March 2024

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The Caucus-race and a Long Tale

The Dodo

A caucus race has been suggested, where everyone has to run around in circles with no clear winner. Create a blog entry (or static item) where you are in such a race with ten other participants. Who are these fine folks and why would you put them in this meaningless race? (<1000 words)



The Existential Hamster Wheel of Wonder


The absurdity hung in the air like a mischievous grin, a potent mix of nervous excitement and the vague whiff of overworked lizard. Jody, ever the intrepid wanderer, scanned the horizon as if spotting distant pyramids just over that hill, instead of mindlessly circling the same patch of grass. Rachel, a blur of cocoa-fueled determination, could probably power a small city with the sheer energy she exerted, leaving a tempting trail of discarded chocolate coins in her wake.

Gaby surveyed her pastry forces with the focus of a conquering queen, occasionally pausing to mourn a casualty that inevitably ended up squashed underfoot (and, let's be honest, probably tasted delicious). Elycia, bless her innocent heart, trailed around me with a dreamy sigh, mistaking my frantic glances for a princess lost in gentle reverie. I didn't have the heart to correct her – her enthusiasm was far too pure to shatter.

Meanwhile, Jayne and Jeff's friendly rivalry took on a whole new level in the dragon growth arena. Were those oversized iguanas with cardboard wings truly apex predators, or merely bored reptiles tolerating this nonsense for the promise of fancy snacks? The debate raged even as their "dragons" contemplated escape routes with shifty eyes. iKïyå§ama was in her element, a cyclone of tea parties, missing white rabbits, and declarations of imminent beheadings for any dandelion that dared defy her rule.

Phyllis, ever the beacon of optimism, transformed her usual motivational slogans into a manifesto embracing the sublime beauty of the pointless. "Habit Heroes, spin into the void of purpose! Dance with the absurdity!" she boomed, her voice echoing across the now slightly trampled field. StoryMistress, a portrait of controlled professional despair, scribbled madly, her eyes darting between the unfolding chaos and the rapidly approaching deadline for this utterly bizarre Merit badge and Awardicons commission.

And amidst it all was StoryMaster, our tech wizard. His circles were a marvel of precision, a programmer's ballet with an undercurrent of quiet existential pondering. Was he calculating escape trajectories from this race, or perhaps the hidden formula for finding meaning in the dizzying spin?

"Ready, set...spin!" yelled StoryMistress, her voice was a mix of amusement and a hint of existential exhaustion.

What followed was a glorious blur. Jody, true to form, took the occasional "exploratory detour", marveling at the texture of a particularly intriguing rock, or engaging a ladybug in a philosophical debate. Rachel's sugar-fueled crusade morphed into a kind of chocolate-smeared marathon, a proof to the power of processed sugar for sustained circular motion. Gaby issued commands with increasing desperation, her pastry dragons showing concerning signs of disarray. Were those battle cries, or were they cries for more frosting?

Elycia, still under the delightful misconception of my gender, curtsied to every passing bee, treating them as visiting dignitaries to my invisible court. Her imagined gown shimmered in the sunlight, attracting a squadron of mildly confused bumblebees. Jayne and Jeff's squabble reached new heights (or perhaps that was their poor iguanas being held aloft to 'achieve superior airspeed'). iKïyå§ama vanished down a conceptual rabbit hole, only to emerge shouting about missing clocks and very tardy tea guests.

Through it all, Phyllis' voice boomed with a kind of joyful defiance of logic, while StoryMistress's pen raced across the page, creating a chronicle both hilarious and hauntingly profound. StoryMaster remained in his trance of coded circles, the embodiment of unwavering focus amidst the glorious nonsense.

As the sun dipped low, casting long shadows across the field, the whistle finally brought a merciful end to the glorious absurdity. Exhausted, sweaty, and oddly enlightened, we collapsed in a heap.

"And the glorious thing is…" StoryMistress paused, searching for the right words, "Everyone's a winner! Because in this delightful exercise in embracing the nonsensical, we've all learned something extraordinary."

Why do this? Because sometimes, in a world obsessed with goals, quantifiable metrics, and being a productive member of society, you need to laugh at the absurdity, run until you're dizzy, and find a strange liberation in knowing that sometimes, the most meaningful journey is the one that brings you straight back to where you started.


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 The Caucus-race and a Long Tale

Curious and Curiouser!

