About Me
Hello, friendly chaos demons! My nickname is Rose, my pronouns are she/her, my time zone is EST, and my species is swc-ean chaos demon.
I love violin and music in general has always been a huge part of my life. My mom is very musical and has always tried to promote a love of music in her children. In me, at least, she succeeded. I have played violin since a young age–I can’t remember exactly, I think around 4-5 years old–and I have dabbled in other instruments along the way. People often say vocals is an instrument, which I disagree with, but it was part of my musical journey as well. Last year especially, I have begun to sing a lot more and really develop my voice and my musical interests.
Another part of singing and something I developed a lot last year as well is musical theater. I have been going to camps at my local theater for years and years and I recently started taking classes with them. They offer theater classes, not shows, during the school year for students to work on developing skills in a classroom environment with trained theater professionals helping out as a staff. Last year I did perform in a show with them, through a special program that only children taking classes can participate in.
In addition to music and theater, I find myself drawn to two other types of art–visual arts and, naturally, creative writing. I was nominated for a very special program two years ago that allowed me to focus on the specific element of art I was nominated for while also getting experience in the other four areas of art. I enjoyed this opportunity very much and intend to return until high school, where I graduate out and have the option to apply for the position of intern.
As most people in SWC do, I have a vested interest in books and reading. My favorite books are currently the Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo and Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. I used to enjoy books like Harry Potter, Keeper of the Lost Cities, and Wings of Fire, but those seem too Juvenile Fiction for me now and I have developed a much more critical eye when it comes to pieces of writing, thanks to my experience in SWC.

Table of Contents

• Fast-Forwarding Daily
  
• How-To Daily
  
• Literal Idioms Daily
  
• Weekly 1 - Unfinished - July '24
  
• Light/Tunnel Prompt
  
• Lit Spinner Daily
  
• Scriptober Day 1: Backpack
  
• Scriptober Day 3: Boots
  
• Word War
  
• Daily 5: Flower Daily
  
• Role-Swap Daily
  
• 10-Word Stories Daily
  
• Science Experiment Gone Wring Daily
  
• Weekly 1- Nov '24
  
• Weekly 2 - Cabin Creation - Nov '24
  
• Critiquitaire
  
• SWC Acronym Daily
  
• Daily 20: Pick-The-Plot
  
• Writing Comp Entry Nov '24
  
• Random Science Essay
  
• Co-Leader App Text Version
  
• March '25 1k intro
  
• 5 Word Daily
  
• Portmanteau Advertisement Daily
  
• Action Spiderverse Event 1
  
• Worldbuilding Weekly 1
  
• Title Swap Daily
  
• Critiquitaire for Alana
  
• Breaking Rules Weekly
  
• Three Word Daily
  
• March '25 Writing Comp Entry
  
• Hadestown Poem
  
• March '25 4th Weekly
  

In the kingdom of Cantiya, everyone was happy. There was nothing not to be happy about, so nobody wasted time being unhappy. Nobody was hungry, or sick. Everyone got to do whatever they wanted. The kingdom was ruled by an elected governor, who was restrained by failsafes to ensure a fair system. A new governor was elected every two years, and someone could be governor for three terms, max.
On the 250th election, everything went as normal, plus the amount of celebrations for the 500th year anniversary of Cantiya. And the amount of people hid the assassination of the new governor until the murderer was too far away to be chased. The runner-up for governor was soon appointed, and things ran smoothly from there.
The newest governor didn’t make people comfortable. There was unease in the streets, and people were no longer as happy as they had once been. Crops were being blighted, and people began to move away with the same enthusiasm they had once held moving here.
It has been ten years since Ros Lyan had been appointed governor, and since then Cantiya had deteriorated rapidly. A few years after his election, he had banned immigration from Cantiya. People who live somewhere because they are forced to don’t complete tasks the same way people live somewhere by choice do. There are whispers that he is an evil wizard or sorcerer. That he killed the governor in the 250th election.
In the twenty years after Ros Lyan’s appointment, several rebellions have tried to take root. But people who have spent their whole life being happy, don’t have the force or conviction to harm other people.
Thirty years after the election. Nearly everyone who has been alive long enough to have known a time before Ros is dead. The next generation is unhappy and ready to kill. A new kingdom has risen and Cantiya is not what it used to be. People steal and scrap. Babies die from hunger. The population decrease from simply dying in a fight for food is enormous.
Ros Lyan had a daughter. People whisper about the mother. The daughter is never seen, so people doubt her existence until her first birthday. Ros calls everyone to the rotting central square and shows them the little girl. Which is, of course, when the little girl is assassinated. Or, at least, she should have been. The bullet is shot straight into her heart, but she continues like nothing happened.
Allie Lyan is eleven when her father dies. Thanks to his ‘amendments’ to the constitution, she is now ruler of Cantiya.
Ten years after Ros Lyan’s death, Allie disappears in time to not die when a nuclear gas is released in the center of the city. No one stood a chance, and the entire kingdom was wiped out.
Ten years later, nearly everyone has forgotten Cantiya even existed. Explorers visit the ruins and die later from radiation. Soon, the city is abandoned altogether and is nothing more than a legend told to young children

How to Drink Water
The first step to drinking water is finding a source of water. This could be anything from a stream in the middle of the forest to a simple glass of water in your kitchen. Other sources include, foods, different bodies of water, water fountains, just plain fountains, the blood of other humans and yourself, rain, sewer water, juice, shower or bath water, clouds, and many others. Most poisons include water, though I wouldn’t suggest that as a source. A word to the wise: people will judge if you drink sewer water.
The next step is acquiring the water. This could be extremely tricky or as easy as turning on the tap. To acquire water, you will need a vessel. Vessels include glasses, water bottles, animal skins, human transportation, people, and other things. Your vessel should be watertight, though it is not a requirement. Fabrics are often bad at holding water for periods of time longer than a minute, though that can vary depending on the fabric. It also must have a place to drink the water from. This place can be forced by you or can already exist.
To acquire water from the middle of a forest could involve a lot of travel or none at all. I would suggest you use the source closest to you, or that is easiest to get to. Drinking sewer water will most likely involve climbing into a sewer. If your water source is another person, it is a good idea to have their consent.
Once you get to the source, get the water into your vessel. This might be the hardest part. I will not go into details on this part, as there are far too many possibilities.
I would suggest purifying the water at this point, unless you want to get sick.
Now on to actually drinking the water. You need to get the water into your mouth from your vessel. There are two ways to go about doing that. The first way is to politely ask gravity to help you and place the vessel above your face, witn the opening close to your mouth, while still above it. The second way is to suck. Close your mouth around the opening and suck in the water. You have to make sure that there aren’t other openings, because then you would just suck air in through that opening. If you have a straw, the straw is under water, so this principle doesn’t apply.
To swallow the water, push the water towards the back of your throat and down. If you drink too much water at a time, your stomach might feel heavy with water.
Tips for drinking blood: 1) As I mentioned before, make sure the person you are drinking from has given their consent. This could be you or another person. 2) A syringe is the best way to extract blood. Movies may depict it differently, but always carry a syringe with you to extract blood. 3) Once you have extracted the blood, make sure to drink it in a glass. That’s just polite. 4) The best way to drink blood is iced. I know this from experience.

