Hello ya'll!:

I'm Skit. I use she/her pronouns, and I'm a Christian. I have been working as a dishwasher at my town's local restaurant for the past two and a half-ish years. It's my first job and so far my only job. Unless you count working on the prep table on Saturdays in the summer at the same restaurant a different job, then I guess you could say I've had two jobs. Otherwise, I just count it as one.

Alright, enough about work. Let's get onto the fun stuff! (Be prepared, because I can rant when I want to rant. This is the perfect opportunity!)

First and foremost!:

This is my very first SWC session! I'm super hyped! I signed up in very early February and I've been enjoying it ever since! Yes, ever since the off season. Everyone is so kind and helpful and no one minds the bombardment of questions I have, whether related to or completely off topic from SWC. I love this community! I'm in Dystopian (Dystopian For The Win!) and I can't wait to get to know everyone better. I plan to write and update my word count as much as I can this session. If I do that, I think this will be the most I've ever written in a month. This session has barely started, so I have plenty of time. Let's see how far I can get!

Hobbies!:

Books! Reading! Authors! Let's talk! To be honest, I think I've read/started more book series than I have standalone books. Like, I've read The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson, Beyonders by Brandon Mull, The Five Kingdoms also by Mull, I've started Fablehaven ALSO by Mull (I'm trying to read it, I just keep getting distracted with other things), I'm three books into Keeper of the Lost Cities (I know, I am SO behind), and a bunch more I can't remember because I've only read the first book and never finished the series. As for standalone books, I can't think of any because it's been so long, unless you count The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson. But it ends off in a cliffhanger, which implies there should be a sequel… Hehe, I just looked up if the author was ever going to make a second book. It said yes and I was so happy! And then I read more. It said it's probably not going to come out anytime in the near future, and my heart was shattered. But anyways, The Rithmatist. It's good and clean and funny. It's kinda brutal in some spots, but that's about the worst it gets. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!!! Go read The Rithmatist!

Writing! As much as I like writing, I actually only have one finished piece (I'm not counting the prompts in my “Writing Prompts 1” project). That one finished piece is actually from a long time ago. Maybe around ten to twelve years ago. Here's a short summary of that story: A boy and his brothers accidentally wake up the faceless snowman from his eternal slumber. The snowman then starts destroying the town and the kids have to put him back to sleep so that the destruction can stop. It was a brutal ten pages, including injuries and death. I wrote that when I was young. I have not changed a single bit. So glad I was homeschooled, because that would NOT have sat with normal school. As for any other writings, they are all incomplete and most of them I have probably decided to abandon. I hope the same doesn't happen to the murder mystery I've been trying to work on recently.

Cooking! Well, it's not exactly a hobby because I don't get to do it whenever I want. It's kind of more a scheduled thing. And no, I'm not talking about the convenience “boil and mix” boxed Mac and Cheese. I'm talking about cookbooks and trying new recipes! I'm talking about making things from scratch! I'm talking about throwing things together on a whim because we don't have all the ingredients for what dinner was supposed to be (that did actually happen once, and it turned out to be a huge hit)! I just don't get to do it as often because of time, money, and my brothers aren't very adventurous in trying new foods, while I, on the other hand… Let's say I can be a little too adventurous trying new foods. And with that note: Skit's Crazy Food Concoctions! I only have three, so this shouldn't take long. The first one was from years ago. Maybe a year or two after my faceless snowman story. I made Chicken Noodle Pea French Fry Soup. And by that, I mean I added French Fries to my chicken noodle soup that had peas in it, made by either my mom or my grandma. I thought it was actually really good. I haven't had it since. The second one I made in January this year. Peanut Butter Ricotta Cheese Sandwich. It was eh. I don't think I'll have it again. The last one was just a couple weeks ago, in February. It was a salad. Contents: Spinach, deli turkey, red onion, yellow onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, mushrooms, olives, and pineapple (I don't remember if I put honey in it). The salad was just fine until I put the pineapple in it. THE MUSHROOMS, OLIVES, AND PINEAPPLE DID NOT CLASH WELL! IT WAS THE WORST THING I HAD EVER EATEN! WHAT KIND OF DEMON POSSESSED ME TO MAKE SUCH AN ABOMINATION?! I ADVISE, DO NOT PUT THOSE THREE FOODS IN THE SAME BOWL!

How did I have more to say about cooking than books or writing? Anyways, moving on.

Other random facts and stuffs!:

I'm sorry, but I hate baking with a passion. I leave any and all baking projects to my mom and brothers. If they ask me to help, I will reluctantly help, otherwise stall. I don't like the whisking or the decorating or whatever else you do in baking. I like the chopping, simmering, sizzling, and whatever else you do in cooking. I'm sorry, but I just prefer savory over sweet.

Coffee! And my hate/love relationship with coffee creamer. But I kind of don't want to rant about this in my 1k intro. I want it to have its own separate little place.

I don't play video game a lot. I play Stardew Valley… And that's about it. And I guess Red Dead Redemption when my dad allows me and my brothers to play, which has been twice so far. Huge contrast in game-play and story, I know.

I nearly died once. Threw you off there, did I? Well, it did actually happen. That was about three and a half-ish years ago. I have been wanting to write the story ever since, but I haven't had the strength in my heart to do so. It was scary and almost killed me. But now since you're probably curious as to what happened to me, I will give you the extremely short version: I nearly fell off a cliff, but God saved my life. Told you it was the extremely short version.

Quicker, simpler random facts and stuffs!:

I live in PST, I like 60's - 00's rock music, though 80's is my favorite, I can kind of play guitar, I've been wanting to get into drums lately, I can do some card tricks, in general I can't pick a favorite food, but I do really like the hashbrowns and gravy at the restaurant I work at, I'm going to a one year Bible college this fall, I'm a decent swimmer, but I have been totally uninterested in swimming these past few years, I would rather learn how to ride a horse than learn how to drive a car, but in this day and age, that would be extremely inconvenient, and hiking because yes.

Conclusion!:

Well, I don't know what else to say about myself. I think I've hit all the major big things about me. This was somewhat hard, but it was really fun! This is my 1k intro, and I'm ready for the rest of March!

1,367 words

Siblings Wolf, Fox, Bear, and Raven stood by the cage, waiting for the rest of the cages to be unloaded. The Wildlife Rescue Center had saved hundreds of forest animals from the recent storm. Many from the nearby town had come to help, including these four kids. It had taken days, even weeks to nurse the animals back to health, but the effort was well worth it. Today, the animals were being released back into the wild.
The cage the kids stood by held a fawn they had grown attached to and nicknamed “Bambi”, after the deer from the movie. The little fawn was stamping it's hooves and bleating, anxious to get out.
Wolf, Fox, and Bear were talking excitedly. They couldn't wait for Bambi to go back to his home in the forest. Raven, the youngest of the four, on the other hand. hadn't said a word. Wolf noticed.
“Hey, Raven. Are you okay?” Wolf asked.
“Yeah, I'm fine.” Raven whispered.
Fox scrunched an eyebrow, “Now that Wolf mentioned it, you have been awfully quiet. You haven't said a word since we left the house.”
Raven shrugged, “I don't have anything to say.”
This time, Bear spoke up, “You know, Raven, I thought you would've been the most excited out of all of us for this moment. You love animals more than anyone I know! So what's wrong?”
There was a moment of silence, and a tear slid down Raven's cheek. Finally she spoke, “I don't want to say goodbye to Bambi.”
The three older siblings looked at each other with realization. They hugged their younger sister.
“Raven, we've been over this,” Wolf started, “We can't keep Bambi. He belongs here, in the forest. This is his home.”
“I know,” Raven said, “I just don't want to lose him. I don't want him to get hurt again.”
“None of us wants him to get hurt,” Bear said, “But that's just nature, unfortunately.”
Raven's eyes dropped to her feet, and her siblings hugged her tighter.
After a moment, Fox spoke up again, “How about this. Since we're so close, we can ask Mom to drive us out here on the weekends, or we could take a hike. We probably won't see Bambi again after today, but if we visit, who knows. Maybe Bambi will see us. How does that sound?”
Raven looked up to her older sister and nodded, “I'd like that.”
Suddenly, the kids heard a voice from nearby. One of the volunteers at the center was talking.
“I think they're going to release the animals soon,” Wolf noted, “Would you like to watch, Raven?”
Raven looked up to her older brother and again nodded, “Yes. I'd like that very much.”

