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The Coda
***
It was a land of music.
The song was buried under the deepest earth and intertwined with the coldest ocean currents. It was guileless as a newborn; it was sullied with age; it was timeless.
At the heart of the melody stood the City. Built of wood and string, it played in perfect time to the beat of the world. And in a dark corner of the City, a child was born. A child who could save them all.
But.
A slip of the bow, a catch on the fret. A tremolo so faint that those who felt it could be counted on one hand.
The child was born breathless, with no voice to sing.
The mother wept. The father cursed. And the people lost their hero before the babe ever opened their mouth.
***
Hello! Welcome to The Coda (Solo Write)! A set of short stories set in the post-apocalyptic land of music with characters from you, the CB.
The Premise:
The prior excerpt is from a fantasy tragedy of mine, Dissonance, which I haven’t posted here because it is unfinished, long, and not quite to guidelines. Basically, these stories will be set in the same timeline as the above excerpt, but much further along. I’m being intentionally vague because I’m not sure how it will turn out. Mostly a standard Solo Write. Create one character by filling out the form below. Once I have received enough to fill out the current short story, I will close character submissions. After the story is completed, if/when I decide to write the next one, I’ll open submissions again.
The World (from the harmonious age, prior to Dissonance):
Telamakus (percussion), a down to earth, cobblestone fishing town. Halitus (woodwinds & brass), a collection of hamlets scattered around a monastery set high in the mountain range, wreathed in fog. And the City (strings) a golden, prosperous, place, the hub of all life and music. Villages, cottages, hermits, and other notes dropped between the measures.
The Form:
Name:
Pronouns:
Personality in a Sentence:
Appearance:
Theme Song:
Instrument of Choice:
Place of origin/backstory (as vague or specific as you like!):
How good are you at Jump Rope:
How good are you at Rope Jump:
How good are you:
If thou were in a pineapple under the sea, how many dumbo octopuses doth it take to drag you out:
Tell me your best worst joke:
Other:
I reserve the right to:
-
Choose which characters I want to use for a given story (I’ll try to keep it fair).
-
Take breaks between, or during, or before stories, because as much as we may wish it were not so, real life exists and I am a part of it :/
-
Change/edit characters, crack bad jokes, totally mess up the timeline, and generally confuse you all as well as myself :)
I’m still exploring this world—let’s see where it goes! Also, this is written under an SI, feel free to guess who if you are so inclined.
***
As the world crumbled, songs were written into The Coda.
submitted by Glissando
(January 15, 2024 - 1:20 am)
(January 15, 2024 - 1:20 am)
Name: Inanna Skye
Pronouns: she/her
Personality in a Sentence: Brave and loyal, with sarcasm to the max, and yet kind and stern at the same time, quite clever and will always speak her mind.
Appearance: Tall and willowy. Long blond hair that is always in a braid down her back to her waist, or wrapped around her head. Creamy complexion, big sky blue eyes with long lashes. A small, slightly pointed nose and a bright smile.
Theme Song: (do I make up my own? If so then)
Inanna Skye/is zooming up so high/ landing like a cat/wherever she falls at/ sharp and clever eyes/ watch her jump and flyyyyyy/ Inanna Skye
(okay. That sounded pretty stupid. But I’ll roll with it :/ If you meant a song that already exists, then just the twenty first century music that plays at the start of some movies)
Instrument of Choice: keyboard or harp
Place of origin/backstory (as vague or specific as you like!): Only child, but grew up with a bunch of younger cousins, so she likes to protect anyone younger than her. Loves cats, wild or otherwise, and she learned jiu jitsu at a young age (she’s super good at it!) Her voice is surprisingly deep, but it’s also calming and melodic, but can get really high when nervous or excited. She loves any active activities (running, climbing, swimming, walking)
How good are you at Jump Rope: super amazing
How good are you at Rope Jump: extra amazing
How good are you: the best, unless I’m not, of course
If thou were in a pineapple under the sea, how many dumbo octopuses doth it take to drag you out: around 19, I’m guessing
Tell me your best worst joke: Why did the chicken cross the road? Cause it was nailed to the side of a truck (DON’T ASK)
Other: this really, really sounds like Scuttles… So are you?
(January 15, 2024 - 11:49 am)
Not Scuttles, though I appreciate the comparison! And ty for the character, I love the theme song with all the depths of my heart.
(January 15, 2024 - 2:00 pm)
Name: Skring Horowitz
Pronouns: they/them
Personality in a Sentence: hyperactive, obsessive, antisocial, and pretentious!
Appearance: Small, with long dark hair, and a perpetual half-smile. Shivery and fast. Darker complexion, big yellow eyes. Smells like fire. Skinny in an unhealthy way.
Theme Song: hand ball by the mountain goats
Instrument of Choice: trombone
Place of origin/backstory (as vague or specific as you like!): born into a nice family. left the very second they could.
How good are you at Jump Rope: so good. so good
How good are you at Rope Jump: I DONT WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT
How good are you: certainly better than any of the competition.
If thou were in a pineapple under the sea, how many dumbo octopuses doth it take to drag you out: i am beyond any such octopus
Tell me your best worst joke: a horse walks into a bar. the bartender asks "why the long face?" the horse responds, "my wife left me"
Other: :>
(January 15, 2024 - 2:23 pm)
(January 15, 2024 - 2:43 pm)
Can I reserve a spot? I'll fill out the form as soon as possible :) This looks so cool! Are you Lyric or pangolin?
