[Tinalles]

Okay, peeps, here's a writing challenge we haven't done before. Write a story explaining this image:



You have two weeks. ^_^
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Keeper of The Remnant Minuon (cognomen Lucy, the Eaten One) and the Emissary Caeli

[Tamir]

...could you possibly have chosen a more ridiculous picture? XD

[Tinalles]

Possibly. But it'd take some doing. ^_^

After the two weeks are up, I'll reveal the picture's origins.
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Keeper of The Remnant Minuon (cognomen Lucy, the Eaten One) and the Emissary Caeli

[Cypher]

How long does it have to be?
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Mors Certa, Vita Incerta.

Officially dubbed Pez by AsA
Cypher = code = problem = puzzle = Puzz = Pez

Keeper of Skogul's berserk rage, and the Endless Void.

[Tinalles]

Let's say, no less than 250 words, no more than 1000.
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Keeper of The Remnant Minuon (cognomen Lucy, the Eaten One) and the Emissary Caeli

[cvcdaisy3]

This reminds me of essays standardized tests make us do, with a picture containing a shack with chicken legs running away from an apple tree, and instructions "make a story explaining this picture"
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Dubbed Cube by Asa

[Tinu.]

awesome, this looks like fun. If I could just understand exactly what's going on. XD
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Keeper of Gaia and all the books on Earthsong

"If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it is stupid."
~Einstein

[unimportant]

Yay! Last writing I really did was for the ACT essay this weekend XP So this will be a nice break!

[Asa]

MY ENTRY
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Jim and Steve were casual acquaintances at work before that one year when the boss decided it would be fun to do "The Wizard of Oz" for the holiday play. "It'll be good for morale," he said. "There's nothing like bringing out the inner child to get the creative juices flowing." Steve and Jim simply smiled and went along with it, like everyone else. Jim was a tall, shapely fellow in his mid-twenties, with short brown hair and matching eyes. Steve was a short, chunky man heading resignedly into middle age, saying goodbye to a hair at a time and making room on his cheerful face for more smile lines. They worked in the Human Resources and Technical maintenance departments, respectively. Through rehearsals they got to know one another better, and Steve was a good foil for Jim's sharper temper. He would just smile and put up with Jim's minor depredations, knowing it wasn't anything serious. There were many friendships that started during the holiday play, but this one bid fair to hold out for the long haul. Steve and Jim usually caught a coffee together about once a week, and ended up turning the ritual into a costume-retrieving expedition when they both got a call from the costumes committee at the same time.

Steve was happy with his. As one of the shorter members of the team, he had been cast as a Munchkin, which meant he got to wear normal - well, semi-normal - clothes. Jim did not fare so well.


"Look, you, if I have to have a funny hat then so do you!"

"Yeah, but Jim, it goes with your costume! You've got this funky dress thing going on, and I'm just a plain guy in the corner!"

"It's a SHIRT, you louse, not a dress! I'm a man, I don't wear dresses!"

"It sure looks like one to me..."

"What was that?!"

"I said, 'A shirt down to the knee.'"

"Sure you did. Now hold still."

"Aw, Jim, do I have to? It's not in the script!"

"Yes, you do! It's not fair, I tell you! Listen, this foam is light, it'll dry with air inside so you won't feel any weight, okay? It won't be as bad as you're making it out to be. Now smile, will you? You're going to make me feel bad about it, and I don't want to. Buck up, it's not so bad."

"I guess, but Jim..."

"What?"

"Well... Jim, it's pink!"


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[edit] I found a spelling error. Oh my. My sincerest apologies!

Originally it was just the dialogue, and only Jim had a name. Then I realized it had to be twice as long, so I added the first half. And picked Steve at random because it was an equally plain name as Jim.
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Self-styled Forum Grandmother, because I hand out nicknames and hugs whether you want them or not. ^_^

Keeper of the Library and the Gateway to Haven

Nem: "It's the sort of face you just know is getting ready to poke you with something sharp."
BS: "...then insist you eat a brownie."
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If we shadows have offended,
Think but this and all is mended...
Give me your hands if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

[Tinalles]

A reminder: Anyone wishing to put in an entry on this has until next Sunday, after which we'll hold a secret ballot to anoint a winner.
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Keeper of The Remnant Minuon (cognomen Lucy, the Eaten One) and the Emissary Caeli

[Tinalles]

Hmm. Well, I guess Asa is the winner, since nobody else fielded an entry. Congrats, Asa, yours was head and shoulders above the competition!

Speaking of heads (and shoulders, I guess) this is an illustration from the end of the book "Glinda of Oz" published in 1920 not long after L. Frank Baum's death. The figure on the right is Glinda. The figure on the left is an anonymous Flathead. The Flatheads are a peculiar people living in the extreme northwest of the Gillikin Country, the northernmost country in the Land of Oz. Unlike most Ozites, the Flatheads don't have any space in their skulls. Their heads are flat. For a long time, that meant they didn't have any brains. But a few thousand years ago, Queen Lurline (the Fairy Queen) was passing through with her band of fairies, and took pity on them. Since they had no room in their skulls, she provided each Flathead with a can of brains to carry around in his or her pocket. Then she and her fairies departed.

Having canned brains made the Flatheads just as smart as anyone else. But they were also vulnerable, because their brains could be easily taken away. Certain cunning individuals realized this, and soon the most ruthless Flatheads had accumulated several cans of brains each, which made them much smarter than anyone else. They therefore wound up dominating all the one-can Flatheads, who in turn took it out on the Flatheads who no longer had any brains because theirs had been taken.

This caused all kinds of problems, culminating in a war between the Flatheads and their nearest neighbors, the Skeezers, who dwelt on a magic island not far from Mount Flathead. That war, its causes and consequences, are detailed in Glinda of Oz, so I'll spare you a detailed recounting even though it's probably my favorite Oz book. Suffice it to say that at the conclusion of the war, Glinda allotted one can of brains per Flathead, poured the brains onto their heads, and caused their heads to magically grow closed over the brains like everybody else's.

If Queen Lurline had had a lick of sense, she'd have done likewise and avoided the whole sorry situation. Ah, well.
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Keeper of The Remnant Minuon (cognomen Lucy, the Eaten One) and the Emissary Caeli

[Asa]

I knew it was Oz! Ha! It came suspiciously close upon the heels of your Oz thread in the Freeforall. ^_____^

You gonna do this again? It was fun!
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Self-styled Forum Grandmother, because I hand out nicknames and hugs whether you want them or not. ^_^

Keeper of the Library and the Gateway to Haven

Nem: "It's the sort of face you just know is getting ready to poke you with something sharp."
BS: "...then insist you eat a brownie."
__________________
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this and all is mended...
Give me your hands if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

[Tinalles]

Maybe. Next time I'll pick an image which is somewhat less bizarre, I think.
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Keeper of The Remnant Minuon (cognomen Lucy, the Eaten One) and the Emissary Caeli

[Allicat]

I was going to post a story, but my compy mucked up. Oh, well better luck next time!
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He who does not eat cheese will go mad. ~ French proverb.

Keeper of the fallen leaves. 'Cos they're still pretty.