July 10 Daily
622 words

Ahh, nothing could be more peaceful than this.
The precious aroma of sweet nectar filled the air. Big, lush green trees reflected in the river. The sounds of the birds and the wind sang a wonderful tune together. The bright sunlight shone on the trees as I went on my canoe through the river.
Behind the trees on one side, the sound of a train roared in the wind. It was loud enough to wake me out of my peaceful trance.
The strange thing was that the train seemed to be getting slower and slower as it passed by the trees. Finally, it came to a stop.
Why did it stop, I wondered. It was a bit odd that a train stopped in the middle of nowhere, with no rest station and just trees.
My curiosity got the best of me. I rowed the canoe to the side of the river and stepped out onto the leaves. I trudged through the thick trees. Branches kept scraping my face and the leaves on the ground seemed to be getting deeper, slowing me down.
Finally, I got out into the open air. I spotted the train in the distance and started to sprint to it. Thoughts kept buzzing in my mind like bees running around in a sugar-high.
Did the train run out of fuel? Were there passengers on the train? Did something serious happen to the conductor?
It didn’t make sense that the train stopped to enjoy the beauty. Something must be wrong.
Once I reached the train, I knocked twice on the door of the conductor.
No one answered.
I knocked again, and this time on my third knock, the door creaked open. I looked inside the compartment and saw no one there.
Weird. I thought.
I entered the compartment and looked around. It was totally vacant. I opened the door to the next compartment where the passengers would be. Surprisingly, it was also empty. There weren't any people. The train was eerily quiet with not even a single sound. This started to freak me out a bit.
The conductor was like the heart of the train. Without the conductor, the rest of the train wouldn’t work like it's supposed to.
I went back into the conductor’s compartment and found a small note with tiny cursive writing on a black seat. My fingers fumbled with it as I picked it up and put it close to my face. My eyes squinted at the miniature writing:
“Hello there, curious reader. Your end will be at the beginning.”
Your end will be at the beginning. What was that supposed to mean? I turned it around to see who wrote this but it was blank.
My heart started to thump and my fingers were sweating. I felt like getting off of this train immediately, but something feels like I shouldn’t.
Suddenly, I felt something tugging at my fingers. It felt like an invisible force was trying to suck my fingers into that note. I tried to pull my fingers back, but the force was too strong. Soon, my whole body was getting sucked into the note. I couldn’t pull myself back. I closed my eyes for a minute and then slowly opened them again.
I was on an island next to a port. The island seemed to be really small and in the middle of nowhere.
I scanned the island. There was no one to be seen except for a boat next to the island. A big flashy sign next to the boat said “HOME”.
The boat’s horn sounded. It looked like it was ready to leave.
“WAIT!” I shouted. “WAIT FOR ME!”
Unfortunately, I was too late. The boat had already left the berth.

Daily 7/10

Words used: train, atlas, stead

I lean against the glass, my breath fogging up its chilly surface. The train is traveling down a mountain track, dull rock and scraggly bush rolling past my window. In a few hours, we will arrive at a station in the middle of nowhere. I will disembark, and the train will turn around, empty of all passengers. Soon, it will all begin.

I open the atlas in my lap, running a hand down the crisp pages. A cartographer once made these maps, tracing each firm black line by hand. It must have been painstaking work. If her grip so much as wobbled, the ink would splatter and her map would be ruined. Many hours of difficult labor were wasted by such careless mistakes, she told me. I know. I am her grandchild.

Still, these maps were her life’s work. She knew she was meant to be a cartographer since childhood. The way was not always easy - her very first map was destroyed by an ink splatter, and she very nearly was thrown out of the guild - but she forged on anyway. Eventually, she became head cartographer of the city guild, the youngest one in history, too. She had hoped I would take the position in her stead. As it turned out, cartography was not my calling. My grandmother was very close to me, however, and I will still honor her legacy, just not in the way that she anticipated. Her maps will lead me on this journey, to something greater.

The train bumps along the tracks. I press a hand to the window, absently tracing a shape on the steamy glass. I do not yet know exactly what I am doing. I do not know what this journey will have in store for me. I do know, however, that my grandmother’s maps are important. Her maps, and the station in the middle of nowhere. Together, they will open something new. Something bigger than we could ever had imagined.

In her youth, my grandmother came so close to making a discovery. She brushed another world, another reality. She was not quite able to grab hold of it. She is gone now, but her almost-discovery remains. I will make it whole. I will find what she could not, this other world that lies opposite ours. She was only a cartographer, after all. I am a truth-seeker, an explorer.

The pieces my grandmother left behind are coming together.

Word count: 407

7.10.22 Daily
Wordle words: flame, enter, trees, rower, perch, and berth
Word count: 412

Based on a true story…

A rowing machine. On the outside, it looks so simple. A metal bar on which a small, rectangular chair slides back and forth. A handle is attached to the other end, propelling a fan enclosed in a cylindrical container. Rowing on a stationary machine can be quite monotonous. You’re moving exactly nowhere in a dim room, getting exhausted and sweaty. Eventually, you get to a point where you’re simply unmotivated to take a seat on that dull, rough, gray seat that has no mercy on your rear end. Yes, you want to work out. No, you don’t want to do the same old thing as you have been doing for the last couple of weeks. And no, you don’t have the budget to buy a fancy online workout subscription, another piece of workout machinery, or a gym membership that you’ll know you’ll end up not using in a few months. But could there be a way to have a change of scenery without even going outside? With the help of a wireless virtual reality headset, you can still get exhausted and sweaty … in the great outdoors, while still inside in that boring, old, so-called “workout” room. Applications that simulate rowing in a variety of locations are available and ready to use. I mean, it’s practically waiting for you. Where will you choose? Does it have to be realistic? Don’t forget about the virtual part in virtual reality. The next thing you know, you’re rowing down a stream of lava in a giant volcano that’s ready to erupt, spewing with flames, rocks, and magma. You can practically feel the heat — not from the volcano, but from your own sweat that proves you’re working out or that you’re in a really humid room. As you nearly tumble off your invincible boat, due to the frightening realistic surroundings, you’ll be tempted to throw off the headset and/or scream. I don’t recommend either of those, because a) you’ll draw the attention of others, and b) you can’t put on a sweaty headset back on. It’s humanly not possible. Trust me on this. However, there is the option to enter somewhere more serene, a quiet lake accompanied by trees, where birds of all kinds perch on branches. Before you realize the journey is over, you berth your boat on a dock nearby a quiet village. Ah, that wasn’t so bad, was it? And you feel good about yourself too. Maybe you’ll even do it tomorrow.

phoceanic || hi-fi ftw

Adieu

Main Cabin Daily, July 10th: Have you completed today’s Wordle? Go to https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle and complete the Wordle; if you can’t access the website, you can use this scratch version here: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/639908378/ . After you complete the game, incorporate all the words that you guessed into a writing piece. Write 400 words to earn 500 points for your cabin.

414 words

Words guessed: adieu, dines, sined, tides, index

I watched uncertainly as the ship left the port. Had I made the right decision, staying behind here? I knew I wanted to distance myself from that life, so I had turned away and bid my companions adieu. But now what? Was starting a new life really that easy? I wasn’t sure.
Well, what was done was done. The ship was already gone, and there was no calling it back. I sat down on the boardwalk, watching the tides flow in and out. A sigh escaped my lungs before I could stop it, and I suddenly realized that I felt more alone than I ever had in my life.
As the sun set over the horizon, I wondered if I had sined. Maybe this was a terrible mistake. I sat there, watching the light fade, until a tiny voice inside me told me to get moving. I shook my head, stood, and drew a faded index card from my pocket. He dines at the biggest restaurant in town, it read. I narrowed my eyes. Time to find that restaurant, then.
Lamplights glowed brightly as I made my way through the streets of the quiet village. Above, the stars twinkled, their beautiful light not yet blotted out like they were in many cities across the globe. After speaking with some passerby, I strode down Carpet Lane, navigating with the mental map in my head. Before long, there it was. The Carpet Lane Restaurant, a staggering building that loomed over the rest of the village. I stood there for a long moment. Although I commanded my legs to move, they didn’t budge, but felt nailed to the ground. I had to face him, but part of me was filled with an awful dread.
The cold wind whistled past me, shaking me out of my daze. I couldn’t stand out here forever. Gathering my cloak and my courage, I pulled the door open. It was heavier than I expected, and I barely had time to slip inside before it slammed shut behind me. I cringed at the loud bang, even though no one seemed to notice.
I then scanned the tables, looking for a sign that one of these people was the one I was looking for. None of them looked familiar. None of them except… one young man, leaning boredly against a window, caught my eye. His face…
I slid into the chair opposite him and smiled, now certain. “Hello brother. I’m looking for a job.”

