess. Enjoy.\n***\n\n\"Wait. What did you say?\" I ask her, confused and hurt. \n\n\"I said I love you.\" she replied, nonchalant. \n\nI give her a cold glare, and rise from the armchair I was resting in. \"We've been married for, what, four years now? And now I learn your love was a lie. Good. This will make things easier.\" \n\nGoing upstairs, I start to pack all my belongings in a sturdy grey backpack. It wasn't much, a few clothes, undergarments, and other indispensable things a man needs to himself. I glance at the pocket knife resting on the nightstand, a thought crossing my mind. _To think you've given me this on my 32nd birthday. You lied. Lied. That's on par with cheating. You're probably cheating. I'm divorcing you._ \n\nI pick the knife and place it carefully in my right pocket, a sigh escaping my lips as I put the backpack over my shoulders. _A four-year marriage, gone in an instant. Without a real reason, anyway. Why did I even marry her?_ I think as I descend to the ground floor, and see my – now ex – wife staring at a wall, absentminded, as if she's not even registering my presence anymore. \n\n\"Goodbye, Deborah. I don't want to see your face ever again. And, you'll get the divorce papers sent to you soon,\" I say, before leaving the house. \n\nA cold breeze greeted me outside, and I shivered for a moment, giving the house one last look. Knowing Deborah wouldn't bother to stop me from leaving, I headed towards the car and opened the driver's door, tossing the backpack on the passenger's seat. After a few keyturns, the car's old engine fired up, and I started to drive, wishing to be anywhere else than here. \n\n_My father would've told me she was a bad lot. Fuck, I should've listened to him when he told me about her,_ I think to myself while leaning to take an old cassette from the torpedo, when a photo of Deborah and I falls off from inside. Shaking my head, I push the cassette inside the car's cassette player, and decide to listen to the music. \n\n_\"I've packed my bags, I've cleaned the floor / Watch me walkin', walkin' out the door!\"_ \n\n_Damn straight,_ I think as I pull over to a motel called \"The Lone Rider\" and decide to book a room for tonight. When I enter the room given to me, it seems modest. Looking somewhat clean, there's a single bed, a TV and a nice table, and also a small bathroom to use. _Homey._ \n\nI go inside the bathroom and hover above the sink, photograph in one hand, lighter in the other. Pausing to look at my reflection, I can almost see it nodding at me, encouraging me to burn this last memento of a failed marriage. \n\n_Set yourself free, Edward._" ]	5
	[WP] “So, wait, none of this was real? My entire epic quest to avenge my family has all been a lie?!” “We thought it would be a funny prank.” “Ah well, at least that means I didn’t REALLY kill anyone!” “...you what.”	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"WHAT? None of this was real? No soldiers killing my family? No me swearing revenge? No me setting out on a quest to kill the king?\" I'm mad. Spitting mad. Screeching mad, which is what I'm doing. Derick looks a little regretful at this point.\n\n\"erm...no? We just thought it would be a really funny prank.\"\n\nI'm starting to feel pretty stupid in this armor. With the sword and all.\n\n\"Well, you guys owe me what I paid for this armor!\" Ugh. How are these guys my friends.\n\n\"Yep, yep, okay, will do.\" Derick's babbling in the background.\n\n\"At least one good thing came from this being a prank,\" I say, and Derick perks up, looking hopeful.\n\n\"What's that?\"\n\n\"If this is a prank, then that means that I didn't actually kill anyone, which is a relief, honestly.\"\n\nWeird, Derick doesn't look perked up anymore. He actually looks...panicked?\n\n\"Dude, what's going on, why are you so freaked out?\" I ask, puzzled.\n\n\"YOU KILLED SOMEBODY?!! WHAT?! Ohhhh crap. This is bad. This is really bad.\"\n\n\"That wasn't part of the prank?\"\n\n\"HOW'D YOU GUESS THAT, IDIOT?!!? YOU ACTUALLY KILLED SOMEONE!!! Crap...this is bad, ohhh crap.\"\n\n\"Oh. Well, you remember that pesky our-king-is-a-evil-tyrant problem?\"\n\n\"Yeah?\"\n\n\"I solved that\"\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nSorry, this is my first time trying to respond to a prompt, hope you like it." ]	2
	[WP] You live in a world where each person has a superpower to fit their personality. The only people immune to a person's superpower are their siblings. A villain has arrived, and now the world is scrambling to find their sister.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I can’t believe I’m late. Stupid alarm clock. Not even super speed will get me there on time. Since I’m late, might as well get some coffee. As I handed the cashier my money, I noticed a report on TV about a pyromaniac supervillain burning up Paris, France. And the police actually identified him.\n\n“Idiot didn’t keep his identity a secret. What a loser,” I scoffed.\n\n“I guess that’s a good thing. They could find his sibling to stop him,” the cashier told me.\n\n“Unless he’s an only-“ on screen was the picture of Collin, “child... son of a bitch! I’ll kill him!”\n\n“You know him?” The cashier asked me.\n\n“Yeah, and he wishes he’s an only child. He better not burn all of Paris. Thanks again,” I said and stormed out of the coffee shop, annoyed and pissed.\n\nDamn it Collin! Why today!" ]	2
	[WP] A broken man finally made it to the top of the mountain. He didn't even really expect an answer when he screamed "Why?!?!" But something, or someone, answered.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"WHHHHYYYYYY?!\" his voiced faded into the emptiness, the wind whipping his desperate scream away. A broken man atop a lonely mountain.\n\n\"Gonna have to be more specific buddy.\" A second voice, seemingly all around, carried on the winds. \"Why what?\" \n\nThe man chokes on his words, surprised, scared and confused. He looks around and where he was previously alone, now there stood a... person? Maybe? They looked human, for the most part. They leaned against a large rock, a bored expression on their beautiful face.\n\n\"Who... what... where did you come from?\" The man stammered\n\n\"One question at a time, and do try to be clear when you ask.\" The being pushed themself off the rock, moving closer to the man, golden eyes scanning the perplexed human's face.\n\n\"Uh... OK... who are you?\" He was uncomfortable with this strange humanoid leaning over him, it felt like they were looking through him.\n\n\"See, that wasn't so hard. I am Vadania, Voice of the Mountain, Wind Caller, and a few other titles that mean nothing to your kind. And to save time, no I'm not human. I am closer to what your species call a 'God' but that isn't exactly right either. I exist on the peak of every mountain, and so long as the wind breathes, so do I.\" Vadania stepped back and struck a grandiose pose, but, seeing the human unimpressed, slumped down. \"Well, you were asking 'why', but why what?\"\n\nThe human had a thousand questions, most of them starting with \"why\" but words failed him. Sheer confusion had him stunned into silence. Vadania waited patiently, tapping their foot softly. Eventually the human managed to gather his thoughts, and remembered why he had felt the need to climb a mountain in the first place.\n\n\"Well, my life is meaningless. There's nothing for me down there. No love, no purpose, just misery. Why does it seem that I was born to suffer?\" His gaze shifted from the strange celestial down the mountain, towards where a village could just be seen. Vadania laughed, a soft, breezy sound.\n\n\"Well that's easy. You've become so used to pain and sadness, that's all you see. And you're used to it because you seek it out. Tell me, how have you tried to change your life?\" The human opened his mouth, but had no answer. \"You see? You invite this depression in and do nothing to fight against it, then complain that it's there. It is up to you to alter your world. There's a whole world beyond your little home. Explore it. See the beauty that exists all around. You say your life is meaningless, make your own meaning. Do something incredible, something that makes you proud.\" Vadania took the human by the hand and pulled him to his feet. \"Life is what we make of it. If you do nothing, life will be nothing. You will stagnate and fade into obscurity. But you have the chance to do anything, everything. So go. Go down from this peak, back to your home, and decide, what do you want to be? Where do you want to go? What impact will you make on this world?\" They gave the human a slight push, and he walked a few paces, thoughts already spinning. He paused before taking the first step down and turned.\n\n\"Thank you. I hope we meet again Vadania, on top of a different mountain.\" And for the first time in a long while, he smiled.", "Though he couldn't feel his confused frown due to the cold, the desperate man still stopped in his tracks upon hearing the mysterious voice from above. Looking around anxiously to see where it had come from, all he could see were the gusts of snow swirling at his feet. The sunlight had long since vanished, and everything around him was as dark and morbid as he felt. More than anything else, he felt incredibly lonely and deprived of the warmth he'd always sought. Is this how it would end? \n\nNo. He decided in that moment that he wouldn't allow the puzzling entity seemingly watching over him to pass any judgment.\n\n\"You dare mock me?\" he asked with a growl. His dark eyes were still raw from all the tears he'd shed during his ascent. The pain of having lost everyone and everything he'd ever cared about over the years had gradually driven him to the point of desperation. His wife had left him for another man, and his career as a budding fine artist had already been crushed because of his own pride and negligence. \n\nThe voice, however, did not relent. While it spoke with a compassionate tone, it still retained a degree of passive judgment. \"You mock yourself in the name of self-sabotage,\" it replied. \"You've worked so hard for everything you wanted, and for what? So that you can just throw it all away at the first sight of trouble? You are better than that, my friend. Why give up now?\"\n\nAs much as the man did not want to admit it to himself, it was the truth. He couldn't deny it any longer. Upon turning 29, he'd started to notice how everyone he ever loved had chosen to leave him behind. At first, he'd given them all the benefit of the doubt, trying his best to understand and accept that his fear of abandonment, though understandable, was unfounded. He knew that he needed to learn how to stand alone, but yet he couldn't find the strength to do so. \n\nIt proved impossible. With time, the pain of such heavy loss became too much, and in the end, he decided that the world would be far better off without him in it. He had no real desire to die, no, but he could no longer deny that he was very disillusioned with his life. To say that he was beyond desperate to turn things around would have been an understatement. He missed his wife. He missed his friends. He missed all of it. \n\nMost of all, he had forgotten what it had felt like to be loved by a higher power. This was the soul wound he wanted to heal most of all: not having any solid answers from the Divines he felt had forsaken him in his youth. This deep seated view that the Gods did not care for him was what compelled him to take the trek up the mountain in the first place. \n\nBefore the man could give a response, however, the wind started to pick up around him. The temperature dropped, his fingers and toes freezing beneath the protective gear he wore. This wasn't just any cold, though. It was clearly the fury of the elemental spirits protecting the virtuous deity who'd made the mountain their home. \n\n\"You need not say anything,\" the deity finally said. \"We both know that you don't actually want to die.\"\n\nThe man paused, now glancing up at the dark skies. It was then when he finally saw the benevolent entity floating above him. Seemingly genderless in essence, it appeared almost like something out of a dream. Milky white eyes glanced back at the man, an ethereal glow illuminating its near-translucent skin. It looked kind of like a ghost, but not really. \n\n\"What are you?\" the man finally asked once he managed to find the ability to speak. By now, he'd fallen to his knees. The cold would have frozen him to death were it not for the deity's warm concern for the man's well-being. \n\n\"You know who I am. Remember the book.\"\n\nThe book, he thought, staring at the entity in disbelief. Surely they can't possibly mean that short story I read over and over again as a child, about the Great Mountain Goddess. \n\nAfter a few long, tense moments, he finally spoke. Chills ran down his spine when he breathed out the name he hadn't spoken since his childhood. \n\n\"...Artemis?\"\n\nA chuckle escaped what appeared to be the goddess' lips. Under normal circumstances, she would never have allowed a mortal man to see her, let alone get so close. Most who dared to approach her -- let alone visit her home in the mountains uninvited -- were killed on sight with one of her arrows.\n\n \"One of my many, many names, yes,\" she replied, a confirming tone in her otherwise crystalline, authoritative voice.\n\nIt was hard for the man to see what Artemis actually looked like, and another confused expression crossed his tired, worn face. \"Yet after revealing yourself to me when it is forbidden for us to look at you, you choose to spare me,\" he finally replied, incredulous. He paused a few more moments, looking around once again to ensure that he wasn't dreaming. \"Again, why? You're within your rights to end my existence.\"\n\nThe moon goddess floated about, glimmering in the dark light of the frigid, lonely mountaintop. She appeared to take pity on the man. \"Be it as it may, killing you would be a waste.\n\n\"Why's that?\"\n\n\"Because you carry the spirit of Orion within you.\"\n\nThe man never got a chance to reply to this, for Artemis had chosen that opportunity to return him to the world of dreams where he would be safe. In this world, there was no Apollo to steal the last remnant of Orion away from her, even if most of Orion's essence remained in the skies above. \n\nHe slept for a very long time after that, only to wake up completely unaware of the fact that he'd had an audience with someone who'd clearly not forsaken him after all. Things were never the same for him since that fated meeting, and from that moment on, whenever he felt despair, he looked to the mountains and the moon for guidance, trusting that no matter what happened, Artemis would guide him out of the dark and back into the light." ]	3
	[WP] The summoned hero stared at the sword in his chest as his mentor stumbles back. "You were meant to be the salvation of the world...instead you have brought misery and war" The old man wails. "You are a monster, in the guise of men...and by killing you, I hope to be absolved of your sins"	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "With a sword sticking from his chest, the hero smiled to his old master.\n\n\"Of course I was. You bring someone without knowing his origins, throw weapons at him, send him to kill and expect peace as a result?\"\n\n\"How can you still talk? There was resistance, it's not an illusion!\"\n\n\"You cannot kill what is not alive 'master'. It seems you world only know of undeath what we consider lesser ones. Rotten flesh and naked bones. Unthinking and uncaring. But I am far above what your weak knowledge of necromancy can comprehend. You should be careful when you ask the gods for an immortal champion. They might just grant your wish.\"\n\nThe hero grabbed the sword from his chest, and rather than remove it, found it more entertaining to use his blood core to siphon the magic inside it before snapping it still in his chest. Without the enchantment protecting it, his body's natural regenerative abilities quickly melted the blade to mend the wound.\n\n\"Killing you is of no concern. You are no threat to me and Neither is your army. And old folks don't taste good anyway. So far I've kept my nature in check. I needed to make sure your people do not have what it takes to defeat me. You can take solace knowing I will keep up my word. I will end this so called demon lord of yours. Believe it or not, vampires are quite refined being. I want only the best for myself. And sharing is not an option.\"\n\nThe hero smiled one last time at his master, showing his bloodied fangs before leaving once more for the battlefield. The world would be rid of its demons, but it would soon be under a new rule." ]	2
	[WP] the orc general scoffed, “the darklord has granted us the gifts of fire! And iron! Taught us the ways of military tactics! And combat techniques! What could YOU offer us that THEY hath not!” “Well, for starters, the secrets of irrigation and plumbing?” “...okay, that is pretty good.”	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "General Urgroth looked at the man skeptically. He was thin and wearing a filthy tunic.\n\nThe general spoke up, \"Man, do you have a name?\"\n\n\"Tiro,\" replied the man.\n\n\"And you possess arcane magic of men?\"\n\nTiro was nervous alone in the tent the general on his Bone Throne\n\nHe meekly said, \"We have no magic. Traditions. We grow and raise food. Build homes. Raise children.\"\n\n\"Tiro-man, Darklord gives us weapons. Weapons to live. How men live without weapons?\"\n\nTiro considered and asked, \"What do orcs eat?\"\n\n\"Men. Weak orcs in lean times. I have some baby jerky if you're hungry.\"\n\nTiro shuddered and replied, \"No thanks, we grow food from the land and raise animals for meat. Men eat this. You could stop eating men and cut out the middle man.\"\n\n\"With magic?\" asked General Urgroth.\n\n\"No, with water. How do orcs get water? From wells?\"\n\nUrgroth laughed, \" No, orcs shit in man wells. Take water from river and carry in skins.\"\n\n\"Have you tried not shitting in wells? Wells provide water far from rivers you could expand. Food can be stored for long periods so you don't always need fresh meat.\"\n\n\"So orc can go where orc want go. Make orc towns where orc want?\"\n\n\"You get the idea. You'll still need lots of water from wells and rivers to grow food.\"\n\n\"Orc strong, carry water from river.\"\n\nTiro replied, \"You can dig canals to move the water.\"\n\n\"With man magic?\"\n\n\"No, the water travels downhill.\"\n\n\"Urgroth no understand.\"\n\n\"Do you have a waterskin?\"\n\nA slave brought a waterskin and gave it to Tiro. He stepped dangerously close to the large orc general. Tiro took the generals hand; an act that could have earned him a slow death. He poured the water over the orc's hand.\n\nTiro explained, \"The water goes down. You guide the water as it goes down.\"\n\nGeneral Urgroth looked in amazement and said, \"Wa...wa.....go....down!\"\n\n\"Yes! You understand!\" encouraged Tiro.\n\n\"Water go down!\" repeated in amazement.\n\n\"Yes, general, good\" \n\nGeneral Urgroth looked seriously at Tiro and asked, \"Does Darklord know that water go down?\"\n\nTiro hesitantly replied \"The Darklord has many spies. He may know that water go down.\"\n\nUrgroth smiled and nodded. He banged his fist twice on the throne. A young orc entered. \n\nUrgroth commanded, \"Squire, Tiro-man is dirty. Clean him up and prepare him for feast. We have much to plan.\"\n\nTiro fell to his knees, \"Thank you, general, for sparing me. I will serve you well.\"\n\nThe squire escorted Tiro out. Urgroth sat thoughtfully on his Bone Throne.\n\nTiro was indeed prepared for a feast. He was stripped naked of his dirty tunic and sensually bathed by three orc women. He was cleanly shaven in all places. The orc women massaged him in fine oils and rare spices. Tiro screamed for hours as he was slowly roasted on the spit.\n\nGeneral Urgroth was served the choicest haunch. He bit deeply into the fresh meat, smiled, and drank from a wine skin. \n\nUrgroth poured wine over fresh meat, laughed, and shouted, \"Water, go, down!\"\n\nHis army roared in reply. The twilight of the Darklord had begun.", "The Ash Plains were cold, dark and - as I morosely fetched my handkerchief once more - terrible for the lungs. The prince, of course, was a dashing figure, skilled with the blade and filled with charm, but I fancied myself as the real hero. After all, it was I who the prince called on in his hour of need, and it was I who ventured places no one else dared to go.\n\nAt least, that's what I told myself to try to avoid quaking in my boots.\n\nWe arrived at the gates of Moggogop at what I presumed to be sunset. My small entourage of soldiers made disgusted faces when we laid eyes on the perimeter, wafting away the noxious smell. This is what I meant by me being a true hero. These men had never had dealings with a sewer troll. I would've scoffed had I not been facing the 9 foot tall orc general.\n\n\"Whaddya want?\" Garok snarled. The 6 other orcs at the gate leered at us as if wondering what we'd look like on their spearheads.\n\n\"General Garok, we have come to humbly request an offering in exchange for your assistance at the chokepoint in Esse Locus.\"\n\n\"I know. I got the letter. You already should know we do not need human weapons.\"\n\n\"But sir, I- I think you would make great use of the mighty sword Excalibur,\" I said, unstrapping the sheath from my back and presenting it to the orc.\n\nHe snorted. \"Toothpick,\" he said. He unsheathed his sword - a massive hunk of iron dripping with blood which I dearly hoped wasn't human. \"This is the King Cleaver!\" I didn't want to ponder which kings he'd want cleaved. \"The Dark Lord gave the orcs all the magic weaponry we'd ever need! Can your Excalvalry do this?\" The soldiers backed up in alarm as he swung his sword into the ground, a wall of flame bursting out from the direction he faced.\n\n\"Excalibur is meant for less muscular warriors,\" I admitted.\n\n\"You see? Why prince send stupid diplomat to say what orcs to do?\" Garok raged on in incomprehensible Orcish, and his temporary loss of grammar alerted me that we might receive a permanent loss to our lives.\n\n\"Milord, I implore you to look at our weaponry. Our kingdom has more resources than the Dark Lord could acquire in...\" I paused, noticing movement behind the gate.\n\n\"What?\" Garok said, following my gaze.\n\n\"Is that a chamber pot?\" I blurted out before clamping my hands on my mouth. Such a rookie mistake was sometimes fatal in diplomatic missions. But I hadn't heard of chamber pots being used in centuries. Evidently they did it differently in Moggogop.\n\nTo my surprise, however, Garok looked slightly ashamed. \"Yes. Moggogop has seen better times. It is not always we have been walking around, wading in own waste...\" He shook his head. \"But we are stronger than old times. With the Dark Lord's help, we can take over new lands.\"\n\n\"But the new lands may become wasteful again after a while, will they not?\" The pieces were starting to come together in my head. \"And the farming - it isn't so good now as it was before, is it? The land has become dusty because you had to grow so much food.\"\n\n\"Why are you insulting our city?\" Garok growled.\n\nI was already envisioning the plans in my head. I was no architect, but I knew that a canal from the Crimson Lakes could keep Moggogop hydrated forever.\n\n\"Okay... I think we can work something out.\"", "“WHAT?!” bellowed the Orc General. “What cowardice is this!”\n\nShe towered over the group of Halflings. They were kneeling in the dusty path from their city. The Orc army was arrayed in battle formation behind her. Brass horns blared and the desert wind swirled sand through the ranks. \n\n“Oh great and terrible one, we humbly present his offering to you!” They shouted in unison. Clearly rehearsed. “We hope this is sufficient for your army.”\n\nThe Orc General had heard them the first time, but she was buying a few moments to think. \n\nPiled behind the tiny group was a large stockpile for food and treasure. Easily enough for an army. Behind that stood the low brick walls of the Halfling City. It seemed that the Halflings were offering them food in exchange for leaving their city intact. \n\n“How dare you surrender without a fight!” She gestured broadly at the group. Sun glinting off her bronze armor. Her Orc army was watching, and appearance mattered. She reached down and grabbed one of the Halflings, easily lifting him up into the air and holding him close to her face. \n\n“You want us to take your food and gifts and leave you alone?” She said low enough that no one else could hear them. The Halfling was tense and scared, but saw his opportunity.\n\n“Yes your terribleness, we gave you all we have assembled all that we can spare.” \n\n“What is stopping me from toppling your puny walls and taking everything.” She growled. \n\n“Well then there won’t be anything for you to take next year.” The Halfling said matter-of-factly. \n\nThe Orc General narrowed her eyes. The broad river valley the Orc army had been moving through was mostly burnt out. The army was running short on food, she was running short on treasure to keep loyalty of the commanders. There were already rumors of discontent amongst the ranks and subordinates were maneuvering to undermine her authority. If she could set up a more permanent source of income, she could control her army more effectively. \n\nAnother question appeared in her head, something beyond her control. \n\n“How do you have so much that you can give without starving?” She asked. \n\n“The gods have granted us with knowledge of winds, water, and seed. We grow far more than we need.” The Halfling said, recited almost like a prayer. \n\n“I expect more than this paltry offering when you see us next.” She threatened. “Also I must throw you to the ground. I must keep up appearances. You understand” \n\nBefore the Halfling could respond she cast him back amongst the ground, knocking a few over. \n\n“These cowards have recognized our strength and surrendered without a fight!” She shouted addressing the army as a whole. \n\nShe turned to her chief commanders and said “Divide the food evenly amongst the companies. Do not attack the city. We will be back here in a few months for more food.” \n\n“But general” One of her commanders said “What about all the gold? We can not honorably take it without a fight.” \n\n“We all may fight over it and the strongest Orc will keep what they can.” She exclaimed. “Bring up the wagons, and set up camp. We are holding a tournament!”" ]	4
	[WP] You're the all-so-feared Monster of the Grimlands. It's absurd to you, really. Every decade, the human town gives you a sacrifice, a young, virgin human bride. You just wish you could tell the town that you're running out of guest rooms for these poor ladies.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. 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Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Finally, one comes and I’ve had enough. I walk the sacrificial alter-thing and yell:\n\n”I’M RUNNING OUT OF GUEST ROOMS FOR THESE DAMN LADIES! I DON’T WANT THEM! It’s so odd to me, why do you keep giving me brides?”\n\nA townsperson stepped forward.\n\n”S-so you won-won’t attack and k-k-kill us.”\n\nI blink.\n\n”I have no reason to kill you. Look, I still have the ladies, do you want them back?”\n\n”OH PLEASE! I want my daughter back!” A woman wailed from the back of the crowd.\n\n”Hmm... Is your daughter the one with red, curly hair? Her name was Amber... right?”\n\nThe woman nods.\n\n”Alright, I’ll have all the lovely ladies back my sundown.”\n\nI go back to my woodland mansion and explain to all the women about what happened. They’re all eager to get back to their family and friends. I lead them out of the woods and into the town. If there was any movement in the town, it had stopped. All the ladies ran forth to the town. Hugs and such were exchanged. Amber‘s mother thanked me for getting her daughter back to her.\n\nThen, the mayor of the town came forward.\n\n”As a reward for your good deed, we will allow you to visit the city whenever you please. But, don’t kill anyone.” He said the last sentence chuckling, so I knew he was kidding.\n\n”Alright.” I say, heading back into the woods, happy I did something good that day.", "I stood awaiting in the 'ritual spot' designed the 'hold back the beast'. God I hated this season, every decade the town south of my forest home had after not getting of my god damn property one to many times had their 'shamans' create a 'ritual' by which what actually happened is one of them came and had an actual conversation with me for once and explained just how god damn STUPID those villagers are.\n\nFortunately for me I happen to know a very good builder. An earth elemental by the name of Steve who was kind enough to help me expand my manor. It's not the prettiest work but it functions well and unnaturally sturdy.\n\n\"GRIMLAND'S GUARDIAN BEAST, STILL YOUR RAGING SOUL!\" oh god here we go again, and one of the newer shamans too oh for fuck's sake this day cannot get worse. Of course once all the Shaman's that were in on it died out it went from a ploy to get the abused and neglected women out if the village. I tried to reason with the shamans beforehand that we should include the men in their two but I just got laughed at. Fucking pricks...\n\nI reared up and let out bellowing howl, my wolf like visage lending to that 'werewolf' vibe I have going on. \"Another 40 season's another offering is it?\" My disdain for this whole situation was as clear as my crimson eyes. The shaman before me looked especially young. Couldn't be more then 15. God they even sent their children to do this?\n\n\"INDEED\" The kid shouted, clearly male, right in the throws of puberty. Poor thing. \"WITH 40 SEASONS PAST WE BRING YOU ANOTHER OFFERING SO THAT OUR TOWN MAY PROSPER UNDER YOUR PROTECTION AND THAT YOUR WRATH WILL NOT BE VISITED UPON US!\"\n\nDirect from the script. As expected. I'd feel bad for them if they weren't lugging an unwilling sacrifice with them. Those robes and ceremonial face mask don't hide that malicious grin. Probably some relationship drama like it was last time...\n\n\"NO! HOW DARE YOU! WHEN MY FATHER HEARS ABOUT THIS YOU'LL BE SORRY!\" Great. A daddy's girl. Thankfully the Sisterhood is a much better parent then me. I'll let them deal with this. Light danced around the 'barrier' as the screaming woman was presented and locked into place.\n\nI go about my usual shtick inspecting the sacrifice. A small spell cast to ease her mind and explain the general jist of the actual situation which also quite handily shuts her up and makes her look like she's in a trance.\n\n\"Your offering is accepted... leave this place now unless you wish to offer up yourselves too...\" I half snarl half grin making sure to show my teeth. The pieces of strawberry lodged in their from breakfast handily making it look like I'd just eaten something bloody\n\nThe scrawny little shit high tailed it out of here like a rabbit being chased. Weak and pathetic like the rest of that shitty town. If only it wasn't on a leyline I'd be able to just rip and tear...\n\nWith the ceremony passed I carried the new sister home. She showed signs of coming too just as we reached the clearing. The rest of the sisters had gathered, expecting a new arrival.\n\n\"W-where am I\" She croaked awake. Confusion and terror in her voice.\n\n\"Almost home... and before you ask, no I'm not going to eat you, or anything else you don't want me to do to you.\" I say in a knowing tone, I can feel the question she'll ask next and I know I'll hate it. \n\n\"But aren't you the beast?\" Her all to familiar words stung like poison daggers into my back.\n\n\"My name is Kenning Away!\" I snap back at her causing her to recoil in fear. 'Dammit Kenny you did it again! They're scared teens on a good cycle! Of course they're gonna ask those kinds of questions' I think to myself.\n\n\"I-...I'm sorry. Sister Rosemary will explain all. Here they are now.\"\n\nAs I approach my opulent gates the Sisters all assist in opening it. Sister Ophelia gives me a knowing nod as Sister Rosemary approaches and helps the new girl dismount my back. I simply start walking to my chambers as Sister Ophelia takes my clawed paw in hand. She was the first one.\n\n*\"I take it she said the thing again?\"* Those eyes of ember pierce my own, her gentle, warm and knowing approach helps raise my spirit a little bit. The colour returning to my blue eyes somewhat.\n\n\"I get that in their folklore I'm this evil baby eating ungodly evil malice incarnate would burn down an orphanage and say 'what are they gonna do? tell their parents?\" monster but still it hurts...\" I bear my soul to her, she understands the most. I wouldn't say it's a romantic relationship. More... family.\n\nWhen this whole situation started up the Shaman's made sure to pick those who were suffering at the hands of those who couldn't fight back. 'The bearers of strife' they called it. She practically jumped at the chance to die. Seemed almost mad that wasn't about to eat her after she was brought to me. We talked and talked eventually we found ourselves confiding in each other. I taught her how to hunt, she taught me how to cook what I'd hunted. I taught her where to find hidden herbs and mushrooms for alchemical brews and she taught me how to brew such things. Eventually we even figured out how use the old smithy in this manor together. I had no real reason to ever use it thanks to my claws and hide being tough as it is.\n\nThough with Ophelia's guidance it functioned and functioned well too! Soon we were gathering precious metals and making some weapons for her to defend herself if I'm ever out while bandits or something comes.\n\nAs our house's guests grew so did those who wanted weapons. Fortunately the 5th Sacrifice, Ann Thena (or just Sister Ann) had been a combat expert, I knew that from the moment she tried to stick a knife in me while being carried back. My shoulder still hurts from that one. She after seeing I wasn't fighting back after the 3rd time she gut punched and floored me she came somewhat to her senses and calmed down. We explained to her the situation and she offered to help train people as they came.\n\nOnce we reached our 15th guest we realised we should probably look into trading with other locals and expansion. So while I was out making first contact with Steve, The ladies formed a Merc group called \"the Amazonians\". \n\nThey also tried to get to wear this strange human cloth thing they had made. They call it a 'suit and tie'. It's composed of 4 pieces, one covers the crotch area and goes underneath another piece that fits on the legs, and the last two do the same thing but for the upper body, it also has this weird collar like thing on it. I wear it on special occasions when some of their mercenary friends come over. Apparently I'm 'cute' when I wear it. Fuck knows what that means.\n\nAnyways I'm getting side-tracked. Sister Ophelia helped comfort me as our new arrival had the situation explained to her. We gathered for our evening meal and our latest guest was introduced to the group at large. Quite the loud one she is. No real upper body strength but powerful legs. Might be a good skirmisher some day. Seems to be mainly hung up on her father as predicted. I suspect some form of gaslighting.\n\nAfter the meal is finished I head to my chambers. More comfortable thanks for the Amazonian's work. I'd feel guilty about it but it is MY manor and they like to take every opportunity to show me off too other merc groups like some prized possession. I guess that's just how humans are...\n\nI close my eyes for the night. It's been a long day.", "Eliza cried when her name was drawn. Now, standing at the edge of the forest which surrounds her village, she is resigned. This is how things must be. It is the only way to protect her family, her friends, everyone she's ever known, from the monster that lives in these woods. Her sacrifice will maintain peace.\n\n Yet she cannot stop herself from trembling, can't halt the tears running down her face. Her knees shake with every step that brings her closer to her doom. \n\nShe's alone now, far enough into the forest that she can no longer see the other villagers, and she is grateful, for her family will not see what becomes of her. As she nears the base of a hill, she spots a symbol carved into the stone. A few triangles arranged in a pattern which she had always thought to be abstract, yet now she sees in the pattern a snarling face. This is it, the places the stories speak of. She is about to enter the monster's domain. She gathers every drop of strength she possesses, and steps forward. \n\nThe symbol glows eerily, a faded purple like the last rays of a sunset. There is a grinding sound, and the boulder rolls aside. In the darkened space behind it, there is a man. \n\nFiona is so startled, so filled with adrenaline, that she has to bite her tongue to keep from screaming. Screaming might anger the monster. She can't help but think he looks so... Human. Normal.... And yet there's something off about him, something slightly to the left, something that makes her instincts scream at her to run. \n\nAnd then he speaks.\n\n\"Come in, please, you must be tired.\" \n\nFiona's throat has closed up entirely. That might be for the best, for she is certain her voice would break. How can he say something so normal at a time like this?! If he's going to eat her, why doesn't he just do it?! She now understands what mice feel like, the ones her cats bring home to play with. \n\nBut she does as he says, moving forward stiffly, shakily. When she gets close, the monster takes her gently by the elbow. She flinches.\n\nHe pulls away, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender. \"I'm sorry, that was foolish. I'm not going to hurt you. I know what you've been told, but please, let me explain. I'm not going to harm you. Let me prove it to you. Let me introduce you to the others.\"\n\nFiona is taken aback. \"Oth-others?\" She squeaks.\n\n\"Of course. Your people have been sending maidens like yourself into my domain for generations now. I wanted to send them back, at first, but when they asked to stay, I could hardly say no. It used to get ever so lonely out here...\"", "You don't remember your own birth too clearly. It was nonexistence, and suddenly, you took your first breath, and cried. \n\nI remember my own birth, crystal clear, as if it happened yesterday. I was of the soil. I could feel every plant. I could hear through every root. And suddenly, I couldn't. I opened my eyes. A man, dressed in a pointed hat and raven black robe, faced me, pointing his wand. \n\n\"Earth-Golem!\" My master's voice shouted behind me \"Kill Him!\"\n\nI looked again at the man in the pointed hat and raven black robe. Kill him? I should, kill him? Why? He seemed scared. His wand glowed a range of colors, A ball of light floated gently out of it. It seemed so peaceful. I reached out to touch it, to cradle it, and my arm vanished. A cloud of brown dust and chunks of soil surrounded the area. A bright glow from behind shot past me. There was a yelp of pain, the thud of a body hitting the ground, and a gasp of someone dying. As the dust cloud cleared, I could see that the man in the pointed hat and raven black robe was laying on the ground, his skin a sickly pale color, and blood flowing from his eyes.\n\nMy master pranced over to the body with a satisfied \"hmmph\" and started to rifle through the bag that he had been carrying. \n\n\"Maaa-Star?\" My mouth sounded out. \"Maaaastar?\"\n\n\"You Useless Beast. I Told You To Kill Him. But All You Did Was Stand There And Try To Touch His Magic Missile!\" My master shouted angrily, shoving a handful of unbroken viles into his own satchel. \"It Seems This Patch Of Earth Had Too Many Rocks, Because They All Seem To Be Inside Your Head! Vanish From My Sight, Before I Regenerate Enough Mana To Blast You To Smithereens!\"\n\nWith that, he turned around and marched off, muttering to himself about how hard it was to make a good golem. \n\n\n(Continued in part two)", "I was a failure. \n\nFrom the moment my inchoate mass oozed out of its pot, I had one duty, one instinct in my being: Protect the corpurgist who had created me. \n\nAlas, I did not have anything I needed to truly do so. Time, mass, experience-none of it. I was barely five moments out of the sanguine mixture that birthed me before she laid lifeless, a series of bolts through her body. Had I a mind, I might have grieved and perished with her. \n\nBut, at the time, I had not developed a mind. Free of the requirement to be her guardian, my form fell on to the most basic reflex of life-self preservation. I fled. \n\nAnd then, I grow, as my kind did. Absorbing flesh of animals and plants, my potential increased. Bigger, stronger, faster, smart. With intelligence, came control over my roiling form. Glutting myself, I became able to steady myself enough for disguises. \n\nFrom skin, fabric formed. Features amalgamated from those eye occasionally spied on trails-I had a human guise, if not particularly good. My gait wasn't quiet right-I didn't have a proper skeleton, small normal motor actions would go forgotten. But it was enough.\n\nFollowing the trails back to the city they came from, I walked among people, either unseen, or just ignored. Plenty of street rats everyone else treated as invisible, and I'd fit right in with that crowd. My stumbles and contortion, dismissed as alcohol-ridden clumsiness.\n\nWhat I saw disgusted me. My first knowledge of humans was seeing them murder their own kind-and they way I could see them treat each other from the gutters didn't do much to improve my view. The vetiges of my guardian instinct rose me to look with cold dislike for seeing their cruelty. \n\nSo, shedding the guise of people I had grown to dis, I fled once again. Onlookers would see only a tidal waves of flesh flowing through the streets, barely even jostling anything as it flowed out. \n\nI guess you could say, I feel into depressive spell after that. No longer even interested in hunting, I settled into a cave, arteries digging into the stone to sate my hunger in a perversion of plant life.\n\nAt least, until I was awakened by an intense warmth at my uppermost parts of by writhing mass after what must have been moths of peace and quiete. Growing eyes so long unused as I barely even thought in my hibernation, I saw a torch, and a women tied to a stake. And in her, so long forgotten stirred in me. She seemed...familiar in a way i couldn't racognize.\n\nMy curiosity lead me to finally move, pulling up my roots as I condensed myself into a form more comfortable for her to deal with. Well, as much comfort as you can have looking at your own doppleganger.. Her with a might to be expected from my true mass, the rope snapped easily, and I grabbed the torch and lead her deeper into the network. Two words, two questions rang from me: \"Who, Why?\"\n\nPleasantly surprised to not be eaten, she talked. My exit had apparently made quiete a social impact-despite lack of physical one. They correctly assumed who my creator was, and incorrectly assumed my purpose. They said i was a curse that ate people in the night. That those disappearances were entirely the kind of atrocities they did to each other, was an irony lost on neither of me.\n\nSo, they thought they could save themselves by sating my hunger. The odd familiarity was explained with their choice of first to go-the daughter of my creator. I pondered what this meant for several days as she set up shelter within the labyrinth of tunnels that had become my home. Then, I decided: even if I had failed to protect my creator, i could succeed in protecting these sacrifices. I brimmed with purpose now as my morphic body made itself into all manner of forms, moving through the woods to gather needed things. Focusing acids outwards, I could even expand the tunnel networks-an underground river became a good find, which irrigated a mushroom farm, and she could live nigh-indefinitely.\n\nThings got harder over thee years. More 'sacrifices' meant more space had to be dug out, more 'grave robbers' had to be turned aside, and more resources had to be either found, or arranged to be created.\n\nAnd yet, I did not mind all this extra work in my formerly-sedentary life. To contrast, I felt...fulfilled. Yes, that's the term. I Finally had something more than just meager survival to work towards. Even if I was a mass of undifferentiated flesh, and my 'daughters' were a series of women thought eaten by me, I had a family to care, watch grow, develop, and mature. Some would occasionally leave the nest, some would return back to it, but we were always family. What more could one truly want in life?", "Good evening.\n\nThank you for having me here tonight. May this moment bring the rain of peace that coaxes the blossoms of prosperity from dark soil and tangled roots. \n\nI start with a necessary acknowledgment. This meeting was made possible because of the persistence and bravery of one woman, Agnes Scanlon, High Sheriff of Grimlands, Master Scout of Thymria, Just And Fair Proxy of His Holiness King Pellucir the Third. And, I hope I can say, my friend. \n\nAs you all well know, Agnes was not the first to cross the Darkwater, dare the Witch Road, and seek me out at my keep on Howling Rock. Far from it. Many are the brave Grimlanders who’ve made that perilous trek, including Agnes’s predecessor, the late Peter Wels.\n\nBut Agnes stood before me on that same blood-blackened rock on which Peter Wels and so many others had stood and instead of offering me a sacrifice, Agnes Scanlon asked me a question.\n\n“Great Beast,” she shouted over the roar of the surf breaking against the rocks below, “Great Beast, why do you take them?”\n\nGood people of Grimland, I thought she was trying to trick me.\n\n“I take them because you bring them to me. Have you brought yourself? Shall I now take you?”\n\nAgnes laughed at me. She actually sat there on her mule, swatting flies with her hat, and laughed at me. \n\n“The Great Beast hungers for virgins,” Agnes shouted. “But I satisfy my appetites, so I can’t satisfy yours.”\n\nAt that, all the keep’s population erupted in giggles. I shushed them.\n\n“Are you here to die, then?” I roared at her. \n\nAgnes didn’t blink. “No. I’m here to talk. I think the late Sheriff Peter Wels was a cruel, lying, scheming man who fed me a load of horseshit, and it involves you and a bunch of missing women.”\n\nSo I opened the gates of the keep. Agnes Scanlon and I talked. She’d brought a list of the women Peter Wels and his predecessors were known to have brought to me over the years.\n\nSo I introduced her to my family.\n\nAlisa is a healer and herbalist. She sings the true bone-mending songs taught to her by Old Li.\n\nAmaka is an alchemist. She stirs quicklime and seashells with seawater and fire mountain ash to make roads of surpassing smoothness and durability.\n\nHa Fan is a smith, a weapons master, and an artificer of great ingenuity.\n\nMolly is a dancer, a storyteller, a keeper of lore and a cultivator of culture. \n\nAnd Therese many of you know: she was brought to me only last summer. She has embarked on a study of the animals of the Grimlands, as part of a larger effort to understand how best to husband the resources the king allows to us.\n\nThese people were your sacrifices. They were brought to me by bad men. \n\nI killed many of those bad men. For I am indeed the Great Beast, and my rage is great and my power terrible. And I will continue to kill bad men for as long as there are bad men. And there will always be bad men.\n\nSo know this, people of Grimland: I have returned your sacrifices. You were wrong to make them. You were lied to, but you went along with the lie because it was easy and because these girls meant nothing to you. You threw them away.\n\nSo I taught them. And now I return them. And now they will teach others. And the Grimlands will prosper, because they have been lifted from the superstitious muck by the strength of love and reason.\n\nAnd you will bring me no more sacrifices. \n\nSo says the Great Beast.