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

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[removed]

The infinite passage of time and being trapped in your own worst mistakes for eternity

Thanks, I really appreciate that! And yes, I think one of the best parts of stories is being able to project and make up our own bits.

It’s not my name but I also really like it. I was thinking of an old movie star, Errol Flyn, when it came to naming this guy. And thank you :)

I CANNOT ESCAPE RIMWORLD. I SWEAR TO GOD.

Yup. Fate, destiny, the whims of the universe, we qll knew that this was going to happen in one submission. You just got to it first and before everyone else could respond. I think that we may already have a winner right here.

A seemingly dead body that isn't really dead

I thought so 😂

She is scared, but she's a quick thinker. She nods.

I take her hand in mine, although it is transparent right now. Ignoring the shouts coming from the former Hunter-general, I sense her. I feel the hand of the other similarly transparent being. The agreement making this a lot easier.

I pull. And the dark sillouette of a girl leaves the net and her body behind. I pull her closer to me, hugging her tightly, grounding, not letting go. Annie screams at first, in unison with her uncle, but then falls to silence. The tides of Abyss release her slowly, allowing the sillouette to gain colors, to gain consciousness, as the last of the timer's seconds go away.

With a quiet click, the grinder-net springs to life, tightening around it's hold with a mechanical whurr. Shepherd screams, as the metal wires cut through him and the body of his niece.

I pat Annie at the head, holding her gently, yet forcing not to look at where her uncle screams, struggling against the tightening net. It is not a sight for her yet to see, as a man is cut into bleeding pieces of meat and bones by machinery. Not yet, and if she's lucky enough – never.

We make eye contact one last time, me and Shepherd. His face a furious mess. But I say nothing to him. I only hold Annie a bit tighter, whispering to her quietly.

— It's okay. He will never hurt you again. He will never hurt anyone again. I promise.

(Pt. 2/2), crossposted on my subreddit where you can read the rest of the series as it appears

[Swearing, depressive thoughts, graphic depiction of death]

The devices were positioned. The calculations were made. I hid in the shadow of the nearby cellar, waiting.

Soon, he would be here. There are none of his henchmen left. None of his kin, none of his order... Just like there are none of mine, and those who could pass as one, anymore. None, except for me. Well, that's a real shame, that I decided to return the favor, isn't it?

I scowl at the thought, almost thirsty for blood. Almost as thirsty as Gary was, Gods above and below have mercy on poor lass soul.

Makes me wonder, whichever God the hunters end up with, and hope, that it will be the worst one. Because they do deserve the afterlife of torment and suffering after what they did. They as a whole, and their so-called "Shadow Company" specifically. After what they did to recieve that name... No, simply burning in their so-called Hell doesn't even begin to be enough.

The alley was silent. But I had plenty of time. It was clear as day, that he has no other option, but to get here. The bait was too tempting for him not to take. He will be here, one or the other way. There is no one for him to check it out anymore, no one to disarm the trap, or to report if their mission goes poorly. And there's nowhere for him to run and hide anymore. Even if he doesn't come, I still have plenty of opportunities to strike and targets to pick from... Although, that isn't ideal in the slightest.

But hell, if there is something I owe him, it is the death of the family. My family. Both of them.

Kate. Kyle. Then, Gary. Then, John. Then, Yurij. Nikolaj is also probably dead by now. The only one of them, who can't die, is Simon, but his and Gary's encounter with hunters left the dullahan shattered to pieces and clinging to Sanders's unmoving body like to a lifeline. To me, it's a fate far worse than death, because whoever is going to rise from that wreckage... He won't be Simon Riley anyone used to know.

Simon told me, that there is a way to kill him, make no mistake. It's just... I don't have neither heart nor means to get the man, who I long considered my friend, death that he so craves. Even if I know, that at this point it would probably be relieving for him. Maybe I'm selfish, maybe I'm a fool... I don't know myself anymore.

