Nice read! I think you wanted 'freeloader' instead of 'freelancer' though

AUGH that was mean with the crack lmao

Sounds like a Tindalos hound, or subconsciously inspired by it. A canine hidden in the depth of spacetime.

In a way, Lovecraft was right. The true reality of the universe is maddening. Quantum mechanics is just the first glimpse we have into the depth of the truth. Imagine what else we will see later on, and what kind of things lie at the bottom of the abyss.

Right now it almost takes a madman to comprehend and work with QM. I think we literally need a real mad man to go beyond it.

It's revealed that they want to die that way over time but the sword helps them

Hello.?.? Oh my God HELLO!
My heart stops,
every single day of the last excruciating 20 years comes back to me in one heart jerking, life choking second.
The death of my loved ones, the chronic depression, the slow and gradual loss of everything you knew as a civilization, the darkest nights, the coldest winters, the deafening quiet.
This… This single response… Those four crucial words will end all of that pain.
All of the fake relationships that I’ve built in my head with the personalities of the people who left little messages after the beep.
The personalities that truly died tragically many years ago, the personalities that I have clinged to every second of every waking moment for the last decade.
I could feel all of those little personalities bidding me a kind farewell, like an out of town relative leaving after an extended holiday weekend
I’ll truly miss my Cindy, I first called my Cindy eight years ago.
Judging by her 212 area code she is/was from New York City.
In my screwed up fantasy she works on the 51st floor of the empire state building. A dainty blonde who often sports a colorful sweater over her white collared shirt.
Our conversations always start with the same “Hi i’m Cindy” re-introducing ourselves is our little quirk. It keeps us young.
I often fall asleep telling her all about my day.
Hello
My shrill voice responded.
Tears began to stream from my eyes, I was not ready to say goodbye to Cindy… Or maybe I was happy to hear another person had survived. Or it could have just been one of my now daily episodes of sobbing mixed with hysterical laughing.
None of it mattered anymore, I finally had a new friend, a real friend, a breathing friend.
It was radio silence for what seemed to be eternity.
Did we get disconnected? What number had I punched in just now? Why weren't they responding? Did I just lose my one hope for any remaining sanity?
After what seemed to be a lifetime of gut wrenching thoughts a laugh broke over the line….
“I am just kidding, leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

Are u done or maybe continuing?

ඞ

Only the prompt as given.

You read enough books and enough prompts, likely something subconsciously sticks

Holy sh*t..... didn't see that one coming

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So this is actually the idea for a potential tabletop campaign. It's probably never going to happen so I might as well spew it here.

We enter the Bright Lady's meeting room. The private one; no more are we rank-and-file, to be addressed from the Radiant Throne. After the bestowing of Her Gifts, we are shining with Her grace; we are her Immortals. She beams at us.

"Brilliant. I hope you are all enjoying your newfound power. You will need it in the trials ahead."

"We are ready, my Lady," says Owain, dutifully, "what would you ask of us?"

Her benevolent smile brightens for a moment, before suddenly fading as She speaks, "It is my children. You may or may not be aware of them already. They have... they are... their time is up. I have failed, as matriarch, and it is time to clean up my mistakes. For this duty, you have been selected, my most devoted, most dedicated, and most skilled disciples."

One or two of us shift uneasily. It isn't pleasant hearing your god admit to failure, no matter how devoted you are to them. I risk a question, "My Lady... How could we possibly compare to ones borne from Your power?"

She comes over to me and rests reassuring hands on my shoulders. They seem impossibly warm, as if even Her fingertips are capable of a loving embrace, "Your doubt is understandable, but I ask you trust in the Gifts I have provided. I know my children, and I know that you are capable of this task."

She turns away, collecting herself for a moment before once again addressing us all, "My children... For those of you who may not be aware, there are five of them. Each was supposed to be an extension of my will, an expression of my grace... Alas, it is never so easy. Your task is to find and kill each of them. Yes, I know... Believe me, this is not an easy order for me to give. I also ask you to bring me a piece of each, partly as proof that the deed is done, but also because I believe I can use their residual power to enhance my Gifts to you.

"My Firstborn thinks Himself a god of war. He knows nothing of it; never has He seen a baggage train, managed the logistics of a frontline, orchestrated a battle plan... no, He is merely a god of violence. I am told He spends His days in His own fighting pits, looking for worthy challengers. With my Gifts, you may turn out to be just that. Bring me His heart. It surely beats with the strength of a warrior. I will grant that strength to you.

