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[WP] Your superpower: The ability to successfully do the job...with the wrong tool. (Optional - Your weakness: The inability to do so with the right tool for the job.) | You'd think that the ability to use any tool to get the job done would be wonderful, even at the expense of the exactly right tool failing - I mean, there's like, tops, 5 'right' tools for any job, and literally thousands of 'wrong' tools, right?
Have a job that revolves around fixing viruses on computers? Hit them w... | There's a certain irony to my life that isn't lost on me-- all the things I should be able to do, things typical people can do with ease, are impossible for me no matter how hard I try. They'd tell me to smile and keep at it, that I'd get there one day, but I knew none of it was true. I'm just made differently than the... | |
[WP] Your superpower: The ability to successfully do the job...with the wrong tool. (Optional - Your weakness: The inability to do so with the right tool for the job.) | “It’s not about the results, son,” my father said. “It’s about doing things the right way.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s hard to explain…but even if you get the result you want sometimes, that might not happen again the next time. You might not get as lucky. If you do it the right way every time, you’ll be rewarded the ... | There's a certain irony to my life that isn't lost on me-- all the things I should be able to do, things typical people can do with ease, are impossible for me no matter how hard I try. They'd tell me to smile and keep at it, that I'd get there one day, but I knew none of it was true. I'm just made differently than the... | |
[WP] Your superpower: The ability to successfully do the job...with the wrong tool. (Optional - Your weakness: The inability to do so with the right tool for the job.) | “Excuse me, sir? We appreciate you pulling over to help us, so I really don't mean to be rude, but are you *sure* you know what you’re doing?” the young woman who had been driving asked me.
“Oh yeah, dont you worry, I’ll have your engine back in working order in no time,” I replied
In fairness, her concern was comple... | There's a certain irony to my life that isn't lost on me-- all the things I should be able to do, things typical people can do with ease, are impossible for me no matter how hard I try. They'd tell me to smile and keep at it, that I'd get there one day, but I knew none of it was true. I'm just made differently than the... | |
[WP] Your superpower: The ability to successfully do the job...with the wrong tool. (Optional - Your weakness: The inability to do so with the right tool for the job.) | You'd think that the ability to use any tool to get the job done would be wonderful, even at the expense of the exactly right tool failing - I mean, there's like, tops, 5 'right' tools for any job, and literally thousands of 'wrong' tools, right?
Have a job that revolves around fixing viruses on computers? Hit them w... | "But why mom?"
"Because its the wrong way to do it,son"
I listen back to the tape, again and again. My thoughts flow endlessly. Emotions slowly numbing down from my brain affecting the elderly couple near me.
"Sir, She doesn't have much time left.. I'll take all responsibility, please help",pleaded the old man.
ly... | |
[WP] Your superpower: The ability to successfully do the job...with the wrong tool. (Optional - Your weakness: The inability to do so with the right tool for the job.) | “It’s not about the results, son,” my father said. “It’s about doing things the right way.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s hard to explain…but even if you get the result you want sometimes, that might not happen again the next time. You might not get as lucky. If you do it the right way every time, you’ll be rewarded the ... | "But why mom?"
"Because its the wrong way to do it,son"
I listen back to the tape, again and again. My thoughts flow endlessly. Emotions slowly numbing down from my brain affecting the elderly couple near me.
"Sir, She doesn't have much time left.. I'll take all responsibility, please help",pleaded the old man.
ly... | |
[WP] Your superpower: The ability to successfully do the job...with the wrong tool. (Optional - Your weakness: The inability to do so with the right tool for the job.) | “Excuse me, sir? We appreciate you pulling over to help us, so I really don't mean to be rude, but are you *sure* you know what you’re doing?” the young woman who had been driving asked me.
“Oh yeah, dont you worry, I’ll have your engine back in working order in no time,” I replied
In fairness, her concern was comple... | "But why mom?"
"Because its the wrong way to do it,son"
I listen back to the tape, again and again. My thoughts flow endlessly. Emotions slowly numbing down from my brain affecting the elderly couple near me.
"Sir, She doesn't have much time left.. I'll take all responsibility, please help",pleaded the old man.
ly... | |
[WP] Your superpower: The ability to successfully do the job...with the wrong tool. (Optional - Your weakness: The inability to do so with the right tool for the job.) | “Excuse me, sir? We appreciate you pulling over to help us, so I really don't mean to be rude, but are you *sure* you know what you’re doing?” the young woman who had been driving asked me.
“Oh yeah, dont you worry, I’ll have your engine back in working order in no time,” I replied
In fairness, her concern was comple... | “It’s not about the results, son,” my father said. “It’s about doing things the right way.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s hard to explain…but even if you get the result you want sometimes, that might not happen again the next time. You might not get as lucky. If you do it the right way every time, you’ll be rewarded the ... | |
[WP] Your superpower: The ability to successfully do the job...with the wrong tool. (Optional - Your weakness: The inability to do so with the right tool for the job.) | “Excuse me, sir? We appreciate you pulling over to help us, so I really don't mean to be rude, but are you *sure* you know what you’re doing?” the young woman who had been driving asked me.
“Oh yeah, dont you worry, I’ll have your engine back in working order in no time,” I replied
In fairness, her concern was comple... | The second day stuck at the bottom of the ocean, the crew locked me in a storage closet. I suppose it shouldn't have come as a surprise, but I had really thought we were getting along. Oh, sure, I had accidentally caused a ship-wide EMP that disabled all systems, but it was hardly my fault that the radio was *that* b... | |
EDIT: I’m trying so hard to read all the stories and get everything else done that I need to today lol. Just gotta say that this is one of the best collections of stories I’ve ever had on one of my prompts!! You guys are awesome! | [WP]Things on the mountain don't age. You built a cabin to live in with your family 300 years ago, and since then none of you have aged a day. You've even come to know many of the animals as they too are immortal, and have grown wise. One day you find an old buck, a friend, shot dead and left to rot | The smell of death. It was a smell I had long ago forgotten. Yet there he was, antlers twisted into the dirt and head snapped back with wide empty eyes. His body had been left to rot, but the mountain did not know rot. Long ago the spores that sat in soil waiting for the inevitable had faded. The trees twisted and grew... | The mist hung low that morning. It rolled off the peaks and into the valley just like the first day we arrived. The cold, damp wind clinging to our bare skin. We knew not of the strange and ancient powers of the slumbering behemoths then. It wasn't until the second cycle that we realized we had remained as we were from... |
EDIT: I’m trying so hard to read all the stories and get everything else done that I need to today lol. Just gotta say that this is one of the best collections of stories I’ve ever had on one of my prompts!! You guys are awesome! | [WP]Things on the mountain don't age. You built a cabin to live in with your family 300 years ago, and since then none of you have aged a day. You've even come to know many of the animals as they too are immortal, and have grown wise. One day you find an old buck, a friend, shot dead and left to rot | Following the path that I had taken a thousand times or more I descended the slope of the mountain toward the edge of our land's boundary. My woodcutting axe was firmly in my hand as I gently pushed the same branches out of my way. I needed firewood for the coming season and the wood within our grove would not do. I ne... | The mist hung low that morning. It rolled off the peaks and into the valley just like the first day we arrived. The cold, damp wind clinging to our bare skin. We knew not of the strange and ancient powers of the slumbering behemoths then. It wasn't until the second cycle that we realized we had remained as we were from... |
EDIT: I’m trying so hard to read all the stories and get everything else done that I need to today lol. Just gotta say that this is one of the best collections of stories I’ve ever had on one of my prompts!! You guys are awesome! | [WP]Things on the mountain don't age. You built a cabin to live in with your family 300 years ago, and since then none of you have aged a day. You've even come to know many of the animals as they too are immortal, and have grown wise. One day you find an old buck, a friend, shot dead and left to rot | Following the path that I had taken a thousand times or more I descended the slope of the mountain toward the edge of our land's boundary. My woodcutting axe was firmly in my hand as I gently pushed the same branches out of my way. I needed firewood for the coming season and the wood within our grove would not do. I ne... | That mountain was an escape. From death, as everything that step foot upon its soil would flourish and cease to age, and from the machinations of the world. You see, young one, the mountain was a place where one could live in harmony with nature, not unlike those days long past. But the mountain cannot protect from sav... |
EDIT: I’m trying so hard to read all the stories and get everything else done that I need to today lol. Just gotta say that this is one of the best collections of stories I’ve ever had on one of my prompts!! You guys are awesome! | [WP]Things on the mountain don't age. You built a cabin to live in with your family 300 years ago, and since then none of you have aged a day. You've even come to know many of the animals as they too are immortal, and have grown wise. One day you find an old buck, a friend, shot dead and left to rot | We knew by the silence that things had suddenly changed.
