The Seventy-Five Word Writing Challenge Roll of Honour

[Culhwch]

The Seventy-Five Word Writing Challenge Roll of Honour

APRIL 2010
Winner: Decisions, Decisions by Boneman
Theme: Visit To Another World | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

MAY 2010
Winner: A Hopeful Case? by Sephiroth
Theme: Escape | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

JUNE 2010
Winner: Big City, Bright Light by HareBrain
Theme: Transformation | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

JULY 2010
Winner: Consequences – Terrifying rape of yesteryear fuels a long, long siege by The Judge
Theme: Disguise | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

AUGUST 2010
Winner: Death by Mouse by Mouse
Theme: Time | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

SEPTEMBER 2010
Winner: End by HoopyFrood
Theme: Seven Deadly Sins | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

OCTOBER 2010
Winner: Gift by HareBrain
Theme: Trick or Treat | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

NOVEMBER 2010
Winner: From The Other Side by Karn Maeshalanadae
Theme: Contact | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

DECEMBER 2010
Winner: Ho Ho Ho! by Stormfeather
Theme: Sacrifice | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

JANUARY 2011
Winner: Back Country by digs
Theme: Revolution | Genre: Open

FEBRUARY 2011
Winner: The Song Is Life by mosaix
Theme: The Song | Genre: Open

MARCH 2011
Winner: Nemesis... and the Death of Matthew Hopkins by The Judge
Theme: Crime & Punishment | Genre: Open

APRIL 2011
Winner: Paradise Lust by Ursa major
Theme: ...Happy Ever After...? | Genre: Paranormal Romance

MAY 2011
Winner: Elf discovery by chrispenycate
Theme: Friendship | Genre: Urban Fantasy

JUNE 2011
Winner: How The Tiger Lost His Crown by mosaix
Theme: Nourishment | Genre: In the style of Rudyard Kipling

JULY 2011
Winner: The Lonesome Death of Spirit the Mars Rover by Moonbat
Theme: The Robot's Tale | Genre: Science Fiction

AUGUST 2011
Winner: Red in Tooth and Claw by Hex
Theme: Play | Genre: Horror

SEPTEMBER 2011
Winner: Unbridled Lust by TheDustyZebra
Theme: Behind the Scenes | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

OCTOBER 2011
Winner: The Nightmare Merchant by Culhwch
Theme: Nightmare | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

NOVEMBER 2011
Winner: The Cust-Ogre is always right by Moonbat
Theme: Redemption | Genre: Fantasy

DECEMBER 2011
Winner: Naval Engagement by HareBrain
Theme: Toys | Genre: Steampunk

JANUARY 2012
Winner: Sadly Missed by springs1971
Theme: What Lies Beneath | Genre: Weird Western

FEBRUARY 2012
Winner: THE DEAD CAN WEEP by Teresa Edgerton
Theme: Devotion | Genre: Speculative Fiction

MARCH 2012
Winner: Make-Believe Wings by Culhwch
Theme: The Uncanny | Genre: Magical Realism

APRIL 2012
Winner: Broken Things by digs
Theme: Promises | Genre: Post-Apocalyptic

MAY 2012
Winner: For Display Purposes Only by The Spurring Platty
Theme: Colour | Genre: Science Fantasy

JUNE 2012
Winner: Knowledge Gained = Innocence Lost by The Judge
Theme: Innocence | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

JULY 2012
Winner: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants by RcGrant
Theme: Justice | Genre: Myth/Legend

AUGUST 2012
Winner: Fairy Farewell by Perpetual Man
Theme: Unrequited Love | Genre: Fairytale Fantasy

SEPTEMBER 2012
Winner: Monster Sale by paranoid marvin
Theme: Dinosaurs | Genre: Humorous Science Fiction

OCTOBER 2012
Winner: Origin of Parish Byelaw 428 by HareBrain
Theme: To The Stars | Genre: Open

NOVEMBER 2012
Winners: The First (and Last) Voyage of the HMTM Medina Sidonia by TheDustyZebra and Lady Jane by Hex
Theme: Fire | Genre: Tudorpunk

DECEMBER 2012
Winner: Moscow-7 by reiver33
Theme: Christmas | Genre: Vampires

JANUARY 2013
Winner: The Colour Of My Days by mosaix
Theme: Changes | Genre: Cyberpunk

