swc megathread: march '25

FairyAyla

Weekly 4
(Technology part)
“You’ve seriously never used a microwave?” Rowan said in disbelief. “Well… Mom was scared of them, and Dad was always the techy one, and after he left, we didn’t use much technology.” Lulu explained, looking at the ground awkwardly. “A microwave isn’t technology” Rowan said, looking at Lulu with a sort of smirk. “Anyway, this is a microwave, it heats stuff up!” Rowan said, pointing to the microwave. “Wow, it’s got so many buttons!” Lulu marvelled, then she gasped “Rowan, let’s heat up something from your fridge!” She said, excitedly “Okay.” Rowan smiled. Lulu grabbed an egg from the fridge. “An egg?” Rowan questioned “I want to see what happens!” Lulu exclaimed. She put the egg into the microwave, then hit a bunch of buttons “Um, are you sure about this?” Rowan looked unsure “How long did you put that egg in for?” They asked “Um. I’m not sure. Is your mom gonna be mad?” Lulu looked up at Rowan, suddenly feeling anxious. “Naw, I’m sure she won’t mind, as long as we don’t explode anything.” Rowan said, looking uncertain. Rowan looked in at the egg “How long did you put that in for-” Suddenly the egg exploded, covering the inside of the microwave in egg. “Oh shoot” Rowan said, quickly pressing the pause button. Lulu looked at Rowan anxiously. “Um, you might want to call your mom to pick you up.” Rowan said, grimacing at the microwave. Lulu pulled out her phone, called her mom, and ran out to wait for her.
(dangerous scenario)
Lulu sat in the back of her mom’s car, looking out the car window, feeling guilty. Would Rowan be in tons of trouble? Probably, knowing her mom. “You okay, honey?” Lulu’s mom asked from the driving seat. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine” She said, looking back out the window as they neared a bridge and rain began to splatter the windows. Her mom could tell she wasn’t completely fine, but didn’t want to press. Suddenly, Lulu saw something out the window “What the-” She muttered, then she shouted “MOM WATCH OUT!” She screamed as her mom swerved the car, nearly missing a flaming reck of what looked to be a car, or used to be a car. “What on earth was that-” Her mom was interrupted as she had to swerve the car again to avoid hitting a police car, then another car came out of nowhere, it had became hard to see with the rain covering the windows “MOM THE BRIDGE!” Lulu screamed as her mom had to swerve again to avoid crashing into the railings of the bridge, and possibly driving off into the river below. Her mom swerved and slipped around in the rain, Lulu clutching her seat, digging her nails into the armrests. Her mom finally managed to find somewhere pull over, next to a rest stop “We might want to stay here til the storm blows over.” Her mom said. “…Okay…” Lulu said, feeling a bit scared still.
(Character having trouble letting go.)
Lulu sat inside the rest stop, on a bench, her mom in the bathroom, remembering going on roadtrips back when her dad was still there, taking breaks at rest stops like this. Lulu’s mom came out of the bathroom. “Hey Lulu, you doing okay?” Her mom asked, sitting down next to her. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Lulu said, looking down at the ground. “Remember when dad was still here, and we would go on roadtrips?” She said, looking up at her mom. “Yeah…” Her mom looked away. “I wish things were still like that…” Lulu said quietly, looking back to the ground. “I know. But they can’t be.” Her mom said. “They could be.” Lulu said, barely more then a whisper. “They can’t, Lulu, they really can’t.” Her mom said, putting her arm around Lulu. “Why not?!” Lulu demanded, standing up and pushing her mom’s arm away. An expression of hurt filled her mom’s face. Guilt suddenly washed over Lulu, and she ran. She just wanted to get away from that moment. She sat down and hid behind a vending machine. Stupid, stupid. Why did you say that. You just need to let go. She told herself, hot tears brimming in her eyes, blinking to try to keep them away. Let go of him.
(Unexpected thing happens to character)
After the rain cleared, they got back in the car and drove away, not speaking the whole drive. Once they got home, Lulu went up to her room. After a little while, her mom came up. “I’ve got to run an errand, want to come with me?” She asked. No. Lulu thought. “Okay.” They got back into the car, and drove away. Lulu had texted Rowan, asking her how did things go with her mom, but she hadn’t gotten a reply. Rowan’s mom had probably grounded her. After a bit of driving, they arrived. Lulu hopped out of the car. An animal shelter? Her mom led her inside. “So, I know how you have been bugging me about getting a pet, so since your having a hard day, I thought maybe, if you’d like, we could get a cat?”
“What?!” Lulu gasped, not believing her ears. “Really?!” Her mom smiled and nodded. They walked into the cat house. Tons of cats sat in cages. She looked at lots of them, unable to choose. Suddenly, she saw the most adorable little black and white cat. “Oh my gosh…” She mumbled. “That’s Henry.” A volunteer said. “He’s a little less then a year old, and is a bit shy, but a real sweetheart.”
“I want him.” Lulu said “Are you sure?” Her mom asked “Yes.” They bought the stuff they needed to, and brought him home. Lulu was so excited, she’d have to tell Rowan about it tomorrow.
(Character overestimating their abilities)
It was the next day, and Lulu sat on her bed, when she got a call from Rowan. She picked up. “Rowan! I thought you were grounded!” She said “I am! But I stole my phone back.” Rowan said through the phone. “Rowan… Your mom’s gonna be so mad!” Lulu said “Well, she doesn’t have to know. Wanna hang out?”
“I don’t think that’d be aloud…” Lulu said “Come meet me at my house, I’m gonna sneak out.” Rowan said “This is a bad idea…”
“Come on! Be there in five.”
“Okay.” Lulu hung up and went down stairs “Hey mom, can I… Um, go to the park please? With Rowan?” Lulu asked “Isn’t Rowan grounded?”
“No…”
“Okay, be back for dinner.” Lulu took her bike to Rowan’s house, and parked outside Rowan’s window. “Lulu!” Rowan called down, “I’m coming down.” Rowan said, carefully climbing down, “Rowan, are you sure this is a good idea?” Lulu asked “Yeah, I’m pretty good at climbing” Rowan said, then their foot slipped and they fell. “Oh my gosh! Rowan, are you okay?!” Lulu said, running over “Ugh, yeah.” Rowan said, getting up and grabbing their bike. “Come on, let’s go to the park.” They hopped onto their bikes and rode off.
(Character thinks something is perfect but it isn't)
Rowan and Lulu arrived at the park, parked their bikes and walked off. They walked around the park for a while. “I love this park.” Lulu thought aloud “It’s perfect.” She said, smiling “I guess, although the city really needs to put some trash bins around here.” Rowan said “The park’s perfect the way it is.” Lulu said, feeling a bit annoyed “But it’s covered in trash!” Rowan said, gesturing around “It’d be less pretty with trash bins…” Lulu said, annoyed. “Yeah, but it’d be nicer without all the trash” Rowan said. “Nothing is perfect.” They said “I guess so…” Lulu said, still a bit irritated.
(Character changes their appearance)
After walking around in silence a bit more, they headed back to Rowan house. ”Won’t your mom be mad?” Lulu asked. “Yeah. But she’s not home right now!” Rowan said, smiling. They headed up to Rowan’s room, where there was a large full length mirror. Rowan was tall, with short, deep red hair and brown eyes. Lulu, on the other hand, was short, with light blonde hair that went past her shoulders and blue eyes. Lulu stood there, and looked at herself in the mirror. “Want me to do your hair?” Rowan said from their bed after a moment of silence. “What?” Lulu said, turning around “Do you want me to do your hair?” Rowan said, smiling. “Um, maybe? Do you even know how to style hair?” Lulu asked “My aunt is a hairdresser, so I know something.” Rowan said, standing up. “So, do you wanna?” They asked, grinning “Okay.” Lulu said. They went to the bathroom, where Rowan took out a pare of hair cutting scissors. “So… How do you want your hair?” Rowan asked “I don’t know… Shorter, maybe? Or dyed?” Lulu said, sitting down as Rowan draped a towel around her. “Got it” They said. Lulu heard the snip of scissors, and the smell of hair dye, and after a little while, Rowan spoke “And… done!” They said, smiling. Lulu stood up in front of the mirror, and gasped. Her hair was now short, just above her shoulders, and the ends were dyed bright blue. “Soo… do you like it?” Rowan asked. “I love it!” Lulu said, hugging them.
(Character stepping out of their comfort zone)
Lulu wished Rowan goodbye, and headed home. She didn’t really like biking home alone, but she’d be okay, hopefully. As she put her bike away, a sudden thought crossed her mind. How would she explain her hair to her mom?! Would she have to tell her mom about helping Rowan sneak out? She headed inside, and quickly pulled a hat over her hair. “Lulu! There you are! Come on, it’s dinner time!” Her mom said, coming over. “Okay, great!” Lulu said, feeling awkward and uncomfortable. She went over to the dinner table, and sat down. “Honey, why don’t you take off your hat?” Her mom said. Lulu pulled off her hat, and her mom gasped. Lulu burst into tears “I’m sorry! I went over to Rowan’s house even though their grounded and I lied and we went to the park and Rowan did my hair and it looks really good and I’m sorry!” Lulu cried. “Oh honey. Come here” Her mom said, giving her a hug while she cried. “I am kinda mad at you for a lying, and hanging out with Rowan while their grounded, and for doing your hair without my permission, but…”
“But what?” Lulu asked, finally able to talk “Your hair DOES look really cool” Her mom said, giving her a small smile. Lulu smiled a bit too.
(Incorporate music)
Lulu sat in her room, petting her cat Henry while La La Land by the Go-Go’s played on her phone. She was sorta grounded, after sneaking out and all. Thankfully, Rowan’s mom hadn’t found out. Unfortunately, Lulu’s mom had told Rowan’s Mom and Rowan was even more grounded now. But Rowan still had their phone, they had hid it pretty well, thankfully. Plus, Lulu was really enjoying her new hair. She smiled every time she looked in the mirror. Tonite by the Go-Go’s came on. Lulu smiled and hummed along, then started singing “There’s nothing, there’s no one to stand in our way, get dressed up and masked up blow all cares away. Our minds set on seeing this night through til day. We rule the streets tonight, until the morning.” She sang. It was kinda fitting, for her and Rowan. Them sneaking out. It wasn’t at night, and they didn’t rule the streets, but still, it felt kinda right. That was a good song. Lulu smiled, listening to the last lines of it as it ended. Next, Fine by the Linda Lindas came on. That song felt sorta right for Rowan and her mom. Not really, again, but Rowan did yell at their mom sometimes, when their mom got mad at them, and they got mad too. She lay back onto the floor, looking up at the ceiling as she listened to the music.
(Everyday item has magic)
After listening to some music, Lulu went to bed. Lulu woke up. It was dark out, she rolled over to look at the clock. 2:01 AM. Lulu yawned, and rolled back over, but then felt rather thirsty, so she got up and headed down stairs, Henry the cat trailing behind her. She got herself some water, then after she finished her water, she headed back up stairs. Then she heard a weird noise. She went toward the weird noise, and found herself outside the down stairs closet. She took a deep breath, and pulled open the the closet. Nothing. Expect, there was a mop, rattling around like crazy. “What the…” She grabbed the mop, it shook, trying to break itself free from Lulu’s grasp. It pulled her toward the front door, and outside, Henry staying close behind. “Do you want me to…” Lulu muttered, a thought appearing in her mind. She mounted the mop, like a witch’s broom, and it shot off into the air. Lulu screamed as she held Henry tight to her chest. Soon, after a moment, she felt a bit more comfortable and was laughing. After some riding, she headed back home. She put the mop back into the closet, and headed back to bed, not sure what to make of all this.
(Character learns something unexpected)
Lulu woke up the next morning, feeling a bit tired, probably from the flying around in the middle of the night. She got up and ate breakfast, then got dressed. “Hey mom?” She called, coming back down the stairs “Can I hang out with Rowan today?” Lulu asked “Hmm… I’ll have to talk to Rowan’s mom.” Lulu waited impatiently with Henry in her lap while her mom talked on the phone with Rowan’s mom. Finally, her mom got done on the phone “Alright, their mom said yes. She’ll be dropping Rowan off here soon” Lulu’s mom said “Yes!” Lulu said. Her mom walked off, and Lulu grabbed the mop from the closet and ran up to her room. Rowan arrived, and went up to see Lulu. “Rowan! Look!” Lulu said, showing Rowan the mop. “It’s a mop.” Rowan said, looking unimpressed. “Come with me.” Lulu said, running down the stairs and out the door, with Rowan and Henry following her. Lulu was on sitting on the mop like a witch on a broom. “Get on.” She said. Rowan shrugged and got onto the mop. It shot into the air. Rowan screamed and Lulu laughed. Soon, they landed on the ground. Rowan lay on the grass, panting. “Wow.” They said “You’ve got a flying mop!”
“Yeah! I do!” Lulu smiled, flopping onto the grass next to them.
(Unknown letters)
The next day, Lulu began getting strange letters in the mail, and she didn’t know who sent them. The first few said “You have it.” in creepy bold cursive writing. Then the next few said “Give it to me.” in the same creepy cursive. Next the letters said “The coven wants it.” Lulu showed the letters to Rowan one day. “Coven? Like witch covens?” Rowan said, thinking aloud “Maybe it’s witches who are sending you these letters!” Rowan exclaimed “Are witches even real?” Lulu asked, raising an eyebrow. “I dunno” Rowan said, shrugging. “You’ve got a flying mop, so I don’t even know what is and isn’t real right now.” Rowan said, laying back on the grass of their backyard. “Maybe the witches want your mop.” Rowan said, staring up at the blue sky. Lulu laughed and flopped onto her back with Rowan. “I’m serious! Maybe you accidently got their mop!” Rowan said “Wait, what if YOUR a witch too?!” Rowan gasped. “I don’t know.” said Lulu “I don’t know if I even want to be a witch.” She said, shrugging “Well, if you were a witch, that’d be pretty cool.” Rowan said, looking back up at the sky. “Yeah, I guess.”
(character works with others to do something hard)
Finally, one day, Lulu got a letter that said Please give us the mop. Come to the coven. The mop will take you. The letter was creepy, but it sounded desperate. So with Rowan, she grabbed Henry and a bag of stuff, and took the mop, and flew off. They flew for a while, before landing in the middle of a forest. The mop pulled them forward, till they stood in front of what looked like a giant castle… Or maybe a library? They cautiously walked in. It was dark, then suddenly torches lit all around them. And a group of ladies in weird clothes walked over. “Hello.” One of them said. “Um. You can have the mop…” Lulu said, holding it out. “Thank you.” One of them said “Oh Cindy! Let her keep it!” Another one said “Come on, we can teach her!”
“Wh- But- Fine.” Said the lady who was probably Cindy. “Follow us.” They headed through the building. “Wait here.” Cindy said, then she and one of the other ladies walked off. “Hi! I’m Sunny.” Said the lady who remained. “Um. Where are we?” Asked Rowan. “Your inside our base. Or library. Or castle.” Sunny said, smiling. “Do you want to bake something?” She asked, after a moment of silence. “Um, okay!” Lulu said. Sunny took out a cookbook, and they began baking. They mixed sugar, and flour, and water, and milk. “Are you sure you know how to bake?” Rowan asked, heaving a bag of flour off the floor “Not really, I thought we could get better together!” Sunny said, mixing things together. “We don’t even know you!” Rowan said. After a while, they put whatever they had baked in the oven. And lay on the floor. “That was hard.” Rowan said. “Yeah.” Lulu said. After a while, the other ladies came back. “Okay, we’re here- What are you doing.” Cindy said. “Baking!” Sunny said, standing up. “Sunny! You can’t just go around baking with random children!” Cindy exclaimed “Fine then. Let’s teach them how to fly or something then!” Sunny said, pulling the cake out of the oven. “We kinda already know how to fly…” Lulu said “Oh great! Well, let’s enjoy this cake!”
“What- but-” Cindy said “Just have some cake, dear.”

2974 words, not including lyrics.

silverlynx-

Daily 30
676 words <3

Prompt: Birthday everyday!!

I yawned and swung my legs over the side of my bed, mentally preparing myself for the outburst of off-key singing I was going to have to suffer through. The sickly neverending cakes. The bombarding presents that only got worse as time went on. And worst of all, the amount of attention I got. I never got to spend a minute alone apart from when I was sleeping. I couldn’t wait to be an adult. Then I didn’t have to have my birthday every single literal day.

