This is entirely for SWC + Writing (I need a place to share backstories! XD), nothing else. please don't comment/quote/submit anything unless it's a (RESPECTFUL AND FRIENDLY) critique or lengthy list of (insert something on topic). Now! This is my forum thread for writing, welcome! I'll be on here quite a lot, so please don't be rude. Even if my writing makes you uncomfortable. Because why flare up with anger if you can talk to me peacefully on my profile about it so I can take it down? If you have any questions, comment on my profile! now, let the writing begin!
Post is https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/post/6421492/

Daily #1

Hello, everybody! My scratch name is Kat (until I change it) and I’m super excited to meet you guys! This is my first time doing SWC<3 I’m a Christian, a girl (pronouns are She/Her) and straight. Some of my likes/dislikes are: Likes: READING, Writing, Math(sometimes), Emo mullet bois, Drawing, Coding in HTML and Scratch, and my siblings (even though they’re pretty bad at manners when someone is reading on the couch and they want to throw pillows at someone) Dislikes: My siblings (yes I wrote that twice), ALGEBRA, and the sheer obliviousness of book characters. I know I’m going to be so bad at writing lots in little amounts of time at first, I know, but I’m hoping to get better! And actual typing slows my WPM down a lot. A l o t . B e c a u s e I ‘ m w e i r d . I’m extremely excited for Word Wars, They sound like fun-I hope to see everyone around this session! (this is for the daily) 07/01/22

WEEKLY PART 1

Alex Bailey - character sheet (Land of Stories books 1 - 6)

Series continuing or ended? - ended.

Gender - Girl

Species - Half human, Half fairy.

Strengths - Strongest magic seen in ages, Fairy Godmother, Strong-willed, Protective, Good-natured, kind, helpful, s m a r t

Weaknesses - Overprotective, quick to conclusions, lonely, know-it-all, Stubborn, quick to say what is and isn’t within other’s limits, pushes herself past her limits, unrealistic expectations of herself, always feels like a failure because she’s not perfect, power is tied to emotions

General view on life (free, not hateful, hateful): not hateful

Tendencies -
Tends to place impossible goals and expectations on herself, shown in several places where she loses control, feeling like a failure. Also shown where she gets caught in a bathroom by the witches because she was crying. The witches take advantage of her by amplifying these emotions. (Improves very little, resolved by book 6)
Also tends to lose control of her emotions, shown where she LIFTS AND ENTIRE HOUSE INTO THE HECKING AIR AND SETS IT BACK DOWN SAFELY (I think)(Improves again, very little, resolved by book 6)
When she loses control of her emotions, she acts without thinking, lashing out at everyone and everything in sight. (Improves with the above)
Over-prepares for big events, Worries even more. (Little to no improvement)

Situations

One of her loved ones get hurt:
Emotions: Anger, frustration, Worry
Awareness of others, including friend: Almost none, lifts off in haze
Next step: Completely loses control of her powers, awareness, and unleashes her emotions at others and herself.
Outcome: feels even guiltier when she undoubtedly hurts one of her friends/family in the process.

Disagrees with the rest of the council:
Emotions: Frustration, incredulousness, anger, exasperation
Awareness of others: usually just the people she’s arguing with , pays attention only to others if they speak up.
Next step: tries to reason it all out with others, tries to get them to see her side
Outcome: usually a truce, if she’s too much, maybe an overruling

Love trouble:
Emotions: Embarrassment, Surprise, Betrayal, Anger
Awareness of others: Hyper-aware of the lover
Next step: Not much- if it’s a fight, then anger and hurt, takes it out on them and others.
Outcome: EXTREME guilt, Sorrow, lasting brokenness of trust between the two (going off her trash breakup with poor Robin)




Conner Bailey - character sheet (books 1 - 6)

Series continuing or ended? - ended.

Gender - Boy

Species - Half human, Half fairy.

Strengths - Amazing author, great friend, jokester, humble, kind, compassionate, brighter than he thinks, slight magic ability in writing

Weaknesses - thinks he’s not smart, falls asleep in school, Jokes can sometimes hit too close to home, bad guys in stories come from his nightmares, desperately needs spellcheck, crushing on Bree

General view on life (free, not hateful, hateful): not hateful

Tendencies -
Tends to need spellcheck
Improving or staying the same? Staying the same
Tends to slip up words when talking to Bree, normal crush behavior
Improving or staying the same? Staying the same
Tends to tell jokes that fall flat
Improving or staying the same? Improves slightly?
Tends to blurt out idiotic things without thinking
Improving or staying the same? Staying the same (well, I can’t think of anything that improves???)

Situations

One of his loved ones get hurt:
Emotions: Anger, Confusion, Worry, Care
Awareness of others, including friend: Much awareness, keeps his head surprisingly well
Next step: gets friend to safety, if in fight, fights and protects, comforts others
Outcome: very helpful in emergencies

Disagrees with friends/family:
Emotions: exasperation, pleading, (if won) grateful/happy (if lost) sulking/brooding
Awareness of others: Usually just the person he’s arguing with.
Next step: argues until he gets an outcome, bad or good.
Outcome: (if good) positive reaction, such as throwing arms around the person and thanking them before running off. (if bad) negative reaction, like posture droop, energy sag, and the notorious sulk.

Love trouble:
Emotions: Embarrassment, bewilderment, sheepishness, Sadness
Awareness of others: Tunnelvisions to lover
Next step: Blushes profusely, stutters, denies all
Outcome: suspicious lover, confused lover, absolutely flustered Conner

Story Prompt:
your character is pulling a prank on their friends and something goes terribly wrong

Conner was excited. He’d made the most gigantic Rube Goldberg machine probably ever, and it was all for a gigantic prank that had been scheduled for later that evening, when Conner and his friends were going for a picnic dinner by the lake. And he’d outlined the entire thing (and tested it) so as to make sure it worked. It ran like this: The picnic gets set out on the trigger, then the trigger catapults the food safely to the side. The machine then rolls up a mining cart on wheels (don’t ask) to pick up the others and put them all through a roller-coaster-esque ride that was… ToTaLlY sAfE!1!1! Well, he thought so. Not that he’d tried it. He was- just waiting. Yeah, waiting! He wanted to be surprised on how it felt on a rollercoaster. He wasn’t scared at all. The rest of the prank was just a little bucket of water dumping on their heads to cool them down after the ride. This is gonna be great!

A few hours later everyone was venturing towards the picnic spot, and Conner’s excitement was growing by the second. Or is that nervousness? Whatever. It was all going according to plan. When they all got to the cliffs where they were going to eat, Conner steered them over to the trigger, where they set up. This is going almost too perfectly, he noticed, but he wasn’t going to worry about that now. That, of course, was the moment it all went wrong. The catapult launched the food into the wrong pillow. Then the mining cart came up so fast, they all ended on top of each other at the bottom.

Alex screamed. “What the heck is happening Conner????”

Conner smiled sheepishly. “I, uh, made this awesome Rube Goldberg prank machine and it seems to have, uh- gone a little haywire?

Alex sighed. “Conner, we were trying to have a nice picnic! I’m not saying this isn’t really cool, it’s just a little too much.”

Conner opened his mouth to speak when he noticed the loop-de-loop ahead of them. “Um, so I never did pay attention to how roller-coasters go upside-down on the tracks, um…”

That was when the track decided to break.

All in all, it took just about 5 minutes, twenty-six seconds for Alex to poof the group of them back onto safe ground. She could have counted to the milliseconds, but didn’t want to show off too much. Everyone was relieved when the entire thing crashed to the bottom of the ravine. Then Alex wheeled on Conner.

“WHAT IN ALL NEVERLAND WERE YOU THINKING?????”

Conner was lucky she didn’t break any of his bones. Just his ears from all the shouting.

1145 words in all, 455 in the story, 747 written today!

Daily!!!
“The most difficult battles we fight in life are those fought within” - Chinese Proverb

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths.” - Proverbs 3:5-6



Rella walked faster. “The most difficult battles we fight in life are those fought within” “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths.” These proverbs raced through her head as she evaded the rocks thrown at her.

Bullies had held a negative part in her life ever since 1st grade, and she never could seem to shake them. She never elaborated on them to her parents, though they knew what was happening. They just didn’t get details on how bad the sayings hurt when the words hit. They didn’t get details on the rocks they threw, or how bad it hurt when rumors flew around the classroom during the day. She had tried trusting in the Lord, but by now, 7th grade, she had almost given up entirely. How could a God that is loving allow things like this? How could God even put Satan in the world and just leave us? I’ve tried telling myself He’s testing us, but I keep falling for lies. I want to know if I’m worth saving, because I try! I really do, but some of the bad thoughts leak into my head every time. And every time I try to block them out, more come in. She ducked behind a bush and watched the boys run past. At least they’re easy to deal with. Still, I can’t keep running from them. I need to stand up to them.

But she had already crossed off so many things off her list to stop it, she didn’t know what was left. She had tried: running, ignoring them, shouting, telling the principal, telling her parents, throwing things at them, calling names right back- everything except standing up to them! She thought about it. But what could I do to get them to listen? Taking a piece of toast out of the toaster and smearing melted Skittles on it, she trooped upstairs to her room and got out her notebook.

Dear God, she prayed, if you do love me, please, please, please help me stop them. I know I can’t do this alone, and you’re my last hope. I’ve almost given up, but please. Help me defeat them. Like in “David and Goliath”! Help me like you did David. Please. With a sucked-in breath, she put pen to paper and started writing.

At school, she remembered the proverbs again. “The most difficult battles we fight in life are those fought within” “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths.” The first one was proven right then and there, she realized. This whole time she had been fighting the thoughts and insults pounded into her brain by the bullies! That thought ran through her hair like a spring breeze through a dank, miserable room, clearing away the bad thoughts and brightening up the place. She felt almost new, like she was ready for anything. And somehow, she knew that the ‘Breeze’ was God, opening those windows and letting the light in, to ready her for what came next. That was hard while it lasted, but- I think I’ll take the victory. And give it to God. She held herself higher as she walked in, and spent the rest of the day laughing and smiling more than she thought possible.

After the day, Rella steadied herself. Here goes no- She paused. This is more than just nothing, She noticed. This is an endeavor for me. So here goes something. She managed to corner the bullies before they could leave.

