and darling thus begins the tale of march '24… and swc <3
march 1 - 1k intro (no points)

aaand we're back <3 to those of you who know me, hello there! and to those of you who don't - welcome, i'm reese, nice to meet you. i'm a freshman in high school, and a lover of stories (with far too little time, might i add), among other titles! i consider myself a lover of stories for the simple reason that it encompasses so much more than a passion of writing or reading; a story, while primarily literature, does not have to be - and i do my best to take the time to enjoy the stories in music and art as much as i can as well. i love science and math (though my precalc class frequently makes me want to kick something bwahaha), in addition to soccer, making friendship bracelets, and languages. i've been taking spanish the past two years, and would love to someday be able to speak it fluently, as i would find it lovely to be able to communicate and connect with so many more people through multiple languages. i'm also currently self-studying latin (though i'm hoping to take it as a class, if possible, either over the summer, or in the fall), which is fascinating because of all the connections to both english and spanish! i read ‘babel’ by rf kuang recently, which sparked my sudden interest in language-learning. it was a really intriguing exploration of language and linguistics, as well as tying in political issues that are relevant today; all in all, it's one of my favorite novels. i love books that make me think about things or feel emotion - which is particularly true of ‘i fell in love with hope’ by lancali and the six of crows duology by leigh bardugo! rick riordan, john green, and marie lu are some of my author favorite authors as well <3 creating emotional attachments to fictional characters is perhaps one of my favorite past times ;D in terms of my own writing, i love creating characters, particularly people i feel that i can connect with on a deeper level. it's perhaps cliche to base characters off myself, and i wouldn't say i necessarily base them off of me, but i like to have an attachment with them that i use to make them into someone i'm proud of writing. one of my goals for this session is to work on constructing a longer writing piece, either a novel of some sort or a short story that i'm dedicated to finishing. the two most important things for me when i write are that i enjoy the piece, and i'm proud of it, the former primarily. i like to use writing as a bit of an escape from stress and anxiety from school, and want to be able to dive into something that i can feel comfortable with. i consider my characters to be my friends, in a sense; sometimes i write to them for advice, and reply back in their voice, as if they're talking with me in real life. of course, they aren't, but it's another way for me to see them as someone i'm proud of giving life to.
(527 words)

(evidently this did not get to 1k but eh here we are <3)

march 17 - hozier daily
487 words - not including a/n (450 points w/ proof)

the distance never made a difference to me
i’d swim across a lake of fire
walk across the floor of any sea
~ unknown/nth

(00:00:00)
ASHER: Um, hey. It’s Ash. You… probably knew that, didn’t you. Does it say who these things are from? Probably. I mean, I’d think it does - after all, Cosmo does love his little quirky details, but I guess knowing who your voice recording is from isn’t all that quirky – sorry. I’ve gone off on a tangent, haven’t I. You’d snort if you were here, wouldn’t you, your eyes laughing at me. Now rolling your eyes, cause I guessed correctly… and then letting the hint of a smile brush the corners of your lips. Being happy isn’t a crime, y’know.

(00:00:39)
ASHER: You always told me that I… know too much. About you, about Spyglass, about life… Perhaps you were right. Maybe I did know too much for my own good. Maybe I was a walking disaster-waiting-to-happen if the wrong person got their hands on me. I knew you’d never let that happen though. And now I can picture you rolling your eyes again, but Lei, you wouldn’t deny it. Or… would you? It’s been a while now, hasn’t it. Maybe you’ve changed? Maybe we both have - oh, but you know I’d never leave you on purpose. Neither of us would have… right? I didn’t mean to hurt you, Lei, I never would, not if the fates depended on it… you do know that, I hope?

