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Thread: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

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    Commissar Caligula_'s Avatar The Ecstasy of Potatoes
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    Default Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    Anyone can use my screenshots or my stories, so long as they provide credit to me and a link to this thread.


    Welcome to Caligula's Anthology of Tales, and of course by anthology of tales I of course mean "random that spewed out of my mind".
    This is a follow up to my critically acclaimed Caligula's Modern Art Gallery which took critics by storm.

    I'll use this thread as a place to store my Tale of the Week entries, because I don't want to have created these stories and then have them fade into obscurity amongst the archives. If I ever make actual short stories or AAR I guess I'll put them here, but at this stage I doubt I will. I prefer the shorter, self-contained format.

    Banquet (TotW 259)
    The Tale
    The incessant beeping had died down and all was still, except for Elon’s heart which must have been beating loud enough for the entire world to hear it. He was strapped into his seat with no escape and despite knowing that his entire life had led up to this moment, Elon was petrified. He carried with him the hopes and dreams of an entire planet, fate had given him this command and he dare not second guess himself now. He had no free will anymore, he was merely the servant ushering in the days of tomorrow.

    Elon’s mediation was broken by a thrumming which charged through his body like wildfire. The countdown had begun, the realisation that humanity would be doomed if he failed crashed down upon Elon. He gasped and suffocated under the pressure, the weight of billions of mothers and fathers; sons and daughters; who would die if he failed at his task. He felt their pitiful last gasps wrack his breast, strangling him and starving him of air. That would be the price of his failure. He was the host of humanity, they clung to him and fed off his body, demanding more and more.

    The countdown blared its final note, and Elon’s world rumbled and shook with the force of a thousand volcanos. It felt as though he would be torn apart by the sheer power acting upon his body as the Final Voyager thrust off and fought gravity tooth and nail to abandon this forsaken planet and its dying race. Elon glanced out of his cockpit window as he surged through the atmosphere, the pale blue dot that he and so many billions of others called their home would soon pass out of sight. Elon would uncover the mystery of the void and save his people, this was his sole purpose. With this realisation, he embarked upon his journey with resolve flooding through his veins. His people would be saved.
    This piece was about Elon Musk and his role as humanity's saviour. I represented Elon as a modern-day Atlas, propping up humanity upon his shoulders and feeling overcome with his burden. In addition, I was influenced by the character Rand al'Thor from Robert Jordan's series The Wheel of Time, in particular the following two quotes.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    "Here is your flaw, Shaitan, Lord of the Dark, Lord of Envy, Lord of Nothing, here is why you fail. It was not about me. It’s never been about me.”
    It was about a woman, torn and beaten down, cast from her throne and made a puppet. A woman who had crawled when she had to. That woman still fought.
    It was about a man that love repeatedly forsook. A man who found relevance in a world that others would have let pass them by. A man who remembered stories and who took fool boys under his wing when the smarter move would have been to keep on walking. That man still fought.
    It was about a woman with a secret, a hope for the future. A woman who had hunted the truth before others could. A woman who had given her live, then had it returned. That woman still fought.
    It was about a man whose family was taken from him, but who stood tall in his sorrow and protected those he could.
    It was about a woman who refused to believe that she could not help, could not heal those who had been harmed.
    It was about a hero who insisted with every breath that he was anything but a hero.
    It was about a woman who would not bend her back while she was beaten, and who shown with a light for all who watched, including Rand.
    It was about them all.
    A Memory of Light

    “How do you feel about your prophesied destiny? I must know, if I am to compose this epic."
    "Feel?" Rand looked around the camp, at the Jindo moving among the tents. How many of them would be dead before he was done? "Tired. I feel tired.”
    The Shadow Rising


    Souls (TotW 260)
    The Tale
    The Fate of Those Who Plot
    (Traditional Folk Tale – circa the 17th year of the Great and Glorious Peace)


    The rain thundered down from the heavens in torrents, flowing from the pristine marble of the great city to the muck filled gutters of the lower city, driving all honest folk inside. The rain did not cleanse however, it brought the scum of the underworld out of the sewers and onto the streets where they stalked the alleys and temple squares alike, searching for prey.

