CS Writing Competition - June Contest UPCOMING

[reynard]

Official CS Writing Competition

Please find all information for this month's competition below. Before entering, be sure you read the competition rules! We look forward to seeing your entries!


This competition's dates are:
June 15 2023 - July 15 2023

Current Information

coming soon!

coming soon!

Competition Rules

• Word Minimum: 350; Word Maximum: 750
• Font cannot be smaller than 85.
• All entries must include your CS pet and said pet must be linked to the entry.
• Only entries should be posted on this thread - comments or concerns can be directed to the Discussion Thread. Off-topic posts will be removed.
• One entry per person.
• All entries must conform to CS Conduct rules.
• Please use the below form with your entries.

Code: Select all

June 2023
Link to Pet:
Entry:

Frequently Asked Questions

How is this judged?

Judges will be primarily focused on the story you tell about your CS pet and how it fits within the prompt. Grammar and structure are mostly important for readability purposes but are not the primary focus.

What if I want to use a pet I don't own?

That's fine - but the image must be taken from the archive. You can only use a pet from your collection or from the archive.

Can there be other characters in the story, and can those characters belong to someone else?

Yes, your story may have side characters, and it is okay to use characters you don't own (fandom) or from someone you know (with permission). However, your pet should be the main character and the only image/link in the should be to your pet/the archive image of the pet you're using.

If I dress up my pet or post, will I get extra points?

No. The quality of the pet's dress up or the rarity of the pet will not be factored into the judging. As well, if you choose to decorate your post using coding or images, this will also not impact judging. Please make sure if you are using special coding on your post it is still readable for the judges. As well, any images added must conform with ChickenSmoothie Rules.

[reynard]

CS Writing Competition Archive

Past Prompts

• November 2022: "The weather is starting to change for the winter! Tell us about how your pet is enjoying the change - whether they are waiting for snow in the northern hemisphere or soaking up the sunshine in the southern hemisphere!" judged by Reynard
• December 2022: "Your pet's favorite stuffed animal is lost! Tell us the story of how they search for it, and if they are successful in their quest!" judged by Lacuna
• January 2023: "New year, new you... right? Tell us about your pet's New Year's resolutions and their plans for achieving them, or how they spent their New Year celebrations!" judged by Seasonal
  - hiatus -
• June 2023
• July 2023:
• August 2023:

Past Winners

• November 2022: horsesrule76 [entry]
• December 2022: ChillyKitty
• January 2023: SuperMega
  - hiatus -
• June 2023
• July 2023:
• August 2023:

Past Entries

• November 2022
• December 2022
• January 2023
  - hiatus -
• June 2023
• July 2023:
• August 2023:

[reynard]

Entries for JUNE 2023 are UPCOMING.
Please refer to the main post to make sure you are following all rules!

See below for prize archive.
__________________

Prompt: -

Judge: -

Prize:

Prompt: New year, new you... right? Tell us about your pet's New Year's resolutions and their plans for achieving them, or how they spent their New Year celebrations!

Judge: Seasonal

Prize:

Prompt: Your pet's favorite stuffed animal is lost! Tell us the story of how they search for it, and if they are successful in their quest!

Judge: Lacuna

Prize:

Prompt: The weather is starting to change for the winter! Tell us about how your pet is enjoying the change - whether they are waiting for snow in the northern hemisphere or soaking up the sunshine in the southern hemisphere!

Judge: Reynard

Prize:

[ARACHNOPHOBI4]

November 2022
Pet link :
Entry :

