swc megathread: march '25

taylorsversion--

15 march: daily - 253/250 words

Allen sat down in his throne room, wrapping their arms around their legs. Around Allen were stacks and stacks of jam doughnuts in boxes - enough for a lifetime of doughnut eating. As soon as it became official that Allen would be king for a day, they had immediately ordered these doughnuts - you need some fuel food to run a kingdom, after all, Allen had reasoned.

His twin(ish - there’s lore) sister stood to the side, grumbling. Dezzie just didn’t see why, out of all people, Allen was chosen. If she had been picked to rule for a day instead, Dezzie would’ve changed so many things for the better already, instead of ordering tons of doughnuts like her idiot pixie of a brother. It was hard to stay mad at Allen for long, though, with his timid expression and shy awkward posture. Maybe they were picked to gain more confidence? Though Dezzie wasn’t sure that doughnuts were the way to go.

“So..” said the butler, dragging out the word. “What are you, er, planning to do with all these jam doughnuts?”
Allen tilted their head uncertainly. “Well.. I was thinking we could give them to the public.”

Dezzie grinned, her vampire teeth showing. Giving doughnuts to members of public? She was a member of public!

Allen pulled his hood over his head and did the fly jumpy thing pixies do off his throne and picked up a couple of boxes.
They started wobbling precariously and the butler side eyed Allen.
“Right.. Let’s go, then.”

Last edited by taylorsversion-- (March 15, 2025 23:50:52)

Thecatperson19

March 15 Daily

The paper taped to the refregerator read as follows:

Hear yea, hear yea.
Let it be known that on this day, March fifteenth
The newe ruler of this said establishment shall henceforth
Tho for only a day,
Be the Great, Magnificent Hunter
Of the Third Bedroom to the right
Up the Stairs
Past the other two rooms
That Hunter

The sticky note placed under the paper read:

The Only Hunter that lives in this said establishment.

The only Hunter that lives in this said establishment was currently prancing around the house with a blanket tied around his neck and a bowl of cereal in hand.
“I do declare,” he said haughtily, mixing it with his spoon. “That this is the best bowl of cereal I have ever had in my life.” Thank you plebeian.“
Said plebeian was West, who, scarf tied on his head in lieu of a coif, was scurrying after Hunter, acting not unlike an obsequious palace servant.”
Thank you sir,“ he said, eagerly playing the part. ”I be glad that ye like it.“
Lisa watched from the stairwell as the pair paraded around the first floor of the house, which was a mess. Hunter had gotten his hands on it and turned it into an inglorious palace.
”How horrid,“ she thought to herself. ”If I have to keep listening to his nonsense all day, I'll go insane. Who knows what he'll make us do next.“
She lamented that the adults had let them alone for the day.
Curling her lip and slinking back up the stairs, she muttered, ”Remember Caesar, thou art mortal."

264 words

Last edited by Thecatperson19 (March 15, 2025 23:52:58)

-WildClan-

“Hey, brain,” Wild calls. “Any of you want to be a monarch today? I get to make a decree declaring someone to rule.”
“Rule within a hypothetical canon-based timeline or just over silly Half-Canon stuff?” Eclipse asks.
“I don't know, you can decide on the details.” Wild shrugs. “This seems like the sort of writing prompt that y'all can work out better than I can.”
“Hmm,” Chaos chimes in. “I don't have the most fantastic memories of what happens to leaders when they concentrate too much social power in one place. So I'll pass. Happy to be an advisor, though.”
“You just want a good seat from which you can watch everything burn,” River laughs.
“Maybe,” Chaos admits, grinning. “Or maybe I really do want to share my expertise? I have more experience here than the rest of you, after all.”
River and Chaos stare each other down, smiling conspiratorially.
“If we're talking about creating a headcanon AU of what would occur if one of us were to be given complete control over their respective society within a canonical timeline,” Eclipse continues, disregarding the others' banter, “then it seems to me like Rain would be the best candidate for responsibility. Chervil is out of the question due to having a culture where the concept of monarchy isn't applicable. Silence isn't built to be in the spotlight. Parsnip is just… a bad idea all around. Chaos isn't interested. I'M not interested. River?”
“Yes?”
“…Something tells me you'd get bored with it really quickly.”
“Don't you get to wear fancy things and order people around and stuff? That's absolutely my vibe!”
“You also have to be diplomatic and settle other people's arguments and be aware of public appearance all the time.”
“Oh, never mind, then. That's absolutely Rain's job, yeah.”
“What am I getting roped into this time,” Rain mutters, emerging into the mindspace.
“Rain! You get to be monarch now!” River cheers, jumping up in excitement.
“And what does that mean again?”
“Like, a leader. But over a large group of colonies instead of just one. It's a human thing.”
“And we're doing this in Half-Canon?”
“Well, we were making a canon AU—” Eclipse begins.
“Oh, alright. Great. In that case, first order of business, we've got to restructure the division of labor. The way we have things organized right now, we…”
(Okay, I'm just pausing here,) Wild thinks. (Rain will continue on for a while but I've got to turn in this daily. Sorry, guys.)

-NightGlow-

Critiquitaire
word count - 625 words

The idea that any of the parties Maria went to could be called a ball was ridiculous. And besides, the thought of getting there early had left both of your minds long ago.

I loved the intro you had going here - it was definitely a great way to build the setting and exposition. However, the tone of this phrase kind of seems wordy, as if it doesn't fit? I'm not quite sure as to how I would describe it, but I would definitely recommend changing the first sentence here to have a bit more clarity. Another thing to note is that your story has a lot of potential for implicit meanings/symbolism because you start off with a lot of emotions right from the bat. Hence, I would encourage you to try and lean on that whole idea of “show not tell” here if you'd be interested in that.

On the way to the ball, the two of you chattered about the bet. A few of the other kids had started a bet on what Emmy Rainer was going as, after controversy about what she had told people she was going to be had arisen.

I feel like there are a lot of pronouns from various point of views being used such as “she” and “you”. I understand that writing from a second person point of view perspective will come along with that, but I think it would be nice if you could find a way to replace some of the pronouns/combine sentences just to improve the structure and overall clarity of your writing

Once you get to the building, it doesn’t look as though there’s a Mardi Gras masquerade ball going on inside. You look at Maria, confused. “Are you sure this is the right place?”
Maria just nods and keeps on walking. “I’ve been here before. The kids hosting this party are experts on hiding this sort of thing.”

Loved this little bit! The dialogue exchange between Maria and your protagonist is clear and I feel like it really covers the mood you're trying to portray effectively! Well done, Rose <3 I especially love the part where you say “are experts of hiding this sort of thing”, it builds suspense for the reader in and unknowing way and I believe that you integrated that bit into your piece very nicely.

Maria guides you to the center of the dance floor and you watch her sway to the beat. “Girl, you have to dance too,” she tells you, yelling to be heard over the music. “No one knows you here, you have a mask on. You’re a great dancer, trust me.”

I think this is just a personal preference to be honest, but I'd recommend rephrasing “Girl, you have to dance too,” she tells you, yelling to be heard over the music. to “Girl, you have to dance too,” she yells back, trying to be heard over the loud music that was being blasted. If you want to keep the current structure you have right now, I'd suggest just chaning “tells” to another action word such as “pleads” just to build up that emotion if you get what I mean. This is of course just a personal stylistic choice though, so go with what you think is best!

Especially after Maria’s bout of depression last year when her mom died. She had struggled a lot with who she meant without her mom, and how deserving she was of her pain. Now, she was doing better, and she always credited you with her recovery.

This whole theme of depression is a great point where you can expand on both the emotions of Maria and your character. I understand that you might want to leave the character development for later, but I think it would be nice if you could hone in on their emotions and really take some time to talk about what Maria was going through/the recovery (if it is relevant to your overall plot, of course!).

“I am going to go say hi to some of my friends,” Maria said, and you felt a spike of jealousy. Maria was always going off to say hi to some friend or other that you didn’t know, but you hadn’t racked up the courage to talk with Maria about it because you were worried she would think you were too possessive. So you didn’t say anything and let her go, before sinking into a sullen silence.
A few minutes later, another girl comes up to you. “Are you Maria’s girlfriend?”
“Yes,” you say venomously. Another person who is trying to use you to get closer to Maria.
She looks at you worriedly. “Well, I want to give you a warning that-”
You interrupt her. “I know Maria and I know that she is perfect in every way. So if you’re trying to get me to break up with her so you can date her, back off.”

I feel like you've done a really good job in terms of working with dialogue! I would recommend continuing to add in more emotions as well as context between some of the dialogue as well so that the reader can also visualize what is happening during the scene they are reading. Maybe discuss appearances or describe the scene using imagery? In general, I think giving more description to the scene would do some good in the wat your piece is interpretted <3

The girl sighs, clearly giving up. “That may be true now, but we’ll see how long it lasts.”

PERFECT ENDING <3 I'm not sure if this text is finished or not, but I absolutely love the way that you've ended it off. Fits the tone of your story perfectly, and overall just gets me wanting more. Nice work!

Overall Thoughts
Great work, Rose! This is such an amazing story and I think you can definitely go places by continuing the plot. Although there are some things that could be adjusted here and there, I love the idea backbone you have going. There is so much more potential for the plot and I can truly see the characters growing! Thanks for letting me critique this ^^

-KenzieCamps-

SWC Weekly 2

About The Post
points worth: 2500 points
part 1 words: 670
part 2 words: 274
part 3 words: 308
part 4 words: 358
reason: weekly 2

Part 1
Scene 1
Dahlia sighed. She rubbed her eyes and looked around wearily. She glanced at the clock, but it hadn’t changed. No train had arrived to pick her up yet. She bounced her leg.
A boy ran up to her. “Miss, I have a letter for you.” He gave her a letter with a red stamp sealing it and her name in cursive on the front. It must be the letter I’ve been expecting from my uncle, Dahlia deducted.
She thanked him, and gave him a nickel for payment. Dahlia traced her fingers over her name on the front and then slid it open.

Dear Dahlia,

I hope this finds you well. My errand boy isn’t very fast. I trust that he’ll get this to you in time.
I’ve been doing well. Your cousin Lucy is doing amazing at school, she’s faster than all of the boys! Your Aunt Georgia is making a quilt for the Browns across the street, they recently had a baby girl. Our cat Pebbles is doing her usual, lounging in the sun and catching mice. And as for the dog, I’m suprised Aunt Georgia hasn’t kicked him out yet.
My job is very stressful and busy, but what do you expect from a grocery store owner? Come vist us soon. Lucy misses you.

Your uncle,
Paul

Her uncle. She had neglected him and his family. The train arrived and she dragged her suitcase over to the door. Next stop: the University. The train started moving, faster and faster, and she stared out the window at the countryside moving by.

Scene 2

The train came to a halt and Dahlia picked up her luggage, and took a step off of the train. She was at the place she’d been hearing about since she was a child, the University. A school for incredibily gifted students! When she was in middle school, she told her parents that she wanted to go but they of course glanced at eachother and shook their heads. Dahlia had bad grades ever since she was in elementry!
But, in High School, Dahlia proved everyone who had said she wouldn’t be able to go to the University wrong! She got straight A’s. Even higher than that! Now she was here, at the University!
A brilliant building with glass windows stood in front of her. It was tall. Very tall. And beautiful. She longingly stared at the building.
She then took a step, and another step. Into the building. The brilliant building. Her new home.
A student ran up to her. He was probably a senior, judging by the way that he carried himself. His eyes sparkled like gold. “Hey, you must be new here. I’m Norman. Do you know which dorm you’re staying in? I can help you bring your luggage to it.”
She was mesmerized by him, and it took her a second to shake herself out of the trance. “Oh uh sure. I’m staying in the diamond suite, I think. My name’s Dahlia.”
He nodded and started walking down the hallway towards the left. The hallway turned into a glass walkway, crossing to another building which she assumed was the girl dorms. A door at the end of the hallway had a sign on it. The sign said ‘Girls only, no boys please.’
He stopped. “I can’t go past this point, since it’s girls only. But I bet the girls in there will be more than happy to help you get settled.”
Dahlia thanked him, then pushed open the door and stared in awe at the girls dorms. The area that you first walked into was the common room, judging by the couches and all sorts of snacks and activities.
A curly-haired blonde walked towards her. “You must be new! Let me help you towards your dorm. You’re in diamond, right?”
Dahlia nodded. The girl carried herself with confidence. Was everyone at the university like this?
She followed the girl up the staircase to her new dorm. She was ready for whatever was coming her way.

Part 2
Years had passed since Dahlia had first came to the university. She was older. And wiser. She had made many friends, and enemies in her time at the university.
As of right now, Dahlia is on an adventure. Exploring new worlds. Finding new people. She pushed through the bushes, and gasped. A fire. Civilization.
People with long dark hair, neutral colored clothing, and of all ages. They were beautiful.
A little girl fiddled with her long braids. “Oooooooo, it’s a lady! She has such pretty hair…doesn’t she, mama? It’s very light and lovely, very wavy.”
A woman, whom Dahlia was guessing was the girl’s mother, looked her way and gasped. “Who are you? What’s.. Your goal?”
Dahlia didn’t know the customs of these people. She gently curtsied. “Miss, I’m from a far away school for gifted students. I’m just here to explore and learn, what’s your tribe’s name?”
She sighed. “Phew, I thought you were a hunter. Someone here to catch us.. Because of our weird customs. You could stay with us if you’d like, I guess. As long as chief’s okay with it,” she rubbed her daughter’s head, “follow me. I’ll bring you to chief.”
Dahlia nodded and the woman took her hand and guided her through the village. They lived in mud brick huts. Warm light, which she assumed were candeles, came from inside of each of the huts. A new people. Had anyone known about this civilization, hidden away?
Dahlia took note of everything. The clothing. The dancing, it was such wonderful dancing. The food. Everything. The woman guided her towards a huge mud hut. This must be the cheif’s hut.

Part 3
Dahlia had lived in the village for months. She was happy living in it. She had gathered a lot of information to bring home. She smiled at the thought that she’d be leaving in a few days.
Dahlia had grown a strong bond with Lucy, the little girl she had met on her first day there. Lucy told her that she didnt’ want Dahlia to leave. She wanted Dahlia to stay forever. Dahlia told her that her work researching was done here, she had to leave.
Dahlia finished packing her bags. She was all ready to leave tomorrow. She was very excited. Dahlia went outside to stare at the stars, her last day underneath the star lit sky without light pollution.
Lucy came out of her hut. She walked over to Dahlia, sat down next to her, pouted. “I don’t want you to leave. I enjoy having you here. Pleaseee can you stay with us? Forever?”
Dahlia sighed. “Lucy, I know how you feel. I wish that I could stay here forever. I have to go back to the university, to finish up my studies.”
They sat in silence together, staring up at the many stars up in the sky.
Lucy broke the silence. “Someday when I’m older, I want to journey past the sky to see the stars. I want to explore everything up above.”
Dahlia smiled. “That’s a very good idea! I highly encourage you to do that.”
Dahlia stood up, signaling that it was time for bed. Lucy stood up too, gave her a hug, went back to her hut to go to sleep.
The sun and birds chirping woke Dahlia up. Today was the day she was leaving the village she had come to know as her second home. She felt nervous because she was leaving. Excited to share her findings with the university.