    Faint murmurs emanated from the tavern, belonging to men who believed themselves to be rich and powerful. The shadowy figure crouched across the street from the inn knew better, the voices merely belonged to men who did not know that they were already dead. They planned to betray their sovereign emperor, and thought to create a confederation with the Guild of Merchants. The man did not hate these traitors, but he had an assignment and he would see each and every one of them dead before the night was out. Treason could not go unpunished, he was the tool of his emperor’s will.

    With a groan the oak doors of the tavern opened and the fools furtively skittered out, akin to the rats underfoot. A beastly pig of a man dawdled out after them and sniffed loudly in the damp chill.“This blasted weather, why the hell did we decide to meet here? Where are my damned servants?” His fellow conspirators paid him no mind, anxious at the prospect of wandering these streets at night and eager to return to their mansions. The sack of suet was the first to die, his blood spilt onto the cobblestones from the rent in his oversized belly as he struggled in vain against deaths embrace. The deaths of all of these traitors would be ingrained in the memory of all those who sought to take power for themselves. Each man’s life was extracted from him in ways more terrible and merciless than the previous, until only one was left slinking through the city.

    The assassin stalked his prey across the Great Market, towards the prey’s palace that dangerously straddled the divide between the Merchant’s District and the Noble’s Quarters, the vermin thought too highly of itself. The assassin observed his quarry halt some metres away. Realisation dawned upon the conspirator as he froze facing the legendary assassin of Riege. “W-w-wait, I c-ca-can explain! I was serving – that’s it, I was serving my emperor! I was told to enter a treaty with t-those scum back there! I swear, I did it out of loyalty! Out of loyalty I tell you.” The last act the man ever did out of loyalty was to inhale the stink of his blood as he collapsed to the ground.

    The next morning the bodies were found slumped in alleyways, stripped of their wealth and clothes. The next morning the citizens of the Empire continued to thank the Emperor for his peaceful and prosperous rule.
    This piece was heavily influenced by the image prompt, (which I was believe was from the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion) in addition to all the medieval-fantasy I've read. It seems like a Germanic empire, perhaps the Holy Roman Empire, in which peace is enjoyed by the citizens of the empire thanks to the merciless execution of those who would threaten it.


    Dark Souls (TotW 261)
    The Tale
    This had been an Age where the greatest minds of this beautiful world had worked together for the improvement of mankind’s position, and had brought humanity to new heights.
    Now the worst minds of this terrible rock plotted and schemed to improve their own position, and cast each other down into squalid obscurity.

    This had been an Age where the light of happiness had shone in the heart of every true man, and men had been content with their place upon this Earth.
    Now darkness had swept the land and men sold their morals for the tiniest of morsels, whilst they clawed and scratched their path to the top of the midden heap.

    This had been an Age where women were safe to walk the streets, and children played in harmony.
    Now not even the sacrosanctity of the nunnery protected women from the ravages of evil men, and the children had long since abandoned their toys.

    This had been an Age where idyllic communities raised humble churches to honour their gods.
    Now men constructed great monoliths that stretched towards the skies, cathedrals in which high priests ordained over sacrifices to ego and hubris.

    This Age had not ended in the dying embers of a ravaging fire, amidst the yells of victorious barbarians and the pleas of subjugated people.
    It had ended in the burning cinders of a roaring furnace and the whistle of steam that scorched men’s souls and brought them to their knees
    This tale was heavily influenced by Alwyn's idea that the prompt words of ember and cinder could be used to juxtapose the past and the present. The line near to the end concerning "cathedrals in which high priests ordained over sacrifices to ego and hubris" was influenced by a similar line in the book, The Last Days of Hitler, in which the author refers to Heinrich Himmler's activities in very similar terms. The ending displays that the idyllic Age was a rural country lifestyle which was ended by the Industrial Revolution.