The Archivist watched with a small grin as the town cherish the weather. The children would dance and cheer as the first snow of the year landed upon their noses, they were not scared of the odd figure at all. The fox took a sheet of paper from his tail and jotted down the happenings, making sure all was in order as the town prepared for the upcoming December. He wrote for hours, to-do lists, notes, sometimes small sketches. His grin would only grow wider as his favorite part grew near. He loved sharing blank sheets off his tail with the towns young for their Santa lists. He watched the town clock as if he was a hawk eyeing a rodent. Before he knew, the clock struck 5. The time had come! He watched with excitement as the children lined up by his frightening figure for a page, page by page, the children wrote out their dreams. On occasion, he’d write a list for a younger child that couldn’t write, or maybe had trouble with the smell of ink. The loss of pages was painless, they grew back in as if it was nothing. No pain, no blood, nothing. To the archivist, this was his life, his dream, his passion, seeing the children smile dragged him out of the occasional slump, no matter how bad it was.
The moon rose at six, and everyone went home. All but one, a small cat with snow matted into their fur. With a slight tilt of the head, he would crouch to the cats level “ Is something the matter, little one? “ the cat would shake its head “ I heard a few days ago that you were looking at a new set of books, so I picked up the set for you! “ with a struggle, the cat would pull a box from their satchel and place it before the archivist “ Thank you for everything you do for us this time of year! Bye now! “ before the archivist could give a thank you, the cat was gone. And so the archivist returned home, lonely again, but with the warmth of kindness in his paws.

[beattlecub]

November 2022
Link to Pet:
Pet's name: MOTHMAN
Adopt virtual pets at Chicken Smoothie!
Entry: MothMan had curled up in their cave having a nice nap when is antenna picked up some vibrations coming from outside. Scared, he approached cautiously, just in case there was a human. When he peeked outside the whole world had turned white. White? Why was the world white? MothMan touched the white stuff with is wing. It was cold, soft, and squishy. As they were leaning in to touch it more, they lost their balance and tripped, falling face-first into the snow. MothMan’s antenna twitched furiously, overwhelming him with loud noise, cold, and the vibrations. MothMan screeched and tried to get up but the snow was to slippery and they fell down again. They tried several time to get up, but always falling. MothMan layed on his back, cold, wet, and scared. Several hours pasted when MothMan’s antennae picked up some vibrations coming towards him. MothMan looked over and saw a white, dog-like face peeking over them. What was that creature? Are they friendly? Are they DANGEROUS?! The creature sniffed MothMan, curious about what they are. The creature climbed on top of Mothman and curled up on his stomach and fell asleep. Mothman soon fell asleep aswell. MothMan and the creature (whom he learned was an artic fox) became best friends after that day. And every winter, on the first snowfall of the season, they meet up again, playing in the snow, and being good friends.

[Hardcore Uvula]

November 2022
Link to Pet:

Pet's name: Toby
Entry: (648 words)

It was one of those mornings in the south-east of Australia where the weather didn’t know what season it was. The day before it had hailed and stormed and carried on with harsh winds and over-flowing creeks. Tomorrow, it was supposed to be just a little hotter than the surface of the sun itself. Today, though… Today the sun was peeking out behind thin clouds that had been so thickly menacing and angry only 6 hours before, and a soft breeze—still crisp from the chill of the night—played through the tall grasses that grew up along the beach.

Despite the chill that clung to the air, the sun warmed Toby enough to allow him to slither comfortably from under his flowering shrub and then through the tall grass, which tickled him like playful children glad for his return. He moved slowly, despite his excitement; the book balanced atop his head was hampering his progress, and the pencil gripped in his mouth was almost as awkward. But these were necessary discomforts.

Finally, he reached the cusp of a small outcrop that oversaw the beach and the shimmering blue infinity beyond it. The experience, though he had come here often in the past, took his breath away. He let the book slide off his head and spat out the pencil to he could finally taste the air. His tongue flickered into the bouquet of sea and land come crashing together. He let it wash over him, coat his scales and his insides all at once. He let himself become the sea.

After a moment, the breeze picked up and a bit of grass tickled his nose a little. He was brought back to the world and, where he once would have felt silly for zoning out like that, he only found relaxation for having experienced it. Using his nose, he managed to flip the book open. He gathered the pencil into his mouth. A curl of his body slid into place over his head, to partially shade his face from the sun.

Toby, like many snakes, didn’t have very good eyesight. His hearing was mostly based on vibrations he could feel from the ground and world around him. What he could do was taste; he felt he could taste better than any other creature in the world. The flick of his tongue could tell him what was nearby, whether it was dangerous or tasty. He could taste when rain was coming, or if fire was near, or if water was fresh and good to drink. He could taste fear… He could taste things other creatures didn’t even have words for, didn’t know existed.

