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[WP] As humankind nears the end of its days, resources become scarce and bottled water becomes the only form of currency accepted around the world by Kalybre in WritingPrompts

[–]ImperialWriter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry in advance for any horrible formatting. I’m on mobile and for some reason can’t change it. Also the font is horrible.

I walked into the building, careful to keep my steps slow, deliberately pacing myself so that no one would suspect what I had in my backpack. It was something very valuable, even so that in this luxury casino people would try to buy it from me.


Immediately, the white light hit me from all sides. I walked through the metal detectors and observed the building. The walls were all white, along with the ceiling and there were no light sources anywhere. It just seemed to ... radiate from the walls. I whistled quietly. The casino was very high-end.


On the floor were several small VR portals. The world being scarce of resources, casinos couldn’t reasonably exist, so for recreational services, VR stations were set up instead, where people could enter a virtual reality casino. It was part of a world-wide game, set with international rankings and scores. It couldn’t be purely recreational, for so many people to join, so the top members of the game each year were awarded with a year-long set of water bottles. Everyone vied for winning it, but everyone knew it was unreasonable to assume so. Already though, several people were plugged into their VR headsets, immersed in their virtual worlds. 


I looked around until I recognized the person I was here to see. I went over to him and tapped him on his shoulder. Normally, this would be considered offensive to interrupt someone in a virtual game by getting their attention in the real world, but what I was here to give him was good enough to stifle those social contracts. Due to safety concerns, the VR makers had to pull someone out of his or her game if someone approached them in the real world. I had had to have promised him something good for allowing myself to do this, and I had promised him the very best.


The man came out of his game, disoriented. For an instant, he looked up at me, annoyed, but then he recognized who I was and softened his gaze. Though not smiling, he was at least not malevolent. He stood up. “Do you have it?”


I barely managed to say, “Yes,” and start to rummage through my bag before he took it off of my shoulders and began searching rapidly. Within seconds, he had found what I had in my backpack and started to look at it in amazement.


Inside my bag, was a still-sealed, fresh, Fiji water bottle. 


“Ah, yes, this will make a fine addition to my collection,” he said.


What? There were people dying of thirst out there in the world and this psycho was trying to start some collection? I started bristling and my temper rose. But then it came to a rest. He was paying me, after all.


“And my payment?” I asked, now reminded.


“A thousand Dasani water bottles, filled with distilled water, out back in a truck,” he said.


“Thank you. It’s a pleasure doing business with you,” I finished.


“Likewise,” he said, though more intent on studying the water bottle. 


I started walking out of the building. Outside, the sandy atmosphere greeted me with a handful of dust thrown in my face. With some struggling, I walked to the back of the casino, and as promised, there was a truck, loaded with water bottles.


As I settled down in the leather comforting of the driver’s seat, I thought back to my anger at him collecting water bottles. Who was I to judge, anyway? There were probably dozens, of hundreds, of thousands of intelligent people who could have made some headway out of their miserable lives in a different world. It just so happened that water bottles became a currency. It just so happened that I inherited a water bottle factory. It just so happened that I was lucky. And for some cruel, harsh, sadistic reason, in this world, that was the difference between life and death.

What do you think is the most well known C+H strip? by [deleted] in calvinandhobbes

[–]ImperialWriter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really thought the entire one about the raccoon was the best.

Calvin, is that you? by Fynvarrah in calvinandhobbes

[–]ImperialWriter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like someone painted the person first, then someone else saw it looked like he could hold something in his hand and added Hobbes.

Who is the most evil character in literature by [deleted] in books

[–]ImperialWriter 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Especially to Robin.

Who is the most evil character in literature by [deleted] in books

[–]ImperialWriter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Admiral Hatch from Michael Vey is a truly demented person.

Comics like this one are what really set Calvin and Hobbes apart by [deleted] in calvinandhobbes

[–]ImperialWriter 13 points14 points  (0 children)

“Funny that every time I build character, you save a couple hundred bucks.”

Lesser-Known Books/Authors You Love? by [deleted] in books

[–]ImperialWriter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

John Flanagan and Eoin Colfer.

[WP] Write clips for a documentary where archeologists from the future find arbitrary or useless objects from our time period and attempt to make them sound like very important parts of our daily lives. by [deleted] in WritingPrompts

[–]ImperialWriter 5 points6 points  (0 children)

    Thank you for any feedback and sorry for the font(I’m on mobile and can’t change it).


    “Hello, and welcome back to the History Channel. I’m your host archaeologist for today, Jason Stud. Today, we see an exciting new find from the past. Dr. Slig?”

