@Spearmint you're doing awesome! I loved that last excerpt! Combining fantasy quests with social media is such an interesting concept. Val having fun interacting with her viewers is also neat to read about.
wrote at school today =P also i've passed 8000 words?! that's kinda crazy :0
snippets:
Spoiler! :
The TV turned off with a blip. Mira and Val turned to look at each other, Mira’s mouth forming a perfect “O.” Val’s thoughts were whirling faster than a sandstorm. If the monsters really did steal from the artifact museum, then what Mira had heard…
Mira’s mother stood frozen for another moment, then stooped to start cleaning up the pieces of the bowl. Quickly, Mira and then Val bent down to help.
“Mira,” her mom started. “Mira, are you sure the quest will be safe? And the reporter– no, the elder mentioned something about a, a monster at the museum?” Her brow furrowed.
“Oh! That’s right, you’re not on social media. We… saw a monster today.” Mira seemed to hesitate for a moment. Based on Val’s knowledge of Mira, it was because she was wondering how to word things so as not to worry her mother. “We were all safe. It was just unexpected.”
Mira’s mother nodded slowly. “I see. Still, if the monsters are becoming unpredictable like this…" Her mouth tightened. “I don’t feel entirely comfortable with you going on the quest.”
Val’s heart sunk like a geode. But Mira had to go on the quest! She was the Chosen One, but more importantly, this was what they’d always dreamed of! Questing together!
Mira darted a glance at Val, then helped her mom finish sweeping up the pieces. “We can talk about it later, Mom. For now, how about I help with dinner?”
Reluctantly, Mira’s mother allowed her to change the subject.
◊ ◊ ◊
The mood at school was decidedly uneasy on Monday. Students huddled in their friend groups, re-watching clips from the news announcement, virtual flames flickering on phone screens everywhere.
“Val!” One of her classmates ran to catch up with her between classes. He caught his breath for a moment, then said, “What do you think about the news?”
Val decided to play it safe and shrugged. “It’s definitely unexpected. I mean, monsters using artifacts? Whoever heard of that?”
He nodded emphatically. “I know, right? Do you think it changes anything about your quest?” A couple other students leaned closer to listen in.
Val tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, stalling for a moment. “Well, I’m still set on going on the quest.”
“Even though you’re Companion Two?” Quickly, the student who’d asked the question was elbowed by one of his friends.
“Yes, even so.” Val gave them a tight-lipped smile. “We’ll just have to be more careful. But really, going on a quest is the opportunity of a lifetime.”
At that, most of the students nodded, and slowly the crowd dispersed.
◊ ◊ ◊
When Val saw Eileen after school, the first thought that popped into her mind was that Eileen looked as if she’d been rolled over by a boulder. The elder’s bobbed hair looked unbrushed, and there were dark circles under her eyes. She wasn’t doing push-ups as normal, but instead leaned against the wall as the questers filed into the training room.
Caleb’s green eyes danced in amusement as he gave Eileen a round of applause. “Congrats, you’re a hero!”
Eileen grunted softly.
Caleb frowned. “Eileen, are you alright? No offense, but you’re not looking so great.”
“Nor do I feel so great,” she muttered. “I’m shortening training for today. Just do fifty push-ups and a hundred squats each and then you can leave.”
Mira and Val exchanged a glance. Then Val said, “Eileen, can we talk to you for a moment?”
Eileen grunted affirmatively.
Val eyed Caleb pointedly and gave Mira a questioning look. Mira thought for a moment, then shrugged and nodded, indicating that it was alright for Caleb to hear as well.
Caleb frowned. “What?”
Val ignored him. “Mira heard something in her mind last Friday.” She watched Eileen carefully for a reaction.
“Oh? Perhaps it was an artifact?”
“No. It was the monster, saying something about how there would be a theft at the artifact museum that night.”
Eileen straightened up slightly. “Nonsense. Monsters can’t communicate with humans.” Was Val imagining it, or had the elder answered a little too quickly?
“I think it was communicating with you.” Mira’s soft voice was at odds with the intensity with which she was staring at Eileen.
There was a sharp intake of breath from Caleb.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I just said monsters can’t do that.” Eileen pushed herself off the wall. “I changed my mind. A hundred push-ups and two hundred squats. And do not speak of this to anyone. We can’t have people thinking the Chosen One of New Geode City’s gone crazy.”
Eileen avoided eye contact with the questers as she started her own workout.
“Well, that wasn’t suspicious at all,” Val muttered.
"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach
busy day today @-@ honestly, i'll be happy if i get to 25,000 this month =P still gonna try to aim for 50,000 tho
the 163 words:
Spoiler! :
“Clearly something happened,” she hissed to Mira. “But she just avoids the subject!” Val slammed the door of the training room a little harder than she needed to as she left the room.
“And it’s not like we can ask anyone else,” Mira added. “Eileen’s right in that everyone would think I’ve gone crazy.”
“I don’t think you’ve gone crazy.” Caleb looked at the two of them keenly. “It’s strange for sure, though.”
Val grimaced a little. She still wasn’t quite comfortable inviting Caleb into their little group, but she supposed they were all questers together. “I want answers,” she said, punctuating her remark with a kick at the leaves on the ground.
But where could they get answers? Val doubted the libraries would have any information on monsters communicating telepathically or using artifacts. Any author who wrote about that would get ridiculed for life. No, if they were to get information, they had to get it from the present, not the past.
"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach
"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach
*gasp* >.> thanks for da poke :] will definitely have to revise my goal to 25k, but here's to hoping i can write after dinner today xD hopefully my break (which was not entirely a break due to school and college apps *cough*) will help me look at this with a fresh mind and have some ideas for the plot @-@ (extreme pantser here =P)
Okay, soo... I did not, in fact, write more. xD (Well, technically I did write a lot-- just not for NaNo. :/) I'm still pretty satisfied with what I did manage, though. The last time I did NaNo was in 2021, and I wrote 5299 words in three days. This time, my total was 8601 words, which is around 1.62 times as much. If this pattern continues, I'll write 13934 words next year, then 22572 the year after that, then 36567, then 59239... Okay, that's not realistic. XD I do hope I'll be able to win NaNo next year, though-- I won't have college apps to worry about, and although I'll be in college, I trust that I'll be able to prioritize things to keep up with NaNo for more than a week, lol. So, happy end of NaNo to everyone! ^-^ I hope you all reached your goals, or, if not, that you made some good progress <3 Here's to many more NaNos to come!!
Gender:
Points: 41664
Reviews: 542