452 words

Word War vs. @-SimplyWatermelon-

“How long have you been watching me?” Ella asked as she followed Bob down the long hallway.
“A long time.” Bob said.
“Okay, yeah, I figured that, but how long EXACTLY?” Ella pressed.
Bob sighed, “Do you really want to know?”
Ella just gave him a stare that said “yes”.
Bob sighed again “Five years.”
“Five -” Ella stopped in her tracks, not sure what to say.
“I know. That long.”
“Why?”
"I had to be certain that you were

Uh, hehe. A measly 80 words.

Weekly #1: SWCharacter Swap

Part 1

Name: Alexandria Park, goes by Ale
Age: 20
Occupation: None, really? Survivor? Survivalist? This is set in the zombie apocalypse.
Residence: In the middle of a forest in Maryland, USA. Shelter: A fairly well-built hut like thing.
Physical Characteristics: Very messy red hair in a messy ponytail, dull blue eyes, Caucasian, dirt under her fingernails
Strengths: Knows how to survive nature (survivalist), will help people even if she doesn't want to, has retained some kind of sense of humor
Weaknesses: Stubborn, has pushed friends away, drinks to drunkenness when depressed, doesn't want to get close to anyone
Other characteristics: Her sense of humor is mostly play-on-words, taking things literally, and sometimes dark, she has a beautiful singing voice, has a giant Bowie knife and an arsenal of guns (mostly rifles and shotguns), and she will not hesitate to pull a gun or her knife on a stranger
Outfit: All black, long-sleeve shirt, jeans or cargo pants, military-grade boots, belt with her knife hanging off her hip, lightweight trench-coat (in the winter, can be made to be heavier), finger-less gloves (in cold weather)
Sebastian - Will not stop trying to be friends with her, calls her “Red-head” because he doesn't know her name, is severely allergic to cats
Ginger (tabby) - Likes Sebastian, playful, will alert of approaching zombies

Part 2







Image one: So, I've mentioned that Ale drinks. But, she's underage. Well, she's actually been doing it her whole life, mainly because of an incident when her father gave her some when she was a baby. But it was never to the point of drunkenness. That didn't happen until more recently. I only used ginger ale because I don't know if Scratch would allow me to use a picture of actual ale, but I'm not taking any chances.
Image two: The distance represents how far Ale has pushed herself away from everyone, and she wants to keep it that way. The reason leads us to…
Image three: Ale has been surrounded by death. Her parents, her two brothers, friends, loved ones. Even if their deaths weren't confirmed, it's been so long since she's seen them that she considers them dead. This is why she doesn't want to get close to Sebastian.
Image four: Ale has lots of secrets. She is the only one who has the key, and she will reveal her secrets when and if she is ready, even if it's as simple as her name. That's why Sebastian doesn't know her name.
Image five: The forest has pretty much become her home. Having lived in it for a few years now, taking in the beauty and solitude it has retained, she doesn't want to go back to the city/town she used to live in. This is also due to not wanting to be around people.
Image six: Again, as I've mentioned, Ale does have an arsenal of mostly rifles and shotguns. She knows how to use them, is not afraid and will not hesitate to use them, has pulled a shotgun on Sebastian during their first encounters, and even tried shooting him (although she missed).
Image seven: Zombies. She's in the zombie apocalypse, remember? They're everywhere, and they're nowhere. The world is in ruins. There's nothing left.
Image eight: Ok, this one kind of draws from Ale's past. Remember how she can sing? Well, that was her dream. Not only to sing, but to have a whole band! Those dreams were dashed to pieces when the zombie apocalypse started, and she hasn't thought about it since. But maybe there's still a little inkling of hope in her heart that, somehow, it will come true.

(Note: I don't know what the chances would be, but I don't want to take them. If it's not asking to much, can I swap with someone who has a straight character? I don't mean this as an attack on non-straight people; that's not my intention. I just want to write. That's the reason I got Scratch in the first place and I don't want to get banned. I know Scratch allows the LGBT community and asks of everyone to be respectful, so I will do that. I would just like for my writing boundaries to be respected in return. If this sounds harsh, I'm sorry; that not my intention either. I just want to make sure that I'm clear on what I mean.)

Part 3 (Skylar let me borrow one of her characters)

She was initially doing this for a dare. A dare to be done alone. A dare to ride an unknown phenomenon, which appeared out of nowhere a few days ago, for just a couple minutes. A dangerous dare that would probably get her in trouble in her class. But to her, this was an adventure.
Eki guided the shuttle craft towards the long, bright blue light that looked like a river in space. It went on for as far as she could see. It had been a few hours now, and the light loomed closer and bigger than ever. In a few minutes, she should be able to ride this “river”.
There was a *beep* on the console. Eki checked it. Someone was trying to hail her. She opened up the frequency.
“Hello. This is Eki speaking. How may I assist?”
“Eki, don't do this. The dare isn't worth it. We don't even know what that thing is.” A voice said. One of her friends.
“I'm not doing it for the dare, Asteria. I'm doing it for the adventure.” Eki explained.
“Dare or no dare, you shouldn't be out there,” her other friend, Mir'ana, said, “Like Asteria said, we don't know what it is.”
“Mir'ana, the goal of Starfleet is to explore the new and unexplained. That's what I'm doing.”
Eki heard Mir'ana sigh, and then say, “Eki, you're not officially part of Starfleet. You're a Starfleet Academy Cadet. You don't have to do this. Not yet. Not until you actually become a Starfleet officer.”
“But by the time I get into Starfleet, this might be gone. Now is my chance to check it out and study it.” Eki countered.
“Okay, say you are able to learn about this strange phenomenon,” Asteria said, rejoining the conversation, “And say you make it back without a scratch. You still technically stole a shuttle craft. How are you going to explain your actions?”
Eki shrugged, although her friends couldn't see, “I'll just tell the truth.”
There was a moment of silence. She knew her friends were contemplating what to say next. She spoke up before they could say anything, changing the subject, “It's really pretty. The river, it's really pretty. All the different shades of blue and purple. And how the clouds around it swirl and drift along. It really is a sight to see. Especially up close. You should see this.”
“We can -” Asteria started, but was cut off.
“Asteria? Are you there?” Eki asked. There was no answer. “Asteria? Mir'ana? Are either of you there?”
Suddenly, the shuttle craft shook, and the alarm sounded. Eki worked the controls, but nothing was working. Without warning, the shuttle craft had started gaining speed. Eki peaked at the river in front of her, and noticed it was much closer than it had been just a few minutes ago.
In panic, she sent out a distress signal, “Help! This is Eki Iri Iktal. I'm a Starfleet Academy Cadet. I'm on shuttle craft -”
Before Eki could finish, she was swept into the river. For a second, all she could see was blue. And in the next, she was hurtling towards a forest.

