[the folly of man]

Round One Form: x
Round Two Form: xx
Name: Sammy McJangle
Gender: Male
Gender for Breeding Purposes: Male
Prompt:
Sammy paced around the hard, wooden floor of his cottage.
He'd recently come to the conclusion that he should try to
find a comfort object. Something to mess with when he's
losing his mind. He felt like he was gonna collapse, but
he couldn't stop pacing. There had to be something.
He'd tried a lot of suggested things: fidget spinners,
rubix cubes, even a deck of cards to shuffle!
He stopped pacing and curled up on the wooden floor.
He wished he could go back in time. Back to
when he was a viscling, when he didn't have
to worry. The time in which even the sound of a
bell jingling could calm him.
"That.. That's it!" he exclaimed, sitting up off the floor.
A few birds flew out of the trees at this sudden noise,
leading him to quietly mumble "Sorry."
He looked around his cottage. Maybe he had an old
bell somewhere.
He looked through many piles of junk.
Throwing this over here, throwing that over there.
He kept telling himself he'd clean it up later, despite
the fact he was digging through his stuff like a wild
raccoon would a trashcan.
Until he finally saw it.
A small jingle bell with a silky red ribbon.
Along the side of the ribbon, there was something
stitched into it. Were they words?
From mom and dad, to our little Sammy.



Sammy could barely keep the tears from coming out of his eyes.
He didn't know where his parents were, he hadn't seen
them since he moved out. All he knew was that their homeland
was hit by a hurricane, so he wasn't sure if they were even alive.
He jingled the tiny bell in his paws, feeling calmed by the
soothing sound. It was like music to his ears.
He tied the small, silky, red ribbon around his left antler.
He began to play with it, batting it about with his paws.
Tears were still falling from his eyes, as he muttered
"Thank you mom and dad..", closed his eyes, and
curled up on his bed.

Day after day, Sammy would get anxiety and start to play
with his bell. Every time he jingled it, the sound calmed
him down and reminded him of his parents.
He didn't mind the fact it always jingled wherever he went,
despite the fact everyone said it was annoying.
He never ever took his bell off, he needed it in case
he got anxiety. He curled up in his bed, thinking of his
parents... wherever they may be.
Extra:

[WolfWinter]

Round One Form: x
Round Two Form: xx
Name: Borean
Gender: Male
Gender for Breeding Purposes: Male
Prompt:

Borean waited in his home. He could hear her shuffling up the side of the glacier. He guided her so she wouldn't fall, but not forcing her to him, just making sure she didn't get hurt.When she finally reached him, he silenced the winds surrounding him. She looked up at him over the side of the glacier. The look on her face was pure relief.

He knew that those who lived south thought of him as a myth, a legend, something not quite real. She crawled over the edge. He waited for her to gain her composure, but she spoke first.

"You're him, aren't you? You're the North Guardian; Borean. Please, can you help me?" she said, the desperation raw in her voice.

He looked into her eyes, and knew the deepest wish of her soul. Then, he went south.


The village was full of people, they looked at him in awe as he followed the young woman to her home. A small child ran up to him. He looked down at them, and they watched him wide eyed. Borean brought his great head down, and the child gasped. There was a bell gripped tightly in her small hand. Then, she put the bell on one of his antlers. It jingled with a beautiful and sad sound, reflecting the weariness of those around him.

The woman brings her into his house, and he listens to what caused the war. An old insult, between two groups of people. Everyone had thought that it had been put behind them, but the old wound was still there, and it was torn open. Every day the fighting continued, the harder it would be for everyone to heal.

Borean never understood why people went to war. There were other ways to settle conflict, why spill blood at the first sign of an insult? When he told the young woman of his confusion, she gave a weary smile. He stayed, and listened to the war started. The young woman told him how the war hadn't been this bad when she left. She had spent months searching for him, chasing after rumors and wisps of old lore.

All the while, the war raged on growing in size. Looking around, he noticed how her home had decorations in it, festive ones.

"What are these for?" He asked, pointing at the decorations.

She answered, "Every year we join our celebrations to make one big celebration where everyone is welcome. There's food, and dancing, and the decorations we use are symbols of unity between us. The bells are especially important, they are used in just about everything. They are a symbol of peace, and celebration."