Part 4
Weeks passed, and Dahlia finally recognized the road to the university. She was almost there. She picked up the pace a little faster. The sign that marked the university came into view.
She slowed down, something was wrong. The university sigh was slightly burnt. It was just from the edge of teetering over. She ran into the gate to enter the university and… it was all gone. Burnt to the ground.
She touched some of the remains and they were cold. It must’ve happened at least a few days ago. Nothing was burning anymore.
She sat down and leaned against a tree, tears dripping down her face. This couldn’t be happening. It was all a bad dream, right?
Dahlia sensed someone else, she looked up and an older man was approaching her. She wiped the tears from her face. “Who are you? What happened?”
He shaked his head. “You can call me Will. University burnt down two weeks ago, without any warning. Nobody knows what happened. Some think someone deliberately set fire to it, others think it was just an experiment gone wrong. There weren’t any survivors.”
Dahlia frowned. Nobody had survived? All of her friends were just.. Gone? She was in shock. She picked up her bag and ran away from the old man, who just stood there staring at her.
She glimpsed a flash of red in the rubble, and ran towards it. It was a piece of cloth from their official sweatshirt. Dahlia dropped to her knees and just sat there for what felt like hours.
Who could’ve done this? She wanted revenge. How dare someone burn down the place that her whole life was centered around. She walked towards the nearest village, and found newspapers with the university plastered all over the front pages.
Dahlia booked a room at the local inn. The innkeeper took one look at her ash covered knees, newspaper in hand, and bag and knew that she was a student from the university. He didn’t speak very many words, and just handed her a key. She’d pay him later. Right now she just needed time to process what had happened.

Closing
Return to Kenzie's Library
// WOOOO 2ND WEEKLY DONE!!!

Last edited by -KenzieCamps- (March 16, 2025 01:52:18)

pepper-and-a-pencil

♫ 06 word war - sandy - 138 words - win/loss ♫

my dog is named frankie and she’s a boston terrier with brown and black and white markings currently trying to win a tug of war match against my brother but i’m not sure how that will go for him because she’s pretty fierce ahahah- she tried to steal the other people that were staying with dog's food but that didn’t fly and i snatched her up before she could eat it all and instead carefully picked out a few nibbles of cookie she could have without any chocolate chips, don’t want her to die on us before we go home. tomorrow we have another basketball game, the last of the season thank goodness. i almost lost my voice cheering for my brother today and i can’t wait for baseball and softball season, they’re always my favorite besides soccer

1lMaM

Weekly 2

Part 1 (574 words)
Elanor’s feet scraped the concrete of the path, snow glinting in the light and forming little heaps as she kicked it up. Shivering, she pulled further into herself, tugging her jacket tighter.
Something flew past her in a blur.
It was a person.
The person stopped and came towards her. He reminded Elanor of a bird, with arms that resembled sticks and an angular face, and he was hovering in the air like a pale ghoul. His hair curled around his face, the mane shifting whenever he moved - and he moved like lightning; jittery, unpredictable, and constant. When he moved, his shoes - which had wings - fluttered like leaves. Elanor just stood there, her heart pounding in her ears.
“Good morning,” he remarked.
/Surely this was a dream./ “Uh… hi,” Elanor stuttered.
“Do you know who I am?” he smirked.
“N-no,” she sputtered.
He grinned and chuckled to himself. “Do you know anything about Greek mythology?” he asked.
“Not really,” Elanor admitted. “There’s all the gods, and Zeus is the sky one or something.”
“King of the gods, that’s right,” he replied. “And I’m Hermes. God of messengers.”
Elanor’s eyes widened. “What?” she exclaimed. “You’re joking.”
As Hermes descended, the wings on his shoes flapped wildly, the tips of their wings closer to the ground every second. This encounter might have been what Elanor needed to get through her week. There was no way, after this, that she was letting the ash-coloured walls of her workplace and the clinking of typewriter keys suck the light from her eyes another day.
“How did you think I was flying? It’s me,” Hermes stated. “And I’ve got an offer for you.”
“What is it?” Elanor asked.
“A quest. One that, I think, only you can do.”
–
Elanor still wasn’t sure she believed Hermes yet, but here she was anyway, following a flying man through the city streets. Nobody acted strange around Hermes - maybe stared at where his shoe had bumped their head, but nothing more - and Elanor found herself wishing she had his ability to be ignored.
Hermes turned back to her. “You see that building?”
“The one on the left? The orange one?”
“Yep. That’s where we’re going.”
Hermes dived straight for the building.
Elanor’s stomach clenched, and she tried to look away, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from his head about to smash-
Hermes flew /into/ the wall. Only after his body was gone did she see the tiny window he must have flown into, and Elanor relaxed, pushing through the crowd towards the orange-painted bricks. The orange door rose three floors, and it had intricate drawings carved into it, people and animals and fantastical plants. A door handle as big as both of her fists sat in the center, at her eye level, waiting to be opened.
Hermes poked out of the window. “You coming?”
Elanor looked around. Would people think she was just… yelling at herself? She opened her mouth, but nothing came out, and she still got weird looks.
“Just open the door, for /my/ sake!”
Gripping the smooth handle, she turned- it didn't turn- she pushed the door open, glancing back. Nobody noticed.
“There you go.” Of course Hermes was already there.
Tentatively, glancing back at the crowd and the streets and all she really knew, knowing that to go further would change her irrevocably, Elanor stepped into the room and closed the door.

Part 2 (268 words)

I.
See.
Everything.
At.
Once.
I'm in a place of wind and carelessness and freedom, the world before me, the past and future worthless.
I see old enemies failing, a beast unleashed, a monster with a family.
I remember a mortal. One who sees clearly, one who doesn't let go of her opportunities even when they choke her. I remember the moment she sees her enemy's eyes, looks right into them. Sees a soul in them.
I remember when she pauses.
A sword to his throat.
His face pressed against the ground.
His will sucked out of him, breath ragged, muscles limp beneath her.
But I'm in the present, and I'm a hypocrite for saying only the present has worth. The past is another time. Now, I live in a world nobody predicted, a world with computers and cinema and cars, and they're making locks more challenging. I can crack them, of course. Look, let me prove it to you.
I grab my shoes and the wings tuck in, sending me in a pencil dive through the atmosphere, and I could just teleport, but that's boring as Tartarus. Or whatever you call it now.
I see the herb that protects from all enchantment. I see a man I know well taking my sound advice and using it, fighting someone who expects to win and has no idea what's coming. I see one boat where there were ten, a single dark figure, alone…
alone…
they have no idea what i had to-
STOPITYOU'REABOUTTOHITEARTHGETYOURWINGSOPENRIGHTNOW
A satisfying wind cascades around me as I gracefully drift- okay, fine, tumble- to the ground.

Part 3 (407 words)

Elanor wasn't in a room anymore.
The sky shone over turquoise water, and Hermes was in the air trying to talk to himself as if he were different people. Long grass reached out of the ground, and the charcoal-orange walls tried to feel imposing, but all they did was comfort Elanor. It was… a different kind of peace, the peace of feeling slightly detatched, trying to believe your own life had changed so quickly.
Something rustled the bushes.
Elanor spun, searching for the source.
/There./
She had no weapon, but she stayed there anyway, rock-still, waiting. She watched as a face emerged - the face of a young girl with long black hair and piercing, almost glowing green eyes, dark freckles scattered across her face. Elanor relaxed, watching curiously as the girl came through the bush-
Feathers.
She had /feathers/.
Elanor glanced at the sky where Hermes had been, but he was long gone.
The young bird-girl's face curled into a menacing smile as she unfurled her wings, creeping, eyes widening like a maniac, smile glinting with fangs. She wouldn't attack, would she? Elanor had no weapon- She was going to attack. Elanor knew; it struck her bones and pulsed through her body, a sense she didn't know she had, and she knew she was done without a weapon. She backed away, eyes dancing across the too-small confines of her face, trying to find a sword, a stick, a pebble in the water that would get the thing away from her.
It launched.
And Elanor knew, in that moment, that she /could not die./
Elanor screamed. Her bare hands grabbed feathers inches from its mouth, grappling, two bodies in an arena of colour and life. They tumbled over each other, fangs closing on air, hands closing on falling feathers. They screamed. They yelled battle cries and swan songs, and Hermes watched them with a feeling in his stomach that slowly wound into his heart.
He felt the moment before he saw it.
He saw those eyes; ruthless, monstrous, almost red. He saw Elanor's hand dive for the harpy's throat, and her final moments coalesced into a darkness that she couldn't see, a darkness that vibrated against Hermes' soul for a moment before vanishing into the underworld. Elanor paused for a moment, staring at the creature in her hands, and Hermes saw a horse, a soldier, a baby dropped from high-
But this was different.
This would be different.

Part 4 (474 words)

A flash of light obscured the bird-girl, the grass, the sky, /everything/.
Elanor couldn't feel her own body.
/She couldn't feel her own body/.
Then the colours bled back again, the vibrant grass and clear sky and- ocean. Had she been teleported? Anything could happen now, now that the creatures of mythology were real, now that one weary girl had turned into… whoever Elanor was now. The ocean snatched sand, the breeze taking olive leaves from behind her and bringing them to her feet, a white owl perched in one tree.
And Elanor felt her stained hands.
She felt that last breath like it was her own.
But that could wait. Elanor looked around, taking in the absence of people and signs of civilisation. Was she just supposed to live here? Had Hermes betrayed her, got her into a place where he could take her away and nobody would question it? Elanor's sister was back… who knew how far away. She would be worried. She'd get home and find her coffee cold, book open, wondering where on earth she would go without her handbag. She'd wait a few days, but then she would look for her.
And she'd never find her.
Elanor would have stayed there and cried if she'd had the time. But she prowled around, squashing her feelings and trying to find some kind of escape - whoever made this couldn't have just been trying to punish her. Elanor hadn't done anything to upset anyone, unless that bird-girl had connections. Surely, on this sizeable land, she'd be able to do what it took to escape. She climbed the nearest hill, gauging the time it would take to explore the interesting places: what looked like a cave to the left, a lake on the right. The far shore was disconcertingly close. Choosing the cave, Elanor walked down, noting that owl again. There was a tool on the-
Hermes was diving towards her.
Elanor dived out of the way as Hermes stopped just above the grass, a smirk on his face.
“You know, I've always wanted to do this,” he said. “See how a mortal responds to us. You did pretty well, I think.”
“Wait, so… this was just a test? A joke?”
His face went serious. “No, darling, this is just the start.”
/Hermes/ was serious.
“Oh, and your sister is dying.”
“/What?/”
Hermes wasn't smiling. Hermes wasn't laughing, calling it a joke.
/Her sister was dying./
Even as her mind screamed at her to do something, even as Hermes waved and vanished, Elanor stood there.
She had something to hate, something to blame, but she couldn't match the friendly grin with this… this menace who /just stood there/. Even though standing there was all Elanor could do. But she would save her sister.
So she shook herself from her shock and got up.

1723 words
(this whole thing is inspired by epic the musical)

Last edited by 1lMaM (March 16, 2025 11:32:41)

silverlynx-

Daily 16

Silvi: Hello, and welcome to my favourite part of the week - it’s the Camper Chaos Show! If you’re new here, the Camper Chaos Show consists of numerous interviews and quizzes with the campers of SWC. Today, however, we will be interviewing our campers’ new favourite mascot! Please give a huge round of applause to… DELILAH THE DINOSAUR!
*wild applause*
Delilah: Hey! Now, as some of you know, I’m the latest mascot for Scratch Writing Camp! First, I’d like to thank Silvi for taking the time to interview me and naming me Delilah the Dinosaur after her favourite kids book when she was 3 years old!
Silvi (stifling a laugh): Yep, that was one banger of a book! OK, onto the interview! *clears throat* First up, the campers all wanted to know what your favourite hobby is!
Delilah: Well, I have many, but my favourite one has to be… hmmm, let me think… yes, I think probably making the forums go down during cabin wars! It’s hilarious to see how angry all of you get!
Silvi (gasping in shock): Um, OK, that’s… interesting. Moving swiftly on, the next wanted to know what your favourite food is! There is only one right answer here!
Delilah (nodding): Yup, for sure. Tacos are 100% the best-
Silvi (whispering): *cough cough* mangoes *cough cough* the right answer is *cough* mangoes!
Delilah: Ohhhhhhhh, OK. My favourite food is obviously mangoes!
Silvi (sighing in relief and muttering): Well, that could have gone really badly. Good thing Delilah didn’t start World War Mango.
Delilah (frowning): Sorry, what?
Silvi (pasting on a smile): I was saying it’s great that you love mangoes! Anyways, next question! We would like to know, what made you apply for this job?
Delilah (grinning): What a wonderful question! I applied for this job because I thought it would be so nice to get to know all of the lovely people in SWC before I team up with Gurtle, Skog and Blahaj in about 30 seconds and start World War-
Skog (from behind Silvi, where she can’t see him, mouthing): Shut up! That’s a secret!
Delilah: What I meant to say was that it seemed like an amazing opportunity to make new friends and eat endless mangoes which are, obviously, my favourite food.
Silvi: That’s so sweet! What a lovely demeanor you have! Much better than our last mascot, Gurtle. He was eating links and unlucky SWCers all over the place!
Delilah (looking disturbingly angry): Excuse me, I’ll have you know that Gurtle is my partner in crime! We have been working for months on our latest project-
Skog (really desperately, whispering loudly): Shut up!
Silvi (glancing behind): Skog, what are you doing here? This is a private interview! Get out, now! You’re ruining it for poor Delilah.
Skog (smiling like a maniac): Oh, poor Delilah is our secret weapon! She seems so sweet and lovely that no one would suspect little old her to start a war!
Gurtle (shaking Skog by the shoulders with Blahaj behind him, arms crossed: Will you just be quiet! You’ve just revealed our plan!
Skog (smiling sheepishly): Oh, yeah! I totally forgot.
Silvi (gaping, talking frantically into her walkie-talkie): What is going on? Security, security! We have 4 sus mascots here planning a war! I repeat, planning a war! The enemy are among us! I repeat, they are among us!
Blahaj: She just couldn’t resist the reference.
Gurtle: Well, there’s only one thing for it! Vive la revolution!
Blahaj, Skog and Delilah (in unison): VIVE LA REVOLUTION!
*Security swarm in through the doors, armed with cannons filled with deadly mango smoothies*
Gurtle (sighing in disappointment): Not again! There’s only one other thing for it. Cancel la revolution!
Blahaj, Skog and Delilah (in unison): CANCEL LA REVOLUTION!
*The four mascots scramble through a trapdoor in the floor and escape with a bang. Silvi and the security are left speechless*
Silvi (trying to hold herself together): That’s all we have time for today! See you next time when we’ll be-
*crackling static*
*theme tune plays*
*screen goes dark*

moosywoosy

‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭୨ PROJECT 2 ୧ ⊹ ˚₊‧

PART ONE:
Overusing: Don’t use said
A soft whisper echoed in the woods. I bolted, fear, coursing through my body. I turned around to see nothing.

