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Part 9 of Monthly Prompts for 2018
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Published:
2018-11-01
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208
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1/1
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November Shuffles the Deck

Summary:

The Prompt: Use a storytelling deck to inspire your efforts (link inside!).

Update: Thought of this a bit late, but: Would be neat if you take an element of POI and switch it up! Like, in this piece, it's Nathan who takes Finch's role. Swap some characters around or change focus somehow!

Notes:

Update!

Thought of this a bit late, but: If you would like to really "shuffle the deck" for a POI piece, try swapping some characters around or making events happen in an unusual order. Change some ages, change some character relationships. Maybe Finch and Carter grew up as siblings. Maybe Nathan and Zoe had a fling, or Root and Kara got together. Maybe the billionaire who designed the Machine and is on the run from the government is actually Logan Pierce. Maybe Arthur's part of the group and not having memory problems. Maybe Control was nearly killed by her own team and ended up getting recruited to Team Machine.

You could put together elements in any number of unusual ways; now's your chance to give the wildest ideas a try!

I happen to love randomization tools when it comes to inspiration, and one of my favorites is the site TheCards.com; I've mentioned them a couple times in previous prompts.

For November, here, go look at one of their random spreads -- you can get a single card, pair of cards, trio, or set of four -- and craft a short tale around the idea it presents. If one set of cards doesn't spark your interest, refresh the page for a new set!

The foursome I got was these:

The Tempest (chaos, destruction) of the Past caused you to get stuck in grief (The Widow, reversed), preventing progress, but the slow passage of time (Earth, reversed) moves you toward the future where a loving relationship (The Lovers) awaits.

Hence, this story. Not my usual fare, but it's almost midnight and so I was operating on pure "write this thing quick" '^_^

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

The Tempest

The bomb had not only shattered his spine, but shredded his understanding of the world.

The sight of his friend’s bloodied remains had driven home that new awareness, destroying his naivete.

Limping back to the library, he’d hacked into Harold’s system, and, in a sobering moment, seen his own face.

 

Reversed Widow

Coming to terms with the loss was the hardest thing he’d ever faced. He’d squandered his talents, led a rich and sheltered life; when finally he’d tried to do something good, he’d ruined everything.

Turning that grief into cold motivation was difficult, but he needed something to keep him going.

 

Reversed Earth

By the time he noticed Reese, he’d gotten used to his solitary lifestyle. Even as he sacrificed everything to rescue vulnerable people, his heart stayed solid and immovable as the earth.

His relationships had never been that deep, anyway. He’d never let himself get close to anyone… except for Harold.

 

The Lovers

When Root found out that he wasn’t the author of the code -- that he was, in fact, the reason that the author was dead -- she very nearly killed him. Reese intervened, barely in time.

When Stanton nearly destroyed Reese, Nathan intervened.

The distance between them had melted away to nothing.

Notes:

Yargh. Just about done typing this note, and I hit a keyboard code that erased the entire thing with no way to undo it. Yaaargh.

Okay, let's try this again:

September's prompt is closed, with no takers :( ah well.

October's prompt has a month to go, so consider crafting a tale around a specific obscure emotion. I've listed several variant prompts, including a person reacting to the same object with three different emotions, separated in time.

I'm getting a general idea of when I can get good prompt fills, and it seems like the start of the school year is not that time.
I still haven't looked into that Big Bang thing (though I hear that the results of that challenge will be out soon). I think next year, I won't do monthly prompts, but I'll definitely try for something in July, with deadlines on my birthday and Halloween; it's pretty easy to keep track of. I might even craft some prompt challenges in a different style (without deadlines); we'll see.

July's prompt ("do something artsy/creative in a medium you wouldn't normally use") has closed. If you created a fill and haven't yet linked it up via AO3's Inspired By link, then please get on that! As it stands, the page shows me five related works: three from Fringuello, and one each from Lisagarland and merionees.

The deal was three votes per fill, or double that if you got it in before my birthday. All five of these made it in by my birthday, so each of them secures a full six votes for the artist =^.^=

The votes, as tallied, appear to be here:

  1. On the Other Side of the Mirror: 10 votes
  2. Buying Time: 8 votes
  3. Nippitaty (or, the Angel's Share): 6 votes

I have now set them accordingly.

merionees, you need to vote! You have six (6) votes, and can cast your votes for anything in my Open Chapterfics set.

The fills count double for getting in before my birthday, so that's ten fills. Which is just shy of the number needed to make me redo the Squirrel Reese and Chipmunk Finch fan art! The last hope for that is somebody making a real-life doll Nathan and sending me a picture! (Note that any style works -- it doesn't have to match the Nathan visuals we came up with. Even a pipe-cleaner doll would work!)

I believe that means I've committed to creating three pieces of fan art and one podfic, from the suggestions offered by those who created the fills. Fringuello gave me several options; Troubleshooting and Hamartia for art suggestions, and a bunch of possible podfics that I have yet to get the time to go through. Lisagarland and merionees, please comment with your suggestions for podfics and fan art! You can suggest 6 of each.

Lastly, maybe keep an eye on my YouTube channel and/or my Twitter account this weekend (November 3rd)!

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