This Will Be A Piece of Cake
Calm down, girlie, I told myself. This will be a piece of cake. Quite literally, too. To pass, I have to make a slice of cake that fits the prompt. It also has to be elegantly arranged, delicious, and a million other things that I could manage in my sleep. The prompt is the hard part.
I take another step forward with the line of young bakers who want to become the king’s personal chef. One could be chosen, five could be chosen, none could be chosen. And yet everyone thinks that they could be one of the special few to be accepted. I know I will be accepted.
A groan comes from the front of the line. They must have been one of the few people to get an actually hard prompt. Like me.
I haven’t even gotten my prompt yet, and I already know it will be next to impossible. People think the prompts are completely random, but do you really think a kingdom with magicians would let the daughter of a death sprite have the chance to get an easy prompt?
The answer is no. Absolutely not.
Sometimes I imagine a life where I won’t be followed everywhere by my mother’s shadow. Where the first thing people see isn’t my black hair.
When I finally reach the front of the line, I reach my hand into the bag. I know I will pull out the hardest prompt in there, but I move my hand around a little for show.
I grab a slip of paper and pull it out.
Haunted Candyland. I look up, thinking this is a joke. Haunted Candyland? Simple and done before.
The administrators smirk and gesture to a table, outfitted with baking equipment and walk over, still turning this development over in my head.
Once I make it to the table, everything else flies out of my head and I start brainstorming. No matter how strange this is, it will not stop my focus.
I eventually decided on a dark chocolate cake with red and black buttercream frosting and, of course, candy.
It isn’t that original, but it should be good enough.
✧
I take a colorful lollipop and place it in the slice at a slightly crooked angle. Done!
✧
I wait in the room. The king is eating my cake right now. He is the only one who judges, and the only person who doesn’t know who’s cake is who’s. Or, at least according to him.
✧
Dear Marie,
His royal majesty, King Atlas, is sad to inform you that your cake did not meet the standards of a royal chef, and you will not be accepted.

Part 1
Isla looked up at the starry sky, at the milky way that she could only see when they were here. All those constellations that she and Gramps would find together. She could still hear his voice in her head whispering “There’s Orion’s Belt … and the Big Dipper. She leaned back and lay on her back, tracing those constellations with her finger. Then the tears started falling. She wiped her eyes, blurring the sky. Tears still covered her face from the recent argument. Except this was supposed to be a happy place. This little mountain cabin in upstate New York was supposed to be a place of peace away from NYC. Not a place of tears and anger and too many feelings without a place to put them. Not a “retreat” to go on after Gramps’ death. The cabin still felt too empty with Gramps, and yet too full at the same time.


I cry. There's no way the world could be this cruel. Everything was going perfectly. After dating for ten years, Xan and I had finally gotten engaged. Our parents had agreed and we were set to get married in one month.
And now Xan was dead.
I want to go outside and enjoy the festival, but everything seems gray and lifeless without Xan.
I look down at my solstice dress. It’s not fair that he had to die the day of the solstice. The day of our first kiss.
Then again, it’s not fair that he had to die at all. We spent exactly ten perfect years together, only to have the world tear him away from me and leave me broken.
Children laugh outside the door to our - now my - home. They have no idea of the tragedy that just unfolded in my heart.
They have no idea how a perfect, amazing life can turn to nothing in a few seconds.
A finger the knife in my lap.
It seemed perfect.
The only way to be with Xan again.

Part 2
Elle - 1913
The world was gray. It was always gray in London, but today seemed strange.
Lila walked up to her, a smile bright on her face. She usually glowed bright yellow, radiating happiness, but not today.
Proof that today was gray.
“Elle,” Lila says, slowly. “Did you hear what happened,”
No, I did not hear what happened. Usually, I avoided hearing anything about what happened outside of my personal bubble.
“No,” I answer, careful to keep my tone even. “What happened?”
I am worried. First Lila being gray, and now her being subdued?

Maria - 1998
“Grandma.” I said. “Why do you look so sad? It’s my birthday!” I am so excited, but if grandma isn’t at least slightly smiling, it will be ruined.
Grandma smiles at me and takes my hand in hers.
“I’m just thinking.”
“About what?” I am persistent.
Grandma’s eye’s cloud over. “Something that happened a long time ago?”
“What?” I say again. I can tell she’s getting annoyed, but she’s about to tell me too.
Grandma shakes her head. “It was when I was your age.” Here she pauses, and I can sense her uncertainty.
“My grandma…” She begins, but the uncertainty takes over again, and she stops.

Elle - 1913
Lila looked me in the eye. “You said your grandmother was on the Titanic, right?”
Lila should know this. I’ve told her several times over the winter, both of us fantasizing about what it would be like on the magnificent ship.
What could have happened floats on the edges of my mind, making the world even darker. But I push the thought away. I refuse to accept it.
“Yes.” I manage to push the words out from my closing throat.
Lila hands me a newspaper carefully. “Read it.”
The headline screams at me, but tears are already forming in my eyes, blurring the block letters.
I wipe my eyes to clear them and refocus.
“TITANIC SUNK”

Marie - 1998
“Tell me!” I beg. It’s childish, but grandma always tells the most interesting stories. It’s the only time she seems to be alive. Grandpa tells me that she used to always be the most energetic, happy person. I don’t see how.
“It’s nothing.” she says.
“You’re probably fantasizing about when you were a fairy.” I say. It’s a running joke in our family that grandma used to be a fairy. She ‘hates’ it, but it is extremely useful when you’re trying to get her to tell you something.
“Marie Ellen Smith!” She says mockingly. “Respect your elders!”
“Elle Rose Smith” I say back, but can only hold the seriousness for a few seconds before I fall into giggles.
I know she only did it to distract me, but I can let it go.