Before we came to the mountain, change was to be expected. Cold winter would always turn into fresh, bountiful spring; children would become adults, and have children of their own; those that were old would wither and die, defined only by the vibrant grasses tha... | It was Jenny who found him, in that hour just before dawn when the whole world holds its breath. Her eyes glittered in the dimness, wide and stricken in her solemn little face. “Papa,” she’d whispered. “The Lord’s dead.”
He was right where Jenny said he was, splayed on the forest floor like a parody of himself, eyes b... |
EDIT: I’m trying so hard to read all the stories and get everything else done that I need to today lol. Just gotta say that this is one of the best collections of stories I’ve ever had on one of my prompts!! You guys are awesome! | [WP]Things on the mountain don't age. You built a cabin to live in with your family 300 years ago, and since then none of you have aged a day. You've even come to know many of the animals as they too are immortal, and have grown wise. One day you find an old buck, a friend, shot dead and left to rot | I was 20, Susana was 19. Just Married, madly in love. High school sweethearts. Out here, deep, deep in Appalachia things work a little differently and we got married as soon as we could.
We'd heard tell about it from one of my brothers drinking buddies, Arlan. Supposedly he'd been out hunting pigs one afternoon and, ... | It was Jenny who found him, in that hour just before dawn when the whole world holds its breath. Her eyes glittered in the dimness, wide and stricken in her solemn little face. “Papa,” she’d whispered. “The Lord’s dead.”
He was right where Jenny said he was, splayed on the forest floor like a parody of himself, eyes b... |
EDIT: I’m trying so hard to read all the stories and get everything else done that I need to today lol. Just gotta say that this is one of the best collections of stories I’ve ever had on one of my prompts!! You guys are awesome! | [WP]Things on the mountain don't age. You built a cabin to live in with your family 300 years ago, and since then none of you have aged a day. You've even come to know many of the animals as they too are immortal, and have grown wise. One day you find an old buck, a friend, shot dead and left to rot | I was 20, Susana was 19. Just Married, madly in love. High school sweethearts. Out here, deep, deep in Appalachia things work a little differently and we got married as soon as we could.
We'd heard tell about it from one of my brothers drinking buddies, Arlan. Supposedly he'd been out hunting pigs one afternoon and, ... | We knew by the silence that things had suddenly changed.
Before we came to the mountain, change was to be expected. Cold winter would always turn into fresh, bountiful spring; children would become adults, and have children of their own; those that were old would wither and die, defined only by the vibrant grasses tha... |
EDIT: I’m trying so hard to read all the stories and get everything else done that I need to today lol. Just gotta say that this is one of the best collections of stories I’ve ever had on one of my prompts!! You guys are awesome! | [WP]Things on the mountain don't age. You built a cabin to live in with your family 300 years ago, and since then none of you have aged a day. You've even come to know many of the animals as they too are immortal, and have grown wise. One day you find an old buck, a friend, shot dead and left to rot | I was 20, Susana was 19. Just Married, madly in love. High school sweethearts. Out here, deep, deep in Appalachia things work a little differently and we got married as soon as we could.
We'd heard tell about it from one of my brothers drinking buddies, Arlan. Supposedly he'd been out hunting pigs one afternoon and, ... | I couldn't believe it was him at first- I didn't want to. But there was no denying that it was him. The same milky, blind eyes and coarse, patchy fur. He looked almost as if he were sleeping peacefully, his head resting gently on a pillow of moss, but the rotting entrails around his body stripped away this illusion. I ... |
EDIT: I’m trying so hard to read all the stories and get everything else done that I need to today lol. Just gotta say that this is one of the best collections of stories I’ve ever had on one of my prompts!! You guys are awesome! | [WP]Things on the mountain don't age. You built a cabin to live in with your family 300 years ago, and since then none of you have aged a day. You've even come to know many of the animals as they too are immortal, and have grown wise. One day you find an old buck, a friend, shot dead and left to rot | Maybe this was our divine retribution. The tribulations sent from the universe to express its displeasure in our immortality. I stood above the body of a friend, but I was not sad or afraid. This mountain had many dark secrets, so I knew it would catch up to us one day. It seems that for ole Burk today was his day. Fri... | I couldn't believe it was him at first- I didn't want to. But there was no denying that it was him. The same milky, blind eyes and coarse, patchy fur. He looked almost as if he were sleeping peacefully, his head resting gently on a pillow of moss, but the rotting entrails around his body stripped away this illusion. I ... |
EDIT: I’m trying so hard to read all the stories and get everything else done that I need to today lol. Just gotta say that this is one of the best collections of stories I’ve ever had on one of my prompts!! You guys are awesome! | [WP]Things on the mountain don't age. You built a cabin to live in with your family 300 years ago, and since then none of you have aged a day. You've even come to know many of the animals as they too are immortal, and have grown wise. One day you find an old buck, a friend, shot dead and left to rot | I don’t get home until after dark, treading lightly. I furnish myself with a glass of whiskey and go into the silence of the basement. A quick tug of the cord dangling by my ear lights the room with a single electric bulb in the centre. There, mounted on the far wall, is the rifle.
The whiskey runs down my throat like... | I couldn't believe it was him at first- I didn't want to. But there was no denying that it was him. The same milky, blind eyes and coarse, patchy fur. He looked almost as if he were sleeping peacefully, his head resting gently on a pillow of moss, but the rotting entrails around his body stripped away this illusion. I ... |
EDIT: I’m trying so hard to read all the stories and get everything else done that I need to today lol. Just gotta say that this is one of the best collections of stories I’ve ever had on one of my prompts!! You guys are awesome! | [WP]Things on the mountain don't age. You built a cabin to live in with your family 300 years ago, and since then none of you have aged a day. You've even come to know many of the animals as they too are immortal, and have grown wise. One day you find an old buck, a friend, shot dead and left to rot | The mountain was hallowed ground. A place where the slow hand of death could not claim those upon it. It was a sanctuary from life itself, a place where if one truly desired, they could spend an eternity. It was a place where one would never age a day from the very first in which they entered.
But it was only the slow... | I couldn't believe it was him at first- I didn't want to. But there was no denying that it was him. The same milky, blind eyes and coarse, patchy fur. He looked almost as if he were sleeping peacefully, his head resting gently on a pillow of moss, but the rotting entrails around his body stripped away this illusion. I ... |
[WP] The isolated cult you were raised in has flooded out in a massive storm on your 18th birthday. Only you and 2 of your friends survive. You're rescued and brought to live outside the compound, a place you've never seen in real life but knew existed from whispers you've heard about it growing up. |
The infection in my leg was oozing through the bandages on it. Jafeth sat on a cot beside me. He fiddled with a puzzle box he’d left in his pants pocket. The wood of the box was soaked through and I noticed him slip as he tried to push a few of the pieces around. I thought back to the night before. The water had co... | Water came, with it we went;
Swept out to the sea.
A wooden pallet safety net
Our bouyant sovereignty.
The bodies of our lovers,
Our friends, and family
Followed slowly in our wake
To keep us company.
Our town shrank down to nothing
But the line of the horizon
As my eyes became my city;
Flooded, d... | |
[WP] An elite team of theives almost pull off another perfect heist. In an unfortunate coincidence, amateur burglars also show up. The pros know that a tripped alarm means a lockdown that none of them are escaping. | A quick series of rehearsed hand signals indicated it was time to make their exit. Each of them began to slowly ascend towards the ceiling, their silent wiring harnesses barely even catching the light.
A crash came from below, followed by a cry of "God dammit!"
Kojak gave the signal for everyone to freeze. What in th... | **“I know we’re late Mark, but we can still hijack the thread!” one of them says, almost screaming.** He points to the case containing a huge metal ball suspended by a single Superman’s hair.
“You’re dumb, Tom. We’re not first!” the other one says, “We were supposed to be stealthy! By now, over a thousand people have ... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | You are now the SKAIANET SOFTWARE SUPERVISOR, and you are going to cause the end of the world.
When the old-man first found the fragmented code for the game, you thought he was crazy. You thought it was just his usual hyperbolic fervor. But when he brought you there, to see it in person, you saw it, and then you saw *... | Project assignment: program B77-518xc.
CLASSIFIED - CLEARANCE LEVEL 4+ ONLY
That was the title of the new project file sat in front of me. It was only days since I'd got my level 4 clearance certificate, and they already wanted me to do a level 4 assignment? And solo, no less. I wasn't happy about it.
Sensing my unea... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | 11am. Time to wake up. Throw on a pair of sweats, 'brunch', consisting of a bowl of cereal. Gotta let the milk really soak the cereal, at least 30 minutes so that there are no dry crunchy bits.
Coffee.
Laptop on.
​
Yesterday was fun. You see, I'm writing my game, a 'shooter', all by myself. It's bound to... | Project assignment: program B77-518xc.
