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- AWritingCheerleader
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
Cabin Wars Extra Challenge - Character Swap
Words: 383
海灘 was sitting on the rocks above the water again, her favourite pastime. Her siren sisters surrounded her. They were discussing some sort of gossip, another sailor that had been captured by one of their friends or something. Her mind was far from it, not out of malicious intent but just because her big day was coming up.
The next day, she would be expected to sing to humans for the first time. They would follow her and die. Her heart was racing with something foreign as she twisted her white hair with teal streaks around with a sand-coloured finger. It felt oddly like dread, oddly like a stone was sinking her to the bottom of the ocean and she couldn’t swim back up. She had almost never felt guilty, but here she was worrying for some mortal man’s life.
“I have to go,” she told her sisters, dipping back beneath the waves.
“See you tomorrow for your big day, 海灘,” one said.
She tried to smile, but the reminder only made it more difficult. She swam through the cool, refreshing water to see her father.
“Father,” she began, nerves gnawing on her insides, “I don’t want to sing to a sailor tomorrow.”
“Would you rather do it today?” he asked, turning around with a smile.
“I would rather do it never,” she admitted.
“We simply cannot have that. You will sing to a sailor tomorrow, 海灘.”
She hardened her gaze, assuring herself in her mind that she would not listen to him. He may have been able to order around mortals, but not other sirens. She would not listen and he could not make her sing.
“Of course, father,” she said, turning around to leave.
Her father was forcing her into something again, and this time it would be her downfall if she didn’t listen. He would make her life as difficult as possible. She needed to run away. But, of course, she needed to take her siren sisters lest they fall victim to her father’s wrath. She swam back to the rocks to find them, a plan forming in her mind and lifting the rock from her stomach.
The next day, she woke with a single thought. This was it. Her big day, but not in the way her father intended.
Words: 383
海灘 was sitting on the rocks above the water again, her favourite pastime. Her siren sisters surrounded her. They were discussing some sort of gossip, another sailor that had been captured by one of their friends or something. Her mind was far from it, not out of malicious intent but just because her big day was coming up.
The next day, she would be expected to sing to humans for the first time. They would follow her and die. Her heart was racing with something foreign as she twisted her white hair with teal streaks around with a sand-coloured finger. It felt oddly like dread, oddly like a stone was sinking her to the bottom of the ocean and she couldn’t swim back up. She had almost never felt guilty, but here she was worrying for some mortal man’s life.
“I have to go,” she told her sisters, dipping back beneath the waves.
“See you tomorrow for your big day, 海灘,” one said.
She tried to smile, but the reminder only made it more difficult. She swam through the cool, refreshing water to see her father.
“Father,” she began, nerves gnawing on her insides, “I don’t want to sing to a sailor tomorrow.”
“Would you rather do it today?” he asked, turning around with a smile.
“I would rather do it never,” she admitted.
“We simply cannot have that. You will sing to a sailor tomorrow, 海灘.”
She hardened her gaze, assuring herself in her mind that she would not listen to him. He may have been able to order around mortals, but not other sirens. She would not listen and he could not make her sing.
“Of course, father,” she said, turning around to leave.
Her father was forcing her into something again, and this time it would be her downfall if she didn’t listen. He would make her life as difficult as possible. She needed to run away. But, of course, she needed to take her siren sisters lest they fall victim to her father’s wrath. She swam back to the rocks to find them, a plan forming in her mind and lifting the rock from her stomach.
The next day, she woke with a single thought. This was it. Her big day, but not in the way her father intended.
- -WildClan-
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
Notes about the animals that exist in Canon!
Disclaimer: My world is not identical to Earth. Notably, the surface gravity, the mix of gases in the atmosphere, and the layout of geographic features are different. Also, ghosts are real. Still, it’s fairly similar to Earth in most ways, and its species have easily-identifiable parallels to Earth species. Most of my stories take place in what might as well be the North American continent during the Miocene.
Protostomia: While there are definitely tons of insects, spiders, molluscs, etc., they are not the main focus. As such, I haven’t written too much about the specifics. They’re important, though! I just happen to be biased toward deuterostomes.
Fish: Fish tend to be very symbolic in my stories, especially in the ghost/afterlife-related segments. The ones actually depicted in the regular world of Canon, though, are mostly freshwater species, like trout and bass. There are also salmon that migrate from saltwater to freshwater, and this migration is an important event in my world.
Mammals: Small mammals, like rats, rabbits, and squirrels, are plentiful. There are also many larger grazing animals that have taken advantage of the expanding grassland habitat. I take particular care to showcase the different types of horses that existed concurrently during the Miocene. I also reference whale evolution a few times. While many of the aforementioned mammals are relevant in my stories, the only mammalian characters who get speaking roles are feliforms and caniforms. There are many types of existing feliforms, though I focus mainly on the nimravids, who look a bit like saber-toothed tigers but aren’t even felids. The caniforms are more diverse, with musteloids, bears, pinnipeds, and canids—all the groups seen on Earth. I focus mainly on the canids, and in particular, a handful of cultures within one specific species of borophagines.
Reptiles: Snakes, lizards, and turtles are the main groups. The turtles are the most plot-relevant, as they have some abilities and behaviors that, as far as I know, Earth turtles do not have. The sea turtles, tortoises, and freshwater turtles/terrapins all recognize their own evolutionary histories, as well as those of the species in their environments. As such, they take on the role of knowledge-keepers and guardians of nature. One particular terrapin lineage is responsible for one of the major Canon plotlines.
Birds: Some birds (woodpeckers, vultures, ducks, etc.) are physiologically identical to modern Earth birds. Others (pseudotooth birds, “terror birds,” etc.) are based on extinct, but real, species. Some are modified versions of one of these categories. However, the birds are notably more intelligent, cooperative, and otherwise capable of technological advancement and civilization-building than Earth birds. I’d argue that they surpass humans on those metrics, too. They were the ones who engineered the shazarxi before altering themselves beyond the scope of biology. Because of their collective transition into non-organic entities, the animals known as “birds” are technically extinct; they’re not really animals anymore.
Shazarxi: An artificial species created by the birds, they do not fit into any of the other categories, though they do share many of the traits of their avian creators. They also have both mammalian and reptilian features, however. The majority of my characters are shazarxi, despite the fact that their species has not been around very long.
Disclaimer: My world is not identical to Earth. Notably, the surface gravity, the mix of gases in the atmosphere, and the layout of geographic features are different. Also, ghosts are real. Still, it’s fairly similar to Earth in most ways, and its species have easily-identifiable parallels to Earth species. Most of my stories take place in what might as well be the North American continent during the Miocene.
Protostomia: While there are definitely tons of insects, spiders, molluscs, etc., they are not the main focus. As such, I haven’t written too much about the specifics. They’re important, though! I just happen to be biased toward deuterostomes.
Fish: Fish tend to be very symbolic in my stories, especially in the ghost/afterlife-related segments. The ones actually depicted in the regular world of Canon, though, are mostly freshwater species, like trout and bass. There are also salmon that migrate from saltwater to freshwater, and this migration is an important event in my world.
Mammals: Small mammals, like rats, rabbits, and squirrels, are plentiful. There are also many larger grazing animals that have taken advantage of the expanding grassland habitat. I take particular care to showcase the different types of horses that existed concurrently during the Miocene. I also reference whale evolution a few times. While many of the aforementioned mammals are relevant in my stories, the only mammalian characters who get speaking roles are feliforms and caniforms. There are many types of existing feliforms, though I focus mainly on the nimravids, who look a bit like saber-toothed tigers but aren’t even felids. The caniforms are more diverse, with musteloids, bears, pinnipeds, and canids—all the groups seen on Earth. I focus mainly on the canids, and in particular, a handful of cultures within one specific species of borophagines.
Reptiles: Snakes, lizards, and turtles are the main groups. The turtles are the most plot-relevant, as they have some abilities and behaviors that, as far as I know, Earth turtles do not have. The sea turtles, tortoises, and freshwater turtles/terrapins all recognize their own evolutionary histories, as well as those of the species in their environments. As such, they take on the role of knowledge-keepers and guardians of nature. One particular terrapin lineage is responsible for one of the major Canon plotlines.
Birds: Some birds (woodpeckers, vultures, ducks, etc.) are physiologically identical to modern Earth birds. Others (pseudotooth birds, “terror birds,” etc.) are based on extinct, but real, species. Some are modified versions of one of these categories. However, the birds are notably more intelligent, cooperative, and otherwise capable of technological advancement and civilization-building than Earth birds. I’d argue that they surpass humans on those metrics, too. They were the ones who engineered the shazarxi before altering themselves beyond the scope of biology. Because of their collective transition into non-organic entities, the animals known as “birds” are technically extinct; they’re not really animals anymore.
Shazarxi: An artificial species created by the birds, they do not fit into any of the other categories, though they do share many of the traits of their avian creators. They also have both mammalian and reptilian features, however. The majority of my characters are shazarxi, despite the fact that their species has not been around very long.
- TokoWrites
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
The chicken tapped its clipboard with one claw, considering Harold the way a detective might consider a suspiciously innocent-looking cactus.
“Making deals,” it repeated. “Very well. But understand this: the Mini Stationery Cooperative does not take kindly to casual inquiries.”
“The what?” Harold asked.
“The Cooperative,” said the chicken, lowering its voice. “A highly exclusive underground market. Tiny notebooks. Microscopic paperclips. Pens so small they can only write secrets.”
From the counter, the toaster gasped. “I love secrets.”
“You love crumbs,” Harold snapped.
“I contain multitudes.”
The chicken continued, pacing now. “I can tell you where to find it… if you produce the spaghetti.”
Harold crossed his arms. “Hypothetical spaghetti doesn’t count?”
The chicken stopped pacing. “Especially not hypothetical spaghetti.”
There was a pause. The ceiling creaked thoughtfully but refrained from collapsing.
Then, from somewhere deep within the house—possibly the hallway closet, possibly another dimension entirely—came a faint slurp.
Everyone froze.
“Tell me you heard that,” Harold whispered.
“I heard noodles,” said the toaster, reverently.
The chicken’s eyes widened. “At last.”
Another slurp, louder this time, followed by what could only be described as a satisfied sigh.
Harold pointed slowly toward the hallway. “I don’t even keep food in there.”
“No one ever keeps spaghetti,” the chicken said gravely. “Spaghetti keeps itself.”
Before Harold could question that deeply troubling statement, the chicken bolted past him, hat wobbling, clipboard clutched tight. Harold hurried after it, with the toaster shouting encouragement from the kitchen.
“Bring me back a secret!”
They reached the closet door. It quivered.
“Open it,” said the chicken.
“You open it,” said Harold.
“I’m the investigator.”
“I’m the homeowner!”
The door creaked open by itself.
Inside, coiled neatly like it had been waiting its entire life for this moment, sat a single, steaming plate of spaghetti. It glowed faintly. Ominously. Confidently.
The chicken stepped forward in awe. “Magnificent.”
Harold squinted. “That’s… definitely new.”
The spaghetti wiggled.
The chicken turned slowly to Harold. “You didn’t mention it was sentient.”
“I didn’t know it was!”
The spaghetti let out a soft, pleased slurp… and then, unmistakably, it spoke.
“Finally,” it said, “someone who appreciates me.”
(354 words)
“Making deals,” it repeated. “Very well. But understand this: the Mini Stationery Cooperative does not take kindly to casual inquiries.”
“The what?” Harold asked.
“The Cooperative,” said the chicken, lowering its voice. “A highly exclusive underground market. Tiny notebooks. Microscopic paperclips. Pens so small they can only write secrets.”
From the counter, the toaster gasped. “I love secrets.”
“You love crumbs,” Harold snapped.
“I contain multitudes.”
The chicken continued, pacing now. “I can tell you where to find it… if you produce the spaghetti.”
Harold crossed his arms. “Hypothetical spaghetti doesn’t count?”
The chicken stopped pacing. “Especially not hypothetical spaghetti.”
There was a pause. The ceiling creaked thoughtfully but refrained from collapsing.
Then, from somewhere deep within the house—possibly the hallway closet, possibly another dimension entirely—came a faint slurp.
Everyone froze.
“Tell me you heard that,” Harold whispered.
“I heard noodles,” said the toaster, reverently.
The chicken’s eyes widened. “At last.”
Another slurp, louder this time, followed by what could only be described as a satisfied sigh.
Harold pointed slowly toward the hallway. “I don’t even keep food in there.”
“No one ever keeps spaghetti,” the chicken said gravely. “Spaghetti keeps itself.”
Before Harold could question that deeply troubling statement, the chicken bolted past him, hat wobbling, clipboard clutched tight. Harold hurried after it, with the toaster shouting encouragement from the kitchen.
“Bring me back a secret!”
They reached the closet door. It quivered.
“Open it,” said the chicken.
“You open it,” said Harold.
“I’m the investigator.”
“I’m the homeowner!”
The door creaked open by itself.
Inside, coiled neatly like it had been waiting its entire life for this moment, sat a single, steaming plate of spaghetti. It glowed faintly. Ominously. Confidently.
The chicken stepped forward in awe. “Magnificent.”
Harold squinted. “That’s… definitely new.”
The spaghetti wiggled.
The chicken turned slowly to Harold. “You didn’t mention it was sentient.”
“I didn’t know it was!”
The spaghetti let out a soft, pleased slurp… and then, unmistakably, it spoke.
“Finally,” it said, “someone who appreciates me.”
(354 words)
- -WildClan-
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
Hello, Prisha!
I don’t believe we’ve talked before? (If we have, my apologies; I’m bad with names~) So… I guess I should introduce myself! I go by Wild, having been inspired by @Wildflight when I was younger. This is my 13th session of SWC. I’m the guy that’s known for having a box in their pfp, for submitting stuff at the last minute, and uh… I can’t think of anything else, actually. I used to be a lot more active here, but “real life” (ugh) has been keeping me busy as of late. I graduated high school last year, and I’m in college now—double-majoring in Electron Microscopy and Graphic Arts, two very different pathways.
I intend to work in science-related fields, but it’s my dream to run a webcomic on the side. I’ve been developing my original world and characters since I was about 7 years old, and I feel like I ought to get those stories out there in some form or another. I like the webcomic format since it’s very flexible, more adaptable than any printed form of media. An animated series would be cool, too, but way more work. Maybe my project will end up being a mixture of both. I don’t plan on launching it until 2030, so I have some time to figure it out!
IRL, I’m a person who likes to wurround themselves with stuff. I’ve been collecting dinosaur and turtle memorabilia for most of my life, so my bedroom is full of it. I collect some other stuff, too: plastic eggs, craft supplies that I never seem to actually use, the Warriors book series, bead necklaces, bouncy balls and shiny marbles… It’s currently a bit messy, but I’ve made a plan for how to organize it—turtles on the west wall, dinosaurs on the east wall, craft supplies to the south, and miscellaneous things to the north. My bed is in the middle of my toom. Someday when I have free time, I’ll actually finish putting that plan into action.
I already mentioned some of my other interests in the original pen pal form, so let me know what else you want to hear about—I see you’re also a life sciences enthusiast? In that case, I highly recommend this animal taxonomy browser game called Metazooa (and Metaflora for plants). It’s kinda like Wordle, where you make a guess and narrow down the possibilities based on the guess, repeating the process until you find the answer.
You also mentioned liking art; what kind of art do you prefer? I do digital art mostly, though I’m okay with other mediums, too. I mostly draw my characters, or sometimes just generic animals and plants. I want to learn how to do landscapes eventually.
Anyhow, sorry I took so long to write a letter; I do have some anxiety about letter-writing. Not good at it when writing to people IRL, either. If you’d like, we can continue exchanging letters after the month ends, though—it’ll be good practice for me!
I hope you’re having a good day, and that your cabin is doing well this Cabin Wars!
Talk to you again soon,
Wild
I don’t believe we’ve talked before? (If we have, my apologies; I’m bad with names~) So… I guess I should introduce myself! I go by Wild, having been inspired by @Wildflight when I was younger. This is my 13th session of SWC. I’m the guy that’s known for having a box in their pfp, for submitting stuff at the last minute, and uh… I can’t think of anything else, actually. I used to be a lot more active here, but “real life” (ugh) has been keeping me busy as of late. I graduated high school last year, and I’m in college now—double-majoring in Electron Microscopy and Graphic Arts, two very different pathways.
I intend to work in science-related fields, but it’s my dream to run a webcomic on the side. I’ve been developing my original world and characters since I was about 7 years old, and I feel like I ought to get those stories out there in some form or another. I like the webcomic format since it’s very flexible, more adaptable than any printed form of media. An animated series would be cool, too, but way more work. Maybe my project will end up being a mixture of both. I don’t plan on launching it until 2030, so I have some time to figure it out!
IRL, I’m a person who likes to wurround themselves with stuff. I’ve been collecting dinosaur and turtle memorabilia for most of my life, so my bedroom is full of it. I collect some other stuff, too: plastic eggs, craft supplies that I never seem to actually use, the Warriors book series, bead necklaces, bouncy balls and shiny marbles… It’s currently a bit messy, but I’ve made a plan for how to organize it—turtles on the west wall, dinosaurs on the east wall, craft supplies to the south, and miscellaneous things to the north. My bed is in the middle of my toom. Someday when I have free time, I’ll actually finish putting that plan into action.
I already mentioned some of my other interests in the original pen pal form, so let me know what else you want to hear about—I see you’re also a life sciences enthusiast? In that case, I highly recommend this animal taxonomy browser game called Metazooa (and Metaflora for plants). It’s kinda like Wordle, where you make a guess and narrow down the possibilities based on the guess, repeating the process until you find the answer.
You also mentioned liking art; what kind of art do you prefer? I do digital art mostly, though I’m okay with other mediums, too. I mostly draw my characters, or sometimes just generic animals and plants. I want to learn how to do landscapes eventually.
Anyhow, sorry I took so long to write a letter; I do have some anxiety about letter-writing. Not good at it when writing to people IRL, either. If you’d like, we can continue exchanging letters after the month ends, though—it’ll be good practice for me!
I hope you’re having a good day, and that your cabin is doing well this Cabin Wars!
Talk to you again soon,
Wild
- Tellurium_26
-
Scratcher
37 posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
Sci-fi weekly - 1886 words
The preservation of your brain data in computer chips has, since the dawn of computers, been one of humanities’ dreams, it was basically immortality, wasn’t it? And was never too far out of reach, after all, we already had artificial intelligence, and structurally, anything biological could be taken apart and reassembled bionically, so surely, it was only a matter of time. The model worked for most people, and for long enough to not have caused any problems during problems, but that was just it. The mass-produced models mimicked the average human brain, everyone who uploaded their minds found themselves gradually converging to the average human person. And any neurodivergent people who tried it, even temporarily, often found the structure severely limiting. “Living life always felt like trying to put a square peg into a round hole,” an anonymous interviewee stated, “now imagine that entire contraption mechanically enhanced, forcing the peg in until the corners fracture off, that’s what I feel like now,”. Furthermore, the rigid structure is not conducive to evolution and adaptation like the biological human mind is, causing preservatees to frequently fall into thinking loops, or ruts, reinforcing existing beliefs and not allowing for new ones to carve neural passageways.
