Best Writing : Sinitrena*
Best story : Baron**
Best MacGuffin : Sinitrena. ***
* I had a hard time choosing. Each style is different and works.
No quarter given is quite down to earth, with a touch of surrealism brought by the conversation between the 2 coins.
50 shades of Guffin feels lyrical. I had to look for a couple of words in a dictionary
The Feather is Mightier intersperses two approaches - realistic and fantastic - and balances them to great effect.
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** All 3 submissions were good reads but I found Baron's tale especially entertaining. The fateful meeting gave me Tarantinian tingles.
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***I agree with Sinitrena about Mandle's coin not influencing the story. On the other end of the spectrum, Baron's trinket – although deliciously evil - could nearly be considered a character. Sinitrena's feather fits the description best IMO.
Your choice of words and minimalist style combine effectively to make a very compelling read.
Thanks.
Having said that, I thought Lucas' motivation at the end was exceedingly immature.
[...] No one can be that sheltered or petty, it's just unbelievable.
I'm not so sure about the actions as adults. That seems like a very late reaction to basically a childhood prank.
The way I see it, Lucas and Greg are good friends at this point.
Lucas allows himself to unearth this old story because he knows that they will both laugh about it.