Weekly 1

don't have the time to format or count words sorry!!!! they should all be above the limit though

Part 1: Passage of Time
The ocean waves wash calmly across the sands of Port Limestone. The docks are slick with seawater, but those working there have grown long accustomed to it; they are sure-footed in their steps as they carry cargo off the small trading boats from other parts along the shore. Closed nets wide with fish are lugged back onto land by the fishers of the port too.
Further inland are the residential buildings. There are narrow streets shadowed by the towering houses. Camphora happens to be inside one of them. She watches the sea through her window, breathing in the salt air. Soon the Organization will be defeated, she hopes—or prays. With Basil and everyone else she has met so far on this journey all the way to the northern tip of the continent, she’ll have enough to do away with the Organization once and for all. She’ll find her adopted family again, perhaps divide her time between North and South Starrgo, and see what the future holds.




Ten years after, nothing has changed in Yamato-Hitraki. Or at least, on the surface everything seemed just the same: as lovely and majestic as it had been.
Yet for someone who was finely attuned to the region, there was an obvious difference. The magic that had kept the land in this state was seeping out of the valley, and into the world.
The colors of the sky were muted, just a little. And whereas once the transition from white clouds to the vibrantly colored would be instant, now there was a more gradual transition. A symbol of the realization of how this place came to be, how it was not quite surreal after all. Or perhaps more surreal than it appeared.
Other things, too, did not spring forth in a flash of grandeur but trickled slowly from the domain they belong: the blossoms so bright they almost glowed, the plains so impossibly tall and perfect.
The community stayed together, as strong as before; they had grown and stayed with the changes. The prophecies began to dwindle, becoming more vague, yet still as sought-after as ever.
In the end, Yamato-Hitraki was a different place, but to say that it has lost its beauty would be the greatest lie.




Part 2: Dual Timelines
“Opa, this rhyme sounds boring,” the boy whined as he stared up at his grandfather. “Aren’t all of these words just an excuse to have a rhyme?”
“Would you like to hear Opa’s war stories instead, then?” Reinhard replied affably. “You know, maybe I should tell you the scariest one yet-”
His grandson let out a squeak. “Nonono nevermind I take that back I don’t wanna-”
“I thought so.” He chuckled to himself as he ruffled the boy’s hair. “Now let’s get on with it.”

If you had asked Reinhard Holzswarth whether or not he had a war story for you, he would answer yes with relish—he had a fair share of ones he could weave into a riveting (and probably gory) tale. Not all of them were as dreadful as the first one he had told Matthias, though. Klaus must think him crazy, he recalls his son, audibly sighing as Reinhard threatened the little boy with the stories.
“You don’t have to be like this,” Klaus would say ruefully. “Do I tell him my war stories?”
“No, you’re not his crazy Opa,” Reinhard would chuckle in response.
But sometimes he does think about how little he really knows about Klaus’s time at the front. All the years back—how does he feel about them? How did he feel about everything that had happened? But Klaus had never shared. Never. They’d go back to talking over the old mechanical magazines, the ones filled with the shiny cars foreign and familiar, and they silently agreed to lock the past away.
Reinhard, for his part, did not have the greatest time. But he supposed Klaus already knew that.
Reinhard rather preferred to recall the days before Klaus was born.

“What??” he exclaimed loudly from his bed as he tore through the letter. Absolutely tore through it.
“Do you need anything, Lieutenant?” Gertrud asked wearily as she hurried over to his bedside.
“No, it’s just that. Oh. My. I don’t even know-”
“Did something bad happen?” she asked, tiredness quickly shifting to worry. Oh, the poor girl.
“No, no, absolutely nothing at all. Sorry to trouble you,” he said hastily. In fact, it should be the most wonderful news ever. Especially since he was at no risk of… well, death. But somehow he couldn’t bring himself to comprehend it; everything seemed so foreign and fake. Partly because this whole war was foreign and fake. No, no, he had just made a joke that no one would’ve laughed at. If they were here, of course. Especially Max. Max would stare at him in disappointment for a solid ten seconds and turn away with a sigh. But he wasn’t here, of course.
Gertrud nodded and turned away. She was a sweet nurse, if Reinhard thought so. Unlike the French girl—but that was a topic for another day. He’d complained about Alinia enough in his thoughts already, and the petty grudge he had against her was probably one-sided anyway. Still. What kind of name even was Alinia?


Part 3: Pacing
(Plot point 1: Max chilling in the hotel.)
For yet another time that week—although if Max is being honest he isn’t quite willing to keep track of the weeks anymore—he lies down on the sofa, doing absolutely nothing at all. The warm sunlight from outside is absolutely lovely; it is the perfect temperature, and by this time Max doubts that it will ever change from that. Of course levels in this dimension can always deceive, but he suspects he knows which one this is, and either way it does not trigger his suspicions that usually come up with such deceptive levels. This is truly utopia, there is no doubt about that.
His eyes flicker lazily across the room. For someone living in a whole entire suite all by himself, he sure has made quite a mess of himself here. Clothes lie strewn all around, although they seem to be somehow perpetually clean. The tables are slightly misaligned, too. He has gotten somewhat to the lack of hunger and food in this place, but he did miss the taste of food, despite not needing it anymore.

(Plot point 2: Max discovers the manual and then laptop)
Suddenly he becomes aware of something against his leg, something rather sharp. He startles, but then realizes that it seems to have always been there. Sitting up, he takes a look at it.
A Guide to Windows XP.
With a start Max realizes this is the book that Ri has looked at and then tossed aside. When he opens it, he feels a lurching feeling inside. This cannot be so, this cannot-
Max, this is Kurt. We’re here.
He doubts, yes, for a brief moment.
But this is unmistakably Kurt’s handwriting. He flings down the book, convinced that this is the moment that the level truly reveals its nature to him. But nothing is changed. Nothing noticeable, at least.
Max wills himself to pick up and read more, but there is nothing more—from Kurt, anyway, just instruction manuals. He pauses for just a moment, brain not quite responding.
Then he leaps up and bolts out of the suite, leaping into the elevator and jabbing the button. He doesn’t know what in the world a Windows XP is supposed to be, but he does know that he has seen something that perfectly matches the picture given in the manual. And it is at the front desk of the hotel.
Surely another orchestrated incident by Ri, he thinks, unsure whether to feel exceedingly annoyed or exceedingly relieved.




Part 4: Tying it Together

There’s no arsonist. There never was. It took him far too long to understand it.
Years later he sits in his apartment, looking absentmindedly through the sheaves of photos, and remembers

“Daddy, are you going to be home soon?”
His daughter’s voice is full of eagerness and annoyance, a rather adorable mixture if he thought so. Still, he keeps his voice even when he replies, not wanting to trigger her wrath: “Yes, sweetie. Very soon. Just a few days, and I’ll be home/”
“With the doll?” she says, and he can practical hear her puppy eyes flashing up at him.
“Yes, I’ve got one for you and Betty both.” Why this one doll she wanted he had no idea, but he was more than happy to oblige. She never asked for much, anyway, but this trip is the first of the occasional ones he was to have, and he wanted to bring back something lovely and grand.


He never had too much time to think ahead, did he?
But hten how could he have predicted all of this tragedy?
His finger brushes through the doll’s wavy black hair. This cannot have been real, but it was. It was. It was.



Everything ground to a halt the day after. Everything.
He is at dinner—or what could account for dinner in this time and age, namely fast food. He chewed lazily through the burger, feeling hte juicy mixture of cheese and sausage disintegrate in his mouth. And again. And a gain. While he chews he scrolls through his phone, reading the texts from his accountant.
Just then, a notification startled him from going through the details of the defendant’s case. An image his wife had sent. He clicked on it, and it showed Blackjack on the bookshelf. Huh?
“The kids put him up there,” the explanation came five seconds later. He chuckled.
How would he know that this is the last message he’ll ever get from her?


