Mouse the Soul-Stealer | 641 words

Once upon a time there was a writer named Mouse. Mouse was really cool and funny, but she had an unfortunate habit of stealing souls from other people. One day she tried to steal a soul from a camper named Chuey.
That was the day it all fell apart.
Mouse had been having an ordinary day. She was walking around the main cabin when someone announced that they had FIFTY whole unstolen souls int their possession. Obviously, Mouse rushed right over. “I can help with the unstolen souls!” she said, reaching out a hand for them.
Except someone else wanted them, too.
“Ooh, unstolen souls! I'll take some, please!” Chuey shouted, running over. “Mouse, no, I want them! You already have more than is good for you. And didn't you also steal someone's veins?”
“No I don't!” Mouse exclaimed. “You can never have enough souls. Also Ris has Reese's veins, not me.”
“Well, I don't have any, so that's less than you. And also it doesn't matter because I'm sure you have Reese's soul tucked away somewhere.”
Ris appeared out of nowhere, wearing super long fake sparkly pink nails. “I AM THE ONLY VEIN THIEF,” she yelled. Chuey screamed and hopped away. “Ris, you almost gave me a heart attack! Where did you even come from!??”
Ris laughed madly. “I have my ways!” Then she vanished again.
“Anyways,” Mouse said. "That's because soul-stealing is my job, and the last person I let steal souls with me tried to overthrow me and almost succeeded! Also yes I have Reese's soul, it's my only non-willing donation.“ She grinned.
Chuey hummed thoughtfully. ”All I have to say is, I would overthrow you and succeed. So I guess if you don't want to steal souls together, we'll just have to become rivals instead. And I think I'll start my collection with you! Hand over your soul Mouse.“
Mouse laughed. ”You wish! Joke's on you, someone else already has it. You can't steal it if you can't find it. But I can steal yours!“
Chuey giggles. ”No you can't, because I don't have one!“
”NOT ANYMORE!“ Mouse shouted, holding up a soul she found in the basement.
Chuey pushed a big red button that suddenly appeared in her hand, and the soul exploded. ”Too bad it was fake, and had a self-destruct button,“ she said smugly.
Mouse opened a random closest door that appeared and took out another soul. This one squirmed and tried to bite her ankles. ”Okay, this must be the real thing. Only your soul would do that.“
Chuey shook her head. ”Nope. Just another decoy, one of my more realistic ones. It bites ankles just like the real thing!“
Mouse huffed in frustration and tossed it aside, where it scuttled away to go bite ankles. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted to the cabin. ”Hi guys! My soul-stealing authority is being questioned…again…so I'm once again asking for donations! Give me your souls, I promise I'll feed them your favorite foods and they're protected from anyone else trying to steal your soul. It's totally painless and every donation makes my day shine brighter! Help the cause!“
Chuey held up a finger. ”Actually, you should donate to me! ChueySoulCorps will take way better care of your souls, and everyone knows that monopolies are bad for the economy! Help topple Mouse's empire to get a free basket of infinite motivational mangoes! Your satisfaction guaranteed if you leave your soul with me!"
Chuey received a soul donation but then sadly had to leave to go do something. Returning after the end of camp, she beamed to discover that Mouse's empire had toppled and soul markets were opening all over the place. Saluting she walked off into the void of no SWC until November.
The end.

DEAR KIND SOUL:
1152 words

DANGER: USE EXTREME CAUTION.

A myriad of rickety warning signs hang off the fence in front of Matthew. Sometimes he forgets that there is a world outside of danger. It’s a reality that he’s well acquainted with – he’s an army medic, for heaven’s sake. He shakes hands with peril and allows it to wake him in the morning and tuck him in to sleep. Danger is just as much of a lifeline as the very blood in his veins.

Regardless, the signs stop him in his tracks. He doesn’t know why they’re there – no soldier would bother to carry so many heavy pieces of metal, and no civilian disregards their life enough to wander into a warzone. The signs mean nothing, and yet Matthew can’t move.

THERE IS NOTHING FOR YOU HERE.

His life is out on that battlefield. He’s trained for this; his only purpose is to heal, to mend skin and bones, to relieve suffering. If he does not save lives, then he is nothing. He knows this as well as his little sister’s face and his best friend’s laugh. He’s known this ever since he watched a sergeant notify his neighbor of her husband’s death.

This battlefield is his everything – so why doesn’t he want to go back?

THIS PLACE WILL KILL YOU.

It feels more like a burial ground than it does a battlefield. While he was out there, it hadn’t been so bad – the blatant need to do his duty shielded him from the worst of the horrors. Now, every time he closes his eyes, bloody images construct themselves from the darkness: a body so mutilated one can’t tell whose side he was on, a face with a dark congelation of blood where the eye should be, one soldier convulsing as he wails in pain while another curls up on the filthy ground, whispering final prayers through cracked lips.

Matthew is not hurt, but he bleeds with every single man and woman he finds on the field. His soul withers and dies with every heartbeat. He is not dead, but he can conjure up hundreds of pictures of people who are.

YOU WILL BE IRREVESIBLY CHANGED.

Matthew’s mother does not recognize him.

It happened hours ago, but he can’t stop thinking about it. It took him twice as long to take final inventory of his field bag, and he lost count of the bandage rolls three times. Henry, the senior medic, is probably sick and tired of his clumsiness, but Matthew can’t focus. The moment simply replays in his head over and over.

You’re not my son, she had said. The words were chuckled lightheartedly. They weren’t meant to tear Matthew’s soul apart like they did. I think you must have the wrong number.

It was the right number. She had apologized profusely of course, but the damage had already been done. Matthew stared at himself in a shiny piece of metal afterward – was that wrinkle always there, or had it appeared as he wrapped a tourniquet around a soldier’s arm? Were his eyes always that dark, or did the light die out of them as he dug five bullets out of his comrade’s stomach? Did his lips always tilt downwards like they do now, or did that only happen because he could not save his lieutenant’s life?

“Ready to go, Doccy?”

He has his supplies strapped to his back, and his boots are laced tight. But Matthew can’t step forward, not even under Henry’s expectant gaze. He needs to get into position; he needs to fight the good fight, but he is rooted to the blood-soaked ground.

IT’S NOT WORTH THE RISK.

“I can’t go back.”

The confession falls like ash from his lips. Some deep, visceral shame winds its fingers around his throat and chest – he needs to go back, but he can’t. That battlefield will kill him, will steal the rest of his soul, will bleed every bit of him to the dirt.

His mother does not recognize him. If he goes back out there, he fears nobody will.

To his surprise, Henry does not shout at him for his incompetence. He does not laugh at his cowardice or scold him for his softness. Instead, he rests a firm hand on his shoulder and gently says, “You’re gonna go out anyways.”

“I know, but…”

“You have the medicine, and they need it.” He pats the bag on Matthew’s back. “You will never forgive yourself if you don’t.”

This battlefield is his everything. This burial ground will kill every single part of him. Matthew has been prepared to physically die, but he never accounted for the possibility of returning home a mere husk of what he once was. “What if I don’t come back?”

Henry’s gaze hardens with the confidence of a man who has sworn to protect his family, his country, his ideals. “Is that medicine of yours stronger than any bullet out there? Are those quick hands of yours the only thing tethering a soldier to life? Is your duty to serve bigger than any horrible thing out there?”

Matthew swallows. He nods.

“Then you’re going to go back out there, even if it kills you. But kid –” He squeezes his shoulder. “ – your brothers are out there. No matter what happens, we’re there.”

Matthew closes his eyes. This battlefield is his everything. This battlefield might kill him.

“Listen to me. Do you believe all of that with your entire heart?”

No empty husk, no fiery bullet, no horrifying entity is bigger than his duty to serve.

The word is but a hoarse whisper, but he cracks it out despite. “Yes.”

He has the medicine. His brothers do not.

“Then you’re ready. Let’s go, Doc.”

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Matthew walks forward.

This summer, my youth group went to Los Angeles on a missions trip. We had a lot of opportunities to minister to and provide for people who don't have homes, and one of those opportunities took place on Skid Row. The experience completely shook me - I have never seen suffering to that degree before. I had to take a long time to process everything. To be honest, I'm still kind of processing it. But in short, this story is an ode to my experiences there. It's one of those events that kinda permanently changed me - I lost some sort of innocence out there that I will never get back. Fortuntately, as I hope my story conveyed, good trumps evil. Helping those people was and is worth every second of hardship I endured in the aftermath. I hope this story can be of some encouragement to you - the world can be terribly ugly. It can tear you to pieces and spit you back up again, and you have to have faith that in the end, the right thing will be worth it. You have been warned - and now you must go.

7/27/24
LET'S GET THIS STARTED!

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1049027690/
The goal of the game is to collect all 13 decorations, one from each cabin, to decorate Mazasa’s polar bear den. After reading the intro and instructions, you’ll be taken to the den, and from there, you’ll set off to explore IslandSWC! There are four islands around the map, each with multiple cabins, so make sure to explore each island fully. At each cabin, you’ll complete a minigame and a writing or non-writing prompt, after which you’ll receive your decoration. You must select 8 writing prompts, 200 words per prompt, and 5 non-writing prompts. There are also many easter eggs scattered around the map, so see how many you can find ;D

Once you’ve collected all 13 decorations, head back to the den to complete your adventure!

Begin your story by writing 100 words of whatever you want!

Sunset looked between her three bestest friends in the entire world. Flare, her most loyal guard and childhood friend, was way too tense right now, her yellow eyes flicking around the park they were sitting in like anyone was about to pop out. As always. And then there was Midnight, whose face was mostly expressionless other than the sparkle in her slightly widened violet eyes, clearly curious on why Sunset made such a big deal of bringing them here. And then there was Crescent, Midnight’s younger brother, his chin resting on the bench waiting patiently, despite his long tail flicking restlessly behind him giving away his boredom.

“Okay, are you guys ready? This might be the best idea I’ve ever had. Like ever!” Sunset said so quickly she had to take breaths between her words, and she swayed back and forth with a massive smile on her face.

“You’ve been saying this for days, spit it out already,” Midnight said bluntly, her feline ears twitching slightly. Flare, seemingly done with securing the premises, turned her full attention to Sunset as well, nodding at her to get on with it. Crescent wordlessly began to pat his lap in a drumroll and Sunset just couldn’t hold it in anymore!

“We’re gonna dooooo…” She paused for dramatic effect and then lifted herself forward and up onto the park table, her tail wagging behind her, “TEAM BUILDING EXERCISES!”

…What?

Non-fi: Incorporate multimedia — a letter, diary, entry, newspaper, article, anything!

When it came to the human world, Sunset didn’t keep up with it as much as everyone else. It was fun and exciting and there were so many cool things like desserts! Oh and stuffed animals and chew toys! And Monopoly! She has no clue how it works, but the money is super colorful and the pieces were so chewy, she just doesn’t understand how they aren’t supposed to be eaten.
She was getting off topic again, wasn’t she? Okay, calm down, the point was, a lot of the time, she felt more wolf than human. And that’s a good thing! She’s the alpha’s daughter, once she saves her pack and the Moon Tribe from the evil witch who trapped them in freaky crystals, she’d have to go back to her responsibilities. Or at least learn what they are. But she still felt a bit left out whenever she saw Flare at school after she joined the wrestling club or Crescent reading in the library, even if she didn’t understand what the words were saying.

The entire point is, Sunset needs to do more human-y stuff, but first she needs to learn how! So she ended up sneaking onto her long lost sister, Sunrise’s laptop, and after asking Midnight to teach her how to use it she began to scour…

THE INTERNET!

Which wasn’t as interesting as she thought it would be. Maybe it was unrealistic to expect rainbows and sunshine to burst out of the laptop and immediately take her by the paw– well, hand now, remember that!– and show her how cool humans are, but it was just a bunch of words. Which once again, she couldn’t read. There were pictures though! A lot of them were super cute and others made her roll on the floor laughing and some that made her wish she never went on the internet at all. How did people—? Was that supposed to fit there? She never tried it, but she knew human limbs weren’t supposed to twist like that!

After a lot of struggle, she did use the few words she could recognize and searched and scrolled until she clicked on a picture. AND THIS ONE MOVED! It may have freaked her out for a second, or several. And maybe she did scream, causing Flare and Sunrise to run to her room in a panic. And then maybe Flare ran to tackle the laptop to help Sunset and Sunrise had to hold her back back, desperately yelling that video’s were supposed to move. Or something like that. Everything was totally fine though, DO NOT LOOK AT THE BROKEN WINDOW!

After that whole thing, Sunrise gave her a smaller rectangle thing called a tablet that worked pretty similarly and taught her how to use it, which was really nice. Finally, Sunset found her way to the video again and after realizing it was probably supposed to talk, decided to listen to it. It was by this really old guy in a black suit who gave tips on how to get closer to your ‘employees’ and ‘colleagues’. Sunset had heard the words before a few times and was pretty sure that meant friends, so she watched the whole video and it suggested team building exercises.

Sunset didn’t even finish the video before her mind began bursting with ideas. This was PERFECT. She ran to Sunrise who looked a bit shocked as she entered, hiding something behind her back. Sunset didn’t think about it though, asking her for help with her newly formed perfect plan, her tail swishing back and forth wildly. Sunrise looked a bit hesitant at first, ever since they had met, she had been really focused on helping rescue their families, but she actually agreed! And she even sat down with Sunset and gave her a bunch more ideas. They hung out the entire night and Sunset really felt like they were sisters. It made her happy.

BACK ON TOPIC! Team building exercises had to be super fun and work really well. The video had a really big number of thumbs under it, most of them pointed down, which probably was a good thing, right? Plus it had a bunch of other ideas like cutting their wages, giving people more work and laying them off. Sunset didn’t know what half the words meant but she trusted the suit man completely!


“Is that it?” Flare asked, the first to speak up after the big reveal. She smiled lightly but looked confused like what Sunset said wasn’t the best thing ever. Midnight eyes sparkled even more in curiosity, the rest of her face a perfect picture of seriousness. She usually wasn’t too expressive but Sunset was at least supposed to crack a smile. She looked to Crescent hoping that he’d be as excited as she was, but he looked visibly disappointed. HE EVEN HAD THE AUDACITY TO YAWN! Why wasn’t anyone else excited?

Poetry: Introduce a symbol into your story. Something that represents a larger idea than the literal thing it may be.
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“Crescent! You too?” Sunset whined, putting her hands on his shoulders and shaking him. He was usually always the one to go along with the ideas even if that meant sneaking out without anyone knowing. Especially if it meant no one else knew. If anyone wanted to do team building exercises, she thought it would be him! “You were supposed to be on my side!”

He grabbed her wrists, covered in homemade beaded bracelets, to stop her from shaking him and instantly his voice filled her head. Sunset froze at the cool sensation in her mind, cold like a brain freeze. She wasn’t sure if she’d get used to it. Even Crescent’s brain voice sounded dizzy as she let him go, rubbing her neck as she apologized.

She always forgot that Crescent was smaller than the rest of them, both because he was younger and because he was born tinier than others his age, so she sometimes went too far. You’re still super strong and really cool! Sunset thought quickly, making sure he wouldn’t hear her thinking about his size. He hated being babied, and he could tell exactly when anyone was because he could read minds and had telepathy. It helps out a lot considering he’s mute, but it only works when he’s touching someone. Which he was right now.

He let out a sigh before smiling at her looking like he was trying to suppress a laugh. I already know I am, but do you know what teambuilding is? He asks, his tail flicking slightly.

Sunset crossed her arms and leaned back, her short unkempt hair, flying every which way as she did. She let out a laugh, “Of course I know! Why wouldn’t I? It’s where you and your besties do cool challenges together to make your friendship stronger.” She smirked, holding up her heavily braceleted hand up to show the matching friendship bracelet she wore that had each of their initials. She added smugly. “I know our friendship is already unbreakable, but I thought it could be fun!”

She did her very best to stop her face from falling as Crescent explained exactly what it really meant. “But– But, saying your name and three facts about yourself can’t be that bad! And two truths and one lie could be fun!” She countered, until Flare challenged her to do exactly that and everything she knew about herself disappeared. She finally thought of a single lie and everyone guessed it the second it left her lips, mainly because her ear kept twitching uncontrollably. She hates lying!

Sunset’s head fell to the table in defeat, her cheek squished against the wooden surface in shame, “Team building exercises do suck! Mr. Suit Man lied to me! But Sunrise told me it was a great idea and we’ve been setting up everything all week. What are we supposed to do now?” She cried dramatically, her ears drooping as she slowly fell farther and farther off the bench. Flare quickly caught her by the arm but Sunset continued to flop lifelessly down until she was laying back against the dirt.

Midnight looked down at her reassuringly, “Maybe she was just pranking you by telling you to call it that. You can still show us what you did,” Then she averted her gaze, her cheeks reddening as she mumbled, “Besides, I quite enjoyed the exercises so it can’t be terrible…”

Flare’s tail bristled at the mention of Sunrise, her eyes narrowing, “Why did you choose to have her help you anyway? I’m perfectly capable.”

“Because then it wouldn’t be a surprise! Plus, she’s my sister, I wanted to spend time with her.” Sunset explained, shooting upright as she did. Flare scoffed. She just couldn’t understand why Flare was so suspicious of her! Then, Sunset got back up onto the bench, doing her best to hype herself up, and opened her backpack. “Midnight’s right! I swear, this will be really exciting no matter what you call it, Trust me!”

She dug through the bag which contained mainly things she found on her walk here: pinecones, a clover, an old tennis ball. At the very bottom was the exact thing she was looking for. Sunset pulled it out and slammed it on top of the table. “Tada!” She said, her excitement more hesitant than before.

It was a Monopoly board! Or something close to that. The board was painted clumsily with neon glow-in-the-dark paint and little doodles of all four of them in the middle where the logo once was. Under it in big well-written letters was the word “QUADOPOLY” which Sunrise clearly wrote. There were also hearts and stars and smiley faces and diamonds on each of the squares instead of properties. Sunset smiled at them awkwardly and then jolted up before pulling out a bag of dice, cards, and mini-figures. “Soooo… Do you like it?”

With how everyone reacted before, she expected even more disappointment and boredom. And maybe some pitchforks and torches. She not-so-subtly looked between them to gauge their reactions.

They were smiling! Even Midnight!

“Sunset, this looks awesome! you should’ve led with this.” Flare said, and Sunset felt heat flood her cheeks from the praise. Crescent already grabbed the bag and was looking at the mini-figures, which were from a sort of model game Sunrise had lying around she let her paint on. His eyes locked on a buff guy with a sword and he immediately took it and began examining it closer.

When Midnight realized Sunset was looking at her, she immediately shook away her smile. Even so, her eyes seemed to sparkle like starlight. Midnight looked at her resolutely, “We’re playing this. Now.”

