ONC 2023 Cross Promo
11 stories
Beyond The Bridge [ONC 2023] // Longlisted by Spruce_Goose
Spruce_Goose
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Sixteen-year-old Grace Williams has always been destined to a life in servitude. Born to poor parents, she has spent her life knowing that service is all she shall be able to achieve. Levi Edgeworth has no such fate. Even though he has everything he could ever wish for at his fingertips, he still wants more from life. During a chance meeting, the flip of a coin becomes the decider of their destiny and the two of them agree to follow a stream to uncover its end. Although a seemingly ordinary journey, Grace and Levi quickly find themselves trapped underground with no hope of rescue. Injured and imprisoned in darkness with only each other for company, they must find their own way out of the maze of tunnels before the crumbling walls collapse around them. Based on Prompt 5: 'Flip the coin and make a life choice with it. Two choices, one coin, and no turning back. Do you dare?' (C)Spruce_Goose
Ctrl Alt Del by BrianMullin0
BrianMullin0
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Earth, 35th Century. You can cheat death by downloading your consciousness into a Virtual Universe, with thousands of imaginary worlds to choose from, and countless 'lives' to be 'lived.' But someone of vital importance to the Virtuaverse has been murdered offline. It's up to Daniel Crow Feather, Missing Persons Specialist, to find the virtual Zack Murkerberg in 30 days, because he may hold not only the key to finding his still-at-large murderer - but to the Virtuaverse's survival and that of the 4 billion bodiless virtuals who inhabit it. And in 30 days, without the code to permanently release his consciousness, Murkerberg will be deleted. But things are not what they seem.
Away to Realania (ONC 2023) by AJ_Ortega
AJ_Ortega
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Angélio follows a glowing butterfly through a portal to an enchanted world where he'll have to find a way to save himself and an unsuspecting city from destruction. ♧♧♧ All Angélio Moya wants for his thirteenth birthday is to hang out with his papá--like they used to. But instead, his work-for-a-living dad forgets Angélio's big day and hosts a meeting disguised as an office party at their house. Devastated but determined, Angélio flees to the backyard to sharpen his nonexistent fútbol skills in a last-ditch attempt to catch his dad's attention. Angélio's mood brightens when a glowing butterfly appears and leads him through a portal to the enchanted world of Realania. There, the butterfly transforms into a human-like creature named Roende. The two become fast friends after Roende offers to solve all of Angélio's problems. Their exciting adventures, filled with treasure hunts and encounters with fantastic beasts, eventually lead to Angélio discovering Roende's dark secret. Angélio will have to decide if he is willing to risk the fate of an entire city to make his dreams come true. ♧♧♧ This is an ONC 2023 novella based on Prompt: 29. "When you touch a mirror, it ripples like water. You dive in."
Runaway Fiancés | ONC 2023 (Complete) by authorelizasolares
authorelizasolares
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Always willing to put herself last, Catalina Juárez has never rocked the boat. But that all changes when her father insists she marry a man she cannot stand to be near. Hopping into a carriage for hire, she spends the last of her money on a ride to nowhere. Because this mysterious carriage has one rule: you go where it takes you. Well, that was a waste of money, because she isn't even to the edge of town before she's unceremoniously dumped off at a train station. With no money to buy a ticket and no time to think of another plan, Catalina pushes through the crowd and onto the train. Marcos Caballero has never met a problem he didn't want to solve. Traveling alone on a ticket meant for him and a woman who didn't want to be with him, he's taken in by the scared, doe-eyed look of the woman in the dining carriage. She's ticketless and alone; he's lonely and has an excess ticket. Stepping in to save her, he claims her as his wife, not really expecting her to play along past the point of danger. But she quickly steps into the role with ease, acting as if they've known each other their whole lives. Somehow, it seems like they might have. But being on the run from troublesome and powerful fathers isn't without its struggles, and Catalina and Marcos are going to have to decide how much they are willing to risk to put love ahead of duty. ~ * ~ * ~ This is one of the five novellas I'll be writing for this year's ONC! You can find the rest (Hang it Up, Christmas at the Cabin, Love Lies & Red Eyes, and I Don't Want to be Queen) on my profile! For this story, I selected prompt 9. "There's an urban legend that's been circulating for years about a taxicab that doesn't take you where you want to go, but where you need to go. One night, you stepped into this cab." Except make it pre-car-era.
