Danny Devito vs The English Countryside

Matt Eastland-Jones Hello and welcome to Awaiting Prompt: the AI podcast, hosted by me Matt Eastland-Jones...

Nick Short And me, Nick Short.

Matt Eastland-Jones Each week we give an AI a series of story prompts. These could be genres, characters, plot points, and see what kind of story it comes up with.

Nick Short We're not writers, and we're certainly not authors.

Matt Eastland-Jones We may need to give AI a bit of direction on the way, but every single word is going to be entirely generated by an AI.

Nick Short We're just really interested in the technology, seeing what it can do and having a laugh at the stuff that it can't.

Matt Eastland-Jones So if that sounds good, then tune in every Friday to Awaiting Prompt. Hello, and welcome to episode five of Awaiting Prompt. This week, Nick and I tackle spooky stories. One starring the one and only Danny DeVito and one starring a sloppy boy.

Nick Short Right? Are you ready to be spooked? One thing I will tell you about this prompt is that I did ask it to star... it's for a movie prompt.

Matt Eastland-Jones Okay,

Nick Short Obviously we're going for horror, and I asked it to star an actor.

Matt Eastland-Jones Oh fun!

Nick Short So I thought that'd be... you know.

Matt Eastland-Jones Can I guess the actor?

Nick Short It may give it away rather quickly. But I was kind of hoping they would like you know... say

Matt Eastland-Jones And has it?

Nick Short Well...

Matt Eastland-Jones Go into the story, I'm excited!

Nick Short The sun had set hours ago, casting a deep orange hue over the English countryside. Danny DeVito trudged along the dirt path, his feet and legs aching from the long walk. I thought it would be like, this character played by Danny DeVito.

Matt Eastland-Jones He's just playing himself.

Nick Short It's just Danny DeVito as himself. Danny DeVito as Danny DeVito.

Matt Eastland-Jones Oh yeah.

Nick Short He had been searching for a place to rest for hours, but the terrain held no solace. Suddenly, he heard a loud and guttural sound coming from the nearby woods. Danny froze, his heart pounding in his chest. He felt a chill run down his spine as the sound echoed through the night. He had no idea what could have made this noise, but he knew he had to get away. Taking a deep breath, Danny started to run, his feet pounding against the dry, cracked ground. He glanced back expecting to see something following him. But all he could see was shadows and darkness. He ran faster.

Matt Eastland-Jones What's the difference between shadows and darkness? How can you differentiate between the two?

Nick Short I mean also the sun is getting like lower and lower in the sky. Is it just night now?

Matt Eastland-Jones All he could see was night and night.

Nick Short He was running with his feet and also his legs. He ran faster not daring to look back until he was out of the woods. Finally, Danny reached a clearing and stopped to catch his breath. He looked around realising he had no idea where he was. He was about to start walking again when he heard the same guttural sound again. Closer this time. Danny felt his heart skip a beat. He was trapped.

Matt Eastland-Jones Trapped in a clearing.

Nick Short Yeah, he's in the woods. Also it's one noise and he's like "I can't move".

Matt Eastland-Jones Yeah.

Nick Short How do we want this to...?

Matt Eastland-Jones Did you specify what the monster was?

Nick Short No, I left it very vague to kind of see... I'm gonna be honest, I banked all my chips on Danny DeVito. Not for the first time.

Matt Eastland-Jones It obviously either doesn't know who David DeVito is...

Nick Short Which is a travesty.

Matt Eastland-Jones ...because it hasn't taken any aspects of his character. It's your story, Nick. You take it where you want it to go.

Nick Short Ooh, pressure. Danny felt a strong arm grab his shoulder and pull him backwards before everything went black. Although it's already

Matt Eastland-Jones I was gonna say...

Nick Short He's already in darkness. Is it more darkness? He awoke sometime later in a dimly lit cavern that smelled of dampness and rot. Sounds like my student flat. He was bound, suspended from the wall by chains. The only illumination was from the flickering flames from a distant torch. As Danny's eyes adjusted to the light, he saw a figure cloaked in shadows, watching him from a corner of the room. Danny's heart sank, his pursuers had found him. He had to find a way to escape. Danny glanced around for any potential tools he could use to escape Suddenly, his eye caught a glint in the faint light. It was a knife tucked away in the corner of the room. Danny felt his heart beat faster. His only chance to escape lay only a few arm's lengths away. Unfortunately, because he's quite short. Under the figure's watchful gaze, Danny inched closer to the knife, careful not to make too much noise. He stretched his arms out, slowly inching towards the weapon. Just as his fingertips brushed against the hilt, he heard a voice booming from across the room. "Not so fast, Danny". The figure emerged from the shadows revealing himself to be a massive, monstrous entity. Danny frozen in fear, knowing that his only chance of escaping had just been snatched away. He glanced back at the knife lying on the floor, a glimmer of hope still in sight. It was now or never, if he wants to get out alive, he knew he had to make a move. Danny steeled himself for what was to come and prepared for one last fight for his freedom.