202 words
Mrinak sighed as she dragged a rag through the discs and discs of minds, pulling it out, caked in a layer of dust. These minds had largely been forgotten, their fame fading into obscurity just a few years after their “deaths”. The archives were severely understaffed, and she had long found out that silence was a preferable alternative to the minds of people kept occupied in their disc by only their thoughts. As she made her way through column after column of archived disks, she came across one that caught her eye. Emblazoned onto this disk was a name that was not unlike hers, she pulled the disk out and blew the layer of dust off of its surface, maybe they were related? This Preservatee had passed just 80 years ago, meaning that if she remembered her children, maybe her grandchildren, they’d remember a few names? She pulled out her disk reader and tapped the rustle hanging around her neck. As the disk flickered to life, she ran through the standard procedure speech, did she remember it all? Who cared, she got the gist. “Good day,” she said to the disk, “before it’s tinny speakers could pipe up, she continued, “this is Mrinak Jimnabirm speaking, an archivist at the international preservationists archives, running a routine sweep, your disk has been ejected due to internal issues, and you may remain conscious as long as you like.” The last two statements were lies, of course, the disk was perfectly fine and consciousness would remain as long as the disk stayed out of the library and inside Mrinak’s reader. “And no, you are not being revived, we haven’t gotten there yet.” and you’re not important enough to be, she added in her head. It was something they always asked, and Mrinak was getting sick of it. “While you’re here, why don’t you tell me about yourself?” She made sure the woman inside the disk, Zhakria, couldn’t see her, it was always easier with just her voice, seeing was too much information, too quickly. For someone who had been with just themselves for decades, it could be overwhelming. She lets Zhakira’s voice fade into the background as she lifts her rag once more.
369
The volunteer ran her hand over the databases, “and each of these… is a person?”
Mrinak sighed, “yes,” she didn’t know where this person had come from, or what they were wearing, but they seemed almost like a child, wide eyed, asking questions left and right.
“And I can listen to them- while we work?”
“Technically no, but I won’t tell on you and- in case you haven’t noticed, there’s no one else here.” Seeming to be realizing this for the first time, Ace looked up and down the database Aisels.
“There really aren’t any people here?”
“Not really, no.”
“What do you-” And at this Mrinak decided it was about time to move on, and wet her rag in a bucket to go back to wiping the dust out of the crevices.
“Bu- but preservation like this,it’s a gold mine of culture and history- you’re telling me no one comes by?”
“Not really, no” Mrinak said as she extended her arm out as far as she could to wipe dust off a gap between the racks,
“But why?”
“Based on the amount of…stuff we have remaining from the last two historic periods, we really only needed a few accounts, everything else was just faster and easier to analyse and extrapolate,-” The volunteer looked like she was going to say something but Mrinak cut her off “-I would know, I used to be in the labs.” A lie, analysts were a far cry from archive duster, but judging by the number of questions she was asking, that wasn’t something she was figuring out any time soon, “You’re from- what? The late contemporaries?” like she would know.
“I… Guess?” score.
“The type of equipment you guys have pales in comparison to the chemical dating we have now. I distinctly remember deriving the weaving process of a garment based off just the kinks in a torn thread.” None of that was anything she’d actually done, but perhaps it’d satisfy her curiosity.
“But what about- families? No one comes here to learn about their mother or grandmother?”
“The archives are in the middle of nowhere-” Mrinak leans in to read her name tag “-Ace. No one’s coming all the way out here more than twice.”
She dunks her rag into the bucket once more. “The archives are pretty much a last ditch effort, not to mention the organizational issues make it impossible to find anything. Plus, you can just record a story or two and you’ll be good.” She pulled another rag from her pocket and tossed it to the- to Ace. she’d been here for 30 and had done nothing but ask questions.
Ace gingerly dipped the rag into the bucket “But then they don’t hear you back, do they? You’re just leaving them in there? That has to be lonely.
Mrinak started, “Lonely?” no one had really said that before.
“I mean- Look!” Ace said, flinging her arms up towards the racks. “Mrinak, I have never been in a room with so many people before, and you’re the only one that provides any human connection!”
“They’re not human” A knee jerk response that Ace snapped at.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“They’re not- really human. They don’t physically live in this age, they don’t vote, not really, can’t grow or think either, they’re not alive, ergo. Not human. They’re data, incredibly complex data, but they’re not human, and they haven’t been, not for” she smacked the indication plate next to her, and dust fell as the laminate flexed softly “at least a hundred years.”
“They can’t think?”
“No, not really, all they’re worth is their memories, and even that’s not much anymore.”
610
Mrinak was getting driven to school. In the car, they were playing her grandma’s famous apple pie recipe. Her grandma had passed… well, it was a while ago. and they had made sure to record as many memories as possible before her disk was sent to the database for mandatory inspection. Inspection was routine, but it was a required hand-retrieval, so many people simply recorded the content before inspection and let disks fester in the archive for eternity afterwards.
Pulling her water bucket through the hallways, Mrinak wondered if she’d ever find her grandma again. Cleaning the archive was always a Sisyphean task. Logically, she knew that there were others in the archive, occasionally, she’d stumble across a trail of freshly dusted racks, like little slime trails through the shelved mazes of the archives.
She’d come across other cleaners before, but they were never keen to chat, probably why they were chosen. You needed to be okay with being alone, or you might very well go insane in there. Mrinak was okay with it, at the time at least, she had thought that this was the most dense any population had ever been. And she wasn’t wrong, but the discs on racks stacked high above her just seemed- so pointless. She sunk her rag into the bucket and began wiping down another caked and dusty surface. She wondered how much longer she could keep doing this job. She wondered how much longer it would be until she, too, was another disk on the rack. She wondered if she would even last that long. Having spoken to some of the data on the disks, the longer one was in there, the more- circular their logic became.
She had studied this once, a long time ago. To maintain the disks, electrical currents were run through them. In circles practically, to keep the energy moving, like a beating of the heart. There were silicone gates and triggers and switches but over time, like electricity always did, it found the shortest possible loop and ran it over, and over, and over, and over again.
She dipped the rag back into the bucket, shaking the dust and watching it dissolve into the water. She wondered how long it’d be until she’d see another cleaner. The volunteer was company, if annoying, but she seemed to blink out of existence one moment, leaving a rag resting on the ground. She wondered how much longer she could keep doing this job. Her work as a cleaner wasn’t bad, and the dust made finding and tailing others a little easier. They were never keen to chat though. Introverts were often chosen for jobs like this.
She lifted her rag to wipe down another shelf. She missed studying about disks, they had evolved practically overnight. The circular logic was stuff they were still had to figure out. Her grandmother had alzheimers, and was one of the first people to hook up to a disk. She wondered if she would ever find her grandmother’s disk. You could probably go an entire lifetime in the archives without finding what you were looking for. Even other cleaners. Her grandmother had Alzheimer's, and she’d often repeat things, she’d forgotten she’d just said them. The disks worked well, putting the data where it couldn’t be forgotten. She remembered being in the car once, headed to- it didn’t matter where she was going but it was her grandmother’s pie recipe, recorded off the disk.
She plunged the rag into the bucket, watching the particles disperse.She wondered if she would ever find her grandmother’s disk. The archives were big. You could go a lifetime without finding what you were looking for, at least if that thing was connection. Introverts were often chosen for jobs like this-
She pauses and runs her hand along the back of her neck, digging her fingers between the plates, her fingers came away dust. So that’s why. She dipped the rag in the bucket again as she pried off the plate, making sure to wipe out all the corners. She felt her thoughts disperse once more, like dust in a mop bucket. Replacing the panel, she dropped the rag into the bucket and continued pulling it along.
705
Main SWC post
As you probably know, the first part of “sci-fi” is a shortened version of “science.” So what scientific advancements set your world apart from the present day? Is it a new method of transportation, like jetpacks or air trains? Or is it a new form of entertainment, embedded in a brain chip or built into walls? For this part of the weekly, first read this workshop by Seagull on everything Sci-Fi. Then, come up with one new sci-fi element/technological advancement for your world, and write at least 200 words describing it. What does it look like? What does it do? How does it work? Who gets access to it? The possibilities are endless. <3
The preservation of your brain data in computer chips has, since the dawn of computers, been one of humanities’ dreams, it was basically immortality, wasn’t it? And was never too far out of reach, after all, we already had artificial intelligence, and structurally, anything biological could be taken apart and reassembled bionically, so surely, it was only a matter of time. The model worked for most people, and for long enough to not have caused any problems during problems, but that was just it. The mass-produced models mimicked the average human brain, everyone who uploaded their minds found themselves gradually converging to the average human person. And any neurodivergent people who tried it, even temporarily, often found the structure severely limiting. “Living life always felt like trying to put a square peg into a round hole,” an anonymous interviewee stated, “now imagine that entire contraption mechanically enhanced, forcing the peg in until the corners fracture off, that’s what I feel like now,”. Furthermore, the rigid structure is not conducive to evolution and adaptation like the biological human mind is, causing preservatees to frequently fall into thinking loops, or ruts, reinforcing existing beliefs and not allowing for new ones to carve neural passageways.
202 words
Now that you’ve come up with a science fiction element or technological advancement, for this next part you’ll be developing a world built around that element! How are people’s lives affected by this aspect? For example, if you picked self-flying cars, how would they be made use of as speedy transportation? If virtual reality became the center of people’s lives, how do you imagine such a world would operate? Describe the futuristic world you’ve created in 300 words.
Mrinak sighed as she dragged a rag through the discs and discs of minds, pulling it out, caked in a layer of dust. These minds had largely been forgotten, their fame fading into obscurity just a few years after their “deaths”. The archives were severely understaffed, and she had long found out that silence was a preferable alternative to the minds of people kept occupied in their disc by only their thoughts. As she made her way through column after column of archived disks, she came across one that caught her eye. Emblazoned onto this disk was a name that was not unlike hers, she pulled the disk out and blew the layer of dust off of its surface, maybe they were related? This Preservatee had passed just 80 years ago, meaning that if she remembered her children, maybe her grandchildren, they’d remember a few names? She pulled out her disk reader and tapped the rustle hanging around her neck. As the disk flickered to life, she ran through the standard procedure speech, did she remember it all? Who cared, she got the gist. “Good day,” she said to the disk, “before it’s tinny speakers could pipe up, she continued, “this is Mrinak Jimnabirm speaking, an archivist at the international preservationists archives, running a routine sweep, your disk has been ejected due to internal issues, and you may remain conscious as long as you like.” The last two statements were lies, of course, the disk was perfectly fine and consciousness would remain as long as the disk stayed out of the library and inside Mrinak’s reader. “And no, you are not being revived, we haven’t gotten there yet.” and you’re not important enough to be, she added in her head. It was something they always asked, and Mrinak was getting sick of it. “While you’re here, why don’t you tell me about yourself?” She made sure the woman inside the disk, Zhakria, couldn’t see her, it was always easier with just her voice, seeing was too much information, too quickly. For someone who had been with just themselves for decades, it could be overwhelming. She lets Zhakira’s voice fade into the background as she lifts her rag once more.
369
Welcome to part three! Classically, Sci-Fi is set at some point in the future, on another planet, or in a society that has technologically advanced beyond ours. For this part of the weekly, write 600 words of a character from your world either being teleported into our world, or a character from the our world travelling into your sci-fi world! Imagine how they'd interact and respond to all the unfamiliar technology, customs, and atmosphere. What kind of crazy situations could they fall into? Let your imagination go wild!
The volunteer ran her hand over the databases, “and each of these… is a person?”
Mrinak sighed, “yes,” she didn’t know where this person had come from, or what they were wearing, but they seemed almost like a child, wide eyed, asking questions left and right.
“And I can listen to them- while we work?”
“Technically no, but I won’t tell on you and- in case you haven’t noticed, there’s no one else here.” Seeming to be realizing this for the first time, Ace looked up and down the database Aisels.
“There really aren’t any people here?”
“Not really, no.”
“What do you-” And at this Mrinak decided it was about time to move on, and wet her rag in a bucket to go back to wiping the dust out of the crevices.
“Bu- but preservation like this,it’s a gold mine of culture and history- you’re telling me no one comes by?”
“Not really, no” Mrinak said as she extended her arm out as far as she could to wipe dust off a gap between the racks,
“But why?”
“Based on the amount of…stuff we have remaining from the last two historic periods, we really only needed a few accounts, everything else was just faster and easier to analyse and extrapolate,-” The volunteer looked like she was going to say something but Mrinak cut her off “-I would know, I used to be in the labs.” A lie, analysts were a far cry from archive duster, but judging by the number of questions she was asking, that wasn’t something she was figuring out any time soon, “You’re from- what? The late contemporaries?” like she would know.
“I… Guess?” score.
“The type of equipment you guys have pales in comparison to the chemical dating we have now. I distinctly remember deriving the weaving process of a garment based off just the kinks in a torn thread.” None of that was anything she’d actually done, but perhaps it’d satisfy her curiosity.
“But what about- families? No one comes here to learn about their mother or grandmother?”
“The archives are in the middle of nowhere-” Mrinak leans in to read her name tag “-Ace. No one’s coming all the way out here more than twice.”
She dunks her rag into the bucket once more. “The archives are pretty much a last ditch effort, not to mention the organizational issues make it impossible to find anything. Plus, you can just record a story or two and you’ll be good.” She pulled another rag from her pocket and tossed it to the- to Ace. she’d been here for 30 and had done nothing but ask questions.
Ace gingerly dipped the rag into the bucket “But then they don’t hear you back, do they? You’re just leaving them in there? That has to be lonely.
Mrinak started, “Lonely?” no one had really said that before.
“I mean- Look!” Ace said, flinging her arms up towards the racks. “Mrinak, I have never been in a room with so many people before, and you’re the only one that provides any human connection!”
“They’re not human” A knee jerk response that Ace snapped at.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“They’re not- really human. They don’t physically live in this age, they don’t vote, not really, can’t grow or think either, they’re not alive, ergo. Not human. They’re data, incredibly complex data, but they’re not human, and they haven’t been, not for” she smacked the indication plate next to her, and dust fell as the laminate flexed softly “at least a hundred years.”
“They can’t think?”
“No, not really, all they’re worth is their memories, and even that’s not much anymore.”
610
Now it’s time to put everything you’ve learned so far together! Take your Sci-Fi element and new world with you as you explore a time shaped by science. To finish off this weekly, write a story of at least 600 words combining the sci-fi elements you’ve created into one piece. Good luck!
Mrinak was getting driven to school. In the car, they were playing her grandma’s famous apple pie recipe. Her grandma had passed… well, it was a while ago. and they had made sure to record as many memories as possible before her disk was sent to the database for mandatory inspection. Inspection was routine, but it was a required hand-retrieval, so many people simply recorded the content before inspection and let disks fester in the archive for eternity afterwards.
Pulling her water bucket through the hallways, Mrinak wondered if she’d ever find her grandma again. Cleaning the archive was always a Sisyphean task. Logically, she knew that there were others in the archive, occasionally, she’d stumble across a trail of freshly dusted racks, like little slime trails through the shelved mazes of the archives.
She’d come across other cleaners before, but they were never keen to chat, probably why they were chosen. You needed to be okay with being alone, or you might very well go insane in there. Mrinak was okay with it, at the time at least, she had thought that this was the most dense any population had ever been. And she wasn’t wrong, but the discs on racks stacked high above her just seemed- so pointless. She sunk her rag into the bucket and began wiping down another caked and dusty surface. She wondered how much longer she could keep doing this job. She wondered how much longer it would be until she, too, was another disk on the rack. She wondered if she would even last that long. Having spoken to some of the data on the disks, the longer one was in there, the more- circular their logic became.
She had studied this once, a long time ago. To maintain the disks, electrical currents were run through them. In circles practically, to keep the energy moving, like a beating of the heart. There were silicone gates and triggers and switches but over time, like electricity always did, it found the shortest possible loop and ran it over, and over, and over, and over again.
She dipped the rag back into the bucket, shaking the dust and watching it dissolve into the water. She wondered how long it’d be until she’d see another cleaner. The volunteer was company, if annoying, but she seemed to blink out of existence one moment, leaving a rag resting on the ground. She wondered how much longer she could keep doing this job. Her work as a cleaner wasn’t bad, and the dust made finding and tailing others a little easier. They were never keen to chat though. Introverts were often chosen for jobs like this.
She lifted her rag to wipe down another shelf. She missed studying about disks, they had evolved practically overnight. The circular logic was stuff they were still had to figure out. Her grandmother had alzheimers, and was one of the first people to hook up to a disk. She wondered if she would ever find her grandmother’s disk. You could probably go an entire lifetime in the archives without finding what you were looking for. Even other cleaners. Her grandmother had Alzheimer's, and she’d often repeat things, she’d forgotten she’d just said them. The disks worked well, putting the data where it couldn’t be forgotten. She remembered being in the car once, headed to- it didn’t matter where she was going but it was her grandmother’s pie recipe, recorded off the disk.
She plunged the rag into the bucket, watching the particles disperse.She wondered if she would ever find her grandmother’s disk. The archives were big. You could go a lifetime without finding what you were looking for, at least if that thing was connection. Introverts were often chosen for jobs like this-
She pauses and runs her hand along the back of her neck, digging her fingers between the plates, her fingers came away dust. So that’s why. She dipped the rag in the bucket again as she pried off the plate, making sure to wipe out all the corners. She felt her thoughts disperse once more, like dust in a mop bucket. Replacing the panel, she dropped the rag into the bucket and continued pulling it along.
705
Main SWC post
Last edited by Tellurium_26 (April 1, 2026 04:00:13)
- VioAquaCat
-
Scratcher
76 posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
March 23 Daily: Tropes
354 words - 16 tropes
“Cloey, what do I do? I love them both! But I can’t have them both, can I? I can’t believe all three of us have to go to the big city together!” Diane said to her cat. “On the one hand, Thep is so nice and soft and always listens to me. He’s the best vampire I’ve ever known, and he’s only four hundred and fifty seven years old! Practically my age!” (Diane is seventeen)
“Meeting him in that line for that coffee shop when I dropped my lipstick and he picked it up for me was practically love at first sight.” Diane continued, holding her pendant, her mother had given it to her, close to her chest. “Then again, Adrian is so handsome. I’ve known him since we were little kids playing at the indoor palace playground and going to balls together. Everyone though we were going to get together, but I never liked him. Until I decided I was unsatisfied with my life as a princess and decided to run away. At first, he was mad at me and we became enemies. But then! That one night when I was mugged in that alleyway and he came to help me- that, THAT was true love.” Diane was spilling her whole life's story to Cloey. Cloey had of course heard this about five times already- well, five times in the last twenty four hours. Much more than that in her whole lifetime.
“And now all three of us have to go on a quest together to follow the directions of the secret treasure map to find the old magical amulet so we can take down the Evil Lord of Darkness!!” Diane finished, her breath catching. “Cloey, what do I do?”
Cloey meowed, giving her opinion. Diane stared at Cloey for a second, but her attention was soon grabbed by a pinging from her magical scroll phone. The notification was a text from Adrian.
It read, “There's only one bed in this hotel for all three of us!”
Diane took a sharp breath. This was going to be a trip.
354 words - 16 tropes
“Cloey, what do I do? I love them both! But I can’t have them both, can I? I can’t believe all three of us have to go to the big city together!” Diane said to her cat. “On the one hand, Thep is so nice and soft and always listens to me. He’s the best vampire I’ve ever known, and he’s only four hundred and fifty seven years old! Practically my age!” (Diane is seventeen)
“Meeting him in that line for that coffee shop when I dropped my lipstick and he picked it up for me was practically love at first sight.” Diane continued, holding her pendant, her mother had given it to her, close to her chest. “Then again, Adrian is so handsome. I’ve known him since we were little kids playing at the indoor palace playground and going to balls together. Everyone though we were going to get together, but I never liked him. Until I decided I was unsatisfied with my life as a princess and decided to run away. At first, he was mad at me and we became enemies. But then! That one night when I was mugged in that alleyway and he came to help me- that, THAT was true love.” Diane was spilling her whole life's story to Cloey. Cloey had of course heard this about five times already- well, five times in the last twenty four hours. Much more than that in her whole lifetime.
“And now all three of us have to go on a quest together to follow the directions of the secret treasure map to find the old magical amulet so we can take down the Evil Lord of Darkness!!” Diane finished, her breath catching. “Cloey, what do I do?”
Cloey meowed, giving her opinion. Diane stared at Cloey for a second, but her attention was soon grabbed by a pinging from her magical scroll phone. The notification was a text from Adrian.
