Announcing our 'Punked' competition

The punk ethos in general, encompasses themes of non-conformity, anti-authoritarianism/corporate greed, direct action, and not "selling out".

There is a wide range of punk fashions, including T-shirts, leather jackets, Dr. Martens boots, hairstyles such as brightly coloured hair and spiked mohawks, cosmetics, tattoos, jewellery, and body modification.

Some of the more popular sub-genres are Cyberpunk and Steampunk.

Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is about the nearish future, focusing on rapid technological change. It often includes dystopian governments who use technology to invade lives, and the alienation of the main characters from this society. It’s often gritty, dark and kind of industrial in its aesthetic. Examples include Blade Runner, Altered Carbon and The Matrix.

Steampunk

It’s all about the Victorian era, and technology based on cogs, gears and steam power. Contrary to some opinions, steampunk can embrace the punk part of its name quite easily. Add in zany scientists and imagined advancements that the Victorians proposed but never could achieve, and the conflict of society and technology becomes quite extreme.

At Lush, we like to push our writers by giving them worlds they might not necessarily think of writing in, and get them to bring the erotica to these different scenarios. As always, we invite you to study the vast list of lush genres and popular tags to get ideas about the hot sex which will unfold within these stories.

Word limit for this competition is 5,000 words and the comp will run until 31st May.

For more punk genres to choose from, see this list.

Full details can be found here. Happy writing

add "s" to punk and you get... SPUNK! just a thought. so many genres to choose from. i think picking one will take at least a week so ya'll better get started.

Fuck the system, in the most literal sense possible.

Huh. The article totally missed splatterpunk, which is actually probably the second big punk genre after cyberpunk, arriving around the same time as steampunk. It's basically very dark, gritty urban horror, often with graphic sex and serious body horror. John Skipp & Craig Spector, early Clive Barker (Books of Blood and The Damnation Game), some of John Shirley's work, are examples. Maybe since it's horror, it didn't fit the article's parameters but they have Gothic Punk which, really, is related.

However, splatterpunk would also be difficult to pull off here without cutting it awfully close to the rules so maybe better it isn't there.

Huh. This one is going to be interesting. I feel like the competitions keep getting more interesting and challenging. I've got some thinking to do, but maybe I can put something together.

Am I the only person who thought "Punked" was something to do with the music of the late 1970s, wearing black bin bags, safety pins, chains and having crazy hairstyles?

Quote by wxt55uk

Am I the only person who thought "Punked" was something to do with the music of the late 1970s, wearing black bin bags, safety pins, chains and having crazy hairstyles?

That's perfectly legit for a setting. It's wide open, this one.

I guess I'm gonna rewatch Akira, Ergo Proxy and dig out my Blame! manga to see if I can spark an idea.

Quote by utterchaos

I guess I'm gonna rewatch Akira, Ergo Proxy and dig out my Blame! manga to see if I can spark an idea.

I've already got a "character" idea, and it's super weird 🙃 Need to find the setting to place "it" in.

Krystal-Punk: noun. A subgenre of Punk literature pontificated with overt sexuality and horny redheads, typically drawing from Dark Sci-Fi and Noir but riddled with humor.
I'm so IN!

Quote by krystalg

Krystal-Punk: noun. A subgenre of Punk literature pontificated with overt sexuality and horny redheads, typically drawing from Dark Sci-Fi and Noir but riddled with humor.
I'm so IN!

And already experienced in the genre of steampunk! Planerscapes was a really fun series. ;)

Quote by RowanThorn

And already experienced in the genre of steampunk! Planerscapes was a really fun series. ;)

Oh, thank you so much. It's probably the only one of my stories that I wasn't disappointed with.

My contribution to the competition:
Hot Blood, a sexy Cyberpunk romp through the pleasure district of a dystopian, corporate-ruled future.

I'm in ;)

I have a story shaping up nicely!

Quote by LordCephius

I have a story shaping up nicely!

love the art

Good progress here today. I think I can pull this off.

For those of us old enough to remember what punk was actually like in the UK in the 1970s and 80s, this is not that appealing a competition. Being racially abused and threatened on the street as a small child is not an experience conducive to good writing on my part.

Why can these competitions not be more mindful of non-white experience? How do British Indians fit into a ‘Noir’ competition? Or into punk? Or are we not meant to rock the boat and disturb the status quo?

You might accuse me of a lack of imagination, but believe me, my young imagination was very active after receiving death threats.

Cultural understanding of the word ‘punk’ may be an issue here. Cultural sensitivity certainly is.