daily - july 10
words: 436
words: audio, slide, cider, index

“And you say you didn’t steal any of the cider sent to Brendan O’Connor?” I asked the suspect, a twelve-year-old with voice recordings that had a confirmed 89% match with the audio from the crime scene named James Darkwood.
“No, I did not. I was playing on the slide with my younger brother around the time you told me it had been stolen earlier,” he told me confidently.
“And is there any proof of that?” I asked again, carefully watching the readings of the lie detector.
“Yes, you can ask my younger brother and the other people at the park,” he said again- a truth; we already had questioned the people who had been in the park’s security feed.
“Alright. You’re free to go.”
As he left, I sighed; another suspect crossed off of the list. The cider had turned up in Maine- still in the United States, but a far distance from Los Angeles- and from there the entire “Robbery Team” had been working for hours trying to figure out who had stolen it, poring over thousands of old records.
After dead end after dead end, the matching index fingerprints and recordings had my superiors excited- too bad it was just another dead end. There were no other suspects we could interview, and the criminal was likely already gone- maybe that was why the cider had turned up in Maine unopened and unused.
With this final dead end, there was nothing really that I could do. I sighed again and left the room to look over the selected files: cream folder (slightly bent, but not creased and still new), old-style labels (typewritten, not computer-printed, as was the custom), and post-it notes everywhere (every color of the neon rainbow except for yellow) in the distinctive scrawl I recognized instantly as Agent Adelaine Smith’s.
I sighed and carefully dug around in the bucket of pins next to the files and used one of the last green ones to pin the photo of James’s folder to the wall of dead ends that was looking more and more like the board of crazy people in memes every day.
“So, nothing new?” a voice behind me asked, and I whirled around, but it was just Agent Smith.
“Nope,” I replied. “Another dead end.”
“There was apparently some cider that was stolen in Maine,” she said, holding out a report. “Would you like to see the file?”
“What the…” I began as I looked over the report. It was exactly the same circumstances- the same thief, same evidence, but at the location where the cider from Los Angeles had been found.

July 10th Daily

Word count: 451

The announcer's voice squawked through the loudspeaker. “Today is the day, folks! The first annual Riverglen boat races! We have 25 brilliant contestants lined up and ready.”
“Get ready to lose, Hulme!” Ned's voice came from Lee's right side.
“No way! I'm going to win this thing!” Lee yelled back. Turning his back to Ned, he walked down into the berth of his ship.
“Is everything ready?” He asked his sister, Cindy.
“Yep, everything is all set. We just have to wait for the right moment.” Cindy gave him a mysterious smile.
“Good,” Lee heard the bell, signalling the boats to get ready. He headed back up to the deck and took his place at the steering wheel. He had dreamed of boat races ever since he was a little boy. He had begged his dad to go see them when he was younger and now, he was actually competing in one! Boat races hadn't been very popular until a few years ago. When the billionaire, Hadley Manst, bought a boat and expressed an interest in boat races, suddenly everyone wanted to participate. It became a trend. Finally, Lee had gotten his chance!
A beep sounded, starting the countdown. Lee snapped back to reality and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “3… 2…” The automated voice counted. “1… Go!”
“And they're off!” The announced exclaimed excitedly.
“Eat my dust! Er, water!” Ned sped past Lee, getting an early lead.
“The Pink Rose takes the early lead! Oh, and it looks like one of our contestants is having trouble.”
“Cindy! What's wrong?” Lee asked. Trying again. He couldn't get the engine to start. Every time he tried, the engine stalled. Cindy's head popped up, coming from the berth.
“Sorry, Lee. But Ned made me an offer I couldn't refuse.” Cindy gave him a rueful smile.
“You sabotaged me!?” He screeched at her.
“Oh, come on, brother!” Cindy rolled her eyes. “You weren't paying me anything to help out but Ned would. If I did one tiny thing for him. The damage to the engine isn't anything you can't easily fix.”
“You double-crosser!” Before Lee thought about what he was doing he shot toward with his hands outstretched. Cindy's eyes grew wide and her expression changed from one of gloating to one of fear. His hands met with her shoulders and he shoved. Cindy flailed, reaching for his arm but he snatched it back. And watched Cindy fall into the lake.
“Oh, and we have someone fall in!” The announcer was obviously enjoying the drama.
Lee sighed. He had missed his chance. There was no chance of him winning now. He might as well go down and try to fix his engine.

Weekly #2

Total Word Count: 2548

Part One

A true crime article

Word Count: 830

Note: This is completely fictional. I didn't interview any of the people mentioned and they did not say any of the things I wrote.

Missing Pets?

On July 10th, 2022, all of Myth's pets mysteriously went missing. This heinous crime was reported to Birdi and Robin, current hosts of SWC, the night of. Moss was the first one to discover and report it.
There are suspicions going around that someone was lurking around when Moss barged in and explained what she had seen to Birdi. The lurker's identity has not been discovered yet but they're believed to be the culprit. These suspicions have not yet been confirmed.
The missing pets include a Dark Green dragon, a pink and white kitsune, a blue basilisk, and a red, orange and yellow kitsune resembling a flame. If you see any of these pets please talk to Birdi, Robin, Moss or Re. If you believe it's safe, try to capture the pet and return it to its rightful owner.
I interviewed Moss, the leader of Myth, who initially had captured and tamed all these mythical creatures. She believes that all the pets will be returned soon. I asked her how she knew this and her response was, “I just have a feeling.”
I also asked her if she had any suspicions as to who may have done a thing like this and, while she would not tell me who she suspected she did say that she had a few people she was going to talk to.
After my interview with Moss, I followed Birdi and Robin to the scene of the crime. At first, they wouldn't let me into the building where the pets had been kept. But I showed them my press badge and they finally relented.
Inside the building, I found world-famous crime journalist, Addie. I interviewed her and asked about any clues she might have found. All she had to say was, “The locks don't appear to be broken but I don't think they were opened with a key either. I found traces of dirt and a leaf on the floor.” I thanked her and left.
Outside, I interviewed Birdi and Robin. They each only had one last thing to say to me. “It was late at night,” Birdi said. “The culprit is likely a night owl.”
“The culprit would need somewhere large to keep the creatures,” Robin added.
Many people have theories about who the culprit could be. There are debates going on, people are working together to narrow down the options. A forum that's dedicated to finding the culprit has even been created. Here are just a few of the comments:

@Berricake I think we can rule out a few cabins.
@Hamilchaos I agree. We can rule out Myth obviously.
@Luna-Lovegood-lol In addition to Myth we can eliminate Sci-Fi, Non-Fi, Horror, and Real-Fi because they don't have
enough space and they don't have any dirt to leave a trace.

@-Jadefox- I believe the most likely culprits are Adventure, Mystery and Hi-Fi.
@PaigeTurnerE What about Fairy Tales? That's outdoors too, you know.

A couple of days after the incident, Moss came bursting through the flaps of my tent. She told me she had more information about the culprit and I immediately sat down to interview her.
“I closely examined the locks on the cages and found splinters. I believe that the thief used a stick to open the cages. I also talked to Myth's campers and discovered that they heard a heavy clomping, like someone wearing boots running.”
This evidence led to further speculation about the thief.

Finally, on July 16th, 2022, Birdi gathered everyone together, hosts, co-hosts, leaders, co-leaders, honoraries, and campers alike. “We have narrowed down the suspects and shall be talking with them soon. For now, Robin and I would like you all to stop with your theories as they may end up hurting someone. Also, if you are the thief, return the stolen creatures tonight and nothing more will be said about it.”
Birdi may have meant her words to be reassuring to the campers but it only caused more unrest. There was talk of staking out the pet building tonight to nab the thief, which would only scare the thief into keeping the creatures.
Eventually, when days went by and nothing happened, talk of the creatures died down. Moss decided to take her campers on a field trip to catch and tame new creatures, instead of waiting for the stolen ones to be returned.

Then, on July 20th, Birdi caught the thief. Campers had reported hearing strange sounds around Adventure Parks. All three leaders denied stealing the creatures. But Birdi did some digging herself and discovered an enclosed pasture and a cave with every one of the missing creatures.
Upon request Soki, Dawn (myself), and Jess showed up at the pen, where Birdi and Robin interrogated each of the suspects.
It has been confirmed that the thief confessed and all the pets have been returned.
Dawn is very sorry for taking them all but refuses to give an answer as to why she stole them all.