Part 3
Prompt 1: Take me on a walk - Slow-Paced
Prompt 2: That’s when I noticed the house was on fire - Fast-Paced
“Hey, wanna go for a walk?” Sam asked me.
We are sitting on the couch in my living room, doing nothing, because my mom said she didn’t want us kissing in front of my brother.
I nod. “Sure.” Anything would be better than this.
He stands up and I follow him outside. It’s winter, so on the way out I grab my coat from the mudroom.
My suburban neighborhood is mostly quiet, and we walk in silence for some time.
A fierce wind blows, chilling me to the bone. Sam notices me shivering and he takes his arm out of his pocket to wrap around me.
I nuzzle into his embrace, and we continue like this for a while.
On the way back, Sam stops and kisses me. I smile into his lips for a few precious seconds until he pulls away. “Just wanted to do that once before we got back to your house, with its stupid no kissing rules.”
I laugh. “So did I.”
That’s when I noticed the house was on fire.
Sam immediately pulled me away.
Screams came from inside the house.
Sirens sounded nearby.
Everything was happening too fast to process.
Sam grabs my hand. “Let’s go.”
But I stay rooted to my spot.
The fire in front of me is mesmerizing.
“Millie.” Sam’s voice is in my ear. “We have to go.”
Panic is slowly creeping into my mind, paralyzing my senses.
I can’t move, until I’m thrown up in the air.
Sam is holding me. I breathe a sigh of relief.
The sirens are closer this time, but they don’t sound as scary now. More like the rescuers that they are.
My eyes stay frozen on the fire until it’s out of sight.
“Thank you.” I whisper in Sam’s ear.
“Anything,” he whispers back.

The light at the end of the tunnel might be an oncoming train. Or it could be Anna. I’m not sure I know which one I want it to be. At least a train doesn’t hate my guts.
“Hurry up.” I tell Julie next to me. Well, really above me.
“I’m almost done!” she yells back, like she’s been doing for the last half hour.
I don’t bother her further. I don’t fully understand what she's doing, so I have no right to yell at her about it.
“Almost done isn’t done!” I yell. I wouldn’t bother her if I was polite, or nice, or anything good. Which I’m not.
The light is closer now. It’s moving too slowly to be a train, which means it’s Anna.
“Let’s go,” said Julie, dropping down beside me.
A howl echoes through the tunnel. “She brought the wolves,” Julie says. Clearly, she’s come to the same conclusion as me.
As she moves closer, I can start to see the wolves next to her, but her voice is still hidden by the light. I have to cover my eyes to keep from being blinded.
“We meet once again, Liliana.”
✧
It was my first week at Weston and I was already the best at everything. Plenty of people hated me for it, for showing them all up on my first day, but I didn't care. I had Anna and that was enough.
“But what about this?” Anna said from next to me, pointing to a piece of paper in the back of the file cabinet.
I laughed. “I honestly have no idea.” Anna was helping organize everything, since that was something I was rubbish at.
She picked up the paper delicately and threw it in the trash. “I guess we’ll never know, then.”
I smiled and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you.”
She smiled back. “I love you too.”
✧
“I’m sorry.” I said.
“It’s fine.” Anna told me. “Completely understandable.”
✧
“How?” was the only word she spoke.
“I’m not perfect.” I growl at her. I want to be mad, but she’s making it so hard.
“You could have changed. You could have told us.” Anna says back, the hurt obvious in her voice.
“Would you have accepted me? Would you have believed me? You wouldn’t have cared.”
Anna has no response.
✧
I’m here again. On a mission for the Sparrows. I look at Julie and nod.
The tunnel explodes.

You look around at the empty room and wonder when something is going to happen. You were put in this story for a reason, right?
A voice echoes through the room, making you jump. “Sorry, I’m stuck on what to put you in.”
Another second passes, and you begin to relax. What was that?
“Okay, sure. What archetype?” The voice asks again.
“Ummmm…” you start. “Are you talking to me?”
The voice doesn’t respond for a second, and then; “Okay.”
The empty room evaporates, and you are left in nothingness. You can see a blurry outline of a face in front of you. The voice is even louder now. “You are being placed in an Urban Fiction. Your name is Christina Lane, but you go by Chrissy. You are fourteen and an only child, but you have many friends at school.” It looks like the giant face is who’s talking, but you can’t tell.
“Okay.” you nod. Was this the story you were going to be a part of?
✧
You don’t know what The Voice (as you’ve come to start thinking of it) was thinking of, putting you in this story. You wanted to be part of the experiment specifically to get away from your mundane life. This story is even more mundane than your life.
“Hey, Chrissy!” You sigh. That would be Melissa, who is the only one who actually believes this sort of life could be exciting. You pray The Voice can tell what’s happening to you right now and think as hard as you can; MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN!
“Do you know where Ally is?” Melissa asks. You are about to celebrate that The Voice heard you, when you remember that Ally is sick today and said that she wouldn’t be here today anyways.
“She said she was out sick today, remember?” Your voice is sharp with bitterness about this story. What if you are stuck here forever?
✧
Once you are alone, The Voice speaks again. Silently, you think, Finally!
“There has been an issue with the story generating machine, and the plot element has a bug. Nothing will happen in your story until we manage to fix it, and even then …” The Voice trails off.
“What!” You yell. You are tired of waiting in this boring, perfect town, and if there is something else, you want to know what it is.
You hear The Voice take a deep breath and continue. “It has already generated your story, so you might never get a plot. And we might not be able to get you out.”
You take a deep breath. This has to be a dream. You wanted adventure, only to be stuck in this town that will go on forever with nothing happening. You will grow old, and some people might be content with this life, but you most definitely aren’t. Perhaps you could try to find adventure, but will there ever be a conflict to overcome? That would mean there would be a plot. Your thoughts are circling, spiraling into a trap of darkness where none of this is real.
Your escape is interrupted by The Voice again. “I’m sorry. I know this isn’t what you-”
“STOP!” you yell. “I’ve had enough of you.” You can feel The Voice leaving, like a monstrous presence that is now gone. You lost that annoyance, but you lost your safety net too.
You will find adventure in this perfect world somehow, you tell yourself. But you know it is a lie.

The scandal was bad. The consequent breakup was worse. But the absolute worst part of cheating was when I found out that CJ had a backpack. Okay, the breakup wasn't that bad. Neither was the scandal. Actually, none of it was horrible at all,
It was a small thing, barely even counted. But I knew enough to tell that it broke the Object Containment Bill. I didn't tell anyone about it at first, pretended it never happened and kept making out with CJ. Eventually, people found out about us and Christian broke up with me. I started officially dating CJ, temporarily, of course. I wasn't planning on breaking my five-month record with Jack last year.
But that has nothing to do with the actual problem. I never thought I'd worry about something serious (and I mean serious, not I-forgot-my-mascara serious) but here I am, wondering if I should report CJ.
Are wondering if I'm a terrible girlfriend yet? You should be. I make out with random boys and then break up with them a month later. No one at this school wants to date me, but most of them can't help it.
Anyways, that's not the point of the story, and it isn't even important.
A few days later, I was going on about how annoying my dad is (that's not true, he's actually very supportive and nice) because he wouldn't let me go on the spring break trip (not true, I just didn't feel like going) when CJ asks me the weirdest question ever, “When did you do it?”
I look at him, my face a mix of confused and blank. “What?”
–

“In this bill, I thenceforth decree that any possession used to carry another multitude of possessions will, from this point onward, be considered illegal and contributing to the destruction of our country
This description encompasses backpacks, purses, handbags, tote bags, suitcases, duffle bags, plastic grocery bags, paper bags and more. If your county law enforcement decrees that it could be used for the illegal transportation of unsafe materials, the container will be confiscated and destroyed while the owner is fined and temporarily jailed. If you are accused of owning a containment device and believe the object to be planted or exempt, you may bring the case to court.
After three(3) infractions, you will be sentenced to jail time for life.”