My musings are interrupted by sound of steps that echo through the alley. Instantly brings me back to reality and makes me focus. I peek out of my hiding spot ever so slightly, feeling where the two shadows are approaching from...

Wait a second...

Oh, bloody son of a-

He comes slowly, and I see him well in the night. I see him, and I feel the shadow he casts. He, a gun in his hand, and a little – can't be any more than nine, – crying girl, that he tightly holds by shoulder, preventing her escape and pointing a gun to her head.

I grit my teeth. That bloody son of a goddamn Abyss can't even once leave ordinary people out of it!

— Price! — He shouts, easily muffling the girl's cries and looking around the alley. — Come the fuck out, you lurking bastard! I know you can hear me!

But before he can do anything, he comes to a marked point. And there, my trap unsprings.

I watch, as an all-familiar metallic net shoots from above at them full-speed. Reflectory, noticing the motion, he raises the gun at it ever so slightly above girl's head and pulls the trigger, trying to shoot it. But then, the net is upon them, knocking the weapon out of his hand and pinning them both to the ground.

I finally come out of my hiding spot, re-manifesting from the shadows. The grinder-net controls are in my hands, and I'm very lucky I didn't push the button yet. He writhes under the net, trying to break free, or to get a gun that lies on the asphalt a little beyond his reach, and tries even more to do so when he finally spots me in the darkness of the alley.

I simply come closer and kick his hand, sending the gun flying and making him hiss in pain. Probably broken his fingers, that would be nice.

— As pathetic as ever, Shepherd. — I finally talk, sparing him a glance, and then turn to girl, that lies on the ground. She looks at me, scared, as I reach through the net to check if she is alright and doesn't have any injuries. Physical, at least.

— You're the one to talk, shadow-scum! — Shepherd tries to twist himself to face me fully, but fails, net securing him in place, his back to me. The only thing he can do, is turn his head and spit insults. There's also a knife sheathed on his side, which he can probably use if he wants, but I don't see anything for him to do with it. Maybe, he could stab the girl, but he's not that stupid.

— I might be, but it's not me who holds kids hostage.

I retort, not finding any injuries on a girl, who still looks at me wide-eyed with fear. Well, I suppose, if you see a giant lumberjack-looking man in dark clothes and a "weird" panama, that does little to nothing to cover his glowing nearly white eyes, you would be afraid, if you were an average human. Not that I know.

— Well, you never hesitated to define the new low. Shouldn't be surprised... — I notice, thinking.

— Oh spare me your high horse act, you hypocrite!.. — Shepherd fumes, but I don't bother myself aswering, or listening. I have more pressing matter at hand.

What should I do now? As soon as grinder-net clasps on someone, there's no escape. In this situation, it already had planted itself into concrete, pinning it's captives with it. There's no failsafe or cutting your way through it either. It's made from demicrete, and that makes it impossible to wriggle out, if you're not made of goo... Or shadows.

Also, it has a one-minute timer. That means, if I don't press a button in a minute, the net activates on itself and both my greatest enemy and his hostage will be mince.

Abyssal fuckerty.

— Hey. — I opt to ignore Shepherd's flow of insults, turning my attention to the girl again, looking directly in her green and wide eyes with, what I thought, was reassurance. — How did you end up here?

— U-uncle told me, he would hurt me... Or Tom, if one of us don't go. — She sniffed, trying to blink away tears. I smiled slightly to reassure her, although somewhere deep inside wanted nothing but to kill Shepherd in the most painful way. Not only he dragged a kid with him, but it was his own niece!

— What's your name?

— Annie...

— Say, Annie. If I promise, that your uncle will never hurt you, or Tom, again. Do you want to get out of here?

She nods ever so slightly, even though she shakes, when Shepherd... Her uncle begins twitching more violently and swearing more colourfully, than before. I opt to promptly kick the asshole in the kidneys. While he doubles on himself, coughing and hacking, too busy keeping his guts inside, I ask the girl, Annie, again, my hand hovering over hers. The next question is ancient, formal and ceremonial even.