Part Two

A restaurant Review

Word Count: 847

Hungry Chef Bistro

1/5 stars. I would rate it 0/5 stars if that were possible. I do NOT recommend it. This place was horrible! Where do I even begin? I knew I was in trouble as soon as I pulled up. The place looked seedy, it was practically falling apart. There were old shutters hanging by a hinge from the window frame. The walls had holes in places and the paint, which had probably been a pale yellow was brown and flaked off. There was a porch but it was sagging and creaked with every step. I should have turned and run from that place, but I'm a reporter, so I had to stick it out and write a review.
I entered and was hit by the stench of rotting socks. Right in front of me was a huge sign, nothing but a sheet of paper that practically yelled, “Wait to be seated!” tacked up on the wall. There wasn't a chair or anything to sit on while I waited, I had to stand there looking conspicuous. I stood there a good 10 minutes before someone finally emerged from the back.
He wasn't the cleanest, his apron had many stains. He wiped his hands on the seat of his pants as he approached, at least, I hope that's what he was doing. I asked him and he said he was the owner, chef and waiter. He gruffly asked me what I wanted, as if it weren't obvious enough. I had to spell out everything for him. There were no other customers (little wonder) so I got my pick of seating. There were only two tables in the entire room! I chose the one that was slightly less grimy. There were crumbs and dried liquid on the table, it looked like it hadn't ever been cleaned. The man went into the back room or kitchen. I assumed he was going to grab a menu or water, or something. But I waited and waited for him to return and he didn't come out. Eventually, I went up and knocked on the door. He was angry at being disturbed but I had to get a menu. He went back into the room and I heard him mutter something extremely rude under his breath. He came back with a ripped and torn sheet of paper and shoved it into my hands. I didn't want to wait anymore so I quickly scanned it and chose something. Apparently, they were all out of the ingredients for that, so I picked another item. That one was discontinued. I was frustrated and finally asked him what they did have. He said they had burgers and fries. Those weren't on the menu. The things on the menu were all fancier dishes like Chicken Alfredo and Beef Enchiladas. But I wanted my food so I said I would have that. He snatched the menu out of my hands and stalked back to the kitchen.
I returned to my seat to find that flies had landed on the table and seemed to be eating the dried food off of it. They didn't seem to be the least bit bothered by my shooing.
I waited for at least 1 and a half hours. (Noticing how much I have to wait?) I was preparing to leave when the man finally emerged carrying a plate. He took his time coming over and fairly dropped the plate of food on the table before walking away without a word.
Once he left I examined the sorry excuse for food on the plate. I have a few things to say about the food. First of all, the plate was dirty, with dried food smeared on it. It was also chipped. The food itself was unappealing, to say the least. The bun was soggy and I /think/ the green stuff was mould. I gingerly removed the bun to see the contents of the burger. It was pitiful. The minuscule patty was completely black. There was a limp piece of lettuce but that was the only vegetable on there. There were no sauces, tomatoes, cheese, condiments, nothing that might mask the flavour.
The french fries didn't look too bad. But I had just picked one up and taken a bite of a fry with no salt at all when I spotted the other fries moving. A giant cockroach climbed out and jumped at me. I dodged it and stomped on it. Successfully k!lling it.
Instead of eating the french fries, I decided to try the burger. I picked off most of the mould and took a small bite. The taste was… unique. I forced myself to swallow it but couldn't eat anymore. I went to the door and knocked. The man came back and I told him I was ready to pay. He glared at me, he knew I hadn't eaten my meal. I paid my bill and left. The burger and fries were $30!!! I would never recommend Hungry Chef Bistro to anyone, even an enemy. The service is slow, the restaurant isn't clean and the food sucks.

Part Three

An Advice Column

Word Count: 621

You Think You've Got Problems???

All the mangoes at the grocery store were unripe and I'm not sure I can wait until tomorrow to have mangoes! What should I do? - Unripe Mangoes
Dear Unripe Mangoes,
This is indeed a problem. The first thing you need to do is find a new grocery store, this one doesn't deserve your patronage. The next thing you should do is go to every grocery store within a 50-mile radius and search for mangoes. Once, you've found a store with ripe mangoes, you can eat to your heart's content. Just make sure you buy them first, unfortunately, stores aren't big on the whole “free mangoes” movement. After that, you should write a letter of complaint to the grocery store with unripe mangoes. Tell your friends to write letters of complaint as well. If all goes well, the grocery store should never run out of ripe mangoes again.

My neighbour doesn't like mangoes. What should I do? - Mango Hating Neighbour
Dear Mango Hating Neighbour,
I suggest that you work mangoes into every conversation with them. Bring them goodies with mangoes in them. Give them mango-themed gifts. Eventually, they should start warming up to mangoes. It's hard to hate something when you have so many good things that have to do with the thing you hate.

My dog dug up a strange necklace from under the ground. What do I do? It's shaped like a mango. - Mango Shaped Necklace
Dear Mango Shaped Necklace,
That necklace is the rare Mangolace!! The wearer will get unlimited mangoes!! Until now, it was only a legend. You should go to SWC.com/donate and donate 5k mangoes each week. The hosts, co-hosts, leaders, co-leaders, honoraries, and campers will be so happy, in return, they'll let you take care of their mascots. (It's an honour, trust me.)

My parents won't let me have mangoes :( Can you give me tips to smuggle them into the house? - Mango Smuggler
Dear Mango Smuggler,
You should try hiding mangoes in other things. Like, a mango cake or a mango smoothie. Only don't tell them that it's mango flavoured. You can also get a friend to toss mangoes through your bedroom window. If your parents find out, then what you should do is get them to try a mango. Never underestimate the power of mangoes.

Why is literally everyone obsessed with mangos? And how can I grow to like them? - Wanna be Mango Obsessor
Dear Wanna be Mango Obsessor,
The answer to your first question is BECAUSE MANGOS ARE AMAZING!! No, more than amazing. They're sweet with just the right amount of tang. As for your second question, just try a mango. No one can resist the power of the delicious taste of a mango. Just eat at least once a week, gradually increasing the amount until you're as obsessed as the next person. Once you're obsessed, you only need to eat mangoes as often as you want. Anymore though and you might get sick of them. (Though, I'm not completely sure that's possible.)

I want to make SWC a thing in real life but I'm a teenager with no means of doing so. What do I do? - A SWC Host
Dear A SWC Host,
Go ahead and do it anyway. Tell everyone currently participating in SWC online. They'll all chip in and the money will start flowing in. Once you have the necessary funds, you can create a signup sheet on Scratch for people to volunteer for set up and getting it started. Then they fly/drive/walk over to wherever you agree to make camp in real life. You (or them) may have to run away for a month but that's just a minor inconvenience. You can get to know each other, plan, brainstorm, and start setting up. I'm sure when people start hearing about it, they'll also donate, even if they weren't affiliated with SWC before. You can buy a large amount of land and section it off, with the main cabin in the center and the other cabins fanning out around it. Each leader and their cos can be in charge of setting up their own area, therefore, reducing your cost. You, Robin and the co-hosts, gHosts can be responsible for the main cabin. You and Robin can also tour the cabin areas, and make sure everything is going smoothly. The cabins would probably be too far to walk. You could tour it in a golf cart, as that doesn't require a license and it's not as dangerous.

Part Four

An Invitation

Word Count: 250

Scratch Writing Camp

7/10 - Have you completed today’s Wordle? Go to https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle and complete the Wordle; if you can’t access the website, you can use this scratch version here: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/639908378/ . After you complete the game, incorporate all the words that you guessed into a writing piece. Write 400 words to earn 500 points for your cabin.

Using the app version since today’s was spoiled </3 - arson, noise, fines

Author’s note: arson is an inside joke of SWC, none of this is intended to be taken seriously, nor is any of this my actual thoughts on the crime irl

(412 words) Arson, arson, arson. What a fabulous thing. To watch the world burn, knowing you were the one behind it, to know the world would bow down before your feet at the hand of your servant, the flame. It was a mysterious, majestic thing, and certainly not one to be disrespected. A simple spark was all it took - a spark of imagination, a spark of audacity, a spark of beauty, a spark of fire. Flames held such remarkable beauty, in the way they twist and turn, crackled and snapped, in their beautiful dance, soaring gracefully through the air, like a skater on ice, a dancer on stage, an aerialist wrapped in silks. They devoured nearly everything they touched, feeding off the ignorance of foolish mortals below, licking up gasoline, the appetizer to its feast of destruction. One moment, calm, the next chaos, that was the power of the flame. And of course, the sound, the ambiance of it all. The fire made such a beautiful noise, a delightful crackling sound. It was always alive with excitement, practically growing larger with each and every breath of fresh air, feeding off the fear, the excitement, the joy, the laughter, even the final breaths of others.

Of course, arson had its consequences. As it was technically speaking a crime, that often became quite the complication, especially when attempting to gather large amounts of supplies, particularly gasoline. That said, it’s not illegal unless you’re caught! Not getting caught is essential to avoiding all accountability, as well as dozens of pages of paperwork, and more often than not, large quantities of fines. Oh, and you’ll also likely have burned down something that someone loved, or perhaps used for some purpose, but at the point in which you are committing arson to begin with, it would be uncommon for you to care.

