Onc2024 Stories

Everyone can read minds except for Ethan Langdon. And Ethan Langdon has the dumbest (and cutest!) thoughts Lukas Hoffmann has ever heard. ____ Lukas Hoffman's life in Brambleburg is about as boring as you'd expect for a town where everyone can read minds. He's used to his routine of dusting the LPs at the record store where he works and helping out his grandma around the house. Nothing in Brambleburg changes. No one in Brambleburg changes. Until Ethan Langdon stumbles in with the soggy remnants of a paper map, asking for the quickest route to Berlin. Ethan, it turns out, doesn't have telepathy, and as aggravatingly inane as his thoughts are, Lukas hasn't felt the excitement of meeting a stranger since.... well, ever. And the more Lukas listens, the more he starts enjoying Ethan's cute thoughts about life, the universe, and Lukas's dimples. ____ Might bring to mind: "Cherry Magic" but set in a fictive European town where everyone except the love interest can read minds. ____ Cover by @mygoodbones ____ Written for the Open Novella Contest 2024 using prompts 8, 75, 82, and 85. 8. You start singing along to a movie soundtrack late at night forgetting that your window is open. Someone from the outside starts singing with you. 75. You awake in the middle of the night to a voice saying loudly "May the force be with you..." 82. You wake up on a seemingly ordinary day to discover that your thoughts are not private. There is someone else in your head with you. 85. "If you do that again, I'll throw you out that freaking window. What are you doing?" "Checking how high the drop is to see if it's worth it."

Love Out Loud Reading Event 🌈 They fall hard. So will you. From messy crushes to emotional slow burns, read the LGBTQIA+ stories the Wattpad community can't stop recommending. And win Coins while you read. 📚 Read from the Love Out Loud Reading List 🏆 30 minutes → 30 Coins 🏆 90 minutes → 90 Coins 🏆 150 minutes → 150 Coins + 1 month of Wattpad Premium 📅 June 15-21 Come for the yearning. Stay for the rewards. *** Time heals all wounds. When you have the power to rewind it, you begin to wonder whether it's too much responsibility for one person to hold. ***** Sometimes, walking away is the scariest, yet the bravest thing one can do. Iris Fox would know; after returning to the coastal town of Emelle Bay, Oregon, and finding her life in shambles, it's hard to ignore the voice in the back of her head that beckons her to stay. Days turn into weeks, which turn into months, and Iris finds herself drawn to the heartbreaking reminders of how it all went wrong. Echoes of unfinished business and painful memories wash up, awakening the dormant power to rewind time, and Iris realizes she has a choice to make--she can either use her power to try and fix what has been stolen from her, rewriting her past, present, and future, or she can tuck the past where it belongs. Either way, there's only one conclusion. All actions have consequences. ***** Open Novella Contest -- prompts 24, 33, & 54 [[OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 ROUND 1 AMBASSADORS' PICK, LONGLISTER & SHORTLISTER]] [[THE AMBYS 2025 AMBASSADOR'S PICK IN CONTEMPORARY NOVELLA]] © 2024 caterina george // all rights reserved

When an orphaned, DACA, pre-med student with a secret gift and a fiery CEO with a legacy to protect are forced into a marriage of inconvenience, the Mayan Moon isn't the only thing causing turmoil. Roger Catzín, a pre-med student with a knack for healing wounds with a whisper and a touch, never imagined his nightly stroll under a blood-red moon would derail his life. But then again, Central Park has a reputation for surprises, and not all of them pleasant. Enter a dramatic old man with a cryptic message, and Roger's life flips from mundane to mystically entangled faster than you can say, Mayan Moon. On the other side of town, or more accurately, on the upscale side of life, Claire Williams navigates the corporate jungle with the grace of a seasoned CEO-a title she earned but now fears losing to the whims of fate, or worse, a grandfather who apparently moonlights as a matchmaker from beyond the grave. When Roger and Claire's worlds collide, courtesy of a will that reads more like a romantic comedy plot than a legal document, they find themselves legally bound in holy matrimony. Who said romance is dead? Mayan Moon is a novella that asks the important questions: Can a man who talks to the moon and a woman who commands the boardroom find common ground? Will they uncover the mystery behind the old man's attack and the secrets Chester Williams hid in his will? And most importantly, can two strangers fake a marriage without killing each other or, dare we say, falling in love? Dive into a story where magic is real, the moon is a guide, and love is... well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Roger and Claire have enough on their plates trying to figure out why fate (or a very eccentric old man) decided they're a match made in legal documentation. Mayan Moon delivers laughs, gasps, and maybe, just maybe, a belief in the magic of the unexpected. Participant in the Open Novella Contest 2024 | Prompt: A midnight stroll and a meeting with a frantic stranger.

