Thursday, September 22, 2011

2nd Campaign Challenge

It's time for the second campaign challenge over at Rachael Harrie's Writer's Platform-Building Campaign.

This one was a doozy, but I enjoyed the challenge.

Rules:
  • 200 words exactly, excluding the title: Yes
  • Flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, or poem: Got it
  • Include the word "imago" in the title: Uh huh
  • Include miasma, lacuna, oscitate, and synchronicity: Check
  • Make reference to a mirror in your post: Done!

                     


The Battle of Imago

His fist ricocheted off the Opponent’s red armor.

The ligaments in his blue arms extended and retracted at lightning speed through the small lacuna of safety between them that flickered with shards of moonlight.

Though they wore the same type of armor, he knew it wasn’t uncommon to be unfairly matched.

For a brief moment, their arms became entangled and their movements mirrored each other in a synchronicity that frightened him.

The Opponent slammed his fist into his face and a wave of pain darted through his neck and skull. He returned the favor with a swift uppercut. The Opponent’s armor rattled and a mechanism in his left arm snapped.

He smiled. The Opponent was weaker.

The Opponent struggled to maintain his stance and faltered. Through the miasma of aggression he saw an opportunity and drove his fist straight into the Opponent’s jaw, causing his head to oscitate from his shoulders and pop into the air.

Before he could celebrate his victory he felt his body rise into the air and float some distance before settling on a shelf.

“If you ever want to see your Rock’em Sock’em again, you boys better turn the lights out and go to bed!”

                       


If you liked my story take a moment to swing on over to the list of entries and vote for me (#53).

66 comments:

  1. I like this, nicely done. Mine is #29

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  2. Neat! The one gift my husband wanted for Christmas as a child but never got. :)

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  3. Very fun twist! Nice job!
    Mine is #3.

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  4. Very fun story, with a good use of the words. Well done.

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  5. Ha-ha. Liked this story. This second challenge completely snuck up on me. I guess I'll have to get it done next week when I have time.

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  6. Very nice! Fun to read and a great use of the words!

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  7. Yes, this challenge has some interesting words! Fun twist at the end. :)

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  8. Loved the ending! I never suspected it was coming :) I'm #44.

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  9. Oh I loved these things as a kid. Really liked this. Well written and a great ending.

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  10. (as Homer Simpson): Damn you, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, can't we all just get along???

    Hee hee hee! What an awesome take on the challenge! :-)

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  11. Hahaha, you got me! Fun and congruent!

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  12. Bridget: Thanks!

    Cheryl: Oh no! I feel so bad for your husband!

    Jen: Thank you so much!

    Miranda: I’m glad you thought it was fun. I thought it might be a little too dark for people to enjoy it. Turns out I was wrong! ☺

    Isis: It snuck up on me, too! Well, it mostly it scared me!

    Maeve: I was worried about my use of the words, but everyone seems to like what I’ve done.

    Alynza: Awesome. Thanks!

    L.G.: Interesting words, indeed! I think Rach threw everyone for a loop on this one!

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  13. Katie: Glad you liked it!

    Ruth: So glad you were entertained!

    Jennifer: I know, right? They were so much fun to play with!

    Sarah: Thanks!

    K.T.: Well-written? Yay! That’s such a wonderful compliment! Thanks!

    Crystal: Lol! That is too funny!

    Tara: Me too! Turns out a good twist is hard to come by! I’m glad mine seems to have worked.

    Joanna: Excellent! I’m so glad you think it’s congruent. That’s a great word!

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  14. Very entertaining! Lol! Loved the surprise ending! ; )

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  15. LOL Cute story. Liked your use of the words.

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  16. Hilarious! I laughed out loud! At first I pictured something like Tron, but this was so much better. Your descriptions are excellent.

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  17. I used to love that game. The imagery really came together in the last lines.

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  18. Elizabethanne: Awesome! Thank you!

    Sheri: I love to hear that my story entertained a reader. Thank you so much!

    Sonia: Thanks! I’m so glad those crazy words don’t throw off the flow.

    Cortney: I absolutely LOVE Tron. I was hoping my story would read sci-fi at first. Looks like it worked. And I love that it made you lol. :)

    Kurt: Me, too! My cousins and I spent hours playing that game when we were kids.

    J.A.: Thank you so much!

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  19. Nice twist at the end! Enjoyed that, it made me smile.

    Hope you don't mind if I make one suggestion. The word "opponent" was used 6x. Perhaps use synonyms?

    The Write Soil

    My entry is #50.

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  20. I totally called this within the first two lines! /nerd moment

    Really creative use of the challenge. Your piece honestly made me smile.

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  21. I always love surprise endings. I darted over to vote for you. Like my YA urban fantasy hero, Victor Standish, I race for the fun not the prize. Have a great weekend, Roland

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  22. This is great. Though I don't know what Rock'em Sock'em is, I got the gist. ^_^

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  23. I like this one! Nice use of the words and a fun story, too. Well done! If you'd like to check mine out and haven't already, it's #42.

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  24. "causing his head to oscitate from his shoulders and pop into the air."

    That is awesome!

