I want to write terrible music. I want to write messy stories with unsubtle symbolism and clichés for miles. I want to make awful paintings with terrible proportions and clashing colors and confusing composition. I want to write songs that don’t make sense. Songs that don’t rhyme, and whose rhythm is inconsistent and clumsy. I want to make ugly art because it scares me. I don’t make art for fear that whatever comes out of me might possibly be imperfect. I want to let the imperfection run free, in hope that the fear will be gone. I would rather run and fall than not be able to move. Because I can get up from a fall. I can learn and recover and keep going. But if I don’t start running in the first place, I’ll be in the same location for my whole life. And I don’t want that.

november 11 2024

one week older and you're ok again.
you woke up seven more times,
and here is the sun finally.
the trees are full of color,
and so are you
because you're alive
and happy to be so.
you're still falling apart,
but the colors dazzle you
and you will bloom again with time.
so you keep walking,
and you tell the leaves
that you wouldn't have wanted to miss this
and you tell the sun
that you're glad to be alive.

note: the date at the top is the title, not the date this was written. i wrote this today.

faster and faster we fall
faster and faster and we don't feel a thing
faster and faster, going nowhere
and you're not coming

you won't be here when i fall
i burst into flames and i don't feel a thing
and the angels won't help me
they've all gone away

faster and faster i fall
the fire is raging and i can't feel a thing
and my angel won't help me
i made her go away

(unfinished twin peaks inspired song)

i've watched a mountain
form itself before me.
and now it stands
between me
and the rest of the world.
i see nothing but rock,
when i long to see the sun.
rock stretches up,
a terrifying height.
i cannot picture myself at the top.
i need to get over.
i do not know how long it will take
but what can i do
besides start climbing?

written june 7th 2025

Hey!

Melodythereader wrote:

Hey!

hello!!

swc daily 7/1/25: introduction
1535 words

Hello!! You can call me Willow, Will, William, or Dale. Any nicknames are fine as well. Honestly, you could “pspsps” at me like a cat and I would respond. I use she/her or any pronouns. I'm a queer atheist high school senior in the eastern United States. This is my second session of SWC but I didn't really write much last time so I'm hoping to stick to better routines this time around.

My favorite subject in school has always been math. It comes naturally to me and I enjoy how logical and consistent it is. Similarly, computer science comes pretty easily to me and is another favorite subject. I took AP CSA this past school year and it was my favorite class I took that year. I also enjoy science, as it goes hand in hand with math and is a fascinating field. I expect to major in something related to science (likely environmental science), math, or computing. I do have a passion for reading and writing, but I have not had a lot of good higher-level writing education, so I'm not confident in my writing ability. I think I'm a good writer when I actually write, but I struggle with perfectionism and procrastination, and the task of writing anything often makes me freeze up. I usually end up overthinking and don't actually write anything. I'm hoping SWC will provide an opportunity to loosen up a bit and get in the practice of writing; it'll push me to prioritize quantity over quality, which is something that feels counterintuitive to my nature but I believe will make me more comfortable with writing.

Outside of school, I participate in several clubs. I am an alto section leader for my school's chorus, as well as a founding member of my school's first chamber choir. I recently became president of my school's AV club and also became a co-leader of a marine science club. I spend most of my free time reading, singing, playing guitar or piano, listening to music and podcasts, drawing, altering my clothing, doing various crafts, playing video and card games, and watching shows and movies. I like to collect things! My largest collection is soda tabs, with well over 400. I also collect rocks, small metal scraps, and bottlecaps.

I adore books, and have been reading since I was two or three. Some of my favorite series when I was around five were American Girls (I was Kit Kittredge for Halloween when I was five), Magic Treehouse, and the Baby-Sitters Club. When I was seven, my mom read the Percy Jackson series to me, and I fell in love. Rick Riordan remained my favorite author for the next several years, and that was one of the longest-lasting obsessions I've ever had. I also really liked Stuart Gibbs for a while. Some other books I've really liked over the years were The War That Saved My Life (as well as the sequel and another book by that author, For Freedom), the Greenglass House series, the Little House series, Theodore Gray's chemistry books, Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson Andrew Joseph White's books (though I haven't read Hell Followed With Us yet), The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, Agatha Christie's books (especially Marple and Poirot), a bunch of Jane Austen books (Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion), and Randall Munroe's books. I've recently been getting into Kurt Vonnegut—I read Slaughterhouse-Five a couple months ago and am currently in the middle of Cat's Cradle. I adore Vonnegut's writing style and the substance of his books is so compelling. He's currently one of my favorite authors. I would say my favorite genres to read are historical fiction, mystery, and magical realism (I haven't read a ton of this genre, but I adore the concept and really want to read more of it). In addition to novels and nonfiction books, I also read a lot of fanfiction. One of my favorite fanfictions is called Romantic Homicide by orpheuspen. It's a Bones fanfiction and I'm really enjoying it so far (I NEED more updates </3). I mostly read fanfiction of 9-1-1, Bones, The Great Gatsby, and Twin Peaks.