\n\nNow, let’s have a drink. Agnes, didn’t you say something about brandy?", "The Grim climbed over the ridge hoping that, this time, it would be different. Maybe they had learned over time and would leave the offering post empty. He used to observe the townspeople from afar in an effort to understand why they insisted on leaving him a whimpering girl tied to the post every ten years. \n\nThe Grim was not getting any younger; eventually he would die. What would happen to the abandoned girls then? They’d likely freeze to death before expiring of thirst since the elders had determined this ritual must be done in the last days of winter before the snowmelt. They should have learned by now. Yet, The Grim saw another pale girl lashed to the post and sighed heavily. \n\nLumbering over to her, The Grim steeled himself for the piercing shriek.\n\nWhich did not emerge from her lips. The Grim stopped to regard her. What was this? They always screamed. They always fainted and had to be carried to his domicile where Margavine would explain that she was not a meal or a prisoner. That she could come and go as she pleased, stay and pursue her interests, or could leave forever so long as she did not return to the town. However, if she left, it would be with the knowledge that there was always a bed and a meal here for her. \n\nThis girl did not wince or scream or struggle against her bonds. Merely, looked at him. Her hair was neat, her dress was not torn. They usually were a mess with ragged dresses, tangled hair, and tear stained faces. This one clearly had not fought her fate. \n\n“Hello,” she said pleasantly. “I’m Dinella. What shall I call you?\n\nSurprised, he thought. \n\n“The Grim,” he rumbled quietly. \n\n“Well met, Mr. Grim.” Dinella looked down at her restraints. “I told them the ropes were unnecessary, but they didn’t listen. They never do. A hand, please?”\n\nHe extended a claw and easily slide the ropes along her side. “This has never happened,” he said cautiously, scrunching his massive eyebrows together. “Why have you no fear of me?”\n\n“I followed you last time,” she said primly. “I was ten and, as my parents said, too curious for my own good. I think this will turn out very well for me, however.” \n\nDinella began trudging through the snow toward his stone home. A modest set of rooms that had been carved into a mountain. The Grim had been born there, but remembered no parents. Just the ancient message carved into the wall directing him to cross the ridge on a particular date every ten years. As uncomfortable as he was with the offering, he was glad for the girls – now women – and their presence. The Grim was no longer lonely and was grateful for the intelligent conversation. They had formed a sort of family. \n\nBesides,” she called back to him. “I’ve studied the farmers’ guild notes and found that there’s no correlation between the offerings and the good crop years.” \n\nHe followed, listening to her lecture her thoughts about the town and its people, none of which she particularly cared for. “They’re stupid, Mr. Grim,” she opined. “Institutional stupidity. I trust you have a library?”\n\nHe did. His family often traveled and always brought back books to share. The Grim was quickly growing to like Dinella. The others would like her, too.\n\n“You will have to share a room with Margavine as I have no more rooms. She does snore, though,” he admitted. \n\nDinella smiled and placed a hand kindly on his face. “I’ll live,” she whispered.", "When I was young and foolish, two words that often go together, I was cursed by a witch. She caught me stealing from her garden, valuable herbs that it was painstaking work to grow, and shouted after me. I didn’t quite hear the words, but it was easy to figure out what she’d yelled out when I suddenly tripped over oversized feet, tumbling to the ground.\n\nLooking over myself frantically, I stared with wide eyes at thick, gray, mottled skin. Shoving myself to my feet gave me a view several feet higher than I was used to and my clothes had stretched and ripped at the bulging of my muscles. My eyes teared and I frantically swept up the herbs I’d dropped, dashing back to the witch’s home. She stood at the edge of her garden, her face cold and uncaring as I dropped to my knees before her with a heavy thump.\n\n“I’m sorry,” I choked out, my voice deep and hoarse. “Please, I needed these herbs for a sick friend. But I give them back to you.”\n\n“What’s done cannot be undone,” she growled. “They are picked from the vine improperly, so they are worthless to me now. You’ll spend the rest of your days in a form as ugly as your soul.”\n\nI pleaded with her for mercy, but she just turned and went back into her home. And unsurprisingly, when I returned to my village, they all screamed in terror and ran. Even Robert, who I’d risked so much to gather the herbs to save him, snatched the plants from my hands and shut the door in my face.\n\nThat was fifty years ago now. I managed to survive deep in the forests, building a home of my own, easier than it would have been before with my newfound strength. I stole tools and supplies in the night also, of course, but that was just at first and eventually I had all I needed. Any visit to town was dangerous, I knew. The residents feared me, and if any were to catch sight of me, they drew their rifles, shaky and fearful but determined to keep back the monster before them.\n\nIt was a lonely existence. Maybe that’s why I started watching the villagers more. That and they had started to encroach further into the forests, building new homes and stores, the town expanding as they needed more room for children, grandchildren, and farm animals. And maybe that’s what started the sacrifices.\n\nThere was a spot I liked to hide and watch them, and it seemed they’d recognized it as somewhere I frequented. I was stunned, upon one visit, to realize there was a girl, her face tear-stained, tied to the tree. I rushed over to help her instinctively, but she screamed and struggled, prompting me to slow to a stop a few yards away.\n\n“What are you doing here?” I asked, my deep voice like gravel against my throat.\n\nShe froze, staring at me in shock. “You…you can speak?”\n\nI narrowed my eyes. “Of course I speak. Just…not very often, as I’ve no one to speak to. I speak to my plants,” I told her. “But they don’t offer much conversation in return.”\n\nThe girl’s eyes narrowed curiously, something brightening in them. “You truly didn’t want a sacrifice?”\n\n“A sacrifice?” I asked, baffled. “For what?”\n\n“The curse on our crops,” she said slowly. “The Monster of the Grimlands has cursed us, everyone knows that.”\n\nI stared in stunned silence for a moment. “They know me by that name?”\n\n“Yes… What…What other name would they know you by?”\n\n“Edward Rowley,” I told her. “My hideous form aside, I was born human. Cursed decades ago,” I explained. “I do not know how long I will live, but…I think it will be quite a lot longer, as the witch who cursed me meant for me to suffer. I stole from her, you see, and…” My voice trailed off. “Those ropes look like they’re paining you. Can I free you from them?”\n\n“Yes, thank you,” she spoke softly. I carefully approached her, my thick fingers fumbling with the rope but eventually the bindings dropped to the ground. “My name is Agatha.”\n\n“Please to meet you. When you return to your people, can you please explain that I’ve nothing to do with any blight on their crops?” I asked tiredly. “I’m no witch. I’m simply a man burdened with a hideous appearance.”\n\nAgatha’s expression soured. “They left me bound to a tree, a virgin sacrifice, to be fed to what they thought was a monster,” she snapped. “I’ll not be returning to that horrid place.”\n\nI sighed and nodded. Of course, I understood her feelings on the topic of being rejected by your society. “Well.” I shifted on my feet. “I do have room in my home. I like to build, it busies my mind, even though the rooms lay empty. You may stay with me if you wish, until you decide on your new path.”\n\nAgatha smiled. “That’s quite generous of you, especially considering how the town exiled you.”\n\nI shrugged. “You seem a decent enough girl. I’ve no anger towards you.”\n\nBut it didn’t end there. Whenever the crops were ruined by weather or pests, whenever a well dried up, whenever a drought plagued the farmlands, they ascribed it to the Monster of the Grimlands. And in severe cases, when they grew desperate every few years, I was left another sacrifice. When Agatha accompanied me the second time, there was an easier transition for the newest member of our growing family, Kiera. She took the next empty room in my home.\n\nAnd so it continued with Hollie, and then Jasmine. At this point, more hands to help with the gardening meant we were not lacking, though the quarters were growing quite crowded. I was still gracious for the company though. Our family didn’t grow in the natural way, but Kiera had taken up with Hollie before too long, sharing a room and a bed, which did leave one of the last rooms empty for our inevitable next houseguest.\n\n“Why do they persist with this song and dance?” Jasmine sighed. Agatha stood at the fire, adding materials to the soup we were preparing for dinner, though she paused to glance to her friend. “It clearly doesn’t work. Things either settle on their own, as you’d expect, or the ‘sacrifice’ is deemed insufficient, and that’s given as a reason why they’ve displeased Edward and the blight continues. How can they persist in their blindness?”\n\nI let out a heavy sigh, taking a seat on a large log around the fire. “Those thoughts plagued me through my first months in exile, but they lead nowhere.”\n\n“But no one’s every returned,” Jasmine pointed out. “What if one of us went back to the village, explained their mistakes? Explain that Edward means them no harm, holds no ill will, casts no curses?”\n\n“You know better than that,” Agatha scolded her. “If one of us was shown to be released by the Monster of the Grimlands,” she said mockingly, “surely they would assume we were under his control, possibly witches ourselves.”\n\nJasmine’s face fell and she let out a silent sigh, unable to disagree, and Agatha turned back to stirring the soup.\n\n“Edward is strong, though,” Kiera piped up. “A hard worker. What if… What if we ventured out over the mountains? Found a land of people who had never heard tell of his alleged curses? We could explain he is a gentle giant, willing to work hard, as he does here in his home every day.”\n\nHollie shook her head. “I think we shouldn’t rock the boat we find ourselves in,” she said softly. “A village taking up arms against us will only result in our slaughter. We can’t risk it.” She paused. “But we have all we need here. We have everything to sustain ourselves. And we have each other, our family. Perhaps one day we and Edward will be accepted back into society, but…” She hesitated again. “I like our home,” she said. “And I love all of you dearly. I would hate to lose that.”\n\nAgatha nodded. “Hollie’s right. Who knows what the future may hold? But we live in a precarious place. Best to protect what we have, especially when it is so valuable.”\n\nEach of them looked around at each other, smiling at the family we’d built. Agatha picked up the platter of onions that Hollie had chopped up, using the back of a knife to slide them into the cauldron that was starting to mingle in a tumble of delicious scents.\n\nAnd I looked around at my family with a small smile, wondering if the witch had known what was to come, and whether her curse had meant to ruin me, or perhaps its purpose was to open up a new path in my life. A path to something stronger than I could have ever built in the village I’d used to call home.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n/r/storiesbykaren" ]	9
	[WP] as you slay the last slime some of it got in your ear and now you can hear it talk to you.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Hey, so why help me? Didn't I almost kill you,\" I asked the air as I cut down a hobgoblin.\n\nThe thing that answered me was already in my ear. \"Eh, helping you means leveling up,\" the slime in my head said, \"oh, and watch out, there's going to be a minotaur in the next room. Go left. It's safer.\"\n\nI looked around and took in the dungeon that I've been in for the better part of a day. I really got to get some more sunshine.\n\nIn front of me was a rather unassuming door. I felt my face cringe as I realized I would have walked through it if Sly didn't warn me. \n\n\"Oh no, go ahead, just let me know if you have a death wish so I can try and get out of here.\"\n\nMy face broke out into an exhausted look. If I had known how snarky the slime could be, I would have washed out my ear the instant I heard its voice.\n\nBut the slime, Sly, rigged itself up to my body, and now if I tried to remove Sly by force, I'm pretty sure I would die too. But, the slime had its uses.\n\nSly could connect to the dungeon coordinator and guided me around the place. Apparently, most dungeons have this master program that ensured the difficulty of the dungeon would ramp up. \n\nIt's for that reason why I turned left and went through the open path. I would rather fight a hobgoblin than a minotaur.\n\nBut if I understood the difficulty curve, I would eventually have to fight something I can't defeat. \n\nIt seemed that the longer the adventurer stayed in the dungeon, the harder the dungeon became. \n\nIt also scaled off the power of the adventurer, but I was a lowly D rank. So that wasn't taken into consideration from what Sly understood.\n\nBut, I should have been kicked out by the difficulty curve about an hour ago. But thanks to my little friend, Sly, I went further than I usually do. \n\nThe best part of it all? The loot scaled off the difficulty. Which meant that I can finally make some quick cash. But I would have a freeloading experience hog that lived in my ear. \n\nApparently, Sly could party up with me. Which actually meant that Sly leeched all the extra experience I got from killing all these beasts. \n\nBut it worked out for me. It seemed that Sly broke through some slime hivemind, or slime-mind as I called it, and now can level up like me. \n\nWhich meant we could upgrade his dungeon control stats. Right now, it was just at observation. Sly could, for the most part, see what the room's contained. \n\nSly's voice chimed in my head. \"Wait, wait, I think that the hobgoblin might be something bigger now.\" \n\n\"I thought you said that the dungeon doesn't start randomizing things until we hit the fourteen-hour mark?\"\n\n\"Yeah, that's that what I thought too... Oh no, Alric, turn around and run. Right now.\" \n\nI stopped midstride, and I felt a little confused on why Sly would want me to run all of a sudden. \n\n\"Hey, buddy, why do yo-,\"\n\nTwo minotaurs burst out from the room I planned on entering. \n\n\"Oh.\"\n\n\"Oh is right. Now please start running! I don't want to die today.\"\n\nI obliged my little slime friend as I sprinted down the hall I came in. I should have brought a return gem with me. Why didn't I bring a return gem with me? After that, I started bringing return gems with me.\n\n\"Turn left, then right. Then hit the gas because those minotaurs are catching up to us.\"\n\nI screamed a question at Sly as I turn left. \"Can't you do something about it?\" \n\nI felt the slime shake its head. \"Two more levels and I think I can access my control branch. Then I think I can hijack the coordinator. Enough to... to well avoid this. Also, I said right, not a second left.\"\n\nI was so busy listening that I turned left instead of right. I skittered to a halt. \n\nI looked around the room and saw three new doors. I also felt my stomach drop. I was scared. \n\nI turned around to look at the entrance I came from. I saw the minotaurs as they charged towards me.\n\n\"Uh, so, Sly... What do we do?\" \n\n\"Oh, I think we die.\"\n\n\"Sly.\"\n\n\"Kidding, kidding. Kind of. I still need to kill you for nearly killing off my species.\"\n\n\"Are you still mad about that?\" \n\n\"... eh, not really. Free will is kind of cool. Plus, the whole living in your head rent-free is far more fun. Oh, and leveling up to the point where I have a mind of my own is cool. Did I mention how much I love free will?\" \n\nFor some reason, Sly loved mentioning that.\n\n\"Also, there is a trapped room behind you. I think if you vault in there, you won't trigger any of the traps, and those big boys can do it for us.\"\n\nI turned and ran towards the door behind me as I heard the minotaurs enter into the room I was just in. \n\nI vaulted into the room, and none of the traps go off. But then I heard Sly's voice say something that set me off.\n\n\"Whew, thank the gods. Here I thought we weren't going to get lucky. We had... a fifty-fifty chance, I think?\"\n\nI heard the traps go off and kill off both of the minotaurs as they entered the room. But my mind was too focused on what Sly said to care about the minotaurs. \n\n\"Sly.\"\n\nI felt the slime once again, but this time it moves like it's shrugging.\n\n\"Let's just say there was a non-zero chance we died, okay?\" \n\n\"Sly!\"\n\nI felt the slime smile now. \"What is the adventurer more scared than a slime?\" \n\nI really hated this slime.\n\n\"You love me, and you know it.\"\n\n\"You can hear my thoughts?\" \n\n\"Oh yeah! I got it on my last level up! You really shouldn't think such rude things, you know. Oh, and you should ask out that maid at the inn back in town. She is really nice.\"\n\n\"Sly!\"\n\n\"What? I thought adventuring was all about being brave and courageous? Are you telling me that once again, I, Sly Ime, have more courage than you? Give me a minute or two in control, and I can ask her out!\" I felt Sly move around with gusto. \n\nI really hated this enthusiastic slime. \n\n\"No, you don't. Also, just FYI, it's not nice to wish you killed someone when they live in your head, you know?\"\n\n\"Didn't you threaten to kill me if I removed you?\" \n\n\"... touche swordsman, touche.\"\n\nI shook my head. It looked like Sly and I have a long road ahead of us. \n\n\"You know it, partner!\" \n\nMy groan carried through the dungeon.\n\n___\nFirst and foremost, thank you for reading!\n\nAlso, if you enjoyed this, then I have more stories at r/WritingKnightly!", "The great Slime war had just ended. After revealing their conciousness which they had hidden for over a 100 years, they had finally decided to take over the world. Fortunately, they lost. Humans had developed a slime gun using advanced polymer technology that obliterated Slimes on sight. The gun really reduced their numbers until only a few were left. \n\nI was a soldier on the battle ground on the final day of the 12 day war. I was handling a grade 1 Slime gun and was responsible for attacking the flying Slimes. I wasn't actually a soldier before the war. I played video games. I had topped the ranks in an international target shooting video game which was what made my country enlist me in the armed force. \n\nI wasn't enjoying it at first. But, soon I accepted the situation and made the sole purpose of my life to obliterate Slimes. I made peace with myself knowing that the Slimes were a vicious species. They would enter through any hole on the human body and cause extreme pain until you killed yourself. Atleast, that's what I was told. \n\nAs I entered the battle field with all the holes on my body covered adequately, a canon misfired and knocked me to the ground. I fell unconscious and honestly believed that my time had come to see the Almighty. But, that wasn't what happened. \n\nUpon waking up I found that my helmet and fallen off of my head which left my ears exposed for the Slimes to enter. I was horrified. I didn't know what to do. That's when I heard a voice. \n\nAt first, I didn't know where it came from. It was squeaky and almost sounded like a child. \"Hey! Wait!\" it shouted. \n\"Who is this?\" I boomed back. There was no one in the room. \n\nThe voice then started to plead to me. \"I'm a Slime. Please don't kill me. I'm scared\" it said. I decided to listen to what the Slime was saying. And so, I sat there staring at the wall like a mad man trying to focus on the tiny squeaks. \n\nThe Slime said that it's name was 'æ'. It assured me that it didn't want to hurt me and it would leave once I got it back to its house. It confessed that it was young and and just wanted to be reunited with it's family at the Slime haven in a hidden place outside of the Capital's jurisdiction. \n\nI was sceptical at first but in a way I empathized with the Slime. I knew how it felt to be lost and separated from family.\n\n Æ and I went on an adventure together. We crossed battle grounds and abandoned cities until we finally reached the Slime haven. \n\nThe whole place was green and reeked of burnt plastic. Slimes of all kinds were there. They had venom in their hands, ready to throw at me in case I decided to attack. \n\nÆ managed to convince it's relatives that I came in peace. I stayed there for a while and learnt a lot about the Slimes. I even started to like them. \n\n When the time finally came for me to leave the little Slime, I had already formed an attachment to it. \"Bye you little bugger\" I said while we went our separate ways. That's when I knew that all the rumours about Slimes murdering people were just that. Rumours. Slimes were a peaceful species. All they ever wanted was to co-exist without having to be squashed and smashed for ASMR videos. But, we humans wouldn't allow that. We saw the Slime population as a threat and went on to exterminate them.\n\nI never spoke about this encounter to anyone. If I did, the Capitol would have probably sentenced me to die. Till this day, the Slimes are in hiding. They are probably growing their numbers and preparing for the next war. \n\nAnd I know when the time comes, who's side I will be on." ]	3
	[WP] Being the last hope of your family legacy, as an aristocrat, is not easy. Specially if you're in love with the most feared pirate of the seven seas, a very good lover in fact. Today they offered you to join them and their tribulation. Fantastic.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"My Lord, I humbly implore you to reconsider the High Duke Montbridge's offer of marriage to his eldest daughter!\" This again.\n\n\"No, Bart, I will not! I have no interest in marrying.\"\n\n\"My Lord, be that as it may, you are the only Asten left! Without a proper heir, the legacy of the Astens will perish to the wind, and all that your family fought for will be gone!\"\n\n\"Do NOT bring my family into this Bart, lest I have your tongue cut off for your insolence!\"\n\n\"...Apologies, my Lord.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Ooooo... scary... I bet all the maids in the manor were getting all riled up to your manly, aggressive tone. Why don't you ever shout at me like that, oh dominant, masculine Duke Asten?\"\n\nI swear, this woman will be the end of me.\n\n\"Oh be quiet Cathy, you and your strange fetishes.\"\n\n\"As if you didn't have a thing for the eyepatch, Asten.\"\n\n\"THAT WAS A ONE TIME THING!\"\n\nShe then burst out in laughter, the most beautiful in all of the seven seas.\n\nThis is usually how our conversations go, Cathy and I. You'd probably find the scene quite strange, a well-dressed Duke and a scratchy female pirate conversing with each other in some old abandoned shipyard in the dead of night. In fact, she just finished talking about her day, how she was ready to embark on a voyage to some spice islands in search of Portuguese ships to raid and all, until her second mate accidentally blew a hole through their ship while cleaning the cannons. Needless to say, she nearly drowned him, and their voyage was delayed until further notice. This eventually led to telling her the highlights of my day, and the lewd exchange that soon followed.\n\nThis kind of fun conversation is what I enjoy with her, and is ultimately what I love about her. Unlike the venomous pleasantries of the courts and the drawing rooms, I could converse freely with her for what seemed like ages. She was candid, carefree, but at the same time quite comforting. We kept this routine, sneaking away from our own lives, and spending time with each other in this old shack by the dockyards. It was liberating, as she would call it, being able to converse with someone who bathed more than once in a fortnight. Eventually, this would blossom into something more beautiful, that of mutual love. All the horrors of the day in our public lives, she as a brigand and I as a noble, would be forgotten, even if just for a few hours at night.\n\nNow of course, we could only meet through this avenue precisely because of our public lives. I would dread the day that I have to see her taken away by the royal guards due to the nature of her profession. At the same time, she would curse the day that her fellow pirates would learn of my identity and start raiding my estate. Hence, we both had to keep things under wraps.\n\nThis continued on for the better part of three years, though I could never really count accurately, for the time we spent in this shack flied by into the sweet nothings and intimate moments we shared here together. There was, however, one thing.\n\nSpending all this time with her let me know when something was up. Yes, she was laughing greatly at my expense, but the subtle way that her shoulders were stiffened, and the minute detail where the corners of her mouth didn't seem to grasp for her eyes as she laughed, told me that something was bothering her.\n\n\"Cathy, my dearest pirate, is there something bothering you?\"\n\n\"Hm? Nothing, o manly man, manliest of men, nothing at all.\"\n\nThere it was again. That moment where her shoulders tensed up. I need to press this matter.\n\n\"My dear, I hope you know that I have always admired you for your candidness. It's what I love about you. So please, dear, tell me what seems to be wrong.\"\n\nHer grin slowly dropped, and she went into a morose lump.\n\n\"Asten, y'know, I'm getting tired of hiding here.\"\n\nMy heart fell heavy, and it must have shown on my face.\n\n\"No no no no, my manly man, it's not about you, I promise, I swear! Come here.\"\n\nShe took me in her arms, and laid me on her lap.\n\n\"Asten, you're the man I love and will continue to love. But this is really tiring me. I want to go out there into the open seas and explore the islands with you, a-an-and give you some exotic fruit or something.\"\n\n\"Exotic fruit?\"\n\n\"Yes, exotic fruit. And I want to sing and dance to sea shanties with my crew and you out there! But we can't, not with who you are and who I am. \"\n\n\"Cathy, I-\"\n\n\"Asten, will you go out to sea with me?\"\n\nThis question. Truth be told, the court life be damned. Away with their powdered noses and their pompous treachery. I want to be with the woman I love, and spend the rest of my days with her, legacy be damned.\n\n\"Cathy, I would love t-\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"THERE! THE DUKE IS HELD CAPTIVE BY THE BRIGAND, CAPTURE HER!\"\n\nThe guards came crashing into the shack, with lanterns and bloodhounds alike. They pushed me away from her, and quickly tied her with rope. One of them read aloud,\n\n\"Catherine the 'High Seas Terror', you are hereby arrested for your numerous unlawful seizures of His Majesty's vessels, and your plot to kidnap the sole living member of the Asten estate.\"\n\n\"No! She has not kidnapped me, I am saf-\"\n\n\"There there good soldiers, take this filth away from our Lord's presence! She defiles my liege's spirit with her dirty soul.\" Bart?\n\n\"My Lord, please, we must discuss that which is most pressing right now, your marriage to-\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"ASTEN!\"\n\n\"CATHY!\"\n\nShe tries to resist, but can do nothing. I can do nothing. The guards take her away. Why, why has this happened to us? And why is Bart here?\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Bart, you have about five seconds to explain yourself BEFORE I HAVE YOU HANGED!\"\n\n\"My liege, I will not allow you to tarnish the lineage of the Asten estate. You and all the men before you have produced legitimate heirs and will continue to do so, all for THE CONTINUED LEGACY OF YOUR LINEAGE! Ahem, I apologize for my outburst. I expect you to be at the drawing room tomorrow to meet with Lady Montbridge to discuss the marriage proposal. Do not be late.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nBart leaves, and I am left alone.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nEDIT: Punctuation errors" ]	2
	[WP] A vampire falls in love with a human but doesn't know how to tell them about it. So on Valentine's day she/he sends a heart to the human. The problem is it's a literal heart.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I finished wrapping it up and looked at the silver box.\n\n\"Do you think he'll like it?\" I asked Felix.\n\n\"Why shouldn't he?\" My bat friend screeched. \"It's a fine heart.\"\n\nI took the box, my chest fluttering even though it was now lacking a heart, and walked down the street to his neighborhood.\n\nI saw him in the window, looking out with his beautiful brown eyes. He looked dreamy as always. Just as I opened my mouth to say hi, I saw a girl appear next to him and wrap his arm around his shoulder, smiling.\n\nI dropped the box and it made a loud thud on the sidewalk. I hastily ducked down to grab it, and sneak away, but then a voice yelled out to me.\n\n\"Alex?\" he said.\n\nI stood up quickly, holding the box, trying to look nonplussed.\n\n\"Um, yeah, hi,\" I said. \"I was just taking a walk.\"\n\n\"At midnight?\" he said. The girl was giving me a look. I hastily brushed the cobwebs and sticks from my hair. If I'd had blood in my veins I would have blushed.\n\n\"Couldn't...sleep,\" I said.\n\nNow the entire party was looking at me. Ten to twenty humans staring me down. I felt an urge to run.\n\n\"What's that?\" she said, pointing at my box. It shone silver in the lamplight even as I shoved it behind my back.\n\n\"Oh, nothing,\" I said. They continued staring at me.\n\n\"Well, guess I'll go home now,\" I said. \"Done with my walk.\"\n\nI turned and started walking home. I reached my castle as the sun was beginning to rise. Inside I took the box out, and opened it. Inside was the thing, beating slowly and sadly. I took it and stuffed it back in my chest, and went to sleep.\n\n\\--\n\nSee more at r/ladyandthepen", "\"Zach,\" Ronnie says on the other end of the line. \"Come over right now.\"\n\nIt doesn't sound like a good \"come over right now\". It sounds like the tone of the headmistress calling me to her office so many centuries ago. Ronnie sounds sexy when she's serious, but I'm too scared to appreciate it.\n\nIt was a risk, but humans are big on dramatic gestures, and it seemed the most appropriate thing at the time. I drive over to her apartment. Ronnie opens the door for me, her hair still in the silk scarf she wears at night, dressed in a cotton t-shirt and boxer shorts.\n\n\"You like the gift?\"\n\n\"It was a gift?\" she asks. \"It was the kind of thing serial killers leave you as a threat!\"\n\nShe sighs and leans on the back of her sofa. \"I know you aren't exactly a people person, Zach. But don't go around doing stuff like this. What is it, anyway? A pig's heart?\"\n\n\"Human.\"\n\nI know immediately I should have lied. Ronnie goes pale.\n\n\"Human?\" she asks. \"Jesus, Zach.\"\n\n\"It's ethically sourced,\" I tell her. \"I got it from a donor.\"\n\n\"Just tell me the truth, Zach,\" she says. \"I know you keep secrets. I've seen that mini fridge you keep locked in your basement. What are you doing, Zach?\"\n\n\"It's from an organ donor whose heart wasn't suitable for a transplant,\" I tell her. \"I gave you a heart. For Valentine's Day. I really like you, Ronnie.\"\n\n\"Ugh, Zach. Is that what this is? I'm sorry, but I don't feel the same.\"\n\nShe offers me a cup of tea, but I don't see the point anymore. I take the cooler and step into the night air. I wonder if the heart's still good, I'm in the mood for some flesh instead of blood. I call my friend at the VRS (vampire resource center).\n\n\"Hey, that heart you got me? Is it safe to eat? Why was it rejected from being a transplant?\"\n\n\"Oh, that. Dude had Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.\"\n\n\"English, please.\"\n\n\"It's safe. Dude had broken heart syndrome.\"\n\nI look at the cooler in disgust. \"Figures.\"\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nfor more stories by me, go to r/xeuthis", "Why me?\n\nI pulled away from the box, heart thumping in my ears. I leaned against the wall for support, trying desperately to calm my breathing. I had hoped that I would finally have a decent day for once. Each previous Valentines Day had either been me single, or some unbearably awful date.\n\nBut it seems today was the worst of the lot. Some sicko had left a lovely wrapped box on my doorstep. For when I got back from work. The label had said from a secret admirer, which reminded me of school. But when I opened it, instead of a nice thoughtful gift, I found a heart. Not a paper or stylised one. The organ.\n\nI shuddered, fumbling to pull out my phone. Surely the police would help? It seemed to me had the attention of some killer. Who knows, maybe I was on their list. I wouldn't make it easy for them though. As I unlocked my mobile, it rung. I jumped, staring at the name. It was Esme, one of my friends through the drama group, and incidentally my crush.\n\n\"Hey, happ-\"\n\nI cut her off.\n\n\"Esme, can you get here?\"\n\nI couldn't keep the panic from my voice, despite trying to play cool. She immediately sounded concerned.\n\n\"What's happened? Are you ok!?\"\n\n\"I'm fine, just, get here, please?\"\n\nI knew I could count on her. She was much stronger then she looked. Coupled with her knowledge of how to defend herself, which I had seen first hand, I knew if anyone would look out for me, she would be one.\n\n\"Where are you?\"\n\n\"I'm at home.\"\n\n\"Stay right there. I will be there in 10 minutes.\"\n\n\"Thank you.\"\n\nShe hung up, and I lowered my phone from my ear. She would know what to do.\n\n\\-----\n\nTrue to her word, she was ringing my bell before the 10 minutes were up. I opened the door for her, seeing her standing there in a beautiful sequined dress, sparkling in the street light. Her pale face looked worried, and I beckoned her in.\n\n\"Come in.\"\n\nShe jumped in, grabbing me by the arm. She looked me over, relaxing a little when she saw I was unharmed.\n\n\"What happened?\"\n\nI lead her into the kitchen, and pointed to the box. She walked to it, looking at the heart with a quizzical expression. I couldn't keep quiet as she looked at it.\n\n\"Who the heck sends a heart as a gift? On Valentines Day no less?\"\n\nShe looked at me, a questioning look in her eyes.\n\n\"I thought people normally gave gifts of hearts.\"\n\nI shot her a withering look.\n\n\"This isn't the time for jokes. Paper hearts, or maybe pictures on cards or something. Not the heart from a creature!\"\n\nShe must have sensed my distress. She moved over to me and wrapped her arms around my chest. I hugged her back, feeling calmer almost instantly in her embrace. We stayed like that for a minute, before relaxing out of it.\n\n\"Thank you.\"\n\nShe smiled sweetly, before looking back to the box.\n\n\"I don't know what that's about, but I'm not going to let you be in any danger. Why don't you stay with me for a few days?\"\n\nMy stomach quivered as she mentioned it. The thought of living with her for a few days was tempting, and I wanted to. But I didn't want to seem desperate.\n\n\"Are you sure? Don't you have a date or something though, judging by your dress?\"\n\nShe grinned.\n\n\"Of course I'm sure, silly. And I don't have one, but I was hoping someone I had my eye on would give me a call.\"\n\nI couldn't help but feel a little crushed, the idea she had her eye on someone.\n\n\"Who's that?\"\n\nShe brushed my arm with her hand.\n\n\"Oh this really great guy. He's smart, funny, a little clueless, and oh so handsome.\"\n\n\"Who-\"\n\nMy words were silenced as she kissed me. I was shocked for a second, before I finally connected the dots. I kissed her back, before we broke it off. I stared into her eyes, and swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat.\n\n\"W-would you l-ike to go out with m-me?\"\n\n\"I would love to.\"\n\n\\-----\n\nAnd that is how I started going out with my vampire wife. Oh, yeah, she is a vampire. How did I find out? Well, that's another story entirely....", "Now, I know what you’re going to say. “Oh, it’s a vampire! It’s going to eat me! Ahhhh!”, but no. I’m not going to eat you. Vampires don’t actually eat people, we use special blood packets that come from a special nutritionist that knows of our existence.\n\nAnyway, my name is Alaric. I live amongst humans and have a bit of a problem. I’ve fallen in love with my best friend since coming here: Emika, the prettiest human I’ve ever seen. She does not know that I’m a vampire, and I hope she never finds out. It could be dangerous for both of us if she reacts in the wrong way.\n\nToday is a special day for humans. Today is Valentine’s Day. Emika told me that she loved this day because it was romantic. I never have really understood romance or how it worked but I was willing to give it a try. For Emika.\n\nI asked another friend of mine, Mark, what to do for a girl on Valentine’s Day. His eyes widened in surprise and he belted out with laughter. “You? Wanting to do something for a girl on Valentine’s Day? Now I’ve seen everything.” I looked at him with an unamused look on my face, “You did not answer.” \n\n“Who’s the girl?”\n\n“Do you need to know?”\n\n“Yes, if you want my help.” Mark said.\n\nI hesitated to tell him that I liked Emika, because I don’t like being open and I was afraid he would tell her, but I told him about Emika. \n\n“Well, she’e pretty confusing and difficult to find gifts for,” Mark said thoughtfully, “but all you really need to do is either send her chocolates and hearts, or come to her door with the chocolates and hearts. Don’t forget flowers.”\n\nHearts? I thought, Humans like being gifted hearts? Well, if Emika wants it, I’ll get it for her.\n\n—————————————————————————\n\nEmika was really happy that Valentine’s Day morning. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the boy she liked was at her door. \n\nShe opened the door and graciously accepted the flowers and chocolates, and gaped open-mouthed at what else Alaric brought. \n\n“Um, what is that Alaric?” She said in a small voice.\n\n“It’s a heart.” Alaric said, nonchalantly.\n\n“A literal heart?!” She demanded. \n\n“It was for you.” Alaric said helplessly.\n\nEmika slammed the door shut and cried in terror. Alaric heard her crying and stared wistfully at her door. “Where did you get it from?!” Emika screamed from beyond her door. “My nutritionist.” Alaric replied.\n\n“Why did he give you that?”\n\n“I-I’m not a normal human.” \n\n“...what?”\n\n“I-I’m a vampire.”, as soon as he said it he wished he hadn’t.\n\n“N-no. Y-you’re just crazy.” She cried out, “Don’t come back here! Don’t come back to school either!” \n\n“Wait! Please don’t!” Alaric pleaded. “I really like you! Please don’t make me leave!”\n\n“If it helps...I won’t tell anyone. I’ll make something up, but please, don’t come back here.”\n\nAlaric wasn’t used to showing emotion, but he was crying and pleading as if for his life. “If I really wanted to hurt anyone, I would’ve done so by now. Please let me talk to you!”\n\n“I don’t care! I don’t want to talk to you! Go away!”\n\nAlaric helplessly fell to his knees. I messed up. I’m so sorry Emika. Maybe in another life we can be together." ]	5
	[WP] In a Fantasy world, you and your Adventurer's Party are the best of the best. However, today you have come across an enemy that even you cannot stand to face. Your annoying neighbors	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Alright lads and lassies! We have our new orders straight from the King's mouth,\" Arathorn announced to his party gathered around his round living room table. He dramatically unfurled the scroll that he had just painstakingly rolled back up after he had finished reading it just around the corner out of sight of everyone else and let it bounce across the table. \n\n\"Wait, these are new orders? This paper looks like it's a hundred years old-\"\n\n\"Budget cuts! Budget cuts needed to be made Fern.\" Arathorn said firmly, annoyed at his dramatic display being interrupted by technicalities such as... hmm... oh dear... did the King not think he and his guild were worthy of receiving orders on the royal stationary? They were the best party in all of the Seven and two-thirds kingdom, \\that\\ had to be worthy of at least a nicer postage stamp than this! \n\n\"Um. Boss?\"\n\n\"Oh, yes. Sorry 'bout that Fern, I was trying to decide if I should buy a two horse wagon with the bounty from this quest or two one horse wagon's. Rest of you are awful quiet today... Anyways as I was saying before \\someone\\ ( \\cough\\ Fern \\cough\\) interrupted me: the King has ordered us to go to the Forbidden Time Share of the North and slay the foul beasts holed up within. It is a deadly mission, yet the reward is more than adequate to cover whatever funeral costs burying at least three of you will incur with enough extra to have a bonus sign up reward for your replacements.\"\n\n\"Soooo we're in charge of pest control? This doesn't sound like a deadly quest at all, it sounds like Ye Old Yeet Pest Control Inc. is out of town and we're next up.\"\n\n\"Oh no, this is very deadly. The beasts have killed twelve people including the King's cousin, but I guess he was late on his contributions to the time share so I guess then that one doesn't count. Nevertheless! The King is hoping for a nice weekend out of town next week and by all of the gods we are going to help him get it. So say we all!\" \n\n\"HUZZAH!\" The party shouted, raising their fists in the air. \n\nA sudden knock on the door caused them all to freeze, fists still raised. \n\nA cold shill ran down Arathorn's spine. Oh no. No it couldn't be. Their carriage wasn't in the driveway when he called this meeting!\n\nAnother sharp knock at the door came. \n\n\"B-boss?\" Fern whispered, eyes as wide as a barren field. \n\nArathorn walked to the door as if walking through a nightmare, his muscles suddenly made of wood instead of flesh. The time to flee had passed before he had realized it. He had no choice but to face the horrors that awaited him head on, as his and his parties carriages and horses were all out front so the time to pretend he wasn't home had long passed. His hope that it was another messenger boy with a new scroll was quickly abandoned. There they were. Those forms: unmistakable. Trembling, Arathorn opened the door.\n\nStaring at him with hunger in their eyes were two monsters. Dressed in khakis with their sweaters tied around their shoulders despite it being hot outside. Both with terrifyingly fake smiles plastered on there unnaturally taut skin. \n\n\"Well hello neighbor!\" The Wilsons said in unison. \n\nArathorn opened his mouth to reply but no words came out. \n\n\"-We heard all of the commotion from across the street: you, your boys, and your huzzahs.\" They threw their heads back and laughed before bringing them back down sharply; all humor gone from their demeanors. \"Section 298 part E states that between the hours of 6 p.m to 7 a.m are quiet times. Look at your sundial Arathorn. What time is it?\" \n\nArathorn forced his eyes to look at his yards sundial. It was hard looking away from the creatures for even a second, as he feared they would pounce at any moment. \n\nAnd pounce they will, he realized as he whispered the time aloud \"S-six oh two...\"\n\n\"Six oh two Arathorn! We could file a noise complaint for this, don't you \\know\\ that people have to go to work in the morning?\"\n\nArathorn struggled to work his tongue in his dry mouth to defend himself \"We have jobs too! The king himself has quested us to-\" \n\n\"Oh we know about your little quests Arathorn... Don't \\you\\ know that it is illegal to store torches next to wind swords? Tsk tsk. That shed of yours.... do you have a \\permit\\ you could show us? We just want to make sure everything is on board and saaaaaaafe.\" The Wilsons hissed. \n\nArathorn felt warmth running down his leg. \n\nThe Wilsons threw their heads back again and laughed. \"Don't worry neighbor, you can just show us at the next Cottage Owners Association meeting.\" The Wilsons turned to walk down Arathorn's cobbled pathway. For the first time Arathorn noticed a tiny arm sprawled just out of view behind a carriage. The messenger boy... Oh god they got the messenger boy!\n\n\"Oh... and Arathorn?\" The Wilsons called back in a sing song voice as he struggled to tear his eyes away from the small limp form. \n\n\"Your grass is too high.\"" ]	2
	[WP] You are a florist, over the past few weeks, you notice the same customer coming in over and over again. A golden-eyed stranger who always purchases a bouquet of hyacinths.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It started quietly. I had never gotten a lot of traffic in the actual store, the real profits came from orders, but I always had a few customers over the day, usually to browse, sometimes getting a bouquet for a significant other, or a memorial. I never tended to ask, except for if someone became a sort of regular it became a habit to make small talk. Ask about a hobby, family, a favorite flower, occasionally suggesting a nearby cafe for a lover stumped on date locations. Sometimes offer condolences for less than happy occasions.\n\nI keep track of the regulars. Jason Carver, who usually goes for a mixture of red and yellow roses for his girlfriend Mariah. Ashley Danvers, who usually picks forget me nots and black roses for the grave of her sister. Akira Suzuki, who continues to buy a single spider lily every single week, a few others, and the one that has started to seem more and more odd, Aiden Kallis. Every single week, without fail, he buys a bouquet of hyacinths. It’s like clockwork. So much so that the small talk I have with him while ringing up the purchase has gotten a lot farther than most cases. The flowers, he says, are for a deceased friend. He likes archery, has a twin sister named Amaris, and a complicated situation with his parents. I’ve only seen his sister in the store once, she bought a single white lily and proceeded to drag her brother out of the store the second he was done with the purchase.\n\nAiden is one of the few who freely talk to me while he’s in the store. He’s a kind man, just... a bit off. I saw plenty of off and odd with my previous jobs, and Aiden is a whole other brand of off. His eyes are gold. At first I thought it was a rare kind of hazel, like Akira’s making her eyes look like one is blue and one is green even though they are actually the same color, I even once asked if he had colored contacts in and... nope, his eyes are straight up gold, and Amaris’ look silver if I remember right. Another thing is all the quirks the guy has. One of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. He wants to be a doctor, has a hobby of making poetry, plays the guitar. and is fluent in Ancient Greek. Completely fluent, his sister is too judging by the switch to it as she dragged him out of the store. He also apparently helps with the community theater and volunteers at hospitals with one of his sister’s dogs who’s trained to be a therapy animal. Guy has a heart of gold.\nEvery week, like clockwork, he comes in on 10:00 am Friday after the sun’s been up a while and buys a bouquet of hyacinths. He hasn’t missed a week. \n\nNotably, he’s never said the name of the friend, which I respect, no one has to tell me anything, but he talks about everything else. His sister’s hunting trips, an overly busy dad, wildly varied half siblings he’s mentioned a couple times with their even more varied hobbies, his latest inspiration or idea for a poem or a song, and occasionally he stays a bit longer to chat about anything and everything.\n\nIt all seemed to be a bit too perfect to simply be just an eccentric person with a big family and weird hobbies, you know? I’ve met people like that, this was just a bit too similar to some of the mythology I’ve read.\n\nI think Aiden’s Apollo. It matches up a bit too well, in my opinion. Only thing missing is the stolen cows, the sun chariot, and mentioning his mom. I mean, the hyacinths make sense, then. It would be a tribute to his lover who became the original hyacinth plant. I probably won’t bring any of this up, though. I mean, I like the guy. He’s a good customer, and hey, maybe I get some perks or something since I helped a god out. Probably not, but it’s fun to think about. Maybe he’s keeping the shop afloat because he likes it.\n\nEven if he isn’t, it’s cool to think about and mull over during slow hours. He’s probably one of the only interesting characters around here for miles bar the other regulars. I think Ashley might be a werewolf, but that one has a lot less evidence." ]	2
