daily 8! 394 words (letter removal: “d”)

i SWEAR i can write good trust this is not my best work this is SO cringy sgshshshsjks. also it's supposed to be the perspective of like a college guy

I tell my mom everything, over pasta one night when I go home for break. She's smart at the relationship stuff; she'll know how to fix this. So, I tell her everything. How we're going through a “rough patch”. How we fight more mornings than not, how she leaves for her lectures angry at me. How I'll be looking through my photos for something, scrolling past pictures of us from when we were falling in love. She was always grinning, or sticking her tongue out, or blowing a kiss at the camera. She never genuinely smiles anymore, at least not at me. How she never pays any attention to me now, how she swears way more than before, how almost everything I say irritates her. She never talks about her big plans for the future anymore. She never says “I love you” anymore, either. She's just…not the same.

My mom asks me if I still love her.

“What? Oh, that's not what I meant…I wasn't trying to make it seem like we're, like…” I laugh. “Yes, I love her. She's just…” (a whole new person, completely unfamiliar, a stranger in my apartment)

“Right,” my mom says slowly.

“Listen, I love her. I mean, really. All couples go through stuff like this! We're fine, we're just… I'm not going to let go. I love her. I just, sometimes feel like—not really, honestly!—almost like—I mean, just once in a while!—it's like…” (It's falling apart. I'm sick of trying to keep it together.)

(I'm not sure if I love her anymore.)
(I'm not sure if this is worth it anymore.)
(I'm not sure if this is who I fell in love with.)
(I'm not sure if I want to keep gripping on to this, my knuckles white, my muscles straining, trying to pull her back, trying to keep everything together.)
(Is this when you're meant to let go?)

(I love her.)
(Well, I love her from two summers ago, when she was always smiling, talking about her big plans for the future.)
(I mean, I love her.)
(Jesus, why can't I say it?)

My mom watches me and sighs. She smiles sorrowfully.

I love(d) her.

(I let go. There are marks left from my nails.)
(My chest heaves with exhaustion, my arms relax. I stretch my sore fingers. My heart lifts again.)

daily july 8

no “d”

The girl sighs slowly, softly. It is the type of sigh that echoes throughout the room in a sorrowful way. In a mourning way.
You see, the girl mourns.
She mourns for the loss of her bright pink socks, which were gone overnight. She thinks about where they might be, for she remembers putting them on her bookshelf before going to sleep. It was really really strenuous to try to recover them, even though they are a hot, bright pink.
She tries to figure out who might have taken them. They are her favorite pair of socks, mainly because they are bright pink. They are also lucky socks, the girl says. So she tries in vain to figure out where they went, but she knows that she will not see them ever again. So she mourns the loss of her bright pink socks.
Until they reappear.
The socks are in a bunny’s mouth- or at least, one is. The other bright pink sock is in another bunny’s mouth. She sees them through an opening in the wall. Glass covers it. The girl sees the bunnies run away into the horizon with her bright pink socks. She knows that she must give chase, or she will never see her bright pink socks again.
Here the girl presently comes upon a cliff. She isn’t sure if it’s 20 feet to the bottom or 200 feet. Either way, the bunnies jump to the bottom of the cliff, prompting the girl to jump off as well. Maybe this was a horrible plan, she thinks, because it isn’t a plan. It is a plan that was thought of in about 2 minutes, because she was out of time to think about any other options.
Any rational thoughts crossing her brain vanish when she hits the gravel, because she breaks her leg. She also breaks her arm. Now the girl has to crawl to catch up with the bunnies, who are now far away. The girl gets angry with herself for jumping off of the cliff.


—

340 words

No letter daily
309 words

Long, long, ago there was a girl with the name of Ella. You see, Ella was a very interesting girl with very interesting powers. She had the power to spawn rainbows wherever she went. Even her hair was rainbow! The top of her hair was red and the tips were violet. She had one problem though, there was one letter that if she ever witnessed or got near anything that had the letter in the word, she would get extremely injured or even die. Due to this, she always stayed in her house. Her house had one bed, one fridge and one table. Nothing else. There wasn’t even a living room due to the truth that many items in a living room have that letter in their name. After all, if she were to be near to that thing, she would perish. To ensure her safety, while writing her biography, we ensured never to write the letter that would kill her. We looked it over many times to be safe that she will never read that letter. Now I have a quest for you. If you are able to find which letter is never mentioned in this biography and absolutely destroy it so that she will never die again, we will be much in your debt. So go forth, brave adventurer and find this terrible letter so that Ella will never again be terribly ill and will never again be admitted to the hospital. Not only will this make sure that Ella’s health is kept good, it will also stop her from going broke due to the sad truth that hospitals are expensive and Ella has no money. So save Ella and her money by destroying this letter! Also, many sweet foods have this letter so by obliterating it, you will be helping to stop obesity in the USA. Do what’s good for your place of living.

june 8th daily for gothic
NO LETTER C
Jade pressed the mouse, urging the tune to life as she swayed her hips to the rhythm. One earbud in my ear and the other in hers, I was seized by a wave of emotion, I jumped up and spun with her. This was our song, the song that we played when she was reassuring me after my first breakup and the song that we planned on blaring as we graduated. The trees whirled around me, the sky a gorgeous shade of blue, everything tinged with the type of joy and warmth that only a fresh summer's day would bring. When we stopped, we were dizzy from laughter, the song and all the feelings started fusing with my soul. She ran her fingers through her hair, her blonde waves snagging on her silver rings. I folded onto the grass below thinking how this was love in its most flawless, pure form. A friendship to supposedly last a lifetime.

A fleeting moment swallowed and preserved, one that would bring me great joy to remember as the years passed by. I didn’t realise at the time, but that was my last time seeing Jade. The universe had different plans for us, keeping us on separate paths destined to never intertwine. It’s amusing, people say that you know when it is your last time seeing someone, they say you get a feeling deep in your heart. The universe has a plan for me, and unfortunately Jade was no longer in it. If you had told me, while I was laughing with Jade in the sun, that just one year later, I wouldn't know what she was up to anymore. No more daily talk sessions on the phone, unlimited help, terrible jokes and a person who always knew what I needed. Instead, I was left with an empty Jade shaped void in my life as she drifted away.
(314 words)

08.07.25 ⟢ 488/300 words ~ No Letter ‘I’

Author's Note: This was quite hard because I quickly realised I couldn't use words like ‘swallowing’, ‘in’ or ‘with’, etc. But by then I'd already started lol- I just wanted to add that I've written about Sara and Grace before and there's some sort of story to go with them, if you're wondering why this is so vague/random! :)

Extremely bored, Sara hugged her knees as she watched the door from where she was sat at the corner of her homeroom. Grace, the one person Sara actually went out of her way to talk to, was supposed to have come more than half an hour ago so they could eat lunch together- where was she? Not to come off as rude, but Grace… was as much of a loner as Sara was. They were nerds.. together. Or, had been. Sara had noted that recently Grace had been less warm towards her and seemed closer towards others, but Grace was never late, no matter what.

