Aw nice

"I still don't know why you can't just, make everyone forget." I said very frustrated. "Well, first of all, Goddesses can only draw power from their people, so any damage done to the people as a mass would be reflected on me." she stated. I never thought I'd actually get together with the goddess of wisdom and valor, if it weren't for that drink with the lads, I'd still be a fckin' farmer to this moment. Well, I still am a farmer, but at least I'm a farmer with a smokin' lady. "And the 'Second of all?'" saiid I. "Second of all, why would I want our relationship to be a secret?" said she.

"Well, maybe because I'm a farmer in the middle of bum fuck nowhere, an you're the deity of the land I own!"

I drank from my mug of beer.

"Also! Many people are gonna try and get on my arse. Only reason they aren't now, is because it's midnight and the moon's tryin' to play the hottest hour of the day."

I drank some more.

"By God's nail! If I had never fallen in love with you I don't think we'd be in this mess!"

At this point, I was towering over her as I was fully stood up. Alexandria, at this point, was quite heartbroken; on the brink of crying. As was I, but I didn't know it at the ti—time.

Man she looks so beautiful.

"How could I have pulled s— someone as nice as you? I don't even care about the church or what not. I just wanna be with you."

I thi— hic think I said that in my head. She looks… red? Man, I think she's an angel.

"I'm a goddess, not an angel." she said as her nice soft smile comes back to her mouth. "Come on, it's late. You should go to bed."

"Oh, hic I– I don't think my lady's gonna like that. Y'know, she's a respectable lady and I love 'er."

She turned red. Why'd she turn red? Oooooh, quae est perfecta. "And I love you." the woman said.

I thi— I think I'm gonna, lie down here. I think I had too much be— hic

Man, I love 'er so much. I don't care 'bout the public, no more.

If I were to choose between infinite wealth or a poor farmer's life with her, I'd plough the fields everyday if it meant she was feeling loved.

That's what hi c love is, right? Just love 'em like you're gonna die tomorrow. Ya gotta love them a lot.

And oh boy, my lady can never be replaced.

I think hic That's enough ecstasy for today.

I'm just gonna— lay here and— hic

Holy (beep) so short, yet so packed with so much. Absolutely stunning. Very well done

    Mathis sat in the lobby of the soul clinic reminiscing the past 35 years leading him to this moment. At 65 years old he was still full of life and unfortunately cancer too. Once he was cleared for Soul Fission he sorted his affairs and accepted his fate.      Soul Fission was first developed 35 years ago as a response to the energy and climate crises. Mathis was a lead scientist on the project. Soul Fission is the splitting of the soul from the body. The soul was discovered to have an immense amount of energy stored inside and could be used to power the world’s energy needs. Once discovered, the governments of the world mandated how it was to be used. An ethics board was set up and soon the dying and dead became one of the largest energy contributors in the world. Carbon emissions dropped and the effects of climate change slowed drastically. Mathis and his colleagues were branded as heroes and Mathis received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the project.      Mathis took a look around the lobby. He saw many elderly people, but he was shocked to see a child. The child was bald and sickly looking. Probably no older than six or seven.  His mother shrouded herself around him and rocked him back and forth. You could tell she had been crying for ages. Her face was marked with tear tracks and heavy bags under her eyes. Mathis knew anyone could be split, but this was a rare occurrence surely? A woman older than him leaned over and talked with her hand in front of her mouth as if that would shield her booming voice. “It’s sad, isn’t it?  Probably couldn’t afford the cost of living tax. My friend Linda says it’s really common these days. The ethics board voted against raising it, but no one listened of course.” Soul splitting was technically voluntary, but  you see, if someone is medically deemed to be terminal or unable to work they are taxed for each year they do not split their souls. Most families can’t afford the tax and risk being jailed, which eventually leads to having your soul split anyway since the courts decided splitting prisoners was legal.      Mathis felt a malignant horror creep into his stomach. He was no hero, he was a villain. He created the methods that lead to the deaths of countless people. This realization hit him like a bus. He quickly fumbled his check book out of his pocket and wrote the amount of the yearly tax in the blank space. He took a deep breath and stood, walking across the room to the mother and child. He silently held the check out to the mother who looked up at him in a confused awe. “What’s this?” She sniffed. “A drop in the bucket.” Mathis replied softly. The mother examined the check and finally realized Mathis’s intent. In any other circumstance she would not accept a stranger’s money, but in this was the exception. She began to cry, this time happy tears and embraced Mathis in a hug.  “I don’t know who you are, or why you are helping us, but I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.” “It’s the least I can do.” His eyes rimmed with tears and he broke away and rushed out of the building.      In the coming days Mathis used his acquired wealth to fund and participate in various political groups and movements that were fighting against the involuntary soul splitting that the taxes caused. He started his research again. This time for more ethical sources of energy. He dedicated his life to these causes until he passed away from cancer four years later.       You’ve probably heard the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. What could be more good than saving the world? If you had asked him 35 years ago if his work were crucial to the future race and planet he would have said yes. All they really managed to do was avert one crisis and replace it with another. Mathis and his team did the best they could, but society proved not to be trusted with such power. Guilt followed Mathis to the grave. How could it not? However his plight to make things right eventually bloomed into reality decades later after much fighting for change by his predecessors.       