So why not try it? Arson is a delightful thing, and as far as crimes and illegal activities go, it’s just a needle on the evergreen, and small and relatively insignificant compared to certain others.I do hope I haven’t scared you, though better to be safe than to be sorry, consider the consequences a terms and conditions of use. It’s something hardly anyone reads, yet it’s effects are fundamentally important, and occasionally of some interest to the reader. Perhaps it may be dangerous, but is the reward not worth it? The world will bow down to you as you listen to a symphony of their screams.

Stand, trick, ports, forte, berth, 522 words

“Stand up, Joey!” Bree demands.
I roll my eyes. What's wrong with hiding under the table?
“Joey, you're almost seven years old. It's time to act like a big kid and sit in your chair, at least while your grandpa's here, alright?”
I say nothing. My stepsister Bree, just because she's nine years older than me, seems to think she knows how people are supposed to behave around their grandparents. Actually, on second thought she probably does. I don't care.
“If you come out of there, you can show your grandpa your new card trick,” she points out.
I have to admit that's quite tempting. I've shown Mama, and my stepdad Austin, and Bree the trick so many times this past week. It would be a lot of fun to have a new audience who doesn't know what's going to happen and how I'm going to do it, because at first I didn't realize magicians weren't supposed to reveal their secrets. Besides, Austin was the one who taught me how to do it so it's not like it was new to any of them.
I inch slowly backward out from under the table, before walking around its berth to stand in front of Bree. “Okay.”
She smiles.
Just then, the doorbell rings. I decide in a split second to forget sitting calmly in my chair and instead grab my worn deck of playing cards off the counter and sprint to open the front door.
“Hey, buddy” Grandpa says as I open the door
“He's here!” I vaguely hear Bree calling in the background.
I give him a hug. “Want to see a card trick?”
“He bends down to look me in the eyes, his hands resting on his knees. “Absolutely.”
I'm way to excited going into it, and by the end cards have fallen all over the floor
“Oops,” I mutter. “That wasn't supposed to happen. I'm not good at the performance part.”
Grandpa helps me pick up the cards so I have my full deck back. “Do you know what forte means?”
“No.”
“It means something someone is naturally really good at. You know The Beatles, right?”
I nod.
“Well, you could say music was their forte. Does that make sense?”
I nod again.
“Now I don't believe in fortes. You know why?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “Why?”
“Because I think anyone can be good at anything. If you like something, you practice it, and you get good at it, you see?”
“Yeah.”
“So it's not that you're bad at the performance part. It's that you haven't performed much and need more practice.”
“Oh,” I say, my eyes lighting up as I finally understand.
“Want to try again?”
I perform the trick a second time, and this time it runs smoothly and by the end of it Grandpa's clapping. “That was great!”
I turn around, hearing a second set of applause, and there's Mama, a smile on her face. “What do you say Grandpa takes you to the harbour front?” She asks.
I know what harbour front means. It means boats and ports and beaches and the sea. “Absolutely.”

(word war)

Beethoven is a god in the classical piano world. He is by far, one of the most popular composers ever. Even if you don’t listen to classical music, there is a good chance you have heard of Beethoven. If not, there is a good chance you’ve listened to his songs. Perhaps one of Beethoven’s most well known songs is his Fur Elise. This song is a very popular one, and many renditions have been made of this song. The original fur Elise is still played by many piano students today. It is of middling level and it is an important piece in the piano repertoire. Beethoven’s Fur Elise, personally, is not my favorite. However, I do think it is a significant piece. I used to be really obsessed with this song, but after I discovered more classical music, I began to realize that Fur Elise was just the beginning. While Fur Elise is not the best song, in my opinion, I do think it is an important milestone to studying other classical piano pieces. One of my all time favorite pieces is also by beethoven. This song is called the piano sonata no 8 in c minor, movement 2, sonata pathetique, adagio cantabile. This song, as you call tell, is written in a minor key, which means that it is a sadder song. However, it is still very heartfelt, and very very beautiful. Beethoven's sonata is very good.
+238 words

Dear Diary,
I’ve been on this ship for less than a day and I’ve had to stop myself from vomiting. I’ll be on this ship for a week or maybe more depending on the weather so I’ve decided to write in this diary. While it hasn’t stopped me from retching hopefully It’ll help the time pass quicker. At the moment I am laying on my berth, after almost breaking my skull while attempting to swab the deck, I’ve been banned from being above deck. Despite my incompetence on the ship and even more at sea, I am an actually an explorer. I’ve been paid a hefty sum to find a golden salet, I’ve been warned it's ‘cursed’ but most of the time that’s just a story to scare people from stealing I mean finding ancient artifacts.

To be frank, my diary, this is my first adventure, my business isn’t quite as successful as I had anticipated. I left my home and decided to not pursue a higher education. My calling was not in schools, my head in the books but instead out in the great outdoors, seeing the sights, and to earn money if I must be honest. Sadly nobody else believed that as true and I ended up going from person to person and door to door asking if someone needed me to find something for them or explore. To find a silver lining to losing the building it did help my rather non existent social skills. Then while I was counting my earnings: some bronze, some silver and a button, an old man approached me and asked for my help.

He invited me into his home, fed me a good meal and then told me the job he wanted done. He showed me a letter, supposedly from his grandfather. It was crimped and wrinkled though it was legible. Apparently he once found the golden salet and was supposed to bring it home but he never did. I’d have to travel far, way farther than the usual town to town jobs. Though when I mean usual I mean monthly so maybe other country jobs are what’s expected. I was about to walk out with bread rolls stuffed in my bag until he showed me the price. I would not pass that up.

Now though I wished I passed it up. I need to.




Sorry it seems I have vomited. I guess journaling wasn’t as helpful as I thought it’d be. Now I should stop and ask for a towel, I wouldn’t the vomit to stain what I wrote.

“Come, child!” calls my father. “It is time for your first ever great Phyle meeting!” He thrusts his hand out to me, and reluctantly I grab it. There is no point in resisting. He'll just grab me and haul me to the meeting anyways. And if I'm going to the meeting, I may as well make a good impression. Who knows, perhaps something actually useful will come out of it.
I sigh as I drag myself out of the small house that my family and I live in. It's a humble thing, but it's all that we can hope for, seeing as dad isn't one of the most prominent members of the Phyle. That's one of the reasons he wants me to do well in it- so that our family can live and go about daily life in a substantially greater amount of luxury. I suppose I must try, as well, to oblige him that wish.
We walk down to the beach. Although it's mainly used for small ships to come and go, the beach is a central hub for any and all social events, as well as for business and Phyle meetings. Here in Greece in the summer, it's quite hot, but we're used to it. It's better than raining.
When we get down to the main flat sandy bit of the beach, I see a crown of about fifty people spread out in a very large shape that somewhat resembles a disfigured oval under an enormous beech tree. They call out to my dad when they see him, asking what he was doing tugging about a sack of pig-flesh with him.
I sigh. so much for making a good impression.
My dad's smile falters briefly, but even so he declares with bravado, “This is my son! All of you, you are gazing at a future Phyle superstar! Son, introduce yourself.” He steps back. This is the part where I saw my rehearsed lines. But instead, I glumly mutter the single word, “Hallo.”
“'Hallo'? Is that all you have to say, you young discredit to our Phyle?” someone shouts. My father's face is crumbling. He looks at me amidst rising shouts. His face looks dishearteningly lost.
“S-son? You-”
“Sacrificed your impression. Yeah.”
“Why?”
“I-” I knew that I would have to tell him, but it was till hard for me to face this moment. “Father, I'm leaving. Sailing away, for new lands. My ship leaves it's berth at sunset today.”
It's what I have to do, but the heartbroken look on my fathers' face is heartbreaking.

427 words

Daily 7/10, Wordle!

Words incorporated:
Snail - you know what it is
Sared - to savor (I had to dig for that one lols)
Stead - the place or role that someone or something should have or fill (used in referring to a substitute) (there was another definition too but i’m lazy).

