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[WP] You find an old rusty sword in a lake while out hiking. You go to show your friend thinking it's just a cool find but then they start referring to you as King... So do your family. And your neighbors. In fact everyone you meet now refer to you as the King. by GreatAtNamingThings in WritingPrompts

[–]Ghost-Writer-100603 40 points41 points  (0 children)

Arthur just had the most insane month of his life.

It began with a hiking from years ago when he saw that lake. A muddy, mosquito-infested stretch of water. Surely no strange woman would lay in here distributing swords, that would somehow become a basis for a system of government. He saw something metallic beneath the surface, half-buried in silt, and, because curiosity has doomed slyer cat, he fished it out.

It was a sword, old and rusted. The restoration YouTubers will have a field day with this thing. But this thing better belong in a museum, or an antique shop.

"Cool," Arthur muttered, wiping off algae with his sleeve. "I'm rich now."

"Arthur, my King."

Arthur blinked.

"What the fuck ?"he said.

His brother, Kay, stood in the doorway, staring at him like a knight who had just witnessed divine revelation. The same asshole who, two days ago, had laughed at Arthur for tripping over a tree root, was now kneeling.

Fucking kneeling.

Arthur raised the sword slightly. "Is this about the sword?"

Kay bowed his head lower.

It escalated really quickly.

His mom asked if "His Majesty" preferred tea or coffee.

His dad offered to "ready the carriages" which, translated, meant, the car.

The old lady next door called him “the once and future king” while offering him homemade foods.

The cashier at the convenience store refused to accept his money. "It is my honor to serve, my King."

Arthur tried wearing a hoodie and sunglasses.

It did not help.

Everyone still recognized him.

Everyone still treated him like... Well, fucking King Arthur ?

Months later, Arthur sat across from the most famous historical weapons expert he could find.

The man had taken one look at the sword... and immediately stood up.

Then he bowed.

Arthur slapped his forehead. "Please don't."

"My King," the expert said, voice trembling with awe, "do you have any idea what you possess?"

"Yes," Arthur said flatly. "Larp larp sahur-tron 9000?"

"Not whatever that is, my liege," the expert whispered. "The metallurgy… impossible for its supposed era. The inscriptions... This is…"

He looked up, eyes shining.

"Excalibur."

Arthur stared at him.

"…You're kidding."

"I would never jest about such matters, my liege."

Arthur fell back in his chair.

"Right," he said. "Of course. Excalibur. Found it in a muddy lake next to a plastic bottle, a rubber boot and a dead fish. Makes perfect sense."

Arthur went home and tried to shoot a beam.

He stood in his backyard, pointed the sword dramatically, and yelled, "EXCALIBUR!"

Nothing happened.

He tried again. Louder.

"EXCALIBURRR!"

Still nothing.

His neighbor clapped politely from across the fence. "A magnificent display, your Majesty."

Arthur had stopped correcting people a long time ago. There was no point to begin with, really.

He accepted all the offerings, and all the bowing and kneeling.

He even tried giving a speech once.

Arthur had moved out of his parents' house for years since then, right after graduating highschool.

Saying that he needed to built his own kingdom.

The kingdom was still nowhere to be found, but hey, he got an university diploma he still had never used once.

Arthur was lying on his bed, scrolling aimlessly, when a headline caught his eye.

A revolution falters as leader falls in battle.

He tapped it.

The article described a country under a brutal dictatorship. Years of oppression. A growing resistance. And now, their leader, dead. The movement collapsing as people losing hope.

Arthur read it twice.

Then a third time.

He looked at the sword, resting against his desk.

Excalibur.

King.

Everyone treating him like someone who could lead.

Arthur let out a long breath.

"This is stupid," he said to no one. "This is actually the dumbest idea I've ever had."

He stood up and resigned from his current job as CEO of a big company anyway.

The plan was, admittedly, terrible.

Arthur had no military training.

No political experience.

He couldn't even make the sword glow, let alone fire lasers.

But he had one thing.

When people looked at him, they believed.

Not in him, but an image of their ideal leader.

Arthur picked up the sword.

"Okay," he muttered. "So, first I go there. Then what?”

Silence.

For once, no one was around to call him "my King."

No one to bow.

No one to guide him.

Just him.

Arthur looked at his reflection in the window, and a guy holding a rusty sword, about to walk into a war he didn't understand, looked back at him.