“Hello.” It exclaimed, being so loud it was basically a shout. I turned on my heel and ran, I didn’t look back. I simply kept on going, running and running until I could escape it.

“Are you scared?” It giggled, light and bouncy, “C’mon…I don’t bite!” The forest chorused with its laughter, and I couldn’t find the source of it.

“Go away!” I shouted, “Get out of my head!”

I wondered what the thing was. A ghost? A phantom? Wait, aren’t phantoms basically ghosts? Nevermind. That’s besides the point. I ran like my life depended on it, it probably did.

“Come back!” It whined, coming out as a pout. I kept sprinting.

“You’re not real!” I bellowed, sounding insane. It didn’t matter, I would keep on running. The leaves made a deafening ‘CRUNCH!’ sound, and sometimes I almost tripped over my feet several times, though all I was doing was putting one foot in front of the other.

“I wanna play!” It whispered, though the sound felt like it was right next to my ear. “Come back!”

“Argh! Just be quiet already, will you!?” I groaned. “Lalala! I can’t hear you! What is it you were yelling about?”

The voices stopped for a moment, and that moment I savored. Though, I groaned when I heard it again.

“Are you there?” It asked, it sounded like it was smiling, though I’d never get confirmation on that. They had no physical body after all.

| ♞ | ୨ 262 words

Breaking Rules: Don’t use adverbs
“Is something the matter?” The woman asked, sweetly. I was huddled on a park bench, shivering profusely from the cold.

“I- uh, no?” I said, though it was obviously a lie. I carefully shifted away from her, since other people were kind of scary to me.

She realized this and frowned, before sitting next to me. She was obviously worried, and her expression was proof enough of that.

“Listen lady, I don’t need your help.” I tried my best to glare harshly at her, “So if you could just- not? That’d be great.”

The woman’s eyebrows knitted in concern, “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” I replied, sharply. This woman was unknown to me, I wasn’t willing to tell her anything.

The woman stared at me. I couldn’t tell how she was looking at me though. Angrily? Sadly?

“I only want to help, you’re…so young.”

I grit my teeth together, I hated how this woman was acting like she was helping. I didn’t want her help, couldn’t she get that through her thick skull?

“Listen here lady, I don’t need your help. So if you could just- leave me alone already?” I quickly stood up, already getting in a running position.

“Wait!” The woman cried in panic, but it was too late. I was sprinting as fast as I could, quickly running away. Every step had ounces of anger in them, I would loudly yell at that woman if I had the energy to. But I didn’t, not now. I didn’t want to deal with it now.

| ♞ | ୨ 255 words

PART TWO:
“I. Hate. It. Here.”

That sentence was met with a loud giggling sound. That giggle came from the person next to me, my older brother.

“Loooser!”
“Shut up.”

My brother bumped my side with his elbow, pointing at the painting in front of us.

“C’mon! This isn’t thaaat bad!”
“It is.”

I pouted almost comically and glanced up at the painting. It was an old oil painting of some random British guy drinking tea.

“Ah yes, I love this cup o’ tea. I sure would like a bo’ol o’ wa’er innit?”
“British people do NOT sound like that.”
“Oh of course you know that. Are you a part of the British population?”
“We’re both the same race since we have the same mother?”
“You’re adopted.”
“WHAT.”

My brother pushed me to the side, in a playful sort of way. I stumbled back, a loud “HEY!” leaving my lips.

“Hey! I could’ve fallen into this oh so very extremely important painting! I should fine you one million billion trillion dollars!”
“I can’t afford that.”
“I’m aware.”

I blew a raspberry at my brother who flipped me off in response. We both stared at each other for a few minutes before both of us grinned and started laughing at each other.

“Hey, I thought you absoooolutely hated it here!”
“Uh…I hate…You.”
“No you don’t.”
“Yes. I. Do.”
“No. You. Don’t.”
“Yes. I. Do.”

The museum then choruses with our chuckles and my brother looked up at me, a goofy grin on the side of his face.

“Loooser!”

| ♞ | ୨ 255 words

PART THREE:
Days passed without meaning, every single day was the same. Eat, work, sleep, repeat. It was all I ever knew, and it was all I needed. I had no time for things like hobbies. All I would do was work, work, work, until there was nothing to be worked on.

Time went on, it kept on going. I couldn’t keep up with time, and I was only left behind. I couldn’t afford to be left behind, and yet I was. I was behind, and that made me a failure. Failure, failure, failure, that was all I ever was. Just another failure.

I had to catch up, I absolutely had to. So I kept on, I kept working. Work, work, work, until everything was sore and I physically couldn’t anymore. It was all that I considered to be important. Work was the only thing that mattered. If I stopped, I would fail. I would fail, everything would be ruined, my life would be in shambles. I will keep on, just keep on, because then I would find an exit, light, something that mattered. I wouldn’t need to force myself to work, and I would be free.

I hated it, hated it, hated it, hated it through and through. Nothing mattered, I only had to be right, I only had to be the best. I didn’t need help, sympathy, pity, nothing like that. I just needed to be alone, so I could succeed and no one else would get in my way. No one else could. No one. Not even my friends, my parents, my brother, my sister, I will keep on going, even if it would mean going on forever.

I had to be perfect, a shining gem amongst the rest. I had to be the best, on top, unrivaled. I had to be objectively better, for if I wasn’t first, I was last.

| ♞ | ୨ 313 words

PART FOUR:
“Arlette.”
“General.”

I stared up at him, hoping my icy glare would be enough of an indicator that I was serious about this. An attempt was made to look threatening, and I was mostly sure I did it right. There was no room for vulnerability here, for I was serving my country.

“We’re planning an attack on Fort Saco. Your troops will stay on the back of the attack, while Pierre’s troops will lead in the front. Is this clear?”

I nodded, though I thought that in times as critical as now, it would be time to pull out my ace.

“I’m sorry, but I believe it would be best for my troops to lead.”

The general cocked an eyebrow at this, confusion but also curiosity in his expression. “Oh? And why is that?”

The corners of my lips perked up in a smile, before my face returned to its regular stoic expression, in order to let the general know that I was completely serious about what I would say next, and he wouldn’t think I was joking.

“I am immortal.”

A long silence followed after my revelation, stretching for what seemed like infinity. The general looked at me, seemingly trying to read my expression. There was obvious disbelief on his face, but a sparkle of amazement was in his eyes. He looked at me for a while, seemingly attempting to read my expression to find the truth. A serious expression remained plastered on my face.

“So? How long will we be here for?”

The general stared at me, before letting out a low chuckle. “You’re serious about this.” It was a statement, rather than a question. I grinned.

“Of course I am.”

The general looked me over again, attempting to see if there was anything that seemed off, though he wouldn’t find anything.

“Very well.” He laughed as he stared down at me. “You really thought just now was the best time to tell me?”

“War has been getting serious, I supposed it was time to pull out the ace.”

He knew I was immortal now, it was something I never wanted to tell anyone. But it was for my country, and anything would be worth it for the people.

| ♞ | ୨ 371 words

Last edited by moosywoosy (March 16, 2025 16:15:43)

cceaneyes

⭒ Weekly 02 rule breaking (1546 words)

part one!
scene 1:
her fingers brushed against the fluted glass, leaving a trail in their path due to the foggy condensation caused by the eternal winter outside of her home. she took a deep breath in, carefully counting the seconds she held it, before letting the air back at, a low whistle escaping her mouth in the process. she was encased in a fluffy throw, almost as white as the snow, looking like it too. it kept the heat on her person, her cheeks turning a pinky shade of red, as the cold bit at her skin.

she slowly moved to the door, the floorboards creaking underneath her feet. her hand fell onto the brushed brass doorknob, it felt like an icicle, nearly causing her hand to stick to it. she gently pulled the door open, snow fell inside the house, like dominos.
“marley!” she exclaimed, her voice echoing through the cold atmosphere. “marley!” she called again.

a bark from the distance sounded, she smiled as she heard it. “come marley!” she yelled, signalling to the dog it was time to come back home. the sun had already begin to set, painting a warm gradient in the sky as it sunk below the horizon. she watched as the dog ran to the house, the dog jumped through the snow, easily progressing through the thick ice, running to her owner. once marley arrived she greeted her playful barks and an excited jump, just like a child seeing their friends again. she picked marley up, shutting the door behind her, pushing the cold back outside. (260 words)

scene 2:
marley jumped onto the couch, wagging her tail as her owner sat on the couch reading a book with a steaming cup of team in her hand. marley attempted to jump onto her owner but her owner quickly stopped her. “marley! oi stop it!” she said, gently scolding the young puppy. marley quickly stopped before jumping off the couch and to a toy on the floor. she bit and chewed at the toy, feeling neglected, but she was just a puppy and she only wanted attention.

her owner looking at the pup, feeling a little bad. but she had been with the dog for the past hour, and needed a break. “marley, come 'ere.” she said as she sighed in defeat. she pat the spot next to her and the pup jumped back onto the couch and immediately settled in the spot. for the next for hour the pair sat under a wool throw, the cool air blowing through from the crack on the floor as the pair sat in tranquility. she gently stroked marley as she read, the dog enjoying her owners soothing touch.

it was a peaceful moment. “hey marls” she said, the small whisper causing the dog to stir, “did you want to go outside?”. marely immediately stood up upon hearing the word outside. marley jumped off the couch and ran to the door. her owner placed her book on the table next to her and stood up to. she moved to the front door and opened the door for the dog, a strong breeze blew some snow in and then the dog ran out. (268 words)

part 2!
it was so dark- so cold- so empty. the sky dark above her just like her heart was. she became overwhelmed with guilt and sadness- it swallowed her- ate her from the inside out. she knew it was wrong, but something inside her forced her to do it. but throughout it all she saw her, in the back of her mind- she knew she would hate it- she knew she would be dissapointed.

she stood in her room. alone. her back hunched over as she scrolled through texts photos on her phone. she betrayed her friend- betrayed her sister. and it wasn't fair to her. she could never take it back, she knew that. with shaking hands she dialled her number. the call was accepted.
“ki, i'm so sorry- i-i should have never. please forgi- please forgive me.” she begged through the phone.
“i already told you. i need time.”
“ki- i know… but i just want you to-to understand that i didn't- i never meant for it to happen. i didn't-”
the call ended.

the sky was so bright in some way. maybe it was the moon shining above her, a glimmer of hope in a dark time for her. she stood in the field, and broke down into tears. she had no right to cry, it was her fault. but she was so unsteady- unstable. she wasn't ok, if she couldn't forgive herself, how could ki? how could anyone, she was a fiery mess- ready to explode at any second. and as tear cascaded down her cheek she-

threw her phone to her bedroom floor and fell back onto the bed. numb. that was what she was. (284 words)

part three!
emotion: panic, anxiety

she shook her hand, as if attempting to rid her panic. she paced her room as she absently mindedly stressed about nothing apparent. her breaths quicken with every pace she took. it sounded more ragged- more anxious now. it got quicker and quicker. she felt tears at the brims of her eyes, the cool salty water slowly feel from her eyes to her cheeks. she didn't even realise.

her room was silent. it was being filled with the sounds her panic. unsettling in many ways. she didn't know what to do. what was happening. should she tell someone? no. she didn't want to drag anyone down with her. she shook her hand more now. she began pulling on her fingers, her need to fidget grew greater. just as the panic filled her more she stopped pacing.

she couldn't breathe. she was just doing it. the room was literally just filled with sounds of her panicked breathing- now it was flooded by her sobs. her gasps for air. she cried, she didn't know what was happening. she didn't know what to do.

what is she supposed to do. what does she do. how does she stop. how can she calm down. how. what. she fell to the ground. letting her tears take over. she took another gasp. her breathing returned to normal. the tears came to a slow halt. she pushed herself up. wiped her eyes. reached for a tissue. and wiped her eyes again. she didn't know what had just happened. she didn't know why. but it was scary. very.

she'd never experienced anything of that nature before. why now. again panic filled her, due to not knowing what happened. she stopped it this time. now allowing the scary feeling of before to take over. who was she to tell, she clearly needed help. (304 words)

part four!
everyone in the kingdom knew my name, people talked about me constantly. I had greatly changed their way of life, and how the kingdom worked. i had been training years and years to fight for what was right, and many admired me for it. ever since i was a child i watched the royals, learning about how they ruled and dictated the kingdom. i found it intriguing. very intriguing.

my face was plastered on banners around the kingdom. posters too. i think the headshot looks amazing, they really choose my best picture. i walked around the streets with the cover of night over me. i stopped and stared up at the castle, it's stone turrets towered over the many buildings, firmly stating that the royals were the ones who governed the kingdom. I smiled slightly. many admired the royals, i admit they were nice people, constantly supporting the local community, connecting with their people. they just had so much power. i found this strange. very strange.

i walked over to a nearby building, and ripped one of my posters down. just above the amazing photo of me was one word. WANTED. I grinned and crumpled the paper into a ball tossing it aside. thanks to me, this kingdom will no longer be controlled. after all, i did them a favour. i just paid a visit to the royals and gave them lovely and tasty pastries and snuck in to finish the job. they were long gone, and i should be too.

for some reason, everyone hate me now? and for some reason i'm being hunted down by the kingdoms entire army. not fair. i trained for this my entire life, after watching the royals as a child, i hated their holier than thou act. it was fake. obviously. and that power. that sweet power they had. i wanted it. if i couldn't have it. they can't either. but now everyone will forget about them. me however? i get remembered. i get talked about and some i guess even follow me. i will be talked about forever. who cares if i took out the entire royal family it was my duty.

i don't get it. alarms suddenly sounded and i took off.some ungrateful person obviously reported me. i did something good here! no one should have that much power. well they can. but i want it and i can't have it. besides now they won't be dictated. i'm the hero. so why are they calling me the villain? (420 words)

back to complete list of dailies and weeklies

-NightGlow-

Weekly 2: Rulebreaking
word count - 1689 words

Part 1: Common Rules (542 words)
Following the rules (267 words)
The ticking continued and I knew he was right. A stream of tears began to roll down my cheeks, my eyes puffy after the hours of crying. How could all of this work really been for nothing. They say that “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” But I–I am hurt. I'm beyond repair.