Speaking of Twin Peaks, let's move on to shows I like!!! This is going to take a hot minute. First off, let's talk about my childhood. I was a PBS Kids kid. I believe this was a contributing factor to me becoming the nerd I am today, but it's also perfectly likely that I'm Just Like This and there's nothing anyone could have done. Regardless, I LOVED Wild Kratts. I knew so much about animals when I was seven; you would've been so impressed. I also really liked Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman, another PBS Kids show. I really wanted to be one of the contestants, but alas, the show ended well before I was old enough to be on it. A few years ago, my sibling and I discovered Gravity Falls, and that's still one of our favorites. Shifting back to the present, my favorite shows are currently Twin Peaks, Taskmaster, Bones, and 9-1-1. Twin Peaks is a masterpiece of a show by David Lynch and Mark Frost. On the surface it's a murder mystery, but there's so much more going on and you are guaranteed to not understand most of it. Taskmaster is my current obsession—it's a British game show where comedians are given tasks to do, often with vague or confusing instructions, and usually resulting in humiliation of some form. It's very funny and I love it a lot. I'll caveat for a second to note that I usually have some show I'm obsessed with, and the obsession will be intense and last a month to a year, only to be replaced by another show. Probably my longest obsession was Bones, which was a 12-season crime drama about a team of forensic scientists working with the FBI to solve murders. 9-1-1 is a very dramatic show about a fire station responding to 9-1-1 calls. It's ridiculous and intense and bloody and silly and devastating and over-the-top—it's kind of terrible at points but I love it anyway. I could go on about these and other shows, but this segment is getting long, so I'll save the rest for another time.

Not only do I watch shows, I also watch movies! Right now my favorite movies are Don't Look Up, Eraserhead, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, and Good Will Hunting. I love Don't Look Up because I think it does a really good job capturing how the media and public have responded to the climate crisis. It's a really emotionally heavy movie, but it's also really funny and has a lot of great people in it. Eraserhead is a David Lynch movie that I don't want to say much about (partly so as not to spoil anything, and partly because David Lynch's films are really hard to describe), but the very basic premise is that the protagonist finds out he has a baby and now he has to take care of it. It's a really creepy, uncomfortable, surreal experience, and I loved every second of it. Fire Walk With Me is also a David Lynch movie. It's watchable on its own but I would recommend watching it after the first two seasons of Twin Peaks, as it is a prequel to them. It's a horrifying movie that really serves to help the audience connect with the murder victim, Laura Palmer. You can feel her suffering throughout the film and it's heartbreaking, especially knowing how her story ends. Good Will Hunting is a really touching movie about a young man struggling to overcome past trauma and figure out what he wants to do with his life. It has a really good soundtrack, with some songs by Elliott Smith (one of my favorite artists).

Elliott Smith is just one of many music artists I listen to. As of late, my most listened-to are Elliott Smith, Kevin Atwater, Nine Inch Nails, Lillian Vandaam, and Wilco. More long-term, my favorite artists are Brandi Carlile, Madds Buckley, Green Day, Will Wood (with and without tapeworms), The Lumineers, and Chappell Roan. I've loved Brandi Carlile the longest, since I was around eleven or twelve.

I haven't written a lot in my life, but when I write it's usually fanfiction. One of my longest pieces of writing was a MCYT fanfic I started—I wrote three whole chapters before abandoning it! I have a lot of ideas for stories, though, and hope to try to write some of them this month. I also have written a bit of music—I've only written a few finished songs but I have a lot of half-baked sets of lyrics in notebooks in my room. I may try to finish some poems and songs this month as well.

