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Hi, it's Herm here! Welcome to my little writing witch hut for this session of SWC! I hope you enjoy my writings!

DAILIES –>

Daily for SWC - March 1st, 2024
Prompt: “Welcome, leaders, campers, fairies, and trolls, to the March ‘24 session of SWC! We hope you're as excited as we are for the exciting month ahead of us. To start us off, introduce yourself to your fellow writers and jot down your goals for this session. Who's your favorite author? How long have you done SWC? Give encouraging messages and compliment each other's intros - some of this might just come into play in tomorrow's daily. Have fun, and happy writing! <3”

Hi! It's Herm here! <3 I'm your fellow she/her, Ravenclaw, Pisces, ENFJ-T, 2w7, from the Fantasy Knighthood cabin this session, and I’m probably the largest Harry Potter nerd you may ever meet, you can look at my username for evidence haha, (but no, I'm not a fan of J.K. Rowling). This, of course, probably now applies to The Hunger Games as well, (as to which I practically know every lyric to Lucy Gray Baird's songs in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and am totally not trying to learn how to sing every one with my singing teacher)! But I also love PJO, ASOUE, LOTR, Anne of Green Gables, Alice in Wonderland and the authors who wrote them… I really love to read! And I also love writing my book series, The 12 Zodiac Trials, which I hope to publish the first book of, maybe this year, maybe the next!

So, with my favorite authors and fandoms out of the way, I'll discuss my goals for this March session of SWC! Specifically, I would like to write 30,000 words this month/session because I really want those words to go towards writing my novel, and I believe 30,000 words is a fairly reachable goal for me. I’ve done around 3 to 4 sessions of SWC before, and this is definitely the largest word goal I’ve ever done. I think I’m prepared for it though. However, they will probably end up going to other school related assignments… if I’m being completely honest haha.

When I’m not writing, reading, or singing, you’ll usually find me acting and doing musical theatre, (I used to do dancing and aerial, which is another type of dance done in the air on equipment such as the silks, hammocks, and lyra, but now I’m taking a break, sometimes doing everything is a bit too much), practicing piano or guitar with my dad, trying to figure out how to be able to play violin again because I literally love music so much , or filmmaking and photography! Or… trying to do something to ignore the word boredom… yep! I guess boredom is good sometimes, but who doesn’t want to not be bored? I mean… I feel like I have so much to do in this one life but just so little time! I want to do as much as I can do in my life so far.

Now how to continue this chaotic rambling intro that seems like it’s going on forever and will never reach 1,000 words… oh! I know how to continue! I’ll just write down an intro for my roleplay character for this SWC session’s Fantasy Knighthood Cabin! Just hopefully I don’t write too much haha. I need to write exactly 1,000 words, so how am I going to do this? Well lets see…

Lady Herm the Bard of the Kingdom of Mangoes was once a lady of great nobility and peacemaking over all of her friends, the mangoes… until one day she found that all of the mangoes in the kingdom had disappeared! All of her hard work to fulfill peace in the kingdom was gone in a day! She couldn’t stand to stare into the blank canvas, like a piece of blank paper, that her kingdom had become. So she took it upon herself to travel the land of SWC, and travel to the kingdom of Queen Este Dubyou Cee, (which is literally one of the best names ever created, by the way, props to the Fantasy leaders!), to find out what ever had happened to all of her mango friends! Soon, she finds however, that the kingdom of Queen Este Dubyou Cee is under attack by wicked writing removal monsters!

Queen Este Dubyou Cee rounds up a few knights to help save her kingdom from destruction, this of course, includes Lady Herm the Bard of the Kingdom of Mangoes. Now, it is in Lady Herm the Bard of the Kingdom of Mangoes’ duty to defend this kingdom, or any hopes of figuring out where all of her mangoes disappeared off too will never come to fruition. So, with a sword and a plan, Lady Herm the Bard of the Kingdom of Mangoes set off on a plan to help Queen Este Dubyou Cee retake her kingdom from these horrific monsters. But who knows how long it will be until she can find the source of all of her own issues…

Anyways, that’s it for the quick introduction story for my cabin character I guess! So what else do I put in my own introduction now haha… well maybe I’ll just talk about more of what I like to do! I like to collect Harry Potter merchandise, (specifically Ravenclaw merchandise since that’s my house). I also like to create moodboards for the characters and the world in my own story that I’m writing, The 12 Zodiac Trials, on Canva! That’s typically something else I do too, and I absolutely love decorating things when I can think of something that I can decorate! As well as that, though, I’m also a bit of a plushie collector! I have about 30 on my bed currently haha!

What else for this introduction, (not me having series writer’s block when it comes to just talking about myself for a bit xD), so I’ll just talk about some extremely random things I like haha! There’s this bird called the steller’s jay that’s really pretty! I also love pho soup, it tastes so good! I can’t choose a favorite color, but I really love blue, purple, and pink together, like the sky when it’s almost completely dark out. I’m pretty big into astrology, like I’m kind of obsessed with the stars, the moon, and the constellations, they were somewhat the inspiration for the novel I’m working on!

Well, I think this concludes my introduction! Thank you for reading if you did! xD
-Herm out!

Daily for SWC - March 2nd, 2024
Prompt: “Hello, swc-ers, and welcome to our second daily of camp! Yesterday was world compliment day, and we all exchanged compliments on our introductions. Today, we'll use them in our writing! Take someone else's compliment and integrate it as a focal point of your story. How does the main character react to these compliments? How does it affect other people? Complete this daily with a minimum of 250 words for a scrumptious 300 points for your cabin, plus a bonus 100 points for providing proof!”
Compliment: “ooo nice hehe :3” -@snuggles0426

She strummed her fingers against the strings of her guitar, and stared out at the moon. Cold, blue, isolated. Not a whisper in the woods. Not a sound sung by the sea. Just the feeling of being almost completely alone with herself. Somewhere safe. Somewhere free.
“Oooh nice!” A little girl giggles off to the left, “Bri, you’ve found the perfect spot!” Bri zips around, and swallows, “What are you doing here? You could’ve gotten caught!”
“You said we could go on a picnic today!”
“No, Izz, I didn’t, not today.”
“But you said so yesterday, and tomorrow is today!”
“Izzy! It’s 7 on a Sunday! I said next weekend.”
The little girl, Izzy, rolls her eyes. Then she stubbornly sits down on the picnic cloth Bri is sitting on, leaning against the side of a tree. Bri sets down her guitar and sighs, “Fine. We can have a little picnic. Right here. I don’t have much besides water though.”
“Okay, that’s good! I’m extremely thirsty anyways!”
Izzy lunges at one of the bottles of water in the open picnic basket. Bri is quicker. She snatches up the water abruptly, glaring at Izzy, “No! Please, I was saving the bottles, I… I need to save it for my trip.”
Izzy’s mouth drops open, and she shouts, “Are you running away!? Please Bri! Don’t run away! Please! You're my sister, my sister!”
Izzy’s voice breaks. She buries her face in Bri’s dress. Bri pats her on the head, a bit anxiously.

Daily for SWC - March 3rd, 2024
Prompt: “Hello, patriots! Today is national anthem day, so you’ll be writing national anthems! Write an anthem for your cabin and 1-3 other cabins for a maximun of four anthems - 100 points per anthem in at least 100 words each. Be sure to think about the cabin’s values, history, and ethics. If you need some inspiration, head on over to this link https://nationalanthems.info/ to find a list of national anthems for you to draw from. Happy writing, adventurers!”

Fantasy Knighthood - Cabin Anthem

Unafraid we put up our swords,
And stride through the gates,
Our horses bared
Our shoulders square,
We’re ready for the war.

There are no smiles on our face,
As we descend into the forest.
We hesitate the huge disgrace,
And the possible outnumbered forces.

So we seek a steady kingdom,
As we lead through the fight.
Our journey takes us through the day,
And all throughout the night.

So we take down through the valley,
And we take up all our courage,
So we take the forest of monsters.
And we take up all our hope.

Fear does not define us.
Love and peace and hope.
Vanquished will this enemy be,
When we turn it all to smoke.

And with ringing bells we’ll return,
To the kingdom of Queen Este Dubyou Cee.
And with songs in our hearts,
And love on our sleeves,
We’ll breathe all we’ve yearned.

Dystopian Ruins - Cabin Anthem
(this one is totally inspired by The Hunger Games lol)

Death and destruction,
Left this temple in ruin.
And though, we don’t know why.
We will survive.
The temple’s a secret,
To the wandering eye.
And catch us if you find us,
We will survive.

We’ll rebuild society,
We’ll write a new story.
And you won’t see us coming,
We will survive.

(Eerie) Oooh, ooh, ooh, (4x)

Our brains are hardwired,
To sift through the tired,
And stop blinking our eyes,
We will survive.

The sound of the drums,
The boom of the cannon,
And a future in our hands,
We will survive.

We’ll strike up our courage,
We’ll take down air forces,
And we’ll retake this land,
We will survive.

(Eerie) Oooh, ooh, ooh, (4x)

Yes, we will survive!
Yes, we’re a dystopia but we will survive!

= 128 Words

Epistolary Letter Terminal - Cabin Anthem
(this is probably my favorite anthem I wrote ^^)

Oh, send me a letter.
Fly it to my door frame.
Or leave it on my windowsill.
And tap, tap fly away.
Fly away, fly away from me now.
Fly away, with my message in
Your beak.

Sing, the sweet tune,
As you lift the many moons.
And weigh the weight of gravity,
Upon the feathers in
Arm’s reach.

Fly, with the sunlight on,
The glimmer of your back,
And hear the whisper of the wind,
When all voices come to
Crack.

Bring, me back something sweet,
Something to lean on me,
And something trustworthy,
So I don’t need to
Eat.

And I
Could be free,
Somewhere for you and me,
Somewhere we could just be.
I…

And I
Could be stars away,
Or right here to stay,
In your arms like a letter.

Always a letter.
From far away, away,
Away.

= 142 Words

Utopian Starlands - Cabin Anthem

Here we are,
Standing in the comfort of the stars,
Standing in the light from off afar,
Nothing’s felt like home until now.

And here we are,
Standing in the quiet of the night,
Standing in the starry filled sky,
So far but not far at all.

Here we are,
In the peace after the war.

Here we are,
You don’t need to keep score.

Here we are,
Somewhere in the stars.

And here we are,
Answering the prayers from down below.
You don’t have to fear now.
You’re right here, you’re home.

Everything is a utopia,
And you are safe at last.

Daily for SWC - March 4th, 2024
Prompt: “For today's daily we'll be breathing in the air of spontaneity! Start by grabbing a die and rolling it - if you get 1 or 2, write in present tense, 3 or 4, write in past tense, and 5 or 6 write in future tense. Now roll it again! If you get 1 or 2, write in 1st person POV, 3 or 4, write in 2nd person POV, and if you get 5 or 6 write in 3rd person omniscient POV. Using this tense and POV, write 300 words of a story to earn 250 points, and an additional 100 points can be earned for sharing proof!”

Dice roll #1 = 5, so future tense it is!
Dice roll #2 = 5, so 3rd person omniscient it is!

The Prophecy of Borealis,
…In time, the heavens will bring the great storm of Aurora. The witches of the northern light will soon gather together as one, bringing the city’s final strand of hope. They will be all this kingdom has left. This crystal ball will be the only guide. The city will stand. You will seek to find shelter in the storm when the time comes, but before, you will seek the water at the river’s edge. You will not drink it, it will be poisoned by the swallow.
Though you will bathe in it, and though the marks made from the poison will drown you, your spirit will not be drowned. Your spirit will rise from the water, free and capable of defending the city from the great storm. You will be the witch of the northern light that bends the will of the sky under your care and divides the storm from the harshness the storm has brought to the city. You shall not be scared of this. There will be no reason to be.
The sky will fill with the light of your strength. All foes in the entirety of the universe and beyond will be gone with the quickness of your arrival. There will be no surprise over this, you will not be surprised, either. When the light is finished, peace will blanket the land with the arrival of spring and new life. There will be nothing to fear. There will be no more fights in the universe and beyond. Everything will be equal, and everything will be alright.
So, young witch, you shall not learn to fret. You shall go about the end of your days in peace, and with this, you shall learn the true nature of the end of time. In time, you shall learn to accept everything about yourself for what it is. For now, it is until we meet again, Aurora Borealis…

Daily for SWC - March 5th, 2024
Prompt: “Hey there! Today, word wars begin—ready for the adventure? Hop on over to this project (OH NO GURTLE ATE THE LINK) to begin clashing swords! Additionally, here's a mini-activity: read one chapter of a book, then write a continuation of it—perhaps Percy refuses to go to Camp Half-Blood, or Elphaba and Galinda defy gravity together! Write 200 words for 100 points, and an extra 50 for sharing proof <3”

As continuing on from chapter ten in Percy Jackson Book 5…

I TAKE A COURSE IN ADVANCED BULLFIGHTING

I’d rather not be held responsible for using the entire Apollo cabin as a distraction. As a matter of fact, I’d rather not be held accountable for knocking down the entire walkway on the Williamsburg Bridge, either. Well, narrowly.
Anyways, when Annabeth said those words I froze in my tracks. Minotaur? Leading the enemy? They tasted like the pain I felt in the river Styx. Nearly four summers ago that wicked mythical beast almost killed my mother.
Now the beast was back, and I couldn’t move, until Annabeth grabbed me by the arm, “I’m sorry Percy, but it’s fighting a minotaur again or letting Kronos destroy Manhattan. We have to keep going!”
I didn’t know how we’d make it to the Williamsburg Bridge in time from three miles away. So we were lucky that Blackjack was on duty near this area. Annabeth and I quickly ascended pegasi and took off into the air. We had to get there before the battle got even worse, and from the sound of things, it wasn’t going great.
Boss, we almost got caught! Blackjack was anxious. I didn’t know what to do so I ran here boss! That made me smile a bit. Blackjack has been my ally for years.

Daily for SWC - March 6th, 2024
Prompt: “Get ready to stretch your imagination with this daily! Today, you'll be inventing a new genre. It can be anywhere from something like a Cashier Memoir to Sci-Fi. Get creative! What genre would you love to write in? Then, write a story in this genre that is 250 words long. Post it in the comments, and try to guess other people's made-up genres. You will receive 200 points for doing this daily and an extra 50 points for sharing proof!”

New Genre I’ve Befuddled my Brain to Create: Hahaha this genre is totally not based off a Harry Potter quote or anything lol xD

There was an issue I desperately needed to remember. It was tugging on the back of my mind. I couldn’t sleep that night…
When I did fall asleep I think I lost myself. My whole mind was gone, sailing somewhere off at sea. The sound of shifting waves and the splashing of water against anything that penetrated my inner thought bubbles. I was tired, I was stressed, I was falling down a rabbit hole, deep, deep, deep and further down. Anything I found outside my head left and would not return when I fell asleep.
That was the good thing about dreaming. I could lose myself just as easily as I could dread myself during the daytime. I didn’t have to think about everything, I just had to dream about something as random as the stories that spill from our minds and empty out like clouds rolling out of the sky to clear the day and let the sun shine down. In dreams, I didn’t have to be someone else. The world was almost entirely all from my head, the only place where I don’t have to be confused about the way someone else is acting. Especially when they’re acting incredibly off. Which, in most cases, people seem to do.
I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know who I should be. The dream took away that issue. The dream was a nice escape from the worries of the day. But I didn’t feel as close to the Earth…

Daily for SWC - March 7th, 2024
Prompt: “We hope you're ready to have fun and create magic with your peers, because it's time again for three word stories! Comment three words to start a story, and reply to others' stories with three words to keep them going (until, of course, you hit the dreaded studio reply limit ;D)! Have fun, and remember that every three words you write count towards your word count goal! <33”

We did three word stories today, which was really fun!

Daily for SWC - March 8th, 2024
Prompt: “Channel your inner gratitude for international women's day! Pen a 200 words thank-you note to a feminine figure – historical trailblazer or personal hero. dive into what makes her amazing, add a splash of humour and spread the love! This daily is worth 200 points, and you can gain an additional 100 points for sharing proof.”

Feminine Figure I Chose: Emma Watson

Dear Emma Watson,
If this message ever reaches you, then I want you to know that you are such an icon and such an amazing person, and I am so inspired by you and your work! I want to thank you for doing an impeccable job at portraying Hermione Jean Granger in the Harry Potter film franchise, but not only that, I want to also thank you for being an activist and advocate for women’s rights. You are such an inspiration, and I think the fact that you stand up for women globally is so important to making this world a better place for not only just women, but for everyone no matter their race, gender, or whatever. I think the fact that you speak out about the issues women face is amazing just as well.
Also, I just need to say how much I’ve learned from your portrayal as Hermione Granger, and how much I’ve learned about myself from Hermione Granger, who I think is such an amazing feminist character. I think you empower so many young girls still to this day for playing such an incredible character, and I’m so happy that I have you to look up to for being an awesome role model. Thank you for being a trailblazer and an advocate for all the women out there,
-Herm , (@HermioneVoiceActress)

Daily for SWC - March 9th, 2024
Word wars ;D <3

Daily for SWC - March 10th, 2024
Prompt: “Today is the first day of Ramadan, a month of fasting, introspection, and charity that is considered the most important part of the year for millions of Muslims worldwide. Do some introspection yourself - what are things you are happy with? What are things, both in the world and about yourself, that you'd like to see changed? Make a list, pick one or two things, and create a 200 word story out of it for 400 points. An additional 100 points will be given for sharing!”
Something I’d Like to See Changed About Myself: I’d like to personally stop procrastinating on the things I want to do in my life. ^^

I stared up at my ceiling breathing hard. 5 minutes till I turn 18. 5 minutes till I’m an adult. 5 minutes till I’m no longer called a child. That’s irrevocably weird.
I feel like I’ve done nothing with my life, and yet I feel I’ve done so much. So much but so little. Like a little drop of rain that hasn’t turned into a larger drop. I’ve done nothing. I’ve done a lot.
4 minutes. The sweat beads up on my scrunched up brows. I wish I did more. More of the things I actually wanted to do. Not just, schoolwork. Or more homework. I just wish I did… more stuff with my life so far and I wish I learned more stuff I would’ve loved to have learned.
3 minutes, 2 minutes. I’m stressing. I don’t want to be older yet! I don’t want to have grown up so soon, so quickly! How can one be so naive to their own interests? How can one deliberately mess up and miss so many points in their life where they could have done something, anything they actually would’ve wanted to do! Why have I done this to myself?
1 minute. I shut my eyes tight, trying to block out my alarm clock I had ridiculously set to the time I was born. So many missed opportunities. So many times where I could’ve been myself. So many times I could have just…
The alarm clock goes off. I snap open my eyes. It’s a new year, it’s a new me.
Ramadan Mubarak! <3

Daily for SWC - March 11th, 2024
Prompt: “Another classic daily today! For this one, the Main Cabin has turned into a bookstore! Write 100 words of a summary of a story you're writing, a story you want to write, or any original writing idea, then post it in the comments <3 After that, browse through all the other lovely books, and reply to at least 3 of them that you'd be interested in ‘buying’. Have fun!”

12 main constellations. 12 months. 12 kingdoms. 12 zodiac signs. 1,200 years of trials hosted by the stars themselves.
I don’t know why the stars chose me, or even if they did. I just know that I’m 12 years old, my name is Sarah Mira, and I’m legally from the Kingdom of Pisces. I have an aunt who couldn’t care less about me, and I’m stuck in these trials. I’m stuck in another place. Another place where all I am is restricted to doing one thing.
Prove that I’m written in the stars just like everyone else on this planet by participating in The 12 Zodiac Trials.

Daily for SWC - March 12th, 2024
Prompt: “Ominous or lucky, thirteen has a variety of attributes – there are 13 loaves in a baker's dozen, 13 lunar cycles in a year, including a blue moon, and 13 cards every suit. Today, 13 happens to be a host's favorite number - for 350 points (and a bonus 100 for sharing your creations), you'll be writing at least 300 words using any line from a host or daily team member's profile as inspiration! Best of luck, and have fun <3”
Host: @Stariqe
Host’s Line: “you asked me why i wasn't saying a word, i'm naming the stars in the sky after you ”

I lay on a cozy blanket, my arms entwined in theirs. I look into their eyes. Pools of light filled with stars. A thousand little lanterns glowing with light in the heart of darkness. Light and dark, opposites, both necessary in balancing this Earth. The stars are perfect with the night sky.
“Quiet, I need some time to think,” they say softly, “just, look at the stars.”
“Okay,” my voice is a small whisper.
We stare at the open sky, breathing in the feeling of nature. Everything the way it was created, equal and balanced. The same. We don’t know the full truth about this galaxy, the solar system, the planet, the universe. We don’t know the full story, and we all try to accept certain beliefs, but we don’t know who’s correct and who isn’t. We’re the same.
I smile, glancing at the constellations I can see just from staying here. In the enclosure of a place not too far but not too close from the busy vibes of the city. One of those rare, but special little locations where you can reach out your hand and touch the sky, touch the stars. A place where I feel deeply rooted to the Earth, the place where we’re all from. The place where we all were born as equals.
“I apologize for taking a while,” they start to speak.
“Shh, quiet!” I giggle, “Don’t apologize when there’s no reason to. The Earth is a mystery, and time is just the same.”
They return a smile, “You see those twenty, or so, tiny star pinpoints like fireflies shining the brightest tonight?”
“Yeah,” I say, staring unblinkingly in awe into the night.
“I’m naming those stars after you, Pisces.”
We laugh, holding hands, as the dark and the light seem to take us into the stars, back to where we came from in the first place.

Daily for SWC - March 13th, 2024
Prompt: “Happy Pi Day! Although pi doesn’t have an ending, our stories (well, most of them) do. Try writing a story that begins and ends in the exact same way, but throughout all the events occurring in between, gives it a much different meaning by the end. Write 500 words for 400 points and an extra 100 (plus a free pi pie!) for sharing proof. Happy writing <3”
Note: This is a terrifyingly unhinged piece of writing on what would have happened if Aunt Petunia went to Hogwarts, (or just some magic school, as she believes).

Do you know how hard it is to get accepted into a magic school?
Well, short answer. Extremely difficult, utterly ridiculously unethically hard, painfully mind numbing. Yes, that’s the short answer. So don’t ask me how I got in. Another short answer, I didn’t.
Well, okay, no not in the first place. I wasn’t supposed to get accepted. In fact, my sister got accepted and I didn’t, (because apparently being the older sibling in a family of muggles means you’re probably a muggle yourself). And so, of course, like any elder sibling in a family of muggles, there’s always the younger, couldn’t care less about the magic school, muggleborn sibling, (ahem, my younger brother who likes to constantly berate me for him having been accepted even when I wasn’t). Also, I wouldn’t even mind which magic school I’d get to attend. Anyways, back to what I’m supposed to be talking about, (my enrollment process, which wasn’t really enrollment at all, but well, yeah).
Of course, the quill of acceptance is great at catching errors in who is supposed to go to a magic school and who isn’t. So, like any magical object, it should’ve been able to detect the fact that I wasn’t supposed to be enrolled for the first two semesters at the magic school I was randomly chosen as accepted to. Wrong, (also, yes, it randomly chose which school I would go to). Unlike my younger brother, (who of course I learned at the end of the school year was the actual muggleborn or what not, which explains my inability to perform magic and why I’m leaving the school year with a- wait let me read that again- O? For outstanding in O.W.L.s? Wait, I’ve been here 6 years?!). I do a double take at the crumpled piece of parchment in my hands.
Okay now none of this makes any sense whatsoever. It must be the magic school or something that’s totally and completely out of order. Out of functioning. Out of- yeah, I think you get the point. I just can’t explain any of this. I mean, I’m completely sure that my sister is the one and only muggleborn in the family? Am I not incorrect?
Well, I should be overjoyed that I’m attending the magic school, (wait, was it called Hogwarts or something on the lines of that, is that what this ‘magic school’ is called?). Wait, shouldn’t I have known that before as it’s been a year? Oh, I question myself on a daily basis. I still don't understand how I got into a magic school even though it’s been a year. How do I still not grasp that concept?
Oh, wow! I apologize for getting extremely off topic. I guess maybe I’ve been completely, utterly ridiculously unethically confusing, painfully mind numbing, and extremely random and somehow incredibly irrevocably unhinged. Yes, this is what goes in my mind after a random day in a random magic school, (oh, right, it’s called ‘Hogwarts’ I think?), and so many apologies to your brain for having read some of the most confusing text ever in the entire universe!
Anyways, maybe it isn’t that hard to get accepted into a magic school. Or maybe this just never even happened in the first place.

Daily for SWC - March 14th, 2024
Prompt: "Beware the ides of march…” In typical Julius Caesar fashion, a character has just been informed by a mysterious cloaked figure that they're going to die. How are they going to spend their last day? Will they heed the warning - or try to escape their fate? Ponder this peculiar turn of events in 400 or more words, and perhaps you'll escape with 400 points, an extra 100 for proof, and your life <3”

Heed my words. You are going to die by the end of today, and there will be nothing you can do about it. If you mess up, you’ll have lived to regret it. If you accomplish your task, you’ll have learned to love your life. Do not be scared, small one, do not give in to fear.
My eyes snap open abruptly, and I fold my arms tightly across my chest. I’m not going to die, I’m not going to die, I’m not going to die today. Of course, no one ever truly knows when they will die, that fate is hidden from us. But, I can’t go on today having visions like this with the same creepy, cloaked, figure haunting me. I don’t want to keep being told I’m going to die. I’m not going to die today. I’m not.
I feel like I’m sinking into quicksand. Slowly, slowly, slowly my life is draining from me because of this strange figure constantly on me about how I will die today. But I won’t. I shall not. If I believe I won’t die today, then surely I won’t die today right?
I scrunch up my eyebrows and huddle myself into a tiny ball on the grass. I’m in the middle of nowhere. My car has broken down. I’ve been out here for hours. I don’t have water. I don’t know where I can find water. I definitely don’t have any food.
I stare out, sniffling, at the grassy hills laid out like pillars of my childhood, running through the meadows and giggling as I’d jump across small streams of water. The sky is quite beautiful at this time of day, but I’m nowhere even close to home. I’m so far. I’m so far away. And there’s nothing I know I can do to get back. Maybe I am supposed to give in to death today.
No, no, no! I can’t die! I can’t give up! I won’t give up! I can’t!
Tears sting and stain the lids of my eyes red. If I die here, I’m going to regret it. Is not dying, my task? Is running away from this place what I need to accomplish? My stomach feels like it’s constantly turning. I can’t die today, I rub my eyes and force them to stay open. I have to.
The sun is setting. This is almost the end of the day. But, maybe I’ll have another chance if I run towards the sun.

