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Creative Writing Challenge #019: Metal

Conkersbadfurday

Conkersbadfurday

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,299
Minnesota
zNaqNO4.png


Theme: Metal
Word Limit: 2000

Submission Deadline: Friday, 8/24/2018 by 11:59 PM Pacific.


Voting begins Saturday, 8/25/2018, and goes until Monday, 8/28/2018 at 11:59 PM Pacific.

Primary Objective: Metal

Metal is cool, unless you put it to a torch. Or unless it's music where you can't actually apply temperature to it. Basically, do what you want. Gold, silver, iron? Hell yeah. Angry music? Sure. Change it to meddle because that's a homonym? Why not! Just be you, you scallywag.

Optional Secondary Objective: Anachronism

I still like this idea, so I'm gonna be a parasite and use it. Quick and dirty definition is:

an act of attributing a custom, event, or object to a period to which it does not belong.
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On the Sunday during the challenge period, we have a regular writing hangout in the Discord server. Pretend to work on your alleged entry with a whole group!
This post contains hidden text. Quote to reveal it.
Join the server and follow the instructions there.

Submission Guidelines:

- One entry per poster.
- All submissions must be written during the time of the challenge.
- Using the topic as the title of your piece is discouraged.
- Keep to the word count!
- See image, ask for help if you have trouble viewing.

entrypost.jpg


Voting Guidelines:

- Three votes per voter. Please denote in your voting your 1st (3 pts), 2nd (2 pts), and 3rd (1 pt) place votes. You may add an honorable mention (HM).
- Please read all submissions before voting.
- You must vote in order to be eligible to win the challenge.
- When voting ends, the winner gets a collective pat on the back, and starts the new challenge using the thread creation Template

What if I win but I am too shy to make the new challenge?
You can pass on the new challenge honors to the second place winner.

Miscellaneous:

I missed this until too late. When's the next challenge?
They generally run every two weeks. The writing period goes for eleven days (Tuesday to Friday), then voting goes for three days (Saturday to Monday). If you've missed one challenge, you only have to wait a few days for the next one.
Previous challenges can be found in the Thread Archive
Thanks to C.B. For the lovely banners, and ashes for the entry finding script, and all the users who have contributed to the rules and methods of the regular contests.
Here is our full, expanded FAQ
 
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zulux21

zulux21

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,372
*looks at theme...*
*instantly thinks of...*


yes, it's a stupid song, but uh... yeah :P
 
zulux21

zulux21

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,372
should we build Haiku?
conforming to set structures
NO WE ARE METAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Eternal Song

Eternal Song

Member
Oct 31, 2017
741
Structure can be good
Strongly built with metal beams
I say haiku stay

I also have a really, really fun idea, and no concrete idea how it will work.
Once the foundations are built, I will decide on an alloy.
 
Sober

Sober

Member
Oct 25, 2017
951
I mean, they didn't have orchestral music back in medieval times anyway, so that by itself is also anachronistic.
 
Rivenblade

Rivenblade

Member
Nov 1, 2017
37,127
Brotilda's bulletproof arm reflected the glare of the sun. She stared down at her open palm and made a fist. She could crush a lamp post if she wanted to. This was her life now. Her burden. Her gift. She had always heard that being a cyborg was a bitch, but she smirked while thinking,"This bitch is a cyborg, bitch." The meat bags and their robot dog army wouldn't stand a chance.

*guitar wail*
 
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ItRhymesWithDoom

ItRhymesWithDoom

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,722
Speaking of stars, isn't Fe (iron) the heaviest product of mainline stars like our sun?

Too bad they literally have to blow themselves inside out for it to be of any use.

#MetalScienceShowerThoughts

Also, a good excuse for posting this throwback:



edit: it's nice to see these threads having so many entries btw. :)
 
galv

galv

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
2,048
Always wanted to join in for at least one of these but not having written anything creatively in years is tough. Words and sentences really don't flow nearly as well for me as they used to and I miss being able to express my thoughts properly. 478 words.