A couple more moments passed. Sara exhaled slowly and checked her watch. Lunch was nearly over and Sara could feel her stomach rumble. A few soft footsteps later, a stern hand nudged Sara on the shoulder. Sara kept her eyes on the floor. ‘Sara, you’ve got to have some food. Go eat.' snapped a teacher.

'But- Grace- Grace wants to have lunch together…'
The teacher gave Sara The Stare. ‘Whoever you mean doesn’t matter anymore. You've been hunched up here for an hour.' Sara swallowed and ran out of the classroom.

Sara ducked her head as she fast-walked through the canteen by herself. Who knows, maybe Grace wasn’t as much as a loser as Sara was? Perhaps she suddenly chose to change up and forgot to tell her (even after knowing each other for years). Perched awkwardly at the end of a table, Sara chewed her lunch slowly. When she had entered the canteen, Sara was pretty sure she had heard Grace's laugh, but why would Grace abandon her? Was Sara too dependent on her? To be completely honest, Sara was currently contemplating separate aspects of Grace's laugh..

Sara got up and wandered the tables. Maybe Grace was here after all! Oh! There she was! But… why was Sara's old bully seated next to Grace? Why did Grace mouth the name ‘Sara’ as another laugh escaped her mouth? Sara walked towards them as she pushed away her nervousness. ‘Perhaps they weren’t laughing about me,' Sara reassured herself, but they probably were.

'Hey.' Sara muttered.
Grace turned around. ‘Sara! Hey!’ there was a pause. The other people seated next to Grace gave her a confused look.
'Where were you?' demanded Grace.
'Well.. you told me to, you know, stay back for you, so we could have lunch together..?'
Grace scrunched her eyebrows. ‘You really stayed at the classroom for me?’ Grace responded.

Sara would have expected Grace to be at least somewhat touched, but when she nodded, Grace's face turned stormy. She turned back to the others, deadpan. Sara took a wary step back.

'See? Sara's obsessed. She doesn't know how to speak for herself. She just follows me around, ahah.'

That hurt. A lot.
A tear fell out of the corner of Sara's eye as she folded her arms unsurely. Grace wasn't wrong…

No ‘E’

A bright world full of calm and charm, soft paws, and warm light. Grass glows pink, sky glows gold. Clouds drift by in odd, funny forms. Air holds a mild aroma of spring. No loud sounds, no cars, no rush. Just calm.

Cats of all sorts roam this land. Big cats, tiny cats, fluff or short fur all walk, play, and nap in this world. Paths twist through tall grass, rich with bright blooms. You might spot a cat chasing bugs or napping in warm sun spots. Walk softly, and a cat may tag along. It might show you cool spots: a pond with bright fish, a hill with vast sky sights, or a patch of tall plants that hum soft songs. No loud talk, no chaos. All animals and things stay in harmony.

Bright blooms of pink, gold, and soft navy grow in lush groups, adding magic to this land. Birds with bright wings flit about, singing soft songs that mix with grass’s hum. A small brook flows softly, calming all who pass by. Cats curl on warm rocks, tails twitching as if lost in joyful visions.

Days drift slowly by, calming busy minds. Food is juicy fruit or warm milk, gifts from this land that nourish without fuss. At dusk, gold light dims into twilight’s soft hug. A big moon climbs high, casting a glow that calms all. Stars blink, wind hums, and cats curl in groups, purring in harmony. You can join in. With a soft quilt and a cat by your chin.

In this world, all things glow with calm. No war. No pain. Just joy. This is a world of soft paws, warm sun, and kind cats, a bright vision of living kindly, calmly, and full of harmony.

(300 words) THIS WAS SO HAAAAARD D:

word war against @sussyLegWarmers-

“if reality coexist in between reality, then what is reality exactly?” the wizard mused, wondering about all the paradox and problems of the universe.
“what.” a child said. he looked up to the wizard, in confusion.
right. he was teaching, not pondering. how aggravating.
“yes?” he asked, unsure of why this kid was confused. in his mind, he said it perfectly clear, and he even explained it!
“what are you talking about?” the kid asked, still staring up in wonder.
“i’m talking about the hardest’s problems in the universe,” the wizard explained simply, again.
“why should i know any of this?” he asked.
the kid was simply a child. not a child prodigy, just a child. clearly he didn’t understand a single thing. and so did the wizard, as the wizard didn’t comprehend his confusion.
“aren’t you dense?” he said. “it’s simple. there was a witch that came up with life’s greatest questions.”
“uh..”
“and clearly, today, we’ll be comprehending how to solve them.”
“why should i know about it?” the boy asked.
“it’s essential for your future.”
“no it isn’t. i’m 9. what does comprehend mean?”
“every 6 year old need to have an understanding of our world.” the wizard snapped back.
the boy pouted. “can’t i learn it when i’m older?”
“no.you have enough intelligence to understand the basic of these questions.”
“i do? but i got a 79 out of 100 on my test earlier.”
the wizard paused. yes, he didn’t consider this at all. “needless to worry, i’m sure you’ll be able to understand.”
unfortunately, the poor boy didn’t. he didn’t understand a single thing.

270 words

okayyy I spun a wheel and the letter I shall not be using is: J! This isn't like a complete story or anything, it's more of the concept for one.
this shouldn't be too hard… right?

