dreadedgrin

dreadedgrin t1_je8l621 wrote

Reply to [WP] The great hall is stained with the blood of the battle, the king is dead and the throne is empty. The kingdoms are left without a ruler, the castle is left without its inhabitants. It could all be mine if I just took a seat. by WriterNoMotivation

Where once great kingdoms stood there was left only ruin. Consumed by their greed and lust for power they had one and all been destroyed in the war. Gone were the nobility and the great houses. Gone were the castes. Whoever had survived of the great families were scattered to the winds and the ends of the earth. All men had been made equal- not a single name was greater than any other.

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And it was in the shadow of the wastes that an idea took root within my mind. What if it were MY family, MY name that were cherished and revered? If I could say I had even an ounce of noble blood flowing through my veins, I could lay claim to the castle and become its steward. And if no one came to challenge me it would eventually become mine. There were few who could challange me, and possibly even fewer that cared.

And so, my kingdom began with a single lie. Or rather, a truth of my own creation. From that moment forward, I was of noble blood. I forsook my family and the name given to me by my father. I forsook my inheritance. And most of all, I forsook my heritage- the life of a peasant.

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But a single castle does not a kingdom make. I had work ahead of me if I were to become a king. I needed land and servants. I needed an army of my own. Fortunately, my second lie would take care of that...

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dreadedgrin t1_iuk2n5w wrote

Reply to [WP] As it turns out a few years ago you were killed in your sleep and replaced with an alien parasite. Considering you have not exhibited anything unusual all this time this news came as a shock to all, most of all yourself by PotentialSmell

“Right there. See that?” Dr Robins marked a wide circle around the x-ray image of Gene’s skull.

“Yeah, the big splotchy spot where my brain is”

“No. The spot where your brain should be”

“Oh.”

“Fascinating. Absolutely incredible.” The doctor stood there for a moment, admiring the work of the radiographer. She didn’t seem to notice how the news had troubled Gene, and she didn’t think much of the following silence, which only made things worse.

“So…I’m dead then?”

“Well yes… erhm. No. I don’t know. I wouldn’t call you ALIVE per se.”

Gene wasn’t sure what to make of it. He could probably, eventually, accept the fact that he was dead. He was just worried about how he would break the news to his Mom. ‘She’d die of grief!’ He thought to himself. He wondered about who would plan the funerals if they were both dead.

“Anyway, come back Tuesday. I want to run more tests.”

Gene asked the Doctor about the tests and whether they would hurt, but she was so busy in her work that she didn’t answer him. She just kept on muttering words like ‘extraordinary’ and ‘stunning’ . Eventually Gene just saw himself out of the office.

Gene was afraid. He was afraid of the tests, and of the parasite, and of the tests again, and of what his family would think of him. Dead. The nerve of him to die so early. Couldn’t even wait his turn. Couldn’t even bother to get married first. Dead. Most of all of the things he was afraid of was Dr. Robin, and of the horrible horrible Tuesday of his next appointment.

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dreadedgrin t1_itvqgvb wrote

Reply to TIL that France and Spain "went to war" over a few stop signs in the 1970s and 1980s when France built two new roads that crossed a Spanish road and installed new stop signs which Spanish citizens continually removed over and over again for years. This became known as the "War of the Stop Signs". by AxelNotRose

TL;DR :

Spain eventually just built a bridge over the French road so that Spanish people didn’t have to stop.

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