Writing Contest Winners
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Catagory- Story
Not so long ago, in a not so virtual world located not so far away, there existed a secret society of dogs known as the Federation for the Equalization of Dogs United by Pixels (FEDUP). These brave pioneers of the pixel dog rights movement belonged to many virtual sites in which they were thought of as ‘only pixels', and abandoned as quickly as they were created. Though their homes were scattered far across the world of virtual pet sites, their belief was common: equal rights with the dogs of the mysterious Real Life realm. Real Life Dogs from this far-away land were known to be taken in by loving owners and form life-long bonds with their humans. Owners were even punished if they abused or neglected these creatures. To the abandoned members of FEDUP, this life was only heard about through off-topic forums and fantasized about during Federation meetings. Then one day, a new dog joined FEDUP, and one that all of the members knew was going to lead them out of their misery. They dubbed him Come to Activate the New Empire, and he was called Cane for short. Cane was born to lead, and had a story sadder than most of the dogs. He and his brother had been born to that rarity on virtual pet sites-a good breeder. However, since his brother had better stats than poor Cane, he was kept by the good breeder. Cane was sold to a player who promised to take care of him, but then abandoned him after only two weeks. Although this disappointment was the driving force of Cane's passion and leadership skills, he never told anyone that he had a brother, and the FEDUP members were simply glad to have a ready-made leader. Cane acted as a liaison between FEDUP and Real Life players who were interested in creating a new virtual world in which no pixel dog would ever be left alone. Cane's brother, however, was his polar opposite. He had been named Victory and Unending Success, and dubbed Vus for short. He was an incredible showdog and his breeder loved him very much. Vus knew of Cane's plans for a new society for all the abandoned dogs, and he was afraid that if the new virtual world was formed, his breeder would abandon him for it. So he tried everything he could think of to sabotage Cane and FEDUP. He went to Federation meetings and used such horrible chatspeak that the members had to leave, tried to convince FEDUP members that Cane was really a dead squirrel, and even summoned mischievous pixel pixies to wreak havoc at meetings. But the Federation members were undeterred, and negotiations with a Real Life family from Canada persisted. Finally, almost all of the details for the new virtual dog world had been hammered out. MSL, Zippy, and VK, the brave Real Life humans willing to lead FEDUP to a new world, were to meet with the Federation one last time to agree on some final aesthetic details—the most important being the name for the world. When Vus heard of the plans for this meeting, he decided to try his most daring sabotage move yet: the swoop. When all of the delegates had gathered and were having a heated debate over what the new name was to be, Vus created a virtual rope that hung from a virtual ceiling and swooped into the meeting, knocking Cane off his feet in the process. He then began what was to be known ever after as the SwoopSpeech. "Pixels and Real Lifers, hearken to my words. The dog you call Cane is a fraud, and he always has been. He never wanted there to be a new world, he's just using you, the wonderful members of FEDUP. Once he garners enough sympathy from the Real Life humans to be adopted, he will abandon the Federation and leave you the same way you were before. I would know…I am his brother. He is just like me—in pixels and ideals." A stunned silence fell over the meeting room after the speech. How could it be that the Federation's leader had a brother who was against everything they believed in? But they were so close now…Cane had brought them this far, and they trusted him more than they had trusted anyone since they had been abandoned. All as one, the FEDUP members began to chant as Cane rose to his feet. "Cane is no Vus! Cane is no Vus!" Knowing that his ploy had failed, Vus hung his head and left the room in shame. The chanting began to subside as the Real Life humans spoke, laughing. "My friends, I believe we have reached a decision! Let the name of your new world be…Canis Novus! And, to prevent this event from ever happening again, we shall ban swooping from the website!" The members of the Federation cheered, and the meeting was ended. A few days later, Canis Novus opened its gates to abandoned dogs and Real Lifers alike, with great jubilation. They even invited Vus to join, but he declined. His worst fears were not realized though, as his breeder became a loyal member of both his site and the new one. Cane, along with the rest of the dogs of FEDUP, lived out his pixel life in happiness, and retired peacefully. The End
