WE HIT FIFTY FOLLOWERS 🎊🎉🎈

✰ᴢᴏᴇ✰January 18, 2021October 12, 2022Writing Challenges50 followers, Carmen Sandiego Tag, happy new year, Ray is Writing, writing contest

{literally screw hiatus at this point I have so much stuff too get to 😅🥲}

✋🏻👁👄👁🤚🏻

SALVETE!

OMG WE HIT THE GRAND TOTAL OF 50 LOVELY FOLLOWERS ON THIS BLOG *big ol’ sniff 🤧*

THANK Y’ALL SO SO SO SO SO MUUUUCH!!

So in honor of this wonderful accomplishment (bIg WoRd tImE) I’m entering myself in yet another contest at Ray’s blog! Because this was made because she hit 100 followers! 🤩

But now I feel underrated. 😗

Anyway—

So here are the rules:

You can write either a poem or a short story, which have to be under 1,000 words, and have the general theme of the new year.
Anyone can submit their story/poem before 31st January at 12 AM in Indian Standard Time.
Once you’re done writing it out, go ahead and give it to her via this Google form. (I can’t access that because of pArEntS [ugh] BUT Ray very nicely let me just post my story and let her know, y’know, it exists. 😂)
Be original, and do NOT copy anyone’s work.
Please keep this kid-friendly.
One person may submit one entry only.
Have fun! If writing something for this contest isn’t fun, don’t do it!
You don’t have to have a blog or email for this! Just submit it via the Google form above!
The winner will be announced by 8th February.
Please follow the rules to make this a pleasant experience for everyone. If someone doesn’t, they will automatically be disqualified.
If you submit your entry late, Ray will most likely not count it in.

And the prize:

There will be one winner, who will win a first place certificate, a shoutout in her winner post (with the link to their blog if they have one), and a guest post on Ray’s blog!

I just want to say: I swear on the River Styx I came up with this by myself and if you had the same idea I’m sorry.

So… let’s get into the storytelling!

🎉🎊🎉

Another year. Another day my brother is missing.

He Vanished last year—capital V. It happens every year: a new child gone. My father thinks I’m next, though I doubt it. Two children of the same family are never taken.

I’ve noticed something in common with everyone who Vanishes: they are all born on the day a new year starts. Which, you might think, is pretty rare. But our town—named the Italian Cliff (creative, considering we live on a literal cliff. In Italy)—is infused with some sort of ancient magic that I don’t quite understand.

Of course, we (apparently) live in a world of gods and magic.

I’ve asked the old wives for tales of a god(dess) of the new year. They answered with Strenua, goddess of the new year, purification, and well-being. Perhaps she’s the kidnapper and is performing some sort of purification. But no one who disappears is never seen again.

So I’ve done the reasonable thing and I’ve taken it upon myself to find my brother. And the other missing persons.

💙💙💙

All the information I could find on Strenua was something about twigs. Hooray. Perhaps she is bitter about no longer being worshipped, at least in my town. We would have heard if this was happening elsewhere. After years, since commutation takes forever, or close to it.

“Lusilia!” A voice shouted my name at me.

I turned towards the sound. “Oh, Viviella!”

My brunette friend ran to me. “Look! I found this scroll in my father’s room! And look what it says.”

I studied it. “A divine being soon found with dead child…” “Goddess of new year…” “Purification rites…” “Stay inside while this all happens…” Warnings and predictions.

“This was in your father’s room?” I clarified.

“Yes, I found it buried in an old Senate toga of his.”

“That must mean he was trying to keep it hidden from people… Viv, what is your father doing?”

“I thought… I thought he used to be in the Senate… now he does absolutely nothing while my mother works her podex off for his lazy needs—I mean, my mother is repaying him for his work to help form our country.”

I knew about her procrastinating father. But right now, the important matter at hand was my brother. Sorry, Viv.

I simply took in her poorly disguised complaints and continued looking at the scroll.

With no warning or visible spark, the scroll I was reading burst into whitehot flames. Because life wasn’t interesting enough. “Aaah!” But it didn’t burn. It wasn’t even cold—overloading my nerves with the heat.

Viv gasped. “Lusilia! Above your head!”

I instinctively looked up. The sight that greeted my eyes was strange to say the least. A fancy sun, made out of fire was atop my head. “What the-“

“Oh my god! What is that?!” A silvery moon sphere shone above her own head. An arrow piercing the moon appeared next.