As the sun continued to set behind the mountainscape, the nights sky revealed millions of glowing stars, shining their light down onto us. The embers from the campfire could be seen from afar, but why was it that I was the only one not feeling the sense of comfort it was supposed to bring? I held out the branch in which I had stuck my marshmallow on. After igniting it, I brought the stick towards me and peeled off the burnt edges. Aside from aesthetics I never really cared for that bit as much. Instead, I dug around in my satchel to get graham crackers to make s'mores.

Despite this constant feeling that someone was watching me from behind, I simply continued with what I was doing. The fire was starting to die off so I quickly scrummaged around and found some dry brush to fuel it. It had to last the night, afterall. Otherwise, there'd probably be no tomorrow for any of us. After making sure that the fire was all set, I reached out for my journal which I had kept by the logs. I stared up at the sky and began to write.

Writing.

That was the only thing that I was good at.

Breaking the rules (265 words)
I shut my room and sat down at the tip of my bed. My stare, long and hard. If you asked my mom, she would simply say that I was sulking, or in other words, “throwing a fit”. I can't even begin to imagine why would would isolate themselves from others just for the sake of it. There's always a reason for actions, trust me, I know. So for me to see her continue on with her life.. well- well that hurt quite some bit.

If she was always preaching of reciprocating love and spreading it, why wasn't she even attempting to do the same herself? Instead of asking me what was genuinely wrong, she just assumed. I mean, it was the same old story happening over and over again. I'm not perfect either, I'm well aware of that. However, at some point, don't we just become too fed up to even care anymore? I know it's near, the breaking point we all have.

I try, I genuinely do. I just don't understand how much longer I need to keep pushing through - and for what, simply to get her one-off praise that will then proceed to hatred once again? It all seemed worthless- scratch that, it really was. I couldn't keep changing my self to match whatever hopes and dreams she'd like to see from me. I've been trapped all my life and to be honest, I deserve the chance to take flight myself. As I continued sobbing into my hands, the tears continued to fall. Drip by drip they splashed down to the ground

Part 2: Incorrect Grammar (293 words)
The seaports of Warren Grounds were filled with fish, but most of all, it was a place of mystery. Many came to the isle but were never saw leaving it. Some even say that the legendary bookeeper tends to visit misfits that straggle along the islands, but only a few are alive to tell the tale… quiet confusing if I don't say so myself. I mean, why would anyone willingly go to such a place after hearing all these stories. Now some were born and raised in these grounds, so obviously this what they think of as “normal”. However, that does bring up the question of our infamous leader that I'm sure you've heard a ton about. Anyways, I'll leave that up to you to figure out. You'll understand soon enough…

From the depths the shadows, I came out. The sirens were ringing, almost an everday occurence at this rate.
“What bring ya to these ol' waters?” It was my implicit warning to those who just happened to come here. After all, they in no way deserve what Finnigran would do to them if they proceeded. I had to protect as many people I could.

“Oh just sightseeing…” the girl proceeded to look around the deck. I'm sure that she was simply just lost and looking for a place to seek shelter. I mean, who in their right mind would willingly come stay here. It's not that tourist friendly if I'm going to be honest with you.

Of course saying such is an utmost sin so I didn't dare to mention it. Besides, there is a rumor that Finnigran has eyes out on these scorned streets so I didn't want to risk it all, just to save some stranger I don't actually know.

Part 3: Asyndeton (327 words)
Tears were pouring down my eyes. They were filled with anger. Rage. My cheeks were flushed, my eyes puffy. I had officially had enough with every single person who had ever pretended to support me. Why couldn't they have just said it to my face. Why did I- I, have to find it all out from simply overhearing it.

I've always had trust issues, that's nothing really new to be honest. Everyone knew that, it was practically “announced” on the day I came to this school. I barely talked to anyone. Most would say things like “oh, is she a new girl at our school” or “why is she always so quiet?”. If you saw me at home, you would dare ask these questions because I'm not the same. I mean, when is anyone ever the same.

I have set personalities for different parts of my life. I can't break character, I never will. But today it just happened and now I'm blaming myself because who else could I really fault for internalizing these struggles and holding them to my worth. Every little detail mattered and I was being so incosiderate to those around me. However, these agonizing feelings only kept growing within me. I could feel my anger rising. I need someone, something, to scream it. I needed someone to blame but myself because others are the ones who shaped me into who I am today.

Still, regardless of the thoughts in my head, I tried to keep a smile on my face. I was at school after all, and here, well here I was a quiet individual who didn't mind anybody. I had to keep it that way. I just couldn't begin to understand why people would pretend to be my friend. How could someone even think about taking advantage of another individual just for their own benefits. I was used to living a reclusive life and maybe- maybe things should've just stayed that way.

Part 4: Non Sequitur Dialogue (496 words)
As we were walking past our advanced english class, I couldn't help but stare down at the book that Mr. Watkins had just handed me. “The Reals Things in Life”, that's what it was called. He was extremely impressed with my literary essay on Peter Pan the other day so he gave me this book for extra credit. I never told him, but he was most definitely my favorite teacher. Despite everything going on in my life, I could really focus in his class. On top of that, I felt like he realy understood me. To be honest, I don't think I've ever felt that connection with any other teachers in the past so it really meant a lot to me.

I was a lost in a tangent thinking about all of this, I was quite an imaginer- is that a word? Probably not. Let's just say that I had a way to simply isolate myself from the rest of the world and that was through my imagination. I could thinking of anything and be whisked away, without another care or anything to worry about. Unfortunately, Lara was telling me some pretty important news - at least according to her - but I was too busy thinking of this fantasy world I had built in my head. These worlds were my escape. A chance to live life where I was actually worth it. I know my mom says that she loves me and all, but, she my mom… she has to say that, does she not?

We continued to walk the halls, and Lara kept on blabbering on. As much as I love her, she really was quite self-centered. Always in it for herself, I suppose. Or maybe- maybe she was also just a lost soul, trying to find a way in this world. If you can't already tell, along with my unrealistic imagination, I was quite a philosphical person. Asking all the why or how questions you probably bombarded your parents with when you were little. I was always just a bit different, but I never realized just how much until I went to highschool. All the things I found cool, were lame, and yeah I guess my mom helped me fit in with all the “trends” but I never wanted any of that. I just wanted a chance to be plain old me.

That afternoon, I barged through our front doors, carefully wiping my shoes on the door mat. The house was quite silent, which was unsual. I walked into the kitchen, calling my mom's name, but no response. That was weird, she was almost always home when I came home from school. As I continued to walk through the kitchen, I saw a note tucked away behind one of the cabinets. It read…

“Hi sweetie, I'm so sorry.. but you're on your own now. It was never you, just your dad, but the two of us need some space. I hope you understand. XOXO - Mom”

ziqing11

return to table of contents

Word War w/ Fini

there are no words to describe the turmoil that burnt inside me. i will try to describe it as accurately as i can without subjecting to the torture of the actual feeling.

it was saturday morning, and saturday mornings meant secret meetings in the forest of elmwood. it was a dark and dense patch of trees, planted in the far countryside, where no one lived. in the mortal world, it was one considered dangerous and mysterious, for not one single person dared venture in it. people told each other that there were dark, evil, mischievious, cruel creatures who built there homes in there. i, as a young and athletic man, coming from a family that was looked upon as ‘modern’, was not in the least scared. that was how one day i ventured into the evil woods.

not long after my feet stepped into the dense woods, i got lost. the trees were everywhere around me, like cruel and wicked beings, malicious supernatural things, had surrounded me in their intertwined branches. it might have been a hallucination, but in my mind i thought that some branches seemed to be coming for me, preparing a big wooden fist to crush me into powder. it seemed like i ducked right and left, jumped up, knelt down, ran away, further into the clutches of the forest.

it appeared to me like there was no way out anymore, that i was going to die in here, without anybody to bury my body, with no one to lay flowers over my tomb - because for those outside, i would mysteriously disappear. it was then, in the moment of utmost despair, that /she/ came.

she was a mesmerising woman, one of dazzling hazel eyes and flowing golden hair. she was carrying a lantern that allowed me to perceive her enlightening facial features in the eerie darkness of the forest. she came up to me, smiled and made sign for me to follow her.

it was nothing less than love at first sight. i could not detach my eyes from her; my eyes followed her every movement - soon i began to fall dizzy from her sight. then, from where i did not know, a fire lit up.

it was as sudden as i describe it now, raging flames, tall as a tower, leaping towards us, licking at our feet as though wanting to devour us in its golden, orangish arms. and still i do not recall the next part.

the next thing i knew, i was in her arms, barely alive but still breathing.

ever since that incident we began to meet each other in the same woods. she gave me one of the rings of hers, and told me that it would guide me towards her. with the help of that magical object, i found her every time. with every night i grew fonder of her, until it became oblivious passion.

then, one night, the same night that marks my anniversary, she turned me to stone. i did not notice at first, and did not get the chance to notice until i was fully turned into this cold, grey statue.

trust me, being turned into a lifeless stone by the one you were going to marry is not the most pleasant feeling.

—

“At sundown on the last day of May, you will meet your mortal enemy at the topmost peek of Mount Boli. There you will fight until one of you succumbs under the blows of the other”, Jo read from the letter, the light in his eyes glowing fiercer with every word. “You hear that, Eve? My mortal enemy! I will finally get the chance to revenge my fathers!” he announced, his voice slightly trembling from excitement and anticipation.

Eve smiled warmly, and she laid her gentle gaze on
(633 words)

Milkysplash

Weekly dump, I’ve stopped formatting lol

Part 1
250 words overusing writing rules
rules used: don’t use said, a paragraph should be at least three sentences.
636 words
TW: someone gets injured (badly, but there’s no explicit blood, or gore)

Nova shuddered as she walked through the Slums with Erika, a paramedic whose job was meant to be providing emergency aid out on the streets, but in reality Erika ended up becoming a second receptionist when she wasn’t busy with the clinic. They had come out to the southern reaches of the Slums, where Nova used to live, before she ran away for good.

“Nova?” Erika asked, and Nova could hear the concern in her voice. “Are you okay?” Erika must have seen her shuddering as she walked past the compound.

“I… I’m fine,” Nova replied, voice not much more than a whisper. In truth, she really wasn’t okay. She didn’t want to see Sora ever again - and she truly loved her, as an adopted sibling, but she was just too overprotective.

“Nova, you’re not fine,” Erika pushed back on Nova’s statement. “I’m worried for you like I’m worried for all my patients and everyone in the Slums, okay?”

“Okay,” Nova agreed. She would rather not tell Erika everything that happened… before the clinic, before Torres and Halcyon came along, before the revolution.

As they continued to wander through, scouting around for a building to start a new clinic at, Nova heard the sound of the wind whistling as someone soared past. Glancing up, she could see the characteristic red and brown suit of The Crimson Hawk. Sora. Her overprotective adopted sister. Then, there was the sound of something being fired. Suddenly, she felt herself being jerked forwards, and pain rushed through her body. A spark of light flew out of her hands, shooting into the sky as a signal for help.

Nova felt someone - Erika - catch her as she fell towards the ground. She could hear Erika’s voice filled with worry come over her. “Nova? Nova, are you okay? Just breathe, okay. Just breathe and stay calm.”

Nova nodded at the instructions, but she couldn’t help but get anxious as the wind whistled closer and closer, until it stopped with a thump on the ground. Sora had landed, and was making her way over here. She did not want to have to deal with this.

“Sora, you nearly killed me,” Nova growled. “Get away from me, I don’t want to deal with you again,” she hissed, making it clear she didn’t want Sora in her life. She could hear Erika become more agitated in her attempts to calm Nova down.

“Sora- whatever your name is,” Nova heard Erika softly begin, “you’re making my patient’s condition worse. She’s just been injured, and I need to get her proper medical attention as quickly as I can. You need to leave, as you’re agitating her.” Nova wanted to thank Erika, as she was so polite in how she’d said it. If Halcyon was here, she’d probably be ready to punch Sora, and if Torres was here, a stern talking-to would occur. Cadence would likely start losing her mind, and yell at Sora. None of them would end well. But Erika, firm and polite, knew how to deal with it.

Nova could hear Sora scoff. “She’s my sister. She needs me.” Nova heard. Sora was so overprotective - didn’t she realise that Nova left her for a reason?

“She doesn’t need you right now,” Erika replied. “She’s hurt, and agitated, and the best thing you can do is back away.” Was there a pleading tone Nova could hear? She wasn’t sure. But she could hear footsteps as Sora walked away, leaving her in peace.

“Okay, Nova, let’s get you back to the clinic,” Erika explained, lifting Nova up off the ground. Nova hoped she wasn’t too heavy - Erika was a rather small person and wasn’t exactly built to carry people, but oh well. She didn’t think she could walk right now. All she wanted was for the pain to stop.

250 words breaking rules
I broke “don’t use said” and “paragraphs must be at least three sentences long”
365 words

“Sora! What the hell are you doing here?” Nova growled, annoyed that Sora had taken to waltzing into her place of work to check on her. “I left! Get out!”

Nova watched as Sora backed away. “I was only concerned-”

“I don’t care.” Nova said. “I… you need to leave. Now.”

“Nova, please. You were injured-”

“So what?” Nova glared. “I’m fine now, and I don’t need your stubborn, overprotective heart to check in on me every single day! I’m not fourteen. You treated me like I was younger than that, and Emerie enabled it. I was tired of living like that. I wanted you out of my life.”

“Listen, Nova-”

“No, you listen here.” Nova said, placing her hands down on the desk and standing up. Strands of light were beginning to form in between her fingers. “You- Sora, you can’t respect my independence. So get out.”

“Nova, I-”

“I don’t care,” Nova hissed. “I want you out.”

Nova heard the clinic door open, and she saw Erika walk in. “I- Nova, is everything-”

“Everything’s fine,” Nova snapped.

“Nova, are you okay? I heard shouting, and I wanted to check.” Erika said.

Nova saw Erika glance around, eyes landing on Sora. “What were you arguing about?”

“My sister has issue-”

“Sora doesn’t understand respecting independence.”

“Sora. You’re clearly causing Nova distress by not respecting her rather strong boundaries. I have to be firm with you: you need to leave.” Erika said firmly. “I’m sure that if you do require medical attention - serious medical attention - we would not mind having you here. However, you are agitating Nova a lot.”

“You’re just taking her side because you don’t want me in here!” Sora exclaimed.