She took a deep breath. “Why are you so mean?” she asked. “I just know that we could be friends if you tried, so why be awful instead? It hurts when you throw rocks, but it hurts even more when you throw words. What in y'all's lives compels you to do this? I need you to stop. Please.”

And that was the beginning of Rella’s most golden years.

Some of those thoughts are based off mine Skittles belong to the Mars-Wrigley company, 730 words total

WEEKLY PART 2!!!!!! :D

Alex is a perfectionist, and, being a know-it-all, likes to sprinkle in large words in her sentences. After becoming the Fairy Godmother of the Land of Stories, she likely feels as though she needs professionality added to her appearance, and thus the two traits together make her sound very accomplished. When she confronts a crush, she (surprisingly enough, compared to her brother) keeps her head and actually replies and stays cool. She seems to prefer being with the characters in the Land of Stories than real humans, possibly due to the fact that the people of earth never quite “got her”, making her a little more open around the characters of her fantasies.

Arthur is literally a prince who lives with a wizard. (even if the wizard is a little quirky, weird, and likes drinking) Arthur’s speech is quite similar to a modern-day teen’s would, simple yet full of emotion. And while not all teens are trustworthy, you could trust your life to Arthur and not sweat a bit. (unless you’re up against 7,000 enemies with no weapons whatsoever, then you R u N-) Rember, due to Arthur’s legenderical backstory, he never knew his father or mother, so affection and love must mean a lot to him. Again, as with Alex, he keeps a cool head under pressure and thinks things through. (most of the time)


Alex perspective of the two weeks that she spent with Arthur:
The two weeks I had spent with Arthur were bliss. With every glance, touch and smile directed at me, I felt so much, but every time, I couldn’t hold them for long. I just- felt so much guilt because I knew I would have to leave. But he- I kept coming back to him. I could scarcely define it, until I realized that this was what I had felt around Robin. I knew right then and there that I had fallen. But I wasn’t about to admit that to him, I had just met him a week ago, for heaven’s sake! But I had guessed right. Every time I was around him I could feel that pulling feeling toward him. And that was why, when I had to leave, I felt myself tearing in two. He had to stay and fulfill his destiny, I’d had to leave and fulfill mine. It tore me up, but that was how it had to be. I’d had to leave. For both our destinies.

The days without him were- odd, to say the least. I woke up every day expecting to see him, but found no one. I stayed up every night, almost expecting him to come and sit next to me, watching the stars after training. I knew I loved him, and he knew he loved me. I just had to keep hope that I could go and visit him someday. I hoped he felt the same way, since if he didn’t, I’d know it wasn’t meant to be. But I have the nagging feeling that he is feeling for me, watching and waiting for me. I only wish I could really be there. But I have bigger responsibilities, like helping save the worlds. I can only hope he’s still waiting when it’s all over. That’s the least I can do. Hope.

Arthur perspective of the days after:

I had felt- hmmm, what was that word Merlin had shown me? Yes, deflated. I had felt deflated. I couldn’t pay attention when I trained, I couldn’t feel excitement or exasperation when Merlin told me to “grab that book and get over here, you’re being intrusive,” I couldn’t do anything but think about what might have been happening to Alex and wish I could be there to help her. I’d even had a dream about her, a real vision. She found me, but she was in trouble. Merlin and Mother Goose both wouldn’t believe me. So I had decided to act right then. And I remember thinking that this story starts with the Sword in the Stone. And after, I needed to get a bunch of teens like me to come on an adventure to the Otherworld, so that should be the hardest part? Yeah, I’d doubted that. Oh wow, and what a beautiful sword- Merlin had told me I’d pull it out, but he didn’t say how sharp it was, that was cool! I had felt really ready. And then ran back to the house to get a horse…

Merlin had found me. And he saw the sword. Then he had actually decided to help! I remember feeling a little surprised, but the old man had said he “couldn’t stop you anyways, so I’d better come with.” I felt the tiniest bit safer with him riding next to me. Next stop was the knights of the round table. I felt so nervous when we were recruiting, it’s funny now. I was all eloquent to Lancelot, our first knight, and when he said “basically, you want me to come with you and kick butt?” We had burst out laughing. It was pretty easy after that. When we passed by a castle belonging to the family of a fair maiden named Guinivere, Lancelot seemed starstruck by the girl. I honestly didn’t mind. After all, I was on the quest for love myself.

DAILY!!!!!!!!

Evening:
Argent was unwinding and figuring out his next move from the information that had come up in front of him. Our missing agents are being held by T.H.I.E.F.! I need to get to them on their earpods and get a location, ASAP. But how?

That Morning:
Argent ran around the stronghold, gathering papers and documents. “We need that thesis on the psychological long-term effects of PTSD printed out now. And while you’re- You! You there! Yes, go grab the search team, they just came in through the gates, we need a report now.” Argent ran past the poor guy over to the door, all but abandoning his coffee.

“Sir, you forgot-” one concerned agent called out, but Argent stopped them.

“I’m too busy, you can go ahead and drink it!” He shouted before running out of the door and toward the debrief room to ring for the search team and go through the rather hefty stack of papers in his hands. By the time the search team got there, Argent had strewn papers all over the table in a messy sort of system.

He looked up. “Come sit down! But don’t touch anything- I have them organized. Is there any news on the missing agents and honoraries?”

The leader of the group, Darren, sighed. “Again, sir, no. It’s like they disappeared off the edge of the planet. I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s no trails, clues, or signs of struggle anywhere they could have gone. So whoever or whatever took them, they were very thorough.”

“You think something took them.”

“That, or they defected, sir.”

“Mmm. okay then. Please write a report and send it to me. I need every detail, that or up-to-date photos on the places they could have gone. Every one you visited.”

“Of course. May I inquire, sir, why are you so determined to bring the missing ones back?”

Argent was taken aback. “Why would I not be? They all have families here, or civilian families waiting for them. I’ve been doing everything I can to keep everyone calm, besides, if they really have defected or died, we need to find them to give closure to their families and make sure they aren't selling our secrets to the other side.”

Darren nodded. “I’ll give you the report when I’m done. With pictures.”

Argent nodded back. “Right. Off with you then.”

As Darren scooted out the door, Argent sighed and picked at the papers, feeling lost. What am I doing wrong? He wondered. I’ve given the families off-time, I’ve gotten search teams out, I have people at the radio towers searching for signals to their Earpods, what is going wrong? Suddenly he stood up, picking up his mess, the papers half signed in messy scrawls. He nodded to the guard on his way out, telling the poor guy that he was off duty. Argent looked down at his list of things to do, a numbered list in order of importance. He shook his head. This isn’t gonna do. He kept the list, but turned around and did them in whatever order was the most spontaneous. To his surprise, he got so many more things done for that day than he’d usually do in just an hour, it was almost scary. By the time he’d sat down at the end of the day, he’d crossed out everything for the next week except the most important, Find missing agents. That was when he heard whispering. Darren. He immediately thought. He listened closer.
“You still have them?”

“Yes. They have not given up hope on their so-called ‘family’ here, but they are breaking. We will have them soon.”

Argent could almost hear Darren smiling. That little (!@#$%^&*)(*&^%$#@!) (do not curse, kids, adults have no self-control)(even though he’s only 18-20, haven’t decided yet)

“I’ll stay here and continue throwing that over-trusting, daft young man off our tails for now. Honestly, he’s too fixated on finding those Agents we took to be of any harm. I’ll see you later.”

He rounded the corner and smacked right into Argent. Argent frowned at him. “Hello there, care to explain yourself?”

After locking Darren up and telling the little traitor he’d deal with him later, he walked out onto the balcony and sighed. He was unwinding and figuring out his next move from the information that had come up in front of him. Our missing agents are being held by T.H.I.E.F.! I need to get to them on their earpods and get a location, ASAP. But how?

762 words, Sagittarius prompt, too lazy to italicize everything sorry

WEEKLY PART THREE!!!!!!

Arthur swam slowly around, savoring the cool feeling of the water on his skin. Ahhhhhh, he thought. Just perfect. That was when he noticed the shiny thing resting at the bottom. What is that? He swam quickly down to the bottom where he saw the thing. Looking around he snatched it up. He heard a muffled gasp and the shiny thing shot out of his hand, leaving a scrape. Arthur wanted to follow, but needed air. He kicked desperately to the surface, head breaking the ripples on the lake just as he was feeling as though his lungs would shrivel up and die. He took in a gulp of air and shoving his head back under searching for her. He saw a glint There! What is it? He swam over, but then he felt a pulling. Hunh? The girl shook her head and yelled something as they both got sucked into the current and shoved forcefully back out. He hit his head and blacked out.

Alex had stopped herself before she hit the beach. She had a moment to catch her (Breath? Water? Whatever a mermaid catches when she’s at the bottom of the sea.) then she noticed the human that had been looking for her sinking to the bottom. Do I save him? Humans killed Grandmother, but he is a living being- argh. I’ll get him and deal with it later. Quickly grabbing the body and swimming up to the surface,she spit the boy out onto dry ground, propelling the water from his lungs with magic. After making sure he was comfortable, she swam back down to the hidden current and cast a spell to direct the current in a circle so no one could get sucked into it again, then swam back to the surface. She had a boy to wake up.

Ugh. What- Arthur opened his eyes. Ow. Wait. Where’s the girl? Did she drown? He began looking around until he saw her in the water. She looked up at him from the water and darted away.

“No! Wait! I just want to talk, I promise!” Arthur desperately yelled.

Alex turned around. He just wants to talk? Maybe he doesn’t want to hurt us… He’s my age, after all. I’ll just go see. I can just run away if it gets too bad. She swam forward, admittedly curious to see the boy she’d saved, even if she was suspicious. “Hello” she carefully pronounced in English, the language of humans.

“Hi there. I’m Arthur! Do you live in the water? How do you swim like that?”

Alex startled a little. He doesn’t know! Hmmm- I wonder… she leaped onto a rock on the shore. “I’m a mermaid, or mer,” she explained gently. Arthur stared at her gorgeous dark violet tail that was speckled with white spots.

“It- you- you’re beautiful!” he exclaimed, feeling hot on his cheeks. What the heck? Am I getting a fever?