(January 15, 2024 - 3:24 pm)
Yes, reserved! And no, I'm not pangolin or Lyric—but I will try to live up to their amazing writing :)
On another note, that went really fast, so I'm going to *CLOSE SUBMISSIONS* because my first story will probably only have one or two characters and I don't want to waste the amazing people you've all created! Hopefully it will be pretty short, mostly world building, and I'll open submissions again soon.
(January 15, 2024 - 3:40 pm)
Name: Altair Seasinger
(January 16, 2024 - 10:31 am)
Oops, made a typo. His hair glows, not flows lol
(January 24, 2024 - 10:19 am)
Name: Ruevyn Savitz
Pronouns:he/him
Personality in a Sentence: feel free to sing or rap this: Ruevyn loves singing to the birds and the nature but dislikes most people because they don't understand his quiet, brooding ways.
Appearance: tall, skin looks like Middle Eastern descent, dark curly hair, sharp jawline, piercing dark brown eyes, sharp nose, wears usually a dark zip-up hoodie and Skida baseball cap with jeans and Nike shoes,
Theme Song: Boulevard of Broken Dreams, by Green Day
Instrument of Choice: voice
Place of origin/backstory (as vague or specific as you like!):
How good are you at Jump Rope: kinda good because he's good at balancing
How good are you at Rope Jump: terrible
How good are you: morally ok I guess
If thou were in a pineapple under the sea, how many dumbo octopuses doth it take to drag you out: honestly I just got distracted imagining octopuses (octopi?) with massive ears
Tell me your best worst joke: Heard this from my friend today: What do you say when a skeleton comes out of a closet? Certainly not AHH, you say congratulations! It's not everyday you see a gay skeleton.
Other: by the way he is Jewish. thank you!
(January 16, 2024 - 7:00 pm)
Here's my charrie!
Name: Astrea
Pronouns: She/her
Personality in a Sentence: She's self-confident, charismatic, a good leader and a good friend, kind, and thoughtful inside.
Appearance: Long golden-brown hair that curls at the ends; green eyes; pretty. She has a ready smile and her eyes crinkle around the edges when she's happy. Medium height and slender, with a fair complexion.
Theme Song: "Kerry County Fair" by Clodagh Lawlor or "Let's Go to Vegas" by Faith Hill
Instrument of Choice: strings, but you can change it if you need to.
Place of origin/backstory (as vague or specific as you like!): she's from the countryside, but she moved to the city with her family - her parents and siblings - when she was about six. By now she has become quite the city girl, but she's proud of her roots. She's had a pretty ordinary life - middle-class, happy family background, etc.
How good are you at Jump Rope: not terrible, but not quite middling.
How good are you at Rope Jump: wonderful!
How good are you: 8/10
If thou were in a pineapple under the sea, how many dumbo octopuses doth it take to drag you out: One :)
Tell me your best worst joke: How do you fit an elephant into the refrigerator? Open the door and put in the elephant. How do you fit two elephants in? Open the door, take out the first elephant, and put in the second. The fridge isn't that big.
Other: she's open to shipping with boys :)
I'm sooo excited for this solo write - it looks so original and intriguing!
(January 16, 2024 - 9:48 pm)
"strings" indeed, I should've put that her instrument of choice was the fiddle. So sorry
(January 18, 2024 - 9:00 pm)
oh, and are you Hex or Lyric?
(January 18, 2024 - 9:01 pm)
argh, I didn't mean Lyric, I meant Eclipse. Where are my thoughts??????
(January 18, 2024 - 9:01 pm)
hi, eclipse here! also known as glissando. corret guess! the first story will start soon, if all goes as planned.
A Charrie From my Best Friend:
Name: Fin Åland
Pronouns: he/they
Personality in a Sentence: asenpersonalitytence, obviously (but also goofy, wacky, kooky, zany, secretly hideously calculatingly evil if certain circumstances are met, and vaguely annoying in a slightly endearing way)
Appearance: messy straight brown hair that flops into his (mysteriously haunted ofc) brown eyes, pale skin and freckles, practical dark clothing, small silver earrings, tall and wiry, wide grin and slightly crooked teeth
Theme Song: that’s a three-way tie between janky elevator music on repeat, the Goofy Goober song from Spongebob, and Unwell by Matchbox Twenty
Instrument of Choice: ok I would say vuvuzela but that might get you guessed so you can change this to a kazoo if you want
Place of origin/backstory (as vague or specific as you like!): something very mysterious and haunting (just like their eyes!) that will be built enigmatically up until it is revealed at a crucial plot point and you feel betrayed at the horrible nature they’ve been covering up with exuberance and jokes
How good are you at Jump Rope: he’s too high-strung for it :(
How good are you at Rope Jump: sorry that last rope pun was pretty twisted
How good are you: able to cook chili and pay taxes, so pretty well set to succeed in life
If thou were in a pineapple under the sea, how many dumbo octopuses doth it take to drag you out: they have mild claustrophobia so let’s hope that doesn’t happen
Tell me your best worst joke: TEACHER: Charles, use the word ”knock-wurst” in a sentence. CHARLES: A chicken joke is bad; an elephant joke is worse, but I’d rate a knock-knockwurst. (it was a worst joke!!!)
Other: his favorite color is green. your favorite color is green. look deep into your soul. do you feel green now?
(January 21, 2024 - 1:30 am)
(March 18, 2024 - 7:38 am)