It’s been a while since we’ve had a general themed writing event. And since it ain’t gonna organize itself and no one else is stepping up, here goes my attempt. I’ve formatted the details in a questions and answer format below for your convenience:

How do I participate?
Write and submit a short story that incorporates the themes in some capacity when the submission period opens up.

How long do I have to write something?
A month from now. A thread for submissions will be created on 2024-06-02 and let’s say that there will be a 48-hour submission period that follows.

What do you mean by themes?
As implied by this thread’s title, the stories ought to incorporate something regarding fate and/or luck (or, more generally, fortune.) What this actually means in practice is up to each writer but I feel that is both vague enough to allow for all sorts of creative interpretations as well as specific enough to allow certain scenarios and things to happen and for the story to qualify.

You lost me or I don’t have much of an imagination. I need more concrete examples.
That’s not a question but I’ll indulge you nonetheless. Here is a list of scenarios and implementations that I’ve come up with off the cuff as that would most definitely count:

• A villager takes a shortcut on their way home one day and has an unexpected encounter that changes their life forever
• A coin flip causes a character to make one of two choices.
• Someone under the effects of a curse goes to extreme lengths to get rid of it
• Wolf tengu drawing lots in order to figure out who gets stuck with escort duty that week
• A rigged game of three card monte costs someone dearly
• An arranged marriage turns out to be a match made in heaven (or hell)
• A character is convinced that a certain person or certain actions guarantee their good/bad luck
• Something invertible, like the flower incident that happens every sixty years, affects the actions/lives of characters

While I could go on, the above should get the point across. You can be as specific or as vague as you like, use any of the stuff I mentioned here, or take a gamble (hah!) on trying something completely different. The point of this is to get people writing and having fun.

Is that really the point?
Well, yes, we’re predominantly a fanfiction community. Writing and reading stories—and having fun doing so—is as basic as it gets.

How long should the entries be?
As long as it needs to be. A couple of paragraphs, ten thousand words, a whole novella…. Whatever you feel like.

Do I have to use a name or only submit a single entry?
It’s probably best if you submit things anonymously as that’s been the traditional way these exhibitions/contests have been done. It allows readers to look at things with lesser bias and enjoy them on their own merits. Writers then sometimes choose to come forward about their entries later.

And, hey, if you can manage multiple fully-realized entries, more power to you. But it might best to just focus on the one thing and make it as good as it can be.

Alright, you’ve convinced me! What do I get for participating?
The undying respect and adulation of your peers? A momentary respite from existentialist dread? I don’t know, I’m kind of assuming that you like THP and the sort of stuff that gets posted … so contributing more to that should be reward enough.

But, well, I’ll at least commit to not only the bare minimum of reading every entry, but offering thoughts and feedback on them. Other people may well do that as well.

So no voting, no picking of a winner?
Not really, no. If you need validation that bad maybe I’ll do something extra nice for you. First things first: finish your chores, champ.

Ok, I’ll try my best!
That’s all I ask. Also, not a question.

Feel free to post any other questions or comments in this thread and I’ll do my best to offer clarifications if necessary.