This sounds fun! Let’s get my word.
My word is “Earth.” Story to come.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
She dug her fingers into the dirt, planting the last seed as the sun dipped low. The earth was tired, cracked from years of drought, but she refused to give up.
Weeks passed. She watered, sang, and waited beneath the silent sky. One morning, she woke to a green sprout breaking through the dust, delicate but fierce.
Years later, the barren field bloomed into a lush garden. Children played among the vines, their laughter stitching life back into the wounded land. She stood at the edge, smiling. The earth had listened and had answered. They had saved each other.
My word is “Earth.” Story to come.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
She dug her fingers into the dirt, planting the last seed as the sun dipped low. The earth was tired, cracked from years of drought, but she refused to give up.
Weeks passed. She watered, sang, and waited beneath the silent sky. One morning, she woke to a green sprout breaking through the dust, delicate but fierce.
Years later, the barren field bloomed into a lush garden. Children played among the vines, their laughter stitching life back into the wounded land. She stood at the edge, smiling. The earth had listened and had answered. They had saved each other.
rolled 1d10 and got a natural 4.
The word for this year is "trouble..."

My mother always told me to stay out of trouble – a decree that I always held myself to. I can scarcely believe that I’m about to start it, but I have no other alternatives…
The air was thick, sultry, and oppressive. The lot of us were gathered in the streets, raising our voices, a force to be reckoned with.
Then there were protestors on the ground, and the police officer’s boot was coming down. The moment seemed to freeze in crystal clear clarity. I knew exactly what I had to do. It was now or never – you only live once.