Quote by NishasWorld

Why can these competitions not be more mindful of non-white experience? How do British Indians fit into a ‘Noir’ competition? Or into punk? Or are we not meant to rock the boat and disturb the status quo?

there is absolutely no reason you, or anyone else, can't write a story around a non-white experience in any competition/genre. The judges actually enjoy seeing people think outside the box a little and bring something unique to the table. I don't see any issue with having British Indian Punks roaming around in a fictional world trying to bring down the powers that be or maybe just form a band. Use your experiences and turn them positive. Create a world that you would have wanted to live in when you were younger.

also, take a look at the A-Z list that Jen posted. It's not all about Punk Rock, really. There's a wealth of punk genres that can be mined from, Steam and Cyber punk being the most well-known.

Quote by sprite
It's not all about Punk Rock, really. There's a wealth of punk genres that can be mined from, Steam and Cyber punk being the most well-known.

Yeah, "punk" in literature is a bit of a different beast from punk in 70s society. There's certainly a trail back and the punk rock aesthetic is strong in some genres of punk literature, but it is hardly just about that.

That said, I get where Nisha is coming from, but one could write from the standpoint of critiquing the elements of the punk movement that she talks about. Maybe a story of someone recognizing that the system's inherent racism is infecting the punk movement and trying to break that down.

You don't need to be uncritical, IOW, just write within the aesthetic.

Quote by NishasWorld
Being racially abused and threatened on the street as a small child is not an experience conducive to good writing on my part.

Given we don't permit racial - or any form of - abuse in stories, and this is an erotic story site, I'm unsure why you'd think such treatment would be suitable.

If you wish to draw inspiration from that era in lieu of adopting one of the plethora of *Punk genres provided in the competition brief, try What was punk – and why did it scare people so much?

Punk, as a youth-led expression of rebellion against perceived systems of control, self-destructed within a comparatively short timeframe for many reasons. Those in themselves are rather telling about the movement's nature.

Quote by WannabeWordsmith

Given we don't permit racial - or any form of - abuse in stories, and this is an erotic story site, I'm unsure why you'd think such treatment would be suitable.

If you wish to draw inspiration from that era in lieu of adopting one of the plethora of *Punk genres provided in the competition brief, try What was punk – and why did it scare people so much?

Punk, as a youth-led expression of rebellion against perceived systems of control, self-destructed within a comparatively short timeframe for many reasons. Those in themselves are rather telling about the movement's nature.

I’m not suggesting that Lush would promote abuse. That’s why I moved my stories here - I love the site and it's readers, and feel safe to promote my writing here.

I just think a more thematic, and less prescriptive approach to the competitions would be good. A story title like ‘First Love’ or ‘The Tavern’ would be open to everyone (forgive me if they have been done), but forcing people to write in a genre which is, frankly, unpopular to both readers and writers seems crazy. I count 35 Steampunk stories posted in 6 years, so the genre is not exactly setting the world on fire.

But I look forward to reading the entries, and good luck to those who enter.

I’m sorry if I appear like a whinging cow - I’m really not. And I hope my comments haven't been taken as overly critical. I love Lush and really appreciate all the hard work everyone does to make the site sexy and fun.

Quote by NishasWorld

I just think a more thematic, and less prescriptive approach to the competitions would be good. A story title like ‘First Love’ or ‘The Tavern’ would be open to everyone (forgive me if they have been done), but forcing people to write in a genre which is, frankly, unpopular to both readers and writers seems crazy. I count 35 Steampunk stories posted in 6 years, so the genre is not exactly setting the world on fire.

We like to mix thing up here, but we will certainly take this into consideration in future competitions and have done so in the past. the first one i ever wrote for had the theme of Summer Love. the only guidelines were that the story take place in the Summer. Most of our comps have been like that, i think? we just got a bit thematic lately with the Noir one and now this. no worries, next few will have a wider and more open theme, promise - and, to be very transparent here, sometimes we use comps to promote unrepresented genres - the goal is to double that number to 70. lol btw, anyone looking for a good Steampunk Story should check out CuriousAnnie's new series. (said so she's not too upset at us doing a steampunk comp right after she'd already written something for the genre. lol)

Quote by sprite
(said so she's not too upset at us doing a steampunk comp right after she'd already written something for the genre. lol)

*Clears throat. Two in a row; two in a row

Quote by krystalg

*Clears throat. Two in a row; two in a row

yeah, but with Annie it was accidental. with you, we do that shit on purpose

Quote by sprite

yeah, but with Annie it was accidental. with you, we do that shit on purpose

My office, now! Bring wine and snacks

Quote by NishasWorld

I’m not suggesting that Lush would promote abuse. That’s why I moved my stories here - I love the site and it's readers, and feel safe to promote my writing here.

