Winners of the Under the Sea Challenge

I, Annie Stein and my co-judge Qurilion are proud to announce the winners of the Under the Sea Flash Challenge. We had 23 wonderful entries, and we're so amazed of what everyone has been able to create in just ten days. Thank you all for participating, and please, go congratulate these amazing writers!
Without further ado...

Honorable Mentions

Crashed Sky Citadel by Rain

A deep dive that slowly reveals its mystery. I thought it was clever to write about something that wasn't supposed to be in the water, a crashed citadel, and I was intrigued to see how it was handled. This was my early favourite!

— Annie

- by Chris L

I really enjoyed the mythological kaiju aspect, and the prose around the "celestial gluttons" and star-eating is evocative. The idea of a giant, hungering crab sitting in the depths of the ocean and craving the stars is great.

— Qurilion

Qimiori - Water Forests by Blue Fairy 74

Qimori takes us through a unique, strange biome. Like above-ground subnautica, we get to learn about this alien biome and its cornerstone plant: the Knot Trees. I love how the map feature is used to showcase the trees and the life around them.

— Annie

Tsuthar'Chor by JudasBrennan

Most articles about these kind of creatures are scant on the detail of their inner workings, so it was a fresh take on getting one that provided insight into their actual society and how it functions. Colossal, psychic minds locked in an internal cold war is some wonderful imagery, as is the miles of neural tendrils and fleshy blobby city architecture. Lovely!

— Qurilion

Runner-Ups

Creative

Thalatta by hughpierre

An hostile globe of ancient sea-water locked in by perpetual motion, Thalatta was just such an inventive concept!

— Annie

Versimilitude

Descent of Íde by SapphireSong

Worldbuilding and storytelling work together in this lovely character-driven piece. What a great way to introduce us to StarSea!

— Annie

Presentation

Sea Hollowed by mirescosmo

A beautiful article with beautiful art! Mirescosmo's article is tastefully laid out and cleverly uses articleblocks to invite you to explore further.

— Annie

Winners

Third Place

The Merpeople by Amélie I. S. Debruyne

Nérissa Corail by Annie Stein

You have to read this for the art, if nothing else! Amélie weaves stories around her worldbuilding, and with it introduces us to all kinds of aspects of her new Mer people. It's very smart in how it gets across a lot of information fast.

— Annie

Eternal Sage AmélieIS

Amélie I. S. Debruyne

To see what I am up to: my submissions to the worldbuilding awards 2024.

Second Place

Chok Swam by The Big G

This late entry was worth waiting for! Strange interlocked beings are cool enough on their own, but what really pulls this article into excellence is the strong perspective, that of vastlander Haftera Djuur, who once was allowed to travel with the strange aquatic species. I really loved the art too!

— Annie

Journeyman The Big G

From The River to The Ocean, a civilization grows up.

First Place

The Joining by Rin Garnett

The Joining by Annie Stein

The Hope by Annie Stein

There was no doubt who the winner was for this challenge. Not only did Qurilion and I both give this our top scores for creativity and versimilitude, but it was the highest scoring for both of us. I love travelling cities, but what Rin does with the joining blew me away. A masterful blend of biology and festivals comes together to make some really, really, good worldbuilding.

— Annie

Grandmaster Those2Nerds

Rin Garnett

Science-Fiction Worldbuilding Speculative-Fiction Writing Cozy Tabletop Podcast

Want more? Check out Under the Sea Flash Challenge to see the rules and all 23 entries