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to save her , you must break the vow you swore on your life . | a murder . that 's what you call a group of crows . ironic , really . a murder . we were dressed in all black , head to toe , holding umbrellas over our heads to protect our feathers from the rain . all of us were perched on our own stretch of wire , looking down with slicked beaks and cold , empty eyes . no words exchanged , just us listening to the barren cadence of winter rain pattering on the world around us . a murder . that 's funny . we looked down into the six foot hole of my murdered wife . half closed their eyes and imagined her , surrounded by roses , cushioned in lavender and oakwood . the chiseled gravestone above her resting place read “ r.i.p . abigail winchester , loved but not forgotten. | wp |
you 've been trapped in a `` groundhog day '' style loop for years . after your most destructive loop yet , you stop looping . | the best was the high . first time high . every time . my brain remembered each day . i don ’ t know how , even with all of the unexplainable , unbelievable , unintelligible shit i lived through for 11 years , i still maintain that the brain is a physical thing . memories are imperfectly encoded events that , while not understood , are a combo of biological , chemical , and electrical . physical things . able to be touched and measured , just like one 's blood pressure , or neurotransmitters released to trigger hunger or anxiety . i do n't know why i remembered each day in the loop – the rest of my body regenerated like new . wounds healed , bones mended , teeth regrew . sometimes i would sleep just to repair my body , like a video game . maybe it was video game , or maybe descartes was right all along and the mind is separated from the body . | wp |
three friends . four am . no dialogue . | the cigarettes were on the table . we each smoked a pack and listened to some music . i was the one picking every song . i do n't know much about reggae . still , it was all i was playing . we smoked a lot . no one really paid any attention to each other . we were just sitting around . i thought of pizza . i suppose they did too . | wp |
after a comet hits a car , the owner and an insurance rep. debate the meaning of `` full coverage '' . | `` hello john , thank you for waiting . '' the voice on the other line said cheerfully . `` yeah , thanks . '' `` so you 're looking to get compensation for ... '' john could hear fingers clacking away on a keyboard , `` a comet landing on your 2006 ford escape . is this correct ? '' `` yes that is correct . '' `` were you within twelve miles of your house when this happened ? '' the voice asked . `` yes i was . '' `` great ! you are eligible for our near-home accident discount . if any damage is done to your vehicle within twelve miles of your house , you can receive a fifty dollar discount on the repairs and a free ice cream ticket for ben and jerry 's at your local grocery store . '' `` okay . '' john said impatiently . `` let me just enter this in here . '' more keyboard clacking . | wp |
show three very different perspectives on one single thing . | there she is . flawless . i try and take a peak at the face i fell in love with through her white , lace vail . a flash of guilt runs through my head and i quickly look down . `` you know you ca n't look at her until she 's up here , '' i tell myself . since the day i met her , i knew she was the one . i love her more than life itself and i 'll give her all i have if it means making her happy . i hear her footsteps getting closer and i can see her white , angelic figure in my peripheral view . i step down to recieve her from her father . he looks at me , and i at him . we give eachother a subtle nodd , his meaning `` please take care of her '' and mine `` with my life , i will '' . | wp |
ten years before the time of the story , a person had the chance to make a single change to the way human bodies function . what 's society like now ? | it was simple enough that it made implementation all too easy . it was successful enough that most people wanted it , and positive enough that the government forced criminals to get it . the technical name was a little bit too difficult for most people . in short , it was a chemical castration . a very specific gland in your brain was killed , so that a certain reaction would be supressed . im a very few years , passion crimea went down 98 % , as did club and bar fighting , and sport related incidents . violence slowly fade from society . crime still existed , but now it was always cold and calculated . the impulse of violence , the uncontrollable burst was now gone . the castration gave people up to five minutes of time between the trigger and the cause , overruling evolution . | wp |
`` humanity spent its childhood reaching for the sky . when they held it in their hands , they found naught but empty space . '' | he stared into the blackness . not space itself , but a simple led monitor , which showed white dots in place of stars . this was the best they could do . windows let in deadly radiation , he had never even seen space with his own two eyes . nearly a year traveling the fastest the ship could allow , and he had not made even a dent in his journey . they were traveling to the nearest planet , some 10 light years away . even moving at a pace the laws of physics deemed illegal , they would be in a metal box , breathing artificial air and drinking in artificial light for years to come . they had not told him this when he became an astronaut . the emptiness of it all . he had dreams of milky heavens and radiant light , but there naught but nothing . | wp |
a science fair judge is questioned as to why the paper mâché volcano won . the answer defies the imagination . | why did i choose that volcano ? i 'll tell you why . you see all the other entires ? the robotic ant farm , the bionic lung , the model orbital elevator . you notice anything similar about them ? oh you do n't ? of course you do n't . i 'll tell you . they were all made using expensive tech . tech bought for them by their rich parents who want the perfect trophy children . | wp |
you are a retired special ops soldier bored with civilian life , you decide to hire hitmen off of the dark web to kill you as a form of entertainment . | ***bang bang bang*** the shots missed wildly . i chuckled under my breath , amateur . the hitmen just seemed to get worse and worse . i looked into my backpack to see the supplies i had packed along for this one . a deck of playing cards , a pencil , a spool of string , and some smelling salts . more than enough . it always seemed so easy for them . a frail old man in a cabin in the woods , miles from the nearest town and easily covered in the shroud of the forest . i took out the playing cards , and took out the 4 of diamonds . **bang bang bang** a piece of bark went flying past my head behind me , splinters falling over my raincoat . this particular one went under the alias `` solomon maverick '' . | wp |
your significant other is literally a demon . when they 're cross with you , they can make your life a living hell . literally . | solomon 's dating service prides itself on ironclad service . for a modest fee , you get a life companion of guaranteed physical beauty , eternal youth , and a safe word from the grimoire itself , tested against hexes , curses , and the seven seals of heaven itself . based on the most sophisticated of matching algorithms -- blood sacrifice and chanting in hooded robes under the pale moonlight -- it does not proffer satisfaction guarantees . your happiness is their command , one pentacle at a time . damian is a nice guy , but unlucky in love . he swipes , bumbles , bagels , and matches , but does n't connect . bars intimidate him and his crushes use him as a sympathetic ear . the problem with the women he meets is that they either are n't interested or are n't interesting . and he 's done with profiles . which is why he is dressed in a sackcloth robe and defacing his dining room floor with chalk circles . | wp |
all 10 billion humans in the world wear wristbands that display their rank in terms of access to global resources in real time . yours just jumped from the middle of the pack to # 19 in a span of 10 minutes . | my work occasionally takes me to antarctica . it is my job to verify the existence of potential untapped natural resources as spotted on satellite imagery . i do this on behalf of a large multinational oil conglomerate . i am compensated reasonably well but i 'm certainly not a rich man . a chill woke me . i sat up in my tent and shuddered . i was used to the cold , being where i was , but this was a different type of chill to that the freezing winds of the tundra produced . i looked down at my wristband to check the time when my eyes instinctivly flicked over to the wealth rank indicator at the top right of the small screen . something was wrong . the number should have been around 3,300,000,000 . it was instead 103,487,122 and it was ticking down at a ludicrous rate . | wp |
its been five years since the zombie outbreak was put down by the world military . a reporter for your national news comes to your house to ask for your story on how you and your family survived the outbreak . | part 1 `` thanks for speaking with me . it 's basically a short piece on how families made it through the war . so lets begin how 'd you and your family make it through ? '' the reporter explained as he slid the lid off his pen and prepared to take notes . the question hung in the air for a few seconds while i composed my response . i 'd told the story a lot , trimmed the fat and made it more palatable where i could . `` well for a start i was n't with my family when this all started . '' i explained . `` you 're irish ? '' the thin reporter said not even trying to hide the shock in his voice . he 'd been so focused on getting me to stop and speak to him he had n't noticed my accent . `` aye and powers of perception like that you must be an investigative journalist . '' i said with a smile . | wp |
entry into heaven is n't based on good deeds , but your answer to a queston : `` why ? `` . | cancer . cancer got me . it 's ok though , all part of god 's plan . the gates to heaven sure were n't what i expected . all those sunday 's in church i could not wait until it was my time to be greeted by st. peter at those pearly gates . angels , harps , clouds for floors . it was supposed to be beautiful . i guess population growth being what it is heaven needed to adapt . the fellow in front of me in line , quirky kid , he told me he learned in college at the over 150,000 people die every day . that 's a lot of souls to welcome . it 's almost my turn . | wp |
