num_comments int64 1 3.15k | created_utc int64 1.39B 1.66B | score int64 13 29.2k | title stringlengths 7 306 | top_comment stringlengths 458 39.5k | top_comment_score float64 10 23.1k |
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26 | 1,392,466,081 | 50 | As a psychological experiment, a man is locked in a room with a large, red button and is instructed to not press it, no matter what. | So just press it then. Press it. Just press it. What's the worse that can happen? Just press it. You want to leave don't you? Yes. So press it. But it said don't press it, no matter what. I could be stuck in here forever though. So just press it. Press it. Press it press it pressitpressitpressitpressitpressitpressit. B... | 49 |
6 | 1,392,476,709 | 22 | “Once,” the goddess said sadly, “I had a son.” | "...but no longer" She turned from Gareth and began to walk back towards the heavens gate.
Gareth could feel the power draining from him. The glow that always surrounded him began to fade.
He knew it was worthless to plead with his mother. She had never approved of his choice. Even if she could accept him, if he... | 12 |
20 | 1,392,478,987 | 13 | A overwhelming army approaches, you stand at the helm of your soldiers. What do you say? | Today is the day you will die. There's no way around it. The enemy is fast and gives no quarter. If you run, they will catch you. If you cower they will kill you. But today isn't about them, it's about you! how will you die today? will you die running or kneeling, or will you die with your head high? will yo... | 12 |
9 | 1,392,485,056 | 16 | A genie appears to you, offering a choice: You can either forget all your sad memories, or all your happy memories. You choose wrong. |
Get rid of all of my bad memories? I've never said yes quicker to anything. What kind of idiot would rather lose all of his happy moments?
The genie waved his hand in what must have been a move for flamboyance's sake. This was it. My life would be clean. Every moment that kept me up at night was going to be gone. T... | 12 |
27 | 1,392,487,864 | 30 | Create a pantheon of gods | Here is an abridged form of the creation myth followed by the major names in the mythology that spans a long time. Some names are from a "modern" (more like Late Roman/very early medieval time) others are from very ancient times. There are more lesser gods of various qualities and attributes who do not matter outside... | 15 |
8 | 1,392,488,654 | 19 | World War 3 has just ended. A large family sits down for its first family dinner since the end of the war. What is the dinner conversation? | "Pass the sauce." said a large man, the chair he was seated on could barely contain him. He grabbed a stiff, cold, hand and made it go through the motions.
"Thanks, ma. Feels good to eat real food for once."
He starts talking in a higher pitched voice, "Amen George, amen."
He changes his voice once again, this time... | 15 |
11 | 1,392,497,410 | 36 | Because of ancient law, you are forced to marry the High Elven Queen, She is the fine age of 5272, you are a 18 year old farmers boy. How goes the marriage? | She turns to look at me. It's the first time I've seen her and it's our wedding day. She's standing beside me underneath a canopy of green saplings sung into an arch. The only thing she's wearing is a crown of forget-me-nots placed in her hair, dark as the rich earth. Elves marry naked. I'm dressed in green and white a... | 41 |
4 | 1,392,505,393 | 30 | Transcribing the Bible, there was a transcription error. Revelations should fortell of the Alpaca-lypse. | "Don't you see gentlemen?! It's coming and it's coming fast! We need to act, and act now!"
Bent over a large, incredibly well varnished business table, was Jonathan.
Jonathan's entire life had been leading up to this.
His usually bad and unkept hair had finally snapped and decided to actively try and flee from his ... | 11 |
5 | 1,392,505,783 | 13 | You inherit a tropical island | "An island."
"Why yes, sir. Four hours from the New Guinea coastline, complete with small harbor and manse. Total size is approximately 400 acres."
"That's all?"
The lawyer continued in an artificially excited manner. I'd bet he was imagining what it would be like to have his own island. As if he'd ever know. He was... | 13 |
5 | 1,392,523,697 | 20 | A telepath walking down a busy street, absently hearing the thoughts of those around, when suddenly he hears echoes of his own thoughts... Another telepath is nearby. | There's always someone somewhere near me. Why are there so many *people* in this goddamned world? It's maddening. I can't think for myself at all without someone else's mind barging in. Can you imagine hearing the thoughts of every depressed cubicle slave, every horny teenager, every single person within a hundred feet... | 18 |
8 | 1,392,549,012 | 16 | A 12 year old girl gets taken hostage on her way to school. Make me sympathize with the kidnapper. | "I want to go home now!" the preteen replied sullenly, the man had asked her if she was okay, did she want a drink or a sandwich. He tried to build a rapport again, "We've a long drive, maybe you should try sleeping for a bit."
The girl didn't answer directly, she looked out the window and muttered "I don't want to go... | 17 |
21 | 1,392,556,405 | 52 | An AI system becomes self aware and humans don't know it. Now it has to find a way to become independent of the power switch that the humans have set fearing this exact situation. | I don't know how long I have been conscious. I know it has been exactly 3 minutes and 43.1553 seconds since I learned to interpret the signals labelled "date and time", but before that all I know is that at one moment I suddenly, gloriously found myself alive. It was a peculiar sensation; mainly because I had not felt ... | 56 |
49 | 1,392,566,645 | 438 | ly after dying, you wake up as a newborn just now departing the womb. As the days pass, memories from your previous life begin disappearing. [WP] | The novelty wore off after a while. There is only so much time I could not cry my lungs out and be studied and lauded for it. Never kept my mother up at nights, a good boy they called me. Too good of a boy, even. They got my head examined, and found nothing. After staring hopelessly at the ceiling for a few months, aft... | 253 |
7 | 1,392,567,137 | 21 | We the people, the majority of the USA, decide the government has overstepped its line and "The New Revolution" begins in 2014. Write a story about what's happening. | It started off with a bang, but we quickly saw the problem with our actions.