(00:01:26)
ASHER: You were my friend, my sister, my… everything. You were my everything. This wasn’t supposed to end like this. We weren’t supposed to end like this. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go! I don’t know what happened, I don’t know how to fix it, you were my rock, you were my world, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, Lei? I wasn’t supposed to be here. You weren’t supposed to be there. You weren’t supposed to be gone – You weren’t supposed to go away!! You were supposed to stay here! With… with me! I can’t make sense of the world anymore, Lei. Nothing makes sense anymore - the world has twisted upside down and flipped around until the skies are black and the ground is blue and the stars are gone…

(00:02:06)
ASHER: And maybe I’m being dramatic. Heck, you used to tell me I have a talent for it. But I’m not being dramatic when I say I don’t know what to do without you anymore. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. I didn’t mean for this. I never meant for this. I can’t- I don’t- I won’t– Tell me what to do, Lei. Please. Cause I don’t know how much longer I can take this silence. I don’t know how much longer you can take the pain. I’m supposed to be the optimist but… I- I don’t know how much longer we’ll survive this.

(00:02:43)

author's note:
well i had fun with this, so why not write an author's note! it's been a while since i've mustered the energy and motivation to actually write something coherent that's over 300 words, and… i have to say i'm not exactly where the idea from this piece came from? it sort of happened accidentally - i started out writing a letter (because the epistolary genre is fascinating) from asher, a character i created last session, to leilani, another character of mine, but sort of came to the conclusion that something wasn't right; i couldn't quite capture the tone of ash's words in the letter, because it was handwritten rather than spoken, and thus the idea of a recording came about. i know this is 100% not formatted properly but i don't have the time to care, quite honestly, because i had fun with it! i'm playing around with this world i developed a long time ago, and inserting characters from a separately made world, but the gist of it is that ash made a mistake, and might've lost lei forever! so that's a fun and pleasant thought, but i think the recording was the best way to accurately capture the emotion in ash's words, so… thus this piece was born. and that's the latest behind-the-scenes clip of from the pen of a goddess :zany:
(224 words - not included in the 487 of the recording)

march 25 - critique for nova
351 words, no points

HI NOVA <3 first of all - thank you so much for letting me critique your piece! this is a very heartwarming story, and a lot of it is beautifully written, there were just a few things that stuck out to me to perhaps look into.

“Two shadows, reaching through”.

i get that for the daily, you needed this in the piece, however i don't know what it adds to the narrative exactly? you keep talking about the ‘two shadows, intertwined’ but the ‘two shadows, reaching through’ doesn't quite seem to fit with the rest of the storyline

I saw your hair, your tiny head of poofy blonde hair at the park.

Your hair was shoulder-length, and it had grown to ringlets.

Your waist-length ringlets, mine a pixie cut.

your mentions of hair are reoccurring - what's the purpose of this? it seems a little out of place at times, especially since the only descriptions you offer are eyes and hair, but you use them both repeatedly… it feels a little bit redundant? unless there was a symbolic meaning you were going for <3

I walked up to you and landed with a hard thump on the ground.

i assume you meant this as the narrator sitting down, but something about it comes across a bit weird lol - maybe see if there's a way you can rephrase it

Our shadows were never apart since.

i think you mix tenses here in a way that feels clunky - i think “our shadows have never been apart since” would work instead?

“Come play,” you whispered mischievously. Your hair was shoulder-length, and it had grown to ringlets.
I swept my new bangs back. “I’m coming,” I said. I grabbed my backpack and we spilled legos all over the floor.

a bit confused here - the beginning makes it sound as though they're going somewhere, but they end up staying in the same spot to play legos? and the mischievous whisper throws me off a little…

I taught you to raise your hands up to the sky. I taught you to scream, I taught you to depend on people. I taught you to fly.
You taught me to sit. You taught me to stay long enough to see my name in the stars, to see the wisps of clouds. You taught me to listen, to watch, to be.

AWW I LIKE THIS BIT <3

“It’s okay,” you whispered. “Being 17 is hard.”
“It’s okay,” I whispered.
Our fingers laced, our shadows intertwined.

i wonder if you could add a little more context to this moment - it's definitely a different emotion from the earlier sections, so some background could add to the contrast!

