12 hours per bacterium and 1,000,000 bacteria is 12,000,000 hours.12,000,000 hours is 1,369 years, give or take a few months. I'd call that a win for living forever. The real question is how much magic can the wizards bank before they turn back into zygotes.

The ritual called for 100 sacrifices, and some idiot decided he could use microbes for it.

I know magic is new here, but 9/10 times a sacrifices means a demon, and a demon means trouble. Any half trained thaumaturge knows this and could have guessed it would go badly.

Just how badly? I don't think anyone would have guessed.

Rather than grant the caster with the powers of a litch, the damn demon seems to have reasoned that one turn of foul play deserved another.

No human sacrafice, no human litch.

So that is why we are out here in force, trying to track down Tehran the Tardigrade litch. 2 cities have fallen, and atomics are being discussed. But the damn Tardigrade just goes into crypto-biosis and seems unkillable.

Sarah in R&D thinks thats why the demon used a tardigrade... For the pun of CRYPTo-biosis. We may lose the whole state over a smart ass and a pun.

No. No, no, nonononono.

I stare into the bathroom mirror, running my fingers over this face, not really believing that it's me. So much younger. The skin so smooth. Dark hair, untouched by gray.

This wasn't supposed to happen. Not like this. I have to do something.

I whip around, my eyes scanning the unfamiliar room. For a moment, I'm distracted by the lush landscape beyond the windows. Palm leaves ruffle in a breeze. The air is warm and sticky. So strange, when I'm so used to snow. It feels like I'm suffocating.

I find the prize and hurry over to the laptop on the desk. I don't know the password, but my new fingerprint does.

Before I even manage to log in to my accounts, my mind is whirring, wondering where I could have gone wrong. I checked the math so many times. How could this have happened? How did I miss by so much?

A news alert dings in the corner of the screen (strange choice, by my host, to have those turned on...but anyway...) and I click. Oh, no. No, no.

It's not just me, who missed. Not just my own transformation I got wrong. It's all of them, everywhere. How many people have I swapped between bodies? They're reporting thousands, but still counting. Could it be millions? Billions?

I cradle my unfamiliar brow in my unfamiliar hands.

How am I going to fix this? How can I possibly fix this, when it's gone so horribly, horribly wrong?

I peer at the clock between my fingers, calculating the difference in time zones, my stomach roiling, my heart pounding a drum in this far-flung jungle.

It's only an hour until my daughter's execution is scheduled.

I don't know who is about to die.

Her?

Someone innocent in her place?

Who have I sentenced to death?

I tried, my darling, I tried. It was supposed to be me.

---

r/overcomposer

This was fantastic!

And that’s why you get your apprentice to do it!

Wait, so when cells assemble into a larger multicellular organism like a human, their soul weight rapidly decreases? How else would a single cell have the same soul weight as the trillions of cells inside of a human?

I remember posting this one for the first time. Glad it's back again.

I think that’s because the bacteria are individuals and the cells of our body work as a whole to form an individual and that the sacrifice magic targets the individual.

That makes sense. I thought they misread my comment as I didn’t know how the song went, instead of me being bad with writing.

Awesome thank you ☺️

Okay have you ever heard of a story before? Especially a fiction story? It shifts things from our world often inaccurately to tell a story that is made up, ridiculous if you consider other factoids, dragons? Impossible, doesn't exist who is this 🤡 author lmao, Ringwraiths? Bruh when people die they just die they don't get twisted by a one ring, this story is 🧢, must be boring for to read when you're you.

I loved her. Of course, I did. How couldn't I? She was a counterpoint, a question, a poem in the flesh.

She was feral around the eyes and yet she smiled with the warmth of a long-since-longed hug. She held the fierceness of nature in her features and yet her voice was wrapped in a blanket softer than the singsong of the nightingale. She uprooted me with a kiss, sent my thoughts into a frenzy with a look, and took me back into the world with a whisper.

She was, by all accounts, the love of my life.

And so, despite the oddity of her question, I said, "Yes, I would still love you if you were a worm."

A silly game, I thought, until she cried tears of joy and told me she had bought two tickets to a secret place. I was confused but I accepted, after all, her happiness was all that mattered.

Two days later, we left our little abode in the forest and the cold embraced us when we descended from the plane.

"Here, I want this to be a surprise," Jane said and gave me a piece of cloth. "Cover your eyes and follow me."

A bit strange, I thought, but once again I went with it. Half an hour later, the wintry gales whirred in my ears, muffling Jane's words, and the dense snow turned my gait into a trudge. "Where are we?"

Jane reached for my ear and hugged me. At that moment, the cold thawed and melted into tender warmth. "We are here," she said and the whirring of the winds died down. "Count to ten, and open your eyes."

"Okay?" I hesitated, my heart beating fast.

There was a loud noise like the cracking of bones or the snapping of logs. I jumped in place.