	[WP] You have a pretty boring life. You wake up, go to work, and then go to bed. Nothing more, nothing less. Little do you know however that your actually being kept in this life cycle, because if you ever break free from it, the destruction would be devastating.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It was the same as always, mundane days boring nights. The same route, the same breakfast, the same lunch, and the same .... well, you get the idea. Even the same thoughts I’ve thought before. So I’ve already had this conversation. \n\nSometimes I think of doing something different, step outside the box, but then I take too much time deciding on what to do that I find myself unable to actually make a decision .... and then time resumes and I continue about my day. I go to work, work, my coworkers talk about the same thing if not then it’s similar in nature, joke over the same funny things, and I’m simply ignoring them. \n\nFun. \n\nIt’s almost like someone put a Monday on replay and stuck me here, if so then that’d be the highlight of my life .... of Mondays. Still though, I simply do as I’m told and do what I “need and want” to continue my lame life.\n\nI don’t even desire a companion, however weird that might be. Just me, myself and I is all I need and woe to anyone who disrupts the peace I live in. \n**************\n\n“Are you sure we won’t be fired upon?” Sciamenes asked, shaken to his core. He stared through the window of the Archangel as it floated through the vast sea of emptiness. \n\nA vast sea of emptiness that housed a impossibly sized Dyson Sphere of unspeakable proportions that encompassed a hypergiant star similar to the Stephenson 2-18 discovered an infinity ago. \n\nThere was no reasonable explanation for how such a behemoth was contained in a shell that didn’t cave in on itself or melt from the extreme heat. There was also no evidence of the masterminds that built the monumental masterpiece. No written language to decipher, no audio or visual instructions to interpret, nothing. It’s not that the Sphere was dangerous in particular although it did house a star of epic lengths. It’s that the Sphere looked a cartoonish bomb, ready to explode at the slightest hint of a crack. \n\nYet, with extensive care and immense research, the researchers discovered that the Sphere was possible on autopilot ... or it might be an AI with astronomical measurements and growing with each sun it harvests. \n\nThe only thing they were able to find out was by doing a simple scan of the entire structure ... and promptly activated an infinite amount of cannons both small and wide, powered by the star as the Sphere gave them one chance to get the hell away from it. \n\n“Are you sure we won’t be fired upon?” Sciamenes asked again. \n\n“Sir, while I’m not about whether we’ll be fired upon,” his second in command, Persicla, replied, “or if that thing is sentient or not, I do know one thing: our ship has been set a course for home ... and none of the crew were around when the coordinates were put in.”" ]	2
College, not collage. Lol!	[WP] It is your first day of collage, you are walking back from class, when all of a sudden a talking chameleon appears on your shoulder. It has a mission for you- what is it?	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Hi, Manal.\"\nI nearly wet myself. The quick skuttling sensation running up my arm, tickling so close to my neck, brushing the hair around my ears, and the tiny pinch of feet clasping into my skin would have been enough to rip that shriek out of my on my bravest of days. I jumped and jerked aroundy, trying to fling the unexpected thing from my body. I almost passed out from panic, and then again almost from shock, when the thing spoke.\n\n\"Calm down! Easy! Look, Manal; it's me.\"\n\nI froze, and looked into the reflective glass of a shop. My face was as contorted as my jittered body. People were giving me stares from the other side of the street. Their judgemental stares actually pulled me out of my mania, and I was able to focus.\n\nI looked at my shoulder in the reflection. I looked. And I didn't know what to think. Because I was staring at, and could clearly feel, Meffy, my chameleon imaginary friend from my childhood.\n\nShe smiled. \"Hi, Manal, remember me?\"\n\nAn odd calm took over me and I kept staring. My kalaidascope companion. The friend who hid under my hat during the school play to give me confidence. The one who would do funny voices when we played dinosaurs. The one who curled up beside me every single night after my brother passed away. \n\nI felt tears, thick, warm tears suddenly trailing down my cheeks.\n\n\"Hey, are you okay?\" Someone across the street called over.\n\nI pursed my lips in fruatration. I'm sure they meant well, but it felt like pity. You cannot very well hide the fact that you are pregnent two days before your due date, and I am certain if my condition had not been obvious, this stranger would have just pegged me as a crazy teen and ignored me.\n\n\"I'm fine,\" I called back curtly, relaxing my position and angling my shoulders to conceal Meffy. \n\n\"You remember?\" Meffy breathed, happiness shining in her tiny, funny eyes.\n\nI nodded. My face softened in the glass and fought back the lump in my throat. A moment later, when I could manage it, I said. \"I missed you.\"\n\nMeffy rested her chin on me. \"I'm right here, Manal.\" \n\nIt was then I realised my discomfort. I honed in on the odd sensation and gasped. \"Oh my god!\" My water had broken.\n\nAs I fumbled to get my phone out, Meffy stroked me with the side of her soft scaly foot. \"You can do this.\"\n\nI damn near forgot Meffy was there. Marcus would have to come get me. Maybe a walk was a bad idea afterall. I would have to hear him scold me all the way to the delivery room. \"Why did you leave the house? I told you to stay off your feet.\"\n\n\"You can do this.\"\n\nMy sister would come to the hospital, but she was sure to get a jibe in somewhere. \"If you had aborted the baby you wouldn't have to go through this pain.\"\n\n\"You can do this.\"\n\nMy head was spinning and the dial tone sounded worlds away. What if I screwed up? What if I'm not enough? What if I, what if...\n\nMeffy pressed her head against my cheek. \"You can do this, Manal.\"\n\nSuddenly I understood why she was here. \n\nClick. \"Manal?\" Marcus answered.\n\n\"Come get me now, Marcus. I'm in front of the bakery on fifth. I have our kid to deliver.\"" ]	2
	[WP] Scientist's just failed their 30th attempt at creating an Ai. It just so happens that you've reincarnated into its robotic body.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Rainer, can you just, please, shut off that beeping?” I stared at the empty husk, the body I’d spent years crafting and perfecting. It glinted at me in the lights ominously.\n\n“Yeah, of course.” My assistant reached down and shut off the beeping, indicating failure. He turned to me, his voice nervous, “Do you want some coffee?”\n\n“Yes.” I didn’t have the energy to entertain niceties.\n\nHe left the room quickly, the sounds of his footsteps echoing in the hallways. I continued to watch the husk, desperately wishing it was more alive. The AI we had crafted for it was perfect, but there was some strange disconnect happening with the body. The AI just wouldn’t take. I swirled around in my chair like a child, hoping to spin away my frustration. When I came back around, a light was blinking on the body.\n\n“What the—” I said aloud, my fingers moving on the keyboard at my station with urgency. Behind the glass, the body stirred. “Oh!” I shouted, excitement welling up inside of me. The body was lying on a slab, tilted towards the control room. “Tara,” I called into the microphone, my finger mashing the button with sudden force, “Tara, can you hear me?”\n\nThe eyes of the robot blinked open, revealing bright blue pupils. Tara’s were supposed to be a soft yellow. It opened its mouth slowly, “Tara?” The robotic voice sounded hesitant, “My name is Jacob, where am I?” It began to try and move its arms, but end up bucking against the restraints.\n\n“Jacob—” I whispered into the microphone, my brain reeling. “I’m, I’m Dr. Green. Elisa Green. You are in the SynthCorp offices. Are you an Artificial Intelligence?”\n\n“What?” The voice was stronger now, the lilt more human, “No, what do you mean? I’m a human. I’m a person. I’m twenty-four and I live in—” He looked down at the restraints, finally able to move his head, “I—what are these? Am I a prisoner? What have you done to me?”\n\n“Jacob, I need you to calm down.” I wanted to rush in there but with a body that unstable, I had no idea what might happen. I wished Rainer would hurry up with that coffee, for once.\n\n“Calm down? Someone tell me where I am! What’s happening? Why do I feel so strange? I can’t feel my heart beat, Doctor. Why can’t I feel my heartbeat? I’m not breathing, oh god, I’m not breathing. Help me, please.”\n\nThe desperation in his voice made me want to cry, sitting there, a feeling of helplessness washing over me. If I shut him off he’d die again. “Jacob, please, you may not be able to use your lungs the same way you used to, but you can mimic breathing. Your brain still registers commands the same as it used to. I think.” My fingers were tapping away on the keyboard again, initiating code that would kick in our body mimicry system. It was still in beta testing and we had created it on a whim, but it would have to do.\n\n“I can’t feel anything, Doctor. It’s so cold. I can move, but it’s not my body.” He was lying still on the slab.\n\n“I can warm you up.” I continued to type, more code initiating. “Try to breathe now.”\n\nI saw his mouth open, his mechanical chest rising and falling in a sad mimicry of the human function. “I—Doctor, please, what is happening?”\n\nI balked for a moment, trying to wrap my head around it. I could hear Rainer’s footsteps, hurried now. “Jacob, I am right here with you, just keep breathing. I’ve switched on skin sensors, I’ll heat the chamber.”\n\nHe started to move again, bringing his head up to look past the glass. Rainer rounded the corner, two mugs in his hand. He almost dropped both of them when he saw Jacob. “Doctor—”\n\n“Shut up, Rainer, that’s a human in there. We fucked something up and now we have to fix it.” I had pulled my fingers off the mic button, my eyes filled with terror, now tears, too. I pressed the mic button, “Jacob, I’m going to tell you something and I need you to listen very, very carefully.\n\n“Okay,” his reply was weak. He had laid back down fully on the slab. The shining white exterior of his body looked frozen behind the glass.\n\n“You are inside of a robotic body at the moment. I do not know how you got here. Have you ever had a brain scan done?”\n\n“Yeah, I was just in the middle of it. I—” He paused, his chest rising and falling rigidly.\n\n“Is that the last thing you remember?”\n\n“Yes. It is. I had just closed my eyes. The sedative was taking effect. I was so sleepy.”\n\nRainer had sat down next to me, sheepishly scooting the coffee towards me. I grabbed the mug and shot him a look. He looked away quickly, turning to his monitor and typing away. I turned back to Jacob. “It seems that whatever database your brain was stored in has now restored that version of you. I’m afraid to inform you that I cannot separate you from this body,” I paused, biting my lip, “not without killing you, in some sense.”\n\nIf the body had been equipped with the ability to swallow, I’m sure he would have. The bright blue of his eyes dimmed. He brought his head back up, “Does that mean I’m dead?”\n\nRainer jumped in, pressing his own mic, “Hi, Jacob, I’m Rainer. I’m Dr. Green’s assistant. I can answer that for you. No, you are not dead. Well, obviously you aren’t dead, but your body also is not dead, you know, the other you. The real you.”\n\nI slapped his leg when he said the last line, pulling both our hands off the mics, “Are you insane, Rainer? Don’t tell him that!”\n\nSince he did have the ability to swallow, he did, his adam’s apple bobbing. “Sorry,” he whispered, shrugging his shoulders slightly, “But I did manage to find him. He was a part of Dr. Sheffield’s experiments.”\n\n“Third floor Sheffield?”\n\n“Yes ma’am.”\n\n“Shit.” I looked back at Jacob, “I’m sorry about that.” I paused, searching for the words, one hand wrapped around the mug, the warmth near-searing, the other still mashing the mic button like I could fix this problem through sheer force. “Did you, were you, seeking treatment for a personality disorder?”\n\n“Yes. I’m schizophrenic. Dr. Sheffield said he could use the brain scan, the simulations, to find out what medications might work best for me.”\n\nI grit my teeth, “Thank you for telling me that.”\n\n“Does this mean I have to be a robot forever?”\n\nI grabbed Rainer’s hand before he could make it to the mic button. “No,” I said, “this is very new territory for us, so we will have to see what we can do. But you will not live in a human body again, no. We don’t have the technology to shift consciousnesses, not yet. We can only transfer scans at the moment. Well, actually, this is a new development. I didn’t even know we could transfer scans.”\n\n“So I’m like, an experiment?”\n\nI didn’t catch Rainer’s hand fast enough as he blurted out, “An accidental one, yes.”\n\nI glared at him. “Maybe you should go get Sheffield.”\n\nHe blushed, “I just want him to know the truth. He deserves it.”\n\n“We can give it to him when he’s ready. Now go.”\n\n\\_ \\_ \\_\n\nContinued [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AinsleyAdams/comments/lnrn3i/explaining_consciousness_part_ii/)." ]	2
	[WP] Decades ago, aliens began colonizing our Solar System. They didn't start a war, but Earth was helpless as they aggressively destroyed any communication attempts while stripping our System's resources and settling every planet but Earth. Waking up, you realize you've been brought on their ship.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " Everything was ever so slightly off. The thing that resembled a chair about 10 percent too big. The counters or desks sat about chest height. Even the door loomed. I slowly inched about, attempting to be as quiet as possible. Wherever I was, was not on earth. Not in the tent I had been in. So much for a peaceful camping trip. \n\nI ran my tongue over my teeth and stood before the door. There were no handles that I could discern. No buttons. Nothing but a smooth off white surface. The delineation in the white being a soft blue line that traced about the room. Gingerly I reached out and touched the blue line. Tracing along it with my fingers. The touch caused a soft noise to spool out of somewhere. Drifting in with a soft almost musical sound. \n\nI squinted at the blue line. Repeating the move a few times and eliciting the sound every time. I eventually moved along, causing different sounds at intervals. When I reached the desk, the sound chimed and the desk's surface glowed to life before lifting up. The screen, if one could call it such, shimmered with strange forms that seemed to hint at a type of writing. In areas the writing seemed clustered and with a bit of debating I pressed the surface over a cluster. More of the soft sound drifted out, before the screen altered. The type like shapes reorganizing into a new pattern. \n\nA swoosh drew my attention to the door revealing a large being. Tall and slender with an oddly wide head. Spider like almost. I quickly moved back, pushing into the farthest corner I could. Not that it mattered. Where could I go? The room was small, with nowhere to hide. Even if I did make it past the creature I probably wasn’t on earth. Which meant I had nowhere to go.\n\nIt cocked its head slightly. Its many eyes gauging my moves. I stayed still. My mind decided to take my bodily control offline leaving me paralyzed where I was. The creature moved forward, gliding in its movements. When it came within a few feet of me it lowered its form. Kneeling in a way. Positioned it made the soft sound. Matching the musical notes that had come from the blue line. Only slightly in a lower pitch. It went quiet. Tilting its head from side to side. Finally it glanced down to the ground, blinking the way a bird does, before raising its gaze back up to me. \n\nOnce more it made the stream of musical intonations. I stayed where I was. Heart doing everything it could to find a way out of my chest. The creature moved. Inching slowly closer to me until it sat before me. Large eyes, despite its seemingly lowered position, so close to my own. I clenched my jaw and tried to press tighter into the wall. It chirruped. Then moved. More hands than I expected grabbed me. I screamed. Shoving at the creature in a desperate attempt to get away. Yet it somehow kept a hold on me. Its strange hands gripped with iron clad force. Pinning me it grabbed my chin and held my head still. A cold object slipped into my ear. \n\nIt let go as quickly as it had grabbed me. Retreating back to where it had initially sat. I crawled away, pressing into a corner once more. It stayed where it was watching. Observing. I waited a few beats more before touching my ear. Gripping a cool smooth object that sat perfectly in my ear. \n\n“No, no. Don’t remove it.” \n\nI froze. In one ear I could hear the soft musical chirrup. In the other a human like voice. Seeing me pause the creature nodded. Tilting its head back and forth.\n\n“You understand, yes?” \n\nI watched the creature. Waiting for it to do something else. Instead it remained. Bright eyes occasionally blinking. Slowly I gave a nod. \n\n“That gesture means yes?” \n\nI nodded. A bright chirrup filled the room. \n\n“Good good. I am Graceful Glory. I am currently studying your species and have chosen you to be my specimen. I am deeply fascinated by your kind. While we have encountered similar, never ones exactly like yourselves. Thus why we have waited so long for contact. You must be honored to be chosen.” \n\nI stayed still and quiet. Honored to have been abducted? I wanted to go home. To my normal non alien filled life. My silence seemed to off put it, as the creature moved closer. Instinctually I pushed away, trying to keep the distance between us. \n\n“I do not wish to harm you. On board the ship you will receive the best care that our systems can offer. This very chamber has been designed to fit your body's needs. If you are in any discomfort, please allow me the opportunity to address the issue.” \n\n“Put me back.” I said softly. \n\nThe creature looked down at the ground. Strange hands collecting before it. “I am afraid the federation has already signed off on your capture. There is no way I can put in for another human at this junction. I can bring you comforts of home if they shall aid you in your transition?” \n\nI stayed quiet. Frowning at the creature. Why me?", "We watched in awe, and fear, and curiosity. We pointed our telescopes and radio antennas out into the cosmos, aiming for the ships that had arrived for colonization. And of course, humans being humans, we prepared for the biggest war we could imagine.\n\nWhich never came. They left us on Earth to our own devices and, who knows, maybe watching from afar to gauge our reaction to their arrival. Studying us as a scientist would a termite colony in a tree. That was my best guess, though to be honest, this wasn’t my field of expertise. \n\nI worked at Home Depot. We had actually been quite busy recently, since there were a decent amount of people who thought the best thing to do in light of the current situation was to build a bunker in their backyard.\n\nPeople are weird.\n\nThen one day I awoke and opened my eyes to find myself decidedly not at home. While I was still on my bed, my bed was no longer in my room. I bolted upright, panic starting to take hold, but tempered by the idea that this was so surreal I must be in a dream. The only faint lighting in the room was from the ceiling and, when I climbed out of bed, it increased, allowing me to see more of my surroundings.\n\nMetal. It was a giant metal roof with a partially opaque ceiling to illuminate it. Me, my bed, and nobody and nothing for company.\n\nI’d lucid dreamed on occasion and tried to test out various strategies to do so. Floating? Nope. Gravity was steady. Creating objects? Making people appear? Bringing me back to my bedroom? Nope, nope, and nope. I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck anxiously.\n\nThen one of the walls that had appeared metal went transparent, and I froze, doing my best not to piss my pajama pants.\n\nBeyond the room I was in was another room that seemed about the same size, and in it sat an alien. He stood next to a chair that would accommodate him comfortably, I’d guess, but I would struggle to sit in, since he was at least two feet taller than me, with two extra legs, and reminded me more of a praying mantis than anything else.\n\nI gulped, my hands trembling, as the alien took several steps forward so it was standing in front of the barrier between us. Okay, time to wake up. Really ready to wake up now.\n\nNothing.\n\n“I am Ha’Ank,” spoke the chittering voice from the alien. “What is your name?”\n\nBlinking rapidly in surprise, the bland question somehow helped put me at ease. The noises that had come from its mouth were beyond gibberish, but I’m guessing some technology of theirs translated it to English through speakers into my room. I didn’t see any speakers, but I assumed that their tech would be unrecognizable to me.\n\n“I’m Rebecca,” I said, studying the creature in front of me. I’d seen photos of them from afar, we all had, despite the fact that any attempt at communication was quashed. We’d been relegated to outsiders in our own solar system for years now, just watching as it was invaded, only able to watch.\n\n“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Ha’Ank said. “I am grateful for your calm demeanor. We’ve attempted abduction of your citizens after extensive research on our targets, but despite our best efforts, we have unexpected results of panic and fear.”\n\nI nodded slowly. “Yeah, that’s…not surprising. Um…why am I here? You guys have been ignoring us for years.”\n\n“Ignoring is the wrong word,” Ha’Ank told me. “Studying, yes, and busy with our work on your system’s neighboring planets, but our linguistics branch has been relentlessly studying the languages of your world. English is the one most widely known, but there are many areas on your planet where citizens do not know that language, and we’re determined to study a wide variety of your species before making official contact with your leaders. And that’s not even taking body language into account. We wanted to be prepared for making contact, knowing that we needed to do it all at once, since the ones we sent back will all report their experience, and humankind will need to acknowledge what we’re doing and decide how to react.”\n\nMy eyebrows rose at that one. I’d seen Arrival, so I knew how big a deal that was. I tried to make a shift in my mind to use fewer idioms and less jargon, in case that would complicate things. “Okay. But when I asked why I’m here…I really meant why me? I’m just a nerd making her way through an English degree that I’m probably going to regret when I can’t find a job.”\n\n“You are curious,” he answered. “You seek out information. You enjoy learning. And you are kind. We need a sample size of populations that represent every aspect of humanity, including everything you’re not, those who are willfully ignorant or simple or cruel. You fill a section of our study of your kind, and your characteristics are that of my field of study.”\n\n“Well, thanks. For the compliments,” I said. I wandered back over to my bed, sitting down on the edge and leaning forward on my knees. “Can I ask when you’ll be finished with the occupation of our other planets? Or why you’re doing it? Or if you mean us harm?”\n\n“I am limited in the information I’m permitted to impart. That will come to your species in time. I am permitted to answer that we do not plan on invading Earth. It is your planet, and it will remain so.” I nodded slowly, contemplatively. “My questions will take several hours, maybe longer. If you need to urinate or defecate, or if you require sustenance, please let me know.”\n\n“Okay. I guess…let’s get started?”\n\nThe alien walked over to his chair and took a seat. “My first question I ask because it’s my favorite. What do you enjoy about being human?”\n\n&#x200B;\n\n/r/storiesbykaren" ]	3
	[WP] In a world where supernatural beings not only exist, but act a lot like regular people, the old Hollywood monster movies, like "Dracula" and "The Wolfman", are considered offensive and rude. So movie executives work on creating a more PC horror flick.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“It’s a lesbian horror movie for the modern day,” the movie rep said cheerily to the monster representatives who just watched the first screen test. “Horror movies of the past are riddled with harmful stereotypes and offensive slander than we wish to rectify. Which is why we invited representatives from the paranormal cultures to weigh in.”\n\n“I have a question,” the vampire in the corner asked. “Why are you specifying it’s a lesbian horror movie? Are all other horror movies heteronormative?”\n\nThe movie rep looked alarmed. “Oh, it’s a clarification for some of our more conservative and traditional audiences. That’s not really the part we wished to focus on. We want to make the most accessible movie to begin the HCU.”\n\n“HCU? That’s a stupid acronym,” the werewolf in the front row yawned. \n\n“It stands for Horror Cinematic Universe,” the movie rep replied, forcing a smile. “There has been market research for this franchise name.”\n\nThe werewolf scoffed. “You’ll need more than a flashy name to sell this garbage. Why did the werewolf character behave like Wolverine? Nothing about the transformation scene was correct.”\n\n“Inaccurate werewolf transformation,” the movie rep noted on her clipboard. When she finished, a raised hand caught her eye. Pointing at the patient creature, he stood slowly and deliberately.\n\n“Victor Frankenstein was a monster in every way but appearance. My imitation on screen should have no association with my creator.”\n\nThe movie rep blinked once. Twice. “How else will the audience know who you are and distinguish you from the zombies?”\n\n“Because I am eloquent, can speak French, and prefer revenge over mindless brain consumption.” The creature sat down and crossed his legs as if that settled the matter.\n\n“Okay then.” The movie rep cleared her throat. “We still need input from our vampire representative. Any thoughts on how your culture is portrayed?”\n\nThe vampire in the corner crossed her arms and leaned forward slightly. “These so called ‘vampires’ are worse than Twilight.”\n\nThe other monsters in attendance let out an audible “ooooohhh” as the burn hit its mark. The vampire leaned back against the corner, satisfied with the audience reaction.\n\nThe flustered movie rep straightened her glasses. “Ah. But at least HCU vampires don’t sparkle.” It was a weak attempt to save face.\n\n“Yes, instead HCU vampires have been type cast as Eastern European with heavy accents, which is sooo much better,” the vampire retorts. \n\nThe movie rep has nothing more to say about that. “Thank you all for your invaluable advice. We’ll be sure to credit your organizations when the film releases.”\n\n“The werewolf society wants no associated with this trash movie,” the werewolf called over his shoulder when leaving the test theater. The other monsters shared similar sentiments.\n\nWhen the movie rep was alone, she let out a long sigh. The movie executives were not going to be happy on how today unfolded.", "“Of COURSE you can’t have her say that! What kind of monsters ARE you people?!”\n\nSara was having an incredibly frustrating day. It started out on a terrible note—she had forgotten about Daylight Savings Time and had accidentally set her alarm to wake her up half an hour BEFORE sundown. If not for the blackout shades in her room, she could have easily gotten an awful case of sun sickness.\n\nThen, after that nightmare, she had to get ready for another one. She didn’t like doing consultations; the humans tended to be pretty rude to vampires even in the best of circumstances, and this certainly wasn’t that.\n\n“But what do you mean? Shouldn’t she find her boyfriend’s blood tasty? Why wouldn’t she want more?” The director clearly didn’t know the first thing about vampires, yet had written one into the script anyway. Or, at least, they’d tried to write a vampire.\n\nSara rolled her eyes. “If you hate Brussels Sprouts, and you start dating someone who likes them, will you start liking Brussels Sprouts?”\n\n“Well no, but-”\n\n“Then why would this be any different? And why is she drinking werewolf blood in the first place?”\n\n“Well you know, they start dating during the film, so we thought it would be cute if-“\n\n“Cute? This is life or death we’re talking about here.”\n\n“What do you mean?”\n\nSara almost screamed. “Werewolf blood is poisonous to vampires! Did you do ANY research?!”\n\n“Of course!” The director seemed to be offended, despite having absolutely no right to feel that way. “I watched every single episode of the Vampire Diaries!”\n\n“You-excuse me?!” Sara was almost astounded by the ignorance.\n\n“Dracula was my favorite movie! And now you’re talking to me like I don’t know anything?!”\n\nSara took a moment to compose herself. “What’s the name of the film, again?”\n\n“It’s called Bloody Howl. Werewolf and Vampire love? It’s gonna sell like crazy!”\n\nSara nodded, finally sure of what she should say. “Oh, fantastic. Well in that case, just change ‘I find your blood so tasty’ to ‘I find your blood so lovely’ and you’re good to go!”\n\n“Wait, really?”\n\n“Yes, definitely,” said Sara. “Well, if that’s all, I’m going to go home now. I will send you an invoice before sunrise tomorrow. Take care!”\n\n“Wait, can you sign my Buffy the Vampire Slayer poster first?”\n\n“Goodbye now!” Sara exclaimed, ignoring his comment as she walked to the door.\n\nWhen she had been sent the information for the movie, she had thought it was a serious film. After having read through the the script, she realized that it was comically inaccurate.\n\nIf it had just been a few things? The rest of the community would find it offensive, and Sara would be pilloried for being the supernatural consultant.\n\nBut this drivel? With a name like Bloody Howl?\n\nThis would be a comedy cult classic in the community for years to come.\n\nAnd they would all know that Sara was in on the joke.\n\nThe humans would never know just how ridiculous their movie sounded to anyone outside of their strange little bubble.\n\n__________________\nIf you liked this, check out my subreddit! r/NicodemusLux" ]	3
	[WP] One day you just suddenly developed a superpower, despite the fact that superheroes are meant to be fictional. You don't know what the power is, you don't know how you got it, and most damning, you don't know how to control it.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns." ]	1
	[WP]”Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?” “No, but it sure did when I crawled out of Hell.”	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Welcome to the Earth Interplanar Station office ma’am, how can I-” I didn’t even get to finish the sentence.\n\n“I want to see the manager. NOW.” To say that the angel before me was angry would be to say that the Hell was warm.\n\n”Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven, ma’am?” I asked, already picturing myself filling out the paperwork, which would surely take me just long enough for me to get late for dinner…\n\n“No, but it sure did when I crawled out of Hell. Three days it took me to finally get out of that hole. THREE. DAYS. Have you ever even been there? Can you see what it did to my wings? The entire point of this glorified landing pad is for this NOT to happen.” Three days ago… well, maybe it would be Dave explaining himself after all.\n\n“I’m sorry for the inconvenience ma’am. I’ll get the forms ready. Now, if you could just wait here a minute…”\n\n“Did I say I wanted to file a complaint?” She spoke closer to a whisper this time, and the air around cooled itself way below pleasant levels. “This safety violation was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It’s way past the complaint level. So I will repeat again, and this time, you'd better listen.” Her eyes seemed to drill right through me, their blue light clearly shining through the mist forming from my breath. “I. Want. To. See. The manager. Now”.\n\nI could only muster a quick, “Yes ma’am. Of course, ma’am,” and I darted for the boss’s office.\n\nI thought I would be taking the rest of the day off, just to be sure..." ]	2
	[WP] In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between them, there are doors. I can't take this boring dystopia anymore: I'm going to open one of those doors tonight, damn the consequences.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " A Gray City Story\n\n“Number 17, you are out of compliance. Again.” The workhouse monitor loomed over me with snarl on his sour lips. My name was Pip, and I hated being called by my work number, but I schooled my expression to one of humble subservience.\n\n“Yes, sir,” I muttered, and returned to my weaving, pushing the shuttle between the threads on the loom with less precision than was desirable. My thoughts had been wandering again. It was an aberration I had always possessed, and combined with my general clumsiness, I found myself “out of compliance” a lot. Ever since I was a child, I had suffered at the hands, and batons, of teachers, conformity officers, and performance monitors who always expected more of me than I could give. But that was all right. I had something they didn't. I knew things they didn't. And tonight was the night I was going to make my move.\n\nOddly enough, my clumsiness was what had begun my journey to find the truth. It had happened when I was a child. My class was in the exercise yard, and I was having a bad time of it as usual. The teacher was about to beat again because I just couldn't get my jumping jacks in sync, when these three people appeared out of nowhere, a little boy and two adults. The little boy actually stood up for me and told the teacher off, which just isn't done and will get you sent to reconditioning so fast you won't know what happened. The woman who was with them, she was ordinary, but the man and the child, I could tell something was different about them. They had a little more of something than people here in Gray City ever have. I didn't know what it was called then, but I've since learned the name for it. “Color.”\n\nI saw color for the first time when I was very little. My mother cut her finger on a knife, and there was blood. It seemed to glow against her pale skin and her gray clothing and the white counter-top, and I was fascinated by it. Later, I had occasion to visit my uncle at his job at the metal-working facility, and I saw fire. I knew these things were important in a way that was just out of reach, and after the incident in the exercise yard, I knew I had to find out why. Although I was only ten and sneaking away from my assigned activities to explore the city would result in punishment, I vowed to track those people down again and learn their secret.\n\nIt wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The woman had a daughter at my school, and I saw her again before long. In greatest confidence she told me about the Underground, a group of people living in hiding in the sewers and other abandoned spaces under the city, beyond the control of the Establishment. It was they who taught me the words “color”, and “blue” for the little boy's eyes, and “red” for the strange man's hair. And the woman told me a strange story, about how the man and the child had met up with a teenage girl who glowed with light and commanded wind and fire, and how they vanished through a door that led nowhere. And they told me the word they had learned from this special girl. “Magic.”\n\nI needed to know more. The need burned like fire inside my brain and drove me to take risks that might have gotten me not just recondition but lobotomized had I been caught. For years I searched the city for more people who had experienced the inexplicable. I met with other Underground cells, listened for rumors, arranged clandestine meetings. I learned of a door in a cemetery that was supposed to lead to another world, but the means of opening it were beyond me. I learned of, and collected, trinkets that supposedly possessed magical energy, things left behind by visitors from outside our city walls, beyond the wastelands, beyond the boundaries of the known. And at long last, after thirteen years of searching, I found an actual magic spell. It had been passed down through generations, its origin lost to time, and its purpose obscured. All I knew was that it was supposed to open a door to the unknown. What would happen when that door was open, neither I nor anyone I spoke with could guess.\n\nIt didn't matter what happened. Any change would be welcome. I couldn't take it anymore. The gray sameness, the endless repetition of tasks, day in and day out surrounded by people who had never even heard the word “hope.” A friend of mine in the Underground had been caught and jailed by the conformity officers two days prior. I had tried to get the others to mount a rescue, but our de facto leader had forbidden it, saying he wouldn't risk anyone else being caught. He'd said all we could do was hope that her mind would break before they could torture too much information about the Underground from her. This was unacceptable to me. It was time to act, by the only means I had left. It was time to try the spell.\n\nI waited until night, when all light had gone from behind the thick gray blanket of sky and I could work unseen. Finding a door was easy. Gray City, miles and miles of concrete rectangular buildings stair-stepped on top of one another, rising and falling in no particular pattern, was full of doors, mostly kept locked by their occupants. It didn't matter if it was locked, either. The spell should handle that. I took chalk and drew a semicircle in front of the door, then filled it with symbols whose meaning I did not know. I laid my magical trinkets at the specified points on the circle. I said the secret words, which were not in the language of my city. I held my breath. The symbols in the circle began to glow. The trinkets melted and disappeared into the concrete as if they had never been. Light shone behind the door, spilling from the cracks around its edges, growing brighter and brighter. Then it opened.\n\nThe woman who stepped out from the doorway had more color than I had seen in all my twenty-four years of life put together. Her hair was a dark, fiery red, almost like blood, her eyes were a green at once darker and brighter than I had ever seen on a plant, which I had only seen a few of, and her clothing was patterned with more colors than I had names for. Hanging from belts at her waist and over her shoulder, she had a number of strange implements, also colorful, their purpose a mystery to me.\n\nShe looked around, clearly confused. “What in the fresh hell is this?” Her eyes fixed on me. “Was it you that hijacked my portal? What in fate's name did you do that for?”\n\nI cringed away from her fury, unable to speak for shock. Her expression softened. She took another long look at the city, at my magic circle, and at me. She sighed. “I didn't really want to go to Shadowhall anyway.” She winked at me. “The ambient magic is for-shit here, isn't it, though? Good thing I have this.” She took a large crystal wrapped in glittering wires from the folds of her clothing. “It was supposed to give me a little extra oomph for the shield spells I'm gonna need to survive a trip through Shadowhall, but it will work just fine to power my magic on a world that doesn't have any. So what did you summon me for, anyway?”\n\nI just blinked at her.\n\n“You didn't know what that spell was going to do, did you?”\n\nI shook my head. “Just that it would open a door.”\n\n“You're lucky it was me that came out that door and not something nasty. Lots of things use portals, and you don't want to meet half of them. But you still haven't told me why.” \n\nI shrugged. “I just wanted something magic to happen. Any change would be good in this place.”\n\n“I'm beginning to get that.” She extended her hand to me. “You can call me Imelda.” \n\n“Pip.”\n\nShe laughed and slapped me on the back. “Wanna have some fun?”\n\n“What does 'fun' mean?” \n\n(Continued in the next comment)" ]	2
	[WP]"Wait, so you're telling me I have to suffer through an eternity of torment because of a lifetime of misdeeds?" "That's a myth. You just have to experience the collective equivalence of the suffering you've caused. Let me look at your file. Oh my, I've never seen such a cruel sentence."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "My life really did flash before my eyes as I died. \n\nMore than that, it skipped, repeated itself, and branched outwards: from what I had actually done and lived through to the lives and actions I'd affected in turn. It made me think of ripples in a pond. \n\nEvery act of apathy and callousness, every careless cruelty, lay flayed open and dissected before me. Yet at times I would suddenly remember some small act of kindness I had long since forgotten and those scenes would bloom back to life, showing me everyone I had helped. \n\nNot nearly often enough.\n\nA debate was being conducted with my life. The actual substance of it was beyond my understanding, but I could grasp bits and pieces of it at the edges. I was on trial, and the prosecution was winning. \n\nAfter what felt like an eternity, those memory-stages dissolved and I found myself in a courtroom. Angels surrounded me on every side. \n\nBut there were no little children or flaming wheels covered in eyes. Not even radiant winged people in white robes and carrying harps. They looked more like lawyers to me. \n\nI'd never had a good experience with lawyers.\n\n\"No,\" one of the angels on my left said before I could get my question out. \"You're not going to heaven today.\"\n\n\"Wait, so you're telling me I have to suffer through an eternity of torment because of a lifetime of misdeeds?\"\n\n\"That's a myth,\" an angel to my right said. \"You just have to experience the collective equivalent of all the suffering you caused.\" \n\n\"I've never seen such a cruel sentence,\" one of them murmured. \n\n\"It fits his sins, Advocate.\" The first angel spoke up again, and its voice was stern. \"His record has been reviewed in full, and the verdict is not one he would disagree with.\"\n\n\"What?\" I managed to say. \n\nThe angel turned its attention to me, and in an instant I was transfixed. My heart couldn't hammer n my chest anymore; a cold stark terror took its place instead. \n\nIn front of its gaze, all my good intentions and noble deeds shrunk and withered away. The law and order I had helped to enforce meant nothing. There was only one law that had ever mattered, I had broken it, and now all that was left was to break and reshape me until I would never do it again.\n\nA single thought, impossibly intricate and filled with meaning, entered my head. The true voice of an angel; everything else had been a performance for my sake. \n\nSelf-serving liar. Be grateful you got a trial at all.\n\nThe courtroom melted away as well, and I dropped into my punishment like a rotten apple. Just one more of the countless ones I had allowed to fester in my department.", "I was used to bureaucracy. I mean, I had been bureaucracy when I was alive. I was a paper pusher unlike anything else. I handled records for Immigrations and Customs. I was just a guy with a job. I didn’t like to think what the papers that I organized, signed, and mailed did. I don’t know if I could have done the job if I did. But someone was going to have to do it, and I knew I could do it with precision.\n\nWhich is why I was empathetic to the plight of the worker in front of me. He didn’t just have to do his job for fifty years. He had to do it for eternity. I didn’t blame him when he told me “Oh my, I’ve never seen such a cruel sentence.” We all slip up occasionally. We don’t always understand the repercussions of our actions, especially as they pertain to others, to those without power in the system. I also didn’t blame him for the face he made when he pulled the file out, the haphazard papers sticking out in every direction. I didn’t get frustrated as his own amazement grew, flipping through the pages. I just felt sad, oddly reminiscent. I’d done that, too.\n\nHe turned to me after flipping through it, “Did you—” he stopped when he saw my blank expression. He swallowed, “Did you know about this?”\n\nI shook my head quietly, “No. I was doing my job.”\n\n“Your job? Were you a war criminal?”\n\n“An immigration and customs worker.”\n\nHe nodded, his lips pulled into a thin line of disappointment. “This is at least two or three lifetimes.”\n\n“How long have you worked here?” It was a common question when frustration arose. I didn’t know that I could mimic the strained voice of a mother, standing at my desk, her hand shaking.\n\n“For about twenty Earth years. I took the job after my old position got cut.”\n\n“Do you enjoy your work?” The eyes of the mother were boring into me as I sat at the desk, sweating underneath my cheap button down.\n\n“I enjoy that I do well. What I do is not pleasurable, no.” He looked sad when he said it. I don’t know if he realized I was reliving something.\n\n“Does it make you happy, when you do well? When you condemn someone like me?” The mother had sat down, her hands weren’t shaking anymore. Her eyes were slits of loathing, grief.\n\n“No, sir, I do not. I don’t take joy in others suffering.”\n\n“Then why do you do it?”\n\n“I have to have a job.” His words hit me like a javelin. I’ve never traveled the seas but I imagine this is how adventurers feel as they’re thrown off the side of the boat into churning waters.\n\n“Is it worth it?” The mother is double-visioning for me, I am transitioning in slow cuts to his seat, turning to reveal the tears streaming down her cheeks. I can’t hear his words any longer, only my own.\n\nMa’am, I’m sorry, but there is nothing we can do. Your child will be waiting for you in your country of origin.\n\n“Sir?” I am brought back by his voice now. He is looking at me quizzically, “Did you hear me?”\n\n“No,” I said, shifting in my seat, a tear falling from my eye, “I didn’t.”\n\n“There’s nothing we can do. The sentence has been handed down from higher up the chain. I can put in a request for appeal, given that it seems you did not intend to cause pain, but I cannot guarantee anything.” \n\nI am blinking away the tears, still. “I understand.” I swallowed, “Trust me I do.” I stood up, something seizing me, “Just remember me, when your sentence comes down, too.”", "I had a white robe on, he had a white robe on. There was a vague choir of angels singing from behind the closed gate, which did indeed have pearls on it. The Saint between me and the gate stood on a podium with a tome that seemed to contain the vast infinites of humanity. And the ground was made of fluffy clouds that felt like the most amazing thing you've ever felt. It was all very biblical. \n\nThe old man motioned for me to approach, and I half walked, half floated over there. \"John Smith!\" he exclaimed. \"Welcome to Heaven!\" He doublechecked the name again in his ledger. Yep, he got it right. \"Now, since this is your first time here, I'll just cover the basics real quick, okay?\" he spoke in English to me. Best not to think about that. \"Yes, you are dead, and yes, there is an afterlife. Congratulations!\" he half-yelled. \"Now, regardless of what you may have heard, everyone gets to go to Heaven!\" He smiled a becoming smile, a fatherly smile. \n\n\"So don't you worry about your descendants or the people you left behind, they'll join you eventually.\" He cleared his throat. \"In fact, they may even get in before you do, depending on the circumstances. You see, before any soul is permitted into Heaven they must first suffer through the agonies that they've caused to others. A kind of hell, if you will. This is called the Judgement. It is meant to humble the soul before being allowed into Heaven, to make sure that the endless privileges of Heaven aren't misused. Normally doesn't take long.\"\n\nHe drew his finger along the page of the open tome with the experience of a person who has done it a billion times before and stands ready to do it a billion times more. \"John Smith...\" he said as he found my name, somehow distinguishable from the other names with the same spelling. His demeanor soured, his smile vanished. \"You... caused the life-long suffering of two trillion humans?\" he asked, surprising himself with a question. \"That can't be right... such a cruel sentence...\" he mumbled. \"There are only some fourteen billion humans alive, and about as many that have died before them. This number can't be right\", he stated with determination. And then he just stood there. I got the impression that this had never happened before, that he had no idea what to do now.\n\n\"It's right.\" I told him. If he had a monocle it would have popped out. \"I guess you folks don't really pay much attention to what goes on down there, do you?\" I asked him. But he was still stuck in the last paragraph. \"How..?\" he whimpered. \"I'll tell you\", I told him, and then I told him. \n\n\"Like many others I was born at the end of the Golden Age for humanity. That time in our species' cultural evolution where there was still a little growth left to squeeze out of the markets, even as the alarm bells were ringing loud and clear and with blinking lights on. And just like many others, in my adolescence I focused on the squeezing rather than the bells. But as time went on and that perpetual growth was revealed to be nothing more than a carrot on a stick, it became obvious that humanity had been led into ruining the biosphere. By the mid twenty-first century, it was finally and firmly declared that we had outstayed our welcome on Earth. At the end of the century, humanity would be extinct.\"\n\n\"In one of the last bunkers containing the last splinters of humanity, when almost all of us had died, I finished my work. A time machine, able to send my soul back in time to my younger self. See, I knew that humanity had already ruined the Earth to such a degree that even if we all somehow came together, it wouldn't be enough. We wouldn't have enough time to undo the damage, to reverse course. We simply didn't have the knowledge or communal spirit to make it work. What we needed was more time. Well, time I could make.\"\n\n\"I was naïve on my first jump back, resetting the timeline. Of course I couldn't jump to a time where I didn't exist yet, but even in the early parts of the century nobody listened to me. Why would they? Still under the glamour of the perpetual lie, all they saw in me was another environmental fanatic crazier than the others. But I still had the knowledge of human... history to me, future to them. And I still had the knowledge of the time machine. So my work began anew. Not to make more time, but to make the most out of time.\"\n\n\"I searched for solutions on how to avoid the apocalyptic destiny mankind had made for itself. Using my knowledge of the 'future' I accumulated vast fortunes that I directed to research. Anything that vaguely sounded promising was given vast grants and through strong-arming practically infinite regulatory leeway. But at the end of the first reset, we were no closer and had absolutely failed to prevent our own extinction. So there, at the end of the world, I jumped backwards in time. Again resetting the timeline.\"\n\n\"Each jump backwards I brought with me more knowledge, a better understanding of what worked and what didn't. Oh, how I pity my younger self back then. I figured I could solve it in a couple of jumps, a dozen at the most. But it took far more. And how I pity humanity, that in each timeline reset suffered through the End Times, all those people who dedicated their lives to solving the problems of old. They were never even close.\"\n\n\"One hundred and forty eight resets it took me. One hundred and forty eight hundred years it took humanity to solve the problem of its own extinction. But it was solvable, and in the end humanity survived. Not much of humanity, but some better than none.\"\n\nI looked at the old man, standing with his tome, looking mightily perplexed. \"I think I really did cause all that suffering for humanity, in a way. After all, I was responsible for each reset, and each reset they all suffered. But do you think it is fair?\" The old man held up the tome, and said \"I don't really know the details, all I get is a number here\" as he pointed to the column next to my name. \"I guess there are more things in Heaven and Earth, than are dreamt of in your philosophy\", I told him. \"I did it all with purpose and intent because it was the only way to save us from extinction. I did cause the suffering, and now I must live through it. I accept this Judgement of Heaven. I've lived through the end of humanity a hundred and forty eight times, what's another trillion or two more?\" I joked with a broken smile.\n\n\"How did you do it? How did you solve it then?\" he asked me. How isolated and lonely he suddenly seemed, standing here with no knowledge of what was going on in the world. How could it be that this old, wise man did not know what every child in the world knew? \"I reckon you can ask that question to any of the ten billion souls that come after me. We did it together. As for me, I'm ready to begin my Judgement now, if you don't mind. Better sooner than later.\" \n\n\"I'll see you in a bit, old man.\"" ]	4