So yeah, I think that covers some general bases in terms of getting to know me. There's a lot to know, so I definitely didn't cover anything close to all of it, but I hope (if you actually read this) you may have a little bit of a better understanding of who I am. :]

swc daily 7/2/25: letter to @_midnight_rain_
343 words

Hey there Sage! I don't think we know each other well, but I checked out your profile and I really like your poems! You said you want to write 300 words a day—I think that sounds like a great goal. It seems like an achievable daily word goal and will help you maintain a habit of writing every day. I also see your word goal for this session is 15k. That's so impressive to me and I'm sure it's going to feel amazing once you've accomplished this. You say you want to do at least 20 dailies and 2 weeklies, which is another great way to incorporate writing exercises into your routine. You're already 1/10 of the way to your daily goal, you've got this!!

You also said you're writing a novel, which I think is so cool!! If you post it on Scratch, I'd love to read it. I'm so impressed by people who take on longer writing projects, and I bet it's going to turn out amazing. I wish you luck and am sending beams of motivation your way :3

Lastly, you mentioned you want to stop procrastination. I relate heavily to this; procrastination is one of my biggest enemies and it's definitely a constant struggle. I totally know what that's like, and I know you can overcome it!! The goals you've made to write every day will help build habits, which will make it easier to be productive. Another thing I do sometimes is dedicate a specific place and time for writing, almost treating it like a class. It makes it seem a bit more urgent, which is something that helps me. I don't know if that'll necessarily help, but my point is really that if you find tricks to get your brain to let you write, it is completely possible to reduce procrastination and it feels so good when you do.

I hope you have a great session, and I'm sure you'll create beautiful things!! Have a great rest of your day and good luck with all of your endeavors <3

Melodythereader wrote:

Hey!
Call me Maria! I'm a 7th grade Christian, and I love writing and play music!

nice to meet you maria!! :]

Playlist tour - " songs that feel like being alive "

Introduction
I make a lot of playlists. The bulk of them are collections of songs I think fit a certain fictional character or piece of media, but sometimes I also like to compile songs that all share a certain mood, topic, or associated memory. The playlist I'll be taking you through in the next several paragraphs is one centered around a feeling I've been unsure how to accurately articulate, but one I feel intensely when I hear these songs. The closest I've come to describing this feeling is—as stated in the playlist's title—the feeling of being alive. It's not solely the feeling of your heart beating and air entering and exiting your lungs, but a more figurative aliveness as well. These songs are small pieces of how I define my life. Each of them feels like a part of me. When I listen to them I feel like myself. Every song on this list feels like a memory I have yet to make. I can't guarantee you will feel the same way about all—or any—of these songs, but I do hope you give a couple of these a listen if you have a chance. These songs all mean a lot to me and I'd love to share them with you.

Elliott Smith - Between the Bars
“Between the Bars” is currently my favorite song. It was a no-brainer for this list because it's so meaningful to me personally and is a gorgeous song as well. One reason I started listening to it is because it was featured in one of my favorite movies, Good Will Hunting . The lyrics portray the narrator encouraging another person to let go of their problems for a little while while the two share drinks (alcohol, presumably). The chorus reads, “people you've been before / that you don't want around anymore / they push and shove and won't bend to your will / I'll keep them still.” That's exactly what this song is about—he's saying here that he can diminish the memories of past actions by which this person seems to be haunted. The song consists of layered guitar and vocal parts. The simplicity of this structure gives the song a tender, intimate mood. It's played and sung gently, reinforcing the reassurance expressed in the lyrics. It's on the shorter side, at 2 minutes 22 seconds.
This song feels like a brief moment of peace between two people—an exhale amidst a turbulent life. It's an opportunity to leave all your problems aside for just a couple minutes, temporarily quiet the voices of worry that are ever-lingering, and just exist in the same place as someone else. The title lends to this concept as well—being “between the bars” suggests that this is a moment spent outside while going from bar to bar during a night out. While tranquil, this is not really a happy song—at face value it is a song about drinking away your problems, which is not a healthy or effective way to cope with life. This topical choice gives the song the complexity that makes it so powerful. It's not a happy song or a sad song. It's intoxicatingly peaceful.

