Kerth Quiz 1

Welcome to the 2011 Kerth Quizzes! First up is BEST MID-LENGTH (51-200k).

As far as I can ascertain, all the stories in this quiz qualify for the Best Mid-Length category for the Kerths of 2012. Inclusion should not be taken as a recommendation, and these are not the only stories that are eligible for nomination.

Don't forget you are encouraged to recommend other eligible stories.

QUIZ RULES: If you get the story and author from the quote, that's worth two points. If you need the excerpt as well, you get one point. If you don't specify how much information you needed, you get one point.

You can use the archive and stories on your hard drive.

Don't include the quotes and excerpts in your reply. Don't forget to include a spoiler space.

The DEADLINE for entries for this quiz is 11:59pm (west coast of USA), Wednesday January 18th.

More elaborate quiz instructions can be found here.

Please post your answers here.

Apologies in advance if the quiz is too hard or too easy. I tried to get a mix. How well I succeeded = huh

(Note - due to the number of stories in this category, I've broken the one-author rule blush )


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Quotes

1. "Man, and my mom kept telling me that playing video games would fry my brain," Jimmy muttered.

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2. Clark decided to make his greeting neutral. "Hey, partner, what's up?"

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3. "Hey, whatever happened to that harem outfit?" he teased.

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4. "No, a cliff would be better. I want to jump off a cliff." Lois wrapped her arms around his neck. "Can you fly me to a cliff?"

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5. "Miss Lane!" he exclaimed. "Oh my, you weren't supposed to come!"

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6. "I..." The boy hunched over himself, resisting when Jonathan tried to pull him back into his arms. "I can't believe you're not afraid of me. *I'm* afraid of me."

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7. Clark shook his head. "I've never looked at myself that way. I just ... help ... if I can."

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8. "Clark Kent? What are you doing here in Santa Barbara?" came a young woman's voice. Clark struggled slightly to look up and see none other than Mindy Church walk out of a makeshift office.

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9. She produced it from a pocket of her uniform. "Here you go." She hesitated, and Clark could swear that she was blushing. "I probably shouldn't ask," she said, "but I'll probably never have another chance to find out. I've always wondered -- does Superman's costume really come off?"

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10. "Look, we need Superman right now. There are only a few hours left until Nightfall hits the earth. I am telling you the truth. Clark is Superman -- and so am I."

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Excerpts

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1. She wanted to kiss him. He was such a good kisser. She could feel the heat of his hand against her lower back as he held her in his arms. She didn't want to move. She wanted to stay like this forever. She wanted to kiss him again. She looked up into his eyes. A drowning sensation surrounded her as he stared back at her.

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2. Jillian hurriedly opened the box. On top of a stack of papers were two glowing green rocks and an envelope addressed to her whose contents she rapidly unfolded and read.

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3. He turned and led her to another bed chamber. Clark was sitting up in bed, bare-chested, experimentally flexing the arm that he'd broken, tenderly pressing against his ribs, putting a tentative hand to his jaw. Ching stood nearby, laughing at Clark's wonderment.

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4. Lois stood by the coffee machine refilling her coffee mug. Clark had been staring at her all morning. Was he embarrassed about his confession on the phone last night? To make him feel better, she had pretended the conversation hadn't taken place. She wondered if he had gotten up the courage to ask the woman out that he had mentioned. She sighed. She still wasn't allowing herself to hope it was her.

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5. The woman fiddled with the settings on her machine, then pushed a lever and watched as a stream of electricity went from Wonderman to the rat in the cage.

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6. In one instant, with two words, the world was righted. Everything was returned to normal; the catastrophe was averted; the sun began to once more shine. It was as if, in that instant, Jonathan suddenly remembered how to breathe again.

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7. Clark's heart was in his throat as he resolutely strode back to the chamber where his fate awaited. Zara and Ching were hard on his heels. Outside the chamber door, Clark paused, took a deep breath, and steeled himself. The three nodded to each other. They were ready.

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8. Stopping a few hundred yards away, he shut his cycle off. He wanted to have the element of surprise just in case there were people in the warehouse that sat on the edge of the shore. It was a boating warehouse; one that had been used for shipping car parts in the 60s, but now sat abandoned.

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9. The loops of rope, loosened by Clark's efforts, came free with the third try. Lois wriggled the rope off her wrists and dropped it in tangled coils to the floor. She ripped off her blindfold, blinking at the light.

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10. It feels so good to fly again. I immediately break through the cloud cover in order to get the strongest rays from the sun. I feel renewed instantly, and I know without a doubt that my powers are fully restored. I still have no idea why they disappeared in the first place. Did it have something to do with the strange mirror? But it doesn't matter now. I have a job to do.