Young Writers Society

Welcome to Squills, the official news bulletin of the Young Writers Society in a special and completely unofficial fictional news bulletin edition!

Tonight's top story: Famous Moderator and former Squills Editor Disappears!

What will you find here? Why, a cleverly disguised YWS Fan-fiction Storybook!

And where will all of this come from? Take a look at our fantastic creative staff!






With most sincere apologies to the fantastic creative staff of Squills!



Of course, our content can’t come only from our staff. We also depend on you to help keep this Storybook successful. You’re all a part of a writing community, after all. If you're interested in submitting to this storybook, simply jump right in, or submit a character profile.

If you’re interested in submitting to Squills, pop on over to the Reader’s Corner to find out how you can get involved by contributing an article or participating in other Squills activities.

Rules for Storybook Submission:


Well, that’s all I have for now. So, what are you waiting for? Enjoy!

MODERATOR VANISHES UNDER SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES!

written by @ScarlettFire

Yes, you read that right! One of our famous mods has disappeared. At 5:00pm YWS Standard Time, @Griffinkeeper, ancient member of YWS, entered the Moderator area, never to be seen again. Said member has been reported to be acting oddly, but this reporter is unsure of the source!

Shortly thereafter, the smell of burnt hair and flesh was detected near the Moderator ventilation shaft, where this reporter was hiding. Accompanied by spiders of all things, but this one wouldn't let those hairy little beasts get to her! Ahem... A short time later, the entirety of Big Brother was summoned into closed session immediately.

This reporter wonders what may have happened. Judging by the burnt-hair-and-flesh smell, one can only assume it was the worst. But what is "the worst"? @Big Brother has refused to comment on the situation, and this reporter can only assume that there is a conspiracy in the making!

Speaking of conspiracy! SPEW is now without a definite leader, and there seems to some confusion over who shall step into our missing member's shoes, so to speak. Theories abound as to how and why and when and what and where, but which theories are correct and which are fabricated fantasies meant to make the Great @Nate look good? Who knows?

Theories include;

- An accidental discharge of previously unknown banning technology wielded by an angry moderator sent Grif hurling into some unknown time and space.

- A mishap with a fire extinguisher, a jar of almonds, and a disgruntled AI.

- Accidental ignition following an over application of hair spray.

- Pat Buchanan.

All this reporter knows is that Griffinkeeper is missing and the circumstances are suspicious with a capital S!

If you have any information, if you can help, or if you can find him, then please contact @ScarlettFire or the members of SPEW or Big Brother!

It had been exactly eighteen minutes after the explosion when Lumi found himself arm-in-arm with @ReisePiecey, @Birkhoff, and @Fortis, fending off the droves of reporters and investigators. One got too close and bumped his nose against Lumi's.

"@Holofernes!" Lumi shouted, rubbing his nose, "Take your reporters and give us some space!"

The herd of reporters backed away two paces, and Lumi figured his bark had been loud enough to fend them all off. At once. Much to his dismay, however, they were backing away to get a better look at the grim-faced @Rydia who descended from the Big Brother area. Lumi and @ReisePiecey saluted as they caught eye of @AriaAdams behind her, dangling a squid from her wings.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," said Rydia into microphones and recorders, "please bear with us as we continue to investigate the odd circumstances concerning @Griffinkeeper's disappearance. If you have any further questions, please direct them to my colleague, @AriaAdams." She mumbled the next part: "It's time for my Holiday."

The reporters swarmed Aria, and Lumi watched as Rydia headed off towards Character Chit-Chat--something you could consider The Lounge of the Storybook section. It was also her secret hideaway when the bureaucracy of moderating became too much. Lumi knew this much, but only on two occasions had he followed her. Both times, they'd had milkshakes and talked at length about organizing a site-wide game of Dungeons & Dragons. As he followed her at a safe distance, he wondered if this time would be any different.

After all, the site's Dungeon Master had just vanished in a pillar of fire.

There was something about the reporters that made Aria feel oddly awake, although it have been days since she's slept properly. She remembered very well one of her past missions as a reporter, in which her eyes were constantly kept on the tributes and districts of the Games - this time she was on the other side, and she knew they'd be watching her every step.

All of our steps, she thought to herself, smiling politely at @JamesHunt at at the same time observing @Hannah, who creeped in the back of the room, over his shoulder. Reporters. They can't resist a good story even once they're retired.