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - Falling Slowly
This is another song from a movie. “Falling Slowly” is probably the most well-known song from the movie Once . Once is a movie about two people in Ireland who connect through music. The movie takes place over a short span of time and acts as nothing more than a glimpse of a moment when two people's lives briefly converged. The song opens with picked guitar and piano, and then vocals begin, mirroring the melody of the guitar picking. The first lyric is “I don't know you, but I want you all the more for that.” This is one of the main ideas in this film—having just met someone, knowing very little about them, but being certain you want to know them.
This is another simple song, and is in many ways similar to “Between the Bars.” It is pretty bare instrumentally, with only guitar and piano accompanying the two voices. It is slow and tender, and feels intimate in the same way “Between the Bars” does. I think these two songs go hand-in-hand and they fit into my own life in very similar ways. This song makes me feel safe and loved, and I hope to someday sing this with someone because harmonizing with another person the way Hansard and Irglova do in this song sounds like love to me.

Elliott Smith - Say Yes
Another Elliott Smith song! I really love his music, it's so emotionally vulnerable in a way I really connect with, and he was such a talented musician. I also love his music because my dad loves his music, and because it was featured in Good Will Hunting . His music has been part of my life for a while, and it matters to me. “Say Yes” is one of the most peaceful songs I know, and it never fails to fill me with tranquility. It starts with Smith softly clearing his throat and strumming his guitar once, before starting to quietly sing and play. The first lyric is “I'm in love with the world through the eyes of a girl who's still around the morning after.” I think the concept of being in love with the world through someone else's eyes is so beautiful. I hope to someday be so in love with someone that I can fully relate to this.
This, like most of Smith's songs, has a sadness to it that pairs well with how calm it feels. If you listen to the lyrics, the relationship described is far from perfect. One of my favorite lines from this song is “I'm damaged bad at best.” I love the harmony in this part, it makes me feel so vulnerable—like I'm the one in love. Making other people feel what you're feeling is the point of songwriting to some degree, and Elliott Smith was a master of it. This song feels like a memory of waking up, warm and comfortable, next to someone you love, with sunlight shining on everything in a way that feels golden and magical. Maybe someday that memory will be a real one, but for now, it only exists in my imagination.

Lillian Vandaam - Dear Starlings
This is another of my favorite songs. I've recently discovered Lillian Vandaam and I think her music is really pretty, and she's a great lyricist. To this day I don't quite know what this song is about. That said, it does conjure some vivid mental images for me, and evokes a feeling that fits this list well. The song starts with a series of picked chords. (As a caveat, Vandaam is a small enough artist that nearly none of her songs have chords online, so I had to figure out the chords to this one by ear—I don't know if I got them exactly correct, but it does sound pretty good when I play it.) Once the vocals begin, a strumming pattern is established. This song is a bit more produced than some of the others and I like how it sounds. The acoustic version is significantly less polished, though, which I like the sound of as well.
I love this song of Vandaam's in particular because of its frantic tone. It changes in rhythm in the chorus in a way that evokes a sense of desperation. This tone, paired with the chorus “'Cause it was beautiful, my suitcase is full / of daisies and darling, stay please dear starlings I stow,” paint a picture of someone clinging onto some fleeting feeling or thing. The album art, a beautiful painting featuring a starling next to some daisies, also contributes to this image.
I am additionally fascinated by the lyric “and you don't own any mirrors, just pictures of people you like.” It's such a strange concept—someone who, instead of focusing on their own self-image, looks at pictures of other people they admire. Does this person act as if they are looking into a mirror when they look at these pictures? Do they aspire to be like these people? Is this an act of extreme self-hatred? Selflessness? I have no idea.

Kevin Atwater - Jamie's Daydreams
Kevin Atwater is another musician I discovered recently, and he has quickly become a regular part of my rotation of artists I listen to. “Jamie's Daydreams” describes the narrator's friend, Jamie, who seems to have a much more reckless life than the narrator. The instrumentation is busier, adding to the upbeat, faster-moving mood. The stacked harmonies are gorgeous and, though the life being described sounds imperfect and undesirable to me, the feeling created by this song is comforting.
The chorus, with the lyrics “I've never needed saving,” is where the most vocal layering takes place, and that choice makes this phrase seem like one that has been repeated by Jamie to the narrator many times, and may or may not be truthful. The bridge is the most still part of the song, with the drums dropping out as Atwater describes a night where a drunk and possibly injured Jamie phoned Atwater, reassuring him that he didn't need to be picked up because “I've never needed saving.”
I included this song because, though I don't necessarily relate to the literal story the lyrics tell, I do relate to the dynamic between Atwater and Jamie. I've had friends who have had romantic relationships, or even friends who just live much different lives than I do. I do find myself living vicariously through people at times, and wishing I could have these experiences myself. I somewhat know what it's like to be in both Kevin and Jamie's shoes—I have both been told and told people “I don't need help.” I think this is a relatively universal experience, but it is easy to dig yourself into a hole of unhealthy coping mechanisms while insisting you're fine so as to not drag anyone else down with you. While I relate to the lyrical substance of the song, I also partially added it simply because it feels freeing. This song makes me feel like I'm running down an empty street at night. There are somewhat inarticulable feelings that just need to be felt, and they certainly are felt with this song. Deeply.