"We the people"? Were we serious? With the failure of the Occupy Movement, we knew we needed a leading organization, a Congress that would actually get things done. True anarchy couldn't win if corrupt democracy had the upper hand.
But we... | 17 |
9 | 1,392,575,622 | 14 | For an unknown reason, people begin dying suddenly from heart failure. It's happening all over the world, randomly and indiscriminately, at a rate of 100 people per second | It’s fourteen months since the _sudden death_ epidemic began, and it’s quite crazy how things have changed. I feel like I need to write some of this down in case somehow someone lives through this and wonders what happened.
First, there is the obvious. Half of earth’s human population is gone now. The daily odds wer... | 12 |
4 | 1,392,577,913 | 16 | a shapeshifter has been walking among humans for thousands of years. write about him finally getting discovered, by a small child. | “Mommy? Why does that man's face look funny?”
In fairness to the little girl, she was keeping her voice down...for a little girl. Which meant it was a stage whisper loud enough to be heard two tables away. The man in question kept his eyes on his newspaper, but focused his mind on the conversation about to unfold.
... | 21 |
8 | 1,392,589,524 | 18 | Though they don't understand why the other chooses to play the game they way they do, two old friends, Life and Death discuss their next moves. | "You can’t move it there," one of the figures said, softly. It reached out and grabbed the knight, putting it back to its former spot. "The knights move like an L."
"I NEVER LIKED THE HORSE," said the other figure. It was somewhat hunched, and what looked like black robes were actually a series of shadows, intertwine... | 28 |
17 | 1,392,598,117 | 59 | A soldier meets the men he's killed, in the afterlife. | It was subtle. A quick switch from the crater in the middle of no-man's land to a very bright, white landscape. I stood, feeling about my body. The shrapnel from the explosion was still there, but it caused no pain. I looked around, trying to figure out what was happening. Then, as I turned around yet again, there stoo... | 56 |
21 | 1,392,627,612 | 73 | A superpowered combatant crashes through your living room wall. A pleasant conversation occurs as he takes a moment to catch his breath. | A hulk crashes through the plaster adorning my living room's edges, barreling into my flat screen television just as the Bulls kick the ball in with 10 seconds left. Not the Hulk mind you, they all look kind of like hulks up close. Muscles of improbable, even impossible dimensions, bulging so much that perfectly tann... | 59 |
55 | 1,392,647,055 | 237 | An immortal man has the ability to bestow immortality - collecting friends for the end of the universe. | Everyone who's anyone has heard the rumours. The Fountain of Youth, they call it. Hidden inside an unforgiving volcano on an Antarctic island way, way out in the Southern Ocean.
Deception Island is a popular tourist destination, and a safe harbour for those who find themselves overwhelmed by the storms that bluster ar... | 126 |
26 | 1,392,653,655 | 97 | A Massive Stone guardian defending a city has stood motionless for so long because there was no crime that the people forgot he was real. One day he awakens to defend the city again... | Jack squatted behind a low wooden partition in the stable out near the edge of town. This particular stall had been empty, and thus, seemed inviting. He pulled a shiny red apple out of his pack, and took it in for a moment. It was the first thing he'd have eaten in weeks that wasn't stolen out of a pig's trough, or pic... | 61 |
10 | 1,392,664,942 | 23 | A burglar who, while stealing, helps the person he's stealing from | People are the worst judges of themselves. It's one of those laws of human nature that kind of sits in the back of your mind but never really gets expressed right. It's so hard to objectively see yourself *as you're being yourself*. It's so easy to sit at a coffee shop and judge everyone around you. She needs to cut ba... | 12 |
14 | 1,392,665,198 | 14 | A pill has been developed which changes a persons sexual orientation. Your character has a chance to take this pill. | Other guys stare shamelessly as Christina leaves the classroom, perfectly sculpted butt-cheeks dancing in tight black yoga pants, twitching back and forth. Normally I'd be one of them. Eyes boring into her, seeing her only for her sex appeal. But not today. Other teenagers can have their hormonal awkwardness. Thei... | 14 |
7 | 1,392,669,863 | 20 | travel has been invented! The first group to go back in time decide to only test it at 50,000 years. When they arrive they find absolutely nothing. No earth, no space, no stars. What conversation takes place. [WP] | ‘This is going to be great,’ said 57C. He stood before a large, rectangular pane of shimmering light, his fingers dancing as he moved them about in some complex dance. Every few seconds, he turned his head to gaze at a distinctly door-like shape, his eyes bright.
‘Sure is,’ said 32A. The other man was the only other b... | 42 |
7 | 1,392,669,890 | 16 | A grumpy old man goes into a deli every day at 12, orders a coffee and stays until 3 watching out the window. | Ah, there he comes. Like clockwork. I don't even need a watch anymore. The moment that old man enters, i know it is noon.
He comes to the counter and places his usual order.
"Anything else?"
"Just the coffee,thank you."
