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."

The girl who can't be killed. The ultimate super power. All she needs to do is work out how she's supposed to use it to save the world. But of all the people that could have been given such great power, Amelia was probably the worst choice. A story for the Open Novella Contest 2024. Using the prompt #6; Your life as you know it has ended. Somewhere in Limbo you're met with the message: "Something went wrong. Please try again." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Trigger warning: mentions of self harm, thoughts of suicide, drug use, and alcohol.

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 [[WATTPAD FEATURED STORY X2]] [[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

𝐎𝐍𝐂 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 - When Eventyr spirals into war, three young foxes from its divided kingdoms must discover themselves and their united purpose if they wish to save their home from being destroyed. -❈- A reluctant heir. A living mistake. A misguided ambition. One knows nothing but violence, one knows nothing but deceit, and the last is blissfully ignorant to the war that draws them all together. They all strive to be part of something bigger. And each has their secrets. Colborn is next in line for a role he isn't sure he can take. The burden he bears-and the sacrifice he must make to stoke his father's embers of pride-is all too much to handle. Skadi is scorned and broken. She was never meant to be born, much less, to live. All she wants is to belong, even if it means going against everything she believes in. Trygve just wants to make something of himself, to prove to his family that he isn't just a kit anymore. With passion driven by curiosity and stubborn determination, he's bound to land in the paws of trouble. As pressures rise and the war reaches a breaking point, each fox must face a decision that's bound to weave their threads of fate closer together. Either they accept their role as a force to fuel the conflict-or risk their lives to save another. But there's only one key to stopping the war. They must find the truth before Eventyr is destroyed. -❈- Entry for the Open Novella Contest 2024 Based on prompt 20: Three strangers, two secrets, one key. Final Word-count: ~38,000 Cover by: @avadel

Peaky Blinders meets Bonnie and Clyde. **** Eighteen-year-old Kit Jones has spent his life on the wrong side of the law. Having grown up poor in London's seedy East End, Kit has fought tooth and nail just to survive. Emily Masters cannot say the same. Born to rich parents, she's been handed everything she could ever dream of on a silver plate, but she longs for adventure. When Emily and Kit's lives collide, they find they have more in common than they first thought. Hiding from the police is one thing, but when Emily's parents come looking for her, the two must do whatever they can to avoid being caught. They quickly realise that a life on the run is no life at all, but they may have gone too far to get out. Based on Prompt 14: "My Love, believe me, waiting for you has always been a form of freedom." - Alexandra Vasiliu.

Detective Molly Rayne finds herself in the midst of a high-stakes murder case with two strangers and must uncover the truth before her hidden past is revealed and the murderer strikes again. -x-x-x- It was supposed to be a quick business trip. but the minute the train pulled out of the New York station, things started to go wrong. In the bustling journey to Chicago, a murder in Cabin 7 shakes the train. High-profile private detective Molly Rayne takes charge of the investigation, but no suspects emerge, and it seems the killer vanished into thin air. As Molly delves deeper, she discovers intriguing connections between the victim and a mysterious individual known as Mr. Bingo. Her resolve to uncover the truth is tested as she navigates a web of lies, deception, and hidden agendas. It was like something out of an Agatha Christie novel, only with a lot more blood and sarcasm. With danger closing in from all sides, will she be able to piece together the truth before it's too late? -x-x-x- Revision under the guidance of @MermaidAriel13

The Horcades and the Horcanes are family names in a fairytale. Nobody thinks the present Horcades have any connection with it. People don't even believe the tale. The idea that the tale is based off a true story is only a speculation by few. However, the truth is scarier than people think. And when this tale turns out to have some truth in it, the Horcades realise that some stories are best when fictional.

It is when the bar is in complete silence that the barkeeper is the most content. That is until another companion comes to them in death and they are reminded of what they are still there for: memories of love. *** A woman who spent all her years in anger, but wants to spend her last minutes talking about her sister. A lover who remembers the one that got away. A man recounting the reconnection to his baby brother. A mother. A teenager. A barkeeper. TILL OUR FINGERS DECOMPOSE tells the stories of the ones who have passed on in conversations between the dead and a barkeeper who is only interested in hearing about their love. (ONC 2024 entry)

ONC 2024 Participant --- Brayden has been a lot of things: salutatorian, undergrad, party boy, boyfriend, ex, and so on. There's one thing, though, that he's always wanted to be that seems out of reach: the golden boy. The one the whole family recognizes as the heir of the grocery store and worthy of taking over the chain. Of course, that was before he met her. That girl that never seemed truly happy. He suddenly finds himself less interested in the title of Golden Boy and longing for the title of hers.