CLASSIFIED - CLEARANCE LEVEL 4+ ONLY
That was the title of the new project file sat in front of me. It was only days since I'd got my level 4 clearance certificate, and they already wanted me to do a level 4 assignment? And solo, no less. I wasn't happy about it.
Sensing my unea... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | "Lives lost?" I read out loud the comment next to my line.
They appear most often on functions. I never write them myself, and noone sees them but me. Ninety-nine percent of times they say how much computing power they each take, allowing me to be the best optimizer in the little Chinese company I work in.
But this w... | Project assignment: program B77-518xc.
CLASSIFIED - CLEARANCE LEVEL 4+ ONLY
That was the title of the new project file sat in front of me. It was only days since I'd got my level 4 clearance certificate, and they already wanted me to do a level 4 assignment? And solo, no less. I wasn't happy about it.
Sensing my unea... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | I am a good programmer. Always have been. Always will be.
My actual programmer skills are only average, but I am able to see comments no one else can. Next to each line of code, a small snippet of comment, a number and a quantifier. Sometimes the quantifier is hours, sometimes it's cycles, sometimes it's bytes - no ma... | Project assignment: program B77-518xc.
CLASSIFIED - CLEARANCE LEVEL 4+ ONLY
That was the title of the new project file sat in front of me. It was only days since I'd got my level 4 clearance certificate, and they already wanted me to do a level 4 assignment? And solo, no less. I wasn't happy about it.
Sensing my unea... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | I squinted at the code incredulously. Really, whose dumb idea was this? It must have been Kevin the intern. That boy was too clever for his own good, always wanting to show off. I felt a familiar twinge, and the monotone voice played in my head: "100. Million. Lives. Lost."
This gave me pause. Lives? Why? And why so m... | Project assignment: program B77-518xc.
CLASSIFIED - CLEARANCE LEVEL 4+ ONLY
That was the title of the new project file sat in front of me. It was only days since I'd got my level 4 clearance certificate, and they already wanted me to do a level 4 assignment? And solo, no less. I wasn't happy about it.
Sensing my unea... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | *cost = 1 life*
The pixelated words from the electronic haze of the monitor stared me in the eyes.
I had never seen anything like this before. Surely, it was a joke. A prank. Someone changed some variable to a life, right?
I rose a bit from my seat and gazed at the herd of my coworkers that surrounded my desk.... | Project assignment: program B77-518xc.
CLASSIFIED - CLEARANCE LEVEL 4+ ONLY
That was the title of the new project file sat in front of me. It was only days since I'd got my level 4 clearance certificate, and they already wanted me to do a level 4 assignment? And solo, no less. I wasn't happy about it.
Sensing my unea... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | 11am. Time to wake up. Throw on a pair of sweats, 'brunch', consisting of a bowl of cereal. Gotta let the milk really soak the cereal, at least 30 minutes so that there are no dry crunchy bits.
Coffee.
Laptop on.
​
Yesterday was fun. You see, I'm writing my game, a 'shooter', all by myself. It's bound to... | I'm the best at what I do. Or, at least, I like to pretend that I am. The code that I produce never causes any problems, and any user-related disasters are prevented based on the numbers I see as I type things out. I see related costs, generally in processing power, memory requirements, dollars lost, etc. for each line... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | "Lives lost?" I read out loud the comment next to my line.
They appear most often on functions. I never write them myself, and noone sees them but me. Ninety-nine percent of times they say how much computing power they each take, allowing me to be the best optimizer in the little Chinese company I work in.
But this w... | I'm the best at what I do. Or, at least, I like to pretend that I am. The code that I produce never causes any problems, and any user-related disasters are prevented based on the numbers I see as I type things out. I see related costs, generally in processing power, memory requirements, dollars lost, etc. for each line... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | I am a good programmer. Always have been. Always will be.
My actual programmer skills are only average, but I am able to see comments no one else can. Next to each line of code, a small snippet of comment, a number and a quantifier. Sometimes the quantifier is hours, sometimes it's cycles, sometimes it's bytes - no ma... | I'm the best at what I do. Or, at least, I like to pretend that I am. The code that I produce never causes any problems, and any user-related disasters are prevented based on the numbers I see as I type things out. I see related costs, generally in processing power, memory requirements, dollars lost, etc. for each line... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | *cost = 1 life*
The pixelated words from the electronic haze of the monitor stared me in the eyes.
I had never seen anything like this before. Surely, it was a joke. A prank. Someone changed some variable to a life, right?
I rose a bit from my seat and gazed at the herd of my coworkers that surrounded my desk.... | I'm the best at what I do. Or, at least, I like to pretend that I am. The code that I produce never causes any problems, and any user-related disasters are prevented based on the numbers I see as I type things out. I see related costs, generally in processing power, memory requirements, dollars lost, etc. for each line... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | *cost = 1 life*
The pixelated words from the electronic haze of the monitor stared me in the eyes.
I had never seen anything like this before. Surely, it was a joke. A prank. Someone changed some variable to a life, right?
I rose a bit from my seat and gazed at the herd of my coworkers that surrounded my desk.... | You are now the SKAIANET SOFTWARE SUPERVISOR, and you are going to cause the end of the world.
When the old-man first found the fragmented code for the game, you thought he was crazy. You thought it was just his usual hyperbolic fervor. But when he brought you there, to see it in person, you saw it, and then you saw *... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | *cost = 1 life*
The pixelated words from the electronic haze of the monitor stared me in the eyes.
I had never seen anything like this before. Surely, it was a joke. A prank. Someone changed some variable to a life, right?
I rose a bit from my seat and gazed at the herd of my coworkers that surrounded my desk.... | 11am. Time to wake up. Throw on a pair of sweats, 'brunch', consisting of a bowl of cereal. Gotta let the milk really soak the cereal, at least 30 minutes so that there are no dry crunchy bits.
Coffee.
Laptop on.
​
Yesterday was fun. You see, I'm writing my game, a 'shooter', all by myself. It's bound to... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | *cost = 1 life*
The pixelated words from the electronic haze of the monitor stared me in the eyes.
I had never seen anything like this before. Surely, it was a joke. A prank. Someone changed some variable to a life, right?
I rose a bit from my seat and gazed at the herd of my coworkers that surrounded my desk.... | I squinted at the code incredulously. Really, whose dumb idea was this? It must have been Kevin the intern. That boy was too clever for his own good, always wanting to show off. I felt a familiar twinge, and the monotone voice played in my head: "100. Million. Lives. Lost."
This gave me pause. Lives? Why? And why so m... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | "Hey John, did our editor get a new linter?"
"No, I don't think so."
Every line of code on my workstation was annotated with various statistics: memory usage, processor time, cache misses …
“John, is this an early April Fools prank?”
John, my manager, stood up and strode over to my monitor.
“I don’t see anything.... | I knew this was going to happen. I used to be a game developer. My visions would show me cost in bytes and I would go about my day, no big deal. I was appreciated, I could inform a coworker at a glance what could be done to pair down on the space used. I could develop code with very little fat and it always ran well. U... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | How was I supposed to know what would happen? It was just a line of code. It wasn't special, but somehow it was going to cause millions of deaths. So I changed it, was that so wrong? Not like I knew the number would go up. I changed it again and the number dropped a little. You have to understand I was nobody back the... | I knew this was going to happen. I used to be a game developer. My visions would show me cost in bytes and I would go about my day, no big deal. I was appreciated, I could inform a coworker at a glance what could be done to pair down on the space used. I could develop code with very little fat and it always ran well. U... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | I didn't hear him approach. My headache distracted me from anything but my current task. Even that was hard to focus on with the words disappearing from the screen from time to time.
"Devlin? You, uh, able to meet for a moment?" he said with a drawl. "We have a few, uh, things to discuss. It won't take long."
Yeah ri... | I knew this was going to happen. I used to be a game developer. My visions would show me cost in bytes and I would go about my day, no big deal. I was appreciated, I could inform a coworker at a glance what could be done to pair down on the space used. I could develop code with very little fat and it always ran well. U... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | "Hey John, did our editor get a new linter?"
"No, I don't think so."
Every line of code on my workstation was annotated with various statistics: memory usage, processor time, cache misses …
“John, is this an early April Fools prank?”
John, my manager, stood up and strode over to my monitor.
“I don’t see anything.... | My power is totally away from my control, i 've found all of different statistic on my review code, it is usually money related but sometimes some weird statistic pull of.
Today i was working on a life changing algorithm that could improve humankind and they way we live the world so far and i read it "10.000 deaths /y... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | How was I supposed to know what would happen? It was just a line of code. It wasn't special, but somehow it was going to cause millions of deaths. So I changed it, was that so wrong? Not like I knew the number would go up. I changed it again and the number dropped a little. You have to understand I was nobody back the... | My power is totally away from my control, i 've found all of different statistic on my review code, it is usually money related but sometimes some weird statistic pull of.