Sunset started vibrating in her seat with happiness. This was exactly what she wanted! She picked up the dice bag and shook it around. “Then pick your characters! Let’s roll!”

Fantasy! Try playing around with magical realism– Introduce a magical element to your story no one thinks is out of place!

Sunset let everyone else pick first, she painted all the figures so she loved each one equally. She also wanted to see which one everyone else picked. Midnight’s eyes scanned over each one, before her eyes landed on a woman with a flowing dress and a crown. Her hair was painted an ombre of purple to pink and she wore a light lavender dress. She pointed to it and said, “This one.”

“It's yours! I knew you were going to pick that one,” Sunset said, smiling at her.

Midnight’s cheeks flushed and she averted her gaze, “I’m not that predictable,” she mumbled, but took it anyway, before going back to analyze the board.

Flare was still looking at the rest: A thief boy with dreads, a scholar girl holding a book, an elven mage boy, and an archer girl with a ponytail. None of them seemed to catch her eye, until she looked at Crescent, “Which one do you think I should pick?” Then her eyes locked onto the figure he already had, and her smile mirrored the triumphant one of the character, holding his sword high and proud. “Oh, he looks strong! I wish I’d seen him first.”

Crescent flushed bright red at her acknowledging him and instantly fumbled with the figure before holding it out to her. “No, keep it, you got him first,” She replied but he held it out insistently and Flare’s smile grew as she took it. She pulled him into a hug and ruffled Crescent’s hair, Sunset didn’t know it was possible for him to get any redder. “You're the best y’know that, bud?”

Something about his face told Sunset his reply wasn’t half as snarky as the one he gave her. Midnight gave Sunset a knowing smirk as her eyes hovered over the display, but Sunset didn’t know what she was supposed to know. Sure Crescent looked really flustered but–

Wait.

DOES HE HAVE A CRUSH ON FLARE!?

That’s why he— And that other time when— Oh and when the two— Everything made sense now. She looked at the two of them with wide eyes but quickly did her best to tame her expression. With how Midnight was looking at her, she clearly wasn’t doing that good of a job.

Flare then pulled back and furrowed her brow, “But, you don’t have a character now.” She looked at the pieces with a newfound determination and she smirked as her eyes landed on the mage boy once again. “This guy looks a bit like you, doesn’t he. Real smart and mysterious.” She said, picking it up to give to him.

Sunset remembered how Crescent’s eyes completely glossed over the figure before, but now he looked at it like it was the greatest gift he’s ever received and nodded his head furiously as he took it. Sunset was so thankful Crescent wasn’t touching her right now, because she couldn’t help but think he’s the cutest!

With that all settled, everyone turned to Sunset. Midnight looked at her expectantantly, cocking her head slightly, “What about you? Which character are you picking?” She asked, and Sunset just looked at her proudly.

Wordlessly, she dipped her hands in the pockets of her skirt (Amazing, right! Sunset squealed when she found it), and pulled out the basic dog token from Monopoly, though it was splattered with a completely random assortment of neon paint like it fell into a bucket of rainbows. “I just can’t not play the dog! It’s literally my spirit animal!” She said, as Crescent shook his head at her and Midnight and Flare let out knowing sighs.

“What are we waiting for! Let’s get this show on the road!” Sunset said, holding out her braceleted hand. Everyone else put their hands in the middle as well, showing their circle of matching bracelets and threw them in the air after three. Then, they all put their characters on go, and the park disappeared.

Sunset couldn’t help the yelp that escaped her as she launched into the air, pure light surrounding her, glowing brighter and brighter. With a jolt of surprise, she felt her clothing change around her. Her bright pink crop top and fuzzy jacket became a neon rainbow of splotchy colors and grew to look like fur. Then she felt ear hears become heavier, and flop against her cheeks. She quickly looked back, and caught sight of her sunset-colored wolf tail shortening and shortening until it became thin and way less fluffy like a Cocker Spaniel. And that wasn’t even the worst part. She patted her hands against her skirt pockets.

THEY WERE GONE!

As the transformation finished, she began to fall, mourning– well more like whining– about the loss of her pockets. Suddenly, she felt strong arms catch her before she hit the ground, and Flare looked down at her, equal parts amused and bewildered. “You look even more like a lost pup than before!” She chuckled.

Unlike Sunset, she still had her wolf ears and tail, but her half-shaved red and yellow hair fell down her back, instead of being in the ponytail it usually was in. Her athletic shorts and sports jersey, now became super cool golden armor, with red velvet cloth wrapped at her waist, and swirly sun engravings on her chest and shoulders. From the corner of her eye, she could see the sheath of a sword at her waist. Sunset couldn’t stop looking at her, “You’re… so cool.” She gasped.

Flare’s ears pricked before she could respond, and she quickly propped Sunset up so she was holding her with one arm instead of two. Just in time, Crescent fell from the sky, also in a completely new outfit, and with a grunt, Flare caught him in her other hand.

Flare propped the two of them up more securely, pulling the two closer in the process. She looked between them, “You both okay?” Sunset nodded furiously, her humming in response. Creesent though, had his tail shot straight up and the dazed look in his eyes made it look like he had short-circuited.

Before she could question him more, Midnight landed gracefully beside them, landing perfectly on her feet. Of course she did. Midnight was the type to look perfect and pristine even when she tripped. Now that Sunset’s thinking about it, has she ever seen Midnight trip?

Flare let the two of them down and the three walked, ran and stumbled to meet her. Midnight finished looking over herself before her eyes landed on the rest of them. Her eyes were sparkling. “What happened?”

Now that the chaos was mainly over, Sunset took a good long look at Midnight and Crescent. Midnight’s long deep purple hair had lightened slightly as if it was reflecting moonlight and the ends became a glowing pastel pink. And her dress was just gorgeous, the same pale lavender with silk that looked as weightless as layers of fog. Like Flare and apparently Crescent too, she still had her normal cat tail and ears, which poked out of her elegant silver crown.

While Midnight looked like royalty, Crescent on the other hand, looked really cool! She thought wizards or mages or whatever were just old people with pointy hats and gray beards. But even though him in massive robes would look so silly, Flare was right, he was mysterious!

He had a short navy blue cloak that covered his shoulders, and long sleeves dotted with pale yellow stars and other magic-y symbols. His belt wrapped around the bottom of his pale blue shirt and had a bunch of little pockets (unfair!) and rings that held potion bottles and pouches. He had brown flowy pants that were tucked into boots that added about an inch to his height. The best thing? His night blue hair became even fluffier!

“Now I wish I looked half as cool as you guys!” She whined to herself and she let out a hmph as Midnight and Crescent did their best to conceal their giggles. Sunset shook herself out of her thoughts, trying to remember the question, “Oh yeah! I have no idea, I didn’t know this was gonna happen!”

Flare glanced around the all white room they were in, “Do you think your sister pulled another ‘prank’? She said, a scowl beginning to form on her face. Oddly, Midnight was the one who spoke up.

“This is probably normal, right? It happens all the time in cartoons, remember?” She said and a look of realization dawned on all of them. Of course! Basically every girl on TV they’ve seen has the ability to transform and get super cool powers, and Sunset guessed it wasn’t much different from all of them being able to transform into humans and back again.

Flare relaxed a bit, but her face still looked guarded, and looked back to the park table, “You’re right, that makes sense,” She admitted begrudgingly, “I guess we should go back to the game, yeah?” She said, and they all nodded in agreement.

“Oh!’ Sunset piped up, “We have to sit two on each side! It's important for the game.” So when they got there, Midnight and Flare fought to sit next to Sunset. At least until Sunset insisted that she should sit next to Crescent, and winked at him in the most obvious way, causing him to look away annoyed.

“I’ll explain the rules as we go. It’s super simple.” Sunset said. “Now who wants to roll first?”

Bizarro: Make a nutritious snack!
Gothic: Change the Setting of your story
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The game, despite having been untidy before, was perfectly set up. In the four corners around the logo, the different types of cards were placed: Hearts, stars, diamonds and smiley faces.

Midnight didn’t say anything, but she did look at Sunset expectantly so she handed the die to her with a giggle. She shook it with one hand, her transparent gossamer sleeves swaying airily as she did. The die fell on the board with a thud. It was a one. Her brow knitted and she let a small hiss in frustration, her tail flicking at the sight.

Sunset nudged her playfully, “Don’t worry! It’s kinda like monopoly, where you don’t have to roll super duper high to win,” She pointed to the spot right in front of ‘Go’ which had a big yellow star in the middle, “You just have to take the card that matches the picture and then do what it says.”

Midnight nodded, but then looked back at her and asked, “But… If there’s no money and no end, how do you win the game?”

“Haha uh,” Sunset laughed, smiling sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her neck, “We never really thought of that!” Midnight let out the softest laugh at her confession and then turned back to the board, picking her piece up and moving it a space forward. Then she picked up a card in the star stack. She read it aloud.

“Adventure! Oh no, you and the player diagonal to you get stuck in an escape room! Find a way to escape before it’s too late!” She said, except because it’s Midnight, every single one of those exclamations sounded like she was purring. Midnight looked diagonal of her and met eyes with Flare, and they both smiled awkwardly at each other. Sunset’s been trying to get them to be besties, but both of them usually were just fine with each other, hanging out and talking only when necessary. She was just glad they didn’t try to kill each other anymore.

After a beat or two of silence and Crescent silently whistling, Flare cleared her throat, “So, Sunrise bought escape room tickets, yeah? How are we supposed to get there? Out of the void.”

Sunset began to think she didn’t plan the game out as well as she thought, considering how much awkward laughing she’s been doing. “Well, I didn’t actually know most of this stuff was going to happen. Especially the void part. For a lot of the cards she just smiled and said, ‘Leave it to me!’ So I did. Maybe we can just pret–”

Suddenly, the ground began to shake and everyone jolted in their seats. Flare and Midnight instantly looked to Sunset as the world around them shook like an earthquake. The board floated off the table, still no pieces out of place as the floor under them broke into quarters.

“Sunset!” The two yelled, and Flare pounced towards her, but she seemed to hit an invisible field that knocked her back. Sunset looked frantically between them as the room changed colors. Crescent’ platform moved closer to her and Flare and Midnight moved farther away. A massive glass wall rose from the ground, separating the two from the other girls. And before Sunset’s very eyes the white room became an old-timey looking detective’s office. With Sunset and Crescent on the other side of the glass.

He quickly took her hand, panicked and they both shivered as his voice filled her head. Was that supposed to happen? How do we get them out?

Yeah, Sunset really had been doing too much awkward laughing and bad explanations, because her next words were, “I-I hope so. I think Flare and Midnight have to escape.”


Mystery: Play the New York Times Connections game.
Folklore: Play the google dinosaur game.
Solarpunk: Introduce the environment into your story someway– Does it act as a helping hand, or an obstacle?
1/4/-26/-142/1/4/4/12/1/8;9;3;1;5;7;4;12;/1;1;1;2;1;2;2;/1;0;1;1;1;0;1;1;1;0;0;0;0;/

At those exact words, Sunset and Crescent shared a mirrored look of panic and placed their hands on the glass, as they stared at Flare and Midnight
still orienting themselves. Crescent looked especially worried and shook his head, before perking up and making motions with his hands. Oh yeah, sign language!

One of the best things the human world had invented had to be a tie between playgrounds and ASL. Being mute here wasn’t the best, especially since telepathy wasn’t exactly normal and the four spent a lot of time thinking of solutions. At first Midnight had thought he could just mouth the words he was thinking while speaking in people's minds so it looked like he could talk. But with how echoing and cold his mind felt, and the fact that he has to touch people for his power to work made it nearly impossible to fake. But then, Sunrise told them about ASL.

Sunset had never seen Crescent so happy when Sunrise explained it and he practically ran to the library to get as many books as he could. Since then all five of them have been practicing every night, and since books were mostly pictures showing the motions and not words, Sunset was actually good at it! Even better than Flare, which was probably the first time she has been. Ever. It wasn’t second nature yet, and he was still more used to telepathy, but times like this made Sunset so thankful they learned about it.

“Are you guys okay?” He signed, his hands shaky. Midnight squinted at his motions, trying to decipher them, and the longer she did the more frustrated she looked. Even though Midnight was perfect at basically everything, sign language has been a struggle for her. Back in the moon tribe, the two apparently had a secret language that they used with movement, but apparently it didn’t translate as well to human bodies, with the lack of claws and paws and whiskers.

Flare nudged her and said something, but they could only hear faint mutterings of what were probably her words through the glass. At that Midnight looked up and gave a thumbs up and Crescent let out a relieved sigh, his hands finally becoming steady. Then Flare tried to say something before remembering the rooms were soundproof and signing “Are you two okay?” back.

Sunset signed, “We’re fine! I’m sorry I didn’t know this was going to happen. Do you think you guys can escape?” And after, Flare turned to translate it for Midnight, putting her arm around Midnight’s shoulder, and grinned at the two of them. Midnight tensed up, shrinking back, and Flare pulled away awkwardly. But eventually, they looked at Sunset and Crescent through the glass and gave a thumbs up, Midnight’s a bit more hesitant than Flare’s. Then, they both launched into action, exploring the room.

Sunset watched them as the two stopped to read something that must’ve been on the desk. Then, a shiver crawled up her spine as she felt a warm hand grab hers, and a chill filled her mind. Crescent didn’t say anything immediately, and waited for her to look at him. She gulped as she saw the innocent smile he wore. The one he’d used when he swore he didn’t sneak out to do things he totally wasn't supposed to. The one he’d have when he read someone’s mind and was about to spill all their secrets. She saw his face darken as he stared at her unblinking, and suddenly the fact that his mouth doesn’t move when he speaks, became so much more scary!

If my sister and Flare don’t escape– Before he could finish the thought, Midnight tapped on the glass and mouthed something that looked a lot like, ‘Stop threatening Sunset’, her face looked as if telling him not to freak people out was something she did on the regular.

Sunset let go of his hand and gave him a panicked salute. “Yup, no need to do anything! I swear they’ll get out A-okay!” She said, her voice more shaky then she would’ve liked.

Crescent averted his gaze from his sister, smiled sheepishly before signing, “I wasn’t but okay.” But then he looked back at Sunset and smiled. She needed Flare and Midnight to get out of there. Fast.

Flare had finished looking at whatever paper or document she was reading and shifted her gaze to look around the room. Whatever magic built the room, it did a pretty great job. The floors were a rich mahogany, with pale ivory walls, lined with way more shelves than Sunset could count, so more than four. It reminded Sunset of Sunrise’s study which was so different from the rest of the house, she wouldn’t be surprised if it used to belong to a different one.

While Flare was looking through the book shelves, Midnight scoured through the desk, which was messy with books and papers in a way that made it look like whatever detective sat there left in a hurry. Sunset did her best to look for clues from the outside, but she didn't get far, considering she had no clue what she was looking for. After long minutes of the two appearing to get even more frustrated, Midnight practically clawing at the desk and Flare not caring to put the books back on the shelves, Midnight perked up as if she noticed something.

She said something and Flare turned, before throwing a glance at what looked like a vine on the table. Only then did Sunset, and probably Crescent too as his ears perked up, notice the room was overgrown with plants. She sorta noticed them before, but her eyes glossed over them. Living in the forest, having grass and leaves and vines and flowers everywhere was the norm, and finding out humans didn't like that sort of stuff inside their house was another thing she had to get used to. So, there must be a reason there were so many plants there.

Flare decided to focus on a row of potted plants in particular, all with different color pots, with a bunch of familiar looking plants she couldn’t name off the top of her head. Flare walked over to them and Midnight followed, the two exchanged words back and forth for a while, so it must've been the right clue!

Or at least that's what Sunset thought, until the two let out frustrated sighs at the exact same time, tails flicking and shoulders slumped in the exact same way. Maybe this was the wrong time to be thinking of this, but that was exactly why Sunset didn’t get why they weren't super great friends. They're so much alike! Sure, Midnight was more beauty and Flare was more bronze, not to say midnight wasn't a super good fighter and Flare wasn't the most gorgeous wolf she's ever met. Actually, that proves her point! Both of them are super cool and serious and loyal and strong and pretty, they might as well be twins!

With Sunset lost in thought on how to get the two to become besties, she almost missed how the two smiled at each other. Almost. They had both sunk to the ground and looked at each other with growing smirks on their faces. Flare even nudged her and Midnight didn’t flinch away! Sunset couldn’t help the squeal she let out at the sight, and without realizing she grabbed Crescent's shoulders and started shaking him in excitement. She would do ANYTHING to hear what they were talking about. He didn't even try to stop her, his tail straight up in curiosity and his eyes glued to the window.

The two got up and Sunset's curiosity spiked as Flare grabbed the hilt of her sword and Midnight pulled the other bracelet she wore as chief of the moon tribe, the Zephyr Bangle, out from under her sleeve. She couldn't be sure, but Sunset had a sneaking suspicion they weren't trying to solve the puzzle anymore.

Midnight looked to Flare who gave her a proud, reassuring smile, and then clumsily moved her hands forward in a flicking motion, signing the words, “Move away”. Sunset was so proud of her she gave an applause and ] giggled at the way Midnight cheeks dusted pink. Crescent pulled her by the sleeve, and she let out a yelp as she saw Flare with her sword fully drawn, looking as if she was going to ram herself into the window.

She wasn't actually planning to do that, right? But as Flare began charging forward, sword raised high above her head, Sunset scrambled back.

She was going to charge at the window!

At the realization, the world started to go in slow motion. Halfway to the window Flare leapt up, and Midnight thrusted out her hand as a strong gust of wind swirled around her palm and blasted forward, pushing Flare even higher. Their hair flew wildly in the squall and Midnight threw her hand down, causing Flare to launch towards the glass at lightning speed. Time went back to normal as she lowered the blade and the tip hit the window.

Crack. Crash! Sunset and Crescent stumbled against the wall. Shards of glass blasted outwards and disappeared into nothingness. Flare landed on her feet in front of them, standing upright and combing the hair out of her face with one hand, and sheathing her sword with the other. She flashed them her signature fiery smile, a bead of sweat dripping down her face, “I told you we’d escape! Don't know why we didn't think of this sooner!”

Suddenly, Sunset completely understood Crescent’s crush on her.

Midnight all but floated out of the gaping hole in the glass, landing gracefully on the ground beside Flare, before hiding her bracelet back under her sleeve. She looked between the two of them, not even bothering to hide the exhilaration in her grin. She sounded somewhat breathless as she asked, “Are you two okay? You didn't get any cuts, did you?”

Sunset couldn’t even get out a response before Crescent ran to hug her, and the two melted in an embrace. Sunset wiggled in excitement and threw her arms (and herself) around Flare, and as always, she expertly caught her. “Oh you were SO COOL! I knew you could do it, and when you went all WOOSH and YAHH and–”

“Hey, hey, calm down!” Flare laughed, putting Sunset down, “I wouldn't have been able to do it without Midnight. She made the idea and all,” Sunset’s face must've morphed into some monstrosity of giddiness because Flare looked scared as her smile grew at the mention of Midnight.