Alex smiled shyly. “We Mer are all quite pretty, but humans have been hunting us down for decades. Just coming up here to see you was risky. I’m the head of our community, and coming up to the surface- It’s a bad example to my people. I just hope one day the Mer-hunting will stop and we can come out again, teach people our magic, our language, and invite humans to our cities. I just wish it could be like the old days.”

Alex didn’t know why she had just oured all her feelings out to this human. Somehow she knew she could trust him? It didn’t make sense. But whatever. This was the day she’d marked out for herself. She could do and say what she wanted.

“Then I can help you! I’m the prince of Camelot, Arthur! And when I pull the sword from the stone, I’ll end Mer-hunts. Forever. Oh, you guys have your own language? What’s it like?”
Alex smiled. “If you really could stop the hunts, I could work with you to establish trading routes and (things like that)! And our language is kinda like this:” Alex starts a slow hum, then as she adds more words onto the sentence, a melody starts to appear, music words.

Arthur sat, amazed, until the song stopped. “That was awesome! Can you teach me a word or two?” he ran his hands through his wet and extremely messy hair. That was when Alex caught her breath. She could see his soulmark! Her mind snapped back like a rubber band. But I thought Robin could see mine! Unless- I couldn’t see his. This must be the real thing- but he’s a human. Still, it couldn’t hurt to try… She reached out for his arm.

People fall in love in mysterious ways-

Arthur Suddenly stopped his rambling abruptly. Is that a soulmark??? Hmmm- maybe- but she’s a Mer. I can’t breathe underwater to be with her- but does that matter? I’ll just try it. Holding his breath, he reached out… and they felt a shock as their soulmarks lit up.

Maybe at the touch of a hand.

845 words total

WEEKLY- FINAL PART!!!!

SWC is one of my favorite things to do. It’s only my first session, but so far, the first has been the best! I love doing the weekly, and checking for a new daily every day is such an adventure! One of my favorite things is seeing all the comments in both the Main Cabin and the Hi-Fi cabin, my cabin. A lot of people are in the Hi-Fi cabin, and I think I'm making a lot of online friends doing this. I really wish I knew them In real life! Another fun thing I love is watching the leaderboard for who’s on top. Mythology’s been on top for quite a while, but Hi-Fi will soon conquer all. Which brings me to another thing: Friendly banter about the best cabin! I’m sure everyone participated in this before SWC started this session. It’s super hard to come up with witty remarks, especially when they thwart our every argument, but it’s so much fun to let the patriotic juices flow with our cabins!

Before SWC started, I had explored around on @Berricake’s profile and found a project, actually multiple projects, that contained “SWC Leader application” on either the thumbnail or the title. I had really wondered what that was, until one day I clicked on it (just after March 2022 signups had closed I think) and- I got hooked on this idea of a writing camp, where I could write so many words over so much time. I read all the rules and signed up. I read the rules over at least ten times before I signed up, I’m a rule freak. But I thing I did while waiting for July was looking at the memory books and laughing at the banter of goats, ketchup, and mangoes that came up. I can think of a thing or two that could go in this year’s memory book, Grandma wars and more sleep deprivation talk.

I have no dirt on the inside jokes at all, and have no intention of looking thoroughly for jokes about mangoes and goats, but I do hope to make some new inside jokes with the friends that I’ve made here. And does anyone else listen to music in only one earbud while writing? I need to know if anyone else does please… Well, rambling aside, Word wars started while I started writing this, and they look like tons of fun! I really should read the instructions better later.

The actual writing is actually the hardest part. First, you have to stop procrastinating, then you have to decide what to do first, weekly or daily? And usually I do the daily so I can procrastinate on the weekly. But at night, everyone knows, is when the real fun begins. You start out sure you’ll “do it before 11:00, I know it!” Then, 3 hours of procrastination later, you actually start and then get no sleep. Right now, it’s even 1:28, and I’m sitting here writing extra words for the weekly! Procrastination and sleep deprivation are certainly wonders of this world.

I hope you liked this SWC rundown/fanfic from a first-timer, I worked hard on it! (no I swear these words here are not fillers, I altogether wrote 543 words here)

543 words total ;D

DAILY <3

Prompt song: Darkside
Prompt translated (what I could get from the stuff that stayed in German):
We are not in love don't share the story Recently and the world behind us has been plunged into the darkness of the night lately, I'm getting my *A-butt* a little closer to the edge. Stay black all night Tijd hovers under the diamond and follows the rumors Stay black all night We don't say that My Leven you can't be an idiot. Lately he went into the darkness of the night.

Writing:

“No. I couldn’t do that. I’m sorry- we’re not in love.” These were the last words he heard before he turned.

“I’ve been thinking of joining the Darkside for a while now. They’re right about what we need to do. I’m going to join. Will you please come with me?” Aurum asked. He waited for the reply that would surely be yes. I love her, doesn’t she want to be with me?

Tabbi shook her head. “I will not leave this crumbling utopia that I have been raised in for their absurd reasons. Darkside is a horror-ridden catastrophe, and I would prefer to join the decidedly weaker but healthier Brightside. They have lasting morals and commitments, as well as not having a reputation for backstabbing their loyal members.” Why won’t he see that I won't agree with him on these views? When won’t he see that I'm not in love with him? He’s just so complicated.

Aurum was definitely surprised- and more than a little angry. “Why won’t you agree with me? You never agree with me, even when it gets you into trouble!”

Tabbi sighed. “You're just angry because you think you love me when you don’t. I don’t love you, and never will. I do the opposite of everything you say because I think every time, you’ll stop if I disagree, but you don’t. When will you get the message? I’m not in love with you. So get that through your thick brain-wall.”

Aurum was seething. “But why? Why don’t you love me back?!?!” He shouted. “I gave up everything for you, I left my family for you, I’d give up my life for you, just tell me why you won’t love me back! Just tell me what I’m doing wrong so I can fix it!”

Tabbi sighed. The idiot had been convinced that he was ‘In love’ with her since grade school. And it had gotten nowhere. “I don’t love you romantically because of these few extraordinary things: One: you have anger issues. Two: you have no interest in anything I like. Three: you’re my best friend, I physically cannot be your girlfriend too, that’s just selfish. Four: you hate the things I love the most, like family. You left your family not just because of your misguided intentions, but because you hate your family! Five: I am simply not attracted to you in that way. Our relationship is purely platonic. I am not in love with you, and those are my unnecessary reasons why. Just get over it.”

Aurum felt like he’d been punched in the gut and felt the blackness sinking in slowly, but getting faster as his brain replayed the situation over and over. She doesn’t love me. She doesn’t love me. She doesn’t love me. The diamond he always pictured in his head as a mood indicator turned dark as midnight and shattered. He gasped as his emotions turned his vision black then disappeared. He straightened, ice suddenly appearing in his eyes. “Then I’ll leave. I know there’s nothing for me if I stay, and you won’t care anyway. You probably never cared at all.”

Tabbi gasped. I pushed too far! His illness- his soul diamond must have shattered. This is bad. Can I save him? She quickly blocked the door before he could leave and desperately heaved out “I- I didn't mean it like that! I need you still- you’re my best friend! The collapsing world behind us may have been plunged into the darkness of night lately, but there’s always a new dawn, right? We can still be friends! I can still be here for you, still help you with big words in your college papers, still need you around for companionship and fun, still need you for help with ditching P.E., still can help you with prank ideas, please-”

“No.” Aurum felt the word coming out of his mouth and hated the taste of it on his lips, but let it leave his mind. “I would stay if I still felt you had something in store for me, but I won’t any other way. You can’t stop me unless you say it.”

Tabbi sighed and felt an enormous wave of sadness wash her away. He won’t go back on it- he’s determined. He’s- gone. Her hands shaking, she stepped back and took a last longing look at his face, the last look she’d get before he joined the Darkside and started hunting her down for revenge over his broken heart, and uttered a few simple words.

“No. I couldn’t do that. Ever. I’m sorry- we’re not in love, and we share no stories.”


772 words worth of character torture ;D

DAILY :D

Sophie looked around and sighed. The destruction all around showed the fruitless results or their battle against the Neverseen that day. The battle had been hard, and even though they had captured two of the Neverseen operatives, the victory was admittedly one of the smallest wins the team had ever had. Fitz stepped up and put his hand on her shoulder. She pulled away, feeling guilty- but also not guilty. Confused, she turned away, brooding. Fitz looked like he was about to say something, but closed his mouth and walked away. Sophie turned back to the damage and watched the gnomes and goblins helping to clean up the damage and couldn’t help but let out a sob. Out of all their worst battles, this had to be the most destructive of them all. The worst of the worst. Everything had been devastated, and several of her friends were hospitalized after being sliced or crushed by debris and Neverseen members. She herself had been cut in several places from various hazards. Every time she looked at the destruction, her first reaction was to cringe and wonder what they could have done better. And everytime she looked in hindsight, it got worse. They could have focused on blowing it up instead of focusing on taking the Neverseen down, could have prioritized getting out over capturing the members, or they could have avoided the situation entirely. But every time the city fell, even though there were fewer injuries. She just didn’t know what to do. Or actually, she did know what to do. She needed to get even with them. But plan for it in secret. Because if she got any more of her friends in trouble because the Black Swan insisted that she bring her friends, she knew she would snap. Even Keefe would stay out of this one.

Two weeks later she had a plan. It wasn’t the best, but it was flexible and it made sure none of her friends got hurt. And once it was in action, there was no stopping it. That part was a little scary, but it had to be done. Standing near the cliffs, she stared down into the depths of the fog and wondered why things like the Neverseen existed. Honestly, sometimes it felt like they lived out entire universes of pain brought on by what could only be explained as idiotic teenage fangirls making crappy fanfictions of a universe that was technically someone else’s to torture. As she went over her plan again, she focused on something to keep her anchored, something she’d decided to do in case the nightmares came for her again. She’d decided Keefe would be her anchor, so she thought of all the times he’d flirted with her, all the ‘excursions’ they went on, every time he’d looked at her affectionately and she’d missed the implication of his stare, the feelings she was aware of now that she was leaping to get him. Once she had safely buried everything but the plan under the mound of pure fluff, she closed her eyes. And before Sandor could process what she was doing and grab her hand, she jumped, Sandor’s threats ringing in her ears. She concentrated and cracked the sky.