Nova wanted to say something, but Erika cut in. “No, I am not.” Erika said calmly. “You came in here against the wishes of Nova, who has repeatedly made her boundaries clear as day to you. If you both need to have a personal argument, you can do so outside the building, in your own time. I hope that makes things clear.”

Nova glared as Sora walked out the door. She was clearly annoyed, Nova could read that. “Good riddance,” Nova muttered.

Part 2 - Incorrect Grammar
ALLY FLUFF SCENE ALERT
yes they’re out stargazing again because I said so.
337 words

The night was warm, Renée remarked, as she took her three-year-old daughter Ally down to the local park to do some stargazing. Her sleep schedule was somewhat cursed at the moment, having been rostered for the night shift the past week, and despite finally having gotten off them, she was still on a weird sleep schedule. It didn’t matter tonight though, as she was wide awake taking an excited, yet somewhat tired, Ally to the park.

“Me sleepy,” Ally declared, yawning to show that she was tired.

“We haven’t even gotten to the good bit yet,” Renée said. “Don’t you want to see the stars?”

Ally shook her head. “Tired. Stars. Stars sleepy too.”

“The stars already had their sleep,” Renée said. “They’ve come out at night because they slept during the day.” This was, of course, not true, but Ally had begged her to go stargazing and Renée couldn’t, in her heart, correct what her three-year-old thought about the stars: that they slept during the day and came out at night.

“I sleepy. Stars sleepy with me,” Ally said. “Mama sleepy too.”

Renée smiled, and shook her head. Ally had a way of melting her heart. She held Ally’s hand and pointed up at the sky. “Ally, there’s stars!”

“Stars! Stars not sleepy?” Ally asked.

“No, the stars aren’t sleepy,” Renée said. She cast her eyes over the sky to find Ally’s favourite constellation - the Southern Cross. “Ally, look! Look over there - what is that?”

Ally looked up to where Renée was pointing, and scrunched her face up hard in concentration. “Oh!” The three year old exclaimed. “South Cross stars!”

“And what about that one?” Renée asked, pointing at another one of Ally’s favourite constellations.

“Oreon!” Ally grinned. “Big belt!”

“Yes, Orion does have a big belt,” Renée commented, as she noticed Ally yawning.

“Tired already?” Renée asked.

“I sleepsies,” Ally said, before leaning into Renée’s leg.

“Okay, let’s go home and sleep,” Renée said, picking her toddler up from the ground and into her arms.

Part 3
WELCOME BACK TO: Skylar Traumatises Alaina Again

Emotion: Urgency/Panic
316 words
TW: death (in the past)

“Alaina, calm down!” Alaina heard the sharp voice of Kallie come slicing through her thoughts. “It’s not going to happen.”

“It is!” Alaina said, frustrated. “It is, it is! It’s just like the last time.”

Last time. Alaina thought back to last time. Last time, the plane came down, everyone on board severely injured or dead. This couldn’t be happening again. She couldn’t let it happen again.

“Alaina!” She heard Kallie bark. “Alaina. It’s not going to happen, I swear. Planes are very safe - it was just one bad accident.”

Yes, that one bad accident that she kept thinking about. Day in, day out, every time she travelled, she could only think of what happened that night. Watching the crippled aircraft glide over the ground, smashing into the wall, breaking up. Flames. The firefighters, hosing down the aircraft. Dragging out the survivors. Dragging out who she could. Treating who she could. All her efforts, in the end, did nothing. She couldn’t have them. She couldn’t deal with this again.

“I can’t deal with this again,” Alaina said, on the verge of sobbing. “I can’t, Kal, I can’t.”

Alaina sighed, trying to steady herself, trying to calm herself down, trying to tell herself that it won’t happen again. Trying to compose herself.

“I thought it was over. I thought I moved on. I thought I wouldn’t have to deal with it again.”

Alaina heard Kallie lean over, and Alaina felt a light pressure around her arms. “It’s okay, Alaina,” Kallie said. “I’ll call up control and let them know that we can’t take the job because you’re in such a state right now. Does that sound good?”

Alaina tried to slow down her breathing. Tried to think about something other than the accident. Tried to whisk herself out of the black hole in her mind that was the accident. “Okay.” Alaina said, after taking a moment. “Okay.”

Part 4
388 words

“Arrested?!” Cadence exclaimed. “What do you mean, Nova’s been arrested?!”

Erika shook her head, confused about the whole situation herself. “I don’t know! I was in here with her talking about how we were going to run the clinic today, and the next thing I know, she gets arrested by the Atoll City Intelligence Service!”

“She can’t be gone,” Cadence said, and Erika could tell that she was devastated.

“Unfortunately, she is,” The voice of Agent Torres came through a side door, and she stepped into the foyer. “I checked the records. She’s arrested. Halcyon is working on ways to get her out, with someone else.”

“Oh, for goodness sake,” Erika sighed. “This can’t be happening.”

“Hey- guys?” A new voice came through. Erika recognised it as belonging to one of the nurses at the clinic, Anita. “What happened?”

“Nova got arrested,” Erika explained. “We don’t know how, or why.”

“I’m going to try and get her legal help, but I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t know how I can do that,” Torres said. From what Erika could recall, Agent Torres was covering up her true role as a spy by being some sort of legal assistant for the charity.

“Hey!” One of the other doctors, Carina Drayton, walked into the room, placing her bags down, before noticing the empty chair.

“Wait, where’s Nova?” Carina asked.

Erika sighed. “Nova’s been arrested.”

“Oh- for goodness sake! Who decided to report her?” Carina groaned. “She is not that dangerous, and anyways, she shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place.”

“Yeah, well…” Erika sighed. “She did.”

“Who’s going to be the receptionist now?” Anita asked. “We can’t run a clinic without a receptionist.”

“I’ll run it,” Erika volunteered. “Half my job ends up being dealing with paperwork rather than running around the Slums providing emergency care.” Yeah, she was maybe-slightly-definitely salty about that.

“No, it’s fine,” Antia said. “I’ll run it. After all, I got her arrested.”

Erika paused. “Wait, what the-”

“I knew we shouldn’t’ve hired you!” Cadence cursed.

“How… could you?” Carina asked, and Erika could tell that she was in shock.

“I thought we ran our background checks thoroughly,” Cadence sighed. “Maybe we don’t run them well enough.” Erika could agree. A crack in their system had led this to occur, and now Nova was gone.

ziqing11

return to table of contents
Weekly 2

Part 1:
Elisa nodded approvingly, a gentle smile displayed on her lips, as the younger girl admitted her advance in maths and explained her reason behind reading this book. The first year girl then asked about the arithmetic classes at Hogwarts.

Elisa tilted her head slightly, thoughtful. After a moment of hesitation, she looked back at her interlocutor, her gaze seemingly still distant, lost in an array of thoughts. “No… I actually don't…”, she articulated, frowning slightly. Then, pulling herself from her endless pondering, she focused her eyes once more and, this time more seriously, answered, “No, I've never considered what we can actually learn at Hogwarts, now that I think of it. Since arithmetics is only taught for third years and above, I've always supposed it would cohere to the subjects taught in muggle middle school…”

“I wonder how I never thought about that”, she continued, smiling to herself, “I guess I'd have to search that up to satisfy my curiosity, now that you've raised the subject.”

Finding herself incapable of coming up with a new conversation, she grinned at the girl as friendly as she could, and nudging her head towards the way she had come, she took her leave. “Well- I won't bother you further with your reading then - I have an essay to finish myself.”

“If you ever want to hang out together, I'll be in the library! The name's Elisa, by the way, Elisa Wagner”, she continued, leaving her name for the girl. It was never too late to make an acquaintance - or at least so her father had taught her.
(264 words)

“I don't know what to write”, I said, frustrated. I stare at the blank screen in front of me, and I feel very frustrated and I don't want to write. Because I don't know how to write while breaking rules. Am I supposed to write a lot of run-on sentences and use incorrect punctuation and use very simple words? Maybe I should write very ugly-ly. What should I even write for this, I have absolutely no idea. Perhaps I could also make verb tense errors. Yes, I think. I am going to did that.

I still have no idea what I should be doing for this part of the weekly. I am a bit eager for the part 2 and 3 (is there a part 4)? I sigh, and I close my eyes because they are tired.

Why do I get the impression that this is my sister's writing. I mean I feel more like a seven year old pressing random keys on her big sister's keyboard, which is very silly I know.

I look at the word count. I see 181 words. There is still about seventy words to go. I sigh again. By the way, I have reopen my eyes since then. I am very lazy and I think that writing the weekly in one day is not very good but it is okay. This is so dull I wonder why we have to do this but I will still do it because it is true that it is fun to purposelly write very badly! Oh I know! I should mispel words on porpose! Ah this is more funner, I think to myself.

Then I suddenly realise that funner does not have the red dot stuff under it. I gasp aloud. Is funner correct in grammar!

Oh, I should chekk if I reach word count! My eyes look at the number and yay, I do! (I think I went a bit too far oops-)
(317 words of nonsense)

Part 2:

Étrange.

Closed eyes. I feel ze light against my eyelids. Blinding.

Étrange.

I was not ‘ere - no, I ’ad never been ‘ere. Slowly, zough my eyes were forced shut from the light, my ozer senses began working. First, I ’eard voices. Unfamiliar ones. Zere was one zat was deep and assuring, and one zat was of ‘igher pitch and seemed to be trembling.

I gasp. Or razer, I feel my mouf form ze shape of a gasp, because I ’eard no sound from it. Ze voice was oddly familiar. Too familiar. Abnormally famili-

“ESTELLE!” Zis time I actually ‘ear my shriek. It is raw, like ze voice of an injured man. I split my eyes open despite the light, letting it pour into my pupils. Blinding zem.

Étrange.

I see sree figures bent over me. I cannot distinguish their figures because of ze light.

Slowly, zey become clearer.

Suddenly, I ’ear an earsplitting shriek - only to realise it came from my mouf.

I feel my muscles struggle to lift me up, but an agonising pain clues me to the bed. I am in a bed. A ‘ospital bed.

Étrange.

I feel fire burning, raging inside me, devouring every inch of my skin. I yelp in pain, but my brain can’t seem to forget ze figure zat I just saw. Ze beautiful figure of a woman. Not any woman, no. A very unique woman, one I would give my life for…

Would give my life for…

Give my life for… ?!

I gave my life for ‘er! I do not know where zis revelation came from, but it seemed real, not fin and blurry like a grasp of dream but real - accurate and real.
(280 words)

Part 3:
there are no words to describe the turmoil that burnt inside me. i will try to describe it as accurately as i can without subjecting to the torture of the actual feeling.

it was saturday morning, and saturday mornings meant secret meetings in the forest of elmwood. it was a dark and dense patch of trees, planted in the far countryside, where no one lived. in the mortal world, it was one considered dangerous and mysterious, for not one single person dared venture in it. people told each other that there were dark, evil, mischievious, cruel creatures who built there homes in there. i, as a young and athletic man, coming from a family that was looked upon as ’modern', was not in the least scared. that was how one day i ventured into the evil woods.

not long after my feet stepped into the dense woods, i got lost. the trees were everywhere around me, like cruel and wicked beings, malicious supernatural things, had surrounded me in their intertwined branches. it might have been a hallucination, but in my mind i thought that some branches seemed to be coming for me, preparing a big wooden fist to crush me into powder. it seemed like i ducked right and left, jumped up, knelt down, ran away, further into the clutches of the forest.

it appeared to me like there was no way out anymore, that i was going to die in here, without anybody to bury my body, with no one to lay flowers over my tomb - because for those outside, i would mysteriously disappear. it was then, in the moment of utmost despair, that /she/ came.

she was a mesmerising woman, one of dazzling hazel eyes and flowing golden hair. she was carrying a lantern that allowed me to perceive her enlightening facial features in the eerie darkness of the forest. she came up to me, smiled and made sign for me to follow her.

it was nothing less than love at first sight. i could not detach my eyes from her; my eyes followed her every movement - soon i began to fall dizzy from her sight. then, from where i did not know, a fire lit up.

it was as sudden as i describe it now, raging flames, tall as a tower, leaping towards us, licking at our feet as though wanting to devour us in its golden, orangish arms. and still i do not recall the next part.

the next thing i knew, i was in her arms, barely alive but still breathing.

ever since that incident we began to meet each other in the same woods. she gave me one of the rings of hers, and told me that it would guide me towards her. with the help of that magical object, i found her every time. with every night i grew fonder of her, until it became oblivious passion.

then, one night, the same night that marks my anniversary, she turned me to stone. i did not notice at first, and did not get the chance to notice until i was fully turned into this cold, grey statue.

trust me, being turned into a lifeless stone by the one you were going to marry is not the most pleasant feeling.
(545)

Part 4:

“At sundown on the last day of May, you will meet your mortal enemy at the topmost peek of Mount Boli. There you will fight until one of you succumbs under the blows of the other”, Jo read from the letter, the light in his eyes glowing fiercer with every word. “You hear that, Eve? My mortal enemy! I will finally get the chance to revenge my fathers!” he announced, his voice slightly trembling from excitement and anticipation.

Eve smiled warmly, and she laid her gentle gaze on the lean young man siting next to her. Compared to him, she was small and fragile - Jo had, in fact, always acted as her protector. The pair were sitting on the roof of the house. If their position was considered dangerous and risky, that was what Jo had come up for. He always insisted Eve come with him, and claimed that he would protect her from falling down the three floors.

Jo was indeed tall and strong - the kind of men that were indeed bravest and most handsome, but who also would not lose an occasion to boast about it. Jo sported black curls on his head that dropped down all the way to his shoulders. He had no beard nor moustache - he considered those too old fashioned for him.

As though the exact opposite of Jo, Eve was small, thin and pale. Her frail build made her seem always ill, and her health was indeed fragile. Though always carrying a sad and nostlagic air around her, she was pleasing to look at, and was often compared to a flower bud. She had big, amber eyes full of softness and gentleness, and her smooth, light brown hair was forever braided.

This sweet and gentle fragility was perhaps the reason Jo had chosen this girl out of all that he could chose from. He told everybody that he was her protector, but everyone knew otherwise. They were seen as the sweetest little couple there was - they were together everywhere, seeing one meant that you would see the other too.

That was also why Jo was so keen on making Even come with him to this quest, where he would revenge his fathers from the deadly enemy.

Eve agreed, for she had entire faith in her protector, and had already vowed to be his forever.

Thus they embarked on the long journey towards Mount Boli. Though the journey was long, they kept each other company and therefore were happy.

They had calculated their time so that they reached the topmost peek of Mount Boli exactly at the last day of May.

They waited, admiring the view, for the last rays of sun to disappear behind the horizon. Eve appeared perfectly tranquil - Jo had warned her, and Eve had promised to go on in life, even if Jo lost in the battle.