It read, “There's only one bed in this hotel for all three of us!”
Diane took a sharp breath. This was going to be a trip.
- PiratePandaFootie
-
Scratcher
54 posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
Proof for Word War with Sage
5 min // 230 words // not my best work, but oh well.
“Maybe jumping off a super tall cliff was a bad idea?” Stephan was practically screaming above the wind, but Lucas could still barely hear him. The dark rock was speeding past him, and each second they grew closer and closer to the water below.
“Yeah, you think? Dragons are real, but since this is the old way of summoning dragons for us, maybe it’s the old way for dragons to be summoned for them????” Lucas just wanted to get a dragon and not die in the process.”
“Well, we still have a chance, this cliff is pretty high up!”
“WE HAVE NO CHANCE!!!”
Suddenly, a giant green dragon swooped down beneath Stephan, flapping its golden wings triumphantly and roaring with joy at finally being summoned.
“Oh great, you go a dragon, and I’m still falling to my death!”
“I’m sure you’ll get one!” Stephan screamed down to him.
“How about you catch me first? I don’t care if I don’t get a magic dragon, I WANT TO LIVE!!” Just as he said, a gold-speckled red dragon soared right underneath him in a gust of wind. His hat flew off, but he was alive.
“Do you believe me?” Stephan’s voice was jubilant as they soared toward the air. As they got higher and higher, the cliff they had jumped off of turned into a speck, and Lucas got scared again.
5 min // 230 words // not my best work, but oh well.
“Maybe jumping off a super tall cliff was a bad idea?” Stephan was practically screaming above the wind, but Lucas could still barely hear him. The dark rock was speeding past him, and each second they grew closer and closer to the water below.
“Yeah, you think? Dragons are real, but since this is the old way of summoning dragons for us, maybe it’s the old way for dragons to be summoned for them????” Lucas just wanted to get a dragon and not die in the process.”
“Well, we still have a chance, this cliff is pretty high up!”
“WE HAVE NO CHANCE!!!”
Suddenly, a giant green dragon swooped down beneath Stephan, flapping its golden wings triumphantly and roaring with joy at finally being summoned.
“Oh great, you go a dragon, and I’m still falling to my death!”
“I’m sure you’ll get one!” Stephan screamed down to him.
“How about you catch me first? I don’t care if I don’t get a magic dragon, I WANT TO LIVE!!” Just as he said, a gold-speckled red dragon soared right underneath him in a gust of wind. His hat flew off, but he was alive.
“Do you believe me?” Stephan’s voice was jubilant as they soared toward the air. As they got higher and higher, the cliff they had jumped off of turned into a speck, and Lucas got scared again.
- _midnight_rain_
-
Scratcher
78 posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
Word war with Robyn!
“I’m not so sure that jumping off the cliff was the best idea,” my best friend, Layla says so me from atop the cliff.
I am at the body, my legs twisted in strange ways.
“You’re not sure?!” I exclaim, “Of course it wasn’t!”
Layla frowned. “Then why did you do it,” she asked. “Kind of stupid if you knew it was a bad idea.”
I roll my eyes. Layla can be so stupid sometimes.
“I didn’t jump off!” I explain, “I simply fell.”
She looks at me incredulously. “No!” She says, “Not possible! You are the great Maya Lin. You never fall.”
“Yeah well, I did this time,” I grumble, “anyways, can you get someone down here?” I let out a sigh of relief when she finally leaves me. It’s better than her guessing just exactly how I ended up down here. It’s better than she knowing that I didn’t fall. I was pushed.
She comes back moments later, my sister in tow. My sister, Melissa, is a nurse-in-training and this type of thing is her specialty. Using the stars next to the cliff, she comes to my aid.
“What happened?” She asks me as she begins to set my legs.
I glance up at Layla, who is still in earshot. “I’ll tell you later,” I grumble. Following my gaze, Melissa, too, noticed Layla and nods.
Melissa helps me up and I, using her body as support, hobble my way up the stairs.
“Are you ok?!” Layla exclaims.
I roll my eyes at her. “Clearly not okay, Layla. But yes, I am alive.”
5min/264 words
“I’m not so sure that jumping off the cliff was the best idea,” my best friend, Layla says so me from atop the cliff.
I am at the body, my legs twisted in strange ways.
“You’re not sure?!” I exclaim, “Of course it wasn’t!”
Layla frowned. “Then why did you do it,” she asked. “Kind of stupid if you knew it was a bad idea.”
I roll my eyes. Layla can be so stupid sometimes.
“I didn’t jump off!” I explain, “I simply fell.”
She looks at me incredulously. “No!” She says, “Not possible! You are the great Maya Lin. You never fall.”
“Yeah well, I did this time,” I grumble, “anyways, can you get someone down here?” I let out a sigh of relief when she finally leaves me. It’s better than her guessing just exactly how I ended up down here. It’s better than she knowing that I didn’t fall. I was pushed.
She comes back moments later, my sister in tow. My sister, Melissa, is a nurse-in-training and this type of thing is her specialty. Using the stars next to the cliff, she comes to my aid.
“What happened?” She asks me as she begins to set my legs.
I glance up at Layla, who is still in earshot. “I’ll tell you later,” I grumble. Following my gaze, Melissa, too, noticed Layla and nods.
Melissa helps me up and I, using her body as support, hobble my way up the stairs.
“Are you ok?!” Layla exclaims.
I roll my eyes at her. “Clearly not okay, Layla. But yes, I am alive.”
5min/264 words
Last edited by _midnight_rain_ (March 23, 2026 08:45:31)
- sweetcakefamily
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
Tilly's Weekly #3 - Sci-Fi (speedran for cabin wars asdfghjkl- also slightly more Dystopian, I hope that's still okay-)
PART ONE: SCI-FI ELEMENT
In a distant, dystopian future, an oppressive world government has taken to a dark method to d3populate the earth with a rather game-ified element to it as if for their own entertainment. A technological device that's designed like a deck of cards, distributed to everyone in the fifteen minute cities. It's as big as one's hand, sleek white, and every month, on a particular day, when the light flashes red, everyone has until 8 o clock to draw a card. The technology randomizes the card in everyone's deck (or does it…?), and one pulls to reveal it. If you pull an ace of hearts, you live. If you pull an ace of spades, your time is up. The government monitors everyone through a camera within the device to ensure everyone pulls a card, and have extensive systems to monitor who has drawn theirs, who hasn't drawn, and what card they have drawn.
Meanwhile, they also crafted electric cars for the population to use to get around…except the cars are limited. They only reach a certain speed, and are manufactured so that drivers can only go so far before the car stops itself automatically, to keep people in the fifteen minute cities solely and stop them from being able to travel far, limiting their freedom.
215 words
PART TWO: WORLDBUILDING
A world order has been formed of an extensive, oppressive government, groups of governments worldwide that came together under an agreed agenda, that lords over the masses in a cold hearted rule with their own gains their highest priority. Across a country, cities are divided into around a fifteen minute radius to travel through any of them, and the people are provided with electric cars that only let them drive as far as the fifteen minute limit of the city they inhabit.
Everything is under the government's control, from people's income to their healthcare to the school system, and everything is under surveillance. Across these fifteen minute cities are endless cameras, tracking people's movements, snapping people's identities. The people don't own anything, it's all the government's.
Everyone has a capped level of income under the scheme of the government, and the retirement age for any qualifications of pensions is 90 years old. They want the people working for life.
The thing about the cards technology, is that it's not entirely randomized as the government insists it is. Marginalized groups are targeted, with a disabled or sick person more likely to draw the spade than a healthy able bodied man. They also value men over women in their society—more men dominate the jobs, their advantages are more extensive, and the technology of the cards appears to take more women than men.
The government is heavily reliant on technology. All citizens are registered with digital identification in systems they monitor. The endless surveillance cameras that capture everyone’s faces are connected to the systems that log everyone’s identities, so in the beginning they were advertised as means for protecting the masses and quickly identifying perpetrators of crimes, but the darker reality of their use eventually became obvious to those who allowed themselves to face the truth.
304 words
PART THREE: CROSS-WORLD
The words were swimming again.
Leia rubbed her eyes, straightening as she glanced around for a clock. One hung on a wall behind a row of bookshelves, and she had to stand up to see over the hunk of dark oak. 11am.
She sat down again, flicking to the next page in the book, but she struggled once more to get into it. After trying to slug through one more page, she exhaled sharply and slammed it shut.
“And I normally react like this to non-fiction,” Leia muttered under her breath, gathering her backpack from her chair and the notebook, pens and pencils strewn across the table.
She hated when school assignments required her to read something that wasn't her taste, and unfortunately for her this was exactly that…not her style. Always opting for mystery or contemporary, she could never really get behind Science Fiction works. Maybe this one was particularly bad and there were more impressive works out there—it was fairly old, after all, which didn't always automatically mean it would be bad, but this time Leia was certain it did.
The story was strange, even a little unsettling, but the prose is what made her struggle not to yawn. When she overlooked that major flaw, the plot in general did have a pretty harrowing grip on her long after she had shut the book and returned it to its shelf with the other science fiction novels. It was written fifty years ago, yet set way beyond its time, in a world where advanced technology was used by a government to oppress people, and even d3populate the earth.
Leia breathed a sigh as she stumbled out of the quiet library, securing her backpack more tightly over her shoulder. Her eyes were trained on the pathway as she descended the stairs and mentally mapped her route back to the bus stop, her mind circling back to that book despite her best efforts to steer away from the memory of it.
She shook her head and blinked. The pavement was awfully smooth…not like it had been when she had first come to the library this morning, and she knew because she had tripped on one of the blasted cracks that littered the sidewalk earlier.
When she glanced up, fully shaken from her deep thoughts, she had to bite back a scream.
“What on earth?!” she gasped out loud.
The street was completely different. Many towering buildings of glass, silver, and dizzying lights replaced the calm view of rolling hills all around the library she had just left. Except when she turned around, there was no library. Behind her now stood a gate of steel with some rippling lights of she could only guess what creating a distorting, translucent wall in front of it.
Situated in front of it was some elaborate designs of more technology she didn't recognise, and stationed at intervals across the long barrier that reached as far as her eyes could see beyond the skyscrapers were tall, muscular men looking like sentries.
Leia struggled to slow her breathing as her heart raced in rising panic. She looked around again and gawped at the strange cars that were streaking by across a distant road. They were a lot more sleek than the cars she ever saw, with a completely different design of lights on the front that stretched horizontally from each side of the bonnet in thin strips.
“Where am I?” Leia squeaked, reaching for the strap of her backpack as if to try and ground herself, but her fingers clawed air.
That was gone as well.
“Hey, are you all right?” Leia gasped, whirling around to see one of the sentries had approached her while she had been staring at the cars.
“Um…yes, sorry, I just got…lost.”
“Lost?” He scoffed, and Leia's heart stopped when his hand absentmindedly brushed a weapon that was strapped to his side. “That's pretty impossible around here, miss! Small city and all…” His brows began to furrow. “You don't mean to say you're not from around here, do you?”
Leia could hardly tear her eyes away from the long weapon at his side that gently glowed like a torch on what looked like a thin fencing blade, and something about his demeanour made a lie jump to her lips. “No, no, I mean I- I just wasn't focusing and made a wrong turn, that's all.”
The sentry tilted his head. “Alright. You just seemed a little flustered, that's all.”
“No, I'm great! Thank you!” She offered a nod and quickly made her way down the sidewalk, though she had no idea where in the world she could possibly go.
782 words
PART FOUR: SCI-FI STORY
The crystalline card shattered against the cold timber floorboards, but the damage was already done. He had already seen the cruel black spade shimmering on its surface, the little slit of ruby red light above it already turned white.
Owen sat frozen, eyes locked on the tiny pieces of glass scattered across the floor. The hum of the bustling street below the open bedroom window grew distant. His vision tunnelled, every shard magnified, taunting. It didn’t matter that he dropped it—the ace of spades he drew registered him in PRISM’s charts the second he pulled it out. The camera inside had already clicked his face. His fate was sealed.
“Owen! Wake up, sleepyhead.”
The knock at the door sent him flying to his feet, and he fought through the dizziness to at least grab the blanket across his bed to sweep the broken card out of sight.
“Owen? You coming to the apothecary with me or not?”
“Uhh…” Owen dashed the cold sweat off his brow with the hem of his shirt as he stumbled to the door.
Reaching for it, he realised his hands were shaking uncontrollably, so he hid them behind his back as he opened the door just a crack. Kai stood there with a knowing smirk.
“Look at you, you're not even dressed. We open in less than an hour, my guy.”
Owen rubbed his eyes and noticed his brother was all ready. Suddenly the long dark coat that hung to his ankles with the wearing tears at the hem from hours of walking, the tawny boots a size too big, and the keys that jingled in his hand with that ridiculous little blue hedgehog charm hit him like a truck square in the chest.
“Hey, everything ok?” The crease in Kai's brow deepened, and Owen shook himself awake. “Did you get enough sleep last night?”
“I…no, no actually, it was rough. I'm fine, anyway.” He forced a wonky smile and gave a salute.
Kai saluted back with a raised eyebrow. “You don't have to come with me now, then. You should rest.”
“No, it's ok, I want to come.”
“Alright…” Kai's suspicious expression faded to something more serious. “Did you draw your card yet?”
The beat of Owen's heart skipped, but he tried to keep his face blank. There was a lump in his throat now, refusing to let him answer honestly.
“Not yet. Did you?” Kai's nod in response made his chest tighten. “What- what did you draw?”
“Ace of hearts,” he smiled, and the tension in Owen's shoulders eased. “I thought I might just get it over with—then I won't be thinking all day whether or not I'm on that list. Maybe you should try it, I already feel better.”
Owen swallowed as his brother's eyes flicked to the clock on the wall down the hallway. “I'll go set up to open shop, now, and you can meet me there.”
“Sure…has mother drawn hers?”
“I don't know, I'll ask when I see her.” Kai flipped his keys into the air and caught them as he spun round. “See you! Don't take too long.”
Owen stood at the door well after his brother had skipped down the stairs and the front door clicked shut in the main hall. He glanced at the clock himself…eight in the morning.
He only had twelve hours before PRISM would come to their door.
A buzz against his thigh sent him fishing for his little phone. He flipped open the cover, and his heart sank. A text glowed on the screen.
I stopped by our railway just now, but I must've missed you. See you later? :)
Naia.
Tears threatened to spill for real now. Owen shut his door and leaned against it, staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't tell Kai. How on earth could he tell Naia?
His chest ached as his memory scrambled through their contrasting schedules, remembering the time she would get off work and when he would close the apothecary. He silently cursed the government's harsh schedule laws, slumping to the ground and hugging his knees to his chest.
He wouldn't even get to see her before 8pm.
Yesterday, when the tall girl with molten gold eyes and a gentle disposition had skipped with him between the iron tracks of the railway that ran through their secret place away from all the surveillance, was the last time he would ever get to talk to her.
Hey. So sorry, I got up late. Have you drawn your card?
A response pinged back just a second later.
No…a bit scared. You?
Owen hesitated, mind scrolling through every response he could possibly give. He finally clicked a reply across the little keys before snapping the flip phone shut.
I'm scared too.
800 words
TOTAL: 2101 WORDS
PART ONE: SCI-FI ELEMENT
In a distant, dystopian future, an oppressive world government has taken to a dark method to d3populate the earth with a rather game-ified element to it as if for their own entertainment. A technological device that's designed like a deck of cards, distributed to everyone in the fifteen minute cities. It's as big as one's hand, sleek white, and every month, on a particular day, when the light flashes red, everyone has until 8 o clock to draw a card. The technology randomizes the card in everyone's deck (or does it…?), and one pulls to reveal it. If you pull an ace of hearts, you live. If you pull an ace of spades, your time is up. The government monitors everyone through a camera within the device to ensure everyone pulls a card, and have extensive systems to monitor who has drawn theirs, who hasn't drawn, and what card they have drawn.
Meanwhile, they also crafted electric cars for the population to use to get around…except the cars are limited. They only reach a certain speed, and are manufactured so that drivers can only go so far before the car stops itself automatically, to keep people in the fifteen minute cities solely and stop them from being able to travel far, limiting their freedom.
215 words
PART TWO: WORLDBUILDING
A world order has been formed of an extensive, oppressive government, groups of governments worldwide that came together under an agreed agenda, that lords over the masses in a cold hearted rule with their own gains their highest priority. Across a country, cities are divided into around a fifteen minute radius to travel through any of them, and the people are provided with electric cars that only let them drive as far as the fifteen minute limit of the city they inhabit.
Everything is under the government's control, from people's income to their healthcare to the school system, and everything is under surveillance. Across these fifteen minute cities are endless cameras, tracking people's movements, snapping people's identities. The people don't own anything, it's all the government's.
Everyone has a capped level of income under the scheme of the government, and the retirement age for any qualifications of pensions is 90 years old. They want the people working for life.
The thing about the cards technology, is that it's not entirely randomized as the government insists it is. Marginalized groups are targeted, with a disabled or sick person more likely to draw the spade than a healthy able bodied man. They also value men over women in their society—more men dominate the jobs, their advantages are more extensive, and the technology of the cards appears to take more women than men.
The government is heavily reliant on technology. All citizens are registered with digital identification in systems they monitor. The endless surveillance cameras that capture everyone’s faces are connected to the systems that log everyone’s identities, so in the beginning they were advertised as means for protecting the masses and quickly identifying perpetrators of crimes, but the darker reality of their use eventually became obvious to those who allowed themselves to face the truth.
304 words
PART THREE: CROSS-WORLD
The words were swimming again.
Leia rubbed her eyes, straightening as she glanced around for a clock. One hung on a wall behind a row of bookshelves, and she had to stand up to see over the hunk of dark oak. 11am.
She sat down again, flicking to the next page in the book, but she struggled once more to get into it. After trying to slug through one more page, she exhaled sharply and slammed it shut.
“And I normally react like this to non-fiction,” Leia muttered under her breath, gathering her backpack from her chair and the notebook, pens and pencils strewn across the table.
She hated when school assignments required her to read something that wasn't her taste, and unfortunately for her this was exactly that…not her style. Always opting for mystery or contemporary, she could never really get behind Science Fiction works. Maybe this one was particularly bad and there were more impressive works out there—it was fairly old, after all, which didn't always automatically mean it would be bad, but this time Leia was certain it did.
The story was strange, even a little unsettling, but the prose is what made her struggle not to yawn. When she overlooked that major flaw, the plot in general did have a pretty harrowing grip on her long after she had shut the book and returned it to its shelf with the other science fiction novels. It was written fifty years ago, yet set way beyond its time, in a world where advanced technology was used by a government to oppress people, and even d3populate the earth.
Leia breathed a sigh as she stumbled out of the quiet library, securing her backpack more tightly over her shoulder. Her eyes were trained on the pathway as she descended the stairs and mentally mapped her route back to the bus stop, her mind circling back to that book despite her best efforts to steer away from the memory of it.
She shook her head and blinked. The pavement was awfully smooth…not like it had been when she had first come to the library this morning, and she knew because she had tripped on one of the blasted cracks that littered the sidewalk earlier.
When she glanced up, fully shaken from her deep thoughts, she had to bite back a scream.
“What on earth?!” she gasped out loud.
The street was completely different. Many towering buildings of glass, silver, and dizzying lights replaced the calm view of rolling hills all around the library she had just left. Except when she turned around, there was no library. Behind her now stood a gate of steel with some rippling lights of she could only guess what creating a distorting, translucent wall in front of it.
Situated in front of it was some elaborate designs of more technology she didn't recognise, and stationed at intervals across the long barrier that reached as far as her eyes could see beyond the skyscrapers were tall, muscular men looking like sentries.
Leia struggled to slow her breathing as her heart raced in rising panic. She looked around again and gawped at the strange cars that were streaking by across a distant road. They were a lot more sleek than the cars she ever saw, with a completely different design of lights on the front that stretched horizontally from each side of the bonnet in thin strips.