History can be boring. So, it’s up to you to spice things up for us. Pick any person in history. Write up a short story about this person with titles as ridiculous as “Ghengis Khan Gets a New Haircut”. In other words, make it fun! (<1000 words)




Rizal and the Lost Quill


Dr. Jose Rizal, esteemed writer, ophthalmologist, and national hero of the Philippines, was in a state of absolute upheaval. Gone was his typical stoicism, replaced by a whirlwind of frantic energy that seemed to crackle in the cramped confines of his cell. The source of his torment? His precious quill, his lifeline to the world of words, had vanished.

"Imposters! Philistines!" Rizal raged, his voice echoing in the grim prison chamber. His normally immaculate desk had been ravaged, transformed into a battlefield of scattered papers and overturned inkwells. Every crevice of his cell had been searched. His beloved books, once a source of solace, now seemed to mock him. Without his quill, they were merely mute witnesses to his literary paralysis.

It wasn't the physical quill itself he mourned, but rather what it represented. Each feather was a conduit for the burning torrent of his thoughts, a weapon expertly wielded against the oppressive colonial regime. He'd penned fiery novels like Noli Me Tangere, exposing societal ills with a surgeon's precision. Now, his weapon was gone, leaving him defenseless.

The specter of his final novel, the fiery sequel to his revolutionary work, loomed over him. Characters danced in his mind, their fates uncertain. Visions of his antagonist, the despicable Padre Damaso, gloating amidst mountains of unearned privilege, taunted Rizal to the brink of madness. The injustice! To be stymied so close to the finish line was unendurable.

"Have I been betrayed?" Rizal hissed, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Which of my so-called allies dares sabotage my work?" The guards outside his cell stoically ignored his tirades, long accustomed to the occasional outbursts from their brilliant but volatile prisoner. His accusations flew wildly: the guards, his beloved mother (God rest her soul, but misplaced sentimentality had no place now), even the cockroaches that dared scurry across his floor.

A frantic Rizal, ever the man of action, turned to the unthinkable. "I will make my own quill! Nature shall provide!" A flurry of movement ensued. Chair legs were inspected and discarded as too blunt. Stray threads from his fraying blanket were commandeered and dipped in ink, only to produce illegible blobs. The floorboards were scrutinized, but yielded nothing but splinters and a profound sense of desperation.

News of Rizal's plight slithered through the prison like wildfire, finally reaching the ears of the Spanish governor. This pompous, small-minded man, with a fondness for cruelty thinly disguised as amusement, saw a golden opportunity. Petty games were the only victories he truly enjoyed.

A pompous package arrived the next day, addressed to Rizal with mocking formality. Within, nestled on a bed of garish crimson satin, lay a dozen quills. At first glance, they looked perfectly serviceable...until Rizal's gaze focused. These were not the feathers of proud eagles, or even sparrows. They were the pathetic, molting remnants of what must have been the most miserable chickens in Manila. A final insult from the governor, a stark reminder of his supposed superiority.

Rizal could have crumbled under the mockery, wept in bitter fury. Instead, a perverse sort of clarity sparked within him. This absurdity, the sheer indignity of it all…it was fuel. Taking up one of the scrawny quills, he dipped it in the inkwell and, trembling with barely contained rage, began to write.

The words flowed in a torrent, sharper than any fine goose quill could produce. His defiance, honed by endless injustices, poured onto the page. The governor's petty cruelties merely sharpened his wit, his satire becoming a rapier thrust against the bloated heart of the colonial system. He would not be silenced, not by stolen quills or the weight of an empire. Laughter, Rizal realized, was the ultimate resistance, echoing far louder than any gunshot.




WORD COUNT:
620 Words
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 The Pool of Tears



Où est ma chatte? ("Where is my cat?")

You are a stranger in a foreign land – try to communicate with the locals in an attempt to find your missing pet – short story. (<1000 words)



My arrival to this strange, new land wasn't the gentle awakening of a dream, but a jarring teleport into the unknown. The familiar sights and scents of my apartment vanished. Instead, I found myself adrift in a symphony of the fantastical. Trees impossibly tall stretched towards a sky painted with impossible colors, the air filled with birdsong that sounded like nothing I'd heard on Earth. Every flower, every creature, thrummed with an energy that was as beautiful as it was alien. But, worst of all, Cheshire – my feline partner-in-crime with his mischievous grin and swirling stripes – was nowhere to be seen.