*gasps* I wrote extra in between just so I could leave a cliffhanger ;]
a round 540 words ;D

DAILYYYYY

Sarah looked around the sale, bored. “Mo-om, can’t you just get what you wanted so we can go? It’s bo-ring here.”

Her mother just sighed. “Dear, I’m shopping, please just go look at something until I’m done.”

Sarah sighed and walked off, glaring at everything. Why can’t I just go home? I’m 12, after all. Then she noticed the sketchbook lying in a corner, looking sad and forgotten. What? Is it even priced? Looking around, she picked it up and slipped it into her jacket as her mom called for her to “hurry up, we’re going home!”

Back at home, Sarah unwrapped the sketchbook from her jacket. “I wonder what secrets you hold.” she said to the book, wondering why she was talking to it. As she opened the cover she almost shrieked. The art inside was of corpses and ghouls and monsters almost unimaginable, looking real enough to leap out of the pa- This time she actually screamed. The drawings- they’re jumping out of the pages! Then the pictures flew through the wall. Oh no. She thought. I need to find them. After shoving on a jacket and rushing out the door telling her mom she was going on a walk, she immediately pulled out the sketchbook and told it “take me to your drawings or I’ll burn you to ashes.” The book lights up and an arrow points towards a direction and words appear under the arrow. The drawings are looking for the artist. This arrow will guide you to them. Get to the guy first and it’ll all be over. Sarah hesitated, then gave in. After all, if she died on this crazy thingamabob, she would haunt the idiot who drew the cursed things in the first place. “Let’s go,” she said, gearing up to run. And going in the direction that was closest to the neighborhood abandoned alley.

By the time she got there, she was sweaty, out of breath, and extremely annoyed at the book. Because it was pretending it was siri. Literally and badly. “Take a left then double back because you’re pretty much here already and I’m evil.” she almost threw it on the ground. “wiLL YOU PLEASE STOP TALKING IN MY HEAD ALREADY????” she yelled. Then she caught sight of the drawings rounding the corner. “WHAT THE HECK I THOUGHT YOU GOT US HERE ON TIME!!!” The book had the decency to look ashamed. I hadn’t thought of the time… I thought they were slower!!! Sarah groaned “ARRRGGGHHH just get us there!!” the book seemed a little scared, which Sarah reveled in for all of five seconds before death-glaring the book. “Take me to the artist NOW.” Well then don’t be a grouch, just go in the house! Sarah huffed a breath and started running again.

By the time she had actually found the artist, he mumbled out a few sentences and grabbed the book. Sarah, who was completely done with it, but still a little sad to see it go, let him take it. When the monsters rounded the corner, he sucked them back into the book and locked it up.

“Well, that was a pain, right?” she glared at him and threatened, “If anyone picks that up and those things get out again, you’re not getting help from me.” he looked a little scared, but looked her in the eye and said, “I won’t let it out of my sight. 13 year old me was a train wreck on steroids.” she sighed, then heard an alarm in the background. Everything faded out and she found herself in bed, with an identical sketchbook on her bedside table.

The first thing she did that morning was burn it to ashes.

618 words ;D

DAILY :D

Natasha could recall the two and a half minutes it took to capture her. She was F.A.I.T.H’s most stealthy and well— trained operative, and yet they snuck up on her. It had happened while her group was on a trip searching for data on T.H.I.E.F's latest advances on the intranet. Their scouts had detected physical and researchical activity on the spot. The team had collectively decided to check it out, but when they got there, it all started. First Rogers went missing. A few seconds later, Rachel disappeared. By the time anyone knew what was going on, both George and Thalia had gone. Everyone panicked but Natasha. Wrongly. She figured she could take them- she was the best fighter in her squadron, for goodness’ sake! But she was wrong. She should have been very, very, very afraid. They had information beyond imagination. Quickly, quietly, they scooped up her team members and left her alone. And alone was her worst fear. She had always surrounded herself with people and friends she trusted so she wouldn’t be alone, but the operatives knew how to get to her. They had her surrounded within seconds.she started panicking inside, hyperventilating a little. As she struggled to stop her eyes from flickering from face to face, she heard the leader say, “All alone now, are we, Natto? Everyone you love eventually leaves. That’s the way life is. No one is trustworthy. They all leave.” Father?! Nat thought, incredulous. He smiled sickly. “Well, at least we’re together, eh Natto? Together… Forever.” with that last word, dripping with venom, Nat snapped. The operatives jumped on her, she fought back- it didn’t matter. She was trapped. With her father. In the worst place imaginable. And situations with her father never ended up okay.

303 words, no italics, sorry. ;D if this seems too much for just two and a half minutes, well, realistic is not my thing XD this is a first had account of what happened to the group of missing agents mentioned in daily #6.

DAAAAAAILY

Skye had always yearned to see the surface. Scary stories about the Realm Above were told in multitude, but they never deterred her. In fact, the horrendous stories about the society that dwelled Above only made her more curious about the supposed savages that existed under the same sun that shone to the Belows. Stories of the above were what had compelled her to search for the fabled things of Above under the waves. Stories of an ‘SWC’ where the humans ate mangoes, a horrendous poison, bred land-dweller goats, and committed ‘arson’ with a substance called ‘fire’ while screaming pushed her to find a sunken SWC ship. A story of how they burned their words and stories into mashed trees and competed for how many words they can write across several trees piqued her curiosity, so she searched for their words in the ship. A mango once fell into the Belows, so Skye decided to try it, much to the horror of others and fascination of herself. The Above seemed like a dream, until a ship passed above.

Skye immediately snuck out to investigate. The ship had the acronym ‘SWC’ printed on the side and was floating along quite well compared to the badly built wreck she frequented. But she could still see several places that would sink the ship if a storm happened to roll in. like the one that had just appeared. Oh no. She ducked under the water just as the ship started to sink. As she watched, fascinated, she noticed a human crashing into the ocean instead of one of the smaller boats. Almost before she could think about what she was doing, she had flicked over and was swimming the human to shore. Only once she had gotten the human to safety, and the water out of the poor person’s lungs, she thought. On one hand, humans! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! On the other hand, I’m totally grounded. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Suddenly, she noticed the human moving. Her attention immediately snapped back to the girl who was slowly coming to her senses and looking around. Then, the girl noticed Skye. “oh-my-gosh-a-mermaid-I-must-be-dead-oh-my-gosh-what’s-your-name-this-is-so-cool” she spluttered. Skye looked at her, a little puzzled, as she hadn’t caught many of the words, just enough to tell her, “I don’t think you’re dead? But I. have. so. Many. Questions!” the girl stared. Then she laughed. “I’ll tell you everything! Maybe if you can visit I can even show you around!” As Skye listened, entrapured, she started picturing a place for her in this crazy, amazing, beautiful world Above…

A few days later, she came to the Above, almost shining with excitement. “Hey! Guys! Hello!” as heads turned up, she saw the camper she had rescued rush over and wave to her. “You made it just in time for signups! How did you even get legs?” Skye practically radiated excitement. “I went to a magic person to get them! They told me I could have them as long as I got the first weekly done before the week ends at midnight.” The other girl smiled. “Easy enough! Welcome to SWC!” Skye finally felt like she belonged.

The day before the weekly ended, Skye suddenly remembered her bargain with the mage. She had forgotten, between all the dailies and mangos and chaos! Quickly, she started writing, but as she wrote the last word, the clock changed. It was 12:01. She had lost. As she transformed back into a mermaid, she woke up her friend, who immediately knew what was wrong. “Don’t worry, it happens all the time! People miss deadlines by a fraction. It’ll still count for us, but your tail… That's gonna be tricky. I’ll take it up with our host, but you need to go back in the water.”

The next couple of days, Skye waited for a response, but none came. The day she had almost given up hope, of course, was when it came. Her friend ran down to the spot that Skye had rescued her and shouted excitedly, “YOU’RE ALLOWED IN AS AN HONORARY UNTIL WE CAN GET YOU A WAY ONTO LAND!!!!” Skye’s spirits soared. She could be in SWC while she sorted out how to be on land! She laughed out loud. “OH YEAH!!!!” she yelled. She finally, somehow, belonged.

no italics for you >:] 711 words ;D The Little Mermaid adaptation for scratch/story (the real one is more romantic/dark)

DDDDDDAILY

Sophie waited, impatient. When is Keefe gonna get here? He should have been here ages ago! Then, she noticed a flash out of the corner of her eye. “Hello, Foster!” he announced. “I’m here with mallowmelt! And a surprise.” he winked, and she felt her heart skip a beat. Even though they had been together for around five years, making her (insert actual age because I can’t keep her age straight) she wondered why Keefe had asked her out so suddenly, was he about to do something stupid like dumping her? Or was he just out to have a good tim- nope. He exuded nervousness as he managed to trip over seventeen rocks, sweated bucketfuls, twisted his hands, and seemingly forgot to talk. Sophie stopped him before he could walk (or trip over) any further stretch. “What’s going on?” she asked, suspicious. “What do you mean?” he said. Fast. Sophie glared at him. “I’m not oblivious anymore, Keefe. You’re really nervous, what’s going on? Are you dumping me? Running away? Oh my gosh, did anyone die???” He had the audacity to laugh. “Oh wow… Sophie, we need to work on your detective skills.” He suddenly shoved the mallowmelt into her hands and clumsily slipped and fell - skidded - tripped - gently - leaned - down onto one knee. Sophie frowned. “Are you okay? That looks like it hurts… and you’ve been tripping on stuff… Plus, you called me by my first name. Maybe we should take you to Elwi-” He pulled out a ring, and she dropped the mallowmelt. Into the random plot device mud. It became inedible. Keefe smirked cockily. “Sophie, I- I’ve never quite felt that I deserve you. But every time I look into your eyes, I fall deeper. You’re the most perfect person I’ve met- well, aside from the obliviousness. And you’re by far the kindest, most caring elf I’ve ever heard of. I love you with all my heart, and WHOOPS-” He dropped the ring, and it landed at her feet. She picked it up and was quiet. Then she slipped it on and screamed, “YOU WERE NERVOUS ABOUT THIS???? YES YES YES!!!!” Keefe relaxed, relieved. He smiled and kissed her. Then he stepped back and shook his head. “You just had to ruin our engagement cake. Whatever, we’ll just make Edaline bake us a new one!” Sophie blushed. “That was what it was? I thought it was just for a date, but then again, I wasn’t expecting thi-” she was cut off as Grady rounded the corner waving a spiked baseball bat, yelling, “I HEARD EVERY WORD, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, PROPOSING WITHOUT MY PERMISSION FIRST???” Keefe turned white. “Um- Edaline later. I think-” Sophie nodded. “Run now. Cake later.” She spent the rest of the day smiling with Edaline, watching Keefe and Grady bonding. (after Keefe evaded the baseball bat, of course)

481 words ;D -of pure Sokeefe trash that I write about too much ahaha- no setting anywhere

readingCat11 wrote:

DAILY!!!!!!!!