“A fire.”
“Yes, a fire,” the voice said slowly.
“Is everyone out? How- what-”
“I’m on my way there, my friend, just hold on.”
This cannot be happening.
He leaps up and dials her number, sends frantic texts when she doesn’t pick up. He paces his hotel room, before realizing this is probably the wrong way to go about it, so he stands up and stalks out.



His first suspect is the arsonist.
The fire was started naturally, or so everyone claims. But that cannot be prove; he does not believe it. There has to be an arsonist who started everything.
“For the last time, I’m telling you, it was the remodeling,” his friend insists, voice cracking through the call.
“No,” he replies, because he cannot accept that he had a role to play in this. “Why isn’t the police department doing more? I’ll sue them!”
His high-pitched threat did not impress eithe rhis friend nor himself. An attorney he may be, yes, but he cannot work with no proof. But he’ll make proof, if it’s what it takes. Anything. He’d do anything.

Bidaily 7/9-10

Part 1

618 words

i apologize for how rambly this is :p

Ordinary World: Ri Breguet is a silly little French kid in the 1890s. He’s pretty rich and also pretty spoiled. He also doesn’t really care for his family, and he really dislikes his cousin Jeanne.

Call to Adventure: One day, Ri just randomly happens to go to the town of Grangeville to visit Jeanne and her family! After trashtalking them (not related to the later events of the story) and stomping to the beach he drowns… or does he? As a matter of fact, he doesn’t!! Instead he ends up in a void with this random alien.

Refusal of the Call: The alien, aka Jikdus, wants Ri to get the heck out of the void so he doesn’t end up dying. Naturally, Ri does not want to get out of the void, because he didn’t really care for his past life, if he was really being honest.

Meeting the Mentor: Actually Ri’s already found his mentor: Jikdus! A bit more info on Jikdus: they’re an alien who hails from the planet of Kayows, and they’re also a shapeshifter!! But mostly a monochrome one at that.

Crossing the First Threshold: In any case, Jikdus manages to encourage Ri to get the heck out of the void so that he can return to his mortal life (or at least attempt to; more on that later). With a lot of work, Ri gets out of it!! Unfortunately he also finds out that there is no way to get back to his life because his funeral already happened…

Tests, Allies, Enemies: I can go on about this all day, but essentially Ri meets A LOT OF CHARACTERS in these next 7 years. And because of the time-warping characteristics of the universe, which are obviously more exaggerated for an universe hopper, he spends a lot more than that just going around universes and meeting people and doing things. A short list of his friends/allies include March, Theo, Germain Moselle, Max Lutz, Camphora Lang, Hans Vogel, Ellis Bayne, the Keymaster, Atticus Wolfe… you see, this is what I meant when I said that I could go on about this all day. His main enemy throughout all of this (and it’s also kinda one-sided) is Marshal Philippe Petain. Long long story. But despite all of his adventures, he has never met a copy of himself…

Ordeal: Finally, Ri confronts the “evil” copy of himself from another multiverse. Well, mostly the evil copy of Jikdus, since it was them who had been repressing “evil” Ri all along! Together the two Ri’s defeat evil Jikdus, who had been watching OG Ri through the whole time.

Reward: Ri relishes in his victory and the presence of his new friend! (Everything beyond this is not established lore so I’m just making stuff up LOL)

The Road Back: Ri decides to return to talk to his parents. The main obstacle is that he doesn’t really want to. It’s been 7 years for them and a whole heck ton longer for him. He still keeps in contact with Jeanne, though, so he consults her for advice this time.

Resurrection: TURNS OUT EVIL JIKDUS WAS NEVER GONE!! (this is an extremely cheap plot twist I apologize) And so every single one of Ri’s acquaintances dropped whatever they were doing to help him. True friendship goals, honestly.

Return with Elixir: Ri returns to Mr. and Mrs. Breguet, being so much older and wiser but no less sillier. His best friends and Jikdus accompany him for part of the way, but it is a visit he makes alone. And at the end of it, he finally finds peace. And doesn’t die. Sooo his adventures continue until the end of time I guess!!!! HOORAY!!!!!!



Part 2

454 words!! used starthorn's outline yippee (ordinary world)

It was a lovely morning for Smokey, as usual. He had a lovely stretch, flexing his little white claws, before taking a few nibbles at his dry cat food. It had been the same food for the past month, and he was bored of it. A little. But not enough to not eat it, because what else could he eat?

Once he was done with eating, he paddled around the house. His owner was sitting at a desk and typing pretty intensely on his laptop. Smokey walked over and tried to lie down on the said laptop.

“Smokey, I’m a bit busy right now,” his owner sighed as he plopped Smokey down on the floor. Smokey meowed in disappointment but flopped down onto the floor instead.

But of course, his owner did not have respite from this needy cat for long. Near lunch time, Smokey began to meow insistently for his water.

“Alright,” his owner said as he closed his tab and walked over to the kitchen sink, where Smokey was waiting patiently. As always, the owner turned on the faucet and let the water flow while Smokey stared at it dispassionately. A few seconds passed, and the cat dad admitted defeat once again; he held out his hand to hold the water, turned off the faucet, and hurriedly let Smokey drink the water.

Smokey refused to be rushed; for a solid two minutes he stood on the counter, licking the water out of his owner’s hand. The water remained in his hand nearly the entire time, by some miracle. Or perhaps by this point he was just used to how long Smokey took to drink the water. Could holding water in one’s hand for an extended period of time be a learned skill??

Finally, when Smokey was done, he looked at his owner again in appreciation (he was not an impolite cat) and leaped off the sink before trotting happily back into the living room. His owner sighed and washed his hands. This was adorable and all, but Smokey couldn’t keep going on like this! What if his owner had to go? What if his owner died?? Well, to be fair, he wasn’t the only person who could take care of Smokey, but it would be unfortunate if Smokey couldn’t get water because of them.

He sighed and walked over to where Smokey was once again lying down, and scratched at the spot behind his ear. Smokey nuzzled deeper into his hand and purred.

One day Smokey would have to change his ways, if he was to have any hope of survival in some post-apocalyptic world… or something along those lines. Although his owner doubted there would be water in a post-apocalyptic world.

Critique

Hellooo! Sorry this is a bit rushed, I’m in a tiny bit of a hurry ^^’ but let’s get into it! Just a heads up that you don’t have to take into consideration anything you don’t agree with, so don’t feel pressured to change everything I pointed out <3 with that being said, let’s get into it!

So starting off with general comments! There are a lot of things I liked about this piece for one, the narrating voice was nice to read. It’s conversational and engaging without being too over-the-top, if that makes sense? I also love the worldbuilding premise, of a time travel agency within a normal travel agency :p the imagery was pretty neat too, although I did see a few details that you could possibly clear up (more on that later). Overall though, this is such a great introduction for your story and I’m sure whatever comes after would be super cool!!

Okay, now that’s over I think I’ll point out some line-by-line stuff:

Even that gets boring, though. I’ve never been in the back of the store.

There could be a line break between these two sentences? Since you introduced the door, which feels like it deserves its own paragraph following the context of the narrator’s job.

The back halls are incredibly clean.

I think it would be great if you could clarify that the door leads to the back halls—I didn’t really catch that on my first time reading through xD

various mechanics and papers

Elaborating on the “mechanics” might be a good idea :0 when I saw the word I was a bit confused at first whether you meant like actual machines or just machine diagrams haha

Usually there’s a little sign that says “Do not enter,” but today there’s nothing.

Until today, you haven’t been.