"Like a gem, her yield was strong. Like a bird, I fell into her trap. She's "Jezebel". Might as well add an 'hell (L)" to her name for the warning bells were loud..." - Nike Ekin, Just One Jezebel(L). ~ Boggled by the sibling therapy session he has with his sister, Nike decides to escape through work. As an investigative journalist who wants to make a name for himself, he sought to cover the secrets underlying the grassroots elections. A new project requiring commitment? He was up to the task. Unfortunately, he wasn't informed about the violence that comes with it. Nor the heartache. ~_~ Genre: Romantic thriller

❀ ONC 2024 Shortlister ❀ In a world tinged with whispers of faeries of sort and forgotten bargains, Ayina, a gifted dreamseer, witnesses a chilling prophecy unfold. Every ten years, a girl is offered to the Azenar gate. The gate either chooses to take her in or sacrifice her for all to see. As she witnesses her mother get sicker, Ayina heads to the Choosing ceremony festivities to procure a healer, however her world is turned upside down when her younger sister, Rani is chosen tribute for the ceremony and thrust into the clutches of the dark court, a sacrifice to appease an ancient threat. Driven by unwavering love and fierce loyalty, Ayina embarks on a perilous quest into the forbidden dark realm that had now festered between the borders of two mighty lands, Benar and Elemore. There, she encounters the mad wraith king of the dark court and Haider, a sarcastic Haraseen warrior ostracized for his mixed human and fae blood. As they navigate treacherous landscapes and formidable enemies, an unexpected bond blossoms between them. But a hidden truth awaits, one that forces them to confront a difficult choice: fulfill a prophecy that could save their kingdoms, or defy fate and fight for a love that transcends the boundaries of human and faerie.

Power. Some kill to get it... Some kill to keep it... Some kill to keep others from having it. Aside from being a Ranger's daughter, Aurora Amethyst Makepeace (yes, that is her real name, bless her ever-loving Mum) is about as normal as normal can get. She has to study hard to get through school just like most people, she has to do laundry and help with the family business like every other young person in her District, and she has to walk on her own two feet just like God intended. She has never raised a flag on the Flameseeker's visits to her settlement. She is absolutely certain she is NOT a Spark. As the only son of High Councilor Kederov, Dane Kederov is a fourth-generation Sparkblood. Not only does that make him royalty, it makes him an Inferno - one of the most powerful Sparkbloods on the planet. It also makes him an extremely valuable political pawn. He lives a life of extreme privilege, high above the tensions and riots that have been escalating between the Sparkbloods and the Norms... until his father is murdered after leaving an ominous message for him, and Dane is suddenly a liability. Someone wants him gone. Someone who has the resources to kill an Inferno. Someone who is determined to claim power for themselves at any cost. Dane flees the Capitol, flying into the vast expanse of untamed wilderness that surrounds the city state of Firestone. Two weeks later, Rory goes on a tracking mission to find whatever is killing Biddy Correl's hogs... and discovers a lot more than a rogue bear out there in the Wildlands. She finds her exact opposite, in more ways than one. With Sparkblood hunters on Dane's trail, and Rory's father going after the bounty, Dane and Rory wind up thrown together in a mad, desperate attempt to solve the murder of Dane's parents before the riots and inter-racial tension boil over into all out war. No matter what, their lives are never going to be the same.

[ONC 2024 entry; Round 3 Qualifier] An alluring physique, innocence that draws the beasts of desire in; A one-of-a-kind flower that blossoms through the soil blanketed with snow and stained with crimson. She is the predator and they are her prey. Blood and tears mixed on her face because there was no escaping this perilous fate. [Ikemen Vampire fan fiction / Reverse Harem]

In a ruined world, what traces of humans remain? In an overgrown corner of a once-intact room, nestled in the roots of a young tree, a barely functional camera watches over the decay. Maintenance calls go unanswered, leaving it to conserve power, turning on its lens only when things get within its proximity range. Its largely monotonous world gets disrupted when a family of birds make the tree it rests on home. Mysteriously, their presence stirs a torrent of memories within its circuits, some intact and others corrupted. However, recalling memories comes at a cost, and its power, gleaned from the sun, gets drained faster than it can recover. Despite the risk, the camera cannot cease. It is compelled to observe and document the intertwining of past and present unfolding before its lens. As it continues it realises why the family of birds recalls seemingly unrelated memories. ? It was bound by a promise of the past, one that was corrupted beyond repair until an overlap between its owner and the birds were found. Now, repairs of core memories are underway and soon, the bigger picture reveals itself. The battery falls, and the past gives way to the present. *Longlister of the 2024 ONC*

Regulus died in a dark lake. Sirius died falling through the veil. The brothers both awake with lingering memories of limbo's message of trying again as well as the multiple lives they're meant to proceed through simultaneously. Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter. This story is one of my ONC projects for 2024, but the inspiration for this story is prompt number six. "Your life as you know it has ended. Somewhere in Limbo you're met with the message: 'Something went wrong. Please try again.'"