The last light of the sun disappeared, and the two stood up at exactly the same time.

Eve slid out from her cloak a shiny and sharp blade who's handle was incrusted with diamonds of high value. Her arms was perfectly steady, as though she had held a sword all her life.

“I am in you mortal enemy, Joseph.”
(536 words)

HippotheHippo

An Interview with Percy (699 words)
PERCY, a LEGO parrot modeled after the one I currently have on my shelf, perches on the corner of a cluttered bookshelf in the main cabin. AMBER and CAT are seated on a wooden bunk bed, both holding notebooks and pencils. CAT is on the top bunk, and AMBER is on the bottom.

AMBER: Cat, your feet are in my face-

CAT : Shh! We're recording!

AMBER: Okay, but if you want to move over a little bit-

CAT: Shh!

AMBER : Fine, then. We're here in the main cabin, interviewing the second mascot of SWC! Would you like to introduce yourself?

PERCY: I'm Percy. I'm a parrot made of LEGO, and, um… yeah.

CAT: Very nice. Now, Percy, we were wondering-

As CAT continues to talk, AMBER pushes CAT's ankles out of her face and consults her notebook to see which question is next, tracing the list of questions with her pencil's eraser. Her eyes widen as she reads.

AMBER: For the record, this is all Cat, I've never wondered this in my life.

CAT: You literally told me to add this question to the list!

AMBER: Just so you all know, Cat is lying, and I apologize. She doesn't usually-

CAT: Amber, I told you this question was stupid and you locked my mangoes in a safe and didn't give me the code until I added it to the list!

AMBER : We're recording. We shouldn't be arguing.

CAT : So I shouldn't ask the question?

AMBER: No, ask it, but I don't want to know the answer… I just think someone out there would be curious or something.

CAT: Okay then. So, Percy, since you're made of LEGO, can you blink?

PERCY: No, but I don't really need to lubricate my eyes anyhow, because they're LEGO. To be honest, I think it would be kind of problematic if my eyes were moist for an extended period of time, because stuff can grow on this type of plastic, I think?

AMBER: Well, there you go, folks. I'm sure someone out there was just desperate to know that answer. Now, Percy, what is your opinion on Gurtle?

PERCY clicks his beak and then squawks as a book slides off a stack of books. PERCY ducks as the book narrowly misses his head. CAT jumps off the top bunk and inspects the book.

AMBER: Jeez, Cat!

CAT: Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have stepped on you, but look! I wrote this last session, and it's still here!

AMBER: No duh! This is the archival section of the cabin! Do you see the sign?

CAT: Oh, now that you mention it, I do see it. But why is there a bunk bed?

AMBER: Well, it's all a science that is really quite precise-

PERCY: Y'know, this was really nice, but I have to go. Sorry.

CAT: What? Don't leave now!

PERCY: I told you guys I could only be here for fifteen minutes.

AMBER: But I thought you meant-

PERCY: Sorry. Um, yeah. But I have to-

PERCY flies into the part of the cabin the camera doesn't record. Distant screams are heard in the direction PERCY has flown. CAT sits next to AMBER on the bunk bed, then remembers her notebook is still on the top bunk and stands on the bottom bunk to get it. AMBER clears her throat as CAT pulls herself onto the top bunk.

CAT: Huh?

AMBER: We have five more minutes until the next daily drops. What are we going to do if we're not interviewing Percy?

CAT: We could always…

AMBER : No.

CAT : But I'll let you pick the song!

AMBER: Fine…

CAT: Okay. Karaoke!

AMBER: For our first song, we'll be singing… uh…

CAT: Ooh, can I pick the song?

AMBER: But you picked last time!

CAT: But you can't think of one!

AMBER: This feels… manipulative. But fine.

CAT: Okay, we're singing Party in the USA. Where did we put the speaker?

AMBER opens her mouth to answer, but a loud bell rings, signifying the next daily. Distant shouts of joy ring out as they jump off the bunk bed, and the camera and microphone shut off.

Milkysplash

878 words

Is this an attempt to get you to see all the KUWTS episodes? Yes. Maybe. Yes.

SKYLAR: Hiya, and welcome back to Keeping Up With The SWCers Except It’s A Podcast For A Daily! I’m Skylar, your host for today, as both Livy and Sage are away on some… important business.

SKYLAR: Before we begin, I’d like to thank you all for your brilliant work in speculating our next guest… and unfortunately, we did ignore your pill. Don’t worry, we’re releasing an extra special episode soon and the poll guest episode to make up for it.

SKYLAR: Without further ado, I’d like you all to welcome our new SWC mascots, Young Elf and Old Hobbit, to the podcast! Before we begin by answering questions from the audience, do you have anything to say to our listeners?

YOUNG ELF: They’re taking the hobbits to Isengard!

OLD HOBBIT: They are not taking me to Isengard!

YOUNG ELF: You’re short.

OLD HOBBIT: You’re tall.

YOUNG ELF: They took you to Isengard.

OLD HOBBIT: Yeah, well…

SKYLAR: I think that’s enough of your bickering. Young Elf, do you have anything to say to our listeners about being an SWC mascot?

YOUNG ELF: Oh yeah! I have tons to say! I’m really excited to be an SWC mascot for the next session, and also become a KUWTS mascot too, if that spot isn’t already taken?

OLD HOBBIT: Isn’t Legolas the official KUWTS mascot?

SKYLAR: No, we just sing They’re Taking The Hobbits To Isengard far too much. Regardless of that, thank you for that, Young Elf. Old Hobbit, do you have anything else to add?

OLD HOBBIT: I think Young Elf has covered it all.

SKYLAR: Amazing. So, we’ll be giving you three rounds of questions, round one will be a bit about yourselves, just a few silly questions to break the ice. Round two will be about your writing career, if you do write at all. And round three will be about the sorts of chaos you’ll cause as an SWC mascot!

SKYLAR: Without further ado, our first of three questions from Round One. Skog or Blahaj?

OLD HOBBIT: Is that a question?

YOUNG ELF: Of course it’s a question! Obviously, Blahaj. I think Blahaj is quite chaotic, especially in his noble clash against Skog, who I think is Sauron.

OLD HOBBIT: Who are Skog and Blahaj? I only heard about the mangoes.

YOUNG ELF: That's because you’re an old, old hobbit.

OLD HOBBIT: Am not!

YOUNG ELF: You’re like, seven hundred years old. That’s old.

OLD HOBBIT: Hobbits do not live that long.

SKYLAR: While I appreciate your rather lively debate there, we’re going to be moving swiftly on. Question two: Mythology, or mystery?

YOUNG ELF: Are those cabin names? Is it a lyric reference?

OLD HOBBIT: What questions are these?

SKYLAR: They’re both cabin names, and it is indeed a lyric reference to one of my all-time favourite songs, To The Sky. I believe Sage, who brought you here, also likes that song.

OLD HOBBIT: Hmmph. I’m too old to keep up with this young and hip generation.

YOUNG ELF: Well, it would obviously be myth! Sage brought us here, and she’s rather nice.

OLD HOBBIT: Was it not Livy?

YOUNG ELF: No, it was Sage. Your age is showing.

OLD HOBBIT: Hmmmph! I will not have my age slandered!

SKYLAR: Aaaaaaaactually, it was all three of us who brought you here.

OLD HOBBIT: Hmmph. Maybe your memory is bad, young elf.

SKYLAR: Moving swiftly on, question three: would you go out on strike, yes or no?

OLD HOBBIT: Strike? What is this?

SKYLAR: Liiiiiike, uh, industrial action?

OLD HOBBIT: I don’t understand.

YOUNG ELF: That’s okay! I would go out on strike because I’m your mascot, right?

SKYLAR: Of course! Those are some brilliant answers, Young Elf. Okay, moving on to Round Two!

SKYLAR: Question one: have you written any novels in the past?

OLD HOBBIT: Indeed I have! I have written many, considering my age.

YOUNG ELF: See! I told you you were old. Anyways, as for me, I’ve been far too busy adventuring across Middle Earth to write.

SKYLAR: Both very good answers, and I’m sure our listeners will be pleased to hear that. Um, due to time constraints, we’re going to have to very swiftly move on from that.. onto Round Three! Livy and Sage did split these questions nicely for me, but uh- ah, well. I’ll just ask you about the chaos you’re planning to cause.

YOUNG ELF: Do-do-do-do-do-do-do. THEY’RE TAKING THE HOBBITS TO ISENGARD!

SKYLAR: THEY’RE TAKING THE HOBBITS TO ISENGARD!

YOUNG ELF: THEY’RE TAKING THE HOBBITS TO ISENGARD!

SKYLAR: TO ISENGARD

YOUNG ELF: TO ISENGARD

OLD HOBBIT: Stop this ridiculous song at once!

YOUNG ELF: What did you say?

OLD HOBBIT: I said, stop this ridiculous song at once! You are not taking me to Isengard!

YOUNG ELF: What did you say?

SKYLAR: Where is Gandalf, for I much desire to speak with him!

OLD HOBBIT: Not you too, Skylar.

SKYLAR: Well, that’s time! I hope you’ve both had fun on this podcast, and normal programming will return soon.

SKYLAR: Also, keep your eyes peeled for our super-special episode, dropping… sometime soon. Have a great day, and remember…

YOUNG ELF: They’re taking the hobbits to Isengard!

(They’re Taking The Hobbits To Isengard plays in the background as closing music)

taylorsversion--

Definitely did not speedrun this hahah - but it was a productive 45 minutes to say the least!

Part 1 - 530 words

Following Rules ____

259/250
The dragon king wakes up, his eyes blinking in the fierce brightness. It’s been a century or two since he went to sleep and the dragon crinkles his eyes wearily. Running a huge claw across his scales, the dragon sharpens them, making his scales shine a bold bright red, sparkling against the sun.

Getting up, his massive form scrapes the roof of the dark cave. The dragon pads outside and finally gets to open his wings and stretch. It’s a hot, humid day; quite normal for ancient Africa- but the dragon knows something is wrong.

Reflecting on his dazzling wings, the glittering sun shines brightly, almost too brightly. Or - maybe that’s not the sun. Taking off, the dragon king watches the sky and he is correct. It is not a sun, it is a meteor, a meteor hurtling towards Earth so fast with such immense unstoppable power even the king of the dragons, the mightiest of the almighty, falters.

The meteor zooms closer and the dragon watches from above, scanning the ground. Dinosaurs- the wingless dragons - dither, unable to escape. Pterodactyls fly up above the clouds in refuge and the meteor hits with one almighty boom.

The Dragon King roars with pain as he witness the world tremble and burn, knowing there’s nothing he can to do stop it. After the initial shock, it’s quiet. There’s no more movement and the dragon returns to his cave and hides, he hides forever, for there’s no use in going back out if he’s the only one on the planet.

Breaking Rules ____
271/250
i sigh and flop onto my bed. i turn over to my back and i stare at the ceiling. i wonder why i have been so bad at schoolwork lately, but i push that thought out of my head. i have far more important things to think about right now and i really want to finish that idea i’ve been sparking in my head lately. i don’t know what it’s of but it’s for my ocs and i really want to write a mystery but idk that’s just what i think. i get up off my bed and go downstairs and i walk out of the door and i look around. i can’t see anyone i know passing by so i go on a bus to the city so i can find someone. i guess i could of just messaged my friend to meet me somewhere but i want to see if i can find someone that can help me. i’m looking for someone that looks exactly like my oc which i guess is a bit weird but then maybe they will be my oc then maybe they can help me. i know this is the weirdest rant ever and don’t worry i didn’t actually do this but i found someone that looks like my oc so i was over the moon about that i guess and i asked them some questions and it was awkward so i leave but they tell me that they really really REALLY like jam doughnuts so i buy a jam doughnut for them in thanks and now my oc really likes jam doughnuts i guess.

Part 2 - 256 words

256/250

Billy’s mother faced Billy in the direction of the teacher.
“Go on.” She tilted her head.
Billy sighed.
“I’m sorry, yeah? - I woulda helped them if I wanted ter, but they hasn’t really done anything to me but taunt me and I thought they deserved it, y’know. I know I shoulda been saying this to them instead but it would be so awkward. I guess you’re right and I should of been a upstander and not a bystander but sometimes they need karma if you get what I meant. Next time, I’ll make sure to help out others more - if there isn’t a next time or when there is. I know we was good friends and I know that what I did was really bad. I shoulda told the bully to not call names and I’m like really sorry. I walked this morning past them and I smiled so I guess I did something.”

The teacher nodded. “What did they say in return?”

Billy replied, “Well, they just kind of looked at each other like oop… and stared at me. I stared back and it felt like weird so I walked away and said ter them Okay bye I’m going to go to the school now!”

“Well, at least you tried to be kinder - now tell me, how did they taunt you?” The teacher added sympathetically.
Billy frowned. “Wells they said my dinosaur model was trashy and I was not allowed to set a foot in their secret base that ISN’T EVEN SECRET.”

Part 3 - 315 words

i don’t resonate with any of this btw lol, my friends are amazing <3

I plonk down on the airport seat, despondent upset numb. I feel so useless ignored UNWANTED. My closest friends have JUST boarded took off disappeared WITHOUT me and I am here my happiness fading as what JUST happened sinks in.

There’s an emptiness a void my brain can’t compute what just happened.

And then I am FURIOUS. Pure ANGER is all I feel as I scream, sob, clench my fists, shout. How could they DO this to me? How could my friends my best most loyal friends leave me like I am nothing to them how could they how could they.

But MAYBE. I shake tremble quiver. Maybe they didn’t mean it? A sense of calmness washes over me- that’s right; they forgot. Accidentally. Genuinely. Truthfully. That’s it - they simply failed to remember, I AM important to them, I just slipped their mind… but how? If I’m so important worthy awesome then how did they forget to wait for me before boarding the plane, leaving me Stranded. Desperate. Alone.

Well, perhaps they got distracted? But by who? Wait- maybe by that one girl who we befriended on our trip. I feel so JEALOUS. ENVIOUS. SICK. Did they really value HER over me? I can’t believe it, I refuse to believe it, that can’t be true. I’M the one they’ve been friends with for years years years and STILL they want to run after some cool rich popular pretty girl and try to befriend her?

Lastly, I feel DOUBT. Have we really been best friends for years and years and years or have I just been a tag along the person on the group chat they wanted to get rid of, were glad to were relieved to? Am I really so annoying clingy clueless that all they really wanted was to leave me here in a foreign country because THAT’S how naive I have been?

Part 4 - 365 words

I walk into my motel room. It’s stinky and uncomfortable and small, but it’ll make do. I rest my suitcase against the cheap cupboard with peeling paint and look around. There’s not much to it, really. Just a plain white bed in one corner, a window with a simple black curtain drawn across it and a wooden desk with some drawers. The TV is pretty boring too, but I have an hour or so to waste so I hunch up on the bed and watch some Formula 1 or whatever is on the TV.