🏆 SHORTLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 🏆 A young journalist must navigate a war-torn country and the intricacy of first love in order to save herself and her family. ⋯⋯⋯ In 2042, invaders crossed Philippine waters and marked the start of the war. Two years later, Maian Dizon, a displaced Metro Manila journalist, navigates the war-torn streets in search of a way out of the country. However, when her path crosses with Kian Lucero, a reservist medical doctor, doubts creep in. With the guilt he carries, the foreboding loss on her shoulders, and the pressing needs of her family, her calling points her back to her homeland with no promise of salvation. But the attacks crawl closer every day, and Maian must devise a plan to save the people she loves, even if it means sacrificing herself. From the award-winning author of 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘌𝘯𝘥 comes a story of love and life, and how they fade and thrive at the face of war. There is an end to peace, memory, and glory, but there are things that will live forever. We only have to find them. ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2024 (First Edition) [30,000 - 35,000 words] [All graphics are made by @sardonictabby] C/TW: Some scenes in this story contain graphic physical violence, disturbing themes, or character introspection that may upset or trigger the reader. Please read at your own risk. FEATURED ON @IdentityandCulture's API VOICES MAY 2026 AMBASSADOR PICKS 🏆 LONGLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 🏆 ROUND 2 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 🏆 ROUND 1 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024

🏆 HONORABLE MENTION - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 🏆 A witch has to pretend to be the wife of the Prince of the Dead in exchange for resurrecting her lover. ⋯⋯⋯ Mavyn of Krauss has everything under control until her rich and influential fiancé keels over and abandons her. Now with no place in society as a witch, she moves to the next best option―summon an immortal from the Land of the Dead and strike a deal to resurrect him. Enter Valen Nox, a prince of the Underworld, bringing along an irresistible deal to the table. She will have a chance to comb through the Underworld's domains for her fiancé in exchange for being Valen's date for his sister's wedding. But when the truth comes out with the promise of a conspiracy, Mavyn is thrust into the wicked world of the Kathari, the Underworld's immortal rulers, and their schemes for dominion. Now, she must play by their rules while crafting deadly plans of her own―plans that may endanger more than what Valen bargained for. After all, the most logical thing to do in a court deep in chaos is to use it to one's advantage. From the award-winning author of 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘌𝘯𝘥 comes a tale of the deadly and the wicked, set in a world where life and death are not so simple, and there may be more to lose at the edge of the void than at the end of memory. AN INSTALLMENT OF THE WICKED DEATH SELECTIONS. ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2024 (First Edition) [22,000 - 27,000 words] [All graphics are made by @sardonictabby] 🏆 SHORTLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 🏆 R1 AMBASSADOR PICK - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024

🏆 WINNER (2ND PLACE) - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 🏆 A misfit of an aristocratic family must find out who is behind the murder at his university before he is disowned and falls victim to the murderer. ⋯⋯⋯ Arlo Crowhaven, a student of the prestigious Lyllan University of Magic, is poised to uphold his family's elite status. That is, until a classmate is murdered, and all of the clues point to him. With little time to clear his name, he must take the investigation into his hands, find the killer, and stop an even bigger secret from leaking out. After all, while Arlo likes keeping his hands clean, he may be entangled in a scheme even his family is not privy to. Now, Arlo must pull all the strings he can to foil the murderer's plan and save his skin. From the award-winning author of 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘌𝘯𝘥 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 ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2024 (First Edition) [20,000 - 30,000 words] [All graphics are made by @sardonictabby] 🏆 SHORTLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 🏆 ROUND 1 WINNER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024

"I wish I could hate you. I wish I could let go of you. I wish I regretted meeting you." He paused, tears blurring his vision. His thumb hovered over the send button. With a shaky exhale, Jungwon's hands trembled as he typed out the text in his group chat. "Called in sick, can't make it to practice today." The lie burned as he hit send. Jungwon blinked rapidly, catching a glimpse of his bloodshot eyes in the mirror. "Jungwon, are you done? We should get going now!" Tears welled in Jungwon's eyes as he stared at his own reflection. Though his heart ached, he couldn't bring himself to hate her - not when he loved her so deeply. With a shaky breath, he wiped his cheeks and forced a smile. "Just a second, babe!" he called, slipping his phone back into his pocket after sending the text to his teammates. As he exited his room, Mijoo greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. Her touch was gentle, loving - yet it only deepened the hollow feeling in his chest. "I love you, babe," she beamed. "...I love you too, Mijoo," he managed, hoping she didn't notice the hesitation in his voice. As they left hand-in-hand, Jungwon's mind raced. He had sacrificed so much for her, compromising himself time and again. And now he wondered - did she even truly love him? The thought haunted him: "Look what you've made me do. Look what you're making me do. I'm afraid of what you'll make me do next."