323 words

What is life without love? Grace would know. (oh dear this is dark sorry this is the first thing I thought of-) Given away immediately after she was born, she was left to fend for herself in their ever dismantling society. It wasn't all that bad - she was one of many. Children thrown away because parents couldn't be bothered to care for them, because of their imperfections, because they could be replaced oh so easily by an Arden. Nobody wanted the children anymore. Nobody cared for them, except themselves. This was because any kid could be replaced with an Arden, for a price. But it was a price almost anyone was willing to pay. Adults couldn't handle the beauty in the hardships of life. Ardens were perfect. The HalTech company did it all. Once a child turns five, people pay the fee trade their children to HalTech for an Arden. The children HalTech takes are then told into Ardens themselves and sold. Ardens are perfect. They stay in their place, always say the right things, and always have a flawless special talent. Parents can pay more fore even better upgraded Ardens. We don't know what they do in the facility to make them that way, but there's always something off about the Ardens - somehow they're in the uncanny valley, even if they are living, breathing, humans. That's what happens when you make anything too perfect, I guess. I was lucky to escape. My truck was raided by a group of kids trying to save us. The HalTech guards caught most of the kids, but I slipped away. I've been living, hidden on the street ever since. We always have to be careful not to be recaptured by HalTech guards, though. We're technically their property, even though we had no say in it. They're always trying to capture runaway to make more profit.

that was surprisingly easy to write without js, and I actually really like this concept.

✦ daily 07 — the house that waited ✦ symbol avoided: m ✦ word count: 397 ✦

⟡─────⟡༺ ༻⟡─────⟡

A chill drifted across the hills, low and slow. Liora stood at the edge of the field, coat drawn close, gazing toward a house she had not seen in years.

It had not changed. Wood gray with age, roof a little crooked, but still upright. Still holding.

She took the path with care. Dry leaves cracked underfoot. A bird called once, then fell quiet. The air held a hush, as if the land itself had paused to watch her return.

The door gave way with a sigh. Inside: dust, light, stillness. A chair by the hearth. A shelf of old books. A photo, face turned away. A kettle, long cold, still sat on the stove.

She sat.

This place held echoes. Laughter. Footsteps. A voice that had once said, “You’ll be back. I’ll wait.”

She had left. Not out of anger. Out of fear. Fear of staying. Fear of being known too well. Fear of what love could ask of her.

Now, she had returned. Not to fix. Not to ask. Just to see.

She pulled a letter out of her coat. Folded, worn, edges soft. It read: “If you ever feel lost, this place will find you again.”

She had read it often. With each and every read-through, she felt as if a hand was reaching through fog, steadying her, guiding her back.

She left it on the table. A gift. A truth.

She rose, walked through the house, observing the inside. Her fingers brushed the door, the windowsill, the edge of a quilt still folded at the foot of a bed. It looked practically identical to the house she had before. Before he left.

She did not cry. She did not speak. But her chest felt lighter. As though a knot had loosened. As though a door had opened.

She stepped outside. The trail behind her held no weight. Only air. Only sky.

She had feared this place. Feared what it held. Feared what it would say about her.

But it had said nothing. It had only waited.

And in that stillness, she had found a kind of grace.

Not a fix. Not a cure. But a start.

A quiet start, where healing could grow like ivy through old stone— slow, steady, without hurry, without force.

She looked back once. Not to yearn for what had been, but to honor it.

Then she walked on.

Part 1: Creating A Flawed Character (written by Sophia)
Characters aren't realistic or relatable without their own flaws, and sometimes these weaknesses end up creating a more intriguing story. To begin this weekly, figure out an idea of your character's flaws–their negative traits that might drive them to make poor decisions. Summarize the flaws you've come up with in at least 150 words to complete your first part!

Blunder will do pretty much whatever you tell him to. He’s desperate to please everybody, and hates conflict. The problem is, there’s no way to make everyone happy, and he often is placed in the middle of fights. He isn’t very good at thinking for himself, making him seem like he isn’t very smart. He stopped going to school quite soon after his parents’ deaths, so he honestly isn’t the smartest anyway. He also isn’t too strong, but is often forced to get in fights, meaning he gets beat up not infrequently. He eventually just gets used to being injured, and stops caring much about his own health and safety. He’s probably going to get himself killed someday. He considers himself relatively worthless, simply a tool that can benefit some, but still easily be replaced. Even before the Mr. Warlock incident, he considered himself more of a burden than a full person.
(152 words)

Part 2: Outlining How The Character Will Develop (written by Fini)
Howdy doodle writers!! I hope you're enjoying the weekly so far. For the next part, you will outline how your character will grow and change throughout the story. First, go to this workshop about character development by Evi. Continue by thinking about who your character is at the beginning—what are their strengths, weaknesses, fears, and goals? Then, consider what experiences or events will challenge them. How will they react to these challenges? Will they succeed, fail, or struggle along the way? By the end of the story, your character should be different in some way—maybe even more flawed ;D Enjoy crafting your character, and ensure that you write at least 200 words to move on to the next part!

Before Parents Dying:
Strengths: he’s actually pretty good at writing, acting, drawing, etc… he’s good at art basically!!
Weaknesses: he’d do anything to protect his family, or to even simply get their attention, making him easy to manipulate. He’s not doing the best in school, and has a lot of anger shoved down inside him.
Fears: losing control of all the emotions he often hides inside himself, failure
Goals: proving himself to his family, being seen as equal to his brother Beguile,
His father considers arts as a waste of time, as he “won’t get as much money.” He also considers Blunder weak. Beguile is a strong fighter, and smart (though that’s a bit less important to their father), and the two often train at night. His mother cares for both of the two, but thinks of Blunder as much more of a silly child, and is fully aware Beguile will likely be the one who could provide for the family. Her “love” for Blunder hurts him deeply in some ways, sometimes even more than his father’s complete distaste. Being seen as less than Beguile in every situation, he gets desperate for any attention, as a positive reaction to anything he does seems too far out of reach to even hope for.

Post Train Accident:
Strengths: he ends up writing a lot more about his feelings, and is excellent at playing the roles of sadder characters, considering them a breath of fresh air. Rather than acting, playing a mourning character is the only time he feels he can truly be himself, meaning that those who watch his shows can really feel his emotion. He can also play the role of a happier character, if you couldn’t tell by the fact that he spends all his time doing just that.
Weaknesses: he’s extremely aware of the fact that he has to rely on Beguile entirely, just as his parents thought. He continues to push his sadness down inside of him, playing the role of a more cheerful, innocent child.
Fears: holding people back, weighing them down, being abandoned by Beguile, fading away into the nothingness he’s convinced himself he really is, trains, doctors, illness
Goals: becoming a famous actor/writer, in order to also support his brother, or perhaps be able to provide for himself entirely, and finally escape the family that never truly seemed to love him
His mother was extremely ill near the end of her life, and they assumed that was how she’d die, but in reality, she died with her husband on a train that mysteriously disappeared for a week, before the ruins were found miles away from the nearest train tracks. The doctor had been charging a lot of money to take care of Blunder’s mother, and Beguile began to show some symptoms of the mysterious illness as well.