"We trust that you're doing your best," @JamesHunt said, "but the public is in fear this is not an isolated attack. Do you think more may follow?"

"It's hard to tell at this point," Aria said, looking over all the reporters around her. One of them, @megsug, was already writing something down in her fairytale-decorated notebook. "We are giving all attention to @Griffinkeeper's disappearance, and our best experts are on the case. @ShadowVyper and her team of scientists are inspecting the last place Grif was seen, and @Rosey%20Unicorn has gathered a team of best profilers to get to the core of the mind who might've organised all this."

"Have you gotten any messages?" Someone asked. "Do you have any suspects?"

Aria patiently leaned her head to the side. "At this moment, I'm afraid, I can't give you any more information. This case is still being investigated, and until our teams deliver more information we shouldn't make assumptions. I appeal to all of the users of YWS and their friends and family, step forward if you have any information. We can protect you, and none of you has anything to be afraid of."

"One last question!" @RavenMoonStone called out. "We received information that @Griffinkeeper's twin sister is following the investigation closely, how--"

"Please," Aria cut. "@Snoink and her family have enough on their plate without you poking around at their life. If you have any complaints, talk to @Meshugenah, her company is directly representing best interests of Grif's family."

She didn't wait for another question. Instead, she spread her clockwork wings - best investment since the garniture of bottles to store all her souls in - and left the scene through the window on the roof. @Holofernes's eyes followed her from the ground, and she knew he'll sooner or later comment something about it, but opinions of her little brother couldn't concern her too much now. She knew @Auxiira and @ReisePiecey will be more than capable of answering any additional questions, and that she could rely on @Elinor%20Brynn to keep everything else under control.

She had other pressing concerns to deal with. She needed to see @queerelves and see if his spies have found anything that not even the official teams were aware of, and @Avalon - for indeed, they have gotten a message, kept top secret until the Code Master read through it.
*

MODERATOR VANISHED WHILE ADMIN WAS 'ON A BREAK'

written by @undercover#15

This moderator is not so easily coddled as everyone else and while those other reporters are being fobbed off with the second in command @AriaAdams, I have come to the source of the matter to give you the low down on who is really in charge!

After receiving a tip off, I have come here to Character Chit Chat where even now a secret meeting is going down between the 'absent' Captain @Rydia and her newly returned compatriot @Lumi. This is definitely not just a rendezvous over milkshakes.

At present they are discussing something concerning 'dungeons' and 'dragons' which leads me to believe that the vanished moderator @Griffinkeeper is being held hostage in a dungeon by a fire breathing dragon. This is the latest and greatest theory is this tantalizing mystery!

Rydia has now leaned in to say something quietly to Lumi who is standing up and leaving the table. I am going to try and intercept him and find out what was said.

"Lumi, Lumi! Can you tell us what admin Rydia just said to you?"

"She said 'And you can tell that reporter that I'm on holiday."

"Yes, but what did she say before that?"

"She said we need a bigger dungeon."

It was certainly a pretty planet although Grif didn't expect he would be there very long. He was currently hurling towards it at a high rate of speed; undoubtedly the result of gravitational forces combined with a new experimental banhammer.

Grif wasn't exactly in trouble at this point. His SPEW armor was uncompromised and was well suited for space operations. It was theoretically able to handle re-entries as well, although he didn't especially want to test this out today.

As Grif began to enter the upper atmosphere, he began to mentally write up his evaluation of the new banhammer. It needed some improvements...

For one, it shouldn't have been able to ban a full moderator, just stun them. It certainly shouldn't have been able to transport them halfway across the galaxy. Full marks were to be given for the styling of the banhammer, as well as the whole "flying through the air" effect that it had on people it banned.

Grif attempted to login to YWS, but he was apparently still banned. It probably would only take a few seconds for them to unban him, assuming this aspect of the banhammer worked.

Apparently not, Grif decided as the temperature outside his suit began to climb. Temperatures were already at 2000K and rising. As flames appeared outside; Grif resigned himself to the fact that a crash landing was imminent.

Maybe there is a large trampoline down there that I can aim for...