Part 4

There was a rumble, a shake, and then a *boom*. Ale ignored it for the most part. Until she smelled smoke. Looking up from sharpening her Bowie knife, she looked past the trees and saw a dark, billowing cloud of smoke. Fire. Trouble. Danger. Zombies? Ale sighed. She sheathed her knife and grabbed a shotgun.
She made her way through the forest, killing any zombies that walked in her path. As she drew near to the sight of the smoke, she entered a small clearing, a couple trees knocked over. She saw a vehicle of some kind. It looked like some kind of space craft, but she's never seen the likes of this before. It clearly crashed here, but where did it come from?
Ale heard coughing and spun around, shotgun up. In front of her was a girl who looked just slightly younger than her. She had long, black hair done in braids, with blue, glittery streaks of what looked like to be paint all over her skin. And… She wasn't wearing any shoes?
“You're not a zombie, that's for sure,” Ale said, “But you're not human, either. I mean, you're humanoid, but not human. What are you?”
“I'm Eki Iri Iktal,” the girl said, “I am a Xanthelysian. I am a Starfleet Academy Cadet. Who are you?”
“So, you're basically an alien?” Ale asked, ignoring the question.
“Yeah, I guess you can call me that. You're a human right?”
“Yes, I am. An alive one, thank goodness. What are you doing here?”
“Well, I was exploring a space river, but I got caught in it and ended up here. I don't know how it happened. I'm not supposed to be here. I need to find a way home.”
“Space river?” Ale raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, up…” Eki looked up to point to the sky, but there was nothing there to indicate the river she had been talking about, “It was right there. Maybe it's just not visible from here.”
Ale lowered her gun slightly. Either this girl was cuckoo or she just hit her head really hard.
“Kid, I don't know what you're talking about, but there is no space river. The only weird thing here is the zombie apocalypse.” Ale said.
The girl didn't seem to hear her. She looked back at Ale and asked, “This is Earth, right?”
“Uh, yeah. This is Earth,” Ale said.
“Good. That means Starfleet Academy is here. If I can find my way there, I can get home. May I ask what state we are in?” Eki asked.
“We're in Maryland.” Ale answered.
“Maryland?!” Eki exclaimed, “Okay, that makes things different for me. Starfleet Academy is in California. I'll have to find a ride. Oh, or I could just ask to be beamed up. Either way, there's going to be lots of questions. But like I promised Asteria and Mir'ana, I'd just tell the truth. Can I borrow a communicator? Mines got damaged in the crash and the shuttle craft is completely inoperable.”
“A… What?” Ale asked, the confusion starting to set in.
“A communicator. You wear it on…” Eki paused, “You really have no idea what I'm talking about?”
“I'm afraid not, kid.” Ale said.
“Well, that really changes things,” Eki said, rubbing her chin in thought, “If you don't know anything about Starfleet, then maybe it hasn't been founded yet. Did I travel into the past? What year is it?”
“2023.” Ale answered.
“Hmm, not the past, then. Starfleet was founded way before 2023. The future, maybe?” Eki guessed.
“Nope,” Ale said, “If this Starfleet thing you keep talking about existed, I would've known about it from the history books. There's no such thing.”
Eki shook her head, “No, Starfleet exists alright. Everyone knows about it, so it can't be unknown to you. Or, maybe you just forgot somehow?”
“No. I remember my whole life. Never heard of Starfleet before. And don't suggest that the life I remember were false, implanted memories.”
“I wasn't going to,” Eki said, now trying to rack her brain for other possibilities, “Are you sure you've never even heard of Starfleet before? From family? Friends? Acquaintances? In general passing by?”
“Not once. Not until today.”
Eki made a face that was a cross between questioning and worry. She paced back and forth for a while, deep in thought. Suddenly she stopped and said, “If that's the case, then…” Eki paused for a brief moment, “I must be in a different timeline where Starfleet doesn't exist!”
All at once, Ale dropped her gun, slumped her shoulders, hung her head, and said, “You've got to be kidding me.”
Eki looked at Ale curiously.
Straightening herself back up, Ale pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered to herself, “I must not have recovered from my hangover as much as I thought I had.”
“What?” Eki questioned.
“Nothing,” Ale said, “Look, kid -”
“Eki,” Eki said, “You can call me Eki.”
Ale sighed, “Alright, Eki. I can't wrap my head around what you're talking about. So how about we drop this whole Starfleet thing for now and put out this fire before it spreads even further. After that, I can take you to this guy I know who might be able to understand you better. I need to pick up my cat anyways.”
“You have a cat?” Eki gasped, her eyes widening.
“Yeah, unfortunately,” Ale grimaced, “An orange tabby.” Ale shook her head, “Anyways, back to the task at hand. There's a river a few yards up north from here. I have a hose we can use, but I'll have to go get it. Until I do, can you keep the fire down as much as you can by throwing dirt on it?”
“Sure, but be quick.”
“I will.” Ale said.
She started making her way back to her hut, but then turned around. Unsheathing her knife, she handed it to Eki. “If you see any zombies, kill them. They will show you no mercy.”
“Zombies? Are they some kind of life form? A new species?”
Ale shook her head, “No, they don't have any life in them. They appear to be alive, but they're not. They're dead. They're mindless. They'll -” Ale paused, deciding it would be best if Eki didn't know the horrors of what zombies did, “You'll know when you see them.”
And with that, Ale disappeared into the forest. Eki was left to deal with the fire until she got back, hoping she wouldn't run into any of these “zombies” the older girl had talked about.

Prompted Word War vs @spr1ngt1m3summ3rrr | 5 minutes

Anna woke up, and the first thing she saw was Lee, propped up by a tree, watching her.
She sat up in the grass and muttered, “How long have you been watching me?”
Lee shrugged, “I don't know ten minutes? An hour? All night? Time works differently here.”
“You can say that again.” Anna focused on her brother, confused, “May I ask why have you been watching me?”
Lee shrugged again, “Your snoring is cured.”
“My what?”
“You know. Your snoring. At first I thought it was just my imagination, but it's been five days now. You haven't snored since. I say, there's really something about this place.”
“Besides the time and my miraculous cured snoring, is there anything else about this place that you've noticed?” Anna asked.
"Yeah, actually. I


(I need to remember to put in the word count) 131 words

Prompted word war | 5 minutes

“In the presence of ghosts, there was only one thing to do…”
“Alright, alright! I'll join you!” Jake said, finally giving in.
“Woohoo!” All the little ghosts surrounding him cheered.
One of them tossed him a blank white sheet. Jake cut out two little eye holes and two arm holes, and then threw it over himself.
“Yay! We've got a big ghost on our side!” One of the ghosts shouted.
“And with his help, we can haunt this town and get all the candy we want!” Another ghost



*Sigh* On mobile at the time of this war. 88 words bc I decided to do tapping each letter instead of the swiping that I'm used to.

Short story

Summer's Gone

“I'm no good at poetry, but here goes

Summer's gone
No more warm sunshine. Oh, how I miss the way the sun felt on my face
No more clear, bright blue skies. Oh, how I miss the beauty in something so simple
No more fun trips to the beach. Oh, how I miss the roar of the ocean
No more sweet aromas. Oh, how I miss the scent of peaches and roses
No more starry nights. Oh, how I miss staying up late and watching the night pass by

Summer's gone
I miss how the sun would swirl all around me
I miss how the clouds always formed something fun
I miss how the salty ocean air made my heart leap
I miss how the flowers bloom big and bright
I miss how the stars twinkled against the midnight sky

Summer's gone
Fall is here
School is here
I am here
This is the last year
You are not here

Summer's gone
There were plans to finish school
There were plans to graduate at the top
There were plans to get a job and work well
There were plans to make plans
There were plans for the rest of life

Summer's gone
Why did you have to leave?
Why did you have to break me?
Why did you have to go away to never return?
Why did you have to make this hard?
Why couldn't it have been me?