I rubbed sleep out of my eyes and pulled my curtains up. Light streamed in, pale and dazzling. The birds chirped in the blossoming trees, huge clumps of flowers hanging from the gnarled branches that lined our driveway.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Eliza! Happy birthday to you!”
I groaned and put my head in my hands as my parents walked in, fixed smiles plastered on their faces. I don’t know what convinced them to celebrate my birthday every day. They said that they had always wanted it, so why not give it to their only daughter with their infinite money? Of course, their ‘dear Eliza’ would absolutely love that! Why wouldn’t she want to be forced to socialise with people and have no time alone, or any normal days, whatever they were.

Dad patted me on the back.
“Happy birthday, dear,” He rumbled, handing me a small box.
I nodded my thanks and forced a quick smile. I seethed inwardly but tried to hide it. I opened the box with what I hoped looked like enthusiasm. Nestled inside heaps of turquoise blue packaging was a tiny plastic duck. I stifled a laugh.
“Wow, um, thanks so much, Dad!” I exclaimed, my voice too-bright. He beamed at me.
“It’s glow-in-the-dark, you know!” He announced proudly.
I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “Awesome…”

Mum nudged my shoulder. “Don’t forget about me, El!”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s Eliza!” I hissed at her, an edge of irritation hardening my voice.
She just waved it off. “Whatever you say! Here’s your present!”
She passed me a strangely flat package, done up in rich purple tissue paper and a shimmery gold ribbon.
“Why’s there a ladybug and… moss on the ribbon?” I asked, flicking away the bug into the air. I watched it flutter away, spreading its wings. I wish I could do that. Fly away.
She smirked. “I found that ribbon specially for you! It was lying in our garden, and I thought it was so pretty!”
I tore at the tissue paper.
Mum gripped my shoulder abruptly.
“Hey, you’re ruining the present!” She complained.
I frowned. “What do you mean? I’m opening it.” I told her slowly.
Mum sighed. “No, the tissue paper and the ribbon are the present! Silly girl.”

I bit my lip. “So, I get a microscopic plastic duck and a bit of muddy ribbon for my birthday?”
Mum’s eyebrows drew together. “Nope, you’re forgetting the tissue paper!”
Fury bubbled up inside of me. Burning hot.
“I hate this whole ‘birthday every day’ thing you know!” I blurted out. “I just want to have a normal day! A day to myself. To do whatever I want. I don’t want your stupid presents and the cake and the attention! I want to be able to wake up without knowing that you’ll be walking in. I want to have a life that’s not controlled by the both of you! I want time to myself, I want time to relax, I want to do nothing! For once!”
I paused for breath, gasping. Had I finally got through to them? The millions of times I had told them I hated it.

“OK, whatever you want, dearest!” Mum cooed. “Off you pop, then!”
I stormed out, slamming the door. I lingered outside the door for a moment.
“She loves it really.” I heard Mum’s muffled voice. “You’ll see!”

The next day

“Happy birthday, Eliza!”
I groaned. “Are you kidding me?”

FairyAyla

Daily 30:

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to- wait, wasn’t it your birthday yesterday? Oh, what? It’s your birthday /every/ day? Well, that seems right on topic as that’s the theme of today’s daily! Write 500 words about what you would do and how you would if it’s your birthday every day for 400 points and an extra 150 if you share proof!

If it was my birthday everyday, I would probably quickly start losing interest in my birthday, and probably get very sick of eating cake. And I would also have trouble thinking of things I wanted as presents every day. But for a while, it would be fun, and I would enjoy eating lots of cake and ice cream and stuff. Also, would I be celebrating my birthday every day or would it actually be my birthday every day? Because if it was the latter, I’d age REALLY fast, which would be a really weird. Like, I would be 30 in a month. Like, is it a time loop, or am I some sort of creature that ages very fast? That would be strange. If my birthday was every day, I could have a lot of parties, which would be good for wearing lots of fancy dresses, and jewelry, and other fancy clothes. I might have to think of lots of party themes, which I am pretty good at. I would definitely have a bug themed party. Although, if my birthday was every day, (and if I was a having a party for each of them), I would probably split up my bug parties. Like, one party could be spider themed, and one could be ant themed. Or maybe I could split them up even more, and have my parties be themed around a specific species of arthropod. Like jumping spiders, or diving bell spiders, or leaf cutter ants, or pavement ants, or something. Or maybe I could just go for animals in general, and then split it up into different types or species of animals. Like mayflies. They only live one day, so their birthday WOULD be every day. Sorta. All the days that they would live would be their birthday, I think. If my birthday was every day, I would get the stuff I wanted or needed a lot faster though. Like if I needed and/or wanted a lamp or something, I would get a lamp (or whatever else the thing that I wanted and/or needed) pretty quickly. Within a day or two or so, most likely. And I would get lots of cake, which would be nice, since I like cake. Although I would probably get sick of cake if I ate it every day forever. I do not know. I do not eat cake every day, so I am not sure. Anyway, back to party themes. I would have to get dresses to match each type of thing that my party was themed around. Like, a spider dress! Although I doubt there are many dresses with accurate spiders on them, unfortunately. And I could have an ant dress, but again, I doubt there are lots of accurate ant dresses around. I could probably get a cat dress, though, if my party was cat themed. And I would get really good at cake decorating, since I would be decorating so very many cakes for my birthdays. Anyway, that’s all.

503 words

booklover883322

WEEKLY 4

Title: SWCaboose
Total Word Count: 3264/2150
Part One: 177/150
Part Two: 240/200
Part Three: 253/200
Part Four: 229/100
Part Five: 295/200
Part Six: 199/150
Part Seven: 308/100
Part Eight: 207/150
Part Nine: 254/150
Part Ten: 226/150
Part Eleven: 273/200
Part Twelve: 314/200
Part Thirteen: 289/200

Part one: Write 150 words; new/unfamiliar tech
Ravi stood by the crater, startled. His eyes searched the hole in the ground, spotting a smoking ball in the center of it. He went down into the hole with little regard for his own safety, approaching the glowing red ball of metal. He approached it, each step sinking into the dirt just enough to make him feel as if he were walking on a cloud. He didn’t know why he was so curious, but he was right now, and that was all that mattered. He reached out, but recoiled again when he felt the heat radiating from it. He backed up, glancing around. Was there anyone else around? He hoped not, since this wouldn’t be something that he’d like to share. He heard a clicking sound and his head snapped back to look at the orb. The red glow had dimmed, and he noticed a crack in its surface. He brushed his hair behind his ear, wishing that he had brought a hair tie. He reached out yet again, when the clicking sounds increased in frequency.

Part two: 200 words; Dangerous situation
He wrinkled his nose, not entirely sure if he wanted to touch the thing. His mind kept waffling back and forth, which distracted him from the spiders. The orb continued to crack, and little mechanical spiders began to crawl out of the ball and began to make their way toward him. His mind came back to reality as the first spider touched him. His skin sizzled as the pin-like leg sunk into his bare foot and cooked his flesh. Ravi shrieked and jumped back. His dark eyes, wild with pain, frantically scanned the scene. AH! There were more of them! He backed up and began to run out of the crater, hissing with every other step. While the damage wasn’t that much, it still hurt like hell, and he was NOT about to stay there any longer than necessary. Mother was right! Going out was silly, and would only lead to mythical creatures ruining your day. But, as he ran, the spiders seemed less and less mythical. Unlike the Kappa, the Drakons, the Elves, and more, those creatures were stilted, artificial, unnatural. Nothing about them was mythical, only technological. Ravi heard a crash behind him, similar to the crash he had heard when the first ball had dropped. Against his better judgment, he stopped and looked back to check out the source. Lo and behold, an identical orb had dropped from the sky, just as red hot as the first.

Part three: 200 words; overestimating their abilities
Ravi cringed as he heard yet another crash. He couldn’t help but glance back at the first hole. It was swarming with red hot little spiders, and they were spreading in every direction. They advanced toward him at frightening speeds, and Ravi cursed himself for not continuing to run. He started running yet again, feet throbbing, lungs straining. He ran a lot at home, so he was sure that he could run the… very long distance back home. He kept up the speed for a few minutes, but before he knew it, his side began to burn, but not in the same way that the landscape was. Rather, it egged him on to stop, to rest. It scraped against his senses, but he knew that if he stopped, he’d be burning just like the wild grass. He began to smell smoke, which did not help his running abilities. He continued to run, tears beginning to wash down his face. At least they helped clear the bits of ash and dust that clung to his face. He heart ached for the dryads, who he began to see emerge from the trees that they inhabited. However, he just had to keep running, although it was becoming harder and harded to do the more he ran. He tried not to think about it, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t NOT thinking about his pain. Oh if only he had decided to wear shoes. Ravi’s legs suddenly gave out, much sooner than what he had anticipated.

Part four: 100 words; something that the character thought was great turned out to be bad
He looked around frantically, spotting a watch tower in the distance. He perked up, overjoyed to see one of the bastions of security that kept his country safe. Maybe, just maybe, if he couldn’t protect himself, he could at least rely on the Peacekeepers for protection! He mustered up what little strength he had left, catching his breath. He turned back briefly to see how far away he was from the spiders. Okay, far enough that he didn’t need to sprint. He jogged over to the watchtower and knocked on the small wooden door that was at the back. A guard opened it, decked in shiny, golden armor. He looked down at him, scowling. “Leave this place, you are not welcome.” Ravi coughed, trying to catch his breath, “Wait, no, sir! I need your help! I need-” He was cut off by the guard, “You’re just another beggar. Get lost.” Ravi sniffled, tears once again coming to his eyes. “No, sir, I am not!” He gestured to the destruction that was starting to ravage the grasslands. “I need a safe place to stay, I can not run any longer!”The guard shook his head, “You can find your own safety, child.” He slammed the door in Ravi’s face, and the boy collapsed at the door, soaked in his tears as they pooled in the yet untouched grass and dirt.

Part Five: 200 words; bizarre or unexpected scenario
As the crashes began to get more frequent, Ravi became resigned to his fate. The baby spiders would crawl over him and cook him to death, simple as that. He hoped that the mean guard would also get cooked to death, even if that thought was mean. He closed his eyes, readying himself for what- what? He felt something tap him. He opened his eyes and looked up. An apparition, no, a cloud nymph, waved at him and pointed. Ravi’s eyes followed her gestures, and he noticed a dip in the ground. He looked back at the nymph, not understanding. She sighed, the wind from it tangling Ravi’s hair. She kept pointing, moving toward the dip. Ravi followed her, tilting his head quizzically. When he got closer, he noticed a small hole in the ground, barely big enough to fit his scrawny body. The nymph smiled at him once the look in his eyes signified that it had clicked. Ravi turned back to her, “No, no! The spiders will still get to me here!” She shook her head, gesturing to herself proudly. Ravi wrinkled his nose, “I…” He looked at the horizon, and barely spotted the edge of his city in the distance. That was much too far. He sighed, “Okay… But if I get cooked, I’ll blame you in the afterlife!” The cloud nymph seemed to giggle, but Ravi didn’t find that very funny. He crawled into the hole and curled up inside. He noticed that the nymph puffed a cloud into the hole before covering the entrance with dirt. Ravi’s anxiety spiked as soon as he found himself in the darkness. The cloud allowed him to breathe, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t think that he would suffocate! What was she thinking??

Part Six: 150 words; meaningful songs/music/lyrics
After about two hours, Ravi knew that he wasn’t going to suffocate. Thankfully, the cloud seemed to be supplying him with just the right oxygen. He shifted a bit, hating to be stuck in such an uncomfortable position. His nose was itchy, his legs were cramping, and he was pretty sure that after all that running, his feet were bleeding. He kept moving, kicking at the dirt that slid its way into his clothes. Oh, what he wouldn’t give to be back at home with his mother. Just one more night in bed, listening to her lullabies, would’ve been enough for him. He hummed a bit to himself, trying to remember how the melody went. Did it go like this? He hummed a string of notes, but frowned. That didn’t sound right. Mother would know how to do it… He sniffled, rubbing his eyes and wincing. Ugh, he got dirt in them. He kept trying to remember how the song sounded as he tried to blink out the dust. He kept humming out of tune as he kept blinking. Oh, get out! Get out! Eventually the humming subsided into sobs as the dirt finally cleared out of his eyes.

Part Seven: 100 words; learning something new
It felt like five years until Ravi stopped hearing the clicking, the crashing, and the explosions that followed. It wasn’t actually that long, but it felt like it. The little boy decided that the silence meant something good, so he decided to turn toward what he thought was the entrance and start digging at it. He didn’t know WHY he was doing that, but he decided that it was better than being stuck in the ground forever. Eventually, he’d get hungry, and he was already thirsty. The nymph had provided him air, but he couldn’t survive without food and water. His small-ish hands clawed at the ground, and he eventually got the hang of pushing the dirt out instead of in. Whenever he pushed it instead, he often got some of it in his mouth or in his eyes, which he HATED with a passion. Ravi eventually broke a hole out into the real world, and his lungs were immediately accosted with smoke. He quickly shut the hole again, and breathed in the sweet, clear air that the little cloud provided. Okay… so that was NOT a good idea. He turned to the other side. Hmm, so that didn’t work. Maybe he could try digging in the other direction? He could at least make the hole bigger. He started digging again, coming to the realization that he might be stuck forever in here! At least, as long as he lived, which might not be long. It wasn’t very long until Ravi struck the air again, which he found to be strange. It wasn’t black and smokey, but rather, it was damp, and slightly moldy. He decided to keep digging, eventually making a hole in the ceiling of an underground cave. It was empty but dimly lit by glowing moss that lined the walls. Oh! New place, how awesome!

Part Eight: 150 words; getting messages from an unknown person
Ravi looked at his small cavity, then at the cave. Maybe there was more! Without another thought, he jumped down and landed on a rock. He yelped in pain, looking down at his feet. Oh yay, another cut. This one was bigger, more like a gash than a stab. Ravi hated the feeling of blood pooling under his foot, but, oh well, he would have to deal with it somehow. After a bit of deliberation, he tore the sleeve off of his shirt and used it as a bandage. He tried to copy how his mother had always wrapped injuries but he didn’t do the best job. Oh well, it would do. He glanced around the cave and noticed some words on the wall. He squinted his eyes, trying to read them. He read them aloud, “Entrance: Left.” He made a face, mumbling to himself, “Weird way of making the words. I don’t like it.” He looked around, seeing yet another sign. He read it aloud as well, “Home: Right.” He tilted his head. Hmm, which sounded more inviting? The outside, or someone’s home? The home sounded much better. Ravi walked over to the right, grabbing a bit of moss that would serve as a dim light.

Part Nine: 150 words; working together with others to achieve a hard goal
He walked down the path to the right, glad that the air he was breathing had character. Sure, it smelled pretty bad, but at least it wasn’t smoke. He’d take anything over smoke right then. He came across a small cave that looked almost… carved into the rock wall. He peeked inside, and he noticed that there were… pieces of furniture in there. Sure, they were handmade (badly, at that), but they were still something that not many other creatures could reasonably make. He looked around. Maybe that person could help him get back home, if it was even still around at all. “Hey!” Ravi yelped and swiveled around, startled. “What are you doing here!?” A large man towered over him, a huge cut running down his arm that held some wood, and Ravi quivered, “I-I was just looking for somewhere s-safe.” The man stroked his beard thoughtfully as he looked down at the boy. His voice softened. “Where are your parents? Why are you down here?” Ravi gulped, “I was out playing, and- and-” he gulped, trying to keep his composure. “Then all this fire! came down! And- and- spiders! They- they b-burned me!” Tears started streaming down his face. He stepped back, cringing when his foot throbbed. He quickly picked it up from the ground, which the man clearly noticed. He sighed, “Well, why don’t I fix you up first, then we’ll try and get you back to your home?” Ravi looked up, “Really?” He nodded, extending his rough, calloused hand, “Really.”

Part Ten: 150 words; an everyday object takes on magical properties
Ravi hobbled into the man's house and unceremoniously took a seat on the most comfortable-looking rock-hewn couch. He curiously scanned the room he was in, taking note of all the interesting things that were around him. There were odd objects all over the place, each one looking more out of place than the next. There was a cup next to a glass flower and both sat at what looked like a stone-carving station. The various odds and ends looked like something out of a tale that his mother would tell him, which setting was at a wizard’s house. Was this man a wizard? He kind of looked like it. Or, or! Maybe a mage! That was also a possibility. The man came over to Ravi and bent down next to him. “Alright, boy, this should help you with your injuries.” He held out a… spoon? Ravi looked at the thing, making a face. “How is that going to help me heal?” The man scoffed, “I enchanted it, simple as that. Now, it will heal whatever minor injuries you may have.” He touched Ravi’s gash with the spoon, and the wound began to close in on itself, and soon, it was completely gone. The man touched Ravi’s bruises with the spoon, and they were gone in almost an instant. The boy looked up at him in wonder.