Sunset knew her face was going to hurt later with how much more her smile stretched even more when Midnight walked over and they shared a smile. Though it seemed to grow awkward as Sunset stared at them and she did her best to reel herself in. Midnight said, “Flare did the most important part anyway, I just gave her a boost.”

When they began to argue about who did the most work, Sunset had to clench her chest to stop her heart from exploding. She whispered to herself, “The team building exercises… They’re working!” But then did her best to reel herself in (again) as Crescent shook his head at her disapprovingly.

Flare and Midnight looked towards Sunset at the same time, but Flare was the one who spoke. “So, we escaped the room, what happens now?”

Sunset was about to do another awkward laugh and explanation, but the room melted away before she could say she had no clue. Thank goodness!

The park table rose from the all white floor again as the gameboard, set the exact same as it was before, fell down from the sky and right in the middle of the table. Their seats shot up from under them pushed them back to where they were sitting before the game started.

“What happens now is we keep on playing. Sunrise said we rotate clockwise, so thaaaaat’s….” Which way was clockwise? Which way was clockwise? Which way was clockwise? Which way was clockwise? Why did Sunset just realize she has no clue how to read a clock!?

Flare and Midnight said, “Crescent,” at the same time Crescent pointed to himself.

“Yep, I knew that! That's exactly who I wanted to say! I just wanted to know if you guys knew which way clockwise is… which is…”

“Right,” Midnight and Flare in unison as Crescent just smiled and shook his head.

Sci-fi: Write a flashforward in your story– Does your character predict the story? Do they get a glimpse into it somehow? I also made oobleck though, 1 cup water, ¾ cornstarch mixing for 10 minutes.

Flare put a hand on Crescent’s to stop him from rolling the dice, and his tail pricked straight up as he looked at her with warm cheeks, “Are we sure we want to keep playing? I mean the last card just trapped us, who knows what the rest do. We should quit while we’re ahead.” She reasoned.

Everything she said was right, but something about stopping when they’ve barely started made her ears droop. Or they would’ve drooped, if she didn’t have floppy dog ears that were already permanently bouncing at her cheeks! And don’t think she’s forgotten about her lack of pockets!

Crescent must’ve said something while they were touching, because Flare responded, “If the game has no end, are we just going to be trapped in the void forever?”

Sunset piped up, panic was the exact thing she didn’t want! “No need to worry about that! I never really thought of how to win, but Sunrise did most of the actual rules and stuff. She must’ve made some sort of an end and I just forgot to tell me.” She waved her hands in front of her, but it didn’t seem like anyone really believed her.

Midnight looked at them, still smiling, though more reserved than she was in the escape room, “Well then I suppose we’ll just have to keep playing. Let’s worry about that after we’re stuck for a few more hours. Maybe one of us just has to make a loop around the board.”

“See, if Midnight’s with me then you have to trust me! Hands in, hands in.” Sunset said, and all everyone put their hands on top of eachother, their matching bracelets in a circle. “One, two, three, power of friendship!”

Crescent physically recoiled at the phrase and signed, “We need to think of a new catchphrase,” Hiding the smile on his face, but he couldn’t fool Sunset, she knew he secretly loved it.

Sunset looked between all of them, “You know, if there was any time we were supposed to get some future vision thing, it’d probably be when we were all touching, riiiiiiiiig—” Everyone’s eyes turned a glowing white, their mouths parted as they slowly levitated upwards.

Sunset’s vision blurred, until she saw her and Midnight, and Crescent and Flare sitting on the park bench below them. All of their characters were random places around the board and there was only one card left, though Sunset was too far away and dazed to see which type it was. It must have been the other Sunset’s turn, because she rolled the dice, moved her dog and picked up the final card. The room didn’t morph though, she just said a few words and put the card down. Then, the void melted away revealing the park, the moon shining high above them now. Then, Sunset’s eyes stopped glowing, revealing her bright amber eyes. She dropped.

Flare caught her again, and Sunset suddenly became thankful she always seemed to drop after her. Then Flare caught Crescent, and after quickly letting the both of them down, she caught Midnight too. Has Sunset mentioned how cool Flare is? She looked at all of them, “So to get out of here we have to finish all the cards?”

“Yup.” Midnight and Sunset said at the same time as Crescent nodded.

Flare grinned, her tail swishing behind her competitively, “I bet we can do it even faster. Let’s do it by sunset!”

Horror: Play a board game or video game.
Dystopian: Your narrator realizes their motivations aren’t as pure as they thought! How do they react?

Finally, Crescent sits down and rolls the dice. It's a six. He moves his mage figure that many spaces and lands on a smiley face. He picks it up and reads it to himself at first, and then shows it to Flare so she can read it, “Friendship: The player to the right of you is feeling a bit self-conscious, tell them a compliment to cheer them up!” Flare laughed, “You didn’t tell me this game was a liar, I’m the most confident person I know!”

Crescent looked at Flare and began to sputter wordlessly, his face becoming red once again. Sunset snickered and he looked at her with a face that could only be described as unbridled hatred if he was the cutest thing ever. Midnight shot her glance to turn it down a bit, but Sunset didn’t miss the amused glint in her eyes.

Crescent tentatively touched her hand, and they both shivered. Though he didn’t meet her eye he was clearly saying something, that made Flare’s face soften. “Awww, thanks buddy… that means a lot. Really.” She said, pulling him more gently than usual to ruffle his hair. Crescent brought a hand to his mouth doing his best to hide the uncontrollable smile on his face. Sunset just wanted to take a picture of the scene and save it somewhere. And a picture of when Midnight and Flare broke the window in the escape room.

And she wished she brought Sunrise along to play with them. Sunset knows she told everyone she made them play to have fun, but really this was exactly why she created the game. Midnight and Flare were finally more comfortable with each other, she found Crescent has a cute little crush. This is the longest all four of them hung out just to talk and have fun, not including finding the witches that trapped their families or doing sign language. Maybe if she brought Sunrise, they could actually act like sisters and not people just working together.

Sunset felt a silver of something yucky in her heart, maybe it was a bit selfish. Sure everyone seemed to be enjoying the game, but her dad and everyone else's, along with her entire pack were trapped and depending on the five to save them and she was just trying to slack off. She shook her head rapidly, grabbing her cheeks, No! This is a good idea, even if I was thinking of myself when I started it!

Sometimes Sunset would catch Midnight hunched over her desk muttering to herself with papers messily pinned to the wall and connected with red string. Whenever she asked about it, she said she was just researching ways to save everyone like it was no big deal, but her normally graceful movements would be sluggish and her upturned eyes would be puffy and red. Then there was Crescent, who used to be super rebellious, sneaking out and exploring as much as he could to make up for how much his mom coddled him. He was still like that, but acted a bit more clingy, and stayed as close to them, especially Midnight as much as possible, as if he was scared that he would wake up and see her frozen too.

Flare hid how she’s feeling the best, still brave and capable as always, but there was a difference. Her usually competitive nature now felt like she was always trying to prove herself. And then there would be times she’d joke about how, “It makes sense I wasn’t able to protect everyone from that witch if I can’t even do this.” She’d laugh like she was joking but there was an edge to her voice that said she meant it. Like she didn’t think she was strong enough anymore, and that’s the biggest lie Sunset’s ever heard!

Now that they were playing, even though there were some unexpected blips and crazy shenanigans that included becoming a dog and losing her pockets, everyone was happy. Flare had relaxed, Midnight was smiling again, Crescent was being sassy and bullying her again (even if it was kind of mean). It was just like before, right after the Sun Pack and the Moon Tribe became allies again and they were allowed to just be themselves. It was okay to just play a messily put together board game. As long as they were smiling.

Midnight put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder lightly, cocking her head curiously, “You look distracted, what are you thinking about?”

Sunset shook away her thoughts, and smiled mischievously at her, “Oh, I just really really really wanna know what Crescent said! Why did he keep it a secret? It’s driving me crazy!” She gushed, doing a little wiggle dance in her seat that received a light chuckle from Midnight.

Flare had pulled away from Crescent, but still had a hand on his shoulder and shook him lightly as she said, “Well, neither of us are telling.” she leaned in closer to him, causing his tail to flick in surprise, and spoke in a low mysterious tone, “It’s our little secret. Right?”

Crescent nodded at her so furiously Sunset thought his head would come off. She slumped her head on the ground in somewhat mock disappointment and let out a whine. But Flare just picked the die from the board and said, “My turn.”

Script: Write a scene of primarily dialogue, with as little mention of environment or character actions as possible.

“A five.” Flare said, and moved her character, “Another smiley face. To be honest, I think I would’ve preferred another adventure card. Maybe I’d have another excuse to use this epic sword!”

Still she picked up the card and read it out, “Friendship: It seems one of the two players in front of you is a bit forgetful and has no clue how cool they are. Tell them three amazing things about them as a reminder and if they say three things back, they can move up to your space, as long as they’ve passed Go.” She then looks directly at Sunset, “Well, that’s easy, your–”

“Wait! I haven’t had my turn yet so I’m still on Go!” She reminded her, happy that she had an excuse to get Flare and Midnight to keep talking. She was still a little pouty about being in last though.

Flare caught that and snickered at her, “Oh right, slowpoke, it seems you’ll have to catch up. Plus complimenting Midnight won’t be hard either! I mean, she’s honestly an amazing leader, no doubt she’ll lead the Moon Tribe even better than her Chief Luna when we get back. And she’s way more responsible than you, honestly she should give you some lessons. For number three… I also kinda admire her.” Her words became more hesitant as she looked away, “I mean, during the attack she was so level headed and did more than I ever accomplished. I wish–”

“What do you mean? You did a lot during the attack too. If you didn’t sense something was wrong and warn me, none of us would be here.” Midnight interrupted, her voice raised more than usual and faint traces of red on her cheek most likely from the praise.

“I… Thanks.”

Sunset looked at Midnight, “Hey you need to say three things also, remember? Then you can get way ahead of me!”

“But I just said one, that means–”

“What? You can think of one puny little compliment. I expected more from the chief of the Moon Tribe,” Flare teased her confident smile back.

Midnight narrowed her eyes at her, “Of course I can. You're a great friend to basically everyone you know. And you’re good at keeping everyone in check and out of trouble, I don’t think I’d be able to keep up with Sunset or Crescent without you. And you're the best fighter I’ve ever met,” She lowered her head embarrassed, “I’ve been meaning to… to ask you to t-teach…”

“What’s that? Sorry, I don’t think I heard you,”

“I want you to teach me how to fight!” She said, flicking her tail. Then she took a breath, “I’ve wanted to ever since Sunset introduced us. You’re just so…”

“Hey, no need to kiss up, I was messing with you. I’ve been a bit restless without anything to pounce on for a while. When we get out of here, we can try sparring, it'll be fun.” Flare said, then her voice lowered dangerously, “When we see that witch next time, she’ll be sorry for ever crossing us.”

Midnight nodded resolutely and the two shared a determined dauntless glance that made a shiver go up Sunset’s spine.

“Right.”

Thriller: Play any kind of puzzle
You completed your adventure and got all thirteen decorations! Write 100 words (or another 500) to wrap up your story.

The two relaxed when Crescent cleared his throat, also a bit nervous at the way their eyes seemed to glow with vengeance. Midnight then moved her character next to Flare’s and the two smiled at each other with another nod and Sunset expected to see them training from now on.

She perked up when Flare handed her the die. Right! It was finally her turn. She felt her now tiny tail wag uncontrollably as she took it from her hand. “Please please please please please,” She chanted quietly to herself as she gave the die a real good shake in her clasped hands. It was a three.

“Ooh, a new card! I think diamonds are… activities?” Sunset squealed as she moved her character forward three places and picked up the card, “I was right! Activity: You and the player diagonal to you just watched two people do a handshake as they passed each other. It was so slick and you were filled with determination, and you two decide to come up with your own secret handshake with as many or as little steps as you like!” She read out meeting eyes, with Crescent. “I guess it's you and me.”

Sunset gasped as he rolled his eyes with a smile, and held his hands out. She took it as him suggesting the first step and clapped her hands to his, causing a jolt of cold to wash through both of them. “Agh! Forgot about telepathy!” She yelped, but didn’t let go. Another backdraw was that Crescent couldn’t exactly turn it off or stop the sensation it brought whenever they touched. That’s why he barely touched anyone if he wasn’t eavesdropping or close to them, especially not multiple people. Midnight told her one time he was playing with a bunch of other kids and their thoughts running through his head overwhelmed him so much he could barely move.

We can keep going, it’s okay, he said, probably after hearing a twinge of Sunset’s regret. His ears lowered slightly in disappointment. Unless it’s too much for you.

“No!” Sunset said aloud, holding his hands tighter, “How about we clap between each time we touch so we have a sec to warm up.” She then let go of him and clapped her hands once before bringing her hands back to clap his, and she did her best to suppress her shiver.

Crescent looked relieved at her reassurance and copied her, clapping his hands. He then signed, “Yeah that works,” and clapped her hands again.

They did it a few more times, as they thought of the next step of their handshake, “Maybe we could– ah! too cold, too cold!” She said, pulling back her hands. She quickly brought her hands back to him and said, “Not that it’s an issue let’s keep going!” But Crescent shook his head and pulled back.

“We can just add a step that doesn’t need touching.” He signed, and then gestured to her, “Like…”

“Oh, we can… roll our arms?” She said, rotating them in a circle, expecting him to reject the idea completely, Crescent copied her without any hesitation. “You next! You next.”

Without missing a beat he started tapping a beat onto the table, and Sunset found herself bobbing her head to it, before clumsily copying the movement. She caught Midnight and Flare watching them with amusement, Midnight even tapping her foot to the rhythm.

Flare had her head leaned on the table and said, “How about just one more step. Let’s see the grand finale, yeah?”

Crescent didn’t stop drumming and he nodded to Sunset. He was giving her the final honors! She could shed a tear. This had to be perfect! She looked down and caught sight of her friendship bracelet, their initials engraved on it. Perfect. “Let's do SC for our names!” She said, and at the same time they brought their hands up and wrote the letters ‘SC’ in big letters in the air.

“We did it!” She yelled, shooting her hands up and Midnight gave the two a little applause, to which Crescent bowed his head, his tail swishing proudly behind him. He looked at her, but his expression looked more amused than she thought it would be. The secret handshake they just made did feel familiar…

Her ears shot up, “We didn’t make a new handshake! We just played patty cake!” She said and by the way Crescent laughed silently it seemed she was the only one who just figured it out. “You knew all along? But now it’s barely a secret, we gotta change it!”

Crescent’s face turned more genuine as he looked at her, “No, no, I really like it. It’s perfect. In fact, it’s better than patty cake, let’s do it one more time,” He signed, and with his face, there was no way Sunset could refuse.

They did the handshake one more time and after high-fiving each other until her brain froze, Crescent held her hands tightly, and his voice filled her mind. Thank you, for doing this even if it… hurts. I’ve never done something like this before.

She met his gaze, and gave his hand a squeeze, Of course, that’s what friends are for! See, team building exercises aren’t that bad!

Only if it’s you.

Another moment she wanted to keep with her forever. Any guilt Sunset felt dissipated with every action and word. She was so glad she met them.

They completed the handshake and Sunset glanced at the board, “Whew! We’ve been at this for a while, we gotta be close to finishing all the cards, right? I’m gonna miss playing this game.” She said, and her eyes widened as they landed on the unused cards.

Midnight analyzed the stacks, “We’ve only gone through for cards. There has to be at least twenty… thirty cards in each deck.”

Suddenly the game looked a lot scarier, “…And we have to complete every card to get out…” Sunset muttered to herself. She snapped out of her trance as a strong hand grabbed her shoulder and gave it a shake.

“What’s got you so freaked out? You made the game, we’re gonna finish it.” She then mumbled, “Though if we wanna get this done by sunset we may need to speed this up.”

Crescent smirked at Sunset, “You aren’t chickening out, right?” He signed, and then flapped his arms like a chicken.

“No, of course not! We’re totally finishing the game, it doesn’t matter if it takes a hundred years!” She said, slamming her hands on the table causing everyone to burst into laughter.

“You heard Flare, we have to get this finished in a few hours not years. Even if I wouldn’t mind keeping the dress,” Midnight said, going to pick up the die, but Crescent stopped her, flicking his tail in what looked like some pattern Midnight recognized. Their secret language?

“Aren’t we forgetting something?” He said, looking at Sunset in specific. She stared at him for a few seconds before she jumped and put her hand in the middle of the table.

“Yeah, hands in, guys we’re doing this!” And everyone put their hands on top of eachother. In unison, they chanted, “One, two, three… Friendship!” and even Crescent mouthed the words.

Flare said, “Okay, roll the dice already, we’re losing precious sunlight!” And Midnight eagerly picked in up and shook it in her fist as Crescent watched in anticipation.

“Another one!” They screamed as Midnight scowled.

Sunset never wanted this to end.

Whimsy_lux's submit code: | order of cabins visited: 8, 9, 3, 1, 5, 7, 4, 12, 10, 6, 2, 11, 13 | prompts chosen: 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2 | we love the POLAR BEARS <3

my formatting style is so inconsistent in this :,D
– weekly #4!
(i did the forum version since my laptop can't load the project)
Also I combined multiple prompts but added the total words. So like when I did solarpunk, fantasy, and folklore, I wrote 600 words (hope that's allowed)
2139 words for sci-fi!

- “begin your story with 100 words of whatever you like!”
words: 137
notes: none <3

The sea breeze whipped my hair back and sprayed me with salt. I didn't mind it. The beach was where I felt at home. That, of course, was probably because I lived underwater.

I'm not a mermaid, though, I promise. Nor do I have a singing crab. This isn't a Disney movie, people.

There's an entire city of us, actually. All of it's hidden from the humans. You may have heard of it, though. It's called Atlantis. It's beautiful- everything is silver or gold or aquamarine, and at night, when all the lights go out, you can see bioluminescent plankton lighting up the water outside like it's a personal lights show. That doesn't mean everything is perfect, though. Lately, the bubble that keeps out the water has been faltering.

And that, my friend, is a serious problem.

