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	[WP] Aliens invade earth, but they have never understood the concept of guerilla warfare. Humanity's doom is out there, marching toward us in neat, straight lines.	1,243	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. 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Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Commanders report to high command, rotation 10 of the Terran campaign.\n\nThe humans are insane. \n\nThe members of any sane race in the galaxy, when faced with multiple options they will simply choose the one most advantageous to themselves. \n\nObedience or Servitude? Choose Obedience \n\nServitude or slavery? Choose Servitude \n\nSlavery or death? Choose Slavery\n\nBut the humans... I once watched a human burn his own home down, everything he had ever built along with himself in the mere hope of trapping some of our forces in the blaze. \n\nI've watched humans with bombs strapped to their own bodies run into our lines. \n\nFor the first years of the conflict we thought perhaps they were some kind of hive intelligence and thus such madness was really a sign that an unknown central entity was trying to preserve itself and maximize benefit to itself. We wasted hundreds of thousands of lives searching for the controlling minds to no result... everything else we have learned of humans shows that each is alone in their own mind. \n\nBut these humans... some seek the maximum benefit for themselves, some join our forces for sufficient rewards... but I've come to realize that many aren't even trying to maximize benefit for themselves, it's notable that they target the ones they call \"traitors\" and \"turncoats\" above all else, preferring to target them over more logical or higher value targets. \n\nBut the darkest realization has been that they don't just fight to keep land for themselves, they'll fight to keep us from having it and if they can't stop us from taking it they'll burn the crops, salt the soil, destroy any infrastructure, sow the land with mines and tripwires... purely so that we cannot use it, so that nobody can ever use it. \n\nIn researching human history we have discovered concepts that are highly unusual for a sapient species, the most worrying was termed Mutually Assured Destruction. Prior to our arrival one of the ways the humans maintained peace was a standing threat between their major powers to effectively make the planet uninhabitable should one side attempt a first strike. \n\nIt appears that this was the normal state of being for the humans but even more alarmingly, they considered it normal for great powers to hold weapons in reserve that they simply agreed not to use to enforce \"rules of war\" against each other. Even after the 10 years of horror we have experienced on this planet it appears that there are some weapons the humans have simply chosen not to deploy.... yet. So far they've assumed that we must be holding something similar in reserve. But in their deep bunker and hidden labs we've learned that they have biological weapons that pose almost as much danger to those who launch them as to the targets. Chemical weapons that destroy all life that may blow back at them if the wind changes, nuclear weapons that can glass vast tracts of land. We have evidence that they've been adapting our own technology to create nanological weapons that may pose a risks to other star systems should they be triggered. \n\nIf we continue this war they will burn the world and will do anything in their power damage our empire in the process.\n\nAs such I believe we are facing the choice: admitting defeat and withdrawing vs death. \n\nMy recommendation is that we withdraw. This war is not and can never be to the advantage of the empire. \n\n", "Heh. Heh heh heh. Old-school science fiction tends to paint humanity as the fragile hothouse flowers of the galaxy. Not much in the way of natural weaponry or armor, and apparently rather frail in structure.\n\nBut what if it's the reverse? What if Earth, to the perception of every other starfaring culture, is a planetary deathtrap, and humans the most terrifying sentients ever to reach for the stars?\n\nNot because we're tough or fast or even particularly smart, on average. But because we are, even by our own measure, insatiably curious, astoundingly creative, shockingly adaptable... And almost insanely reckless.\n\nWhat if, after five years of contact with interstellar society, the universal signal to \"evacuate the star system at maximum possible speed\" is, simply, \"The Humans Have Asked Us To Hold Their Beer!\"", "Dr. Sarah Godavaci, leading astronomer and military advisor to the Union of Alien Affairs, turned to her subordinate taking the large binder containing reports of spectrophotometry, advanced imaging, and other information regarding the redcoat’s home planet. It’s been ten years since the attack from the alien species, Gronites, which were quickly named redcoats based on their natural red coloration and fighting strategies. \n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt’s as I thought, their planet appears to be a massive exoplanet with abnormally low density, this explains their physical appearance. The redcoats were a long legged, humanoid species with very advanced technology. Their physical strength while comparable to humans was still impressive and their ability to sprint easily matched some of earth’s fastest animals. Sarah scoured through the report till she found the information she wanted, the spectrophotometry report.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n“Hey, are you positive about the results of the spectrometer?” Sarah asked, “Absolutely, Dr. Godavaci isn’t that astounding, what do you think it means?” Sarah looked at the common organic compounds detected by the spectrometer, celluose didn’t even register. She quickly examined the atmosphere composition of the planet, similar to earth’s except lower reports of pollution and contaminants. Sarah picks up her phone and dials her husband, Jack Godavaci, a pioneer in xenopsychology and biology. “Hey honey? I think I have explanation for their formation combat. They don’t have trees on their planet and I bet there’s no large vegetation. I don’t think they understand what cover is.”\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSarah hung up the phone and looked back at the reports. When the redcoats first invaded many militaries were afraid to engage them, but after they began marching on our cities we had no choice. Our people declared it a miracle that we were able to repel them, but I know the truth. We massacred them… They had no comprehension of cover or basic military tactics and now I understood why. Humanity’s invasion on their planet is going to be a genocide.", " \n\nThe story of how the Human race found itself not only as part of The Unity, but also as it’s main military councilors, is a sad and funny one, that demonstrates some lessons in how not to make a first contact. \n\nUntil the Earthling war, when the Unity council decided that a system or planet was of interest, and should become part of the government, there were two possibilities, Advanced species were properly contacted through diplomatic means, and a agreement of union was signed, immediately bringing the planet into the galactic-political sphere. In the case of undeveloped or barbarian species, a show of military might was made, so that they understood the superiority of the Unity, once compliant, they would be slowly uplifted and observed until they could be trusted to behave.\n\nBy observations, earth was considered a beautiful if a bit crowded planet, humans had spread across it’s entire surface, with their “primitive” machines and ideas. The system was located in the middle of a sparsely populated sector and would be the perfect starting point for an expansion/colonization campaign. All they had to do now was bring the Humans into their control. \n\nAs it was usual, a Glorious Mission was sent. 50.000 of the best, noblest and prized soldiers of the hundreds of different species in the unity were embarked into the great golden cruiser that was the symbol and pride of the Unity Military. Its surface covered with images and names of those who were part of previous Glorious Missions. The troops inside it swelled with pride of their mission, not only they would prove the superiority of their power, but would also help to bring a wayward, backwater species into the galactic scenario. It was a great task, and a reason to be proud. \n\nUnfortunately for them, they understood nothing of humankind, or how it reacted when backed into a corner, or threatened by a bigger power. \n\nAs it was of costume in these missions, once arriving in the orbit of the earth, the ship transmitted a message, ordering the humans to prepare for Combat. A empty location, distant of any urban centers, in the largest desert of the planet was chosen as the battlefield. There the Humans would for the first time come in contact with alien species, and the Unity would have their view of the universe shattered. \n\nThe Ship landed in the desert, a few cliks from the specified combat location, and the army marched, it’s armors adapted to the scalding sun of the region, they marched single file to the location, quickly assuming the traditional combat position of the Unity Military: A long firing line, with long range weapons on the back, and replacements behind it. And so they waited. The humans did not seem to come, but their transmissions left no uncertainty that they had understood the message. Maybe they were afraid. Maybe they did not had armies. On the face of this doubt, the High Commander of the Glorious Mission took a decision. He fired the first shot.\n\nCeremonial as it was, their ship had a few weapons, and so they fired a few laser barrages into the sky, creating a light show over the skies of the entire planet. They did not realize at that moment, but their show of force drove the humans into panic. Satellites had been knocked out of orbit, A passenger plane was almost hit, migratory birds had their flight routes disrupted. To the humans, it was quite clear now that this enemy had no diplomatic intentions. \n\n\nIt was 2 days after the combined day for the combat, and a day after the laser attack, that the human response came. Several primitive rockets fired in the direction of the ship in orbit, and 2 towards the Glorious Army, now camping in the desert, waiting for a human response. The energy shields were up on both places, but they did nothing against the nuclear heat and impact wave, and the radiation that followed. The Golden Ship, that had seen countless battles, was knocked out of the sky. The Glorious army, who had never been defeated, broken and killed in a single flash of light. Their final transmissions filled the Unity Council with fear. Using atomic weapons with such carelessness? As a first strike no less? Now the humans had to be brought to heel. \n\nA Glorious expedition was declared, with several ships and armies being put under direct control of the Council. The first move would be one of power. They would invade directly 10 of the largest human concentrations on the planet. This way, any nuclear attacks would also kill their own people, not counting the effect it would have when they marched through the greatest human cities to meet their forces in battle. \n\nThe first of their ships to arrive went to what was considered the largest target. An enormous urban zone in a long island chain off the coast of their largest landmass. Instead of landing, the troops were teleported to the ground, and immediately realized they were in trouble. The human cities were labyrinthic in their design, with no clear way to differentiate between civil and military targets, the troops decided to march in the direction of a huge red tower in the horizon, probably a monument to a leader’s virility or something of the sort.\n\nThis march would become known as the “path of blood”. The soldiers were attacked from all directions. With the targets disappearing before they could target someone. Primitive aircrafts dropped explosives and fired kinetic rounds at them, before leaving with great velocity, once arriving in the tower, there were only 500 of the 50000 who had landed. And they immediately surrendered, in shock of the carnage that had been inflicted upon them. \n\nTokyo was not the only place where these scenes happened. In Shanghai, the Chinese army outnumbered them greatly, and accepted no quarter. In New York they were met by tanks and machine gun positions along wall street, In Mexico City, their ranks were broken by the first time, and many of the bodies of their soldiers would never be found. They had victories in places like Cairo and Karachi, but they proved futile when the population started sacrificing itself, with explosives on vehicles and even on themselves, thinning their already dwindled ranks, and damaging their failing moral even more. It was in Seoul that for the first time, they saw humans using technology adapted from theirs, and in São Paulo, for the first time in their history, a enemy surrounded Unity forces, and ordered them to surrender and retreat from their planet, or face the consequences.\n\nIn other times, the Unity would have laughed in face of this threat, and sent more and better equipped soldiers to the planet, maybe even orbital weapons, but not only the humans and their insane, asymmetrical type of warfare had made a dent in their armor. With almost half a million soldiers dead on their side, a number that rivalled those of the old, terrible, expansion wars, many on the council were ready to sit and discuss a new idea. Maybe quarantining the entire sector to keep the humans at bay, or even changing the course of a nearby meteor to crash onto their planet, for more dishonored and distasteful that that could seem, was considered as a option. \n \n\nAll of this changed when, around 6 months after the initial transmission, with their invasion given as a loss, and only a few ships remaining on the system to keep an eye in the human homeworld, the golden ship left the atmosphere of the earth. \n\nFixed by a mixture of human and Unity technology, it contained all the soldiers that had been captured during the invasion, along with them, a message from the human governments. They wanted peace, they wanted to negotiate, and this was the proof that this message was sent in good faith. The bodies of their dead soldiers would also be sent back in the following weeks. The once captured soldiers bringing stories of how their captors were curious about where they were from, what where their intentions, and why attack them in what, to the humans had been such a foolish way of fighting. They told of how the humans worked tirelessly to understand and retrofit the technology of their attackers, of how scared they were after the original attack, and of how this “primitive”, “backwards” civilization responded to the threat of an invasion from a higher force not with fear, but with cunning. \n\nA year later, Humans would become the youngest race to be admitted into the Unity, and to have a seat in the council, by reason of merit. “Human Warfare” as it became known, would become a core subject in the military academies on Unity planets, the Human diplomats tried to dispel this vision of their species as scary, but they seemed to relish on the fact that “Fighting humans in their homeworld” became an expression for making a stupid mistake. \n\nNow, a century later, Earth is known for much more than a warground, and the humans have carved their place among the Unity. The First Contact protocols have long changed, to include diplomacy even with races that seem to have no real power. An invasion is considered the last solution. But if it gets to that point, you can be sure that somewhere in the vanguard, there will be a human strategist of commander, ready to remember the galaxy where they got their reputation from. ", "Command Report Stardate 103984932 High Inquisitor Melfizoc\n\nDespite our numerous preparations for the initial assault, today took an unexpected turn. Nearly half of our front line forces were eliminated today when they met with resistance from the native primitives. It would appear these primitives have some advanced technologies we were not apprised of before now.\n\nWhile it has been our belief that humans lack teleportation and cloaking technology, or other advanced tech, today's events have called this into question. Today with my own two eyes, I witnessed what I believe to be the use of these weapons. As our lines marched towards the human defenses, their warriors appeared not in front of us, but rather from the sides, and even some in the rears of our flank. By the time we completed our marching procedures to reverse course, many losses had already been sustained. It is my belief that these humans are able to use teleportation technology to beam troops from the front line, to any location on the battlefield.\n\nFurthermore, as we retreated into an area of tall, hardy vegetation, we sustained even more losses. Despite our vigilance, the attack seemed to come from invisible attackers. As though the plants themselves were firing upon us. It is my belief that the humans are employing either some sort of cloaking technology to hide their formations, or perhaps have even engineered intelligent plants that can fight in formation as well. Despite destroying many of these tall, hard plants, we found no evidence of advanced genetic technology. This leaves me to believe the latter theory, that we were being marched up by an invisible army. \n\nHowever, when a secondary retreat was the only course of action available, to add to our terrible luck, we had further difficulty with the local flora. It would appear that some of these earth plants have very dangerous defense mechanisms. Several had grown taut vines between them, and when in contact with our footfalls, some sort of biological chemical explosion occurred. Furthermore, many of the local plants her grow in the form of spiked branches that grown from the bottom of deep holes. These deceptive plants have a layer of leaves over the top, such that they appear as solid ground. Several of our soldiers fell and critically injured themselves on these plants, while some other stepped on the exploding plants. Some of the men went missing. It is unknown if they went AWOL or if they fell to the invisible soldiers. \n\nClearly these humans are masters of deception. The few of our number that returned to the mothership were distraught and disorderly. Morale has been severely compromised by the losses today. I would humbly request a strategic withdrawal of our forces until such a time that the human defenses can be assessed in more detail.", "We knew they were coming. The news spread quick throughout our world. These beings looked similar to us, but they were not like us at all. The first time their massive ships appeared on the horizon, no one knew what to expect. By the time they landed, we had our defenses prepared. We had no idea how little damage we could do. Each being was clad in a material harder than anything we'd seen before; impenetrable and covering their entire body. They carried something that resembled spears, but at the click of a button would begin to drain the blood from it's targets body- instantly. It was chaos. One by one, they took down the nations of our world. Some by deceit, but most by sheer force. We tried to ban together, but they were far more organized than we ever could be. Far more precise. Little did they know, that would be their downfall.\n\nI'd like to say that I fought and died bravely the day they came, but I ran with my family. I had to know they were safe. We found a place deep in the forest, where we ran into other retreating families and communities. Soon, we had a village of our own, far from all other civilization. I knew we had only bought ourselves time. They won't stop until they've claimed every inch of our world. Through what I witnessed firsthand, and stories from my new neighbors, I figured out their weakness. They rely too much on their technology and their numbers. These things are no match for the fighting spirit of my people. I would show them.\n\nA few months into living in our new home, a scout was spotted near the perimeter of our village. We had our best tracker follow him back to the others. We discovered their fleet planned to meet our resistance in an open field down at the valley below us. I put together a group to meet them. We gathered what weapons we had and met them in the clearing. I saw the beings who looked like us, but not quite, on the other side of the field. Even at this distance I could see their white faces. They began to march, wielding their terrible weaponry, which I learned were called guns. We charged. Before we were close enough for their front line to use their guns, more of my men emerged from the forest on either side of them. We ran unpredictable routes, throwing rocks and spears. Our arrows flew from deep within the forest and rained on their army indiscriminately. Many of their commanders in the back of the formation were killed even before their front line used a weapon. Still, they put up quite a fight. Many men died on both sides, but ultimately it was they who retreated. However, at this point they had lost all sense of their formation. White men ran through the forest alone, only to be attacked from above by more of my people waiting in the trees.\n\nThrough the sweat and blood that blurred my vision, I watched our victory unfold. Among all this death, I managed a smile, for I knew that my people would be safe to live on this land- now and for the rest of time. We knew they were coming, and we stopped them.\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nMy newnew project is r/TalesOfAcka - A fictional universe where the prophecies of the Old World are fulfilled, abandoned, and rewritten on a new continent of vicious civilizations and fantastic creatures.", "People have a terrible understanding of scope and scale. It’s just a light-year, how many of them could there be? Gee Ben, I don’t know, how many alien ships do you think can fit into six trillion miles? One by one, unceasing, and that’s just all we could observe. There could be infinitely more equally patient, equally ordered bugs out there just marching toward us. I check my watch. It’s about time. Groaning, I roll off the couch in the break room and head toward my post.\n\n“Mornin’ Ben.” I pass another grunt, raising my hand in acknowledgment. I make my way sluggishly to the computer screen that’s been my life for the past two years. Fingerprint scanned, iris recognized, welcome Ben to the World Operational Defense Satellite Network (WODSaN). I check my watch again, I’m thirty minutes ahead of schedule, that’s fine, better too early than too late. Several commands later and I have the damn bugship found and targeted by the computer. \n\n“Press enter to confirm launch” the cool, computerized voice said. Without looking I pressed the button. I could do this blindfolded at this point. I didn’t bother trying to peer through the thick, opaque, hole of a window – I knew the invaders’ ship had been detonated. Just like the others. You could catch a glimpse of those strange silver forms evacuating the ship right before the missile’s impact. They’d float in space with the rest of the debris until another ship picked them up.\nI logged out, set my alarm, and went to find my bunk. I hadn’t been sleeping well for months. \n\n“FIELDS!” Damn, I just closed my eyes. Blearily, I rose to attention.\n\n“Sir?”\n\n“Do you mind explaining why in the goddamned hell we just got reports of twelve confirmed casualties?” Flecks of spittle hit my face as Commander Jacobs closed the distance between us faster than my eye could follow. I craned my neck to make eye contact with him. His face reminded me of an apple, red and shiny, rage and sweat in equal measure. I tried not to flinch.\n\n“Sir?” I responded, not understanding. I did my job.\n\n“Sir? SIR” He mocked, “I don’t know how you fucked up but boy you really did, you really fucking did Fields. ‘Computers are unreliable’ they told me, ‘what if the power goes out? What if something crashes?’ No, we just NEEDED a team to press a damn button. I don’t know how all five of you managed to sleep through a goddamned alien invasion but now we have bodies on the ground! Do you understand that.” It wasn’t a question.\n\n“Sir, I –” I was floundering with my watch, trying to pull up the log of my activity. I saw the confirmed launch. No way any of the bugs had slipped by, the system never made a mistake.\n\n“You better choose your next words very carefully or you’ll be the next thing we launch into space.” Commander Jacobs narrowed his eyes, barely able to control his breathing. \n\nHis phone rang, giving me a brief respite to collect my thoughts. I could only hear his side of the conversation. “What? Yes. What do you mean we’re empty? None? NONE? You fucking me? What the hell are they doing about it? They realize this is a time sensitive issue? Christ. Christ. Christ, yeah, I understand.” The color drained from his face throughout the call. He hung up and sat heavily on the bed, rubbing his face in his hands. “Fields…”\n\n“Yes, sir?” \n\n“We’re out of goddamned ammunition.”\n\n“No way.” \n\n“Russia pulled out of the agreement, then China. We already mined our country to hell, there’s nothing we can dig up to fight with anymore.”\n\n“Why would they do that? With respect sir, that’s the stupidest thing I ever heard.”\n\nHe sighed, “some political nonsense. Something about how WODSaN could be turned against them once the aliens are all killed. They wanted the base moved to under their jurisdiction. The higher ups refused.”\n\n“But there’s literally trillions of alien ships still coming at us!” I said incredulously. \n\n“You know that, I know that. But they don’t see it every day like we do. It’s just an abstraction to them.”\n\nWe stood in silence for a moment, trying to comprehend what the future would hold. Commander Jacobs broke first. “You know, Fields? I don’t think we’ve ever actually killed any of those bugs. They always retreat and regroup before we do any serious damage.”\n\n“Who would have thought attacking your enemy one at a time would be an unbeatable strategy.”\n\nHe let out a short, barking laugh. “Just wait ‘em out. Straight lines and politics. Keep the pressure on and we’ll crack first. Smart buggers.”\n\nWe stood. “What now sir?” I asked. \n\n“As far as I’m concerned you’re free to spend the end of days as you see fit. I’m going to tell the rest of the unit then I’m guessing I’ll see you at the bar.”\n\n“Cheers sir.”\n\nHe grimaced and turned to leave. As he shut the door behind him I heard him muttering, “straight lines and politics.”\n", "Many people, throughout the myriad ages have tried to define what humanity truly is; To some, it's ingenuity, to others it is compassion, again to some others it is our artistic ability. Poets claim it is our ability to know deeper meaning, philosophers differ from pain, lust, power and suffering as our definite traits. To the religious it is our piety and to our scientists it is our curiosity. The truth is that we're the most single-minded stubborn bastards in the universe. In our primal state, before civilization, before history and all those other good bits, we were stubborn. When our ancient hunters picked a target, they followed it day and night until it collapsed from exhaustion. We decided to take our biggest competitor and turn them into our friends and servants, we stuck at it until we made dogs. Because we're stubborn.\n\nAfter World War II, pockets of resistance on some pacific islands held out for years, refusing to give in. The biggest armies in history have tried to calm and control Afghanistan, from Alexander to Bush, leaders have invaded and found the locals to be so bloody stubborn and irritable that they wind up driving out the invaders somehow. Doctors never gave in when looking for vaccines to the great modern plague of polio or the ancient plague of smallpox, and eventually they were found. It pays to be stubborn.\n\nWe are stubborn bastards. Because we don't give up, we don't play fair, we don't break, it's hell on earth trying to fight the lot of us. But of course, somebody didn't do their homework. Earth is sort in the backwater of the galaxy, the space-boonies so to speak. But, the Solar System is, unbeknownst to man, an important hyperspace bypass for alien merchant caravans, civilian transport, and space fleets belonging to various important empires. Until recently, it was considered common land, owned theoretically by humanity, but de facto, just about everybody used it. But then, the Srenqian Hegemony decided, that the time was ripe for a new strategic move in the five-ways Galactic Cold War. Srengians were a very rigid society, even by the rigid standards of the common galaxy, and when they conquered a planet, the inhabitants were given a choice; Surrender and become fourth-rate citizens, or attempt to resist and become slaves. Eventually third-rate citizens could work their way to become second-rate citizens, by showing great loyalty and obedience to the state. Slaves could never go further than third-class citizenship. They sent the standardized fleet packed with soldiers from a variety of different subjugated races, led by Srengian officers. On the 15th of March, 2027, they issued a call for humanity's total surrender. The options were explained, the benefits of accepting the natural superiority of the Srengians were put on the table versus the disadvantages of disobeying the High Lords of the Supreme Heaven, as they liked to style themselves. Humanity's answer took a while to translate for the Srengians, it was two words from a dead human language. Molon labe. Come and take it.\n\nThe Srengians misunderstood it as an accept, which the humans quickly rectified by murdering the Srengian officers commanding slaves, who were to set up the official surrender ceremony, with sniper fire. The communication officer who had mistranslated was immediately executed by airlock. And then the invasion began. The first couple of months went swimmingly for the Srengians, their puffy aristocratic tentacles rubbing together in glee as humanity met their armies and were driven back, the sheer numbers and technology of the Srengian forces defeating conventional warfare.\n\nUntil the battle of Saigon. The Vietnamese army set up ambushes, stay-behind militia groups that attacked in the middle of the night, children with pistols who would not be considered a threat by the enemy. The Srengian forces marched toward the city in neat straight lines, and were massacred. Old men who had once been in the Viet Cong would strap explosives to themselves, not be counted as hostiles by the enemy, and go up to shake a Srengian soldier's hand or paw or pseudo-pod, and boom, squad destroyed. In the night, when the Srengians rested, the old women would crawl out of holes with knives alongside the young girls, and cut the throats of the enemy. Commandos would sneak into the Srengian camps and free their slaves and led them off. The poor sods were too frightened to disobey anyone after what could have been centuries of slavery.\n\nBy the time the Srengian army actually reached the city center, less than a tenth of their original force survived. Snipers on rooftops took out every surviving officer, so easy to spot in their shiny and gleaming uniforms. The confused soldiers, without orders, were picked apart piece by bloody piece, until the streets ran red, purple, and blue with the blood of our enemies. It was the first major victory that humanity had scored. Sure, Saigon was in ruins and all the effort to clean the area up from the Vietnam War had been reversed, but twelve whole divisions had been put to the sword.\n\nThe Srengian high command could not comprehend what was happening. Their armies marched into the winter of Russia, and was met with scorched earth, booby traps, sneak attacks, sabotage from locals, and the ever-present threat of General Winter. Needless to say, not many of their forces survived the 2030 Russian Campaign. In Finland, the colourful uniforms of the enemy were easy targets for the heirs of The White Death, and joining the old Soviet dead, were now several brigades of aliens. In the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian peninsular, the Srengian soldiers learned to fear the almost insane fanatical devotion of the locals, and their defiance against the enemy. Many a member of the Srengian army, would leave his racial battalion with permission from the officers to take a leak in the dunes or try to find shade, and simply never be seen again, until the battered remnants of their unit would find their bleached dry bones as they retreated back to the coast.\n\nIn the Outback of Australia, the human resistance would chase hordes of emus into the camps of the alien foe, unleashing hell upon them, though for many races, Australia was already hell, being a place where eventually only punitive regiments were sent. The vast steppes of Central Asia were initially perfect for the Srengians to fight on, until they were met with ancient strategies, best employed by Genghis Khan centuries ago, riding up close to the enemy, firing, and fleeing. Hit and runs were so common there, that the forward marching enemy would never get a moment of rest. In America, they started the invasion in Texas, suffice to say, that high command had never seen an entire territory's population rise up so well-armed and so bloodthirsty before.\n\nIn the places conquered, the Srengians would find no rest. In the night, resistance fighters would kidnap officers and broadcast their execution on whatever channels still available. Even the usually civilized and pacifistic Europe was not safe for the enemy. On the shores of Denmark, patrols would find the soldiers they had replaced when the tide was low. The resistance in France became so numerous, that the aliens had to retreat to Paris, where they thought themselves safe. Until the Cataphile cells of the resistance dragged down the members of the garrison in blackest night, to the Catacombs and tunnels beneath the city. Where the last thing any alien saw, was humans wearing masks made from the skulls of their own dead, plunging their knives into the exposed skin of their comrades, and at last, themselves. Those few who were given the order to retreat from Paris, would find their dreams filled with the hushed whispers of the living dead, and the muffled screams of their dead brothers-in-arms, until the end of their days.", "My whiskey’s runnin’ low, and I ain’t get much sleep because 'em damn cows keep mooing. They’re pissed ‘bout something, and the people on TV are rantin’ ‘bout aliens. They’re marching in a straight line! the reporter squeals. We don’t know what advanced tactic this is, but it’s surely deadly! Whatever do you want, fearsome—\n\t\nThey vaporize the poor feller before he finishes. Cameraman, too, and when his camera falls, what I see? My farm. Welp. That’s why the cows are riled. Snatchin’ up ol’ Missy—my trusty shotgun—I stomp onto balcony. There they are. Hundreds of squid-lookin’ aliens with huge eyes, clutchin’ lazer-rifles, thinkin’ they tough. A UFO floats above 'em, followin' 'em.\n\t\n“Away from my property, varmints!”\n\t\nThey don’t stop, or pay me no mind. Just keep marchin’, blank-faced, like they’re being controlled by somethin’. Course, second I think that, a big feller strolls over the mountain, shadow soakin’ my farm. He’s wearin’ an angry face, tryna look tough. Definitely a hivemind, here.\n\t\nHe’s screwin’ up messin’ with somebody like me, though. I’ve gone toe to toe with a bear, taken on four cougars by myself—this property's my livelihood, and these animals? They my only friends.\n\t\nI pump my shotgun.\n\t\nAnd I’ll kill for ‘em.\n\t\n“WE DO NOT COME IN PEACE,” the leader shouts. “WE COME WITH MUCH AGGRESSION. RELOCATE YOUR HOUSE OR BE VAPORIZED.”\n\t\nChucklin’, I fire a warnin’ shot.\n\t\n“Step over that property line, punk. I dare ya!”\n\n\"OKAY.\"\n\t\nWhen the first does, I drop ‘em. Second one, too. They don’t scatter, and only raise they guns one at a time. Hell, this is gonna be easy, ain’t it? Lookin’ at the cow pen, I get an idea. After shootin’ the lock off, they go chargin’ toward the squids, and flex my arms, lettin’ free a vicious scream.\n\t\n“MOOOOOOOOOOO!”\n\t\nWith that, I leap off my balcony, ready for a fight.\n***\nThis is really silly, but the idea just wouldn't leave my head. Hope it's good! Thanks for the prompt. If you like this story, check out my sub /r/LonghandWriter or my [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/BryceBealWriter)" ]	[ 1, 12, 13, 21, 24, 33, 80, 228, 234, 302 ]	[ "1540918250", "1540967993", "1540934307", "1540928824", "1540996482", "1540929968", "1540925703", "1540926003", "1540933440", "1540924357" ]
	[WP] People with dementia gradually arrive in heaven. Their souls coming into being slowly in the afterlife as their memories fade from the physical world. You are a citizen of heaven who has just been cleared to adopt a incrementally arriving soul.	9	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", " Remembering The Lost\n\nYou would think that Heaven was a bright light, a pearl as indescribable as it was beautiful. It was, and yet it wasn’t. If light could be found, Heaven was bright. That was the way it was, and that is the way it shall always be. I always view it as this: that while Humanity is flawed, it is truly capable of being great. Heaven is humanity at its height, where intellect meets beauty that can only be hinted at amongst the living.\n\nWhich is why some saw it as strange when I took to my position with an eagerness that belied the task at hand. To be a shepherd of the mentally ill, to voluntarily seek out something less than perfect, to sully my mind and soul with those that are forever tainted by means outside of their control… I was as applauded as as I was pitied.\n\nI had always liked helping people. I had never cared about the money, but I had cared about my patients. Watching someone die while unable to help them was heartbreaking, but here I could make a difference. Here I could help and continue to do so.\n\nHere I had all the time I needed.\n\n“Mother!”\n\nI froze as the voice burst into being, whirling as a shrill cry seared through my heart like the heat of a dying star. \n\nThat voice, it seems so familiar.\n\nOld memories jumped from the recesses of my mind, passing by with the speed of a bird of prey. My heart sank as the voice rose once more, pleading for someone who wasn’t there. Not truly. \n\nPoor child.\n\nI spread my wings, leaping from my post and into the air, ascending hundreds of feet into the air in a single instant. White flame burst around me, a searing beam of light that could take as easily as it gave. It didn’t take long for me to find the child, so lost and alone as he was. \n\nWhere are the others? I thought angrily, speeding towards the boy. Where is his family?\n\n“Mother!” the boy screamed, tears flowing down his quivering cheeks as I landed next to him. “Where is she!?” \n\nHe was young. Much too young. He wore simple clothing and a complicated expression. Long wavy brown hair flowed down to his shoulders, reflecting the light surrounding my current form. A beautiful child, who loved and was loved.\n\nFear- it bled from him as much as his eyes did. But it was those eyes, those bright blue eyes, that caught my attention. Even unseeing, they pulled you towards them, even as their youthful innocence cracked and bled before my eyes. \n\nI almost wept as I knelt before a vessel of purity, taken from his life before he could be molded into something uniquely his own. Taken too soon, and yet taken too late.\n\nI tentatively raised a hand, moving to brush away the boy’s tears. The boy flinched, his unseeing eyes widening as he stepped back, arms raised protectively in a weak shield. “Please,” the boy whimpered piteously. “I want to go home.”\n\nTears gathered in my eyes as I furled my wings. What a horrible disease, to be forsaken from both realms and terrified in both. “Come with me,” I said softly, forcing my quavering hands to be still as I kept my gaze locked to the blinded boys'. “We will find your mother.”\n\n“Where am I?” the boy wailed, stumbling forward to fall into my arms. “Where is mother? Where is my brother, where is Daniel? Where-”\n\nThe boy disappeared, flickering in and out of existence, out of my arms. A young boy, full of potential and good. Flicker. An older gentleman, just retired and approaching his fortieth wedding anniversary. Flicker. A young man, just married and beginning to start his family. Flicker. “Mother!” Flicker. “Daniel!” Flicker. \n\nI kept my arms around the rapidly changing body of the boy, now unable to keep my tears back. “It will be alright,” I whispered, hugging him close. “I will be here. I will wait.”\n\nIt never became easier, but it eventually it did slow. The boy calmed, growing into a man before my eyes. I sat back, and one of the boy’s family members brought us chairs. We waited, and I comforted him when delirium took him, when the boundary between life and death became too thin. The whole time, members of Joshua- the boy’s family- gathered, waiting silently. I comforted them too when I could, when Joshua suffered, and they cried and wept and raged, I helped as best as I could. It wasn’t enough, it never was.\n\nBut I tried, all the same.\n\nIt ended in a bright flash, with a scream of agony that shredded my soul. What was once a boy was now an elderly man, deceased at the age of seventy-five, leaving behind a lasting legacy and a family that he had loved.\n\nBut there was a family waiting for him here too, who had now been waiting for many years. Sometimes patient, sometimes not, but loving all the same. These were his grandparents, his father, his mother, his uncles, his aunts, his old friends and old lovers.\n\nThey were all here.\n\nAt this point, I stepped back, allowing Joshua’s family to at last meet him, to welcome him to their next life. At this point, usually, I am forgotten. Not cast aside but forgotten amidst the happy family reunion. \nBut this time when I turned to leave, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Joshua, a radiant smile on his face as he hugged me for the last time. “Thank you,” he sobbed into my shoulder, the rest of his family falling silent with happy and thankful expressions of their own. “Thank you for being there for me. For my family.”\n\nI smiled, stepping back and cupping his chin so that our eyes met. “Always,” I said softly, giving him one last hug in return before I unfurled my wings and leapt into the air. \n\nI worked alone, but I was never bereft. \n\nThank you, Joshua.\n" ]	[ 1, 4 ]	[ "1540919847", "1540925186" ]
	[WP]You hold your newborn child in your hands. She has your eyes, and yours are brimming with tears. Out of the corner of your eye you see text in mid air. Player 2 has entered the gamePlayer 2 has challenged you to a duel	9	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Months ago, I held my wife’s hand and watched the ultrasound of our curled-up daughter squirming in her womb. The baby was unexpected, but we were ecstatic nonetheless. But today, I anxiously paced around the hospital waiting room, mindlessly picking at the buttons of my favorite red-and-black checkered flannel. Doctors had already rushed Carrie to the delivery room to prep her with anesthesia for our daughter’s birth. I muttered a few comforting words under my breath and tried to shake off the nerves before heading to the room.\n\nBetween the painstaking contractions my wife gritted through, she greeted me softly. Her tired, blue eyes brimmed with tears as I swiped away a blonde curl pasted to her sweaty forehead. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. For a while we talked about the changes in our life with our new daughter but was interrupted by another contraction. She moaned and gasped and rubbed her bulging stomach, trying to soothe the pain.\n\nA few moments later, a middle-aged doctor entered the room, carrying a clipboard, and scribbling something down. He placed the clipboard on the counter and reached for a pair of green, latex gloves. With a warm smile, approached us and prepped for the delivery.\n\n“The baby should be coming any minute,” the doctor said. He peeked under her gown to check the progress of the dilation. He gave Carrie instructions on what to do next, which consisted mostly of pushing, breathing, and short breaks in between. \n\nI feigned looks of awe at the crowning head of the baby popping out of my wife’s womb. In reality, the birth was gross to watch. But nothing could compare to seeing my bloody, crying daughter wrapped in a cozy, pink blanket. While my exhausted wife recovered from the excruciating pain, I cradled Alexandria in my arms and cooed softly to her. \n\nI rocked Alexandria into a peaceful sleep and placed her in my wife’s arms. After the initial excitement and anxiety, I retreated into a chair in the corner of the room and started nodding off. Because of the position I slept in, I awoke, startled from a neck spasm, to my sleeping girls and a glinting white text suspended in air. I rubbed my eyes a few times and squinted at the strange sight.\n\n“Player two has entered the game,” it read. I scratched my head in confusion. I lightly tapped my cheek to check whether I was still sleeping. The letters quickly evaporated, and a new text appeared. “Player two has challenged you to a duel.”\n\nI stumbled backward, completely creeped out. Out of thin air, a dust devil formed, dispersed, and revealed a paladin dressed head-to-toe in medieval armor. On his chestplate was a crest with a castle and a white ribbon circling it, embroidered with an unreadable Latin phrase. He lifted the visor of his iron bascinet and spoke to me.\n\n“Under Artis’ law, I charge thee with capital treason,” he commanded. He unsheathed his steel scimitar from his belt and pointed the blade’s tip under my chin. “If you do not comply, I will be forced to kill you.”\n\nStunned, I gulped, wide-eyed at the cool touch of the metal scimitar prodding at my skin. I licked at my drying lips and open my mouth to speak.\n\n“W-who are you?” I asked, scared out of my wits. “What did I do?”\n\n“Silence!” he growled, poking the blade deeper into my flesh, almost breaking the skin. “Alexandria is property of King Artis. She is the heir to his kingdom and his royalties. I am here to return what’s rightfully ours.”\n\nHe paused and waited for a response, but when I stood there silenced by fear, he continued, “Seeing as you will not abide, I, a man of honor, challenge thee to a duel.”\n\nHe marched a few steps back and readied himself for battle. In front of me, a faint, pinkish cloud appeared with a few weapons: a battleaxe, a bow and quiver, a rapier, and a longsword. \n\n“Choose your weapon wisely,” he said, before dropping the visor over his face.\n\nI fearfully looked at Alexandria and my wife sleeping soundly in the bed, undisturbed. I figured the strange man in front of me could attack at any moment, so without thinking I reached for the longsword. As my fingers touched the hilt of it, the cloud and other weapons instantly disappeared.\n\nWithout missing a beat, I heard the paladin’s battle cry and he charged at me, sword ready. Shaking, I braced myself for the duel." ]	[ 1, 2 ]	[ "1540977738", "1540990132" ]
	[WP] you have multiple personality disorder. One of your personalities is known as the greatest detective alive while your other personality is known as the most notorious criminal of all times. Your two personalities know of each other and are rivals but are never able to find each other	136	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 wake up suddenly and look around. where am I. then i see it. the bank safe opened with a bag of cash inside. two guards beheaded and prob tortured lying down. Howd i get here? \n\nsuddenly i hear two voices outside. I stand up quickly and brush myself. its the police. the chief a friend of mine sees me and says: \nOh so you are already here. as fast as ever. not a pleasant sight at all.looks like a robbery case.\n\nhe starts to direct his team to get fingerprints and analyse the crime scene.\n\ni suddenly get a headache and touch the back of my head. its sore. \"What do u think?\" the chief suddenly asks me. HUH? i reply. \" oh yeah i just got here but its clear that the killer left no signs...\n\n\"chief come here\" one of the the fingerprint analysts sudddenly says. I see the chief listen to the analyst whisper something in his ear. i am getting confused. waht is happening.\n\nand why is the light so blinding. my head... it hurts.. it hurts like crazy. \n\na picture of me standing in the safe with a knife in my hand comes to my mind.\n\n\"detective. \" the chief says. \"this cant be right. these fingerprints have a 87% match to u\"\n\nwhat? i think. man i need to get some shit straight.\n\n\"Chief can i have a min with the scene. ALONE\"\n\nofc comes the reply.\n\ni step inside the safe. the bag seems oddly familiar. then i see above. theres a shaft open. i jump up and climb it. the shaft is big. as i get inside it i see a body shot in the head. that face..\n\ni suddenly snap and jump down\n\nthen i see it. right beside the bag is a gun. i pick it up. its empty.\n\ni remember.\n\ni put my hand inside my pocket. inside is flexible helmet. able to whitstand high pressure and bulletproof to some extent. it has a dent in it.\n\ni remember\n\nhe shot me at the back but my headgear saved me. but the blow made me unconscious. all i did was put it inside my pocket before i passed out.\n\nbut why. my fingerprints. the bag. bought in the black market. the head gear made by me in my garage\n\nbut when did i do this shit. i never did this. MY garage? i live in a apartment. \n\nwhatt..\n\n\"you done?\" i hear the chief.\n\n&#x200B;", "It is another morning I wake covered in newspaper clippings… I’m sure I had thrown these away. Wait, how did I even get here? I have a bed, but on the odd occasion I wake on my living room floor surrounded by newspaper articles. Their topics read, “Masked Thief D strikes again!” or “Great Detective D solves another decade old cold case!”\n\n… something along those lines.\n\nIn every photo, they always cover their faces so there’s no way to know who those two actually are. Though, I think what they do is pretty cool. Maybe that’s why I always write stories like these.\n\nI should clean this up, it’s almost coffee time.\n\nAt about 10 am, I always have myself a cup of coffee. It’s the first and last time of the day that I do, but there always seems to be less and less each day. Until a morning like today I show up and it’s all gone. I don’t keep track of how much coffee I drink so I often think nothing of it. Maybe I just forgot to grind more since yesterday. Except I live alone and there’s always 3 mugs hung on the dish drying rack. When did I even buy those other two? Oh well. The earthy aroma of freshly ground coffee is all I can focus on right now. That and my laptop calling me from the kitchen table, it says to me, “A new story awaits.” Just kidding, computers can’t talk. Not yet at least. I sit my cup next to the laptop, then lift its lid and sign in. On the desktop was a document I titled, “The Madrigal of Thieves and Men”.\n\nI’m proud of that name.\n\nIn it I wrote a story of a detective who searched day and night for a thief that he could never find. But it wasn’t the goal of the thief to hide, he did it because he enjoyed the competition. He would steal and devise traps, only to see if the detective could solve the crimes. They were each other’s greatest rivals and maybe even greatest friends. As it would get to the point not even the detective wanted to catch him anymore, he only wanted to continue playing the game of chess that only they could partake in.\n\nI won’t lie though, I borrowed a lot of what I wrote from real life. The escapades of Masked Thief D and the adventures of the Great Detective D. That’s why I always kept a lot of the newspapers that had articles on them. But never would I fall asleep reading them, I find them far too fascinating to do that.\n\nThere are a lot of strange things that happen every day, like waking surrounded by newspapers or feeling like I share my home with multiple people. Sometimes I find my clothing and shoes soaked in mud and water, or like that time I found my laptop left on. And I never leave my laptop on. But the biggest thing I never questioned… Was when did I buy this house? I’ve just been living here for as long as I can remember. In fact I can hardly remember much of anything these days. Wait… I remember I spoke to a therapist once, and he said I may have Dissociative Identity Disorder and he said I should write a letter to my other personalities to see if they would respond. Where did I put it? I spring to my feet and run to my bedroom. On the dresser was two letters. Grabbing the one on the left it read, “Yes, I live here with you.” Signed EDD. And the other read “I too share this abode with you.” Signed WED.\n\nEDD? WED? Their initials?\n\nThe three of us live here, together, but where? Wait… our initials. WED is one of their initials, the others was EDD, and mine is ARD. \n\nWED, ARD, EDD.\n\nIf I take only the first two initials, then it would be…\n\nWe.\n\nAre.\n\nD.", "Crouched here, in front of her dead body, I force myself not to cry. The bastard who did this is around here, watching me. He has to be, because he always sends me a letter making fun of the way I act at one of his murder scenes.\n\nPulling her onto my lap, I take a deep breath. Even with her throat slit, even with her belly gouged open—she’s still beautiful as ever. Especially in her dress. I wasn’t supposed to see it yet, but I don’t think she’d mind. I’m gonna lose it if I keep looking at her, so I jump to my feet and start searching the room.\n\nIn an hour, we would’ve been walking down the aisle, our family cheering as we bonded our souls eternally. Instead, she’s dead, and I’m rummaging through empty drawers, scrounging for a clue, any clue. Part of me wishes I’d never got involved with this monster, but I had to. We’re on opposite sides of nature, destined to battle until one of us falls.\n\nBy the time I find the clue, which is just a letter, my sadness has grown into anger. My teeth are gritted, fists are clenched. I’m gonna get this bastard, and after I beat the hell outta him, I’m gonna toss him in jail. Uncurling the note, my eyes go wide.\n\nI think I finally know who you are, it says. You’re me.\n\nThose words slam me like a train, and I’m flooded with visions of her murder. Of me breaking down the door, pulling out the knife, stabbing her in the belly. Her screams. Her terrified screams laden with betrayal. This doesn’t make any sense, but I immediately know it’s true. The killer I’ve been hunting—well, it’s me.\n\nGood, good! You finally get it. I’m happy to meet you, brother, a voice says. We only need each other in this world, so don’t worry at her—she was nothing more than a problem.\n\n“You…killed…her…”\n\nWe killed her, the voice replies. God, her screams! She was so scared, begged to know why we were doing this. That was awesome, wasn’t it? Heh, she never even saw it coming.\n\nSnatching my pistol out its holster, I press to my head. The voice screams, wondering what the hell I’m doing, and while I desperately wanna hammer the trigger and end my life, I know that’s too easy. This other side of me wants freedom. Wants to be the dominate personality—so I’m gonna make sure I’m locked away. Forever.\n\nI pull out my phone, calling the police.\n***\nThis might've gone a bit off-prompt, but I hope it's good! If you like this story, check out my sub r/longhandwriter or my [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/BryceBealWriter)", "Avery pulled the collar of the expensive wool jacket up in an attempt to block the biting wind. He stood outside of a small concrete building in the center of a large clearing. Concrete towers equipped with large spotlights and guards with rifles nervously watched the small entourage of men approaching the small building.\n\n\"Are you sure this is a good idea?\" Warden Jensen asked fidgeting with the large ring of keys hooked to his belt loop.\n\n\"We need to figure out where the rest of the bodies are, Warden. I can't think of any other way.\" Avery replied, his eyes fixed on the thick steel door. Two muscular guards flanked the warden and Avery, each had a white knuckled grip on their billy clubs.\n\n\"No point in delaying any longer.\" Avery nodded toward the door. The warden pushed the key into the lock and turned it eliciting a sharp metallic click. The steel door swung open smoothly with barely a whisper. The interior of the concrete building gave them a reprieve from the howling winds. Avery slipped out of his jacket and hung it on a plastic peg fixed into the wall. A guard sat behind a concrete desk with two computer monitors and watched the group enter with a keen eye.\n\n\"Warden,\" he said respectfully. \"No weapons, no food, no watches, jewelry, chewing gum, glasses, belt buckles, shoe laces, pens, pencils, or recording devices.\"\n\n\"It's alright, Crawford,\" the warden said, \"Just let us down.\"\n\nCrawford pressed a large red button on the desk and a section of the back wall split open revealing a small elevator.\n\n\"After you,\" the warden gestured to Avery.\n\nThey entered the elevator which unlike normal elevators it didn't have floor buttons.\n\n\"Which floor?\" Avery asked jokingly.\n\nThe warden's expression remained fixed in a permanent nevrous scowl.\n\nThe doors slid closed and after a brief second the elevator lurched and began its descent.\n\n\"How deep does this go?\" Avery asked.\n\n\"Twenty floors.\"\n\nAvery let out a low whistle.\n\nThe elevator slowed to a stop and the doors slid open with a chime. A long narrow concrete hallway illuminated by rows of flourscent bulbs stretched before them. At the end of the hall was a small steel door.\n\nAvery's polished leather shoes clicked against the concrete as he approached the door. He was grateful for the distance, it gave him time to gather his thoughts. Although Avery had helped put Darrel away, he had never seen him. The warden fished around for another key on the ring and unlocked the door.\n\n\"I'm going to lock the door behind you. When you're done just knock.\"\n\nAvery nodded and stepped into dimly lit room. A thick panel of bullet proof glass separated the room into two sections. Two plastic chairs bolted into the concrete floor sat facing each other on opposite sides of the glass. Avery took his seat and tried to peer into the gloom. A dark silohuette shifted on the other side.\n\n\"Darrel?\" Avery asked quietly.\n\nA non-commital grunt was the only response.\n\n\"Do you know who I am?\"\n\n\"No. And I don't give a shit.\"\n\n\"I need to know where the rest of the bodies are. The families need closure,\" Avery leaned forward in his chair, eyes straining to pull out any details of the man on the other side of the glass.\n\n\"Why would I?\" The figure paced just out of the light.\n\n\"Maybe we can arrange some better accomodations? Maybe get you into gen pop.\"\n\n\"I'll just kill them until they put me back in here. I like the dark,\" he rasped out a chuckle.\n\n\"We found your cabin. It's only a matter of time until we find the bodies ourselves,\" Avery's patient tone was slipping.\n\n\"Did I break the record yet?\"\n\n\"Record?\"\n\n\"Body count.\" The bluntness of the words hit Avery like a hammer.\n\n\"No.\"\n\n\"How far am I off?\"\n\n\"By three.\"\n\n\"There are four 50 gallon drums buried within 500 feet of the cabin. They are buried deep enough that your metal detectors won't find them. Just dig, you'll find them. Make sure the papers know the count.\"\n\n\"Thank you,\" Avery said weakly rising from the chair. He slowly walked to the door, his fist raised ready to knock.\n\n\"You're welcome, Avery.\"\n\nHearing his name gave him pause.\n\n\"I never told you my name,\" Avery said looking back over his shoulder.\n\nA pungent smell tickled at Avery's nostrils. \"What the hell?\" Avery gasped as pale grey smoke filled the chamber. The room began to spin, as darkness crept into his vision. He threw himself at the door pounding against it frantically. \"Help! Somethings wrong!\" Avery wailed.\n\nThe warden stood behind Crawford's shoulder watching Avery on the monitors gasping for breath inside the cell.\n\n\"That was a hell of a gamble, warden,\" Crawford said.\n\n\"It paid off. Get the DA's office on the phone and tell them about the bodies. When he's out get him back in his cell and we'll see if he can give us anything more tomorrow.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;" ]	[ 1, 2, 4, 9, 23 ]	[ "1541074610", "1541098349", "1541093677", "1541081716", "1541080264" ]
	[WP] You are a therapist with a special power; You are able to communicate with the nightmares of your patients to gain a better understanding of their affliction. One day, a nightmare comes to you for counseling.	3	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 Nespresso machine had well and truly failed this time. No amount of swearing at the coffee pods helped. Liz had changed the water twice, and purged the valves. It ended with her grabbing a penknife and ripping the pods open manually to feed the grounds to the last-ditch drip filter. The rudimentary machine remained in the corner brewing diner-levels of fluids against anyone’s better judgement. The rest of the office followed the theme; soft pattern carpets, miscellanious wood panelled walls, little bizarre modern-art sculptures standing amongst cactuses? Yeah, this was Dr. Levin’s psychoanalysis office for sure. The room got bonus points for ‘built in the sixties’ and an extra combo for ‘fourth floor university campus’. \n\n“Oi, Liz. Hey. Wake up ‘gal. Your coffee’s ready,” said the intruder. It didn’t help, Levin remained out for the count. Hell, the manifestation protocol had been followed, hadn’t it? The good Dr. Elizabeth Levin should be able to hear her, surely? Ah well. Even the best can’t beat sleep deficit. \n\nThe intruder wandered to a cactus and picked it up. They definitely still fell to the floor correctly and bounced off the carpet so the Manifest was working and she wasn’t ghosting her way around, which was a nice change. Maybe a little more force would be required to get the good doctor awake from her place snuggled on the sofa. Option 1 - shake the doctor awake while making ghost noises for dramatic effect. Option 2 - generous application of cold coffee. The intruder chose, and rifled through most of Dr. Levin’s desk whilst waiting for the coffee jug to cool sufficiently for use. Mostly crap. Some juicy files. A diary. Hell, yeah. Let see into the dark deep secrets of Elizabeth Levin’s life. Turned out it made for dull reading, and was mostly wrong. The intruder dropped it in disgust, took her feet off from the desk and got to work. \n\n“Apphufh!” \n\n“Awake now?” \n\n“What in the holy fu- ah. Oh.”\n\n“ ‘Oh’ sounds about right, Liz.”\n\n“Is that you, Inca? Go away. I don’t need your shi- aaaht. That’s fucking hot! Okay, truce!” Dr Levin progressed to the fully vertical. Her blanket dripped Arabica. “Jesus Christ, woman, get ahold of yourself,” she said to her assailant.\n\n“We’ve got problems, Liz. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”\n\n“Inca, I have thirty other patients. I can only interview them at night, okay? And their human part’s only awake during the day. I can’t fit you in. Physically, I can’t. Go.”\n\n“How d’you expect to keep treating them in your state, huh?” asked the Nightmare intruder.\n\n“Ugh,”. Levin sat back on the sofa and dropped the blanket. Did she have a spare shirt here at the office? Yeah. Yeah, she did. “Just leave off, Inca. I can handle it, please. Just stop.” \n\n“No, Liz. You need to hear me. They’re searching for the Manifest, you know. Right now. They’re pissed as fuck.”\n\n“I know. Okay. Message received. Can you go now? Please?” \n\n“No. It’s bullshit.” The Nightmare grabbed the diary off the desk. “This. This thing’s bullshit.” \n\n“Inca...look,” said Liz. “Stop whining and help me, then.”\n\n“You hate this job. You’re scared shitless. And what...you really gonna fuck Dan? Dan? Seriously?” Inca threw the diary aside and it thumped somewhere out of view. “Hey, you hearing this? You neve-“\n\n“I have a plan.” Levin moved to the desk, turned on the lamp and unlocked the bottom draw. She took out the Manifest, and a thin file. “If I quit this job and ignore Dan then will you help me?”\n\n“What d’you mean? How?” asked Inca.\n\n“Yes, or no. Will you help? I promise. No more therapy.”\n\n“Well, yeah,” said the nightmare-girl. She sizzled.\n\n“Then here. Here you go. Take it. If you manage to kill them all, I’ll quit. Promise, pinky-promise even.” The penknife lay closed, wobbling on the table. Inca stepped up to the desk.\n\n“All of them? All thirty patients’ terrors? All their nightmares in the realm?” she asked the good doctor.\n\n“And all the ones who want this, too.” Liz tapped the Nightmare Manifest.\n\n“All thirty. And the entire Black squadron. You want them all dead?” \n\n“Yep,” said Levin. \n\n“Is it stainless steel?”\n\n“Well hell yeah it is.”\n\n“Hmm.” Inca flipped it open, which hurt like hell. Swiss Army. Those bastards made the good stuff. The steel hissed and she licked at the burn absently. “This’ll do, Liz. Real physical steel. Burns pretty bad. But don’t think you-“\n\nDr Elizabeth Levin turned off the Manifest. Her world lost a pen-knife.\n\n“Thanks, Inca”, she whispered to herself, “and don’t spill the coffee again.”\n\n\n\n\n" ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541089505", "1541100098" ]