for one hour , everything you said became reality . you had no idea that hour would start during a `` yo mama '' duel . | the screams had erupted from all around me . people were running in all sorts of directions , panicking as sirens began to ring throughout the city . `` what 's going on ? '' i grabbed a nearby man , `` why 's everyone running ? '' `` th ... . the sky is falling ! '' the man had dread in his eyes and he knocked away my grasp , `` the sky is falling ! '' a woman bumped into me as my glasses flew askew . i groped the ground for my glasses as i felt the street becoming more and more packed around me . *the sky is falling ? * i picked up my glasses and readjusted them quickly as a i looked at the sky amidst the growing chaos . | wp |
in the style of an old fable , write a story about narcissism . | there was once a prince of the land . he was loyal to the king , loved by the citizens , and adored by princesses the world around . he was just , fair , and spoke with an air of confidence to draw even the most independent of ears . the prince did n't need to be told this , but was consistently told by all around him . everyone hung on his every word as he spoke . on one occasion , the prince came into the square to speak to his public . people stopped their daily affairs and gathered around the pedestal the prince instructed his knights to set up . he said that he was not their leader . he said that he was no better than any man . he said that if they truly thought he should be as great as they said there should be a contest . | wp |
a monster is destroying the city , but the hero does n't want to risk being sued or punished for the property damage that will happen while fighting it . | a scream cuts through the air . `` help us ultraman ! '' i wince , but keep running with the normal folk . perhaps after a few city blocks dissapear they 'll all be more willing to accept my help . last week it was a giant lizard . the week before that , my arch-nemesis gorillatron . and every single time , after everyone is done crying , and everyone is safe , there 's always those who say 'it 's all ultraman 's fault . he should pay for the damage . ' well i tell you , i 've had enough . i 'm not going to be sued again , not going to pay another dime . | wp |
write a story that seems like a cliffhanger untill you reread the first line . | i focus too much on `` the accident '' and what it took from me . `` the accident '' , as my mother exclusively refers to it , was exactly that . an accident . i know this , but it does n't make me feel any less guilty when i ca n't sleep at night . my dad taught me to drive when i was 16 in an old red farm pickup with paint flaking off the doors . dad was a seasoned pro , raised on tractors and trucks . there seemed to be some unwritten rule in our family that kept my sister and me in the house while my brothers helped with farm work and driving heavy machinery . maybe that ’ s the way it was for a reason . i was n't some reckless daredevil behind the wheel ; just a nervous kid who could barely reach the pedals . one wednesday after school , we drove from one side of the county and back again . my hands were white knuckled and sweaty , clutching at 10 and 2 . | wp |
when everyone turns 18 , they receive a pet which is figurative of their personality . you 're the first person to receive a dragon ... | my father received an arctic tern for his 18th . makes perfect sense really . when i was younger he used to drag me along on long holidays , visiting every possible country he could whenever he had the time . and my mother , well i do n't know for sure what she got . i do n't remember her , and father said she left to fight in a war and never returned . all i know is she was some kind of spider , but he would n't tell me what kind . maybe it was a creepy tarantula or something ! that would be a pretty cool pet . i do n't think i want one . father would make me look after it . | wp |
when someone is murdered , their name appears on the skin of the killer . you wake up with a name on your arm and no knowledge of how it got there . | 37 names . from the crest of the crease of my inner arm stretching all the way to the supple veins on my wrist . 37 . they were upside down ( to me ) , readable from the front ( by anyone who saw me ) , and impossible to ignore . at first i thought my roommate was pulling a prank on me . i went to the sink in our shared bathroom between our rooms and rubbed some bar soap on my arm , lathered , scrubbed , rinse . nothing . i was already late to work so i grabbed a large band-aid from the mirror cabinet , promptly covered my arm all the way down . after that i got ready and stormed out the door grabbing my work hat and keys on the way out . all the while thinking of what i had done last night . i had worked the night shift , and this morning i opened . the only thing i did in between was commute and sleep . how ? i reached my first bus stop and piddled to the bakery in a storm-cloud of thoughts . | wp |
daily prompt : in 1879 swift runner , believing he is possessed by a 'wendigo ' , becomes a cannibal . | my father was a beast . a sick man , deluded , deranged and monstrous . my sister and i were young and innocent in the first winter . when temperatures drop so low that none go outside , he would beat us mercilessly with a length of hide , forcing us to the frozen edges of our one room cabin , and seating by the fire alone , tempting us with food and heat , only to beat us back again if we approached . those were the good nights . in a mood , a savage animal overtook him . his wife long dead and noone to keep him company , he would put me in the woodlot and bar the latch , taking my sister into the house to fulfill his appetites . the screams on those nights will never leave my dreams . he tainted the scent of fresh pine so that it only breathes despair and powerlessness into my lungs . i raged against my wooden cage , but to no avail . | wp |
everything is spiders . | atani genzo made a face as they walked into courtroom ; two men and a woman . they wore robes made of midnight black silk and deathly white cloth , two of them with porcelain mask of the latter color . a wave of revulsion churned in his stomach as they seemingly floated through the crowd , well breed courtiers drifting away from their invisible aura of corruption . the spider clan . the sole woman was without a mask though genzo wish she did all the same . she was n't hideously corrupted by the taint . in fact , if anything , she was gorgeously beautiful in the worst carnal manner possible . her sheer silk robe was scandalizly bare at the breasts , revealing the full length of her cleavage . lips painted the color of blood pursed themselves as she observed the seen before her . the man next to her was garbed all in white , the color of death . his mask covered the upper half of his face , pinprick holes in the surface for him to see . | wp |
you 've been invited to a dead man 's party . | i am not the least bit fond of social gatherings , particularly ones designated as a *party* . the whole idea that people will congregate to make meaningless small talk blows my introverted mind . now , i rarely get invited to such events because as the decades have past , people have finally figured out that i will not rsvp . ever . point blank , no question about it . thomas d worthington does not go to parties . perhaps my bitterness for people is more apparent to others than i am even aware . my own family evades me now , just as i have them for so long . i want to be sad about the situation , i truly do but those things , those *feelings* , just do not flourish inside of me . but today may have just been the turn around for me . at the ripe age of 83 , i finally received an invitation in my mail . | wp |
( from the chat room ) you find a small box with a red button while walking in the woods . you push the button . what happens ? | kiwan was taking his weekly walk through the brook county woods , sticking to the path , not wanting to get lost like that poor dead schmuck that they found a few weeks ago . he had with him his dachshund , dexter , who was getting old . kiwan had to make sure that he had some time outdoors before the poor dog died . around three miles in , kiwan noticed the leash falling behind . figuring dexter had stopped to sniff , or pee , he turned to see the little dog crashing off to the left , through the underbrush . `` dexter ! come ! '' he shouted , but the dog was nearly deaf and all disobedient . kiwan sighed , and started to jog off the trail . after searching for an hour , kiwan was beginning to despair . `` dexter ... where are you ? '' | wp |
everything starts turning into lemons . | today was the day . march 19th , the beginning of the end . the news outlets had been running stories for weeks on the `` progressive research '' stemming from a small basement laboratory at uconn . yesterday , march 18th , some one hit wonder scientist had placed the final touches on his most important creation . the silver box , approximately the same size as a shoe box , sat polished and clean on his desk . next to the box stood doctor tallon , the five-foot four englishman . staring out amongst a sea of cameras , he was ready to face the music . `` ladies and gentlemen , i am happy to announce , after nearly 4 years of intense studies , my research is complete . transfiguration is real ! '' `` trans-what ? '' asked a freckled reporter from the local news station . `` transfiguration sir , is the process of a complete change of form from one thing to the other . this becomes that , pencil becomes pen , cat becomes dog . please watch closely as i demonstrate . '' | wp |
what difference does one pixel make ? | the human soul is like a screen . it projects an image , crystal clear , of how we see the world . a monitor uncalibrated or maladjusted in its resolution distorts and confuses , but the image is there nonetheless . photographs of family and friends , news , happiness , and work and play , these dance upon our screens and project smiles upon our faces . sometimes , out of grim amusement or morbid curiosity , we close our blinds and lock our doors and venture into the unknown , knowing that while beyond there be no dragons , there are horrors . heart beating , mind racing , we peak at these mystifying taboos , and retching , erase it from our memories , both digital and neural . but in the far left of the screen , unseen , a single pixel has its image burned . and so we return . we witness the human gore , the child porn , the man murdered on camera , or the dogs ripping at each others throats . like an addiction , every time we see this image , another pixel burns . | wp |