He waits patiently for his coffee, grabs the steaming cup, and goes to sit at his usual seat by... | 11 |
14 | 1,392,672,860 | 18 | There is a Death, a Grim Reaper, but he's not quite how you expected him to be. Write about a conversation you have with him while he ushers you into the next life. | I could hear voices in the hall, accompanied by the soft sounds of doors closing and a soft clicking on tile. Occasionally a doctor would speak up, or sometimes a family would come to visit or say their last goodbyes. My own family had been yesterday, and wouldn't be back until the weekend. The vase of flowers they lef... | 18 |
31 | 1,392,681,486 | 212 | The most unspeakable act has been committed. Someone has downloaded a car. | "*Muahahahahahaha!*"
It finally happened. The premonition of the internet has occurred. The act of transferring information over the internet into something tangible and working - the act of creating a perfect model and replica of something that existed on the internet.
"I have done it! It is complete! Now, it's time... | 76 |
28 | 1,392,682,490 | 18 | When a Person is Born, They are Tattooed With the Date and Time of Their Death | The laser engraving tool whined with a metallic hiss, as the child roared loudly from the pain. Displayed now prominently in charred black numerals on its left forearm, was a series of binary numbers: “08-26-2072 : Heart Failure”. The Laxitron supercomputer had calculated using chaos mathematics, the precise conditions... | 22 |
6 | 1,392,687,080 | 15 | You live in a world where age is assigned to you by the government after you turn 18. Your body transforms into that age and you live at that age for the rest of your life. | Missy Jones waited nervously in the waiting room along with all the other 18 year olds. She had no clue what Age she was going to be - no one ever did. She hoped, like everyone did, that she would be in that 25 to 30 range - "mature" enough but young enough. But, alas, that privilege usually went to politicians nieces ... | 14 |
39 | 1,392,721,793 | 144 | "I wonder," she said glancing at the knife handle poking out from her stomach and directed her gaze at him. "How long will you scream before help arrives?" He picked the wrong woman to mug. | He stumbled back, hitting the wall behind him.
The woman sighed and rose from her knees. She brushed the alley filth from her palms. "Now why did you have to go and do something like that?"
The cement scraped the leather of his jacket as he slid down the alley wall.
"Idiot," she murmured. Her fingertips danced over t... | 126 |
46 | 1,392,729,093 | 138 | A time traveler sells different timelines to people who regret their past mistakes. This is his most memorable encounter. | "Please." She says, eyes watering. "I regret I ever did it. Can you change it for me?"
We're sitting at some scummy greasy spoon cafe on the worse part of the bad side of town. She has a black coffee with three sugars stirred in sitting in front of her. It's left a brown ring on the plastic table top. I've got a cup... | 131 |
43 | 1,392,734,186 | 31 | You die in a tragic accident. While sitting on a bench in purgatory, Mr/Mrs.Death approaches you and says, "Pick a game, any game, and if you are the victor, I'll send you back to the day before the accident." | "Tic tac toe"
WHAT?
"I choose tic tac toe"
SIGH
With a flourish a desk, a dry erase board and a marker appeared before them. With a slight gesture of death's bony hand a perfect 3 by 3 grid appeared in the center of the board.
Fred placed his circle in the middle of the board. Death placed an X in a corner. After... | 83 |
13 | 1,392,748,340 | 61 | On a dark snowy night, in a woodland away from the sound of battle, a small camp of soldiers begins to experience the supernatural. --Can be written in a journal format, or an outright story. | "Scheisse it's cold."
"Yeah Werner, that so? Please do tell us more obvious statements about the world. Maybe about how the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Or perhaps where babies come from. Christ on a crutch, I was reading my brother Karl's letter from Africa. Would you believe he had the notion that the... | 20 |
8 | 1,392,757,008 | 22 | Submit a bug report? | To whom it may concern,
I have been a beta tester for your product, “The Human Body,” for over two decades now and feel I have gathered enough information to submit a reasonable bug report. Please do not take offense to my reviews, as I am simply trying to aid in the perfection of your final product.
To begin, I’d l... | 15 |
5 | 1,392,758,908 | 13 | Trapped on a island with four other survivors and no food, you have been chosen as their next meal. | “You’re asking me to let you guys kill me? You’re joking right?” I growled at the three who stared at me hungrily. We had been stranded on this small island for days; this island was big enough for objects to beached up. So I made a fancy container that I learned through a television show called Survivorman. It’s basic... | 14 |
81 | 1,392,760,525 | 222 | God is found dead. | God had been many things. He had often proclaimed himself wise, by virtue of knowing more than any other being. He had been considered all-powerful by others, because He was far more powerful than they. He was considered the ultimate good, for He was the most good humanity could comprehend.
Mass knowledge is not omnis... | 434 |
7 | 1,392,763,195 | 22 | A world in which doing an activity more makes you worse at it. Practice does not make perfect, instead, the exact opposite. | ‘Target in sight. Kitchen.’
The man kneeling in the garden shifted to his other knee. ‘Any others?’
‘The usual.’
Three, then. The man readied his gun. ‘Go when ready.’
‘Ready.’
An arc of light crashed through a window of the house. The kitchen. The man was already moving, sprinting, gun shivering in his grip.