— Would you like to walk a path of shadow?

(Pt. 1/2), crossposted on my subreddit, where you can also read the rest of the series as it appears

Walking into the tavern, I was greeted by many leering faces of some of the toughest men and orcs in all of the Westlands.

A large human-orc stops in his tracks as he approached me and forgets what he was going to say, as he catches a glance of the magic pulsating behind my eyes.

"Hey, this bar is for mercenaries only buddy. You have any licensing papers or a contract?"

"Yeh, that I do." I pull the papers from my coat and put them on the table.

He looks them over and then at me. "Sir... this is a heavy order, do you have the coin for this kind of thing? You'll need a small army for this."

The scurring of giant spiders can be heard outside and it spooks the men for a moment. We all walk out and see the pile of gems foraged by spider miners.

"This is a drop in the river of my kingdoms riches." I tell them.

"Which kingdom is that?"

"The Forest."

They whisper to one another, "...that mean you're a druid?"

"That I am."

They all burst out laughing. "He wants us to fight against the Arbcol slaver industry!" The man that looked at the papers says, before rolling into more laughter.

"How in the world would you think that is even plausible? I mean, what can a Druid actually do?"

"I just need five men, they get this pile and many piles after this... anyone willing?"

"You've got to show us what you can actually do first, we're not fighting no army with six men."

"Ok."

A moment later, Giant Spiders with saddles appear from the forest. "Jump on and don't forget the harness" I tell them.

Five men look at the gems and then at the spiders, taking a moment to think it through. "Alright Druid, let's see this."

They jump on the spiders and harness themselves on, and we immediately jump into the nights sky.

"God damn it Druid! Damn magic bastards!" A man screams as he's flying through the air on a spider. "If I wasn't a greedy bastard, I swear...!"

We land and jump a few times, and land on the top of a mountain. A group of goblins catch eyes with me and give me an honorary salute before scurrying back into the mountain's mine.

"Did those goblins just salute you?!"

"They exist, solely because of me."

They all look at each other confused.

"Come here and look at this" I tell them. I conjure a Spriggan Seed in my hands. It's the size of a melon and radiates a light with alternating colors.

They gasp and I let it float into the air.

"Look" I point at a slaver encampment that has one the forest's magical deer in a locked cage.

The seed glides through the air silently as the men in the encampment submit to folly and drink, casually poking the cage containing the magical deer.

My recruits are watching with sweaty palms and racing hearts, I can tell this seed was a nighttime fable to them until now.

The seed lands gently and it pulses into the ground with rapidly growing roots. Roots spiral from the ground, and a glowing red ball is sucked from the ground into the center of the roots, forming into lovely Spriggans.

"They're a deadly mess of roots protecting it's magical source of life energy. They are living extensions of the planet, doing it's bidding. Just as powerful as sorcerers and invulnerable to everything, they are unstoppable to normal men..."

They watch the Spriggans grow in size until the roots build a dome around the encampment. Vines fill the entire dome and entrap all of the men. A single vine arm jiggles the lock loose on the cage and let's the magical deer free.

The magical deer is seen running out of a tunnel of vines in the dome, that closes behind it. Thousands of Giant Spiders converge on the vine dome and feast on the bounty provided. The men inside scream in agony as they're being pierced by spiked vines from every angle and eaten by spiders.

"That's not going to do much against Imperial Sorcerer's, Druid. They'd cut right through that dung heap. Got anything to deal with them?"

"Yeah, you men are the key."

I open the land below us to construct a portal to the planet's sacred temple, a large blue colored whirlpool of magical energy.

"What the..." one of the men remarks.

"Jump in. You'll be rich for life and you'll be granted the powers of a Druid."

I pressure their minds with my magic and I enchant their clothing to feel the hunger for power. They all agree and jump in wholeheartedly.

Inside was the Temple of Death.

The planet forced all of it's own dark magic into a otherworldly temple to conceal it away and to encase it within a holy temple impenetrable to Dark Sorcerer's.