You’re not here in front of me. Your laugh rings not as clearly anymore, muffled because of my phone.
You reach out towards the camera, a bittersweet smile unfolding.
I reach out to you.
Two shadows, intertwined.
Two shadows, reaching through space and time and borders and countries and places.

this ending is sweet too!!

in conclusion - it's a beautiful piece <3 i apologize if any of this felt harsh or something of the sort, because it really is wonderfully written!! i almost would like there to be more though, if you can? what you have now is really nice, but i wish there was more context to it, so the readers could really connect with your characters. but overall, well done noodles <33

writing comp entry
853 words, no points

for the dawn comes too slow and the sunsets too fast

what is it that causes the first fissures
(blink a crack / blink a crash / blink a clatter)
you watch the horizon with steady apprehension
as if expecting time to tick faster
days drone on like droughts
stuck in a time loop, a wasp in the amber
what is there to do, but watch the petals fall?

in the dim fog of first light
you forget the thorns, spikes in your tired frame
fingers scraped up like skinned knees
(remember the overalls?)
criss-crossed scars, hopscotch through the pain
they say it’s easier to drown than to keep on swimming
you say it’s easier to fall than to balance
skipping stones has never seemed less promising

oh, child, where’d you go wrong
lost in the shadows of twilight
it was morning dew drops and then
you tripped
it was cinnamon rolls at midnight until
you stumbled
it was sparkles in the snow but then
the flakes drifted to the ground
(ashes, ashes, we all fall down)

when will you learn to see the sunrise
before the blaze of too-late not-enough should’ve-seen-it-coming
you can’t put out a fire with the flames
you can’t stop a storm with the lightning
you can’t do anything but wait it out
eyes on the horizon, crow child
let your wings rupture the skies
(in chains, still something frees me)

hours pass (or weeks?)
the wind knocks the leaves off their branches
you float with them; where shall we go? they ask
to the stars you say
you can bear this earth no longer
they have no compass, no cardinal
you have no solace, no sanction
you are a lonely bunch
but at least
you aren’t alone

you can’t say you made it to the stars
but you made it to the end of the road
you can’t say you didn’t make it to the stars
but you didn’t make it to the light
was the beauty in the darkness worth the trip?
it is at night that the world comes to life

(if there is grace in the absence of light
is there brokenness in the presence of purity?)

all things die out, you know
the misty rain clouds can’t hang forever
over this eastern skyline
and neither can the tapestry of subtle ease
maybe you’ll miss the sun rays coming off your face
or maybe you admire the bitter days
more than you care to admit

but the springs turn to summers turn to autumn turn to winter
and suddenly the days are folding over themselves
multiplying and disappearing too fast
as if only figments of a distant imagination
the hours pass like torture
but the weeks are gone as if never there
within minutes
a year has passed

midday is coming and
you’ve not forgotten the dreams
but the stars have never felt further
your feet have never felt heavier
your eyes have never felt drier
you’d take the tears over this haze
any day

you try to bend towards the sun, but only snap in two
a brittle twig who wishes only
to be a young sapling once again
but that’s the curse of man
to desire what is further out of reach
than tomorrow
and yet never get any closer
than today

the lightbulbs fall out of the lamps
and roll off the tables
tracing paths of shattered glass
reflecting in the light
running away
like your sanity–
you wait
maybe someday you’ll learn to fall in love
with the notion of hope once again

the clock ticks in the background
you play games with yourself
to escape the metronome and
no one can see you lose if you have no competition
but the vicious cycle is your own undoing
cards eat away at the skin on your fingertips
chess boards claim the king and queen of perspective
check, checkmate, check the time–
has it been seconds
or years?

let me tell you now
it’s impossible to make it when all you imagine
is the rotation of the dusk and the dawn
is the monotonous drawl of daydreams
is the appeal of wallowing in self pity
regret eats at you like worms in an apple
don’t put all your eggs in one basket
because its held together by broken strings
and lost time

there’s only so many minutes, they mutter
make the most of the moments, they murmur
but the panic rises in your chest
blinding, suffocating pressure
eating away at your resolve
tearing at your facade
clawing between the shreds of your soul
until–
the castle collapses

dusk approaches
and your atlas has already crumbled
leaving only the tattered remains
of your map to the stars
shattered fragments
of your path to the moon
crumbling walls
of the bridges you once built

no one can ignore the discordant piano keys
so slam them harder, my love
sunset is falling and
you deserve to be seen for more than that
but sometimes you have to settle
for the midnights
before you can climb the ladder
back to the sun

