[ WP ] You are scrolling through r/WritingPrompts , when this very prompt catches your attention . Intrigued by it 's meta nature , you debate with yourself whether or not you 'll write about it .

Jake scrolled through his reddit feed, a little disappointed by how long he had just spent reading his old comments on old subreddit posts, when his eyes squinted at one in particular. A r/WritingPrompts post, obviously, but what caught his attention was the citation of the sub itself in the title. Jake paused, read the whole thing, and chuckled just a little at it. Ya know, the kind of chuckle where you just exhale out your nose because you're in energy-conserving mode. 
 
 *Eh, * *just* *a* *similar* *concept* *I've* *already* *seen. * Jake was one of those dormant users on r/WritingPrompts; he just liked to read the interesting ones' titles and think about em for a second before his attention span severed, just like the rest of people his own age. As he went to scroll on, part of him wanted to actually contribute to this post. He did n't do this kind of stuff often; his only footprint in this sub was one kinda-good and somewhat interactive story and a post he made himself recently. The story was of a genius that destroyed an entire city because he lived in a society where criminals have to solve puzzles proportionate to their crime for freedom and he was `` curious what they'd come up with;'' Jake hid a bunch of details in that story to answer the ultimate puzzle at the end ( because the genius killed himself before answering it ) and had people comment what they thought the answer was ( in which he'd tell them if they were right or wrong ). The post he made was n't special: `` You're a professional time traveler, and for a fee, you can be paid to go back in time to change and/or document events. Thomas, a new amnesiac, asks you'Who was I?''' Yeah, it got some nice stories he enjoyed for a few minutes, but he thought the prompt was kind of silly anyway; no one even responded the first time he posted it, it was only the second time when he deleted and reposted it that people gained interest. 
 
 *I* *mean, * *what* *is* *it* *even* *really* *asking* *for* *anyway? * Was it meant to be a first person story? Perhaps a third person, with a little omnipotence? Past, leading up to the stories creation? Perhaps he'd document his mental thoughts leading up to the writing, and continue the story beyond, depending on it's reception by the community ( if received at all ). 
 
 This was one of those things that Jake both liked and hated; stories with enough to get you started, but always leaving you feeling like you're not done yet. Yeah, he could start by describing his finding, and what background he had, but than what? All he was, was some gifted teenager that spends too much time on the internet, with his interests being easily simplified to kyokushinkai ( a martial art practically no one knows ), justice, and a manga that he's *way* too obsessed with and that's just now really getting popular again. He, himself, was similar to this story; there was enough unique things about him to make him interesting, but once those resources are used, it all becomes ordinary and never-ending in a way. 
 
 *... but* *could* *that* *be* *the* *very* *key* *element* *to* *this* *meta-post? * Why, of course! The author obviously wrote such a post *for* people to make something interesting out of their boring lives! It could function as a unique way of making people just like Jake, a little bored with themselves and the Internet at the moment, suddenly feel creative with elements they've become so blind to. 
 
 *yeah, * *maybe* *people* ***would*** *find* *that* *interesting; * *just* *the* *complex* *thoughts* *of* *an* *average* *teenager* *that's* *suddenly* *become* *interested* *in* *something. * He could even write it in such a way that, by the end of it, the audience knows a lot about Jake without even holding a proper conversation with him; they'd be able to imagine his passions, what kind of person he might be, how his voice and sentence structure sounded like, and therefor what class he would fit in. They could picture his dark eyes, pale skin, patternless v-neck, lack of footwear, and the long, brown hairstyle that could only resemble that of the genius justice-impassioned teenager in a manga from the 2000s that is still somehow relevant. Some might even feel like *they* were the person in the story, just based on the personality or physical similarities. And funny enough, those same people might even feel a bit silly for thinking that, because of how meta that post would be, meaning there's *no* way it could be about anyone else other than the author. 
 
 This kind of story, Jake thought, might be the kind to make a person think, think in a similar way to the way we all think when we stare at ourselves in the mirror just a bit too long. And with that, Jake looked down at his keyboard, with it's lovely chromatic cycle, and began typing the words flying through his brain. These words. 
 
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 13 hours later, he awoke, and thought to himself... 
 
 
 *... or* *it* *was* *a* *cheap* *way* *of* *getting* *post* *karma. *
