The Defiant Quill Competition thread

[Another Star]

Primary competition entry.

The picture in the catalogue had lied Chris thought sombrely as he rubbed more of the white foundation on his solemn face, "This isn't white enough." He mumbled studying his reflection in the mirror, his face was pale sure, but was it enough? Would it trick the audience and make them believe that he was an ugly idiot? Maybe, but it wouldn't hurt to put a little bit more... He applied more and more using almost half of his supply Chris didn't care he would just borrow some of the others' their's would definitely be better than the one he bought, far more white, more pristine, more pure but just for tonight he would wear this horrible cheap excuse for makeup. Why do you always have to wear that makeup? Many have asked, he couldn't really explain; he didn't do it to cover any physical problems he was envied for his looks in high school. Maybe he didn't want to see what he had become or he was just crazy, "Hopefully not crazy" he muttered too himself becoming more and more unaware of the amounts of white paste he was applying, but what if it was the former? What if he was truly ashamed of what he was and yes this job wasn't perfect but it is tolerable nowadays and he was the star of his performance! But he wasn't an actor, he wasn't famous and he wasn't happy... Why did you do this, you could have just did what everyone else did but no you had to stick out, you had to prove something and you didn't care about what you would have settle for when you failed. His thoughts stormed and swirled and he was overwhelmed, he was in a raging sea with no saviour... "Hey Chris! Are you done yet you need to hurry up!" A performer shouted peaking her head through the gap in the door, Chris froze his thoughts coming to a screeching halt, "You can't hurry perfection Doris!" He joked, Doris stared at the mirror, "Well you should fix that bit of 'perfection' before the show or you'll be more of a joke than you already are." She added as she left the dressing room. Chris looked at his reflection it was a white stodgy mess, sighing softly he washed away the disaster of a face painting and began to reapply the last of his supply with his movements more gentle and precise he was quickly done moving on to the last details: he applied lipstick, placed his wig on his bald head, waddled onto stage "Introducing Chris the Clown and his humorous harlequins!" Announced the ringmaster, and he put on his biggest fake smile.

[Pyra Ilver]

I'll be announcing the winner of the primary competition tomorrow morning, I've been ill and haven't had the concentration to read them over.

[Pyra Ilver]

Winners of primary competition on the front! Next competition will be up soon

[jasp]

eewww

[Yaeli]

Not Man's Second-Best Friend
(loosely based on Picture #3)
Sorry it's a little long...I was kind of hyper when writing it ^^.

    We're not really a normal family. We used to have a dog, and we had a cat before that, but we've never done the dinosaur thing. Even though most dinosaurs are domesticated and genetically modified, my mom thinks they're too hard to take care of. Something about being bitey and eating too much.
    Unlike Mom, though, I've always dreamed of having a dinosaur. The newest fad for movie stars are stegosauruses. Those are really expensive, though, even the miniature ones like the one our neighbor has. When I'm waiting for the bus in the mornings, sometimes I see her walking to her car carrying her mini-stegosaurus, which is always dressed in a fluffy pink dress. I'm not really a girly-girl, though. My kind of dinosaur is a velociraptor.
    When I was little, er, littler (I'm ten--not that little, right?), every time we went to the zoo, I would beg my parents to go to the dinosaur section first. One time when my little brother Kyle wanted to see the new penguin exhibit, and mom and dad let him because he was younger, I cried because we missed the velociraptor feeding time. But then as Kyle got older he started getting into dinosaurs too, which was cool. We had a lot of fun at the zoo together.
    As often as my parents would take us to the zoo to see the dinosaurs, Mom was insistent that we would never, ever, ever get a pet dinosaur. "But Mom," I'd whine, "all my friends have at least one!" Eventually I gave up.

