fan fic flash fic: week 11 winners

From @hummingbirdff:

Wow, so I thought last time was tough? This was almost an impossible task. I gave you all a prompt that was kind of… unusual, but MAN, did you guys step up to the plate!

I feel so overwhelmed by what you have delivered with this prompt (as it was a very personal choice) and I can honestly say that each and every single piece touched my heart. Trying to pick a winner, or just a few, has been bringing me close to tears. And so, I finally came to a decision.

I am choosing a winner, because I have to. But as each piece was so profound, I have decided to choose ONLY a winner. No second or third. No HMs. I know that’s kind of a cop-out, but I honestly couldn’t choose.

So, instead, I would like to leave a comment for every person, every story, to tell you what your story meant to me. I’m not very good at explaining my feelings, but I’ve tried my best to put it into words.

WINNER

@CrackedFic

I kept coming back to this piece. The grammar-nazi in me just screamed – I hate run-on sentences, lol. But it’s just perfect. I can FEEL the emotion. The urgency, desperation, hopelessness, not being able to catch a breath… it makes my heart ache. Yes. It just makes me FEEL.

You pull and I push and we tumble down together and yet you don’t get hurt you never get hurt but I’m brushing debris from my jeans and wrapping my wounds in gauze and taking trips to the hospital because it never stops the pulling and the pushing even though I try to pull but you never try to push you only pull god I don’t know why I do this to myself it’s not your fault it’s mine I know that much at least and of course I know how I got here and you had nothing to do with it just a catalyst really but how I do love you so and hate you much more I can’t resist your pull so I push so hard that we tumble.

So hard.

...

1. @magtwi78

The inner turmoil in this piece just gripped my heart. The feeling of having no control over your life—fighting a battle you know you cannot win, but trying nonetheless. It’s as beautiful as it is heartbreaking.

2. @sparrownotes24

This small scene just encompasses such a big story. I can see it unfold in front of me. I just have so much love for this mother who realises that she needs to put her child first.

3. @violetlyte

Ah, unrequited love. We’ve all been there. The isolation of this character is what captured me. This line was especially moving: “Every moment in your presence drowns me in loneliness…”

4. Stephanie Barrick

This piece was such a vivid example of how those we love can turn that love against us. The utter confusion when your heart and your head cannot agree… I felt it in every word.

5. @Shneezles

My absolute favourite part of the choreography is at about 1:17-1:27. It demonstrates such an incredibly moving contrast. I can see that same contrast shining through in this piece, and I just adore it.

6. @AnnaLund2011

The thing that captured me in this piece was that slow slipping of control that can happen in a relationship. Giving yourself to another person, and in effect giving them the power to the destroy you. The strength the character shows gives me hope—it shows that you can take back control.

7. Sri Fanfic

Repetition is so powerful in enhancing the emotion of the piece. In this piece in particular, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that the final two lines evoked in me—I could almost feel cracks forming in my heart!

8. @bkhchica

My heart simply ached for this character. Sometimes it’s not the fact that your affections are not returned that is worst, but even more so the fact that you know it won’t be, and yet you stay. Even though her misery is due to her own choices, my heart still aches for her.

9. Kristina

This piece was just so honest, so… relatable. It feels like most of us have been here at least once—having plans, hopes, and expectations of a relationship, which are suddenly dashed. You KNOW that this is not the future you want, and yet you want to stay because of love.

10. @bigblueboat

This character just inspired me. I love her bravery, her determination and her strength. This piece makes me feel so… hopeful.

11. @TiramiSue84

This piece was such a great example of how a fleeting encounter can leave a pretty big wound. The way cloudy judgement can lead to a rash decision, and how quickly it all can be destroyed—I love how such a short piece can say so much.

12. Pinkcookie

I’ve heard it said that no love can be truly equal—that one partner will always love more than the other. This piece made me think of that. I understand this feeling, which is why this piece speaks to me.

13. @CrackedFic

14. @Capricorn75

This piece makes me all kinds of sad. This is something that happens way, way too often. It makes me so sad when a child’s dream is crushed and their talents go to waste. As a parent, you want to give your child the world. It’s simply devastating when you can’t.

15. @BellaFlan

Okay, wow. The entire second verse is just about one of my favourite things. The metaphor you have created here:

“Orbiting a most cruel sun.

Energy cannot be destroyed,

But matter? I’m crushed under your boot.”

I simply loved this.

16. @boomboom_jones

What makes this piece so great is its double use of the prompt. On the one hand, the girl can be perceived as the victim, the one that is not receiving the relationship she desires from her boyfriend. On the other hand, she can be seen as the perpetrator—using her friend whenever she needs him and then just discarding him when she’s done.

17. @SerendipitousMC

Hope is such a beautiful thing. This piece, in contrast to most of the other entries, offered just a glimpse of hope under very dark circumstances. The way the character sees her world now… it made cry and smile at the same time.

18. @moonlit___girl

You painted such a vivid picture of the “then”, but that “used to” had such an incredible sense of foreboding. I also have a love of the e e cummings type approach.

19. @Deebelle1

I simply adored the way the metaphor of gravity was weaved through the entire piece (yes, I am a bit of a geek). It made her lack of control feel especially prominent, as if it were some higher power keeping her from breaking free.

20. @jonesn353402

The whole idea of devotion and dedication keeping the character in this relationship was just expressed so beautifully. You have an amazing way with words—the entire flow and feel of the poem was gorgeous.

21. @paddywagon060

The imagery of fire that was drawn throughout this poem was just gorgeous. Everything about this poem just grabbed at me and wouldn’t let me go. My favourite line has to be: “My own voice wilfully silenced” – the implications of this (as well as the rest of the poem) just gave me chills!

22. @CallMePagliacci

Wow. The story is truly heartbreaking, and so vividly told that it felt like watching a movie. What a powerful piece.

23. @mslizabeth

This piece made me incredibly sad—not so much for the situation she’s in, but for the fact that she’s accepting it. The fact that she’s giving up makes me want to cry for her.

24. @shadesof purple4

I love how the imagery you have created here is so reminiscent of the dance. I also love the sentence: “Being with him is painful but being without him is like I can’t breathe.” Such a short, yet accurate statement. It just summarises it all.

CONGRATULATIONS @CrackedFic

Thank you to @hummingbirdff for judging and to everyone who participated.

See you all next week.