– WRITING PROMPTS

-Dystopian: Narrator realizes their motives aren't as pure as they thought
-Fantasy: Include a magical element
-Poetry: Introduce a symbol
-Sci-fi: Write a flash-forward into your story
-Solarpunk: Incorporate the environment into your story
-Non-fi: Incorporate multimedia
-Gothic: Change the setting of the story
-Folklore: Personify an animal

– NON-WRITING PROMPTS

-Bi-fi: Make a nutritious snack (it was homemade granola, yogurt, and banana mixed together)
-Folklore: Play the Google dinosaur game (I got 1000)
-Gothic: Draw yourself as a ghost (this was so fun-)
-Horror: Play any kind of board/video game (Wordle- I got it in 5)
-Mystery: Play the NYT Connections game (I only got one group lol)
-Script: Listen to a song/audiobook/podcast (Angel Pt. 1 because that song is ✨amazing✨)
-Thriller: Play any kind of puzzle (Sudoku)
-Non-fi: Draw something in the world you're writing about (I drew the City Hall)

// WRITING

/ SOLARPUNK + FANTASY + FOLKLORE - 606 words
(I've never read Maze Runner but I know a bit about it and I feel like this is giving Maze Runner vibes-) (also I promise I didn't purposely name the chinchilla after Pepper I looked up chinchilla names lol)

The maze, with its twisting pathways.

The branches, reaching out, snagging their clothing, cutting their skin.

The uncertainty, always there. Are you going the right way? Are you sure you're near the end? Are you sure you have enough time left?

No. They're not sure. They never have enough time left to get to the end, to get out. They're stuck here. But they can't escape. They have nowhere to go. They don't even know if there is anything beyond the maze.

But then again, they have always been an imaginative bunch.

MINERVA

Minerva stirred her soup around in her bowl, but didn't eat. She glanced around discreetly, trying to memorize the gaurd's patrol pattern for this month. Her notebook was open on the table. Her neat handwriting filled the pages- all notes and research. Minerva liked things to be that way. Facts, she thought, were always true. They were orderly and practical. They even helped her navigate the maze.

After months of keen observation, she had discovered a pattern, a which was another thing she enjoyed. There were twelve base shapes of the maze, which were cycled through over the course of a year. Most of the others didn't pay attention to patterns, which was why they had never come as close to the end as Minerva had. Tomorrow, Minerva decided, she would have enough information. Tomorrow she and the crew would find the end.

CALLISTA

Callista sat in her room, talking to Pepper, her chinchilla.

“Can I come outside with you?”

“Pepper, you know it's dangerous.”

“But chinchillas need to go outside sometimes.”

“You made that up. You can't take a chinchilla outside.”

“I'm a talking chinchilla, though.”

Callista rolled her eyes. Pepper had been begging for weeks, and he wasn't giving up. While he was smarter than normal chinchillas, she still didn't want to take him into the maze. The branches in the barriers would reach out and scratch him. If she had any chance of getting out, though…

Then maybe she would reconsider.

She knew Minerva had been working on something to help them get to the end of the maze. If they did that, then, by the rules, they would be free to go. Ariadne's String, Minerva called her plan. And they would play the part of Theseus.

LUKE

Luke's sword clashed once, twice, then three times, against the training dummy's, filling the area with the sound of fighting. There were no battles in the maze, but who knew what lay beyond it?

If they ever got beyond it, that was. He had been stuck here for five years now, and /nothing/ had worked. He had tried so hard, so many times, and failed.

Luke had forgotten to pay attention to the dummy for a moment, and its sword hit his shoulder. It was blunt, so it did no damage, but Luke still flung his sword to the side in frustration. Fire danced along his palms in response- he had never learned to control his power. Luke took a deep breath, and the flames went out. They were a curse, not a gift. If the overseers of the maze found out, then he would never be allowed to participate. He'd never be free.

Luckily for them, Luke had never quite gotten the hand of controlling fire. For so long he had tried to get rid of it that it stopped responding. Fire was stubborn, too. It would do what you wanted only if it was what it wanted, too.

Then again, maybe it wanted to escape the maze, too.

/ POERTY + SCI-FI + DYSTOPIAN + GOTHIC - 926 words
Notes: When I was thinking about what to do for Dystopian, Luke from PJO came to mind. So, my idea turned into this: a PJO fanfiction. This was super fun to write and I will definitely be writing more fanfiction in the future.

I started at the symbol on my palm.

The owl. Athena's symbol.

/My mother's symbol./

What did /she/ want? I've never even spoken to her. Never seen her. Never even known she was there until a year ago. It just goes to show that the gods are useless. Their choices always bring war, and pain, and suffering. Kronos can fix that. He can stop the wars, and he can help us. I brushed my other hand over my palm, sweeping away the mark.

——

The owl had appeared on my hand again. Over the four months since the first one I had grown more and more uncomfortable with what Kronos's army was doing. I still wasn't sure what to do- what if everything paid off in the end? What if he brought peace? My hand hovered over the symbol, but I didn't brush it off. It glowed slightly, and then more, until the entire room was bathed in bright light.

Then, the room was gone, and I was in Manhattan. Everything was gray- I was normal, but I was the only thing in color. Buildings were crumbled, all except for one. It was glass, with a domed ceiling and fancy architecture. I approached it slowly. There were people lined up, but one of them payed any attention to mem not even when I spoke to them. They didn't know I was there.

I entered the building. In the center, there was a throne, and-

Oh, gods. That was /Kronos./

He had destroyed Manhattan. He was the king, or emperor, or something, now. I felt a lot like swearing in Ancient Greek.

I made my decision. I would leave tonight.

——

I've never been much good at stealth missions. My instinct is to fight, not to hide. My feet thump against the ground as I try to be silent, and my breath still is loud from my thundering heartbeat. As I run I chant my mental prayer to my mother- for protection, for luck, for hope. For a chance to start over. I don't expect her to answer, but I'm not angry about that. They're gods. They have things to worry about, too.

How did I not see that before?

My feet slowed as I neared the deck, and I peeked around the corner.

/Bennet. Bennet was on guard duty./

Forget the gods. How did I not remember /that?/ Bennet is my best friend, if you can call us that. More like we tolerate each other better than most people here. My real friends are at Camp Half Blood. If they even want to be my friends anymore.

I knew I wouldn't be able to slip past Bennet. He's a child of Ares, too, so I couldn't beat him in a fight.

And that, my friend, is when you resort to negotiations.

——–

As I walked forward, Bennet turned around, drawing his swords. He lowered them slightly when he saw it was me.

“Ari! What are you doing here? You shouldn't be out at night…”

His voice trailed away when he noticed my backpack. Then it turned angry.

“You're /leaving./ You're going back to that stupid camp. What have they done for you that we haven't?”

I lifted my hands as a peace sign.

“Bennet, you have to listen to me. I-”

“I don't /have/ to do anything! You're deserting! I should raise the alarm right now!”

“BENNET! My mother showed me something. It was the future. Manhattan was destroyed. /Kronos/ had destroyed it. That's what we're doing. I don't want to- can't- be a part of that.”

He looked uncertain- Kronos, or his friend? Bennet's hands shook slightly as he dropped his swords, letting them fall and clatter against the ground.

“I'm coming with you.”

——

We stole a lifeboat to escape. It was hard work, rowing, but it was better than staying on the /Princess Andromeda./ Bennet was silent most of the journey, so I was, too. By the time the sun was rising, we had made it to land.

Vibrant reds and oranges streaked the sky, hurting my eyes but so beautiful I didn't want to look away. I heard the tent being unzipped, and Bennet came over and sat down beside me. It was silent for a moment before he spoke.

“D'you think they'll let us come back?”

I didn't answer at first. Would they? We'd betrayed them- all of the campers. They'd have every right to turn us away.

“Yes. I think they will.”

They were only five simple words, but to us, they meant everything.

+++++++++

We returned to Camp Half Blood a few days later. They didn't welcome us with open arms, but they welcomed us nonetheless. Or, tolerated us, more like. We got lots of dirty looks and scowls over the next few weeks, but Bennet and I didn't care. We were home. We were fighting for the greater good.

I'm sure you've read, or at least heard, of Percy's book about the Battle of Manhattan. We won. There were losses- Selena, and Luke. He sacrificed himself to save us. Selena was Kronos's spy, but we promised not to remember her for that.

There's another threat now. Gaea is rising. There's talk of allying with the Roman camp- Camp Jupiter. We've been enemies for centuries.

But, then again, people can change.

Bennet and I still aren't that popular. We're trusted now, but nobody's forgotten what we deserted them. I doubt they will until we leave camp. That's still a few years off, though.

Our battle isn't over yet, demigod.

/ NON-FI 222 words
I loved my PJO fanfic so much that I just had to write another one /hj
So yeah! This is about Ari's like granddaughter or something
(In case you just skimmed the last piece for this that I wrote, the beginning of this is the end of what I wrote before- “Ari's” journal)

“We're trusted now, but nobody's forgotten that we deserted them. I doubt they will until we leave camp. That's still a few years off, though.

”Our battle isn't over yet, demigod.“

I flipped through the last few pages in my grandmother's journal, but they were blank. I'd been exploring her house when I'd found it. I'd known Athena was my great-grandmother, but I hadn't know…

/that./

She returned in the end, but she still left. So how did that make me feel?

Honestly, I have no idea.

Pride, to be descended from a demigod who fought in the Battle of Manhattan. Shame, to be descended from a demigod who joined Kronos. Confusion, as to why she left. Sadness, because I never got to meet her. All of that bubbling up inside me, a different one taking control every other minute.

So, yeah. There's that.

My hand drifted to my amber necklace. It had been my grandma's- it was her Camp Half Blood necklace, which had five beads on it, plus the amber pendant. She had given it to my mother, to give to me, when I was born. It had my name engraved on it- Lydia. I'd always prized it more than anything else that I owned.

”Will it stay that way?“ I whispered.

My question dissolved into the air, still unanswered.

// FINISHING MY STORY 248 words

Later that night, as I lay in bed, my necklace began to warm until it was almost too hot to touch. I yanked it off, dropping it on my bed from the heat. Cautiously, I touched it with my pointer finger. There was a loud whoosh of air, and then there was a woman- a ghost- floating beside my bed.

I didn't quite know who she was, but she seemed familiar. Her eyes… they were the same eyes I saw when I looked in the mirror. This was Grandma Ari.

I stared at her, waiting for her to speak.

”Lydia! My goodness, you've grown. You called me, didn't you?“

”I- You're- How- I didn't call you.“

”You read my journal. You had questions. That called me. I'm here to answer them.“

”Why? Why did you join Kronos? Why did you leave?“

”It's a bit complicated, dear. You see, demigods aren't always paid much attention by their godly parent. Many of us felt… unwanted by them. We were angry. We made rash decisions.

“My mother- Athena, your great-grandmother- showed me something. It was a vision of the future. Manhattan was gone, and Kronos was in charge. After seeing that, I left. Grandpa Bennet came with me, as you know. We were forgiven for our choices. There won't be prejudice against you.”

I silently disagreed. Maybe people wouldn't tell me, but there would be prejudice.

Grandma smiled, said goodbye, and left.

Grandma dealt with it, though. So I can too.

—-

I won't have time to write thank-yous, but I want to say thank you to the daily team <3 I sadly didn't get to use the project version, but I'm sure it was amazing- and without you, SWC certainly wouldn't be as fun as it is.

FANFIC WRITING COMP ENTRY
owl in the dark
936 words
Author’s note {this is NOT included in the word count}: This is my fanfic entry, and this, like my normal entry, started as a weekly. Percy Jackson has always been one of my favorite series, and I’m so glad I got to write this!

I started at the symbol on my palm.

The owl. Athena's symbol.

My mother's symbol.

What did she want? I've never even spoken to her. Never seen her. Never even known she was there until a year ago. It just goes to show that the gods are useless. Their choices always bring war, and pain, and suffering. Kronos can fix that. He can stop the wars, and he can help us. I brushed my other hand over my palm, sweeping away the mark.

——

The owl had appeared on my hand again. Over the four months since the first one I had grown more and more uncomfortable with what Kronos's army was doing. I still wasn't sure what to do- what if everything paid off in the end? What if he brought peace? My hand hovered over the symbol, but I didn't brush it off. It glowed slightly, and then more, until the entire room was bathed in bright light.

Then, the room was gone, and I was in Manhattan. Everything was gray- I was normal, but I was the only thing in color. Buildings were crumbled, all except for one. It was glass, with a domed ceiling and fancy architecture. Marble pillars engraved with depictions of Kronos lined the outside. I approached it slowly. There were people lined up, but not one of them payed any attention to me, not even when I spoke to them. They didn't know I was there.

I entered the building. In the center, there was a throne, and-

Oh, gods. That was Kronos.

He had destroyed Manhattan. He was the king, or emperor, or something, now. I felt a lot like swearing in Ancient Greek.

I made my decision. I would leave tonight.

——

I've never been much good at stealth missions. My instinct is to fight, not to hide. My feet thumped against the ground as I try to be silent, and my breath still was loud from my thundering heartbeat. As I run I chanted my mental prayer to my mother- for protection, for luck, for hope. For a chance to start over. I don't expect her to answer, but I'm not angry about that. They're gods. They have things to worry about, too.

How did I not see that before?

My feet slowed as I neared the deck, and I peeked around the corner.

Bennet. Bennet was on guard duty.

Forget the gods. How did I not remember that? Bennet is my best friend, if you can call us that. More like we tolerate each other better than most people here. My real friends are at Camp Half Blood. If they even want to be my friends anymore.

I knew I wouldn't be able to slip past Bennet. He's a child of Ares, too, so I couldn't beat him in a fight.

And that, my friend, is when you resort to negotiations.

——–

As I walked forward, Bennet turned around, drawing his swords. He lowered them slightly when he saw it was me.

“Ari! What are you doing here? You shouldn't be out at night…”

His voice trailed away when he noticed my backpack. Then it turned angry.

"You're leaving. You're going back to that stupid camp. What have they done for you that we haven't?“

I lifted my hands as a peace sign.

”Bennet, you have to listen to me. I-“

”I don't have to do anything! You're deserting! I should raise the alarm right now!“

”BENNET! My mother showed me something. It was the future. Manhattan was destroyed. /Kronos/ had destroyed it. That's what we're doing. I don't want to- can't- be a part of that.“

He looked uncertain- Kronos, or his friend? Bennet's hands shook slightly as he dropped his swords, letting them fall and clatter against the ground.

”I'm coming with you."

——

We stole a lifeboat to escape. It was hard work, rowing, but it was better than staying on the Princess Andromeda. Bennet was silent most of the journey, so I was, too. By the time the sun was rising, we had made it to land.

Vibrant reds and oranges streaked the sky, hurting my eyes but so beautiful I didn't want to look away. I heard the tent being unzipped, and Bennet came over and sat down beside me. It was silent for a moment before he spoke.

“D'you think they'll let us come back?”

I didn't answer at first. Would they? We'd betrayed them- all of the campers. They'd have every right to turn us away.

“Yes. I think they will.”

They were only five simple words, but to us, they meant everything.

+++++++++

We returned to Camp Half Blood a few days later. They didn't welcome us with open arms, but they welcomed us nonetheless. Or, tolerated us, more like. We got lots of dirty looks and scowls over the next few weeks, but Bennet and I didn't care. We were home. We were fighting for the greater good.

I'm sure you've read, or at least heard, of Percy's book about the Battle of Manhattan. We won. There were losses- Selena, and Luke. He sacrificed himself to save us. Selena was Kronos's spy, but we promised not to remember her for that.

There's another threat now. Gaea is rising. There's talk of allying with the Roman camp- Camp Jupiter. We've been enemies for centuries.

But, then again, people can change.

Bennet and I still aren't that popular. We're trusted now, but nobody's forgotten what we deserted them. I doubt they will until we leave camp. That's still a few years off, though.

Our battle isn't over yet, demigod.

Weekly Four - 2640/1800 words
save code: pepper-and-a-pencil's submit code: | order of cabins visited: 10, 6, 2, 9, 3, 1, 7, 4, 12, 8, 11, 13, 5 | prompts chosen: 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1 | we love the POLAR BEARS <3

non writing prompts
script - listen to a song
mystery - play nyt connections
folklore - play the google dinosaur game
fantasy - bake a sweet treat to share
dystopian - do 20 jumping jacks then drink a glass of water

— — —
write 100 words to start your story - 110/100 words
Panny watched from the grocery store shelf as an interested shopper looked at each pot and pan in the cooking section, grabbing the occasional whisk or steak knife along the way. Panny was filled with excitement as she was grabbed from the shelf along with a rather handsome looking soup pot. But the soup pot wasn’t what she was excited about, after 4 months, she would finally get to leave the grocery store shelf and go to a kitchen to do what real frying pans were made to do: cook eggs and pancakes!! A smile made its way across her face as she daydreamed about her future in the kitchen.

gothic - 218/200 words
change the setting of your story! does the location change suddenly? the time?
After officially getting purchased by her new owner, Panny was carried out of the grocery store in a brown paper bag. She peeked her head above the edge of the bag to look around at her new surroundings, the Outside Land. The Outside Land was often talked about between the kitchen essentials back in their little aisle, but it was all stories and fairy tales, until now. Now Panny knew it was real, she could see it with her own eyes!
The dark gray sky loomed above the parking lot, black pavement filled with various cracks and holes on its surface covered the ground, brightly colored cars sang their song with a series of honks and beeps, and a field with yellow grass behind the parking lot stretched as far as the eye could see. Panny thought the Outside Land was absolutely beautiful.
Her owner brought the brown paper bag with her inside of it to a dark blue car, then unlocked the trunk and tossed her inside of it with the other groceries. She didn’t have a smooth landing, but she was still able to see outside, so Panny was satisfied. With a little bit of movement, she was able to lay comfortably and look out the back window as the world sped past while they drove.

sci fi - 219/200 words
write a flashforward into your story! does your character predict the future? do they get a glimpse into the future somehow?
Panny, still staring out the window of the car, began to think about that soup pot some more. He was in the car with her and they would be in the kitchen together making food for their owner. She stared into the moving bushes and trees and pavement and cars and slowly fell into a haze.
Panny and Soupy laughed together while sitting atop a burner on the stove. Soupy’s insides were bubbling as he talked to Panny, and Panny felt like butter was sliding all around her stomach, making it difficult for the two of them to chat with each other without feeling awkward. Love is in the airrr!! Their owner came back and they quickly became quiet, not wanting to give away their secret of having feelings for each other. Love between a pot and a pan? Unimaginable. Forbidden. Whatever kind of future they wanted together would never happen. Yet they shot a smile towards another whenever they had the chance and held back their giggles.
They were thrown in the sink together and clanged against each other, laughing as water rushed over them, suds of soap making for funny hairdos. The thought of their forbidden love flashed in Panny’s mind, but every time she saw his smile, she pushed it to the back of her mind.

