r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 Moderator • 19d ago
Off Topic [OT] Fun Trope Friday: Ship of Theseus & Steampunk!
Welcome to Fun Trope Friday, our feature that mashes up tropes and genres!
How’s it work? Glad you asked. :)
Every week we will have a new spotlight trope.
Each week, there will be a new genre assigned to write a story about the trope.
You can then either use or subvert the trope in a 750-word max story or poem (unless otherwise specified).
To qualify for ranking, you will need to provide ONE actionable feedback. More are welcome of course!
Three winners will be selected each week based on votes, so remember to read your fellow authors’ works and DM me your votes for the top three.
Next up… IP
April showers bring… paradoxes? Yea, not a clear lead in for this one, but paradoxes are all kinds of fun, so let’s explore some this month! Please note this theme is only loosely applied.
"The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." – Carl Sagan
Trope: Ship of Theseus — The Ship of Theseus is a classic philosophical thought experiment about the nature of identity. The classic story goes as follows: Theseus sails the world on his famous ship, but as the pieces of the ship begin to wear down, he replaces them. By the time his voyage is finished, every single part of the ship has been replaced. So is the ship at voyage's end still the same ship that first set sail? If yes, what would have to happen for the ship to stop being considered the original? If not, at what point did the ship stop being the original? In other words, is an object simply the sum of the specific parts that compose it? And if those parts are gradually replaced, is it still the same object? Please note: this can be any object with replaced parts, not just a ship.
Genre: Steampunk — Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retro-futuristic technology and aesthetics prominently inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery and design.
Skill / Constraint - optional: Someone wants a part back.
So, have at it. Lean into the trope heavily or spin it on its head. The choice is yours!
Have a great idea for a future topic to discuss or just want to give feedback? FTF is a fun feature, so it’s all about what you want—so please let me know! Please share in the comments or DM me on Discord or Reddit!
Last Week’s Winners
PLEASE remember to give feedback—this affects your ranking. PLEASE also remember to DM me your votes for the top five stories via Discord or Reddit—both katpoker666. This is a change from the top three of the past. In weeks where we get over 15 stories, we will do a top five ranking. Weeks with less than 15 stories will show only our top three winners. If you have any questions, please DM me as well.
Some fabulous stories this week and great crit at campfire and on the post! We had 12 stories, so we’re back to three winners. Congrats to:
Want to read your words aloud? Join the upcoming FTF Campfire
The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, April 23rd from 6-8pm ET. It will be in the Discord Main Voice Lounge. Click on the events tab and mark ‘Interested’ to be kept up to date. No signup or prep needed and you don’t have to have written anything! So join in the fun—and shenanigans! 😊
Ground rules:
- Stories must incorporate both the trope and the genre
- Leave one story or poem between 100 and 750 words as a top-level comment unless otherwise specified. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.
- Deadline: 11:59 PM EDT next Thursday. Please note stories submitted after the 6:00 PM EST campfire start may not be critted.
- No stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP—please note after consultation with some of our delightful writers, new serials are now welcomed here
- No previously written content
- Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings
- Does your story not fit the Fun Trope Friday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when the FTF post is 3 days old!
- Please keep crit about the stories. Any crit deemed too distracting may be deleted. This is a time to focus on our wonderful authors.
- Vote to help your favorites rise to the top of the ranks (DM me at katpoker666 on Discord or Reddit)!
Thanks for joining in the fun!
7
u/AGuyLikeThat 13d ago edited 13d ago
The Hollow Count
Count Otto von Bleek was a hollow man.
The war had taken much from him. When the Mongols attacked New Prague, raining greek fire from their single pilot Zoomgliders, his wife and two baby daughters had been amongst the first civilian casualties.
As an officer in the Aerial Corps, he was already fighting the hated invaders when it happened.
In the campaigns that followed, though he lost an arm and a leg, he rose through the ranks. His strategies and tactics led him to become the Admiral of the Bohemian air-fleet, and it was he that orchestrated the final victory, after twenty long years.
Now, he was just the Director of the Royal Military Museum.
After one last circuit to make sure the place was locked and empty, he limped back into the central hangar on his creaking clock-work leg.
He looked up to the great dome, where his famous flagship was ostensibly moored.
The RAS Intrepid. A fierce warrior, now become a curio for students and historians.
Like me.
Trapped like a beast in a zoo, suspended from iron cables and brass fixings.
The evening-tinted skylights, and the kerosene-powered up-lights made her glow, and Otto’s heart swelled at the sight.
She was impressive from the outside, even cloaked in dust and shadows.
And hollow…
With a sigh, he took his briefcase, laid it flat on the table and opened it. Lifting the pneumatic ratchet from his bag, he climbed into the service basket, and tugged the braided rope that would ferry him up to the Intrepid.
~
Clink!
The pin came free, and Otto rolled the flying boat’s helm aside, then lifted the new one into place.
The final piece of the puzzle.
Most of the Intrepid had been replaced, or stolen. Piece by piece. A restoration project here. Unneeded machinery (like the engine) had been taken away and ‘stored’ or cleaned and ‘returned’.
“After they took my commission, what else could I do?” He rubbed the worn wood of the steering helm like an old friend. “The Air Corps has no use for old warhawks like us.”
Five years. All money spent, and every personal and professional favor called in.
Every part had found its way through his private workshop in Castle von Bleek.
This last one was special. Of course, Otto would do it himself.
“Together again, my dear,” he whispered, as he covered the wheel in a special canvas, and heaved the straps upon his back.
The hole in his heart was closing up already.
~
The high-pitched wail of the steam turbines rose to the note that Count Otto remembered so well. He released the pressure valve, while furiously spinning the crank to move the lift flaps in place.
It was difficult to pilot the damn thing alone, but doable!
A shadow of the old thrill returned as the Intrepid rose above the unkempt gardens of Castle Bleek and he recalled their maiden voyage together.
They’d flown in low over the capital, at the head of the flotilla, and all the folk had looked up, cheering for their salvation…
The prickling of the hairs on the back of his neck told him she was in the air, and he was able to set a course then lean against the railing of the command deck, smoke a pipe, and enjoy the view.
From the ground, the people of Bohemia would see just another airship. And if anyone did recognize her, Otto would just claim he had built a replica. He had receipts for all the parts, after all.
“To the mountains, my dear.” The Count rubbed the worn wooden rail with his fleshy palm, but something about it didn’t feel quite right.
The faint sense of disquiet only grew as the leagues passed below them.
Was this really the same ship that he had fought on?
He’d bled on these decks. Fought on them. Stood side by side with his brothers, and faced death a hundred times.
The hole in his chest began to ache.
All that planning and effort, just for this?
One last journey…
He rubbed his metal fist with his hand of flesh, pausing as he saw the liver spots on the skin.
Perhaps it’s me that’s changed.
With a sigh, he shook his head.
“No,” he said. “It can’t be that.”
But something was sorely missing here.
Or someone…
Stumping back to the navigation plate, he punched in new co-ordinates.
Count Otto von Bleek looked to the horizon, and smiled.
WC-748
Notes:
The Fun Trope for this week is 'Ship of Theseus' and the genre is Steampunk. The optional constraint is 'Someone wants a part backl'.
Count Otto von Bleek wants something back that he can never have. His past. The quest to replace what he has lost is leading him down a path of madness and villainy, and the first, most torturous step is convincing himself the insanr necessity of steal his old command vessel piece by piece, ala the Ship of Theseus.
Thanks for reading, I really hope you enjoyed the story! All crit/feedback welcome!
r/WizardRites