`` why would you throw your life away like this ? '' | it ’ s hard for me to describe the euphoric feeling i get when i come home from work and can finally take off that damned tie . it ’ s the first thing i do upon setting foot inside my door . my cat dog is always at the door , waiting for me to feed him . after a long day dealing with clients , who are never happy with the way their stupid logo looks , his happiness to see me is always welcome . upon feeding him and taking off my tie , i shed the rest of my suit . i hate wearing dress clothes . they are stiff and don ’ t ever fit right on me , the shoes always too small and the shirts too large . personally , i just like to wear sweat pants and a tee shirt , if i wear anything at all . who ’ s going to judge me ? my dog ? ~~~~~~ after a long day at work , i am always immensely glad to see my cat when i walk through the door . | wp |
everyone in the world wakes up one morning , with the knowledge , that sometime during the night , god died . | **san francisco , monday may 12th , 2014 , 6:07am : ** i woke up gasping for air , sat straight up with my hand on my chest , trying to calm myself down . did ... did this just happen ? i knew what i had to do . ran to the kitchen . grabbed a toast , buttered it , raised it above my head , and calmly let it fall . i looked in disbelief . buttered side up ! this is real ! we did it ! i ran to the phone , 35 missed calls ... all from mark . i quickly called him back . it is already 3 in the afternoon in geneva . | wp |
red balloons . | jack kept his eyes closed . he did n't dare to look , yet he knew the red balloons had surrounded him again . damn it ! why did they keep coming back to remind him ? jack took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the water he was standing waist deep in . it numbed his body and that he was grateful for . if only it would numb his mind . it had been a month yet the guilt suffocating him had not loosened it 's grasp in the slightest . if anything it had only used the time to more firmly establish it 's dominance . the guilt would rise and fall to a feverish tempo and at it 's crest he would once more see the balloons . they would force his brain to replay the fragmented memory . | wp |
all individuals receive the memories and knowledge of one of their randomly selected ancestors on their 21st birthday . yesterday was your 21st birthday . | 10/18/14 it 's only been two days . two days since i gained the secret of conquering . of course , it was much easier with today 's technology . modern weapons , modern tactics mixed with ancient ones ; the fire helped too . greek fire . with history 's most powerful weapon combined with modern delivery techniques , the world was putty in our hands . gaining followers was easy with the memories of an ancient king . before the procedure , i did n't even know that i was a descendant of alexander the great . of course it all makes sense now , i was always a great sword fighter , i was fantastic with a bow , always a good leader . and yet , it was n't enough to just be his descendant , his memories were the final key . 10/31/14 halloween day . or i guess it would be if any countries still celebrated holidays . | wp |
technolgy has advanced to the point of re-animation by storing copies of your mind in cyberspace . one day , you die and to your biggest regret , your file has n't been backed up recently . | damn detonation took forever . vincent would have put a bullet in his own head if he 'd known he would have taken five minutes bleeding out . the cold air flooding into vincent 's lungs was much more pleasant than the bullets he 'd been peppered with minutes ago . vincent hating getting shot . vincent breathed out the stale air and released the latch of the rebirthing pod . it was n't the cold of a starship in low power mode that chilled him . it was the silence . what happened ? his squad should be opening the pods around him ready to celebrate a successful mission . `` hello ? '' his breath turned to frost in the air . he activated his combat suit 's helmet and checked the internal temperature . | wp |
the ascension of man . | paul realized , suddenly , that the world around him was an illusion . after staring at his pen for long enough , the thought came to him that , really , it was less of a pen , and more of the *idea* of a pen . the pen was an image that existed inside his head . he realized that the pen , and everything that surrounded it , was an elaborate song-and-dance ; a play put on for one man that lasted his whole life . paul looked around his office as though he expected everyone else to be as shaken by his revelation as he was . he calmed his nerves and focused his attention back on the root of this illumination , the pen . he stared at it intensely . the pen was a part of him . it was a product of his consciousness that could not exist without him , it was his completely . it 's as much a part of me as my arm , he thought . | wp |
outrageous . | a childish toy peered out of the edge of the black bag it occupied . the expressive cat-eyes of the toy shifted left and right in time with every second . the bag was left on the empty end of a blue bench , in a crowded room full of young people . a timer was counting down on the stomach of the cat toy . not a soul noticed it , nor noticed its hooded depositor move swiftly away from the area . the bomb went off in the crowded cafeteria . the denotation exploded the eatery room loaded with noisy students , leaving wreckage resembling the most disastrous food fight of all time . instantaneous destruction wrecked the students occupying the tables , suddenly they had all become human barbecue . the shaking was felt through the entire campus , the very foundation of the building was damaged , not to mention the hundreds of windows that were blown out and scattered . all around the building tinkling glass lay like impotent reflective caltrops . | wp |
wizards magic fair ! | franko miller was waiting patiently the 3rd annual zals ’ magic fair was about to happen . he couldn ’ t wait to see some of the experiments that had been done . to see if anyone had managed to rediscover some of the magic ’ s of old , or even some magic ’ s of new . he was most interested in some of the tech magic experiments . twisting his head sharply he saw one of the famous mages moving by , before his sight was blocked for a moment by one of his dreadlocks . when his vision was no longer obstructed , the great odysseus had vanished into the throngs of people . he did not even see a glimpse of his tail . as he continued looking around he finally saw his friend and pilot , donna bell walking up . “ bout time you made it ” he said . “ yeah well give me directions next time . | wp |
a genius serial killer who has been killing successfully for a decade . with one weakness . he can never ever lie . he 's finally gets caught and is facing trial for a murder in court . yet , he walks , acquitted of all charges . | brian mantle . 31 years old caucasian male . i pick up the file , knowing the interview i was about to step in to was likely going to be the most important of my 25 year career with the metropolitan police force . “ which room ? ” i say to beth . “ 20. ” she looks up from the reception computer , and we share a look , hers the gentle smile of a proud mother figure , mine quiet triumph . we finally got him . she pushes her glasses up her nose in to her greying hair . “ well done ted. ” brian mantle was an ugly man . tall and slightly balding . dark brown hair . sharp blue eyes that tracked my steps in to the interview room entirely emotionless . unlike most murder suspects , he seemed unafraid of me . | wp |
you discover a grand hall filled with legendary weapons like mjonir and excalibur . each generation or so , warriors come to the hall to inherit a weapon that they are worthy enough to wield . across the hall you see a forgotten weapon that 's been collecting dust . you hear it call to you . | i ran upstairs and past my friends , into the nearest room . what had i gotten myself into ? ! the ceiling cracked and bursted , allowing a hulking pig beast to drop in . i ran back out the door , screaming at my friends to run away , as the beast broke the door off its hinges . i drew my sword and straightened my back . social studies is the worst . *record scratch* this , is me . you 're probably wondering how a skinny and completely average person like me ended up here . it all started 5 minutes ago ... .. 5 minutes earlier : `` yo dude , mr neumann 's asleep ! '' i said as i sat in my social studies class . | wp |
you wake up . it 's white all around . you realize nothing exists but you . you are the beginning and the end . you are god . | a man opens a door to his apartment room . it is small and there is only four rooms . bathroom , living room , kitchen , and bedroom . the man just got fired , got in debt , and had recently got a divorced . he even can not see his kids . his life is total hell . he tried to walk to his bedroom , but he fell to the ground . since he is extremely intoxicated , he slept in the ground of his living room . he is on the ground crying in his sleep and wondering where did he go wrong . while the man remembers all the times he had with his wife , the room turns white out of nowhere . | wp |
( wp ) blatant magic vs . subtle magic . | i recently uncovered something i needed to share . you know how it seems everyone procrastinates everything now . it seems that our electronics are just too entertaining and addictive right ? it makes sense you want to do things you like right ? well it seems to be something else . people seem to procrastinate more and more after complaining about how unfair their life is . i can ’ t tell you who but i know someone or something hears it . it could be that our phones are tapped , or maybe whatever just knows . complaining forces you to procrastinate , something makes your brain not able to succeed . it knows if you can ’ t find value in your life you won ’ t find any more value with success . | wp |
every sentient species in the universe receives a jesus figure from god . it turns out humanity was the only species to torture and crucify him . you 're an ambassador priest informing the inter-galactic holy church what your species did . | chaplain 's log - 2768.07.08.15.32.12 as the ship approaches the sepulcher of creation , the crew has become more restless . anxious even . they are looking forward to seeing the faith-in-flesh that the voidian 's spoke of . a holiest of holies in space . i am cautious . this has been the focus of my devotional time since our mission began 3 years ago . and , i do n't know what to expect when we arrive . the voidian we rendezvoused with to correct our course through the dark expanse is actually leading us . i did n't think they did that . he said it was for the benefit of the common faith . i am eager to spread the message of good news with these strangers , and i am very cautious about talk of a single faith . we tried that on earth the the bahai centuries ago . | wp |