horror - 242/200 words
your narrator suddenly gets a hallucinatory vision! what do they see? does the vision eventually come true?
While tucked away in a cabinet with other pans in the middle of the night, Panny pushes open the door slightly, peeking out to see if Soupy had done the same like they had planned earlier. With smiles on their faces, they walk out through the back door, careful not to let their metal selves make too much noise on the wooden floor. As Soupy pushes open the door to the Outside Land, he looks at Panny, eyes sparkling with unease.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Panny? Are we even ready for this?” he asked her, trying to hide the fear in his voice.
Panny nodded. “We have to try.” With a gulp, the two stepped outside of their owners home, and braved the Outside Land alone.
The moon shined brightly above them as they walked through leafy bushes and dodged nocturnal animals. Panny stared in awe at the sparkling stars in the sky, Soupy having to give her an occasional nudge to keep going before their owners noticed they had left. Panny smiled as they continued their adventure, excited to see where life would take them now that they were free.
Panny shook her head, unsure of what she had just witnessed. Her and the soup pot? In love? It couldn’t be, it was forbidden, everyone knew that.
“Stop daydreaming,” she muttered to herself, putting her focus back on the world zooming past outside of the moving car.

poetry - 483/200 words
introduce a symbol into your story, something that represents a larger idea than the literal thing it may be
fern - concealed love
gillyflower - affection
rose - love
After a while longer of driving, the car eventually came to a stop in a long driveway, and when Panny’s owner opened the trunk, light flooded over her and the rest of the groceries. Her owner grabbed a bag for each hand and went inside the house to set them on the countertop to put away later. Two or three trips to the trunk of the car later, all of the bags were successfully placed on the counter, and the trunk of the car was closed. On the center of the counter was a glass vase, blue in color. Inside was a stunning array of ferns, gillyflowers, and roses. The pinks and reds blended together nicely, and with a nice touch of green from the ferns, Panny thought the display was prettier than the Outside Land.
Eventually, Panny and the rest of the kitchenware were unpacked from the bags and set in their specific areas in the kitchen. Pans had their cabinet, pots had theirs, silverware had a drawer, and cooking utensils had their own. Everything had its place, and it didn’t take long for the owner to organize. After her owner had finished a movie or two, Panny was pulled out of her cabinet for her first cooking experience along with an older frying pan and the new, handsome soup pot. At first, Panny avoided eye contact with the soup pot, simply trying her best to cook well for her owner. Her stomach was nice and toasty as she sat on the oven burner, and with a piece of chicken slowly cooking, she was confident her first meal would turn out brilliantly. And she continued to feel this way, until she noticed the vase of flowers on the island countertop in front of her. Its beauty reminded her of the soup pot, and all of a sudden she felt something even stronger for him than she did before. Each time her owner left the kitchen to let the chicken rest, or turned to grab a utensil, she would cast a glance his way, and once, she caught him already staring. His face turned red as he gave a small embarrassed wave, but he calmed once Panny returned the gesture. She quickly returned to her task once she noticed her owner getting up from her laptop on the couch to come check on the chicken and whatever Soupy — the name of the soup pot — was cooking. Her owner turned to grab the laptop, then game back to the kitchen with her device in hand. After setting it down on a clean surface near Panny, she messed with the chicken and stirred the contents Soupy was cooking. This gave Panny a perfect time to read whatever was on that laptop screen, and she knew she shouldn’t be snooping around after being given an awesome opportunity to finally be in the kitchen, she couldn’t resist.

non fi - 274/200 words
writing - incorporate multimedia - a letter, diary entry, newspaper article, etc
Panny assumed it was an email, but she didn’t have time to guess, she just wanted to read it!

To: Grandma
Subject: Free Soup Pot
Hey, Grandma! I know you like cooking and I bought a soup pot today at the store but it’s not large enough for what I usually like to make. If you want it, I can bring it over to your house this weekend at the Thanksgiving party, and, you could probably give it a try while we cook part of the meal!

To: Lilly
Re: Free Soup Pot
THANKS, SWEETY. SORRY I CAN’T GET THESE CAPITALS AWAY BUT I’D LOVE TO ADD ANOTHER SOUP POT TO MY KITCHEN SUPPLIES. THANK YOU FOR THE OFFER, ARE YOU SURE YOU DON’T WANT TO BE PAID FOR IT? IT’S BRAND NEW…

To: Grandma
Re: Free Soup Pot
Oh dear. Try clicking the ‘Caps Lock’ button on the left side of the keyboard, maybe that will help with the capitals? Sounds great! I’ll bring the pot over this weekend then! And no, don’t worry about it, the pot is free for my favorite grandma. ;D

To: Lilly
Re: Free Soup Pot
That caps locky trick worked! Thank you, deary. I’ll see you this weekend. Love ya!

Panny’s owner, who she learned was named Lilly, came back to the laptop and went to sit on the couch, satisfied with how everything was cooking. Panny, however, was not satisfied. Soupy was going to be given away and she would never see him again! That was not going to work for her… she needed to figure something out, but she couldn’t quite decide on a plan.

thriller - 513/200 words
increase the pace of your story! what happens all of a sudden to add heightened sense of anxiety and anticipation?
Later that night, while she and the other kitchen items were being washed in the dishwasher, Panny thought about her daydream she had seen during the car ride to the house. She remembered opening her cabinet, and Soupy opening his, which, strangely enough, would work perfectly in this kitchen because of how Lilly organized things. Panny’s eyes sparkled with hope as she realized her daydream vision plan could actually be pulled off. Now, she had to tell Soupy about her feelings for him, and about how she had secretly read their owner’s email while they were cooking.
She took a deep breath, then turned towards him. “Soupy,” she began, getting his attention. He looked at her and smiled. “Well, I sort of love you, and I know it’s weird, but I do. I read our owner’s email, and she’s going to give you away to her grandma this weekend. But we can stop it! We can escape tonight, together. I have a plan, from a vision I had earlier on the way here. Just trust me.”
Soupy’s head tilted in confusion. “You had a vision? About how a pot and a pan could escape a human home, in the middle of the night?” A skeptical look made its way across his face and Panny could tell he didn’t buy it, which would make it even harder for her to say goodbye when he was taken away to Thanksgiving meal. “Panny, I love you too. And I trust you. Let’s do this little plan you have,” he said with a chuckle. “This is going to be awesome!!”
Panny’s face lit up despite being smothered in water and soap. “Yay!” She told him the plan, careful to not let any of the others hear.

It was approximately 1 in the morning, and Soupy’s cabinet door had peeked open just a moment before Panny’s. The two smiled at each other then stepped out of their cabinets as quietly as they could. They made it to the back door without Lilly coming downstairs screaming in rage, so Panny counted that as a victory. Once they made it outside, Soupy gave a cry of joy. No one could hear them now, and they were finally free, together. Their forbidden love wasn’t forbidden if they lived alone in the Outside Land, and Panny’s plan had worked perfectly to get them there.
“Look at those beautiful trees,” he pointed out, looking ahead of them into a giant forest.
Panny let out a dramatic gasp. This was not how her daydream had went. She had pointed out the beautiful stars, he did not point out any beautiful trees. “Am I not beautiful to you then?” She shouted, words soaked in venom. “I came up with a master plan so we could live happily ever after and the first thing you do is compliment the trees. How nice. Well I’m leaving then. Goodbye! I don’t need you anyway! Go live in a tree and fall in love with one of them! You’ll have plenty to choose from,” Panny spat, running away angrily.

solarpunk - 202/200 words
incorporate the environment into your story in some way - do your characters reach a natural obstacle? does nature help them somehow?
“Panny, come back!” Soupy called, tears streaming down his metal cheeks. “That’s not what I meant! I love you, Panny! Please, don’t leave after all we’ve done to get here!” Panny shook her head in between sobs. “I thought I loved you too,” she screamed as she ran. “But I guess if you’d pick a tree over me, then it’s not meant to be!”
Suddenly, Panny slipped on a few leaves and slid down a massive hill, Soupy’s voice becoming more and more faint as she fell farther and farther and down the hillside. When she finally reached the bottom, covered in mud and scratches, a leaf began speaking to her. “Sorry about that, darling!”
Panny turned around to face the leaf. “Uh, it’s ok, I needed to get away from him anyways.”
“That’s what I suspected. Well, there’s a nice beach spa place for humans to get away on vacation for a while, but I’m lucky enough to know a group of frying pans like yourself that secretly stay there too, and when the humans are gone, they have the whole spa to themselves! I can lead you there if you’d like.”
Panny grinned. “I’d love that. Thank you so much!”

bi fi - 222/200 words
use this sentence prompt: all of a sudden, a rabid moose…
All of a sudden, a rabid moose slammed into Panny and the poor leaf.
“Monty,” the leaf said with a frown. “What do you think you’re doing running around like that in the middle of the night?”
The moose stopped to look at the leaf. “I’m sorry, Missy. I was just listening to your conversation and ran to help you get there faster but then my legs couldn’t stop ehe.”
Missy, the leaf, rolled her eyes. “Of course. Well, we’re glad you’re fine. Let’s get going then!”
The moose helped the two girls get onto each of his antlers, and within an hour they were at the frying pan night spa.
“Thanks again for your help! Thank you so so much!” Panny said, shaking Missy’s hand, and waving goodbye to Monty as she hopped off of his antlers.
“Of course,” they both replied in unison.
“Glad I could be of service,” Missy said with a playful bow.
“If you ever need another moose ride, you know where to find me,” Monty added with a wink.
The three exchanged some laughs, then parted their ways. Panny took a deep breath, then entered the frying pan spa.
“Hello,” she squeaked nervously. Within seconds, two frying pans walked up to greet her.
“Hey there, I’m Levi! Welcome to the spa, how can we help you?”

write 100 words to wrap up your story - 157/100 words
Panny relaxed. “Well, I’m new here and hoping to live here maybe?”
“Totally!” Levi answered. “We’ll give you a quick tour, then you can choose an empty spot to live with the other frying pans upstairs.”
Panny nodded. “Okay!”
They led her through a series of pools, massage rooms, exercise gyms, and finally, she was brought to the living quarters. What greeted her left her in shock.
“What are you doing here?” she seethed, looking directly into the eyes of Soupy. “This place is for frying pans only.”
Soupy waved his arms apologetically. “I know,” he said. “But let me explain. Listen, Panny, I’m sorry!”
Panny turned away to leave, but he grabbed her hand.
“Get away from me!” She shouted. “There’s a reason why I left. Go fall in love with your stupid little tree.”
Soupy shook his head and pulled her into a hug she couldn’t escape. “I love you, Panny.”

“I don’t need love.”

thank yous <3

This session had been an amazing first session, and I'm so glad I decided to join after all <3

|| group thank-yous ||

First, thanks to the amazing Sci-fi leaders: Poppy, Summer, and Snowy! I will admit, at first I was kind of hoping to be in Fantasy (purely because of their theme), but I'm so glad that I was put into Sci-fi instead. You all have been awesome <3

Next, thanks to the daily team. Without you SWC wouldn't be nearly as fun as it is, and I'm sure it must take a LOT of hard work to put together all the weeklies and dailies.

And of course, I can't forget to say thank you to all the sci-fi campers. Everyone has been so fun to work with this session, and we did amazing on the second cabin wars. Sci-fi for the win!

And on a less serious note, this isn't a thank you but more of a congratulations for everyone who procrastinated a bunch on their weekly/writing comp and still finished it today. (Not me congratulating myself on accident)

|| individual thank-yous ||

Thanks to Emily for being an awesome sci-fi-er (that's a word now.)! You're probably the camper that I interacted with the most, and also you just seem like a generally cool person
(That sounds like I was having to try really hard to think of something to say- I promise I wasn't :,) )

Alright so I know I already said all the sci-fi campers but a few of them I have to give special shoutouts to <3: Ava, Bowie, Sky, and Violet (and ofc Poppy, Snowy, and Summer but I kinda said them individually)

Finally: thank you to everyone who participated, hosted, (co)led, and everyone involved with SWC. SWC wouldn't be the same without all of you <3

(Joke thank-yous below)

Thank you to mangoes for mangoing. You are amazing.

Thank you to Skog and Blahaj for being cute and also being cool.

Thank you to IKEA for existing.

Thank you to Pepper for writing a frying pan soup pot love story, which you should totally publish. I'd buy it, at least.

Thank you to all the soul stealers/eaters for not yoinking my soul. I did agree to give it to Poppy for oyster crackers, though.

Ida was dreaming of flight, of alabaster wings spread wide, feathers catching the wind. A swirling vortex of color surrounded her, protected her. She soared endlessly, never knowing where she would next land, but never lost.

Ida awoke. She was curled into a corner of the monument, the smooth walls pressing against the back of her dress. She scrambled away and pulled herself to her feet, heart racing. Something was meant to be at her back, something that would have been crushed between it and the wall. It was as if she had phantom wings.

Ida closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and slowing her heartbeat. She adjusted her hat so that the rounded peak pointed upwards, a perfect cone. She admired the strange beauty of it, running one hand against its silk-smooth surface. It was the only one of the shapes, she sensed, that belonged to her. The others were too big, too bright, for her. When she returned them and they rose to their places, she marveled at them. She understood why she would have stolen them, still jealous as they clicked into perfect place in the monuments, fitting in a way that she herself never would.
Though she wandered these twisted passages, these stairways and turns and entrances and exits that made her mind feel like it was nearly splintering apart with their complexity, she knew they were not home. She climbed and climbed, always optimistic that around the next bend or through the next doorway there would be an answer to why she was still here, but she was always disappointed. She hated being trapped. She dreaded those moments when she had to turn sideways and shimmy through narrow halls, that uncomfortable acceleration in her chest as the walls came too close to her back, closer than they ever should have been.

She dreaded the crows, too. As she walked, she always felt their eyes on her, unblinking specks of black trapping her in place, examining her as if she were a butterfly with its wings pinned to a board. She imagined that they, too, dreamed of flying. They had wings, she thought, but she never saw them in use. She liked to think, selfishly, that they were as trapped as she was here within these monuments, but they weren't. They couldn't fly, no, but they could sing. And though their grating voices brought sharp hot tears to Ida's eyes, they sang. Whenever Ida tried to approach, they sang to each other, sang in warning. Ida could sing once, too. She remembered streams of notes pouring from her beak, no, her mouth, and an audience listening in unblinking rapture.

She could feel the song building in her throat once more in response as the crows spoke to her, but she could not remember how to open her mouth and let the notes free once again.

The birds were silent, and the world trembled in fear as another tree fell. The echo of its trunk rang out as it crashed through its siblings' branches, taking who knew how many other limbs along with it as it toppled into the leaves blanketing the ground. Crest tensed, his stomach twisting uncomfortably as he crouched among the roots of his own Sacred Tree. Though he knew the fallen tree wasn't his own or Luna's—it was too far from them; she was one of the few of her younger siblings whose spirits weren’t entwined with a tree on the outskirts—his eyes still flicked to hers, making sure she was still next to him, still breathing.

She nodded to him, clutching his tree's roots. When he himself was too terrified to ground her, the tree was there, always so still and quiet, the opposite of his pounding heart and wild eyes. Unlike him, though, Luna looked genuinely curious behind her fear. She had always wondered what the outside world held, and even though it brought death and destruction, he knew that her interest would not have vanished so swiftly.

He pressed a hand to his redwood's trunk, eyes fluttering shut as he nestled in between the moss that grew from his back and the roots that encircled their hiding place. His consciousness travelled down, down, into the roots that snaked in an endless web of connections beneath the Lost Woods. Instantly, he sensed the location of the tree that had been lost. Its roots were there, yes, but when he tried to trace them upwards, they ended, the trunk above cut off by the humans that had so recently come into their forest.

It was exactly what Crest had feared—the tree belonged to one of his sisters. The loss of any of his own people would have been devastating, but that it was one of them made it even more so. He had been worried about the new grove of saplings planted near the edge of the woods, had thought that they were too close to danger, but the council hadn't listened. The Lost Woods had been full enough even before Mother had pushed to seed the new generation far before its ordinary time. Perhaps she had known this, too, predicted the destruction coming their way, trying her best to grow the forest thicker in anticipation, in hopes that they wouldn't be able to get through.

As he returned to his own body, Crest's eyes flew open, the soft light of their yellow irises illuminating the devastated expression on Luna's face. She had felt the loss, too. He took his hand from the tree reluctantly, placing it on her shoulder. Struggling not to grip harder than he meant, to dig his nails in, to take out his hatred for those who had invaded his home on her, he traced his trembling fingers down the bark of her arms, trying to follow his tree's example and comfort her despite his own fear.

They could hide in this grove. They had to. This part of the forest had his Sacred Tree and Luna's. It was in the center of the woods, the safest possible place. The two of them would be okay, if only they could stay put.

Crest inhaled shakily, trying to ignore the loud crunch of the leaves and snap of the twigs from the other side of the forest. After a lifetime spent in the Lost Woods, sitting still, eyes closed, and just listening to everything that surrounded him, he was well attuned to every sound that came from the creatures who lived there. And this noise, he knew, was not natural. The footsteps of the people of the trees were light, even when the layer of brush atop the dirt was as thick as it was this autumn, and these echoes clearly did not come from them. They were human, just as loud and arrogant and controlling as all the legends had taught Crest that they would be.

One set of footsteps, though, was softer. They still waded through the leaves, rather than seemingly floating atop them like those of his own people, but they seemed almost careful. Every step was measured and rhythmic and slow as if the human was trying their hardest not to crush one more twig than they needed to.

“Crest,” Luna hissed softly, and he whipped his head back towards her, eyes refocusing in the darkness of his surroundings.

He blinked rapidly, tearing his thoughts from the sound. It was still too loud, too jarring. No matter how hard they tried to hide it, the walker was human, haughty and horrid as the rest of them. No matter how careful they were, they were among the people who were trying to destroy his home, and for that he could never forgive them.

LAST-MINUTE WEEKLY POG?!

PART 1: IslandSWC

Introduction
Wind was born of the sea and sand, his family told him. Wherever the ocean met the land, he would be home.
He closed his eyes as the surf washed over his paws. The crash of the waves and whistle of the wind on the cliffs sounded like a song, calling him higher to new adventures and brilliant futures. The sun shone bright in the sky.
His wings itched to fly, to soar up into that sky and never come back down. He flapped into the air, skimming the surface of the water. Droplets of spray glittered on his pale yellow feathers as he sped up, pushing himself faster and faster.
His heart sped up in exhilaration.
All at once, he swerved upward and let momentum take him up, up where he could catch a thermal and rise even higher. Far above the earth, he exhaled, gliding gently, wings spread to the sun like an offering.
That’s when he spotted something interesting making its way along the ground.