"My Secondborn... My only daughter... She showed such promise. She styled Herself after me, aspiring to become Her own kind of matriarch. She soon realised She was far more interested in the prelude to motherhood. It didn't take long for Her to grow bored of that, and begin seeking further pleasures. Her city now stands as a fortress of hedonism, a pit of debauchery. The delights within are fit to enrapture a mortal mind. Thankfully, you are no longer mortal, at least in body. Perhaps that is enough. Her liver must be either incredibly strong or incredibly damaged. Either way, I am sure I could put it to good use.

"Ah, the Thirdborn. Was it middle-child syndrome, perhaps? Or was He always this way? There were worrying signs early in His life, but of course they only appear as such in retrospect. His work should be familiar to any of you who have had the misfortune to be assigned to the northern patrols; His monstrous abominations continue to spread across the taiga. Quite where He gets enough bodies to create such beings - and, for that matter, to build and maintain His flesh-castle - is a mystery to me. If you could uncover the explanation for this on your way to Him, I would most appreciate it. And from Him, take His brain, twisted though it may be.

"My Fourthborn... the stillborn... it still hurts to think about Him. Had I known that he could recover... Alas, what is done is done. Now His hatred fuels Him, and I fear that will make Him the most dangerous of my children. Thankfully, it also means He stands alone; no city, no castle, no kingdom, no people. This, of course, also mean I have little-to-no intelligence on Him. You shall have to find Him yourself. I trust in your ability to do so. When you do, boil away his flesh, and bring me his bones. Bleached, ideally, though I appreciate you may not be able to do that in the field.

"My Fifthborn, finally coming of age. The only one of my children to not openly oppose me. He thinks that, by keeping His sinister treachery secret, He is safer for it. He is wrong. Seek Him to the south-east, in the city of Cerulea. Beware: he is a guest in that city, and under their protection. I would rather you did not cause a diplomatic incident. He has put His lungs to such excellent use... I must have them."

Note that the above introduction of each child isn't how it was supposed to be - they're meant to be introduced one by one, linearly, as the players defeat each prior child. Oh well, it still kinda works.

The start of your prompt reminds me of an old prompt. Did you get inspiration from anywhere?

That one made me laugh.

Hah! Literally the Underworld!

Such a good and cute story

A Hero stands on a giant cliff, his cape heroically flies behind him while the sun shines over him. He looks down on the giant camp below, orcs filing in and out from their tents as they prepare to attack on a nearby village. But this hero is no any other, from the cliff, he dives into the camp as if there is something to catch them.

"Catch that thing!" A giant orc yells from the tents, I cannot see what they are as I am drenched by their blood. The Hero used me to slice, slash, stab, and parry and I in turn give him the power to overpower these hulking beings.

THUNK!

Unlike most heroes of these era, he never uses his shield and just let a giant mace hit him to the stomach, he came flying to the other side of the tank. I swore I hear him gasp from under that helmet but nonetheless, he stood up and finish them all in just a few slices.

"All Hail the Hero of the Sun!" The villager calls for his title, but never his name, he just accepts as the villager foolishly loves his hero alter ego and not that pathetic boy under that tin head. He just waves them off as he refuse to even take one bread from the piles of gifts that the villagers willing to give. He is unlike any foolish people like before who sacrificed their lives just to receive praise from the masses or even control the masses but nonetheless, they are just mere humans who would go back to the dirt where they once risen.

"Little boy Raoul," I call out his name, "It's still early in the morning, should we at least stay by an Inn to get some drinks?"

Raoul just shakes his head, "Orcs do not wait dear sword, and do you not want war and misery?"

Smart boy, he knows what I like, I love the screams of the living under me as I feel myself slashing through their bodies. I do not care of what my past user think, I just want them to sustain what I want: Their lives and the lives of others. However, he is unlike any other heroes, for I feel pity for my user for the first time in decades and centuries of being used.

And just like that, from the early morning to the late night, every orc camp at sight turns into a ghost camp. No orcs are at his mercy, even the orcs that cannot stand or yell goes under me.

