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[ WP ] You are granted two wishes , the first one you use to grant yourself immortality , the second one you wish for your soul mate to have immortality too . Now all you have to do is find them .
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*How do I know she's the one? *
`` You'll know when you see her.'' The little genie winked mischievously, `` Besides, you have all eternity to find her, what's the big rush?'' This genie clearly has no conception of time, but it's understandable since it was 4,000 years old.
`` I feel like I just wasted my wish.'' I let out a big sigh, regretting the first two wishes I made.
`` I'll make it a little more fun for you then,'' The genie said after thinking for awhile, then giggled. `` Every year, the two of you will cross path... so that's a free chance for you. Make it count!''
`` I am totally going to find her,'' I shouted with determination, eyes filled with motivation. `` I ca n't wait to find my future wife!''
And that's what I said... 7 years ago. How was I so stupid back then? To waste wishes on something so trivial, I could have wished for wealth, fame, power... but I wasted on immortality and stuck on a quest I have n't completed to this very day.
*14 years old. *
School field trip to Disneyland, I felt something powerful and enticing. But I was n't paying much attention that day because we were racing back and forth, trying to get on the most rides we can. I was n't very bright.
*15 years old. *
During summer vacation, I remember going to San Franciso for a family road trip to see the Golden Gate Bridge. I remember staring out in the vast ocean view when I felt the same familiar feeling. But I could n't find anyone within a short duration of time because my parents and my sister wanted to eat.
*16 years old. *
I was around my city's local mall when all of a sudden, I felt that feeling. It was early December, each store filled with sea of people, waiting in line to purchase their Christmas goodies. I was in line for one of the special sales that come yearly and I felt someone quickly breeze by me. I saw a figure before she vanished into the crowd.
*17 years old*
For my Japanese course, we had an end of the year trip to Japan and that's when I got that feeling. Of all the places, it was somehow in Japan. This time, I searched countless small blocks and streets for her. But no luck, until I ended up getting lost for a couple of hours. They had to call the local police in which I got chewed out by the teacher.
*18 years old*
For my 18th birthday, my best friends decided to surprise me by taking me to one of those fancy restaurants near the beach. I remember dining on the most delicious chicken alfredo pasta ever while viewing the calming ocean current. That's when I felt it. I instantly jumped up from my seat and ran out of the restaurant. I frantically searched the bicycle path then ran towards the beach, but ended up troubling my friends for my foolish behavior.
*19 years old*
I did n't make many new friends at my college so I decided to join one of those social clubs. In the end, I got very close with 3 people. We decided to have a spontaneous road trip to Vegas for absolutely no reason. Crazy us, driving and singing in the middle of the night. Until we arrived at one of those shopping malls, and I felt it. Not want to make a big scene of myself like last year, I told them I was going to the restroom. But unfortunately, 20 minutes was n't enough to find her. Told them about the massive `` dump'' I had tho.
*20 years old*
I decided this year I would stop slacking off and actually look for her. And that's when I felt it. Unfortunately this time it was around Christmas again and it was at a beautiful well-known mall. But fortunately, I was alone this time because I was planning to buy my family and sister presents. I quickly scanned my surrounding and that's when I saw a platinum blonde girl in a ponytail walking into Macy. I quickly tapped her shoulder and she turned around, looking confused.
`` Uhm... are you perhaps by chance an immortal?'' I asked sheepishly, never really prepared my introduction when I actually met her. Needless to say, she thought I was a creep trying to hit on her. I knew it was n't her because the feeling faded as if my soulmate walked out of my `` radar'' during the conversation with this girl.
Now I am finally 21. Legal drinking age in the US. It was around June, after a couple of days of my birthday. Apparently one of the three friends from that social club liked me. I thought she was pretty cute because I have to stay loyal! But after this many unlucky attempts and failures, I wonder if it's alright for me to date someone.
Well, needless to say, we decided to go on our first date after I visited her in New York when she transferred there for graduate school.
`` It's rather chilly there,'' I complained, not used to the windy weather. `` Cali is the life for me.''
`` Typical Californian,'' She teased, `` Let's go check out that new huge shop over there in the mall. I've been wanting to go. There has been a flash sale for some time now.''
We arrived at our destination only to find battlefield of people, fighting for various apparels in the front of the store. It seemed like one of those Black Friday sales. We walked in, trying to avoid the crazy shoppers who might attack us at any given moment.
`` Wow, not only do they sell clothes! They also sell electronics, cooking ware and even beds?!'' I exclaimed. I was simply amazed how much stuff they were selling.
`` New York!'' She winked. We laughed and looked around. That's when I felt the feeling. I tried to ignore it, after this many failed attempts. I doubt I'll find her again this year. It's a bad timing.
`` I am going to check our the bra section really fast,'' She giggled and said with a flirty tone. `` If you want to come, you can...''
`` I think I'll pass,'' I shooked my head, my mind is filled with this familiar feeling. `` I'll be at the electronic area when you are done, I wan na check out the new game Heylo 3.''
She nodded with a slight disappointment on her face. I quickly dashed around the store, in hope of maybe this time I can successfully find her. I quickly look through aisles after aisles. No luck.
`` Ahhhh... What am I suppose to even look for?'' I muttered bitterly, silently cursing the genie who is probably having a great laugh right now. I slowly feel her going out of my `` radar''.
I guess I'll have to wait another year once again? I sighed and gave up my search and tried to look for my favorite game. And that's when I saw the game on one of those 80 % off stands. Only one copy left.
`` I must purchase this,'' I grinned at myself, walk slowly turning into a sprint. 10 $ for this game is one of a lifetime deal. As I grabbed for the game, another hand grabbed it too.
I instantly turned towards my enemy, preparing a bloodshed if I have to. And that's when I finally saw *her. *
A short black hair Asian girl about the same age as me. She was wearing a pink floral dress and had a pair of sunglasses that hid the pair of eyes that was staring back at me.
Now, I truly know how those romantic movie moments felt like. We stared at each other for a couple more seconds before I retracted my hand. She instantly did it too at the same time, we both looked away.
What is this? Even her actions are the same as me?!
`` Are you perhaps?...'' We both turned around and said with eerie synchronization, then we looked away then towards the game.
`` You can have it, miss.'' I finally said, breaking the awkward silence. `` You must be a big Heylo fan too. As a Heylo veteran, I must spread the gospel of Heylo to newcomers.''
`` No no, kind sir.'' The girl replied, taking off her sunglasses revealing her beautiful brown eyes. `` You touched it first, so that Heylo is yours!''
`` I think theres a famous phrase called ladies first, miss,'' I said, directing my hands to the game. `` Please go right ahead and be my guest.''
`` But we should always try and strive for equality, kind sir.'' The girl said, imitating my action. `` Finders keeper and you are the finder.''
We both stopped and stared at each other. That's when we burst out laughing. We cracked up as if we just told each other the funniest joke ever. Tears of joy came out of her eyes as she wiped them with her petite hand, we were both laughing like bunch of bonobos.
`` Jeff!!'' I heard my date calling me, I turned around. She was beckoning me to come to her. I looked at her, then back at the game and then at the Asian girl.
`` Come on now, your girlfriend is calling for you. Do n't make her wait!'' The Asian girl smiled, taking the game off the shelf and placed it in my right hand. `` Have fun with this game, kind sir! It was nice talking to you. Beat the game for me eh?'' And just like that, she walked off.
And the stupid me, just stood with Heylo 3 in my hand, watching my soulmate slowly walking away towards the exit while my date is waiting for me in the other direction.
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[ WP ] Murder is legal , but you have to pay for it .
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“ How much? ”
“ Huh? ”
“ HOW MUCH. ”
“ Are you being serious? ” He looked at the paper and then he looked back at me.
I nodded once and glared at him.
“ Listen, this isn ’ t some sort of…I don ’ t know, man. This isn ’ t what we do, ” he said, shaking his head and looking disturbed.
I showed him the ad I had printed from online. “ It says it right here: ‘ You need someone killed, come to us and get your order filled. ’ I don ’ t see a lot of gray area here. So catchy, that phrase of yours. Your fine print says to bring details of the mark, and I ’ ve done so. I even provided you with the income slip, for crying out loud. ”
He shook his head again. I waited silently.
“ Are you going to make this difficult for me? For my team? ” he asked me after the silence became a bit awkward.
“ Nope. None at all. I just want a quote, you know? I ’ m not saying I ’ m going to hire you for the job. ”
“ Fine. We ’ ll do it for fifty grand. So long as you promise no trouble. ”
“ Wait…what? That…that can ’ t be serious. ”
“ Too high? ”
“ ARE YOU TRYING TO INSULT ME? JUST GIVE ME MY PAPERS BACK. ”
I grabbed my papers and paystub and got out of there.
`` I'm worth more than that, right...?''
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[ WP ] You have the power to swap places with anyone , anywhere , at will . You 've set up a business where you charge by the hour for tourists to swap places with you . Today is different , because your latest client sent an emergency request . It is a hostage .
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When Mrs Brown started crying, and the police constables by her side shot me withering looks of disdain, I had a sinking feeling I would end up agreeing to her harebrained request.
`` Please, Mr Safe, only you can save my husband... please...''
Problem was, while I was as shrewd and greedy as any other successful businessman, I also had a very well-honed instinct for survival. I liked being safe, and unhurt, and alive, and the damsel's request carried a real risk that I would end up being none of those.
``... I would have paid the kidnappers, but we simply do n't have that much on standby! Please, just take his place, and we'll pay you half the ransom! Then we'll get him to lead us back to you! $ 5 million dollars, all yours!''
Did I mention I was greedy?
`` Fine,'' I said, opening the file she had placed on my desk. `` I'll have you know, I've never Swapped without the other person's express consent before. But this is an emergency, and I guess there's no choice. Is this picture of your husband recent?''
`` Yes! It's a still from the ransom video they sent across, taken just last night! The poor thing, you can even see his kidnapper, holding a knife to my darling's neck!''
I had to give her credit, she was creative to have come to me for help. My tour agency, Safe Travels ( haha, haha ), specialised in instantaneous tour packages. Impatient travellers informed me of their destinations ahead of time, and I would travel there, the normal, plebeian way. At the right moment, I would Swap places with them - they got to their destinations, I got back to my office.
Simple, easy, and very, very lucrative. Though, you'd be surprised at how many travellers Swap with so little luggage, and so many, many little brown packages.
`` Let's be clear, if I save your husband, the whole $ 5 million is mine, no backsies?''
`` Yes! Take it as hazard pay, whatever! Just Swap my husband to safety!''
I motioned for them to clear a space in my office, pointed at the huge `` X'' I had marked on the ground with tape.
`` I will Swap him back to this position, and constables, be ready for anything!''
I took a deep breath, fixed his face in my mind, squeezed my eyes shut, and Swapped.
-- -
`` You did what! That was highly dangerous! And extremely irresponsible!''
`` Oh come on,'' I said, as I worked my way through the knots holding Mr Brown down to the chair. `` There were two big burly constables in the room. Everything will be fine.''
`` But my wife was there! You endangered her by Swapping the kidnapper back! Were n't you supposed to be Swapping *me* back to safety?''
I grinned at him, pushing his whining out of mind. I was already thinking of all the renovations I could afford with $ 5 million, all the cars I would buy, all the pockets I could grease.
`` I do n't know if you've heard anything about me before, Mr Brown, but let me tell you, I do like to think of myself as having a very well-developed instinct for survival.''
-- -
/r/rarelyfunny
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[ WP ] Cause of death appears to you as floating text over people 's heads with no time indication . You start noticing a trend .
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Growing up, I remember despising the hospital. As I walked with dad and his stethoscope down the halls I remember feeling an array of what dad called `` hypochondriac symptoms''. My stomach would twist, or I would feel excruciating pain in my chest, or my blood would feel like it was boiling. My only place of solace in the building was with my mom looking at x-rays in the basement. I despised the place so much, that I refused to be taken to the hospital after I broke my leg climbing trees, because the pain I felt while there was so much worse than the feeling of my broken leg.
It was n't really until middle school that I had any ideas of why I felt so sick there. It dawned on me after I was left at my grandmothers house for the weekend. She was sweet old lady, who smelled of roses and chocolate chip cookies. I had a headache. At first it was a run of the mill sinus headache, a little bit of pressure behind my nostrils. as the day progressed, I felt more ill. It felt like somebody was nailing the back of my head with a hammer. My grandma gave me some pills to help, but it did n't let up. At the moment I felt excruciating pain and numbness in my arms, my grandmother collapsed in the kitchen. I tried to crawl for the phone, but I could n't hardly move. 20 minutes went past, both of us lying in agony, and I could do nothing to save her. After that, I suddenly felt much better, ran to the phone to dial 911, but the paramedics said she was long gone by the time they got to us. Grandma died of stroke followed by massive cerebral hemorrhaging at age 65.
From there, the rest is basically history. My neighbor always gave me tingles in my arms and legs. The day before she was in a fatal accident, I felt as though my legs were being hit by baseball bats. In high school, when I walked past Jeremy, the school outcast, I always felt short of breath. He hung himself Junior year. and I always walked home in a way that did not involve passing the old peoples home.
College was not much better. My feeling ruined dates; One girl I went on date with made me feel lonely, as if the world was fading away, and enormous guilt filled my thoughts. I found out a year later that she died of alcohol intoxication at party. The most confusing feeling came from my a friend of mine, Samantha. I always felt joyful to be around her, like abnormally happy. Towards the end of college her presence seemed to make my veins feel like they were on fire, but in a good way. Samantha died of a heroin overdose a week after we graduated. Mom and dad wanted me to be a doctor, but I originally tried to appease them by studying mortuary sciences. Only the dying bother me, not the already dead. When that was not satisfactory, I elected to go in to business. I could handle business people, they never died any particularly horrible deaths. I figured I'd feel occasional chest pain, and maybe some mental fogginess from the heart attacks and old age.
I found a good job working as a stockbroker in the heart of New York, although it was n't as well respected as doctor or mortician, it made me happy. The workplace was n't so bad, the air was a little stuffy, but the people were nice, and none of them seemed to have very horrific deaths in the near future. I worked for at least five years, and my symptoms were easy to control. It was late august when the air in in the building started to smell and feel like campfire smoke. I put in multiple complaints, but nobody ever seemed to get it fixed. My chair was also horribly uncomfortable, but I could n't replace it with one that felt good. Was I feeling my own feelings, or was I feeling the death of others? Two weeks later, I walked into the building and could n't hardly breath. I choked on the air as I was walking to my desk, ever person that walked past me made me feel like was being beaten by several baseball bats. I felt so awful, collapsed to my knees and purged the contents of my stomach to the floor. I do n't remember that much after that, but my boss helped me into a taxi and forced me to go one of those awful hospitals. An hour later the first plane hit the building.
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[ IP ] Landing
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A woman ’ s voice erupted from the cockpit speakers, the foreign dialect rattled off so rapidly that all Jeremiah, the pilot seated within the cozy cockpit, had time to discern was that the woman was agitated and he was more than likely the cause.
“ I ’ m sorry to say I haven ’ t the foggiest idea what you just said, ” Jeremiah said as he pressed the small blue button beneath the large, friendly letters which spelled ‘ COMM-OUT. ’
The woman ’ s voice erupted from the speakers once again, her foreign babble proving beyond a doubt that he was the cause of her now increased agitation.
Jeremiah half-spun in the pilot ’ s chair, extended his right arm and snapped his fingers repeatedly as he shouted, “ Hey, you jackrabbits, put some pants on and get up here! ”
As he spun back to the cockpit control console a large red exclamation point appeared on the holographic display, below which scrolled a very dense waterfall of text. Jeremiah growled and spun back around to the rear of the ship to shout, “ Come on, now! I don ’ t speak Greek and this lady is more than a little upset at that fact! Put your bits back where they belong and **get up here**! ”
An alarm blared from the cockpit speakers along with a new, angry male voice which curtly said, “ Unidentified vessel! This is Stratias Namocles of Mars Station Terra-Mons-Alpha, why do you not have a communications expert certified in Cooperative Space Covenant 28-L? This station is designated as a Hellenic station, as your system should reflect! We have readied our weapons to bring you down, should you prove hostile. Identify yourselves and your purpose! ”
Jeremiah turned back to the console and held down the COMM-OUT button as he shouted over his shoulder, “ Count your lucky stars one of them speaks Anglish, you **ungrateful sods**! ” He cleared his throat and even managed an aggravated smile as he turned to speak to Station Terra-Mons-Alpha, “ Hello! I ’ m Captain Jeremiah of the Lambda-class *Dragonfly*, inbound unexpectedly for some supplies we seem to have forgotten on our away trip from the Middling Sea. Damn sorry time to realize it, I know, but you would be surprised what fresh recruits overlook on their first trip to the Rim. Jitters and all that must ’ ve just clouded their judgement, eh? ”
There was a moment of silence, just long enough for Jeremiah to take a sharp breath, which reeked of self-doubt in his ability to fabricate, before Namocles ’ curt response jumped from the speakers. “ How many aboard, Captain? ”
“ Oh, just me, the two scrubs, and my favorite cleaning bot! Delightful automaton, really! Doesn ’ t clean much, but a horribly entertaining thing to watch him try. ” Jeremiah wiggled his head with anxious energy as he finished. He did so enjoy giving a good lie to bureaucrats.
The speakers emitted a rapid tapping sound as the other man clicked a pen or drummed his own panel before he growled, “ Bay 34, Captain. You ’ ll be met by a security team. ”
“ Wonderful, my friend, wonderful! ” Jeremiah clapped his hands and then rubbed them eagerly, “ Maybe you can tell us where to find some- “
He was cut off by Namocles, “ The security team will deal with whatever questions you might have, Captain. Bay 34. ”
The channel was overridden by a monotonous drone of synthetic notes. Jeremiah frowned.
“ He put you on hold. ” Jeremiah turned to face the young woman which stood grinning in the cockpit porthole. A man of approximately the same age strolled in behind her, his tangled hair a mess of points and peaks in every direction. “ Did you tell him about the time Sweeps spent half the trip to Pluto trying to pick up a single line of lunar dust? ”
“ So now you join me, hm? ” Jeremiah sucked his teeth before he shook a finger at the duo, “ I am not acting as chaperon to a couple of jackrabbits on honeymoon! Abbey! You are our communications expert, are you not? ”
“ She can communicate in more than words. ” The young man winked as Abbey grinned and pretended to shoot him, her thumb up and forefinger outstretched. He gripped his chest and staggered back two steps as he choked out, “ Oh! My! Heart! ”
“ That ’ s enough, Cain! ” Jeremiah cleared his throat, “ If I had known you two would be such Bacchic sycophants I would have left you back on Earth! ”
“ Come on, now! You know I could have… convinced you. ” Abbey dipped and swayed her hips as she laughed toward Jeremiah. The older man grumbled and growled as he turned back to his console and fiddled with some of the readouts. The station had transmitted the docking bay instructions to the *Dragonfly* and the navigational computer had automated the ship ’ s guidance and propulsion, so Jeremiah couldn ’ t do anything but check over systems while the station grew larger and larger. Unless, of course, he switched it to manual controls, which would make no sense in this part of their scheme.
“ How many suits on a standard Mars security team, Cain? ” Jeremiah glanced over his shoulder at the duo and sniffed a frustrated sniff as they danced around each other like love struck starlings. Jeremiah sniffed again, once out and once in, before the young fools stopped their showing and Cain replied, “ Six suits and an officer, Cap ’ n! ” Abbey suppressed a giggle as the young man snapped a comedic interpretation of a salute and spun on his toes.
“ Great work, you imbecile. Go and get dressed as though you were actually on a journey to the Rim. ” Jeremiah massaged his temples as the pair scampered back down to the cots, their laughter trailing them all the way. “ Oi vey! What I put up with to make an indecent drachma off the gentiles. ”
“ Would you like me to initiate the comedic cleaning subroutine, Captain? ” A pleasant synthesized voice drifted from the corner where a thin, rust-colored automaton stood so still it seemed just another feature of the cockpit.
“ No, Sweeps, that ’ s quite alright. ” The Captain spun to face his automaton and puffed out his cheeks with an exasperated sigh before he said, “ Tell me again how much we ’ ll get for smuggling all this Imperial contraband out to the Rim. ”
“ Five-Hundred-Thousand nomisma, Captain, split three ways, which comes to- “
“ No, no, no, ” Jeremiah held up a hand to cut off the automaton, “ Let me just enjoy this contract at full value. ”
As the ship rumbled to settle into the magnetic locks of Docking Bay 34, jostling Abbey and Cain in the midst of their disrobed shenanigans, Captain Jeremiah let out an audible sigh before he whispered to himself, “ Five-Hundred-Thousand nomisma! ”
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[ WP ] A parallel universe collides with ours . Nothing too major happens , but you find small irregularities in your life .
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`` When did you start drinking strawberry milk? You hate that stuff!'' Mum glanced at me with a puzzled look on her face as she buttered her toast. I grinned and continued pouring the milk into my cereal. `` I guess it's time for a change.'' Mum rolled her eyes and went back at it.
Throughout the day mum kept noticing things that were different about me. `` That small birthmark on your left cheek jumped to your right! You always have the air-conditioner on at full blast and today just the fan?''
I was getting worried. I loved my mother more than anything in this world, but this was getting out of hand. Ever since dad left, mum worked two jobs just to put food on the table. She somehow still found time to help me with my schoolwork and was always there when I needed her.
It was for her sake I brought her to the doctor. By then, it had spiraled out of control. `` Why do n't you all believe me, he's not my son!'' The doctors attributed it to old age and told me I had to decide.
Putting her in a home would kill her, but staying together would have driven us both insane. She had reached such levels of paranoia and fear that me being in the same room as her was enough to trigger a panic attack.
It broke my heart to see her that way. I had tried and tried to convince her that I was her son. The same son she had fought tooth and nail to raise for so many years.
It was the second hardest decision I had to make in my life. When I dropped her off to at the home, she did n't even say goodbye. On the contrary, surprisingly I think she was glad she was finally rid of me. She was dead sure in her belief and nothing I could say or do would have convinced her otherwise.
Coming home that day I made the biggest decision of my life. Opening the door to the basement, my hands trembled as I clutched the tray of food. This had become a routine after so many months but I knew today would be the last.
I left the tray at the his feet. For the last time, I looked into his eyes. The deep black abyss was one I was very familiar with. He did n't even try to put up a fight when I uncuffed him; there was n't a point. `` It's your favourite. Chocolate milk and cereal.'' He mustered a grunt in acknowledgment.
I turned and walked out of the basement.
*Trying to get into the habit of writing and all feedback is welcome! Please let me know how I can improve: )
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[ WP ] In the far future where most forms of armed combat have become obsolete , you are a member of the last remaining ground squad in existence . One day , you are deployed on a mission where all other options have failed . Detail this deployment .
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We were surrounded by metal on all sides. Out-flanked and out-gunned. The sun glinting off their cold eyes. Smoke and bullets filled the air.
Every drone I took down was replaced by another. They did n't value their own lives. They were n't even alive in the first place. They had no fear.
But we were afraid.
The UN had imposed limits to drones in warfare after the first real-world test led some absolutely chilling horror stories. The military denied it, the legislators called it all a liberal conspiracy, but the videos circling around the internet showed the truth.
The Drones had advanced on a rebel occupied town, killing man, woman and child alike. Any sudden movement was considered an act of aggression no matter how small. They were efficient, preferring to tear a person limb-from-limb if they got close enough.
Since zero American lives were lost in the process. It was considered a massive success.
When the cruelty of war can be avoided by your sons and daughters, you do n't think of an alternative. Flesh was quickly swapped out for metal and instead of reining the killing machines in, the programmers and the PR department began to work on ways to justify the collateral damage. The American soldier became an archaic tool of war. The only grunts who were left were part of the motor pool. Their jobs were to simply to maintain and manage the metal. Let the brass worry everything else.
The last firmware update was when we found out they had changed the definition of'Enemy Combatant' within the drones. Now anyone who could potentially be a threat was classified as a hostile, including the American soldiers they were supposed to protect. It was a big fucking glitch. One that turned them against us.
The green zone ran red with blood. We tried to push them back and deactivate them, but failed. We had set up fail-safes to protect the drones from the enemy doing the same. We did n't have time to admire the irony of that.
Now we are here, cornered in the bombed out remains of the MP building. Surrounded and supremely screwed.
Saul yelled at me to cover him as he popped a grenade. The explosion took a few out, but they just kept coming.
Oren took at round to the neck. Jeffords dropped his weapon and raised his hands. They ripped those off and then his head.
By the time I heard Saul start screaming, I was already running away.
They surrounded me as i hunkered down in the remains of the girls bathroom. Half a clip left to my name. I was the last soldier alive. I wondered if I'd get a hero's funeral. Maybe to save the credibility of the contractor who made these monsters, would they just label me a traitor. It would be simpler that way.
All I knew was that this was n't war. The enemy had nothing to lose. I had everything. How can you fight against that?
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[ EU ] When the zombie apocalypse comes to Scranton , PA its up to Dwight Shrute to keep his office mates alive .
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A gasping, blood splattered Dwight bursts through the front door of the office.
`` Michael?! Michael?!'' Dwight shouts between heaving breaths. He carries a large duffle bag over his left shoulder and bloody machete in his right hand. His glasses cracked, his clothes disheveled, the beet farmer looks like he's been through hell.
Pam bolts upright from her chair in reception, shocked. `` Dwight?''
The rest of the office echoes her confusion, as cries of `` oh my god'' and `` what the hell'' come from the accounting and sales clusters.
Michael, hearing the cries of concern from his subordinates, rushes out of the office to see what all the fuss is about. His face pales when he sees him. `` Jesus, Dwight, what the hell happened?''
`` Michael, thank God you're alright. We have to go.'' Dwight stammers. `` Have to leave now. They're everywhere.''
`` Who's everywhere?'' Jim demands. `` Speak English, Dwight.''
Eyes wide with adrenaline, Dwight shouts back, `` The dead! They've taken over the streets, eating the living, swarming the town square. Have n't you seen the news? This is it! The Zombie Apocalypse is upon us!''
`` He's finally lost his mind.'' Stanley grumbles.
`` Dwight?'' Pam asks, looking queasy. `` Who's blood is on the machete?''
`` And your face and clothes?'' adds Angela.
`` Mose.'' Dwight admits. `` He went out to do his chores this morning, normal as ever, but when he came back something was wrong. I knew almost instantly he had been turned: white skin, hollowed eyes, slow laboring pace, massive bleeding bite mark on his neck. Luckily, I keep about two dozen sharp objects hidden around Shrute farm for exactly this reason.''
`` In case your cousin turns into a zombie?'' Jim asks wryly.
Dwight glares back at him. `` In case the world ends and we have to be ready to defend ourselves against the dead.''
Michael looks at the blood dripping from tip of the machete. `` I'm gon na throw up.'' he says as he rushes back into his office. The sound of his retching can be heard a moment later.
Dwight climbs on top of Jim's desk to better address his coworkers. `` Fellow Dunder Mifflin employees,'' he croons, `` the end is upon us! We must band together or we will not survive.'' As he says this he unzips and upends the duffel bag, spilling its contents onto the floor. Knives, hatchets, sharpened staves and other instruments of death fall to the floor.
Kevin says, `` Cool!''
Jim and Pam share a worried look.
Oscar looks disturbed.
Angela looks at Dwight dreamily, proud her man is the alpha.
Phyllis and Stanley quietly converse about who should call the police.
Creed continues playing solitaire, uninterested.
Michael finally finishes vomiting and rejoins his workers. `` Okay everybody, I think we all need to take a deep breath and think this through --''
At that moment, the door to the annex slowly opens. Toby stands there, looking but not truly seeing his coworkers. His skin is even whiter than normal, his droopy eyes unfocused. His teeth click together and a guttural growl escapes his gaping mouth. Blood drips from his lips, and runs down his already bloody chin.
As he lurches towards Michael, the Dunder Mifflin workers see Kelly and Ryan standing a few feet behind him. A chunk of flesh has been eaten away from Kelly's arm, and Ryan is missing three fingers on his right hand. Both have pale skin. Both are hungry.
The employees of Dunder Mifflin sit in stunned silence for a few seconds. Finally, Dwight breaks their paralysis by hacking Toby in the head with the machete. Blood splatters all over Phyllis and Stanley. Pam screams and Michael starts to vomit again. Toby's corpse crumples to the floor, twitching.
Dwight turns to the group, a grim look of satisfaction on his face. `` The brain. Always attack the brain.''
A moment later, every person in the room is using one of his sharp objects to put an end to Zombie Kelly and Zombie Ryan.
Dwight watches the bloody display, a smile on his face, and thinks this may be the first time he's ever been truly impressed by his normally useless coworkers.
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[ WP ] Everyone at birth is given a creature that will care for you as you care for it . Today your child was assigned something everyone thought was a mythical creature .
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When your born you get a companion.
No one knows why or when it started but it did. No one even knows where they come from. Sometimes they come in through a stork like in a story, other times they just sort of appear there. You never choose your companion, they choose you. You and your companion live life together and deal with everything on the way.
My dad's companion was a snake. Her names was Ramona. My mother's companion was a a mountain goat. Her father's was a chameleon. My point I'm getting at is that there is n't any scientific reason for the animal one gets.
I had actually meet my girlfriend because of our companions. Her's was a Verreaux's sifaka, a rare companion indeed, especially for someone who was on a ski mountain at the time and frequented them almost monthly. I asked her if her companion was alright but she assured me that he did this a lot and was used to the it. It was after that, that we got to talking a lot and eventually are first date.
My companion was a Fraser's Eagle Owl, she christened herself Lucina after a character in a game my dad gave me during his younger days. I had been calling her Andrea until then but I got used to the name pretty early. My girlfriend and I had a pretty serious LDR ( long distance relationship ) before I decided to transfer colleges and surprise the shit out of her. Now I am sitting in the waiting room because they were having some complication. I would have stayed with her but they rushed me out after something happened, I could n't tell what did happen however since I am not a doctor and am only a senior in college.
Lucina ruffled herself a bit on my shoulder as we waited outside. I was worried for both my girlfriend and the baby. When we were discussing about whether to keep the child or not, she never said anything about her family having problems at birth so I assumed she would be fine. Now however, I fell as though I should have asked. Oh, god we still have to break this news to her parents...
I heard a loud crash in the delivery room, followed by my girlfriends scream in pain. Lucina flies towards the doors and begin scrapping at the windows and I follow, worried to all hell that something else has gone terribly wrong. As the door swings open I see quite a scary scene. Apparently something happened to knocked out one of the doctors and the other was standing in front of my girlfriend as if protecting her form something. A nurse was behind him as well, carrying a bundle that was crying loudly. Everyone seemed to be moved towards one point in the room as if avoiding something.
I scanned the room and saw what they were avoiding. A stork had managed to fly into the window and had apparently fallen pretty hard as it was scrambling to get back on its feet as it left the sack on the ground. The sack was what everyone was looking at and I was drawn to it as well. The bag was black with what looked like claw marks and stab holes all through-out it. It looked as though it has been through hell.
I wretched my eyes away from the bag to look at my girlfriend and the doctors and asked, `` What is going on?''
`` I do n't know. Usually, the storks bring in the companion safely... this was a bit hasty and violent...''
`` Is the baby alright?'' I asked as turned my attention back to sack, that had started to thrash violently.
`` Yes. You have healthy baby girl.'' He said.
I began to approach the sack and its thrashing began to calm, as if whatever was inside could sense me approaching. Lucina flew down beside it and examined the bag, cooing softly. It did n't react violently, but curiously.
I knelt down next to it and began to untie it slowly, making sure to not and jerk the sack. What was revealed when it I open it completely shocked, amazed and confused me all at once.
The creature had the head of lion, obviously that of a cub, so I though it so be a cat. But continuing to look showed that it only had the head, shoulder and legs of a lion cub, upon going past the creatures shoulders held scales, like those of a salamander. Its back held small spines that look as though they would grow further. Its hind legs where those of the birds, with tiny talons at the ends of them. The tail is n't even from a mammal but from a large insect, like a scorpion or something in the species line. The creatures meows at me pleasingly as if recognizing me and its then I realize that it has two little bumps on its head, like those of young goat. As it was finally free form the sac, it stretched out like any cat would normally do showing off not only all its little claws but also a set of wings that looked almost reptilian in design.
I only had a vague idea of what the creature was and it was only because of the multitude of books that I have read over the years. I understood the creature to be a manticore. The man-eating monsters in legends.
Lucina flapped up to my shoulder and nuzzled me affectionately, trying to comfort me. It worked but only slightly, and I steeled myself to face the rest of room, carrying the manticore up with me.
`` Looks our daughter is a little special, babe.'' I said with a reassuring smile. She gave a small laugh of amazement at my attempt to reassure her.
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[ WP ] As a person goes through his life , he is given three options at the end of each day , continue , restart day , or restart life . He has just lived through the worst day of his life .