Summer's gone
You'll come back next year, but you'll never return to me
You'll make others smile, but you'll never see me happy again
You'll make others come out, but you'll never see me leave the house
You'll make others warm, but you'll never see the cold exit my face
You'll make others make new memories, but you'll never see me let go of the old ones

Summer's gone
I miss you
No one can replace you
No one is like you
No one is as special as you
I…”

A drop of water splashed onto the paper.
“Oh, the heck am I doing?” Jack muttered to himself. He patted the spot dry, and a drop of water fell onto his hand. Only then did Jack realize he was crying. He wiped his eyes with the cuff of his sleeve.
Taking a deep breath, he picked up his pen again. It hovered over where he left off, but it never came down. After a moment, he dropped the pen and buried his face into his hands.
A knock came on his door. Jack's Mom poked her head inside just as he lifted his head to see who it was.
His Mom gave a weak smile, “Mrs. Carter is here. No rush, but we're ready when you are.”
Jack nodded and managed to croak, “Thanks. I'll be down in a minute.”
His Mom gave a small nod and closed the door, leaving Jack alone again. He picked up his poem. It sounded like anything but a poem to him. But he would be the only one who knew what it said. No one else had to know.
Picking up his pen again, he finished his writing.

“I loved you with all my heart.”

Reading the whole thing, with his eyes lingering on that last line, there was nothing else he could do. He folded the paper and sealed it in an envelope.
Standing up, he took one last look at the only photo that stood on his desk. It was a framed photo of a beautiful teenage girl. Curly, golden blonde hair that fell around her face, big, bright sky blue eyes that sparkled endlessly, skin tanned from many days in the sun, a field of freckles splattered across her face, and a smile full of teeth that shone like the stars.
Jack picked up the photo and whispered, “I would have asked you to marry me. Instead, I'm going to your funeral,” Jack paused, “I hope, someday, I will see you again. I love you, Summer.”
Jack set the photo down. As he left his room, he kept his eyes on Summer until he could no longer see her.
As Jack reached the bottom of the stairs, his Mom asked “Are you okay?”
Jack took a deep breath and nodded, “I'm ready.”


711 words

Writing dare for cabin war

“What are you looking at?” Frying Pan asked, annoyed.
“Oh, nothing.” I said, holding back my laughter.
“No, it's definitely something. Now tell me, what are you staring at me for?”
I thought for a moment, weighing my options. For whatever reason, I decided to tell the truth.
“Uh, you kind of have a new bald spot.” I said with a cheesy grin.
“What! Not another one! How bad is it?” Frying Pan asked, panicking.
“Oh, it's not that bad. Just a little… about…” I tried to show the size with my hands, making it look smaller than it really was.
“Never mind. I'll just ask one of the other frying pans.” Frying Pan said, fed up.
“No, wait! It's really not…”
“Hey, Deep Frying Pan! Salt Shaker said I have a new bald spot but won't tell me how bad it is! Can you tell me?” Frying Pan said, walking up to her friend.
Deep Frying Pan looked at the spot Frying Pan had been referring to and inhaled deeply, “That looks pretty bad to me. How did it happen?”
“Well, the last time I was used was…” Frying Pan stopped in her tracks and looked at me. I gave a tentative wave. “You! You did this to me!”
“What?! No I didn't! The last time I was used was to salt some rice on one of the kid's plates.”
“Sure, but the last time you and I were used at the same time was when the father cooked his steak last week. Every time, it's always the salt that stains my coating. At this point, I don't think I even have a coating! You did this to me!”
“Frying Pan! I didn't do this to you. The dad did. I don't do it intentionally, and I don't do it of my own accord! You're my friend, and I would never hurt you like that. Even if I do laugh at your bald spots sometimes.”
"I… Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to accuse you like that. I guess with the wearing off of my coating, I've




348 words

Critique for @Zyzeryko

Forewarning, this is my first time critiquing anyone's writing, so please forgive me if I seem scatterbrained, give vague explanations, or anything reads weirdly.
Also, I'll be using quotation marks when quoting pieces from your writing because I don't know how the quote function on forums work. I will try to figure that out someday.
Most of my critiquing is probably going to end up dealing a lot with punctuation, so bear with me. I go hammer on punctuation. You can take it, leave it, or pick and choose. This is your writing, not mine.
Lastly, forgive any humor or informality in my critique. It just helps me to not feel like this is boring.
Anyways, onto critiquing.

Thank you for letting me critique your work! This is an amazing piece! It can definitely be applied to the real world. I feel like with how culture has changed over the decades, people have become less and less polite. Or that could just be the area I live in. Or the area I used to live in. Or it could just be me. I don't know. But after reading that, it has kinda made me want to be a little more courteous to the world. We need more people like that.

“My future surrounded me, my wedding, my funeral, my birthdays and my worsts days encircled me, trapping me in a world I could not live in.”

I like the way how this conveys a sense of entrapment! Not physically, but mentally.
First, I think that very first comma could be a period instead. To me, at least, I feel like it would read better if the list was at the start of a new sentence rather than stand smack-dab right in the middle of one.
Second, I actually had to look it up because I wasn't being given the red line under the word to indicate that it was spelled wrong. I don't know if it was a spelling mistake or typo, but apparently “worsts” is a word. It's just being used in the wrong context here. Quoting from Google: “Worsts” is the third-person singular present tense of the verb “worst.” Your writing is in first person, so you might want to drop that second “s”.

“You can’t live in the future but you can live in the past.”

You could add a comma in here, right in between “future” and “but”. Again, forgive me for being nit-picky when it comes to punctuation. It's just me. And don't worry. I go full on punctuation correction mode with my younger brothers and friends, so you're not the only one.

“And the images shift; when I was born, when I turned one, when I took my first steps and started preschool and learned to write and talk and the alphabet and then math and then history and when I graduated and when I got accepted into my dream school. That one was just this morning.”

The semicolon is fine right where it is. The rest of the sentence, though, feels kind of run-on. Maybe try breaking it down somehow? Or was the run-on intentional?
Also, you might want to separate that last one in the list to be by itself. To me, personally, that would clarify which “one” is being talked about that happened that morning.

“My future and my past exist in one space, and even though they’re everything I dreamed up, something isn’t right.”

The first comma could be a period?

“Once you see it, you want it different. No matter what—the most lavish lifestyle you can imagine, and if that were your future, you’d want to change it.”

Ok, for a little while, I had trouble figuring out why this didn't feel quite right. I finally figured it out. Turns out, in my mind, it's another matter of punctuation. And a matter of just a few words! (Yay! Something that isn't punctuation!) Here's my example for how you can change it: “Once you see it, you want it different, no matter what. Even if it's the most lavish lifestyle you can imagine, if that were your future, you'd want to change it.” You can see where I changed the punctuation/grammar just slightly, and that I only added three words and took away one. You can use my edits, or if you can find other ways to toy with this part, go for it! Or you could leave it as is. Again, this is your writing, not mine. I'm just critiquing (or at least trying to. I feel like I'm giving a punctuation check more than anything.)

“It doesn’t need to be better, it just eneds to be different. The future changes and oozes and floqws with every step you take, and you nver know when on of those steps could save or end or change a life. The best days aren’t the ones where you eat the most cake, but the ones you spend saving lives, even uncoisnessly.”

Ok, I'M GOING HAMMER ON SPELLING HERE! Ok, no, actually, I'm not going to go hammer, don't freak out. Those look more like typos than honest spelling mistakes. But fixing those would probably be a good idea. It would be helpful for easier reading and understanding for the reader. Otherwise, I like how you do the description here!

“I hope you save at least one person. Even yourself.”

To me, at least, it feels like you're talking about saving one person and yourself. Do you mean that, or do you mean something like, saving one person, even if that one person is yourself? (Did this make sense? Sometimes I write something and it doesn't even make full sense to me.)

“My future didn’t change, it had already been written in stone.”

Period instead of comma?

“I hope there are a million, a billion cycles going round and round round,”

Is that third “round” supposed to be there or not? Or did you just forget an “and”?

“The foundation of everything good is everyone good, and every time you start the cycle anew that foundation is strengthened.”

