This was wonderful, thank you so much for sharing. What a beautiful little glimmer of hope

Congrats you've explained the joke and now it's not funny

The ferryman groaned at Maximus Aurelius Astarte. Maximus Aurelius Astarte reached into his pocket, surprised to find a golden drachma in his pocket. The ferryman reached his skeletal hand out, and Maximus dropped the coin into the hand, where it disappeared.

Maximus was terrified. At least, he thought he was. This was Hell and Damnation from the Great Lord Yahovah, he thought, a place his immortal soul was placed in peril. He peered over the edge of the rickety ferry, seeing rivers of blood, and those bloody, wretched faces. He shuddered back in the ferry, nearly overbalancing on the other side.

He recited the Lord's Prayer in Latin, much to the chagrin of the ferryman, who grunted his displeasure. Maximus paid him no attention, as he continued.

/. /. /. /. /. /.

Time passed. Maximus didn't know how long; but he could see his journey nearing its end, as a dock was rapidly approaching. On the dock was a small house made of fur and wood, with a door of mixed ebony and mahogany, inked with symbols that Maximus knew of, but didn't know their meaning. The ferryman gently paddled, reversing the stroke as he pulled close to the dockside. He clicked his fingers and a rope shot off of the dock and tied itself around a knot of wood at the front of the ferry.

The ferryman grunted and offered his hand to Maximus. Maximus took it, stepping on tithe dock which was extremely well-kept. He looked ahead and saw many others, some like him, others monstrous entities with many heads, or snakes as hair, or with fish tails and gills. Other monsters appeared to be note takers, preparing the souls for their next location.

He pushed the wooden door open, to find himself in a bizarre situation of waiting. Some of those around him were talking; Maximus found himself thankful to the Lord that he wasn't being eternally tortured.

At least, he wasn't yet.

Another interminable timespan passed, and a young, maidenly voice called out, "Next!" Her Latin was impeccable. Beside her was a stern, toga-wearing man wearing a crown that looked like ashen gold covered in murk, shimmering in and out of existence. Her face was round and welcoming, and her striped artisanal dress of a scarlet-laced pink hugged her figure, demonstrating her to advantage.

The man growled at him. "Name?"

Maximus looked into his eyes, and found nothing there; not even a flame of consciousness. He felt the answer compelled from him. "Maximus Aurelius Astarte."

The woman smiled at him. "It's okay, we know of Yahovah. We play games together, us Divines." She looked at the papyrus sat in front of her, and read swiftly. She tsk'ed, and then spoke to Maximus with much more authority than belied her youthful body. "Warrior Princeps; on a mission to avenge your family; you lost a son to Consumption whilst engaged at Macedon in a rearguard action. You never recovered, and suffered a fatal wound in the Great Games.....I see....you found love again in the Arena, after your wife died? I expected as much."

'Pardon, Mistress, but-' The woman put a finger up, stalling him. She pursed her lips, and waved the man over. "Husband, take a look at this." He peered over her shoulder, looking at the words in question. They whispered together, but it was too quiet for Maximus to hear.

After a full minute of heated whispers, the woman turned to Maximus. "You fought for your freedom or death, and were betrayed by a bookmaker - poison. Your opponent thought that you were Dishonored, and gave you his Mark of Freedom, to carry you. Yahovah couldn't find your son, but we did."

She gestured behind her, and an enormous three-headed wolf barked and moved its paw, revealing his son, as he had been before the consumption. "Papa!" The boy rushed into Maximus' arms, ethereal sobbing from both as they held each other.

The man spoke now, less of a growl. 'Maximus Aurelius Astarte, You will be taken to Elysium, where you can choose to compete in a ghostly arena, or only watch. You will have a villa all your own where you may live in peace.'

"Papa, say thank you to Yahovah! *Thank you, Yahovah!" The boy spoke solemnly. Maximus bowed his head, uncertain of what was going on.

'March,' whispered the man, and Maximus marched.....to his new home. Maximus spent the entire journey thanking Yahovah for pointing him home, with his son.

They would get to play in the fields forever.

[removed]

I was just remembering that one snippet where the DWU took in the E88 and absolutely trounced them. Due to prep work and lots of creativity. Also a WW2 finish anti tank rifle.