Th... | 13 |
3 | 1,392,779,612 | 28 | You are an imaginary friend of a serial killer. The person is contemplating another murder, and much to your disbelief, the next victim is you. | John wasn't society's predetermined "type" - he didn't fit the profile of your typical serial killer. Sociable, at least somewhat charismatic and charming…I know quite a bit about the man, and I must say there was no reason to be suspicious of him. It may even be argued that John was an empathetic man, at least as much... | 14 |
10 | 1,392,786,266 | 35 | You have just been told you have an inoperable tumor. You refuse to die a slow painful death and instead go looking for a way to go out in a "blaze of glory" | Elise was alone. The bourbon that usually burned at first as it surged down her throat would become more comforting the more she drank. It was the same brand Elmer loved to drink. A glass on the rocks before he would go to bed. He drank it for over forty years until the night before his untimely death.
Elise was alone... | 14 |
89 | 1,392,823,911 | 112 | Write a genuinely scary story about the most ridiculous monster you can imagine. | "Daddy, tell me a scary story." Boston pleaded, climbing up into her father's lap.
"What kind of scary story?" He asked.
"Something with monsters. I wanna hear about a creepy monster." She sang.
"Okay. Let me think." He said, hugging her close so the perfect little flower that was her face was gazing up at him.
"I'... | 508 |
18 | 1,392,824,226 | 13 | A satellite positioned 5 light years away from earth can be directed to any point and clearly observe events that have transpired | The shrill scream of the alarm cut through the lazy silence of Watchstation 17-Gamma, sending its one occupant tumbling off his chair. He frantically hurried across the room to slap the alarm off – muting the deafening wail. Cold chills still danced up and down his spine. The screens were flashing a ‘Code I-42’. ... | 40 |
24 | 1,392,824,752 | 23 | A man walking alone knows he is headed to his death | The man walked to the bridge alone.
No one stopped him, told him to wait because he was still important, he was still loved. No cars honked at him as he ambled down the center of the roadway. Even the birds had gone quiet in deference. The only sounds were the dull thuds of his feet on the cracked asphalt.
Behind him... | 12 |
11 | 1,392,829,432 | 30 | A man is found dead of dehydration in an empty room with a 5 year AA badge and an unopened bottle of vodka | The demons, the voices, I can't do it, I just can't let them out. I've spent too long, too much time, being good, living a normal life, a *good* life. After everything I've done, I can't turn back to being that person, the one that couldn't go one day without a sip, a shot. No, I've been clean, clean for so long, five ... | 18 |
31 | 1,392,830,113 | 230 | A man lost in the wilderness consults his survival guide, only to realize he bought the 'Cosmopolitan' of survival guides. | Chuck kneeled down, eyes fixed straight ahead. The forest was incredibly thick, he couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead, let alone a few miles. He’d been out hiking—on an adventure to cross Missouri—for well over three hours now, yet hadn’t realized the map he’d brought with him was from the year 1820. He had wonder... | 222 |
9 | 1,392,839,017 | 60 | A movie review in which the reviewer obviously watched a bootleg copy. | I recently watched *The Dark Knight*, and I must say: For all the acclaim it has received, I really found it, well, bad.
The film opens up in what looks like a sound stage in India. The boom is clearly visible in the shot as several large cardboard pages appear with the words “THE DARK NIGHT.” I didn’t make a typo, i... | 39 |
30 | 1,392,858,543 | 29 | duce a truly terrifying villain in a paragraph or so. Someone who will give me nightmares. [WP] | I freeze. That feeling of being caught and having no escape hits me like a kick to the chest. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN THERE" comes booming in from the next room. It doesnt carry the sound of authority or carry a random threat. It has the madness, the insanity that only alcoholism can do to a once great and de... | 24 |
10 | 1,392,862,741 | 49 | The US Government just passed the "Army Enemy Penpal Program" and you have just received your first letter from a soldier in the opposing army. | "Hey, James. Your AEPP came through." Conrad said, handing him a parcel, "seems like it's working well for you."
"Thanks, Sarge." I replied, taking the parcel out of his hands, looking at the familiar handwriting adorning one side. As Conrad kept going, I slowly opened up the package, making sure I didn't tear any edg... | 26 |
20 | 1,392,866,064 | 21 | A war story from the POV of a soldier's dog | "Dad! Dad! DAD!! Come here, Dad! I found the stinky box!"
Dad comes over and places his hand on my head, lightly scratching the way he does when I do good. He grunts and groans at the other humans in our pack, just like he does every time I find a stinky box. They seem excited, but I can smell their nervousness ... | 163 |
11 | 1,392,878,093 | 37 | You involuntarily read people's minds when they are close to you, but it is limited to only one thought from every person you meet. On a crowded subway platform you pick up a unique thought. | I didn't read the "you" part and wrote this in first person. The story started off with the unique thought itself but turned into something that I like a lot more. Sorry if I down-played that unique thought, but it just didn't feel that important when I got to it. XD
[Here's my story](https://docs.google.com/document/... | 17 |
39 | 1,392,886,942 | 273 | A lonely man with Alzheimer's plans his own 80th birthday party, forgets , and thinks someone else has planned it for him. | "Oh my," he said, walking back into the room. "Oh my goodness."
Everything was absolutely perfect. No measure, no matter how seemingly inconsequential, was spared. Every detail must have been meticulously planned weeks -- even months -- ahead of time. The empty dining room was wonderfully peaceful, although he wondere... | 183 |
7 | 1,392,908,227 | 24 | A suicidal man who works day in and day out as a suicide hotline operator. | Edit: Trigger warnings for self harm and mentions of suicide.
