Capybara? Capybara!

Oh thanks bro

"Goodness me, James, look at you!"

The individual in question glanced up from admiring his new physique. His eyes - the same dark brown as before - crinkled into a smile. "Evelyn! My, you look amazing." I felt my face redden as I smiled back.

"Have the others come out yet?" I queried, finally averting my eyes.

"No, not yet." The corners of his lips dipped into a frown. "I daren't wonder what's taking them so long."

"I dare say they want to come out looking like that." I gestured towards him. "Or this." I posed, and grinned wickedly.

A clatter of footsteps broke our reverie, one far heavier than the other. A distant voice called our names. We turned as one.

A palest hand blew a whispered kiss our way as our third emerged, taller than I recalled. A pair of pointed ears flickered on an elaborate hairstyle over an inhumanly gorgeous face, smooth as a mirror and gleaming with light.

"Ruth!?" James's voice startled me out of my staring. Pushing my jaw back into place, I beheld our friend. Slender and elegant, a forest elf.

"And me!" We started, then looked down towards the voice. Cameron, I recognised from the eyes. Far shorter, and gruffer, with a beard worthy of a god, hefting a mighty axe.

"Where did you even get that?" I asked. "I thought we weren't supposed to get our gear until after all five of us were out."

Cam laughed heartily. "We aren't! But I asked our benefactor for an advance." I rolled my eyes. Always hasty, that Cameron.

Morning turned to midday, and then to afternoon. By then, we'd exhausted a dozen topics of discussion. We'd explored the building a dozen times. We'd 'borrowed' a few weapons, and started sparring. Ten training dummies met their ends that day, by sword and flame and bow and axe.

I was just about ready to ask the god directions to the nearest inn when a rumbling overtook his domain. Fearful, I steadied myself. The doorway shook, then opened with a thump.

A coiling, sinuous form. A tree-bark carapace, segmented and moving, fifteen feet long and covered with moss. A mouth of chelicerae, dripping with glimmering sap. Uncountable rigid legs scraped across the floor, as a branch-like arm raised itself, its three fellows brandishing vicious swords. Six eyes. Familiar eyes.

"...what the hell, Vince?" I finally found my voice. A final thump sounded - turning, I saw Ruth passed out on the floor.

THIS FORM IS SUITABLE FOR OUR PURPOSES.

"You couldn't have picked something... less... uh..."

I SEE NO ISSUE. THIS FORM IS MOST EFFICIENT AT FINDING AND DESTROYING OUR TARGETS.

"...let's just go."

"If it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college."

This could be quite cool, give me some time…

The five of us laid, some collapsed, on the hill of the graveyard. The smell of singed grass was still coating the air as we laughed and picked bone fragments out of our hair.

"We actually did it." Eric said, a disbeliving grin forming on his face. Back home he was the star of the college football who carried them to victory more times than his friends bothered to keep up with. He was tall, muscular, dirty blonde hair, and full of confidence. In this world he literally carried some of the group a few times as injuries mounted and undead monsters were broken into pieces.

Selena sighed with exhaustion and contentment. "Yeah. Barely." She was known for her obsession with chemistry and was hoping to start her career as a scientist in one of the most renown research companies in the world in six months when she would have finished her degree. Her sharp mind quickly picked up the alchemic magic of the world, of course she still didn't believe in "magic" despite being the most skilled in it of the group. To her it was explainable by the science of the world, thus it was simply science.

Ralph brought himself to a sitting position before letting out a yell echoing across the graveyard "WE FUCKING KILLED THE SHIT OUT THAT LICH!" which earned him a swift and playful punch from his girlfriend, Alice "Easy on our eardrums, dork. We don't need to wake any more of the dead with your shouting." The two had been dating longer than the six years the group had gotten together for the first time back in highschool. Ralph was a chaotic punk with fizzy red hair and a lean build. Alice was a short and sassy theater major with half blue, half green dyed hair and a temper that would make even a god apologize - which in fact he did after she chewed him out for teleporting us here against our will. The two made a good pair and brought out the excited passion in each other than made them so fun to be around.

Lastly there was me, Daniel, the weird emo kid of the group. I looked closer to the skeletons than I did to Eric or Ralph. Pale, thin, and slighlty below average height. My clothing seemed to always be exclusively black. Before our dysfunctional little breakfast club had ever come together I never had more than a single friend at a time, always feeling like I never quite fit in or belonged until the group's extroverts: Eric, Ralph, and Alice, adopted me into their party.