    Alchemy (TotW 262)
    The Tale
    Dim light fought a futile war against the forces of darkness in the small hut as guttering candles battled to illuminate their surroundings. If our reader has a keen eye, they may perceive a strange shape against one wall. The shape shudders and drags itself across the hut, but do not be alarmed, dear reader, as understanding dawns upon you. This poor creature, although it is as twisted and bent as a homunculus has a heart as alike as any man's, although his has been blackened by hatred and mistrust. For you see, this man (if one can call him that) was attempting to uncover the secrets connecting the forces that are labelled as “magic” by the superstitious, and the acts of the gods.

    Surely, thought he, magic must indicate the presence of a god’s powers being enacted upon this world. Our deformed monster, for he surely was the most monstrous creature that ever lived, has decided upon a course of action. Observe how he collects together assorted vials and philtres, phylacteries and greasy tallow candles. A shrivelled hand plunges into a box and emerges victoriously with a handful of dirt and earthworms. These are cast into his bubbling cauldron, amidst the ritualistic chants.

    “We bring earth for the father, to represent nature. We bring worms for the mother, to represent life. Let these elements merge, and may the truth that I seek be found. Who is to blame for my cursed existence, be it the gods and their petty litany of religion or be it the mages with their unholy powers? Has my future been pre-ordained, or am I merely a mote of dust whirling through the chaos? I demand answers!”

    The half crazed man rages against the dark, alternating between pleas to the gods and pronouncing the terrors that his wrath and fury will wreak upon those responsible for his plight.
    This one is probably worst I've done so far. It was partially inspired by Frankenstein, and the laments of Frankenstein's monster as it quotes Paradise Lost and is angry at Frankenstein for creating him, then abandoning him.


    Falling (TotW 263)
    The Tale
    The last glimpses of evening sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating a little girl laughing as her father swung her around in his arms. Around and around they went together, spinning throughout the house. Her mother looked on fondly, she always felt at peace when the darling of her life was happy. With one final spin, the girl’s father put her down and collapsed on the couch, panting and giggling himself. Immediately the girl began to pout.

    “Papa, do you really have to leave?”
    “Now my dear, we have a very important dinner date we have to go to. You wouldn’t want us to be late would you?” replied her father, putting on a serious face before poking his tongue out at her, sparking yet more giggles from the pair.
    The mother gathered her purse and her husband, and crouched down to her daughter, stroking her hair and looking into her sparkling eyes.
    “Remember dearie, the faster that you go to sleep, the quicker that we’ll be home. It’s always worked before, hasn’t it sweetie?”



    The little girl watched out of the window as her parents zoomed down the road in their expensive car, it seemed to her even then that the daylight fled in their wake and all became dark and miserable. That night however, the sky was lit up and the girl peered out of her windows in wonderment. She thought the fairies had come to visit her, as she delighted in the flashing red and blue lights coming down the driveway towards the house.



    Many years later, the last glimpses of evening sunlight struggled to break through the filthy windows, dimly illuminating a very old woman who could barely remember the happy moments of her childhood that had occurred within this house. She ran a hand along a tabletop absentmindedly, and coughed as the thick layer of dust covering every surface in the house was disturbed. She peered around in the gloom, and perceived the old brick fireplace, which she’d spent many a time in front of had fallen to ruins, bricks littered the hearth and obscenities had been graffitied everywhere.

    She could still remember that ill-fated night when that demon, disguised as a police officer had come to her and brought her life tumbling down like a house of cards. She hadn’t understood what he meant when he’d said her mother and father had died, and hadn’t for a long time. Now however, she felt herself collapse under the weight of the memories. The ground rushed up to meet her, as one final time she saw her mother and father smiling and laughing as the three of them played together.
    I just felt like making a semi-depressing piece. It was kinda inspired by the TV show Black Mirror, and the Bruce Willis film the Sixth Sense.