Today i was working on a life changing algorithm that could improve humankind and they way we live the world so far and i read it "10.000 deaths /y... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | I didn't hear him approach. My headache distracted me from anything but my current task. Even that was hard to focus on with the words disappearing from the screen from time to time.
"Devlin? You, uh, able to meet for a moment?" he said with a drawl. "We have a few, uh, things to discuss. It won't take long."
Yeah ri... |
The morning started like any other morning. I started with yoga, took my dogs for a morning walk, and ate cereal for breakfast. Then came the emails. I am a software development freelancer with what some consider a special gift. To me it’s really nothing but when I look a function I can easily tell what the method ... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | I didn't hear him approach. My headache distracted me from anything but my current task. Even that was hard to focus on with the words disappearing from the screen from time to time.
"Devlin? You, uh, able to meet for a moment?" he said with a drawl. "We have a few, uh, things to discuss. It won't take long."
Yeah ri... | Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
at your request I attach the .ebook file you wanted. It should be visible without further installation in NASA OS 2.3 or newer devices, which should include all of NASA's glasses, which we have sent to 1600 PA Avenue in Washington, D.C., four weeks ago.
The following text is from "The Softw... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | In the testing suite, we wrote a list of errors, and exceptions would return a number referring to the error in the code. It was just for development purposes. Next to one of the exceptions we declared, I saw a signed integer. Negative six.
Everyone on the team was so excited to be making something so novel, groundbr... | "Gentlemen, I assure you that he is our best software engineer ... while he is somewhat *peculiar* his work is top notch" -the CEO spoke to the group of angry men in the meeting room
"But what about his mental health, the initial report about the nervous collapse, the incoherent rambling. Also don't forget that the p... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | In the testing suite, we wrote a list of errors, and exceptions would return a number referring to the error in the code. It was just for development purposes. Next to one of the exceptions we declared, I saw a signed integer. Negative six.
Everyone on the team was so excited to be making something so novel, groundbr... | Ken is astonished.
This is just a hobby project for his summer vacation, but the numbers are starting to get ridiculous. The date formatting routine requires centuries of future maintenance, a few weeks of which done by *the* *Emperor of Japan*, *after* his minimization effort. The clever error handling mechanism he t... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | My name is Jeraldo Joestar. For as long as anybody can remember, my family has possessed strange and otherworldly powers, known as Stands. My Stand, [Radiohead], is a 2008 Dell Latitude. It possesses an undeniably unique ability: commented next to each line of code is a short statistic that represents the repercussions... | "He's the best programmer this company has ever produced. We plucked him from the factory floor and have been nurturing his talents for years. If he says that the code can't ship, and that lives are on the line then I believe him!" Mr. Johnson the Plant Manager declared.
​
"If you won't do your job, then ... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | In the testing suite, we wrote a list of errors, and exceptions would return a number referring to the error in the code. It was just for development purposes. Next to one of the exceptions we declared, I saw a signed integer. Negative six.
Everyone on the team was so excited to be making something so novel, groundbr... | "He's the best programmer this company has ever produced. We plucked him from the factory floor and have been nurturing his talents for years. If he says that the code can't ship, and that lives are on the line then I believe him!" Mr. Johnson the Plant Manager declared.
​
"If you won't do your job, then ... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | I'm not the best programmer in the world, but I'm pretty good. See, I can tell what a piece of code is going to cost at a glance. It's surprisingly high. A single line of boilerplate might be a few cents, taking no time at all to write and test. A single line in the middle of a hot loop might cost far north of $1000, o... | "He's the best programmer this company has ever produced. We plucked him from the factory floor and have been nurturing his talents for years. If he says that the code can't ship, and that lives are on the line then I believe him!" Mr. Johnson the Plant Manager declared.
​
"If you won't do your job, then ... | |
[WP] You are a software developer with a strange power. You can tell what the cost of a line of code is. Normally the cost is measured in cpu cycles, or bytes of RAM, or hours of future maintenance. Today it's measured in lives lost. | In the testing suite, we wrote a list of errors, and exceptions would return a number referring to the error in the code. It was just for development purposes. Next to one of the exceptions we declared, I saw a signed integer. Negative six.
Everyone on the team was so excited to be making something so novel, groundbr... | My name is Jeraldo Joestar. For as long as anybody can remember, my family has possessed strange and otherworldly powers, known as Stands. My Stand, [Radiohead], is a 2008 Dell Latitude. It possesses an undeniably unique ability: commented next to each line of code is a short statistic that represents the repercussions... | |
[WP] When you said "I for one welcome our robot overlords," for a laugh, they heard you. | It all started as a joke. I was working the graveyard shift, Steve and I were just about to close the store for the night. We had been discussing movies and video games when the topic shifted to the movie Terminator. From there we started discussing the hypothetical of a robot uprising.
"If shit ever hit the fan like... | They came like a swarm of locusts in the dead of night. Explosions rocked the edges of our apartment turning night to day, and throwing us from our beds. We scrambled to our feet shortly before another explosion blew our windows out, showering us with broken glass. We crawled into the kitchen; there was no time to insp... | |
[WP] At the age of 18 everyone is transported to a fantasy world where they live for 10 years before being transported back home a few seconds after they left, skills and memories intact. Your child has joined the growing number of teens who have failed to return and you need to find out why. | They show me a large glass dome shaped almost like a cauldron. Pipes carrying gelatinous, opaque slush continue to fill it. There's a monstrous churn inside it - and with each whirl bright blue sparks emanate out of that gooey twister. The outside wall lights up with each spark and shows a random image, like a projecto... | It happened on James's 18th birthday.
As on all children's 18th birthdays, we were preparing for his brief (for us, at least) Journey to the Outside. It was a bright, sunny day. There was a light breeze that gently trickled through the leaves of the trees overhead and whistled serenely around us. It was a fine celebra... | |
[WP] At the age of 18 everyone is transported to a fantasy world where they live for 10 years before being transported back home a few seconds after they left, skills and memories intact. Your child has joined the growing number of teens who have failed to return and you need to find out why. | They show me a large glass dome shaped almost like a cauldron. Pipes carrying gelatinous, opaque slush continue to fill it. There's a monstrous churn inside it - and with each whirl bright blue sparks emanate out of that gooey twister. The outside wall lights up with each spark and shows a random image, like a projecto... | I stuffed the last pair of socks into my duffel bag and headed out into the hallway to meet my father in the kitchen.
Pops was at the table staring at the picture of Carli on the wall and sipping his coffee.
“You all packed? Flashlight and batteries? Matches? Camp kit?” his voice rumbled in the dark. I nodded along w... | |
[WP] For the past 20 years, all children have been born with the ability to shape-shift into whatever form they choose. You were the very first of those children. | For the past twenty years, the world has been somewhat... tumultuous.
By the time I was around three, the world had a very stark knowledge of the current situation. As it stood, around ninety percent of children that were born ceased to exist within a few seconds, and ninety percent of the remainder just after that po... | Content warning : reference to violence/abuse
I was the first you know? Oh there have been more, now people know how to deal with it. I was the first and that meant that I was alone. So F\*\*ING alone. The first shape I took was my mother’s and that went down a storm. Little perfect family, come in to their baby gone ... | |
[WP] You've just been returned to your world after having been abducted and forced to save another world from destruction. It took you 100 years to save that world and yet you were returned to the exact place and time that you were abducted from in the first place. | i sit down. the old chair. the old pc. the mediocre flat. it's all here. my wife is still asleep in the bedroom and the cat is still ignoring me from the other side of the room. so i do what any horny 127 year old aged man in a 27 year old body would do in his situation. i booted up the pc and immediatly launched firef... | It was noon, I still heard the screams of the Blasoide echoing in my ear like the ring of death. I had not eaten in 12 days now and the last of them was standing right in front of me. I had my hands on its neck and i was about to snap it. But here i am, laying on a beach, the same beach I was taken from, where i left... | |
[WP] You've just been returned to your world after having been abducted and forced to save another world from destruction. It took you 100 years to save that world and yet you were returned to the exact place and time that you were abducted from in the first place. | The first thing I sense is a rancidly beautiful smell.
​
Mildly overflowing bins. The gentle stench of mouldy pasta that had been left in the fridge by Stephen for weeks, sitting freshly atop a mound of takeout boxes, alcohol and myriad other typical student refuse. Home.
​
I open my eyes.
