`❛ • blank » posting is open

[peachy keen-]

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Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

I felt like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Except, I didn't have
a dog so I could say, "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas any-
more." Still ... I wasn't in Kansas anymore. This definitely w-
as not Kansas.

Curious Calista Preston is surprised when a familiar girl sh-
ows up at her work. But when she's propelled into an alter-
nate worl called "the Core" where everyone is obsessed wi-
th peace and order, she's not surprised. She's annoyed. An-
noyed at the girl for not telling her about this place all th-
ose years ago. Annoyed at this rag-tag group of rebels for
assuming that she's the last piece needed to destroy the C-
ore. Annoyed at herself for finding the Core at all.

p.s. "blank" is not the name of the book. i don't plan on having a ti-
tle for it until near the end or the end. "blank" is the same as "no t-
itle yet" ... but fancier :3 oh, and sorry for the cruddy opening. w-
eeks of planning are really hard to fit into a couple sentences.

[peachy keen-]

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Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

name ― gender ― resides in ― extra

Calista "Cal" [ cal-ees-tuh ] ― female ― Earth
Darcy [ darr-see ] ― female ― Earth
Reese [ ree-s ] ― female ― Earth ― older sister of Calista
Cassia "Cass" [ cash-uh / cah-ss ] ― female ― the Core ― twin of Ephraim
Ephraim [ eff-ram ] ― male ― the Core ― twin of Cassia
more to be added

[peachy keen-]

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Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

interlude [added april 15th]
chapter 1 [added april 16th]
chapter 2 [added april 19th]

[peachy keen-]

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Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

















Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

ＨＩＳＴＯＲＹ ＯＦ ＴＨＥ ＣＯＲＥ

in 2017, there was a war. A terrible, terrible war. One man
refused to take part. The objector fled, and stumbled acros-
s the Core. Back then, it was only a wasteland. Seeing pote-
ntial, he invited other objectors to the war to join him. Th-
ey built up the Core, and it became very prosperous. After t-
he war was over, others wanted to join, but they refused. T-
he people in the Core already had their exclusive group, an-
d did not want anyone else, afraid that another war may br-
break out in the future because of these other people who h-
ad been willing to fight.
The Core is split into two Sectors ― North & South. These S-
ectors are separated by a forcefield, and house two very d-
ifferent types of people. Marina governs the North Sector a-
nd Lake, a corrupted, greedy man governs the South. [ will
be explained further in the next few posts ]
Everyone who resides in the Core has a chip implanted in th-
eir heads at the age of five. The Core has something called
the "Program". It is a place with a series of tests and obstac-
les and is designed for people charged with criminal activit-
y. The government devises a test to determine whether you
can be persuaded to change or whether you are incorrigible.
At that point, the government takes the “bad apples” and f-
orcibly alters their brain. If the person was a thief, they wo-
uld insert some sort of programming that would make it im-
possible to steal. It had side effects, though. Since the flaw
is removed, your original personality is wiped.
Also, at the age of ten, everyone is tested to make sure the-
y are not someone who could rebel against or destroy the C-
ore. So, if their tests come back positive, they are to go int-
o the Program when they are sixteen. They are destroyed t-
here. Ephraim and Cassia, plus a bunch of other kids were t-
ested, and it was determined that they would be the rebels
that would destroy the Core. Another girl with dark hair wa-
s prophesied to lead the rebels, so for years, Marina and La-
ke, the governors have been searching for her. So have the
rebels. Each have completely different reasons and each w-
ill alter the Core's future forever.

.... ＡＮＤ ＯＴＨＥＲ ＳＴＵＦＦ

[peachy keen-]

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Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

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ＮＯＲＴＨ ＳＥＣＴＯＲ
Marina is the current governor for this Sector. She is just and
fair, but quite firm and stubborn. No one really knows anyth-
ing of her past ― she prefers not to talk about it. Marina car-
ries herself with elegance and grace. She is tall with wispy f-
eatures and vanilla hair. It is sort of an off-white; not the ty-
pe that is a mark of old-age, but something natural ... like s-
he's had it her whole life. Marina seems to be in her mid-fort-
ies [ 43 or so ], and is assumed to be in her thirties when she
was chosen.
The North Sector's dress code is a white jumper with heavy,
grey cloaks with gold clasps. Everyone has white or blonde
hair, and tends to be lighter in skin color with fragiler fra-
mes, compared to the South Sector. Everything in and abo-
ut the North Sector is simple. Simple toys, simple building-
s and houses, simple foods.
Their philosophy in order to keep the peace is “Focus on b-
ecoming a good person so that you don’t need anything ou-
tside yourself to be happy.”

