If it's the 17th, that can only mean...

[in_the_blue]

Writing Challenge!

Last month I asked for feedback on the challenge guidelines themselves and got some suggestions. I liked some of what I got and didn't like some other bits of what I got and really, since I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul, I've made just one change: upped the word count to 400. The point is that this is still a short-short themed fic challenge; there are many opportunities for writing longer pieces of work and there are many opportunties for including specific phrases in challenges. So to keep this different I'm still keeping the theme; I won't dictate anything beyond that for this time around.

This month's theme is falling (in honor of autumn, in an oblique kind of way).

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Rules (remember, they're more like guidelines):

• Fandom: any, so long as it's one you know well.


• Word count: 400 or less


• Main theme: Falling.


• Ratings: No restrictions.


• Duration: Challenge opens today and closes at 11:59 p.m. Saturday, September 24. A week and a day so we have two Saturdays at our disposal.

Post your short-fics as comments to this entry. Feel free to do as few or as many as you want, and if you see one you really like, be sure to leave a review or a comment.

Write, write, write. It's good for you.

Comments

is there an award for "most repostings"?

[anthy-rosebride.livejournal.com]

Fandom: Revolutionary Girl Utena. I keep writing out scenes in canon. Maybe someday I'll move on to actual fic.

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Up here it's hard to hear. The wind is loud.

You can see everything from here. The whole perfect world: buildings, fountains, courtyards, forest. Bright lights in the darkness going out, one by one.

The wind is loud and fierce. But the scrape of it over her skin means she doesn't feel anything else, the concrete under her toes or the knot in her throat, and the dull roar muffles the voice screaming after her.

You can see everything from here except the way out.

Someone's screaming.

"You're running away?"

"I'm sorry," she says, but the wind steals the words. "I'm sorry --"

It comes down to this: there are two ways to make Utena listen, and the first didn't work. It comes down to this: Utena is straying from the path. It comes down to this: there's a trap and it sprung long ago, once upon a time, and you can see everything from here except the way out.

Touga called her a caged bird, but caged birds still have wings. She leans forward and spreads her arms.

But really it's just that falling is

You can see everything

falling is

A hand grips her wrist, jerks her back. It's hot and firm and stubborn and Utena's fingers circle Anthy's like a cage. Hold her in place. It comes down to this: there are two forces, one dragging her down and one pulling her up, and it hurts worst being torn between them.

She lets Utena pull her back up, and she doesn't cry until later.

It comes down to this: there's a trap and it sprung long ago.

Re: is there an award for "most repostings"?

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm.

I love the "It comes down to this" repetition. It's kind of a nice poetic lull and it was the first thing I noticed about this, even more than the story which is both chilling and poetic and pretty. I've never seen the canon, so for me a rewrite of Anthy's story is just as good as an original one and even though it's hard to fill in a lot of blanks in a flash fic, you do give us a lot here.

Thank you. Both for playing and for the story.