Raoul is no hero and he is no man, he is a boy who seeks for vengeance against the race who killed his parents and took his little sister. And I am just a tool he uses to unleash his anger upon these living beings. Who is really the monster here? I do not know the answer.

ooh

I think the Underworld was just a criminal underworld, but that's way cooler

Love this

I've been stuck here, wherever that is,for literally months. I'm pretty sure I'm in a coma in a hospital somewhere because, occasionally, I'll hear faint beeping and phantom touches on my arms and hands. Obviously, I'm not astral projecting on purpose. One minute I'm driving to work, the next, I'm in this condo. At least the view is nice. It just sucks that I effing CAN'T LEAVE!

When I first arrived, no one was home. For weeks. It was nicely furnished and there was still laundry in the hamper and dishes in the sink. After trying what felt like a million escape attempts (which ended with me being thrown back into the livingroom) the guy who lived here returned with suitcases and a gnarly sunburn. Looked like he'd been on vacation. 'Cuz there's no way to get that burnt in winter here. It's been a depressing grey, cloudy sky since I've arrived 3 weeks ago.

For days after his arrival i tried half a dozen attempts to get him to notice me. And another 2 dozen attempts trying to exit his front door when he did. Nothing. I don't know where I am. Both spiritually or physically. And the guy who lived here is about as open spiritually as a rock, so he's paid me no mind.

A month of fiddling with my body? Non body? Astral form? Spirit? After he returned, I figured out that I could touch things. Nothing electronic, though. I just phased right through it. Which is a huge bummer, since that means I couldn't use the internet to figure out how to return to my body. Nor can I watch TV, listen to music, or read a book on my own. Dude is super into the tech and doesnt even own a physical book, just a tablet. Also, minimalist type of guy. Zero decor. Or just standard bachelorhood. I'm not sure. Never saw any friends or lovers visit.

Anyway. Once i figured out I could touch things not electronic, I tried getting condo dude's attention again. When he cooked i moved the spices. When he threw laundry in the hamper, I smacked it on the floor. One day i got frustrated and smacked his face. It felt so weird as it passed through him and it DID make him pause. But only long enough to turn up the thermostat. So I think it just made him cold. I didn't want to try that again.

For a while, I even tried writing messages on his steamed up bathroom mirror. But go figure, the guy had a smart electronic one that gave weather info and lights inside, so I couldn't touch that either. Until one day it broke and was just a regular mirror again. Right after his nightly shower I rushed into the bathroom and quickly wrote "HELP ME" on the fogged glass.

In hindsight, that wasn't a smart idea. He freaked out. And ran right through me. Which freaked us both out. Me cuz it felt so weird and gross and him because I imagine it was cold as heck. He squealed and ran to his room in only a towel. It must've frazzled him because suddenly he was walking around with a rosary after that. The situation just continued to escalate.

It was like being 2 magnets after he ran through me that day. Every where he went in the condo, even if i tried to sidestep him, he'd stumble and walked through me anyway. It was like living with a drunk noisy cat. Rinse and repeat. I tried a few more times to write on his mirror my name and my parent's phone number to call. But he would run out as soon as he saw the first letter. A week of this had turned him into a nervous wreck. He actually brought home a crucifix and carried that around with him. He even started sleeping with it. So i gave up on the mirror trick. Especially when he stopped showering for a few days. I may not be physical, but even I could smell the guy, and he was starting to stink!

After a particularly bad day of him running through me repeatedly he held up his tablet and turned to face me! I was stoked! Did he figure it out? Then he started reading aloud from the tablet and my excitement grew. Then turned to confusion. What was he saying? What language was that? Then i became enraged. He had shoved that damnable crucifix in my face! He was trying to exorcise me! ME! like I was some damned ghost or something ! Pissed off, I smacked my hand at his and the crucifix flew across the room and into the TV, breaking it. Oops... and there he went. Like a bat outta hell, he took off. And never returned.

Movers came in a few weeks later and took everything. Well... shit. I sat in front of the window for weeks, just looking outside. I couldn't leave. I couldn't do anything. Not even sleep. Just stared at the world below. Hearing those phantom beeps in the quiet.

Then, one day, a woman walked in. She'd just rented the place and was moving in. I liked her. Opposite the original owner, she was very much a cozy type of person. The condo was soon filled with warm fuzzy colors, knick knacks, plants, decor, and books. Lots and lots of books on hundreds of subjects. And almost no electronics! She even had a cat! He was such a cute, fluffy, black void.