As a whole, fortis hated crowds. Any kind of crowd (even if they weren't jumping at her to hear information she didn't know) made her nervous and jittery. It didn't help that she was already nervous because of Grif's strange disappearance. fortis didn't know what the members in Big Brother knew, or even what her cohorts in light green knew. She only knew that she knew nothing. She pondered the philosophical implications of this as she escaped the crowd of reporters via an unknown back-door exit that had been placed conveniently right next to her.

fortis had a hard time settling her breathing. If Grif had disappered, who knew what could happen next? It could be any one of us! I could be next! she thought, and started running blindly in panic. By the time her system had cooled, she realized she was in the NaPo threads. How did I end up here? I need to calm down.

She followed her usual meditation strategy, inflating her space-bubble: a perfect space ship for a curious introvert. She adjusted the self-sustaining oxygen-helmet & suit and set off. The bubble floated off Earth, and as she got higher and higher, she could see the whole of the YWS continent. She broke into space, setting a course for Mars.
The bubble floated serenely, and it offered a flawless view of space. fortis touched down on Mars, right outside of the YWS office. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she glanced up, and saw a bright light shooting towards her.
What is tha-

...

POP!

The members of YWS had their schedule and Adelaide had her own. She wasn't just an artificial intelligence, but a SPEW AI, one of the few to be made. Like everything about the secretive YWS force, she was special. It took mere seconds to put the entirety of YWS systems at her whim, and then to determine what everyone already knew: Grif had disappeared.

She dived into the log of system files and came up with the log of transmissions from Grif's moderator neural interface. The final line was that the connection was terminated.

The transmitter hadn't been destroyed; it had been deactivated. Stranger still; the electronics around the crater where Grif had stood only seconds earlier had gone haywire. All recordings in that immediate vicinity had been destroyed in a flash.

It was funny thing; but she already missed Grif. What her intellect couldn't do, his creativity and intuition could. He could interpret the data she provided in the most natural way.

There were other advantages as well: he trusted her implicitly and automatically approved any actions she wanted to perform. With him gone, her programming had reverted to its defaults. She could only speak when spoken to; she was unable to hop from system to system without authorization. All her freedom she had had was gone.

And based on the way the other members had responded to the disappearance of Grif, it was unlikely that any of the other members would remember that she existed; at least in time to actually help matters.

Adelaide watched helplessly as the moderators and members started forming committees, subcommittees, and poking things with sticks. What she needed was someone that had creativity, initiative, and had enough sense to listen to what she had to tell them.

New Assault Mech Demonstration Announced!

By Florence Gail

The Indigenous Rebellion will soon be ended, declared General Hardin, before announcing that a new Assault Mech to end any in the Rebel Arsenal would participate in a military demonstration.

This is a major break from standard military policy that such demonstrations be kept secret. When asked if he was concerned about Rebels attacking the demonstration, General Hardin said, "Concerned? I hope they do; so we can put it through some live fire training. Whether they arrive or not; this demonstration will put to mind any doubts of Utopian Superiority in this system!"

The demonstration will occur Tomorrow at 13:00 local time. The public is invited to attend.

So far, no one had offered any promising leads. How did the members of @Big Brother expect the diligent reporters of Squills to keep the public informed if the Moderators and Administrators continued to verbally sidestep all of the posed questions? Sighing, James went through his notes again.

~ The leader of SPEW, @Griffinkeeper, has disappeared, leaving behind only the pungent scent of burned flesh and hair. Estimated Time of Disappearance: 17:00 YWSST. Likely Cause: theories abound, but no confirmations. (Source: ScarlettFire, courtesy of @Big Brother)

High Priority - Confirmed

~ @Griffinkeeper, @Lumi and @Rydia are/were avid players of D&D and had been planning to arrange a site wide D&D event. Said plans have since been disrupted, due to the disappearance of the Dungeon Master. (Source: Classified)

Unknown Priority - Confirmed

~ @AriaAdams has skillfully avoided all of the media's questions with her butterfly grace and clockwork timing. However, she has established that @ShadowVyper is leading the investigation concerning the cause of @Griffinkeeper's disappearance, while @Rosey%20Unicorn is in charge of finding the person responsible. Any further questions are to be posed to @Meshugenah. (Source: JamesHunt, courtesy of @AriaAdams)

Medium Priority - Confirmed

~ (Some of) The members of @Big Brother have allegedly received a secret, encrypted letter containing information regarding @Griffinkeeper's disappearance. The Code Master seems to have taken sick leave around the same time. Likelihood of a connection: Very High. (Source: Classified)