FEBRUARY 2013
Winner: Life by Culhwch
Theme: Life | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

MARCH 2013
Winner: Impossible Relationships by TheDustyZebra
Theme: Heroes and Villains | Genre: Contemporary Fantasy

APRIL 2013
Winner: The Mewling by HareBrain
Theme: Kittens | Genre: Tall Tales

MAY 2013
Winners: The Last Sunset by David Evil Overlord and A Mother’s Last Will and Testament by The Judge
Theme: Legacy | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

JUNE 2013
Winner: The Needle worker by SleepyDormouse
Theme: To The Ends Of The Earth | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

JULY 2013
Winner: What a find! by Glen
Theme: Discovery | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

AUGUST 2013
Winner: All the way in by Hex
Theme: Change | Genre: Social SF

SEPTEMBER 2013
Winner: Searching by alchemist
Theme: Listening | Genre: Alternate History

OCTOBER 2013
Winner: Unlucky 13 by The Judge
Theme: Pleasure | Genre: Ghost Stories

NOVEMBER 2013
Winner: We All Have Our Secrets by Culhwch
Theme: Secrets | Genre: Dectective Novel

DECEMBER 2013
Winner: The Mail by Tywin
Theme: Faith | Genre: Science Fiction

JANUARY 2014
Winner: Changeling by Hex
Theme: Cold | Genre: Dark Fantasy

FEBRUARY 2014
Winner: The Old Ones Are The Best… by mosaix
Theme: Dance | Genre: Mythic Fiction

MARCH 2014
Winner: Talking Creatures Trilogy of Death by Starbeast
Theme: Death | Genre: Fantasy

APRIL 2014
Winners: The Coal Miners by Cat's Cradle and ...but if you try sometimes, you just might find... by TheDustyZebra
Theme: Encounters | Genre: Fantasy Steampunk

MAY 2014
Winner: The End Of Civilisation As We Know It by alchemist
Theme: Alien Invasion | Genre: Classic Science Fiction

JUNE 2014
Winner: The Ballad of Mary Read by Juliana
Theme: Deception | Genre: Historical Fiction

JULY 2014
Winner: The Beach is our Happy Place by Bowler1
Theme: Family | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

AUGUST 2014
Winner: Razorlips by Ashleyne. B. Watts
Theme: Innocence | Genre: Science Fiction

SEPTEMBER 2014
Winner: Foreboding by Teresa Edgerton
Theme: Anthopomorphism | Genre: Speculative Fiction

OCTOBER 2014
Winner: The Babayan by Hex
Theme: Ghoulies, Ghosties, Long-leggedy Beasties, and Things That Go BUMP In The Night | Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dark Fantasy, or Horror

NOVEMBER 2014
Winner: Snow Blight by Phyrebrat
Theme: Open | Genre: Fractured Fairy Tale

DECEMBER 2014
Winner: The Gift by Victoria Silverwolf
Theme: The Festive Season | Genre: Hardboiled/Noir

JANUARY 2015
Winner: The Call of the North by springs
Theme: Choices | Genre: Love Story

FEBRUARY 2015
Winner: Two Dollar Special by telford
Theme: Carnival, festival and all things Mardi Gras | Genre: Magical Realism

MARCH 2015
Winner: First Contact--Why You Laughter? by Cat's Cradle
Theme: Urgency | Genre: Comedic Space Opera

APRIL 2015
Winner: Off The Page by Culhwch
Theme: Conflict | Genre: Metafiction

MAY 2015
Winner: What a Difference a Day Makes by Victoria Silverwolf
Theme: Departures | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

JUNE 2015
Winner: Bittersweet by Kerrybuchanan
Theme: Arrival | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

JULY 2015
Winner: Go Softly, My Dear, Go Softly by DG Jones
Theme: Deception | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

AUGUST 2015
Winner: 96 by Cascade
Theme: Authority | Genre: Historical Fiction

SEPTEMBER 2015
Winner: epocalypse by Culhwch
Theme: Redemption | Genre: Cyberpunk

OCTOBER 2015
Winner: The Ministry Of Language and Linguistics by DG Jones
Theme: Language | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

NOVEMBER 2015
Winner: Highwayman: by StilLearning
Theme: The Path Not Taken | Genre: Absurdist Fiction

DECEMBER 2015
Winner: Harbinger in the Smoking Room by HareBrain
Theme: The Unexpected | Genre: Steampunk