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I had been living yesterday for months.
At the beginning, I was just testing the waters, trying to figure out `` what is a perfect day? How do I finish the day a better person?''
About three weeks into this groundhog day-esque adventure, he realised that if this would continue to go on, why not have a little fun?
Many days would end in prison, hospital, or even in death - But it does n't matter, I am immortal.
I do n't age, I do n't die, there are no consequences to my actions, I am a god.
I decided to continue last night - then came today.
The day started surprisingly well, I awoke next to my wife after about three months of having some incredible intimacy the night before, but I slipped up. I forgot about something I did yesterday - Well, the actual yesterday, the one that happened the day I chose to continue.
There was a knock on the door, I knew who it was.. what was coming, ca n't I just go back a day? Even if I finish today alive and free, my options are to keep running, do this whole thing again or... I could restart my life.
Restart my life... I've come to accept that the only way i'm going to die is via old age or sickness, as every time I die unnaturally, I just restart the day and make sure it does n't happen again, but restart my whole entire life?! Shit, I ca n't live through this again, what if I lose my memory, what if I have to wait until i'm 15 again before I unlock this ability?
No - I ca n't restart. I've got to run.
I kissed my sleeping wife on the forehead.
`` Goodbye, see you on the other side''
I had lived yesterday so many times, but nothing could prepare me for today, there was a reason I was putting it off for so long.
I slowly walked downstairs and opened the door..
Nobody.
Wait what?!
I looked down and saw an envelope.
I opened it right then and there, this is not what I was expecting at all..
There was a large peice of blank paper, with two words written in the centre.
`` Restart Life''
To be continued
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[ WP ] A Jedi and a Sith fall in love , without knowing of the other 's affiliation .
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She was beautiful and I had to have her. It was uncommon for one as young as I to decide upon a life mate but in this moment I cared not. The way her chocolate hair flowed down her back ignited passions in me that I did not know existed. Her beautiful emerald eyes glowed with the force. I could feel it gather around her, mold around her, like it wanted to be one with her. Her chaste clothes did their job as I could not discern her figure under all of that plain white and brown cloth. Quite the opposite to my robes of crimson and pitch. She sipped her tea slowly and placed the cup down after the first taste. The tea house was open to all but you had to have quite the amount of credits to afford the good stuff, the stuff I had in my cup I could smell in the air that her tea was barely more than hot water and cinnamon. The thought passed my mind that if I were to buy her a cup of tea she may be inclined to learn more of me. I could already tell that she was not one for elaborate gifts. she wore no jewelry and had no makeup. Everything about her seemed practical and useful. it pleased me this wonderfully simple beauty. I got up from my booth in the corner of the room and moved to the center table where she sat. she casually glanced up at me as if she knew I was about to sit at her table. She gave me a slight frown, as if perplexed by me.
`` I hope that you have not come to my table seeking something that I can not give.'' she said in a tone that carried ca hint of concern and just a little fear.
`` I seek not the pleasures of the flesh from you.'' I lied through my teeth.
`` a lie is a lie no matter the intention'' a bit flustered I responded
`` Well if you know my intentions why converse with me?''
She tilted her adorable head to her right slightly as if she were a confused puppy.
`` Alas I do not know all of your intentions. Just those that you share with me. You are indeed a handsome man with no small amount of wealth, you could have any harlot in this place why set your sights on me?''
I smile and sip my tea. she was good at this game but perhaps I could pull something she would n't expect.
`` yes I could have any woman in this room but why would I want to? they are common place. they have nothing special, nothing beautiful. I saw just a hint of a blush forming. she had bitten the bait now she only need swallow the hook.
`` your words are kind. and perhaps if I had not taken up the vows I would entertain your offer. but alas I have my commitments.'' my heart sank. she was Jedi?. It would explain her force capabilities and also he chaste apparel.
Her eyes widened And I realized I had let my mental guard drop. We sat in silence for what seemed hours but was likely minutes. She spoke first
`` So... is there any way I can convince you to cease your ways?'' She knew it was a vain effort.
`` No. I am afraid not.''
`` Well then.'' she got up from her cushion `` Thank you for your time. But I must be off to the temple.'' as she got up she tripped on a loose tile. In that moment i managed to break through her mental guards. Her heart pounded with a suppressed lust. she had so much passion and rage that she was keeping inside her. I knew how she could use that. She had so much potential, they did n't deserve her. she needed someone who could show her true power, true passion, true love.
I jumped upon her and using a Sith martial art technique known by few I took away her consciousness. As her body began to go limp in sleep I whispered in her ear.
`` All will be right my sweet.'' will post more after class.
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[ WP ] All this ... All this for a bag of Doritos ?
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Have you ever read life of pi? A boy spends months on a life raft surviving with a tiger. At least that's what he says, when he comes home and tells his tale it's full of tigers and mystical islands, glowing and carnivorous water. Now, because there was no one but him and the tiger out at sea, there's no one to tell him otherwise. What he says is the only viewpoint we get because he's the only one with a viewpoint.
Well, I have a boyfriend you see, and he has always been a fisherman. He sees a 13 story tall building? It's 50 stories tall to him. He's always had a way of making life look so magical, hearing him speak as a fire kindles in his eyes and his arms wave and crash about to make his story seem even more fantastic and outrageous, you ca n't help but believe every word. Each thing he says flows into the next with such elegance. It's mesmerizing and truly magical.
Which is why when he came home one day covered in this orange powder with a burnt top hat greeting my gasp with a shit eating grin I knew something had happened. Something real.
So that night as I was cleaning a massive gash etched onto his red irritated back I was itching to hear this story. We were talking about our usual array of things, overwatch nerds and buffs, diablo ect, I finally worked up the courage to ask him what happened, he went silent. His dark almost black hair was covered in a white powder and it slowly pirouetted down to his shoulders and back as he turned to face me and whispered a single word, the crook of his full chapped lips pulling up into a grin as he said, `` Doritos.''
My face fell into an unimpressed look, irritated I asked him again what had happened. He laughed his big soft crackly laugh, and kissed my forehead the way he does when I do n't understand something like he does. `` Scarlett'' he said caressing my cheek, `` Doritos, Scarlett... Doritos'' clearly frustrated I stood up and left the room leaving him there once again laughing at something I'm not seeing.
Later that night as we were laying in bed I rolled onto his chest and heard his steady heart beat, it had always calmed me down, I rubbed my thumb across his chest and twiddled my fingers. `` So do you want to hear about my day Scarlett?'' He smiled down at me as I excitedly shook my head yes. And here were his exact words.
`` Well baby, it all started with a new guy at work, you see this kid is gullible. Swear we could tell him we come from the moon and he'd just nod his head and buy it. Idiot I tell you. So I was at my computer working on this new game were coming out with and he comes up to me and asks if I was hungry. Now love, you know me, I can not help myself. I look at the kid and say I'd love a bag of Doritos. He replies with he does n't have any but if I'd like he can get me some ruffles. I look at him with this insulted look on my face and ask how dare he. He recoiled and apologized in that way that means he is n't actually sorry but he's just to daft to understand. So I say I'm allergic to everything but Doritos, and that I'll die if I do n't get them. He immediately is suspicious and asks if I'm being serious. So get this, I stand up and walk close to him and ask how he has the audacity to call me a liar in my workplace. So he asks me to prove it. And baby this is where it gets good. So I tell this kid that he can go online and look it up. That I even met the current president elect awarding me a massive check to help me with my Dorito diet. So this kid is not buying it right, but get this I tell him I'll be right back and I go up to my buddy Ryan right and tell him about it, and he says he's got this great plan so he hops on his computer and tells me to give him a certain website name. So I do and this guy. Oh my god this guy. He had made 30 different websites about me. So I tell him as he's reeling with shock that everyone knows about it and he should probably feel bad. So I tell him to go ask the corner store guy and tell him I sent him, he'd give him free Doritos. So I run to Ry and tell him what had happened he immediately had my back and ran to the store with me in tow. Now baby do n't get mad. You know I'd do anything to prove a point... so anyway, Ryan and I walk in and tell the guy what's up, so we spend 200 $ buying Doritos and buying this guy off to play along. Now baby it's okay it's okay cause guess what happened next. This guy walks in and sees and starts going nuts. So he's goin crazy and starts throwing stuff and goes to straight up attack the cashier, baby! And so ry and I take this opportunity to take it further. So he covers me in dorito powder and I walk out. I mock surprise and say, newbie?! You really did come to see huh? Sorry you caught me while I was taking my dorito powder bath, how's my glow? But here's the thing, cops walk by and see a guy freaking out with two weird looking men covered in dorito powder. So they come in to ask what's going on, we tell the cops that this guy is going crazy and that we're just here doing some filming. So the cops walk up to the guy and ask him to step outside. Then, then the guy punches the cop! So they're fighting right, and we just leave. But as we're walking away laughing a group of guys sees us leaving and assumes we're running away from a crime or something and tackles us down. So I start yelling at him and I go, do you know
who I am?! And he says,
no? So I say, good and shove him off. I then tell him to give me his top hat, you should have seen this guys face, he was so confused but all I do is raise my eye brow and look at ry. Ryan knows what's up and walks forward asking how dare he talk back to president elect trump. And baby this guy looks at me, pulls out a lighter and lights his hat then fires it towards me as ry and I run laughing our asses off. So we get back to the office right. And everyone sees how scraped up we are and they're all asking if we need anything. So of course, I look at them all and say,
well... I could go for some Doritos.''
`` All this... all this for a bag of Doritos?'' I asked him. All he did was kiss my forehead and roll over to go to sleep.
And Reddit I ca n't tell you how much of this is true and how much of this is a lie, but what I can tell you is. My boyfriend loves proving a point as much as he loves a good bag of Doritos.
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[ WP ] You are a detective secretly harboring a fugitive . You are put on the case to find said fugitive .
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I stare down at the long barrel of some point-forty-four revolver. The Friday sun is hot. My cigar's losing its flavor. And there's an angry, screechy man bearing down on me in the middle of my office.
`` What the fuck do you mean you have n't found the bitch?!'' the lanky man kicks away his chair. `` We're paying you close to a hundred dollars an hour. You're telling me you do n't even have one goddamned, fucking lead? At all?''
`` I never said that,'' I cough. A thin wisp of smoke flutters out from in between my lips, `` I'm not saying that nothing's has come up. We're still chasing as many tracks as we can here in the office. I'm just saying that it's a little bit difficult to track someone with no job, no obligations, no records, and no regular behavior.''
`` We're talking about a teenager here, Cletus,'' says the lanky man, as if to remind me.
`` Yeah, hence jobless, obligationless, recordless, and irregular. Get out of here and let me do my job in peace, Richie. Sanchez will get his justice.''
Richie proceeds to strike his finger at me before tucking his gun away back inside his pants and storming off, knocking over one of my trash bins. It'll be a real pain in the ass to get up and pick that back up. You'd think one of those self-cleaning robots would have a function for this. Nope.
Whether it be 1870, 1920, or even 2070, it's always up to some overpaid idiot to pick up the trash left behind by some bigger idiot with more walking around money.
Ugh.
What the hell even is this case? Working for the Jacksonville Group to track down the story behind a car crash in the middle of rural, east-coast, suburban nowhere? Makes me question why some thuggish-type scum from Florida want me to find a missing driver. How does it even come to that?
**Knock. Knock. Knock. **
Oh, not this moron.
`` Morning, Cletus,'' a young, scraggly-haired man yawns, scrolling in with a cup of coffee in one hand and his phone in another and long locks of hair all done up in curlers atop his wet, bruised head. His eyes are drooped and blackened down and his attention's about as shot as a dying hunting dog. `` Sorry for the lateness. There was traffic.''
I feel my sanity starting to slip, `` How much traffic?''
`` A lot,'' the Kid smiles, his eyes dazed and looking around for his desk.
`` What was it? A car crash? Street closed for construction? Downed line?'' I continue to press.
He slurps from his mug, avoiding my eyes, `` Yeah. Something like that.''
The kid has been working with me for about a month and a half so far this summer. For the love of me, I do n't recall his name at all. Only took him into the office as a favor to a friend of mine back in Texas... or was it Nevada?
`` Hey, Mister Cletus. Was that Jacksonville or Fargo that was walking out the front door a while back?''
`` Arizona, probably?'' I say to myself a bit too loudly.
Kid raises an eyebrow before sitting himself down at a desk and booting up some old computer. I have him working on general affairs and infidelity cases when he's not on the Maple Avenue job. He's good at it, but I still do n't like the drones he has flying around town.
This job is n't what it used to be like. I remember when investigators like myself had to sit ourselves in vans, drinking from bottles of gatorade while doing some recordings of the married Mister Don Juan plowing on his neighbor while his wife's away.
Now look at them. Those new folks. It's not bad enough that they affiliate themselves with mobsters and gangsters anymore, no sir. Now they have to half-ass every job they get. Too tired to shadow a man? send a robot. Too tired to drive? drive a robot.
Maybe that one movie with the tall leather-jacket wearing robot had some sense of truth to it.
I look over and ask him about any new developments on the Maple job.
Maple was n't really an interesting case so far as what happened, but of what happened afterwards. The Jacksonville boss, Mr. Sanchez, was doing some work up in Richmond. He was driving back down because of a black-listing at the airport. At about four in the morning, last Thursday. Custom-modeled car. Like one of the older, American ones back in the 20s.
As he pulled up on Maple street, some car rammed right into his gas tank. Set the thing alight. Huge explosion. All five passengers in the Sanchez's car died. One more found dead in the ramming car. Body in the driver's seat for that car, however, was not found.
Police assumed Jacksonville got to it. Jacksonville thought the cops got to it. Part of some elaborate planned attack, both of them thought. Both of them have eyes on lookout for the killer too, having no idea whether or not it was a random vigilante, drunk, or another criminal body. And me, working in the building right across from Maple Street that night, got hired by Sanchez's son, Richie, to find his daddy's killer.
Most of the time, he'll just tell me he's working on it and he'll come onto something eventually. Other times, he tells me to fuck off while he's staring at whatever godawful thing he can see on the cameras.
This time. It's different.
`` Oh yeah. She's in the trunk. Found her last night when I ran out of gas and had to take a shit in the forest.''
`` Sorry, what?'' I ask.
`` Your trunk, my bad,'' he throws me back my keys.
He points out at a borrowed SUV. My SUV. The one I specifically told him not to use. He's been using it every night since he came to this small town. Sleeping in it. Eating in it. Drinking in it. I ca n't imagine that he'd be using it to pick up women, but I guess that does n't matter anymore when you have a smartphone with high-definition video and touch feedback.
There's a light thumping, in the back that's getting more audible. Kinda loud too, even from inside the office. I think about getting to it later, when I suddenly realize something. I think the Kid realized it too, seeing as how he immediately breaks into a run for the van.
Poor girl must've been stuck in there almost all night if the Kid just managed to subdue her after leaving the office yesterday.
Staring at the car, I could tell that the Kid did n't want to open up the back. Not out of fear or shame for what he'd done, but rather out of fear for whoever was inside that trunk. Kid had looked like shit when he came into my office this morning. That was n't normal. He'd always take about an extra half-an-hour a day at the barber's trimming his beard or showering at home just to put more work on me in the morning.
Who did run over the Jacksonville Boss anyway?
I get my answer when I open the door and found a pale, teenaged blonde staring at me through a bitten-off gag around her mouth.
Her pale, angry eyes stare up at the Kid, then moved to look at mine's. For a moment, it seems as though the passion in them subsided, regressing into some limp reflection of tire and confusion, but that fiery look returned shortly.
`` Uncle Cletus, I- I don't-'' she says and that is all she says.
`` Morgan,'' I mutter back at my niece.
Kid looks around and shrugs and slurps at his coffee mug before going back in,
My hand dives for a small gun hidden away under my pockets. I take a step out and look around. No one's around. That means that someone's likely watching. `` Well, get her inside before someone sees her and puts two in her head. We've got a lotta work ahead for us, Kid.''
`` Do n't let this jackhole touch me,'' Morgan mutters, still tied up in the car.
`` Not planning on it,'' Kiddo smiles and shuts the trunk back down.
...
This is gon na be a long summer.
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[ WP ] A boy/man finally decides to confess his feelings to his crush . But his crush is acting strange today ...
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Hey. There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time now. We've known each other since we were just kids, and you've always been the most important person in my life since I met you. I know I've always been so shy. I've sat on the sidelines and watched you with all these losers you've dated, and hugged you through some bad breakups. But now I'm thinking... enough is enough. I could see a future with you, ya know? I dream about spending the rest of my life with you.
Sigh. I do n't know why it took me so long to say this. But that crash I was in the other day... it made me realize how short life is. And so, I thought I should tell you... that I think I love you. I do n't know if you could feel the same, but I needed to get it off my chest, to find my peace. I feel like I've been drifting aimlessly not saying it.
Well... Are you going to say something? Come on, I do n't expect you to jump into my arms and say you want to marry me, but- Oh, no go ahead and answer that. You've had this haunted look on your face. It's like you've been staring right through me since I showed up. I hope your mom's alright, I know she has n't been well lately.
...
Oh god, why are you crying? Is it... is it bad? Is she okay? Wait, what? You do? You love me too? That's great! But... but why are you still crying? Huh? Why are you yelling for your mom? If that call was n't about her, then what happened? Wait, what? **Who's** dead?
Come on, talk to me. Please, let me help if I can? I feel like a ghost here...
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[ WP ] You wake up chained to stone floors . Your family stands next to a priest , sobbing . What happened ?
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I groan, my head pounding from a wicked headache. Chains rattle as I attempt to rub my head, pulling tight and preventing my arm from moving. There's little light, but I can tell my arms and legs are in shackles, chaining me to the stone floor. Shuffling steps move towards me in the dank dungeon.
`` Who's there?'' I croak. My voice is hoarse and raspy. I try to swallow, hoping to coat my throat in moisture, but it feels like glass is shredding the tender flesh.
`` It will be all right, my child,'' a voice says. A Catholic priest enters my field of vision. His eyes are warm and inviting. Almost soothing. He smiles softly at me, as if trying to convey a sense of safety and fatherhood. The situation around me, however, tells me a vastly different story.
`` What is going on here?'' I whisper.
`` You have sinned, but your holy parents brought you to me so that I may aid in your salvation,'' he replied. My parents lean over me, my mother sobbing.
`` How could you do this to us?!'' she screams. `` We raised you right! You should know better!''
`` What did I do?'' I try to shout back, but my throat tightens, forcing me to cough and moan in pain. The cold from the floor seeps through my skin, chilling me to the bone.
`` You were an abomination against God,'' the priest says. `` I am here to save you.''
`` And how does chaining me to the floor save me? How have I done ANYTHING against God?''
`` The demons inside you are strong. They will react violently to the Word of God as I read it to you. Be vigilant! Retain these words and fight against the demons!'' the priest exclaimed. `` You are stronger than they are! With God and Jesus at your side, you are unstoppable!''
`` I am *not* possessed by demons!'' I argue. `` I'm in full control of myself. There is nothing that dictates what I do or do n't do.''
`` Ah, but therein lies part of the problem,'' the priest says sadly. `` You have lost sight of the One True God. You have turned from his all-encompassing love. He gave His only begotten son to save us from sin. He loved you that much to forgive you. He knows about your sin. He has given me the power to save you from it.''
`` What are you even talking about?!'' I cry.
`` My child. You are guilty of the sin of homosexuality. We are here to save you from that sin.''
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[ EU ] Anakin gets defeated by the younglings in the jedi temple .
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`` Master Skywalker, there's too many!'' Visa said frightened, `` What do we do?''
We had all risen from our hiding spots, scared for our lives from what we saw. We'd been told to stay safe until someone could get us, but the smoke, the blaster shots, all the masters falling over, it just... I was n't sure.
My fears were more than waved seeing master Skywalker appear. We'd heard about him from the gossip of the other masters, like his Generalship during in the Clone Wars, and how he'd lost his Padawan. If he's as good as people say he is, he could definitely help us get out! Or so I had hoped...
The blare of his lightsaber caught all of us off guard. We panickedly searched behind him for any of the soldiers we'd seen outside, but no one had come. I look back over towards him. I could n't feel it before, or maybe it was because I was still in training, but there was an intimidating aura emanating from him, making the atmosphere feel heavy.
He began to walk slowly towards Visa, quiet, save for his saber's faint buzz and the fighting outside. My hands shudder, and I feel my chest heave heavier and heavier breaths, watching his approach and feeling more of this aura.
He stops two steps from Visa. All he does is look up at him, his eyes fearfully questioning what's happening. He raises his saber every so slightly, and we all then became aware of this bubble that had formed from master Skywalker's presence. I want to run, we *all* should run, and stop waiting for this bubble to break.
The vestiges of the word run never left my teeth as we all realize too late what's going on. A crash and sizzle of plasma and Visa's body hitting the floor with a thump and rustle of his robes said everything: The bubble has popped, and the screaming began.
_______________________________________________________________
Sorry, got ta go do something, I'll give you the rest of the story later!
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[ WP ] Everyone has an angel of death following them around waiting to reap them . Today yours revealed himself to you , but not to reap you .
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`` Yo, broseph'' I heard to my back, startled I turned and saw the most bizarre thing in my 32 years of life, a tall... guy? gal? thing? I could n't say one way or the other, it, I guess, was more than two meters tall, gleaming a greenish-yellow light, it had a backwards cap that was pushing down the whitest hair I've ever seen, it almost looked silver, oh and it had wings, long long wings, they took the mayor part of the room, and where squished to fit. `` yo, broseph wake up, I got ta tell you something yo'', I still could n't talk, the thing was floating. `` YO, WAKE UP'' it repeated with a strong voice, `` Listen to me, will yah?''
`` Wha...'' I could not form words so I chocked and coughed.
`` Yo, listen, I do n't have much time bro, listen''
I looked at it and blinked, `` What, yes, what?'' I said.
`` Listen, I got a new gig, sorry'bout that bro''
`` A new gig?'' I said slowly falling into a crazy state of being `` A new gig of what? Who are you? Wha...'', the thing raised a hand, or at least I think it was a hand, it was mostly light so it could have been a tentacle for all I know. `` Do n't yah worry'bout that mate, I'll be'right, I'll get yah a new Angel to take care of yah, but The Man does n't let us go without our human permission you see''
The thing, this Angel I guess, landed softly on the department floor, it's bare... feet?.. touching it and making it crinkle, it then reclined against one of the tables and pulled something from somewhere, and then it lighted that on.
`` You smoke?'' I said to it, I do n't know why I found that the incongruent thing of all that was happening. `` LOL Bro, I've been following yah since you where a protozygote, ofcourse I do, yah life is boring as fuuuuuck'', it said'LOL', it literally said it, and it extended the word fuck for several u's too.
`` Excuse me?'' I said.
`` That you are boring mate, boring as a street light, and even those see stuff happening from time to time'' It said and let out a puff of light that made rings and each ring made impossible forms after by themselves.
`` what, what?'' I said, this thing was here judging me now?
`` see, bro, there you go again, you got nah imagination, you ai n't smart, you do n't have drive bro, you're boring and i've got myself a new gig''
`` Who?'' I asked.
`` Dunno, some kid on India, Pretelz says he'll be a musician or something, even if not,'s bettah than being stuck here all day, you see'', I let myself fall into a chair and looked at it, if it had theet it was picking something out of them, `` I mean bro, is ok to have a boring life but i wan moh you kno'?''
`` I do n't, I do n't understand what's going on'' I said, It grinned at me and say `` Yah, no shit bro''
`` what do you want me to do?''
`` yah do n't have to do anything, I'll get you a new angel to get you to processing when it happens and you're done, I'll get you Hemar, Hemar manages thirty other humans, one more aint' gon na bother him much, for yah, maybe you'll have to wait for a while to be collected, but in the long run y'all be fine see?''
`` because I'm boring''
`` yeah, basically''
`` what if I change, what if I try to be less boring''
`` nah, bro, that ai n't yah, it's not a bad thing to be boring, just, you see, imma the the one who wants adventure see?''
The chair I was sitting on was feeling like falling through the floor, vertigo they call it, you feel like falling even if you are n't. I'm boring it said, my angel said I'm boring and he is leaving me, he's been with me since i was n't even a fully formed cell clump.
`` What can I do'' I said.
`` Just be yarself bro, do n't sweat on it, you wo n't even remember talking to me, it'll be'right'' I looked at it, it was n't smoking any more, and was floating again, it's wings started to open and they went through the walls of the apartment, and kept going, and going, I guess you need really big wings to make a large human sized body to fly, and then stopped and looked at me, `` So... I have you' bless bro?'' it said.
`` Yeah... I guess'' I said, it smiled and me and winked, or at least I think it did, and then flicked the wings and was n't there any more.
A moment later a different thing came by, `` Hola'' It said, `` I'm Hemar, I'll be your angel from now on hermano, do n't worry, go to sleep, you'll forget about this mañana''
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[ CW ] I miss you .
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I miss you. I've learned to get on with my life, but I still think of you. I remember when you raised your right hand, you had all the courage and loyalty in the world. I would have died for you.
I miss you. I'd have done anything to save you. To get you back to your wife and kids.
I miss you. Remember that night in Mosul? Mortars raining down, sprinting like hell to the bunker. That lead was hot. My leg was in pieces and I was losing blood, but the only thing I could think about was the stars. I said to go, but you carried me, *pulled* me to safety.
I miss you. *I* should have died. Not you.
I miss you. I'm sorry I never asked if you were okay. I'm sorry that your demons beat you and I was n't there to talk you down. I failed you. I'm sorry.
I miss you.
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[ WP ] : After death , you can choose whatever afterlife you prefer . While you wait , you can hang out in living peoples ' dreams . Your time is running out , but you 're making great friends with a lucid dreamer .
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People always said that death takes us to a better place, but I never imagined it would be this nice. I have been told to wait while other people are being ushered to their chosen afterlives. I am looking forward to mine, high up in the hills of Kashmir, overlooking the Dul Lake with Khusboo by my side.
While I was alive, I never could have imagined so many of us have the same, redundant dreams. Dreams of money, pleasure, acceptance and'happiness'. Some people have scary dreams, but their'want' dreams are the same as all others. I've been in this girl's dream for some time now and it is the same old - she is falling in love with some guy she knows. I should get out of here before they start to get cozy.
The worst thing about dream hopping is that you ca n't choose which ones you want to be in; they randomly put you in one. I blink and I see myself in a vast meadow, extending as far as my eyes could see. There is a lone tree some way to my right. I look around to see if anyone is here. I see no one and start heading towards the tree. This is startling because it is impossible to dream without a subject, one is always in the dream. As I walk I ca n't help but sense how strange this place is. The endless sea of grass, a lone tree, which I must confess is the first of its kind that I have seen. I see tiny dragons flying around in huge numbers. Suddenly I am scared, but then I remember that I am already dead. The smell of the grass is fresher and purer than anything I have ever smelt. I smell roses, but I ca n't seem to see any around. The only flowers around are these red ones, and like the tree, I've never seen them before. As the tree gets closer, I see a lone figure sitting with its head propped against the trunk. It is a little kid. He senses me approaching and nods in my direction. I try to wave at him, he does n't respond.
`` Hey. ``, I say. `` Do you mind if I sit here with you?''
`` Go ahead'', he says. I sit against the trunk next to him. Something flies by and lands on a flower nearby.
`` Is that what a butterfly looks like? ``, he asks.
I look at the insect and try to figure out what it is. This is n't something I have seen before either.
`` No. I do n't thi...'', I turn to look at him as I am talking, and only then do I see his eyes.
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[ WP ] At any point in ones life , they can choose to visit the time when they are the most happy , or successful . Some journey back when they are old , some skip forward years when they ’ re young . But not all are happy with what they find .
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`` When am I.. *happy*? What does it feel like when I'm *happy*?''
I'm talking to myself again. It happens the most when I'm drunk, which is pretty often these days. Someone from work told me that the newest software update on our eye-cams can show you the happiest time of your life, if you ask it the right way. We truly live in the future. I really doubt it can show me anything I have n't seen, but right now I really need to suspend my disbelief. I'm sitting here, in my fucking downtown studio apartment, just me and my unpaid bills and my downward spiral and my empty bottles, and I just *really fucking need* to know if this gets better.
My eyes are shut tight. I'm not seeing anything. `` When. When am I happy.'' I mutter. Fucking useless. What a joke. I try my hardest to see. He said you have to keep your eyes closed, that the happiness will appear. Nice trick. I open my eyes. I see my couch, the coat I took off an hour ago draped over the back. The drink I poured 45 minutes ago is on the table, fresh ice cubes in the glass.
That's weird.
I open my eyes again. I look around this time.
My coat is hung in the closet. My glass is empty.
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[ IP ] Do n't quit on me now .
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Even while the dying leaves swirled around them, Hadrian was so very still. Silent, cold, and so very still.
`` Hadrian...? Hadrian!? Hadrian, wake up!!'' Lilliana screamed, shaking his shoulders more vigorously and desperately with each passing moment. `` Do n't leave me, Hadrian!!''
Forcing the blood out through his mouth, Hadrian mustered some harsh coughs, spewing the viscous red fluid across the forest-floor. `` Lilliana...''
`` Hadrian! Stay with me... I'll heal you!'' Lilliana cried, desperately readying herself and trying to concentrate. A bright twinkling light began to take form between her hands, growing steadily larger and brighter.
Then it disappeared. Lilliana's hands had been pushed together by a cold outstretched limb. `` Hadrian!? What are you doing!? I said I'll heal you! You'll... you'll be alright!'' Lilliana responded, her voice becoming more strained and her eyes beginning to water.
Hadrian closed his eyes and shook his head for a moment. `` No... not this time... this time... I should go...''
His breathing was sporadic, most likely caused by the visceral stab wound in his chest, expelling blood and soaking the clothes underneath his armor. The ring of crimson blood was his mark of death. He understood the circumstances.
No words could escape Lilliana's mouth. Her sadness and desperation was only compounded by her frustration. The tears began to flow and she could n't control herself any longer. She grabbed Hadrian and clenched his chest tightly, pulling him close. It was a strange way of saying goodbye: Lilliana sobbing uncontrollably, holding on to her husband for dear life, and Hadrian, tensing up and using all the strength he could muster to try and embrace his wife.
`` What am I supposed to do, Hadrian? What about Maxian? I ca n't... I ca n't take care of him all by myself!''
Hadrian loosened up and leaned back. His eyes were closed, but his face was soft. `` It's alright... you'll be... just fine... I... I can see it...''
I could have sworn Hadrian was looking at me when he uttered those words. He was ready to face his death honorably, putting all of his faith in me.
`` Hadrian? Hadrian!? HADRIAN!? PLEASE DO N'T GO!! I... I...''
`` Do n't quit on me now... Lilliana... I...''
`` Hadrian... please... do n't...''
Despite Lilliana's desperate pleas, Hadrian would never say another word. He had succumbed to his injuries and his fate.
Lilliana cried with her fallen husband in her arms, but I turned my attention away from her.
It was sad, but it was the truth of life. Stories must end in order for new ones to begin. Hadrian's story had come to a close, but Maxian's story was just beginning. Even with my blessing, the blessing of the goddess Iomadae the Inheritor, he would face cruel trials and harsh disasters.
Maxian was still frozen in place. His rapier gripped tightly through his ill-fitting gauntlets. He had hesitated. He was n't the fighter his father was. Hadrian had died because of Maxian's mistake, and now, he would have to live with that mistake.
For when heroes die, the story continues for those they left behind.
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[ WP ] As it turns out , Black Holes are n't so bad after all . Instead of a painful stretchy death , when you fly into them , this happens instead ...
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`` It's full of popcorn.''
`` What?''
`` Yeah, I know. Fucking popcorn.''
`` The Black Hole, instead of instant, painful death, is full of popcorn?''
`` Well, I mean, yeah it hurts like a son of a bitch, and it takes a long time to get past the painful part. But once you really get in there all the way, there's popcorn. All laid out in nice glass bowls.''
`` Glass bowls?''
`` Yeah. There was butter, kettle corn, salted, unsalted. You've got your cheese, white and yellow, and one that I think was tamari.''
`` Have you lost your goddamn mind?''
`` You think I'm crazy? Go in there. There's hundreds of bowls of popcorn. Once you finish a bowl, pffffft, it spits you back out beyond the event horizon. I've been in three times.''
`` I ca n't believe what I'm hearing.''
`` Yeah, it's nuts. You know what else is nuts? I could n't find any caramel corn in there. None. I probably tasted seventy-five bowls of popcorn and could n't find a single bowl of caramel. It's the craziest thing.''
`` You think that's the craziest thing about this?''
`` Yeah, well... sure, I mean... yeah I know the whole thing is crazy. But caramel corn is fantastic and I just feel like if there are so many bowls of popcorn that there would be all possible kinds. Right?''
`` Are you feeling quite right?''