–
It turns out CJ was accused of owning a bag and believes I told on him. He's not wrong, but I have a valid reason. It was illegal, but it also mad it seem like the least slutty breakup ever. At least, for me. I was found with Alex less than a week later.

She thought she'd never see them again. As she caressed the soft leather, he stared down at her. “You gonna follow through on our deal or not?”
Ah. Yes. It was time for her part in this trade.
She reached into her pockets and pulled out the USB drive she had stolen from Rissa. “Please don't hurt her with it.”
The man smirked. "She has nothing to do with what I want. But I might hurt her just to get at you. You seem like you care for her an awful lot for a girl.“
Ashla ignored the obvious slurat her identity and stood up. ”What, do you have a problem with that?" Then, without waiting for an answer, she turned around and walked away. Rissa would be proud.
<->
Five years ago, when Ashla still had her boots, Rissa had sat down next to her and asked if she was magic. Ashla had been surprised. No one else had guessed that quickly.
Rissa said that she was called a witch at her old school because she liked girls. Even though she basically came out to Ashla, it took a while for her to realize it. Actually, it took Rissa kissing her.
<->
The first time Rissa had kissed her, Ashla freaked out. For two reasons, okay. She wasn't completely true to her parent's homophobia.
But that was also the night the boots disappeared.
So. Rissa kisses Ashla.
Ashla kisses Rissa back.
A family heirloom of a homophobic family (Ashla's) disappears.
Ashla has gotten around to Rissa and flirts with her very obviously. But she will not do anything more than that. No matter how much she wants to.
<->
The first message came on a night her parents had lectured her about how queer (they used very different words witches cough cough evil) people were ruining our world.
There was a note on her desk after she came upstairs. I have the boots, it said. Ashla flushed it down the toilet.
The next night: All you have to do is bring me that drive. This one, Ashla actually burned.
But the next day at school, she asked Rissa about the drive she had, The one that held every single person her father had killed.
<->
Ashla, being the resourceful person she was, stole the drive. She did not tell Rissa anything about the notes or that she was stealing the drive.
Rissa would never understand what the boots meant to Ashla. But when Ashla got back, she would tell Rissa that she was finally ready for them.

Guys, I honestly have no idea what I just wrote.

“Are they in charge? They look like a five year old in a tux?” Crystal snorted. She wasn’t going to believe them. A sense of hopelessness crept in on Maddie. Their entire plan revolved around Crystal reacting to Amari.
“Of course they are in charge. If every boss was a rich old white man, nothing would ever get done.” Maddie silently prayed that appealing to Crystal’s streak of justice would work..
Crystal looked thoughtful. Then, surprised she held the same beliefs as the people she so vehemently cursed. “I’m sorry for the assumption, but that wasn’t why. You expect me to believe a five-year-old can help me get revenge?”
“I’m actually eight.” Amari piped up.
Crystal took another look at him. “No, you’re not.”
Maddie frantically tried to come up with another thing to say. “He is really smart. And he doesn’t share the same prejudices and greed. As long as he is being helped, he is far more efficient than any old man with no concern for actual people.”
Crystal still looked apprehensive, but her hand twitched towards her purse. “That is a valid–”
“I actually am biased towards whomever gives me cookies.” Amari said. “That is, as long as the cookies are good. I have very high standards for cookies.”
Crystal laughed, she couldn’t help herself. Yes, Maddie thought. They were getting through to her.
“Here, five thousand dollars for your company. I have money to spare, and you seem like very bright people who are going to help our world.” At this, Maddie had to try hard not to laugh. The only way they were going to help the world was by robbing it out of its life savings. They hadn’t gotten the wanted amount of money from Crystal, but it would help them survive a little longer. In the safest city in the world, people just carried around five thousand dollars in their purse because no one was going to pickpocket them. Well, perhaps people would con them instead.
Amari smiled that smile that won over every single young woman they conned. “Thank you very much, missus. We will try our hardest to live up to your expectations.”
Crystal laughed. “Just to know that there are people out there doing things for good reasons.” Maddie snorted, and then disguised it as a cough. People making statements like these were going to ruin the charade simply because it was so funny.
She and Amari left Crystal and continued on to the hideout. It was an awfully small place, but gave them warmth and secrecy to exact revenge. Amari had been only three when everything was ruined, but he knew what he was missing and was just as smart, cunning, and determined as the rest of the thieves and con people in the streets. Probably smarter than some.
“What did you get?” Harlowe asked from her perch in the low rafters.
Maddie held up the stack of bills. “Five thousand. We have two million and thirty-two thousand left. Approximately two years left before we can buy that land. Three, based on the rate of inflation.”
Harlowe smirked, a cat’s smirk. “Then we’ll just have to get some hard-earned money faster.” They all

Rose logs on to SWC, checking the most recent comments. Nothing interesting in the comments right now, but if she scrolls down someone asks what she’s listening to right now. Cabinet Battle #2 from Hamilton she comments. A random comment below it says: hellebore. A vague sense of remembrance hits Rose, she thinks it’s a Leafwing from Wings of Fire. A quick search confirms that it’s a poisonous plant, but doesn’t explain why someone decided to comment it.
A sigh escapes her lips as she opens her SWC doc. It’s 6:30 EST, so half an hour to finish the daily. Inserting herself into a book.
Rose scroll to the top of the MC comments an adds a comment: Speedwriting the daily everyone! send me motivational mangoes!!!
Rose looks over at her bookshelf to decide which book to insert herself in to. Usually, the hardest part of a daily is coming up with character names, but when she’s using herself, then she has to come up with a plot. A book pops out at her. Fuschia. Perfect, she thinks.
She hurries to speedwrite and edit the daily, occasionally checking her messages. Alana handing her a basket of motivational mangoes. Herself talking to Emera, the main character of Fuschia.
Approximately fifteen minutes later, Rose is stuck. She can’t think, with fifty words left in a four-hundred word daily.
She comments a cry for help in the Main Cabin. Someone suggests going outside and taking a walk. With only ten minutes left, Rose brings her Chromebook outside and sits on her front porch.
A rainbow of zinnias across the streets make her think of how amazing everyone in SWC and in real life are. Which gives her an idea.
With only a few minutes left, Rose adds in one of her friends into the story. Amazing people deserve amazing stories. Not that her story was amazing, it was mediocre, but she can pretend.