    Wizard School (TotW 264) I did write a submission for this one, 5 hours before the supposed deadline, but the competition ended up being extended for over 3 weeks but I never got around to making my submission anything other than unadulterated haha. So feel free to find it at your own peril.


    Mud and Blood (TotW 265)
    The Tale
    The men drag themselves across the bomb shattered earth. With each step, the sucking mud threatening to suck their boots clean off their feet. A man amongst them looks at the sky, and wonders when was the last time he ever saw the sun. It seems as though the sky is perpetually darkened with smoke, and the rain is ceaseless as it pounds the men into submission worse than any artillery barrage. The men were drenched, and tired. They were tired of this cursed war that seemed without end. “It’ll be over by Christmas”, oh how naive they were back then. “We’ll give them a licking and they’ll scurry back to Berlin”. Instead the war had devolved into a constant back and forth, a stagnancy had set in that none had noticed. Even day to day concerns such as finding enough food to eat was seen as ambitious, instead you focused on the next step and the one after that. If that next step just so happened to be on a mine, then you thanked the heavens that you were out of this damned war with nary a thought for the loss of your leg and being fated to in a bag for the rest of your life.
    This one is based in World War One, and is heavily influenced by David Attenborough's film Oh! What a Lovely War, especially the scene embedded below.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Industry (TotW 272)
    The Tale
    Progress! It can be heard in the iron mill, amidst the roar of the fire and screams of the mangled worker.
    Progress! It can be seen in the tycoon's carriage, careening down the hill and crushing the orphan boy.
    Progress! It can be tasted in the foundries, as it clings to your throat with piercing fingers and squeezes the life out of you.
    Progress! It can be smelt in alleyway, the filth overflowing and threatening to drown the forgotten.
    Progress! It can be felt in the stately halls of power, as greed rules over all and changes the nation.

    Progress! The child's toys with which they passed many a happy day, replaced by the coal scuttle with which they toil in the dark.
    Progress! The flash of a knife in an alley, the man who murders for a hunk of bread.
    Progress! The death of hundreds in a single moment as the hail of metal bursts amongst them, eviscerating flesh.
    Progress! The cripple who dies alone, forgotten and disregarded by all.
    Progress! The village green grown withered and forgotten, replaced with an edifice to wealth.

    Progress! Inexorable, relentless and crushing. To stand against it is folly.
    Progress! How beautiful thy sound.
    This submission is very similar to my submission to Tale of the Week 261 if you wish to read that as well.
    I was inspired by reading the Wikipedia summary of the book Atlas Shrugged and how dystopian it sounded.


    Assorted Tales for Children - The Little Green Dinosaur
    The Tale
    Assorted Tales for Children
    The Little Green Dinosaur


    Once upon a time, there lived a little green dinosaur.
    This dinosaur lived in a big house, in a big town.
    The dinosaur did not have any friends though,
    because his mummy and daddy and he were new to town.

    One day the little green dinosaur was running all around his house. "Wheeee! Wheeeeeeee! Look mummy!"
    His mother loved the little green dinosaur, but she grew awfully tired sometimes,
    "Go outside and play, and make new friends" said his mother.
    "But make sure you don't go over the big hill!"

    So the little green dinosaur went outside, and he explored the neighbourhood.
    He went next door, and he saw Mr T-Rex who lived there and sometimes scared the little green dinosaur with his big teeth.
    He went to the shops, and he saw Mrs Triceratops the greengrocer who had a lettuce stuck to one of her horns and looked funny.
    He went to the main road, and he saw Mr Brachiosaurus the policeman who had such a long neck that he could see everyone.

    But the little green dinosaur couldn't see any other little dinosaurs who he could be friends with.
    "Oh bother" said the little green dinosaur. "I wish I had some friends! We could play hopscotch, and tag and all sorts of games."
    "I'll go for a walk", he said to himself. "I'm sure to meet someone, somewhere."
    And so the little green dinosaur went for a walk, and he walked and he walked and he walked.

