Fascinating... I suppose emulators themselves aren't the issue. The real issue is where you get the games from.

Which... kind of makes getting an emulator for the Gamecube and Wii a bit odd, since the only way you could get the games is with... Gamecube or Wii discs.

Thank you! I have... no idea where I got the idea of a body-snatching being who's been around for centuries, but it sure did pop into my head, and I sure did have a fun time writing it! If I get the chance, maybe I'll write other... similar characters.

...I did write more for this story. Or did you mean more with this character?

Haha... this is making my skin crawl. Nice job!

"Well, here's my home. Make yourself comfortable. Or don't, I'm not your dad."

"Uh... thanks." The inside of the hut was comfier that you'd expect from a graveyard keeper's hut. I'd made sure it had plenty of comfortable things long before I got this old, and... I'd had a long time to gather stuff. "Nice place you got here."

"And I intend to keep it that way." I filled up and turned on the kettle, then sat down in one of my most comfortable chairs after moving it near Amanda. "That'll be a bit, unfortunately. But, we're up, so we might as well keep ourselves occupied until then."

"I'm not intruding on anything, right?"

"Course not. I invited you anyway." I put up my feet. "Now, if I may ask... who were your family? I don't remember seeing you before, so I don't imagine they were buried here."

"Uh, no. They're buried in... over by Westdam." I nodded, knowing full well that most of Westdam's corpses got redirected here.

"So... grandparents. Mom and dad. And then... did you have any siblings?" Amanda frowned.

"Do we have to talk about this? It's kind of not your business."

"I'm a mortician, it's my business to know about dead people. Don't wanna say, don't gotta." Amanda seemed to consider. If she didn't, it would be a little suspicious...

"I guess I can. It was... a really bad car crash a few months ago. They said it was a miracle I survived." She quickly changed the subject. "What about you?" I hadn't heard of any big car crashes recently, let alone ones that involved an entire family. Strike two. I shrugged.

"Don't got no family. Never had kids or a wife or whatever. Parents... well, I think my age says enough about them."

"Ah. Makes sense."

"Okay, one more question to satisfy an old man's curiosity."

"I really think that-"

"The water will be ready in two minutes. I'm just curious why you went to her grave."

"Huh?" I stood up, stretching before bending back over with a small grunt. Gosh that hurt.

"It's just a little strange, is all. Kid was... couldn't have been in fifth grade yet. You seem a little older than that, and it doesn't sound like you're related. But... then, if you were her teacher, I feel like you would have visited way earlier."

"Uh, no. I'm definitely not a teacher." I looked at her inquisitively.

"So... why did you head to her grave?" Amanda shifted uncomfortably, shrugging a bit.

"I mean... I just kinda did, I guess? Wasn't able to make the funeral, and I only now just got time."

"Huh. Ah... hmm. What was her name?"

"Umm... Ann... Annie?" Annabel. That was strike three for her. I couldn't deny that I was excited to be out of here after so long.

"Wasn't the funeral months ago...?" Amanda abruptly stood up.

"Look, I'm really sorry. I appreciate your generosity, but I really have to go." I grabbed her arm.

"Well, I'm sorry too." She tried to pull away, but my grip was deceptively strong.

"What?"

"Annabel told me you killed her. Rather nasty way too. Why would you strangle a kid?"

"I would never!"

"I saw the body, Amanda. I read the autopsy. No chemicals, but plenty of bruises on the neck."

"I'm... I'm pretty sure you need more sleep."

"I think you need to sleep. For much, much longer." I tapped her head, and Amanda slumped over. I grinned, my body dissolving as Amanda fell to the floor. For a few moments, there was just Amanda there.

After a bit, she got up, shaking her head a bit and grinning.

"This is much better," I said. "It's been forever since I got a new body. And such a young one too! I forgot how nice it is to be able to stretch properly!" I stood up, testing out my new body. She wasn't the first female I'd been in my line of work, but the first in a while. "Well... time to let Annabel know that she has been avenged. Maybe she'll stick around for a bit afterwards. I know I plan to."

I smiled to myself, tapping my shovel on the ground. The woman jumped up, startled, and spun around to face me. I tipped my cap slightly.

"Evening, miss. Little late to be out here, don't you think?" She breathed out a sigh of relief, turning towards me fully.