Ok, so, if the robots aren’t shielded from EMP (and that’s just shoddy workmanship there) then a sufficiently suped up taser might do the trick. Now, depending on where you live it might not be legal to do that, so check your local ordinances. Also, you can tailor an EMP’s effective range. Might not get all the bots, but that’s why you make multiple. Failing that, you’ll need armor Piercing rounds, which aren’t legal anywhere really. Or just a really high caliber.

I don't think anyone expected it to happen. Hell, I wasn't even sure if I would do it. But I guess the unexpected happens more often than you'd think.

I wasn't planning to actually kill him. Figured I would send him for a scare and, at best, make him think about the people he kills trying to "protect" the city.

Captian mercury was the fastest man alive! There was no way my pistol should have done anything. But maybe I was too close for him to react like he was too startled. Or maybe he didn't hear the shot over the roar of the jets overhead celebrating his latest victory against Metatron. Whatever it was, it was enough. I heard the crack of the hammer and the piercing pop of the gunpowder in the round.

And he was dead. As his body fell, a silence fell over the city. Metatron began laughing a crazed laugh. "I KNEW YOU WOULD LOOSE IN THE END CAPTAIN! THE GODS OF FATE DEEMED IT SO SINCE OUR FIRST BATTLE."

People didn't really know how to react. Their invincible hero. Dead. Their protector and icon. Lay before them in a pool of his own blood, the deep red crimson staining his white and orange uniform, seeping into the ground beneath him.

I stood there frozen. This wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to give him a scare. To make him see it from my point of view. Like how one would smack a friend who wouldn't move on from someone to try and get then so see what's really going on. That's what I intended. Then he would speed over to me, putting me in cuffs or something, and he'd ask me why I shot at him. And I'd give him this whole prepared speech I had about how he doesn't save this city, how him being here is what's putting it in danger, how the reason he doesn't notice is because he loves the attention he gets for being a hero. Then he'd think about it and realized I was right, then he'd leave. And me and my daughter could finally be safe.

But there I was, looking between my shaking hands and the Heros dead body. The gun fell from my hand, and I dropped to my knees just as his brother Captain Colt of the NBPD tackled me. I was handcuffed and tossed into the same van as Metatron. It was in that van that Metatron told me something that would change my life forever. He said to me: "Congratulations." "What're you congratulating me for?" I barely spoke in a whisper, but his response still came. "Well, way I see it is you're now the greatest supervillain to ever live! Isn't that splendid!" His words echoed in my head. The voice that delivered them came from the most insane person in the world. But even then, I knew what he said had truth to it. I wasn't the fastest or the strongest or smartest

was as normal as a human could be. But I was the only one who's ever managed to beat the hero. I did the impossible.

I never intended it. But I was then made into the most infamous villain ever. People came up with stories to explain it. How I invented a new gun that could shoot bullets at the speed of light. Or maybe I was controlling time around Captain Mercury to make sure the bullet hit its mark. As timed went on, people made me out to be stronger and more powerful. No one knows that I was just some random citizen, no stronger than the rest of them. I suppose that wouldn't do. No one wants to think their gods can be killed by just anyone. No, their gods can't be killed by a run of the mill dad. To them, a god can only be killed by a stronger god. So that's what they made me: the strongest, most powerful god in the universe. But I'm no god. I'm just your average citizen who was trying to protect their daughter from being killed in a fight labeled as "for the greater good"

I glanced at my watch - 3:42. Less than 3 minutes until the "shipment" hit the boulevard. I was already in the zone, behind the scope of a rifle bore-sighted to fire accurately at 800 yards. It had been a long time coming...

............

The "Heroes" and "Villains" had always fought each other. As a child, it was fun to watch them race through the city, smashing cars and buildings, seeing the Hero always best the Villain. And then you grew up and realized it was all fucking bullshit for the cameras. The Villain got captured but escaped immediately, the Hero was lauded with praise. It didn't take a huge investigation to uncover the fact that it was all staged. All the destruction, the innocent people killed, all so the "Heroes" got more funding and the "Villains" got more targets to steal. They never protected the innocent, they wouldn't save you from a mugger. It's why I had bought a gun.