Sadness filled her eyes. No one else had put up the decorations, or even came close to thinking of doing so. Why would they? There was a war going on. His own eyes mirrored her sadness. She walked up to him and put a careful hand on the bell. Finally, she smiled. Borean looked around the room, and knew he had to find a way to end this fighting. A few other villagers spilled into the room from outside.

A tall man with dark hair spoke first, "How will he help us? Will he fight them for us? We all know the stories, Nora. He won't help us win this war."

The other murmured in agreement. A deep sadness filled Borean. He walked up to the man, who suddenly looked afraid, and tucked the man against him. He comforted the man as best he could, before stepping back. He looked back at them all, before speaking.

"I won't fight for you, but I will help you. I won't win this war for you, but I will end it for everyone," he said, before gathering up the spare decorations.

Everyone looked at him in confusion. He only smiled. Borean walked outside, jingling merrily from all of the bells he had wrapped around him. He saw a few other crates outside Nora's door. He opened those, and the lovely scent of pine filled his nose. He gathered up the garlands, the bells, and the ribbons. He found a cart with a yoke still attached to it, and began piling things into it, before putting on the yoke and waking the village.

The villagers were confused at first, but they soon realized what he was doing. They needed something to take their mind off the war. While he brought the decorations to everyone, and helped them with their own, he tried to think of ways to end the fighting. This war had old roots, and that made it so much more bitter. Even if he could make them stop fighting, they would go at it again.

He sighed, war was like a deeply rooted plant. You could cut it back, but the roots were still there. Waiting for the right circumstances to grow back. A tapping on his side drew him from his thoughts. The same child from before. He smiled softly. She pointed at the numerous strings of bells wrapped around him. Realizing that she wanted to help him put them up, he unwrapped them from his body and looped them for easy handling.

They were outside her house. He bent down for her to climb onto his back, then he stood up carefully. Her giggling caught the attention of some of the others. Nora walked up, and handed the bells up to the girl, who carefully hung them on the hooks edging the roof. A light breeze made them jingle softly.

When all the bells were hung, all the ribbons were wrapped, and all of the garland strung, the music began. Both cheery, and haunting; it followed the winter breeze like ribbons of sound. Unknown to the villagers, two parties were approaching their home. One from each side of the war. Word had been sent to them, and each wanted Borean to use against the other. However, Borean knew they were there, and melted away from the light of the festivities.

He met them on the outskirts of the village. He could see them through the buffer of wind surrounding the village. Snow and ice beat on them from all sides. The power leaked out of him, and made the area glow green. From his eyes or his antlers; he didn't care. When the first soldier came from the winds, Borean watched. He made the music carry on towards them, made sure they would all hear it.

When the two parties saw each other, they snarled and shouted insults. They tried to raise their weapons, but they were torn from their hands and into the frozen winds. They all turned to look at Borean, and he gave them a hard look. Whatever they saw there, made the color drain from their faces. He felt no malice towards them, but he would protect the people of this village. A young man walked up to him, and threw himself at Borean's feet before shedding his military jacket.

The members of both groups stared as he ripped his badges of office from the jacket and threw them to the wind. Finally, he spoke," This village is my home. I won't shed blood here. Court martial me if you want; I'm going to find my family."

Another man, apparently his superior, started screaming at him to return. A few other people shuffled their feet, and looked at the festivities with desire. They didn't want to shed blood here, either. They wanted to join the festivities, leave the war behind and make peace. Then, some of them did. Jackets dropped to the ground, like shed skin. They shed the war from from their shoulders and left it on the ground.

Soon, the only ones left were the superiors from each group, and Borean. Borean watched the two leaders. One stubbornly sat down, surrounded by the jackets of her lost soldiers. The other paced angrily and looked into the winds. The first young man returned, with Nora at his side. She looked at the scene with wide eyes, while he looked angry. His leader started shouting and screaming at him again. He ignored it all, and held up two strings of bells.

He walked between the two stubborn leaders, and set the bells down on the ground. Then, Nora left some ribbons before they both walked back to the festivities, arms entwined. Borean turned back to the two stubborn people before him. After a long wait, she lashed her tail and walked up to the bells and ribbons. She wrapped the ribbons around her before draping the bells around her neck, then she walked towards the warm glow.

The man who was left, looked shocked, and disgusted. He turned to Borean, and glared at him.

"What is this? I lost all my soldiers. Why?" he snarled.

