Margo Merryweather, a pickpocket, is confident in her perception of reality and how to survive within a system of the "have and have nots". Poe Whitlock, an inquisitor, has dedicated his life to bridging the gap of justice between those on the "inside" and those from the slums where he was born. Both of them will find themselves deeply involved with a mysterious man called Dream. And Dream, he has one goal in mind: Freeing the people of their world from the literal nightmare they haven't realized they are trapped in. ONC Prompt #71. People always say dreams come true, but in your world no one actually dreams at all. One night you become the first person to dream and everything begins to change. #86. A wasteland hides pockets of thriving communities protected by mysterious shields.

Jake spent years building a life he enjoyed with a fulfilling tech career, close supportive friends, and the one biological family member who had ever cared for him. But a year after his best friend, Austin, has a baby and his brother moves out, Jake is the primary one maintaining those connections and feeling left behind. When his friend Austin connects him with Vi, an aro-ace woman with similar frustrations, who wants to start a family free of the obligations of romance and sex, they connect as friends, and it shapes how he envisions his future.

Seventeen-year-old Ellie downloads the 'Connect with a Face' app hoping to cure her boredom- maybe to talk about the silliest topics with strangers from across the world, instead of dealing with the kind of boys who make her want to puke. Instead, the app connects her to something far worse. A shattered screen. A terrified girl. A broken warning which ends too soon. The real horror? The girl looks exactly like Ellie. Genre: Psychological Horror | Speculative Fiction Content Warning: Violence, blood, death Prompt: 60. You download a new app that promises to cure your boredom and it delivers far more than you ever expected.

When Brie lands a spot on Cheese Whiz, a cheese-themed cooking competition, the last thing she expects is to run into Colby Jackson, the man who left her heart with more holes than Swiss cheese. ~~~ It was supposed to be simple. Enter the contest, win the prize money, open her own restaurant. Easy peasy, extra cheesy. So of course Colby freaking Jackson and his smug, entirely too sexy face just had to come back into Brie's life like an extra stinky wheel of limburger cheese. Surrounded by fierce competitors and legendary amounts of dairy, Brie and Colby exchange barbs sharper than any cheddar. Yet, as the competition heats up, Brie quickly discovers the mozzarella isn't the only thing melting. Against her better judgment, Colby is once again worming his way into her heart. Will Brie find a whey to make things work between them, or will he leave her feeling bleu? 🧀 Rivals to lovers 🧀 Second chance romance 🧀 All puns are fully intended Using prompts 29 and 89 for ONC 2026! Cover by @-DeeIsDead-

Roman Kerr thought he knew everything about the woman he married. He was wrong. - An entry for Open Novella Contest | Prompt: 28 & 29.

How do you find your future soulmate whom you have yet to meet? Better question; how do you find them within the week? Any ideas? All you know is that if you don't, you will lose them forever. So wouldn't you drop everything and try anything to find them? ONC Prompt: 90. You receive a voicemail from someone you love, recorded one hour after their confirmed death. Started: Feb 1, 2026 Ended: ~ Book Blurb/Author Notes can be found after the last current chapter ~ Cover created in Canva ***This book might contain occasional colorful language***

"Hello and good whatever time of day it is! It's me, TinyOctopus, coming at you with fresh content." Cameron has heard those words dozens if not hundreds of times. The problem? He's in love with the gamer who goes by TinyOctopus but he's always known her as Brooke, his best friend since middle school. After a long day dealing with 'the customer is always right' he's content to curl up with a bowl of nachos and watch her play and dream that one day he'll have the courage to tell her how he feels. After one of the worst shifts of his life, Cameron falls asleep mid-stream. When he wakes up he's most definitely not at home and everyone in sight is strangely... obsessed with one person. Enter the farmer and with a sinking feeling Cameron knows exactly why this valley looks so familiar.

At All Saints High, the girls are done. Juliet has survived school by keeping her head down. Bethany has survived by being adored. Amber is done surviving. When a "boy-free" movement spreads through their school, it moves fast, but with the Christmas disco days away, tensions rise, lines are drawn, and no one notices what's been slipped into the punch. By the time the music starts, the boys won't be the same. And the girls wonder just what they'll do to survive An entry for the 2026 ONC using my interpretation of a prompt

Spring arrives quietly.... soil rich with fertility, petals swaying and a garden that has never known wonder. Until one flower blooms where none should. When reaches for the first flower of spring, the world does not change all but It opens. A single touch pulls her into a place hidden between seasons a world where gardens guard secrets, portals breathe softly and magic has learned how to wait. What was once ordinary becomes dangerous and what blooms beautifully may burn just as fiercely.... because some flowers are not meant to be touched. Some doors do not open without consequence and some creatures long thought to be myths have been watching all along. In a story where spring is a threshold and the garden remembers everything, one choice will decide what is saved... and what is lost forever.

Some people pass through our lives quietly. Others stay long enough to change us forever. Rudra dreams of becoming a boxer while struggling with school, family expectations, and a life slowly breaking apart. Shivani enters his world as a seatmate, a helper, and soon, someone he learns to depend on. Through loss, ambition, and unspoken love, they grow closer. But when distance, silence, and misunderstanding take over, their story is forced to end before it is ready. This is not a story about forever. It is a story about love that lingers. About people who leave, but never truly disappear. Because some footprints remain. This story is an ONC entry using the prompt:- 29. " You will meet many people in your life. Many will come and go, but some will leave footprints on your heart."