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  25. It took me a while to realize these were toys. Well done. Mine is #71

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  26. Great Job! I like this a lot!

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  27. Awesome twist. This was a fun piece. :)

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  28. Dawn: So glad my story made you smile. That makes me smile. :)

    Leah: Haha! Yes! I was wondering who would be able to call it before the punch line.

    Roland: Thanks for the vote! That means a lot!

    Angelina: I'm glad you still got it! That's awesome! Rock'em Sock'em is a plastic dueling robots game. Here's a link to a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joDjwtjIQS8

    Michael: Thanks! I’ve read yours already and I loved it!

    Liz: Thanks! I’m super proud of that line - which makes it even better that you like it. It took me a few tries to get it right. :)

    Cat: Thank you so much!

    Christy: So glad you like it!

    Medeia: Glad you enjoyed the twist! Twists are so hard to pull off. :)

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  29. Enjoyed it and the twist made me laugh!

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  30. awesome! beautiful twist. It made me laugh so that my husband asked me what was so funny :-)

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  31. Really enjoyed your entry... loved the twist...:)

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  32. Rock'em Sock'em! Yes! Way to bring back my childhood. Loved your action.

    Great job, F.E.! :)

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  33. I *thought* it was Rock 'em Sock 'em!!! YAY! Love it!

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  34. LOl! Too cute! Rock 'em Sock 'em indeed.
    I'm following you now. ; )

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  35. Love this! And love the ending! Made me immediately think of Toy Story 3! Great job!

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  36. Excellent fight scene. You handle action scenes well.

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  37. Fairview: I love it when I make people laugh!

    Mel: Hah! That’s awesome!

    Tania: Glad you enjoyed it!

    Jen: Glad I could make you lol!

    David: Wow! That’s an awesome compliment! I love writing action scenes. They’re my favorite! :)

    LadyJai: I love it when people get an idea of what they are before the punch line. :)

    Zan Marie: Thanks for the follow! I’m heading over to follow you, too. :)

    Shannon: Thanks!

    Alison: I totally thought of Toy Story, too!

    Richard: Thank you so, so much. Action scenes are my favorite to write. That's such a great compliment!

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  38. Haha, love the twist in the end! Never saw it coming.

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  39. I love the ending to this story. :) I had been picturing some kind of gladiator-style scene!

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  40. I'm with Angelina in that I had no clue what Rock'em Sock'em was, but it didn't really matter as I got it. Loved the ending, surprised me.

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  41. This one works....good fun F.E.....:)

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  42. Very cleverly conceived. And the words seemed to fit in so naturally.


    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  43. Neat! I wasn't expecting that last line at all!

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  44. Nice! About halfway through I started wondering if this was a Rock'em Sock'em story, and I laughed when I got to the end. Great job!

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  45. Hah! That was so cute. I loved the ending. :)

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  46. Ha! Loved the ending. Great take on the challenge.

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  47. Hehehe! That was great! Nice use of the words. I wasn't expecting the ending. Good job! :)

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  48. You had some great action scenes. As I was reading, I was picturing the trailer for that new Hugh Jackman movie with the fighting robots. I love the twist at the end!

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  49. I love the ending twist--it felt so much like the camera pulling back to show the real world with two guilty-looking little kids holding their controllers. Terrific!

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  50. Diana: Awesome! Glad you liked it!

    Golden Eagle: I had that image in my head for a while, too. :)

    Claire: I’m glad you still got it! :)

    Neel: Thanks!

    Lee: Awesome! That’s a great compliment!

    Deniz: It does kind of come out of nowhere doesn’t it? I think I even surprised myself.

    Francesca: So glad you got a laugh out of it!

    Carrie: Thanks!

    Raelyn: Thank you!

    Christine: Thanks! I had hoped the words would disappear in the story. Looks like they did!

    Jocelyn: My mom said the same thing about it, too. That movie (in general) kind of reminds me of Rock’em Sock’em Robots.

    Cheryl: Glad you liked it! Writing it kind of took me back to my childhood and all those times I was busted playing Nintendo after bedtime. :)

    Magnolia: Thank you so much for the wonderful compliment!

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  51. OMG this is awesome! So cool to read an action scene...and a Rock 'em Sock 'em? How cool!!

    Got my vote.

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  52. Nice work - love how it ends. hehe

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  53. Hey! Thanks for post on my blog, and YOU CAN write for TV or whatever you want. I'm writing for examiner, you have to generate alot of 'traffic' to get paid, so I pick topics I enjoy so whether I meet my monthly goal or not, I'm fine. Try it! And if you do forward me your link so I can subscribe to it!

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  54. Okay, I'm a dork. I read this awhile back and loved it but couldn't figure out how to comment. I clicked the title of the post and dah! I got it now. As a mom, I loved the ending of this. Great use with the word challenge.

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  55. Great story with a wonderful twist at the end. Thank you for the walk down memory lane (I think I may be dating myself...lol).

    #189

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  56. This one made me smile.:)
    I definitely did not see the end coming, great job!

    jessica aspen#174

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  57. Hi FE, I'm following you now. Nice writing! And why not do some graphics too...

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  58. Congratulations for placing in the challenge! Well done =D

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