[peachy keen-]

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Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

Ａ ＮＯＶＥＬ ＢＹ ＢＬＩＳＳ

ＳＯＵＴＨ ＳＥＣＴＯＲ
Lake is the current governor of the South Sector. He was o-
nce the late governor's son, but he disappeared on his 18th
birthday and was gone for a whole two decades. No one kn-
ows what happened to him or where he went in the last tw-
enty years, but no one questioned him when he came back.
There was a huge celebration, and shortly afterwards, Lak-
e's father passed away from an unknown cause. Lake is a c-
orrupted governor. He makes hasty and foolish decisions [a-
nd is often drunk when he does it], and can be quite merci-
less. He lets his people do whatever they like.
The South Sector's dress code is a black jumper with a crim-
son cloak and a silver clasp. Everyone has black or brown h-
air, and they tend to be darker in skin tone, from a medium
tan to a deep chocolate brown. Nearly everyone is an empt-
y-headed party animal. Everything about the South Sector i-
s extravagant.
Their philosophy in order to keep the peace is “Give the pe-
ople what they want and they will never ask for anything.”

[peachy keen-]

saved, just in case <3

[peachy keen-]

( ＩＮＴＥＲＬＵＤＥ. )
xx ( hi thar: first part is up! oh man i'm so nervous. i hope it's worthy to be read and that y'all like it ^^ ) xx ( word count: 1313 )

6 years prior ...

You know, deaths aren’t as dramatic as they are on reality television shows—at least, not in my case. It wasn’t raining or sleeting when she died. The sky wasn’t heavy and dark with grief. There wasn’t a choir of angels singing mournfully behind us when we heard the news.

And no matter how hard I willed them to surface, no tears came.

Was that normal for a ten year old girl? Debatable, I suppose, but I seriously doubt it.

I was currently sprawled across my hospital bed. The top half of my body hung over the edge and the choppy tips of my short, dark hair just barely swept the floor. I had devoured every book available to me in this glum place, and now they were littered across my bed, spines broken and pages missing. You could say I was completely and utterly, without a shadow of a doubt, bored. I only noticed that a nurse, clad in Finding Nemo scrubs, was standing, clipboard in hand, right in front of me when she cleared her throat.

“You need to rest,” she reprimanded gently, tucking me into the bed so tightly that the tips of my fingers felt tingly due to lack of circulation. The nurse sighed lightly, and set a clear glass cup down on top of the oak nightstand that sat beside my bed. Next, she smoothed out the wrinkles in the frilly table cloth that only covered half of the stand. I watched as the water sloshed back and forth, slamming violently against the sides of the cup, and pretended that it was salty ocean waves against algae-infested rocks.

“Rest now,” she instructed gingerly, brushing aside my bangs, tracing her thumb along the half-moon shaped scar on my forehead.

I gave a halfhearted nod, pretending to stifle a yawn, even though I wasn’t tired. “Okay,” I responded lazily, settling into the bed. She bustled around for a minute or so, then left, leaving me to inspect my room for the umpteenth time. The fading walls were dotted with pretty pastel flowers. Sad, slowly deflating ‘get well!’ balloons floated uselessly in one corner, and in the next, a collection of wilting roses and lilies—my favorite.

I thought of my mother, and how she was no longer going to be here for me. I was—technically—an orphan. But still I didn’t feel anything; nothing except for emptiness. It was almost like it could all just be a bad dream. Maybe it was a dream.

Don’t be stupid, Cal.

I didn’t want to think about it anymore, so I wriggled out of my blankets, tripping over my long, white hospital gown as I stumbled over to the window. “Stupid thing,” I hissed at the gown, wishing that I could just tear it off. It felt rough against my skin, and was as thin as a sheet of paper. If the doctors were trying to make it comfortable or warm, it certainly wasn’t working.