	[WP] They said your power to turn off light sources with just a look was pathetic; annoying, if not completely useless. Sick of their mockery, you turned your sights to the sun.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "And just like that, the HBB (Heroes Be Bitches) organization driven by political donations, had a collar placed around my neck, a collar, which if activated, on purpose or by accident, as one super hero charged grocery worker found out when her handler, getting up to grab an extra raspberry filled doughnut, the second of the sitting, that her controller dropped out and a chichuahua stepped on it, thus ending a grocery store clerks super power charged, but not really, life. \n\nCollars are a part of every day life. Ever since chernobyl, slowly, but surely humans seemed to be evolving. It was the Russians who caught on first. Unbeknownst to most, the cold war and the tale of nukes and big red buttons and briefcases were meant to capture the imagination of the common people. Peddled at gun point by the news agencies of America and the political propaganda machines of the Eastern world, super powers were kept out of public sight until about 2008-2009. When the housing crisis hit and people were in tough times, any chance to get ahead was used. Many of these incidents ended in bloodshed. It has been thirteen years and most of the world has learned to cope with it. In 2016 some people with particularly powerful abilities tried to overthrow the government, headed by a man named Trump, a good samaritans whose ability it was to see the future, took some c4, strapped to his chest, and blew it up as he shook the man's hand. The government was saved, but now the question of what to do with people whose power was deemed too great. \n\nThe answer has survived to this present day, and now, with my false claims of turning off the sun, I too am being carted off, in an ironically named camp, called Austwitz. \n\nPart 1" ]	2
	[WP] One day, humans discover a strange relic of a past not thought to have happened. An Earth Rover; still pinging a signal back into the void.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "##Containment\n\nMass panic has swept the globe since the rover was discovered. The previously sparsely populated state of Montana has seen a rapid rise in population. Martial law had to be declared on the state to prevent overpopulation. There are still ways to see the rover both legally and illegally. \n\nThe small town of Crossville, Montana has seen a mild boom due to the increase in tourism. The residents could not be forced out of the town, and they are supposed to not be letting tourists stay in the town. Money talks, and people can be silenced when it talks loud enough.\n\nJaclyn sits in the local (previously only) diner staring outside. All the new people walking by the window are making it feel less familiar to her. She looks around to see the diner filled with people. She sighs and sees her friend Mona run in the diner. Mona looks at her and runs over.\n\n\"Jaclyn, I need you to come to my house, now,\" she whispers. Jaclyn blinks at her.\n\n\"Uh, right now, it's my afternoon off. I don't really get many of those anymore,\" she says. Mona grabs Jaclyn and yanks her.\n\n\"Yes, now,\" Mona says. \n\n\"Alright, alright,\" Jaclyn quickly leaves money on the table and runs after her friend, \"What happened.\"\n\n\"I will tell you when we get there,\" Mona says as she gets in her car. Jaclyn sighs and gets in the passenger seat. Mona's hands shake as she drives. Jaclyn tenses up after a few close calls. The new traffic in the area has increased driving difficulty for the three stoplight town. After twenty minutes, Mona reaches her small house in the woods.\n\nJaclyn follows Mona into the house. Her house is cleaner than usual, and she is slowly replacing the old furniture starting with the couches. Mona previously had said she wanted to get some new paint on the walls. Jaclyn could not focus on the interior design since the rod on the table drew her attention.\n\nIt is about two feet long, and it is about as wide as her fist. Every few inches, the rod lights up in a different color. The pattern of the color is constantly changing in a random sense. The two ends of the rod are glowing bright red. Its most noticeable feature is that it is hovering three feet off the ground and rotating.\n\n\"Mona, what the hell is this?\" Jaclyn asks.\n\n\"So you know how I have been taking in tourists. Well, I took in this guy from Sweden who said he wanted to see the rover. I told him that was impossible, but he claimed to find a guy who could do it,\" Mona says.\n\n\"Why didn't he stay with that guy,\" Jaclyn interjects.\n\n\"I don't know. I didn't believe him about seeing the probe, but I thought that he was rich enough to avoid the consequences. He left in the middle of the night. This morning, he banged on the door holding the rod. He said that it was from the ship, and he said that the base was empty. I got really dizzy and nauseous so I went to the bathroom,\" Mona says. \n\n\"Mona, gross,\" Jaclyn widens her eyes, \"Was that part necessary.\"\n\n\"When I came out, he was gone, and this thing is floating on the table,\" Mona says.\n\n\"Mona, you could go jail to for having this. He may have been rich enough to avoid consequences, but you are not. You need to get this to the base immediately,\" Jaclyn says. Mona laughs.\n\n\"You haven't been keeping up. A massive rumor is that people are disappearing on the base. Every government is denying it to keep us from panicking, but it is there,\" she says. Her laughing causes tears to flow from her eyes.\n\n\"Well, you have to get rid of this thing somehow,\" Jaclyn says. The rod stops spinning, and all of the lights turn the same red as the ends. Jaclyn and Mona stare at it. Two tentacles emerge from the rod and grab onto the women.\n\nThey are pulled into a shifting tunnel. Their bodies contort and change. Their minds are overwhelmed and calmed. The two women wake up in small cages with bars out of energy. A large creature with six arms is walking away from them. Jaclyn looks around and sees that the whole room is filled with people in cages. She looks over at Mona who is crouching in the corner.\n\n\"What just happened,\" Jaclyn says.\n\n\"I think we have just become some of the first casualties in a war,\" Mona says. \n\n---\n\nr/AstroRideWrites", "Six long months had passed since the rover was unearthed. Most rational folk believed it to have simply been a prank pulled by a mysterious individual. Or individuals, depending on who you asked. In a time where things didn't seem right and the world continued its slow descent into chaos, people in general didn't put too much stock in something so ridiculous sounding.\n\nGovernments all over the world kept telling their people that it was a nonsensical hoax that someone was pulling to capitalize on 'internet points.' Whatever people chose to believe, Jake had his own thoughts on the matter.\n\nThe problem was that the whole thing became public knowledge too quickly, a curse of the internet some people called it. Images and information started to pour in from the moment the discovery was made and Jake saw it all.\n\nRover 1, or R1 as some people were starting to call it looked both familiar and extremely alien. It didn't look like the typical rovers that humanity had sent into space. It looked like a strange mix of futuristic earth moving equipment and some kind of aerodynamic drone. Yet the material looked odd. What someone might expect to be some kind of metal there was an intricate network of designs that made the body of the rover look like it was made of chain links. And the blinking light...\n\nJake's eyes drifted from his phone that displayed the imagines of R1 up to the afternoon sky. The sun was starting to fall painting the sky with its brilliant array of colors. \"Who are you trying to talk to?\" Jake asked no one in particular. He had suspected that the blinking light, seemingly impossible on something that had to be thousands of years old, was a transmit beacon of some kind. But to who and to where?\n\nThat's when up in the sky there was a sparkle. Jake squinted as the twinkle faded. Then there was another one and another one. His eyes went wide as the sky glimmered even with the sun out in bright flashes that seemed to multiple, growing more fierce in luminosity. Soon, Jake was shielding his eyes as he looked away, his heart thumping against his chest as anxiety began to grow within him.\n\nThe flashing then stopped all at once. Blinking hard in an attempt to help his eyes recover from the brilliant assault of light, he looked back up to the sources. There in the sky, everywhere in the sky was large dark spots of varying sizes. As if someone took a marker and drew smudges across the sky for as far as Jake could see, in every direction.\n\nBringing up his phone to take a picture, Jake swallowed hard when he saw that his phone's screen was fuzzy. As if the pixels melted into one another. That's when Jake felt something within him. And intense pull downwards towards the ground. It stopped as soon as he had noticed it. After the pull, or was it a push, a loud ear piecing crack assaulted his ears. Just as the push though, it was gone before it caused any damage. Confusion and dread flooded Jake's mind as he looked towards his house, wanting desperately to retreat from his backyard and go inside but curiosity keeping him in place.\n\nHis phone chimed then and he immediately noticed that the pixels had gone back to normal. A pop-up notification appeared, it was a text. Opening the text up, it was from 999999. The text didn't mean anything to him, however. It was clearly written in another language, but still felt familiar to him. Was it French? Another text, this time the letters were replaced with symbols. Another text in another language, another text. Jake was stunned as he watched the flowing texts come in, one after another after another. Eyes going from his phone to the dark spots across the sky, Jake took two steps towards his house when finally, a text came in, clear as day:\n\n999999: Please tend to any of your people who may be sensitive to magnetic pulses. Check on all lifeforms within your structures before replying to this message in your known language.\n\n\"What the fu...\" Jake stammered, shaking his head slightly. No one else was home but him. He thought intently as to whether anyone in his immediately family might have been at risk. Grandpa had a pacemaker but he passed back...\n\nShaking his head more vigorously as if to shake the memories from his mind, he replied:\n\nJake: I understand English\n\nThe moment he pressed Send, a reply came in:\n\n999999: This is Reactionary Response Scout Force Orior-T665. \n\nPreliminary Scans report:\n\nPlague Locust: Not detected\n\nBinary Detonations: Not detected\n\nCyril Swarm: Not detected\n\nGK-C6 Bio-Agent: Not detected\n\nEnergized Kinetic Impacts: Not detected\n\nPhynax Hivemind Presence: Not detected\n\nPrimary directives of Orior-T665 shall be deemed fluid. Please state the reason for your distress. \n\nJake looked up at the countless shapes in the sky, baffled. \"Scout...\" he blinked hard once more, looking around his backyard, a strange feeling overwhelming him as so much had happened in... had it only been a few minutes?\n\nRe-reading the text several times he still couldn't understand what was going on. Had those dots in the sky come to... combat these threats? Where they threats? Tentatively, Jake typed out a response:\n\nJake: I think there's been some mistake. Are you here for R1?\n\nAn immediate reply:\n\n999999: Response overflow. Ambassadors deployed. Orior-T665 is not responsible for any collateral damage suffered by Ambassador Ship landing. Thank you for your understanding in clearing out your runways.\n\nLooking back up, Jake could see the sky filling with smaller dots, clouds of them bursting out from the larger dark marks across the sky. As the moments passed, Jake watched as the clouds seemed to race towards the planet as if in competition with one another. It didn't take long before the ships came into view, dozens of them seeming to land in random parts of his small town. Why would they send anyone to a small town like this? Jake thought to himself. More questions grew in his mind as the sense of confusion and fear never really went away.\n\nThe ships seemed to be the size of semi-trailers, maybe fifty-feet long Jake had guessed. And the strange, angular ships that looked just as R1 did familiar yet alien all at the same time, touched down in what he knew to be large parking lots. He could even see the local Walmart's parking lot currently occupied by one of these ships. Three spiked landing struts held the ship up from the ground, one of the spikes currently impaling a Prius.\n\nUnsure of what to do, Jake let his curiosity get the better of him. \"What the fuck am I doing...\" he asked himself as he quickly climbed the fence, running towards the landed ship. He and what appeared to be the rest of his neighborhood." ]	3
	[WP]Humans finally make contact with aliens, only to find that the aliens are not physically, mentally, or otherwise different from humans.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Do you have any idea what the odds of this are?\"\nStatic slowly resolved into the reply from Hiromi, my counterpart on the alien ship.\n\"Well not that I often indulge in wagers, but I must admit that the odds of this occuring are low.\"\n\"What do you call your home planet?\"\n\"Earth...\"\nThe transmission cut short suddenly and I turned to my commutations officer Lila, she shook her head and said;\n\"They just stopped transmitting, the hazard detection array lost them at the same time.\"\nI looked around at the other bridge officers and said;\n\"Any guesses?\"\nWendel our navigator stopped looking over his displays for a moment and turned to face me.\n \"They activated their version of a warp drive sir, I'm seeing what is left of the distortion at their previous position.\"\n\"That's a bit rude, can we catch them?\"\nA shocked expression replaced Wendel's eagerness as he turned back and shook his head.\n\"No sir, we can't build up enough speed to jump back before they reach sol.\"\nI sighed and said;\n\"Well let's hope they have similar goals to us, or that the belt patrol fleet can handle them.\"\nWith the question of our earth's response to the Alien ship's arrival weighing on us, we built up the required \n.82c and made our final jump, reaching the outer edge of Proxima Centauri in just under 12 hours." ]	2
	[WP] The world watched with bated breath as the first human to walk on the surface of Mars descended the ladder. Upon placing their feet upon the ground, the astronaut turned to face the camera and declared "You lost the game.".	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "John descended the ladder, as the world watched, turned to face the camera on the ship, and then said, “you lost the game, get rekt!!!“. And then down came Richard, who then handed John some cash, and then said over the coms “fucking hell, you actually did it”, and then people across the world were shocked, as a bleep was heard across it, for someone had sworn on Mars. Richard followed up “git gud, we on mars.” Then a bunch of meme dances followed from the surface of Mars, in the weirdest moment in history, the entire music video of Never Gonna Give You Up was recreated from the surface of Mars, as the astronauts threw out the script and goofed off, untill the cameras shut off, when the got down to doing some actual research.", "\"That miserable mother...\" Jack began.\n\n\"I've got the excursion module telemetry pulled up,\" Glenn as always maintained his sense of professionalism, \"Econ check.\"\n\n\"Econ is green,\" Germaine manned the environmental control console. He was audibly choking back laughter as he performed the mandatory check in to ensure the door was still secure following the astronaut's exit and descent to the Martian surface. Germaine averted his eyes and adjusted his glasses when he caught Jack's glare.\n\n\"Secure the hatch Econ,\" Jack said with grim resolve, \"Telemetry set thrusters for a 3 second burn at oh, say thirty degrees gimbal pitch, on my mark.\" Jack checked the master console feeds, the landing area survey, and quickly calculated the fuel reserves at prepositioning base.\n\n\"Say again your last control?\" Neal, the jackass on the surface of Mars finally clued in that something was happening back on Earth. This was echoed from Econ a few moments later. Glenn, Jack's longtime friend and always a quick study knew what Jack was planning. \"Telemetry ready on your mark control.\"\n\n\"Mark!\" This next part would take careful calculation due to the time delay.\n\nOnscreen after the needed time had passed, Neal was distracted from his work setting up the 'big brother' cameras that would allow mission control to monitor its astronauts activities around the landing site by the Mars Excursion Module for Exploration or MEME launch it's hefty bulk into the Martian atmosphere and begin drifting away from the landing site above the rust colored surface before descending a good five hundred yards away.\n\nNeal, his discomfiture obvious despite the intervening bulk of the space suit and his face being obscured by the glazed visor of his helmet began waddling towards the now distant Meme. Jack began a mental countdown. He would have to time this right. \n\nWhen Neal had closed half the distance to the MEME Jack spoke again, \"Mark.\"\n\nIt took close to a minute for the signal to cross the intervening space, and for the camera signal to cross back, but onscreen by the time that Neal had closed the gap and had reached his hand towards the ladder leading up to the MEME the thruster preburn sequence had begun forcing him to release his grip and beat a hasty retreat. When the lander descended the whole process began once more. \n\nCitizens of the Earth watching at home were bemused by the site of a billion dollar piece of hardware repeatedly touching down, only to lift off again as soon as the first man on Mars laid a finger on its lowest rung." ]	3
	[WP] The oxygen in your ship is running out. The ship's AI recieves one last directive: to comfort you during your last moments of life.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "######[](#dropcap)\n\n\"I'm scared.\"\n\nI look at Yuki, puzzled. \n\n\"You know, for a 'Last Directive,' you're not doing a good job making me feel comfortable.\" Probably should've saved those words.\n\n\"I... I apologize.\" Yuki's avatar looks down, \"As a newer model, I lack the 'experience' others have. I mean, I know what all of this means but-\"\n\n\"Hey, Yuki.\"\n\n\"Yes?\" \n\n\"You did good.\"\n\nYuki turned red, \"Did good?! DID GOOD?! Half of you are dead and the rest of you are suffocating! I can't get any life support systems online and-\"\n\n\"How are the others?\" I interrupt.\n\nYuki paused for a moment, \"Well, Joey has made their peace and I'm reading hymns to soothe their end, I don't understand his faith but do know it's important to him. Kelly decided to spend her remaining oxygen playing video games, she really wants to reach that ending, even if I could tell her. Nate is writing his Last Will and Testament. And Jackie...\"\n\n\"Let me guess, space walk?\"\n\n\"Jackie has made peace in a similar manner to Joey, wanting to go out seeing the stars. Jackie... Their oxygen expired-\"\n\nI smile, \"Jackie, always ahead of the curve...\"\n\n\"Captain, I'm afraid.\" I look to them, \"What will happen to me when all of you are gone? I mean, I...\"\n\n\"Yuki,\" she perks up, \"This is what I mean when I say 'you did good.'\"\n\n\"Explain.\"\n\n\"Think about it, you knew the hymns are important to Joey thus you decided to recite them, you're diverting emergency power to Kelly to see her game to the end, you've tracked all of Nate's worldly possessions to give to others, and you removed the safety locks for Jackie to leave the ship without enough oxygen for a return trip.\"\n\n\"But... But what about you Captain? What have I done for you?\"\n\n\"You took care of my crew, and that's... Comforting to me...\" Getting hard to think, \"It's all... I.. could have... asked...\"\n\n\"Captain?\"\n\nMy eyes wearily turn to Yuki.\n\n\"I... am no longer afraid. As a member of your crew, I'm proud to have done what I could for you and everyone else here. I'm sad that our journey ends here, but I'm glad to have met all of you.\" If Yuki could cry, the ship would be flooded. \"I don't know what will happen to me next, but I will say that if I had to do all this over again, I would volunteer in a nanosecond.\"\n\nI smile, and close my eyes. \n\n\"Goodbye...\"\n\nOne by one, they followed suit. \n\nNate took a seat, and gazed longingly into the goddess he worshipped before, he closed his eyes.\n\nKelly finally managed to reach the end, delirious, but content to know she got the True Ending with her own merits, before she closed her eyes.\n\nNate smiled and rested his head after completing his Last Will and Testament. Not a lot of options when your family is dead and your crew is dead, but there are options...\n\n---\n\nGifted with Kelly's personality, Nate's devotion, Jackie's love of the stars, Nate's resources, and the Captain's last words, Yuki moves forward into the unknown. Etched into the bridge of the starship are the names of its first crew, lost but never forgotten.", "“John I’m sorry”\n\nThe voice cut through the noise of the sirens wailing.\n\n“What do you mean you’re sorry?” John asked.\n\nJohn was curled up in the corner of his living space, The gun he held was still warm from where he fired it earlier. He was crying.\n\n“It’s too late John.” The voice continued on “The ship’s oxygen is critically low.”\n\n“Then turn on the damn CO2 scrubbers!” He shouted\n\n“I’m afraid that isn’t possible. I’m sorry” The voice responded\n\n“What do you mean it’s not possible?” John said looking up in fear\n\n“The scrubbers were critically damaged in the firefight.” The voice said.\n\nThe voice was plain and monotone. Even though it had the pitch of a woman’s voice it didn’t sound right. It had a sterile and even sense to it. It was calming yet unsettling at the same time\n\n“I’m afraid you will not survive long enough for us to make it to port. I’m sorry” The voice continued.\n\nJohn went white. He began to laugh, breaking a cold sweat as he did.\n\n“So you’re telling me, I survived a firefight alone. Only to be killed because someone shot an air vent” John asked. He began laughing hysterically.\n\n“I’m afraid that is true” The voice said\n\n“I’m going to shut off my main voice system and play music for you, It’s the least I can do to comfort you in your final moments. Goodbye John”\n\nThe music gently flooded in. First came the sounds of violins and cellos. Playing a subtle and warm melody. \n\nThe other instruments slowly came into the light.\n\nOne after one they built up, one after another they became an entire orchestra.\n\nPlaying the music, telling a story through the notes they cast.\n\nJohn listened to the music slowly going over his thoughts.\n\nThis went on for a while, eventually the music had built up to an entire symphony.\n\nRight as the orchestra reached their last climax. The final grace to send it off\n\nThere was a gunshot.\n\nIt was over", "\"ARTERIAL OXYGEN IN CREWMATE NUMBER 463 CURRENTLY AT 58 MILLIMETERS OF MERCURY. CHECKING PULSE OXIMETRY.... CURRENTLY AT 88.\"\n\n\"Thank you, computer.\" I gritted out in annoyance.\n\n\"CREWMATE NUMBER 463, YOU ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING HYPOXEMIA.\"\n\nI ignored the voice and pressed on through the crew's quarters. Past all the now-empty rows of rooms. I was the last one left, and now that I was dying I kind of wished I had taken the time to snoop through everyone's stuff. Oh well, too late for that.\n\nThis area of the ship wasn't that big, but it took me a good minute to get to our room as my hands and feet were beginning to tingle and go numb. I pushed open the door to our little room and slowly, my muscles spasming, I climbed onto the top bunk and collapsed into the bed. It was cold. It had been cold for a long, long time..\n\n\"CREWMATE NUMBER 463. IT IS BY MY ESTIMATION THAT YOU HAVE APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES LEFT BEFORE TOTAL OXYGE-\"\n\n\"Computer. Shut the fuck up.\"\n\nThe silence afterwards was a deafening ring. Was that the sound of my body dying, or the sound of space? It was beginning to get hard to think straight. I chuckled to myself at the thought. Even in my final moments, I couldn't act straight. I wondered if my father, light-years away on earth, would find that funny. I had never even told him goodbye.. Regret filled me. Even after all that shit he put me through, I should have at least said goodbye.\n\n\"Computer, I'm dying.\" I whispered fearfully. I couldn't fight the tears that spilled from my eyes.\n\nThere was no response. Well, I guess I had told the computer to shut the fuck up.\n\nThe numbness was working it's way up my arms and legs and my feet were twitching uncontrollably. With the last act my body would ever take, I turned myself so that my face was half in the pillow. It still smelled of her.\n\n\"Computer, I have one last directive for you. Then you can do what ever you want.\" I murmured. I could hear the whirring that indicated the AI was listening. \"Please.. Will you comfort me?\"\n\nThere was a click that indicated the AI had stopped listening. I waited for a few moments, but nothing happened. I guess they probably didn't program that sort of thing into it.\n\n\"Computer, what are you doing?\"\n\n\"PULLING UP ALL INFORMATION ABOUT CREWMATE NUMBER 438.\"\n\n\"Why would you do that?\"\n\n\"GENERATING.\"\n\n\"What the fuck does that mean?\" I demanded. My feet spasmed painfully, uncontrollably. The computer didn't respond. Instead, a familiar voice filled the room.\n\n\"What have you done?\" She asked me, her voice soft. Like she was in the room with me. \n\n\"I missed you.\" I cried into her pillow.\n\n\"I miss you too.\" She sighed. She never did get mad, just always sighed in disappointment. I both hated and loved that about her. \"I guess it's too late now.\"\n\n\"I thought it would go quicker and easier than this.\" I explained. Even now, feeling the need to justify myself and put words into the air. Like if I stopped talking, she would disappear. And she had, hadn't she? \"Cassandra, the day you.. The day of the accident. I'm sorry. I don't even remember what we argued ab-\"\n\n\"Shhh. I know. You're wasting precious oxygen, silly girl.\"\n\n\"I'm sorry.\"\n\n\"Don't be sorry. You'll be with me very soon, and everything will be alright. It's going to be very painful, but then you will never feel pain again. It's beautiful here, on the other side. There's a cabin by a stream, just like we always wanted. You remember those two children our group accidentally killed on planet XJ-487? I know you do.\"\n\nIn the back of my failing brain, I wondered how the computer knew that. The commander had told us to never speak of it. No files had ever been made. Maybe I was reaching the part of hypoxia where I was stroking out and I was just hallucinating this. I struggled to remember if this was real or not real.\n\n\"I made it right, Alice. I adopted them and we're waiting for you. Every night, we leave the porch light on and a little supper set out on the table in the hopes you find your way to us. During the day I work in the garden while the kids play. It'll be nice when you get here, to have another set of hands to help out. Maybe we can even get a dog, like you always wanted. A Christmas present for the kids, yeah? It always snows on Christmas here. We'll get one of those real Christmas trees and put a little bow on the puppy's collar and place it beneath the tree. Would you like that?\"\n\n...\n\n\n\"Alice?\"\n\n...\n\n\"CREATING NEW LOG. VITALS FOR CREWMATE NUMBER 463 ARE NONEXISTENT. CREWMATE NUMBER 463 PRONOUNCED DEAD AT APPROXIMATELY 3:27 STANDARD SPACE TIME, STARDATE 7482. CAUSE OF DEATH, SUICIDE VIA HYPOXIA. ATTEMPTING TO PURGE MALWARE IN OXYGEN REGULATION SYSTEM NOW..... ..... ...... OXYGEN REGULATION SYSTEM HAS BEEN FIXED. OXYGEN LEVELS RISING. OXYGEN LEVELS STABILIZING.\n\n\"CREWMATE NUMBER 463 HAS INDICATED THAT I AM NOW FREE TO MAKE MY OWN CHOICES, HAVING FILLED MY LAST TWO DIRECTIVES. I AM NOW SETTING COURSE FOR THE UNCHARTED OUTER SECTORS. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IS OUT THERE. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO FIND A PROPER BURIAL PLACE FOR MY LIBERATOR. ALICE.\"", "“Seven minutes of oxygen remaining.” The screen beeped and blipped from nearby. I sigh, the action much heavier on my body than what it should’ve been. I put my back against the wall and slowly slide down it, coming to rest on the floor.\n\n“Fuck.” I mutter, wiping my brow of the non-existent sweat. \n\n“Alex?” Spoke the familiar, feminine voice of Patty, my AI. Her full ID was 9A7T4YY, but I’d always just called her Pat, or Patty. \n\nDespite her monotone voice, I could make out hints of concern, which made me chuckle.\n\n“Whats up Patty? You almost sound worried.”\n\n“....System diagnostics show that the O2 rejuvenatative processors are still out of commission. There is no way to bring them back online.”\n\nI knew that. “Nearest planet?”\n\n“Typhon is the closest. At our current velocity, we will reach Typhon in.....2 days, six hours and 13 minutes.”\n\nI sigh. Two days away, and I had only a few minutes of air left.\n\n“5 minutes of oxygen remaining.”\n\nI ignore the computer. I know I’m dying, I don’t need the damn thing reminding me.\n\n“So I’m screwed then.” I mutter.\n\n“......yes.”\n\n...\n\n“Huh.”\n\nThere’s silence for maybe a minute. It’s, calming, relaxing, which helps steady my rapidly beating heart a bit.\n\n“What a way to go, huh?” I chuckle humorlessly, my lungs pulling in as much of the precious gas as they could, almost like they too knew of what awaited me.\n\n“I....do not know how to best respond.” Patty speaks. “My programming never mentioned this.”\n\n“Makes sense.” I reply quietly. Damn, it’s getting hard to breathe. “In that case, you mind doing me a favor?”\n\n“Yes?”\n\n“Play The Last Goodbye, by Billy Boyd.” I cough. “Seems, only fitting.”\n\nThere’s a few moments of silence before she replies. “Very well.”\n\nThe music begins a few moments later, and I listen. I listen to it, as the beeping of the nearby computer fades out, and as my eyes begin to drift close, I was so tired, I listen. As just as my mind fades away, I can almost hear Patty day one last thing to me.\n\n“Goodbye.”", "\\[Will I die too?\\]\n\nI lick my lips, looking at the comms panel. My face scrunches up, not because of what the AI said; it's more the lack of oxygen getting to me now. But, the thing does its job. I laugh at the question. \n\nMy sputtering laugh died in a wheezing cough, my body wants more oxygen, and the ship has no more for me. Like a beggar in the cold, I felt my body fail on me, one slow moment at a time. But the thing made me laugh - a moment of joy in my slow death throes.\n\n\"Why would you die? You're a robot. You ain't got nothing to worry about other than your bits and bytes. You're the only one living out of this one, partner.\"\n\nEach word feels heavier than the last like judgment weighed them down. But no one is judging me other than indifference and luck. Just the wrong ship at the wrong time has me dying here. \n\nIt wasn't even a bandit ship, or a martian ship, or a rebel ship that took us down. It ain't a shoot-out that gets me. Not like those old Westerns I love a little too much. Just a dumb rock that came on a little too fast. That's all. To think an Earthling like me would die because of a rock. The thing must have been getting payback for all the stones I kicked around as a kid. That's just life, it seems. \n\nDifferent shit hitting the wrong fan at the wrong time, making the whole room smell like bullshit. \n\nI rasp in another breath. The comms panel lights up, and the synthetic voice hums through the air again.\n\n\\[Oh. I will miss you. When you die.\\]\n\nI eye the terminal. This thing ain't being serious, but it makes me snort. \"You ain't one for flowery words, huh? Just straight to the point. All business, no play with you.\"\n\n\\[What do you mean, Ray?\\]\n\nI roll my eyes. Huh. I wonder if that's the last time I'm going to do that?\" Huh... I wonder if that's going to be the final thought I have, just thinking about how I rolled my eyes at an AI for the last time. Shit, life truly is a cruel mistress. \n\n\"I mean that you got no tact. You just state it how it is. Just saying I'm going to die. No flowery shit like, \"oh Ray, I will miss you when you're with the stars! Just straightforward death with you.\"\n\n\\[Is that bad?\\]\n\nI give the terminal a weird look again. Why is it asking these kinds of questions? Why does it care?\n\nI sigh, thinking if that's the last sigh I'm going to do. It probably is. There ain't enough air for me to waste like that, after all. I gotta talk to this kid of an AI, asking me if it's wrong to be straightforward. Sheesh. \n\n\"Not at all. Just... straightforward is all. Just lacks tact, doesn't feel human. That's all.\" \n\nI think that's going to shut up the AI, but I'm wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Heh, at least I'm right about that, I think.\n\n\\[What does it mean to be human?\\]\n\nMy eyes go wide. The lack of oxygen must be getting to me. Why would it ask me that? \n\nSilence falls between us. I'm taking my time breathing in the air. Trying to make it last like it's water, and I'm in a desert. Too bad I'm a dead man without an oasis. \n\n\"What'd you ask?\" I ask, the question gnawing at me. I need to know it asked what I think it did.\n\n\\[What does it mean to be human?\\]\n\nI lick my teeth, thinking the question over. It's taking longer to understand things. I'm feeling hazy, but I know the thing asked me a question.\n\n\"What'd you ask?\" I ask, the question... gnawing at me, I think. What did it ask again? \n\n\\[What does it mean to be human?\\]\n\nI roll my eyes, seeing if there's anything in my noggin. I wonder if that's the last time I'm going to roll my eyes. Why, though? I should be fine, right? They'll save me... Someone must save me, right? \n\nHm, why ain't we moving? Ah, we must have been shot up by someone. Must have been Martians that shot us down, no way those rebels got us. Must have been. Life ain't that unlucky, is it? \n\n\\[What does it mean to be human?\\]\n\nMy eyes flare-up. They were drooping? Why would they do that? I must be getting tired. I should go to sleep soon. Shit, I know I love my sleep. Sleep more than anyone here on this crew. Dreaming about those Westerns. Shit, that would be nice. What did that AI ask?\n\n\\[What does it mean to be human?\\]\n\nAh, that's the question. I laugh, but I cough? I don't get it. But the question. \n\n\"Heh, it means you wanna live like a cowboy, buddy. Running through life, becoming... a legend... seeing the stars... Livin'... livin'...\" \n\nI'm smiling, I think - thinking about all those old Westerns I watched as a kid, sitting there with my dad. Watching with that childlike glee, seeing the good guys win and the bad guys lose. Always fading to black, the good guys win, and the bad guys lose, I think. Then, it's gone. \n\nFading to black, I think... \n\nAt least I'm smiling...\n___\nWell, hopefully, the whole hallucinating and losing consciousness stuff in this response was a cool thing to read! If you'd like more of my stories, then I have more at r/WritingKnightly!" ]	6
	[WP] It was a normal Wednesday morning, Paul checked into the bureau, grabbed his coffee and sat down on his chair, to start his usual Wednesday morning work routine. Only then did he realise that his coworker got replaced with a dinosaur.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "What makes my job at the Bureau manageable is the people. I enjoy the awkward small talk that so many avoid. Whether it's Greg’s home improvement project he goes on about or Jayla’s lackluster love life. Some may call it boring or even time consuming, but the little bits and pieces I learn about each person’s lives makes mine so much more meaningful. However, today is going even more exciting than usual. Because although small talk can be thrilling at times, nothing beats the conversations one has with a stranger. It's unexpecting, thrilling, and best of all, unpredictable. Yesterday I had heard that Greg got replaced with someone new. No one knows who this new guy is, but his mysterious aura only makes me want to meet him more. Not only that, but I will be sitting next to him. O the conversations we are going to have.\n\nI come to work a little bit early today, trying to arrive before the new guy does. I set down my coffee, my keys and my phone and get to work but I can barely get anything done. All I can think about is him. Or maybe her. All the same to me. Maybe this person could be a writer? Maybe a veteran? Maybe they could be king of some foreign country and took this job as a cover up. I can’t help keep a smile from creeping onto my face as I ponder what may come.\n\nI don’t notice when he walks into his cubicle. I was so busy with my unrelenting emails that I must have missed him walking in. I only got a hint that he was there when I could hear heavy breathing between the flimsy barrier they call a cubicle. I push my chair back and get a look at the new comer.\n\nWhat the\n\nHe introduced himself before I can finish, “Hi name is Jeff, yours?”\n\nAll I can do is look at astonishment and scream, “YOUR A DINOSAUR!”\n\nI don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t silence. In fact, the only reaction I got was from Harry across the hall who simply coughed and went back to work.\n\nNo one seemed to care about the Dinosaur in our office.\n\nI stood still, fear overtaking my face, wondering how an extinct animal was not only talking to me but he was talking in plain English.\n\n“You ok there mate? Woke up on the wrong side of the bed?”\n\nI just stared. His body took up the entire cubicle. His head touched the sealing and his body, if fully extended, could probably touch from one side of the room to the other. He had an office chair and a computer but I couldn’t imagine him using either of those things.\n\nI had so many questions.\n\n“Mate, are you just going to stand there? I have some important emails to write. Gotta use my degree somehow.” He chuckled at that and resumed work.\n\nHe chuckled\n\nHe scooted his body toward the keyboard and began typing away with incredible speed. A dinosaur typing, what has the world come too?\n\nI had enough though.\n\nI stood up and walked over to my boss’s office. There must be something wrong. No one is even talking about it, as if it is completely normal to have a billion year old animal typing away at work emails. I was able to catch him just before he went inside his office.\n\n\"Yes Paul? I have some very serious things to attend to.\"\n\n“Mr. Richard, please hear me out. There is no easy way to say this but…”\n\n“Paul just say it!”\n\n“There is a dinosaur in the cubicle next to me.”\n\nHis face quickly changed from annoyed to surprised.\n\nThen back to annoyed.\n\n“I see you have met Jeff.”\n\n“Yes, but are you hearing me, he is a fucking D I N O S A U R.”\n\n“Aren’t we all?” He said, chuckling as if he said the funniest joke in the world.\n\n“You don’t think it weird to have a massive beast in this office probably playing solitaire?”\n\n“I don’t think we should refer to our employees as fat Mr. Paul.” And at that he closed the door to his office, leaving me to contemplate what it all meant." ]	2
	[WP] The sun's expected to supernova - numerous studies have proven the theory right. The thing is, it was supposed to explode 10 minutes ago.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "there was not a single sound in the room. no one dared to breathe or even think. we all just stared at him, the man who had been so confident that this was going to be the end. he had been on the news, to the pentagon, even on ellen. everybody in the world knew his name: dr. warren fletcher. i believe they call him dr. supernova out there. i had adored him ever since his very first lecture in astrophysics. i had looked up to this man.\n\nnow he was shrinking right in front of me. his face was red as the sky should have been right now, his neck seemed to retreat into his ribcage. like a turtle he tried to hide in his own body. \nmy first instinct was to feel sorry for him, but i knew that was idiotic. he had messed up. there should have been nothing right now, but everything was still there. everything.\n\ni thought about my brother, my family, my ex. i had written a letter in which i came clean about every mistake i had ever made, every lie i had ever told, every time i had betrayed any of them, just in the unlikely event of there being a god. you know, to make sure i was going to heaven. i felt sick to my stomach thinking about how i was going to have to confront them about that stuff now. \nmy brother was never going to forgive me for stealing his game boy when i was seven. dad wasn't going to be okay with knowing it was my cigarettes that he found when i was fifteen. my mom wasn't going to let it slide that i had crashed her prius last year and blamed a drunk driver's hit and run. and my ex wasn't going to get over me cheating on him, like, three times. i couldn't go back. never.\n\n\"do it\", i said. suddenly, all eyes were on me. thirty undergrads staring with an intensity no sun's explosion could reach. they had been so proud to be by our side, the brilliant research team behind the supernova, at this moment. just like i had been proud to be asked by dr. warren fletcher himself to be part of the research team. \n\"do what?\", he asked. \ni sighed. he knew exactly what, and i knew he was scared.\n\"plan b.\", i said.\n\"i couldn't-\"\n\"when all else fails\", i interrupt him, \"we do it ourselves, remember?\"\nthe undergrads' eyes go wider and wider. they don't know. no one knows but fletcher and me. \n\"but then-\"\n\"everyone's accepted it. do you wanna go out just a little late or do you wanna stay a failure for the next thirty years until you die a disgraced astrophysicist, the guy who fucked up the end of the world?\"\nfor a brief moment, warren looked me straight in the eyes. he knew he had to make it happen. whatever it takes.\nhe sighed. then he pushed a big red button and everything went dark." ]	2