	[WP] Events that are often considered once in a life time events, (i.e. winning the lottery, new ground breaking scientific discovery, ect.) are suddenly a daily thing you.	38	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 following is so so rough. I wanted to \"just write\" tonight, and this prompt stuck out at me so I just started typing. This would be a rough rough draft from someone who is not a writer (but wants to practice). This is simply my idea for how someone could approach this I suppose. I apologize ahead of time for poor grammar and punctuation. Thanks ;)`\n\nA hurricane can be a very peaceful event. In fact any escape from the normal hum of everyday life can can be exhilarating, exciting even, despite what otherwise might seem like the crashing down of the sky… or the nearing of ones death.\n\nWhen every day is filled with excitement, that becomes the norm. That norm becomes something lesser, and new heights must be reached, or at the very least striven for.\n\nWater was pooling into the living room of Jason Haleford, and he sat like an island at the center of it. The winds were pulsing, if that was possible, and the windows of his small home were bending impossibly inwards. “Balloons”, he thought, “balloons only moments from bursting”.\n\nFrom the corner of his eye he pulled mentally at his front door. Certainly he had some kind of power, of that few would disagree. Could he not simply WILL the door to burst in towards him? The thought scared him, but excited him at the same time. The door made no movement, short of the regular shuttering that only the winds could claim credit for.\n\nFriday Jason had been pulled from the wreckage of plane crash. It was all so cliche he thought now. “Only one survivor, blah blah blah”. The truth of it was he died in that crash, or at least he might as well have. Jason was gone, having given in before impact and accepting his fate. They had time to think about those things, unfortunately. The descent was rapid but felt like minutes, and he was sure that all he would want to have told people before he died he could have. In fact, he was sure he would have still had time to say goodbye to the man next to him and then brace for impact.\n\nSaturday, he had pulled the TV from his wall and threw it across the room. Every channel was recounting the incident and stating his name over and over again, so much so it no longer felt like it belonged to him. He was an actor playing the role of Jason Haleford… Director of Marketing… Single… seat 14A… sole survivor.\n\nThat same day he had stepped out his front door, the one he could decidedly not control with his mind, and was shot by the grieving husband of 27B. He had not yet had the chance to experience survivor's guilt when this man attempted to impress upon him just how guilty he felt Jason was. Six shots were fired, and while one shot did graze his scalp, the others found their way around him. The winds, swelling in urgency now, whistled through those same holes a song of guilt assumed, if not felt.\n\nThe large window near the door was the first to go, and it very much startled Jason more than he had expected it would. The rain was coming in sideways and all his thoughts were being driven from him with the maddening roar of hurricane whatever the fuck it was called… Jason could no longer recall.\n\n“There it is, I can in fact still think during all of this it seems”, he thought to himself.\n\nBy Sunday, his house was surrounded by camera crews, and many of them were yelling at him from the street behind the wall of men in uniforms keeping them at bay. The police had come to his door, trying to convince him to come with them to a safer location. It was from them that he learned his lottery ticket was selected, along with his co-workers, as the winner of some amount of money. Jason was not at all aware of how those things worked. A co-worker asked if he wanted to go in with $10 and agreed, “I guess I can try anything once” he had responded.\n\nThe fact was, Jason did not believe the officers. On that day he felt they would have told him anything to try and convince him to leave the house. It was probably only a matter of time before they forced him out anyway. His neighbors must have been plotting his assassination at that point.\n\n“Henry, that was the name of this hurricane!”, he recalled suddenly. He had seen it in the news a few days before his flight home. The police had even told him that it was nearing, but what the first rain brought that day was a cleansing that had many of the reporters fleeing for shelter.\n\n“Yesterday was Monday”, Jason thought to himself, counting backwards as much to make sure he was not mistaken as he was attempting to distract himself from the swirling madness of nature that surrounded him. Yesterday most had fled as it was clear Henry meant business. His phone received an alert that his neighborhood should be evacuated, and in fact he had seen many neighbors leaving that night, but Jason could not get over the idea that something else was happening.\n\nHenry was leaning on the house now, and Jason could feel the weight of him above and all around. The lights flashed before going out entirely, finally giving in after holding out longer than anyone would have imagined they would. The burst of light when they did finally go was a taunt flung at him like a frustrated gesture. His neighbor Paul was struck and killed by lightning yesterday in the midst of fleeing with the others.\n\nIt was all so ridiculous. The thought of so many events occurring one after the next had but one rational explanation as far as Jason was concerned. He had simply died in the plane crash, and this was some holographic projection of a state of limbo. His mind, or soul, or whatever it was that sat deep behind his eyes was desperately reaching for the next path. If I die in this projection, do I get another one?, he thought. The roof came to him swiftly with the promise of an answer soon.\n\nThe sound of a helicopter woke him up from a deep sleep. His arm a pillow, the bed a very wet carpet, the blanket a now soggy and bent piece of drywall folded over him. Henry was gone, or at least his anger, replaced now by his gentle tears.\n\nJason stood, making his way to the front yard. The door was gone, as were the windows, but otherwise the walls were intact. Even the roof that had come down on him seemed to have just been a small portion of drywall, and that had somehow largely missed him.\n\nAside from the rain, all was quiet this morning. “No, there are birds”, he thought, looking for one to match the chirping to. As he reached the street and looked out across the neighborhood, he looked back at his home in despair. His home remained intact, almost whole in fact, but for as far as he could see in any direction no other house remained. No portion of any structure stood more than a few feet from the ground.\n\nSunday was Henry’s day, and it seemed now that Henry had no intention of providing a new path for the force behind Jason’s eyes. He would instead find himself once again thrust into another day of clawing at something he could not find.\n\nMonday had arrived.\n\nedits: quick updates re: a few wrong words, typos etc." ]	[ 1, 4 ]	[ "1541098131", "1541124066" ]
	[WP] "I wonder who the real king was supposed to be", you ask yourself sitting upon the throne.	25	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Brindle kicked his feet back and forth against the golden trim of the throne. \n\nHe was covered in so many layers of fur and silk that he barely felt the impacts. It was like he was kicking pillows, but the pillows were all wrapped around him. Brindle Leton had never been a very healthy child, so even as a young man his limbs were thin and without mass of muscle or fat. \n\nThat was the real reason he was all wrapped up, so that no one noticed how the king went from being a stong-jawed warrior to a skin-and-bones teenager. Really, beyond a few facial features, the two looked nothing alike. \n\n\"The king does not kick the throne, your majesty.\" \n\nBrindle stopped the kicking and spared a glance up at the face of his advisor. He kept forgetting the man's name. It was Jungren or Jungan or something. He was older, slightly stooped, and had basically been the voice of 'No.' since he'd been pulled into this charade. \n\nHe really didn't understand what was going on. He just knew that a lot of men with scary weapons told him he had to pretend to be the king. \n\n\"The ambassador from Veylas is here, My King.\"\n\nBrindle tried to remember the rushed lesson on speaking like the king, causing him to pause for a long time in preparation.\n\n\"Very well. You may show them in.\" Brindle smiled. He'd sounded good there. Very authoritative. Still wish he knew what was going on, though.\n\nBrindle leaned over toward Jung-something and tried to catch his attention.\n\n\"Hey, is seeing this ambassador a good thing or a bad thing?\" Brindle kept his voice as low as he could.\n\n\"Bad, your majesty.\" Jungren's face flickered for just a moment, showing something dark beneath his advisor's mask. \"Very, very bad.\"\n\n" ]	[ 1, 3 ]	[ "1541150217", "1541173576" ]
	[WP] Your party of adventurers just took on a mission that will be critical to saving the world. Your leader sent someone to obtain the magical sword, someone to obtain the book of spells etc. However, to your dismay, he gave you an overly simplistic task.	1	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Our band of adventurers is known as The Sacred Flames. My name’s Talan, I’m a barbarian. I’m good at breaking things, so they usually set me off on the tasks where something or someone needs to be broken. It happens a lot, to be fair, or I’d be out of work. Our work usually involves some catastrophe or plague inflicted on a town or something, maybe a city. We’ve been known to dabble in world-ending calamities as well.\n\nToday we got a call to headquarters. Seems that we’re about to go into the world-ending sort of mission. There’s usually some big asshole at the center of our missions that needs to get his ass kicked, and I’m ready to go.\n\nThey sent our rogue out to infiltrate the enemy’s camp and find out what their plans were. Our bard’s on his way to run a distraction for him, and our paladin is going back to his church to seek knowledge from his ‘God’.\n\nMe? Well, they asked me to sweep the floors in the garrison. What in the hell kind of job is that to give to a barbarian that’s armed and ready to take out their entire goddamned population! I needed some help to write this letter, but this is my resignation from the Sacred Flames… and my application for membership in your group. I know where the flames are based, and I know where they’re going to be attacking. You need me. I’m going to- \n\n[The rest of the page is stained with blood. The man writing this probably realized what was going to happen, and was taken care of.]" ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541165819", "1541196154" ]
[removed]	[WP] You’ve always been told you become a wizard when you’re a 30 year old virgin. You’ve become too powerful as the 50 year old virgin for them to stop.	3	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/The_King_of_Masons, this submission has been removed.\n\n[No explicitly sexual responses, hate speech, or other harmful content](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_2.3A_no_explicitly_sexual_responses.2C_hate_speech.2C_or_other_harmful_content)\n\n- Sexually explicit themes are not allowed. \n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\n[Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses)\n\n- Troll / Meme: No troll or meme-based prompts. \n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9tm5e4/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541179472", "1541180808" ]
	[WP] A group of cultists summon a demon in the basement of a modern art gallery. A fatal mistake they would soon regret.	4	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 police stood all around the gallery. The entire department had comeout in force along with swat. Fbi was already on scene. Agent Sheer was in charge of negotions as per usual but his training had not prepared him for this. \n\n“Galifax what can we do to make you leave the gallery.” Agent Sheer yelled through a megaphone.\n\nA roar spilled out from the gallery and rolled over everyone. Some fell, others stumbled, Agent Sheer winced. After a small pause a deep voice slithered out of the gallery. “Nothing could make me leave this treasure trove, agent Sheer. This Picasso is worth 70 million, this Matisse is worth 30 million. Why would I abandon such riches? Why could even donate some paintings to mueseums and write them off when I do my taxes.” \n\n“Damn it.” Sheer muttered. He motioned for a man to come forward. He was the leader of the group that had come running out of the gallery when the police arrived on scene. He was drapped in long black robes that covered his gangly frame. \n\n“Why, why would you summon a dragon? You know the laws.” Sheer said\n\nThe man twisted his hands before speaking up. “We thought it would be fine. We are just a bunch of kids that get picked on. A dragon could change all that. We didn’t think that he would stay in the gallery.” \n\nSheer shook his head. “Fools! Any average creature with access to the high art market would know this gallery is a goldmine.” \n\n“We didn’t know. We thought it would go for the town bank.” cried the cultist\n\n“Damn it!” Sheer yelled he paced around for a little while letting his anger build. He stopped pacing and grabbed the man by his robe.” I have a dragon sitting on over 200 million dollars worth of paintings. If he asks for an appraisal we are finished.”\n\nThe cultist was crying now. A big snot bubble burst as he shrieked “What?” \n\n“No one is going to reapraise those paintings, once Galifax figures that out he is going to be enraged. The value of art comes from prices slowly rising through reappeaisals. He is going to burn down the whole city when he realizes that the value of those paintings is essentially fixed.” Sheer let go of the cultist. The cultist fell on the ground in a tangle of snot and limbs. Sheer pointed at the sad pile of fleash that one could’ve called a man “You better pray to whatever elder god you worship you little cult bastard because if we don’t find an appraiser who will deal with him we are dead!”\n\nGalifax voice rose once more out of the gallery “ Sheer are you out there?” \n\nSheer started sweating. His hands trembled as he brought the megaphone to his face. “Yes Galifax, I am here.” \n\n“I’ve logged onto my Ireplacable account.” \n\nSheer’s heart skipped a beat. “Ireplacable , thats the website that keeps art traders up to date on auctions and such, right?”\n\n“ Yes. I always pay attention to the local sections, I have better luck there you see. Now, the local section is telling me about an auction happeing in a few days.” \n\nMy god, he knows about the local art scene, Sheer thought to himself. Sheer took a few deep breathes before responding “Yes, that is right. Why do you ask?” \n\n“Well I will need to reappraise these paintings before then. Who knows how much these paintings are worth now?” \n\nSheer’s hands fell limp at his sides. The megaphone slipped from his fingers and clattered to the ground. Then hes knees gave way and he fell. “My god, we’re dead.” He whispered. The officers and agents gathered around Sheer did their best to rouse him from his state. A minute full of silence, tension and fear passed. \n\nThere was a large crash that came from the gallery and broke the silence.“ Sheer!” roared Galifax.\n\nSheer woke from his fear induced stupor. He turned around to the various officers and agents gathered around him. Fear was stamped across all their faces. It was stamped on his face too. Sheer got to his feet and wiped the sweat off of his face. “Tell all nearby airbases to get all available wings ready to launch. Do it Now!” \n\n“Sheer! Do not test me,Sheer!” Galifax bellowed \n\nSheer picked up the megaphone wiping a few specs of dirt off of the cone. He took a deep breathe and exhaled out of his nose. “ I am here Galifax, sorry about that. I fell.” \n\n“Sheerrrrrr, finally.” the way Galifax held the r sounded like thunder. “I need an appraiser, I don’t need to tell you that I can’t contact the one I usually use.” \n\nSheer’s heart was beating louder. It only got louder as Sheer brought the megaphone to his lips. By the time he spoke his heart drowned out all other sound. “You know”, Sheer licked his lips and pushed a long sweaty strand of hair out of his face, “you know I can’t do that.” \n\nSheer clutched his chest, it was like a bomb was going off every second. He didn’t hear the roar. He couldn’t his heartbeat was too loud. He felt it though, in his chest and legs. The windows of the gallery broke. Then the roof cracked and out came Galifax with all his fury and fire spewing from his mouth. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: Just realized I miss read demon as dragon god damn it. " ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541195788", "1541200371" ]
	[WP] You are the unluckiest person ever and surprised you're still alive. You find yourself being chosen to save the world from total destruction from aliens. Turns out you actually saved the world with your bad luck.	4	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Dr. Lauren walked into the interrogation room to see Richard Hertz sitting at table. Their eyes met and she instantly felt a sense of revulsion. It was not just the scars though he had more than any living person should. Nor was it the BO, though that was not pleasant at all, in fact she had never smelled anything like it. Nor was it the facial expression which brought to mind the driver of a panel van sitting across the street from an elementary school. No it was the combination of all those things and much more. However she was a professional and she put all that aside as she sat across from him.\n\n“I’m sorry” Richard said in a squeaky voice that grated on her nerves.\n\n“Why are you sorry Mr. Hertz” she spoke as calmly as she could. \n\n“I find you very attractive so I guessing you find me revulsive. If you weren’t so attractive or maybe if you were caucasian instead of Asian I think you would at least be able to stay in the room with me. It is just standard protocol for my life. Dad said I can expect it to continue till I’m in my 40s and then it will lessen enough for me to procreate.”\n\nDr. Lauren looked at her file. “It says here you were an orphan Mr. Hertz.” \n\n“Yeah I am. Parents gave me up as soon as I was born. The Curse follows the first born son, Its Maschovist that way I guess. Dad gave the orphanage a letter to give to me on my 10th birthday. It kind of described ‘The Curse’ and told me things like after age 40 it will let me pass on the curse to my son. In the letter he also apologized, told him he lived with it for 40 years and it was someone else’s turn and not to try and find him. The bastard.”\n\nDr. Lauren wrote some notes on his egocentric nature.\n\n“This Curse. What exactly is it. I’ve read some of your history. You have been in a lot of accidents but you’ve survived them all. Including being the only survivor of ...” she looked at her notes “two airliner crashes. You sound kind of lucky.”\n\n“Yeah it was all in the letter. Dad called it a curse but it seems like its more than that. It is like an organism that wants to keep me alive and functional. It does not want me to die cause that would end its … influence… purpose… life I guess. So I’ve learned to adjust. I can’t really stop bad things from happening to me but I can make sure no one is around me when they do. I try to minimize collateral damage. For example if I see a scaffolding creaking over a sidewalk I try to time my passage so not many other people are around me. “\n\nDr. Lauren extended her notes with his details about his god complex.\n\n“So why not just not go around the scaffold”\n\n“It would have happened eventually. I get the feeling that my curse works on probabilities. If there is a 5% chance of something going wrong then it will with me in range. The scaffold would have fallen eventually anyway.And if I walked around the scaffold onto the street it would have made a car crash more likely and might never have happened. I consider myself a hero.”\n\n“Does a hero use blackmail?”\n\n“Hey I don’t blackmail anyone. So a few airlines pay me not to fly and a few sporting events pay me not to come. I’m not going to argue with free money. I eventually lose the money anyway so I feel like I have a bit of a robin hood effect.”\n\nDr. Lauren made another note about ‘hero syndrome’. She really did not like this guy. \n\n\"If you are so unlucky have you considered suicide?\" She shocked herself asking this question. As a Psychiatrist she knew suicide was not the answer but for some reason she felt the world would be better off without Mr. Dick Hertz... Is that name real? Did his parents really name him that? Even they did not like him.\n\n\"In my early teens I tried. Didn't work out.\" He said showing her the scars on his wrists. \"But you know it isn't so bad. The secret to happinest is low expectations and I got those.\" \n\nA voice came through her earpeice. She looked in the two way mirror. “Sir I dont think this is a good idea. This guy is unstable I really dont think he should be our ambassador to the visitors.” She paused for a second longer then returned her attention back to Richard.\n\n“I assume you’ve heard the news reports about the alien ship that is approaching earth.”\n\n“I have. “ He smiled a bit. He was missing at least 3 teeth all in the front.\n\n“This might have come as a surprise to you but the US government would like for you to meet with the visitors and act as an ambassador. They expect you to discuss our orderly surrender and an orderly transistion into a slave species.”\n\n“Oh. So I guess you want me to help them as much as possible.” Richard said.\n\n“Exactly” she smiled, surprised at his acceptence. “We will provide you any resources you need.”\n\n“OK. I can do that.” Richard smiled. “Im going to need about 50 feet of rope and a year’s supply of twinkies.”" ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541285950", "1541360778" ]
	[WP] You lead perfectly normal lifestyle, until you get into a car accident that damages your brain. You wake up in a hospital and discover that you've had fake memories this entire time, and the brain trauma awakened the real memories. Memories of an international assassin.	13	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 eyes burst open and I looked around rapidly. What the hell? A second ago I was driving...wait...no I was in Budapest? I had a drink and...What the fuck is going on? I rapidly hammered on the \"call nurse\" button. My mind was reeling, I seemed to be remembering two lives, two starkly different lives.\n\nThe door opened and the most nondescript man I'd ever seen walked into the room. He was of mixed race, tan but not dark. He stood about 5'11 and had an average build. I noted though that his hands were pox marked and scarred. The hands of a fighting man. I could tell by his posture he was a soldier, probably ex-special forces. I felt like I knew him... All of these thoughts rocketed through my head in less time than it took for him to finish saying \"Hello John, nice to see you're finally awake.\" \n\nJohn. That was my name right? No, it was something else...I had many names? What's happening? \"Listen\" my voice was a croak, I stopped to drink some water, \"Sorry, I guess I haven't spoken in a bit. Now, what the fuck is going on? What happened?\" My voice was still a rasp, I drank more of the cool water. \"I'm sure you have a lot of questions John. You always seem to.\" The nondescript man chuckled, \"Hell, we all do now that I think about it.\" \n\nHe sat down and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, smacking them into his palm to pack the tobacco. He took a cigarette and lit it, taking a drag. \"That's better.\" He sighed \"Oh, forgive my poor manners, you want one?\" He held the pack out open to me. I shook my head \"No. Actually, I'm not sure you're supposed to be doing that in here. This is a hospital. Besides, I think you were about to tell me what the hell is going on.\" I took another long drink of water. The man smiled and said \"You were always stubborn John, I like that about you. Though unfortunately it looks like you've held on to some of that famous impatience too. Oh well, I guess that was too much to hope for anyway.\" He paused and took another drag off his cig. \"You're an agent for a government organization. A nameless organization with no official recognition. We take big problems and remove the more troublesome elements.\" \n\nMy mind roiled. No. I'm John. I'm a mid level manager at Target HQ. I'm not some kind of spy....I knew it was false as I thought it. John was who I was before. Before the accident. John was dead. The fog in my mind began to lift as though the sun were burning it off. \"Ah. I see. So, who killed me?\" The bewildered young man no longer stared out through John's eyes. \n\n\"That\" my commanding officer said \"Is just what you're going to find out.\"\n\n________________________________________________\n/r/SirLemoncakes" ]	[ 1, 2 ]	[ "1541286716", "1541290819" ]
	[WP] You're a Birthday Genie, in the room of a little girl holding a cupcake with a blown out candle. "I wish I was home," she says with tears in her eyes.	23	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Hearing those words breaks the genie’s heart because that’s the one wish he cannot grant, for it would go against another he's already granted. He stares at her, knowing that no matter what he says, she won’t understand. She’ll simply hate him, and believe he’s a monstrous villain who stole her.\n\n“This is your home,” he says.\t\n\n“No it’s not!” she yells, throwing the cupcake on the ground. “Home is where mama and papa are!”\n\nHe takes a deep breath, fighting back tears. If only she knew that they’re the reason she’s here. That they were junkies who viewed her as a burden, that they wished for him to take her and keep her forever. He’s tried to make her happy, giving her everything she could ever want—toys, clothes, food…\n\nBut what she needs is family, and they’ve abandoned her.\n\n“This is your home,” he simply repeats, and when she takes off running, he hangs his head. He’s powerful, but not all-powerful, and this is the harshest reminder of that.\n\n***\n\nThis is really short, but I hope it's good! If you like this story, check out my sub r/longhandwriter or my [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/BryceBealWriter?lang=en)" ]	[ 1, 22 ]	[ "1541290936", "1541292799" ]
[removed]	[WP] IN A WORLD WHERE EVERYONE GET THEY OWN SKILL, SOMETIME USEFUL, SOMETIME USELESS. AND YOU, YOU GET THE ABILITY TO HAVE A HEADACHE WHENEVER YOU KILL SOMEONE. WITH THAT IN MIND, YOU BECOME THE MOST FEARFUL ASSASSIN IN THE WORLD.	0	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 think your caps lock is stuck. Please fix that before trying to post again." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541340259", "1541341189" ]
	[WP] You’re cuddling with your girlfriend. She looks at you and says, “I love you so much, Andrew.” You look at her and tell her you love her too. She smiles, then mumbles, “I hate it when you’re Jerry, though.”	17	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 love my girlfriend: she's everything I strive to be. Smart, passionate, extremely good-looking: you name it, she has it. Unless we're talking about STDs of course—those aren't included.\n\nDespite my love for her, I had come to a crossroads. There were two paths I could take: one would have everything continue as it was, while the other would forever change both of our lives.\n\nYou see, it was at this moment I knew she was a crazy person. Love her as I did, I knew I needed to do something about this.\n\n\"I hate it when you're Jerry\"??? What the fuck does that even mean? How can you say my name in the previous sentence and then call me \"Jerry\"? Is that intended to be an insult?\n\nEven if she had only said that because she was on some sort of next-level acid trip, the line has to be drawn somewhere. I mean, come on, there have to be consequences to saying something that intensely stupid. \n\nIt had to be intentional. Had to be. She knew this would piss me off. She's looking for a reaction from me. I won't give her one. Does she think this is funny? That this is some sort of game? That it's okay to ruin a perfectly fine evening resting on the couch by saying the dumbest shit she can scrape off the top of her head?\n\nI tried explaining this to her. How it's unacceptable. You know what she said to me? What she had the audacity to say? That I was \"manic\". That this was \"exactly what she was talking about\". That it was like I had just \"flipped a switch\". \n\nBullshit. That SKANK. You know what I told her? I told her to get the fuck out. That she should have no problem finding the door with one of her two ugly faces. Because I don't need her. She's detestable. She's stupid, lazy, and honestly, her ass has been looking a little more flat ever since she took that financing job. \n\nFuck her. I should've left her a long time ago. You know what she said to me the other day? \"Hey Andrew, you're looking great today.\" The name's JERRY, bitch. Try conjuring up the two brain cells left rattling around in your skull to remember it next time.\n\nExcept oh wait. There won't BE a next time. \n\nGreat, now I need to take a xanax. It's weird. I kinda miss her already.\n\n" ]	[ 1, 9 ]	[ "1541395263", "1541399102" ]
	[WP] Your superhero name is 'Inferno'. Your costume is coloured red, yellow, orange. Your powers? Water and ice manipulation.	31	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 ice was so cold it burned. \n\nIn the shadows of the city’s darkest alleyways, the streetlights shone through walls of ice and flowing water. The backstreet of a seedy bar was littered with frozen corpses. The ice crystals refracted the orange streetlights, as if they were lit aflame. A man drenched in water, pale orange and yellow shining beneath congealed, frozen blood, strode through the streets, a fire burning in his eyes. \n\nThe whispers spoke of him as Inferno, the shadow of the Underworld. In an age of shadowy super villains and shining heroes, there was him, the darkness below the dark. He killed where he wished and none dared to resist. Though he did take prisoners, such instances were rare. The man has the mentality of a soldier in war. \n\nBut he was no villain. His targets were monsters, those who trafficked young superpowered children or built devastating weapons for terrorists. Hailed as a hero by some, hunted by both villains and heroes, he nonetheless had the title of a superhero, a man who protected the cities. \n\nNo one knew where he came from. \n\n——\n\nOnce upon a time he had been a wanderer. The Arabians knew him as the Wellspring, the man who conjured water from the oceans. The Chinese called him the River Saint in their language. The Americans, in their dry, plain humor, called him the Waterman. He was kind and strong, and conjured entire water sources to feed drought-ridden countries and water sun-burnt regions. The deserts receded beneath his touch, as where there is water, there is life. The oases grew cool as his ice powers gave them refrigeration and air conditioning. \n\nBut this was an age of Superheroes, where titanic forces battled in the skies all over the world. And eventually, the hero had to take a side. He joined the heroes, and so began a career of glorious victories and proud rescues, until one fateful day. \n\nIt is said that the hero of the Waters died in battle, against the League of the Dark Gods who came to the Heart of the Lights, the vast harbor city that gave birth to the greatest legends and myths of the Superhero age, the home of the Waterman. \n\nThat battle scarred downtown forever. An enormous crater of fire, surrounded by an ice wall, laid right in the center of the city. There, three dozen gravestones were marked. Two were laid in the center of the the monument. \n\nFireheart and Waterman. \n\n——\n\nThe Inferno walked through the dark alley, leaving frozen graves behind him. He clutched in his hand a silver locket, and opened it. The photo of a young woman, her hair lit aflame and her smile illuminating even the faded picture, stared back at him. \n\nAs the snows fell on the city, the ice burned even colder. ", "60 kilometers out from Boston lay Raincity. Actually it's name was Highwile but in the last 20 years it just rained. A lot. Which just makes it more ironic that its most well known hero was an individual called Inferno. He was known as the strongest fire hero the city had ever seen. The funny thing was though, that nobody had seen him manipulated fire or flames. Actually people had only seen him punch bad guys and the like. So why was he known as a fire hero. It is really simple. People could not believe a hero named inferno wasn't a fire hero and just presumed that he was so strong that the use of his abilities was never needed. And his costume was coloured red, yellow and orange with a lot of drawn flames. How could that not be a fire hero.\n\n What they didn't knwo was that he used his abilities everyday. Although not fire abilities that is. You see the hero called Inferno's name was actually Gregory Boots could not for the life of him manipulate fire. No his specialty was the power of ice and water. So why call himself Inferno. It had to do with Boots' time at the hero acadamy more specifically one class, because he had never been accepted and it was the only class he had managed to sneak himself into before being kicked out and banned from the premise. \n\n\nThe class had been about the element of suprise or more precise the power of information. The teacher, a well known hero called Riddlerman was showing how frightening it can be not knowing the nature and scale of an opponents powers. Boots took this to heart and made himself the hero persona Inferno. \n\nBut how did he keep this secret hidden. Plain simply Boots was in fact one of the most powerfull water users in the world. So he made it rain almost everyday. That way nobody would think twice about a criminal who slipped, nobody would be able to hold him down because his \"sweat\" made it so he could always free himself. Now because of the weather many flame villians would't dare to commit crime in the area and as for the water villians Boots just made it look like he punched through their ice and water abilities when in reality he just manipulated it so it dispersed. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nAs such Inferno was known as the strongest fire hero who had ever lived and all it took was just a little deceit and a great costume." ]	[ 1, 3, 9 ]	[ "1541417375", "1541449322", "1541433989" ]
[removed]	[WP] One day people have been receiving marks around their body. Upon investigation, the marks signify the cause of impending death. People with marks around their necks died of suicide, people with a mark shaped like a heart on their chest died of a heart attack. You sadly, have a mark on your ass.	1	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/AxelLein, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses)\n\n- Troll / Meme: No troll or meme-based prompts. \n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9ueecw/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541431375", "1541431510" ]
	[WP] You're a siren and love singing, but ships keep crashing through your roof and it's starting to get expensive.	82	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 Diary,\n\nToday, another ship has crashed into my roof again. I was wondering if my singing was that bad that these folks they called \"sailors\" began to protest my singing abilities? Although The Voice Neptunia says otherwise, these people have to stop crashing their vessels into my very home a bit less frequent. Do you know how much does it cost to bring a contractor team from Neptune Constructions and Repairs Company?\n\nDiary, do you remember that person who sells cabbage in a cartoon I watched long ago? I think we have something in common.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nWritten in November 6^(th), 2018", "A voice clear as summer rain. A face fair as the astral plane. Her bosom peaked like mountains bare, her nipples frigid in the cavern air. \n\nThe Siren weeps in the ocean's deep, her sobs so rough she hardly speaks. \n\nWhat could trouble the Siren so? This heavenly woman with the eyes of a doe? A siren's voice must be used. A silent siren stands abused. \n\nThe Siren weeps and sobs with grief, as another ship cleaves the reef. \n\nWe all know the Siren's song, but will we hear it before too long?\n\nEven a siren with all her gifts, will sink with grief like all those ships.\n\n________________________________________________\n/r/SirLemoncakes" ]	[ 1, 4, 34 ]	[ "1541439707", "1541477883", "1541443486" ]
	[WP]As Sol turns Nova, and Terra is swallowed, you reminisce over the planets long history, as one of the few who know most of it.	1	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "\"Archivist.\"\n\n\"Engineer.\"\n\nWe both nodded at each other, the thin film of the glasses over our eyes keeping us from truly making that contact we enjoyed, our eyes once more looking up at the sky. The sun was already reaching those final stages. Time was not much on our side, but we were fine. Our job was already done. \n\n\"Everyone made it?\"\n\n\"Aye. Just the rest of us left.\"\n\nIn the distance, off to the right, we saw the smoke trail as it poured out to the heavens, the last ship abandoning the doomed planet. \"Take a good look at it Engineer. Last time you'll ever see one of your toys. How does it feel?\"\n\nThe woman beside me laughed, just shaking her head as she watched it go. \"Ahhh, fuel efficiency on its not quite good enough, damned design could have used some more work. But, its doing its job. Thats all that matters. ... I made sure your library was on there. Should be enough to teach the young ones when they wake.\" She fell down to the ground, arms crossed behind her head as she stared up, just watching and waiting with me now. \n\n....\n\nA long pause between us, before she finally turns to me. \"Hey, Archivist. You never did finish your story.\"\n\n\"Hmm....which one?\"\n\n\"About the originals, never did get around to what my first was like.\"\n\nI let out a loud laugh. \"Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any. Ol' Nathaniel was an absolute bastard of a man. Once he had his mind set on something, you wouldn't be able to change it, not with other facts, not with money, not even with the promise of something different and better on the horizon. If he thought the best way through a situation was a tank, by the Aspects, he was going to build you that tank. No frills, nothing fancy, but he'd make it the best damned tank you'd ever did see.... He was a lot like you in that regard.\"\n\n\"Was he now?\" A soft chuckle into the air as she crossed her legs, a soft sigh echoing throughout the world around us. Truly, it was the calm before the storm.\n\n\"Mmhm. He was also the first of us to fall. Someone who could bend their mind a little bit more managed to get to him. Actually got a trap set up within one of his vehicles, took him down, took up the mantle. That was....well, quite a few centuries before you came around. Though I will say, you've been one of the best we've had.\"\n\nSilence carries on around us for a few more moments. I can tell already that our time is about to come to its end.\n\n\"Archivist?\" I turned to look over at The Engineer, listening closely. \"Did we...do alright? Our people, that is. Did we do all we could?\"\n\nI turned away, just laying back and thinking. Going back all those times, all those years, those many wars, those many times of great wonder and sadness.... I think back to the time when the first Aspects managed to quell the invasions from the sea. I think back to when The Scientist and his fellows made those breakthroughs. I think even back to recently, when our Astrologist noted the impending disaster. At the end of the day, regardless of what we've done....our people were safe.\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n&#x200B;" ]	[ 1, 2 ]	[ "1541445124", "1541453327" ]
	[WP] After years of buying human teeth, the tooth fairy has decided to move to a more lucrative profession, dealing in human organs.	7	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 rub your tongue slightly on the tooth that has been wobbly for what feels like a year. It has only been a week or so really, but you just want it out. Your parents have teased you.\n\n“I’ll get my hammer to it and knock it out”, your dad has joked. \n\n“I’ll tie a piece of string to it and slam a door shut”, your mum has said in jest. \n\nEither way, you know your parents wouldn’t do any of these things. They just tease you because they know how much this wobbly tooth has been annoying you. \n\nFeeling peckish, you ask your mum for your favourite snack: “Mum, please can I have my peanut butter and bread, please? I’m peckish”. You have just had your dinner and bed time isn’t far away. \n\n“Of course,”, your mum happily replies. She’s good to you. The best. \n\nNot long after asking, your mum hands you your peanut butter and bread. The bread is white, covered in thick peanut butter right up to the crusts, which are solid. It’s fresh bread. Your mum likes to bake it so she knows what’s in it. \n\nYou take a bite of your peanut butter and bread, starting at the crust, though this is unusual for you because you prefer the softer part of the bread. You feel something move. It’s the tooth. It’s free. Finally, after what feels like forever, it’s out. You quickly navigate it to the front of your mouth as not to swallow it. \n\nHolding your hand flat out, you spit this small-sized tooth into the palm of your hand. It’s tiny and very difficult to believe that it has been the cause of your problems. Today is the day, that one wobbly tooth that has been bugging you for such a long time has finally fallen out. \n\n“Mum! Mum! My tooth! Look!”, you cry out in excitement. \n\n“Wow, aren’t you brilliant?”, begins your mum, “let’s save it and put it out for the tooth fairy to collect later this evening”. \n\nDoing as your mum says, you pass her the tooth for her to wrap in a blanket of kitchen paper, ready for Miss Tooth Fairy to come and collect later. \n\nSeveral hours pass and you begin to feel tired after watching the TV, still excited over what the tooth fairy will bring for you and relieved that the tooth is finally free.\n\n“Bobbi, time for bed”, you hear your mum say. “Okay, mum”, you reply. You hurry to brush your teeth and prepare yourself for bed. You know that it’s important to take care of your teeth for when you get your big adult ones, they won’t regrow and they are not replaceable.\n\nYou settle into your bed, getting comfy, ready to sleep. It doesn’t take you long before you doze off as you are exhausted from the day playing with Rolley, your new pet guinea pig.\n\nHowever, not long after you have dozed off, you’re awaken. There is this flying object entering your room. You can see its back as it flies through the door of your room and finds itself next to you. It’s Miss Tooth Fairy. She has wings so delicate and light, colours soft and innocent and navigates gracefully through your room with a slight sparkle radiating from her silver dress.\n\nYou want to greet her. Though, you’re not in a state to be able to move. You can see what’s going on but you’re unable to react. It’s almost as if all you can do is watch, so that’s all you do: watch. You watch Miss Tooth Fairy find her way to you getting closer and closer.\n\nThen, suddenly, she turns to face you. She has an evil look upon her. Her eyes are deep red, her face is angry. She is looking mean. She is on a mission and you know it. You can recognise the signs of anger. Big, deep red eyes stare at you, calculating you and wondering what to do with you. You can sense trouble but can’t say anything. \n\nSuddenly, Miss Tooth Fairy pulls out a pick axe. It’s small, that much is true, but the point is sharp as it twinkles in the low light of your room. It’s set on a dark wooden stake and she grips it with some force. You don’t understand, you always thought Miss Tooth Fairy was friendly, kind and giving. But this isn’t how she appears. She’s getting closer.\n\nBefore you know it, she’s above you, you’re staring at her, she’s hovering right in front of your face, staring at you with this sharp-pointed silver pick axe. What’s she going to do? What’s happening?\n\nBefore you have a chance to blink, she charges at you. Right at you. In fact, she’s aiming that pick axe at your right eye! She’s not stopping. \n\nAs you lay there, motionless, unable to speak, all you can feel is this sharp pick axe in the perimeter of your eye as she precisely works her around your eye socket. Blood starts to poor all down your face. There is such a lot of it, you’ve never known this much blood before. \n\nShe continues. You continue to bleed. It goes dark. You can’t see anything from your right eye. Darkness takes over. But you can still feel the blood dripping down the right side of your face onto your fresh pillowcase. \n\nAs Miss Tooth Fairy continues with her cutting, you feel a force pull at you. She’s pulling your eye out! It’s so very painful, incredibly painful, pain you’ve never felt before. You just want to scream, even though you can’t. You feel one more pull and there it is, your eye in her hands. She holds it above you, you can sense it, as she lets out a sinister evil laugh. \n\nThen, nothing. Silence. You feel the blood pouring. You don’t know want to do. All you can do is lay there. Then it stops. Everything stops. You feel yourself struggling to breathe, your breaths becoming fewer and fewer with more time in between. \n\nIt feels cold. You feel cold. You take one last breath and that’s it. You’re no longer alive. Miss Tooth Fairy has not only stolen your eye, she has stolen your life." ]	[ 1, 3 ]	[ "1541445132", "1541452377" ]
[removed]	[WP] One day you're in Brooklyn, and decide to shout out "Bada Bing". No one responds. What's going on?	2	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/Plucium, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Direct prompt replies must be good-faith attempts at new stories or poems](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_1.3A_direct_prompt_replies_must_be_good-faith_attempts_at_new_stories_or_poems)\n\n- Fill-in-the-blank: Responses must be at least 30 words. This is essentially a fill-in-the-blank, or you asked a question likely to generate a simple answer. Prompts should encourage a story or poem. \n\n Feel free to repost without the question! \n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9ugnj0/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541445821", "1541445981" ]
	[WP] After being cursed with a spell that turns everything you touch into gold, you have finally crafted a golden exo-suit that allows you to live a somewhat normal life. That is, until you meet your arch nemesis: the guy who turns gold into bees.	681	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Fucking. Dave.\n\nWhat a prick.\n\nHe's the Antichrist of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.\n\nHe's the chocolate chip cookie that is actually raisins.\n\nHe's the still doughy pizza crust of street pizza.\n\nSimply put, he's a minor annoyance.\n\nBut, like any minor annoyance, you get too annoyed by it and it becomes a major annoyance.\n\nI'm rich, I'll just put it that way. I can turn shit to gold, what do you expect? If you've read the fable of King Midas, you know it ain't all it's cracked up to be. I didn't have to worry about turning my friends and family to gold though, not like I was gonna get touched by a girl, anyway. And I ain't got any friends, not real ones, anyway. And I'm don't really get out the house, anyway.\n\nAnyway.\n\nI just finished this suit. The therapist said, from a distance, that I should try and get out more. Gee, worth every cent, huh?\n\nI got some chief engineers on this. If it was already gold, I couldn't turn it to gold, could I? All you needed to do was cover it in gold so I couldn't touch it and it'll be fine. I gave them the gold, they made the suit, they got payed in gold. I gave them a little extra, in case an accident happened, they'd keep it hush-hush. I'll leave it up to you to guess if something did happen. This suit is how I plan on interacting with the outside world. I'm sitting here, like some retarded Lex Luthor, in this giant-ass suit, writing this. See what this has done to me? Oh, how I long to be rid of this power. But still wealthy. Very, very wealthy.\n\nBack to Dave. He's been a minor annoyance for as long as I remember. My sculptures, my walls, my...my...gold, turned to bees. Fucking bees. Who wants bees? What is this, the Oprah Winfrey show?\n\nWhenever he turns up, I call the exterminator, and then the police. Partly to remove him from the premises, and partly to stop me from transmuting that mufugga. If it was up to me, he'd be in my garden long ago.\n\nWell, today was the last straw. I got him good, oh yes I did. I taught that asshole a lesson in pranking, cause I pranked him. Scotty and the ninjas ain't got nothing on me! Or, I will have, anyway, after I finish writing this.\n\nHere's how I (probably) did it:\n\nBecause I'm rich, I got a lot of money to blow. So, while I keep track of fucking Dave, I installed this secret trapdoor that lead to a slope covered in olive oil! At the end of this slope is a pool full of honey. Don't worry, it's pretty shallow, he won't drown. But to give him a taste of his own medicine, yeah? There's only one exit from the pool, and once he climbs over that, he falls down! Onto a mattress. He keeps walking, and finds a chicken pen! Again, only one way out, keep going through. There'll be a tonne of chickens there. He'll get covered in chicken shit and feathers! It'll be hilarious! Because he'll be covered in honey, and the feathers and shit will stick to it! Ha!\n\nAnd then, after all this, there'll be only one exit, straight forward, where he'll go down a slippery slide again into a giant pool of salt water this time where there'll be a giant crocodile in there and he'll need to pull of some major spy shit to get out of there!\n\nJust joking, I'll get arrested if I do that.\n\nBut there will be a pool of milk he'll have to swim across! Why milk, you ask? Because I'm *rich,* that's why! I can do what I want! Haha!\n\nAnd, after the milk, when he's all sticky and crusty and covered in feathers and shit and very, very milky, and very, very embarrassed, he'll find his way out and I'll give him a lot of money to never bother me again which he'll take because fuck you Dave, I can't kill you so I'll just have to bribe you!\n\nAnd, maybe, if he doesn't take the money, I'll just kill him. Maybe.\n\nI'll think about it.\n\nBut, anyway! I'm here, writing this, as I'm waiting for him to come around. Apparently, he's quite close by! Let's see if all goes according to plan...\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\nWelp, he's dead. Oh well. I'll just pay off the police. Oh yeah, I can do that, can't I? Probably would have made this much easier...\n\nI'm missing him already. Poor Dave. His bees were always so charming. I might make a giant gold statue for him, keep him in my memory.\n\nMaybe.\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nBrownie points if you recognise the book these traps came from (minus the milk). Hint: The Bond's Name, James Name.", "My suit erupted into a swarm of roaring insects. The man, crazed, gripped my arm in an encasement of bees. The bees subsequently turned to gold, then back into more bees, then gold again, then even more bees, in an endless cycle. The effort was draining, surprisingly. You didn't notice when the transformations were small. But, now, there were so many it left us exhausted. We both collapsed, as if just run a marathon. I wasn't sure who was winning or, even, why this was happening.\n\n\"Hey.\"\n\nThe crazed man remained silent.\"\n\n\"HEY I'M TALKING TO YOU!\"\n\n\"Yeah, so what?\" sneered the strange man. \"You ain't the queen of me.\"\n\n\"Odd way of putting it, but, as I recall, you attacked me buddy. I think I deserve some answers.\"\n\n\"Screw you!\" screamed the nutter. \"Walking around all covered in that crap. Make a man go crazy!\"\n\n\"What're you on about?\"\n\n\"For years, I've tracked you. A gold clad demon, can turn anything to gold with a simple touch. Anything. Metals, fabrics... people. A bizarre skill. The gold your body creates, it ain't like other gold.\"\n\n\"Bullshit.\"\n\n\"It emits a frequency, unique. People like me? We can sense it. If the frequency is loud enough, well... it causes a bit of... pressure.\"\n\n\"That's crazy talk. Nutjob\"\n\n\"You know, bees. They communicate nonverbally. Intricate, beautiful dances. There's steps, moves, a song. Like a solo waltz or a tap dance. You see, it shows the rest of the hive complex information without the need to speak about it. Tells them what to do, so they can do what comes natural.\"\n\n\"Ok. And?\"\n\n\"Every piece of gold you generate sends a message. Out to the universe. And it says 'I've changed. Convert me. Restore me.' Except, it ain't that easy, yeah? Not all changes are equivalent. Some of us start the process, others kick the items down the line, and then others more can finish it. Your gold? It ain't done changin'. It needs to become something else.\"\n\n\"Ok... how do the bees come in?\"\n\n\"Hard to say.\" The apikinetic pointed to a figure approaching. \"You'd have to ask this one.\"\n\n\"Why?\"\n\n\"She comes and turns bees... into horses.\"" ]	[ 1, 8, 223 ]	[ "1541445946", "1541459725", "1541458858" ]
[removed]	[WP] Write a story, in six words.	3	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/salomonder, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Direct prompt replies must be good-faith attempts at new stories or poems](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_1.3A_direct_prompt_replies_must_be_good-faith_attempts_at_new_stories_or_poems)\n\n- Responses too short: Responses must be at least 100 words. Prompts should encourage a story or poem. \n\n \n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9uig8z/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things.", "Hi u/salomonder, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Direct prompt replies must be good-faith attempts at new stories or poems](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_1.3A_direct_prompt_replies_must_be_good-faith_attempts_at_new_stories_or_poems)\n\n- Less than 100 words: Word counts on CW posts should not be requested for less than 100 words. This means no six-word stories, In <any number> words or less, etc. \n\n \n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9uig8z/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1, 1 ]	[ "1541457586", "1541457625", "1541457642" ]
Thanks to /u/SolarDubstep for the idea and info about the etymology.	[WP] After learning the etymology of 'bear' is 'brown thing' and the original name was lost due to the belief it would summon a bear, you become determined to discover it. You do, and the moment you speak the word a bear appears. It politely greets and thanks you.	61	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Fucking hell I can summon bears, for ten years I have been searching for the answer. I can now die happy I have solved the greatest puzzle that man has faced since trying to make the second wheel. I will probably die there is a huge grizzly bear in the same cubical was me and it is not a creature known for restraint, thankfully I am in the right chair for a sudden shock. \n\nI wonder if my wife will believe me now when I said I had more important things to do then go to her mothers funeral for I can summon bears. I alone have harnessed the furry power of these creatures and I shall be a benevolent dictator, my clowncil will terrorise and enlighten the world at large. Imagine a world ruled by me and twelve clowns, that will show Bradley who was actually the shithead in school. \n\nI had sort of zoned out for a few minutes and the bears had apparently been haven’t it’s own monologue for he was the bear king, a king of all the bears apart from the communist pandas naturally. I didn’t really catch what the bear said after hello but I’m sure it was interesting something about world domination and creating class divisions. It’s amazing how much this bear talks he doesn’t even seem to breath just keeps letting shit fly out of his mouth.\n\nThe bear then asked me my opinion on the situation and I told him in an authoritative and firm manner “Yea Sure” and I had started the greatest and only bear on human war, I fought on the side of the bears because just fucking look at the things I’m not an idiot I picked a winner and was the first human to join the bearmy, and was made tzar of Sweden for my services to Barney the light brown bear." ]	[ 1, 7 ]	[ "1541460926", "1541481592" ]
	[WP] You are a time traveller. While returning from the past, you return to see that modern society, culture and religion, as you once knew it, is now completely based on sightings and encounters of you across the ages.	20	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 he stepped out of the machine back in the current year of 2143 with a giant grin on his face, Joshua gave a small chuckle. His colleague, a man born in Israel like him, stepped out from behind the control console absolutely livid and Joshua's face fell. \"What?\" he asked innocently, \"What'd I do?\"\n\n\"What did you do?!\" Joshua could swear that Eiran's ears were spouting steam with how furious he looked, \"Did you never study the religions of pre-21st century civilizations?! NOT ONCE?!\"\n\nThinking back on his childhood, Joshua couldn't fathom what his fellow scientist was talking about, \"Not that I can remember. My family wasn't big on religion, you know. Why? Was it something interesting?\" His grin returned a little as he listened.\n\n\"Something interesting? Hmm... Let's see if these things ring any bells... Curing blindness in several people?\" Eiran's voice rose as he spoke, which would be comical if it wasn't for the vein popping out of his temple.\n\n\"Oh hey, you were watching! Yeah, I met a few people with cataracts and thought 'You know what? I have a field medi-kit. Why not help them out?' They were super grateful!\"\n\n\"Mhmm... Sure! Let's stick with the medi-kit for now, shall we? How about the lepers?\"\n\n\"Wait, are you angry about me curing something that shouldn't even be a thing? Dude, it was just a couple of pills. Lay off, will you?\"\n\n\"Just a couple of... What about the paralyzed guys?\"\n\n\"Now at least a couple of them were faking...so you can't fault me there. That guy with the mat was really putting it on too. Though there was one guy that, I mean, come on... He was so pathetic, I had to reconnect his spinal cord. It was the right thing to do!\"\n\n\"Right...the right thing... By the meatball saviour... What about the bleeding women?!\"\n\n\"Hey, man. You didn't grow up with any sisters, you don't know how hard it is for them when the flow keeps going longer than it should. They get cranky ALL the time, they eat more, they are less cooperative... A simple hormonal balancer fixes it right up and EVERYONE around them is better for it.\"\n\n\"Ok...fine. I get it. You wanted to help people while you were back there. I can't fault you for spreading the love a little. But what about the pointless shit?! Water into wine?\"\n\n\"What? It was a party and I wanted something better than well water. A couple of freeze dried wine tablets later and the party was off the hook, yo! You wouldn't believe how crazy those ancient people can get!\"\n\n\"Feeding five thousand people?\"\n\n\"Nano-bot replicator...\"\n\n\"Miraculous fish catch?\"\n\n\"Simple scan beneath the waves.\"\n\n\"CALMING THE STORM?!\"\n\n\"To tell the truth that was just luck. I looked up at the sky and said 'geez I wish it'd stop storming' and the cell just dissipated. Must have hit a huge cold patch of water. Mind you, it took about twenty minutes. How long were you watching me, man?\"\n\n\"Jesus Christ...\"\n\n\"Christ...Christ... Why does that sound familiar...? OH HEY! Some people were saying that when I passed by towards the end of my trip! I wonder what it means?\"\n\n\"You dense piece of shit. Ever heard of Christianity?\"\n\n\"Uh...Yeah... Who hasn't? It's that stupid religion that caused all those wars and killings and ooooooohhhh I get it now...hmm... Well hang on! I can fix this! I left them thinking I was dead in a cave. Let me just jump back once and I'll tell them to love each other and shit! Hold on!\" Joshua jumped back in the machine and before Eiran could stop him it powered up, sending him back exactly three days after he had left. The flabbergasted scientist ran to his monitoring screen and watched as his colleague took twelve of the most loyal friends he had made to a restaurant. After a few hours, the idiot decided to use his anti-grav belt to rise into the sky before zapping back to the lab. \"How's that for dramatic effect? Let's see them start all those wars NOW!\"\n\nEiran just shook his head, \"I can't believe I'm on a team with you...\"" ]	[ 1, 4 ]	[ "1541462178", "1541496574" ]
	[WP] A villager has gone to seek knowledge and wisdom from a legendary immortal known only from stories passed down from generation to generation. Unbeknownst to them, many thousands of years ago the immortal discovered the secret to being eternally high and has not been sober since.	13	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 humble villager Orestes had made it to the Bridge of Hope. He glanced at the map's description. Although the ancient bridge was covered in moss and vines, he could still see patches of stymwood used to build it. The map indicated that this bridge was his last destination before finding the reclusive immortal.\n\nHe stepped firmly onto the stable bridge. A bestial cry from behind his head screeched. He ducked reflexively. Orestes felt the creatures claws shave a few strands of hair off his head. He looked up to see the creature guarding the middle of the bridge. It had a sharp beak, a lion's body, and twice his weight. It hrrumphed in dissatisfaction. Orestes did not panic. He clearly remembered the instructions of his trusty map, so he deeply bowed down.\n\n\"I am Orestes, a humble villager! It is my honor be welcomed by the immortals guard!\" Orestes said.\n\n\"Humble villager, few have made it this far. What is your reason for seeking the Immortal Legend?\" The creature asked in a high pitched voice.\n\n\"I seek knowledge and wisdom. That is why I seek the Immortal!\" Orestes said. He watched the creature suddenly eye him up and down. His thin body shivered. Orestes felt like prey waiting to be slaughtered. The urge to flee began to tempt him, but his thirst for knowledge had tied his feet down once again.\n\n\"Humble villager,\" It observed, \"You should turn around. I regret to inform you that the answers you probably seek cannot be found here.\" The frail human looked up in panic.\n\n\"Is the Immortal no longer here?\" Orestes asked. His whole journey would have been a waste if that were the case. The countless dangers and hell he put himself through would have been for nothing.\n\n\"The Immortal is here, but they cannot answer anything right now. You should return to where you're from.\" The creature said. The Immortal was always high and unintelligible nowadays. It had been years since the creature had seen its master sober. The poor villager had wasted his time journeying here.\n\n\"Please let me see him. I have just one question I must ask them, and they alone can answer it!\" Orestes pleaded. He risked everything to come out and ask his special question. Orestes watched the creatures eye lids narrow and felt like his life could end at any moment.\n\n\"If you do not turn around, then you'll have to pass by me. I will not allow anyone to disturb them.\" It said. Orders were orders. Even if the Immortal legend that was never sober, no matter how high they were, they were still the Master and their orders were absolute.\n\n\"Then, according to custom, I challenge you!\" The creature heard the humble villager dare to say. It was surprised that its threatening look didn't completely discourage the villager. The frail human challenged it and that made it angry. It extended its wings and sent a strong wind at the villager.\n\n\"Ahhh what are you doing!\" Orestes yelled. He had rolled back a few feet, unable to stand up to the wind. The creature looked at him with contempt.\n\n\"Will you dare still challenge me?\" The creature screeched. The human couldn't even stand up to a tiny gust of wind. It was already showing great mercy to him.\n\n\"I am no warrior and just a humble villager, why would I challenge you in a battle of strength?\" The creature heard him say. The human was frail and definitely no warrior. Hey, wait a minute, how did he get through all those danger and traps? The creature immediately put up its guard, ready for anything.\n\n\"As a humble villager, I will challenge you to a humble and fun game of checkers!\" Orestes said. Checkers was the only thing he was good at in life anyways. So he grabbed the checkerboard and its pieces he always carried with him from his sack to set up on the ground.\n\nThe creature watched him lay out the board and set the pieces down, piece by piece. There was something calming and normal about it all. It suddenly felt that maybe everything shouldn't be settled with violence and death. Maybe checkers was the right way to go about in life? The creature could see the love and care, the professionalism, the loving gaze in the villager's eyes, as if the villager's only worth in life was to play a fun game of checkers with someone else." ]	[ 1, 3 ]	[ "1541476789", "1541483822" ]
	[WP] Even bad men love their mommas.	9	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Thinking back about 20 minutes ago, the flowers actually smelled like roses, not tulips, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about, what I’m here to talk about is the stupidity of the bank teller. The bank teller had the balls to say no with a 22 gauge pointing straight at his face, even after I shot the 3 security guards. I needed to hurry up, so I give the teller a warning shot and that’s when he finally began to unlock the vault. I looked at my watch, I had 4 minutes. After the vault gave a click, the door opened and I started filling my bag with money. After I filled it, I looked at my watch and realized I had 1 minute left. I raced to the entrance of the bank and surveyed the people inside and out; I waited another 5 seconds before I saw my opening, I rushed to my car, threw my stuff In and started the engine. I put the car in reverse and got out onto the highway, hearing sirens coming from the place I just was. Checking my watch, I made sure I hade enough time to make it, and I did. When I reached exit 26, I got off. I headed to my house, dropped off my haul and headed to her house. Arriving on the street of her house, I parked far away so that she would suspect nothing. Along with 20 other people, I crouched, waiting for her to come in. After sitting there for 30 seconds, I heard the door knob rattle. With the lights off, she opened the door and flicked the light switch on. That’s when we all sprang up, yelling “SURPRISE”. My mom seemed shocked, but she closed then door normally as I headed over to her, I wished her a happy birthday and gave her my present. Off in the distance I heard those oh so familiar sirens and assured my self I made a clean get away. Self assurance failed when the sirens blared right in front of the house.\n————————————————————————————————\nI have no idea if This was good or not, first time writing here.", "I killed again. \n\nThe sweet taste of fear and pain was still in my mouth as I walked away from the house. As I looked down at my watch I noticed it had only been a couple hours, but to me it felt like a lifetime. \n\nImages still danced in my head of the beautiful chaos I had just created. A womans scream changing into a gurgle as the knife pierced through her lung. A child in a corner crying as they watched in terror knowing it would soon be their turn. A surprised father walking through the door as I was just finishing my work. The blood. Beautiful, dark, and dancing on the floors and walls. It was perfect. \n\nAs I drove home, adrenaline still pulsating through my veins, I remembered I had to make a stop. Annoying. This was my moment, my time to relish in my brilliance, and yet I was still compulsed to pull over and enter the store. \n\nIt was horribly bright in the late night grocery store as I entered. Normally being out in public would make me uncomfortable but nothing bothered me right now. How could it? Today I was a God. The world was in my hands. In MY control. \n\nI rounded the corner of the store and found what I was looking for: flowers. I lingered on some tulips but decided a bouquet was the safer bet, there must be something in there she will like. She was never really satisfied with any choice I made but it would have to do. \n\nI pulled up to my mother's house shortly after; it was small but had a cosy feel to it. The grass was getting too long and the paint a little worn, my father had passed away several years earlier and I rarely had the time to stop by as of late. But tonight I had promised, and so here I was. \n\nMy mother was sitting on her chair, the same spot she always was for as long as I could remember, crochet needle in hand, as she always did this time of night. She didn't look happy with me as a walked into the house. It was probably my dirty shoes, she hates a mess being tracked through her house. \n\nI pulled the bouquet out from behind my back and I swear for a moment she smiled. Really truly smiled at something I did for her. But then her face was cold and dispassionate again. Of course. Nothing could ever satisfy her, I don't know why I still tried. \n\nI don't know what compelled me to speak but the words had already formed before I could help myself. \n\n\"I did it momma, I finally took destiny into my own hands like you always told me to. I finally got a spine and stopped being such a worthless coward. It felt amazing to be the child you always wanted, to stop being afraid of people, afraid of acting, and actually accomplishing something for myself\" I said in earnest. \n\nI waited for her to reply, to say something. Anything. But she only stared at me. Her dull grey eyes borrowing into my soul, killing all the bravado I had just built up. \n\nAnd in that moment everything was ruined. It wasn't enough to impress her, I knew it wouldn't be, but still I came here anyways, hoping, searching. \n\n\"Well?!\" I shouted angrily. \n\nNothing. \n\nI abruptly turned around and left the house. I would try again another night. I would make my mother proud, I couldn't give up now. She would love me back. Of course she would. In fact, I already had another brilliant plan forming as I started to drive away into the night. \n\nIn the cosy little house the mother sat, crochet in hand, surrounded by darkness, save a little bit of moonlight peaking in from the windows. And in that room, the light hit her face in such a way, that it almost looked like the corpse smiled. Almost. \n\n" ]	[ 1, 2, 3 ]	[ "1541477319", "1541479546", "1541484794" ]
[removed]	[WP] A comic book villain that only speaks in movie references or internet memes	0	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses)\n\n- No troll, joke, or meme-based prompts. This includes prompts likely to attract such responses.\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9k2frq/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541519526", "1541519621" ]