    Eventually the little green dinosaur realised that he had walked so far, he couldn't see the town anymore.
    A big hill was in front of him though, so he thought to himself,
    "If I go on top of that hill, I'll be higher than Mr Brachiosaurus the policeman, and I'll be able to see my house".
    So the little green dinosaur set out for the hill, completely forgetting his mother's warning not to go near it.

    As he grew closer though, he could hear strange sounds from the other side of the hill.
    "Vroooooooooom! VROOOOOOOOOOOM! BEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEP!"
    "Oh dear oh dear oh dear, what is that scary noise?" the little green dinosaur thought.
    The noise got closer and closer, it reverberated through the little dinosaur's body like firecrackers on New Years.

    Suddenly the very earth roared, and a shape flew over the hill towards the little green dinosaur,
    "WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" came a shrill voice.
    With a big WHUMP the shape landed the ground. "Oh boy, that was fun! I want to do it again" said the shape.
    "Wha... wha... What are you?" asked the little green dinosaur.

    "What am I?" asked the shape. "What are you?! You're green, thats silly!"
    "I'm silly? Well at least I'm not red like you, because everyone knows red is really silly!" cried the little green dinosaur.
    "I'm really silly? Well at least I don't have short little arms and a stubby tail you like, because thats super silly!" shouted the shape.
    "I'm super silly? Well at least I don't have big fat wheels and a big stinky engine, because thats super duper silly!".

    The little green dinosaur and the shape stared and stared at each other for a long time.
    "Well I'm super duper silly, the little red monster truck!" said the shape, and it blared its horn and span around in a circle.
    The little green dinosaur had never heard of a monster truck before, but his mummy and daddy had raised him politely so he replied
    "Well I'm super silly, the little green dinosaur!" and he bared his teeth and wiggled his little arms.

    "Would you like to be my friend?" asked the little green dinosaur. "I don't have any friends, because I'm new".
    "Ok little green dinosaur, I'll be your friend" replied the little red monster truck. "Where do you live?"
    The little green dinosaur suddenly remembered his mother's warning not to go over the hill, which he had done!
    "Oh no oh no oh no, my mummy said not to go over the hill, and I have! Oh she'll be in a bother if she finds out!" he cried.

    "Oh dear oh dear oh dear" replied the little red monster truck. "My mummy said the same thing!".
    The little green dinosaur and the little red monster truck looked quite distraught as they imagined the terrible things their mothers would do if they found out.
    "I've got a good idea!" yelled the little green dinosaur. "I won't tell your mummy if you don't tell my mummy, and then we won't get in trouble."
    "Oh wow thats a great idea! Now we can play hopscotch, and tag and all sorts of games together!" replied the little red monster truck.

    And so the little green dinosaur and the little red monster truck played and played and played, until the sky grew dark.
    "I guess I'd better go home now" said the little green dinosaur. "Will I see you tomorrow?" asked the little red monster truck.
    "Oh yes, I'll be here tomorrow, and the day after and the day after that and the day after that. We'll be very best friends!".
    The little green dinosaur turned around and went down his side of the hill, whilst the little red monster truck turned around and went down his side of the hill and they both went home.

    The next morning the little green dinosaur woke up and raced out of his bedroom, excited to see his friend again.
    "Ho-ho, where do you think you're going little green dinosaur? You were out very late last night" said mother dinosaur.
    "Oh mummy, I made a friend yesterday!" replied the little green dinosaur. "That's wonderful news little green dinosaur, who is your friend?"
    "Oh mummy, he's so cool. He has great big wheels which he can go VROOO-"

    "GREAT BIG WHEELS??? FATHER DINOSAUR COME IN HERE RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!!" shrieked mother dinosaur, clasping her hands to her breast.
    Father dinosaur harrumphed and he clumped down the hall, grumbling about hysterical women. "Whats the matter dearest?" he enquired.
    "Our little boy! Our little green dinosaur! He's been playing with a great dirty MONSTER TRUCK!!!"
    "A monster truck?! Those lazy good-for-nothings! They don't do a honest days work in their lives, and breed like rabbits!" exclaimed father dinosaur.