“Where am I?” Leia squeaked, reaching for the strap of her backpack as if to try and ground herself, but her fingers clawed air.
That was gone as well.
“Hey, are you all right?” Leia gasped, whirling around to see one of the sentries had approached her while she had been staring at the cars.
“Um…yes, sorry, I just got…lost.”
“Lost?” He scoffed, and Leia's heart stopped when his hand absentmindedly brushed a weapon that was strapped to his side. “That's pretty impossible around here, miss! Small city and all…” His brows began to furrow. “You don't mean to say you're not from around here, do you?”
Leia could hardly tear her eyes away from the long weapon at his side that gently glowed like a torch on what looked like a thin fencing blade, and something about his demeanour made a lie jump to her lips. “No, no, I mean I- I just wasn't focusing and made a wrong turn, that's all.”
The sentry tilted his head. “Alright. You just seemed a little flustered, that's all.”
“No, I'm great! Thank you!” She offered a nod and quickly made her way down the sidewalk, though she had no idea where in the world she could possibly go.
782 words
PART FOUR: SCI-FI STORY
The crystalline card shattered against the cold timber floorboards, but the damage was already done. He had already seen the cruel black spade shimmering on its surface, the little slit of ruby red light above it already turned white.
Owen sat frozen, eyes locked on the tiny pieces of glass scattered across the floor. The hum of the bustling street below the open bedroom window grew distant. His vision tunnelled, every shard magnified, taunting. It didn’t matter that he dropped it—the ace of spades he drew registered him in PRISM’s charts the second he pulled it out. The camera inside had already clicked his face. His fate was sealed.
“Owen! Wake up, sleepyhead.”
The knock at the door sent him flying to his feet, and he fought through the dizziness to at least grab the blanket across his bed to sweep the broken card out of sight.
“Owen? You coming to the apothecary with me or not?”
“Uhh…” Owen dashed the cold sweat off his brow with the hem of his shirt as he stumbled to the door.
Reaching for it, he realised his hands were shaking uncontrollably, so he hid them behind his back as he opened the door just a crack. Kai stood there with a knowing smirk.
“Look at you, you're not even dressed. We open in less than an hour, my guy.”
Owen rubbed his eyes and noticed his brother was all ready. Suddenly the long dark coat that hung to his ankles with the wearing tears at the hem from hours of walking, the tawny boots a size too big, and the keys that jingled in his hand with that ridiculous little blue hedgehog charm hit him like a truck square in the chest.
“Hey, everything ok?” The crease in Kai's brow deepened, and Owen shook himself awake. “Did you get enough sleep last night?”
“I…no, no actually, it was rough. I'm fine, anyway.” He forced a wonky smile and gave a salute.
Kai saluted back with a raised eyebrow. “You don't have to come with me now, then. You should rest.”
“No, it's ok, I want to come.”
“Alright…” Kai's suspicious expression faded to something more serious. “Did you draw your card yet?”
The beat of Owen's heart skipped, but he tried to keep his face blank. There was a lump in his throat now, refusing to let him answer honestly.
“Not yet. Did you?” Kai's nod in response made his chest tighten. “What- what did you draw?”
“Ace of hearts,” he smiled, and the tension in Owen's shoulders eased. “I thought I might just get it over with—then I won't be thinking all day whether or not I'm on that list. Maybe you should try it, I already feel better.”
Owen swallowed as his brother's eyes flicked to the clock on the wall down the hallway. “I'll go set up to open shop, now, and you can meet me there.”
“Sure…has mother drawn hers?”
“I don't know, I'll ask when I see her.” Kai flipped his keys into the air and caught them as he spun round. “See you! Don't take too long.”
Owen stood at the door well after his brother had skipped down the stairs and the front door clicked shut in the main hall. He glanced at the clock himself…eight in the morning.
He only had twelve hours before PRISM would come to their door.
A buzz against his thigh sent him fishing for his little phone. He flipped open the cover, and his heart sank. A text glowed on the screen.
I stopped by our railway just now, but I must've missed you. See you later? :)
Naia.
Tears threatened to spill for real now. Owen shut his door and leaned against it, staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't tell Kai. How on earth could he tell Naia?
His chest ached as his memory scrambled through their contrasting schedules, remembering the time she would get off work and when he would close the apothecary. He silently cursed the government's harsh schedule laws, slumping to the ground and hugging his knees to his chest.
He wouldn't even get to see her before 8pm.
Yesterday, when the tall girl with molten gold eyes and a gentle disposition had skipped with him between the iron tracks of the railway that ran through their secret place away from all the surveillance, was the last time he would ever get to talk to her.
Hey. So sorry, I got up late. Have you drawn your card?
A response pinged back just a second later.
No…a bit scared. You?
Owen hesitated, mind scrolling through every response he could possibly give. He finally clicked a reply across the little keys before snapping the flip phone shut.
I'm scared too.
800 words
TOTAL: 2101 WORDS
Last edited by sweetcakefamily (March 23, 2026 13:48:20)
- Tellurium_26
-
Scratcher
37 posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
March 23rd daily- 781 words
Being prophesied was not fun at all. She had blazed through everything basic because apparently ‘she needed to be out on the field as soon as possible’ and that ‘she was pretty much the most powerful on her team, despite being the youngest’. She twirled her hair around her finger, watching it bounce back into a clean coil. She was now being sent out with Lumit, a blonde caster who needed assistance investigating a cave, apparently. An officer two years her senior needing her assistance? The force was pathetic. Lumit’s halo of blonde hair flickered to light ahead of her, illuminating the cave.
“Glowbug” she muttered, and then immediately pretended she didn’t when Lumit snapped around, eyebrows furrowed in suspicion.
Death (whichever poor, poor senior officer had to give up their alias for her to get this one was surely sulking in some corner), who was pretty much here to supervise, found her thoughts wandering, looking at the frizzy mess of hair ahead of her, flickering every once in a while, she couldn’t help but try to take a closer look.
Heirloom badge and pale jacket with a last name but no first. Old, miming the style of one her mother or grandmother might have worn when they were of the force. A mesh mask that hardly obscured any of her features, useless for anonymity. She scoffed at the idiocy of it, even in the dim light, her straight nose bridge and pale eyes were clearly visible.
Death couldn’t say she wasn’t a little bit jealous, a family that had heirlooms to pass down, even a family that could teach her how to cast, or at the bare minimum, parents who lived long enough to name her. As for the mask, at least the mesh one complimented her outfit, perhaps her face was a little pretty and plus, no one was profiling a completely ordinary low-powered officer, even if she was senior director. The mesh looked breathable, at least, more than the leather and velvet that obscured her face. It looked like Lumit could run and still look dignified, the velvet one Death had made her look like she was choking on air from the sheer impracticality of it all.
Lumit stopped suddenly, and Death practically walked into the cloud of frizzy hair, which, considering the breathing issues her mask provided, was most definitely close to the lower bound of the list of things she needed right now.
Preparing for a fight, Death summoned a ghosty flame, igniting the entire cave. But there was no one there. Instead, they approached a small table with two seats on either side. Death had been stunned into silence, and the fact that Lumit had started shaking her head like a dog drying itself after a swim definitely wasn't helping. To Death’s ever mounting confusion, three dozen or so little orbs of light fell out of her hair. Like sand, or lice, Death’s mind provided, helpfully. Without the illumination, her hair was less of a platinum, and closer to a dirty blonde, Lumit closed her fists, orchestrating the lights into a collection of hovering lamps, illuminating the space.
“Lord, this was an easier walk when I was in high school,” Lumit announced to no one as she pulled off her mask, “come on, I brought picnicking stuff.”
Death, still looking at Lumit’s bare face, was dumbfounded, “Azule?” What on earth was-
“Happy anniversary, Red.”
Red, tearing off that god forsaken mask, was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that her girlfriend, who was currently supposed to be working a 9-5 at a law firm, was here, and-
“Red? Just sit down, I had to fake a lot of paperwork to get us this mission.”
Red did so, and just looked blankly at the table, her mind struggling to compute the things happening around her.
“Have some food?” she heard, as Azule placed a bowl of- well…
Red’s eyes began to tear up, and she felt them spill past her eyes, rolling in two streaks down her face.
“Red? Are you-”
Red’s shoulders shuddered, as she looked up to Azule with red eyes “you cn’t cook” she sobbed. “Azule- wh-” she sniffled, gesturing to the food “what is this- supp’sd to even be- and-” still trying to compute the fact that she had been coworkers with her own girlfriend for- since before they were girlfriends, in fact. It had been upwards of eight years since she’d joined the force.
“I thought you knew? I mean- yeah the hair’s different but-”
Red decided to get back at her by wrapping her arms around Azule's torso and using that heirloom jacket to dry her tears.
A/N: I am so tired but if anyone reads this note I am DONE FOR lmao. Anyways, Lucifer_Rosemaunt (I keep mentioning them because I love them) has a fic with a similar premise. It's called ‘To Lay a Trap’ (I can't believe I actually remembered that. Chat am I cooked.) and, like all the 112 other Rerik fics she's written, it's a wild AU that's a really fun read. If not for 1.) A Fool There Was 2.) Fantasies 3.) L_R and 4.) The sheer unparalleled comedy of Rerik shippers, I might've still been normal. But no. Although being exempt from phantom shipping wars is a GODSEND those are the motherf__king TRENCHES. GET OUT OF THERE GIRL. The E/C and R/C wars are NIGHTMARES. I'm going to watch it go down from my little bubble with the Megstine, Pharoga, and Polyphantom shippers. Have fun i guess.
Route to main post
Being prophesied was not fun at all. She had blazed through everything basic because apparently ‘she needed to be out on the field as soon as possible’ and that ‘she was pretty much the most powerful on her team, despite being the youngest’. She twirled her hair around her finger, watching it bounce back into a clean coil. She was now being sent out with Lumit, a blonde caster who needed assistance investigating a cave, apparently. An officer two years her senior needing her assistance? The force was pathetic. Lumit’s halo of blonde hair flickered to light ahead of her, illuminating the cave.
“Glowbug” she muttered, and then immediately pretended she didn’t when Lumit snapped around, eyebrows furrowed in suspicion.
Death (whichever poor, poor senior officer had to give up their alias for her to get this one was surely sulking in some corner), who was pretty much here to supervise, found her thoughts wandering, looking at the frizzy mess of hair ahead of her, flickering every once in a while, she couldn’t help but try to take a closer look.
Heirloom badge and pale jacket with a last name but no first. Old, miming the style of one her mother or grandmother might have worn when they were of the force. A mesh mask that hardly obscured any of her features, useless for anonymity. She scoffed at the idiocy of it, even in the dim light, her straight nose bridge and pale eyes were clearly visible.
Death couldn’t say she wasn’t a little bit jealous, a family that had heirlooms to pass down, even a family that could teach her how to cast, or at the bare minimum, parents who lived long enough to name her. As for the mask, at least the mesh one complimented her outfit, perhaps her face was a little pretty and plus, no one was profiling a completely ordinary low-powered officer, even if she was senior director. The mesh looked breathable, at least, more than the leather and velvet that obscured her face. It looked like Lumit could run and still look dignified, the velvet one Death had made her look like she was choking on air from the sheer impracticality of it all.
Lumit stopped suddenly, and Death practically walked into the cloud of frizzy hair, which, considering the breathing issues her mask provided, was most definitely close to the lower bound of the list of things she needed right now.
Preparing for a fight, Death summoned a ghosty flame, igniting the entire cave. But there was no one there. Instead, they approached a small table with two seats on either side. Death had been stunned into silence, and the fact that Lumit had started shaking her head like a dog drying itself after a swim definitely wasn't helping. To Death’s ever mounting confusion, three dozen or so little orbs of light fell out of her hair. Like sand, or lice, Death’s mind provided, helpfully. Without the illumination, her hair was less of a platinum, and closer to a dirty blonde, Lumit closed her fists, orchestrating the lights into a collection of hovering lamps, illuminating the space.
“Lord, this was an easier walk when I was in high school,” Lumit announced to no one as she pulled off her mask, “come on, I brought picnicking stuff.”
Death, still looking at Lumit’s bare face, was dumbfounded, “Azule?” What on earth was-
“Happy anniversary, Red.”
Red, tearing off that god forsaken mask, was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that her girlfriend, who was currently supposed to be working a 9-5 at a law firm, was here, and-
“Red? Just sit down, I had to fake a lot of paperwork to get us this mission.”
Red did so, and just looked blankly at the table, her mind struggling to compute the things happening around her.
“Have some food?” she heard, as Azule placed a bowl of- well…
Red’s eyes began to tear up, and she felt them spill past her eyes, rolling in two streaks down her face.
“Red? Are you-”
Red’s shoulders shuddered, as she looked up to Azule with red eyes “you cn’t cook” she sobbed. “Azule- wh-” she sniffled, gesturing to the food “what is this- supp’sd to even be- and-” still trying to compute the fact that she had been coworkers with her own girlfriend for- since before they were girlfriends, in fact. It had been upwards of eight years since she’d joined the force.
“I thought you knew? I mean- yeah the hair’s different but-”
Red decided to get back at her by wrapping her arms around Azule's torso and using that heirloom jacket to dry her tears.
A/N: I am so tired but if anyone reads this note I am DONE FOR lmao. Anyways, Lucifer_Rosemaunt (I keep mentioning them because I love them) has a fic with a similar premise. It's called ‘To Lay a Trap’ (I can't believe I actually remembered that. Chat am I cooked.) and, like all the 112 other Rerik fics she's written, it's a wild AU that's a really fun read. If not for 1.) A Fool There Was 2.) Fantasies 3.) L_R and 4.) The sheer unparalleled comedy of Rerik shippers, I might've still been normal. But no. Although being exempt from phantom shipping wars is a GODSEND those are the motherf__king TRENCHES. GET OUT OF THERE GIRL. The E/C and R/C wars are NIGHTMARES. I'm going to watch it go down from my little bubble with the Megstine, Pharoga, and Polyphantom shippers. Have fun i guess.
Route to main post
Last edited by Tellurium_26 (March 31, 2026 03:53:25)
- Alfalfa78
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
tropes
- - -
- - -
Nightkit woke up, jumping straight to her feet. Her apprentice ceremony was today! She had been waiting FOREVER for this to happen and it was finally today!
“Baykit, Baykit, Baykit!” she said, prodding her littermate in the side repeatedly. “Today’s going to be my big day!”
She just grumbled. “… our big day,” she mumbled sleepily, yawning as she flicked her sister with her tail. “And it’s not even sun-high yet. The ceremony won’t start yet.”
Nightkit just giggled. “I know, but I think if I ask Whirlstar enough times he’ll totally do it early,” she said, hopping from paw to paw.
Slowly, her sister got to her feet, seeming so glum. Pfft. Why would her sister be so blue when it was their apprentice ceremony? She needed to lighten up a little. Baykit rolled her green eyes as she walked to the entrance of the nursery. “Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re his favorite.”
“Of course I am!” Nightkit announced leaping into camp. “I’m everybody’s favorite! I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t love me. Hm. Maybe those smelly rogues that all the apprentices keep saying they smell around the borders wouldn’t…” at that she lowered herself into a crouch, unsheathing her claws. A moment later, she pounced forward, leaping onto an imaginary enemy and sticking the landing perfectly, as always. “Because they’d be terrified of me!” she crowed, jumping to her feet and waving her tail around. “Right, Baykit?”
Her sister only offered her a small nod. “Yeah.”
“Ugh, you’re so boring sometimes!” she said, trotting over to her sister, and headbutting her in the shoulder affectionately. “You need to lighten up! We’re going to be apprentices today! And honestly I’m pretty sure only the best warriors are going to pick us!”
“… really?” Baykit asked, tilting her head. She seemed apprehensive, for some reason.
“Uh, duh?” Nightkit said. “Because I’m so sure that the deputy is going to pick me, because he asked me how I’d like to be deputy one day. Because you know how a deputy’s apprentice is usually higher on the list whenever a new deputy needs to be picked. And so I said uh, yeah? Because I totally wanna be leader one day!” she said, bounding forward and striking a pose that she thought was heroic.
(If you asked Baykit, she would just say that it looked rather silly. But her opinion didn’t matter. It was always brushed over. Unlike her sister’s, no matter how silly or outlandish it may be.)
“Wouldn’t that be so cool, Bay?” she asked, turning to look at her sister. “Nightstar sounds like such a cool leader name, doesn’t it?”
Baykit stared at her for a long moment before chirping out a, “Yeah, it—it does. So much cooler than Baystar,” she mumbled, almost sounding dejected.
“Pff,” Nightkit said, smiling away. “Don’t sound so enthusiastic. I think you’d be a good leader. Hey, when I do become leader, I’d make you my deputy! Ooh, what do you think your warrior name’ll be?”
Baykit paused for a moment, seeming to be considering her answer (like she always did) and opened her mouth before—
“Nightkit!” Stonekit called, bounding over to the sisters as he batted a mossball along with him. “Do you wanna play mossball with us?” he asked, blue eyes shining with hope.
Nightkit gasped. “Of course I do, Stonekit!” she cried, utterly delighted and completely distracted. She ended up missing what her sister mumbled under her breath.
Stonekit, while he didn’t quite hear what she said, took notice of her. “Oh, uhm. Baykit can join too, if she wants,” he added.
“… no, it’s fine,” Baykit shook her head. “I was gonna go ask Mama to help me clean up before the ceremony. You guys can have fun without me, it’s okay.”
“Okay,” he said, turning to Nightkit. “Uhm, Cliffkit and Blossomkit are playing, too, and I wanted to know if you’d wanna be on my team?”
“What! No fair!” Cliffkit cried, running up to them. “I wanted Nightkit to be on my team,” he said.
The two boys started bickering and Nightkit could only roll her eyes. They always did this, and she had no idea why! It was so annoying. And it always felt like they fought over her, which didn’t make any sense. Because she was just Nightkit! Which, yeah, that meant she was the coolest, ever, but she didn’t know why they had to fight over her…
- - -
boring basic main character trapped in a love triangle, and destined for greatness! oh, and her sister's there, too, she guesses.
(741 words)
- Dawn_Camps
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
641 words
I blink, squinting my eyes as the sunlight burns into my retinas. “Where am I?” I say out loud, though to who I don't know.
“Ah, child! You're finally awake.” I turn to see a snobby looking women standing behind me.
“Who are you?”
She laughs, a high-pitched cackle with no actual joy. “Oh you insolent child. I'm your stepmother of course.”
I have a stepmother?
She folds her arms across her chest and looks down her nose at me. “Now, you know your job for the day. Go to the market and fetch us our usual order of groceries.”
I blink. “Our usual?” I turn around, there's nothing but desert as far as I can see. “Market?”
She glares at me. “Yes. I have no time for your tomfoolery. Off you go.”
With that she heads into a cabin that I swear wasn't there a minute ago. Oh well. Nothing to do but start walking I suppose.
I walk for what seems like hours. Eventually I can't take the heat and collapse onto the burning sand. I'm closing my eyes and accepting my fate when I hear something behind me. Did my “stepmother” take pity on me and come to rescue me? I roll over, hoping the sand in my hair would spark some compassion.
But instead of being met with the petite figure of the woman who I met before, I was met with a tall, dark, handsome man with soft brown curls on a beautiful white horse.
“Hello there.” The man's voice was rich and deep. “I'm here to rescue you.”
I blink. “What?” I must be hallucinating; the heat finally caught up to me and I've lost it.
He holds his hand out to me expectantly. I hesitantly sit up and take it. He easily pulls my dainty form up to sit in front of him and sets off across the golden sands at a quick pace.
We've only been riding for a few minutes when my mind clears up and I realize I have no idea who this man is or where we're going. I'm not in some fairy tale, this is probably a kidnapping!! Without thinking (because I'm the brave, wild, reckless female main character I am) I leap off the horse, landing hard and rolling down a dune.