you were born with a large birthmark in the shape of a dragon . however , this is just a coincidence ; there is absolutely nothing magical about it , and you 're getting really tired of explaining this . | i shuffled through the dirty and dingy streets making my way to the bar . i could hear the rustling of the autumn leaves . i passed many a questionable looking men and women staring at me . it was a bit surprising to me , cause i was n't accustomed to such unwanted attention specially from such a eerie looking crowd . i did n't give it that much of thought and rushed my way to the bar to avoid the impending rain . i 'm my haste i tripped on the stairs to the bar . that 's when i noticed a hooded man about as tall as me stopping abruptly in his track . he pulled his hood up as soon as he saw me and i was unable to make out his face . his cloak was pitch black in colour and looked like it had just come out of dry cleaning that morning . i had had enough strangeness for a day , i ignored him and went into the bar and ordered myself a ginger ale . | wp |
everyone has a nickname in the style of first name `` nick name '' last name . however , they have it from birth and so many people do n't know why they have their nickname yet . | i was a good kid as long as i knew myself and my parents were nice to me . they tried to keep me happy . but at the age of eighteen they were supposed to give me my nickname . these nicknames came out around fifty years before i was born . `` they are names '' was the first thought . turns out that they say what will you become . newborns after that date had their nickname on a different card . easier to hide from child , that is the reason i thought . i could n't know that i was right at the time . for me though , my parents gave me a fake nickname card at my eighteenth birthday . | wp |
write a story where the degree of sucess per decision is decided by a dice roll . | *please* , i begged lady luck , *please* . if i did n't get this job , i did n't know what i 'd do . the interviewer rolled a three , my stomach sunk . one more die to cast . i felt my stomach twinge , and i sent another plea to our lady to grant me this . if she granted me anything , let it be *this* ... a two . the interview clicked her tongue . five in total , five out of twelve . `` sorry , sir . '' she began , even though she was n't sorry at all . | wp |
`` hello , and welcome to our planet ! to what do we owe the honour of being invaded ? '' | we stood there , blinking and confused . that was n't exactly the response we had been anticipating . `` wait , what ? '' i muttered as i squinted my eyes and looked at this thing , absolutely baffled . `` i 'm sorry my dear sir , '' the thing cleared its throat . `` you are of the human race are you not ? and i believe it is the language known as 'english ' that you speak ? '' my jaw was left hanging slightly open . here we were , in our astronaut armor and armed with machine guns and knives , ready for a cold and bloody war . instead , we were not only greeted , but they were being polite about it . `` uh ... yeah . on both counts . '' | wp |
aliens have just made contact with earth . strangely enough , it seems that human technology is superior . | the farmer walked around his underground bio-dome , inspecting the progress of his plants and crops . he carried a clipboard , which was n't really necessary but it helped him feel useful . harvest time was soon . he 'd actually need to put in more than an hour 's work when that came around . farming was easy and secure , but none too exciting . just as he was thinking about maybe joining an ultimate laser league , he heard a crash from above . he hurried to the elevator and ascended to ground floor . as he exited the glass car , he heard what was no doubt to him an argument , nearby . yet , the voices were otherworldly , and high-toned ; silly sounding , like sped-up cartoons . he drew closer , quietly creeping , and saw what he knew must be extra-terrestrials . | wp |
every single time anyone begins a story , from a grade two assignment to a 300 page novel , it creates an actual universe where the stories laws and characters are real , and are at the mercy of their creator . unfinished stories create a hell like no other . | five of us sat around the fire that burned in the pit we dug up earlier in the day . however , this fire was anything but ordinary . heat still flooded from the flames and made my legs itch with intensity . but the flames , the flames didn ’ t move . they were stuck in time . in fact , so was i . so were my companions . in fact , the world around me was completely still . over the past two days , or so it seems , i had attempted to move , even in the slightest . a twitch , or a smile , or even a blink seemed all but impossible . | wp |
after cheating on a woman who was secretly a witch , a man is cursed with a size-shifting manhood which becomes inversely-proportional to the love he has for each woman he makes love to . | `` doctor screamalot , why are you retiring now ? your porn career just took off . '' brian looked at the blonde porn star in front of him . she was just lubbing up to give him a handjob and they were making conversation while waiting for the director to start shooting . `` i fell in love . '' she searched his face for any sign of joking . let her think i 'm kidding , brian thought . he was n't about to tell her any part of the story anyway . when sandra cursed him he thought he hit the jackpot . he used to call her a bitch , but he should 've called her a witch instead . he cheated on her , like he did with every one of his former girlfriends . | wp |
in order to better control society , the world government has reset everyone 's memory . it is successful except for one flaw ... it did n't work on you . | the morning comes and she is still gone . i know there are millions of others going through the same thing i am . loved ones lost to a nameless plague that swept through the world like locusts through a field of wheat . the week it took for the virus to incubate , spread , and burn itself out was a nightmare , a brief vision into a hell of our own making . the virus was first noticed on a tuesday . wednesday the first of the infected died . thursday the governments of the world told us that the virus was an attempt by scientists in the u.k. to create a vaccination against the common cold . that it was transmittable through every possible method . air , water , touch , hell maybe even sight . friday was the day jane began to cough up blood . | wp |
you 're kidnapped by bob ross and when you get to his house he tells you `` we 're going to make a happy little painting together . '' | the room is dark . it 's impossible to tell how big it is , large enough that the spot light in the centre lit nothing but the easel and canvas . i come to consciousness slowly , drawn like a moth to the flame of the spotlight . soon i am awake enough to be afraid . i try to scream through the gag , it 's thick rubber stretching my jaw wide , but could n't . struggling , i feel the ropes tighten . they keep getting tighter and i have to stop . taking deep breaths , i try to calm myself . no matter what , i know i 'm better off facing what comes with a clear head . it could have been ten minutes or an hour , i do n't know . a door opens . | wp |
you are the world 's richest skyscraper insurance salesman . you made your money by convincing buildings they were next after a superhero knocked down their neighbors . however , 5 years ago you were flat broke . until your former best friend from high school , clark kent , came looking for a loan . | “ i appreciate you meeting with me , mr. luther , ” i shook the hand of one of the most imposing men i ’ ve ever met . “ pleasure is mine , ” he responded with a certain intimidating elegance . “ i ’ ll be frank ; your business model is absolutely brilliant . in the presence of superpowered collateral damage , you ’ ve found ways to protect both the common man and business owner alike . he paused for a moment to swat a speck of dust of his otherwise completely black suit . he offered me a glass of vintage wine , though i politely declined . “ tell me , ” he began . “ how did you start your business ? ” “ well , ” i replied . “ about five years ago , i was near penniless and broke . | wp |
there 's an old adage in the galaxy about humanity : roughly translated , it means `` never push the pink-skins to the thin ice . '' | thirteen wishes , the valorian 's cultural attaché , hovered closer to the viewscreen . on it , the taj mahal evaporated in a stream of ionizing radiation . beside thirteen wishes , the handler hovered , nervously preening a mandible . separation from the pod-waters gave six blue stones anxiety . `` they have no idea what they 've done , '' whispered thirteen wishes . `` the candelans have a very good idea what they 've done . every cultural bastion on every public database they could access is gone . within four minutes of entering orbit . '' thirteen wishes signaled for the viewscreen to pause , and turned to six blue stones . `` pod-plus , '' thirteen wishes said , as it corrected its elder . `` they 've awoken a monster , and they do n't know it yet . the humans need their culture . it 's what turns them away from atrocity and violence . you 're going to have to tell the council to expect atrocity in reprisal . unsanctionable atrocity . '' `` i do n't think there 'll be much sympathy in the face of candelan aggression . '' | wp |
something has been watching you and following you your whole life . you are full at aware but never told anyone because they would think you were crazy . it has never tried to talk to you or harm you , but today you finally try to see what it wants . | it took me a long time to accept the thing . i used to wonder what the thing was . if it had a name or if i could call to it . but during the quietest parts of night , i came to feel that i did n't need to reach out to the thing . it knew me . understood my every thought . and as i pondered my slow existence in sleepless nights , the thing would sigh in the corner of the room . unsettling , but somehow reassuring . the thing has been with me for as long as i remember . at first , only appearing after my sorry attempts at going to bed , watching quietly as i faded into my dreamless sleeps . as i got older , the thing would come around when i was at my worst . | wp |