Daily for SWC - March 15th, 2024
Prompt: “One of the best things about SWC is its ability to connect young writers across different countries and cultures, which is absolutely incredible In today’s daily, we’ll be embracing our community’s uniqueness by writing about life from another swcer’s perspective! What would their average day look like? What hobbies, interests and activities do they engage in? Answer these questions and more in at least 300 words to claim 200 points for your cabin, plus an additional 100 for sharing proof!”

I stared out the window of my mom’s car, intentionally looking for any excuse to be doing something else besides going to school. I mean, not that I don’t love school, I do. It’s just there are days where I just can’t bring myself to concentrate on anything else besides my love of writing and doing creative activities. I’d just rather be focusing my mind more on the things I actually want to do with my life, rather than the short, already scripted, social engagements of some parts of the school day, (specifically a few of my classes where I still somehow seem to hardly know anyone there even though it’s been more than half of a year).
We’re here. I stare out at the sporadic sea of children rushing into school before it’s 8:15. I’ll soon join that crowd, and for seven hours I won’t be at my desk writing. I won’t be at my desk doing Canva designs on my book series I want to write so badly. I won’t be able to think of anything else besides school, schoolwork, homework, and anything else they throw into the void of my brain during the day. I’ll be focused on other things besides the goals and points in my life that I strive to get to one day.
That’s why when school ends I’m thrilled. I can focus on other creative hobbies besides the ones in school that I do enjoy, just not nearly as much as writing. Or reading. Or dancing, or singing, or acting, (though I’m putting on production for Theatre currently), and I can finally focus on those instead. The good thing is, I’m in a virtual writing camp on Scratch, (SWC), so I have a good month or so, to put time into my novel that I hope I can make an important pillar of my life one day.
When I pull up my laptop, my mind draws a blank. The words don’t want to spill from my lips because they’re stuck in the top of my head, carefully careening downwards into my cerebral cortex. But when I finally pull up the daily prompt for today, my mind remembers what it is I really want to do.
I want to write some words.

Daily for SWC - March 16th, 2024
Prompt: “It's Hozier the bog man's birthday today! (Yes, that would be the musical artist.) Here's an age-old prompt, but with a twist - pick a Hozier song lyric, and write a piece inspired by it - as abstract or literal as you like. If you're unsure about what lyric to choose, feel free to ask in the comments ^^ 300 points for 300 words, and an extra 150 for providing proof. (Bonus: Name your favourite Hozier song in the comments and Starr will give you a daisy <3)”
Lyric Given: Work Song, “No grave can hold my body down, I’ll crawl home to her.”
Lyric Given by: @1lMaM
Note: For some reason, I felt like a poem called to me today for this daily, so I wrote one. ^^

I’ve sunken in the river’s edge, my body is frail as can be.
There is no smile upon my face, or in this lazy stream.
They may bury me with roses, they may bury me in satin.
My body laced in cotton, I’ll sail down the water’s thoughts,
And merely whistle whilst I scream.
There is no burial that can hold me in place, my mind is made up.
There is only one wish I have left, to come home to my loved one.
Crawling up from the vines grown thick, I’ll give the one,
Who drew first blood a look over,
And sing the sirens’ songs to sleep, while my body rises higher.
I don’t know why, nor do I know when,
But when I’ve got the time,
I’ll come crawling back to you, and you’ll grant me some more time.
My loved one, sweet and fair and kind, never caused me any sorrow,
So if there be pouring rain, or sour skies,
Come find me by the hollow,
And with a whisper in my ears, ignite the starlight that brought me to tears,
Don’t leave me stranded in the night, like the stranger who dared to fight.
I worry how far you’ll go, so please, don’t ever leave me alone.
Not when I’m crawling back to you, from a star away,
And a moonlight’s gloom.
My fears are surreal, as I’m sure yours are too.
So come to me down by the sea,
And take me to the shore.
I’ll follow you out of the grave,
And sing you songs my body that could never,
Sing beyond the dirt from 6-feet underground.
I’ll tell you tales from a lonely soldier’s heartbroken heart,
And lead you through till tomorrow.
I’m going to come home one day, far into the future,
But for now you hold onto my soul.

Daily for SWC - March 17th, 2024
Prompt: “Pick-a-Plot! For today's daily you'll be creating a choose-your-own-adventure story, written in second person. Once you're done writing it out, post it in the comments for others to give it a try. Then, go ahead and reply to other stories that have been shared to see where that journey will take you ;D Best of luck, and have fun! This activity isn't for points.”

We did Pick-A-Plot today, (which is a choose your own adventure story for SWCers to try to attempt)! ;D (also Happy St. Patrick's Day! ^^)

Daily for SWC - March 18th, 2024
Prompt: “Capturing the perfect atmosphere is essential in writing! Come up with three words to describe one of your characters and three more for a setting you'd like to put them in. Use a thesaurus to make a list of six related words, and write a scene of at least 400 words that embodies the vibes of your list for 300 points. Earn 150 extra points for providing proof. Bonus: Post your list in the comments and write a scene using the words from someone else's list. ”

A Main Character in my Novel - (Secret for my Secret-ish Novel ;):
-Compassionate
-Outgoing
-Wise

Setting in my Novel - (Also Secret for my Secret-ish Novel ;):
-Whimsical
-Provocative
-Intriguing

Six Related Words:
-Benevolent
-Cordial
-Logical
-Eccentric
-Tantalizing
-Compelling

Lizzie bolted out the front door, her arms swinging behind her. There was nothing as carefree as a bird, as starstruck as the moon, that could keep her head down below the clouds. This was her day. Hers. She felt sure of it, like a tide had washed right up through her heart and had finally, finally opened her eyes.
She could see everything, anything she wanted to. Her eyes were as bright and as sure as the sun, which peeked out often especially during the summers she spent at her mother’s tiny cottage. Her heart swaying and rocking with the sand that flew and crashed on the shore, she led herself down to the pier, and stared out into the sea. Bright, blue, perfectly cold. Utterly tantalizing.
Already soaked with the rain that had been pouring wearily down her face before, she danced in the colors the sky glimmered with. She laughed as lightly as the faint drizzle that was all that was left. She sighed as the waves took her graciously by their lovely, benevolent sounds. She giggled when she crossed paths with a crane, craning its neck towards her in approval. There wasn’t anything she had to worry about. People cared for her, and that was all that mattered to her right now.
Dancing and twirling with the melodies drifting over the ocean, she sang and hollered and cried, tears of joy, sadness, hope. Everything was perfect. Everything seemed so alive and natural. Everything seemed to be breathing with the same rhythm as her own. She closed her eyes and stood at the edge of the water, feeling as strong as the tide itself.
In the palms of her hands she felt like she held the strength of the Earth. The peace, not war. The love, not hurt. The hope, not the release. Everything was in harmony, in balance, and everything felt equal. Free.
Lizzie pressed her ear against the damp sand, and heard Earth’s very own heartbeat. Soft, low, compelling. The will to push forward despite all of the hardships she had faced, the strive to move forward through the challenges she fought with. She could overcome them. We, the world itself, could overcome them. She believed the world could. For a fact, she believed that it was as simple as taking the time to listen to the song buried deep below in the central core of the Earth.
So, why can’t we just take the time to listen too?

Daily for SWC - March 19th, 2024
Prompt: “Villains are often formed after some traumatic backstory that is later revealed to the hero and humanizes the villain. For this daily write 400 words about a villain, whether an existing one or one of your creations, who ends up not actually being the bad guy. Completing this daily will earn you 350 points with an additional 100 points for sharing!”
Note: So, as you may or may not know, (which actually it highly unlikely you know haha), but I’m a big fan of A Series of Unfortunate Events, both the books and the show, so I thought for today’s daily, why not go ahead and write from the perspective of Count Olaf? Because that idea randomly sprang up into my head today xD. Also, this story is meant to be in the form of an answer he would give an interviewer for practice for the weekly, and in this version, he didn’t die.

WARNING: This contains spoilers for the ending of A Series of Unfortunate Events.

There are three words I’ve always stood by. Baudelaire orphan’s fortune. Three simple, highly important, words that I stand by with all of my life. Because, yes, it is more important than my Theater Troupe. And yes, it is clearly, way more important than the nasty, awful, horrible little Baudelaire orphans. Eugh.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not prejudiced towards orphans, or anything. No, indeed, not at all as I am one, (gag, I hate that word), and I have my reasons to utterly detest the word, phrase, blah. But, I’m here to explain the fact that I… did not murder those sloppy, ungrateful Baudelaire brats- orphans’ parents. I did not start the fire. Or cause them a typhoon of stupid situations, as it was their fault they got into them in the first place for not being careful.
I mean, they were in my custody. I had their fortune in the palms of my hands- I mean their lives in the palms of my hands. I had to take care of them. That was my job. Then they, like a bunch of bandits, ran off to a random island, in the middle of the ocean, with a poisonous fungus, and I couldn’t track them down. Not my fault they let it spread, either.
Yes, they let it spread when they nearly killed me after they shot me with a harpoon gun. Ha! They should know that the harpoon gun didn’t kill me. Not even close. So I still cannot understand why, now, I’m the villain, after I tried to stop them from bringing the dangerous fungus somewhere else? I don’t understand why I’m being framed when I was the good guy here. I tried to stop those Baudelaire orphans.
Of course, they never even mentioned the fact that I brought Kit back to the shore for them, either. I’ve never heard them mention that. Even though I practically saved her newborn child, for them. They then, of course, proceeded to steal the child and take the child under their own custody, even though they are extremely underage, (though Violet can inherit the fortune now), but they are not suitable to raise other orphans! That should not be legal. By legal laws, I should be taking custody of that orphan and the Baudelaire orphans. I have a duty to protect them!
So, yes, I don’t know why I have been framed for following simple laws.

Daily for SWC - March 20th, 2024
Prompt: “Happy World Poetry Day! There are many types of poetry, from haikus to odes, but they all have one thing in common: they are written about something the author is passionate about. For today's daily, it's your turn to write a poem about one of your passions! Whether it's ballet or world peace, poems can be about anything that you enjoy. Be creative with poem style, wording, and topic. You can earn 200 points for 200 words, along with an extra 100 for sharing. Good luck, (tortured) poets!”
Note: This is a song about my passion for the constellations. <33 ^^

Shimmering stars high in the sky,
Cover and cloak me with your light,
Sing me softly sound to sleep,
Bury me in the warmth of the deep.

Upon unspoken words I lay,
My head swimming in a daze,
Barely visible by firelight,
Harshly contrasting with your light.

A bubble of dismay we stand in,
For when the eyes are closed,
We cannot see the quiet hope,
Of the ones who once passed on.

A dream invisible to the eye,
Like birds whistling in the night,
Despite cold moonlight offerings,
You often sit alone in silence.

Different zodiacs, different aspects.
Different worlds to travel upon.
Different places and areas to go,
Too far away for us to reach out to.

Ones of many in the sky,
Sometimes only visible to naked eye,
Disappearing in unison upon sunrise,
Coming back when a moon lights the sky.

You blink and dance in fading sight,
Hours away, light by light.
I wish you would stay longer,
If that would be asking enough.

When you come, I feel relieved,
Because you’ve been here for years,
Unlike me, I’m sure it’s true,
There’s never been another soul,
Planet, galaxy, universe,
Like all of you combined as one.

Daily for SWC - March 21st, 2024
Prompt: “Writers use a lot of figurative language, and today we're focusing on just one type: pathetic fallacy. Similar to personification, pathetic fallacy is when a story utilizes the environment to convey emotions by using typically human actions (ex: weeping raindrops, dancing leaves, etc). For 300 points, write a story of at least 250 words using pathetic fallacy to convey an emotion. Then, post it in the comments for 150 more points and see if anyone can guess which emotion it is!”
Emotion: Take a guess. )

The winter bicycled into spring. The bitter cold seemed as though it was standing on the edge of a cliff. Winter was disappearing, and the years that stood behind, marked and labeled in a book. Leia jotted down what she could remember, but she felt she was missing something. Years of her life. Gone by in a flash too quickly. Too soon.
The sun shone down in rays of satisfaction, and the sea looked perfect under the light. Happy, free, leaving her like feathers on a bird. Going, gone. She could wave goodbye, but it wasn’t in her. She felt every second that time was isolating her more and more. Closer, tighter, squeezing her until she plopped down into the grass and sobbed miserably. But it wasn’t like that, it wasn’t necessary, she thought.
Leia felt so old. Too mature, and too immature. She couldn’t place a finger on it. The trees around her seemed to droop with longing. For the past. For the present. She wanted to feel like she was living each moment as much as she could.
It was hard enough to get wrapped up like tinfoil in what happened to her before today. Before the picture perfect world that could be snapped up and summed up in one photo. Leia, confounded, felt so out of place and then still like a puzzle piece that had been found and then put together in the larger picture. She wanted to remember everything that had happened to her previously that day. How someone she knew just made her feel amazing. But she couldn’t remember, correctly, the words they said.

Daily for SWC - March 22nd, 2024
Cabin wars were today! <3 We defeated Balrog-Gurtle! >:]]

Daily for SWC - March 23rd, 2024
Prompt: “It was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort…" To honour Tolkien Reading Day tomorrow, let's take a breather to really fall into Middle Earth Hobbit-holes, our heroes' lovely underground homes, have come to be a fixture of Tolkien's cultural impact. Describe what your own personal hobbit hole might look like - the ambiance, the bookshelves, the secret passageways in your cellar; include details! 400 words for 400 points, and an extra 100 points for providing proof.”

In a hole in the ground, there lived a Herm, (I’m very glad I have a nickname that starts with H haha). And of course the Herms definitely did not choose the nickname because of a specific sound that villagers make in a certain video game. No, indeed. They simply chose it because it sounded right. It sounded somewhat like one of the creatures they kicked out of the holes to write this story, (coughs), ahem, anyways. This is the story of a small little Herm living in a small little hole in the ground, somewhere that isn’t New Zealand. This is a Herm’s Tale…
Herm was unlike many of her fellow Herms in the village. She felt less grounded than most of her fellow Herms who preferred the solitude of everyday life, farming and walking about the peaceful landscape of the Earth, and her Herm hole was decorated in much of a similar fashion. Stars laced every square they could find in the ceiling, and Herm’s zodiac sign, Pisces, lay in such an intricate design over her four-poster bed, it became increasingly harder and harder to tell if she lived in the stars already in the first place. It was hard enough being so up in space, sometimes Herm believed she was actually already there and that for some reason everything had a purpose because of the stars and how they were written. She found the stars simply too beautiful to be overlooked, and wondered why so many of her fellow Herm’s never stopped to appreciate the sky enough.
That’s why Herm detailed the front of her tiny, cozy hole with as many constellations as she saw fit, and she would often read Tarot cards aloud to her fellow Herms whenever they stopped by her little lily, azalea, and bellflower filled garden. As long as she could force them to sit down and give them a cup of black tea, (her all time favorite tea in the history of the Hermshire), she could read what their futures held and believe all of the whimsical, exuberant thoughts that popped into her head on occasion. Sometimes, when it rained in the months of December through February, she would stare out her window laced with constellations etched in their sheer curtains, and dream up adventures in her own world, with all the zodiac signs together as one. This was the place she felt the most attached to herself, but she often wondered why she ever thought about leaving such a gorgeous little hole filled to the brim with books, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games merchandise, DVDs packed with her favorite songs, (for some reason mostly from The Hunger Games), and other things that she often found herself enjoying to a point where other people thought she was especially nerdy, (which of course she most definitely was, but that’s what she loved about herself so much). Why would she ever want to leave such a perfect hole in the ground where all her fellow Herms lived and thrived?

Daily for SWC - March 24th, 2024
Prompt: “Happy Holi! Holi is a Hindu festival celebrating the triumph of good over evil and the arrival of spring, typically celebrated with large, colorful gatherings and people throwing colored die on each other. Use color imagery to symbolize change, whether in time, setting, or anything in between! Since today is also National Hobbit Hole Day, try setting your daily in your hobbit hole for an extra wink from the daily team ;D 500 words for 300 points, with 100 points for proof!”

Herm stared out through the small crack in the window. It bothered her so much and made her feel incredibly gray. Like what had led to such a disaster in her perfect little hobbit hole? What had led to such a grim, annoying, crack that hurt her head to think about? Small but mighty. Bothering her for no good reason.
The sky was warm and blue, the sun shone gold upon the grassy, farm fields that lay on rounded knolls ahead of her. There wasn’t much to do today. Clouds hung high like white banisters pridefully displaying their kingdoms’ glory, and pops of color in the meadows surrounding Herm’s hobbit hole should’ve made her feel free. It didn’t. It just kept reminding her that the world was constantly turning, and turning, and changing all of a sudden and would normally never stay the same. Like the tiny, teensy little crack in her window. She felt as though it completely ruined the atmosphere of her hobbit hole.
So when the light blue of the day turned to the navy blue of the night, she sighed, glad the darkness covered up the crack a bit better than the light ever did. Except for this night, when the Herms had decided to light fireworks in the town circle, and she could see the fire steaming off of them, red, orange, yellow, and blazing with heat that felt like, even from such a distance, was smacking her in the face. For some reason it had to be someone’s 111th birthday today, but she couldn’t care less. For all she knew she would end up trapped in the seemingly always changing for her, Hermshire, for just as long. She didn’t want to know just how long.
There was only one thing she could possibly do to stop her mind from hurting on and off because of the small crack in her window. She could fix it, not that she wanted to, but it might take her mind off of the fact that everything seemed to be changing around her. She could get the window back to its previous state, and that might soothe her weariness. That, in fact, probably was the main cause of her weariness in the first place. And if she could do this, maybe she could fence off the amount of change coming her way just as well!
Nothing could stop Herm now, she was flying, preparing her tools and fancy equipment she bought down at the cozy Hermshire Market, but she felt somewhat blue. This wasn’t at all what she wanted. She really loved the Hermshire just the way it was, and now she found what bothered her was not the small crack in her window. It was the fact that she was now the one bringing change to her own hobbit hole, her own home, that she had lived in for years. And yet, here she was, consistently rolling over the facts of how she didn’t want anything in her life to change, even though change seemed to be persistent.

Happy Holi! <3

Daily for SWC - March 25th, 2024
Prompt: “Get ready to shake things up, because this daily will be a wild ride! Today, you’ll be exploring a trope in fanfic where characters swap their roles. For example, the protagonist becomes the antagonist, or the student becomes the mentor. Remember to keep their personality the same! Using this trope, write a fanfic piece that is 300 words long. By doing so, you will earn 200 points and 150 extra for sharing proof!”
What I Wrote About (Contains Spoilers for TBoSaS and THG): So basically, all of the mentors from the Capitol swap roles with the tributes and become the tributes in the Capitol Arena, (much like what could’ve happened had Katniss not ended President Coin’s new reign over Panem and the games had been continued with the children of the Capitol, except this is 64 years previously). As punishment for the rioting in the districts, the Capitol children are then punished instead for the Capitol having caused such a huge commotion and war with the districts, so instead, in this fanfiction, the districts get to root for and watch as Capitol children are eliminated on screen.

Coriolanus walked carefully to the center of the Capitol Arena, his heart racing. Sejanus, his back towards him, was facing their fallen friend, Clemensia. After being attacked by snakes wishfully dropped in by the gamemaker, Dr. Volumia Gaul, Clemensia was left paralyzed, but she wasn’t dead yet. “Sejanus?” Coriolanus said slowly and in a whisper, “We should head back to the tunnels. Arachne and the pack of tributes-”
“You know how guilty I feel, Coriolanus? I mean, we couldn’t do anything at all,” Sejanus whimpers.
“I know, Sejanus, I know, but I’ve got things to go back to in my life. I’ve got Tigress, the grandma’am, Lucy Gray,” Coriolanus trails off, “I miss my life as much as you Sejanus! So please, if one of us even has a chance at winning these games, we’ve got to keep going. Please, Sejanus, you can’t be out here in the opening, I saw Arachne, Festus, and Felix coming this way-”
“No,” Sejanus chokes on his tears, “I can’t leave Clemensia and the others here! Please, Coriolanus. They should just kill me now. Just let them kill me now. Why can’t they?”
“Because,” Coriolanus swallows, “you’re my friend, Sejanus. I want one of us getting out of here alive. So, please?”
Sejanus sighs, “Alright. Just, please, I can’t leave them all like this. I have to do something… please… help me take down the flag.”
Coriolanus’ eyes go wide, “We can’t take down the flag, Sejanus! That’s the Capitol’s! Even if we got out of here, Sejanus, they’d kill us as quickly as Arachne and the others killed half the tributes in the bloodbath!”
“But, Coryo-”
Coriolanus hated when Sejanus called him Coryo, this someone who was originally district now suddenly a Capitol citizen because his dad loved wealth more than his own son, but he sucked up his breath, “Fine, I’ll help you Sejanus.”

Daily for SWC - March 26th, 2024
Prompt: “Getting back into the classics… it’s time for a fan favorite! Head on over to google translate and switch up the lyrics of a song of your choice. Once they are completely different, and probably silly, write a 300 word story inspired by your new words! Then you can take home 200 points for your cabin and an extra 150 points will be added for providing proof ”
Song I Chose: Can’t Catch Me Now by Olivia Rodrigo
Languages I Used: German, Latin, Spanish, Danish, Irish, Italian, Dutch, Akan
Song Lyrics Messed-Up:
There is blood on the mountain
There it is, on the wall
Shadows still dance around us.
in each room
Snow falls over the city
They thought it had been wiped out
The bitter taste of my wrath
And they ate all the food
Yes, you would think he would run away from you.
But I’m in the trees, I’m in the air
My footprints are on the ground
You will see my face everywhere
But you can’t catch me
For months by herbs.
You hear it everywhere
They are here, they are there, they are everywhere.
But you can’t catch me
You can’t take me with you now
I bet you thought you never would
I thought it was coming at me.
I think I thought I was going to die in the winter.
Do something easy to forget.
Oh, you'd think I'm leaving because I'm going
But I’m in the trees, I’m in the air
My footprints are on the ground
You will see my face everywhere
But you can’t catch me
For months by herbs.
You hear it everywhere
They are here, they are there, they are everywhere.
But you can’t catch me
You can’t take me with you now
Oh oh
Oh oh
You can’t, you can’t take me with you
I am coming to your city like a storm
You can’t, you can’t take me with you
I hope above that you are successful
You can’t, you can’t take me with you
I am coming to your city like a storm
You can’t, you can’t take me with you
I hope above that you are successful
You can’t, you can’t take me with you
I am coming to your city like a storm
You can’t, you can’t take me with you
You can’t, you can’t, you can’t
There is blood on the mountain
This gets a new blush color.
Sometimes you even light a fire
It’s not as hot as you’d expect
Because you thought this was the end

You can’t take me with you. I’m too much a part of the forest. I’m above hoping you are successful, because all you’ve done is light a fire to my home. All you’ve done is burn this, what once was a lovely forest, down to nothing but ashes. You took all our food, you took all our land, you tried to take all that was left of us. I guess you thought we’d be easy to forget about.
But here’s the catch. Even though you’ve spray painted the sides of the hills and mountains with blood, even though you’ve covered us in snow and left us to fend for ourselves in the winter where we all thought we could end up dead. Well, we’re not dead. And even though you created shadows of us, they still dance in the air around us.
You see, our footprints will follow you if you hurt the herbs, the trees, the leaves. They will follow you practically everywhere across this grassy ground. We’ll storm your city with skies so gray they’ll sting your eyes. The weather will be so imperfect, as what you did to our poor forest. The fire you lit in our forest? It will never be as hot as you wanted it to be. Our wrath is unfathomable to you, and apparently so are the trees.
So here is our message to you, in the hopes that you somehow find it, even though you block out our cries. You block out our tears. You block out our sorrow. Please at least let the birds who lived here fly freely. Our words hang in the air, and you’ll see our faces everywhere, as you need us to survive. We provide you oxygen, and that I hope should be enough to convince you that burning trees is wrong of you. Burning trees decreases your own survival just the same as well.

Daily for SWC - March 27th, 2024
Prompt: “Once upon a time, in a land far far away… the story isn't over yet! If you've ever wondered what happened to Cinderella's mice after the ball, or what happened to Oz after Dorothy left, now's your chance to continue the story and find out! Write 500 words playing off a familiar fairytale or children's classic for 400 points, and a bonus 100 for sharing.”
Fairytale Chosen (It’s a HP one From the Tales of Beedle the Bard): The Tale of Three Brothers.
This Story is About (WARNING: Contains Spoilers for HP): How Harry ultimately ended up with the cloak of invisibility after the events that occurred in the story above.
Note: I had tremendous writer’s block, so I apologize if this seems especially rushed. X’D (also there is a reference to Hermione Granger buried somewhere within this story, can you find it? )

It had been years since the Peverells had last used the cloak of invisibility. Rubbish, they called it, for they believed only the most anxious, fear-driven, and hysterical people in their family had ever such a need to use it. They must have been made to have lived almost all of their lives under a cloak. Who would need such a useless item to escape death but not enjoy what’s able to be lived?
Lucy Peverell glared at her suitcase that had been a family heirloom that cleverly hid their invisibility cloak for what could have only been generations, she wondered. She wanted to open it. Stupid, she knew it, but if she didn’t open it she’d go mad. It was too curious a magical artifact, too vastly different than any other magical item, that she felt almost guilty if she didn’t just, at least, look at it. There, she opened it. Interesting, the cloak didn’t seem invisible. It probably was rubbish then, just like her mother had been worrying her for years, “It’s not worth opening it, darling, all it does is attract bad things, and you don’t want any bad things searching for you, do you?”
“No,” Lucy had replied bitterly, for now she had become desperately attached to whatever could be inside the suitcase, and now years later, maybe her mother had been right.
But really, this couldn’t have been the dreadful, doomful, object her family had worked it up to be? It was just a cloak, a drab, silvery gray cloak. She put it on and sighed, disappointed it was nothing more than a, “Woah!” Lucy cried, jumping back as she witnessed the disappearance of her hands, “are these the bad things she was talking about?!”
Lucy shakily removed the cloak, and laid it back in the suitcase, realizing how her hands had returned from having been completely invisible. Delightful! That was the whole point, right? It was an invisibility cloak. Maybe she could actually have a real use for it when she could finally go to Hogwarts!