Superbia

A bleak, lifeless face stared into his eyes, seemingly whispering amid the din of the mine. The ringing was too loud, as tears started to drop, his mind still attempting to adjust. Tears? No. He realized too late, as he looked down, towards where his legs had been. Gone. Looking up, he stared back into the emotionless face of his companion to find it staring back at him, now for the last time and muttered the words "Finally free…" and closed his eyes to rest. But death would not come. And as he lay, dismembered, he started to feel. Again. The agony of mortality. But death would not come. The bleeding had stopped, artificially. He could crawl. But his hands were pinned down by the machine, as it inserted a large metal rod into the open stump at his left knee. And still, death would not come. Roaring in pain, he felt himself unable to pass out, his consciousness medically induced by the machine. And yet he knew, that his legs would be back. The bone would regrow, a miracle of modern medicine. A permanent status quo. The energy to move escaped him, as he lay, sinews gradually reconnecting around the metal support. Bone and flesh weaving their way around, returning once more, to form a limb. And he braced for the second, his right knee searing once more in blinding agony.

The night started to fall, sun slowly dipping over the horizon. He felt no love for the beauty of the sunset. He was the only one to see it, he knew this. And yet, it held no sway over him, for he had long since stopped to care. He saw only the bleakness, the lifelessness. For a thousand years, he walked the Earth, alone. For a thousand years, he had tried to end his life, to no avail. The machine haunted him, kept him alive. And he knew this was his eternity. This was his hell. He could not starve, yet feel starvation. He could suffocate, yet, not die. And he was to blame. This was the price to immortality. The epitome of human genius. The irony was never lost on him - it simply ceased to matter. He had tried more ways than any to try to die. And his own creation forced him alive. And reinforced him, as he evolved with each attempt, becoming further immune. He no longer burns. He no longer freezes. He no longer even tries to die. A thousand years pass once more, and yet lives on. In his eyes he sees the gates of hell open wide. Yet try as he does, he can never walk through. To bear this agony for an eternity is what he resigns himself to, the voices of angels and demons forever distant. And the machine keeps on following, ensuring he will never pass.
 
zulux21

zulux21

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,372
galv said:
Always wanted to join in for at least one of these but not having written anything creatively in years is tough. Words and sentences really don't flow nearly as well for me as they used to and I miss being able to express my thoughts properly. 478 words.

Superbia

A bleak, lifeless face stared into his eyes, seemingly whispering amid the din of the mine. The ringing was too loud, as tears started to drop, his mind still attempting to adjust. Tears? No. He realized too late, as he looked down, towards where his legs had been. Gone. Looking up, he stared back into the emotionless face of his companion to find it staring back at him, now for the last time and muttered the words "Finally free…" and closed his eyes to rest. But death would not come. And as he lay, dismembered, he started to feel. Again. The agony of mortality. But death would not come. The bleeding had stopped, artificially. He could crawl. But his hands were pinned down by the machine, as it inserted a large metal rod into the open stump at his left knee. And still, death would not come. Roaring in pain, he felt himself unable to pass out, his consciousness medically induced by the machine. And yet he knew, that his legs would be back. The bone would regrow, a miracle of modern medicine. A permanent status quo. The energy to move escaped him, as he lay, sinews gradually reconnecting around the metal support. Bone and flesh weaving their way around, returning once more, to form a limb. And he braced for the second, his right knee searing once more in blinding agony.

The night started to fall, sun slowly dipping over the horizon. He felt no love for the beauty of the sunset. He was the only one to see it, he knew this. And yet, it held no sway over him, for he had long since stopped to care. He saw only the bleakness, the lifelessness. For a thousand years, he walked the Earth, alone. For a thousand years, he had tried to end his life, to no avail. The machine haunted him, kept him alive. And he knew this was his eternity. This was his hell. He could not starve, yet feel starvation. He could suffocate, yet, not die. And he was to blame. This was the price to immortality. The epitome of human genius. The irony was never lost on him - it simply ceased to matter. He had tried more ways than any to try to die. And his own creation forced him alive. And reinforced him, as he evolved with each attempt, becoming further immune. He no longer burns. He no longer freezes. He no longer even tries to die. A thousand years pass once more, and yet lives on. In his eyes he sees the gates of hell open wide. Yet try as he does, he can never walk through. To bear this agony for an eternity is what he resigns himself to, the voices of angels and demons forever distant. And the machine keeps on following, ensuring he will never pass.
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I mean doing something still helps in general.
might be rough going at first but trying joining a few of these in a row.