`` it did n't work ! get away , hurry ! '' | we never asked for this . the containment had finally failed . it began at that moment and the first victim was samuel . he would forever be remembered as the man who fucked up the experiment . i would remember him as the last man i loved and the one that made me survive . the secondary containment did work , though . i managed to grab the shielded truck and drive through the walls while everyone at the facility died . i could n't open the doors , too risky . i had to drive by as all my friends died or became acutely poisoned from a heavy dose of radiation . i followed the protocol , even when i felt my heart was going to explode from grief i followed the protocol . | wp |
when everyone turns 18 , they receive a pet which is figurative of their personality . you 're the first person to receive a dragon ... | i opened my eyes to the bright , cheery , daylight that flowed through the window of my room . not that there was anything significant about it , of course , in fact i could think of many things that would have made the occasion significant , winning the lottery foremost among them . i stretched , getting out of bed , yawned , and reached for my clothes , a skintight fabric that attached itself to ones skin . literally . it was all well and good with the ladies to my perspective , but seriously , who wants to have their dong right out in public for everyone to see ? as my fingers reached the ground , my eyes flashes open in alarm . my clothes were gone . as i frantically tore the room apart , i noticed the date on the clock , 3.11.2156 . my 18th birthday . the number rang in my ears , although i did n't remember hearing it . 18 . i slowly turned towards the drawer where new clothes would appear every week . 18 . my hand reached toward the top drawer . 18 . | wp |
a kid doodling in a math class accidentally creates the world 's first functional magic circle in centuries . | * '' ... has two apples and johnathan has five apples , how many apples do both of them have if mary ate one ... '' * timmy sat slumped over at his desk . *'math class is suuuper boooring'* , he thought to himself . he would rather be at home , eating mass-produced candy by the bowlful . his favourite was pixie stix , because he could eat a record of five packets at a time . high-fructose corn syrup always made him feel warm inside -- almost as if dad never left . he slumped over and started doodling on his math notebook . he rested his cheek on his left palm so hard that it pushed its flesh upwards , obscuring most of his left eye . he started doodling over yesterday 's homework -- drawing shapes over the numbers and plus-signs . his most favourite shape was of course the triangle , because it sort of looked like a sword . he drew a few of those . | wp |
you are a `` normal '' person trying to fit in in a world where everyone is a psychopath . | its 6am . i sit on the edge of my bed in my dimly lit room , the power must have got `` turned off '' again . the screeching from next doors last argument has turned into loud sex . `` from breaking vases to breaking beds '' i quietly chuckle to myself . i drag myself over to window and look out to see what destruction this world had thrown at me today . police sirens in the distance , people eying off each other at the bus stop in front of my apartment . i build up my courage to go to the shared showers . grab my towel and loufa . i tip toe out of my apartment as to try and keep my presence unknown . i get to the showers . first shower on the right closest to the exit and with the only working lock . | wp |
a group of intelligent and extremely sophisticated cannibals are trying to convince you to let them eat you . you know you should be scared , after all they do want to eat you but ... damn it , they make it sound so *sensible* . | when i woke up , i found myself bound to chair . and that chair had four metal bolts going into the concrete . of course , this led me to believe that i 've been involved in a kidnapping . by who ? my money , based on how the room was kept dark , along with the projector screen a few feet from my chair , was an off-the-books government research cell . that could n't be too bad . i 'd maybe see some nasty pictures , my brain analyzed by a bunch of cords spooling from a metal helmet . i waited in the darkness for someone to come and begin so i could get back to scrapbooking . `` hello ? '' i called . `` i 'm awake ! '' a stout man that looked ready for a black tie optional came strolling into the room . | wp |
so , it ends here , after all this time . | thorn sat atop his new bed - if the roughly man-sized wooden crate could be called such a generous word - trying desperately to ignore the stench of the previous owner 's corpse rotting from within it . riverside prison was a fine place , as far as prisons went . the guards tended to leave inmates alone and that was a good thing for some , a bad thing for others . for thorn , it was a *great* thing . killing rex was done more for the statement that the action would make than for the bed . still , as fearful eyes watched him stuff rex 's fresh corpse into the crate and force the lid closed , thorn felt he needed to do something memorable . so he climbed atop the bed and slept . in riverside , sleep was the enemy . an inmate had to make allies in the prison , *had* to , lest he get stabbed in his dreams . going to sleep in front of every man in the cell was a statement bolder then killing rex . | wp |
a massive alien ship has been on the surface of the earth since the very beginning . humans have lived with it and evolved with it for thousands of years and today it finally opens up ... | i was more sweat than clothes . middle of summer and i thought it would be a good idea to step outside . nope . the heat was n't even the worst part . the terrible part was all the recent earthquakes . if i wanted earthquakes and unbearable heat , i would have moved to california . all over the news was talk about the unprecedented number of earthquakes . i figured we would all die soon enough , not sure whether or not from the heat or the quakes . until that day i still had to pay the bills . off to my dead end of a job . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ i walked into the nursing home and intimidatingly felt a blast of heat come from inside the building . | wp |
in an alternate reality , a student 's gpa value floats on top of their head as a large number . all your professors , fellow students , friends , and parents can see it . how does this affect on campus relationships and day to day interactions ? | 4.0 . i lived in jealousy . i worked vigorously , day and night . i sought the help of tutors , extra help , but to no avail . see , me and him spent a lot of time together in high school . we would hang out , talk about girls , and go to social events . but , he was always the good one , i was the one incidentally causing trouble . like in sophomore year , when i got suspended a week for going under the table to pick up a girls phone , only she had a skirt on and was n't single . or the time when i totaled danny 's car when he asked me to drive him , because he shitfaced and wanted to stay safe . as our lives progressed , we grew farther apart . he was in numerous activities , clubs , and was a multi sport athlete . | wp |
demons and angels when reaching puberty , are assigned a human to torment/protect till their death . this is your first human , however you are hearing rumors from the veterans that this human is on his sixth demon/angel and no one knows what happened to the last five . | `` ah , a new one . i am sure you know my name . may i ask what your name is ? '' he said with a friendly smile on his face , hand strechted towards me . astounding ! there was not a flicker of fear in his eyes . `` ezra . my name is ezra the destroyer '' , i said a little confused and upset . i had made a big deal about my entrance . i had practiced for months . i put it all out there : smoke , lightning , dark voice from the void ... and for what ? nothing . the worm did n't even flinch ! `` outstanding ! '' he sayd with a big grin on his face . he grabbed my hand and shaked it eagerly . | wp |
becoming a god . | the ascension to godhood was nothing particularly remarkable . there was no extreme moment of clarity . i could not suddenly see and understand every atom in the universe . omniscience did n't thrust itself upon me and give way to everlasting wisdom . there was a certain indifference to the universe . as if it were saying `` congratulations , your prize is nothing . '' the world was entirely indifferent to my change , and my change was in no way different . it 's no wonder so many gods retreat from the world at some point . no matter how greatly revered , they always leave . i suppose they come to the realization that i did in that moment . | wp |
you find a button . words are written on it . it reads : `` please click me '' | the button was large and red . the button read `` please click me '' , but there were messages written all around it saying things like `` do n't click the button ! '' or `` turn back now ! this is your last chance ! '' it filled me with angst . i had traveled so far , and desired to know the button so much . but i felt fear . who does not feel fear of the unknown ? perhaps the unknown should stay unknown ? but what if everyone felt that way ? what if no one ever went into the depths of the unknown ? | wp |
what if death found a reason to live ? | a young woman lay on a bed , eyes closed but not really closed . to the family surrounding her , she was asleep ; her husband sat with a hand in hers , face haggard . a young boy lay curled up next to her , nestled in close and making the hospital gown on her rustle every time he shifted . he had refused to leave . marie looked asleep to them , but her other eyes were on him . they had been chatting a fair while now . `` i am the oldest god . '' she had asked him if he was god . to her , he looked like a tall , middle-aged man with silver streaks in his otherwise dark hair . he wore plainclothes . `` i am also the simplest of them all . '' | wp |
a new drug let 's you live a lifetime in one dream . | i do n't want to wake up . i do n't want to close my eyes and never see the woman that i love again . i stare deep into her soul . tears are streaming down her beautiful face as she caresses my withering hand , now riddled with liver spots and wrinkles . the doctors have taken the drips and tubes out now . i have maybe a minute left . how am i going to go back now ? i 've lived a life . an entire fucking life . and it kills me in so many ways that the one person worth living for is an elaborate fantasy concocted in the mind of some reckless teenager . | wp |