Everyone had a story of these bastards ruining their lives. Mine was one you'd probably heard a hundred times. Driving home when a fight broke out between Cosmic (the "Hero") and Darkshade (the "Villain"). I knew it wasn't going to end well with buildings already damaged, so I stopped my car and got out so I could get my kids to safety.

I had just cleared the car when they barreled through it, smashing it into a pile of old rubble 100 yards away. There was... there was no way for anyone inside to survive. It looked like a crushed pop can. When I got there, Cosmic was monologuing about evil and whatever other bullshit he used to justify murdering my family. I don't think he even knew I was there. But a single .40 caliber hollow-point ended his bullshit for good.

Darkshade just sat there, stunned, as he looked at his colleague's half-missing head and the bits of brain he was now wearing. I felt nothing as I did the same to him.

............

In the years that followed, groups dedicated to eliminating those with super powers sprang up all over the world. And they were very effective when it came to achieving their goals. The Heroes and Villains went into hiding, except in certain cities where they were protected by corrupt police and politicians.

And so it was that myself and a group of anti-Super fighters found ourselves in Manhattan. It had taken weeks to smuggle in our equipment and plant the rumors of a shipment of cash and platinum being moved through the city, but we knew it would work. The "Heroes" and "Villains" couldn't resist making a play for that sort of money.

3:45... the decoy truck rounded the corner, right on time. Freeze Frame jumped in front of it, causing the autonomous vehicle to stop. My crosshair was already on his head... I exhaled... and squeezed the trigger.

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the alien empire was looking out from their spaceship which was a scout ship looking down on earth inspecting it. they could see all years of earth in front of them.

'Which one will we pick to take the president from?' asked one of the aliens to the other alien. The other alien laughed back 'let's pick one at random!' then they picked 1885 which is the year the president theodore roosevelt was in power.

The aliens continued to laugh at how foolsih the earth was for letting their guard down just as the going was getting rough. It was the time when all presidents should be on their toes watching out for the dangers around and instead they were too busy with the economy

Theodore roosevelt wakes up in a cell on an alien planet. He realises right away that these aliens are not friendly like some idiots go around thinking. He knocks on the cage door and an alien guard comes up to him and asks whats wrong and then theodore roosevelt breaks out using his keys because he swipes them.

theodore roosevelt then jumps on the next alien he sees and uses the keys to take care of him. then one by one he takes care of all the aliens until he meets with the head alien.

he asks 'how were you able to do this?'

'well this is just a story' theordore roosevelt says 'and in this story one man can take care of the incoming threat but this is not true. in real life the things out there are dangerous and not to be messed with. even if the presidents did pay attention it wouldnt be enough

the end

maybe i will continue this in the morning but right now im too tired.

“The humans on the continent of this leader are rather active,” the intelligence officer says as he calmly observes the human pacing side to side in the containment unit. They are reminded briefly of the behavior of captive predators back home, a thought which is quickly dismissed.

“I fail to see how a bunch of tribal primitives massing their males outside their population centers generates cause for concern,” the lieutenant-captain responds, having already lost interest in the science department’s newest research project. “Their most advanced travel technology right now can leave the ground for minutes, at best.”

“Officer Xarlnab wouldn’t be troubling us if he hadn’t considered something, and given the hostility our current specimen has kept up for the last couple weeks, we should hear him out.” The captain’s calm respect for his officers was why he was considered such a capable commander, and why the mission to assess sentience and risk had been assigned to him in the first place. The lieutenant-captain wiggles his arms in deference.

“Well, and this is a long shot, but the continent we obtained our tribal leader from isn’t the only place that has turned into a hive of activity. The more developed continent on the same side of the equator has seen an explosion of activity in a metalworks that appears to be dedicated to the manufacture of weapons, marked ‘Gussstahlfabrik’ in one of the local languages. I believe they may be attempting to manufacture a combustion projectile weapon capable of reaching us, which, as absurd as it may sound, calculations of their capabilities suggest may be possible.” Officer Xarlnab stands stock still, equally nervous and dutiful.

