Triton sticks Mothra in a kettle. • Join the discussion...
Borders consigns itself to posterity. • Join the discussion...
Guy Stewart
Allan Davis attempts to go cold turkey. • Join the discussion...
Triton irradiates, splices and dices his way to a win, in the Mutants 'R' Us challenge. • Join the discussion...
All this and more, as space aficionados celebrate the forty-second anniversary of Moon Day, and the inmates discuss the view from their respective places in the asylum.
Make the familiar strange, and the strange familiar
As of the deadline for our current challenge, we have received the following entries (listed in their order of appearance within Files > Friday Challenge for 7-22-11):
- “Close Encounter” by Triton
- “Rip van Miko” by miko
- “Smart Attack” by xdpaul
An enthusiastic “Huzzah” to all who have entered! The judges are now considering your submissions. A winner will be declared by the evening of Sunday, 24 July 2011. *
The Thing without a Name
As a reminder, in our current Greater Challenge the judges are considering the following entries (listed in their order of appearance within Files > Greater Challenge 2011 07 08):
- “The Eagle of Prometheus” by xdpaul
- “The Taste of Flesh” by Carmine Vrill
- “Material Girl” by xdpaul
- “Return to Earth” by Ryan J
- “SBP 003 Origins Study Record” by Carmine Vrill
A winner will be declared by the evening of Sunday, 24 July 2011. *
* In both instances, "the evening of Sunday, 24 July 2011" may, if necessary, be shifted to accommodate the vagaries of hotel Wi-Fi.
An Elegant Weapon, from a More Civilized Age
And now it is time for this week's Friday Challenge, courtesy of Triton:
One of the coolest things about science fiction and fantasy are the weapons. Whether it's the lightsaber from Star Wars, or Excalibur from the Arthurian legends, or Wonder Woman's lasso, or Vera from Firefly, a memorable weapon can help propel a story or a character to immortality.
So create me an original weapon and write a story that includes it. Any genre: science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance, whatever.
But wait! This is the Friday Challenge, not the Friday Cakewalk. I have some restrictions:
The weapon must be wielded by hand. No fighting suits, or nuclear missiles, or telepathic mind control, or Death Stars, or venom-injecting fangs, or anything else that can't be held in one or two hands.
The weapon cannot be an article of clothing or otherwise “worn” unless it is removed before being wielded by hand. The Tarnhelm, for example, would not be acceptable. Oddjob's hat, however, would be acceptable, because he throws it like a frisbee. See the difference? Similarly, there should be no magic rings, gloves, or gauntlets unless they are removed before being wielded. Sauron's Ring of Power is out, but a ring that doubles as a hand grenade would work. (A “holey” hand grenade. Ha! And the number of the counting shall be three...)
I'm setting a maximum of 2000 words. There is no minimum word count. You can just describe your weapon in a few sentences if you'd like instead of writing an actual story. I would strongly encourage a story, though, because that is the best way to show us what your weapon can do.
So get to it! Take up hammer and tongs and, like Siegfried, forge yourself a weapon for the ages. Notung! Notung! Neidliches Schwert!
Anyone can enter, except for Triton. You may enter as many times as you wish, but each entry must be independent of the others. Your entry must be no longer than 2000 words, and you are not allowed to build on anyone else's setup.
Everyone is asked to vote, and to say a few words about what they liked, and why. Or to say a few words about what they disliked, as the case may be; by submitting an entry, you implicitly agree to accept criticism, because there will probably be some handed out, and no one is immune. When voting, please rank a work as either “0” (not so good), “1” (not as bad), “2” (could have been better) or “3” (pretty good stuff!). If you give either a “0” or “3” vote, feel free to argue in support of your reasoning.
Don't like the negativity? Feel free to think of the levels as “0” (Not bad for a first attempt), “1” (Right on!), “2” (Holy cow, I wanna buy this now...) or “3” (Sweet mother of God, how did you write something this awesome?!!). The point is to clearly differentiate, and rank according to your own preference.
For the purposes of this challenge Triton will be serving as Ye Olde High Marker, Voluntarily Walking th' Plank.
As of now, we are playing by the loosely enforced and slightly modified rules of The Friday Challenge. All entries are due by 6 AM Eastern time on the morning of Friday, 29 July 2011. A winner will be declared by the evening of Sunday, 31 July 2011.
Oh, there is one more thing... but it is the most important! Have fun. Always have fun.
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