During Warlock:
Strengths: he could get back up after being injured relatively easily, so they often send him for relatively useless missions, possibly just as a distraction
Weaknesses: he doesn’t trust anyone anymore!! In fact, he rarely even talks to his brother anymore!! He also still doesn’t know how to fight, he just keeps getting beat up!!
Fears: letting people down, doctors, illness, running out of money, Mr. Warlock
Goals: survive.
Beguile fell ill, and had Blunder take over his job. Apparently the entire family had some connection to a man named Mr. Warlock. Blunder, feeling betrayed and confused, finally ended up being the one Beguile relied on.

Post Warlock:
Strengths: entertainment!! He’s quite good at entertaining.
Weaknesses: still some trust issues and yet he’ll still do anything you ask to make you happy to make sure you like him to make sure you don’t hate him please don’t hate him pLEASE
Fears: letting Ardor down, being hated, being abandoned, having to go back, illness, doctors
Goals: prove his worth, survive
He’s finally escaped the family that never truly cared for him, but what’s stopping Ardor and Vex from sending him back?? (The fact that they are good people…)

Everyone In Universe:
Strengths: entertainment
Weaknesses: he still feels like a burden!!
Fears: being a burden!!
Goals: prove his worth!!
Not much changes, but now that everyone is stuck in this universe, he feels really bad about being another person to take care of. He also keeps being ignored again, simply because there’s no time for him, so that’s not a great feeling for him!!

Missing Ardor:
Strengths: lying!! he’s learned how to take his acting skills to a whole new level!!
Weaknesses: A DEEP GUILT FILLS HIS SOUL
Fears: Ardor, the one adult who ever saw anything in him other than a joke, coming back and seeing him like this, death
Goals: finally be more than just a JOKE because everyone always would look at him and see a USELESS CHILD but now LOOK AT HIM he’s POWERFUL ISNT HE being forgiven
✨Blunder finally has that inevitable villain arc but he’s not even good at it✨
After all, he’s so much worse than everyone else… why not embrace it?

Post Missing Ardor:
Strengths: acting. He’s still good at that.
Weaknesses: he still feels like a burden, a guilty mess that needs to prove himself, although it’s a bit less intense
Fears: being nothing more than a joke or a monster, although it’s a bit less intense
Goals: finally accept himself!!
Ardor’s back and ready to forgive everyone for everything which means its redemption arc time but also Blunder will likely get stabbed or something pretty quickly after this
(908)

Part 3: Understanding Character Motivation (written by Niko)
Now that you've figured out your characters' development, you'll focus on their motivations. A character's motivation is very important to make sure their decisions and what they do remain consistent and make sense for that character. Motivations can come from a character's past, things they care about, and goals. For example, in the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, one of Katniss' main motivations is to protect her sister, which leads to her volunteering for her sister and contributes to the reasoning behind many of her decisions in the rebellion to continue protecting her family. Now write 200 words explaining the motivation behind the character. Have fun!

Blunder’s goals, as you could just see, are almost always to prove his worth. No matter what he’s doing, he carries the fear of being a burden, and the desire to be more than whatever anyone thinks he is. He consistently treats himself as worse than everybody else and consistently craves evidence he is even close to their equal. This desire to be “more” ends up leading him down several paths, until in the end he realizes that the person he really needed approval from was simply himself. Realistically, at many points, any minor change in his story could result in him reaching his goal, or even simply letting it go, which is quite interesting. In fact, in the previous section, it’s completely divided by where it’s easiest to alter his entire life with one small detail! Timelines are basically just a bunch of dominos knocking each other over sometimes… I’ll be honest though, even in an AU where Ardor didn’t mess up the multiverse a bunch, he’d probably still have that villain arc at some point. As I said before, it was kinda inevitable. Why? I’m not sure, actually. Potentially just for my own entertainment. I’ll admit it’s not the most well written concept for his story, but oh well. His desire for worth always did have the more simple desire for attention tied to it.
(227)

Part 4: Tying It All Together (written by Encryn)
Throughout this weekly, we've taken a closer look at what motivates our characters to take on what they do, as well as how they develop and change as their story progresses, responding to the world around them. So, what's next? We're glad you asked—now that you've created your (im)perfect (;D) character, it's time to tie it all together and place them in a tale of your very own. For the final part of this weekly, write a short story in a minimum of 450 words incorporating your flawed character, focusing on character development and their motives as we've explored throughout the past week. Best of luck!

“And now…”
A drumroll. A dark stage with a curtain covering it. A bored audience with nothing better to do with their time and wealth.
“The one…”
The drummer is somehow even more tired than I am. The stage is sick of waiting, but it won’t be much happier when I’m up there. My brother sits in the front row, talking to a friend about how I made him come, and he’d really rather be anywhere else.
“The only…”
Thank goodness I’m the only. Can you imagine a world where everyone was like me? Nothing would ever get done.
“Blunder Bottleson!!”
I step out onto the stage, grinning. “Hello, everybody!!”
There’s cheering. It’s loud, it’s annoying, it’s hardly genuine… might be my favorite kind of cheering, honestly, since it’s the only kind I ever get.
“Mr. Bottleson,” the announcer starts.
“Oh, ha… wow… uh, just call me Blunder,” I laugh. “Or, I mean, anything but that, maybe.”
The announcer laughs. I have this cool skill where I say things that should make it super clear I’m distressed, and everyone things I’m the funniest comedian of all time with my cool jokes like “oh gears please don’t” and “I feel like I’m drowning but sure.” Or maybe they just don’t care. Well, I’m getting paid either way, so it’s probably fine.
“You’re here to talk about your starring role in The Ghost. So… tell us about it!”
“Well,” I begin, “just like Wish, I also grew up feeling invisible, like I was slowly fading away…” I chuckle. “Although I guess I felt it a bit less… literally, didn’t I?”
They laugh, although they’re a bit concerned. I grin. I bow. No one wants me to keep talking, so I just nod, before grabbing the microphone out of the announcer’s hand. “Well, you all hate me, obviously, so I’m gonna head on out and let Ms. Lockson come and talk about her role. She’s cool.”
I walk offstage. I hear the announcer quietly complain about his microphone. But Beguile seems excited I’m fully just taking this thing with me. He’s gonna be less excited pretty soon, but who cares? Not me. I stopped caring a while ago.
At least I like to pretend I did. Pretending is one of my only skills, so I gotta use it sometimes.