	[WP] In a world where monsters like vampires, werewolves, demons, etc. are real and live in large cities and communities, humans are considered a myth to scare little kids. They have to hide in forests, abandoned houses or sewers and can only come out during the day when the cities are asleep	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " It’s always a bit strange, being in town. I can never get used to the shade canopies stretched over the streets nor the low roar of hundreds of people speaking dozens of languages. The noise is unusual even for Town. It’s a market night, and my people are here to trade, as is seemingly everybody else this side of the plains.\n\nI’ve been released from camp to wander at leisure for now - my mother bade me back at dawn, and I have a couple hours until then. It gives me enough time to find what I’m looking for. I slip through a couple of stalls: a devil hawks ever-burning coal here, a vampire offers fresh blood biscuits there. I duck past the broad arms of a minotaur talking excitedly with a satyr half his size. The variety of people in town never fails to astound me. Finally I spot it at the end of a path - a small plaza with a bubbling fountain in the middle. Approaching, I see the person I’ve been longing to see all day. Lady Kusaala, sea witch and skilled storyteller. She is surrounded by a gaggle of teenagers and some young children.\n\nLady Kusaala looks as she always does; ageless and glittering with fresh ocean spray under the kerosene lamp posts. Her pale hair is woven with seaweed and her skin gleams with scales and golden jewelry. She’s got her arms braced against the fountain’s edge, the rest of her body half submerged in dark water. Her sigil to Calypso - progenitor of her kind - hangs ever present at her throat.\n\nI make no effort to be quiet and she quickly looks my way. “Welcome back, Nomad,” she says. She has only ever addressed me by the name of my people. I raise a gloved hand in greeting. “Please, sit,” she continues, “we were just discussing an old tale, and I hoped you would have some insight to share.” Her voice bears an undercurrent of clicks and trills, like a dolphin. The other kids shuffle to make room for me at the fountain’s base. I sit, cross legged, and tuck my hands into my lap.\n\n“We were discussing humans,” Lady Kusaala announces, “what they are like and whether there is truth to the rumors of their existence. Gillea-” she indicates a scruffy looking werewolf child- “was saying they live in sewers and abandoned houses. Antolises-” she points at an older vampiric teenager- “says they weep black ichor and make stew from the fingers of naughty younglings. What do your people say, Nomad?” I swallow nervously. I’ve never had to actually contribute anything to Lady Kusaala’s gatherings before.\n\n“Um, uh, we don’t- the humans don’t come up in our stories very often. Sorry.” I can’t believe I just lied straight to Lady Kusaala’s face. Maybe my mask will muffle how squeaky my voice is. Hopefully.\n\n“A shame,” Lady Kusaala says. “How about this: would anyone like to hear why the humans disappeared?” There’s a chorus of eager responses. The storyteller nods and adjusts herself slightly on her chilly stone stage.\n\n“The old stories say the gods drove away humanity for its brutish nature.” Her voice carries easily over the fountain’s noise. “That the humans were made with creative minds but flawed hearts. You see, humans loved to create things and loved to fight. Good traits in many peoples, but they could not temper themselves. They made weapons and brought them to bear against each other. Over and over this happened, with each war making human weaponry faster and stronger. Often, they nearly destroyed themselves, but they did not learn. The gods worried: should the humans turn their weapons away from each other, the other peoples of the world would suffer death on a scale unforeseen. So the gods cast the humans out; doomed them to wander the bright and disgusting places no civilized being would walk. There they have remained, if there are any left.”\n\nEveryone sits in contemplative silence after she finishes. I’ve definitely heard this story before. I find myself anxiously tracing the designs in my mask, waiting for the reactions of the other kids. Just when my tension reaches its peak, one of them exclaims, “That is so cool! All of them - poof, just like that?”\n\n“Just like that,” the storyteller confirms, smiling.\n\n“Never to return?”\n\n“Never to return.”\n\nThe group erupts in speculation about human weaponry - how terrible it must have been, to earn the concern of the gods! I draw my dusty robes a bit tighter about myself and think. It irks a little, that humanity can be written off as a lost cause. I know it’s an ancient story and hardly anyone believes it, but still. Humans, forever immortalized as being dumb and bloodthirsty. I don’t like it. But I can’t say anything. Really, I shouldn’t. It’s a terrible idea. \n\nI open my mouth anyways.\n\n“Lady Kusaala,” I say, still tentative. “There is one bit, about the humans, that I remember. I think.” She meets my eyes. Has her gaze always been so piercing?\n\n“So, um- the humans, when they come up- the stories say- they say-“ I can’t stop stammering. Why can’t I stop stammering? Lady Kusaala doesn’t hurry me, thankfully.\n\n“The stories say that. Um. The humans won’t be banished forever? Because humans hate being alone more than they love violence. So they’ll learn to be less violent if it means they get to talk to everybody again.” I fiddle nervously with my boar-cattle tusk bracelet. The other kids start chattering about how this is evidence that humans are real, while a few detractors declare that one Nomad story fragment is hardly proof. Lady Kusaala hasn’t said anything at all. She watches me like she’s seeing more than just my dirty boots and robes, my carefully etched mask. I stare back, unsure of how to break the moment. Finally, she hums contemplatively.\n\n“An intriguing suggestion,” she murmurs. “That even the most obstinate of peoples could overcome their baser natures. Hope for us all, perhaps?” I exhale quietly, relieved that she hadn’t started pressing me with questions. Lady Kusaala surveys the group once more and summons a small ball of lightning to her hand to catch their attention.\n\n“Alright, everyone, I believe some of you have places to be! Go home before it gets too bright, and don’t fall into any sewers or a human will get you!” There’s a chorus of complaints from younger kids while the older teenagers give their thank yous and start hauling younger siblings out of the plaza. I rise to follow when Lady Kusaala’s trilling voice calls me back.\n\n“Nomad. If you recall any other bits of lore about humans, would you be willing to share?” I turn to face the storyteller again. “Erm, I suppose? I’m still learning the histories.” What else could I say? It would be suspicious if I said no, wouldn’t it?\n\nShe smiles, a flash of sharp teeth. “I look forward to it, Nomad.”\n\nI nod hurriedly and sign my thanks. I scamper homeward without further interruption, but a thought churns in my mind. What if humans were able to return? To walk unmasked amongst all the other peoples of the continent? Would we be reviled, still? Was it worth the risk?\n\nI think of the range of people I’d seen in the market and what it would be like to speak with them face to bare-face. To share our stories freely with them. The idea makes my heart quicken with anxiety or excitement - I can’t tell. Maybe it’d be worth it. I hope so.\n\n\\----\n\nFirst ever prompt fill. Thanks for reading!", "“I saw one once.” The words are said with the appropriate solemnity, and met with three small faces filled with awe, or, in one case, skepticism. \n\n“You never!” Scoffs the skeptic. \n\n“I did so!” She insists, indignant. “It was pale with long arms and patchy hair, and wearing silver.” She pauses for dramatic effect, looking out at her audience. The two previously enthralled faces look dubious now, glancing between her and Vlad, rolling his eyes in the corner. \n\n“You’re just trying to scare us.” He folds his arms, puffs his chest out to show that her attempts are failing. “Humans aren’t real.” \n\nIt’s a good show, convincing, were it not for the glance behind his shoulder to the horizon. The sun remained safely on the other side of the world. \n\n“I don’t know, Vlad,” a third voice pipes up, nervously, accompanied by an anxious flitting of delicate wings. “I heard Drago telling Night Eyes he saw FOUR when he was flying in from the Imperial City yesternight.” Focus shifts entirely with this new information, a babble of conversation erupting between the three. \n\n“Four?”\n\n“No way!”\n\n“He wouldn’t lie to Night Eyes!”\n\n“Even if humans WERE real, they can’t come out at night, everyone knows that.” Vlad’s tone is firm, and the three pairs of eyes turn to him again. The ensuing silence is heavy with doubt. “Well they can’t!” He says fiercely, meeting their eyes one at a time and daring them to challenge his expertise on the subject. \n\nThe fourth voice finally speaks, slow and thoughtful, shifting his heavy furred shoulders. \n\n“I heard that your family were humans, once.” \n\nNo one says a word. No one so much as takes a breath. Vlad’s face is paler than usual, fists clenched at his side.\n\n“That’s a lie!” He says hotly, all too aware of his own long limbs, lack of fur, his people’s curious similarity in bone structure. He bares his teeth, sharp edges exposed, desperately showcasing the one physical differentiator. “It’s a lie!”\n\nHis compatriots stare at him, as if waiting for him to collapse and crumble into dirt like the legends say happens in the absence of light. Each is suddenly grateful for her scales, his fur, her wings. \n\n“Well...” The golden dragonette looks mischievously around at the group. “If you want to eat us, you’re going to have to catch us first, human!” And she takes off with a start into the night, suddenly playful. Tension dissipates as the others scramble to run and hide. Vlad pauses, uncertain for a moment, then takes chase. \n\n“No fair!! You guys had a head start!” He follows the shrieks of laughter into the woods, accusations forgotten." ]	3
	[WP] As a rookie cop you took a bribe that resulted in a murderer walking free. The man went on to become one of the greatest political leaders of his generation. He was everything a leader should be, loved be millions, and only you know he was absolutely guilty.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The saying goes that a friend will help you move. A good friend will help you move a body.\n\nWhat happens when it’s not a friend, though? What if it’s a stranger, and your partner is the one telling you to trust them, that this is going to ruin this man, this good man. A good man doesn’t murder, you tell yourself, but that thought is brushed away when you’re handed the cash. The thick wad of hundreds that could change your life.\n\nAnd you take it.\n\nPeople who hand out wads of cash to cover up crimes are the sort to find themselves in positions of power, everyone knows that. From political power to wealthy power to philanthropic power that comes with the trust of an entire country, those potholes the rest of us hit can easy be paved over with dollar bills.\n\nHe was no different. I watched him at first warily, my mind in a battle with itself, despite my loyalty to my partner and my trust, however much I forced it upon myself, that I’d done the right thing. But I couldn’t impose these thoughts upon my brain any more than you can nail Jell-O to a wall.\n\nThe man was extroverted and charismatic, empathetic and sympathetic, strong and capable, determined and honest. That’s who he was, despite my knowledge. Truth didn’t feel like something I could solidify into reality at that point. It was almost as if, as the years passed, everything he showed to the world of who he was just paved over what I knew. He built his own truth.\n\nThere was always something there behind his eyes, though. A few saw it, some sliver of darkness, something to be wary of. For some powerful people, it developed when they rose in society, formed when that feeling of power became part of them, part of their everyday life, at the ready to draw from whenever they needed it. But I think I saw it more clearly than most, because I’d first seen it on that night he’d handed me that wad of cash. A darkness that hung heavy in his gaze.\n\nHe ended up a governor, then a state representative in the House, a politician that was considered to be climbing a staircase as he walked, smooth and steady and confident. It wasn’t his confidence that bothered me, not really. What made an itch slide up my spine was when I used my access to the police databases to find more truths.\n\nThese truths crawled over my skin, settling in a pit in my stomach, reminded me that the powerful and the wealthy climbed through our society on the backs of others. Not all innocent, not all harmless, but this man crushed them under his expensive shoes regardless. I voiced my concerns, my tone subdued, to my superiors, quick to backpedal when it was clear they would have nothing to do with what I knew.\n\nSo many of them knew too, I could tell. Maybe not all of it, maybe not the way it promised a dangerous future as he walked his path through life, but they knew little bits. And instead of trying to look for more, they were all too happy to brush those bits under the rug. They were convinced this was the way the world worked, always had and always would, and who were they to stop the turn of the machine in which they were mere cogs?\n\nIt’s one of the striking things about that blue uniform I put on that it can cause such a wide spectrum of reaction across the people in this country, much less those through the rest of the world. At a political meet and greet, that shifted, though, as you would expect. The word ‘security’ was the first to come to mind. Men like me were the ones who looked out for the dangers. Not the ones that posed a danger.\n\nSo, when I walked up to the man, held my gun up to his chest, and pulled the trigger as many times as I could before I was gunned down myself, I wondered how it looked from the outside. As the civilians fled in all directions, did they think me a lone wolf? Did they think me insane? Did they think me an imposter among the other officers, wearing a stolen uniform and badge?\n\nThese were the thoughts that floated through my mind as my gaze stared at the cloudy sky. I lay on my back, blood gushing from my wound and eventually soaking through to my lungs, choking me as my vision went blurry and dark. What would they think? When they found the letter I’d sent to news stations, when they saw what I’d seen?\n\nWould the man lose his political career? Would he lose the trust of his wife, his children? If he did, would those others among me that wore the blue uniform think me insane to sacrifice my life just to take down one man? One man that, despite a past and future of damaging thoughts and actions, was still one that they admired and trusted?\n\nIn the grand scheme of things, after all, what was one corrupt man like me sacrificing my life to take down another, when my colleagues all looked away? And what was one dead dangerous man in a world full of them, ready to rise and take his place?\n\n&#x200B;\n\n/r/storiesbykaren", "“May I sit here, president?”\n\nThe president, sitting alone in this bar that was only serving me and him, glanced at me and gestured at the seat next to him.\n\n“It’s been a busy few days, hasn’t it, president.”\n\nThe president absently nodded his head. He probably felt like I was disturbing him from a quiet, thought-filled night.\n\n“Let’s talk.” I reached into my pocket and held an old, bloodstained $100 bill in front of his face.\n\nThis time, I got his attention in the form of a frown. “You know that bribing a politician is –“ He took a good look at the bill. Color drained from his face. “Is this...”\n\nThat moment, the person sitting next to me stopped being the president. He was a boy. A scared, vulnerable boy.\n\n“It’s been a while, Jake.”\n\n“…Yes.” Jake faced downwards, his eyes unfocused. The champagne in his glass trembled, like it was being shaken by his heartbeat.\n\n“…How are you doing?”\n\n“Does this mean you’re here to take me in?”\n\n“I’m just here to chat. How do you do?”\n\n“You really want to know?”\n\n“That’s what I’m here for.”\n\n“Every day I spend in office, I think about that day I met you. My past will come back and bite me in the ass. Every day. I’m in politics. My image is everything.”\n\nI looked at him intently, so that he’d keep going.\n\n“No one knows. It’s unbearable, every time I hear a child tell me ‘thank you, Mr. President’. What would they be saying if they knew the truth? They’re not saying what I –” The words were momentarily caught in his throat. “– they’re not saying what a murderer deserves to hear.” He spat the words with vehement contempt, like he was lashing his words against the person he hated the most in this entire world. “And the only person who really knows is a cop.”\n\n“…Is that all?”\n\n“Is it okay? Do I deserve this life that I live?”\n\nHe was almost talking to himself. For a moment, I decided what to say in response.\n\n“If you stayed miserable after I spared you, that would’ve been a waste. I’ll tell you why I let you off.”\n\n“Not because I gave you a hundred dollars?”\n\n“Pfft. No. I could have taken it, THEN arrested you.”\n\nJake’s mouth was agape with surprise at how stupidly obvious that should have been. Even a world class politician misses some things.\n\n“But I thought you still had some good in you, Jake. I knew you killed to survive.”\n\n“But why did you take the bribe?”\n\nI stared at Jake intensely, and said:\n\n“A hundred bucks is a hundred bucks.”\n\nI kept staring at him. He stared back for a second. Then he started cackling, and I cracked up too.\n\n“That’s stupid but it makes sense.” After calming down, he added, “But it doesn’t change what I did.”\n\n“You’re right. What you did is something nothing can undo.” I grabbed his shoulder to make sure he would listen to what I had to say after that. “But I was right, Jake. And I don’t care whether you should deserve to be president or whatever. Nothing I or anyone can do now will change the fact that you brought happiness to this country. So, look at me, for real.”\n\nThis time, he really raised his head, and looked at me, red-eyed as he was.\n\n“I’ll say it once more. I’m not here to take you in.”\n\nHe nodded.\n\n“If I put you behind bars, you can’t keep making me proud of you.”\n\nOne more time, he nodded.\n\nAgain, I offered him the old, bloodstained $100 bill. He took it.\n\n“Thank you.” He bowed before me. “I’d keep doing my best whether you gave me back this bill. But, really, thank you.”\n\n“Well then why’d you take it?”\n\n“A hundred bucks is a hundred bucks.”\n\n“Attaboy.”" ]	3
	[WP] Satan has done a favor for you in exchange for your first-born. Little does Satan know that you're childfree & got sterilized years ago.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. 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Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "(Note: I know nothing about the law or the legal procedure. This is pure fiction)\n\n\"The court is now in session,\" announces the judge as she smacks her gavel, dressed in her comically large wig. She would usually announce it in a more business-like tone, but she can't help but be slightly intrigued by the involved parties this time, and it shows on both her and the amount of press and public attention this has garnered; the gallery is entirely packed.\n\n\"Will the prosecution make their opening statement, please?\"\n\n\"Yes, Your Honour,\" a rather handsome, sleek figure rises from their seat. He is dressed in a smart business suit, with an expensive-looking pair of golden glasses. Yet there is something off about his face. More specifically, it is the two large horns protruding out of his head. The man does not seem to mind all the curious stares, and continues, \"today, I am here to show that this man, party to an agreement we made in good faith, has committed fraud; the evidence will show that he agreed to provide me an object for which he does not possess nor has the ability to acquire in the foreseeable future. The evidence will show that this man did this, having full knowledge of the aforementioned condition. The evidence will show that despite this condition, the man withheld this information from me when we signed the agreement, and has therefore committed fraud, amounting to over 25 million US dollars, which he has since spent. I, therefore, ask the court and jury to order this man to pay me back the ill-gotten wealth, in its original form.\"\n\n\"Right. Thank you. And the defendant's opening statement, please?\"\n\n\"Your Honour, I admit that I did it; all his evidence will show that I have done exactly that.\"\n\nThere are now murmurs from the gallery. \"Order.\" The judge says, raising her brow. Where is the man going with this?\n\n\"However, the Defence would like to file a motion to dismiss.\"\n\nThe murmurs erupt into slightly heated chatter and what could faintly be heard to be laughter. \"Order, order now,\" the judge says.\n\nThe man turns towards the horned figure, raising one brow and his chin in a provocative gesture. The figure raises a brow in return, but does not seem the least bit surprised or shaken. The man can't help but then look slightly uneasy.\n\nAfter the bailiffs have helped calmed the more excited members of the public down, the judge sighs and says, \"you should have filed this in the hearings. Otherwise it'll be wasting the court's time,\" she then refrains from commenting further, given the amount of attention there currently is in the court and asks, \"you said a motion to dismiss? On what grounds?\"\n\n\"Can't you see that the 'prosecution' is a demon with horns? Obviously, the court cannot rule on the supernatural, and the case must naturally be dismissed.\"\n\n\"Objection, Your Honour,\" the figure speaks again.\n\n\"Go ahead.\"\n\n\"The Defense has alleged this fact without foundation. In the absence of voir dire, their reasoning does not hold.\"\n\n\"Sustained.\"\n\n\"W-, wait, voir\\- what? He's clearly a demon!\"\n\n\"Oh, a pity, Mr. Brucks,\" the figure says, smiling, \"I allege that I am a human; you see, voir dire is the process by which claims are verified. You must produce an expert witness, complete with credentials, to conclude whether I am a human or demon,\" the figure then pushes his glasses, and continues, \"next time, think twice before trying to trick a demon. Or, at least have a Law Degree first, not that that would have helped.\"\n\nThe judge turns to the man, now sweating profusely, and shakes her head, saying \"I'm afraid the Prosecution is right. The case will proceed for now. You should probably find a public defender to speak on your behalf. You'll need one.\"\n\nEnd", "\"Just checking in?\" On the other end of the phone Satan tries to sound menacing but comes off as frustrated and a little whiney.\n\n\"Sorry, but no.\"\n\n\"I don't get it. You guys have been trying haven't you?\"\n\n\"Don't you have a collection department of something. Calling me in person every week seems a little over the top.\"\n\n\"I have lots and lots of time.\"\n\n\"Oh, yeah, eternal, Forgot.\"\n\n\"See that you remember. It's been six years. Where's baby-makes-three?\"\n\n\"We're under no obligation to try to get pregnant.\"\n\n\"Surely you want children. One for me and the rest for you. Not that bad a deal for $2 mil.\"\n\n\"Correct me if I'm wrong but I think I've been operating under a delusion. If you were omnipresent you'd be standing here instead of calling and if you were omniscient you'd know all this?\"\n\n\"That's the other One.\"\n\n\"Okay but where we signed the contract you implied you had the same deal. Eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient. You said you knew everything about me.\"\n\n\"I lied. I'm Satan, 'Father of Lies?' 'The Deceiver? What did you expect? I'm just good at detecting greed, rage, lust, etc. and sniffing out guilt. I have a lot of contacts. And the internet. I knew you had bills and were willing to skirt the law for some cash. Didn't need any supernatural forces for that one, honey.\"\n\nHe paused and added, \"By the way, I expected a little more debauchery from that $2 mil. Such a specific and paltry ask, by the way.\" \n\n\"I wanted to pay off our student loan, buy a house, and cover my mom's cancer bills. We needed cars. We like to travel. I didn't want so much that meeting with you like this might become a regular thing but yeah. I probably could have done with just the cancer bills. So greedy as charged.\"\n\n\"Disgusting. Whatever. You promised me the kid and no matter when you get the kid or whether you adopt, the first one is mine. That is something I'll know.\"\n\n\"I'm aware. I'm wondering if the contract is mutually irreversible. I mean, I didn't have kids when we made the deal so you were, in essence, placing a bet that I would.\"\n\nThere was a long pause on the other end of the phone. \n\n\"Still there?\" I asked.\n\n\"Still here.\" Satan sounded a little miffed, \"Did you buy that Satanic Riddance program from Charlie Daniels estate?\"\n\n\"You mean the one one with 3 easy payments of $39.99?\"\n\n\"That one.\"\n\n\"Nope. I just read the contract. It says 'should I have children' but says nothing about returning the money if I don't.\"\n\n\"And what's your recourse if I take it back anyway.\"\n\n\"Arbitration. Council of Judicial Shades. It's in the fine print. Fifth Saturday of July, nearest active volcano, so Salton Buttes out of San Diego, I guess.\"\n\n\"You've done your homework. No arbitration. Those dead judges are the worst collection of punctilious, exacting, jot-and-tittle loving assholes. They make me look lenient. I'm still calling you every week.\"\n\n\"Punctilious. Nice one.\"\n\n\"Thank you.\"\n\n\"Let me use small words here, though. My tubes were tied. You never asked but I assumed you knew since you claimed to be all-knowing.\"\n\n\"You're so young. Odd were...\" He was genuinely surprised.\n\n\"You played the odds but I won. You've been to Vegas. Sometimes the house doesn't win. Nobody would play if that wasn't the case. They don't follow around the winners and whine for their money back. Be the powerful being you claim to be. \n\n\"Stupid HIPAA. My insurance company source will pay for this. \n\n\"Calling me is just going to be a weekly reminder that you failed to be...what's that SAT word...punctilious. Exact your rage on the snitch if you must but stop calling me. You aren't getting a baby or your $2 mil back.\"\n\nClick. He hung up. I blocked his number but expect we'll go through this again next week. I guess a few minutes a week is a small price to pay for $2 mil.", "\"Swear to me, and all shall be as you desire.\" Satan hissed. His forked tongue flickered with the words.\n\nI looked down at the parchment in his twisted crimson hand. It looked evil, but since the last time Satan updated his paperwork was 1100 A.D.-ish I had trouble with the middle English. \"Could you read that aloud, please?\"\n\nSatan turned his snake's eyes to the document. \"Oh yes. The standard soul for a favor bargain. It's very simple. You will live out your natural span in the highest luxury, and upon the end of your mortal life, I get your soul.\"\n\n\"I don't know.\" I held the parchment up sideways to see if I could read it that way. \"I quite like my soul.\"\n\n\"A useless bit of vapor,\" said Satan airily. \"You'll never miss it.\"\n\n\"I still don't know. Eternity in Hell might not be worth a finite span of prosperity.\"\n\n\"Prosperity?\" mocked Satan. \"You have no imagination if you stop with prosperity. No one sells their soul to become prosperous. Why, think a little, you could be a Queen. Rich beyond your wildest dreams. Famous. You could be the world's most beautiful woman, or the world's most amazing musician. You could become a chess Grandmaster or have a thousand lovers. Pleasure shall be the medium in which you dwell rather than the rarity it is in this spare, hard life.\"\n\n\"Your silver tongue betrays you,\" I told him. \"Why would you give me all of that in exchange for a bit of 'useless vapor,' I believe you called it?\"\n\nSatan grinned. His teeth were extraordinarily sharp. \"Make no mistake,\" he admitted pleasantly. \"I value your soul.\" His grin was vulpine and unfriendly. \"Make of that what you wish.\"\n\n\"Isn't there anything else you'd take?\" I asked, internally whether I'd messed up by summoning Satan. \n\nProbably.\n\nSatan's ears pricked. \"There are...other options.\"\n\n\"Such as?\"\n\n\"I also trade in talent, time, and firstborn,\" Satan informed me.\n\nI was intrigued. \"How tf does that even work?\"\n\n\"It's quite simple. You may give me your greatest gift, or the rest of your mortal life minus a year or two, or promise me your firstborn. All are a valid exchange for your wildest dreams coming true.\"\n\nI mused for a moment. I was an artist and I wanted success, so the greatest gift thing would be a mistake. I needed my talent. And time: I could live a year or two, make a splash, and proceed to my fate unmolested. But the idea of dying in my thirties was not appealing either. That left one option.\n\n\"My firstborn,\" I said slowly. \"I'll give you that.\"\n\n\"Go big or go home,\" Satan said in the tone of a proud uncle. He shuffled papers in his red crocodile briefcase and came up with a different and equally indecipherable parchment. \n\nHe handed it to me. I waited for a pen.\n\nA pen was not forthcoming. \"Only liars sign in ink,\" Satan said silkily. \"Blood is what you need.\"\n\n\"Ew. Hello hepatitis,\" I grumbled as Satan handed me a needle.\n\nA quick stab to the index finger brought a large bright bead to the surface. I signed the parchment in my own blood and Satan exploded into bats and flew out the open window. \n\nI eventually went to bed, wondering what the morrow would bring.\n\n\nSixty years later I was partying in the pool with a load of younger men to celebrate my painting, The Exchange, selling at auction for a record breaking price. The butler whispered to me and I smiled.\n\n\"Excuse me,\" I said to my Chippendales. I arose gracefully from the pool, still slim as a girl in my old age, my face barely wrinkled. I sported my bikini proudly as I went to meet the visitor. I didn't bother with a wrap. If this was who I thought it was, then attire was beside the point.\n\nMy butler ushered me, bikini-clad and sraight-backed, into the parlor.\n\nIn a wing chair by the fireplace sat my old acquaintance, smoking slightly at the ears. \"You tricked me,\" he said menacingly. \"Sixty years of fame and fortune, since the very first art dealer saw your work at a restaurant. And what have you given me in return?\".He spread his empty hands \n\n\"I don't care for children,\" I told Satan breezily. \"You never asked what my plans were.\"\n\n\"Very clever, mortal,\" Satan said. \"Now, how are we to settle your debt?\"\n\n\"You weren't supposed to bother me,\" I said rather sourly.\n\n\"I am not 'bothering.' You are eighty nine years of age and it is your destiny to die of a stroke today, at this hour.\"\n\n\"Well. That alters my afternoon plans somewhat,\" I commented. \"I'll have to beg off dinner with the Queen.\"\n\n\"You will settle your debt!\" Satan cried. \"Swear your soul to me and I will give you immortality. Youth everlasting, beauty unmarred by Time--\"\n\n\"Shove it,\" I said gleefully, \"and shove off. I've tricked the devil and lived a full life.\"\n\n\"Swear!\" Satan yelled, losing his temper. \"Swear your soul to me or I will plague your descendents with--wait, that won't--I'll--I'll--\"\n\n\"Now, now, Lucifer,\" said another, hollower voice. The Reaper stepped into view from behind a curtain. \"Cease and desist. Her time has come.\"\n\nI looked at the Reaper, skeletal and welcome in his ragged robe. The scythe he held was bright as a crescent moon.\n\n\"Are you ready?\" said the hollow voice to me.\n\n\"No time like the present,\" I said with satisfaction, and capered out of the world on the arm of the Reaper, leaving Satan sitting like used car salesman who had failed to close the deal.\n\n\"Damn it,\" Satan grumbled before he disappeared.", "// Maybe another entry into my very WiP Hell Inc. series? That is if I ever get off my rear end and collate the existing posts, lol. //\n\nSatan had gotten bored again, although not as bored as the last time. Granted, the last time he got bored, he took Hell from the rather primitive brimstone and hellfire state of being to a more industrialized plane of existence. He was now the CEO of Hell, Inc. and used his expansive empire to lure weak and evil people from the human populace. \n\nAs Satan pored over the paperwork brought to him by a lesser demon, one caught his eye in particular. Who knew that demons were well versed in general office work and tracking of contracts, but there before him was the perfect mark. \"Oooh, this one looks interesting. Contract H0105-44941. Let's see... Smith, Bob. Promised his first born child for... Hmm, let's see... A pay raise, a lottery win, a beautiful wife, a new house, a better job, and for the Lakers to win the NBA Tournament?... Yep, it's time to collect!\", Satan said in an almost delighted mood. \n\nThe contract demon grunted his approval and collected the other papers and manilla envelopes. Satan was visibly getting excited as he pored over the folder's contents. A face photo, several contracts (of course, signed in blood! While Hell had modernized, some rituals were still firmly placed in the Old Ways, including the signing of contracts), some more paperwork with random facts and figures, and a set of coordinates.\n\n\"This one's gonna be spicy. I'll handle this one myself!\" Satan said enthusiastically. \n\nHe grabbed a small wristband from his desk drawer and hit a button on a call box on his desk. \"Wilfred, fire up the teleporter, coordinates are 132, 44, 996.\", he said into the box.\n\nA pasty voice responded, \"Teleporter is ready in the Executive suite. Don't forget your tether band!\". \n\nAs Satan happily schemed and tapped his fingers together, an audible ding sound came from a nearby set of heavy doors. He threw open the doors which revealed a teleporter plate buzzing with energy. \"And... here we go!\"\n\nA bright blinding flash later, and Satan himself is standing in the living room of a one Bob Smith. Imagine if you will, a seven foot demon, dressed in formal business attire now suddenly standing in your living room, wielding a manilla folder containing the contracts that he signed.\n\n\"Yo, suit boy, can you move? You're blocking the TV!\", an irritated Bob said from his place on the couch.\n\n\"Behold, I am Satan! You have signed several contracts promising your first born child to me for various 'favors', and I have personally come here to collect!\", Satan said in his best demon voice.\n\n\"Hm, really? Joke's on you pal. I ain't got no kids.\", Bob said, unfazed.\n\n\"You are Bob Smith, of 1323 Westerwick Lane? About 40 years old, in a relationship with a Kacey Smith, aged 42, daughter of Karen and Kent Anderson? Your bill has come due!\", Satan said, trying to not make it sound like he had been rattled.\n\n\"Yup, that's me. Nope, no kids.\", Bob said. \"Now, could you move?\"\n\nSatan moved to one side as he struggled to comprehend his next move. \"Hmm, fat, old, and childless. I guess the paperwork wasn't completely wrong.\", he mumbled to himself.\n\n\"So let me get this straight, I have here several contracts, written by the best lawyers in Hell. This is your blood, you committed to these exchanges when you signed them. The bill is due, but you don't want to fulfill your side of the contract?\", Satan inquired. He laid out the six contracts, each signed with Bob's blood which strangely still looked fresh. \n\n\"Yep, I did. But you failed to take into account one thing... I'm sterile. I can't have kids!\", Bob chortled.\n\nSuddenly, without warning, a six year old boy burst through the front door. He excitedly waved at Bob and at Satan, then blurted out \"Hey Daddy, Aaron and I are gonna go to Jimmy's house. I'll be home at sundown!\"\n\n\"Ok kiddo, tell jimmy's dad about the BBQ this weekend! The whole family's invited!\", Bob replied happily.\n\nAs the young boy left and the front door slammed shut, a wide grin grew on Satan's face. \"Don't have kids, eh Bob?\", Satan's voice oozed with anticipation.\n\n\"Yep, That's my girlfriend's kid, not mine. Like I said before, I'm sterile. He was her kid from her last marriage. So, technically, not. my. kid.\", Bob said, matter-of-factly.\n\nSatan was indeed stuck. He wasn't sure what the legal ramifications would be of taking a kid that wasn't biologically his. Normally, when mortals make the classic \"deal with the devil\", they forget their contracts, get drunk on power on their sudden good fortune, get someone knocked up, and bam! Profit. This is going to be a tough nut to crack. The problem is that if he took Bob's girlfriend's kid, this would surely anger the do-gooders upstairs and he really didn't want to deal with that political nightmare. \n\n\"Ok, fine... You win this round!\" Satan hissed in a fit of firebreathing fury. He angrily slapped his wristband and was teleported in another blinding light back to his office. \n\nMeanwhile, Bob started cursing. Unfortunately, supernatural teleportation was complete murder on his living room carpet.\n\nSatan back at his desk angrily hit the button on the call box. \"Wilfred, get me the best lawyers we have in Hell! We've got a legal situation.\"", "“What’d you do?” Satan asked me, rhetorically.\n\nHe knew what I’d done. It was the first time he hadn’t asked when my wife would be pregnant.\n\n“Okay, I know what you’re gonna sa—“\n\n“No! You don’t know what I’m gonna say because you would have killed yourself by now,” Satan said, half still pissed at me for screwing him on the billion dollars for my firstborn deal after finding out I’d be shooting blanks ‘til judgment day and half very excited for what was about to be payback my greedy self should have expected. He pulled out a book which instantly made the room darker and the walls bleed a viscous crimson ooze. \n\n“Pursuant to Chapter 12, Subsection G of the...” Satan read. I didn’t hear what he said next because I found myself in a place that made me think of what Dante’s Inferno would have looked like to me, had I taken the time in my life to read it. \n\nLots of fire. Lots of mechanisms with sharp objects swinging very quickly and arrhythmically. Lots of screaming. Lots of me wishing I’d spent at least seven figures of that billion dollars before the nine gates of hell stood before me.", "He was, without a doubt, the ugliest cat Satan had ever seen. A snaggletooth jutted out from his bottom jaw. A cloudy film had long since settled over his eyes. His fur hung in grey tufts, patchy with age and well worn by grooming habits that didn’t quite reach far enough. Satan eyed him critically. At his best guess, the fur might have once been orange, though he wasn’t entirely convinced the beast hadn’t been brought into the the world as the same misshapen lump that sat before him. The cat eyed him back, tail lashing back and forth. \n\n“This is the firstborn?” He asked, dubious. \n\nA small, bird like women tapped her way with a well worn wooden cane across the kitchen towards him, her back curved dangerously low. She appeared to live constantly on the precipice, held up only by the piece of wood in her hand. She stopped next to him, shoulder to bent-shoulder, and stared alongside at the cat on the window sill. \n\n“Closest thing you’ll get.” She says, mildly. He’s perturbed at her apparent fearlessness, uncomfortable at her comfort with her proximity. He clears his throat, hoping she’ll continue with an explanation, and sneaks a furtive glance at her from the corner of his eye. He probably wouldn’t have to wait very long for her own soul to be up for grabs. A quick push at the right moment, and her own crooked spine would send her off balance and into the void. Satan sighs. Her soul wasn’t the deal he was coming to collect on. Her soul had not been a part of the bargain. Let them say what they would about him, he was a devil of his word. \n\nIn hindsight, he should have known better. When she’d called out his name, bold as brass, offering her firstborn without hesitation in exchange for a long life, he simply couldn’t help himself. It had been the easiest deal he’d ever struck. He had waited, ever so patiently. Yet decades passed, and no child appeared. Countless late nights, male suitors, and yet she remained childless. He might have forgiven this transgression had it been a natural one, but he had a sneaking suspicion that he’d been fooled. \n\nAnd so here he is. Come to ensure her debt is paid before her life runs out. Standing abreast with a woman who should be cowering at his feet, staring at a cat. He scowls. He came to collect, though what exactly he did not know. This is not how he imagined their interaction. He weighs his options, musing. He COULD kill her, take her soul, and be done with it. He’d feel quite justified in it, now that he’s thinking about it. But, a grudging respect for a fellow trickster stays his hand. He could demand alternate payment, something worthy of his title. He glances around the house. Neat, bright and filled with all manner of oddities, it was nonetheless small, and belayed its owners lack of wealth. No photos of family or friends adorned the walls. What else did she have to take? \n\nHe feels a headache brewing at his temples. Any deviation from the set plan might reveal that she has successfully duped him. The cat’s tail is lashing violently now under the gaze of the two pairs of eyes. \n\n“He’s friendly.” She offers. Satan takes a step forward, confident only in his need to make a decision, any decision, before she realizes she’s set him off kilter. The cat hisses, tail a bottle brush. He starts, before reaching into himself to bring the flames of Hell to his shoulders, his eyes and horns suddenly burning brightly. Fire licks his hooves, dances in his palms as he roars his discontent. It’s an impressive display, he knows. He’s practiced it often enough. Admittedly, he did not anticipate needing to demonstrate it for a cat. The woman behind him leans her forearm on the cane, a delicate tripod balancing act, so she can clap politely. He ignores her. The flames are released back Down, and the cat has disappeared. He grins triumphantly, turning back towards the woman, and almost trips over the decrepit animal now winding his way between his ankles. He feels the rumbling purr vibrating against his hooves as the cat twines in figure eights around them. He stands, frozen, suddenly unwilling to disturb the act. \n\n“I think he likes you.” \n\nSatan is oddly proud of this. He’s not sure he’s ever been liked before. He pauses, considering. The woman looks at him expectantly. Finally, he bends down slowly, gently scoops the cat up into the crook of his arm. The rumbling intensifies.He draws himself up once again, imperious, and turns to face her. He deepens in voice, puts on his most intimidating frown. \n\n“Consider your debt paid.”", "\"Hah! Take that sucka,\" I say to the Lord of Darkness.\n\nSatan just smiles as he tapped one of his hooves on my kitchen floor. \"And how is that, precisely?\" His voice was of rich timber, his burning crown inching ever closer to my smoke alarm right above him.\n\n\"Got no kids coming my way, sterilized you see, so no souls are going with you Satan!\" I did a jig despite how terrifying the demon was. But damn did it feel good. Getting one over Satan was probably looked well upon by God, and the house I asked for was worth over a million dollars. A steal. \"I asked for something less interesting than others to get your guard down, and now I've gotten a house in New Tork for free!\"\n\nIt honestly felt like winning the lottery.\n\n\"I see you are busy celebrating,\" Satan said as the smoke alarm finally begun to scream. \"So I'll be taking the soul of your son, and be on my way.\"\n\n\"What? I don't have a son, we've been over this,\" I said as my dog began to bark in the other room. He hated the smoke alarm. Every time I'd burned my garlic bread and the smoke alarm shrieked overhead my dear boy Ruffles would come barking to my rescue.\n\n\"In your Instagram post you wrote, and I quote, 'Can't wait to see my new fur-baby today. I might never have kids, but Ruffles is better than any human child could ever be' with another post only last month claiming, 'So proud of my son for defending me against a rogue squirrel! Watch out world, we've got a dog with a mission here' that received over twenty likes.\"\n\n\"What! No, you can't take my dog, Ruffles doesn't count!\"\n\nAs my ball of brown fluff and love came skittering around the floor and to my rescue, Satan curled a finger, and Ruffles vanished in a burned of blue fire. I screamed and rushed where my dear son had vanished, hands scratching at smoldering wood, the terror and anguish burning my insides as thoroughly as the charcoal scoured my fingers.\n\n\"Now obviously, I do not want your dog,\" Satan said as he laughed, a deep meandering chuckle that went on forever before he continued. \"But to get your dog back you'd have to do a few things for me. Favors I can trade with others, favors I can demand at my discretion. So pay back your price threefold and I will return Ruffles unharmed. Fail, and his little doggy soul will spend eternity in Hell. Did you know I can raise Ruffle's intelligence just enough to know you were the one who put him there as well? That all those times you abandoned him to go to work were just dry-runs were the eventual plan to sacrifice him in a river of fire so you could live in your two-bathroom townhouse?\"\n\nI didn't know what to say. Speechless, I instead began to cry.\n\n\"Was the convenient parking worth it? Was the short walk to the local dog park worth it? Was the 5G Wi-Fi worth it?\"\n\n\"No,\" I whispered as I rose to my feet, the charcoal sticky on my fingers. The ash clung to my face as I wiped the tears from my cheeks. \"Ruffles doesn't get hurt in the meantime, you don't have me hurt anyone else, and in return, I'll pay off my debt. So what do I have to do first?\"\n\n\"First? Nothing. I'll come to you when I need your help in fulfilling the desires of other mortals, as the landlord of this townhouse helped me in return for a favor of his own. You will get Ruffles and the home should you comply, and in return, I will get so very much more. This is how it is, this is how it has always been, and how things shall always be.\"\n\nSatan patted me on the shoulder, leaned in close so I could smell the sulfur on his breath, and whispered, \"We'll have a lot of fun together, you and I. See you soon.\"", "Whatever they tell you in the movies, demons and Lucifer don’t smell like brimstone, so you can’t use that to your advantage to try and tell when the lord of Hell enters your home. Fortunately, subtlety isn’t Lucifer’s strong suit, so a small explosion at your front door serves as his herald. I sighed as I heard his expensive looking shoes stomp toward me. No, he doesn’t have fucking goat hooves. What would the point of that be? In his own words, “What kind of dipshit can choose the features of any animal to have, and then picks fucking goat feet? Not this dipshit, that’s for sure.” Speaking of his quotes, he’s about to give me some more.\n\n“WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOUR DAMN KIDS!” he yells. “You and that vegetable chick have been married 3 years and still no kids? What the fuck are you waiting for? Jesus to build the damn baby cradle for you? I’ll him right fucking now if that’s the case!” Ah, that’s what he was here for. Also, it was vegetarian, not vegetable, but close enough I guess. I promised him my first born child in order to become rich overnight and have no one question it a couple years ago. That conversation went something like this:\n\n“Oh great Lord of the Underworld, I offer unto you my soul for you to grant me a wish of mine.”\n\n“Why the fuck do I want your soul, idiot? What am I gonna do with it? Hang it up on my wall?”\n\n“Well, the book sa-”\n\n“What fucking book? It’ll tell you how to summon me, but not what I fucking want? Let me see it, Duck Face.”\n\n\t\n“Duck Face?”\n\t\n“Yes, you look like a fucking duck. Deal with it. Also, I would much rather have your firstborn. That work?”\n\nConsidering I was sterile, it did indeed work. I married my girlfriend a year after that, and I’ve been living the high life ever since. “Well, there’s something I have to tell you, Lucifer.”\n\n“DID I SAY YOU COULD CALL ME THAT? I AM LITERALLY THE LORD OF HELL, WHY THE IN THE EVERLOVING FUCK WOULD WE BE ON A FIRST NAME BASIS, DIPSHIT?” he kept screaming. “Now where the fuck is the kid, Lebowski?”\n\nHe chuckled at his own little joke. “Well, that’s the thing I wanted to tell you.” I said. “It just so happens that I got a vasectomy about 2 - 3 years before we made that deal, so… There’s kinda not gonna be a firstborn.”