Weeks passed and she worked on an old type writer. Looks like she worked from home as some type of author. I don't know how much time had passed before she caught me with a book of hers hovering over her sofa. I wasn't bored or lonely anymore and i didn't want to repeat what happened with the tech guy so I had been making do with her books she left lying around when she wasn't home or while she slept. But today I hadn't heard her come in.

I dropped the book quickly, but she still rushed outside the condo.... shit. Hours passed with me looking back out the condo window. Wondering how long it'd be until she too moved out. I absently patted her black cat. (Which funnily enough is named The Void. ) when she returned, drenched head to toe, with a package under her arm. Curious, I look watched her as she cleared her coffee table and set about doing something on top of it with the package.

Then my astral heart skipped a beat. Was that a... Ouiji board? It was! With a squeal of joy, i rushed over to the couch and watched her read the instructions. Finally! I could figure out how to communicate! Maybe a way home!

Then, she placed the planchette on the board and placed her fingers on it. she spoke aloud into the quiet.

"Are there any spirits with me in this room right now?" I hurridley pushed the planchette to 'Yes.' I mean, am I wrong? An astral projection is still a type of spirit... right?

She continued, "Okay good, 'cause rent is due, and you need to fork over your share."

After pause I blanch and pushed back the word "F.U.C.K."

It's like a stutter from Quantum Break

The thing about humans is that they know how to break all of the codes. There is nothing unnatural to them, and only the fabric of society creates a precarious relationship between what can and can't be. Fortunately, all other creatures in the world had unwritten codes they couldn't help but to follow. These were codes not written in some capricious global sandstone, but chiseled in diamond holds. The monsters, the undead, the mystic, and the supernatural were forever fettered.

Had.

Were.

Supposedly forever fettered.

The thing about humans is that they know how to break all of the codes. While scientists, whether sane or mad, were always a danger to the status quo, there were enough eyes watching to keep them at bay, and the dangers of the other-sentients were kept safely in lock and key.

But there were no eyes on the undead creatures who were human once. No one ever thought that a supernatural created from a human could possibly bring with them the unpredictable habit of change. But the undead are long lived, and the supernatural world was to learn that human tendencies had a way of resurfacing. Unpredictable daisies, the humans were. It wasn't even the eldest of the vampires that figured it out.

It was how the vampire trio broke from convention - miniscule step at a time - and began to behave in ways vampires should never be able to manage. Their rise was the fall of many hunters, and the beginning of raging, covetous war among the undead to get beyond their own supposedly unchangeable natures.

....

// Criticism/Questio s welcome, followed the prompt to go back and edit just once, but I know how word salady I get without editing several times over.

This is art! I love the sword just helplessly watch as a human start to mass delete everything.

This has to be one of the funniest out of context comments Ive ever seen. I cant even know the source since its deleted

With a grin, I said to her, "I'll do you one better, miss!" With a single thought, my body turned into liquid metal and flopped onto the ground. I willed myself into a silver path, my body unrolling like a carpet. Once the strongwoman had dropped off her load of metal, she looked down at me and said, "You must be the new girl."

I flowed up to her and turned back into flesh and blood to stick my hand out. "Indeed I am! Name's Valeria."

My coworker shook my hand and responded, "I'm Lucy. So, do you always go the extra mile for your coworkers like that?"

"Certain coworkers, but yes. You know, the ones who bring in donuts for everybody or happen to be an absolute vision of beauty and power."

Lucy smirked knowingly at me. "Sorry to say, but I don't have any donuts."

"Well, darn. Guess you fall into the latter camp--OW!!"

A feeling like someone had just yanked on my hair flared up in the back of my head. I turned around to see a hand hanging out of a crackling orange portal and my boss Mrs. Weatherby with her arm up to her wrist stuck through the portal's other end. With a frown, she yelled to us, "You girls aren't getting paid to flirt with each other and we still got a Powercule/Western Saviors throwdown to clean up, so get to it already!"

As Mrs. Weatherby walked off, Lucy rested a hand on my shoulder and led me along as she said, "Relax, rookie. Do your job well and the boss will be as sweet as a baby cow to you. Besides, I know a thing or two about keeping a conversation going on the clock."

"And I am so very eager to listen."

Lucy chuckled. "Really? I couldn't tell."