I love the connections here, it makes a lot of sense :>

Also the sign-in sheet is such a great detail for some reasons—it makes a lot of sense with the worldbuilding and it just matches the vibes of everything a lot haha

Anddd I think that should be about it! Thanks again for letting me critique your writing you did such a great job with this!

tbh i don't need this so i guess this just exists lol…

daily 7/14

725 words will format later

Good habits!
- Sleeping enough
- Being organized!!?

One day ri was just chilling somewhere and existing when he felt himself being teleported to some random office place.
“What the heck,” he said. He’d never been teleported by someone else’s volition before. He waited for the blinding light to clear before he surveyed his environment, and he was rather shocked by what was awaiting him
It was actually his very own office, and three skeptical-looking people were seated in the plushy chairs scattered around: Camphora, Germain, and Ellis.
“Hey guys, how did you-”
“Oh, I helped,” Jikdus said happily, appearing out of nowhere. They probably transformed from being a spider or something, Ri thought.
“Okay so what are we here for again?”
“This is an intervention, Ri,” Ellis stated.
“Yeah, we’ve just come to talk about something that we think you really should think about,” Campora added.
Germain didn’t say anything else, but just nodded and fixed his intense gaze at Ri.
“Ookay and what is this something that I should be thinkinab about?” Ri asked curiously, feeling like something was up with those four.
“Basically, I may or may not have informed them of your lifestyle choices,” Jikdus said innocently.
Ri groaned. “Mx. Jikdus!”
“And we’ve been hearing that you haven’t been sleeping a lot. Or keeping your stuff clean,” Ellis stated, raising his eyebrows.
“You’re all calling me out for not sleeping enough?? And being messy?? That’s my entire personality!!!!”
“Yes, that’s exactly what we’re here for,” Germain said with a tipped head.
“Germain, you’re hardly one to talk! I bet I actually get more sleep than you-”
“It’s not like I had a choice,” he replied with a sigh. “Unlike you! I’m pretty sure you can just go to sleep anytime, but you just have to bustle around everywhere and hugely mess up your sleep schedule making you look like a starving raccoon. Trust me, I can relate.”
Ri huffed in exasperation. This was rather silly, if he thought so. “Well, yeah, but it’s not like anything’s wrong with me just because I sleep a bit less on the fewer side of hours-”
“As a matter of fact I’ve been tracking your sleep- okay that sounds creepy but yes I’ve been doing that. And I’m not very pleased with the results, Ri. Four hours per 24 hours for the past year?”
Ri whistled nervously as Germain, Camphora, and ellis all stared at him.
“Okay fine maybe I don’t sleep enough but my organization is fine!!!!!”
“I’m pretty sure you lost like half of the papers I’ve ever given you,” Germain said pointedly.
Camphora stepped a bit closer. “And that letter I sent you! You never replied to it.”
“Okay guys I’m thinking maybe this is not the best approach to lecturing Ri,” Ellis said. “Or maybe lecturing’s not the best approach in general.”
“Well if you must know Sandy’s a bit short on time so she can’t really think of anything better at the moment,” Ri replied with a roll of his eyes.
“Oh, Sandy! She was that person I met that one time, right?” Camphora said, while Germain and Ellis exchanged confused looks.
“Well I mean- okay, whatever, forget about Sandy she’s not really relevant (although the fact that she slept only 5 hours during cabin wars is THE WHOLE REASON SHE HAS TO WRITE ALL THESE WORDS) to this story.”
“But the point is,” Ellis continued, “we’re being too mean to Ri, everyone!”
“According to The Willpower Principle, it does prove to be less effective in prompting good behaviors. Self-punishment, I mean,” Ri said casually.
Germain sighed. “I understand. But for our sake, do take enough time for yourself. We don’t want you to be sad and unhealthy. I think life is hard enough for you as it is.”
“As for you too, Germain,” Ri responded, seeming a good bit more serious now. “And if you guys really insist…”
“We can’t really patrol you, you know,” Jikdus said. “No, not even I can, not completely. I’m trusting you to take care of yourself, Ri. Sometimes I think you just forget that you really need to.”
“We don’t want you to be a sad little sixteen-year-old,” Ellis added, while Germain chuckled.
“FOR THE LAST TIME BY SOME DEFINITIONS-”
Everyone burst out in laughter, and Ri rolled his eyes. But he smiled too. He loved his friends and Mx. Jikdus.

skibidi!

Daily 7/15

credits because i forgot to include oops: jikdus and ri art are by me; grangeville art is from the long long holiday; white void and verdun pictures pulled off google, as is the armistice painting by harold hume. great plague of london and petrichor inspo art are also from google but i don't really have the time to check for more specific credits. the hub's picture is from the backrooms fandom wiki, aaaaand universe photo's also from google OKAY YAY




OKAY HI so I know we don’t need to write anything for this daily but I’ll yap about my aesthetic anyway because without context it’s kinda confusing haha and I also want to get my daily 3k (at this rate it’s not going to be done but I’m just gonna write as much as I can before bed).

Anyways! The white light is basically the best visual representation I could find of Ri’s entrance to… well, the white void that he inhabits and chills in all the time. The picture to the right of it is of Grangeville, the town he’s from! Which is also a fictional location from The Long Long Holiday (gosh I miss my TLLH phase so much), and it’s in Normandy, near the real city of Rouen. Which would make Ri French which is so goofy (I didn’t put either his nationality flag or his pride flag into this oops I forgot to). Anyways the other person’s picture (both of the pictures are by me by the way, lifted straight from their Art Fight profile like Zai’s of Lance was) is Jikdus!! Ri’s mentor, and I think I’ve given more info about them like earlier in my thread. Basically they’re a shapeshifter character from the planet of Kayows!! Anyways next to the second half (well a bit more than half but you get what I mean) of the aesthetic. On the left side there are four pictures arranged in three rows! On the top row (the only one with two pictures) there’s a portion of a photo taken at the Battle of Verdun on the left, and to the right is a portion of the portrait of the Armistice at Compigne (which I’m writing a fic about!). Sooo this kinda symbolizes Ri’s WWI arc and ofc his friend Germain! (Each of the three rows, plus the picture on the far right of the bottom half, represents a world Ri frequents along with his corresponding friend of that world). For the second row, which has a piece of a painting of London during the Great Plague, represents Ri’s friend/partner Ellis!! (I really need to like think about their relationship sometime hm). And the third row is of the Hub in the Backrooms—which is where the Keymaster lives. He’s usually insanely annoyed by Ri but it’s pretty one-sided because Ri regards the Keymaster as his friend hehe. The picture on the far right is the city of Petrichor, in North Starrgo! It’s one of the cities in my NaNo novel, and I’ve written three seperate SusWC fics in which Ri goes around Petrichor with all of the characters referenced/shown in this aesthetic set except for the Keymaster—so the first is Jikdus and Camphora, the second Ellis (and Ella but I don’t really have enough lore to represent her yet), and the third Germain! I didn’t actually finish the third yet oops but I will do that during the next cabin wars.

And that’s about it! In the middle, the background is a picture of the universe (since… Ri’s a universe hopper LOLL) and then it’s Ri himself in all of his silliness!! That’s it, now I must rush to lab because I have three minutes to run halfway across campus and I should stop staying so late yapping LOLLL and yes this whole explanation was completely not necessary but I thought it would be funsies. OKAY BYE.

Weekly 2

Part 1: Three Word Stories

315 words - “The blue ocean covers the horizon. As beautifully so I feel drawn to this serene vignette of cerulean sea that does continue into eternity”

Madeline stood in front of the shimmering waters of the coast. Limestone and Slate, after all of the conflict that had plagued this part of the continent, were finally at peace. Everyone who had entered the fight alongside her had lived to see the end of it, and it felt as if the air of victory permeated throughout the entire shore. The Bane siblings were traveling around who-knows-where, and Buteo had taken his leave to the south as well. It was just her left, witnessing the glory that endured in the aftermath, ruminating on everything that had happened before.