    Mother and father dinosaur made such a ruckus that all of the townsfolk gathered around to see what the trouble was.
    "I say I say" cried Mrs Tricaeratops the greengrocer, "whatever is the matter?" "Monster trucks!" wailed mother dinosaur!
    "Monster trucks?! Why they'd sooner blow diesel smoke all over you than tell you the time of day! Those rascals, coming over the hill and terrorising innocent folk" growled Mr T-Rex.
    Commotion ensued amongst the townsfolk and they ran hither and thither in confusion and bewilderment.

    At last Mr Brachiosaurus the policeman plodded his way onto the scene and he scanned the crowd from high up in the air until he saw the little green dinosaur.
    "What do you have to say for yourself hmmm? Been fraternizing with enemy have you lad?" He boomed right in the little green dinosaur's face.
    "N... n... no! No sir, I just been playing with the little red monster, no fratnerizing or nothing like that sir" squeaked the little green dinosaur in terror.
    "Well we'll just have to see about that won't we. Everyone, we will go to the hill and we will see what the dastardly monster trucks have to say!"

    With a great grumbling and muttering and murmuring of the dangers of monster trucks, the entire town set out for the big hill.
    The little green dinosaur followed along discontently, already mourning the loss of his only friendship in this new town.
    "Oh this is tiresome! I found a friend and these blasted busy bodies are going to ruin it. How I wish a great big rock would land on their heads!"
    As the hill hove into view, a great big honking and whistling and revving could be heard, amidst yells warning of the dangers of dinosaurs.

    "Those stinky dirty dinosaurs, they don't even polish their hide! They just sit down in a pile of muck and call it home!"
    Gasps arose from the entire town as these foul words were heard. Mother dinosaur quickly covered the little green dinosaurs ears.
    "I heard dinosaurs just lay eggs" cried one voice from over the hill to a chorus of gasps, "they don't even have factories over there."
    By this stage Mr T-Rex had been getting angrier and angrier until he roared as loud as he could, and ran towards the top of the hill waving his stubby arms.

    With a CRASH! and a BOOM! and a KA-BLAAM! the dinosaurs and the monster trucks charged into each other and started fighting.
    Mr T-Rex bit off a big yellow monster truck's side mirror, and stomped on it. The monster truck responded by rolling over his feet.
    A big scary black monster truck, with fire painted on the side came charging down the hill and hit into Mr Brontosaurus the policeman who fell to the ground with a mighty THUD!
    Mrs Triceratops the greengrocer lowered her head and gored an onrushing monster truck, spilling petrol everywhere.

    "Oh no! Oh bother! Oh dear!" wailed the little green dinosaur. "Stop! Don't do that! What's happening?" cried the little red monster truck.
    "Somebody do something!" "Anything! Anything at all to stop this!" they cried in unison, unable to bear the carnage unveiling before their eyes.
    Suddenly the little green dinosaur, and the little red monster truck spied something speeding towards them in the sky.
    All around them, the fighting continued and no-one listened to their desperate cries that danger was approaching and they must run and hide.

    Thud!
    BOOM!
    CRASH!!!
    WHAM!!!

    A meteorite plummetted to earth, and crushed dinosaur and monster truck alike beneath it as it bored towards the center of the Earth.
    A shower of debris followed closely, and peppered the little green dinosaur and the little red monster truck as they ran for safety.
    "Everyone I know is d... d... dead!" cried the little red monster truck. "Everyone I know is crushed!" wailed the little green dinosaur.
    "This is all your fault!" "My fault? This is your fault!" they screamed and roared at each other, thrashing around in the undergrowth.