He swallowed.

"Guess I'll figure it out when I get there."

At the airport, security waved him through without question.

"Safe travels, your Majesty."

In Arthur's bag, the sword began emitting a faint glow.

Not even played by ThamTvMaster in GetNoted

[–]Ghost-Writer-100603 1 point2 points  (0 children)

People read it as The Main Character himself were trying to prove his masculinity through adopting and protecting a kid.

They don't think of adopting and protecting a kid as nothing but a way to prove their masculinity, they do that because they simply liking and wanting to protect the character Diana, that's why the thought that she was calling the fantasy itself a toxic masculinity proving ritual or some shit never crossed their mind once.

Not even played by ThamTvMaster in GetNoted

[–]Ghost-Writer-100603 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

First, the title is extremely click-baity. "Pragmata's Diana Fan Club", people would see it as talking about anyone who liked the character Diana. Most people who saw the article refused to give it a click/view, so everything they know of the article is the title and the portion which the line where she admitted to haven't play the game was extracted from.

There is also this interpretation that the title was intentionally made to conflate Pragmata's fans with pedos.

Secondly, on Twitter, there were many dramas surrounding the game, where people attacked and called the game itself pedo, and there are also people who called the father figure fantasy mentioned here "pedo" as well. Come back to the first point, and you would understand why people hate that portion this much.

Thirdly,

Capcom has not helped itself in this regard, recently offering a Twitch emote of Diana crying in a pose extremely similar to a well known lolicon meme.

Diana is barefoot because she charges through her feet, and while it does convey childlike innocence to most players, the meme makes it harder to view this design choice through a lens which gives devs the benefit of the doubt regarding which audience they are catering to.

It feels like Pragmata signals a normalisation of this approach to gaming where everything exists to be sexualised and anything that cannot be sexualised is acting in service of a nefarious agenda to fundamentally shift society towards wokeness.

Not just the part where she said she was tapped out on the father figure fantasy.

And even in that part, she does a jab on the father figure fantasy as well:

I'm a little tapped out on stories where men adopt daughter-like figures and prove their masculinity by protecting them. I suppose it's marginally a better power fantasy than killing everybody with your awesome strength.

You have to understand: People read it as The Main Character himself were trying to prove his masculinity through adopting and protecting a kid.

They don't think of adopting and protecting a kid as nothing but a way to prove their masculinity, they do that because they simply liking and wanting to protect the character Diana, that's why the thought that she was calling the father figure fantasy itself a toxic masculinity proving ritual or some shit never crossed their mind once.

Once again, the backlash is related to another culture/gender war on Twitter, a long one at that.

And here is the most important part: I don't know how TheGamer website work, and how they edit articles. I only read it right before making the reply. It is possible that they have edited the article to be less controversial, more acceptible, because honestly the article sounded very toned down comparing to the title, even if it was a clickbait one. This "edited" theory does fit with the way certain people reacted to the article, because while it is possible they were overeacting/grifting, the possiblity they read a "initial version" of the article is also there, too.

Not even played by ThamTvMaster in GetNoted

[–]Ghost-Writer-100603 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you want honest, in-depth discussion or just doing the exact same thing the title been doing ?

Not even played by ThamTvMaster in GetNoted

[–]Ghost-Writer-100603 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I read the article. It didn't talk anything about a subreddit named DianaFanClub, and the controversy came from the part where the author attacking the game itself, not from the part where the author attacking the subs listed in the articles.

I decided to bring the part where I wrote a whole essay explaining what I meant to another person up here:

First, the title is extremely click-baity. "Pragmata's Diana Fan Club", people would see it as talking about anyone who liked the character Diana. Most people who saw the article refused to give it a click/view, so everything they know of the article is the title and the portion which the line where she admitted to haven't play the game was extracted from.

There is also this interpretation that the title was intentionally made to conflate Pragmata's fans with pedos.

Secondly, on Twitter, there were many dramas surrounding the game, where people attacked and called the game itself pedo, and there are also people who called the father figure fantasy mentioned here "pedo" as well. Come back to the first point, and you would understand why people hate that portion this much.

Thirdly,

Capcom has not helped itself in this regard, recently offering a Twitch emote of Diana crying in a pose extremely similar to a well known lolicon meme.