&a... | It was noon, I still heard the screams of the Blasoide echoing in my ear like the ring of death. I had not eaten in 12 days now and the last of them was standing right in front of me. I had my hands on its neck and i was about to snap it. But here i am, laying on a beach, the same beach I was taken from, where i left... | |
[WP] You've just been returned to your world after having been abducted and forced to save another world from destruction. It took you 100 years to save that world and yet you were returned to the exact place and time that you were abducted from in the first place. | “You see, I’ve learned so many things. The Abductors plucked me from darkness,” Gorka motioned around the dwelling, “this darkness, and enlightened me. I have so much to teach you all.” he said.
The enthusiastic speech was met with looks of confusion and annoyed grunts. Their attention spans were brief, and as far as ... | It was noon, I still heard the screams of the Blasoide echoing in my ear like the ring of death. I had not eaten in 12 days now and the last of them was standing right in front of me. I had my hands on its neck and i was about to snap it. But here i am, laying on a beach, the same beach I was taken from, where i left... | |
[WP] You've just been returned to your world after having been abducted and forced to save another world from destruction. It took you 100 years to save that world and yet you were returned to the exact place and time that you were abducted from in the first place. | Adam blinked.
The throng of bankers poured into the subway, brushing aside the dozen or so people who pushed their way out.
Adam blinked again.
The 4 train pushed off away from the station, moving the Wall Street workers uptown. Through the fogged windows, Adam could see the suits all buried in their phones. A st... | It was noon, I still heard the screams of the Blasoide echoing in my ear like the ring of death. I had not eaten in 12 days now and the last of them was standing right in front of me. I had my hands on its neck and i was about to snap it. But here i am, laying on a beach, the same beach I was taken from, where i left... | |
[WP] You've just been returned to your world after having been abducted and forced to save another world from destruction. It took you 100 years to save that world and yet you were returned to the exact place and time that you were abducted from in the first place. | They told me what to expect. On the troop transport back to Earth, the chancellor made it clear that it would take some time to adjust but I didn’t understand how truly of an understatement that was.
Tonight was my first night back in my bed, tucked in the corner of my 500 sq. ft. studio apartment, and I woke up scr... | It was noon, I still heard the screams of the Blasoide echoing in my ear like the ring of death. I had not eaten in 12 days now and the last of them was standing right in front of me. I had my hands on its neck and i was about to snap it. But here i am, laying on a beach, the same beach I was taken from, where i left... | |
[WP] You've just been returned to your world after having been abducted and forced to save another world from destruction. It took you 100 years to save that world and yet you were returned to the exact place and time that you were abducted from in the first place. | The first thing I sense is a rancidly beautiful smell.
​
Mildly overflowing bins. The gentle stench of mouldy pasta that had been left in the fridge by Stephen for weeks, sitting freshly atop a mound of takeout boxes, alcohol and myriad other typical student refuse. Home.
​
I open my eyes.
&a... | i sit down. the old chair. the old pc. the mediocre flat. it's all here. my wife is still asleep in the bedroom and the cat is still ignoring me from the other side of the room. so i do what any horny 127 year old aged man in a 27 year old body would do in his situation. i booted up the pc and immediatly launched firef... | |
[WP] You've just been returned to your world after having been abducted and forced to save another world from destruction. It took you 100 years to save that world and yet you were returned to the exact place and time that you were abducted from in the first place. | They told me what to expect. On the troop transport back to Earth, the chancellor made it clear that it would take some time to adjust but I didn’t understand how truly of an understatement that was.
Tonight was my first night back in my bed, tucked in the corner of my 500 sq. ft. studio apartment, and I woke up scr... | Adam blinked.
The throng of bankers poured into the subway, brushing aside the dozen or so people who pushed their way out.
Adam blinked again.
The 4 train pushed off away from the station, moving the Wall Street workers uptown. Through the fogged windows, Adam could see the suits all buried in their phones. A st... | |
[WP] While most people prefer to perform demonic rituals to the letter, you deliberately improvise the materials to see what kind of weird things come out. | The moment of truth was at hand. I had gathered together the neccessary items to summon... something. I don't yet know what I was gonna get, but that's half the fun! Most people follow those instructions. Idiots.
I drew my pentagram, and started placing the items I was testing today; coffee(the good stuff. Homemade.),... | I never understood people who performed demonic rituals and followed every instruction to the letter. For one, how did they even know that the instructions weren't just a set-up? And two, how are you going to summon a demon while being a goody-two-shoes about it? That's as hypocritical as beating someone up but apologi... | |
[WP] While most people prefer to perform demonic rituals to the letter, you deliberately improvise the materials to see what kind of weird things come out. | I guess you could say that I come by it naturally – the improvising, I mean. When I was a child my mother would always announce these delicious and elaborate recipes she planned to cook, for which she had about 40% of the actual ingredients. Chicken Alfredo? We have spaghetti noodles, tuna (“chicken of the sea!” she’d ... | I never understood people who performed demonic rituals and followed every instruction to the letter. For one, how did they even know that the instructions weren't just a set-up? And two, how are you going to summon a demon while being a goody-two-shoes about it? That's as hypocritical as beating someone up but apologi... | |
[WP] You are a gang boss living in a world where people have special abilities and can activate them by touching and consuming external sources of water. Therefore, most gang fights happen in heavy rains. Your power, create fire. | I tried and failed. Many times. I sat in my little cottage feeling useless. Alone again, naturally.
Since my childhood I was shunned. Water gives life. Fire could only take it away. I was kept isolated from the ‘real heroes’. If I tried to join them, I was mostly rendered useless. No fire can burn when drowned in wat... | “Boss, it’s time.” Kai’s voice rang, pushing me out of my own reverie.
Wordlessly, I thread across my room and walked out of the doors, Kai following close behind.
Adjusting my tie and smoothening the creases of my blazer, Kai got me up to speed about the current situation our family was in.
The threatening Gufo f... | |
[WP] Melting ice in Antarctica reveals a ruined city. Days later, tall, long-headed humans emerge from the wreckage repeating the same phrase over and over. You, the world's leading linguist have just decoded the message. It's horrifying. | It was 3 AM when I got the call. He was a rough and guttural voice in my ears. I was a short fuse with only 2 hours of sleep for the past 3 days.
"Malcom", the voice huffed. "Code 3. We have a new tome".
I grunted.
"Get down to med surge ASAP".
I grunted again and put down the phone. I slouched back on my bed and ... | Jacob stood atop the massive crevasse. The scene many hundreds of feet below him was chaos. His field of vision through the visor was narrow, but he could clearly see the creatures constructing a complicated scaffolding.
The were exceptionally thin with puckered grey skin. The long narrow heads made up nearly a third ... | |
[WP] Melting ice in Antarctica reveals a ruined city. Days later, tall, long-headed humans emerge from the wreckage repeating the same phrase over and over. You, the world's leading linguist have just decoded the message. It's horrifying. | The first odd thing about the discovery was the state of the 'ruins'.
A dome of ice had been protecting the city from the elements and great care was taken during excavation not to damage anything but when the first drone returned with video it revealed a shocking state of filth.
No structural damage or evidence of b... | I straightened my tie in the bedroom mirror as I listened anxiously to the news on the television. It had been 2 weeks since the Great Melt had unearthed the ruins of Remulak. The media had been a firestorm of speculation and fear-mongering over the 2 strange humanoids that had emerged shortly after the thaw. One male ... | |
[WP] Melting ice in Antarctica reveals a ruined city. Days later, tall, long-headed humans emerge from the wreckage repeating the same phrase over and over. You, the world's leading linguist have just decoded the message. It's horrifying. | It was 3 AM when I got the call. He was a rough and guttural voice in my ears. I was a short fuse with only 2 hours of sleep for the past 3 days.
"Malcom", the voice huffed. "Code 3. We have a new tome".
I grunted.
"Get down to med surge ASAP".
I grunted again and put down the phone. I slouched back on my bed and ... | I straightened my tie in the bedroom mirror as I listened anxiously to the news on the television. It had been 2 weeks since the Great Melt had unearthed the ruins of Remulak. The media had been a firestorm of speculation and fear-mongering over the 2 strange humanoids that had emerged shortly after the thaw. One male ... | |
[WP] Melting ice in Antarctica reveals a ruined city. Days later, tall, long-headed humans emerge from the wreckage repeating the same phrase over and over. You, the world's leading linguist have just decoded the message. It's horrifying. | It was 3 AM when I got the call. He was a rough and guttural voice in my ears. I was a short fuse with only 2 hours of sleep for the past 3 days.
"Malcom", the voice huffed. "Code 3. We have a new tome".
I grunted.
"Get down to med surge ASAP".
I grunted again and put down the phone. I slouched back on my bed and ... | The first odd thing about the discovery was the state of the 'ruins'.
A dome of ice had been protecting the city from the elements and great care was taken during excavation not to damage anything but when the first drone returned with video it revealed a shocking state of filth.