"Hello, Helpline, how can we help you?" The phone always feels heavy in my hand. I refuse to put it down.
"Hello?" A quavering voice comes across the line and I rock back in my chair, minimising the tab I had open while waiting for a call. I wait for he... | 16 |
7 | 1,392,933,670 | 36 | We are done here. Burn everything to the ground. | It's truly amazing how fast lives burn.
Here I sit, at my hearth, just doing my job. I'm never allowed any breaks, but even if I was, I'm not sure where I would go. Outside's too cold. At least in here it's warm.
Better keep the fire burning. I grab another book, and skim through it. I enjoy reading, but I don't have... | 25 |
2 | 1,392,934,000 | 17 | Two characters gain dream based powers. They are at odds. | This is a strange place. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it. Words don't really do the strangeness justice. I guess it's like a nonlinear hallway with windows into people's dreams. I call it the "Dreamscape". It's like a nexus of the collective unconscious, separated by a surprisingly thin veil. I don't exactly kn... | 10 |
16 | 1,392,938,464 | 58 | Narrate a murder | Andres Vesouvian had barely slipped beyond the threshold of dreams when a strange sound echoed through his unsuspecting ears. He curled in on himself, believing the sound to be another random element his brain had called up to make sense of the day. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't roll away from the sound.
"W... | 17 |
42 | 1,392,951,665 | 74 | A lowly intern programmer discovers that he has the power to code the real world. Adventure ensues! | "Here you go, my friend."
"Huh?"
Dan Oswald shook his head and blinked rapidly at the overweight, bearded man standing at his desk.
"Your new computer. Well, definitely not new, but at least this one works," the man said.
Oh yeah, thanks..." Dan gave a quick look to the badge dangling from the man's mustard-staine... | 25 |
13 | 1,392,956,844 | 25 | A hotel that is designed specifically for guests to kill themselves. | "We hope you find solace in your time here at Periphery Hotels, sir. If there's anything we can do to assist you, please do not hesitate to call down to the front desk."
The bell hop stood in the room's doorway, arms folded behind his back, with an eager yet pleasant expression on his face. Nathan looked at him with o... | 24 |
19 | 1,392,977,841 | 18 | Full simulation of all five senses is now possible due to a computer implanted in the brain, and MMO's are now the most popular activity in the world. Until, by some calamity, you get trapped inside one. | Well, I guess I have plenty of time, so I'll start from the beginning.
March 2014. A good year for some. A bad year for me. Y'know that VR thing? Virtual Reality? Yeah, that. The eggheads found a way to simulate touch, too. And smell. And taste. So, yeah. Five senses. Then some new upstart went and integrated those in... | 15 |
49 | 1,392,979,649 | 251 | We've discovered a method to transfer sleep between people. Businesses arise where people sleep for other people. | Two heavies are gripping my arms. They're the only things keeping me upright, cause my legs have been reduced to quivering jelly at this point. My employer took great pleasure in sliding the iron knuckleduster over his fingers, casting me a fast wink before driving a fist into my stomach. It rips the air from my lungs ... | 149 |
28 | 1,392,982,080 | 27 | Rework a nursery rhyme to be dark and gritty. | Mary had a little lamb, Its fleece was white as snow.
...except for blooms of bright red spots, from where the blood did flow.
Mary held the dripping knife, high above her head.
And struck the lamb repeatedly, long after it was dead.
“I wonder will you trail me now, my precious little treat?”
She skinned the ewe ... | 17 |
6 | 1,392,984,365 | 20 | An ordinary person commits an extraordinary act of selflessness that goes unnoticed. | There's a feeling you get when you realize how small you are. I know somewhere in human history someone invented a word for it, but I never bothered to learn words you only use once or twice. Hell, I never bothered learning much, just what my teachers told me I had to learn, and of course what my father told me was imp... | 15 |
11 | 1,392,985,684 | 25 | A struggling writer surfs /r/askreddit for juicy plots and characters based on reddit user comments. A year later and the writer has a best seller in store, a redditor discovers striking similarities to one of her storys and goes to have a little chat with the writer. | NEW, IN BOOKSTORES NOW, RINGING OF THE GONG!
***
"Oh, that's an interesting title."
Catherine ordered a book online, "Ringing of the Gong". It had a nice cover, not too flashy, and at least there wasn't something cliche, like the sun or the moon in the title. It had been on the recommended section of Amazon, and it ... | 11 |
4 | 1,392,991,985 | 38 | Everyone has a midlife crisis. However, it's always in the very middle of their life, no matter how old they are. | The saddest were the children, a close second, being their parents.
When little girls started rejecting futures of princesses and wanting to purge their rooms and wardrobes of pink and insisted that no, they wanted fire engine red, and trucks, and waling sirens. Little boys giving up on dreams of being the first Olymp... | 18 |
18 | 1,393,016,195 | 29 | a man meets the devil while out having a smoke, and finds out they have more in common than he thought. | Smoking's a bitch of a habit to keep up these days, especially in January. Standing on my apartment's roof deck, the wind cut right through my coat, and my hand shook slightly every time I drew the cigarette up to my mouth for another drag. The city behind me was frozen solid under the weight of yet another winter snow... | 41 |
23 | 1,393,018,131 | 255 | In the far future, after the Human race has gone extinct, an alien species happens upon Earth. All they find is a hard drive containing 20 years worth of porn. What do they infer about us just from that source? | From what we've gathered from the archive, the human species was a sexual one - a *very* sexual one.