(someday, my love, we’ll be okay)

a reflection - author's note to above writing comp entry
378 words, not part of the actual entry

the majority of this poem was compiled back in january, on a particularly late night when i sat and contemplated the passage of time. i do this sometimes - just sitting in the dark, thinking about abstract concepts like life and grief and language and love, but the one i come back to the most is the strange notion of time. in particular, the speed at which it seems to move. the past year, for me, has flown by. it seems as though only a month ago i was at my middle school graduation; last week i started freshman year; yesterday was the start of the swc session - when in reality, it's been much longer than that. it scares me to think about sometimes, how fast things go by. it seems as though within a span of months i'll be winding out my years in high school and heading onto bigger things, which, for someone who values the people in her life more than the moments, is a terrifying concept. and thus, it was one of these nights where i was terrified at the passage of time, that i began to write.

the title came first - for the dawns come too slow and the sunsets too fast. it was meant to encompass the idea that everything felt like it would take forever to come, yet pass by within an instant, much like how my first year of high school was going. everything felt so far away, but once it came… it was gone in the blink of an eye. i'll admit i don't have the motivation to write out an entire line-by-line analysis of this poem and what it means to me, but i will say it's the first thing i've written in a very long time that i can recall being innately proud of. and to me, that's made all the difference <3

i would like to give the sincerest of thank yous to sun (who offered their thoughts on this long before i realized i was entering it into the writing comp sldkfa), luna (for the same), clev (for critiquing), cj (for entertaining my complaints on the editing process, and offering an abundance of encouragement), and moonsy (for her motivation right up to the end) <3

leader app answers - text version
1408 words

about me
hey there, i’m reese (she/her, est)! i’m an introverted 14 year old with a deep love for bread, music, and all things book-related. in my spare time, i can generally be found on the soccer pitch, curled up reading a book, or working on homework with my headphones in. apart from my passion for lyrical and literary works, some of my favorite pastimes include forensics (speech, essentially), friendship-bracelet making, volunteering, and cleaning my room (which is weirdly therapeutic, except for the fact i swear it’s just as dirty the next day).
this session, my goals are to focus on writing a longer story, whether it be planning out and starting a novel, or simply a full 2000 word short story. i’ve experimented with a bit of poetry the last few sessions, however i’m looking forward to having more time to write due to it being summer break, and finding a good balance between swc online, and spending time with friends, family, and books.

experience
i have thus far been in five sessions of swc:

Naan-fi (Nov ‘22) - camper, led by Daisy, Birdi, and Sophie
Dystopian (March ‘23) - co-leader, with Moonlit
Folklore (July ‘23) - co-leader, with Skye and Aspen
Script (Nov ‘23) - camper, led by Alana, Recca, and Indigo
Myth (March ‘24) - co-leader, with Luna and Moonlit

each of these experiences has taught me unique skills when it comes to leadership and working in a group, from learning how to actually manage a cabin in march of 2023, to understanding and balancing out other people’s commitments, in march of 2024. the most important thing i’ve learned is to be okay with it not being perfect - people are busy and schedules are chaotic, and even if something doesn’t go exactly as planned, you can still put together something wonderful for your campers <3
apart from scratch, i have experience through a leadership program that i’m a part of. this program entails lots of volunteering and mentoring younger students at a local elementary school. i’ve participated in over 40 hours of community service in the last year, including helping out at halloween children’s events and school fundraisers throughout the county.

cabins
as a first time leader, i’d love to experiment with the genre of fantasy. one of my largest fascinations in writing is with worldbuilding - the concept of creating your own world from scratch is so interesting to me, and i’d love to be able to work with my co-leaders to make a world our campers can play around with. while this seems loose and generic, i want to be able to collaborate with my team to make something special. i also would be open to fairy tales, perhaps with a cabin inspired by the Land of Stories (a series by Chris Colfer in which a pair of twins falls through a book into a land made of fairy tale characters). ultimately, however, i’m open to nearly any cabin, preferably not thriller, horror, real-fi, or non-fi.
in terms of tctwnw, i really do appreciate the concept of this cabin <3 this being said, since i have more time to dedicate to swc, i think i would prefer to avoid it for this july. i have the ability to write more this session and be a bit more competitive since i’m not worrying about school at the same time. yet, of course, i’m still happy to lead, no matter the cabin!