A month passed and Lucy Peverell boarded the train for her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and got settled in to her Hogwarts house, Slytherin, (despite some people’s extreme disapproval for the house)…

“James Potter!” Lucy huffed while dashing through one the bridge to the Hogwarts grounds, “Bring me back my suitcase, you daft dimbo!” She sprinted down the bridge, but James Potter was already flying down towards the Quidditch Pitch, (literally, as for some reason he and his group of friends had all stolen broomsticks and were zipping through the air faster than Lucy could run). She screamed, still panting, in utter annoyance, “James! Potter! You! Will! Come back here!”
James Potter laughed gleefully as he did loop-de-loos in the air, carefree as if he were four years old and didn’t understand the consequences of doing stunts without supervision. True, he was one of the best quidditch players Hogwarts had seen in so many years, but his ego was larger than the giant squid that lived at the bottom of the black lake. He had the cloak of invisibility now, and who knew just what him and his friends would be able to do now that he had it with him.

Daily for SWC - March 28th, 2024
Prompt: “Hello, writers! Today, we’re writing prologues! Find a story with the beginning written, then write the prologue for it. Is there something you could foreshadow? If your main character will get a new dog, potentially add a ‘Adopt a Dog’ sign in the scene. Some more ideas include introducing your characters, setting, plot, or a day to a few years after the first chapter in a big scene. Write 350 words to earn 400 points for your cabin! An additional 100 points will be granted for sharing proof.”
Original Story I Chose to Write About: This original story is actually really quite old, (I think I originally wrote it in December of 2021, (aah, 5 years old! That’s rather terrifying!), but I figured since I didn’t want to have to post the prologue, which I haven’t actually finished by the way haha, I would write a prologue for my very old, (but honestly somewhat intriguing), book that I didn’t complete. So here you go! Here is a prologue to my original story, Cabin in the Woods:

If you were to think that Rosalie’s grandfather was anything but creepy and weird, well, for one he was an old man who lived in the middle of Redhigh Hills. He wore socks that literally went up to his crotch. He had eyeballs that could pop out of his sockets at any given time. And, his alter ego was a talking fluffy cat. I guess you could say he was completely, entirely, exactly what you’d imagine some creepy old dude who lived in the middle of the woods to be like. But, there was something definitely off about him and his house, specifically.
Rosalie never had any interactions with her grandfather before. She’s always lived exactly 30 minutes away from him and her mom hasn’t ever told her about him before. Until one day after school when she was just brought over when her mom had to go out on a trip for her job. She had nothing but her backpack, her phone, her creepy, eerie, part cat grandfather, the adventure they were soon about to go on, and her incredible disbelief in all things that related or had anything to do whatsoever with magic itself. She didn’t have any idea why the cabin in the woods was haunted, and she had no idea why she found a golden key peeking out below a wooden cabinet with little red birds carved into it that could open up a portal behind a painting. All she knew was that her grandfather and his cabin were the most haunted, creepiest places she had ever even been to in her whole entire life.
All she wanted to do was get out of that cabin, but when her grandfather showed his cat side, things got a bit, wild. There was no telling where the two would go, but this, along with things awaiting in the very corners of the cabin in the woods, were yet to be revealed. Rosalie and her part cat grandfather were about to embark on the largest, eeriest, journey of their entire lives combined. This would bring to light some of the shrouded mysteries surrounding the cabin in the woods.

Daily for SWC - March 29th, 2024
Prompt: “Imagine your character getting the superpower they've always wanted to have…now throw that thought out the window. Today, you'll be writing about a character getting their least favorite superpower in 200 words, for 200 points. Feel free to share for an additional 100 points!”

“Do you really, really think you’re going to give up your superpower, to me?” Dana states dramatically, throwing her hands up in the air like she’s so over it, even though she’s been waiting for this opportunity for years, and years, and years.
“Of course, Dana, I’m completely over it,” Dana’s best friend, Jules, replies skeptical of Dana’s attitude towards having, what is in her opinion, the worst superpower ever.
Invisibility. Yeah, sure, she loves to accidentally hide herself in the background 24/7. That’s so her to want to be invisible all the time when she doesn’t want to be invisible because she’s dancing for a competition, or attempting an aerial movement where she needs to see where her hands or her legs have gone, or even just putting on jewelry in the morning is a rather annoying challenge to deal with when you’re trying to get to school on time. Not that you need jewelry, but it’s so fun to wear it, (even when she’s not supposed to be, especially while dancing). It’d be so much better if she didn’t have invisibility. So much better.
Three weeks. That’s how long she’d had her superpower. Originally, she thought it’d be a great superpower to have when some desperate superhero handed it over to her willingly. Now that she had the superpower, she was so glad she could give it away.

Daily for SWC - March 30th, 2024 (really would be 31st but I’m on a different timezone than UTC xP ^^)
To be continued…

WEEKLIES –>

Weekly for SWC - March 3rd-10th, 2024
Prompt: “Intro (written by Alia) Welcome, heroes, to the first weekly of the session! This week, we'll be taking a look into stories of yore, tales that have been passed down through generations and generations, turning from simple narratives into legends.

While walking this path of fabled characters, you will have the chance to chart your own journey! Firstly, read Skyler's workshop here about the the four genres explored in this weekly. Then, from each of the sections below, choose six prompts to write about. You must choose at least one prompt from each of the four sections, and the last two can be from any section you'd like! Write 200 words per section to complete this weekly.”

Part 1: Mythology
1st Section Chosen: 1. Crossover. (Prompt = Some of the most interesting stories can be made from already existing mythology (think Percy Jackson ;D ). From gods and goddesses to tricksters and schemers, there are so many different elements you can pull from. Find a couple (or more!) pantheons that interest you the most, and write a story that incorporates them all together. Maybe there's a power struggle between them, they're joining forces, or they've just discovered each others' existence. The choice is yours, so don't be afraid to play with it!)
What I Chose to Write About: Artemis, (of Greek mythology), and Diana, (of Roman mythology), have a quarrel about who is simply the better goddess in a Greco-Roman wrestling match.

Diana glares Artemis in the eyes, debating her next move. Artemis rolls her eyes, and shrugs her shoulders, “We don’t have to do this Diana, this is way too easy.”
Diana jumps in for an attack, but Artemis harmlessly moves to the side, expecting it. Diana falls face first into the floor, but picks herself right back up immediately and thrusts her hands around Artemis’ waist. Artemis’ eyes widen, and she glances down promptly. Diana throws Artemis to the ground, but Artemis is quick, as she makes for Diana’s waist. “Diana, this is such a stupid idea!”
Artemis grunts, as Diana makes for Artemis’ waist. The duo both then tumble to the ground. Artemis rolls along on the floor with Diana, hugging each other’s waists. There can be heard loads of groaning and angry talking amongst the two as they blather on and on. They are constantly feuding with each other along the floorboards of some random school gymnasium they found. Crowds of students, their cameras raised, surround the two, chanting, “Fight! Fight!”
Artemis and Diana both finally come to the realization that there are mortals standing in a tight-knit circle around them both, and slowly stand up, their faces flushing red. “Oh,” Artemis mouths to Diana. Artemis and Diana both zip out of existence, embarrassed by the fact that 500, or so, children witnessed the human-like wars the gods have when they're not in the mortal world.

Part 2: Hi-Fi
2nd Section Chosen: 1. Original Characters in Historical Times. (Prompt = You’ve probably heard of historical characters in historical times, but have you ever heard of original characters in historical times? Pick a character you’ve written with, whether it’s the character from your first ever story, one from that novel you’ve been procrastinating on, or your favorite character, any will work! How would that character react during the Boston Tea Party? Would they make a good knight in the Medieval times? For this task, write a story using an original character in a historical time.)
Original Character Chosen: Esther Knox (this is an RP character from an old History presentation ), and just a little bit about her is that she was/is an advocate for women’s rights from Boston, MA, in the past who loved, and I mean, loved to read, despite large disagreements from men at the time.

Esther didn’t want to end up anywhere, in particular. She was concerned with arriving on time to places, but she wasn’t concerned nearly enough about what she was wearing. Bloomers. The latest fashion she found off The Lily, a magazine she desperately could not get her hands off of. Too early. Nobody was wearing them, yet. She was, but she contracted way too many dirty looks, or at least that’s what her husband deliberately made clear to her. Too many looks coming in her way.
She didn’t care. It wasn’t her problem, anyways, she assumed. If men couldn’t grasp the fact that women feel uncomfortable wearing easily flammable floor length dresses, then that’s their problem. Not hers. Or maybe it was, but she couldn’t agree less with her husband. He was always ratting on about what’s respectable and what isn’t, for women, in particular.
Well, Esther took a pause, if Amelia Bloomer can tackle creating soon to be widely acceptable pants, then I can wear them without care. I am a woman, and I want to be one forever, so why can’t I choose to do something men can do without being criticized for it? A smirk played on Esther’s lips, there’s ‘man’ in woman. We are both.

Part 3: Fairy Tales
3rd Section Chosen: 3. Multiple Fairy Tale Characters Meet Up With Each Other. (Prompt = I think we've all faced that dilemma where we had to choose one favorite character. But fear not! Today you don't have to narrow it down - expand that list as far as you would like for matter! For this activity you will be arranging a little meet up between multiple fairy tale characters. Who you decide to choose is up to you! To complete this task, write a story that focuses on the meet up of multiple fairy tale characters. You'll be amazed to see all the creative plots that come out of this activity!)
Fairy Tale Characters I Chose: Dorothy Gale from Wizard of Oz and Alice Liddell from Alice in Wonderland.
Fun Note: I wrote an original musical with both characters with a friend before, and I thought it would be really fun to try to revamp it for this short story!

The voice of someone unknown flying overhead calls attention…
Currently, in a small field in the state of Kansas…

Dorothy stumbled on rocks while kicking up mini tornados, speeding towards her house, screaming in panic, “Auntie ‘Em! Auntie ‘Em!” Dorothy wrapped her fist against the wood of a trapdoor, “Auntie ‘Em! Please! Please! Open the door!”
She sobbed, then looked down helplessly at her little scruffy dog, Toto. “Please, please, please,” she sinks to her knees, weakly banging on the door. She gives up, her hands unconsciously petting the floofy fur of her dog. “Oh Toto,” she sighs, “there’s no use. We’ve tried so many times, we just can’t push it open. Come on, let’s head into the house.” Dorothy, followed by tiny Toto, walk away aimlessly into their house.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the world, in the far north of Europe…

Alice skipped gleefully through the meadows, following the fluff of a strange furry white rabbit, whistling, “Mr. White Rabbit! Mr. White Rabbit! Wherever are you jumping off to?” She smiled joyfully, “Oh where did you go, you curious thing?” She hopped merrily over a tiny brook, and watched as the curious critter left her line of sight. She sighed, “Please don’t leave, I’m so bored.”

Part 4: Folklore
4th Section Chosen: 4. Magical Realism. (Talking Animals, Little Bits of Magic, Etc). (Prompt = Folktales are often known to have little bits of magic scattered inside them. Talking animals are common in them, and so are magical items or prophecies. If you choose to do this, write a story implementing magical realism into your own story. Good luck, and I can’t wait to see what you do with your ideas!)

Annie wandered through the trees of a small orchard, plucking mangoes whenever her eyes drifted upon one dangling from a wooden branch. She laughed as one landed in her basket, and yelped when she saw something fuzzy and orange dart across the tree line. Setting down her basket, she brushed away some leaves from a small bush, as she eavesdropped on a conversation between… foxes with ties on them?
“Thank you, sir, I’ve desperately been needing some more of these,” smiled one of the foxes, a shorter one, with pointier ears.
“It’s no problem,” grinned the second fox, who looked especially mischievous, “I’ve been able to gather plenty.”
Annie frowned, and rubbed her nose since it was itchy from all the dirt, what she could only assume was the fox, picked up. She leaned in closer, her left ear pressed farther into the bushes to hear the conversation clearer.
“Where from?”
“This orchard, of course. There’s this small little girl who keeps taking the mangoes from the trees here, which, you know how hard it is to reach them. So, whenever she isn’t too careful, I zip in, and swipe the mangoes from her basket. Makes our lives easier.”
Annie guffaws, and rolls her eyes. She has a plan, and she’s ready to war the foxes if it comes to losing all of her mangoes. But, she quickly has to make sure they didn’t steal all of the mangoes from her basket, first. Oops!

5th Section Chosen: 2. Historical Figures in Modern Times. (History has changed a lot over the years, Leonardo Da Vinci probably didn’t use Pinterest for inspiration, nor did Christopher Columbus have Google Maps to guide him. For this part, choose a historical figure, such as a famous soldier, political figure, or any other character from your favorite history story and then write a story about how they’d react to being in modern times.)
Historical Figure I Chose: King Henry the VIII (or the 8th)
Note: This is probably my most unhinged and probably the story I had the most writer’s block writing…

King Henry groaned, while sitting in a box covered with post-it notes screaming with work that’s due soon. He rolled his eyes and pounded his fist unhappily on the desk, “Curse this stupid, useless, horrendous box!”
A co-worker popped his head in quickly to check-in, “How are we doing, good sir, with completing all of the forms from the women who have sued you for having caused unnecessary harm to them?”
King Henry moaned, and yelled, “I should think I’m doing extremely well!”
“That’s great to hear, sir! We’re glad you’re doing well on those terribly harsh forms directed at you for being such a jerk to 6 women’s lives!”
“I love the work I’m doing, yes indeed! I’m enjoying it so much!” King Henry gritted his teeth.
“And we’re extra glad that you’re enjoying it, of course! We couldn’t be more happy that you’re taking the time to sign all of this paperwork! You’re doing so great!”
“I know! It’s super awesome!” King Henry seethed.
Finally, the co-worker had left, King Henry was finally at peace. Maybe not entirely. He had signed one of six forms suing him for being extremely cruel to 6 different women over the course of 38 years of his life…one of six! He still couldn’t understand that 6 different women despised him now, and said he ruined their lives. How could he have ruined all of their lives when he’d only texted some of them once, and then asked never to see them ever again? He just couldn’t wrap his head around the matter.


6th Section Chosen: 3. Retelling. (Prompt = Original myths are great, but there are many different ways to look at them that bring in a novel perspective. Take an old myth and make it something completely new and interesting. Pick your favorite myth and consider what you could change to put a new spin on it. You could change the point of view, genders, setting, time period, or anything really! Choose as many elements as you want to play with, and write your original and fantastical retelling. You'll be amazed at what you come up with!)
Myth I Chose to Retell: Prometheus bringing the knowledge of how to start fire to mankind for the first time.
How I’ll Retell It: Prometheus will be the cause of the pandemic, and Zeus will be angry for Prometheus for starting the COVID19 pandemic, (even though he was the one who truly began it in the first place).

Zeus stared down from Olympus. It was 2020, and there was no real commotion in the world whatsoever. There had to be something going on here, he thought to himself while leaning his chin against the palm of his hand on his golden accented throne. “Prometheus!” Zeus shouted out, suddenly hit with the biggest idea in centuries. “Prometheus!” His voice boomed around the walls, bouncing off the pillars in his palace in the sky.
Prometheus came jogging into Zeus’ retreat, panting, tired and out of breath. He spat, “What do you want from me today, oh great overlord who can’t even respect the fact that I’ve been around at least a little bit longer than you have?”
Zeus ignored this comment, and glanced down at Earth for a moment, then came back to the clouds, “You are the titan who can form things out of clay, out of nothing but your bare hands, am I incorrect?”
“No, my lord, of course, you are not incorrect at all. Of course, I can create people out of clay. Do you need that from me, good lord?”
“Quite the contrary, I need you to think of something… different than we’ve ever done. Different, something different of course, but still something that will… I guess cause plenty of commotion and craziness in the world… but not too crazy, you hear?”
Prometheus peered down at Earth, his head sparking immediately with something… sinisterly unique. He smiled eerily, and opened his hand, creating some sort of small ball with spokes on it that looked insanely dangerous. Zeus nodded. It was definitely some sort of new idea. Though he wasn’t sure fully what it was, Zeus agreed out of curiosity as to what sort of commotion it would start down on Earth.
One year later, and the mortals would start to hate Prometheus for this sort of commotion he caused. One year later, Zeus would be angry with Prometheus. One year later, the heavens would be filled with angry mortals demanding that their lives be given back to them, so they could go back down to Earth, and say their last, real goodbyes. No one would ever think to say that, maybe it was truly Zeus who could’ve ended it all.

Weekly for SWC - March 11th-17th, 2024
Prompt: Intro (written by Alia) Welcome, everyone, to the second weekly of the session! This week, we’ll be taking a journey down memory lane and exploring some SWClassics, classic dailies in weekly format. Feel free to take these prompts and put your own spin on them - this is your chance to mix the old and new to create something completely unique!

Prompt: Part 1: Flowers (written by Sienna) Welcome to another classic SWC activity: flowers! In the past, Victorians used flowers to tell secret messages. Each flower represented a phrase, word, or idea, and they could be arranged to represent a specific message. Here's a catalog of a bunch of flower meanings compiled by Alba for reference. For example, bluebells (constancy), elder blossoms (compassion), and gillyflower (affection), might represent a deep friendship. Because each flower stands for something, they make great symbols. For this part of the weekly, write a story of at least 300 words, weaving flower symbolism into the plot or theme. Maybe there's a malevolent organization called the Nightshade or your characters are trying to deliver a message. Play around with the mechanics of the symbolism, from names to obstacles to literal flowers. The possibilities are endless, so make like clover and get writing!

The Kingdom of Briarose was full of meadows. It had been years since Princess Aurora had last lain in the overgrown fortress, and Anemone knew she couldn’t touch the sacred place. The land was completely covered in vines protruding from every inch of the place. She stared at the sea of flowers, poking their faces to the sun and the sky. Why couldn’t she come back here? Why couldn’t she step back into her mother’s homeland?
The wind left the air cold and chilly, laced with the scent of wild roses from years before Anemone’s time. At least 100 years before. Anemone decided against staying positioned before the ancient kingdom. She dashed into the meadows, and flew herself into the arms of nature, the soil and the grass. Who would find her here? Who would be looking for her when they couldn’t care less to check in the one place her own mother nearly perished in? Or so, the old fables say?
They were just fables, clearly. Anemone thought, as she laughed and giggled at the irony of laying in the old square of Canterbury Bell. It used to be a marketplace full of lively, busy atmosphere, where vendors would sell goods, (mostly beautifully crafted flower related objects, as the kingdom was in desperate need of them), from all over the kingdom. Now, what was ironic, was the fact that this square was overgrown with flowers, sprouting in any crack in the soil they could crane their lovely necks up from. Anemone smiles, sniffing in the fluorescent scents of the rainbow of flowers, while her eyes stare into the gorgeous blue of the sky that’s clear of any pollution from years of healing after years of war.
Anemone lays on the ground for minutes upon minutes, tracing the clouds with her fingers, like she could almost reach out and grab one and form it to look like her favorite flower, the camellia. She could if she wanted to. She was as free as a bird out her in the deep meadows of the overgrown reaches of the ancient kingdom. There was nothing she couldn’t do now if she wanted to.
Except, every word of the kingdom would still be a mystery if she didn’t go back and explain to her mother what she had found in the ancient part of the kingdom.

Prompt: Part 2: Constellations (written by Luna and Alana) One of Lulu’s favorites has always been the constellation stories Constellations have become a huge part of our society over the centuries, from using them to track crop growth, to navigation in the night, to even retelling legends about they were created. All of these constellations, including the Ursa Major, Orion, and Pisces, carry a variety of traits that make them unique! For this weekly part, write 300 words of either a fiction or non-fiction piece based on how your favorite constellation came to be.
Important to Note: This is a retelling of the constellations, (specifically Ophiuchus), as based in my novel, (with ideas prone to change possibly), so I would appreciate it if you don’t steal this, thank you! ^^

1,200 years ago, there was only one world, Zaraphis. Passage through the stars was easy only there, and the planet’s connection to them was the reason why the stars chose to live there as one. Until the day of rivalry came, the stars were committed to having no separation between all of their 88 constellations. 1 would be the main kingdom, where the people of the stars could join together. 13 would be the main kingdoms that gave the people of the stars lands based off of them and their land. The rest, the 74, would become islands, landmarks, for people of the stars who were graciously given an inherited homeland and a mission to catch falling stars on a yearly basis if they felt as though they did not fit into one main zodiac type.
The main kingdoms, however, were of the utmost importance. These few kingdoms consisted of, and in order, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. Though, soon it would be only 12. Ophiuchus was named as too good for the other zodiac signs, who denounced him for being able to raise the dead, of which the other zodiacs agreed was too powerful for the world of Zaraphis. They did not want anyone messing with what they wrote in the stars, so Ophiuchus was banned from Zaraphis, and him and his land were forgotten about.
Poor Pisces was blamed for this issue and received only 28, and only every 4 years 29 days, every year where their people could prosper the best, and as the bitter zodiac signs started to argue and riot against one another, they decided they would separate for good. People were forced to remain in their kingdoms depending on their zodiac sign, and for 1,200 years, people would have to remain that way for good. Until the day when what was written by the stars themselves before they even separated would join them together again for what was written as for good.

Prompt: Part 3: Aesthetics (written by Yume) We hope you had fun with the previous swclassics <3 Now it’s time to use what you’ve written for another old favorite - the Aesthetic Set! Choose one of your pieces from the previous sections and create an aesthetic set that represents the theme or motif that you have selected. your set should contain at least five different images, chosen in reference to your selected piece. of course, the photographs you use do not need to be original, just be sure to give credit if the images aren’t yours! once you’re done, share your aesthetic as a project and submit the link alongside the rest of your weekly. Happy designing!

Link: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/984011566/

Prompt: Part 4: SWC Fanfiction (written by Skyler) Hey heroes! Welcome to the last part of this wonderful weekly– I hope you've had a blast so far <33 Now, it's time to write some fanfiction–SWC fanfiction, to be exact! Take the motif of the flower you chose earlier in this weekly or the meaning of the constellation and use that in your fanfiction, which can be about anything, from creating chaos in the main cabin to exploring your cabin's storyline with your cabinmates! You can have volunteers in your fanfic or just yourself–anything goes as long as it's at least 600 words!
Cabinmates I Hired for This Fanfiction:
-I am a goat mascot of Fairy Tales, can I be hired :0 if so fern / he/him / light beige coloured fur, fluffy, white spot on nose / I am easily scared but also very handsome B) / i am the best goat of the three > (Fairy Tales)
-Chloe/phoenix {} she/her {} find Phoenix on @-flameshadow_hybrid- {} a musician who love writing and art. I’m chaotic, sassy, and creative as well as a big daydreamer {} because I’m chaotic. I started the whole Apple thing. I wrote an essay on sienna’s goatness I’m also pretty good at music too (Fairy Tales)
-Ess//she/her//black hair, glasses, Chinese// outside of writing, I read, draw, play flute, cook, and support civil rights// apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur (Poetry)

On a rainy day in March of 2024, I found myself snoozing on a wooden desk in the lounge room of the Main Cabin. The desk was littered with ideas scrawled on almost blank papers, and the sun was setting low outside. Really? I thought. I’d been snoozing nearly the whole day?!
Okay, wait let’s backtrack on that. I didn’t find myself snoozing, Fern the Goat did from Fairy Tales, (I’m still unsure if he was just trying to eat me or not), and I lied. I hadn’t been snoozing the whole day- only the few couple of hours I’d been home from school. Which, I guess I can usually only do my dailies at that time since I’m PST, so, (yeah I’d pretty much been sleeping away the entire day that I could’ve spent writing for the Fantasy Cabin, and or writing my novel- oh goodness gracious). Yeah, no, I’d been sleeping technically the entire day.
Anyways, Fern the fluffy Goat from the Fairy Tales Cabin, decided to finally nudge me awake, and I sat bolt upright staring out the window at the sunset. He seemed to be trying to eat me, or so I thought, as he was chewing on my sleeve before I yanked it away from him and he exclaimed annoyedly, “Aw! But sleeves taste so good!”
“My sleeves don’t!”
“Yes they do! They taste exactly like cotton candy! You’ve got good taste,” Fern grins, I guess if a goat could grin at me, then proceeds to clop his hooves away loudly, singing merrily, “I’m the best goat of all the three, my name is Fern, I eat leaves! I also eat your favorite sleeves, so let me eat in peace! Also I’m very handsome!”
“That doesn’t rhyme!” I shout back.
He’s too caught up in himself to hear me. I laugh despite the fact that he tore off some of my sleeve, but oh well, I can fix it later. I hear footsteps behind me and turn, and leaning against a pole is Chloe, also from the Fairy Tales cabin, with an apple in her hand she’s just about to put in her mouth. “What? I got this from a really sweet old lady after school that I just met,” they act like it’s nothing serious when someone you don’t know hands you food right after school.
“Don’t put that in your mouth if you don’t know where you got it from,” I state matter of factly.
They shrug, “I’m hungry too. Goats aren’t always the ones who are always hungry. I’m always hungry too!”
They put it closer to their mouth, but before they’re able to take a bite out of it, I snatch it out of their hand. “Hey, I was going to eat that! That’s for my supper!”
“I can give you something else to eat, something that isn’t poisoned, probably, alright?”
“No! It isn’t poisoned!” They try to grab at it, but I put it farther and farther away from them each second they reach for it, until-
Snatch! Someone from behind me grabs it and starts chomping on it. Chloe and I stare at the person in shock, our mouths hanging open, but for different reasons. “That was my supper!” Chloe stomps her foot, stares hungrily at the apple, and huffs, “I might have even saved some of it for elevenses!”
“Well, it’s mine now,” the person, Ess from the Poetry Cabin, chortles. I gape in horror as she swallows the apple…
“Mmm! That was really delicious! And definitely not poisoned at all!” They laugh as they stride away, and Chloe eyes her sadly, “But, but, but that was my apple…”
Well, in the end Chloe got another apple from the same old lady, but it wasn’t the same apple, so she gave it to Fern the Goat who unfortunately ate it and got food poisoning, but was okay, and Ess got to walk away apparently immune to poison. Oh, and me? I didn’t get my few hours back, but the chaos that happened to me that day was a moment I could never forget.