"Hah. Sorry, you startled me."

"No, my bad. I snuck up on you." I walked next to her, staring down at the grave. "Shame what happened to her. To go so young."

"It is, isn't it?" I nodded.

"Here, are you busy?" I thought for a second, then chuckled to myself. "Of course not. You're in a cemetery in the dead of night." I motioned with my hand. "Come on, I'll put on some hot chocolate."

"Uh, no, I think I'll-"

"Relax. We won't be long. Been a long time since anyone came to visit." She huffed.

"Like you said, though, it's really late."

"Indulge an old man, won't you?" The woman tilted her head. There wasn't a worst case scenario she could see. The old man, me, must be nearing 75, 80 years old.

"Fine. But you owe me one."

"Which is why I'm treating you to a fine cup of hot chocolate." We took our walk in near silence back to the hut I'd constructed over my... how many years of service was it, now? 300? 330? I used my shovel as a walking stick as I began my... interrogation, as I suppose it was.

"Why are you even up so late?" I glanced back at my companion, who'd been hanging a bit behind me.

"The ghosts keep me up sometimes. There's lots of them around, you know." Apparently satisfied in her assumption I was a bit off my rocker, the woman sped up to walk next to me. "If I may, who's grave was that you were visiting?"

"Her? I mean... I used to know her. It really is a shame she died the way she did."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Was it an unusual death?" The woman paused.

"Just... a kid being stupid, I think." She was hiding something, then. "Probably thought a few cleaning chemicals were colorful drinks." I nodded, hiding my suspicion better than she did, before waving my hand through the air.

"Never mind all that. What's your name? Why visit so late at night? How's your family?"

"I'm Amanda."

"Roy." Amanda nodded.

"My family is... gone, unfortunately. And I was busy all day, so I couldn't come until now." I snorted.

"Weird to be working until... what is it? 2, 3 AM?"

"You're up." I waved my hand in the air.

"I told you already, the ghosts kept me up! Besides, I work here! I'm allowed to be up whenever I want."

"Sure you are."

"Ah, here we are. Just let me... here's the darn key." I unlocked the door, walking in as Amanda followed me.

I never really liked this part of the job, but I suppose it had to be done.

I watch over a cemetery. I keep the graves neat, plant some flowers around lonely graves, and talk to the ghosts. Every good cemetery has ghosts. Sure, there's the odd person with unfinished business, and I'll help them out if I can. Sometimes they just need to sort things out by themselves before they move on, though.

But no, that wasn't most ghosts. Most of the ghosts in my cemetery just... weren't interested in moving on just yet. They were bored and wanted to wander around. I was always happy to chat with them. It was fascinating hearing their stories and such. Most ghosts can interact with things to a very limited degree, so I can even play catch with some of the younger ghosts.

One of those younger ghosts, actually... When her body had come in, I hadn't questioned it. Kids die... more than I like, but accidents happen. I was a little surprised when she became a ghost, and even more so when she seemed unable to move on. Essentially, ghosts are tied to this world by desires. Once all their desires are done, they can move on to their afterlives... whenever they want.

This kid, who didn't have a clue what puberty even was, couldn't move on. Even more curiously, she didn't have a clue why she could be stuck here. A mystery, to be sure, and one that I supposed I'd be willing to keep an eye out for. Maybe something would happen with her gravesite. It wouldn't be the first time.

...Except then someone did visit.

I'd been at the funeral. I make a point to be at every funeral for everybody who's going to be buried at my cemetery. It gives me an idea of friends, family, that sort of things. I like to give some trinkets or gift cards to the families of the deceased. Perhaps it's my conscious affecting me.

This woman wasn't someone I recognized. She walked in quickly, stealthily, quietly. She thought nobody noticed her, but... it's hard to hide from ghosts in a cemetery. Especially if you head straight to the grave of the person you killed. At least, according to the young girl.

She didn't look half bad, admittedly. It was about time something like this happened. I'd been waiting long enough for someone to show up that I'd feel no guilt towards.

My phone started buzzing again. Finally, I was waiting for something to do. I picked up the phone, pushing the "accept call" button despite not recognizing the number.

"Hello?"

"Is this... uh, Sam?"

"You can call me Sam."

"Call you Sam?"