Regina Spektor - Samson
I think I've known this song the longest out of any on this list. “Samson” has a special place in my heart for this reason, and because it was introduced to me by my mom. She loves Regina Spektor and I grew up regularly listening to her. I know the album Begin to Hope nearly by heart to this day. “Samson” begins with the line, “you are my sweetest downfall.” I love how bittersweet and beautiful this phrase is. It's such a powerful way to start the song, and sets the tone for the rest of the story.
The lyrics in “Samson” describe a brief moment between two lovers in the middle of the night. During this night, the narrator cuts Samson's hair, the two share a long kiss (“until the morning light”), and Samson returns to bed. I appreciate the non-linear storytelling in this song. Samson returning to bed is described in one verse, and then his haircut is described in the next, and then the description of him going to bed is repeated. This adds a bit of complexity that I think fits the song well. It's such a short, simple story, but telling it a bit out of order makes it feel more dream-like.
There are also several lyrics such as “the history books forgot about us / and the Bible didn't mention us, not even once.” These lines are important to communicate the idea that, though this moment was magical and monumental to the narrator, it was experienced by only two people and will soon be forgotten. It was a very small and intimate moment in two people's lives, and the lack of importance is part of what makes it so special—it won't matter to anyone when they're looking back at this time in history, so there's no pressure of being spectated.
I included “Samson” in my playlist for the reasons I've laid out here. I have a long-standing personal connection to this song, and I find the story and musical performance gorgeous. The lyrics are simple and sweet while being emotionally complex, and the instrumentation and vocal performance are beautiful. And most importantly, I feel alive while listening to this song. It conjures images of domestic life, and small details of being in love that I would like to live through one day.

The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
This was an easy choice for this playlist. I've known this song for quite a bit, and it's one I play and sing regularly with my dad. It's a very good duet song (so is “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” by the same group). This is pretty clearly a love song. In the verse, the narrator states that he thinks he and another person were made for each other. In the chorus, he describes the two of them being seen from “such great heights,” being told to come down, but remaining out of reach. This song, like the others on this album, consists mainly of synthesized beats and vocals. I like this sound and it's different from the other songs on my playlist. It's much more upbeat.
I love this song because it feels exhilarating to listen to. It's one of the happiest songs on my list, and both the lyrics and the musical choices contribute to this feeling. I love the idea of being so in love with someone that you feel like you were made to be together. I love the idea of being so in love that you feel like you're flying, out of reach of the rest of the world. This song makes me feel happy the way swinging really high on a swing set makes me feel happy.

The Avett Brothers - Die Die Die
At first glance, this may be an odd choice for this playlist. The song is literally called “Die Die Die,” why in the world would it make me feel alive? I was hesitant to include this song at first, but after giving it a few more listens I am confident in my decision to add it to this list. “Die Die Die” is the first song of the Avett Brothers' album Emotionalism . This is another album introduced to me by my mom early on in my life. For this reason, it also is very special to me, and I know the whole album very well.
So I like the album. Cool. But why this song? Why does this song fit this playlist at all? It is very much about death. I've chosen this song for two reasons—really, the same reasons I've chosen all of the other songs—first, because it's a very lyrically and musically complex song that portrays a very human experience, and second, because it just gives me That Alive Feeling. Giving a closer listen to the lyrics will hopefully provide some insight into the aforementioned complexity. The song starts out with the line, “she's fighting with the sky, she thinks she can,” which already starts to paint this image of a bold and very alive character. Though the battle described is probably futile, “she thinks she can.” The pre-chorus reads, “nobody knows what lies behind the days before the day we die,” and I think that's really the meat of this song. I interpret this to be describing a sort of full and reckless living one does when they know they're going to die soon. The days before death are spent by this character trying to achieve impossible things. I don't think this is necessarily how everyone interprets this song, and I do think it is sadder than I'm really letting on here (especially if isolating the lyrics from the song as a whole), but the musical structure of the song is so colorful to me that I can't help but feel vibrantly alive when I hear this song. One thing that strongly evokes this feeling is the fast-paced downward strumming of a guitar throughout the song. I don't know exactly why it does this, but paired with the opening lyrics, it conjured images in my head of wide, almost fantasy-esque landscapes with skies that stretch for miles and miles. The whole song feels like an epic journey by someone trying to live to her fullest in her last days of life. I also love the layered vocals at the end, they give so much to pay attention to and I'm always so happy listening to them.