After getting bored of that I look through the desk drawers to see if there’s anything interesting. In the top drawer, it’s empty except for a bit of dust in the corner but in the bottom drawer, there is an old, tattered diary. I pick it up carefully and flick through, it seems like it’s been here for, heck, I don’t know, 70ish years? That’s just judging on the language I can see used though- the handwriting seems quite modern and strangely familiar actually.

The first weird thing I notice is that they have the same handwriting as mine.

Turning the old, crusty pages, the second weird thing I notice is that there is no signature.

The third weird thing I notice is that the dates say 1950 but it mentions COVID-19 and social media.

And the last weird thing I notice is that there is a magical fairy standing in front of me.

I yelp and jump backwards. “Who are you?!”

“Don’t worry, sensei!” She shifts her position and I realise she is some sort of magical anime girl or something.
“I can help you! UWU!”

Err- okay..?

I watch, frightened from the corner as she does weird battle poses, zap! The room smells like flowers. Zap! The room becomes double in size. Zap! All the furniture has upgraded, and on and on and on.

Finally, she stops. She smiles at me and walks out of the room like nothing happened.

With a sigh, I log onto TripAdvisor, navigating to the motel’s section and write:

Nice motel. Quite an interactive experience with helpful staff. I might come here again. Thanks.

1466 words overall

Last edited by taylorsversion-- (March 16, 2025 22:25:08)

Broken-Ice

☀ Muxa :: Week #2 ☀
★ Rule Breaking ★

★ Part 1: Breaking Common Rules

this one was purely satirical tbh

She gripped the blanket and uncovered herself. Muxa walked into the living room, one foot after the other, and she made her way to the bathroom. The sun blinded her as it leaked through the glass window of the back door. She squinted her eyes, grabbing the handle of the bathroom door with her right hand that had a shortened thumb. Muxa lifted the toothbrush and turned the faucet lever upwards so that the water could pour up from the pipes and down through the faucet. She moved the toothbrush head towards underneath the water. Muxa then grabbed the toothpaste and squeezed it until there was enough on the toothbrush. She moved the toothbrush to her mouth and started scrubbing.
“Good noon,” her mother yapped. Muxa glanced over at her mother, who was grabbing the laundry.
“Good morning,” Muxa replied with the toothbrush still in her mouth. She walked out of the bathroom and stared at the clock for two minutes to have adequate brushing. Muxa walked back into the bathroom to spit, brushing past her mother.
After the brushing concluded, Muxa put the toothbrush back to where it was after rinsing it off. She walked into the kitchen. Muxa grabbed a bowl from the white cupboard by the pantry and put it on the counter, and then she went and grabbed a spoon from the silverware drawer. She reached for the box of cereal and placed the wheat rectangle into the bowl. After she put the cereal into the bowl, she decorated the cereal with some nut butters and granola before sprinkling a dusting of cinnamon onto it. Finally, Muxa poured the milk.
“Meow!” Tiger declared, screaming beneath Muxa’s feet.
“What?” Muxa challenged the cat.
“Meow!” Tiger swore.
Muxa glanced around the kitchen. She turned her head over to the laundry room where the feline’s bowls were. The bowls were completely full. Muxa frowned.
“What?” Muxa repeated, looking down at the cat.
“Meow!” Tiger barked.
Muxa grabbed the bowl of cereal and walked to her room. She ignored the feline that was trailing behind her. The spoon clinked as she walked.

Word Count: 352

Silly questions about the world! Silly characters! Silly! I hadn't written anything about these characters when they were younger </3 why I decided to write about it. Plus it gives some… intriguing lore >:3

It was the last light of Illos before the day came into a close; the sky was tinted in a crimson hue as the glow began to dim. Even though darkness was closing in, the land around them was dotted with lights.
Myuta had seen this cycle of day and night since around the day she was born into the world, though she barely remembers how she felt when she was much younger. The way the world cycled and changed intrigued her, and she always wanted to know more.
They were on an outing, Myuta and her siblings along with her parents. It was a pleasant outing to see all of the sights of the world, at least the sights that were immediate around where they lived. There was a town north that was always as busy as the city that they lived in.
There was much that Myuta nor her siblings didn’t know. The world was a complete mystery to them with their young minds and wide eyes. They had barely grown in their wings.
“I have a question, mommy,” Myuta pleaded, gazing up at her mother with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Hm?” Her mother turned to her.
“What is Illos?” she asked, pointing her claw-tipped paw up to the closing orb in the sky.
“Illos is the light!” Tioru answered, bursting into the conversation. Myuta glared at her brother before immediately attacking him.
“I know that!” Myuta argued, “but what is it really?”
“Well,” their mother said, turning to the sky. She stopped, sitting down at the edge of the warm forest. The golden leaves glistened in what remained of the light from Illos. Myuta and Tioru sat together on one side, gazing up at their mother wanting to know more.
“I want to know too…” Xujia spoke up quietly, sitting closely to the other side.
“It was a place you could go to,” she began, “it is the core of the entire world that we live in. All of the magic flows throughout the world coming from and returning to Illos.”
“Do you think I can go there?” Myuta asked. She really wanted to go see the light, and she especially wanted to see this grand place that her mother was talking about.
Then her face turned dark and solemn. A sigh escape their mother.
“Likely not,” she said as she gazed up into the sky.
“Why not?” Tioru asked before Myuta could say a word. Their mother sat there searching for the words to say in response.
“We cannot escape this world.”

Word Count: 427

★ Part 2: Purposefully Incorrect Grammar

I have no idea how to write purposefully incorrect grammar, so I am going to preface this with a warning: I have no idea if I purposefully did incorrect grammar anywhere. good luck.

A chase. This was a chase. Jaws snapped at his tail as he burst through the forest, evading the crackling energy that protruded from the earth. He had been running for what felt like centuries. This beast from the shadows behind him kept snapping. It was snapping at him, snap snap snap.
Snap.
Tioru had unfortunately lost his staff long ago. I gotta- I gotta get out of here. He glanced around. There were trees. So many trees. Tioru could jump, but then he would end up with no escape route. He glanced behind him briefly; the beast was still crawling behind him.
Leap.
He leapt, his claws digging into the sides of the tree he climbed, and climbed. Safety did not come to him. Trees, trees… Branches. There. Tioru leapt, barely clinging onto the other branch. The beast had made it up halfway the tree that he was on.
The branch below him was not as stable as he had perceived.
“Fly you dunce!” A familiar shout rang out from the distance.
“The synnzi- has- ack!” The branch shook, shadowy wings spread, his eyes widened.
A blur of orange shot past, a blur of golden was mixed in. Blazing claws slashed at darkness. Tioru stepped back, the branch beginning to give way. He flapped his wings, watching the synnzi barrel down to the ground. Myuta had a hold of it.
“Where did you- find- this-“ Myuta shouted up between swipes from the beast.
“I- uh… Summoning,” Tioru responded.
“Summoning…” He could barely make out his sister’s hisses and rants.
“Why did you do that?!” Myuta exploded, power igniting at her paw as the shadows quelled and disappeared. She swung around, gazing up at Tioru. He gulped.
“You know… You know not to go on…” Myuta began. She was completely out of breath. Tioru landed at her side, feathers flying about. He was terrified of her wrath.
“You know not to do that without someone else!” Myuta shouted.
“I was so worried about you the moment I heard from Virna that you had gone out to study the new synnzis, by yourself,” Myuta sighed. The magic within her eyes dimmed.
“Okay- okay. I- I won’t do it again,” Tioru said, still shaking and exhausted from the chase.
“Wait- where is your staff?!” Myuta screeched, “oh no. We can’t just… We can’t just ask uncle for a new one…”
“My bad. I lost it,” Tioru chuckled, hoping that Myuta would let it slide. They could just look for it – though the synnzis might be running rampant up the road. That sure is something we gotta deal with.

Word Count: 436

★ Part 3: Asyndeton

to my dismay. I already WROTE A CHASE SCENE FOR PART 2 AND IT WAS MORE SUPPOSED TO BE BREAKING OF GRAMMAR RULES but I’ll do something else

Illos was bright leaking in through the window, hitting the eyes of the sleeping bymian. Her eyes flickered open as she glanced around. She hadn’t had a nightmare that night, and she felt rested. Nuzne had not felt so rested in a long time. She lazily got up out of her bed, putting the blankets neatly back over, and walked over to the window to gaze out. It was a busy day, but that was typical for the city that she lived in.
Nuzne decided to take a short walk just outside of her apartment. It was not as pleasant as walking within the forest, but it was pleasant enough. She longed for a walk in the forest.
The clock within the sky ticked. Nuzne gazed up at it to see what time it was. Oh, it’s late in the morning. Do I have classes today? She thought. It dawned on her like a sack of bricks. There were classes that day, and she hated being late.
Axus. I am going to be late. She scrambled up the stairs, into her house, to the kitchen. Nuzne started a fire, poured water into the pot, stuffed the pantry in. She had no time to eat, classes were about to begin soon.
After cooking the slapped together selection of food, Nuzne downed the food. She grabbed her books, she put her bag on, she left the house dashing. She ran through the streets, brushing past those who were simply walking. Nuzne was not about to get a mark on her name.
She burst through the gate, turned left, swung open the door, sat down in her seat. All of the eyes in the room were peering at her as she made her explosive entrance.
“Sorry I’m late!” Nuzne piped up before experiencing a glare from the one teaching the class. Annd… I’m done for.

Word Count: 312

★ Part 4: Non-Sequitar Dialogue

mmm rocks…

It was a normal day, normal afternoon, and normal evening, when Zynnisa returned to her room with a heavy bag of rocks. She had just started collecting strange stones that she had found during her daily chores, which there were certainly a ton, and she had them all lined up neatly on her desk. Zynnisa poured the sack onto the desk to begin sorting.
The rest of her rocks were gone. Had she misplaced them? Had she moved them somewhere else? She was certain that she had done nothing to the rocks that she had been collecting. After all, this was a nightly routine that she had collecting rocks and sorting them. Zynnisa sorted them from least intriguing to most intriguing, and she was considering taking them to someone who specialised in rock identification, whatever that job was called.
But they were gone.
The rest of her siblings and her parents were in the house. She knew that Alik and Caiula had been at home all day, so they must have known what happened to her rocks. Someone had to have broken into the house somehow without anyone noticing, or…
“Hey, has anyone seen my rock collection?” Zynnisa poked her head out of the room, glancing around to see if anyone was within earshot. She scowled when she saw no one in the hallway.
Zynnisa entered the main room, a room full of potential suspects as the thief. Alik was reading like he always was. He was seemingly in the same place that he had been when she left that afternoon to continue work. Caiula was cooking with her mother, she knew that Caiula had been learning to cook from her. Her father was enthusing about magic with Nuzne.
“Hey, I lost my rock collection,” Zynnisa spoke up.
“Really? That’s odd, they were there when I woke up…” Nuzne responded, breaking away from the conversation with her father.
“I also saw them this morning,” her mother added.
“Someone had to have taken them…” Zynnisa pondered.
She had no idea who would do such a thing. Though, this was a new collection. She had many collections, in fact. Random feathers she found, random buttons, random nails, and many more items that she kept finding randomly during work.
“Maybe try checking around where they were?” Caiula suggested.
Zynnisa backed away to keep searching for the rocks within her room. She searched underneath her desk, around her desk, above her desk, inside of her desk, and… there was nothing. Not a single rock besides the ones that she had just brought back.
Nuzne had entered the room at that point. The room was shared between them. Prime suspect. Zynnisa glared at her sister from the corner of her eye as she kept turning things over to find the rocks.
“Trust me, I have not touched them,” Nuzne said.
“Are you sure?” Zynnisa tested her with an intense stare.
“No, I have not touched them.”
Zynnisa sighed with defeat. Prime suspect refuses to admit to the crime. She thought, organising the new rocks as she mulled over who the culprit could have been.
Zynnisa spent hours searching for the rocks, but it still was not enough time to find them. She quizzed her family, she searched their rooms briefly, and she even left the house to search outside for the rocks.
It was finally time for dinner. She would have to continue her search after dinner. Zynnisa was going to have to go through everyone’s things to find her collection. I need to make sure my other items are still intact… She thought, glancing around at her family at the dinner table.
“So, I’ve been enchanting with some rocks,” Alik spoke up.
“You. You took my rocks,” Zynnisa pointed.
“The ones on your desk?”
Zynnisa let out a loud groan. I spent hours looking for them, and Alik took them…

Word Count: 646

End notes

can't believe I managed to finish this in an hour

-vanillamochabear-

⋆ WEEKLY #2: rule-breaking ⋆
total words: 1777

part one: breaking common rules (627/500 words)
scene 1 (rules): The sky above was a brilliant swirling cerulean today, sunshine warm on my back as I ran across the field. Soft grass tickled the soles of my feet as I approached the towering oak which watched over the field like a predatory bird. I found the tear in the side of its bark, and duck as I crawled inside. Evangeline is there already, her eyes gleaming with a feral kind of excitement.
“How do you even manage to find a place such as this?” I gushed with awe, admiring the patterns of twisting branches illuminated by the sunlight. I had never seen anything quite so extravagant and was left breathless.
“It’s a secret,” she beamed. “Is it private enough? What did you have to show me?”
I brushed off my wonder, stood tall, and rubbed my hands together in a mischievous manner. “Watch this,” I whispered. A pang of nervousness ran through me but I did my best to ignore it. Without further of a wait, I raised my arms and let that surge of power deep within me flow. It felt wonderful, like laying down at last after a long day of work.
Swirls of candy purple filled the space inside of where we were standing, smoke shimmering like glitter being released in great, elegant plumes. They dance around me like brushstrokes of older times. I smiled with pride, watching Evangeline gasp in surprise.
At last, I was able to reveal a core aspect of myself to someone I trusted.
“Wow,” my best friend gasped, the gleam of my magic reflecting bright on the floor even after most of it had faded. She surged forward into my arms and I almost cried with the joy of acceptance.