Well that hurt more than I thought it would. It always looks so easy in the movies. I look back to see that the man—my kidnapper—getting down from his horse, a look of worry in his beautiful deep brown eyes. He starts toward me—hopefully to help me up because I'm pretty sure I bruised something—when a shout comes out of nowhere.
“STOP!!”
My heart leaps and I think maybe someone is coming to rescue me, then falls again as I realize what if they also want to kidnap me. I sigh, unfortunately I feel too fragile and weak to run away so I accept my fate and just lie there.
“Oh my gosh, are you alright??” Another man leans over me, this one with piercing blue eyes and blonde hair the same colour as the sand that stretches for miles.
“Oh yeah, just fine,” I say sarcastically,“ just fell off my kidnapper's horse.”
“Kidnapper?” Both men say in unison.
“I was saving you—” The dark-haired one starts to protest but the new guy cuts in.
“Why would the prince be kidnapping you??”
“PRINCE???”
“Are… are you okay?” The blonde man reaches out to feel my forehead and I slap his hand away.
“Why are you touching me?”
He looks hurt but pulls his hand away. “You… don't remember me? It's only been a couple years. I didn't think two years in the military would erase years of childhood memories.”
Oh. Huh, weird I don't remember him. Or anything else for that matter.
I blink, squinting my eyes as the sunlight burns into my retinas. “Where am I?” I say out loud, though to who I don't know.
“Ah, child! You're finally awake.” I turn to see a snobby looking women standing behind me.
“Who are you?”
She laughs, a high-pitched cackle with no actual joy. “Oh you insolent child. I'm your stepmother of course.”
I have a stepmother?
She folds her arms across her chest and looks down her nose at me. “Now, you know your job for the day. Go to the market and fetch us our usual order of groceries.”
I blink. “Our usual?” I turn around, there's nothing but desert as far as I can see. “Market?”
She glares at me. “Yes. I have no time for your tomfoolery. Off you go.”
With that she heads into a cabin that I swear wasn't there a minute ago. Oh well. Nothing to do but start walking I suppose.
I walk for what seems like hours. Eventually I can't take the heat and collapse onto the burning sand. I'm closing my eyes and accepting my fate when I hear something behind me. Did my “stepmother” take pity on me and come to rescue me? I roll over, hoping the sand in my hair would spark some compassion.
But instead of being met with the petite figure of the woman who I met before, I was met with a tall, dark, handsome man with soft brown curls on a beautiful white horse.
“Hello there.” The man's voice was rich and deep. “I'm here to rescue you.”
I blink. “What?” I must be hallucinating; the heat finally caught up to me and I've lost it.
He holds his hand out to me expectantly. I hesitantly sit up and take it. He easily pulls my dainty form up to sit in front of him and sets off across the golden sands at a quick pace.
We've only been riding for a few minutes when my mind clears up and I realize I have no idea who this man is or where we're going. I'm not in some fairy tale, this is probably a kidnapping!! Without thinking (because I'm the brave, wild, reckless female main character I am) I leap off the horse, landing hard and rolling down a dune.
Well that hurt more than I thought it would. It always looks so easy in the movies. I look back to see that the man—my kidnapper—getting down from his horse, a look of worry in his beautiful deep brown eyes. He starts toward me—hopefully to help me up because I'm pretty sure I bruised something—when a shout comes out of nowhere.
“STOP!!”
My heart leaps and I think maybe someone is coming to rescue me, then falls again as I realize what if they also want to kidnap me. I sigh, unfortunately I feel too fragile and weak to run away so I accept my fate and just lie there.
“Oh my gosh, are you alright??” Another man leans over me, this one with piercing blue eyes and blonde hair the same colour as the sand that stretches for miles.
“Oh yeah, just fine,” I say sarcastically,“ just fell off my kidnapper's horse.”
“Kidnapper?” Both men say in unison.
“I was saving you—” The dark-haired one starts to protest but the new guy cuts in.
“Why would the prince be kidnapping you??”
“PRINCE???”
“Are… are you okay?” The blonde man reaches out to feel my forehead and I slap his hand away.
“Why are you touching me?”
He looks hurt but pulls his hand away. “You… don't remember me? It's only been a couple years. I didn't think two years in the military would erase years of childhood memories.”
Oh. Huh, weird I don't remember him. Or anything else for that matter.
- icebunny11
-
Scratcher
500+ posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
Please note the following is extremely cringy and satire, and is a mix of both 2021 g@cha AND 2021 w@!!p@d (I had to bleep those out) </3 I had a bad day, so I'm taking my frustration out on this daily. I'm so sorry, but the cringe cannot be helped, and the cringe cannot be defeated.
This story started out very mindfully, very demurely. There was a six-foot half-werewolf alpha man standing in a battlefield, facing a strong opponent. This strong opponent was actually a 4'11 petite girl who had hair longer than her own height. Yet, even though she was so short and petite, she could fight as well as three men and could hold her own on a battlefield. It was because of this that the six-foot half-werewolf alpha man immediately fell in love with her. However, at the same time, a six-foot half-vampire alpha man decided to step onto the stage and confess his love to the 4'11 petite girl. She was now trapped in a horrible love triangle with both the six-foot half-werewolf alpha man and the six-foot half-vampire alpha man fighting on the battlefield. However, her 4'11 petite self just couldn't bear to see all of this fighting in her name, so she let out a super sonic scream and actually unlocked her inner powers, that she was actually half angel. Because of this scream, both men immediately stopped fighting and knelt down, because in their past life, they were actually her knights, and she is the reincarnation of the queen herself. She unlocks her true potential, but since she is just a 4'11 petite self, the power is too strong for her body, so she collapses on the ground gracefully like a swan. Panicked, the six-foot half-werewolf alpha man and the six-foot half-vampire alpha man take her to the world's greatest magician, who tells them she can only be saved if she sacrifices this power. So all-giving and loving, she chooses to give up the power for the betterment of humanity and her citizens (the angels, incase you missed that.) Also, during all of this, her period is never mentioned once </3
◪ Noͦ 23
Wordcount: 351/300
Topic: Cliche Tropes
Points earned: 500+100 for proof
Cabin: Cyberpunk
Please note the following is extremely cringy and satire, and is a mix of both 2021 g@cha AND 2021 w@!!p@d (I had to bleep those out) </3 I had a bad day, so I'm taking my frustration out on this daily. I'm so sorry, but the cringe cannot be helped, and the cringe cannot be defeated.
This story started out very mindfully, very demurely. There was a six-foot half-werewolf alpha man standing in a battlefield, facing a strong opponent. This strong opponent was actually a 4'11 petite girl who had hair longer than her own height. Yet, even though she was so short and petite, she could fight as well as three men and could hold her own on a battlefield. It was because of this that the six-foot half-werewolf alpha man immediately fell in love with her. However, at the same time, a six-foot half-vampire alpha man decided to step onto the stage and confess his love to the 4'11 petite girl. She was now trapped in a horrible love triangle with both the six-foot half-werewolf alpha man and the six-foot half-vampire alpha man fighting on the battlefield. However, her 4'11 petite self just couldn't bear to see all of this fighting in her name, so she let out a super sonic scream and actually unlocked her inner powers, that she was actually half angel. Because of this scream, both men immediately stopped fighting and knelt down, because in their past life, they were actually her knights, and she is the reincarnation of the queen herself. She unlocks her true potential, but since she is just a 4'11 petite self, the power is too strong for her body, so she collapses on the ground gracefully like a swan. Panicked, the six-foot half-werewolf alpha man and the six-foot half-vampire alpha man take her to the world's greatest magician, who tells them she can only be saved if she sacrifices this power. So all-giving and loving, she chooses to give up the power for the betterment of humanity and her citizens (the angels, incase you missed that.) Also, during all of this, her period is never mentioned once </3
Last edited by icebunny11 (March 23, 2026 20:41:16)
- Milkysplash
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
⋆ ⊹ ┈┈┈┈┈「 ☆ 」┈┈┈┈┈ ⊹ ⋆
✧┊ Sci Fi Worldbuilding - Weekly 3
2019/1700 words ┊ 3000 points
2019/1700 words ┊ 3000 points
⋆ ⊹ ┈┈┈┈┈「 ☆ 」┈┈┈┈┈ ⊹ ⋆
✧┊Part 1
277/200 words
277/200 words
Possibly the most revolutionary invention of its time, the superluminal message relay network (or more colloquially known as the Deep Space Network) allows signals and messages to be transmitted faster than the speed of light. The system has various parts to it, from transceiver stations located all around Federation space to relay stations that keep signal strength up over many light years.
(For the sake of the physics, we are going to pretend that tachyons and faster than light travel does not violate causality and relativity)
Stand-alone stations are typically stationed close to planets. Transceiver stations both broadcast signals from the planet and also receive signals from the wider network and broadcast them down to the planet. In transceiver stations, the signal from incoming photons from the planet are converted into tachyons. The tachyons are then accelerated to many times the speed of light and then emitted in a stream similar to how signals are transmitted using electromagnetic waves, since tachyons have wave-like properties. Signals from incoming tachyon particles are converted into electromagnetic photons which are then relayed to satellites and other various receivers.
Spacecraft and space stations will typically carry their own transceivers. For Federation spacecraft and space stations, the stations also have equipped relay stations aboard to help signals reach to places where there may not be much cover by the network, such as deep space exploration ships.
Relay stations strengthen the signals from transceivers or other stations, since tachyon signals dissipate with distance. They relay messages to where they need to go.
The Deep Space Network is also an amalgamation of different superluminal message relay systems, with some older technology among the new ones.
⋆ ⊹ ┈┈┈┈┈「 ☆ 」┈┈┈┈┈ ⊹ ⋆
✧┊Part 2
344/300 words
344/300 words
While everyone credits the discovery of warp speed and superluminal travel, the most overlooked yet most important invention was the Deep Space Network, which allowed messages to be relayed in near-real time over hundreds of light years. This allowed for better communication between the member states of the early Federation, and helped facilitate diplomacy between many planets in the Federation. The technology also allowed for longer deep space exploration missions, which meant many more instances of first contact occurred with other species in the galaxy. In addition, command structure became more centralised and starship captains no longer had to go long stretches of time without orders. It allowed the Federation Star Fleet, then an amalgamation of different fleets, to begin taking on the structure it has today. First to emerge from this was a centralised Exploratory Fleet, followed by the Humanitarian and Medical Fleet, Flagship Fleet (later known as the Diplomatic Fleet), and finally the Intelligence Fleet. The fleets then began integrating into one large Federation Star Fleet under centralised command, since there were greater chances of ships crossing and intersecting with each other, interfering with their work.
The development of this technology also meant that other superluminal message relay systems could either be replaced or integrated into the wider network. This also allowed for colonisation of planets and moons that would once have been impossible, as well as rapid expansion of the Federation.
The rapid expansion of the Federation led to contact with hostile powers in the galaxy. Due to this, the Federation’s Star Fleet began a move towards increasing militarisation as . The Exploratory Fleet and Diplomatic Fleet became outfitted with more and more weapons beyond just defensive and the occasional offensive weapons. There were constant reminders that space exploration was a dangerous job.
The network is still maintained to this day, as a critical piece of infrastructure member worlds across Federation space rely upon.
In conclusion, the Deep Space Network allowed for the expansion of the Federation and for the Federation to become a strong galactic power in the Milky Way Galaxy.
⋆ ⊹ ┈┈┈┈┈「 ☆ 」┈┈┈┈┈ ⊹ ⋆
✧┊Part 3
767/600 words
767/600 words
Where the heck was she?
One second, Rena had been doing the perfectly normal thing of sitting in headquarters writing up reports and doing the paperwork she really didn’t want to do (the kind she had to do for Alayna and Eirene that only existed because ERIS was born out of the bureaucratic nightmare that was the Aurora Bay Intelligence Service, and that she got dragged straight back into working here… and she would much rather be working as a doctor instead…) and the next second, she was… standing inside some kind of spaceship. What in the world just happened.
Okay, sure, she did see a lot of strange and weird things but this was… probably the strangest and weirdest thing that ever happened to her. Yep, even weirder than the patient who got injured doing the most mundane things… and even weirder than the emergence of people with scary superpowers. (Not that Rena found them scary.)
“Rena! Commander Miyazaki?”
Was… someone calling her? Although, the ‘Commander Miyazaki’ in question could be anyone, not just her - she just happened to be someone with the same surname here. But then, how would they know what her first name was? Taking the time to carefully look around, Rena saw what she could only describe as something out of science fiction. She was fairly sure she was standing on the bridge of some kind of spaceship, and there was a woman in command with blonde hair that had a strong resemblance to Officer Kayla Hansen. There was someone else as well, who looked very similar to Elanna Barton, except she had… well, she was somewhat more alien. And they were all looking at her with a strange and confused look.
So they must be talking to her, then.
“I don’t know who this… ‘Commander Miyazaki’ in question is,” Rena began diplomatically, figuring that diplomacy was probably the best way to go here. “All I know is that I wasn’t here a second ago, and now here I am,” Rena explained.
“Uh, Captain, our sensors detected an increase in tachyon particles a few minutes ago,” someone called from their chair. She wasn’t sure who they were - she wasn’t sure who any of these people were. There was the sound of someone cursing something under their breath, while the woman in command acknowledged the person’s report.
“We… we did just hit a spatial anomaly a few minutes ago,” a timid voice said from one of the seats closest to the giant front window.
“All evidence is pointing to some kind of displacement in time,” the person who called out the tachyon readings from earlier added. They were clearly alien in origin. “Our… doppleganger must have swapped places with our first officer then.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time Federation ships had to deal with these sorts of incidents,” the woman in charge said. She walked towards Rena, a hand held out. “Captain Kayla Hansen, of the Federation starship Pathfinder, exploratory fleet.”
Rena took it. “Agent Rena Miyazaki,” Rena replied. “ERIS. Also, um, I work as a doctor.”
Kayla raised an eyebrow. “Well, it seems you may have recognised me, and you also showed some recognition of my chief medical officer, Doctor A’Lyandra. I take it you have… ah, counterparts of us in your universe?”
Rena nodded. This didn’t look like the first time Captain Hansen had to deal with this sort of situation. “Yes. You’re a police officer, and… um, Doctor A’Lyandra is the head of the emergency department at the hospital where I work.”
“I’m a psychiatrist by training, I’ll have you know!” Dr A’Lyandra replied, somewhat offended. Yeah, that sounded like what Elanna would say if she was mad at someone for thinking she was a surgeon or something.
“That is certainly very interesting,” Captain Hansen said. “Here, Commander Rena Miyazaki is the first officer of the Pathfinder, and a former emergency medicine doctor. She is hoping to become the commander of a medical ship one day. Perhaps this is a conversation better suited to a conference room. Doctor A’Lyandra, with me.” Captain Hansen nodded to one of her crew members. “Lieutenant Willows, you have the conn.”
Rena followed Captain Hansen and Doctor A’Lyandra through off the bridge into a side room. The forks seemed to open automatically, before they were in a rather sizable conference room. The doors hissed shut behind them.
“Computer, lock the doors.”
The computer chimed in acknowledgement. They could control computers with their voice? Huh, technology really had come a long way.
“Well, let’s begin.” Captain Hansen said, inviting Rena to sit down.
She took it.
⋆ ⊹ ┈┈┈┈┈「 ☆ 」┈┈┈┈┈ ⊹ ⋆
✧┊Part 4
631/600 words
631/600 words
Once you graduated the Fleet Academy, it was highly unlikely you’d end up serving on the same ship as your friends. Normally, you were split up, serving different assignments in different ships. The amount of time you’d be able to see your friends in person dropped dramatically, since you were thousands of light years away at any given time.
Eki was lucky enough to still be serving with her friends. Their assignments had aligned for once, the three of them, all somewhat experienced young doctors, had been assigned to the USS A’Lakana, helping out in the aftermath of a devastating solar flare event to the people of Solaris. By her side was Asteria and Mir’ana. The two hadn’t changed much since Eki last served with them - as a cadet, aboard the USS Challenger. Also with them was Luna Yokoyama, a close friend of Asteria’s who went to the Academy with them. Though Luna had her own friends she usually hung around - the “legacies” as they liked to call themselves.
Eki also thought she’d changed a lot since she graduated from the Academy. Sure, she used to be really curious about everything and still was, but after a few years of serving as a doctor, she found herself losing that edge a bit. She was still optimistic, but being placed in tough situations meant she had to develop a hard outer shell. Fast.
“Luna, isn’t one of your friends also assigned to this ship?” Asteria had asked as the four of them walked through the ship’s corridors to the medical wing. Eki was used to long walks in between places on the space station she grew up on, so getting used to the smaller size of the starship was a struggle at first. Especially after so much free space she had experienced on Earth.
“Huh?” Luna replied, seemingly pulled out of her thoughts. “Oh, yeah. Erin’s serving as helmsman. I might go up and see her later.”
“We’re quite lucky to serve together,” Eki remarked. She wasn’t sure what happened to Luna’s other friends - chose different paths, most likely.
“Thank the stars for the Deep Space Network then,” Mir’ana commented. She’d become less deadpan in her humour over the years, softening up. It was strange to hear Mir’ana without her signature snark. “Eki, I don’t know how you would have survived those years away from us without the Deep Space Network.”
“I would have found away!” Eki insisted. “We change. Change is constant, right? Life finds a way? So I’d have found a way!”
“Hmmm, maybe,” Asteria commented. “But you might have gone a bit insane.”
“I would not!” Eki took Asteria’s comment with a dose of healthy offense. She had a point. But laughing with her friends was also so much fun. It got Mir’ana to loosen up as well. It was always a joy to see the Felician let out her wild side. Because oh, did Mir’ana have a wild side. Eki knew this from experience.
“I remember Artemis was really into the Deep Space Network at some point,” Luna commented. “It bored me, but she was into it.”
“Each to their own is what they say, right?” Eki said. “Although…” she paused, not sure if she wanted to tell her friends about something that’s been on her mind for a while as they walked through the corridors and past the windows into space.
“Eki, is something wrong?” Asteria asked. Stars, Asteria was always the first person to know if something was wrong. She just had that strange sixth sense.
“Yeah, but it can wait,” Eki replied. She’d be fine, she thought, as she entered the medical wing. She was greeted by the chief medical officer, Doctor A’Lyandra, a familiar face from her space station days.
Time to start work.
- babyoda1546
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
➵ Journey 3: Sci-fi ⊹ ₊
Part One - Sci-fi Element
For this new world and even solar system that I’m planning out, I have tons of technological advancements to make so buckle up and enjoy the very bumpy ride.
AI advancement -
In this altered future, AI has advanced a lot. There are now robots. How typical of me, am I right? AI is a huge form of protection and sadly, education in planets like Pangaea and Zephrya. However, AI has not advanced enough to stand the conditions of Typhon or Draconia so those are considered safe planets. AI also can’t go to Nebulion but that’s a given if you read part two.
Typhon - Underwater transportation system
Typhon uses three different transportation methods. Number one and the most common in the tram system. The different cities in Typhon are connected by glass tubes and tunnels that work as railways. There are also walking tunnels but most everyone prefers to train on the tram instead. The tram goes through the tubes/tunnels designated for trams to get people between cities. The second mode is a mix between cars and submarines! Pangaea has flying cars but Typhon has subcars which can be driven anywhere on Typhon. Finally, there’s teleportation but it’s for the more wealthy people and it’s also more dangerous than the other two because scientists are still working on it.
Part Two - Sci-fi World Building
Backstory -
Earth started getting closer to the sun at a faster rate than normal and if the humans didn’t leave earth in time, they’d all be dead. After tons of research, scientists found another solar system is the milky way that is very similar to earth. They had a decade until the earth got too close to the sun, meaning they had about nine years to make many spaceships and gather a bunch of people and animals and move to this new solar system. They made it to the planet that was the most like earth and started there. Eventually, they decided, why stop there? Scientists found ways to help humans adapt under water, cold, heat, and many more conditions. There are six planets in this world.