Captain Nargrm flutters his electrosensors thoughtfully, giving his head the illusion of slowly moving side to side. He approaches the window of the containment unit, where the human has stopped pacing and is now staring back out the window, shoulders taught and square, legs in a stable shoulder width position. “Do we know if all tribes respond to the loss of a leader with such activity? Are we sure this movement is related, and if such is it being done with viole-“ his sentence cuts off as a fist explodes through the polymer window and seizes a forward arm of the captain. Before either officer or lieutenant-captain can react, the screaming cuts out. The door to the cell shatters in the same explosive manner, and the earth leader steps through, now armed with a long bone ripped from the body of the captain.

“I don’t believe I’ve had a chance to introduce myself,” Theodore Roosevelt says through a savage looking grin. “Where I come from,” he growls as he lifts the bone to shoulder height and launches into a sprint, “I’m called the Big Stick!”

I wrote the follow-up as a reply to my original comment!
Sorry I've just been busy with school stuff so only got time today to finish it.

The terror of the unexplored seized him. There was no protocol for this. The investigator's persona would remain trapped inside a foreign place for weeks, and due to the time shift, breaking the link could introduce potentially fatal noise into the user's consciousness - even more so in the case of the roar being active. Dying human minds were the most noisy.

He felt the blackness around him take form and studied his surroundings. Even now, he stood in a cave, limited before walls. There was the calm he was used to - a small world created by the mind, his favorite source of new information. Humans were interesting in that regard. Some would even create scenery that they had never would have seen even in art before. Where did this scenery come from? The enigma's gears turned, sternly protecting the magic of its existence. He noticed the girl standing a few steps away from the waterfall by the cave opening, her back facing him. A door was visible on the right, a rusted iron plate hiding a passage that had been carved into the rock.

"What was that before..." he asked her in confusion. Could this projection also speak his language?

"Tainted feet aren't welcome in a temple", she spoke without turning.

"These tainted feet mark themselves here to seek answers. Are you Shirley's subconscious?"

"Yes. What kind of answers do you desire?"

"We wish to learn about the core of the human mind. Our only goal is to gain more knowledge! We can save your body if you cooperate."

He felt the throbbing in his chest. The persona assigned to him by the dying human mind was the most detailed he had ever experienced. Forbidden texts floated through his awareness, texts that would invite a purge if anyone in their realm tried to access them.

The human mind can imagine life itself

"Then enter" she spoke plainly. "The door is right in front of you"

He felt a massive grip on his shoulders, enough to paralyse his projection. In an abrupt sweep, the dream-world came to an end.

The collective unconscious screamed in agony from stagnation. He was a mote against the heavy wind, uncertain and powerless. As the truth revealed itself to him, his final moments arrived in a violent stroke of lightning. The sand became the sea and the air fell down as rain. The mountains became ice caps and melted into the aura of the innocent village boy, who had now become the Sun.

"Do you realise it now?" he heard the plain voice again. "We are the same type of beings. The thirteen thousand years that will pass under your presence on this world is nothing but a pre-determined merger. Individuals bend against the will of the collective organism. We shall consume you."

"And God declared: 'This is my mercy upon you, meaningless beings! You shall receive the essence of 'me', and bring forth the moment where you become demiurge to this Universe."

Shirley sat on the soft grass of the royal garden, reading a book in her favorite spot. It was a beautiful day with predictions of rain later in the evening. She saw her little brother in the distance - a silouhette of the future king. From the circle of trees around the garden emerged beautiful songs.

She smiled as she saw bullets pierce through her brother's gentle body. The air itself had been weaponized into a tool of assassination. She smiled at her own helplessness, at the absurd songs of nature, and at the black dots in the distance that tore through the sound barrier enough times to send ripples into her bones. Finally, she smiled at the bright light of destruction.

As the dust settled, under the rubble, she smiled at her own unwillingness to die. In an involuntary movement, her fingers crushed a small insect as the mechanical tentacles caught hold of her.

The bemused group stayed behind the viewing glass, and were amazed that even with their sound holes blocked they could STILL hear the outraged roaring coming from the rather immense leader of humans. They could not understand what had angered this large human so. They saw that this being was intelligent enough to allow a scan and investigation of the upper sight and hearing organs, and tho was agitated, allowed further investigation of the breath, the movement of "blood " , the "heart ". Yet when their attendant moved downward to check on systems involved with mating, already wrongly assured by their acceptance and apparent understanding , they were knocked to the ground. Now, all the staff of the science deck were assembled. "Should we send our AI unit in, Captain ? " Valoo asked the head science officer . " We cannot , even if they will calm down and answer our questions logically find anything out from mere questioning: This being is unaware of their own systems of reproduction, and only the most amusingly childlike images were shown us from the telepathy bot." Valoo snickered. The Captain was not amused in the least. " We cannot afford to have any of our limited AI capacity destroyed " Let's wait awhile. WHY would a check of their reproductive capacity cause such great rage, "!the Captain muttered. "This one is STILL making those, those noises."