    But today, I want to try just one more time.
    Mom has just finished cleaning up the kitchen and is now resting in the living room. I've just finished watching the newest episode of Dino Discovery. This is the perfect time to start our conversation.
    "Do you think you would ever warm up to dinosaurs, Mom?"
    "No way," she says. "They're always hungry. Hard to calm down. Bite all the time. And so many other things that you won't understand until you're older."
    "That's not true. You're just saying that because they scare you. My friend Angie has a velociraptor, and it's really sweet."
    "Angie's raptor is a baby. Dinosaurs are always sweet when they're babies. But just wait till they start getting older."
    "Well, on Dino Discovery, they said that dinosaurs exhibit increasingly mature decision-making skills as they age. So I'm sure if we get a dinosaur, it'll get sweeter and sweeter. Like me! Right, Dad?" I don't think Dad appreciates his work desk being next to the living room.
    "Sure," says Dad. (I think he's being sarcastic.)
    "Well, Grandpa always says a dinosaur is a man's second-best friend," I tell Mom.
    "A dinosaur is not a man's second-best friend," says Mom.
    "Hey. Watch the gender-exclusive language," Dad reminds us.
    "A dinosaur is a person's second-best friend," I correct myself. "Anyway, Mom, I know we've talked about it a lot before and you said no, but my eleventh birthday is coming up, and that's really important because I'll be an indisputable preteen, so I was wondering if you would maybe consider getting me a dinosaur?
    "I promise I'll take good care of it," I continue. "I'll pay for everything, the adoption fee and all the food it's gonna eat and everything. I've been saving up my allowance. Please? Just let me buy one? For my birthday?"
    Mom gives me a really serious look. "I don't care if it's your 100th birthday, your wedding anniversary, and Christmas, all on the same day. We are not getting a dinosaur."
    I sigh.
    Suddenly there's a knock at the door. Well, kind of a knock, but it doesn't really sound like a knock.
    "Who's there?" Mom calls. No answer.
    Mom walks to the door, opens it...and screams.
    It's a velociraptor.
    I gasp. "It's a dinosaur! My favorite kind of dinosaur!" I zoom over to the door. I've watched so much Dino Discovery, I could tell it was a boy right away. "Hey there diney, what's your name? Archie? Rex? Horacio? Barney?" I go through pretty much all the male dinosaur names I know, but the raptor doesn't respond. "You don't have a name? Okay, then. I'll call you... Samuel!"
    "Why Samuel?" My little brother has come downstairs because of all the noise.
    "I don't know. He just looks like a Samuel." I look at him one more time to make sure he looks like a Samuel, which he does. "Hey Samuel, you want a little scratch behind the ear?" I reach out my hand and scratch the area behind the hole that is Samuel's ear.
    Samuel hisses. And bites me.
    "Ouch!" I cry. It isn't hard enough to injure me, but I can tell Samuel is a wild one.
    I wag my finger at Samuel. "Bad raptor. No bitey."
    By this time, Mom is already calling the police. "Yes, there is a velociraptor. On our doorstep. ... My daughter says it's a male. ... Well, we don't know. He doesn't have a name tag. We've tried calling him every name we can think of. ... Okay. ... We'd rather not do that. Is there an alternative way of dealing with this problem? ... Ma'am, you don't understand. Our house is not dinosaur-proof. We've never owned a dinosaur. ... Well, he bites a lot. ... Yes ... Keep him in the what?! ..." By the time mom hangs up, she's shaking.
    "Honey, move out of the way, please. We're going to keep the dinosaur in the kitchen until the police get here."
    "I could have told you that," I brag. "A dinosaur gets bitey when it's hungry. The best way to calm it down is to surround it with the smell of food and feed it." I run over to the fridge and get a piece of bacon. "Here, Samuel, here." Samuel chases the bacon to the kitchen. I toss the bacon in the air, and Samuel promptly catches it and gobbles it down. After I feed Samuel the entire package of bacon, he finally calms down. "See, he's a good boy. Who's a good raptor? Samuel is." I scratch Samuel behind the ear.
    Mom is watching at a distance, looking nervous.
    "Come on Mom, pet him. He likes it. See, he's not biting anymore. Come on!"
    I take Mom's arm and lead her over to the kitchen just like I'd led Samuel with the bacon. Then I slowly bring her hand behind Samuel's ear. Mom looks petrified. "Pet him!" I said. Mom takes a deep breath, gulps, and scratches Samuel softly.
    Samuel opens his mouth--and makes a purring noise. "Good boy, Samuel." I smile. Mom breathes a sigh of relief. She actually looks like she's kind of enjoying herself.
    We hear a knock at the door. A real knock this time.
    "Who's there?" Mom, Dad, and I call at the same time.
    "Police. We've come to pick up the dinosaur you found."
    Mom goes over to the door and opens it. "Hi." She smiles at the officer.
    Suddenly I feel really sad. I stare into Samuel's eyes, knowing that our time together is over.
    "Is that him?" the officer points to Samuel. She can see him from this angle.
    "Yes, that's him," says Mom.
    I feel even sadder. "Bye, Samuel," I whisper into the hole that's his ear. "It was so nice to meet you. I'll remember you forever."
    "Thank you for coming," Mom says. "But actually, we've decided to keep him."
    I jump into the air. "Really? Oh thank you, Mom, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I turn to my new best raptor friend and wrap my arms around his neck. "Aaaaah! Samuel! Did you hear that? We're keeping you! Hooray!" I jump up and down.
    The officer smiles. "It's hard to resist a dinosaur's adorable eyes, isn't it? Well, in that case, you'll want to take Jacquelyn too."
    "Who's Jacquelyn?" asks Mom. But then she--and I--notice another dinosaur standing behind the officer.
    "We found the previous owner of Samuel. The dinosaur's name actually was Samuel, by the way. I don't know how you guys figured that out. Anyway, his owner was thinking about finding a new home for him because he was having too many health problems to take care of him. But then Samuel ran away suddenly."
    "Ran away?"
    "Dinosaurs do that sometimes when they find a mate," says the officer.
    Mom stares. "You mean Jacquelyn is..."
    "Yes," says the officer. "Jacquelyn is Samuel's girlfriend! She's a wild raptor, but I named her Jacquelyn, after my niece. I hope you guys are okay with the name. You can change it if you want. She seems to respond to it, though. Don't you, Jackie?"
    "I love the name Jacquelyn!" I cry. "Can we keep her?" I stare at Mom, trying to make my eyes look like Samuel's post-bacon-and-ear-scratch eyes. "Samuel will be so sad without her. Please? Please? Pleeeaaaassseeeee?"
    Mom sighs. "We will be glad to take Jacquelyn too," she says.
    "Great!" says the officer. "We'll just need you to fill out this paperwork then."
    Mom begins to fill out the paperwork. It doesn't take long, and soon the officer is ready to leave. "Enjoy your new dinos," she says cheerfully. "Oh, and don't forget to take Jacquelyn to the vet since she might be pregnant."
    Mom looks a little nervous. "So... How many babies do they usually have at a time?"
    "Oh," says the officer. "For this breed, about fifteen."
    "Yippee!" I say. "We'll have one big happy dinosaur family!"
    Mom is half-smiling, half-hyperventilating. Then, she turns to me, suddenly looking smug. I have a bad feeling about this. "So," says Mom, "are you going to feed Jacquelyn and the fifteen babies with your allowance money too?"
    Oops. I didn't think about that. "Uh...um...well," I say.
    "Uh-huh. That's what I thought," says Mom. But she looks strangely happy. Samuel and Jacquelyn are both standing next to us, purring at Mom. She scratches them softly behind the ears. "Good raptors."