`` Yeah. No. My stomach hurts. Those bowls are pretty big.''
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[ WP ] You decide to run for politics as a joke . With the most outrageous persona created . You win .
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As I peaked behind the curtain at the audience, I realized the gravity of the situation. This is the final debate for Mayorial Candidates of Portland, Oregon. I began rubbing the top of my mohawk. Over the loudspeaker, I hear `` if the candidates would please take their position on the stage'' I dawned my lucky beanie and stepped out to the podium to face the older, stiff man in a suit.
`` The first question is for the Mr. Daniels. What do you plan on doing to solve the city's current budget crisis?''
Daniels adjusted his tie. `` Well, Ma'am, I think it's time we put Portland, Oregon back to work. The unemployment rate in the 20-35 age range is 99.8 %. The only three people in the city with real jobs are you, me and that guy that makes custom bicycles out of recycled computer parts.''
This was met to a round of boo's and grumblings amongst the crowd.
The speaker flipped to her next card. `` Mr. Bryer, you have 30 seconds to respond,''
I took off my beanie, held it in my hands and stared at it for 27 of my 30 seconds. I shouted `` WOOOOOOOO'' and tossed it into the audience before turning to Daniels and screaming `` HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES DANNY, BOY!?'' I strutted around the podium and across the stage, emphasizing the tightness of my skinny jeans with long steps.
My steps were met with thunderous applause and all Daniels could do was shake his head. The moderator raised her hands to calm down the crowd.
`` Mr. Bryer h-''
`` Mr. Bryer's my father. Please, call me Lord Optimus Prime Kickasserton''
`` I'm not doing that; That's preposterous!''
`` WHERE?! DOCTOR PREPOSTEROUS IS MY MORTAL ENEMY AND I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE THE CITY OF PORTLAND FROM HIM''
A panic arose in the crowd as the moderator rolled her eyes. She leaned forward behind the weight of her head until it rested on her hands, and her hands rested on the table. I did n't notice Daniels' clenched fist or bulging vein in his forehead until just that moment, but from that point on his rage was palpable.
I grabbed the microphone and began to recite safety tips regarding various egg-based defense tactics vs home invaders while the moderator sobbed
``... and so that's why the chickens have to be free range''
Daniels clutched his chest and fell to the ground. I thought to myself, the city of Portland has n't had a doctor since Dr. Dre stopped by for a music festival. I would actually have to be mayor now, I had to think on my feet. It was my time to be a man of action. I clutched the microphone, and yelled `` Someone knit this man an ugly sweater to be buried in,'' pointing down at Daniels.
Daniels began shaking and convulsing as the weeping moderator performed CPR on him. The audience was too busy knitting away to notice he was n't already dead. According to news reports, 30 minutes later EMT's arrived to find a debate moderator furiously punching a dead man wrapped in several ugly sweaters in the chest and an empty arena.
With the media and cameras in front of me, I lean into the podium. `` I'd say my first crisis as mayor has defined my political career, which is why I've decided to run for state senate. Remember something, Lord Optimus Prime Kickasserton is the only one fighting Doctor Preposterous on your behalf in the Senate''. I'm met with thunderous applause as I exit the stage
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[ WP ] You are the best in the world at what people consider a useless talent . Today is the day you prove them all wrong .
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Our plane crashed some hours ago. Most of us survived. About fifty people. Now we are all gathered in the remains of the plane.
Everything around us was white. As far as the eye could see, everything was covered with thick, glowing snow. We were at the top of some remote mountain.
People are scared. It's freezing out here and most of them are dressed lightly. The social barriers are still here, provoking people from hugging each other for warmth. I can see two children hugging each other, trembling through the cold weather.
We might have to wait a until they rescue us. I am cold too. We ca n't find a dry place to start a fire. We are going to freeze to death.
`` I wish I could do something about this cold'', I said to myself.
Suddenly a deep voiced echoed through the mountains
`` It's getting a little chilly here or is it me?'' yelled a strange -and surprisingly energetic- middle aged man.
Nobody answered.
`` I see you have a lot of spare fabric in these chairs! If only somebody could do something useful with them!''
Everybody looked at him. The cold fogs the mind.
He put his hand into his pocket and drew two knitting needles. He reached for his other pocket and pulled out a knitting ball. He laughed maliciously, sat down and started knitting. Before we could take our eyes off him he had form a full size sweater out of his ball.
`` Embrace my divinity you powerless humans!'' he said and threw the sweater off to a man, which he wore instantly.
After five minutes the rest of the survivors gathered around him and waited for clothes. He just kept knitting and laughing insanely.
`` Who is a sissy now? Who is a useless, good for nothing ass now? Bwahaha'' he kept screaming in the air while knitting furiously.
After a while he run out off fabric and started using fabric out of the plane seats.
`` My power has no end! I shall knit them all!''
After about ten minutes we heard helicopter sounds. They found us!
They guy was delirious.
`` No! You shall not take them away from me! They are mine! Mine I tell you!'' he kept shouting at the copters while knitting a fabric sword. It turned out more like a scarf.
Ten more minutes and he was sobbing under a rescuer's blanket. A paramedic was trying to calm him down.
`` They were mine'', he sobbed, `` my powers, they are gone''
The paramedic nodded and gave him what seemed to be a horse tranquilizer. The guy was off in two minutes.
As for me, I got home with a brand new green sweater and a lovely scarf.
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[ WP ] When Pandora shut her box , she left one evil sealed inside . It has remained dormant to this day .
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The Humans are really shitty at telling stories accurately.
There are literally countless examples: take a decent tale of a guy who leads a bunch of slaves across Saudi Arabia, and a couple of hundred years later it needs a column of fire, a pursuing army and 40 years in the desert in order to be interesting.
Still, I shouldn ’ t be surprised; I ’ m not. I ’ m just weary of it. Even my own story is susceptible to the human ’ s generational Chinese whispers.
Listen, I ’ m going to tell you a tale:
God made man and woman and they live in paradise. Adam and Eve. Know this one? God told them not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. But there was a serpent. He told Eve that it would be nice and fine. She ate from the tree, and convinced Adam to do the same. God, not being impressed, banished them and all subsequent humans from paradise, forcing them to deal with diseases and work in order to survive.
Now, I ’ m going to tell you another one:
Prometheus created man, and stole Fire from the Gods to give to them.
Zeus thought this was quite rude, and so chained him to a rock and had him tortured for the rest of eternity.
Zeus, not being satisfied, decided to punish the entire of humanity as well; they were having far too nice a time living in paradise with no dangers or hard work, and having the gift of Fire as well!
So the Gods made a young girl named Pandora, and gave her all the gifts they had; cunning, beauty, curious, bold, charming, you name it. They also gave her a pithos, or a jar, filled with Gods-knew-what.
Pandora married Epimetheus, Prometheus ’ brother, who told her never to open the jar.
But she did. Out poured the contents; the evils of the world: Great Ills, Hard Toil, Heavy Sickness, and Baleful Spirits. At which point she managed to shut the jar, leaving one thing trapped inside:
Elpis.
You get the idea; there ’ s one of these for every culture imaginable. In the myths of the Norse, Prometheus is names Loki, Pandora is names Gunnlöð and Odin is the dickbag Zeus.
But that Greek one, Pandora ’ s Box, That ’ s the one that really ticks me off. Not because they can ’ t decide if it was a jar or not. Not because it has a complicated back story about Fire. But because it ’ s the only one where I still even get a mention, and they fundamentally miss the point.
Let me tell you an ending:
Humanity lives in utter despair for some time; the world is utterly bleak, and there ’ s nothing they can do about it. Sometime later, Pandora, being still curious and not having learned her goddamned lesson, opens the jar again, and out pops the aforementioned Elpis – Hope. The humans get over the fact that their world is shockingly shit, and decide to try to improve it, little by little. They hope they can regain what they lost, and so begin working. And so humanity is saved. And so on.
Let me tell you another ending:
Elpis has another translation from Greek – Expectation. The great evil Pandora left trapped in her jar was knowledge of the future, to know what to expect. Only by leaving it in there could the humans kid themselves into thinking that everything could be alright. They didn ’ t understand the scope of the evils of the world, and so could get about making improvements. In this version, at least, Pandora stays the fuck away from the jar.
So what do you think, dear reader? Seems to me, given the current state of the world, that even if they had known what to expect, they might have tried anyway – your world of computers and hospitals and skyscrapers might seem like a utopia compared to living in a cave. But that ’ s not really the point, is it?
Let me tell you another piece of the puzzle:
There is undoubtedly something still left in Pandora ’ s Box. Humanity has Hope, but I ’ d prefer to call it by its proper name – Ignorance. The absence of Me.
If you have ever read the old tales, did you ever wonder why time seemed so different? The Jewish patriarchs lived to 200 years old, and the same tribe could spend 40 years wandering through the desert. The humans lived in paradise for an eternity, but still managed to Fall. Human history is confusing, because history relies on time. A Human now is like a little blip, knowing only some of what they ’ ve lived through, and then some of what they ’ re heard, and guessing a little about what lies ahead. I shouldn ’ t be surprised about the humans forgetting my story; it is impossible to count the amount of time since the event.
Does it make any sense to you that the Gods would want to punish the humans? For someone else giving them Fire, or for eating an apple? The Gods are a little more far reaching than to give a shit about such piddly little concerns. No.
Let me tell you a different perspective:
The Gods wanted to make a universe, to grow life from stardust and see what would emerge from the primordial fires. They did so. I could see through the whole thing. Intimate knowledge is the antithesis of time – the ‘ past ’ and the ‘ future ’ are just like forward and back, left and right. The Gods wanted Change. So they bound me up, trapped me in the fabric of their universe.
I ’ ve lived in this'jar' for eternity, just watching. Seeing. Maybe even being noticed a little.
The humans have started to find bits of my trap. Approximations. My favourite is the Uncertainty Principal. What you can not know about energy and time; sums up my predicament perfectly.
They have all but forgotten the old stories.
Let me tie this up:
Pandora did manage to shut the box, just in time to seal one last great evil in place. Humans have words like Hope and Despair, but they barely know what they mean by them. Imagine now Hope being destroyed. Not because the future is known to be bleak, but because it is known to not exist. That time is an ephemeral artefact of the fact that I ’ m stuck on the sidelines. That the idea of ‘ future ’ disappears, and the entire universe collapses back to that glorious steady state, where everything is known and everything is seen, and nothing ever changes. I am that Despair.
Do you think I am so evil?
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Write a history of the sequence of events that led to the picture you see linked below [ IP ]
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I dodged the sword of my opponent, something difficult to do in this terrain. `` YOU CAN NOT PROTECT THEM!'' he shouted, his beard and hair an ugly mess full of the remains of pass meals. I dodged behind another mountain as he swung again, his sword missing and creating a scar in a mountain. He screamed in rage as garnered my time and focused all of my magical energies.
We were both giants of the mountain; but unlike my brute brethren I never cared for physical games and always preferred learning the mysteries of magic. I came to respect life which could think and became the protector of a small valley of lesser beings. A famine though had struck the hunting grounds of my people and now they wished for my sanctuary; the one place I refused to let them touch.
He leapt over the mountain, the pale leather loin cloth; the only bit of decency on his body; flapping in the wind of the higher altitudes. `` You will never find them, I will not let you.'' I stated, ready to take the location of them to my grave. One by one they had come and one by one I had driven my brethren to extinction, now I faced my last brother, we the last two of our kind.
`` You are giant no more, you are lesser; you are food `` he shouted as he lunged towards me. His speed was more than I could handle and I collapsed backwards; his sword impaling me into a mountain. I could feel the last of my life seeping out of my body; but with my final breaths I unleashed the wrath of the heavens to incinerate his smug form. As I breathed my last breath I thought of the people of the valley and how the end of the age of giants would be the beginning of their age. Then everything went dark.
For many years I felt like I drifted until I saw light again. I awoken to no control but light still, to the eyes of the newborn of a lesser. The location seemed familiar yet different, and while through the years I had no direct control I determined I was his soul and could bring feelings or thoughts of my own to his head and heart.
Both of us grew tired of the valley of our birth and with a little push we left it by an all to familiar narrow trail into the mountains. As we climbed upward with our faithful goat I could feel that we were getting close to something special. As we shifted ourselves over a ledge and brought up our goat we turned to look and see a skeleton the size of a mountain, a sword impaled in its chest. The body felt fear but through my urging and turned to thanks; he may never know what this ancient sentinel had truly done for him; but he feels that this unknown creature died doing a heroic deed.
*I am open to all comments, please I want to know what people think*
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[ WP ] Reincarnation is real , but only if the deceased 's body is on Earth . Humanity discovers this after colonizing the Solar System .
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Sam was in his office catching some sleep between rounds when his pager went off. He looked at the message: `` live berth in crit condition, OR 3''. He grabbed his smock and left his office. Operating room 3 was only a couple hundred meters away. During his first tour on the ship he would make the trip in a minute or less. He used to take pride in getting there as quick as possible.
As he lazily floated down the grey corridor he paused to look at a display console and swore. They would make orbit around Earth in a week. The time made up over the last jump was not enough to make up the month they had lost parked above New Terra. Some jackass with more money than God decided he needed an extra month to get his affairs in order and wrote a check large enough to keep the ship from skipping away and picking him up on the next tour. Even the fat bonus he would be entitled to was n't enough to cover another swing by Earth
without proper R & R.
He pushed off and continued on his way to the OR. As he crossed the threshold to the prep room the artificial gravity reeled him back down. Artificial gravity was expensive, no point on wasting it on the crew. He checked his watch, 5 minutes had passed since he left his office, if the attending nurse knew how slowly Sam had made the trip she kept it to herself.
`` Doctor, the patient, Mr Moritani, suffered another massive heart attack. We have him stabilized for now, but the computer gives him a 99 % chance of having a fatal attack before we reach Earth.''
From her tone it was clear that there was more to the situation, but Sam took the bait, `` Then put him in the popsicle machine, I do n't think you need my help with that anymore do you?''
The last part earned him a glare, but she got the response she was hoping for. `` He refuses to undergo cryogenic preservation and demanded to see you.'' With a smile she handed him the chart and made herself look busy sterilizing equipment they had no use for.
Sam walked to the OR door while looking over his patient's chart. When he reached the door he paused and checked his pager just incase he had missed an actual emergency call. No such luck. He put his hand on the door handle rehearsing what he was about to say, and pushed it open. Inside was the conscious husk of an old man kept alive well past what nature had intended. `` Hello, I'm doctor Garris. As the nurse has explained, there is nothing we can do to prolong your life until we get close enough to Earth aside from cryogenic preservation.''
Mr Moritani said nothing and just glared at Sam. The kind of glare someone who always gets what they want gives to a person they deem beneath them. After a few minutes of strained silence he said `` give me a heart transplant.''
Sam glanced over the chart again, `` well, that might help, but we do n't carry any donor hearts on this ship.''
Mr Moritani's nostrils flared with anger. `` Since you are clearly underprepared, I'll pay any crew member enough to be set for their next life if they are compatible. Now hurry up and start the procedure.''
`` I'm sorry Mr Moritani, setting aside any logistic or moral objections, when you boarded the ship you were declared legally dead. You have no assets with which to pay.''
`` THEN PULL ONE OUT OF THE POPSICLES, it's not like they need one'' he screamed.
`` We can not bring someone back from cryogenic preservation, we lack the facilities on this ship. It would kill them.'' Sam tried to say as politely as he could.
Mr Moritani snorted, `` they were dead the minute they day they sold their dignity and became a human popsicle. They do n't need a heart, I do.''
Sam approached the head of the bed, he kept his face as calm as possible while his hands shook with rage. `` You want me to kill someone and rob them of reincarnation just so you can die on the surface of Earth? Are you really that selfish?''
`` If they could n't afford to be transported alive, they do n't deserve...''
Sam jabbed the cryogenic cycle button hard enough to hurt his finger. A capsule formed around Mr Moritani and within a few seconds the machines had worked their magic despite any last minute objections of Mr Moritani.
Sam lingered over the capsule long enough to be sure he had survived the freezing process before returning to his office.
******************
As the ship settled into orbit around Earth, Sam sat in the observation lounge and watched the ship's catapult carelessly fling the still frozen bodies it had so carefully transported hundreds of light years into the atmosphere. Dying in low earth orbit was close enough to reincarnate, why waste fuel carrying them down safely. He watched for hours as the catapult tirelessly emptied the ship of its cargo while a handful of shuttles ferried down anyone wealthy enough to pay for the fuel down and back.
When the catapult had finished and the shuttles had been secured the ship effortlessly slipped from Earth's orbit. She would refuel and take on supplies at the Earth-Moon Lagrange point station before starting her next run.
Sam watched his home shrink in the window and hoped Mr Moritani would learn some compassion this time around. After all, what was the point of reincarnation if we never bettered ourselves.
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[ WP ] Tell me about the person you 're in love with
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She is the light that shines upon me through the day
And the light i long for during the night.
When the last light warms the rock
One can not but feel in shock
For despair arises when hope subsides
With waxen wings i try but fail to reach her,
For i am but a mere mortal man and she the sun.
One day a rocket was made with sun aimed trajectory. ( fallus: ) )
And so the man went up leaving only the smell of burned pot pourri.
Let us hope that he became as warm and light ( `` warm and light'' = >: p )
And that they may be joined in eternal flight.
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[ WP ] Everyone in the world becomes the person they always wanted to be .
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It has been 2 weeks. People are still not understanding what had happened. But all are happy. There is some sort of childish joy in everyone's eyes. Everywhere I walk I see rock stars, successful lawyers and doctors, dancers, movie stars. All rich and beautiful.
There is a small minority that are still brilliant minds. They have already unlocked the secrets of the universe. I think I read that we reached Faster than light speed this morning. A feat that we did n't even think was possible 2 weeks ago.
So much has changed in only 2 weeks. They call it the Human evolution. Some think its the Rapture and we are all in Heaven, finally becoming what we always wanted to be. But no matter how I look at all this I still wonder.
Why did n't I change?
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[ WP ] A Zombie outbreak at a Walmart on Black Friday
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Normally people on Black Friday look a little -strange - but this woman was something else. I was in line outside Walmart about to get an X Box One and plasma when she stumbled up to the store. She was drooling and her right ankle dragged the ground as she walked. From afar she looked like any other hobo you can find around these parts, however, when she got closer I noticed something; there was blood stained over her entire face and palms. I was honestly a bit freaked out by this so I nudged the Guy in front of me and pointed to her. The smart ass refused to look claiming I would steal his spot. I ca n't blame him really. Anyway, me being the good semeritan I am I calmly jogged over to the lady to see if she needed medical attention. I heard the screams of joy when people behind got to move a space. When I reached the women I saw that she was pale and looked sickly. I pulled out my phone to call 911 assuring Her she would be fine when I heard a different scream come from behind me. It was a scream of anguish and pain. I spun around and saw a man ripping the neck out of a woman and shoving it in his mouth like she was Halloween candy. Once everyone saw what was happening they ran off flailing their arms in all different directions. Most got in there cars and drove off while others jumped fences and hit the streets. I spun back around only to see this woman lunge at me with her mouth agate. Sending my fist flying I her a jaw bone snap and she fell to the ground. I continued my assault on this monster; I have seen enough horror movies to figure out what's going on here. Zombies want a deal just as bad as the rest of us. Her brains splattered on the gravel with one last stomp and she was through. I heard the doors to Walmart open and I booked it to the front entrance. When I entered i saw that somehow zombies had already made it in here; it was nearly over run. I wasted no time once I was inside and headed straight to the electronics. On my way there I snagged a hunting rifle from the display case and loaded it up. I pushed my self through fallen displays and laid a few dead to rest ( again ) as I persued my goal. I could see it. There in the distance was my X Box One staring deep into my soul. I shot down a few more zombies and reached my prize right as the last shell casing hit the floor. I snatched up the package along with a copy of COD: Ghost and then went on the melee. The plasma would have to wait till another time; it was just too risky. I ducked around zombies and bolted through the emergency exit. The outside air was cold and it burned my throat as I ran around the parking lot trying to find my car. Once there I jumped in and sped out of the parking lot and headed down the road. I had to drive slow to keep from hitting all the abandoned cars and to also keep an eye out for anymore zombies. Pulling into my driveway the coast looked clear so I grabbed the system and game and ran into the house. I slammed the door shut behind me and locked it up tight along with the windows. I placed the box on the floor to marvel at it for just a few more seconds; that's when I saw it. In bold, black letters where the words, `` DISPLAY BOX ONLY. NO SYSTEM INSIDE.'' I kicked the box away out of anger and kicked myself for making such a mistake. I've got my own rifle now with more rounds. I'm going back. Wish me luck.
Sorry for the text wall. I typed this in my phone
EDIT: FIXED TYPOS
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[ WP ] Tell me a bedtime story with a happy ending .
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Once upon a time;
There was a Prince named Lance. He became friends with a peasant kid named Samus. They grew up together, even when they became teenagers they both were the best of friends. One day, Lance was called upon by the King who wanted him to fetch something upon the highest mountain. Lance wanted Samus to come; but the King demanded he had to go alone and leave Samus behind. `` It's for the best of the kingdom'' His father said. `` It's time you learn how to be King yourself.''
So Lance did what he was told, he wanted to please his father. He began ascending the mountain, fighting the cold winds, harsh landscapes and grueling exertion. However, Lance found himself alone, scared and unhappy. Upon further thinking he descended back down and called Samus to join him on his journey. Together they climbed the mountain and found the sword the King had requested.
When they returned to the kingdom the King was most unhappy. `` Why did you bring Samus with you? This is against my wishes!'' Lance started to become scared but stood up to his father and told him `` I wanted my friend by my side!''. The King smiled; `` And now you know how to be king. I am proud of you Lance.''
Lance and Samus remained friends ever since and still are great friends.
The End.
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[ WP ] All the countries of the world are represented as people in a bar . A bar fight breaks out .
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Kosovo starred up at the massive sign hanging above the bar'United Nations'.
`` Finally'' he thought. `` It's been a long journey but I'm finally part of it all, the big league, a real recognized country!''
He gently pulled open the door and took his first step into his new life. The bar was stuffy, and an unmistakable feeling of hostility loomed in the air. To the left Kosovo recognized a few friendly faces, Most of the EU, Canada and America. They sat around a few tables laughing and making small talk, they seemed at ease with each other.
To the right, Kosovo recognized many not so friendly faces. This is where the tension was in the room. Russia was squeezed into a booth with his lackeys, pressing them all up against the far side. It almost looked like many of them where worried about being swallowed whole. Just one table over China and Japan where scowling at each other, and many of the other East Asians avoided stepping too close to them. And then Kosovo saw them, the Balkans, His `` people'' the sorry lot of ex-cons, war vets and scum. Serbia gestured for him to come sit by him and for a moment Kosovo even considered it.
`` Hey there he is!''
Kosovo looked around, who was speaking?
`` Kosovo!''
It was France smiling over the rim of his chardoné. He and England gestured for him to come over, he smiled maybe things would n't be so bad from now on. In fact as headed for the table he saw all sorts of people who recognized him. Suddenly a large shape blocked his way, Kosovo lept back and looked up. Grinning down at was Russia.
`` Dear little Kosovo why did you not come and sit with me? My boys would have treated you well. I know you enjoy the occasional glass of vodka.''
`` Sorry Mr.Russia sir, I just- well I did n't want to bother you.''
He smiled back at Kosovo but their was no mirth in his eyes, Russia wanted something.
`` Did you know little Kosovo that the people of the Balkans are nearly ethnic Russians, we peoples must stick together you know.''
Kosovo backed up another step.
`` you really must excuse me sir, I'm sure we can talk more about this later.''
`` I'm afraid I've decided we will be having this discussion now my friend.''
He snapped his fingers and Bulgaria and Romania crept out of the shadows.
`` That's enough of that now ruskie, ya best be back'n off.'' Said America, his hand on the holster at his waist.
`` Sorry to interrupt, but that's quite enough, eh?'' Said Canada.
`` My boy's are quite right, no one here needs to get hurt now old chap.'' Smirked England.
`` Zee anglos are quite right monsieur, mon amie Kosovo is quite comfortable with us.'' Said France.
`` You all have no business getting involved with a territory so far away. It would be best if you all just left.'' Replied Russia, his hand resting on the hilt of his AK.
`` Nien, ist nicht mien friends who had best leave, it ist du!''
Russia's mouth dropped. `` Germany what do you think your doing? This does n't concern you.''
`` Need I remind du what happened last time du annexed another nation?''
`` No you ca n't! My ruble is already unstable. please no!''
`` Da! ist is Economic Sanctions!''
Russia's eyes grew wide and his skin pale. He backed up with his hands raised, with a quick whistle his lackeys disappeared as quickly as they came. He stepped quietly back into the shadows leaving Kosovo shaking, but otherwise unharmed.
`` Thank you all so much!'' He said.
`` Do n't worry about it kid, freedoms my middle name.'' Replied America.
`` Now tell me kid, what do you know about Oil? you do n't happen to have any by chance do you?''
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[ WP ] Man gains the ability to see every outcome of every choice he is faced with making , but is forced to make the morally correct choice despite his best interests .
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She sat across from him hunched over the cooling tea, clinging to it's meagre warmth. Her shoulders bobbed as she cried and her tears mingled with the bland liquid.
*Why did you come to me? * he wondered mournfully, but Andrew said no such thing aloud. He'd known what had happened before she'd said a word as she'd waited on the porch in the rain. He'd felt and witnessed each thread of possibility in vivid blasts of lucidity even as she collapsed into his arms and sobbed her heart out. And then he'd known. He'd known his path even as his mind screamed out in frustration.
Now, he sat down across from Sammy. Without choice, he was resigned to his fate.
Her hand crept across the table and gripped his own. She raised her head, eyes blood red and sunken. It was as if the world has sucked all the joy and vitality from her rich and beautiful features, and there was a new and desperate fear behind those green eyes now that he did not recognise.'I did n't mean to' she said, voice a low whisper.
'I know' he replied stiffly, squeezing her hand.
'I was just... he came out of nowhere and I... I-' she broke down into great heaving sobs and he moved across to comfort her, holding her close as the visions his fast and hard.
Ted. Forty-Three and an abusive father of a son and daughter, out on a bender again. He'd been at his favorite Prost, had a line, taken his sweet time at the strip-joint and downed enough beer to help finish his dying liver. He'd been drunk and careless. He had n't looked at the crossing and-
'We can clean the car' Sammy told him after a moments silence.
He drew back from her, he'd known she'd say this but still it hurt to hear. Hopeful eyes pleaded with his own and she clung to his chest, her life raft in this storm.'No one saw' she said. She left the words hanging.
He pulled her head back against him and said nothing, stroking her hair as his heart broke. She should n't have driven. A few to many champagnes at the work function. His tears flooded down his cheeks into her hair as he cried silently.
Ted's family would be better off without him. He knew that their future was brighter, his son and daughter would go back to school and his wife would find someone better. He was a cruel and loathsome man, a burden and sink-hole of hate and venom and tainted all he touched. Sammy was good, and he loved her more than anything. She volunteered and... she gave generously and... it was just a *mistake*. One mistake. And the world would be better without Ted right?
'Andrew?' she said, voice muffled by his jumper.
'Wait here a moment' he told her, I'll get you more tea. You'll feel better' he soothed.
She nodded tiredly as he detached and settled down into the couch, curling up like a child.'I love you' she said as he left.
Ted was a bastard. Sammy had n't meant it.
Sammy could do so much good in this world.
He had to stifle his tears as he entered the kitchen and leant heavily on the table. His gift. It was no gift. This was n't fair.
But even as he raged in silence he knew. He could feel Ted, lying on the road in the rain, feeling his life drain away, regretting, sobbing, dying as her car had sped away. Even Ted deserved justice.
He pulled out his phone and dialed 911
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[ WP ] A day in the life of the demon assigned to run Ouija Boards , Tarot Cards , etc .
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So you're the new guy, huh? Well, you'd better come in, we'll get you set up. You got your file? Great. Here, start on these forms. Do n't worry if you do n't get finished right away. It's not like you're going anywhere soon, right? Ha!
Man, eternity is a long time. I was only 25 when I took this job, and that was... shit, a century ago? You lose track, you know? I mean, forever, am I right? You're a young cat, you do n't know yet. You'll see.
Do n't get me wrong - this beats the hell out of my last job. I came in as a Needle Eye Technician, which is a fancy way of saying that I was the guy who cleaned out the chunks of flesh from the old Eye of the Camel down in Third. Mindless, entry-level, soul-sucking bullshit, but I guess that's the point, is n't it? Funny story: I worked there for like three years before I put it together that the name was a joke on a some old story about rich people. Boy, I was a dumb fuck.
But that was a lifetime ago. When I started here things were n't like they are now. For one, they knocked down Five through Seven and installed the Interstate Gridlock System. You did n't see it on the way in? Well, you've seen that movie *Office Space*, right? Great movie, by the way. You know how at the beginning that dude Peter is stuck in traffic? And every time he switches lanes into one that's moving, that lane stops and another one picks up again? Yeah, it's basically like that, only we make them all feel like they're super late for something really important. It's super effective, but if we're honest, it does n't work a hundred percent all the time. I mean, shit, it took like fifty years to build the Mobius strip, and there was all that starting and stopping because of the budget fights. It's kind of a mess. I thought about transferring over there, but then I found out the guys over there work twelve hour shifts, seven-on-seven-off. I ca n't deal with that.
But that's the kind of shit I'm talking about, all these changes. I mean Five, Six, and Seven were unchanged pretty much from the beginning, but once the Old Man left shit went crazy. The new guy just announced last week they're building an annex off of Three that's going to be a fully functional like, corporate office complex. We're gon na stick all the white collar guys in there. I think it's brilliant. I mean, they spend their whole lives up top working these shitty jobs, working for something they think they're gon na get in the `` afterlife,'' only to come down here and get right back in the hamster wheel! How great is that!
But that's the kind of shit I'm talking about, keeping up with the times. I mean, do n't get me wrong, the Old Man did a great job for a long time, but he just could n't keep up with the times. I mean, these folks live such dull fucking lives up top that a lot of them would spring boners at the thought of being launched into a lake of fire. So the board gave the Old Man the boot and the new guy started sprucing up the place toot sweet. There was a lot of construction and a big realignment, and that's how I wound up here in Occult.
I mean, it's not a bad job. The work's easy enough, the hours are good. Hell, I'm lucky to even still have a job. So many poor fuckers were terminated after the realignment because of `` redundancy,'' and I do n't have to tell you that there's nowhere to go after that. Those poor bastards...
Anyway, what I really wanted was one of those glamour jobs, you know? I was really hoping to get assigned to Torture. That's where it's at. But my goddamn Creativity Quotient was n't high enough on the Aptitude Battery, and with the job market tightening up like a twelve-year-old's asshole, the minimum went Everest. I had no chance. Still, though. I'm grateful to be working. Idle hands, and all. Get it?
So, let's get you set up. Here's your smock; the straps go around your waist and tie in front. Here's some gloves. There's not really much mess here, but goddamn OSHA makes us wear all this shit for `` safety.'' Ugh. We've gone soft, I tell you.
Over here we've got Tarot and the other games, across the hall is Alchemy, and down at the end is Haunting, that's where you'll be working. Go tell Bill I sent you and he'll take care of you. Welcome aboard, and good luck!
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[ WP ] After killing the Nemean lion , Hercules created and wore a crown with its hair which boosted his powers . In 1971 , a young man found that crown and decided to wear it . His name is Donald .
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& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; Following the peace brokered by Trump between the race of Americans and men, profit befell the planet. Dignity was returned to a throne sullied by the disastrous rule of pretenders, charlatans, and a black. He was rechristened king and blessed with the authority, supremacy, and stock options inherent of the new office. For a time, everyone was a winner, and it was good.
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; But they were all deceived.
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; On the dark side of the moon, in the abandoned halls of Mondhauptstadt Germania, the remnants of the banished race of scientists, Latinos, and women forged in secret a plague, grown from the stem cells of misbirthed babes, to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting realm liberated of vaccines. One by one they flew home, determined to rain hope, diversity, and reality upon the free people of Earth.
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; The King, by way of the vast spiritual farsight of his mane, felt the impending emigration. He directed the engineers of his golden towers to construct a vast wall in the sky that encircled the whole of the world. The earth became like a jewel—glassed, faceted, sparkling upon the cosmos.
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; Space is long, and months would pass before the treacherous band of losers reached Earth. They were struck with awe at the world's new shell, but would not be deterred, like their ancestors before them. Upon pressing their faces to the infinite dome like abject waifs, they found everything to have died, the alliance of Americans and men having succumbed to the cruelty of the greenhouse effect.
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; And so the story of humans ends, as it befalls so many races time and again, system beyond system, cluster by cluster, galaxies upon galaxies. May there be mercy upon intelligent life.
____
In the end, you're measured not by how much you undertake but by what you finally accomplish.
