Woo! What a great group of stories! I had a feeling this was going to be a fun one, and it was. 🙂
HUGE thanks to Jessica Franken, dazmb, and Voima Oy for judging!
Since we had three judges this week, I did ask them to narrow things down quite a bit, lest the contest just runaway from us. So please keep that in mind. 🙂
All right, let’s dive right in….
Honorable Mentions
Steph Ellis – Heart of Darkness
Comments from dazmb: A great piece of flash doc, self contained, loved the Coke Porter reference and a nice twist at the end. Top notch.
Dave James Ashton – Not from round these parts, are you?
This story was given an HM by all three judges. Wow! Nice job. 🙂
Comments from Jessica: An incredible amount of world-building for 100 words! Skillful writing means there’s enough detail signposting the reader through the story, but nothing is over-explained, making it a mysterious and delightful read.
Comments from Jessica: An incredible amount of world-building for 100 words! Skillful writing means there’s enough detail signposting the reader through the story, but nothing is over-explained, making it a mysterious and delightful read.
Comments from Voima: Wild s-f imagery–“Glikka licked it’s eyes”.. from there it just get wilder and weirder.
DE Park – Chicken Man
Comments from Voima: Excellent use of the elements, and vivid imagery. Amazing job in so few words! The last line is wonderful.
Sal Page – That Floomin’ Cat
Comments from Voima: Marvelous economy of language, What an opening. This is both funny and sinister. Well-done!
Runners Up
Ed Broom – — Try The Gorditas At Casa Juanita —
This story was chosen by two judges! Nice job!
Comments from Jessica: I definitely want to get my hands on those gorditas, if it leads to the transformation of the quotidian into the divine within and around me. I liked how this story handled time: even though it moves along quickly, as is necessary in 100-word stories, I could feel time both stretching and collapsing for Hector in his euphoria.
Comments from dazmb: A slow, burn masterclass in scene setting that slowly builds until the conclusion. Particularly liked how the focus of Hector’s attention turns inwards as he picks up is trumpet and gets ready to play. Beautiful.
Steph Ellis – Heart of Darkness
Comments from Voima: Great job setting this scene–“do do that voodoo”–and what a horrifying finale.
AV Laidlaw – Tesla in the Desert
Comments from Voima: Subtle and atmospheric–the desert and the stars. The Roswell ending is eerie.
Brian Creek – HOW THE WEST WAS MAGNIFICENTLY AND SPECTACULARLY WON
Comments from Voima: Magic v. robot–and magic wins. A kind of West World feel to this. Love the silver butterflies.
Favorite Lines
Before we get to our winners, here are some of the judges’ favorite lines from this week.
“And terror replaced expectation at the sight of bones that should not walk and light that shone from empty sockets.” – Steph Ellis*
“Not real taxidermy. Just a slit up the back, stuffed with Mam’s old tights and sewn up with dental floss.” – Sal Page*
““Cowboy Demon, I command thee! Answer my questions two!”