“And now…”
A drumroll. A dark stage with a curtain covering it. An interested audience that knows that I probably can’t be trusted after everything I’ve done.
“The one…”
The drummer is somehow even more anxious than I am, rapidly hitting the drum in such that I fear it’ll break. The stage is impatiently waiting for me to step out and say whatever nonsense Ardor and Vex wrote for me ahead of time. My new family sits in the front row, whispering to each other about how excited they are, how glad they are I invited them.
“The only…”
Thank goodness I’m the only. Can you imagine a world where everyone was like me? Nobody would be able to stand anyone else’s company.
“Blunder Vexson!!”
I step onto the stage, smiling. “Yeahhhh!! Wow!! It’s me!!”
There’s cheering. It’s loud, it’s annoying, and it’s almost genuine. Close enough for me.
“Mr. Vexson,” the announcer starts. It’s always so fun when people say my last name. They’re always so confused why it’s different, as if they’ve never heard of adoption. …maybe they haven’t, actually…
“That’s me. That’s my name. You’ve stood here silently waiting for a response for a bit too long, what do you want from me?”
The announcer laughs, though a bit anxious. I have this cool skill where I say things that are actually funny sometimes, and people laugh. Shocking, I know. Usually people just yell at each other, but I manage to actually entertain them sometimes.
“You’re here to, um, try to explain what was happening with the… um…” He shrugs towards me, expecting me to fill in the blank.
“Oh, yeah, that.” I grab the script from my pocket. “Well, uh, first up… I’m. Sorry?” The papers fall out of my hands, all over the floor. I stare at them for a while, refusing to grab them myself, before finally looking back up. “Yeah, I’m not grabbing those.”
“Well, anyway,” I continue, “my dads wrote a whole script for me, but it was long and not from my heart, since… you know… I didn’t write it… and it’s on the floor now, so I think you all get the point.”
“We very much so do not,” the announcer said, still grinning. Gears, I hate forced smiles. Kinda hypocritical, I know, but I guess they just hit a bit too close to home.
“Well, that’s seems like a you problem,” I replied. “Adios, fortuitus парень.”
I waited a while longer to see what everyone thought of the fact that I just spoke three different languages in one sentence, one of them being a dead language, but after their silence disappointed me enough, I shrugged.
I walk offstage. I hear the announcer quietly complain about all the papers I left on the stage. But Vex and Ardor seem excited. The rest of the audience is perplexed and confused, and that’s kinda sad. I guess I invest a lot of my emotions into what other people think of me or whatever.
At least I used to. But I guess now I’ve got a loving family and also this cool new top hat, so that’s pretty fun.
(912)

NOTES
Blunderrrrrr he wasn’t even meant to be an important character in the story he’s from let alone a super tragic one. And yet.
I feel like I had a bunch of things to say here but I forgot. Um. Sorry for making the whole thing a lot longer than necessary. Sorry if I did all this wrong.
…
ANYWAY YEP OKAY BYEEEE

daily 7/8
omitting the letter ‘e’

If that guy who was following Zo did not go with Zo, bun might find bun’s path to consist of many additional conflicts. Zo’s luck was not good. It was not subpar. Bun’s luck was downright awful. But, this man who was following Zo could possibly assist bun in ways bun might not know. Zo jumps as bun walks a lot, so it was hard for that man (guys call him Jim) who was following bun to stay on bun’s tail. Zo had a sinking suspicion that a guy was watching bun. Bun said
“I must act smart about this.” Zo ran fast, flipping bun’s noggin to look at who was around. Jim quickly ran into a bush to avoid bun. Zo did not know what to do. Bun thought without doubt that a guy was following bun. Bun still had a gnawing suspicion nagging at bun’s stomach. Bun did not go back to bun’s living patch just that instant. Bun could also not omit facts. Bun was afraid. Zo thought bun was strong. Zo thought bun was worthy. But if a chilling man could follow bun, obviously bun was not strong. Bun was not worthy. Bun sought out a shop so bun could sort out bun’s plan. This shop woman was Zo’s pal, Mikayla. Mikayla took a look at Zo’s sobbing body and clung on to bun holding bun tightly. Bun saw Jim in front of Mikayla’s shop. Zo ran back and hid low in stacks of junk that Mikayla had sitting around and it hid bun soundly. Jim found Zo in an instant, though.
“Kid, I just want to assist you!”
“What? No you don’t. Liar.” Bun was angry. How could Jim say that? Jim wasn’t assisting Zo at all. Zo didn’t know what to think.
“Stop. Just stop.” Bun said.

303 words

◆◇◆◇◆ EVIDENCE 8: LIPOGRAM ◆◇◆◇◆

For this daily, it's your job to omit an ABC’s sign in your writing. Your story has to contain a minimum of 300 words and no words in your story can contain said symbol that you pick. And this sounds hard, but it's worth it for 250 points!! And, you gain an additional 100 points for sharing. Now, if you look back upon this daily, you’ll spy not any “e’s.”

Letter picked : n

She smiles softly, my hair twirled as she played with it. Her words were sickly sweet, as if she desired for me to be lured by her sugary sweet outside. I should’ve, or rather could’ve realized her caramel apples were deadly. She used her words as deceit, a wolf equipped with the clothes of a sheep.

But, foolishly, I believed her sugared words, I believed she truly was a warm-hearted, pure soul. I was led astray by her. She had lied to me, yet I looked away from it, I had wished for her to be the same as she claimed, I loved the girl she claimed to be.

Yet, I hated the girl she truly was.

But, oh my heart, my heart was already hers. I wished for otherwise, but it was what the truth was. The taste of her artificial, sweet words still filled my mouth. Although she was bitter at this time, I still stayed. I stayed because I believed that her words would somehow become sickly sweet.