Borean looked at him, and a smile twitched at his lips," It's progress, and peace. It's nice, don't you think?"

The man huffed. However he looked unsure of himself now. The sounds of laughter, and music, drifted towards them. Then, he grabbed the bells and walked towards everyone else. Borean hoped it would be enough. He waited a week, and when no fighting broke out between the two groups, he left in the night. The only sign of his passing was a carving made by a certain soldier. Borean traveled to the war torn villages, towns, and cities. Anywhere and everywhere.

Years went by, and finally he was done. He had cut back the the plant, now it was up to them to dig up the roots. He returned to the village. Nora saw him first, and she came running up to him and threw her arms around him. Soon he was surrounded by the people of the village. Then, a girl walked up to him. He recognized her. She was the one who gave him the bell that was still tied to his antler.

She saw it, and held up her wrist. There was a matching bell tied to it. The girl fought her way through the mass of people, and ducking under arms and tails. When she got to him, she hugged him. They asked him if he would stay, but they knew he couldn't. Next week was the festival. He saw the decorations hanging up; the bells glinting in the sun as they swayed in the breeze.


When he returned to his home at last, he gave one last gift to the village. A gentle snow fell from the sky that morning, and they knew who had sent it. A girl found a wooden carving at the edge of her bed, with a bell tied to an antler. The wind blew gently, making music from the thousands of bells strung outside. Peace settled like the snow on the ground. After all, everyone knew the story of the North, and how he brought peace during the harshest of times. However, no one could agree how, and that was fine.

[Vixen Luo]

as per request (and IRL concerns), this will be extended to January 18th -- And after that, there will be no further extensions!

As a final announcement, I will grant you 1,000 more words and one more art piece (comic/animation allowed -- up to six panels is a page and counted as one art piece) as I have determined this likely will be the final round based on participating entrants. You may do what you like with these. Best of luck, everyone!

[Macyduke]