JANUARY 2016
Winner: Sometimes Moments is All You Have by LittleStar
Theme: Hair | Genre: Weird Western

FEBRUARY 2016
Winner: Tea and Clover by Cat's Cradle
Theme: The Things You Don't See | Genre: Horror

MARCH 2016
Winner: Symphony From A New World by Robert Mackay
Theme: New Worlds | Genre: Space Fantasy

APRIL 2016
Winner: Outsiders? For Now... by mosaix
Theme: Outsiders | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

MAY 2016
Winner: Tomorrow is... by StilLearning
Theme: Tomorrow | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

June 2016
Winner: Now Yer See It... by mosaix
Theme: Mass Production | Genre: Fantasy

July 2016
Winner: Delay in transmission. by chrispenycate
Theme: Echo | Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror

August 2016
Winner: An old secret... by StilLearning
Theme: Benevolent | Genre: New Weird

September 2016
Winner: In Officio Apparatus by johnnyjet
Theme: Stage Fright | Genre: Science Fiction

October 2016
Winner: Summer Queen by Hex
Theme: Dry | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

November 2016
Winner: Goodnight Kiss by Hex
Theme: Map | Genre: Dystopian

December 2016
Winner: The Case of the Frozen Cadavers, and Coprology by The Judge
Theme: Wintertime | Genre: Gaslamp Fantasy

January 2017
Winner: The Promise by LittleStar
Theme: Resolution | Genre: Open

February 2017
Winner: The Woman and the Moon by Victoria Silverwolf
Theme: Growth | Genre: Fable

March 2017
Winner: Little Wonder by David Evil Overlord
Theme: Work | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

April 2017
Winner: Your Move by HoopyFrood
Theme: Play, Hobbies or Other Leisure Activities | Genre: Fantasy

May 2017
Winner: Of Things Unknown by TheDustyZebra
Theme: The End | Genre: Urban Fantasy

June 2017
Winner: If Something Can Go Wrong... by mosaix
Theme: Murphy's Law | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

July 2017
Winner: Insurrection by Joshua Jones
Theme: Toy Story | Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror

August 2017
Winner: To Be Beautiful by LittleStar
Theme: Tenderness | Genre: Cyberpunk or Steampunk

September 2017
Winner: The Failure of Rocker B(i) or So not about the Glorious Revolution… by Ursa major
Theme: The Real Story Behind Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales | Genre: Science-Fiction or Fantasy

October 2017
Winner: Where Late the Mermaids Sang by Teresa Edgerton
Theme: Sea Voyage | Genre: Science Fiction or Fantasy

 

[Culhwch]

APRIL 2010

THEME: VISIT TO ANOTHER WORLD

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY

WINNER:

DECISIONS, DECISIONS.
by Boneman

Cast out into the darkness, he waited.
The others did not understand. Could not understand.
There had to be a new beginning.
He rested in the darkness and made his plans. There were thousands of decisions to make, each one spawing another thousand decisions. Time was immaterial. It had to be right. Finally, there were no more decisions, no more choices.
Yet, he hesitated. Then he spoke.
"Let there be light."
And there was light.


SECOND PLACE (TIEBREAKER):

The Dilemma
by Mouse

I asked for the world and he gave it. It’s been sitting in its box on the table for two days now. I know he’s expecting something in return. I don’t even like him but what can I do? I could open the box, I suppose. I wonder if I can squeeze inside and escape. Then I don’t have to make any decisions. I’d feel guilty though...

Screw it. It’s not even a nice box.

 

[Culhwch]

MAY 2010

THEME: ESCAPE

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY

WINNER:

A HOPEFUL CASE?
by Sephiroth

My siblings: demons born of Night.
Bound in the darkness, filled with strife,
they circumduct ‘twixt walls so tight that none might percolate without.

A maiden with long red-gold hair,
with silver gown and aspect fair,
lifts the lid of our eldritch snare, and into Gaea’s realm they spout.

Anesidora! By thy wiles,
thou hast bestowed on Man the trials
of Sickness, Death, and other Ills—wilt thou return and let Hope out?

 

[Culhwch]

JUNE 2010

THEME: TRANSFORMATION

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY

WINNER:

Big City, Bright Light
by HareBrain

Gregor Cockroach woke one morning transformed into a human being.

At last. My lowly birth will no longer hold me back.