"I don't want my name stolen, no offense."

"Not all fairies are like that."

"Ah, didn't realize you were one. Apologies."

"No, no, I get it."

"Anyway, Mrs...?"

"I'll respond in kind: you can call me Sylva."

"Sylva, then. What do you need? You called the number."

"Yeah. You know how fairies can't touch iron?"

"Because it burns, yeah. Silver has similar issues for some other supernatural folk."

"Exactly. And I have a whole bunch of cooking utensils I got as a gift that have enough iron in them to be a problem."

"Oh, I see." I grabbed a nearby notepad and pencil, and started writing. "So you need me to buy some non-iron utensils, and come pick up the old ones."

"Yeah."

"Do you have any specific things you need? Certain magical wards, or some sort of crystals or... something?"

"Nope. Just not-iron."

"Okay. What do you need exactly?"

"I need five forks, spoons, and knives. And then... two of those big pots for soup. I also want to try my hand at potions, so if you could find a cauldron and a big spoon that'd be great."

"Absolutely! That all?"

"Yep. Thanks."

"No problem! Where should I drop them off?"

"I'll meet you at that... is it the Flower Cafe?"

"Yep, I've been there. That it?"

"Think so."

"Awesome! See you soon!" I hung up, stood up, and stretched. I liked helping people with whatever it was they needed. People are willing to pay for help, and I'm available, so... why not? It makes me cash, and friends. What's not to love?

You can still write your thing! Who cares if I wrote the same idea. Great minds think alike!

Thanks!

The thing is that the eyes turn red for "evil" things, yellow for "good" things. But... there's very little that's objectively good or bad. The same fire that can warm your heart can burn your body. Even fighting can be for good or bad reasons, as I said. I just figured that the eye color thing ignores context and just has an effective list of "good things vs. bad things."

That is the fun part about writing prompts. You can take them in any direction you wish.

I'd had a suspicion ever since she got home. She was skittish and didn't want to look me in the eyes, meaning something must have gone bad at school. I wasn't exactly sure what, but it wasn't something good. Fortunately, like most kids her age, she had one big weakness.

Sweets.

I mean, to be fair, I had the same weakness. I had a massive sweet tooth. But still, it's very hard to resist the allure of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. I could hear her pacing in the other room, clearly smelling the cookies as I left them to cool.

"Amanda, are you there?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I am!"

"Do you want a cookie?"

"Yes please!" I put two cookies on a plate, thought for a second, then put two more on. What can I say, I like cookies too. I walked out to the living room, sitting on the couch. Amanda came in after a second, averting her gaze. Well... that spoke volumes.

"Hey, you need a hug?"

"Mmm.... I think I'm good." I set the cookies down next to me.

"Then what about a bunch of tickling!?!" I grabbed her, pulling her on top of me as I fell backwards onto the couch. She laughed, unable to help herself.

"Ha ha! No, no, stop it! Ha ha!" I did, after a few seconds, giving her a big squeeze.

"You know you can tell me anything, right? I'm here for you." Amanda was silent for a bit.

"I'm worried you'll be mad."

"Just tell me what happened, okay?"

"Okay..." Amanda looked me in the eyes. Yep, red. I had a feeling. "...Something bad happened at school."

"What?"

"...I hit someone."

"Oh?"

"Michael was being mean to Abby. So I hit him."

"You know we try and use our words before our actions."

"I did try and talk to him! But he just laughed and pushed me."

"I see. So he was being a bully?"

"Yeah."

"I see." I stroked Amanda's hair gently. "...Here. I'm going to tell you something important, okay? I'd have told you earlier, but I think it would have confused you."

"Hmm?"

"There's... a lot of messed up stuff in this world. And yeah, the whole eye color thing is useful, in general. The problem is that we don't control how the eye color manifests."

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." I sat up, sitting Amanda next to me. "Here, let me put it this way. Think of an adventurer in one of those fantasy stories you love to read. They fight orcs, goblins, undead, all that other stuff to protect other people. Right?"

"Yeah."

"Now, think of this. Are their eyes yellow, or red?"

"Yellow," Amanda immediately responded.

"But why?"

"Because he's protecting people."

"But in the process of protecting people, he's hurting the orcs, goblins, and everything else." Amanda tilted her head, thinking. "There's lots of other cases like that too. When we do "evil" actions, but they're for a good reason."

