Onc2021 Stories

[ROUND TWO ONC 2021 qualifier] Young Camille Kamdev is hoping on her sixteen birthday she'll magically wake up as a zit-less, sassy, grown-up goddess, one babes will fall in love with because she finally has it, whatever 'it' is. That or the God of Love will take mercy on her and send someone. Instead, Cammy welcomes her sixteenth scratching an itch she can't rid of, her parents stare at her as if she's grown horns and conspire in hushed whispers--clearly up to something--and her best friend, Becca-Banana, blurts, "Oh, my God, guess who just asked me out?" in the clichést of cliches teen-love scenes. Reggie Sanchez with his lopsided smile and a dimple to die for is now taken. And if that wasn't enough to send any teen screaming, an unexpected visitor rocks up with news-to-end-all-news, just in time to throw her life into utter chaos. ~~~ "I'm a what?" Cammy asked, blinking like a deer caught in the headlight, for that is exactly what she was. Her visitor smiled, a smile so sickly sweet she both wanted to punch him in the face and go 'Aww, aren't you a cutie!' at the same time. "You're a Cupid, Miss Kamdev. It's in your name. Now. Shall we begin?" ~~~ Prompt #67: "What? Why are you looking at me as if I grew horns?" With a twist on Prompt #4: "You're a weapon, and weapons don't weep."--> to "You're a God, and Gods don't weep." FEATURED on: Round Two Qualifier - ONC 2021 @WattpadStars - 'Tis the Season (Dec 2021) @mythandlegend - ONC2021 Mythmakers @YA - Animal House (Aug 2021) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (2021) Eva Acharya. No part of this novella may be copied, or translated without explicit permission from me.

When he was sixteen, Lu Ten thought the Fire Nation would change the world. At age thirty, he realized it wasn't the world that needed changing, right at the same time some of his not so clever life choices started catching up to him. It was time to become wise, like someone he greatly admired, even if he couldn't do anything with said wisdom. Disclaimer - I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. This is both a giftfic for a good friend of mine, KelseyAlicia who encouraged me to go the route of Lu Ten/Ursa in my To Lose or to Gain series, but also an ONC project. While parts of this story arc are AU to where I intend on taking the To Lose or to Gain series others are not. The prompt I am using is number thirty, "'Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.' - Rumi."

Guardians, those who have swore to protect humanity's freedom even at the cost of their own lives. This is who Takiaya is-or was. Now everything has changed. Only a scarce few of the Guardians remain, and Takiaya can't bring herself to trust another human again, not after what happened. But when one boy saves her, she can't help start to wonder. Is all of humanity as cruel as she thought? And if not, is there some good still worth saving?

Greedy for more power, Clan chief Paden MacFarlane has his eyes set on a flourishing and prosperous Clan: the Clan Baird that lies on the border separating the Lowlands and Highlands. His plan was going well until an unexpected betrayal occurred. Blackmailed into following Chief Paden in his blinded victory, Chief MacMillan saves Arabella Baird and brings her into his home. Raising her as his very own, MacMillian keeps the murder of her family a secret. But secrets were never meant to be hidden. With determination and will, Arabella sets out on her revenge to regain her clan but finding love, friendship, and purpose along the way.

A badass pirate girl. A crew of bickering men. A missing captain. An iguana. A treasure map. Add to that a mermaid, a bunch of manatees, and perhaps a capybara or two. These are the ingredients to a crazy and unexpected adventure across the seven seas. Will the crew stop bickering? Will they find the treasure? And how did the iguana end up as the captain of the ship?

A geeky young doctor enlists the help of an uninvited supernatural guest to win the heart of his long-time crush before she gets swept off her feet by their Mr. Perfect boss. ***** Asher Jansen is one of the many new resident doctors that have joined St. Bernard Hospital. In sync with his luck, there's a freaking pandemic. Hello Covid-19! He doesn't mind working 80+ hours a week and his daily main source of nutrition being a protein shake and instant noodles. Not at all when he gets to work alongside his secret crush, the girl of his dreams, the beautiful and smart yet friendly, Kaylee Fisher. The only problem is Kaylee only has eyes for their medical director Jacob Parker. Okay, that's a lie. Aside from Kaylee already liking someone else, Asher is probably the gold standard of dorks that sports super thick glasses and rotates between only two pairs of chucks. So yeah, zero fashion sense. But all that changes when a certain grim reaper takes a vacation on Earth and borrows Asher's body. The term 'borrow' here being used very loosely. And what will happen when Asher's soul doesn't go to sleep like it's supposed to when the grim reaper takes over his body? Let's find out. ~~~~~~ AN: This is an Open Novella Contest 2021 entry. Story is based off of prompt #36. 36. You are Death, and you are obligated to roam the Earth for one week every hundred years to learn about what the humans are up to these days. The problem? You get stuck on Earth during 2020. Definitely not a social hour. Story is my own and original. Please do not translate or copy without permission. Plagiarism of any form will not be tolerated.