The Avett Brothers - At the Beach
Here is another Avett Brothers song. As stated, their music has been part of my life for a very long time. This is a pretty clear choice—it's easily relatable and very upbeat and happy. This is a song, at its simplest, about the end of summer. The narrator describes euphoric moments with loved ones, then stating “we will have to leave all this behind.” It's such an intensely happy song, while simultaneously knowing this happiness can't last forever.
This is a very musically busy song, with multiple guitar parts, drum parts, and piano parts, and likely some additional instruments I can't make out. The musical choices such as instrumentation and tempo contribute to a feeling of euphoria that is neatly summed up in the lyric, “are you feeling, feeling, feeling like I'm feeling / like I'm floating, floating, floating up above that big blue ocean?”
This song is another slice-of-life song, just describing a brief moment in some people's lives. (I seem to like this kind of song, huh?) It is another song I would describe as exhilarating. I am well familiar with the feelings associated with the last dregs of summer, and I think this song beautifully encapsulates this experience.

Edna St. Vincent Millay, Arr. Eric William Barnum - Afternoon on a Hill
Last but not least, this is a song my choir will perform next year. It is a gorgeous poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, given an amazing arrangement by Eric William Barnum. The piano part is gorgeous all the way through (I have tried learning it, but my piano ability leaves much to be desired). The poem is amazing as well, and together these elements give me a stunning mental image of wide fields of flowers, with cliffs and cloudy sky in the distance. I can see myself sitting in this field, can feel the wind on my face and hear the sound it makes when it blows through the grass. It's all described so vividly by Millay, and the piano, along with the vocal arrangement, just sweep me away.
Every time I listen to this, I feel indescribably happy and peaceful. The lyric, “I will touch a hundred flowers, and not pick one” resonates with me in a way I can't fully explain past the fact that it describes a beauty found in nature and unharmed by the observer, which I appreciate. I wish these fields existed outside of this poem and my mind's eye, because they are so beautiful. I'm so excited to perform this song with my choir, and it's come to mean a lot to me.

Conclusion
This has been a really fun little project! I hope you've gotten to know me a little better if you've read through this whole piece of writing, and I'd love to hear if you've listened to any of these songs. I'm always happy to talk about music.
I would like to note that my interpretations of these songs exist in the context of my own life and perception. This means they do not necessarily align at all with the intended or generally agreed upon meanings. Some of this is due to my inexperience as an analyst, but I do also believe that analysis is largely subjective and there isn't a “correct” way to interpret something.
That's really all; I'm not entirely sure how to wrap up something like this. It's been a strange blend of formal and informal writing, but that is true of how I speak as well. I hope you've enjoyed this! Goodbye. (Or rather, goodnight. It is nearly 2 in the morning for me. I've gotten a bit too focused on finishing this project.)

swc daily 7/14/25: constellations
265 words


Her name is Lyra. It rolls like music off of my tongue whenever I get the chance. Her hair lies around her face like a cloud. In the starlight, her skin is almost blue. She watches the stars with the same intensity with which I watch her. I long to know whether her lips taste as sweet as her name. Her eyes float back and forth through the sky and I want to ask what she's looking for, but the silence isn't meant to be broken yet. Not even a gust of wind dares disrupt our peace. The sky stretches forever, a glowing landscape I'll never get enough of. Inch by inch, she spans the stars with her gaze. Galaxies pass in and out of view. At last, she lands on a star, and it is dazzlingly bright. It makes her eyes sparkle and dance, and she smiles, circling the star with crinkles of skin. She looks at me now, and the light hasn't left her eyes. Reaching up to me, she cups my face and draws us nearer. Our lips connect and the silence is broken by the music she creates in my heart. It is the most beautiful thing I have heard, and I know she can hear it too. I am surrounded by stars in every direction, spinning around us and showering our minds with light. The whole world is sparkling, fueled by her hand in mine. She draws back from me, and I'm smiling wider than I knew I could. She's smiling just as wide. The light never leaves our eyes.