Pangaea - The Earth Planet (the original and where the capitol areas are)
Pangaea is the first of the six planets that humans settled on and where most everything happens. Pangaea is larger than earth and able to hold more ideas than Earth is. There is one moon for Pangaea just like earth. This planet consists of some of the largest cities being the original and capitol planet. AI is used here the most.
Typhon - The Underwater Planet
Typhon is a planet mainly underwater with the exception of a few islands occasionally. Typhon has a whole underwater transportation system that is talked a lot about in part 1. When they dispersed the animals on Pangaea, they decided to put half the fish and other sea animals on Typhon and they are all thriving well. A major food source on Typhon is sea food. (There is one moon here.)
Zephrya - The Windy Planet
Zephra is the planet of winds. The most dangerous things here include tornadoes and breaking the law. Yep, Zephria is also one of the three AI-protected planets and if you break any rules, they will know. In Zephria, there are mainly windmills. The windmills convert wind into energy and the energy goes in canisters to be distributed between planets so that people can power AI and homes and basically anything. (Two moons are on this planet)
Draconia - The Fiery Planet
Draconia is as mentioned, the hot planet. It is closer to Solaris or Neo-Helios (their new sun). It has about five thousand located volcanoes and about 2 thousand active volcanoes. To survive this planet, scientists have made purified air tanks that cycle in possibly ashy air and purify it for you to breathe. There is also heat gear which is essentially a neosport body suit but with some high-tech fire resistance. (Three moons are on this planet.)
Dabria - The Prison Planet
Dabria is the smallest known in this solar system. It is about the size of Pluto and is barely even considered a planet. The capitol invokes tight rules. There are even AI bots that can make sure you follow the rules on every planet except Typhon and Draconia because they still haven’t advanced AI enough. If you break the rules bad enough, they’ll send you here to be tortured for a few weeks or even years. (This planet has five moons.)
Nebulion - The unknown planet and the sixth planet.
There’s not much that scientists know about Nebulion but the fact that’s by far the most dangerous of the six planets. There are random black holes that pop up and disappear. Unknown creatures have been detected and there are tons of random weather flashes. There could be a flash flood one second and the next, a volcano. This planet is a gamble that most aren’t willing to take. (There are one hundred two moons here)
Part Three - Cross-World Travel
“I REFUSE! I SHALL NOT COMMIT SUCH FOUL ACTS-”
Princess Mabel Florence paused. She did not recognize this place. Wait… was she underwater!? Mabel Florence let out a shrill scream that was quickly muffled by the glove of a hooded figure that dragged her into an alleyway. The princess fought against the hooded figures but the unknown person was stronger. Once they were far enough back, the person whispered, “I will uncover your mouth if you promise not to scream. Swear it on your life.” Mabel nodded her head, desperate for her voice back. Her voice was her only defense in situations like these. The hooded figure took her hand out of the princess's mouth. She also threw her hood back to reveal a teenage girl. Mabel had a look of bewilderment on her face that almost made the girl laugh. Did she just get kidnapped by a mere child?
“Who art thou- I mean… who are you?” asked Mabel, wanting to know what child had that kind of strength.
“The name's Echo Cortanna” Echo answered barely above a whisper, hoping no one in the streets could hear them.
“Echo… Like the nymph?” Mabel asked, smiling.
“No- uh sure. Yeah. I was named after the Greek nymph” she muttered.
“Oh, what a beautiful name! That's so cute! You must love Greek Mythology then, right? That's amazing! My name is Mabel Florence. Princess Mabel Florence. Speaking of naming, where are your parents? surely, they're around here somewhere looking for their little Echo!” Mabel asked with an unknowing grin.
“My parents aren't around. You won't find them around here. Or anywhere, really,” Echo responded and Mabel frowned.
“Surly they haven't left you! They have to be around here somewhere- Oh… oh I'm so sorry, Echo…” Mabel realizes the obvious and is guilty about her obliviousness. She tries to quickly change the subject, “Where are we?”
“I thought you'd never ask!” Echo threw her hood over her head. Echo's black neosport suit and black hood scarf was a huge difference from Mabel's big poofy green dress and corset. Echo sighs, realizing that Mabel will stick out like a sore thumb in these underwater cities' typically more simple outfits. Oh well. It's not like green is a crime in Poseidia. Echo took Mabel's hand and walked her out of the alley casually and no one noticed. “Welcome to the planet of Typhon. This city is called Poseidia,” Echo gestured towards the many skyscrapers and crazily cool looking buildings that surrounded them. The structures were mainly made of different shades of blue and green glass that sparkled and shone brightly in the light of the torches around the marble streets. Mabel had never seen anything more gorgeous in her entire life.
“Whoa,” Mabel's jaw dropped, “This is where you live? You're so lucky! This is the most beauty I've ever witnessed!”
“Yeah, this is where I live and have lived forever. My parents live on Pangaea though,” Echo sighed.
“Why don't you live with your parents?” Mabel asked before she could stop herself.
“I don't know. I just know that they-” Echo's voice cuts off and her eyes drift to a guy dressed in a robotic armor suit. Mabel's gaze follows her gaze and her eyebrow raises in a silent question. Echo quickly explains, “That's an officer. They don't much like me.”
“Why is that-” Mabel begins to ask but gets cut off by sudden shouting.
“HEY! THERE SHE IS!!” The officer yells, points at Echo and when no one else goes after her, runs towards Echo and Mabel. Echo grabs Mabel's hand and they run off.
Part Four - Story» — ⋙ 2040 words total ⋘ — «
Echo Cortana has never met her parents.
Echo is roaming the streets of Poseidia with her hood up and earbuds in. She is in no rush right now because the majority of the officers are on break right now. It's a good thing that they haven't figured out how to make AI bots waterproof yet. If they had, she'd be in trouble. Poseidia is probably actually the safest of the six planets to hide from authority. Other than Nebulion, of course but no one has ever been foolish enough to go there yet. No one comes to or from Nebulion.
Eventually, Echo arrives at her apartment once more. Something seems off though. Some things don't feel quite as she left them. Echo does a check of her house, looking through all of her three rooms just to find nothing. She places her tea kettle over the stove and grabs the newspaper. Barely anyone reads newspapers anymore but they still make them.
WEEKLY NEWS: PIXEL AND VECTOR CORTANA HAVE MADE YET ANOTHER HUGE SCIENTIFIC ADVANCEMENT
Our power scientist couple, the Cortana's have made a new discovery on the planet of Pangaea. More advanced AI bots to come…
Echo threw the newspaper at the wall. If she got one more article about her parents that have never tried looking for her, she would lose it. She doesn't care about the AI bots. In fact, she would prefer if they weren't advanced anymore. Soon, they'll be able to be on Draconia and Typhon and that's the last thing she needed. The tea kettle squealed and there was a scream that came from the closet that interrupted her thoughts.
“Who's there!” Echo shouted while quickly taking the tea off the stove, “Show yourself!”
“No! No one's here!” an odd voice shouted from the closet. Through the fear and shock, Echo resisted the urge to laugh at the thing in the closet. Why would you say you're not there if you are? It blows one's cover. Echo opens the closet and then stumbles back at what she saw. An… an alien!? Those don't exist though… Right? The being was like a normal human but had dark purple hair, light purple skin, and an outfit like Echo used to see in Earth fashion magazines.
“Who… and what are you?” Echo asked shakily, still in shock over what she's witnessing.
“I'm Nova!” The creature jumped out of the closet and stood in front of Echo, “I'm an ‘alien’ from the planet you humans call Nebulion!” Echo's jaw dropped. Nebulion?! People lived there? That's the most dangerous planet in the solar system. How!?
“Yeah. All of my kind live in Nebulion.” Nova adds, holding back a giggle by Echo's dropped jaw.
“How? Isn't it dangerous?” Echo asked.
“We actually used to live on what you people call Pangaea until you humans took it over and all of our other four planets.” Nova sighed.
“What? Really?”
“Yes,”
“So you moved to the most dangerous planet?” Echo asked, bewildered.
“It wasn't dangerous until we moved there. We've been using our magic to make it dangerous and keep humans away.” Nova explained
“Then why are you here if you're trying to stay away from humans?” Echo asked
“Because we're tired of using all of our energy to stop you guys and we need your help.” Nova answered, slightly annoyed.
“My help? Why me?” Echo asked yet another question.
“Because your parents are the head scientists, yeah? They'll listen to you better than us-” Nova started but got cut off by Nova's immediate rejection. No. Absolutely not. She was not confronting her parents.
“Please” Nova begged and Echo sighed, “Fine”
Last edited by babyoda1546 (March 24, 2026 00:25:22)
- -vanillamochabear-
-
Scratcher
500+ posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
⋆ WEEKLY three// sci-fi!! (3324/1700 words)
part one: sci-fi element (217/200 words)
‘aissistants’ - essentially exactly as it sounds, AI assistants, are little robot critters modeled after cats assigned to every citizen upon birth. they were created by the government around two hundred years ago and marketed as a new convenience in the big game of life, but really they track every person’s every move while constantly feeding them propaganda and taking away any ounce of autonomy/individuality. of course, no one realizes this. key features of the aisisstants include asking any question imaginable, doing all of your work and chores for you, and any other thinkable tasks to decrease your need for action and free thinking as much as possible. they are extremely ‘loyal’, if that’s the right word for their overbearingly protective helicopter behavior and follow their person around at all times. people often tend to develop strong emotional connections to their aissistant as well, leading to common meltdowns and/or total cluelessness of how to function when they do have to be separated (only in the instances of needing to be repaired or other emergencies). the assistants are not individually sentient, rather they all follow the same chip and have identical ‘personalities’ - everyone is treated the same and told the same things by their bot. this reflects onto society through very little variations between human’s personalities, too.
part two: sci-fi worldbuilding (362/300 words)
flying cars are not real time travel is new robots are real ai is real corporate greed is real//
the world of htrae is essentially just earth, but propelled 500 years into the future. lots of things have changed, and lots of things have not - somewhere around the two hundred year mark, there became a unified global government which decided to erase all records of the past world. of course, the older generations still knew a fair bit but were threatened into keeping their mouths shut, meaning most information of what earth was like eventually fizzled and died out. in this new ‘blank canvas’ (which was mostly cultural, since the govt. kept their hand on all scientific advancements), the global temperature rose 50 degrees within the span of a century and the ozone layer significantly disappeared, killing all animals and plants besides humans (who now have to wear suits to go outside and eat only lab-grown foods). in spite of this the population has risen wildly, and architecture has risen to meet that - all land is covered in cities that rise far up, almost unimaginably so into the sky. houses have found a way to stack on top of each other.
if it wasn’t obvious, after the ‘blank canvas’ no efforts whatsoever were made to repair the environment, if not the opposite. flying cars still aren’t real, but nearly everyone has a personal plane which is basically the same thing. most resources typical of the 21st century have died out and the main thing that powers life is the blazing power of the sun. time travel is a recent advancement, and the current focus of scientists has been workshopping immortality (which of course would only be used on those in power). however the biggest advancement in the past 500 years has undoubtedly been artificial intelligence - it’s practically taken over every aspect of modern day society, especially in the manifestation of ‘aissistants’ which act to prevent the public from having opinions. jobs don’t really exist anymore, which is why those who work as scientists and the government are regarded highly in society (though who’s to say they’re not using AI over there, too?)
part three: cross-world travel (1864/600 words)
the lab had chosen kaia as the first person to try out the time machine. instantly, she panics, a fleeting thought running through her head: they chose you because you’re the newest. the most expendable, useless, trash thus far… a quick check with her ai assistant - its name was ‘flower’ - debunked this, though.
“it’s an honor to be the first to try out such exciting tech,” it read monotonously, “you should be proud of yourself! this is your chance to make history… if everything goes right. but to be frank, who cares if you die? it’s in the name of advancing our society after all… it's an honor to be the first to try out such exciting tech!” and so kaia smiles stupidly, shaking the lead scientist’s hand and stepping into the capsule. it was only to be a quick test run, and she was to automatically be transported back in fifteen minutes as long as the chip she was wearing was still on her. this was in the name of her country; and everybody else’s country, htrae. the machine clicks and whirls, and kaia closes her eyes, that smile still plastered on her face. an honor.
a blinding flash of white and a couple more clicks later, feels solid ground. she opens her eyes, and the very first thing that occurs to her is the absence of her bot flower, and the pang of panic in her chest that comes with this realization. the second was that the machine had worked. the alley she was lying in was nothing typical of her time, concrete too worn down and much too dimly lit. even in the poor-ish neighborhood that she had been raised in, everything was perfect and bright all of the time. she sits herself upright to inspect a crack in the rough dark gray surface. this had to have been a million years ago, at least.
she stands and wanders around the alley hesitantly. there was a big, dark green bin of something along one of the walls, which is where the awful smell must have been coming from. even her mask doesn’t do that great of a job filtering the fumes out. she’s not very keen on approaching it, so she turns to the opposite direction where light and the noise of traffic is filtering in from outside the alley. it seemed pretty empty so far, which she was grateful for for the time being (she didn’t want to be seen on the floor like that), but she did want to find someone to see what the year was.
all of a sudden there’s a creature rubbing itself on her leg, and she gives a little jump. her heart softens when she sees that it looks a bit like her flower, though. “tell me what year it is,” she commands it, but it doesn’t say anything. “aissistant, where am i?” she tried. addressing an assistant by its title almost always worked, especially if it wasn’t your designated one, but this one remained unresponsive. it only made a low rumbling sound. was it broken?
snickering fills the air, and kaia turns around sharply. a redheaded girl she hadn’t seen before is sitting on the ledge of one of the windows, watching her. “are you asking questions to a cat?” she asks incredulously, in an accent kaia had never heard before, before bursting into another round of laughter. she can’t help but feel a little embarrassed. at the same time, she’s curious. the redhead is dressed in nothing but jeans and a graphic t-shirt, so it must’ve been before the series of environmental disasters… the government had said that was over a thousand years ago.
“yes?” she answers shortly, “hold on, what is a cat?”
the redhead can’t bring herself to stop laughing. “a cat?? are you serious? and what are you wearing?” she eyes kaia’s clothes with mirth in her eyes, and kaia is more confused than ever. it was just the typical all-white full body suit and a gas mask over her face, nothing worthy of such a reaction. it was what everybody wore outside. something clicked in her mind though, running over the idea of a cat. it had fur, it moved of its own accord and it wasn’t a robot.
“do you mean a dinosaur?” kaia asks, eyes brightening and words carefully calculated. she wasn’t used to having a conversation for this long without some form of assistance from flower. anyways, dinosaurs, the word for anything living in the past that wasn’t a human. this was so cool.
the redhead snorts, wiping at her tears. “you’ve got to be kidding with me, dude. have you hit your head?”
“i am a time traveler.” she finally admits flatly. the words of the head scientist echo inside her head like an alarm: don’t tell anyone who you are, or what version of this world you come from… well, how could they check?***
“take the mask off,” the other girl asks, to which she does. “it’s 2016,” she says almost immediately after it’s gone, just to gauge kaia’s reaction. by the widening of her eyes it’s obvious she isn’t lying, if her reaction to breathing real air hadn’t been telling enough.
kaia splutters, “i– but– the government says we’ve been living in a post-disaster for over a thousand years, how could– it is 2517. from my time.”
the redhead smiles sadly. “yeah, no, then they’re probably lying. don’t worry, nothing new.” a beat of silence, before she asks the question that’s been burning in her mind: “dude, what happened? your suit, you’ve never seen a cat, et cetera? i thought people from the future would be all cool and swag, not like. no offense, but miserable.”
kaia blinks a couple of times, trying to formulate a response. “well, the suit is because it is too hot in the… in the future to be going outside without something to cool you down. they have fans and offer protection from the sun. i was told, all animals died out long, long ago –”
“died out. you mean, they’re all dead? all the animals?”
“i – yes.”
“jesus, maybe the environmentalists aren’t exaggerating,” she mutters under her breath, swinging her legs from her windowsill seat.
kaia frowns. “what?” – “nothing.” – “and i am not miserable, i am – we have food, we have housing, we have assistants that answer anything we could possibly wonder and do all of our work for us. no stinky dinosaurs to bother caring for. what could we possibly be missing out on?” she glances at the cat, which had made a home for himself sleeping and purring on the green dumpster. it occurs to her that she should be going soon, but the chip clipped to her belt hasn’t started beeping yet so maybe her sense of time was off.
the redhead snaps suddenly, which surprises kaia enough to jump a little. “and that’s exactly what i'm talking about,” she says, waving her arms wildly. “where is your fun? where is your whimsy? when you think of living, is all you think of just. staying alive?” she tilts her head a little bit, obviously waiting to hear a response.
“well, what more is there?” the empty, monotonous quality of her voice and hollow eyes are obviously starting to unnerve the other girl a bit, as she fidgets with the cuff of her jeans.
“have you heard of hiking? going outside and touching grass? skateboarding? art - you know, painting, sketching… do you guys have music?” she asks a little desperately, almost scared to hear the answers. “hey, have flying cars been invented yet?”
kaia furrows her brows. “grass, like the type of plant? plants are dead too. i don’t know what ‘hiking’ is. nor ‘skateboarding’. art is the stuff that our AI assistants do –” at this, the redhead girl full-on facepalms, “– music is only for the Rebels. cars are an old mechanic, we all have planes now. do you know what a plane is?”
“yes, i know what a plane is,” comes the unbelieving response. “you mean, everyone has a plane? yes?? jesus, no wonder everything is dead. and you said you’re from… 2516? no, 2517? listen man, i’m still not convinced you’re not completely joking with me right now, in which i would come off as pretty stupid, but i don’t like the sound of this. at all. if you are joking though, and for the sake of the world i hope you are; you could write a book.”
“me? write a book? why? i could ask my AI assistant to write a book.” kaia says. no, it was definitely getting late. “i should be going now. why am i not going?” she shuffles awkwardly in her heavy white suit, fumbling with the controls on her belt. silence settles between the two girls, separated by so much more than just 5 centuries. the sound of a throat clearing startles her. she hated how easy it was to be startled in this time period. too many noises, too many unpredictabilities.
“well, my name is emmy,” says the redhead girl. her voice is slightly muffled as she’s messing with one of the potted plants inside of her apartment. “i… you’re really inspiring me to go out and do some community volunteer work and activism right now.” kaia doesn’t know what either of those things are either, so she just nods once.
“it was nice to meet you, emmy. my name is kaia.”
emmy leans down to try and hand her the pot of grocery store ivy, an explanation and a hope half formed on her lips, only to see her friend? no, not a friend, just a mysterious girl, disintegrate into a thousand pixels. she sighs and quickly shuts the window.
kaia is insanely relieved when she hears the clicks and finally gets swept into the flash of white light once again. toward normalcy, toward that promise of honor. maybe emmy is trying to say something to her just as she leaves, but quite frankly she can’t bring herself to care very much. the last sound she hears is some sort of freaky yowl, maybe from that stinky cat. she had been starting to worry about getting stuck in 2016 forever - which sounded like an absolute nightmare. goodness, the idea of people writing their own stories was nearly mind-shattering. and drawing their own art? she couldn’t wait to give her assistant flower a big hug, and of course report this entire experience to her team. leaving out certain key details and discoveries, of course…
(***little did she know, the head scientist had added a little camera chip on the front pocket of her suit. seriously, he wasn’t stupid enough to send this naive youngling out into unknown waters without the necessary precautions. the team on htrae watches her interactions, listening carefully.
