Hi FoLCs!
This is Kerth Quiz #3 - Best Mid-Length Story (51 - 200k)
Instructions are blatantly copied/linked from last year’s Kerth Quizzes (or even further back than that).
SPIFFY DISCLAIMER THINGY! All the stories featured in this quiz qualify for the Best Mid-Length Story Category but this quiz is not a stamp of recommendation for nomination. There are other stories which qualify for this category, but this quiz only covers 10 randomly chosen ones.
Recommendations for other eligible stories are *very* welcome and encouraged!
QUIZ RULES: Two points for getting the story and author from the quote; one point for getting it from the excerpt. Specify which is which, or you'll automatically get one point instead of two. (Also, don't forget to mention which number you're answering.) Open hard drive and archive, *don't* forget to snip the excerpts in your replies, and don't forget the spoiler space when you post in the replies thread. Plus, shiny gold stars for those who recognize their own stories (which, sadly, is harder than it looks, but mostly in the Epic and Long Story Categories though).
The DEADLINE for entries for this quiz is Thursday, January 22, 2015, by 11:59 p.m (Pacific Time Zone).
More elaborate quiz instructions can be found
here .
Please post your answers
HERE .
Good luck!
Susan
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QUOTE #1:
“Oh … Kimberly!”
QUOTE #2:
“Even though I’ve got to say, you couldn’t have picked someone who would rub Lois more raw: blonde and a lawyer!”
QUOTE #3:
At the very least, his time at this foster home was done. At the most, he’d be tried as an adult and spend years in jail.
QUOTE #4:
“You’re a monster, you know. Everyone knows it. You’re a dictator, a tyrant —”
QUOTE #5:
“Clark, please don’t let my death destroy you. The world still needs you. Both sides of you. The reporter and the superhero. I want you to go on with your life.”
QUOTE #6:
Wash behind your ear.
QUOTE #7:
If that happened, Lois would fly to Metropolis tomorrow, throw herself into her work, and resolve that she would never again waste one moment thinking about her weekend in Des Moines.
QUOTE #8:
“Oh! And both of you, it might be a good idea to stay inside after dark. Like you already noticed, we do have wolves — safest not to go around at night.”
QUOTE #9:
Lois handed him his coffee, shook her head and said, "The sun just … blacked out! But why?"
QUOTE #10:
Jor-El grabbed the billionaire by the front of his shirt — ripping the fabric in the process and threw him bodily through the portal.
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EXCERPT #1:
“No buts,” Jonathan insisted, placing a paternal hand on Clark’s shoulder and steering him out the door. “If the power is still out in the morning, we’ll explore our options. But for now, let’s go inside and spend the evening with our favorite girls.” His eyes twinkled playfully. “Besides, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about winter storms, it’s that cuddling up to stay warm is half the fun.”
EXCERPT #2:
“No, Clark!” Lois said, trying to speak calmly. She grabbed hold of his shoulders. “Stop chasing after blondes and try a brunette for once. I’m not a blonde!”
EXCERPT #3:
“If you live in a shelter, it’s hard to keep a job because they want you in line by four-thirty. If you don’t live in a shelter, it’s hard to keep a job because it’s hard to shower and keep clean. If you don’t work or go to school, that’s a lot of hours to fill.”
EXCERPT #4:
To this day, this very moment, Jason Kent would do anything for his father, in spite of how he was treated in return. It only made Jason hate himself all the more, but he couldn’t help it. What he wouldn’t do for one shred, one iota of love or admiration or even respect from the man he’d like to call father. But no. He finished last on his father’s lists of cares. If the four of them were to be ranked, from most to least cared for, Jason was sure that the order would go: Jada, then Johanna, and then Jerome Jr. and himself. Of course, his father hated Jerome for everything he did — but hate was at least an emotion. There was nothing left for Jason, he thought bitterly to himself.
EXCERPT #5:
Clark was going to honor Lois’ last wishes. He was going to go on with his life. He wouldn’t ever forget Lois or all that she meant to him. But he wouldn’t spend his days in a dark corner either. He was going to be the reporter and the superhero she wanted him to be. Superman would make the save, then Clark would take the story to Perry at the Daily Planet, and he would wear the shirt and tie Lois had bought him.
EXCERPT #6:
Lois sighed. It meant everything. Now that she looked back over the pages she could recall the denial she’d been going through. It was crystal clear that linking a capital ‘C’ and capital ‘K’ with a double ‘L’ meant everything.
EXCERPT #7:
“Of course, he’s smiling now,” Lois cut in. “But what about in five years’ time when they’re trying to juggle a home, a couple of kids, and two jobs, and neither can remember why they ever wanted to be married in the first place?”
“Some marriages are like that,” Clark conceded, “but I don’t think it has to be that way.”
“But that’s the point,” Lois insisted. “There are no guarantees of forever, and without forever, it’s an ultimately futile exercise. Futile. Expensive. Painful. Depressing."
“I would gladly risk it all for a woman I loved.”
Derision leaped up her throat. She swallowed. Her mouth went dry.
Because she believed him.
EXCERPT #8:
Lois didn’t like this town. She thought she probably should have — it was obviously a hotbed of secrets just waiting to be exposed and pretenders just begging to be unmasked, and all of it on a town-wide level that would sell three or four printings at the very least. But despite all that, despite her instincts telling her that every single person she’d met since Clark had whisked her out of their careening car was keeping something hidden, she couldn’t muster up the excitement this kind of massive cover-up deserved.
She just…she didn’t like the place.
EXCERPT #9:
When she finished relating this latest incident, Clark said, “Hold that thought,” stood up and strode to the secret compartment. After opening it he pulled out one of the uniforms and said, “Excuse me for a second.” He stepped into the bedroom. They heard a wind and then Superman stepped back into the living room.
Lois whispered in awe, “He’s back!”
Clark crossed to Lois and taking her in his arms kissed her and then said, “You brought me back. First, by loving Clark and now by telling me how I had rescued you as Superman, you rescued me. Mom, do you still have that SCUBA gear at the farm?”
EXCERPT #10:
Abrihet made her way from the stage and through the thinning crowd toward the little group surrounding Clark, clearly frightened. Her dark eyes were riveted to the red stain on his chest. She knew this was impossible, after all, he was Superman, an invincible being from another planet, Ordinary bullets should have no effect on him. She spoke, barely recognizing the strained tones of her voice. “Lois, mon amie … Clark?”