you stumble into a universe where you discover that your life is an incredibly popular book/movie/piece of media . then you find the fanfiction . | the luminosity of swirling pastels , blinding sparkles and shimmerings , and finally an eerie darkness . that 's all i could recall on my journey throughout distant universes . my eyes were puffy and swollen when i awoke . the damp mattress underneath me accommodated my sleepy figure like a dream . pun not intended . my room still flashed with the blazing colours i saw in my bizarre dream . other than that , a regular monday morning . there was n't much happening on town today . some discarded trash floated in a puddle . the pungent smell of gasoline and hot dogs wafted from the gas station . yet , it was strangely silent . | wp |
turns out that the purpose of life is war . humans are self-multiplying shock troops , left to our own until our numbers get high enough to be useful in the ongoing galactic war . today our previously thought to be useless dna has been flipped to on . | `` what the fuck is going on ! '' i scream from my front porch as my feet melt from my body . i 've never been more scared . yet , there 's an odd feeling that this is meant to happen , the feeling a beatle must have as it morphs from a larve . after the initial shock , i am calm . i accept my coming death . yet death does not come to me as i am reduced to hideous form . my brain , a covering of skin , and twenty or so new organs that protrude from me like urchin spines are my only bodily remnants as new urge takes over . find others . i roll to meet people who were once my neighbors , linking our protrusions as we find each other . i can hear their thoughts . | wp |
your ( unusual ) addiction has destroyed your life . you have lost your family , friends , and ended up flat broke . today is the first day on your road to recovery . | tonight is my first meeting . i sat cross legged , indian style , the way a child might thumbing through a magazine . i am trying not to think about it . to be frank about it , there is nothing stopping me from not staying in . i am not dying , i am not addicted to some stimulant , some hard drug that will take me in the end . i hardly drink . but my wife . she had other ideas . lucie . she thought it was pretty cool . what kid wouldn ’ t ? “ jon , your stupid fish are ruining our marriage ” sara would yell . | wp |
your ship 's dead in space , nothing working but life support . you 've still got momentum from when the engines worked , and with no way to `` steer '' , you 're months away from crashing into the very planet you were supposed to colonize . no one can reach you in time to help . how do you tell your crew ? | `` yeoman , let me see it again . '' commander whites holo deck whirred to life as the crewman forwarded the data files to him . in half a second data streams began to pan across his holo , paired with visual imagery of their trajectory , planetary system information , their current velocity , and various other important numbers and figures . the commander scowled at the data as it bathed his face in an artificial blue light . his worst fear had been realized . just two hours prior the icv mercury had reported a total loss of engine power . further examination of the malfunction revealed that during the faster-than-light transit the ship had passed incredibly close to a s-type red giant . solar radiation had overcome the artificial magnetic field of the mercury and fried all electronics . this would have killed the crew ; however , the icv mercury 's engines were to the aft of the shuttle and as such protected by a secondary shield . the primary shielding , charged with protecting life support , crew quarters , and command , had held off the radiation . | wp |
after brushing your teeth in the morning you go downstairs to fry an egg , but when you try the frying pan buzzes at you and text appears reading , `` level 18 cooking required to use object '' . | timmy smashed the snooze button on the alarm clock . the time was 8:25 and he was going to be interviewed for his new job in about 4 hours . he was not going to fuck this up again . he found his energy and stood up . `` a new day , a new me '' he whispered to himself . he was confident . he went to his wardrobe and picked out the suit he had borrowed from his brother . he have n't had the money to get himself one yet , but his brother and him were about the same size and height so the suit fit him perfectly . he equipped the white shirt and the pants , and put the tie over his shoulder and headed towards the kitchen , holding the suit jacket in his hands , placing it carefully over the back of the chair in his kitchen along with the tie . he turned on the coffee machine and headed to the bathroom to shave and brush his teeth . apart from the suit , nothing was out of the ordinary , this was his morning routine . | wp |
let him sleep . as long as he does n't wake up he still has a job . | the guard held onto my arm . `` let him sleep , '' he said . `` as long as he does n't wake up , he still has a job . '' humans have known for a long time that a certain kind of sleep unlocks an inner and secret power in their brains . abstract thinking times a million , i 've heard it be described . now black market doctors and programmers are using unregulated tools to tap into it , and my son became one of their hamsters . i sold my house . `` please take my money , '' i told them . `` take all of it , i just want my son back . '' but they refuse to release him , saying he has become too important to their research . | wp |
a super-hero/heroine returns home , having failed to save the world . he/she has but a few minutes with his/her family before the world is destroyed . | *i have a bad habit of writing in the present tense . i wish i could drop it . it comes of role-playing by email , i think . * ***** “ it ’ s done . there ’ s nothing more we can do. ” leverage man ’ s broad shoulders slump ; his square jaw doesn ’ t tremble , but it ’ s set as though it were taking effort to keep it from doing so . he focuses his gaze on the floor , careful to avoid his teammates ’ eyes . feral reacts first , smashing his clawed hands into the wall of computers , tearing the control panels free and sending a shower of electrical sparks across the room . “ stop ! ” hypnogirl cries and throws her arms around the angry beast-boy . she buries her face in his back . “ please… stop. | wp |
the most saddest love story you can ever think of . | she 'd be 18 this year . about to go off to college , make a life of her own somewhere else . and yet here i stand , flowers in my hand . they say time heals all wounds . but never fully . time closes it , it stops the bleeding and makes all functions return . but it leaves a nasty scar . seventeen years . i remember the day i first saw her . she was the most beautiful girl i 'd ever seen , and i must admit i 've seen a few . she had these big , blue eyes and i could 've sworn she blinked at me . i was stunned silent . my jaws agape . | wp |
you are a retired special ops soldier bored with civilian life , you decide to hire hitmen off of the dark web to kill you as a form of entertainment . | i pause the audio file and leave my office , to get a coffee . `` who were you on the phone to , aunt marie ? '' the little bugger . i 'd forgotten about him . his parents were off having a `` second honeymoon '' . in truth it was their third . and they 'd asked me to look after him . `` a ... friend . i 'm going out to see him later on today . you can stay here by yourself , ca n't you ? i 'll buy you some ice cream ! '' i do n't know what kids like these days . is ice cream still available ? i was waiting so long for the last one . | wp |
you spend years as a war prisioner in a small cell . suddenly you realize you are , in fact , a dog . | sometimes my captors let me out . sometimes they can be really nice , my captors . they dont call me by my name , but they seem to have acquired some kind of a petname for me , a word that is alien in my tongue . rocky . why would anyone call anyone 'rocky ' of all things ? despite their obvious peculiarity , they sometimes let me out , and for that i am grateful . i hate the cell . it 's small , it 's moldy , and the sunray barely gets through the knotty pine they use to build it . it seeps water when its raining , and somehow the material cant give me enough sun when its nice outside . they feed me , too , my captors . not regularly . sometimes i get twice a day , the food put on a metal plate that clank just after i wake up and then another portion just before i go to sleep . | wp |
you have just purchased a new 2015 calendar from the bookstore . when you open it at home , you find a date already circled . it has your name written on the day . | s always english is not my mothertongue . grammar nazis youre welcome to rewrite it better if you like the idea : ) i stare at the date . its my birthdate . why was it cyrcled i asked myself . hunger ! i take a sausage out of the fridge . `` slam '' thats our front door . i live alone ! an elderly woman enters . hi honey im back . i stare at her and ask : '' who are you ? '' . `` i am your wife ! '' and without letting me reply `` have you wrote down all the important dates on the calendar youve bought ? '' | wp |
create an `` omelas '' | dave walked out of the office on a delightful friday afternoon with sunlight beating down on the bright white concrete . he whistled as he strolled through the town center , smiling as he watched the children run over the bricks , chasing a soccer ball . people were out and about , shopping , sipping on tall fruity drinks outside corner restaurants , marveling at the statues that dotted the area . life was beautiful . he wandered home , taking the long way so he could stop by his good friend joey 's house . he was tending to his garden , picking out fist-sized , perfect tomatoes . `` joey ! i 'm having a little party tomorrow night ? you interested ? i got some beautiful girls coming , '' he said , a wolfish grin stuck on his face . joey looked apologetic . `` sorry man , i made plans with marge already . maybe next weekend though . '' dave was taken aback . joey always came to his parties . oh well . he buried the little bit of hurt , understanding that he could n't be joey 's only friend . | wp |