Maybe you can change that comma into a period, and slip in a comma in between “anew” and “that”?

“And I chose the seldom used street.”

Love the ending! Lol, now I want to choose the seldom used street!

Somehow I feel like the repetition in the second half or whenever it started fit just fine in this kind of writing, but that could just be me.

-

TOLD YOU I GO HAMMER ON PUNCTUATION! Sorry about that.

Anyways, thanks again for letting me critique your piece! I don't think it would be something to read for entertainment, but more like something to think about. But it certainly wasn't boring! Good job on writing a very well written piece! (I hope I wasn't too confusing for writing my first critique)

(Don't worry, I won't be counting “Quoting from Google: ”Worsts“ is the third-person singular present tense of the verb ”worst.“” towards my word goal.)

Weekly #2: Short Story

Part 1

Exposition: For a long time, gemstone ducks lived in peace, often admired for their beauty. But once humans found out their feathers contained actual gemstones, they were hunted almost to the point of extinction. With the help from a few good humans, the ducks went into hiding, appointing those humans as their protectors.
Rising action: After 375 years, because no one has seen the gemstone ducks in so long, it is believed that no one would remember them. Every day, they are let loose to roam, usually in groups with at least two protectors, still often returning to their hiding place. But when two of the current protectors of the ducks find out that the numbers are rapidly shrinking again, they know that their value has not been forgotten.
Climax: Fed up with hiding, the ducks and their protectors prepare for “war” against the poachers. But when one of the protectors risks her life for even just one duck, ultimately dying in the process, the poachers realize their selfish deeds and are willing to make a deal.
Falling action: A deal is made between the protectors and the poachers. They hold a memorial for the protector.
Resolution: The protectors and the poachers help the ducks settle back into the wildlife. Once more, the gemstone ducks and humans can live together in peace.

222 words

Part 2

Thomas walked into the tent, a large bag in hand. He set the bag onto the table in front of him, opened it, and dumped the contents out. An assortment of colorful, sparkly feathers.
The man on the other side of the table picked up a blue one to examine it.
“They're worth a fortune,” Thomas said, “Especially now, with almost all the ducks in hiding.”
The man set down the blue feather and picked up a green one. He compared the weight with a smaller, normal duck feather. Seeming satisfied, he gently laid both feathers down.
“How many birds did you catch?” The man asked.
“Four birds' worth.” Thomas answered.
“Only four? That's a weak number for such a skilled hunter and a large sack.”
“Like I said, Robert,” Thomas said, “The ducks are going into hiding.”
“Well, can't you find them?” Robert grunted.
“Maybe if I knew where they were hiding,” Thomas scoffed, “And maybe if those other guys weren't helping them.”
Robert grunted again, “Fine, but try harder next time. Four ducks isn't good for business,” Robert paused, “Speaking of business, did you harvest the glass ducks?”
Thomas dug into his pocket and pulled out four tiny glass ducks, glitter and sparkles embedded into them. There were two green ducks, a blue duck, and a red duck. They were just barely bigger than his musket bullets. He placed them onto the table.
Robert gave Thomas a hammer. Without hesitation, Thomas smashed each glass duck.
“How the gemstone ducks live with those things in their hearts, I will never know,” Robert said, picking up a red feather, “But anyways, how much do you want for the feathers?”

375 years later
David and Ava sat under a large, shaded tree, watching the gemstone ducks swim and play, both in the lake and on land. The ducks' feathers glistened and sparkled against the sunlight and reflected off the water, giving off a beauty never seen before. Or, at least, never seen in nearly 400 years.
Despite the calm, relaxed afternoon, and the happy “quacks” from the ducks, David and Ava kept a sharp eye out for any danger. Because apparently, their assumptions may have been wrong.
“David, are you sure we should still be doing this?” Ava asked, “I mean, two hundred ducks in two months? That's too many too fast for it to be natural death. I don't think the poachers have forgotten about the gemstone ducks.”
David sighed, “I agree. But I'm not the head protector. Until we can get actual proof that there are poachers going after the ducks, Nate wants us to keep bringing the ducks out.”
“I know Nate wants to reacquaint the ducks to the real world, but if their numbers keep rapidly decreasing like this, there won't be any more gemstone ducks by the end of the decade. They're still not as populous as they used to be. I don't care what Nate says. It's still not safe out here. We have to bring the ducks back into hiding.” Ava stressed.
“Again, I agree,” David repeated, “But again, there's nothing I can do about it.”
Ava let out a grunt and flopped against the tree trunk. She closed her eyes, wondering how Nate could be so stubborn and short-sighted.
A gunshot rang through the air, snapping Ava awake, immediately putting her on alert.
The ducks were in a frenzy, quacks of joy now quacks of panic. David was already on his feet, shouting and blowing his duck call, trying to calm them down.
Ava jumped up and started doing the same. The two of them made their way to the lake to gather the ducks.
As they were running, Ava caught a flash of light in the treeline on the other side the lake. And before either of them knew it, another gunshot rang out, and one of the ducks that had been flying lost control and crash landed into the ground behind them. Ava caught a glint of purple from the duck that fell, and she immediately knew which duck it was.
“Plum!” Ava cried, spinning on her heel to go back for Plum while David continued to round up the ducks.
Scooping up the duck, Ava cradled Plum as she ran back to David and the ducks. She noticed some guys around the point where she had seen the flash. They were holding guns, but at the moment, they weren't aiming them. They seemed to be arguing with each other. If there was going to be a safe getaway without anymore casualties, now was the time.
“Now, David! Now!” Ava shouted as she raced toward the group.
The men with the guns must have heard her, because their guns were suddenly lifted up. David pulled out a lavender purple colored ball and threw it onto the ground, a cloud of smoke instantly hiding them from sight. Ava narrowly made it into the perimeter of the smoke.
The smoke was gone just as quickly as it had come. David, Ava, and the ducks were no longer at the lake. Instead, they were in The Sanctuary, where the gemstone ducks and their protectors lived, safe from danger. And before them stood Nate, the head protector.
Ava stepped forward with Plum in her arms, quacking in pain. She held her out to Nate.
Without a word, Nate took the duck from Ava's hands, careful to not hurt the duck any further. He studied the bloodied wing. A deep, giant gash ran across the length of it. Not a pretty sight to see.
Looking up at David and Ava, Nate asked, “How did this happen?”
“Bullets.” Ava whispered, not able to get anything else out of her throat.
“It's like I've been saying,” David spoke up, “Poachers. They haven't forgotten. And it looks like they're done using quiet traps.”
“Miranda,” Nate sighed, calling for the doctor, “Stitch up Plum and set her wing. She stays here. As for the rest of you,” Nate looked around at the ducks and humans that surrounded him, “I'm sick and tired of hiding, but it also looks like the world isn't safe yet. But I'll leave it up to you. Do you want to stay here, or shall we go to war?”
There was a moment of silence, but soon David spoke up again, “I would rather die in battle than continue to hide in cowardice. I say war!”
“And I second that!” Ava stepped in.
And slowly but surely, there were rounds of agreements, the ducks also joining in.
Nate nodded, “Alright, then. War it is.”