Flashforward
Wind swooped closer, air sweeping past in a dizzying rush as he dove. Flaring his wings to slow his descent, he came to a landing near the thing he had spotted from overhead.
It was other shazarxi.
Wind observed them from a distance. They didn’t seem to have noticed him yet. There were three of them, a dark-colored female and two pale-colored males. Wind had never met a shazarxa he hadn’t recognized, though the adults spoke of a different colony that they had left behind back when they were young. Had these newcomers come from that colony?
Staring at them curiously, Wind felt a strange flash of intuition. His destiny was tied with these shazarxi somehow, though he couldn’t describe how he knew.
He hadn’t even met them yet, and they already felt as familiar as old friends. He could see himself at their side, travelling through the unknown. Through highs and lows, over mountains and rivers, they would be together. Wind knew he belonged with them.
Springing forward, Wind went to introduce himself.
“Hi!” he called. “What are you doing here?”
The male closest to him jumped, pelt spiking in alarm. But the other two perked up their ear tufts in curiosity. The female stepped forward, sniffing his scent genially.
“Hello!” she responded. “We’re here because- well. Where exactly is ‘here’?”
“The western ocean!” Wind exclaimed, a thrill of excitement at getting to show off his home sparking through his limbs. “Come on, I’ll show you!”

Drawing
(I drew Wind gazing out over the ocean. I hope you don’t need proof because I did it on paper and this device’s camera is awful.)

Dialogue
“My name’s Wind, by the way,” he explained to his new friends. “Who are you?”
“I’m Dandelion!” the female said. “And this is Birch and Silver. They’re brothers. So… you live out here?”
“Yep!” Wind chirped happily. “I hatched on the shore of the ocean and my family has wandered the coastline all my life.”
“Your family?”
“The adults, Song, Wander, and Ruby. And Wave and Rain. Then there’s Comet and Eclipse, who are a bit older than me. I’m the youngest.”
“Hey, I know those names! Well, some of them. Ember talks about them sometimes. Didn’t they leave the colony, like, forever ago?”
Wind nodded enthusastically. “Wander’s mentioned someone named Ember before! I think they’re friends.”
“Used to be, anyway. It’s been a long time.”
“Friendship can endure time and distance,” Wind replied, quoting something Ruby had said once. “Don’t you think so?”
“Some connections can cross vast divides,” Silver blurted unexpectedly, glancing to the side.
Birch blinked at him. “Yeah…”
“Maybe you’re right, Wind,” Dandelion conceded. “Hey, what’s this scent I’m smelling?”
“The sea!” Wind beamed. “The breeze is carrying its scent to us.”
“Are we almost there? I want to see it!”
“We sure are. Right up this slope!”
“What is it-” Dandelion’s voice cut off as she reached the top of the slope. “Oh, wow…”

Dinosaur Game
(I had to use a Scratch version because it’s blocked on my school Chromebook; this is the version I used: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/51462212/ )

Environment
The ocean glinted in the sun, which was beginning to set, sinking down below the vast water. The waves were dark and majestic, beating tirelessly onto the shore below. Wind grinned as the newcomers stood in awe.
“Pretty cool, isn’t it?”
“That’s… a lot of water,” Birch said.
Dandelion snorted, nudging him affectionately with her wing. “Great observation.”
“You all can fly, right?” Wind asked. The three nodded. “Great! Let’s fly down to the beach. There’s a path along the cliffs, too, but who wants to walk in weather like this?”
The air was crisp and fresh, filling Wind’s lungs with life. He didn’t hesitate to launch himself off the edge and spiral up into the sky. The others followed, catching the sweet thermals that rose off the cliff face.
Wind watched their flying styles. Dandelion flapped a little more than was necessary, but she was agile. Silver was calm, steady, simply letting the air carry him. Birch was the most graceful of the bunch, immediately taking to the sea breeze as if he had known it all his life. He seemed a lot more comfortable now that his paws were off solid ground.
Wind realized they were waiting for him to lead the way. Cupping his wings, he entered a gentle dive, curving around over the water before looping back inward, dipping down and and reaching out his paws, bracing for landing. He skidded into the sand, folding his wings back into his sides.
The others touched down nearby, sending up sprays of sand.
For a moment, they all remained silent, appreciating the beauty of the place they were now standing in. Wind smiled, imagining what it must be like to witness the grandeur of the cliffs and the power of the waves with fresh eyes, unaccustomed to the sights that felt so familiar to him.
Maybe one day, his new friends would take him to faraway places, and he’d be astounded, too.

Symbol
Birch stood at the water's edge, watching the waves crash against the shore. He had always been cautious, reluctant to take risks or step out of his comfort zone. Not a thrill seeker like Wind. Wind, noticing his friend's hesitation, walked up beside him with a small, spiral seashell in his claws.
“Here,” Wind said, placing the shell gently in Birch's paw. “This is for you.”
Birch examined the seashell, its intricate patterns and smooth surface glinting in the sunlight. “Why give me this?”
Wind smiled. “This shell took time to form, just like our friendship and your confidence. You're coming out of your shell, Birch. And our relationship is growing stronger, layer by layer.”
Birch rolled his eyes, but he softened as he looked at Wind. “Thank you. It means a lot. Just don’t get sappy in front of Dandelion.”
“Deal, so long as you don’t go and drown yourself again.” Wind grinned mischievously. Not so long ago, he and Birch were rivals over who could be the better flyer and better swimmer. It ended with Birch far outpacing Wind’s flight speed, only to require Wind’s assistance escaping from the rough waves that he wasn’t accustomed to.
Wind intended to recall that moment as long as he lived. Mostly to playfully poke fun at Birch, but also to remind himself of how close they had been in that moment, when Wind was dragging Birch to the safety of the shore…
The newcomers were soon to leave, returning back to their home at the canyon. But Wind was determined to go with them. After all, they got lost so easily, and Wind had been taught by Wander to read the sky in order to navigate.
Though the shore was his home, Wind couldn’t wait to leave. The distant horizon was waiting for him.
The seashell would be his reminder to come back when it was all over.

Baking
(My oven is broken right now, but I microwaved a poptart. I hope that counts. There are crumbs all over my keyboard now.)

Nutritious Snack
(I don’t really like bananas, unfortunately. Instead, I got some fresh fruit and a package of dried cherries. It’s something healthy to offset the sugary poptart, I guess!)

Setting Change
When Silver, Dandelion, and Birch headed back to their homeland, Wind led the way, navigating by the stars.
He wasn’t expecting their home to be a battleground.
The conflict between the canyon colony members who stayed with Ash and those who chose to follow Shade was evident. The canyon, once vibrant and full of life, now bore the scars of battle. Half of it had collapsed, and the air was thick with tension and sorrow.
Wind surveyed the devastation with a heavy heart. He had always tried to stay out of conflicts, but the impact was unavoidable. Dandelion, usually so outgoing and fierce, was visibly shaken. Silver was quiet, solemn. Birch would trail off mid-sentence, unable to find the words to capture all his thoughts. Ember, who had supported Ash, mourned the loss of a leader, while Shade's supporters were left to pick up the pieces. It didn’t matter which side had won- everyone had lost something in the destruction. A loved one. Their den. Their innocence.
Instead, they had gained scars. Physical ones, like Dandelion’s, or mental ones, it didn’t matter. They would never be able to escape this horrible day.
Though this place was not his home, Wind felt desolate and empty. He could see the pain etched on everyone's faces. Birch stood beside him, clutching the seashell Wind had given him long ago. The shell's symbolism of growth and connection seemed distant amidst the current chaos.
Wind felt a mix of anger and helplessness. He wanted to fix things, to bring back the harmony they once knew. But the canyon was forever changed, and so were they. As they settled back into what was left of the place, Wind vowed to do whatever it took to protect his friends and restore some semblance of peace.

Connections Game
(Here’s the results.)
Connections
Puzzle #416

no words can describe

i’ve always liked words, simple as that. the way they float around in my mind, how they’re whispered to me alone by an inner voice. the way they roll off my tongue when i’m speaking, some pretty, soothing, and others harsh. the pretty swirls all crowded together on piles of pages, together weaving intricate stories, and how they’re essentially random strings of letters and sounds that evolved to have deeper meaning over the course of centuries. i’ve never dived very far into etymology, but i assumed that’s what it was, at least on the surface.

i find it equal parts adorable and poetic that we feel the need to give a name to every thing and concept that exists. every single one, plus alternatives in case someone doesn’t like the first. exquisite, a fancy phrase to describe something that’s just as fancy; defenestration, for the oddly specific act of throwing someone out of a window; eternity, a lyrical way to say forever. and so much more, a plethora of syllables to be strung together like literary constellations. that’s still to mention the sheer amount of languages.

and yet, emotions are even more complex. because throughout each and every dictionary there is out there, i’ve yet to find a word that perfectly sums up how i feel on a day-to-day basis.

i get close, sometimes. wistfulness and wanderlust, for the days where my longing to be anywhere else physically aches. it’s when i’m within the walls of my bedroom, and they feel more like a prison than a safe space. i want to see the world in all its beauty, to be on the move, but i’m here wasting my life away instead. i just sigh and keep scrolling on little blue screens long past midnight.
complete misery, maybe, when i realize i’m absolutely awful at maintaining strong relationships. it strikes me that when my best friend moves away (far too soon), i’ll be left utterly by myself.

whichever way it is, what i don’t feel is alive. (and no fancy words can capture a feeling so painfully simple).

-

olive and i chose to go stargazing for our final hangout. it’s a lovely blend of whimsical and nerdy, and although both of us are pretty much clueless in astronomy, we figured we might as well try - it fit our general vibe. after all, when else would we get the chance?

“alice!” i heard her call, and my name’s like a song on her lips. we ran towards each other in the near-empty park, crashing into a tight hug. “calm down, i’m still here, you know,” she whispered smugly, and i laughed.
“hi oli,” i said, leading her to the patch of grass i’d claimed. “did you bring the bagels?”
she sprawled onto the hello kitty blanket i’d layed out, smiling brightly at the sky. “in my bag,” she answered, and i don’t even bother checking. i flopped onto the ground next to her. we spend a minute in silence, until someone’s car alarm goes off (triggering a chorus of honking), and we’re both giggling messes.
“who chose this?” she said between gasps. “we’re in a city, for goodness’ sake. there’s nothing over us but dark gray soup all the time,”
“what are we doing,” i added, “oh, look, there’s the moon, and there’s an airplane!” needless to say, we completely lost it for a second time.

the debate is terrible. joe fires attacks at him, and it hurts, even though donald knows he doesn’t mean it. he argues back, and feels just as bad saying these things to his beloved joe. he wishes he could walk over and kiss him, but they’re on live television.

after the debate, they do freaky freak freakster activities.

“you don’t hate me, right?” donald asks.

“no! why would you think that?” joe says, surprised.

donalds smiles happily and did some taxes.

–

he remembers the early days of their relationship. he was instantly charmed the moment he met joe. it wasn’t fair, how someone could be that beautiful with their wrinkly face and stage 2 dementia. he remembers the time joe approached him after a speech and asked him out.

“donald, you’re really cool,” joe says earnestly.

“I’M NOT A KISSBOY!” donald yells at him. he starts to feel bad after joe looks down, frowning.

“hey, it’s fine,” he murmurs as he pulls joe into a hug. “you can be the exception.”

then joe had kissed him. “cheeto,” he had said fondly, and then fell asleep.

“i love you too, sleepy joe,” donald murmured as he closed his eyes.

–

he knows he should be worrying about his safety, but when he gets shot at the rally, all he could think about is joe. i can’t die, i didn’t tell joe i love him, he thinks frantically.

in the hospital, he checks to see that joe had called him 69420 times. he smiles fondly despite it all, happy that joe cares so much. he calls him back the moment the nurse leaves the room.

“donald,” joe yells panickedly. “are you okay??”

“i’m fine,” he responds.

“i need to see you,” joe says desperately. “where are you?”

“you can’t,” donald shakes his head. “it’s too dangerous.”

“nothing is more important to me than your safety,” joe says firmly.

donald gets butterflies at his words. his cheetos colored face heats up to a hot cheetos color.

“i’m sorry, joe,” he sighs, and hangs up.

–

he gets the news from vance. he pretends to be happy, laughing about how pathetic biden was. of course, that wasn’t how he felt. how could he, towards his sleepy joe? he calls him later, while melania was out.

“why’d you drop out?” he asks, unsure.

“you’ll win,” joe says. “wasn’t that what you always wanted?”

was it? or had he been lying to himself to the entire time? what did he really want? he shuts down the thought as soon as it appeared. he can’t afford to think about this. not now.

“i did all of it for you,” he can tell joe is smiling.

for some reason, it just makes him angry. “i don’t need your help,” he snaps, and hangs up.

–

a couple days later, joe calls him again.

“let’s meet.” he says.

“fine,” donald sighs. “where?”

“the golf court,” joe responds. donald remembers- it’s where they had their first date. he smiles.

there’s a silence after that. “you hang up,” donald says.

“no, you hang up,” joe says.

donald rolls his eyes but presses the end call button. he gets in his car and drive to the golf place. he sees joe waving at him, and they discreetly go into the storage room to avoid being seen.

“i have something to tell you, donald,” joe says.

“what is it?”

“i love you,” joe says simply.

“you can’t!” he says, shocked. “if anyone finds out-” he breaks off.

he turns away, but joe grabs his hand. “we don’t have to do this.”

“what else could we do?” donald asks sadly.

“we could-” joe swallows. “we could run away.”

“we have responsibilities,” donald said, looking away from joe’s face.

“but i love you, donald!” joe shouts.

“stop it! i never loved you. this was a mistake. we’re nothing.” he turns around and bolts out of the room.

joe runs after him and grabs his hand. “don’t leave me, please,” he says, tears welling up in his eyes.

“you can’t ask me to give up the presidency for you, joe,” donald says angrily, pulling his hand out of joe’s grip.

“i thought,” joe sniffled. “i thought i meant more to you than the stupid presidency. i gave it up for you. why won’t you give it up for me?”

“i- i can’t,” donald says stubbornly. “goodbye, joe.”

he runs.

–

joe doesn’t text him again. donald misses him every day. every time he looks at melania, he wishes she was joe.

but he did what had to be done. they never could’ve been together. it was the right choice for his career and reputation.

maybe in another life, they could’ve been together.

–

a/n:

did anyone get that ref to the roblox meme

“Beomgyu! Quit playing around and get down here or we’re going to be late!” Soobin yelled up the stairs. He was exhausted, having not slept well the night before. He was up all night worrying about their gig, and Yeonjun, sleeping on the bottom bunk, worried because of hearing Soobin tossing and turning.

“Don’t make me come up there!” He called again, pulling on shoes. All of a sudden, there came a crash from the living room.

“Hobak, no!” Taehyun came bolting into the foyer chasing his cat. Hobak leapt up on the mantle and sat there, teasingly swishing his tail and peering down at them with wide amber eyes. Soobin glared at Taehyun, who made a move towards the cat.

Finally, Beomgyu ran down the stairs, guitar in tow.

“Sorry!” he exclaimed. Soobin sighed. At least Yeonjun and Hueningkai were being productive, loading Huening’s drums into the van.

“Does everyone have everything?” Soobin asked, looking at the two younger members in front of him. They nodded, hoisted their equipment, and made their way to the van.

Once they had loaded everything into their van, Yeonjun moved towards the driver’s seat.
“No way!” Beomgyu stopped him, “Last time we let you drive you almost drove us off a cliff.” He took the keys from Yeonjun, and tossed them to Soobin.

“Respect your elders, punk…” Yeonjun muttered, hopping into the back. He was the eldest, Soobin the second and leader, Beomgyu the middle child, and Taehyun and Hueningkai the two youngest.

“I’ll respect you once you learn to drive,” Beomgyu countered, and climbed in next to Yeonjun. The two bantered playfully while Soobin drove. The drive wasn’t long, only an hour. Taehyun however, thought that was far too long. Once Beomgyu fell asleep, Yeonjun’s next target was Hueningkai. Yeonjun’s awful dad jokes flowed out of his mouth rapid-fire. No matter how loud Taehyun had his headphones, he could still hear the sounds of the van from the front seat. He was used to it though, these WERE his best friends after all. They were practically family. They knew everything about each other, and were always there. No matter what.

Finally, they reached the venue. The signs around the theater were bright, emblazoned with the name TXT, and the names of the members. They unloaded their equipment from the back of their van with the help of some staff members. TXT weren’t huge, but they had a loyal following from their town and surrounding states. They put out a few CDs, and those did reasonably well locally. However, they really wanted a record deal. The boys had been hoping for one ever since their first CD managed to sell over 1,000 copies on the first day. To some people, that might not have been a lot. To them, it’s what they’d been dreaming of for five years.

Now, as they sat backstage hearing the crowd flow in, they felt nervous, but excited. This could quite possibly be the gig that makes or breaks their career. Soobin heard from a friend who had a DIFFERENT friend who worked at a label company overheard an employee say they were sending a talent scout to their show. Soobin relayed this to the members immediately, practiced harder than ever that night, and wrote three new songs to showcase together.

“Ok guys,” Soobin said, ready to give the usual pre-show pep talk, “This show is no different than any others. We just need to have as much fun as we usually do. Don’t worry about trying to appeal to the scout, we’ll draw them in the way we drew everyone else- by being ourselves. We’re doing what we love, let's not forget that! They placed that scout here for a reason. They already want us! We just need to show them what we can do.”

With renewed excitement, the members took their places behind the curtain, and waited for the countdown in their in-ears.

“Just like we practiced,” Kai muttered to himself.

“Three. Two. One,” beeped the monitors. The curtain drew back on cue, members making their way towards their respective places, crowd roaring. Hueningkai bashed his drumsticks together, and they burst into their first song with immense energy. They carried this all the way through the two and a half hour show, playing each song with vigor and emotion. Taehyun belted into the mic, Kai attacked his drums, Yeonjun slapped at his bass, Soobin’s keyboard was getting a workout, and the strings on Beomgyu’s guitar were fighting for their lives.

Somehow, they had already played through their whole set list. They wiped the sweat off their faces, exhausted. They had one last special song left, though.

“We’d like to play a brand new song for you guys,” Taehyun said as the crowd cheered, “It’s called Blue Spring. We wrote it for you guys so you better like it,” he said, playfully. The crowd laughed as Beomgyu switched to acoustic and strummed the opening chords. Somewhere in the audience the talent scout was leaving, pushing through bodies to get to the exit as the song played.

“Myyy bluuue spriiingggg,” Taehyun finished, the last note ringing through the theater. The crowd erupted in cheers and whistles, confetti floated down from the ceiling as they embraced, then lined up to say goodbye.

“One- DREAM! This wassss TXT!” The members waved to fans as they left the stage.
They immediately collapsed on chairs and couches backstage, exhausted.

“I love this,” Taehyun sighed.

“Me too. Do you think we did it?” asked Hueningkai, suddenly sitting upright.

Suddenly, Soobin’s phone rang. The members jolted up in excitement.

Soobin picked up the phone, “Hi? Yes, speaking. Yeah, that’s right. What?! Really?! Oh my gosh! Yes! thank you so much! We’ll need some time to talk it over of course… Yes! By next week? Great! Thanks again!!” He hung up. The room was silent.