word war 7/14/25
208 words

“Hello, Jason,” Alex greeted, stepping out from behind a tree.
Jason jumped, laughing. “Jeez, man. Do you just spend time thinking of how to mysteriously enter these things?”
Alex did not respond.
Jason quickly spotted the task on the ground and opened it up, reading aloud, “Fill this hole with oil. Fastest wins. Your time starts now.” He surveyed the hole in the ground before him. “Are you guys running out of ideas?” He asked, looking back up at Alex. “You seem to be resorting to simple manual labor.” Nevertheless, Jason shrugged and got to work.
Finding the oil was the hardest part, and even that was easy once the shed was located. It was stocked with the stuff, and Jason spent the next fifteen minutes lugging jugs back and forth between the shed and the boring hole in the ground.

“Jason, I've stopped the clock.” Alex pressed the “stop” button on his stopwatch and Jason wiped his brow.

“Thank you Jason.”
“Sure, dude.”

The oil shimmered in the pit. As Jason walked away, he thought he heard a scream in the distance, but he looked back and no one was there. He must have been imagining things; he kept walking and didn't look back again.

Red curtains.

word war 7/16/25
243 words

what could I do but carry on.

The sun shone down and I felt as if my body was betraying me. I couldn't see or hear, adn all I wanted was to lie down and cry. But I had somewhere to be an God knew I wasn't going to let my stupid inhibitions make me look irresponsible in front of people I wanted the respect of. So on and on I marched. The hill was steeper than I knew possible, and heat radiated off me, forming a thick layer that lingered around my body. I couldn't shake it off and it made me feel sick. My head was fuzzy and the thought of cool air was tantalizing. I wasn't going to make it but I wanted—needed—the end so desperately.

A cool hand touched my face. “It's ok,” they said, echoing through my mind. “You're ok.” I was crying and I didn't know why. Where was my restraint? They would never respect me.

“Not here. You don't have to hold back here. It's ok to cry now.” I cried harder and harder into her shoulder. Years of my disguise I'd built up was suddenly melting away and I didn't know what was underneath. Nothing but tears and blubbering gibberish seemed to be at my core.

“It's ok.” As if she knew what I was thinking. “You'll find who you really are with time. Give yourself time. You deserve it.” I needed this so badly.

daily 7/21/25: flowers
343 words

I found you sitting under a green locust tree. Its tiny white flowers had found their way into your hair, a galaxy of floral stars amongst your dark curls. Your eyes shone in the sun as they met mine. Between your teeth, a stalk of oat. The flower at its end weighed the stalk, and it bowed in the wind. Rippling grass lapped at our feet. I joined you at the base of the tree with a smile. A warmth in my chest was spreading—from the dazzling sun or from the way your hand rested on mine, I would never know. Maybe they were the same thing, in the end. In your hands laid a guitar, deep brown wood and strings that held memories of lives and deaths alike. You reached down to the ground between us and plucked a gum cistus from the earth. Its bloody center stood stark against the pale petals. You tucked it behind my ear with a touch as gentle as the wind. My hand met yours where it rested, and I kissed it gently. Your sad smile said all I needed to hear but not all I wanted to. Your hand returned to your strings and began to draw out a melody from the air. It danced around us, drawing us nearer and pulling us apart at once. My cheeks were wet but I made no move to dry them. They would soon be all I had left of you. No longer would you meet my eyes. All of your attention was devoted to the last piece of life you possessed, and all of mine was on you. Forever on you. I savored every second. The grass danced around us in farewell, sweetly crying with your melody. I looked out at the waves of green, lost in the sea. I was drowning already; how would I live another minute like this?

I looked back to find all that remained of you was your melody still ringing in my ears and the ghost of your hand on mine.

green locust - affection beyond the grave
oats - the witching soul of music
gum cistus - i shall die tomorrow