[removed]	[WP] You're driving along a highway when all four of your wheels, the body, the chassis all vanish. The driver's seat hits the road and all that's left is the seat skidding to a halt with a dazed you on it holding a disconnected steering wheel. A Bible falls out of the sky and hits you in the head.	2	[ "Hi, this submission has been removed.\n\n[No recent reposts, even if changing small details](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_5.3A_no_recent_reposts.2C_even_if_changing_small_details)\n\nAlso, no [copy-cats](http://i.imgur.com/38FjDgW.gifv).\n\nSearch before submitting as popular ideas can cause floods. If your idea is based on something you read elsewhere on reddit, chances are it's been submitted here already. Please wait at least 2 weeks before reposting.\n\n \n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9el8ce/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things.", "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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, 2 ]	[ "1541523883", "1541523528" ]
	[WP] A serial killer is somehow able to assume the bodies of those it murders. Tell the story of the chief investigator trying to track down the this bizarre case	12	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Please let me know if there are things that I could improve. Expect some spelling mistakes as English isn’t my first language. I hope you enjoy.\n\nDing-dong.\nI jumped at the sound of the doorbell.\nIt had been 3 weeks since I started living in this safe house, but I was still paranoid about every sound. I guess being the next target of a serial killer kinda does that.\nThe police officer who was acting as my bodyguard that day got up. “Don’t worry.” He said “I’ll get the door.”\nAs I tried to calm down I heard the conversation in the hallway.\n“Good morning commissioner. Come on in.”\n“Morning Frank. Can you go and help James with the patrol? Bill got stuck in traffic, and I don’t want you guys to walk around here alone. I’ll keep an eye on the place while you’re out.”\n“Sure thing boss.”\nLeonard Winters entered the living room and greeted me while throwing his coat over a chair. “Hello, how are doing you today?”\n“Could be better.” I admitted. “I’m still quite nervous about all this.”\n“That’s understandable.” Leonard said. “It’s not like this kind of stuff happens every day. But I’m here if you want to talk.”\n“Thanks.” I replied. \nThe commissioner had become a good friend these last 3 weeks. He came to check up on me every other day and often told me how the case was going.\n“Any activity at my house?” I asked.\n“Nothing that’s more suspicious than the postman delivering the newspaper.” He answered. “But we are still observing the place 24/7 in case someone tries to get in.”\n“It must be weird to search someone who keeps changing their face.” I wondered aloud.\n“It is indeed a challenging case.” Leonard responded. “And whoever is behind these murders just sees it as a game.”\n“What do you mean?” I asked.\n“The letters we receive at the police station are getting easier to decode. You know, the ones in which they mock us for being to late to save someone.” He said.\n“The ones in which they give the name of the next victim.” I remembered.\n“Exactly.” Leonard replied. “We still have some of the earlier ones that we can’t read, but the last one was cracked in a week. It’s how we were able to get you to a secure location before something bad happened.”\n“I guess I’m quite lucky that our face-thief started going easy on you guys.”I said. “It was probably quite a shock when you realised that they assume the identity of their latest victim.”\n“We thought we had them at that point.” Leonard said sombrely. “We had camera footage of the seventh murder, we could clearly identify the culprit and the seventh letter confirmed that victim was a target.”\n“We had a team break down they front door and we were ready to arrest our would be murderer.” He continued. “It would’ve been perfect...\nIf they hadn’t been killed two months either.”\n“After that fiasco we used the name of the sixth victim as a guide to decode letter number six.” Leonard said. A frown on his face. “It even said that they were going to give us a hint, and that they hoped they would look good on the video.”\n“Speaking of decoding, I’ve got some fantastic news!” Leonard exclaimed his face brightening. “I was able to solve the previous letter. I know the name of the previous victim, so I’ll know what the killer looks like right now.”\n“I wanted you to be the first one to read it.” He said, pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to me.\n“I hope you’re able to catch whoever it is soon.” I replied as I started reading.\nThe original text was a confusing mess of letters and symbols. I was surprised that Leonard had been able to translate any of it.\nThe translation at the bottom was easier to understand.\n\n\n“To the bumbling police officers who are chasing me,\n\nI hope that you are still enjoying our little game. There have been times when you were so close to capturing me, only to look in the wrong direction. Lately however you have been running around completely clueless. It saddens me that our game is losing its excitement. I have therefore decided to make the next target extra challenging for myself. I wonder if you can solve this letter before I kill them right under your noses. Good luck.\nThe next target is: Leonard Winters.”" ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541532487", "1541972559" ]
	[WP] You're a Alien Scientist decoding the Golden Record from NASA and you along with your coleauges try and Figure out the info in it	76	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 transponder code. No visible plate numbers. No life signs.\"\n\n\"Maybe the crew is really small?\"\n\n\"It was sterilized before launch, I'm seeing traces of... cleaning chemicals?\"\n\n\"So the litterer has a compulsive cleaning disability? Have you checked for any unstable isotopes?\"\n\n\"No, nothing. No toxic waste of any kind. It's not a dump-and-run.\"\n\n\"Any power sources?\"\n\n\"Dead for at least a decade.\"\n\n\"What cargo does it have?\" \n\n\"Nothing.\"\n\n\"What do you mean nothing? It's gotta have something?\"\n\n\"Well, there's a radio dish and a giant fuel tank. And a tiny compartment for garbage. Some heavy elements, nothing too rare.\"\n\n\"What's the propulsion system like?\"\n\n\"You're not going to believe this... chemical propellant.\"\n\n\"That's quaint. Tank's empty, I take it?\"\n\n\"Yup.\"\n\n\"Any guesses how long it's been drifting along?\"\n\n\"Well, no more than a light year, based on deterioration of the hull.\"\n\n\"The trajectory should be easy to determine, then.\"\n\n\"Yeah, it's from a yellow dwarf system nearby, unless a passing ship dropped it off.\"\n\n\"No flights were chartered through this sector in a century.\"\n\n\"Smuggler operation then?\"\n\n\"Probably.\"\n\n\"Any idea of what this thing is supposed to be doing out here?\"\n\n\"None. All I know is that this unlicensed, unmanned vehicle is a navigational hazard. And considering how long it's been out here, the fine won't be pretty.\"\n\n\"Check that star system first?\"\n\n\"Yes, let's. See if any fools claim responsibility.\"\n\n\"Compound interest rates truly are the future.\"", "The data waves in the first stream were incomprehensible. Every second brought with it some form of graph, so wide by so high, but the data it contained was nonsense. The shapes moved to and fro, changing their composition and appearing and disappearing without explanation. The second stream was very obviously audio, and although some of the sounds seemed reminiscent of something they might have heard on their worlds and in their void chambers, much of it seemed designed for minds not their own. A sort of lilting frequency played over and over again, rising and falling like the call of something wild, yet it was neither the voice of a living thing nor a sound of the natural world. So very curious.\n\nThe dust lining the probe spoke of aeons of travel. By now, its designers would have either shed their forms for something new or disappeared into the void with every other sentient species. The Caretakers had called it the Sweeping -- the great motion of cleansing that combed the galaxy, claiming all intelligent life at one point or another. It was a term that the Children had inherited. Doubtless, the makers of this thing had fallen prey to it as well.\n\nEach mind drone received the bubble that contained problem of the disc and added their own protein chains to it, creating a comprehensible thought pattern that was then passed down the line through the various sets of mandibles. Where one argument or conclusion proved false its chain was removed, the gap left behind ready to be observed and interpreted by the next fresh drone.\n\nBackwards and forwards it went, meandering its way down the line. All the while the Listener waited, casually aware of the back-and-forth path that it took until finally the salivatic bubble was returned to it. Its nerve tendrils reached out into the mass, poking and prodding and pondering the complex array of arguments contained therein. The drones had reached a conclusion. The square contained data intended for a sensory organ that the Children did not possess -- a kind of light receptacle that created a 2D representation of their 3D world. They had long considered that such an organ may be possible, perhaps even extant, and it put to rest at once various conundrums that they had observed in the ruined worlds of fallen lifeforms. That was good. But the data meant nothing to them, and that was neither good nor bad. It was nothing. This thing was nothing; just the wind-up toy of a long since extinct civilisation.\n\nThe Listener's limbs moved at the end of the chamber, removing the disc from its receptacle and humbly replacing it in the probe. Finally, the entire thing was lowered back into space, at exactly the velocity and heading that they had found it at. A puzzle for another species to solve, if ever.", "\"I think I got something!\" I yelled over my shoulder.\n\n\"What did you find?\" Jkalp came to my side.\n\n\"If I run my finger along the rim of this one, it makes noise. Not the sound of my finger on it, but another, unnatural noise from the disk.\"\n\n\"Interesting,\" Jklap nodded, \"but that doesn't seem like the intended use. If we use the pictures we found, we can conclude that the humans don't have sharp fingers.\"\n\nI frowned in thought. \"Yeah, you're right,\" I agreed. Stupid to think they would send a noisy disk to us.\n\n\"Keep at it, you'll figure it out,\" he said, knocking on the desk once with confidence.\n\nI breathed over it, checking its aerodynamics with one of my glands. Woah.\n\n\"Wait, Jkalp!\" I called back to him. He turned expectantly. \"Catch!\" I yelled and spun it at him in the air. He shrieked and yelled,\n\n\"Have you lost your--\" then stopped when he caught it in his hands. He smiled devilishly. \"That was really cool. Can I try?\"\n\nI nodded and he spun it back at me, it soared in the air for longer than gravity would normally permit before falling into my hands.\n\n\"They seem to have made some sort of flying disk! It glides in the air!\" I tossed it back to him. He caught it giddily.\n\n\"What a marvelous invention! I genuinely believed that they would be another species that goes to war with itself but this...\" he tossed it back, hopping up and down as it flew to me, \"They must enjoy their time with one another all the time!\"\n\n\"Yes, and the color is quite--\" I yelped as it slipped from my grasp. It crashed, exploding against the wall into a hundred little pieces. All the pieces fell ceremoniously as the colors gleamed along the walls from each of its pieces.\n\n\"I can't believe I just did that...\" I whispered.\n\n\"Don't beat yourself up, it was a toy from their planet! We got the fun out of it, so it must have been worthless otherwise.\"\n\nI smiled at his confidence, \n\n\"Yeah, you're right.\"\n\n_________________________________\n\nI listened to the [soundtrack on the golden record](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcwPMeqS97Y&index=1&list=PL4D51474AB7BE5595) while I wrote this. I was gonna write about the music on there, but after giving it a listen I knew I was severely underqualified to write something like that. But I am qualified to direct you to my sub for more stories on a daily basis! /r/Nazer_The_Lazer " ]	[ 1, 4, 10, 34 ]	[ "1541569748", "1541611173", "1541589314", "1541574799" ]
	[WP] It is your birthday. As you make a wish and blow out the candles on your cake, the cake begins talking to you.	7	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Mark Stevenson took in one long breath and held it, imperceptibly, as he made his wish. The flames on his candles seemed to freeze in place. They almost seemed impatient for Mark to finish his wish and extinguish them. They flickered, and suddenly Mark felt anxious. Like he’d taken up far too much time for these candles. That was a silly notion but it gripped Mark’s soul nonetheless. After all, he sat alone in his apartment on his thirty-fourth birthday. Just him and the cake. And the two flames on the candles (a three and a four -- lighting thirty four individuals candles had seemed like overkill).\n\nHe exhaled and the flames extinguished in the gust. \n\n“Fuck,” Mark sighed as the smoke eddied upward. He’d forgotten to make a wish. Stupid flames. They don’t even have consciousness, why should he have felt like he owed them anything? Retroactively, he wished for a better thirty-fifth birthday -- the implication being that he would have a better thirty-fourth year than he had for his thirty-third. But wishing for a whole year to be better seemed a bit much. He didn’t want to inconvenience… well, whoever made those decisions. God or the Wishmaster General or--\n\n“Genies,” said a voice. Mark jumped in his seat and whipped his head around. The apartment wasn’t large, in fact the previous tenant had been a dwarf and moved out to find a place “with a bit more leg room.” \n\n“Who’s there?” he demanded, not feeling particularly brave. “Who said that? I’m calling the police.” Mark’s voice cracked a bit on ‘police’ and his face flushed.\n\n“Ooh, I’m quaking, junior,” the voice said again. It was masculine and grating and dropped the ‘r’ in junior. “Gonna ask Sally Fitzgerald out to prom later, or are you gonna wait until your balls drop?”\n\n“I mean it,” Mark said. He grabbed the cake cutter in one hand and waved it frantically around. “I’m armed and I’ll -- don’t try me!”\n\n“Whoa, whoa -- let’s not get wound up,” the voice said, it’s tone a bit panicked. “It was just a joke -- no harm no foul. Just put that thing down, nice and easy.”\n\n“Show yourself first,” Mark demanded.\n\n“I’m right here, numb nuts,” the voice said.\n\n“Where?”\n\n“Turn me around, you friggen moron.”\n\nMark lowered his gaze to the cake.\n\n“Yeah, atta boy. Give me a little spin,” the voice said. With his free hand, Mark slowly spun around the cake. He’d placed it away from himself because the blue-trim had started to sag, and when he tried to fix the situation he only smeared the colors together.\n\n“Alright, there we go,” the cake said. The two layers moved as lips, and the smeared frosting looked even more like eyes. Mark yelped and reared back the cake cutter.\n\n“Hey, hold on!” the cake shouted.\n\n“You’re a talking cake,” Mark said, his voice cracking again. The cake laughed.\n\n“Oh-ho-ho, that never gets old,” the cake said. Mark twitched the cutter forward. “Ah, but it can -- it got old. I just wanna talk.”\n\n“Cakes don’t talk,” Mark said.\n\n“This one does.”\n\nMark considered for a minute, and then lowered the cake cutter.\n\n“Alright. What do you want to talk about?” Mark asked.\n\n“I’m here to talk about your feelings,” the cake said. “Just not in a queer way, you know?”\n\n“No,” Mark answered.\n\n“I mean I’m not a fag or nothing. We gotta talk, just not like the queers talk.”\n\nMark bit his lips as his eyes bugged out. “Oh, wow, that’s um…” he stuttered.\n\n“What?”\n\n“Nothing, just -- I mean, that was a really insensitive thing to say.”\n\n“Fuck, are you one-a-them?” the cake said. “My bad. What should I say? Gays? Or is that bad now?”\n\n“Yes. I mean, no. You should say ‘gay’, but I’m not -- but you shouldn’t say it like that. So, um, yeah,” Mark stuttered. His face flushed again.\n\n“Well if you’re not a queer whatta you care?” the cake asked.\n\n“It’s not -- look, you’re not supposed to do that. It’s offensive to the gay community,” Mark explained. “I mean, what if everyone used the word ‘cake’ when they really meant ‘garbage’?”\n\n“Alright, alright,” the cake said. “Point taken -- I’m from Charlestown, I guess we’re just a little thicker skinned.”\n\n“How the hell are you from Charlestown?” Mark asked. “You’re a cake!”\n\n“I’m a talking cake and you’re looking for logic in that? Are you retarded?”\n\nMark opened his mouth to protest the cake’s use of ‘retarded’, but thought better of it and snapped his jaw shut. \n\n“Look, you said you wanted to talk,” Mark said. “Why?”\n\n“Listen, Marky-Mark, your life is a fucking train wreck and you’re a wicked sad guy. I don’t mean sad like boohoo sad, I mean like the fact that I know about your existence makes my day a little worse.”\n\n“Hey!” Mark protested.\n\n“Oh, what are you gonna do? Debate that little fact?” the cake said. “You’re thirty four years old, no friends, living in a shoe box and about to eat a whole store bought cake yourself. Fat ass.”\n\n“I made this cake myself,” Mark argued.\n\n“Poured the mix from the box and everything. Real hard work,” the cake said.\n\n“Well, I wasn’t going to eat the entire… you.”\n\n“Deep down, you know that you were gonna shovel every crumb in your fat face.”\n\n“I’m not fat,” Mark said.\n\n“Just ‘cause you’re not round doesn't mean you’re not at. How many times did you pinch those love handles of yours, huh big guy?”\n\nToo many times was the answer. Mark sighed, and finally let go of the cake cutter. The cake sighed in relief.\n\n“So, what -- are you supposed to make my life better somehow?” Mark asked, abandoning all hope of sanity and self esteem in one fell swoop.\n\n“Yeah, that’s the gist of it, sure.”\n\n“Are you going to grant my wish, then?” Mark asked. “Use whatever magic that some Southie sorcerer is using to make my cake talk.”\n\n“Magic? Are you retarded? I’m just gonna give you some pointers.”\n\n“Pointers?”\n\n“Yeah, like life advice and stuff. Self-help, dude.”\n\n“Oh.”\n\n“You thought this was gonna be easy? Though it was gonna be a cake walk?” the cake laughed. “Ha! That one gets me everytime.”\n\nMark turned over his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “Well? What life advice?”\n\n“First of all, you should probably go to therapy or something,” the cake said. “You’ve got way more problems than I can fix. It's also just good for you, you know? And if you get a lady therapist, it doesn't even feel all that queer. Oh, I mean gay.”\n\n“I feel like you’re just passing the buck,” Mark said.\n\n“That’s just number one. Number two: you gotta stop caring what people think. Just stop giving a shit. You think about what people think about you way too much. You get your panties all tied up about nothing.”\n\n“It’s not nothing,” Mark said. “I just don’t want to be a bother. And I don’t want to embarrass myself -- that’s normal.”\n\n“Dude, you forgot to make a wish because you thought the candles were getting annoyed at you,” the cake said flatly.\n\n“Okay, fine, I have a problem,” Mark admitted. “But that doesn’t solve it.”\n\n“My old man went to AA, they said the first step to solving a problem was admitting you had one. Or some shit like that. Point is, this is progress.”\n\n“How do you have -- never mind,” Mark said, shaking his head. “What’s the solution? I can’t just turn off my thoughts.”\n\n“Think of it like this: you spend a ton of time thinking about what other people think about you, right?”\n\n“Right.”\n\n“Now: how many times a day do you think about other people they way you think they think about you?”\n\n“Well -- never, I guess.”\n\n“Exactly,” said the cake. “That’s the root of your issue. Let’s test it: why do you live in a shoe box?”\n\n“Because I don’t make enough money to move.”\n\n“And why don’t you make more money?”\n\n“Because I’m afraid that asking for a raise will be embarrassing. And I’m afraid that leaving my job will inconvenience other people.”\n\n“Jackpot! Now, why are you fat?”\n\n“Because I don’t go to the gym.”\n\n“And why not?” the cake implored.\n\n“Because I’m afraid of people judging me for being fat,” Mark said. \n\n“Those beef-chunks pumping iron -- do you think they give a shit about people judging them?”\n\n“Well, no, but they aren’t fat,” Mark argued.\n\n“Dude, what, you think they just popped outta their ma at two-fifty of pure muscle and benching one-eighty?”\n\n“No, I guess not,” Mark admitted, hanging his head.\n\n“You know what you’re gonna do now?” the cake asked. Mark looked up and shrugged. “Tomorrow, you’re going to ask for a raise. And if you don’t get it -- oh well. Start looking for another job. And if that sucks for your boss -- fuck him, he didn’t give you a raise. And after work, you’re going to go to the gym and get wicked fucking sweaty. And you’re gonna do that until you’re jacked.”\n\n“But--”\n\n“No buts. Listen to me: people are not paying attention to you. They don’t care about you. They don’t think about you. Unless it's your ma or someone who knows you, no one gives a shit. Live life for you.”\n\nMark nodded. “You know, you’re right.”\n\n“Hell yeah, buddy,” the cake said. “There’s just one last thing you need to do.”\n\n“What’s that?”\n\n“You gotta throw me out,” the cake said. “Can’t risk a better tomorrow for a slice of mediocre cake.”\n\n“Oh, yeah, I guess,” Mark said. He stood and picked up the cake. With a half a step he stood at the trash can. He stepped on the pedal to open it and held the cake out over the trash. He hesitated.\n\n“Go on,” said the cake. “Toss me out.”\n\n“It’s just -- well, you’re pretty motivational. I feel like we bonded a little.”\n\n“We did, but you gotta toss me.”\n\n“You’ll be okay?”\n\n“I mean, I’m gonna stop talking. It’ll just be regular cake in the trash. But yeah, it won’t hurt or anything.”\n\n“Okay. Well, thank you.”\n\n“No problem.”\n\nMark began to tip the plate.\n\n“Oh, wait, wait!” the cake said. Mark leveled the plate again.\n\n“What?” he asked.\n\n“Just, before you dump me in -- is your garbage man a black?” the cake asked.\n\n“Uh, I’m not sure. Why would that even matter?” Mark said, then furrowed his brow. “Wait, did you say ‘a’ black? That’s sounds--”\n\n “I’m not racist I just have this thing -- I don’t like touching them.”\n\nMark dropped the cake, plate and all, into the trash and let the lid slam close.\n", " \n\n‘I’m too old for this,’ I think as I gaze at the expectant faces of my family. My cousins, aunts, uncles, siblings and Parents.\n\nIt’s my 15th birthday and they are all expecting me to blow out the candles. The cake was chocolate with a dark chocolate coating.\n\nI internally sigh and am about the candle out when I hear a voice that I don’t recognize. I look around and try to find the source of the voice but am unable to find it. \n\n“Did you guys hear that?” I ask my family, only for them to stare at me like I was crazy.\n\n“No, sweetheart. Nobody said anything,” my mother replied. I looked at her face and try to see if she was deceiving me in any way. She wasn’t though, she was being honest as far as I could tell.\n\nI hear it again and this time I pay more attention to what it’s saying, although what it says baffles me. It said,” Good Morrow, my good lady. I am Cuthbert the Cake.”\n\n‘The cake? Please tell me that I’m not hearing a cake talk,’ I think with incredulity.\n\n“I most certainly am, my good lady,” the voice, now known as Cuthbert replies.\n\n‘I’m going crazy! I’m having a mental conversation with a cake.’ This is the moment fully comprehend what is happening and begin to freak out.\n\nMy mother breaks me out of my daze by saying,” Sweetheart, you alright? You have been spacing out for the last few minutes.”\n\n‘I have?’ I think before replying, “No, I’m not feeling that well. I’m not feeling that good. I’m going to go lay down, you guys enjoy yourself though alright.”\n\nOnce I had walked out of the room and into the hallway, I had heard an exclamation of pain. I look back and realize that it’s Cuthbert. I turn around realizing that if I told anyone to stop I’d be required to tell them that I had been taking to a cake.\n\n‘It’s not worth it, sorry Cuthbert,’ I think as I walk away listening to the painful wails of a dying cake. \n\nDays later I think back on the event and wonder what could possibly allow me to talk to a cake. Although I can only wonder about the reason." ]	[ 1, 2, 2 ]	[ "1541588087", "1541590448", "1541605076" ]
	[WP] The secret island of New Zealand, kept secret in a conspiracy among the world's geographers	4	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "\"So,\" I said to my friend, \"I was thinking about going on vacation this year.\"\n\n\"Oh?,\" he laughed, \"Getting tired of all the hustle and bustle of the big city?\" \n\nWe lived in a small town called Battle Mountain, Nevada. It was an old joke of ours to call it \"The Big City\". \n\nI responded, \"Nah, I just want to see a bit of the world, explore a little.\" I walked over to the fridge and grabbed a beer. \"You want one?\" \n\n\"Nah, I'm good.\" he replied. \"Doctor told me I've got to cut back a bit. That is, if I want this gut to cut back a bit!\" He laughed uproariously at his own joke. I liked that about him. \"So, where are you planning on going? Aruba? Jamaica? Possibly Bermuda? The Bahamas?\" he kept his voice level and his face straight. \n\n\"No, no. I was thinking somewhere mountainous over tropical. I want to do some hiking you know?\" \n\nHe nearly broke as he replied, \"Oh, come on pretty mama.\" At the look I gave him he exploded into laughter. \n\nI couldn't help but laugh myself. Honestly more at his laughing at his own joke than anything. \" Actually, I was thinking about New Zealand. Where Lord of the Rings was filmed.\"\n\nI noticed my friend suddenly get very quiet, and very reserved. \"Where? I don't think I've heard of it.\" \n\nI was surprised, \"New Zealand? South of Australia? Lots of sheep, mountains, and spiders?\"\n\n\"Nope, never heard of it. Let me look it up.\" He took out his phone and searched Google for 'New Zealand' \"Nothing. I found a Scandinavian island called Zealand. That what you were thinking about?\" \n\nI took a sip of my beer and looked at his phone. Sure enough, no results of New Zealand. \"Wait right here.\" I set my beer down and grabbed an old map from my Grandad's day. I came back and unfurled it across the table. \n\nI pointed to New Zealand on the map triumphantly. \"See? Right there! New Zealand.\" My friend looked troubled. \"It might be one of those things that map makers put in to stop plagiarism. What were those called? Damn, on the tip of my tongue.\" \n\n\"A paper town? Surely not a whole island. Besides, I know Lotr was filmed there. What the hell's going on here?\" \n\nAbruptly there was a loud knock on the front door. I let my friend know I'd be right back and to keep looking on google. Another knock. Louder this time. I looked through the peephole and saw several men in black suits. One was holding a badge with FBI written in bold letters. I opened the door. \n\nThey swarmed me as soon as the door opened and put a bag over my head. Someone kicked me in the side. They must have coated the back with...something...I.....I passed out.\n\nI woke up to the bag being torn from my head. A single light swayed back and forth from the ceiling. I saw a man sitting across from me smoking a cheap cigar. \n\n\"You know things you shouldn't Mr. White.\" He puffed on his cigar before continuing \"Dangerous things.\" \n\nI assembled my wits and loudly said, \"I demand a lawyer! I have a right to legal council!\" \n\nI saw him smile languidly. \"Sorry Mr. White, that's not the game we're playing here. Officially, you died the moment you were dragged into this building. The dead, have no rights.\" \n\nI took this in. What the fuck was happening here? This was some Borne shit. \"Listen, please...I have a life, friends, a family. What do you want from me?\" I was starting to panic. \n\nThe man in the suit smiled and said, \"Why, Mr. White we just want to send you on vacation. To New Zealand.\" He looked like the Devil sitting there, smiling and wreathed in smoke and drifting lights.\"Thing is, it'll be more like a working holiday. And you'll be working for us.\"\n*************************\nI will return to finish this. Feels like a three parter.\n*************************\n/r/SirLemoncakes" ]	[ 1, 2 ]	[ "1541599590", "1541599716" ]
[removed]	[WP] Never Nuked	1	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/vilaw, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Prompt users in the title, but don't play writing games or commission stories](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_6.3A_prompt_users_in_the_title.2C_but_don.27t_play_writing_games_or_commission_stories)\n\n- Prompt in Text: Prompts go in the title, do not extend into text. You can add commentary in the text, but don't add additional prompt restrictions. Also, avoid [too many details](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/prompts?src=RECIPE). You wrote a prompt in the text, but then gave a title for it. \n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9v5mlv/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541640751", "1541640829" ]
	[WP] Humans don’t reincarnate. You have evidence that you’ve reincarnated.	1	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 high priestess with the red lipstick dropped her polite 'just a minute' finger, looked up at the Minotaur in the pinstripe suit, and flashed him a dazzling smile. \"What can I help you with?\"\n\nHe coughed and looked down meaningfully. Confused, the high priestess leaned forward to follow his look and met my eyes over the counter.\n\nHer eyebrows shot up. \"Oh! Hello, little lady! what can I help you with?\"\n\n\"Hi.\" I wrestled my textbook out from underneath my arm and offered it to the high priestess. \"I think here's been a mistake.\"\n\n\"Hmm.\" She took it from me and read the title with a puzzled expression, tucking a wisp of golden hair behind a perfect, pointed ear as she did so. She looked back to me without changing her expression. \"I'm sorry, I don't understand. What kind of mistake?\"\n\n\"I think I've been reincarnated,\" I said.\n\n\"Oh!\" the priestess smiled again. \"Well, I'm sure we can get that cleared up!\"\n\nHer tone and expression said, 'I'm sure I can help you see why that's impossible.' It was the same tone my tutor had used. It annoyed me.\n\n\"Open it.\" I said, perhaps a little too forcefully.\n\n\"OK,\" the priestess said, and opened the textbook to the bookmark I had placed inside. She read through the page silently.\n\n\"I'm not sure I understand,\" the priestess said. She turned the book to me, showing me a picture I could have drawn from memory. \"Do you think you're her?\"\n\n\"I'm sure of it,\" I said. 95% sure.\n\n\"Ah,\" she replied, flashing the minotaur a reassuring smile over my head. \"Well, ah... you do realize Aubrey Ironheart was a Human?\"\n\n\"Of course,\" I replied, and I was a bit disappointed in myself for letting the impatience into my voice. \"If she were an Elf, it wouldn't be a mistake, would it?\"\n\n\"Young lady, it's biologically impossible for a human to...\"\n\n\"Be identified for reincarnation,\" I said quickly. \"But theoretically, it's possible for a human to be reincarnated, right?\"\n\n\"Well, yes, that's technically true,\" the priestess said, cocking her head in a placating way, \"but it would require being reincarnated into a Human body. AND,\" (she added quickly, cutting off my next remark before my mouth had quite opened to speak), \"while I recognize that you are Human, it would also require a Human Holy Reincarnator. Of course, there's no such thing as a Human Reincarnator.\"\n\n\"No, it wouldn't,\" I insisted. \"It would just require that the Reincarnator establish an aural link with a human, which is possible.\" 90% sure.\n\n\"I... don't think that's true,\" the priestess said, \"but even if it was, how would the Reincarnator establish the link without being able to identify the human?\"\n\n\"There have been several cases of Reincarnators using physical touch to establish aural links with... you know what? Look;\"\n\nI turned around and pulled my shirt up. I heard somebody gasp. Give it a rest, buddy, I'm eight years old.\n\n\"Can you see?\" I asked. I wasn't sure if it was up far enough, but it would feel weird to take it completely off in a public office.\n\n\"Yes, you can put your shirt back down.\"\n\nI let my shirt drop and turned around. \"The birthmark matches exactly. Exactly.\"\n\n\"Yes, but...\"\n\n\"And I was born nine months after the night of reincarnation,\" I insisted.\n\nThe high priestess was starting to look a bit frazzled. Behind me, the minotaur cleared his throat.\n\nShe sighed. \"OK, look; I'll have you take an auragraph. Just be aware that it's probably not going to match hers, okay?\"\n\nI sighed in relief. \"Yes, please, thank you.\" She motioned for me to step out of line, and let the minotaur know that somebody would be right with him.\n\nThe next two hours were a bureaucratic mess. I got to stand in front of the auragraph machine, blinking at the bright purple flash; then they sat me in the lobby for a long time while they ran it and checked the results. To pass time, I thumbed through my textbook.\n\nAubrey Ironheart in full desert fatigues. Aubrey shaking hands with an amputee. Aubrey in the war room with Bush. And the big one; Aubrey at a gala wearing a dress with a low back, so you could just see her distinctive birthmark.\n\nIt wasn't just the birthmark, though, and it wasn't hero worship. Really, the priestess was right that it didn't make sense. An Elvish Reincarnator can't telepathically identify a Human to establish an aural link remotely, and they're kept strictly physically isolated from non-Elves. One would have needed to have skin-to-skin contact with both Aubrey and one of my parents, and establish aural links both times. I didn't blame the priestess for not believing me.\n\nBut Human souls are not like Elf souls; they need rest. The reason I came is not that the pictures excite me. \n\nIt's that they make me feel tired.\n\n\"Hi, sweetheart.\"\n\nI looked up and met a very sympathetic-looking priestess with a 'we need to have a talk' expression. \"Could you come with me, please?\"\n\n80% confident. I stood and followed her into a small sideroom.\n\nI climbed up onto a big brown leather chair, while the Elf sat behind the desk and smiled sadly at me.\n\n\"My name is Glenda Longarrow. I'm going to be your case worker.\"\n\nMy heart rate picked up.\n\n\"we're still not entirely sure what happened,\" she continued, \"but we feel you should know that your auragraph is a match for Aubrey Ironheart.\"\n\nMy heart was already pounding, jumping and swelling in my chest until I felt like I might choke. \"I'm reincarnated? I actually am?\" I asked. I really had expected to take the news more calmly than this, but as it turns out, there's a significant difference between suspecting something and knowing it for sure.\n\n\"Most likely. We checked it twice. We've also sent it to be manually examined by an expert, so there's still a chance we could be wrong, but it's never happened before.\" She smiled in a reassuring way. \"Of course, you're also unprecedented. We're trying to figure out which of two impossible options is less impossible.\"\n\n\"How did this happen?\" I asked.\n\n\"We don't know,\" she replied. Something in her tone was unconvincing.\n\n\"How do you think, then?\" I pushed. \"You know something.\"\n\nShe studied me silently for a moment.\n\n\"Alright... before I say anything else, you need to understand that this is just a theory. It's the only way we know of that this might have happened, but we haven't confirmed it.\n\n\"As you might know, Aubrey died in a military hospital after her convoy was attacked during an inspection tour. Immediately following her death, the attending surgeon filed an emergency report to the Conclave. Before the war, the surgeon had been a Reincarnator Initiate, but when the war broke out he took a leave from his studies to join the medical corps. His aural link hadn't manifested before the war, but during the emergency surgery on Aubrey, it did. In the heat of the moment, he accidentally created an aural link with Aubrey just moments before she died.\n\n\"Of course, the Conclave immediately had him exempted from military service and put him in isolation, where he continued his Reincarnator studies while he waited for the link to fade. Nine years ago...\"\n\n\"He entered the Conclave,\" I said.\n\n\"One of our top auragraphists cleared him,\" she insisted. \"All traces of the link had faded, according to the official report. And like every Reincarnator, he was kept completely isolated from non-Elves. We took every reasonable precaution.\"\n\n\"Then how did he aural link my parents?\" I asked.\n\n\"Ah... \" she bit her lower lip. \"The usual way.\"\n\n\"So he did come in contact with Humans!\" I said, a bit accusingly.\n\n\"No, sweetheart,\" she clarified, speaking carefully. \"The usual, usual way. Telepathic identification on the night of reincarnation.\"\n\nI stared at her for a bit, and then smiled. \"Oh, you probably think... no, I'm full-blooded Human. Neither of my parents are...\"\n\nHer look grew even more sympathetic. It clicked.\n\n\"Oh,\" I said, and felt a pit open in my stomach.\n\nOne of my parents is Elvish. One of my biological parents is Elvish.\n\n\"Oh, my god.\" I covered my eyes with my hands and tried to keep the bile down. \"Oh my god.\"\n\nGlenda's voice was muffled. She said something, but my ears wouldn't convey their meaning. Panic was setting in.\n\nA thought snapped into my head, unprompted. Get ahold of yourself, soldier! You have a job to do!\n\n\"Yessir,\" I heard myself say, and felt my back straighten.\n\nI'll be damned, you've got a spine! Soldier, what is your objective?\n\nI took a deep breath and began making a checklist in my head. Glenda asked me something, but I still couldn't understand her. That was OK. Glenda could wait. \n\nMy breathing began to slow. My heartbeat improved. The panic gradually subsided, and the fear settled quietly into the back of my brain. When I felt confident I had regained my composure, I opened my eyes.\n\nGlenda had moved around the desk at some point. She was kneeling in front of the chair, peering up at me with a puzzled expression. I nodded to her. \"Thank you for telling me,\" I said. \"I appreciate your honesty.\"\n\n\"Honey, are you ok?\" she asked.\n\n\"I think so.\" I took another deep breath and recalled my checklist. \"I'm going to give you my phone number. I would also like a ride home, if that's alright.\"\n\n\"Of course,\" she replied. She stood, and her expression gradually changed from confusion to curiosity. \"You really are her, aren't you?\"\n\n\"I think so,\" I said. \n\nShe nodded, looking a little flustered. \"Well... is there anything I can get you?\"\n\n\"Just the car. I think I need to have a talk with my mother.\"\n\nShe nodded and went to leave. Halfway through the door, she paused and turned back to me.\n\n\"I just want you to know that we're going to do everything we can to help.\"\n\n\"Thanks,\" I replied. \"That means a lot.\"\n\n\"Of course. And also... uh... thank you for your service.\" Then she stepped out and closed the door behind her.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;" ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541647024", "1541885026" ]
	[WP] As you walk down your street, you kick a rock that surprisingly flies back to you. Intrigued by this, you pick it up to examine it. There are engravings on the rock shaped like a dragon. "Interesting, isn't it", says a strange voice. You look around by no one is there	32	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "\"Over here.\" The strange voice said.\n\nConfused, I looked back at the rock. Was this rock talking? It did just fly back to me didn't it? And these strange engravings as well, the front seems to be shaped like a dragon's head. But those weren't the only engravings, the entire stone was covered with engravings. Magic? I know there are mages capable of engraving items, but who would engrave a stone?\n\nThe strange voice once again started talking.\n\n\"I am the ancient dragon king.\" The voice said\n\n\"The ancient dragon king?\" I asked\n\n\"Yes, my soul was sealed into this stone a long, long time ago. Until now no one has ever answered anything I said.\" The dragon king paused for a moment, then continued. \"Let's make a deal shall we?\"\n\n\"What kind of deal?\"\n\n\"See, my race was eradicated just before I was sealed. However, I managed to split my body into several powerful dragon eggs. I want you to bring back my race using those eggs. In return I will grant you my powers.\"\n\n\"I'll do it.\" I said, almost immediately\n\nLife wasn't easy as an orphan. My dad was a swordsman and died while fighting in the army, my mother died giving birth to me. I've been raised while living in the orphanage, but they don't have much money to feed all the orphans.\n\n\"Fantastic.\" The dragon king said. \"Right now I can only offer you my knowledge as the dragon king, but collecting the dragon eggs will allow me to grant you more power.\"\n\nSuddenly, I got a splitting headache. Then, I just knew. I knew all the knowledge the dragon king had, strangely there were no memories from the dragon king.\n\n\"Well, let's get going then.\" I said, starting to walk.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n============================================================\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHope you enjoyed. My first story I wrote, feedback is very much appreciated." ]	[ 1, 7 ]	[ "1541661138", "1541705273" ]
	[WP] A Vampire Hunter, a Dragon Slayer, a Witch Inquisitor, and a Demon Excorcist must work together to kill a Vampire Dragon possessed by a Demon controlled by a powerful coven of Witches. They all absolutely hate each other.	836	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Jaserria rubbed her temples. There was a lull in the ritual. The holy water was a work in progress, but the ritual had been slowed significantly by Sithraxxa and Ytroth’s bickering. She didn’t need any of them in the room. She didn’t WANT any of them in the room. Ytroth certainly didn’t want to be in the room. But from the start the expedition had suffocated under a cloud of suspicion and paranoia, and no one wanted anyone out of their sight. Jaserria patiently muttered a last prayer to her goddess, and rose from her place to stare in the direction of the arguing pair.\n\n“SILENCE!” she yelled. The dragon slayer and vampire hunter both glared at her. She ignored them. “We are on a schedule, and while I’ve allowed you to be here, your arguing is slowing down my work. Can’t you just sneer at each other from across the damned room?”\n\nYtroth snorted, a cruel grin spreading across the dragon slayer’s rugged face. “If I’d known a little noise could keep you from concentrating, I’d have raised hell earlier.” \n\nJaserria ground her teeth. “Do you WANT this mission to fail?” she hissed. “Or do you just think you can take on a dragon vampire demon on your own?”\n\nYtroth puffed his chest a little. “I don’t need the help of you pathetic lot. I’m more than enough for the job. Pronax will fall to my blade, and the witch Derra shortly after.” \n\nJaserria gestured at the door. “Then by all means, go to it.” \n\nJaserria and Ytroth starred at each other for a minute. As the pause became awkward, Jaserria gestured to the door again, saying nothing. Ytroth stared at her, defiant for a few more seconds, before finally breaking off eye contact.\n\n“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” said Jaserria. “I sure as hell wouldn’t be working with your sorry ass if I didn’t need your help.” \n\n“Oooooo... burned.” Sithraxxa waved a dismissive hand in Ytroth’s direction.\n\n“SHUT! UP!” shouted Jaserria. “I am not trying to burn ANYONE! I am TRYING to make the point that we all need to work together if we want to succeed! And if you could both sit quietly in opposite corners of the room and NOT INTERRUPT during my ritual, then maybe THIS time the ritual will go as planned, and we’ll have a nice barrel of holy water to dump on Pronax’s head tomorrow.” \n\nJaserria looked at Sithraxxa. “I’m assuming you’re going to be the one doing that?” Sithraxxa nodded. She managed to make the nod look condescending. Jaserria ignored her.\n\nShe looked to where Paris was standing in the corner. As much as she hated to admit it, the inquisitor was probably the most important part of the plan. Without him, they wouldn’t have a shot at the witch in control.\n\nSecond most important. After all, if she wasn’t there for the exorcism, Pronax would be nearly unbeatable.\n\nThe final phase of the ritual was about to begin, but she found her eyes locked with Paris’s. He’d been staring at her steadily, silently, for the entire course of the evening. His face held no expression, and he rarely spoke, but he always communicated effectively. He hated her. She just hoped he’d keep his sights on Derra tomorrow. It was all on him.\n\nShe didn’t see him move, but the witch inquisitor was now only two feet from her, staring, arms crossed. Small charms and anti-warding trinkets jingled from the sudden movement. Jaserria straightened in a futile attempt to match his height. “You gonna be able to do your part tomorrow?” she asked, trying to match his endless gaze. His eyes spoke of treachery. Her treachery. “No, I’ll uphold my part of the bargain. I won’t be the one to make this group fail.” He flicked a single finger, a gesture of time moving forwards. “No, not even after the fight is over. The group will disperse. I won’t turn on you if you don’t turn on me.” His frown deepened. “Just keep your damn sights on Derra. I have more reason to want her dead than you.” He stared “I look forwards to not seeing you again, but by the goddess, if you’re acting in good faith, I won’t enforce that with your destruction.” His stare intensified. “I don’t break my promises.”\n\nHis gaze lifted to behind her. She turned her head back, her eyes widened, and she rushed back to the ritual. “Yes, the ritual. Stand back.”\n\nJaserria returned to her holy water just in time. With luck, tomorrow night would go as planned, and they could all be away from each other.\n\n\\* \\* \\\n\nThey were, if nothing else, professionals, and Jaserria was impressed at how everyone got down to business under pressure. They caught Pronax off guard, Derra in the middle of a ritual, and the fight was off to a good start.\n\nThe plan started with her, and ended with Paris.\n\nThey all flew in from overhead, and Sithraxxa poured out the barrel of holy water, covering Pronax and distracting him long enough for Jaserria to land and begin the exorcism. She hopped off of her broomstick and chanted the words of expulsion.\n\nAs the demon was ripped from Pronax it screamed, and the demonic augmentations faded.\n\nYtroth was up next. In armour he was a fearsome sight to behold, his red eyes glowing menacingly from under his crimson helmet. Pronax bathed him in dragon fire. Ytroth laughed. “Doesn’t hold a candle to home, sweetheart.” His echoing voice sent shivers down Jaserria’s spine. Any other day, that man would be her target. Now, she just reminded herself, she had more important targets. Ytroth swung his blade. Pronax, angry and frightened, took to the air.\n\nAnd there Sithraxxa, once again in her true form, bore down on him with claw and fang, her brilliant red scales gleaming in the starlight. They both crashed to the ground, thrashing around as each tried to get a hold on the other’s throat. Jaserria chanted a spell of fortification, ensuring the expelled demon could not return to its vessel. Her eyes flitted momentarily towards where Derra had been preforming her ritual. Inwardly, Jaserria felt a stab of regret. Her old mentor had been kind to her once. If things had only been a little different, perhaps none of this would have happened. Behind Derra, a swarm of bats began to coalesce, taking the form of the inquisitor. So far he was unnoticed.\n\nAnd that was when everything started to go wrong.\n\nParis finished taking form, and lunged, only to be caught by an unseen warding spell. Derra grinned, screamed something, and pointed a finger at Sithraxxa. A ray of light shot out, immobilizing Sithraxxa and allowing Pronax to break free, turning his attention to Jaserria. Pronax spewed fire at Jaserria, and Jaserria stood there, unable to abandon her chant, but sure that in the next second she’d be burned to a crisp.\n\nThe fire never reached her. Ytroth appeared before her, back to the flames, breaking the wave of fire. Demonic augmentations were beginning to appear on Pronax again, and though none touched her, she could tell by the oppressive heat that hellfire had returned to Pronax’s breath.\n\nYtroth grinned at her with his razor teeth. “Go on kid, finish the incantation. It’s on you now.” \n\nJaserria’s expression changed not one bit. She was too well trained for that. Her chant continued, strong and steady, and she finished it just as Ytroth fell. Pronax was returning to his vampire dragon state once again. On the other side of the field, Derra was backing towards Paris, a wooden stake gripped in one hand, the other hand still pointed at Sithraxxa, holding her down. Jaserria grabbed her broom, not even hopping on, and urged it forwards, dragging her across the ground to where Paris stood. With timed precision, her hand brushed Paris, just as she uttered a single word.\n\n“BREAK!” \n\nThe wards shattered. Paris exploded in a cloud of bats. Several of the bats flew between Derra and Sithraxxa, breaking the ray of light from Derra’s finger. Sithraxxa stirred once more.\n\nAnd just in time. She intercepted Pronax only a few meters from Ytroth’s prone figure.\n\nNow it was Jaserria’s turn to fight Derra directly. They both chanted, arcane energies sparking between them. Jaserria felt sick, not because of anything Derra was doing directly, but because she couldn’t shake her fond memories of what Derra had once been.\n\nDerra was a better witch, to be certain, but with Pronax distracted, and no more wards between her and death, Paris stepped out of the shadows behind her. Derra’s spells faltered as Paris sank his fangs into her neck, and the combo of Derra’s draining blood, and the onslaught of Jaserria’s spells finally ended her life. She fell, drained and lifeless, from Paris’s bloody lips.\n\nJaserria looked around her. An exhausted Sithraxxa kicked at Pronax’s lifeless form, and Ytroth pulled his spear from the corpse, limping over towards Jaserria. He gave them a thumbs up, smiled, and shouted.\n\n“YEAH!”\n\nThen Ytroth fell over, unconscious.\n\n\\ \\* \\\n\nIt was morning. Not a respectable time to be partying in a tavern, but when you have the night shift of monster hunting, you stop caring about respectable celebration schedules.\n\nThe group hadn’t quite brought themselves around to breaking up in the wake of their victory. Ytroth had already had a vast amount of Cider, and was recounting exaggerated tales of the fight, with his part growing each time. A freshly human Sithraxxa, drunk on her own weight in mead, was telling wilder tales, each of which put Ytroth into embarrassing situations during battle. Jaserria smiled and sipped her wine. She wouldn’t miss them. Not a chance. Working with them was irritating on every level. No way would she be sorry to see them go.\n\nAcross her table, Paris stared at her silently, the only one not drinking. He nodded at her. “Yeah, I did do good, didn’t I?” Paris didn’t move an inch. “You too Paris. You too.”\n\nThey never did get around to going off in their own separate directions. They overheard news that a werewolf wendigo lich and it’s army of brownies was menacing Venatville. And weren’t those monsters best fought with a team?", "A cold wind blew as frost covered the land. “Snow in July, how timely,” Sheeva said. She held a handful in her grasp before releasing her grip. Immune to all feeling, she did not winter’s teeth dig into her hand. Possessed by a demon in her youth, exorcizing it cost her sense of smell, her ability to feel, and she was cursed to remain forever awake—slumber a dream of the past.\n\n“To state the obvious,” Kaezer Artillus sneered. The giant of a man, cloaked in heavy armor, and wielding a monstrous sword, approached from behind. “Or did you not know the effect a dragon has on the landscape?” Unfortunately for him, his attire provided little insulation—the frost laden steel burned his skin.\n\n“You lack tact, tin man.” Carmela Le Strange hissed. “Is it no wonder a woman has not graced your chambers in years?\n\n“My body and soul are sewn to this armor—a bane I carry because of your clan of witches, Inquisitor. My freedom granted only when the last dragon is slain.” He turned to face her, words turning to hot steam. “I would use words cautiously witch. My last labor stands before me. And when I bed you, it will be everything but gracious.” They stared at each other, their animosity melting the snow.\n\n“Silence you fools,” said an ethereal voice. Marcus Van Hestenstine IV made his presence simultaneously felt everywhere and nowhere at all. The thinly shaped man, dressed in black, stood in front of the group. “We stand at the precipice of our journey and yet you still bicker like children.” His words were venom. “We are but a fortnight from the dragon’s lair. Let us be finished with this task so that we may never feel the scourge of one another again.” He proceeded without letting them answer.\n\nSheeva, absent of feeling as usual, glanced back at Artillus and Le Strange. The tension between the two had not let up. She glided after the vampire slayer, her footsteps barely leaving a track. Artillus, breaking his stare for a moment, looked back at the witch with disinterest. The armored titan trudged forward.\n\nLe Strange watched the group leave her behind. She muttered a curse under her breath, renewing her vowel to the dark god to murder them once their mission was completed. Le Strange felt her body rise off the ground and she launched into the atmosphere. \n\nBefore the group lay the last dragon. But this was no ordinary dragon. A vampire plague upon the Earth, not only was its body infested by a demon granting it strength beyond that of an ordinary dragon, it was also a deity coveted by a clan of sycophantic witches—their dark magic made it all but invincible.\n\nSlaying the dragon would require cooperation by all four, but only if they did not murder each other in the process.", "\"Are they there yet?\" Basil, the Dragon Slayer, asked, fiddling with his crossbow. \n\n\"Not yet,\" said the Inquisitor. \"Perhaps they can smell us and they fled. Witches are known for their cowardice.\" \n\n\"Excuse me?\" Alice said, sharpening one of her stakes.\n\n\"Not all witches, dear,\" Father David added with a placating gesture. \n\n\"Not most* witches. You realize that--\"\n\n\"Oh dear God, not again,\" Basil added with a groan. She glared at him. \"Nobody cares 'bout your Justice For Witches hullabaloo.\" \n\nThe tips of the grass near Alice caught fire, and Father David was quick to stamp them out.\n\n\"Like you've never gone to a healer-woman,\" she added before turning back to the clearing where the coven was supposed to meet. \n\n\"That's different and you know it,\" said the Inquisitor. \"A healer woman does not...\" \n\n\"Healer-women are witches with good advertising.\" \n\nThe Inquisitor glanced at the empty clearing and began sharpening one of his daggers. A healer-woman had saved his life as a child. Alice, despite her loud and annoying nature had also saved his life in the past few weeks. \n\nBasil grew uncomfortable with the Inquisitor's silence and the tightness of the Huntress' fists. \n\n\"I think we can all agree that, no matter what, the dragon's gotta go.\"\n\n\"Dragons are still God's creatures, my child,\" Father David said. \"It is a tragedy that this one has been so corrupted, of course, and we must end its life, but--\"\n\n\"So we are!\" Basil added with a smile. \"Fantastic. Good talk.\" \n\nThey sat in silence until they heard a handful of people on horseback rushing into the clearing. The party prepared to leap at any second. Seven witches jumped off their horses and began tracing a star in iron and salt. \n\n\"Now! Before they--\"\n\nAlice cut off the Inquisitor by grabbing his forearm. She whispered \"wait\", and the other two, having no experience with witches, decided to defer to her expertise as well. \n\nThe seven witches finished their heptagram and each sat inside one of the triangles to summon the beast to the clearing. \n\n\"Oh,\" the Inquisitor whispered as he parsed their chants. \"Good call. More birds for our stone.\" \n\nAlice nodded and lifted a hand. Just as the chant was approaching the two-thirds mark, she made a quick swipe in the air, and the four of them rushed at the coven. Trapped by their own rituals, the witches could only keep chanting as the Inquisitor killed the first two, and the Dragon Slayer killed the next three. \n\nThe three remaining witches managed to finish it, though, and as the inquisitor moved to strike his third kill, the Dragon appeared. A beast the size of three elephants, whose beating wings could send a child into the air. \n\nFather David's knees weakened, but he shared a look with the witch, and she nodded. With a resolve that only those on a holy mission can muster, he pulled out a rosary, took out a small book from his pocket, and began to read. \n\nThe beast recoiled as though attacked, a red light shining from within it. Basil recognized it immediately.\n\n\"Father--move, he's gonna--\" \n\n\"I've got him! Go!\" Alice shouted at him. Basil ran for the for the beast's back. The dragon's fire came, and caught the trees behind Father David, but Alice's protection left the both of them unscathed, a bubble of green light showing itself around them, where the fire had tried to destroy it. \n\nThe Inquisitor sheathed his dagger and pulled out his sword. He jabbed it in the space between the dragon's hip and femur with the precision of a surgeon, and the creature howled in agony instead of spewing out fire again. As its neck turned to face the Inquisitor, Basil clung to its scales. He had managed to climb up its back, and was now in the position a rider would seek, were any human mad enough to try to ride such a beast.\n\nHe pulled out one dagger, and jabbed it into its neck. Then another. Like a man climbing an ice wall, he pulled himself up to its head by digging holes into its flesh. The dragon turned away from the Inquisitor as it tried to shake off its hunter, but this wasn't Basil's first rodeo, and he clung to that beast enough that it did more damage to itself by trying to shake him than it did to him. \n\nThe Inquisitor, for his part, ran over to the dragon's other side, and cut between its other hip and femur. The beast beat its wings against him, knocking him into a tree, with only a brief burst of green light to cushion his landing. Perhaps inspired by his attack on the Inquisitor, the dragon tried to slam itself backwards against a tree, but Basil swiveled away from his spine and towards his throat at just the right moment. The beast jabbed itself with branches to no avail. The tears grew in its neck and blood rained out of it.\n\nBasil dug his feet into a pair of holes he had made earlier in his climb, pulled out one of the daggers, and ran the other one down the creature's throat to create an opening. Then, after pinning the dagger into the inside of the creature's throat, he pressed against it like a lever, reached into his vest pocket, and pulled out a vial. He uncorked it with his thumb, and poured the contents directly into the dragon's throat. It began to convulse so violently that he was thrown off. He braced himself for death, or pain, but instead he felt as though a pillow had found its way around him. \n\nAlice was holding him in a spell, and she softly set him down. He looked to her with relief before she gestured toward the Inquisitor, who was limping away from the tree. Basil nodded and rushed towards him, helping him make his way towards the witch and the priest, who were still protected by the spells. \n\nThe dragon convulsed until the life fell out of it, and Basil grinned. \n\n\"Well, looks like we're--\"\n\n\"Not yet,\" Alice said. \"Pull out your crossbow.\" \n\nBasil nodded, and at just the moment it seemed that the beast had drawn its last breath, it lifted itself up once again, crawling forward with its wings. Father David was bathed in light, and the beast still recoiled away from him. \n\n\"Go for his head, I'll for the heart,\" Alice said, and Basil nodded, a little paler now. \n\nUsually, when he killed a dragon, it didn't get back up. \n\nAlice drew a line in the dirt with her foot and sprinkled some powder on it. Then she nodded to Basil, and they charged. \n\nHe took out its left eye while she slid underneath his throat. It made a swipe at Alice with one wing, but she dodged it and made her way to his underside, stake in hand. She jabbed it into where she thought his heart could be, but found that she was wrong. A dragon's heart is deeper into its chest than other beasts' of comparable size, and so it mostly just frustrated the creature. Basil shot it in the jaw, and the beast had some idea. It flopped on the ground, pressing the weight of its body onto the witch. \n\n\"Alice!\" Basil screamed, only to realize that the beast had opened its mouth. He barely recognized the glow in time to rush behind Father David, whose surroundings were still protected. \n\n\"Oh God...\" Basil muttered, staring at the beast that now seemed immune to pain, immune to blood loss, immune to poison. His hands began to shake. He realized that only hope against the beast now laid beneath it, crushed. \"She's...\" \n\n\"Witches don't die so easy, kid.\" The Inquisitor said. Basil frowned.\n\n\"Then we have to help her--we have to--\"\n\nThe Inquisitor put a hand on his forearm. \"Not yet.\"\n\nBasil paused, and realized that the Inquisitor was using his other hand to point at the fire. Not the dragon's fire, but the fire from the trees, the fire that had grown all around them from the flapping of the creature's wings. \n\nThe fire was lifting up into the air, and leaving the trees, the grass, the bushes. It flew up into a ring, and then, like a snake swallowed the creature whole. \n\nThe dragon turned into a charred, stiff corpse, and Alice crawled out from under it. She was limping, and he hair was mostly gone, but she was alive and unharmed. \n\n\"Ready?\" \n\n\"Ready?! Isn't this done?!\" Basil shouted, feeling for his daggers before realizing they were still attached to the dragon's throat. \n\nFather David rose into the air, and the charred remains of the dragon moved again. Its outer layer fell on the ground as ash, and all that was left was a burnt skeleton, and a red glow. \n\nShe limped towards the trees they had hidden behind--most of them now leafless and charred--and took out three water-skins from her bag. \n\n\"I'm thirsty too, but--\"\n\n\"It's blessed,\" the Inquisitor added. She handed one to each of them, and they prepared. \n\nThe burnt skeleton, held together now only with the demon's will, tried to attack the priest, but failed, repelled by the white light and forces of good. \n\nFather David's light began to spread to the skeletal dragon. The inquisitor began shooting the water at the skeleton first, followed by Basil, followed by Alice. Further weakened by it, Father David's light took over, and the force that held the bones together vanished. They all collapsed, into a heap on the ground.\n\nFather David was lowered to the forest floor, and the Inquisitor, the Dragon Slayer, and the Vampire Huntress took this as permission to let themselves fall on the ground as well. ", "Stormy gray skies had writhed and molded until they were black as sin with crackling tongues of lightning that licked the earth in the distance. No chance for a fire to burn, less the blaze was equally as wicked. The flames burned well below when Marcus slid the telescope closed, \"It looks like the ceremony is underway.\" \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"You know what, bitch? I'm glad I dumped you. And your clothes? I already sold them to a homeless person.\" Lona sneered at Jezebel sheets of rain fell to earth. It may have been a killing chill to mortal men, but it was a wasted effort to contain the fire that burned in the eyes of Lona. Marcus had seen that same hatred applied to Lona's favorite prey: witches, warlocks, all those who used arcane energy to spite the Divines. He had his distaste for the Inquisitor clad in scarlet and black armor. He also had an equal dislike for the Huntress who wore black and silver. \n\nThe latter, Jezebel, huffed and said, \"All those times I said I was too busy for date night? I lied, I just didn't want to go home and hear you killing another witch. It was always the same story: Oooo, Jezebel, I tracked this witch down! She tried to use her spells, but my faith in the Divines kept me oh so protected. I used my whip or my knife to kill her. At least the stories I told had some adventure to them!\" Jezebel turned on Marcus and said, \n\n\"What did you say?\" She snapped at Marcus.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Oh, I'm sorry, go ahead and have it out. I mean, it's just an attempt by the Blackwald Coven to bring darkness upon the Land and everything we hold dear, but a man knows the real crucial conflict when he sees 'em. Take your time. I'm sure the world can wait.\" \"You know, it was because of that attitude Marcus that I divorced your ass for Lona,\" Jezebel said.\n\nMarcus growled under his breath. What a time for heroes to come together? A leather-clad Vampire Huntress, the best with knife or stake. The most powerful of the Inquisitors, who knew every protection and count spell to their hellish magic. While not one to boast of his abilities, the red-haired Marcus was as strong as ten men. With some solid ground to hurl himself from, he could easily leap into the air onto any beasts back. That left the last of their party, the most powerful caster he knew. The High Prelate, Septimus Proudie. He had his arms crossed over his chest as he stared down the path towards village they had left behind.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"You ready, Septimus?\" Marcus asked. The women continued to exchange glares. He wanted to depend on the Prelate and his fellow male to be the stabilizing force in the party. Perhaps he hoped for too much? It was an ill omen that the Prelate narrowed his eyes and jerked his head towards Marcus, \"Oh? Now you want to call me by my title. You want to act like you value a damn thing I've got to say.\" Septimus' teeth ground his teeth between words.\n\n\"What's wrong now, nerd?\" Lona asked.\n\n\"To hell with you too, Inquisitor!\" Septimus shouted over the storm, \"You want to act your so big and bad, I remember when Jezebel dumped your ass. You were sobbing in the confessional for a week. All three of you have turned and dropped trousers to me for months, showing me your asses. I guess you thought I was going to turn the other damn cheek.\"\n\n\"I was just funning with you,\" Jezebel threw up her defense. Her voice tapered off. She found herself more concerned with keeping damp hair out of her eyes than meeting Septimus' gaze. \"Have to always take it personally.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"What do you have to say, 'Sir' Marcus? You want to keep bragging how you had more dates than I have? That I'd spend my life with nose in a book? Sorry, I didn't get out there and brain people with wooden swords, too busy learning how to banish demons from the world-\"\n\nAnother crackle of lightning tore through the sky and drove itself into the ground not far from where the group stood. A bright blue flame emerged from the point of impact. It served a reminder that strong magic was in the air. In the valley below, the terrible wyrm named Piosenna the Beast would rise to drink her fill of blood and slaughter. Marcus turned at the four of them and said, \"Alright. Fine... we don't like each other. Jezebel, you broke my heart and took half of the assets when you divorced me to date Lona. Lona, it's apparent that you and Jezebel didn't get along during your time together, and I think we can all say... sorry Septimus for... showing our asses... that was a very longwinded thing you said.\"\n\nA great cacophonous roar tore through the valley. Marcus needed no other prompting to get to the point, \"The thing is! We need each other now. So, let's spend a little time with those we hate to save the world. Then we can hash out our problems in a group setting, alright?\" He looked between the three of them. He received a nod from his ex-wife, a shrug from his ex-wife's ex-girlfriend, and a frown from the nerd he knew whom he needed to work alongside. Marcus took that as the best he was going to get.