“Oh my god, Cress! You look so good in that,” Pearl cried out upon seeing the dress Adri had got for Cress. “You are so lucky. Mine is cool, but it doesn’t look good on me like yours does. I’m just ugly.’
“Oh, Pearl, you’re not ugly. You just need to stop wearing such gaudy, ostentatious, dresses and go for more simplistic and colorful styles.” Cress was the resident style expert, but Pearl would keep going for sparkly white and gold instead of simple and colorful no matter what Cress told her.
Peony paid no attention to them, talking to the broken and useless android Iko, instead. Cress agreed that they should sell it, but Peony stubbornly refused.
“One of you will marry the prince, I’m sure of it,” Adri gushed. “You both look fantastic.”
Peony finally said something; “Now that you have tried the dress on, can you finish the flower simulator.” Cress was also gifted in computers, which she used to keep Peony entertained. She cared for Peony in the same way she would care for a pet dog. Something adorable and fun, but a bit slow and hindering, someone who needs to be entertained.
Pearl turned on the newscast and a video of Prince Kai appeared on the screen. “He is so hot,” Pearl and Cress gushed at the same time.
—
Lady Sybil glared at Cinder. “You are going to block those satellite channels.”
Cinder glared right back. “I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do. I would rather be entertaining myself with the animations I’ve been working on.”
“If you would rather do animations, then we will have to remove your animation software. If you do this, we might consider bringing you back to Earth. Given that you behave so well the first time.” Cinder remembered that first visit to Earth, all the fresh air and green-ness. It was part of a bargain she had made, she would get a bunch of Lunars she had found living on Earth back to Luna in exchange for getting to be on Earth for a minute or two. It was worth it as long as she didn’t think about the lives she had uprooted. She had gotten quite good at that over the years.
A curt nod. “Okay.” She had noticed that Sybil had said ‘might consider’ but it was better than nothing. Another thing she had learned was that if she was stubborn, then she would get stuff out of what she did. Sybil had a tiny bit of a soul when you forced her to reveal it.
Sybil and her guard turned to leave, but before she got on her ship she paused. “One of these days your demands will be too insane for me to agree and I will simply have to force you by other means.” They both knew she couldn’t control Cinder, but she wasn’t above other methods. That had always been implied, beneath the calm negotiations Cinder orchestrated.
—
Cress and Pearl gossiped about the different styles of people in court and whether Linh whomever was dating that hot boy flirting with at least five different ladies. Prince Kai had yet to make an appearance, but it didn’t really worry either of them. The ball was scheduled to go till near two o’clock. Plenty of time for an engagement.
The ball wasn’t officially an engagement ball, but Adri never missed a chance to elevate her status. The girls were paraded in front of the prince as often as possible.
Despite Cress’ short stature, she was the most popular of all of them. She could have married any boy in the court if she wanted to. But Adri wouldn’t settle for that when she was the most likely to marry the prince. And Prince Kai coming sans date for a ball? That was asking for an engagement.
At last, Prince Kai appeared on the landing, resplendent in red and gold as always.
All three of them gasped collectively along with the rest of the ballroom. The usual greeting for the prince.
After the first few customary dances with high-ranking ladies and foreign dignitaries, he started to mingle throughout the ballroom. Pearl was supposed to go first, since she was actually Adri’s daughter, and Adri would have rather had Pearl be the one to marry the prince. However, in a spark of rebellion that Cress had never felt before, she sidled up to Prince Kai and asked him to a dance.
He smiled back at her, “Absolutely.” It’s charming, but Cress has studied him enough to know it isn’t real. Her goal is to make him smile for real, not just the appeasing smile he wears in public. And she knew she would succeed
—
Cinder was bored. She was always bored these days, but today she didn’t feel like rotting her brain with games that she had created, so she decided to try a thought experiment. If she could escape from the satellite, how would she do it? By now she had figured out a way off the satellite (wait until they bring her down to earth) but she couldn’t figure out what to do with Sybil. There was no way they would let a weapon near her, but she had to knock Sybil out somehow. If she managed to make herself strong enough to attack Sybil without giving Sybil time to turn the guard against Cinder, that might work. But she couldn’t find a way to do that logically.
Computers were awfully heavy, though, and she was good enough at engineering to figure out a way to make them hit Sybil and the guard. Then she would run into the problem of she didn’t know how to drive a ship.
A quick minute later, she had pulled up the internet thread she used to see things that were happening on Earth and found a website that taught you how to fly a ship. She, technically, couldn’t access webpages but she had written a piece of code that copied the HTML and pasted it into her personal web browser. The simulator on the website was what she was most interested in. Copying that code and pasting it into her own JavaScript processor disguised it as one of the games she coded herself and hid the fact that it came from a webpage.
—
There. The slightest glint of a true laugh in Kai’s eyes. It was more progress than she had made the past few balls. Given that at the past few balls she hadn’t even been able to dance with him because Pearl got there first and the line was so long, the never-ending dances were over before she even got close.
She needed the validation that came with being chosen as the prince’s bride because Adri’s moods were so volatile, she never felt like she measured up.
“What the hell!” Adri said as soon as Cress rejoined them. “You know as well as I do that Pearl was supposed to dance with him first.”
Cress simply glared at her. “Pearl will do just fine dancing a bit later than normal. You have always said that I am your best hope to marry into the royal family. Well, that’s not going to happen if I never even get to dance with him.” It was the most fire and anger she had ever directed at Adri, but she felt like Adri deserved it. If Cress had been less beautiful or kind or -god forbid- a cyborg, there was no way Adri would have been as nice as she was. Marrying Kai would save her from the constant fear that she wouldn’t be good enough for Adri and she needed that freedom to live.
—
Cinder tested the lever she had made from destroying a smaller monitor she had never needed. The monitor fell forward, landing on the pile of pillows placed where Sybil would usually stand.
She had figured out flying pretty quickly and it wouldn’t be long before she was flying Sybil’s ship to Earth. Free from all of the derogatory stares and unfair commands that came from working for Sybil. She was a slave to the queen’s whims, and now she was free.

