Well that’s interesting

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.

[deleted]

Congrats winners! Thank you mods for organising this again

This makes me think of “The Management Style of Supreme Beings.” Fantastic book, so I’m definitely excited to see what responses are made to the prompt.

Thank you for your submission; it has scored 14 points!

Thank you for the submission; it has scored 10 points!

The world flood story exists in Hinduism too. I think its one of those stories almost every culture has.

There once was a grand collective construct of pure intelligence and negative mass who witnessed the birth of humanity in the focus of its imagination.

We'll call this intelligence . . . MacDonald.

Now old MacDonald had a galaxy on the eve of the confluence of our space-time. Measured by the constraints of unidirectional time travel, this would be considered a very young galaxy in this universe, but the whole universe itself was just a cheap, refurbished hand-me-down from MacDonald's more grand, more intelligent, and even more negative in mass older brother, whom we'll call MalDoncad.

MacDonald, having been born through the barrier between the fields of quantum physics with gifts of infinite power, was always being teased by MalDoncad for not being born with infinite^(2) power like the rest of the family. But, despite the eternal patronizing, MalDoncad could not help fixing MacDonald's problems, no matter how often they were brought to his reality.

One eon, MalDoncad was playing on what was essentially a guitar of pure hyper-compressed light waves, reconstructing the magnetic field of a nebulous structure he remembered hearing in his college days, when he heard an immature moan from his little brother.

"I can't do this one!" he cried. "Will you beat it for me?"

MalDoncad sighed and called down the wormhole, "Where are you at?"

"All the land is broken up. The atmosphere is getting pretty thick. Most of the water is melted. And they've figured out a baseline recipe for rapid oxidation."

MalDoncad plucked a quark in surprise. "Rapid oxidation?"

"Yeah! They're using it to alter the chemical make up of the lesser beings so they can nourish themselves for longer on fewer kills. That's a good sign right?"

"Who is 'they'? MacDonald, what the hell kind of fabric are you weaving with that thing?"

"Just come look!"

MalDoncad grunted with a sound like a supernova. He set down his light-waves and took one last rip from the lingering bowl of Higgs-Boson particles in his anti-gravity bong, then he dissipated from existence to reconstruct himself in the frequencies of his little brother's reality. "Okay, give me that," he said, snatching the bubble of universe from MacDonald's amygdala. "Why's it so small?"

"I stopped the expansion until I could get a handle on this galaxy. I've been trying to grow the periodic table at the same time, but I've barely been able to fill the sixth atomic shell with all the questions they keep asking."

"Questions!? Questions, MacDonald! How have you-" MalDoncad decided to stop wasting his stardust by screaming and just take a look for himself. He witnessed the progress in our corner of the galaxy since he'd last had to take the controller from MacDonald, and he could barely understand the sequence of events following his last soft-reboot with the meteor against the lizard-bird monsters. He realized MacDonald must have introduced the fungal branch of life way too early, as one of the strains seemed to have accidentally formed a similar chemical structure to a space in the brain of his primate creatures. When the two met by chance, the primate creature's mind hit a ceiling of self-reflection before MacDonald could build a pseudo-source of creation out of hot rocks. The ape asked a question, (not with words, more like a string of loose concepts and a desire to tie those concepts to others it did not realize until now could be defined,) and it sounded something like, "Me? Me? Me? Me? Why? Why? Why? Why? How?"

And here's where MalDoncad saw his brother's critical mistake. Instead of just picking up this stoned primate and flinging him into the black hole at the center of its galaxy, MacDonald saw his universe discovering itself as a likely progression of the toy, a level he hadn't reached yet, and so he tried to calm the beast. He did this in the worse way possible, by cursing it with even more knowledge.

"It's alright my beautiful creature," he said. "My name's MacDonald. I mean no harm."

"Me! Why? Me! Why? How?!" cried the thoughts of the ape.

MalDoncad fast forwarded to the universe's present state. He saw the effect of millions of generations of life when allowed to procreate with their own sense of desires, and he was sickened by it. He found an individual organism that seemed pretty old, comparatively, and asked with a voice it could comprehend, "You there, what's your purpose?"

"Oh lord," answered Noah, "My purpose is only to serve you, to praise you, to live in worship of you."

MalDoncad pulled away from the universe to scowl at his younger brother. "You sick spectrum. Have you been stroking your self-worth with this thing? I didn't realize you were even old enough."

"I thought that's what I was supposed to-"

MalDoncad interrupted, "You and Dad are going to have a fun conversation when he gets home. But don't worry, I know what to do." He came back down to the white-haired organism. "Hey, buddy. How many of you here are under the impression that you've been created for the sole purpose of my watching you praise me?"

Noah stammered, "Every single one of us, my lord. Or at least a good portion of us, I'd say. At least enough that I could bring them here and prove it to you."

MalDoncad saw a golden form standing in the center of where the organisms collected their lives. "What the hell is that?" MalDoncad asked, pointing at the two golden arches.

"Why, it's an image in your likeness, my lord. We've done just as you've asked. Shall I collect some of those worthy followers to prove their devotions to you?"

"No, I've heard enough. Stay there, you're all getting scrubbed."

"Getting what?"

MalDoncad did not answer. He exited the universe and tossed it back to MacDonald and instructed him to, "Take that moon, smash it against the planet, start over from proteins."

"But that's going to take forever! Can't I just take the water and melt it down to wash the sentient ones away? They can't survive in water, and that way I can at least try again from microbes."

"Do whatever you want. Just don't let those things survive or you'll never finish it."

"But what if they come back?" asked MacDonald. "What if I were to make beings so intelligent they could end up comprehending the wider existence outside of their planet."