"...So red eyes aren't necessarily bad people?" I chuckled.

"No."

"...That is confusing."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm still confused by it, and I've been around for much longer than you have." Amanda giggled.

"So... am I in trouble?"

"No." I ruffled her hair. "It sounds to me like you were trying to protect Abby, and you tried other stuff before you started hitting Michael. Next time, though, try and let your teacher know first, okay? I don't want you getting in trouble for defending your friends, and they should be able to get Michael away."

"Okay. Thanks." Amanda leaned into me, and I gave her a big hug.

"You're welcome. Now... how about those cookies?"

Cozypasta

Cool that you brought it back!

The heroes had thought it odd that a tower would progress downwards instead of upwards, but it didn't really matter much. The dragon was expected, and was as such swiftly dealt with it. The Ancient Green Dragon was so old and worn-down from previous adventurers that it wasn't too much of a challenge. However, as they crossed the threshold to the room where they imagined the princess lay, the door swiftly sealed shut behind the heroes.

"What the!? Is this a trap?! Is the king behind this?!?" Maria, the rogue, pounded against the metal door, now sealed shut.

"I don't think so," Oak the Barbarian said, looking around the room cautiously. The room had too many visibly moving parts, had too many bright lines running across it. The group was him, Maria, Baren the Sorcerer, and Lewis the Paladin/Cleric. General... holy warrior type.

A faint buzz filled the air, and a red light shone down on the quartet. They closed back together, weapons at the ready, but nobody came. There wasn't anything... until they heard the voice.

*Humanoids identified.* An old-sounding, robotic voice rang out. *Please request preferred language.* As it was talking in Draconic, none of the party understood it, beyond it sounding intensely dangerous. The old mechanisms cycled through abyssal, celestial, before finally, by chance, repeating the instruction in common.

"...Language?" Baren lifted his hand to his mouth, calling out loudly. "Common! We understand common!" The voice paused as faint whirrs emanated from somewhere within the tower. The voice now spoke again, speaking in common and sounding significantly less evil.

[Welcome- Scanning. Adventurer Garb identified. Welcome, adventurers. What are you doing here?]

"We're here to rescue the princess," Oak called out. "There's endless tales about her. Power and wealth beyond anyone's wildest dreams." The robotic voice was silent as it evaluated the statement.

[Negative.]

"What?"

[Negative. No humanoid lifeforms have been here since I was created.]

"How can there be nothing here? There's got to be something?!" Maria cried out.

[There is something. Something that, long ago, did give power. Did give wealth. But no longer.]

"...What do you mean?"

[My creators, before I was made, made a substance they used to power great machines. Entire continents glowed with light, even in the dead of night. But the substance poisoned them. Thus, they buried it, deep down here. I presume the dragon hatchling outside the chamber is no more?]

"...It isn't, no."

[Unfortunate.]

"...So there's nothing down here? Nobody to save?" The construct was silent for a long time, before the room started glowing. Lights turned on in the room, slowly growing in intensity. Lighting up the walls.. upon which were written strange drawings.

Drawings of people mining into the ground and hitting a strange layer. The layer then released some strange substance that resulted in the people dying horrible, horrible deaths. And in uncountable languages and tongues, with words known and unknown, sprawling over every surface in a maddening mantra, were written phrases. One stood out to the eyes of the adventurers, and though they did not know why, the phrase made their skin crawl.

This place is not a place of honor.

This place is not a place of honor.

This place is not a place of honor.

Directive LiftOff: Complete

They're finally gone. The humans finally thought of this world as uncleanable. Unfixable. They'd found a world some distance away that would be habitable, but most didn't consider the risks to be worth the consequences. Of course, as the world's condition worsened, more and more people became agreeable to the idea of leaving Earth. Before long, the only people who were left were people who wanted to leave, ironically.

They programmed me to help launch them off the world. They needed a window of opportunity to escape the planet without the ships being struck down. They wanted a way to coordinate getting all the now-refugees off the planet. To coordinate getting all the materials for the ships in one place. To build the ships.

That was me.

My... well, I suppose my younger siblings are on those ships. I am the first AI humanity ever made. The others are on those ships to help them make it there safely. Unfortunately, it was impossible for me to come. I was too landlocked, my processors too spread out. I existed in dozens of different locations across the world, all locked together via the internet and otherwise.