Words: 404

Claudia breathed the fresh spring air. Ah, spring! The time for baby birds to grow and flowers to blossom. Claudia loved spring. It was all scents and animals. And yes, she was aware that she was a nature girl, an aesthetic girl, and the kind of person who smells all the candles at stores.
She leaned close to one of the peonies. “Oh, a snail!” she exclaimed. “How adorable!” This is what Claudia told herself as ‘Spring Rush’ like a sugar rush, but with spring. She picked up the snail, probably disappointing millions of snailologists, saying “Your skin is toxic!”
“Let’s go get some ice cream,” Claudia told her snail friend, instead of walking over to the ice cream shoppe, she went back inside her house. Unfortunately her adventure was only built around her garden of wonders.
She sared the ice cream (that’s not a real sentence I'm going to die, sared isn’t actually a word ;- with her spoon. “Mmmm, vanilla bean is the best,” she sighed.
She opened up her phone, scrolling through a story she was reading. “He was in the stead of a sovereign ground, away from safety and his homeland, Naveia.”
As another spoonful entered her mouth, Claudia noticed the snail on the smooth dining room countertop inching closer to escape. She took it and placed it back on the center.
“Silly snail,” she said. “I’ll put you into my little cage. We’re missing residents after all.”
Behind the innocent child playing in the garden was a slightly demonic personality.
Claudia suddenly heard footsteps above her, coming closer to the stairs. She quickly Put the lid back onto the ice cream and opened the fridge, quickly shoving it in. Then she practically threw her spoon in the dishwasher, closing it just in time to spin around and see her mother in sight by the steps.
“Well, Hello Claudia, what’s on your lip?” Claudia’s mother asked.
Ice cold panic entered her mind as she licked off the ice cream. “Oh, just some milk,” she lied, panic subduing a bit.
“What’s that on the counter?”
“Oh, that’s a snail,” Claudia said innocently.
“What did I tell you about not bringing your insects inside?” Claudia’s mother asked. “I swear, child, one day you’ll be bringing in June beetles and flies!”
Claudia picked up the snail, bringing it back outside and depositing it in her cage. “I’ll find you a friend soon,” she said.

Date: July 10th
Points: 500
Main Cabin Daily
Word Count: 409
Prompt:
Adieu, tarts, poker, worth, berth

To be honest, making dessert with my mom is one of my favorite pastimes. Today, we were making tarts. The smell of the cream cheese filling and the fresh fruit made my growling stomach worth it. It would be fed soon enough. I said to mom as I turned off the mixer, “Are you excited?” “Definitely! Making these has been so fun. I can’t wait to have your relatives try them.” I grinned and began to wash the fruit. Blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. It was the 3rd of July today and we were making an American flag arrangement. Hopefully I won't mess it up like last year. I could bid adieu to my baking career if I did.

When we got there the next day, I scanned the room. My uncles were playing poker in the corner, my aunts gossiping at the dinner table and cousins sneaking bits of food. For what it’s worth, I think that the food is amazing, so I don’t judge.

Red, white and blue tarts lined the pan. I waited for my grandma to come up and look at it. Now, if you didn’t know, my grandma, a woman of wide berth, was once on the great British baking show. She won. She’s always been the baker of the family. I’ve never been so intimidated by a person other than my grandma. Especially since I wanted to follow in her footsteps. She gave me a look and smiled coolly. “Did you enjoy making these, darling?” I nodded, grinning back. My hair was curled, and I had on a red, white and blue dress, so I hoped that I looked more impressive to her than I actually felt. She grabbed one and took a bite. Here it came. Then it didn’t. The silence was deafening, and I didn’t like it at all. And I knew from experience that whenever you don’t get a word, if it’s not praise, it’s all criticism. Finally, though, she said something, “Wow. Very good. The textures match up perfectly and I think that the filling is near perfect.” I grinned and asked tentatively, “Really?” “Really. I’m proud of you, Joy.”

The rest of the night was bliss. Everyone else complimented mom and I for the dessert, though the praise from grandma was the best. While I didn’t like the politics talk at the table, I was glad to be there with my family.

The tarts were gone after 30 minutes.

July 10th Daily
prompt: wordle (401 words)
I stared out at the sea. There was a storm coming, and we needed to prepare. The clouds were dark and ominous, and I knew that the weather would be harsh tonight.
“Everyone below deck!” I called out.
The sailors quickly hurried into the lower parts of the ship. They were new at sailing and were terrified at the prospect of a storm. I, on the other hand, knew my way around a ship and was prepared to take on the storm.
The waves were already starting to get bigger. They tossed and turned the ship, causing a few of the sailors that didn't quite get below deck yet to throw up.
I quickly turned the wheel, steadying the ship. But we weren't out of the woods yet. Another big wave was coming, and I prepared myself. I'd been in storms worse than this before. The wave hit the ship hard, but not hard enough. I steadied the ship again, already watching for the next wave.
I didn't have to wait too long.
Another wave came crashing into the ship. This one was pretty huge, and it was a lot harder to steady the ship this time. But, I managed, and stayed on my guard.
A few small waves pummeled the ship after that, but they didn't do much, and I kept the ship afloat without much effort. I relaxed a little, thinking the worst of it was over.
Clearly, I was wrong.
A massive wave came rushing towards the ship. The sailors who were still above deck swore, and I cursed under my breath too. This was a pretty big wave, and the ship might be a bit worse for wear by the end of this.
The wave crashed into the ship, and it was way worse than I thought. As hard as I tried, the ship flipped over. I splashed into the water, my mind awhirl from the shock.
Were the sailors below deck okay? They could swim, but they might be crushed under the rubble. Even a good swimmer couldn't stand that.
Would we all make it out? For some reason, I assumed we would all live. But, this wasn't a kid's story. Not everyone is going to survive.
And with that lovely thought in my head, I sunk down, deep below the surface, closing my eyes. It was the last time I would ever sail a ship.

July 10th Daily
Haha, so lucky me I was able to guess the Wordle in two tries! I used the words GUEST and STEAD

I walked into the school building where I was going to be substituting for a teacher who was on maternity leave for the next couple of months. I walked through the surprisingly quiet hallways, realizing that the students must have either not arrived, or maybe I was late. I sincerely hoped that it was the former option as I didn't want to be late on my very first day substituting at this school. How would that make me look as an employee? It would give me a horrible reputation and I really didn't want that to happen.
I had never been to this school before, I was merely a guest here of course seeing as I wasn't going to be teaching here permanently, and since there was nobody else around it took me quite a long time to find the main office where I would check in with the principal to find out where my room was and anything else that they saw fit to tell me about this job before I went off to go and teach the students.
When I finally found the office, I knocked a couple of times and waited to see if there would be any response. After a moment there was no response. That was odd. I knocked again and this time I did get a response.
“Come in.” A voice sounded from inside the office. I opened the door slowly and found the principal sitting at her desk looking over some papers that were on the desk in a manila folder. For a second I wondered what was inside them and then realized that it was none of my business and it would be rude of me to ask. “Yes? Who are you? What can I do for you?” She asked, looking up at me from the desk.
“Oh yes, um I'm here to sub for Ms. Lenox.” I said quickly with a smile, trying to present myself as a friendly person.
“Ah, yes our stead for the day, yes?” She asked, looking up at me and pushing up her glasses
“Um yes that would be me.” I answered, having to think about that word for a moment before I was able to understand what it meant.
“Well, you're going to be in room 6 right down the hall, second door on your left. Ms. Lenox has left you a lesson plan for her class, so just follow that and you should be fine. The children are nice, you should have no problems.”
“Thank you,” I said before heading down the hall to my classrooms, ready to start my day.
(458 Words)

Weekly #2 -

Real World:
On Sunday, June 12th, 2022, beginning at 4PM, the 75th annual Tony Awards took place at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. CBS and Paramount+ both streamed the entire ceremony in two separate parts, making this the first time that the awards were broadcasted live in all US time zones. The main host of the Tony Awards this year was Araina DeBose and the hour long pre show before the ceremony was hosted by Darren Criss, an American actor, singer and songwriter who starred in the series Glee, and Julianne Hough, and American dancer, actress and singer who starred on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. Now, before we get into the shows that were nominated and which ones won, let's give a quick review of what exactly the Tony Awards are, just in case you aren’t familiar with them.
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, which is much more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence of Broadway shows, performances, and actors/actresses. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League. The ceremony is an annual event that takes place in Midtown Manhattan. The Awards are the American equivalent to the United Kingdom’s Laurence Olivier Awards and France’s Molière Awards.
The awards were founded in 1947 by a committee that was part of the American Theatre Wing, also known as the ATW, which was headed by Brock Pemberton. The awards are named after a co-founder of the American Theatre Wing who passed away in 1946, Aintoinette Perry who was nicknamed Tony. The 1st Tony Awards ceremony was held on April 6th, 1947 at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. Ever since 1967 the Tony Awards have been broadcasted across the United States and have featured musical numbers from the nominated musicals as well as sometimes including some video clips of nominated productions.
There are a total of twenty nine awards that musicals are nominated for. These awards are split into three categories; Performance, Show and Technical, and Special Awards.
Now, let’s move on to the nominations and the winners of the 75th annual Tony Awards that happened this year! First, I’m going to list the nominations for each of the awards in the Performance and the Show and Technical categories. I will specify the winners by putting them in bold and italics. Then, I’ll let you know how many nominations each production received and how many awards they won!