"Don't be cruel, MacDonald." MalDoncad was already half-dematerialized through the wormhole when he stopped to ask. "And by the way, what's with those golden arches."

"You didn't recognize them?"

"Is that supposed to be me and you?"

MacDonald smiled.

"Even though there's no possible way they could comprehend the likeness?"

MacDonald nodded.

"Huh. That's actually pretty cool." MalDoncad gave his brother an affectionate punch on his dimensional fractals.

"Thanks."

"Still. Get rid of it . . . Or at least hide it in your sock drawer before Dad sees it."

[deleted]

"Trapped with My Enemy"

​

Trapped with my enemy, in a game of cat and mouse

The hostages held tight, in this tense and deadly house

My powers I must hide, my secret kept secure

But how to save them all, when I am one of the lure

​

I bide my time and wait, for the moment to be right

To strike and take him down, with all my strength and might

But with every passing minute, my heart races fast

Will I be able to save them, or will this be my last

​

But I am more than just a hero, I am a symbol of hope

I will not let these innocent lives, be sacrificed on a rope

I will find a way, to turn the tables around

And bring my enemy to justice, without making a sound

​

With courage in my heart, and my powers at the ready

I make my move, and take down my enemy steady

The hostages are freed, and my secret stays safe

But most importantly, justice has been served, in this deadly race.

More than one. There's even a trope on tvtropes for it...

Bruce Wayne Held Hostage

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.

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.

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.

In future, please report stories you suspect of being AI-generated as it is against our rules. Thanks!

[removed]

Sucker for love: first date

Wouldn't surprise me if there was, with how long batman has been around and how many stories he's gotten

Why did the poem trigger people?

I swear there was a Batman story with this premise

I was attending a concert, not realising it was a trap by my enemy. Everything happened so fast. Everyone was bound, gagged and blindfolded. I tried to step in and stop the madness, but before I could do ANYTHING, I was being subdued by his henchmen.

The bonds are too strong to break, and without being able to see, my powers of particle manipulation are useless; I can't focus and concentrate. I can't speak either, thanks to the gag placed on me. I hear my nemesis pacing, muttering. "Now I have the hostages, the next step is to lure the hero here. Get him to show who he really is."

NO! THAT'S WHAT HE WANTS? But... HE'S TALKING ABOUT ME! I start to stand up, when I hear a gun being cocked. "Sit the fuck down or you die!"

I oblige. I'm no use to the innocents if I'm dead. I need to somehow... just... somehow tell him...

"What do we do with the hostages if the hero doesn't show?" a different henchman asks.

My nemesis speaks once more. "Kill them and expose to the world he'd rather keep his identity a secret than fulfil his duty. I'm not happy to do it, especially since it'll be messy, but..."

I attempt to protest, terrified that he'll actually kill them. A faint mumbling comes out. I feel a knife to my throat. "Behave yourself! Or I'll cut you right now!"

I shake my head. I have to convince him... somehow... "Oh, you don't want to listen? Fine then!"

"ENOUGH! What did I just say? We're not killing ANYONE for the SAKE of it!"

"But, boss..."

"Listen, if the threat of death isn't enough to get him to shut up, then maybe whatever he has to say is IMPORTANT. Remove the gag, see what he has to say."

YES! I succeeded! Well, at least in the communication department... now to convince him of who I am... I feel the cloth being taken off and I waste no time. "You already HAVE the hero's identity! I'm right here!"

Everything, even the WIND, goes silent. My blindfold is also removed. My nemesis, Stormwind, is standing right in front of me. "Really now? You're not just trying to protect the hero?"

"If you stand back, I can prove it!" I silently plead for him to give me a chance.

He sighs. "Very well. MEN! Make some room." A big area is cleared out. I focus and concentrate my powers, until I've created a small pocket of air. I condense the inside to water, before releasing it, leaving a puddle on the floor.

"So... you are Energiser... and even better, I have you as a captive!" Stormwind laughs, as do his henchmen. He gathers himself. "Fan of my band?"

"YOUR band? YOU manage The Whirlwinds? Actually, that makes a lot of sense all of a sudden..." I quietly beat myself up for not realising sooner.

Stormwind walks back over, kneels down, and lifts my chin up with a finger to look me right in the eyes. "Almost no-one makes the connection. Don't think you're an idiot for not knowing. Now, here's the deal: thousands of people LOVE my band. It's beneficial to me in several ways - it's my source of money from the ridiculous prices I charge, it allows me to monitor people... and I can always capture people. I take it you won't do anything stupid or reckless?"

I narrow my eyes. "And what do you plan to do, with me out of your way?" I never COULD figure out his plan, I just knew he'd commit murders and some shady practices.

"I pretty much dominate the black market. It was all going swimmingly... then YOU came along. All I want is my little capital empire back. Tell you what, I kind of like you. Be a good boy for me and I'll give you exclusive VIP access to all the band's performances and showings."

I wouldn't risk unnecessary harm to the civilians by going against him, but I must admit, I'm fanboying so hard inside. I need to know one more thing... "Does the band work FOR you, or WITH you?"

"With. It's a group of guys I found having a hard time making it big. I know what you're thinking, but I assure you, supporting the band isn't supporting me. They just help me make some legitimate cash. So?" Stormwind grins at me.

I curse myself for what I'm about to do. Not that I have much choice, but he knows he has me backed into a corner, I just feel like I'm playing into his hand. "Alright, deal. But not because of the band."

"I know. You've always been the type to put others first. I just wanted to ensure you'd want to be my prisoner." He ruffles my hair before putting the blindfold back on me. "Release the hostages! We've got our man!"

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is the first entry in my new series, Black Market Trading. Please check it out!

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.

[removed]

[removed]