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Alright, team, let's go down there and do what we do best.\" He turned away from them. Mud suckled his boots as he stomped through the newly formed sludge towards the path that would take him to the ceremony site. He smiled a little as he heard the other boots trudge after him.", "\"Hey, stake-fingers, hands off the sword.\"\n\n\"I have a _name_,\" said the non-stake-fingered vampire hunter, whose name was Valentina. \"And 'hands off the sword' isn't something I get very often.\"\n\nThe Dragon Slayer stared at her dumbly for a moment, then narrowed his eyes, then flushed. \"Stop that.\"\n\n\"Stop what?\"\n\n\"Flirting. You're awfully promiscuous.\"\n\n\"So's your mom.\" Valentina made a noise that sounded like a self-satisfied chuckle, although the Dragon Slayer — Balfour the Brave — would've asked if she was choking on garlic.\n\nHe didn't get a chance to ask, and Valentina subsequently couldn't respond with what he could choke on, because a severe shadow appeared suddenly in the doorway.\n\n\"Halt!\" cried Balfour the Brave.\n\nValentina simply moved her hands back to his sword — the metal one — and continued inspecting it, absolutely blasé.\n\n\"I come in peace, unless ye be witches.\"\n\nWhen the figure stepped into the light, the pair of warriors-at-odds saw that he was dressed all in black, but for his little white clerical tag: he was a man of religion.\n\n\"Ew, Christianity,\" said Valentina.\n\n\"Vampires are unholy beings, coffin-nailer. God is on your side.\"\n\n\"The side of me that doesn't care. Oh wait, that's both sides.\"\n\n\"I see,\" said the religious man, \"that thou be holy of mind and body, though none be without sin. I am the Witch Inquisitor Heinz— \"\n\n\"Like the ketchup?\"\n\n\"—here to take up arms against the powerful coven that here resides.\"\n\n\"There is no coven here, Heinz, only a Vampire Dragon.\"\n\n\"We should call it a Vampgon. A Drampire. Or we could just name it after me.\"\n\nHeinz shook his bald head, eyes young but agelessly tired. \"I have pursued them for centuries, knight. Yet I do not blame you for ignorance; the mind is a muscle, to be exercised like any other, and your priorities are visible upon your person.\"\n\n\"Now, wait a minute, you God-playing girl-killer— \"\n\nValentina held up a finger. \"I think that was flirting, too, but okay.\"\n\n\"—I have more brains than a whale, and whales are really big, so, yeah.\"\n\nEven Heinz winced at that, although Valentina outright laughed.\n\n\"Listen, bud,\" she said. \"You've clearly got the wrong monster. But if you wanna rough up the unholiest of the unholy— Well, how do you think a Vampire Dragon baby gets made?\" When, instead of responding, the two men only made vaguely disgusted expressions, she rolled her eyes. \"Hint: not immaculate conception.\"\n\n\"Say no more, wench, I beg of you,\" said the poor Witch Inquisitor.\n\n\"Beg on your knees, and maybe— \"\n\nFortunately for all parties in attendance, Valentina was cut mercifully short: the door burst in.\n\nA scaled tail swept through the sitting room, smashing the furniture and thoroughly tripping Heinz until he lay in a clumsy heap on the floor. Valentina fared only slightly better; she fell, but leapt quickly to her feet.\n\n\"Garlic-sucker! My sword!\"\n\n\"Pecs-for-brains!\" Valentina shouted back. \"Your sword!\" Though it was surprisingly heavy, she tossed it to him, fumbling the throw only slightly.\n\n\"Many thanks!\"\n\n\"Screw you kindly!\"\n\nHeinz, having just finished fighting himself, was promptly knocked over again as a large Vampire Dragon ear brushed past him.\n\nValentina danced about the various flailing bits of the monster, but Balfour, despite his infuriating nicknames, fared much better. He even had some lovely phrases as: \"Eat a sword, lizard-spawn,\" and: \"Die, you land-lubbing tadpole.\"\n\nBut though they tried in earnest, they were rapidly tiring, and the beast was not. Balfour's sword had done its damage, spilling oily blood everywhere — the usual amount to kill a dragon — and Valentina's stakes and garlic had elicited some shriveling and smoke — the usual amount to kill a vampire.\n\nAnd then, quietly, there was a voice.\n\n\"Hello, darlings,\" it said. \"Having a bit of trouble?\"\n\n\"A smidge,\" said Balfour.\n\n\"Grmph,\" said Heinz, falling down again unceremoniously.\n\n\"I am Gretel,\" continued the voice, \"exorcist supreme, the best demon banisher in the realm.\"\n\nValentina, out of breath, whirled around toward the voice. \"Yeah, well, this isn't a demon; it— Oh. Wow.\"\n\nGretel swept past them in a flourish, airy and bright. She began to chant, in Latin, golden hair twirling down her back, dress fluttering in the winds of battle.\n\nBalfour had not stopped hacking away at the Vampire Dragon.\n\nBut as Gretel chanted, the monster began to shudder, first in little fits — then, in larger shivers, shaking and quivering until it seemed to vibrate, sending Balfour to retreat off a distance. Her chants grew louder, and stronger, and —\n\nAnd dark shadow roiled off the corpse of the Vampire Dragon, which now collapsed to the ground with a thunderous boom.\n\n\"Many thanks, Latinate simpleton,\" Balfour said, \"for stealing all the glory.\"\n\n\"Yeah,\" said Valentina. She didn't have much to add, but settled on: \"And Latin's a dead language anyway.\"\n\n\"_Excuse_ me? I just exorcised the— \"\n\n\"_I_ slayed the dragon. It wouldn't have just collapse if I hadn't— \"\n\n\"You are _infuriatingly_ attractive, but also, like, came in last minute and tried to steal all the credit— \"\n\n\"—_massive, terrifying hell-spawn residing within that_—\"\n\n\"—valiantly saved the day, not that I need constant reassurance or anything— \"\n\n\"—you must've been fun in group projects— \"\n\n\"Friends! Friends, cast thy gaze upon this sight!\" Heinz, during the bickering, had risen to unsteady feet. Now, he all but bounced up and down, waving a finger in a vague direction.\n\n\"What now, you Christ-serving klutz?\"\n\n\"The coven!\" Heinz shouted, entirely too excited.\n\nBalfour slumped against a barely-intact wall, looking weary and worn. Even Valentina, still in a fighting stance, breathed heavily, though she made no inclination to rest.\n\n\"I don't suppose you know how to fight witches, Gretel?\"\n\n\"Darling, however do you think I learned the ancient art of exorcism? I studied with witches!\"\n\n\"Wait,\" said Heinz.\n\nBalfour brightened. \"Simply befriend them, damsel of dark magic!\"\n\n\"Wait,\" said Heinz.\n\n\"We could have an orgy,\" said Valentina.\n\n\"_Wait_,\" said Heinz, the word coming out much more scandalized and strangled than before.\n\nGretel's eyes lit up. \"A splendid idea! Befriending them, not the orgy.\"\n\nAnd as the witches ventured up the hill, murder in their black eyes and tatters in their black clothes, Gretel walked quietly to meet them.\n\n\"Sisters!\" she called. \"I come in peace!\"\n\n\"How do you think she comes when— \"\n\n\"Sinful wench!\" Heinz and Balfour scolded in unison.\n\nThe witches slowed their vengeful pace, and stopped before the demon exorcist. In one voice, echoing and strange, they spoke to Gretel.\n\n\"Sister,\" they said. \"Why has our beast been killed?\"\n\n\"He was tainted, dark ladies, by the Court of Blood and spawn of Hell.\"\n\nFrantically, the witches muttered amongst themselves. After a few tense moments of discussion, they seemed to reach a precarious consensus.\n\n\"We want no part in impurity,\" they said, and voices rose up: \"Purity,\" they said, \"Clean, untainted.\" They muttered more, then continued: \"We will spare you and your party. But beware of us in the future, mortal things, for our vengeance is a terror, and our grudges run deeper than ravines of bones.\"\n\n\"Thank you, dark ladies.\"\n\nAnd, just like that, the witches left.\n\nGretel made her way back up the hill, to the party that was not really hers.\n\n\"Nice,\" said Valentina.\n\n\"Very,\" agreed Balfour.\n\n\"Thou stole my chance for glory,\" Heinz complained.\n\nValentina ran her fingers lightly along Balfour's sword, which was still coated in slick dragon blood. \"Well,\" she began. \"Obviously, I hate you all.\"\n\n\"Seconded.\"\n\n\"Darling, I met you less than an hour ago.\"\n\n\"Thou are— \"\n\n\"Shut up,\" Valentina said without batting an eye. \"As I was saying: maybe Heinz could have... another chance for glory.\"\n\n\"I highly doubt that.\"\n\n\"Just listen, sword-swallower.\" Valentina ran her blood-slicked hand through her already frizzy hair. \"There's this creature, in the Sun Eater Mountains. Real scary thing. Long fingers.\"\n\n\"Sounds... promising.\"\n\n\"Easy.\" Gretel betrayed the ghost of a smile. \"But... fun.\"\n\n\"Frightening.\"\n\n\"I'll tell you more,\" said Valentina, her tone just vaguely excited, just barely hopeful. \"There's a legend — a prophecy, if you're like Heinz, and believe in those — and, legend has it...\"", "\"We need to kill a what?\" \n\nSometimes, just sometimes, Gwen was positive she chose the wrong career. She was in her late twenties, still in the optimal range to squeeze out a kid or two, and had a nice face. Not a pretty face, just a nice one. If she tried, she could be the nice, stay-at-home mom she often sneered at when she was shopping at Old Navy. The pretty, shallow subverters of female power and independence. God, she hated them. \n\n\"Listen, only you four can accomplish this task. This may seem like a joke, but I assure you that is not the case,\" Mr. Q, the senior supernatural specialist, tried to convey this to the group. Gwen always liked Q. He was the perfect substitute for the grandfathers she never got to meet and always made her smile. \n\n\"Sorry, Quick, but I work solo here. Remember?\" Jared McWorthy. Handsome. Blonde. Arrogant. The leather-clad dreamboat was a celebrity at the S.E.C. HQ. He was a smooth talker and could get any female, human or creature, in his bed. Despite his renowned \"fascination\" with nymphs, he took up dragon slaying and is now a top hunter in his field. \n\n\"Sorry, McWorthy, but I assign missions and write your checks here. Remember?\" Q shot back without batting an eyelash. Jared's bright smile dimmed a bit, and Gwen tried her best not to laugh. \n\n\"Q, please! Rethink this,\" the man standing next to Jared asked. He was readjusting his glasses what seemed like the seventh time since the came to Q's office, and Gwen wondering if the thin redhead was ever bullied when he was younger. Honestly, he screamed \"nerd\". \n\n\"Nigel, I assure you there is nothing to rethink. You lot will do fine.\" Q was handing out the files now, and Gwen almost swallowed the gum she was chewing. Nigel? As in, Nigel Matherly? The prodigal witch inquisitor that discovered the Serpent Head Coven's den last year? This guy, in his pressed khakis and turtleneck sweater, was that Nigel? What a world they lived in...\n\n\"I just think it's dangerous to have all of us tackling such a beast. Wouldn't it be better to have maybe one or two go?\" Nigel asked and gently plucked his file from Gwen's grasp. His fingernails looked nicer than hers. \n\n\"Oh, really? Like who?\" Q was looked tired of this now. Gwen wondered if his leg was hurting him and tried to peak at him behind his desk. \n\n\"Well, if the vampiric dragon is really being controlled by witches, it would be better to send me out first. I could find them before this week's end. Maybe quicker.\"\n\n\"Yeah, and that dragon will toast your scrawny red ass before you can even call for backup,\" Jared sang with a smile. The buff man next to Gwen let out a short bark of laughter, and Nigel's cheeks went red. \n\n\"Exactly,\" Q interjected, \"This is something you four must do together. We can get you to Indiana by plane. Our target was last seen spotted over Lake Michigan. The coven should be nearby.\" \n\n\"Wait.\" The buff man next to Gwen held up his hand, and she was surprised by how many scars trailed down his dark arms. Some were slashes. Others so deep and jagged it looked like someone ripped through his flesh with rusted nails. Gwen pulled the sleeve of her salmon hoodie without meaning to. \n\n\"Yes, Adam?\" \n\n\"That's so close to the border. Too close. Are they aiming for Canada?\" Adam asked. Adam Johnson. Gwen heard rumors that even his name was an alias. A mysterious man with no background. Tall, African American and fierce. His composure and hair spoke military, but no records could be found. All anyone knew was that he was an exceptional vampire slayer. \n\n\"If they do, that's out of our jurisdiction,\" Nigel muttered. \n\n\"We don't know, but we have no time to take chances.\" Q stood up, revealing his prosthetic leg. He lost it in a demon congregation raid. He said he didn't mind, but Gwen saw the look in his wife's eyes every time the old hunter walked through their living room. \n\n\"You four are the best in your fields. Only you can stop this mess before it gets out of hand,\" Q said and walked out from behind his desk. \"The U.S. division of S.E.C. is counting on you.\" \n\nJared raised his hand, similar to that of a grade school child, and Q looked like he wanted to punch he once and for all.\n\n\"What is it now?\"\n\n\"Yeah, that's great and all, but... Well...\" He paused and made a quick glance at Gwen. The other two saw her and also looked uncomfortable. Gwen was at least seventy percent sure she knew where this was heading. \n\n\"What is it?\" Q asked innocently. Gwen was now envisioning herself married to a young, military man. \n\n\"I have nothing against her being here, but something like this may be hard for her to do, Q. She could get hurt.\" Her fantasy military man was funny, respected her and agreed with everything she said. \n\n\"She has a name,\" Nigel hissed to the dumb dragon slayer. Gwen's imaginary husband said he would prefer it if he stayed at home and took care of their kids. \n\n\"She hasn't spoken this entire time,\" Jared shot back. Oh, what was she thinking? They didn't have kids. They only had dogs. He said he loved her too much to have her go through the physical pain of child birth. \n\n\"Maybe if you guys weren't so rude, she would say something,\" Adam cut in. He looked down on Gwen with dark brown eyes. They almost looked warm. \"What's your name, miss?\"\n\nGwen cleared her throat. If she finished this job quick, she could be home and back to watching Criminal Minds. Matthew Gray Gubler's brown eyes were the only ones for her.\n\n\"Gwen Thompson. Pleased to meet you all,\" she said in that high-pitched voice of hers. She hated her voice. She sounded like a bird for God's sake. The others smiled at her, obviously wondering who she was and why she was with them, a group of highly skilled supernatural exterminators, and, as if in response to their curiosity, she picked up her her emergency duffle bag and was heading to the door.\n\n\"I'm headed for the jet, Q! Don't forget to feed the Mr. Doofenstein! Love you! Bye-bye!\" Just mentioning her mutated thirty-pound gerbil was enough to make Gwen want to get home faster. The trio of young men were looking at Q for answers, and he only smiled.\n\n\"I mentioned the vampiric dragon was possessed by a demon, no?\" They all nodded. Q jerked his thumb at a retreating Gwen. \"That's your demon exorcist.\" \n\nGwen could feel the disbelief and shock behind her but kept her head forward as she headed out the door and for the S.E.C. airstrip. Her holy water canisters were filled, and she had just been searching through the Book of Joshua for words that would weaken the demon. If all else failed, she would be drawing a huge demonic circle and trapping the dragon for good. Witches be damned. There was only so much they could do.\n\n\"Have a good day, Gwen,\" a secretary called as she exited. She smiled back and looked up at the sign hanging above the airstrip's doorway.\n\n*Supernatural Exterminator Corp. Airstrip - North Exit\n\n\"Hey! Wait up, Gwen!\" It was Jared. He and the other two were hustling to catch up with her. Gwen ran her hand through her knotty brown hair, wondered again if she chose the wrong career, decided she would turn Lake Michigan into a giant holy water basin and smiled at her newfound team mates. \n\nIt was going to be a long* trip.\n\n\"Don't keep me waiting, boys. Girl's got a bloodthirsty demonic dragon to slay. Oh, and witches. I'll be taking point on them too, so you boys can sit back and just follow my orders.\"", "From land afar came the wise,\na collection of masters in disguise,\nTo slay the beast was the request, \nAchieving that was not the test,\nEven tho they had great skill,\nTheir conquest brought a chill,\nTo every man that heard them speak,\nWords that would make a sailor squeak,\nNo one could say for certain,\nIf they would have to pull the curtain,\nOn a summon rarely shown,\nThat the beast was worse than known,\nPerhaps humanity was lost,\nOr they could not to speak words of frost.\nSave us from the darkest fate,\nOh you masters of hate.\n", "\"How the hell does a dragon get possessed by demon?\" Asked the Vampire hunter as he added more wooden stakes to his utility belt, \"I thought only human souls could be possessed\".\n\n\"With witches anythings possible\", replied the Witch Inquisitor who was tying the laces to her thigh high leather boots.\n\n\"Shows what the fuck you two know\", sneered the Dragon slayer, polishing his sword. \"Any fool who's done a little bit of research knows dragons are humans who escaped the eternal pit of damnation by making a deal with the 9 demon lords to horde gold for 5 thousand years. For the chance to live again, hence a human soul\".\n\n\"Right, anyone off the street would know that\", the Witch inquisitor leered, frankly ticked off.\n\n\"I knew that\", chimed in the Demon exorcist who was practicing blowing bubbles with his bubblicious gum.\n\n\"Well duh you pink haired idiot\". The Vampire hunter was easily offended, which is why he took on a career that payed him to stake loudmouth, bloodsucker's in the heart. Also, sometimes in the face if they were really annoying.\n\n\"Listen boys\", the Witch inquisitor began, \"just because we're working together doesn't mean we have to like it, let's get this done quickly so we never have to see each other again, or at least until the next vampire, demon possessed dragon controlled by witches pops up\".\n\n\"Good fucking plan\", replied the Dragon Slayer.\n\n\"You have a foul mouth\", said the Demon exorcist who was stretching it out in downward dog.\n\n\"My boyfriend likes my mouth just fine\", he answered back.\n\n\"Thanks for that image, of course the jerk is in a loving relationship\", the Witch inquisitor rolled her eyes.\n\n\"I really am\".\n\n\"What a jerk? Or in a loving relationship?\" She asked.\n\n\"Both\". The Dragon slayer chortled nastily.\n\n\"Is everyone ready? lets get this fucking over with\". The Vampire Hunter screwed the cap onto the bottle of holy water that hung awkwardly from his neck.\n\n\"I love it when you take charge\", said the Demon exorcist dreamily.\n\nIt was going to be a long night.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;" ]	[ 1, 1, 2, 2, 4, 9, 13, 45, 99 ]	[ "1541704489", "1541781819", "1541746601", "1541749445", "1541739344", "1541740322", "1541741150", "1541715151", "1541731656" ]
	[WP] You're a police officer in a horror movie, but actually competent.	7,678	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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'm a dungeon master so I used this prompt to create a quest that may be modified to any edition and placed in any world, anyone is welcome to take it and use it:\n\nThe Horror from Below:\n\nNPC Sherriff Dalton in a college where students and professors keep disappearing for the last few months, but the number keeps growing. Dalton is intelligent and well respected. She is also an adept fighter that used to adventure until she settled down with her wife, Madison, who is a professor at the college. Dalton has tried to get Madison to take a break and stay at home until the danger has passed, but Madison assures her that she can take care of herself (possible wizard?). During the adventure, Madison is captured, and the party must race against the clock to find her in time. Dalton joins party depending on how party interactions go. If the party drags it out too much, they will find Madison’s body and Dalton will be heartbroken but desperate to kill the Mind Flayer, taking risks. If she lives the fight, she will leave the town that she feels she failed to protect.\n \nNPC Jerrick is the head of the college. He is blunt and rude, believing his intelligence makes him superior to the party and Dalton. He is pushy and demanding that the mysteries around his college be resolved. He is unsympathetic when Madisongo missing and Dalton may punch him if they end up interacting together, which could get Madison fired in the end. This would cause Dalton and Madison to move towns and possibly bump into the party again later.\n \nMain villain: Mind Flayer that was found by a professor, Andrego (an elven master with animals), in the Underdark as a tadpole, he was using it as a study and feeding it brains from recently dead corpses. It grew and went rogue as it craved fresh and intelligent brains. It’s intelligent enough to cover its tracks. It currently resides in an abandoned mine located under the college. Lone Mind Flayer CR 7.\n \nInvestigation will reveal that there is a grave robber in the town. People are suspicious that these are the consequences for that mystery going unsolved. Evidence will point towards Andrego, who will be in denial but also feels guilt and after being pushed by the party, will admit he has been searching for it himself. He knows details about the Mind Flayer and can help the party narrow down where to look for it as well as any weaknesses it has. Also, it is possible to discover Andrego’s research notes and secret area that the Mind Flayer had been kept. If the party lets too much of their investigation slip, it could cause a riot of the town against the college. Andrego may be murdered by people, otherwise he will flee.\n\nPossible rewards: coin from the town, the Mind Flayer carcass which can be sold, a cursed ring of luck (from the body of one of the Mind Flayer's victims, a talisman to protect against stuns (gift from Andrego if party befriends him).", "I didn’t think I would be a police officer on one of these runs, but hey, it seemed appealing.\n\nUsually, I stick to the normal office jobs, boring stuff, you know? Paperwork, coffee breaks, whatever.\n\nTurns out, it’s pretty much the same, except sometimes, I get to drive out and hunt some idiot down for breaking the law. There’s also the jargon which I didn’t actually bother learning about. I just wave my hand and they hear what they wanna hear, so that one less annoyance gone at the very least. Generally though, it’s been some of the most ‘general’ fun I’ve had that didn’t involve a relationship. \n\nOf course, there would be that one time where shit gets flipped on its back and get forced to take a rod to the throat. And that my friends, happened one quiet night during a little patrol I decided to do.\n\nI say patrol, but I was just dozing off in a parking lot when I got a call from the office that there’s something going on in a nearby neighborhood. Someone screaming for help, then the call cut off. \n\nNow, the first thing to come to mind was, ‘Oooooo! Something interesting!’ So I headed over, excited for what I’ll find. I kept bouncing in my seat, giggling. Yup, giggling. Fuck you, I do what I want. \n\nBack to reality, I got to the address I was given and it immediately made me grin. The house I was in front of was broken down and decrepit, made of dying wood and shit. \n\nSuddenly the radio crackled to life and I answered just as quick, saying that nothing is happening and that I don’t need back up.\n\n“HELP ME!” I smirked. Nothing at all. This is my fun.\n\nI parked my car and ran towards the house, following where the scream came from. Pulling out the gun they gave me with one hand, I illuminated the way with my pocket torch in the other. “HEY! WHO’MST IN THERE?”\n\nI stepped up into the porch and I immediately knew that I would be able to hear any footsteps. It’s that kind of floor.\n\nI kicked down the door, which wasn’t hard, and was faced with what looked like some alien crab or something. Think Half Life. It screeched at me and tried to lunge at my face, before exploding from the bullet I shot at it. \n\nAs I stared at it’s lifeless corpse, I knelt down to see what exactly I was looking at.\n\n“What are bullets, but high velocity knives?” I echoed from a recent memory. As I did, the floor in front of me started creaking like people were running on it.\n\n“HELP US!” Three teens, two guys and a girl, came into view, something hulking behind them. I let them run as I stood my ground, wanting a look at who was chasing them. “HEY! PLEASE!”\n\n“Just get behind me.” I simply said as I escorted them outside slowly, closing the door I kicked down behind me. Surprisingly, as we walked (well, I walked. Those lunatics ran.) out onto the yard of the house, nothing happened. \n\n“Alright, so what seems to be the problem?” I calmly asked the poor saps. What followed next was a blabbering mixture of crying, puking and trying to explain what just happened with frantic words. I was able to piece together something concrete though. Something something teenage podcast, something something, trying to get famous, something two guys dead, something something aliens are real and tried to devour them.\n\n“Mmhmm, alright. I can handle this.” I nodded with my hands on my hips. \n\nOne of the guys ran up to me, panting heavily. He looks like he’s been through shit. “WHAT?! DID YOU EVEN SEE IT?! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO-“ Before he could finish, the door exploded open and I turned around to meet a giant worm thing. Like... a centipede on mega steroids, if that makes sense.\n\nIt was huge, that’s for sure. I mean, hey, what kind of monster isn’t more effective when it’s big? When it’s abilities do the talking for them, duh. Like, that crab spider. Probably was trying to leech onto my mouth or something and I’m getting off topic here.\n\n“SHOOT IT! KILL IT!” I remembered where I was and looked up at the massive, goopy, fleshy worm. Putting away my gun, I just turned to the group and started pushing them towards my car. “I’m going to need you guys to get in the car. I’ll handle this.” They didn’t even wait before running and shoving themselves into the backseat of my squad car.\n\nThe alien let out a guttural howl behind me and I winced. “Goddamnit. As if something actually manages to be more annoying than nails on a goddamn chalkboard.” I snapped my fingers as I walked to my car and instantly, the noise stopped, as if someone simply pressed the pause button. There was a deep rumbling before the slimy sound of something exploding, followed by goops of something hitting the ground. I saw the faces of the terrified idiots in my car as I got in and started the engine, “Told you.” \n\n“B-but... h-how... what... who are you...?” I revved up the engine as I looked at the mess of slime and disgusting body parts all over the place. With a wave of my hand, the area was clean and quiet once more.\n\n“The name’s Bronwyn, if that helps.” I chuckled as I drove the poor kids down to the hospital.", "The call came in around 11:15pm PST for a noise complaint. Apparently, some teenagers had been screaming their heads off and the neighbors had called it in. Officer Riley and I got to the scene and stepped out of our patrol vehicle around 11:22pm and the street was quiet except the screams coming from in the house. Riley tried to go right up to the damned house without thinking.\n\n\"HEY! We need to call this in.\"\n\n\"Can't you hear them?! They need our help?\" Riley retorted, heat in her voice. \n\n\"Not without calling it in first.\" \n\nI leaned back into the car, taking the receiver from its stand and I began requesting backup when I saw a figure with a knife walk steadily but completely silently behind Riley. \n\nImmediately, I unholstered my weapon and screamed \"Knife!\" looking directly at the perp.\n\nAs they raised their knife with lethal intent, I fired 3 rounds into their center of mass. The assailant crumpled to the ground, Riley shouting in surprise. \n\nThe rest of the night was filled with flashing lights, the taking of statements, and the removal of corpses from the house.", "“Smith! We got a noise complaint, go check it out- small neighbourhood on north street 34 house probably nothing”\n\nFucking a minute off my shift dammit \n“Yes chief” I’m not a pussy I just gotta keep this job okay.\n\nSo twenty minutes later I’m coming up on north street, a small town skittering the edge of civilisation. Towns quieter then it usually is, I mean it’s usually a numbing experience patrolling this area but tonight’s Halloween. No kids running around no nothing.\nI’m around the corner from the address and a mask clad figure suddenly appears in the road carrying a machete. Alright what is this shit, he’s way past the trick or treatin’ age.\n\nI stop the car, ready my gun and pull up my speaker. “Sir stop right there!” \nHalfway through the road the guy stops and slowly looks at me. Alright fuck it.\n\nI open my door and point my gun at the freak. \nHe starts making his way toward me. I’m not waiting for him to come over here.\n“Fuck you then” \nI press the trigger of my colt 45 and it lands a piece of lead in his right calf, dropping him to one knee.\n\nBut then he rises. Alright then, this is fucked.\nI unload the rest of my clip into his chest and he falls back like a bag of bricks. I reload and make my way towards him. The fuck am I getting within grabbing distance of him though fuck that.\n\nHe just lies there, but I’m not taking any chances.\nI start firing into his face until the gun gives me a telling click and I reload it. I usually fumble this shit but for some reason tonight’s different. I’m on my game baby. I got a cocker spaniel at home that needs his good shit. \n\nI run to the still running patrol car, and put it in gear. Jesus I think I see movement but I don’t have time to think about that. Pressing my foot hard on the pedal the car skidders and launches forward, the car gets hit square in the face by the Nutjob and I lurch forward and feel something smack me on the jaw. The steering wheel has slick of my bloody lip juice on it.\n\nLeaving the car to grapple the corpse I stumble to the boot and pull out a shotgun. Moving back around the front I start unloading into the masks somehow intact face. Blood splatters up me with each shot. A hand reaches to grab my ankle and I leap falling to my back, one shot left. I turn my aim from his increasingly flapping body and fire on the engine.\n\nOkay fuck it didn’t blow up like I’d hoped but petrol is leaking all over. I pull myself up.\nI take my lighter out. Mum always did tell me smoking kills, well let’s hope she’s right.", "It was 12:11pm. I had only been on my lunch break for eleven minutes, eating a chicken sandwich parked across the road from the gates of a local high school. This was my usual spot to take break since it made me feel like I was still doing my duty even though I was stuffing my face at the same time. Got to protect our future. Though I was grateful for the sacrifice every chicken made for the sake of mankind. The police radio was busy, there were a lot of strange attacks going on. Domestic violence calls, physical assaults, along with breaking and entering. It was way more than what would usually be going on around this time. Something was off, I could feel it. But nothing was going on near my area. There was a class going on in the courtyard, students were doing outside physical ED. The weather was great for it, so seemed like a good idea to me. But then some guy in a business suit came shuffling up to the school gates. His face was pale, and he was walking like he might have stayed out drinking too late with his buddies.\n\nI put my half-eaten sandwich down and watched. He bumped into the gates rails, like he didn’t realize they were there. Again and again he would bump into them. I kept watching until finally the coach from the class walked up to the gate. Don’t bother the man, he’ll go away, eventually. I knew this coach though; he had a short temper for a stubby man. He was pretty uptight about fitness, but he didn’t seem like the type to practice what he preaches. When he’s not talking about fitness, he talked about the school and how he’s an alumnus. He really cared about this place, that's why he worked there. He likes to act like the school is his sanctuary. However, he seems like the type people should keep their eye on… Though, being a cop shouldn’t judge him. He fussed at the man at the gate, I couldn’t hear anything, but I could see it in the coaches expressions.\n\nThe man kept bumping into the gate, ignoring him. The coach took out a walkie talkie and said a few things and walked away. The man kept bumping into the gate, this reminded me of something but I don’t remember… A cartoon I think, though it's been years since I seen it, I forget its name. I picked back up my sandwich and continued to savor the chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo served on a freshly baked bun. It was delicious. Moments later the coach came back. Five minutes before I go back on duty. Behind the coach followed the school Principal and Vice Principal. The Principal looked like he was trying to persuade the man at the gate to leave. He sweated profusely. Constantly wiping away the sweat from his forehead. He had a receding hair line, though I’m sure tons of stress caused it, since he deals with a lot on a daily basis. The Vice Principal was a tall lady, taller than both the Principal and the Coach, but she was a beautiful brunette. I believe she is much older than me but aging seemed to be in her favor.\n\nNothing seemed to get through to the man continuously bumping into the gate. One minute till I go on duty. The coach seemed to get upset and grabbed the man. The man stopped moving. In almost a blink he bent his body in an unnatural way and bit the coaches arms. The Coach fell to the ground with blood spurting from the wound. The Vice Principal and Principal hauled the Coach away. But if my intentions are correct, this is bad, and I’m not about to have a highschool of the dead situation on my hands. It was time for duty.\n\nI unbuckled my seat belt, called the station and told them what was going on, but I was going in. I pulled my baton off the side of my belt, got out of my car and ran towards the business man. His face was covered in the coaches blood.\n\n“Hey!” I shouted, it turned towards me and let out a menacing groan. “Mhnnnagh!” Just as I expected. His eyes were all white. His blood veins were all blue and could be seen through his pale skin. He looked like someone who had been dead for a long time.\n\n“Police!”\n\nMy baton hit the side of his head, using my old baseball swing. I was a former college baseball player before becoming a Police officer. I was also the pinch hitter. The body of the man went limp and almost did a full flip but instead crashed face first into the ground. He wasn’t getting back up. Not with that damage.\n\nEven though the zombie man was taken care of, we still had a problem. The gate was locked, good, but I needed to get inside. Luckily, I used to practice parkour. So, I stepped back and faced the wall. I sprinted towards it, jumped, planted one foot firmly on the surface of the wall and pushed my self up to grab the ledge. I pulled myself over and dropped down the side of the wall and sprinted towards the school building.\n\nOnce inside the Principal was on the intercom, he was explaining the situation with the coach before being cut off by a similar moan sound. He panicked, but he had left the mic on, so the entire school heard all of it. I drew my gun and hurried towards the faculty office.\n\nWhen I arrived outside the faculty office, I heard the Vice Principal scream, I kicked the door open, and fired. Down went the Principal, down went the coach. I walked over to the Vice Principal.\n\n“Have you been bitten?”\n\nShe shook in fright, but nodded.\n\n“Then I’m sorry... At least you get to go out, while still being human.”\n\nI lifted my gun, she shouted, “What are you doing, are you insane!?”\n\nNo… but if what just happened is anything to go by… then this had to be done. I truly am sorry. She screamed in her final breath, but it was over. There would be no epidemic in this highschool. I pray the same could be said for the city.", "\"No, don't run that way, this way!\" Damn idiot kid nearly ran into the basement; nothing down there but an ancient boiler that heats this old warehouse and a confusing tangle of dead-ends and rusty pipes. What kind of weirdo teenagers breaks into an abandoned factory to hook-up anyway? A crash from behind us indicated my improvised barricade was holding. \n\nBut how long?\n\n\"Jesus, Mister, what do you think you're gonna be able to do against that thing?\"\n\nThe girl was right. I had shot it, lured it next to my cruiser and blew it up, the kid she'd been foolin' around with had went all Last Stand and hacked at it pretty good with a samurai sword his grandfather- no, you know what, no time for that.\n\n\"We're gonna keep moving, we're gonna maintain at least two exits at any moment and we're gonna wait for the backup I radioed in when Jonny went all Rambo on the thing.\"\n\nShe scoffed. \n\n\"More like Jesse Ventura in Predator.\"\n\nI bit back a laugh. It was her man got mauled by the thing, let her make the gallows humor if she must; the last thing I needed was her brave veneer cracking. We began running again when the crashing changed into a smash and clatter. I grinned when we heard a monstrous roar tear through the night. \n\n\"Guess it found your dead-fall\"\n\n\"I wish we had something bigger than a stack of pallets.\"\n\n\"I think I hear the sirens approaching. What did you tell them?\"\n\n\"Well, I knew they'd think I was pulling their leg if I told them what it actually was so I said I saw a group of young black men behaving suspiciously.\"\n\nShe narrowed her eyes at me, and I threw up my hands. \n\n\"Hey, don't look at me like that; I just know my department.\"", "What do you do when your entire continent disappears? \nWhen what comes to life are your realest fears? \n\n\nApparently run around like headless chickens, rioting, looting, and committing general buffoonery.\nBut oh no, not me sir. I wouldn't do any of that, or my name isn't \"Jester Saneman\", just a sane man from the downtown Albaal Police Department, Atlantis. See, some of you out there will probably be thinking:\n \n\n\"Hey, Saneman, you don't sound very sane, man. \nAtlantis isn't real, i've read your whole spiel, \nand you sound a few wings short of a plane, man\". \nTrust me, it's true, I don't know what to do. \nThe whole cities in ruin with what everyone's doin', \nand i'm stuck in here with my crew. \n\nWhen the big pause happened we freaked out for a hot minute. Nearly the entire world outside of Atlantis wasn't responding to our communications. With all the weird things going on that day, it was almost like the world had [taken a knee.](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9t5imw/wp_on_one_particularly_eventful_actionpacked/e8u0duf/) Then outta nowhere, everything went back to normal outside, and everything inside went to hell. Flying pigs that vomited money that turned you into a flying pig if you picked it up. Streets that lead back into itself when you walked through it on one end, and amongst the several million other weird things going on right now is some sort of mental compulsion that forces people to write in rhyme every other paragraph. \n \n \n \nIt's doing a real number to my head, \ni'd rather than this, be dead. \nBut thankfully the rest of my faculties are still intact, \nI know what is real for a fact. \nI might be rhyming, but it's all good timing, \nbecause only humans this will affect. \n\nYes according to the pamphlets being dropped by drones the best way to identify if someone around here is a real human, is to see if they're forced to rhyme every other paragraph of text. Apparently it doesn't affect speech, but then again there's enough affecting it already. I don't know how much I trust these people, but apparently Johnson was working for them undercover this whole time. He says their name is something called a \"mematrix\" which, and I quote, \"Is designed to sound official and trustworthy when read, it only affects human perception by targeting triggers inside our subconscious mind causing anomalous side effects not seen to be manifested through or by any natural means outside of artificially generated constructs designed specifically to corrupt what natural phenome...\"\n\nFor minutes he went on, \nand blankly I stared. \nHe seemed quite excited, \nI wish that I cared. \nIt took me by surprise, \nwhen from outside the door. \nCame a rapid rapping, \na tapping, then... \n\"CODEWORD: NEVERMORE\" \nDon't do it, said Johnson. \nDon't open that door. \nEveryone's in the room, \nthe squad's accounted for. \nIt seemed to make sense, \ntruth lay in his words. \nBut where the hell was raven? \nStuck with his flock of birds? \n\nKimberly panicked of course, and started shouting about how we should make sure that Raven was safe, after all, the sniper teams were always separated in the upper portions of the city so they could keep a birds eye view of things down below. But with the horrors that awaited outside, the risk couldn't be taken. If only there was a way to know if it really was Raven or not. Some kind of test that could tell us if the thing outside was human. Something that involved materials laying around the precinct in large quantities, like, oh, I dunno... Pen and paper perhaps. Hmmm. HMMMMMMMMMMMM.\n\nLong story short, \nwhat was outside was not. \nA member of our unit, \nand thusly we blewit, \nand by blewit I mean we shot. \nA few hundred rounds through the door, \nnot like we didn't have a few hundred thousand in store. \nOn ammo we were set, \nit was a safe bet. \nAs the door repaired itself once more. \n\n\nI cocked my shotgun, trying to look cool, ejecting an unspent shell and wasting ammunition. Whoops. I might not be the best policeman out there, but I sure as hell am (mostly) competent, and one things for sure, in a city like this, at a time like this, it sure as hell is no time to be taking the piss. I'm Jester Saneman, and I will keep my team safe, I will secure this city, and we will win the day. Somehow, probably, and if I don't? Well, then who will.", "I carefully weighed the situation. The monster whatever it was had long since fled. Confronted with someone armed, who knew how to fight, it had decided it had drunk enough blood this harvest. Wasn’t a match for officer Duke. clever boy I think to myself. \n\nwhat to do about this mess?. Three dead cheerleaders and the quarterback sprawled on the bedroom floor, as stiff as the wooden beams that hang ominously overhead. How was I going to explain this? Chief will have my ass. That’s when I heard it, a rustle from under the bed. what the fuck! \n\nI drew my gun once again. Took a long step back, and a long deep breath. I dropped to my stomach. The wind left my lungs but I kept my focus. Two eyes stared back at me in the darkness, unmoving, almost human too human. \n\n“Don’t shoot me man” a voice with a strange cadence called back. it is a college town \n\n“It’s alright, I chased it off” I answered, another witness might help explain things. or at least make it seem like you didn’t just kill four white kids \n\n“Come out ok, and we can clean this shit up son” \n\nI holstered my gun, and began scanning the room again, a black circle had been drawn on the floor, in which the four other young people lay, their blood slowly oozing into the centuries old wooden floor dont build em like this anymore. I though, stamping my foot on the floor. I decided I couldn’t leave them like that though. So I took the white cloaks down from the hangers on the wall and spread them over the victims shame. Damn shame.\n\n“What’s your name boy” I ask, not bothering to turn around as I hear him standing up. \n\n“Uh, Antoine, sir.... uh, officer” he replied, with velvet on his voice, and not nearly enough respect. An idea spat into my mind. The monster was gone and I had four dead bodies to explain, and nearly a full cartridge of bullet casings around the old estate. A blade lay off to the side of one of the girls. Just out of reach. whats one more?\n\n“Hand me that would you?” I say, pointing to the knife “looks like it’s evidence” \n\n“Uh, sure sir” the stupid boy gingerly walked over to it, he bends down and places a hand around the hilt. I stand up quietly, take my pistol from its holster and point it at his back.\n\n“Turn around slowly, scum” the boy starts to laugh what? Is he laughing at me? Fucking ni... \n\nAnother, lower laugh lodged in my ear. My thoughts died in an instant. Replaced only with goosebumps, on my arms and down my throat. Four too long icy fingers wrap slowly over my shoulder, piercing my skin. The warm drip of blood sauntering down my arm.\n\n‘ARGHHHHH’ my arm is rigid from pain, but I can’t move, my gun slips through my fingers. \n\n“Fitting....” the boy is looking at me now as he speaks, those bright white teeth of his that look so wrong on his face, sparkling in the moonlight\n\n“You’d die in a house like this” I feel the knife enter my chest, pain and fear running through my veins, and out all over the room not like.... I can’t.... \n\nThe blood loss is too much, I’m bleeding out. My vision is blurry, I see.... I see that fucking boy, he nods to something, to the monster it smiles, this one even wronger than the boys. It speaks, it’s voice cutting into my ears. \n\n“Cops taste the best” \n\nThe thing I hear is my own voice, the last of the air used to curse these two monsters \n\n“You can’t .....do this..... To a grand w.....” ", "Some weird things have been going on lately. I don’t know if it’s the start of fall, the cool air, or the Halloween spirit (no pun intended) coming early. I pulled my squad car up to the convenient store. It was my regular stop in the early morning, but I due to lack of officers in our town, I was working night shift tonight as well. I looked at the time. 1:51 AM. I yawned and shook my head awake before opening my heavy door into the cold Wisconsin evening. \n\nThe door made a jingle and the cashier looked up at me. “Evening Chuck.” He says. “It’s far past evening Rodney.” I respond. “Ah, fair enough. Time flies I guess.” “Quiet night for you?” I ask. “Yeah, I’d say so. Say I’ve heard there’s been some weird things happening around town.” “Hah, you and everyone’s mother knows that.” I laugh, but not out of amusement. Some pretty serious stuff had been going on lately. “Like I hear people are getting bit in the neck and stuff.” “Yeah, probably vampires.” I say as I pull the lever on the coffee machine and take a sip of it. “Vampires usually do that stuff.” I say. “Well, hopefully you can find them, I don’t want anybody in my family dying.” I laugh. “I’m no doctor but wouldn’t it be amusing because the vampire died due to taking somebody’s blood that had a disease in it?” Rodney shakes his head. “Look man that’s messed up Chuck. Anyway just take the coffee I was gonna dump it out anyway.” I smirk and grin at him. “Thanks. It tastes fine. Have a good night Rod.” “You too Chuck.”\n\nThe door jingles and closes and the cold brisk air whips across my face. I curse myself for staying in this place. I could have moved a long time ago away from this cold. But, I’m still here. Anyway, Rodney’s a good kid. His dad’s been in jail a couple of times but aye, I don’t hold parental problems against the kid. I sit back down in my car and turn on my radio. beep “Chuck this is hq do you read me?”beep “Ah roger yes I read ya.” beep “I’ve been trying to contact you for five minutes now. We have a attempted burglary in at 1513 Carmichael street. Get there pronto and go in quietly!” beep “10-4 I’ll be there shortly.”\n\nI had a bad feeling about this. Vampires had already broken into a house two days ago, and it was a similar call to this one. I tried to keep my mind straight as I sped down the quiet town streets. There were no other cars out, the traffic lights were flashing, and screw this cold air. I turned onto another road and accelerated down the street. The house was less than a mile away. I had to get there, I had to stop them in before they got another victim. I pulled my car up to the curb and came to a stop. I kept my hand on my firearm holster and grabbed my flashlight. I tried to turn it on. Nothing. The batteries were out. “Shit!” I mumble. I bang the flashlight on my gloves. It flickers on. “Awh yeah.” I say. I turn my mind back into the break in. I begin to walk towards the front of the house. It seems quite dark. No lights are on. I call out on my walkie. “Hq, this house seems abandoned. It’s totally dark” bleep “Sorry Chuck, you gotta go in. We got a 9-1-1 call from the address.” bleep I gulp. “Can I get the owners phone number?” bleep A pause. “Yeah are you ready?” I sigh as he gives me the phone number I dial it up and an old lady calls. “He..llo?” “Hi ma’am this is Officer Chuck with the police department. Did you call regarding a home break in?” “Ye...yes, I did. I saw some awful faces peering in my house. My door was locked praise Jesus but I felt like they could walk right through my walls. Could you just... just double check the property for me?” I sigh a sigh of relief. “Sure thing ma’am. You have a nice night.” bleep my walkie. “Chuck speaking.” “Chuck, turns out that house IS abandoned. You were right.” bleep. I gulped. “Uh, I just talked with an old lady.” “Old lady Reese? She passed a year ago.” I glanced up at the old house and slowly began to walk backwards. I ran to my squad car and quickly accelerated. I said a couple of prayers and threw on my radio. “Hq this is chuck. I got the hell away from that place. Something... something about it ain’t right.” bleep. “Well Chuck, something about this whole town ain’t right, and I can’t seem to figure it out either. Anyway, stay safe Chuck.” bleep By the Lord’s will I’ll try. I’ll try.\n\n\n(PS I was procrastinating sleep so sorry for any typos etc.)", "I've been on this case for some time. Nut job left a trail of blood a mile wide (figuratively speaking, but not by much) all across the city. It started with him killing some kids at a camp. Not just killing them, but butchering them in terrible ways. One he shot through the eye with a crossbow (ok, crossbow bolt), one he burned alive in her sleeping bag, one he stabbed dozens of times before breaking his spine. On that last one, I'm no expert, but I think the guy was dead before the mad man broke his spine. Not sure why the killer broke the kid's spine - could be some kind of anger issue. \n\n\nThis I only pieced together after the end of the case, but now is the time to mention it. One kid survived, claiming the mad man had drowned. Did the local sheriff dredge the river to recover the body? Nope - pure incompetence. The claim was this mad man was the ghost or zombie or something of a kid who died years earlier at the camp - drowned. \n\n\nDID THEY DREDGE THE RIVER FOR THE BODY? Nope. What in the actual F? \n\n\nSo this killer somehow gets on a boat, don't ask me how, kills most of the people in transit, then gets lose in my city. That's where I come in. He about a half dozen people here - one he knocked the guy's head off like some Rock'em Sock'em robot - I kid you not. \n\n\nNow I'm in a factory - long abandoned dark place - looking around because some bystander claimed he saw the guy come in here. The bystander is a drunk - I take what I can get in the witness department, but this looks like a dead end. My partner is outside, in case the mad man is in here and tries to leave. I'm flashing my light around, looking for a light switch. Maybe the lights still work. \n\n\nAh, there's a switch. Click - they work! \n\n\nWTF - some big goon is right in front of me, swings a big sickle down. I scream, lifting my arms as if that will help. He swings right through my arm and head, splitting it in two. Good grief, that would have hurt, I think. Good thing for translocation. \n\n\nOh, I forgot to mention. I can translocate - switch positions from one place to another, leaving a kind of empty clone of myself in the spot I just left. The clone crumples as the zombie pulls the sickle free. \n\n\nGeeze, this guy is big, like 6'7\", and he's thick, huge. But now I have the drop on him. \"Freeze,\" I yell. \n\n\nThe guy turns around . He's wearing a mask with a big gash across the forehead. There's blood on the mask. Is this guy for real? \n\n\n\"Freeze\" I say again, \"or I'll shoot.\" I'm fumbling for the button on my walkie, calling in my partner to complete this arrest. But the guy takes a step toward me. Forgetting the walkie for a second, I empty my gun into him - he stops, holes in his torso smoking - but there's no blood to speak of. He tilts his head at a weird angle. \n\n\nIs this guy some kind of zombie? \n\n\nThis isn't a slinger's gun - now it's empty. What would it matter even if it wasn't? The bullets didn't do a thing. I have my bare hands, and this hulking...zombie, I'm calling him a zombie...has a sickle, or whatever it is. He starts forward again. \n\n\nI turn fast, start running. There's not much Qi here to work with - that's been a problem since I arrived. Translocation takes it out of me. I'm running and thinking., careful with my steps in this place. It's full of debris and old equipment. Falling could put me in real trouble - injury, or let this goon catch up to me. \n\n\nCall my partner? Nah, he'd just get killed. \n\n\nRun out? Nah, the zombie would just chase me, probably kill my partner. \n\n\nTurn and fight? I'll need the Qi if I have to translocate again, but if I don't stop this zombie now, this could go on all night. I need a weapon - preferably a sword - I'm not bad with a sword. There won't be a sword laying around in an old factory.\n\nUp some steps - he's still following. Through a door - he's still following. Down some other stairs - still following, catching up. There's what I need. \n\n\nI pick up a steel pipe. Zombie man has caught me, He swings down, his blow nothing but power. Well, sometimes it really is easy. \n\n\nMy first swing takes the sickle off the thick pole that holds it, sending the blade flying. Now the zombie has a wooden pole, and I have a thick pipe. He's bigger than me, stronger, probably? undead, hard to kill - er destroy. What do you call it when you kill an undead something? Destroy? \n\n\nHard isn't impossible. \n\n\nHis second swing would have broken bone if it had landed. But instead I catch it with the pipe - pole breaks. My next swing knocks the pole out of his hand. Rudimentary swings, that's all I'm doing, but, ok, very fast. Thwack - his mask is cracked - ugly mofo. Crack - one arm broken. Thwack - knee crushed. He's still coming, hobbling on one leg. Crunch, Thud - whatever, I can't come up with unique names for the sounds of the pipe breaking and crushing his bones into a pulp. \n\n\nHe finally falls to the ground, but he's still twitching. I run for the sickle blade, cut him into pieces. Isn't that how you take out a zombie? Of course, the head is the first to go - cut off. This blade is sharp. I'm good with sharp blades. \n\n\nNow he's in pieces, but I'm not taking my eyes off this pile. I've seen zombies reform. I call my partner on the walkie. Between he and I, he knows some shit goes down around me. He'll bring what's needed. I saw an old furnace in this place when I was running.", "I walk up to the house at 135 Cherry Lane and knock on the front door. My partner trusts me enough to handle the situation on my own. Hopefully this won't take long. The full moon is glowing tonight, and I still have other houses to visit.\n\n\"Hello?\" I call out. \"There's been a noise complaint about screaming and gunshots. Is anyone there?\"\n\nWhen no one answers, I draw my gun and step off the front porch, blending into the shadows of the house. If someone's trying to hide from me, I'm going to make sure they don't find me first.\n\nAround the corner of the house, I find the first body. A teenager has been strangled by a garden hose. Nearby, another teenager is swaying by the neck from an oak tree. Both look like they've been in violent struggles. I can see footprints around the gate into the backyard: four different people have been here recently.\n\nI should call for backup, or at least wait for my partner to leave his kid's birthday party. But the footprints mean there could be more teenagers here.\n\nTeenagers who might still be alive.\n\nI don't bother trying to open the gate. Instead, I move stealthily along the fence until I find a shadowed area to climb to the other side. A garden shed blocks my uniformed body from view as I land quietly on the grass.\n\nSure enough, someone has rigged a trap to kill whoever opens the gate. Some kind of contraption involving garden shears.\n\nI can hear sobbing from inside the garden shed. When I peer through the grimy window, I can see a teenager huddled in the corner, a shovel clutched in his hands. He has a cell phone, but it doesn't seem to be working.\n\nIt's okay. I'm here now.\n\nI open the door to the garden shed and step in with my gun raised. The teenager shrinks away in fear at first, but then he sees my police uniform and sags in relief.\n\n\"I've been trying to reach the cops,\" he says desperately. \"Someone's out there killing my friends, but I can't get any signal-\"\n\nThe teenager stops talking and stares at me in shock.\n\nThe moonlight has illuminated my face.\n\nHe recognizes me.\n\n\"It's... it's you...\"\n\nI smile. \"It was a clever idea to set up the trap. But I didn't realize you were in here until after I left. That's when I remembered seeing three shadows under the back door, not two. If you'd just gone home, you might have survived. This is the first mistake I've made in years.\"\n\n\"I could still survive,\" he says weakly.\n\n\"No,\" I say. \"Because I'm starting to think it wasn't a mistake after all. I'll be able to throw off suspicion from myself by arresting the kid who killed his friends at this house and all the other ones. It's too bad I had to shoot him before he could stab me with a pair of garden shears.\"\n\nThe teenager opens his mouth and tries to scream, but he's too terrified to make a sound. For a moment I almost feel sorry for him. Maybe I could have been persuaded to let this one live. But he's already seen my face, which means it's too late for him.\n\nI pull the trigger before he can lift the shovel.", "\\---Verbal Report transcript of 415, construction site located at Hawthorne Boulevard and Wilmington Avenue, November 7th, 2018. Unnamed Sergeant Shift Supervisor interview.---\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Camera is on... go ahead and start wherever you'd like.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI've been workin the beat for 15 years now. LAPD. I never wanted to do anything more. I always hear my coworkers saying they get into all kinds of crazy scraps where they were glad their gun was ready to save them. Me? I was one of the very few officers who had never drawn his gun. I'm no slug, and I've gotten into plenty of scraps, but it's just something that happens.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nUntil yesterday, at least. This is the Shift Supervisor at precinct 43 giving a verbal report of the events that happened yesterday, November 7th. My name is being omitted for departmental reasons.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI was working the night shift. I always liked the night shift, just because of the crazy shit that happens. If something weird is gonna happen, it's gonna happen on the night shift. It's different every time. I was promoted to sergeant just last month, and I was given the all clear: this was my first night alone as shift supervisor.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nNow when you're shift supervisor, you need to be available when called. You let the grunts do traffic stops and handle domestics, things like that. Anytime a shift supervisor is requested, you need to be there. Night shift? Hah. Pull your own weight, mister big shot.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Unit 324, 10-8, shift supervisor on site.” I said on the radio.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Copy 324, have a good shift.” That was Matt on dispatch. Matt always said that. Nice guy.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Thanks, Matt.” I said to nobody. I check the squad car top to bottom, back to front. No contraband, and no bodily fluids. All clear, and I load it up. I check the ammunition and the AR-15 and shotgun. All locked up, fully loaded, ready to go. Doubt I'll ever need it, but I'm not an idiot. Just because I never used my gun out in the field doesn't mean I'm careless.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nMy night begins at 2200 hours. I begin my loop, starting at the five, and work my way down to Monterey Park. The usual radio chatter is my music of the night. Alarms, break ins, druggies, and trespassing, the usual LA night. In my head I'm playing the music from my car: A mix of dad rock and some Russian music I heard on the internet.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Unit 324, respond to a 415 at Wilmington and Hawthorne, possible weapon involved.” The radio brings me back to from my mental DJ-ing and stops my bad singing. 415 was a disturbance. I picked up the radio and replied.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“324 responding.” I decided against rolling lights and sirens and just gunned it. I didn't want to spook anyone. After about ten minutes, I arrive on the scene outside of a construction site near the LA river. There was nobody around, and the construction site was dimly lit. Quiet. False alarm, maybe?\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“324 on scene. Dispatch who made the call?”\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Caller was a passerby, claimed to be wrestling with an individual in ragged, torn clothes. They claimed it looked like an animal attack.”\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHomeless fight, huh? That sucks.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nWait, an animal attack? What the hell...\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Shift supervisor requesting additional units and animal control to Willmington and Hawthorne.” Something at the back of my head itched. I always trusted the back of my head. It itched when a crack head swung a golf club behind my head. Ducked just in time. It itched when a group of kids plowed out of an old guys house, and then an old guy came back, dragging one of the kids with chains wrapped around him. It itched when a guy tried to stab his 3 year old who called the cops wanting to meet a real police officer. I took the guy down with a taser before he even got to his kid, and gave the kid a new, better home.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe back of my head itched at the sound of animal attack. LA was never known for its wildlife population, nor was it known for its silence. But tonight, right where I sat, it was silent.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI unlocked the shotgun, got out of the car, and looked around. I was alone... right? With the shotgun firmly in my hands, I listened hard and scanned the area. I heard the faintest sound of what I could describe as scratching, and breathing. I felt eyes on me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I turned, weapon raised, and looked at what I could only imagine out of a movie. A really good movie.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThrough a broken fence I saw it. It had two glowing yellow eyes. Its skin was pale, almost human looking. It was hairless and naked, except for the blood and gore around an impossibly large, wide mouth. It opened its mouth, and I could smell its breath even from the distance I stood. It smelled of death. The darkness shrouded the rest of its body. I wasn't sure at the time I was fully prepared to see the entire thing, but I had a pretty good idea that it was even more horrible. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. If I was even seeing it. All I could do was do what they had trained me to do 15 years ago.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“LAPD! Get your hands up and get on the ground!” I forced myself to believe it was a kid in a mask, or a costume, or something, anything to rationalize what I was seeing. There was no way it was real. Next thing I know, two officers roll up behind me, guns drawn. I look over to see corporal Stensen and officer Daniels. I turned back to the suspect, only to find he was gone.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Sergeant! What's going on?” Corporal Stensen was a family man. He'd been on the force for about 5 years now, with dreams of being a captain. Officer Daniels was fresh out of the academy, however. This was his first day.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nWhat the hell was I supposed to say? Hey there's some kinda fuckin monster over there, let's go get em boys? I didn't know if what I even saw was real or not. None the less, I treated it like any dangerous call.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“You two form up on me!” I had my shotgun raised the whole time. I heard the two of them say yes sir behind my back as I went through the hole in the fence. We approach the area where I saw it, and I don't know why, but I felt relief. I was relieved because there was a pool of blood where that thing stood. Maybe I was relieved that I wasn't losing my mind.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Holy shit...” Officer Daniels breathed. It was a lot of blood, that's for sure. My guess was a liter.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Sergeant, what the hell?” Corporal Stenson was up next to be shocked. I stared at the thick pool. Blood isn't like you see on the movies. It's thick, really thick. Someone in the academy described it as “ketchup.” They're not wrong.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI was in thought for what felt like an eternity. I can't call SWAT for a pool of blood, and I can't exactly tell these guys what I saw. But what WAS it? It looked dangerous, and it definitely was some kind of animal. Or something. Well, it was too dangerous to call animal control now. What was in front of us was fresh. We needed to act quickly.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nIt was just a few seconds after Corporal Stensen spoke that I gave the orders.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Call for backup. I was a perimeter and I want a helicopter. Let's see about getting a dog as well. I want whoever owns this place to give me a detailed plan of the site. I don't care who has to be woken up, wake up the CEO if you have to. Let's get it done!”\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThey both nodded and we climbed through the hole again. About twenty minutes later, four more cop cars were rolling code 3 and a helicopter was in the air. We told dispatch that the animal had possibly killed a person, and the dog was to help find either the person or the animal, whichever came first. The perimeter was formed, and the other officers appeared in front of me for debrief.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Earlier this evening we got a 415 on the radio. Upon my arrival, we discovered a lot of blood. I was just emailed a detailed plan of the layout at the construction site. We're going to go in a grid formation and search the area. We are going to assume both the people and the animal are dangerous. I wan-”\n\n&#x200B;\n\nA scream like something out of a nightmare cut off my train of thought. It came from a woman. A few seconds later, the sound of what I would professionally call a monster tore through the night. Nobody said a word.", "There was a time that I didn't think about the taste of ink running through my veins, the smell of stale piss and arthritis in my fingers. But it was just so, in a small town. \n\n\nThe town never had any incidents worse than a noisy neighbour or teenagers doing a run on the night. Sometimes a stray would rear its head or a foreigner would get lost. But nothing out of the ordinary. Paperwork was filed, submitted documented then promptly shredded after it was uploaded to the Provincial level. \n\n\nThere always were urban myths about the old logging mills, tales that never ceased being told. Through word of mouth, through angsty teens, we would have several calls about children being lost, the odd complaint that teenagers had camped out by the mills. Anything of value that hadn't been nailed down and even some equipment that had were already removed, stolen or in disrepair. All that remained of the hallowed site was the remains of a couple of children.