Challenge Mini-Games Challenge (Now Open For NEW 2024 Challenges!)

Certainly! Your word is rakhmones: mercy, pity, compassion.

 

Going to make a bit of a "grocery store run" for some challenges to keep me going. I might not write stories for them right away, but hopefully over time I can chip away at them, and apologies in advance for being a shameless inspiration hoarder.

@Mira_Jade May I claim number 3 in the First/Last Line quote challenge? Thank you.

@Findswoman May I have number 2 in your Joys of Yiddish Challenge? Thank you.

@mavjade May I have number 4 in your Musical Medley challenge? Thank you.

So many great challenges, everyone. Thank you for the inspiration during this crazy time.

 

Certainly! #2 is kvetch: to fret, complain, gripe.

 

Oooh, of course you may!

#3
First Line: "Well then, is it going to be a yes or a no?"
Last Line: "Or maybe it was just my imagination."


All of the slots have now officially been filled for the First Line/Last Line Challenge. I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

 

Of course! #7 is the last one left from my list, and it's nakhes: pride or joy from one's child's (or child figure's) achievements.

 

Alrighty! Since it seems like the current challenge indexes are filling up quite nicely, let's go ahead and see if we can foster a little inspiration for some weekend writing with:

The Secret of the Runes Challenge!​

"The mouth is the beginning of all speech,
a support to wisdom and a comfort to the wise,
the prosperity and trust of every jarl."

~ The Rune Poem​

For this challenge, we are going to be using Elder Futhark, the oldest form of Germanic runic alphabet that we know of, dating all the way back from the 2nd to the 8th century. Runes, while primarily intended as a system of symbols used to depict a written language, also have a name and a meaning assigned beyond just their phonemic value. These meanings range from the mythical, as would especially pertain to rites of worship, to those encompassing nature, daily life, and the human condition. For example, the Odal rune (ᛟ) represents the 'O' sound, but also symbolizes heritage, nobility, and wealth, especially in a literal sense through ancient Scandinavian laws of property and inheritance. The Odal stanza of the Rune Poem corresponds with the riddle: "A homeland is very dear to every man. There he may enjoy his household as is right and fitting, along with its fruits." Pretty nifty, right? (Even if the poem technically has runes from the Younger Futhark alphabet - shhh, that's just schematics! They still match up quite nicely. )

So! With that knowledge in mind, the rules of this challenge are simple: pick a number one through five, and I will give you a rune and its corresponding meaning, along with its stanza of the Rune Poem, to use as inspiration for a story. Then, let your muses run wild!


The Participants
1. @divapilot - The rune Sowilō, or Sól (Σ) represents the 'S' sound, and symbolizes the sun and life. When written double, side by side, the rune is changed to encapsulate victory. For the Rune Poem, there are two translations that are equally fascinating, each in their own way, so I'm going to include both! One, an Icelandic version: "Sun is the shield of the clouds and shining ray, the destroyer of ice." Then, the Anglo-Saxon version: "The sun is ever a joy in the hopes of seafarers when they journey away over the fishes' bath, until the courser of the deep bears them to land."

2. @Findswoman - The rune Naudiz (ᚾ) represents the 'N' sound, and symbolizes need and distress, but especially in the sense that hardship offers the opportunity for the strong to rise equal to their challenges and persevere for the best. Your stanza from the Rune Poem is: "Trouble is oppressive to the heart; yet often it proves a source of help and salvation to the children of men, to everyone who heeds it betimes."

3. @Kahara - The rune Jera (ᛃ) represents the 'J' or 'Y' sound, and symbolizes plenty and prosperity, especially through the reaping of the harvest. It is where we get our English word year from. Jera carries with it the idea of a cycle, which is depicted by the brackets of the rune; no matter what, nature persistently marches on. Your stanza from the Rune Poem is: "The new year is the hope of men, when the gods allow the earth to give her bright fruits to rich and poor alike."

4. @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha - The rune Gyfu (ᚷ) represents the 'G' sound, and symbolizes gifts and generosity, especially as regards the back and forth giving and receiving found in close bonds of friendship. Your stanza from the Rune Poem is: "Generosity brings credit and honour, which support one’s dignity; it furnishes help and subsistence to all broken men who are devoid of aught else."

5. @Pandora - The rune Hagalaz (ᚺ) represents the 'H' sound, and symbolizes hail, the shock of change, and the driving forces of fate beyond the control of men. Better yet, it represents persevering through those changes, and weathering them just the same as a storm. Your stanza from the Rune Poem is: "Hail is the whitest of grain; it is whirled from the vault of heaven and is tossed about by gusts of wind and then it melts into water."

6. @Ewok Poet - The rune Dæg, or Dagaz (ᛞ) represents the 'D' sound, and symbolizes the dawn and daylight. It is a rune that goes hand in hand with its sister rune Jera, as is evident in both of their infinitive shapes. Just as Jera represents the continuous cycle of the seasons, the symmetry of the Dagaz rune represents the balance in nature through the day cycle and the relationship between earth and sky. The X shape of the Gyfu rune also mirrors the Dagaz rune, but by showing the balance within mankind with both displaying and receiving positive emotions like generosity and love. The three runes together form a set that encompasses the endless symmetry between man and nature. Yet, where Jera and Gyfu symbolize the gentle forces of repetition and reciprocity, Dagaz has the powerful force of sudden change - like the dawn from the night - drawn into its shape. The rising and falling in the lines of the rune shows the course of the sun, from night to dark and back again. Your stanza from the Rune Poem is: "Day, the glorious light of the Creator; it is beloved of men, a source of hope and happiness to rich and poor, and of service to all."



The Index
1.
2.
3.
4. A Friend Beyond Parallel (Star Trek), by WarmNyota_SweetAyesha
5. Mending Things; or, The Seamstress of Massassi Base, by Findswoman
6.

 

OH WOW, if this isn’t just the esotericest of the esoteric, and you know how I love esoteric! @Mira_Jade, I’ll try #2, please, if it isn’t already given out.