Just then, she felt rather than heard the footsteps approaching her—she felt the pressure of the sand shift behind her.

“Selle?” she asked the figure who was surely approaching her, without turning.

“Maddy,” Selle replied, the smile shining through her voice. She took her place beside Madeline, and together they looked down at the water. All her life Madeline felt the irresistible pull of the water, as surely as the tides were pulled by the moon. It was stronger than the roar of victory throughout the otherwise shattered towns of Starrgo, wracked for so long by the strangeness of the magic that coursed through the berries and the Organization that sought after them so.

“It’s been so long,” she said, and she thought that Selle must have understood what she meant. Everything. They were no longer the lovestruck and idealist young girls that they had been, so far back in the receding tides of time. But if they still loved each other as much as ever, would that still make a difference? How oculd the lost time of the past stop them from seizing what they still had left in the future?

Selle reached out for her hand. “I know.” And something about the way her voice caught told Madeline that yes, she did indeed understand.


Part 2: Bestselling Bookstore

58 + 306 words

16-year-old Ri Breguet has been a universe hopper for as long as he can remember. Yet for all the times he’s traveled across universes, through the fabric of time and space, he had never met another version of himself. Until one day, when a raggedy person looking remarkably like himself shows up in the white void he inhabited…



Wee-C stared at the sky. The stars were shining bright, almost beckoning him to explore them. He recalled the stories he had heard about the robots that had reached for the moon and landed there.

But those were only stories. Could they have been true?

There seemed to be nothing past the barriers of this cold hard city, as everyone had been repeating to him when he confessed his curiosity of everything outside. Surely the barriers were not the edge of the world—but then what was? No one was willing to let him consider.

As he watched the stars, he found that his footsteps had taken him to where the barriers were located. They reached high above his head, far too high for him to possibly scale. He certainly would’ve tried, too, if they weren’t as slippery as ice. What was he doing all the way out here, anyway? His yearning must’ve taken him in this direction for hours.

Yet there was nothing for him to do out here, except stare at the glowing red walls. He’d have to learn more about the barriers to take them on.


After poring over content from the digital archives for days, Wee-C thought he knew enough about the barriers. Perhaps. They were built centuries ago, but they were merely the final touch on the long-persisting ideal of the robots of the city: to never leave. The world outside was a place of unimaginable danger. Few would ever want to leave, even if the barriers were taken down.

But they were there now, so that was not worth thinking about. Wee-C skimmed over yet another record with his access to the public archives, but something caught his attention, and he backed to what he had read.

First mass breakout in two hundred years…

Mechanical heart racing, he scrambled to read more.



Part 3: Take a Break

basically i played a three-way game of speed and a giant game of cabo/kaboom LOLL
151 words

Cards passed between conniving fingers
As time slowly trickles by
Then suddenly speeds up in a rush
As they fall face up into the pile

Protests ring out as decks are combined
Blue and red lines blur with each other
In the pile—
But four is too far, she claims
And so he obliges

First comes an ingenious setup
(If the dealer herself should think so)
Of twos turned into threes
A triumvirate that wishes speed to the best
And when each vertex gains victory the tie becomes broken
And the corner gives way to a line again

Then a square lengthened by a factor of six
She recounts how she had done this with her sister,
How it turned out for the best,
And the cards are stacked in twos and threes as they tumble
Into the ever-growing pile
Until the end is called for and the winner is revealed



Part 4: Google Translate

479 words - “The sixteen-year-old Princess Brigid fell in love with him. His house appears several times, but not the same time or door to door. One day a strange boy found the house where he lived.”

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful kingdom and an equally beautiful princess. Her name was Brigid, and every day she would wander around the royal gardens, marveling at the sight of all of the pretty flowers. Her flowers; she cared for them with the same dedication that her father hoped with which she would rule the kingdom.

But that appeared far off still. Her father was still a healthy and strong man. It would never hurt to make preparations for the future, however, and so the search for a suitor began.

Brigid would greet the eager men every day, but none of them quite interested her. None of them had the worldliness that she did, the worldliness that she expected. Who of them would care for her gardening and her endless wonder of the universe?

One day, Brigid visited the bakery. There were only three in the village that the palace bordered, and she would alternate between them. It was turning out to be an ordinary day, until she glimpsed the building that stole her breath away.

The flowers. There were so many of them, adorning the house. Struck by this sight, she headed over to knock on the door, and it was opened by a boy of her own age.

“I love your flowers!” she gushed swiftly, and he gave a slight smile—it looked rather out of place on his thin face. She was invited inside to talk for a while, and sharing her pastries with the boy she learned some things about him: he lived alone, he was not from this kingdom, and he loved flowers.

Overjoyed to meet such a like-minded person, despite not learning his name, Brigid returned the next day to find the house gone. Mystified and certainly upset, she asked around town for news of him, but no one seemed to know of the amber-eyed boy who adored flowers. She was about to give up when she spied the house next to another of the bakeries in town, but when questioned about the strange occurrence he seemed to have no knowledge of it.

So this continued for the rest of the summer. The boy finally gave his name to Brigid after a few visits: Oak, he said, like the wood that the house was made of. And at this mention of the house Brigid inspected the colorful house again curiously. It would appear in different places all over town, and Oak can never give an answer to this quality.

One day, Oak and Brigid were sipping tea inside the house when someone knocked on the door. When she answered the door, she was greeted by… was that an advisor of her father’s?

“Morning, your Majesty,” the advisor said politely, smoothing down his red tufts of hair. “I was just inquiring about your whereabouts—I believe your father is coming to see you.”


(might continue this in the future alksjfd but I gotta speedrun other stuff now!!)

Daily 7/16

518 words yumsies - got mentor, tragedy, away from home, and cliffhanger. so that means JIKDUS LORE YAYAYYAY

Jikdus walked along the waters of the sea, looking over the shimmering blue to the land that lay across the other side. That must be the United Kingdom, they recalled from their scant days on this planet. The homesickness they had kept out of their mind successfully for the time being, but once they saw the shore across despair once again reemerged.

They were never going to be able to return to Kayows, most likely—the sole purpose of the launchers was to cast objects into a space unreachable to Kayows. And Earth wasn’t a terrible planet to be in, they had to admit—the conditions were a tad cold for their liking, but the humidity and air were all to their liking. Although of course the reason they bore it well enough was because they had turned into one of these humans—but oh, how terribly this species treated their own. Jikdus had to flee multiple times, from the aggressiveness that people displayed.

With a sigh they cast their gaze into the water. It was peaceful. They had to give this place some credit, when humans were not involved.

But then something caught their eye. Something shifting below, something that probably should not be drowning and sinking. Someone, perhaps.

Their hesitation stretched across seconds, expanding them to a lifetime of consideration. They knew enough of humans to know that staying too long below the surface would be fatal, but were they really in the best situation to do anything? What if this person was already dead, and they were only going to get themselves in trouble?

Jikdus sighed as time resumed its pace. There should have never been a question about this. A Kayowsian learned first and foremost that every scrap of life in any multiverse was valued.

They dived into the water.



“Ri, what’s up?”

Time had resumed its usual movement, ever since that incident so so long ago. It had resulted in Jikdus being responsible for Ri, this strange child.

Even after spending so long with him, Jikdus was never sure that they’d ever understand him completely. Cocky and confident, but with a sense of vulnerability that resurfaced. Aloof in some ways, so kind in others. He had seen so much that he was never required to see, helped and befriended so many people who in turn returned his love. Whoever he was exactly, Jikdus were proud of him.