Golden Griffins with powers beyond the worldly, rule the realm. The men are frozen in absolute terror as the Griffins peer into their souls, revolutionizing their spirit with the righteous mission of nature's wrath.

All that consisted of these men's mind's find oblivion and they become living extensions of the force of nature.

They become as spiritually aware as demigods and look at me in confirmation that they've been put on the Holy Path, with eyes glowing white.

We all nod with our eyes glowing white and I open the sacred door to death. Large columns of stone rush open to reveal a black hole of endless darkness.

One by one we go through.

With our spirits claimed in the light and with an edict from nature, we became invulnerable wisps of energy in the endless dark void of death, rushing faster than light towards life.

We began to pulse together, quickly picking out our planet from the entire cosmos and seeding ourselves there.

Roots sprout in the forests of the Westlands.

Flesh and blood slowly cover those roots, and the magic of the forest bind it all to form reincarnated forms of our bodies.

"Alright" I crack my neck, "you've been deputized."

"Gawwwwwdamn, I don't know when I signed up for that!" A man yells. "But gaaaaaadamn, do I feel good!"

He turns into a bear and yells into the night, causing a thunderstorm. He turns back and laughs loudly, causing a small earthquake. He breathes in and out, and a breeze whispers quickly throughout the land.

"Getting the hang of it?" He nods.

We all tune in to each other telepathically, become water vapor and float as clouds towards the Arbcol region.

"He y'all, you thinking that "riches" are kind of pointless at this point?"

"Oh yeh, for sure"

"Yup."

"I was just thinking that". I chuckle a little at the amateur thoughts.

The Abrcol regions wall is seen and their sorcerer's immediately assemble into positions, as they sense the magical energy in the clouds.

Thousands of fireballs along the wall shoot into the air and turn into dragons, which shoot magic energy into the clouds.

We turn the clouds pitch black and bring down an endless barrage of lightning bolts onto the wall, causing the sorcerer's to encase themselves in a magic shield and to take flight.

A lightning hawk spawns from the magical lightning in the air and assumes the will of nature immediately, attaching itself to the magical shields of the midflight sorcerer's and dismantling them, allowing lightning to shoot them to the ground.

A smaller group of sorcerer's shoot through the air from over the horizon and land in the area. The lightning hawk pulsates electricity throughout the entire battlefield, but it's completely ineffective to these fancy dressed sorcerer's.

"Is that you, Gaia?!"

The lightning hawk slowly ceases, the storms settle and we manifest ourselves to the sorcerer's.

"Fresh recruits?! Gaia!? These are newborns!" The sorcerer in all red laughs. He throws ancient sigil magic signs into the air with a twitch of the wrist, but it's met with a fiery explosion of elemental magic he didn't anticipate and stammers out of the way.

"What's the move then, Gaia?! One unstoppable force comes against another unstoppable force?! We'll never stop!"

The night sky behind them fills with Superior Sorcerer's, capable of bending reality with power equal to nature itself, rising against the natural powers that make magic possible.

"If we must stand against God, we will!"

The ground breathes angrily. The thunder rolls from every stretch of the planet and is a thousand times deeper than normal. An earthquake can be felt around the world.

Abruptly, a mountain exploded, sending lava and goblins strapped with explosives through the air. The lava accumulated into a Lava Atronach, which stood as tall as a mountain and spawned an endless amount of Fire Atronachs from it's body. The goblins landed and ran towards the fight.

That same moment geysers erupted, sending steam to create a cloud sized Steam Atronach, which spawned countless amounts of Water Atronachs.

The winds rushed in progressively into a Tornado Atronach, which spawned countless amounts of Air Atronachs.

And the ground turned, bringing up huge boulders and mounds of dirt, forming a countless amount of Ground Atronachs.

The entire planet took a deep breath, the elemental atronachs flowed right into formation, we flowed right to the front and we transformed into elementals in animal form.

