Man from U.N.C.L.E. Section VII

Name: SWEETEST THOUGHTS, BITTEREST CERTAINITIES
Genre: GEN
Length: approx 1725 words
Rating: Everyone
Warnings: None



( something bittersweet under the cut )

Just a final reminder that the final seasonal challenge of the year, that for HODOWE: Sweetest Day, opens this weekend for posting here on section7mfu. Full timeframe for posting is from Saturday, October 17th, through Saturday, October 24th.

Guidelines for the HODOWE: Sweetest Day challenge can be found here.

So, do you have a recipe for something to satisfy a sweet tooth? A literary sweet tooth that is. ;-)

The LIFECYCLE: FEAR Challenge, the last challenge in the LIFECYCLE series, is now "in the books". Thanks to all who participated! So we move on to the final seasonal challenge of the year, the third HODOWE (e.g. HOLIDAYS OF DUBIOUS ORIGINS WRITING EVENT) challenge. This HODOWE centers on SWEETEST DAY!

Here are the guidelines for the HODOWE: Sweetest Day seasonal challenge.

CHALLENGE: Write an MFU fanfic story regarding the ideas embodied in Sweetest Day. The story doesn't have to necessarily mention or include the day by name; just embody a scenario that fits the concept behind it. SWEETEST DAY isn't an international holiday of course. Truthfully it isn't even any sort of nationally recognized holiday in the U.S. It is observed in only 14 states and in parts of 2 other states (including NY). It is traditionally celebrated on the third Saturday in October.

The first Sweetest Day was pronounced as October 8, 1921 in Cleveland by a committee of 12 confectioners who saw to the distribution of over 20,000 boxes of candy to "newsboys, orphans, old folks, and the poor". On September 25, 1937, The New York Times reported that The National Confectioners Association had launched a "movement throughout the candy industry" to rank Sweetest Day with the nationally accepted Mother's Day, Father's Day, and St. Valentine's Day. That never happened, but friends, family, and lovers often give each other candy, flowers, and cards on Sweetest Day. It doesn't have quite the... commitment overtones associated with Valentine's Day, however. So seems a holiday that would tickle the fancy of Napoleon Solo, no? ;-)

One further note: Since Sweetest Day was invented by commercial interests which stood to profit from such a holiday, dissenting Cleveland residents refer to it as a "Hallmark holiday" (although it was not invented by Hallmark Cards company). Now wouldn't Illya Kuryakin have some biting remarks to make about such a particularly "capitalist holiday"? ;-)

STATISTICAL STUFF: Minimum of 500 words with no set maximum. (Drabbles are not incorporated in this particular challenge.) Must fit into the overall concepts of this community, i.e., contain no explicit adult material and reflect the 1960s series in style and content. Please tag your story with the hodowe and sweetest tags.

POSTING: To this forum starting on Saturday, October 17th, and ending on Saturday, October 24th.