Ok but this was so good. :), creepy in that slow-burn way I personally love. it actually reminds me a bit of my own latest short story (the cursed-reel one) where shit spirals from silly to sinister real quick. That same weird tension between “haha this is silly” and “wait… am I the problem?” and the nods to AI and algorithmic manipulation without being all "this is about AI, reader!!” bless you for that. way more effective when it creeps in sideways.
Also now slightly suspicious of my own laptop. Thanks for that.... ;)
Great story — really loved it! 😄 I like to think of the demon as just the other side of the coin, the yin to my yang. It’s how I try to make peace with my own inner demon. Only by embracing the darkness can we fully embrace the light.
Ah if only it were so easy to cure financial problems as to simply put some discord into the aether and allow humanity to do what it does best. Rarely do people do things to negatively impact others after a moment of critical thinking because we are selfish. Maybe short-sighted is a better word. It's difficult to see the forest for the trees I suppose. Thats why Luke, at first, only saw a solution to his most immediate problem, and then later realized just what he had done and the what is happening as a result.
However, ragebait is nothing new. As long as humans exist there will be blood. That doesn't mean we have to like it, but it does mean that we have to choose between comfortable silence as we ignore it, or deal with the pain of seeing it and doing what we can to minimalize it.
In Lukes case, he is largely innocent of wrong-doing other than being desperate and making a poor choice. He didnt direct the content of the posts, but rather let his words take on new meaning and then crossing his fingers and letting it ride. Wise? No. Real? Likely. Where I struggle with the idea is that Luke still chose to post the stories, for whatever reason. People also have to choose to engage with the stories. There are so many things in this life that are far worse than "telephone tough guys" talking trash on the internet.
One of my favorite memes is the one that says "Dont let your facebook balls get your real life teeth kicked in". The world self regulates, eventually.
I do not know about anyone else, but I do not stop to stare at a dead body, I do not rubberneck on the interstate when theres an accident, and I have much better things to do than read things that will only ever piss me off. It happens by accident at times, sure. But the people who seek content like Luke unthinkingly posted are going to be that way no matter what the rest of the world does.
Keep on writing, mate. I love your stuff!
It may have a Twilight Zone vibe, but it does make me think of the Star Trek alien that feeds off anger in Day of the Dove.
Blimey that's going back some!
This is a proper horror story. Omgosh this ROCKS!
Wow thanks!!! Trying to vibe off a Twilight Zone style at the moment and loving it.
Ok but this was so good. :), creepy in that slow-burn way I personally love. it actually reminds me a bit of my own latest short story (the cursed-reel one) where shit spirals from silly to sinister real quick. That same weird tension between “haha this is silly” and “wait… am I the problem?” and the nods to AI and algorithmic manipulation without being all "this is about AI, reader!!” bless you for that. way more effective when it creeps in sideways.
Also now slightly suspicious of my own laptop. Thanks for that.... ;)
Thank you!! Going to dive into your cursed-reel story now!
Great story — really loved it! 😄 I like to think of the demon as just the other side of the coin, the yin to my yang. It’s how I try to make peace with my own inner demon. Only by embracing the darkness can we fully embrace the light.
Great story.
Even demons have to modernise. Love it!
This demon annoyed me for two days trying to write it lol
Ah if only it were so easy to cure financial problems as to simply put some discord into the aether and allow humanity to do what it does best. Rarely do people do things to negatively impact others after a moment of critical thinking because we are selfish. Maybe short-sighted is a better word. It's difficult to see the forest for the trees I suppose. Thats why Luke, at first, only saw a solution to his most immediate problem, and then later realized just what he had done and the what is happening as a result.
However, ragebait is nothing new. As long as humans exist there will be blood. That doesn't mean we have to like it, but it does mean that we have to choose between comfortable silence as we ignore it, or deal with the pain of seeing it and doing what we can to minimalize it.
In Lukes case, he is largely innocent of wrong-doing other than being desperate and making a poor choice. He didnt direct the content of the posts, but rather let his words take on new meaning and then crossing his fingers and letting it ride. Wise? No. Real? Likely. Where I struggle with the idea is that Luke still chose to post the stories, for whatever reason. People also have to choose to engage with the stories. There are so many things in this life that are far worse than "telephone tough guys" talking trash on the internet.
One of my favorite memes is the one that says "Dont let your facebook balls get your real life teeth kicked in". The world self regulates, eventually.
I do not know about anyone else, but I do not stop to stare at a dead body, I do not rubberneck on the interstate when theres an accident, and I have much better things to do than read things that will only ever piss me off. It happens by accident at times, sure. But the people who seek content like Luke unthinkingly posted are going to be that way no matter what the rest of the world does.
24-karat gold.