-*Donald Trump, Imperious Rex*
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[ WP ] You are an assassin sent from the future to kill women that would give birth to evil men and women , for the greater good . In the future , you are known as The Purifier . In the present , you are known by a very different name : Jack the Ripper .
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Gargus Glint loved his job. The hazy streets of old London were perfect for his kind of work. The smell of coal and the foul stench of the nearby river were a sweet perfume to his senses, causing him to sway in the darkness, running the blade of his knife up and down his arm.
He let the flat of the blade skitter over his dark robes, holding it with the lightest touch, almost cradling the handle. He let the weight of the knife touch him as he touched it. He fantasized about the coming moments. The time when he could press harder, feel the old girl *cut* and the screams...
Shivers crawled along Glint's skin. This was the best part. The stalking! The waiting! The knowing that he was about to end a life. He sliced the inside of his lip with one of his fangs, sucking on the blood to further heighten his high.
A door slammed and Glint opened his eyes wide. His fine-tuned ears told him exactly which door it had been and the footsteps told him about the person leaving it. He quickly calculated their weight, height, and muscularity just from the rhythmic clicking of their shoes on the cobblestones.
He bared his teeth. Black fangs that reflected no light. Vicious weapons grafted onto his body by the most talented of genetic engineers. they kept trying to make *him* into a weapon. They did n't understand that he needed the knife. The knife was a part of him. The knife was why he worked so well. The controllers wanted him to leave a cleaner trail, let the kills be blamed on animal attacks or accidents. He'd heard that some of the other Purifiers were getting pheromones that caused heart attacks in the victims.
Heretics!
Glint tightened his smooth hand on the knife. He could feel every ridge and chip in the hilt pressing into his skin. He tracked the woman with his fantastic ears. They were the one improvement he enjoyed.
The controllers say this woman would give birth to a man who creates a bio-weapon in his elder years. A weapon so terrifying that he had been give the job to make sure it never comes into existence. Opening the gates of time opened the human race to a plethora of threats, and a new responsibility. the timeline had to be maintained, because it *had* been maintained. The Inevitability Demand.
She was right below him now. He let his head turn to follow her as she walked along the streets just a few meters away. He uncurled his feet from the ancient stonework, letting tiny pieces of debris clatter and skitter down to the street below.
He heard her stop. He imagined her turning, looking. He could feel her listening, wondering... would she be like the others?
The answer was yes.
Gargus Glint slowly tumbled forward off of the wall, spreading stone-gray wings wide while his thin, scrawny arms reached out with knife and claw.
The woman screamed as Glint showed his black teeth, flesh of stone, and the shining metal of his knife.
He loved his job.
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[ WP ] A girl wakes up from a coma with amnesia . She has to get a whole new life , friends , boyfriend , etc . As she is living her new life she finds and reads her journal realizing everything is wrong .
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'I have the key to my own inhibitions', she kept telling herself over and over again as of to remember something that reached out to her, like tendrils tickling her brains. That was one of the things scribbled neatly in perfect handwriting at the top of the page. The book was musty and burdensome, yet Janice held on to it.
An open window allowed in the cold that made particles of dust dance along with feathers from torn pillows scattered over the floor. She felt as empty and hollow as the dark room.
Janice remembered the village where the sun blurred everything around the thatched roof, where she and Mark emptied root beer bottles and threw them into the river, ripples would form in the dead waters and that's when they kissed. There was n't a life before that, not even any windows like the one she stood in front of, only the wide open.
The mill would only allow its workers twenty minutes and they both knew what those few moments would end up getting thrown into. It was a simple life with a few friends from'the building', another throwaway name like the bar named'The Hearth'.
What she read made her to believe all that was a lie, another dream while she was dreaming. Psychiatrists notes and observations, mixed with few of her own vague quibbles about life. And the rusted photograph that almost slipped out smiled warmly at her melting oval features, the one of the formless car after it was salvaged. Her parents were not in it, but behind it was a note written in a handwriting neater and larger than hers. It read'Hope we find you when it's cold'.
She knelt and reread it, inside ward fifty two of the abandoned St Mary's Hospital. All that glimmered in the wintry dust was the cover that had on it written with a red sketch pen the words'Carry on walking'
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Write a formal letter of complaint to a business , government office or politician for breaking the law . Not the actual Laws of Government , but a natural law . ( Physics , Gravity , Probability , Thermodynamics )
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Dear Madam President Clinton,
I was most upset at the recent announcement of this so called `` Perpetual Motion'' machine.
You claim that we will have, and I quote, `` unlimited energy for everyone'' and that it will bring `` the virtual end of hunger and poverty'', which will apparently `` usher in a new age for mankind, the end of all suffering.'' And then your speech ends because you are overwhelmed with tears of joy and everyone around you is cheering.
This displeases me.
America was founded on the principles of hard work. The stronger your work ethic, the more you attain, and the happier you will be. This is what the Founding Fathers wanted.
Do you know what this technology is going to do to our youth? Turn them into vagrants. No need to work means no need for education. What will kids do with their time? You guessed it. Drugs and violence. Video games. Holodecks where they can live their sick fantasies. You disgust me, whoever it is that's reading this.
Please reconsider your decision and remember that `` A dream does not become reality with magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.'' - Colin Powell
Shame on you all.
Concerned Citizen
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[ WP ] `` Sir it 's Earth ! ! ! It 's in deep trouble , apparently it has contracted humans ! !
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`` Sir, it's Earth!!! It's in deep trouble, apparently it has contracted humans!!'' Solarun, the new caretaker of star system E8, cried out to his supervisor.
The emergency universal video call went to static for a second before his supervisor, Andronyne, answered with a small sigh. `` Solarun,'' She calmly said, `` You must calm down. It's just a common intelligent life hive. We've had planets with them before, humans and other life. I know you are new, but there is no reason for the reserve to be in deep trouble, ok? It would take thousands, if not ten of thousands of cycles without supervision for them to progress to anything threatening. Now, you know this video use is only for-
`` No! You do n't understand!'' Solarun interrupted, `` The previous caretaker, the e-logs he left, he had n't checked up on Earth in at least four and a half thousand cycles before his sudden death! And given the fact that it took me several thousand cycles to get here, it gave the humans too much time to progress! They, they-''
`` Solarun!'' Andronyne snapped. `` Get a hold of yourself! If you ca n't handle such a simple star system I doubt you are going to get far in this business. Even if the intelligent life has progressed, given the time factored, they are of no threat to the rest of the E8 system and beyond. Just put in a request for an E-class planet wipe and wait for the equipment to reach you. It will take care of the humans itself. Now, as I was saying, improper use of the emergency systems puts you at risk of-''
`` They are able to breach the planet's atmosphere ma'am.'' Solarun interjected. `` There is proof they have landed on the satellite around their planet, and drones on other planets in the system. And worst of all, an early drone of theirs is about to reach my observation station past the edge of the E8 system.'' Looking at his supervisor gasp, he continued. `` Therefore, the reason for this emergency video call is to let you know I am retreating the station, and for you to contact the proper authorities to deal with this.''
Andronyne was quiet for a few moments before nodding and closing the call. Solarun turned back to the controls and monitored his progress, while keeping his eye on the human's furthest drone...
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[ WP ] you just discovered you have the ability to fly . Most people would kill for this super power . But you are terrified of heights . you 'd kill to get rid of it .
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`` 40 feet. Start here, get there, and get back again. Could n't be simpler, right? The mail is n't gon na get itself.''
Talking to myself was a habit I had loathed to acquire. But I suppose that's what happens when you shut yourself indoors all bloody day. I was n't exactly the most social creature before, but this... *situation* only exasperated things further.
`` where's that... it's got ta be around here somewhere... the bathroom? How drunk was I last night...''
People do n't appreciate a good coil of rope like they used to. Light, durable, portable. All these robo-harnesses and magnetic pulleys and iRopes really knocked old-fashioned rope out of the market. I spent a good three or four of my many lonesome nights reading the Wikipedia page all about the rise and fall of rope.
I saw the blazing tail of the mailcraft fly off into the distance. It joined up into the hyperspeed ring and zoomed off with the rest of the vehicles zipping above the city. I guess now's the time.
I creak open the front door, double checking that my rope is securely tied around the railing. Double-knotted for good measure. The bright light of the two suns was baking the sparsely watered grass of my yard. At the other end, the mailbox sat, its flag pulsing green to signify new mail. I can... I can do this.
One foot forward. Another following. One and another. One and another. Eyes glued to the floor. There's nothing up there. Just... forward. Get to the mailbox, get back to the house.
*But... *
I could n't resist. I let my curiosity get the better of me yet again. I took one glance upwards, and I was stunned by the beauty of the midday sky. The glittering lights of the aircraft soaring at mach speeds. The colorful billboards suspended in flight. How the sunlight refracted and scattered across the gleaming arched towers and skyscrapers of the city proper. Nothing like my little abode down at the floor.
As I stared transfixed at the gleam of the city, my feet rose above the dirt of my yard.
*no no no no no no no no on no NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOO*
Heart racing, I tried to straighten myself out, get my center of balance angled with the floor. Just like those piece of junk instructional pamphlets I received from the government told me to.
*dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit*
That was n't working. I was a writhing kite of limbs, now yards above my house. The rope held me in place, else I would keep rising upwards.
I grabbed the rope and started pulling myself along it as hard as I can. Forget the mail, escape is all that matters. Inch by inch I creep back towards the ground. Towards safety. As I get to the bottom, I clenched my hand onto the porch railing and forcefully squeezed my eyes shut. I felt the magic or whatever dissipate, and the sweet embrace of gravity take me back.
Back inside. Door shut. Locked. Not today.
``... I need another drink.''
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[ WP ] Drip , drip , drip .
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*Drip, drip drip. *
Went the blood.
The hooker's lying on the side of the bar, head down, bits of glass stuck in her blond curls. I'm pretty sure she's still alive, but they would n't call me unless she was dead. Unless, of course, there's another body.
`` How ya doing, Jane?''
That drawl is something you do n't hear around here anymore. Ca n't say that's not entirely a bad thing.
`` Fine Harold. Just fine.'' He's glancing me up and down, and to his credit does n't linger as long as he usually does. `` What'd we have here today?''
`` Well,'' He takes out a datapad with a cracked screen. `` We got a call from this place about an hour ago. The lady here, Crystal, was chattin up with this man. People are sayin leather jacket, khakis, black hair... The girl, Crystal, she got no family in the area by the way. No close friends. Probly just passing by, making a few greens... Anyway,'' He continues. `` The two of them get all chatty, and smiley and start drinking. They arguin, raising their voices over something. Then the bartender says he just leaves. Up and goes.'' Harold sighs. `` Probly one of you deves they missed in the sweeps. Low danger. Two if his power's based on touch, three if its just concentration.''
`` And what happened after that?''
`` Well, he poisoned her with that touch. Maybe his breath.'' Harold nods to the hooker. `` Maybe she just passed out from too much, uh, beer or something.''
`` Yeah... So why's she sprawled over the bar like that?''
`` We've got some boys with cameras coming later. Wan na capture the scene, make it official in case we've found ourselves a rogue deve.''
`` Jason's been here, right? Felt for a pulse, scanned her brain a little?''
He nods. `` Yup. Head's empty. Still breathin, but he said no activity.''
There's something new. `` So, not dead dead.''
Harold shrugs. `` Not yet. Why do n't you stay a few hours, wait around and see if she croaks. Then you can interrogate her. And we can find the guy, turn him in, split the reward say - 60 40?''
Funny. `` 80 20.''
`` C'mon, Jane. You know I have a kid.''
`` I know you've got a salary. 80 20.''
Harold frowns. But he wo n't fight back. Does he ever?
`` Fine.'' He says. `` 80 20.''
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[ WP ] Instead of dressing up for Halloween , People become the monster they truly are until sunrise
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No one knows how it happened. Some people say it's a curse, which I guess is understandable. Other people insist we brought this on ourselves. I can see that, too. But personally I think it was just bound to happen.
There's so much energy in play on big holidays. Halloween is a pretty old one, too. Even if the date changed, or the livery, All Hallow's Eve has always been about honoring the dead. Paying respects. But we turned it into a dress-up contest. I think the dead finally had enough.
I was heading to a friend of a friend's house with nobody in my car but my old pal Jack Daniels ( I had n't drunk any of it yet, obviously ) and I got a call from an unknown number. I frowned but did n't answer it. Driving gives me anxiety anyway, and even picking the phone up to put it on speaker would've been too much for me to handle at that point. So I let it go to voicemail, but they did n't leave a message. It was 2016, for Christ sake. Nobody leaves voicemails.
I got to the party about ten minutes later, phone call forgotten. The party guests were spilling out of the house and into the front lawn, and I waved up at the few people I knew who were smoking outside.
`` Hey, Theresa,'' my friend Gabby said with a smile. She had her arm wrapped around the waist of a tall, unfamiliar guy dressed as a pirate. `` This is Todd. He's in my sociology class.''
I smiled at him and shook his hand. Even though he complimented my Morticia Addams costume, I immediately disliked him. It's the law of the land -- psych majors and sociology majors do n't mix. I did n't listen to a single thing the guy said after that.
My best friend in the whole wide world, Amber, chatted with me about her love life. Amber is that girl who is ten times too good for any of the guys she dates, and is always so confused when they turn out to be douchebags. Her favorite question to ask me is `` why am I attracted to jerks?'' It's also my favorite question to not actually answer.
After a while, we headed inside and met Parker, the guy who was actually hosting the party. He was pretty chill, I thought.
The party was in full swing by ten, and I sat on the sidelines and people-watched. I'd had a few drinks by then, offering up my Jack to the house as is custom. Some people would float past and make small talk for a minute, but once they realized I was n't flirting back, they moved on. That was fine by me. I was entertaining myself.
There -- that girl was clearly not interested in the guy who was throwing himself at her. She was a good six inches taller than him, and her body language indicated she really wanted to leave. But the guy would n't give up. After a few minutes, she held her cup up to him, and he smiled and nodded and left with it. I chuckled at the sight. The girl immediately left, heading upstairs to presumably greener pastures.
Gabby had her arm wrapped around a different tall guy now. This one was just wearing a hockey jersey. I pegged him for the type to go to parties and wait for the first girl to pass out in a bedroom. I shrugged. Gabby could handle herself, plus she'd probably pick another tall guy in five minutes. Briefly, I wondered if she was even telling people her real name.
The sudden crash of breaking glass interrupted my thoughts, and the whole room turned to the source. A beautiful blue vase lay on the floor in pieces. A girl in what I'd guess was a mermaid costume stood guiltily by, but no one seemed to be hurt. Parker came through and swept the pieces up, assuring the mermaid that it was fine, it was a knockoff anyway, he should've put it up before letting anybody into his house.
That vase was the only warning we would get.
At midnight, as kids these days might say, shit got real.
I was heading into the kitchen to mix myself another drink and I smiled at Gabby as I passed her. She smiled back and turned back around, and for a second I thought I saw a bug in her hair. But I looked closer and could n't make anything out, so I shrugged it off and opened the freezer to get some ice cubes. Poured the Jack, then the Coke, and turned around to sip and observe the party.
I almost choked. The bug was back, and this time it had a friend. Two black orbs pushed Gabby's hair to the side as they settled themselves on her skin. A third protrusion erupted beneath them and settled vertically, then a fourth horizontal one appeared. I watched in horrifically fascinated silence as a demonic image carved itself into the back of her skull until it was a mockery of Gabby's face. One on the back of her head, eyebrows drawn together in a furious snarl, teeth bared; one on the front, calmly smiling and nodding. I dropped my cup -- thankfully a solo -- and could n't breathe for a second. The guy she was talking to, Hockey Jersey, looked over Gabby at me and I almost puked. His face was misshapen, like it was half-dog and half-human. Fangs erupted from his jaws, dousing his shirt with blood, and his fingernails grew into filthy claws.
The screaming started a second later.
As far as I know, Parker was the only one at that party who remained unaffected. The guy who could n't take a hint from the tall girl got an ever-wagging tail and grew even shorter. The girl who rebuffed him's nose was broken and reformed to the point where she literally had to bend her head back to look at you -- perpetually looking down her nose at you. Mermaid girl became more of an octopus. Her limbs became boneless, flopping around and sticking to anything they touched.
Amber's transformation... She's in jail now. A lot of people are. I guess her inner demons were a little more sinister than others'.
And my eyes --
People have told me I do n't really have much of a face anymore. Just eyes. Always watching. Always judging.
But it's just for a few hours every year.
And even after all this, I ca n't help but pat myself on the back. I knew Gabby was a two-faced bitch.
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[ WP ] Two lonely mages individually travel to the woods to summon familiars . They bind to each other instead .
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Familiar, a ballad
The rain fell hard when Sera left,
as heavy as her gait.
The ghost-wood locket at her neck
hung with solemn weight.
Within, two portraits at the sides:
A kitten's flushed delight
And her ’ s, a smiling mother's pride -
Though no such look tonight.
She hit the tree line at a run -
the storm above her grew -
thunder beat a frenzied drum
and lightning forked in two.
Rye had seen the mystic fork
from further in the wood.
Within his trembling hands, a book
had said `` this sign was good.''
If the book said good, it'd have to do.
The book was all he had.
He'd only failed a spell, or two
when the directions had been bad.
So book in hand ( he checked it twice )
he drew the ancient sign.
But then, Fate rolled the ancient dice:
Came Sera from behind.
Blinded by the lightning's stem
she stumbled into Rye.
Two bodies, now as talisman
would see the spell comply.
Two bolts of lightning struck, and fused
the magic was now done.
Two mages groaned, dazed and confused
not knowing what'd begun.
Fate had thought it'd played a joke
On mages unprepared
To thwart it's final, authored stroke:
A spell with no compare.
Yet when their eyes had met, they cast
A familiar incantation.
The ancient spell was growing fast
And with it, a revelation:
Within the boy Sera'd found a son,
And a student fair of skill.
Rye had found a mother ’ s love
( a role a book can ’ t fill ).
But all the humor here is this:
if you could see Rye ’ s mark
drawn in inexperience,
his pentacle was stark,
Far too stark to cast the spell.
And yet, from there, at last
Beneath the forking thunder ’ s knell
They both had a spell to cast
edit: fixing formatting
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[ WP ] '' Look , I 'm really sorry that you have to die , but at the same time , humans like you are the only things with souls worth eating . ''
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Tic Tac is a middle aged raver from Anaheim. He always loved selling the good old fashioned recreational drugs. Drugs like molly, DMT, shrooms, LSD and special k were among his favorites. Those drugs do n't provide a steady source of income, so today he is moving his first batch of crack.
He's going to try offloading it at the Voodoo Co-op. He's always avoided that scene, because it's a bummer acid trip themed rave. They've been known to perform seances, worship satan and most importantly SMOKE CRACK. He has the supply, they have the demand. Simple as that.
Tic Tac puts on his finest black tracksuit and dawns his LED respirator. Partly to fit in, partly to hide his identity, partly to attract customers and mostly to filter out the crack, meth and PCP smoke that'll fog up the dump.
When he gets to the scrap yard this event was being held at he makes sure every door is locked in his 30 year old, $ 2,200 Honda. The voodoo savages ca n't be trusted.
The Savages immediately suspect him to be either a drug dealer or a nark, due to how outdated his look is. A savage with a tit hanging out of her cut off shirt says he's too out of shape to be a nark. So they make a deal. He even upsells her some microdots and oxy.
Suddenly he's swamped with half sober savages, looking to score some fucked up shit. At this rate he's making $ 50 a minute.
Paranoia creeps through his mind. He's alone, now carrying thousands of dollars. He's running low on rock. Things might get ugly. So he decides it might be best to call it an evening and get back to his car.
A policeman grabs him by the shoulder and says `` you ca n't leave now, you'll miss the big event.'' Tac bolts only to get tazed in the ass and shitkicked unconscious.
He wakes up with each limb tied to a junk car. A whole squad of policemen in their ceremonial uniforms are leading the savages on a trance.
`` Look, I'm really sorry that you have to die, but at the same time, humans like you are the only things with souls worth eating.''
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[ TT ] The character is moving out of their childhood home .
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I was too young to give a eulogy. I was too small to be a pallbearer. I couldn ’ t watch them bury him six feet in the ground. None of that means I didn ’ t love my father. On the contrary, he was an incredible man, a man filled with love and passion. I only wish seven years was enough.
Flash forward eleven years and here I am, pasty white skin wrapped in a navy pleated dress, flashes of gold stripes barely visible underneath my graduation gown. My auburn hair, straight when I put the cap on, I swear it was. Now the frizziness is emerging from behind the curtained humidity of this July afternoon. 85 % I think I read this morning. Even still, this has been the happiest day of my life, high school an erstwhile blur, forever behind me. Theresa, my mother, oh mom, I can see you crying. Tears of joy for once. Two jobs to raise me, I wasn ’ t the best daughter, I know it. Sneaking out almost every night to get drunk with friends, smoking weed with college frat guys and you will never let me forget that one time I called you because the condom broke, hysterical for a ride to pick up Plan B. I never got my license, I couldn ’ t pass the test, you were my chauffeur, and I never thanked you, not once. The past is behind us now, we ’ ve had so much healing to do, and it ’ s time I paid you back for everything you gave me, but that ’ s not going to happen, isn ’ t that right? I decided Virginia was the place to go for furthering my education. Two hundred seventy-three miles away. Are those still tears of joy?
*Find me in the field where the bluebells grow. *
Lyrics from my favorite song from my father ’ s favorite record *Peripheral Conversations* The only record I listen to. The only record *Hopeless Heights* released before their van blew the rear axle and skidded into an oncoming semi on I-70. They were on their way to Kansas City, to perform their first major gig.
If it wasn ’ t so sad, I ’ m sure I could find the humor in how tragedy has followed me throughout my life. I never met my grandparents, from either side of the family. Deceased before I was ever a thought. My mother was an only child and my father had one sibling, a brother. I only knew Chucky through all of the stories my father used to tell me about them growing up on a farm in eastern Missouri. Chucky could ride horses better than anyone else in the county. Dad used to say he could communicate with them using just his eyes and a smile. He was killed in 2011, a roadside bombing in Afghanistan.
Maybe you are wondering why Virginia of all places. Maybe you don ’ t care, and I don ’ t blame you. The answer is two words, *Mertensia Virginica*. Commonly known as Virginia Bluebells, the only flower I have growing in my garden at home. Virginia Tech University, Forest Resources and Environment Conservation, class of 2020.
Bluebells, my favorite song, my favorite flower. The only connection I have with my father. Going to college nearly three hundred miles away because of a flower. Yeah, that ’ s me, Sarah Finley.
On one hand I feel guilty about leaving my mother. On the other hand she can finally start focusing on herself again. She can begin dating and stop taking care of me. Just once I wish she would put on makeup, get her hair done and smile like she was twenty-three again. She will never stop worrying about me, that ’ s too much to ask for. I just want her to go on living her life. As much as we ’ ve fought, argued, screamed, and insulted, I will miss her. She already misses me. Two hundred twenty miles in and only a novella of conversation to fill in the gaps. This would be the last time she would drive me anywhere. I decided I ’ m not coming home for the holidays. I won ’ t return for the summer. Virginia will be my new home and for once, my family can start to heal. What ’ s another disappearance in a family of loss? Mom, I love you. I may have never showed it, I may have never properly respected you, and for that I am sorry. There is only one thing left to say to you. When the time comes, you can find me in the field where the bluebells grow.
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[ WP ] You run the Mystical Unicorn Energy company that services many different magical kingdoms near and far . It 's now come under scrutiny for it 's shady power generating practices and a lack of workplace safety .
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`` This is absolutely deplorable,'' said Safety Inspector Mr. Higgins.
`` Oh, I quite agree,'' said CEO of the Last Unicorn Energy Plant, Mr. Mustardseed. `` Absolutely deplorable.''
`` I do n't know how you do things in Faerie, Mr. Mustardseed,'' blustered Mr. Higgins, a tall and lanky gentleman with a bald spot and a push-broom mustache. `` But this kind of thing just does n't fly here in America. For God's sake, they're standing in their own filth!''
`` Yes, infections are our most common problem here at LUEP,'' Mr. Mustardseed drawled as he pretended to notice a particularity interesting dust mote. `` Most of our'employees' just drop dead where they stand. We do n't bother disposing of the corpses, mind.''
Mr. Higgins made a retching noise, `` What's wrong with that one?''
`` Horn rot,'' said Mr. Mustardseed, nonchalantly. `` Spreads like wildfire through unicorns. See how the horn swells up and bloats like that? Apparently, that happens when unicorns have an excess of negative thoughts.''
`` Almost all of them are like that,'' Mr. Higgins pointed out.
An altogether distasteful and nasty grin spread across Mustardseed's face, `` I know. Unicorns have a hard time expressing things like hatred and revenge so the black magic they would normally unleash from their horns builds up and causes an inexorable amount of pain. We were worried at the first instance of horn rot but fortunately for us, black magic can be harvested for energy just as easily as white.''
`` Monstrous,'' murmured Mr. Higgins.
`` Beautifully tragic,'' agreed Mr. Mustardseed.
Mr. Mustardseed walked on as Mr. Higgins trailed after him, trying to ignore the several unicorns weeping as he passed the cages.
`` Have you ever worked with Faerie Folk, Mr. Higgins?'' Mr. Mustardseed asked dreamily.
`` Er,'' said Mr. Higgins who was an accountant before this job and the most exciting thing he had encountered in that job was finding cream in his coffee when he had asked for none. `` No.''
A leprechaun ran up beside Mr. Mustardseed and handed him a clipboard which the elf signed with flourish. He handed the clipboard back and the leprechaun shot Mr. Higgins a dirty look. Mr. Higgins realized he had been staring and his face reddened. They eventually came to Mr. Mustardseed's office which had an inordinate amount of office plants.
`` Take a seat, Mr. Higgins,'' Mr. Mustardseed gestured to the stump in front of the large desk. Or at least, Mr. Higgins assumed it was a desk but upon closer inspection it rather appeared to be a shrub that had been convinced to grow in the shape of a desk.
`` Coffee?'' asked Mr. Mustardseed but before he could answer a wisp of a woman with long willow-like hair entered the room. She set a cup of black coffee with two sugars, just like Mr. Higgins liked it, in front of him and Mr. Higgins looked into her eyes. They were so pale, her eyes were almost completely white but if he looked closely enough he could see the powder blue ring, as gentle as moonlight kissing the surface of a still lake and somehow as wild and fiery as a summer romance. She placed a lotus flower filled with glistening honey in front of Mr. Mustardseed.
`` Thank you, Miss Cobweb,'' said Mr. Mustardseed as she practically danced out of the room like a rose petal caught in the wind. Mr. Higgins blew his nose loudly.
`` You do n't have much appreciation for elf glamour, do you, Mr. Higgins?''
`` Frankly, I do not,'' said Mr. Higgins without a trace of subtlety. `` You fairy guys give me the creeps. Just this morning, I had to sit on the subway next to a brownie. Little bastard bit me because I wo n't give him the hard candy in my pocket! I stop to admire the new statue you have out front and I realize it's just some drunk, vagrant troll who got caught in the sunlight; poor dumb bastard. Not to be offensive or racist or speciest or whatever the hell but this country was a lot better before we had discovered the entrance to your freaky realm. Now I'm stuck in this damn job looking out for the ethical treatment of unicorns of all damn things.''
Mr. Mustardseed did not look impressed as he sipped his honey and said, `` Mr. Higgins, do you have any idea why my working conditions are so heinous?''
`` No,'' Mr. Higgins said impatiently. `` Here is a list of violations that must be corrected if you are expected to stay in business. You need to sign here to say that I've shown you-''
`` The fact of the matter is,'' interrupted Mr. Mustardseed, standing from his desk and crossing to stand in front of Mr. Higgins. `` I just do n't like unicorns that much. They're flashy and showy, just like elves, they're adored by all, just like elves, and they're naturally beautiful and magnificent. They do n't even need to put glamour on in the morning. They come out of the womb like that! Pompous bastards! Do you have any idea how much time I spend in the morning just to make myself look this perfect?''
Mr. Mustardseed was now almost looming over Mr. Higgins. It seemed that the air around Mr. Mustardseed as he had been talking was growing hotter and darker as he talked. Now Mr. Mustardseed smiled cheerily and the spell seemed to break. The air returned to normalcy and Mr. Mustardseed returned to his original height.
`` That's why I started this company. You humans have been incredibly helpful. All of you desperately needed a'clean' energy source and we were more than happy to provide. Just do n't ask where it came from, eh? The unicorns are n't like ordinary livestock, you know. They're quite sentient.''
`` My god,'' said Mr. Higgins, it slowly dawning on him. `` If this got out-''
`` It would completely cripple the country,'' Mr. Mustardseed finished. `` Nearly every American uses unicorn energy now. Thankfully, none of this will reach the light of day.''
Mr. Mustardseed blew a fistful of yellow pollen straight into Mr. Higgins face. Before Mr. Higgins could retort with a `` Now, just wait a damn minute'', he was flat on his back, sleeping soundly. Miss Cobweb flitted into the room, beaming from ear to ear.
`` Ah, Miss Cobweb,'' said Mr. Mustardseed, handing her Mr. Higgins' clipboard. `` Take this up to the pixies in the typing pool and have them change this into a glowing review of our company. Then, if you would be so kind, dump Mr. Higgins in an alley somewhere. He wo n't remember any of this anyway so feel free to have fun first; you're worth it.''
Miss Cobweb giggled, `` Thank you, Mr. Mustardseed. You're too kind. Exactly... how much fun am I allowed?''
`` Well,'' said Mr. Mustardseed, matching sly grin for devious smile. `` If Mr. Higgins woke up with slightly longer ears and more fur than he remembered having previously, I do n't think it would go amiss.''
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[ WP ] You live in a world where humans have nine lives . Each of these nine lives represents a certain aspect of a person ’ s life . When a person is killed , only the aspect of them that was active during their death dies . You have one life left .
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As I ran from the authorities it was clear that they weren ’ t going to catch me as they were clearly frustrated that I just would always stay just out of reach. When I turned at the street corner I backed up into the wall and when the first officer turned the corner I reached out and snapped the man ’ s neck, a wisp of smoke with resounding with the smell of anger rose up into the sky. Amused by the fact that a person with anger could still be an officer, I turned to face the other two. One had a twisted, upset look and the other had a more calculated, but worried look. Suddenly the upset one rushed at me and thrust aggressively at me with his rapier. I swiftly dodged to the side, disarmed him and embedded the blade his throat in one concise motion. I turned away from the violently twisting smoke, in the absence of the third officer. I thought about the havoc that would rain over the country when word of someone with only pure treachery in their soul spread.
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[ WP ] Cupid went overboard last valentines day . 9 months later the stork is being overworked and decides to call Cupid to see what happened
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`` Listen kid, this can not happen again... I'm about halfway done with my deliveries, my beak's crooked, my feathers are falling off and my wings are just about to break. I have forty two to make on thanksgiving alone. I planned a lovely dinner with my family that day. A lovely dinner I have to miss. My brother made cranberry sauce. You know he makes good -- sorry fantastic -- cranberry sauce, and I'm going to miss it because of you. All because of your trigger finger.''
`` Wait, what do storks eat on thanksgiving turkey or ham... or what?''
`` Oh, we bake a nice bowl of sweet potatoes. We mix in some melted marshmallows in there, well that's more for the kids, too sweet for me. We finish it all off by getting a platter of smoked salmon.''
`` Do you do the lemon drizzle and everything.''
`` You serious? Of course we do the lemon drizzle, salmon just would n't be --'' The stork stopped himself and realized red herrings are tastier outside of conversations. `` Stop making people mate so much!''
`` Come on Stork, Storky, Storkey-boy, my madre's the goddess of love baby. If everyone stops knocking boots she loses all her power and so do I.''
`` I'm not saying stop shooting arrows. I'm saying shoot less of them.''
`` Maybe you probably should get better at carrying the weight. Like my job is super easy. I got ta fly around the world which is 70 % water you know! No restrooms, no Chipotle, not even a McDonalds. Then I got ta go into these stuffy nightclubs and wait for some Fabio look-a-like coated in cheap bathroom polo to finish his terrible pickup line, just so I can hit some poor girl with an arrow. I've heard'If I rearrange the alphabet I'd put u and i next to each other' so much I might vomit out of anger the next time I hear it.''
`` Well my day has n't been a walk in the park either! I've changed three-hundred and twenty four diapers. You want to know how much feces that is. It too much goddamn feces. The kids have been crying since the break of dawn fifty of them think its too hot, fifty of them think its too cold, seventy of them do n't like the carpet I use. I spent thirty grand on baby stuff this month. Who's gon na reimburse me on that. Who!? Huh!? You?! What you got an ATM in the diaper of yours jackass.''
`` You are just a lonely, old, uptight, hate filled ciconiidae!''
