Otori Week XXI: The Darkest Timeline

Short Story Contest

Welcome to the Otori Week XXI Writing Contest!

You have been tasked with putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to craft a short story. For those brave enough to dive into the darkest corners of their imagination, you will, of course, be handsomely rewarded for your endeavours... assuming your writing chops are up to the task.

The Crimbo That Could Have Been

Sticking with the World Events theme for our 21st anniversary, we want you to explore the alternate realities of the Crimbo in the Kingdom.

Through the years, we have narrowly avoided catastrophic disasters time and time again. But what if our luck ran out? Your prompt is simple, yet terrifying: What if the Crimbo big bad actually won?

We want to see your vision of a doomed Kingdom. Would we all be assimilated into the collective, working endlessly on Crimborg manufacturing lines? Would we be scraping by as mutants in a radioactive wasteland? Or perhaps we would all be trapped in invisible boxes, silently judged for eternity by the Great Silent Nightmare?

The choices, the timeline, and the impending doom are entirely yours. Make us believe it.

The Rules & Deadlines

  • Word Count: Keep it punchy. We are looking for short stories between 300 to 500 words.
  • Deadline: The timeline collapses in exactly two weeks. All entries must be submitted by August 29th.
  • How to Enter: You can post your submission directly in this thread, or you can Kmail your entry to ScotlandsFinest (#774114).
  • Judging: All stories will be read and judged by Otori based on creativity, adherence to the prompt, and overall storytelling.

The Loot

I know, right? It's pretty cool getting paid just for using your imagination and putting it into word form. The authors of the top three stories will walk away with the following:

  • 1st Place: A Cursed Monkey Glove
  • 2nd Place: A Boxed Archaeologist's Spade
  • 3rd Place: 50,000,000 Meat

Sharpen your wit, tap into the multiverse, and let the grim storytelling begin!