Dive into this novella as we follow Thanatos, the Greek god of death as he's trapped in 2020. In a desperate bid to get back to his routine, he deploys a young demi-god to set things right. Things are not so simple as Thanatos beings to realise the gravity of his entrapment. You wouldn't want him knocking at your door but fourteen-year-old Giorgio isn't so lucky. When Thanatos comes knocking at his door his world is about to change as he's given his first quest as a demi-god to stop the world from ending. Nothing could go wrong, right?

Claire, Georgia, and Danny aren't your average ghost hunters. Their hit livestream channel "Creep It Real" rakes in thousands of viewers each time they go live. But what their fans don't know is that the trio fake the hauntings they come across at each location. And their next haunt is supposed to be no exception. While streaming at Grimwood Manor, the "haunted" estate their top donor suggested they visit, they begin to experience strange things. Things they never experienced before. Things that aren't natural, and that will undermine everything they thought they believed. The trio comes face-to-face with real ghosts for the first time, but these aren't regular ghosts. They're something vicious, and they aren't willing to let go. Not until all of their victims' hope is drained and gone. Claire and her friends will have to fight to get back what they had, even if they have to face their pasts and worst fears in the process. *Open Novella Contest IV Shortlister and Ambassador Pick! Copyright © 2021, Heather Dianne Cover and other graphics made by me

Prince Leif could not have imagined that the Princess of Aradanas would be kidnapped at her own ball, but that's exactly what happened. Without question of his own safety, Leif and three other prospective suitors, dive blindly into a rescue mission. The way is not easy by any means, and wrought with battles- fought with brawn against soldiers, and with brain against the magical creatures of the wilds between the kingdoms. Their fears are tested, and bonds are formed; something Leif did not expect when he dove into the tunnels under the palace in a race to save the princess and hopefully prevent a war. But what happens when the princess does not need saving after all, and the enemy they chase is not the right one? When secrets are revealed, can Leif trust that the men he's bonded with are who they say they are? -.-.-.- ONC 2021 Prompts #87 and #67 -.-.-.- Highest rank #23 in Masquerade

I could tell you this is about my family, or about my friends. But really this is about war in a ship in the middle of nothing, and about finding love in the people you thought would be the last you'd fall for. I'm Noelia Castrillón Maturin, the Spanish niece of the surgeon. In town, everyone loved us but in the Surprise, as a woman, I'll have to strive for my place. It is quite easy, I only have to get the men on my side... ꧁Photo of the cover: taken from Internet꧂

What do you do when you find a dead soldier from the opposing kingdom just when the Declaration of Peace was about to be signed? Hide the dead body, of course. Super soldier twins Petra and Peter made two mistakes: one is burying a dead body instead of telling people that they found the soldier dead, and the other is getting caught while doing it. Now that the peace of Royisa and Nuryyn are on the line, they have to prove that they weren't the ones who killed the soldier. It's not easy, especially since people from their opposing kingdom seem to be doing anything to show that they killed the soldier. But as they investigate, they realize that the soldier may not be exactly who he seems, and that the motives for his death might just be something else other than war. However, one thing was certain. In Royisa, fingers aren't the only thing that people can cross. Cover by @dayisademigod

ɴᴇxᴛ ᴅʀᴀᴡ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴏɴ ғᴇʙᴜᴀʀʏ 𝟻ᴛʜ, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟷 @ 𝟻ᴘᴍ ɢᴍᴛ It's February! And ya'll know what that means, ONC Season has officially begun! To celebrate this season in style and to give a little something back to this amazing community I've decided to do a cover raffle! That's right, I'll be giving away some free covers to a few lucky winners for ONC exclusive books. So if you are looking for a cover to showcase your new work in progress just read the rules, fill out the form and you'll be entered into the draw! Good luck and happy writing everyone!

