{ ＩＮＫＬＩＮＧＳ } A Competition Thread V.3!

[eden .]

So. Do you like to write? Well great! You've come to the right place.
Chicken Smoothie is a wonderful website, lots of fun forums to participate in, pets to collect, and much more, but what's the most neglected forum on this site? 'Share Your Writing'. This club's purpose is to get our wonderful writer's more attention. Of course, the club has a lot more purpose than to advertise! At Inklings you can ask for critique, get muse, and find some awesome stories to read! All in all, Inklings is a friendly community for everyone and anyone to join.
If you like to write, this is the organization for you.
Here on this particular thread, Inklings will be hosting contests for members of the group only. A short story or poem written about a given theme, entered anonymously, written by you will be entered into the vote, and every week and new theme will have a new winner!
omg guys, this hasn't gone so well, but THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM, RIGHT?
RIGHT?

[eden .]

ＤＯＮ'Ｔ ＴＲＯＬＬ．
- This is a thread for contests and entries, not for asking questions or advertising your own stories. Do not troll. I squish trolls.

ＤＯＮ'Ｔ ＰＯＳＴ．．．
- Please don't post here unless you are a member of Inklings. If you would like to join don't post a form here because it will be ignored. Post it on the main thread. Don't post your own entries because we want the votes to be unbiased- see Contest rules below.

ＤＯＮ'Ｔ ＳＴＥＡＬ ＯＴＨＥＲ'Ｓ ＷＯＲＫＳ．
- Don't steal the ideas you see or hear. Writing is art too. and stealing art is illegal.

ＢＥ ＣＲＥＡＴＩＶＥ．
- As previously stated, don't steal stuff that isn't yours. That's just not cool, and shows that you lack creativity. Be creative, and create something that you alone can be proud of. Keep calm, and think when your're having problems with writing.

ＤＯＮ'Ｔ ＰＯＳＴ．．．
- Please do not post your entries here [unless it is stated otherwise] because we would like to keep the votes unbiased. PM me your entries and I will post them with their title [which is optional] and thus no one knows who's work it is until the winner[s] are announced.
- your story will be posted as you pm'd it [although it may be centered]. As such, none of the moderators will fix or edit spelling errors or phrasing issues or the like. That is your responsibility to look out for as an entrant. Similarly, once you submit a story, you may not ask to edit it after taking a second look at it.

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- For each theme only ten entries are allowed. If you won the last one you are not allowed to enter the next week's contest. Entries are anonymous. If you chose the theme, you cannot enter.

ＰＲＩＺＥＳ．
- Prizes will be given to first place and two runners up. Prizes will either be pets or critiques of your work. Pets will come from a group especially for this thread. If you would like to donate [please, it would be extremely helpful] send the trade to me, telling me it is for this reason. I will not use the donations for personal gain. If you win first place, you will also be picking the next theme.

** ʀose ; and her Mini-mods have the right to remove you from this group if you break any of the above rules repeatedly.

[eden .]

ｔｈｉｒｄ ｃｏｎｔｅｓｔ

For the third competition, our previous winner, Kartharon, has chosen the theme! They decided that entries for this contest should be from the point of view of an animal. It doesn't matter if the animal is wild or domestic, it just has to be from its point of view!

The contest will officially close next week, on the 25th of July, at 11:59:59 PM ... so in other words, get your entry in before July 26th, and you'll be fine!

ｆｏｕｒｔｈ ｃｏｎｔｅｓｔ

Our last winner, goldh13, has chosen a theme for this week! The contest will close next week, the 7th of August at 12:00 AM EST [Eastern Standard Time].

The Story of a Girl

"A picture speaks more than a thousand words."~ Unknown

What is the story of this girl? Why is she here, in the rain? What is her life like? Write a poem, a story, anything. Write the story of a girl. Speak the thousand words the picture shows, put her story on paper. Tell her life, a moment, a flashback, what's happening now. There's only one requirement, use the girl in the picture. It could be set in the future, it could be set in the past, it could be set in the present, but it has to be her and it has to have her in the rain at one point.