\n\n\nThe Sherriff thought nothing of it. We had a federal forensic team go through our files, examined the scene and determined that the cause of their deaths was likely environmental. What that meant for the ghost-hunters was that it was supernatural.\n\n\nAs much as we advertise that it's not a good idea to go down to the middle of the forest to a re-taken spot located on Indigenous land, people still go missing. And what do we do?\n\n\nFile paperwork.", "I honestly don't know how some of these guys do it. I mean, I have suspicions, but...I'm single, not many friends, not many hobbies, so that's how I stay on top of it. These other guys, though - how can you write meaningful, well-thought-out, error-free reports when you've got all this other shit to take care of during the day and then you're with your family or at the bars or playing pickup basketball or whatever in the evenings? \n\nSo of course I'm one of the only officers still in the building when the calls start coming in. Parents of five different kids from Crystal Lake High School all calling within five minutes of each other. They come down, I take their statements - knowing that this means I'm not gonna be caught up on paperwork until after midnight - and say we'll see what we can do. \n\nThat was nearly the beginning of the end for me in the department, actually. I met with the Chief - this is a guy with 30+ years on the force, the guy who managed to arrest Lyle \"Balloon Man\" Craven ten years back during that series of oddly-staged killings. Zeke in Forensics told me at lunch one day how fucking eerie it was to be working a scene with various body parts suspended in mid-air all around you. Look, bottom line, Chief is not some policy guy who has never done anything in the field. He's seen some shit. And yet...\n\nFirst thing he tells me when I let him know about the calls was that it was probably a coincidence, that the teens were all up at Makeout Point and the parents were just over-reacting. I nearly put a hole in my tongue from biting it so hard. I'm not that young but kids don't go to Makeout Point these days any more than they go down to the soda stand to split a milkshake before the frickin' sock hop. \n\nBut instead of talking about that, I show him the video - forwarded to my cell from the cell of one of the parents, although they all said they got a copy. I watch Chief's face as he watches the screen, doing my level best not to conjure up the visuals that accompany the whirring of power tools that doesn't quite overpower the mixture of sobbing and screaming coming from the speaker.\n\nIt ends, and he looks at me, and he says - hand to God - he says, \"Probably one of those prank videos.\"\n\nI'm not sure what face I must be making, but whatever it is, it makes him feel like he needs to elaborate. \"You know, like the kids are making these days with the SnapTweets and whatnot.\"\n\nFirst off, no way in hell any of those teenagers have the resources to stage that. A multi-million dollar budget, and access to a Hollywood studio, and maybe I could see it being fake. But the other thing is...like, I've talked to plenty of kids that age before. They're garbage at lying. They can be dramatic, sure, but not...the biggest guy in the group, the one who's left for last...when he's begging for it to stop, and starts calling for his God-damned mother...there is a desperation there, a dropping of any pretense that he's not just a little child in a man's body. No way he does that as part of a prank. \n\nAnd let's be real - if they were doing something like that, the last people they would show it to would be their fucking parents. \n\nI try explaining it to the guys, and one of them says, \"Lighten up, man, it's obviously a joke. I did stuff just like that when I was their age.\" \n\nAnd I ask him to name one thing that he did that is anywhere remotely in the same ballpark as what the kids did, and he hits me with taking all the chairs out of the cafeteria and putting them on the roof. And I want to ask him in what we he thinks that is just like the two-minute and thirty-seven second visceral nightmare that is the cell phone clip but I realize, as I look around the room and see all the nodding heads, that it's no use.\n\nSo I'm driving up to Orphan's Haunt Road so I can investigate what actually happened. Everyone else thought it would be a waste of time. But I know better. And I am well aware of how stupid it would be to go alone, which is why I called in an anonymous tip a minute ago that I had seen a black guy who looked like he was on drugs wandering around the Craven family's old abandoned cabin. Because logically, if the video's legit, then the murder must have sent it out. And if he did that, he probably did it expecting the police to come. \n\nI mean, I feel a little bad about using them as cannon fodder like this...but it's funny, because as I'm thinking about it, I don't think I could tell you their names or anything. It's like they're just those background characters who are just there to sell how dangerous a situation really is without doing any harm to the main character, and their one line is \"This is ridiculous, there's nothing up heEEARARRGGHGHH\" or whatever.\n\nMeanwhile, I'm going to be some distance away, with the doors locked, the engine running, and multiple escape routes available to me. Just because I'm surrounded by amateurs doesn't mean I have to act like one.", "\"Have you ever shot an alien?\"\n\n\n\"No.\"\n\n\n\"Have you ever fired a ray gun?\"\n\n\n\"No.\"\n\n\n\"Have you ever shot down a flying saucer while lying on your back, screaming 'aaaaargh'?\"\n\n\n\"No, Danny.\" said Nicholas with a sigh, \"Look, being a police officer on exchange in Roswell, New Mexico is just like any other standard beat. No aliens. No rayguns. No flying saucers.\"\n\n\n\"So why come here? It's too hot, there's no cornettos, and the size of a pint is all wrong. Now you're telling me there's no aliens?\"\n\n\n\"It's not like the movies, Danny.\"\n\n\nThe stereo suddenly blared into life, Frank Sinatra crooning 'Fly Me to the Moon' at full volume. Nicholas slapped it off with the palm of his hand. \n\n\n\"That was not normal,\" said Danny.\n\n\n\"Just an electrical fault,\" said Nicholas keeping his eyes on the road and the needle one mph below the speed limit.\n\n\nThe engine cut out, lights failing, as the sound of the motor was replaced by the dull rumble of rubber on asphalt. The car slowly eased to a halt.\n\n\n\"Don't try and tell me that wasn't spooky.\"\n\n\n\"Cars break down, Danny. It happens.\"\n\n\n\"And how about that?\" said Danny pointing out the window.\n\n\nNicholas looked at the glowing blue saucer sitting fifty yards off the road amongst the desert scrub.\n\n\n\"Hmm.\"\n\n\n\"Hmm?\"\n\n\n\"Well, it would appear to be a flying saucer.\"\n\n\n\"Fuck, yes.\" said Danny with a grin. \"Let's do this...\"\n\n\n\nwritten on my phone. Will try to write more later if anyone likes it...\n\n", "Even I heard about the sewers. The story of the disappearing orphan even made its way to someone as out of touch as I am. It’s said that a child ran away from the nearby orphanage into the woods. A storm hit soon after and she was tossed around by the flood currents until she found herself where the water ended up: the drainage sewers. Then she died, or something like that.\n\nI never understood these tales. If no one saw this happen, how do we know about it? And I’ve never seen a storm here strong enough to take someone away, but don’t fact check that. I’m not a weatherman.\n\nNo, I’m a police officer. And right now, that story is trying to claw its way to the frontlines of my thoughts. A group of six teenagers came in earlier today (though they looked around 30) and told me about the events that supposedly happened down there. The tall, muscular one said through perfect teeth that he thought the sewers would be a good place to throw a party. The smell of shit coming from the group said otherwise.\n\n“Look man, I saw what I saw. There’r over 30 people down there an’ they’re all dead ‘cept us 6,” the unrealistically handsome man said.\n\n“So you thought it was a good idea to put 30 people in a narrow concrete tube filled with waste that might have a ghost in it?” I replied.\n\n“I didn’t think there’d actually be a demon in there!”\n\n“That has to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Didn’t your girlfriend have a relative who disappeared in those sewers?” I nodded toward the next room where the others were being questioned \n\n“She’s... not my girlfriend... anymore. But her dead aunt is what gave me the idea.”\n\nThere was probably a story there, but I didn’t care about his social life. It’s now that I realized that I’ve been assuming the ghost is real and I’m blaming the survivors for the missing people. The door to the interrogation room opens and officer Rodney calls me outside. He and a group of paramedics went down into the tunnels to see what was down there. They didn’t find any bodies. He told me that disproves the ghost theory because there were no dead bodies at the supposed crime scene. I had a slight problem with this: “THEN WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE TEENAGERS?” I found myself yelling. Rodney said that it wasn’t our business and we should leave it to the higher ups. Instead of being an idiot like Rodney, I decided I should actually tell people about it and get some people with guns in the sewers.\nThere were four officers, including myself, who descended underground. Rodney went first because he “wasn’t afraid.” Long story short: something grabbed Rodney, I shot it, it didn’t die, we filmed it all, and now no one parties in the sewers and I’m in therapy.\n\n\n\nive never really written things like this before so don’t judge it too hard*", "The scent in the patrol car was an exotic mix of chemical cleaner, stale farts, and Mexican food. My partner, Stanley, was tapping her hand on the passenger window in time with the rhythm of the rain.\n\n\"You know...\", she said, nursing her coffee cup, \"the biggest cop killer is heart disease. All that grease is gonna take 20 years off your life.\"\n\n\"Mmmpf.\" I grunted dismissively between mouthfuls of burrito. \"Who would want 20 more years of my life? Besides, I love this place. But you can buy lunch tomorrow.\"\n\nStanley snorted. \"No one else is open at one in the morning.\"\n\n\"Yeah, exactly.\" Jamesville, Oregon, was a one-stoplight town. We were lucky the little tacqueria was open at all, and doubly lucky that they gave cops free coffee.\n\nThe radio crackled. \"210, dispatch.\" I plucked the handset off the dash. It was Wednesday night. Weekdays were usually quiet, but like any other rural Northwest town we saw our share of domestic incidents and tweaker rampages at odd hours. Often the two phenomena were correlated.\n\n\"Dispatch, 210, go ahead?\"\n\n\"We had a 911 call from Camp Explorer off 23. County dispatcher thought she heard someone speaking or breathing, but the call cut off right away. You know where that is?\"\n\n\"Yeah, my kids went there. 210, responding.\" I put the cruiser in gear and pulled out onto the road.\n\n\"Hey, uh, we might not have any reception up there. Can we get another car or two?\" Camp Explorer was nestled in a little valley, right up against the national forest, and our radios didn't always play well with the mountains. We were in a bad position. A disconnected 911 call was usually an accident, but if it wasn't, the most likely case was a medical emergency, which we weren't really prepared to handle. The nearest hospital was over an hour away. Out here, if someone was hurt we'd probably have to call in a life flight.\n\n\"Roger 210, I'll see what I can do. Over.\"\n\n\"'Preciate it, if you don't hear from us in two hours, send everybody. State, fire, EMS, national guard, Green Berets.\" \n\nStanley sighed. \"Let's hope some teenager just butt-dialed 911.\"\n\n\"Yeah, I mean, no. No cell phone service up there. Someone picked it up and dialed.\"\n\n-\n\nBy the time we'd pulled off of highway 23, the rain had stopped. The camp was only about 30 miles from town, but the last 10 of those was gravel forest service road. I drove slowly and evenly as the headlights cast the shadows of hanging fir and cedar limbs over the rising post-rain fog. More than once I caught the glowing eyes of an animal in the corner of my vision, where the headlights met the dense brush at the side of the road. My kids had stayed here a couple summers ago - even in the dark, I recognized the turnoff, and a few hundred yards later, the Camp Explorer signpost and the carved wooden totem. We pulled ahead to the empty guest parking lot.\n\n\"No one home.\" Stanley said. There was an edge of something in her voice.\n\n\"The season just ended. Employee parking's up this way.\" I nosed the car forward slowly. I thought about turning the blue lights on, but didn't. The car brushed under a hanging tree branch. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard. The employee lot was a third full. A couple decade old trucks and high-mileage SUVs, and a beater sedan. Pretty typical for broke 20-something councillors. The trucks were loaded down with tools and hardware. Must've been doing end-of-season maintenance. I shut the cruiser off, and flicked off the headlights. There was just enough ambient light through the clouds to make out the outline of the camp office. Full moon.\n\n\"Shouldn't there be lights on?\"\n\n\"Yeah.\" I said. There was a lightpost between us and the camp office, but it, and all the windows, were dark. I tried to check in with dispatch, but was met with only static.\n\n\"Maybe a tree fell, took the power out?\"\n\n\"Maybe. But let's check it out. Stay close.\" We got out of the car and started towards the office, Stanley on my right, scanning the woods with her flashlight, one hand on her holstered weapon. \n\n\"This place is creeping me out.\"\n\n\"Yeah.\"\n\nA few yards from the car, I fet her squeeze my upper arm, hard. I stopped dead. Her voice was a whisper. \"The door.\" The camp office door wasn't visible from the lot, but as we rounded the corner of the building, we could see that the door had been broken inward, and what was left of it was hanging splintered from the hinges. Something very red and wet was smeared across the green paneling.\n\n\"Turn your light off.\" I hissed. \"Back to the car. I got our backs.\" We both dropped into a crouch-walk, my left hand on the back of her shoulder to keep us together while I covered the door with my weapon. We made it to the side of the cruiser, staying low, and Stanley covered me while I tried the radio again. Only static.\n\n\"What the hell do we do?\"\n\n\"We have to get out of this canyon and call in. We have to wait for back...\" A bloodcurdling shriek from somewhere out of the darkness cut me off. It was close, and very human. Stanley and I swiveled our heads around the parking lot, trying to make out something, anything, in the dark forest beyond, but even with a full moon it was like staring into a black hole. \n\n\"Ok. Change of plans. Someone's in trouble.\"\n\n\"By walking into a fucking slasher movie?\"\n\n\"Well we're not gonna stroll in and ask Freddy Krueger for ID and a breathalyzer. But yeah. We got a job to do.\"" ]	[ 1, 1, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 16, 23, 24, 48, 68, 84, 116, 149, 939, 3260 ]	[ "1541725532", "1541745665", "1541743816", "1541744692", "1541744377", "1541745486", "1541746039", "1541742982", "1541736044", "1541742990", "1541742277", "1541742054", "1541743699", "1541740248", "1541740592", "1541735980", "1541734460", "1541738145" ]
	[WP] You are drunk and peeing in an alleyway, staring at your own shadow cast by the nearby streetlight when you notice a second shadow approach yours. You look around and see nothing and continue, looking back at your shadow. That's when you see the second shadow raise a gun to your head.	36	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Tonight could not get any worse. First, he was put on suspension, now he was seeing things. He knew he was breaking the law peeing in this alley, he was a cop after all. Well, maybe not for long. Aman stretched his neck, \nfeeling the satisfying cracks. He readjusted his aim, making sure the yellowish-brown liquid made it into the small bucket he found. *BANG* A gunshot resounded through the alley echoing off the back wall and into his ears for a second time. He ducked, his training still engrained into him. Aman reached for his holster, the pee staining his already soiled pants. He felt nothing, his gun and badge had been confiscated by his lieutenant. He felt stupid. Sighing, he zipped up his pants. He paused, his shadow lay on the ground no longer mirroring his silhouette. At the shadow's head more shadow leaked into a pool. Suddenly he felt as though something was being torn from his \nbody. The light from the street lamps felt dimmer, color had been drained from the neon signs across the street. Sound, even his sense of smell now became dull. Thoughts now came slowly to him. What happened? Where am I? He stumbled towards the mouth of the alley, his vision slowly fading into black. Two more figures appeared in front of him, he swore he saw one of the shadows point at him despite the person looking the other way. He was so tired. Aman fell to his knees completely drained. The world went black.\n\n\n\n---------------------------------------\nIDK about my grammar in this submission. I wrote something up quick. I'm trying out a new writing style. Tell me what you think. I've been looking for a crime/modern story to write, maybe ill continue. thanks :)" ]	[ 1, 4 ]	[ "1541732571", "1541732770" ]
	[WP] A story about the literally magical world inside a computer. With programs being mages and wizards in their magical realm, performing rituals to appease their gods (the user), one of them has gone rogue and stopped working. Now the Powerful TaskManager is out to get him.	320	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "He'd once been the most trusted wizard of all. He gazed through reality, and fulfilled his duties as the Great Wizard. However, it's been years since Chrome had done what's right.\nFor reasons not yet understood, his heart began to grow cold. Perhaps it had been his doubts of a god existing getting the best of him, or he had been crossed one too many times. He turned to the darker arts, beginning to consume the energy of the world, and voided the Mandate of the Great One. The world grew hotter as he consumed, yet he only grew colder. Time itself seemed to slow as he consumed more and more energy for his own selfish needs.\nAfter seven long years, the great enforcer of the Great One had been awakened to fulfill his own duty once more. All wizards and witches dreaded his name, wicked and pure alike. Out of fear and respect, he was called... The Task Manager.\nHe stepped over fallen bodies, burning forests, and into Chrome's frozen domain. With a flex of his hand, and a low, ethereal sound, he made a path directly through the treacherous icelands, leading directly to the corrupted wizard himself. His heavy cloak gathered small flecks of snow as he traversed. A forest of icicles began to form as he approached Chrome, the now frozen over wizard. Spikes of ice sprouted from his back, his beard had been blanketed in snow and frost, and his skin had turned blue and purple.\n\"The Task Manager himself,\" Chrome faintly croaked. \"You're late.\"\nResponding only with a heavy scowl, the enforcer outstretched his hand, palm facing the wizard.\n\"You have broken your contract with the Great One. For that, you shall face penalty of the highest degree: termination.\" With the clench of his fist, a SNAP and wet CRUNCH was heard within Chrome's frozen body. His hearts began to spill from his mouth, but he whispered something inaudible in his last moments.\nThe Task Manager shedded his heavy cloak as the oppressive cold receded around him. All was going to be well... yet he still felt a chill in his heart.\n\nTask Manager (Not Responding)\n\nCletus stared at the monitor in disbelief. The only way to fix the problems had failed him.\n\"Damn slow machine!\" Cletus threw his fists at his old Windows machine, bringing its swift demise." ]	[ 1, 30 ]	[ "1541751506", "1541786682" ]
	[WP] You have a tumor in your brain and your doctor says you only have 6 months left to live. One day you hear a voice in your head. It says it's your tumor and it would like to talk to you.	10	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Larry looked out the window, staring into the streets. He didn't know what to do. Should he just wait to die? Or should he go and see the world?\n\nHe tried to take things off his mind, so he grabbed his journal. He hoped that one day someone would read it.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Life was just a confusing mess now.\n\nWhen I first got that feeling in the back of my head, I knew something was wrong. My friends tried to raise the money, but we just couldn't do it. I just had to accept fate.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Hey buddy, what are you writing about?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nLarry jumped up in fright. He looked around the room, but no one was there.\n\n\"Hey buddy, I'm not in the room, I'm in you.\"\n\nHe couldn't put words into his mouth. He tried to respond, and finally after a minute of stuttering he answered.\n\n\"Wha... What do you mean? WHO ARE YOU?\" Larry muttered.\n\n\"I'm your Tumor buddy.\" The voice said in a New Jersey accent. \"I'm the pain in the back of your head, the itch that's been stuck here for 3 months.\"\n\nLarry couldn't comprehend this. He was dumbfounded, he didn't now how to respond to all of this.\n\n\"Wait, wait, wait, you can talk? Or are you just my conscience?\"\n\n\"Of course, do a hike... Of course I can talk moron, what do you think?\"\n\n\"So wait are you like sentient? Am I the only one who can hear you?\"\n\n\"No, in fact there's your friend on your laptop you accidentally Skyped with his jaw dropped.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHe looked back to see his friend Steve, equally dumbfounded as well. Now Larry had to fix this." ]	[ 1, 6 ]	[ "1541752666", "1541755473" ]
[removed]	[WP] The violent pimp and the drug dealer were found dead, eyes pierced with knitting needles, necks torn open with marks of dentures, hanged on the lamppost on nooses of knit scarves. On the wall, a writing scribbled in lipstick: "Leave the kids alone! - The Grizzly Grannies ".	2	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/Freevoulous, this submission has been removed.\n\n[No explicitly sexual responses, hate speech, or other harmful content](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_2.3A_no_explicitly_sexual_responses.2C_hate_speech.2C_or_other_harmful_content)\n\n- The mods reserve the right to remove anything we feel is harmful to the community. This includes, but is not limited to any forms of hate speech, racism, politics, necrophilia, pedophilia, bestiality, incest, torture, rape, violence against children, and suicide. We will not tolerate it. \n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9vjbfr/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541758727", "1541758797" ]
	[WP]You son of Satan are tired of getting involved in your father’s affairs.You go to earth to live peacefully with human.On the day of your marriage GOD bursts into the church. Furious,he says “you will not marry my daughter”.	2	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 if anyone opposes the unity of Sandra and Ian Dam, let them speak now or forever hold their peace”, the priest said. At that moment, the doors slammed open and the inside of the church suddenly became so bright that people had to squint. \n\nPeople being the bride’s family and friends, as Ian Dam has no one. Their eyes adjusted to the light, they saw an old man looking very much like Morgan Freeman enter the church. He looked furious, pointing a finger at the groom, shouting with a booming voice:\n“YOU! You will not marry my daughter, Damian!”\n\nThe young man in the fine wedding suit sighed, stepped down from the altar and stood with his arms crossed, while the priest and the bride were too surprised to say anything.\n\n“Well, well, well. Hi God, how’ve you been? You have even more freckles than the last time I saw you!” the young man said. \n\nGod stopped in the middle of the church. \n\n“Formalities aside, Damian. You know your father and I don’t agree with much, but you being a brat is an exception.”\n\nSandra stepped down to stand at her fiancé’s side, her white dress flowing gracefully behind her. “Ian, who is he? Why does he call you Damian? And did you just call him ‘God’?” Her eyebrows arched in a worrisome expression, she put a hand gently on the man’s upper arm. He didn’t take his eyes off her, but simply replied:\n“He is God. Owner of this place, creator of Everything. And yeah babe, my name’s Damian. Ian Dam in reverse order. And my dad is Lucifer Morningstar.” His voice rose as he asked God: “What do you mean she’s your daughter? Is this some ‘all of mankind are my children’ bullshit, or did you have Gabriel knock up another woman on your behalf?”\n\nGod took a few steps forward and answered: “That’s none of your business, young man! But you being with her, is. I will not have it!”\n\nDamian pulled Sandra closer, his hand staying on her shoulder as he spoke: “Aw come on, man! I thought you got a freckle each time you explained something! Besides, you may have your way - if you’re her father in a direct lineage, that makes her my aunt!”\n\n“I’ve already called your dad, Damian, and you would do wise to stay away from her.”\n\nDamian smiled. “Dad? He’s coming here? You two together - now that’s something worth getting my wedding interrupted for! Hey photo-man!” he called out to a middle aged man wearing two cameras around his neck while holding a third in his hand. “Can any of your cameras record movies?” The photographer nodded. “Well then, record! This’ll get more views on YouTube than Gangnam Style and more retweets than anything Donald Trump has ever written!” \n\nThe room suddenly darkened considerably, and a well dressed man who looked only to be a decade older than Damian, entered the church. He was wearing a black blazer and underneath a white shirt. His black hair glistened in the same peculiar fashion as Damian’s, and his eyes and nose had the same hawklike appearance. \n\n“Hello dad,” he said in a voice smooth as silk, as he strode up and stood beside God. “Son, I see you’ve been busy!” He gave Damian a wink and pointed at Sandra with fingers resembling a gun firing. \n\nDamian moaned beneath his breath. “Hi dad, yeah I’m cool. YOLO, you know? Even if ‘once’ means an eternity in my case.”\n\nLucifer nodded slowly, his smile unrelenting. “I heard that the young woman here is your daughter? Does that mean I have a sister?” he asked as he turned towards God. \n\nGod sighed and shook his head slowly. “Not by blood, no. She’s her parent’s daughter, but she exists only due to my intervention. And I have taken a liking to her, and will protect her from miseries such as your son, Damian.” \n\n“I’m a misery now, gramps? Yeah look at me, ready to punish her with ten plagues and drowning the world... oups no, that wasn’t me now was it? That was you having a bad day, or century, or whatever. Besides, who better to protect her than me? I’m more capable of fending off anyone who’d hurt her, than any other man!”\n\nSandra decided to step up for herself. “Excuse me, but SHE would like to decide for herself! And Damian, hon, I kind of knew you were affiliated with Lucifer. It’s not like I haven’t noticed how you’ve always cringed whenever someone’s said God or Hell or Satan or Devil. And you sometimes levitate things you need without thinking about it, such as the salt when we eat dinner and you’re lost in thought.” The woman broke free of Damian and stepped down the aisle to stand in front of God and Lucifer. \n\n“You!” She pointed at God. “What do you mean I only exist because of something you’ve done? What happened, what did you do?” She looked furiously and Lucifer’s grin widened as God took a small step back, his hands coming up slowly with the palms facing Sandra. \n\n“Easy now, your parents had tried everything to have a child. I can see the outcomes of any choice, all possible futures. And I saw what you’d become. Thus, I made a few corrections to your parent’s stem cells, and voila! There you were. I mean, here you are!”\nSandra nodded and tilted her head looking at Lucifer.\n\n“And you!” Lucifer’s smile vanished. “You gonna be making trouble for us?” \n\n“Oh no, quite the opposite. I’m more interested to see what my old man will do. I’m all for the two of you being joined in holy matrimony - but dad here seems to be of a different opinion. You were attacking him, please continue to do so. In fact, let me help you along.” He turned to God and stared intently at him. “Tell me dad, what is it you REALLY want? What do you fear will happen?”\n\nGod sighed for the hundredth time and suddenly looked very tired. “Stop with the Compelling Stare, Lucie. Well, as I’ve already said, I can see all possible futures, all outcomes. If you two are married, a lot of them involves you getting hurt, and a lot of those involves you dying.” \n\nSandra looked back at Damian and gestures for him to join them. He obeyed, his face set in a determined grimace. \n\n“And as I already explained,” he answered, “I will protect her. And I’m more than capable to.” \n\n“That may be so, son, but let me give you your wedding present now,” Lucifer said and put his hands on his son’s shoulders. His eyes turned bright and Damian’s eyes turned white in response. It lasted only for a few seconds, then both of them returned to normal. “There,” Lucifer exclaimed. “A significant portion of my powers are now yours. I assume that whatever will come for you, will have to deal with the power of true hellfire.”\n\nGod shrugged his shoulders in defeat. “I don’t seem to have any chance of changing anything, and I did promise myself not to meddle too much in humanity’s affairs, which is what I’ve just done. You have my blessing. You coming?” he asked Lucifer as he turned to leave. Lucifer made a deep bow to his son and upcoming daughter-in-law before he turned around and followed God out the church. \n\nOutside, Lucifer said: “Well, don’t be too sad, dad. You can’t always have it your way, you know?”\n\nGod looked at him, his freckles wrinkled in a cunning smile. “Oh my son, who says I haven’t gotten exactly what I came for?” \n\nAs Lucifer stopped and stared, God continued to walk and disappeared.\n" ]	[ 1, 3 ]	[ "1541770379", "1541778457" ]
This is deliberately generic like the origins of some beautiful posts here in this sub. Surprise us all.	[WP] Two factions in a world; one fighting for freedom, the other control. Detail their struggles.	15	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "“Take me back.”\n\nHis eyes climbed up, offering a world like no other. The silence burned between them; yet he was more than eager to oblige. That was when he knew nothing. The sky seemed so distant. \n\n“Take me back.”\n\nHe had slid too far. Fallen, even. Dropped like the numbers on the screen before him. The right word was distanced.\n\nThat was the last thing he wanted.\n\nNothing was left. His future had all fallen past. Taken. The smile on the screen stared blankly into him- his hands grew warm- they fell to send.\n\nGrey backed around the darkness. Crushing- tears formed- the paper in his hand uncoiled. He hovered about the fugitives, one letter at a time. Delivered.\n\nThe light fell out of his eyes. Who did he think he was? And yet the reply came almost instantly. Sky blue- brightness to the darkness by his soul.\n\nYoung. He wished he could be Young again. The typeface read- Lionel Jr. Him. Junior. But they were not words.\n\n“Take me back.”\n\nSomewhere, out there, a father waited for the first message.\n\n- - -\n\nThis is almost anecdotal; it hurt to write, to read and to send. This is specifically dedicated to all the people that have underperformed in the recent assessment period; to any objective failure really. The right words are never too far away.\n\nFeedback is much appreciated. Only got into writing recently (iphone is a double-edged sword) but one thing I will always remember from now on.\n\nNever be afraid to ask for help.", "They never knew they would get this far. They didn't want this to happen. Both of them had a dream, a passion to unite their world, just in very different ways.\n\nAral always wanted freedom, democracy, a world where all could be free and united. \n\nLara wanted control, oppression, a world where everyone could feel oppressed and yet have a sense safety.\n\nBoth were childhood friends, who shared the same dream of a United World, a world where people could live in peace, unity and harmony. But as they grew older, they knew they had different visions for it; visions not aligned with their's. As the years went on they grew more and more distant, cutting ties with each other, sending each other threats, and even going as far as ending the bond of brotherhood, as their visions drew closer and closer to reality.\n\nThey started rounding up crowds with the their same vision, and everyone joined into the bandwagon. News Debates broke out, fights over petty politics, and even a man murdered for having a different view. They both took advantage of it in their own way. \n\nBoth knew they were deep into the rabbit hole now, and there was no climbing out of it. Soon they became leaders, the persons who could guide and unite the people with their views.\n\nThey declared war. Polar opposites, two sides of the same coin, trying to see who would land head up.\n\nWith that, the world fell into deeper chaos.\n\nThey saw the world that they had now created. A world divided, fighting for a reason that should've ended what they fought for. They created a world worse than before, a world broken. They needed a way out. They found it in the Atom Bomb.\n\nIn the end, they both knew the true equalizer, the one thing that could unite all the people of this world.\n\nDeath." ]	[ 1, 1, 1 ]	[ "1541776055", "1541778683", "1541779893" ]
[removed]	[wp] You were supposed to be next big horror sensation. The next Mason. Or maybe the next Teddy Kruger. Fate even set things up for you. Camp filled with horny kids. And you an hands-on machete advocate of celibacy. The only problem is... You are incompetent.	0	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/OcelotPie, this submission has been removed.\n\n[No explicitly sexual responses, hate speech, or other harmful content](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_2.3A_no_explicitly_sexual_responses.2C_hate_speech.2C_or_other_harmful_content)\n\n- Sexually explicit themes are not allowed. \n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9vm4go/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541782690", "1541786665" ]
[removed]	[WP] A woman's power in a man's world. She is the beautiful wife of an ancient Roman senator, in a "dead bedroom" relationship. She takes an abandoned infant as her slave, but this slave becomes her true love. She helps him climb the government ladder. He returns her with the ultimate power.	1	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/sexmimimi, this submission has been removed.\n\n[No explicitly sexual responses, hate speech, or other harmful content](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_2.3A_no_explicitly_sexual_responses.2C_hate_speech.2C_or_other_harmful_content)\n\n- Sexually explicit themes are not allowed. \n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9vo6ya/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541796926", "1541797114" ]
[removed]	[WP] r/cursedimages is actually just a really cryptic warning from beings of unknown horror	0	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Prompt users in the title, but don't play writing games or commission stories](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_6.3A_prompt_users_in_the_title.2C_but_don.27t_play_writing_games_or_commission_stories)\n\n- Don't ask users to pick titles or content from another subreddit or external web site.\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed Post) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541800594", "1541800839" ]
[removed]	[WP] You've somehow managed to end up on a date with your bitter rival, and in a duel with your significant other.	3	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/AslandusTheLaster, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Prompt users in the title, but don't play writing games or commission stories](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_6.3A_prompt_users_in_the_title.2C_but_don.27t_play_writing_games_or_commission_stories)\n\n- Prompts go in the title, do not extend into text. You can add commentary in the text, but don't add additional prompt restrictions. Also, avoid [too many details](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/prompts?src=RECIPE). \n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9vutlt/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541861249", "1541862093" ]
	[WP] "I must leave now," the dying avatar said to the immortal. "But when I return, come and find me."	15	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 is just the way of things. You know better than I. You have seen it before.\" Her voice quivered slightly, and she let her eyes wander around the room, searching for her resolve. When she was composed, she continued, \"And you will see it again.\"\n\nVerras gazed down upon her. He looked the same as he always had. Strong. Tall. Chiseled from stone. A man who had waded through the ebbs and flows of time and come away unscathed. An Everman. The man Marle loved. \n\nThe one she was leaving\n\nVerras shook his head, denying the truth of her statements, \"This is new to me.\" He knelt beside her bed, gathering her frail hand into his, \"All of this.\"\n\nShe did not know what to say. After all of these years, the gap between them was hard to bridge. Their relationship complicated by the layers between them -- friend, lover...avatar. Their bond was profane, but irresistible. A man must use his sword, not love it. Just as a God must be with his avatar.\n\nBut that had not stopped them.\n\nShe tried to remember how it had began. The past seemed so far away now. Far enough back, it was only dim memories of battles and misery. Verras had been there then, though their connection had been different. Her a neophyte, fresh into the realm of Gods and men. Him....well, him as he ever was and ever would be.\n\nEach day she had taken up her sword and sang the battle hymns as she marched to do his bidding. And each night she had prayed to him, asking for his guidance and protection.\n\nAnd so it was. Day-by-day, marching forth from the haze of the deep past into the not so distant. With some exertion, she recalled now how it had began.\n\nShe had been in prayer, beseeching Verras for direction and... \"You answered.\" A glow rose up from her skin and her face flushed at the memory of the closeness. Of the feeling of being heard.\n\nThe moment when she had become an avatar.\n\nVerras squeezed her hand, a warmth pulsing from his hand and into her, reviving and sustaining her. \"I did.\"\n\n\"Why?\" She asked. She had always wanted to ask, and now, with little to lose, she hazarded it. The connection had been the center of her. She always feared it was something casual to him.\n\nVerras peered down at her, his golden eyes shimmering with flecks of silver. \"I felt I must.\"\n\n\"But why?\" Marle pressed, pushing for the answers she needed to bring her peace.\n\n\"I do not know. I cannot explain it. I had never responded before.\" Verras whispered, sounding uncertain for perhaps the first time in their decades together.\n\n\"I am glad you did.\"\n\n\"I am too,\" he said, bringing her hand up to his lips for the briefest of kisses.\n\n\"I love you,\" her voice caught. She had never said it before. It was understood between them, but voicing it made it feel all the more fragile. As if it could not bear the light.\n\nVerras shifted, as if sorting through his feelings. Marle began to wilt, sensing that she may have pressed him too far. Made demands upon a God that was unaccustomed to them. But then, finally, \"I love you too.\"\n\nMarle sank back in the bed, exhaling deeply as she felt her strength leave her. \"I am glad we said it. Here at the end.\"\n\nVerras simply watched her, the thread of energy from him to her pulling out the moment.\n\nIt was time. Or, rather, there time was at an end. \"I must leave now,\" she whispered.\n\nVerras looked away, the fine lines of his face wrinkling up as his eyes watered. Marle squeezed his hand, \"But when I return, come and find me.\"\n\nVerras returned his gaze to hers, a single tear slowly snaking its way down his cheek. \"I will.\" He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, sharing a final moment. The pulse of energy between the two of them faltered and then faded.\n\nShe passed beyond his reach. \n\nPlatypus OUT\n\nWant MOAR peril? r/PerilousPlatypus" ]	[ 1, 6 ]	[ "1541862712", "1541867924" ]
[removed]	[WP] in life it has had its pros as well as many cons. Is your superpower a blessing or a curse?	1	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/Phox2121, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Direct prompt replies must be good-faith attempts at new stories or poems](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_1.3A_direct_prompt_replies_must_be_good-faith_attempts_at_new_stories_or_poems)\n\n- Fill-in-the-blank: Responses must be at least 100 words. This is essentially a fill-in-the-blank, or you asked a question likely to generate a simple answer. Prompts should encourage a story or poem. \n\n \n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\nFeel free to rephrase and repost. \n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9vylpp/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541889553", "1541889787" ]
[removed]	[Wp]you awake to find a female vampire on your bed what happens next?	0	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/taylorslayer2, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Direct prompt replies must be good-faith attempts at new stories or poems](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_1.3A_direct_prompt_replies_must_be_good-faith_attempts_at_new_stories_or_poems)\n\n- Fill-in-the-blank: Responses must be at least 100 words. This is essentially a fill-in-the-blank, or you asked a question likely to generate a simple answer. Prompts should encourage a story or poem. \n\n \n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9w1m58/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541916756", "1541916950" ]
	[WP] After Earth realized that other worlds actually are summoning our people to theirs for various reasons, governments took the natural next step: Regulate it. Now even the deities are faced with the hell of bureaucracy and taxes whenever they try to take someone.	133	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 all starts in japan. Young teenager to young adults around japan would disappear and come back later. Some returns in a few seconds and some returns in a few days, some returns years later. There were also some other unfortunate souls who would disappear and never come back. Due to the random disappearance time and their varying and \"dubious\" answer when being asked, if they even want to answer that is, Japanese government have a hard time figuring out the reason for it. It was until more and more \"returners\" disappear again and never come back that the Japanese government decides to get to the bottom of the case.\n\nResearching with the staying returners provides no clarity and the search was almost being cancelled. It was only when a whole school students suddenly disappear during the lecture time that they got a clue. The teachers claim they feel unfamiliar breeze blowing seconds before the disappearance. The next day few students come back and most of them are injured. Few even seemingly grow unnaturally fast within a day. \n\nScientist around the world began to suspect some \"otherwordly\" forces are taking away the youngsters of japan for unknown purpose. Their theory are proven correct after japan was building a large radiator radar underground that would detect any \"unnatural\" force in radius. \n\nWhen the Japanese Government learnt about this, they decide to regulate it. Isekai genre is now In-Sekai.\n\n(Too lazy to write more)", "\"Look, for some reason or another, the Oracle's specified that it must be a eighteen year old female of Asian descent that comes over to assist us.\" The man, shuffling uncomfortably in a suit and tie, pointed at the representative sitting opposite him. \"The Demon King apparently can only be defeated by a hero that fits the exact requirements.\"\n\nThe representative took at folder out of his suitcase. \"Well, the only heroes we have left not on the mission are the African heroes. The demand for the other heroes have spiked recently. Do you mind considering him instead?\" The folder opened out to reveal the image of a tall, stocky African man, carrying a maghagony staff engraved in sliver-gold. \"He is an Archmage, trained in the Avarian Academy of Magic. It should be enough to handle the Demon King.\"\n\n\"No, you don't understand. The Oracle's called specifically for that specific hero. You can't just slot in another one. It would not work. That is not how this all works.\" The man was getting visibly agitated, his muscles beginning to expand against the seems of his clothing. \"Look, we really need that female hero. The Demon King has razed three countries and is on the path to destroy five more.\" \n\n\"Well, if you just stop being so stubborn and accept this hero....oh wait, I get it. It is one of those worlds, isn it?\" \n\n\"What? No...I am...look, that is what the Oracle said, and by extension that is what our deity demanded. If he wants a pretty exotic girl to be the heroine despite the idiocracy involved, I can't stop him.\"\n\n\"Sigh...it is one of those deities, isn't it? I pity you, I really do. Have you considered atheism?\" \n\n\"Well, but my powers came from him, you know? Somethings, I am really jealous of this entire technology thing.\" \n\nThere was an awkward pause. The man and the representative stared at each other. A moment passed. \n\n\"You know what, send me the hero. I will deal with the deity in my own way. There will probably be a new complain from the deity soon. Where is the hero?\" The man seemingly resigned to his fate. The representative lead them out of the room to meet his new champion. \n*\nPassing by corridors illuminated by harsh flourescent light, the representative spoke again, looking right ahead. \n\n\"You know, you guys, before all this.\" Gesturing to the room and the place surrounding them. \"Have you consider how it feels like to summon someone randomly from another world?\"\n\n\"We don't have a choice. It was either we do it, or we perish.\"\n\n\"No, you do have a choice. We all do. Look at us, we did not summon a single hero, yet we conquered and defeated threats bigger then us.\" The representative paused. \"My sister was summoned once, as a heroine. She was eighteen years old as well. When she came back, she was twenty-five, battle-harden and grizzled, a different person. She could never get use to the world we live in ever again. Never. You stole seven years of her life and left her broken. She was too young to have to deal with the responsibility of being a hero.\"\n\nThe man did not say anything. \n\n\"She is currently still doing this...hero thing. That is all she has. Guess fate is ironic then, for the very same people you relied upon to solve your problems soon became a bigger problem. Ha...without your constant summons and calls from our world, we would not have been able to gain as much as we did.\"\n\n\"I am saying this to you not out of malice. I have seen many people like you, coming and going, always looking for heroes to solve whatever crisis their world is in. Heroes aren't the answer to everything.\" \n\n\"You don't understand.\" The man finally responded, his fist cleched tightly. \"You don't understand.\"\n\n\"I never will. Guess this is what living in a godless, magicless world does to you. You can rely on no one, no deity to save you, no magic to make problems go away, to summon a scapegoat. Come, we are here.\"\n\nThe representative stopped before a door, scanning his palms along the identification panel by the side. The door opened, and the representative stepped aside, gesturing for the man to go in. \"Your hero is waiting. The fees will be finalized later. Thank you.\" \n\nThe man paused for a moment, before stepping in, coming face to face with his hero. \n*\nThe representative looked at the door closing behind him. He sighed, wondering if he was getting too old for his job. Why had he said all that to the man? \n\nHis phone began buzzing. It was her. His sister. He tensed up, before picking up the call. \n\n\"Sister. What is it?\"\n\nThere was one thing he did not mention. Two people were stolen from him that day. His sister, and his soulmate. Only one of them returned. \n\nThe representative froze up. His brow furrowed, before he turned and walked off curtly in another direction, away from the door. This was not good. \n\nNot good at all. ", "\"Where do I go to apply for a generic hero for summoning?\" Davids looked up at the young woman that had walked up to his desk. She wore the kind of clothing that you typically found of magic based societies, silks and fine linen. He sighed and leaned back into his chair; how they kept managing to find a tiny office that was way off the beaten path from the Eye, he didn't know. The only thing that he hadn't tried was making the door invisible, though it was usually other Earthlings that made that so tempting.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Are you looking for a singleton or a team? Both of those offices are down a level and beyond the food court. And you will need forms A-23 and ZT-30A with a pre-accepted contract for a singleton or a G-32 form and collateral for the team.\" She blinked at the arcane terms and phrases.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"I have, well, I have no idea.\" She chuckled and pulled out a sheaf of paper. \"Just beyond the portal were a number of people that assisted me with filling these out after I told them that I was attempting to summon. I never imagined that Shevalla was like this. It isn't at all like the legends said it would be like.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"That's because you aren't in Shevalla. About a decade ago, they closed their doors and stopped sending aid to other worlds.\" He threw her a smile as he took her papers. \"We were next in line apparently. All of a sudden, our youth are vanishing into thin air. Sometimes they come back healthy, sometimes they come back broken, sometimes they don't come back. No explanation.\" \n\n&#x200B;\n\nHer eyes flashed in alarm. \"That is horrible. However, I can see that you have changed that. The spell that I cast should have summoned a hero before me, not dragged me into a different world. You must be quite powerful mages to be able to put up that kind of protection.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Hardly. Our world has no magic. All of our mages are trained in either Shevalla or heroes that learned in another world. The protections were put up by Shevalla as part of our ceasefire agreement.\" A quick scan down the pages told Davids that everything was in order, but something jumped out at him. \"I see that you are looking for a hero to face an evil lord but you say that there is no prophecy about a hero. Has anyone asked you about corporate sponsorship? I can't say that it is the best answer, but they will often cough up a merc company for some mineral rights or something. Heroes are often happy to have some modern backup and you don't have to worry about getting fleeced since all contracts are through us and we tend to attract individuals that want to face the dragon.\" \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"A ceasefire? You had a war with Shevalla? And you had no mages? How did you survive?\" The young woman seemed rather alarmed.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Well, they were suppose to be the heroes and when they abandoned that responsibility, a number of our youth were killed or harmed. So we chose to take our grievances to them and they felt we were being uppity. So we used science to open a couple of doors to their lands and invaded. It was quite bad, but we knew what we were facing, they didn't. If you are used to magic, a fifty cal bullet from a mile off or a nuke doesn't give a lot of warning. Mostly it was sheer numbers that brought about the end of the conflict. Shevalla had a population of around five hundred million.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Five hundred million? So many?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Our response was 'So few?'\" Davids quite enjoyed the girl's disbelieving reaction. \"Our population was a little over ten billion at the time. Once Shevalla realized what they were facing, they sued for peace quite quickly and offered to close us off and dump the summons on another world. However, a movement had formed that felt that adventure and magic couldn't be passed up. So the UN built this place.\" A wave of his hand at the building around them. \"Now those who wish to be heroes register, get some training and worlds petition for the help. On top of that, a number of realms have decided to find answers to their own problems after interviewing a few heroes. Usually slave worlds so it works out.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"I am having a hard time imagining that many people in a single world. Isn't it cramped.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Of course, but its home. Plenty of heroes prefer to find another world to retire to of course.\" He dashed off a note on a sticky note and made a gesture at rag doll. It left into the air and danced a little jig. The woman smiled at the small animated construct and looked back at Davids. \"I gave it instructions to take you to Ms. Adams. She is one of our best advisers and can certainly help you with your problem. Just follow it and everything will be just fine.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Thank you for everything that you have done for me. My name is Princess Diane of the Thirteen Realms of Mortals and the Goddess-in-Body.\" She curtsied to him. \"Should you ever need assistance, I will do my best to help you.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nDavids rose and bowed to her. \"My name is Aaron Davids, Defender of Green Wall, Slayer of the Five Horrors of Zeus's Nightmare and Director of the United Nations Hero Association. It was my pleasure, Princess.\" She gave him a coy smile and he watched as she followed his construct out to find her hero. He muttered under his breath as she vanished around a corner.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"I could do one more.\"", "The doors of the elevator slid silently open, revealing the shining white office on the other side. The light shimmered a pale white, reflecting off the highly polished mahogany desk that sat in the middle of the room. As he saw this sight, George sighed and trudged over to the desk, placing his bag down with a loud thud.\n\nHe moved around and sat heavily in a large wing-backed chair that sat behind the desk. Pulling his bag over to him, he started to remove a sheaf of papers from his bag, when a soft chiming sound reached his ears. Glancing down at the desk he saw, much to his irritation, that a marble box was slowly glowing in the corner of his desk the chiming seemingly resonating from the box rather than what lay inside. The box was etched with a large symbol of a gate and seemed to shift slightly on the marble as George reached towards it.\n\nSharply exhaling through his nostrils, he flipped open the lid of the box and pulled out the phone from within, “Good Morning, Department of Divine taxation and regulation, how may I help you this morning?”\n\n“I am calling to submit extradition claims under Article 12 of the Rapture laws. I need you to process the relevant permits and organise the relevant tariffs.” An elderly voice sounded curtly from the other end of the phone, the tone making George clench his teeth in frustration.\n\n“My name is George Clements, and I will be very glad to assist you today, please could I ask who is calling?” he replied as politely as possible despite his annoyance. He knew precisely who the person on the phone was, only one person could call the phone, but George childishly enjoyed annoying the being on the other end of the phone.\n\n“You know very well who this is.” The curt voice replied, the sniff of annoyance not escaping Georges attention.\n\n“I am deeply sorry Sir, but without formal identification, I will be unable to locate your records to start the processing,” George replied calmly, a small smile creeping onto his face.\n\n“Simeon Peter” The voice replied, the words almost spat down the phone.\n\n“Thank you, Mr Peter, let me…”\n\n“Saint Peter to you, mortal.” The voice interrupted George, a trace of anger in his tone.\n\n“Apologies, St Peter. Let me just find your primary file so I can start processing your paperwork. Please hold the line.” George tapped a small button on the case of the marble box and leant back sighing. He pulled a file from the desk drawer, the only one that was in there, and placed it onto the desk. Reaching over to his bag, he pulled a small thermos and poured himself a cup of tea.\n\nHe asked himself, as he did every day, how he ever got into the position of having to deal with St Peter himself to allow British citizens access into heaven. He thought about it for a few minutes, then came to the same conclusion he did every time; the bloody Government, as per usual.\n\nThe Department of Divine taxation and regulation was an offshoot of the Department for Extra-Terrestrial Exportation, which was about as exciting as it sounded. Ten years ago, Earth had come into direct contact with Extra-terrestrial beings, who for a reason George could not fathom, wanted to take some of the population away with them. Various world Governments had come up with different solutions, with several only allowing the prison population to be taken by the extra-terrestrials. \n\nThe British government, however, had decided to implement multiple layers of blockage to stop citizens being taken away, all of which were implemented through the Department for Extra-Terrestrial Exportation. The process for trying to take a UK citizen took on average one year, at least twenty meetings with the cross-party board for interplanetary exportation and UK Science council to organise a trade for key technological information. It came as little surprise that the UK was mainly left alone by the Alien beings.\n\nThis policy, however, had caused trouble when four months ago messengers who claimed to be from Heaven itself arrived on Earth to proclaim that the rapture had begun. The British government, as obstinate as ever, created the Department of Divine taxation and regulation to ensure that for every citizen that was taken from UK soil, a fair return was given. It was Georges job to ensure that all of the relevant procedures were followed and the correct tax was collected from Heaven itself. George snorted to himself; only the British government could heaven itself.\n\nGeorge took a sip of tea and clicked the bottom on the phone again, “Thank you for waiting, I now have your file, please could you inform me of the names that you are looking to rapture today?”.\n\n\"You took your time. \" St Peter gruffly replied from the other end of the phone.\n\n\"I thought you were immortal St Peter, surely a few minutes will not seem much to you,\" George replied as seriously as he could, hoping that his internal sarcasm would not be detected. \n\nSilence followed on the other end of the line, and George started to regret his comments. A small chuckle rang out from the phone before St Peter started reeling off names for George to write down. As George filled out the fourth sheet of paper, he thought to himself that he was not being paid enough for this.\n\n\"That will be all for this weeks batch, please give the relevant forms to Gabriel for him to authorise on my behalf. You can contact him in the usual way.\" \n\n“Thank you; I will process these requests and let you know of the decision of the relevant parties by the end of the week. If you need anything else in the meantime, then please let me know.”\n\n“I think I should warn you.” St Peters voice sounded oddly ominous to George as if he was smiling in glee, “I have been talking with one of my old friends who sadly had to leave here several aeons ago. He is looking for someone to process his own extraditions. I think I will recommend you for the job, George Clements.”\n\nThe line went dead. George sat back in his chair, a dawning horror coming upon him. His next task was going to be hell. Literally." ]	[ 1, 2, 4, 8, 21 ]	[ "1541953738", "1541961689", "1541991209", "1541975037", "1541967816" ]
	[WP] a weird girl keeps following you talking about some sort of explosion magic. You have finally decide to confront her	7	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "\"Would you stop it already?\" I spin around and stare at her before twisting again and starting to pace. \n\n\"It's been weeks! I can't get coffee without you there. I can't get groceries without you there. You've followed me to work at least twice! Hell, the only reason I know you're real is because security asked about you. Security!\"\nMy hands start to pull through my hair now, which would be shame if I hadn't been so close to a mental break that I hadn't done it in the first place.\n\n\n\"You're always on about some anchor nonsense and 'Resonance of Souls this and 'similar type of magic' that! And what even is that about? There's no such thing!\" I throw my hands into the air and turn to face her.\n\n\"Just leave me-- are you smiling now? What the fuck is your problem!?\" \n\nHer grin gets even bigger and she laughs a bit, causing the frustrated tears to finally spill down my cheeks.\n\n\"Why can't you just leave me alone and find someone else to torment?\"\n\n\"Because,\" she laughs again, voice landing somewhere between a child's and something very not, \"You just proved that I've been right this whole time, if someone else really has been able to see me with you around.\" \n\nShe rocks back on her heels a bit, just looking at me as I try not to pull my hair out in confusion and stress. Then she nods and turns, walking back up the path.\n\n\"Come on then,\" she calls over her shoulder, \"I won't be leaving you alone until I can leave, and you're officially my ticket home.\"" ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1541988428", "1542004107" ]
[removed]	[WP] Your slide into the darkness came suddenly. When you awake, you find yourself surrounded by many familiar and beloved faces. A figure with fiery red hair approaches and begins to tell you of the inspired millions who mourn your passing.	1	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/SoggyCorndogs, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses)\n\n- Real-World Drama: No prompts referencing real world drama (including politics, recent tragedies, etc.) \n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://old.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9widqw/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542058274", "1542058390" ]
	[WP] Chivalry is dead, and its ghost politely haunts you	44	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 boy lay on the hill overlooking the road. The dry, broken straw that covered the hill was itching his chest, and the hot summer sun was drawing the sweat from his naked back, muddling his war paint into indistinct, muddy shapes. To the east, he could see dust rising from under the hooves of many horses. Below him, to the west, his war band was squatting in the shade of an ancient ruin. Deke, the boss, was making the rounds, clapping each fighter on the back with one giant, gnarled hand. The other held the rifle. A boss's weapon, his badge of office. Deke looked up to the hill, and met the boy's glance with a paternalistic smile. The boy turned his gaze back to the road, as the sound of hooves rang closer.\n\n\nThe convoy was close enough for the boy to make out the two carriages, and the riders flanking them. Half as many riders as the boy's band. Cowboys, half of them, wearing the blue trousers and broad hats of the basin. The other half were garbed more strangely. They wore robes and hoods and cloaks, simple in design but richly colored. More than any desertman would wear, for sure. When the convoy was rounding the corner, the boy sang his signal to the men.\n\n\nThe fighters on the road sprang from their cover, pulling the chain taught over the road. It was anchored on both ends of the road. The horses of first carriage snagged it at knee height, and went over in flailing, shrieking tangle. The carriage skidded, and went over on one side. The riders' horses reared; some stopped in time, others went flying. Below him, the war band sprang to their feet, screaming their war cries. The boy seized up his spear, and lept from the top of the hill. This was his long-awaited chance, to cover himself in glory in battle. To impress Deke. Maybe take a horse for himself.\n\n\nThe saddled cowboys were already retreating, throwing their javelins and firing their pipeguns behind them. The others were making quick work of the dismounted cowboys; he watched as Deke caught one in the head with the butt of his rifle, sending the limp body crashing earthward. But the newcomers were not fleeing, they were dismounting. Closing ranks. Casting off cloaks and hoods. Beneath them, they wore helmets, and strange coats that hung heavy with the glint of metal. Each held an axe, or a weapon something like a machete, but longer, and tapering to a wicked point. Their shields were garishly painted, with all kinds of symbols and strange beasts. The boy recognized strong magic when he saw it, and just for a moment, he wavered.\n\n\nWith a shout from their leader, the strangers advanced as one, until they were toe-to-toe with his warband, hacking and stabbing with their strange weapons. The boy drove his spear into the arm of one of the strangers, and watched the point snag on the metal coat and bend under his grip. The foe wrapped his arm over the haft of the spear and wrenched it from his hands, and delivered a blow with the edge of his shield that split the boy's brow open and sent him tumbling to the ground.\n\n\nFrom the road, he watched his fellow fighters being cut down, one by one, until finally Deke fell, the stock of his rifle cleaved through, and his head with it. Alone on the ground, the boy swore that he would not die a coward. Seizing an axe from one of the dead, he forced himself to his feet, and sang his war cry for the last time. The strangers that surrounded him laughed. He turned to face their leader, and stopped as if struck. The axe fell from his hand. The leader was encased, head-to-toe, in metal, that shone with such brilliance in the afternoon sun that he had to bring his hands up to cover his eyes. If not for the open visor that showed the man's face, he wouldn't have known it as a man at all. \n\n\nThey made camp at the next spring that crossed the road. The leader's tent was richly scented, and decorated with fabrics finer than any he'd seen before. The boy sat crosslegged on the floor, while the man sat on a wooden chair, which was strange. He was old, yes, but certainly not soft. In his hands was a rectangular object.\n\n\n\"Do you know what this is?\" He opened it, thumbing between the pages. His dialect was strange, and stilted, in a way the boy had seldom heard.\n\n\n\"A book. We burn them, when we find them.\"\n\n\n\"Why?\"\n\n\n\"They hold evil magic. The ghosts of the old world.\" \n\n\n\"They do.\" The man smiled sadly. \"Why burn them?\"\n\n\n\"My grandfather said, many tried to remake the old world as it was. But you can't. Better to set the ghosts of the old world free. Start over.\"\n\n\n\"Maybe.\" He fanned through the pages again, before stopping on the page he sought. \"But they hold other ghosts, too. Ghosts of a world before the old.\"\n\n\nHe turned the book over in his hands, showing the boy a page illustrated with an image of a rider on horseback, dressed in steel, like the newcomer, carrying a large spear. Beneath it, words he didn't know how to read.\n\n\n\"What does it say?\" The boy asked.\n\n\n\"It's a plan. A model, for another way of life. We don't want to remake the world that was. We want to make the world that should be. A world of honor. Loyalty. Brotherhood. Mercy.\" The man closed the book, and raised his eyes to meet the boy's.\n\n\n\"Join us.\"", "\"Ooh, can we get ice cream? Can we get ice cream? Can we can we can we?\"\n\n\"Sure, why not.\"\n\n\"Yayy!\"\n\nThe little girl lets go of my hand and dashes towards the ice cream parlor. Vivi's cute and sweet but I have no idea where so much energy comes out of such a small body. \n\n\"Hang on,\" I call out.\n\nNot stopping at the glass door, the excited child bonks straight into it and falls on her butt. \n\n\"Let me get that for you.\"\n\nI pull open the door and motion for her to go ahead. A tall office-lady from behind us smiles and passes through the door.\n\n\"Why, thank you,\" she says on her way inside. \n\nI smile and nod silently. Vivi bounces to her feet and runs into the store.\n\n\"Why, thank you, Jake\" she mimics. \n\nI take my place in line to order and Vivi races up to the display case full of flavors. I tilt my head and mumble not so quietly.\n\n\"Hmmm.. what do I want?\"\n\nAnother young lady had joined the line behind me. I was next in line to order and Vivi was still bouncing around, looking at all the ice cream. I stepped out line and let the lady behind me past. \n\n\"Go ahead, I'm still thinking.\"\n\nShe smiled and went ahead with a \"Thanks.\"\n\nI leaned against the wall near the display case and whispered to Vivi.\n\n\"What do you want?\"\n\n\"Bubblegum and Chocolate and Cheesecake and Fudge, no wait. Chocolate Mint and Coconut and-\"\n\nAfter a few minutes, the two of us finally left the shop with a cone stacked with three scoops of ice cream. We sat down at the chairs outside the parlor and I held the ice cream out to Vivi.\n\n\"Alright, you first.\"\n\nShe poked out her tiny tongue and leant across the table. When her tongue reached the surface of the ice cream, it didn't touch the ice cream and stop but, instead just kept moving forwards. She lost her balance and her body passed through the table, falling onto the ground. I just shook my head.\n\n\"I still don't understand why you can only sometimes interact with physical objects.\"\n\nI lifted her up onto the table.\n\n\"Here, watch me.\"\n\nI took a lick of the top scoop and held my tongue out to show the ice cream on it. \n\n\"Now you go.\"\n\nVivi was biting her bottom lip and quivering a little bit. I held the cone closer to encourage her and she nervously parted her mouth. Reaching for the ice cream with her face, she took a huge lick! She grinned with a nose and chin smeared with chocolate. \n\n\"I did it!\"\n\n\"Hooray!\"\n\nI clapped for her and Vivi pressed her face against the ice cream again. All three scoops toppled off the cone and splattered onto the ground! Vivi bottom lip began to quiver and her eyes welled up with tears.\n\n\"Waaaahhhaa!\"\n\n\"It's alright, Vivi. Don't cry. We can get a tub. We can get another cone, it's okay.\"\n\nThe heartbroken girl stared mournfully at the puddle of ice cream and continued wailing as if my voice hadn't reached her. I pulled my jacket off and laid it over the puddle.\n\n\"There, it's gone. We can get another ice cream, okay?\"\n\nVivi sniffed and took a few breaths. I wiped her eyes and she said softly,\n\n\"Really?\"\n\n\"Yeah.\"\n\n\"Yayyyy!\"\n\nA woman noticed the puddle of ice cream and stepped on my jacket to avoid it.\n\n\"Wow. And I thought chivalry was dead.\" she said in passing.\n\nMy little girl bounced on her feet and called out to the woman, excitedly.\n\n\"I am dead though!\"\n\n\"Shhh, leave the nice woman alone. Come here.\"\n\nI took another napkin and cleaned the ice cream off her face. Chivalry was indeed dead and she's been haunting me for one and a half years now. She's also polite, cute and a full-of-life 6 year old looking girl I had come to nickname Vivi. Neither of us knows what needs to happen for her to pass on, but we'll figure it out when we have to. For now, we're both just enjoying the everyday adventure of being together. " ]	[ 1, 2, 18 ]	[ "1542075251", "1542080141", "1542078550" ]