Part Eleven: 200 words; character gets out of their comfort zone
Ravi coughed, holding out his hand. “Can- can I see it? I want to try-” The man titled his head, “Sure, if you would like.” He handed the spoon to him, and Ravi sat up a bit further. He tapped the pin-hole made by the spider, which disappeared quickly. He tried tapping the spoon where he was incredibly sore, and it worked, to an extent. He was still sore, but nowhere near as in pain as he was before. He looked at the spoon, then at the man’s wound. Before he really thought about anything, he suddenly leaned up and tapped the man’s wound with the spoon. The large man was startled and jolted back. “Don’t touch me, boy.” Ravi shrunk back a bit, “Oh- sorry sir…” He held the spoon out, looking down in shame. The man took the spoon and huffed, walking back over to what looked like a jar of utensils. He put the spoon inside of it, walking over to the pile of wood that he had brought in. Ravi didn’t know why he was being so emotional, but he felt like crying again. Was he being mean? Was he taking advantage of the magician? Mage? Wizard? He didn’t know. Tears rolled down his cheeks at the worst time–exactly when the man turned back to look at him. The man made a face, leaning down, “Are- are you upset?” Ravi nodded, wiping his eyes. The man grumbled, trying to figure out how to comfort the child. He patted Ravi, although with a bit more force than what he had intended. “There, um, there.” he coughed. “It will… be alright.”

Part Twelve: 200 words; character completely changes their appearance
Ravi sniffled, “Are you sure? What if I never see my family again?” The man sighed, “I do not know.” He looked around, “How about this? I will go outside and check if it’s safe. If it is, then I will take you to your family.” Ravi nodded, “Okay, that sounds good sir.” The man wrinkled his nose, “Call me Julius.” “Okay Mr. Julius.” “Just Julius.” Ravi giggled, “Okay-” Julius cracked a smile and turned toward the exit, before turning back. “Do not leave here, under any circumstance. These caves are not fit for a child of your stature.” Ravi nodded. The man turned back toward the exit, but yet again faced Ravi, “Do not touch my things. Stay right there, and don’t move.” Ravi nodded, “Okay, Mr. Julius.” He grumbled, “Just Julius.” He walked out before the child could make a joke about his name being “Just Julius”. Once he was out of sight, he touched his forehead, chest, and right foot before whispering to himself. Almost immediately, he looked like a hare, which scurried out of the cave’s entrance. His nose quivered as he looked out at the burnt wasteland before him. Clearly, it was not fit for the child. He doubted that the large city that was close to here was very well off. Perhaps he would protect the child for a bit longer. He brushed his ears and ran back into the caves before transforming back into himself. He made his way back to his home to see that, to his relief, the child hadn’t moved an inch. Ravi looked up at him, “Oh, hello Mr. Julius!” Julius massaged his temples, “Just. Julius. Please.” Ravi giggled, “Okayyy Julius.” He sat up, “What does outside look like?” “Ravaged. You should not leave here quite yet.” Ravi frowned, “Aw, okay-” He looked around, “Is there any food? I’m hungry. Oh! And thirsty.”

Part Thirteen: 200 words; characters struggles to let something go
Julius wrinkled his nose. “Alright, let me get something for you.” He grabbed another spoon from jar of them and washed it in a bucket of water. He handed it to Ravi, “Put this in your mouth, and it will provide you what you need to be sustained.” Ravi made a face. “Oookay-” He grabbed it and did as he said. His eyes opened wide, “Woah! You were right!” Julius scoffed, “Of course I was right.” Ravi shrugged, chewing the rice that was suddenly in his mouth.
Time passed, and Julius continued to check on the outside world. Eventually, the fires stopped, but he still deemed it unsafe for his new friend. Ravi, while he hated to admit it, was a joy to have around. After being healed, he was a lot more cheery. Julius wasn’t used to conversation, but Ravi was incredibly talkative. Eventually, though, the boy was clamoring to go home. He kept asking, “Is it safe yet? Is it safe yet?” Eventually, Julius decided that, yes, it was safe.
“Is it safe yet?” Ravi asked, looking at his friend, waiting for more disappointment. Julius startled him with a nod. Ravi perked up, “Really?” “Yes, Ravi, really. Would you like me to escort you home?” Ravi shrugged, “Uh, maybe? I don’t think that my mother would like you much. No offence!” Julius chuckled, “None taken.” There was a pause, before Ravi stood from his seat. “Okay, I am going now.” He moved toward the entrance. Julius stopped him. He coughed, “I will… miss you, Ravi.” Ravi beamed, “I’ll miss you too, Just Julius!” Julius laughed, patting his back. He led the boy over to the entrance of the cave, and, after a bittersweet farewell, sent him off.

Zyzeryko

Exact functionality of the Drowned’s powers: the Drowned are people who, in self explanatiroty fashion, drowned.
Most of them are the result of being thrown off the sacrificial cliff, where executions are performed for those deemed evil. But there is also a beach on the far side of town, that people don’t generally venture to because of its dangers at high tide. At night, people can apparently hear voices from the water, calling you in. They kind of work like Sirens, but the Drowned people aren’t evil.
If the Drowned are killed in some other way, such as breaking their neck on a rock or hitting the bottom of the sea, or oxygen pressure, they will not become Drowned. The reason people become Drowned is due to a chemical influx in the water surrodungin this city, and thats primarily why its so dangerous to leave the city. Its only connected to land with a thin strip of land, making it hard ot leave saely.
The Drowned are a sort of ghost- like beings, who are fully dead but living in a half dead state. They can be killed with other methods, like stabbbings or bullet wojnds, but the Drowned are equally capable of harming others. They have a superhuman strength and speed to them, kind of like zombies but with some mythical aspects of water demons, like Sirens or mermaids.
Melancholy is not particularly strong for a Drowned girl, and her strength has been fading given how long she’s been in this state. She primarily relies on spears, which she can throw with extreme strength and accuracy. She relies on her life force to keep her this strong, and she will be killed by bullets later in the story. When she dies, she becomes a regular dead person, not a Drowned girl, since she was killed normally.

What happens if Drowned people drown again?

Nothing. They will stay exactly as they are, but they might suffer a lack

Why did regular dead people start turning into the Drowned?

Influx of the same chemicals that are in the waters surroduned the city, but I haven’t decided why yet.

Are there other types of dead people that arne’t fully dead, like people who died in fires becoming Burned or so forth?

Undecided but most likely not, as that would require each cause of death to have a unique set of circumstnaces to lead to a new type of people. Possibly Burned people, but they would not exist in the city.

What are the exact circumstances required for someone to become Drowned?

They must die of lack of oxygen / suffuctation while completely submerged in water. If they die of something else, such as hitting a sharp rock, bleeding out, or water pressure, they will not become a Drowned. The same rules apply for dying from a lack of oxygen outside of water.

Would it be possible to artificially create Drowned people?

Yes. Anyone who dies from lack of oxygen while completely submerged in water will become a Drowned, so you can create them artificially, which is what the city will do to form their armies.

Can Drowned people who die regularly come back?

No. Once someone who has Dorwned is killed in a normal way, they can no longer be considered Drowned and will die reguaurly.

Will their Drowned appearence by altered when dying in a regular way?

No. But slowly, they will began to look human again. They will appear the same age they were when they Drowned, and they will not experience any decay no matter how long they were Drowned for. In the case of Melancholy, she was Drowned for several hundred years before coming back to the city, and when she is killed, she will slowly (over the course of several weeks) appear human, and appear as someone who died recently.

test edit

Last edited by Zyzeryko (March 31, 2025 22:17:05)

Zyzeryko

she leaps out of the atmosphere
flying past the clouds, up to the sky
she swirls and twirls like stardust
looking down with a sad sigh

This first verse is really good!! I love the way everything comes together, it flows really well. I would maybe try to find a way to add one more syllable to the last line, but depending on how you read it its totally optional!! Alslo depending on the vibe you want, maybe change flying to floating but it depends on whether or not you want it to have a more positive energy where the girl is in control (flying) or more unsure of what is happening (floating or a similar word).

there’s nothing left for her on earth,
nothing to think, to do, to say
so she fades up to the heavens
and she stays the same age

she stands and watches time pass
like a comet flying by
her family grows old
whilst she looks on from nearby

I think this might just be personal opinion and depends on how you read it, but i would maybe change the third line to be longer so it blends with the other two better, so it combines into two lines!! It would become
She stands and watches time pass, like a comet flying by,
Everyone grows old without her whilst she looks on from nearby,
This is totally just personal opinion but i feel like this flows a bit better and makes it pop more and seem more important to the story you’re trying to tell if that makes sense? If you disagree feel free to disregard this <3

sometimes she gets lonely
an outsider to the world
but she waits from her perch patiently
time moves fast and blurred

she wonders if she’s remembered
for her happy busy life
she wonders if she’s visited
an afterglow of daylight

Again this might just be me, but i dont really understand what this verse is trying to convey? The first two lines make sense, talking about how she’s remembered once she’s gone, but the third line sounds like someone going to visit a grave and then the fourth line doesn’t quite line up with that? Im sorry if this sounds rude, its probably just me being stupid and not understanding words lol, but i assume youre talking about a grave from the next verse so maybe put an “in” before the fourth line? I think that could maybe make it make more sense to the reader

her hope crumbles like the petals
of flowers left beside her grave
she’s not one of them anymore
they are not the same

she’s gone but not forgotten
a fragment of the past
the memory of her bright days
forever in our grasp

The last two verses are really pretty, i love the way they’re worded! No notes <3 all in all this is super great and i had so much fun reading it, great work elly!!

taylorsversion--

critique for zy!
309 words

Exact functionality of the Drowned’s powers: the Drowned are people who, in self explanatiroty fashion, drowned.
Most of them are the result of being thrown off the sacrificial cliff, where executions are performed for those deemed evil. But there is also a beach on the far side of town, that people don’t generally venture to because of its dangers at high tide. At night, people can apparently hear voices from the water, calling you in. They kind of work like Sirens, but the Drowned people aren’t evil.

If the Drowned are killed in some other way, such as breaking their neck on a rock or hitting the bottom of the sea, or oxygen pressure, they will not become Drowned. The reason people become Drowned is due to a chemical influx in the water surrodungin this city, and thats primarily why its so dangerous to leave the city. Its only connected to land with a thin strip of land, making it hard ot leave saely.

The Drowned are a sort of ghost- like beings, who are fully dead but living in a half dead state. They can be killed with other methods, like stabbbings or bullet wojnds, but the Drowned are equally capable of harming others. They have a superhuman strength and speed to them, kind of like zombies but with some mythical aspects of water demons, like Sirens or mermaids.
Melancholy is not particularly strong for a Drowned girl, and her strength has been fading given how long she’s been in this state. She primarily relies on spears, which she can throw with extreme strength and accuracy. She relies on her life force to keep her this strong, and she will be killed by bullets later in the story. When she dies, she becomes a regular dead person, not a Drowned girl, since she was killed normally.

Okay so far, so good, I think! It makes sense and has a strong backstory but something I’m wondering is; if being Drowned gives you superspeed and immense strength, why would that be punishment for the evil, surely that would make the ‘evil’ more of a threat? This is not as related, but how would you deem them evil? <3 And maybe go into more detail about the ghost thing- are they translucent? Do they haunt people? What are some downsides to being Drowned? ^^ Also, sacrificial cliff, love that XD

What happens if Drowned people drown again?
Nothing. They will stay exactly as they are, but they might suffer a lack

Lack of what?

Why did regular dead people start turning into the Drowned?
Influx of the same chemicals that are in the waters surroduned the city, but I haven’t decided why yet.

Are there other types of dead people that arne’t fully dead, like people who died in fires becoming Burned or so forth?
Undecided but most likely not, as that would require each cause of death to have a unique set of circumstnaces to lead to a new type of people.
Possibly Burned people, but they would not exist in the city.

Ooh, interesting! I like the idea, well thought out. What’s special about the chemical influx in the water, and could that possibly give people a motive? breed the drowned by getting water from the sea, or poison people with it?

What are the exact circumstances required for someone to become Drowned?
They must die of lack of oxygen / suffuctation while completely submerged in water. If they die of something else, such as hitting a sharp rock, bleeding out, or water pressure, they will not become a Drowned. The same rules apply for dying from a lack of oxygen outside of water.

Makes sense, well done. However, the water has to be the special chemical one, I’d think!

Would it be possible to artificially create Drowned people?
Yes. Anyone who dies from lack of oxygen while completely submerged in water will become a Drowned, so you can create them artificially, which is what the city will do to form their armies.

Armies! ooh nice! And this is completely fine with the law?

Can Drowned people who die regularly come back?
No. Once someone who has Dorwned is killed in a normal way, they can no longer be considered Drowned and will die reguaurly.

When you say regularly do you mean normally regularly or a lot regularly?

Will their Drowned appearence by altered when dying in a regular way?
No. But slowly, they will began to look human again. They will appear the same age they were when they Drowned, and they will not experience any decay no matter how long they were Drowned for. In the case of Melancholy, she was Drowned for several hundred years before coming back to the city, and when she is killed, she will slowly (over the course of several weeks) appear human, and appear as someone who died recently.

Ah okay!

overall
this is an excellent idea, i love the creativity! some things to think about are - what are the downfalls of being a drowned, is it supposed to be a negative or positive thing? (since it is a punishment for those deemed evil.) who wouldn’t want superpowers and to be able to live forever? i really liked the thought you put into this, though! it would also be great to hear the backstory on how the water got these chemicals, how long drowned have existed and how people figured out they could breed them - i get this is still in the works though. there were quite a few typos like you said but it was still legible! you explained everything really well and without waffling, i understood it completely! well done ^^

Last edited by taylorsversion-- (March 30, 2025 22:24:03)

taylorsversion--

if it was my birthday everyday
519/500 words

if it was my birthday everyday.. sheesh i would be old. for the first few days, i’d be really happy and go to a bunch of shops like ‘it’s my birthday today! does that mean i get a free milkshake?’ and sign up for those newsletters that are like ‘we will send you a free notebook on your birthday.’ the people i know would also go broke buying gifts a lot so.. sorry about that lol. after the initial few days, i would get super bored and begin to hate it. brithdays just wouldn’t be special to me anymore, and they wouldn’t be special to some others too, because if it were, say, my friend’s birthday, a day that we would usually dedicate to just them would also be focused on me.

also, don’t get me started on birthday parties. having sleepovers and small celebrations everyday would be pricey. but wow, there would be so many cool things i could do! i’d probably force the government to give me money or something /j but give me creative license here lol and yeah i’d get so many things crossed off my bucket list! if i can find it xD

furthermore, if it was my birthday all the time, it would also be my birthday on christmas day and new year’s day and it takes away the specialness. after a bit, i would just act like it’s not big deal and i would pick a special day each year for it to be my actual birthday ;D

wait hold up- how is it humanly possible for my birthday to be everyday lol- unless i spent a year in childbirth, which i don’t think makes sense. uhh, i guess i won’t go into the reasoning behind it, but still, i would have to have a genuine birthday? ooh, unless time stops and repeats everyday. that would get so dull though, no seasons, no new years, no change. maybe if calendars get broken and time moves on, it would be a little more tolerable, but if that happened i would assume a new date system would be introduced, you can’t just say oh it was march 30th yesterday and i will meet you next week on march 30th xD

okay i digressed but to sum it all up i would start off confused, then grow to hate it. i would be really really old and would most lie,ly get a guinness world record after a few months then get famous then get lots and LOTS of presents because i’d be famous T0T let a girl dream and i would laos have the worst sleep schedule. okay i dont think any sleep schedule can be worse than the one i have right now but i would be too excited to sleep, like all the time, so you get what i mean.

i think all of my friends would be able to go to britain’s got talent after month, too, because they’d be a pro choir or something by the time they’d have to sing happy birthday to me after 30 or so consecutive days!