    The little green dinosaur drew himself up to his full height, and he roared "If I ever see you again, I'll rip off your tires and smash your headlights!"
    "If I ever see YOU again, I'll drive over your tail and choke you on diesel smoke!" honked the little red monster truck.
    These two friends of purest innocence were turned to evil by their surroundings. They only wanted to play, but hatred and bigotry subverted them.
    In time their rivalry grew even more fierce and violent than that of the generation before, and nevermore did a little green dinosaur play hopscotch, and tag and all sorts of games with a little red monster truck.
    I won the gold medal for the 2017 Scriptorium Writing Competition with this contribution. Thanks to everyone that voted.

    Honestly I was just wondering what kind of picture book I would have liked most as a kid. Dinosaurs are awesome. Monster trucks are awesome. So should the dinosaurs ride the monster trucks? Or should they fight each other? Should they live in a seemingly idyllic picture book town? Should they nearly all die in a cataclysmic event? Should the survivors go on to hate each other?
    Last edited by Commissar Caligula_; August 28, 2018 at 06:04 AM.



  2. #2
    Caillagh de Bodemloze's Avatar to rede I me delyte
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    This is a nice idea, Caligula! I like the thought of having all your TotW entries in one place.

    (Obviously, they are also stored very carefully in the TotW Story Archive, but that stores everything by contest, not by author.)

    The fieldsets look good, by the way.






  3. #3
    Alwyn's Avatar Frothy Goodness
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    Good idea to assemble your Tales in one place! I like being able to read about some of your thinking when you created them.

    Your OP reminds me of the library threads (which can be found in the Inkwell sub-forum of the Writers' Lounge) which some writers have. If you would like this thread moved into the Inkwell, just let me know. (Having said that, library threads normally just provide links to stories and AARs rather than containing stories themselves - and your Tales are certainly creative writing - so keeping them here would be okay, too).

  4. #4
    Commissar Caligula_'s Avatar The Ecstasy of Potatoes
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    I'd prefer to keep it here thanks, this bit seems more popular and having it here gives me the option to expand into AARs and creative writing series if I want to, in the one thread. I'll probably update my "Modern Art Gallery" in about 12 hours as well, got about 36 pictures I've got to organise in a similar manner to this Anthology.

    By the way, I'm an idiot and I keep on saying "anthropology" in my head whenever I try to say "anthology" lols. Just me?



  5. #5
    Alwyn's Avatar Frothy Goodness
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    You're very welcome to expand into creative writing on this thread. I look forward to seeing your collection of writing expand. (AARs do not belong in Creative Writing, they need to be posted in the relevant After Action Reports sub-forum).

    I saw the link to your Art Gallery, your screenshots are impressive!

    I know what you mean about saying one word when you want to say another - I often say 'adaption' when I meant to say 'adaptation'!

  6. #6
    Commissar Caligula_'s Avatar The Ecstasy of Potatoes
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    I've updated this with Tale of the Week 262 and 263.
    Tale of the Week 263 is still ongoing, so don't read it until you've submitted your own piece or the voting phase has started.



  7. #7
    Commissar Caligula_'s Avatar The Ecstasy of Potatoes
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    I've updated this with my submissions to Tale of the Week 272 (Industry) and the Non-Themed category for 2017's Scriptorium Writing Competition which won the overall gold medal.
    What did you guys think of Assorted Tales for Children - The Little Green Dinosaur?



  8. #8
    Alwyn's Avatar Frothy Goodness
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    You captured the style of a children's story beautifully, with the larger-font sound effects, the dialogue between the child dinosaur and the parents and the sadness over the lost friendship when innocence is overcome by hatred and bigotry adds pathos. Congratulations on your first-place win in the Scriptorium Writing Competition!

  9. #9

    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    Congratulations on the win! +rep

    I wonder where the results of the competition can be found. I didn't partake myself, but I've been curious and can't seem to find them.