So she asked me to do her every desire, she asked me for all there was, I stayed. She used to be sweet, I am aware of the fact she has a good side to her, just she locked that good side away. She has it, I’m sure she does. I wish to be able to discover it.

I’ve always abided by her to try to get the key to what kept her good side locked, but I struggle to get it. I start to ask myself if that ‘good side’ existed at all, or if it was just a carefully crafted facade.

So she asked me, “Do you love me?” If I had to be truthful, I would’ve told her the opposite of what I had said.

But because I craved the old sweet flavor her words had,
or the girl she had used to be,
or the sugary layers her words had,

Because I missed all of this,
I decided to lie.

“Of course,” I smiled.

♖ | 339 words

weekly time aaa

I will be using the character from the story concept I made in this daily

Part One: Creating a Flawed Character
152 words

Grace doesn't trust anyone except the few people she's known her whole life. This is because her parents traded her in without a second thought, to replace her with an Arden. She's seen many taken by HalTech and their guards. Most will try to cheat the children, by stealing from them, lying to them, or taking them and returning them to HalTech for a bounty. When there is a close betrayal in her group, this fear deepens, and her trust only lessens. She also acts like she doesn't care, but she really cares about the little children (the real ones who recently escaped and are only preschool or elementary school age) and would sacrifice her own life for them. Finally, she is quite vengeful. She's full of spite after what was done to her and millions of other children. Her rage can be a fatal flaw, sending her spiraling out of control.

Part Two: Outlining How the Character Will Develop
276 words

So I was thinking that one of those in her very close group could betray them. After they finally feel secure and accomplished after rescuing a lot of children, suddenly the HalTech guards come rushing in to raid their base. She runs away, but has to go back and protect as many children as she can obviously, and that causes her to narrowly get away. (Possibly she gets away because one of the guards lets her, which leaves her very doubtful and questioning, and that guard can be in the next thing I'm going to mention) - but that whole encounter leaves her crushed after she just felt good about her situation, and it worsens her mistrust for everyone that she meets. But later in the story, they can meet either another rebel group or some guards who have defected from HalTech. Guards is lowk more interesting - so a rebel group of defected haltech guards, who go undercover and ruin their tech. Obviously she doesn't trust them, but through more and more encounters with them, and times where they totally save her group, she starts to trust again. She can also have someone (cough cough love interest???) who can help teach her to calm her rage and not go spiraling, for everyone's general benefit. I'm not really going to develop the one about her doing anything to protect the children, because to be perfectly honest, that isn't so much of a terrible flaw, even though it is a liability to herself, that's what makes her special as a main character, all that she's willing to do to protect them. (That along with the other flaws of course-)

Part Three: Understanding Character Motivation
419 words

I mentioned this in part one and my daily, but I'm going to flesh it out for part three. The character's motivation comes from her past. When she was (i forgot what age but there's a certain age), her parents did what many others do. They pay to have their child replaced with an Arden. Ardens are “perfect children”. Parents replace their children because the Ardens are better. They're perfectly behaved, always know the exact right things to say, are always great in school and at a special talent. Adults in this dystopian world don't see the beauty in flawed children, and the challenges of raising a true child. (like the beauty of life and that kind of stuff) Anyway, this is where her rage comes from. She despises them for not loving her and not even giving her a chance. They raised her as much as they had to, but never really cared for her. They always just wanted to replace her as soon as they possibly could. She doesn't trust anyone, because HalTech is ruthless. They care only about money, and whenever they lose a child, they lose a lot of money. So they created the HalTech guards (I need to come up with some guard lore, whether they are controlled like the Ardens are, they're just soldier versions of Ardens, or they're failed Ardens trained forced to work, just teens like the others, idk yet). Anyway, they use said HalTech guards to track the children down. They sometimes go undercover, and are also often violent. HalTech is the company truly controlling the world because of how rich and all encompassing they are. (They don't just do the Ardens, they also sell basically anything and made the population reliant on them.) The government is weak and is really merely ornamental. Therefore they don't stop HalTech. HalTech also pays people for turning in found “property” aka the kids, so there are bounty hunters constantly after them, too. All of that has led to Grace not trusting anyone, because everybody is trying to catch them and use them for their own profit. The part about caring super deeply for children comes from her own inner child, and her desire to protect it. Maybe she had a sibling she lost, too, and that could be part of the plot. (Katniss caring for primrose type thing, this is becoming such a stereotypical dystopian story haha) - So basically all of her motivations are from her past and also the current world situation.

Part Four: Tying It All Together
856 words

So I was going to put her in the dystopian world I just created, but instead I'm putting just her character in this situation bc It was suggested to me lol: https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/50665171/comments/#comments-298378427

Grace strolled through the market, Jackson close behind. She stopped at an empty stall. “Look, free strawberry jam!” She picked up a jar and tossed it in her hand, smirking at Jackson.
“Grace, I don't think those are meant to be free,” he chuckled. Grace stopped and turned to face Jackson, making a big show of looking around.
'Do you see a seller? No? Looks like it's free, then!“ She continued walking.
”Oh come on, someone probably worked hard to make that! And who knows, they might have children at home to feed.“
”Yeah right. They probably have an Arden to feed. Every single one of them was willing to give us up. They took away our whole life - I'm just taking a jar of jam.“ Grace opened the jam and smelled it. ”They owe me my life - I don't owe them a cent. What's one strawberry jam?“ Jackson rolled his eyes.
”Yeah, alright. We should get back though.“ They walked back to an alleyway, and checked to see if anyone was watching before slipping into a loose grate, that lead to a sprawling connection of underground tunnels throughout the city. It didn't smell the best, but the smell probably warded people away. It used to be the sewer system, but it was abandoned after HalTech created their own waste management system and took over. Now it was a bunch of empty tunnels and rooms, perfect for rebel hideouts. Plus, it was a total maze to those who weren't used to being down there. Rebels figured out how to navigate it a while ago, and have all sorts of maps. But to anyone else, they would be struggling to get around. Rebels, on the other hand, knew the place like the back of their hand. Which is why Grace and Jackson were in for a shock when they found something unexpected in one of the empty rooms on the way to their base.