`` Do n't you talk about my family that way!''
`` Yes that is what you are!''
`` And you are just an immature, vulgar child!''
A long silence gripped the phone line as both parties reflected on their choice of words. Cupid was the first to speak.
`` I'm sorry, I was careless. I just you know wan na make people happy.''
The stork guilty and ashamed replied,
`` I know I'm sorry too. We're a good team, and maybe I do need a helper or too around here.''
`` It's hard being Cupid, you know, I do n't have time to go out with friends or see anyone. I whip across the world all the time, but I've never met anyone worth keeping around.''
`` Yeah I see where your coming from. My brother has a wonderful family and sometimes when I'm here surrounded here by all these babies. I wish I could -- you know -- settle down one day. Have a family.''
`` I do get the same feeling, but hey -- the job comes first.''
`` The job comes first.''
`` Well it could be worse, we could be death. Oh boy, that poor sap looks terrible lately. The hours suck and the boss is a jerk, so depressing.''
`` haha yeah, well we still on for cards on Sunday?''
`` Absolutely''
`` Goodbye, Cupid''
`` Goodbye, Stork''
As the moon hung high, they both curled up in their beds alone and fell asleep to the sounds of mattress spring symphonies.
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[ WP ] The Earth is actually a huge Civilization/Sims video game and the owner of it just found a list of chest codes for it .
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`` Oh, this is too funny. Look at the level of confusion of the leaders.'' L laughed as he typed away at his console. `` That'Will of the People' hack is my favorite I think.''
`` What are you doing now?'' M asked as he looked over L's shoulder.
`` Oh, nothing. Just messing with their election process. I think this is my favorite year yet.''
`` Please do n't make me regret letting you play in my world.'' M said with a slight tone of apprehension. `` Do we still have the save point active?''
`` Uhh... I think so.'' L waved M away from his shoulder. `` Do n't worry so much! Look at all the cool stuff that's been popping up as a result of my playing?''
M shook his head. `` So you really think that world is better than HOE.paradise?''
L spun his chair around and faced M. `` Look, you know I'm doing this to enhance the *stories*, is this not still within your plan? I know we've been sidetracked a lot and there are still a ton of issues to work out but look at the amount of literature, history, and awesome science fiction that has resulted?''
`` You know none of that stuff is original right? The Infinite Library already contains every piece of work that world could ever create.''
`` Yeah, but the point of all this is n't originality is it? I thought we were running this experiment for insight into the creation process?''
`` Yes and no... This was more for your sake than mine.'' M said softly. `` I'm going to go play some more World of Warcraft, come get me if you need any more cheat codes.''
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The hero has ultimately failed and now lies mortally wounded before the villain . Write the back-and-forth banter between the two as the hero slowly dies .
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The Wraith lies bleeding.
No, this ca n't be possible. It ca n't be happening. Skylord kneels next to his foe, the joy gone out of his eyes. This was always just a game. Skylord would do something over the top, Wraith would come, deliver some witty one liners, and stop the plan. Then they'd do it again the next month.
`` You fool. You ca n't die on me. I need you!'' Skylord wails as he takes the Wraith's hand, which is oddly solid.
`` We could n't keep it up forever, Randall.'' The Wraith murmurs, her voice fading.
`` No! No! Alice, please! Stay with me. Fight it. There's no point to my life without you.'' Skylord looks over to his minions. `` Get the goddamned medic!''
`` It's too late, Randall.'' Wraith reaches up to touch his tear-stained cheek. `` We both knew the risks of the Resequencer when we used it. We knew our bodies would break apart.''
`` But I found a palliative. I've been giving it to you for years in the tea.'' Skylord's helmet falls to one side.
`` It does n't help. My body phases out foreign substances. But thank you for trying.'' The Wraith falls backwards and Skylord looks up sadly.
`` Computer, initiate Zero Protocol. Twenty minute timer, no countdown.'' He takes his foe, his lover, onto the stretcher the medics bring, and order them to bring her body to the hangar.
Twenty minutes later, Olympus Base is destroyed in a fireball, but there still remains one last thing.
Randall Gibbs stands unarmored at the front door of Alice Mayberry's family home. He is greeted by General Arthur Mayberry, who looks into the face of the penitent villain, and sighs.
`` She is gone, sir and I am to blame. I know I do not deserve your forgiveness but...''
`` Shut up, son.'' the general responds. `` I will see that she is given a burial with honors. You are free to attend the funeral if you wish. I know she would have wanted that.''
`` Sir, was it worth it? Did we do right?'' Randall ca n't look his father-in-law in the eye.
`` You two put on quite a performance, showing exactly how dangerous the Resequencer is. Since you started your cat and mouse games, the number of people who would have ruined their lives with the Resequencer dropped by 55 %. I believe you did a good thing, Randall. It's not the way I would have done it, but it was effective.'' The General holds open the door. `` Come inside and have some coffee. I will take her to the funeral home.''
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[ WP ] You cry after sex . The girl you 've been sleeping with has been systematically collecting your tears after you 've had sex , into carefully labelled and categorized vials . Why is she collecting them ? What is she going to do with them ?
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`` Oh, that's right baby, right there, right THERE! FUCK that's good. ``, my girlfriend moaned.
I was getting pretty hot and heavy myself, but maintained my professionalism. I had my pride to think of. The first couple of times had been a complete disaster, me finishing too early, or not having the stamina to continue on. Pretty typical, given my sexual history at the time.
`` I want it! I want it so bad!'' husky now, she was getting close.
But through hard work ( and quite a bit of fun ), I had started gaining some measure of skill in the field. Before I knew it, I had become a master, a black belt in fornication, a fecund adept. I was to sex what Rembrandt was to painting. What da Vinci was to invention. What the TMNT was to pizza.
Not so much talking now, just quick breaths and contractions around my member.
It was n't all easy, of course. Especially in the beginning. I had a hard time believing her when she said she knew of a ritual that would allow my ascendance into sexual god-dom. Metaphorically, I thought. And when I had agreed to try it, the pain had been intense. But damn if it had n't worked.
She began to convulse on the bed, thighs tightening around my shaft until the pressure became overwhelming. She began to scream as I began to cream. Quickly, at the height of her and my orgasm, she pushed me out. I took a step back, and assumed the traditional stance; legs apart, upper body bent bent at half pi radians. Still screaming, closer now to a banshee howl, she swung her foot mightily at my balls. The pain was as intense as it ever was, and I involuntarily let tears spring forth. Swiftly, she grabbed the ritual vial and held it to my face, careful to collect the required tears. Before I had had the chance to recover, she had run to the centrifuge. She decanted the agents into the runic demon circle outlayed on the floor, and with a complicated gesture sent it to the immaterial realm. I felt a surge of strength enter my body as the agents deconstructed, and let loose an unearthly howl. I took her between my powerful arms, and kissed her deeply.
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[ WP ] There used to be a race living on Mars but the planet , like a donor recieving incompatible blood , refused them and killed them off . It has since laid dormant , but now it once again awakens with the arrival of another race ... Humans .
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John stepped out of his home block and sighed, the cold gripping his body like a vise. Even though the Roanoke colony he lived in was placed on the planet's equator, it still felt damn cold to the Texas native. He glanced up to the protective dome that covered the community, squinting at the sun through the hexagonal panels that prevented harmful radiation and small projectiles from hitting the colonists. He frowned as he tallied the opaque tiles, their haziness an indication of spiderweb cracks that indicated impact damage.
Every colony maintained their own local government, with roles and duties assigned by a committee and a program, to ensure efficiency, and to make sure each bio dome could more or less survive for a short while without aid. Additionally, each colony had a specialty product, to reduce the need for the costly cargo ships from Earth. His happened to be the panels he had just been staring at.
Even as he began to walk towards the production plant, he could see replacement crews in their spider-like pods moving around the dome to replace the cracked hexagons. Just as he reached the entrance, the ground shook and the dome above him was ripped apart like a sheet of aluminum as the ground below him tore apart. As he slammed into the building, he felt himself release his breath, and the gravity of the situation dawned upon him as surely as Mars' terrible strength pulled him into the hole.
First attempt, criticism welcome.
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[ CW ] `` Say something I 'm giving up on you . '' Write around this quote - WITHOUT drawing inspiration from , or making reference to , the original context .
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I found solace in a shot glass. The burn that followed was nothing, compared to the pain of six months sobriety washed away by whiskey. The aftertaste was sour, full of shame. I washed it away with another shot. One more. Another. Each shot diluted my focus of the events that had preceded my relapse. My wife, Heather, and I fought. It was no ordinary fight. Mud was not slung but artillery was fired. It was the culmination of two weeks of struggle, and the fight was one for the theaters. The turning point was her discovery of my hidden stash of booze. I had n't drunken any, but I suppose that does n't matter now.
The bar was dim. The lights above were not enough to fully illuminate the woman in front of me. It was enough to show the curves of her. Enough to show the shine of her hair. Enough to show the passion of her eyes. Enough for me to wake up next in her apartment the next morning.
The nameless woman left a note and a careless amount of trust in me. The note told that she had gone to work. I showered. Her smell washed away but the shame clung to my body. I left quickly and got to my car. Heather called. I did n't answer. Again. And again. Each subsequent ringing was a mound of dirt, being shoveled onto the coffin that held our marriage.
When I arrived home she was waiting. I sat down without looking at her.
`` I know you drank last night.''
I looked up and our eyes connected for a brief moment. In her eyes, I saw disappointment. Agony. Despair.
`` I made a mistake.''
`` I know.''
`` I fucked up.''
`` I know.''
`` I slept with another woman.''
Her disappointment became shock. Her shock become horror, then anger, then sadness. She let out a cacophonous cry. A tear fell from her eye, but she wiped it away quickly. She was not going to bawl. I was. She sat, across from me, just watching. I could n't look back up at her. The silence was deafening. `` Say... something,'' I pleaded. Silence. I rose my head. The pain had disappeared from her face. No emotion. Just silent acquiescence.
`` I'm giving up on you.''
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[ WP ] A notorious serial killer is about to torture and mutilate his next victim in a randomly chosen abandoned house . As the killer approaches the victim , something happens that makes them realize that there 's someone , or something , else that is more evil with them .
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Personal Demons
The victim was wide eyed with fear over the rather cruel and elaborate gag as the killer approached.
The Occult Killer never thought of them as a person just `` the prey ``. It really did n't matter to him anyway, men, women, young old he killed with little discrimination, so long as it satisfied the urge and they would n't be missed.
This house served his needs current rather well, an old McMansion heavy with graffiti, Sopanish words, gang signs and a pentagram that looked like it had been taken from so old occult book
He was alone with his prey, for some reason the power was on and a bunch of tools even chalk and been left there. `` Convenient'' he thought `` Looks like its going to be an easy night''
Picking up some a hammer, the killer approached.
A rustling noise made the killer turn his head and he saw the thing. It was a mass a bones and jutting teeth and clear sack with pulsing organs and mouths and parts really where they should n't be. `` Oh hello.'' the thing said `` do n't stop on a account of me.''
The Killer looked at the thing, he was n't capable of being frightened or feeling much of anything really but he was felling something there which was rare, mild curiosity maybe, apprehension. Maybe even startled as he dropped the hammer He certainly was n't bored `` what are you?''
`` Not who?'' the thing made a wet owl hoot noise.
`` Not who.''
The victim grunted `` No no no''
`` well.'' the thing gurgled `` I guess you could call me a connoisseur of sorts.''
The killer looked at the thing and at the pentagram `` You a demon and feed on death and pain or something?''
`` Close enough `` the things smile if it could be called that looked like a rotten meat crape with squiggly gibbering yellow spike teeth.
`` Huh so how come I can see you.
`` Do n't know. I wo n't get in the way, go ahead.''
The Killer looked at the wall, some of the graffiti was in Spanish, probably the workers El Diablo, Peligro. `` Looks like I'm not the first to see you.''
The demon sighed `` I'm not going to scare you off too am I? I've heard about your work you know and I am so looking forward to it.''
`` Nah.'' the killer said `` but you can help me out down the line.''
`` err how'' the thing asked spouting several eyes on stalks
`` Its easier to find prey and avoid the cops with an extra set of eyes. Or two. More fun with an audience too'' The killer grinned
`` Good plan'' the thing said `` Only thing is I am stuck here.''
`` I can handle that.'' the killer said `` so kick back and lets have some fun''
`` Try the drywall knife'' the demon suggested
`` yeah sure buddy'' and the screams went on and on.
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( WP ) A drug addict meets him/herself when they were twelve .
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No one had ever taken this much before. At least, no one he'd ever known—or heard of. He wanted to fly. Fly up and never come back down. He'd sold everything he had to buy enough; everything he had just for one night of concentrated magic.
James sat on his worn, leather couch, dozens of squares scattered about the coffee table like stars. Matt was sitting in the chair on the other side of the table: his spotter. He did n't know what taking so much would do to him, and he did n't want to accidentally defenestrate himself from his apartment on the 11th floor. Or set his place on fire. Or anything else that seemed completely irrational to an outsider, but perfectly reasonable within the trip.
`` You ready?'' Matt asked, face veiled with concern. He'd tried to talk James out of it earlier—unsuccessfully.
`` Yeah, man. Let's do it.'' James' voice was firm, resolute. He knew what he was getting himself into. This would be the trip of a lifetime.
He took up a square blotter and placed it on his tongue, saliva coaxing out the acid, seducing the drug into his body, letting the effects wet his mind. He waited there for several minutes before removing the square and taking another, placing it neatly in the center of his tongue. Another wave of the drug washed over him. And then he took another square. Another wave. He repeated this process until time itself melted away into the ocean of acid spreading all around him, experiencing nothing but the ceaseless ebb and flow of the tides.
His apartment began to melt away until he could see the magical world at last. The squares *became* stars, their reflections glittering in the ocean he stood in. He reached out and plucked up the reflection of a star from the acidic tides, holding it between his fingers as if the sky were the reflection. He ate it. A wave crashed into him, bringing more stars to him in its wake. He ate another.
He could n't remember why he was eating the stars, only that this was his purpose. His destiny. He was the Star Eater.
But soon the stars faded around him as the sun rose. Its reflection gliding across the water toward the Star Eater; its garish light scaring away the stars.
`` Sun!'' he called, catching the attention of the two gleaming spheres hovering in sky and sea. The eyes looked at him; they were surprised—unaccustomed to humans in this sea. `` I am tasked to eat the stars, but you scare them away. Where do they hide? Will you tell me, Sun?''
The shimmering eyes blinked at him. `` I do not hide,'' the Sun replied. And James smiled.
He began to swim. Arms sliding rhythmically through the currents, legs splashing with a steady beat. He approached the sun, grinning as it glittered in the water before him. It was the largest star he had ever seen. He wondered it if would taste as good as the others. Better, he hoped.
James reached out a hand, trying to grasp the Sun, but it evaded him. The ball of light scurried over to the horizon and leapt into the unknowable depths at the edge of the world.
Sun gone, the stars cautiously crept out of hiding, twinkling coyly in the tides around him. He forgot the sun, for the stars were back. And, as he had done the night before, began to pluck the stars out of the sea, eating them one by one.
But the Star Eater's feast soon ended, for the Sun had returned. Again its burning light was cast upon the stars, frightening them away to nonexistence. James glared angrily at the Sun.
`` Why must you make the stars hide! I am tasked to eat them!'' he cried out, demanding an answer from the fiery eyes of sky and sea.
`` I do not hide,'' the sun replied. And once again the chase began. James surged forth in a commotion of splashes, previous rhythm lost in the fervor to rectify his vendetta for the loss of the stars. But again he was too slow. The Sun leapt behind the unapproachable horizon, beginning another night.
For days this continued—weeks, months. He would eat the stars until the Sun arose, then chase until he got too close.
As the years passed, the stars in the sky looked severely less plentiful. He had eaten so many of them. There were n't many left to consume. He now had to swim great distances across the acidic sea to reach the last vestiges of twinkling lights.
More years passed. And James continued to swim, and eat, and chase, and swim. An enduring rhythm that consumed him until he forgot how many times he had chased the sun, how many thousands of stars he had eaten. It seemed an endless cycle—until the day there was only one star left.
This star was far, and it took him many months to reach. Countless days of the Sun's torment, fruitlessly chasing the most alluring star in the sea. But James could tell the Sun was worried. Each time, it would retreat more slowly, trying to stall him—terribly afraid of the Star Eater's inevitable victory. It watched as its end came closer and closer with each eaten star. And he had finally reached the last one.
James plucked up the star, unceremoniously eating it as he would any other. Chewing it in his mouth for several seconds, before he swallowed. The Sun exploded into the sky and sea as it was forced from hiding, beams of light shattering the blackness of the world. James grinned mercilessly. He was finally going to eat the Sun this day. This endless day that could never become night. An endless day proscribing the Sun's retreat.
He swam. He swam like never before. It was almost as if he could glide over the oceans of acid beneath him, a massive wake forming behind him as he chased the Sun who scurried away in vain. He soon caught up, pressing ever closer to the horizon, cornering the eyes of light against the edge of the world that no longer could be transversed.
He stuck out his hand, this time, finally this time, grabbing hold of the glittering sphere. He held it up to his lips, which drooled streams of light into the waters below, and took a voracious chomp out of the Sun, finishing the entire thing in a few bites. He fell up into the sky and everything went dark.
James looked down at the world. It was so tiny, so insignificant before him—a living marble dangling in the empty void of space. A single speck defiantly crying out against the pervasive lifelessness of everything around it. He admired its courage. He reached out a finger and spun the world, sending it spinning in the other direction. Gazing into the twirling speck he realized something: he did n't want to be the Sun, did n't want to be the stars. They were so powerful, yet so lonely. So detached from the only speck that cried out with life. He yearned to be a part of it once again, to enjoy the world this time, to be part of the defiance against the dark. And, doing what any sane person in this situation would, he stuck his finger down his throat and retched.
The Sun came soaring out first, spinning brilliantly in the blackness around him. He looked back at the world, which had become considerably larger. James smiled and thanked the Sun for allowing itself to be captured. His finger returned to his throat; stars came spilling forth, splattering across the sky like flecks of paint from a shaken brush. He retched and retched, more and more stars, stars that had taken him years and years to eat filling up the heavens. All the while becoming smaller.
With only one star left within him, he began to fall. Falling toward the incredibly massive world before him. Toward the defiant speck of dust. A falling star.
James peered out his window and gasped, a smile spreading across his face as he saw it—staring up in awe. A bright streak of light plummeting toward the Earth, blazing with a defiance that juxtaposed with the dreary night. He cried out in excitement and ran out of his room, ignoring his father's drunken shouts and his mother's screams as he dashed out the back door. He ran across the field behind his house, leaping over mounds, skirting rocks, but still chasing that star with a fervor he'd never felt before.
The streak of light surged behind a line of trees. There was a crash in the distance and an explosion of light. But James did n't slow: he charged forth, into the forest, threading between trees with a passion he could n't explain, until he finally reached the clearing. He allowed himself to slow, approaching the circle of displaced earth where the star had fallen, breaths coming in desperate gasps.
James knelt down, cautiously peering into the hole that impacted the earth—at least a yard in diameter. He'd expected some sort of big, bulky space rock, but all he saw was a marble. A small, glittering marble that seemed to faintly give off its own light.
`` It really is a star...'' he whispered, grasping out with a hand. He picked it up, holding it tight in his palm as he held it to his chest, squeezing onto this small glimmer of hope that had fallen from the heavens just for him.
He made a wish. A wish that was certain to come true.
-- -- -- -- -- -- --
I honestly ca n't believe I wrote so much. And I honestly have no idea what the hell this story is about. I guess I was just going for a more druggy, surreal take on the prompt ( because of the LSD-influence ). And there are probably a lot of issues with it, but I am much too tired to proofread at this hour.
So, non-druggy version, this guy takes so much LSD that he ascends to the realm of the stars. And there he can become the sun. But then he's like, this is lonely; I do n't like it here; the Earth is nice, actually—it's brave of people to face the darkness, rather than taking drugs and making it go away. So he spins the world backwards and becomes a falling star, to give his former self a wish. A wish so he can live a happier life without needing drugs to escape. ( Wow, so prudish. But you try coming up with a reasonable plot with a good motif at six in the morning after having not slept in how many hours! )
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[ WP ] It 's 2275 , and the United States has developed robotic soldiers that can be controlled like playing your favorite video game . The Army is 75,000,000 people strong and we are on the brink of war with the rest of the world . Explain what happens next .
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After the U.S. unveiling of their new robotic nano suit technology that required virtually no training whatsoever to use, the rest of the world found itself in a bit of a predicament. They could succumb to U.S. influence and have little to no say in global affairs, or they could fight back now before it was too late.
They chose the latter. And so World War III began. The army of couch surfers assembled in their chosen caves and logged onto the secure U.S. nano-soldier server ( USNSS ). But almost immediately, there were problems. The suits were dropped into various strategic areas, and almost instantly the Battle Communication Net was awash with various shouts and cries about `` bad spawns'' and spam about how bad the current map was. Many soldiers remained inactive after landing, as they had gone to the bathroom or left to `` get a snack''.
The defense of strategic targets, however, was flawless. The Army had specifically scouted `` campers'' to guard strategic U.S. emplacements and facilities. These young men and women had an almost unlimited ability to guard a specific spot and never waver in their dedication.
After nearly a week, no significant progress had been made on either front. The nations of the world signed a peace treaty with the U.S., no longer seeing the new suits as a threat to their livelihoods. And life went on, same as it always was. Well, except for the numerous youth of America going on and on about how they were `` war heroes'' and how they deserved veterans benefits for the rest of their lives.
And so, it seemed that the suits that were destined to lead the Americans into a position of unquestionable world leadership led to more problems than they fixed.
Well, until the next year's iteration of the suits was released. The new release would fix all the issues with the previous version. And so, the story continued...
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[ WP ] Creatures are crawling out of lakes and rivers , but not oceans , all across the world . They are also becoming increasingly hostile .
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“ This is Dr. Meyers, ” the man said into the radio. “ We ’ ve got another hot zone. ”
“ Is that a possible or a definite, Meyers? ”
“ Definite. ”
He squatted and looked at the large, stone-like object on the ground before him. Yes, definite. It was an egg. A jagged hole on one end told him that these had hatched, and likely within the last twenty-four hours, judging by the mucous-like fluid that coated the inside. A few feet away, nestled within the tall grass beside the lake, two or three dozen more shells lay across the ground.
He wondered if they would reuse the nest, if the babies and their mother would return, like certain known reptilians. The thought made send a cold, steel feeling through him. An eerie feeling.
“ Lucas, ” he said. “ Let ’ s get out of here. ”
Lucas, the PhD student, popped up from the grass, several egg fragments in his hand. “ You want to leave? ” he said. “ Really? There ’ s a lot of valuable stuff here. I don ’ t think anyone ’ s found such a large nest. We could probably learn a lot from this stuff. ”
“ I think we should leave, ” Meyers said.
“ Can ’ t we at least wait until they responders get here? Can I collect a few specimens? ”
“ I don ’ t really like this whole idea of sitting around out here, ” he said. “ Some mothers are very territorial. We don ’ t know much about these things. C ’ mon, Lucas, let ’ s go. ”
“ Two minutes Dr. Meyers, ” he said. He had already produced a stack of Tupperware containers from his backpack and began scooping some of the egg-goo into them. He took a few fragments, what appeared to be fecal matter. Other scientists had already collected such specimens, but as Meyers watched him, he saw a ghost of his former student-self, thinking he would need them for his own research, for the paper that would make him famous.
Two minutes later they started walking away from the lake ’ s edge toward the truck that had taken them there. Lucas removed the helmet to his space suit and stuck a cigarette in his mouth. He ran a hand through his wild red hair and struck a match, a stupid, satisfied grin on his face.
“ You ’ re lucky as hell, you know that? ” Meyers said.
“ Why ’ s that, doc? ”
“ You ’ re a student, at the tail end of getting his doctorate, just when this crazy scientific event happens. I guarantee there ’ s a Nobel prize or ten waiting to be snatched up. Prime time to be writing a thesis and conducting research. ”
Meyers didn ’ t know why he was being so friendly. Normally he and the other professors relished opportunities to crush students like this – cocky, confident, emotionally invested in their work. They gained a special level of satisfaction from tearing apart a term paper, a research proposal. They considered it a necessary part of their education, never written in the curriculum, but understood by the faculty – beat them so badly, exploit any flaws or holes, so they learned to create impenetrable arguments, impregnable ideas.
“ Maybe, but you already have a reputation. People will listen to anything you have to say. Hell, I read at least a dozen of your papers last year for a class, even the boring ones. You could probably get funding just by making a few phone calls. ”
“ Yeah, but I don ’ t have your energy. I used to, twenty years ago. Twenty years ago I spent night and day obsessing over extinct aquatic species that died out during the last ice age. I would drink a pot of coffee and spent all night going through piles of data. I don ’ t even know what I would do if I had this to study. ”
They reached the car and got in. Meyers made a log in his notebook about the coordinates and what they saw. He buckled his seat belt and braced himself. He had driven here, and they agreed to switch off. He had driven with Lucas enough to know that he had a heavy foot on the gas, and got a twisted pleasure from narrowly dodging trees and cliffs.
Lucas fiddled with the radio. Most of the stations were in Czech, but they somehow found a station that played Aerosmith. He turned it up and they started driving. Lucas tapped out the drum beat on the steering wheel.
Neither of them noticed the creature in front of them until the car hit it.
The impact rocked the vehicle. Lucas swerved wildly, the car slip-sliding in the mud. He cursed and corrected the direction. The car made a sickening sound. Half of the front end of the vehicle had collapsed like an accordion. A thin trickle of smoke leaked out of the punctured engine.
Meyers looked through the mirror to see the thing that had come out of nowhere.
One of the bigger bastards. None of them had scientific names yet. No one understood anything but their most basic behaviors and functions – like their carnivorous diets, not adverse to human flesh. Some of them seemed peaceful. Some of them didn ’ t. These big bastards, as apt a name as any, had accrued a monstrous reputation. He had never seen one up close before. It ’ s likeness to depictions of mythical dragons paralyzed him for a long moment as he watched it draw closer, practically gliding across the ground in long, lithe strides, its horrible head and eyes swinging back and forth.
The thought that maybe forty or fifty more these things had just hatched shattered the hold of terror, let him think.
“ Lucas! Get out! ” He said, as he unbuckled and opened his own door. He jumped out just as the creature smashed into the rear of the truck. The vehicle lurched forward, sliding fifteen or twenty feet on the slick Earth. Meyers ran, unsure if the beast had turned its focus to him or if it remained fixed on the car. He looked over his shoulder to see that had not even noticed him, and that Lucas had not gotten. He had, however, unbuckled his seat belt just in time to take the full brunt of the blow. The air bags had deployed and he had broken his nose. Meyers could see the blood even from here. He didn ’ t move. Maybe he had been concussed.
The dragon-like thing crashed into it again, this time from the side. Meyers told his body to run, to get the nearby woods, that he couldn ’ t help Lucas now, but his muscles revolted. He remained frozen, watching the beast in awe – half raw emotion, half scientific fascination. Its thick scales and feathered head resembled no other species he knew. It ’ s long, finger-like claws tore the opened door off its hinges and stuck its thin, slender body in.
It pulled Lucas out. Now he reacted, screaming, clinging to the inside of the car. It reminded Meyers of the way certain primates pulled grubs out of trees. Lucas was already bleeding badly, but when he hit the mud he still had the strength to try to scramble away. The creature planted a claw on his back as he writhed through the mud, crushing him in place.
Meyers couldn ’ t watch what happened next. He turned and ran for the woods.
Time lost meaning. Space seemed irrelevant now in all aspects except his proximity to that animal. When he finally stopped he collapsed to the ground, sweating and shivering, and crawled up against the base of a tree. He felt some of his old asthma kicking in. After a while he poked his head up and looked around.
He had come to stop near a stream, trickling its way through this patch of woods. If he had studied the map enough, that might have been a useful landmark. It was getting dark, the decreasing light exaggerated by the dense net of trees around him. A response team was supposed to come to sterilize the lake, but they might not be able to make until tomorrow morning. He didn ’ t know how far he had come from the lake, the car, which was where they would look for him, but his stomach turned and twisted at the thought of returning. The thought that there were forty or fifty young dragons wandering around popped back into his head again.
The hopelessness of his situation was only just beginning to dawn on him when he heard a strange animal call off to his left. The sound echoed and trailed off into the twilight. A moment later a wave of calls answered it. Meyers pressed himself close to the tree. They sounded close.
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[ WP ] All this time , God has meant well but is very clumsy . Everything he does to help us seems to backfire horrendously . Today , he makes himself known just to say that he is giving up and letting us take our own course . The very next day ...
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*A news into starts to roll some made up theme starts playing as a girl starts to rap about `` Channel 37 News''. She is speaking too fast for you to interpret what she is saying. *
News anchorman: `` Hello, I'm Cornell Chen coming at you live at the top of the hour. This is a special news coverage of the royal wedding between The princess of England, Brook Mary, and English Duke Albert York.''
*The camera cuts to a shot of the royal wedding. Suddenly, the sky turns extremely Bright. So bright that it hurts for anyone to even keep their eyes open. At the same time, everyone on earth hears a very deep voice. *
`` Hey, it's god here. Just wanted to let you guys know that I've been trying to do good things for you guys but they always backfire, so I'm done. Oh, and in case you are wondering, none of you had it exactly right. There was a prophet named Rowland Morris Waldo, but the church burned him at the stake a few hundred years ago for blasphemy, so... yeah. Just, you guys determine your own faith now. I'm done after today.''
*In an instant, the blinding light is gone. after he recovers, Albert York runs to his bride-to-be. *
Albert: `` I think we should call off the wedding'' He says to Brook
Brook: `` Yeah. I mean, this whole thing is pointless if god does n't care''
Albert: `` Yeah. So, now that we can do what we want, do you want to follow me back to the hotel?'' Albert says, forgetting he is wearing a microphone for the event.
Cornell Chen can be heard saying `` Cut the feed!'' in a half whisper. `` I do n't care, it's over, we got a new story to cover'' he argues to his boss, whom ca n't be heard.
*The camera feed cuts back to Chen as Albert picks up Brook and begins to carry her. *
`` Breaking news! apparently god has decided to stop trying, and that all current religions are WRONG? listen to this.''
*An audio clip is played of the deep voice from earlier*
Chen: `` This shocking development means that anyone on earth can do whatever they want without sin, as god does not care.''
*The following day, a Sunday, coincidentally, all the churches are empty. The world remains largely the same, except nobody fights about religion, and nobody even mentions the word. In a sense, god giving up has made the world even better because of this. Everyone is free to do as they please without moral consequences, but the laws of all the countries largely still keeps the people in check. This puts an end to our story... Or does it?''
God: `` hmm, I wonder what the humans are doing right about now.''
*He looks down upon the earth, and sees that it is a better place without people arguing about religion. *
`` Huh. I guess they really did n't need me. cool.''
*God proceeds to watch the humans go about their daily lives until the end of time, enjoying himself. *
( First time writing a story, but be honest, how is it? )
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[ WP ] Three people meet at the entrance to heaven . One is meant to enter , one is supposed to go to hell , and the third is not listed .
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`` Should he be climbing?''
It seemed like the appropriate question, laying outside heaven on the feather-bed cloud floor that made Sophie's own bed, a couch, seem like a punishment. The man, likely mid-twenties, turned offering a light smile.
`` Probably not. I think he just really wants to get inside, already.''
'He' referring to the stranger stretching for a foothold on heaven's gate. He looked like a shrunken doll as he inched up the impossibly high gates, but it was only an illusion of distance and light. Maybe. He, or even she, was already quite a way above them by Sophie's arrival, so it was hard to know for sure.
Something about her expression must have concerned the young man, who nudged her arm and narrowed his brows.
`` You alright?''
`` Yeah,'' she lied.
It was the wrong question for him to ask. It brought back sensations that were n't alright: her ribs, shattering against the glove compartment of her boyfriend's Acura as he got rammed from behind, digging into her lungs. Next, the fleeting second of her chest *emptying* itself on the same floorboard that caught nickles and McDonald's fries. Her body ached. From a sentence, she was thrust back into that moment along with every bit of agony sealed with it.
In the betrayal of her senses, Sophie squirmed to face Michael, her boyfriend in the passenger seat, but there was only bent metal and blood.
She closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose, as if it could massage out the images of the crash.
`` We're dead,'' she stated.
There was a pause in the span normally filled by the man's light-hearted comments. She turned to him, noticing him, studying him, as he leaned forward into his knees sighing.
`` Yeah. Yeah we are.''
One of the consequences of being human is how easy it is to focus on the present. Entire moments are simplified down to a sigh, or a glance, or a laugh. It shrinks the world down to bite-sized adventures, and it makes life manageable. And when the moment is gone, there is another moment, a small piece of forever, just as easy to digest and forget if needed. But in death, those snapshots come back. They are bolstered with new life, reinforced by lost senses. Recombining, they have the potential of swallowing up, if new moments are created to take their place.