The ducks and the protectors staked out the poacher encampment below them. Dawn was approaching. They would make their move soon.
David and Ava, with their group of ducks, watched for Nate's signal. A few minutes after the first light of dawn, there were three quick flashes to their west. The signal. Although their only weapons consisted of sticks, stones, fists, and ducks, they charged down the hill and into the encampment.
Catching them off guard, they took away whatever guns and other weapons they could before the poachers got to them. But they weren't quick enough. The poachers were armed and ready before they knew it, and there were more of them than they had anticipated. Gunfire started ringing out in the valley.
The ducks and the protectors kept fighting, but not for long. The protectors realized that they weren't being shot at. Instead, all the guns were aimed at the ducks.
The ducks also realized this. They began to flee, but they didn't go far. They circled back to attack the poachers, but they didn't do much harm. Then they huddled behind their protectors. And then, in the overall confusion, the ducks were all over the camp in a frenzy, the poachers still trying to shoot at them.
“I don't think this was a good idea anymore!” David shouted over the chaos.
“I think you're right,” Ava agreed, and then out of no where screeched, “Chili!”
Ava had spotted an orange duck limping and a poacher with his gun on the duck. Ava sprinted over and jumped in between the poacher and the duck just as another shot rang out.
Ava dropped to the ground. She didn't get up.
Mortified, the poacher ran to Ava and rolled her over. There was a splotch of red on her chest, and it was growing bigger by the second.
“HOLD IT!” The poacher who had shot Ava shouted. The gunfire ceased.
David, who had watched the whole thing go down, ran to meet them. All eyes were on the three of them.
“Ava? Ava!” David coaxed, noticing Ava's shallow breathing, “Are you okay? Stay with me!”
Ava turned her head toward David, “Chili. Is Chili okay?”
David picked up Chili. The duck neither moved nor made a sound. A hole the same size that was in Ava penetrated through the ducks' heart.
“I'm sorry.” David said.
“You know what to do.” Ava whispered.
David nodded. With a heavy heart, he dug his fingers into the hole in the duck. After a moment, he pulled out a tiny duck, barely bigger than a musket bullet.
“The glass duck!” The poacher gasped.
David placed it into Ava's hand.
Ava mustered up a small smile, “Diamond if a protector dies for them. To show their appreciation and gratitude.”
And with that, Ava breathed her last.
“We never meant to harm any of the humans,” the poacher said, “I'm sorry. But I see now that there are many who are willing to die for the safety of these ducks. We're can make a deal.”
Nate approached the poacher, “I'm the head protector of the gemstone ducks. I think a deal can be made.”

The ducks, protectors, and the former poachers stood by the two new graves, where Ava and Chili were buried. A speech had been given, and now they were holding a moment of silence. Brad, the poacher who had shot Ava, stood next to David.
“Again, I'm sorry. I never meant to kill your friend.” Brad apologized as the group started breaking off.
“And I've forgiven you.” David said.
“The ducks still hate us though, don't they?”
David shrugged, “I don't know. They probably still have a grudge against your ancestors, but if you hold up your deal, I think they could learn to forgive.”
“Do you really think so?” Brad asked.
David nodded, “How about this. The lake is right there. We could go down right now, and you could do some bonding time. Or does that sound childish?”
Brad cracked a smile “No. Think that sounds great.”
David nodded again. “Then to the lake it is!”

1783 words

Hihi this took me really long because I was partially falling asleep and I think I might have drifted off somewhere and sry if it sounds kinda rambly. Anyway, hope this is helpful. As I warned you in the critiquitairiquaire or whatever I often give A LOT of advice or criticism but it's just because I tend to try to find as much stuff that seems at least a bit less than perfect as I can so please don't take any of this to heart because I actually really love this story. Also I'm trying to get words so hehehehehehehehe. Anyway.

Okok I feel liek this story had some technical mistakes but overall it was very beautiful and THAT ENDING but we're not there yet. I liked how you described each event that happened. There was a very clear timeline and you knew what was going on which is pretty impressive because like your story was pretty chaotic and there even were two fighting scenes. Your plot was also really good because it had a clear idea that it was cenetreed around and it did a really good job of conveying that through your storytelling. NOWWWW onto the ending.

THAT WAS GPRGEOUS AND SO SAD and I loved how you made ava have such a quiet yet passionate persoanlity. Her death was very fitting and I can see how that could stop the battle (at least in a story, prolly not irl lol). I loved how the duck died with her and how you brought that back to the smashing of the glass ducks at the beginning because it just shows the irony of how people could treat something so meaningful with such carelessness. Just absolutely amazing.

Anyway, moving on to the critique, which is mainly just technical stuff (ik u were speedrunning it tho).

You write the words “duck” and “ducks” A LOT lol. I'd recommend going back and hunting them out (haha get it? Cuz you're hunting for… nvm XD).
For example, this part:

SkitTheAceBandit wrote:

Thomas dug into his pocket and pulled out four tiny glass ducks, glitter and sparkles embedded into them. There were two green ducks, a blue duck, and a red duck. They were just barely bigger than his musket bullets. He placed them onto the table.
Robert gave Thomas a hammer. Without hesitation, Thomas smashed each glass duck.

Instead you can say something like this:

SkitTheAceBandit wrote:

Thomas dug into his pocket and pulled out four tiny glass ducks, which hadglitter and sparkles embedded into them. There were two green, a blue, and a red one. They were just barely bigger than his musket bullets. He placed them onto the table, then gave Thomas a hammer. Without hesitation, Thomas smashed each glass duck.

The quoted example also applies to something else I noticed: some of your sentences are the same length and structure and thus feel the really similar. The story craves variety. I would recommend combining or rewriting some of your sentences to make them sound more varied like I did with Robert giving Thomas a hammer. It sounds like it would take long, but if you go back and change just, say, 10 of your sentences to be a different length and / or structure, that would greatly add to the story because it would feel a lot more alive.

Another super minor thing: you sometimes have a lot of filler or unnecessary words, which distracts from the story. Like I said, super minor but going through and deleting words like that always helps me ‘unclog’ my own writing and it would give your story more flow and momentum, yk?

Moving on from the technical stuff and into the actual plot and characters. You had good dialogue, but the characters were not super duper relatable (again, writing fast, ik ik). With the humans, I'd recommend just using more internal dialogue and description of feelings. Ik that Ava is kind of the main character here (I'd recommend adding a little bit more elaboration about her feelings as well), but it would also be cool to add in a few lines here and there describing the other characters' thoughts as well. As for the ducks: I didn't quite understand what characters the ducks were. You said that the ducks were part of the decision-making process of going to war and that they agreed, but in some of the other parts, they sounded more like everyday animals… Like, do you know what I mean? For this, the best thing you could do would probably be to either give them dialogue (can they talk?) to incorporate them more into the story as actual characters or do the opposite and make it clearer that this was entirely human initiative and want to help an endangered species.

Weekly #3: Sci-fi (first half)

Part 1

The Dream Catcher is a thin strip of computer-like technology. It is transparent so that the components are visible. Why transparent? I don't know, it's just how I visualized it and it stuck. Anyways, it was originally meant to be used for remembering dreams, (hence the name “Dream Catcher”), but it can be used at any time. It gathers the brainwaves and stores it into its memory bank. That way, if you have a dream, idea, or thought you don't want to forget, you can use the Dream Catcher to save it for later. It's much quicker than having to pull out a notepad and pen and write it all by hand, or turning on your phone or laptop, have to log in, and type it all down. With this, all you have to do is wrap it around your forehead, press a button to turn it on, think and BOOM! Instant save. Once you have some spare time and you want to revisit that dream or thought, you just have to set it on a table, turn it on and it will give you a list of all the different thoughts and dreams you added. Select the one you want and it will project the words right in front of you. Or you could turn it onto hologram mode, and it will show you the exact pictures you had in your mind. You don't wrap it around your forehead for this part, or else it will start gathering your thoughts instead of show you what you want.
The Dream Catcher is available to the public and is sold worldwide, although it is most popular among writers of all kinds, musicians, scientists, and government officials.