Last edited by taylorsversion-- (March 30, 2025 23:03:51)

-NightGlow-

Daily 30: Every Day is Your Birthday
word count - 517 words

I woke up to the bright lights shining down onto my pale skin. My red braids, pushed back behind my hear were messy and had come undone during the night. I rushed across the floorboards to take a look into the mirror, to bask in its glory and see how much I had grown since arriving here. That warm smile, that's truly what I loved about myself. I was often made fun off for my hair - either it was too short, too frizy or honestly, too red. I couldn't stand it any longer since it felt like I was living by with a lie.

As much as I had hoped that things would change, they never did. But my birthday brought this newfound joy that I hadn't felt in quite some time. My face was practically glowing in the mirror and I couldn't help but feel like this was all some sort of sign. The flowers outside my window bloomed with pastel shades of pink and purple - it was definitely a sight for sore eyes as many would say. As I felt the cool breeze brush against my face, the sun began to rise just above the horizon.

The mountainscape not too far off into the distance was absolutely stunning and I couldn't even begin to take my eyes off of it. It was time, I could just feel it. I opened the birch door that was starting to wear down and started to sprint down the hallways. When I arrived at the top of the stairs, I halted - I had to remain calm and composed, after all. I slowly trudged my way down each step, unable to adequately hold in my excitement from the outside world.

I could tell that I had a bright grin across my face, and as much as I tried to hide it, I couldn't help but chuckle. However, when I went into the dining room to see what surprises would await me, there was nothing there. Absolutely nothing. It was as if they had forgotten my birthday, let alone that I existed. I couldn't help but feel a sense of helpness because it only made me feel like more of a misfit. Nevertheless, I told myself that I would carry strong with a smile on my face. After all, I've learned from a young age that pain is not something meant to be shared, but to be withheld and dealt with one's internal conciousness.

Mother fussed over me and demanded that the table be set. I could feel the tears beginning to collect in my eyes. It was only a second until they would burst, like a broken dam. I wiped them a way with the handkerchief I had hanging around my waist. As I proceeded to get the plates from the kitchen pantry, I noticed the most beautiful display just outside the barn doors. I rushed outside to take a look, and there it was. It seemed as if they had remembered that today was my birthday after all.

AmazaEevee

Daily #30
3/30/2025
651 words

I rub the unconsciousness from my eyelids and stop the vibrating of my alarm clock. I blink twice before glancing at the calendar. Another date circled in red Sharpie: March 30th. My birthday.
The blanket scrunches at the bottom of my bed as I pad across my wooden floor and grab a pair of socks from my dresser. Balancing on one leg, I hop towards my light switch, effectively brightening my room and sliding one sock over my foot. The other sock slips onto my other foot while I let my eyes adjust to the sudden brightness.

Everything about my morning routine practiced, over and over, a routine engraved into my head. Every day my birthday, a celebration of the odd occurrence of my birth, every day the same. Practiced and rehearsed and so… so perfect.

I grin, grabbing a blue Sharpie and, inside the red circle over March 30th, draw a smiley face. Yet another happy morning to a perfectly planned birthday.

I quickly change, pulling a washed purple hoodie over my head, smelling faintly of vanilla, my favorite scent. Then pulling my hair back into my favorite, a pony tail with a singular small braid, I grab my glasses and fix them onto my face while smiling into my reflection. Perfect.
I only hesitate for a moment before I open my bedroom door, as if preparing myself for the bombardment of sweetness I know I’ll get once I open the door.
And just like I expect every morning, I open the door to a cacophony of scents. Blueberry pancakes on the stove, syrup being poured into small bowls, portioned out perfectly, and the slight whir from the blender, undoubtedly making my favorite strawberry banana spinach smoothie. Oh, how I love my birthday.
I walk down the hallway and greet my parents. The same familiar “Happy Birthday!” greets me and I walk over to give them both a kiss on the cheek..

Just like I do everyday.

The rest of the morning goes just as planned: perfectly made pancakes with the right amount of blueberries and the right amount of syrup that there is none leftover. The same rehearsed lines as my parents drop me off and the same promise of going to the park after school.
I run towards the school doors to greet my friends, Avery and Sawyer, Avery in the regular blue jeans and sweatshirt, and Sawyer in the neutrals. Just like every day.

Everything always goes to plan. After all, there is no use in changing things up, is there? If everything already is going so well? We get through Mr. Jay’s class while sulking, and we chat amicably with Mrs. Hendel, staying through the first minutes of lunch before we exit her room. It’s the life. The strange anomaly around why I celebrate my birthday everyday isn’t really strange, just always been a day of living. And isn’t it wonderful? To have something to celebrate and look forward to everyday? Life is just so wonderful. Everything happens the way it is supposed to be and everything follows my planner correctly and perfectly and to the T.

School ends and I walk over to the park first, bidding goodbye to my friends with tight hugs, knowing my parents will be there fairly soon, given that their work schedules allow them to get there exactly 5 minutes after I do. I spend the five minutes like I always do, letting my fingers float just above the barks of the trees, taking in the different textures and the slight breeze of spring.

But this doesn’t happen.

The stumbling backwards.
The tightness in my chest.
The sharp jolt of pain that shoots up my leg.

The kid rushing over and apparently shouting or saying something to me,
except I can’t hear or I can’t understand or?

This isn’t how my birthday goes.

It’s not ever how my birthday goes.

-WildClan-

So, like, do I actually get a year older every day? Or is there just a celebration in honor of me every day? The former would be really sad because I wouldn’t even live for a full year, whereas the latter… seems like it would stroke my narcissism nicely, but would actually get boring pretty quickly, probably.
Both of which are pretty existentially horrifying, now that I think about it.
In the first situation, I would get older so rapidly, I wouldn't get a chance to enjoy any of those ages. Imagine trying to confine every nuance of what it means to be, say, 17, to just one day. It’s hard enough with one full year! That situation is basically like being told you have only a few months left to live. I would have to spend it doing “bucket list” stuff and getting my affairs in order in preparation for my looming death. I would most likely not have time to accomplish anything of significance. (Unless my weird rapid-aging anomaly ends up contributing to science somehow? I still wouldn’t live to see it, but maybe something could be learned.)
The second situation would admittedly be fun at first. I like feeling special, so people treating me like it’s my birthday every day would be nice, at least in the beginning. There would be a perpetual stream of cake and presents and balloons and all that. But then, does it all reset at midnight every day, forcing me to relive my birthday over and over, Groundhog Day style? Or does time go on, and people just pretend that each new day is my birthday? Either way, I think it would get repetitive very quickly.
The Groundhog Day version would obviously be a frustrating loop to be trapped in for a long time. I’m a person who starts tearing themself apart if they don’t feel like they’re making progress in some way. Having everything reset daily would render me incapable of reaching any long-term achievements, and that could easily drive me to insanity eventually.
If there’s no daily reset, but people kept behaving like each birthday was the first one, it would isolate me from everyone else, assuming my memory wasn’t erased similarly. If my parents acted like every day was a new birthday needing a new cake, the fridge would soon be overflowing with cake, and if they still didn’t recognize the issue, that’s even more worrying. They wouldn’t even be my parents at that point, just some sort of false representations, robotically going about the routine acts of celebration without being aware of the bigger picture or anything else in the world. I would be the only sentient being in a world of automata.
Now, I guess it’s possible, within the vague scenario given by the daily, that there are other possible ways of making it be my birthday every day.
Maybe everyone does realize that they just celebrated my birthday yesterday, but for whatever reason, they celebrate birthdays every day now. Maybe I crossed over into a parallel universe where birthdays are simply a daily occurance. I think that would be far better on an existential level, but it would be exhauting for me to also celebrate everyone else’s birthday every day, too. It’s just not plausible to celebrate daily and still get work done, and celebration would also cease to be special once it’s made routine. So, still not great.
Maybe the speed of the Earth’s orbit increased so much, it now goes around the sun once a day. Even ignoring whatever event caused that to happen, the planet would be destroyed very quickly and everyone would die before any birthdays could be celebrated.
Or maybe it’s my birthday whenever I want because of timezone and/or calendar weirdness, as seen in https://xkcd.com/2549/ (“Edge Cake,” xkcd). This is pretty much the only good situation that would allow my birthday to be every day. If I wanted it to be, of course.

KitVMH

Weekly #4

“Write about a bizarre or unexpected scenario happening to your character (at least 200 words).”
200 words exactly

Lots of interesting things happens in the city, according to the news, but they don’t usually happen around me. What’s a girl gotta do to get a good story? I want something better than “Jamie stole Evan’s favorite action figure” or “Ricardo broke up with Elise.” The most newsworthy thing I’ve had was a raccoon in my neighbor’s trash can.
At least, until now.
I was starting to think I might have to actually go out of my way if I was going to find something interesting to write about, but apparently sitting around and waiting for something to come to you can actually work.
I was lying in bed in the middle of the night. I’d been awake for a while but was finally starting to fall back to sleep, so I was pretty annoyed to be woken up by a knocking on my window. It took me a second to realize how strange this was. No one should be knocking on my window in the middle of the night, especially since my room is on the second floor.
I rolled over to see what was making the noise, and saw a pale white face peering in at me.

“Write about your character learning something unexpected (at least 100 words)”
161 words

I may have screamed.
Seeing me awake, the face opened its mouth. “Eddie? It’s me, it’s Liza. I’m back. Let me in.”
I knew I probably shouldn’t let the creepy floating lady into my room. I really didn’t want to let the creepy floating lady into my room. I didn’t want this to be happening. But it was, and she wasn’t going away, and my curiosity can be stronger than my fear. So I got up, and opened the window just a crack, so I could hear her better.
Instead of waiting outside, she floated through the crack, like she was two-dimensional or made of liquid.
She hovered a few inches above my floor. She was sort of transparent, with long dark hair and an old-timey long white dress.
We both gasped.
“You—” I began.
“You’re not Edward!” she said.
“No, I’m Morgan. And you’re a ghost.” So apparently ghosts were real. I hadn’t been sure whether to believe the accounts…

”Write 150 words incorporating meaningful music/songs/lyrics into your story.”
185 words (feat. lyrics from “Wuthering Heights” in the dialogue)

“No, no, he should be here…” She floated around the room, apparently talking more to herself than to me. “Eddie! It’s me. I’m Liza. I’ve come home.”
“Eddie doesn’t live here. I think you’ve got the wrong house.”
“No, it’s not, it’s not, as if I could ever forget… You know it’s me! Lizzie!”
“Lizzie— Liza— Whoever you are…” I said slowly, “how… long ago did Eddie live here?”
“What— What do you mean? He moved?”
“I mean… you seem like you’re from, uh… a long time ago. It’s the twenty-first century. Whoever Eddie is, he doesn’t live here anymore.”
“It’s the… I’ve been gone for… He’s gone?” Somehow, the ghost sounded just as bewildered as I felt. “No, no, I’m here for him.” She shook her head. “Too long I roam in the night. I’m coming back to his side to put it right. Coming home to… to…”
“I don’t know what to tell you. He’s not here. I don’t know if he’s even still alive.”
“No… No… How could you leave me when I needed to possess you?” she said to the air.

“Write about your character receiving messages from an unknown person (at least 150 words)”
158 words

“Look—” I yawned. “You wanna find this Eddie? I can look into it tomorrow. Try and find some records, death certificates, house-buying records or whatever… But it’s the middle of the night. Can you let me sleep?”
The ghost frowned. “I must wait longer?” She sighed. “Fine. Go to sleep.”
I climbed into bed. She hovered nearby, staring at me.
“Um,” I said, “do you have to wait… right there?”
“I suppose I could go… explore the house…” My bedroom door swung open without her touching it, and she floated through the doorway and into the hallway.
Strangely, I didn’t have an easy time getting back to sleep.
When I woke up, the words IT’S OVER were scrawled on my wall in charcoal.
“Liza?” I called.
The ghost floated out of my closet.
“Did you write this?”
She looked at the letters. “No.” She ran a phantom hand over them. “Eddie? Is this you?”
There was no reply.

“Write 150 words about your character working together with others to achieve a hard goal.”
317 words

“Hey, what was Eddie’s last name?” I asked. “I’ll need it if I want to find any record of him.”
“Irving,” she said. “Edward William Irving.”
“Uh-huh.” I grabbed my notebook off my desk and wrote that down. “By the way, what’s your full name?”
“Elizabeth Hawthorne.”
“And… what year were you born?”
“1880.”
“And, um, what year did you die?”
“I— Oh, what was it? 1901 is the last year I remember; around then, I suppose?”
“Okay… And what about Eddie?”
“He was… Let me think… He was a few years older than me… Maybe 1878 or so? 77?”
“Okay.” I wrote that down. “Well, I’m pretty sure he’d be dead by now.”
“But when? When did he die? Where is he buried?”
“That’s what we have to find out.” I pulled out my laptop and googled his name, along with obituary. Nothing. “Maybe we can find something in the town archives.”
Liza insisted we go as soon as possible, so I left first thing after breakfast, after telling my parents it was for a school report. I also asked them if they knew about our home’s previous owners, but they didn’t.
Liza turned herself invisible so I didn’t have to explain her to anyone, though I could hear her footsteps next to me, which is weird because she’d been floating before and not walking.
I told the lady at the archives I was doing a history project, learning about my home’s original owner. She said it was great that I was taking an interest in local history, and brought me stacks of newspapers to sift through.
Once she went back to her desk, I noticed stacks of papers floating around. Liza appeared next to me and set them on my table; I saw they were a stack of marriage certificates.
I raised an eyebrow, and she scowled and blushed. I didn’t know ghosts could blush.

“Write 150 words where an everyday object takes on magical properties.”
274 words

I heard footsteps approaching, and Liza vanished again as the archivist lady came back over, carrying a large stack of papers. “These are all the death certificates from 1901 to 1950. I can bring over later ones once you’ve sorted through these; it would help if we had some idea when your Edward Irving died…”
I sighed. “Yeah, it would. Hey, you don’t have an online database or something, do you?”
She shook her head. “I’ve been meaning to digitize our collection, but I haven’t gotten around to it. I’ve scanned some stuff in, but not most of it, and there’s no way to search it.”
“Oh.”
“Well, anyway, I’ll be at my desk if you need anything.” And she left.
Liza reappeared. I noticed she was holding something—a coin. “What’s that?” I asked.
“A penny. I found it between the floorboards.” She squinted at it. “2001. That’s one hundred years from— a hundred years from when I died.”
I sifted through the new stack of papers. “I wonder if your death certificate is in here.”
“I’d rather see my obituary, if there was one… And find his death certificate. I wish I knew when—”
She was jerked across the room, as if some unseen force was pulling her by the hand—or, as if the penny in her hand was pulling her. She came to an abrupt halt in front of a box of more death certificates. I ran over to see better.
The penny slipped out of her hand and nestled between two of the certificates. Liza gasped and floated them out.
“Here it is,” she breathed. “Edward William Irving. April 30, 1953.”

“Write about your character overestimating their abilities for 200 words.”
270 words

I looked at it. “Can you bring it to the table? I’ll go tell the lady we found it.”
Liza nodded, and floated it over to our table. I took some notes, and after checking in with the archivist lady, took a photo of it on my phone (with the flash off).
After that, Liza wanted to go back to my house—Edward’s house, according to her. So we walked back. “I can try and find out what cemetery he’s buried in,” I offered.
“We won’t need that,” said Liza. “I can contact him through the house. If he died in this town, that means he never moved away.”
“How do you know he didn’t move to a different house?”
“He wouldn’t do that. I’ll bring him back.”
“Can you do that without my parents noticing?”
“Of course.”
I realized it must look like I was talking to myself, so I didn’t argue further.
When I got home, I started writing up more detailed notes on what happened, and thought about how I should ask Liza for an interview. Then I heard her in the hallway, calling.
“Eddie? I’m here. I know you’re here. Come out! I’m waiting!”
My dad came and knocked on my door. “Morgan? Are you listening to something?”
“Uh, yeah! A podcast. Sorry, I’ll TURN IT DOWN!” I hoped she’d get the message.
My dad nodded, still looking confused, and left. A few minutes later, Liza materialized in my room.
“He didn’t come.” Her voice was halfway to a sob. “Maybe he’s not here. Maybe— You said you’d find where he’s buried?”
I sighed. “I can try.”

