Day 23: 42,616 words. I have never truly known what 'off the rails' meant.

Until today. So many things happened today. So many inexplicable things. I have completely given up on making this thing make sense at all. First, Seth died, and it was *NSYNC that killed her. Then, it's not clear whether Roux and Seth were good or evil. This prompted Roux to quote Voldemort, and then Ruby to spend about 2,000 words wondering whether Roux was, in fact, Voldemort. About 1,500 words of those were copied and pasted from HP books.

I debated whether to do a flash forward, but with almost 10,000 words left, I had little to say about Ruby's life in the future. So, instead, I just made Just Fiddlin' Around come back, and now Slade (Ruby's crush) is dating Gordon (Ruby's best friend).

Do I care about any of this? Sadly, dear readers, the answer is no. I'd like to thank Jackie for keeping me going today. I honestly don't think it would have gotten done without her.

Here's an excerpt.


The next day, right on time, there was a knock at the door around 10am. Ruby, freshly dressed in a new pair of DILF-brand khakis, the white belt, and a fitted graphic tee (but no hoodie), went to open it. There stood Darcy, alone. He seemed to be soaked, and yet was fully clothed, dressed in a waistcoat and high-collared shirt, with an overcoat. His hair straggled down around his big, mournful puppy dog eyes. 

When Ruby suggested a towel or a fresh change of clothes, he looked his old scornful self, telling hir that “the wet look is in right now.” Ruby filed this point away in hir mental fashion database. Stranger things had happened, ze supposed. Maybe one of these days ze would try it hirself, but not in a Cody-Simpson-esque fitted white tee that would show just a little too much skin when wet.
“I came to get you. Harmony insisted that you would want some space, and so I have graciously agreed to let us use the penthouse suite at the Bellagio. Naturally, I need to be there for the doorman to let you in. Not just anyone can go up those elevators, you know.” Ruby took this, as intended, as a not-so-subtle dig at hirself, and was glad that he was acting Darcy-like and normal. Ze picked up hir hoodie and messenger bag, decided against taking the skateboard, and followed Darcy out the door.

As they walked, Darcy helpfully informed Ruby about the hotel and its amenities, taking care to convey its superiority and especially, its prestige.

“The Bellagio, you see, doesn’t need all of these frills and gimmicks. The Bellagio is an AAA Five Diamond award-winning hotel and casino inspired by the Lake Como resort of Bellagio in Italy.It is famed for its elegance. One of its most notable features is an 8-acre lake between the building and the Strip, which houses the Fountains of Bellagio, a large dancing water fountain synchronized to music. We will see them from the car, obviously, but you have a magnificent view from my suite. Inside the Bellagio, Dale Chihuly's Fiori di Como, composed of over 2,000 hand-blown glass flowers, covers 2,000 sq ft (190 m2) of the lobby ceiling. Bellagio is home to Cirque du Soleil's aquatic production "O". We can go see it tonight, although,” here he turned and squinted at Ruby, “wasn’t Roux saying something about a Barry Manilow show tonight?”