Fear surged through me, a primal, gut-wrenching terror. But survival meant finding Cheshire, and that meant finding someone, anyone, who could help. I set off into the depths of this enchanted forest, following a barely-there path that wound its way through the lush undergrowth, hoping with every step that it would lead me to a village, a town, something.

And it did. The homes weren't brick and mortar, but marvels sculpted from nature itself – vast, interwoven leaves stitched with filaments of pure light. The inhabitants matched the wonder of their surroundings – tall, willowy beings with luminous eyes and skin textured like bark walked hand-in-hand with tiny, furry creatures bouncing with wide-eyed glee.

My intrusion into their world was a disruption, a note out of key with the symphony of life around me. I desperately wished for a shared language, a way to communicate the ache in my heart, the desperate longing for my feline companion. In my pocket, my phone felt both like an anchor to the world I knew and a useless hunk of metal in this foreign realm.

Then, like a lightning bolt, a memory struck. High school French lessons, long relegated to the dusty corners of my mind, seemed like a bridge in this chasm of communication. "Où est ma chatte?" I sputtered, the words thick and unfamiliar on my tongue. "Where is my cat?"

A ripple washed through the crowd, whispers and curious glances exchanged. My pulse hammered against my ribs – had they understood, even with my rusty accent?

Hands shaking, I fumbled for my phone. Its familiar weight, the bright screen, seemed a tiny beacon of the world I knew. I scrolled frantically through my gallery until I found it – a snapshot of Cheshire perched on his cat tower, his eyes bright with impish curiosity.

"Cheshire," I choked out, pointing at his photo, then at myself. "Perdu. Lost." For a moment I became an actor on a makeshift stage, mimicking his proud strut, the exaggerated swish of his tail, and then dissolving into a pantomime of confusion, a universal expression of bewilderment and loss.

Then, a change. One of the luminous-eyed women stepped forward, her scales shimmering like abalone. Her voice, an alien melody of trills and clicks, held a warmth that transcended language. She pointed with a long, graceful finger towards the dense tangle of the forest, an undeniable purpose in her movements.

Had she seen Cheshire? Hope bloomed, a fragile thing in the face of the impossible. I repeated his name, emphasizing his distinctive walk again. She nodded eagerly and motioned for me to follow.

I trailed behind her, questions swirling through my mind alongside a blossoming hope. I had no map, no guidebook, and little understanding of this magical place. But in this surreal world, kindness had cut through the language barrier and offered a path to follow. Perhaps this was the truest magic of all, and it fueled my steps as I ventured deeper into the unknown, a stranger in a strange land searching for my lost feline heart.





WORD COUNT:
615 Words
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 The Pool of Tears



Drowning in Tears

Create a blog entry (or static item) telling about the saddest event of your life. (<1000 words)



When Typhoon Rai violently ravaged my hometown. The devastation was immense, and my heart ached for my family far away. Cut off in another city, I felt as if I were drowning in a sea of uncertainty, news of the storm's destruction filtering through like whispered rumors. The mental images were torture – collapsed bridges, impassable roads strewn with debris, a world violently reshaped. Every tree trunk and fissure in the ground became a symbol of the potential danger my family faced. I was utterly helpless, suspended in a state of perpetual panic. Had they survived? I had no way to reach them, no lifeline to cling to. For two excruciating days, I was trapped in that limbo of terror.

Then came the crushing blow - our house was gone, utterly destroyed. Grief washed over me in waves, a strange mix of despair at the material loss and a profound, breathless wave of relief that my family was, by God's mercy, alive. They'd escaped, but our home, every tangible remnant of our life together, was reduced to rubble. My hope of returning to help them rebuild flickered weakly in the face of those reports of shattered roads and impassable terrain.

As if the typhoon itself hadn't brought enough sorrow, fate delivered another devastating blow a few months later. My body buckled under the weight of multiple illnesses. Covid-19, merciless and relentless, ravaged me. Each day in the hospital became a battleground, a struggle to simply draw the next breath. The world outside shrank to the four sterile walls of my room. Meanwhile, those merciless medical bills climbed with each passing day, a mountain of debt that threatened to bury any remaining hope of recovery. The money painstakingly saved for rebuilding vanished, swallowed by the fight for my survival. We even had to sell our cattle, a sacrifice that cut my family to the core, a testament to our desperation.