285 words

Part 2

When the Dream Catcher was first developed, it was big, bulky, uncomfortable, it wrapped around your entire head, and, of course, had its trials and errors. But, as the years passed by, it improved until it is what it is now, in the year 2142.
It is used innocently by many. Simple, easy, convenient way of storing dreams, thoughts, ideas, and memories. Harmless.
Those who use it wrongly are, well, mostly criminals and the government. Criminals, of course, will use it to help with planning heists or murders or whatever. The government, on the other hand, use it for a different kind of sinister purpose.
The Dream Catcher was developed by the government. They promise protection of privacy, and they are true to their word… When it comes to ordinary people. The government has access to all the Dream Catchers, using them as trackers and to see what the common people are thinking. Yes, they use this power to catch criminals, but they also use it to find the people who are against the government. Not many know of this aspect, but of those who do, they're the ones the government are secretly after.
Those who do know of the governments secrets don't use the Dream Catchers, instead opting for old school pen and paper. This group of people has formed an underground organization called “Memories”, using this as the name of their very own publishing company. Anyone who wants to join Memories is quickly welcomed in, but a tight eye is kept on them until their trust has been gained. If their trust hasn't been gained by three months, they are never heard from again.
For each book, news article, blog, and any other form of writing that Memories publishes, every author/writer remains anonymous. This helps with keeping them safe, but the government always has its way of finding things.

311 words

Previous daily: Character Interview

Ale ran, shooting any zombies that stood in her path. When she arrived at her hut, she skidded to a halt. She learned over, hands on her knees, breathing hard.
Once she caught her breath, she muttered to herself, “I'm hungover. I'm still hungover, that's it. There's no fire, and there's definitely no alien.”
She looked up to the sky where she had seen the smoke. It was still there.
Ale groaned, “Okay, the fire is real, but the alien certainly isn't.”
Pushing herself up straight, Ale pulled open her door and entered the hut. She grabbed the hose, slung a rifle over her shoulder, and restocked on ammunition. She turned around to exit, but she was no longer in the tiny, crude hut she called “home.”
She stood in a completely white room. There were no doors, no windows, no decorations, and no furniture, save for the chair and table that sat right in front of her.
Past the table were three cloaked figures. Their faces couldn't be seen.
Ale immediately dropped the hose and raised her shotgun.
Before Ale could get a word out, the cloaked figure who stood in the middle said, “Take a seat.” A female voice.
“I'd rather stand, thank you very much.” Ale said.
“Very well,” the cloaked figure said, and with a snap, the chair and the table disappeared, “Onto business. What is your name?”
Ale huffed, “It doesn't matter. You kidnapped me. Let me go.”
“No.” The cloaked figure responded.
Ale waited for the figure to say something more, but she didn't. The other two figures didn't say anything either.
“What? That's all you have to say? What about the other two? Do you speak for them?”
“No. They are here merely to observe.”
“And their point for observation?” Ale asked.
“None of your business. I'm supposed to be asking you the questions. Let's get back to business, shall we?” The figure prompted, “Let's start from the beginning again. What is your name?”
Ale was silent for a moment, but then a chuckle came out of her mouth.
“Okay, I've deducted that you've got to be some kind of alien, I guess. I mean, how else can I be in my hut one moment, and then the next, I'm… Wherever this place is. Oh, wait! Are you party of this Starfleet thing this one alien has been talking to me about? It would make sense. I -” Ale paused, lowering her shotgun, “I am still so hungover. Aliens aren't real. What am I talking about. This is just a dream. None of this -”
“Alexandria Park.” The figure said.
At the meeting of her name, Ale's shotgun snapped back up, her mind now much more alert.





(Unfinished. Will get back to it later.)

Weekly #3: Sci-fi (second half)

Part 3

The moment Ale touched the hood of the cloaked figure, she was no longer in the white room. Now, she stood outside. But instead of being surrounded by trees and nature, she was surrounded by tall, spiraling buildings and people. People. They weren't zombies. They were alive, walking, talking, breathing, healthy.
Ale slowly turned around in circles, taking in all the sights. She noticed these things wrapped around some of the people's foreheads. They were transparent, and it seemed they had some kind of computer-like technology inside. She wondered what they were, but she dared not ask.
Ale just stood there, the buildings towering high above her. The people passed her by, not seeming to notice that she carried two guns; one in her hand and another one on her back.
Having never seen buildings like this before, and knowing that whatever was wrapped around the foreheads of these people, there were only two possibilities. Either she had been transported again, or this was still a dream. She decided -
“I'm still dreaming,” Ale muttered to herself, closed her eyes and raised a hand to her temple, “This is one very long, very bad dream. I'm sick and tired of this. When am I going to wake up?”
There was a tap on her shoulder. She looked up, but no one was there. She looked behind, and there was a woman standing right there. She had brown hair and blue eyes, and thankfully didn't have one of those things wrapped around her head.
“Excuse me,” the woman said, “Do you mind me asking who you are and where you came from?”
Ale wanted to grit her teeth, but instead, she just sighed and said, “Actually, I do very much mind you asking. I was just questioned without reason, and when I asked the questions, I got no answers. So if you didn't mind, I'll be there one doing the questioning this time.”
The woman nodded, “Alright. But not here. It's too dangerous out in the open. I fear you may have already stepped into danger the moment you appeared,” she looked around, “Come on. We can go to my place. It'll be safe there.”
Ale chuckled lightly, “Danger? Yeah, right. Not in a dream. If I die, I'll just wake up to reality, which, actually, is what I want. For this nightmare to end.”
The woman shook her head, “I'm serious. This isn't a dream. We can talk while we make our way to my place, but we have to keep it quiet. Come on, we have to hurry.”
Ale sighed, “Fine, whatever you say. I'm sick here until I wake up anyways,” she slung her shotgun over her shoulder, “Lead the way.”
The woman took Ale's arm and pulled her into an alleyway. They made a few more turns before she asked, “Okay, what do you want to know?”
Ale shrugged, “I just realized, of this is a dream, why do I need to question you?”
“Just imagine if this wasn't a dream. What would you ask?”
Ale thought for a moment, “Hmm, okay. First, what's your name?”
“Kiera Tagertt,” the woman said, “What's your name?”
“Nope,” Ale said, “I said I was going to do the questioning, so I'm not going to answer that. Alright, Kiera, where am I?”
“Los Angeles.” Kiera answered.
“You mean, California?”
“The one and only.”
Ale took a deep breath, “Okay. What are those things some of the people were wearing on their heads?”
“They're Dream Catchers,” Kiera said.
“What do they do?” Ale asked.
“They store dreams, thoughts and memories,” Kiera explained, “You use it if you don't want to forget something.”
They rounded another corner. Kiera led Ale to a door and knocked. They heard footsteps approach, and then stop. Suddenly, the door was flung open, and a blond haired man quickly ushered them in.
The man pulled Kiera aside. They talked in hushed whispers.
Ale stood to the side, waiting to see what would happen next. She knew they were talking about her. What else? She was a stranger, and this woman Kiera had just invited her into her home. She also still had her guns, fully locked and loaded, although they didn't know that.





(Unfinished. Will get back to it later.)

Weekly #4: SWCea of Monsters

Part 1

The four of them rode on slowly. Though they had their hats tilted low so that the brim overshadowed their eyes, the late afternoon sun beat down on them ruthlessly. And the desert floor was no help. Every step felt like a mile, and it seemed the sand would swallow them and their horses up at any moment.
It has been days since they had left that town, and it had been even longer since they had a job. All four of them were aching to do something with their hands.
Without stopping or looking back, Army, the one leading this small group, spoke up, “We're almost there. Ah promise.”
The rest of the crew groaned.
“That's what ya said yesterday.” Trace moaned.
“And the day before that.” Buck complained.
Army sighed. He turned his horse around to face his crew. He looked toward the last member who hasn't spoken a word since they left.
“Ya wanna back me up here?” Army asked.
The young woman shook her head slowly.
Army sighed, “Alright, fine. Git it out, Skit. But Ah'm tellin' ya, Ah promise we're almost there.”
Skit rolled her eyes, and for the first time in their journey, she spoke up, “And the day before - ” Skit paused, “Is that a town up ahead?”
Buck and Trace lifted their heads, and Army turned around to see what Skit was talking about. And sure enough, there was a town in the distance.
“Sorry, but that ain't where we're supposed to go.”
“Ah know. But we need to water the horses.” Skit replied.
“And get some rest,” Trace said “It's far overdue fer a comfortable bed.”
“And we need to stock up on some more food,” Buck noted, “What we have won't even last us another meal.”
With those compelling arguments, along with normal exhaustion, Army gave in without a fight. “Alright. We can make it there before nightfall. It'll be a couple more hours, but we can make it. Or we can set up camp here and now and go in the mornin'. Whadda y'all wanna do?”
The other three looked at each other, and then back at Army. In unison, they said “Now.”
Army nodded, “Alright, then. Now it is.”
With a kick from his heel, Army spurred his horse onward, and the others followed.