Evening:
Argent was unwinding and figuring out his next move from the information that had come up in front of him. Our missing agents are being held by T.H.I.E.F.! I need to get to them on their earpods and get a location, ASAP. But how?

That Morning:
Argent ran around the stronghold, gathering papers and documents. “We need that thesis on the psychological long-term effects of PTSD printed out now. And while you’re- You! You there! Yes, go grab the search team, they just came in through the gates, we need a report now.” Argent ran past the poor guy over to the door, all but abandoning his coffee.

“Sir, you forgot-” one concerned agent called out, but Argent stopped them.

“I’m too busy, you can go ahead and drink it!” He shouted before running out of the door and toward the debrief room to ring for the search team and go through the rather hefty stack of papers in his hands. By the time the search team got there, Argent had strewn papers all over the table in a messy sort of system.

He looked up. “Come sit down! But don’t touch anything- I have them organized. Is there any news on the missing agents and honoraries?”

The leader of the group, Darren, sighed. “Again, sir, no. It’s like they disappeared off the edge of the planet. I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s no trails, clues, or signs of struggle anywhere they could have gone. So whoever or whatever took them, they were very thorough.”

“You think something took them.”

“That, or they defected, sir.”

“Mmm. okay then. Please write a report and send it to me. I need every detail, that or up-to-date photos on the places they could have gone. Every one you visited.”

“Of course. May I inquire, sir, why are you so determined to bring the missing ones back?”

Argent was taken aback. “Why would I not be? They all have families here, or civilian families waiting for them. I’ve been doing everything I can to keep everyone calm, besides, if they really have defected or died, we need to find them to give closure to their families and make sure they aren't selling our secrets to the other side.”

Darren nodded. “I’ll give you the report when I’m done. With pictures.”

Argent nodded back. “Right. Off with you then.”

As Darren scooted out the door, Argent sighed and picked at the papers, feeling lost. What am I doing wrong? He wondered. I’ve given the families off-time, I’ve gotten search teams out, I have people at the radio towers searching for signals to their Earpods, what is going wrong? Suddenly he stood up, picking up his mess, the papers half signed in messy scrawls. He nodded to the guard on his way out, telling the poor guy that he was off duty. Argent looked down at his list of things to do, a numbered list in order of importance. He shook his head. This isn’t gonna do. He kept the list, but turned around and did them in whatever order was the most spontaneous. To his surprise, he got so many more things done for that day than he’d usually do in just an hour, it was almost scary. By the time he’d sat down at the end of the day, he’d crossed out everything for the next week except the most important, Find missing agents. That was when he heard whispering. Darren. He immediately thought. He listened closer.
“You still have them?”

“Yes. They have not given up hope on their so-called ‘family’ here, but they are breaking. We will have them soon.”

Argent could almost hear Darren smiling. That little (!@#$%^&*)(*&^%$#@!) (do not curse, kids, adults have no self-control)(even though he’s only 18-20, haven’t decided yet)

“I’ll stay here and continue throwing that over-trusting, daft young man off our tails for now. Honestly, he’s too fixated on finding those Agents we took to be of any harm. I’ll see you later.”

He rounded the corner and smacked right into Argent. Argent frowned at him. “Hello there, care to explain yourself?”

After locking Darren up and telling the little traitor he’d deal with him later, he walked out onto the balcony and sighed. He was unwinding and figuring out his next move from the information that had come up in front of him. Our missing agents are being held by T.H.I.E.F.! I need to get to them on their earpods and get a location, ASAP. But how?

762 words, Sagittarius prompt, too lazy to italicize everything sorry

Hey! So I'm, uh, going to critique this for the daily I guess? (I'm so sorry if my feedback is trash but I'll try my best.)

So first things first, the good things. I liked the plot of the story, and I think Argent is a really interesting character. World-building is great too, with all the organisations and stuff. (Love the acronym for T.H.I.E.F) Dialogue was also well written, I could feel Argent's anxiety in the first part through his speech.

Now for some possible improvements. Argent generally comes across as a very selfless person from the way he thinks about the missing agents and their families, so if you intended to do that, then that was perfect execution. But, I also think maybe you could make Argent have a little more of a dark side, because I feel typically in spy/agent type of stories, the main character is a little hardened from everything he's seen before. Though, having that selflessness as Argent's sort of “other side” would be great. But if this twists his character into something you don't like, then just stick to how he is now.

Another thing (not your fault, but) I keep reading Argent as Agent (I know, something's wrong with my eyes) but I feel like other people might get a little confused if they read wrongly, so maybe change his name to something a little more distinct. Argent's a nice name though, just that it keeps. tripping. my. eyes.

All in all, I really liked this story! Great job

(258 words)

Writing Competition Entry

The Beginning Of A Friendship

This is an account of the events leading up to, and during, the Great Peace. These two children, (teens) are integral to the story, as they are the cause. Follow LeafSilk of Solace, who has lived in the forest all her life, suspicious of all, and TomRick of Alandia, who has lived a trusting life, almost incapable of suspicion against anyone. Together these two almost opposites will go against the odds and become allies, joining two kingdoms after 5,000 years of mistrust.

LeafSilk POV

I glance around, scared someone will see me. So far, I’ve been lucky, but that doesn’t mean It’ll be the same this time. After scanning the streets, I jump into the bushes, grateful no one saw. After sneaking out, I slowly follow my well- hidden and well- trodden path. Having been here so many times, I can follow the trail with my eyes closed. While drinking in the numerous scents and sounds of Harbinger Forest, the forest in which my home (the settlement Solace) is located, I can pick out the good sounds and bad sounds, a skill honed from practice. The sounds of crickets, the smell of wild honey, blueberries, blackberries, plus the sounds of bears in the distance, the smell of skunks, the roar of a river, and finally, the sound of running footfalls. Wait- I pause, senses alert and legs crouching and ready to run. Listening, my ears pick up footfalls coming from… the opposite direction of Solace. Good.

After relaxing a little, hearing a noise behind me makes me whirl around, almost clocking the poor guy standing behind me in the head. He looks at me, quizzical, and asks, “What are you doing in the middle of the Harbinger Forest? Are you lost, like me?” His face looks so hopeful…

“No, I’m not lost. The question is, are you from outside Harbinger? Outside the forest?” I say, almost surprised to hear the words coming from my mouth. What the heck happened to being quiet? To ‘Silence is Virtue’? I shake my head, clearing my mind of all thoughts before turning my attention back to the boy. He looked both hopeful and sad together, an odd look on an odd boy.

“So if you’re not lost, what are you? And who are you?” he asks, obviously confused.

“I- I’m-” What do you say to a boy that you shouldn’t tell about your home??? Ugh. I- fine. The truth is what he wants, the truth is what he gets. “I’m from a town? City? Inside the forest. We’re just outside it. My name is LeafSilk. Do you have a name? What about a town or country? And are you prepared to come into the town? Because people are gonna swarm you for stories.” Honestly, it’s annoying how they do that… and again with the talking. Ugh.

“Wow- that’s a lot of questions.” the boy states flat out, confirming the suspicions that I’m talking too much. “Well, I’m TomRick! I come from Alandia, a country bordering this forest. And… yeah. I think so? I got lost here, so anyone who can get me out is welcome, I guess. I’m not really a storyteller… It’s banned in my country anyway. But I can try?”

My eyes widen. Alandia is the reason we settled here! The one that declared war on us 5,000 years ago… that alone is a reason to be more guarded around him. “Wellllllll, then come along, back to civilization.” starting to walk back the way I came, I froze. “TomRick.” I quickly add, hoping the boy didn’t catch my slip. He smiled, seemingly oblivious. Close one there… gotta be careful with him. Can’t be too suspicious.

TomRick POV

By the time we got through the gates at the front of the well-hidden, bustling town that was called Solace, the guards posted at the top of the wall surrounding the city had spotted us. Of course, It’s all good now, the people are mobbing me for news and stuff, but it was a little weird how they narrowed their eyes at Leaf like they were suspicious. But she seems like a good enough person, right? But now it’s getting to be a bit much with the people… just as I thought that, I spotted Leaf waving their arms at me near a group of official- looking people. Muttering excuses to the nice mob, I wade through them to bound up to the group of formals.

“Hello, sirs, ma’ams, I’m TomRick from Alandia!” I practically yell. Oops, too loud- I notice as Leaf facepalms in the corner. But that doesn’t put a damper on my enthusiasm. These people can get me home!

The man in front winces a little and says, “Um- young man, we’re honored to have you here, but I’m afraid we can’t spare anyone to get you home. Especially not to Alandia- even the thought is preposterous. We’ve been enemies for centuries.” My spirits drop almost to the bottom of the earth. I can’t go home? My thoughts immediately spiral to my family. They’ll be so worried- or is that just me? I need them. I have to go back!

That’s when I hear Leaf speak up. “But sirs/ma’ams, he needs to go back to his own people! He doesn’t exactly have family here, and it’s not our fault. Why not guide him back?”

The officials look outraged. “You defy us?” the front one asks. “Take the boy with you to your home and learn some respect. That is not how you talk to your governors!”

Leaf opened her mouth, but closed it and grabbed my hand. “Come on, we’re going to my place.” “TomRick,” she adds, catching herself again. Hmm- is she forgetting my name in her sentences on purpose or- I shrug my thoughts away, not caring. To my surprise, she leads me over to the bushes near the outskirts of the settlement. “What-” I begin, but she shushes and pushes me into the forest through the leaves.