excerpt
march '24 writing comp entry - https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/post/7894796/

time
this summer i can consistently dedicate an hour or two to swc each day, on most occasions. like i previously mentioned, i won’t have school during the month due to summer vacation, which significantly increases my chances of being online every evening. often, i prefer to be around on scratch at night, and spend time with family/friends/etc throughout the day, but i can adjust this as necessary to work with my leading team.
my main conflict is driver’s training from july 8-26, which will be most weekdays from 5-7pm est, and therefore i will not be online at those times. i also have a leadership conference from july 29 through august 3rd, and will most likely be inactive during that time, however i will make sure to set things up with my co-leaders in order to make this a smooth transition through the end of the session.

time management
STRENGTHS:
strategies - time management is something i frequently struggle with, so i’ve adapted strategies in order to use my time better, including listening to music to help me focus, and using Pomodoro timers to stay motivated
to-do lists - at the end of every day, i make a list of everything i need to accomplish that evening, and any other assignments coming up that are important to remember, that way i don’t forget anything i need to get done
WEAKNESSES
procrastination - this is something i’m consistently working on; i frequently struggle with motivation for schoolwork, and can put it off for a long time until beginning, making me significantly less productive

teamwork & assets
STRENGTHS:
communication - i’m good at reaching out to people and being able to combine ideas in order to create a final cohesive end result
flexibility - similarly, i can smoothly adapt to difficulties we encounter, by coming up with compromises and finding ways to work around difficulties
WEAKNESSES:
perfectionism - one of my largest flaws is needing everything to be perfectly executed, which can cause me to take over too much and feel like i need to do everything myself
lack of self-confidence - i consider this as one of my weaknesses in teamwork because i overthink my decisions, which can lead to slower progress and inability to trust that i’m making the right call in group settings
ASSETS:
organization - i consider myself to be a relatively organized person, and i can effectively keep track of necessary tasks to be completed, as well as communicating with my leading team to stay on top of deadlines
experience as co - due to my four sessions of co-leading experience, i believe i can bring a well-rounded perspective on leadership, as i’ve worked with a variety of people and leading types throughout the last year and a half. as a co, i saw what worked, what didn’t, and, in essence, how to run a cabin, which is important as a first-time leader

valued quality in leader & how to embody it
in my opinion, the most important leadership quality is reliability.
to me, this means being able to be trusted to follow through with responsibilities, leading to a trustworthy reputation that allows people to rely on you. sticking to your word is incredibly important; if you don’t stay true to what you say, no one will trust you to complete assignments.
as a leader, i can demonstrate this quality by completing everything i say that i’m going to, and not running over deadlines put in place. i will stay organized, and do my best to assist other people when they’re confused or struggling, so they recognize that i’m someone they can come to and rely on to give them answers to their problems.

atmosphere
seeking to create an atmosphere of positivity and uplifting energy, this cabin seeks to build a community of friendly competition, encouragement, and creativity, where all campers can feel welcome.

what to do in case of inactivity
if one of my co-leaders goes inactive, i will first contact them directly through their profile to see what’s going on, and see if they need assistance communicating with us, or if they have another external issue that requires their attention. in the case that i cannot reach them, i’ll wait a few days (perhaps they’re simply busy), but after a few days, i’ll contact the hosts and inform them of the inavtivity. if it’s prolonged, i’ll work with the hosts to see what the next steps should be, whether the right option is introducing another co, or working as a duo instead.
if i’m to go inactive, i would make the transition as smooth as possible by informing my co-leaders as far in advance as i can. i would contact the hosts to let them know, and put in place a system for my co-leaders to easily manage everything in my absence, whether that be giving them owner privileges of the studios, and/or finding another member to add to the team in order to balance things out.