He angled the pencil awkwardly against the paper, so the graphite tip was brushing the surface. He had quickly learned what he wanted to do didn’t work with the other side… And what he wanted to do was describe the world.

Now, snakes don’t have a written language, and they wouldn’t be able to tell anyone but, say, another snake that was willing to listen to such silly things, what the world was like from Toby’s point of view. Anyone who looked at the apparently random lines, jagged edges, and swirling nonsense would think it made by a baby. Small and young as he may have been, Toby was no baby. Absolutely not! Toby, in his own way, was an artist doing what artists do: expressing their experiences to the world.

When his drawing of the taste of today’s ocean was completed, he nosed the book closed again and burrowed his head underneath. With careful balance, he slithered back to his bush. People would be arriving soon and stomping all over the place, so it would be safer at home. As he carefully navigated his way into hiding, he couldn’t help but wonder if anyone would ever see his artwork; if anyone would ever understand.

[Charliee]

November 2022
Link to Pet:

Pet's name: Star-Crossed Lover
Adopt virtual pets at Chicken Smoothie!
Entry :
Star-Crossed Lover woke up to see that it was beginning to slowly get covered in snow! She looked around as she got out her nest and said to herself '' Wow..! It's starting to snow. This early..? '' She now decided to take a walk and see if there was any ice yet as it seems it was almost winter! She padded around the area seeing that the leaves had almost grown back to their normal length from before Autumn as she twitched her ear and saw that there was a little frost on a tree she knew the forest was almost going to ice over.
She was excited though for the forest to frost over because then she could go ice skating!! She was bad at it though and began to think of the day she fell and almost broke her paw. Suddenly a cold wind blew and she began to shiver coldly as she was not used to the Icey weather yet...She shook her pelt in hopes to get warm and decided if she was going to get warm she would have to fly and look at the changes of the forest until later today! She sprinted now and looked around as she saw the leaves covered in snow as they swayed and swayed because the wind was blowing very quickly. As she continued walking she noticed a cliff and decided to jump so she could fly and have a better view of the forest and see the changes that have happened so far in the forest. She moved her legs and wings into position getting ready to lift off the ground. She ran and jumped off the cliff and adjusted her wings and began to flap her butterfly wings like a butterfly! She noticed as she flew the wind was very strong and it could have been as strong as a tornado. She thought ‘’ Wow! It's super windy right now. I wonder if a snowstorm might come again? ‘’ She was getting tired now and yawned as she flew around the forest noticing that the flowers were slowly dying! She was dreaded now as she hated it when the flowers died during winter….She hoped Summer would come sooner as she saw the wilted flowers. Later now she was as exhausted as a sleepy bird and it was getting even colder now. So she began to get ready to land as she planned to go back home to get a hot chocolate and go to bed or maybe watch a movie in her epic treehouse she lived in. She now landed and began to run as fast as she could as she really wanted to get home! She now realised it was snowing now and was sad as she could catch a cold soon if she didn’t make it home quick enough. Soon enough she got closer and closer to where she lived and saw her treehouse!! She was glad to be back and said to herself ‘’ Yay! I'm so glad to be back…even if winter is so fun I wish it was still spring! ‘’ After she climbed to the top of her treehouse she made herself some hot chocolate and went to sit on her bed and watch all the anime she could possibly watch. The End

[gardog]

November 2022
Link to Pet:

Pet's name: Ka'azu -- The Fierce Guardian
|~/The Guardians of Trades\~|
Entry:
Ka'azu tsked as he spotted a few specks of white slowly accumulating on the window. He hated snow. Snow meant that winter was approaching sooner rather than later... and he'd have to endure the bitter winds and biting ice along with it.

Being one of the main guardians of his human's trading center meant being vigilant at all times. He hated winter. Winter meant he was going to be slower to catch the unfair trades or the trades that didn't follow his human's rules.