His mother’s antennae quivered in distress. Gregor sneered.

‘There’s nothing good about being a cockroach! You'll not see me again.’

He went out to join his fellow humans, to tread his ambitious road to fame.

The streets were in panic. A searing flash, a mushroom cloud.

‘Oh,’ he sought the apposite human word, ‘knickers.’

 

[Culhwch]

JULY 2010

THEME: DISGUISE

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY

WINNER:

Consequences – Terrifying rape of yesteryear fuels a long, long siege
by The Judge

A god he comes, and male, but not a man,
Concealing brutal lust from jealous eyes.

He strikes. Cruel beak engrasps her neck,
Heedless of her pain as Leda cries.

Pale naked body laid between white wings;
Webbed feet, as black as pitch, subdue the ravished thighs.
A savage thrust, and honour dies.

Illium thrown down, great Hector slain,
Ten years of war, of death, of blood-filled lies,
For momentary pleasure in a swan’s disguise.


SECOND PLACE (TIEBREAKER):

THE FOUNTAIN OF FAIR-SEEMING
by Teresa Edgerton

Two meet by chance before the crystal basin
Lavinia, neat and plain; wild Rosabella, her hair a crown of flame.
Suspicious, Rosabella hesitates, for fairy gifts are unreliable.
Lavinia -- breathless, ardent -- stoops and laves her face,
And so acquires beauty to pain the heart.

In rustling silks, Rosabella kneels upon the grass
She does not know -- but will know soon enough -- the waters rinse away
Disguises wealth, rank, and circumstance bestow
Revealing what lies beneath.

 

[Culhwch]

AUGUST 2010

THEME: TIME

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY

WINNER:

Death by Mouse
by Mouse

A
life here
is governed by
a clOckwork mOuse
who runs on the edges of
our world. We
live when he
does. We move when
he does. And when the key
stops turning that’s it. Game over.
Your mouse is old. He’s getting
rusty. His wheels need oiling.
His gears stick and his teeth
are worn. Your time is almost
up. Do you hear it?
Tick
......tock
tick
.....tock
tick
.....tock
tick...​

SECOND PLACE (TIEBREAKER):

Moebius, or, how to avoid an Extinction Level Event for the (n=n+1)th time
by chopper

...still time.

Here, grab these – ignore the skies. Come with me. Attach them to the terminals here – and then over there.

We'll skip back: avoid it completely. Fifty years should do it; we'll be dead when it happens again.

No, but it helps us. And then we can find a way...

Standby... Initiate!

Yes! – wait, we're still here! We haven't gone back far enough!

Don't panic, I'll solve this, there's still time.

Here, grab these -

 

[Culhwch]

SEPTEMBER 2010

THEME: SEVEN DEADLY SINS

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY

WINNER:

End
by HoopyFrood

They looked upon the ruins of the world, the last two people.

“How-?”

“Us. Only us.”

There was dust and rocks.

And then one bent. A tiny flower had defied the destruction.

“It’s...beautiful.” He stroked the bright petals. A yellow almost too bright to look at. “I’ll look after you, little one.”

The other watched. His hand closed on a rock and lifted it high.

 

[Culhwch]

OCTOBER 2010

THEME: TRICK OR TREAT

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY

WINNER:

Gift
by HareBrain

I opened the door to autumn night. The Wanderer held out his closed hands.

‘Don’t choose,’ whispered Father. ‘You’re my last.’

But behind the Wanderer were the shades of my brothers, taken yearly, and my sister, first tricked.

Always the wrong hand. A doomed choice.

‘Here.’ I offered an apple.

The Wanderer's eye gleamed. Desiring the fruit hale, he opened his Blessed Hand to take it; and my kin were released into life, laughing.


SECOND PLACE (TIEBREAKER):

Justice Exquisitely Sensual Undoubtedly Severe
by Parson

The day is ghastly dark. But it suits the job. Most of the Emperor’s men do not like this duty. For me; it’s a treat! I love to hear the curses and cries of those condemned.

This one, disappointingly, says little. They said he was a king; still, blood oozes, death looms. It’s too soon for me. He gathers himself to speak. Hopefully, I listen. “Father, forgive them.”

What kind of a trick is this?!

 

[Culhwch]

NOVEMBER 2010

THEME: CONTACT

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY

WINNER:

From The Other Side
by Karn Maeshalanadae​

“It’s the only way, John!” Sandra exclaimed.