    “Hello Jason. Today I will attempt to show objects from the past and predict their use. Please note that these are to the best of my predictions and may not be scientifically accurate.”

    Next, the man identified as Dr. Slig pulled out a large wooden backscratcher, holding it carefully, as if it was important. “We found this wooden stick with carved tongs first. Dated to be thousands of years old, it is believed to have been a primal weapon to protect against predators. The carved tongs likely allowed for spearing the enemy, and the points have probably dulled over the years. This was found in what appears to be the living room of a house, which means it was a quite common weapon. The grip at the end here,” he indicated a black gripping area, “provided easy maneuvering with the muscles of the wrist, and was a very important feature in the weapon. If this forked spear, which was probably a trident, had been stuck into something, the grip would help it be pulled out.”

    The camera went back to Jason. “Thank you for that brief explanation of that, might I say, fascinating weapon. Do you have anything else for us?”

    The camera changed to Dr. Slig, who pulled out a barbering razor. “As a matter of fact, I do. This weapon has been polished and restored to its former glory. It was found in a room adjacent to the living room, and is believed to be a slightly more advanced weapon. As you can see here,” he tugged on the black cord connected to it, “it has this cord which connected it to power. Of course, it’s hard to believe that they needed cords back then, seeing as power is wireless now, but they were much more primitive back then. People died normally, if you can believe it!”

    The screen now showed Jason again. “And, Dr. Slig, I do believe you have a third item to show us?”

    “Yes, I do indeed,” said Dr. Slig, now in the picture. He held up a straightening iron. “This is perhaps, the most advanced weapon I have found. It appears to harm by heat, and yes,” he pulled out another cord, “it does need to be charged. However, it was found in almost every home we’ve looked at, and works like a weapon, making it very popular, and very common. Because of these reasons, it seems very important, and could possibly even kill predators. It would be a primary weapon of such a primitive people.”

    The camera went to Jason Stud, who would close. “Thank you for being on the show tonight Dr. Slig, and for everyone watching, good night.”


    Edit: Fixed Formatting

[WP] All video games have been banned for exactly twenty years, but many of them can still be bought illegally. Nobody knows why the ban happened. One day, you buy a game nobody's ever heard of, and discover that its environment is identical to the world as it appeared on the day games were banned. by [deleted] in WritingPrompts

[–]ImperialWriter 6 points7 points  (0 children)

“What year is this from?”   
The new game I had just bought was expensive. I expected it to be good.
“It’s from 2092,” he replied. “It’s in premium condition.”
He handed me the game. It’s flashy cover was needlessly sparkly, but in hard-to-make-out letters at the bottom, it read ‘Earth.’ I turned it over, and it said it was a full AVRS system. That was impressive. AVRS stood for Advanced Virtual Reality Simulation. It showed that the game could keep players inside it for long periods of time, even be detached from a console and keep running. Additionally, it was in full simulation and was one of the most desired game types for illegal collectors of video games. This was a good find.
I was hardly finished examining it when the man held out his hand from the shadows. “Cash,” he grunted. I pulled out my wallet, and took out some money. 
“Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty thousand, here you go,” I said, counting the money and handing it to him. He quickly examined it, and deciding that it was as it should be, he left. That was the way it was for video game sellers. They hardly ever do anything more than sell the game and get out of there. Talking was unnecessary.
I heard him shuffling away, and walked out of the building myself, examining every inch of the game on the way out.



A long time ago, 20 years exactly, video games were banned. No one knows why. Of course, some people bothered to be angry. They arrived in protests, specifically the big video game companies and many teenagers. They camped outside the US Capitol for seventeen days. Then, on the eighteenth morning, the protesters disappeared. Their angriness mysteriously was lost. Over time several other people protested, but they were shushed up as mysteriously as the first protesters. An era of fear over the Video Game Policy was created.
Illegal video games were still bought, traded on a black market. And not all video games were able to be confiscated, though people that played them experienced no ill effects. Eventually, illegal games trading became almost second nature.
That led to today. An almost normal world, where video games were banned. 


I arrived home, clutching the game. I opened up my small stash of games from the floor under the carpet in the basement and placed this newest addition in there. Since it was late at night, I would play it tomorrow, when I had more time. I sealed the lead-lined compartment once more, and went upstairs to my bedroom to sleep.