Autumn was already covering his position with leaves that he, quite frankly, didn't have time to pay attention to. The other guardians were helpful in that perspective, at least... but if winter was coming, Ka'azu had to prepare himself for a whirlwind of a headache.

Ka'azu wasn't sure what it was about winter that brought out the childishness (more than usual) out of his guardian mates, but every single year, without a doubt, there would be someone pestering him to play in the snow. They had duties to uphold! All of them! If everyone left their posts, their human would be left to take care of the trading center herself... which is what he would be saying if she weren't one of the ones pestering him!!

Ugh, the very thought of it made him frustrated. He could hope every year that they take their jobs more seriously... they would even be down a member because their guardian, A'arys, who was basically a bear, had to prepare and go into hibernation! Wellerman was the one who always helped him prepare, so he and A'arys were always gone during Autumn... at least Wellerman would always come back to offer up some sugar and tea and stories that he would've accumulated on his journey. He would always bring Ka'azu a very soothing tea to keep his stress levels down... because, when Ka'azu was stressed, he's been told that he turns into the basic equivalent of a war general; barking his orders left and right. According to them, he's 'no fun' when he's like that.

Yet, it was too early for Wellerman to return. Winter hadn't officially begun; there was no reason for him to have returned. Ka'azu let out a breathy chuckle as he watched the snow on the window turn into water droplets.

"All this frustration over a tiny bit of snow..." he muttered to himself, "It's not winter yet... let me see what the others are up to."

With that, Ka'azu picked up his scythe and left his post to check up on his guardian mates. He may hate it when they pester him, but he does care about their wellbeings.

[Word Count: 444/750]

[sledo]

November 2022
Link to Pet:
Entry (740/750 words):
Everybody knows cacti don’t survive in the snow. That’s why Meredith and her community of caterpillars travel south every winter – sun and sand make living in the branches of a cactus feel like she’s living every day in a five-star hotel. But as Meredith watches from the station as the passenger train takes off down the tracks, she has one thing crossing her mind: she’s in for quite the frosty winter.

Meredith scans her brain for places to bunker down. Indeed, she realizes as a wave of nausea runs over her, she won’t be spending this winter on the beach with her family. The last train out of town has just disappeared. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, swallowing the lump in her throat. Maybe, she thinks, I should just stay here. I’ll stay here with my cactus for as long as it lives! I need somewhere warm to sleep and I have nowhere to go. Opening her eyes, she casts a mournful glance at her home. Already, after spending an hour in the bitter winter winds at the train station, her cactus seems to be curling in on itself, as if the branches are hugging each other for warmth. Meredith finds herself wishing her family was here to give her a hug too. My family! I need to find shelter for my cactus and I so I can see them in the spring, she realizes, and begins pushing her potted cactus away from the train platform. I’ll try the greenhouse first, surely that will be a warm enough place.

After what feels like miles of scooting through the icy cold streets, the local greenhouse comes into view. Meredith smiles to herself, feeling as if she could cry in relief, and pushes her cactus even faster towards the glass doors. As she gets to the front of the building, she notices a sign posted on the door, and her heart plummets.

“Greenhouse closed for the season
Reopening in spring
Happy holidays!”

Great, Meredith thinks to herself, happy holidays to you too. Feeling her frustration rise, she fights the urge to break into the greenhouse and settles on her next idea. With a huff, she begins pushing her cactus further into town. Making great haste she makes her way towards the bus stop, swinging the door open and rushing up to the penguin working at the ticket counter.

“Hello,” she pants, breathless from her travels, “I need a ticket for the next bus down south. Preferably to the beach, please.”

The ticket clerk, busy scratching away at a newspaper with a pencil, puts down his utensil with an unimpressed huff. Hardly caring to glance Meredith in the eyes, he says,

“You’re the tenth person in here today asking for a bus ticket.” He sighs, then continues, “No one bothers to look at the bus schedule, because if they did, they would know the next bus to leave this station isn’t until the spring.”

“What?!” Meredith cries. “Surely there must be something you can do! Can’t you please get another bus?”

“Clearly not! I can’t even finish my crossword without nitwits like you interrupting me! I told you, there are no more buses until the spring. Now, quit wasting my time!”