Round One Form: x
Round Two Form: xx
Name: Kenneth
Gender: Male
Gender for Breeding Purposes: Male
Prompt:
Kenneth hummed along to the radio, doing what he could to distract himself from the decision he'd made. His heart was heavier than he'd expected it'd be, the lump in his throat preventing him from saying the words. Unable to help himself after a solid ten minutes of focusing on the road, his eyes flickered from the asphalt ahead of him to the red ribbon he held against the steering wheel with his left paw. His eyes fallowed the ribbon around his tightly clenched fingers until they stopped at the golden almost sphere which swung just gently enough to go from side to side without making a sound. Like a movie the memory of what had transpired twenty minutes before.
~~~~
Turning the key towards him, Kenneth removed it from the ignition, stuffing it along with the rest of the keys on the blue carabiner clip into one of his jacket's pockets. "Ok bud. You ready?" He said, turning the cat carrier so the door faced him. His cat's fearful yellow eyes met his forest ones, and she greeted him with an unsteady mew. Already a lump was rising in the back of his throat, he could feel water begin to weld in his eyes, which shifted to the lock which held the door shut. It came open with ease, and the black cat came rushing out, grateful for a chance to stretch her legs she made a break for the backseat. "Comehere Goon." Kenneth said, grabbing her by the haunches and pulling her onto his lap before she could leap out reach. A high pitched squeak escaped her as he pulled her away from her desired destination, the bell on her collar jingling due to the sudden change in momentum. Taking hold of the bell, he carefully pulled the homemade collar that held it in place over her head with one hand, while the other rested firmly against her chest, holding her in place. Once she was free of her collar, she attempted once more to jump away from him and her box to explore the packed vehicle, but much to her avail, Kenneth's grip tightened on her. Pulling her close one last time, he smothered her with kisses on her forehead and a bear hug as tight as a boa constrictor's.
His grief stricken thoughts shifted to the back seat of his father's car, an orange tabby struggling to break free of his grasp. "Don't worry Kenny, Gunther will be fine out there."
"But why can't he come with us?" He asked, his lip trembling slightly.
"Boys don't cry Kenny. You can be upset but if I see you crying then we're going to have a problem. I told you you couldn't do this if you wanted to come along." He told his son sternly, turning so that he could see him sitting in the backseat. "Besides, we've been over this, there's no room for him at the new place. He'd just be sitting in a little box all day. Do you want that for him Kenny? To sit and wait for you all day with no room to stretch his legs?" His father asked him. He burrowed his face in Gunther's fur unable to answer. "That's what I though." The next thing Ken remembered was the sound his car door made when it opened. "All right son, give me the cat." He'd said. Unable to comply, Kenneth kept his face buried, but did not resist when his father pulled the cat away from him. The door shut, leaving the smell of manure trapped in there with him. Five minutes passed and his father returned to the vehicle. "Don't worry son." He said as he steeped into the car, the engine soon roaring to life. "It's for the best." Only after he'd remembered his father's words did he allow himself to address the squirming ball of fur, who as always, was uncomfortable with any kind-especially this kind- of affection. Tucking her under his arm, he open the door and stepped out of the vehicle. Dropping her collar into the same pocket as his keys, he started off towards a barn, that was in much need of a new coat of paint, in the distance. Lagoon's eyes had become pinpricks, her head turned this way and that- in nearly all directions. She eagerly squirmed towards freedom, ecstatic to be outdoors again. "Hold still." Kenneth grumbled, doing his best to keep hold of the cat. "I'm trying to say-" He struggled against the cat's erratic movements, going as far as to try to use his face to help contain her. In an instant she went from fighting to noodle, a move where she suddenly went limp and slid out from under his arms, and ran full speed away from him. "goodbye." he said breathlessly.
The right side of his car suddenly lurched downwards towards the ditch on side of the road, pulling him out of his memories and back into reality. Looking up from his keepsake, his pupils became pinpricks. The road ahead of him was rapidly turning into a bean field! Only after jerking the wheel towards what remained of the road in his field of vision, veering the vehicle away from the ditch did he notice the water that blurred his eyes. His ears perked as the bell's chimes, causing his forest green eyes to snap back to it. "No." He said shaking his head firmly. "Now is not the time." Although difficult to let go of, he shoved the bell into the coat pocket he'd withdrawn it drawn it from when he'd gone to grab his keys, and turned up the radio. If he didn't hit traffic down the line, he'd be home in an three hours and a half-maybe sooner if he went over the speed limit a little. He could think as much as he liked about Lagoon then.

****
He hadn't hit traffic, but the ride home had been a bit more emotionally taxing than he'd anticipated, even without thinking much about Lagoon the rest of the way. So much so, that he hadn't bothered bring the boxes from his car into the house, before pulling up a blanket and passing out on the sofa. Which was strange, being that he'd never realized he'd cared so much about the cat before now.
In the morning Kenneth woke to find that he was still wearing his jacket from the night before, which was probably the reason he'd kicked the blankets off the couch and onto the floor while he was asleep. Upon rolling to on to his right side he was greeted by a mildly uncomfortable pain in his side, realizing he was laying on his jacket pocket, he turned back over and removed the foreign item, only to discover it was the Lagoon's collar. A deep sadness washed over him, as he remembered his mother asking him which bell he'd like to hang on the collar she'd made for Lagoon, vetoing his choice of bell, putting the one she thought would fit best it, slipping it over the kitten's neck. A short laugh escaped him as he remembered her showing off her work by holding the kitten above her head halfway up the stairs, so that as much light would hit it's collar as possible and so that both he and his father could see her work. It hadn't fit the little speck of oil black fur at the time, but he remembered it looking rather grand-stunning for a homemade collar looking dumbfounded.