Special Thanks to Everyone I Hired!:
-@FernTheGoat
-@smartypantschlo
-@MuggleBornGal

Weekly for SWC - March 17th-24th, 2024
Prompt: Intro (written by Alana) It’s my greatest pleasure to welcome you to the third weekly of the session! This week, we’ll be heading down a different path - one with more mysteries to solve along the way perhaps ;D With that being said, this weekly will have a focus on developing plot points, providing clues and creating red herrings, where in the end, we’ll tie all these aspects together to create a compelling mystery. This weekly starts on March 17th at 12:01 am UTC, so please wait until then to start writing. Good luck heroes! We can’t wait to solve all the amazing mysteries you create!

Part 1: (written by River) To begin your mystery, wander on over to @PoppyWriter's workshop to learn how to plot one! After you've read and internalized the information, write short, 50 word descriptions each for five major plot points in your tale. Be as creative as you like, and feel free to include some classic mystery elements as well.

1st Major Plot Point: Everly gets herself trapped inside an unbreakable glass box, with no way to escape it, after an incident she can’t speak about because she’s stuck inside walls that are practically sound proof. No one knows how this happened, but officers are on the case, and suspects have been rounded up.
2nd Major Plot Point: Everly’s best friend, Ashley, or as Ashley states she is, is suspected of such a crime, even though she remarks how it’s practically impossible for any sort of human being to do such a thing, and she cries hysterically how she wasn’t the one who stuck Everly in the box.
3rd Major Plot Point: Three other people, Everly’s brother, sister, and half-cousin are said to have been with her the day she got trapped as well as her best friend Ashley, who was originally found right at the moment it occurred. Each has different evidence the officers have to narrow down for Everly’s case.
4th Major Plot Point: After finding nothing that can pinpoint what exactly happened to Everly and who was responsible, Ashley is blamed and framed. She isn’t the one who did it. She swears it was some sort of huge turtle, from what she can recall, that did it, but people reasonably don’t believe her.
5th Major Plot Point: After Ashley is found innocent of the crime, Everly’s half-cousin is found guilty! And, yes, they were the culprit since they were this whole time half-turtle and causing, (cousin), terror! Somehow, Everly’s half-cousin was able to use their turtle shell magic to encase Everly in a sound proof glass box!

Part 2: (written by Niko) Now that you have introduced yourself to the world of mystery and have the basics of your story down it is time to dig deeper. If you have ever participated in host speculation you'll know how many twists and tricks add to the fun. Now create a list with 4 clues and/or red herrings consisting of at least 50 words , that you can incorporate into your story. Check out this wonderful workshop that should help you with this task: Red Herrings and Clues - have fun!

1st Clue: The half in half-cousin could be an example of a clue in this story, since, woah, a half-cousin?! That’s something I definitely need to inspect closer! People won’t know exactly what the half stands for, but with enough deciphering of the story, they should be able to figure it out.
2nd Clue: The cousin in half-cousin, could also serve as a red herring! Not an obvious or immediate one, however, but if readers do a close inspection they’ll be able to figure out that the cousin is, (cousin/causing), the terror in the story as the terrible turtle that Ashley saw before!
3rd Clue: The turtle will definitely serve as another red herring or clue too, as it will serve as the secret other half identity of the cousin, and I hope to use it as a clue into what actually happened to Everly when she was trapped in the sound proof glass box.
4th Clue: As a 4th clue, and I had to really think about this one, but I would like to have the siblings of Everly definitely act as red herrings, or misleads, for the readers since they would be placeholders for the actual guilty character. I think they serve as misleading clues.

Part 3: (written by Finley) Greetings, wanderer - and welcome to the third part of this weekly! Find yourself a partner, and together embark upon an interview. One of you can claim the role of a witness to a crime, whereas the other can wield the power of an interviewer. Go ahead and ask the most ridiculous questions, and answer with the most unexpected responses! Once you’ve completed your interview, it’s time to jot down your conversation. To move onto the next part of this weekly, write 200 words per person for this activity. Have fun with this - after all, every witness carries a small piece of the truth ;D

@HermioneVoiceActress Interviewer, Officer: Alrighty, so where were you last night when Everly got trapped in a glass box? xD (btw you'll be playing the role of one of Everly's siblings in the story, and the brief synopsis is that basically one of the characters, Everly, gets trapped in a unbreakable sound proof glass box but no one knows how this happened xDD <3)

@xXFierroOrFalafelXx Witness, Bernard: (Is he innocent or no?

@HermioneVoiceActress Interviewer, Officer: (they're innocent, but you can make them as guilty-sounding as you want them to be ) xD

@xXFierroOrFalafelXx Witness, Bernard: “E-everly what? Is she dead? Oh god…evie.”

@HermioneVoiceActress Interviewer, Officer: Fortunately, she isn't dead, yet. We don't have any evidence to back up what exactly happened to her, but we know she's trapped in a glass box without food or water. If we can't manage to get her out, well, we don't want to know what's going to happen. But, anyways, where were you before the incident took place?

@xXFierroOrFalafelXx Witness, Bernard: You actually think I did it? Everly raised me! Why don't you ask our deadbeat step dad? He's always hated us. And no actually why don't you get her the h*ll out of that box before she does die?!

@HermioneVoiceActress Interviewer, Officer: Well, we need to survey responses from as many close relatives and friends to Everly as we can. We don't want to miss out on any clues as to what exactly happened to her. And unfortunately, we don't believe the dad had anything to do with this case, (we found some evidence explaining his absence when the incident occurred). And please don't panic, we're trying our best, but we just need to know where you were anytime before 6:46, the morning, Everly's friend, Ashley discovered her.

@xXFierroOrFalafelXx Witness, Bernard: Fine. Fine. Last night? Last night I was in my house, watching Netflix and cleaning.

@HermioneVoiceActress Interviewer, Officer: Uh huh, uh huh- hmmm. So why do you think Everly was out extremely early that morning?

@xXFierroOrFalafelXx Witness, Bernard: I don't know maybe she had somewhere to be? And sometimes she just liked the morning though not super early. I don't know its been a couple weeks since we've spoken.

@HermioneVoiceActress Interviewer, Officer: Uh huh, right. That seems to make sense. How long exactly had it been since you'd spoken to each other?

@xXFierroOrFalafelXx Witness, Bernard: Like 16 days ago. My partner had just broken up with me and I was with Everly because I was really upset about it and she was trying to cheer me up with one of those paint your own pottery places.

@HermioneVoiceActress Interviewer, Officer: Right, right. And, I'm sorry to hear that! I hope everything is improving for you. And that seems to be about just enough evidence for me! I think we're going to figure out what is happening soon enough, and you're going to get your sister back soon! ^^ (thanks so much for doing this with me btw! this was really fun! D)

@xXFierroOrFalafelXx Witness, Bernard: Glad to help.

Part 4: (written by Rockie) Welcome, detectives, to the final part of this splendiforous weekly! For your fourth activity, you’ll be combining everything you’ve worked on in previous parts into a longer piece. Using your plot points, red herrings, clues, and evidence from the witness interview, write a mystery scene of at least 550 words. You can go about this however you’d like: it could be a snippet of a longer work or its own self-contained story. Make it gripping, make it exciting, make it page-turning (or in this case, screen-scrolling?), and above all, make it mysterious ;D Best of luck, sleuths, and remember to have fun!

When Everly woke up, she banged her head against the wall. “Ouch,” she exclaimed, glaring up at the reason she hit her head, “What the heck, what is this?!” She screams, frantically, throwing her hands up against the walls of some sort of, glass box? Then she realizes where she is, what happened, and why she’s trapped. She throws her fists against the walls trying to call anyone’s attention to help her escape this drastic situation.
This is all the evidence that the officers could originally gather from Everly’s best friend, Ashley, at 6:46apm on Sunday, March 24th, 2024. Ashley remarked how all she could remember was how something, some sort of turtle-person, came out of nowhere and encased Everly with their shell in the box, but they don’t know where they dashed off to afterwards. She also recalled how she was pretty sure that during that morning one of Everly’s siblings or cousin was out and about with them, but she couldn’t quite remember who.
We rounded up three relatives we have found potentially guilty of such a harsh crime, and those relatives are Everly’s younger brother, Bernard, older sister, Ariel, and half-cousin Chelona. First we interviewed Bernard, and we found him not to be guilty:
“You actually think I did it? Everly raised me! Last night? Last night I was in my house, watching Netflix and cleaning,” Bernard cleared up.
And we also asked him where he was the day of, but he mentioned how he’d only spoken to her 16 days ago just the same. So next we went on to interview Everly’s older sister, Ariel, and here’s what she said:
“Me? No! I love my little sister Everly, I would’ve never have done that, ever! I swear! Oh, excuse me? What was that? Yeah, no I was at college!
I go to the college campus around here, and I was just doing some late night studying. I swear to you, I haven’t seen her for at least a month because of college!”
Well, that seemed to clear things up, so of course we went to go interview Everly’s half-cousin, Chelona. This is what they said:
“I never did such a thing! Why would you even accuse me of such a horrible crime? I literally was just here to visit my half-cousin, Everly, who I haven’t seen in at least a year. And where was I at the time of the incident? Well, that’s incredibly simple, I was purchasing boba to celebrate the fact that we were together again at the local Boba Time.”
“But you were there at the time of the incident?”
“Yes.”
“So did you happen to see what happened to Everly?”
“I told you, I was purchasing boba at the time of the incident. I’m positive I didn’t see anything happen.”
We figured Everly’s half-cousin, Chelona, was speaking the truth. Now, all evidence seemed to point in Ashley’s direction. Ashley was obviously the one at the scene of the crime, and a turtle theory? Well that just seemed utterly ridiculous! So Ashley seemed to be the culprit after all.
But then we came to a new realization. There are, rather unfortunately, no boba shops to be seen anywhere in this town! So Chelona must’ve been lying to us! So, of course, we went back to check on Chelona. However, we couldn’t find her anywhere in the city.
Except when we went back to poor Everly who was still stuck in the unbreakable, sound proof, glass box and seemed to be extremely dehydrated. And then that’s where we found Chelona, or rather turtle Chelona as she finally admitted that she was actually half-turtle and was just trying to encase Everly in a shell of her own because they wanted Everly to become the shelled off from the world turtle she was meant to be, just like how Chelona felt herself. Eventually, however, we did convince Chelona to let Everly go free, and we were able to succeed and accomplish our mission of figuring out exactly what happened that morning on March 24th, 2024, at 6:46am. Everly and her siblings were then, of course, happily reunited.

Weekly for SWC - March 25th-31st, 2024
Prompt: Using story stew ingredients, write a story that should be roughly around 1,300 words in total by the end of it.
Note: This is heavily inspired by The Hunger Games, @zparkly’s Battle Royale: Rapidfire RP, (if you see this than tysm for the inspiration! <33 D), and the native tribe on North Sentinel Island who rightfully own their land, (I took these concepts and wrote a story about what could happen if the government suddenly just decided to get rid of a home extremely special to certain people). Also, for some reason, this story has somewhat evolved to sound somewhat similar to A Series of Unfortunate Events for some reason, huh!

Outline 200 Words for the Start of the Story: Once every ten years, the government selects a random town on the Earth that they decide to burn to clear up more room for the wildlife to return. In the ashes, the residents of those towns are given an option. If they don’t evacuate the town before they close it off, they must, by decree, fight to the death, or die to different horrible treacheries the government provides them with. This year, the small, underpopulated, island town of Adamstown has been chosen. Only 48 people reside there, and they don’t plan on leaving.
15 year old Hartley Fields has been living there as long as she’s been alive. She’s grown up to love her small island, and has always loved fishing, and drawing images of it just as well. Her only close friends in the small town, and really the only people her age there, are Kiera Evens and Hayden Chide, and she would protect them with all of her life. Wearing her heart on her sleeve, and always keeping a positive attitude has been all she’s known and been known for in her small town. But when the government decides it’s her town that they’re getting rid of, will she be forced to change her outlook on life, or will she manage to stay true to herself?

Write 100 Words of Exposition: I’ve lived on this island for my whole life. It’s really never changed that much. And I guess in the best of ways, that’s pretty amazing. We still have 48 people, but they make this town seem so much larger than it is. I think we’ll all really miss that peace we have when the government comes to this town and burns it. The government should not be allowed to burn down small towns. The government should not be allowed to step foot on our island if that’s what they wish to do. If that’s what they think they can do to us, burn our town and then pit us against each other?

Write 200 Words of Element = New Character Introduction: Kiera Evens and Hayden Chide are the only friends around my age who live here. That’s probably not incredibly awesome because if one of them or both of them were to move away, I wouldn’t have anyone my age living here. But we’re all super close. And this small community is so close with one another just as well, that I would think even their parents wouldn’t want to leave this small island. At least, I wouldn’t if I were them.
Now, I couldn’t blame them if their parents wanted to move out of the town though after the government declared that our town is the one that they want to do away with. But, all I know is I’m staying here with my family and we’re not letting the government force us to fight to the death. We can’t and we won’t let that happen. We’ve loved this island for however many generations back our family’s lived on this island, and we’re not about to give it up to some, all in their own favor, government. We don’t want to have to give up this lovely home. Kiera, Hayden, and I, at least I’m pretty sure, are in agreement that we won’t give up this island.

Write 200 Words of Element = Introduce a Symbol: I guess the government thought it would be funny if the symbol on their main logo included an island burning and a crown above it. They must think of themselves rather highly. To title themselves as almost monarchs, almost royalty, and to laugh as they burn down island, after island, after island. Town, after town, after town. Burnt to nothing but ashes that get blown into the sea. I don’t want our town to have to become that.
Of course, it’s inevitable, because apparently our community full of native islanders are too little in power compared to them. They’ll bring in fire, and we’ll have to watch in horror as our home is burnt to a crisp. Gone, swept into the ocean. Yeah, sure, the smoke is amazing for the wildlife living there. No, of course, that’s how they, “save the wildlife.” Much less how they pollute bodies of water where we fish from when we need the food. I don't know what we can do to protect this island, but we’ve got to do something.
I’m not going to let those evil, vile, cruel machines working till they’re braindead in the government touch our land if I’m able to stop them.

Write 200 Words of Element = Foreshadowing: The symbol really did literally and figuratively foreshadow what’s become of our island. A burning garbage dump. What they’d want it to be, waste, or something that they can smile in our faces about while we regrettably shine our tears in their eyes. Glimmers of hope faded. Gone. Or at least that would be their hope, not ours.
All that’s left in the 32 people that stayed on the island, (my family, my friends, and I included), is hate and anger. That’s 16 people gone who escaped while they still were able to. That’s 32 of us left who truly love our island. That’s all 6 of my friends’ parents and mine who fled even though their children stayed behind to defend our home, our native land. That’s both of my closest friends who care enough to stay and fight the corrupt government. Maybe I should be proud that my friends care enough at least, but I shouldn’t be proud that my parents were cowards even after so many generations living on this island. It’s so depressing and disappointing.
Maybe we made the wrong decision to stay on our island, our home. Maybe there really isn’t anything that we can do to stop the government from burning our home any further.

Write 200 Words of Element = Plot Twist: We think we found a way to escape our island, but we’re debating whether we should or we shouldn’t. There’s a loophole, a flaw in the government’s system. I think if we wanted to we could take a speed boat and dash off our island, but, there are only so many and we can’t fit 32 people in the amount of boats that we do have. And the people who’ve been living on this island longer than we have are begging us to evacuate. I’m not going to evacuate. I’m staying put in my homeland.
The sky is covered with red paint from the fires slowly engulfing the place. We have to stand in the water so we don’t burn too. At least the sea comes up rather far against the shore, and so the land is mostly shallow because the sand gradually slopes upward from the ocean to the beach. We’re losing time. I assume we have to make up our minds especially quickly, before we lose all of our island to the constant fire. If we were to even try to put out the fire the government would notice. They’d threaten the island with more fires and they’d let more spread.

Write 200 Words of Element = Open Ending: We only have two speedboats. We forgot to get some of the other ones out so they burnt up in the flames. I’m terrified. We still don’t know what to do, but we have to get the other people off of this island. The speedboats each hold 15 people maximum. That’s about 30 of us getting off of this island. When it comes down to it, Kiera, Hayden, and I are going to have to decide who is staying.
I fold my arms across my chest and turn away from our smoking town. I don’t want to breathe in its ashes. It doesn’t help at all. So many of the other 29 people have offered to take our places so that we could escape the island in peace. Now, the speedboats, each packed with 30 people, are sailing off into the distance. I can see as they both disappear on the horizon, feeling like they’re already a million miles away from the horrors we’ve witnessed.
It’s down to Kiera, Hayden, and I. One of us had the opportunity to leave, but we didn’t take it. I wonder what’s going to happen to us all now. Is there still a way to get revenge against the government who demolished our home?

WORD WARS –>

3/5/2024
1st war…

Prompt: “Sometimes doors don’t go where they are supposed to,” -@ChueyTheCat
I was running, no correction, jogging slowly through what I could only assume was time or space. I didn’t know which was which, and it became harder and harder to tell every time I opened a new door. Okay, let me back you up from here. I just got back home from school, but as I opened the door to my house, I was zapped inward abruptly. I don't know by what force, or if it was a force of any sort, but I just recall going for a spin in what I could only believe was either the rabbit hole from Alice and Wonderland or some kind of spinny tornado thing from the Wizard of Oz. I wasn’t sure if I had landed in Wonderland or Oz, for that matter.
Did this w/@-vanillamochabear- and they won! You can find what they wrote here: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/720872/?page=25#post-7842959

3/6/2024
2nd war…

Prompt: “If my life was a movie, I wouldn’t be the main character,” -@CleverComment
Do you see the person waiting for you outside the classroom when you don't even wait for them? That’s me. Do you notice the person who goes out to buy you things with their own money when they don’t even have much and you never pay them back? That’s me. Do you notice the girl you seemingly cannot hold a conversation for longer than 2 minutes? That’s also me.
I am not a main character, because you don’t allow me to be one. I don’t know how I can be one if I’m not able to even keep a conversation going with you for that long. I’m no such main character because I’m not allowed to be one.
Did this w/@-CorruptedData- and they won! You can find what they wrote here: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/744796/?page=1#post-7843352

3/8/2024
3rd war…

Prompt: “These pages still smell like smoke, and I hate it,” -@embXR_THEauthZr
I stare into the blank void of my empty journal, and bury my face in it. I guffaw. It smells like I tried burning it… of which of course yes I did because my mind is completely blank. I don’t know how I didn’t burn it completely. But, then again, I don’t know how I ended up here. With an empty journal, and an empty mind…
I scan the rows of books I have off to the side of me. Eh. I don’t feel like standing up and grabbing one at random. I go and grab a book at random. It says, “The Big Blank Book of Burnt Banter,” jolly. I don’t know why I got up in the first place. I go and sit back down at my desk.
Well, there’s nothing. That’s a word right? I should write that down. I attempt to write the word down but forget how to spell it. No, then was it a thing? I don’t know what I’m writing. Am I even writing?
I guess that’s the same question I’ve been asking myself for all eternity. Is writing even called writing? My brain is hurting.
Did this w/@Zionykon and they… to be continued

3/9/2024
4th war…

Prompt: “Six hosts… six hosts… four days left to destroy them all…” -@kindhrts-

I couldn’t let our cabin lose. I just couldn’t… if I did I’d feel incredibly guilty for feeling like I hadn’t been writing enough. There were only four days left until the end of the session, and I couldn’t grasp the fact that we were still at the bottom of the list. I couldn’t do that for our cabin. There were also only six hosts active right now, so I figured I would see if there was anything I could do to add more points and possibly at least get 2nd to last in the session. I wanted to prove to the other cabins, and the other six hosts that we could write a lot and that we were writing a lot.
I didn’t want to prove that we hadn’t done the writing for all of the dailies, the weeklies, or the word wars. I didn’t want to end up doing that for our cabin. We had only four days left to, at least attempt to, destroy all of the other cabins and possibly get a better, higher ranking than we had before. It was a struggle, but we would beat it even if it came to the last 24 hours. I believed in my fellow knights, and I believed we could win any wars that came our way. For the kingdom! I drew my sword from its hilt and threw it in the air.
Did this w/@ziqing11 and I won!

3/10/2024
5th war…

Prompt: “Saving people does not make you a hero,” -@starryy-silk

I knew that. In fact, I’d always known that, I was sure. I mean I was pretty sure I’d gotten the message the second I saved a damsel who clearly could help themselves from falling off of a cliff. I mean… it probably wasn’t helpful that I was trying to rescue them when they clearly could fend for themself. It was probably unthoughtful of me to even attempt to rescue them.
I sat cross-legged on a chair in a courtroom, clarifying my case. None of the words coming out of my own mouth made any sense to me, but I couldn’t say anything off or I would be sure to get in trouble. With our stupid lawmakers. I mean, I couldn’t say anything. I was sworn off it even though I felt like the things I was saying were utter garbage. I didn’t want to end up in murkier waters.
“Mr. Baron, please give the court more,” the judge sneered.
I stared down at my hands. What was I even saying? I don’t want to even be saying anything. I’m mad at myself for saying as much as I did, why should I say anything more?
Did this w/@opheliio and they won! You can find what they wrote here: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/post/7843047/

3/11/2024
6th war…

Prompt: “In the presence of ghosts, there was only one thing to do…,” -@TheBibliophile7

I knew that. I knew that for a while. I had one chance, one moment, one part of my life where I could speak to the ghosts. But, I didn’t know for how long and when they would eventually leave me again. I didn’t know how I should’ve talked to them.
I waited on the edge of the coastline, staring out as the sun began to set low on the horizon. I basked in the heat of the day that was slowly draining into the cold of the night that was coming. I knew I could only ask a few ghosts to meet me, and they all exclaimed how they could meet here. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what they all told me.
1 minute. 2 minutes. 3 minutes. 4 minutes. I stood there for an hour waiting for the sun to finally leave the horizon. 1 hour and 30 minutes…2 hours. How long was it going to take?
Then, I exclaimed, “Ah!”
I had sworn I heard someone, a voice low and deep, like a whistle too small for the average human to hear, but it’s like I was reassured I was definitely hearing someone or something. When they finally came, however, I knew there was only one thing I wanted to tell them.
What is life like afterward?
Did this w/@surfdudewave and they…

To be continued…

CABIN WARS –>
Challenge: Write 200 words in an archaic or old-fashioned style! Every cabin member who does this can claim 25 points for their cabin. This applies for up to six campers (resulting in 150 points max).
Note: This felt like more of a curse than a challenge. xD

I hath been doomed to thy cursed rock. I hath been chained, I daresay! Chained to thither rock! I am nothing but a clodpate! Forthwith, I hath nought even whatsoever heard of such a vain beast! I hath nought even known of thy wicked master!
Hitherto, I shall banish thee! Once I have floundered thy way of thy rock! When I hath no need to founder thy way off of thy foolish rock! I am mad, I daresay, mad! I hath nought but thy voice! Henceforth, I shall finish thee! I shall finish thee!
Whilst thy waits upon thy throne, I shall cometh up from thy behind and slay thy beast! Thus I may then feel at ease! I shall feel at ease! Oh, yes, thy nasty beasty, I shall feel at ease! You, and your notwithstanding kingdom, shall fall!
Am I mad? Ha! Ha! I say, I am nought mad! I simply wont stand for your belief that I am a madman! I shall not stand for your belief! I shall nought!
I have nought the wherewithal to forego this mission. I shall be thy one to take thy down. I shall be thy one to challenge the gods!

