DISCUSSION THREAD -- April 2021 300 Word Writing Challenge (#41)

[Parson]

@JS Wiig thanks for the top 5 listing.

 

[Dan Jones]

My top ten for this month.

@Cat's Cradle - To be shorn of one's autonomy, influence and place in the world is a terrible thing. But there are always some things we can control, however small.
@Rafellin - to see the colour of a man's mettle, you can hold his feet to the flame, but be careful that you're not the monster.
@Luiglin - a weird dreamscape that maps the impossible geometric possibilities of a house that might seemingly belong to its owner, but has designs of inverting that relationship.
@Victoria Silverwolf - just because we cannot see it, it doesn't mean it cannot exist. The artists always get there before the scientists, even if the light of inspiration comes from the darkest of places.
@sule - Layers of meaning and intrigue abound. Who is writing the dispatch, and who is presenting the updated version with commentaries? A case of lies, damned lies and footnotes!
@Phyrebrat - sometimes our obsessions grow to claustrophobic proportions, to the horrifying extent that we might just be crushed into the corners of the abyss by the very thing – or person – we're pursuing. Sleep well.
@Starbeast - what can I say? A man after my own heart. And why can I only imagine Adam West-era Batman in SB's stories? Such lovely nonsense!
@G.T. - the blood and thunder of a proud people mounting a last-ditch defence of their lands is palpably felt in this brief but epic encounter.
@The Judge - Blood runs through this story as it does through history and when the lust takes men, as Nietzsche said, "there will not be enough water to wash it away." But wash it away, and you wash away the blood of the new. As men, screaming, spill their blood in forsaken fields, so do women, screaming in well-tended bedrooms, and the cycle of life and hope begins anew.
@Marvin - weapons, scientific advances and training can be very effective at repelling the unknown. But life finds a way, as a certain chaos theorist once said.

Picking three from that lot for votes was tough, so I read the stories once again, and then made a ham sandwich, with mayo and English mustard. Then I watched that snooker documentary on BBC iPlayer (it's really good, highly recommended). Then I read the stories again, and was just about to make a decision, when my children sleepwalked (sleptwalked??) down the stairs and confronted me in the front room, where with their eyes closed and in their pyjamas they sang to me in three-part diminished harmony, "You must give your votes to Victoria Silverwolf, Sule, and The Judge. Ooh, la la la, oh yeah..."

So I did.

 

[Bren G]

Thanks for the votes @johnnyjet and @JS Wiig ! Much appreciated!

BG

 

[BT Jones]

@Perpetual Man - A Challenge Answers; A Challenge Made
@BT Jones - An End to End - Vote*
@Luiglin - There is a damp patch on my wall - Vote*
@Victoria Silverwolf - Chiaroscuro
@The Judge - Blood
@Bren G - Of Soap and Solitude - Vote*



Tough, tough, tough! The 6 stories above were hard to separate, really enjoyed the variety in prose that came with this challenge.

Thanks so much for the vote @Lawrence Twiddy and also the sneaky stealth vote @mosaix.

 

[Bren G]

My picks. Many good stories, and a fine line separates the Mentions and Votes to be fair.

Honourable Mentions
@G.T. - Oil on Sand : A gripping tale of life and death in the shallows.
@johnnyjet - Van Gogh's Jupiter Collection : great incorporation of the subject in a very engaging story.
@Astro Pen - A tale of infinite monkeys that Douglas Adams would surely admire.

Votes:
@Luiglin - There's a Damp Patch on My Wall : Brilliance. A story of colourful contrasts. Poetic and grim, whimsical and esoteric.
@Parson - It's Clear, Once You are Educated - A funny lesson in common sense and suggestibility.
@paranoid marvin - A Hollywood Ending: wonderfully creative and wholly entertaining.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Thanks so much for the vote Bren G, but even more so for the amazing comments.

 

[paranoid marvin]

And I just realised I've had another vote, thanks Starbeast!

 

[Parson]

Thanks for the mention @Bren G

 

[Bren G]

Thanks for the mention @Bren G

The mention @Parson? It was a vote! But I gladly accept your thanks at par!

 

[Parson]

The mention @Parson? It was a vote! But I gladly accept your thanks at par!

