The Hugoverse

[WP] You recently became a God. You're trying to get used to being omnipotent. It's not going very well. [ Link to post .] "Oh." Anderson Anderson blinked. Before he blinked he stood in the restroom of Bonanza Steakhouse, his favorite restaurant, washing his hands and looking forward to a meal. After he blinked, Anderson stood in the restroom of Bonanza Steakhouse staring at his reflection. He left the restroom, then left the restaurant. He walked through the parking lot and continued walking, leaving his car behind.  He strolled through the city, his eyes focused on the sidewalk ahead of him. After a block, a wrinkled, silver-haired woman stepped out of an antique shop and fell into pace alongside him. Despite her obvious age,  she kept up with him, without added support from a walker or cane. On the next block, Anderson acknowledged the old woman.  "How?" he asked. His head remained trained on the path ahead, but he knew the woman would answer him....

[WP] You have lived on earth your whole life. One morning, you wake up in the center of a modestly sized crater, as you look about you see fields of violet-tinted grass, a faint red sun in the sky overhead, and two moons in *much* closer orbit than our own. [ Link to post .] Lupe Villalobos standing around in a crater would not answer any questions. She reached up one of the sides gripping the violet grass around the upper rim of the hole. The texture of the violet grass felt the same as the green grass on Earth. The girl's coppery hair shimmered under the moonlight that she was making a point to ignore. She scanned the large field, turning slowly and staring out along the grassy plain.  "Whoaaaaa," Lupe whispered to herself. Despite the situation, she marveled at the beauty of wherever she was. The sight encouraged her to face the two moons she purposely kept at her back. She turned around and found that she could still feel surprised.  "Hi." Underneath...

[CW] A short story with a plot twist using the letter "o" exactly 15 times. [ Link to post .] "Fredericks!" the guard yelled at the cell's inhabitants. A tall, plump man walked near the bars, his steps echoed in the cell. "That's me," Lenny Fredericks said. The guard let him pass.  "Lawyer's here, this way." The guard grabbed  Lenny's arm and guided him through the maze of walls that made up the station. He sat Lenny at a table facing a brunette woman in a black suit.  "Mr. Fredericks, I'm the lawyer handling this case. My name is Erica Quintanilla." The lawyer presented her hand, and Lenny accepted it with an eager shake.   "Nice'ta meet'cha." Lenny said. After they disengaged their handshake, Erica placed Lenny's file between them, then started her interview while scanning the sheets.  "Mr. Fredericks,-" she began. "Call me Lenny," Lenny suggested. She return...

[WP] Survivors of the apocalypse are still fighting for their lives; Whataburger seems to be doing alright though. [ Link to post .] "And, why do you want to work at Whataburger?" Albert Guajardo, General Manager, asked the prospective employee, Rigo Reyes, while trying to size him up. The young man sat in the booth across from Albert, wearing his best protective gear. A set of high-school football pads, and heavily wrapped arms. His cracked football helmet rested on the table.  "My girl's pregnant. I can't help rebuild humanity if I can't provide for them," Rigo said. It was not true, but it would be if he got the position. He did not have a girlfriend at the moment, but no Whataburger employee suffered loneliness for long. Even the perimeter guards that kept zombies out of the restaurant got paid enough food to support a family of four.  "Can you start now?" Albert asked. Rigo nodded eagerly, but Albert explained the situation anyway. ...

[WP] Millennia ago a witch cursed your family with bad luck for 1000 generations. You are a child of the 1001st generation and the universe is trying to compensate for your ancestors' misfortune. "... and here's your room." Mrs. Garza, a foster mom with short, dark hair, finished giving Victor the grand tour. She smiled down at the eight-year-old child. "Any questions?" Victor shook his head without taking his eyes off the room; the disturbed air rustled his fluffy blond hair. The walls were bare white, but one corner held a large wooden desk equipped with a top of the line computer. A 50" TV hung on the wall in front of the bed. He looked up meeting  Mrs. Garza's dark brown eyes for the first time.  "And I don't gotta share??" he asked. Mrz. Garza patted his hair down.  "All yours."  "Whoooooooaaa." The boy ran inside the sparse room and leaped on the bed. He giggled while laying flat on the mattress and bo...

[CW] Tell a story that's only told through patch notes. [ Link to post .] AlterNet 1.0: Commercial Release       The AlterNet streams your consciousness from your body to a shell in an alternate universe. The AlterNet game world is an Earth populated by nanos, tiny programmable machines that can learn to be more efficient. Your AlterNet body is composed of a swarm of nanos that relay sensory feedback. You can touch, feel, and perform magic in the AlterNet!        Choose from 25 different races, and classes to customize your character the way you want. Endgame character customization and advancement exists in the form of the OverSoul system. Completing an OverSoul legendary quest will allow you to learn special abilities from one of nine races.       The races include: Human, Orc, Troll, Goblin, Ogre, Gnome, Elf, Dwarf, Slime, Sappons(Frog humanoid), Naga, Mermaid, Angel, Demon, Fuan, Flora(Plant humanoid), Fairies, Min...