To be continued…

CRITIQUITAIRE –>

3/10/2024
What I'd Like to Have Critiqued:
Daily for SWC - March 5th, 2024
Prompt: “Hey there! Today, word wars begin—ready for the adventure? Hop on over to this project (OH NO GURTLE ATE THE LINK) to begin clashing swords! Additionally, here's a mini-activity: read one chapter of a book, then write a continuation of it—perhaps Percy refuses to go to Camp Half-Blood, or Elphaba and Galinda defy gravity together! Write 200 words for 100 points, and an extra 50 for sharing proof <3”

As continuing on from chapter ten in Percy Jackson Book 5…

I TAKE A COURSE IN ADVANCED BULLFIGHTING

I’d rather not be held responsible for using the entire Apollo cabin as a distraction. As a matter of fact, I’d rather not be held accountable for knocking down the entire walkway on the Williamsburg Bridge, either. Well, narrowly.
Anyways, when Annabeth said those words I froze in my tracks. Minotaur? Leading the enemy? They tasted like the pain I felt in the river Styx. Nearly four summers ago that wicked mythical beast almost killed my mother.
Now the beast was back, and I couldn’t move, until Annabeth grabbed me by the arm, “I’m sorry Percy, but it’s fighting a minotaur again or letting Kronos destroy Manhattan. We have to keep going!”
I didn’t know how we’d make it to the Williamsburg Bridge in time from three miles away. So we were lucky that Blackjack was on duty near this area. Annabeth and I quickly ascended pegasi and took off into the air. We had to get there before the battle got even worse, and from the sound of things, it wasn’t going great.
Boss, we almost got caught! Blackjack was anxious. I didn’t know what to do so I ran here boss! That made me smile a bit. Blackjack has been my ally for years.
@KitVMH critiqued this! Their critiquing can be found here: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/744314/?page=2#post-7833901

What I Critiqued for @KitVMH:
As critiquing @KitVHM’s She-Ra Fanfic: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/734666/?page=1#post-7813575,

Though I don’t know and I’ve never watched She-Ra, I think it is personally pretty good at explaining kind of what She-Ra is! Your writing style makes it easy to understand what is going on in the scenario, and I absolutely love how you diversified the clones by giving them different props, and interests in those specific props, just as well. I will say that it is a bit hard to understand the world the characters are in, however. Like you give the name of the place, which I got was Seaworthy, but I am just a bit confused on what the setting is exactly. Like I know it’s supposed to be Double Trouble’s Drama Academy, but how does it look? Where in the academy are they as well?
I think that might have been my only critique though, because I truly believe you did an amazing job at explaining who Lord Prime was through the course of the story, (as someone who doesn’t know what She-Ra is, it was a nice touch to go into depth about who Lord Prime was before his apparent fall). Also, the word choices you used for how each character is speaking every time was extremely well written, I’ve got to hand it to you, and the characters were enjoyable to read about! Oh, I think I might have forgotten to mention, however, at the end of the story it was just a bit confusing, you mentioned other princesses in the story? I think that was a little bit unnecessary to put in at the end since we don’t know who the princesses are, (for people who don’t know what She-Ra is, specifically like myself), but overall I think you did an awesome job and your writing style is incredibly good!
Also, you asked for title suggestions before if I happened to have any, so I’m just going to give you some of my ideas I guess after I read your story. ^^
-Double Trouble’s Drama Lesson
-Drama with Double Trouble (ft. the Clones)
-Double the Drama (as the clones are duplicates of each other, and it would be kind of a play on Double Trouble’s name, so I don’t know if that makes sense xD)
Anyways, I hope this critiquitaire helped you in some way, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your fanfiction!
-Herm out

3/17/2024
What I'd Like to Have Critiqued:
Prompt: Part 4: SWC Fanfiction (written by Skyler) Hey heroes! Welcome to the last part of this wonderful weekly– I hope you've had a blast so far <33 Now, it's time to write some fanfiction–SWC fanfiction, to be exact! Take the motif of the flower you chose earlier in this weekly or the meaning of the constellation and use that in your fanfiction, which can be about anything, from creating chaos in the main cabin to exploring your cabin's storyline with your cabinmates! You can have volunteers in your fanfic or just yourself–anything goes as long as it's at least 600 words!
Cabinmates I Hired for This Fanfiction:
-I am a goat mascot of Fairy Tales, can I be hired :0 if so fern / he/him / light beige coloured fur, fluffy, white spot on nose / I am easily scared but also very handsome B) / i am the best goat of the three > (Fairy Tales)
-Chloe/phoenix {} she/her {} find Phoenix on @-flameshadow_hybrid- {} a musician who love writing and art. I’m chaotic, sassy, and creative as well as a big daydreamer {} because I’m chaotic. I started the whole Apple thing. I wrote an essay on sienna’s goatness I’m also pretty good at music too (Fairy Tales)
-Ess//she/her//black hair, glasses, Chinese// outside of writing, I read, draw, play flute, cook, and support civil rights// apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur (Poetry)

On a rainy day in March of 2024, I found myself snoozing on a wooden desk in the lounge room of the Main Cabin. The desk was littered with ideas scrawled on almost blank papers, and the sun was setting low outside. Really? I thought. I’d been snoozing nearly the whole day?!
Okay, wait let’s backtrack on that. I didn’t find myself snoozing, Fern the Goat did from Fairy Tales, (I’m still unsure if he was just trying to eat me or not), and I lied. I hadn’t been snoozing the whole day- only the few couple of hours I’d been home from school. Which, I guess I can usually only do my dailies at that time since I’m PST, so, (yeah I’d pretty much been sleeping away the entire day that I could’ve spent writing for the Fantasy Cabin, and or writing my novel- oh goodness gracious). Yeah, no, I’d been sleeping technically the entire day.
Anyways, Fern the fluffy Goat from the Fairy Tales Cabin, decided to finally nudge me awake, and I sat bolt upright staring out the window at the sunset. He seemed to be trying to eat me, or so I thought, as he was chewing on my sleeve before I yanked it away from him and he exclaimed annoyedly, “Aw! But sleeves taste so good!”
“My sleeves don’t!”
“Yes they do! They taste exactly like cotton candy! You’ve got good taste,” Fern grins, I guess if a goat could grin at me, then proceeds to clop his hooves away loudly, singing merrily, “I’m the best goat of all the three, my name is Fern, I eat leaves! I also eat your favorite sleeves, so let me eat in peace! Also I’m very handsome!”
“That doesn’t rhyme!” I shout back.
He’s too caught up in himself to hear me. I laugh despite the fact that he tore off some of my sleeve, but oh well, I can fix it later. I hear footsteps behind me and turn, and leaning against a pole is Chloe, also from the Fairy Tales cabin, with an apple in her hand she’s just about to put in her mouth. “What? I got this from a really sweet old lady after school that I just met,” they act like it’s nothing serious when someone you don’t know hands you food right after school.
“Don’t put that in your mouth if you don’t know where you got it from,” I state matter of factly.
They shrug, “I’m hungry too. Goats aren’t always the ones who are always hungry. I’m always hungry too!”
They put it closer to their mouth, but before they’re able to take a bite out of it, I snatch it out of their hand. “Hey, I was going to eat that! That’s for my supper!”
“I can give you something else to eat, something that isn’t poisoned, probably, alright?”
“No! It isn’t poisoned!” They try to grab at it, but I put it farther and farther away from them each second they reach for it, until-
Snatch! Someone from behind me grabs it and starts chomping on it. Chloe and I stare at the person in shock, our mouths hanging open, but for different reasons. “That was my supper!” Chloe stomps her foot, stares hungrily at the apple, and huffs, “I might have even saved some of it for elevenses!”
“Well, it’s mine now,” the person, Ess from the Poetry Cabin, chortles. I gape in horror as she swallows the apple…
“Mmm! That was really delicious! And definitely not poisoned at all!” They laugh as they stride away, and Chloe eyes her sadly, “But, but, but that was my apple…”
Well, in the end Chloe got another apple from the same old lady, but it wasn’t the same apple, so she gave it to Fern the Goat who unfortunately ate it and got food poisoning, but was okay, and Ess got to walk away apparently immune to poison. Oh, and me? I didn’t get my few hours back, but the chaos that happened to me that day was a moment I could never forget.

Special Thanks to Everyone I Hired!:
-@FernTheGoat
-@smartypantschlo
-@MuggleBornGal

What I Critiqued for @tapdancer707:
As critiquing @tapdancer707’s SWC fanfiction: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/697732/?page=2#post-7865240

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your fanfiction! Your word choice is incredible, and the story is conveyed in such a specific way it really drags you deeper into the story, and I absolutely loved that! Also, I honestly think you handled balancing the plot/settings and emotions practically perfectly! I think overall, it was especially clear with who the main character, Lark, (you, obviously, but for the sake of this critiquitaire I’m going to say your character since I’m talking about the overall story ^^), is and how they relate to SWC, just as well, though I think you could possibly have introduced Lark a bit sooner rather than later. While I think it was amazing that you gave a very accurate and detailed description of the world of SWC, I think to me, it just came off as a bit like info-dumping the setting.
Besides that, however, I don’t think there was really much of anything else that would’ve needed much adjusting at all! Also, I must praise you for how you take Lark from her ordinary world and slowly, by almost convincing her to, drag her into the land of SWC, (which I thought the way you wrote about SWC as a separate land was remarkably creative as well). I believe how you wrote about SWC as such a magical, “safe haven,” and the way you conveyed Lark’s ambition to write more helps to tie the plot/settings and Lark’s emotions together, and it definitely helped to balance both out. Both helped the other, if that makes sense. As a whole, I truly think you did a great job at balancing both the amount of emotions and the amount of physical plot/settings!
So, in conclusion, I think you did a really impressive job and I’d love the opportunity to read more of your writing in the future!
-Herm out

3/29/2024
What I'd Like to Have Critiqued:
Weekly for SWC - March 25th-31st, 2024
Prompt: Using story stew ingredients, write a story that should be roughly around 1,300 words in total by the end of it.
Note: This is heavily inspired by The Hunger Games, @zparkly’s Battle Royale: Rapidfire RP, (if you see this than tysm for the inspiration! <33 D), and the native tribe on North Sentinel Island who rightfully own their land, (I took these concepts and wrote a story about what could happen if the government suddenly just decided to get rid of a home extremely special to certain people). Also, for some reason, this story has somewhat evolved to sound somewhat similar to A Series of Unfortunate Events for some reason, huh!

Outline 200 Words for the Start of the Story: Once every ten years, the government selects a random town on the Earth that they decide to burn to clear up more room for the wildlife to return. In the ashes, the residents of those towns are given an option. If they don’t evacuate the town before they close it off, they must, by decree, fight to the death, or die to different horrible treacheries the government provides them with. This year, the small, underpopulated, island town of Adamstown has been chosen. Only 48 people reside there, and they don’t plan on leaving.
15 year old Hartley Fields has been living there as long as she’s been alive. She’s grown up to love her small island, and has always loved fishing, and drawing images of it just as well. Her only close friends in the small town, and really the only people her age there, are Kiera Evens and Hayden Chide, and she would protect them with all of her life. Wearing her heart on her sleeve, and always keeping a positive attitude has been all she’s known and been known for in her small town. But when the government decides it’s her town that they’re getting rid of, will she be forced to change her outlook on life, or will she manage to stay true to herself?

Write 100 Words of Exposition: I’ve lived on this island for my whole life. It’s really never changed that much. And I guess in the best of ways, that’s pretty amazing. We still have 48 people, but they make this town seem so much larger than it is. I think we’ll all really miss that peace we have when the government comes to this town and burns it. The government should not be allowed to burn down small towns. The government should not be allowed to step foot on our island if that’s what they wish to do. If that’s what they think they can do to us, burn our town and then pit us against each other?

Write 200 Words of Element = New Character Introduction: Kiera Evens and Hayden Chide are the only friends around my age who live here. That’s probably not incredibly awesome because if one of them or both of them were to move away, I wouldn’t have anyone my age living here. But we’re all super close. And this small community is so close with one another just as well, that I would think even their parents wouldn’t want to leave this small island. At least, I wouldn’t if I were them.
Now, I couldn’t blame them if their parents wanted to move out of the town though after the government declared that our town is the one that they want to do away with. But, all I know is I’m staying here with my family and we’re not letting the government force us to fight to the death. We can’t and we won’t let that happen. We’ve loved this island for however many generations back our family’s lived on this island, and we’re not about to give it up to some, all in their own favor, government. We don’t want to have to give up this lovely home. Kiera, Hayden, and I, at least I’m pretty sure, are in agreement that we won’t give up this island.

Write 200 Words of Element = Introduce a Symbol: I guess the government thought it would be funny if the symbol on their main logo included an island burning and a crown above it. They must think of themselves rather highly. To title themselves as almost monarchs, almost royalty, and to laugh as they burn down island, after island, after island. Town, after town, after town. Burnt to nothing but ashes that get blown into the sea. I don’t want our town to have to become that.
Of course, it’s inevitable, because apparently our community full of native islanders are too little in power compared to them. They’ll bring in fire, and we’ll have to watch in horror as our home is burnt to a crisp. Gone, swept into the ocean. Yeah, sure, the smoke is amazing for the wildlife living there. No, of course, that’s how they, “save the wildlife.” Much less how they pollute bodies of water where we fish from when we need the food. I don't know what we can do to protect this island, but we’ve got to do something.
I’m not going to let those evil, vile, cruel machines working till they’re braindead in the government touch our land if I’m able to stop them.

Write 200 Words of Element = Foreshadowing: The symbol really did literally and figuratively foreshadow what’s become of our island. A burning garbage dump. What they’d want it to be, waste, or something that they can smile in our faces about while we regrettably shine our tears in their eyes. Glimmers of hope faded. Gone. Or at least that would be their hope, not ours.
All that’s left in the 32 people that stayed on the island, (my family, my friends, and I included), is hate and anger. That’s 16 people gone who escaped while they still were able to. That’s 32 of us left who truly love our island. That’s all 6 of my friends’ parents and mine who fled even though their children stayed behind to defend our home, our native land. That’s both of my closest friends who care enough to stay and fight the corrupt government. Maybe I should be proud that my friends care enough at least, but I shouldn’t be proud that my parents were cowards even after so many generations living on this island. It’s so depressing and disappointing.
Maybe we made the wrong decision to stay on our island, our home. Maybe there really isn’t anything that we can do to stop the government from burning our home any further.

Write 200 Words of Element = Plot Twist: We think we found a way to escape our island, but we’re debating whether we should or we shouldn’t. There’s a loophole, a flaw in the government’s system. I think if we wanted to we could take a speed boat and dash off our island, but, there are only so many and we can’t fit 32 people in the amount of boats that we do have. And the people who’ve been living on this island longer than we have are begging us to evacuate. I’m not going to evacuate. I’m staying put in my homeland.
The sky is covered with red paint from the fires slowly engulfing the place. We have to stand in the water so we don’t burn too. At least the sea comes up rather far against the shore, and so the land is mostly shallow because the sand gradually slopes upward from the ocean to the beach. We’re losing time. I assume we have to make up our minds especially quickly, before we lose all of our island to the constant fire. If we were to even try to put out the fire the government would notice. They’d threaten the island with more fires and they’d let more spread.

Write 200 Words of Element = Open Ending: We only have two speedboats. We forgot to get some of the other ones out so they burnt up in the flames. I’m terrified. We still don’t know what to do, but we have to get the other people off of this island. The speedboats each hold 15 people maximum. That’s about 30 of us getting off of this island. When it comes down to it, Kiera, Hayden, and I are going to have to decide who is staying.
I fold my arms across my chest and turn away from our smoking town. I don’t want to breathe in its ashes. It doesn’t help at all. So many of the other 29 people have offered to take our places so that we could escape the island in peace. Now, the speedboats, each packed with 30 people, are sailing off into the distance. I can see as they both disappear on the horizon, feeling like they’re already a million miles away from the horrors we’ve witnessed.
It’s down to Kiera, Hayden, and I. One of us had the opportunity to leave, but we didn’t take it. I wonder what’s going to happen to us all now. Is there still a way to get revenge against the government who demolished our home?
@Amethyst-animation critiqued this! Their critiquing can be found here: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/post/7891160/

HermioneVoiceActress wrote:

Hi, it's Herm here! Welcome to my little writing witch hut for this session of SWC! I hope you enjoy my writings!


DAILIES –>

Daily for SWC - March 1st, 2024
Prompt: “Welcome, leaders, campers, fairies, and trolls, to the March ‘24 session of SWC! We hope you're as excited as we are for the exciting month ahead of us. To start us off, introduce yourself to your fellow writers and jot down your goals for this session. Who's your favorite author? How long have you done SWC? Give encouraging messages and compliment each other's intros - some of this might just come into play in tomorrow's daily. Have fun, and happy writing! <3”

Hi! It's Herm here! <3 I'm your fellow she/her, Ravenclaw, Pisces, ENFJ-T, 2w7, from the Fantasy Knighthood cabin this session, and I’m probably the largest Harry Potter nerd you may ever meet, you can look at my username for evidence haha, (but no, I'm not a fan of J.K. Rowling). This, of course, probably now applies to The Hunger Games as well, (as to which I practically know every lyric to Lucy Gray Baird's songs in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and am totally not trying to learn how to sing every one with my singing teacher)! But I also love PJO, ASOUE, LOTR, Anne of Green Gables, Alice in Wonderland and the authors who wrote them… I really love to read! And I also love writing my book series, The 12 Zodiac Trials, which I hope to publish the first book of, maybe this year, maybe the next!

So, with my favorite authors and fandoms out of the way, I'll discuss my goals for this March session of SWC! Specifically, I would like to write 30,000 words this month/session because I really want those words to go towards writing my novel, and I believe 30,000 words is a fairly reachable goal for me. I’ve done around 3 to 4 sessions of SWC before, and this is definitely the largest word goal I’ve ever done. I think I’m prepared for it though. However, they will probably end up going to other school related assignments… if I’m being completely honest haha.

When I’m not writing, reading, or singing, you’ll usually find me acting and doing musical theatre, (I used to do dancing and aerial, which is another type of dance done in the air on equipment such as the silks, hammocks, and lyra, but now I’m taking a break, sometimes doing everything is a bit too much), practicing piano or guitar with my dad, trying to figure out how to be able to play violin again because I literally love music so much , or filmmaking and photography! Or… trying to do something to ignore the word boredom… yep! I guess boredom is good sometimes, but who doesn’t want to not be bored? I mean… I feel like I have so much to do in this one life but just so little time! I want to do as much as I can do in my life so far.

Now how to continue this chaotic rambling intro that seems like it’s going on forever and will never reach 1,000 words… oh! I know how to continue! I’ll just write down an intro for my roleplay character for this SWC session’s Fantasy Knighthood Cabin! Just hopefully I don’t write too much haha. I need to write exactly 1,000 words, so how am I going to do this? Well lets see…

Lady Herm the Bard of the Kingdom of Mangoes was once a lady of great nobility and peacemaking over all of her friends, the mangoes… until one day she found that all of the mangoes in the kingdom had disappeared! All of her hard work to fulfill peace in the kingdom was gone in a day! She couldn’t stand to stare into the blank canvas, like a piece of blank paper, that her kingdom had become. So she took it upon herself to travel the land of SWC, and travel to the kingdom of Queen Este Dubyou Cee, (which is literally one of the best names ever created, by the way, props to the Fantasy leaders!), to find out what ever had happened to all of her mango friends! Soon, she finds however, that the kingdom of Queen Este Dubyou Cee is under attack by wicked writing removal monsters!

Queen Este Dubyou Cee rounds up a few knights to help save her kingdom from destruction, this of course, includes Lady Herm the Bard of the Kingdom of Mangoes. Now, it is in Lady Herm the Bard of the Kingdom of Mangoes’ duty to defend this kingdom, or any hopes of figuring out where all of her mangoes disappeared off too will never come to fruition. So, with a sword and a plan, Lady Herm the Bard of the Kingdom of Mangoes set off on a plan to help Queen Este Dubyou Cee retake her kingdom from these horrific monsters. But who knows how long it will be until she can find the source of all of her own issues…

Anyways, that’s it for the quick introduction story for my cabin character I guess! So what else do I put in my own introduction now haha… well maybe I’ll just talk about more of what I like to do! I like to collect Harry Potter merchandise, (specifically Ravenclaw merchandise since that’s my house). I also like to create moodboards for the characters and the world in my own story that I’m writing, The 12 Zodiac Trials, on Canva! That’s typically something else I do too, and I absolutely love decorating things when I can think of something that I can decorate! As well as that, though, I’m also a bit of a plushie collector! I have about 30 on my bed currently haha!

What else for this introduction, (not me having series writer’s block when it comes to just talking about myself for a bit xD), so I’ll just talk about some extremely random things I like haha! There’s this bird called the steller’s jay that’s really pretty! I also love pho soup, it tastes so good! I can’t choose a favorite color, but I really love blue, purple, and pink together, like the sky when it’s almost completely dark out. I’m pretty big into astrology, like I’m kind of obsessed with the stars, the moon, and the constellations, they were somewhat the inspiration for the novel I’m working on!

Well, I think this concludes my introduction! Thank you for reading if you did! xD
-Herm out!

Daily for SWC - March 2nd, 2024
Prompt: “Hello, swc-ers, and welcome to our second daily of camp! Yesterday was world compliment day, and we all exchanged compliments on our introductions. Today, we'll use them in our writing! Take someone else's compliment and integrate it as a focal point of your story. How does the main character react to these compliments? How does it affect other people? Complete this daily with a minimum of 250 words for a scrumptious 300 points for your cabin, plus a bonus 100 points for providing proof!”
Compliment: “ooo nice hehe :3” -@snuggles0426

She strummed her fingers against the strings of her guitar, and stared out at the moon. Cold, blue, isolated. Not a whisper in the woods. Not a sound sung by the sea. Just the feeling of being almost completely alone with herself. Somewhere safe. Somewhere free.
“Oooh nice!” A little girl giggles off to the left, “Bri, you’ve found the perfect spot!” Bri zips around, and swallows, “What are you doing here? You could’ve gotten caught!”
“You said we could go on a picnic today!”
“No, Izz, I didn’t, not today.”
“But you said so yesterday, and tomorrow is today!”
“Izzy! It’s 7 on a Sunday! I said next weekend.”
The little girl, Izzy, rolls her eyes. Then she stubbornly sits down on the picnic cloth Bri is sitting on, leaning against the side of a tree. Bri sets down her guitar and sighs, “Fine. We can have a little picnic. Right here. I don’t have much besides water though.”
“Okay, that’s good! I’m extremely thirsty anyways!”
Izzy lunges at one of the bottles of water in the open picnic basket. Bri is quicker. She snatches up the water abruptly, glaring at Izzy, “No! Please, I was saving the bottles, I… I need to save it for my trip.”
Izzy’s mouth drops open, and she shouts, “Are you running away!? Please Bri! Don’t run away! Please! You're my sister, my sister!”
Izzy’s voice breaks. She buries her face in Bri’s dress. Bri pats her on the head, a bit anxiously.

Daily for SWC - March 3rd, 2024
Prompt: “Hello, patriots! Today is national anthem day, so you’ll be writing national anthems! Write an anthem for your cabin and 1-3 other cabins for a maximun of four anthems - 100 points per anthem in at least 100 words each. Be sure to think about the cabin’s values, history, and ethics. If you need some inspiration, head on over to this link https://nationalanthems.info/ to find a list of national anthems for you to draw from. Happy writing, adventurers!”

Fantasy Knighthood - Cabin Anthem

Unafraid we put up our swords,
And stride through the gates,
Our horses bared
Our shoulders square,
We’re ready for the war.

There are no smiles on our face,
As we descend into the forest.
We hesitate the huge disgrace,
And the possible outnumbered forces.

So we seek a steady kingdom,
As we lead through the fight.
Our journey takes us through the day,
And all throughout the night.

So we take down through the valley,
And we take up all our courage,
So we take the forest of monsters.
And we take up all our hope.

Fear does not define us.
Love and peace and hope.
Vanquished will this enemy be,
When we turn it all to smoke.

And with ringing bells we’ll return,
To the kingdom of Queen Este Dubyou Cee.
And with songs in our hearts,
And love on our sleeves,
We’ll breathe all we’ve yearned.

Dystopian Ruins - Cabin Anthem
(this one is totally inspired by The Hunger Games lol)

Death and destruction,
Left this temple in ruin.
And though, we don’t know why.
We will survive.
The temple’s a secret,
To the wandering eye.
And catch us if you find us,
We will survive.

We’ll rebuild society,
We’ll write a new story.
And you won’t see us coming,
We will survive.

(Eerie) Oooh, ooh, ooh, (4x)

Our brains are hardwired,
To sift through the tired,
And stop blinking our eyes,
We will survive.

The sound of the drums,
The boom of the cannon,
And a future in our hands,
We will survive.

We’ll strike up our courage,
We’ll take down air forces,
And we’ll retake this land,
We will survive.

(Eerie) Oooh, ooh, ooh, (4x)

Yes, we will survive!
Yes, we’re a dystopia but we will survive!

= 128 Words

Epistolary Letter Terminal - Cabin Anthem
(this is probably my favorite anthem I wrote ^^)

Oh, send me a letter.
Fly it to my door frame.
Or leave it on my windowsill.
And tap, tap fly away.
Fly away, fly away from me now.
Fly away, with my message in
Your beak.

Sing, the sweet tune,
As you lift the many moons.
And weigh the weight of gravity,
Upon the feathers in
Arm’s reach.

Fly, with the sunlight on,
The glimmer of your back,
And hear the whisper of the wind,
When all voices come to
Crack.

Bring, me back something sweet,
Something to lean on me,
And something trustworthy,
So I don’t need to
Eat.

And I
Could be free,
Somewhere for you and me,
Somewhere we could just be.
I…

And I
Could be stars away,
Or right here to stay,
In your arms like a letter.

Always a letter.
From far away, away,
Away.

= 142 Words

Utopian Starlands - Cabin Anthem

Here we are,
Standing in the comfort of the stars,
Standing in the light from off afar,
Nothing’s felt like home until now.

And here we are,
Standing in the quiet of the night,
Standing in the starry filled sky,
So far but not far at all.

Here we are,
In the peace after the war.

Here we are,
You don’t need to keep score.

Here we are,
Somewhere in the stars.

And here we are,
Answering the prayers from down below.
You don’t have to fear now.
You’re right here, you’re home.

Everything is a utopia,
And you are safe at last.

Daily for SWC - March 4th, 2024
Prompt: “For today's daily we'll be breathing in the air of spontaneity! Start by grabbing a die and rolling it - if you get 1 or 2, write in present tense, 3 or 4, write in past tense, and 5 or 6 write in future tense. Now roll it again! If you get 1 or 2, write in 1st person POV, 3 or 4, write in 2nd person POV, and if you get 5 or 6 write in 3rd person omniscient POV. Using this tense and POV, write 300 words of a story to earn 250 points, and an additional 100 points can be earned for sharing proof!”

Dice roll #1 = 5, so future tense it is!
Dice roll #2 = 5, so 3rd person omniscient it is!