“You know you really shouldn’t talk to strangers,” I say to the little blue-eyed child before me. Based on the Chesnut pigtails and the sparkly unicorn-adorned overalls, I would assume the creature was less than a decade on this earth.

The little girl silently walks over to a rusted green bench beneath an oak tree and beckons me over by patting the seat next to her.“There is not a stranger left to me in this universe, demon,” replied the child in a voice that was young and old, new and ancient, a voice that was dripping in wrath and swathed in grace. This was no child but rather an eternal being, a guardian, seraph, celestial being, a divine messenger. It was an angel.

I never understood why some angels chose to appear to humans as a child. My assumption was that in their true form, they would strike fear into the hearts of their God’s followers rather than awe. Or maybe it was the fact that they could eat for free at most restaurants. Who am I to judge?

I, on the other hand, choose to walk this earth dressed as a thirty-year-old woman who looks just pretty enough to notice but not enough to remember. I chose dark brown hair that fell to just below my collarbones and brown eyes to compliment my olive skin.

Looking forward at the orange and brown-hued park filled with young families and old men feeding ducks by the pond, I asked the ancient child, “why is it an agent of God has summoned me today? Are things getting boring within the pearly gates?”

“The opposite,” she responds, “I have summoned you, demon, because I need your help. There is an item that must be retrieved, and I cannot do it on my own”Now, this should be interesting.“Why do you believe I would be willing to help you? Our interests are, by nature, misaligned. Why not ask another one of God’s soldiers?”

She pulls her attention from the crowded park to look up at me. “I need your assistance because the object in question can only be recovered when the forces of heaven and hell cooperate.”

I turn to look down at the cherub. “What do I benefit from this little arrangement?”Her blue eyes seem to pierce through the veil of her human form. Making me shrink back slightly. Despite her youthful appearance, she was much older than I was and likely more powerful. “You continue to enjoy the existence of this earth as it is. Heaven continues its holy pursuits, all while hell carries on corrupting humans. All will remain the same if you complete this task. If you do not, then both will cease to exist.”

I start to shiver a bit. I am unsure if it's in response to her words or the cool autumn wind. “Where are we going?”

“There is no “we” in this journey. I am an archangel my place is in heaven. You will work with another. An angel who has already accepted this task.” She explains

I looked up at the blue sky and contemplate my options.

I turn to the angel next to me and ask, “ What is it that I am seeking? What is it that can end us all?”

“The key of life,” She responds, “ Within it lies the power of ultimate creation and complete destruction. It was the tool used to create all life and was lost to us millennia ago. Some wish to use it as a tool to destroy heaven and hell and leave the earth in chaos. This cannot happen. Heaven and hell are necessary to provide balance to the universe. Without good and evil, there is no order.”

I was born in the frigid darkness of hell, and after spending millennia on this earth, I have grown to enjoy my existence here, and I have no desire for it to end.

I stand up from the bench and turn to the child. “When do I begin?”

No, thank you

When I went to Earth for the first time, I was in the dawn stage of my life. My father had brought me on his little ship, and we landed late at night in a patchy field. As we sat there, he pointed at the tree-line in the distance.

"You see, son? This is a beautiful planet, beaming with life, and I wish it would remain that way. Unfortunately, it's inhabited by humans, incredibly stubborn creatures that live such short lives that they can't understand the consequences of their actions. They take from the Earth and then they die. I promise you, son, in our lifetimes this world will die at the hands of humans."

My father was right. I did witness the death of planet Earth in my lifetime. Unfortunately, my father wouldn't get to witness such an event, as he passed not long after our return home. For most of my dawn stage I stayed at home, pursuing study and living a normal life. Many, many solar rotations later, I returned to the solar system on a work assignment, and while en route to the sun, I remembered the trip I had taken with my father when I was young. I looked at my solar map, seeing the little blue dot on the page, "Earth", what a funny name. Following the instructions the map had set me on, I found myself upon the bizarre planet once more. This time, it was not a beautiful and lively blue-green biosphere, but a tan-grey world with only splotches of blue.

Confused, I wanted to stop and take a closer look, even despite the trouble I risked had my superiors found out I landed my ship on a foreign life-harboring planet without a grant. I had heard stories back home, devastating wars, humans committing massacres against each other, as well as wiping out much of the other life on the planet, the chemicals spewed into their atmosphere by their machines they used to churn out electrical energy, but now I witnessed it with my own eyes. I landed my ship near a body of water, so that there would be more to observe than just an empty desert.

My ship settled on the ground, if you could even call it that. Dust spewed up and covered my ship, as though the Earth was trying desperately to swallow me and take any material it could to survive. I slowly opened my door, and felt the blazing sun against me in that moment. Now, I'm no stranger to solar radiation, or radiation from any star for that matter. A large part of my job consists of studying stars up close, but this I wasn't prepared for. I had no protective gear as I didn't expect to be bombarded by this much radiation on a life-harboring planet. It was like I was trapped underneath a nuclear blanket, how did humans endure this? Well, short answer, they didn't.