As the planet breathed out, all of the winds, all of the waters, all of the land, all of the atronachs and all of the goblins strapped with explosives, whirlwinded behind us as we speared into the sorcerer's city sized formation.

At the very moment of impact, the Sorcerer King appeared and the battlefield froze completely in time.

"Gaia, you bitch! Where are ya?!"

Magically glowing vines that completely defy the time stasis of the Sorcerer King, unravel into a circle that opens up a portal.

Out walks the Goddess Gaia. Behind her a rushing flow of growing and eternally prospering flora. Her beauty so profound it would destroy the brain of a mortal mind.

"You fool!" She screams, "do you have any idea how many laws you've broken?! Do you know what tampering with natural law does?! You idiot! You imp! Mankind has been a mistake... you foolish idiot..."

"What did I do? Make man a God, is that so bad?"

"Yes, you idiot...you corrupted the universe..."

I liked it, perfect ending. I also chose a gender neutral name on purpose to see which you would choose.

Thank you, fixed per your note.

i stare deeply into the horizon. my species is known for luring and drowning unworthy sailors, and i am no exception.

a ship passes nearby. the perfect victims.

i sing my songs of enchantment to perform my deadly ritual, but the ship stays where it sits.

i sing louder, thinking they simply didnt hear me

suddenly, a very brash and arrogant man yells at me, “you're so shit at singing it hurts my ears!” angered, i belt at him, but this only fuels his anger. “is that all you got you whore?” he barks at me. my temper gets the better of me, and i let out a scream so loud it bursts his head open like a grape.

the ship i tried to lure begins sinking into the depths, presumably because the crew had been killed by my screeches

i swim into the water, pull out the corpse of the man, and i drape it over my rocky perch

i had failed, but at least i could have a light snack

"Well, uhh, you're not exactly the best at sailing, considering you're trying to sail the Gorgon Straits with only a wooden hulled vessel." The siren replied, and I scowled. "Like, I get it, you're trying to, I don't know, set a record or something, but the only record will be your deaths."

"Please, the Aster is unsinkable." I said. "She's been blessed by Anatha Seastiller for this journey." I saw his expression change, and I turned. What I saw was... Shameful. The fools were weighing anchor. I told them to wait before I left.

--

"They left you." Rickon, the siren, says, and I sob.

"They're going to die without me." I say. "And no one will ever--"

"Mourn them." Rickon says. "Anatha Seastiller won't protect them after their betrayal of you." Two days had passed since, and Rickon was kind enough to feed me and let me live with him.

I look at him, shocked. "H-how? How can you say that?"

"Listen, Aret." I close my eyes and the sound of shattering wood and screaming torment flutters into my mind. "The Kraken Queen has found their tribute unsatisfactory. She's feeding the crew to her spawn." I shudder at the thought, men and women being ripped apart by a crush of tentacles.

--

Months had passed, and Rickon had lured ships. Pirates, mostly. I put them to the sword as was required by my goddess, and used the wood to build a cottage. Mostly for me, since Rickon preferred the tidepools, but I'd come to... Care, I want to say. I'm not sure if I'd call it love, but it certainly felt like it. I heard a knock at my trapdoor, and opened it. Rickon was in the water, with a box.

"May I surface?" He asks, and I nod. He climbs up, and I see he's got a box in his hand. He walks up and kneels.

"Rickon?" I ask, but he merely shushes me.

"Aret, I... I..." He stammers a little, before giving me the box. "Willyoubemineforeverplease?" He blathers, and I blush.

"Rickon..." I say, and I open it, finding a ring of coral and gold, probably salvaged from the ships he lured to the isle. I slip it on, and turn away, retrieving from the end table near my bed a box of my own, and I offer it to him. "Only if you'll be mine." He smiles, and opens it. Inside is a similar ring, and I slip it on him, and kiss him.

[removed]

A reason to fear water.

This reads like a darker version of the Ice King!

Scout tf2 becomes a Druid

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]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_House_Index

Not actually a joke. Like, yea people joke about it, but there's science

[removed]

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.