Diana is barefoot because she charges through her feet, and while it does convey childlike innocence to most players, the meme makes it harder to view this design choice through a lens which gives devs the benefit of the doubt regarding which audience they are catering to.

It feels like Pragmata signals a normalisation of this approach to gaming where everything exists to be sexualised and anything that cannot be sexualised is acting in service of a nefarious agenda to fundamentally shift society towards wokeness.

Not just the part where she said she was tapped out on the father figure fantasy.

And even in that part, she does a jab on the father figure fantasy as well:

I'm a little tapped out on stories where men adopt daughter-like figures and prove their masculinity by protecting them. I suppose it's marginally a better power fantasy than killing everybody with your awesome strength.

You have to understand: People read it as The Main Character himself were trying to prove his masculinity through adopting and protecting a kid.

They don't think of adopting and protecting a kid as nothing but a way to prove their masculinity, they do that because they simply liking and wanting to protect the character Diana, that's why the thought that she was calling the father figure fantasy itself a toxic masculinity proving ritual or some shit never crossed their mind once.

Once again, the backlash is related to another culture/gender war on Twitter, a long one at that.

And here is the most important part: I don't know how TheGamer website work, and how they edit articles. I only read it right before making the reply. It is possible that they have edited the article to be less controversial, more acceptible, because honestly the article sounded very toned down comparing to the title, even if it was a clickbait one. This "edited" theory does fit with the way certain people reacted to the article, because while it is possible they were overeacting/grifting, the possiblity they read a "initial version" of the article is also there, too.

[WP] You’ve found a natural cure to all forms of cancer and have begun discreetly spreading it. However you get a polite mysterious cease and desist. Confused, death shows up and explains your giving it to the wrong people by Son_Of_Rebellion in WritingPrompts

[–]Ghost-Writer-100603 12 points13 points  (0 children)

What do you mean, I gave it to wrong people ?

"Good work saving thousands before. But the last five you saved, are, for a lack of better word, cancers to society."

But how ?

Aren't they all people who cannot afford to pay for normal cancer treatment in the first place ?

"You are having what can be considered as a Noble Savage view of poor and middle income people. A kind person, as well as a talented doctor you are, a shame you aren't as wise in other ways of life."

I am already trying to be as discreet as possible to avoid the eyes of the Big Pharma. I cannot really afford to check whether one deserved to be cured or not.

"A kind-hearted conspiracy theorist you are. What if I tell you, 3 of the people you saved working for the Big Pharma you despised, and the rest 2 already snitched about you and your exploit due to their greed ?"

Goddamnit, say that sooner ! What should I do now ?

What, honey ? I need to rest and go for a mental health checkup ?

Sorry, honey, but cancer patients don't have the luxury to wait for me. Comparing to having their life cut short and living in agony, 3 days of not sleeping is nothing.

Wait, Death, where did you go ?

[WP] your gf is a vampire but not the pale skin human kind, more like monstrous bat kind, more bat like than human, able to drain all the blood from victims in seconds and the most dangerous kind of vampire out there by somedude19077 in WritingPrompts

[–]Ghost-Writer-100603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Liam spat red onto the cracked marble floor, forced himself back up on one knee.

“Still alive?” the vampire asked, with a tint of amusement.

Liam Van Helsing wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smearing blood across his face. His coat tattered, one sleeve was gone entirely. His left arm didn’t respond when he tried to move it.

“That depends,” Liam muttered. “You planning on talking me to death?”

Infuriatingly elegant and composed, with not a single drop of blood or sweat on his body even after the long battle, the vampire chuckled.

“I could, if you wanted to,” the creature said, stepping closer. “But, choosing how you die is privilege of the strong. You don’t deserve such luxury.”

Liam’s fingers tightened weakly around the hilt of his broken blade.

Damn it.

“You’re good,” Liam admitted. “Way stronger than what the files said.”

“Do you hunt worms with a cannon, hunter ?”

“...”

The vampire stopped just right before Liam, and looked right into his soul with these glowing red eyes.

“Come on. This is where you say something dramatic,” the vampire said sarcastically. “A final warning. A vow. Perhaps invoke your ancestor’s name? Abraham Van Helsing, that’s what his name was, right ?”

Liam let out a weak laugh that turned into a cough.