"Don't worry, keep counting down, honey."

I obliged, and a moment later I removed the makeshift blindfold covering my eyes. Before me, enormous and immemorial, was a limbless and wingless creature. It was like a serpent, only a hundred if not a thousand times larger, with ice-blue scales the size of ten men and white, streaming whiskers at the sides of its vast, slobbering maw.

I screamed at the top of my lungs. I felt my whole world crumbling and shattering. Jane had betrayed me. Where was she? Why had she brought me to die here? What was this creature?

"Jerry!" the creature said, seemingly offended. "Am I that ugly?"

I recognized the voice. Of course, I did. "Ja--Jane? Is that you?" I shook my head and glanced quickly at the surroundings. We were in a frozen cave full of stalactites and stalagmites, and the remnants of what I could only guess were her clothes lay on the ground.

"Yes, Jerry, this is me!" The creature's tone had a clear edge of exasperation. It turned around as if offended. If it had limbs, I was certain it would've crossed its arms. "You told me you would love me if I were a wyrm. And so here I am, being vulnerable, showing you what I really am. A wyrm."

"A wyrm?" I said, confused. "I thought you said a worm."

She turned back around. "A worm? That's dumb. Why would you love me if I were a worm? I would be ugly and probably dumb too, worms don't think nor feel."

"Honey, I would love you if you were my worst nightmare. I love everything about you, you know this." I paused to take a look at her and drew a deep breath. "And this form of you is gorgeous, breathtaking. I'm sorry if I sound hesitant, it's because I have many questions, but I mean it."

"Really?"

"Really."

She smiled a smile full of fangs, fire, and drool. "Come over, I will introduce you to the others."

"Others?"

"Yes." She picked me up with her whiskers as though I was a lollipop and onwards she slithered into a vast circular room full of ice pillars.

At the center of the room, there were a dozen of other wyrms, and next to them a dozen of seemingly confused men.

The moment Jane set foot, or I should say belly in that room, they all faced me. The men looked puzzled, the wyrms thrilled.

"What a joy, Jane! What a joy! This must be Jerry," a wyrm with obsidian-black scales said. She was twice the size of Jane.

Jane swayed her head from side to side in what I could only infer was a delightful dance. "Yes! Thank you, Carla. As you all know, this is my beloved husband Jerry."

"Hello?" I said and waved hesitantly. "It's a pleasure to meet you?"

"The pleasure is ours, Jerry. Jane can't stop talking about how wonderful you are," another wyrm said.

I smiled. "She exaggerates, I'm very much not wonderful. In fact, she doesn't love me as much as I love her."

Their expressions shifted to something I could only describe as confusion.

"What are you saying, honey?" Jane said, turning her head completely around like an owl. "Of course, I love you more than you do."

"No, you don't. I have a secret. Something I've been wanting to confess to you."

"Jerry, are we doing this right now--"

Before she could finish speaking, I turned into a worm.

A storm of thundering gasps filled the room, making the pillars shake.

"What in the world," one of the husbands said.

"You said worms were ugly and dumb. Do you love me now?"

Jane hesitated. "Of course I do, you are still you. I wouldn't kiss you like that, though." Her expression shifted. "Wait, how are you a worm?"

"Ah, I see this is the Club of the Confused Husbands, Confused Wyrms, and Confused Husband Worm now," I said and shifted back into my human shape. "A secret is a secret. But I've always been a worm."

There was an uncomfortable silence that lasted for far too long.

"How are we supposed to react?" one of the husbands said. "First my wife tells me she's a wyrm, then transforms into one, takes me into an ice cave, and now someone just turns into a worm and then turns back into a naked man? What is this, a joke?"

"World domination is not a joke," Carla said and slithered to the center of the room. "Jerry your entrance has been spectacular. But now, it's time to plot."

------------------

Went full dumb. I don't regret it.

Come over, or else you'll turn into a worm -> /r/AStoryToRuleThemAll

Reposts are allowed since its been 2 weeks

Yeah...... Maybe destructive magic wasn't the best option for this experiment, Malvina.

Brother you gave me goosebumps, this is beautiful thank you

Writing sure, but being able to translate it probably not.

Thanks! If you check my comment history there are lots of stories but I am very hit and miss. But I am working on it….

These two are my favourites right now:

This one is really short: https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/yhfw9r/wp_you_are_a_barista_in_a_24_hour_coffee_shop/iudq6rb/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3

This one has 6 parts I think: https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/yr1zuf/wp_for_50_dollars_ill_help_you_do_anything_one/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

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

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I second this request

Just a thought, but human lifespan, at least non-cancer ridden human life span, is believed to be governed by the telomeres in our DNA. They act as 'protective caps,' if you will, that help ensure good copies, but they get 'worn down' by the process. If that 'life sacrifice' was basically inhibiting the function of telomeres in the body, then sacrificing individual cells is what they are already doing. As they use magic, more of their own cells will be killed in order to avoid negative mutations (ie, cancer) until the ability of the body to stop it from happening is overwhelmed.