I groaned, "Please, don't even joke about it. I'm going to have to shower for hours after this. Did you guys see that newly raised guy? I think I got brains all over my shirt." Eric laughed, "Holy shit that was wild! Ralph basically exploded that dude's head!" I noticed Ralph smile smugly staring at the clouds. He let out a soft and satisfied, "fuck yeah."

Selena rolled her eyes and began to ask "So, what happens n-" when a harsh beam of light poured over the group and cutting off her train of thought. Alice screamed "NO FUCK THIS! NOT THIS FUCKING SHIT AGAIN WE JUST FINISHED THIS STUPID ADVENTURE I SWEAR TO GOD IF WE HAVE T-" and that was the last I remember hearing until we all collectively woke up in a clean porcelain white throne room. The god of this world, Zelaruse, boasted loudly with cheer. "YOU'VE DONE IT, CHAMPIONS! I KNEW YOU WOULD!"

Selena remembered where she left off and asked Zelaruse, "So can we go home now? We did what you asked."

Zelaruse nodded with a smile, "Of course, of course champion. But first a reward. The most powerful magic I can bestow upon you. I can transform your body until any of your dreams. I must warn you however, you should picture only your most ideal self. This is not a spell I will repeat for you, no matter my debt. Transformation magic is dangerous work and changing a body to anything but its ideal form would be far too dangerous." His look was serious now and he looked at each of us in the eye as if to see we had paid our fullest attention. Finally he continued, "Now. Close your eyes and imagine your best self. What will make you happiest."

The group was left in a hushed awe, no one knowing what to really say. We closed our eyes and thought deeply. I'm unsure how much time passed, perhaps it was just a few moments, but it felt like days. I could feel my body shifting and morphing into something else, but there was no pain. If anything, it felt good. It felt necessary.

When we opened our eyes next Ralph was the first to speak. "YOOO LET'S FUCKING GO!!" His body had grown slightly taller. His face had developed a striking jawline. His six pack was obvious through his ripped shirt. He was largely the same, just what he considered to be 20% hotter. Alice giggled but couldn't take her eyes off him, "I could get used to this." Her hair was longer as well as her body. Her weight had shifted from a slight pudge to supermodel thin. Her ears pointed, marking the sure sign of an elf but otherwise she was almost exactly the same. Ralph looked back to her, jaw dropping with only a little exaggeration. "Okay I am definitely into elves now."

"Check it out, check it out!" Eric boasted flexing his massive new muscles. He had chosen the form of a minotaur and looked like he could benchpress the group without breaking a sweat. His dark black horns shined brilliantly in the white room.

"You know, that honestly tracks." Selena smirked. She was the least changed of the group. Her large breasts had shrunken to half their size. She was no longer wearing glasses. Her teeth gleamed with a new found whiteness to them, but aside from that she was almost exactly as she had been.

Ralph managed to tear his eyes off Alice long enough to laugh, "Wait.. Why did you get SMALLER boobs?" She shot back instantly, "Dude, boobs that big hurt! Fuck that, this feels so much nicer. I bet I could run down stairs with these bad boys."

The usually bashful Alice whispered in utter shock, "Guys.. Holy shit. Daniel." The group all looked back at me and their eyes bulging and the quiet densely flooded the room for what felt like an eternity. My face glowed red and I stammered, "W-what?" My voice surprising myself with how light it sounded.

Selena bit her lip and then gently said, "Daniel. Why didn't you tell us you were trans?" My stomach tighted and I felt myself wanting to disappear as I looked back and forth between Eric and Ralph. "You mean you guys like being... Guys? I thought everyone wanted to be a girl and we all just kind of dealt with the hand we got?" I could feel my confidence sinking with each word.

Eric let out a soft, "Dude.. No.." Even Ralph was quiet. "Nah man. Not at all. Like I've never even considered it."

"Oh." I said with tears forming around my eyes.

Alice closed the gap and hugged me tightly as I felt my body wanting to drop and melt into the ground, waves of conflicting feelings gushing through me. "You know we all still love you, right? I'm really happy for you. I just wish you let us know sooner. We would have supported you no matter what."

I gave a nervous chuckle, "I wish I really knew earlier myself. I never really thought it was even much of an option."

Selena piped in, "Hey, how about we call you Danielle now!" Smiling with pride of her idea. I smiled too. "Yeah. That'd be nice I think."

