Winnerrrs announnnced!

[ASoftSound]

Sooo, I've been aching to read something good. Being a gaia veteran, I have some gold and nothing to spend it on so here we go. =D
This is a pretty open contest since I like variety and I'm not a harsh, judgmental person/reader. I appreciate everyone's effort, opinions, styles and preferences etc.

What I like and don't like and stuff:
-Original [If you are confident, you can submit something not so original in hopes that I will love it... but most of the time, originality gets higher marks of course]
-Intense action, thrillers, suspense
-or lighthearted, happy, simple stories
-funny, witty.
-interesting characters
-I'm quite fond of science fiction and fantasy too ^___^
-regarding romance..... If you feel you must write a romance, I don't want it to be about lust and that shallow, cliche stuff. Write about how two people honestly start liking each other. Make it Innocent and cute. Im a sucker for those kinds of stories.
-No vulgar language but cursing is okay.
-happy endings are awesome
-so are not so happy endings
-and so are cliff hangers....
-seriously, I like everything. Except fan fiction >_< And NO MORE MURRDDEERS DAMN IT!! Show some luv! <3
Note: Just because I like something doesn't mean you have to write about it. This list is just something to keep in mind or consider or get you started or whatever. Coo'?
Also: If you make me like something I wouldn't particularly like, such as how I mentioned about romance or originality, you get serious props for that.

Length: At least 1,300 words. No Maximum.... unless your story is boring than make it as short as possible.

Prizes/Rewards:
1st Place - 80k
2nd Place - 55k
3rd place - 25k

Honorable mentions - 10-15k each

Deadline: Ovverrrr!!!


Happy writing ^_____^

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
WINNNERRRRSSSSS!!!!!!!

Ranking
1. And Behold Persistence -Pink Genocide 1st Prize
2. Arrival of a Murderer -Chevix 2nd Prize
3. Descent Into Oblivion -Sakura no Akuma 3rd Prize

4. Somewhere We Only Know -SilentCraze Honorable Mention
5. Blue Rose -S8e_Lady Honorable Mention
6. Delicate -Yutora Honorable Mention
7. That Which is Neither Here Nor There -Reili
8. Goddess of Shadows -Tarralikitak
9.Golden Hair 。Donut Hearts -Fake SIlence
10. Marionettes of Despair -The Solarised Night
11. The Life of Green Tree -FaeMaiden
12. Lovestone -CloverHoneySweet
13. Chocolate Pudding -Bottle of Psycho
14. Heliotrope -phantomkitsune
15. Facebook -xoLawlieTox
16. The Cherry Blossom Tree -NewPerspective93
17.Three Simple Words -Jadis the Immortal
18. The Boy With The Red Sweatshirt -Tk-OOO-Ha
19. Lovely Murder -Sodapop2826

[Lorakeet]

Just FYI, Id like to participate. This is advanced literacy, right?

[123FROOTLOOP-_-]

I'd like to join smile

[ASoftSound]

Coo' beans. I look forward to reading everyone's submissions. ^___^

[Vatilla]

I'll join! *Furiously wracks brains for story ideas*

[ASoftSound]

InoCosplayHero13

Just FYI, Id like to participate. This is advanced literacy, right?

If you want to think of it that way, sure >.<

[Kenny Cappuchino]

Coolio contest~ I can feel the freedom of ideas!

If I find the time, I'll probably send in a story 3nodding Keep an eye out for me! whee

[ASoftSound]

BeyondeBirthday

Coolio contest~ I can feel the freedom of ideas!

If I find the time, I'll probably send in a story 3nodding Keep an eye out for me! whee

=D That's what I'm going for.

Awesome! i look forward to reading your story ^__^

[littlewonder2]

I'll probably give a shot too. emotion_awesome

[IrisSilverson]

I am so in.

[The Beloved Prophet]

I've been thinking about a really good mystery story. I will be joining as well. rofl

[ASoftSound]

Awesome! I look forward to it all!! biggrin

[Pink Genocide]

Title: And Behold Persistence
Username: Pink Genocide
Age: Twenty Years Old
Story Inspiration: To Build A Home (Youtube)


At five o’clock on a Sunday morning, Thomas McGrath wakes up to find that Reid Scott has not slept during the night. He knows this because Reid had dark circles under his eyes, and his fingers are drumming against the mattress.

Thomas sighs into his pillow and turns towards the window to see the thunderstorm preparing itself outside. He decides it will be the worst moving day ever concocted by mankind.

“Graduation’s in a few months.” When Reid speaks up, his voice is soft and even with a distant country drawl. “You think you’ll come back before then?”

Thomas pulls his blanket up higher over his shoulder. “Nah. Prolly not. Prolly never.” He feels his eyes sting and tries to distract himself by looking over at the alarm clock. He has two hours before his parents will come to wake him up, and it’d be best to get Reid out before then. Reid’s one of the reasons they have to leave in the first place.