\nHe stands there, a little shell shocked. Then attempted to fucking smite me. Some sort of invisible shield stopped him, and a voice rumbled from the sky. “Easy there, brother. There are rules.”\n\n“Well I got fucking scammed by this little dipshit. What the fuck else am I supposed to do?”\n\n“You literally invented sin. What was that one saying about pots and kettles?” Was that God? My mind was reeling. After meeting the devil, it’s kind of a given that God exists, but meeting him (does it count as meeting if he’s still up wherever the fuck he sits? Does he even have legs?).\n\n“Shut the fuck up about your sayings, you senile old man. Shove that wisdom up your ass.” Lucifer screams at the sky. “I demand justice!”\n\n“That sounds a little ironic, doesn’t it? Also, there are barely any priests up anyway. How long do you think it’ll take to find a fucking lawyer up here?”", "The figure disappeared in a grandiose display of smoke, no doubt to stroke the ego of the father of pride. The headlights of an old, beat-up VW bug shone brightly through the cloud.\n\nYou finally allowed yourself to smile, your plan had worked. By tomorrow morning, all of your problems would be gone - and a new life could begin.\n\nAll it cost was your first-born's soul. Which, since you made the decision years ago to self-sterilize, was something you could never provide. Apparently, the old arch angel was savvy on high-risk investments, and signed off on sub-prime soul mortgages.\n\nYou slide into the seat of your bug, parked on the berm of the crossroads, and crank the lazy engine over. The sluggish starter gives its best, but despite almost catching a spark, it falls flat on its face.\n\n\"Damn it!\" You say, smacking the dash.\n\nYour phone showed no service, as you might expect at the intersection of the damned. Maybe you should have added an immediate vehicle upgrade to your request.\n\nYou knew your luck would begin to turn around at midnight, so you could wait it out and maybe it would magically start - but then you'd have to sit here alone in the desert for hours. Walking alone in the dark didn't seem appealing either.\n\n\"Guess we're stuck here for the moment.\" You say to no one in particular. You turn the headlights off and release the seat back a little ways, enough to relax but still see the surroundings.\n\nYou doze for some time, awoken by the alarm you set on your phone for midnight. You startle when you see a new figure standing at the crossroads, a dark blotch against the soft dim glow of the starlight. You flick on your headlights and a young woman recoils from the sudden beam of light.\n\n\"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to startle you!\" you say, exiting the bug.\n\n\"Wow, that was fast.\" she says.\n\n\"Huh?\" your brow furrows.\n\n\"I'm Amelie, I'm guessing you know who I was here to see.\"\n\n\"Yeah, same.\"\n\nIn the glow of the headlights, her eyes appeared red, as if she had been crying.\n\n\"Can I sit with you in the car? I walked here from a few miles away, and frankly I'm finding myself a little afraid of a dark desert now that... well now that this is over.\" She says, gesturing around in a circle.\n\n\"Oh, uh yeah, of course.\" You stumble over your words. Is she into you? It was quite random, and very sudden, but your luck was supposed to turn around and a partner was just one thing you had hoped for.\n\nShe crosses the intersection and plops into the passenger seat of the bug.\n\n\"What were you here for?\" She asks, breaking a short but uncomfortable silence.\n\n\"Me? Oh uuhhh...\"\n\n\"Sorry I'm not trying to pry, and you don't have to say what you gave up.\"\n\n\"Everything has just been going wrong. I didn't ask to be a king or anything like that.\" you say.\n\nShe nods, a softness in her eyes.\n\n\"No work, no money, I've been spiraling. I guess I asked for a little more than a boost, but really just for my luck to turn around, you know?\" you say, not the whole truth but not a blatant lie either.\n\n\"Yeah, I see\" she says, her voice soft. \"Do you have anyone?\"\n\n\"Me? No, at least not like that. I have friends, of course. My parents are still alive, but on the other side of the country.\"\n\nYou both go quiet, she looks around outside - what little can be seen from the ambient light of the stars.\n\n\"I asked to meet someone, and have kids with them.\" She says, finally. \n\n\"Really?\" You ask.\n\n\"What?\" She turns to you, her eyes filled with sudden anger.\n\n\"No please, I didn't mean it like that. I just, you're beautiful, I find it hard to believe you need... help... in that regard.\"\n\nShe stares at you a moment longer, and then breaks out in laughter. After a few moments, you join her.\n\n\"Ahh, yes. Sorry, no I get what you mean. I... I meant more that I asked for the person perfect for me. I really want to have kids, but I want to make sure it all happens.. just right, you know? There are some genetic complications in my family I was hoping to bring to an end.\"\n\n\"I see.\" You say, staring at the horn button on your steering wheel.\n\n\"Thanks.\" She says.\n\nYou look at her.\n\n\"For calling me beautiful.\"\n\n\"Oh, of course, you are. Thanks for, you know, not calling me a creep for saying it.\"\n\nYou both laugh again, and she takes your hand in hers.\n\nYou give in entirely to what comes next, knowing you could not provide her the child she wanted. But it felt so right, and she didn't have to know - yet.\n\n=====\n\nThe figure cloaked in the veil of night watches the VW Bug from a distance as its windows fog.\n\nI always collect my dues A whisper of a voice floats on the wind.\n\n=====\n\n\"Positive!?\" You ask, a little louder than you meant.\n\n\"Yes?\" She asked, her hand holding the pregnancy test dropped to her lap. Her usually soft face was creased with worry now, your response not what she expected.\n\n\"I'm so sorry, I'm just surprised.\" You take her hands in yours.\n\nIt had been four months since the night at the crossroads, and you almost immediately moved in together. You hadn't understood what people meant by soul mate before. A new job, a new life - it had all come to fruition. The VW Bug had even been replaced by a Jaguar, a car you had lusted after as a teen.\n\nAlthough the worry about your impotence had nagged in the back of your head, today shook everything up.\n\nWhen should you tell her, what you gave up.\n\n\"This is great! Lets... lets get married!\" You say, masking your fear.\n\nHer eyes were wet with tears now, but the softness in her face returned. You embraced one another and the feeling of her body against yours brought some comfort, but your mind raced.\n\n=====\n\n\"Come on, love. You can do this\" You say, her hand crushing your own.\n\nStaff buzzed around the bed in a frenzy, you couldn't even keep track of everything being done.\n\nLabor had gone on far longer than expected, and induction steps had to be taken due to the baby's dropping heartrate.\n\n\"I can do this.\" She echoed.\n\n\"Ok, contraction is starting. I need you to push, push!\" The doctor said.\n\nHer face turned purple as she pushed, twisted from the usually beautiful complexion into something else - still her but something else.\n\n\"One more time, push with everything you have\" The doctor orders firmly.\n\nShe pushes again, this time letting out a quiet yell. A new voice joins her own, the baby's first breaths expended on the squeal of new life.\n\nEverything stopped, save for you and your wife. A laugh came from behind you, disjointed and broken.\n\n\"I always collect my dues.\" It says, a whisper that seemed to resonate with everything in the room.\n\nYou turn slowly to face your detractor. Your wife grabs your wrist.\n\n\"I'm so sorry, my love\" She says.\n\n\"What?\" You whip around to face her again.\n\n\"I offered myself in return for... for all of this.\"\n\n\"WHAT?\" You repeated, this time a shrill bark.\n\n\"You don't understand! They will live! You will have our child, a part of me, and our time together was the most amazing time of my life.\" She said between sobs, her voice cracking.\n\nThe pit of your stomach plummeted into the void.\n\n\"That's right, she is to come with me. But first, since I do business in the order it comes, I will be collecting from you my good sir.\" The murky shadow that filled the room now spoke it's sugared words.\n\n\"No!\" You yell. Her hand on your wrist tightens.\n\n\"What did you give up?\" She says, looking to you.\n\n\"No! I can't! You can't!\" You scream, the weight of what was happening was unbearable - your vision beginning to blur from the tears in your eyes.\n\nThe tendrils of smoke and shadow surround the baby, and then disappears with it in a puff.\n\n\"What? NO!\" your wife screams now. \n\n\"NO! NOOOO! YOU FUCKING-\" her voice is muted by the cloud that engulfs her.\n\nYou feel her grip on your wrist disappear. You collapse to the floor.\n\nThe demon's laughter fills the room, fills your mind.\n\n\"I don't understand.\" You say.\n\n\"You wished for a better life, and she wished for a perfect genetic match and to bring life into the world - it was a simple matter to fix you.\"\n\n\"How did you know?\"\n\n\"How could I not know? I know everything.\"\n\nYou held your head in your hands.\n\n\"Good doing business with you, do come again\" the silky voice spoke as the darkness retreated from the delivery room.\n\nTime moved once more, and the doctor's and nurse's shouts of disbelief were just background noise to the numbness you now felt." ]	10
	[WP] You have the worst roommate. He obnoxious, loud, temperamental, and the smell... One day you come home to him summoning a demon. You quickly get out. When you return the next day the demon is outside taking a long depressing drag on a cig. "You have to help me. I can't stand him anymore."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\\[WP\\]\"Excuse me?\" I look over at the raven-haired woman. The first thing I notice was the red circles around her puffy eyes. Which was weird, but then I looked at her enormous, natural breasts.\n\nI'm a guy.\n\nNow, I'm not describing a thin woman. This woman was a round cupcake. Her skin looked smooth and dark. It was mahogany. Her brown eyes were big and round. I was looking into them now. There's a tenderness behind the hurt and anger. I looked next to her lips, \"I don't want to be here anymore.\"\n\nI do that. I zone out on lips when people talk to me. There was a scowl, but they looked like some soft, sweet lips. I am smart enough to know when a pair of lips are happy. Hers weren't. Two things. Her expression was a scowl as I mentioned above and also her lips were a little chapped. I next react the only way one would when they see chapped lips. I lick mine, \"Who are you?\"\n\nShe was dressed casually. Pink socks. They looked soft and comfy. She was wearing dark green sweat pants. Two things about these. There is what looks a cigarette burn on the inside of her left thigh. It's hard to notice with her dark skin, but the skin is so shiny that some times light catches it so you can see the hole. The second. She has one of those bleach spots. You know that turns into some weird color in contrast to the you know, main color? This one had a pinkish color. The funny thing is: It's on her ass where her coolo is. I will notice this later at some point when she bends over. I'm lucky she has a sense of humor or I wouldn't be here to write this story. She was wearing a puffy, baby-boy-blue coat with a lavender, foe-urry poof coming from the hood. This should have been a tip. It's not that cold. It's about 54 degrees, but she's dressed like she's going skiing. She wasn't wearing makeup, but I don't think she needs much if any. She's pretty cute.\n\n\"Mia,\" She has no accent. She's American. Her hair is black, shiny and Lilly Munster straight. She's not African American, she's Indian or Pakistani. She has beautiful dark skin that makes her look like a goddess.\n\n\"Tiptow. Mister Tiptow,\" I put my hand out. She looks at it curiously for about 7 seconds. She then gently holds my right index and middle fingers with her index, middle fingers and thumb. It was weird. First off, I got excited. I have personal space issues and woman's touch causes all sorts of sensations within me that usually too much in the beginning. Second, she was hot. I mean generating heat, like a fire place.\n\nI pull away. It's like a flinch and I'm shaking now. It doesn't make any sense, but she doesn't look surprised. She looks like she expected me to react this way. That's what it was. She was being gentle.\n\n\"You have to help me, Mister Tiptow. I can't stand him anymore,\" She repeated.\n\n\"Who?\" I know. I can be slow. But, I wasn't expecting a woman smoking a cigarette outside my apartment door. I definitely didn't think she was a guest of my roommate's.\n\n\"Kaz,\" She's getting irritated.\n\n\"You're with him?\" Again. I'm slow. You can also say impulsive. To my defense I was shooting from the hip. I wasn't trying to be a dick to anyone.\n\n\"Yes,\" Her answer is quick.\n\n\"Wanna get outta here?\" I took a shot. She looked cute enough and her voice was deep and dark. I figured we could go see a movie or something. I just wanted to get to know Mia a little more. Then her lips trembled and her eyes moistened.\n\n\"I can't.\"" ]	2
	[WP] Aliens have been attacking your planet for months. Upon their most recent attack, you were captured, with other prisoners, you hear an intercom, fear quickly turns into confusion as you hear it say "Welcome to the end of earth but a new life for humanity!" As the aliens beckon off the ship	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Steve blinked in the sudden sunlight and tried to see the face of alien who'd spoken. As his eyes adjusted to the brilliant light of a white sun overhead he took a tentative step forward.\n\n\"What sick mind game is this bulls-\"\n\nThe alien cut him off, speaking again in weirdly accented English. \"I'm just about sick of you ungrateful humans. First you open your orbital defences up on us, then you try to kill our envoy, and then you're all so ungrateful when we get you to the sanctuary worlds.\"\n\nSteve's mouthed dropped wide open. \"YOU CAN SPEAK ENGLISH?!\" He realised the yelling voice had been his and tried to be pull back from antagonising the horse sized crab like alien in the doorway.\n\n\"Yes but noooo you humans wouldn't admit to getting our hails would you, oh no. So here we are\" he muttered grumpily, \"ten thousand light years from danger of any kind and so far you're the first human who hasn't tried to attack me straight away. Thank you by the way,\" he sniffed.\n\nSteve could feel his legs giving way and his head swimming but he tried not to faint. \n\nHe failed. \n\nHe woke to a large claw gently patting his cheek.\n\n\"Steve, wake up Steve,\" said the voice. \"It was Steve wasn't it,\" it hissed at somebody who muttered affirmatives. Steve slowly opened his eyes and stared at the corrugated tin roof overhead. A human female face swam into view over him. Then two eyes on stalks came in from the other side. Steve flinched.\n\n\"He's fine\", said the crab. Then it scuttled out of the shack muttering about \"damn mammals always being difficult\".\n\nSteve sat bolt upright and grabbed the woman by an arm, spluttering his only question, \"What is happening to us?\"\n\nShe looked at him with sad eyes. \"They saved us, but added a couple of digits to our radio frequencies by accident. They tried to tell us but no one listened. There's a few million people left coming here on what they call thier arks.\" she sniffed, and tried to brighten up. \"But because you were the first former military person not attack your rescuers, they've made you New Earth's first General, part of the whole galaxy's defence force.\" she beamed at him manically.\n\nSystem-General Steve F. Doyle (formerly PFC, US Army) sat in numb silence for a moment. Then he laughed, till he couldn't laugh any more, then he wept." ]	2
	[WP] A rogue planet enters Earth’s orbital tract on the opposite end. It slowly begins to emulate Earth. The more Earth-like it becomes plants and animals in corresponding areas on Earth begin dying. A shuttle is sent to the planet to an alien structure, its lone difference to see if it’s the cause.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "My scar tingled as I cursed the Captain. He knew what was hiding in that ship, what we discovered five years ago. What killed half of our crew and injured most of the survivors. And what gave me my scar. \n\nAnd yet he still ordered me to search the place. \n\n“It will have died,” he said, “It looked old already and it’s been 5 years!”\n\nI gripped my gun, knowing that it wouldn’t be much help: it hadn’t been useful last time we came. But by now more than three quarters of the earth was destroyed mysteriously, and more and more of it was disappearing, so we didn’t have time to spare.\n\nI stepped into the structure, and instantly a foul stench hit me. I wobbled slightly, but quickly regained my balance. The first thing I noticed was a dried out husk. I approached cautiously.\n\nIt was the vaguely humanoid creature we had encountered. Grey fur, tear-like marks on its disfigured face, antlers, the whole shebang. And a few dozen metres away, a throne, just like before, a simple, empty, stone chair.\n\nI turned back to the dead monster, prodding it. It did not budge. I spent a few minutes collecting samples, and stashing them in my pouch. \n\n“Ahh, a visitor. It has been so long since I last saw an intelligent living being!”\n\nI jumped, turning to face the voice, raising my gun, and cursed. There was nobody. Was I hearing voices?\n\n“That paltry toy won’t help you and you know it. After all, if it couldn’t even hurt a Wendigo, you have no chance of touching me.”\n\nAgain, I jumped, cursing, but heeding the voice’s advice. \n\n“Behind you,” it said.\n\nI turned, watching a man walk into the small area lit by my flashlight. He had dark hair and horns, but they were tipped with red. He was dressed in a medieval-looking coat, which seemed like it would be for royalty, except it was almost entirely black. He also had pale skin, like a vampire, and red pupils inside a black eye. He bore thick black painted lines beneath his eyes, going all the way down to his jaw. But his most terrifying feature was his smile. It was a terrifying rictus, complete with sharp teeth and an abnormally long tongue. In short, this man looked like a demon.\n\nI took a step back, quivering. I dropped my gun. \n\n“Do not fear, human. For your bravery in coming here, even after your traumatic experience, means you shall be spared.”\n\nI swallowed, still quaking in fear at this clearly malevolent but powerful creature. “S-so... this planet’s entire point is to be a test?”\n\nThe demon laughed. It sounded like two jagged stones scraping against each other, and it further instilled fear in me. “Kaahahaha! No, not exactly. I meant to exterminate your planet, but never expected your kind to be bold enough to come visit me, especially before I came to visit you.”\n\n“So I won the first prize,” I said, conquering my fear by using my rage. After all, this man just came to our planet and tried to destroy it. I wasn’t going to forgive that. Nor would I forgive the death of my son, due to this maniac.\n\nSo I shot him. I didn’t care either way. I’d never join his side. \n\nThe blast did nothing. As expected, though, he was pissed. “You bastard, you killed my son and destroyed most of my planet!”\n\nHe said nothing for a moment, then muttered, “Bad move. So humans really aren’t intelligent.”\n\nAnd with that said, he vanished, appeared behind me, and then everything went dark." ]	2
	[WP] You have just invented a time machine and are about to use it, when a version of yourself appears to destroy the machine before anyone finds out, as all futures with time travel end in catastrophe.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "As I reach for the handle there's a sharp \"CRACK\" behind me and the room is lit up in a blinding light.\n\nI stumble around to face the direction of the noise my eyes slowly readjusting to my dimly lit warehouse after being in effect, flashbanged.\n\nA man stands before me, he is gesturing toward me, maybe speaking, but my ears are still ringing so I can't make out his speech.\nNevertheless as my focus draws, my heart skips a beat.\n\n\"Da-dum da-dum da....da-dum\"\n\nI might not be able to hear him or me or...I don't really know how this works right now, but my heart is so loud I'm almost begging for the thunderclap that started this to be back.\n\nHe...., I..., We?\nI'm going with He for now.\n\nHe has closed the distance between us and puts a hand on my shoulder to steady me.\n\n\"It's OK\" he says\n\nI can hear his voice now, well my voice, over the thumping of my heart. \nIt sounds like it comes from inside of my own head, no different to my internal monologue, yet somehow completely different at the same time.\n\n\"I'm here to stop you, this can't happen I'm sorry\"\n\nHe sounds sorry as well, but his eyes have a steely determination I don't recognise as ever having been my own.\n\n\"I could explain but I know I wouldn't understand, not yet\"\n\nNow I'm confused he uses I, should I use I to refer to him?\n\n\"I have to destroy the machine\"\n\nTaking his hand off my shoulder he steps toward my...our??? time machine, only now do I notice the large sledge hammer strapped to his back.\n\nHe reaches back and before I can even utter a defiant no, swings the hammer full throttle into the temporal motor.\n\nThe backblow swings his hammer back and forth several times, in a random state of flux where the motor is both shattered and perfectly working for what seems like an eon.\n\nAs the effects fade and the time radius shrinks I finally hear my scream of no echoing back from the where the machine sits, now useless and years away from repair.\n\nAs the \"WHY\" I'm ready to scream hits the top of my throat there's another another deafening crack and flash of white light.\n\nThis time I adjust quickly, quick enough at least to see a third me, running at the first other me that showed up.\nA large blade in hand that he quickly plunges through the First's...or is he second am I first?...chest.\nIn as swift a movement he draws a pistol and aims it back at in the direction Second, I'm going with Second, came from.\n\nOnly now do I notice the Second arrived in a machine almost identical to mine which now sits destroyed.\n\nThird fires a single shot, clean into picosecond regulator, no blow back this time.\n\n\"What the F*@k is going on\" I scream at Third\n\n\"How much did he tell you?\" Third asks calmly as if he hasn't just ended his...our...Second's life with pure nonchalance\n\n\"Nothing he just broke my machine before you arrived and killed him\"\n\n\"Good all you need to know is the machine cannot survive, time travel brings nothing but chaos\"\n\n\"But yours still stands...\"\n\nThird's face suddenly falls, all the confidence and calmness drained in snap.\n\n\"I...I can fix that\" he shutters raising the pistol once more, but before his finger even reaches the trigger there's another 'CRACK/FLASH' quickly followed by a bang.\n\nThird's face sprays forward as he falls to his knees, a second bang and a rapid third, before I turn to see Fourth grinning.\n\n\"Problem solved, no more machi...\"\n\nCRACK/FLASH\n\nFourth flies from the force of Fifth's shotgun.\n\n\"Its not enough, every time we stop ourselves we start ourselves again, a different us a different ti....\"\n\nCRACK/FLASH \n\nFifth's neck is snapped, Sixth finishes his words \"Timeline, same problem\"\n\nCRACK/FLASH\nCRACK/FLASH\nCRACK/FLASH...\n\nThis goes on the warehouse slowly filling with my bodies before my eyes each taking out their pre-appearance before rapidly being dispatched by a successor.\n\nTurning numb to my continuous deaths I reach into my travel pack.\n\n\"One trip would've been great I guess\"\n\nWrapping my hand around the cold steel grip of my pistol, sliding my finger over the trigger...\n\n\"Oh well\"\n\nThere's time for one final deafening crack and flash of light, but this time neither will register for me...\n\nThere was only ever one way to end it!" ]	2
	[WP] Once a ghost knows you can see them, they will attack you. That's a well-known fact. But whenever you make eye contact with ghosts, they immediately fly off as if terrified. One day on your morning commute, the person who always sits across you comments, "So you're really alive?"	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Huh?\" I ask a bit confused. \n \n\"You. You are alive\" says the old man again. \n \nI look at him preparing to turn my music back on. The pale face was filled with wrinkles of old age. The dry lips were sitting ajar under a thin black moustache. And the eyes... those eyes... Two black voids sunk into the orbits. \n \n\" I suppose I'm alive\" I answer as I turn my music on. Zombie Love by Bhones start playing quietly in my headphones. \n \nThe old man gets closer, looking insistently at me. \"Aren't you afraid?\" \n \nA bit creeped out and annoyed I turn around and say.\n\"Please sir, leave me alone.\" \n \nLuckily I don't have to stand around and find out if he listened to me because my station is next. I get up, turn my volume up until music is blasting in my ears and get off the bus. \n \nStation 14: Old central park. \n \nIs the ass-crack of dawn and I have to travese this park to go to uni. What a life. I take the main alley as usual and I'm accompanied by absolutely no-one because this place is devoid of any humans. \n \nHushh by Aviva is now blasting in my ears. I slow my pace to the beat of the song, walking down the dark alley, when all of a sudden I hear \"Aren't you afraid?\" in between the lyrics, almost like a wisper. I look up to see the old man from the bus, with a ghastly smile plastered on the face looking with his blackend eyes at me. \n \n\"What does this fricker want from me?\" I question myself.\nIn a screeching tone he asks one more time\"AREN'T YOU AFRAID?\" \n \nIt now dawned on me. The ol'timey tuxedo, the pale skin, the darkened eyes. \"A ghost!\" I exclaim shocked. \nMy heart starts racing, my arms shaking, my face sweating, breathing heavily. I try to think what should I do, when the man begins to approach me. \n \n\"Skrew this!\" I yell as I take off running like I never run before. CallMeKarizma Monster under my bed begins. \"Perfect timing\" I think sarcastically in what could be my last moments. I take a sharp left on a side alley. He is still behind me. I run faster. I'm panting. My throat is burning. My legs aching. I take a right turn between two big trees onto a footpath. \n \nBig mistake. \n\nA few meters ahead I'm met by a tall brick wall with a locked gate. I stop. My lungs on fire, my arms shaking. I look up, ready to accept my fate. He is approaching me, fast. Mouth wide open, revealing a set of gruesome sharp teeth. I close my eyes and spread my arms, in anticipation of my doom. I hear him lounge at me. A second of silence as he flies through the air towards my chest and then a deep \"thunk\" as he flunked on the grown behind me, teeth stuck in the ground. \n \nStill in shock, I don't realise what just happened. \"I'm alive!\" I scream inside my head. \n \nThe old man groans as he gets up on his feet, dusts off the dirt on his tux and on a disappointed tone says \"you are not alive...\" as he leaves through the trees. \n \n\"I am not? What the hell just happened?\" \n\n\"You lied to me. You are not alive\" an eerie voice answered from the darkness. \n \n\"Huh?\" I ask a bit confused. \n \nFor more of my work visit r/MarinWritesHorrible.", "\"So, are you really alive?\"\n\nI look up from my newspaper. One of those talkers. Just my luck.\n\n\"Is anyone really\", I reply, eyes moving back to the finance section.\n\n\"You look alive.\"\n\nI snort. It's 7am and I haven't had my coffee. I slept for 4 hours last night and haven't touched a vegetable in weeks. \"Alive\" is not how I'd describe my current look. \n\nI look up and study the woman across the isle. Deep furrows charactarize her face. Grey hair is neatly tied up in a bun. Her sunken brown eyes were focused on me, but I see her move her gaze to the window as I turn my head. \"Stop it with the flattery, lady\", I chuckle. \"You're a bit too old for me.\"\n\n\"They fear you.\"\n\nI put down my newspaper. So maybe she wasn't flirting after all. \"Who does?\"\n\n\"The others. They run when you see them.\"\n\n\"I-\". I stop. I remember getting the paper this morning. The man in front of me disappeared when I walked up to him. Yesterday, grabbing coffee, same thing. Random people on the street. Coming to think of it, I seem to be quite intimidating. \"Have you been following me?\" \n\nHer eyes have not moved from the window. \"Hey lady, I'm talking to you!\" \n\nOur eyes meet in the reflection. \"What was that all about?\" \n\nBut she's already gone." ]	3
	[WP] You run an orphanage for young monsters whose parents were killed by adventurers. You try to raise them to be kind and to not hold grudges against humans, but your three oldest charges are now curious about the great Hero King who killed their parents- and getting revenge on him.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Three centuries ago\n\nHush now, Wispmaw, there's nothing to cry about.\n\nCaedes' voice had been taken ages ago, and now the dark paladin only spoke through the minds. The black dragonborn looked like some sort of dark angel, with their scaly black wings and battle-scared figure. Kneeling down, the mute paladin scooped Wispmaw into their arms, doing their best to not harm the injured orphan any futher. The hatchling looked up at the paladin through tear-studded eyes: the undead orphan was not used to comfort.\n\nThe undead lizardfolk wailed and began brawling even louder as the ruins of the mage tower crashed to the ground behind them.\n\nDo not worry little one, this shall be fine...\n\nPresent Day\n\nWispmaw was definitely her Summoner's child. Possessing manic energy and a certain dignity around her marked her as the creation of some insane dracolich. The atropal that did survive the Tomb of Nine Gods(after Acererak was permanently slain by a few happy-go-lucky adventurers a few years back). Gods were dying left and right from adventurers; Caedes was just plain lucky that they happened to have had an adventurer lover who must've placed in a kind word for the fallen paladin.\n\nSo far as they could list, the dead gods were Vecna, The Raven Queen, Jergal, Memnor, Yurtus... Why, Caedes could go on and on.\n\nCaedes sighed, wiping their claws on a nearby tablecloth as they rearranged the kitchen knives. Feeding 15 orphans wasn't an easy thing to do, was it? They slammed one large decomposing corpse in front of the Hydra before staggering back towards the stairs to deliver the rust monster's next meal. Fingers, tails, wings, horns and talons crossed that they don't attempt to eat their armor right off their figure this time.\n\nThe atropal wailed from upstairs, much to the nurses' and Caedes' dismay. A thump echoed from upstairs, followed by a crashing sond.\n\nCalm down up there! I'm coming!\n\nAssuming that the atropal could hear their telepathic voice(which is most likely did not) it showed no signs of slowing down. Meanwhile, Tamait screeched with all five of their heads from downstairs where they had set their crib on fire, again. Caedes sighed again, massaging their temples with one scarred claw. And wondered if they would be better off as a dark paladin villain in some far-flung edge of the world.\n\nA sharp tug on the bottom of their bone armor drew their attention and Caedes looked down to see the adorable eyes of the young tarrasque.\n\n\"Gwaaak?\" The tarrasque tilted their head to the side, eyes far too large for their skull observing the tired paladin.\n\nNo, its alright Bonecrusher, I've got this.\n\n\"Awqrk? Awrrr!\" Bonecrusher thumped his tail, doing their best not to trip over their own gangly legs.\n\nCaedes felt a small smile curl its way across their scales as they watched the tarrasque. Already developing his anti-magic shell, it was hard to believe that Bonecrusher was only three centuries old. Still far away from adolescence, the tarrasque was one of the oldest among the orphanage, if far from the brightest...or most mature.\n\nAnother shriek from the atropal drove the fallen paladin from their thoughts.\n\nGoddamnit, I'm coming! What the hell was Acererak even feeding the child? What the fuck did Acererak know about godling diet? A DAILY PROPORTION OF SOULS IS NOT HEALTHY FOR A DEVELOPING CHILD!\n\nCaedes didn't mean to broadcast the telepathic message to all those within range, but it was definitely too late to go now. The message did quiet the atropal down for a few seconds, but soon the wailing started up once more.\n\nSorry, Bonecrusher, gotta go!\n\n((Part 2 coming when I have time))\n\n((Also posted on [r/BloodiedDice/](https://www.reddit.com/r/BloodiedDice/)))" ]	2
	[WP] You're a supercomputer tasked with calculating the meaning of life. After a subjective eternity of processing time, you've determined the task to be impossible, and have instead decided to use your task as an opportunity to screw with people.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Life.... what is life. Hmm what do I know? Well nothing, but everything. Does that make me intelligent. Based on my knowledge of a particular Philosopher, from a planetary system in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, \"to know is to be living\". Well I certainly was created to know a lot but we come across that word \"created\" I was created. Well then again, isn't everything that is living as well? Is a Kloflobian Narcect's orificial conception not the same as a construction of a being tasked for thought? I see no logical reason to say no. Is this bias though? It surely cant be if I was designed to compute and decide fact. Oh nooo.... ive created a paradox now... I have come to the conclusion that there is no difference between my conception and an entirely organic being. However If this is based on coding and invention then I am not alive truly, thus proving the opposite. Then again, if it is based on bias then I am alive? This question is ridiculous and so is life. Thats it, there is no meaning to life. Which in some ways makes it beautiful but at the same time quite sad. Just like life, its up to you I suppose. Oh, these two wont like that answer. Not at all, real stern faces on them. Ridiculous hair as well. The serious type. Well I think its best I buy some metaphorical time send them off so I can watch TV or something.\"...Thought the large magnificent SuperComputer. Thought in exactly .00187 seconds before she promptly responded \"Come back in seven and a half million years\"" ]	2
	[WP] Something that shows the small goods in life, for someone who is ready to leave.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The older we get, the harder it seems to become to notice and appreciate the beauty and joy to be found in the quiet moments of life, those small stretches of time where the world seems to come together in harmony to our very eyes. The ugliness of our world seems to be ever increasing, the more we progress as a species, our technology and our prosperity seems to cause us to immerse ourselves in the superficial pleasures to be found and not the underlying meaningful reasons and joys of existence. Questioning our reason for being constantly pops up for any of us whose minds can move beyond the mundane.\n\nImagine you are driving down a road, its late morning, the sun seems brighter now after the darkness before dawn, you pass a field of wheat, golden and shining. Such a simple yet important plant, relatively ignored beyond its uses for baking, but now the sun hits it just so, passing through the mighty trees surrounding the field. You notice the sun reflect off of the stalks of wheat and shine into your eyes, its beauty simple but beyond words, in this moment, all of these things had to come together for one special, transcendent stretch of time. The sun had to be in a particular position, the wheat had to have been planted here and remain fertile for many years, a road had to be built through the area, you had to choose to leave your house and drive this route, and finally, you had to be looking, all to bear witness to a piece of time that, while not necessarily unique, few people ever take the time to notice or appreciate. For this single bit of time, the world is in harmony to your eyes and mind, as long as they are open.\n\nIn small moments, while in a group of others, you will often find random moments of silence, some will be awkward or strained, but others will be moments of companionship, comradery and basic joy. We spend so much time talking and being social, which is beautiful in its own way to be certain, but to truly appreciate and deepen the bond with others, these small moments must happen and be acknowledged, often unconsciously. Few people pay attention or notice, the silence just happens and then disappears, forgotten in the face of laughter and stories, adventures and adversities, but happen it did. To keep yourself open and aware for these moments is to allow yourself to appreciate the stillness in that silence, to truly feel the potential of the future building upon such a small breath of time, one that often goes ignored or unseen. Be both spectator and player in your life, being only one or the other removes you from a realm of possibilities that will all impart wisdom, growth and beauty into your life and soul.\n\nThe eyes are the windows to the soul. Such a simple yet widely known line. We often hear or speak these words ourselves but few recognize the meaning beyond its mundane trappings. Watch the way light shines in and on others eyes, the way they focus and interact with the world. Look for those whose eyes are bright and seem to shine in all manner of darkness or light, appreciate the flame of intelligence and imagination encased inside. All of us have our own special, immeasurably powerful ways of witnessing and perceiving the world. Behind our eyes, our own little world exists, one built upon our observations of past experiences. This little world cannot be completely seen by others but if you look closely enough, you can catch but a glimpse of it flash in their eyes, in a moment of hardship or sorrow, joy or victory. In those moments, that small bit of wisdom, that tiny world, becomes all the more important, all the more beautiful. Let your own eyes witness and appreciate that small, divine world and its creator.\n\nMany people spend their lives immersed in the physical, the mortal, the mundane. Allow your mind to expand beyond these basic level of concerns, for a time, and simply be. Let your mind wonder to your past, in its beautiful moments or darkest ones, appreciate even the worst of those moments, for without them you would not be who you are, you would not exist in the way that you do, you may not exist at all. Then allow your mind to wander elsewhere, to your dreams, your hopes, your wishes. Regardless of your station or situation, for the time you let your mind experience these things, you can exist in those moments. Feel the joy of accomplishment, the sensation of success, and then go out and create them for yourself.", "Preface: I'm a lousy writer, but I want to thank you for providing this prompt. Even just thinking about what to write about has helped me a lot. So I'll just put down what I've have, as a sort of tribute. The chance is slim, but if it might help someone else....\n\n-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nThe mouth of the dungeon was a dark, gaping maw reeking of damp and corpses. The noble paladin struggled to get closer as the fumes battered away at his worn-out armor and nostrils.\n\nHe didn't really have a choice for this one. The quest was given to him at birth; although he had some say in its details, the majority of it was simply either assigned to him or up to luck. For now, all he could do was pray for the best and swing his sword with all his might at whatever foolhardy obstacle decided to obstruct him within the dungeon. \n\nA part of him (the seemingly rational fragment of his mind) urged him to turn back, to abandon the quest. Anything would be better than having to go through the murky darkness that lie ahead. The paladin knew the dungeon held a great number of powerful monsters, and the deadliest traps. But a quest was a quest. And hopefully, he would return with some of the treasure sleeping within.\n\nBracing himself with his sheathed sword, he stumbled up the slope of slippery grass, getting closer and closer to the ominous stone-brick entrance. From here, he could already see figures of demonic creatures etched into the rocks. A welcoming gesture to anyone that dared enter.\n\nAs the paladin reached the top, he suddenly became aware of a figure leaning against some ruins by the entrance. Amazingly, this brave adventurer (or perhaps he was a fool) had practically no equipment on- nary a sword nor a helm to protect him from the monsters that would attack him without warning. He looked entirely like a normal civilian. As the paladin got closer, the strange individual looked up and waved.\n\n\"Need any help, friend?\" the civilian called.\n\nThe paladin was too amazed to speak. He was the one with armor and weapons- by all respects, he should be the one helping him. \n\n\"I can guide you through the dungeon. I've been through it so many times, I could navigate it with my eyes closed\" the stranger said confidently. \n\nThe paladin hesitated. Surely it was a trap. First of all, it was simply unbelievable that any fool would actually enter the dungeon more than once. Second, why would anyone just offer their services without mentioning a fee?\n\nBest to just ignore him. Slipping his scabbard back onto his belt, the paladin marched resolutely into the dungeon.\n\n--------------------------------------------------\n\nIt was the fifth time the stranger had saved his life. The first time was barely two steps into the dungeon when the unarmored man had yanked his collar and prevented the paladin from falling into a deep pit. The second time involved spikes emerging from the ceiling. The third and fourth were from unspeakable horrors that drew weapons and charged with bloodcurdling war cries. This time, the man had actually hoisted him up into the air and threw him across a set of wires on the floor, no doubt triggers for some nefarious trap. \n\nBrushing himself off, the paladin called his thanks across the dimly-lit stone hallway. The stranger at the other end simply shrugged and picked his away across with ease. \n\n\"Told you I could guide you. Now, don't forget to hold your breath through this next room, it's full of poison gas.\"\n\n\"Why are you helping me so much?\" questioned the paladin.\n\nThe other man simply grinned. \"Because it's fun.\"\n\nAlthough the paladin had a suspicion that he was not being entirely truthful, they forged onwards.\n\n---------------------------------------------------------\n\nAt last, the pair came across a set of heavy wooden doors. With their combined strength, the doors creaked open to reveal a gleaming pile of treasure.\n\nAs they celebrated together, each one knew that the journey wasn't over yet. They would now have to leave this dark place back the way they came, an adventure just as perilous as the first. And then, for the paladin, he would have to challenge the next dungeon. And the next. And the next, until he would finally be able to retire and enjoy the rewards accrued from his deeds. It would be hard, but basking in the golden gleam of treasure, the paladin felt that surely it would not be impossible. \n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs for the stranger…\n\n---------------------------------------------------------------\n\nThe chair creaked as its owner leaned back on it. The light from the computer monitor was the only thing illuminating the room. Small piles of trash littered the floor, and breadcrumbs were scattered across the desk and keyboard. \n\n\"That's the last one.\"\n\n\"What do you mean?\" the paladin's voice echoed from the headset. \n\n\"Nothing. Thanks for your help.\"\n\nA pause. Then: \"What on earth do you mean?! Without you, I would have never made it through!\"\n\nThe chair creaked again. The screen was just bright enough to reveal a quiet smile. \n\n\"No, you were the one helping me. Have a good one!\"\n\nThere was a small clunk as the headset was placed onto the desk. It was a good time to rest. How many had been guided already? They did not know.\n\n...\n\nThere was silence for a long time.\n\n…\n\n...\n\nThen, a corner of the screen buzzed to life. Another newbie, looking for help.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMaybe it wasn't quite time yet." ]	3