ｆ ｉ ｆ ｈ ｃｏｎｔｅｓｔ

For our fifth contest, our previous winner, `vector, has chosen a theme.
The contest will end 12:00 AM EST on the 23rd of August. Pm entries to an asian to your knee before then!

so for this round you must try to connect these three completely different images together in some way. if these three pictures are only referred to once, or are the subject of the story, it does not matter. write a poem or story to try to stretch your imagination. good luck! (:

ｓｉｘｔｈ ｃｏｎｔｅｓｔ

For our sixth contest, our previous winner, *~S y m m e t r y~*, has chosen a theme.
The contest will end 12:00 AM EST on the 11th of September. PM entries to an asian to the knee as well as the form before then!

For our contest, *~S y m m e t r y~* has decided that the theme shall be from the point of view of a tiger [yes, as in Bengal or White!]. This story may be fictional or realistic, but the only requirement is that it must be from the point of view of a tiger. Good luck!

ｓｅｖｅｎｔｈ ｃｏｎｔｅｓｔ

For our seventh contest, our previous winner, The Only, has chosen a theme!
The contest will end 12:00 AM EST on the 8th of October. PM entries to an asian to the knee as well as the form before then!

write a story from a villain's perspective with these items being important factors:

1. sugar cube
   
2. an old revolver
3. and a brass pocket watch

[eden .]

the pet prize pool will go here! winners will be able to choose two of the pets in this group. the runner - up will be able to choose one pet after the winner has made their decision.

In the event of only 2 entries, only the winner will be able to choose two pets. Sorry, guys :c

** We do take donations for the prize pool! If you ever have pets you're willing to spare, please shoot C6H12O6 a trade saying that it's for the INKLINGS competition thread. She promises to keep them safe for you ^^ **

Right, so the prize pool is thus. We don't want to fill up the page and C6H12O6 is bound to skip over a few pets anyway, so feel free to view them there.

[eden .]

goldh13, entry one won our third contest!

[eden .]

PM me this form and if you are among the first ten you will be put up.

Code: Select all

[center][size=75][b]Username:[/b] [i]Username goes here.[/i]
[b]Have you won any previous contests held by Inklings:[/b] [i]Simple yes or no. If yes, how many?[/i]
[b]Contest you are entering for:[/b] [i]Which contest [i.e. third, fourth, sixty ninth and two thirds...]?[/i]
[b]Story/Poem:[/b][/size] [i]Put your work here.[/i][/center]

PLEASE PM C6H12O6 YOUR ENTRY.

[eden .]

for announcements, or just in case we need it.

[eden .]

We are now Accepting Entries!
Remember, don't post here! This is for our means of displaying the entries only C:

[eden .]

Entry One;

The Shelter Dog

A dog sits alone,
alone in his cage.

His eyes are closed,
his bones brittle with age.

For he has been torn from his very own home.
And now he sits,
sits all alone.

Sure, his owners were mean.
Sure, they hit him a bit.

But he loved them,
he loved them through all of it.

He was there,
through the thick and the thin.
And he helped the young boy to hold up his chin.

The boy is gone now,
he knows that you see.

Yet he sits and waits,
waits patiently.

He waits for the boy to come bring him home,
to a place that is his very own.

But as he waits,
his whiskers turn white
and he almost tries to give up the fight.

As the little old dog starts to age,
they go through his records page by page.

Abandoned, abused, alone and neglected.
Quite a sad story they have selected.

The little dog withers,
withers and dies,
with no one there to hear his cries.

No one is there to hold his hand,
to be with him 'till the bitter end.

And as the dog passes,
passes away,

His eyes fill with sadness as they try to say,
"Don't cry for me, I'm in a better place."

And with those last words,
he lays down his head,
his eyes close and then he is dead.

[eden .]

Entry Two;

When I awoke, all I could hear was barking.

It was annoying, but over time I gotten used to it as I stayed here. It was normal, and if you are here long enough, you learn to cope with it. I then stood up and stretched, my old legs cracking as I got up and my jaw stretching as I yawned. I winced as I stretched my left back leg, glancing back at it. On my left leg, right by my haunch, was an old scar. It was probably around 5 – 7 inches long, though fur is still growing in its place over the years. But you can still tell it was there. As I looked at the scar, old memories began rushing back to me, taking me by surprise. But as soon as those memories came to my head, I shook them away. I walked around my kennel once, grabbing a bite to eat and a drink of water before laying back down again. I looked at some of the younger dogs in the kennel, noticing their youth. Looking back at myself, glancing at my dull liver and white fur. My coat has dulled over the years, and it doesn't look as 'pretty' as the other dogs around here, but I try my best on keeping it clean. The pads on my paws were worn down from all of the miles I put on them over the years. Sighing, I placed my head on my paws and closed my eyes, trying to drown out the sounds of barking.