“she knows too much.” he decides. “if she puts all of that information together, she has got all of the right pieces to start pointing fingers at the government…” he turns to his team with a smile. “delay her time by five or so minutes. it looks like we have to prepare to brainwash her!”)
part four: sci-fi story (881/600 words including short note)
kaia had never felt the same after that time travel.
well, most of her memory of it was fuzzy, anyways - she had waken up in a cold marble bed to see the beaming face of a nurse, who informed her (way too happily) that the trip back had been a little sloppy and that she had hit her head upon landing. but also that she would be completely fine in less than a day, and that she had done an incredible job taking the first step with testing the new technology. she had then started to ramble about the discoveries that time travel could bring, all of the research they could do on how to better AI systems, widen the reach of AI-assisted travel and maybe even an AI-controlled government… kaia mostly stopped listening after that, her head pulsing painfully with every word that entered it.
she quickly goes back to her job as a junior scientist, flying her personal plane to work everyday (an office on the near-top floor, floors 123628348301 and above were only reserved for elite positions such as hers) recording and sorting data all day with the help of her aissistant flower. could the work technically be entirely machine-done? well yes, but apparently it was too ‘classified’. kaia didn’t see how all the zeros and ones could be so meaningful.
and everything would have been completely normal, if it weren’t for the dreams. cryptic messages of an evil government, spewing nothing but lies, lies, lies. the freckled face of a girl with curly fire-red hair that’s so familiar, but she can’t tell from where exactly.
she talks about it with flower, once.
“do not worry, these thoughts are likely the product of your imagination.” it comforts her.
“do you think this could be related to the time-travel incident? i was not having any of these dreams before that –”
flower makes some sort of faux-laughing sound. “har har har. no, that would be silly. seriously, do not worry about it too much.” and that was that. it would leave her feeling reassured, but only until the next dream rolled around and she flew into work with a feeling eerily close to doubt on her mind. she knows, instinctually that she shouldn’t mention this to anyone else. either they would tell her the same thing, or enroll her into the junior’s ‘htrae is perfect!’ program that all the misbehaving high schoolers had gone into, and gone out of glassy-eyed.
she was a good kid. she had always been. so why were these doubts there? the mess of ideas that’s fighting inside her head. all her life she’s been so used to simplicity, being told exactly everything she ever needed to believe. she stands at her office’s floor to ceiling windows, staring out of them and frowning deep in thought. she let flower do some of her work for now, even if she technically wasn’t supposed to. she just needed this time to watch the dusty gray clouds of dust float by against a stark-white sky, study the masses of concrete and gray and endless tangles of steel beams outside her window, watch the mesmerizing zipping and zooming of planes past hundred and hundreds of neon billboards…
“k-a-i-a,” the voice of her aisisstant calls, "unfamiliar faces detected. unfamiliar –”
it’s too late though, and she’s pulled back suddenly and sharply with a scream, a cloth placed over her whole face.
she wakes up in the dark. that was odd, everything was supposed to be bright, all of the time. white suits, white walls, white planes, white sky. where was she?
her movement must’ve called someone’s attention, because a voice - feminine, it sounded - says happily, “oh, goodie, our time traveller is awake! sorry, we didn’t mean to scare you. now, if you don’t mind telling us about your experience with the past?”
once again kaia feels a stab of panic when she realizes flower isn’t by her side. “and why should i do that?” she asks defensively, eyes adjusting to take in the features of the room. windowless, a circular table in the middle littered with notes and blueprints. and in front of her, the woman that’s speaking to her: tall, sleek straight hair, a notebook in her hands.
“oh, you know, ‘Rebel work’.” kaia thinks she does air quotes, but it’s too dark for her to be a hundred percent certain. “just wanted to confirm a couple of our, hm, theories.”
she’s about to bite back that she hit her head and doesn’t remember anything, when it suddenly occurs to her that she… does.
“yes, we gave you your memory back.” an eyeroll, maybe? “they’re not the only ones that know things, y’know.”
(i didn’t really mean to introduce the group of Rebels, they kinda just happened for the ‘plot’. no, they are not underground, this is not arcane. they work out of like one warehouse on the very first floor of the massive cities, and they’re more of an urban legend than anything. most people think that the government’s wiped them out, but really there’s like six or seven of them actively trying to figure out how they could stand up against like 100000000000% of their population and spread the word that this whole world SUCKS!!)
(author doesn’t write sci-fi)
Last edited by -vanillamochabear- (March 23, 2026 22:33:36)
- VioAquaCat
-
Scratcher
76 posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
˗ˏˋWeekly #3 : Sci-Fi Story´ˎ˗2156/1700
Part One: Sci-Fe Element215/200 words
The Sci-Fi Element in my story is a machine that calculates your brain chemistry to decide what career would suit you best. It takes into account your skills and faults and presents you with which career will fit you. There are about five in the entire world, due to the main power generator being extremely rare. It's a large pink gem, found deep underground in South Sudan, which has slowly become one of the most powerful countries over the past three hundred years.
The five machines are kept in the most prestigious of high schools, and regularly other schools take trips to find out their career. After that, they are expected to take that job.
Companies look for the career the machine chose on the resumes, the job that's chosen dictates a lot of what you can do with your life. It sometimes takes into account how much you would like that job, but the developers decided that was secondary compared to aptitude. Ever since the thing was invented, mental health has declined (slightly) all around the world. However, scientific advancements have increased a ton- to the point where humanity is nearing the point of traveling to the edges of our galaxies and are developing a way to build civilizations on other planets.
Part Two: Sci-Fi Worldbuilding319/300 words
The world’s political situation has changed vastly in the short span of three hundred years. The fall of the USA, Russia, and Japan was startling, quickly making other countries nervous. They began to form alliances and deals with other countries. China made the crazy decision to ally with the struggling country of South Sudan- a choice that made no sense for fifty years, until they showed up with the revolutionary technology of GeoTech- Run by both the South Sudanese and Chinese governments.
GeoTech uses the incredible powerful crystals found in the ground of South Sudan to provide power and other new technological advancements (including brain-scanning) to large machinery. The most famous of these are the CPI - Career Placement Instrument, which boosted scientific and technological advancements greatly, and the Virtual Reality Prison, used to let prisoners have a more ‘normal’ life while kept in captivity.
Most of the world has accepted the merge of South Sudan and China, though at first many were mad at them, due to their conquering of the countries separating them-including but not limited to Egypt, Saudi-Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Though this may seem like an impossible feat, they managed it through the use of weaponized GeoTech. China and South Sudan have joined together and are now called ‘United Zhōngguó-Sudan Republic’ (though more often referred to as Sino-Sudan in informal speech). They have the largest land, due to both their conquering of other countries and the fracturing of Russia.
Though the world has not yet met other intelligent beings in space nor developed a way to live on other planets, they are getting very close to both. They have almost reached another galaxy with GeoTech and are currently developing a way to live on other planets in the Milky Way. They have found hints of potential life in nearby solar systems, though none have been confirmed as of the year 2,378.
Part Three: Cross-World Travel768/600 words
*sh-sh-sh-shiiiiing*
The sound reverberated around the sterile room, echoing off the bare white walls and piercing through the scientist’s and guard’s brains. Charm tried not to flinch at the noise, but she wasn’t sure how well she had succeeded. Especially after the machine shone with an intense burning light. She closed her eyes tightly, and heard some of the other’s clipboards fall to the ground as they tried to block the light.
At last, the light began to fade. It still took Charm’s eyes a minute to adjust, and she could still see a bright after-image. She wouldn't be surprised if it had caused permanent damage.
This isn’t a good idea. She though, her heart beating fast and her eyes watering. She had been against this idea from the start… but the other’s arguments had convinced her. This was their only recourse now.
As soon as her eyes adjusted, she could make out a sharp silhouette in the still-fading light. Charm took a deep breath, preparing her finger on the trigger, lifting her gun up and pointing it at the hazy figure in the center of the room. She could see the other guard’s doing the same.
One of the scientists stepped forward tentatively as the light finally faded completely. The figure was female, sharp dark brown eyes and long hair swept back to hang behind her back. She had heavy-looking platform boots, paired with black jeans and a zip-up crop top. On her face however, she wore a smirk.
Charm shivered. So this was Cross. The most dangerous assassin in history who had toppled governments and destroyed countries.
‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿
Well this was certainly the most… interesting kidnap Cross had been in. She seemed to be in a… Giant glass container? Surrounded by scientists? Oh, and by guards pointing guns at her. Fun.
Cross studied them. They didn't quite look like normal guns- they were made of a shinier, sleeker medal, with glowing neon lights on the sides. They looked like what you would use in Laser Tag.
Cross lifted up her hand- her fingerless leather gloves glinting in the bright light of the clean, white room- and touched the glass in front of her. She knocked hard on it, and saw that a couple of the scientists flinched and the guards tensed. Cross laughed slightly, then turned her to look at the scientist closest to her cage and waited for them to speak.
The scientist cleared their throat. “Hello, Cross. I’m Dr. Zenn. We need your help.”
Cross’s smirk deepened, and she cocked her head. “Is that so…? Well, I do have to say, it was very rude of you to pull me from my dinner.” She turned slowly around the machine that trapped her, examining the room. Everything was a sleek, clean white- the tables, the walls, the equipment- everything. There were twenty five, maybe thirty guards and eight scientists as far as she could tell.
Dr. Zenn didn't respond, keeping his face hard. But Cross could tell he was nervous.
“So how’d you get me here, Z? Which government took me this time?” Cross crouched down, staring at Dr. Zenn at eye-level. She could see the lines on Dr. Zenn’s face tightened, his grip on his clipboard white-knuckled.
“No government found you, Cross. We're simply a secret organization, looking to take down a government.” Dr. Zenn replied, stepping forward to meet Cross head on.
Cross raised an eyebrow. “Ah… Which?” She replied coolly. Admittedly, this was slightly frightening. How had she just… appeared here? Had someone finally developed teleportation? Cross couldn’t begin to guess which country could’ve already achieved that in the year of 26.
In addition, she didn't have access to her usual weapons, nor did she know anything about what was going on.
“We would like to destabilize the United Zhōngguó-Sudan Republic’s government.” Dr. Zenn replied.
Cross paused. She didn't move. She… wasn't aware that existed? She glanced around at the other people in the room, studying their expressions. They all seemed… scared, curious maybe. Waiting to see how she’d react?
It was only then Cross took into account their appearances. Some of them seemed to have metallic arms- one of the guards had a metal eye with a neon pink iris she had missed earlier. The guns looked sleek, geometric, and made of a material Cross didn't recognize.
Her eyes flicked back to Dr. Zenn- who had the hint of a smile on his face. Something dawned on Cross then. “…What year is it?”
Now Dr. Zenn actually smiled. “It’s the year twenty-five seventy-three, Cross. And we would like your help.”
Part Four: Sci-Fi Story854/600 words
“I’m not ready for this.” I whispered frantically to Fract, as the line got steadily shorter and they got closer and closer to the CPI.
“Glint, breathe.” Fract said, putting hand comfortingly on my shoulder. “It’s not a big deal, it's just our career.”
“Just our career?” I asked, voice shrill but still low. “It’s what we will do for the rest of our lives! After we get in, there's no going back! What if I get truck driver? Or telemarketer? I don’t think I could live my life doing something like that.” I tugged sharply on my pocket zipper, starting to fray the dusty white fabric.
“Girl, you’re like one of the smartest students in our class. There’s no way you would be wasted as a truck driver.” Fract’s voice was low and sultry- like dark syrup. I nodded, my throat constricted. The entire room was filled with the nervous and excited chattering of hundreds of students.
“Well, um, anyway,” I said, pulling my arm away from Fract. “What do you wanna get?”
Fract’s cherry red lips pursed. “I’m fine with anything that pays well.”
I waited for her to elaborate, but she didn't. I stared for a moment, before turning to look at the line.
The student in front of me was getting into the CPI. It looked like a large glass cylinder-chamber, with a black top and lid with cords coming out from the top and plugging into the ceiling. Geometric lines scaled up the sides, wrapping around the glass walls. The lines were clear cords - filled with the liquid GeoTech in bright blues and pinks. Inside, there was a little white stool the student sat on.
I’m next. The realisation hit me like a brick, and could barely contain myself- I was too excited. And nervous.
After about five minutes, the screen next to the machine lit up. Everybody got quiet, waiting to see what the student’s results would be. “”
“” The student inside blinked, then jumped up out of the stool, grinning wildly. The door opened and he hopped out, rushing over to his friends. I cheered with the rest of the room, while internally panicking inside… it was now my next.
I stepped up with shaking legs. I reached out to grab the black handle on the door, my heart racing. This was it. The cheering was still going on, loud and bright. I had never told Fract what I wanted to be. I couldn’t. She would think it was impossible for a small town girl like me to become a scientist for the Sino-Sudan Government. But I could do it- unless this machine said otherwise.
A sharp yell caught my attention, making me freeze. Was that screaming? I turned around, and I pressed myself against the cold glass wall. There was a large disturbance at the back of the crowd… people running? Running away from something by the wall I couldn’t see. The screaming grew more frantic, people scattering everywhere. That was when I smelled smoke.
…Fire? Fire? I couldn’t move. Couldn’t process. Wh-what? A tugging on my arm finally snapped me out of my daze, and I turned to see Fract franctically pulling me to get off the stand, her face sweaty and panicked. I let her drag me in a daze, fear slowly climbing up my thorat.
This… I wouldn’t get a chance to use the CPI would I? I realised that this wasn’t my biggest concern, and yet… It was the only though I had as Fract tried to guide me through the pushing and shoving and screaming crowd. She was struggling- I wasn’t helping at all. I was just standing numbly. I lost my chance.
“Glint, I can’t drag you along! I need you to run yourself!” Fract coughed, panic in her eyes. I blinked, finally realising what was going on. They were in danger. I snapped to my senses, and started running myself. Fract sighed in relief, and I could see tears starting to form in her eyes.
We neared the exit doors. I took one last look at the room. Smoke clouded the ceiling, and I could see the terrifying lick of flames starting to take over the back wall. Most of the students had evacuated- Fract and I were some of the last. The flames spread quickly, and fear started to come over me- much later than it should have. Fract and I frantically tried to push our ways through the doors, but there were too many people. The heat of the fire was filling the room.
I looked back again, and I saw a tall figure walking forward out of the flames. Calmly. They had knee-high black boots and a jacket with a cross on the front. Their hair was down behind them, somehow not catching fire. They held a quarter staff in one hand, and a small match in the other.
I recognized them immediately from school.
Cross.
The most dangerous assassin to ever live- and they were alive five hundred years ago.
They stared right at me. Smilng.
- FairyAyla
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
Daily 23
Lydia Anne Jennifer Andromeda Supernova’s parents had died for unknown reasons when she was a baby, but other than that, she was just a sweet, prim, proper, exceptionally perfect, normal girl… until her teacher, Diana Morgan, tells that she was actually was the Princess from a magically world, Mccora, and was the chosen one, and that it was her destiny to save it, from the even Darkness McLord, who killed her parents and took over! Her teacher, Diana Morgan, who turns out to be the advisor of the former King Golder and Queen Melane (who are Lydia’s dead parents), and not actually named Diana Morgan, becomes her mentor, teaching her how to defeat evil, and save the planet from Darkness McLord, so she claim her rightful throne. She also enrolls in the magical school in the magic land Mccora (since there’s only one school in the entire place), and makes friends with Joanne Johnson and Henry Hendrichson, who are in her class. She also meets Pierre Lavene Jeffery Darksoul, aka, the most handsome mysterious beautiful boy ever! But it turns out that Pierre’s mysteriousness isn’t just because he’s cute like that, because Lydia finds out that he’s sneaking out to somewhere! Could Pierre be working for Darkness McLord? Lydia decides to confront him about it, even though Joanne thinks it’s a bad idea. It turns out that Pierre WAS working for Darkness McLord, but when Darkness McLord told him to capture Lydia and bring her to him, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He also reveals that he’s a vampire, so even though he loves her, they shouldn’t be together because of that. Lydia is distraught, and Joanne’s “I told you so”s aren’t helping. Lydia then finds out that Josh Goodheart, the cute shy boy from her class, is actually in love with her! She now must decide between bad boy Pierre, who is a vampire, and broody about it, but is sooooooo handsome, and Josh, who is kind and sweet, and pretty cute, if not a tad dull, as well as save the world from Darkness McLord, who is surely plotting something terrible. Can Lydia save the world from a terrible evil, fix the world and make a very difficult romance decision?
375 words
Chosen one? Evil twin? Orphaned before the first sentence? Today, pack as many clichés and stereotypes as you can into a single story. Love triangles, dramatic monologues, sudden storms, or wise mentors—embrace them all. Make it predictably chaotic and have fun twisting every trope. For 500 points (plus 100 for sharing proof!), write at least 300 words.
Lydia Anne Jennifer Andromeda Supernova’s parents had died for unknown reasons when she was a baby, but other than that, she was just a sweet, prim, proper, exceptionally perfect, normal girl… until her teacher, Diana Morgan, tells that she was actually was the Princess from a magically world, Mccora, and was the chosen one, and that it was her destiny to save it, from the even Darkness McLord, who killed her parents and took over! Her teacher, Diana Morgan, who turns out to be the advisor of the former King Golder and Queen Melane (who are Lydia’s dead parents), and not actually named Diana Morgan, becomes her mentor, teaching her how to defeat evil, and save the planet from Darkness McLord, so she claim her rightful throne. She also enrolls in the magical school in the magic land Mccora (since there’s only one school in the entire place), and makes friends with Joanne Johnson and Henry Hendrichson, who are in her class. She also meets Pierre Lavene Jeffery Darksoul, aka, the most handsome mysterious beautiful boy ever! But it turns out that Pierre’s mysteriousness isn’t just because he’s cute like that, because Lydia finds out that he’s sneaking out to somewhere! Could Pierre be working for Darkness McLord? Lydia decides to confront him about it, even though Joanne thinks it’s a bad idea. It turns out that Pierre WAS working for Darkness McLord, but when Darkness McLord told him to capture Lydia and bring her to him, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He also reveals that he’s a vampire, so even though he loves her, they shouldn’t be together because of that. Lydia is distraught, and Joanne’s “I told you so”s aren’t helping. Lydia then finds out that Josh Goodheart, the cute shy boy from her class, is actually in love with her! She now must decide between bad boy Pierre, who is a vampire, and broody about it, but is sooooooo handsome, and Josh, who is kind and sweet, and pretty cute, if not a tad dull, as well as save the world from Darkness McLord, who is surely plotting something terrible. Can Lydia save the world from a terrible evil, fix the world and make a very difficult romance decision?
375 words
Last edited by FairyAyla (March 23, 2026 22:45:45)
- unercornshine
-
Scratcher
500+ posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
If anything, I did not expect to be sat outside my “boyfriends” huuuge mansion wearing a floor length super expensive body con soaked in wine and draped with one of his embroidered super posh towels, but, here I am.
Wait wait, let me rewind a little.
I had just transferred to my new school after moving out from our old house when my mum decided to move in with her new (extremely annoying and stinky) boyfriend and I was forced to come along. I was always pretty much a nerd but It didn't stick out as much in my old school where we were al a little weird but as soon as I stepped into the corridors of my new school I knew I didn't belong. Everyone was wearing trendy expensive clothing and stuff but I was literally wearing the first things I could grab from my clauset. Suddenly everyone in the corridor patted ways for a group of boys and girls the girls faces covered in think layers of makeup and the boys looking big and mean.
I had dropped my books in the middle of the hallway and whenbi awkwardly bent down to pick it up the girl bumped into me, powder exploding everywhere. She snarled at me making a public announcement of our enmicy even though u just met her. A guy was smirking in the corner. When the group went past he helped me pick my books and told me to meet him at lunch or else.
He told me at lunch that I was actually kinda pretty and cute and with the right glow up I can be his fake girlfriend to make his ex, the girl who bumped into me, jealous.
At first I disagreed but then he began to threaten me and my happiness so i agreed and we became the renown couple of the school. The mean girl who bumped into me, his ex, aka chloe, was constantly competing with is picking up new bfs everyday and she was trying make my life hell but Jake, the fake bf wouldn't let that happen.