A low, growling noise came from the cavern.
”What was that?“ Jackson said, with a bit of a nervous laugh.
”I don't know… sounds like some kind of animal, though,“ Grace replied. She pulled out her knife. They creeped on the side of the wall, inching closer, trying to get a peek of whatever was inside. Suddenly, Grace lurched back. ”What the heck is that?!“ She whispered aggressively.
”Dude I don't know, I can't see anything from back here!“ Jackson whispered back. Grace looked again, and gasped.
”It's some kind of… Dragon?“ Dragons were extremely rare - they mostly disappeared after the world became more innovative. A lot of them were hunted for sport with all the new technology, so most migrated away or were hidden.
”Wow, I've never seen one in person before!“
”Me neither - but we need to be careful. These things are dangerous. Didn't they try to kill a bunch of humans back in the day?“
”Yeah, but that was because the humans were hunting them.“
”I dunno, let's just go in with caution. On my count.“ Grace whispered a countdown, and they jumped in. ”STAY BACK!“ Grace yelled, brandishing her knife in front of her. The dragon recoiled, it's pink scales shining in the dim light. Grace started charging towards the dragon, knife in front of her.
”WAIT!“ Jackson yelled. ”I don't think it's trying to harm you, and they're endangered! We can't just kill it.“ Grace paused, not taking her eyes off of the dragon.
”That's not a chance I want to take.“ The dragon moved towards Grace, and she took a step back. ”See? It's threatening. I can't just leave it here!“
”Look, don't kill it just yet.“ The dragon took another step towards Grace, and craned it's neck until it was right next to her.
”I am uncomfortably close to this dragon right now, Jackson,“ Grace said in a panicked tone. But the dragon moved it's head down, and started nudging her pocket. ”What's it doing? Jackson, WHATS IT DOING??“ Grace yelled, too scared to move.
”Wait, what's in that pocket?“ Jackson asked.
”The strawberry jam from earlier, why?“
”…maybe the dragon just wants some jam?“
”Yeah right. This isn't funny, Jackson!“
”I'm serious! It's probably hungry down in these tunnels! Just… Give it the jam, and we'll run behind it. We don't have to kill it - if it wanted to kill us, it probably would've already anyway. Greet the world with open arms! (/ref lol) Not everything is all blood and death and child trafficking!“
”Ugh, this is the stupidest thing I've ever done.“ Grace unbuttoned the pocket to her black cargo pants, and took out the jam. She held it in front of her, and to her surprise, the dragon took it in it's mouth, and made a squealing noise. Grace stayed perfectly still, unsure what the dragon would do next. The dragon simply turned, and scampered off into the tunnels with the jam.
”Huh, I guess the dragon just really liked strawberry jam,“ Jackson said.
”Yeah, I guess so," Grace replied skeptically. They went off into the tunnels, not sure what to think of their encounter with the dragon.


that was such a silly story lmao but at least i'm done-

I tried out the thing that deletes your writing if you don't write fast enough lol - this is what I wrote: 496 words
https://www.squibler.io/dangerous-writing-prompt-app

So I don't know how this thing works but apparently if I don't write fast enough it'll start deleting my words? I don't know how that works or - because when I stop writing it's not doing anything? But maybe that's just because I type super fast, What oh it got blurry does it delete literally everything?? Wow that is super high stakes! But what if I don't want to lose all my work? I guess that's the point, so I should just use this to write stream of conciousness stuff or like word wars or for word wars. I wonder if it saves it somewhere else. I kind of just want to write the letter A and see what it does to delete, but I've already written so many words that I don't want to waste the words for scratch writing camp. It seems to count the backspaces as typing, too, so I guess you can always delete and rewrite a word if you're thinking. That's what I'm thinking though, what if you need to think? Like what if you really need to think of what the right word choice is, or what you want to put next in your story, and you can't and it all gets deleted? Because I'm quite a fast typer, I usually have like ninety to a hundred words per minute, but I type way slower when I have to think of what to type. So on the mindless typing games like typing test or nitrotype, I can type super quickly! But not when I have to write things of actual substance. Which is why this isn't very good for that. But it is getting me a lot of words right now which I do appreciate! My problem is I'm just writing a bunch of junk for points and not really writing anything good. Am I really improving my writing skills doing this, is this really the point of camp?? No, I don't believe it is. I'm also making a concerning amount of typos right now lol. Yeah what about when I have to go back and fix a letter like I did right there? Will it stop me? What if I'm trying to edit my writing? So this design is clearly very flawed, but could prove very helpful during cabin wars. Also if I just use it for smaller sprints I'm less likely to lose words I spent a lot of time writing. So this is how people get like a hundred thousand words! It's just straight writing. I don't think it's really good. I guess you could get to know yourself quite well by writing a bunch of stuff. I also wonder if this thing saves what you write after you're done. I guess we'll find out. Oh it does it's giving me the option to start again. But what about what you wrote? Is that just gone forever? I'm going to test it after I submit these words.

2 minutes
against pepper-and-a-pencil from horror
prompt: i’d heard revenge was a dish best served cold, but the catering staff seemed to have other ideas
194 words

Revenge is certainly a dish best served cold - so why were these catering staff serving boiling hot dishes of soup? They were supposed to serve cold soup, like gespacho or something - I don't really care what it is, that's not the point. The point, was that Emily is sitting right across from me. Emily, who killed my brother. Of course I pretended to forgive her like any good best friend, but that is just unforgiveable. I don't know why she did it, but I don't really care quite frankly. What was supposed to happen was they put a couple drops of poison in the soup's garnish. Not too much, just enough to kill her. But the problem is, the poison stops working when it's exposed to too much heat. And this soup? Wayyy too hot for the poison. I also put some laxatives in the poison, just for fun, that way I know she'll suffer. Those will still work though! No matter, the real issue is the poison. I don't know what to do, I'll have to talk to the catering staff about it. Am I being sabatoged? I look around for any police.

