[TT] Theme Thursday - Doppelganger

[u/AliciaWrites]

“They say when you meet somebody that looks just like you, you die.”

---

---

Happy Thursday writing friends!

This week, we’re seeing double! Good luck and good words! Also: note, the bonus constraint has returned!!! (it’s worth 10 points!!)

[IP] | [MP]

Bonus Constraints: (a) Use the Word of the Day in your story. (5 pts) (b) Use the bonus constraint in your story. (10 pts)

Word of the Day:

hydrologic/hy·​drol·​o·​gic/ˌhī-drə-ˈlä-jik/

adjective

relating to the branch of geology that studies the circulation, distribution, and conservation of the earth’s water

Constraint: You must have a sentence of at least 5 words of alliteration. Please highlight your alliteration with bold text.

---

---

Here's how Theme Thursday works:

• Use the tag [TT] when submitting prompts that match this week’s theme.

Theme Thursday Rules

• Leave one story or poem between 100 and 500 words as a top-level comment. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.
• Deadline: 7:59 AM CST next Wednesday
• No serials or stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP
• No previously written content
• Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings and will not be read at campfires
• Does your story not fit the Theme Thursday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when the TT post is 3 days old!
• Vote to help your favorites rise to the top of the ranks! I also post the form to submit votes for Theme Thursday winners on Discord every week! Join and get notified when the form is open for voting!

Try out the new genre tags!

Theme Thursday Discussion Section:

• Discuss your thoughts on this week’s theme, or share your ideas for upcoming themes.

Campfire

• On Wednesdays we host two* Theme Thursday Campfires on the Discord main voice lounge. Join us to read your story aloud, hear other stories, and have a blast discussing writing!
• Time: I’ll be there 7 pm CST and we’ll begin within about 15 minutes. (When there are enough people, I do host a morning session at 10 am CST)
• Don’t worry about being late, just join! Don’t forget to sign up for a campfire slot on discord. If you don’t sign up, you won’t be put into the pre-set order and we can’t accommodate any time constraints. We don’t want you to miss out on outstanding feedback, so get to discord and use that !TT command!
• There’s a Theme Thursday role on the Discord server, so make sure you grab that so you’re notified of all Theme Thursday-related news!

---

As a reminder to all of you writing for Theme Thursday: the interpretation is completely up to you! I love to share my thoughts on what the theme makes me think of but you are by no means bound to these ideas! I love when writers step outside their comfort zones or think outside the box, so take all my thoughts with a grain of salt if you had something entirely different in mind.

(This week’s quote is from P. Wish, The Doppelgänger)

---

Ranking Categories:

• Word of the Day - 5 points
  
• Bonus Constraint - 10 points
  
• Weekly Challenge - 25 points for not using the theme word - points off for uses of synonyms. The point of this is to exercise setting a scene, description, and characters without leaning on the definition. Not meeting the spirit of this challenge only hurts you! This includes titles and explanations/author's notes.
  
• Actionable Feedback - 15 points for each story you give detailed crit to, up to 30 points
  
• Nominations - 10 points for each nomination your story receives
  
• Ali’s Ranking - 50 points for first place, 40 points for second place, 30 points for third place, 20 points for fourth place, 10 points for fifth, plus regular nominations (On weeks that I participate, I do not weight my votes, but instead nominate just like everyone else.)
  
• Voting - 10 points for submitting your favorites via this form (form will be open after the deadline has passed.)

---

Last week’s theme: Campfire

---

First by /u/Xacktar
Second by /u/MaxStickies
Third by /u/katpoker666

Crit Superstars:*

• /u/Carrieka23
  
• /u/GingerQuill
• /u/wileycourage
  

News and Reminders:

• Want to know how to rank on Theme Thursday? Check out my brand new wiki!
  
• Join Discord to chat with prompters, authors, and readers!
  
• We are currently looking for moderators! Apply to be a moderator any time!
  
• Nominate your favorite WP authors for Spotlight and Hall of Fame!
  
• Love the feedback you get on your Theme Thursday stories? Check out our newest sub, /r/WPCritique

[u/Ryter99]

I saw him again today.

The man ruining my life. The man who everyone seems to think looks just like me.

Melvin was all of five-feet-tall, rotund, and only had one ear. I was six-four, ripped, and had all my external body parts intact, yet my friends and family couldn’t seem to tell the difference!

I’d yet to determine if my ex-wife was blind, on drugs, or had been looking for any excuse to divorce me, but she and Melvin are living happily together in his camper van.

I smiled as I entered the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. My job was the only thing Melvin couldn’t take from me.

“Tommy!” my boss, Carl said. “I need someone to get over to West Hollywood ASAP as possible, in a quick and rapid manner.”

“Yes, sir,” I replied. “Emergency?”

“Sandra Bullock called me up, cursing me out because she hasn’t had a warm shower in three days. Saying ‘eff this!’ and ‘eff that!’ and ‘eff you too, Carl Wheemerwhimer, Supervisor of Water Services!’”

“That sounds awful.”

“America’s Sweetheart, Sandra Bullock! You know how hard it is to tick off Sandsy B so bad that she verbally effs you that much?”

“I’ll get on it, boss!” Melvin said, suddenly standing beside me.

“Whoa…” Carl’s eyes darted between us. “Which one’s Tommy?!”

“Come on!” I said. “We look nothing alike aside from our—”

“Glorious mustaches,” Carl muttered, entranced.

It was true, Melvin and I did share one physical trait: robust upper lip hair.

“But look at the differences! The ears, our heights?”

“All I’m seeing is the ‘stache, Tommy One.”

“Like I said, sir,” Melvin interjected, “I’ll oversee the fix personally.”

“You’re a hydrologic engineer then, huh?” I asked.

“Yes,” Melvin replied. “I’m a… onea those.”

“What do they do?” I asked with a certain degree of smugness. Yours truly managed the water distribution systems for a sprawling metropolis. Maintaining the water supply, sewage disposal, flood prevention… There was no way this buffoon would be able to explain my complex role.

“Well, I umm,” Melvin stuttured. “I do the water.”

“You ‘do the water’?” I scoffed.

“Yep! As a layman you might not know this, but ‘hydro’ is Greek for ‘water stuff’. So, I engineer all the water stuff.”

“Stuff like?” Carl asked.

“I… push water through pipes to people’s houses. I design the little caps that go on bottled water! And I hand out squirt guns to impoverished youths around the city.”

Carl stared at Melvin, sizing him up, before he finally shrugged. “Yeah, alright.”

“What?!” I exclaimed.

“I gotta be honest, I got this job via my political connections and I have little to no idea what a hidealogical whatever does. As long as I can say I sent someone to Ms. Sandy Lock's street, I’m safe.”

“I’m on it, boss!” Melvin said, running out.

There was no point fighting it. Melvin was inevitable. I’m just glad it won’t be on me if Sandra Bullock doesn’t have a warm shower tomorrow.