The noise came from everywhere, to my left, to my right, and in front of me. I opened my eyes and looked through the bars, noticing two new dogs in the middle of the door being held by the shelter helpers. One was a young male Labrador retriever, probably around the age of 3. His coat was jet black, and he seemed a little on the skinny side, but not as bad as the others that I have seen before. The other dog was a female cocker spaniel, a cousin of my breed, but a tad different. Her kind is smaller than mine, and even for her own type she was small. Her coat was liver and white, and there was a white snip on her face. Even though they both were different in size, breed, gender, color, and personality, both showed the same expression on their face; fear and disappointment. Their eyes darted everywhere, checking the place out. Dogs barked and whined in their kennels, curious on where these new comers were from. Both were led away in the back room, most likely to be examined and placed in the best kennels for them.

The kennels were simple; all of them having a latch to unhook or close and the cages were made out of metal bars. They were the same like another enclosure that I had seen. All of them had a bowl of water in one of the far corners, and a bowl of food for the other side. The walls were painted in a simple off-white color, and there were different signs hung up on the walls, either showing proper handling technique for dogs, to dog food brand posters. The floors were just cement, a few cracks were here and there, but it was stable. It was easy to take a hose to and clean, so it was the best choice for the kennels. There was two – three dogs per kennel, depending on size, gender, and personalities. On each kennel, there was a piece of paper taped on the door, giving a short description about the dogs and what they should expect when taking care of them.

I watched as the other shelter helpers walked in with a few dogs on their leads. They were bringing them in from the running pen, where the dogs can stretch out their legs every once in a while. I noticed the dogs looked more fresh and excited, and have a slight gleam in their eye when they came in, but it slowly disappeared as they were put back in their kennels. Each dog received a pat on the head, and a few soft words spoken to them, but other than that they didn’t get anymore more affection from the helpers. The shelter helpers are truly kind people for taking time out of their day to help the animals that are in need, but they can’t get attached with every animal that walks through these doors. They have to keep their distance so they don’t get to close to the animals, and stray away from any emotions they may feel for the animals.

It was the same thing every day. Dogs coming and going, people coming in to look at the dogs, and helpers taking care of us. Each day, the helpers come in to feed and water us in the morning. After breakfast, groups of dogs will be taken out to the dog run to stretch their legs, and the helpers will go back and clean up the empty pens. Then they will be brought back in, and the next group will go, and so on and so on. Usually at that time the new dogs will come in and get checked and assigned a kennel, then let out with the other groups. After all of the cleaning and feeding is done, they then allow people to come in and look at the dogs. They make sure that the cleaning is done before hand, so that the place looks best for the potential owners of us. The owners would come in and look at us, passing each cage and taking a look in them. They always pass me though, and I don’t even go up and greet them anymore. It’s the same thing, day in and day out. It’s a routine, and we all live by it.

Now, the helpers at the shelter try to find homes for all of the animals, though it’s hard to do for the older dogs. Younger dogs are more ‘cute’ and active, and also have many more years of life ahead of them then us old dogs. They have more life inside them it seems, and they so much to look forward too. Us old dogs only have so many years left here, and we seem to all lost that drive somewhere down the road in our lives. It’s a cold hard fact that we old dogs know, and it’s a hard thing to accept. It’s depressing seeing the old dogs, like myself, being passed when the humans walk by. They instantly go to the younger dogs, or the puppies. They don’t even take another glance at us, it’s like we are not worth the time or effort to be given a chance. I though everyone deserved a chance, even the old beaten down dogs deserve a chance.

Now the scary thing is, there’s a limit for how many months an old dog can be in a shelter. The limit is probably different in other shelter, or there might not even be a limit in other shelters. But due to the large mass breeding of animals, and lots of the owners can't take care of their animals or can't afford to take care of them, they had to now make limits so that there isn't an overpopulation of animals in the city on the streets, or in the shelters. And since the younger dogs have a much higher chance of being adopted then the older dogs, the shelters gets full up on unwanted old dogs. So there is the three month limit. After three months ... Well, the old dog is put down.

And I’m nearing my three months.