Today both of them are in the void, with Ri having just entered. He seemed more excited than Jikdus had ever seen him, almost, which was saying a lot.

“Mx. Jikdus, I think I did it! I found a way back!”

Everything seemed to stop: the buzzing of the void, the way Ri was bouncing on his feet, Jikdus’s heartbeat. (They had learned to imitate the anatomy of humans, some time ago.) They knew what he was talking about. They didn’t dare believe it.

But this was Ri Breguet, and Jikdus knew him at a fundamental. He’d always do the impossible.

“To Kayows?”

His smile was enough to light up every single universe to have ever existed. “To Kayows.”

Critique for @silverlynx-
321 words

Hi Silvi! Overall, you did a really great job with this piece I think you nailed the alternating slow and fast pacing really well, and you had some really nice imagery too.

There was just one plot point I was confused about: I wasn't sure if I was right about this, but if in the last section it turned out that Amelia didn't actually leave, naming her as the other voice would be a good idea? I was a bit confused at first about who she was talking to haha

I was also not sure who the Master was, since I don't think he was introduced before he appeared, and I was wondering where Alfred was before he went to the orphanage :0 Alfred's backstory overall took a bit of time for me to understand, since initially I couldn't get the timing of his arrival right.

Aside from plot, your writing content-wise is really nice to read! I'll move on to in-line comments now

Some quick grammar/syntax stuff

woollen

should be “woolen”

by the why

“way”

Called Miss Caltier sharply

“Called” should be in lowercase! I think you also did this with other dialogue too: if a piece of dialogue doesn't end in a period, the following word outside the quotation marks should be in lowercase ^^

I glad

“I'm”


Misc

She glanced over at Amil, her younger sister anxiously

I think this might work better if you wrote it as “She glanced over at her younger sister Amil anxiously” which would flow better :>

“I’m 4 years old…”
“I like pink…”
“What’s your name…”
“Next…”
“Next…”

I really liked how you used the dialogue to indicate how everything was blurring together, it's really cool :>

Relax. Breathe. Don’t worry.

Clenched fists. Wobbling lips. Watery eyes.

These are such great lines! They convey the atmosphere of your writing really well.

He gazed at the lumpy porridge in disgust as it dripped off his spoon.

Really cool description here!

“What's your name?”

Maybe clarify whether Anya or Amil said this :p


That's about all I had - overall, aside from some unclarity with regards to plot and some typos, you had some really nice imagery and description that added to your atmosphere and characters really well <3 great job, and thanks for letting me critique!

Fanfic entry gasp?

One nice day in Port Limestone, at the coast of a land called North Starrgo (which, friendly reminder, is not on Earth), Camphora was debating the Treaty of Versailles with her adopted uncle, Flavius!!

“I think Versailles was too harsh,” Flavius insisted.

“Okay, yeah, that’s valid,” Camphora replied as she thought in a very thoughtful manner. “But I think that it was because the Allies- well, technically the Entente plus the US, I guess, but not really Russia because they weren’t really involved with everything- were being way too wishy-washy about the treaty. Germany violated it, so the original terms weren’t that bad, but it was because they weren’t reinforced.”

She thought for some more because she was just such a thinker like that. “But yes, I guess East and West Germany didn’t really cause WWIII while they existed. So the conditions could’ve been harsher? But even the original Treaty of Versailles just crippled the German economy and all, and that’s how evil Austrian mustache man took over, and so on.”

Flavius nodded. Camphora had a good point! Actually multiple good points. Still, he thought for some more. It was a very think-worthy subject overall.

And then Brenn appeared. “Erm, actually, Versailles was too lax!! They should’ve been punished more,” she said.

“Wait who gave you that idea??” Flavius questioned his cousin.

“I don’t know man.”

Suddenly a redheaded stranger with a monocle appeared on the scene. “OKAY GUYS!!!” he screeched. “Why don’t you guys argue AT the signing of Versailles??”

Camphora, Flavius, and Brenn all looked at each other in confusion, not sure why this dude got here.

“Oh my gosh, wait, you’re Judge Breguet!!” Camphora asked in recognition.

“Oh, it’s you, Phora!~” Ri exclaimed. “Oopsies pardon my telda that was a typo of Sandy’s.”

“Who the heck is Sandy??” Brenn asked.

“IRRELEVEANT!!! Okay. Let’s go to Versailles then!!”

“Wait are we time-travelling???” Basil asked as he carried a box of Cheetos into the room for some reason.

Five milliseconds after he said that, the five of them all landed right outside of the place where the armistice was signed!!!!



“Oh em gee hello there Ri!!!” Germain said happily as he saw his bestie Ri.

“Oh em gee hi Germain!!!” Ri responded.

“Wait where is everyone??? And who are you????” Camphora asked.

“Erm they’re all inside the train car,” Germain explained. “I’m Captain Germain Moselle!!”

“Who the heck even is that,” she replied. “I’ve never heard of you. Like I know Foch and Weygand and Desticker-”

“Ayy they’re my besties!!!!”

“…but I don’t know you,” Camphora finished skeptically. “Are you even real?”

“That’s so mean ” Ri said to Camphora as Germain seemed to deflate like a balloon or a flower or the Hindenburg.

“Wait, why am I deflating,” Hindenburg said as he appeared on the scene.

Literally everyone except for Ri let out a screech.

“IT’S HINDENBURG WHAT THE HECKITY HECK!!!!” Flavius said in a blond fashion as his hair existed in a blonde fashion.

“That sounds kinda snazzy if I’m being honest,” Ri said approvingly at the narration. “Anyways, hello Field Marshal Hindenburg!!!”

Hindenburg looked as shocked as everyone aside from Ri. “Why am I here.”

“You tell me, buddyroo,” Basil told him.

Just then Foch and the gang all stepped out of the car.

“HINDENBURG???” Foch said calmly as he spotted Hindenburg looking goofy and nerdy.

“Hey that’s not nice,” Hindenburg protested at the narration.

“Yeah I know,” Weygand replied in the cat manner that he was cat-ing.

“Why are you a cat,” Ri asked Weygand.

Weygand mewed in response, and Foch shielded his eyes. “STOP MEWING GENERAL WEYGAND!!!” he protested. “I severely dislike mewing jumpscares,” he continued in a neutral voice.

“But mewing is fun!!!!” Ri protested. “You should try it sometime, Marshal.”

“Yeah we should all mew and do some looksmaxxing,” Basil said happily as he also mewed in an alpha manner.

Foch groaned. Then Matthias Erzberger emerged from the car.

“Marshal Foch, I thank you for the concessions, but for the love of God and goodness, please reconsider-”

Erzberger stopped abruptly as he saw the utter chaos going on in front of Foch's train car. The random people who spawned out of nowhere wearing fantasy-looking clothing, freaking HINDENBURG who emerged from who-knows-where, and something about mewing??? Whatever that meant???

“Excuse me, Marshal, what-”

Weygand jumpscared him with some mewing, and Ezbergerg was incredibly confused. “I would greatly appreciate it if you could explain what is happening-”

“You don't need to know,” Ri said zanily. “Oh wait, I just realized something.”

“HEAD ON NORTH!!!” some bear yelled at everybody. But then he randomly disappeared, leaving everyone scratching their heads.

“Anyways what did you realize bro??” Camphora asked Ri.

“Did you ever notice that this isn’t even Versailles… this is Compiegne…” Ri pointed out.

“Oopsies that is a very oopsies moment,” Basil stated as he looked around at the train car and the wild forest that surrounded it. “Yeah, this is Compiegne, not Versailles.”

“Okay, we need to take the group photo now,” Desticker told everyone. “Do you guys wanna tag along???”

“Oh em gee can I be in the photo??” Hindenburg asked.