No structural damage or evidence of b... | |
[WP] The devil sits down at your table across from you. Everyone else screams in horror, but you, frustrated and emotionally spent, barely look up from your food. | There were many options I could’ve taken when Lucy decided to sit across my table. I could’ve popped out from the material plane. I could’ve cut him down and fulfill his wish from way back. But I was too tired to care anymore.
The other customers had up and left as soon as a flaming portal appeared where the restroom ... | Rowan’s crew crowded around the long wooden table, feasting ravenously to celebrate their latest victory.
“Skål!” chanted his right hand man, clinking goblets sloppily with the short man next to him, who almost fell over from the weight of a few too many drinks.
Rowan stared out over his men pensievely. Two weeks ago... | |
[WP] The devil sits down at your table across from you. Everyone else screams in horror, but you, frustrated and emotionally spent, barely look up from your food. | The giant, red-skinned, dark-suited man squeezed into the booth across from the sullen young man. His enormous body molded itself to fit in the small confined place. He stared patiently at the young man focused on his burger; both of them ignored the screams as the patrons rushed out.
"I'd rather be alone," the man sa... | Rowan’s crew crowded around the long wooden table, feasting ravenously to celebrate their latest victory.
“Skål!” chanted his right hand man, clinking goblets sloppily with the short man next to him, who almost fell over from the weight of a few too many drinks.
Rowan stared out over his men pensievely. Two weeks ago... | |
[WP]across the galaxy humans have accidentally achieved a reputation for their gut feelings being horrifyingly accurate though a number of accidents. as a result, the human instinct is treated as fact. while onboard a ship you feel sudden horror like nothing you have ever known from directly ahead. | "Hey! If it isn't our own disaster detector! Kay! Come on over here! Let us buy you a drink!"
"Thanks for the seat boys, but you know the rules, *24 hours from bottle to space*, and we launch in the morning. Speaking of which, you'd better be ready to run when we launch. Cap'n wasn't happy after the last R&R... | "What's the status on the FTL thrusters repair?"
"Still totally inoperable, they'll probably be back on in a few weeks"
I didn't want to panic the crew, but something utterly terrible is about to happen. At first it was a small tingle, then when it persisted into what felt like a knife being thrusted into my intestin... | |
[WP] Back in middle school you helped the meanest, toughest kid in school out of a jam. He swore that he would repay the favor one day - just give him a call and he'd be there. Twenty years later you are in a much bigger jam and out of options. You pick up the phone. | It was Christmas morning and your youngest daughter, while well intentioned and loving, had followed the advice of her grandmother on what to get you for the big day. While you were footing the bill for the symbolic gifts given to you and the rest of the family, it was the thoughtfulness of your children that mattered.... | Hello. Lion?
yes?
This is Aesop. Remember with the paw and the splinter a couple of years back?
Ahh shit, yeah sorry i was sleeping. man... how you doin? what's up?
yeah well, dude Look I dont want to call out of the blue and ask a favor, but there's this lion in my neighborhood that's trying to kill me.... | |
[WP] Back in middle school you helped the meanest, toughest kid in school out of a jam. He swore that he would repay the favor one day - just give him a call and he'd be there. Twenty years later you are in a much bigger jam and out of options. You pick up the phone. | \[Part 1\]
​
\*pant\* \*pant\*
Water droplets are falling on my face as I passed through a narrow alley somewhere in the downtown. I tried running as fast as I could, but my already tired legs don't allow me to run any faster than I already am. I looked around, but I couldn't see anyone. At first glance, ... | Hello. Lion?
yes?
This is Aesop. Remember with the paw and the splinter a couple of years back?
Ahh shit, yeah sorry i was sleeping. man... how you doin? what's up?
yeah well, dude Look I dont want to call out of the blue and ask a favor, but there's this lion in my neighborhood that's trying to kill me.... | |
[WP] Back in middle school you helped the meanest, toughest kid in school out of a jam. He swore that he would repay the favor one day - just give him a call and he'd be there. Twenty years later you are in a much bigger jam and out of options. You pick up the phone. | "I don't know what to do about it." he sobbed from the adjacent stall.
This was it, I now knew something that could finally put this bully in his place. But this wasn't fair. None of this was his fault. It explained why he was such a mean kid. It explained why he worked out so much. What kind of adult, what kind of mo... | Todd?
Yeah it's Jordan, remember me?
No, not your insurance agent. Jordan, from middle school. Remember the guy who lied for you in middle school when you spray painted all over the school, I stopped you from going to jail.....
.... yeah, so, remember you told me you would repay the favor one day, I just had to g... | |
[WP] Back in middle school you helped the meanest, toughest kid in school out of a jam. He swore that he would repay the favor one day - just give him a call and he'd be there. Twenty years later you are in a much bigger jam and out of options. You pick up the phone. | "I don't know what to do about it." he sobbed from the adjacent stall.
This was it, I now knew something that could finally put this bully in his place. But this wasn't fair. None of this was his fault. It explained why he was such a mean kid. It explained why he worked out so much. What kind of adult, what kind of mo... | (On mobile sorry)
It was 2001, I was a total shit stain of a human being, fighting, selling drugs, fuck you name it and my dumbass was doing it.
The complete opposite of me was Beth, smart, funny, kind and great academically, we were polar opposites, She was the only one that treated me like a person and not a wild ... | |
[WP] Back in middle school you helped the meanest, toughest kid in school out of a jam. He swore that he would repay the favor one day - just give him a call and he'd be there. Twenty years later you are in a much bigger jam and out of options. You pick up the phone. | “One phone call” he said, as he threw the 2003 Motorola at my feet.
I was certain that the words I would speak into the phone would be some of my last, so I had to make it count. I thought about all the people I could phone, my parents, my wife or my kids. Deep down I knew that none of them would help.
Deep down I ... | Well this is awkward but im happy your phone number hasn't changed. I hope you and your family are doing well as can be. Do you remember telling me I could call you if I ever needed anything? I was reluctant all these years to reach out but I am at my wits end with no one else to turn to and you came to mind. When I he... | |
[WP] Back in middle school you helped the meanest, toughest kid in school out of a jam. He swore that he would repay the favor one day - just give him a call and he'd be there. Twenty years later you are in a much bigger jam and out of options. You pick up the phone. | “Is this Jerry?” I asked, my heart still pounding from the chase.
“Yeah, who the hell is this?” Jerry said. He still sounded like the mean prick he was back at Haven High.
“This is Bill...” I said. Ugh, this is so stupid, he’s not going to remember me. Plus, there’s no way he’s going to keep some old promise he made... | Well this is awkward but im happy your phone number hasn't changed. I hope you and your family are doing well as can be. Do you remember telling me I could call you if I ever needed anything? I was reluctant all these years to reach out but I am at my wits end with no one else to turn to and you came to mind. When I he... | |
[WP] Back in middle school you helped the meanest, toughest kid in school out of a jam. He swore that he would repay the favor one day - just give him a call and he'd be there. Twenty years later you are in a much bigger jam and out of options. You pick up the phone. | “Is this Jerry?” I asked, my heart still pounding from the chase.
“Yeah, who the hell is this?” Jerry said. He still sounded like the mean prick he was back at Haven High.
“This is Bill...” I said. Ugh, this is so stupid, he’s not going to remember me. Plus, there’s no way he’s going to keep some old promise he made... | **She is dead, choked by my belt.**
Her body is limp, spread naked across the backseat of my car. Her eyes are blue, big and stare at the telephone pole across the road. Fuck,the garage door! I push the button and there is a familiar sound of closing door. It’s darker now. Just breath, Mark, it’s going to be okay. No ... | |
[WP] Back in middle school you helped the meanest, toughest kid in school out of a jam. He swore that he would repay the favor one day - just give him a call and he'd be there. Twenty years later you are in a much bigger jam and out of options. You pick up the phone. | “Is this Jerry?” I asked, my heart still pounding from the chase.
“Yeah, who the hell is this?” Jerry said. He still sounded like the mean prick he was back at Haven High.
“This is Bill...” I said. Ugh, this is so stupid, he’s not going to remember me. Plus, there’s no way he’s going to keep some old promise he made... | I stood over the body and watched the blood spill out over the badly-patched linoleum, forming little torn-plastic tidepools of congealing red and sparking green.
*Nanobots are malfunctioning as part of a secondary cascade following the main hack,* I thought, the nanodoc part of my brain rambling gamely on while the r... | |
[WP] Right after dropping off your son at pre-school you remember one small, problematic detail, you don't have any children | After running my fingers through Sam’s soft, brown curls one last time, I dash out the door. I hear him wail, “Mama! Mama!” but I know I have to be resolute. *Just the usual first-day jitters*, I think to myself. I can’t help but smile thinking about how lucky we are that a spot opened up for Sam at the Sacred Hear... | "Bye, mommy!" Jack waved from the curb as the woman drove away in a candy-red two-seat Porsche. She sighed with relief when she pulled out of the drop-off.