I heaved a sigh, climbing up into the window seat. I curled my knees against my chest and settled my chin on top of my knees, then craned my neck to peer out at the scenery outside. Small, pink, fluffy clouds dotted the darkening, charcoal sky, and the sun drifted behind the flat horizon. I pressed my fingertips onto the window, which was framed with a thick layer of frost, and, to my surprise, the window cracked open. Not much—just a centimeter or two—but it was definitely significant. Driven by my curiosity, I pushed on the window with all of my strength. It gave way easier than I predicted it would, and I fell face-first into a cluster of bitter smelling ferns.

“Whoa!” I squealed as I flipped myself fully out of the window. My whole body was now enveloped in the curling ferns. “That could have been smoother, I suppose,” I mused absently to no one in particular. As I stood up, I reached into the open window and grabbed my coat, then latched said window closed with a satisfying click!

The realization as to what I had just done hit me like a slap in the face.

It was against the law to be outside at night. Under no circumstances should anyone be out after the sun set and the last evidence that day had ever been here had dissolved. No one ever asked why. Humans are such blundering, naïve, stupid creatures.

But I saw nothing wrong with the dark, so I trudged on; away from the hospital.

The darkness wrapped around me. Its cold fingers prodded me on; encouraged me to keep walking. The wind bit at my exposed legs and fingers. I wrapped my thin coat tighter around my fragile frame as an icy blast sent furious shivers up my spine. I clenched my teeth together in a frivolous attempt to stop them from chattering. Swallowing made it feel like frost was forming inside of my lungs. I was having a rather hard time breathing, too; every time I inhaled, it was as if tiny shards of glass were puncturing my throat. I had had enough, and was about to turn back, when I heard my name being called.

At first, I brushed it off, convinced that it was just the wind howling around my ears. But then I heard it again, just a faint whisper that died as quickly as it formed.

Calista.

I shivered, but this time it wasn’t because of the cold. After only a moment’s hesitation, I headed in the direction of the rasping voice. Stiff, brown leaves crunched under my feet as I trekked through the foliage, brushing back tree branches and stepping over bulging roots until I bumped—quite literally—into someone. She was a tall, slight girl, and was about fifteen or sixteen years old. She wore a black one-piece jumper, and a crimson cloak was draped across her shoulders. She looked flushed, as if she had been running.

“Calista!” the girl gushed, cupping my face in her hands.

“This is a little weird; you hugging me and stuff when I don’t even know you,” I said, writhing away from her grasp.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she breathed, withdrawing her hands from my face and then proceeded to wipe them on her jumper.

“Who are you? How do you know my name?” I arched a brow, crossing my hands over my chest.

She sighed emphatically. “My name’s Cassia, but that’s not important. I’m sorry; I don’t have much time. But here, take these.” She shoved two crumpled and torn slips of paper into my hands.

“What are these?”

“You can open the first one. Leave the second for later.”

I peered at the first rumpled slip. My name was written in neat, curly, cursive handwriting.

“Isn’t this … isn’t this my mother’s handwriting?” I gasped. She nodded subtly. Eagerly, I unfolded the paper, and read:

My dearest Calista,
I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Cal. I’m sorry that I left you and Reese, but there’s a big picture that you can’t see just yet. You’ll understand why this had to happen one day. I promise. Don’t show this note to anyone, OK? Not even Reese.
Love you,
Mom.

“Where did you get this?” I demanded, crumpling the paper in my hands.

“I ... I have to go. I’m sorry, Calista.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could say a single word, she started fading—literally—before my eyes. I gawked, reaching out to touch her, but all that was left of her was a foggy mist that slipped through my fingers when I grabbed at it.

Sighing, my gaze fluttered down to the letter. I traced my thumb over the small heart etched above the ‘love you’ and over the last word: Mom.

And, for the first time since her death, I cried.

[ʞ ɔ ǝ ɹ ʍ d ı ʞ s]

oh wow that last line ;-;
this is definitely intriguing so far!
I'm kinda like... ok where is his going
what's that mean
what's gonna haPPEN
I MUST KNOW
... So yeah I'll be sticking around for a while

[peachy keen-]

oh wow that last line ;-;
this is definitely intriguing so far!
I'm kinda like... ok where is his going
what's that mean
what's gonna haPPEN
I MUST KNOW
... So yeah I'll be sticking around for a while

ahhh thank you captain, my dear <3
i have this whole thing with her mom planned out
but i'm kinda afraid it's going to be painfully obvious
buT IVE SAID TOO MUCH ALREADY SO I SHOULD REALLY JUST SHUT UP NOW