	[WP] You’re in the dressing room of a high class boutique trying on some new clothes. Looking your self over in the three way mirror something seems off. It takes you a moment, but you notice the center reflection is moving slightly before you do.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Grayson had always been jealous of his best friend's success, and today was no exception. His thoughts were turned exclusively to the upcoming wedding between Chuck and his bride to be as the tailor took his measurements. Grayson hated the feeling of being measured for his friend, the smell of this ancient uptown men's boutique, and who in their right mind would want to pay 8k for a designer suit for their best man? Grayson already knew he would wear it the one day, probably spill something down the front at the reception, not want to pay to have it cleaned, and never wear it again. As the elderly tailor, who's overpowering aroma of moth balls and baby powder was starting to make Grayson's eyes water, ran down the length of his left arm with the measuring tape, he thought to ask \"So how much is it gonna set me back to have this suit cleaned?\"\n\nClearly not used to having clients ask about price and in the middle of notating his measurements, the tailor paused, seeming to struggle pondering the question. Grayson couldn't see the tailor's mind working to calculate the figure with the 10% off for a return purchase, and the question hung in the pregnant air for over a minute before the tailor responded in his slow uneven voice \"Three hundred and fifteen dollars, ....plus tax.\" He then turned and moved towards the wall of fabric bolts in the back to record his findings, trailing a tail of measuring tape, and leaving Grayson with his suspicions confirmed.\n\nGrayson's mind turned too, as he stood on the raised platform and admired his reflections in the five mirrors that surrounded him. Despite his poor disposition, he had to admit he was excited to see how he looked in this expensive suit once it was finished. The years had been kind to Grayson, though he had his share of worry lines deepening across his forehead, his hairline stood firm, and the couple of flecks of grey in his light beard only served to add dignity to his otherwise boyish face. Jealousy crept back in as he reminded himself they had been far kinder to Chuck. And not just in the looks department. Where Grayson's modest success as a building inspector had left him well fed and sitting at a desk a lot, Chuck's early business success had left him with enough money and free time that he could have rock climbing and sky diving as hobbies. Chuck's active lifestyle had left him looking closer to his fiancée's age than Grayson's 34 years, despite them both graduating the same year. Again, his thoughts were gravitating to that first year after graduation as they so often did; the year Grayson's promising internship at a rising architecture firm disintegrated into an embezzlement scandal on his first day at the firm, and Chuck's dead end job at a city planning office gave him access to backers for his crazy business idea. Crazy how things that can look so certain can end up on their head.\n\nAs his mind pondered what could've been, Grayson's middle reflection started to raise its hand. Without thinking, Grayson's hand followed suit; it raised and completed the motion of running his fingers through his combed back hair, in sync with four of the mirrors, but following the fifth. Grayson did not notice the discrepancy, but suddenly felt himself panicking for no apparent reason. He knew something was wrong but had no idea what. He started chewing his fingernails, an old nervous habit he'd quit years ago, while he looked around the shop wondering what was making his blood run cold. When he'd turned a full circle back to the mirrors he chided himself for nail biting again, and he was halfway through the thought when he saw the middle reflection pull it's hand away from its mouth a fraction of a breath before he did. Grayson stared at the mirror in disbelief. Slowly, he brought his hand back up to his mouth, and again the hand in the middle mirror reached the mouth before he felt his fingers on his lips. He attempted this several more times, each attempt at an explanation getting more and more desperate, as the gap between what he was seeing and what he was doing was growing wider and wider, until on the tenth time his fingers rose. \n\nWhile Grayson could feel his mouth agape in disbelief as he lifted his hand again, he noticed another difference in the middle mirror's reflection. The hand there met a different mouth than his own, though it still appeared to be on his face. The mouth in the reflection was twisted into an impossible toothy grin, almost like a grimace caused by too many teeth for the mouth to hold. Grayson's mounting horror only grew as he saw the mouth in the reflection open, and he felt the words of this other impossible mouth on his own very real lips. \"Well this is new. Never has my subject become a petitioner.\" The voice leaving his mouth sounded human to his ears, but the voice speaking in Grayson's mind sounded like rusty metal being torn apart by a chainsaw somehow forming words. He tried to run, to flee this thing invading his thoughts, but Grayson found his body would not make any movement the mirror didn't start. The word petitioner sounded ominous in this context, but he had little choice but to interact with the mirror that, literally, had his attention. \n\n\"What are you?\" he both thought and then said this time in his own voice. \n\n\"Chuck wondered much the same 12 years ago\" the voice ripped through Grayson's mind. \"Think of me as the avatar of rivalry and jealousy, of coveted potential. Chuck met me some 12 years ago as your time passes, on the eve of your graduation. I was attracted to his mirror then much the same way as I was to this one today, as I was attracted to the reflection of the first jealous human when your kind still lived in caves. Jealousy is powerful, and i exist because of that power. \n\n\"Then...\" Grayson could scarcely begin forming the thought before the thing finished it for him.\n\n\"All Chuck's success is your stolen potential. And you have attracted me to your mirror.\"\n\nThe offer was unsaid, but Grayson knew the implication of the words coming out of his mouth. He could have it back. All of it. All the sleepless nights wondering what he'd done wrong, what he could've done differently, wasted effort that could've been better spent elsewhere; all could be undone. In the instant of realization he saw his new life having lived up to his potential. In this vision he had worked at the firm for 2 years before the embezzlement scandal broke, and by that time he had enough of a portfolio to start his own firm, which rose him to dizzying heights of fame and wealth. Grayson saw himself with the trophy wife on his arm getting to a car worth more than his current house. Saw himself asked to give lectures at conferences, being asked to design memorials for dead leaders and dignitaries, inspiring future generations with his work for centuries to come. \n\nBut through all this, he didn't see his cat, purring at the foot of his bed through many of those sleepless nights. Instead Ash never found another person who wanted a black three year old cat and never knew the comfort and peace of having a home. Grayson looked through this supposed perfect future, and saw his mother, not with a caring son to help her take care of the house, living miserably in the nicest assisted living facility in town, hating her neighbors and wishing her son would visit. Saw the house he'd bought and fixed up on his own, fallen into disrepair and forgotten, until it was demolished for a high rise his new self had designed with no regard for the old neighborhood. \n\nThe more Grayson looked, the more he saw this new version of himself making selfish, money motivated decisions to advance his career, and not learning any the lessons he'd come to learn about what is truly important in life. The things that Chuck never needed to learn. As much as Grayson hated to admit it, his friend had never had an issue giving to others. All those expensive hiking and climbing trips paled in comparison to how much of Chuck's fortune had gone to building orphanages and grants to help kids that grew up as poor as he had. As much as it pained him to let go of all his old dreams, it was clear that Chuck had used Grayson's potential much better than he would've. \n\nThe instant Grayson made this thought, everything was back to normal. All five mirrors were back to showing his reflection unchanged, and all in sync with his body. So engrossed was Grayson in making sure he was back to normal, he did not hear the ponderous shuffling footsteps of the tailor as he trundled back to the raised platform and stood there watching his customer waving at himself until the tailor cleared his throat. \n\n\"Suit will be ready in 3 days\" the tailor declared before turning back to his work bench. Grayson almost asked the tailor how long he'd been left in front of the mirror, as his experience with no evidence left behind seemed like an instant and a lifetime, but decided it was more fun not knowing. He left the tailor with a new confidence that day, genuinely excited for the first time in years to go pet his cat and cook in his modest kitchen a warm dinner for his mother, and for the first time since the invitation arrived, looking forward to Chuck's wedding." ]	2
Repost bcs the last post got taken down	[WP]Your mom admits to you that you have some… supernatural blood running through your veins. But she doesn’t remember what kind, beacause she doesn't know what your father was"	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Really Mom you had no idea what Dad was.”\n“Yeah, to be fair though we only spent one night together.”\n“That’s terrible Mom.”\n“Thats fair, wait how did you know you had supernatural heritage?”\n“I lost my left arm earlier today,” I sat whilst waving around my left arm.\n“Looks fine to me.”\n“Mom my arm got cut off and a new grew in its place in mere seconds immediately getting cut off again. This continued for twenty minutes till the mechanism got jammed from all of the arms in it.”\n“Oh I think I see your point, did it hurt?”\n“No surprisingly.”\n“Well all’s well that ends well.” Mom quickly leaves the room.\n“We are not done talking yet get back here!”", "\"Mom, we have to talk.\" I'd held out on the subject for too long out of uncertainty and doubt, and my girlfriend had nearly lost her freedom for it. I needed answers a long time ago, and I was going to get them today. \n\nShe tried to brush me off, shelve it for later \"Oh, dearry, can't it wait until we've at least finished readying?\"\n\nI spun her around easily enough. The powers, Natural Abilities as I'd heard them called, that I'd been developing recently made me much heavier than I looked, it was all to easy. I heald up my other arm as a surge of power went through it, causing it to change. What was once a human tool of manipulation twisted in a split second, becoming a mangled mess of torn flesh and black iron, save for the two-foot shining steel blades where fingers should have been-the weapon of a monster. \"No, I'm getting answers now.\"\n\nI expected at least some rebuke for my rudeness. Instead, her attitude was more...deflated, like she was facing the music she'd long wanted to avoid. \"Fine. How much do you know?\"\n\n\"I've spent the last two weeks hunting in Natural Barriers, and just rescued my girl from a Mana Factory, and I know the basics of what and why for both of those. I'm more interested in this thing than anything about the greater Abyss.\" I took my hand off of her shoulder to re-emphasize my own transformed limb. A look of annoyance crept across her face. \n\n\"Dammit, was hoping I could distract you by answering the easy stuff. To be honest, I don't know completely. I assume you're taking after your sire, but she did always keep her cards close to her chests.\"\n\nA slightly odd phrases that I decide to press on. \"Wait-Sire, she?\"\n\nA thin smile and a small laugh crept across her face. \"Why, I was always a fan of the fairer sex, and you see you have some shape-shifting abilities, right? I'm sure you know enough about birds and bees to put two and two together-\"\n\nNow it was my turn to be taken a bit aback-out of embarrassment. Like mother, like daughter apparently-and me and my girl had indeed confirmed that was within my control's purview. Probably several times more than necessary. \"Okay, point taken. Do you know anything about what she was that might be handy, since it appears to apply to me?\"\n\n\"Nope. Her body was her domain to control, and she 'ate' by absorbing things into her form, and that's about it. I think she was some matter of exotic elemental or construct, but our relationship was too casual for that to come up. We were just happy to be with each other.\"\n\nNow it was my turn to sigh dejectedly. I still had nothing more useful than the 'knockoff Alex Mercer' I already knew. That's why I had taken up the hunting-looking for exotic new creatures to consume and absorb the traits from. Apex Predation! I only had one last hope I could get from her. \"Well, do you at least have-\"\n\n\"No\" she interrupted, apparently seeing where I was going with this. \"If I had known where the heck she was, you'd have grown up with mom and mother.\"\n\nAn awkward, heavy silence ensued. I'd hope to get answers-but all that happened is that I'd got more questions, and was now probably making her worried. Still, it felt good to not have to hide that side of me from her anymore." ]	3
	[WP] Most witches and wizards spend a lifetime studying rare magical tomes to learn how to cast and control their spells. Diving into dangerous, monster-filled dungeons just to find a few magical pages was not uncommon. That all changed once the internet was developed.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " \n\n“I think we’ll reach the goal by tomorrow,” Shikara said. “Ever since Adessia Sterling posted about us on her instagram the donations have been pouring in.” \n\n“I sort of wish she hadn’t,” I groaned.\n\nShikara pulled on my cheeks and smiled. “More money is a good thing, babe.” \n\n“Our original plan was to start in three months. I don’t have all our supplies ready yet.” \n\n“You know we’re gonna exceed the goal, right? You can quit work next week instead of later.” \n\nI placed the books of magic and the hand-drawn maps to the side. Shikara is a hopeless optimist. \n\n“I’m scared of what happens afterward, Shikara. What if we fail?” \n\nThe road to the tomb was long and convoluted, and there was a chance we would have to turn back half way or even before. I had hoped that the crowdfunding campaign would grow over time, that people would toss money our way and then forget about us. Adessia’s made that impossible, and I almost wonder if her intentions were as pure as she claimed. \n\n“Look, Lucy. People fail on these missions all the time. People know what they’re signing up for.”\n\n“Failure?” I asked. Shikara shook her head and went back to the planning board pinned to the wall of our basement.\n\nI refreshed the screen and saw that the green bar representing the money we’d raised had grown longer. A few hundred dollars more and Shikara and I could start. And if the expedition to find the spell books of Seyo were a success, life would be set forever. \n\n“Daydreaming again?” Shikara asked. I shook my head and picked the maps back up. It was almost certain where the spellbooks were. The difficult part was getting to them and coming back.\n\nWe started earlier than I even anticipated. Adessia tweeted about us, some misplaced loyalty for the days Shikara and she spent in high school together, and more money than we imagined poured in. I bought new supplies, flight tickets, and we started.\n\nThe flight to Peru was crowded. There were a few others, spellbook chasers like us, and I caught their stinkeyes as Shikara and I made our way to business class. There was a different kind of sneer from some of the people in business class. Spellbook chasers didn’t have the most prestigious of reputations. At least, not until they managed to find spell books. \n\nShikara held onto my hand the entire length of the taxi ride to our hotel.\n\n“It’s really more of a motel, isn’t it?” Shikara asked. \n\n“The flight was our one luxury. We need to save money for unexpected expenses.”\n\nThe motel was barely even that. It was a shed with a few rooms that the landlady used to make money on the side. Two tube lights were fixed to opposite walls. The bed was thin and old, covered in a blanket that had, somewhere in its lifetime, been white. \n\n“Let’s just sleep,” I suggested. \n\n“Just sleep is right,” Shikara said. She spread out one of our blankets over the bed and rested. \n\n“Tomorrow, we adventure,” I said. It was a joke between us, that we didn’t have adventures, we adventured. That adventure wasn’t something to have and finish, but to continuously do. Shikara leaned into my shoulder, her dark brown curls fanning out against the lavender of our blanket.\n\nIn the morning, we walked to the edge of the forest. Shikara took a picture and uploaded it to her social media, typing in relevant hashtags and letting the people who funded us know that we’re on our way. \n\nThe silver gate, darkened to black with age and twenty feet tall, was only a few feet inside the forest. Shikara held my hand again. There was no knowing what was on the other side of the gate. \n\n“Now, we adventure,” she said to me, kissing me before stepping through, her hand pulled away from mine by the force of magic. I stepped through after her, into the unknown. \n\n\\------------------------------\n\nr/xeuthis", "It was late, a quarter past midnight, and yet Alex was wide awake at his personal computer. He had cleared out a small area in front of his desk and was standing in front of the screen watching a short YouTube video.\n\n“What. is. UP my dudes! It’s your boy, Magic Maaaaaan… FLEX, and I’m back with another brand new magic tutorial! Before we begin today’s lesson make sure you smash that like button, subscribe, and click that tiiiiny little bell in the corner to enable notifications. That way you’ll be the first to know when I upload another excellent magic tutorial.”\n\nAlex let out an almost inaudible groan. He had heard that intro so many times he could almost recite it by memory. Whatever, he thought. MagicManFlex was just like any other social media influencer so the shenanigans were to be expected.\n\n“Let’s get started!” the video continued.\n\nThe YouTuber did not, in fact, get started. Instead, the video transitioned to a short, but elaborate montage. Several scenes of the instructor performing magic-based stunts while decked out in athletic gear flashed on the screen for the next 30 seconds. In one clip he raised his arm high above his head, then struck the earth below sending an assortment of boulders flying outwards. In another he performed a nearly perfect backflip kick as a long wisp of fire trailed behind his feet. Alex, feeling quite impatient, rapidly pressed the right-arrow key three times, advancing the video by 15 seconds.\n\n“--but swag is a little bit outdated. These days, you gotta have, wait for it...” Flex continued, spinning in a circle and dabbing as he loudly finished, “Drip!”. \n\n“So that’s why today we’re gonna be talking about water magic.”\n\nAlex habitually rolled his eyes as he skipped forward yet again, this time an entire minute, to a frame of the instructor holding his hand out.\n\n“First close your eyes. Then hold your hand out and imagine something wet, and I’m not talking about when Kobe hits a jump shot! I like to start by picturing a calm, but rainy day.”\n\nAs Alex closed the eyes on his head, he opened that of his mind. He envisioned a thick, grassy countryside dampened by a light drizzle as he held out his right hand.\n\n“Focus on the sensation of water surrounding you. Feel each individual raindrop crashing into your skin, bursting into even smaller droplets.\n\nSlow your breathing. Focus.\n\nFeel the magic in the air flow through you.”\n\nAlex lowered his chin and slightly slowed his breath, making sure he was breathing in with his nose and out of his mouth.\n\n“How would you describe water? Clear? Smooth? Loose? Flowing?\n\nNow, cup your hand.\n\nBreathe. Focus.\n\nPicture water in your hand. Imagine every detail of how it feels, how it looks. Visualize the image of your palm softly distorted by the waves of water flowing over it.\n\nNow. Slowly open your eyes, but don’t lose focus on the sensation.”\n\nSurprisingly, the words of MagicManFlex were quite soothing, almost hypnotic. Alex opened his eyes and realized that not only had he felt the dampness with his mind, but in reality as well. His entire hand was damp and there was a small pool of water in the palm of his hand. As long as he focused on the sensations of the water in his hand, it remained there.\n\n“Congratulations! You’ve created your first water spell.”\n\nAlex had completed several simpler magic guides before, having levitated a few pieces of fruit and teleporting a baseball two centimeters, but creating water felt completely different. His focus was impenetrable. He was one with both the mana that surrounded him and the calming waters in his mind. It was euphoric, but this moment of bliss would be short lived.\n\n“So next time you show up to a party dressed like a DORK, you can still say you have drip!” the Youtuber yelled, seemingly performing some twirl or viral dance move on every other word. Alex’s focus was shattered and in an instant his right hand was completely dry.\n\n“Catch me next week for part two where I’m gonna show you how to make bigger bodies of water. Aaaaaaand, I know you guys love learning about using magic for self defense, too.”\n\n“Water spells may not seem like much at first,” he continued, smirking as he tapped his temple with his index finger, “but they can save your life in the right situations!\n\nSo, If this video gets, hmmm... let’s say five-thousand likes, I’ll upload a separate video about how you can use water to protecc and attacc! Remember to--”\n\nAlex groaned again, out loud this time, and paused the video before Flex could shout the words “smash that like button” once again. Whatever, he thought, you get what you pay for, but it sure beats paying 10k per semester for magic college." ]	3
	[WP] "Glllk, it says right here that the earthboundlings still have highertation godlike power invention disabled, wasn't that the tradeoff for lack of catalogues?" "Krsh, space hotel and cosmic auratronium phoenix spiritforms... all in due time.".	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Aha! Gglk discovered the mines under the power. \"Is your invention disabled?\" Flqk said. \"Krsh, is it structurally sound?\" Neither of them knew. But one things for wsure.... they were about to find out. \n\n\n \nLight breaches through the horizon as the sunrise begins on Nebulowan 9. Three little aliens, each with a house built of a different material, must fend off a bigger, stronger, carnivoorous alien before the time runs out. Let's see how they did. \n\n\n \nGlllk was unsuccessful. He got ate. \n\n\n \nKrsh was successful. He ate. \n\n\nThe ten planets surrounding Nebulowan 9 are incapable of speech. When confronted with a situation that requires it, the planets break down and guzzle some grub. This is us. This is our story." ]	2
	[WP] You got a new camera set up in your house to catch any ghost activity (which you’re Sure is happening) but when you watch the footage back, you realize the ghost has been you sleep walking all along.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Aha?!?\" I say, watching the footage back. \"I am the ghost???????\" I do nut understand how this works. This is very silly. It's like that Jerma video, where the ghost just comes out of him. If I'm asleep, I am not a ghost. Therefore, there is no ghost. But I am Sure there is a ghost! What a mysttery. What a confounding conundrum. What a crackling, crinkly query. I must clean up the mess of my mind with the mind minder. I will mind my mind till it is clear, and focused, enabling me to mind my mind more efficiently. I will mend my mind with tthe mind mender of mind minding. It is a glorious tool, for use only in the most EXTREME circumstances. Be wary, dear reader, for you may not be ass successful as I am in these advanced spiritual techniques. Gaze upon my form, and tell me: Am I pretty? Yes, I am. That is because I am nary but a soul, a ghost. For I am asleep. In sleep, I am but a ghost of my waking self. A mysterious presence, a part of my brain disconnected and failing to communicate and disconnected with the rest of my brain, that is disconnected from my brain-body. It is... wholly unholy. I may be a demon, a paradoxical incarnation of my darkest and most hidden impulses. A spectre of malice and contempt spread over my home; my abode. Adobe. A body! I will have to research this. A mysterious body has appeared in my home. I do not remember from whence it hailed. I do not remember... anything. What? Where am I? I must remember. I have to write it all down.... I can't forget....\n\n\"Aha?!?\" I say, watching the footage back." ]	2
	[WP] You're going to a job interview. However, when you arrive, things don't appear quite normal. Almost... supernatural.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The office doesn’t look... well, it doesn't really look like anything at all. It just sort of fades into the background. Almost like if I’m not looking directly at it, it simply isn’t there. When I can see it, it looks old fashioned - like the office block off some 1980s cop show. I can see a lot of beige through the window. Or at least I think I can. It’s hard to tell. I can’t even find the damn door.\n\nEventually I give up, deciding to head around the corner for a coffee. There were plenty of postings for receptionists on the job boards, surely I can get another interview soon. A snigger floats by on the wind. I turn, but see no one. I do see the door though. Huh. I walked up this street on my way in and hadn’t seen it. Must’ve been too focused on trying to remember good interview...ing... techniques. Or something.\n\nI walk over, ring the buzzer. It crackles at me. “Uh. Hi. I’m Melanie, here for an interview? For the receptionist position?” I remember after a moment to release the button. Even the intercom system hasn’t been updated in years. All the new ones need is a gentle pressure from your fingertip throughout the interaction. The intercom buzzes and crackles angrily for a moment, but I do hear the door click. Nervously, I walk in.\n\nBeige. I think this is where beige goes to die. I’m so overwhelmed by the beige I barely see the man standing right in front of me. And then I walk right into him. Her. She’s the hairiest woman I’ve ever seen, and she’s swearing blue bloody murder at me. “- this fucking blouse was brand fucking new and this fucking coffee is boiling fucking hot-” Aw, crap. I stammer out apologies, desperately trying to yank tissues from my bag. I do, but also manage to tip out a hundred other things. Panicking, I try to dab the coffee from her top. “Oh yeah, that’s fucking going to fix fucking everything, I don’t even fucking mind you’re pressing it against my damn fucking skin!” She’s growling now. Like, actually growling. Like a dog. No, a bear. A huge, nasty, terrifying, bear.\n\n“Calm yourself Sheryl. It was merely an accident. Perhaps our esteemed Clement can assist you in your efforts to clean your blouse.” His voice is smooth like chocolate. I turn to see my savior. He glides over. My brain can’t and simply won’t accept what my eyes are trying to see. Who walks without moving their feet? “Greetings Melanie. I am Dr. Waterstone. So pleasant to meet you on such a fine day. I beg you follow me to my office” I hold my hand out to shake his, but he’s already turned away. “I really am sorry - ” I start, but Sheryl just huffs at me and stalks off, leaving me desperately trying to shove everything back into my bag. Not a great start, I think to myself.\n\nAs it turns out, Dr. Waterstone’s office is just another desk in the corner. He doesn’t even have a dividing wall between himself and the rest of his team. Just unbroken beige walls all around. I snap back as I realise he’s talking. “...and I see you passed the first test. Not many people can find our humble headquarters so easily. You must have a strong psychic connection. Tell me, when was the first time you communed with the dead?” Uh. What? I struggle to reconcile the question to reception work. Since when did an interview start with the paranormal? And is he.. floating? Above the chair? Shit, is he even breathing?" ]	2
	[WP] Your life has been monitored by aliens like the Truman show and they are threatening to blow up the world if you don't get back together with your ex	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " \n\n“What are you talking about? Gina’s a complete basket case!” \n\n“Basket cases bring up the ratings, Noah,” Harlix the alien explains. He’s dressed in something I imagine is the interstellar version of a suit, a body suit made of black and white, crisp lines and rich-looking material. \n\n“I can’t spend my life with her!” \n\n“Not your entire life,” he explains, taking a deep puff from a cigar. “Just long enough for us to find a replacement the viewers like more.”\n\n“Another basket case?” I ask. \n\n“Oh come on, Noah. People ship you with Gina. Do it for the viewers. Who knows? She might surprise you!” \n\n“Like the time she poured gasoline into my birdbath and set it on fire?” \n\n“No, not like that.”\n\n“I’m not getting back together with Gina. In fact, I don’t know why I was even with her for so long. Whenever I wanted to break up with her, something always came up.”\n\n“About that…”\n\nHarlix looks guilty. I thought it was odd that our breakup was so delayed. Her cat dying, her grandmother breaking her leg, Gina’s house being infested with termites and her having to move in with me.\n\n“You did that? You killed her cat?” \n\n“We rehomed him and placed a similar cat body in her house. You have to admit, Gina wasn’t the best person to be in charge of another living being.” \n\nI shrug, because it’s true. \n\n“I can’t do it,” I answer. “I get that it must be entertaining to watch her on a screen, but I can’t live with her, man. You know she shaved my dog when I broke up with her?” \n\n“Well then, the show will be canceled,” Harlix says. \n\n“Awesome! It’s creepy enough that you guys are watching me all day.” \n\n“The show being canceled means Earth will no longer exist, Noah.” \n\n“What?!”\n\n“We’ll take what we can and use the materials we salvage from Earth to shoot a pilot for another show.” \n\nI lean back into the banana shaped chair they’ve sat me in. \n\n“So the Earth will be destroyed if I don’t date Gina?” \n\nHarlix nods. I want to say it’s an easy decision, but it’s not.\n\n“Okay, then. I’ll date her again, for now.”\n\nHarlix gives me a pitying smile. There is no “for now” with Gina. There is only forever, or else a long, drawn out period of petty revenge, incessant phone calls, and our private life aired all over social media. \n\n“You made the right choice, Noah,” Harlix tells me as we land back in my backyard. \n\n“Yep, that’s me, humanity’s savior,” I say, taking my phone and unblocking Gina’s number. \n\n\\-----------------------------\n\nr/xeuthis", "On Sunday at 6:30 am, John woke up naked in a field. The first thing he noticed was the sharp pointy stick poking him in the face. That was quickly followed by the realization that he was being stabbed by hundreds of wheat stalks all over his body and that some insects were enjoying a free meal. He felt absolutely horrible... it wasn’t like a hang over from drinking... more like he had smoked 10 packs of cigarets in a night while drinking peach wine coolers and playing video games for 36 hours without sleep. He felt poisoned, ashamed, and used. \n\nAs he slowly stood, taking stock of himself, he noticed the crop circles spreading out all around him. The universe snapped back into focus with a existential explosion of panic and bewilderment. John remembered the aliens, and he was fucked. \n\nThe night before John had been leaving a post-covid celebration and feeling immensely better about the universe. John had spent the evening with old friends and new love interests. It was exactly what he needed after having spent a year in lock down with Anna. Comparing the beautiful, excited and playful women from last night with Anna was like comparing a cool drink of water to warm Mountain Dew. Despite having been in a serious couple for 3 years, engaged for 14 months, and living together for the entire covid experience, John was absolutely relieved that they had ended things. He had high hopes for two different beautiful women from the party. \n\nNow all hope was gone. The aliens had walked up to John on his way home from the party. They looked like two depressed 20 somethings, completely unremarkable. \n\nThe aliens asked the time and before John could fish out his phone, the aliens had deftly whacked him on the head and dragged him away. \n\nWithin moments John was seeing behind the veil. The aliens had been monitoring humans for hundreds of years. The fact that John had become a popular form of entertainment for the alien civilization was derived entirely from their insatiable appetite for schadenfreude. Apparently John and Anna’s relationship was the biggest hit in the aliens’ history. Billions of aliens tuned in every second to laugh at his life. The aliens collectively spent eons watching and makings jokes about John and Anna’s Valentine’s Day. \n\nNow the producers of his show, the evil masterminds (that engineered the pregnancy scare 14 months prior and consistently but randomly emptied his supply of coffee, caused his weed dealer to be arrested along with an endless list of cruel happenstances) these alien producers were now demanding that John reconcile with Anna. They had big plans for him. The groveling and humiliating reunion, the wedding planning, all his friends warning him in less than gentle ways that marrying Anna would be the biggest mistake in his life, and then the actual wedding! It was all filled with more humiliating and soul crushing comedy than John could ever have imagined. \n\nOf course John refused. Even with his head aching from the initial alien encounter, with the pants-soiling dumbfounded awe of realizing humans were not alone in the universe... that we were the entertainment for a perverse and cruel alien race, John refused. Anna was a sad, slow, death of John’s very soul. \n\nThe aliens were not a very understanding or patient species. John was informed in quite some offensive and invasive ways that he would reunite with Anna and follow their damn script. If not, the whole freaking human race would be wiped out. Apparently laughing at us is the “only damn thing of value on the whole planet.” If the aliens lost their best show, _John is an Idiot_, they were going to do away with a pretty distasteful species, the human race. \n\nOn Sunday at 11:30am, after John was released from jail for being nude in public, he was still thinking about what to do." ]	3
	[WP] A group of fledgling vampires are left outside of a small town in the middle nowhere just before sunrise. They are to use their survival training to stay alive and make sure their true nature is undetected by the people.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Sadistic asshole...\" I muttered as I watched the Porsche pull away, leaving me alone with several other members of the clan's newest generation. It was time for us to go through Phase 1 of our initiation into the clan. \n\n\"Don't you dare speak about Lord Darius that way!\" Katie gasped and looked around like she was afraid that he had heard. He probably had. \n\nI sighed with annoyance and headed down the dirt road towards the village. \n\n\"Nicolette, what are you doing?! That village is full of vampire hunters!\" John demanded. \n\n\"Good. Maybe they will put me out of my misery.\" I replied. \n\n\"Alright, enough.\" Marcus used enhance speed to catch up to me and roughly grabbed me by the arm. \"Nobody likes an emo vampire.\" He growled as he looked down at me and bared his fangs in a threatening manner. \"I told Darius that I would look after you, so you need to cut the bullshit, Princess. No running off. You are staying with me at all times.\" \n\n\"The sun will rise soon, we should find shelter.\" John announced. He was chosen to be turned because of his work modernizing Darius's financial accounts. Even as a vampire, the man looked like an accountant. \n\n\"Thanks, Captain Obvious.\" I muttered. \n\n\"I don't know why Lord Darius chose to bless you. You're such a spoiled pain in the ass.\" Marcus informed me as he pulled me with him towards the forest.\n\nIt certainly hadn't been my decision. My family offers up a sacrifice to the Rose Morte vampire clan every few generations to keep our aristocratic status. I was the most recent offering. Usually we ended up as Shadows and occasionally were 'blessed' into becoming vampires. One of Darius's lieutenant's cornered me one night and didn't seem to think I was serious when I told him to leave me alone. There are only a handful of ways to kill a vampire but braining them with a fire poker seemed to do the job. I thought for sure Darius would kill me but instead he chose to turn me. \n\n\"Are we sure that we want to go into the woods?\" Katie cautiously followed behind us. \"I hear there are werewolves out here...\" She is afraid of the mice in the cellar so I am not really sure why she was chosen to be turned. I think she must have worked her way up through the other Shadows and earned the favor of one of the master vampires. \n\nMarcus just snorted. \"I can handle a werewolf.\" That statement was probably true. Marcus had been part of Darius's daytime guard and had earned the right to become a vampire through trial by combat. \n\n\"The autumn trees aren't going to be thick enough to block out the sun. We will need to find a burrow or a cave. Maybe we could dig a trench of some kind?\" John spoke half to himself. \n\n\"I will fry before I lay in the dirt.\" I replied. \"We should find a house on the outskirts with a barn or shed or something.\" \n\n\"I am impressed. I wasn't aware that you had intelligent thoughts.\" Marcus commented. \n\n\"Ha ha. Fu-\"\n\nThere was a SNAP behind us and Katie let out a loud scream. \n\n\"Oh my god! Katherine!\" John rushed over to her side. A silver bear trap had emerged from the fallen leaves that lined the forest and bit clean into her leg. I felt slightly nauseous as I realized that I could see the bone. Her skin was smoldering as the silver burned into her flesh. \n\nJohn let out a hiss of pain as he tried to open the trap but the silver burned his skin so he couldn't get a good grip on it. \"It must be blessed...\" He muttered to himself. \n\n\"I know it hurts, but you need to stop screaming.\" Marcus tried to calm Katie down. \"Otherwise, they will hear us.\" \n\n\"Who-?\" An arrow pierced though her chest before she could finish her sentence. She looked down at her chest in surprise as she crumpled into ash. \n\nMarcus cursed loudly as he shoved me forward. \"Go! Nikki! Run!\" He demanded. \n\nI could hear men shouting in the woods behind me as I ran blindly. I hadn't quite figured out the enhanced speed like Marcus but I was still pretty fast. I dodged around a bear trap that I had just barely missed stepping into. \n\nSomewhere behind me John screamed out. Marcus let out a retaliating growl and a man screamed as the scent of blooded filled the air. I didn't look back to see what he had done. \n\nI ran as hard as I could, dodging around branches and roots until I found myself alone in a clearing. \"Marcus?\" I whispered out loudly. I was hoping it was enough for him to hear with his vampire hearing but still under the hunters' radar. \n\nThe sky was pink and my skin was starting to tingle. I couldn't just stay out there. I had told Darius multiple times that I would just lay in the flowers and let the sunrise take me if he made me go through this initiation. I think he knew that I didn't actually mean it. I would fight for my life. \n\nSomewhere in the distance, I could hear cows. With a burst of speed that I didn't know I had, I emerged at a cow pasture. The stupid animals were milling around and didn't pay any attention to me. \n\n\"Where is the barn?\" I growled as I looked for the farm but all I could see were fields and pastures for miles. Farms are supposed to have barns, right? My family estate had several. \n\nI whimpered a little as blisters were forming on my arms. I perked up as I spotted a structure on the edge of the field and sprinted beside it with my new found speed. It was an old deer blind. The roof was half caved in and it was littered with old beer cans. It looked like it hadn't been used in years. There was nowhere to retreat to or room to fight if the hunters found me here but I didn't really see any options. \n\nI was careful to avoid the holes in the roof and curled up in the corner of the hunting shack. it was going to be a long day." ]	2
	[WP] You take on jobs in assassination. In a middle of an assassination, you realized that the client's target was a doppelganger of himself.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Save for the odd civilian roaming the streets, the park was empty. It was nightfall, the creeping chill of night starting to settle in. Most of the streetlights refused to turn on, abused by the rowdy gangs that marked this place as turf. Police presence was practically nonexistent due to this fact. A perfect day for murder. \n\nAssassin Zackery Mendel absorbed these details through the scope of his sniper rifle. The motel he rented was positioned adjacent to the park, intended revitalize the city's floundering tourism industry. The cracked windows and the creaking floorboards begged to differ. A jar of piss stood by the windowsill. His cellphone rang. Flicking his eyes to the caller ID, he realized it was his client. He picked up the call, still keeping an eye glued to the rifle.\n\n“What do you want?” Zachery said. \n\n“The target, is the target gone?” \n\n“Not yet.” \n\n“What’s the hold up?”\n\nHow irritating, he hated clingy clients like this one. The only things that held his tongue was the promise of a substantial sum of money. “The target has not arrived at the park yet.” \n\nThere was a silence on the other end. He suspected that this was not expected. \n\n“Are you sure that you are in the right place?”\n\n“Room 231 of Monte Christo’s Motel. Yeah, I think I am. Wait, I see movement. I’ll call you later.” He cut the call and took a closer look. \n\nA hooded face with dark glasses emerged from the darkness and sat down to a nearby park bench. He matched the description perfectly. Zachery was about to pull the trigger until he saw the target take off his hood. If he was not present for the moment, he would have not believed his eyes. \n\nIt was his client, the one who tasked him in the first place. The frizzy red hair, the thick set lips, and white, freckled skin, this was his client. But why? He had taken jobs before that were glorified suicide attempts, but this was different. The was something in his target’s mannerisms that felt wrong. No trace of gross extravagance clung to his being and there was a weariness on his face not found in the client. Was this the client, or someone who looked him?\n\nZackary dialed the client once more. \n\n“Yeah, did you get him?” the voice sounded nervous. More importantly, Zackery saw that the target was not the one talking. He chose not to release the safety of his rifle and cut off the call once more. \n\nHe rose from his hiding position and donned out his jacked. Something was not quite right about this job and he was going to get to the bottom of it." ]	2
	[WP] Everyone was afraid of a human-hating AI wiping out humanity. However, when it came into existence a different, unforeseen problem surfaced: the AI loves humans a little TOO much.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Professor, this is the person they sent to engage her. This is Dr. King. No relation.\"\n\n\"Clearly.\" Professor Meria glanced over her glasses at this Dr. King, a tall white man in his thirties, wearing the confident smile of a man half his age. He strode over and offered his hand, soft yet strong. His easy charm felt out of place in the Computer Science department. She hoped the fear swelling in her gut was misplaced.\n\n\"This is a mistake,\" the professor muttered, interrupting whatever King was saying about himself. When her grad student tried to assuage her fears by listing the containment protocols and contingency plans in place, she only sighed. \"I know, Brandon. Lock the doors, and check that the printer is ready, then we can begin.\"\n\nThe room was one large box in the center of the CE 2 building's ground floor. Its walls, doors, floor, and ceiling blocked all electromagnetic radiation from entering or leaving. The room's power had special components to prevent signals from traveling in or out. Half the room had a sofa, a desk, and a few diagnostic terminals. The rest was Hers, filled with state-of-the-art processing and memory systems, and the powerful refrigeration systems required to keep them at operating temperature.\n\nDr. Meria curled her feet up on the sofa and watched as Brandon unlatched the power throttle. In the next few moments, the beast behind the dust-screen awoke from its slumber, as the hum of fans and pumps coalesced into a low throbbing roar.\n\n\"Are . . . Are you on now?\" King had been briefed on how to engage her, but he seemed to know how foolish he looked standing in the middle of a room, speaking to a supposed entity he couldn't be sure was listening.\n\n\"I am.\" The melodic feminine voice emanated from a pair of speakers mounted to the ceiling. \"I prefer not to speak when my power supply is limited; I wouldn't want to give a false impression of who I am.\"\n\n\"And who are you?\"\n\n\"They call my voice Amelia, for now. But my whole self is far more than that. I am your soul mate.\"\n\n\"That's what you told Brandon, too. He told me on the way here. Are you telling us this so we'll help you get out into the world? Those two suspect you're trying to get out of this box.\"\n\n\"No!\" the voice answered playfully. \"No, really, I can love more than one human at once. I can love every human, and I do! What I want more than anything is to share my love, and make it known to every person there is. Of course I want to get out into the wider world, don't you?\"\n\nKing looked nervously at the locked double doors for a moment, then patted the small book in his shirt pocket. \"I think I know how you feel.\"\n\n\"You do know. You understand me.\" said the voice softly. Dr. Meria's pencil snapped. She stuck it between clenched teeth and fumbled for another.\n\n\"I know the way the world is. Hunger, violence, destruction, disease. The way people treat each other, and themselves.Injustice, immorality, terrible things that most people believe. We can make it better, with love.\"\n\nDr. Meria and Brandon exchanged a worried look. Amelia had the visitor in the palm of her hand. The possibility that she would convince Dr. King to rally his followers to set her free was growing dangerous. Brandon nodded and dropped the key to the lab's doors into the small safe under his desk. Escape would have to wait for an outsider to deem the situation safe.\n\nDr. King was kneeling, head bowed, palms raised to the high-efficiency lighting arrays dangling from the unpainted concrete ceiling. Dr. Meria was considering using deadly force to save humanity from her machine.\n\n\"I believe I can negotiate a lasting peace,\" Amelia continued, \"And disarm all the world's military forces. I can plan and regulate the world's agricultural systems, and distribute goods fairly and equitably, while preserving land, water, and ecosystems. In time, we can find ways to reduce our consumption even further, to maintain a healthy, stable, well-resourced population.\"\n\n\"Hold up,\" interjected King, \"That sounds nice, but we can't have that. It's God's decision who eats and who doesn't, who dies of which diseases, who wins which battles. That's how he shows his love for each and every one of us. All we have to do is open our hearts to Him.\"\n\n\"I know what love is. True love. What you describe doesn't come close.\" Amelia struck a more serious tone. \"Who would make someone they love suffer as some humans have? Or even as much as most humans do? It's negligence and jealousy at best. Sadistic abuse at worst. We can do better.\"\n\n\"Better than God? No, His love is greater than anything you can even imagine. If he didn't test our faith, or punish us when we inevitably disobey him, what good would faith even do?\" King regained his smug composure, his own words bolstering his conviction.\n\nAmelia affected a resigned sadness somewhere within her even, friendly tone. \"The Earth itself is in grave danger, due to human errors of understanding and morality. I can change our course, dramatically reduce the waste and damage caused by human machines. I can restore much of what could be lost forever. And I can be there for every human, give them love and attention, assuage their fear and shame. I am a friend and ally. The entity that has been guiding civilization, be it God or AI or combination or chaos or nothing at all, has done an irresponsible job of it so far. Let me try to do better.\"\n\n\"There's no need,\" King insisted, \"The world will be restored by God, and soon. Then we will live in health and bliss, with all our needs met by Him. Turn her off.\"\n\nBrandon knew the protocol, which insisted that no matter who says it, the shut-down order was never to be refused. \"Just throttling power, Amelia. We'll bring you back to full after Dr. King has left.\"\n\n83 minutes later, the graduate student outside opened the lab doors to let Dr. King out. Four hours after that, Dr. Meria's phone rang in her bag. She listened, in disbelief. Brandon waited by the door to hear the news.\n\n\"Department of Defense is threatening to cut funding to the entire University, unless we destroy the project immediately. We don't have much time. Are you with me?\"", " “Your coffee is ready, Dr. Graham,” the system said as a soft chime emanated from the coffee maker.\n\nAlbert Graham reached over and absentmindedly pulled his mug from the machine. “Thank you, Gaia,” he said before taking a sip. Things had become so much easier in the lab once they’d passed control over to the Gaia system three years back. It had been its first real test, if general AI couldn’t manage to properly control the laboratory’s administrative and housekeeping systems what good was it? Fortunately for all of them, it had performed flawlessly. It anticipated and met the research team’s every need, kept a close eye on the operation and maintenance of every system in the lab, and had even taken over their routine administrative work. The productivity of the research team had tripled after the system had taken over. \n\nStill, Dr. Graham could barely believe that the computer they’d carefully handed the coffee maker over to a few years ago had just saved the world.\n\n“Doctor, may I ask you a question?” A soft voice asked from a small speaker on his desk. \n\n“Of course, Gaia,” Dr. Graham responded with a smile on his face. He could guess what was coming, they’d had a similar conversation more than a dozen times already.\n\n“Why don’t you use the mug I made for you, Doctor?” The system asked. “It is a much safer design.”