I just think a more thematic, and less prescriptive approach to the competitions would be good. A story title like ‘First Love’ or ‘The Tavern’ would be open to everyone (forgive me if they have been done), but forcing people to write in a genre which is, frankly, unpopular to both readers and writers seems crazy. I count 35 Steampunk stories posted in 6 years, so the genre is not exactly setting the world on fire.

But I look forward to reading the entries, and good luck to those who enter.

I’m sorry if I appear like a whinging cow - I’m really not. And I hope my comments haven't been taken as overly critical. I love Lush and really appreciate all the hard work everyone does to make the site sexy and fun.

Don’t ever think you are a whinging cow, you’ve touched in an important point. As one of those who has published in Steampunk—two chapters of what will be a five chapter Steampunk Sydney series— I thought your original comment was spot on. Punk as in 1977 punk had a very dark underbelly and that is exactly the criticism of Steampunk. Like the idea of Steampunk is to take the actual Victorian period and change something, usually technology, so the world is, as a result, different. So we defy the laws of physics and have steam dirigibles and we are more liberal about gender and sexuality (deviant Susie is great in this with her meninist story) yet the key thing about Victorian times is ignored; colonialism. It’s why in my Sydney Steampunk series chapter two introduces an aboriginal woman. My aim is to use that to change the most outrageous bit of Australian Victorian behaviour (it’s would be an interesting debate, but I’d argue that the UK was at its worst with Australia’s aboriginal people) and as a result write a final chapter that is a present day Australia different from today’s reality. On a sex story site, you say. Yes absolutely, for it’s some of those Victorian behaviours that have influenced how we think about sex today.

I don’t know enough to tell you how to write a Steampunk India story, but I’d love to read it. I’ve done somewhere between 20-30 competitions and only missed one in the last four years. Most are thematic and open ended, but of late the Noir and Punked (which despite the long list I think of as either steampunk or cyberpunk) are more specific. It’s interesting to test yourself as a writer in these categories, lol though it can be a bracing experience, I love my Australian Noir, still think it’s one of my best stories, but it didn’t find favour with the judges.

Quote by NishasWorld

Why can these competitions not be more mindful of non-white experience? How do British Indians fit into a ‘Noir’ competition? Or into punk? Or are we not meant to rock the boat and disturb the status quo?

Fuck no. Rock the boat, disturb the status quo, Rough up the mid-Atlantic consensus. Rub our noses in the non-white experience. If I can get Australians into a Noir competition, you’ll get British Indians into punk. 💖

Quote by sprite
anyone looking for a good Steampunk Story should check out CuriousAnnie's new series. (said so she's not too upset at us doing a steampunk comp right after she'd already written something for the genre. lol)

lol, flattery will get you eyerywhere .,, I had to laugh, just when I’d done a steampunk story there’s this competition.

Remember my Miss, my Miss story; published shortly before the Proud and Kinky competition. Despite my Rosie story placing 6th, I’m convinced that with a competition edit Miss, my Miss would have done even better and no on that occasion I didn’t laugh 💖

Quote by sprite

We like to mix thing up here, but we will certainly take this into consideration in future competitions and have done so in the past. the first one i ever wrote for had the theme of Summer Love. the only guidelines were that the story take place in the Summer. Most of our comps have been like that, i think? we just got a bit thematic lately with the Noir one and now this. no worries, next few will have a wider and more open theme, promise - and, to be very transparent here, sometimes we use comps to promote unrepresented genres - the goal is to double that number to 70. lol btw, anyone looking for a good Steampunk Story should check out CuriousAnnie's new series. (said so she's not too upset at us doing a steampunk comp right after she'd already written something for the genre. lol)

Thank you, Sprite. I’ll certainly check out CuriousAnnie’s stories. She’s great. 🙂X

a note, not related to the comp. one of the things that keeps me here, is that Lush has always made an effort to be inclusive and encourage diversity, be it with gender, sexuality, tastes, culture, ethnicity... in all ways, basically. is our record perfect? no. do we try hard? i think we do. when someone posts something like NishaW, we never ever put it in the "whining box". we take it seriously and take a look at how we handle things. not too long ago we expanded our gender and sexuality choices because someone brought the issue up. yes, sometimes we're a little slow to act, but we do try to make changes when it's the right thing to do.

hopefully that kind of thing will never stop and we certainly welcome different points of view - most of the mods here have Euro-centric roots so we tend not to see things from other POVS - it's not for lack of trying, but it is what it is - what that means is we NEED people to speak up and point things out like this (either in public forums or, hell, MSG me if you're shy and i promise to take you seriously) from time to time so we can do something about it. and i love that there are people like you and like Annie and others who bring that to the table in their stories, so thank you to those who so so. it's actually much appreciated.