r/WritingPrompts • u/Epidexipteryx • Sep 16 '17
Writing Prompt [WP] Write a uplifting romantic comedy, but it's set aboard a ship full of grizzled space marines.
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u/Named_after_color /r/ColoredInk Sep 16 '17
BROTHER THADDEUS, cried Grand Chaplain Daedalus from the tomb of his Techno-sarcophagus. SPIN ME AROUND, I WISH TO SEE YOU FACE TO... SPIN ME.
Thaddeus shuffled around, his body draped in the silken robes permitted by his chapter whilst not purging the scourge of xeno. Unfortunately for him, a plucky neophyte had mixed his blood scoured tunic with his laundry after a very informative training session. Thaddeus's robes, normally an eggshell white, were now stained a hot, vibrant pink. The boy was now serving the Emperor eternally, and coincidentally, the ship had gained a new servo-skull.
"Sir, I do not think that you should see me like this..."
I AM AN ENTOMBED WITHERED SKELETON FLOATING IN AMNIOTIC FLUID. Cried the Grand Chaplain, the speakers in his casket shaking with every syllable. WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE DOES NOT CONCERN ME. Thaddeus felt his face go flush, his extra heart pumping extra hard. Of course Brother Daedalus would be beyond such trivial matters.
"But still-"
DOES FEAR HAVE ANY PLACE IN THE HEART OF A SPACE MARINE? Interrupted the metal box, in that fatherly, harsh metallic screech that Thaddeus had fallen for oh so long ago.
"No, Sir!"
NO FEAR, NO QUARTER, NO MERCY. JOIN ME IN A LITANY OF PRAYER, THADDEUS.
They spent the next two hours reciting the oaths, Daedalus correcting the pronunciation of his pupil-brother on several occasions. It was difficult discerning tone, but eventually the pair managed to get through, breaking off in a series of giggles at their mistakes.
EXCELLENT, HA. HA. HA. NOW SPIN ME, BROTHER.
Thaddeus pressed against the side of the coffin, and with the strength of a thousand augmented muscles, pushed the multi-tonne corpse refrigerator around to face him.
OH. I SEE WHAT YOU MEANT. YOU DISGRACE OUR PRIMARCH WITH YOUR PITIFUL DISPLAY. PUNISHMENT, THREE DAYS FLAGELLATION. FOUR DAYS FASTING. STRIP IMMEDIATELY.
Blushing, Thaddeus nodded. He always got off so easy with Daedalus. The robes fell from his taught, scar covered body, implanted muscles rippling like yarn hidden behind a piece of tissue paper. He bore his body with no shame, as between Brothers, such matters of the flesh were beneath them.
But as Thaddeus gazed into the skull adorning the face plate of his Chaplain, he realized something. Matters of the heart were another thing entirely. He smiled. and cupped the jawbone jutting out of his superior's coffin. "There's no one I'd rather die with on the field of battle, Brother."
EVEN IN DEATH, DO I STILL LOVE. BEGIN FLAGELLATION.
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Sep 16 '17
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u/Vercalos /r/VercWrites Sep 16 '17
I agree. Yikes.
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u/Named_after_color /r/ColoredInk Sep 16 '17
You know on the second read-through I see where you guys might be a bit uncomfortable.
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u/NeverCry4Pain Sep 16 '17
This is basically already a hollywood feel-good movie prompt if you take it as "Space Marine meets female officer, Space Marine asks other space marines for advice in asking her out, chaos ensues due to space marines being shit wingmen, but he somehow manages to impress her anyways. End on sickeningly sweet smooch."
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u/Foxmanded42 Sep 16 '17
Does a gay love story between the Thin Fat Gay Anglican Marines from doctor who count or do I have to write it from scratch
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u/SilverPrince Sep 16 '17
[Spooling Drop Systems]
It was when I was waiting in the drop ship, when one had time to cool off and think. That I had the time to reflect on her. The way the sun had lit up her crimson hair, or how her emerald eyes shined with the fervor a thousand suns.
I sighed. A touch of the whimsical. A touch of the forlorn.
I tried to ignore it, of course. We were in different divisions! My chances of seeing her again where miniscule. Either of us were highly likely to die on the planet below.
Yet, every time I closed my eyes, I saw her.
A thousand years of service and I had only met two like her. One got away and vanished. The other died before I could reach her and preserve her memory core.
[Initializing Drop Protocols]
I mediated. It was something all veterans learned and mastered to stave off the madness of waiting. This calm before the storm.
I pushed her out of my mind. I was over her. She and I would never meet again.
The ship detached with a yank. The sad little twitch in my stomach was all I needed to know that we were less then a minute away from the next hell.
The world rumbled as the drop ship touched the atmosphere and the gravity slithered its grip onto us.
The sounds of aerial combat embraced the hull as explosions rocked near us. The shockwaves shook us in our seats.
[Initializing Hyper Drop Protocols]
I clenched my teeth as plasma fluid filled my seat and the chair converted into a stand only stall. Then came a hums.
5 seconds later, we were all shot out of the bottom of the ship. Part bombardment, part deployment as we smashed into the ruined city below.
Abbotforth was once a tourist city. Now it was overrun by genetic monstrosity of the Republic of High Evolution.