An Interesting Day on Mount Olympus… or, Let There Be Canis Novus The scream echoed off the bright marble columns, slicing through the air. The sunbeams shivered from the sound. "Demeter, PLEASE! Cease and desist at once. If you absolutely MUST play that infernal game, do so QUIETLY!" The sunbeams wavered violently at the deep roar, then decided to go away for a while. After all, Florida is nice this time of year. "Zeus, you just don't understand! I've put so much time and effort into my darlings, but it's running so slowly… and now Internet Explorer says the server isn't responding. You have no idea the headaches this game has caused me. And look, you've made the sun go away. I'll have to pout." Zeus rolled his eyes and stomped off, muttering something about lightning and target practice. Ares, lolling on his couch and trimming his nails, turned to grin at Demeter. "I say, go grab a pack of hunting dogs, and chase down that silly human. After all, if she can't seem to keep to her responsibilities, she doesn't deserve to have them." A snort from the opposite side of the room caused Ares and Demeter to turn. "Responsibilities?! Show me a responsible human. They all shirk terribly, and then seek to blame each other. Some days I think we should just start over." Hera strummed the harp strings viciously, causing visible ripples in the air. In Florida, the sunbeams hid behind a high rise. Another voice came from around a marble column. "Hera, darling, it isn't responsibilities the humans need… they need more love!" Aphrodite sighed dreamily and slid around the column to face the others. Demeter frowned at her; she never could understand Aphro's soft approach to life. Ares laughed, gazed at Aphrodite for a long moment, then turned to Hera. "Perhaps, Hera, we should try to find humans that can handle both love and responsibility. If we can't, your darling boy and I will blast the planet, then we can start anew. Things are getting boring these days, so few of the humans pay any real attention to us. I'm quite tired of being a high school reading assignment." Hera's eyes narrowed. She stood and strode purposefully to a space between two columns. "I need more light," she murmured. After talking to the sunbeams and convincing them to leave the souvenirs behind and return, she reached out, touching the brighter air between the columns. Pictures formed, speeding by from one side to the other, as humans were investigated then dismissed in a blink of an eye. Ares, Aphrodite and Demeter approached and watched curiously. Hera shook her head. "I see no one worthy. Ares, prepare to unleash the dogs of war." Aphrodite reached out, touching Hera's shoulder. "A moment… go back about two hundred frames." Hera complied, of course. Aphrodite's touch tended to do that to anything living… and even those non-living, on a good day. "There – freeze it." The gods leaned forward. Three humans and a pack of small grayish dogs. "Interesting dogs," said Ares. "I like the ears. I wonder if they make good fighters." Hera ignored him. "I do sense love and responsibility in these. Perhaps there is hope for the species." "Well, if not," Ares exclaimed, "I want the dogs." Demeter leaned forward, reaching toward the older female human and squinting slightly. Then she laughed. "This is perfect! The humans, the older female especially, have the same frustrations I do! Don't you see? We can use them to teach both love and responsibility! And at the same time, I can have a more reliable game! Don't you think that's a wonderful idea?" Hera looked thoughtful. "You might as well try it, Demeter. You know Zeus is fond of the humans, despite his occasional grumbles. He won't easily agree to starting over." Aphrodite smiled. "Look, Dems, they are sleeping now. Give me your hand." The goddesses joined hands. Aphrodite reached through the space between the columns, and her fingertips briefly caressed the forehead of each human. "I do like the male! He's cute." Aphrodite giggled. Demeter sighed. "Really, Aph, is that all you ever think about?" Aphrodite gave her an arch look. Turning back to the humans, she nodded, satisfied. "They are inspired now," she replied. "They will awaken with the urge to create, and through their creation they will spread both responsibility and love." Demeter released Aphrodite's hand, pumping her fist in triumph. "I'll have a new game to play! Canis Novus!" Hera sighed loudly. "Greek, dear, if you please!" Ares turned to leave. "Where are you going?" asked Hera. "I'm going down to Canada for a bit, to see about a puppy." He vanished. The sunbeams danced. THE END (or The Beginning??)