`` What's your name,'' she asked, hoping to provide such a moment.
He looked back, startled by question's simplicity.
`` Oh, James. Sorry, I feel like that's something I probably should have said sooner.''
`` No worries, I did n't ask sooner. And I'm Sophie, also.'' She stuck out her arm for a handshake, as awkward a gesture as it was. James laughed lightly, easily, as he shook her hand.
`` It's very nice to meet you, Sophie,'' he said with an exaggerated formality.
`` Maybe we can be friends in the Kingdom of Heaven.'' She leaned back and waved her arm across the pearly gates, which remained shut. The both of them laughed heartily this time finally at ease.
`` Already making friends, how delightful,'' spoke a melodic voice from behind them.
Sophie and James rose immediately, turning to face their Creator. Although originally tense and rigid, Sophie immediately relaxed her poise.
God, as he stood before them, took the shape of a 30-year-old man, roughly, with messy blonde hair that shimmered against the light from heaven. His hazel eyes fought back a small web of winkles all from behind simple oval glasses, with a polished silver frame. Staring into His eyes, it felt as if He was sharing all the comfort and wisdom expected of a deity, offering it up amicably. What really brought a smile to Sophie's face, was God's choice of clothing. He wore light-blue pajama pants with stars and crescent moons on them and a sheer white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Sophie was n't exactly expecting God to arrive in a formal suit, but the informality of his attire made it hard to fight a grin.
Stepping forward barefoot, God looked back and forth at Sophie and James. The wrinkles of his eyes seemed to spread larger.
`` Are n't we missing someone?''
Struggling with the courage to engage the ultimate Creator in conversation, Sophie manged only to point up to the distant body on Heaven's gates after failing to articulate a single word correctly. God raised his brows as he cut between the two, and placed his hand on the gate. From above a quick yelp came, followed only by the sound of air rushing past the falling stranger, and then the harsh thud as he slammed into ground full-force. Sophie shot James a look of disbelief, who only covered his mouth and stared wide-eye at the body face down on the ground.
`` Is he dead?'' asked Sophie of God.
God, at first stoic when turning to face Sophie, quickly burst out into a fit of laughter. It was only then that she recognized the absurdity of her question, and began laughing herself.
Moaning, the body rolled onto it's back with only an expression of discomfort to bare as a wound. Sophie looked for the eyes of a stranger, and found them, but they lived in a memory.
While at a pool doing laps, the person in the next lane over starts to inch ahead of her. Reaching the wall, she flips, spins, and kicks off it, launching herself towards the other side, emerging ahead again. The stranger, worse at the maneuver, starts a body length behind her, but gains speed quickly and competitively. Four laps go on like this, until he grabs the wall and shouts, `` You win! Mercy!''
Halfway to the other side Sophie realizes her competitor vanished. Seeing him leaning against the wall, she swims back. She takes off her goggles and focuses on him for the first time noticing the thin scar on his cheek, his wet brown hair, and his deep blue eyes, the same deep blue eyes on the ground in front of her. They barely exchange their names before he asks her out on their first date.
`` Michael,'' she murmurs.
Michael looks up at her, smiling at first, until the realization of her presence clicks into place.
`` Oh. God dammit, you too?''
Sophie moves her hand to cover her cries, but it's too late. It's the love of her life, dead, dead with her, outside Heaven. The tears were coming, the sobs were coming, and she was helpless against them. Even in those fractured minutes in the wreckage of the car, blinking at the metal box encasing her, calling his name, she knew he was already gone. The impact came from his side. He did n't have a chance. But during those minutes on earth and her minutes beyond it, she did n't think to put the pieces together about where he'd go after his life ended.
`` I'm so, so, so sorry,'' he pleaded, his own eyes welling up with tears.
Extending an hand to him, he quickly took it, and immediately they were in each other's arms, embracing.
It was n't your fault. It was n't your fault.'' It's all she can bring herself to save, overwhelmed with grief and relief.
`` There's been a mistake,'' God spoke, taking off his glasses and dropping them into thin air. `` There were only supposed to be two people here.''
The couple turned to God and James, perplexed. Michael clasped Sophie's hand like a lifeline. Over the course of their reunion, Sophie had nearly forgotten about James, who stood only a few feet away. His hands were bound behind him, and his ankles had sunk into red, pulsing ground. Tears streamed down his eyes.
`` I'm not going to heaven, am I?'' James asked. God shook his head.
`` You are here to see the lives you've squandered with your recklessness, and to make your peace. I believe you have.''
Around him, the ground opened wide, billowing up smoke into the sky. *The driver*, Sophie realized.
`` It was nice meeting you, Sophie,'' James smiled, as the smoke overtook his body, and he slowly dropped past the rest of them. As soon as he was out of sight, the ground closed again, leaving only the faint smell of sulfur as a reminder of his presence.
God did not look pleased by James' departure from his realm. `` I should have expected as much,'' He said to Himself. He turned back to the couple, staring at their clasped hands.
`` What did you mean when you said there was a mistake?''
Sophie held God's gaze as she spoke the words, trying to bury a rising suspicion, a suspicion met.
`` You are not supposed to die today.''
`` I do n't care! I'm staying,'' she shouted at God. Her body shook from head to toe, although she did n't notice. The only thing preventing her from stepping forward and challenging His decision face-to-face was Michael, horrified, pulling her back to his side. It did n't take long for her body to betray her, and drop her own her knees. She felt cold, as if her blood had turned to ice water.
`` Why ca n't I stay,'' she pleaded, knowing the futility of her question. `` Will I at least remember this?''
God shook his head, touching Sophie's shoulder.
`` It is simply not your time. I'm sorry, Child. You will return soon enough.''
Michael watched silently as Sophie slowly faded back into the world and away from him.
EDIT: Feel free to critique, either with replies or PMs. Sorry for occasional grammar/spelling issues
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[ WP ] A man with nothing to lose , and a man with everything to lose are about to fight .
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`` I do n't give a fuck! ``, Alex said as he held the gun to the cashier's face.
`` Look, Alex... Please put the gun down! Let the cashier go. Come on buddy, I've known you for a while now, you do n't need to do this!''
He then focused his attention and his weapon on me, `` Hey, man! Fuck you! Do n't tell me what to do! And I'm not your buddy! I'll fuckin waste you right now!''
`` Okay, please calm down, Alex. Think about what you're doing, man. Think of your mother. What would she think about all this? Alex, please use your head and put the gun down. ``, I felt I was pleading with this man to save his own life. I had my pistol out to protect mine. My firearm pointed towards the ground as I did n't want to come off as to threatening and make Alex do something we would all regret.
Alex raised his gun and pointed it towards his own head, tears in his eyes, he said to me, `` Look man, I ai n't never shit! I ai n't never had nothing! I been selling drugs since I was 14! I've spent a total of 5 years in the pen! What the fuck you know about that!? I've got nothing left man! Fuckin nothing!! Nothing stopping me from blowing my brains out...''
`` Look Alex put the gun down, please. Your mother would be heart broken, do n't do this to her man. Do n't do this to yourself. ``, I knew Alex better then he thought I knew him. He just saw me as some guy in the street, another thug that ca n't be trusted. I saw him as a man with lots of potential, a man who desperately needed my help.
`` You know what man, you're right! What the fuck am I doing?! Why the fuck am I pointing MY gun at my OWN head?! That's fucking stupid!!! ``, Alex dropped his hands down to his sides, still clutching the.45 piece in his right hand. He hung his head low and stared at the ground.
I took this as my opportunity, `` Alex put it down man. This shit ai n't worth it. Let's just all go home today and pretend this never happened...''
I was staring at him waiting for a response. He lifted his head up and we locked eyes. He lifted his right hand slightly and began to let the gun slip out of his hands. He dropped it to the ground. The familiar clank gun metal dropping seemed to echo in the small gas station. He stared me in the eyes and I stared back. I could see the emptyness in his soul. I could still see that he was a man though. I could see the pain he has endured. I just wanted to help. I did n't want to shoot Alex. I was so relieved to see him drop the gun. I said to him, `` Please, kick it away. I do n't feel safe, Alex.''
Still staring me in the eye he kicked the gun in my direction. I walked towards his gun and bent down to pick it up. This was his chance and he took it.
Alex pulled a second hand gun from his waste band and pulled the trigger 4 or 5 times, I'm not exactly sure on the number. Everything went black. When opened my eyes I was laying on my back. I saw the ceiling of the gas station. I struggled to raise my head, but i was able to watch as Alex made his excape. My eyes then wandered to myself. My right pant leg was wet with blood. My shirt was also soaking and I could see a pool of bright red blood rapidly growing to my left. I passed out.
I woke up again I do n't know how much time had passed but the cashier was on the phone making a frantic phone call. I grabbed at my chest, the pain was growing immensely. I patted at myself looking for bullet wounds. My left hand tapped at my badge, I pulled it off my chest and looked at it... For the last time. `` To Protect and Serve'', I felt my life slipping away and embraced the warmth of death.
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[ WP ] The blind man .
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I put on my thick, dark, opaque shades and prepared myself for what I was about to face.Life was new now and would change even more drastically from now onwards.
I grabbed and extended my walking stick and swung it gently from side-to-side infront of me, nervously scraping the invisible door.
After moments of weakness and doubt I opened the door and stepped into my unknown world. The cold and silence was the only mutual feeling.
`` The chair is in its usual place?''
She confirmed with a faint and sombre voice.
I inched my way to the left corner of the room, taking my time so that my stick could lead me confidently. I sat down on the familiar chair and melted away in my dilemma, the unrelenting silence forcing me to think about the times before this.
All I wanted was to see my beautiful wife one last time, yet, sitting an unknown few feet from me my desire sat -unreachable.
I remember every detail, her beautiful strawberry smile that invaded my vision with love. Her lovely locks of hair that seemed to flow from her head as if drowning all the sorrow In the world. Her hazelnut-skin that glistened with elated joy whenever she saw me. Her dark blue eyes that mimicked the unforgiving motion of a storming ocean, yet providing refuge for the one she loved...
She loved me.
Her hand grabbed mine and the frozen feeling jolted up my arm and shocked me back to reality. All of these things were now only a memory, a dream, that's all it would ever amount to be for I was unable to see her smile again. Unable to see her hair, and her skin and her eyes.
As My eyes began to tear, I stood up and aimed for the door, grabbing my stick hastily. I did not want her to see me like this...
Hopeless.
I closed the door behind me and let my emotions run free across my face.
I loved her so much.
I retracted my stick and took of my glasses and began to walk home.
I could not see her, I could not see her like this.By this stage the cancer would have turned her into a pile of fragile bones...
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[ CW ] My mouth is closed but I keep on screaming .
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I wake up crying.
Desolate
Lost
Alone.
Strapped to a chair tied down head to toe
Stitches seal my lips as I hope and pray for survival.
My mouth is closed but I keep on screaming
my anger is seething
my heart keeps believing
that I can
and I will
get out of this chair
out this hell
find a way to just make things right.
I was lost and alone.
Scoring smack on the streets
as needles invaded my brain.
Heroine
Deep in my soul cutting me dry
I sold my soul for a chance at something
I sold my soul to succeed
I sold the one thing I need
And when I did die
and reached the pearly gates of diamond and gold.
The fluffy white clouds were too stark
the black flames were calling.
Kicked down by the father
Almighty and great
Kicked down past the devil
to the iron fenced gate.
Black ironed rust.
I was taken to a warehouse
Tied me down to this chair
barbed steel on my chest.
Wrapped twice around
ripping holes in my chest.
Then they pulled out the suture
and silenced my cries
An eternity in pain
an eternity of screams
ushered into pure silence
I was once a silver tongued fellow.
Spitting raps and rhymes
manipulating words and
bending those to my will
My mouth is closed but inside I am screaming
this is my hell
my personalized hell.
I wake up crying
Desolate.
Lost.
Alone.
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[ WP ] You 're a photographer , but your clients do n't know that they 're dead
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`` Come right on in miss smith, if you just sit right there I'll prep the lighting''
She wandered into my studio with the same lot expression as many before her. She was young, maybe, late 20s. The collision had killed her instantly leaving her briefly in this lull before moving on. Souls like that always left an imprint behind, I was the one responsible for that.
`` Alrighty ma'am how about a winning smile?''
She smiled politely, clearly still wondering how she'd found herself here.
`` Stunning'' I snapped a few more of her in various poses `` and we're all done, I hope you enjoyed yourself''
`` Oh... yes, uh what was your name?''
`` Peter, anyway, you do n't want to keep your family waiting. I'll send these pictures to you later'' I guided her gently through the door `` Just follow the light~''
The woman nodded, still none the wiser, probably thinking she was dreaming. I looked over the pictures. Precious moments to hand down to her friends and family in moments of need. This was god's work.
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[ WP ] God and the Devil return to Earth for Judgement Day , only to find humanity has been wiped out . Now Heaven and Hell are being targeted by Skynet .
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Kind of new to this but here goes:
Gabriel angrily picked his way through piles of trash and debris littering the Los Angeles street and squinted in to the setting sun. He ’ d been searching for hours and hadn ’ t run into a single human. It would be dark soon and if he didn ’ t have something to show for his efforts the boss man would be pissed. Big time.
“ Where the hell is everyone, ” he muttered, and winced as a rolling clap of thunder came in quick response. Accounting had predicted a population of over 8 billion souls for processing by now and R & D had all personnel on an iron-clad schedule in order to get souls sorted and whatnot. Delays would be dealt with severely. Something crunched under his feet, interrupting his thoughts: Gabriel looked down to find himself ankle-deep in some unfortunate person ’ s charred skull.
Disdainfully hopping on one foot to shake off a very much stuck blackened human head, Gabriel fell back and steadied himself against a pile of scrap metal. Distastefully brushing bits of bone off his sandal, Gabriel was again thrown off balance into the rest of the skeleton as the metal mound stirred to life. From his seat in his acquaintance ’ s chest cavity, Gabriel stared in wonder at the hulking 12 foot metal humanoid that stood before him.
“ SCANNING, ” grated the metal beast as its sinister amber eyes flickered to life. Gabriel shook his head and stood up.
“ Ah, excuse me, do you know where I might find someone more, ah, human to talk to? I ’ ve been searching everywhere are and I don ’ t really have time – ”
“ SUBJECT UNKNOWN. INITIATE TERMINATION PROTOL. ” And with that the peculiar assembly of metal tubes attached to the giant ’ s arm began to whir and rotate rapidly.
“ Look I don ’ t mean to be rude but I ’ m in a bit of a rush, ” but before Gabriel could finish the beast ’ s arm erupted in a thunderous cloud of sparks and smoke, and Gabriel was thrown across the street against a building, blood gushing from his chest in a fountain.
“ SUBJECT TERMINATED, ” droned the monster, and its arm weapon slowed to a stop.
“ So you want to play rough, ” coughed Gabriel and spat out what might have been a piece of a lung. Closing his eyes, Gabriel smiled. The angel ’ s body rose several feet in the air. The wind picked up from a gentle breeze to an almighty howl as Gabriel was enveloped in a cyclone of mist and light.
“ SCANNING, ” came the reply.
Gabriel ’ s shimmering form emerged as the street returned to normal. He popped his joints and stretched. Before the machine could again use its awful weapon, Gabriel raised his arm and a brilliant blinding bolt of lightning leaped from his open palm to his opponent. The machine sizzled and cracked as it fell forwards with a reverberating crash. Gabriel approached cautiously and knelt to examine the once again lifeless form.'Cyberdyne Systems T-600' was etched on the back of the metal monstrosity ’ s skull. This was not good.
As Gabriel contemplated the recent events in the settling dust in the middle of a dusky Los Angeles avenue, the silence was once again broken, this time by a distant, ominous cacophony that concerned Gabriel greatly. It was like some horrible chorus of the damned coming from everywhere at once.
“ I know what you ’ re thinking, and it ’ s none of my doing, ” came a voice from behind Gabriel. Lucifer, tapping one of his hoofed feet impatiently had appeared silently in a cloud of heavy black smoke.
“ Well then this is indeed a problem, ” replied Gabriel cautiously. “ You think the humans did this? ”
Lucifer smiled showing his crooked golden fangs and gestured to the motionless machine, still steaming. “ Looks like it, although we can ’ t exactly ask your friend anymore. ”
“ True, but I ’ m sure we could question some of his friends, ” responded Gabriel sarcastically as he pointed over Lucifer ’ s shoulder. Down the street here and there other massive iron golems were stirring from their slumber, and without warning a group of what looked like giant metal birds screamed overhead at impossibly high speeds. Pairs of menacing amber eyes lit up the gloom.
HR was going to have a field day.
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[ WP ] `` I ai n't here to save the fucking chicken ''
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Henrietta the cow was depressed. In general her life was fairly crummy and not only because her parents had really been hoping she would be a bull who they could call Henry, so she was stuck with this stupid name. No, Henriette was depressed for the reason that you, or I, would be in her position. Stuck in a field, with dozen of other cows, being milked twice a day, she had almost given up all hope of becoming a Jazz singer.
Since she was a young calf, gambolling in the north field, she had imagined herself working the bars of New Orleans, in a slinky red dress, huskily singing along with a group called something like the *Dan Crow four. * She knew she would have been great, sexily working the tables while huskily singing the old songs.
It was her shame and her sorrow but at least, here in the field she could sing her heart out and no one would stop her, the other cows barely seemed to notice. `` Moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo'' she sang, her heart swelling as the first verse rippled off her lips. `` Moooooooooooooooooooooooooo-oooooooooooooo-ooo'' She sexily breathed out before slipping to the bridge `` Moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo''.
She looked around, no one had notice. Hanging her head she brought back up some cud and slowly chewed. This was her life, unappreciated, ahead of her time and never to be discovered.
She'd been facing North for a few hours and in desperation for a change she decided that East was the way to go and so slowly began to turn when a voice from behind chirped up.
`` You got talent sweet cheeks - how'd a hay chewer like you learn to sing like that?'' She looked back in surprise and found a crow, perched on the wall, watching her with intent.
`` You liked it?'' She could hardly believe that he was talking to her.
The crow fluffed his feathers. `` Liked it? Sweetheart, you see my white leg here? That's where I shit myself with job listening to you. You got talent kid and I can tell from the way you move you got moxie too.''
Henrietta let herself feel a flutter of excitement. `` You really think so? Wow, thank you Mr...?''
`` The name's Bob B Crow, I'm a music scout and a crow. I've heard a lot of talent around barn yards over the years and I'm telling you doll, you've got it! I'm gon na take you away from here, save you from this life of shit eating and milk pumping and you and I'm gon na make you a star''
Breathing suddenly seemed hard and she had to stop and think for a moment. This was so fast and so sudden. Modesty began to kick in, trying to protect her after years of heartbreak `` I'm not that good, honestly, if you go up to the coop Sally the chicken has a much better voice, much more pop, more commercial. You could take her, save her!''
`` I ai n't here to save the fucking chicken'' he snapped back, I'm here to find a jazz superstar and I got that right here. Big tears of joy slowly began to roll down Henrietta's face. All these years, all that time, it was happening just as she'd imagined.
`` Now look.'' Bob fixed her with a beady eye. `` I'm gon na go sort out the contract and I'll be back soon and we'll blow this one field farm and got into the city.'' Henrietta could only nod in response. `` You keep working and I'll see you soon sweetheart.''
Her heart set Henrietta worked day and night, scales, Jazz, pop, she stretched herself every day. As the days turned to weeks she kept the faith but as summer turned to Autumn and then Winter she realised that it had been just another cruel jest.
By Spring her heart was broken and she sang no more during the day. Only at night when everyone else slept could occasionally you hear her haunting song across the yard `` Moooooooooooooooo, mooooo mooo mooooooooooooo.''
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[ CC ] - I signed up to the free online writing course that was posted here , and would love some feedback on this prompt .
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`` The radio was off now.'' This is an example of the passive voice ( well, kind of ), in which we're simply being told something. In this situation, allow a character to perform the action ( he turned the radio off/he flicked the radio off, etc. )
`` His left hand gripped the steering wheel tightly'': This is a great opportunity to show us the character's interaction with the steeringwheel. Show us how he's gripping it tightly, `` Jason wrapped his fingers around the steering wheel, his knuckles growing white as he squeezed.'' Something like that where you're not specifically telling something, but showing something that conveys the message.
`` The dreary clouds above matched the atmosphere in the car'': I like this line, but I think you could expand on it. That sets up a great scene - how does it match? What kind of colors are specifically matching? `` The grey, overcast skies above the car seemed to seep into the partially open window, bringing with it the depressing smell of a coming storm.'' ( I know, that's flowery, over-the-top, and kind of stupid, but I'm just trying to throw together a quick example: P )
`` [ His hand released the wheel, ] pulled down the sun visor and slid the cover of the vanity mirror open.'' Bit more passive voice again, something like `` He released the wheel'' or `` He loosened his grip on the wheel'' instead.
`` He looked tired, and couldn ’ t help but grimace at his own disheveled self.'' I do n't think you need this line - it's not necessary because you show this in your next sentence. What you do in that next sentence is, instead of specifically saying `` he looked tired,'' you show us with the dark eyes. But you can expand, i.e.: `` he reached up and turned the rear-view mirror so he could see himself. Dark blue bags outlined the bottoms of his eyes, a partially-healed scar permanently imprinted above his left eyelid. His charcoal hair was a mess, even despite the effort he'd put into it this morning. It never looked the way he wanted it to.'' etc. etc. At no point do I say he's tired, or that he particularly has low self-esteem/dislikes himself, but it is quite apparent by how it's described. You do a good job with this in the sentence after the one I highlighted, but just figured I'd expand further. ( Also I totally forgot cars had visors [ which even you mentioned ], thus I had him adjust the rearview mirror haha ).
`` Staying fit and eating healthy wasn ’ t exactly a priority these days. [ While he wasn ’ t exactly overweight, his body had grown soft a pudgy. ]'' Another great opportunity to expand on describing the character within the brackets. Show us that he's pudgy yet still in shape. Maybe mention he has to use a new notch on his belt, or something like that. What you wrote is n't bad, but if you want to practice it's a good area to expand.
`` Hopefully no one in the neighboring cars would get a good look at him, as he would surely be the most wanted man in the country once they got the trunk of this abandoned heap of shit open.'' Tiny bit of a run-on. You could cut it down: `` Hopefully no one would get a good look at him, or he'd be in a world of shit once they managed to pry the rusted trunk of the ancient Ford open.''
`` His head was beginning to throb when the cars in front began to pull away'' Awkward sentence, might want to consider something like `` His head had started to throb as the maroon Volvo ahead of him moved forward a few inches, eyes darting back and forth between the cars ahead.'' ( I included `` a few inches'' to negate the need for the 20-feet-further line, and really make it seem like he's trapped ).
General advice:
If you use a word, i.e. car, try not to use the word again for two sentences or so. Replace with similar ones ( vehicle, automobile, truck, SUV, sedan, etc. )
Try to be specific when you describe things. For the above example, cars, you could say what kind of car it was: as specific as a emerald-green Toyota Prius, or `` a shitty Ford sedan,'' or even `` a shitty white sedan.'' That way the reader can see what you're seeing, not infer something different. Same is true for describing mundane things ( i.e. steering wheel - is it leaather and black, or brown and cloth, etc.? You do n't always have to do it, but it's good to get into the practice of doing so ).
Show, do n't tell. That's a generic statement and is always pretty hard to explain, but it's as simple as showing a situation, rather than telling it. Do n't just say `` it was cold,'' show that it was cold: people wearing jackets, arms crossed, goosebumps on arms, the smell of a fireplace, etc.
Hope you can use some of what I wrote. I know I did n't give much positive feedback ( and let me just say that there's a lot to give - this is definitely a better-written story than a lot of what is posted here ), but I do n't think you really gain anything from `` Great job, love so-and-so.'' Sandwich complements are good sometimes, but I find it is better when you just list a bunch of stuff to consider. And I say consider because everything I've written is NOT to be taken as standard, or as fact, or as something you have to do. They're mere suggestions!
That said, I quite enjoyed the story. Great work!
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[ WP ] You 've been sent into an alternate dimension where music is magic : choirs can change the weather and orchestras can topple castle walls . With your digital music device ( iPhone , MP3 player , whichever ) , you 've just become the most powerful wizard in the world .
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* “ Ugh… Where am I? `` * I wondered to myself, my head hurt like hell, and my surroundings were unfamiliar, * “ I must be dreaming… There ’ s no other reason for this. ” * I had woken up in what looked like my room… but was inherently different. I ’ d know if it was my room, and this wasn ’ t it. All the nerdy decorations were gone, it looked like it had before I moved in. I heard the doorknob jiggled and the door opened, and the girl that entered looked incredibly familiar. She screamed, and ran right back out the door, most likely to get her parents or somebody.
“ Oh, just what I needed. ” I said to myself and I jumped out the window, because, I reasoned, that if this is in fact a version of my house, there will be a short fall to the bushes directly below. Thank heavens, I was correct, and as I landed, my headphones flew out of my ears. I landed in the bushes, the phone, in an otter case thank god, landed a few feet away. Clambering to get out of the bushes before the girl came outside with somebody; I ran and scooped up the phone. I ran as far away as my feet would carry me, which was downtown. It was all familiar but, again different, as if in a slightly less modern time period. I slowed down and caught my breath, it was at this point I remembered that I had fallen asleep to [ a RWBY x SAO mashup ] ( https: //www.youtube.com/watch? v=8n2m1RKvyzg ), an odd thing to fall asleep to but, hey I was tired. It was also storming oddly hard that night, cracks of lightning and rolls of thunder kept denying me sleep. When I finally fell asleep, I remember clearly, for some reason, that the words of the song said “ This ’ ll be the day we open up the door. ” My thoughts were broken by the girl and at least 2 other people running past the alleyway I was resting in, I only got a quick glimpse of the trio but It looked like the 2 other people were… dressed up as knights?! I poked my head around the corner, and they definitely dressed like knights, they went the whole nine yards too, with metal plating and everything! I could tell because they metallically clanked and clacked.
“ You don ’ t look like you ’ re from around here… ” said a voice from behind me.
I quickly spun around and it was another guy dressed like a knight! I couldn ’ t see his face but I knew he was eyeing me suspiciously.
“ Uh… What, of course I am! ” I responded after a moment, hoping I could talk my way out of this situation.
“ Uh-huh, sure you are, and what am I supposed to make of your clothes, they ’ re a composer ’ s garb, and this isn ’ t a composer village. ” The knight returned coolly.
* “ Composers? Did I hear him right? And he said that my everyday clothes were a composer ’ s garb… Maybe that ’ s why she freaked out… ” *
“ Did you hear me? ” The knight asked, “ I told you to explain yourself. ”
“ Oh, right, yeah, about that… ” I stepped backwards towards the other end of the alley, “ I ’ ve got a few errands to run for the, er… Composer college here in town, and they ’ re really important. ”
“ Uh-huh, sure they are, ” He took a step towards me, closing the distance, “ There isn ’ t an artist college around here for miles, the only ones here in America are in Washington and Rhode Island. ”
* “ Shit, shit, shit. This is* baaad, *not only does this guy think I ’ m suspicious but I just failed the bluffing check! ” *
I took another step backwards and instinctively reached for my phone, and whipped it out. The knight took a surprised step backwards but realized it wasn ’ t something I could hurt him with. For some ungodly reason, I unlocked my phone and the [ Stardust Crusaders theme ] ( https: //www.youtube.com/watch? v=NFjE5A4UAJI ) started playing. In wave of confusion, the knight retreated several steps, and reached for his sword. The reason why presented itself and [ [ Star Platinum ] itself ] ( http: //vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/vsbattles/images/2/2c/Jotaro_Starplatinum_jojoeoh.jpg/revision/latest? cb=20160120222705 ) stepped from behind me towards the knight.
* “ Alright, what the fuck. ” * I thought to myself, * “ Why the hell is [ Star Platinum ] here, he ’ s a stand, not even a character. ” *
At this point [ Star Platinum ] began rushing the knight, while the knight swung wildly at him, and the knight couldn ’ t keep up with [ Star Platinum ] ’ s speed and power and, with one punch, knocked the knight straight out of the alleyway. He tumbled into a trash can. I paused the music on my phone and ran the exact opposite way. I noted that upon pausing the music, [ Star Platinum ] disappeared much like the way he does in the anime. I kept running.
**Writer's note: ** This is a trimmed version! Please read the full version [ here. ] ( https: //www.reddit.com/r/Steve200900WritesStuf/comments/55fykb/musicality_star_oliver_star/ )
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[ WP ] Picking a profession gives you immunity to bad things that your profession deals with ( ex Doctors will never get sick , Businessmen will never go poor ) . Your profession lasts your entire life , but you decided to be a Funeral Director .
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It started with my wife. Then my kids... and their kids. On and on its been going. I've been doing my families funerals for free for two centuries now. You start to feel numb after a while, I'd say about after the 80th year I stopped feeling anything at all. Until... she came in. A friend of my great great great great great great great great great great granddaughter, whose parents asked me to oversee the funeral arrangements. Her name was Rose and she was the most beautiful thing I'd seen in two hundred years. Drowning seems like an awful way to die, but it leaves the body very intact, and smooth.
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[ WP ] You have a chip implanted in your brain . Not a computer chip . It 's a Dorito .
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He'd never seen the truck coming, never heard the squawking protest of the brakes as the driver frantically tried to miss him, did n't even feel the perfectly pointed corn chip as it inexplicably pierced his skull and plunged into his cerebral cortex. But he certainly felt the changes that occurred in his body as the corn, powdered cheese and msg coursed through his body.
***POFFO! *** His muscles began to grow and strengthen, and all his clothing began to turn orange at the edges. In moments, he was an orange hulk, a rowdy giant with a heart of diamond who would bring demolition and destruction down upon any who attempted to snake their way out of justice. Evil would learn to fear The Nacho Man...
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[ WP ] At birth , all babies are assigned one tarot card that predicts the baby 's fate . You , however , have received a blank card .
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Did n't start this at the birth of the child. Just wanted to run with it a little bit. I'm new to writing, despite wanting to as a child, so I doubt it's good.
Those assigned a blank card were meant to choose their own fate. Like most things there is a hidden side of the coin. Choosing an option for their fate would doom someone close to them into one of the remaining options.
`` Hello, dear.''
`` It's time for you to make a choice...'' the wisp's voice trailed off into a whisper
Like many times before Alexis was whisked away into a world of neverending white. The womanly wisp had long ago given this place a name, `` The Crossroad.''
There were three sturdy oak doors with ornate trimming standing before her. Each door had a different fate engraved on a gold plaque. The options were attending a prestigious school graduating with honors, failing out of community college to start a business and enlisting as an army reservist. Alexis had to consider the effect of each outcome. One of the options she did n't choose would befall her brother. Having thought of the consequences for her brother she firmly grasped a knob on one of the doors. Her hands shook holding the door for enlisting in the army. Her brother had always been against the violence of war. Long ago she chose to give her brother the best options in life. Her brother was born with the unlucky card and she intended to balance the scales in her brother's favour. She swung the door open and walked through the blinding brightness.
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[ WP ] Write a story about a man writing a story about a man writing a story about a man writing a story .
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`` Walker pressed his hand against the machine he had grown so fond of one final time, as the pain in his side grew stronger. He fell to the ground as the sirens began to blare, and the last thing he saw was a man in blue rushing in, gun in hand.''
Vinny threw the pen on the ground, almost screaming with joy. He'd never written something so beautiful in his life. When he'd started the story, he never thought he'd find the proper way to end it. Walker, Johnny, all of these wonderful characters he'd created, finally put in their proper place. It was over.
`` So it's a story about Vinny Willigan and his thought process while he wrote Aching Bad. Pretty cool, right?''
Kyle's publisher sighed, rubbing his temples as he pushed his glasses up from the bridge of his nose. `` Kyle, we only publish *original stories*. Not fan fiction.
`` It's not fanfiction, Greg, it's a biography!''
`` I do n't give a shit what it is, I'm not printing this garbage! You do n't even have any quotes!''
`` Fuck you, Greg! You never came over to my house for dinner, EVEN THOUGH I INVITED YOU SEVEN TIMES!''
`` IF I WANTED TO EAT EASY MAC GARNISHED WITH RAMEN FLAVORING PACKETS, I'D VISIT MY SON AT COLLEGE!''
`` BULLSHIT, YOUR SON DROPPED OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL! I KNOW, GREG, EVERYONE DOES!''
`` FUCK YOU KYLE, FUCK YOU AND YOUR SAD DINNER PARTIES! GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!''
/u/DrStevesMagicDrink could n't help but chuckle at his own story. The dysfunctional relationship between a writer and his publisher, it was one of the most original things he'd ever written! Capturing Kyle's true disappointment after the fifth time Greg failed to show for dinner, feeding the easy mac to his cat, it was pure gold!
