Discussion thread -- July 2018 75-word Writing Challenge

[jackwin]

C G
O R
N A
T S
!
TDZ

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Congrats to TDZ on a terrific come-from-behind victory! And well done, Harpo, on your terrific result.

I liked your story, Starbeast.

Finally, a big thanks to Hugh, The Big Peat, and The Judge for the listings! CC

 

[Danny McG]

Thanks for the kind mentions Victoria and Parson. There is another catch to the story. Anyone get it?

Looked at it again but still don't spot it.
Would you please enlighten?

 

[-K2-]

Looked at it again but still don't spot it.
Would you please enlighten?

I see two, though to see what I assume is the second, infers that everyone else has an ability that the protagonist doesn't... which if it is the case, does beg the question of how he was not caught before now?

K2

 

[Perpetual Man]

I hearty and worthy congratulations to TDZ!

Although it made my shortlist I voted for Harpo.

I thank everyone who mentioned my story this month, and apologise for all the problems caused if anyone tried to read it outloud. (I think, perhaps, the prize for the winner this month is to do that, filming themselves and posting it here? What'dya say TDZ?)

And a very special thanks to jackwinabox57 for the vote.

In order to get all the 't's I had to be very loose with the words I used, but there is a story there and the translation would be something like:

Tumultuous tearaway teacher Talamut transcended temporal teachings, threw together the terrific time tube.
Timorous traits traversed Talamut’s trunk, too tenacious the teacher tumbled toward the tube.

Twisting, turning, time truncating, transposing, torso tangibly torqueing, tortured transformation

Temporal travel turned, transferred to tower.

Tolling tintinnabulum triggered terrible tinnitus, trapped twenty times ten twelvemonth thereupon.

Twisted, the tutor, to Talamut told; “Thit! ThI’m Thwasimodo!”

The eccentric professor Talamut discovered more than modern science creating a wormhole.
Overcome with excitement he stumbled into the tube.
He was puled one way and another through time, his body being disfigured in the process.
He was deposited in a bell tower.
Ringing bells destroyed his hearing, leaving him trapped two hundred years in the past.
Broken, deaf and twisted, the realisation hit him that he had become The Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

[Hugh]

Congratulations TDZ

 

[Justin Swanton]

Looked at it again but still don't spot it.
Would you please enlighten?

That the protagonist was the only human in the story. Someone else picked up on it being a take on Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It's a fantasy I sometimes have, of living in a world of pseudo-human zombies who will notice any non-zombiesque behaviour and jump on that individual. The protagonist has managed to survive for months or years by perfectly replicating zombie behaviour until finally giving himself away.

 

[The Judge]

Congrats, TDZ! Commiserations, Harpo!

Woo! Feeling intelligent here -- I understood both Perp's and Justin's stories.

 

[Danny McG]

Someone else picked up on it being a take on Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Aha, I get it now, yeah.
The Donald Sutherland version, closing scenes where he is walking to the office with the others in the silent city. One of his old aquaintances breaks her cover to speak to him but realises too late that he too is now non-human.

I ain't seen that since initial release in the late seventies! Me and my teenage mates only went 'cos we were told...
"straight up lads, there's one bit where they have a naked woman walking around in a busy street!"

 

[Cathbad]

'grats, TDZ!

 

[Luiglin]

Congrats @TheDustyZebra

 

[Starbeast]

I hope this doesn't rub salt in the wound, but I would have shortlisted it.

Not at all Joshua. It actually makes me feel good, knowing I got something out of nothing. After I was "pulled" out of the race, I felt I wasted too much time working on that story, which no one would see. So I focused on the 300 and forgot about the 75.
More salt on my popcorn, please.

I liked your story, Starbeast.

Thanks Cat's. I wasn't going to post it, until the Lady Zebra insisted. Originally I thought I should save it for a later Challenge. But because now that people have seen it, I wouldn't be a surprise tale.

I was inspired by a horrifying documentary about USA war crimes. It reminded me about so many terrible things I've learned about in the past. I burned with anger.

After getting it out of my system. It was back to watching funny Youtube clips.

"Let's see." Guy does magic for monkey (click)

 

[Stable]

Congratulations TDZ!

I obviously got stuck on horror from last month. I actually woke up with my story fully formed (well, 66 out of 75 words, still not certain I should have added the rest) one morning, and had to get my boy through the breakfast routine without forgetting it! An extra challenging challenge.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Well done TDZ, congratulations!

 

[johnnyjet]

Congratulations, Dusty! Nice twist!

Thanks to Victoria and Parson for the nice reviews. Thanks to Stable, Shyrka, jackwinabox57, and The Big Peat for the mentions. And a big thank you to Victoria Silverwolf, Cat's Cradle, Hugh, and scarpelius for the votes! All were greatly appreciated.

(I'm a little late with my thank yous since I spent a good part of my weekend at the Pittsburgh sf/f/h convention, Confluence.)

 

[Peter V]

A unique entry TDZ. Well done.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Congratuations, Sam!! I bet you just loved working out those line breaks for the symmetry

Well done to all the people who entered; it seems this month's submissions caused a bit more eyebrow-raising or confusion than usual (Mine included, which wasn't strictly about athritis!!!). For me there were too many that either relied on previous knowledge of fairy tales etc, or ones that I couldn't see the twist, really.

When it came to voting I didn't have a shorlist. I was on an intense summer school all week with 101 kids per day so I was up at 6am and bed by 9pm and so tired I just had to read the stories, vote and go to sleep. HOWEVER, I'm so grateful to @Shyrka and @-K2- for the votes which has seen an end to my appaling drought in the 75 of late.

Thanks also to those who mentioned my story.

pH

 

[Bob Senior]

Hey Dusty , I forgot to add the footnote to the picture.
Combined years of Bob Senior ,the Kid and the old truck, 199 years !
where does the time go ?

 

[-K2-]

Whoops, disregard, wrong thread...

K2