Not an expert, just fascinated by DNA and, well, the effects of small changes in the code that can causes big issues.

As with everything sometimes people just don't question the logic, if it's seen like equivalent exchange or similar you would probably be biased to think a human is worth way more than an animal and especially bacteria.

Angelica traced a line down my sternum with her fingernail as we cuddled in bed, the faint light of a Saturday morning peeking down through the skylight in the bedroom. “Baby?” she asked, an air of playfulness to her tone.

“Yes Angel?” I asked as I shifted my arm slightly; it was pinned beneath her shoulder blade and starting to fall asleep.

“Do you love me?” she asked, batting her eyelashes.

“I do love you,” I assured her.

She smiled warmly and nuzzled me. “Mmm.” After a few moments, I felt a tug on my ear lobe. “Baby?” she asked again. “If I was a cat, would you still love me?”

“If you were I cat, I would love you.”

Angelica curled her fingers and pressed her knuckles against my cheek softly. “Meow.” I chuckled at her and placed my hand against hers, pulling her knuckles over to my lips, and I kissed them gently. She continued. “Baby… if I was a horse, would you still love me?”

“If you were a horse… when I saw you, I would say: ‘HAY! … I love you.’ And I would brush your hair and even clean out your stall for you.”

Angelica snorted at that, sounding somewhat like a horse but I don’t think that was her intention. “Gross, you would clean up my poop?”

“I’m used to dealing with your shit already,” I said with a wink.

Her mouth hung open with feigned shock, though she couldn’t hide her grin. “Asshole!” she gasped playfully, slapping me in the chest.

I laughed. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!”

Angelica giggled some more and then we both sighed, happy and comfortably wasting away the morning with our pillow talk. Then her face changed, a hint of seriousness creasing her brow. “Baby?” she asked.

“Yes, dear?” I answered.

“… Would you still love me, even if I was a Wyrm?”

“Even if you were a little worm, I would steal every one of your hearts, and I would put you in the nicest dirt,” I promised her. Angelica didn’t answer this time. “… Everything okay? Hmm.. well technically worms don’t have hearts, they just have aortic arches, but I’d still…” I trailed off as I noticed she still wasn’t smiling, and didn’t even seem to be gearing up for a response to my worm trivia. “Babe?” I asked.

“… What if I wasn’t a little worm? What if I was a big worm?”

“Then I guess I’d need more dirt.”

“… with teeth…”

I raised my eyebrows. “Teeth?”

“… and maybe wings… and some scales?”

“And wings, and some scales?” I echoed. Angelica just nodded. I thought for a moment, picturing the creature she had described; pretty much a dragon at this point. “… Then I would roll a natural twenty to seduce you… and then I’d plunder your cave! Mwah-ha-ha!” I laughed, rolling on top of Angelica and tickling her.

She shrieked. “EEek! Nooo! Don’t tickle me!” she laughed, and after few more pokes for good measure, I rolled back over. I laid there for a little bit, and then sat up with a sigh and slid my feet out from the covers. Angelica twisted underneath the sheets, pulling the now excess blankets further around her like a cocoon. “You already did,” she said softly.

“What?” I asked, looking over my shoulder.

“Rolled a natural twenty to seduce me…” A sly grin curled across her lips. “And plundered my ‘cave’.”

I felt my ears get hot, but before I could respond with something clever or playful, an odd feeling gripped me. I frowned and stood up from the bed, my feet kicking some loose change that was strewn across the floor… quite a bit of loose change, now that I looked again. Piles, even. Turning my head upwards, I peered at the skylight. It was quite large, not to mention how odd it was to have a skylight in a bedroom in the first place. I squinted my eyes, and saw for the first time some scratch or claw marks around the edges of the skylight.

“Is something wrong?” Angelica asked. I looked back to her, concern set on my face. She returned the expression, though I saw her nose twitch involuntarily. “Baby, what is ih… ih… iiihachoo!” she sneezed, and a gout of flame rushed from her nose and mouth, blanketing the room in a golden-orange glow for a moment. “Ah! Excuse me… ugh,” she apologized, rubbing her nose.

“Angelica…” I started, and she looked to me expectantly. “… Are you… a dragon?”

She just stared at me for a few moments before snickering. “No silly… I’m a Wyrm, like I said.”

“………….. Ohhh! Wyrm… not worm…” I realized.

“Uh huh,” Angelica nodded. Silence reigned for a few seconds. I scratched my head, and then saw worry start to darken Angelica’s expression. “So… do you still lo-“ she started, but I interrupted her promptly.

“So… What do you want for breakfast Angel?”

r/TheCornerStories

Amazing Story, reminds me of a scp

Why?

According to you, how many years ago does proto-germanic mean? And why can't writing have originated in some form on Earth before then?

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