The end

[Another Star]

Secondary competition entry.
Here's the lyrics and the the song.
Paradise Valley.
When I first saw you I was young and free, I smiled as I offered all I could give. You were so bold back then wanting to advance so badly I pitied you as I gave you my land, my food and even my livestock, free of charge. I wanted you to notice me you wanted to use me, one day you took it too far I sank into a deep swirling rage an unstoppable force willing to destroy all your food, your belongings and your family. How DARE you forget me. I wake from my senseless wrath confused by all the destruction near my shores I gasp as I see your son float down my seas, I beg you to forgive me just raise the walls higher I won't bother you anymore but my crimes are unforgivable you tell stories about me that spread like wildfire. I stave off my anger so you can enjoy my gifts but as the air gets cooler I slip into an icy hatred and again I hurt you, your towns and your people. Did I do it because you wouldn't forgive me? Was I jealous? Or did I want to hurt you so I could get you to notice me? I still do not know. You punishment was harsh you cut me off, you strangled me and separated me, it hurt why did you hurt me? Just let me flow I swear I won't do it again. I'm sorry.

Hello, remember me? You used to love me, then you feared me and then you just hated me. Nowadays I'm not even noticed. I don't care anymore I drift away it is spring and I'm calm I enjoy the warmth of the air it is pleasant. I know it won't last but I savour it while I can, perhaps next winter we both will float away together, just humanity and the sea.

[Pyra Ilver]

Bump

[Pyra Ilver]

Can anyone still active please pm me? I think this might be dead

[M0urg3n]

I want to be a Quill!
User- CoffeeBrewing
Preferred name?- Coffee / Coffin
What are you most looking forward to? Probably sharing my writing and mingling with others!
Have you read and agreed to all our rules? Yes, I have.