Anna is the kind of girl people look straight through. At school, on the bus, at home - she exists quietly in the background, where asking for anything comes with a price she learned long ago to stop paying. Even with her best friend, Alice, she never fully steps into the world. She just survives it, carefully and without being noticed. Her life was supposed to stay bland, colourless, manageable. Nothing was supposed to change that. Then she runs into Sophie. And something shifts - not all at once, and not enough to understand, but just enough that it doesn't stop. Anna finds herself pulled toward something she can't name, something her body recognises before her mind can catch up. And the worst part is, she doesn't want it to stop.

RUIN ME ( BOOK 1 IN THE RUIN SERIES) Can be read as a standalone BLURB The irises of his dark brown eyes blaze with anger, the sharp tick of his jaw adding proof of his emotions as he looks down at me. "Zawadi, I-" He starts but I cut him off. "No," I swallow the bitterness at the back of my throat, "I'm not your little pity project. You don't get to fix me, Kimani,"

TORIN Orphaned as a child, I've relentlessly carved out a name for myself in the Royal Naval Academy. Now I serve as the youngest lieutenant aboard the HMS Dartmouth. Then I received the bittersweet news that I have an uncle who is still alive...and he's sentenced to hang for piracy. I, Lieutenant Torin Damaris of the Royal Navy, is related by blood to a pirate. It's disgraceful beyond words. To make matters worse, my uncle left me a treasure map, of all things. And X marks the spot where a wealth of riches have been hidden, on Dead Man's Isle. I'm convinced it's nothing but pirate nonsense, tall tales brought on by rum. But the promise of so much gold is impossible to resist. It haunts me. And I'm hungry for it. As I set sail, guided by the map, there's a nagging worry in the back of my mind. This doesn't make me a pirate...does it? - - - BRYNN That map belongs to me and I want it back. I won't let some stuck-up, spoiled sailor boy claim it for himself. There's more than gold hidden on that map. The story goes that Poseidon himself buried a vial of his tears on the island and anyone who places a drop of that precious salty water on his tongue will rule the tides. But Dead Man's Isle earned its name for a reason. It's treacherous sailing in the rough shallows. Many ships have been gutted on the jagged rocks, or smashed to pieces by the powerful waves. And if that wasn't enough to deter any man of sound mind, legends abound of monsters that roam the island. With a ravenous appetite for human flesh. Can Torin and I work together to claim the treasure and split it amongst ourselves? Or will we become one more set of bleached bones on the shores of Dead Man's Isle? - - - #ONC2026 Prompt 34: You will have to sail the seven seas to find the lost treasure. But treasure means different things to different people, what treasure will you find at the world's edge?

🏆 ONC 2026 Ambassador Pick 🏆 Dead men tell no tales. Or so they say... Having survived a series of catastrophes, disgraced detective Penny Dubois is thinking of retirement. After all, she sees no reason to come back. However, everything changes when her best friend, Irma Hale, is framed for the murder of renowned heiress Charity Payne, and all the clues point towards her. The victim's ghost is summoned from the dead and says she's guilty. As a necromancer, Penny instantly recognises that the seance had been rehearsed, but she must keep it a secret, because if she gets found out, it could be her awaiting the final sentence. As the clock ticks, Penny must start a new investigation and find out who the real killer is before it's too late. *** Based on Prompt 72.

Every ten thousand years, a celestial flower blooms. Though all beings in the nine realms fight to obtain it, only the most powerful one will have the right to pluck it. And even then, the flower may choose another. After two hundred years of quiet cultivation with her master, Yin Wan Ling suddenly finds herself competing for dominance amongst the other immortals. But her only interest in the flower is to help learn the identity of the mysterious figure who plagues her dreams. Every night, she runs toward a man swathed in mist and fog. Every night she yearns for him. But his face remains shrouded. Until one night, she finally sees his face...right before he stabs her in the heart.

Luke lives alone with his cat - a ginger with a tuxedo cat's pattern - named Darwin. Everyday, Darwin leaves for what Luke calls "Work" since it always leaves around the same time. When a sudden ruckus outside of his door came, he opened it only to see Darwin sitting on the porch with another elusive cat making an exit through the bushes. Curious about the peculiar behavior of Darwin, Luke sets out to uncover his cat's reasoning. Following Darwin, he found a garden out of human touch; through the small gap in between two old houses. Touching a weird looking flower, he collapsed and fell asleep. Only to awaken in another world filled with talking animals, and humans as a merchant's high price labor trade. Darwin, now speaking, now needs to protect the lost Luke. With the help of his cat assistant, Lou.

When the strongest mafia organization in Endouva crumbles from within, who would expect their most skilled assassin, Loralie Asterra to end up in the mysterious island of Arkaris as a nanny for a three-year-old girl named Mimi Catapult? Loralie finds out that something bad is swirling within the borders. She uncovers Arkaris' hidden secrets, all while protecting a tiny prince and a child who refuses to leave her side. Doing so, Loralie realizes that she has no choice but to piece her gang back together to break the Curse of Arkaris.

You wake up in your childhood bed with a bruise on your forehead and no memory of how you got home. The friends who celebrated you the night before all have different versions of what happened. The more you search for the truth, the worse the migraines become. Your mother warned you about them. Now you have to decide which is more dangerous: losing your memory or recovering it.

(Round One Winner) All Hima can do is practice her apologies to Afroz in her head. God knows there's so much she needs to apologize for but it feels like a death sentence every time she even think of hitting her up again. Part cowardice and part self-inflicted penance, she stays away without being able to fully forget Afroz. Until a butt-dial on a random Tuesday forces her to deal with everything she's been trying to avoid.

🏆 ROUND 2 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2026 🏆 A misfit painter who gets drafted to the front lines has to investigate his brother's death, find an ancient artifact in the heart of war, and buy his way to freedom. ⋯⋯⋯ Alistair Wyckholm, a student of the prestigious Lyllan University of Magic, is a painter, not a soldier, but after his brother's death, their father sends the next best thing―him. When news of an ancient but cursed artifact found in the front lines broke out, Alistair may just go to war, just not to fight. Juggling adventure and the trenches is never easy, especially with the mysterious circumstances surrounding his brother's death. Now, with a case at hand, a treasure to seek, and a war to survive, Alistair must fight for his future that may never come. From the author of the award-winning novella, 𝘋𝘪𝘦 𝘢 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘈𝘳𝘭𝘰 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, comes a story of privilege, wealth, and the divide between the elite and the common. Ideals are a salvation for many, but in the quest for freedom and power, sometimes, they are the first to go. AN INSTALLMENT OF THE LYLLAN UNIVERSITY OF MAGIC AND MISFITS SERIES ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2026 (First Edition) [25,000 - 30,000 words] [All graphics are made by @sardonictabby] 🏆 ROUND 1 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2026