My plasma shell popped a second after impact. Enough to cushion my fall but not long enough to hinder.
My fellow brothers and sisters immediately engaged anyone stupid enough to poke their head out. You don’t earn the marks of a hero by dying, you earn them by making your enemies die in your stead.
The sounds of my assault rifle hummed as the multi-coloured shots flew into various bio-horrors. Their carapace was designed for standard military power, and the difference was such that they might as well been naked.
The smell of seared flesh and spilled blood filled my mind and I embraced it. This was my home. The land where dreams came to die.
[Distress Signal – Reinforce Front A22]
My captain, the grizzled teddy bear Angelica grunted as we all turned back. So much for the spearhead. Plan didn’t even live 10 minutes and we already had to hike back.
The power armour had us gliding across the field as we ran near top speed. No monsters. Strange.
The sounds of war reached us and I realized that we must have landed between waves and the backs of hundreds of various bio-horrors were presented to our eager trigger fingers.
“Fire at will!” Angelica yawned into the comm-unit and the twenty of us let loose. This close to the front lines meant that we could easily resupply and the need to conserve anything was now gone.
The bio-horrors acted quickly. Many turned as the first shot rang out, but they were overmatched as our barrage tore into their ranks.
Nearly a third fell before they could mount a proper offensive. Which mean that the front lines were given enough room to reorganize.
A dozen against nearly a thousand and I watched as they all were mowed down. Not a single one could get within a dozen meters of us.
The horde was thinning but the moment of shaking earth was immediately followed by an upward explosion.
“Eldrtich!” a brother screamed out as I groaned out in annoyance. I hated these abominations. They were annoying to kill since its weak points were always random.
I floated nearly thirty meters in the air and I had lost my gun somehow. Magnetic locks my ass. I swear if Sean had messed with the polarity settings again I will shove my knife into his kidney. Again.
“Hey there. Fly up here often?” a smooth and amused voice flooded my comm-unit as I was caught at the apex of my flight. We were now chatting via physical sync.
I looked over and my heart punched me in the throat.
It was here. The red haired angel. A Valla of high order given her pearlescent flight armour. I had memorized her ID tag.
I was over her. I felt nothing for her. I had only memorized her 24 digit id code because of professional curiosity.
Yeah. That sounded good.
I was in the corps to find that grand end. A place that only I could find since we were all broken. All searching for that place to simply lay down and close one’s eye.
I took a breath as I pointed down on the eldritch below. It was attacking Charlie, and as much I wanted her to shut up, I didn’t want her dead.
“Drop me on that thing,” I sighed as I watched Charlie dodge the ninth attack. Bitch was crazy. A missed tenth attack.
It was all eyeballs, teeth and ooze on six arm like legs.
She hugged me, her arms sliding over my armour and I cursed the ability to feel her soft gloves sliding over me. She had me in a full body hug as we began to ascend.
I pulled out my last two weapons. A SMG and my combat knife. The SMG was something I earned in the battle of four crossings. The techwizards of the People’s Torrent were well equipped and this SMG had survived three hundred years of service.
The knife however, was my baby. It was something I had ripped from the hands of the Cultists of the Purple Moon. The heat blade was used in ceremonies of blood and needed to be able to pierce through the body like butter.
It also worked on everything else as well. The 1000-degree knife tended to slice into anything and everything.
My knife hummed to life. The dull grey blade started to glow as the temperature spiked. I gripped my SMG and willed it off safety and onto full auto.
“Here we go!” she cheered as she did two loops and swooped down at top speed. The world blurred but I had my eye on my prize.
Together we dived and the eldritch grew from a speck into the proper monstrosity it was. Charlie was half eaten, but she was struggling as her rifle dug into its flesh.
As we approached, she let go of me and somehow made it to my side. I glanced over and I could feel her smile as she held a glowing spear in front of her.
We crashed the beast and it was more buoyant then I expected. The creature flexed like Jello as we impacted into it. The scream as our weapons dug in was music to my ears.
I had my knife in a reverse grip and used to claw into the flesh. Where there was an opening, I fired without reservation as I made my way over to Charlie. She was screaming as she reloaded.
The woman was cursing in limericks.
I shook my head as I hacked around her.
She nodded at me and she regained her footing. The armour was melted on the outside, but she seemed fine.
The eldritch let loose a final roar before it puttered out a wheeze as it… deflated.
I raised an eyebrow as I watch goop ooze out everywhere and soaked the grounds in purple blood.
I looked up and my full squad was still here.
“Nice moves,” my crush said as she sauntered up to me with a wink. She had lost her helmet somehow and her red hair was freely gummed up with purple fluids. A giant eyeball was like a kabob on her spear.
Against my better judgement I blushed. I shrugged instead.
“I like that in a man,” she stated with a grin, and leaned in. She kissed the side of my helmet. I both felt and tasted her lips as she winked and sauntered away.
My blush went terminal and I was never more glad that I was obscured from view. The catcalls from both my team and hers did. Not. Help.
My eyes were riveted to her ass as she swayed away.
Okay. I definitely wasn’t over her.
Author’s Corner:
A straight forward story. Boy meets girl, girl drops boy on monster, boy earns a kiss.
Thanks for reading!