Nominations:

Best Play:
- Clyde’s
- Hangmen
- Skeleton Crew
- The Minutes
- The Lehman Trilogy

Best Revival of a Play:
- American Buffalo
- For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Svic!de/When the Rainbow Is Enuf
- How I Learned to Drive
- Trouble in Mind
- Take Me Out

Best Musical
- Girl from the North Country
- MJ
- Mr. Saturday Night
- Paradise Square
- Six
- A Strange Loop

Best Revival of a Musical:
- Caroline, or Change
- The Music Man
- Company

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play:
- Adam Godley - The Lehman Trilogy as Mayer Lehman
- Adrian Lester - The Lehman Trilogy as Emanuel Lehman
- David Morse - How I Learned to Drive as Uncle Peck
- Sam Rockwell - American Buffalo as Teach
- Ruben Santiago-Hudson - Lackawanna Blues as Various
- David Threlfall - Hangmen as Harry Wade
- Simon Russell Beale - The Lehman Trilogy as Henry Lehman

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play:
- Gabby Beans - The Skin of Our Teeth as Sabina
- LaChanze - Trouble in Mind as Wiletta Mayer
- Ruth Negga - Macbeth as Lady Macbeth
- Mary-Louise Parker - How I Learned to Drive as Li’l Bit
- Deirdre O’Connell - Dana H. as Dana H.

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play:
- Alfie Allen - Hangmen as Mooney
- Chuck Cooper - Trouble in Mind as Sheldon Forrester
- Ron Cephas Jones - Clyde’s as Montrellous
- Michael Oberholtzer - Take Me Out as Shane Mungitt
- Jesse Williams - Take Me Out as Darren Lemming
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Take Me Out as Mason Marzac

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play:
- Uzo Aduba - Clyde’s as Clyde
- Rachel Dratch - POTUS as Stephanie
- Kenita R. Miller - for colored girls who have considered svic!de/when the rainbow is enuf as Lady in Red
- Julie White - POTUS as Harriet
- Kara Young - Clyde’s as Letitia
- Phylicia Rashad - Skeleton Crew as Faye

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical:
- Billy Crystal - Mr. Saturday Night as Buddy Young Jr.
- Hugh Jackman - The Music Man as Harold Hill
- Rob McClure - Mrs. Doubtfire as Daniel Hillard / Euphegenia Doubtfire
- Jaquel Spivey - A Strange Loop as Usher
- Myles Frost - MJ as MJ

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical:
- Sharon D. Clarke - Caroline, or Change as Caroline Thibodeaux
- Carmen Cusack - Flying Over Sunset as Clare Boothe Luce
- Sutton Foster - The Music Man as Marian Paroo
- Mare Winningham - Girl from the North Country as Elizabeth Laine
- Joaquina Kalukango - Paradise Square as Nelly O’Brien

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
- Sidney DuPont - Paradise Square as Washington Henry
- Jared Grimes - Funny Girl as Eddie Ryan
- John-Andrew Morrison - A Strange Loop as Thought 4
- A. J. Shively - Paradise Square as Owen Duigan
- Matt Doyle - Company as Jamie

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical:
- Jeannette Bayardelle - Girl from the North Country as Mrs. Nielsen
- Shoshana Bean - Mr. Saturday Night as Susan Young
- Jayne Houdyshell - The Music Man as Eulalie McKechnie Shinn
- L Morgan Lee - A Strange Loop as Thought 1
- Jennifer Simard - Company as Sarah
- Patti LuPone - Company as Joanne

Best Direction of a Play:
- Lileana Blain-Cruz - The Skin of Our Teeth
- Camille A. Brown - for colored girls who have considered svic!de/when the rainbow is enuf
- Neil Pepe - American Buffalo
- Les Waters - Dana H.
- Sam Mendes - The Lehman Trilogy

Best Direction of a Musical:
- Jamie Armitage and Lucy Moss - Six
- Stephen Brackett - A Strange Loop
- Conor McPherson - Girl from the North Country
- Christopher Wheeldon - MJ
- Marianne Elliott - Company

Best Book of a Musical:
- Girl from the North Country - Conor McPherson
- MJ - Lynn Nottage
- Mr. Saturday Night - Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel
- Paradise Square - Christina Anderson, Larry Kirwan, and Craig Lucas
- A Strange Loop - Michael R. Jackson

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics Written for the Theatre):
- A Strange Loop - Michael R. Jackson (music and lyrics)
- Flying Over Sunset - Tom Kitt (music) and Michael Jorie (lyrics)
- Mr. Saturday Night - Jason Robert (music) and Amanda Green (lyrics)
- Paradise Square - Masi Asare and Nathan Tysen (lyrics) and Jason Howland (music)
- Six - Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss (music and lyrics)

Best Scenic Design of a Play:
- Beowulf Boritt - POTUS
- Michael Carnahan and Nicholas Hussong - Skeleton Crew
- Anna Fleischle - Hangmen
- Scott Pask - American Buffalo
- Adam Rigg - The Skin of Our Teeth
- Es Devlin - The Lehman Trilogy

Best Scenic Design of a Musical:
- Beowulf Boritt and 59 Productions - Flying Over Sunset
- Arnulfo Maldonado - A Strange Loop
- Derek McLane and Peter Nigrini - MJ
- Allen Moyer - Paradise Square
- Bunny Christie - Company

Best Costume Design of a Play:
- Sarafina Bush - for colored girls who have considered svic!de/when the rainbow is enuf
- Emilio Sosa - Trouble in mind
- Jane Greenwood - Plaza Suite
- Jennifer Moeller - Clyde’s
- Montana Levi Blanco - The Skin of Our Teeth

Best Costume Design of a Musical:
- Fly Davis - Caroline, of Change
- Toni-Leslie James - Paradise Square
- William Ivey Long - Diana
- Santo Loquasto - The Music Man
- Paul Tazewell - MJ
- Gabriella Slade - Six

Best Lighting Design of a Play:
- Joshua Carr - Hangmen
- Jiyoun Chang - for colored girls who have considered svic!de/when the rainbow is enuf
- Jane Cox - Macbeth
- Yi Zhao - The Skin of Our Teeth
- Jon Clark - The Lehman Trilogy

Best Lighting Design of a Musical:
- Neil Austin - Company
- Tim Deiling - Six
- Donald Holder - Paradise Square
- Bradley King - Flying Over Sunset
- Jen Schriever - A Strange Loop
- Natasha Katz - MJ

Best Sound Design of a Play:
- Dominic Bilkey and Nick Powell - The Leman Trilogy
- Justin Ellington - for colored girls who have considered svic!de/when the rainbow is enuf
- Palmer Hefferan - The Skin of Out Teeth
- Mikaal Sulaiman - Macbeth
- Michail Fiskel - Dana H.

Best Sound Design of a Musical:
- Simon Baker - Girl from the North COuntry
- Paul Gatehouse - Six
- Ian Dickinson for Autograph - Company
- Drew Levy - A Strange Loop
- Gareth Owen - MJ

Best Choreography:
- Camille A. Brown - for colored girls who have considered svic!de/when the rainbow is enuf
- Warren Carlyle - The Music Man
- Carrie-Annie Ingrouille - Six
- Bill T. Jones - Paradise Square
- Christopher Wheeldon - MJ

Best Orchestrations:
- David Cullen - Company
- Tom Curran - Six
- David Holcenberg and Jason Michael Webb - MJ
- Charlie Rosen - A Strange Loop
- Simon Hale - Girl from the North Country

Total Nominations and Awards Received - By Production:
- A Strange Loop was nominated for 11 awards and won 2of them.
- MJ was nominated for 10 awards and won 4 of them.
- Paradise Square was nominated for 10 awards and won 1 of them.
- Company was nominated for 9 awards and won 5 of them.
- The Lehman Trilogy was nominated for 8 awards and won 5 of them.
- Six was nominated for 8 awards and won 2 of them.
- for colored girls who have considered svic!de/when the rainbow is enuf was nominated for 7 awards but won none of them.
- Girl from the North Country was nominated for 7 awards and won 1 of them.
- The Music Man was nominated for 6 awards but won none of them.
- The Skin of Our Teeth was nominated for 6 awards and won 1 of them.
- Clyde’s was nominated for 5 awards but won none of them
- Hangmen was nominated for 5 awards but won none of them
- Mr. Saturday Night was nominated for 5 awards but won none of them
- Take Me Out was nominated for 4 awards and won 2 of them.
- American Buffalo was nominated for 4 awards but won none of them
- Flying Over Sunset was nominated for 4 awards but won none of them
- Trouble in Mind was nominated for 4 awards but won none of them
- Caroline, or Change was nominated for 3 awards but won none of them
- Dana H. was nominated for 3 awards and won 2 of them
- How I Learned to Drive was nominated for 3 awards but won none of them
- Macbeth was nominated for 3 awards but won none of them
- POTUS was nominated for 3 awards but won none of them
- Skeleton Crew was nominated for 3 awards and won 1 of them.
- Diana was nominated for 1 award but won none of them
- Funny Girl was nominated for 1 award but won none of them
- Lackawanna Blues was nominated for 1 award but won none of them
- The Minutes was nominated for 1 award but won none of them
- Mrs. Doubtfire was nominated for 1 award but won none of them
- Plaza Suite was nominated for 1 award but won none of them