“Write 150 words where a character experiments with a new or unfamiliar technology.”
174 words

I got out my laptop to try and search.
“What is that thing?” she asked.
“It’s my computer.”
“What does it do?”
“Lots of stuff. Like, I can look stuff up, kinda like you would in a book, except I can search lots of different pages at the same time.” I opened my laptop.
“It glows! Is it magic? Electricity?”
“Uh, yeah, electricity, I guess.”
“What are these?” She pressed the s key.
“Those are keys. They’re for typing and stuff.”
“Like one of those typewriter things?”
“Kinda, yeah.”
She pressed several more keys. “Oh! The letters are appearing!”
“That’s the search bar. You use it to search things.”
“To… search your pages?”
“Yeah.”
She typed, search pages. Then she stared at it. “It’s not doing anything.”
“That’s because you didn’t hit the search button. Or enter. I pressed the enter key to show her.
“Oh!”
“Anyway, I was gonna see what I can find about cemeteries and stuff, so…”
“Right! Go on.”
She hovered over my shoulder while I searched for cemetery databases.

“Write 200 words where your character is put in a dangerous scenario.”
201 words

Eventually, I found the place, so we headed to the cemetery. The site I’d found didn’t tell me exactly where the grave was, so we’d have to just wander around and look for it.
I walked through the cemetery gates and down the path, Liza presumably following me, invisible.
I heard a barking, and turned to see a dog snarling at me—an escaped pet, it seemed, since it had a collar.
“Nice doggie,” I said, trying to sound soothing. “Nice…”
It growled and lunged at me, and I jumped back. It came closer, and I took a few steps backwards before breaking into a run.
I shouldn’t have done that.
It chased after me as I raced through the cemetery, dodging gravestones. “Liza!” I called. “A little help?” But if she was there, she didn’t do anything.
I could hear it behind me, barking and growling. I was running out of breath, and it was gaining on me.
I tripped over a gravestone, and fell hard on the grass. There it stood, right behind me. I panted for breath, and held as still as possible.
It sniffed my foot, then turned away and wandered off. Apparently I was no longer interesting.

“Write 100 words where something a character believed was great/perfect turns out to be flawed/bad.”
105 words

I sat up, then read the inscription on the grave in front of me.
“Hey Liza?” I called.
She materialized a few feet away from me. “Yes?”
“Did Eddie have a sister named Sara?”
“No… Why?”
“Well… did you find anything in the marriage certificates?” I pointed at the name on the gravestone.
She drifted closer to read it.
MARGARET IRVING
1880 - 1966
Her eyes widened. “He didn’t.”
“Um, I’m sorry,” I said. What were you supposed to say?
“How could he? He promised me— he promised—” She sobbed. “He just— after everything, he just replaced me? How could he…”
I grimaced. “That’s rough, buddy.”

“Write 200 words about your character getting out of their comfort zone”
307 words
“I have to talk to him.”
“Um, are you sure? Because, you know, he’s been dead a long time, and… are you sure you should talk to him right now? You seem pretty upset—”
“Upset?” She cackled. “Oh, I’m upset. And I’m going to talk to him. You won’t stop me.”
With her half-crazed expression and the rage in her voice, I suddenly was reminded of all the things ghosts could do in horror movies I tried not to watch.
“I wasn’t going to stop you,” I said. “I was just suggesting…”
“I’ll bring him back, like it or not. There are ways to summon ghosts; do people nowadays still know about séances? Go, use your computer thing to learn how it’s done. Or don’t; go and get out of my way.”
Summoning more ghosts seemed like a bad idea, especially because it would probably involve staying in a graveyard after dark. But still… I had to see this.
“Okay,” I said. “I left my computer at home, but I can use my phone…” I pulled it out of my pocket, and googled how to summon a ghost.
“This says we need candles and a quiet room and stuff for a séance,” I said.
“We shouldn’t need all that if we’re at his grave,” said Liza. She drifted a few feet away, and read the grave to the right of Margaret Irving’s. “Right here—of course it is. Buried next to her. With my headstone nowhere in sight…”
“Okay. Well, um, I think then we just wait for it to get dark, and then recite a summoning incantation… Hopefully that will do it.” Or hopefully it wouldn’t, and I wouldn’t have to deal with any potential consequences for summoning a ghost. But then I’d still have this one ghost to deal with, and she might be much angrier.

“Write 200 words about your character completely changing their appearance.”
250 words
“I need to get cleaned up.” Liza ran her fingers through her ghostly hair. “I’m a mess, aren’t I? Hair down, wearing a nightgown… I can’t meet him like this.”
“Um… okay?”
“Do you have any spare hairpins?”
“Uh, no.”
She was in the middle of twisting her hair into some sort of updo. “Or anywhere I could find some? Oh, I suppose they might not work on my hair anymore…”
“Yeah, they might just go through it. And anyway, does anyone even wear hairpins anymore?”
She huffed. “How should I know? And I need to do something. Is the shopping district still where I remember it?”
“I don’t know; where is—”
She was already floating off. I followed her reluctantly, and we made our way to a business district.
“It’s getting late,” I told her. “The stores are probably all closed by now.”
“Not a problem.” And she floated straight through the door of a clothing shop.
I waited outside, and wondered why she needed me to open my window when she could walk through solid objects.
Maybe she couldn’t take her new dress through doors, though, because she opened this one from the inside to walk out through it. She was now wearing a long floaty red dress, and had somehow gotten her hair to stay in a fancy updo.
“Your modern dresses are far too revealing,” she complained. “It took me ages to find something decent.”
I sighed. “Okay. Are we gonna do the summoning thing now?”

“Write 200 words about your character struggling to let something go.”
631 words

It was dark by the time we got back to the cemetery. In front of Eddie Irving’s grave, I recited a version of an incantation I’d found online. “We are reaching out to Mr. Edward William Irving. Please join us tonight when you’re ready.”
We were quiet for a moment.
“Eddie!” Liza called. “Eddie, I’m waiting!”
“Give him a minute,” I said.
Liza scowled, but was silent.
After a few minutes, there was still nothing, so I repeated the incantation. “We are reaching out to Mr. Edward William Irving. Please make your presence known.”
Still nothing.
“Eddie!” Liza shouted, and I didn’t bother to stop her. “I’m waiting for you, Eddie! I’m here!”
Her voice echoed through the empty cemetery.
“I’ve waited so long! I know you’re here, Eddie! Don’t you have the decency to show up?”
A faint gray light began to rise from in front of the grave. It rose higher, and a man took shape. An old man, skin wrinkled, much dimmer and more see-through than the other ghost.
“Liza?” he said.
“Eddie, is that you?”
“Liza, what… It’s been years. Why are you… Who’s that?” He looked at me.
“I’m Morgan,” I said.
“She’s not important.” Liza waved a hand dismissively. “But you— Eddie, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you, looking all over…”
“Where have I been? Lizzie, where have you been? It’s been forever.”
“But I’m here now, and you— Oh, Eddie— You got married! You— how could you? You—”
“You remember Maggie, don’t you? Maggie Bell? You were friends.”
“Maggie? Margaret Irving… You married Maggie?”
“She missed you, you know. Talked about you a lot.”
“Oh, yes, she missed me so much that she married my lover?! Did you two wait until after the funeral, or start making arrangements the day I passed?!”
“No, Liza, it wasn’t like that at all—”
“What was it like, then? How long did it take you to forget me? And after you promised everything— you swore you’d always be mine—”
“You don’t understand. After I lost you—”
“You realized how great my best friend was?”
“No, no, that’s not—”
“Then take me back! Do it! Say the vows!”
“Lizzie…”
“Promise you’ll be mine. Be mine, like you always said you’d be!”
“Liza—”
“Or admit it! Admit you never cared, for all—”
“No, I loved you, Lizzie. I love you. But after you died…”
“After I died, what? It didn’t matter anymore?”
“No, it always mattered, it always will matter… but, listen— we were so young. I loved you, I love you, but you have to understand… my life couldn’t end there. It felt like it would for a time, I’ll tell you, I felt like I couldn’t live without you. But Liza, I had to move on. I had to let myself find happiness, find love again.”
“With—”
“With Maggie, yes. She loved you too, maybe as much as I did. We never forgot you, Lizzie. But we had to keep living without you.”
“I can’t— you—”
“I’m happy now.” He gave a small, sad smile. “I’m at peace. Maybe you can find peace too.”
“I can’t… Not without you…”
“Maybe we can be together. You and me and Maggie. But not like this.” He looked behind him. “I’m getting tired. I can feel myself fading… It was good to see you again.”
“No— you can’t— I =can’t—”
“Goodbye, Lizzie. I love you.”
“Eddie—”
The ghost of Eddie faded until he was just a faint wisp of light, which then floated back into the soil in front of the grave.
Liza stared in silence for a moment.
Then she turned to me and said, “What do I do now?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “But this graveyard seems like it could use someone to haunt it.”

smalltoe

Weekly 4
total: 2737 words

Dystopian / Blahaj | Something your character believed was great/perfect turned out to be flawed/bad
122 words

The river had missed Lucieta.
She could sense it as soon as she slid down the back, the long grass catching on her long skirt, bugs flitting around her ankles and the canopy of leaves dappling the sunlight on her face. The roiling of the river’s essence felt like a punch to the gut — an accusation, a demand.
She waded into the water, stepping heavily despite the sharp rocks. They sliced the soles of her feet, opening up barely-healed scars, red spilling into alpine water like blue crystal. The current tugged at her as she strode deeper, teasing her, trying to drag her off-balance and into the depths beyond the weeping willows. She stood firm. The river had something to answer for.

Journalism / Bluebell | Your character learning something unexpected
136 words

Lucieta reached into her pocket, drawing out a half-filled vial. Upending it, she tipped its contents into the water.
The river hissed in protest. The liquid simmered on the surface of the water, unyielding despite the rushing rapids.
The formerly clear brew began to blacken at the edges, rotting and curling in on itself. It stiffened, scraping against itself, reforming until it sank beneath the river’s surface — a dark river stone once more.
She scoffed.
“Is this all I get?” she spat at the forest. “A rock. I wasn’t expecting much, but you could’ve given me more than that.”
The trees twitched slightly in the breeze, leaves trembling as in laughter.
“I did everything you asked!” Lucieta continued. “And it didn’t even work. I think I at least deserve a thank you?”
There was no response.

Illu-fi / Celadon | Bizarre or unexpected scenario
240 words

Previously, the trees lining the bank would bend towards Lucieta and dance at her touch. The river would whisper secrets and the forest’s heartbeat would thrum along in time, music to a dance shared by only Lucieta and the water.
Now, the trees loomed over her — dark, leering silhouettes outlined against a clouded-over sky. The river grasped and snapped at her legs.
Lucieta clutched her hands closer to her chest, ed ging back towards the bank.
The essence was the one always pulling the strings. She shouldn’t have thought she could control it. Now it was angry with her, colder than she’d ever felt it before, its energy heavy in the pit of her stomach. She could taste it at the back of her throat, acrid like burning and sick, rotting trees. It thickened in the air, and Lucieta wheezed, choking on it—
she fell to her knees. The dagger-sharp rocks tore into her skin, splintering off and embedding themselves in her flesh. Algae, slick with decaying essence drained like poison into her veins, and suddenly,
Lucieta was not herself anymore.

The forest didn’t usually inhabit humans as vessels.
The essence, however, coursing through Lucieta’s veins, was familiar with people. It used them, sometimes. It knew the workings of their bones and hearts.
And this deep into the mountains, the forest and the essence were more or less one and the same.
Besides, they both knew the taste of Lucieta’s blood.

Sci-fi / Flabsz | Experimenting with a new / unfamiliar technology
165 words

The forest stumbled forward, unused to human legs. The girl’s limbs twitched and jerked in ways they shouldn’t have been able to, and the forest scrambled to catch itself before its vessel fell.
It had been too long, it realised. It had been keeping to itself lately, leaving the humans to their wars and inventions, their corruption and destruction. It was time it intervened.
Through Lucieta’s body, it clambered up the rivers’ bank, scraping feeble hands raw on jagged roots and thorny bushes. The creeping ivy wound around the vessel’s feet and tugged it along, the grass rippling to form a path.
The forest stretched unfamiliar muscles, flexed strange joints. It barely knew how to inhabit a body, how to maneuver such an ungainly thing. But little by little, it was remembering.
As it saw through the girl's eyes, felt with her limbs, the forest began to shake itself out of its dormancy.
It opened more of its eyes. Something deep within was waking up.

Fantasy / Pink | Everyday object takes on magical properties
238 words

Lucieta jolted to a stop when she reached the tree.
She no longer had control of her own body, but she found that she didn’t mind. The forest was taking care of her. She was part of something bigger now.
Through her, the forest reached out a hand. It was drawn to the tree, Lucieta could sense it. It was important. The forest’s bloody, beating heart; or perhaps its control centre, the calculating mind that had laid dormant for so long. Perhaps both.
A sharp shock went through Lucieta when her hand made contact with the dark bark, as if there was electricity thrumming through the trunk. She didn’t jerk backwards — her instincts were dulled by the murkiness of the forest’s influence. Instead, she stared in reverence. This tree was older than her family, her entire town. It had seen things Lucieta could hardly imagine — and it would continue to, long after her memory was forgotten.
She dragged her fingertips downward, until she reached the strangling vines twisting around the trunk’s base. Without hesitating, she fisted her hand around the thorns. Warm blood oozed from puncture wounds, smearing onto the vine. It dripped onto the tree's roots, onto the bark, into the dirt.
And as her lifeblood mixed with the tree’s throbbing essence, the two forces fused and burned and distorted into one, a tainted imitation of the forest’s natural essence — but something much more powerful, much darker.

Action / Peeles | Character getting out of their comfort zone
235 words

Lucieta should’ve been back by now.
Orianna sat by the windowsill, twisting her rings over and over around her fingers. Her herbs and medicines lay abandoned on the table, withering in the late-afternoon sunlight. They wouldn’t be any good regardless — Orianna hadn’t managed to draw out the poison that had corrupted their healing essence.
The strange substances Lucieta had been bringing back in her vials had slowly grown more and more toxic, until customers were reporting getting sicker from the cure than their true ailment — the family company had lost trust with the villagers, lost trade and income. Lucita had gone to demand answers. And hadn’t come back.
Orianna needed to do something about this, didn’t she?
But how? She wasn’t the one who went and had arguments with strange deep-forest entities. She wasn’t the one who those entities sought out in the first place. She was the one who stayed at home and tallied the coins and balanced out the new recipes.
But Lucieta must be in danger, otherwise she’d be home.
Orianna steeled herself. She would go into the deep forest, and bring her sister back.
She snatched her bag and her thick coat, sprinkled a protective charm over herself to ward off any essence that had a will of its own. She switched the shop’s sign to closed, stepped into Lucieta’s spare pair of boots, took a deep breath — and set off.

Thriller / Lilac | Dangerous scenario
210 words

The deep forest was messing with Orianna’s mind.
The rustling of the leaves sounded like whispers. The crunching of her boots in the undergrowth sounded like the crackling of kindling in a fire. The trees seemed to shift and bend, disappearing and appearing in other places. The larger ones creaked in the wind, leaning towards her, while the smaller ones reached branches into her path, far too close for comfort. Strange lights beckoned her off the trail, flickering and glowing between tangled vines. There were no signs of life, but Orianna still felt that something was out there, and it was watching her.
She just needed to get to Lucieta, she reminded herself. Following what she’d remembered of what her sister had explained of her route, Orianna had found the river, and from there saw a path of flattened undergrowth leading deeper into the trees. She’d followed the footprints, further, until the trees grew tall enough to choke out the sun and the bushes thick enough to prevent any way out apart from the way she was going, and the way she had come.
She felt a prickling sense of unease the further she walked. She wasn’t meant to be here. Something knew she was intruding, and wanted her gone.

Myth / Smarlls | Working together to achieve a hard goal
174 words

The sensation had grown near unbearable, almost a physical force pushing her back, when Orianna finally reached the tree. Lucieta stood, touching the bark, and seeming to pulse with a strange energy.
“Lucieta!” Orianna called out, as she stumbled to a halt.
Slowly, Lucieta turned to her, eyes blank. Her sister didn’t seem to recognise her. The vines bristled, warding Orianna off, sensing a threat to their own.
“Lucieta?”

As soon as Lucieta wrenched her hand off the tree’s bark, reality flooded back to her.
Acting on pure adrenaline, she leapt over the vines snatching at her feet and ran, ducking under branches and stumbling on tree roots until she skidded to a halt next to Orianna.
“You found me,” Lucieta gasped.
“And you came back to yourself,” Orianna whispered in relief.
“The…” Lucieta swallowed. “The forest, it… took over me.”
The sisters’ gazes turned towards the great tree looming over them, gnarled branches reaching out to them, the air heavy with clustered essence.
They needed to leave, they realised in unison. Right now.