Erika had always hated weddings - a hate that only grew as she watched her siblings get blindly married off. Her father played with their lives like poker chips, using his children to fill his own wallet through marriage deals. It wasn't long before Erika found herself being fitted for a gown, only hearing about her groom to be through secondhand stories. There was no way she was going to accept getting married off - especially to a man she had never met. || Featuring #ONC2024's prompt #88 {Content Warning} This story includes: Suggestive Themes & Mild Language

Amesh is the fourth and youngest child of the Suriname family, a family of well known superheroes that protect not only their world but others that surround it. While his siblings are out saving the world, Amesh is at home playing Mango Life. Unlike his siblings, Amesh has no interest in being the hero of the story, he prefers to be normal. And like all normal teenage boys he locks himself in his room and plays video games all day and night, only to come out when the dinner bell rings. The only family member you don't want to piss off is Momma Suriname, and dinner is always reserved for family meal time. It was a normal family dinner time, the Powerhouses were relaying their adventures of the day, Father and Momma Suriname gleamed at the tales, and Amesh drank his strawberry mango smoothie. That was until the tales became a little too similar to the gameplay Amesh had experienced earlier that day. ======== Written for ONC 2024 Main Prompt: 50 Sub Prompts: 49, 87 Fun Fact: Amesh means "Sweet like a Mango"

Open Novella Contest 2024 writing prompt #83: Earth's climate is becoming increasingly inhospitable. Humans have located another planet to live on, but there's not enough room on the spacecrafts for everyone. Who stays and who goes? One wrong question has the power to condemn . Following the Martian discovery of a jump drive, the United Nations of Earth formulated a plan. There is a rumored list of seventeen crimes - modeled after the nineteen crimes that could get one sent to Australia. It seems a very similar one would get white collar corporate criminals, fringe political activists, terrorist operatives, bigots and climate law violators sent to Mars. Publicly, it's all denied. Then Brie Reyes (nee Hodges), finds herself arrested after a contentious briefing with the United States Climate Initiative Czar. Researching her absent father - who long ago left to be among the first settler of the Martian colony Selah - caused a cataclysmic shift in her life and her thinking. Meeting the half-brother born to her father after he settled on Mars may either bring her salvation or condemnation. Either way, Brie Reyes is going to Mars. Its either as a political prisoner. Or political refugee.

"#97. It is your first day at your first job, and you discover the library you'll be working in is very haunted." Constance Penrose has worked before. Not for a job, but the make-work of the workhouses of Victorian England, for those they couldn't sell to the factories. That and the money made off her labor wasn't her's to keep. This was not the place an Earl's granddaughter was supposed to end up in. Reconciliation with her family landed her back in the lap of luxury, where the inevitability of her world was marrying a cousin, much like Queen Victoria, a stranger without the wealth to back a season, or a job the family wouldn't balk at. Cousins marrying in the Victorian era wasn't too uncommon, but Constance was pushed into the workhouse by Aunt Letitia's machinations once, and marrying into the family she wanted to hurt promised to be a life of misery, whether it be the polished heir Victor, the indecently wild Walter, or the rebellious child James. If only her love for them was stronger than her hate of their mother, she could give in. Instead, Constance persuades her parents to let her find work or gain an education, anything but the fate of a Tragedy. Mother's mysterious past helps introduce her to Lord Listings, and Constance is offered a job at Listings Women's Library, if she can handle the oddities that surround the Women's Library. And haunted is just the start of it.

A dragon, a dwarf and an elf walk into a bar... But only because that bar is on their way to tracking down the lost heir in a last-ditch quest to save the kingdom from a very long list of very bad things. And also, quite possibly, because the more of the kingdom they see, the more they find themselves in need of a drink. So, grab your halberd and your mead and buckle up - it's time for a road trip, fantasy-style.

In a need of a break from her demanding job, Carmina seeks refuge in a hidden gem of Italy - Amalfi Coast. But her plans for a peace are thrown off course when a mysterious stranger appears out of nowhere. Despite Carmina's expertise in unravelling secrets, this man proves to be a puzzle she can't solve. As they both strive to keep their secrets hidden, they find themselves ensnared in a tangled web, with no easy way out. 🏆 ONC 2024 Longlisters! #2K words milestone ✔️ #8K words milestone ✔️ #20K words milestone ✔️ ________ ONC 2024 entry Prompt 09