a serial killer leaves a certain song playing at every crime scene , but no one knows what it means . | my cold , aluminum desk is flooded with case-files . uptown triple-homicide . suburban kidnapping . a few fraud cases buried underneath . i practically gag at the thought of opening any of them . *let 'em wait ... this town 's goin ' to shit with or without my help . * our precinct 's department is situated in a 19th-century ex-prison . only the chief 's office and a few higher-ups ' have any windows . needless-to-say my closet stays pretty dark.. i flip on the green desk-lamp . before leaning back in my sunken desk-chair , i snatch a fat , yellowed file from the center of the table . case 0333 . i open it to the file 's latest addition : a newspaper cutting . | wp |
what does it feel like to be in love . | you 're sitting in a darkened movie theater , your partner beside you . it 's date night , just like every thursday , at least when you find the time . you do n't hold hands , but when both of you reach into the popcorn at once , you give each other 's fingers a playful squeeze . the screen before you lights up with the first scene of the latest epic movie that everyone has been talking about incessantly for weeks . the film has action , it has drama , and it has a love story . the love story is somewhat shoehorned into the plot , but it 's there . two star-crossed , absurdly beautiful people , fated to be together and then not anymore . you know logically that the movie 's score is manipulating your feelings . you can step outside yourself and analyze the sweeping vistas and top-notch special effects that push the plot along . but you still ca n't resist being drawn , inexorably , into the storyline unfolding before you : the story of the two ill-fated lovers with perfect , perfect hair . | wp |
time travel exists , and a new form of capital punishment is introduced : transporting the convict back to the worst , practically unsurvivable , places in human history to find yourself in . you are such a convict , and just got sent back . you will do anything to try and survive . | as a historian and a literature buff , i could appreciate the irony of being one of the few people able to both describe a dystopian future ( a concept much ignored by modern `` teaching '' ) and to pinpoint the moment in which society took a turn down that forbidden valley . time travel had been a boon to society at first . it would take a scientist to explain why paradoxes are an impossibility , but needless to say all sorts of new technologies and trade opportunities propped up almost overnight . were you suffering from an incurable illness ? pop into 100 000 ad and check if it had been cured ( it had . all diseases were by 40 000 ad ) . did you want to try *original* roman cuisine ? if you played your cards right , you might even dine with caesar himself ! there were limitations , of course . paradoxes *could n't be created* , which meant that any actions that would create one just ... did n't happen . | wp |
scientists invent a device that measures people 's hope in life and their will to live from a scale of 1 to 100 . your number is 0 . | `` for fuck 's sake , james . stop it with this stupid number-labeled bullshit and follow the style guide next time . '' james looked up as a demon gremlin child straight from hell popped out of the sky from an inky , black portal . the creature grimaced morbidly at the strange scientist and floated over to his hope-detection machine , powered by dreadful numbers . as it plopped itself on the detection-seat and rested its arm on the hope-detector , the numbers on the screen above the gremlin child 's head shifted out of control , skipping from 1 to 99 to 23 to 42 to 365 to 420 . eventually , it happened . the device stopped at 0 . james looked over and scratched his head , biting into a slice of delicious domino 's pizza . now available with kosher cheese and gluten-free sausages . upgrade with a bottle of coke and an order of breadsticks for only 2.99 . domino 's . it 's just good pizza . | wp |
sodom and gomorrah unite as one state . their founding fathers are writing their constitution . | he stood with his back against the wall . it was the only way he could get any work done . every time he 'd lean across the desk to reach for a plume , they 'd ... well ... you can pretty much guess . this was going to be one of those really tough all night sessions . brutus had been at the wine , as usual . clavius was still picking candle wax out of his chest hair from yesterday 's orgy , and three of the nine `` fondling fathers '' had n't bothered to report to session . this meant any vote could result in a tie . and you really did n't want to have to go through the tie-breaker ritual . so much grease . so much grease . new republics have always been a messy affair . | wp |
humans have perfected the person/computer interface , allowing you to download skills and knowledge instead of going through traditional schooling . lacking the necessary funds , you decide to bootleg the skill you 've been wanting . | wednesday 8/12/2034 i had been searching for weeks looking for this one uds ( user downloaded skill ) . it came to a point where i felt like giving up , but then i stumbled on something . there was a guy down in the bronx , claimed he could get bootlegs of uds you wanted . i 'd head down there friday . thursday 8/13/2034 i had to do some prep before i could go meet up with the mystery man . first i had to actually set a meet , i called everyone i knew to see if they knew anyone . jackpot , one of my contacts knew a guy . the meet was set for friday at midnight . second thing on the list i had to get a little `` insurance '' just in case this thing went south . i hit up a local weapons dealer that was friends with my cousin , i purchased a colt 2021 , and 12 bullets . | wp |
becoming a god . | ascendant . all i ever wanted was control . it ’ s all anyone really wants , at the end of the day . people phrase it differently , but control is what they are after . they want the power to enforce their will , and to defend themselves from those doing the same . they want money to buy off other people . they might even want a titled role to allow them to enforce their will . i wasn ’ t satisfied with any of that… in the end at least . i started peacefully enough i suppose . i just wanted to be able to walk , to overcome the limits that my pitiful mortal frame placed upon me . the malformed limbs that couldn ’ t carry a peach , much less the rest of my body , had been my shackles… and my driving force . | wp |
everyone has the opportunity to forge a pact with an other worldly being upon the age of 22 . george has hazzoroth the arch demon , lucy has dizurious the angel , and you ... well you have ... | today was the day . the day my true life was supposed to start . my family has always been successful with it 's pacts . for generations we 've always made pacts with archangels and other leaders in the angelic host . with these pact 's my family was able to easily secure it 's position of power . we 've wanted for naught and live amicably . the house motto is , `` by the grace of heaven we serve . '' with these words , and our patrons backing , we set order to the world , doing what we can to spare those from suffering . now it was my turn to join the fight , the day i take my pact . as i knelt down , and performed the rite , the one who answered the call was n't angelic . | wp |
the day the music died . | dear friend , it is seldom that i write to you , as you know , but times are dire . the people are angry , and their fear is erupting into chaos . i wish i 'd the time to explain completely , but please understand that circumstances leave me with little time for any deep explanations . there was a time when you lived here - a time when the people were happy . your departure was unfortunate for us , but we bade you goodbye as good friends and countrymen must . however , your parting gift , the music box , that gave joy to all the land , has stopped . i admit i know not your whereabouts nor your state of health . it is quite possible that i am writing to a dead man . if you do receive this message , however , please make haste and return to your homeland . your people need you once again . | wp |
after failing out of culinary school and joining an exotic bakery , the wise old owner tells you , `` dough or donut , there is no fry . '' | doda ’ s donuts was the only place i could find work after flunking out of the culinary arts program at the university of phoenix . the shop was special for two reasons : 1 ) the old man who ran the shop did not believe in cooking dough . 2 ) the shop was almost always empty . it was the perfect place for me to work . three months into my employment , the first customer came in : a little hungry girl who was probably lost . she might have also been an orphan , but i couldn ’ t know for certain . she came up to the register and ordered a donut . i began to panic . the shop did not have a deep fryer . how am i supposed to make donuts without a deep fryer ? | wp |
you possess an ability to turn off one or more of your senses to heighten the others . today is the day you make a mistake . | silence . darkness . unbeing . you know how sometimes you feel that sense of worry ? that sense of dread ? it 's diluted in us , now . a throwback to a time when we feared the night and the snapping of jaws . before we were masters of all we surveyed . when i learned of my abilities i was quick to put them to use in pursuing a world i would not otherwise have dreamed of . people always think of the five senses , but there are so many more . have you heard of the kinesthetic sense ? | wp |
aliens invade earth but what the do n't realise is that humans have been fighting each other forever and have become very good at it . | the chattering of machine guns and the deafening thunder of missiles reaching for the sky . the bows of the trojans aiming for the gods themselves as they crashed from olympus . the fleet burned the sky , wooden arks lit aflame by the torches of the mongols . steel insistence that the dawn of man was not unjust . conquerors from the ancient , primordial stars were nothing to the phalanxes of the persians and the levies of the khmer . though the tired souls of men from slaying kin were worn and the final winter was settling the end was not inevitable . the rocky craters and stubborn mountains and caves of the world refused surrender to the invaders . for the centuries on as the shogunates returned and fled to their holes , the whispers would not be lost . the totems were burned but not forgotten . the screech of unearthly steel was always recalled . | wp |