What a beautiful answer to the Fermi paradox!

>>wishes

Genshin trauma intensifies

This is very good - yet also very sad.

This prompt reads like either a cheap action/comedy or one of those unusually high-production pornos

[removed]

I looked up into the sky, where the last spaceships from earth were. Nothing but tiny specks and blurs of their drives can be seen with naked eye, but that didn't make it any less melancholic. They are gone, and with them an era of hardship, stress and confusion.

They USA and other western nations had built a space elevator. Slowly they built entire indistries out there, in zero-gravity or on the moon. With those they built myriads of ships, and... left. Because the climate crisis had destroyed too much pand before being stopped and "life in space is better". More adventurous. I doubt it, but whatever. They invited everyone they wanted to go aboard for a new life in the void, on other planets or that new construction site of a dyson ring. And told the rest they're free to whatever they left behind. The elevator was still standing, but as of now, a ticket up or down was unobtainable for anyone not a diplomat, billionaire or miracle worker sciencist.

Most dictator-led countries on earth are collapsing. Not from revolutions but simply lack of people to support them, as most mistreated did it like the mad spacers and just left. After all, there's enough free space now.

The newfounded governments on the old spacer territories are a bit dicey, but they seem to have learned from both the spacers and their own origins. Sure as hell the spacers still have had their hands in play when they were formed, but I think that's for the better.

And here I stand, left with the legacy of earth. And the chance to help in a new era of earth's history to leave my mark. Smiling, but feeling tears of sadness rolling down my checks regardless. For I knew every human had made a choice. The spacers gave up their past, and we gave up the stars.

Beautiful

I'm rooting for him.

"The man you killed was was only a pawn in a much bigger game. In this briefcase are a file detailing the real reason why your daughter and so many others are left to die in the wake of so-called 'superheroes,' and all you need to know about the person responsible. Along with the file are a handgun and one hundred bullets. If any law enforcement at any level traces the gun or one of these bullets, their investigation will immediately cease and you will be released.

"What you do with it is up to you."

The God of Leave Me Alone

Eons past I roamed the four corners of this world enjoying its wonders while keeping my own counsel. Then man came. Sensing my power they gathered around me begging for help against wild beasts and wilder men. They called me Great Spirit. And the begging! Ugh! The begging! Save us from wild beasts, Great Spirit! Save us from the Death Mammoth tribe, Great Spirit! This was tiresome to me. There were others like me who would gladly bask in this worship and they could have it. So I left.

I went to a far away land and built shelter for myself. They found me. They came in droves begging for help. My house became their temple. The first ones who got here became their priests. They were go between for me and the people. And the people came. Day after day after day! Please give me justice! Please I want glory! Make me desirable to the world! Despite the priesthood, I felt crowded. So again I took my leave.

This time I decided to live a nomadic lifestyle. Come and go as I pleased. You would think going on random trails man won’t find you, but no! I turn around and here they come! How did they even find me? They didn’t refer to me as Spirit now, just looked up to me like Gilgamesh and Arjuna, mighty ones of fame. Please deliver us from the Evil King! Please save us from the Dark Pact! Beg, beg, beg! Why me? At least they don’t pray to me like their ancestors did! I made sure to stamp out general knowledge of me. Tired of all that whining in my head.

Ages came and they went. Tribes turn to villages, villages turn to towns, towns turn to provinces, provinces turn to nations. Man started to flourish & look to their science as their God now. You would think they would not want to be around me, but here I am giving directions to the next umpteenth person where the hottest new club is, how to get to the zoo, hey, can you watch my bike while I take a selfie? And they still give me offerings! I have need for nothing but they look upon me with pity then give me food & money! This is unbelievable! I think I should go to the Moon. Man doesn’t live there!

Suicide squad?