John lit the candles and turned the lights out. “Somehow I don’t think it is, Sandra.”

“By the power of this book, I summon thee to us, Baal!” the couple chanted until a voice roared and a flaming spirit appeared.

“ASK YOUR QUESTION, MORTAL, AND LEAVE ME IN PEACE!”

Sandra took a deep breath, shaking, and in a whispered voice, asked, “Do you know where my shoes are?”

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

DECEMBER 2010

THEME: SACRIFICE

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY

WINNER:

Ho Ho Ho!
by Stormfeather

Big jolly man, he brings festive cheer,
Entering houses one night every year.

Not quite the innocent man that he seems,
He visits your children to feed on their dreams.

He takes what he needs, his way to thrive,
Without their youth, he cannot survive.

Unknowingly given, a small sacrifice,
Stealing some moments off each of their lives.

He brings a trade, a sack filled with toys,
Delivering presents, to good girls and boys



SECOND PLACE (TIEBREAKER):

15:13
by Hoopy Frood

My body was between him and the arrow. The moment it had left the bow, my feet moved to intervene.

Everyone has their role, my mother said. That was a year before she stayed to distract a manticore as her friends escaped.

He would go on. This was my end. I had known it all along, really.

But just when the going was getting good.

Screw that.

I stepped aside.

It’s my story now.

 

[Culhwch]

JANUARY 2011

THEME: REVOLUTION

GENRE: OPEN

WINNER:

Back Country
by digs

We collect absences: of water, crops, of Natalie now she's gone. It was all too much, she said, but she meant it was too little.

There's one day, and it repeats endlessly. Nothing new. Just the silence of a land dying beneath hard skies.

When the clouds come, I'll take Alice outside and we'll spin and spin until the red mud coats our feet and we can't tell rain from tears.

And we'll begin again.


SECOND PLACE (TIEBREAKER):

What Goes Around Comes Around
by Perpetual Man

A watchmaker sits entranced by the workings of an intricate mechanism. In perfect motion the gears and springs move, hands revolve.

What does he see?

Within the synchronicity of moving time, atoms turn, there electrons circle the nucleus - within this heart protons and neutrons rotate, into the infinitesimal - the imagination - universes are born; galaxies turn within, circumferences marked by stars, around which planets orbit, where a watchmaker sits, staring at moving clockwork.

 

[Culhwch]

FEBRUARY 2011

THEME: THE SONG

GENRE: OPEN

WINNER:

The Song Is Life
by mosaix

They sang at his Christening.

He sang in school, in church, at the football match and in the pub.

They sang on the boat to France and again, under enemy guns, on a Dunkirk beach waiting evacuation.

He sang at his wedding and they used to hold hands and listen to their song.

He sang at my Christening and at my son's.

He sang at my mother's funeral and I sang at his.


SECOND PLACE (TIEBREAKER):

AZARIAH
by Teresa Edgerton

They found him starving outside the town gates. Worldly folk, they thought of little beyond the accumulation of wealth. But he sang to them, and their hearts beat not harder but … stronger. So they fed him on scraps, which was unaccustomed charity.

Always something troubled their minds, something their eyes refused to see, as he sang in that voice of aching purity.

They were worldly folk. Twenty years passed before anyone noticed his wings.

 

[Culhwch]

MARCH 2011

THEME: CRIME & PUNISHMENT

GENRE: OPEN

WINNER:

Nemesis... and the Death of Matthew Hopkins
by The Judge

She watched as women were stripped and tortured.
She watched as women were bound and flung into water, to float or drown.
She watched as women were dragged, weeping, to improvised gallows.
She watched.
She waited.

One condemned woman cursed the witch-finder. Another spat at him. The last coughed blood into his stone-hard, unrelenting face.

The disease was slow. Agonising. Fatal.
As Hopkins writhed and coughed, blood splattering, She watched, and waited.
And smiled.

 

[Culhwch]

APRIL 2011

THEME: ...HAPPY EVER AFTER... ?

GENRE: PARANORMAL ROMANCE

WINNER:

Paradise Lust
by Ursa major

What a bargain! A few days' planning, a painless moment and in return...? Eternal Paradise.

He suspected a catch. Surely they must be ugly, deformed? But he had faith and accepted the trade.