His mother although proud of her work didn't care for his surprise at all, and went on to chastise him for doubting her ability to make such a well crafted piece. Lagoon eventually grew into it and out of the collar-which his mother replaced with a thin strap of cloth rather than a collar similar to the one she'd grown out of, due to the arthritis in her hands. But now that both Lagoon and his mother were gone... Kenneth sighed. Although he hadn't been able to keep his cat due to the homeowner's strict no pet policy, he was free to do what he wished as long as an animal wasn't kept on the premise. Although he may get some strange looks for wearing a bell, it would be entertaining to see the homeowner look frantically this way and that for a cat whenever he was nearby but not in plain sight as a means of revenge for her not letting him keep his cat. "Did that come with the sowing kit?" He wondered out loud, springing up from the couch in search of a box he may have packed the sowing kit his father said he could have after his mother passed away, hoping that the material for Lagoon's collar was in it- which if found, he planned to tie around one of his antlers.

(1484/1500)


Extra:
About five hundred added to story (which takes place when he was a young man)
Art by the wonderful, amazing, fantastic ~Teya
House layout for the story in my second forum. (This is also where he currently lives) (808 words and one image)

[Vixen Luo]

ends tomorrow! <3
* ends at 12 PM CST (when the date shifts to the 19th)

[Vixen Luo]

ok, sorry about that wait! i won't get into what's been going on with me but i had a little time tonight to finally judge this dude and get my winners announced.

first of all, i'd like to offer HMs (x2) to ~Prophecy~ and Cutieduckpie. your forms were great and i really enjoyed reading them! although you could have both done a little more with your remaining extras to show me your character(s) and develop more about them, i think you guys deserved a bit of recognition for your efforts. c:

(also a side note but i'd like to offer HMs x2 to Placebo and VigilanteWolf as well -- i so wish you guys had finished / done round three forms! ;w; i absolutely loved what you guys had going;;)

next, i'd like to offer a couple RUs.
first RU is for edgy cat of DOOM -- honestly i really loved the story and character and it made my heart twist reading it -- not to mention your art was wonderful! you were in my top three, of course -- but i think that utilizing your word count is the best advice i can give for competitions like these. adding memory snippets in to make the moment more crushing, elaborating on his situation and the devastation he was under, anything like that would have helped out a lot! but, of course, congratulations -- you can choose gold, bronze, or wooden as a theme and give me a color that you would like. then, give me two traits -- uncommon and rare or roaming (which would be feathered / fluffy paws) and uncommon if you would like your RU (and specify what the trait would be). if not, you can feel free to take the x3 stubs instead -- just please let me know!

my second RU goes to Macyduke! your form came so close to winning -- it was super close, but ultimately my guest judge and i decided that your form was a little weaker. my biggest critique was that you doubled-up on the same element of kenneth's personality -- the sort of gruff, grumpy-ish guy. you touched down on it in round 2, which i loved when i read it, but it came back in round 3 it was a little less powerful because i had seen it once. however, your writing was stellar and i loved the bittersweet approach to giving up lagoon -- it was so frickin' close it hurt. ;_; so with that in mind, you may choose from any of these event rares: Double Coat, Fire Mane, Goop, Ice Mane, or Angel. you may also choose whether you would like a rare and uncommon trait to go with it (or the roaming Feathered/Fluffy paws and one uncommon) and give me a theme + color as well out of the three that i gave edgy. you may also opt out for the x3 stubs if you like, just let me know c:

the themes are fcfs, so please give me your first and second choices in order to make the process a bit easier! <3

and finally, my lovely winner!
your form was magnificent and i really loved your writing style and how you organized the character, his methods, and how you matched the theme and holiday with the story itself -- they really went hand in hand and i'm quite happy to crown you my winner. the story was great and warmed my cold, dead heart -- so wonderful job, honestly! i can't wait to see what you do with him! <3
so, with that said -- congratulations, WolfWinter! i have already updated the information and you are listed as the proud owner of Borean.

please do not guilt trip or act rudely toward the winners in any way, shape, or form -- you will be reprimanded for it and it's just not ok to be a jerk. thank you so much to everyone who tried out!

[dzo]

congrats you three :]
thanks for the hms
(edit: dont use my art~)

[WolfWinter]

I need a moment to catch my breath, because this was quite the surprise before bed! Huge congratulationss to ~Prophecy~ , Cutieduckpie , Placebo, and VigilanteWolf for winning HMs. ANother set of congratulations as well to edgy cat of DOOM and Macyduke on winning RUs! Thank you so much for the kind words brave vesperia! This is a huge honor and I feel really blessed, I cannot wait for him to join my other viscets in my AU! Also huge shout outs to everyone who participated, it was an honor and a lot fun competing with you all!

[Vigilante Wolf]

Congrats WolfWinter! And all the runner uppers and HM’s! ^^ And thank you for the HM!

[the folly of man]

thank you so much! I also think I could've done with a longer story, I'm a bit better at that now, haha
I totally didn't expect to get an RU! aaaaaaaah!!

fun little fact here, I didn't know what to make the personality like, so I decided to base Sammy off of my anxiety about the
competition haha

also, first choice would be wooden, I wouldn't mind either of the others, though! :D
fluffy paws with smooth horns for mutations would be nice :) thanks again!