[OT] Sunday Free Write [ Link to post .] Previously on Dirge & Dread: Dirge began her search for her own Bard instrument and ran into a Zero with a chip on her shoulder. This week Dread starts her search for her beasts.  *** Dread wandered through the bazaar searching for an animal vendor. She asked at several stalls, but each question was met with a shrug and an offer to sell her something else. After wandering and browsing the market for hours, Dread felt her stomach growl. She changed her questioning to ask about food and a friendly vendor pointed her to a run down hole in the wall named "Immovable".  Dread enjoyed a private smile when she found the establishment. Immovable reminded her of every other disreputable, gang-run, pit of trouble she found in almost every universe. She heard a cheering roar from the people inside and dashed in to investigate the commotion. A giant crowd of patrons surrounded a long, rectangular white surface in the floor of the dine...

[WP] You are the greatest villain in the world. When you come face to face with your only rival, he says, “Do you want to grab a coffee before we start? I’ve haven’t eaten all day.” [ Link to post .] "I'm so glad you said something, I started late today too," The Shade said. He patted the heavy, dark leather coat over his stomach, then leaned closer to whisper at SunKnight. "Kayla's teeth are coming in, and Lucille's out of town for that thing." He shrugged, then pulled off his black, featureless hood. "I needed an extra 40 winks. Let's do a lunch, meet me at the pizzeria in 20." Keith Slinny, the man under The Shade's mask checked his watch. The rest of his black costume dissipated from his body; black smoke wafted from him like steam escaping a body in winter. "At this point, we'll end up putting it off until tomorrow so I need to book the babysitter now." "The wedding's tomorrow, remember? Let's take t...

[WP] You Are Lord Death. After Eons Of Work, You Decide To Take A Vacation, And Let Your Assistant Take Your Spot In Your Absence. [ Link to post .] "Here you go, Mr. Grimm. Penthouse Suite." The fair-haired desk clerk in a red blazer presented Joe Grimm with a white key-card, then gestured to the young bellhop eager to earn a tip. "Greg will show you the way." Joe nodded, then followed after the young man whom already stepped into the elevator carrying Joe's single black duffle bag.  "Are you here for the festival?" Greg tried to fill the quiet ride to the top floor. Joe shook his head.  "Not especially. It might be fun to watch from my room, but I plan to relax and enjoy my vacation. No work for me," he smiled.  "Work? At a festival?" Greg's brown eyes clouded with confusion, but then it seemed as if someone turned on a light in his brain.  "OH!" He stepped closer and whispered. "Are you an entertainer?...

[WP]: ”Well, this may shock you,” your patient says. You don’t expect to be shocked, people come to you with the strangest ailments. He reaches to touch the fake plant on your desk. It withers and dies. [ Link to post .] "So, that's why I'm here. Can you help me?" the patient, Arnold Millwort, asked the doctor. After killing the fake plant he wrapped his arms around himself as if frightened of burly orderlies bursting through the door to lock him away for the rest of his life. Doctor Ellis looked from the withered plastic plant to Arnold several times. Her mouth hung slack, her green eyes grew wide with disbelief. Without taking her eyes off of Arnold her hand pushed the intercom button. "Grace, can you step in here for a second please?" the doctor asked. Arnold heard the door open behind him, though his fear and unease kept him facing the doctor. He stiffened as he felt someone brush by him to get to the desk. It was a young girl with short blond hair...

[WP] You have a shoulder angel and a shoulder devil. This is somewhat unusual, but what makes it worse is that everyone else can see and talk to them. [ Link to post .] "I have an appointment with Mr. Johnston," Michael explained his presence to the short-haired secretary. He stood in front of her desk wearing his nicest suit, and his light brown hair combed as neatly as he could manage it.  "If you take a seat, he'll be right with you," she said as she pointed toward the row of colorful, plastic stiff back chairs on the other side of a small coffee table. Michael nodded, then sat in a red chair. He grabbed one of the dozens of Acting magazines spread on the coffee table. He mumbled to himself while he flipped through the magazine. "This is a bad idea," he said. Then he felt the familiar weight of a tiny angel on his right shoulder. Righty wasted no time in encouraging Michael. "That's just fear talking. This is a great opportunity, i...