Everything was as promised. He felt nothing of the explosion that tore him apart. And here he was in Paradise. All seventy-two of his companions were perfect goddesses.

Truly perfect: they despised his twisted soul. They would remain virgins. For eternity.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

MAY 2011

THEME: FRIENDSHIP

GENRE: URBAN FANTASY

WINNER:

Elf discovery
by chrispenycate

Subway eats token, blends me into homogenous stream of humans. Cold-iron turnstyle merely tingles, busked insensitive.

Press of bodies, press of souls. Depression, agression, negativity. Through dull, aching throb, agony. Who? I ooze platform-edgeward, see girl, poised towards rails, awaiting wheeled oblivion.

“Stop!” Snatch sleeve. “For daughter within.”

“What? Who? How” Thousand eyes ignore. Train arrives, disgorges, reengorges, leaves, crowds exit.

Sleeve still gripped. Five hundred isolated years vaporise.

“A friend”

 

[Culhwch]

JUNE 2011

THEME: NOURISHMENT

GENRE: IN THE STYLE OF RUDYARD KIPLING

WINNER:

How The Tiger Lost His Crown
by mosaix

“Worm is the lowest and slowest of creatures, and breakfast for one such as me,” leered Frog.

“You are but lunch,” hissed Snake. “I’m too quick for you!”

“Speed is no match for bravery,” bragged Mongoose. “May I invite you to dinner?”

“Bravery? Ha! You are a plaything, a mere bedtime snack,” growled Tiger. “I am the true king of the jungle, for who feeds on me?”

“I do,” whispered Worm, “just give it time…”

 

[Culhwch]

JULY 2011

THEME: THE ROBOT'S TALE

GENRE: Science Fiction

WINNER:

The Lonesome Death of Spirit the Mars Rover
by Moonbat

Alert!
Power source depleted
Failure Imminent

Backup Battery 2%

Command Received: Recovery

Return (False, 0D)
​

Diagnostic

Solar Panels (260KJ)

Check Orientation

Adjustment Unsuccessful (Solar Input < Min)
​

Check Wheels

Return: (Errors Only)

FR (Low Friction)
RR (Irreparable)
​

Stationary Platform Subroutine

Initialise Radio Tracking

Write aSurfacePoint
sol2269 (1.0023, 0.03, +2.67)
Compare (SPsol2268, SPsol2269)
​

Transmit SPCompare(sol) Odyssey(xBand)​

Check Logs

Travelled: 7730.48 metres
Date: Sol 2269
​

Backup Battery 1%


Awaiting Command

Awaiting Command

Awaiting Command

 

[Culhwch]

AUGUST 2011

THEME: PLAY

GENRE: Horror

WINNER:

Red in Tooth and Claw
by Hex
When they stop screaming, the fun starts all over again.

My orchestra of agony, my percussion of pain (amusing conceit, hmm?). I, the artiste, conduct bones crunching, blood spurting. Such delicious sounds. That last, frantic gasp - so desperate you can taste it.

Then he's home, calling "Where's my beautiful girl?", and I can't play anymore.

Later, curled on his lap, his hands coaxing me to thrumming oblivion, I remember my orchestra, and purr.

 

[Culhwch]

SEPTEMBER 2011

THEME: BEHIND THE SCENES
http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/foru...venty-five-word-writing-challenge-closed.html
GENRE: Science Fiction or Fantasy

WINNER:

Unbridled Lust
by TheDustyZebra

Another radiant bride beckons, another virginity validation;
I come to her, blah blah blah.

Purity captivates unicorns.

By day, that is.

By night, in aspect of virile manhood with altogether different horn,
I neither smell nor care about purity.

Virgin or not, few women resist my magically sculpted charms.

This bride summons in smug exhibition, and I cannot resist.

I kneel, she climbs astride, I gallop away; her family applauds, unknowing.

Just wait till nightfall.

 

[Culhwch]

OCTOBER 2011

THEME: NIGHTMARE

GENRE: Science Fiction or Fantasy

WINNER:

The Nightmare Merchant
by Culhwch

The thimble-sized jars with neat labels held monsters, endless falls and other fears. One, though, was unlabelled; it wasn’t for sale.

Each night he would open the jar and let the contents chase the waking day away. She never visited his dreams, and instead he’d bottled this, his nightmare.

So, each night, though she died in his arms anew, first he saw her face, then they kissed their last kiss, and it was enough.