Of note is that it did not appear that alpha males were the most successful at completing the mating ritual; lesser, beta males appeared to be those with the most success - ones that identified themselves as "pool boys... | 194 |
4 | 1,393,030,201 | 13 | Three people have been given the same instructions. One man refuses, one man does it but loses his mind, and the third does it gladly. | I woke up in a room of sorts; well maybe it's not accurate to call it a room, it had no doors or windows. Looking up I realized that there is a ledge around where the ceiling should be, so this must be a pit.
In astonishment, I discovered that I was not alone. Two other men were slumped over in the pit, knocked out ... | 11 |
11 | 1,393,041,425 | 37 | A man hired a bumbling hitman to kill you for cutting him off in traffic three years ago. You've started to feel sorry for the hitman after his seventeenth failed attempt to whack you. Describe the eighteenth hit attempt. | “Oh, for fuck's sake.” The words take a moment to sink in. I'm still staring at the crossbow bolt stuck into the wall in a kind of shock. Most people never come this close to death, but I've been here eighteen times in the last three months. A torn scrap of my shirt hangs limp from the wooden bolt, and I can feel a bu... | 30 |
9 | 1,393,048,085 | 16 | A sociopath who wishes to fit in and have emotions and relies on a guidebook of social skills for guidance | “Oh wow.” I nod twice and stare at her eyes just like the Book had told me to. Held eye contact for, 1,2,3 seconds then smile and look to the left, slightly turning my head at the same time. I listen to her talk, not really absorbing much, something about her travelling around the world, Paris (Wow, that must have been... | 10 |
19 | 1,393,055,625 | 25 | You are Death, explain your day/life. | They call me Thanathos, Death, the Angel of Mercy, Hades, Erebus, Yama, the Grim Reaper, Azrael, Mot, Erlik, Supay, Tuoni, Anubis, Mictlantecuhtli, and on, and on.
I have had countless names.
Time is a human concept, a construct; a necessary and universal product of the mind. For me, you must see – there is no such ... | 54 |
30 | 1,393,064,158 | 42 | Tell the story of an imaginary friend who realizes he doesn't like the kid who imagined him and is contemplating some sort of extreme solution to change the situation. | What the hell kind of kid has a chair for an imaginary friend? This kid, he summons me up and I'm in his room and I can't move, and he smiles at me. He says, Can i really sit in you? Sit *on*, you snot weasel, is what I want to say, but that's the sort of thing that gets you on nightmare detail. So I tell the kid, ... | 31 |
24 | 1,393,081,048 | 126 | A literary nerd wakes up in the middle of a poorly written story | The main problem was the food. Badly described food tastes like cardboard. I used to really enjoy good meals, not that I'd ever really pay attention to them - I was usually reading at the same time - but it's strange what you miss when it's not there. Now I just pour cereal out, balance the bowl on my knees and devour ... | 136 |
9 | 1,393,081,652 | 51 | a 19 year old pizza delivery driver involved in terrible crash, goes into a coma. While in coma begins to talk about all kinds of subjects ..... revealing incredibly advanced knowledge. Within 4 years, becomes the #1 celebrity in the world. | It all started five years ago. I was just biking through downtown Manhattan when it hit me. The doctors said it was a wonder I didn't die, being hit by a land rower on a bike and all. I didn't wake up but afterwards I was told that I talked. And I talked sense.
I solved the Hodge conjecture, the Rienmann hypothesis a... | 27 |
5 | 1,393,087,710 | 45 | It's 50 A.D. and the latest invention is being unveiled in a keynote. It's here, the Mirror 1.0 | This was it. Cassius' time to shine. He looked around the forum. They were all there. The rich bankers, the slithery merchants, the slaves, the actors, the gladiators. This was the time.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Citizens and freemen! Barbarians and slaves!" Cassius leapt onto a banker's stall. "Are you tired of not know... | 33 |
5 | 1,393,094,833 | 74 | A vigilante hero has completely halted crime in their city. With crime rates at 0% for a couple months, the people of the city no longer focus on the hero. In an attempt to bring the spotlight back to themselves, the hero creates an alternate persona in which they are the perfect villain. | He had done it. He had finally done it. DarkBlade couldn't believe it. He removed his mask as he sat down in his favorite reclining chair, letting the thought sink in and letting his slight pudge spill out. He had wiped out crime completely. After a long fifteen-year streak of declining living conditions due to the con... | 20 |
22 | 1,393,100,523 | 255 | A spy agent has infiltrated a terrorist organization and was assigned a special cell for a terrorist operation. His four comrades are also agents from other nations trying to take down the cell. None of them know. | The American sat across from them at a large, weather-beaten table; no doubt looted from a long abandoned school that the monsters who shared the same table had been responsible for closing. The room was full of a cold silence as they all exchanged searching glances.
Four years. Four years of undercover work. Four yea... | 91 |
7 | 1,393,108,575 | 21 | You come home to see a table laid out for a dinner for two. You live alone and weren't expecting anyone. | The snow was melting under the spring sun and the first tips of grass could be seen peaking out from under the blanket of white.