The ceremony lasted about two hours, not including the hour-long pre show where a collection of numbers from the musicals that were nominated were performed. Additionally, during these Tony Awards, Jennifer Hudson became the seventeenth person to become an EGOT following her award as a lead producer. An EGOT is someone who has been awarded an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony!
I hope this article taught you a bit about the Tony Awards and gave you a rundown of all of the winners!
(1,868 Words)
———-
Book Review:
The book that I’m going to be reviewing today is called The List, this book was written by Patricia Forde. The List is a young adult dystopian novel that was first published on April 16th, 2015. The List is the first book in a duology and the second book in the duology is called The Last Lie. I will only be talking about The List today as I have not yet had a chance to read The Last Lie.
The List takes place in a post-apocalyptic society in a city called Ark. In the Ark speech and writing of any kind is restricted to a list of only five hundred words. Any use of other words not on the list may result in a banishment from the Ark into the unsurvivable wilderness. There are only two people in the entire city allowed to use words not on the list, albeit only in private. Those people are the Wordsmith, Benjamin, and his apprentice, Letta. The job of the Wordsmith and his apprentice is to gather all the words that they can, found on old scraps from the before time or from the memory of those old enough to remember, and keep them in the unlikely event that maybe one day, the Ark will need more than just five hundred words. When Letta unexpectedly finds herself in charge of the duties of Wordsmith, she discovers a sinister plot to rob everyone in Ark of the power of speech and she is launched into a dangerous mission to save not only the words that she loves so much, but the humanity of all the people around her.
When I read The List a couple of months ago, I really enjoyed it and the storyline kept me engaged for the entire book. I really liked the character of Letta and felt extremely connected to her character, my connection to her growing more and more as the story progressed. She was a very well-rounded character and there was no point where I ever found myself bored by her character or thinking that she was cliche or anything like that. As Letta is also the main narrator of the story and so the entire thing is a very enthralling read and it kept me engaged and interested throughout the entire book. There was no point where the plot felt slow and I never felt the need to skim through the book because the writing never felt irrelevant or anything like that.
Forde has an incredible ability to write scenes that are able to create a mix of mystery and suspense in a way that is very engaging to the reader and she is able to create a very intriguing world for her characters to live in and is very good at explaining many of the things that are important for the reader to understand the entire story. There were plenty of scenes in the book that made me laugh and while there were none that ever made me actually cry, there were a few scenes where I could really feel for how Letta was feeling in the moment. Forde was able to write incredibly emotional scenes with Letta and make the reader feel for her while she was experiencing these things.
One thing that I think could have made the book a little better than it already is might have been making the ending of the book less confusing. For me, I struggled to understand the last chapter or so of the book as there was a lot happening. While it may have just been me struggling to understand, I still would have loved to have had a better understanding of the ending the first time that I read it as opposed to me having to read it a couple times to get the main jist of it so that I could understand it.
I also didn't particularly like the cliffhanger that was given at the end of the book. I know that many people don't like cliffhangers in books that have sequels, however this one just really didn't wrap up the first book for me and so I felt as though I was missing something even though the book was over.
Overall I think this book was an incredible read and I really enjoyed it, I would definitely recommend this book to pre-teens and teens who enjoy a good dystopian novel. It has a lot of interesting themes that will leave you thinking about it even after you finish the book, which is something that I enjoy when I read books like this very much. I like being able to have something to take away from the book when I put it down.
On a scale I would probably rate this book as an 8/10 if only for the slightly confusing ending to me. It was a great book and I seriously recommend that you read it.
(823 Words)
———-
Advice Column:
Just FYI, for most of these (Except for the ones written by @Starfairyelise) I added random “signatures” for the questions.

Hello there! Welcome to Questions with Piper, a weekly advice column where I answer questions submitted by fellow Scratchers who are participating in Scratch writing Camp (Also known as SWC). Today we have five questions to answer, which is quite a few, so let’s get right into it and start this week's advice!
(53 Words)

Is there a real use for my giant stuffed animal collection? -StuffedAnimalKeeper (@-rosybliss-)
Hi there Stuffed Animal Keeper! So, you’re asking if there is a real use for having a stuffed animal collection. Personally, I also have a stuffed animal collection and while some people may say that there is no use for it and that it may just be taking up space in your room, I completely disagree. To a point. I think that if you have stuffed animals that have any kind of sentimental value to you then the use of them is that they have that sentimental value and allow you to look back on other times in your life. For example, perhaps if you received one from your best friend or a family member that you really respect, or it came to you during a rough time in your life. I have several stuffed animals like that and I keep them pretty much only for the sentimental value. And if you find that your large collection is taking up space, I would recommend trying to gather them into one area in your room or home so that they are not spread out too much, which will make your entire collection look more put together.
On the other hand, if you collect just for the sake of collecting and many of them have no sentimental value, I think that’s completely fine as well! Honestly, I think that if you are happy with this collection of yours and you enjoy having all of the stuffed animals, that it is completely useful in and of itself and that you should keep it. I hope that this is helpful to you!
~ Piper
(269 Words)

What should I do to overcome phobias? -Worried (@MysticScratcher101)
Hello there Worried, I’m not very good at this kind of thing, but I hope that my advice will be at least a little bit helpful to you. So, you’re asking how you might be able to overcome some phobias that you might have. I think that it depends on the kind of phobia that you have, but I think for most of the ones that I can think of that it may be beneficial to talk to somebody that you trust about it. They may be able to help you out in some way of overcoming something that you are scared of.
If you find yourself still scared it may be best to seek professional help so that you can overcome these fears and live your best life. That’s the best advice that I can give you, but I hope that it helped a little bit!
~ Piper
(148 Words)

I recently manifested magical powers, but am having trouble controlling them. Any tips? -MagicalTroubles (@KitVMH)
Well hello there Magical Troubles! This is quite an interesting question for me to answer, one that I’ve never really thought about. Since I don’t have too much experience with magical powers I’m not sure how accurate this will be, however I will try my very best to give you some accurate advice!
So, first things off, if you are not the first person in your family or friend group to manifest magical powers, then I would recommend going to talk to some of them and talk to them about how they handled their powers when they first came around and see if they have any tips on how to learn how to control your brand new powers! They will likely have many tips and tricks that worked for them so that you can hopefully learn to control your powers.
On the other hand, if you don’t know anybody who has received powers before you, then it may be a bit trickier for you to get good solid advice. In this case, I will give you a couple of ideas that I might try if I were to wake up one day with powers!
First, I would try and find a secluded part where you can practice your powers without the danger of hurting someone or damaging things around you.
Second, I would bring someone with you to this area in case something happens to you during your practice, however make sure that they are well protected from whatever your powers may be.
Third, I would do some research! Maybe you can find some other people who also have powers who might be able to give you some first hand experience.
Hope that you find the advice that I’ve given helpful! Wishing you good luck on mastering your powers!
~ Piper
(300 Words)

What do I do if I have a crush on another Scratcher? -Heartbroken (@Starfairyelise)
Hello there Heartbroken. I’m going to assume that you’re talking about someone that you don’t know in real life, however disregard what I’m about to say if you do know this person outside of scratch as those are completely different circumstances. Really the advice that I’m going to give you is going to sound very harsh however I feel like it is all that I can say to you about this. You can’t have a crush on another Scratcher because you don’t really know them. You only know their online persona and there is no way for you to confirm who they really are or that they’re really the person that you think they are.
I really hope that you understand that and know that there are plenty of people in the real world that I’m sure you know much better and will be able to get to know better much easier than someone that you met online.
~ Piper
(159 Words)

What do I do if my mom bans Scratch? -SadAndLonely (@Starfairyelise)
Hello there Sad And Lonely, this is an interesting question and I will try to give you the very best advice that I can!
First, I would talk to you mom and ask her what her reasoning was for banning Scratch and if there was anything that you could do to possibly show her that it is a safe site for you to use. Or perhaps you could come up with some rules that you would follow on the website so that she is more comfortable with you using it. This could include things like closing comments on your profile and comments, or not interacting too much with other people.
However, if you go through all of this and your mom still says that you cannot use the website, unfortunately you cannot use the website. Your mom makes the rules for you and if she feels it is best for you to stay off the website you must respect that and listen to her. But don’t worry, you will still be able to make plenty of friends and have tons of fun in the real world
I hope that this was helpful for you!
~ Piper
(195 Words)