Yet, the cruelest blow wasn't inflicted by nature or illness. It was the person I believed would stand unwaveringly beside me, my partner, who cracked under the strain. When I needed him most, he shattered into pieces, fleeing from the weight of my burdens. The emotional agony of his abandonment sliced deeper than any physical pain, twisting the knife of betrayal in my broken heart. Loneliness descended upon me like a suffocating fog, seeping into the marrow of my being.

This has undoubtedly been the darkest, most challenging year of my life. Typhoon, illness, financial ruin, and the sting of abandonment – a relentless onslaught testing the very limits of what I can endure. Yet, somewhere deep inside, a stubborn flicker of hope remains. I won't let these misfortunes define me. Instead, they will forge me, if I allow them, into someone stronger, someone who knows how to cling to that tiny flame of hope when the world seems determined to extinguish it.




WORD COUNT:
479 Words
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 The Pool of Tears



Curiouser and Curiouser

Stranger things have happened, so why not share the most curious thing that's ever happened to you. Alice would definitely empathize. (<500 words)



Walt Disney's Peter Pan and Tinkerbell ignited a spark in me, a stubborn childlike belief that they were more than just characters in a story. Their timeless charm made me imagine a world unseen to most. Back in my home province, amidst the lush greenery, I stumbled upon whispers of that magical world.

A monstrous balete tree loomed near our house, its gnarled roots and twisted canopy casting an ominous shadow. My parents painted vivid pictures of an invisible monster lurking within, tales of a creature with an insatiable appetite for lost children. Yet, even fear couldn't keep me away entirely.

One day, armed with fishing poles, my father, brother, and I ventured to the shadowed river basin cradled by the balete's roots. The silence was otherworldly, broken only by the whisper of leaves and the eerie creak of branches swaying in the breeze. Tiny birds danced and chirped overhead, a burst of life in that somber place. Suddenly, a glimmering, leaf-like object spiraled down, catching the sunlight that pierced the dense foliage.

But this was no ordinary leaf. On closer inspection, I realized I held a tiny, pointed wing—nothing like the rounded wings of the dragonflies I used to chase for my pet spider. Intrigued, I showed my father, but he dismissed it with a frown, urging me back to our fishing. I tossed the strange wing aside, watching it tumble and twist in the current, and as if on cue, my fishing line jerked violently!

That day by the balete tree is etched in my memory, a flicker of my childhood wonder. Though time has passed, I still cling to a whimsical belief in fairies. I've even had other encounters that seem to hint at their hidden world, but those are stories for another time. Imagine if they were truly among us, whispering secrets on the wind. We might take flight alongside them or discover a realm of pure, forgotten magic.




WORD COUNT:
324 Words
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 Down the Rabbit Hole



Shutting Up Like a Telescope

A new planet has just been discovered...by you! Describe this planet, its inhabitants, and what life would be like over there. Be careful now, as Dinah the Cat must approve. (<1000 words)


They called him Gervic the Dreamer, and not kindly. With his threadbare maps of phantom continents and his pockets bulging with chipped stones and feathers, he was a figure of ridicule in the age of steamboats and cold, hard facts. Yet, the whispers of dragons and undiscovered lands burned brighter in his soul than any hearth fire. His wasn't the life of a scholar or a merchant; he was a chaser of the horizon, the believer in the impossible.

The day his battered vessel stumbled through a shimmering rip in the fabric of the cosmos, he'd have forgiven anyone for thinking him madder than ever. Planets aren't supposed to shimmer like dragonfly wings, or have trees woven from emeralds and sapphires. The very air tasted of starlight and promises, and in the distance, a hill sighed, shook off a grove of silver-barked trees, and took flight on shimmering wings.

"Gervaise," he breathed, the name settling on the planet like a blessing, a tribute to himself – the one who found it, who believed when others scoffed. It was as much his as it was its own.

The Fae came first – sprites with voices like chimes, water nymphs with laughter that bubbled like brooks, and ancient, gnarled beings rooted in the ever-shifting earth, their eyes glimmering with the eons-old magic of the Weavers. They welcomed him, not with the suspicion of men, but with open curiosity. After all, hadn't this unexpected human arrived on a marvelously absurd vessel that belched smoke like a grumpy dwarf?