Daily 8:

For this daily, it's your job to omit an ABC’s sign in your writing. Your story has to contain a minimum of 300 words and no words in your story can contain said symbol that you pick. And this sounds hard, but it's worth it for 250 points!! And, you gain an additional 100 points for sharing. Now, if you look back upon this daily, you’ll spy not any “e’s.”

without the letter B

I am unfortunately, a messed up keypad thing attached to a computer. I cannot type a certain letter, no matter what. My person has tried, and failed, to fix me. It is quite pointless, for I will never type that certain letter. Long ago, I could type it, no longer though, alas, the key was ripped from me, and then thing used to make it type that key was farther messed up. I miss the letter, very much. I long for days when I someone could type, instead of having to copy paste it from others, or avoid using it entirely, which is what I must do now. So I must do my tasks, without this certain, start of the letter song letter. Day after day, I waited, hoping for someone to fix me. No longer do I hope and wait, for I now know it hopeless, for no one can fix my messed up, destroyed, former key. I hope that the key knows I have not forgotten it, I still long for it, and I will, forever, and ever. One day, I hear my person saying something, a repair person? How strange! I wonder what they will repair. The next day, some strange person touches my keys, then… They take me away! I cry for my person, alas, I am only a computer, I cannot cry for my person. The strange (and perhaps evil) person does many things to me, with strange looking tools. Soon, I feel a new presents on my keypad. How strange! Then, I given to my person again. I cry out in happiness! Then, I see my person, typing something on me! Oh my! My messed up key! It’s fixed! Hooray! I can now say that letter. Not now, though, I will finished off my story, without using this start of the letter song letter. Farewell.

311 words

once upon a time there was a magical kitchen that served wonderful foods for everyone that came, mythical creatures, and ordinary humans alike and they loved the food there because it always had a taste of fantasy to it, not that that made any sense but that's what all the people always said when they were brought their food. Anyway, the food from the magical kitchen was absolutely incredible and the people thoroughly enjoyed it every time they came for a visit. Except one day, when a witch came to eat some foo.d This witch was a scary food critic and very harsh on the dish. So when she came and claimed that the food was bad, the kitchen grew very angry, and instead, served her a freezing food instead of dessert. so when she ate it, she completely turned to a stone of ice

eo

8th July - Daily
Words Written: 432/300
Prompt: For this daily, it's your job to omit an ABC’s sign in your writing. Your story has to contain a minimum of 300 words and no words in your story can contain said symbol that you pick. And this sounds hard, but it's worth it for 250 points!! And, you gain an additional 100 points for sharing. Now, if you look back upon this daily, you’ll spy not any “e’s.”



Letter ommitted: x

There is context for this. You are not getting any of it. You do not have access to the context unless your name is Yume, Encryn, or Mildred

the sequel to this: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/post/8626054/



Evanescence
*materialises through the ceiling*

Wong Szeyan
*screams*
why do you keep doing that?

Evanescence
Because it is fun.

Secretary General Skylar Zhang
*walks in*
It appears my future self is at it again. It seems that a galactic empire means I’ve lost all sense of diplomacy.

Evanesecence
… I’m still diplomatic when necessary.

Idol Skylar
You could just like, stop freaking Szeyan out. I doubt her heart could take it if you did it one more time.

Evanescence
I’m trying to scare Nycren.

Skylar Zhang, MEng
By materialising through the ceiling rather dramatically? You do realise Nycren’s world has no walls, right?

Yume
we could always get her walls.

Skylar Zhang, MEng
That would be one… huge… logistical nightmare.
But yes.

Evanescence
But it would be worth it, would it not? To finally box Nycren in so I can appear through her walls?

Wong Szeyan
you need to stop doing that

Nycren
*appears*

Wong Szeyan
*screams*
will you please stop doing that

Skylar Zhang, MEng
I THOUGHT I SHUT THE ROOM IN A CERTAIN WAY SO NYCREN COULDN’T COME IN
BUT ALAS
I FORGOT THE RULES DIDN’T APPLY IN THIS POCKET UNIVERSE

Wong Szeyan
… in english, please?

Nycren
I do not need walls.

Evanescence
… Nycren, you do realise you’re a criminal, right?

Secretary General Skylar Zhang
Evanescence, you do also realise that you’re a criminal, right?

Evanescence
I’m a rebel, not a criminal.
There’s a difference.

Wong Szeyan
rebe- what are you-

Chemist Yume
Someone needs to, like. culture szeyan.

Wong Szeyan
i am… very concerned for all of you

Secretary General Skylar Zhang
Then would you care to explain why I, in the future, suddenly turn into a rebel?

Evanescence
I think we’ve been over this several times, my past self.

Skylar
… Someone explain to me why we’re sharing a pocket universe again?
Wait. Is this even a pocket universe?

Wong Szeyan
what’s a pocket universe?

Skylar
Should I explain?

Time Traveller Yume
time travel

Wong Szeyan
*screams*
you mean- we’re-

Evanescence
Did Nycren just… disappear?

Yume
i think she did…

Skylar
We still need to get her walls.
Like. A lot of walls.

Skylar Zhang, MEng
I will make that your problem, Present Skylar. I am far too busy trying to find a job.

Idol Skylar
I thought you said we were in a pocket universe…?

Time Traveller Yume
i have a time machine, if that helps

Skylar Zhang, MEng
I forgot about that part-

Skylar
So… about Nycren’s and Encryn’s walls…

Yume
yes.

Skylar
Alright. I have one heck of a spreadsheet coming right up-

sestina for a person who does not know how they feel | or, omitting the letter “L”
301 words

Five years ago I ran into you
for the first time. No doubt you don’t
remember any of that fated interaction, and that’s just fine,
but I know I have remembered
everything, from your wavy hair dyed a bright, stunning rose
to your upbeat yet shy grin.

And it was that sighting of a tiny grin
which chased me in my thoughts of you,
every time I saw those bright, majestic roses
in the park; and don’t
get me started on remembering
that fine day.

Right there in my memory—it was that exact day,
and when I think about it I can’t stop grinning
just as you did from every time I can remember—
and this specific time it was when you
were sitting with me, and you said you don’t
ever want to stop finding those roses.

And you said that your name was Rose,
which I thought matched you fine—
and I knew then this fact—I don’t
want to ever stop seeing that grin,
and I don’t want to ever stop seeing you.
So even as you are gone I forever continue to remember.

I hope it never happens, but I don’t
know if one day I wake up not remembering
the curves and shadows of the happy grin
of yours, or the broad roses
surrounding your body as you sat fine
and majestic on that sunny day, just being you.

This day needs your grin, and I don’t
want to ever forget you. Because when I am forever remembering
your roses, everything in the universe again becomes good and fine.

—

Sometimes I don’t know what to think
about you. Perhaps I’m scared to
voice how I, in truth, think about you. I have
never said it, not even after
every one of
these years.

Because perhaps I.

I.

I…