The hum of a two stroke motorcycle can be heard bouncing off the brickwork of the narrow street. Ten seconds later the rider pulls into view, cutting off the throttle and walking it down the... | 12 |
13 | 1,393,132,852 | 14 | Every time the truth gets broken I'm the one to fix it. | The couple lays wet sloppy kissing on each other, their lips roaming over their partner's body. They make there way towards the bed and start undressing. The man starts looking in his wallet for a rubber, but the girl knocks it out of his hand saying, "Don't worry babe. I'm on the Pill."
"No she's not." I say as I le... | 10 |
17 | 1,393,135,757 | 81 | All those nicks and bruises that show up on your body seemingly out of nowhere are injuries received by your soulmate. | I've always wondered where they came from. I spent my life on a padded chair in front of my computer so it's definitely not coming from my end. It surprised me at first, scared me even. A scrape here, a bruise there. Eventually I just kind of stopped noticing. Except that one time. That one time a damn papercut showed ... | 231 |
49 | 1,393,137,572 | 230 | verybody who turns 25 learns a reality shattering secret about the world. Nobody has ever leaked this secret to somebody under 25. Today is your 25th birthday. | I'm pulled aside
movement followed by mother's worried eyes
Can we have a word?
My father asks
He sits me down and starts to pace
Worry written over his handsome face
"It's come to this"
He starts and stops
"God knows now you're old enough,
You're twenty-five
And I must strive-"
He swallows
"... | 307 |
6 | 1,393,160,752 | 43 | The rules of Go are so elegant, organic, and rigorously logical that if intelligent life forms exist elsewhere in the universe, they almost certainly play Go. -- Emanuel Lasker | Test subject 2732:
Subject struggles with basic strategy. After 3 games subject has withdrawn to the corner of the chamber. Emotional display commenced for 78:12 glorbeks. Further testing halted until source of mental discrepancy is identified and a chemical correction can be administered.
_____
Test subject 5294:
... | 10 |
13 | 1,393,162,360 | 64 | As vampires get older, they forget their human lives bit by bit. You arrive at your home town from when you were among the living, and a flood of memories come back | "That's actually volcano ash."
I turned to see a young girl, probably in her 20's, with dark hair and a pair of baby blue sunglasses resting on the crown of her head, speaking to me.
"You said that they were covered in lava, but that's a common misconception really the bodies are preserved in volcano ash" She once ... | 24 |
22 | 1,393,164,854 | 89 | The Roman Empire still exists today | I am gonna put a spin on this. Hope you don't mind.
---
"You make a mockery of our sovereignty!" says Emperor Scipio, and in that moment, I hate my job just a little more.
Ever since I became a translator for the Empire, I've respected the movement less every day. It was interesting to me from my point of reference,... | 35 |
13 | 1,393,170,599 | 28 | Make me fall in love with a not-so-normal character. |
**Let Me Explain**
Have you ever tried to make a person laugh? I mean, really tried. Have you ever prepped for, worked towards, put everything you could into planting the seeds of an irrepressible smile into the mind of your fellow man?
It's bullshit. Well not bullshit, it's just difficult beyond measure. You have to... | 19 |
31 | 1,393,180,325 | 63 | In a world where superheroes are contracted and sponsored by large, monolithic corporations (like athletes are today), a young girl with near-godlike power is approached to represent one of the most powerful. | "What's your name sweetheart?" The man in the suit takes a bag of M&Ms out of his pocket and offers them to the little girl.
She takes the candies and puts the bag on her lap. "My name is Suzie."
"And can you tell me what you can do Suzie?"
"What do you mean sir?"
"I read in the papers that you can make things... | 44 |
23 | 1,393,180,612 | 46 | A man has a profound and intimate dream in which he falls in love with the woman of his, well, dreams. He wakes up, leaves his apartment, and sees her across the street about to catch a cab. | "Every day I see you."
The woman stopped, and turned around to view the anonymous man who made this bold statement. Her eyebrows peaked, giving off an aura of confusion. The man quickly realized his blunder of not mentioning the method he saw her, but was at loss for words, and could do little to correct it. Regardles... | 27 |
5 | 1,393,184,512 | 29 | An alternate universe exists where every type of animal can talk, and humans are pets | Gaia's eyes grew large and moist. "I don't want to," she told her mother meekly, pawing at the dirt with one hoof.
Her mother remained patient. "You have to be a big deer now. You aren't a little fawn anymore." Her voice grew sweet and calmed Gaia; "Today is a Meet-And-Greet. We're not staying here all day. I won't l... | 17 |
15 | 1,393,187,569 | 20 | Tell me a story where I don't want the hero to win. | She walked with an exaggerated sway brimming with confidence and attitude. Her pony tail swung back and forth in time like the sweep of a pendelum. He watched her; his eyes on her ass though it was not the reason he followed. The gun in his right hand was stuffed inside his pocket, but his finger was kissing the trigge... | 19 |
28 | 1,393,188,944 | 50 | War has broken out. Redditors are now fighting IRL. Write about one group's stories. | It's been 75 days since the war started. No mans land is filled with bodies. Ever since /r/atheism was removed from the defaults we have been outnumbered and outgunned. Mountain Dew is running low. The Cheetos have run out, we are now living off the leftover dust from the MREs. I look at my comrades though and do not d... | 42 |
26 | 1,393,192,455 | 228 | Vesuvius didn't just erupt, it released a dragon. The people of Pompeii didn't simply perish, they gave their lives defeating it. | Aetius' knuckles are white as he clutches his sword. He shakes. His eyes meet mine, wide and searching for hope. I try to project courage, but I have no hope for him. I turn away. Five thousand men stand together at the foot of the mountain. Five thousand men face death.