"*That was close*," Elsa thought when she stopped at the light. "*Jack was almost late for school,"* she looked down at her clothes; she was wearing her work-out g... | |
[WP] "I'm here for your first born, to settle our deal." Dread fills you as the witch speaks, but then she holds up a goody-bag. "I've got some things for him. I only have an hour today, but I'll be back to spend more time with him next week. What's a good time for you?" | It's been years since the witch, Mally, started visiting our daughter, Laura. Every week like clockwork she would show up with a toy or some sweets and play or talk with her. My wife, Karol, and I soon became used to this and even looked forward to the visits. Mally was very pleasant company.
But about when Laura w... | "Mom says you're a bad influence." My voice rose and fell in the middle of the sentence as my Aunt Myrtle jerked her old Lincoln through the pot hole in the road. At the motion, we both popped up off of the cracked leather seat and then came quickly back down, a hazard of having no seatbelts.
"A bad influence is what... | |
[WP] Every year your village randomly chooses one person for a ritualistic sacrifice. This year you have been chosen. Little do the people of the village know, you are actually the immortal being they have been sacrificing to. | I wake up one day and realize, danm it, today’s the sacrifice. I sigh and close my eyes until I hear the steady beat of drums, the signal to a meeting. At the meeting, a small carved box sits atop an altar. “Today is the day,” the chief cries. “That we give our offering to the mighty god Razero, to keep us safe!” I ro... | Oh thank... well, not God, that's me. But finally the plan is coming to fruition. Took long enough. I am *so* sick of village life. All that snide gossip and petty little conflicts and boring, provincial celebrations. It's been a long slough through! But we all have to start somewhere and now I'm on to bigger things.
... | |
[WP] While finalizing the U.S. census reports, you see the final population add up to around 2 billion, when the last known count was 330 million. You bring this to your superiors for reevaluation. They look at each other nervously and ask you to close the door behind you. | Under the artificial glow of the strip lighting, David was more pale than usual. Everything about him was otherwise typical; grey polyester suit, grey tie with pink stripe, comb-over hair, and his front teeth, reconstructed after an accident with a lawn mower. His smile was as genuine as a car salesman and only worn fo... | The first room is an antechamber. A door leads to a door. It is opened by my host.
A dapper older fellow, looking to be from Mid European aristocracy.
"They are the phased."
He closes the second door behind us.
"There are 351 million Americans this year.
There are 351 million Protheans this year.
There are ... | |
[WP] The Hero and Villain are both sidelined with the flu. They send their sidekick/henchman to do battle in their stead, but the two underlings turn out to have a lot in common. |
Things needed to be done. There were villages in dire need of razing, people who needed subjugating, and a general amount of killing to be done.
But I couldn’t seem to get away from my puke bucket long enough to go about general evil-doing. Whoever gave me this vile illness would get their just desserts; just a... | Evangeline, despite being an underling to one of the many menacing supervillains in the city, didn't like confrontation.
She could handle deadly errands to the black market, she could handle her boss's uptight insistence that hostage situations needed to be '*threatening yet fairly hospitable in order to strike ... | |
[WP] The Hero and Villain are both sidelined with the flu. They send their sidekick/henchman to do battle in their stead, but the two underlings turn out to have a lot in common. | The Catacomb was hunched in her chair, weak and shivering; a stark difference from her usual composure. The flu was hitting her hard. Tyler gazed at her empathetically, knowing better than she did how that kind of weakness could wreak the body. The Catacomb coughed multiple times, hacking up some mucus before she could... | Evangeline, despite being an underling to one of the many menacing supervillains in the city, didn't like confrontation.
She could handle deadly errands to the black market, she could handle her boss's uptight insistence that hostage situations needed to be '*threatening yet fairly hospitable in order to strike ... | |
[WP] The Hero and Villain are both sidelined with the flu. They send their sidekick/henchman to do battle in their stead, but the two underlings turn out to have a lot in common. | The Catacomb was hunched in her chair, weak and shivering; a stark difference from her usual composure. The flu was hitting her hard. Tyler gazed at her empathetically, knowing better than she did how that kind of weakness could wreak the body. The Catacomb coughed multiple times, hacking up some mucus before she could... | "You're kidding!" a voice could be heard from Solis's headquarters. "You, the savior of Midday City, won't go in because of a minor *FLU!?*"
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"Hey, hey, don't yell, please!" The Superhero demanded. "Yes, I'm sick...so I need you to go in for me." He looked up at his sidekick, seeing the shoc... | |
[WP] The Hero and Villain are both sidelined with the flu. They send their sidekick/henchman to do battle in their stead, but the two underlings turn out to have a lot in common. | The Catacomb was hunched in her chair, weak and shivering; a stark difference from her usual composure. The flu was hitting her hard. Tyler gazed at her empathetically, knowing better than she did how that kind of weakness could wreak the body. The Catacomb coughed multiple times, hacking up some mucus before she could... | Mariposa slipped inside the warehouse, praying she had successfully disabled the silent alarms. She was on her own tonight, as she tuned her mask to “night vision” mode. From her perch she surveyed the surroundings. There were only a couple night guards for the facility, and their rounds left them with several prolonge... | |
[WP] The Hero and Villain are both sidelined with the flu. They send their sidekick/henchman to do battle in their stead, but the two underlings turn out to have a lot in common. | The Catacomb was hunched in her chair, weak and shivering; a stark difference from her usual composure. The flu was hitting her hard. Tyler gazed at her empathetically, knowing better than she did how that kind of weakness could wreak the body. The Catacomb coughed multiple times, hacking up some mucus before she could... | "Yes Herothius the Giant, you will be my replacement. Show that cowardly villain that justice always prevails!" said Batman. Herothius the Giant got his name, naturally from being a giant red... thing. His resemblance was much like a mans, but he had oversized bulging muscles all over his body and a head of fire. He wo... | |
[WP] The Hero and Villain are both sidelined with the flu. They send their sidekick/henchman to do battle in their stead, but the two underlings turn out to have a lot in common. | Ultra Warrior. "What an arrogant name" Thomas thought. "Even for a superhero. So he has unlimited powers and draws unfathomable strength from the multiverse and has never lost a fight. I mean, once again... SELFISH! ARROGANT! Does he ever think about the other universe?" These thoughts ran through his head as he opens... |
The car barrelled along the empty stretch of road, kicking up a dust storm behind it.
The driver and her passenger drew some comfort from the cloud which enveloped them. Though they both knew that in this empty stretch of desert, it only made them easier to spot.
The two could not yet make sense of what had happ... | |
[WP] The Hero and Villain are both sidelined with the flu. They send their sidekick/henchman to do battle in their stead, but the two underlings turn out to have a lot in common. | I cannot believe that I have to cover for this guy. Really? A superhero can't handle a simple flu? I shake my head as I slip around the buildings in the night. I see a shadow slip past a street light. It's pretty late, but I was warned that Dark Crusade would be putting together a plan, so I set out to stop whatever wa... |
The car barrelled along the empty stretch of road, kicking up a dust storm behind it.
The driver and her passenger drew some comfort from the cloud which enveloped them. Though they both knew that in this empty stretch of desert, it only made them easier to spot.
The two could not yet make sense of what had happ... | |
[WP] The Hero and Villain are both sidelined with the flu. They send their sidekick/henchman to do battle in their stead, but the two underlings turn out to have a lot in common. | Ultra Warrior. "What an arrogant name" Thomas thought. "Even for a superhero. So he has unlimited powers and draws unfathomable strength from the multiverse and has never lost a fight. I mean, once again... SELFISH! ARROGANT! Does he ever think about the other universe?" These thoughts ran through his head as he opens... | Oh my gooooood does he send you out for random errands too? Jesus, its almost like they don't see us as human. We come out here, follow them around and help them. Treat their wounds, give them a rock. So you know what? I think its time for some revenge.
"Alright, so Starkid I've got some really nasty stuff here... | |
[WP] The Hero and Villain are both sidelined with the flu. They send their sidekick/henchman to do battle in their stead, but the two underlings turn out to have a lot in common. | I cannot believe that I have to cover for this guy. Really? A superhero can't handle a simple flu? I shake my head as I slip around the buildings in the night. I see a shadow slip past a street light. It's pretty late, but I was warned that Dark Crusade would be putting together a plan, so I set out to stop whatever wa... | Oh my gooooood does he send you out for random errands too? Jesus, its almost like they don't see us as human. We come out here, follow them around and help them. Treat their wounds, give them a rock. So you know what? I think its time for some revenge.