“WE DID IT!!” he cried and the four other members lept to their feet, yelling, jumping around, hugging and crying. This went on for about ten minutes, before they finally calmed down enough to carry on a conversation. They discussed the contract details and schedules, among other things. In the van, they talked over how this might affect their music, but ultimately decided it was worth it. It’s just what they wanted, after all. They printed out the contracts, signed them, and put them in the mailbox.

A week later, they received texts with their schedules and a group chat with their new manager. Fast forward another week and they were doing better than ever. They released their two existing CD’s again, this time on a larger scale and began to discuss plans for a new album. Fast forward two weeks and they had played four shows already. They were rapidly gaining popularity, and had sold a million copies of each of their two albums worldwide. They had become famous overnight.

Unfortunately, this had created a bit of a rift between the members. Their schedule was busier than ever, making appearances on local radio stations, and even a small TV appearance. Because of this, time to just hang out and chill was minimal. They had gotten into numerous arguments during the week and spending time together was difficult. Just this morning Soobin had snapped at Hueningkai over breakfast, Taehyun lost it with Yeonjun while they were loading equipment, and Beomgyu was annoyed by anything and everything. He sat staring out the window, headphones on, blasting music, and his arms crossed angrily.

“BEOMGYU,” Yeonjun yelled, the tone of his voice indicating he’d been trying to get his attention a few times already. Beomgyu quickly took off his headphones.

“What?” He asked.
“Can you go FIVE MINUTES without those headphones on? I swear to God-”

“Sorry…” Beomgyu mumbled, feeling guilty. Yeonjun knows he always has headphones on- this was nothing new.

“Guys,” Soobin called from the front, “Let’s all be civil. We’re all under a lot of strain-”

“YOU’RE the one who yelled at me for spilling a bit of milk this morning!” Hueningkai cried. “I didn’t get an apology either,” he sulked.

“Yeah, Soobin. You’re one to talk,” Taehyun agreed.

“Nevermind,” Soobin let out an angry huff. They spent the rest of the ride in tense silence. In fact, they didn’t utter a single word to each other until right before they went on stage.

“Look happy everyone,” Soobin grumbled. The band pasted smiles on their faces as they entered the stage and took their places. No one in the crowd noticed anything off as they picked up their instruments, filling the arena with music. If they weren’t a band, they’d be excellent actors. They played through their entire three hour set with no signs anything was amiss. They did their customary hug and goodbye, and waved at the fans with genuine smiles. If there was anything that made them happy, it was their fans.

Once they were backstage, the glares and frowns returned. Hueningkai, however, was longing to get along again. He hated conflict, especially seeing his own members hate each other. They’d been through too much together to let their whole friendship get ruined through some stupid arguments they’d had while stressed.

“Guys?” He asked tentatively. When the members looked back at him, he continued, “I think that we should apologize to each other, I hate it when we’re mad at each other,” he added, with a slight pout. Being the youngest, he could usually do things like that and get them to agree with him. He didn’t like pulling the youngest card often, but he was desperate.

Beomgyu snorted. “Apologize for what? Half of us didn’t even do anything! God, you’re so sensitive. Just stay out of other people’s business, Kai.”

Kai frowned. “Yeah, but-”

“Oh, drop it Huening. We’ll apologize when we’re ready. I’ve got nothing to apologize for though, so whenever you’re ready, Beomgyu.” Yeonjun interrupted.

“ME?? Dude, are you serious? I didn’t even do anything!”

“Well we all have been kind of mean to each other lately,” Soobin countered.

“Well then you apologize!” Taehyun shouted, throwing his hands in the air, exasperated.

“I’ll go first,” Hueningkai offered. “Everyone-”

But no one was listening. It had turned into a shouting match, everyone yelling at each other. Taehyun was ready to throw punches, and Soobin was on the verge of tears as he screamed at Yeonjun. Hueningkai felt guilty and he tried to intervene. In the end, he ended up shouting too, letting out all his frustrations on Beomgyu.

Taehyun DID end up throwing a punch, sinking his fist deep in Yeonjun’s stomach. The rest of the members rushed to hold the two back from each other, but continued shouting. The five ended up saying some of the worst things to each other that they’d ever heard, aiming right for their insecurities. Knowing each other as well as they did meant that they also knew exactly where to insult to leave a mark. Some of the stuff they were saying they would never be able to take back.

The fight (verbal and physically) was finally broken up by staff members who noticed the commotion. They were carted off to their van, where the ride was carried out in tense silence. When they arrived home, the members immediately split off to their shared rooms or the showers. Soobin, however, sat in the living room, thinking. He finally gathered all the members in the living room.

“Guys, I’ve been thinking. I know we’ve only been under this contract for a month, but we need to leave. Look what it’s done to us! We’re better than this! Are any of us happy right now? Have we been happy? No, we haven’t. I know that. We were so much happier before all this, right?” He looked desperate.

TIME SKIP

“Three…two… one” The members stepped on stage. They hugged, and the crowd screeched. It was a much smaller one than a month ago, but they liked that better anyway.

no words can describe

i’ve always liked words, simple as that. the way they float around in my mind, how they’re whispered to me alone by an inner voice. the way they roll off my tongue when i’m speaking, some pretty, soothing, and others harsh. the pretty swirls all crowded together on piles of pages, together weaving intricate stories, and how they’re essentially random strings of letters and sounds that evolved to have deeper meaning over the course of centuries. i’ve never dived very far into etymology, but i assumed that’s what it was, at least on the surface.

i find it equal parts adorable and poetic that we feel the need to give a name to every thing and concept that exists. every single one, plus alternatives in case someone doesn’t like the first. exquisite, a fancy phrase to describe something that’s just as fancy; defenestration, for the oddly specific act of throwing someone out of a window; eternity, a lyrical way to say forever. and so much more, a plethora of syllables to be strung together like literary constellations. that’s still to mention the sheer amount of languages.

and yet, emotions are even more complex. because throughout each and every dictionary there is out there, i’ve yet to find a word that perfectly sums up how i feel on a day-to-day basis.

i get close, sometimes. wistfulness and wanderlust, for the days where my longing to be anywhere else physically aches. it’s when i’m within the walls of my bedroom, and they feel more like a prison than a safe space. i want to see the world in all its beauty, to be on the move, but i’m here wasting my life away instead. i just sigh and keep scrolling on little blue screens long past midnight.
complete misery, maybe, when i realize i’m absolutely awful at maintaining strong relationships. it strikes me that when my best friend moves away (far too soon), i’ll be left utterly by myself.

whichever way it is, what i don’t feel is alive. (and no fancy words can capture a feeling so painfully simple).

-

olive and i chose to go stargazing for our final hangout. it’s a lovely blend of whimsical and nerdy, and although both of us are pretty much clueless in astronomy, we figured we might as well try - it fit our general vibe. after all, when else would we get the chance?

“alice!” i heard her call, and my name’s like a song on her lips. we ran towards each other in the near-empty park, crashing into a tight hug. “calm down, i’m still here, you know,” she whispered smugly, and i laughed.
“hi oli,” i said, leading her to the patch of grass i’d claimed. “did you bring the bagels?”
she sprawled onto the hello kitty blanket i’d layed out, smiling brightly at the sky. “in my bag,” she answered, and i don’t even bother checking. i flopped onto the ground next to her. we spend a minute in silence, until someone’s car alarm goes off (triggering a chorus of honking), and we’re both giggling messes.
“who chose this?” she said between gasps. “we’re in a city, for goodness’ sake. there’s nothing over us but dark gray soup all the time,”
“what are we doing,” i added, “oh, look, there’s the moon, and there’s an airplane!” needless to say, we completely lost it for a second time.

we spent the rest of the night chatting away beneath flickering, parchment-colored lamp posts. it’s certainly not what either of us had been expecting, but we’re enjoying the slightly warm bagels and assortment of sour candy so everything’s fine. it’s memorable, and that’s all that matters; to me at least.
i want to fully enjoy these moments, but i’m trying so hard that it basically backfires. listening to olive talk, i want to bottle this conversation and keep it on a shelf forever. it hurts, knowing i’ll only ever get scratchy phone call audio for who knows how long. we wouldn’t actually be together.
i’m overthinking, though, so i tuned back in and attempted to focus on her ranting.

“i’m gonna miss you,” she said randomly, and i almost choked.
“me too,” i managed a small smile, “hey, maybe you’ll be able to see the stars properly where you’re going.”
she took another bite of food, chewing thoughtfully. “but it won’t be fun. without you, i mean,”
i don’t know how to respond to that without sobbing, so instead, i asked, “how do you feel?”
“what do you mean?” she frowned, “i’ve been here my entire life, with you, so i’m scared for how different it’s going to be, i guess.” a pause.
“okay, scared,” i said, “what else?”
an understanding of sorts clicked in her eyes, and she continued, “sad, obviously. desperate to stay, like i haven’t come to terms with leaving yet. dead on the inside.” we both laughed, and decided to let this turn of the conversation float away on the wind. within a minute, we’re back to silly gossip and card games - we’re not good at being deep.

-

eventually, it’s time to go, but neither of us are ready. there’s too many words left to say, and though we’ve known each other for forever, there’s always something left unspoken.
no, we’d never really be ready. not in this lifetime, at least.
emotions hang like raindrops in the air, too many of them, threatening to spill.

“remember me?” i asked, simply.
“you too?” she said, and i nod.
“it’d be kind of hard to forget about you, anyways,” i remarked, “when i’m old, someone in the elderly home’s going to ask me about my childhood, and my old person brain’s still going to think of you. you know, because we were most of it?”
olive snorted. “weirdly descriptive scenario, but okay. you’re pre-invited to my wedding and my funeral, by the way. i promise you’ll never be ‘that random girl i met in new york’, not on my watch.”
it’s scary that that’s a possibility, how we both could one day move on and forget. time together turned to dust. but we’d promised, so that couldn’t happen, right?

(the thought of thinking of olive, thirty years into the future, and only remembering pretty eyes and a musical laugh haunted me. together, we were so much more than how we looked or sounded).
we hugged before parting, the same way we had met up. it’s a familiar motion, one that’s much more comforting than endless waves of caII me sometime, message me, hopefully i’ll see you again. everyone knows those words are just part of a meaningless ramble.

-

we meet at the airport the next morning, but it’s more tears on a drop-off lane than anything. i don’t remember much of it - it felt too much like a surreal dream, the kind that slips your mind as soon as you wake up.
“we’ll be seeing the same moon,” she’d said.
“that’s so cringey,” i’d responded, sobbing anyways.

far too soon, i’m back in the walls of my bedroom, staring soullessly at a peeling ceiling. that sense of wanderlust plagued me again, and i wondered if a bit of travel could heal me. how my life would change if i had the chance to really live it.
(i had the feeling that i’d still be just as miserable. too busy thinking about a best friend who’d inevitably drift away).

there’s still nothing that anchors my feelings to a word, so for now, i’m floating in space. that’s fine, i tell myself. i’ll figure it out, right? (somewhere out there, i hope olive knows i love her.)

aster actually remembers to do thank you notes for once :0

uh

#PIEEE !!!!

these might seem kinda badly made, im not good with thank yous :( (I feel real awkward writing them), but im trying my best :’DD

uh but anyways

GROUPS

daily team

it’s really fun, completing the dailies and weeklies you make (i did one daily and cabin wars and nothing else this session lmao, I can’t be talking), which must take a lotta effort—especially the project ones <3 (it wasn’t even loading on my end, I’m assuming my crusty ahh iPad couldn’t handle its glory /lh)

folklore

SIBLINGS!!!! AYYY!! y’all were real supportive to us (coughcoughwewereinlastplacecoughcoughididntdayanthingcoughcoguh) throughout the whole session, and wha your theme was so cool

solarpunkians (I still don’t know what we’re called)

even tho were were last place for most of the session, y’all slayed, during cabin wars, with weeklies, heck, even during introductions, y’all took the time to comment on a lot of them to get to know everyone more! y’all amazed me, and im proud to have been in a cabin with y’all D


hosts

wahh thank you for running swc omg, y’all have no idea how many people’s lives you’ve bettered with this camp /pos <3333 (or maybe you do via records lmao)

everyone

THANK YOU FOR SUCH A GOOD SESSION, AND BEING WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS WRITING CAMP, THIS SESSION REALLY SLAYED!! <33333

INDIVIDUAL PEEPS

moonlit (@MoonlitSeas)

wah (not like crying wah but like WAH like whoa wah :’)), it’s your last session!! I never actually made you a thank you note before??? even when you lead dystopian (still my favorite cabin ever)???? huh????? im making it up for it here I hope, but you were rlly fun to interact with, and a rlly cool person (circus wheel sounded quite interesting, I’ve never actually met a person who does it :3), and you’ve got a real good sense of humor (#PIEE!!). wherever you go after this, I wish you the best <3

alana (@-NightGlow-)

thank you for keeping solarpunk busy with cabin wars, you were very mean to us <3 /pos

yume (@yumetopia)

gah I also didn’t write a thank you for you last session

epistolary (I HAD TO COPY PASTE IT I STILL CANT SPELL IT SOBS) was a really fun cabin to be in, and you were the reason I got into PJSK, and I thank you for that (my Tsukasa obsession was caused by you IM PLANNING ON PRINTING OUT A HUNDRED COPIES OF JUST HIM AND MAKING A TSUKASA WALL WHAT HAVE YOU DONE YOUVE CREATED A MONSTER :sob: /lh)

moss (@mossflower29)

giggles hello again username buddy, im fairly sure you got me into swc bc you commented on my profile ages ago with like something about the whole username thing, and I browsed your profile and found swc, so YIPPEE, I probably wouldn’t have found this community without you

lily (@lilyjen)

WAH

YOU WROTE SO MUCH DURING THR FIRST CABIN WARS (DEDICATION WHOA) and it kinda motivated me to do the same for the second, aaaa, thank you, it’s hard for me to get motivation, and im extremely grateful to you for giving me some <3333

alex (@hamilchaos)

tbh, I didn’t know you were a coleader until I looked into your profile, and im kinda up for that, I liked not feeling like i had to watch my step around you, kinda hidden coleaders seem rlly cool (tbh, maybe im just rambling lmao)

also, seeing your progress on the frying pan weekly never failed to make me smile, and thx for helping w/ the end of the second cabin wars (I was legit scared :’D)

CD (@ForestPanther)

you were such a cool leader?? and you were easy to talk to (this entire cabin was as well) and rlly chill (and entertaining/funny on top of that )

and ddlc was involved at the beginning of the session!! wah it’s been so long (FNAF REFERENCE??? *shocked face*) since anyone’s let me ramble, I rlly appreciated it <33333

skog + blahaj

YOU WERE NICE UNLIKE GURTLE THANK YOU THANK YOU I LOVE YOU AAAAAA

/VPOS /VPOS /VPOS

Thank yous!!!
668 words!

It’s been a while since I’ve formally done thank you notes, so here we go

Reflecting on this session, I didn’t get many chances to be on scratch for SWC due to serving the Lord at an irl church camp, but that’s okay. Whenever I’ve looked back on this past month of SWC, I’ve never really seen memories of SWC (other than the occasional gdoc gang check in). But instead, I learned a lot at church camp. I grew closer in my relationship with Jesus, learned what it means to be a servant leader, and learned what it meant to work with a team. This month of July, a small fraction of my life, has been a really important July in my faith and skills. And since this is a tradition for most SWCers to do after a session, I’d like to dedicate this to all of my SWC friends, everyone that makes SWC.. SWC, and the people in between.

Mouse - @-bookdragon-

MOUSE!!! Oh my goodness Hiii <33 I’ve loved talking to you this session, you’re such a kind soul. I love your personality and how you’re so kind to everyone. If only I was in your cabin this session, it’ll probably happen someday. Gothic was really amazing <3

Bella - @-Wraiith

Bellaalalalalal I didn’t actually interact with you /very/ much this session- mainly because of church camp. But, you were still fun to talk with on the docs ) Thank you for being a wonderful friend <33 because of you I think of SWC whenever I see a frying pan xD

Ris - @eeveedonut

RIS BESTIEEEEE!! Oh my goodness I wish we were able to meet up during this session, it would’ve been so fun :0 but perhaps in november? :eyes: we should totally have cabin wars all nighter!! I’m so glad I met you, SWC wouldn’t have been the same without you <3 i love you (/p) <33

Poppy - @PoppyWriter

I love you (/p) you're so awesome and you're so cool and I've always looked up to you a lot <33

fantasy (co)leading team - Rockie, Reese, and Sienna

Eeeee fantasy looked absolutely amazing! I apologize for my inactivity, I was very busy irl :’) If I had more chances, I would’ve been more active and been able to participate more, but July was just a busy month. My favorite part was definitely the graphics, great job on them! I loved the pfps as well <33

all of the (co)leaders

all of the cabins looked amazing!! i loved looking at all of them, and great job no matter where your cabin is in placings, you still did amazing <33 great work!

the POLAR BEARS

oh my goodness here’s some lasagna because of all the hard work you all did preparing dailies, weeklies, and other activities <3 I loved the project weekly, and although I didn’t get the chance to finish it, it’s still amazing <3 great work!! *gives more lasagna*

the hosts <3

so, this is the most important thank you of all <33 if none of you existed, SWC wouldn’t be here. it wouldn’t be running, I wouldn’t have made any of these friends, and I wouldn’t have loved writing. thank you for being amazing <33

and a special shoutout to the chaos gang <3 (consisting of mouse, bella, poppy, nova, ris, celina, vi (@be_wildered), and reese!)

I’d like to thank all of you for being there and just having fun with me <3 you are all so amazing and fun <33 i love you all!

and last but not least, the rest of swc! aka anyone not included in one of these individual/group invites <33

thank you for being a part of swc <33 whether this is your first session or your 7th, you matter! unfortunately I don’t have the time to write a thank you note individually for each of you, so I hope you understand <3 but thanks for being willing to share your writing with a bunch of chaotic writers <3

Thank yous!!!

Dear Leadership Team,
Oh wow, this is kinda crazy- I’m finally letting the realization sink in that we are at the end of the session. Thank you guys so much for just putting so much time and effort into this session. I really appreciate it! SWC is such a huge highlight of my life, and I absolutely love getting to spend time with my friends as I go and do all of the ✨SWC things✨ that you guys make possible. I really appreciate the fact that you guys take time out of your busy lives and choose to spend that time helping impact the lives of a bunch of kids all around the world. I really love it and I hope that you guys are doing great. Don’t know how to really express my gratitude because it’s hard to put into words. I really enjoyed getting to see how your hard work has paid off in so many great ways. You guys are amazing and honestly the fact that I am so privileged to do this camp that’s run by such amazing people is just fascinating and amazing and I really, really, hope that you guys have amazing lives going down the line, especially for those who are stepping down. Y’all are amazing! Thanks tons!