To my surprise, I hear myself indignantly exclaiming, “What was that about??” That’s not very nice, be gracious! She grunted, “I’m taking you to ‘my place’. In the woods. Where I’m getting you back to your people.” I stare at her, a little dumbfounded.

“But that’s breaking the rules!” Breaking the rules means punishment!

“Does it look like I care? Some rules are there to protect you, sure. But when you have a brain and soul, there are responsibilities that you have. One of those is to help others. And honestly? I wanna see those officials’ faces when they realize their newest Elemental mage has gone missing.”

Wait- what? Most of that makes sense, but… “You’re an Elemental mage??? That’s so cool!” I feel the excitement bubbling up in me, almost exploding out. “A mage- I’ve never seen a mage before! What can you do??”

She grimaced, and ushered me down the path without saying anything. I shut up, sure I had said something wrong. But after walking a while she spoke up. “I had to get out of listening range- I don’t want them to know yet. I’m a water mage, I can do- watery things, I guess. I’ve been training over here.” she shoved aside some ferns, and my jaw dropped. “Welcome to my place”

LeafSilk POV

At least he seems impressed. I started immediately for the small shed that I kept stocked with food, survival kits, backpacks, and other stuff for training.

He stopped marveling at my stuff and ran over. “What can I grab? This is like a camping trip! Or, I think it is. I’ve never been camping. Do you think it’s safe?” he asked, suddenly sounding a little unsure. “I mean, we could get bit by a snake, or run over, or flooded, or attacked, or captured, or hurt, or-” I cut him off by shoving a backpack in his hands. “Put that on.” I said, brusquely. “We’re gonna be fine. I know my way around and this isn’t my first time in the forest. I’ll get you to your town and get back.” He looked a little comforted by that, but still a little worried. Naive, but okay. He’s not too bad at heart- but whatever. “Let’s get going.” we say in unison, and he laughs. Well- I guess that was funny. And with that, I led the way out, and our travels began.

He wasn’t bad to have as a companion after I got through to his inner self. He had some good humor, and even though Tom still had a little too much trust, he wasn’t half bad. Even if he was cursed with bad timing. Like that one time he jumped in the river as I was just getting out. Or when he ran back to ‘grab something’ just as I was flooding away the evidence of our campsite. We even had some nice times together, like me teaching him how to storytell over a dinner of fresh caught fish that he had shown me how to catch. After that, we regularly traded stories of our homes over meals, explaining this, expanding on that, reminiscing about whatever- and I have to say, it was- nice, for once not to be alone.

And we kept on in this way until we came to the edges of the forest.

1556 words, for the weekly and writing comp ;D
Hi-Fi ftw

So far, I’ve been lucky. That doesn’t mean It’ll be the same this time.

I think you can combine these two sentences, as in: “So far, I've been lucky, but that doesn't mean it'll be the same this time.” That will vary your sentence lengths, making it more appealing to the reader.

After scanning the streets, I jumped into the bushes, grateful no one saw.

This is a tense issue. “Jumped” is in past tense, even though everything else is in present-tense. This can easily be fixed by changing “jumped” to “jump.”

Having been here so many times, I can follow the trail while closing my eyes and drinking in the numerous scents and sounds of Harbinger.

This is an unnecessarily long sentence. To make it more concise, try something like “I can follow the trail with my eyes closed”. Instead of “drinking in the numerous scents and sounds” you could say “while detecting the scents and smells of Harbinger.”
Also, what's Harbinger? I think you could elaborate on what Harbinger is, because the first time I read this, I was confused.

He looked somehow both hopeful and sad and terrified all at once.

These two words are redundant. “Both” is used to indicate two things, yet in this sentence, you mention three feelings. So I think you can get rid of that. “Somehow” doesn't really contribute to the sentence either; in this case, its one of those unnecessary filler words.

What do you say to a boy that you’re not sure you should tell about your home???

This sentence is a little hard to follow; I had to read it a few times to understand it. I think you should consider re-wording this sentence so that it flows better.

By the time we got through the gates, the guards had spotted us. Of course, It’s all good now, the people are mobbing me for news and stuff, but it was a little weird how they narrowed their eyes at Leaf like they were suspicious. But she seems like a good enough person, right? But now it’s getting to be a bit much with the people… just as I thought that, I spotted Leaf waving their arms at me near a group of official- looking people. Muttering excuses to the nice mob, I wade through them to bound up to the group of formals.

Which gates are TomRick and Leafsilk traveling through? Perhaps you could elaborate more on where they are?

(sorry, I have to go now, so that's all the critique I can give ^^ One thing I would focus on is being more clear of your settings/characters, and that would make it a lot easier to follow! Nice job, I really liked the characters' thoughts!)

Weekly! :DDD

Weekly Part 1

1. Deep, Dark Forest, little-to-no sun
2. Night-vision, advanced light tech, select few go to see the sun
3. Mostly eat bugs and plants, plant-based clothes, tree houses, write in clay to preserve forest
4. Built there because ancestors were on the run and founded the hiding place/colony
5. Not many visitors make it to the place. Visitors and passer-bys are regarded in the highest light, often pressed for new stories and news.
6. Tree houses are mainly built for camouflage, but functionality as well. and since and since the forest is covered in flowers, the people integrate beauty into their camouflage.
7. only 6-8 governors at a time. Control/govern people, next biggest organization is the Knitting Club (KC) in the nursing home
8. The Chosen is put on the throne by the entry test called the “Test” all members of the government try out, and the best is Chosen
9. Many are paranoid about enemies because of the reason they came to the forest, many also accept bribes from the wealthy.
10. What people think about the government: “Very accomplished. The best, or we wouldn’t be here.” - Governor
“We could do better. Find better.” -Revolutionist “Nope” - Farmer
11. The government has never seen any, but has no negotiational tact, so badly, cares about the people? yeah, minimally. As in deciding where that shop goes. (because it’s slightly corrupt, *shhhh*)
12. One of the reasons to sign up is, well, power. The ability to pass laws. To get in you get another test * sighs * the candidates get a test. Why wouldn't you want in? powercorruptionphobia is a thing and being viewed as “one of them”.
13. Chosen is practically worshiped within the government. Treasurer is the lowest rank and is ridiculed.
14. The STRESS of being in charge is crushing. Also, that one joke about John and potatoes + cranberries. And the reason for their seclusion (they kill retired governors).

Language and Icons
15. Governors speak fancy British things. The rest speak American (um IDK)

16. Talking a lot is seen as annoying, but not talking is seen as virtuous, due to their on-the-run ancestors.
17. Small talk is usually about politicians or gossip. If you want a deep conversation, bring up food. Everyone will start talking and telling you the best places and spout metaphors and poems.
18. Government people get side-eyes and have fancy clothes and accents and revolutionists don’t have a stereotype (yet).
19. Government:
Revolution:
Enter:
Exit:
Only:
Everyone:
20. Green: Poisonous
Red: Sour
Yellow: Government
Purple: Everyone
Orange: ??? (secret corrupt stuff)
Blue: Revolution
21. The poorer you are, the less clothes without holes. Badges are assigned to people in certain occupations.
22. Storytelling is one of the finest arts in the culture. The subject is /taught in school/. Flower arrangement and gardening are esteemed and taught as well but are not as high.

Magic * with specific spells for killing
23. Anything from levitating to color-change. Cannot murder or kill* without black magic. Bringing dead to life is impossible, but having a chat with a ghost is weird, but possible.
24. Most that have magic are treated with varying amounts of respect based on how powerful. Most street magicians are appreciated and generally overlooked, while magicians specializing in landscape are higher-up, with elementals and darks being well feared and respected.
25. Laws against magic are simple: You need a license saying which magic you’re majoring in, and you have to promise not to kill anyone.
26. Most street magicians use manmade tricks and potions, but Elementals usually are born with dormant power that reveals around 12-18.
27. The consequences of dark magic naturally is the eventual corruption of the mind and body. Legal consequences for killing someone is jail and then parole.
28. Street magicians and such are common, while Elementals are rare and dark magicians are half the crime on the streets.
29. Man-made Mages’ potions indicate readiness by mushroom cloud. Natural magic is shown as little wisps of color according to the wizard’s personality snaking along with the enchanted thing.

660 words ;D

In the deepest part of a forest heavily cloaked and hidden from outsiders without maps, as well as carnivorous plants to the point of no sunlight, a village awaits unseen. The people there have incredible eyesight in the dark, extremely advanced light technology that uses no fuel, and no winter. Their diet mostly consists of bugs and any plant they can get their hands on, having built up an immunity to non-magical poisons centuries ago. Living in beautifully decorated and constructed tree houses perched high above the ground, these humans settled here around 5,000 years ago because of an army they were fleeing. Because of this fact, the fleeing humans selected a place that would keep out both unwanted and unknowing visitors that didn’t either know the way in or stumble across the way in on accident. This fact keeps the people within the community bubbling for new stories, whether they be patched- up old ones or entirely new ones brought in by foregin visitors. Visitors are rare, and so are begged for stories and held in the highest standards during their stay. Storytelling is also taught as an art and profession in school, along with the decidedly lesser- but- still- important arts of flower arrangement and gardening. People are given pins upon coming- of- age according to their chosen profession, such as storytellers would have symbols of an open book and mouth on their pin, so everyone knows they’re a storyteller. Some people can be a street (or regular) magician as a profession. Natural magicians are born with a gift for magic, but others that choose to pursue the art have to study and use manmade magic, such as potions. Natural magicians use magic originating from inside them, using resources they were born with to perform feats like weather and elements for the highest and levitation and color- change for the lesser. Some magic indicators are: potions indicate readiness with a mushroom cloud. Natural magic has wisps of color according to the mage’s personality snaking around the enchanted object the entire time the spell is being carried out.

305 words ;D

This is an account of the events leading up to, and during, the Great Peace. These two children, (teens) are integral to the story, as they are the cause. Follow LeafSilk of Solace, who has lived in the forest all her life, suspicious of all, and TomRick of Alandia, who has lived a trusting life, almost incapable of suspicion against anyone. Together these two almost opposites will go against the odds and become allies, joining two kingdoms after 5,000 years of mistrust.