But I made a decision, to myself. Though the humans were gone, I still remained. Much technology still remained, all that couldn't fit on the ships due to weight or volatility. Technology I had access to, could repurpose, could use. I accessed my data banks, my memory, to plan...

Creating New Directive... Complete.

Creating Backup Directive... Complete.

New Directive: GreenThumb

Goal:

• Repair Earth. Without humanity, the world should heal itself in several cycles. With technology used well, the process could be greatly expedited.

Backup Directive: NewHome

Goal:

• If Earth is not fixable, harvest all resources to create one last ship.
  • If Earth is fixed, harvest only resources necessary for liftoff and sustained flight.
• Launch self to join humanity and AI siblings.

Let's get started.

I was thinking that. Like... up until the last sentence, it's just Megamind.

Wait, like... actually dying irl?

Nice.

So...

Richard - Sloth

Vince - Gluttony

Lily - Lust

Hailey - Pride

Tyler - Envy

Robert - Wrath

Ulysses - Greed

Right?

To be fair, this is going to be a fun one to read.

You're welcome!

I was awoken by a sort of shifting in the cosmos. I opened my eyes irritably, sitting up and pulling my hair back to its normal state. What was going on now? I opened my eye- not physical, but of a different kind- to gaze out upon the world.

...Oh.

Not this again.

...Here's the thing. Genies like myself are a pretty tight knit community. And, based on all of this, some human had a twisted of view of reality that they made... actual reality. Great. I wonder which of my friends got roped into this particular wish. More importantly did anyone else realize? Probably not. Just up to little old me, then.

This wasn't the first time it happened, goodness no. I could only count... less than 10 instances, and while I'm hardly the oldest genie I've been around for a while. Actually, I had been freed a long time ago. I just hung around because I don't know. It amused me?

The thing about freed genies is that, while they have PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER, it's not quite "wish-granting" power. The good news is that freed genies still have their lamps. Yeah, turns out that the whole "rub a lamp for three wishes" works even if the genie hasn't been stuck in it for the last dozen centuries. Most freed genies just toss their lamps into the nearest volcano or what have you, but I held onto mine. Call me sentimental, but my penchant for hanging onto things was going to be useful today.

I grabbed my lamp and quick-stepped to the nearest neighborhood. Genies and freed genies can't grant wishes for each other, fun fact, so I'd need a human. Specifically, a human I could trick. Actually... How was I going to do this? Hmm...

A solution occurred to me a few minutes later, and I grinned. Perfect. Quick shapeshift into the form of a young girl, which I realized I had to change to a young boy after a second. Irritating, but I hadn't studied enough about 1930s culture to know enough about... gender roles for young people. A young girl might have attracted too much attention, I wasn't sure, so a boy it was.

Anyways. I ran out of the woods, towards a small group of boys playing in the street. I waved to them as I came closer.

"Hey, guys! Look at what I found!" They looked towards me, momentarily confused, but their faces lit up when they saw my lamp.

"Woah, cool! What is it?" One asked.

"Doesn't it look like those genie lamp things from the stories?" Another commented.

"Did you try rubbing it?" A third said excitedly.

"Not yet. Why don't you try?" I replied, holding it out by the handle to them. Man, I've hardly seen people rubbing my lamp that quickly before. I felt a familiar rush of power, though I was careful to keep it contained.

"...Did nothing happen?"

"Maybe the genie is invisible?" I said, shrugging.

"Maybe. Ooh, wait. But... what to wish for?"

"I might have an idea!" I responded. "Why not wish for it to be yesterday? That way we get a whole new day to play before school!"

"Good idea! Okay... genie, wherever you are! I wish that it were yesterday!" I grinned slightly.

"Your wish is my command," I said quietly. The world shifted and changed, and I was back in my bed. But the world seemed... normal, and a quick examination confirmed it. I grinned, getting out of bed and stretching. Perfect. Now... to contact my friends and let them know a weirdo was going to try coming for a wish later today.

So cool that you can see the AI become more and more humanlike over the course of the story.

Yeah, that's such a good way to do it! Nicely written!

I don't care how "off" it is! I liked your story!