In other thoughts today's metal song comes from a band where the lead singer was 15 when he recorded this song :P
 
OP
OP
Conkersbadfurday

Conkersbadfurday

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,299
Minnesota
I found a story! And it happened while I was in the shower like all good stories are found. I hope I can keep it under 2k words :X

To celebrate, here's some power metal

 
OP
OP
Conkersbadfurday

Conkersbadfurday

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,299
Minnesota
Welp, I did find time to get started on this thing. Progress is strange, somewhat fast yet I think a lot of what I'm writing will get removed/cut in editing. It's maybe unnecessary world building, but that's hard to avoid in fantasy. I do like the idea though, and like most of my dumb ideas, I can see it getting way bigger than it needs to.
 
bunbun777

bunbun777

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,802
Nw
Folks don't usually submit early do they? Even if I didn't wait until the last minute still be hesitant to post early.
 
FlowersisBritish

FlowersisBritish

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,379
Hey everyone, a quick reminder we've got a writing hangout (they're fun I promise) in 1.5 hours (4pm est) via google hangouts. The way they work is we do ten-ish minutes of chatting and then half an hour of writing/editing/whatever productive thing you need to do, and we rinse and repeat for two hours. It's a good time to get a start on your story if you haven't already. Typically we use cams and mics though neither are required, there's a text chat you can use too.

Anyways, hope to see you there because I want to shout about how good Fargo S3 is at people.
 
Eternal Song

Eternal Song

Member
Oct 31, 2017
741
I had a thought the other day: when it comes to the grouping of like instruments in a band, trumpets are known as "brass." How metal is that?

bunbun777 , there's nothing against posting early; you could post your story on the same day the new thread goes up if you want. I might prefer to hang onto it in case I feel the need to change something (which, as I understand, you still can after posting your entry), but I'm always running around like crazy and can't get it written on that day (Wednesdays are, in fact, among the worst for this sort of thing, as are weekends) anyway, so I don't really get that chance.
 
OP
OP
Conkersbadfurday

Conkersbadfurday

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,299
Minnesota
Okay! I've knocked out a rough draft for this thing. I got my core idea and my core character down, though I'm a few hundred words over. It'll need some serious fixing to get it right, because there's world building I want to keep, but so far so good.

To celebrate, here's some black metal

 
Maktokious

Maktokious

Member
Nov 23, 2017
183
First-timer trying to see if I can create something anyone else likes.
Kind of also on the "If I keep nitpicking this thing I'll never put it out there"-bandwagon.


#title: Possessive Collection

Word count: 402 (exactly 400 if you subtract the title, feel free to give points for that)

#entry

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Eternal Song

Eternal Song

Member
Oct 31, 2017
741
I saw this trailer, what, two hours ago? I think it's likely metal enough for this thread.



Am I wrong?

And welcome to the madness, Maktokious . Yeah, one can probably nitpick one's own writing forever.
 
OP
OP
Conkersbadfurday

Conkersbadfurday

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,299
Minnesota
Today's the day! I hope everyone's further along than I am. I had to basically rewrite half my damn story to shove it into the word count, and then it started in another direction so I"m trying to keep it wrangled towards the end.

Should be done before the night is out, though I might be like, an hour late if it doesn't cooperate :X
 
Nezumi

Nezumi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,546
Hessen, Germany
I don't know, for the most part writing has been smooth so far, but it's also mostly people yelling at each other via intercoms. Need to make it a bit prettier somehow.
 
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