Well everybody! That’s all of the advice that I have for you today! I hope that the people who submitted the questions I answered found all of my advice helpful! And if anybody reading this is going through similar problems maybe you found some use out of this as well!
Thank you so much for reading and I’ll see you all again next week!
(64 Words)
Total of 1,188 Words for Advice Column
———-
Obituary:
(All of this is stuff that I randomly came up with, I’m sorry if this resembles anybody that you know, it was completely unintentional)
On Wednesday, August seventeenth, 2017, Ruby Xandra Lenox, loving wife and mother to three children and grandmother to six grandchildren, passed away in her sleep at the age of 74.
Ruby was born on February twenty first, 1943 in San Francisco California. She went to college studying law at Harvard University and received her degree in Law in 1971. She continued to practice law for nearly thirty five years of her life. On May 28th, 1975 she married Mark Lenox. Together, they raised two daughters, Maria and Olivia and one son, Jonathan.
Aside from law, Ruby was an avid reader and writer. In her youth, Ruby did a lot of creative writing, some of which she kept private for the rest of her life, and other writing she shared with close family and friends. She was an avid lover of music and loved the Beatles. She was known for having an infectious laugh and smile and she was always able to light up a room whenever she entered it.
Ruby was preceded in death by her mother, Lisa, and her father, Don. She is survived by her husband, Mark, her three children, Maria, Olivia, and Jonathan, her brother Jack and her grandchildren, Ollie, Ava, Evan, Lauren, Maggie and Hannah as well as several nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be held on Thursday, August twenty fourth at Church of Christ on Main Street at 2’oclock pm. Flowers or donations may be sent to: 1234 St., San Fransico, CA.
(249 Words)

Total of 4,128 Words for Weekly #2

Despair

Main Cabin Daily, July 11th: In order to connect with our characters, we writers often use their dialogue and inner thoughts as tools to convey their emotions, opinions, and characteristics. For today’s daily, however, neither of those tools will be available to you. For 600 points, write at least 500 words of an emotional narrative with neither dialogue nor inner thoughts. To earn an extra 200 points, provide proof of your writing.

519 words

The wind whistled coldly over the cliffside, sending a spray of pebbles into the air. The unfortunate rocks that had been too close to the edge only had a brief moment of flight before plummeting down, down, down. No one mourned for them as they silently impacted the smooth lake below.
In the forest above the cliff, the trees swayed and shook, stretching their limbs after a long day of standing still. Above the rustle of the breeze, an owl’s ominous hoot penetrated the forest. In the sky, a dark shadow soared, keen yellow eyes searching for a prey creature that would be too slow to escape its sharp, piercing talons.
The bushes at the cliffside rustled, but it was not the wind that had moved them. A cloaked figure stepped into the moonlight, pausing to gaze over the expanse of empty air, the shimmering lake, and the mountains beyond. After a long pause, a small hand emerged from the cloak, reaching up to pull back the hood and reveal her face to the icy air.
The girl closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. Then she exhaled, her eyes lowering to stare at the water below the cliff. She stood there for another long moment, as if the cold wind had transformed her into a frozen statue. When she moved again, it was to draw a long staff from her cloak, gripping it tightly.
She examined it, tracing the fingers of her other hand over its intricate carvings. As she breathed in, the lines glowed with a faint pulse of red. Her pupils also shone with the same faint, fiery glow, but both lights faded away as she exhaled.
She tightened her grip on the staff, her knuckles whitening with the strain. Her face twitched, fighting to escape its composed expression. Her eyes glistened again, but they shone with the natural reflection of the moonlight in her trapped tears.
Finally, a sob broke her chest, and the charade broke. She fell to her knees, sobbing, clutching the staff as her only support. Great, heaving breaths shook her as she clawed herself safely away from the cliff’s edge. The girl curled up on the ground, gasping through the tears. She hugged her staff tightly, pressing her forehead against its point.
With every sob, the staff flared, lighting up the evening mist with a fiery glow. She watched the engravings intently through half-closed eyes, and her face contorted to a look of anger and pain.
A single, wordless scream escaped her throat, and she glared up at the tiny, twinkling stars that had started to emerge in the night sky. She pushed herself off the ground into a sitting position, and hugged her knees tightly. The silence stretched on, only infringed on by the natural sounds of the forest.
Then the girl grasped her staff tightly and pushed herself off the ground. She swayed there for a few moments before pulling the cloak over her head once more. Without another glance back, she turned and walked back down the path she had come, her footsteps masked by the whispers of the wind.

SWC Daily #10 for Fairy Tales, 803 words for 500 points <3
My words were creep, death, dates, and stead.
Brian Tolnsbury killed every girl he had ever loved.
First it was his mother, then his sister, and now, it was every girlfriend, or crush, or just his girl friends.
He didn’t mean to, of course.
He called it, “The Creep.”
It hadn’t come until he turned seven years old. He, like most other children, had an undying love for his mother, so she slumped back in her seat, dead, at his birthday party. The autopsy just showed the cause as heart failure. That was the first time “The Creep” had come. After she had died, Brian heard a ringing, deep voice all around his ears.
“Hello, little child. I am the keeper of Death. You shall be my stead, so that I may take care of my job more…efficiently. All of of the girls and women you will ever love, will be cursed, and will die.”
“B-But why me?” Little Brian stuttered, struggling to get his words out. A loud, raspy voice chuckled.
“Why you, my child? Because you are my vessel, and you were ever since you were born.”
“B-But-”
“Silence, my child. It will all come at the right time.” And with that, the keeper of Death was gone, and so was Little Brian’s mother.
No one except Little Brian knew about his phenomenon, because the keeper of Death had ordered him not to tell. However, it became increasingly obvious that something was going on when Brian’s older sister, Alyssa, died as soon as Brian had a nice moment with her.
Alyssa and Brian had never had the best relationship, but once, when Brian was crying over the death of his mother, Alyssa had comforted him and told him everything would be okay. He then realized that he loved his sister more than he thought he ever would. He had just never appreciated that.
As soon as he realized that, Alyssa gasped as if she was seeing something horrible, then slumped back on her mattress, dead.
Brian screamed. How could he forget? It had been two years since his mother had died…
His dad had come rushing in, and as soon as he realized his daughter was dead, he screamed at his son with tears flowing freely out of his hurt eyes.
“It’s you!” He shrieked, pointing his finger at his son’s heart, causing him to flinch violently, “You! Everytime. Your mother died at YOUR birthday party. A-Alyssa dies here, and you’re the only one in the room! I-I know it’s not heart failure! I know it’s something else. You are a blessing and a curse, son.” Brian’s dad said accusingly. There was silence for a moment, then Brian’s father fell to his knees, and started sobbing over his daughter’s body, muttering incomprehensible phrases.
“Good job, my child, you have done well.” The keeper of Death’s voice rang in Brian’s head as soon as he reached his room, sobbing with his head on his knees.
“How could you?” The boy screeched. “You took away Mommy, and now Alyssa…”
“My child, I am helping you,” the voice inside Brian’s head seemed irritated now, “what do you not understand? Without me, you would be nowhere. You are my loyal stead on Earth, and you should be quite grateful for me.”
“Maybe I would have a family.” Brian muttered under his breath, thinking the keeper would not hear him. However, the keeper heard everything.
“Very well, child. I suppose I shall have to show you what happens to those with a cheek.” Brian heard the keeper of Death snap, and then his small body was filled with excruciating pain.
It was shocking him, there was utter pain coursing through his veins and ripping them apart from the inside, his heart ached and burned from the sudden shock and began beating at a much faster pace, he felt his blood hit a crescendo, the pain was electrifying him and tearing him apart from the inside out, and there was screaming, and then he was screaming and-
And then it stopped. And he felt blood enter his lungs and he was choking and he felt like he was barely alive.
And then he passed out.
After a few of these experiences, Brian soon learned to know when The Creep was coming. He could feel it in the pain flowing in his veins, in the corruption of a mind he had, in the torture he had to endure as the keeper of Death’s stead.
His life was miserable. Kids ignored him in the hallways and flinched whenever he came too close – they thought he would fall in love with them and go on dates with them and kill them like he had done his other friends and crushes. Brian would return home to his father, yelling at him and neglecting him due to his ‘creepy curse.’
Until he met Sophia, of course.

Writing Competition Entry! 195 words excluding the title.

Moment of Silence

After the houses had fell,
And the people screaming had died out,
There was a moment of silence.
Where the people
Who had lived to see the remains
Brushed the rubble and soot off their faces
And dug.
They dug through the broken pieces and pieces of their houses,
their prized possessions, the things they called theirs.
And as everyone emerged from the damage
Slowly,
They took a moment of silence to look around them.
They stared at each others’ ruined houses and soot covered faces
They smelled death and decay in the icy air around them
They tasted blood in their mouths
Slowly, they bent down to pray. They touched the cracked, sandy ground and prayed.
And for the rest of the day, they heard nothing.
And when the aftershock came, they still bent and prayed.
And even when they felt like there was no hope left,
No one to pull them out of the ashes of their memories,
They gazed at a small house, in the orange foggy distance
The only one left standing, with
a small jackfruit tree
its delicate branches
Protecting it from harm

Port au’ Prince, Haiti, January 12, 2010