Inaya looked up from her book to see Marya standing in front of the swing Inaya was on. As soon as she saw her, Inaya jumped up and kissed Marya, glad they were finally free to do whatever they wanted at this beach house and no one would yell at them or figure out a way to put them in jail.
“I still can’t believe you insist on reading by candlelight. It’s so old-fashioned, and wasteful too. The moon is so much brighter.”
“It’s really cool. Don’t hate on me for a choice that doesn’t effect you.” It was what they said to people who found out about them, but Inaya’s voice was much lighter, turning it into a joke.
Marya looked nervous. “C’mon, I want to show you something.” Inaya frowned.
“This isn’t some random scheme to drown me, is it?” Inaya said, half-joking.
“No,” Marya said, still looking nervous, but a smile crept onto her face, barely visible in the candlelit porch.
Out on the beach, they stood side by side, looking out on the water. The moon and stars reflected down and were so much brighter than the candle Inaya used to read.
When Inaya looked back at Marya, she was fidgeting something in her hand.
Marya took in a deep breath. “I don’t want to ask you to marry me-”
Inaya sucked in a breath.
“-but would you agree to be my forever?” Marya held her breath, you could practically feel the anxiety radiating of her.
“Absolutely.”

“You hate someone so much that you want to plant a bomb in their birthday cake to blow them up and ruin their birthday party? That seems incredibly petty and reminds of an experiment done in the sixties involving a nuclear bomb and a manhole cover. I’m in.” The person is hidden by a hood, but you can still see the smirk on her face and you start to wonder if this was the right person to come to when asking for Christie’s demise. But she was the only person in the city you knew you could trust, if only because you knew no one could rely on her for anything.
You nod and hold out the stack of bills you had collected, then wait as she rifles through them.
“Girl, this is almost enough. But I’ll need another thousand dollars to do this thing. Good-quality bombs, especially ones that can be hidden in a cake, are expensive to make.”
You gape. “What?”
“I will need a thousand more dollars to do this,” she says, slowly and clearly mocking you.
“The birthday is in a week! I couldn’t possibly get you a thousand dollars by then,” you protest.
“Then I guess this person is staying alive and will have a very happy birthday.”
You glare. Then, slowly, you think of all of the books you’ve read about conpeople. They were fantasy, but you remember all of the negotiations that happened.
“Then I guess you aren’t getting the money I just gave you. You can make a perfectly good bomb with the money you have. Don’t try to fool me into making an extra thousand dollars for you,” you say, feeling proud of yourself and how you outwitted the demolitionist.
The demo expert glares at you. And then, all of a sudden, she laughs. “Well, you do love a good trick, don’t you? This is, in fact, enough to build the bomb you want. But I need to make a profit off of my little business or I would be dead. So, I’ll make a deal with you. Bring me another hundred dollars and I’ll do it.”
You nod.
—
Christie blows out the candles and you watch her closely. You press your thumb down, the slightest flinch, an unerasable movement.
Nothing happens.
You press again, harder this time. The cake trembles, and then…
A small dog breaks out of the cake.
What! You stare, openly at the small dog licking frosting off his nose. How could this have happened?

Part 1: Consistent Character Voices 450+
Eil: Pessimistic, controlled
Logan: Outgoing, funny, open
Example dialogue:
Eli: “Umm, you have to read books with a comprehension and content age level of your age, or you will mature too quickly. This will cause you to not have any friends of a similar age as you.”
Evie: “Ha, well tell her I don’t give a eff what she says. I can do whatever I want.”
Actual story:
Eli raised his eyebrow. “So what you are saying is Millie ate your homework? Millie could not eat a single sheet of paper.”
Evie groaned, aware that he didn't believe her. “I'm saying my homework disappeared and Millie eating it is logical. Tell-”
“-Millie eating a stack of papers is not logical.”
“-me why you don't believe me. I gave you what I know happened, and what I think happened. How is my conclusion not logical.”
Eli sighed, “Your conclusion is illogical because Millie does not and can not eat paper. I fail to see how you think this is logical. What likely happened was you misplaced your homework.”
Evie shook her head, knowing that wasn't the case, and knowing Eli wouldn't believe her.“Millie ate my homework. Let me run any homework you didn't do through the copier and at least I won't have not done any homework. Please?”
Eli shook his head, “I have finished all of my homework. We don't even have the same classes. I don't know what you are doing and I don't like it.”
Evie smiled. “C'mon brother. It doesn't matter that we don't have the same classes, the same homework was given out in math class today. I know this for sure.
Eli let out a small chuckle. ”Have you forgotten everything about your brother? I take Math III classes, two grades ahead of you.“
”ugghhh,“ Evie pouted, ”not that math class, Eli. Were you not there in study hall? Everyone has to do an extra sheet of math problems because some people were being too loud.“
”I do not have the same study hall as you,“ Eli said, even stiffer than usual.
Evie squinted at him. ”Yes you do, I've seen you there before. Are you hiding something?“
Eli shook his head, communicating without words for once. A clear sign he was lying.
Evie took the ammunition for whatever she wanted to do and locked it up in her mind. That someone like Eli was missing a class, that was important and could be used later for important things.
—
Evie glared at Eli, the hatred of a thousand suns burning in her eyes. ”I can't believe you would do this.“
Eli started down at their mother's dead body. ”I did what was the best thing to do for our country to improve. Our mom needed to die. If you insist on telling our father that I did it, I will be forced to kill you too. Do not make me do that. I am more fond of you than I was our mother."
Was. The word echoes in Evie's head. She can't say she is very sad their mom died, but she thinks it was wrong for Eli to kill her.

Part 2: Using Dialogue Effectively 100- words of dialogue
“She’s dead,” Rose crowed, nearly ecstatic with joy. “The hardest member of our list is dead! Now, there is no one to oppose us in Congress.”
A sharp gasp sounded from Maggie, who was sitting next to her. “What i-is that?”
“Well, it looks like the zombie of Senator Chun,” Mauve on Rose’s other side said wryly. “The only question is, is that who it is?”

Part 3: Using Dialogue with Foreshadowing 300+
“Ooh, have you seen the news about Princess Martha? It says she was caught smoking!” Jack shoved a magazine in April’s face.
“Ugh, do you have to tell me that stuff? I don’t care what the royal family does. The only purpose they serve is symbolism and free targets for stuff like this. Don’t tell me you haven’t ever smoked,” April said, trying to focus on her work. The college schedule was so much more intense than her old one.
“I don’t find any reason to follow tabloids that get their news from all the wrong places, but I am interested in some of the stuff they print,” Isa, the other friend at the table said. “It’s not fair to make a target out of a random person, but royals are born into it and they have to learn to live with the attention and prestige because they are never going to have the option to live privately.”
“Also, some people are pervs and just want to see a bunch of scandalous pictures the magazines somehow get their hands on,” Jack adds, “not me, though,” he says with a smirk.
“I’ve always wondered why people are so obsessed with royals. It seems rude and unnecessary. Don’t they have enough drama in their own lives?” April said.
“It’s interesting. I always wonder if people who are raised that way are the same as us Americans, and the tabloids tend to prove that.” Isa said, “though I’m sure a royal couldn’t fit in at an American college
“I think it’s almost a mode of validity. Like, if they have all the same problems we do, then maybe we are not so horrible. Or a form of escapism for some. And for some they just enjoy that sort of scandalous thing.” Jack said. “
“It is invading. I would assume at least, having never been a royal myself.”