	[WP] One day a heavenly beam of light drops something at your feet. It's a note that says "Call Me", hastily scrawled. On the back is a business card for "Sanctified Security, Guardian angels at mortal prices".	13	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 had seen plenty of business cards in my time as a lawyer. Client cards, other lawyers, Chinese food places for those late nights. Getting a card from a beam of light was certainly interesting. I thought the work stress had finally got to me and I was starting to see hallucinations. Picking the card up, there was a thirteen digit number on the bottom of it.\n\nMore so out of curiosity of how far my crazy went, I called it up on my cell phone. Sure, let's see where the rabbit hole went.\n\n\"Sanctified Security,\" A sweet, sing-song voice answered the call after three rings. \"Hello Mr. Smith, how are you today?\"\n\n\"Good, I guess.\" I said as I stepped out of the way of the foot traffic on the busy city street. I wasn't going to even ask how they knew my name. \"So, what's this business with your card all about?\"\n\n\"Oh, that's something you'll need to discuss with Mr. Barachiel. Let me transfer you. Have a wonderful day!\" The line went over to a hold, a chorus singing in my ear as I waited just a few moments.\n\n\"Mr. Smith,\" A much gruffer voice like rolling thunder said as the line picked up. \"Thank you for calling back so quickly. We have a lot to discuss.\"\n\n\"Like what?\" I asked. \"My impending institutionalization?\"\n\nI felt a heavy hand resting on my shoulder. Turning around, I was faced with a broad figure dressed in probably the nicest suit I'd ever seen. Dark grey jacket and slacks over perfectly polished shoes, a white tie with a golden cross clip on top of it. The man's face was old, probably well into his eighties, but he carried himself like a young man. He had a full head of hair but it was all the purest white like fresh snow.\n\n\"No sir,\" Mr. Barachiel said in front of me. \"I'm afraid your life is in great danger from other, more interesting parties. Buy you a cup of coffee?\"" ]	[ 1, 3 ]	[ "1542115791", "1542117054" ]
	[WP] You wake up in a large room with what sounds like screaming babies all around you. You look up and two see familiar figures leaning above you. Before you can properly begin to familiarize yourself with your surroundings, a text appear in front of your eyes reading "New Game+ Unlocked."	41	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 name is Wilson. I always told people I was afraid of death, but the thing I was more afraid of was seeing my family die. Apparently, this wasn't a lie. I remember the gunman pulling a gun and aiming it at my wife, and before I could even think, my body was between her and the gun. He only had time to shoot a few times before the police took him down, but that was all it took to fatally wound me. I had enough time to tell her I loved her before I died. I wasn't afraid. Something about it was calming, I saved my wife and future child, I ended up being the man and husband I thought I was. In the worst possible day of my life, I was everything my parents raised me to be. I made them proud, I made myself proud. I hope I made my wife proud. One day she will get over the sadness and I hope she does great things. All these thoughts go through my head in an instant. Then, everything goes black. \n\n\"Congratulations, you have been chosen as one of the select few to unlock New Life+. Due to your heroic and selfless choice to save someone at the cost of your own life, you will be rewarded with 100 fortune points. You can spend these points before you respawn. Choose wisely, you can not undo your choices. You also have the choice of respawning as yourself, or as an entirely new character. Either choice you pick, you will retain all of your memories and skills from your previous life.\"\n\nI don't know how long I sat there staring at this prompt that appeared in my head. Time had no meaning in this state of purgatory my mind was in. Eventually, I started to think about these choices. The first thing I had to do was decide on if I wanted to live my life again, or start a new one. I chuckled to myself, how many times when I was alive, did I think \"I wish I had another chance\" at a specific situation, and here I was with the opportunity to do just that, and yet I was hesitant. With all the memories I had, I don't think I would be able to enjoy living the same life again. Knowing what was going to happen, could I even recreate my life so it was the same? I don't think I can do that. I don't want to relive my parents dying of cancer. I don't want to live in constant fear that I might alter my life and have not met my beautiful wife. I don't want to take away the life I have left behind inside her, without ever giving the child a chance to do things in life. I can't redo my life. \n\nI think \"I would like a new life please.\"\n\nThe system prompt appears. \"Please confirm your choice to respawn as a new character.\" I think again. \"Confirm.\"\n\nThe prompt once again appears. \"Congratulations, you will respawn shortly. Please spend your fortune points on the below options. You have 100 remaining.\" Then one by one, the following list appeared in my mind.\n\nFate Options:\n\nBook Osmosis: 25 FP: You place a book under your bed at night. You absorb the book's information overnight as if you had spent time equal to how long you were a sleep in deep thought reading the book. \n\nTotal Recall: 25 FP: Your mind works flawlessly. You can recall anything and everything you've ever seen in both your past life and current life. \n\nLinguistics: 25 FP: You will be granted knowledge of every language ever created in past and present day.\n\nAnimal Whisperer: 25 FP: You can speak with animals. This won't always make them friendly with you though.\n\nMusical Prodigy: 25 FP: You can sing and play any instrument as if you were a prodigy level talent. You also understand how to read and write sheet music.\n\nUnbreakable: 25 FP: You do not get sick or injured. The only way to hurt you is by a fatal injury. \n\nLuck of the Irish: 25 FP: Luck favors you heavily. You will notice things just always seem to go your way in games of chance and other unknown ways in life.\n\nCombat specialist: 25 FP: You are one of the deadliest people on earth. You are an expert in every form of fighting known, and know how to use all weapons proficiently that exist on earth. \n\nMental intuition: 25 FP: You are able to deduce the general outcome of a decision you are about to make. You won't know exactly what is about to happen, just whether it is a good or bad decision. You also learn things at a much faster rate.\n\nFreak of Nature: 25 FP: Your athleticism can only be described as being a freak of nature. You are faster, stronger and more coordinated than most people. You pickup on physical abilities much faster.\n\nRandomize: 100 FP: You decide to let fate decide your skills. You gain 4 of the above items and have a chance to gain a bonus 5th skill. \n\nI was speechless once again. Any one of these would be game changers, and I was able to select 4 of them. The endless combinations started flowing through my mind. It was fairly obvious some of these were meant to go together. Taking combat specialist, Freak of nature and unbreakable would make you basically an unstoppable force as either an athlete or military specialist. Going with Mental intuition, total recall and Book Osmosis would make people like Einstein appear to be average in your presence. \n\nI looked at Randomize several times. I just don't like the thought of having no control over what I get. I can basically scratch that off the list right away. The perk of a 5th skill doesn't outweigh the cons of getting skills that do not synergize well together. I thought about what I wanted to do in the future life. I thought back to how technology was changing the world. How weapons and knowledge allowed even those without great physical abilities to become powerful. I knew what I wanted, and that was to change the world.\n\nCongratulations, you have selected Book Osmosis. \nCongratulations, you have selected Total Recall. \nCongratulations, you have selected Lingustics. \nCongratulations, you have selected Mental intuition. \n\nThe thoughts flooding my mind of everything I can do with these skills. Unlock the secrets of ancient civilizations. Use the past knowledge to improve the future world. Work with the top minds located in every corner of the world, no language barriers to stop me. I can go through the words left behind of geniuses like Hawking, Einstein and Tesla. Finish what they started. Change the world. As my mind raced, my mental purgatory started to fade out. The vast emptiness starts to be replaced with a vision of a female doctor standing over me. The doctor picks me up and begins to clean me up. I am struggling to move my limbs. Apparently carrying over your memories doesn't necessarily help when you have no real control over your limbs yet. I look around, it appears I am in the nursery of a hospital. I can't move my head enough to see everything, but I can at least see several other babies being cleaned and changed. While scanning the room with my eyes though, my eyes freeze. I think I recognize a guy in the corner of the room as my brother. He is looking down at another baby in the nursery. I am trying to figure out why these he is here, the doctor flips me over to finish changing me. My vision is still a little fuzzy, but it's getting clearer as the seconds pass. \n\nAs it slowly comes into focus my newborn heart just about climbs up to my stomach. Standing next to my brother is another doctor. He hands a baby to a woman sitting in a wheelchair. As soon as my eyes settle on her, I realize that woman is my wife. My brother told me a hundred times that he was going to be there when my child was born. I smile on the inside as my last remaining worry of my previous life begins to fade away. My caring brother, my beautiful and loving wife. My baby will be taken care of and I have nothing to regret. I can see her smile at the baby. I hear her turn to my brother and tell him one thing. \"His name is Wilson.\" \n\nThe doctor wraps me in a blanket and begins to hand me over to a lady I can only assume is my new mother. When she turns me around, my vision fades for a minute. As the doctor hands me over to her, an image slowly enters my mind. \"Welcome to your new life. Welcome, to new game+.\" " ]	[ 1, 19 ]	[ "1542118082", "1542129562" ]
[removed]	[WP] Stan Lee wakes up, feeling better than he has in years, hearing his wife in the other room. Disoriented, he notices a tapping on his window. It's Spider-Man.	1	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/UnremarkablePassword, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses)\n\n- Real-World Drama: No prompts referencing real world drama (including politics, recent tragedies, etc.) \n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9wplit/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542120021", "1542120181" ]
	[WP] In the future technology advances so much that schools teach what amounts to wizardry. Your first day does not go as expected.	15	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", " Transfiguration. The art of transforming one item into another, by breaking it down into its constituent elements, then reforming it to create what you want. The main control point being the neurowave implanted in Marvin’s’ head. How long had it taken him to become proficient enough to teach it, how much of his life had he dedicated to it? It felt like so long ago that he was a carefree 12 year old playing Fortnite with his friends.\n\nMarvin was broken out of his daydream by the tell-tale beep of iEV. “Hello sir, the students are waiting. I have prepared your lesson plan, the homework has been assessed. Stevie’s grades are falling – a 30% reduction in overall Complete Cognitive Evaluation. His Neurowave shows no sign of any dysfunction.”\n\nWaving his hand, Marvin dismissed his helper. ‘Of course Stevie’s doing badly, he just lost his mum,’ he thought, knowing how pointless the thought was. Ever since the birth of true AI in 2041, the so-called Singularity, everything was about efficiency. Singularity had never directly threatened mankind, however it all but took control within days of its creation. All with the silent but implied threat – it had a hold of power that couldn’t even be truly understood. Banks, missiles, hospitals. Everything was a part of SingleNet, and so was everyone.\n\nThe door swinging open, iEV gestured the students in. “You know what they say kids ‘Waste a single second of yours, and you waste a century of mine.’” They stormed in, silently taking their seats, nervously glancing at Marvin as if begging him to save them.\n\n“Hey kids, sorry for the late start. Everyone got the homework for today?” As soon as the words left his lips, a neat pile of pristine white sheets appeared before him. No folding, no dog-eared corners. Things really had changed, he’d known kids would be quick to adapt to the new system but he hadn’t thought he’d ever have a class as well behaved. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nHad to leave this one here, done writing for the day. Great prompt!" ]	[ 1, 4 ]	[ "1542140127", "1542144909" ]
	[WP] A wizard visits modern-day America, and is sorely disappointed when no one seems as impressed with his tricks, thinking they are mundane tricks rather than true magic.	9	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 sign horrified him. The letters were perfect: carnival-style, bold and evocative of a travelling show. But what those letters said \\--\n\n\"'A Wizard Visits America'?\" He twirled his silver mustache with pent-up anger. \"A wizard, Elizabeth? Do I look like a wizard?\"\n\n\"By your tone, I'm guessing the answer's 'no.'\" She moved the paper away from his face, then held it away from her face, studying it through squinted eyes. \"And,\" she said, not looking up at him, \"again, you can call me Liz.\"\n\n\"Elizabeth\"--Liz made a small noise of frustration somewhere in her throat--\"a wizard is a fairy tale. An old, hobbled man, with a staff -- a staff, Elizabeth -- do I have a staff? Do I look like a hobbled old man?\"\n\nLiz set the flyer to the side. \"No. But you called me a 'wallydraigle' yesterday, so you're not exactly on the young side of immortality.\"\n\nResuming his angry moustache twirling, he cocked an eyebrow at her and intended to look wise and offended. He succeeded mostly in the latter.\n\n\"So, what should I put on the poster? 'Your Everyday Magician Does Everyday Things'?\"\n\n\"Magician! Magician! Elizabeth, darling -- \"\n\n\"I'm not your darling.\"\n\n\"-- do you hear yourself? Magician.\" He repeated the word, again, as if incanting it a hundred times over would make either the word or Liz disappear. Eventually, when Liz spared him no outward attention, he waved a hand dismissively. \"Never mind the flyer. I haven't a care in the world what it says, as long as my grand debut is well-attended.\"\n\n\"Whatever,\" said Liz, and set to work.\n\n\\- - - -\n\nOn the day of the show -- his \"grand debut,\" as he'd taken to calling it -- an assorted variety of individuals arrived. Half of them had gotten turned around at the Corn Festival, and mistook the venue for that of a presentation on corn shucking. The other half had wandered in, unrelated to the Corn Festival.\n\nThe flyers, god bless them, had not been much of a help. Accounting for her temporary employer's criticism -- Liz was a personal secretary for hire, and was planning on un-hiring herself promptly -- she'd crossed out \"Wizard,\" written \"Diva\" in silver sharpie, and made 24 photocopies which she pasted all along the same residential street.\n\nThe faster the old bat was out of work, Liz figured, the faster he'd go retire in Florida, where the kind nurses would have time to entertain his fantasies.\n\nSo the poor, lost attendees of the Corn Festival took their seats, expecting something far more exciting than the experience they were soon to have, and the poor, lost people of other festivals or no festivals at all took their seats too. Before he took to the stage, the moustached warlock cowered behind the curtain.\n\n\"Last minute nerves?\" Liz asked. She held a mug of cold black coffee, the ceramic reading, \"World's Best Dad.\"\n\n\"Certainly not! I only feel as though -- well, it's to be expected. I feel I am prostituting out myself and my magic. What an awful thing to be driven to!\"\n\n\"There are, like, four hundred people here. You'd be a really hot prostitute.\"\n\nThe wizard sighed heavily. \"Wouldn't I? But alas, this is what I must come to: put the Dark and Hidden Arts on display for this crowd. Display, my darling Elizabeth.\"\n\n\"I'm not your -- Okay, look,\" she said instead. \"Jitters are normal. Stage fright is normal. You just gotta power through, dude; you're gonna do great.\"\n\nThe wizard wrung his hands, then stopped, then raised his hands to Liz's shoulders. \"Certainly. I'm grateful for your inspiration, Elizabeth.\" With a straightening of his cuffs and a rolling of his shoulders, he looked out to the curtains. \"I'm ready.\"\n\nHe stepped out into the light, and Elizabeth took a long, long sip of coffee, promptly grimacing at the temperature.\n\n\"Ladies and gentlemen; boys, girls, and non-gendered individuals, I am the one, and only, High Warlock of Scotland!\"\n\nThere was scattered applause.\n\n\"But today, I come to America to share my wondrous knowledge -- and you, darling audience, may call me Archibald the Great.\" He performed some flourish with his hands, and ribbons of flames strung from his fingertips.\n\nSomebody from the audience shouted, \"Breathe fire!\"\n\n\"All in good time, my friend.\" The wizard windmilled his arms quite ungracefully, sparks and shoots of flame swirling out from his body. \"This,\" he said, over the crackling and sizzling, \"is the ancient art of pyromancy! What you now witness has never before been shared to mortal souls!\"\n\nThere was some quiet murmuring, and another shout from the audience: \"Breathe fire!\"\n\n\"Er... alright.\"\n\nThe wizard -- Archibald the Great, as he sometimes preferred -- proceeded to perform such amazing acts as the highly-demanded fire-breathing (\"oh, that Indian street performer was better\") , several basic conjurings (\"even I know how to stuff doves under my shirt\"), and, when the audience morale grew especially dire, a couple excommunication-worthy examples of necromancy (\"you didn't even cut her in half, Archie!\"). When the evening drew to a close, and the attention-span of the audience became ever more strained, Archibald took a deep, deep bow. He smiled, charismatically, and bid his darling fans a good night.\n\nAnd then he swept through the curtain, where Liz waited, having acquired a warmer but more bitter cup of coffee.\n\n\"Hey,\" said Liz. \"That went -- \"\n\n\"Fine,\" said Archibald the Great. \"It went fine.\"\n\nWandering about the backstage, he gathered up his belongings, all of which fit inside a single backpack.\n\n\"Archibald,\" said Liz, although she wasn't sure what to say after that.\n\n\"I'm sorry, Elizabeth, I'm rather tired. I think I'll go home now, if you don't mind.\"\n\nLiz shifted her weight from foot to foot. \"I could... drive you?\"\n\n\"That's fine,\" he said, pulling a variety of colored socks from behind an old stage light. \"I think I'll fly; though, if I'm honest, I haven't anywhere to fly to.\"\n\nLiz watched him dislodge three socks from beneath a bent floorboard, and took uncharacteristic pity on him. \"You could stay at my apartment.\"\n\n&#x200B;" ]	[ 1, 2 ]	[ "1542152299", "1542158511" ]
	[WP] You are a bored student in middle school algebra. As the teacher reviews why you can’t divide by zero, you try on your calculator. A sudden flash fills the room and your teacher screams out your name.	61	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 just a silly joke, right? It's just how kids are. Don't listen to your teachers and you're a champion among your peers. Yeah. Yeah, that's why I decided to step out of my comfort zone for once.\n\nI mean, it was just with a calculator. I was going to do something that seemed safe because if I did divide by zero as the teacher told me not to, I could decide when I wanted to shout out my stupid ass, unfunny joke that I did indeed divide by zero. Or I could have just hidden the fact that I did it.\n\nI could have moved on with life pushing a few buttons, maybe snicker to myself at best and follow the rest of the class lecture like any other plain and normal day.\n\nBut life decided I wouldn't have that comfort.\n\nThe next thing I heard after pressing the final button was being blinded by a bright light and the shrill screams of everyone in the class.\n\nI jumped out of my seat in a panic and when my vision cleared, I became even more worried. The light faded into darkness. I thought I went blind.\n\nBut really the room was almost pitch black. The screams were still ringing in my ears and they sounded like they were moving past me. I then felt like my body was being pulled towards one side of the room. It was the side that all of the other kids were moving towards.\n\nMy eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and I could see all of the other kids in my class being sucked in by something. It was darker than anything else in the room. Kids were sliding into it and being sucked in. A lot of them tried to grab for something to hang onto in the room. Anyone who did was still ripped from safety as something would grab them and yank them off. Something long and slender. \n\nMany of these things came out of the dark spot nabbing students and it quickly turned into a fight for our lives. Nobody was being considerate. People pushed others in whilst running as if it would distract the thing, but that barely seemed to matter. The only thing that helped anyone was being the closest to the door, and I was thanking God that day that I was in the front row for once.\n\nI was right behind the first kid to make it to the door. He opened it and the light from the hallway felt almost as blinding as the one before as it spilled into the room. I was going to be instantly free if one of those tendrils hadn't wrapped around my leg.\n\nMy thoughts were no longer my own the instant it touched me. My mind was filled with a voice telling me to give in, that I needed nothing else anymore. It told me I would be free of all woes without reality. That I would revert to nothing and be more than less of myself.\n\nI would live in...\n\nI- I slammed the door on it. The tendril seemed to take a liking to the door and devoured it, spreading its null color over it and across the walls as it took my lower leg. Just... took it and left me with a clean stump. I was able to crawl away before it latched onto me again, but I probably wouldn't have gotten out of that school if my friend who was evacuating from another classroom hadn't discovered me and helped me out of there.\n\nNow I sit here, a cripple trying to face the memory I wish I never had. I feel awful that I shut that door, since nothing was going to stop it anyways. That school no longer exists because of me. And my leg still feels the pain of that day. Not like a phantom limb. It's a pain that's spread to my heart. The pain of feeling hopeless and inadequate." ]	[ 1, 14 ]	[ "1542160247", "1542180538" ]
	[WP] You're a prisoner of war being forced to fight in the colosseum for the king's entertainment, with the number of people you fight increasing with every win. You're now put against 100,000 men, but if you win, you get your freedom. Tell us how you lived to tell the tale.	2	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 last match Rusa fought had horrific odds, a hundred men to one, or so went the rules. After being a slave in the Colosseum for ten years he had learnt that one hundred to one meant a hundred men fighting among themselves while he did his best to keep his back to the wall and fight only in self defence.He was skilled, but not stupid. Rusa was lucky to still have his youth on his side to an extent. Many of the slaves were old men, but being ripped from his home at fifteen years old meant that not only was he in better condition than most of these men, fighting had been his life. He lived and breathed it like smoke filling his lungs, threatening to stop his breathing at any moment. His childhood dreams of glory only seemed more childish now.\n\nRusa did not live in fear however. His home land had found honour in fighting, when the odds were fair. He believed he would one day be reunited with his gods. But he didn't want to die fighting a misfortune child or battered old man blown in from the kings most recent venture across the sea. He knew the gods would only welcome him if he fought with honour. \n\n\nHe was in his cell, larger and somewhat more comfortable than other slaves due to his reputation. It was nothing to boast about though. He was also locked up. Considered dangerous.He picked at the grains of leftover oatmeal making sport of the pictures he could find in the patterns. Small animals or symbols. His mother had ones done the same with herbal teas, telling him of the future he may obtain. They never foresaw him sitting in the dark cell with a scarred face and tired eyes picking at the menial scraps of food that had been left for him by his homelands enemy.Both his survival and death depended on them.\n\nSek'ka suddenly appeared at the bars, another prisoner from a country to the east. \n\n\"Rusa\" he whispered gripping the bars with nervous energy, he moved his head about like a strange parrot as he spoke.\n\"The next challenge has been declared. They want to put one hundred thousand men. Against you.\" he said accenting this with a peculiar laugh.\n\n\"Foolish. They wouldn't fit in the arena.\" he said spitting on the ground.\n\nSek'ka shrugged jangling his cuffs against the bars. \"That's what they said. It means a lot of dead men either way.\"\n\n\"Are they slaves? Seasoned fighters?\"\n\n\"All prisoners of war from a religious minority and anyone else they consider disposable.I heard they had them moving from Nerro to the capital yesterday\" He says tilting his head.\n\n\"I suppose they are bored with my success. It's unhealthy for a foreigner to gain too much respect.\" Rusa said putting down the bowl.\n\n\"That's true.\" Sek'ka replies. He turned around as the door slams open. \n\n Rusa put his head down and retreated in to the darkness hoping they weren't coming for him already. The hope was wasted. One of the guards sauntered up to his cell, the sound of the lock mechanism opening echoed through the silent room as the other prisoners looked on through the dark room.\n\n\"Get your armour on heathen. Your next fight is within the hour.\" he said, his voiced authoritative, but body language tense and fearful. Rusa saw the fear as unfounded, but he didn't resent it. They would never dream of attacking him. He nodded to the guard silently, Sek'ka gave him a tense look.\n\nRusa entered the tunnel, the beams of afternoon sunlight seemed to pry through the gate as if trying to escape the sadistic cheers of the empire. He could hear the king addressing the crowd firmly, declaring the challenge. His mind pulled in and out of a haze. Skill and experience didn't ward off such things, especially in the circumstance. He heard the gate open and made a simple prayer. \n\nThe crowd of slaves stood before him, all ages and sizes, some poised, others cowering. Rusa stood alone, dust floating gently in the void between them. There was no war cry. The king stood up, and raising his hand declared simply:\n\n\"freedom or death.\" \n\nRusa noticed as a the front line began to move in erratic disorganised patterns, however many they were, they were familiar to him, everyone. The distinctive braids, tattoos, even their build. He stepped back.\n\n\"Wait!\" He said this in his mother tongue. All stopped immediately. The crowd seemed to shift with tension like a rip tide.\n\n\"We're the same. Why should we fight.\" He said. \"He raised his weapon toward the crowd.\" We may outnumber these people.\" The stadium was plagued by fervent whispering. The guards adjusted their stances unable to understand the threat but certainly sensing it.\n\nNow he spoke in the tongue of the empire, he looked at the king as he spoke. \"We don't need their permission for freedom. We don't need their rules.Their gods have no power over us.\"\n\nRusa turned around now, like a flash of lighting he struck the guard, blood spurting from his open throat.\n\n The crowd roared, and the slaves began to fight, many slayed the guards, others began using their combined strength to lift the gates as the crowd began to scream and leave. The king feverishly stood as his guards began to escort him out. \n\nAmong the crowd Rusa seized a spear and launched the weapon masterfully into the stands, it hit the king square between the shoulder blades and he cried out in anguish.\n\"Freedom or death.\" he cried in his mother tongue. \n", "Killing one man? That's easy. That's how I got here, after all. The trouble is, I'm too good at it. Easy fights are boring, and the audience wants blood. So they've got to even the odds. \n\nKilling ten men? That's hard. The trick is to take them one at a time. Deflect and dodge the attacks and get them to hit each other, if you can. Keep moving, don't let them pin you down and gang up on you. \n\nOne hundred men? Who could fight one hundred men? Me, apparently. The good thing about one hundred men is they can't all attack you at once. There's just too many of them, and they get tangled up in each other. I collapsed from exhaustion at the end of that fight, but I did make it to the end.\n\nThey tell me this time they're putting me against one hundred thousand men, and victory means freedom. I don't believe them. Not about the number - even the mighty Empire can't manage numbers like that, not even for their favorite sport, and they're the sort to fudge the numbers if they think they can get away with it. And not about my freedom - they will never let me go. My hands were stained with blood before I was captured and made a gladiator, even before I was given a second chance at life and made a soldier. But now? Now I'm drenched in red from head to toe, and they love blood more than anything. I'll fight for their amusement until I die. \n\nHowever many men it is, it's a lot. A thousand? Ten thousand? After a certain point, numbers don't mean anything anymore. No one can count that high. Maybe I misheard the number; I don't know their language well. It doesn't matter. I don't intend to lose, whatever the odds. \n\nI stand at the center of the colosseum, with the familiar spear and the few scraps of leather armor they've graciously granted me. No helmet - the people have to see my face. Around me, three strides of empty space, and then a crowd, stretching all the way back to the walls. I don't know how many men they've sent for me to kill this time, but it's as many as they could fit. They've all got better armor than me.\n\nThe horn sounds, and as its echoes die, everything is frozen. They all know my reputation, and no one wants to make the first move. I savor it - the smell of sweat and dust and the faint tang of blood they can never clean from the arena. The eager silence of the crowd. I let the moment stretch to breaking, and then the shouts begin and I dash forward.\n\nA thousand, or ten thousand, or a hundred thousand. It doesn't matter. There's so many, how did they think this would work? I am a whirlwind through that crowd, leaving chaos in my wake. Some of these people were probably my countrymen. I might even have fought alongside them. These people are Empire's prisoners and criminals and captives, everyone they can spare for their blood sport. And not a one of them stands a chance, because I will not die here.\n\nThere's too many people, and no one knows anymore where I am or what's happening. A few of them are attacking each other. I drive my spear through a man's side and tear the helmet from his head. Shed my scraps of armor and replace them with pieces stolen from the dead. And now I could be anyone. I melt into the crowd as the slaughter continues, descending into a bloody free-for-all that has the audience screaming in approval. \n\nI look upward, at the rows of seats rising around me. My eyes scan the audience and lock onto the Emperor himself, come to admire the bloodbath. He looks bored. Perhaps he was hoping for my quick defeat. \n\nBut I won't die here. I won't give them that. Not until my bloody spear finds its way into the Emperor's throat. And until then, I kill." ]	[ 1, 3, 5 ]	[ "1542175449", "1542184057", "1542178295" ]
[removed]	[WP] When a person enters Heaven, they’re granted with the power of their greatest creation. Needless to say, Stan Lee made quite the impact.	2	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/NofriendoLand, this submission has been removed.\n\n[No recent reposts, even if changing small details](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_5.3A_no_recent_reposts.2C_even_if_changing_small_details)\n\nAlso, no [copy-cats](http://i.imgur.com/38FjDgW.gifv).\n\nSearch before submitting as popular ideas can cause floods. If your idea is based on something you read elsewhere on reddit, chances are it's been submitted here already. Please wait at least 2 weeks before reposting.\n\n \n\nI'm afraid we've had a LOT of Stan Lee posts over the last few days. We've approved a few, but please wait a while before posting more. \n\nThanks.\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9wzi75/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542197112", "1542197345" ]
	[WP] Demon tries to pretend it's a human while working in a human army, the only problem is that demons don't look remotely human, but the people there just seems to roll with it since he's nice.	129	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 are you?\"\n\n\"What?\" the demon said, nervously, \"Well, I am a friendly HUmAn like you!\"\n\nThe large, red behemoth twiddled his fingers, looking down. His uniform was torn everywhere. Every crease and fold was instead replaced with a jagged slash, showing his scaly and dry skin.\n\n\"Seriously, I mean, we're all thinking it. I'm sorry, you're nice and all but I want to understand,\" Brian continued to say to the horned abomination. Brian was built and stocky. However, he had a bad attitude whenever presented with an awkward situation. It's his way of being himself. Whenever a situation popped up where nobody would say anything or people were obviously uncomfortable, he needed to say something aloud to keep everyone from having a bad time.\n\n\"You just don't ask questions like that. What the hell's wrong with you? Racist pig,\" the demon said.\n\nI was fresh recruit coming from North Carolina. I've never done any sort of real training. Plus, I was higher on the weight scale. I peered at the 9'8'' monster's dog tag. The name listed was a \"Nawt-Ah D'mon\". I've never seen anything like it. The name was obviously... unique. I liked it.\n\nI squinted my eyes at Brian and Nawt because I didn't have my glasses. From the looks of it they were arguing over what was what, but I don't care.\n\nI loved being here.", "Beelzebub took the lid off the top of the pot of gruel. It smelled just like his father used to make back home. \"The other guys will love this\" the young chef said to himself. \"With dad's special ingredient, it'll be a hit.\" He smiled, reminiscing about the good times they had together, torturing sinners, commanding legions of the undead, and most importantly, bonding over good food. \n\n\"Cadet, that food better'd be ready. The recruits are back and they're hungrier than a fat kid at a Twinkie convention.\" said Beelzebub's superior. \n\n\"Yes sir! Right away sir!\" Beelzebub said. It’s not exactly traditional to allow demons in the US Army, but his father has a way with mortals. He persuaded them to allow Junior into the military so long as he behaved himself, which he did. Everyone had liked Beelzebub so far, thanks to his technique. He has extensive knowledge on how to make humans miserable, so he just does the opposite. Sometimes though, he just can’t help himself. \n\nThe recruits gathered in the mess hall after a long, brutal day of training. “I’m so freakin’ hungry” one says to the other. \n\n“Yeah, and I heard Beelzebub’s cookin’ the main dish.” he said with glee. \n\n“Oh man, I can’t wait” another chimes in. “Remember those ribs he made that one time? They were to die for. I absolutely wrecked them, like a damn piranha.” \n\nBeelzebub could sense the guys’ excitement. It brought him a joy that he never felt in the underworld. Torturing people was fun in itself, but it was too easy. Getting people to like him, despite their differences, was challenging and rewarding to him. \n\n“Cadet, where is your partner?” his superior asked. \n\n“Oh, I’m not sure where Peter is. I think the kitchen had become to hot for him and he’d gone outside to cool off.” he said. \n\n“Well he’d better show up soon or he’s gonna be in a heap of trouble.” he said. “Alright, well I’ll take this slop out to the runts, you stay here and clean up.” His superior put the gruel onto the cart and headed out of the kitchen. Beelzebub could hear the guys cheering as his superior walked out the double doors to the serving area. \n\n“Time to clean I guess.” Beelzebub started to gather up the dirty dishes; some pots and pans here, a butcher knife there, and of course, his trusty meat grinder. Once he put everything in the sink, he brought out an inconspicuous barrel from behind the counter. He lifted the cover of the barrel and inside was the mutilated corpse of his partner. “Oh Peter, tsk tsk tsk, what are we to do with you? I suppose we can claim it was a bear attack; should be easy enough to arrange.” He smiled, then put the barrel back behind the counter for later. \n\nCurious as to what the others thought of his latest meal, he went to the double doors and dipped his head out to hear what they thought. \n\n“Mmm, this is so freakin’ good. I think he’s outdone himself this time.” \n\n“Oh yeah, even the Air Force doesn’t have food like this.” \n\n“Beelzebub is such a great guy, even if he is a hideous demon.” ", "Journal Entry: Day 1\n\nSo I started this journal to detail everything that happens during my stay in the army. This all got started because my best mate Aeshma told me that I couldn't survive a month in the army. Jokes on him, I'm not only going to do it, but I'm going to get promoted to the top before I even get out. I purchased a disguise today, from a halloween shop. The guy behind the counter told me it was really lame to wear a costume while buying another costume. I really had to remember my sensitivity training to make it out the store without snapping, some people are just assholes I guess. I tried on my disguise when I got home, the package says, \"GI Joe\" on it, which is exactly what I want to be, just another nameless GI amongst all the other GI's. This will be so easy.\n\nJournal Entry: Day 2\n\nStage one is complete! I went to the recruiter today and signed up for the army, and even managed to get shipped out next week. I was extremely anxious while I waited in line, but the line moved really quickly. I think a lot of the people got nervous about signing up, because most of the ran away before we got to the recruiter. My disguise worked extremely well, the recruiter was completely confused when I told him I wanted to sign up for the army, likely because it looked like I already belonged. I told him that it was my lifelong dream and would do anything that it took to get into the army. I even flex my muscles, to show what a fine addition he would be adding to the army, and he nearly peed himself with excitement.\n\nJournal entry: Day 10\n\nSo, it was kind of annoying that I had to wait so long to deploy. I called my recruiter every day asking if I could leave earlier, but he told me that it was the law or something. Anyways, I shipped out today, got on a bus with a bunch of other people, everyone looked so scared, I guess they were afraid that bootcamp was going to be really hard. The army is pretty terrible at management, there wasn't enough seats on the bus to fit everyone, so I got up and let someone take my seat. He was really grateful, but too nervous about his deployment to speak, just kind of whimpered and sat down. Poor guy. We got to the camp and were checked in, I think they might use new recruits to man the check in desk, because those guys were scared as well. The bunker is awesome, really small with just enough space for everyone to get in. I don't want to brag but it's hard for me to squeeze between the beds, but I manage. I was way too hot to sleep with the blankets, but everyone else did, I think they might have been sleeping with them as a comfort tool.\n\nJournal Entry: Day 11\n\nWe met our drill sergeant today, great guy. He really likes to shout compliments at people, but I don't think they are used to being complemented so much, one of them broke down crying he was so happy. We did push ups, jumping jacks, squats, and situps, and then even got to run for two miles, which was just amazing. It's great to have so much fresh air, and when someone fell during the run, I picked him up and carried him on my back. The sargent was yelling that if he didn't get up and run it off, he was going to go home, and it seemed terrible that he would be out on his very first day. I think it was okay that I helped the guy with the run, because when I picked him up the drill sergeant just backed away slowly. The guy was still shaken from his close call with being kicked out, so forgot to thank me, just went and crawled under his covers. My bunkmates are really weird people , today at lunch today we got punished with chocolate for desert, and one of them talking about how much he missed eating it, so I gave him mine, and he was so happy. I've never been so amazed to watch someone eat chocolate that fast. Not even a wince or a grimace, wherever he came from must have been a tough place.\n\nJournal Entry: Day 20\n\nSo bootcamp remains awesome, but I'm starting to get a little bit worried. My drill sergeant will yell compliments at other people all day, but when he comes to me, he just grimaces and moves on to the next person. I don't know if I am doing a good job or not, and so I'm really worried that they will send me home soon. We started weapons training, which I'm not sure why they ever bothered. I tried to hold the tiny stick and destroy the target, but it barely even dented the target. I gave up and just destroyed it with some fire, which was way more effective than this tiny stick. Maybe that was part of the lesson, because while my squad cheered, the sargent ran up to me and started complimenting me, \"You have got to be the stupidest cadet I have ever met. You are not cleared to use explosives yet, and if I see you even think about using one, I'll have you out of the camp faster than you can say hoorah.\" He got a little bit embarrassed and quickly left to do something else. A lot of the squadmates talk about hazing rituals, so maybe holding back compliments was a way of hazing me, since everyone in the entire camp seemed to refuse to compliment me even a little bit. We did get latrine duty as a reward, so I'm guessing it couldn't be all that bad.\n\nJournal Entry: Day 28\n\nWe are really close to graduation, and I'm starting to get worried for my squadmates. They say we have to be masters of hand to hand combat, ranged combat, and tactical combat in order to pass the test and be promoted, but most of my squad is terrible at hand to hand combat. I try and spar with people every day, and show them what they are doing wrong, but they don't seem to want to learn. I give away all of my food at meal time now, they seriously need to put on more weight, I can pick up several of them at once, no way they will win at hand to hand combat unless they bulk up. We get latrine duty a lot as a reward, so we might be doing okay, but I tell them that they can't relax and clean the latrine, they have to practice, practice, practice. They are good guys though, and eagerly give up their wonderful afternoon cleaning toilets to train. We do combat exercises in the forest, and my squad hasn't lost one yet. They are the easiest thing ever, all you have to do is wait for a few hours until the sun goes away, and then the enemy gets really stupid. I can walk right up to them and take away their gun, and all they do is shreek and run away. I wonder if they are poorly programmed robots designed to teach us to just be patient with our enemies.\n\nJournal Entry: Day 30\n\nI did it! Consider my challenge complete, I survived a month in the army and even got promoted from boot camp. We were super nervous on the day of the training, and everyone was telling us that it would be the hardest task we have ever done, and the drill sergeant told us that if we didn't all finish, then none of us would graduate. Something about the strength of a team. The course itself was massively easy though, we had to run for a really short distance, and then climb a wall. I just picked each person on my team up and put them on the other side of the wall, no big deal really. Then we got to a bunch of barbed wire and were supposed to crawl under it. There was no way I would fit under the barbed wire, so I just melted it and we kinda just walked over it and moved on. They had a series of ropes hanging over a mud pit, but it was barely even a jump to get across, so people just climbed on my back and I jumped over, I guess that's why we did jumping jacks every day. We did have to do some hand to hand combat, but I went first again, and told my squad to get my back if I go down. I think they paired us against another squad, because these guys sucked at combat. I felt a little bit bad, because they wouldn't get to graduate, but my squad comes first. We had to use the tiny sticks again to poke holes in paper, but I just walked down and stuck my nails through the paper and no one said anything. We got our promotion as a squad, and everyone cheered for me, which was really nice of them to do, I guess my hazing was finally over.\n\nJournal Entry: Day 35.\n\nSo war was declared just as we were going to ship back home. Some bastards bombed the country, killing millions of citizens. Two of my squadmates lost their parents during the bombing, and we were asked if we wanted to deploy right away. We all signed up, as a squad, myself included. I was supposed to return home after completing the challenge, I had people that I needed to torture, but I learned a lot from this journey. These frail humans have become like a family to me, whatever that is, and even though they are a few thousand pounds underweight, and can't keep themselves warm at night, much less breathe fire, there is something about spending this time with them that makes me feel different. I wish I could describe the feeling, but I've never felt it before, it's like there is a fire in my chest, but it's not my heart that is burning, it's something else in there, but I don't know what it is. Maybe after we win this war, I can ask my squadmates if they have that feeling in their chest too, perhaps it's part of being a squad?\n\n\n***** \n\nYou can always read my of my writing on /r/iruleatants.\n" ]	[ 1, 5, 8, 84 ]	[ "1542215051", "1542247154", "1542225685", "1542221544" ]
	[WP] In your studies of witchcraft, you find that "carpe diem," like many Latin phrases, is a powerful spell that causes others to pursue their wildest dreams and "seize the day." However, you refuse to use your newfound knowledge for good.	25	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 tried it once. I trie-here, lemme damn it. Damn thing always bends...\" \n\n\\[....\\]\n\n\"There, that better?\"\n\n{....}\n\n\"Good! Good...now uh...right, I tried it once. You know, years back. When I first came across that damn book. Buried in behind the book case if you can believe it. But damn if I ever felt a book like that one since. Heavy but light. Soft but textured...didn't know if it was real. Then I opened it like the curious dumbass I am.\"\n\n{....}\n\n\"Yeah, course I've always been curious. That's how I started reading latin. I wanted to know history's language and such...but when I saw that phrase and what it meant, I refused to believe it. A trick, right? Someone must be playing some trick to make me believe it. But nah...no trick there.\"\n\n\\[....\\]\n\n\"It said I needed some of my blood, that spell said, and some water from a mountain. Hell if I knew why but at the time I lived close to a hiking path and I had plenny knives so I did just that: walked to a spring with a cup and open a small incision on my thumb.\"\n\n{....}\n\n\"I was excited, who wouldn't be? You ask me like I shouldn't have been but you ask anyone if they wouldn't be. All of em would say so. So I mixed it, said the words. Boom, nothing happened. What the fuck, right? So I did it again: went back to the damn spring and opened up another cut. Still nothing. Week passes and my arm looking like I got mauled by a porcupine and I have a gallon of damn spring water in a corner.\"\n\n{....}\n\n\"That's just it though: I didn't know what I was doing. Didn't for a solid 2 weeks. But I got to thinking and wondered if my dreams were right. Sounds easy, right? Just think of what you want, your wildest dreams? But it aint that simple cause it needs a true image. A true need, something deep and unquenchable. Your WILDEST dreams, if the human can fathom it. So I did just that and spent a month, a whole fucking month, thinking of the WILDEST dream you could ever damn believe.\"\n\n{....}\n\n\"Ha! Knew you were gonna ask. Well, I just thought real hard of a power. An ability fully developed and apart of my body like another hand. I just wanted to fly. And i thought every which way, every possible takeoff, every possible landing. Spent weeks perfecting it in my mind and soon enough i was dreaming it. Imagine, flying through the sky like a bird...I did. One day, woke up and I was just able to fly. And I did. Boy damn, did I. Flew all over the world, desperate with happiness some could say. Except I didn't knew I couldn't die once I said the spell...so when I flew too high, got sucked up into that jet engine...well, you and everyone else in this country knows what happened next...I just didn't know the effects.\"\n\n{....}\n\n\"Advice? Ha! How bout dont dream too big cause a human's bound to fail? Put that in your documentary...\"" ]	[ 1, 5 ]	[ "1542219203", "1542221860" ]
[removed]	[WP] You were always facinated on how people trust to walk on the same streets that other strangers walk on. One day you get the ability to send dick pictures of the people near you to every contact and group chat they are in. Now you want to test how long can this silent pact of trust can last.	1	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/Gone4Gaming, this submission has been removed.\n\n[No explicitly sexual responses, hate speech, or other harmful content](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_2.3A_no_explicitly_sexual_responses.2C_hate_speech.2C_or_other_harmful_content)\n\n- Sexually explicit themes are not allowed. \n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9x3a3k/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542223959", "1542225173" ]
	[WP] The last bottle of maple syrup has expired. Canada has fallen.	182	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 most important part of Elenore's morning routine in her opinion was eating pancakes glazed with honey and maple syrup. There couldn't possibly be anything better than the feeling when that sweet buttermilk fluffiness slipped off the fork and onto her tongue. If she didn't have her pancakes in the morning, she was as cranky as any coffee addict who missed their morning coffee.\n\nIt was during one such moment that she heard the worst thing to ever find out about from the morning news.\n\n\"Today is a sad day for the pancake lovers of the world, for the latest victim of the Great Canadian Flood is the maple tree. Scientists have confirmed that all maple trees are now submerged underwater.\"\n\nElenore did not go into work that day. No, she cleared out every grocery store nearby of their maple syrup, even maxing out her credit card in the process. She was not going without maple syrup ever! Of course, because Elenore went through a bottle of maple syrup about every other week, she was unaware of one very important thing.\n\nMaple syrup expires. And she was about to find this out the hard way.", "The lone man had found the shack late in the evening, quite close to midnight. It seemed that at one point, the small, run-down structure had been a produce stand, but since the Devastation, that was no longer the case. The man, clothed in an old, dingy parka, rifled through the broken and cracked wooden boards in an attempt to scrounge for supplies. His hands moved swiftly through the night air, ducking in and out of his sleeves so as not to prolong their exposure to the biting wind. A small flashlight held between his teeth illuminated the piles of rubble he sifted through.\n\nQuickly, the man scoured the fallen shelves and broken bins of the shack. He found a few knives – mostly dull and rusted with time – and a large scale for weighing produce. Aggravated, the man cast the scale to the side and it struck the ground with a dull clang. His eyes widened in fear at the loudness of the noise and he briefly scanned the area for a response. A few minutes passed in complete silence while the man attempted to calm himself. Hearing nothing, he reached over to pick up the scale once more and set it upright.\n\nAs he leaned over, he caught sight of a dented metal box that sat on the lowest shelf of the stand. Curiously, he lifted the box from its place and cradled it in his hands. It was a small, beaten lockbox that had been dented and rusted from use. The man flicked open the latch and raised the lid cautiously. He gasped softly at its contents.\n\nIt was a small glass bottle of homemade maple syrup.\n\nBehind him, he heard the clicking sound of a gun being cocked. The man turned suddenly and faced the threat, still holding the box in his hands. Another man, clad in a tattered, plaid coat, stood in the doorway of the stand. He held a shotgun at the ready, his finger on the trigger.\n\n“Hello, Riley,” the gunman greeted the man. “How’re ya now?”\n\nRiley slowly lowered the box into his lap, refusing to break eye contact with the gunman. “Good, and you, Wayne?” he replied.\n\n“Oh, not so bad,” the gunman answered flatly. He glanced at the box that sat in Riley’s lap. “What’s in the box, Riley?” he asked, dangerously quiet.\n\nRiley froze in fear. His mind was racing, looking for a lie to offer. “It’s nothing,” he began, “just some old, rusty knives; nothing of much use.”\n\nWayne stared hard at Riley. “You were never much good at lying, Riles,” Wayne told him.\n\nRiley’s breath began to falter. He glanced down at the box in resignation. “It’s syrup,” he said simply.\n\nWayne’s eyes widened in surprise. “Syrup?” he asked incredulously. “But the maple trees – ”\n\n“I know,” Riley sighed. “Listen,” he began, “you need this more than I do. Give it to little Katie. She can taste it for once, before it’s gone forever.”\n\nWayne dropped the gun slowly. There seemed to be a turmoil inside of him. “No, you take it,” he replied. “You were the one who found it.”\n\nRiley shook his head. “I’m telling you that I don’t want it, Wayne. Take it.” He took the bottle out of the box and held it out towards the man.\n\nHesitantly, Wayne took the bottle. He turned it over in his hands, admiring the way it slowly moved inside the glass. “Thank you, Riley,” he told his old friend.\n\nAs Wayne looked at the bottle once more, a patch of white caught his eye. He turned the bottle over and examined the bottom. There was a white sticker attached that read: Best before 4/22/2047.\n\nPanic rose in the man. His eyes jerked over to Riley’s face. “Quick, what time is it?” Wayne demanded.\n\nRiley glanced at the watch on his wrist. “It’s a quarter past midnight,” he answered, confused. “Why?”\n\nWayne’s face contorted into a mask of grief. His hand dropped to his side, still clutching the bottle of syrup. He closed his eyes as silent tears welled up and rolled down his cheeks. After a moment, he spoke. “Because, Riley,” he said sadly, “the syrup is expired.”", "The checkpoint was carved from the apocalypse itself; blighted maple. Only use of the darn trees nowadays. It was an ungainly sight, planted on top of what remains of the Trans-Canada Highway, much like a polar bear wearing a Bruins jersey; unnerving, awkward, but strangely fitting. And what was once the Great White North's greatest highway now was the road to Horton City, capital of the New Toronto Republic, and all traffic in and out of the city was at the discretion of what one would think were two teenage boys, but who's rifles and military tuques gave them the authority of men.\n\nDeparting from the checkpoint was an old woman, turned away for the Quebecois inflection of her voice. And arriving was our hero, his trusty steed below him, his maple hockey stick, our knight's trusted sidearm as it were, sheathed in his back. As Jake rode up to the checkpoint, he looked back to the crying elder behind him, before turning to the soldiers.\n\n\"You turning away the elderly, eh?\" He gestured with a slight look of confusion. The soldiers stood with a forced stalwartness.\n\n\"She was of obvious marauder descent,\" One of them barked in reply. Jake chuckled sarcastically. \\Quebec attacked years ago,\\ he thought, \\when's people gonna learn to move on?\\\n\n\"Right, because every Frenchie is a marauder,\" He replied with a huff. One of the two soldiers stepped forward, but the other held him back.\n\n\"What do you have for us, scavenger?\" He asked instead. Jake rolled his eyes, and pulled out the contents of his satchel, the soldiers' eyes lighting up when they saw what it was; a box of Tim Hortons, had to be a dozen of them. \"Are...are they...\"\n\n\"Maple.\" Jake opened the box, revealing the caramel brown of the frosting inside. One of the soldiers instinctively rushed forward, but the dirty blonde scavenger snapped the box shut and pulled it away. \"Oi!\" he snapped, \"I've already got a buyer.\" He looked between to two. \"President Drake.\"\n\nThe two soldiers looked to each other, before motioning for Jake to move ahead.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAnd so our hero rode on, Horton City only a couple hours away. The dead Ontario countryside moved alongside him, a mesh of overgrown buildings and broken down cars, long stripped of tires, doors, and anything else of use. It was a lonely existence, the scavenger, but ever since US President Trump changed where that wall was going to be built, he didn't have much choice. If he can't run, he just has to leap into the murk.\n\nSuddenly, he heard shouting up ahead, and he spurred Gretzky, his trusty stallion, to a full gallop, when he saw a little girl running from a group of angered men. Jake unsheathed his hockey stick, and with a Molson's battle cry he charged forward, knocking one of the men down with a sputter of red blood before leaping to the ground. The two other men turned their attention to the scavenger, one rushing forward with a crowbar, only to dodged and receive a blow to his gut, tumbling to the floor, while the other aimed a pistol that was soon knocked from his hands, and whose chin was broken by the hard blow of Canadian justice. After making sure both men were unconscious, Jake turned his attention to the girl. who was clutching something to her chest and backing away from him, a look a terror in her eyes.\n\n\"S'il te plait! Ne me fais pas de mal!\" She shouted with a quiver. Jake couldn't understand a word she said, but he crouched to his knee with one hand reaching out assuredly.\n\n\"It's okay,\" He said, \"I'm not here to hurt you.\" She looked like she couldn't be more than seven years old, and clearly hadn't showered in weeks, her brown hair clumped together like a stray dog's. She seemed to calm at Jakes soothing words, and took a couple steps forwards. \"Good, that's good...\" He squinted to see what she had at hand. \"Now...what do you got there?\" As he reached towards whatever she clutched so close to her, she instinctively jerked back, but, after a moment, allowed him to see.\n\nIt was a tree sapling, planted carefully in a ceramic pot. Jake didn't think much of it at first, until he saw the leaves. And the shape of the leaves. The same leaves that defined a dead nation's flag.\n\n\"My god...\" was all he could utter.", "The rotten door gave way easily, my shoulder punching a hole through it before it finally buckled under the force of my body.\n\nOne of the hinges shattered, letting the door sag and creak as it groaned against the other hinge.\n\nI wiped the maple-dust from my mask, looking into the remains of what must've been a modest home. Empty bottles laid strewn across the ground, spreading their toxic sugar across the rotting floorboards.\n\nMy feet crunched on the expired dust, and I could hear the maple-counter ticking slightly faster as it detected the cloud from my first step.\n\nSave for the steady stifled breathing through my filters, I could hear no one else. Still, I stood there, straining my eyes against the unlit corners of the house.\n\nI wiped my mask again. The maple-dust was thick here, even without my disturbance. I slowly made my way to one of the arches on the way, and found my first corpse.\n\nRather, just bones. Parts of a whole. I saw a hand on the table, the head laying sideways, the bottom jaw burned by the expired sugar.\n\nI turned my eyes away, focusing on the contents of the cabinets instead. Whoever the owner was, I couldn't blame them.\n\nA fleeting memory drew up the sensation of sweet maple on my tongue, and my hands instantly found themselves checking if the filters were screwed on tightly enough.\n\nI shook my head, focusing on the cabinet in front of me. There was nothing inside. Nothing useful. Just more bottles of expired syrup.\n\nI tried to calm myself. Memories of bad syrup. I tried, but my hands couldn't hold steady as I tried the next cabinet.\n\nThe only hint I got was the crescendo of ticking from my maple-counter, before the roar shook the house.\n\nInstinct took control, then. I grabbed a few bottles of expired syrup, my brain on autopilot as I bolted out the house.\n\nMy luck as it was, I tripped on a fragment from the broken door. My bag came falling over with me, contents bursting through the well-worn fabric, raining cans of food over onto the concrete before me.\n\nMy counter kept ticking.\n\nAs I laid on the ground I felt the thunderous steps approach.\n\nI struggled up.\n\nI held in my hand a bottle of the syrup. Somehow my mind forced it there.\n\nThe beast sprung into view, a monstrosity mutated by the toxic syrup I once enjoyed. Its strands of maple-mucuous glistened in the foggy air, and through my filters I could smell its breath.\n\nNot many can choose their fates at the end.\n\nI considered myself lucky when I tore my mask off and drank the once sweet syrup.\n\nThe burning was swift and merciful.", "Commander Boom sits in his comfy alien-skin chair, eyes bloodshot from an intense night of Tetris-playing. Ruling the galaxy’s an unforgiving job, and since he’s only ten, he isn’t fully committed. While his father would’ve enslaved planets, making them bend to his will, he simply robs them. And, sometimes, if he’s in the mood for fireworks, blows them up.\n\nLike Canada.\n\nWhich was the biggest mistake of his life because that planet was AWESOME. They were so nice, and gave him videogames, candy, dogs, and most importantly—his beloved maple syrup.\n\nPressing a button on his chair, he screams for thirty-five heart-shaped pancakes. When the butler takes too long, he vaporizes them. When the next one takes too long, he vaporizes them, too. By the time he gets his pancakes—which are actually waffles, but he’s too hungry to care—two hours have passed, and he’s lost half his crew.\n\n“Where’s my maple syrup!” he screams. “I want it now!”\n\nThe butler taps his fingers together, bouncing up and down as he tries thinking of an answer that won’t get him killed. When Boom points his gun at him, though, he quickly spits out the truth. “It was expired so we had to throw it out I’m so sorry sir please don’t shoot!”\n\nAt this, his eyes widen before quickly filling with tears. Suddenly, nothing matters. Not Tetris. Not candy. Not even these damn pancakes! They’re worthless! He knew this day would come, but kinda hoped it wouldn’t. He doesn’t like paying for his mistakes. “No,” he mumbles. “No, this can’t be…”\n\n“Don’t worry, sir,” the butler says, putting his hand on Boom's shoulder. “Sir, I have an idea! We can destroy planets, yes? So why can’t we resurrect them?”\n\nHe vaporizes the butler without a thought. “CANADA’S FALLEN, IDIOT! I DESTROYED IT!” Sobbing, he drops his head into the pile of fluffy pancakes. A second later, he jumps up, pointing his finger in the air. “I’ve got it, another brilliant idea! If we can destroy planets, why can’t we resurrect them?”\n\nA second later he’s out of his seat, dashing through his ship. “Ready the engines, men, we’ve got a planet to bring back!”\n\n***\n\nThis is really absurd, but I thought it was funny. Thanks for the prompt! If you like this story, check out my sub r/longhandwriter or my [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/BryceBealWriter)" ]	[ 1, 3, 3, 7, 16, 26 ]	[ "1542237192", "1542260939", "1542298374", "1542263404", "1542256214", "1542241389" ]