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

Reminders:

>* No AI-generated reponses 🤖 >* Stories 100 words+. Poems 30+ but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* [RF] and [SP] 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.

"No, you don't understand, we have to-"

"But Minecraft's fun!" the kid smiled. "Plus, I'll get to tell dad about how cool the mansion we'll build together will be!"

Death grimaced. These kids were always the hard ones to break the news to.

"Alright, youngster. How do we play?"

Jimmy's eyes went wide. "Really? You'll play with me?"

Death gave a nod. "I always try to play games with people. It's part of my job."

Jimmy tilted his head. "Oh, like Dream?"

Death shook his head. He knew Dream pretty well. He hadn't remember Dream playing games with anyone. He was more... well, he was more of the loner type. Didn't like to stick around too long. "Oh, no, not Dream. Dream does lots of different things with lots of different people, but he mostly likes to pull strings, ya know? Make things look like they're real, but have you forget all about it later? He's that sort of guy."

Jimmy frowned. "Well, I mean, I guess Dream was a cheater, so yeah..."

Death decided to put it aside. "Anyways, this Minecraft game, how do we play?"

Jimmy immediately perked back up. "Oh, yeah, Minecraft! Well, do you have a computer?"

Death sighed. He'd expected something like this. With a thought, two computers appeared in the void in front of them.

Jimmy grinned. "Yay! Here, let me boot it up for ya real quick, Mister..." Jimmy turned back to Death.

"Mr. Charon." Death responded. He liked to think of Charon as the closest representation to what he actually did. He didn't really cause the death, or even survey a form of afterlife. He was just a transporter. Heck, he didn't even cause the death itself Jimmy had already died hours ago- a bad carbon monoxide leak soon after he'd been put to bed. This was just Death's little parting gift in order to break the news.

"Well, Mr. C, you run like this, can break and build stuff, and you can do all this sort of crafting and stuff! It's super cool!" Jimmy smiled. "They even added frogs recently!"

Death looked at this brand new place on his screen. It was a plain, blocky grass field, with a bunch of tiny animal in it.

"What... how do you win? Is it, like, a strategy game? What rules are there?" Death questioned.

Jimmy was already busy running around, digging a massive dirt hole.

Death acquainted himself with the controls, and with a small bit of resignation, decided to follow him.

Maybe, just maybe, this game would help him break the news.

Ok we need to talk. 6 fish tanks in the dorm is too many.

I mean, you've prolly still got taxes to pay, so of course you'll likely come back after death.

[removed]

“Yeah I…don’t think those oven mitts are coming back any time soon.”

Um, to explain the last two lines, Gorillas are actually really... Small down there.

Meaningless, but memorable. A good quote.

What the duck?

An Angel was on my tail, i knew it from the start of the day. They were surely wanting to shut down my business, probably expecting it to be like all the other demons; casinos, bars. But my business was not created of sin, only passion. For ice cream.

This Angel was in for a shock when they would soon come to realise my business was not like any other demon’s.

I wanted to share the delicacy that is flavoured frozen cream to the rest of Queens. It was good business, it seemed to be a fan favourite, and was rather successful. We cared about our customers and their input, we had options for all intolerances and allergies, and plenty of alcoholic ice creams for the adults.

I saw the shock in the Angel’s eyes as they looked up at the sign that hung over the building. Stanley’s Ice-Creamery. I smiled when i heard the little bell ring, and as the Angel walked in, I welcomed them.

“What flavour would you like, dear?”

“What could possibly go wrong?”

[removed]

I rolled my eyes at her, "Who's going to respect me if I don't murder in style?"

"I get that, it's just...pink. Really? Nobody's going to take you seriously!"

I turned away from her, shaking my head. "I never said anything about them taking me seriously! What if I wanted to feign insanity? I couldn't do that wearing leather and a denim jacket, could I? Crime is an art and I have perfected it!" I spun back around to face her, and jabbed a finger into her stomach. "Obviously, you wouldn't understand things such as these. I have a job to do, and I'll do it how I damn well please!"

She looked hurt. Maybe I was a bit too harsh on her, it was her first day after all. "And the bodies?"

"They've been placed in various ways, to subtly clue the detectives to our exact location. My guess is that they are about an hour away. Everything else is running smoothly."

She nodded sharply, and began to bounce on the soles of her feet. I eyed her curiously, "What's wrong Dani? Afraid?"

She looked up at me. "Well...uhh...yeah, kinda. What if it goes wrong?"