LeafSilk POV

I glance around, scared someone will see me. So far, I’ve been lucky, but that doesn’t mean It’ll be the same this time. After scanning the streets, I jump into the bushes, grateful no one sees. After sneaking out, I slowly follow my well- hidden and well- trodden path. Having been here so many times, I can follow the trail with my eyes closed. While drinking in the numerous scents and sounds of Harbinger Forest, the forest in which my home (the settlement Solace) is located, I can pick out the good sounds and bad sounds, a skill honed from practice. The sounds of crickets, the smell of wild honey, blueberries, blackberries, plus the sounds of bears in the distance, the smell of skunks, the roar of a river, and finally, the sound of running footfalls. Wait- I pause, senses alert and legs crouching and ready to run. Listening, my ears pick up footfalls coming from… the opposite direction of Solace. Good.

After relaxing a little, hearing a noise behind me makes me whirl around, almost clocking the poor guy standing behind me in the head. He looks at me, quizzical, and asks, “What are you doing in the middle of the Harbinger Forest? Are you lost, like me?” His face looks so hopeful…

“No, I’m not lost. The question is, are you from outside Harbinger? Outside the forest?” I say, almost surprised to hear the words coming from my mouth. What the heck happened to being quiet? To ‘Silence is Virtue’? I shake my head, clearing my mind of all thoughts before turning my attention back to the boy. He looked both hopeful and sad together, an odd look on and odd boy.

“So if you’re not lost, what are you? And who are you?” he asks, obviously confused.

“I- I’m-” What do you say to a boy that you shouldn’t tell about your home??? Ugh. I- fine. The truth is what he wants, the truth is what he gets. “I’m from a town? City? Inside the forest. We’re just outside it. My name is LeafSilk. Do you have a name? What about a town or country? And are you prepared to come into the town? Because people are gonna swarm you for stories.” Honestly, it’s annoying how they do that… and again with the talking. Ugh.

“Wow- that’s a lot of questions.” the boy states flat out, confirming the suspicions that I’m talking too much. “Well, I’m TomRick! I come from Alandia, a country bordering this forest. And… yeah. I think so? I got lost here, so anyone who can get me out is welcome, I guess. I’m not really a storyteller… It’s banned in my country anyway. But I can try?”

My eyes widen. Alandia is the reason we settled here! The one that declared war on us 5,000 years ago… that alone is a reason to be more guarded around him. “Wellllllll, then come along, back to civilization.” starting to walk back the way I came, I froze. “TomRick.” I quickly add, hoping the boy didn’t catch my slip. He smiled, seemingly oblivious. Close one there… gotta be careful with him. Can’t be too suspicious.

TomRick POV

By the time we got through the gates at the front of the well-hidden, bustling town that was called Solace, the guards posted at the top of the wall surrounding the city had spotted us. Of course, It’s all good now, they’re mobbing me for news and stuff, but it was a little weird how they narrowed their eyes at Leaf like they were suspicious. But she seems like a good enough person, right? But now it’s getting to be a bit much with the people… just as I thought that, I spotted Leaf waving their arms at me near a group of official- looking people. Muttering excuses to the nice people, I wade through them to bound up to the group of formals.

“Hello, sirs, ma’ams, I’m TomRick from Alandia!” I practically yell. Oops, too loud- I notice as Leaf facepalms in the corner. But that doesn’t put a damper on my enthusiasm. These people can get me home!

The man in front winces a little and says, “Um- young man, we’re honored to have you here, but I’m afraid we can’t spare anyone to get you home. Especially not to Alandia- even the thought is preposterous. We’ve been enemies for centuries.” My spirits drop almost to the bottom of the earth. I can’t go home? My thoughts immediately spiral to my family. They’ll be so worried- or is that just me? I need them. I have to go back!

That’s when I hear Leaf speak up. “But sirs/ma’ams, he needs to go back to his own people! He doesn’t exactly have family here, and it’s not our fault. Why not guide him back?”

The officials look outraged. “You defy us?” the front one asks. “Take the boy with you to your home and learn some respect. That is not how you talk to your governors!”

Leaf opened her mouth, but closed it and grabbed my hand. “Come on, we’re going to my place.” “TomRick,” she adds, catching herself again. Hmm- is she forgetting my name in her sentences on purpose or- I shrug my thoughts away, not caring. To my surprise, she leads me over to the bushes near the outskirts of the settlement. “What-” I begin, but she shushes and pushes me into the forest through the leaves.

To my surprise, I hear myself indignantly exclaiming, “What was that about??” That’s not very nice, be gracious! She grunted, “I’m taking you to ‘my place’. In the woods. Where I’m getting you back to your people.” I stare at her, a little dumbfounded.

“But that’s breaking the rules!” Breaking the rules means punishment!

“Does it look like I care? Some rules are there to protect you, sure. But when you have a brain and soul, there are responsibilities that you have. One of those is to help others. And honestly? I wanna see those officials’ faces when they realize their newest Elemental mage has gone missing.”

Wait- what? Most of that makes sense, but… “You’re an Elemental mage??? That’s so cool!” I feel the excitement bubbling up in me, almost exploding out. “A mage- I’ve never seen a mage before! What can you do??”

She grimaced, and ushered me down the path without saying anything. I shut up, sure I had said something wrong. But after walking a while she spoke up. “I had to get out of listening range- I don’t want them to know yet. I’m a water mage, I can do- watery things, I guess. I’ve been training over here.” she shoved aside some ferns, and my jaw dropped. “Welcome to my place”

LeafSilk POV

At least he seems impressed. I started immediately for the small shed that I kept stocked with food, survival kits, backpacks, and other stuff for training.

He stopped marveling at my stuff and ran over. “What can I grab? This is like a camping trip! Or, I think it is. I’ve never been camping. Do you think it’s safe?” he asked, suddenly sounding a little unsure. “I mean, we could get bit by a snake, or run over, or flooded, or attacked, or captured, or hurt, or-” I cut him off by shoving a backpack in his hands. “Put that on.” I said, brusquely. “We’re gonna be fine. I know my way around and this isn’t my first time in the forest. I’ll get you to your town and get back.” He looked a little comforted by that, but still a little worried. Naive, but okay. He’s not too bad at heart- but whatever. “Let’s get going.” we say in unison, and he laughs. Well- I guess that was funny. And with that, I led the way out, and our travels began.

He wasn’t bad to have as a companion after I got through to his inner self. He had some good humor, and even though Tom still had a little too much trust, he wasn’t half bad. Even if he was cursed with bad timing. Like that one time he jumped in the river as I was just getting out. Or when he ran back to ‘grab something’ just as I was flooding away the evidence of our campsite. We even had some nice times together, like me teaching him how to storytell over a dinner of fresh caught fish that he had shown me how to catch. After that, we regularly traded stories of our homes over meals, explaining this, expanding on that, reminiscing about whatever- and I have to say, it was- nice, for once not to be alone.

And we kept on in this way until we came to the edges of the forest.

1556 words, look at my entry if you want italicization ;D

Weekly Part 2

What kind of magic is used in your world?
Both manmade and natural magic are used, though natural magic has more subsections. Subsections consist of Elemental magic, (the magic that can control fire, water, ground, wind/air, plants, light, darkness, and .), Minor magic, (the magic that is generally just simple spells, like color change and levitation), and Dark magic, (the kind that eats away at the soul more every time you use it.) Elementals that are born with the ability to control are cursed with dark magic.
How is the magic in the world used in the character’s everyday lives? What are the different abilities?
Magic is pretty common, though actually powerful mages are a little rarer than that guy who comes to your house every morning to color change the flowers. Usually Elementals are used to create weather and help smooth along the changing of seasons, and occasionally keep your flowers fresh during the winter.
Some different abilities include: Fire (manipulation of flame and heat), Water (manipulation of water+ ice+ rain+ tears and/or if they’re advanced enough), Ground (manipulation of dirt, rocks, and the tectonic plates and lava.), Wind (Wind, clouds, air, talk to birds), Plants (manipulation of organic growth, such as manually speeding up a specific plant’s timeline and ‘guiding’ it where they wish it to grow), Light (manipulation of brightness, illusions, happiness, optimism, and color), Darkness (manipulation of darkness, hallucinations, fear, pessimism, and color brightness), and (manipulation of any and all things touching or associated with .
What are the laws of your world, specifically about magic? Punishments?
Punishments?? PUNISHMENTS???? IN THE COUNTRY OF ALANDIA PEOPLE ARE CARTED OFF JUST FOR BEING BORN WITH MAGIC!!!! THAT’S WHY IT’S A DYSTOPIA-ISH??? AFTER THEY’RE CARTED OFF THEY GET PUT TO WORK BUILDING THINGS AND FLOODING THINGS AND BURNING THINGS AND GETTING EXPERIMENTED ON AND ARE BASICALLY TREATED HORRIBLY FOR JUST EXISTING!!!!! (yes I can indeed rant about my own universe, thank you very much) In Solace, if someone gets in a corner and they catch the mage who did it, they’re too scared to say anything and just let them go ‘on parole’
What kind of magic is used in your world?
Natural magic is used as an asset for labor in both countries/ cities/ settlements/ towns. The uses for it are varied, such as good labor, the kind you do to get paid, and the bad kind that you do as a prisoner, and pretty much everything in between. Manmade magic, like the potions and stuff, those are mainly used if you have a bad cold, like medicine or magic cancer cures, or as a way to make money practicing at street corners with normal tricks, like taking a scarf and pretending it disappeared and didn’t just go back down your sleeve, or potions to color change your skin.
What are the limitations of your world’s magic?
Well, specific spells for killing cannot be cast without dark magic. Dark magic is a special magic that, the more you use, the more it eats away at your soul. Most people who have Dark magic radiate bad luck, a unique quirk that is extremely unfortunate to the people around them. Most people in these situations close themselves off, afraid to be around others in case they get hurt. A lot of people who start out alright manifest with dark magic, and a lot of people, especially Mage families, are worried about that fact, wanting to protect their children.
Are there any sensations the characters feel when they are using magic? Describe these sensations using their five senses.
Well, most would call it a tugging feeling, but some feel a sharp pain near the forehead when using magic. And usually the air smells like the element, but for some, it smells like their favorite thing from home if their magic doesn’t have a specific smell, like the beach for water, burning marshmallows for fire, a flowery scent for Plants, etc. every time there’s a magically explained thing happening, usually an aura of color surrounds it according to the Mage’s personality.
What happens when magic gets out of control in your world?
Well, in Alandia, the only magic is in the magic camps. Usually the offender/destructor/escaper is given another chance to stay alive, then punish them with extra work. After a second violation, they lock the offender in a tight cell for a few days. Third strike and you’re out. They take you away and discreetly dispose of you. In Solace, the first offence is cleaned up and you’re warned but set free. For every offence after that, you get an increasingly strict warning, but never any punishment, hence all the magic crimes.
What is the origin of your magic?
It’s common knowledge that those with magic got the gene from ancestors across the sea, but they don’t know that the “across the sea” is an entirely different plane of reality. The ancestors across the sea were a mixed collection of humans, elves, faeries, and half-human mixes of them all. As the magic in faerie blood got mixed around and diluted with humans, the powers and knowledge got mixed around and twisted. The more humanoids that had children, the more people got mixed and matched with powers and knowledge. Now, almost everyone has faerie blood in them.
How common is magic, and are all characters aware they possess it?
Well, that depends what kind you’re talking about. Let’s say you’re talking about Elemental/natural magic. That kind of magic is rare enough for a person to be surprised when they realize they have it, but common enough to possibly suspect they have that kind of magic. Most children get notified that they have it when warning signs pop up around 12-18. Not all characters actually have magic, but those whose ages are above 12 that have magic know that they have magic.
How can you ensure the magic in your story is realistic, and is written as a normalized part of your world?
Keeping the magic realistic is part of the fact that there are defined elements to control. Water Elementals are not going to ever control fire. Ground/Rock Elementals can move coals and lava because they’re made of rocks, but can’t move fire. It’s normalized because the people living in the story have grown up with it their whole lives. There’s not much that they really haven’t seen done with magic. “That guy who comes to color- change our daisies? Yeah honey, he’s been here since forever”