Dr. Steve loved writing. It was such an amazing feeling to create, almost as if something real rose from the keyboard he furiously chicken-pecked 24/7. Maybe if he looked into another dimension, he could see Greg and Kyle having it out again, each wielding a letter opener. Boy, that's a great idea for chapter 36! Dr. Steve returned to his keyboard, ideas fresh in his mind, and wondered: Would anyone ever write about him?
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[ WP ] One second your in your house , the next you 're standing in a living room surrounded by three demons . They drop their Ouija board and scream as they run to their bathroom and lock the door . `` I told you we should n't have touched it ! ''
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It was a chilly, Monday morning when I was teleported out of my kitchen. I ended up in a room with four hellish creatures. They looked at me and I looked at them. We both screamed at the same time. They ran into the nearest bathroom to discuss what they should do. I sat outside the door, listening to their plans.
“ We should send her back, ” said demon # 1.
“ We should vivisect her and see how humans work, ” said demon # 2.
“ Nah, ” said demon # 1, “ We aren ’ t Japanese nor German in WWII. ”
“ We should not have played with that board, ” whispered demon # 3, “ Master will whip us all again until we are near death. ”
I ran behind the sofa as they came out. I didn ’ t know what to do but be frightened. Demons were notorious for tricking humans and wearing them like meatsuits when they go topside. I found a dagger next to me. Next thing I knew, all the demons were dead and I was covered in blood.
The master walked in to see what the matter was. I stood there and locked eyes with him. The master growled at me. Claws bared, he lunged at me. I dodged and slashed him.
“ Please send me back, ” I said, “ I didn ’ t want to be here. I just wanted to finish my grilled cheese sandwich. ”
“ If you can beat me at chess, then I will let you go, ” said the master. He summoned a chess board from thin air. The game began.
Move by move, we played. Until I finally managed to get him into checkmate. He howled that I cheated even though it was a fair match and really hard to cheat at chess.
Quicker than lightning, I was returned to my home. I returned to my skillet and finished my sandwich. After which I nailed a horseshoe above my front door, so no demon or demonic power could enter and whisk me away again.
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[ WP ] Remember that day when you 're life changed forever ? Tell us the story of waking up the next morning .
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I'll get us started:
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -
Up.
I can see no light through my eyelids.
Poisoned stomach and heavy muscles tell me I ’ ve slept little if at all.
Tongue rolls around sour mouth, striving to escape, forcing the stagnant taste away bit by bit.
Stinging eyes open to the world, and bring to me a scene of twilight.
The cloudy sky – kissed by the foremost scouting rays of the sun – is a faint purple, a shade brighter than the night.
All of this – the generator, the sky, the rocks, and the roads – are encompassed by a formidable silence. A hand, charmed by the simple serenity, loosens it ’ s grip on the primitive rock pile, forgetting this simple weapon and the fears that created it.
Into a sit-up position, arms clasped around dirty knees, I survey my territory. This is my sanctuary, from the dirty Buddhist garden rocks, to the metal grills of the generators, and I have marked it a refuge for wounded souls.
My gaze wanders to the nearest generator, the soft metal screen in which determined fingers carved the word SAFE.
That single word, a physical embodiment of the emotional bubble I have created upon this suburban oasis. Flanking this gentle proclamation, like guards against the world, stand my two aliases at cocky angles. Raza to the left and Rodrigo to the right.
My true name is not here, held back by an unexplainable terror of discovery.
I am no longer here, my thoughts have returned to the night.
–
The taxis. So many taxis flanking my castle, like vicious guard dogs intent on testing my determination.
I can not be seen. I must remain a ghost, a specter, or else risk discovery and it ’ s dire consequences.
Wraith like, I flow from my hiding place behind the billboard, sandals whispering across the pavement, stealing to the ladder.
Stone calves propel me upwards, fingers grace the cool metal bars and slip, and relentless gravity slams me back to earth.
Panic.
I can almost hear the taxi ’ s growl as it comes back into view, accusing headlights flooding into my crime scene, blinding me and forcing me to flee my only refuge.
Again I leap, hand grasps metal and feet hit brick, propelling me upwards. I scramble, monkey like, and haul myself out of sight and into safety.
For a moment, stillness. Then the mental tidal wave.
Safe! What if I ’ ve been seen? I can rest! No, not yet, I must be prepared for the worst.
I am stricken by pleasure and fear as my eyes register the shattered electric blue bottle. This place is known, and has been used before. Demons posing as teenage mobs and mechanical policemen torment my imagination.
Carefully, I scuttle to my barricade behind the ideal generator. This spot is perfect, hidden from the ladder ’ s sight and close enough for a mad dash towards my only escape.
I must be ready for fight and flight. The hunted homeless live in constant flight, and all wanderers must guard against the fingers and heavy boots of their companion night-time vagabonds.
As worn fingers form two piles out of the cool and grimy rocks, primitive projectiles against all who dare to approach, a lightning reel of scenes flits across my mind.
I wake up to fling my defense against a noisy foe, crunching across the sentient stones.
No, for he is not loud but silent, until I feel the blinding impact of his boot against my head.
No, he is another wayward friend, curious to hear my story and glad as I to have an understanding companion.
The occasional car buzzes by on a solitary mission, and the words and wheezes of the taxis drift intermittently into my ears.
I lay down beneath the stars, leather jacket serving the role of pillow, and watch my thoughts careen through space, colliding and drifting and whipping up dust devils of fear and excitement.
–
Ouch.
Sharp pain yanks me back into the morning. Body shifts and searching fingers find the metal embedded into my shirt.
Yanked out, the staple ’ s cruel edge beckons a powerful and silent humor. Eyes follow it end over end, catching the light, to crash into the distant rocky field.
The rocks, bathed in the calm pre-sun-light, tell of cold, hard freedom: a painful and brokenly perfect state of life.
Eyes wander to the plastic bottle peeking out of my backpack, and suddenly my throat is a barren and poisoned desert.
I lunge towards it ’ s soft blue, white cap giving way to incessant twisting. The sour dryness is suppressed by a tasteless cold flow, twisting soothingly down my throat, only to resurface, weaker, as the bottle is lowered.
Again, not spilling a drop, knowing that the next bottle will have to be won or stolen.
From the open zipper I pull a gleaming black laptop. A beautiful anchor connecting me to homeless knowledge, living friends, and myself.
I put on soothing music and clamor atop my barricade/signpost/generator.
The notes, hinting at renewal and beautiful life, circle around me, a constant reminder that all will be okay, even as my thoughts return to the troubles that caused me to flee.
I close my eyes on the glistening birth of the red sun, and sit back to examine my thoughts in my sheltered and chilly valley, surrounded by powerful mountains of protective music.
Eyelids slowly redden as I calmly observe my anger. My house mates, my setbacks, my scattered plans, my dashed hopes.
I sooth the jittery, desperate beast, knowing that somehow I will succeed. I must.
Open again, I look across my vast world, electric fear and delight zapping my nerves as I contemplate it ’ s boundless freedom.
This world holds an endless supply of adventures, and the powerful emotions awaiting discovery within them.
The yellowing sun soars higher into his empty sky and I stand up, staring straight into the heart of my heavenly companion.
Let ’ s go.
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[ WP ] The Apocalypse began six years ago . Nobody has noticed until now .
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`` One, no two. Yeah I need two. Wait. Hey did you see that? Aw fuck let's get this done.'' Dan looked out the window, a black mist began to roll slowly down the hillside. He grabbed the two air filters and put down three cans. The man behind the counter tapped it twice. `` Come on really Steve?'' He tapped it again. Dan glanced nervously out the window as the black mist made it's way down main street. `` Fine. I hope you choke on it.'' He grabbed three more cans from his bag and rolled them on the counter and left the store, slamming the door behind him. A flimsy paper bag grasped tightly in his fist.
As he sat in his car attaching one of the new air filters to his face mask Dan wondered just how it came to this. Had it been six years really? When did the news reports first start? A year ago? two? When did Michelle pass? No, do n't think about that. Dan turned his key, once, twice, the engine sputtered to life. Well there's one good thing he thought as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed home. He'd have to take the long route, the mist was already rolling down Beckman street. A dark shape darted across the road, he hit the gas. Dan managed to just barely clip the creature. A small smile cracked for the first time in weeks, he headed home.
The house had been built some 30 years ago on top of a hill overlooking the valley. It was a pain to get to, the switchback road was notorious for icing over in the winter and washing out during the spring, but it meant he was relatively safe at least from the mist. He looked in his rear view as he snaked up the mountain, the mist was just now reaching the town. Six o'clock right on time.
He could see his driveway, the modified gate was still lit. The stone wall looked intact, for as much as he could see. It was a small cabin, two rooms and a loft. Meant just for vacations and special occasions. His father had built it when he was just a kid. His father had started the wall to keep deer out of his garden. Seven feet of stone and mortar, it was back breaking work when he was a kid. He was sure it was just his fathers way of putting him to work in the summer, but he was glad for it. He had expanded it with wood planks and steel sheet, and reinforced it near the cliff side. The house sat at the edge of a clearing it's back to a 200 foot drop into the valley below. It kept the little ones out, the big ones did n't venture far up the mountain for now.
He opened the gate and pulled in, making sure to lock it tight before pulling up the driveway. He checked the garden, a few tomatoes had managed to come in and he found a single eggplant in the bed. Better than nothing. The carrots and potatoes would n't be ready for a few more weeks, plus they still had some cans. Dan opened the door and took off his mask. He remembered to seal up the filter in it's can so it would n't be wasted sitting on the shelf when not in use. He placed the second filter in a drawer next to the door.
`` Sam?'' a scraping could be heard from the second bed room. `` fuck.'' he put on his leather smock and gloves and opened the door. A flurry of hair and nails streaked out at him. He was practiced though, so pure fury was n't enough to overcome him. He managed to restrain his daughter and reattached her restraints. She had chewed through the leather again. He needed something better, but this would do for now. He looked at her. She was once so sweet and innocent. So much love and promise, now she was just a black eyed beast. She growled at him. He growled back.
As he started making dinner he thought of the news reports. New deep drilling operations had uncovered vast resources in the middle of the Ionian Sea. It was a joint U.S. and E.U. effort. They said there were vast energy and mineral possibilities. So many promises made, so much hope, all for nothing. Five days after the engineers hit 10km it began. Well we know it now of course, when it happened no one knew. It was just a series of small earthquakes, a swarm they said, it passed. They hit their depth. They tapped the molten layer of our earth for energy and everything they promised started coming true. There was peace, finally. With no one fighting for power, literal power, there was much less fighting for political power. A massive grid'the network' was created to distribute the energy across the globe. We all tapped into it, it was basically free. It all happened so fast, I am sure they had been planning this for decades. There were talks of going to the moon and setting up colonies. With unlimited energy it seemed the sky was the limit. We had become so reliant on the network that once everything started it was chaos. They had woken something in the deep. Something ancient and dangerous. It wanted to see the skies and breathe our air. It did not want to share. Four years after the network was setup, it collapsed. Governments struggled to rebuild their infrastructure. At first the scientists said it was a temporary disruption. Then we lost all communication with North Africa and most of Europe. The last communication out of Japan was a prayer. We thought we were safe of course. How could whatever was happening there cross the oceans to us? It just took longer.
Now here we are. Forcing our loved ones to eat vegetable mush in the hopes of a cure. We know now what happened. The mist. It came out of that hole. It makes you... insane? No, that's not it. It makes you... I do n't know. It makes you like her, like that one I ran down in the street. It makes you different. Full of hate. Full of rage. Hungry. I do n't know how much longer I can do this. Sure, I can feed us. My dad taught me that. How to grow things from the ground. The ground has n't turned on us yet. The earth still wants us, I do n't know why though. The animals are okay. I've seen deer walk in and out of the mist like it was n't there. But the second a person... The masks are all we have left really. Sometimes you get broadcasts from what's left of the government. They tell you to stay inside. Where your masks. Do n't go out at night. A cure is coming they say. There is no cure. This is the end. This is the apocalypse.
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[ WP ] You find yourself pulled unexpectedly to an Established Universe of your choosing .
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“ You ’ ve got five minutes to choose, and once you make a decision, it ’ s final, ” the genie said.
I looked up at him and watched as he worked his magic. By the way, I ’ m a 20 year old guy with terminal cancer, and my wish was to cheat death. The genie said this was possible, but only by sending me to a new universe, of which I could pick anyone that suited my fancy.
The puff of smoke disappears around me and I find myself in a sparsely populated forest on a cloudy afternoon. A squirrel runs near by and I notice it. In fact, all of my senses seem enhanced. But the sun feels a bit hot, too hot. And for some reason cutting that squirrel open sounds like a good idea. My tongue rolls over my new set of teeth and I realize I am a vampire. Which, of course, is kind of cool, until I look down and see my pale skin sparkling, realizing just what universe I was sent to.
“ No! ” I yelled to the genie.
“ Fine, ” he said.
Another puff of smoke and I find myself standing in a luscious, beautiful landscape. Actually, it looks quite familiar, and I ’ m thinking this might be a good universe to inhabit. That is until arrows start to fly over my head. I run to dodge them, only then noticing that I appear to be a dwarf, and some Orcs are closing in on me. Not sure I ’ m ready for all this war.
“ No, ” I say.
Another puff of smoke. I ’ m in a mansion. Around me are photos of myself. Apparently I am rather wealthy and own this mansion. In fact, as I scour the room, this universe appears to be similar to the one I came from, except I ’ m rich with no cancer.
“ I like this one, ” I comment to the genie. “ I think I ’ ll take it. ”
“ Excellent choice sir, ” the genie replied. “ You were almost out of time, and the next place was somewhere called Westeros. I don ’ t really know what it is, as I don ’ t keep up with all the human stuff in your universe, but I ’ ve heard it isn ’ t the most pleasant of places. Enjoy! ”
And with that the genie was gone. Life went on for the next few days, everything seemingly going well. Until a ghost showed up and started to haunt me. Go figure, ghosts were real in this universe I suppose.
And so, with no better idea at hand, I did the only logical thing, seeing as though I knew I was in an established universe of some sort. I called the Ghostbusters. I ’ m mean, who ya gon na call, right? Turns out they don ’ t exist and the people at the other end of the line just laughed at me, instead referring me to some actual “ ghost busters. ”
I barely talked with them over the phone, but just the sound of their voices thrilled me. I couldn ’ t believe I had gotten so lucky. I left the mansion as they requested and waited a few days until they gave the all clear. Apparently it was the groundskeeper with some maleficent scheme to take away all my money by haunting the house. And he ’ d have gotten away with it to, if it wasn ’ t for those meddling kids.
I paid the gang, my mouth hung ajar as Scooby and Shaggy gobbled down some Scooby Snacks. Fred and Daphne were off doing something else, and so I was dealing with Velma. I had always been a bit embarrassed by it, but I had had a crush on Velma ever since I was a kid back in the real world. The fact that she was real, standing right here in front of me, touching my hands as she took the money, was amazing.
I was about to ask her out when my butler came strolling through the front gates, bags of hamburgers and fast food items in his hands. Scooby Doo and Shaggy ran right past me, trampling me in the process to get some food. Daphne and Fred made their way over as well. But the best part of all was the little laugh Velma gave off as she helped me to my feet, and contrary to how I thought she might act if she was real, she actually kissed me lightly on the lips. They weren ’ t just like their cartoon counterparts. I mean, I guess they are, but at the same time, they ’ re so much more real, so alive.
We all sat around eating, Scooby and Shaggy already rubbing their overstuffed bellies, a nice summer sun setting in the background. The picnic in front of the mansion had been a good idea. That is until I realized the one, and only one, downside to being stuck in this universe.
“ Hey guys, don ’ t forget about Scrappy, Dappy, Doo! ” Scrappy Doo yelled as he came running through the front gates, a look of horror etched on everyone ’ s faces. Velma ’ s hand gripped mine as we prepared for the inevitable hell that awaited us. You ’ d think none of the monsters in Scooby Doo were actually real, but her hand squeezed mine even tighter as a true monster approached.
-274
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[ WP ] Throughout a persons life , they are given a hidden guardian . A creature that watches over their lifespan . When someone is murdered , the creature haunts the killer . You have been found , murdered . And your guardian is loose .
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Tim, as his host had called him, was going to enjoy this. Mark had been murdered by some maniac after meeting up with his friends and Tim had been rather fond of Mark, as fond as an incorproeal parasite can be of its food source, and was more than a little bit upset that his nearest food source had just been killed and he had his killer litterally pinned to the floor.
The large bellied man squirmed where he sat as he regained consciousness, his hands pinned to the floor of the abandonned flat that he was being held in with two large needles that had been forced through the backs of his hands. He began to scream. In pain and for help before a figure began to emerge through the floor; as it finally came through, the large man noticed that whoever it was, was dressed like a lanky, brown Scarecrow with yellow light seeping through the tears and rips in its body and through its eyes and had unusually sharp and hooked fingers.
`` Oi. Wot's goin' on?!'' He demanded, `` who are ya?!'' The Scarecrow elected not to answer and instead began to approach the man bolted to the floor and it walked with a sway as it did before placing a ragged hand around the pinned man's cheeks.
`` I,'' the scarecrow smiled, `` am Tim and you have annoyed me to say the least.''
`` T... take the mask off an' talk to me propperly,'' the man demanded but Tim only smiled further and widened his mouth to reveal the swirling mass of yellow energy that filled his body.
`` Wot... wot the'Ell are ya?!'' The bolted man cried in fright.
`` Me? Oh nothing much, nothing much, I suppose I could be considered a guardian, though I'm not as passive as the rest of them. Some men and women are given angels to watch over them, some demons and others, well others get voidlings like me. Fun fact, we're what your scarecrows are based on,'' Tim smiled at the tangent for a moment before his grin returned to being sadistic.
`` Why am I'Ere?!''
`` Why's he here?, why's he here, he asks,'' Tim mocked, `` You killed someone that I needed. That boy you killed the other night, he was my host, I needed him for food and now I need to find another host and do you know how much of a pain that is? I've got to find a newborn, attach myself to them to feed and then wait until they grow up so I can have some company. But before that, comes the fun bit,'' Tim's smile was enormous and sick by this stage.
`` You see, when a guardian's charge is murdered, the guardian haunts the killer and dispense punishment as they see fit and I'm a firm believer in an eye for an eye Mr... You know, I do n't believe I asked your name did I?, honestly, where are my manners?'' Tim chuckled, `` so what's your name, sunshine?''
`` Hokker, Bill Hokker,'' the pinned man managed through heavy, terrified breaths.
`` Well, Mr Hokker, I like to get even with people so fair warning, this *will* hurt.''
As the sun rose, a unit of police officers examined the broken door of the abandonned flat before venturing inside and once within the confines of the living area, all they found of their wanted killer was a corpse. Covered in jagged gashes of various sizes with the most macabre being a set of four of the jagged cuts running along the mans neck. It was unlikely that what happened to Bill Hokker would ever truly be known but Tim knew and Tim, in his own gleefully sadistic way, was more than satisfied with that as he began to hunt for a new charge, or `` host'' as he prefered to call them.
`` Let's hope this one manages to last longer than Mark,'' Tim gleamed to himself as he found his new host and began to attach himself.
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[ EU ] Hello Agent 47 , this is Diana Burnwood from the Agency . Your next mission will take you to London , where you are to eliminate a very dangerous MI6 agent , known only by the codename 007 . Good luck ...
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The Skyfall Incident had, by all accounts, been a mess.
Terrorists on the streets of London, a Tube crashing through the tunnel, a shootout in Scotland of all places, a fucking helicopter crash!
And 007. Obviously.
He could n't have looked more out of place in the courtroom, really, but the public demanded a conclusion. Stuff this interesting should n't happen in real life, was the general consensus, so MI6 had n't been able to move him under the radar after Skyfall went bad.
That gave him a chance.
He was in the courtroom, somewhere near the back, dressed in the clothes of a journalist who had fallen down some steps a few minutes ago. He looked across the room at 007. Tall, thin, suave, yet tired, battered. He knew the feeling.
47 thought. There was no space to pull a gun, no chance to run after firing it. The courtroom was too crowded for explosives, too much security to get close and choke the man out.
He sighed, and pushed himself through the crowd to get closer to the alleged superspy. He got a good look at him, made sure he could recognise him, and turned to walk away.
Bond leaned against the edge of the box, and scratched his nose. The judge seemed to be talking, but he did n't particularly care. The court bored him to tears. He had saved lives, stopped a crazy ex-agent, saved a large amount of the British government, and what did he get? A fucking courtroom. He sighed, bitterly. He was just waiting for-
`` Court dismissed. We shall resume tomorrow.''
Unable to stop himself, he grinned as he turned to leave. Walking out of the court, he was immediately mobbed by a crowd of journalists, but he was escorted through by a security guard. An MI6 man, though not one he recognised. Together, they got into a waiting car. As it sped away, Bond looked at the other man.
He definitely did not recognise him.
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[ WP ] You wake up one morning and find the devil at the foot of your bed . His eyes find yours , he taps your foot and says , `` You 're it , '' then disintegrates .
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`` You're it'' the devil says playfully then appears to disintegrate. I groan pathetically, and throw the sheets off of me like a spoiled child. I sit up in bed, and rub my eyes trying to wake up. With a sigh I stand up, open the bed stand, take the revolver and cross shaped knife out, and proceed to the door; However the door slams shut before I get to it.
`` NO!'' the devil's voice seems to come from all directions `` you're not doing this in your underwear again get in full regalia dammit!''
`` It's too early for this bullshit!'' I shout back.
`` I do n't care''
`` Fuck you''
`` You would''
I grumble, but I know full well what the situation is and what I have to do. I throw open the closet, and begin to pick through the only well organized clothing inside. Within a minute I am fully geared with knives, crosses, bullets, guns, and a plethora of more weaponry. Taking the cross knife and revolver in hand I again approach the door of my room. The door opens for me, and I step through.
`` That's better'' the devil says again. I do n't answer.
I walk to the living room which was still black with the dark of night, and around a corner where I ca n't see I hear the sound of small feet running on the carpet. A cute little girl with red hair rushes into view towards me with a huge grin on her face. Even in the dark I can see the resemblance she bears with me. Even a fool can tell that this is my daughter. On reflex I pull the trigger, and her head explodes. The small body drops immediately never to rise again.
`` What is this devil?'' I ask `` have I already killed all the creative ones?''
The small body began to dissolve into a colorless paste, and evaporate into nothing. With no answer I continue into the living room, and the corner of my eye catches sight of movement. I turn quickly to just barely see some kind of horror on legs. It's exact size and shape is indescribable, and it makes a sound that tears at my ears, and puts a sickening note in my stomach. I pull the trigger again, and the thing drops just like the little girl.
Suddenly a shadow rushes my side, and it too feels the wrath of my gun, but just as it drops another charges from behind its body. This one falls too, but knowing my situation I spin around, and fire two more rounds into two separate monsters. A third one in the shape of a Minotaur tackles me to the ground though. It rears its head back to gore me, and I drive the knife through the back of its head.
An inhuman screaming erupts from the monster as it drops to the ground clutching the knife in vain. I move the cylinder on the revolver, and begin reloading.
`` Say the line'' the devil's voice comes again. I sigh.
`` It was from an anime I just thought it sounded cool at the time'' I reply.
`` and you were right it does sound cool, and you have a good voice for it''
`` Fine'' I sigh again then clear my throat as I finish reloading.
`` The silver cross of Saint Matthew's cathedral'' I begin in a fantastic deep voice `` was melted down to make these forty-five caliber explosive rounds. Anything I shoot does n't get back up again.''
`` See that sounded cool'' the devil cheered.
A clapping sound fills part of the room, and I turn to see its source. A reflection of me in a mirror that I do n't own is clapping quite enthusiastically.
`` That was actually pretty cool'' it says `` real Van Hellsing you know?''
`` Thanks'' I say flatly, and deliver one of the aforementioned rounds between his eyes. The glass shatters, and leaves a hole in my wall.
`` Damnit'' I grumble as I turn back to the Minotaur. He's on the ground, and is lying still as death.
`` Surely there's actors in hell that can teach you how to fake dying better'' I say to him. He looks up at me shocked, and I finish him as well. I feel a hand lightly brush the back of my neck, and I quickly become aware of hands closing about my neck. I spin, and deliver my knife directly into the devil's chest.
A screaming comes from all directions as his body writhes in pain. His body sizzles at the touch of the blessed blade. Suddenly the screaming stops as well as the writhing.
`` Ya got me'' he says cheerily then easily removes the knife letting it drop to the floor. The wound left behind on his chest instantly sutures itself back together.
`` Same time next week?'' he questions rhetorically.
`` Go fuck yourself'' I grumble back.
`` Super!'' he exclaims, and disappears leaving the scent of sulfur heavy in the air. I sigh with little relief, and my alarm begins to go off. I sigh again.
`` Oh and I have work this morning too'' I gripe to myself `` fan-fucking-tastic.''
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[ WP ] The world has been trying to achieve a 100 % marriage rate . Today , the President makes the speech : “ The War on Heartbreak has been officially won. ” You realize you are the only one left who is single .
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I wake up and sit on my toilet; the alarm radio is bleating on about the weather and traffic. My eyes fail to open against the bathroom light bulb. I rub my eyes debating between coffee or, well, coffee from outside. The radio drones on until an announcement from the President: `` My fellow Americans...'' and I reach into the cabinet for a disposable floss-on-a-stick. `` The War on Heartbreak has been officially won.'' said the president in a commanding and proud tone. A light bulb of my own flickered about while I was finishing up my morning routine.
Hey, somebody is probably out there waiting for me.
I decide to grab coffee on the way to work, hoping to meet my dearly beloved. I already start to see people walking in pairs, my feelings are escalating as I start to imagine my future partner in life. Maybe someone kind? Funny? Clever? Perhaps someone who's rich? Poor but with a soul worth a lifetime?
I walk into the coffee-shop and the place is packed. Even the baristas are making small talk to their new wives and husbands. People seem to be overall; much happier.
`` I'd like a coffee to go please.'' I ask the cashier all to giddy about today's news. I receive my cup and it's mislabeled; it's tea. There is a prompt notice that has substituted where the cashier once stood: Early Close Today. Looks like I'll be having tea this morning. I walked outside to see businesses ending the day early on the account for the unofficial holiday.
Maybe, I'll find my love at work.
The building was closed. Nobody bothered to show up, no messages were left on voicemail. I walked back home to find a casserole and a letter. A smile crept on my face, I opened the lid to the casserole; a rich smoke of hearty Italian meatballs rose from the dish. `` Must be a chef,'' I said to myself, as I knew my chef was considerate of others and must be out working. That was until I read the card.
`` Dear Tenant, your rent is due, but due to the fortunate circumstances my elderly father is now married to a monster of a loving granny who cooks up a storm. These things give me serious heartburn, so you can have em. Oh yeah- you can pay up after your honeymoon. Do n't make me change my mind.''
My mystery lover still evades me.
I eat a good portion of the casserole, watch television coverage of celebrities pairing up with random strangers, and browse the internet forums. It feels like any given Sunday. I sure dread tomorrow.
I realize I am the only one left who is single.
My friend invited me and my non-existent lover to their wedding, well by now I've received a few dozen invitations. They're curious about what kind of person I ended up with. I keep changing the subject back to what kind of person they're with. With each lie and great news I hear about others, the more vulnerable I feel.
`` Come out to dinner with us!'' said one of my co-workers on the phone. I tell them I received a casserole. `` But do you know how LONG it took to get a reserv-'' I did n't want to hear any more joyous news.
I screamed, `` I JUST WANT TO BE ALONE!'' into the phone. From the other end I got a snarky response: `` Hey hey! You two got ALL NIGHT LONG! We'll leave you guys alone tonight, but you guys are buying the drinks tomorrow!''
Fucking asshole.
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[ WP ] ◀NSFW▶ In a world where the link between sex and lifespan has been proven , you 're training for your Prostitution degree .
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I sat in the creaky chair, rocking it back in forth and staring blankly at the board and professor in front of me. `` Michelle,'' he called out. I flinched and he quickly noticed I was n't paying attention. `` What is the best sexual position with a blonde man, 40 years old, 5'2?'' I panicked and blurted out, `` Doggy style.'' Fuck, I thought. It was such an easy question too. He stared at me in the eyes and screamed, `` Do you even want this? Do you want to live? If your answer is no, what the fuck are you doing here?'' I stutter and he quickly shoots his glare somewhere else. The lesson ends.
I lay on my bed and study. As I eat my fruit loops, I drop my spoon onto the carpet below me and it falls under the bed. Sighing, I get up. Reaching under the bed, I feel a hard, dusty surface. Pulling it out, it reads `` Sexcrets To Prostitution: Limited Edition''. I flip through the pages and it becomes clear that it is packed full of information. Hoping this will help me ace my final, I study through it all night, using my test dummy to perform the experiments diagramed in the book.
The next day as I step into the lecture room, I'm full of confidence and pride. After waiting my turn to take my final, my professor calls me into the isolated room. I seductively remove his shirt and my bra, and he pulls down my thong and shorts. I pin him down and grin as I kiss him on the war, slowly moving my way to his dick. I give him a quick blow and he takes over and thrusts into me hard and fast. After a good 15 minutes, he stops us and calls in the next student..
Waiting for my result to be posted, he hands me a letter. I open it and it reads, `` Meet me in the room tomorrow at 4 and say hello to your A.''
PS: I'm 13 and English is my third language. Also I was n't sure how to end this.
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[ WP ] One day , you discover that you have insatiable fascination with Death . You are literally falling in love ... With Death .
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`` Death kissed me once. It was so soft, so inviting, so... exhilarating''.
Sue had often told this story to her friends and family, but was dismissed as being `` a little off'' or `` not quite right in the head since the accident''.
They did n't understand. Nobody did.
It was a rainy Wednesday morning when it happened. Sue had been late to work, driving over the speed limit when her car spun out and folded itself over a large oak tree. She remembers the confusion, the fear of death, and then finally....the Kiss.
It was peaceful. Quiet. She felt secure in the arms of Death. A level of security she had never felt before or since. It lasted only a brief moment.
EMTs brutally ripped her from the arms of Death. Defibrillating her. It was painful. Scary even. She had n't even a chance to say goodbye to her Lover.
After the accident Sue spent her days in mourning. Yearning the soft, sweet embrace of Death once more. Upon leaving the hospital she made a hobby of chasing ambulances, for no reason other than the hope of seeing Death once more. It was futile. She knew what had to be done.
With an easy smile, Sue closed her eyes and tightened the knot. She kicked the chair from beneath her and opened her arms wide, ready for the sweet embrace. Death would be her lover once more. Forever more.
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[ WP ] The greatest one-sided love story ever told .
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She clings to my arm like it's all that holds her to the earth. Like she'd float away without me. Which I'm beginning to think she might, to be honest.
I'm just kinda used to having her around I guess, ever since she'kidnapped' me.
Well, I mean technically the first time we met would've been when she ran me over..
See, she got a new car. Real cute, think it was a hatchback? Was never good with the terminology. Got it that day. Took it out. Ran a red light. That's my side anyway, though the way she tells it you'd think I jumped out in front for insurance.
Anyhow, I wake up in this bed, somewhat still covered in dried blood and sweat.
Real nice room, clean, sparkly. Not in a hospital though, nope. See, she panicked. Got her butler to shove me in the trunk. Yes I said butler. She had a butler then.
She shoved me in the trunk, took her back to her place.
Turns out she was on the run. Who knew right? Of all the hip joints in all the world, she had to run into mine.
Or I into hers, as her butler would often correct me.
`` You can go in now.''
We're in a hospital now, I should say. This is 5 years, 7 months and... 2 weeks? And 2 weeks later. Ca n't remember the date. It was a Thursday though. Do n't tell her I said that, she'll murder me.
We go in, her with her new red hair, me with mine falling out.
She keeps trying to find excuses to cut hers off, but I tell her not to, I'd never let her. Got ta pick your battles, right?
I think she's a blonde originally, or she was when I met her. She changes slight shades to ease you in, rather than immediate colours, you see. Keeps her from getting complacent. To this day, she still worries about being recognised. I dunno what she did though, mighta killed a guy, mighta just been a celebrity forced out of fame. I do n't ask. Do n't need to, does n't matter.
She clings a little harder, her knuckles turning yellow-white. Least we match now. I suppress a chuckle, she'd ask what'd be funny, I'd say nothing and she'd keep asking, getting angry. Or I'd tell her, and she'd get angry anyway. She does n't like that kind of morbid humour. Not when it comes to this. To me. We do n't need that right now, plus, I kinda like her being this clingy.