The Prophecy of Borealis,
…In time, the heavens will bring the great storm of Aurora. The witches of the northern light will soon gather together as one, bringing the city’s final strand of hope. They will be all this kingdom has left. This crystal ball will be the only guide. The city will stand. You will seek to find shelter in the storm when the time comes, but before, you will seek the water at the river’s edge. You will not drink it, it will be poisoned by the swallow.
Though you will bathe in it, and though the marks made from the poison will drown you, your spirit will not be drowned. Your spirit will rise from the water, free and capable of defending the city from the great storm. You will be the witch of the northern light that bends the will of the sky under your care and divides the storm from the harshness the storm has brought to the city. You shall not be scared of this. There will be no reason to be.
The sky will fill with the light of your strength. All foes in the entirety of the universe and beyond will be gone with the quickness of your arrival. There will be no surprise over this, you will not be surprised, either. When the light is finished, peace will blanket the land with the arrival of spring and new life. There will be nothing to fear. There will be no more fights in the universe and beyond. Everything will be equal, and everything will be alright.
So, young witch, you shall not learn to fret. You shall go about the end of your days in peace, and with this, you shall learn the true nature of the end of time. In time, you shall learn to accept everything about yourself for what it is. For now, it is until we meet again, Aurora Borealis…

Daily for SWC - March 5th, 2024
Prompt: “Hey there! Today, word wars begin—ready for the adventure? Hop on over to this project (OH NO GURTLE ATE THE LINK) to begin clashing swords! Additionally, here's a mini-activity: read one chapter of a book, then write a continuation of it—perhaps Percy refuses to go to Camp Half-Blood, or Elphaba and Galinda defy gravity together! Write 200 words for 100 points, and an extra 50 for sharing proof <3”

As continuing on from chapter ten in Percy Jackson Book 5…

I TAKE A COURSE IN ADVANCED BULLFIGHTING

I’d rather not be held responsible for using the entire Apollo cabin as a distraction. As a matter of fact, I’d rather not be held accountable for knocking down the entire walkway on the Williamsburg Bridge, either. Well, narrowly.
Anyways, when Annabeth said those words I froze in my tracks. Minotaur? Leading the enemy? They tasted like the pain I felt in the river Styx. Nearly four summers ago that wicked mythical beast almost killed my mother.
Now the beast was back, and I couldn’t move, until Annabeth grabbed me by the arm, “I’m sorry Percy, but it’s fighting a minotaur again or letting Kronos destroy Manhattan. We have to keep going!”
I didn’t know how we’d make it to the Williamsburg Bridge in time from three miles away. So we were lucky that Blackjack was on duty near this area. Annabeth and I quickly ascended pegasi and took off into the air. We had to get there before the battle got even worse, and from the sound of things, it wasn’t going great.
Boss, we almost got caught! Blackjack was anxious. I didn’t know what to do so I ran here boss! That made me smile a bit. Blackjack has been my ally for years.

Daily for SWC - March 6th, 2024
Prompt: “Get ready to stretch your imagination with this daily! Today, you'll be inventing a new genre. It can be anywhere from something like a Cashier Memoir to Sci-Fi. Get creative! What genre would you love to write in? Then, write a story in this genre that is 250 words long. Post it in the comments, and try to guess other people's made-up genres. You will receive 200 points for doing this daily and an extra 50 points for sharing proof!”

New Genre I’ve Befuddled my Brain to Create: Hahaha this genre is totally not based off a Harry Potter quote or anything lol xD

There was an issue I desperately needed to remember. It was tugging on the back of my mind. I couldn’t sleep that night…
When I did fall asleep I think I lost myself. My whole mind was gone, sailing somewhere off at sea. The sound of shifting waves and the splashing of water against anything that penetrated my inner thought bubbles. I was tired, I was stressed, I was falling down a rabbit hole, deep, deep, deep and further down. Anything I found outside my head left and would not return when I fell asleep.
That was the good thing about dreaming. I could lose myself just as easily as I could dread myself during the daytime. I didn’t have to think about everything, I just had to dream about something as random as the stories that spill from our minds and empty out like clouds rolling out of the sky to clear the day and let the sun shine down. In dreams, I didn’t have to be someone else. The world was almost entirely all from my head, the only place where I don’t have to be confused about the way someone else is acting. Especially when they’re acting incredibly off. Which, in most cases, people seem to do.
I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know who I should be. The dream took away that issue. The dream was a nice escape from the worries of the day. But I didn’t feel as close to the Earth…

Daily for SWC - March 7th, 2024
Prompt: “We hope you're ready to have fun and create magic with your peers, because it's time again for three word stories! Comment three words to start a story, and reply to others' stories with three words to keep them going (until, of course, you hit the dreaded studio reply limit ;D)! Have fun, and remember that every three words you write count towards your word count goal! <33”

We did three word stories today, which was really fun!

Daily for SWC - March 8th, 2024
Prompt: “Channel your inner gratitude for international women's day! Pen a 200 words thank-you note to a feminine figure – historical trailblazer or personal hero. dive into what makes her amazing, add a splash of humour and spread the love! This daily is worth 200 points, and you can gain an additional 100 points for sharing proof.”

Feminine Figure I Chose: Emma Watson

Dear Emma Watson,
If this message ever reaches you, then I want you to know that you are such an icon and such an amazing person, and I am so inspired by you and your work! I want to thank you for doing an impeccable job at portraying Hermione Jean Granger in the Harry Potter film franchise, but not only that, I want to also thank you for being an activist and advocate for women’s rights. You are such an inspiration, and I think the fact that you stand up for women globally is so important to making this world a better place for not only just women, but for everyone no matter their race, gender, or whatever. I think the fact that you speak out about the issues women face is amazing just as well.
Also, I just need to say how much I’ve learned from your portrayal as Hermione Granger, and how much I’ve learned about myself from Hermione Granger, who I think is such an amazing feminist character. I think you empower so many young girls still to this day for playing such an incredible character, and I’m so happy that I have you to look up to for being an awesome role model. Thank you for being a trailblazer and an advocate for all the women out there,
-Herm , (@HermioneVoiceActress)

Daily for SWC - March 9th, 2024
Word wars ;D <3

Daily for SWC - March 10th, 2024
Prompt: “Today is the first day of Ramadan, a month of fasting, introspection, and charity that is considered the most important part of the year for millions of Muslims worldwide. Do some introspection yourself - what are things you are happy with? What are things, both in the world and about yourself, that you'd like to see changed? Make a list, pick one or two things, and create a 200 word story out of it for 400 points. An additional 100 points will be given for sharing!”
Something I’d Like to See Changed About Myself: I’d like to personally stop procrastinating on the things I want to do in my life. ^^

I stared up at my ceiling breathing hard. 5 minutes till I turn 18. 5 minutes till I’m an adult. 5 minutes till I’m no longer called a child. That’s irrevocably weird.
I feel like I’ve done nothing with my life, and yet I feel I’ve done so much. So much but so little. Like a little drop of rain that hasn’t turned into a larger drop. I’ve done nothing. I’ve done a lot.
4 minutes. The sweat beads up on my scrunched up brows. I wish I did more. More of the things I actually wanted to do. Not just, schoolwork. Or more homework. I just wish I did… more stuff with my life so far and I wish I learned more stuff I would’ve loved to have learned.
3 minutes, 2 minutes. I’m stressing. I don’t want to be older yet! I don’t want to have grown up so soon, so quickly! How can one be so naive to their own interests? How can one deliberately mess up and miss so many points in their life where they could have done something, anything they actually would’ve wanted to do! Why have I done this to myself?
1 minute. I shut my eyes tight, trying to block out my alarm clock I had ridiculously set to the time I was born. So many missed opportunities. So many times where I could’ve been myself. So many times I could have just…
The alarm clock goes off. I snap open my eyes. It’s a new year, it’s a new me.
Ramadan Mubarak! <3

Daily for SWC - March 11th, 2024
Prompt: “Another classic daily today! For this one, the Main Cabin has turned into a bookstore! Write 100 words of a summary of a story you're writing, a story you want to write, or any original writing idea, then post it in the comments <3 After that, browse through all the other lovely books, and reply to at least 3 of them that you'd be interested in ‘buying’. Have fun!”

12 main constellations. 12 months. 12 kingdoms. 12 zodiac signs. 1,200 years of trials hosted by the stars themselves.
I don’t know why the stars chose me, or even if they did. I just know that I’m 12 years old, my name is Sarah Mira, and I’m legally from the Kingdom of Pisces. I have an aunt who couldn’t care less about me, and I’m stuck in these trials. I’m stuck in another place. Another place where all I am is restricted to doing one thing.
Prove that I’m written in the stars just like everyone else on this planet by participating in The 12 Zodiac Trials.

Daily for SWC - March 12th, 2024
Prompt: “Ominous or lucky, thirteen has a variety of attributes – there are 13 loaves in a baker's dozen, 13 lunar cycles in a year, including a blue moon, and 13 cards every suit. Today, 13 happens to be a host's favorite number - for 350 points (and a bonus 100 for sharing your creations), you'll be writing at least 300 words using any line from a host or daily team member's profile as inspiration! Best of luck, and have fun <3”
Host: @Stariqe
Host’s Line: “you asked me why i wasn't saying a word, i'm naming the stars in the sky after you ”

I lay on a cozy blanket, my arms entwined in theirs. I look into their eyes. Pools of light filled with stars. A thousand little lanterns glowing with light in the heart of darkness. Light and dark, opposites, both necessary in balancing this Earth. The stars are perfect with the night sky.
“Quiet, I need some time to think,” they say softly, “just, look at the stars.”
“Okay,” my voice is a small whisper.
We stare at the open sky, breathing in the feeling of nature. Everything the way it was created, equal and balanced. The same. We don’t know the full truth about this galaxy, the solar system, the planet, the universe. We don’t know the full story, and we all try to accept certain beliefs, but we don’t know who’s correct and who isn’t. We’re the same.
I smile, glancing at the constellations I can see just from staying here. In the enclosure of a place not too far but not too close from the busy vibes of the city. One of those rare, but special little locations where you can reach out your hand and touch the sky, touch the stars. A place where I feel deeply rooted to the Earth, the place where we’re all from. The place where we all were born as equals.
“I apologize for taking a while,” they start to speak.
“Shh, quiet!” I giggle, “Don’t apologize when there’s no reason to. The Earth is a mystery, and time is just the same.”
They return a smile, “You see those twenty, or so, tiny star pinpoints like fireflies shining the brightest tonight?”
“Yeah,” I say, staring unblinkingly in awe into the night.
“I’m naming those stars after you, Pisces.”
We laugh, holding hands, as the dark and the light seem to take us into the stars, back to where we came from in the first place.

Daily for SWC - March 13th, 2024
Prompt: “Happy Pi Day! Although pi doesn’t have an ending, our stories (well, most of them) do. Try writing a story that begins and ends in the exact same way, but throughout all the events occurring in between, gives it a much different meaning by the end. Write 500 words for 400 points and an extra 100 (plus a free pi pie!) for sharing proof. Happy writing <3”
Note: This is a terrifyingly unhinged piece of writing on what would have happened if Aunt Petunia went to Hogwarts, (or just some magic school, as she believes).

Do you know how hard it is to get accepted into a magic school?
Well, short answer. Extremely difficult, utterly ridiculously unethically hard, painfully mind numbing. Yes, that’s the short answer. So don’t ask me how I got in. Another short answer, I didn’t.
Well, okay, no not in the first place. I wasn’t supposed to get accepted. In fact, my sister got accepted and I didn’t, (because apparently being the older sibling in a family of muggles means you’re probably a muggle yourself). And so, of course, like any elder sibling in a family of muggles, there’s always the younger, couldn’t care less about the magic school, muggleborn sibling, (ahem, my younger brother who likes to constantly berate me for him having been accepted even when I wasn’t). Also, I wouldn’t even mind which magic school I’d get to attend. Anyways, back to what I’m supposed to be talking about, (my enrollment process, which wasn’t really enrollment at all, but well, yeah).
Of course, the quill of acceptance is great at catching errors in who is supposed to go to a magic school and who isn’t. So, like any magical object, it should’ve been able to detect the fact that I wasn’t supposed to be enrolled for the first two semesters at the magic school I was randomly chosen as accepted to. Wrong, (also, yes, it randomly chose which school I would go to). Unlike my younger brother, (who of course I learned at the end of the school year was the actual muggleborn or what not, which explains my inability to perform magic and why I’m leaving the school year with a- wait let me read that again- O? For outstanding in O.W.L.s? Wait, I’ve been here 6 years?!). I do a double take at the crumpled piece of parchment in my hands.
Okay now none of this makes any sense whatsoever. It must be the magic school or something that’s totally and completely out of order. Out of functioning. Out of- yeah, I think you get the point. I just can’t explain any of this. I mean, I’m completely sure that my sister is the one and only muggleborn in the family? Am I not incorrect?
Well, I should be overjoyed that I’m attending the magic school, (wait, was it called Hogwarts or something on the lines of that, is that what this ‘magic school’ is called?). Wait, shouldn’t I have known that before as it’s been a year? Oh, I question myself on a daily basis. I still don't understand how I got into a magic school even though it’s been a year. How do I still not grasp that concept?
Oh, wow! I apologize for getting extremely off topic. I guess maybe I’ve been completely, utterly ridiculously unethically confusing, painfully mind numbing, and extremely random and somehow incredibly irrevocably unhinged. Yes, this is what goes in my mind after a random day in a random magic school, (oh, right, it’s called ‘Hogwarts’ I think?), and so many apologies to your brain for having read some of the most confusing text ever in the entire universe!
Anyways, maybe it isn’t that hard to get accepted into a magic school. Or maybe this just never even happened in the first place.

Daily for SWC - March 14th, 2024
Prompt: "Beware the ides of march…” In typical Julius Caesar fashion, a character has just been informed by a mysterious cloaked figure that they're going to die. How are they going to spend their last day? Will they heed the warning - or try to escape their fate? Ponder this peculiar turn of events in 400 or more words, and perhaps you'll escape with 400 points, an extra 100 for proof, and your life <3”

Heed my words. You are going to die by the end of today, and there will be nothing you can do about it. If you mess up, you’ll have lived to regret it. If you accomplish your task, you’ll have learned to love your life. Do not be scared, small one, do not give in to fear.
My eyes snap open abruptly, and I fold my arms tightly across my chest. I’m not going to die, I’m not going to die, I’m not going to die today. Of course, no one ever truly knows when they will die, that fate is hidden from us. But, I can’t go on today having visions like this with the same creepy, cloaked, figure haunting me. I don’t want to keep being told I’m going to die. I’m not going to die today. I’m not.
I feel like I’m sinking into quicksand. Slowly, slowly, slowly my life is draining from me because of this strange figure constantly on me about how I will die today. But I won’t. I shall not. If I believe I won’t die today, then surely I won’t die today right?
I scrunch up my eyebrows and huddle myself into a tiny ball on the grass. I’m in the middle of nowhere. My car has broken down. I’ve been out here for hours. I don’t have water. I don’t know where I can find water. I definitely don’t have any food.
I stare out, sniffling, at the grassy hills laid out like pillars of my childhood, running through the meadows and giggling as I’d jump across small streams of water. The sky is quite beautiful at this time of day, but I’m nowhere even close to home. I’m so far. I’m so far away. And there’s nothing I know I can do to get back. Maybe I am supposed to give in to death today.
No, no, no! I can’t die! I can’t give up! I won’t give up! I can’t!
Tears sting and stain the lids of my eyes red. If I die here, I’m going to regret it. Is not dying, my task? Is running away from this place what I need to accomplish? My stomach feels like it’s constantly turning. I can’t die today, I rub my eyes and force them to stay open. I have to.
The sun is setting. This is almost the end of the day. But, maybe I’ll have another chance if I run towards the sun.

Daily for SWC - March 15th, 2024
Prompt: “One of the best things about SWC is its ability to connect young writers across different countries and cultures, which is absolutely incredible In today’s daily, we’ll be embracing our community’s uniqueness by writing about life from another swcer’s perspective! What would their average day look like? What hobbies, interests and activities do they engage in? Answer these questions and more in at least 300 words to claim 200 points for your cabin, plus an additional 100 for sharing proof!”

I stared out the window of my mom’s car, intentionally looking for any excuse to be doing something else besides going to school. I mean, not that I don’t love school, I do. It’s just there are days where I just can’t bring myself to concentrate on anything else besides my love of writing and doing creative activities. I’d just rather be focusing my mind more on the things I actually want to do with my life, rather than the short, already scripted, social engagements of some parts of the school day, (specifically a few of my classes where I still somehow seem to hardly know anyone there even though it’s been more than half of a year).
We’re here. I stare out at the sporadic sea of children rushing into school before it’s 8:15. I’ll soon join that crowd, and for seven hours I won’t be at my desk writing. I won’t be at my desk doing Canva designs on my book series I want to write so badly. I won’t be able to think of anything else besides school, schoolwork, homework, and anything else they throw into the void of my brain during the day. I’ll be focused on other things besides the goals and points in my life that I strive to get to one day.
That’s why when school ends I’m thrilled. I can focus on other creative hobbies besides the ones in school that I do enjoy, just not nearly as much as writing. Or reading. Or dancing, or singing, or acting, (though I’m putting on production for Theatre currently), and I can finally focus on those instead. The good thing is, I’m in a virtual writing camp on Scratch, (SWC), so I have a good month or so, to put time into my novel that I hope I can make an important pillar of my life one day.
When I pull up my laptop, my mind draws a blank. The words don’t want to spill from my lips because they’re stuck in the top of my head, carefully careening downwards into my cerebral cortex. But when I finally pull up the daily prompt for today, my mind remembers what it is I really want to do.
I want to write some words.

Daily for SWC - March 16th, 2024
Prompt: “It's Hozier the bog man's birthday today! (Yes, that would be the musical artist.) Here's an age-old prompt, but with a twist - pick a Hozier song lyric, and write a piece inspired by it - as abstract or literal as you like. If you're unsure about what lyric to choose, feel free to ask in the comments ^^ 300 points for 300 words, and an extra 150 for providing proof. (Bonus: Name your favourite Hozier song in the comments and Starr will give you a daisy <3)”
Lyric Given: Work Song, “No grave can hold my body down, I’ll crawl home to her.”
Lyric Given by: @1lMaM
Note: For some reason, I felt like a poem called to me today for this daily, so I wrote one. ^^

I’ve sunken in the river’s edge, my body is frail as can be.
There is no smile upon my face, or in this lazy stream.
They may bury me with roses, they may bury me in satin.
My body laced in cotton, I’ll sail down the water’s thoughts,
And merely whistle whilst I scream.
There is no burial that can hold me in place, my mind is made up.
There is only one wish I have left, to come home to my loved one.
Crawling up from the vines grown thick, I’ll give the one,
Who drew first blood a look over,
And sing the sirens’ songs to sleep, while my body rises higher.
I don’t know why, nor do I know when,
But when I’ve got the time,
I’ll come crawling back to you, and you’ll grant me some more time.
My loved one, sweet and fair and kind, never caused me any sorrow,
So if there be pouring rain, or sour skies,
Come find me by the hollow,
And with a whisper in my ears, ignite the starlight that brought me to tears,
Don’t leave me stranded in the night, like the stranger who dared to fight.
I worry how far you’ll go, so please, don’t ever leave me alone.
Not when I’m crawling back to you, from a star away,
And a moonlight’s gloom.
My fears are surreal, as I’m sure yours are too.
So come to me down by the sea,
And take me to the shore.
I’ll follow you out of the grave,
And sing you songs my body that could never,
Sing beyond the dirt from 6-feet underground.
I’ll tell you tales from a lonely soldier’s heartbroken heart,
And lead you through till tomorrow.
I’m going to come home one day, far into the future,
But for now you hold onto my soul.

Daily for SWC - March 17th, 2024
Prompt: “Pick-a-Plot! For today's daily you'll be creating a choose-your-own-adventure story, written in second person. Once you're done writing it out, post it in the comments for others to give it a try. Then, go ahead and reply to other stories that have been shared to see where that journey will take you ;D Best of luck, and have fun! This activity isn't for points.”

We did Pick-A-Plot today, (which is a choose your own adventure story for SWCers to try to attempt)! ;D (also Happy St. Patrick's Day! ^^)

Daily for SWC - March 18th, 2024
Prompt: “Capturing the perfect atmosphere is essential in writing! Come up with three words to describe one of your characters and three more for a setting you'd like to put them in. Use a thesaurus to make a list of six related words, and write a scene of at least 400 words that embodies the vibes of your list for 300 points. Earn 150 extra points for providing proof. Bonus: Post your list in the comments and write a scene using the words from someone else's list. ”

A Main Character in my Novel - (Secret for my Secret-ish Novel ;):
-Compassionate
-Outgoing
-Wise

Setting in my Novel - (Also Secret for my Secret-ish Novel ;):
-Whimsical
-Provocative
-Intriguing

Six Related Words:
-Benevolent
-Cordial
-Logical
-Eccentric
-Tantalizing
-Compelling

Lizzie bolted out the front door, her arms swinging behind her. There was nothing as carefree as a bird, as starstruck as the moon, that could keep her head down below the clouds. This was her day. Hers. She felt sure of it, like a tide had washed right up through her heart and had finally, finally opened her eyes.
She could see everything, anything she wanted to. Her eyes were as bright and as sure as the sun, which peeked out often especially during the summers she spent at her mother’s tiny cottage. Her heart swaying and rocking with the sand that flew and crashed on the shore, she led herself down to the pier, and stared out into the sea. Bright, blue, perfectly cold. Utterly tantalizing.
Already soaked with the rain that had been pouring wearily down her face before, she danced in the colors the sky glimmered with. She laughed as lightly as the faint drizzle that was all that was left. She sighed as the waves took her graciously by their lovely, benevolent sounds. She giggled when she crossed paths with a crane, craning its neck towards her in approval. There wasn’t anything she had to worry about. People cared for her, and that was all that mattered to her right now.
Dancing and twirling with the melodies drifting over the ocean, she sang and hollered and cried, tears of joy, sadness, hope. Everything was perfect. Everything seemed so alive and natural. Everything seemed to be breathing with the same rhythm as her own. She closed her eyes and stood at the edge of the water, feeling as strong as the tide itself.
In the palms of her hands she felt like she held the strength of the Earth. The peace, not war. The love, not hurt. The hope, not the release. Everything was in harmony, in balance, and everything felt equal. Free.
Lizzie pressed her ear against the damp sand, and heard Earth’s very own heartbeat. Soft, low, compelling. The will to push forward despite all of the hardships she had faced, the strive to move forward through the challenges she fought with. She could overcome them. We, the world itself, could overcome them. She believed the world could. For a fact, she believed that it was as simple as taking the time to listen to the song buried deep below in the central core of the Earth.
So, why can’t we just take the time to listen too?

Daily for SWC - March 19th, 2024
Prompt: “Villains are often formed after some traumatic backstory that is later revealed to the hero and humanizes the villain. For this daily write 400 words about a villain, whether an existing one or one of your creations, who ends up not actually being the bad guy. Completing this daily will earn you 350 points with an additional 100 points for sharing!”
Note: So, as you may or may not know, (which actually it highly unlikely you know haha), but I’m a big fan of A Series of Unfortunate Events, both the books and the show, so I thought for today’s daily, why not go ahead and write from the perspective of Count Olaf? Because that idea randomly sprang up into my head today xD. Also, this story is meant to be in the form of an answer he would give an interviewer for practice for the weekly, and in this version, he didn’t die.

WARNING: This contains spoilers for the ending of A Series of Unfortunate Events.

There are three words I’ve always stood by. Baudelaire orphan’s fortune. Three simple, highly important, words that I stand by with all of my life. Because, yes, it is more important than my Theater Troupe. And yes, it is clearly, way more important than the nasty, awful, horrible little Baudelaire orphans. Eugh.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not prejudiced towards orphans, or anything. No, indeed, not at all as I am one, (gag, I hate that word), and I have my reasons to utterly detest the word, phrase, blah. But, I’m here to explain the fact that I… did not murder those sloppy, ungrateful Baudelaire brats- orphans’ parents. I did not start the fire. Or cause them a typhoon of stupid situations, as it was their fault they got into them in the first place for not being careful.
I mean, they were in my custody. I had their fortune in the palms of my hands- I mean their lives in the palms of my hands. I had to take care of them. That was my job. Then they, like a bunch of bandits, ran off to a random island, in the middle of the ocean, with a poisonous fungus, and I couldn’t track them down. Not my fault they let it spread, either.
Yes, they let it spread when they nearly killed me after they shot me with a harpoon gun. Ha! They should know that the harpoon gun didn’t kill me. Not even close. So I still cannot understand why, now, I’m the villain, after I tried to stop them from bringing the dangerous fungus somewhere else? I don’t understand why I’m being framed when I was the good guy here. I tried to stop those Baudelaire orphans.
Of course, they never even mentioned the fact that I brought Kit back to the shore for them, either. I’ve never heard them mention that. Even though I practically saved her newborn child, for them. They then, of course, proceeded to steal the child and take the child under their own custody, even though they are extremely underage, (though Violet can inherit the fortune now), but they are not suitable to raise other orphans! That should not be legal. By legal laws, I should be taking custody of that orphan and the Baudelaire orphans. I have a duty to protect them!
So, yes, I don’t know why I have been framed for following simple laws.

Daily for SWC - March 20th, 2024
Prompt: “Happy World Poetry Day! There are many types of poetry, from haikus to odes, but they all have one thing in common: they are written about something the author is passionate about. For today's daily, it's your turn to write a poem about one of your passions! Whether it's ballet or world peace, poems can be about anything that you enjoy. Be creative with poem style, wording, and topic. You can earn 200 points for 200 words, along with an extra 100 for sharing. Good luck, (tortured) poets!”
Note: This is a song about my passion for the constellations. <33 ^^

Shimmering stars high in the sky,
Cover and cloak me with your light,
Sing me softly sound to sleep,
Bury me in the warmth of the deep.

Upon unspoken words I lay,
My head swimming in a daze,
Barely visible by firelight,
Harshly contrasting with your light.

A bubble of dismay we stand in,
For when the eyes are closed,
We cannot see the quiet hope,
Of the ones who once passed on.

A dream invisible to the eye,
Like birds whistling in the night,
Despite cold moonlight offerings,
You often sit alone in silence.

Different zodiacs, different aspects.
Different worlds to travel upon.
Different places and areas to go,
Too far away for us to reach out to.