My mother always told me to stay out of trouble – a decree that I always held myself to. I can scarcely believe that I’m about to start it, but I have no other alternatives…
The air was thick, sultry, and oppressive. The lot of us were gathered in the streets, raising our voices, a force to be reckoned with.
Then there were protestors on the ground, and the police officer’s boot was coming down. The moment seemed to freeze in crystal clear clarity. I knew exactly what I had to do. It was now or never – you only live once.
rolled 1d10 and got a natural 9.
My prompt is fire, so I present:
Burning Low
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The chill cut deep through me, snow falling listlessly, in no hurry to bury me beneath it's beautiful embrace. The wood feeding me was wet, barely keeping me alight. A man huddled close, desperate for any reprieve from the cold.
We depended on one another. He gave me energy. I staved off frostbite. But we didn't delude ourselves. I would be extinguished - whether due to the wind or lack of proper wood to burn - and he would succumb shortly after. Yet, despite that, we both couldn't stop clinging onto life stubbornly.
I would flicker on. He would stoke my flames.
Burning Low
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The chill cut deep through me, snow falling listlessly, in no hurry to bury me beneath it's beautiful embrace. The wood feeding me was wet, barely keeping me alight. A man huddled close, desperate for any reprieve from the cold.
We depended on one another. He gave me energy. I staved off frostbite. But we didn't delude ourselves. I would be extinguished - whether due to the wind or lack of proper wood to burn - and he would succumb shortly after. Yet, despite that, we both couldn't stop clinging onto life stubbornly.
I would flicker on. He would stoke my flames.
rolled 1d10 and got a natural 3.
Note: Here goes
Topic - earth
The earth, such a small globe full of life and wonder. Made of water, fire, wind and earth, from the latter it takes its name.
We are born on it, live off it, are buried under it, call it mother. Yet cradle to grave, we bend it to our will, tear it down, build on its fields, soil its waters, pollute its air, spoil its beauty, deplete its resources, but we're not masters, we're children, we should care for it.
I will plant a tree, bury a seed, water a flower, fires start with one spark, one good deed, mine.
The earth, such a small globe full of life and wonder. Made of water, fire, wind and earth, from the latter it takes its name.
We are born on it, live off it, are buried under it, call it mother. Yet cradle to grave, we bend it to our will, tear it down, build on its fields, soil its waters, pollute its air, spoil its beauty, deplete its resources, but we're not masters, we're children, we should care for it.
I will plant a tree, bury a seed, water a flower, fires start with one spark, one good deed, mine.
rolled 1d10 and got a natural 4.
The prompt was fire!
The campfire flickers, spits sparks; you sit down next to it, cross-legged.
"Tell me a story," you say. The fire, disagreeable, blows smoke into your face. You cough. "Stop that." The smoke abates, sheepish. It flickers again in a hungry sort of way. "Fine, fine."
You add another log to the campfire. It brightens, delighted, flames curling around the burning wood. And then, indulging you, the flames form shapes: the burning of Troy, the sacking of Rome.
Here, the campfire is your only friend. And yet it's reminding you, with this story: friend, perhaps, but still wild. Still burning.
The campfire flickers, spits sparks; you sit down next to it, cross-legged.
"Tell me a story," you say. The fire, disagreeable, blows smoke into your face. You cough. "Stop that." The smoke abates, sheepish. It flickers again in a hungry sort of way. "Fine, fine."
You add another log to the campfire. It brightens, delighted, flames curling around the burning wood. And then, indulging you, the flames form shapes: the burning of Troy, the sacking of Rome.
Here, the campfire is your only friend. And yet it's reminding you, with this story: friend, perhaps, but still wild. Still burning.
rolled 1d10 and got a natural 3.
I'll give this a go ~
Theme: Heart
The boy found the heart in the woods—beating, warm, and pulsing in the dirt like it belonged to something still alive. He wrapped it in his scarf, unsure why he couldn’t leave it behind.
At home, it thumped louder, echoing in his chest like it had synced to his own. Days passed, he began to change: kinder, braver, open.
When the girl from school cried alone in the hallway, he offered her the scarf. “It’s yours now,” he said. She didn’t understand, not fully—but when she held it, she felt less alone. Somehow, the heart had known she needed one.
Theme: Heart
The boy found the heart in the woods—beating, warm, and pulsing in the dirt like it belonged to something still alive. He wrapped it in his scarf, unsure why he couldn’t leave it behind.
At home, it thumped louder, echoing in his chest like it had synced to his own. Days passed, he began to change: kinder, braver, open.
When the girl from school cried alone in the hallway, he offered her the scarf. “It’s yours now,” he said. She didn’t understand, not fully—but when she held it, she felt less alone. Somehow, the heart had known she needed one.
rolled 1d10 and got a natural 6.
"Together!" Sir Fluffy Bottom yelled as he and his orange companion once more smashed into the evil wood that hid their beloved mother.
"Perhaps if we sing, she'll know we're here and help!" Ronald added as his sunset fur brushed uselessly into the wood.
"She needs us, RONALD!" Yowled Sir Fluffy Bottom. "You never go alone!"
Suddenly, there was another yell, but this was from the other side of the wood, "Would you two please let me pee in peace! I don't need assistance in the bathroom."
"Perhaps if we sing, she'll know we're here and help!" Ronald added as his sunset fur brushed uselessly into the wood.
"She needs us, RONALD!" Yowled Sir Fluffy Bottom. "You never go alone!"
Suddenly, there was another yell, but this was from the other side of the wood, "Would you two please let me pee in peace! I don't need assistance in the bathroom."
rolled 1d10 and got a natural 8.
Well, let me go ahead and give it a shot!
The old lighthouse keeper squinted at the churning gray. Waves, hungry and relentless, clawed at the stone tower. Inside, the lamp sputtered, its beam a weak pulse against the storm's fury. He’d seen tempests before, but this one felt different, a malevolent will in the wind and spray. Suddenly, a monstrous wave crashed, and the light flickered and died. Darkness. He gripped the railing, the roar a physical force, and prayed the storm would not claim them all. But down below, a small fishing boat battled the same wrath, its tiny light swallowed by the night.
The old lighthouse keeper squinted at the churning gray. Waves, hungry and relentless, clawed at the stone tower. Inside, the lamp sputtered, its beam a weak pulse against the storm's fury. He’d seen tempests before, but this one felt different, a malevolent will in the wind and spray. Suddenly, a monstrous wave crashed, and the light flickered and died. Darkness. He gripped the railing, the roar a physical force, and prayed the storm would not claim them all. But down below, a small fishing boat battled the same wrath, its tiny light swallowed by the night.
rolled 1d10 and got a natural 2.
9 - TROUBLE
Last Shot
Every breath burned in her chest, blood soaking her worn fatigues. Corpses of man and machine scattered the ruins before her. Above the rubble, cyan optics scanned—one last bot, relentless.
She steadied her rifle, quietly racking a lone round. One bullet left.
She took another labored breath. A whirr of servos—it emerged, towering, its arm cannon raised. The sniper exhaled… squeezing the trigger.
The bot’s core shattered into a hundred brilliant pieces.
Distant mechanical footsteps echoed. She grimaced, leering at a satchel of explosives. "More trouble..."
Heat and light flooded the ruins. Another sacrifice. Another setting sun for the rest.
Last Shot
Every breath burned in her chest, blood soaking her worn fatigues. Corpses of man and machine scattered the ruins before her. Above the rubble, cyan optics scanned—one last bot, relentless.
She steadied her rifle, quietly racking a lone round. One bullet left.
She took another labored breath. A whirr of servos—it emerged, towering, its arm cannon raised. The sniper exhaled… squeezing the trigger.
The bot’s core shattered into a hundred brilliant pieces.
Distant mechanical footsteps echoed. She grimaced, leering at a satchel of explosives. "More trouble..."
Heat and light flooded the ruins. Another sacrifice. Another setting sun for the rest.
rolled 1d10 and got a natural 9.
I don't know if I'll actually get to enter but I will certainly try
rolled 1d10 and got a natural 2.
Note: I will try
Oo, solidarity. Loving it
I'll use grumpy ol' Thorin C for this one, in -
The Silence Is Broken
This was what Thorin lived for.
The chilled air, the silent mountains.
It protected himself and the rest of the world.
That was how Thorin saw it. But not Raine.
"Let me in!" His sister pleaded from Thorin's porch.
"No."
"You can't hide forever. It's not healthy! ...Please?"
"It's safer. Everyone's safer this way."
"But-"
"Leave."
Breathing. A note slipped under the door. Raine left.
Thorin took the paper and abandoned it unread on the mantel. He'd often stare at the mantelpiece, but never touched the note. Too dangerous. Solidarity guarded and tortured the man - and perhaps it would forever.

The Silence Is Broken
This was what Thorin lived for.
The chilled air, the silent mountains.
It protected himself and the rest of the world.
That was how Thorin saw it. But not Raine.
"Let me in!" His sister pleaded from Thorin's porch.
"No."
"You can't hide forever. It's not healthy! ...Please?"
"It's safer. Everyone's safer this way."
"But-"
"Leave."
Breathing. A note slipped under the door. Raine left.
Thorin took the paper and abandoned it unread on the mantel. He'd often stare at the mantelpiece, but never touched the note. Too dangerous. Solidarity guarded and tortured the man - and perhaps it would forever.
rolled 1d10 and got a natural 8.
Remember to finish your entries TODAY, everyone!
Great work everyone! This one is always so fun and fascinating to score.
Here are our winners!
Plus an honorable mention to TornBySanity.
Here are our winners!
- marz
- Z_e_n
- Stormiedayz
- LisaBlankenship
- Zelphyr
Plus an honorable mention to TornBySanity.
Congrats to everyone !! 🥳
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