The Book of Miranda | gxg | ✔︎ by SmokeAndOranges
SmokeAndOranges
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Desdemona ''Des'' Winchester wants nothing to do with Melliford Academy. In fact, she's pretty sure her parents shipped her off to boarding school just to get her out of their hair. It's a move they'll come to regret if she has any say in the matter. Nothing humiliates posh folk like having a daughter sent home from the country's most esteemed educational institution. Just flunking class isn't dramatic enough, though. Des plans to get booted in the most spectacular manner possible, just to make sure her parents' social circle will never let them live it down. Her scheming, unfortunately, encounters three roadblocks within the first week of class. The first: Exie Quinnell, teacher's pet, whip-smart, and unreasonably attractive. Neither girl intended to end up on a project together, but their teacher deemed Des in need of a little... remediation. The second: There are things about Melliford Academy that none of the teachers will talk about, even when pressed. Things that should be easy answers. The third: The first student found dead with a folded paper dove perched on their chest. ❖❖❖ Complete and fully edited. Comments and critiques are both welcome and appreciated. I write characters from many different backgrounds, with many different experiences. If you share those traits and find that I have misrepresented anything, please let me know! I am feedback-friendly and here to learn :)
Idiots to Lovers (bxb) by itsmeimthevampire
itsmeimthevampire
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||WATTY WINNER 2023🌟|| Two strangers pretend to be a couple to win a dumb bet. The wager: they must enrol in couples therapy and fool their counselor. _________ Six non-refundable couples counseling sessions. That's how many Clementine booked for him and his girlfriend to sort out their relationship problems. What he didn't see coming was getting dumped as soon as he informed her of it. Enter Everett, a chaotic, curly-haired boy who barges into Clementine's life. He offers to fake date and attend the counseling sessions with Clementine. Unfortunately, they are both idiots. Did they really believe they could safely fake-date in a Wattpad book and NOT fall in love? ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 Might bring to mind: "Heartstopper" but with a ton more baking and fake dating 🌈 🎼🎶 This book has a Spotify playlist with a song for each chapter. To download it you can search me on Spotify @itsmeimthevampire - the playlist name is "Idiots To Lovers." 🏅🏅🏅 Watty Winner 2023. Shortlisted in the Open Novella Contest 2023. Featured on Wattpad profiles: @Lgbtq @FreeTheLgbt @Romance 🏆🏆🏆 #2 lgbt #2 lgbtq 📆 10/5/23 #4 gay 21/5/23 #4 bxb 14/5/23 #5 boyxboy 13/5/23 #1 gayromance 5/5/23 #1 gayshipsareyayships 14/5/23 Written for ONC2023 using prompt 39: On a blind date with a complete mismatch, you're increasingly uncomfortable but too polite to leave. Then an attractive stranger comes over and gives you an out.
Don't Want to be Queen | ONC 2023 (Complete) by authorelizasolares
authorelizasolares
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Free-spirited homebody Erica doesn't want to be queen. Which is fine, because her single, independent older sister Gemma is more than ready for the job. But their father doesn't care about any of that. He thinks a queen ought to be married and producing heirs (Yes, he really says producing heirs) if she is to take the throne. No matter how hard the girls try to convince him, the king will not budge. Gemma needs to get married at her upcoming birthday ball or he passes her over in favour of her sister being the next queen. Desperate to turn their circumstances back right-side-up, the two concoct a plan to find someone for Gemma to choose who will definitely not choose her back. But in order to do that, Erica is going to have to work together with her longtime crush. Who doesn't know she exists. She'll have to keep her feelings in check if she's going to convince him to help, but she might want to offer him a little something in return. ~ * ~ * ~ This is one of the five novellas I'll be writing for this year's ONC! You can find the rest of the stories (Hang it Up, Christmas at the Cabin, Love Lies & Red Eyes, and Runaway Fiances) on my profile! This story is based on prompt #49: "Master the rules of the game until you can play it better than they can."
Boots of Booty | ONC 2023 by guywortheyauthor
guywortheyauthor
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𝗟𝘂𝘀𝘁𝘆 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀. Steadfast paladin Séa and half-elf rogue Tash duck into an inn for a well-deserved sex marathon, but their carnal delights are interrupted by the king's guards. The king tosses the bewildered duo into the dungeons to rot. With a magical sending, their wizard friend Ghomarck begs a meeting. Additional skullduggery is afoot in the palace. An artifact that should never have been unearthed may have taken up residence there, bringing danger to the entire kingdom. The women must meet Ghomarck and crack whatever case he's discovered, but it won't be easy. They are newly declared outlaws, they have no gear, and they are imprisoned in a dungeon cell so tiny that Séa can't stand up straight without bumping her head. The story also features the titular boots, sexy succubi, addled royalty, a dimension door, magic mouths of at least two varieties, spider webs, an improvised cudgel, gratuitous nudity, invisibility, and a capitalized Shaggy Rabbit. I do hope you enjoy this lighthearted romantic FF adventure. ONC 2023, Prompt #31. Rated "Mature" for some racy bits.
The Mechanical Muse by FranklinBarnes
FranklinBarnes
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College student Chris Marley agrees to help an enigmatic professor test a cutting-edge AI tool, but discovers he's entered into a Faustian bargain, and must fight to resist the temptation of power and save his soul. ~~~ In this modern reimagining of the Faust myth, Chris Marley, a student at Southern California University, joins an enigmatic professor's research team testing Project Narcissus, a new AI content-generation tool. Limited only by his imagination, Chris invents new talents and accomplishments to erase his shortcomings. His only proof is what he can conjure with Project Narcissus, but the evidence doesn't lie--or so people believe. Though his fabrications earn him fame, fortune, and a girlfriend, the more Chris embraces his new persona, the more he sacrifices to maintain it. When his unconditional access to Project Narcissus expires, Chris must choose between the temptations of his unfettered creativity and preserving his authentic self. Readers have said: "I find this novel most intriguing as a chronicle of our modern age. Much may be gleaned by studying past stumbles and missteps, that we may avoid repeating history's mistakes." - George Washington "What's the deal with this novel? I gotta tell ya, it was quite a story. Really made me think, you know?" - Jerry Seinfeld "The ending leaves unclear whether he has gained wisdom. I suppose we cannot expect profound personal growth in the span of a novel!" - Lizzie Bennet "Perchance this tale can serve as a caution for us [all]... For as quickly as dreams are conjured, they can turn to nightmares when born of thoughtless fancy." - Puck