A prodigious young detective must confront his demons to prevent a cataclysmic war. ⸻ Detective Tobias Hale has a caffeine addiction and enjoys avoiding his problems. His problems include his dead Fae father, the abilities he inherited from him and a government agent named Alaine Falmouth. Their superiors assign Tobias and Alaine to solve the murder of Elijah Laing-a man whose death threatens to unravel centuries of peace. Despite his protests, Alaine pushes Tobias to use his abilities to present a solution. He realises avoiding his past is ineffective and must confront his Fae heritage to prevent a cataclysmic war.

[COMPLETE] ONC2024 Longlister❤️ Using Prompt number 14 "My love, believe me, waiting for you has always been a form of freedom." Alexandra Vasiliu" A guy and a girl have been best friends since childhood, but their destiny parted them. The little girl had to move away with her parents. Years later, they meet again, but the bond of friendship still remains the same. But the young lad has realised that his affection has developed into love, but, he's scared to express his feelings. However, he also feels that the girl has changed a lot. She cares more about money and herself than before. His love remains unwavering and he proposes to her, but she rejects him. He decides to wait for her, letting her take her sweet time. In the meantime, he's always there, supporting her, and scolding her for her bad deeds. He's continually showing her the path of truth, but she's not looking back. He also learns about her past, which has changed her personality. He wants to change things for her, only if she is ready. Slowly, with time, things happen and she realises that she's been trapped in her own net. She realises her mistakes and her best friend forgives her, as they walk through the aisle, starting a new life.

In a search for family, self-identity and a fight to save the Earth from the Wrecker of Worlds, Odette finds herself entangled in an age old war as the truth of her lineage and legacy is revealed. {*} STARTED: 12/08/2024 FINISHED: ... {*}

ONC 2024: In college, it was a case of wrong place/wrong time. Eight years later, they have a second chance. But will they take the leap? ___ Prompt 14: "My muse, believe me, waiting for you has been a form of freedom." ___ Excerpt: "Don't look back." Ian stares at me through the screen with his dark, intense gaze. "Don't long for all the things that might have been. Don't chastise yourself for the decisions you've made." For a moment, his words render me silent. "Appreciate all those little indentations that make you who you are," he says with a tender expression. "And remember your superpower." "What superpower?" "Let yourself dream again." A tender smile crosses his features. "Focus that intense drive of yours on the future like you used to do." He's right. For so long, I've been living in survival mode. One foot in front of the other. Stuck in this nightmare, I haven't been able to see any other way forward. Until now. "You're free now," he says, "to make better choices that will make you truly happy." For a moment, I let my mind take me wherever it wants to go. Right now? It wants to be in Boston, beside him. But can I leave everything behind?

|CROSSROADS x LEAP YEAR | Eighteen-year-old April Lewis flees her troubled home, desperate to escape her emotionally distant, controlling mom, and seek out her dad. Little does she know a chance encounter with her classmate will take her on a cross-country ride: a journey that will change April's life forever. A venture that will lead her down a path of self-discovery and unexpected love. *** When eighteen-year-old April Lewis' mom walks around like a zombie, evades all attempts to talk and controls her every move, April decides she's had enough. She leaves home one warm summer evening with nothing but a yellow backpack filled with her coveted dad's letters he's been sending her for the past months, and some bare necessities. She's determined to seek him out and go live with him down on the West Coast, where he has a temporary job. The last thing April expects is almost being hit by a car. The owner of the vehicle? Her classmate, Dave Rivera, a troubled boy whom she almost never talked to before, and who can't be more different than her. After making sure April is just a little banged-up, Dave strikes a deal with her: he'll help her get to the West Coast free of charge, as long as she doesn't report him to the cops. The two embark upon a road trip from NY to LA, navigating through stunning landscapes and meeting a colorful cast of characters. While sharing life stories and exchanging experiences, armed with the wisdom from her Dad's letters, April and Dave discover that they are a lot more alike than they originally thought. The journey slowly becomes more important than the destination, and their path takes an unexpected turn when a shocking secret comes to light. © 2024 EvelynHail Exclusively on Wattpad Based on prompt 4! Which is (I shan't leave ye hanging :P): "When life gives you balloons, you fly up into the sky."