Defeatedly, Meredith sighs and brings her cactus to the bench outside. She peers down the empty road, wishing a bus were pulling up to the stop. She stares at the bright moon hanging in the sky as her eyes swim with tears. She curls up in the branches of her cactus, shivering as a snowflake lands on her head, followed by many more. This is it, she thinks to herself, I’m going to spend the whole winter here. And my cactus won’t even make it to spring!

As Meredith drifts to sleep, she feels something soft and silky push underneath her. She opens her eyes to see a beautiful fuchsia flower blooming out of her cactus. What in the world? My cactus grew… this? Puzzled, Meredith scoots inside the freshly sprouted flower. Instantly, she feels much warmer than when she was out in the cold on the branches. Could it be? My cactus is a Christmas cactus! Meredith smiles to herself and snuggles further into the blossom, drifting off to sleep once again. While being quite eager to tell her family of her new discovery, she is also grateful to spend the winter with her beautiful Christmas cactus.

[Lostlovebirdz]

November 2022

Entry(591 words):
Cinnabar wriggled and writhed in her cocoon. She tore open the thin covering with her wolf claws. The outside light nearly blinded her. Squinting hard, Cinnabar fought her way out of the cocoon she weaved around herself just six days ago. Well, a lot happened in six days.

She was no longer a puny caterpillar! She would be a majestic butterfly wolf! Finally, Cinnabar flopped out of the remains of her lime green prison. She already figured out claws, so that was a start. Her red and black pelt was plastered to her body.

She slowly stood up on her four furry legs. She shook out her fur and flapped her wings slowly. Wings! Gorgeous wings to soar through the sky (as soon as they dried of course). The newly transformed butterfly wolf surveyed her surroundings.

Cinnabar must have been asleep growing her new form for a while because she definitely recalled there being snow on the ground. The trees had been stripped of leaves and the air was freezing. It was nearly impossible for caterpillars to survive in winter. Cinnabar wondered if the cold season triggered her transformation. Now, the stone was so hot you could fry some bacon on it.

Flapping her crimson and black wings, she managed to hover a few inches off the ground to avoid scorched paw pads (Paw pads! She has those now!). Grunting with the effort, she hovered to the grass and rested her already exhausted wings. The grass was warm, but not burning. The broken cocoon shriveled up on the scalding hot stone.

A good thing about the summer heat was that it didn’t take long at all for her fur and wings to dry. Her eyes adjusted to the light. Cinnabar warmed up fast and stretched, enjoying the new season she woke up to. “Time to have some summer fun!” she decided.

Cinnabar congratulated herself on figuring out flying quickly. She rode a refreshing breeze all the way to the beach. Upon her arrival, cats and dogs were buying ice cream for $2 at a colorful stand. Animals placed their towels on the sand and opened their umbrellas. A puppy was building a sandcastle, and whined when a disgruntled wave destroyed it.

Cinnabar bought a strawberry ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. Much to her disappointment, the topping tasted horrid. She sat on the sand and picked off what had offended her taste buds off her ice cream. A seagull stopped in front of her and tilted its head, as if asking “You gonna eat those butterfly wolf?”

She shrugged. “Go ahead, maybe you’ll enjoy them.” She said to the sea bird. It ate the sandy sprinkles hungrily and stared at Cinnabar. She was not aware that she just broke the number one rule of the beach: NEVER. FEED. THE. GULLS.

Cawing sounded in the distance. A swarm of white seagulls flew down to Cinnabar. “Eeeek!” She cried. “I don’t have any more sprinkles!” Abandoning her frozen treat, she took to the air. Feathers blocked her field of vision. “Over here, bird brains!” A voice shouted.

Cinnabar turned around to see the dog from the ice cream stand. He opened the container filled with rainbow sprinkles and threw it into the sand. The beach birds left the red and black butterfly wolf alone and nosedived at the sprinkles.

She flew over to the ice cream stand. “Thanks!” She breathed.

“Here’s some advice,” The ice cream dog said to her. “For the love of all that is cold and delicious, DON’T FEED THE SEAGULLS!”