Fairy tales / Skog | Character overestimating their abilities
206 words

The sisters jolted into motion, feet trampling the undergrowth as they crashed through the forest, heavy breathing drowning out the incessant hum of the essence. They ran, ran until it felt like their legs would give out and then further, sprinting back the way they had come until the great tree was far behind them.
Then, they collapsed onto the moss and gasped for air. They knew how far the great tree’s reach extended, but here, for now, they thought they’d be safe. Safe enough to rest, at least.
They couldn’t spend too long here, though. The forest was always watching.
“We’re still in the deep forest, aren’t we?” Orianna asked, standing up and peering through the tree canopy at the dark sky above. “I would’ve thought we would’ve made it to the river.”
“I would’ve thought so too.” Lucieta sighed. “But the forest — it plays tricks on you.”
Orianna swallowed nervously. “You do know the way back, right?”
“‘Course,” Lucieta stood up too, punching her sister lightly in the arm. “I come here every week. We’ll be back in an hour at most.”
Orianna smiled. “Lead the way, then.”

It was an hour and a half before they realised they had been walking in circles.

Fan-fi / Maroon | Incorporate song lyrics
154 words excluding song lyrics

“Lucieta,” Orianna murmured, twisting her rings and glancing around, “we’re still in the deep forest.”
“I know,” Lucieta snapped. “It’s got to be this way. Right? I think I see light.”
“I… I don’t see anything,” Orianna squeaked. “I don’t know if this is a good idea—”
Lucieta whirled around, eyes fiery. “What do you suggest we do then?”
“I…” Orianna stared at her shoes. She was beginning to get blisters, her feet feeling uncomfortably hot despite the dropping temperature.
“Nothing?” Lucieta turned around again. “Then shut up and follow me.”
Orianna bowed her head and did so.
After a while, she found herself struggling to keep up with Lucieta’s long strides. “I’m left behind, wondering if I should follow,” she muttered to herself. “I am lost in the woods. North is south, right is left, and Luceita doesn’t have a clue where she’s going.”
Up ahead, she could hear Lucieta muttering too. “This forest is messing with my head… why’d it get all dark all of a sudden? Up is down, day is night.”
“Are we out of the woods yet?” Orianna called to her sister. “Are we in the clear yet?”

Mystery / Gurtle | Receiving messages from an unknown person
159 words

“No,” Lucieta spat. “But it’s getting dark, and I don’t know what else we can do at this point.”
“Wait,” Orianna said. “What’s this?”
She leaned towards a branchless tree growing on an angle. There was something etched into the bark — some strange symbol, almost like a compass.
Lucieta walked over, examining the tree. Orianna touched a hand to the grooves, fingers coming away sticky with sap. Whoever carved this did it recently.
“It’s a message,” Lucieta gasped. “Look — these are letters in Kejetan.”
“Well that’s no help,” Orianna grumbled.
“But no, there’s pictures too,” Lucieta mused, squinting at the symbol. “And arrows … it’s telling us to go this way. And I think it’s telling us to reach this landmark — the rocks and the split tree, perhaps it’s safe there — before the sun goes down.”
“How do you know that?” Orianna protested. “And how do we trust it?”
“We don’t really have any other options,” Lucieta pointed out.

Adventure / Mazasa | Character completely changing their appearance
393 words

Orianna nodded, glancing up at the gloomy sky. “We’ll need to hurry up, then. Isn’t the sun already down?”
“No,” Lucieta said. “It’s just the trees blocking it. Come on.”
Orianna kicked off the boots and sped up to match Lucieta’s pace. The roots and thorns were harsh on the soft soles of her feet, and she winced with almost every step, but she could walk faster this way. She gritted her teeth and continued, redoubling her speed.
This time, when the trees began to close in and form a tunnel, and the sides of the path morphed into tall, prickly bushes, they didn’t take the leaf-strewn route and instead pushed through the bushes on the left. They trekked into the forest, away from the path and away from the strange, flickering lights gleaming from the right. And while for a few moments, it seemed like the darkness was enveloping them, the wrongness in the pit of their stomachs eased and their surroundings eventually began to grow lighter, sunlight filtering through trees that were no longer choking the sky.
It didn’t take long before they reached the landmark from the strange carving — a tree with the trunk split into two, and a cluster of rocks leading further into the trees.
“It isn’t so stifling here,” Lucieta mentioned. “We’re getting closer to the shallows.”
“And look — here’s another carving!” Orianna called. Lucieta rushed over to read it, and although the letters were still in a language foreign to her, this time she could interpret its meaning a little clearer.
“We still have to be careful, since the forest’s looking for us,” she explained. “But the message says it's safe to rest here. The essence isn’t so corrupt the farther from the depths. And while the great tree still has eyes everywhere, we can trick them. We need to disguise ourselves.”
Orianna wrinkled her brow in confusion. “How do we do that?”
Lucieta grinned, then reached into the mud and moss and leaf litter. “Like so,” she said, and splattered the dark mud onto her exposed skin.
Orianna’s eyes widened in disgust — but she could see what her sister was trying to do. Matching the colours of the forest, Lucieta blended in, camouflaged. The great tree’s eyes would simply skim over her, dismissing her as another misshapen tree or bush or rock.
Orianna followed suit.

Bi-fi / Mangoson | Character struggling to let something go
305 words

Once the sisters had disguised themselves, they climbed into the tree, between the split trunks.
“I suppose we wait the night out,” Lucieta said.
Orianna pressed her lips together, staying silent. The forest — even the not-as-deep-forest — unnerved her after dark. God-knows-what was waking up from their day-time burrows and readying to hunt. Amongst the trees, you were never alone.
Orianna couldn’t bring herself to close her eyes.
Lucieta was relaxing fine, eyes firmly shut — lying still against the bark, hand pressed to the tree’s trunk. But something wasn’t right — Orianna could feel it.
“Lucieta?” she whispered, but it came out too quiet, barely a squeak.
Yet still not quiet enough. Lucieta’s eyes flew open, but they were glazed open, unseeing.
The forest leered at Orianna through her sister’s smile.
Orianna flinched backward, heart pounding in her chest. The forest had been pulling the strings all along. Lying in wait. Or perhaps Luceita had never regained control after all, and the forest was just playing along, getting Orianna’s guard down.
She leapt out of the tree, landing heavily on the rocky ground below, and when she looked around the trees hadn’t thinned or lightened after all — they had grown while Orianna wasn’t looking, hulking silhouettes in the near-total darkness.
She needed to get out. She needed to run — away from the thing that had taken over her sister. But she couldn’t leave what was left of Lucieta behind, could she?
“Lucieta!” Orianna called, desperate. There was no recognition in Lucieta’s mud-stained face. But she didn’t move to chase Orianna. Instead, she leaned back, and the vines began to curl over her, until it looked like she was becoming part of the tree itself.
There was nothing left of her sister anymore.
Stomach heaving, eyes burning, Oriana turned and ran — leaving what was once Lucieta far behind.

Last edited by smalltoe (March 31, 2025 05:14:26)

taylorsversion--

855 words ^^ i think i wrote too many lol xDD
final daily: a LOT of thank yous
i'm EXTREMELY forgetful- no joke! if i forgot to add you, just tell me, and i gladly will ^^

specific people
sky @forestsorchendweller
sky, i know we were close before swc but i want to thank you for being a great, supportive friend during this session ;D i am relatively new to scratch camps and only recognised a few people from jwc- so to have your friendly face? pfp? around was awesome <3 you're so funny and kind and friendly, i love talking to you so much! i won't even get started on your immense talent, all the writing you've shared with the world and your beautiful poems- let's not forget your stunning profile pictures lol! i feel really grateful to be your friend, so thank you! ^^

cat @catmeowlove7
cat! same goes for you; i already knew you before this session.. i think? and even if i didn't, and i got confused, i wanted to say thank you for being so fun and awesome xD! it's been really nice to get to know you. <3 you're so friendly and fun and understanding- you always have something nice to say ^^

sage @babyoda1546
sagee!!! thank you for being such a fun, kind friend! you always brighten my day and you never run out of something amusing to say. you're really friendly and even though we only met like, a few days ago, i'm still grateful to know you! our cabin will be so awesome for wuc >:ᎠᎠ

eva @evaevergreen
evaaa- we only talked once but dlsjg;ldaskfja i will remember fluffernutter and mabel for a while >:3 our imaginary kittens were awesome and so was the imaginary bookshop that blared taylor swift xD it was so fun to roleplay with you, truly <33 i hope to keep in touch ^^

skylar @milkysplash
skylar! you were one of the first people i talked to this session, when we were talking about train stations lol :> so helloo and thank you for being so funny and friendly and kind ;D it was great to talk to you, even if it was just for a little bit. thanks again!

coco @talented-cookie
coco! i am forever thankful to you for introducing jwc and inadvertently swc to me! you're always really nice to talk to and very thoughtful and kind. i'm so happy to know you- thank you so much <33 fellow billie fan, too! ^^

chuey @chueythecat
hi chuey! thanks for being a really fun person to talk to this session :3

alex @hamilchaos
alexx! i know we only talked like once xD but thank you for being a fellow hamilfan and insert taylor bickett fan name here ;D you're very nice and friendly, tyy <3

snowy @snowdropsugar
snowy! even though we only talked once/twice, thank you for being a friendly and awesome person :3

lily @lilyjen
lily! thank you for writing a critique for me, and being so kind <33

mildred @moosywoosy
mildredd :Ꭰ! i can't remember exactly how i first met you but i remember thinking that you're really nice, so thank you for that <3

natt @natt519
natt you're so very cool and kind and friendly, ty!! and i love your fantasy time thing :3

dystopian leaders

zy @zyzeryko
zy! thank you so much for being such a supportive and fun and friendly cabin leader. you're always extremely kind and funny and always have something nice to say!! thank you soso much <3 i hope you got better/get better from that sickness, too. also, the pfp?? wowww ty!! it is BEAUTIFUL!

sarah @froggola
sarah! thank you for being such a kind leader this session and putting up with my chaotic word adding ^^

yume @yumenokagi
gasp could i ask for a more kind, fun and supportive leader? :ᎠᎠ thank you so much, yume! ^^

dystopian cabin

eevee @amazaeevee
eevee! thank you so much for being so organised and helpful this session <3 without you, dystopian would've probably lost a lot of wars lol! you also constantly replied to war threads with all the info and stuff and i really appreciated that ^^ plus you're so fun to talk to no way :Ꭰ

oak @zoamher
oakk thank you for being so fun and friendly and awesome! it's great talking to you and you're extremely kind and thoughtful!

cherri @joannaforjesus80
my pookie wookie bear /mj >:Ꭰ

em @duckily_the_great
em!! you're really fun and kind to talk to; thank you <33

hosties
thank you to all the other leaders and hosts for making swc so special! i can tell alot of hard work and thought has been put into this! <3

everyone else
to everyone else, thank you so so much for welcoming me into this community, making me feel confident enough to say i'm a writer, not that i write for a hobby. i'm extremely grateful to have discovered this community and all you wonderful people that have laughed with me, warred with me, motivated me. thank you!! this first swc session will stay with me forever. i love yall <3

Last edited by taylorsversion-- (April 1, 2025 09:24:24)

1lMaM

WEEKLY 4

“Write about a bizarre or unexpected thing happening to your character in 200 words!”

Autumn stared mindlessly out the window into overlapping clouds, shifting in her seat as she did every half-hour or so.
“How long till we get to Mantamaru?” There wasn’t anything else to talk about anymore.
Autumn could almost feel her mother’s sigh. “Only two more hours, kid.”
“Is the pie shop still gonna be open? We’ll get there at, like, ten.”
“They said it was open until eleven. It’ll be fine.”
Autumn slumped in her seat. “You think they’re gonna have gyrami ones-”
The world went dark.
“Mum?”
Autumn’s seat vanished from under her, and she tripped, wobbling to her feet.
“Mum?”
Nobody responded. Autumn carefully reached outwards, then flung her arms around in all directions. No sign of the car. As her eyes slowly adjusted, Autumn saw the faint outlines of leaves all around her, a green glow coming from somewhere far in front of her. Did she just… follow the light? Maybe it was something toxic, but it had to be better than nothing.
Autumn stumbled forward, hands catching branches in front of her. Her heart thumped in her throat as she came closer to the glow, the light a pale oscillating form. Like a lake made of fleas, but somehow eerie and terrifying.
It rose into a vaguely human form, towering over her. It looked almost like Aphrae, the Entity of Earth, but more alive.
It… smiled.
“Hello, Autumn of the Earth.”

“Write about your character completely changing their appearance”

“Uh, hi!” Autumn said. “You look like Aphrae. Like, a lot like Aphrae, so are there teams of forest spirits who dress up, or…”
The glowing figure leaned down, and Autumn could see her disheveled reflection in its face. This could… it could actually be Aphrae, if Autumn wasn’t dreaming. The Entities did sometimes appear to people in dreams, but that couldn’t be what was happening. Autumn hadn’t done-
It laughed. Well, more like a series of croaks, but close enough. “I am Aphrae.”
“Yeah, but anyone could say that.”
The ground cracked and rose above Autumn, rocks encircling her when she tried to back away. Fine, definitely Aphrae- wait, was it mad? The rock loomed above her, Aphrae towering over all, its hands sculpting the earth like clay.
And trapping Autumn inside.
Dirt brushed over Autumn’s skin, rocks cutting chunks of her hair to shoulder-length, mud splattering across her arms. Nicks of pain scraped her as pieces of earth broke away from the enclosure. She was barely able to see Aphrae’s glowing face, but it looked panicked. Or angry. It must have been angry. Entitles didn’t panic.
Autumn felt herself change.
Her eyes clawed at her face, expanding slightly, her fingers lengthening in front of her. She grew until she wobbled on her long legs and fell again, but even on the ground, Autumn felt like she could see so much more. Was this what the enclosure was about? Not to kill her?
“Your name is Eliza.” The whisper echoed along the walls.
Something echoed in the distance. A stomp.
…What was the Entity of Earth doing?

“Write 150 words where an everyday object takes on magical properties”
Autumn backed away from the sound and pressed against the hard dirt wall, blonde chunks of hair on the ground in front of her, listening to the stomping. Surely it was just a bear. Maybe even a rare mega-beast, but Autumn would be safe in here unless Aphrae opened the walls.
That was a possibility.
Autumn wouldn’t be able to escape whatever beast was out there. It would just come straight for her… maybe that was what Aphrae intended. She grabbed a sharp rock, trying to press it into the wall, but it barely made a dent.
“Uh, forest spirits?” Autumn called. It was her only hope. “If you’re around, can you get me out of here or something? I’m probably gonna get chewed up by whatever’s out there stomping around if the Earth Entity wants me to, so if you could, like…”
A flash of teal zoomed across the grass and ended at the rock she’d picked up. Autumn tried it again, hammering into the earth-
It went straight through.
And… nothing. “Uh, thanks, I guess? I can see out now, so that’s great…”
A tone resonated from outside, and the wall started shivering. Autumn crawled away from the wall, watching it while it slowly crumbled, streaks of green and teal peeking through the cracks. The rock squeezed through another spot in the wall, and that did it. The wall, shaking from the spirits’ effort, crumbled to tiny chunks of harmless dirt.
Autumn smiled at them. “Wow. Thanks.”
They flew off as Autumn climbed through the gap and ran.

“Write about your character overestimating their abilities for 200 words”

Autumn finally rested against a tree as the sky grew brighter.
“Hey, spirits!” she panted. “Could you help me… build something… a house or something?”
A single teal glow poked out from the grass.
“Anyone… else?”
Nothing.
Autumn picked up a rock, and finding a young tree, tried to hack at it. The spirit hovered around her, so Autumn asked it if there was a way to sharpen the rock. Flying into it, the spirit vanished. Autumn tried again. This time, the rock went straight through.
Autumn walked up to another tree, a bigger one this time, and tried again.
“Any more spirits?”
One more dark green glow rose from the ground. She asked it to sharpen the rock with the first one, and it did. Autumn hacked at the tree and managed to fell it.
She hacked at another one.
And another one.
And another one…
The sun was already poking out of the sky, and Autumn had four logs.
She kept going, but her exhaustion overtook her time after time, and she found herself looking for excuses to sleep way too often. She cut another tree, and another tree, and she could almost feel the rock weighing her hand down more than it had. So even the spirits got tired?
Autumn had six logs when she finally slept.
She thought she saw a green shape as she closed her eyes.