Nora Abraham isn't a hero. In fact, she's far from that. A red-headed spitfire who is-WHOOPS- a descendant from a long line of telepaths, Nora never had any interest in the world of heroes, a world that her father has long been pressuring her to join. Until she received a letter from the Aurelia School for the Wicked and Vile, the number one villain school in the world, Nora didn't even consider going away to hero boarding school, let alone train to be a villain. But her mother's disappearance had something to do with Madame Aurelia, the wicked, never-seen-by-any-of-her-students, headmistress. Nora is pressured to go by her father, armed with nothing but her wits and the foggy memory of what really happened that day. The time is running out for Nora to find the truth. The deepest secrets of the oldest school in the world bombard her at every turn. Can Nora find the truth before whatever got her mom gets her next? COVER BY @IceBlueShadows who we do not deserve

Every now and then, a strange signal blinks on the live-dead map. Question marks above the dot represent how much knowledge about it the Underworld Central's Death Headquarters lacks. Kuolema, the Master Death and ruler of the Underworld, sends out his reapers to investigate, yet each time they come back empty-handed. Convinced they are just incompetent idiots, he decides to find this mysterious intruder while performing the obligatory centennial surveillance of mortals. Of course, it's 2020 and the pandemic is in full swing. His plan does not go as conceived. ONC entry using the prompts 36 and 57, both featuring Death as the main theme 2k words achieved - passed the 1st round 8k words achieved

Harper Holland has started a Twitter account called All Things Breakfast. After several months of dedicated, daily posting, she is proud to say her account has forty-three whole followers, not counting her best friend Olivia. On one completely unremarkable morning, after she crafts an exceptionally beautiful post, she forgets to change from her hole-filled sweat pants into her jeans. But that's not going to ruin her day, right? Except it does, because crashing into a door and thoroughly embarrassing herself wouldn't be complete without an awkward encounter with the most beautiful man she had ever laid eyes on. If she'd known she was going to meet him, she would have been extra sure she was wearing nicer pants. And if she'd known all the trouble that morning tweet would cause, she probably wouldn't have posted that either. I mean, no one wants to start a coup with their breakfast tweets, right? But she did forget to change, and she did post the tweet, so now she has to accept her consequences. The only problem is those consequences keep getting weirder and weirder. Sometimes, being internet famous isn't all it's cracked up to be. *** This novella was written as part of the open novella contest 2021 for prompt number 40.

"who do you think you are, some sort of Robin Hood?" "No someone who wants to do the right thing." Join Etornam, a girl whose whole life has been turned upside down. This is a story of strange discoveries and betrayals. Enjoy 😊😊.

Son of a famous hero, a now orphaned Max is forced to come out to the public with his powers. With panic spreading over the nation, it's his job to try finding other super people who haven't been wiped out by the illness for a final stand against rising villains. Prompt #3 "When the world's superheroes are struck down with a deadly and mysterious illness, it's time for the next generation of heroes to save the day." Prompt #4 "You're a weapon, and weapons don't weep."

** COMPLETE ** Gordon Twist gets a surprise note from a man who dies in front of him. No warning or explanation given. Who was this man? Who did he think Gordon was? And what does this note mean? Gordon is stuck in a nightmare. People want to protect him, but is that for his own good or theirs? This story was originally written for the Open Novella Contest 2021. It made it through to the Long List, which I was quite pleased with.

How many times must you die before you realize what you are living for? ********************************************************* Ezlyn Graves has lost her mind. Literally! The inability to remember a single event after a drunken night leaves her mystified. To make matters worse, a cryptic text message revealing that she is an agent, presents a life she never knew existed. Apparently, Ezlyn is a Guardian of the Death Guard, summoned by Death to locate the stolen scythe before the necrological order of demise is disrupted. But Ezzie didn't expect to be teamed up with devious miscreants thirsty for blood and seeking vengeance. In fact, she isn't at all prepared to learn that some of Death's own personal guards have gone missing, especially at a time when she has no recollection of the life she is living or what she is capable of. Mystery/Thriller Prompt 54: You get a mysterious message on your phone stating, Agent 23, you have been activated. You guess it's a bad time to have amnesia.

Is it a gift or a curse to always come back to life after you die?