As we became closer I found put he had so much depth to him besides being rich and popular. I started to fall inpve with him but I knew it was hopeless bcs he loved chloe.
One time he took me to a party at his house and chloe was there and she spilt wine all over me on purpose and jake crashed out for me and now.. back to the present.
We're sat outside his mansion and all of a sudden he confesses. Like… really. I was flabbergasted. I told him I would love to be his fr bf and the best partwl was chloe being for him back but he was officially mine now hahaha. We married and had 6 kids.they were all jake jr. The end..
PS: Ik this is cringe and super rushed with jo grammar but yh a rllllly rushed it.
497 wors
Wait wait, let me rewind a little.
I had just transferred to my new school after moving out from our old house when my mum decided to move in with her new (extremely annoying and stinky) boyfriend and I was forced to come along. I was always pretty much a nerd but It didn't stick out as much in my old school where we were al a little weird but as soon as I stepped into the corridors of my new school I knew I didn't belong. Everyone was wearing trendy expensive clothing and stuff but I was literally wearing the first things I could grab from my clauset. Suddenly everyone in the corridor patted ways for a group of boys and girls the girls faces covered in think layers of makeup and the boys looking big and mean.
I had dropped my books in the middle of the hallway and whenbi awkwardly bent down to pick it up the girl bumped into me, powder exploding everywhere. She snarled at me making a public announcement of our enmicy even though u just met her. A guy was smirking in the corner. When the group went past he helped me pick my books and told me to meet him at lunch or else.
He told me at lunch that I was actually kinda pretty and cute and with the right glow up I can be his fake girlfriend to make his ex, the girl who bumped into me, jealous.
At first I disagreed but then he began to threaten me and my happiness so i agreed and we became the renown couple of the school. The mean girl who bumped into me, his ex, aka chloe, was constantly competing with is picking up new bfs everyday and she was trying make my life hell but Jake, the fake bf wouldn't let that happen.
As we became closer I found put he had so much depth to him besides being rich and popular. I started to fall inpve with him but I knew it was hopeless bcs he loved chloe.
One time he took me to a party at his house and chloe was there and she spilt wine all over me on purpose and jake crashed out for me and now.. back to the present.
We're sat outside his mansion and all of a sudden he confesses. Like… really. I was flabbergasted. I told him I would love to be his fr bf and the best partwl was chloe being for him back but he was officially mine now hahaha. We married and had 6 kids.they were all jake jr. The end..
PS: Ik this is cringe and super rushed with jo grammar but yh a rllllly rushed it.
497 wors
Last edited by unercornshine (March 23, 2026 22:58:42)
- ChueyTheCat
-
Scratcher
500+ posts
SWC Megathread ࿔*:ଳ･ March 2026
sci-fi weekly || 1915 words
The D-rifts, so named for their notable capabilities, are somewhat like the high-tech version of paintball, except they don’t fire paintballs. So actually, they’re nothing like paintball, save for the concept of firing something that’s not a bullet. The D in D-rifts is short for Dimension; what this piece of tech shoots are portals to other realities. The device can be keyed to various dimensions (including ones banned from public use), and when fired, it releases a pulsing ball of light that expands into a portal. Access to these is highly restricted, as the ability to hop dimensions freely isn’t given to just anyone — special permits are required to own one, and they can only be used in authorized areas, as opening a portal can have strange and unpredictable side effects on the surrounding area. Despite their limited availability, D-rifts are extremely practical in theory, allowing for portable paths into alternate dimensions without having to go through the hassle of public portals. However, this technology is still relatively new and has only been around for about a decade in the current timeline, which includes development time. The real challenge was compressing the portal function into such a small device without destabilizing it — in the end, using a D-rift is still significantly riskier than a public portal, and more prone to malfunctioning, which is another part of the reason they’re so heavily restricted.
D-rifts are mostly used by the Peacekeepers, which are a specialized group that center around keeping the various realities in check. This includes things like ensuring that monsters from other realities don’t try to conquer the defenseless humans from another realm, or the more technologically advanced societies don’t try to drain energy from other dimensions to power things (usually big things that go boom). However, there’s an increasing sentiment among the general public that this technology should be made available to everyone, and the multiverse shouldn’t be as heavily regulated as it is. D-rifts would make it so much easier to travel between dimensions, which is precisely the reason the government isn’t willing to let them be distributed at large. Once they’re in public circulation, anyone could get their hands on one, and without the restrictions of public portals, who knows what kind of havoc might follow? Letting just anyone wander the multiverse, unrestrained, has potential for disaster. It would also make it more difficult for the Peacekeepers to enforce laws, as escaping is easy when you have a D-rift to construct a quick, temporary portal to run through. The public, on the other hand, feels that their opinions and wants are being ignored. There’s been frustration over public portals for years — there aren’t enough to supply the demand, although more are being constructed, and many are out of date or are keyed to limited dimensions, meaning people often have to travel out of their way to get access to the right reality, and lines are a nightmare. D-rifts would solve this dilemma by having both wider access and a portable aspect, which would be a major improvement on the current situation. Public portals are also known for breaking down and needing maintenance, although D-rifts aren’t necessarily any safer — they also malfunction, for different reasons, but unlike public portals, there are fewer safety measures in place. A public portal breaking down might mean you can’t make it home in time for dinner, but a D-rift not working could potentially lead to being stranded between dimensions, or worse.
Golden fiddled with the settings of her D-rift, trying to key it to the reality she wanted. She’d gotten a notification that a Lethi had broken the pact by entering an off-limits reality with a homemade portal — two separate infractions that needed to be dealt with. She scraped her hair into a ponytail, leveling the device at midair and firing it. A twisting ball of pink and teal floated out, expanding quickly into a portal. She’d never traveled to this dimension before, as it wasn’t one people were supposed to be traveling to. Which was what made this whole thing so annoying. If people would just listen and stay where they were supposed to, she wouldn’t have to go drag them from other dimensions. What a bother.
She stepped through the portal, readying her enhancers. Good thing she’d charged them the night before, or this would have been a lot harder.
The reality she emerged into was, surprisingly, not too different from her home world, or even Waypoint. It appeared to be a fairly standard dimension, if a bit bland; the buildings here were gray and bleak, and rain slicked the ground in greasy puddles. She spotted the Lethi right away — the creature’s dull purple scales were unmistakable, not to mention the fact that it was messing with gravity. The building it was next to had been flipped upside, and judging from the noises she heard, the people inside were panicking at this sudden turn of events. Golden allowed herself a small smirk at the pun before dashing forwards.
The Lethi roared as she knocked it back, and started spouting something about not having violated the pact as it crashed through the building. Which was ridiculous. He was literally in an off-limits dimension, and he had built a homemade portal, which was extremely dangerous on its own. She sighed, directing her enhancements to land in the remains of the building, which was now sideways. Raising the D-rift, she fired a portal at the Lethi before he could dodge, cutting off his protests. That taken care of, she prepared to leave again. She’d have a wiper come by later and put things to rights, since judging from the reactions occurring around her, this was an uncontacted reality. This dimension didn’t look to be very technologically advanced yet, although they were getting there — give it a few centuries, and they’d probably be deemed worthy to take part in the Collective.
She caught sight of a human man crumpled against the wall, and oh, Gauntlets, he had a scratch on his arm. He’d been caught by Lethi talons, and the venom on those worked fast. Cursing to herself, she crossed the room, crouching to inspect his arm.
He started asking questions, but she ignored him, contacting her boss back at Waypoint. “Have a victim here. Going to need medical care.”
“It’s just a scratch,” the guy said, looking worried. He looked to be about half her age, maybe in his early twenties, and already had the creases of someone who didn’t get enough vacation time. Poor kid. She picked him up, flaring her enhancers as she slung him over her shoulder and fired the D-rift again, opening a portal back to Waypoint. Waypoint was the intersection of all dimensions, the place where all the realities overlapped. It was a little strange, even by her standards, and she literally lived there. But it had the kind of medical care she needed to treat the man’s injury, and plus, she could find someone else to deal with him once she was there. Golden didn’t have time to fuss over him; he could be someone else’s problem once she dropped him off.
The guy’s voice took on a new tone of panic, but she was absolutely positive he didn’t want to unalive by Lethi talons. She stepped through the portal, and it winked out behind her.
Golden left the healing center after dropping the guy off, relieved to have that done. He had looked like he was having a full-on meltdown as she left, but she couldn’t be bothered by that. He would adjust quickly, and anyways, the wipers would ensure he didn’t remember any of this after he got fixed up. They’d return him to his home dimension, where he could live out the rest of his boring days in peace. Golden had low opinions of uncontacted dimensions. They tended to be rather primitive, or fundamentally broken in some way. The one she’d entered hadn’t looked broken, at least at first glance, which meant it must just be backwards. It wasn’t worthy of the Collective’s attention, not yet.
She scanned her wrist as she entered the Peacekeeper headquarters, waiting for the automated chime before the doors slid open. She didn’t even bother taking the lift to the top floor; she engaged her boosts, floating straight up through the building. It was designed with Peacekeepers in mind, so not only did she not run into any ceilings, she only got a few glances. Everyone in this building could, hypothetically, float everywhere they wanted to go. But for some silly reason, a lot of people seemed to think that was showing off, or abusing their privileges, or some garbage like that. They had the technology at their fingertips. Why not use it? Golden, for one, was not going to let the ethical concerns over using boosts whenever she wanted trap her in the line for the lift, which was ridiculously long at this time of day.
Her boss looked up as she entered his office, sitting back. His desk flashed gently, and she noted with satisfaction that it was using boosts to hover in midair. See? It was just tech, and tech was meant to be used.
She didn’t bother to sit. “Lethi made a homemade portal and used it to access a forbidden dimension. The reality was not in the Collective and they did not appear to be technologically advanced enough to deal with the invasion. There was a human victim who was accidentally caught by Lethi talons; he’s currently in medical care, and I’ll call the wipers when he’s cleared to go home.”
Her boss leaned back further, clasping his hands behind his head. “It’s good you’re here,” he said. “I have something else I want to talk to you about.”
Golden was fairly sure she knew what this conversation would be about, and she wasn’t happy about it. Briefly, she considered using the D-rift to create a portal and escape before he could continue. But not only would that be unprofessional of her, it wouldn’t take him long to catch up. He’d literally helped invent the things.
“As you know, I’ve encouraged you for quite some time to take on a… protege of sorts,” he said, fiddling with a lightpen. “The Peacekeepers thrive on new blood, yet one of our most influential members has yet to pass on her formidable talents.”
They’d had this conversation before, and the answer was always no. She didn’t have time to drag some kid around, trying to teach them to use technology that was far beyond their capabilities. Golden almost turned to go, but he held up a hand. “I know, I know. You’re Golden. You don’t have time. You never have time.” He twirled the pen pensively, tilting his head. “But it’s also about time we started recruiting more dimensions into the Collective, and while that doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the Peacekeepers, we are the closest link many realities have to each other. The bridge spanning the gap.” He gestured to the D-rift she’d laid on his desk. “That being said, the reality you were just in is one we have on our lists. What I’m about to say will shock you, I’m sure, but I assure you this is not some random scheme.”
He laid the pen down on the desk, leaning forward and meeting her eyes.
“How would you feel about training the young man you saved this afternoon?”
The D-rifts, so named for their notable capabilities, are somewhat like the high-tech version of paintball, except they don’t fire paintballs. So actually, they’re nothing like paintball, save for the concept of firing something that’s not a bullet. The D in D-rifts is short for Dimension; what this piece of tech shoots are portals to other realities. The device can be keyed to various dimensions (including ones banned from public use), and when fired, it releases a pulsing ball of light that expands into a portal. Access to these is highly restricted, as the ability to hop dimensions freely isn’t given to just anyone — special permits are required to own one, and they can only be used in authorized areas, as opening a portal can have strange and unpredictable side effects on the surrounding area. Despite their limited availability, D-rifts are extremely practical in theory, allowing for portable paths into alternate dimensions without having to go through the hassle of public portals. However, this technology is still relatively new and has only been around for about a decade in the current timeline, which includes development time. The real challenge was compressing the portal function into such a small device without destabilizing it — in the end, using a D-rift is still significantly riskier than a public portal, and more prone to malfunctioning, which is another part of the reason they’re so heavily restricted.
D-rifts are mostly used by the Peacekeepers, which are a specialized group that center around keeping the various realities in check. This includes things like ensuring that monsters from other realities don’t try to conquer the defenseless humans from another realm, or the more technologically advanced societies don’t try to drain energy from other dimensions to power things (usually big things that go boom). However, there’s an increasing sentiment among the general public that this technology should be made available to everyone, and the multiverse shouldn’t be as heavily regulated as it is. D-rifts would make it so much easier to travel between dimensions, which is precisely the reason the government isn’t willing to let them be distributed at large. Once they’re in public circulation, anyone could get their hands on one, and without the restrictions of public portals, who knows what kind of havoc might follow? Letting just anyone wander the multiverse, unrestrained, has potential for disaster. It would also make it more difficult for the Peacekeepers to enforce laws, as escaping is easy when you have a D-rift to construct a quick, temporary portal to run through. The public, on the other hand, feels that their opinions and wants are being ignored. There’s been frustration over public portals for years — there aren’t enough to supply the demand, although more are being constructed, and many are out of date or are keyed to limited dimensions, meaning people often have to travel out of their way to get access to the right reality, and lines are a nightmare. D-rifts would solve this dilemma by having both wider access and a portable aspect, which would be a major improvement on the current situation. Public portals are also known for breaking down and needing maintenance, although D-rifts aren’t necessarily any safer — they also malfunction, for different reasons, but unlike public portals, there are fewer safety measures in place. A public portal breaking down might mean you can’t make it home in time for dinner, but a D-rift not working could potentially lead to being stranded between dimensions, or worse.
Golden fiddled with the settings of her D-rift, trying to key it to the reality she wanted. She’d gotten a notification that a Lethi had broken the pact by entering an off-limits reality with a homemade portal — two separate infractions that needed to be dealt with. She scraped her hair into a ponytail, leveling the device at midair and firing it. A twisting ball of pink and teal floated out, expanding quickly into a portal. She’d never traveled to this dimension before, as it wasn’t one people were supposed to be traveling to. Which was what made this whole thing so annoying. If people would just listen and stay where they were supposed to, she wouldn’t have to go drag them from other dimensions. What a bother.
She stepped through the portal, readying her enhancers. Good thing she’d charged them the night before, or this would have been a lot harder.
The reality she emerged into was, surprisingly, not too different from her home world, or even Waypoint. It appeared to be a fairly standard dimension, if a bit bland; the buildings here were gray and bleak, and rain slicked the ground in greasy puddles. She spotted the Lethi right away — the creature’s dull purple scales were unmistakable, not to mention the fact that it was messing with gravity. The building it was next to had been flipped upside, and judging from the noises she heard, the people inside were panicking at this sudden turn of events. Golden allowed herself a small smirk at the pun before dashing forwards.
The Lethi roared as she knocked it back, and started spouting something about not having violated the pact as it crashed through the building. Which was ridiculous. He was literally in an off-limits dimension, and he had built a homemade portal, which was extremely dangerous on its own. She sighed, directing her enhancements to land in the remains of the building, which was now sideways. Raising the D-rift, she fired a portal at the Lethi before he could dodge, cutting off his protests. That taken care of, she prepared to leave again. She’d have a wiper come by later and put things to rights, since judging from the reactions occurring around her, this was an uncontacted reality. This dimension didn’t look to be very technologically advanced yet, although they were getting there — give it a few centuries, and they’d probably be deemed worthy to take part in the Collective.
She caught sight of a human man crumpled against the wall, and oh, Gauntlets, he had a scratch on his arm. He’d been caught by Lethi talons, and the venom on those worked fast. Cursing to herself, she crossed the room, crouching to inspect his arm.
He started asking questions, but she ignored him, contacting her boss back at Waypoint. “Have a victim here. Going to need medical care.”
“It’s just a scratch,” the guy said, looking worried. He looked to be about half her age, maybe in his early twenties, and already had the creases of someone who didn’t get enough vacation time. Poor kid. She picked him up, flaring her enhancers as she slung him over her shoulder and fired the D-rift again, opening a portal back to Waypoint. Waypoint was the intersection of all dimensions, the place where all the realities overlapped. It was a little strange, even by her standards, and she literally lived there. But it had the kind of medical care she needed to treat the man’s injury, and plus, she could find someone else to deal with him once she was there. Golden didn’t have time to fuss over him; he could be someone else’s problem once she dropped him off.
The guy’s voice took on a new tone of panic, but she was absolutely positive he didn’t want to unalive by Lethi talons. She stepped through the portal, and it winked out behind her.
Golden left the healing center after dropping the guy off, relieved to have that done. He had looked like he was having a full-on meltdown as she left, but she couldn’t be bothered by that. He would adjust quickly, and anyways, the wipers would ensure he didn’t remember any of this after he got fixed up. They’d return him to his home dimension, where he could live out the rest of his boring days in peace. Golden had low opinions of uncontacted dimensions. They tended to be rather primitive, or fundamentally broken in some way. The one she’d entered hadn’t looked broken, at least at first glance, which meant it must just be backwards. It wasn’t worthy of the Collective’s attention, not yet.
She scanned her wrist as she entered the Peacekeeper headquarters, waiting for the automated chime before the doors slid open. She didn’t even bother taking the lift to the top floor; she engaged her boosts, floating straight up through the building. It was designed with Peacekeepers in mind, so not only did she not run into any ceilings, she only got a few glances. Everyone in this building could, hypothetically, float everywhere they wanted to go. But for some silly reason, a lot of people seemed to think that was showing off, or abusing their privileges, or some garbage like that. They had the technology at their fingertips. Why not use it? Golden, for one, was not going to let the ethical concerns over using boosts whenever she wanted trap her in the line for the lift, which was ridiculously long at this time of day.
Her boss looked up as she entered his office, sitting back. His desk flashed gently, and she noted with satisfaction that it was using boosts to hover in midair. See? It was just tech, and tech was meant to be used.
She didn’t bother to sit. “Lethi made a homemade portal and used it to access a forbidden dimension. The reality was not in the Collective and they did not appear to be technologically advanced enough to deal with the invasion. There was a human victim who was accidentally caught by Lethi talons; he’s currently in medical care, and I’ll call the wipers when he’s cleared to go home.”
Her boss leaned back further, clasping his hands behind his head. “It’s good you’re here,” he said. “I have something else I want to talk to you about.”
Golden was fairly sure she knew what this conversation would be about, and she wasn’t happy about it. Briefly, she considered using the D-rift to create a portal and escape before he could continue. But not only would that be unprofessional of her, it wouldn’t take him long to catch up. He’d literally helped invent the things.
“As you know, I’ve encouraged you for quite some time to take on a… protege of sorts,” he said, fiddling with a lightpen. “The Peacekeepers thrive on new blood, yet one of our most influential members has yet to pass on her formidable talents.”
They’d had this conversation before, and the answer was always no. She didn’t have time to drag some kid around, trying to teach them to use technology that was far beyond their capabilities. Golden almost turned to go, but he held up a hand. “I know, I know. You’re Golden. You don’t have time. You never have time.” He twirled the pen pensively, tilting his head. “But it’s also about time we started recruiting more dimensions into the Collective, and while that doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the Peacekeepers, we are the closest link many realities have to each other. The bridge spanning the gap.” He gestured to the D-rift she’d laid on his desk. “That being said, the reality you were just in is one we have on our lists. What I’m about to say will shock you, I’m sure, but I assure you this is not some random scheme.”
He laid the pen down on the desk, leaning forward and meeting her eyes.
“How would you feel about training the young man you saved this afternoon?”
Last edited by ChueyTheCat (March 23, 2026 23:05:11)