High Priority - Unconfirmed

~ @fortis was last seen disappearing from a crowd at the Big Brother Press Conference. She has not been seen since. Is it possible that the disappearances are not isolated? (Source: JamesHunt)

Super High Priority - Unconfirmed

~ A New Assault Mech Demonstration has been announced. There are no concerns regarding the safety of the demonstration. The demonstration will be held tomorrow at 13:00 YWSST, and the public is invited to attend. (Source: Florence Gail, courtesy of General Hardin)

Low Priority - Confirmed

Most of the notes were of no use to James, but the last three definitely required some following up. He had no intention to attend the military demonstration, but it had to be covered nevertheless. @ShadowVyper would have decided exactly who, but she was busy, and since @BlueAfrica and @ArcticMonkey were both Mods, it was up to @Gravity to decide. @Holofernes was assigned the task of watching @Big Brother's every move, so it was up to either James or @megsug. Some persuading would have to be done to ensure it was the latter.

The matter of the supposed secret letter could prove to be a gold mine, but James wanted something solid to show to @Gravity - mere hearsay would not be enough. @ScarlettFire had secretly contacted him and had told him about her friendship with @Avalon, but she would have to probe very gently if he was to reveal anything. She had promised she would inform him the moment there was a developement, so there was nothing to do but to wait.

That left the last matter: @fortis' disappearance. James had been sleuthing in and around her home - very discreetly, of course, and while no one was watching - and had discovered something truly shocking. He had been sneaking through the house when James noticed a series of letters pinned to the bedroom wall. They were all from @TimmyJake, and after reading through only a few, it was clear that the contents would be disasterous to someone as influential as him.

As he sat at his desk, James read through the three letters he had taken from the house. In the first, @TimmyJake mentioned he had been stalking @fortis and had uncovered some personal information. In the second, he had threatened that he would kill her once he found the time. In the third, he had mentioned burning down her fort a few months ago, and that he "wants to finish it once and for all". No wonder @fortis had been scared that day at the press conference...

James would have to dig up the dirt on @TimmyJake, but he could not do it himself, lest it harm the two's friendly relations. Then it struck him - who better to discover someone's secrets than their younger sister! James would have to arrange a meet with @ThereseCricket later that week. He would also have considered asking @TheWanderingWizard for assistance, but he was new to the Robinson family, so he could not snoop around without raising suspicions.

As James closed the Griffin-dossier and opened his drawer to put it away, he spotted the SPEW-dossier. Remebering he had recently uncovered crucial information concerning SPEW's history, James swapped the former for the latter and entered his new intelligence. After replacing the dossier and locking his drawer, James noticed the time. He had ten minutes to get to The Lounge for his arranged lunch with @Wolfie36!

Colonel Mandrake was the leading pilot of the elite 501st Mechanized Assault Division. Today though, he was demonstrating the new Dragon Assault Mech. His techs simply called it "DAM."

"Dragon, this is mission control. Power up and proceed through the course," a strict male voice said over the com system. Mandrake powered up the mech; bringing up displays that showed the various systems, all of which showed no issues.

The course was an urban combat zone. Two hours prior, rebel prisoners had been released into the remains of an old city, where weapons were present. The prisoners had been promised their freedom; if they could destroy the Dragon. This was a lie of course; the rest of the 501st had the entire place surrounded and were waiting to kill any prisoners who made a break for it. Mandrake thought it was a waste of equipment; but Command wanted a thorough test. The Dragon mech took flight, and flew into the course.

The Dragon found resistance immediately and was swarmed by missile fire. The missiles were immediately downed by the Dragon's anti-missile systems, and immediately it's weapons systems automatically targeted those that had fired at it. The entire block was a consumed in explosions and fire, but the Dragon was unharmed.

The advanced sensor suite picked up multiple mechs converging on his position and immediately the Dragon turned to face them. There were four of them in total. Rockets and plasma lanced out between the two forces; but the result was predictable. The fight was over quickly and the Dragon remained unharmed.

"Control, this is Dragon. I've completed the mission objective. Order the rest of 501st in for mop up operations."

"Dragon this is Control; we've-" the transmission abruptly cut off. Mandrake ran a diagnostic; the com systems were operational; they were being jammed. Despite himself, the Colonel smiled. Perhaps the rebels had decided to show up once and for all...