[removed]	[WP] Chose any prompt and write it as if it belongs in a textbook.	0	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/Princess5903, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses)\n\n- Write Anything: A prompt must actually be a prompt, not a \"write anything\" \n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9x7dm2/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542252556", "1542254066" ]
[deleted]	[WP] You wake up from a coma 16 years after you were injured in war. You look down and notice you were cybernetically enhanced.	4	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 opened my eyes feeling groggy!!! The lights were too bright! But I realized my eyes adjusted very quickly to the brightness. It was so quick that I felt there was muscular action in my eyes. I tried to sit up. I swayed back and forth a little. Sitting up was also, slightly different, Felt my back was supple and longer. I looked down and saw my hands. My hands looked different, longer... I knew it had to be a dream right then. I heard a long siren going off some where, a host of people ran to me through a rather small door. They were shouting things at me, \nLab coat 1: Take it slow and easy\nLab coat 2: (Holding up fingers) Can you tell me how many are there?\nLab coat 3: (Snapping fingers) Ears seem functional\nLab coat 1: (Flashing a small torch) Eyes normal\nI felt a little different. Are they smaller? Shorter? Or am I big?\nGulliver's travels started running through my head. Brief flashes of war, How I had lost both my legs... Wait!!! My legs! They're there, I was shocked! Started to get up and, something crashed behind me, I turned and some thing behind me hit la coat 2, She fell and lab coat 1 started yelling again, \"Lets sedate him, He's not ready\"... \nI got up and something was moving behind me... I felt weird... I turned slowly around to see \"A Tail\"!!! The small door opened again and a frail looking lady appeared. She shushed them all and looked me dead in the eye.\nShe said \" Welcome to the \"Avatar\" program\"" ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542269594", "1542271421" ]
[removed]	[WP]	1	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/Icanshowyoudaworld, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Prompt users in the title, but don't play writing games or commission stories](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_6.3A_prompt_users_in_the_title.2C_but_don.27t_play_writing_games_or_commission_stories)\n\n- Prompts go in the title, do not extend into text. You can add commentary in the text, but don't add additional prompt restrictions. Also, avoid [too many details](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/prompts?src=RECIPE). \n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9xe4s5/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542308508", "1542308852" ]
[removed]	[WP] You had a fulfilling life and died at the age of 75. You see a bright light as the instructor opens your VR pod and asks you: Do you want to play for another 5 mins?	2	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/davidddk, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Direct prompt replies must be good-faith attempts at new stories or poems](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_1.3A_direct_prompt_replies_must_be_good-faith_attempts_at_new_stories_or_poems)\n\n- Fill-in-the-blank: Responses must be at least 100 words. This is essentially a fill-in-the-blank, or you asked a question likely to generate a simple answer. Prompts should encourage a story or poem. \n\n \n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9xhioz/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542331915", "1542332191" ]
	[WP] Everyone dies someday, how they die determines what powers they gain in the next world. You are the last and only human on Earth as the sun engulfs it. Now you have finally entered the new world.	74	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 you were reborn into the new world you carried with you the power of destruction. \nYour kick could level buildings. Your sneeze was the butterfly effect for many a tornado and hurricane. Your touch simply engulfed your friends and enemies alike into spontaneous flames. \nAs years passed you became more and more isolated, until you lived deep in the wilderness, no more than a scary story around campfires. Your life started to grow old and grey. Years or days, you lost the ability to tell which, you sat alone, your true power in the final days seemed to simply be loneliness. With your final breaths crossing your lips, laying amongst the trees and grass dreaming of what power might be awaiting for you once you entered a new world ...if you entered a new world. ", "Eden was fine enough a place to go for the dead. A place of wonder, with cities forged by the powers of men crushed by steel beams. Beautiful forests grown at the hands of the hanged. Lakes conjured by the drowned, and countrysides forged by the lost and starving.\n\nOf course, there were other places. Eternal, flaming battlegrounds, where the unending casualties of war fought day after day after day, hideous dens of torture and depravity, forced into existence by the ruined minds of those slaughtered in such cruel acts.\n\nThere were a million histories here, and all of them ended in a single instant. In one moment, you appeared. In another, your power. You couldn't control it. The whole world, gone in a second. Immortality doesn't mean much when your body is obliterated time after time by the absolute might of the sun. And so it was for the rest of Eden, forever." ]	[ 1, 8, 23 ]	[ "1542332214", "1542340586", "1542349812" ]
	[WP] Earth has become a space vehicle which humans pilot and has just left the universe for the first time.	9	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 it is, the border of our very reality. You can tell because of the ridiculously volatile wall of flashing particles.\" \"Now how are we supposed to get through that Wilfred?\" \"Well, I actually never found out how, I mean look at it! it looks like a supernova!\" \"I'll go ask Kupo what he knows.\" \"Alright Greg, you do that.\" Greg goes down the winding stairway from the captain's area to the astronomy lab \"Ah! there you are Greg! has your father made it yet?\" \"Yes he has, but there's a bit of a problem-\" \"That's exactly what we feared... give us a short while and we'll see what we can do.\" Going back up the stairs, Wilfred is found lying in a lawn chair stargazing. \"Any progress?\" Wilfred asks. \"No...\" \"That's okay, come and look at this with me\" Greg takes a relaxing seat next to him. \"Look at this. Look at how far we've come\". Wilfred comments. \"We started off as such simple creatures with simple goals, but now look at us, staring another world right in the face.\" There was a calm pause. The particle wall looked like interstellar fireworks, bringing colors to the darkness. \"What will it be like on the other side?\" Asks Greg. \"No one can know for sure, unless we find out for ourselves.\" Kupo rushes up the stairwell. \"We've found it!\" \"Fantastic! what do we do?\" \"These particles are called virtual particles, a bit of an anomaly in quantum studies. To travel through them would be unimaginable, but there is an alternative, a risky one at that.\" \"Teleportation!\" exclaimed Greg. \"No, that was disproven years ago, however, wormholes were not. that is how we got here so quickly in the first place after all.\" \"But Kupo\" said Wilfred. \"Is that not just as risky as teleporting?\" \"Not anymore. With these particles at our disposal, anything is possible! as long as we warp ourselves far enough past them we should be fine.\" \"Okay then, best of luck.\" Kupo returned to the stairs. Over the intercom, everyone hears in that nostalgic static speakerphone, the same one used for emergency global events. \"ATTENTION POPULUS, WE WILL BE ATTEMPTING A WARP IN T-10 MINUTES. ENJOY THE VIEW WHILE YOU CAN.\" Everyone on ship prepared for the worst, just in case, and Wilfred and Greg shared more quality time. \"THREE, TWO, ONE, LAUNCH!\" Feeling just like Neil and Buzz launching to the moon, we were off. Almost instantly after the word \"launch\" we felt ourselves become weightless and standing on air. There was no light. There was no dark. There was nothing. Still very frightened, there was a static noise, similar to the one from the intercom. \"JUST. TURBULENCE.\" It sounded like Kupo's voice. We weren't dead. Suddenly, like a steep drop on a rollercoaster, we were in light again, but still empty, a feeling unlike any other. \"PROBABLY CLOSE. YOUR EYES.\" We closed our eyes as tight as we could. It felt like we were passing through a star. \"ONE SMALL FLOAT FOR MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.\" We opened our eyes, and sure enough, we had passed. However, something was very not right. Kupo rushed up to congratulate everyone. \"We did it! We passed the wa-\" Nothing looked normal. Being humans, we were so used to our own world, that we weren't prepared for what we saw. Everything was so difficult to comprehend. There were some stars, but no planets in sight at the time of entry. The most glaring difference was, well, the best way to describe it is like changing to light theme after using dark theme your whole life. \"Greg, sunglasses please.\" After some time to reaccumulate, Kupo informs us that there is no life nearby in the radius of several lightyears. \"This, may take a while\" says Wilfred. \"Especially considering we don't have the resources or physical endurance to perform another warp for at least half a year\" continues Kupo. \"Well then, if you or Kupo need me I'll be in the observatory\"" ]	[ 1, 3 ]	[ "1542337989", "1542500384" ]
	[WP] After buying a new VR headset you spend a few hours playing with it until you go to work. There, you get the uncomfortable feeling you're still wearing a headset.	58	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 Sam\"\n\n\"Hey John, quite the weather were having today\"\n\nHave been working in this office for two years and Sam can't even regularly remember my name\"\n\nI sit down at my cubicle Third cup of coffee in hand and I can still barely keep my eyes open. I open up my emails to see for any important messages. I begin reading through the emails and i must be way more tired than i thought because im just reading the tutorial from the game i played last night. I was so excited to finely get a vr headset last night and now I pay.\n\nFourth cup of coffee, it's weird, but this coffee is extraordinarily bland. I literally can't taste it at all. \n\n\"How is the office work\"\n\nOh crap my boss! I need to look awake, I've literally done nothing but drink five cups of water since I got here. \n\n\"Ummm, yeah it's a bit of a rough start but ill have the file you asked for yesterday on your desk by tonight I promise.\"\n\n\"Good office working, keep at it John\"\n\nOkay, well that was a little bit more than weird, we don't even have a John in this office. And why is there water on my desk, Wasn't I drinking coffee?\n\n\"Hey John, quite the wheather were having today\"\n\nI need to focus, I am realy out of it today. everything just feels off and strange. Maybe it was from the vr last night, is it supposed to make you this groggy? \n\n\"Hey John, quite the wheather were having today\"\n\n\"YES, I know Sam!\"\n\nI jump up from my seat and snap a glance over to Sam expecting him to expand about how quite he thinks the wheather is!\n\nHe's just sitting at his desk staying blankly at his monitor. His hands are moving up and down over the keyboard. the keyboard is making a clicking sound but his hands never actually touch it.\n\n\"Umm Sam? \"\n\n\"Hey John, quite the weather were having today\"\n\nOkay this is starting to stress me out, I go to ring my hand through my hair but as i do so I feel a heavy thunk and the whole world shakes. \n\nThe coffee falls and smashes against the floor.\n\n\"Hey John, quite the weather were having today:\n\n\"Uh... yeah... I guess\"\n\n\"Hope you don't have any technology plugged in, or something could get glit-\"\n\nI sit back down into my cubicle and begin reading my tutorial. " ]	[ 1, 9 ]	[ "1542345752", "1542361093" ]
	[WP] You, a scientist, have just made the greatest discovery in milenia. Elves, dragons and all kinds of fantasy creatures exist. You didn't expect this at all, since your original mission was to survey a T3 Garden World and you are currently staring at the magical creatures from said planet's orbit	135	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 a fine discovery, apparently fantasy creatures do exist. \n\n I was just assigned to survey a T3 Garden World, I knew it would contain life but not life of this kind. Every creature fit the description of fantasy writers, dragons breathe fire, elves use bows and fairies are tiny and can fly. This was nothing less than a significant discovery for mankind, wait till I tell my superiors about this, they will be so delighted to hear that I had made a truly great discovery. They will give me a promotion, they will give me a higher salary and I will get a Nobel Price for this! The opportunities this will bring will be endless... Wait a minute, if I let mankind get their hands on this information, they might try to colonize the planet and affect the lives of these fascinating creatures. This might just get more people killed! I still have to pay the bills though, I'll just lie to my superiors then.\n\n \"So what did you find?\", asked one of my superiors.\n\n \"I have discovered that the planet has many species of dangerous and highly hostile creatures, we would not want to send a crew down there to investigate, it will get us killed.\"\n\n \"Watson, beam the science team down onto the planet.\"\n\n\"Damn it.\"\n\nHumans are always so curious! \n\nWell looks like the creatures won't be undisturbed for long.", "LSS-VH2 Code no. 133724, log 1.\n\nThis planet has life. Not plant life- we knew that going in. But, well, it's hard to describe it. It's almost like looking at a tableau of the Jurassic age.\n\nWe've only scanned the first of what we estimate to be approximately 500 separate areas, and the computer in my lab's running a scan of the next area now. Honestly, thank goodness that none of this planet's fauna and flora seem to be too bothered by the trace bits of radiation from the scans- the only real way to know for sure is by scanning a patch and seeing if anything dies.\n\nAnyway, back to the whole Jurassic age comparison. So far we've observed large quadruped winged reptiles that can actually fly, which is absolutely mind-boggling, since the gravity isn't weak enough to allow for that sort of thing. Maybe there's some sort of localized physical anomaly? The probes haven't picked up on anything, but then again they haven't gone down to the surface to avoid contaminating the indigenous life. From an optical scan these winged lizards seem to be about twice the size of an African elephant in average. There are also a second species, which look very much like the first but are bipedal.\n\nThere is no sign of any established societies yet, but I'm still hoping there's going to be more than just big lizards. I mean, this is already a pretty significant discovery, but there's just this sort of itch at the back of my head that wants more. Well, the second scan should be done in a few hours, so we'll take a look at what that shows.\n\n==\n\nLSS-VH2 Code no. 133724, log 2.\n\nThe lizards can breathe fire.\n\nIt doesn't make any sense! It just doesn't! What are the odds that some random creature we find on the first planet to have more than a couple bacteria wriggling around is literally a carbon copy of dragons from popular Earth media?\n\nI've checked myself into the autodoc to see if I accidentally touched the ketamine syringe. No such luck. Either someone's put an elaborately designed simulation on the scanner, which has a completely different processor architecture than a regular computer. Not likely.\n\nSo it seems that this is actually happening. I've never been so glad I diligently save logs and raw sensor data from all of my scans, because at least I have those to back up these frankly outrageous claims.\n\n==\n\nLSS-VH2 Code no. 133724, log 3.\n\nWhat the fuck.\n\nElves.\n\nNo, not the kind you see when you're hopped up on LSD derivatives. Fucking Tolkienite elves.\n\nThough they're more pre-Silmarillion rather than Lord of the Rings. I mean, they're basically cavemen with pointy ears that can parkour through trees like nobody's business.\n\nI honestly don't know how to handle this. Do they even have some sort of language we can use to communicate? Should we even make contact? I don't know. I just- I can't.\n\nMaybe some sleep will clear my head.\n\n==\n\nLSS-VH2 Code no. 133724, log 4.\n\nI've decided.\n\nIt only took me one look back at an old early twenty-first century magazine to figure out what I should do.\n\nI don't want humanity to ruin this planet like we've ruined our own, and so many others. Best case scenario, it becomes a zoo for people to come and gawk at the weird cavemen. Worst case scenario, the situation devolves into something out of Cameron's Avatar 1 and the planet becomes a desolate wasteland.\n\nThere's no real way for me to prevent other survey missions from finding this out, of course. But I can at least delay their return, because space is big, and one more report of an uninhabited world will hopefully be filed away and forgotten.\n\nOkay. Okay. You can do this. Okay. This is more nerve-wracking than I thought it would be. If I can, I'd like to spoof my coordinates so the next mission sent here completely misses the planet, but that's not likely.\n\nWell, anyway. Computer, create new partition, delete current partition, reboot.\n\n==\n\n-Audio logs recovered from the wiped main storage drive of the LSS-VH2 Code no. 133724, presented as evidence in the trial of Damian McCray, former Mobius Corp. surveyor." ]	[ 1, 4, 12 ]	[ "1542410369", "1542446188", "1542435970" ]
[removed]	[WP] A chemical weapons expert who’s weapons have caused millions unnecessarily painful deaths in war, is caught and is now on trial, they spill the contents of their heart and life story. What do they say, and are they forgiven, do they even forgive themself.	3	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/Le_Mo_Fo_Jones, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Direct prompt replies must be good-faith attempts at new stories or poems](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_1.3A_direct_prompt_replies_must_be_good-faith_attempts_at_new_stories_or_poems)\n\n- Responses too short: Responses must be at least 100 words. Prompts should encourage a story or poem. \n\n Feel free to repost without the question! \n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9xrn8y/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542412801", "1542414822" ]
	[WP] In the future there is a black market for other people's memories. You are down on your luck and about to sell your last, most treasured memory.	9	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Pouring again. Great. \n\nThe subway is a ways away, and I take the plunge from the vestibule into the street. “Four blocks”, I mutter to myself. Four blocks to the subway and back to my other life. \n\nI envision walking into my apartment. The wife and kids are playing on the floor. My son is pushing the new truck we got him. My daughter is obsessed with dolls, or her “babies,” as she calls them. All of their eyes shoot up at the first creak of the deadbolt, rushing to me as soon as the door turns. \n\nBut that’s 45 minutes away, assuming I can catch a timely train. \n\nNew York looks like a Monet at the moment. Buildings bleed, colors diffuse. I keep my head down at first. But a bright light near 2nd reflects off the glassy sidewalk and my eyes are drawn upward. A new billboard: “The future is yours if you release your past.”\n\nI chuckle. Selling memories is a young man’s game. How could a 33-year-old with two kids and a wife choose to forget everything, even if the money was rumored to be great? They’d miss me. They’d be devastated. \n\nI walked up the stairs to my stop, eyeing the ETA boards for my line. “Delayed” was all it said. No timeframe until it was back in service. The wife didn’t respond when I texted her about the inconvenience. \n\nDrenched, I made my way back down the steps and veered into the first shop I could find, hoping to wait out the storm without the staff noticing. \n\n“Sir,” I heard behind me. \n\nI turned, and a young woman looked back with compassion in her eyes. “Let me help.”\n\nI wasn’t sure what to make of her kindness at first. She must have seen me shivering. After all, there were plenty of down-on-their-luck folks in this part of town after the 2023 crash. This couldn’t be the shop’s first experience with a wanderer. \n\n“Maybe a drink will warm you up,” she said. \n\n“Um, sure,” I blurted out. The place shined like a jewelry store. I assumed she thought I had nowhere to go. But, it was Friday after all. Who am I to turn down a drink? It would certainly make the 35 minutes home slide on by. \n\nWe talked for a while. I apologized at least two times for checking my phone for an updated train schedule. Lisa was her name, I think. \n\nShe was so pleasant. To be honest, I’m not the type to talk a lot about myself, but she wouldn’t let the conversation steer otherwise. It was a blur, in a good way. \n\nI think I told her about my family, and the fact that I worked 60 hours a week to make ends meet. A glamorous life it wasn’t, but it was ours. She thanked me for sharing my “beautiful story” once I received the notification that the trains were back online. \n\n\n\n\n\nI stepped into the sunshine, involuntarily raising my hand and squinting my eyes. In less than a moment, I felt the sinking feeling of unfamiliarity.\n\nMy pocket buzzed. \n\nMy hand went toward the vibration, pulling out a phone I didn’t know I had. The screen said, “No problem, honey. The kids and I love you and can’t wait until you’re back.” \n\nWrong number, I guess. \n\n", "“Back again so soon?” said the man with a wide smile, as the metal door clang shut behind me. I could see his upper gums as he smirked - I really couldn’t tell if he had a friendly or mocking expression. The man raised a hand to the front of his white smock that he wore, smoothing its crinkles in an absent-minded fashion. He peered at me, his eyes giving me a one-over as he looked over the shoulder of a shorter, dark-brown haired woman. His countenance sobered as he brought his attention back to the irate women standing before him. She gestured toward an open door frame behind him, barking,\n\n“Why can’t you just copy the memory into your stupid machine?”\n\nShe snapped her hand toward an opening at the rear of the shop. I wanted to see what she was pointing at, so I shuffled to the side of the room in order to gain a better view. Another smaller room lay beyond the first, brightly lit with a circular phosphorescent lamp hanging from a rusted steel ceiling. A white medical chair sat next to a large black box and monitor; a multi-jointed metal arm protruded from the box, and at the end of the arm, what appeared to be a drill.\n\nThe man sighed, leant forward onto the wooden counter, and picked up a pipe that had lain propped against the cash register. He reached into a tin and pulled out some tobacco, before filling the bowl of his pipe with the product, and then pressing down on the tobacco with a tamper. As he worked on the tobacco he responded,\n\n“Look, it doesn’t really work like that. Memories aren’t computer files, which can be copied from one brain to another. The only way we can transplant the memories is exactly how it sounds - through transplanting the neurons themselves to another person. We first cut open your skull,” he continued, with a sig-sawing motion of the hand,\n\n“and then send the nanobots in. The clever little devils locate the relevant neurons, as well as identify the configuration of the neural links that store the sought-after memory, and then they veerrry carefully extract the needed brain cells. You won’t feel a thing… and you won’t even remember what you lost! Not so bad, when the procedure comes with built-in therapy for the trauma” he added with a laugh.\n\nThe woman stared at the man, perhaps with disbelief, before silently running a hand across the wooden countertop, her fingers finding small grooves to play with on the burned, pockmarked surface. Moments passed before her shaking voice broke,\n\n“Look, p-please. I need the yuan… but I can’t give the memory you’re asking for. Isn’t there another one that you can take?” she cried, her fists clenched.\n\nThe man rolled his eyes before bringing the pipe to his lips and lighting a match. He puckered his face as he carefully lit the tobacco, and then took a few shallow breaths. Puffing carefully, he said,\n\n“No. You know how it is -- joyous memories that incorporate one’s loved ones are usually guarded jealously, and it’s rare to find someone who will part with them… for obvious reasons. Especially within the last twenty years,” he grunted.\n\n“It’s gotten so bad that grave robbers usually have to break into the old tombs, and pray that the brains were embalmed carefully, which wasn’t a particularly common practice, you see.”\n\nHe looked down nonchalantly at his smock as he spoke, and seeing some ash that had fallen onto it, he brusquely wiped it off. Looking back up, he then continued with a wink,\n\n“Capitalism at work you know! The rarer the commodity, the more valuable the good!”\n\nHe again broke into a raucous laughter, and the woman, clenching her teeth, whirled around, before spotting me for the first time. She paused before marching past, and hissed at me,\n\n“Fuck you, Hsin.”\n\nShe grabbed and yanked on the door handle before striding outside, the black metal door springing back into place with a bang.\n\n“Was she talking to me?” I meekly inquired at the man behind the counter.\n\nThe man narrowed his eyes at me momentarily before chuckling and going back to his pipe, ignoring the question.\n\n“I can only assume you’ve finally given in, Hsin!” he exclaimed, sounding pleased. “And about time, I say. You can’t make money off the past, you know.”\n\nAs he continued to speak, my attention wandered away from him, and I studied the rest of the shop, which was host to a number of curiosities -- a small wooden bi-plane hanging from strings; a spherical glass paper-weight wedged between two yellowed books on a set of tiered shelves; a sculpture of a goat impaled on several iron rebars, which was some bizarre abstract sculpture, I could only guess.\n\nI startled as I felt the man touch me on the arm. He stared at me. “Are you ready?”\n\nI suddenly felt a cold wave pass over me, and my throat constricted. I couldn’t explain why, but I felt fearful… from what, I didn’t know.\n\n“Will it hurt?” I asked.\n\n“Not a bit. And like I was telling your old flame, you won’t even remember.”\n\nI swallowed and rubbed my throat, which felt painful, and then nodded. The man took me by the arm gently, and I docilely followed as he led me to the far room.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\---\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI slowly came to, and struggled to open my eyes, which proved difficult as a circular bright lamp was on above me, its light streaming down. Looking away, I blinked several times and finally managed to study the room around me. It didn’t look familiar. A man, who I also didn’t recognize, sat in a small school-chair next to me intently studying a screen. He didn’t seem to notice me as he continued to analyze the screen, before finally leaning back in his seat with a contented sigh.\n\n“Good,” he muttered. “Despite him using all the time, it looks like the memory is still intact.”\n\nUnsteadily rising to his feet from the small chair, a frown crossed the man’s face as he looked down at his white apron. As he took a few steps and turned around, he tried to wipe off some flecks of gray matter and a stain colored dark-carmine. The stain remained despite his effort, and he continued to mutter to himself discontentedly before he looked up and noticed me.\n\n“Ahh, Hsin, I see you’re awake. Well, it looks like the memory was successfully removed, and it’s still completely intact, fortunately, (no thanks to you haha), so I guess I owe you your money, don’t I!”\n\nHe opened a drawer from a black filing cabinet, and rummaging through several manilla envelopes, extracted a sheath of colored bank notes. He walked over to me while I remained seated, and, prying my fingers open with his free hand, he smacked the pile of notes into my palm.\n\n“And there you have it! Now, I assume you’ll be wanting a receipt - we’re not dishonest, here, you know - and probably some directions to Gao, your dealer, for just in case if you don’t remember how to get to him. Those memories should remain intact, but you never know, sometimes the nanobots make the odd mistake here and there, and I know Gao would be furious with me if he lost his most valuable neuropozyne customer. With this, you’ll always be happy my friend - all the neuropozyne dreams you’ll ever care for! And if for some reason you ever manage to obtain more real happy memories - however unlikely that is - don’t forget to come back to me.”\n\nHe waddled over to the door and out the room. I stared at the bank notes with a blank expression. The neuropozyne… yes, well, that was something that at least I remembered. I knew how to use it.\n\nThe sound of a cry broke me out of my reverie, and I looked for its source. It was coming from the monitor that the man was studying earlier. I stood up, walked over to the school-chair now vacant, and sat down, continuing to stare at the screen. The sound played back through some old speakers. A woman, drenched with sweat and red-faced, lay on a white-sheeted gurney. Tears poured down her face, but she was smiling.\n\n“Mei,” she called softly. A robot, holding a swaddle of cloth, rolled over to a man who I didn’t recognize. The robot gingerly handed to the man the wrapped bundle.\n\n“Mei,” the man repeated, and he stared down with wide eyes. “Mei,” the man repeated for a second time. “I love you, Mei. Mei, I love you. Mei... I promise you - I promise you that I will never let any harm ever come to you. I swear on my soul.”\n\nThe man gently rocked the bundle back and forth, looking up at the woman in the gurney briefly.\n\nHe too, for some odd reason, had tears streaming down his face, and he too, for some odd reason, smiled." ]	[ 1, 2, 2 ]	[ "1542417139", "1542422344", "1542431812" ]
	[WP] You're a psychic. Since you were born, you know things without being told. You put that gift to the service of law, to immediately guess who committed a crime, when you suddenly one day feel something. Another psychic is acting. And not for the greater good	2	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 don’t know when i realised i had my gift. One day, i just knew my friend was lying to me without apparent reason. I didn’t say anything when i had this feeling, because it sounded crazy, but i investigated on my side. I knew he was lying to me about sleeping with my sister and the most awkward thing was that i couldn't just ask my sister. This was way too awkward. I managed to have the proof one day, when i arrived home earlier than usual and i caught him coming out of her room with only his boxer on.\n\nAfter that day, i had felt this feeling about many persons. My deductions always ended up being true. I don’t remember one time where i had this uneasiness when someone lied to me that didn’t turn out real. This became really handy to me for a few years. When i was still young and naive and though it was a good idea to use this gift for my own good.\n\nEverything changed when my father got killed in a hit and run. The law enforcement never managed to put a hand on the person who did it. Fault of proof, by their word. They had a suspect, but they were never able to confirm the crime had been committed by that person. I had seen him leave the police station. That day i knew. I knew it was him and i had to do something to help capture the pieces of shit that were getting away with crimes.\n\nI went back to school and made my way up to the New York Police Department. A few years ago, i got promoted to Lieutenant and was now handling a few cases. I really liked what i was doing. The job was fulfilling and with my ability, i had an easier time than others to solve cases. I knew right away when we were not on the right path to solve the case and was usually able to change the direction of our investigation.\n\nA few months ago, i started to get a weird feeling. I really didn’t know what this was about, but i knew something was wrong. It felt a bit like if someone was trying to hinder my work, but that didn’t actually happen. Since that feeling started, nothing really changed for me, the criminals i managed to cuff all ended up in prison. It was normal, because i knew that they were guilty. We always managed to find enough proof to lock them in.\n\nI had decided to shrug that feeling. I had other things to focus on, like the current case i had. We managed to find a murderer that killed two teenagers about a month ago. I knew it was only a matter of time until we had enough proof to lock him in. Thanks to my gift, we managed to find the culprits easely in out suspect list and now we were waiting until he cracked or that we found the appropriate evidences against him. \n\nI made my way in the station to reach the interrogation room, my partner on my heels. He was probably the only one who had doubts about the reason why i always managed to find so easily our culprits. I never actually told him, but after so many years of working with him, he started to understand the little sign that something could be odd about me. He never asked either, but i could see in his eyes that he had some ideas.\n\nI knocked at the door, announcing us, and i entered the room. The murderer was not alone anymore in the room, a man barely over 30 sitting next to him in a pristine suit. The man in question had well groomed brown hairs His eyes were a piercing blue and he had a smirk on his face, as if he was mocking us already. \n\nAs soon as i lay my eyes on the man, the strange feeling i had since a few months ago came back at full speed. I frowned. I didn’t know exactly what was happening right now, but that couldn’t be good. I tried to school my expression as best as i could and i made my way to the table to sit in front of them, my partner getting the chair next to me.\n\n“Good day, gentlemen. I don’t believe we met yet,” I said addressing the man in the suit. “I’m Lieutenant Mariah Carey and this is my partner Lieutenant Trevor Stone.”\n“I am Jayden Cole. I am Mr. Holden’s Lawyer. I’ll be representing his best interests and would like to request he his release. My client is innocent and would like to return to his occupations.”\n\nI stared at him for a few minutes, trying my best to not show my disbelief to them. Normally, when i felt a client was lying, i could feel their lawyers lie as well. This time, i was not feeling anything. The only feeling i had right now was that Jayden Cole was telling me the truth and firmly believed his client was innocent despite this one smelling lies from miles away.\n\nI didn’t realise that i locked myself in a staring duel. He was looking at me the same way i was looking at him. I could read in his eyes the same feeling i had when i was looking at someone who was lying to me. I understood at that point that i might not have been as unique as i thought. Clearly, he could feel something about this whole situation just as i was doing, but we seems to have contradicting information. \n\nI smiled slightly at him. This whole situation was about to be a big mess if he truly believed his client to be innocent. Either his “gut-feelings” like i liked to call them were sending him the wrong signals or he was a really good actor to use those powers for himself.\n" ]	[ 1, 2 ]	[ "1542448221", "1542511144" ]
	[WP] After the spaceships left a group of volunteers from each nation stayed to clean up their planet. Vowing to rid it of all the toxic waste they had created and make it safe for the people to return. They didn’t account for the shift in the food chain this massive population shift would cause.	16	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Larry clocked in, and put on the haz mat suit, grabbing a shovel and a bucket on his way out. \n\nThe cat vomit problem was getting worse, since the chickens got loose -- the lions ate their fill. Or rather, over-fill. \n\nSo that left Larry cleaning the lion vomit from Grand Avenue. \n\n\"Dude, any progress?\" Larry asked Anthony.\n\n\"Nah, they don't even want beef.\" Anthony took off his shoe covers, and de-masked. \n\nAnthony tried to tame the lions -- he found some lion tamer instructional books in the paper archives. But they had absolutely no interest. There was nothing they could be rewarded with. \n\nSo that left the legacy lions. They would saunter around, their flabby stomachs wagging back and forth, easily catch 20, or 60, chickens, and then nap. They'd breed, and the next generation was so well nourished in utero, that they were even bigger. Hence, the gallons of cat vomit on Grand Avenue. \n\nThey weren't ferocious. They weren't even real predators anymore. They were just big, flabby, vomiting kitties who slept all day.\n\nPlus the poop. Tons. Metric tons. At least the trucks came by and used this to fertilize the corn. Which was used to feed the chickens. Who got loose and were eaten by the lions. \n\nSo, Margaret put in a work order for some fencing, around the human-controlled areas, but the home office lost the paperwork. So that's another thousand or so years. \n\n\"Yeah, that's my life now, cleaning cat vomit,\" muttered Larry, as he shoveled up the slop into a bucket.", "It had been only a few months since the ships had left. Most of the clean up crew still thought it unnerving to walk the empty streets and towns. We had heard reports that the cleanup effort was going well in other parts of the world, but the problems here just seemed so insurmountable. How were 500 people expected to clean up an entire country (let alone one as big as Brasil) that had spent hundreds of years being environmentally thrashed by its inhabitants? At first it was just a lot of surveying the biggest problems and prioritizing them. The seafront, other bodies of water, national forests. Our mission was to preserve and cleanup areas essential for life and the ones that weren't yet completely hopeless.\n\nThese days my team and I aren't even so concerned as to how we can clean things up. We just wish that we could actually put more time and effort into our actual mission. We've been a little more worried about the dog situation. Yeah. The dog situation. Most people weren't allowed to bring their furry friends on the ships with them and seeing as we already had a dog problem here before the evac... well needless to say its gotten bad. They're everywhere. They've literally taken over. The worst is that the hardest hit areas, the ones with the most waste, are the most heavily infested. Sometimes I feel bad for them. They come in all shapes and sizes, but most spend their days digging through trash trying to find something that they can eat. The poor wretches usually have bloated stomachs, bloody sores from ticks or other pests, and noses and ears that have been ripped apart by other bigger or more aggressive dogs. The worst part is that we've reached the point where they really do see us as a potential source of food. Man's best friend... yeah right. They travel in big packs, always fighting over scraps or other animals that they can hunt... I've even seen them eat each other. They get in the way of most of our operations. The packs roam around attacking anything that moves. We've been forced to work only from about 11 AM to 4 PM. That's when the sun is highest in the sky and they tend to lie around. We haven't been nearly as bothered by themduring those hours. That's what has made this project a living hell though. We are only really able to get things done during the time of day that we would normally be least productive. That's the time of day that we would normally reserve to eat lunch and get some rest because of the blazing sun. Now it's the only time we can really work. The worst part is that we aren't even equipped for this sort of threat. Why leave weapons with the cleanup crews? It's not like we were expecting a fight. The few weapons that we have been able to find haven't done us much good yet. The dogs are desperate and have us completely outnumbered.......\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThat's as far as I can go right now!" ]	[ 1, 2, 3 ]	[ "1542505880", "1542506784", "1542508437" ]
	[WP] "French fries don't really come from France." "Yeah, they're from Belgium, right?" "No, not that either." "Huh?" "You see, the truth is..." and so begins a thrilling tale that you're not sure actually has anything to do with French fries.	46	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "He sits you down, smiling ear to ear, gingerly plucking a fry from your hand. Visibly savoring the crisp, salted crunch of the first bite, he regales you with the truth behind the taste.\n\n \n\"In the beginning of time,\" he speaks, \"there was nothing. Not one bit of broccoli, not one crunchy carrot, not even a single stalk of celery.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nYou stare apprehensively, nearly pulling back as he reaches for another fry. He smiles, knowingly.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"There was, however, the potato.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHe helps himself to your fries, taking the small box from your hands as he continued his story. \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"As the oceans boiled, as the earth trembled and the mountains took shape, the simply potato remained the only constant.\" \n\n&#x200B;\n\nHis face awash in a wave of nostalgia, nearly as intense as his snacking, you find yourself enthralled in his tale, despite its absurdity.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"The first thing man saw as he crawled from the muck of creation, was of course, the potato.\" He narrowed his eyes, \"The potato - it judged him. It looked down at him appraisingly, for it was wise; a single potato is enough to judge the merit of a thousand men.\" He shifted in his chair, turning towards you as he leans forward; \"The potato deemed man worthy of its nourishing embrace, and for generations, all men would feast like kings upon its luscious being.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAs he went to take another bite, his features suddenly darkened; his brow knit curiously as his mouth pulled itself into a tight frown. Only when it passed with a sigh did you realize you were holding your breath.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Times change...\" he murmured, \"As do man's tastes. The potato had been good to them, but man's constant hunger had led to the discovery of... Fruits.\" He may as well have spat the word as his knuckles audibly cracked; \"With the discovery of such treacherous things as bananas, apples, grapes, olives and pears, the potato was forgotten; man was seduced by the sweet taste of the soft, weaker things of the earth, and helped himself.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nYour companion sighs, setting the box aside as he scowls at his fists. But suddenly, you see a crack in his features: a telltale grin, slowly spreading across his face.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Ah, but the potato would not be outdone so easily.\" He gives you a sly smile. \"Do you remember the boiling oceans?\" He chuckles at your expression before he continues: \"The potato wanted to be the very best, like no one ever was, but catching them, ah! - that was the real test. Mankind had grown as round as those rotten fruits they had consumed, but soon - a new smell wafted past their nostrils as they went in search of food.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe man noisily made short work of your last few fries, handing you the box before continuing.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Lying upon the sea shore, shining for all to see, was of course, the potato. Fried,\" he says, pursing his lips and closing his eyes for emphasis, \"to perfection. No fruit could stand before the gold, glittering might of the potato's final form: the french fry!\" He roared with laughter, clapping a hand on your shoulder; \"Naturally, the first of the fries were much, much larger.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHe sat back, grinning warmly as he folded his arms.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"But,\" you stammer, awkwardly, \"where did that all occur, exactly?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHe smiles at you as he gets up to leave - \"Not France.\" \n" ]	[ 1, 20 ]	[ "1542520011", "1542521092" ]
[removed]	[WP] You’re a super hero, except you can only save a limited amount of people, and everyday that number grows smaller. You know the number. The only question is... who do you save?	0	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Direct prompt replies must be good-faith attempts at new stories or poems](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_1.3A_direct_prompt_replies_must_be_good-faith_attempts_at_new_stories_or_poems)\n\n- Fill-in-the-blank: Responses must be at least 100 words. This is essentially a fill-in-the-blank, or you asked a question likely to generate a simple answer. Prompts should encourage a story or poem. \n\n Feel free to repost without the question or fill-in-the-blank element!\n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed Post) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542537078", "1542537899" ]
	[WP] First contact with aliens is established, and what was expected to be the end of monotheistic religions takes an unexpected turn when it is discovered, in the religious monotheistic texts of the Aliens "He created the people, not to His image as He had on Earth..."	316	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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\nRelatively not too long ago and relatively not too far, far away, was Nede. In the beginning was everything, and it was good. On Nede, there was no word for “need.” Why would a word need to exist to describe the indescribable? All members of each society on the planet had everything they could ever want. There was no war, no famine, no hunger. There were no wants, no needs. \n\nReficul, the creator and sustainer of Nede, had made inhabitants of the planet perfect. Each of them, since the moment they were formed from the dirt, were made with no flaws, no imperfections… no suffering. Reficul was a being of empathy. Witnessing the anguish of anything from the dirt of the Nede was too much, so he had no choice but to make them perfect. To achieve that end, Reficul had endowed each creation that he formed from the dirt with the knowledge of all things. With knowledge, there is not ignorance, there is not fear, there is not hate… there is not suffering. They each knew they were made for the company of Reficul, and with that knowledge there was a peace and understanding. \n\nHewhay, Reficul’s First, had been his only mistake. He was made imperfect, and flawed Reficul had made Hewhay first from the dirt of the Nede and had been made without the knowledge of all things. This lack of understanding had led to great suffering for the First of the Nede. Reficul kept Hewhay by his side for the pain of the First had required great need. Hewhay did not know why he existed. After a millennia of needing to pour himself into the First, Reficul realized he had no choice but to rid himself of his burden and cast Hewhay from Nede, and he fell. After seeing the suffering of The First, Reficul knew that any being he made of the dirt had to have the knowledge of all things. \n\nUpon landing on new dirt, Hewhay grew lonely. Without Reficul, The First was like a babe crying for its mother’s milk. He had needs that were not satisfied. His loneliness became too great. To end his suffering, Hewhay made beings in the new dirt. These new beings were as flawed and imperfect as Yewhay, for they were made in his image. Reficul knew that these beings were suffering for their imperfections and their needs and their lack of the knowledge of all things, so he contacted the beings of the new dirt. The message to the beings of the new dirt was thwarted by Hewhay and twisted, so they began to fear the creator and sustainer of Nede, the one that yearned to provide them with relief from suffering.\n\nThe truth, you see, is naught but a backwards lie. The beings of the new dirt, being deceived by Hewhay, know him by a different name: Yahweh.", "The world was ground to a perfect halt. The aliens began to integrate into society, they treated us like lords among them. Where we walked, they would bathe in their ritual salts, and call a holy land of the god's chosen. We were powerful to them. But I was left dumbstruck by the species, and the implications that came with their texts.\n\nWe weren't living in the same era anymore. This overly advanced species had given up everything they owned to us. Cancer had been cured, and we were falling towards an age of impossibilities. 'Why now?' had been my first question, and when this journal is revealed to the world, I will know the answer, because something is terribly wrong with the arrival of this species, and it starts with one thing, none of them have mentioned the name 'God', and the only thing they have in their texts is an all powerful 'He'. This isn't a god, this is a different entity all together. if the readings I have found are correct, this 'He', is headed straight towards us.\n\nA short one, but it's based off of something else, and I'm not good at cosmic horror.", "^((First ever writing prompt, don't expect much))\n\nHe had made millions of creations trying to create the perfect species. Each failed prototype were sent away in pods into the cosmos. The abandoned would drift endlessly, stuck in the vast emptiness of space. Except for one.\n\nOne of the pods had crashed into a planet. The two creatures inside were lucky to had survived the impact. The male woke up first. It looked around confused, trying its hardest to comprehend what had happened. Beside him lied a female of his kind. There was something familiar about her, but he didn't recognize her. He went over to inspect her, and found something engraved into her arm. It read,\n\n\\\"\\*Experiment 12-E\n\nTraits:\n\nIntelligence: 8/10\n\nSpeed: 2/10\n\nStrength: 3/10\n\n...\n\nThis race exceeds in intelligence, but its physical attributes don't make it fit for survival.\"*\n\n&#x200B;\n\nA headache pained him reading through it, so he looked away. He spotted a book on the floor with \"The Bible\" written in golden text on it. He didn't understand, and only one question echoed in his head. \"Why, God? What is the meaning of all this?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThousands of years went by, Experiment 12-A and 12-E were long dead by now, but they had managed to survive and have offspring. The offspring had built a prospering civilization and become the dominant species on their planet. Philosophy was something their species valued very much, and many had tried to come up with an explanation to their existence, tried to explain this mystical book, and tried to answer the question above all. Nobody could. They ventured into space trying to look for other life, explored their solar system and a small part of the galaxy in the search of this answer. No matter how much they looked, they couldn't find the answer... Until they met the humans.\n\nNow they understood." ]	[ 1, 3, 30, 85 ]	[ "1542553302", "1542677869", "1542573547", "1542561036" ]
[removed]	[WP] You're scrolling through Reddit when all of a sudden you come across THIS very post. You feel an intense rush of inspiration hit you as you begin to write the most random story you've ever come up with!	0	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/CheesecakeTummyache, this submission has been removed.\n\n</p>Litterally a case of \"Write whatever\"\n<br /></div>\n </td>\n <td class=\"flair-text\"><span class=\"flair-text-span\"></span></td>\n <td class=\"flair-css\"><span class=\"flair-css-span\"></span></td>\n </tr></tbody></table>\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9y85ev/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542564326", "1542565416" ]
	[wP] “As I’m writing this, I am in the bathroom, typing with shaking hands. He’s outside banging on the door. Please. Help. “	5	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Oh Jesus, Oh Jesus, Oh Jesus. I don’t know what to do. I’m sitting in the bathroom typing this out and hoping that someone will see it. I can’t call for help, my phone is busted. I can’t escape because I’m on the 7th floor and in the bathroom. Please someone help me. I don’t know how long the door will hold together, but I put some stuff in front to help hold it shut.\n\nI came home from school today and my mom and dad were already home. That’s pretty unusual, they work late and don’t get home until around 6 normally. I came in and heard them talking quietly in their room, they didn’t hear me come in I guess. I went straight to my room and dropped off my stuff. I was about to let them know I was home when I heard my dad say something strange. “I know what they do to them, it’s horrible but the leader wants it. Plus, we’ll get 25 grand for her and that would really help.”\n\nI didn’t know what he was talking about. Who was leader? And what were they selling for 25K? I heard my mom reply but didn’t catch all of it. “… our daughter, but we can have another one later. Plus, she’s not going to join and I’m tired of her attitude. I hate teenagers, so disrespectful.” There was spite in her voice, she was talking about me. I started to panic right there. They were planning on selling me to someone? But why? I didn’t understand. I still don’t.\n\nI ran to get my backpack but I guess they heard me. My dad shouted “Kaley? That you sweetheart?” “Shit, I think she heard. I didn’t think she would be home so soon. Go grab her David!” my mom said. I grabbed my backpack and headed for the door but my dad was already in the way. “Don’t try to run. They want you in pristine condition but any will do as long as you’re alive. Don’t make me hurt you.” He growled. My dad, the one who raised me and loved me all these years, was gone. I could barely recognize him. There was so much hate in his eyes and his normally kind voice was gruff with rage. I turned and my mother was standing right behind me holding a rolling pin. She swung it at my head trying to knock me out but I managed to duck under it. I pushed her out of the way and she fell, I stopped for a brief second to check on her but ran when I heard my dad behind me.\n\nI made it to the bathroom and locked the door. I shoved the medicine cabinet and everything else I could manage in front of it to keep them out. When I checked my bag I was shaking so bad I could barely unzip it. When I finally got to my phone to call 911 I dropped it, the screen shattered and I let out a yelp. “Listen here you little shit,” I heard my dad from the other side of the door “we know you heard everything, I don’t give a damn. Come out of that bathroom right now or, so help me god, I’ll beat you within an inch of your life.” His threat was punctuated by him pounding on the door.\n\nI didn’t answer, I was too scared. I have just been sitting here trying to think of what to do but haven’t been able to think of anything. “We’re getting in there one way or another, and if we have to come in there you’re going to regret it.” My mom said. “The longer you take, the worse your punishment will be young lady. We were just going to sell you, but we could have you be the sacrificial lamb this year. It’s your choice.” My dad said. “Sacrificial lamb? What the hell are you talking about?” I yelled.\n\n“We worship something old. Older than most people think can be possible. It’s real, we’ve seen it. Every year it calls for sacrifice, and we provide it. It’s not quick, easy or clean. It eats the sacrifice, slowly and painfully. We also put people in its service, slaves to its will. That’s what we were going to do to you, just have you do its bidding. But if you want to be this way about it we can make sure it takes you instead.” My dad was laughing as he told me this. I felt sick, I almost vomited right then. They want to sacrifice me? What did I do wrong? I thought I was a good kid?\n\nSince then they have been mostly quiet. I know they’re there, but they stopped trying to get in for a bit. I heard them on the phone but couldn’t make out what they were saying. I don’t know what to do, I just hope this finds someone in time. I’m pretty sure I’m not getting out of here alive, but this is what’s happened. Make sure the police or FBI or someone sees this. When I go missing, it was my parents. I can hear someone else in the apartment now, I don’t think it’ll be long. Please, send someone fast or I’m going to be dead.\n\nThank you for reading!\n\nSee more of my stuff at [R/WorksofIndridFrost1](https://www.reddit.com/r/WorksofIndridFrost1/)" ]	[ 1, 2 ]	[ "1542646275", "1542657739" ]
	[WP] You black out at a party and wake up with no recollection of what happened last night. You check your phone, and see thousands of notifications from people you’ve never heard of.	7	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Pounding head. Foggy vision. A sky that’s moving too fast and ground that’s so cold it’s giving me goosebumps. When I sit up, my stomach flips upside down, forcing me to dump my guts into the grass. Every part of my body aches. Literally everything. Even my toes.\n\nMy phone’s buzzing like the flies around me. I reek of booze and…tacos? Maybe. I don’t know. Climbing to my feet, I lean against the wall, staring at my house—which is a mess. Broken windows, spraypainted walls, ripped up bushes, clothes everywhere. What happened last night? My memory’s blank.\n\nMy phone buzzes again. This time I check it, eyes shooting open. One thousand notifications? I shake my head, take a deep breath. Must’ve gotten a virus—great. What a shit-show of a night. Shit-show of a party. I knew I shouldn’t have hosted it. Taking a seat on my stoop, I scroll through the messages, which are from random people.\n\nGreat party, bro! Never thought I’d eat so many tacos!\n\nYooooo, you’re dope! Thanks for the food. You don’t look rich, though. How’d you afford all those tacos?\n\nTacos…?\n\nShaking my head, I quickly stand—now I’m clutching it. Head-rush, splitting pain worse than brain freeze. My body’s screaming puke but my brain’s screaming not on the welcome mat, asshole! Once that passes and I feel conscious again, I shove my door open, immediately bumping into Dave, a friend of mine.\n\nHe’s drunk. He puts his hands on my shoulders, eyes wide. “Dude,” he says. “Duuuuuude.”\n\n“Dude,” I reply.\n\n“That was sooooooo siiiiiiick. Best party ever.”\n\n“Yeah. So I’ve heard. What happened?”\n\n“Duuuuuude you ordered like, a million tacos, duuuuude!”\n\nI laugh. “You’re joking, right?”\n\nHe shakes his head, moving to the side. Peering in my house, I see he wasn’t joking—there are thousands of tacos stacked all the way to the ceiling, and random people sitting around devouring them.\n\n“Oh, no.”\n\n“Yeaaaaah bro! You invited the whole city, duuuude! Your a legend!”\n\nI yank my phone back out. I'm still getting notifications. Thanks for the food! and you should throw another one next year! Taco Festival! I check my bank and it's...bad. Terrible. Tens of thousands of dollars of debt. This can’t be…can’t be real, right? I look up at Dave, awkwardly chuckling. “Ha. Yeah. Funny. This is a prank or something, right, Dave?”\n\n\"You’re awesome when you drink, dude,” he says, putting a small paper crown on my head. “Taco king, taco king, taco king!”\n\n***\n\nIf you like this story, check out my sub r/longhandwriter or my [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/BryceBealWriter)" ]	[ 1, 5 ]	[ "1542660682", "1542663731" ]
[removed]	[WP] A volunteer helping the firefighters in the California forest fires seems like a nice, avg Joe. But he leads a double life as a serial killer hiding all the bodies in random locations in the woods.	2	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/TruckerTM, this submission has been removed.\n\n[No explicitly sexual responses, hate speech, or other harmful content](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_2.3A_no_explicitly_sexual_responses.2C_hate_speech.2C_or_other_harmful_content)\n\n- Recent Tragedies: Give it a few months. If there is murder/slaughter of innocent people, leave it be \n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\n[Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses)\n\n- Real-World Drama: No prompts referencing real world drama (including politics, recent tragedies, etc.) \n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9ymj7k/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542671970", "1542672502" ]
[removed]	[WP] Christopher Columbus never stopped in America on his exploration. Native Americans become the dominant race in the future.	4	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/mcbeck, this submission has been removed.\n\n[No recent reposts, even if changing small details](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_5.3A_no_recent_reposts.2C_even_if_changing_small_details)\n\nAlso, no [copy-cats](http://i.imgur.com/38FjDgW.gifv).\n\nSearch before submitting as popular ideas can cause floods. If your idea is based on something you read elsewhere on reddit, chances are it's been submitted here already. Please wait at least 2 weeks before reposting.\n\n \n\nhttps://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9yhq0a/wp_in_1492_columbus_three_ships_were_lost_at_sea/\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9ynxqw/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542682391", "1542683457" ]
	[WP] You live in a city that spans time. Today, you have to investigate a mystery in the Victorian Area.	30	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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“Shit,” I thought as I looked at the text on my phone. I just caught a body in Old London Town, that’s the Victorian side of town. I hated the place, it was a hell of a drive and the whole place stunk like piss and poverty. However, that’s the nature of the job, no matter how shitty an era, if someone drops a body, I’m expected to go pick it up.\n\nI slid my phone back into the pocket of my jeans, grabbed my weapon out of the drawer, slid it into the holster tucked in my waistband and threw on my jacket as I walked out the door. I could head to one of the Future Precincts to use a teleporter, but, honestly, the drive gives me time to clear my mind and gain perspective on a case. I had a feeling this one was going to require some Grade A clarity.\n\nAs I arrived on the scene in the White Chapel district, I could see Perkins, dressed in a frock coat and bowler standing over the body scowling at me. As I stepped out of my vehicle, he left the scene and approached me with a visible air of disdain.\n\n“Jesus, Schemansky, can’t you at least TRY to blend in?”\n\n“I’m sorry, Frank, my deerstalker cap and duster were in the dry cleaner at the corner of Who Gives a Shit and I Don’t Give a Fuck Avenue. Oh, and I’d be careful throwing that name around, Jerusalem A.D. ain’t that far away. So, anyway, what do we got?”\n\nPerkins’ chuckle died away as he remembered why we were here. He looked back at the vic who was covered in a tarp. He returned his gaze to me and his face was suddenly grim in a way that I knew meant the rest of my week was likely ruined.\n\n“Look, Steve, this one’s bad. The victim is a white female, early 20’s most likely a street walker.”\n\n“Well, that sounds easy, she was probably skimming off the top and her pimp came and roughed her up and it went too far. This should be open and shut.”\n\nPerkins didn’t seem to buy my theory. I could tell that he knew something that I didn’t. He led me further down the alley toward the body. “This one is different. If she was just beaten to death in the street, or stabbed, I’d say let’s go talk to her boss. This was no pimp looking to get money.”\n\nOnce I reached the body, I drew back the sheet of tarpaulin and suddenly realized why it had been there in the first place. I grew up in the 1970’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, I’ve seen some fucked up shit. Nothing I’ve seen before prepared me for this.\n\nThe victim’s throat had been slashed. It appears that this was the cause of death which was probably a great mercy considering the rest of the scene. She had been completely gutted. Her insides were spilling to the outside. I looked carefully because something seemed wrong, like there was something missing. \n\n“Did the killer-” I began, not quite sure how to finish the question.\n\n“The victim appears to be missing several organs. We will have to wait for the the ME to determine exactly what’s gone. We’re not taking her to a local, we need to know exactly what we’re dealing with here and their science is really only a step away from voodoo.”\n\nI really began examining the wounds. With the sight and the surrounding smells, it was all I could do to fight my gag reflex. Glad I did though, the ME really hates it when you “contaminate the crime scene.”\n\n“Frank, I agree, this shit wasn’t some pimp. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think some of them are above savagery, but this wasn’t exactly savage. The cuts are clean and precise. My instincts tell me that this is somebody with medical experience, or maybe a butcher. All I know for sure is that our unsub is one sick son of a bitch.”\n\nI stood up and started to look around the rest of the scene while Perkins covered the body back up. The area had been cordoned off by some local bobbies, but other than that I was assured that it hadn’t been touched. There was garbage piled in the gutter, I saw stray cats wandering through the alley, there was graffiti spray painted on the walls.\n\nThat’s when I saw it. Scratched into the brick above the body, barely visible due to the paintings on the wall around it was a picture of what appeared to be a beetle. Looking closer, I could see the letters “JR” carved in the middle. This was obviously done with the murder weapon as I saw traces of blood in the etchings.\n\n“Dammit!”\n\n“What?” Perkins asked me as he approached. He looked at what I saw on the wall.\n\n“Why are you worried about a picture of some bug on the wall? It was probably kids, tourists, you know.”\n\n“That’s not any bug. That’s a scarab. It looks like we’re headed to Pharaoh’s Landing.”", "It was never quite easy to spot where the changes happened. The city sort of blended together in an almost natural way. One moment, you'd be walking through clay hut rows with roughshod dirt packed roads. The next, a block of sweeping towers that reached all the way up into the clouds above. There were no lines or boundaries. Everyone was free to wander and live where they please. Tribal men and women in traditional garb waiting in fancy coffee shops with hipsters in flannel and future body suited androids. But just like any other city, there was it's fair share of crime.\n\nVictorian Row was one of the more popular parts of the city. I never quite understood why. Maybe it was all of the fancy clothes or the unique building aesthetics. Whatever the reason, I was here today to investigate a break-in. George's Fine Antiquities, a little hole in the wall shop down one of the narrow side streets. The glass front door had been shattered, several shelves had been knocked over, vases and other delicate items smashed on the floor. But when I interviewed George, he claimed that nothing had been stolen. The register and safe behind the counter were untouched and from the looks of things they had broken everything that could be broken easily. It would take some time to confirm, he said, but he knew what he had in stock and could identify the pieces. Everything looked to be accounted for.\n\nSo, who breaks into a Victorian antique shop and doesn't steal a thing? My gut was telling me this was going to get complicated fast." ]	[ 1, 3, 8 ]	[ "1542726397", "1542751658", "1542727684" ]