  10. #10
    Commissar Caligula_'s Avatar The Ecstasy of Potatoes
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    Quote Originally Posted by Admiral Van Tromp View Post
    Congratulations on the win! +rep

    I wonder where the results of the competition can be found. I didn't partake myself, but I've been curious and can't seem to find them.
    A fancier version will come out when Settra has time, but you can find the...
    Themed Submissions here
    Non-Themed Submissions here
    Winners here



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  12. #12
    NorseThing's Avatar Primicerius
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn View Post
    You captured the style of a children's story beautifully, with the larger-font sound effects, the dialogue between the child dinosaur and the parents and the sadness over the lost friendship when innocence is overcome by hatred and bigotry adds pathos. Congratulations on your first-place win in the Scriptorium Writing Competition!
    I probably should not add a thing to your praise, but I shall. The thing that stands out is taking the time to format the writing. If there is something to be learned here, it is that formatting the presentation can deliver a much bigger punch to the story. Something I will try and do a better job myself. And once again a hearty congratulations for the gold medal!

  13. #13
    Commissar Caligula_'s Avatar The Ecstasy of Potatoes
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    Since I'm leaving TWC soon, anyone can feel free to use any of my screenshots or the stories above for their own use, so long as they provide credit to me and a link to this thread.



  14. #14
    Commissar Caligula_'s Avatar The Ecstasy of Potatoes
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    Here's 11 of the essays I've written over the last 5 years as part of my Arts degree if anyone is interested. None of my Law essays would be particularly interesting.
    Obviously don't plagiarise and use these for your own assignments lol.

    2016
    Compare and contrast an animated fairy tale adaptation with its source text. Think about the differences between the source and its adaptation and how these changes may affect the audience’s engagement with the story. Your analysis might focus on a few of the following issues: gender, sexuality, race, genre, or in what ways the underlying message or meaning has shifted.

    What is (or is not) the most convincing historical or archaeological evidence for the Trojan War? What is the most convincing historical or archaeological evidence for the existence of the wars won by Arthur? Which of them do you find is more probably history?


    2017
    ‘This is not sport: it’s politics.’ How and why did Roman elites in both the republican and imperial periods seek to control the gladiatorial and circus games?

    How did the military defeats of the German Army in the Second World War lead to the implementation of the policy of scorched earth, and to what extent was this policy effective?


    2018
    From Bandits to Folk Heroes: The Bandeirantes of Brazil

    ‘The decline of Rome was… the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness’. To what extent did Edward Gibbon and Sallust believe that Rome was doomed to fall? Discuss how their histories reflected the turmoil that the authors experienced in their own lifetimes.


    2019
    The Scopes ‘Monkey’ Trial was both a divisive and seminal event in testing the American public’s views on Christian Fundamentalism. What effect did it have on the Christian Right and how did this event shape fundamentalist interventions into the political arena through the 20th-Century?

    "Is fundamentalism a meaningful or useful category of historical analysis?"

    What role did Francis Drake play in the gradual weakening of the Spanish Empire?

    The Trial of Lindy Chamberlain: ‘Trial by media’ or merely disbelief for her story?

    Discuss why what took place in Rwanda did or did not amount to genocide
    Last edited by Commissar Caligula_; May 06, 2020 at 08:41 PM.



  15. #15
    Swaeft's Avatar Drama King
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    Man that is some library. Will take a look at it when I have the chance, oh and let me be the first to say I'd be interested in those law essays...heh.

    Swaeft's Scribblings (Library)| Swaeft's Snaps (Gallery)| My Blog (The Lensation)

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    Alwyn's Avatar Frothy Goodness
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    An impressive library, indeed! I appreciate the chance to see your historical essays, particularly the one on the views of Edward Gibbon and Saullst on the inevitability of the decline and fall of ancient Rome. It's interesting that Gibbon saw the time of Cicero and Caesar as the high point, but a writer who lived in Caesar's time looked back fondly to when Rome had been unified by the common foe of Carthage.

  17. #17
    Commissar Caligula_'s Avatar The Ecstasy of Potatoes
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales




  18. #18
    Alwyn's Avatar Frothy Goodness
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    Congratulations on completing your thesis!

  19. #19
    Turkafinwë's Avatar The Sick Baby Jester
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    Default Re: Caligula's Anthology of Tales

    Again congrats mate! Have a beer on me.

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