“No because-”

“Because you're FAT!!!” Foch said, cutting off Ri, who was about to say that because Hindenburg was literally German he couldn’t be included in the group photo of the allied people!!

The Brits all watched stony-faced as the gang all existed zanily and this fic is really escalating too much in zaniness-

“No, there could never be too much zaniness!!!!!” Ri said very happily as he bounced around the place as if it were a bouncy castle.

“But we need to get to the real Versailles now???” Camphora said questioningly because they were at Compienge and not Versailles, and they should probably be at Versailles because otherwise how would they be able to debate Versailles if they weren't at Versailles??

“Oh my gosh that is a very good question,” Ri replied. “I forgot to think about that lol.”

“HEAD ON NORTH!!!” the bear reappeared and yelled at the gang again.

“WHO EVERN ARE YOU???” FOCH SCREECHED AT THE BEAR AND ATE HIM.

“Bro why did you eat Wojtek….” Camphora said in disbelief.

“I apologize he was very delicious,” Foch replied in apology.



“Alrighty time to go to Versailles!!” Ri said as he teleported everyone to Versailles.

Including the train car.

So the train car ended up crushing a bajillion people as they sat around talking about the terms of the treaty.

“WHAT THE HECKITY HECK” Wilson let out a screech.

“Wait who is that…” Foch said as he pointed at… Foch

“Oh no yeah I time-travelled you guys but some of you are here already,” Ri realized. “such an oopsies moment am i right guys?”

Everyone in the halls started screaming as they saw the random people who teleported from absolutely nowhere.

“This is such a disaster!!” Camphora screeched.

“I agree!!!!!” Flavius screeched more loudly.

“WHY IS THERE ANOTHER ONE OF ME???” Versailles Foch's voice carried above theirs.

“Alright guys, time to go somewhere else,” Ri decided as he gathered around the previous members of the gang. So that would be Cam, Basil, Flavius, Brenn, Ri himself, Foch, Desticker, Weygand, Hindenburg, and…

“Me-e-e!!!!” Germain called out because he thought that Ri had forgotten about him. “How could you do this to me my bestie…”

“Sorry bro,” Ri said as he added Germain to his mental list of the gang. “So that should be about everyone,” he said, and then teleported all of them…



“Look, you little fart!!!” Patton said to Monty as like ten people crash-landed in a heap in front of them.

“Careful, there are a bunch of glass shards or something,” the Desert Fox guy said to them.

Somehow by some miracle none of the people who landed stepped on any shards!!!!!

“Omg that is literally so slay,” Ri said in a slay manner as he straightened up without stepping on any shards.

“Hello there, Ri,” the Keymaster greeted him rather coldly.

“Hi bestie!” Ri replied happily to the Keymaster, who was glaring at him with burning eyes. Not literally burning eyes though. But they were pretty burning. As in that it pretty much looked like they were burning, not that they were burning in a pretty fashion.

“Simp,” Brenn muttered.

“I'm not a simp! Ri protested.

”Whatever helps you sleep at night, I guess,“ Atticus Wolfe chirped. ”Nice to see you, by the way.“

”Nice to see you too, Officer,“ Ri said with a sniff.

”Anyways, it's good to see that this has become slightly more sane?“ Camphora said questioningly.

”Too much spoofiness can get quite confusing,“ Hindenburg agreed. ”By the way, I'm still not sure how I teleported to Compiegne…“

”Just don't think about it too hard,“ Ri reassured him. ”Anyways, looks like we're in the Backrooms!“

”Right you are, right you are,“ Wolfe said. ”Would you care to journey with us?“

”Weren't you already journeying with us, though?“ Fox Guy recalled as he tipped his head at Ri.

”Don't question that either.“

The redhead led the way as they continued. ”I think this is still Level 1. Might be some entities around-“

Speaking of entities, the gang who had teleported in finally noticed the Hound that was trotting happily next to George S. Patton.

”WHAT THE HECK IS THAT??“ Weygand meowed in panic.

”Huh? Oh, this is Coop! Coopenheimer Barbken,“ Monty introduced, petting Coop gently. Coop let out a happy bark and rubbed Monty's legs like a cat.

”Awwww,“ Cam said as she knelt down next to Coop and petted him as well.

”Please don't ask how they domesticated a Hound, because I have absolutely no idea,“ the Keymaster said. ”Anyways, are you all going to find a way out of this soon, or…?“

”Yeah, probably,“ Ri replied.

So the group of them trekked on, in a paragraph that finally didn't have a majority of dialogue. Well, to be fair one of the other previously mentioned sentences also didn't, but this was a nice and long paragraph that would be all about the action of the characters rather than what they said!!! Funsies. So Camphora and Basil played chopsticks as they walked around, Monty and Patty took turns petting Coop while Fox Guy dug for treats inside his backpack that he had picked up from somewhere else in the Level some time ago, and gave them to the adorable Hound. Foch, Weygand, and Desticker mostly walked in silence, their steps synchronized like the epically iconic trio that they were. Brenn and Flavius, in the meantime, started an argument with Hindenburg.

”I agree, the treaty was definitely too harsh,“ the field marshal turned president said.

”Nope, I think it was too lax!!!“ Brenn insisted.

”Woah okay buddy, so did you want us to starve and die???“

”I don't think you were exactly starving and dying, buddy,“ Flavius said, leaping to the defense of his cousin. Of course. ”But I mean I guess the German people did suffer a good bit…“

”Yeah, kinda," Fox Guy called out from ahead.



(insert cool ending here)

MC Daily 7/17

422 words! a crossover between my compiegne ghost and max oh em gee

He walks through the ruined land, after he departs the scene of the armistice. It is too wrong for him to withstand, too twisted. As is this entire war. As are all wars to ever rock this world.

Yet the scenes here are as difficult to bear, if not more so. The deaths that should not be happening. He will one day learn that greater casualties are sustained during this last November dawn than during the greatest amphibious land invasion of the following war, a war far more brutal than this one.

His journey through smoke and fog is filled with the most dreadful things—a dark omen of what will be to come. Innocent souls, trapped in this suffering that only the worst deserve, if anyone deserves it at all. As he pass through these nameless soldiers, dead and alive, he gets a sense of their feelings. Vague sensations that seem to pass through their bodies, flesh and bone, into his presence that is no more than air and memory.

Eventually, just an hour or so before the end, he arrives at this sector of the front. Everything is the same, or at least similar enough to join the scenes blurring together in his ghostly mind, but one soldier stood out to him. Sharp eyes shining remarkably bright in an otherwise weary face, looking out over the battlefield that seemed to be fading by the moment and yet remarkably real at the same time. Those eyes turn to the ghost, and widen in acknowledgement, and he stops.

The first time anyone’s truly looked at him in centuries.

“Who are you?” the soldier asked as the ghost approached.

The ghost doubts he could really reply, but he continues coming closer, looking into the eyes of this boy. For how old can he really be? His features both enemy and vaguely foreign, but there is the same resignation overwhelmingly present everywhere. There is surprise, too; the ghost is not the soldier of this era.

And for the first time in centuries, he replies: “The ghost of this land.”

Astonishment is clear through every bit of his expression, but the soldier boy does not back away. He reaches out, wincing slightly when his hand goes right through the ghost. The other soldiers gawk at him as if he is insane. He might be, really.

“I’ve seen my friend once too, but… could it really be…”

“You’ll have to answer that yourself.” The ghost feels the call of the earth, sinks back into its comforting presence.

MC Daily 7/18

261 words about my pencil case :p

I lie flat on the smooth table, resting. There really isn’t much to do; she rifles through my open mouth, searching for her utensils once in a while, but usually I’m just left to my devices. And that suits me just fine.