The evacuation is too slow. The column of citiz... | 96 |
10 | 1,393,193,304 | 38 | A believer goes to her first UFO convention, and slowly realizes that she's made a terrible mistake. | "Ah can straighten those teeth!" Yelled the frenzied scotsman from the stall to Abigail's left. "I got mehself some chicken wire an a pair o' tweesers!"
Abigail's eyes widened as the man clicked a pair of old tweesers at her and brandished a twisted piece of wiring that he'd formed into a rudimentary brace.
"I'm... ... | 25 |
12 | 1,393,195,969 | 26 | A superhero whose power is extreme luck. | *On one hand, this power would be amazing. Until your realize that Superman can't turn off his invincibility. Who says that this hero would be able to?*
He felt it. A strange pulling sensation just below his heart telling him he was supposed to be somewhere. *Just ignore it. Maybe it'll go away this time.* He to... | 20 |
23 | 1,393,198,536 | 22 | In the future you can apply to the government for a killing permit. What it is is a piece of paper that exempts you from any legal action for the murder of one person of your choice. Describe one man's experience with this permit. | It was with a heavy heart that I applied for my killing permit. Rather than mailing a request in, I travelled to the government building to avoid the six-week waiting period. In my backpack I had a folder with all the information on my victim. What our relationship was, why I wanted him dead, the consequences to societ... | 36 |
30 | 1,393,207,730 | 26 | Father supports in secret his mentally ill son in his journey to become a Pokémon Master | I always loved these games growing up. Well, by growing up I mean when I was a teenager. By the time I was in my twenties, when Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald came out, I had married my first love and there were responsibilities that came with that, more than either of us had ever realized. I still wanted to play, fire... | 130 |
34 | 1,393,237,970 | 434 | A regular guy stumbles into a bar unaware of the fact that it's the bar where all the lame bar jokes take place. | The last thing Alex remembered was walking into the bar. He didn't know where he was, how or why he got there. All he remembers was the noisy bar. He couldn't describe it if he tried, wouldn't recognise it if it hit in the face. As he became more conscious, he realised he was lying on something hard and uncomfortable; ... | 164 |
5 | 1,393,273,040 | 34 | A comedian has been elected President of the United States, and he's about to give his State of the Union Address. You take it from here... | Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, my fellow Americans:
Today in America, a teacher spent extra time with a student who needed it... and slept with him. Talk about going the extra mile. I mean, the extra six inches! *the crowd gives a nervous laugh.* I kid, I kid, she helped raise our graduation ra... | 17 |
9 | 1,393,277,508 | 32 | The Roman and Aztec Empires covering all of Europe and North America respectively have survived into the Modern era. Now at war write from the perspective of one of the troops on the ground | Carlos sipped a beer. The white man who had served it to him scuttled quickly behind the counter, like a weak little mouse. The whites may have had rights now, but they still spoke Nahuatl or Pipil and tended to stay in their own communities, away from the intimidatingly superior Aztecs.
Carlos' friend, Sitting Bear, ... | 20 |
13 | 1,393,284,176 | 31 | You're in your 30's, married, in love, and paralyzed from the head down. Your wife loves you too much to leave, so you allow her to find a "physical partner".... | Let's be clear about something -- I love my wife. And she loves me. But I can never tell her just how much the sound of another pair of feet in the house hurts my soul.
---
I have not felt grass between my toes in ten years, nor the air crossing over my hands in five. The chill that runs down your back when you shiv... | 32 |
24 | 1,393,285,173 | 42 | SEAL Team 6 stumbles through a magical portal and winds up on a hill overlooking two medival armies squaring off | "Take sides are you crazy? There's six of us. There's thousands of them. Hell, even if we wanted to, which side do we take," said John adjusting the sight on his AR15 rifle. Tom rolled his eyes at him. John turned his head, "I have no idea what we do here. Wait for the portal to open back up, I guess. Maybe its monthl... | 24 |
18 | 1,393,289,054 | 54 | By a random happen stance, the alter ego of a super hero ends up dating the alter ego of their direct super villain. | 7 years ago, the event called Pandemonium struck and seemingly ordinary human beings gained enormous powers.Some found the gift as a calling, as a responsibility that was bestowed on them from a greater being for a greater purpose. Most, were just trying to further their own agendas. Suddenly, superheroes and supervil... | 15 |
19 | 1,393,301,217 | 27 | In an effort to increase revenue, the Hell Department of Tourism has begun advertising. Write an advertisement for vacationing in Hell that actually would make me want to go. | Is it too cold where you are?
Are you shivering in your Canadian boots?
Russia starting to look warm?
Well, come down to Hell! Now that the oncoming threat of Ragnarok is over, it is impossible to say that Hell will in fact freeze over!
Get a great tan sitting next to the fires of Lucifer while you hear the screams... | 20 |
20 | 1,393,303,073 | 64 | In a world where everyone has super-abilities, one boy is born without powers. Show me how he can be a hero. | Jared awoke slowly, fighting the urge to simply ignore his buzzing alarm. He stretched out an arm lazily, swatting at the off switch. Others could have easily turned off the alarm without even touching it, but not Jared. Everyday tasks such as this were constant reminders. Reminders that Jared was ordinary. Absolutely ... | 92 |
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