I walked for a short time until I reached what looked like an abandoned city formed out of mound-like architecture. Beyond all the tiny mounds that surrounded me, there was a grand structure a short ways from me, and so curiosity got the best of me and I thought I might investigate. It was dark inside, as though not a soul had been here in ages. I took a light from my pocket, and what I saw I'll never forget, my answers.

There was a decomposed corpse slouched against the wall, the wall painted with the bodily fluids of humans, pictures of disaster, chaos, war, famine, death, written in fluids the words I couldn't translate at the time, so I copied them down and brought them home with me.

Upon returning home, I translated them, and they said as follows:

"We've lost. The siege has wreaked havoc on our grand city, and we must let in Merdisi and has army. The fool won't live. The sun has decided our fate already. Goodnight."

A chill had run down my spine the first time I read that note. How could a species destroy itself in such a brutal way? It still scratches my old mind every time I think of it.

Nice

[removed]

Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

Reminders:

>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* See Reality Fiction and Simple Prompts for stricter titles >* Be civil in any feedback and follow the rules

🆕 New Here? ✏ Writing Help? 📢 News 💬 Discord

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

History lesson (huge oversimplification): The Roman republic (which eventually evolved into the legendary Roman Empire) really didn't want any one person with too much power. So, instead of one single leader, they had two, called consuls. These consuls also could only serve for one year at a time.

They knew this, so they basically tried to get as much glory and honor as possible in only one year. And since the best way to gain glory and honor was military victories, Rome often would aggressively attack and conquer territory.

Because the consuls could only rule for a limited amount of time, they became very dangerous. The same principle applies here.

I'm speechless. Great story

Well this was a delightful read! Thank you!

I would genuinely read that, it sounds awesome.

That was amazing OP. The feelings are so beautifully conveyed. It makes me wonder if you aren’t human…

Apart from that.

"I know, I know, we've got our differences. But maybe it could work?"

I just stood there and blinked. This is never going to work.

This is essentially how my problem solving goes every time.

Amazing!

[removed]

Nice! From the Cookie Monster Wikipedia entry: "The book Jim Henson's Designs and Doodles explains Cookie Monster's origin as follows: 'In 1966, Henson drew three monsters that ate cookies and appeared in a General Foods commercial that featured three crunchy snack foods: Wheels, Crowns and Flutes. Each snack was represented by a different monster. The Wheel-Stealer was a short, fuzzy monster with wonky eyes and sharply pointed teeth. The Flute-Snatcher was a speed demon with a long, sharp nose and windblown hair. The Crown-Grabber was a hulk of a monster with a Boris Karloff accent and teeth that resembled giant knitting needles.'"

California boy through and through, but as soon as I read the prompt, the idea popped into my head

That doesn’t really change the fact that putting him in slytherin gives him access to all of the tools, associates, and philosophy that he needs in order to become a Dark Lord.

I don’t necessarily state that he loves being a candy maker… just that he likes having his ego stroked about it.

There are lots of psychopaths out there who DON’T become serial killers too.

"There's a group of nineteen year Olds on the ghats of Varanasi who would be more productive in a week than you dumbfucks are in a week! Beggars in Beijjng have better numbers" Shrieked the manager at the top of his lungs.

In his hands was a file, probably containing this quarter's numbers.

"What the duck is a vanasasi?" Murmured Chris while trying his best to avoid the manager's eyeline.

"Vara-nasi" I whispered back. "In India. It's like a holy city or something. Old folks like going there to die. Supposed to get them into heaven"

"Do you dipshits have something to say?" Screamed the manager, turning more and more crimson with every passing second.

"Well.... sir.... I mean..... those countries have a much denser population......and ......I mean...... you know......" I trailed away.

"OH! Would you like to explain that to the CEO, mother fucker? Until numbers pick up, overtime is cancelled for all of you idiots. Understood?" He said before huffing and puffing out of the conference room.

All the ground workers gathered around in a circle.

"Any new ideas?"

"The hospitals still have banned us. Those damned new laws. One idiot hooks up the system to the NICU and suddenly all patients are out of limits "

"The old folks home kicked me out for suggesting we take consent from people with Alzheimers"

"All we have, are people who have signed over their body energy atleast one year prior to their death"

"I read an article that said some people were killing homeless people to harvest energy."

The manager walked back into the conference room.

"Listen up guys. I want to remind you that I'll be leaving for my year end vacation tomorrow. When I return, I want the numbers to be doubled. Don't forget, you can always sign up your family for a discount"

"Sir......if you don't mind us asking...... you and your family? Someone said slowly

"Why the fuck would I ever do that?" He yelled.

I guess even in death workers are worth less

Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

Reminders:

>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* See Reality Fiction and Simple Prompts for stricter titles >* Be civil in any feedback and follow the rules

🆕 New Here? ✏ Writing Help? 📢 News 💬 Discord

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.