However, she does move around a lot. It’s summer, I want to protest, why are we still moving around so much in summer? But will she hear me? Doubtful. So I am carried around in her pack, taken out whenever she settles in her seat and prepares to work on whatever she’s working on, but I notice she tends to abandon me for her laptop. Her eyes are shining as she clatters enthusiastically on the keyboard, or spend time scrolling through things that she will regret and bemoan later.

When she actually makes good use of her time and gets studying done for her 7-hour exam coming up in who knows how many months, she acknowledges my existence, as she does when she needs to work on her passion planning. (I surely hope she doesn’t abandon that as well within the next week or so.) She takes out her trusty pencil and eraser, both of which she had been using for a solid year, and start writing down her things on paper. She had never been much of a fan of pens, aside from lab and amino acid-related things. That suits me just fine. I rather like the pens’ company. They’re dark, like me, and I should think they prefer their solitude within the space within me too.

daily 722

Meanwhile, Skog continued riding in silence as the trio reached the dining room, and they were all rather glad that he quieted down and stopped annoying them with his annoying commands.
Until klaxons suddenly started to sound, startling everyone in the building.
“Attention. This is Duo speaking,” the voice came over the intercom.
“Wait since when did Duo have a voice??” a camper said to another, surprised.
“I’ve always had a voice,” the green owl that suddenly appeared in front of the gang said, glaring at the kids of SWC as his red eyes scanned the area around him. Suddenly Lotto felt the weight disappear from their apron as Skog took off to who-knows-where. Surrounding him were 73 people, all looking very menacing and multilingual.
“Spread out, everyone,” Falstaff instructed to Duo’s other goons.
“Got it,” Fari said brightly as she skipped away with Lily.
Lotto, Altair, and Zenith exchanged wary glances as some of the Duo goons approached them.
“Hello there,” Oscar said. “I hope you’re having a good day. In the meantime, do you have any idea where Skog might have gone?”
“Your mascot,” Eddy explained. “He’s been missing his Russian lessons since the start of the 2000s, and we just want to make sure that he catches up on them. Or else.”
“Oh my,” Altair said, a tad sarcastically. “That’s looking good for him, I guess.”
“But we have no idea where he is. We’re new here, you see,” Lotto explained in his usual cheerful voice, but both Altair and Zenith could hear the nervousness underneath.
“Is that so now,” Duo said as he fluttered to a stop right in front of them. “Hmm. You sure you haven’t seen a brown bear going around? Everytime we stop around here he’s never here, which is kind of suspicious to me, but hey it’s not the only IKEA Around there.”
“Oh it isn’t now??” Altair asked, sounding startled.
“That’s… interesting to know,” Zenith said diplmomaticlaly. To be really honest she did not lik ehte situation that they were in right now. If only i forgot his name had never gone off in search of manoges!! Alas it was too late now that’s so sad

MC Daily 7/23

329 words

Hello there. As the alpha I am, here is the list of the top five things I will do as an alpha host!!

1. Rename Scratch Writing Camp to Scratch Writing Camp (Alpha). The whole world must know that SWC is for alphas. Alphas are very very cool. And if we are to alpha-fy the whole entire camp, it must be shown in its very name.
   
2. Have more alpha-themed activities. Now that SWC has been alpha-fied, its activities must also reflect its new alphaness. Dailies themed around wolves and werewolves (particularly one by the name of Remus Lupin) shall be more in circulation. In addition, the session right after the alpha is implemented in SWC will have an alpha-themed design!!
   
3. Alpha-fy the logo. Obviously, oceanspIash’s logo is very lovely, and an alpha like me (and soon the entirety of SWC) will not seek to destroy it or defame it in any way! However, it may be worth considering whether we also want to add a wolf in the design in a way that will not negatively impact the current vibes of it. If that makes sense, but I’m sure it does because alphas like me always make sense!!
   
4. Convince everyone to change their nicknames to begin with Alpha. This will promote a sense of community and allow SWCers to recognize each other outside of camp!
   
5. Embrace the spirit of the alphas. This may be a vague suggestion, but it is essentially all that is needed to fully convert SWC to SWC (A). Part of this will be to introduce campers to the concept of the alpha (see here for further details).
   

With that being said, being an alpha is not a lifestyle that can be forced upon others. If any campers wish to opt out of the alpha-ness outlined in these plans, they will have free reign to do so! However, it is never a bad idea to promote the choice of the alpha and to theme SWC after it.

Weekly 3
Part 1: Switching Perspectives

115 + 115 + 103 words

Max fiddles with the thing that is apparently called a “keyboard,” which makes rather satisfying clicks and clacks when he presses the individual keys. Yet nothing shows up on the blank dark screen, until he presses the power button and the starting image lights up in pixels of light.

Impatient, he moves the “mouse” around and clicks both sides of the tapering front of the object. Apparently he has to move it around too, the mouse, and as it slid smoothly around over the padding underneath, the cursor on the still mostly-dark screen followed its path.

He tries clicking the mouse a few times, and then stops as he feels himself entering a new level.



It only takes a few minutes for dread to settle fully in Reinhard as he wanders with Simon, Klaus, and Kurt around this place. The smog, so similar to the dreadful gas back in the war.

Speaking of the war, what is this place? Reinhard stares at the posters lined throughout this world, and wonders. Surely this is not earth. He has passed by enough of those inhuman creatures with those inhuman faces to know that.

Can Max be somewhere in this place? The Conductor had implied that there are more of these locations, a whole entire dimension full of them. Who knows where the boy can be.

Reinhard sighs and continues his downcast trudging.



A smattering of bright neon lights greet Max as his feet touches solid grounce once more. He squints initially from the sudden eyestrain-inducing sight. Here it is. The familiarly safe level. And he has landed in the Rosatin Hotel, right in front of his room that he had claimed for himself the first time he has come to this level, months ago.

Is that right? He isn’t sure. Time has been so fickle ever since he arrived at this place.

Pushing into the door, he is greeted with relatively more normal lighting that the admittedly somewhat stress-inducing hot pink of the halls outside.




Part 2: Unreliable Narrator

303 words (done on paper sorry)

brainstorm:
Avoiding remembering something
Being in denial




Part 3: Metafiction

524 words

“Hey guys! It's me, your favorite Gary Stu orphan with a tragic backstory!!” Ri said happily into the void as he sat on his chair, swinging his legs about.

“Okay, for one thing, you're not quite a Gary Stu, and your parents are still alive,” Jikdus pointed out. “Also I don't think you really have a tragic backstory?”

“I'm just exaggerating a little bit for comedic effects, Mx. Jikdus,” Ri complained to them. “And also I just wanted to get the trope commentary out of the way before Sandy sends me on silly adventures so that I can at least get them done before she forgets about them.”

“That's fair,” they replied. “You do still have… around two hundred words left, though, I believe?”

Ri sighed. Looked like he did have to still go around and do things. “Alright, then, off I go I guess. See you, Mx. Jikdus!”

Jikdus waved at their protege as he disappeared out of the void, evidently on his way to bother his friends again. Ahh, the boy. How silly he was. They thought a bit about what he had said about himself—Gary Stu orphan with a tragic backstory. Three tropes in one sentence, certainly quite helpful. And although Ri did correctly say that it was something of an exaggeration, it still held a kernel of truth, if Jikdus thought so. Ri was effectively an orphan now, universes away from his parents. Jikdus had always been trying to set that right, but they weren't quite sure how to, much less how to get back to Kayows. So they were stuck here, doing their best to help out Ri, the poor boy. No, he was certainly an orphan with a tragic enough backstory, although the Gary Stu aspect was still debatable.

Meanwhile, Ri was going around doing stuff. He decided to make his way over to the universe where Germain and Simon surely were, and popped right between them as they were in the middle of discussing something that seemed really important.