Part 4: Script 200+
Moss: Welcome to the first irl meeting of swc. In this nationwide conference, we will get a chance to meet each other and do three days worth of SWC irl and see how it turns out. Just remember - don't share real names. You can share phone numbers and emails and whatever contact info, but don't share names or addresses. This is for safety reasons, so we hate it as much as you guys, but please abide by this rule of official scratch conferencing.
*Alana steps forward*
Alana: Thanks to the Official Scratch Conferencing update for communities of children on Scratch, we were able to do this over a weekend where none of us had school. For Day 1, today, we will have a Daily for you to write, and other in-cabin activities. You will know your cabin and location of your cabin after these announcements. The Main Cabin is this room. Word Wars and the Critiquitaire also open later today.
*Alana and Rockie switch spots*
Rockie: For day 2, we will have another Daily and a few workshops hosted around here for you to join. This daily will require more than just writing, so be prepared to have a busy day. The schedule of workshops will be posted later today.
*Rockie and Robin switch spots*
Robin: Now on Day 3, we have everyone's favorite activity. Cabin Wars! A lot of planning has gone into doing this here, so it will be as awesome as we can make it. We will tell you the specifics tomorrow night.
*Luna and Robin switch spots*
Luna: A few general things to know: The dailies will be posted on this board right here *gestures to whiteboard behind hosts* as well as the online Main Cabin. Submit the dailies on the Main Cabin for this conference, the way you would usually do it. Your cabin is a conference room your leaders and cos have decorated and will be posted on the main cabin and this whiteboard after the announcements.
*Moss steps up next to Luna*
Moss: And, the moment you have all been waiting for… the daily for today is introduce yourself to another person who isn't in your cabin you didn't know irl and write 500 words about them. This daily is worth 350 points, with an extra hundred for proof.
*people start milling about*

Part 1: Storyline Description 150-300
160 words
Historical Fantasy
You are tired of finishing school when three girls walk up to you during lunch.
The middle one smiles and immediately sparks your interest. “Greetings. My name is Rose and we have found ourselves in a dire situation and seek your assistance. Many werewolves and vampires, having recently fled from the Queen's Dungeon, now roam free. By order of the Queen herself, we have been ordered to recapture these wayward creatures. Your school has the most magnificent collection of young and strong adventurers that should help us to succeed.”
To the right of Rose, the other girl speaks up. “Join us in the Supernatural Hunting Society to find these creatures hidden throughout England.”
A boy to Rose’s left adds on to her, “Queen Victoria is prepared to reward you with at least twenty pounds and a job in the palace if you help the SHS. You may gather these along your hunt, spread out as you find werewolves and vampires.”
Rose speaks again. “Join us in saving England, young adventurer.”

Part 2: Aesthetic Sets 5+ Images

Part 3: Parody Song 200+
441 words
Get Down from Six
Standin’ here with my crew
Including you
In a group that’s very cool
Bring me some enemies
Stop them from a coup

Hunting werewolves through great britain
And vampires for the queen of england
Her name’s Victoria
Protecting the country
We can’t be stopped

I wanna go hunting for vampires
I'm not fake ‘cause I’ve got medals and medals
Given to me be the queen of england
Where my crew at? Send ‘em on a hunt
(firework)
Everywhere
Supernaturals scared of the English Terror
'Cause I'm a hunt-or
And tomorrow, I'll jail some more

You, you said we were awesome
'Cause we, we hunted supernaturals
Too, too great for the country
Supernatural Hunting Society
And we can’t be stopped ‘cause

We are the queens of the hunting
Get down, you dirty werewolves
Get down
Get down
Get down you crude vampires
Get down
Get down
’Cause I'm the queen of the hunting

When we’re get bored
we go to scotland
Countryside full of
Monsters and more
So I have some fun with my crew
As we terrorize
The vampires

Making our way throughout England
Some monsters try to hurt us
We capture them
'Cause that’s what we’re ordered
To do
That is good

All mosters jailed
No k1ll1ng on duty
We’ve never failed
Hunting a monster? Absolutely

Got a crew with a job that beats any vovation
Okay hunters, let's get in our formation

You, you said we were awesome
'Cause we, we hunted supernaturals
Too, too great for the country
Supernatural Hunting Society
And we can’t be stopped ‘cause

We are the queens of the hunting
Get down, you dirty werewolves
Get down
Get down
Get down (you crude vampires)
Get down
Get down
’Cause I'm the queen of the hunting

Now I ain't sayin' I'm a bounty hunter
But check my pay stubs and go figure
Got gold chains
Symbolic of my role close to the queen
We imprison
Monsters and convicts who would like to be mean
Let me explain
We’re here to save our country from freaks
No one tells me I need a somoeone else
Doin' my thing all over Great Britain

You, you said that we’re awesome (awesome)
'Cause we (we), we hunted supernaturals (yeah, yeah)
Too, too good for this country (too good for this country)
Supernatural (supernatutal, supernatural) Hunting Society
And we can’t be, we can’t be stopped ‘cause

We’re the queens of the hunting
Get down, you dirty werewolves
Get down (yeah, c'mon, ha!)
Get down (get down with me)
Get down you crude vampires
Get down (it's the S-H-S)
(Aha-ha-ha, get)
Get down (ow!)
'Cause we’re the queens of the hunt