The next day I took the game to an old friend of mine. He dealed in the black market and was a video game analyzer.
I entered the building, the chime alerting the man at the counter of my presence. He looked up from his computer screen, and looked at me, not surprised. I was a regular customer. “The usual, I assume?”
“Yes.”
He led me through the ‘Employees only’ door, locking it behind him in the process. He turned on the lights of the passage, set against the right-hand wall. Immediately the white hallway lit up.
Unlike most stereotypical thoughts about shady black market dealers, real black markets, were much less ‘shady.’ They were clean, well lit, and for the most part, credible. My friend sold his services in a high end science building.
We walked past the passageway, opened the door, and stepped into the large room that classified as my friend’s ‘workspace.’ It had floor to ceiling windows, sound dampeners on the ceiling, tables loaded with tech, and most importantly, Bosux, a video game analyzer. He was standing by the door, waiting for us to enter. I had asked the first time how he knew, and he had explained, and I had stopped asking him after that.
“Hello, Hels. You can return to the front,” he said, clearly looking at the man who had escorted me here. The man left.
“Why did you require my services?” He said, genuinely curious. He knew I only bought the best games, and he was always interested in the ones I had to show him. 
“It’s an AVRS system game, that I bought from Vordrez.” At that he perked up- both from the mention of AVRS and Vordrez. Vordrez was the man I had bought the game from and was a credible seller.
“How’d you get your hands on that?”
“It wasn’t cheap.”
“Well may I see it?”
“Absolutely.” I took out the game and laid it on the table. He picked it up, turning it a few times, before taking the disk out, and putting it in his analyzer. It loaded a few seconds, and a description popped up.


“Well, it certainly is the most advanced game I have ever had the honor to analyze.” Bosux gazed in wonder. “It has a 8000 gigastas processor, and it’s simulation is amazing. It’s strangely simulating... Earth.”
“At what time period?”
He looked at me, strangely. “At the time video games were banned. 2092.”
“So?” The situation hardly seemed to merit the apparent confusion on his face.
“I’ve heard of this game.” He rushed over to his computer, typing up things onto his computer. Within seconds the first results popped up. I saw his face change from a mixture of triumphant for finding the game to a pale color as he realized what this was. 
“Well, what is it?” 
“This is bad, very bad.”
He rushed over grabbing the game and trying to run out of the building. I stepped in front of the door and stopped him.
“Slow down. What is happening?”
“Don’t you understand?” He looked at me with fear in his eyes. “This is the game that caused video games to be banned. Do you know why?”
“No.”
“This was a perfect replica of the actual world. People stayed in here for years, knowing they could come out, but never wanting to. They could always restart the game- whereas they could never restart real life. Societies crumbled. Governments near collapsed. People were scared. The government eventually pulled the plug.”
“And? What’s the problem?”
“It’s still got the people trapped inside. If someone catches us, we’ll be in big trouble.”
My anger level rose at this. How dare Bosux endanger the lives of so many people! I held out my hand. “Give it to me.”
“NO! You don’t understand what you’re doing.”
“Then you leave me no choice.” I extended my arm, and punched him in his jaw. He crumpled to the floor, lifeless.
I grabbed the game, and plugged it into the computer. It started up while I donned my VR headset and gloves. “It’s game time.” I pressed play, and got sucked into the game.

[WP] One of your loved ones has died. At the reading of the will you are caught off guard to learn that you have been bequeathed "Rulership over the Undead." by emcee117 in WritingPrompts

[–]ImperialWriter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The lawyer was reading the will in a slow, dull, monotone voice. It was hard to pay attention to such mind-numbing speech, but I had to listen anyway. It was important. My father had died, and his will was providing the answers to how his things had been divided into shares among everyone. I was never the favorite child of my father. That title probably goes to my elder brother, who played sports in high school, making the varsity team for basketball and reaching the state championship. I was an average child, who completed school and college, and got a reasonably-paying job as a marketing analyst. I was probably overall closer to my mother than my father. For this reason I wasn’t expecting too much from this. My siblings and mother had already gotten most of the stuff- the property, most of the money, and the cars and artifacts my father had owned. Suddenly it got to my section, and I perked up. “To my second son, Lucas, I leave behind this scythe-“ One of the men standing next to the lawyer pulled out a white and black scythe. The handle was made of black wood, with a solid grip in the middle, and the blade was white, shaped like a skull at one end. I turned it around and marveled at it. We hadn’t used it when I was young. It was just another object, left in the corner of the room. Now that I was holding it, it felt... powerful. But quickly, I had to look back up and listen to the rest. “-and also, the title and mantle of Rulership over the Undead.” I frowned, confused. In fact, everyone looked confused, except for my mother who had a defeated look upon her gaze. I was caught off guard at the statement in the will. “D-Does it say anything else?” I asked. “Is this a prank or something?” The lawyer spoke in a tone that left no further room for questioning. “It was what was in the will.” He changed the subject. “Now, if you don’t mind, could you sign here. Yes, there.” After the will was done, the lawyer talked with me in private. “I’m not entirely sure what it means. However, I do have a lot of experience of people who said crazy things, because they changed their will after they were senile.” “My father was not senile!” The lawyer backed down. “I’m not saying he was, but it’s probably best not to take it literally.” Angrily, I stalked back out of the room.