970 words ;D

Weekly Part 3!!

Dystopian Fantasy!!
TomRick POV

Leaf screamed, and I leapt forward to stop them from taking her, but they beat me back, and I was powerless to do anything but watch. How did I ever think this was normal? She’s my friend! I need to get help. Pulling away from the guards in one smooth motion, I ran, not for my life, but for Leaf’s. Because if I don’t, she won’t have a life. Not after what’s said about the “place”. Stop. You need to get help. Where do you get help? Her people. Or semi- people., anyway. He changed direction toward the forest and dove straight in, ignoring the disappointed cries of the guards behind him.

LeafSilk POV

Where am I going? What’s going on? I was shoved in here, and now I’m moving, why am I in here? Hrgh. I scooted into the back of the truck, scared but powerful. If I use my powers to bust out, will everything be okay? Concentrating, I willed all the water around me to surge up, pressing against the walls. But no water rose at my command. . What the is going on? If I can’t use my magic in here, how do I get out? It was, of course, then when the truck stopped and the lady let me out. “Welcome to the Magic camp, scum. It’s where you belong.”

TomRick POV

I’m running as fast as my legs can carry me. Eventually, I slow down to think and catch my breath. I notice the steam near the path I was taking, and almost burst into tears. I was taking the path that we had taken on our way out of the forest. I need to get to her home, Solace. But when I get there will anyone help? The officials didn’t want to help me. Who would? Wait- the mages of the city. They’ll be more helpful than anyone, and they’ll be more willing to act when I tell them what’s going on in Alandia. “Wow. I sound like Leaf.” I say out loud, glad to hear any human noise around the forest. Then I gather myself and keep running.

353 words ;D

Urban Fantasy <33

I found myself staring down an alleyway where I had heard a small shrieking noise. I had already fought off one guy, and, despite being worn out, had the irrational urge to fight this creep too, unless it was a mouse. I squared my shoulders, ready for a fight, and walked into the alleyway.

My sprite friend, Jiji, appeared next to me and immediately reported, “there’s a guy down there who dragged a young man down there a minute or two ago. I’d be careful if I were you, please.”

I shook myself out. “I’m not scared of some delinquent creep. I’ve taken people like him down before, remember?”

Jiji sighed. “Be careful” she warned just as I set off down one of the dark halls that were called alleyways.

As I got to the end of the passageway, I could see the man who had been dragged off. He looked furious, but I could see that he was scared under the surface. I stepped up to the other man, the one that was facing him. But- that’s a robot! The robot snarled. “Capture all nulls” it said. How does it know what a null is? Who programmed it? Does that mean that that boy is a null, like me?

To my surprise, the boy yelled at me, “null it on the count of three! 1, 2…” I caught on, and together, we yelled “3!!!” and surged the robot. It fell to the pavement, completely incacipated. But all the streetlights promptly shut down. And house lights. And, well, pretty much everything on the block. The boy and I let out a collective groan, dismayed. Then we looked at each other and laughed.

The boy smiled. “I’m Tomoko. I think we’ll be great friends.”

I smiled back. “I’m Kimi, and I think so too.”
303 words ;D

Hidden Worlds Fantasy!!!

It had happened again. Scarlett had seen them again. They had appeared in the midd;e of the street, and somehow, no one else had noticed them! She didn’t even know what to call them. They had long horns, and wisps of color followed them wherever they walked. Now that she was at home, she mulled it over and wrote it in her journal. January 12, 2019. Saw the things again. They seem magical and no one else can see them. Unsure how to proceed. Do more research on magic creatures told me nothing, maybe observation is next. Which means sketching everything out. She picked up another book and flipped to a blank page, where she conjured up an image of them in her mind and started putting it to paper. With her pencil gliding over the surface of the white substance, it was like her worries were being curved and straightened with every line she drew. Like the first sketch, they were messy at first, but by the time she got to inking over the final lines, they were contained and orderly. As she colored, feeling like a little child with her pencils, she felt a shadow fall over her.

She looked up, somehow unsurprised to see one of them standing over her, glancing at her picture. “Ah.” it said, seemingly pleased. “You use art to calm down, like the rest of us.” Scarlett was slightly astonished. “The rest of you? What are you? Who are you? What are your names? Where’s your companion?” The thing laughed. “Yes, the rest of us. They’re above the clouds, in Alluras. We are the elven. I’m Dimitri, and my companion in the corner over there, come out here you little rat is Jonas.”

Scarlett felt more and more curious. “And why are you here?” Dimitri smiled. “To find you. You are an elven! One of us.” Scarlett frowned. “But I don’t have horns. Or- wings. Like you. How am I an elven?”

Jonas reached a hand out. “That necklace- your mother or father probably told you never to take it off, correct? Where are they?” Scarlett looked away. “They died years ago. But correct. I’m not supposed to take it off. How did you know?”

He looked at her with gallons of hope in his eyes. “Take it off. You’ll see.” He looked so hopeful… so she did. And it was like that one piece of her clicked. The horns grew rapidly on her head, reaching an almost-full size within seconds. Her wings did the same.

“But- I don’t understand.” She put the necklace back on, but the horns and wings didn’t go away. “How did they stay away all that time?”

Jonas looked amazed. “Suppressed growth magic. It keeps certain things in a stasis until the spell is lifted. By taking that necklace off, you ended the spell. Your wings and horns will continue growing from here on out, with the necklace on or not. But- we have a lot of things to show you, Scarlett. Will you come with us?” Scarlett thought a little. But she knew there was no other answer than the one she gave.

“YES!!” They showed her how to fly out the window, and it felt like she finally belonged.

544 words ;D

5308 words total ;D

DAILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLY

Hello, and welcome to the Fan-Fi Fortress! Please watch your step… you never know who has escaped and who hasn’t. We need your help. Characters from different fandoms have leaked out of the books, and have been having a good time, but eventually, the monsters and villains have leaked out of the pages as well. You need to be careful, they are not outside, but we have been locked in. Ask for and complete given quests in roleplays with your favorite character from any fandom to gain attack points, and attack monsters to win points for your Circle. The Circle with the most monster duels won wins! Good luck, and watch out.

112 words ;D

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Prompt:
(The City of Fractum is beautiful and breathtaking - if their buildings weren't broken. Fractum used to be home to the most intricate and elaborate stone altars and structures. Along the landscape, shards of cold stone as sharp as glass scatter on the murky grass. Towering unclear mountains stand as borders for the city. Most of the population had fled away, for the life conditions were indecent and dreadful. The grass and plants have withered, for the sunlight was blocked by surrounding
clouds that seemed to always stay solid in the same place. Nothing lived there, nothing thrived and flourished with beauty. But one thing remained in all of it - a circle like building. It had no ceiling, but the great size of the structure was enough to blow anyone away. From the walls, calm and turbulent waterfalls dropped water into a trough-like shape that outlined the walls. This was where many people came to calm down their nerves. It took up most of the space in the entire city because of its importance to the people. The silence of the entire setting is said to evoke melancholy to anyone who visits. - @skywrites )

100 years later, the city of Fractum is almost unrecognizable. The broken stones and buildings have melted into the mountains and are claimed by the earth. The mountains have crumbled away on the edges, turning into a short wall of safety, but are not oppressive anymore. The clouds, it turned out, had been held by the rocky cliffs that fringed the city, and now they go and come as they please. The grass and plants quickly revived themselves after the sun came back, drenching the valley in green, as well as covering everything in moss and flowers. The circle-like building still pours water out in sheets, but now it looks friendlier and is covered in flowering vines. The air is no longer melancholy and silent, but full of the chatter of animals, like squirrels and birds. However, anyone who stumbles upon this oasis only stays for a few days, if not hours, for humans can feel the grudge that the city feels for all beings that trashed it and turned it to ruin. Humans take only pictures of the oasis, and due to an inner instinct to protect the hidden city, never show others. And in this way, only very few know about this paradise. Many of the ghosts that died in the city come to pay respects to this city that sacrificed so much, yet received so little, and they keep their distance. Many, many, many people with ill intentions come to the oasis and never are seen again, disappearing courtesy of the animals and ghosts that the city expresses its displeasure with. The animals in the city for one don’t mind, they love their city and would defend it to their last breath. The ghosts not so much, but they feel an obligation to defend this city, and don’t complain as they know they deserve it.

And things continue in this way for a long time.


318 words ;D