you 've been living in a bunker , with your mother and no one else , for almost a decade . you 've just found out that her pacemaker battery wo n't last much longer . you do n't have any surgical skills . what now ? | the mortal heart is beating , beating , its tune 's a sombre one . and with each beat our time is fleeting . fleeting , nearly done . the soul it serves , before me sits , her smile barely held . her heart against her rib cage hits , a rhythm nearly felled . she spends these moments laughing , laughing , loving who she 's been . i ca n't but think , each second passing , this is our final scene . the melody of stillicide and heart , which deafens all my thought , betrays her nearing deathly start , the fate we 've always fought . her mortal heart was beating beating , until it beat no more . this moment was our final meeting , a meeting once adored . | wp |
god answers every time you call his name . oftentimes , this is terribly inconvenient . | i 'm normally pretty careful , using the lord 's name in vain . it 's the only commandment i follow , and i try to follow it adamantly . it 's more out of spite than respect , as i tend to enjoy breaking the rules . all of them . imagine the self control issues i had when i found out just uttering his name summoned the bastard . the first time , it was strange . i wasnt frightened . i didnt think atonement was nigh . i remember bumping into a man with a hot coffee and a cellphone e glued to his face . of course the dumb fuck ran head first into me . hot coffee spilled down the front of my chest , and like any normal man would , i cursed . one specific curse was that sod in the sky 's name . | wp |
you are at your first job interview ever in a well-known company . you sit at the interviewer 's desk and the first question you are asked is `` would you kill a man if we asked you to ? '' | “ would you kill a man if we asked you to ? ” “ i ’ m sorry , what ? ” “ would you kill a man if we asked you to. ” “ is this jones-wayright ? ” in response , one of them turned around to the wall behind them , where the answer to my question was plastered loud and clear . i looked at the two of them in confusion , then down at my wrist watch . sure enough , it was eleven-thirty , my scheduled time for the job interview . “ answer the question. ” the appropriate response here is for me to say no . of course i would never kill a man ! but sometimes , life is boring , so let ’ s play their game until we reach the breaking point . | wp |
you have a large number in your head , it 's counting down . what happens when it reaches zero ? | *krik krik krik krik* *watch this for me will you ? * i was created into this world with no arms , just non-functioning legs . i also have super powers you know ? the likes of which both ended and started great wars . *tick tock tick tock* but . due due to my unfortunate disabillity , i am forced to be like everyone else , working , striving every day , every morning . *tick tock tick tock* what 's my job you say ? i cook . well , actually , my *master* just makes me heat it up . doughnuts , popcorn , bagels all the time just not canned soup i never seem to get that right . *he* never lets me do my own thing . | wp |
your house is possessed , but you 're used to it . now you 're having guests over and you expect it to behave itself . | i turn off the stove . the buffalo wings are ready and kept warm in the crock pot . the beer , selected to the preferences of toby and carla , is displayed on the center shelf of the fridge . the table is set with a variety of chips , dips and assorted snacks . the guest toilet is clean . i turn off the stove . wood is stacked in the fireplace , ready for a cozy fire . the pregame nonesense fills the living room with white noise . i busy myself by sweeping the floor again . my wife would be home any minute . | wp |
you wake up to a future in which humans are extinct , but revered as gods by the current inhabitants . | 'so this is what it feels like to be at the center of innumerable concentric circles made of millions of living , squirming squid-like creatures ' , is what he would 've thought had his mind retained any sense of the verbal . amidst the awe and strangeness of it , his eyes narrowed to focus on one of them . their individuality was a lie and seemed the very apotheosis of randomness and disorder . always shifting , moving , writhing . all tentacles and undulation . en masse , their true and apollonian nature was revealed . the perfect concentric circles were one thing but it was the colour pulses on their bodies that gave the game away . they could change their skin colour : any colour , any shape , any pattern , any part of their body . and they did . again , looking at one of them told the lie that it was arbitrary . looking out over them all , as he did now , he could see how the colours seemed to move from one body to next in an ever-shifting flow of organised configuration . | wp |
you discover the message meant to be given to `` the chosen one '' was wrongfully given to you . | the sword stood out of the mud , mocking me . it could stand , but i could n't . i hated that bastard , it stole my entire life . eldrist 's hilt glinted as if it caught a star 's light , but there were none . it knew i hated it , and it was laughing . 'you 're the only one who 'll defeat the darkness , ' they said . 'take eldrist , he 'll protect you from the dangers of being a lone warrior . ' eldrist was no protector . it 's a curse . useless old men . ca n't even pass their artifacts out to the right people . | wp |
you are a corrupted tooth fairy who knocks out adults ' teeth . | i joined the syndicate when i was 23 . i knew someone who knew someone and it kinda happened . i remember the day like it was yesterday . i now run my own syndicate and life is good . i walked into the room and there was a big guy named sergi . he was a huge solid russian fairy who was covered in gold jewelery however it was decorated with teeth . i remember naivley thinking to myself , `` we are n't supposed to keep the teeth , why is he keeping the teeth ? it 's supposed to go to the government '' . a total product of the system i was . my accomplice ( who shall remain anonymous ) and i sat down across from sergi . `` so , you have decided that you want to make some money ? '' | wp |
the hero has saved the day.and it was a big mistake . | blood-soaked and sweaty , the guerilla stood over the generalissimo . in the war room of the last stronghold of qwarezm , he finally had the dictator at hand . all he needed was to shoot him , and the war would be over . the generalissimo did not seem scared of his impending death . he spoke with a deep baritone voice , unshaken . `` where are you from , soldier ? '' `` no talk , tyrant . '' `` what does it matter ? i will die today . you do not look like the typical rabble that rises up against my government . for one thing , you are white . for another , you speak english . '' `` ... '' `` and why are you here in my country , fighting the progress we are bringing ? '' `` progress ? your soldiers have murdered and massacred thousands , millions of innocent civilians . your own people . you have stifled democracy , destroyed the political opposition , ruined the economy with your ridiculous attempts at industrialization . '' | wp |
aliens come to earth in hoping to wipe us out and take over the planet , but are honorable and gives us a fighting chance . they announce they will return in 100 years so as to give earth a chance to prepare and defend itself . neither side expected what the other would bring to war . | at each of the great system relays a we stood poised for yet another conquest , our ships armed and refit , our finest officers and crew ready for the glory of combat . the time of our return slid inexorably closer . nothing would , or rather nothing could , stop our advance . a challenge once presented must be met with honest effort . however this does n't stop some miserable races from stooping to diplomacy . one by one each relay spat out a pathetic vessel . each a bare mote in comparison to our warships they were beneath our notice until the hail came . `` we 've come to negotiate terms for peace . '' pathetic . negotiation we reserved for those tenacious enough to withstand our onslaught . there could be no greater insult but to demand the treatment of equals . | wp |
the aokigahara suicide forest . | i feel like i 'm in a museum , looking at the strange , old echoes of a world i ca n't seem to fully understand . feelings of old people , sadness that 's creeped up in paint , veneer , wrinkled skin . such stillness . minds you just ca n't reach , that are always behind the horizon . i thought i would feel repulsed but i do n't , my beliefs in the world are only slightly hampered , and only temporarily . somewhere on the edge of my mind is the tendency to blame it on capitalism . as if socialism were any better . it feels too easy . it feels like i 've been set up to make that connection . the endless documentaries and talking heads . socialism is no better , and the truth of the matter is that we really do n't have an answer . | wp |
tell me the story of a publicly hated hero fighting a much beloved villian . | clark kent looks in the mirror and sees his scars . his imperfections . his crooked nose he got from fighting braniac for the bottled city of kandor . his left eyebrow singed partially from saving the shuttle `` destiny '' from crashing into the sun . never grew back . he stands up straight and puts his hands on his hips . suck in your gut clark , it 's no longer the six-pack you used to have . *oh merciful rao , is that a receding hairline ? i 'm 35 years old and i 'm losing my hair . * clark loosens his crooked tie and walks out of the bathroom . he sits in his writing chair . the apartment 's been lonely for a long time now , but clark never feels it . | wp |
aliens come to earth in hoping to wipe us out and take over the planet , but are honorable and gives us a fighting chance . they announce they will return in 100 years so as to give earth a chance to prepare and defend itself . neither side expected what the other would bring to war . | `` so you 're saying you flew in firing range . '' `` yes . '' `` but you did n't fire . '' `` correct . '' `` you just sent them a message ? '' `` said we 'd all be back in 100 orbits , with a bigger army . '' `` 100 orbits of what ? '' `` i did n't specify . who cares ? '' the war general flew into a rage . he was well known for his narrow range of expressions , even for one of his profession . `` what do you mean who cares ? i care ! you were supposed to destroy them , not give them a hint ! '' `` but fighting is difficult . i did n't want to go over budget . and besides , they wo n't expect us to *not* fight . '' | wp |
Subsets and Splits