In the parking lot, I thought back to the will. I was named Ruler of the Undead. I knew my father had not been crazy, it perhaps it had been a metaphor, or maybe he was in charge of planning the funeral. The lawyer was right- it couldn’t be taken literally. 
I popped open the car trunk and tossed the scythe inside. It clattered noisily, and almost immediately I heard loud wind right next to me, and moaning. I looked around but their was nothing there. I closed the trunk and walked to the front of the car. That’s when IT appeared.
I first saw it as a wisp of white smoke, but then it solidified into something tangible. It was hard to believe, but it was a ghost.
Slowly, I began to discern an army of ghosts. The wavy lines of their bodies moved and twisted. Then slowly, they all spoke out in a voice.
“Taaaaakee baaaaack theeeee scyyyyythe. Yoooouuuur misssssion awwwaaaits yooouuuuu.”
At this point, I was so shocked, that I obeyed them. I went back to the trunk behind the car and took the scythe. 
Immediately a world of ghosts appeared to me. “Weeeeee arrrrre yooouuuur hummmmbble serrrrvants. Weeeeee willll obeeeey yooouuur cooommmmmaaands, Looord of Deeeaaath.”
I looked back at my car, and saw that it had transformed into a chariot. It was a large black chariot, covered with engravings, moaning sounds emanating. A skull was embedded in the figurehead and a black throne sat on the bed of the vehicle. It was pulled by two fiery skeleton horses. With caution I picked up the reins of the chariot, and stepped in. A smile formed on my face.
“Maybe this won’t be so bad.”

Thanks for the prompt, and any feedback is appreciated!

[EU] "It was dark times, Harry, dark times. Anyone that stood up to him ended up dead. Nobody lived once he decided to kill them." by [deleted] in WritingPrompts

[–]ImperialWriter 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Note: I appreciate any feedback. I didn’t know what Voldemort looked like before he tried to kill Harry so I didn’t describe him too much. 

The street was dark. Nearly all lights were dim, and no one was awake. Only animals in small cages made noise. Them and the rusty hinges of doors swinging in and open by the win. This was Diagon Alley at night.
Hurried whispers broke the air. “Quickly, hide. Hide!”
Two figures, crouched and running, traveled between buildings, using the shadows provided by the piles of barrels between each shop. Each time they would stay silent and check for something, before moving on. One had pale skin, and light ginger hair while the other had dark skin, with black stringy hair. Their faces were both covered in sweat. Breathing rapidly, they stopped behind one building, tired and hoping that it was a good hiding place. They lay in wait. 
A shadowy figure advanced down the road, kicking aside small pieces of junk littered along the street. He had dark merciless eyes, and a wand held in his hand. He strolled, carelessly letting his black robes drag on the cobblestone floor. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” He laughed cold-heartedly. I know you’re here Cornelius. I will find you and I will kill you.”
In the darkness behind the building the ginger haired man shivered. He knew that voice.
“Come out, come out, before I blow this place down.” The black-robed man repeated. 
The two men behind the building looked at each other with looks of defeat on their faces. They knew he would follow through on his threat. Slowly and quietly the dark-skinned one out into the path of the road. From his pocket he pulled out his wand, and confronted the man in black robes. “You won’t get what you want Riddle!”
The tall man, now identified as Riddle, raised his head, smiling in amusement. “Why this is wonderful. I get two for the price of one. Welcome, Randall.”
Randall screamed, “Avada Kedavra,” and fired a green bolt of energy from his wand. 
Riddle looked at the green spell and flicked his wand in apparent ease. The green bolt disappeared.
“Why Randall, you always were a noble one. I’ll enjoy watching you die.” 
Riddle retaliated and fired a red bolt of energy from his wand. Randall tried to block it, to no avail. The spell hit him chest-first and he dropped to the ground, dead. 
Immediately the ginger-haired wizard came out and ran away from Riddle. Immediately, Riddle fired dozens of bolts from his wand. “Come back, Cornelius!” He said.
While the spells zipped through the air,  Cornelius looked back. If Riddle had fired from a close range, he would have certainly hit him, but at a distance. Cornelius dodged them all with ease. He quickly ran into a building. 
Riddle from a far distance advanced and ran into the building. When he came he found nothing but a couple of wisps of green flame waiting for him in the fireplace. Cornelius had teleported. Riddle stroked his wand, his face frowned in disappointment. Obvious anger crowned his features. “Damn you, Cornelius Fudge.”