“Oh my god, you’re a Hunter! Of Diana!”

“You’re a freaking daughter of Apollo! Does this make us siblings?! Wait no, I’m just a Hunter.”

We both (understandably) freaked out together for a while. Then I realized this meant we could talk to literal gods, albeit only two. “Oh my god!”

“How do we talk to them? Do we… DIANA!”

“Uh, sure… APOLLO!”

I guess the Godly Twins noticed, because next thing we saw were two chariots, one pale silver and pulled by golden-antlered and hooved deer, the other bright gold and pulled by firey horses. “Hello, mortals. Please stop screaming our names.”

💙💙💙

Once we established that we weren’t, in fact, trying to take over the world with arrows (because gods were paranoid like that), we told them our predicament. What with the kidnappings and whatnot.

They very reluctantly agreed, because it’s customary to grant your demigod child one favor because their mortal parent likely wasn’t wanting for a child, but it all works out, more or less. Of course, our favor was help with my brother and Viv’s older sister who was apparently missing as well. Poor Viv.

And so they spawned their arrows and bows back into their hands and told us to hop in.

💙💙💙

Being gods, the Godly Twins simply thought of Strenua and we were teleported to her cave.

Or rather, Mercury’s birth cave that Strenua took over.

Apollo shot an arrow with a note attached into the cave and we waited.

Not long after, a glowing 10 foot tall woman came out of the cave, dressed in a flowing white tunic with a braided leather belt. She gripped the arrow tightly in her hands. Strenua.

Now, I don’t know what I was expecting when I saw Strenua. A battle, perhaps. One-on-one maybe. But Diana simply shot the goddess in the chest and she collapsed.

“Stygian poison. Enough to incapacitate a minor goddess.” Diana said without looking my way. “Let’s go in.”

Apollo and Diana had their bows at the ready as we went in. I was still processing the fact that Strenua was down. Apollo grabbed me and shoved me towards the cave. “In.”

“Oh, uh, okay.” I stumbled forward.

I really don’t know how to tell what happened next. I grabbed my brother and ran out of the cave. The next second the cave exploded. Right in front of my very eyes. “OH MY GOD. VIV!!!” Apollo and Diana materialized in front of me with children in their arms. “She died a hero.” Diana said quietly.

“OH GREAT IT’S NOT LIKE BEING ALIVE IS BETTER.”

“Enough already. We will go back to your home and never speak of this again.” But Apollo still looked a little shaken up.

I went home in tears. Viv was gone and nothing could bring her back.

Wait. A thought struck my brain. Nothing except… Asclepius, Apollo’s son.

💙💙💙

How did ya like it??

My own writing contest!

Heheheheh. I’ve wanted to host one, but I never had a good reason, but now…

Dem rules:

The story has to be 500-1,000 words (no more, no less)
You have to mention some sort of mythology (you can scour the internet if you need to too)
Make sure to pingback this post specifically (no Google form because ✨parents✨)
The deadline is… February 15 (my half birthday 🥰)
The winner will get bragging rights, a shoutout, uh, a guest post if I can figure that crap out, I’ll follow you (if I’m not already) and I’m going to draw a little medal 🏅
There will be second and third place as well as a handful of runners up
I’ll read and grade them all myself and I don’t know how many people will want to do this so I can’t promise an exact date for the results
Don’t copy, cuss, or generally be inappropriate
One story per person

So um yeah. Have a fun writing time! *cough cough* hoping Ray enters *cough cough*

Afterthought: the Carmen Sandiego Tag!!

SEASON FOUR IS FINALLY OUT 🥳! WHOOOOO!

Excuse me. 😅

The rulessssss:

Credit and link to the creator (Ray is Writing). (Even more Ray 😆)
Give a shoutout to the person who tagged you. (It was open to anyone)
Don’t forget to add the rules at the top of the post! (Well, uh, this is awkward)
Answer the five questions given from the person who tagged you.
Ask five questions of your own (they have to be at least somewhat related to Carmen Sandiego, although one can be kinda random).
Come up with three “crime code names” for yourself.
Recommend three other series’ to watch.
Tag at least three people other people! Things like “anyone who wants to do this tag can do it” are totally fine.
And finally, use the tag “Carmen Sandiego Tag”!