“Not three? One of ‘em must be a doozy.”” – Holly Geely*
“Glikka licked its eyes in excitement. They mistook this form for human!” – Dave James Ashton*
“He was a spoiled cat, proud of his intelligence and disdainful of mine.” – Amy Wood
“A lone spotlight picked out Chico on his ascent. Hector felt a similar beam deep inside. With the crowd quietening, he raised his trumpet.” – Ed Broom
““What ya gonna do? He’s messin’ terrible with western ways.”” – Bill Engleson
“My aunt was crazy. Her cat was sane and hated me.” – Amy Wood
“Between them both are three silver butterflies.” – Brian S Creek
“Tut tut, the pianist muttered. Can’t have this.” – Meg Kovalik
“A silent whooshing, as the cosmos attempted to suck away all his oxygen.” – Casey Rose Frank
“Not real taxidermy. Just a slit up the back, stuffed with Mam’s old tights and sewn up with dental floss.” – Sal Page
“”I’m bringing home the bacon, Cochon, ” she purred.” – Clive Tern
“You can write me at Roswell Post Office, New Mexico Territory.” – AV Laidlaw
“That wasn’t how he dreamed it would be.” – Daisy Warwick
“The cat pulls the mouse out of his hat and swings him around like he’s Tom and the unfortunate mouse is Jerry.” – Cath Barton
“Inside was my cat, wearing a bowler hat and smoking a cheroot.” – Geoff Holme
“I’m switching difficulty from Nightmare to Easy.” – DE Park
“As intended, my aloofness has only served to draw them closer to me.” – CR Smith
“Science, magic. Here it was all the same.” – Sonya
“Right here, thought Hector, I will build my church.” – Ed Broom
““Security’s compromised. We already have a cat in a top hat doing magic tricks in the Wild West level. I hate to say I told you so…”” – Craig A
“The Stranger had attempted to win them over with some basic teleportation of their flat-brimmed head coverings and they had quickly bound his hands and used the remainder of their rope to hoist him to the lone tree in town. ” – Brady Koch
* – The same line was chosen by multiple judges!
And now, without further ado, I present to you the winners of Microcosms 3.
(insert drumroll here)
Community Pick
CR Smith – To Boldly Go…
With 13 votes, To Boldly Go… was the runaway winner. It was also chosen by both Voima Oy and dazmb as their pick! Wow!! We’ll let you read it below. 🙂
Judge’s Picks
Amy Wood – The Beginning
Comments from Jessica: I’m always impressed by micros that feel like that start (or middle, or end) of a much larger story, but also manage to feel like a complete wok as they are. “The Beginning” does that for me. It leaves me wanting to know more about the world, the setting, the characters, and what happens next, but the concentrated, careful language and character-building make it a self-contained gem of a story that stands on its own and left me satisfied as a reader.
@jujitsuelf
100 words
Magician(s)/Old West/Sci-fi.
The Beginning
1861
My aunt was crazy. Her cat was sane and hated me. Why they’d invited me out to the backwoods of Wisconsin perplexed me, it was no place for magic. Folk lived by guns, not spells.
The wand in my pocket was a comfort as Sir Agravaine watched me step into their little cabin. He was a spoiled cat, proud of his intelligence and disdainful of mine.
“Michael!” my aunt cried in delight.
Sir Agravaine drew on the cigar in his mouth. “Time to begin. How do you feel about starting a war?”
The door slammed behind me. Oh dear.
CR Smith – To Boldly Go…
Comments from dazmb: Hands up, I’m a cat person, but this was my winner at first read. Actually it was my winner when read ‘catkin’s log’. A great opening and a piece that kept a lovely faux serious tone right through to that brilliant, laugh out loud ending. Put a smile on my face all day long. Congrat’s!
Comments from Voima: This story is so much fun! ”Catkin’s Log” cleverly plays on the feline/alien connection. Marvelous observations–“the training has begun.” The final lines evoke the photo beautifully.
WC103
Explorer/Kitchen/ Sci-Fi
@carolrosalind
To Boldly Go…
Catkin’s Log: Star Date: 615110. Since my last entry I have achieved my objective and infiltrated the human family unit. Training has begun. As intended, my aloofness has only served to draw them closer to me. Initially only permitted entry to the kitchen, I have now taken total command of the household. They feed me on demand and follow my orders, letting me out of the window in the middle of the night and cleaning up after me with little complaint. However the database will need some updating before you send the next expedition; cats here don’t wear hats nor do they smoke.
- A winner’s badge on the site
- An invitation for inclusion in the anthology (with a note that your story was selected as a winner)
- A Kindle copy of Flashdogs : Solstice : Dark: Volume II
. If you already have the book, you are free to choose another book of similar value or donate the cost of the book to a literacy charity, such as World Reader. Please contact me with the country you live in and the e-mail address you’d like me to send the Kindle book to.
Additionally, you are both invited to judge the next round of Microcosms. Please let me know if you are interested!
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