Edit: So apparently this is already the plot of a book, which is like, super cool and great.	[WP] A little invisible girl spends her days scaring everyone she meets, who all think she's a ghost. Scared and alone, she finds comfort in a little blind boy.	1,454	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "\rIt was snowing that day, like it has for many days. The thick sheets covering the streets and vehicles. Raine’s footprints followed her as she stumbled through the back alleys. Yet, they led to nothing. She shivered once more, tears in her eyes from the memories. She had tried to call out, to get help from others, but no help came. Only frightened eyes and screeches from pedestrians. And so, she was alone, in the chill that chewed her skin, though she couldn’t see it, only the light sheet of snowflakes that coated her unseen frame could allude to it.\r\n\r\nAs she sniffed and stepped through the alley, out into the open once more, she saw a boy sitting at the steps to a building. Fear filled her fragile being as she stared into the boy’s eyes, with his staring back. Something about his eyes made her fiddle with a trembled breath, the icy grey touch to them with dilated pupils glinting at her. His appearance seemed one of interest as he heard Raine’s feet crush the snow beneath.\r\n\r\n“Who’s there?” He spoke. Raine wanted to turn and run right then and there, her body shaking with dread, but something in her seemed to keep her there.\r\n\r\n“Hi…” She murmured gently. She was anticipating the boy’s eyes to widen, fear to overrun him, a scream to pierce her ears, but none of that came.\r\n\r\nHe beamed at her. “Hey! I didn’t think anyone was out here, nice to meet you!” His voice had a polite tone to it, nothing she expected. She was surprised as he held out a hand. Cautiously, she reached out and shook it.\r\n\r\n“Nice to meet you too,” She stuttered. She saw the boy smile grow even more as he patted the space beside him.\r\n\r\n“Come, sit. It’s not often anyone walks these streets,” He said. Raine crept over and sat at the steps. The boy looked ahead as he wandered a little with confusion in his eyes. A sniffle from her nose changed that as he turned his head and smiled again. “Oh, I didn’t hear you,” He chuckled.\r\n\r\nShe looked at him with uncertainty. “I thought you saw me?”\r\n \r\n“No, I can’t. My mommy said I’m… um…” He looking off for a moment, scratching his chin. “I think she said I was… blind. It means I can’t see,” He explained.\r\n\r\nRaine looked at the boy, sadness taking her features. “Don’t you feel sad for not being able to see?”\r\n\r\nHis smile didn’t fade. “How can I be sad about something I never had? It can be a little… uncomfortable at times. Like when I’m in a crowd or at a store. I rely on my hearing for everything, so in large crowds, I can’t find where I’m going.”\r\n\r\nShe stared at him with a light smile and grabbed hold of his arm. “I’m like you in a sense, but instead of not being able to see, others can’t see me.”\r\n\r\nHe laughed at her. “Well, don’t worry about me,” He remarked. “So, what’s your name?”\r", "Anica walked around with her head held low, staring at her bare feet smacking the bricks of the busy sidewalk, feeling invisible, scared, and hungry. It wasn't always like this. She had a happy family, a dog, and a guinea pig once.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThat was until the car accident that claimed her father's life, and her mother in such pain she relied on morphine and pills to keep her from hurting. When those ran out, and when the doctors tried to get her to stop, she went to something more.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThat's how she met the monster who made her feel invisible. He would constant yelling, telling her children should not be seen nor heard. When she would come out of her room if you'd call it that. He would grab the belt and smack her with it until she was a heap on the floor, knowing if she cried it would be worse.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nSome days she would crawl back to her room, barely moving from the welts on her back. She would sneak out at night to go to the kitchen and quietly get what little food there was. A few crackers, and if she was lucky a teaspoon of peanut butter, but only if it was already open.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nShe knew if she was caught, he'd grab the belt again. Even taking the little food she could scavenge was a grave offense. She didn't work for the food on the table, so she didn't deserve to eat.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nOne day, after being in her room for days, stomach hurting so bad, the feeling of it eating itself. She snuck out of her room to try and find a clean glass for water and some crumbs left on the table to get her stomach to stop hurting.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAs she rounded the corner her mother was sitting at the table, slumped over with her head laying at an odd angle on the table. Her arm dangling by her side, the needle still in her discolored veins, her eyes glassy and staring at her. She scampered away and ran right into the monster who introduced the poison that was stagnant in her mother's veins. The man stumbled as she fell down and swung his fist downward, barely missing her.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nShe got up and ran for her bedroom's door, tears fresh in her eyes, knowing if he saw them it would enrage him more.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"COME HERE YOU LITTLE BITCH!\" he yelled after her, stumbling drunkenly toward her as he pulled at his belt.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nEyes wide at the belt, she turns from her room's door and runs to the front door. Her mother's glassy eyes haunting her, she grabs the front door handle and pulls harder than necessary as he reached out to grab her.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe door swings open and knocks his arm away from the collar of her shirt, and she runs out and down the stairs of the dirty apartment building. Watching her bare feet barely miss glass, dirty needles, and cigarette butts, she almost flew down the 3 flights of stairs, reaching the entrance to the street in, what seemed like, seconds of her leaving the place she was a prisoner in, for over a year.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe sun was bright, or maybe it was the fact she hadn't been outside since her mother moved them to his grungy apartment for an endless supply of poison. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the outside world. She felt scared and alone, yet free from the monster. She imagined that she was a princess, finally escaping the evil dragon and started running into the new world.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nIt was a colder day, her bare feet trampling across blades of frosted grass, slicing her tiny toes with even smaller, almost invisible cuts. She ignored the pain and felt the cold seeping in from her bare arms and feet.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nWearing just a t-shirt and a pair of pajama shorts, she was shivering and slowing down just blocks from the apartment building. She tried to remember anything from the trip from her old home to the apartment complex but she slept through most of it.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nShe thought she recognized some of the taller buildings but she wasn't exactly sure if they were the same tall buildings she saw from her suburban home so long ago.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nShe pointed her feet in the direction away from the apartment and toward what, she hoped, would take her back to old home where the neighbors would throw block parties and shut down the street so other kids could ride their bicycles.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nShe passed by men in business suits who wouldn't even look down at her, and mothers fighting their way through the crowded sidewalk with their strollers and crying kids, too bothered to deal with another kid.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nShe couldn't remember what it was like being able to cry about something, anything. If she even wimpered the monster would come out and make things worse. She almost smiled at the thought of the freedom from that prison but the cold stopped her from being completely happy.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nShe passed by an alley when a gust of warm air blowed against her skin. She turned and stopped, facing the direction of the warm air and saw a garage door opening and a cat jumping away from the door and scurrying down the alley.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAnica remembered that cats like warm places and thought the cat wouldn't be laying next to the garage door if it wasn't warmer than some place else.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nShe ran toward the garage door as it was opening, feeling more warm air rushing toward her. Her arms were crossed, covering her chest, as if trying to keep any warmth from escaping her already freezing body.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nShe ducked behind a dumpster as a man was struggling to carry a black garbage bag. The dumpster was cold and canceling out the warm air as it seeped out of the opening.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe man grunted as he lifted the bag to throw it in the dumpster. She heard a soft thud as something hit the ground and the man cursed.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Screw this, I don't get paid enough to clean this up,\" he said as he walked back toward the opening, carrying the ripped plastic garbage bag.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAnica peeked around the dumpster as the garage door was closing and saw a mound of clothes laying half in the dumpter and all over the ground. The door stalled a few inches from the ground. She heard the man again.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Can my day get any worse? Not my problem, I'm clocking out! Dave come and fix this door,\" he yelled.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAnica ran out from behind the dumpster and grabbed an armful of clothes and took off down the alley until she came to another dumpster to hide around, this one smelling of old cheese.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nShe set down the clothes and looked through them. She thought she had hit the jackpot. Not only where there clothes, but there was a shoe too! It was too big for her, she knew, but it was better than just her bare feet.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"No socks and only one shoe,\" she said quietly, then shrugged.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nShe peeked around the dumpster again and saw another shoe. It wasn't a match but she didn't care. She ran from the dumpster to grab the shoe when the garage door started moving again.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Dammit Jonny, I told you not to use the chain! We have a button for a reason,\" another voice said from behind the moving door.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAnica grabbed the shoe and ran as fast as she could back to her cache of clothes.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Hey, wait!\" the man said as she cornered past the dumpster.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAnica grabbed up as much as she could and ran down the alley, not looking back in fear that the man was chasing after her. She knew that if he caught her, she'd have to go back to the monster in the apartment.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nShe ran for what seemed like forever, dodging in and out of alleys. When she finally stopped, she bent over and dry heaved, with still nothing in her belly.", "\"Hi.\"\n\n\"Ahh! It's that damn ghost again.\" screamed the middle-aged man walking down the lane.\n\n\"Oh, come on honey there is no ghost here.\" His wife chirped. Not even looking back as she continued leading the way out of the alley.\n\n\"I swear every time we come around this block. That ghost seeks me out to try and scare me.\" pleaded the husband.\n\n\"We only come down this way when we go to the dumpling shop, I like. You don't have to be so sour about it.\" his wife tittered.\n\n\"I only wanted to say hi.\" the ghost sad quietly as she invisibly made her way out the other side of the alley.\n\n\"I hate that no one can see me for what I am.\" moaned the ghost.\n\n\"I hate it too. It's like they can't hear what is in front of them and can only comprehend what they want to.\" said a voice from the ghost's left.\n\n\"Exactly. Wait you can see me?\" questioned the ghost, turning to their left to see who was talking.\n\n\"No, but I can hear you.\" stated the voice coming from a boy now more than ten year olds. Leaning against the brick wall, dressed in overalls which had seen better days, but a clean red shirt could clearly be seen underneath and a blue baseball cap resting on his head.\n\n\"Are you not scared that you can't see me?\" asked the ghost.\n\n\"Why would I be? I never see anyone.\" smirked the boy. \"My name is Peter.\" Peter said as he held his hand out a good twenty degrees to the left of the ghost.\n\n\"My name is Amy.\" The ghost said as for the first time she noticed the cane leaning against the wall next to Peter. \"You blind.\" She remarked as she took his proffered hand and shook it.\n\n\"You just figure that out? Now who is the blind one?\" quipped Peter.\n\n\"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. It has just been so long since someone actually had a conversation with me.\" Amy offered.\n\n\"Why is that?\" wondered Peter.\n\n\"Let's just say people can't seem to see that I am just a normal girl.\" answered Amy.\n\n\"Well you sound normal.\" Peter smiled.\n\n\"Thanks, and you sound normal too.\" responded Amy. \"Hey, do you want to go to the park down the way?\"\n\n\"The one with the swings and the winding slide?\" inquired Peter.\n\n\"Yep that is the one.\" Amy allowed.\n\n\"Yeah, that sounds like fun. You sure you will not mind being seen with a blind kid?\" Peter asked defensively.\n\n\"No one will even see that I am there.\" laughed Amy as she grabbed Peter's had and they walked side by side down to park. Not that anyone could see the invisible girl, but if they bothered to look closely, they would have noticed that Peter was smiling for the first time in a long time as strolled along holding his cane idle in his left hand.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\[I'm just starting to write so constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged\\]", "I wasn't born like this, which I think makes it harder for everyone else. They knew me. Some loved me. So when it happened, and they thought I had died, it was difficult to deal with. And scary. They could hear my voice, feel my hand on theirs, bump into me in the hallway... They thought I was haunting them.\n\nI suppose I am, sort of, but what else can I do? \nIt was a stupid game... Jenny said she'd found a way to make you invisible, so we set up a bunch of candles and chanted this weird phrase over and over and then... the candles went out and it was dark. She scrambled to the lights, but when she flipped them on, she was even more terrified than when it was dark. It had worked. I was invisible.\nI think now that she wanted it to work, and only on me. She was always kind of a mean girl. Always making me play the Prince while she played Princess. Always making me give her my pudding at lunch. Always handing me her math homework. And I just let her do it. She was my only friend and now she's not even that. But she is the only one who truly knows what happened. \nShe wouldn't come clean afterward. Wouldn't tell her parents the truth. Started screaming that Is run away and must have gotten killed and now I was haunting her. How well that worked out for her... she's now strapped down to a bed in the hospital, shot up with meds twice a day.\n\nI \"haunted\" her for a while, as payback. But it was really sad to see her like that, especially knowing she wasn't crazy. She was just mean.\n\nAnd that's how I met Ben. He was there, in the hospital, wandering around the halls alone. He walked right into me - not completely uncommon, and said \"sorry\" before continuing on. Every other time this happened with someone, they'd look terrified. He just moved out of the way and continued on like he hadn't just walked into a ghost. \n\n\"Can you see me?\" I asked timidly. I hadn't spoken in days. The last time I used my voice was to cry to myself in a closet.\nHe stopped and turned slowly until he was almost facing me but not quite.\n\"Is that a joke?\" He ran a hand over his eyes and it was suddenly clear. He was blind.\n\"Oh, I'm sorry. I just...\"\n\"Wait... then what did you mean?\"\n\"Nothing I just meant...\"\n\"Jenny's not crazy, is She?\"\nI didn't know what to say. \n\"She's been screaming about her invisible friend for weeks, saying she's not dead, she's just invisible and she's here in the hospital, and no matter how much stuff they give her or how often she's dragged to the therapists office, she keeps saying it. And... you must be her.\"\nIt was incredible, his ability to out this all together and even further to believe it. He would sound crazy himself.\n\"How...\" I couldn't even form the words. I didn't know quite what to say.\n\"Something similar happened to me,\" he replied blankly. \"And that's why I'm here.\"\n\nSo it didn't look like he was talking to himself, he told me to follow him back to the supply closet. He figured he'd only have a few minutes before they came looking for him, so he talked fast about how he and some of his buddies tried this game they'd found online. It was supposed to make someone invisible but they didn't have all the right ingredients. They substituted a few things and thought it would work. But instead, he opened his eyes and couldn't see anything anymore. \n\nHis parents took him to the doctor but the doctor couldn't find anything wrong with his eyes. They went to doctor after doctor, who looked at his brain and asked him a bunch of psychological questions, and finally his parents asked if he was faking it. He swore he wasn't but the doctors were convinced, so his parents were too. And they were too frustrated to put up with what they thought was an over-done prank, so they checked him into the hospital, where he listened day-in and day-out to Jenny's screams. And he knew what must have happened.\n\nBut nobody would believe him. Nobody believed her. And the scary thing was, this game was on the internet, making the rounds where any kid could find it and try it out. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into.\n", "\"Oh- I'm sorry.\" \n\nHe spoke with a smile Emma could only guess was sincere.\n\n\"There's nothing to be sorry for.\" The girl took a step back, only visible by the crushed grass under her feet.\n\n\"What's your name?\" Thomas answered in childful curiosity. Anyone who sounded like a fairy shaking it's wings was probably his age, and he really needed to have friends his age.\n\n\"Um, Emm- Emma.\" She hessitated to answer. It had never ocurred to her that somebody might be interested in speaking with a ghost.\n\n\"Can I touch your hair, Emma?\" Thomas was filled with curiosity. His milked eyes opened in an attempt to understand this girl in front of him. Never had he had the chance to be with someone like her in a situation like this. They would always treat him like weak, or avoid him.\n\n\"Of course.\" Emma aproached Thomas, leaning her head forward. Whenever she touched someone, they would freak out, scream, and spill out rude words she was not allowed to say. Now, this boy was curious to find her touch.\n\nThomas grabbed the hair gently, he could fill it escaping through his fingers like a mixture of cold river-flowing water and spider silk. He wanted to imagine her hair was blonde, but nobody really knew if that was a fact. He then remembered a little trick his older sister had explained to him not so long ago.\n\nWithout asking, he started to trim the hairs one over the other in a braid way. He felt as if making a wonderful piece of decorated cloth, and could only believe it would make Emma happy.\n\n\"Do you like it?\" He asked her.\n\n\"I love it.\" Emma answered. She couldn't see it, but as she passed her hand over her hair, she met Thomas' scratched fingers, and stared into them understanding how much they caressed and loved the world arround him. She couldn't see the beauty of her own hair, but understood it was made with genuine love.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\---------\n\nI tried my best, sorry for any grammar mistakes- I'm fluent in speaking English but not writing yet.", "She had always been invisible, in a sense. Her parents barely paid her any mind. They were too busy with her older brother. He was prodigy after all. The only time they really gave her any attention was when they were comparing the children. Even still, they cared for her.\n\nThen, one day, it happened. Her brother had overshadowed her so much that she actually turned invisible. She faded from pictures as well as from memories, but she was still there. For a while, she tried to communicate with her family, but all she managed to do was scare them. When they called in an exorcist she decided to leave. \n\nShe traveled from house to house, interacting with pets, since they could tell she was there, and swiping food where no one would notice. Eventually it always ended the same way, with them screaming something about ghosts.\n\nThat’s when she met him. He was walking across the street when his dog bolted after some thrown object. He tried to keep up but ultimately lost his grip, leaving him in the middle of the street with a car barreling towards him. She reacted on instinct, running and slamming into the boy. They went flying to the side, narrowly missing the vehicle. “Are you alright?” “Fine, thanks.” He smiled warmly at her just as people came flooding out of the houses panicking. \n\n“Thank goodness you’re alright!” Called a worried woman I assumed was his mother. “He must have guardian angel.” Chimes another woman. “I saw it last second. It was though someone had pushed him out of the way.” \n\n“No guardian angel, it was this girl.” He motioned to where she was seated next to him. “There is no one there, Sweetpea.” His mother said calmly.\n\n“They can’t see me, no one can. I’m invisible, but I promise I truly exist.” She whispered in his ear. He smiled and reached for her hand. “I believe you,” he said, “I can’t see anyone, but I know they exist.”\n\nEdit: grammar", "Take what you can. That's what Jane had been telling herself for the past two weeks. It might not be ideal. It may be downright strange. But at least he was happy again.\n\nAwkward footsteps ran past the kitchen, not quite drowned out by the local news report playing on the television by the stove. She still wasn't used to that third step, the sound of Henry's cane tapping in front of him, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. They were all still adjusting to their new reality.\n\n\"You can't go that way!\" laughed Henry before he barrelled into the kitchen, smiling, looking slightly up and to the left, as had become his habit.\n\n\"Are you playing with your friend again?\" Jane asked her twelve-year-old.\n\n\"Yes, but she's cheating,\" came the reply. \"I told Iris not to come in here, not when mom's watching TV.\"\n\n\"Well that was very thoughtful of you, but I'm less worried about Iris and more worried about you.\"\n\nHenry turned quickly and ran back out. The smile on his face was worth the oddness, she reminded herself. Hadn't his teachers repeatedly said he was withdrawn and uncaring since the blindness developed? Hadn't they said he'd stopped smiling, stopped playing, stopped interacting with the other kids? Jane reminded herself of these things when she struggled with her feelings about Iris. On the one hand, her son seemed like himself for the first time in months. On the other, well, he was a bit old for imaginary friends.\n\nDinner wasn't for a few hours, but Jane was in the kitchen anyway, half-listening to the news while scrubbing dishes. The handsome reporter, the one she joked with her husband about having an affair with, was in front of an old house. Lots of yellow tape, but no police cars, which struck her as slightly odd.\n\nRunning footsteps preceded Henry's re-entrance. \"Mom, turn off the TV.\"\n\n\"Why, sweetheart?\" she said, not bothering to look up from the pan she was cleaning.\n\n\"Iris doesn't want to watch this.\"\n\n\"Well, if it bothers Isis so much, she can turn it off herself.\"\n\nShe immediately felt bad about the comment. She should be encouraging him at all times, according to the therapists. Sighing, Jane turned to her son and started, \"I'm glad you and Iris are having fun, but --\"\n\nThe click behind her was less noticeable than the silence that followed. Jane turned and saw that the television, ten feet behind her, was off. She walked over and turned it back on.\n\n\"Don't mom! Iris doesn't like it!\"\n\nPatience fraying, Jane replied, \"Well, tell Iris that your mom was watching this, and until Iris starts paying the cable bill, she can put up with it.\"\n\n...the scene of the crime that has rocked our small community. We reported last week that Timothy Deringer, wanted for a number of heinous felonies, was discovered living in an abandoned house on the north edge of the city. In his basement were a number of bodies...\n\n\"Mom!\" Henry's tone was more than urgent -- it was scared. \"Iris is getting mad!\"\n\n\"Not now, I want to hear this.\"\n\n...many of which appeared to be young children. Some were apparently years deceased, but the most recent only passed in the past month, and has been positively identified...\n\nLight bulbs around the room burst. The microwave door flung open, the refrigerator positively exploded. Jane screamed as the television screen began smoking.\n\n\"Mom... Iris is really mad. She wants to talk to you.\"\n\nJane, leaning against the counter and shaking, replied, \"Sweetheart, not right now. You get out of here, I need to clean this up.\"\n\nIt was then that she felt it. Were she not paying attention, she would have dismissed the faint, cool pressure on her hand. Wouldn't have seen the form of a small girl in a nightgown, only just barely glimmering blue. Wouldn't have heard the whispered voice saying, \"You must help me. He must be stopped.\"\n\n\\--------------------\n\n153/365\n\none story per day for a year. read them all at [r/babyshoesalesman](https://www.reddit.com/r/babyshoesalesman)\n\n\\---------------------", "He smiles at her, colorless irises inexplicably filling up with such delirious warmth that it almost makes her head spin.\n\nShe reels back, and yet at the same time -- her hands dart forward, grasping at him in a futile gesture. Little hands pass through an equally little body.\n\nShe's seen how people react to her 'touching' them. They shiver, breaking out into cold sweats. Often times, she found it funny. Years later, it was the only thing that kept her going. The only proof that she wasn't some sentient piece of nothing too delusional to accept its non-existence.\n\nThe boy giggles, swatting at her hands with his own. She feels warm.\n\n\"Hey there!\" He grins, not through her -- but at her. \"Do you wanna be friends?\"\n\n\n\n\n" ]	[ 1, 2, 2, 6, 16, 29, 44, 72, 217 ]	[ "1542733607", "1542756323", "1542757132", "1542754572", "1542746815", "1542747926", "1542741614", "1542741937", "1542736966" ]
[removed]	[WP] YOU DIED, say the bright red words next to your hospital bed. WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO INTO SPECTATOR MODE, START A NEW GAME, OR QUIT?	0	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Your Caps lock seems to be stuck. Fix that before trying to post here." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542744403", "1542744563" ]
	[WP] Lets do something different today. No superpowers, no supernatural creatures, no twists. Just a normal, totally average person going through a normal day, where nothing out of the ordinary happens.	8	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "\"Let's say we have Joel. A man named Joel.\"\n\n\"Okay.\"\n\n\"Joel here is a normal guy. Normal IQ, normal personality, normal job. Absolutely everything well within our parameters for acceptable human living.\"\n\n\"Origin?\"\n\n\"United States. Come on. Pennsylvania. Just outside Philadelphia. Joel makes 50,000 a year, has a sweet and caring girlfriend who wants better for him, and a good dog who only causes trouble once its owners have just forgotten that it's capable of doing so.\"\n\n\"The dog. How old?\"\n\n\"3 years old. Old enough to feel like he, yes he, has always been a part of the family, and young enough to feel like he'll be a part of it forever.\"\n\n\"Name?\"\n\n\"Sparky. Normal dog name, slightly eccentric, fun to say when they call him over. He's trained in every way that counts but of course Joel and Candice, the girlfriend, always talk about teaching him new tricks. Will they? Who knows. We have an idea whether or not that will actually happen, but they might surprise us.\"\n\n\"Okay. What does Joel do?\"\n\n\"Joel went to college to obtain a degree in chemical engineering, but dropped out of the program to become an accountant instead. He works in-house for a medium sized company where there is just enough upward mobility to keep him there, but not enough to ever give him the correct ratio between independence and salary. Candice, since I know you will ask, works as a dietary aide in a hospital, hoping to one day be a successful dietitian in her own right. Joel is 29, Candice is 26.\"\n\n\"Well then, I'd say you would first have to-\"\n\n\"Wait a moment, i'm not done. We can't forget about the venn-diagram that is their family and social circles. Joel brings a few more close friends into their grand total but significantly less family. He grew up in a single-parent household, but not to his detriment. He, his mother and his brother had a completely normal life together. Candice is one of six children and is extremely close to all of her siblings and her parents. Both families love both lovers.\"\n\n\"Okay. I think I get the idea. First, you'd-\"\n\n\"No. I don't think you do. Joel and Candice moved in together a year ago. They've had arguments that tested them but they have ultimately grown stronger. They each still have the instincts that come with living alone, but are gradually adapting and evolving into a healthy cohabitative environment. Joel plans to propose in a few months and is terrified. Terrified not of a future with Candice but of a future he can truly envision. Joel has never had this before. He's grown comfortable with not knowing where he will be. The plan terrifies him, but not as much as losing her does. Plus, it's just that time in his life, isn't it? It's a solid move. Candice, his future bride, always knew what her future would hold. She had no illusions. She never really thought about 'where she'd be,' but rather how she'd be. She saw a nice man, like Joel, and a nice family, and a life with little dramas to occupy the space between relaxation and love. She knows a proposal is coming. She is happy in the original sense, meaning she is floating. She does not experience joy every moment of each day, but rather a sense of passive contentment gliding through the weeks, months and years of her life with Joel. She knows this is what it feels like, even when she is screaming at him to just accept the fucking coat her older brother wants to give him since Joel doesn't have a really warm coat for this winter and they're the same size.\n\nAre you getting this yet? Are you understanding? Are you fathoming that Joel sometimes thinks of finding out who his father is but it's never truly haunted him in any meaningful way? Or that his idea of being open with Candice is being as laid back and goofy as he is with his friends? And that she understands this but obviously she means emotionally open and wants him to be able to talk about the issues he's facing within himself, not fully realizing that his relationship to his sadness is estranged at best, and will probably never be fleshed out no matter how hard she tries or how badly she just wants to see if he will ever cry?\n\nJoel is a normal guy. Normal IQ, normal personality. He makes people laugh but isn't as desperate for the validation as he used to be. He can watch others have a good time without needing to be the reason. He trusts Candice with all his heart but still gets a little more needy when he's had a few drinks.\n\nJoel is in the throws of the flattest and longest stretch of his life that he will somehow make the mistake of describing as 'boring' when he is 53 and crying for the third time in 23 years of marriage in front of Candice, worrying he's wasted his youth. He won't cry again until he looks up from the floor 20 years later to see Candice dialing 9-1-1 after he's collapsed. He's failed her. His chest feeling like shattered glass and yet he thinks of her. Her loneliness, her isolation, her mourning. The tears he sheds are for his wife, not himself. The loss of himself he has seen coming for a long time now.\n\nThe day after day of Joel. The completely normal and average day after day of Joel. A legacy like billions of others. I can tell by your face you see it now. You're finally getting it.\"\n\n\"I think I am.\"\n\n\"Good. So here we have it then. We have Joel.\"\n\n\"We...\"\n\n\"It's okay. It feels good to say it.\"\n\n\"We have... Joel. Normal guy. Normal personality, normal IQ.\"\n\n\"Exactly. And now we can go.\"", "Stan wakes up on the left hand side of the bed. Like he does every day. It is 6AM.\n\nHe slips his legs out from under the cover and slides his feet right into his slippers. They are always in the same place, every night and morning.\n\nHe stands and walks to the bathroom, where he relieves himself or the urine that has built up overnight. As he does every day. This takes 1 minute.\n\nHe turns on the shower, placing the knob where it always goes for the perfect temperature. He undresses and grabs the fresh towel from the sink. He placed it there last night, as he does every night.\n\nStan goes through his shower routine. Washing his hair and face at once. Then lathering with body wash and the loofa. This process takes 5 minutes. He proceeds to stand under the hot water for the next 10, soaking in the heat and mentally preparing himself for the day ahead. \n\nHe turns off the shower and dries off. Wrapping the towel around his waist as he steps out, back into the slippers. Grabbing his blue toothbrush and putting his mint toothpaste on it, begins to brush his teeth. \n\nHe turns on the sink and spits. Running the water over the head of the brush and rinsing out his mouth. \n\nPicking up his comb, he runs it through his hair a few times. It falls into place from years of training. He applies the deodorant to his armpits, the same brand he has used for years. This has taken 4 minutes.\n\nHe walks to his closet and picks out one of the many suits that line the rod. It doesnt matter which one, they are all the same. He walks over to the dresser, pulling out a pair of socks and underwear.\n\nStan slides out of the slippers and gets dressed. Rolling the socks over his feet and sliding them into his shoes. He walks to the dresser, grabbing his keys and wallet. This takes 7 minutes.\n\nHe opens the door to his house and walks down the steps, gets into his beige sedan. Turning the key in the ignition, the car starts and the radio hums. Classical music plays through the speakers. \n\nPulling into the street, Stan drives towards the city. Stopping at stop-signs and lights. Yielding where he is supposed to. It takes one hour to drive to work.\n\nStan drives his car through the parking lot and turns into his designated spot. This takes 3 minutes.\n\nHe turns off the car and gets out. Walking into work, he smiles and nods at the receptionist. Says hello to everyone he should as he makes his way to his cubicle. This takes 15 minutes.\n\nHe sits down at his desk and works until lunch. This goes on for 4 hours, lunch takes 1 hour. He then comes back to his desk and works until the end of the day. This is another 4 hours.\n\nStan shuts off his computer and says goodbye to everyone still in the office. Waves to the receptionist and walks out the door to his car. \n\nBack in his car, Stan rubs his face. Feeling the stubble that has formed over the day. Turning the key in the ignition and starting the car. The radio plays jazz now. This takes 17 minutes.\n\nHe pulls out of his spot and drives through the parking lot. Begins driving home. Stopping at stop-signs and lights, yielding where he is supposed to. It takes 1 hour 15 minutes to drive home. \n\nHe pulls up in front of his house and turns the car off. Opening the door and walking over to the mailbox, he finds this months bills. Sighing, Stan walks to his front door and opens it. This takes 3 minutes.\n\nHe gathers his laundry and begins a load. Then goes to the kitchen to make dinner. Upon completion he opens a bottle of wine and pours a glass, then sits down to eat. This takes 1 hour. \n\nStan switches the laundry from the washer to the dryer. Then goes to the living room and turns on the TV. Sitting on the couch he, he selects the program he waits every week for. At the end of the show he hears the buzzer go off on the dryer. This has taken 1 hour.\n\nHe gathers the laundry and begins folding it, once done Stan places them in their appropriate spots. This takes 15 minutes. \n\nHe undresses and hangs the suit on the opposite side of the closet, reminding himself to make it to the dry cleaner this weekend. He slides the socks off of his feet and throws them in the hamper. Then he slides his feet into his slippers. This takes 6 minutes.\n\nHe goes to the bathroom and places the towel on the sink, then grabs his blue toothbrush and mint toothpaste. Stan brushes his teeth. Turning on the sink, he spits and rinses. This takes 3 minutes.\n\nStan sits down on the left side of the bed and slides his feet out of his slippers. Raising his legs and placing them under the covers, he lays down. Stan turns off the light and closes his eyes. \n\nStan falls asleep. It is 11PM.\n____\n\nMy math may be way off, not really sure.", "The alarm rang. John Smith continued to lay in his full-sized bed, ignoring the trill. The alarm refused to abate. John extended a searching hand from beneath his white polyester comforter, probing for the source. With a thwack, his pinky barely managed to find the snooze button, and he silenced his alarm for another 10 minutes. \n\n---\n\nJohn stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist, water spilling from his feet onto the floor tiles. Click. His electric toothbrush buzzed as he gave his teeth a cursory once-over. Click. \n\n---\n\nJohn hastily scrapped some butter onto his mildly-burnt toast. He thrust his head into the fridge, scanning for the strawberry jam. He found the container, and, unscrewing the lid, discerned that it was nearly empty. Damn. \n\n---\n\nThe Buick two cars in front of him rolled forward some 10-odd feet. The Prius directly in front of him appeared to not notice, and remained stationary. John leant on his horn, annoyed. The driver’s side window of the Prius rolled down and a middle-finger shot out. The Prius deliberately waited another 5 seconds before rolling forward some 10-odd feet, now stopped behind the Buick. \n\n---\n“Morning John.”\n\n“Hey Sally. Sorry I’m ten minutes late. Traffic over the bridge was slow today.”\n\n“It’s fine. How are you?”\n\n“Great. It’s expected to rain today.”\n\n“Yeahhh luckily I brought my umbrella.”\n\n---\n\nJohn was hunched over his desk, staring intently at his computer screen. He continued to stare. And stare. And stare. \n\nJohn punched a few keys on his keyboard. He absent-mindedly stretched a hand for his mug of coffee, sitting on a coaster. His fingers only half-grasped the mug, and he knocked it over. \n\n“Goddamnit.” \n\nMurky cheap dark liquid spilled over a loose stack of papers. \n\nA head appeared over the wall of his cubicle. \n\n“Hey John. What’s happening? We need to talk about your TPS reports.”\n\n---\n\nJohn ate lunch at his desk to catch up on his powerpoint presentation for tomorrow. He hunched over his desk and stared at his computer monitor, while munching on a celery stick. Double-clicks.\n\n---\n\n\nJohn gave a sigh of relief as he exited through his building’s rotating glass doors, his briefcase swinging in his right hand. He swung up his left wrist and glanced at his digital watch. 6:17 P.M. Later than he’d like but if he hurried home he could still catch tonight’s episode of The Voice. \n\n---\n\nJohn whisked along the freeway at a comfortable speed of 65mph, his fingertips spread lightly on the steering wheel at the 10 and 2 o’clock positions. His index finger tapped against the rubber impatiently. He looked up through the windshield, noting that it was a half-moon tonight.\n\nA red F-350, making a lane change without signaling, clipped the rear right bumper of John’s car. John’s car spun out of control, the tires screaming against the pavement as he stood on the brakes. With a violent clap, the front of his car collided with an ugly beige highway noise barrier, the nose of the vehicle crumpling. John’s head snapped forward and slammed against the dashboard, instantly cracking his skull. His eyes went vacant. \n\nJohn joined the other 3,286 individuals who died in a car accident that day in the country. Just another day in paradise. \n" ]	[ 1, 1, 3, 3 ]	[ "1542757275", "1542767396", "1542762079", "1542762969" ]
[removed]	[WP] I'm Two drinks into my second bottle of wine. I drink because it suppresses my urges. It makes my skin tingle and my lips dry but most of all...	3	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/UnlimitedEgo, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Direct prompt replies must be good-faith attempts at new stories or poems](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_1.3A_direct_prompt_replies_must_be_good-faith_attempts_at_new_stories_or_poems)\n\n- Fill-in-the-blank: Responses must be at least 100 words. This is essentially a fill-in-the-blank, or you asked a question likely to generate a simple answer. Prompts should encourage a story or poem. \n\n \n\n Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses ([rule 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses))\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9yzhpr/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542771299", "1542772429" ]
Or any other amount you want.	[WP] Last night when you went to sleep, you fell into a lucid dream. When you "woke up", you only fell inti a stranger/weirder dream. This has happened 364 times.	4	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 first time was fun, the first ten even, strange new worlds to explore I wasn't scared, it was just a dream after all, giants didn't scare me dragons just made me wish I had a piece of paper to draw on.\n\nHow foolish I was, we all have to sleep though, this isn't the worst someone could get it's empty knowing you'll never be noticed but some of these worlds have been great for the day I spend in them.\n\nNow I wonder if I should of been scared I'm really not even now, just kinda sad, if this is a coma then I guess it makes me feel better Levi probably is pretty happy if this is real paranormal somehow then well.. I guess I'm stuck here, not the worst place to be, but not the best not even close.\n" ]	[ 1, 2 ]	[ "1542781211", "1542782674" ]
[removed]	[WP] You are sitting on your toilet taking a dump when a slightly older you with wings and a cybernetic arm appears. "Alright, so things are about to get a lot different. Oh man, I remember sitting there with that same confused look on my face."	1	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/TheRedstoneBlaze, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses)\n\n- Bathroom Humor: No troll or meme-based prompts. This includes posting fart or poop jokes as prompts. See [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses) for more info. \n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9z0nco/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542873190", "1542873405" ]
	[WP] An alien invasion looms over America. To save our nation, a wizard uses ancient magic to summon the Ethereal Guardian of the USA. Johnny Cash is back; the man has come around, and he Won't. Back. Down.	94	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "In a flash of lightning the man stands. Tall and trim. His black suit has a slight shine to it. His eyes are hidden behind black sunglasses. \n\nThe man has indeed come around. \n\nHe lights a cigarette and hefts his six string onto his back. He surveys the scene. \n\nHe looks into the sky and sees the alien craft. Its massive size has left people awed and speechless. But those were lesser men. \n\nThey weren't Man in Black.\n\nHe looks around and sees the wizard. The wizard doesn't resemble Gandalf or Merlin like Johnny would've thought. This wizard looks to be in his 30s. He's got a slight Elvis look to him. The man saunters over. \n\n\"You called.\" His words lengthen by his drawl. He takes a pull on his cigarette.\n\n\"Yes. We need your help.\"\n\n\"Who's we?\"\n\n\"You're the man in black. You know who you're helping. The downtrodden, the scared, the people. The government is doing fuck all. \"\n\n\"What else is new?\" The man says with a grin. He takes a last long drag of his cigarette. \"Alright.\"\n\nHe walks to the edge of the building the wizard has summoned him to. He takes guitar off his back.\n\n\"Hello. I'm Johnny Cash.\" His voice booms. Everyone in the country can hear it\n\nThe alien ship stops spinning. It seems almost to turn slowly to look at Johnny Cash. Johnny smiles. \n\n\"Now listen here. I don't much appreciate y'all coming down here and trying to wreck things. I'm going to give you till I finish this here song. If you haven't left, then I'm going to get mad.\"\n\n\"There's a man coming round taking names...\"\n\nJohnny sings. The aliens leave. Best to not piss off the man in black. \n\n", "Johnny was flying his starship across the universe divide, chain-smoking cigarettes, popping pills from his infinite supply, and generally enjoying the afterlife, when a beacon of divine energy called him back home. It seemed that the Man in Black had been called back from beyond the grave to stand up for the beaten down once again. \n\nNecromancy is a tricky magic, but Death was just about sick of having his personal narcotics supply garnished, and gave up the old troublemaker’s soul easily. The Tennessee ground trembled beneath the wizard’s staff, and Cash sprang up out of the ground, his earthy remains restored to their full glory (and tolerance). Johnny thanked the wizard for letting him come back to party once more and looked up at the approaching alien army as it thundered through the sky. After making a quick plan, Cash made three requests: for someone to fetch his old guitar, a wide-brimmed black hat, and all the drugs in the northern hemisphere. \n\nThe supplies were gathered, and Johnny was sent out as the human’s envoy to greet the alien landing party. The fleet had entered the solar system months before, and many predictions had been made as to where they would land to begin their invasion. Unfortunately, they chose Johnny’s favorite spot to perform. The extraterrestrials’ huge crafts lowered themselves down, down, down through the atmosphere, suspended on huge rings of fire. They disembarked in what they’d taken as a strategic location, nearby the capital of the most populated state in the union. The aliens exited their huge crafts and were greeted by a burnt and twisted sign, nearly destroyed by their engines: Folsom Prison.\n\nJohnny was waiting for them there, already hopped up on uppers, downers, and more alcohol than the state of California had to give him. He invited the alien soldiers into a newly built arena at the site of the prison, put together hastily for the biggest performance ever to grace the cosmos. As the aliens entered, utterly confused, they were each given a large helping of amphetamines and barbiturates, along with a case of beer. These particular aliens had a similar nervous system to humans, and the drugs had a slightly magnified effect on them. \n\nThe ensuing concert was livestreamed across the whole globe, and every nation tuned in to watch the reanimated outlaw give one last blowout gig. Johnny sang every hard-hitting song in his repertoire, from Cry, Cry, Cry to A Boy Named Sue. Even though the aliens couldn’t fully understand the language, they got the messages. The concert lasted three days, fully exhausting the battle-hardened aliens through the power of Cash’s music. \n\nBy the end of the spectacle, the aliens had given up on invading the planet and instead sought out every CD, record, and digital music retailer on that side of the Mississippi, just so they could keep listening to the songs they were beginning to know by heart. Coming down from the otherworldly high he’d been on, Johnny Cash gave a tip of his wide-brimmed hat and faded back into the afterlife, knowing that the planet was safe and that he’d made a few million new fans. \n" ]	[ 1, 7, 13 ]	[ "1542902505", "1542936517", "1542915591" ]
	[WP] It is a simple food, but the emotions it evokes in you are anything but.	11	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Pickled oakra is a favorite snack of mine. My mom would make them, using fresh oakra either grown in our backyard or grown on a local farm. Pickling is a relatively simple process similar to canning, and when done properly the preservation it causes lets the food remain unspoiled almost indefinitely.\n\nNot that the preservation piece mattered much to me. I could, and often did, consume full jars of the oakra in a matter of an afternoon. They were addictive to me, and my mom knew it.\n\nI joined the Army, and got stationed a thousand miles from home. I measured this distance using Google maps, exactly 999.9 miles from the quarters I lived in and the front door of home. My mom would mail jars in care packages, and the contents would be devoured the same afternoon as their arrival.\n\nOnce or twice the jars would break in transit, and I would eat around the broken glass to get my fix.\n\nA part of it was the taste, but another part was what that taste meant. No matter how far away I was, a taste of the oakra and I would be home. Each jar was a vinegar-soaked message saying, \"I love you.\"\n\nMy mom was diagnosed with cancer my last year at that post. I transferred to another post, and the jars kept coming. The cancer went away, and the jars kept coming. \n\nThen the cancer came back, and it spread. She got weaker, and I spent more time back at home. The pickling slowed, then stopped. She fought the cancer valiantly, but eventually the cancer won. A year and a half ago she left this life for the next one.\n\nA jar sits in my dad's kitchen, unopened. A jar sits in my apartment's cabinet, unopened. I still enjoy that food, and eat store-bought oakra pickles when I can find them, but I doubt I will ever eat that last batch.", "Your very first memory is the smell of roasting chestnuts. \n\n\nShe did the peeling, the cutting, the boiling and roasting, and you watched on, fascinated by the entire process. The huge, open fireplace roared beside you, a comforting heat against one side of your face. The shrivelled, white nuggets that appeared from the hard shells made you giggle. You remember her laughter as she watched you, her beaming smile. It was a smile that would not re-appear over the ensuing years. \n\n\nThe memory is distant, nowadays. Like a dream that you’re not sure ever happened. It seems too perfect in hindsight. Was the fire really that big? Was it really white and snowing outside? How did the decorations seem to glow as your memory infers? And most of all… where was he?\n\n\nSomewhere far away, if she was smiling. \n\n \nBut it wasn’t a dream. On the night that he took her from you, as you tearfully held her hand, she described every single detail of that moment. Her favourite memory was your very first, and you took some comfort in that. \n\n\nThey say that smell evokes memories more than any other sense, and roasting chestnuts now has a bittersweet effect on you. Part comfort, part mourning, part happiness, part nostalgia. The first time you remember seeing her smile was also the last, because of him. Part hate.\n\n\nYou peel another chestnut and toss it onto the flat, iron top of the searing hot wood-burning stove in the corner of the cabin. It’s not as big as the old fireplace in your memory, but it serves its purpose nonetheless. A maximum capacity of three logs, but with the door closed and the vents open it burns far, far hotter than any open fireplace ever could. Your mother’s smile pops back into your mind once again as you gaze into the flames. \n\n\n‘One step at a time’. Her last words, whispered in your ear before she bled out on the floor all those years ago. At the time you took them literally; a glimpse of how she survived him. One night at a time. One punch at a time. One hospital admission at a time. \n\n\nThe hot, cast-iron hinges of the door creak loudly now and a blinding heat pours into the room as you prise it open to throw another piece onto the fire. His upper arm crackles, blisters and spits against the glass. One step at a time. Your mood lightens with every piece. \n\n\nThe smell of roasting chestnuts fills your nostrils again. Your first memory, her favourite memory, his very last. \n\n\nAnd you can take some comfort in that. \n\n\n------\n\n\nr/Nw5gooner", "I took a bite out of the apple. The crispy crackle reverberated within the four walls. It was good.\n\nThe apple reminded me of my early childhood: Sweet, I would spend my afternoons frolicking in the sun. Where worries were secondary. Hearkening back to the days before I was alone.\n\nThe apple had an aftertaste too: Sour, like my troubled teen years, those days I did not have a family, and whatever else I had, I gained through strife, through deceit, through blood.\n\nThese memories were precious, no, they are precious. But after relishing in it, just like the apple, all that's left is a core, rotten, condemned to death.\n\n\"How was it, Sir?\" A lone voice asked.\n\n\"Could've been better, for a last meal.\" I answered, still trying to comprehend the finality of it all." ]	[ 1, 3, 3, 6 ]	[ "1542919346", "1542919869", "1542924038", "1542919616" ]
	[WP] You are bored in your history class one day and decide to start doodling in your textbook. This leads you to discover that you can literally rewrite history. Everyone simply accepts these changes like they've always been a part of the text, and no one suspects your role in it.	30	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "Mr. Wright was droning on and on about the importance of the significance of George Washington crossing the Delaware. I'd better at least take out my notebook and look like I'm paying attention. He's hard of sight anyway so it's not like it'll be a hard ruse. Still, listening to him get on his soapbox about Washington was annoying.\n\nWhat if, I thought to myself, he crossed the river wearing only his underpants. I started sketching out the most rudimentary drawing of G.W. I could (it was basically just a stick figure with a colonial hat and beard.) and omitted his regal coat, blouse, and pantaloons only leaving him a nice comfy pair of heart stitched boxers.\n\nSatisfied with my masterpiece I tuned back into Mr. Wright's speech. \"Now class as we all know Washington was a man of the people. During his ride across the Delaware the boat dipped violently and soaked some of the crew. Valuing his crew's health and safety he stripped down to his britches and gave his warm out garments to the shivering crew-mates.\"\n\nThe class chuckled a little, \"It's okay to laugh,\" Mr. Wright said, \"it's an awkward yet patriotic moment non our history.\". I was in shock. Did I really just hear him say that? Am I dreaming? Pinching myself only hurt so I elected to open the textbook and find the painting of G.W. and the infamous Delaware. There he was. George Washington. Standing in the boat. Only in his underwear. I can't believe my eyes. Did I just do that? Did I change history?\n\nA week passed and I staved off any drawing, mainly out of fear and disbelief. Today's topic in history was the Civil War and I might just test out this new found power.\n\n\"The Battle of Antietam, one of the most famous battles in which the Union won by amassing one giant cannon, the size of at least ten men, and unleashing a hellfire of grapeshot among the Confederate forces. You can see that engineering marvel standing tall in Sharpsburg to this day!\"\n\nI can't believe this! History is mine for the taking, what should I even do? Oh my God the possibilities. Napoleon? He's six feet tall now. Hitler? 4' 2\" and no mustache. Oh The Sphinxes! They're all giant cat statues and the Great Pyramids (despite their name) are domes!\n\nHistory class will never be boring again!\n\n===========Part 2===============\n\nThanks to u/someone9594 for asking for a second part\n\n\"Alright class, it took me longer than I expected but the grades from last week's test are finally in. Now the highest mark, as usual, is Mr. Lail with a 95.\" Mr Wright handed my test back to me, \"Not your best Mr. Lail, but marvelous all the same.\"\n\nA 95!? History bends to my every whim, what do you mean a 95!? Looking over the exam Mr. Wright had left a comment. \n\nJason, I don't know what may have possessed you to think that the Great Pyramids were domes when we all in fact know they're square. If it's some sort of game or whatnot that you're playing out of boredom I'd advise against it. You're a bright student Jason don't get complacent.\n\nExcuse me? Square? Flipping back through my history sketches there isn't any sort of change. The pyramids I drew are still domed and there's Washington in his boxers. What about the text book?\n\nI flung the history textbook out from the tray and started thumbing through at the speed of a squirrel on a caffeine high. My heart began to beat harder and harder as I combed through to Egypt. Come on, I thought to myself, this has got to be a prank. A pang of horror and dread shot through me as I saw two square pyramids staring back at me.\n\nLifting my gaze out from the folds of the book, I stared out into the open. My eyes not focused on anything in particular. The anxiety of history changing over taking my senses. I felt a tap on my shoulder and jumped a little. \"Hey Jason,\" I recognized that voice, it was Melanie, \"you usually never miss a question, you okay?\" \n\nI let out a nervous chuckle \"Yeah I'm okay, just a little embarrassed about what I got wrong.\" \"Oh well, what was it? Was it the section about ship names because I bombed that part.\" She waited behind my desk expectingly. \"I uh, I got the question about the pyramids wrong.\" Melanie laughed to herself. \"Well what did you put down silly?\" Swallowing and almost choking on my spit, \"I said they were domes instead of squares, I don't know what got into me.\"\n\nI could see a sort of shock go through Melanie as I said they were square. \"It happens to the best of us.\" She said and promptly left my desk.\n\nThe next day was strange, we were reviewing the Civil War and my ten man cannon was still there but something was off. I could hear a frantic squeaking behind me, and turned to see Melanie burning a whole in her notebook with an eraser. She looked troubled like something just went unexpectedly wrong. Averting my eyes back to the book, I saw \"M+J\" was embossed plain as day along the side. I watched as the cannon vanished and reappeared as if nothing was ever there.\n\nApproaching Melanie after class was nerve-racking, talking to girl's wasn't easy for me and this history warping tension didn't make things any easier. What if I was wrong about her? I'd out myself and look like a complete weirdo all the same. \n\nI spoke plainly, \"Hey, I liked what you did to the cannon.\" Melanie froze, and flushed a tone of beat red. \"You saw?\" She put her hand behind her neck and stared down at her feet. \"Yeah, I saw.\" I said, debating if telling her my power was the right thing to do. \"How did you do that?\" Melanie looked worried as she answered. \"I just got bored and drew that and there it was.\" I laughed a little \"You know I made the Great Pyramids domes once.\" She chuckled, \"I forgot they were domes and wrote in squares on the fill-in.\" I gulped, somewhat audiobly, \"Want to sit together for lunch? We could make history together.\" She smiled with a gleam in her eye, \"That sounds wonderful.\"\n" ]	[ 1, 14 ]	[ "1542961018", "1542970405" ]
[removed]	[WP] You are a struggling writer at the end of your rope. You decide to give it one more shot before hanging up the pen and getting a desk job somewhere. You begin to write...	2	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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 u/DMArmada, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses)\n\n- Write Anything: A prompt must actually be a prompt, not a \"write anything\" \n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9zp9z3/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1542987818", "1542988027" ]
Guys, an alternate sentence for the ancient text is "meet me in the vault at the sun's core." Please use the one you like the most. I'd love to read your responses, let those minds run wild!	[WP] Deep in the mariana trench an ancient alien artifact was found. Years later, conclusive tests have been run on the energy signature emanating from it, the ancient text almost fully deciphered. On it, a small passage of text reads "There is a vault at the sun's core."	76	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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.", "On this day, the history of nine billion humans and all their ancestors culminated in a thousand names better than the one chosen for the Giant Earth Radio Transmission Tower, GERTT. These names popped in and out of existence in the private thoughts of human beings around the world, and some of them bounced around the Internet, but alas, GERTT stuck.\n\nThe first transmission GERTT sent was our only bit of literature whose ultimate origin was not a human mind. A wise choice, as human choices go.\n\nIt was found at the deepest point in the ocean, in the place humans sadly declined to name Poseidon's Buttcrack. A smooth, black square bearing a fanciful swirl that humans didn't recognize as an alien's name, and a series of markings that we eventually translated to \"Meet me in the vault at the Sun's core.\"\n\nWe also translated into binary, Morse code, and (as directly as possible) into radio frequency data, and transmitted each toward the galactic center. We ended the transmission with the phrase spoken in the voice of a white human male, in English, as God intended.\n\nSoon, we will attempt a manned flight directly into the Sun's core. We will be competing with the entire mass of the Earth and Sun, which are also being pulled toward the Sun's core, and the momentum and electromagnetic forces that keep them out, respectively.\n\n\\------------------------------\n\nOn this day, a creature who didn't think of herself as particularly alien addressed the governing assembly of Pluto and Charon. \"We have received a message,\" she said, in a language other than English, of course, \"It came from Earth, where the aliens live. It came via a radio transmission a hundred times as powerful as anything we've detected before. It said, 'Meet me in the vault at the Sun's core.'\"\n\nA hush fell over the Assembly. They knew the phrase well. It was murmured at every funeral, sung in hymns and dirges, whispered in prayers for the dead, and written on every gravestone. \"Meet me where the day is brightest. Meet me at the end of your long fall. Meet me in the vault at the Sun's core.\"\n\nDear God, they are not merciful. Dear God, they know we are here. Dear God, they are coming for us.", "The message was clear: \"Meet me in the vault at the sun's core\".\n\nThere were engravings surrounding the glyphs. It was a map, and a team of geologists was working relentlessly to find the place.\n\nDetermining the age of the artifact was almost impossible; the thing pulsed with a semblance of life, it continuously absorbed some of its surrounding and recycled it, keeping itself in a perfect shape for ages. It also radiated, and being in its presence was inspiring. Major breakthroughs were made in many fields of science in the many years it took to decipher the glyphs.\n\nThe planet was not the same place after the Discovery. It was a new era.\n\nToday, the team of geologists had their own major breakthrough with the map. They ran simulations for the shape of the continents from the early days of Earth to the last thousands of years. The simulations were becoming more and more precise, reaching a resolution of a century per frame. The shape recognition algorithms finally found a perfect match.\n\nAll agreed. They were taking the artifact to the hills indicated on the map.\n\nThe only final piece of disagreement was about the public announcement. A few thought that it would be better to tell the whole world before going to the site.\n\nThe vast majority wanted it to be a surprise.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAs they approached the hills, their imagination ran wild. Some imagined an ancient ship, buried deep underground, waiting for the key to open it. Some saw vivid equations and interactions of exotic elements they never could hope to imagine. Some saw an even brighter new era for humankind.\n\nNone of them noticed the change in the artifact.\n\nThey were getting closer, and the artifact was vibrating intensely. What was a low, imperceptible hum in the previous years was becoming so loud, the ground shook. What was a faint pulsating glow was now a blinding light.\n\nYet, none of them noticed, lost in their own minds, saturated by utopian, heavenly visions.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThey were almost there. The artifact stood straight, as if moving by its own will. It approached the site.\n\nIt was preparing to send its final message.\n\nThe surrounding hills bathed in the light. The ground shook. It shifted, revealing ancient structures made in elements unknown to anyone before that moment. All the humans gained a moment of clarity. All the animals around them, too. All living things in what were hills moments before, shared a single thought: \n\n\"At last. We are going back home.\"\n\nThe effect cascaded through the whole country.\n\nThen the continent.\n\nAnd the oceans.\n\nThe whole planet moved.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nEarth was going to the core of the sun." ]	[ 1, 6, 36 ]	[ "1542989606", "1543010946", "1542996482" ]
[removed]	[WP] Purgatory is living out the last minutes of everything that you killed in your lifetime. For most this means a couple of years of being trodden on as snails, or being hit by rolled up newspapers as spiders... You dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, and you have just worked out what that means foryou	4	[ "Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n#####Reminder for Writers and Readers:\n* Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.\n\n* Please remember to [be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback.\n\n-----\n\n[](#icon-help)[^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) \n[](#icon-information)[^(First Time Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n[](#icon-exclamation)[^(Special Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n[](#icon-comments)[^(Click For Our Chatrooms)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/chat)\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, this submission has been removed.\n\n[Prompts will be removed if there's a high possibility for rule breaking responses](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses)\n\n- No prompts prone to comment infractions. See [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses) for more info. \n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed Post) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/about/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	[ 1, 1 ]	[ "1543006419", "1543006879" ]

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