"Alright, so Starkid I've got some really nasty stuff here... | |
[WP] The Hero and Villain are both sidelined with the flu. They send their sidekick/henchman to do battle in their stead, but the two underlings turn out to have a lot in common. | I cannot believe that I have to cover for this guy. Really? A superhero can't handle a simple flu? I shake my head as I slip around the buildings in the night. I see a shadow slip past a street light. It's pretty late, but I was warned that Dark Crusade would be putting together a plan, so I set out to stop whatever wa... | Ultra Warrior. "What an arrogant name" Thomas thought. "Even for a superhero. So he has unlimited powers and draws unfathomable strength from the multiverse and has never lost a fight. I mean, once again... SELFISH! ARROGANT! Does he ever think about the other universe?" These thoughts ran through his head as he opens... | |
[WP] The Hero and Villain are both sidelined with the flu. They send their sidekick/henchman to do battle in their stead, but the two underlings turn out to have a lot in common. | I was getting ready for work – well, my first job anyway – when my phone went off, the Jedi’s music from Star Wars ringing loudly through my apartment.
I snatched up my phone, “Yes boss?” I always answered quickly - that damn tune was so obnoxious.
He spoke between obnoxiously loud coughing fits, “I seem to be under ... | "Alright Night King show yourself." the young man called out, unsure and nervous, this was his first 'solo' mission to say. "Oh my, you caught me, but little did you.......hang on you're not Starforge! You're his sidekick Starkid!" "Hold up, Night Squire?" Starkid stepped forward, and indeed it was the female sidekick ... | |
[WP] The Hero and Villain are both sidelined with the flu. They send their sidekick/henchman to do battle in their stead, but the two underlings turn out to have a lot in common. | "-and then he tried to pretend he wasn't drinking anything. Broken glass on the ground and dude had a fucking milk mustache. *Who is too much of a fragile man that he's afraid to be seen drinking milk*?"
Johnny put his hand over his mouth as he laughed hoping both that Jenny wouldn't see the half chewed burger and th... | "Alright Night King show yourself." the young man called out, unsure and nervous, this was his first 'solo' mission to say. "Oh my, you caught me, but little did you.......hang on you're not Starforge! You're his sidekick Starkid!" "Hold up, Night Squire?" Starkid stepped forward, and indeed it was the female sidekick ... | |
[WP] The Hero and Villain are both sidelined with the flu. They send their sidekick/henchman to do battle in their stead, but the two underlings turn out to have a lot in common. | "Larry? Is that you?"
The young man sitting on the park bench, wearing white-painted cardboard on his body, and fake mouse ears on his head, looked up. "Sally?! Ah, crap."
Sally laughed. A motion that rippled up the tight latex of her yellow canary outfit. A costume, unlike his, not held together by staples and glue.... | Zolaray, sidekick of the great protector, was heading downtown in his zolamobile, a slightly smaller and more red version of the great protector's own vehicle.
This was his first mission, his chance to prove himself. He would be going up against his Boss's arch-nemesis, The Smuggler, reports of his sightings echoing o... | |
[WP] The Hero and Villain are both sidelined with the flu. They send their sidekick/henchman to do battle in their stead, but the two underlings turn out to have a lot in common. | The sun beat down on the barren wasteland as a man emerged from an unmarked white van. He wore a long white cloak with the symbol of the Defender on his back—a large green shield with a red diamond in the middle. His hands shook as he stepped along the dry, cracked earth.
“Give me strength,” he mumbled. His hands sho... | Zolaray, sidekick of the great protector, was heading downtown in his zolamobile, a slightly smaller and more red version of the great protector's own vehicle.
This was his first mission, his chance to prove himself. He would be going up against his Boss's arch-nemesis, The Smuggler, reports of his sightings echoing o... | |
[WP] In the near future, a rehab center is created for serial killers. To quell their urges, they go to the center, where they get to murder realistic human-like robots. Each killer can modify their robot victims and scenarios to their liking. | I-I really don’t belong here. I thought. while a man double my size grabbed my shoulders and urged me through the front doors. He forcibly took me to the front counter to sign in.
“Jacob Adams.” He said to the lady at the counter.
“Ah,18 year old Jacob will spending an undetermined amount of... | (Before I start my short story, just FYI I’m gonna be writing about the villain Himiko Toga from My Hero Academia)
I giggled and adjusted my personal robot to be just like my beloved Izuku-Kun. I added in a bag of edible fake blood (shame they don’t allow real blood) and activated my session. The robot changed appeara... | |
[WP] In the near future, a rehab center is created for serial killers. To quell their urges, they go to the center, where they get to murder realistic human-like robots. Each killer can modify their robot victims and scenarios to their liking. | "Killacility", is how the usual people call it. But for me this is definetly not the way to do it, this is like giving drugs to a drug addict but worse.
As a janitor i always see the usual shit, presidents, neighbors, coworkers, hell, even kids were being portrayed by the robots.
But there was this random guy who woul... | (Before I start my short story, just FYI I’m gonna be writing about the villain Himiko Toga from My Hero Academia)
I giggled and adjusted my personal robot to be just like my beloved Izuku-Kun. I added in a bag of edible fake blood (shame they don’t allow real blood) and activated my session. The robot changed appeara... | |
[WP] In the near future, a rehab center is created for serial killers. To quell their urges, they go to the center, where they get to murder realistic human-like robots. Each killer can modify their robot victims and scenarios to their liking. | Jacinto had been a guard at the Almswood Rehabilitation Center for Homicidal Tendencies for nine months. The facility was more commonly called the Arch. The idea was simple. Ten years ago, a group of lawmakers decided to create rehabilitation centers for criminals convicted of homicide. These centers were a normal pris... | (Before I start my short story, just FYI I’m gonna be writing about the villain Himiko Toga from My Hero Academia)
I giggled and adjusted my personal robot to be just like my beloved Izuku-Kun. I added in a bag of edible fake blood (shame they don’t allow real blood) and activated my session. The robot changed appeara... | |
[WP] In the near future, a rehab center is created for serial killers. To quell their urges, they go to the center, where they get to murder realistic human-like robots. Each killer can modify their robot victims and scenarios to their liking. |    Nathaniel was a wan looking skinny man whose wide-brimmed, round spectacles only enhanced his benign appearance. At first glance, no one would have expected he had killed four people himself before being caught and sent to rehab. His fellow patients all had their different motivations for ... | (Before I start my short story, just FYI I’m gonna be writing about the villain Himiko Toga from My Hero Academia)
I giggled and adjusted my personal robot to be just like my beloved Izuku-Kun. I added in a bag of edible fake blood (shame they don’t allow real blood) and activated my session. The robot changed appeara... | |
[WP] You're a soldier in the army of a modern monarchy. A prince of the royal family joins the military, and is assigned to your squad. To the dismay of your gung-ho squad, this means you never gets tasked with anything dangerous or worthwhile. Surprisingly, the prince seems just as disappointed. | It all started the day that Giorgio joined our unit. I like to call it "The Day Interesting Died". You see, Giorgio was the crown prince of our little kingdom and due to some propaganda bullshit he was required to serve in the military. Wouldn't you know that they decided, that out of the 467 publicly known units, the ... | *Snap.*
Rocket's rubber band shot over Davie's head and tapped against the tent's canvas. The fly he had been aiming at escaped unscathed.
"Losing your touch, Rocky," grinned Carl. He flipped his knife again, handle spinning up once, twice, three times, returning to touch his palm only briefly before its ballet conti... | |
[WP] You agree to go on a date with someone you met on a dating app. As you get closer to the date spot you get a new alert stating "Person found dead on the street" with a picture of your date attached. This is the fourth potential date who has died on their way to meet you in the past month. | My phone dings as a notification pops up on my screen. I open it cautiously, surprised it was from Tinder. A message from an actual boy who was interested in me.
But this wasn’t just any message, rather it was a message from a handsome dark-haired man named Blake.
He was hot, but the message he left in my inbox was a... | “Fuck. You.”
He knew it would end up like this. Part of him feels guilty that another innocent soul had to pay the ultimate price, but more than anything else, what he feels is rage. A rage so powerful and primal that you can see it affecting the people around him.
They don’t know what it is or where it is coming fro... | |
[WP] You and your crush are alone on a rooftop at night. The lights from the city below shine onto your faces. "I haven't been honest with you," they say, standing on the edge of the building while looking down at the streets below. They take a step forward. | I looked at Shelly, raising my eyebrows.
"About what?"
She pauses and bites her lip as if searching for the right words. Despite the chill from being on the roof of my apartment complex, I'm willing to be patient. The way the city lights catch her auburn hair takes my breath away, and it's not an experience I'm will... | It all happened too fast.
We had just gotten out of high school, fresh from graduation. You could've been off with your friends on the "best and last party for at least five years", and I could've been off with my family, staring at the big mound of things I had yet to cram in a suitcase. But here we are, staring at t... |
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