Wow! I must have read that with my eyes closed!! Thanks!!

 

[Elckerlyc]

Shortlisted:
@Jo Zebedee
@Luiglin
@paranoid marvin
@sule
@The Judge

But my votes went to:
@BT Jones
@johnnyjet
@mosaix

 

[paranoid marvin]

Thanks for the shortlisting Elckerlyc.

 

[mosaix]

I have stealth votes from @Marvin and @Cat's Cradle. Many thanks

 

[Daysman]

So many challengers pulled magical rabbits from the stew this month, I almost shortlisted everyone…

Here's my top 10 faves and votes*

@BT Jones — An End to End
@Luiglin — There is a damp patch on my wall *
@paranoid marvin — A Hollywood Ending
@johnnyjet — Van Gogh's Jupiter Collection
@Victoria Silverwolf — Chiaroscuro *
@sule — Brief Dispatch Regarding the Viscid Border (2nd Edition)
@Phyrebrat — Down There *
@Parson — “It’s Clear, Once You Are Educated”
@farntfar — What colour do you call that? Puke Green?
@mosaix — Professional Interest.

Thanks @Luiglin, @johnnyjet and @Parson for your listings, and @Parson and @Victoria Silverwolf for your considered comments.

Must be off — the foreman just asked me to go down to the stores for a long weight…

Have a great weekend and we'll do this again!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I liked lots esp Astropen, Dan Jones, Ian42, Luighlin (my shoe in for a vote), Paranoid Marvin, Sule (vote 2), Therapist, Mosaix but, in the end, Phyre got the final vote, the brat

 

[Cat's Cradle]

So many interesting takes on the photo this month - a good bunch of stories to read.

Ruthless culling has provided me a shortlist, and three votes:

Honorables:
Perpetual Man, Luiglin, Starbeast, sule, Phyrebrat, G.T., The Judge, Jo Zebedee, Ursa major

Votes:
Dan Jones, Victoria Silverwolf, mosaix

I'm very grateful to have been shortlisted by: nixie, chrispenycate, and Dan Jones. Thanks for the wonderful reviews Victoria Silverwolf and Parson, and for the fine shortlist-review, Dan Jones. CC

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Oh I was mega rude and didn’t thank those who had listed me and voted!

 

[The Judge]

A good varied selection of swirling stuff this quarter, but -- as ever -- some I didn't understand even on multiple readings. My short list, a bit longer than usual:

Bren G -- Of Soap and Solitude​

BT Jones -- An End to End​

Cat's Cradle -- CONTROL​

Elckerlyc -- Culture Shock​

G.T. -- Oil on Sand​

Luiglin -- There is a damp patch on my wall​

Jo Zebedee -- WASTELAND​

Perpetual Man -- A Challenge Answers; A Challenge Made​

Phyrebrat -- Down There​

Rafellin -- Forge​

Voting was hard but after a great deal of cogitation I went for CC's tale of a determined Driver and Phyrebrat's horror story. So far so normal, as they regularly get my votes. The real surprise -- not least for me -- is that although I don't usually like meta-entries, Perp's A Challenge Answers... held me spell-bound for the sheer scope of his imagination and the beauty of his writing.


And Scryed leaf and floating pumice thanks for the mentions/shortlistings BT Jones, Lawrence, Elckerlyc and CC and great Seen swirling colours of thanks for the lovely votes nixie, parson and Dan J, and for the stealth vote reddishbird!

 

[farntfar]

Lots of great stories, and a hard time to choose, even worse to choose the three out of the shortlist.
So. Shortlist
@mosaix , @The Judge , @Perpetual Man, @Jo Zebedee, @JS Wiig

Votes
@Cat's Cradle ,@Astro Pen ,@Elckerlyc

Many thanks to @Daysman for the shortlisting.


Edit: And even more thanks to @Peter V for the stealth vote.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Well, I think that is the closest I've ever been to the cut off before voting!

There were far too many excellent tales, but the votes went to @BT Jones @Luiglin and @Guttersnipe

Thanks for those who mentioned my opening salvo, and many, many thanks for the votes, but even more thanks to TJ for her words. Your Honour, I'm honoured.