“Hey guys!!” he said cheerfully, fully aware that Simon did not know who he was. “You guys are literally so enemies-to-lovers core if you ask me.”

Simon stared at Ri, and then looked back to Germain, who could only shrug as he glared daggers over at Ri when Simon wasn’t looking. “What does that even mean?” he asked hesitantly. “Also, who are you?”

Germain sighed. “This-”

“Oh, let me do this, my German’s much better than yours anyway,” Ri said pleasantly as he shoved Germain away. “Soooo you must be the guy my bestie’s been going on about for so long, hmm? Simon Albrecht? Wellllll it’s a pleasure to meet you an absolute pleasure, the name’s Ri Breguet and as I was actually just saying to my wise old mentor (now that’s another trope for ya) I’m your friendly neighborhood Gary Stu orphan with a tragic backstory!!”

Germain, used to Ri’s yapping but still feeling rather sorry that Simon had to endure it, steered his “enemies-to-lovers core” friend (they had never really been enemies on a personal basis, not really, but whatever) away from the silly universe hopper.



Part 4: Self-Insertion

750 words

“Wait, but I’m not done yet!!” Ri protested, catching up to the two of them. “There’s someone I’d like for you to meet.”

“Okay, and who is this someone now?” Germain asked suspiciously.

In response, some Chinese teenage girl tumbled out of nowhere onto the hard ground, wearing clothing that was quite modern. Not that Germain knew that, of course.

“Oh, uh, nice to meet you two!” the girl said squeakily. She seemed to freeze up for a solid moment as she took everything in. Germain, used to Ri teleporting in and out by now, wasn’t too daunted by the prospect of him having done it to someone else.

“Nice to meet you, Sandy,” he returned courteously enough, if not a tad warily, and Simon also followed up with a harried hello.

Sandy seemed to have regained her focus in the conversation. “Yeah, I can’t believe I finally got to meet you guys!” Her enthusiasm seemed to have dimmed, however, as something slowly dawned upon her, something unpleasant—Germain could tell by the sinking expression on her face. “Oh, right.”

Ri seemed to have read her mind. “Unfortunate, really. Youcan still leave if you’d like-”

“But you remember Fae’s workshop! I can’t make the storyline too idealistic,” she sighed.

Germain, as per usual, was slightly confused by the state of things currently. Or perhaps more than just a little bit confused, if he dared to admit. “Alright uh so who are you exactly, Sandy?”

Sady looked over to Ri for help, and he immediately leaped up a little: a sign that he was preparing for something, usually. “Welll, Germain, she’s just a friend of mine,“ he explained slowly and carefully, but also in a very relaxed manner. After all, he was cool under pressure like a bowl of crushed ice! ”Exactly.“

”Hmm,“ Germain said, suspicion still obvious in his voice.

”I'm also the creator of all of you…?“ Sandy suggested.

”Maybe you should not have said that,“ Ri sighed.

”Sorry!“

”No, no, don't worry about it,“ he replied, not wanting to hear more profuse apologies from her. It was a lot to deal with, and besides, it wasn't much of a big deal.

”I'm sorry, the creator of what now? Ri, what's going on here?“

Simon was seeming even more confused than Germain, so much so that he couldn't seem to formulate words.

”It's a long story,“ Sandy said.

”Wel, I think we have the time to hear it,“ Germain replied, then winced as a boom shook the ground above. ”Or perhaps not.“

”How about we go now,“ Ri said.

”I feel bad about leaving them here though,“ Sandy said.

Germain huffed. ”We've been here for a good while, as a matter of fact, so we'll do just fine,“ he replied snarkily. ”Now goodbye now. Nice meeting you, by the way.“

”Nice meeting you too!“ Sandy replied before she followed Ri through the void.

”Well, that wasn't the best meeting,“ she sighed.

Ri nodded. ”It could have gone better, if you asked me.“

”I know how Germain is like, so why did I do all of that?“

”Now, don't you fret too much about it. Anyways, are we going to Petrichor now, perhaps?“

They were chilling in the void again, but to be fair there wasn't much to do in the void.

”Mhm, sure. By the way, how did we meet again?“

”That's actually a great question,“ Ri replied.

”Luckily enough, you happen to know the answer?“ Sandy quipped.

He laughed. ”Well, this time I don't. I think the earliest time I can recall the two of us meeting was last October, and then I just implicitly knew who you were.“ He thought for a moment. ”Actually, yeah, I think I've just known who you were the whole time.“

”Maybe it's just something that happens to you when you're a hopper?“

”Mhm, I'd have to ask Ella about that then. Anyways, off to Petrichor we go, then? I think it might've already been 400 words, though.“

Sandy looked over what she had written so far, surveying the length of it briefly. ”I can't check for sure, but yes, I think so.“ She stood up. ”Well, it was really nice meeting you again, by the way!“

”Nice to see you again too, O wise creator,“ he said with a bow.

She giggled. ”Alright, then. Well, off I go then. Maybe we'll meet again later?“

”In your next SusWC story, perhaps."

With a wave Sandy was gone, off to speedrun her other stories!!

MC Daily 7/24

324 words, used “stargazing with candlelight” from coco!

The stars twinkled brightly in the sky as Camphora carried her candle up the roof. From this high up, she could see every bit of the port: the other tall residential buildings, the hills rising behind, and the shimmering sea disappearing into the horizon.

“Hey,” a voice said behind her. She was startled for only a moment before she realized that it was just Basil. He took a seat next to her, putting enough distance between himself and the candle. “It’s a really nice night.”

“Yeah,” she replied, feeling the cool sea wind toy with her hair and ruffling her capelet. It tried to snatch the flames of the candle away too, but it was burning too strong to be snuffed out.

The two of them sat in comfortable silence for a moment, admiring the sights of both land and sky. The moon was but a sliver of white hanging in the sky, rising higher with the moment, and yet it was bright enough to see its own surface in the sea.

“Can I ask you something?” Camphora said, when Basil continued to have no intention of speaking.

“If you just want to talk, then go ahead,” Basil replied, sounding amused.

“Well, uh… do you like seagulls?”

“Of course. This is what I was talking about,” he said with a mock sigh. “And for the record, yes, I do.”

“Really? I didn’t think you’d be the type to like seagulls. They poop everywhere, they’re loud…”

He raised his eyebrows at her. “I didn’t think you’d be the type to not like them, actually. Since when did you… dislike things?”

“Hey! You’re just too picky.”

“Better to be too picky than to not care. At least I have taste,” Basil said, obviously trying to hide his laughter as Camphora rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. You’re really funny, you know.”

“Thanks. You are, too.”

Basil moved just a bit closer to the candle, soaking up its warmth.

MC Daily 7/25

224 words

Ri stood at the edge of the city, panting. This. Was. Not. Fun.

Well, it was his fault for landing in a zombie apocalypse. To be fair, he had his best friends around. Unfortunately, most of them were dead and he couldn’t leave this universe. Certainly not the optimal situation.

He had just gotten out of his car, a rather trusty off-road vehicle given the circumstances. In the backseat was what remained of the gang: Germain, Camphora, and Bobcookie somehow.

“Can we leave now?” Germain snapped at him.

In response, Ri jumped into the driver’s seat, slammed the door shut, and continued out on the road out of the city.


In all of his life spent hopping, Ri had never dangled so close to death. He could always escape, usually. Traversing between universes required a cooldown of sorts, but in a real emergency he always managed to pull away quickly.

Not in this place, though. There was too much devastation in this place, and he was tethered permanently to it. He had been for the past two months.

With a sigh, he pushed the events of the past to the back of his mind as he navigated the roads. He bumped into something grisly every minute, but he just let out a breath and focused on the road ahead. That’s it. He got it.

freaksterylike