Ones of many in the sky,
Sometimes only visible to naked eye,
Disappearing in unison upon sunrise,
Coming back when a moon lights the sky.

You blink and dance in fading sight,
Hours away, light by light.
I wish you would stay longer,
If that would be asking enough.

When you come, I feel relieved,
Because you’ve been here for years,
Unlike me, I’m sure it’s true,
There’s never been another soul,
Planet, galaxy, universe,
Like all of you combined as one.

Daily for SWC - March 21st, 2024
Prompt: “Writers use a lot of figurative language, and today we're focusing on just one type: pathetic fallacy. Similar to personification, pathetic fallacy is when a story utilizes the environment to convey emotions by using typically human actions (ex: weeping raindrops, dancing leaves, etc). For 300 points, write a story of at least 250 words using pathetic fallacy to convey an emotion. Then, post it in the comments for 150 more points and see if anyone can guess which emotion it is!”
Emotion: Take a guess. )

The winter bicycled into spring. The bitter cold seemed as though it was standing on the edge of a cliff. Winter was disappearing, and the years that stood behind, marked and labeled in a book. Leia jotted down what she could remember, but she felt she was missing something. Years of her life. Gone by in a flash too quickly. Too soon.
The sun shone down in rays of satisfaction, and the sea looked perfect under the light. Happy, free, leaving her like feathers on a bird. Going, gone. She could wave goodbye, but it wasn’t in her. She felt every second that time was isolating her more and more. Closer, tighter, squeezing her until she plopped down into the grass and sobbed miserably. But it wasn’t like that, it wasn’t necessary, she thought.
Leia felt so old. Too mature, and too immature. She couldn’t place a finger on it. The trees around her seemed to droop with longing. For the past. For the present. She wanted to feel like she was living each moment as much as she could.
It was hard enough to get wrapped up like tinfoil in what happened to her before today. Before the picture perfect world that could be snapped up and summed up in one photo. Leia, confounded, felt so out of place and then still like a puzzle piece that had been found and then put together in the larger picture. She wanted to remember everything that had happened to her previously that day. How someone she knew just made her feel amazing. But she couldn’t remember, correctly, the words they said.

Daily for SWC - March 22nd, 2024
Cabin wars were today! <3 We defeated Balrog-Gurtle! >:]]

Daily for SWC - March 23rd, 2024
Prompt: “It was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort…" To honour Tolkien Reading Day tomorrow, let's take a breather to really fall into Middle Earth Hobbit-holes, our heroes' lovely underground homes, have come to be a fixture of Tolkien's cultural impact. Describe what your own personal hobbit hole might look like - the ambiance, the bookshelves, the secret passageways in your cellar; include details! 400 words for 400 points, and an extra 100 points for providing proof.”

In a hole in the ground, there lived a Herm, (I’m very glad I have a nickname that starts with H haha). And of course the Herms definitely did not choose the nickname because of a specific sound that villagers make in a certain video game. No, indeed. They simply chose it because it sounded right. It sounded somewhat like one of the creatures they kicked out of the holes to write this story, (coughs), ahem, anyways. This is the story of a small little Herm living in a small little hole in the ground, somewhere that isn’t New Zealand. This is a Herm’s Tale…
Herm was unlike many of her fellow Herms in the village. She felt less grounded than most of her fellow Herms who preferred the solitude of everyday life, farming and walking about the peaceful landscape of the Earth, and her Herm hole was decorated in much of a similar fashion. Stars laced every square they could find in the ceiling, and Herm’s zodiac sign, Pisces, lay in such an intricate design over her four-poster bed, it became increasingly harder and harder to tell if she lived in the stars already in the first place. It was hard enough being so up in space, sometimes Herm believed she was actually already there and that for some reason everything had a purpose because of the stars and how they were written. She found the stars simply too beautiful to be overlooked, and wondered why so many of her fellow Herm’s never stopped to appreciate the sky enough.
That’s why Herm detailed the front of her tiny, cozy hole with as many constellations as she saw fit, and she would often read Tarot cards aloud to her fellow Herms whenever they stopped by her little lily, azalea, and bellflower filled garden. As long as she could force them to sit down and give them a cup of black tea, (her all time favorite tea in the history of the Hermshire), she could read what their futures held and believe all of the whimsical, exuberant thoughts that popped into her head on occasion. Sometimes, when it rained in the months of December through February, she would stare out her window laced with constellations etched in their sheer curtains, and dream up adventures in her own world, with all the zodiac signs together as one. This was the place she felt the most attached to herself, but she often wondered why she ever thought about leaving such a gorgeous little hole filled to the brim with books, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games merchandise, DVDs packed with her favorite songs, (for some reason mostly from The Hunger Games), and other things that she often found herself enjoying to a point where other people thought she was especially nerdy, (which of course she most definitely was, but that’s what she loved about herself so much). Why would she ever want to leave such a perfect hole in the ground where all her fellow Herms lived and thrived?

WEEKLIES –>

Weekly for SWC - March 3rd-10th, 2024
Prompt: “Intro (written by Alia) Welcome, heroes, to the first weekly of the session! This week, we'll be taking a look into stories of yore, tales that have been passed down through generations and generations, turning from simple narratives into legends.

While walking this path of fabled characters, you will have the chance to chart your own journey! Firstly, read Skyler's workshop here about the the four genres explored in this weekly. Then, from each of the sections below, choose six prompts to write about. You must choose at least one prompt from each of the four sections, and the last two can be from any section you'd like! Write 200 words per section to complete this weekly.”

Part 1: Mythology
1st Section Chosen: 1. Crossover. (Prompt = Some of the most interesting stories can be made from already existing mythology (think Percy Jackson ;D ). From gods and goddesses to tricksters and schemers, there are so many different elements you can pull from. Find a couple (or more!) pantheons that interest you the most, and write a story that incorporates them all together. Maybe there's a power struggle between them, they're joining forces, or they've just discovered each others' existence. The choice is yours, so don't be afraid to play with it!)
What I Chose to Write About: Artemis, (of Greek mythology), and Diana, (of Roman mythology), have a quarrel about who is simply the better goddess in a Greco-Roman wrestling match.

Diana glares Artemis in the eyes, debating her next move. Artemis rolls her eyes, and shrugs her shoulders, “We don’t have to do this Diana, this is way too easy.”
Diana jumps in for an attack, but Artemis harmlessly moves to the side, expecting it. Diana falls face first into the floor, but picks herself right back up immediately and thrusts her hands around Artemis’ waist. Artemis’ eyes widen, and she glances down promptly. Diana throws Artemis to the ground, but Artemis is quick, as she makes for Diana’s waist. “Diana, this is such a stupid idea!”
Artemis grunts, as Diana makes for Artemis’ waist. The duo both then tumble to the ground. Artemis rolls along on the floor with Diana, hugging each other’s waists. There can be heard loads of groaning and angry talking amongst the two as they blather on and on. They are constantly feuding with each other along the floorboards of some random school gymnasium they found. Crowds of students, their cameras raised, surround the two, chanting, “Fight! Fight!”
Artemis and Diana both finally come to the realization that there are mortals standing in a tight-knit circle around them both, and slowly stand up, their faces flushing red. “Oh,” Artemis mouths to Diana. Artemis and Diana both zip out of existence, embarrassed by the fact that 500, or so, children witnessed the human-like wars the gods have when they're not in the mortal world.

Part 2: Hi-Fi
2nd Section Chosen: 1. Original Characters in Historical Times. (Prompt = You’ve probably heard of historical characters in historical times, but have you ever heard of original characters in historical times? Pick a character you’ve written with, whether it’s the character from your first ever story, one from that novel you’ve been procrastinating on, or your favorite character, any will work! How would that character react during the Boston Tea Party? Would they make a good knight in the Medieval times? For this task, write a story using an original character in a historical time.)
Original Character Chosen: Esther Knox (this is an RP character from an old History presentation ), and just a little bit about her is that she was/is an advocate for women’s rights from Boston, MA, in the past who loved, and I mean, loved to read, despite large disagreements from men at the time.

Esther didn’t want to end up anywhere, in particular. She was concerned with arriving on time to places, but she wasn’t concerned nearly enough about what she was wearing. Bloomers. The latest fashion she found off The Lily, a magazine she desperately could not get her hands off of. Too early. Nobody was wearing them, yet. She was, but she contracted way too many dirty looks, or at least that’s what her husband deliberately made clear to her. Too many looks coming in her way.
She didn’t care. It wasn’t her problem, anyways, she assumed. If men couldn’t grasp the fact that women feel uncomfortable wearing easily flammable floor length dresses, then that’s their problem. Not hers. Or maybe it was, but she couldn’t agree less with her husband. He was always ratting on about what’s respectable and what isn’t, for women, in particular.
Well, Esther took a pause, if Amelia Bloomer can tackle creating soon to be widely acceptable pants, then I can wear them without care. I am a woman, and I want to be one forever, so why can’t I choose to do something men can do without being criticized for it? A smirk played on Esther’s lips, there’s ‘man’ in woman. We are both.

Part 3: Fairy Tales
3rd Section Chosen: 3. Multiple Fairy Tale Characters Meet Up With Each Other. (Prompt = I think we've all faced that dilemma where we had to choose one favorite character. But fear not! Today you don't have to narrow it down - expand that list as far as you would like for matter! For this activity you will be arranging a little meet up between multiple fairy tale characters. Who you decide to choose is up to you! To complete this task, write a story that focuses on the meet up of multiple fairy tale characters. You'll be amazed to see all the creative plots that come out of this activity!)
Fairy Tale Characters I Chose: Dorothy Gale from Wizard of Oz and Alice Liddell from Alice in Wonderland.
Fun Note: I wrote an original musical with both characters with a friend before, and I thought it would be really fun to try to revamp it for this short story!

The voice of someone unknown flying overhead calls attention…
Currently, in a small field in the state of Kansas…

Dorothy stumbled on rocks while kicking up mini tornados, speeding towards her house, screaming in panic, “Auntie ‘Em! Auntie ‘Em!” Dorothy wrapped her fist against the wood of a trapdoor, “Auntie ‘Em! Please! Please! Open the door!”
She sobbed, then looked down helplessly at her little scruffy dog, Toto. “Please, please, please,” she sinks to her knees, weakly banging on the door. She gives up, her hands unconsciously petting the floofy fur of her dog. “Oh Toto,” she sighs, “there’s no use. We’ve tried so many times, we just can’t push it open. Come on, let’s head into the house.” Dorothy, followed by tiny Toto, walk away aimlessly into their house.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the world, in the far north of Europe…

Alice skipped gleefully through the meadows, following the fluff of a strange furry white rabbit, whistling, “Mr. White Rabbit! Mr. White Rabbit! Wherever are you jumping off to?” She smiled joyfully, “Oh where did you go, you curious thing?” She hopped merrily over a tiny brook, and watched as the curious critter left her line of sight. She sighed, “Please don’t leave, I’m so bored.”

Part 4: Folklore
4th Section Chosen: 4. Magical Realism. (Talking Animals, Little Bits of Magic, Etc). (Prompt = Folktales are often known to have little bits of magic scattered inside them. Talking animals are common in them, and so are magical items or prophecies. If you choose to do this, write a story implementing magical realism into your own story. Good luck, and I can’t wait to see what you do with your ideas!)

Annie wandered through the trees of a small orchard, plucking mangoes whenever her eyes drifted upon one dangling from a wooden branch. She laughed as one landed in her basket, and yelped when she saw something fuzzy and orange dart across the tree line. Setting down her basket, she brushed away some leaves from a small bush, as she eavesdropped on a conversation between… foxes with ties on them?
“Thank you, sir, I’ve desperately been needing some more of these,” smiled one of the foxes, a shorter one, with pointier ears.
“It’s no problem,” grinned the second fox, who looked especially mischievous, “I’ve been able to gather plenty.”
Annie frowned, and rubbed her nose since it was itchy from all the dirt, what she could only assume was the fox, picked up. She leaned in closer, her left ear pressed farther into the bushes to hear the conversation clearer.
“Where from?”
“This orchard, of course. There’s this small little girl who keeps taking the mangoes from the trees here, which, you know how hard it is to reach them. So, whenever she isn’t too careful, I zip in, and swipe the mangoes from her basket. Makes our lives easier.”
Annie guffaws, and rolls her eyes. She has a plan, and she’s ready to war the foxes if it comes to losing all of her mangoes. But, she quickly has to make sure they didn’t steal all of the mangoes from her basket, first. Oops!

5th Section Chosen: 2. Historical Figures in Modern Times. (History has changed a lot over the years, Leonardo Da Vinci probably didn’t use Pinterest for inspiration, nor did Christopher Columbus have Google Maps to guide him. For this part, choose a historical figure, such as a famous soldier, political figure, or any other character from your favorite history story and then write a story about how they’d react to being in modern times.)
Historical Figure I Chose: King Henry the VIII (or the 8th)
Note: This is probably my most unhinged and probably the story I had the most writer’s block writing…

King Henry groaned, while sitting in a box covered with post-it notes screaming with work that’s due soon. He rolled his eyes and pounded his fist unhappily on the desk, “Curse this stupid, useless, horrendous box!”
A co-worker popped his head in quickly to check-in, “How are we doing, good sir, with completing all of the forms from the women who have sued you for having caused unnecessary harm to them?”
King Henry moaned, and yelled, “I should think I’m doing extremely well!”
“That’s great to hear, sir! We’re glad you’re doing well on those terribly harsh forms directed at you for being such a jerk to 6 women’s lives!”
“I love the work I’m doing, yes indeed! I’m enjoying it so much!” King Henry gritted his teeth.
“And we’re extra glad that you’re enjoying it, of course! We couldn’t be more happy that you’re taking the time to sign all of this paperwork! You’re doing so great!”
“I know! It’s super awesome!” King Henry seethed.
Finally, the co-worker had left, King Henry was finally at peace. Maybe not entirely. He had signed one of six forms suing him for being extremely cruel to 6 different women over the course of 38 years of his life…one of six! He still couldn’t understand that 6 different women despised him now, and said he ruined their lives. How could he have ruined all of their lives when he’d only texted some of them once, and then asked never to see them ever again? He just couldn’t wrap his head around the matter.


6th Section Chosen: 3. Retelling. (Prompt = Original myths are great, but there are many different ways to look at them that bring in a novel perspective. Take an old myth and make it something completely new and interesting. Pick your favorite myth and consider what you could change to put a new spin on it. You could change the point of view, genders, setting, time period, or anything really! Choose as many elements as you want to play with, and write your original and fantastical retelling. You'll be amazed at what you come up with!)
Myth I Chose to Retell: Prometheus bringing the knowledge of how to start fire to mankind for the first time.
How I’ll Retell It: Prometheus will be the cause of the pandemic, and Zeus will be angry for Prometheus for starting the COVID19 pandemic, (even though he was the one who truly began it in the first place).

Zeus stared down from Olympus. It was 2020, and there was no real commotion in the world whatsoever. There had to be something going on here, he thought to himself while leaning his chin against the palm of his hand on his golden accented throne. “Prometheus!” Zeus shouted out, suddenly hit with the biggest idea in centuries. “Prometheus!” His voice boomed around the walls, bouncing off the pillars in his palace in the sky.
Prometheus came jogging into Zeus’ retreat, panting, tired and out of breath. He spat, “What do you want from me today, oh great overlord who can’t even respect the fact that I’ve been around at least a little bit longer than you have?”
Zeus ignored this comment, and glanced down at Earth for a moment, then came back to the clouds, “You are the titan who can form things out of clay, out of nothing but your bare hands, am I incorrect?”
“No, my lord, of course, you are not incorrect at all. Of course, I can create people out of clay. Do you need that from me, good lord?”
“Quite the contrary, I need you to think of something… different than we’ve ever done. Different, something different of course, but still something that will… I guess cause plenty of commotion and craziness in the world… but not too crazy, you hear?”
Prometheus peered down at Earth, his head sparking immediately with something… sinisterly unique. He smiled eerily, and opened his hand, creating some sort of small ball with spokes on it that looked insanely dangerous. Zeus nodded. It was definitely some sort of new idea. Though he wasn’t sure fully what it was, Zeus agreed out of curiosity as to what sort of commotion it would start down on Earth.
One year later, and the mortals would start to hate Prometheus for this sort of commotion he caused. One year later, Zeus would be angry with Prometheus. One year later, the heavens would be filled with angry mortals demanding that their lives be given back to them, so they could go back down to Earth, and say their last, real goodbyes. No one would ever think to say that, maybe it was truly Zeus who could’ve ended it all.

Weekly for SWC - March 11th-17th, 2024
Prompt: Intro (written by Alia) Welcome, everyone, to the second weekly of the session! This week, we’ll be taking a journey down memory lane and exploring some SWClassics, classic dailies in weekly format. Feel free to take these prompts and put your own spin on them - this is your chance to mix the old and new to create something completely unique!

Prompt: Part 1: Flowers (written by Sienna) Welcome to another classic SWC activity: flowers! In the past, Victorians used flowers to tell secret messages. Each flower represented a phrase, word, or idea, and they could be arranged to represent a specific message. Here's a catalog of a bunch of flower meanings compiled by Alba for reference. For example, bluebells (constancy), elder blossoms (compassion), and gillyflower (affection), might represent a deep friendship. Because each flower stands for something, they make great symbols. For this part of the weekly, write a story of at least 300 words, weaving flower symbolism into the plot or theme. Maybe there's a malevolent organization called the Nightshade or your characters are trying to deliver a message. Play around with the mechanics of the symbolism, from names to obstacles to literal flowers. The possibilities are endless, so make like clover and get writing!

The Kingdom of Briarose was full of meadows. It had been years since Princess Aurora had last lain in the overgrown fortress, and Anemone knew she couldn’t touch the sacred place. The land was completely covered in vines protruding from every inch of the place. She stared at the sea of flowers, poking their faces to the sun and the sky. Why couldn’t she come back here? Why couldn’t she step back into her mother’s homeland?
The wind left the air cold and chilly, laced with the scent of wild roses from years before Anemone’s time. At least 100 years before. Anemone decided against staying positioned before the ancient kingdom. She dashed into the meadows, and flew herself into the arms of nature, the soil and the grass. Who would find her here? Who would be looking for her when they couldn’t care less to check in the one place her own mother nearly perished in? Or so, the old fables say?
They were just fables, clearly. Anemone thought, as she laughed and giggled at the irony of laying in the old square of Canterbury Bell. It used to be a marketplace full of lively, busy atmosphere, where vendors would sell goods, (mostly beautifully crafted flower related objects, as the kingdom was in desperate need of them), from all over the kingdom. Now, what was ironic, was the fact that this square was overgrown with flowers, sprouting in any crack in the soil they could crane their lovely necks up from. Anemone smiles, sniffing in the fluorescent scents of the rainbow of flowers, while her eyes stare into the gorgeous blue of the sky that’s clear of any pollution from years of healing after years of war.
Anemone lays on the ground for minutes upon minutes, tracing the clouds with her fingers, like she could almost reach out and grab one and form it to look like her favorite flower, the camellia. She could if she wanted to. She was as free as a bird out her in the deep meadows of the overgrown reaches of the ancient kingdom. There was nothing she couldn’t do now if she wanted to.
Except, every word of the kingdom would still be a mystery if she didn’t go back and explain to her mother what she had found in the ancient part of the kingdom.

Prompt: Part 2: Constellations (written by Luna and Alana) One of Lulu’s favorites has always been the constellation stories Constellations have become a huge part of our society over the centuries, from using them to track crop growth, to navigation in the night, to even retelling legends about they were created. All of these constellations, including the Ursa Major, Orion, and Pisces, carry a variety of traits that make them unique! For this weekly part, write 300 words of either a fiction or non-fiction piece based on how your favorite constellation came to be.
Important to Note: This is a retelling of the constellations, (specifically Ophiuchus), as based in my novel, (with ideas prone to change possibly), so I would appreciate it if you don’t steal this, thank you! ^^

1,200 years ago, there was only one world, Zaraphis. Passage through the stars was easy only there, and the planet’s connection to them was the reason why the stars chose to live there as one. Until the day of rivalry came, the stars were committed to having no separation between all of their 88 constellations. 1 would be the main kingdom, where the people of the stars could join together. 13 would be the main kingdoms that gave the people of the stars lands based off of them and their land. The rest, the 74, would become islands, landmarks, for people of the stars who were graciously given an inherited homeland and a mission to catch falling stars on a yearly basis if they felt as though they did not fit into one main zodiac type.
The main kingdoms, however, were of the utmost importance. These few kingdoms consisted of, and in order, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. Though, soon it would be only 12. Ophiuchus was named as too good for the other zodiac signs, who denounced him for being able to raise the dead, of which the other zodiacs agreed was too powerful for the world of Zaraphis. They did not want anyone messing with what they wrote in the stars, so Ophiuchus was banned from Zaraphis, and him and his land were forgotten about.
Poor Pisces was blamed for this issue and received only 28, and only every 4 years 29 days, every year where their people could prosper the best, and as the bitter zodiac signs started to argue and riot against one another, they decided they would separate for good. People were forced to remain in their kingdoms depending on their zodiac sign, and for 1,200 years, people would have to remain that way for good. Until the day when what was written by the stars themselves before they even separated would join them together again for what was written as for good.

Prompt: Part 3: Aesthetics (written by Yume) We hope you had fun with the previous swclassics <3 Now it’s time to use what you’ve written for another old favorite - the Aesthetic Set! Choose one of your pieces from the previous sections and create an aesthetic set that represents the theme or motif that you have selected. your set should contain at least five different images, chosen in reference to your selected piece. of course, the photographs you use do not need to be original, just be sure to give credit if the images aren’t yours! once you’re done, share your aesthetic as a project and submit the link alongside the rest of your weekly. Happy designing!

Link: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/984011566/

Prompt: Part 4: SWC Fanfiction (written by Skyler) Hey heroes! Welcome to the last part of this wonderful weekly– I hope you've had a blast so far <33 Now, it's time to write some fanfiction–SWC fanfiction, to be exact! Take the motif of the flower you chose earlier in this weekly or the meaning of the constellation and use that in your fanfiction, which can be about anything, from creating chaos in the main cabin to exploring your cabin's storyline with your cabinmates! You can have volunteers in your fanfic or just yourself–anything goes as long as it's at least 600 words!
Cabinmates I Hired for This Fanfiction:
-I am a goat mascot of Fairy Tales, can I be hired :0 if so fern / he/him / light beige coloured fur, fluffy, white spot on nose / I am easily scared but also very handsome B) / i am the best goat of the three > (Fairy Tales)
-Chloe/phoenix {} she/her {} find Phoenix on @-flameshadow_hybrid- {} a musician who love writing and art. I’m chaotic, sassy, and creative as well as a big daydreamer {} because I’m chaotic. I started the whole Apple thing. I wrote an essay on sienna’s goatness I’m also pretty good at music too (Fairy Tales)
-Ess//she/her//black hair, glasses, Chinese// outside of writing, I read, draw, play flute, cook, and support civil rights// apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur (Poetry)

On a rainy day in March of 2024, I found myself snoozing on a wooden desk in the lounge room of the Main Cabin. The desk was littered with ideas scrawled on almost blank papers, and the sun was setting low outside. Really? I thought. I’d been snoozing nearly the whole day?!
Okay, wait let’s backtrack on that. I didn’t find myself snoozing, Fern the Goat did from Fairy Tales, (I’m still unsure if he was just trying to eat me or not), and I lied. I hadn’t been snoozing the whole day- only the few couple of hours I’d been home from school. Which, I guess I can usually only do my dailies at that time since I’m PST, so, (yeah I’d pretty much been sleeping away the entire day that I could’ve spent writing for the Fantasy Cabin, and or writing my novel- oh goodness gracious). Yeah, no, I’d been sleeping technically the entire day.
Anyways, Fern the fluffy Goat from the Fairy Tales Cabin, decided to finally nudge me awake, and I sat bolt upright staring out the window at the sunset. He seemed to be trying to eat me, or so I thought, as he was chewing on my sleeve before I yanked it away from him and he exclaimed annoyedly, “Aw! But sleeves taste so good!”
“My sleeves don’t!”
“Yes they do! They taste exactly like cotton candy! You’ve got good taste,” Fern grins, I guess if a goat could grin at me, then proceeds to clop his hooves away loudly, singing merrily, “I’m the best goat of all the three, my name is Fern, I eat leaves! I also eat your favorite sleeves, so let me eat in peace! Also I’m very handsome!”
“That doesn’t rhyme!” I shout back.
He’s too caught up in himself to hear me. I laugh despite the fact that he tore off some of my sleeve, but oh well, I can fix it later. I hear footsteps behind me and turn, and leaning against a pole is Chloe, also from the Fairy Tales cabin, with an apple in her hand she’s just about to put in her mouth. “What? I got this from a really sweet old lady after school that I just met,” they act like it’s nothing serious when someone you don’t know hands you food right after school.
“Don’t put that in your mouth if you don’t know where you got it from,” I state matter of factly.
They shrug, “I’m hungry too. Goats aren’t always the ones who are always hungry. I’m always hungry too!”
They put it closer to their mouth, but before they’re able to take a bite out of it, I snatch it out of their hand. “Hey, I was going to eat that! That’s for my supper!”
“I can give you something else to eat, something that isn’t poisoned, probably, alright?”
“No! It isn’t poisoned!” They try to grab at it, but I put it farther and farther away from them each second they reach for it, until-
Snatch! Someone from behind me grabs it and starts chomping on it. Chloe and I stare at the person in shock, our mouths hanging open, but for different reasons. “That was my supper!” Chloe stomps her foot, stares hungrily at the apple, and huffs, “I might have even saved some of it for elevenses!”
“Well, it’s mine now,” the person, Ess from the Poetry Cabin, chortles. I gape in horror as she swallows the apple…
“Mmm! That was really delicious! And definitely not poisoned at all!” They laugh as they stride away, and Chloe eyes her sadly, “But, but, but that was my apple…”
Well, in the end Chloe got another apple from the same old lady, but it wasn’t the same apple, so she gave it to Fern the Goat who unfortunately ate it and got food poisoning, but was okay, and Ess got to walk away apparently immune to poison. Oh, and me? I didn’t get my few hours back, but the chaos that happened to me that day was a moment I could never forget.