This story is written for ONC 2024 and is based on prompts 84 (main) and 9 (secondary) Butter, formerly a human prince who went as His Highness Prince Dalton Buttercutter, is a kitten who has served the Woodgrip witches for the past twenty-four generations. His present mistress, (the ninth Woodgrip) Pepper, is a stress-ridden assistant to the magistrate of the Sulvill district working in the Ministry of Management of Magical Beings, aka MMMB. Their break comes in the form of his mistress's cousin's wedding, where the witch and her familiar arrive at the venue hoping for a relaxing vacation. Things don't go as planned when Salvador Hart, a playboy celebrity hounded by his fans and paparazzi, arrives there to complicate (or aid) matters. Meanwhile, Pepper is in the dark about Butter's hidden motives: to find a match for his mistress and break a centuries-old curse that plagues the Woodgrip family and him. Will Butter be able to find the perfect man for Pepper? Who really is Salvador Hart? What happens to the witch and her familiar if the latter fails in his mission? Start date: 20/02/2024 Completed on: 23/03/2024 Status: Complete Word count: 30954 This is an original story written exclusively for Wattpad by GandalfofspaceAnli. GandalfofspaceAnli ® This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, GandalfofspaceAnli

[#17] Their curse is to love so much and crave love more than life, but never be loved. Those who dare to love them will be subjected to the worst of fates. ♥ When Lucie Blanchard discovers her crush's dark family secret, she's determined to help break him free from the shackles of a generational curse. However whilst Max Maledict wants nothing to do with her, fearing that she'll be the next victim, he can't help but be drawn to her. Meanwhile, cursed blood runs rampant and he's running out of time. ♥ tw; sensitive topics may be discussed

After a near death experience, James Jones, or Jimmy to his friends, begins to see ghosts. While in surgery, he meets Henry Costa, a renowned ghost buster. Henry is dead, but he's about to become Jimmy's best friend. when he's recovering from his surgery, Jimmy learns his sister has gone missing, and may also be dead. Flying off to America, he sets out to find his sister.

The world is in a threat of imbalance. Countless children and young people are murdered, all to obtain supremacy in the upcoming era. In the midst of this bloodshed, the only human town with no child victim suddenly welcomes foreign visitors. It is a mysterious town, one that has been closing off its gate from outsiders for many decades. However, the town doesn't welcome just anyone. Only those with an invitation are allowed to visit, and one of them is Aryan. Burdened with moral duty as a historian, Aryan accepts a job offer to teach in a high school. Together with his assistant, he investigates the town not only to find a clue about the evil force behind the murder, but also to help save the world from the threat of war between two races.

Three strangers. Two secrets. One key. Emma was perfectly happy being a driven, yet single, high school student. Until a love goddess decides that Emma needs a boyfriend- whether she wants one or not.

[ONC2024 ENTRY] [COVER IN PROGRESS] Sixteen-year-old Fern was happy to be sent off to an innocuous boarding school, until she finds herself at the epicenter of strange events and the string of fate bonding her to the school. *** Monkeys, matrons, mattresses. Commonly unrelated to the average person, but students at Wailmouth would say differently. The impressive boarding school sits among swathes of green foliage whose simian residents are playful as they are unruly. As if their tailed neighbors aren't enough of a problem, the school's matrons seem dedicated to make their lives a living hell. The infamous Madam Matron rules with an iron fist, her unrelenting force intensified against the old mattresses they're forced to sleep on. Fern learns all this in barely a month of her enrolment into Wailmouth College. Her arrival, however, had sparked a chain of bizarre events within the gates of the school. Together with her friends, Fern investigates the connection between the peculiar incidents, and between Wailmouth and herself. *** Trigger warnings: Alluded teen pregnancy, animal abuse, violence, death

Storms tended to bring change. Solving Neridia's first ever murder case wasn't exactly what Nemera had in mind. The overworked yet semi-retired bartender had seen her fair share of death and destruction within a world full of dragons and demons. But when Aidari Rainheart, a young Stormspell elf is accused of murdering one of her own, Nemera is dragged in to follow in her former Master's footsteps. Whether she liked it or not. The role of the Night Rider is a heavy burden to carry and without the usual comforts of following others' lead, Nemera finds herself drawn to secrets hidden deep within the Brink. But nothing is ever that easy when elves are involved and much like a good mead, the truth starts to get a lot murkier the more she delves in. Especially when Aidari turns out to be hiding far more than any elf in Neridia. Caught between a peace treaty, the aftermath of war and a complicated relationship with a happy go lucky pyro spirit things go from bad to worse when Nemera learns who exactly the victims are. Political coups turn into a full on power vacuum and how poisoning a dragon could lead to the murder of two of the most prominent elves in history. After all, killing an immortal race had never been done before. Somehow, Nemera has to learn to put aside her biases, her booze and most importantly, her bad mood to help those truly in need and maybe get a free tip at the end of the day. With a healthy dose of wit and a sobering reminder of what every Traited faces, perhaps her Master's last wish was for her to become something more than being a drop in the barrel.