scene 2 (no rules): it was a nice day.
or, it had been when i stood outside just a few moments prior - i trusted that niceness to be carried for a little while longer. i slumped against the smooth wood of the inside of the oak, dry grass scraping my skin itchily. i checked my watch for the millionth time, hoping lydia would show up soon. she’d seemed nervous the other day, when she’d told me of something she wanted to show. in secret. i’d let her know of my spot here in the tree (which was a secret of my own, i supposed), and we had planned to meet up in the afternoon today. curiosity gnawed on me all night - lydia was my best friend in the whole wide world, so what had she been keeping from me that was so serious?
my answer entered the room then. lydia stepped into my hut, her jaw dropping, and it took everything to keep me from laughing. i’d forgotten the tree wasn’t something of a casual standard, and i hadn’t had many people to invite to it before.
“evangeline!” she exclaimed, “how do you manage to find a place like this?”
“my own personal truth,” i said, smirking. “show me whatever you have to first, then maybe i’ll tell you my story.”
“bet,” she said. her eyes lit with the light of a smile.
“well? is it private enough here?” i leaned in with anticipation. (would she admit to being a serial killer? how would i react then?)
“of course. well, here goes nothing,” she said, raising her arms. the craziest thing happened then - swirls of what i could only describe as magic burst forth, filling the air enchantingly. i stared, wide-eyed.
more questions than ever raced through my head, but i saw the way lydia’s shoulders shook and could only understand how nervous she had been. it must have been taxing to hide something such as this for so long.
magic still lingering, i spared her the questionnaire and went for a hug.

part two: incorrect grammar (350/250 words)
at last, the basement is empty. as silent as possible, i pull out a wrinkled piece of notebook paper, and reach for the lone sharpie that happens to be sitting on the floor. i uncap it and pray that there’s ink left.
there is, but it’s scarce. i hold my breath and begin to write.

to whoever this may find: greetings, and well wishes.
my name is lyra jones. some time ago - oh, god, how long has it been? days? weeks? - i got kidnapped. currently i write this note in the cold basment of a building, the address i don’t rember. i don’t have access to anything at all, no phone, no news, not even a person to talk to besides my captor. gosh, what does a person mention in a letter such as this?
i am starving, i am depived of light. you have my name now, please let it be known that i am somewhere out here in this world, suffering but alive. my mom’s phone number is this, and please call to let her know i’m here and i love her and i would do anything to see her again

footsteps. i shove the paper under my shirt and wait to see if they fade. my hand cramps from writing so quickly, and at this point i am writing any word that comes to my mind. when it’s silent again, i continue.

please, anyone, save me. i would give whaever is left of my life. the man that has me, he wears a mask but the best descripshin i can give is tall, pale (i think, it’s pretty dark here) and wears a trench coat half of the time. call the police or whatever, just get me out of here and i’m so tired and exhausted and

footsteps again. i crumple the note, the marker nearly dry now and words at the bottom are barely there. i hope my chicken scratch is good enough to decode. i toss the thing into a vent, hearing it roll away. it’s stupid, but i cling onto any chance of freedom.

part three: asyndeton (343/300 words)
urgency.
she ran, ducked, dodged. the wolves were right at her tail, and anyone could guess what would happen if she stopped, even just for a moment. in this world it was run or die - the moonlight was cold and unforgiving, each branch stuck out like a deadly sword, each root was intent on causing her downfall. even then, she knew she was better than each deranged element and grit her teeth tighter. faster. she needed to be faster.
her mind pleaded for a break. just to briefly stop, to maybe catch her breath, feel the cool flow of water on her tongue, stretch her legs. it took every muscle in her mind to ignore these desires. she hears her father’s voice in her mind, scolding her: foolish girl. you know what a drop of water could cost you. look straight ahead and run, run, run.

which would be the worser way to die, she pondered? to collapse from exhaustion or to be mauled to death? she can feel the hot breaths at her ankles, hungry growls and fur intertwining. she makes her decision there and keeps pushing. just a little further. even wolves had to give up eventually, didn’t they?

~

she can’t take it anymore. she was dying either way, might as well die feeling the slightest hint of relief. she does what her mind sees as the best possible choice and sprints up the trunk of the next tree that isn’t totally drowning in ivy. halfway up, cold, strong arms grab her and she yelps.
“hush,” a voice says, “i’m only trying to help you.”
the (no longer) running girl stares into kind silver eyes. “who are you?” she asks, her own voice raspy.
“just someone who cares,” the silver-eyed man responds. his skin is as pale as a ghost.
the two of them watch the pack below scratch at the trunk, but it’s unbudging. the running girl sighs in relief, branches around her swaying like a protective cage.
“let’s wait for you to wake up, shall we?” dreaming, dreaming, screaming.

part four: non sequitur dialogue (457/350 words)
“you really are one for knowing a spot,” lydia remarked. she and evangeline sat perched atop a sprawling brick wall, one that she hadn’t even known existed. the view from here was immaculate - the entirety of their town could be seen, the vast expanse of wildflower blanketed hills, and even a couple of cows grazing just outside of the farm.
eva giggled. “thank you. just wait until you see some of the other places, though, this and the tree are just the beginning.” she pulled her legs up to her chest, turning away from her friend to look over everything. “this one seems like the kind of place humpty dumpty would fall off of, though.” lydia snorted a harsh laugh.
“i mean, you’re not wrong.” they sat in contented silence for a moment, waiting for conversation to find them.
lydia hummed. “you know, you never really told me the story of how you found that that oak had an accessible inside. remember when you promised?”
“i didn’t promise, i said maybe,” eva said in defense. she rolled her eyes with a smile. “it’s not a very interesting story, i’ll tell you that. i just like exploring an awful lot.”
“sure. because an average enjoyer of exploring would just so happen to find the kind of thing on the front page of a magazine –”
“it could happen!” eva insisted. she sighed. “okay, fine, that particular spot my mama showed me. i’ve been to it ever since i was a little kid, and apparently my grandma was the one to introduce it to my mom, and before that my grand mama… you get the point.”
“must be an old tree,” lydia said.
“it is. my family believes that fairies used to live there or something, that the tree was the original pixie hollow.” she laughed. “i don’t know if i could buy that.”
lydia grinned. “i would. now that’s the kind of story i’m talking about. ooh, by the way, i brought us some peanut butter-jelly sandwiches.”
eva raised an eyebrow, turning away from the view at last. her legs swung fervently. “oh, really? i didn’t take you as the prepared kind of person. you would’ve had, like, a two-minute’s notice to make them–”
“okay, i didn’t,” she admitted. instead, she reached into the air where a cloud of purple formed, fading to reveal the impromptu sandwiches. she handed one to her friend.
“honest, i forgot you could do that,” eva said, “i might actually believe that fairy story now.” they eat, and watch the cows in the distance.
lydia finished first, and frowned.
“is there something on your mind?”
“would right now be a bad time to tell you that i’ve killed 40 people because of these powers?”

Last edited by -vanillamochabear- (March 16, 2025 22:30:39)

ChueyTheCat

weekly 2 yay 1600 words

part 1 part 1
Lilac slammed the door as she came into the house, her face red and brows drawn together in a scowl.
“YOU TOLD!?” she yelled, stamping her foot.
Daisy flinched, eyes widening. “I didn’t think-” she started, but Lilac wouldn’t let her finish.
“I was this close! This close! And you had to tell him- you HAD to tell him- that I don’t have my wings yet.”
She flopped onto the dirt couch, and the emo-flowers growing on it immediately wilted. Waving her wand around, she continued to rant and shout at her sister.
“I bet you just didn’t want me to pass. I bet you wanted me to fail. I- I- I bet you were jealous that I almost got into the Dream Catchers, and you didn’t.”
“I never even wanted to be in the Dream Catchers,” Daisy whimpered. “It’s not fair. You know I can’t keep secrets.”
“Then go do better,” Lilac snarled. “You could have at least tried to keep this one. You knew how much it meant to me, and you ripped it away. I hate you.”
Daisy’s lip trembled, and a large dewdrop tear splashed onto the couch, making the emo-flowers tremble. “I n-never meant to,” she wailed. “I was just talking to my friends, and the head of the Dream Catchers walked by and joined the conversation, and he asked when you’d got your wings, and it just popped out before I could help it.”
“I could have gotten in,” Lilac fumed. “I could have fulfilled all my dreams. And you went and spoiled it.”

part 1 part 2
“Wow,” I said.
“Wow,” she said.
“Wow,” he said.
“Wow,” I said. “Wait, I already went.”
“Huh?” she said, but I ignored her.
“What are we even doing here?” he said.
“I have no idea,” I said. “I think it’s some kind of writing exercise.”
“Like, exercising while writing? That sounds like a terrible idea. And what does that have to do with us?” she said.
“Forget I said anything,” I said, looking up at you slyly.
“Why are you looking at the sky? If we’re going to exercise we need to focus.”
“Nah man, I always do pushups while watching Bluey,” I said.
“You could do one of those challenges, you know where you, like, do one pushup for every time something happens? When you’re watching Bluey, I mean.”
“Who’s talking right now? I forgot.”
“Yeah, me too. Let’s go back to using labels.”
“I thought we weren’t supposed to use the word said.”
“Eh…it gets pretty confusing without it. Besides, I think we can break the rules a bit in this case,” I said, winking up.
“Bro, you’re so weird,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said, putting a hat on my head and doing a little dance.
“Point proven,” he said.
“Yeah, yeah. I just did it for the audience.”
“What audience?” she asked. “There’s literally no one here but us three.”
I smiled. “Oh…right. I forgot.”
“You are not okay.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, whatever. I’m just being funny, you guys should know that by now. I’m the funny one. That’s me. Just quietly sitting here, being funny, using adverbs…”
Both of them edged away from me.
“Hehe,” I said.

part 2
“I’M A COWBOY YEE HAW,” the cowboy shouted. “I AIN’T HAD NO BACON FOR BREAKFAST FOR NOTHIN’, I’M GONNA SHOO THOSE COWS BACK WHERE THEY BELONG.”
“That’s nice, honey,” his mother said, patting him on the head.
“BANG BANG BANG,” the cowboy shouted, riding around the house on his rocking horse.
“I ain’t gonna eat my lunch,” he said when it was lunch time. “Cowboys eat dessert FIRST!”
“Darling, eat your grilled cheese, please.”
“NO I WON’T I HATES IT I HATES IT MY PRECIOUS- oops wrong universe. I’m gonna eat my hat before I eat my lunch.”
He folded his arms and stared at his mother defiantly.
“Well, go ahead then” she said, sitting down to eat her salad.
The cowboy ate his hat but he didn’t feel much better afterwards. He even felt worse if that was possible.
“I AM GONNA GO GET THOSE AIN’T COWS NOW,” he said.
His mother raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re putting all your lingo in the right place?”
“Cowboys ain’t have grammar,” he said sulkily, and went outside to pick weeds and pretend they were cows.
“That’s pretty obvious,” his mother laughed to herself, shaking her head and starting on the dishes.
“I’m tired of being a cowboy,” he said, coming in. “It’s too hot outside.”
“How about you eat your lunch?”
“NO! NASTY, NASTY HOBBITSES- um, I’m not hungry right now. Cowboys ain’t never hungry. I think. I’m fixing to go back outside where none of y’all can bother me about lunch.” He scowled, stamped, and stormed back outside.

part 3
The wind is whistling, the leaves stirring in the skeletal trees, the grass crunching underfoot as she runs.
She is never going back. Ever.
Tears trail down her face, gleaming crystal paths that glimmer in the light as she stops, breath catching like a sobbing child. Her heart beats, throwing itself against her ribcage, a frightened bird trying to fly away.
She is lost, helpless, and alone.
Crumpling to the ground, she shakes, covering her face with her hands. There is nowhere to go. Nowhere to run. Only the forest, and the things behind her.
Screams echo through the trees, screams so wild, haunting, unhuman that they shake her to the marrow. She hasn’t run fast enough, far enough. She’s got to keep going, or she’s going to lose this deadly race.
Stumbling to her feet, she continues her dash through the forest, fueled by fear and panic. Her breath scrapes through her lungs, in, out, in, out, her heart a staccato accompaniment to the music of terror.
She’s nowhere near the end, and they’re closing in. She’s got to run faster, harder, more, more, more-
She can hear them, getting closer and closer, and she wants nothing more than to close her eyes and wish it all away. This can’t be real. It’s not happening. It’s a dream, a nightmare, a fiction she thought up while idling. She is going to wake up any minute to find herself safe and warm in her house, surrounded by her family.
She’s getting closer. She can almost see the freedom ahead. She is almost surprised; she was never the fastest runner, and her stumble should have cost her more than it did. Is she really going to break free of the cursed trees and into freedom?
Her feet are flying, tears drying as hope surges in her chest like a sun.
She reaches out a hand to touch the sunlight beyond.
And the shadows behind her claw her back.
There is one scream, one desperate struggle for the sunlight.
Then total silence.

part 4
The pie is missing.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?” Ruth exclaims. “It’s pi day. We have to eat pie. It’s only right.”
“Unless you can eat invisible pie, I don’t think we’re going to be eating pie on pie day,” Anise says, unhelpfully, because Ruth immediately turns on her and thrusts a finger in her face. “I bet it was you! You were complaining earlier about how unfair it was that we had to wait for it to cool before getting to eat it.”
“It WAS unfair! But I didn’t take it. Do I look like I just ate an entire pie!?”
Ruth eyes her suspiciously, muttering under her breath.
“Let’s not get too worked up, guys,” Betty says. “I’m sure the pie will turn up. Ruth, are you sure you set it on this counter? Did you put it in the fridge? Is it still in the oven?”
“‘Is it still in the oven?’” Jane scoffed. “Do you see any smoke? No? Come on, Bets. We all saw her take it out. Someone ate it, end of story.”
“Yeah, but who?”
Silence falls. All of them glance at each other, trying to figure out where it possibly could have gone.
“We all know Jane’s favorite flavor is blackberry, and it was a blackberry cobbler,” Anise says, folding her arms.
“You’re just trying to cast blame on her because you were suspected. Game’s up, Any. We all know it’s you,” Ruth counters.
“Did we check the fridge…?” Bets offers feebly. “Maybe it’s in there. We don’t know if anyone ate it.”
“I think Ruth ate it,” Jane says, tilting her chin up. “She’s been acting weird.”
“Me? I literally baked the pie, idiot. It wasn’t me.”
“Maybe you ate it because no one would suspect you.”
“If that’s true, we should blame Bets!”
“I didn’t eat it, guys, I swear!”
The kitchen devolves into the sounds of bickering as they try to find out who ate the pie.
“I’m done with this,” Ruth said, disgusted. “Let’s search the rooms. There’s got to be some evidence somewhere.”
She throws open Any’s door first, which earns her a glare, and makes a show of walking in and inspecting everything.
“This looks like crumbs,” she accused, pointing to a spot on the floor.
“Oh, yeah, I had a sandwich up here the other day.”
“It doesn’t look like crust crumbs, Ruth,” Bets says. “Let’s try another room.”
They search Ruth and Jane’s room with no more luck. Things changed when they opened Bets’ door. They promptly found the remains of the pie. They also found the family dog, covered in blackberries and looking extremely guilty.
“Oh,” they all said.
“I guess that explains it.”
“I’ll have to make a new pie now,” Ruth sighed. “But at least it wasn’t one of us eating it.”

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