Special Thanks to Everyone I Hired!:
-@FernTheGoat
-@smartypantschlo
-@MuggleBornGal

Weekly for SWC - March 17th-24th, 2024
Prompt: Intro (written by Alana) It’s my greatest pleasure to welcome you to the third weekly of the session! This week, we’ll be heading down a different path - one with more mysteries to solve along the way perhaps ;D With that being said, this weekly will have a focus on developing plot points, providing clues and creating red herrings, where in the end, we’ll tie all these aspects together to create a compelling mystery. This weekly starts on March 17th at 12:01 am UTC, so please wait until then to start writing. Good luck heroes! We can’t wait to solve all the amazing mysteries you create!

Part 1: (written by River) To begin your mystery, wander on over to @PoppyWriter's workshop to learn how to plot one! After you've read and internalized the information, write short, 50 word descriptions each for five major plot points in your tale. Be as creative as you like, and feel free to include some classic mystery elements as well.

1st Major Plot Point: Everly gets herself trapped inside an unbreakable glass box, with no way to escape it, after an incident she can’t speak about because she’s stuck inside walls that are practically sound proof. No one knows how this happened, but officers are on the case, and suspects have been rounded up.
2nd Major Plot Point: Everly’s best friend, Ashley, or as Ashley states she is, is suspected of such a crime, even though she remarks how it’s practically impossible for any sort of human being to do such a thing, and she cries hysterically how she wasn’t the one who stuck Everly in the box.
3rd Major Plot Point: Three other people, Everly’s brother, sister, and half-cousin are said to have been with her the day she got trapped as well as her best friend Ashley, who was originally found right at the moment it occurred. Each has different evidence the officers have to narrow down for Everly’s case.
4th Major Plot Point: After finding nothing that can pinpoint what exactly happened to Everly and who was responsible, Ashley is blamed and framed. She isn’t the one who did it. She swears it was some sort of huge turtle, from what she can recall, that did it, but people reasonably don’t believe her.
5th Major Plot Point: After Ashley is found innocent of the crime, Everly’s half-cousin is found guilty! And, yes, they were the culprit since they were this whole time half-turtle and causing, (cousin), terror! Somehow, Everly’s half-cousin was able to use their turtle shell magic to encase Everly in a sound proof glass box!

Part 2: (written by Niko) Now that you have introduced yourself to the world of mystery and have the basics of your story down it is time to dig deeper. If you have ever participated in host speculation you'll know how many twists and tricks add to the fun. Now create a list with 4 clues and/or red herrings consisting of at least 50 words , that you can incorporate into your story. Check out this wonderful workshop that should help you with this task: Red Herrings and Clues - have fun!

1st Clue: The half in half-cousin could be an example of a clue in this story, since, woah, a half-cousin?! That’s something I definitely need to inspect closer! People won’t know exactly what the half stands for, but with enough deciphering of the story, they should be able to figure it out.
2nd Clue: The cousin in half-cousin, could also serve as a red herring! Not an obvious or immediate one, however, but if readers do a close inspection they’ll be able to figure out that the cousin is, (cousin/causing), the terror in the story as the terrible turtle that Ashley saw before!
3rd Clue: The turtle will definitely serve as another red herring or clue too, as it will serve as the secret other half identity of the cousin, and I hope to use it as a clue into what actually happened to Everly when she was trapped in the sound proof glass box.
4th Clue: As a 4th clue, and I had to really think about this one, but I would like to have the siblings of Everly definitely act as red herrings, or misleads, for the readers since they would be placeholders for the actual guilty character. I think they serve as misleading clues.

Part 3: (written by Finley) Greetings, wanderer - and welcome to the third part of this weekly! Find yourself a partner, and together embark upon an interview. One of you can claim the role of a witness to a crime, whereas the other can wield the power of an interviewer. Go ahead and ask the most ridiculous questions, and answer with the most unexpected responses! Once you’ve completed your interview, it’s time to jot down your conversation. To move onto the next part of this weekly, write 200 words per person for this activity. Have fun with this - after all, every witness carries a small piece of the truth ;D

@HermioneVoiceActress Interviewer, Officer: Alrighty, so where were you last night when Everly got trapped in a glass box? xD (btw you'll be playing the role of one of Everly's siblings in the story, and the brief synopsis is that basically one of the characters, Everly, gets trapped in a unbreakable sound proof glass box but no one knows how this happened xDD <3)

@xXFierroOrFalafelXx Witness, Bernard: (Is he innocent or no?

@HermioneVoiceActress Interviewer, Officer: (they're innocent, but you can make them as guilty-sounding as you want them to be ) xD

@xXFierroOrFalafelXx Witness, Bernard: “E-everly what? Is she dead? Oh god…evie.”

@HermioneVoiceActress Interviewer, Officer: Fortunately, she isn't dead, yet. We don't have any evidence to back up what exactly happened to her, but we know she's trapped in a glass box without food or water. If we can't manage to get her out, well, we don't want to know what's going to happen. But, anyways, where were you before the incident took place?

@xXFierroOrFalafelXx Witness, Bernard: You actually think I did it? Everly raised me! Why don't you ask our deadbeat step dad? He's always hated us. And no actually why don't you get her the h*ll out of that box before she does die?!

@HermioneVoiceActress Interviewer, Officer: Well, we need to survey responses from as many close relatives and friends to Everly as we can. We don't want to miss out on any clues as to what exactly happened to her. And unfortunately, we don't believe the dad had anything to do with this case, (we found some evidence explaining his absence when the incident occurred). And please don't panic, we're trying our best, but we just need to know where you were anytime before 6:46, the morning, Everly's friend, Ashley discovered her.

@xXFierroOrFalafelXx Witness, Bernard: Fine. Fine. Last night? Last night I was in my house, watching Netflix and cleaning.

@HermioneVoiceActress Interviewer, Officer: Uh huh, uh huh- hmmm. So why do you think Everly was out extremely early that morning?

@xXFierroOrFalafelXx Witness, Bernard: I don't know maybe she had somewhere to be? And sometimes she just liked the morning though not super early. I don't know its been a couple weeks since we've spoken.

@HermioneVoiceActress Interviewer, Officer: Uh huh, right. That seems to make sense. How long exactly had it been since you'd spoken to each other?

@xXFierroOrFalafelXx Witness, Bernard: Like 16 days ago. My partner had just broken up with me and I was with Everly because I was really upset about it and she was trying to cheer me up with one of those paint your own pottery places.

@HermioneVoiceActress Interviewer, Officer: Right, right. And, I'm sorry to hear that! I hope everything is improving for you. And that seems to be about just enough evidence for me! I think we're going to figure out what is happening soon enough, and you're going to get your sister back soon! ^^ (thanks so much for doing this with me btw! this was really fun! D)

@xXFierroOrFalafelXx Witness, Bernard: Glad to help.

Part 4: (written by Rockie) Welcome, detectives, to the final part of this splendiforous weekly! For your fourth activity, you’ll be combining everything you’ve worked on in previous parts into a longer piece. Using your plot points, red herrings, clues, and evidence from the witness interview, write a mystery scene of at least 550 words. You can go about this however you’d like: it could be a snippet of a longer work or its own self-contained story. Make it gripping, make it exciting, make it page-turning (or in this case, screen-scrolling?), and above all, make it mysterious ;D Best of luck, sleuths, and remember to have fun!

When Everly woke up, she banged her head against the wall. “Ouch,” she exclaimed, glaring up at the reason she hit her head, “What the heck, what is this?!” She screams, frantically, throwing her hands up against the walls of some sort of, glass box? Then she realizes where she is, what happened, and why she’s trapped. She throws her fists against the walls trying to call anyone’s attention to help her escape this drastic situation.
This is all the evidence that the officers could originally gather from Everly’s best friend, Ashley, at 6:46apm on Sunday, March 24th, 2024. Ashley remarked how all she could remember was how something, some sort of turtle-person, came out of nowhere and encased Everly with their shell in the box, but they don’t know where they dashed off to afterwards. She also recalled how she was pretty sure that during that morning one of Everly’s siblings or cousin was out and about with them, but she couldn’t quite remember who.
We rounded up three relatives we have found potentially guilty of such a harsh crime, and those relatives are Everly’s younger brother, Bernard, older sister, Ariel, and half-cousin Chelona. First we interviewed Bernard, and we found him not to be guilty:
“You actually think I did it? Everly raised me! Last night? Last night I was in my house, watching Netflix and cleaning,” Bernard cleared up.
And we also asked him where he was the day of, but he mentioned how he’d only spoken to her 16 days ago just the same. So next we went on to interview Everly’s older sister, Ariel, and here’s what she said:
“Me? No! I love my little sister Everly, I would’ve never have done that, ever! I swear! Oh, excuse me? What was that? Yeah, no I was at college!
I go to the college campus around here, and I was just doing some late night studying. I swear to you, I haven’t seen her for at least a month because of college!”
Well, that seemed to clear things up, so of course we went to go interview Everly’s half-cousin, Chelona. This is what they said:
“I never did such a thing! Why would you even accuse me of such a horrible crime? I literally was just here to visit my half-cousin, Everly, who I haven’t seen in at least a year. And where was I at the time of the incident? Well, that’s incredibly simple, I was purchasing boba to celebrate the fact that we were together again at the local Boba Time.”
“But you were there at the time of the incident?”
“Yes.”
“So did you happen to see what happened to Everly?”
“I told you, I was purchasing boba at the time of the incident. I’m positive I didn’t see anything happen.”
We figured Everly’s half-cousin, Chelona, was speaking the truth. Now, all evidence seemed to point in Ashley’s direction. Ashley was obviously the one at the scene of the crime, and a turtle theory? Well that just seemed utterly ridiculous! So Ashley seemed to be the culprit after all.
But then we came to a new realization. There are, rather unfortunately, no boba shops to be seen anywhere in this town! So Chelona must’ve been lying to us! So, of course, we went back to check on Chelona. However, we couldn’t find her anywhere in the city.
Except when we went back to poor Everly who was still stuck in the unbreakable, sound proof, glass box and seemed to be extremely dehydrated. And then that’s where we found Chelona, or rather turtle Chelona as she finally admitted that she was actually half-turtle and was just trying to encase Everly in a shell of her own because they wanted Everly to become the shelled off from the world turtle she was meant to be, just like how Chelona felt herself. Eventually, however, we did convince Chelona to let Everly go free, and we were able to succeed and accomplish our mission of figuring out exactly what happened that morning on March 24th, 2024, at 6:46am. Everly and her siblings were then, of course, happily reunited.

WORD WARS –>

3/5/2024
1st war…

Prompt: “Sometimes doors don’t go where they are supposed to,” -@ChueyTheCat
I was running, no correction, jogging slowly through what I could only assume was time or space. I didn’t know which was which, and it became harder and harder to tell every time I opened a new door. Okay, let me back you up from here. I just got back home from school, but as I opened the door to my house, I was zapped inward abruptly. I don't know by what force, or if it was a force of any sort, but I just recall going for a spin in what I could only believe was either the rabbit hole from Alice and Wonderland or some kind of spinny tornado thing from the Wizard of Oz. I wasn’t sure if I had landed in Wonderland or Oz, for that matter.
Did this w/@-vanillamochabear- and they won! You can find what they wrote here: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/720872/?page=25#post-7842959

3/6/2024
2nd war…

Prompt: “If my life was a movie, I wouldn’t be the main character,” -@CleverComment
Do you see the person waiting for you outside the classroom when you don't even wait for them? That’s me. Do you notice the person who goes out to buy you things with their own money when they don’t even have much and you never pay them back? That’s me. Do you notice the girl you seemingly cannot hold a conversation for longer than 2 minutes? That’s also me.
I am not a main character, because you don’t allow me to be one. I don’t know how I can be one if I’m not able to even keep a conversation going with you for that long. I’m no such main character because I’m not allowed to be one.
Did this w/@-CorruptedData- and they won! You can find what they wrote here: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/744796/?page=1#post-7843352

3/8/2024
3rd war…

Prompt: “These pages still smell like smoke, and I hate it,” -@embXR_THEauthZr
I stare into the blank void of my empty journal, and bury my face in it. I guffaw. It smells like I tried burning it… of which of course yes I did because my mind is completely blank. I don’t know how I didn’t burn it completely. But, then again, I don’t know how I ended up here. With an empty journal, and an empty mind…
I scan the rows of books I have off to the side of me. Eh. I don’t feel like standing up and grabbing one at random. I go and grab a book at random. It says, “The Big Blank Book of Burnt Banter,” jolly. I don’t know why I got up in the first place. I go and sit back down at my desk.
Well, there’s nothing. That’s a word right? I should write that down. I attempt to write the word down but forget how to spell it. No, then was it a thing? I don’t know what I’m writing. Am I even writing?
I guess that’s the same question I’ve been asking myself for all eternity. Is writing even called writing? My brain is hurting.
Did this w/@Zionykon and they… to be continued

3/9/2024
4th war…

Prompt: “Six hosts… six hosts… four days left to destroy them all…” -@kindhrts-

I couldn’t let our cabin lose. I just couldn’t… if I did I’d feel incredibly guilty for feeling like I hadn’t been writing enough. There were only four days left until the end of the session, and I couldn’t grasp the fact that we were still at the bottom of the list. I couldn’t do that for our cabin. There were also only six hosts active right now, so I figured I would see if there was anything I could do to add more points and possibly at least get 2nd to last in the session. I wanted to prove to the other cabins, and the other six hosts that we could write a lot and that we were writing a lot.
I didn’t want to prove that we hadn’t done the writing for all of the dailies, the weeklies, or the word wars. I didn’t want to end up doing that for our cabin. We had only four days left to, at least attempt to, destroy all of the other cabins and possibly get a better, higher ranking than we had before. It was a struggle, but we would beat it even if it came to the last 24 hours. I believed in my fellow knights, and I believed we could win any wars that came our way. For the kingdom! I drew my sword from its hilt and threw it in the air.
Did this w/@ziqing11 and I won!

3/10/2024
5th war…

Prompt: “Saving people does not make you a hero,” -@starryy-silk

I knew that. In fact, I’d always known that, I was sure. I mean I was pretty sure I’d gotten the message the second I saved a damsel who clearly could help themselves from falling off of a cliff. I mean… it probably wasn’t helpful that I was trying to rescue them when they clearly could fend for themself. It was probably unthoughtful of me to even attempt to rescue them.
I sat cross-legged on a chair in a courtroom, clarifying my case. None of the words coming out of my own mouth made any sense to me, but I couldn’t say anything off or I would be sure to get in trouble. With our stupid lawmakers. I mean, I couldn’t say anything. I was sworn off it even though I felt like the things I was saying were utter garbage. I didn’t want to end up in murkier waters.
“Mr. Baron, please give the court more,” the judge sneered.
I stared down at my hands. What was I even saying? I don’t want to even be saying anything. I’m mad at myself for saying as much as I did, why should I say anything more?
Did this w/@opheliio and they won! You can find what they wrote here: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/post/7843047/

3/11/2024
6th war…

Prompt: “In the presence of ghosts, there was only one thing to do…,” -@TheBibliophile7

I knew that. I knew that for a while. I had one chance, one moment, one part of my life where I could speak to the ghosts. But, I didn’t know for how long and when they would eventually leave me again. I didn’t know how I should’ve talked to them.
I waited on the edge of the coastline, staring out as the sun began to set low on the horizon. I basked in the heat of the day that was slowly draining into the cold of the night that was coming. I knew I could only ask a few ghosts to meet me, and they all exclaimed how they could meet here. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what they all told me.
1 minute. 2 minutes. 3 minutes. 4 minutes. I stood there for an hour waiting for the sun to finally leave the horizon. 1 hour and 30 minutes…2 hours. How long was it going to take?
Then, I exclaimed, “Ah!”
I had sworn I heard someone, a voice low and deep, like a whistle too small for the average human to hear, but it’s like I was reassured I was definitely hearing someone or something. When they finally came, however, I knew there was only one thing I wanted to tell them.
What is life like afterward?
Did this w/@surfdudewave and they…

To be continued…

CABIN WARS –>
Challenge: Write 200 words in an archaic or old-fashioned style! Every cabin member who does this can claim 25 points for their cabin. This applies for up to six campers (resulting in 150 points max).
Note: This felt like more of a curse than a challenge. xD

I hath been doomed to thy cursed rock. I hath been chained, I daresay! Chained to thither rock! I am nothing but a clodpate! Forthwith, I hath nought even whatsoever heard of such a vain beast! I hath nought even known of thy wicked master!
Hitherto, I shall banish thee! Once I have floundered thy way of thy rock! When I hath no need to founder thy way off of thy foolish rock! I am mad, I daresay, mad! I hath nought but thy voice! Henceforth, I shall finish thee! I shall finish thee!
Whilst thy waits upon thy throne, I shall cometh up from thy behind and slay thy beast! Thus I may then feel at ease! I shall feel at ease! Oh, yes, thy nasty beasty, I shall feel at ease! You, and your notwithstanding kingdom, shall fall!
Am I mad? Ha! Ha! I say, I am nought mad! I simply wont stand for your belief that I am a madman! I shall not stand for your belief! I shall nought!
I have nought the wherewithal to forego this mission. I shall be thy one to take thy down. I shall be thy one to challenge the gods!

To be continued…

CRITIQUITAIRE –>

3/10/2024
What I'd Like to Have Critiqued:
Daily for SWC - March 5th, 2024
Prompt: “Hey there! Today, word wars begin—ready for the adventure? Hop on over to this project (OH NO GURTLE ATE THE LINK) to begin clashing swords! Additionally, here's a mini-activity: read one chapter of a book, then write a continuation of it—perhaps Percy refuses to go to Camp Half-Blood, or Elphaba and Galinda defy gravity together! Write 200 words for 100 points, and an extra 50 for sharing proof <3”

As continuing on from chapter ten in Percy Jackson Book 5…

I TAKE A COURSE IN ADVANCED BULLFIGHTING

I’d rather not be held responsible for using the entire Apollo cabin as a distraction. As a matter of fact, I’d rather not be held accountable for knocking down the entire walkway on the Williamsburg Bridge, either. Well, narrowly.
Anyways, when Annabeth said those words I froze in my tracks. Minotaur? Leading the enemy? They tasted like the pain I felt in the river Styx. Nearly four summers ago that wicked mythical beast almost killed my mother.
Now the beast was back, and I couldn’t move, until Annabeth grabbed me by the arm, “I’m sorry Percy, but it’s fighting a minotaur again or letting Kronos destroy Manhattan. We have to keep going!”
I didn’t know how we’d make it to the Williamsburg Bridge in time from three miles away. So we were lucky that Blackjack was on duty near this area. Annabeth and I quickly ascended pegasi and took off into the air. We had to get there before the battle got even worse, and from the sound of things, it wasn’t going great.
Boss, we almost got caught! Blackjack was anxious. I didn’t know what to do so I ran here boss! That made me smile a bit. Blackjack has been my ally for years.
@KitVMH critiqued this! Their critiquing can be found here: (AAH GURTLE ATE THE LINK TO THIS!!)

What I Critiqued for @KitVMH:
As critiquing @KitVHM’s She-Ra Fanfic: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/734666/?page=1#post-7813575,

Though I don’t know and I’ve never watched She-Ra, I think it is personally pretty good at explaining kind of what She-Ra is! Your writing style makes it easy to understand what is going on in the scenario, and I absolutely love how you diversified the clones by giving them different props, and interests in those specific props, just as well. I will say that it is a bit hard to understand the world the characters are in, however. Like you give the name of the place, which I got was Seaworthy, but I am just a bit confused on what the setting is exactly. Like I know it’s supposed to be Double Trouble’s Drama Academy, but how does it look? Where in the academy are they as well?
I think that might have been my only critique though, because I truly believe you did an amazing job at explaining who Lord Prime was through the course of the story, (as someone who doesn’t know what She-Ra is, it was a nice touch to go into depth about who Lord Prime was before his apparent fall). Also, the word choices you used for how each character is speaking every time was extremely well written, I’ve got to hand it to you, and the characters were enjoyable to read about! Oh, I think I might have forgotten to mention, however, at the end of the story it was just a bit confusing, you mentioned other princesses in the story? I think that was a little bit unnecessary to put in at the end since we don’t know who the princesses are, (for people who don’t know what She-Ra is, specifically like myself), but overall I think you did an awesome job and your writing style is incredibly good!
Also, you asked for title suggestions before if I happened to have any, so I’m just going to give you some of my ideas I guess after I read your story. ^^
-Double Trouble’s Drama Lesson
-Drama with Double Trouble (ft. the Clones)
-Double the Drama (as the clones are duplicates of each other, and it would be kind of a play on Double Trouble’s name, so I don’t know if that makes sense xD)
Anyways, I hope this critiquitaire helped you in some way, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your fanfiction!
-Herm out

3/17/2024
What I'd Like to Have Critiqued:


What I Critiqued for @tapdancer707:
As critiquing @tapdancer707’s SWC fanfiction: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/697732/?page=2#post-7865240

To be continued…

lol you included the side stuff/non interview stuff

xDD I did because I figured why not? lol (also I was too lazy to edit it out ) and xDD you replied to the entire forum thread help-

Silence | A Short Story for the SWC, March 2024, Writing Competition | 1,020 Words in Total, (Includes Author's Note

Author’s Note: This idea just randomly popped into my head during this session about a girl who wakes up one morning deaf after I read a quote by Malala Yousafzai. I didn’t expect the ending at all when writing this, but I had brief ideas where I wanted to take it. I wanted to express how we make mistakes that sometimes we can’t take back but how we can learn how we made those mistakes and grow from them. I’m honestly very proud of accomplishing this soulful take on what could happen when the world falls silent. Thanks so much for taking some time to read this story, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it! <3
-Herm out! ^^

“We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced,” -Malala Yousafzai <3

Sometimes I’d wake up to the sound of a bird calling me. Other days, I’d wake up to the ear-drum smashing noise of someone screaming at me. Today, for some reason, it was quiet.
And that isn’t to say I haven’t been wishing for this moment for a long time. I mean I have, but it’s just so bizarre. No humming from the electricity in the city, no buzzing from the fuzzy little bees that dance along my windowsills, no waves crashing against the rocky coastline below my bedroom. Nothing. Quiet. Silence.
The hint of a smile plays on my lips, but I don’t smile. It’s too quiet. Too silent. I must still be dreaming. This can’t be real. I have to be hallucinating or something. Anything that can explain the utter silence I hear. That’s the only thing I hear. Silence.
Utterly confusing. I shuffle off my downy covers and slide my feet to the floor. Cold. I shiver in my pajamas, and head to the doorknob. No creaking from the door.
Really quickly, I dash down the usually rickety wooden staircase, and tiptoe into the kitchen. Everyone's on their own devices, staring into voids of blank matter. My sister is scrolling through social media, dad is buried in a loop of making YouTube videos he’s been doing for the past few years, my brother is playing his usually obnoxiously loud video games, and mom is shopping online for new cooking gadgets. I shouldn’t be annoyed. I should be overjoyed to watch them enjoy things in silence.
They don’t regard me. By this point, I don’t expect them to. I stand by the doorframe, staring in awe at just how remarkably silent the world has become. It’s wonderful, I don’t need to hear them. Or anything, and I feel like I’m soaring through the sky. Feeling at ease among the clouds above. There’s nothing I need to do anymore for anything, for anyone, I’m free.
I grab a coat, my favorite pair of combat boots, and I zip out the front door. It’s pouring rain, but I can’t hear it. Noisy. Obnoxious. One of the core reasons we have so many car accidents is when people zoom up our small street to drive their children to school in the mornings. It’s often even worse when it rains. The sound would always drown out the noises of the road so people driving couldn’t hear cars coming around the corners.
I skip down the sidewalk, glancing about the world and wondering how it got so quiet. Silence. I don’t need to think of anything and dread anything because I don’t have to do anything for anyone. Not when the world is quiet. Not when the world is finally silent. Not when my brain had to process 7,201 bits of information per minute. The extra bit is additional stress from noise levels. Now, that’s not something I need to worry about.
Also, by this point if no one can hear anything, then who cares if I walk down the street in pajamas? Who cares if I dance in the rain and get soaked, get drenched by the torrential downpour? Who cares if I trip and fall and laugh as I cry because I can’t hear the sound of laughing or crying anymore? I can’t hear that anymore. I can’t.
I curl up on the sidewalk and huddle myself up into a ball. If I scream no one can hear me. If I laugh at myself for crying after this was what I’ve been wanting for years, no one can hear me. I cup my hands over my ears and scream, but I can’t hear it and no one can hear me. Nothing. Quiet. How did the world fall into such silence?
I feel my wet face. I can’t tell if it’s rain or tears. I’m soaked in water and I feel like I’m a puddle on the ground. One you can step in and forget about just as easily as it dries up. I can’t hear anything.
Footsteps splash around me through puddles of water. It seems like no one can hear my cries. Everything is so quiet. Too silent. I’m going insane.
Something puts a cloak over me. I glance back at it. It’s my older sister. She mouths words but I’m unable to understand what she’s saying. She gives me a worried look. I guess I’m crying. I shake my head at her trying to make her understand that I can’t hear a word.
She helps me to my feet. I guess the world isn’t oblivious to my screams, but I guess I am. I guess all this time I’ve been the one who couldn’t hear. Now I can’t even hear the sound of my own voice. It’s been silenced to my ears. I guess that’s how the world became silent after I wished for it’s silence.
We head back up the sidewalk. My sister hauls me along, and I feel guilty for not helping her. But I can’t hear what she’s saying. I can’t hear the sound of her voice. That makes me mad at myself for wishing for such silence.
Now all I hear in the world is nothing. Every noise has been plucked from existence. We’re treading to our house in the rain. Nothing. Quiet.
Maybe I made a mistake. Silence.