“Write about your character receiving messages from an unknown person in 150 words”

Autumn woke up and ran.
She couldn’t get the green glow of Aphrae out of her head, but she ran anyway, seeing glimpses of plains far ahead. At least she was going to leave this seemingly endless forest.
KEEP GOING.
Autumn didn’t know if the voice was hers, but she didn’t care. She only wanted - needed - to run.
YOU MUST REACH THE GOLDEN LAKE TO GET HOME.
So somebody was talking to her? In her mind?
But Autumn couldn’t worry about that. She was already panting, begging herself for a break, but she kept running in search of a safe place… She might never find one. This was worthless. Aphrae would find Autumn wherever she went, unless Autumn found the ocean. But what would she do then?
I AM PROTECTING YOU AS MUCH AS I CAN.
It could read her thoughts. Autumn ran until she saw the last few trees, collapsing, heaving breath after breath as the exertion caught up to her. Her legs ached, her insides ached, her arms ached. She just wanted to rest.
KEEP GOING.
Autumn couldn’t.
But she stood up and quivered forward anyway.

“Could you write about your character learning something unexpected in 100 words?”

Autumn staggered forward, the echoes of that voice still in her head.
YOU ARE ALMOST THERE.
“Go away,” she muttered. “What’s a lake gonna do, anyway?”
IT IS THE LAKE THAT HOLDS YOUR FUTURE. YOU WILL SEE WHEN YOU ARRIVE.
“Lake that holds my future, eh?”
The plains opened up in front of Autumn, and she breathed in air that wasn’t suffocated by trees. A glint of ocean stretched across the horizon. The grass was dotted with flowers of all different colours, and… was that gold?
The lake.
COME. THE ENTITY OF THE DEPTHS MUST SEE YOU.
Autumn froze. “The what?”
Was that who the voice was that whole time? And why on earth did everyone want to find her, or trap her, or whatever? The streak of gold wasn’t that far away, so Autumn kept walking. It couldn’t be that bad.
WATCH.
A golden figure rose from the lake, eyes fuming, hands dripping, and Autumn saw in its sharp movements the war it knew. Another one. Another one was taking her.
Its hand reached for Autumn, and she knew she couldn’t run.

“Write 200 words where a character is put in a dangerous scenario! I recommend putting in plenty of arson!!!”

The girl would perish by my hand, in my element. I would make sure of that.
She barely tried to run. I chuckled to myself, the knowledge of my power near-complete now that this vessel lay in my hand. And even the vessel did not run from me.
It had to willingly give up its power, though, and give it to me. I had a plan for this, though.
The arena.
I dragged the vessel, power and excitement surging within me, barely hearing the girl’s cries. She was mine. Her power was mine to take. I surveyed my domain, feeling every living thing feed on my power, feeling the power pulsing from this vessel, relishing my imminent victory. This was what it meant to be an Entity. To control.
I threw her into a liquid battlefield.
-
Autumn flailed, making the best diving pose she could.
She plunged into the icy depths, shock running through her arms, and was pushed to the surface where she saw… something. More like somethings: neon-scaled fish with human feet and fangs, mermaids with feathers and claws, cats with tails that cracked like whips every so often. All prowling towards her.
Autumn was supposed to fight them?
One struck, and Autumn brought up a hand to stop it, but it hardly made a difference. Fangs glinting in the sunlight, they ran at her together, and Autumn felt every cut ten times worse than she should have. They struck again. Autumn failed again. She could barely move as one came in for a blow that would hit her head.
She could do nothing.

“Write about your character getting out of their comfort zone in 200 words”

The blow landed.
Agony struck her, pounding through her head as a claw cut her skin. Autumn couldn’t move. She could only crumple on the ocean’s surface, letting the others attack. She would just diee here. She would diee in pain like everyone else. Autumn could do nothing, and… that scared her.
A wet hand dragged Autumn from the fray.
She lifted her head to see a smirking face. “You have an opportunity.”
Autumn was too exhausted to reply.
“You may live, if you say these specific words.”
Autumn glanced below her, her stomach churning when she saw how far below the ocean was. She didn’t want to care about living, not now that she was so sore, not when all she wanted to do was nothing. But Autumn found she still had fear.
“‘I give up my power’, you must say, and you must say it as if you are trying to convince someone. ‘I give up my power to the one who holds me.’”
Autumn didn’t want to have to speak. But she didn’t want to diee. She opened her mouth and croaked something out. It wasn’t a word. Autumn found she couldn’t make a word, at least not the words it wanted her to say. Something blocked her throat every time she thought about it. And what was the big deal about power, anyway?
“Go on. Say it.”
Autumn pushed past the blockage. “I give-”
“Say the words, and I will release you to your family.”
Her family. A spike of longing pushed through the panic as Autumn realised they’d be waiting for her, searching for her.
“I give up my-”
“Do it. Now.”
She hated the words, but she tried anyway. “I give up my po-”
“There’s a good girl. Keep going.”
Autumn was sick of this. She didn’t want to rebel against the Entity, but she spoke anyway, and they were words she believed.
“You’re tricking me. I’m sick of your stupid games. You’re gonna throw me in no matter what, aren’t you? I’m not giving away whatever my stupid power is to an Entity that’s not gonna care about a person like me.”
Its eyes flared, narrowing in anger.
“I’m right though, aren’t I?”
Its mouth opened to reply, and its hand reached toward Autumn. The consequences, the meaning of what she’d just done, flooded her, but she pushed through. If someone was going to defy an Entity, might as well be someone with a bit of ‘power’.
“You’re just tryna-” stop, you’re going to doom yourself- “You’re just tryna get more power, aren’t you? Don’t care about some human being. Don’t care about some life you’re gonna take if it’s for a bit of power-” she swallowed the fear away- “stupid bit of POWER you want!”
Yeah, she’d done it.
Autumn barely had time to breathe before she was submerged.

“Write 150 words incorporating meaningful music/songs/lyrics into your story”
(get in the water and six hundred strike)

THERE YOU ARE, COWARD.
Autumn would tell the voice to shut up if she could speak, but her throat was already burning, and her ears hurt from the pressure.
I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT.
Was the voice different, or was Autumn making that up? It sounded higher than the Entity of the Depths, more ragged. Or maybe that was just it when it was angry. Autumn could barely hold her breath anyway. So now she’d diee here? Not even fighting. And when the salt rubbed into her wounds, it made it even more painful than she’d thought it could get.
YOU HAVE LIVED MORE THAN ENOUGH.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE HELPLESS?
Was Autumn ever strong enough to even have a chance against an Entity?
She’d have something to say, if only she could get to them. If only she could talk like they did.
Autumn felt something.
The same thing that blocked her throat tugged on her mind, showed her a way to project her thoughts, and Autumn tried even as her lungs burned.
She tried again.
And felt something push far past her own boundaries.
HAVEN’T I SUFFERED ENOUGH?
MAYBE YOU COULD LEARN TO FORGIVE.
Autumn waited.
She could barely hold on.
She begged for someone to reply, for someone to say-
NO.

“Write about your character working together with others in order to achieve a hard goal, and make sure it’s 150 words!”

Autumn wasn’t gone yet.
She was desperate, on the brink of taking a breath of water, but she wasn’t gone.
FISH?
Dark shapes swam toward her as the pressure finally loosened.
IS THERE ANY WAY YOU CAN HELP ME GET OUT?
They swirled around Autumn, slowly pushing her up towards the surface, her eyes searching for any sign of sunlight. A minute passed. Five minutes. Ten minutes.
Autumn saw sunlight.
Autumn saw a glorious patch of white, distant but still there, as she breathed out a little more. Precious bubbles of air rose towards the sky.
For the first time in a while, she saw them stop.
Autumn’s lungs burned like she had never known, but they kept going, and Autumn’s weak arms pushed her closer to life. They swirled around her as she encouraged them to keep going, and she almost took a breath of defeat, but she was so close.
KEEP GOING.
YOU ARE ALMOST THERE.
I AM ALMOST THERE.
Autumn’s head broke the surface.

“Write 150 words where a character experiments with new or unfamiliar technology”
Autumn panted on the shore, her mind and body equally exhausted.
She lay there for who knew how long, thanking whoever wasn’t trying to kill her that she’d made it out alive. It might have been hours; might have been the whole day, looking at the sun dipping below the horizon. The Entities must have left her alone for now. Assuming that was the case, Autumn stood on shaky legs and walked inland.
She found the golden lake soon after.
Autumn walked towards it, watching for ripples of the Entity emerging from it, and glanced at her own reflection.
It was different.
This Autumn was older, held herself higher, wore much better clothes than she could afford. She was nigh on arrogant, this one. The lake of your future, the Entity of the Depths had said. Sure.
Autumn reached out and touched it.
The world burst into light, and Autumn felt sick from the blinding white as she flew at frightening speeds. What was it doing? Surely it would-
It stopped.
The world darkened again, and Autumn found herself in a very strange room.
It was filled with sci-fi-level technology; bionic eye prototypes, metal hands that looked like they had some powerful things going on inside, ridiculously huge watches that only seemed to say the time was 15:16. The things she tried mostly sent an electric shock through her or didn’t work, so…
The eye worked.
Autumn saw so much more; what she guessed was infrared and ultraviolet, some kind of muted glow, and a dial that let her… see through walls?
She was so stealing this.

“Write 100 words where something a character believed was great/perfect turned out to be flawed/bad”

Now Autumn just needed to get out of this room.
She flicked a dial next to her ear until it showed blue lines that looked like outlines of rooms. A giant blue mat hovered just above the ceiling… Was that the surface? Was she underground? What a spot for some mad science lair.
She climbed a ladder in the corner, trying not to bump the bionic eye on anything, and played around with the settings. Leaving it on an infrared setting, Autumn kept going-
“Welcome.”
Autumn almost fell off the ladder. Had the sound come from the bionic eye?
Whoever it was laughed. “I have security measures, you know. You do realise someone with this much technology must keep it safe somehow? You didn’t stop to consider the intelligence of such a person’s security?”
Autumn felt silly speaking, but… “Uh, no - well, I tend to look at the present, and it looked like nobody was there, so I just decided, well, why not? Looks cool. It’s, like, sci-fi or something.”
“…Thanks. Well, you’re trapped in there. So good luck, I guess. I’m not helping you.”

“Write about your character struggling to let something go for 200 words”

“What, so I’m just gonna starve to deathh or something?”
No reply.
“Pretty sure that’s illegal.”
A display flickered onto the wall she was on. I am ahead of the law.
Autumn flicked the dial back to the see-through-walls setting, but all the exits were locked. She reached out with her mind, like she’d done before - or at least tried to. It seemed that without a living thing she knew existed, she couldn’t communicate. Autumn went back to the infrared setting, but it couldn’t see anything.
The eye stopped working.
Autumn pulled it off to find the red thing dim. That was supposed to be the eye, wasn’t it? He must have turned off all the power.
Autumn couldn’t just starve to death…

HELP ME.
It was Autumn’s last desperate hope.
She had no idea how long she’d been in here for. The lights were dark, there were no windows, anything that could tell her the time had long since been turned off. She had no hope but to call to anything around her.
PLEASE, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, HELP.
I’M STUCK IN THIS ROOM.
Nobody replied.
She’d diee here, then-
YOU ARE LUCKY, CHILD OF THE EARTH.
YOU’LL GET ME OUT OF HERE?
I HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG IT’S BEEN.
YES.
A surge of earth rose from the floor. Tiny earthquakes shook the room as machines flickered back to life, the watch showing 02:54… she’d been here the whole night, but at least it hadn’t been days. A hole carved its way to the surface, and a familiar green hand brought Autumn to the surface.
YOU’RE JUST GONNA LEAVE ALL THAT STUFF?
YES.
WHAT IS IT TO ME?
…IT’S COOL.
CAN YOU GET SOMETHING FOR ME?
NO.
Autumn stayed there, thinking of the eye, thinking of all that technology the man could have given to the public. But that wouldn’t happen. No, it would just stay there until it rotted, only for one rich man to use, and use for who knew what. Autumn would probably spend her life thinking about the opportunities- okay, not that long, but still.
Think of the positives.
Autumn glanced around and saw a red tin roof in the distance, near the top of a hill she knew well. The hole where she’d come out of that lair was far behind.
Autumn could finally go home.

3,356 words in total

Last edited by 1lMaM (March 31, 2025 11:48:53)

cceaneyes

⭒ Weeky 4 SWCaboose ( 2,373 words)

i did just finish sunrise on the reading before writing this so it's a bit sad and bad… so sorry… it also contains death.

200 words bizarre or unexpected scenario happening to character - 266 words
it happened so fast. so fast. maysilee was trying to protect her. protect her. that's what older siblings are for right? then why was she here? hersmall body, pale and lifeless, herlimbs sprawled outwards so unatural. so unsettling. maysilee stared at her sister, it can't be her

“wen? wennie?” she bent down, reaching a shaking hand at to the child and brushed hair off of her face. it was her. maysilee jumped back, her hand clasped over her mouth as she shrieked in horror. her eyes turned bloodshot in horror, and tears cascaded down her red face. her mouth slightly parted from the shock. she took a few steps back and slid down the wall to her house. her limbs shaking in horror and shock.

she reached out again, and she confirmed again it was definitely wennie. her baby sister. her wennie. she screamed, a blood curdling scream.

she took this job to protect her sister. to protect. the kingdom offered her a job as an assassin, to work for the royals. she'd get protection for her family, but she'd gain enemies. and the kingdom didn't protect her family. they lied.

maysilee took a step back towards the body and lifted it up and into her lap, cradeling her sister one more time. she brought the girls head hers and placed a kiss on her forehead before picking the body up and placing her on her bed. she gently pulled the arrow out from her chest and tossed it aside. she tucked the girl under her bedsheets before closing her eyelids.

she stood back.

“goodnight wennie”

200 words, character completely changing their appearence. - 255 words
maysilee silently walked out of her sister's room, shutting the door for the final time. she walked to her own and stared into the mirror. they betrayed her, promised her protection but gave none. and for that they would suffer. she moved to her intricate wooden dresser and opened the top drawer, she pulled out an emerald silk cloak, and changed into black clothes.

she moved to the mirror and grabbed the dagger from a nearby table and cut her hair off. making herself unrecognisable. she ran to the bathroom, where her mother surely stored some dye and coloured her hair a black, a dark black. she washed it thoroughly ensuring the colour stayed before moving to the next thing.

she opened her chest in front of her bed and pulled out weapons, an axe and a bow and a sheath of arrows. the dagger she cut her hair off with sat on her belt, arming her.

she moved to the mirror and placed the cloak on her shoulders. she looked so different unrecognisable. one more thing she had to do was change her eye colour. she learnt of a spell to do so, something so easy anyone could do it. so she did it. her eyes once a memerizing blue now a chocolate brown. she stood staring at her reflection. what would wellie say?

100 words, where character believe something was perfect but turned out to be flawed - 113 words
she remembered that day, when she got the letter from the king saying she was chosen to work as an assassin. a job everyone dreams for. oh how happy wellie was when she found out her big sister got it. she was so happy and so was maysilee. it was the only thing maysilee worked towards, because apparently it gave people protection.

so of course she worked hard to get it. except when she did she found out they lied to her and her entire world was killed. everything she ever lived for. her young sister. but of course they didn't care. because they are flawed people, they don't care about anything.

150 words about character receiving messages from an unknown person - 155 words
she sat at the village tavern, her head hung low and she took a sip from her glass, the sweet nectar of orange juice filling her up. it was wennie's favourite drink.

she placed the empty glass down and the keeper replaced it with another, this time he slid a note to her. she unfolded the note.

' i know what you are about to do. i want in, meet me outside in 10'

maysilee took a sharp breath, how did someone know. unless she was obvious? surely not? what could she have done. she sat their contemplating before another note was passed to her.

trust me. i have been in the palace before, i can help. i take it you don't know the full layout?

maysilee sighed in relief. “FINE!” she yelled to the entire tavern. and they all ignored her. she stood up from the table and walked outside.