I laughed until tears flowed. "Are you suggesting that my work would fail? That those bumbling buffoons could do nothing but quiver in fear. They don't want to deal with me. I'll kill them, and they know it."

"So what's with all the games? All the killings? Can't you just scare the police into doing what you want?"

Come now, where's the fun in that?"

She did not respond.

I decided to probe her further. "Dani, have you ever tortured someone to the brink of insanity?"

"Well yeah. "Course I have."

"Did you enjoy it?"

"I suppose I did."

"Of course it was! What type of self-depreciating villain doesn't like torturing someone? To push them over the edge! To make them plead for respite! Who wouldn't love the thrill?"

"Well, I don't know."

"You see Dani, I don't torture people physically anymore. No, torturing them mentally is so much more fun! Letting those idiots of officers believe I'll stop the killings if they do just one more thing for me. Let them think they are so close to being free! Do you understand this, Dani?"

"I...I think I do."

I smiled. "I think your going to love being my lead henchwoman."

“Her father died last year at war, and last week her mother passed. She had been running for most of the day trying to make sure this attempt to get away from her stepfather is successful. “This deep in the woods that monster won’t find me,” she thinks to herself. Watching her in the bushes was a different type of monster.”

(Not really no context but it has worked for braking blocks)

[removed]

Heads up: Misread the prompt and thought it said they can't leave without permission, just saw they also can't enter. We're rolling with only they can't leave.

​

Being a vampire sucks, no pun intended. At least it does now; we used to be scary, intimidating creatures of the night. Then there came the fucking 90s and 2000s and writers decided to make us romantic and all, granted I am good looking. I lived and fought wars in the dark ages before becoming a vampire and sent terror throughout the heartlands of countries. Now I'm scared of going to try and catch a meal and here is why: that old tale of having to ask permission to enter an abode is backwards, instead we have to ask permission to leave.

You see, in today's world people get alerted to us coming in most of the time between the ring and doorbell cameras. They wake up and we can't leave until we're told to which sometimes is easy enough, because most rational people tell this intruder to get out, but then you have the weird ones. The one's who obsessed over Interview with a Vampire, Twilight, or God forbid a goth person. Let me tell you a story from about four years ago.

I was in this quaint and cozy town up north and had seen this woman that night who I knew was going to be my target. Yeesh, I sound stalker-ish. Anyways using these powers of stealth and transformation gifted to me by vampirism, I followed her and waited as a crow on a light post for her to go to bed. As soon as I saw the lights go out, it was go time. The dinner bell rang and the persistent hunger was waiting to be appeased. So I slipped into her home. That's when the lights turned on and I froze like a deer in the headlights.

"I knew it!" a feminine declared. My eyes darted to her and then they took in the surrounding decorations I had carelessly ignored. Vampire posters everywhere. She even had a cardboard standee of Edward that one gets at the movies. This woman of thirty something was obsessed with vampires. She was even wearing a Bella Lugosi t-shirt for pajamas.

"Uh, knew what?" I questioned. Her smile turned into a insane smile and eyes widened with a manic glee. "I'm here to uh, rob you! Now that I've been caught, I guess I'll just leave."

"Oh no, you didn't come in like a normal robber would! You flew down in through the chimney! I watched you!"

"Whaaaat? That was just a crow! I came in through your basement!"

"I don't have a basement." I stood there, nervously cupping and rubbing my hands.

"You're right, then I guess you know what I am." I shift my tone, trying to intimidate her with it becoming menacing.

"You're a vampire!" She was not frightened. Hell the smile didn't hardly fall. "I've known your kind existed! And I also know your secret."

Shit.

"You can't leave unless I give you permission."

"No, no, I can leave whenever I want. Like I'm going to do."

"Then go ahead." I walked to the door with confidence and swung it open. The cold air hit my face and I stared outside into the empty street but my legs would not go over the thresh hold. Freedom stood just beyond the opening mocking me. She smiled seductively as she walked forth without fear and softly shut the door in my face. She looked up at me with those radiant brown eyes that I instantly looked away from as she was trying to charm me. "I can't let you leave, Mr. Edward."

"Mister what?" I questioned as I backed away.

"You see, I've been hoping one of you would stop by," she said as she pressed forward after me. "I've been waiting for my Edward Cullen, my Louis, or Vlad and here you are." It was at this point I knew, I fucked up. This woman was a like Meg from Family Guy but worse. She was at least attractive, but that didn't detract from the psycho vibe being put on. "I've read so much, about how when a vampire sires someone they're linked forever."