Here, on his Gervaise, treasure wasn't measured in gold. His first precious find was a song caught in the swirl of a seashell – a melody carried on a salt-laden breeze. Then came a feather from a cloud-bird, its touch infusing his dreams with the sensation of flight. With playful sprites, he wove a fabric from threads of sunlight and laughter, just to see what patterns they would create upon the shimmering canvas of the sky.

Of course, the whispers of a true hoard snagged at the explorer in him. Legend among the Fae told of the Gemstone Caverns, a place where the very essence of Gervaise's magic crystallized. Armed with stories and a satchel woven from moonlight, he ventured towards the ever-shifting mountains.

It wasn't about the wealth; it was about the wonder. Rubies bloomed from the ground, their hearts pulsing with a deep, red light. But they hissed with discord if he moved too quickly, and the handful he'd scooped up turned to dust in his palm. Sunlight hung ripe and golden, but it slipped through his fingers like liquid laughter – no earthly pouch could contain it.

He was ready to collapse in a heap of frustrated wonder when a sprite with eyes like polished amethysts found him. "See, not take," she giggled, leading him deeper. The true hoard held no coin, but experiences: tasting starshine in dewdrops, deciphering the patterns of a waterfall that told stories in its flow, learning to breathe starlight till his lungs glowed, ever so slightly.

Dragons? There was no scaled beast with smoke and flame. But there was a power thrumming beneath Gervaise – playful, unpredictable, as likely to sprout a shimmering castle as it was to turn it upside down. He felt it in the beat of his own heart, the sudden urge to build, to create, to chase the horizon even within this world of endless wonder.

When the portal pulsed back into being, it took every ounce of his strength to step through. The townsfolk flinched at the starlight still clinging to his hair and the song of a thousand rainbows humming beneath his skin. Let them call him mad, let them doubt the tales of his Gervaise. His pockets weren't full of coin, but of dreams made real - the warmth of a sunbeam in a crystal vial, the echo of a spritesong caught in a conch, the whisper of wind given voice. He was Gervic, the adventurer, the believer, forever changed by the planet bearing his name, the planet whispering back in the very beat of his wonder-seeking heart.




Here's a short profile of this magical planet:



Planet Gervaise


The Essence of Magic: Gervaise isn't just infused with magic, it seems to be sculpted from it. The very air shimmers with a soft luminescence, and the laws of physics bend and warp with playful whimsy.

Landscapes in Flux: The terrain of Gervaise is a kaleidoscope of transformation. Rolling hills can sprout feathery wings and take flight, rivers might flow upwards, and forests could be made of shimmering gemstones instead of trees.

Whimsical Weather: Weather patterns are as unpredictable as they are enchanting. One moment there might be a gentle rain of flower petals, the next a localized blizzard of shimmering lights, followed by a breeze that whispers secrets in your ear.


Inhabitants


The Fae Folk: Gervaise is primarily home to various Fae creatures. There are mischievous sprites with dragonfly wings, wise tree-ent-like beings rooted in the ever-changing earth, water nymphs who dance within the liquid landscapes, and many others, each more fantastical than the last.

Sentient Flora and Fauna: The animals and even some plant life on Gervaise possess a unique sentience infused with magic. You might encounter a talking toadstool with surprisingly sound advice, or a flock of birds that paint rainbows in the sky as they fly.

The Weavers of Magic: The most potent wielders of magic on Gervaise are a group of ancient beings known as the Weavers. They are elusive and rarely directly interfere, but their touch is felt in the very essence of the planet.


Life on Gervaise


Boundless Creativity: Life on Gervaise is a dance of imagination made manifest. Dwellings are grown from living vines, shaped into whimsical forms. Meals can be conjured from thin air, limited only by your culinary creativity.

Playful Exploration: Days are filled with wonder and exploration. One moment you might be learning the language of a rainbow-plumed bird, the next helping a colony of sprites build a fantastical city of dewdrops.

Harmony with the Unpredictable: Living within a landscape of magical flux requires adaptability. The Fae have an innate understanding of the planet's shifting nature and embrace the surprise and delight found within chaos.


Challenges


Logic Takes a Back Seat: Gervaise isn't a place for rigid planning or strict rationality. Things happen because they can not always because they should. Adjusting to this mindset is key.

Potential for Overindulgence: With the ability to create and transform easily, there's a potential for unchecked overindulgence which some inhabitants of Gervaise might struggle with.




WORD COUNT:
Story: 689 Words (Planet profile excluded)
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