200 words, characer getting outside of comfort zone - 211 words
no one met her outside. she stood their, looking clueless, looking quite stupid as she noticed an alleyway next to the tavern. she slowly progressed towards it, it's dim lighting screaming danger, yet she ignored it. she was too numb to care about anything. that's all she was. numb. her entire being was swallowed by her numbness.

she saw a figure at the end of the alley. a boy.
“um maybe you shouldn't be here boy?”
“maysilee. i'm ampert.”
“how do you-”
“child of an ex-assassin. my father worked at one and they destoryed him and i want revenge.”
“ok sure. but how old are you?”
“13”
“no way.” maysilee stated
“no way what?”
“that i'm letting a 13 follow me to something that could cause our deaths”
“do you know the castle's layout.”
“no”
“take me. you need me.”
ï'm not comfortable with that.“
”but you need me“
”i know.“

what would wellie say?

”fine. you can come.“
”i knew you would give in.“
”i'm leaving now." maysilee stated before started to walk off. the boy grabbed a backpack and followed.

for a few days they travelled to the kingdom, to the castle located 3 days from their village. it was night two and the pair sat at the campfire.

200 words, struggling to let something go - 229 words
“so why are you doing this maysi?” the nickname ampert called her immediately struck a nerve.
“they killed her…”
ampert immediately regretted asking, feeling bad for her. her imagined her finding whoever she was talking about, her bad it was to make her want to kill the king.

“they promised me protection, and then another kingdom got to my younger sister. before i could get to her. and ours didn't help. didn't protect.”
she stood up facing the castle's direction.
“THEY DIDN'T DO THEIR BASIC JOB” she yelled, before sobs took over. and she fell to the ground.

“she wasn't much older than you. her name is- was wennie. i raised her because our parents died. and she was everything to me, but no she's gone and i have nothing. i have nothing and they took everything from me. i have nothing. i have nothing. i have nothing. i have nothing.”

ampert stood up and hugged the crying girl. rubbing her back as she muttered over and over those words. “same.” he replied.

she looked up at him rubbing her tear-stained face. “what? i thought you said-” she realised and nodded.

“can you be my sister?”

she nodded. “i was supposed to have one. but she died with my mum in birth…”

“i'm sorry…”

“it's ok. hey i have a story i made up, it can cheer us up.”

150 words were an everyday object takes on magical properties - 167 words
ampert looked down at the fire. and started telling a story.

“so one day this really cool girl went down to her local tavern. and got a glass of orange juice” the pair smiled, maysilee chuckling momentarily forgetting her sadness. “basically this juice granted the drinker magical powers, and they could fly! like a bird. so when this girl drank the juice she took a step outside and BAM! she shot up into the air and she was flying! but the juice only did it for her, so the magical juice only works for super cool people.” he smiled proudly as he finished the story.“

his plan worked. he managed to distract them, to rid them of their negative feelings. he just wanted her to be happy again, and he wanted to be happy too.

”i loved it amp“
”thank i literally made it up on the spot.“
”even better.“
”i'll think of more another day, to tired to think right now.“
”yeah time to sleep amp."

150 words, incorporating meaningful lyrics into your story - 158 words
as the boy dozed off to sleep, next to maysilee. she thought of wennie. she stared up at the sky.

she realized forevermore she would see her in the back of her mind, all the time.
it would be like a fevere, burning her alive, like a sign telling her it was her fault. no it wasn't. but was it? did she cross the line? no…

good things don't last. life moves so fast. wennie was so happy and free, and it was taken from her in seconds. in seconds was the arrow shot and in seconds she was stripped of a life.

and now maysilee would forever live with it. with her baby sister in the back of her mind. she couldn't help but think it was her fault, did she cross the line. but it was the royals. no if she never took the job it would never have happened…. and soon she too fell asleep.

150 words where a character experiment with a new or unfamiliar tech - 152 words
soon the sun rose. and the day came. when maysilee awoke, ampert was no longer beside her. she sat her rubbing her eyes and gradually saw the boy sitting in front of her. a grin plastered on his cheeky face.

“what now?” maysilee teased
“i have a present for you. technically i just found it on a walk i took but i think it would be-”
“ampert you took a walk?!?!”
“sh- not now. take this.”

he passed her wooden weapon. similar to that of a bow, but different. she had never seen one before, let alone used it. “it's called a crossbow.”

she studied the wooden technology closely, analysing the weapon. she loaded an arrow into it and shot it at a tree- not the tree she was aiming for though.

“i'm sure you'll figure it out…”
“thank you ambert.” she opened her arms for a hug and he accepted it.

150 words, character working together with other in order to achieve a hard goal - 155 words
the rest of that day, ampert and maysilee travelled to the kingdom. walking over rough terrian and through meadows and fields. it was so hard started this hard journery, to get to the kingdom. maysilee thought it would be by her lonesome, but no. ampert had joined her and it made it so much better. having someone to rely on and to look after.

besides he was now her brother. and she was his sister. wennie would be smiling right now.

as the pair walked closer and closer, ampert finally caught sight. “maysi! look!”
maysilee smiled and started running to catch up to the overexcited teenager.

she never thought she'd have anyone, let alone a thirteen year old. but ampert was different, he acted more mature for his age yet still immature. just like wennie. maysilee smiled.

within hours that were at the central kindgom. more specifically in the town outskirts, perfect for sneaking in.

200 words, where character put into a dangerous scenario - 211 words.
soon they were finally inside. and this was their chance so the took it. and did it. but the guards caught them and whilst they got the king by stabbing him with her dagger. the guards they still went for the pair. so the two had to run.

“ampert! run! ok run and don't look back!” she yelled. dodging the guards. she kept on running checking on the boy behind her. her brother.

so many guards were now after them. so many were there chasing them. for a lying, foul king. maysilee was scared now, they were gaining on her. she looked behind, ampert was there. they weaved through buildings and stalls and finally got to the outskirts again. and the made it.

but the guards were firing arrows. so many. she made it to the forest and so did ampert. and she ran to hug the boy as the arrows stopped but her fell. “ampert?” she asked, her voice shaking.
“sis i don't know what's wrong. i'm losing energy.” she rushed over to him and turned him around a arrow stuck out from his back. crimson red now staining his shirt. he fell into her arms. “sis what's happening?”
“nothing. you are just tired. you're tired that's all. you're tired.”

200 words, character overestimating their abilities - 201 words
“i didn't actually have an assassin dad. i just heard you were going, and i wanted to explore but i wanted a sister-”
“it's ok. i'm your sister. i'm you sister.” a tear rolled down her cheek.
“why are you crying sis?”
ï'm just glad to be your sister. i love you ok?“
”same. i'm glad i spent the past week with you.“
”same. my sister would have loved you. you'll meet her soon.“
”sis. i'm getting sleepy.“
”I know. I know. just close your eyes."
and he did.

the journery home was quiet. she believed they could do it. but she was so stupid she endangered his life. her trust her to protect him, just like wennie did. just like wennie did. so why couldn't she. she thought too highly and look where that got her. maybe she was supposed to be an assassin after all maybe she was. all she did was put people in harms way.

wennie. ampert.

and yet they both trusted her. believe in her. maybe they too overestimated her. just like she did herself.

she wasn't going home anymore. she couldn't return to her house. instead she need to leave. to leave and start anew.

100 word, learning about something unexpected
—-

months had passed. she'd gotten better. forgiven herself partially. she finally figured out why she was given the assassin job. because she had no family. she ended up going back to her hometown and someone she had known since young explained to her that a young girl, wennie, was without a family, and 10 year old me, took her in and got her to live with her and her mother. except when her mother passed she was eligible. so the king actually didn't know there was family to protect. so was it all a waste?

was it all a waste?

back to collection

Last edited by cceaneyes (March 31, 2025 14:37:32)

_click_

thank you notes

adventure cabin

hey everyone! i’m really sorry that i’ve never been great at getting to know people individually, but i wanted to say that it was a privilege to be part of this cabin, thank you all for being so friendly and motivated all throughout the session! i wouldn’t have wanted to be in the mountains with anyone else.

nova

i put adventure cabin down as a choice because i wanted to be in your cabin, and i’m forever glad it worked out. you have quickly become one of my closest friends in both swc and in general. from all our late-night chemistry talks to forming a literal band, you have made my life so much better. thank you for being such an amazing friend (and honorary /plat partner) <3

mouse

mouse, my favorite metalhead > i genuinely don’t think i ever would have touched a metal song without you being so convincing. you and nova are the best people i could possibly form a band with, and i’m still forever in awe of your singing (and metal screams) that i’ve had the privilege of hearing. thank you for participating in my antics, tolerating my taylor swift obsession, getting me beyond obsessed with alkaline (iykyk), and being an all-around great friend <3

skylar

as i’m writing this, we will be leading the chemistry cabin in sxc tomorrow, which is the most exciting thing! despite being in my top enemy cabin, i’ve loved ranting about synth music and getting to know you this past session. thank you for making march infinitely more fun, and here’s to spending april in the spheres… or might i say the atoms? <3

recca

if you thought i’d forget you, you’re dead wrong. you have single-handedly been my main source of comedy for not only the past several weeks, but also for as long as i’ve known you. i don’t think you’re aware of how badly i have needed humor while going through a lot of different things. thank you for being one of my greatest supporters, always talking to me even when i say the most random stuff, educating me about the aspec parts of shakespeare, and so much more. you’re epic, never forget that <3

elfie

hey masc icon! i’ve been rewriting this one because it’s so hard to put everything into only a few sentences. despite you being the allo to my ace, you’re one of the most amazing people i’ve ever known, no exaggeration. thank you for keeping me sane, listening to reputation (i told you it was worth it), taking me seriously when no one else did, and honestly for everything you’ve done for me over the past few months. love you <3

livy

hey livy! we’ve only known each other for a few weeks, but you’re such a cool person that i had to include you. thank you for obsessing over irl guys with me (which has honestly made me feel more confident in the bi part of my identity), ranting about ex friends, and planning a hypothetical future that i can’t wait to make a reality <3

krm

last but certainly not least, honestly where do i even begin? you’re one of my favorite people, and i’m so grateful that even after all the ups and downs, we’ve gotten an amazing friendship out of it. from your endless rants about enneagram types to my fueled obsession with alec benjamin songs (leading to our fanfic collaboration), you have influenced me in so many ways. thank you for all of the time we have spent together - it took fighting a war for us to meet, but it was worth it <3

Milkysplash

Skylar's SWC Thank You Notes!
Hey everyone! There’s a lot of people I need to thank in this post, and all of you have made such an amazing impact on me during my first session as a co-leader! Thanks to everyone who made SWC possible and those who still do! I love you all so much, and there is so much to say to you all!

General Thank You Notes
The Hosts: I honestly do not know how you keep a camp like SWC running and as active as you can. Running SWC sounds like an absolute full-time job, and yet you’re always around to make it happen, every year. Also, you guys are so friendly too!

The Leaders: I cannot thank you enough how amazing you’ve made this session, from your constant rivalries during cabin wars to so many other things that make it so much fun. Your dedication to your cabin

The Polar Bears: Alana, Ris, CJ, Amethyst - I cannot imagine how much work goes into ensuring that there is an activity every day. Thank you so much for all your hard work this session into making amazing activities that were so fun to do.

Fan-fi: Thank you all for being such an amazing cabin for my first SWC leading experience. It has been a joy to meet you all and I hope to see you around in the future, as campers or leaders. You’ve written so much this session and I’m increidbly proud of what we’ve achieved together.

Fan-Fi’s Thank You Notes
Alana: I honestly couldn’t believe it when you offered to me. I didn’t expect to be offered, let alone by you! And there I was. Thank you so much for guiding me through the chaos of my first SWC session on the leadership team, you’ve been an absolute joy to work with and help plan around! It’s also been great getting to know you better as well!

Pepper: Pepper!! You’re so amazing - it’s been great to lead Fanfiction alongside you this session, and it was a pleasure getting to lead alongside you and helping me on my first SWC leading experience. You are such an amazing leader, and I can’t wait to see you around in the future!

Snowy: Snowy!! It has been an absolute pleasure leading Fanfiction with you. I don’t think the cabin could have kept running as well as it did during cabin wars without you to force everyone to go to bed. I genuinely don’t think we could have survived as well as we did without you there.

Other Thank You Notes
Gigi: Hi Gigi! It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you better this session!! I really enjoyed bonding over the pain of A-Levels and critiquing your writing, and wish you all the best for the rest of your time on Scratch and in the future with your exams.

Livy + Sage: I’ve already sent you longer notes elsewhere, but it would feel wrong for me not to say how absolutely amazing you are. I find it crazy how we’ve grown from complete strangers to close friends over the span of a few months. I can’t wait to talk to you guys more in the future!

Mouse: Hi Mouse!! OH MY GOODNESS it was so much fun doing writing sprints and also just casually talking to you this session! It was so much fun motivating each other to get words in the final few days of camp, and I also loved getting to know you better! Also, Illu-Fi seems absolutely amazing this session and that’s all because of you and your leadership team. You’ve managed to make such an incredible cabin this session that I would totally be in, had I not been leading Fanfi.

Chuey: Getting to cause some chaos with you in the Strike Cabin was so much fun this session! I loved seeing all the SWChaos unfold that you helped cause - it’s been so much fun working with you!

Hope: Hi Hope! I know we haven’t talked that much this session, but you’re absolutely amazing! It was so fun talking to you and working on our homework together because it seems like our attention spans are equally uncooperative, ahaha. I really hope you’ll go for co-leader next session, as I know you’ll be absolutely incredible at it, and even if you don’t, I look forwards to having a fun session with you in July!

Nova: Hi Nova! It’s been great talking to you a bit during this session! It was a pleasure to get to know you a bit better, and I hope we can converse in the future!

sweetzeal

day 31 - thank you! - 31/3/25
It's been one month, and SWC March session is coming to an end.
This is my first session here so everything is pretty new to me.
SWC was indeed fun just like I expected!!

Anyways, I'd like to thank some people.
Firstly, thank you to the hosts, Polar Bears activity team, and all the cabins for making this SWC an amazing one!
All those weeklies, dailies and activities that you have came up with are really good ones.
Your hard work is greatly appreciated!!

Secondly, thank you to my cabin, Journalism!!!!
Thank you to CJ, CD and Kit for being amazing cabin leaders! I hope to be in a cabin that is leaded by 3 of you again

Thank you to all my fellow cabinmates as well!
You all were very friendly and welcoming, and I enjoyed being in the same cabin as all of you.
All those word wars that we've done together… the amount of words we've typed together… our random conversations… our cabin is wonderful!!
I haven't been online often throughout this whole session, so I missed the opportunity to get to know and talk to all of you more.
I hope to do so the next session I participate in (and hopefully all of you will too)!
Thank you once again >_<

Finally, thank you to everyone who has participated in SWC March session!
It's great to meet a community of writers who enjoy writing and write.
This camp has certainly level up my skills for writing and make me want to write more!!

I think I've said this many times but thank you once again to everyone of you!

- reiane ^^

euphoriafall

thank you notes - swc march 2025

And with that, another session of SWC draws to a close. It’s been an amazing experience, as always, and I have a lot of thank yous to make.

To my fellow campers: Thank you for just making this camp what it is. SWC would be nothing without campers to have fun and create this supportive, friendly atmosphere, and I’ve loved meeting this community of like-minded writers and just getting to know everyone here.

To the host team: Thank you for managing this entire camp – I honestly cannot imagine how you can do all of it. You work so hard to keep SWC running smoothly and you’re always happy for questions or a conversation too. Every session of SWC is better than the last, and a lot of that is thanks to you.

To the Polar Bears: Thank you for creating all of these amazing activities for us to do! They’ve genuinely improved my writing and writing habits so much, and they’re also just so fun! You amaze me with the weird and wonderful dailies, every single time.

To Alex, Nova, and Surf: Thank you for being the best leaders I could ask for. I loved the storyline and the aspects of the cabin, and the community you shaped in our Adventure cabin.

To the campers in Adventure: Thank you for creating such a lovely environment – I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the time spent in our amazing cabin, which just so happens to be the best cabin this session. I’m definitely not biased at all. Why would you say that?

To Skylar: Thank you so much for just being the wonderful friend you are. You’ve kept me motivated with SWC and just studying in general, because our attention spans are fried, and you’ve just been so supportive. Good luck with your writing comp entry too – it was amazing and I’m here cheering on the (metaphorical) sidelines! Also, challenge accepted. Next session I’m going to overtake you on Trackbear.

To Cat: Thank you for just being really friendly and a person to talk to! I know we’ve talked like maybe twice, but I’ve really enjoyed just getting to know you. And I can’t wait for WUC!

Discuss Scratch