Palma Non Sine Pulbere Zipploka, Emeselda and their friend Veekay lived in the vast land of Internetia. They had seen so much dispair and neglect of the creatures they had always loved so much that they knew that they had to do something to help. THIS IS THEIR STORY The people of the land were divided and at war. Many of the clans kept the creatures in large pens that looked rich and prosperous, but if you knew the secret words that would allow you to enter through the gates, the smell of dispair would drive you away in horror. These once lovely creatures were slowly dying from neglect, starvation and disease. Zipploka and Veekay vowed that they would save as many as possible of the creatures that still roamed freely on the land. They began by laying claim to a portion of land in Internetia. There, they built simple pens for the creatures. They brought food and supplies and when Emeselda saw what they were doing she gave herself up to the cause. The three knew that soon there would be too many of the creatures to care for without the help of others and they set about looking for people of the same mind. The creatures must get the best of care. It was a long and sometimes slow task for the three. There were days when Zipploka and Veekay went without sleep as they stuggled with the inscriptions they would need in order to ensure that these new pens would be a place of safty for the creatures. As more people came to help, questions arose about the care of the creatures. Where were the fancy chains that the other pens had for their creatures? Where were the store rooms for the expensive foods that were supposed to give the creatures extra powers? Emeselda took it upon herself to explain... "There will be no fancy chains or special foods here. These creatures will be loved and cared for in every way. They are to be fed everyday and they must be kept safe from disease. They will have play times and training times. We will have times everyday when you can bring your creatures to the ring to show how wonderful they are and to compete fairly in their sports. Their coats will be brushed and kept shiny and clean. We will have laws here that will stop the kind of neglect that has been seen in other pens. We will have guards called Mods to watch over each and every owner of one of our creatures. It has been written that neglect will not be tolerated here". A loud cheer went up from the people. The creatures were certain to be saved. After many days went by the pens began to fill. They were decorated with bright and beautiful colours and pictures. The creatures and the people were happy and carefree.It had become the grandest pen in Internetia. The three were thankful and gave gifts to the those that showed love for the creatures. They called the creatures Dogs and named the new pen CANIS NOVUS
Canis Novus: New Dog "I'm bored," MSL said to Zippy. Her life became dull once her daughter VK went off to college, leaving only Zippy, the dogs and herself. MSL and Zippy would go out and play Bingo or drink some coffee at Paneras everyday, but to her, something was still missing. Zippy, concerned about his wife asked her, "What would you like to do Sugar Plum?" He was a fantastic man, one that MSL was proud to show off and he always cared about her well-being. "I want to do something that's more exciting then sitting here drinking coffee, again." MSL let out a big sigh and went back to twiddling her thumbs staring at her reflection from the cold coffee. Zippy just stared at her, wishing he could do something to help. Later that night Zippy went on his computer to play around and check out the latest poker game. MSL was playing with Tikkle, pondering about what to do. Then out of nowhere an idea popped in her head and it came to her like a fist to a face. "Honey," MSL shrieked with excitement. "Hoooneeey…." still no reply from Zippy. "HONEY!" this time yelling she hopped she'd get this man's attention. Confused and frightened by the quick loud word Zippy turned around giving her this blank stare. He finally managed to get some words out of his mouth, "Yes?" "I know what I want done! It'll make the days go by quicker and give us something to do. It'll be like a new child, something to care for and appreciate." MSL stood up walking towards Zippy who was sitting down still. Zippy still looking lost, just stared at her, waiting for some more words to come out. "I'd like for us to create a Dog SIM. But not an ordinary one, something different. I want it to show responsibility, but be fun," MSL started pacing the room. " It needs to be different, all around. I want an interesting site name, something that gets people thinking, but easy to remember. I was thinking Latin.. Honey, look up how to correctly say ‘Dog Game'. Hmmm…" She started rubbing her chin, thinking. The next couple of days was well spent planning on the game. VK became aware of the idea and offered to help. She would go and find artists and anyone else willing to help create the game. Zippy would contribute by coding and MSL would help by getting information about dogs to make the game as realistic as possible. Unfortunately, MSL had a nasty experience with a previous Dog SIM and was iffy about making an account (*whispers* come here… a little closer… almost…okay, listen, you want to know what kind of experience, right? Well listen here, MSL's dog on the previous game jumped out the screen and attacked her. Don't believe me? That's your problem). A few months down the road, all that coding was actually becoming a game. VK found members who would contribute to the game; either with money or artwork. Zippy was having a ball coding and MSL was just shooting out ideas. Trying to make MSL join, Zippy enticed her by looking like he was having fun. Finally she gave in. She became account #3. Once the game became operable to the outside, they let in the Alpha testers in. They had paid, of course, to play, but it would be well worth the money. A bunch of kind hearted Samaritans logged onto the game, ready to play. It had different skins to choose from, numerous amounts of dogs with accurate information on them, a lot of sports to choose from, litters, genetics and most of all, a heart and soul. Once the site was even more perfect, they opened it to the public. One by one, somebody would put in an application to this awesome looking game! The community was perfect; nobody fought. Everyone was quirky and weird and an actual individual. The game was a success and the community's support proved it. Sitting back in the chair with Zippy, MSL turned to him, "This is more than what I could've asked for." She rested her head on his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you." |
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Catagory- Poetry
Once upon a time, in a snowy Canada-land
Like light to dark,
Listen young pups and you shall hear
In this poem there is to see, |
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