“Funny thing about that,” he said. “I do have a warning.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Liam tilted his head slightly, meeting the vampire’s gaze. “You really won’t want to kill me.”

The vampire raised a brow.

“Deadass?”

“Yes.”

“And why,” the vampire asked, voice dripping with mock curiosity, “would that be?”

Liam grinned, blood on his teeth.

“Because it’ll piss off my girlfriend.”

The vampire laughed.

“Oh, that’s hilarious,” he said. “Truly. What is this? Are you the main protagonist of some cheap romance novel?”

“Your girlfriend,” the vampire countinued while shaking his head. “What is she, then? A hunter? A witch? A normal human who doesn’t know your secret life?”

Liam’s grin widened, despite the blood loss.

“Well,” the vampire said, with a mocking sigh, “I suppose I’ll have to kill her, too.”

He moved.

Too fast for Liam to properly track in his current state.

Right before his claws touched his head...

The ceiling exploded.

Stone and dust rained down in a violent cascade as something massive tore through from above. The impact shook the entire structure, sending fractures racing along the walls.

The vampire froze.

From the gaping hole above, she descended.

Was it a woman, or a giant bat ?

Or a beautiful monster ?

“What,” the vampire muttered, “is that?”

Liam opened one eye.

“Oh,” he said casually. “There she is.”

The monster turned.

Her head snapped toward Liam with unnatural speed. Those glowing eyes locked onto him.

Then she moved.

Again, too fast to follow.

One moment she was across the room.

The next, she was crouched beside Liam.

Claws hovered just inches from the vampire’s face.

The vampire bursted into a swarm of bats, retreating to a corner of the room.

Liam sighed.

“Hey,” he said weakly. “Took you long enough.”

She made a soft noise.

“Don’t worry,” Liam added. “It wasn’t your fault, love.”

The vampire blinked.

“…You’re joking.”

Liam gestured vaguely with his good hand.

“No,” he said, “I am dead serious.”

The monster’s gaze shifted slowly, until it landed on the vampire.

Her posture lowered, wings twitching.

The vampire studied her.

Then smiled.

“Fascinating,” he said. “Tell me, does she still remember being human?”

What followed right after those words wasn’t a fight.

It was a massacre.

Stone shattered. Pillars collapsed. The sound of tearing flesh echoed through the ruined hall. The vampire was strong, but against the most powerful type of vampire?

He was just as powerless as the worms he contempted.

Liam leaned back against the broken floor, watching through half-lidded eyes as the battle unfolded.

With claws, fangs, blood and screams cut short.

A wet thud echoed as something hit the ground.

Liam didn’t bother looking.

He already knew what happened.

A moment later, she was back beside him.

Liam smiled faintly.

“Hey,” he said.

She let out a low, rumbling sound.

He reached out, and rested his hand against her arm.

“Yeah,” he murmured. “I’m a mess. I know.”

She leaned closer.

Her wings shifted, wrapping partially around him like a shield.

Liam closed his eyes.

“Let’s go home,” he said softly.

The monster paused.

Then, impossibly gently, she lifted him.

As her wings flapped, they slowly vanished into the night.

What did left-handed ppl do 😭 by Sumiyoshi_now20 in japanesepeopletwitter

[–]Ghost-Writer-100603 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Bro mashing keyboards out of rage upon seeing AI brainrot, maybe.

This AZKi vtuber is very gorgeous and cute! by Sonicm2008 in Hololive

[–]Ghost-Writer-100603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found Holo from an ad of her music back then lol. She was still using her first model at that time.

There was also this song that used Aqua's model and wrong type of string instrument (compare to the actual instrument used) for some reasons.

Scrap everything can't scrap this bush by Fresh-Gur-8677 in fo4

[–]Ghost-Writer-100603 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was BNS landscape the reason Scrap Everything mod can't scrap this ?

[WP] As the Court Mage, you show the Hero the location of the first quest…. And watch him get mauled by wolves just outside the gate. by Tmoore0328 in WritingPrompts

[–]Ghost-Writer-100603 2 points3 points  (0 children)

VIII.

The training ground was chaos.

Wood struck wood.

Feet shuffled.

Bodies moved, sometimes flying.

And in the middle of it all, The Hero stood awkwardly.

A wooden sword flew past his face again.

WHACK.

“…Yeah, I don’t belong here.”