Dear Luka, Maia, Blau and Yume,
Thank you all so much for leading such an amazing cabin! I honestly am just so proud of you guys and the work that you’ve put in. I am really appreciative of how you guys have been so hands-on with your campers even though I wasn’t here for, like, most of the month. I am so thankful for how you have worked with me and the other campers and it’s been awesome. Your cabin was just SO amazing and SO unique and I’ve loved the podcast SO much! I am really pleased with how my cabin placement turned out. It was really cool to have you guys as leaders! You are so creative, my gosh- Thank you so much for putting out such amazing and quality content for your campers. I loved my pfp, and the art was AMAZING, my goodness- I am really blessed to have gotten to have you guys as leaders. All the hard work you guys put in for this session does not go unnoticed! You guys are awesome! Script for the win! But even if we don’t win, at least we made awesome memories along the way!

Dear Miner,
Hahaha, I am BACK again with another note! Thank you so much for being there with me while I was active this month. You are just an amazing friend and I am really, really glad that I have gotten to know you! You are always just so fun to talk to and we can rack up a lot of words with our roleplay, so that’s nice haha. I am so so happy that I have friends on this site and the fact that you’re one of them is AWESOME! Thank you for all the hard work that you’ve put in as a leader for this month of SWC. I know it’s a lot. You have done such an amazing job and I’m really proud of you!! I absolutely adore having you as a friend. I can say this overandoverandover again and never get tired of it- It just makes me SO happy knowing that I have friends to go through his camp with- You’re awesome! I love ya bunches!

Dear Chris,
I am so glad that you were able to do this session this July!! I also got to be in a cabin with you, so, like, that’s extra cool haha- That meant that we could do things together so we could earn even more points for our shared cabin and it was awesome!! It just really blows my mind that I am able to have such a good friend like you- Thank you so much for being there for me to talk to about, like, literally whatever, as well as letting me rant so I can get wordsastufflikethat- You’re really cool and I’m glad that I met you! Gosh, that was a long time ago- I’m glad to see how our friendship has grown and how SWC has helped with it, which is SO COOL. I really wish you the best and I’m so glad that I’m able to make these lasting memories with you! Thanks for being there and thanks for being awesome! I’m proud of you and all you’ve accomplished this session!

Dear EVERY CAMPER,
I wasn’t really super active the session- which I SERIOUSLY regret because I wasn’t able to meet as many people as I wished that I could- This is just a little message to everybody who happens to read this.
You are AWESOME and I’m very, very proud of all the work that you put in this session! I really hope that your writing has improved throughout this month! Y probably had a lot of fun- Buuuut if you didn’t, I’m so sorry- BUT you probably did because SWC is ✨amazing✨ Please try to continue on writing in some form. Maybe that’s essays or becoming a best selling novelist or something along those lines I suppose- I’m sure that this month will leave you with some lasting memories and I really hope that you will return for another session! If I didn’t get to talk to you, I am SO sad about that because I wanted to get to know as many people as possible this session, but if I did talk to you, you were most definitely absolutely AMAZING and probably funny and I really really hope that maybe we can try again in the future! I hope you had a really fun session and I look forward to hopefully seeing you in another session!!! <33

intro — 107 words

oh dear my knee hurts, I hope that does not mean I’m getting old. but today was a good day, and it’s okay to feel old after such a good day. feeling old is feeling alive and really I just feel young anyways. to ramble on and on is somewhat silly but I should get to the story should I not? where was I before? something about a hardy meal of delicious noodles and great conversation with friends. these bring beautiful and grand adventures and never lead us astray.
but adventures must start somewhere, and seldom is it entirely peaceful and happy. this one certainly is not.

bi-fi — non-writing, snack of trail mix

dystopian — 204 words and non-writing

so where was I again? it was near midnight and I was walking fast through midtown, trying to make it to the spot where the magic would drop. I was trying to do something about the rose stuck in my teeth but I could not outrun the pigeons and then the clock hit midnight and everything changed.
I had just reached the corner where the Chrysler building when the day switched, and a great bolt of lightning pierced through the sky and lit up everything around with strange light. It was like nothing I have seen before or since. I feel I am still reaching for that feeling again, even as I tell this story. I feel I am telling this story in order to achieve that feeling again. not what I had thought, but it could be true…
Anyways! Midnight hit the Chrysler building like nothing else in the world, and the whole of my existence was changed forever.
no one around me seemed to noticed or even to care. I suppose that is what you should expect from a city known for its unfazability, but still my unique perception amazed me. I stayed there all night, waiting for it to happen again.

fantasy — 200 words

as sunrise brightened the sky, my hopes of seeing the change of the city again dwindled. I almost gave them up entirely, until the songs began. they leaked out from the subway tunnels, up through the manhole covers, spilled like rain from the sky, and entirely engulfed me. this time, the world noticed. the city smiled. and I wondered, for a moment, if this was what it was like to really live. if this is what I had been missing out on, all my years asleep. if I could finally wake up.
the song reached a climax just as the sun rose in the east and every cloud in the sky parted to make way. I simply watched, in awe, in utter amazement. what a beautiful thing. what an unknown thing, to me, to that point.
but I finally understood how all the workers felt, waking up and getting to work. I finally understood the excitement of setting out, or of watching the people on their way. the magic was all around me, and I could feel it, but it was not in me.
I could do nothing to harness it.
I will someday, I promised myself then, I will.

folklore — 202 words and non-writing

I finally left the base of the Chrysler building when the sun was near a quarter up in the sky and the rush of the work day was all around me. I wandered for a while, because I had so recently awaken and found myself without a job. what was even the point of that? why did I wake up, but not really? my thoughts were all questions that morning and I could out walk the rest of New York but I could not out run them.
I was nearing Central Park, still walking so very fast, when I spotted the pigeon. most pigeons give me no worries, never have, but this one was different. I had never seen a pigeon like this before.
everything about it was entirely normal, besides the eye. unblinking and all seeing, a lone eye sat upon the throne of the pigeon’s head. it seemed to have no other eyes, just this bright blue one, clearly a human eye not a bird’s. to say it was bright blue is an understatement— this blue warped the very air around it, changed how every other color was expressed in my eyes.
The pigeon stared right at me and blinked.

gothic — 204 words

the whole world shifted, but this time it changed rather than just my perspective changing. no longer did I stand at the southern tip of Central Park, but a grand pyramid loomed before me in Jade and amber splendor. such a sight was familiar, for a moment, before I forgot why I would ever feel such a connection to something so foreign.
the moment left me off balance, though, as if I was missing something. as if my perception was incomplete. I know now just how far off my thoughts were. but nothing I can do about that now, except for tell the story.
oh, how I am getting old. oh how terrible it feels to be falling apart. where will my thoughts go, when my brain can hold them no longer? what happens to my story when they stop telling it?
the pigeon was still with me, I could sense it, but no longer in the same form. somehow, I could tell that it was the whole of the space around me. I existed within the pigeon, it engulfed me as hours before those songs had.
my life has not always been this strange, I thought then. the pigeon asked I stop thinking.

horror — non writing, played giant connect four

mystery — 218 words and non writing did the connections in five tries

the pigeon requested I stop my thinking and simply remember. then it showed me, again, what I had seen when the jade and amber pyramid appeared before my eyes. a pair of glasses, but not quite. they fit tight to the face, letting near no light in. they were carnes of one piece, somehow fitted perfectly to the line of my cheeks and brow. I simply could not fathom them, but then I could. I understood them perfectly, and for another time in such a short period did my perspective shift entirely.
the glasses formed in my hands, which had somehow become cupped in front of me as the recollection and moment of understanding occurred. I stared down at them, and a reflection of my past stared back up at me.
your past live on, said the pigeon. you know that you are continuing it, even as you fight it. even as you push them away, flashes of the true you occur.
but I do not want to be the main character. I want to live as the people of the never sleeping city live. I want to be a person who laughs with friends, complains about being old. I do not want to don the glasses again, never again.
and again the pigeon asked me to hush.

non-fi — 210 words

the pigeon said to me, think no longer and instead read this letter you wrote yourself in the moments before you slipped into sleep. it will help you come to acceptance.
dearest self,
I know we will not call ourselves the same name. I know we will not have the same memories. but I also know that I am you, or else you would not be able to read any of these words. Our first language is not spoken by a single other person, alive or dead, not even our parents whose names I know you do not remember.
because I am erasing them now, because this is the only way to do it, because we will now be able to do what we were always meant to do.
this realm you currently inhabit is one you created. I created it particularly for this moment, to deliver this letter, and to spur you on to your awakening.

I can translate no longer, my eyes are wearied from straining at the text.
I then turned away from the letter and nodded at my surroundings. It seemed right that I was the one to create all of this, and it seemed right that I had all but forgotten it in my sleep.

poetry — non writing, basically a bunch of Noah Kahan and phoebe Bridgers

sci-fi — 209 words

the pigeon said to me, look into your future now, and I could think of nothing to say to resist its orders. I saw myself as I am now, leaned over a desk, frantically scribbling nonsense onto every scrap of paper I can find as the memories all flood back in.
this is how it happened, I know this now as I did not then. I thought I had a choice, then, and the pigeon thought I did too. But it was no choice, there was no other way for my continued existence to go on. in my sleep something broke.
but no version before today knew that so clearly as I know it now.
the word cannot come from my fingers fast enough and I begin to scream. I screamed in my vision, too, but that was much worse
this is what will happen to you if you turn away from all of this now is what the owl said to me. for the pigeon has a companion then, of my own imagination, formed by myself that had been struck at midnight rather than the one who decided to sleep for thousands of years. this is how you do it, said the pigeon.
and here I am today.

script — nonwriting, listened to a podcast about Nona the Ninth

solarpunk — 200 words

the pigeon once more looked me in the eye, as it had appeared in reality before me once more. and I fell out onto the streets of New York, very far from Central Park.
I was entirely in a trance. nothing made sense to me, as it all had mere moments before. The city was not the one who had changed, I was. I was an entirely new person, a person no longer, who needed to successfully make it to the end of the day and then the next day. I was a force of nature, to be contended with, to be fought and cursed and never, ever known by a mere mortal. I had lived for a thousand years, slept for thousands on from then, and now I was awake and ready to see my will upon the world again.
but it was a different world. far more complicated than the one I ruled before. far less easy to navigate. far less kinder to other who are not alike to them — but perhaps that is how it has always been. my broken memories were not back then as they are now.

people have always been terrible, I know now.
thriller — non writing, did the nyt mini in 41 seconds

final — 108 words

the me who built the pigeon did not, nor did the one who formed the owl.
I am no longer either of those. I have changed so much, so many times, that my memories no longer belong to one person or even to many. how did I know myself as a nonperson so well in those moments, when now it is so hard to wrap my human brain around once more? why did I not simply fall to the ground in agony when such a force struck the Chrysler building as I watched? why am I so tired, always so very tired, but never again allowed to sleep?

Thank You Notes || 885 words

To all of SWC:
You guys are still a huge blessing in my life <3 I’m so glad that I’ve found this community, and to be able to still be here after six sessions has allowed me to make so, so many new friends! Thank you guys for still being here and dealing with my shenanigans and being the like only almost-sane people on this site <333

To the host team:
Y’all work so hard to bring these sessions to life, and wow I was not expecting IKEA- Thank you for constantly working so hard to manage so many people and handling it all so well while also finding time to participate in the session! Without you all SWC would not be the way it is today

To the leadership team:
It’s been an absolute honor to work alongside you all this session! This cabin lineup was absolutely epic, and you all have such awesome writing and art and design skills that really brought everything to life! Thank you for all of your hard work, and I can’t wait to see you all again next session!

To the MBC, QUAILS, and POLAR BEARS:
You guys are absolutely fantastic <3 I really appreciate how much work you all put in to every session of SWC to make it even better! The memory books are always fantastic to look through, and the dailies and weeklies are of awesome quality- this session had like the best weeklies ever, seriously :0 And of course, the seemingly simple act of giving people their cabins has a massive impact on the competition and life of SWC, and I’m so grateful for all of the work you’ve done for SWC!

To Sun:
Thank you so much for taking me under your wing this session <3 Getting to know you over these last few months has been epic, and being able to help build Folklore alongside you has been an honor! You’re such a kind person and I’m so glad that I’ve gotten the chance to work with you ^w^

To Chocolate:
You’ve been an epic co-leader to work alongside, and I really appreciate all of the work you’ve poured into Folklore! I’m so glad that I got to meet such a kind person, and all of those little comments you gave me every time I submitted a daily or weekly really meant a lot <3 Thank you so much, and I can’t wait to see you in SWC in the future!

To the Folklore cabin:
It’s been such an honor to lead such a fantastic cabin this session! All of you have been so fun to get to know this past month, and your dedication is genuinely impressive :000 through Cabin Wars and the QotDs I’ve really gotten to see how passionate you all are and I’m so grateful and honored to have been a part of your leadership team this session <333

To Chris:
AH CHRIS BUDDY <333 I’m so glad that you joined SWC this session! Being able to roleplay with you and share my stories has been so great, and you’ve been such an awesome friend And thank you so much for giving me those story prompts and listening to my rambling! They really helped me out with my writing, and of course more words are always great heheh :3

To Bookie:
BOOKIEEEEE- You’re such a wonderful friend and I’ve adored our roleplay and oh my gosh being able to rant to you when I need someone to listen is something I’m so so so grateful for- Thank you so much for being there for me and for being such an epic person in general <333

To Cinna:
I’m so happy that you took the chance on SWC, and getting you in my own cabin has been such a blessing ^w^ You’re such an awesome friend, and dang I know it might have not seemed like much but that discussion we had on Wings of Fire a few months ago resulted in a 1600+ word rant that really helped me in Cabin Wars, so thank you for that- Thanks for being awesome

To Lirey:
Thank you for trying out SWC and bearing with me as I tried to explain everything to you! You’re such an amazing writer and I’m definitely planning on reading that huge story you wrote when I have the time- I’m so grateful to have such a caring friend as you, and I’m glad to have had this chance to share SWC with you!

To Wild:
YOU ARE NOW MY SCRATCH TWIN <3 THANK YOU FOR BEING A COOL SCRATCH TWIN and letting me rant at you about wisdom teeth and AP exams and all sorts of silly older teen stuff B)

Really quick thank you shout-outs because my words aren’t wording:
-Moss you’re so cool and doing ArtFight with you has been epic- also your art for the final weekly and in general is so so cool
-Rockie I’ll never forget you sob- having a Wonka chocolate factory cabin is so cool I’ve loved seeing it play out!
-Poppy your cabin idea was so creative and I’m glad I got to be a part of it and ILL MISS YOU SO MUCH <333
-Bi-Fi you were such a silly silly cabin and I loved staring at your cabin aesthetic it was epic heheh :3
-Cat_Lover4132 you made us write too many words for Cabin Wars and that was silly and made me happy (don’t ask my reasons sob)
-SANDY THAT ARTFIGHT ATTACK WAS EPIC AAAA

Thank you to everyone for such a brilliant session!!! I’ll see y’all in November <3

gothic raconteur :0

(-vanillamochabear-) it was a lovely time to go for a walk - well, not really, but zarina was trying her best to be positive about the situation. she travels the empty dark road with nothing and no one but her lantern, keeping her eyes peeled for any signs of life. night shifts were always the worst, but someone had to do them, right? they had to be on the lookout for this and that. suddenly, zarina notices movement in the tall grass off the path, and she hurries to have a look.

(Starthorn) Perhaps it was the flickering of her lantern, but the tall grass around here always played tricks on her eyes. Still, Zarina peered into the darkness by the side of the road. Even in the dark of night, she trained her eyes for something- anything at all. For a long moment, there was absolutely nothing. No more movement, color, or shadow. And then she felt the chill above her head. Zarina looked up slowly and saw a humanoid ghost floating upside-down above her. He looked curious. She screamed.

(SuperNaturalPages) “Fear not, young human,” the ghost said, its voice gruff, but worn with age. “I come but to warn you.” Zarina stared at the apparition, still terrified. “Wa-warn me? Of what?” The ghost looked rather pitiful. “Of the Darkness, that has long caused unrest for the souls of the dead. It was not untimely, unfortunate deaths that brought this upon me and the others, but the Darkness itself.” Zarina took a moment to process that, but her curiosity won over her fear. “The Darkness?”

(moosywoosy) The ghost smiled as it stared at Zarina, “It may be hard to understand human, but once you see it yourself, once you see the darkness, what it really is…Goodbye now Zarina.” “WAIT!” Zarina cried, but it was too late. The ghost had already dispersed into the air. “I don’t…what is this ‘Darkness’…” Zarina muttered, “And…where do I find it…” Just then, Zarina heard a calling, a high-pitched screech. Almost as if hypnotized, she walked towards the call, intending on finding answers.

(FairyAyla) “Wait, *why* am i following this screeching?” Zarina thought aloud “Oh whatever, i need answers.” After some running, she found the screeching. A large, white and pale brown owl sat in the rafts, screaming. “Oh! It’s a barn owl!” Zarina said, looking up at it. “Are you okay?” She called up to the owl. The owl, just kept screaming “Oh right, owls can’t talk, silly me.” “I can, actually.” The barn owl said “I was just singing” “Wha- Uh- Um- what?!” Zarina said, kinda panicky. *Calm down, Zarina… it’s just a talking owl, you already saw a ghost, no need to panic over a talking owl.*

(Polarbear_17) “I am totally panicking right now,” Zarina screamed, pulling out a pitchfork. “I have to be hallucinating…” The owl looked at Zarina. “No, please don't kill me. Please.” Zarina, with crazed eyes, lifted the pitchfork. “I MUST KILL ALL OF YOU!” Zarina began running around the barn, stabbing at all the poor barn animals. She had no more mercy left in her, not after the trauma the ghost ingrained in her earlier. When she was done with her massacre, she had transformed the barn into a butchershop.

(Piper_Camps) It took Zarina a long time to realize what she had done. Once she came to her senses, around 20 minutes later, she looked around the barn and was horrified. Just a while ago it had all seemed so clear… She had needed to get rid of all the animals, hadn't she? The ghost had told her she had to.. Now looking around at what she had down she couldn't believe she had ever thought it was the right thing to do. Horrified, she ran out of the barn, praying she would be able to find someone to help her.

(cinammcnx) Dashing off, she found herself suddenly in the nearby forest by the farm. She raced over, struggling and searching for someone to help her. Finally, she came across another farmer watering his plants away. “Please! You have to help me,” Zarina panted tiredly. She explained everything. “Hurry! We have little time.” “Hah! A ghost?” the farmer bursted out laughing, “you must be joking. No way!” he laughed at her. She had to get rid of those animals. She knew what would happen, and so she ran off.