"Uh no, that's not-"

"You're an awful liar." She again smiled and let out a soft giggle.

"I need to get home really, my vampire wife is going to come looking."

"You're not leaving. Not without me."

Ha, we leave. I transform. She'll never catch up to me!

"Um okay, let's go then!"

"Oh no, I'm not leaving until you turn me. Then will be together forever." That last word echoed in my mind. Forever. I'm five hundred years old. This woman is not who I'd want to spend eternity with. I'd rather let myself die, but death by sunlight is long and tortuous. There was only one thing, I knew to do. With all my power and all my strength, the lights in the room dimmed and I felt my face shift and my teeth change into the nightmarish creature I was.

"Oh! Mood lighting," she exclaimed. I froze, my brow raising as she flipped her long black hair to the side and exposed her neck. "Go for it."

What the fuck. It's either turn her and be stuck with her or be stuck with her in this house with no source of food, except her. I mean I could kill her. That's it! I let my nails elongate to razors and raised my hand, my target being her arteries that were pulsating with blood but she suddenly whipped out something that blinded me.

"Yeah no, that's now how this gonna work," she stated. I knew what she had brought out. It was a crucifix. I shied away down the hall to get away from her. "You have no chance. I know everything about you."

This was indeed a nightmare and I was at Towton seeing men get slaughtered. I quickly scurried into a bathroom and shut the door, locking it. I looked to the shower and above it was a small window. Maybe, just maybe. I opened it and stuck my hand outside to feel it immediately burn like the sun had hit it. The pain was awful and I quickly yanked it back inside. My skin was reddened like that of a sunburn. I saw the doorknob rattling.

"Jokes on you, I got a key!" I heard her leave and then come marching back. The latch turned and the door swung open. She stood there with that same demented smile on her face. "Edward, there's no escape. If you want to leave, you just have to bite me," she stated. "I'm not all bad."

"Lady you're worse than Elizabeth Bathory," I said. "And I knew her personally! And my name is Robert! I don't sparkle!"

"I promise you, we'd be a perfect power couple. Otherwise, I'm going to keep you trapped here and no one will hear you scream."

Well what choice did I have. Bite her and be semi free, or be stuck forever a prisoner. Looking back, I'd have chosen neither and have somehow offed myself. Now here we are. Me and Lucy. Sitting here watching this couple get ready for bed on a light pole. I'm a terrible judge of character as this has shown so maybe, just maybe, these two are vampire hunters.

"Are you ready Edward?" she asked.

"For death, yes."

Well, thank you for the absolutely awesome prompt!

On the plus side, you wouldn’t need the Sorting Hat to tell you which house you were going to end up in.

547 days.

Most people would quit their job by then, especially working at a hotel, especially for your first summer job, but that’s the funny part. This summer job is slowly becoming forever, as my immortal old hag of a boss has decided that I have to keep working here, forever 20 until I can make a million dollars to put directly into his slimy, rotting wallet, ‘tis the punishment for the crime of my humanity, and my lack of monstrous figure.

That’s what’s in Roswell. No UFO, no little green men, but a small cave entrance that takes you to a world of monsters and Eldritch beings you’ve never seen before, if make believe was made believable. I found my way to the Underbed Inn, a hotel for monsters and critters and whatever else goes bump in the night. I got a job there, because why the Hell not, right? What a mistake I had made.

My boss found out when he realized that I had no otherworldly lineage, and he was furious. But being the greedy capitalist he is he struck a deal with me. I’d have to make $1,000,000 to earn my freedom, including tips, but in exchange he wouldn’t eat me out to whatever horror governs the area.

So I’ve been here for the past two years, though I guess for the past 17 Augusts, every August 31st the clock goes back to day 1 the moment it strikes 12, and I’m going mad. Maybe that’s my boss’s goal, to make me go mad so that I can qualify as some Eldritch prophet, but until then it’ll be this same cycle of cleaning fur out of mattresses, getting slime monsters out of the pool and burying corpses.

Luckily I have access to the Internet, they aren’t completely backwards down here, so I’m able to confide in you all, but still, I can’t take this solitude. I meet more living creatures than I did when I was among the humans but I still feel so alone. As I sit here, the ghoulish blue glow of just another random game show, writing this message to the outside world I’m only $203,451 dollars away from freedom.

I just hope I don’t get to attached to this literal Hell hole.

548…