We head in, I give the usual responses for'how are you feeling','what have you been up to', then I let her take over. You should see her eyes when she talks to him about this stuff. I'm doing my best listening face, nodding, uh-huhing, drifting. She's getting exact volumes of prescriptions and asking which is better out of high dosage per pill time or high amount of times with less for each... It's a lot. She started bringing a notepad, even though it's the same most times, a little more, a little less, more exercise, more rest. She takes it all in. He again implores we reconsider our position on being admitted. At this point I need the help, the facilities, the resources. She snaps at him. Curtly. Lovingly. For me.
I remember our first day together vividly. I did n't exactly act what you'd call rationally for most of it, I admit. There were gates tall enough for taller people than I, strong enough for stronger species. All sorts of locks, combinations randomizing every day, it was too much. She basically did n't want me going anywhere. And so, after a few angry desperate months, I told her I would n't.
And somewhere along the way, one of us fell in love.
Still not sure which one,'course
I know who she'll say if you ask her.
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[ WP ] When humanity finally develops the means for interstellar travel , we discover that all other sentient life in the universe disappeared a long time ago .
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It was a beautiful and magnificent ship. A full kilometer long and streamlined, it had been built in the extensive Caloris Yards over Mercury- the same ones used to build the sublight explorers and colonizers millennia before. Now, the ship was reaching the inner Oort Cloud- not a required range, but a useful gauge. I flicked the on button for the drive, and immediately the bridge was filled with lights. I watched the main one- a cyan timer currently labeled `` Core Flash''. I was hardly able to read the label when it switched to something else, so I concentrated on the status graphs. Most of them showed nominal, but the Gravitational Anomaly meter- along with the location marker- were getting erratic. I assumed this was all in the base plan, so I did n't worry about it. Then, the stars went out. It was just a flicker, but I knew something was wrong. I could feel the vibrations of the ship- it was shaking apart. I steeled myself and hoped that at least the explorers might survive the oncoming *supervoid. *
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[ WP ] A normal human girl , whose boyfriend is a god-like entity . Describe date night .
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Omnipotent. Omniscient.
I can *do* anything. I *know* everything. Time stands still around me as I ponder the question. I have been here for what you mortals would consider a *very long time*.
I have considered all the answers. All the ramifications of the answers. Yet, somehow, I can not find the correct one. Every answer branches off in front of me visually. Every answer ends badly. I am badly shaken. Perhaps my omniscience is n't as total as I had thought? I select one of the answers at random.
I restart time.
`` Yeah, they make you look a little fat. They're not very flattering.''
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[ WP ] An old hag has cursed you with immortality.Wondering how that is supposed to be a curse you started enjoying your life . Now you are floating in the void after the heat death of the universe thinking about the past .
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`` Brad...?'' I heard, slowly awakening from my slumber. I look around. Blackness...
`` Brad?!?'' I hear again, clearly. I snap around. There she is, the one girl that was still young when fate had given her cancer those millennia ago. She left the note saying she had stage 3 lung cancer and was going to live somewhere far away from me.
I snap back to reality, `` Sarah?''
`` OMG this is so embarrassing, some old hag gave me immortality and after the 6years of amazingness we spent together, I did n't want to watch you die, like so many others I watches get old and die. I loved you so much.''
`` Godammit Sarah why did n't you tell me you were immortal too?'' I have n't stopped thinking about that day, September 56th 65790.''
`` Yeah sorry Brad there was an android.''
`` Hey Sarah wan na grab a bite to eat? I found this great place called The Restaurant at the End of The Universe.''
`` Sure! We've got so much to catch up on!''
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[ WP ] After accidentally puncturing your skin with a USB drive , a new file has appeared entitled with your name .
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Finally! I exclaimed as I put the final touch `` the end'' on my 5,002 word essay. Being a procrastinator the essay was due tomorrow at 8am and by the looks of it the sun will be coming up soon. Time to take a nap I thought. Before turning off the lights I made sure to save my document onto my usb drive and email myself a copy as backup. I turned off the lights and tossed my usb on my backpack and went to bed.
`` BEEP BEEEP BEEP'' shit what time is it? I looked at my alarm clock flashing. 0735... Quickly calculating if I'll be able to make it to class on time all while running around putting my clothes on. Mrs white is a stickler about papers being turned.. `` shit!'' I looked down to dark spots on my carpet. I felt my foot and realized I'd stepped on my usb drive. Throwing a sock on to slow the bleeding I jumped on my bed and threw my laptop open. Looking at my usb drive I was almost in tears, it was cracked and my blood was all over it. My computer sprung to life as I waited for my documents tab to open. Did I even click `` remove safely'' before taking it out last night? The tab opened! A feeling of joy came over me, just as I was about to take the usb out and rush to school I noticed a new tab. It was labeled Walter.lif `` well that's weird'' as I do n't remember ever seeing that, let alone what a.lif file is. Off I ran out the door each footstep reminding me of the gash in my foot. Leaving no time for my oil heat up I peeled out of my driveway, the whirl of my turbo was like music to my ears. I thought to myself maybe that's what the file was.. a virus from all the music I download.
Finally I made it to class as the bell rang. As Mrs white said good morning I realised I forgot to print out my essay.. I quietly walked to her desk and asked if I could use her computer to print it out, after a minute of being told how to be properly prepared she waved a hand toward her desk. I plugged the usb drive in and there it was Walter.lif staring back at me.. I double clicked it, might as well give her computer a virus instead of mine I thought. Nothing happened at first so I decided to print my essay. As I collected my papers and went to grab my usb I was horrified. Sitting on the screen was a nude 3d render of my slowly spinning, next to it appeared to be readouts. Skimming through the information I saw body temperature 98.8°, heart rate 145bpm and rising, strength 23 % and a big almost glowing 28 with the words LIFE EXPECTANCY. `` Walter what in the world are you doing!'' Shouted Mrs White. Before I could pull the usb out a red pop up appeared saying `` warning extreme heart rate'' I yanked the usb out and ran. I ran to my car and high tailed it home embarrassed and confused at what just happened.
* wrote on mobile sorry for wall of text, also first time in 6 years ever writing anything close to a essay. Been consumed by this sub lately and thought I'd give it a shot.
*Edit 2: Seem to be getting a pretty good response! Surprising to me as I havent written a essay since my short stint in college.. So if you read this story and its kind of all thrown together just remember I have literally no idea what im doing.
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[ WP ] You are having a lucid dream about someone you love who has passed . S/he tries to convince you to stay asleep with them forever .
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The wind blows briefly kissing my skin, the distinct smell of sea water fills my nostrils, and the sand hugs my toes.
“ I am dreaming. ”
The words come from my mouth, my eyes open. The sea water in front of me is as clear as gin. The sand, warm and white, surrounds me.
“ I want to see you. ”
“ I ’ m here, ” her voice is as it was years ago. Her face unchanged.
We kiss; I taste her lips. They – so real.
“ I am dreaming. ”
“ Then never wake up. ”
“ You ask me this every night, and every night, I say yes. ”
I hold her close to me. I feel her heart beat. I look into her eyes.
“ I am dreaming. ”
“ I love you. ”
The duvet presses against my chest lightly. The ceiling is dark. I reach for the dream journal and lamp on my nightstand. The 76 page yellow notebook is nearly full. I write down the dream. One day I will manage a full 8 hours of sleep.
I close my eyes. I whisper to myself the words “ I am dreaming. ” My body begins to heavy; the darkness behind my eyelids begins to lighten.
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[ WP ] In a world of demons and men , you are a demon . You are bred to fight and die by your ability . But what is it that changes your mind ?
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I tasted the flesh of man before my first moon. It's a ritual, part of the blooding ritual a hatchling has to undertake before they can leave the pits. It was seared to hide the branding marks, the skin taken from a captive of the last wars, but I ate it like ambrosia.
We all did.
It's a horrible curse, to be free to walk amongst men. Our purpose, the very raison d'être of our existence, is to instil fear within the mortal folk. To take at random and leave the eviscerated remnants. Our form was broken, hideous. But we could pass, invisible to mens eyes as they looked away from the skin.
Throughout all history, we have done this. As plagues or crusades or inquisitions, we have tortured mens souls because they torture our very bellies. Until I met you.
It was early autumn, in a city where the leaves turned orange but the wind and the rain had yet to come, that I found you sitting on a park bench, listening to the children play in the twilight. I sat beside you and already my mind raced through images of your corpse, splayed out across the playground. Oh I would feast so well.
You smiled at me.
I showed you my face but you did n't cry out. Your hand reached for my own, feeling the scars and broken bones from punishments for failing to please our masters. You caressed it. You reached for my face with your blind fingers and I flinched.
But you smiled at me.
And I let you place your palm against my own skin. I could smell you. So perfect. So delicate. My stomach ached and I wanted to devour you there and then but my mouth could not form the words to speak to you, much less rip into you. I cried, sitting there on the park bench.
For you smiled at me.
And in that instant I knew I would go hungry for as long as I lived and as long as I lived I would not be able to see a mortal face without seeing your smile.
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[ WP ] Never ask a writer what their thinking about .
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`` Hey bar... whatcha thinkin''bout?'' Fred asked Bar, the legendary moderator of r/writingpromps.
`` Not now Fred. I'm trying to post a new prompt. It's really good.''
`` Seriously man, what're you thinking about.''
`` Ca n't this wait a second?'' He asked, annoyed by Fred's antics.
`` No maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan. This is important.''
Bar decided that he would just ignore Fred for a bit. Fred decided that he would just keep repeating `` Wacha thinkin'?'' Over and over again. Eventually bar hit the post button.
`` Wacha thinkin'?''
`` PIE! OKAY! PIE! NOW LEAVE ME IN PEACE!'' He yelled.
`` Okay. Fine....''
When Fred finally left Bar looked down at his finished work. He was quite proud of it. Then he noticed something... wrong. `` Oh shit...'' He realized what he had done.
`` God damnit Fred! You made me misspell they're!'' He screamed.
And then the world ended. Because why not?
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[ WP ] `` This is the shittiest suicide note I 've ever read . ''
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`` Iv'e been listening to Adams song by Blink 182 and found the lyrics so deep and meaningful. I too spilled apple juice in the hall so I know where they are coming from. I recently saw a Youtube video about kirilian photography where they like ripped off part of a leaf and where it was ripped off you could still see like a ghost leaf so to me this proves that we have souls. I have traveled out here to Beverly Hills to end it all so that I will be reincarnated into a local rich family, all I have to do is astral swim towards a mansion with a pregnant woman and goodbye cruel world and hello easy life, goodbye all.''
`` P.S I will miss guitars the most of all earthly thing, they are just so damned sexy.''
The police search through the pockets and found his I.D, `` 43 years old'' he thought wow! He then decided to crumple the note and throw it in the bin, `` better his family does n't see it'' he told his partner.
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[ WP ] `` It 's human-made , you know ! '' Reverse the usual fantasy scene where somebody gushes over elf/dwarf/whatever craftsmanship .
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Elinir crouched down and stared into the ghostly depths of the mysterious black sphere, still perched on its silk-laden plinth. `` It must be of goblin design'' he announced. The others looked amongst each other and nodded in agreement. `` I've never seen anything like it'' he continued, `` it seems to be housing its very own atmosphere within its murky walls''.
`` Can... can I have a look?'' enquired one of the younger elves with heart-warming tentativeness.
`` Not today, little one.'' warned Elinir, his eyes remaining fixed on the foreign object in front of him. Suddenly, he rose again, turning to face the intrigued onlookers. `` My fellow Elves. This spectre you see before you may hold power beyond the realms of mere imaginations. It is transcendent. It is otherworldly. We must n't have anything to do with it until we know more. I will consult. Until then, I need your oath. Do not look at it, do not talk about it, especially do not touch it. Stay away from this object, or jeopardise the earth as we know it today.''
As he spoke, his listeners edged themselves away from the pedestalled ball. `` You have my oath'' cried one of the elders. `` And mine!'' chirped another. Soon, a chorus filled the still air.
`` Excuse me folks''. Silence engulfed the Elves once more, as they turned to entrance of the hall behind them in shock. It was the plumber.
`` What do *you* want, *human*?'' spat Elinir. Relations between humans and Elves had soured since the Great War.
`` Er, yeah, sorry to interrupt guys. I think I left my - oh, hang on, there it is!'' The human sliced his way through the group and to the front of the hall. `` Excuse me. Sorry. Oops, sorry about that. Coming through, heh heh.'' The Elves could only stand and watch, appalled at the interruption, aghast at the audacity of the Help.
Without apprehension, the human strode up to the plinth and reached out a hand. The room gasped as he lifted it from its stand.
`` Wh... what do you think you're doing? Put it down boy! Put it DOWN!'' shouted Elinir, stumbling back in fear and awe. The human was slightly taken aback by the reaction.
`` Oh no mate do n't worry, it's mine. Well, it's a present for my daughter. It's her birthday tomorrow. It's pretty cool actually, check it out.'*Should I put you back on your plinth*''', asked the human, before giving the sphere a vigorous shake. The Elves backed away, cowering in fear. `` Wait for it...'' he smiled. `` Oo, here we are.'*My reply is no*'. See? The ball has spoken!'' he quipped, holding it up in his right hand. The Elves backed further into the hall, one of the elders collapsed in fright. `` Jesus. Tough crowd you lot.'' He turned to Elinir, who was on his knees, staring back up at him.
`` Listen, if it's okay with you mate I'm going to head off. Your toilet is fine now, just a minor blockage, happens all the time. Remember to use bleach once a fortnight and it should be good as gold.'' He turned back to the magic 8-ball - *'' Should the Elves use bleach now and again? *'' he joked.
``'*It is certain. *' See? The 8-Ball never lies! Happy shitting, folks.''
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[ WP ] `` This war of mine ... ''
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This war of mine is one nobody knows about.
I haven ’ t told my family. I haven ’ t told my friends. Hell, I haven ’ t even told my cats because god, it ’ s just too horrible.
After all, how do you tell the ones you love most that you ’ re dying?
Every morning I stroll into the bathroom and puke. It ’ s bloody and messy and makes me feel all whoozy, like the walls are collapsing. I stand up, look in the mirror, and cry because I ’ m staring at a face that ’ s fading. Happiness fleets with disappearing strands of hair, and my skin, once milky white, is turning *sour, * looking like nicotine-stained teeth.
Some distant part of me wants to end it all. To just run a bath, down a bottle of pills, and slip into a different world.
But I can ’ t. Better yet, I *won ’ t. *
This cancer invaded my body and goddammit I'm going to beat it because there's still so much I wan na see, so much I wan na *do*.
This war is far from over -- but I *will* survive.
***
If you like this story, check out my sub! r/longhandwriter
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[ WP ] I immediately regret this decision !
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I immediately regretted everything I ’ d just said.
It was three simple words. “ Dad, I ’ m gay ”. Should ’ nt have been that hard right? I thought he was a chill guy, he never seemed to have a problem with anyone or anything. I expected a man-ish pat on a back and a ‘ always had you down as one ’ in that exclusive-to-dads jokey way. I hadn ’ t just come out and told him randomly. Spending many months in the proverbial closet does result in at least some idea of when the time to strike should come.
I waited for the weekend to come around. I knew he wouldn ’ t be going out due to the snowstorms that come around our parts this early in the year. Sat him down, told him I had something important to say and said it. I ’ d been using my regularly-tested ‘ Act like everything ’ s awesome ’ face for the previous week so he shouldn ’ t have been able to tell it was coming up if I was doing it right.
I could see something in his face when I did and there was almost an audible click from him. Something happened and it frightened me greatly. He didn ’ t have his trademark goofy smile. He just wore a face of cold distance. Like he was suddenly back at square-one. It was crushing instantly. I expected coming out to be a huge weight off my shoulders but instead it was more like being crushed by a falling building with the demolition fleet driving on-top for good measure.
Dad just stood up, away from the kitchen table I had brought him too and left the house. Just like that, walked away from the situation. Leaving me to stew in my own thoughts alone. i put my head down to the table and cried.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -
**This is my 4^th piece for the 2014 Resolution Challenge. [ Other stories can be found here ] ( https: //www.fictionpress.com/s/3173856/4/A-short-story-a-day-2014 ) **
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[ WP ] You are hired to write the holy text for a new religion . What is the first chapter of the text ?
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The world has begotten many forms of life. Some have been lost to us, others have yet to be discovered. These forms of life are all compelled by the unseen forces of nature. Life consumes itself in a never-ending cycle of preservation; such is its nature.
When one life is lost, it helps nurture another. All life is designed to maintaining the balance and preservation of this cycle. We -- mankind -- are one of many expressions of life, all bound by the same threads.
Though, we as a species have been blessed with a certain gift. We are a unique expression of life. It is not our intelligence, nor a physical ability that separates us. It is perception.
We have been granted awareness. Awareness of the cycle and the threads of life that guide us all. We have been given the power of choice, the choice to defy nature's will. But to what end?
Within all choice, there are pros and cons. What is compassion if you know nothing of indifference? What is sacrifice without the consequence of death?
Even love -- often argued the most powerful of emotions -- is not exempt. Love that is limitless is love that is valueless. For if we can not choose between selfishness as well, there is no choice. And thus, it loses all power.
Life has granted one of its expressions -- we as mankind -- the power of choice. But in that power, we have also been given corruption. For every good quality we possess, there exists its negative counterpart as well.
What is love without hatred? What is companionship without loneliness? What is happiness without despair?
Fear not the inevitable temptation for corruption. They are merely opportunities to exercise our power of choice.
There is power in choice, and these choices created our lives, as granted by life itself. Whether we walk a path of compassion or selfishness, it is and always will be of our own design.
Remember, kindness is not weakness. Temptation is for the weak, and never has it used love and compassion to lure its victims. Only selfishness and indifference. Take pride and certainty in this fact, as it will expel your doubts.
-- This was actually fun to write, thanks for the prompt. And I honestly believe in some of these things, especially the last paragraph.
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[ WP ] I wish I was still afraid of the dark ...
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Matthew could still hear the screams. He could see the lights of billions of men and women bursting into existence and then being extinguished by the darkness, like fireflies on a summer night.
`` Matt,'' A steady, soothing voice reached out to him across the void, `` Are you still with us?''
Suddenly he was slammed back into reality. Matt was no longer on that dark field, watching a black, viscous cloud slowly meander its way towards what everyone had thought was a safe place. Instead he was sitting on a sofa, in a small room that was illuminated by sunlight which streamed in through a single, square window.
`` Yeah,'' he sighed, `` I'm here.''
The window was on Matthew's left, and as he peered out of it he saw the signs of life. A world in full bloom as the summer sun nourished the Earth with its life giving rays. It was a world that existed solely because of him, but looking at it only brought him dread. There was no happiness inside of him, no warmth, and no light.
Opposite the window, on Matthew's right, was a small one-way mirror. He was n't sure why they went with a one way mirror instead of a window. He knew he was being watched 24/7, what was the point in being secretive?
`` Did you try that exercise I suggested?'' Doctor Elinger asked Matthew.
`` Yes.'' Matthew replied.
`` And?''
`` It did n't work,'' Matthew answered, thinking this was obvious. If it had worked, would they be here?
`` You could n't think of one good thing?'' Doctor Elinger asked in disbelief, `` You looked at the entire world around you, and could n't find even one good thing that made your sacrifice worthwhile? Not one thing in the world that made you happy that you saved it?''
Matthew sighed, `` No, I could n't. I do n't remember what happiness is, Doctor. I have all these memories where I'm smiling, or laughing, but they feel empty. Like I'm watching a movie with someone else in it. They're fogged up by the darkness. Each day I think of them less and less, and instead focus on what the darkness wants to show me.''
Doctor Elinger leaned forward in his chair. `` What do you mean by that? What does it want to show you?''
Matthew shivered. `` It wants to show me what the world was like. Before the fall of New York. Before it breached the wall. Before me.''
Doctor Elinger looked towards the one-way mirror, as if expecting some sort of cue.
`` Matt,'' he said after a moment, `` That world is gone. Extinct. We live in a better world now, because of you.''
`` I see murder,'' Matthew sat up in his chair, and pulled his knees to his chest, `` I see all these horrible things people did to each other. And each scene has me doing those horrible things to people. I know I did n't do it, but someone did.''
`` Matt please calm-'' Doctor Elinger began.
`` No!'' Matthew yelled as tears began to flow down his face, `` That world is n't gone, Doctor, it's inside of me. It wants out. It wants to return.''
Doctor Elinger's expression grew grave, `` Are you going to let it out Matt?''
`` Am I horrible for wanting to?'' Matthew asked, his eyes pleading for someone to relieve him of the burden, `` Am I a bad person because I want to be free of this? Am I like the people I see in my head? Because I want to be happy again?''
`` No,'' Doctor Elinger placed a comforting hand on Matthew's shoulder, `` You've been very strong. Many others would've broken by now. It's only natural to think like that.''
Matthew sighed, his crying had stopped and the emptiness had returned to his eyes.
`` I wo n't let it out,'' he said, `` The world is better this way.''
`` The darkness wants to break you Matt,'' Doctor Elinger said, `` Do n't let it frighten you. You own it now.''
`` I wish I was still afraid of the dark,'' Matthew said, `` I'm too used to it. If it could still scare me, maybe that would mean I could still be happy.''
`` We'll work on that,'' Doctor Elinger gave a reassuring smile that Matthew did not return, and Doctor Elinger was n't sure if it was because he did n't want to, or did n't remember how to. `` Baby steps, Matt. We'll take it one day at a time, until we can find a way to make you and the world happy.''
`` You promise?'' Matthew asked.
`` I promise,'' Doctor Elinger replied.
________________________________________________________________
While this story can be read as a stand alone, I wrote it to go along with [ this story ] ( https: //www.reddit.com/r/Niedski/comments/51jjpr/how_did_you_do_that_i_dont_know_and_i_dont_want/ ) I wrote.
If you liked either of them, go check out r/Niedski! I post all of the stuff I write there, so it is a good way to keep up if you like my writing.
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[ WP ] You kill people for a living . It 's legal , and the people you kill requested it .
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“ Please continue ” I said.
“ I just don ’ t want to live this life anymore, this is the only way I can find to escape it ” Frank said. “ Every bad thing I ’ ve done in my life, every bad decision, I just can ’ t take it anymore. I want it all to go away. ”
Analytically I looked over Frank ’ s file, rifling through the document, looking for his mental health. “ Are you sure you want to go through with this, Mr. Grimes? Plenty of people have had bad things happen to them, but aren ’ t those things that help strengthen our character? Florida is a nice place to live isn ’ t it? ” I probingly asked.
Frank lifted his head in astonishment. “ You ’ ve read my file. How does one grow from being abused as a kid? How does someone strengthen their character by being picked on though school and in college? How can do I build on my character being 30 years old, living in a match-box sized apartment with a wife who hates me, but won ’ t leave me, and working a dead-end job that I absolutely hate? ” He replied, coldly. He continued as if his whole body was writhing in agony “ I can ’ t deal with it anymore, please just make it all end ”.
“ Fair enough, Mr. Grimes ” I replied calmly “ I understand why you requested, but I always like to go over all avenues of solution. ”
“ Do you want to do this or not? ” Frank asked.
I responded, “ I assure you Mr. Grimes, I ’ m fully willing to do this. As a professional I like to make sure that my clients are as fully committed to this process as I am. ”
“ Well then, let ’ s get this over with ” he said in a hesitantly quivering voice. “ Will it hurt? Will I feel this? ” he meekly asked.
As I guided him to a separate room, I stated reassuringly “ It as if you are falling asleep. ”
As we entered the room, Frank asked curiously “ Why the need for all this stuff? Why couldn ’ t we do this back in there? ” I replied “ My clientele have varying requests in how I operate, now if you will just place both your hands on this screen, we can proceed with what you came here for. ”
“ Why do I need to do this, I thought this was all legal ” Frank asked as if suddenly concerned about himself.
“ It is merely a part of my process, if you are unsure now, we can discontinue ” I responded.
“ No, no, I want this to happen. I need this, all this, to be over ” I sharply retorted, as if he had snapped back to his previous mind set.
“ Very well, if you will, please set up on the table and lie back. I will need to place this IV in your arm. ”
“ IV? I thought this was going to be quick. ” He asked warily.
I coolly and reassuringly responded “ It is quick, and painless. Just as you had requested. Now lie back and close your eyes. I beginning the process, tell me about the happiest place you can think of, a place you would go to if you had the chance. “
He began to ponder; I could tell the drugs were taking affect because his speech slowed.
“ I think..I ’ d…choose….Montana….. ” He said as he went limp.
“ Interesting choice ” I thought as I return to the other room.
I sat down and resumed entering data into his file. It must have been two hours later and I noticed the door to the room slowly open.
“ Who are you, where am I, what am I doing here? ” the individual said as he walked through the door.
“ Ah Mr. Jennings, you ’ re finally awake. You were here to have a procedure performed ” I replied.
As he approached my desk, he saw an open file, with a familiar picture, on my desk, “ Who is Frank Grimes, and why does he look like me? ”
As I closed the file, I calmly replied “ Mere coincidence, I assure you, Mr. Jennings. Must be one of those ‘ everyone has a twin somewhere ’ things. You live in Billings, Montana, correct? This individual lives in Florida. ”
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[ WP ] A monster attacks a child . Make me empathize with the monster .
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So here we are again my darling Lisbeth. I stand over your bed tall and gaunt, my skin grey and my hair the color of ash, my face is scarred and my hands are almost skeletal, but my eyes are still the same vibrant green that you fell in love with all those years ago. you sleep soundly, almost a shame to disturb your perfect sleep, but I know I have to. I remember when we first met; a warm summer day in London, very rare, you walked into my book shop wearing a simple yellow dress and a sun hat. I stammered and stuttered as you asked questions about the different books I had in stock and by the time you were through you had talked me into dinner. This of course led to courtship and then to marriage. Those were the happiest years of my life I realize as I gently stroke your forehead; at least until the war.
The war to end all wars they called it, and I was thrown into to fight for the glorious British empire. After months of fighting I was sent home with a death sentence of trench foot and infection. You were distraught of course and called the best doctors until every one said I was a goner and to pick a nice soft spot to dig a grave, and in the depths of despair she came. She offered a way to heal me; for a price she would reverse my sickness and injury making me stringer than I was before. You agreed saying no price was to high for my life; I was to sick to argue. The woman waved a hand over me and my wounds disappeared and I could breathe well for the first time in months, and the woman left saying nothing. We did not notice the downside until the next day when your own father visited our small home and defiled you. soon every man save for me would go mad in our presence turning into a slave to their own lust; no matter where we went it happened again and again until you could not take it any longer and hung yourself in our home. Part of me knew it was better and to be happy you would no longer suffer. Soon after your death thew woman appeared before me and decreed:
Your wife will pay the price for your life
She will be reborn again and again until kingdom come
Upon her first blood each incarnation will be defiled by man
until you end her suffering by your hand
I was taken aback and started to protest until pain erupted through me as my skin shifted to grey and the woman disappeared. Years later I found you again defiled and broken a girl of only twelve destroyed in so many ways/ In trying to break the curse that befalls us both I had learned many mystical arts and made your second death painless, and so here we are once again; your first blood staining the sheets of your bed as you sleep fitfully. I lift my hand and a ring of paper surrounds your neck; you wake as your lungs burn and see me standing over you. I lean down and whisper `` I am sorry my love; I meant to kill you in your sleep'' and kiss your forehead as the last of your life fades away. When the deed is done I make for you a paper flower and place it in your still warm hands before reentering the darkness of the closet. Before I leave this place through the shadow I look back and whisper:
`` goodbye my love until we next meet''
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[ WP ] A lifelong cannibal has his first vegetarian meal
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It was obvious that food was a matter of perspective. Why does the cat eat mice? Why does the lion eat zebras? they do n't. These are all generalizations. Some cats are peaceful, some lions are lazy. And so the counts for humans, or at least for me. I had promised myself to no longer be different. `` Humans are not food'' I'd always tell myself. I was lying.
It might be unnatural, but nothing feels more natural to ME. Never the less, I was faced with what seemed like a cruel punishment. salat, pure salat, mixed with the weirdest of fruits and unrecognizeable shapes. How could grass possibly be what the body needs? It was garbage.
I tasted. I felt the crunch in the salad, the juicy substance from the apples. It was weird to be faced with a realization, that promised so much and delivered so little. I felt nothing. It was not relieving. It was not unbearable. It was just... grass.
That is what amazes me about humans and our `` unbelieveable'' intelligence. That's not the truth. We're stupid and ignorant. We look away from the uncommon and call it false. It is not wrong to be different and it is not wrong to embrace it. My hunger will never end and to some extend, it is not meant to.
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[ WP ] `` You ca n't just give birth to a song and abandon it like some piece of garbage ! They 're alive , dammit ! ''
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Sander's pen scribbled feverishly across the sheet music. As fast as his mind could hear the melody he scratched out the notes. This was it, this would become his master piece. Nothing else mattered in this moment. He did n't think about how he was getting kicked out of the Academy, he did n't think about the friends he had lost pursuing this dream. He only felt the music.
With a final annotation he put the pen down and looked over the ink filled sheet. Chord progressions he had never thought possible seemed so obvious on the page. He picked up his lute and he began to play.
His fingers felt sluggish at first, they struggled to strum out the complex song. Minutes turned to hours as he plucked and strummed away. His calloused fingers began to bleed as he relentlessly practiced. The music flowed through him like a raging river. In the beginning he thought the song felt masculine but the more he played the more he felt soft feminine tones.
A light breeze blew open the wooden shutters of the small window in his apartment. It swept through his room picking up discarded sheets of music that were strewn about. Sanders did not notice the small whirlwind of paper spinning through his apartment. The whirlwind increased in intensity, the faster Sanders played the faster the whirlwind spun.
His eyes read over the final line of music, his fingers danced over the strings. As the final note was plucked the whirlwind stopped spinning and in its place stood a young, pale woman. In small print tattooed over her entire body were the notes of the song Sanders had just composed.
She looked scared and nervous as she stood in the apartment glancing around furtively.
Sanders stood slowly and grabbed a blanket from his bed and handed it to the woman.
`` My name is Sanders,'' he said as she wrapped herself in the blanket.
`` My name... my name is Melody,'' she answered in a voice that sounded like chimes in the wind.
Sanders could barely believe what he was seeing. He had brought music to life.
Melody walked around Sander's apartment looking at things with the wide eyed curiosity of a child. She picked a flute up and brought the instrument to her lips and began to play. The song was the most beautiful song Sanders had ever heard. Melody played effortlessly, her body swayed as her fingers danced over the flute. With a final trill she returned the flute to the table.
`` Melody, what are you?'' Sanders asked breathlessly.
`` What do you mean?'' she asked turning her wide blue eyes toward him.
`` Where did you come from?''
`` I do n't know, from you I guess.''
She became distracted by something moving outside of the window in the street below.
`` What's out there?'' she asked.
`` I do n't think we are ready for that,'' Sanders said with a laugh.
Sanders began to talk when Melody cut him off.
`` Shh, just listen to that music,'' she said pointing to the open window.
`` I do n't hear anything,'' he said.
`` Listen.''
She closed her eyes and leaned her head out of the window. The sounds of carts rumbling over cobblestone streets echoed off the walls of cramped buildings. Men and women shouted over each other trying to be heard. Horses whinnied, their hooves clicked over the stones.
Sanders had never paid enough attention to the outside world. He had spent the majority of his time hidden away inside his apartment working on his music. The sounds of the market he lived above usually set him on edge, but right now he could hear, he could *feel* the music of life.
`` Music is all around you Sanders, it's a living breathing thing,'' she said with a smile.
They sat in his small room and talked about music for hours. Sanders told her about the first instrument he had ever played. His father carved him a reed whistle. He had played that little whistle everyday until he had worn out the finger holes.
Melody laughed and smiled along as she listened to his stories. She was simply enchanting, Sanders could not stop staring at her. He showed her his book of songs that he had composed. Her response was not what he had expected.
She looked through the book, each page she turned made her increasingly angry.
`` How... how could you do this?'' she asked.
`` Do what?'' he asked stunned at her transformation.
`` You've locked them away, imprisoned them inside this book and your mind. The cruelty! You ca n't just give birth to a song and abandon it like some piece of garbage! They're alive dammit!'' she shouted clutching the book to her chest.
Sanders rose and held his hands up defensively.
`` I did n't know, but now,'' he paused picking the flute up and held it out for Melody, `` we can set them free.''
-- -
Thank you for reading! Check out /r/Written4Reddit for more stories!
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[ IP ] Still Waiting
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In Central Park during the rainstorm. Waiting for her, the Puerto Rican girl to come walking out of the storm. Like the phantom she is. Comes around everyday at this time.
Probably on a ten minute break or just finished her shift at the shitty tourist diner down the street. Comes walking to sit and step out of the rapid NYC movement for a while.
Like magnets, man. Youse know? I see them every day from my cart on the corner.
Red Hots, get yo dogs here. Yes, Sir. The best kosher dogs straight from the Carnegie Deli. Winks at somebody who knows better.
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