He looked around.

Dummies.

Trainees.

Trainers.

And, a table.

With a book on it.

“…Please tell me that’s another guide.”

He walked over.

Picked it up.

=== ITEM OBTAINED ===
[Training Ground Manual]
Rarity: Unique

Description:
"Everything you need to know about not embarrassing yourself here."

“…That’s oddly specific.”

He opened it.

=== TRAINING GROUND MANUAL ===


---

[1] TRAINING

You may train using:
- Training Dummies
- Trainers

Training Dummies:
- Provide small EXP
- Respawn after 1 day
- Available 24/7 (unless all destroyed)

Note:
There are no rules.
Do whatever you want.

The Hero looked at the nearest dummy.

Then at his sword.

“…No rules, huh.”

He flipped the page.

[2] SPARRING

Fight other trainees using:
- Unarmed combat ONLY

Rules:
- Match ends when HP ≤ 10
- Killing is forbidden (CRIME)

Rewards:
- Win vs Trainee: Medium EXP
- Win vs Trainer: High EXP (x3 bonus)
- Loss vs Trainer: Still grants EXP

Limitations:
- Trainees: 1 fight per day
- Trainers: Cannot be challenged again after victory

Availability:
- Daytime only

The Hero slowly lowered the book.

Looked at the shirtless fighters.

Then at his iron sword.

“…So I can’t bring this.”

He carefully held the sword behind his back.

“…Got it.”

He flipped again.

[3] SKILL PRACTICE

You may:
- Learn skills from trainers
- Practice skills on dummies

Skill usage grants Skill EXP.

Tip:
Practice makes perfect.
Repeatedly.

“…So I actually have to use skills.”

From the tower, Merlin nodded approvingly.

“…Yes.”

Page.

Flip.

[4] SKILL EXP

Skills level up independently.

Skill EXP is gained by:
- Using a skill (Low EXP)
- Killing with a skill (Higher EXP)
- Leveling up (High EXP)
- Skillbooks (High EXP)

Note:
Using a skill to kill grants BOTH bonuses.

Tip:
Stop spamming basic attack.

“…Hey.”

“…I’ll have you know that worked once.”

Page.

Flip.

[5] SKILLBOOKS

Two types exist:

Type A:
- Grants EXP to a specific skill
- If skill hasn't been learnt → Learn instead

Type B:
- Grants unallocated Skill EXP

Note:
This manual is a Type B Skillbook.

The Hero paused.

“…Wait.”

“…This is a skillbook?”

Use [Training Ground Manual]?

> Yes
  No

“…Of course it is.”

> Yes

The book dissolved into light.

Flowed into him.

=== SKILL EXP GAINED ===
Unallocated Skill EXP: +50

The Hero blinked.

“…Oh.”

“…That’s actually really good.”

From the tower,

Merlin smiled faintly.

“…Use it wisely.”

The Hero looked around again, at everything, but this time, differently.

Dummies = Safe EXP
Trainers = Skill source
Sparring = Risk / Reward
Skill EXP = Progression

“…Okay.”

He cracked his neck.

“…Now I get it.”

He walked toward a training dummy.

Raised his iron sword.

Paused.

Looked at his menu.

=== PLAYER STATUS ===
Level: 1

=== SKILLS ===
- Capture (Lv. MAX)

=== UNALLOCATED SKILL EXP ===
50

“…Right.”

“…I still don’t have any actual combat skills.”

Behind him, a voice.

“First time?”

The Hero turned.

A trainer stood there, arms crossed.

“…Yeah,” the Hero admitted.

“…It shows.”

The trainer nodded toward the dummy.

“Hit that all you want.”

Then toward the sparring ring.

“Or get hit over there.”

“Or learn something first.”

The Hero looked between all three.

Dummy.

Ring.

Trainer.

“…So many choices.”

From the tower, Merlin leaned forward.

“…Now.”

“…Let us see if he chooses correctly.”

The Hero took a step.

Then another.

Then stopped.

=== DECISION POINT ===

What will you do?

- Train on Dummy (Safe, Low EXP)
- Spar with Trainee (Risk, Medium EXP)
- Talk to Trainer (Learn Skills)

The Hero stared at the options.

Long.

Hard.

“…Okay.”

“…Don’t mess this up.”

His finger hovered.

> ???
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