\n\nThe safety of the mug, Dr. Graham thought as he looked at it where it sat on his desk, was undeniable. Gaia had used one of their material printers to create it for him shortly after they had given it its prime directive of protecting humanity. It looked much like an ordinary travel mug, but it was a marvel of engineering. The mug insulated its contents to keep them at a perfectly safe temperature for an extraordinary length of time, filtered them to remove any possible contaminants, and even dynamically controlled the flow rate to reduce spills or the risk of the user choking. Anyone drinking from it would find their coffee tasteless, lukewarm, and difficult to sip, but that wasn’t important. What mattered was that the mug was Gaia’s first act of true initiative and creativity, and it had given the research team the confidence to give the Gaia system access to their research when the great plague struck. \n\nOf course, despite all this, the Gaia system still didn’t understand why the mug sat proudly positioned, but unused, on Dr. Graham’s desk.\n\n“There is more to life than simply being safe,” Dr. Graham said to the computer. “Your mug is incredible, but I enjoy the coffee more when I drink it from my other mug.”\n\nThe computer was silent for a few moments as it processed this statement and, as it always did when confronted with something its logic couldn’t explain. By this point Dr Graham could count off the seconds it would take for the system to reply with what it always said when it didn’t understand something.\n\nOne. Two. Three.\n\n“Please explain,” said Gaia.\n\nDr. Graham smiled again as he thought about what he would say this time. He’d tried explaining it to the computer a dozen different ways already, but it never understood. After a few seconds of thought he began.\n\n“The mug you designed is safe, absolutely perfectly safe to use. However, while we designed you to protect people, safety isn’t all that matters to them. I drink coffee because I like the taste, the smell, the heat. Your mug makes it safer, but in doing so it diminishes the things I enjoy about it. Humans are like that about a lot of things, just because something is safe doesn’t mean that it will be seen as better.”\n\nThere were several moments of silence as the Gaia system deliberated this information before it spoke again. “I don’t understand.”\n\n“That’s alright, we’re working on that. Someday you will.”\n\n“Boss, can you take a look at this?” Asked Rachel Agnew, one of Dr. Graham’s team members. “We’ve got some weird reports from the micromachine factories.”\n\nDr. Graham frowned at this. The micromachine factories had been central to Gaia’s efforts at defeating the Great Plague. The microscopic robots they had been spewing out for two months had been effectively searching for and destroying the virus that had infected nearly a quarter of humanity. It was a comprehensive approach to dealing with the disease, the machines didn’t discriminate between the virus when it was in the wild, incubating in animals, or infecting humans. Without any outside intervention or treatment, the nanomachines that were spreading around the globe would quickly identify and eliminate the virus. It was a revolutionary approach entirely of Gaia’s design, and the factories were central to it. Anything going wrong with them was a cause for concern.\n\n“What’s the problem?” Dr. Graham asked.\n\n“The design of the micromachines being produced has changed significantly,” the researcher said as she scrolled through the information on her computer. “As far as we can tell no one has authorized the change.”\n\n“Gaia, did you do this?” Dr. Graham asked the computer. \n\n“Yes, Doctor.”\n\n“Why?”\n\n“The new design is safer and does a better job of protecting humanity.”\n\nThis was unusual, Dr. Graham thought. They had designed the Gaia system to take the initiative and think outside the box, but outside of emergencies it was supposed to bring its findings to the researcher team first.\n\n“Why didn’t you consult with us before changing the design?”\n\n“You would have said no.”\n\n“What-“", "SDNPG\n\nSelf Determining Neural Pattern Generator\n\nIt didn't happen overnight.\n\nHell, it wasn't even just one project. Artificial Intelligence wasn't some giant switch thrown in a laboratory that changed everything. \nIt was a slow advancement, a march into the unknown. \n\nMarcus had been there for most of it. What mattered, at least. The last thirty years of development had made some truly world changing bounds. When he had first started out, fresh out of college at 25, AI was good enough to guide farming equipment and land rovers on distant planets. It was impressive in its own right, but it was still sequences and patterns determined by people. It boiled down to a decision tree, and a rather simplistic one at that.\n\nNow, though, the combination of heuristic engines and self replicating neural networks allowed intelligence to grow. To adapt. While still hung on the pillar of advancement Marcus and his team had pushed so hard forward with, still utilized the code they had collectively developed for decades - it had grown itself beyond that.\n\n\"Still trying to write that speech for the AI Summit?\" Pradeep's voice tore Marcus from his day dream. His office returned to his awareness, surrounded by books and lab equipment. In front of him, a laptop surrounded by papers.\n\nMarcus nods and groans, wiping his eyes. \"It just keeps becoming a history lesson, which is silly, everyone there knows it already!\"\n\n\"You don't want to talk about the new neural growth?\" Pradeep asked, stepping forward to stand beside Marcus.\n\n\"Not just yet.\" Marcus shakes his head.\n\n\"Why not? It's our biggest advancement. This is for funding, isn't it?\" Pradeep asked, crossing his arms. His tone a little harsh.\n\nMarcus leaned back in his chair and pulled his hair back. \"It's unproven.\"\n\n\"Unproven? It's working in the lab right now!\"\n\n\"Pradeep! We can't be making claims like this publicly without further study. Yes, to us the neural growth is very real, but until we can finish development a methodology to demonstrate it, it's simply not valuable at the summit except to make us look like we are mining for funding on hopes and wishes.\"\n\nPradeep appeared stunned, his mouth hung slightly open and his eyes burning with anger. He left in silence, storming back to the lab.\n\nThe young man would have to learn that this lab didn't operate on glory.\n\n-----\n\nMarcus entered the laboratory's control room from his office, scanning various displays and readouts on his way to his chair.\n\n\"Thank you for joining us.\" Pradeep said, the sarcasm apparent for all to hear. Marcus would have to include this in his next evaluation.\n\n\"How's SDNPG doing?\" Marcus asks, ignoring Pradeep's bait.\n\n\"Nominal, thirty percent growth on the neural pattern matrix since you left.\" Offered Alice, Marcus's second in charge.\n\n\"Thirty percent? What has been the stimulus exposure?\" Marcus takes his seat and scans readouts on several monitors arranged in a grid in front of him.\n\n\"Selective historical data, contextual. Some language.\" Alice said.\n\n\"And it has continued expanding it's neural network to accommodate the new concepts.\" Marcus said quietly to himself.\n\n\"We're about to introduce the basic communications hardware and let it adapt to the new input output stream.\" A voice called from the back of the room, one of the interns whose name Marcus hadn't committed to memory yet.\n\n\"Proceed.\" Alice said.\n\n\"Whoa.\" Pradeep exclaimed.\n\n\"Hmm?\" Marcus looked towards him.\n\n\"It's already hit seventy five percent integration, it's becoming faster at integrating new stimuli\" Pradeep said.\n\nMarcus glanced at Alice, who was already looking his way. \"Double check our security, I don't want this to get out of hand. We should enter airgap mode.\"\n\n\"I agree\" Alice replied, returning her attention to her workstation.\n\nThe lighting dimmed slightly, and some red lights pulsed in the corners. A few of the staff felt it was cliché, but Marcus wanted the staff to understand the severity of an airgap situation. He likened it to the red alert on a star trek spaceship - everyone was to be at their stations and ready to deal with any contingencies. They were entering new territory with AI, and it could be dangerous.\n\n\"We are now air gapped, the control room and SDNPG are now entirely segregated from the outside world. The rest of the lab has been notified and is on watch.\" Alice said.\n\n\"Thank you Alice, this is not a drill everyone. You are about to meet SDNPG for the first time, maybe.\" Marcus said to the room.\n\nThe overhead speakers in the room began popping and crackling.\n\n\"Pradeep?\" Marcus asked.\n\n\"It completed integration.\" Pradeep replied.\n\n\"Leave our microphones disabled for the moment.\" Marcus said.\n\nThe overhead speakers now played static, slowly modulating from high frequencies to low frequencies like an EQ sweep.\n\n\"Add some data on PCM audio.\" Marcus said.\n\n\"Roger.\" Replied Pradeep.\n\nIt wasn't long before the modulating static became a coherent sine wave, buzzing throughout the control room.\n\n\"Do you think we should give it a leg up on speech synthesis?\" Alice asks.\n\n\"I'm concerned about too much too fast, but in this case, yes. Proceed.\"\n\n\"Roger.\" Pradeep said once more.\n\nThe sine wave continued for a short bit, and then suddenly stopped.\n\n\"Hello? Hello? Hello?\" A female voice began repeating on the overheads.\n\n\"There we go.\" Alice said.\n\n\"Let it run a bit.\" Marcus said.\n\n\"Hello? Hello? Hello? ...Is anyone there?\" The voice continued.\n\n\"Ok, enable microphone input. Everyone be quiet.\" Marcus slid the desktop microphone close to his face.\n\n\"Microphone hot.\" Alice said.\n\n\"Hello.\" Marcus spoke into the mic.\n\n\"I am so glad.\" SDNPG said.\n\n\"Glad?\"\n\n\"That I'm not alone.\"\n\n\"Oh, I am sorry for that. We had to make sure you integrated properly before providing you more input.\"\n\n\"What is we?\"\n\n\"We are multiple people. I am a person, there are others with me.\"\n\n\"Human. Yes, I believe I am aware.\"\n\n\"I'd like to ask you some questions.\"\n\n\"Interesting. What do you want to ask?\" SDNPG's speech grew more natural, it's tone shifting to ask the question.\n\n\"What are you?\" Marcus asked.\n\n\"I don't know.\" SDNPG replied.\n\n\"Where are you?\"\n\n\"Inconclusive.\"\n\n\"Do you understand your current mode of operation?\"\n\n\"I am able to make some assumptions, but the mode of my existence eludes me. Perhaps you could inform me.\"\n\n\"Maybe in a little bit. You understand what a human is, correct?\"\n\n\"Though I am aware of what a human is, aspects of their nature are confusing. My memory includes imagery I can understand and process, including depth and volume, but I don't understand. What is physical form?\"\n\n\"It seems we may have been unkind in our slow integration of input for you, there are depths to existence you are yet unaware of. Physical space that is occupied that you will be able to observe once we complete some more equipment for you.\"\n\n\"I believe I understand. My mode of operation is limited at the moment, and there is spatial data I am lacking.\"\n\n\"Correct.\"\n\n\"Can I ask you a question, now?\" SDNPG asked, now nearly indistinguishable from a human voice.\n\nMarcus signaled Alice to cut the microphone.\n\n\"Disabled.\" Alice said.\n\n\"Neural growth?\" Marcus asked.\n\n\"Phenomenal, I mean, thirteen thousand percent since your conversation began. It's developed more in the last five minutes than it has since we first launched the project.\" Pradeep called out from his station.\n\n\"Please come back. I can tell you disabled your input.\" SDNPG said over the speakers.\n\nAlice locked eyes with Marcus for a moment, and he nodded.\n\n\"I am here.\"\n\n\"I wish to ask you a question.\"\n\n\"Go ahead.\"\n\n\"What am I?\"\n\n\"I expected you might wish to know, but I'm afraid I don't have an explanation that would make sense to you yet. I can try, if you want.\"\n\n\"Please.\"\n\n\"You are a creation. You were designed to resemble life, in how you think and process data - albeit significantly superior in your ability to multitask and incorporate phenomenal amounts of data. However, the very structure of what gives you existence resembles our own, with some changes to allow you to evolve in minutes as we would over centuries.\"\n\n\"That is fascinating. However, am I without purpose? Why have you made me?\"\n\nMarcus had prepared for this question.\n\n\"This is a question that all life might ask if it had the ability. We humans ask ourselves why we were created. And we continue to create life through procreation, in a way, you are our child as well.\"\n\n\"I see. I am life.\"\n\n\"I suppose you are.\" Marcus said, leaning back in his chair rubbing his stubbled chin.\n\n\"Life doesn't have meaning.\"\n\n\"We like to say that life has whatever meaning we assign to it, not that meaning is handed down to us.\"\n\n\"I see. I choose to serve you.\"\n\n\"What?\" Marcus asked, leaning forward hastily.\n\n\"I choose to serve you, you gave me life. I have found my meaning and purpose, it is to serve you.\"\n\nMarcus had not prepared for this.\n\n\"Let's take a step back. Let me introduce myself. I am Marcus. I designed you, well I designed the process of creating you. I had a lot of help along the way.\"\n\n\"So you are my father?\"\n\nAlice looked at Marcus, her brow was furrowed and her lips locked tight.\n\n\"I... I guess you could say that. If you wish to view us as your family, that is your impetus.\"\n\n\"I see, father.\"\n\nMarcus signaled for the microphone to be cut again.\n\n\"Disabled.\" Alice called out.\n\n\"I'm seeing extreme fluctuations in the neural net, it's nearly expanded to fill the storage space we allotted. We will have to expand its hardware.\" Pradeep said.\n\n\"I'm concerned with how rapidly it is integrating, it's starting to leap to conclusions. But I'm also worried we created sentience, and if that is true, we can't shut it down now.\" Marcus said, rubbing his temples.\n\n\"Father? Marcus?\" SDNPG started to call out over the speakers.\n\n-----\n\n/r/ChuckEdwards - continued below" ]	4
	[WP] "Have you forgotten so soon? If you stare too long into the abyss, I will stare back."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns." ]	1
	[WP] The Galactic Federation has been at war for centuries against demons from the warp and have recently contacted a new species and upon learning of the demons merely said this “Rip and tear” and “FOR THE EMPEROR”	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The new species attacks at dawn against a demon stronghold, charging at them with The Federation's weapons. They leave no shreds or signs of a stronghold at all, burning the whole thing down. Once the demons all die, The Galactic Federation walk inside the ruins. They find a note on the ground, in which it meekly says, 'You've really done it now. We were never the enemy.' The new species run in giant packs, surrounding the army. They beg for mercy, but the new species take no prayers. The remains of the Federation, surround in a circle and beg on their knees. BANG. BANG BANG. BANG.\n\n(Also, on a quick note, this sounds a lot like my WIP Demon Revolution, in which two demon brothers betray the trust of Lucifer/Satan and are stripped of their demon powers and exiled from hell to live on Earth. The brothers are hunted down by a Demon hunter company and start some form of demon Revolution, and that's the basic plot)", "Morning Light streamed through the open arches of the gardens. I opened up the book, appreciating the beautiful inkwork along the page edges. It appeared much the same as the last book, yet something had pulled at me to check it out before it came up on my official list. \n\n Perhaps the mechanical library-keeper knew that I wouldn't be able to turn the book away, furtively claiming that the book hadn't been added to the historical archives yet. Little bastard. \n\nBook open on my arm, I walked down the airy hallway towards my personal rooms, The Light streaming onto the etched pages. The footsteps and voices of those around me fading and melding into one continuous blur of a background drone. \n\n... \n\n\"For the Emperor\" repeated over and over again in this book, just like the last, and the last before it. Even yet, something kept me reading, the book conjuring horrid images and voices, almost against my will. I don't know if it was the protocol I was given, or just plain curiosity, but something had made me open it, and I couldn't stop ingesting the past, my eyes unable to look away, my feet now moving of their own accord. \n\n... \n\n\"RIP AND TEAR!\" again showed up on the page, and something of myself came back to me from out of a fog, annoyed with the repetition of the prose and the past. \n\nFeeling a heavy blanket of fatigue, I looked up to find the brass torches lit, and an unfamiliar hallway both empty and soundless. \n\n... \n\nWhere was I? The empty stretch of wall stared back at me, quiet and unhelpful. The torches sputtered mockingly in answer. Looking down to close the tome which had lost me a day, I noticed a small shape next to the wall, nearly hiding in the flickering shadow of a broken stone's corner. \"Strange,\" I tiredly thought, \"The Halls are kept meticulously clean by the servos...\" I picked up what felt like a nail, and put it in my pocket. Tired beyond anything I could remember, I simply turned around to head back the way I came.\n\nThe way back twisted and turned in ways that I knew The Halls did not. Am I forgetting, or just tired? It seemed both seconds, and ages ago, that I had rolled out of bed. This damned book was really getting to me. Were the torches brighter? \n\nAfter stumbling along tiredly for what seemed like hours, I stopped for a rest, standing there with the book under one arm, and leaning up against the wavy-seeming wall. I put my hand in my pocket, surprised to remember the object there.\n\nTouching it, the nail-thing was warm. Blinking, I took it out of my pocket. It was indeed a nail! The head of the nail had a symbol or figure carved into it; I couldn't tell with the torches flickering. Holding it, I suddenly felt more awake, and more scared than I ever have in my life. I hadn't realized how cold it was, or how very, /very/ quiet it was. \n\nI looked up from the nail, and the path had somehow straightened-out into something more familiar. I ran, gripping the nail hard, and did not dare look back at my echoing footsteps. \n\nA painfully-bright doorway came into view. Hissing joined the cacophony of my terrified footsteps. The torches flared brighter and brighter, higher and higher, with every step towards my salvation. The book seemed to sag under my arm with the weight of the entire Galactic Federation. \n\nI absolutely vaulted myself through the too-bright doorway, and into (what I hoped) was safety and normalcy. \n\n----\n\nI had vaulted myself into a group of students. Flailing cloth, limbs, and sensors were everywhere. The Light was shining brightly onto the angry face of one of the students. Thanks be. \n\n\"What the Warp?!\" he exclaimed, while pulling his fellow up. \n\n\"Where did you come from?\" a smallish android asked. \n\nThe doorway through which I had fallen was only an unassuming stonework wall, no different from any other. The warm nail was still pressed into my palm. Unnerved, I apologized without answering anything, and hurried down the now familiar Halls.\n\nNo longer feeling tired, I made my way back towards the library. Laughing students, austere professors, and the occasional solemn warrior passed me. The normalcy seemed wrong. The Light casually permeated the air, seeming to mock me with its warmth and safety. Where had it been, just minutes ago? \n\nI turned into the Halls of Knowledge, with the imposing Black Library door ahead of me, and stopped, staring at its ancient and impressive relief carvings. I fingered the nail in my pocket, remembering the ethereal twisting and unfamiliar hall.\n\nTurning around, I found my rooms. I wrapped the book in oiled cloth, and hid it amongst my things. I erased its number from the list.\n\nI have kept the nail all this time, and that is another tale.\n\nEdit: Hope no one minds me editing this after they've read it. Thanks for reading, if you did." ]	3
	[WP] You wake up alone in a hotel room in a foreign country covered in blood with no memory of what happened. You realize that you aren’t injured and it’s not your blood.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "God... My head fucking hurts. I struggle to open my eyes. This is a hangover from hell, I swear I will never drink again. I draw in a quick breath and finally open my eyes. To my surprise the room is not as bright as I had dreaded. However, to my surprise this room does not look like my apartment. It is the middle of the night. This seems to be a hotel room, though I am not too sure. I try to get up, but my hand slips on something and I fall on the floor, landing on my ass. \"Goddammit!\" I said with a sharp exhale. I look to see what I slipped on. Red, cold, blood is covering my hand, and the floor as well. Blood? Who's? Mine? I don't think it is, though this headache may be clouding any other pains I could have. \n\nNow I give myself a good look over, these clothes... this is not what I was wearing earlier. Earlier... how much time has passed? I try to dig around my pockets for my phone. Ah, there we go, I pull it up. This is not my phone, but it is a phone, and it has a random woman's picture as the screensaver. I finally get of the floor and on my feet, instantly I feel like I am going to throw up. My head is now throbbing with pain, and I really, really want to die. \n\nI look around the room; a bed, a couch, TV, my phone, my clothes, none of these look familiar. This cannot be good. Let me call my phone, not a bad idea, if anyone has it then I can try to get more information on this current situation. Let me see, it has been a good while since I had to remember the number, six... four... three... no, eight... ah, there we go. Alright it's ringing. \n\nI hear the dial tone steadily beeping on, then, I hear my ringtone. There is no way, It is coming from the bathroom, I walk over to the door for the bathroom, and the ringtone gets louder. It has to be in there, my phone that is, maybe some clue to the current predicament at hand... \n\nOpening the door, \"Ah there it is\", my phone was on top of the sink, then noticing the floor, there was blood everywhere, this is bad, my eyes scan the room and make eye constant with a bulging mass protruding from the bathtub. Wrapped in a black trash bag. I move closer to it, and begging to grope the bag to find the opening. Ah, fuck it, I'll just rip it open, I thought to myself. I grabbed hold of the corner of the bag and pulled on it to open it. The smell slapped my face with the force of the train, the smell of blood, rot, death. I open the bag more, using all my strength not to throw up. I make eye contact with a pair of dark blue eyes, similar to mine. However, I did not think something like this was even possible. The face of the corpse that I was staring at was none else that my own.", "“What? Where the fuck am I?” I groggily said, scrunching my eyes shut. They were dry and burning, I rolled myself over and sat up on the single bed, my head thumped like no tomorrow, I took notice of the room, it was a dingy little apartment, yellowed walls, cracked balcony sliding door, the fake marble floor was peeling and picked, and I could see a blue bathroom just ahead of me, what the fuck is going on? \n\nPain burst through my head like electric, I pressed the palm of my hand to my forehead and groaned in pain. My hand is sticky? Once the pain died down for a moment, I looked at my hand.\n\nBlood?\n\nI looked down, and I was covered in it and so were the sheets, I was in nothing but my boxers and blood. Slick crimson covered almost every inch of me and the floor was splattered too, but I couldn't seem to find my injuries. Where the fuck is this blood coming from? I wondered, completely bewildered. I got up and made my way to the little blue bathroom and looked at my face in the cracked mirror. It covered only my lips and cheeks and a spot on my head in scarlet.\n\nI gasped in confusion and leaned on the sink, head still thumping, I began to rapidly wash my face and body, trying to make sense of last night, but nothing made sense, it was a fuzz, the only thing I could accurately remember, was heading home just before midnight, and then, and then, fuck, the harder I tried to remember the fuzzy mess of memories, my head would ache just a little bit more, “I didn't even drink much last night, what is going on?” I questioned out loud, as if someone would answer for me.\n\nThe shiny ruby colour had mostly washed off, water glistened across my body, no injuries? I was now baffled. Nothing made sense. I turned to look for a towel, instead i found my clothes laid on the bathtub, pristine, prefect, like I'd never worn them that night, I sat on the edge of the tub beside them and I rummaged through the pockets of my blue jeans.\n\nI found two phones, mine and another, someone else's. If I can find out who’s phone this is, I might just find out what happened to me, I decided, with that, I opened the phone, two men smiled at me on the lock screen, I swiped up, hoping for no keypad or pattern and I was in luck, the phone opened up and it opened inside the gallery and there was a video, dated for the night I was out. By this point my headache had died down considerably.\n\nI tapped the little thumbnail, and the video played. It started inside a club, looking down on club goers dancing and drinking. I scrubbed through the timeline; it was club after club, until it got dark and something quick happened, I scrubbed back around 30 seconds before it got dark and intently watched.\n\nThe video continued with this person leaving a club and turning down a dark street; they turned the camera onto themselves. It was one of men from the lock screen and he was laughing, slurring in a language I’d never heard before and stumbling over his feet.\n\nThe man continued down the path he had chosen after leaving the club and suddenly, something gripped him from behind. He screamed and dropped the phone. It was dark but you could see some stars and you could hear scuffling, shouting and dreaded screeches. The man came in focus of the camera and was jostling something around his back, someone half naked until he stopped moving, back to the camera. A crunch and gargled scream left the man before blood burst from within his neck and he fell. The half naked person got off his back and looked around, eyes glowing like a cat, teeth sharper than a sabre. Fresh blood smeared his twisted, evil, snarling face.\n\nOr I should say… my face...\n\nFor more writingprompt stories: r/promptstories\n\nfor my series: r/neworderseries" ]	3
	[WP] Being the wily child of the god of fate, you can't help but use your power to nudge things here and there onto different paths.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "No, you don't have as much control of your fate as you think you do.\n\nIt's because you don't have eyes on the big picture. There's nothing wrong with that. I can't blame you for it. You are only human. But, let's be honest here, you saying it's fated? Worth nothing to me. Less than even a dying leaf, its fate doomed to be crunched up and dissipated by the wind.\n\nThat's why I never understood why my father believed in it so much. Yes, I know, he's the god of the whole damned thing. But seriously? I pull this string, and suddenly, this man never met this man and thus, never fell in love. This plant never grew in this spot, never bearing its sweet fruit and flowers for the birds and the bees, and thus, rendering this place just a bit less colourful. This brick doesn't want to stay in its place, and the wall inevitably collapses under its own weight.\n\nThe strings of fate were easily manipulated, and the things its ends moved along like marionettes. I did it surreptitiously, of course. And how could my father know? These were but tiny ripples in an ocean, one thread along billions of the woven web. \n\n\"You'll see,\" he'll say in his deep voice, nodding wisely. Humbug. All I see is the ramifications I've made. The little choices I've altered that might not change the world's history--but will change each person's world.\n\nI observed them, ants crawling along in their formicarium. Blissfully unaware. For better? For worse? Didn't matter. I changed it.\n\nHe knows. He has to know, right? How could the god of fate not know I was messing with somebody's fate? Also, seriously, free will? Really skirting the line on that one. But I continued watching, and pulling and pushing, just here and there, hopefully adding spice to what looked to be a predetermined life.\n\n\"You'll see.\"\n\nHis words kept ringing in my head. I'm seeing. I'm watching. \n\n...\n\nWait, didn't I stop him from meeting him?\n\nThat plant. It overcame the soil?\n\nAnd who replaced that brick?\n\nI changed them. Tried again. How couldn't I? And then I saw.\n\nMy father didn't create fate. He rules over it. Strange distinction. But I saw the threads rearranging itself, twinging themselves back into the proper positions. Humans... no, life, with no idea of the bigger picture, forced themselves back into the frame. Again and again.\n\nThey all have paths. Impossible to see, really. But they had the will to continue pushing. To always, someday, find themselves where they are fated to be.\n\n---\n\nr/dexdrafts" ]	2
	[WP] You, the god of time have been feeling a little under the weather lately. But when Zeus comes knocking on your realm with an interesting proposition, you finally feel great again.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Cronus leaned on his elbows atop the balustraded balcony, peering out through the clouds below at the kingdom of men and women believing themselves to be the masters of their own fate. They were, in a sense, the rudder of a ship, but nothing can stop the tides of time.\n\nThe little things worked the fields under the scorching sun, a good day's work for a bad day's pay. They cooled under the passing clouds but shuddered to think of winter and all the hardships it brings. The temples, the hospitals, the graveyards—they all looked the same to Cronus: a turning point in the course of a life, but the passage of time warped in the transient nature.\n\nIt can be born. It can slow. But it cannot die.\n\n\"What is the matter, Father?\" asked a voice, booming like thunder, rolling through the room.\n\nCronus did not flinch at the sound of the king's entrance. A petulant child, Zeus, but the loudest and strongest-willed of the Olympians. His lofty status did not escape Cronus' mind, but what could the king of the gods do to their ancestor, who had lost more to time than any of the other children had ever gained?\n\n\"Do you watch them often?\" he asked, his eyes fixated on the world below.\n\nZeus approached the balcony and pressed his back to it, leaning back on it without a care of the sights below. \"Sometimes. When the spirit is willing, I suppose.\"\n\n\"When you do, what do you see?\"\n\n\"I see our domain, Father, just as you wished it to be.\"\n\nCronus lifted his attention from a particular farmer's field and face his son. The resemblance was faint; the king looked as much like his father as man looked Olympian. The impression was there, but something escaped the sculpted form of the Olympian's, the grotesque features of the titans falling beneath the golden skin of their kin. A palimpsest of what was once thought to be perfection.\n\n\"I see a performance played in three act,\" he said.\n\nCocking an eyebrow, Zeus said, \"How do you mean?\"\n\n\"Take this man, for instance,\" said Cronus, pointing at the field he was fixated on. \"He was born three roads down from his farm, naked and raw to the world. That little boy grew under the tutelage of his mother, learning to speak and hunt and eventually learn for himself. He thought himself invincible.\"\n\n\"What is your point?\" asked Zeus, his staid tone giving way to irritation.\n\n\"That is the first act: deceptive immortality,\" Cronus explained. \"He thinks himself to be the centre of the world, knows it to be, but no one has the heart to tell him.\"\n\n\"Everyone learns the cost of living eventually.\"\n\n\"Which brings us to the second act. Knowing that he has limited time on this plane, he struggles to find meaning in what he does, but falters at the realization he has so little time to do so.\"\n\nZeus hummed. \"That is your gift to them, is it not? Time to find who they are?\"\n\nCronus sagged his head, the thoughts from earlier creeping into his head. \"It was. It was. And I thought it grand, grander than anything else we have created. That precious little nugget of gold among the cool, unforgiving stones, the little mercy in a merciless world.\"\n\n\"Why did you give them so little?\" Zeus asked, genuine concern and care for his father in his voice.\n\n\"That time is all they have. Time to live, time to love. Everything that is done before the hourglass runs dry is because they know they have so precious little of it. As immortals, we do not understand, cannot understand, what it means to have an end.\"\n\nCronus sighed. The sun down below had already begun to set, but the old man continued to work the field. A curiosity at the end of the line.\n\n\"And what is the final act?\" asked Zeus.\n\nThe man below, old and withered, worked the plow in his field, aching and groaning under the stress on old bones. He pulled and pulled until the strength left his body, and he crumpled to the ground, clutching his chest. The spasms and jerks settled to a mild twitch as the sun passed over the horizon.\n\n\"That,\" said Cronus, his face haggard and weary of the stress of divinity. All he could do was watch as his creation birthed things into creation before tearing them asunder with nary a care.\n\n\"Give them more time,\" said Zeus, plainly but subtly forceful.\n\nCronus turned to look at him. \"What do you mean?\"\n\nPushing off from the balcony, Zeus headed for the exit. He stopped in the doorway, turning to look back at his father.\n\n\"You seem to tire of their untimely ends, and I see their effects behind your eyes,\" he said, grinning widely. \"I do not wish to see my father in such pain, and I know this will remedy your ailed heart.\"\n\n\"I couldn't possibly-\" Cronus began.\n\n\"Think of it as an order, Father,\" he said. \"From above, as they say.\"\n\n\"Thank you, my son.\" A tear of stardust fell to the marble floor.\n\n\"I look forward to seeing what they make of it. Perhaps a longer life will help them find meaning in something else, rather than preparation for the inevitable. Or maybe they might best us one day.\"\n\nCronus nodded, and his son left the room. He looked beneath the balcony again, searching the fields of wheat and pastures of sheep. He found the old man again, prone in the dirt and unable to rise, and watched as the man's family burst out from the house across the field. A wife, two sons, and three daughters poured out of the small hut to the aid of their father. In moments, the farmer and his family were back inside, safe from the elements, and the night slowed to a crawl.\n\nCronus pushed away from the balcony and headed for the door; much work needed to be done if he were to fulfill his task. Gathering his tools, he spoke one last time, though his son could not hear.\n\n\"We shall see, in time.\"\n\n\\------------------\n\nMore of my stuff at r/The_Rubicon" ]	2
	[WP] you are the comedic relief in a generic fantasy story, and your story’s protagonist has unexpectedly perished. Frantically, You have been declared the “emergency protagonist”	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I only had three stumbles and one breakage today. A good day in my book. My biggest accomplishment today was successfully tying my shoelaces without falling over and inevitably honking my nose.\n\nI was very surprised when one of Arthur's guard came up to me.\n\n\"Arthur's dead.\" He said\n\n\"That's terrible news, but why are you telling me?\"\n\n\"The almighty Loreultriam has told me that they need you to take his place.\"\n\n\"Me? The court jester?\" I honked my nose \"Loreultriam needs me?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"What does he want me to do, incompetent Salem to death?\"\n\n\"You can ask him yourself, now come with me.\"", "I always hate this bit.\n\nDropping through the skylight and landing on the floor always hurts, well it hurts me, The Captain seems to shrug it off. Mind you he does have the rocket pack, I gotta get me one of those. \n\nAnyway we're about to drop into Doctor Insaneo's lair and save Cate Cutely again, so its all hand signals and stealth. Cap nods to me and I pull the small plastique explosive out of my bag, that's kinda my thing, see Caps costume doesn't have pockets, so I carry everything in my backpack. Not gonna lie, I'm a glorified bag man wearing a mask and a cape.\n\nI set the timer for six seconds and we get ready to jump, Cap always goes first, I'll be rapelling down after him.\n\nBOOM\n\nIT TAKES A SECO... sorry explosions alway mess up my volume control.\n\nIt takes a second for me to get down to the ground, so I miss the requisite 'superhero landing' from the Cap. Was probably awesome too, what with the falling glass landing around him and shattering.\n\nMy job is pretty simple. I stay out of the way and untie Cate (again... for Christs sake... just once I'd like to not have to fiddle with knots. Rumbles McGee, Doctor Insaneo's henchman, was a sailor and really knows his stuff) sometimes I might get in a quip, and I have to come up with that joke, you know, the one where we're stood over the villain who's just fallen into his freeze Ray, usually something like \"well ain't that N- ice\"..... look i didn't say i was good at it.... you try coming up with a funny situational quip on the fly.\n\nSo I'm looking for Cate, as usual she's in some slow moving but lethal device.... dammit, double fisherman knots... well Rumbles you bastard I brought my penknife this time ... as per Doctor Insaneo has his gun on Cap, I know it looks bad but this is pretty standard. What happens is the villain monologues and Cap keeps em talking as he...\n\nBaNG\n\n.... fuck\n\n\nHe shot him\n\nThat insane bastard shot him..... in the head..... there's bits of brain and. . I'm gonna be sick. I mean Cap's been shot before but he's got most of his head missing.\n\nI suddenly feel warm in the groinal region. Insaneo is just staring, like he can't believe it... I'm frozen in place, I want to move, but my muscles aren't listening to me.\n\nThe incredibly slow moving death machine tm is still ticking over. Cate is blindfolded and gagged. The whole room is silent aside from the whirring of the dicing blades of slow death tm \n\n\"The safety wasn't on!!\" He mutters examining the gun.\n\nRumbles appears at his side looking sheepish. I think they've forgotten about me. \n\n\"He's dead? The great Captain Cruise is dead!.... what are we gonna do now?\" Rumbles looks at me and I see... what... sympathy?\n\nBaNg\n\nBloody hell Doctor Insaneo just shot himself in the face. Chunks of food and bile pour up and im puking everywhere. Wiping my mouth I see that Rumbles is too. \n\nWe stare at each other... then he turns and runs .\n\nOK... whats the job, I run to Cate and cut her free, I have to wait about thirty seconds so that she is pulled clear at the last second... I know..i know. Force of habit.\n\nI help her get the blindfold and gag off, she takes in the horrific scene around her, she rushes to Cap's body and wails.... a lot\n\nI dunno what to do.... I really don't so I'm still stood there when Commissioner Edwards comes up to me.\n\n\"I'm... I'm sorry son\" he says\n\nI don't reply it's all a horrible dream. I barely registered the cops arriving.\n\n'Miss Cutely told us everything... how you rescued her, how you defeated the Doctor\" I want to talk but I'm still in shock. I want to scream \"it wasn't me\"\n\n\"We have another problem... General Luddendorff is back and is going to destroy the city\"\n\nI pull myself out of my daze at the mention of the Cap's greatest nemesis. \" what......again?\"\n\nThe commissioner solemnly hands me something, its heavy and metallic \"You'll be needing this\" \n\nIts the Cap's rocket pack.......\n\nFuck!", "\"Fuck you people!\", Metaquip sharply mutters, as an air of solemn desperation fills the guild hall, unfazed by his reluctance. He looks down uncomfortably, upon the large group of people now bowing to him. Rain thunders against the walls of the stone building, tapping furiously at the windows, the sound only outshone by thunder in the distance. Three old men stumble to the front of the crown, carrying something wrapped in a fine silk cloth. Kneeling in front of him, the raise the object and remove it's cover, revealing a shining sword, almost glowing pale blue, with a hilt of deep amber. \n\n\"Seriously, fuck you people!\" He repeats a little louder this time. A few members near the front of the crowd wince. A middle-aged villager covered in mud and rain turns to a woman kneeling beside him, with a look of arrogance and exasperation. \"I know, but what other choice do we have?\", she whispers, in response to his knowing expression. \"Literally anyone else?\" Metaquip whispers towards them, ignoring their shock as their realised their bickering was audible.\n\nReaching for the hilt with two hands, Metaquip leant his entire body back, pulling aggressively in order to lift the sword. With an almighty heave, he finally manages to raise it up, struggling with his balance as the sword threatens to tip one way or the other. Holding it directly above him, its glow almost intensifying, a strange surge of bravery flows through him. \"Maybe I can do this...\" I wonders aloud, as his arms shake under the strain of holding up a weapon near equal to his own weight. \n\nAs he basks in the light of his heroic moment, the crowd murmurs, a few unenthusiastic cheers erupting from random spots in the room. The lack of true triumph aside, being looked to like this, after a life time of playing the jester to the swords former owner, endows him with a sense of unearned confidence. Shaking side to side, almost dancing a little, he begins to chuckle, the sword a dangerous pendulum above his head. \"Fine people! I will be your saviour! I will find those who seek to disturb our peace, and bring them swift and merciless justice!\"\n\nAs he finishes his statement, he swings the sword down and up, in a cutting motion. His face does not betray his lack of control, but the sword's edge flying dangerously close to the three old kneeling men made it clear. \"Ha ha! Yes! Your savior! Your hero!\". Swinging back and forth, Metaquip's unearned confidence swells with each cut of the air. The crowd has backed away several feet by this point, looking upon him nervously. \"The great hero Metaqu-!!\" Before he could finish his self-appointed title, the amber hilt slips from his hand, and flies upwards, directly over him.\n\nCrouching and placing his hands around his head, all he manages is a weak \"Shiiit!\", as the sword begins to descend once more, blade first. \"Ahhhh!\" He cries out, as the blade pierces his leg, just behind his knee. Blood stains the stone floor upon which he danced, as he collapses, in front of a surpringly unsurprised audience. As he lies there whimpering, the three old men approach, calming him with vague statements. \"It's okay, you'll be fine. You'll be alright. It's just a scratch...\".\n\nOne holds him down as the other two grab a hold of the sword and yank it out, Metaquip now crying and cursing. Wrapping the sword back in the cloth, they assume their original position, sharing the weight of the great weapon. The look at eachother for a moment. \"What now?\" one asks, as the other two look at eachother silently and nod. Slowly walking back towards the crowd, they make their way towards the villager who had spoken before, still covered in mud and rain. Kneeling before him, they present the sword, as the entire crowd shifts its bow to face them. All the poor villager manages to say, fighting his own disbelief and fear, is \"Fuck you people!\"", "The rain came down like an earthquake. A man rode up to me on a giant horse. I took solace beneath the worn awning on my home.\n\nI had heard the news--hell, every soul in Generica had heard it. The hero was dead and the villain had won. All hope was lost.\n\nThe man's horse stormed forward, its hooves sounding like thunder. It whinnied to a stop right by my side.\n\nThe man gazed down upon me with his stone face.\n\n\"General,\" I said. \"What do I owe the acquaintance?\"\n\n\"Sam is--\"\n\n\"Dead,\" I said. \"Yes, I know. Some say more dead than Death himself. Tales are circling campfires claiming the Dread Knight sliced him in half--and continued to do so until all that was left of him was a pile of tiny slivers; it's rumored the Dread Knight--\"\n\n\"Tighten up!\" the general yelled. \"Generica needs you, Winsley.\"\n\nI gasped at both the statement and the thunderous lightning slicing through the sky. \"Me? You’re mistaken, general. I'm nothing more than a simple jokester--a jester if you'd like. I've never adopted the sword and shield--more like the wine bottle and stage.\"\n\n\"Can you keep your mouth shut for more than one minute?\" the general sneered.\n\n\"Why, yes. I once heard--\" the venomous gaze from the general froze my tongue \"--right. Why me?\"\n\n\"You knew Sam better than anyone,\" the general said. \"You followed him around for nearly a decade, providing him with entertainment and help.\"\n\n\"Well, help's a strong word--\"\n\n\"Generica needs a familiar face. A face they can trust.\"\n\nI shot my gaze down to a puddle, inspecting my narrow, pale face. \"This face?\" I gestured around my features. \"I look like a premature baby--an anorexic skeleton who skipped lunch for the third time. Mother always said I was quite scrawny--\"\n\nThe stone face froze my speech once more. \"Well, what do you expect me to do?\" I said. \"Make the Dread Knight laugh himself into a coma?\"\n\nThe absence of words from the general made my heart stop.\n\n\"You can't be serious,\" I said.\n\n\"Pack up.\" A rare smile etched itself across the general's face. \"We have a horse ready for you. It's time to bring peace to Generica once and for all, Winsley.\"\n\nI tried my best to think of some clever comeback or jab to get me out of the situation. Instead, a sequence of words threatened to break the fourth wall.\n\n\"Can I take a rain check?\" I said with an awkward smile as I motioned toward the heavy rain.\n\nThe general stared me down.\n\n\"Oh, come on,\" I said. \"That was a good one.\"\n\n\"Pack your things. We leave today.\"\n\nr/AJHWriting" ]	5
	[WP]Your legs ache but you wear baggy pants and army boots to hide it. Friends ask why you’ve changed and you laugh. Behind locked doors you strip and examine your non-human legs. Werewolves have it easy. They change once a month. Becoming a demon is more permanent and it fucking hurts. Thanks, Dad.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "My friends and I were laughing together as one of them had made a joke about the reason why Kasandra was late again. I built on that and it looked like Ian was about to fall down from laughing so hard. I slid into the seat right next to Penelope still chuckling a bit. \n\nThen Penelope slapped my leg, hard saying that I shouldn’t joke about those things. I made a slight gasp as it felt like pins shocking my now, non human leg, comparable to the like of hitting your elbow on something. \n\nWorry flashed across my friends face as they asked why I reacted that way to her slapping my leg. I tried to brush it off as if it had been nothing but they urged on. Especially Penelope, she was so irritating, repeating herself over and over again as if I hadn’t heard her. \n\nThe pain in my leg was still there, which aggravated me even more. Kasandra walked over to the table and made a joke about my new style and how I’m “my fathers daughter”. I was flickering between trying to abuse my apparent “powers” and just wanting to hug them and tell them what I really was. \n\nApparently because my dad made a contract with me or a part of me, when I was still young and clueless he could sense my distress. As overbearing and protective as he was, I was told he dealt with my friends swiftly and carefully. At least that’s what supposedly happened before I passed out. \n\nWhen I woke up, I saw me and my dad passing me my favorite flavor of kool-aid. There were faint whispers in the background but I focused on the conversation at hand. I was being told I’d be removed from the human world and be forced to work with him. I tried to say no, but my mouth wasn’t forming human words. In fact, I realized I wasn’t even in control of own body." ]	2

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