Matt Eastland-Jones One last fight means he's been in multiple fights before.

Nick Short I mean, yeah, have you not watched Matilda? Like he fought for that film. Right. I think I know how... I think I've got an idea for the ending.

Matt Eastland-Jones I'm really excited to see the AI images of Danny DeVito.

Nick Short Fighting with a knife. How can such a sweet sweet man has such a reputation for fighting?

Matt Eastland-Jones Just seeing your face read it.

Nick Short I've read one line, that's about halfway through. I don't know the rest of this. Danny steeled himself for battle, anticipating the fight to come. He lunged at the monstrosity, ready to take his chance for freedom. He managed to land a few well-aimed punches before the creature kicked him aside, just punted across the room and grabbed him from behind. Danny felt himself being dragged through the cavern, sure this time it was the end. His mind raced with thoughts of what would happen next. But as they reached the opening of the cave, the creature spun Danny around and pulled off its hood. It was Danny DeVito. Danny blinked. Confused by the revelation. He looked closer and realised that it wasn't him, but an exact replica of himself. It was a fan, trying to prove himself by kidnapping a celebrity and keeping them captive. Danny smiled relieved. He thanked the fan and then took off running, eager to escape before the fan had a chance to change his mind. He kept running soon, joyfully leaving the English countryside behind him forever changed for this strange encounter and so with one last laugh, Danny DeVito's laugh, the horror ended.

Matt Eastland-Jones So the fan had plastic surgery?

Nick Short So it was a fan who looked like an exact replica of Danny DeVito.

Matt Eastland-Jones Why would you do that?

Nick Short Oh my God. Now the prompt.

Matt Eastland-Jones Yeah.

Nick Short So initially I started as I said, started a super vague, 'the opening scene of a horror movie set in an English countryside starring Danny DeVito as he must overcome the odds to survive'. Nice and vague thought you know, I want to see what happens give it a genre give it a setting give it an actor later on when I did ask it to finish the story like revealing the identity was a fan I wanted it to be like okay a bit of a twist but yes.

Matt Eastland-Jones It then decided.

Nick Short It was Danny Devito. Also, Danny leaves so happily, he's been kidnapped, chased, kidnapped, and someone is literally created like a Hush version of themselves. Right, this monstrosity needs a title. The title is 'Danny DeVito versus the English countryside'. It's just him surrounded by badgers.

Matt Eastland-Jones And hedges he can't get past, shrubs he can't climb over.

Nick Short He can't trespass. He wants to he just can't. Oh my god. It's just him in a field with some sheep.

Matt Eastland-Jones Fences he can't see over.

Nick Short Right? That is...

Matt Eastland-Jones Over to me.

Nick Short Over to you. I wasn't as spooked as I was hoping.

Matt Eastland-Jones It wasn't the scariest.

Nick Short Because we have trialled some of these like before and they've come out really interesting and actually quite spooky maybe because I don't know Danny DeVito doesn't...

Matt Eastland-Jones Adds too much comedy to it

Nick Short Yeah

Matt Eastland-Jones Okay, right.

Nick Short I just saw every emotion flash past your face. I saw like sorrow, I saw joy.

Matt Eastland-Jones Oh, oh this is a first, 'content warning'. I think it's because it's spooky. Okay, the Grammarly has come up with a sad face.

Nick Short The ultimate sign.

Matt Eastland-Jones See how your text may sound to readers, Sad face? Sad. Good fun. Okay, here we go. It all started when the renowned doctor, Dr David Fuller, performed a daring experiment in 1963. It was a risky endeavour for the doctor was ascertain as experiments would lead to groundbreaking scientific discoveries. He'd been researching the possibilities for using nuclear radiation for medical applications for months and was confident that his recent experiments on human test subjects would prove successful. He locked his door as his first volunteer was brought in, barely alive and moaning in agony. His energy levels were low. I'm guessing that's the patient, not the doctor.

Nick Short Come on, Nurse. His energy levels are low. Let's pump him with uranium.