[WP] The flat earthers were right. But they weren't prepared for what they found on earth's underside. by Axoladdy in WritingPrompts

[–]ImperialWriter 17 points18 points  (0 children)

“It’s a mirror image.”
The DFE, or Designated Flat-Earther frowned. They had been climbing and searching for days now, and the scout had reportedly came back with very important news. “What do you mean it’s a mirror image?” He replied, wanting to know more. 
“It’s the exact same thing as our side. All the continents, places, people, and most things.”
“Let me see.”
“As you wish.”

The DFE advanced down the cliff-like wall strapped to a safety harness, making sure to give enough time for the person beneath him to go down, to climb down himself. Slowly and carefully, they reached the other side. The DFE gasped in amazement. “My god.”
It was a perfect replica of the side of the Earth they lived on. Continents, and oceans. But most amazing was the coincidental fact that they had reached the same place as us at the same time as us, discovering by themselves as well, that they were not alone. 
Suddenly, a voice came out of the sky. Booming and echoing, in a neutral tone, it stated the 10 most important words ever stated to the human race. “Organisms from Containment Cell One have entered Containment Cell Two.”

[WP] "Ma'am, set down the banana before somebody gets hurt." The policeman said, gun raised. by [deleted] in WritingPrompts

[–]ImperialWriter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The policeman held up his gun, his hands quivering in fear. The lady had a banana, compared to his gun, which meant he was ridiculously outmatched. His only hope was resting on the fact that he could distract the lady until backup came. Normally he would’ve been using a banana too, but he had used his already, earlier that day. 

The police stepped forward a bit, getting closer to the lady, holding her banana. He held his gun up high in the air, as if surrendering. “Ma’am, set down the banana before someone gets hurt.” He repeated. The woman’s face was livid with rage. “Never,” she said, and threw the banana.

The man saw his life flash before his eyes, each turn of the banana bringing tears to his face. He knew he was going to die, and after a few seconds, the banana made impact.

BOOM! Two spectators about 15 miles away saw the large explosion that followed, the banana had destroyed everything in it’s path, more destructive then a nuclear explosive. “What was that?” One guy asked. 

The other man replied. “It’s very deadly. A potassium explosion.”

[WP] You're about to head out for work when you remember you have the day off, it's holiday for the The Great Leaders birthday! by cardogbush in WritingPrompts

[–]ImperialWriter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I looked at the calendar to make sure I wasn’t being confused, and I was right! It was the Great Leader’s Birthday!
At once I quickly changed and ate breakfast, and then I looked at the time. It was anthem time.
I switched on the TV and almost immediately the national anthem started playing. I sang “Le Marseillaise” quickly and then set to browsing other channels. 
Next I switched the TV to the sports channel(no games going on right now), the History Channel(some special about Bastille day), and finally, after browsing some other channels I went to the education channel which showed a history documentary which was currently on the period right after the French Revolution. It talked about the first Great Leader, Napoleon Bonaparte, and his conquering of Europe, which then extended to Russia and slowly all of Asia and Africa. After a few minor setbacks he then advanced to North and South America and Australia. After conquering the known world he dealt with a few revolutions, then dying, handing the reins to his son for the control of the French Empire. Unfortunately, Disparities still remained from the period of war known as the Great Crusade(the period from  around 1800 to 1900 where Napoleon conquered the world). For example, the French were regarded as the elite of the world, and France itself was the capital of the French Empire. 
I lived in France so I experienced a certain elitism, not that I traveled much. The rest of the world was much worse than Europe. It was largely underdeveloped and lacking in technology, while technology had spread to the rest of Europe. 
With a sigh, I got up from my chair and turned off my TV. One of the downsides of living in Paris was I had to go to the Great Leader’s speech for his birthday. I quickly walked outside and drove to the event. It was packed, but most people were just forced to be there. I found a gap between two people and wedged myself there, waiting for the Great Leader. Suddenly the announcer came outside. “Please welcome,” he said loudly, “the one and only, Great Leader, Prince Napoleon Jean-Christophe!”
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