Part 4: Story in Cabin Setting 400+
655 words
Rose snuck through the bushes, aiming to capture the single werewolf that had someone evaded their five raids on the werewolf camp. He was sniffing around, so they had to be careflu not to let him catch wind of their scent.
Finley crouched next to Rose, as silent as she was. They were both intent on catching the last of the escaped supernaturals.
Whoosh! A net flew from Rose’s crossbow-thing and caught the werewolf. The nets never held for long though, so both Rose and Finley ran over and shot the wolf with a sedative used on patients who required amputation.
Finley stood up and looked at the werewolf. “This one is big. Do you think we’ll be able to carry it back to the prison wagon by ourselves?”
“I think so,” Rose said, after assessing the wolf, “and if we can’t carry it back, then we’ll drag it.”
Back at the wagon, Lora was waiting for them. “That’s a big one. I’m surprised you managed to carry it back here,” she said, which made Finley laugh.
The three girls pulled the werewolf up on to the metal prison wagon they used to transport supernaturals back to the queen. It was going to be a long way back from Scotland, but they had done the trip before and they had fast horses.
The rest of the unit sent by the SHS had already left and brought back the other prisoners with them, so the three girls had only two werewolves in the back, which made it easier on the horses. And since they were all longtime members of the SHS, the horses didn’t have to stay slow. This made it so they soon caught up to the other wagon and pulled ahead, beating them back to London, even though the other wagons had a three-day head start.
In London, the first thing they did was go to the SHS HQ and put the prisoners in temporary holding cells to stay until they could move them to the palace dungeons safely. The three girls who had got back also had to wait for the other train since it haf the other leader - Mouse. Then they would discuss the situation with Queen Victoria, who would most likely insist upon keeping them at the SHS until she could secure her dungeons.
Finley hung out with Rose as they figured out what to do with having to store dangerous creatures in the same building as young and inexperienced agents.
“We could just up the security,” Finley argued. “It’s a way to teach them how to deal with a situation like this where we are placed in charge of the long-term care of a supernatural.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Rose shot back, “They have barely any idea what they are doing and ahlf of them are antsy enough as it is. You think we should introduce them to the idea that several supernaturals will be sleeping in the same building as them? Let alone give them reponsibilities in caring for the supernaturals?”
“What’s going on?” Lora said as she entered the room.
Finley sighed. “Victoria isn’t taking the supernaturals yet. Rose doesn’t think we should use this as learning oppurtunity.”
“In what? Caring for supernaturals?”
“Yes!” Rose interjects, “They barely know anything as it is and thet will be scared to death by the idea that a supernatural is under the same roof as them.”
“They barely know anything! Which is why we need to teach them this stuff,” Finley says.
Lora seems torn between the two sides. “I’m sorry Finley, but I’m going to have to go with Rose on this one. This sort of thing is not what we need to teach them. We just won’t tell them what’s happening.”
Finley frowns. “And is Mouse comes back and backs me?”
“We will figure it out then, but this is our plan for now,” Rose says, “Don’t be too mad.”

The first thing I noticed when scanning over this was the way it was written, the perspective. It is sort of a third person, really distant. But you have this moment in the middle where Autumn starts to talk and you get the exact dialogue of what she says. I feel like this doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the piece. Either make the rest more detailed and novel-esque or don’t include the dialogue and just give a summary of what she said.
Example: Autumn finished up the project and started recording her presentation of the Steel Balloon to the world. She talked about how it could protect you safely with a steel frame.
As she spoke, thoughts passed through her of her father who had died in a balloon crash.
In general, the idea, grammar and punctuation is pretty good, but the execution could use some work. Make sure your storytelling is smooth and cohesive, and not switching itself up. And keep the same tense throughout the story.
A few more suggestions would be starting the story with the “the tragedy of 2003,” instead of having it at the end. It would create a more introductory tone and at the end it makes it feel … I don’t know, not right.
I would also put more detail into the description of the flight, what’s happening around her, does she feel a rush of emotions as she falls, does the steel sink her? Right now it feels rushed and doesn’t give me a clear picture of what happens. Try to explain this with more detail.
Overall, you did a great job. Make sure to double check your tense and make sure you wrote with the same style through the whole piece. Don’t rush through dailies because you only need to hit a certain point because that can detract from the quality.

278 words
Sadie Wants Cheesecake
Sadie stared longingly through the display window at the elaborately decorated cheesecakes. Her stomach grumbled at the sight of the mouth-watering delicacies, but she knew she would never be able to afford them. She would have to get home soon and eat whatever measly scraps Mom had managed to scrounge up from the kitchens of the fancy ladies she worked for, but it wouldn’t hurt anyone that she had admired the cakes for a few seconds longer.
She took her time on her way home, kicking her feet through the icy sidewalk. This was the worst part of the day, when she didn’t have any schoolwork to distract her. Actually, that was a lie. Nothing could really distract her from the constant hunger pains and most everything was a reminder of what she didn’t have.
The winter was the worst, when she could go cold without the huge parkas other kids took for granted or skip dinner for basically a week to pay for a jacket. Generally, she tried to survive by just layering on shirts for as long as possible.
The first thing she noticed when she got home was her brother practically jumping on her to hug her. The second thing was the smell.
An intoxicatingly sweet smell permeated the small home, a smell Sadie recognized from all the times she had looked at the cheesecake displays and convinced herself to go inside.
Her mother stood next to the small coffee table, which had a small cheesecake with 14 candles set into it resting on top of the table.
Her mom and brother started singing ‘happy birthday’ in unison. Sadie had forgotten it was her birthday

From Chris (@chrisluk002): An oblivious protagonist finds himself reciting a spell in an ancient language. 1) The spell releases an ancient evil (who's gotten rusty, and is trying to remember how to be evil.) 2) The spell grants the user almost omnipotent power, but they are so startled by this (and situationally awkward in general) they have no idea how to use it on command. 3) The spell summons a horde of cute animals (kittens, puppies, etc) who take over the world in a matter of days.
—
The sudden strangeness ends and Mark shakes himself thoroughly to get rid of the creepy-crawly feeling that’s lingering on his spine. It doesn’t completely stop bothering him, but it subsides a little. For a second, before coming back in full force, making Mark feel like the most uncomfortable person in the world.
Mark twitches and itches his back, trying to get rid of this sensation, when it stops completely and he at last half-relaxes, still scared out of his wits and completely unsure what on Earth is happening.
And then he hears the cackle. It came from far away, that he’s sure, but he can hear it as clear as day. It’s probably one of the scariest things he’s ever heard.
Naturally, he starts to run. Away from the cackle, of course, but he is stopped in his tracks by another cackle, this time from where he’s heading towards. Now Mark is not especially bright, so he starts running the other way, stopped immediately by a voice coming from the air in front of him.
“Woah, stop running. What are you in such a hurry for?”
By now, Mark is pretty sure he’s going insane. He doesn’t know what to do, so he responds to the air, “What are you?”
“Oh,” the air shimmers for a second before coalescing into a human body. “Is this better?”
Mark slowly nods and says, “I am going insane.”
The human laughs. “No you’re not. Come to my bakery, I’ll show you why.” They walk into a nearby bakery and Mark, being the person he is, decides to follow them.
As soon as Mark walks in, he sees the human next to a large oven. They’re thinking hard, like they are trying to solve the mysteries of the universe.
“What are you doing?” Mark asks them.
“Trying to decide whether or not to cook you in that oven.”