Matt Eastland-Jones His energy levels were low and he was in a lot of pain. Dr Fuller administered a heavy dose of nuclear radiation and as he was doing so, he realised that something had gone very wrong.

Nick Short That's because he was knackered.

Matt Eastland-Jones The effects were almost instantaneous, as you would probably expect...

Nick Short ... if you've pumped someone with nuclear material.

Matt Eastland-Jones As the subject began to scream and terror, tearing at his skin as if he wanted to remove it, his body blurred, sinking itself into the table and turning into an unrecognisable ball of flesh and bone. In horror, Dr Fuller stepped back, unsure of what he had consented to. He tried to help the subject but the damage was too great. His experiment had gone horribly wrong and his volunteer mutated into a terrifying abomination

Nick Short A ball.

Matt Eastland-Jones The creature screamed in agony and pain as it slowly changed shape before Dr Fuller's eyes

Nick Short Oh my god!

Matt Eastland-Jones It seemed to be struggling to regain its former shape, but it was too late. The creature was a warped and twisted form of the human it used to be. Its body, grotesquely swollen and deformed. Its skin was pallid and slick, covered in strange patches of wet hair. Whilst its bulging eyes glowed a sickly yellow. It had sharp long claws and a gaping maul lined with razor-sharp teeth and its body seemed to see through the strange unknown energy. It seemed as if hellish fires smouldered inside of it and cause its flesh to hiss and sizzle. With each movement of its body, it left feted putrid clouds of smoke and steam in its wake. Shocked beyond words, Dr Fuller slowly backed away, unable to comprehend what he had done. The creature's cries slowly faded into the darkness, leaving the doctor alone in his lab with only the echoes of its pain.

Nick Short I think that's better than Danny DeVito in the country.

Matt Eastland-Jones It mutated into Danny DeVito.

Nick Short You just hear it screaming, it's like "Hello everyone!"

Matt Eastland-Jones That was pretty good.

Nick Short I'm impressed.

Matt Eastland-Jones Yeah,

Nick Short That was actually... so did you put creepypastas?

Matt Eastland-Jones I did, in the style of a creepypasta story.

Nick Short It's definitely in the style of a creepypasta.

Matt Eastland-Jones So I, I said 'write a body-horror story'. Okay, so that's kind of what... why it kind of mutated and everything, 'about a science experiment went wrong set in the 1960s in the style of creepypasta story'.

Nick Short That's really cool.

Matt Eastland-Jones I'm wondering where I can take this. There was also no dialogue.

Nick Short Well, that's because the doctor was tired so he wasn't gonna talk.

Matt Eastland-Jones The creature, now unbound by its former identity, crawled across the lab ledge leaving a trail of flesh behind it. Dr Fuller, horrified, watched in trancelike horror as the creature found its way to the door and out of the room. He knew it would be difficult to track and that the mutated test subject will be furthering its mutations as it travelled. Fearing the worst the doctor urgently gathered his tools and set out in hot pursuit. He followed the trail of grizzly remains to a nearby graveyard, where ghastly streaks filled the night sky. The doctor peered into the darkness, where he saw a dozen mutated individuals staggering and moaning, having been transformed by Dr Fuller's experiments. Some of them had grotesque bulging eyes, others, slimy infected flesh, and still others had taken the form of strange mutated beasts. Dr Fuller gasped in horror. It's just a guy going, *gasping* oh no!

Nick Short Maybe he's just asthmatic.

Matt Eastland-Jones He had created a world of agony and pain, one that he could never erase. He realised the scope of his mistakes and was tormented by the catastrophic consequences that his actions had brought about. He stumbled back to his lab, distraught, never to be heard from again. To this day, the mutated experiments of Dr Fuller still roam the dark alleyways of the city. A dark testament to the doctor's failed scientific experiment.

Nick Short That's really good.

Matt Eastland-Jones That's a pretty good ending! They're still there to this day. That's so fun. That's really good.

Nick Short That's really cool.

Matt Eastland-Jones That was good. I enjoyed that. Let's give it a title. From human to abomination: the story of Dr Fuller's sinister experiment. That sounds like a made-for-TV documentary.

Nick Short It was then that they started to realise that Dr Fuller was not the man he once said he was.

Matt Eastland-Jones Very good. Very good. Well, that was a good one.

Nick Short Happy spooky January everyone! That's everything for this episode of Awaiting Prompt.

Matt Eastland-Jones If you enjoyed it, then please leave us a review and make sure to subscribe so you can stay up to date with future episodes.