387 words

Part 2

They rode into town just as the sun was setting. Some of the townsfolk were working to set up a stage, others were hanging up lights. Neither company paid the other any attention more than a glance.
They found a stable for the horses, and then lodging for themselves for the night. But despite wanting to fall right asleep, they were famished. So they headed down to the saloon.
“Remember,” Army said as they crossed the road, “Normal names.”
The others nodded. That was all he had to say.
They stepped into the saloon. They got a few glances and stares from some gruff looking guys. But they didn't move. Everyone remained calm.
The four newcomers walked up to the counter. The bartender greeted them.
“Welcome, folks, to the Rosebud Saloon! Wut can Ah git fo' ya?”
“Water fer all o' us.” Army said.
The bartender nodded, “Anythin' to eat?”
“Girls?” Amy said, motioning for them to place an order.
Trace started, “Ah'll take a rabbit stew. Ah need somethin' hot.”
“And Ah'll have some biscuits ‘n’ gravy, if ya got any.” Skit added.
“Ah sure do have some biscuits ‘n’ gravy.” The bartender said, writing the orders down on a notepad. He turned to Buck, “And fer you, sir?”
“Ah'll have some o' dem beef ‘n’ beans, if ya don't mind.” Buck said.




(Unfinished)

Okay! So I'm my 1k intro, I had mentioned I have a hate/love relationship with coffee creamer. Well, now is the time you've all been waiting for. I'm going to rant about it!

I should probably start from the beginning. Everyone loves hot chocolate, you know? If you didn't know, well, now you know. And if you didn't love hot chocolate, your crazy (just joking). Anyways, me and my brothers live hit chocolate. A few years ago, and I think even still to this day, whenever we have hit chocolate, my mom would sometimes let us put some of her coffee creamer into our drinks. I took every chance I could. But after a while, I started noticing that my stomach would hurt whenever I had coffee creamer in my hot chocolate, so eventually I stopped using the creamer.i was fine with that, since hot chocolate is still so good on it's own.
Two years ago, when I turned however many years old that I'm not going to reveal,I started drinking coffee. I want going to start off with black coffee, so I used coffee creamer. It was fine in the beginning, and after a couple weeks or so, I began to notice that my stomach would hurt whenever I drank coffee. I thought about it, and there was only one other time I could recall where my stomach had upset me like that… The hot chocolate with coffee creamer.

Thank you notes! I never thought I'd be so excited to write thank you notes! What?!

First of all, thank you, hosts, for hosting this amazing session of SWC! I know it was just my first session, but it was amazing! I loved the chaos, it was so much fun. Thanks for running such an awesome camp. With the help of SWC, I think this was the most I've ever written in a month!

Thank you Alana for pinging me when the camper sign-ups opened up! I was so excited when I saw it in my messages. I had some stuff I had to do that morning, but I signed up as soon as I got a chance, which ended up being later that day. Again, thank you so much for pinging me! If you hadn't, I would've missed the sign-ups and missed such a fun month, so thank you! I am eternally grateful.

Polar Bears! I don't know how you got you name, but I love it! Thank you for being there when I needed an extension and had questions about the weeklies! Your answers helped me a lot. By the way, how did you get your name?

DYSTOPIAN FOR THE WIN! Even if we somehow got knocked off the top of the leaderboard at the last minute, I say we still won. It was so fun hanging out with you guys, whether it was in our cabin or in the main cabin. And great job on holding our heads above water (get it?) during cabin wars… Even though I didn't participate in it much myself. This was my first session, and I wasn't prepared for how chaotic cabin wars got. But after watching for a little bit, I got to see how they worked. As far to my knowledge, I don't think we lost a single war! Well, except for Chocolate's surprise cabin war, but that one wasn't valid, so we didn't lose any points! Yay! But I do hope to be able to participate in cabin wars more next time.

Snowy, Skylar, and Silvi! Thank you for being such great leaders and leading Dystopian! It was so much fun camping under you. Thanks for answering any questions I asked, which I think ended up being more about how counting words and chroma. But if there were questions that you had answered that wasn't about counting, thank you for that, too! It helped me to better understand how cabins and counting worked.

Zy and Dragon (that's your name, right? Please forgive me if I'm wrong)! Thank you each for critiquing a piece of mine! It was very helpful, and I plan to make them better… Someday. I'm not sure when, since I'm burnt out from writing stories for now, but I will get to them! Eventually.

Vi! Hi! Thank you for being my penpal! I don't think it's even been a week yet and we didn't exchange very many letters, but it was still nice being penpals! I'm glad to have gotten to know you better, even if it was just a little bit. I'd love to continue to be penpals even after the session, but I'll leave that up to you. I don't want to force you to do something you don't want to do. But feel free to talk to me anytime!

To everyone who was there to answer my questions before the session started and during camp! Thank you! Whether my questions were about SWC or just something silly and random (like the cowbells), thank you for answering them! I think it helped me to slide into SWC a little smoother rather than being thrown straight into the chaos. Also thank you for letting me hang out in the November ‘25 main cabin even though I was the newcomer and hadn’t participated in that session. I think getting to know all of you beforehand also helped me to not feel like I was walking into something where everybody knew each other and I didn't. I mean, it was like that in February, but I'm glad it wasn't when camp started. So again, thank you so much! (Woah, wait a moment! It's already been two months since I started hanging out with y'all?! Wow, how time flies! But it's been an amazing two months, that's for sure!)

Cat! Hey, I know we didn't talk at all during this session, but I want to thank you for directing me to Alana for camper sign-up ping. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't. Probably wondering when they would come out or wandering around Scratch trying to find it. Or I might have ended up stalking your profile, but I don't want to know. I'm just glad it didn't come down to that.

And finally, last but not least (actually, probably most importantly), I have to thank my good friend and NON-SWCER, Cab! Hi Cab! Didn't expect to see yourself in here, did you? You're welcome! But no, actually, you deserve so much thanks and credit! If you hadn't told me about SWC, I don't think I ever would have found out about it. I never would have joined and had so much fun. But you did tell me about it, so I did find out about it and I did join. I had so much fun here! It was an amazing month, and I got so much writing done. The most I've ever done in a month, I think. So thank you again so much, Cab, for telling me about SWC! (I think I've asked this before, but how did YOU find out about this amazing community again?)

Well, I guess that concludes my thank you notes. This has been such a wonderful and amazing first session! And I plan to come back in July!

~Skit

well first, i DID in-fact expect myself. i mean, you pinged me about it. i dont just randomly hop into scratch forums. i already hang out in Scratch Chat.

so, i first heard about it not too long after joining SC (not with the W) because of cat. she was a manager there, so me being the bored person i am and learning every possible thing there is to know about the managers discovered this sort of writing camp known as (oh well yall know what it is)

i didnt interact with it for a while until one fateful day, then everyone tried convincing me to join. it almost worked, but i was unfortunately a music writer instead of story writer. but hey, it at least made me know about it until you eventually joined scratch and i told you abt it

YALL SWCERS MAY NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE, but ig yall can take skit

huh