“You cryin’, Tommy?” Reid nudges his friend in the spine with his finger.

“No.”

“Well, not really cryin’?”

Thomas takes in a wet breath of air and rubs his palm across his eyes. Thank goodness he’s facing away from Reid, because he hates crying in front of him. “I’m fine, Reid. Really. You know, you’re gonna get in a real lot of trouble if you’re found here again.”

“And I’m giving so few damns,” Reid says, and Thomas can hear his sarcasm. It makes him smile, then laugh. Sitting up, Thomas rubs his eyes again and surveys the room, surprised by how empty it suddenly seems. All of his things are packed in the truck on the front lawn. Before they leave, his mattress – the only thing left in his room – has to be tossed out in the field next to the dump, because they won’t need it in the next town.

Reid startles Thomas by biting him on the shoulder, eliciting a stifled yelp.

“Owch, Reid! You animal,” Thomas hisses, massaging his skin through his t-shirt. Reid only grins. “What?”

“Let’s go ridin’ for a while. We’ve got some time.”

“And if we get back late?” Thomas warns, “We’ll get in trouble with my parents.”

“What’re they gonna do? Move you away even further? That ain’t worrying me.” Reid sounds so confident that Thomas can think of nothing to do but roll his eyes and get to his feet.

They ride their bicycles down the road for a while, occasionally passing streets hidden behind rows of golden cornfields. The sun starts to rise over the horizon behind the clouds, and the air is thick with the impending rain.

“So, where’s the new town at, anyway?” Reid asks, breath coming in short puffs as they round a corner of grass. Thomas takes one hand off his handlebars to point ahead.

“That way. All the way across state,” he says.

“That ain’t that far,” Reid responds, and he sounds unnaturally thoughtful.

“It’s over a hundred miles, and you can’t visit. My parents wouldn’t allow it,” Thomas said. His hair used to be long and wavy like Reid’s before his father made him cut it, saying that his son wasn’t going to look like a ‘good-for-nothing hobo’ if he could help it.

“And I’m giving so few damns.”

When they return to the McGrath house, they’re late and Thomas’s parents are angry. Reid is given a red-faced scowl by Mr. McGrath and Mrs. McGrath tells him to ‘shoo,’ so he goes to the side of the house to wait while Thomas is railed on for a few minutes.

“Get your things and get in the car!” Thomas is told, and so he trots back into the house to find his backpack, just as Reid is climbing into the back window. Crying – because he can’t help it and his dad isn’t there to yell – Thomas lets Reid hug him in the kitchen. They’re both shaking a little like they’re ready to go into shock, but Reid seems better off than Thomas, because he’s not the one whimpering. As they pull away, he starts to give Thomas a manly slap on the back, but stops and kisses his forehead instead. There’s a pregnant pause where they stare at each other, Thomas sniffling and Reid looking as if he’d like to run away.

“I’m gonna get a cellphone,” Thomas said quietly, “You can call me whenever you want. You will, right?” Reid nods silently. “And… and you can write letters.”

I’ll write ‘em every day if I gotta,” Reid agrees. At the same time, Mr. McGrath leans on the car horn outside. Reid pulls Tommy into another hug, kisses his forehead again, and watches him stagger out of the kitchen with his bag. A light rain starts to fall outside, and it genuinely pisses Reid off.

“I’m glad we’re finally getting out of that godforsaken hick town, what with their damn lawn parties and Bible-thumping lunatics,” Mrs. McGrath is saying in the passenger seat. Thomas curls himself up onto the backseat of the van and watches the trailer behind him bounce around on the uneven road. They have to drive way under the speed limit because of the rain and the puddles left in the road. Thomas imagines it wouldn’t be very hard to ride a bicycle on the road.

“You got accepted into that university, son,” Mr. McGrath says to the rearview mirror. “Congrats. We found your letter today.”

Thomas isn’t excited at all. He leans his head against the cool window and decides to sleep. After only thirty minutes, he’s woken up when his mother utters a sharp cuss under her breath.

“It’s that damned Reid Scott boy,” Mrs. McGrath grumbles, glaring at the sideview mirror.

“What about him?” Mr. McGrath says.

“He’s followin’ us!”

Thomas is fully awake by then, leaning up on his knees out of the seatbelt to look out the window. Reid is suddenly there, legs pumping the bicycle pedals as he ducks his head against the rain. With his heart in his throat, Thomas thumps his fist against the window and shouts, “You idiot!”

“Quiet down, Thomas!” his father warns.

Reid looks up, wearing a pair of swim goggles, and grins wolfishly as he sees his friend’s appalled face. He waves a little, then puts on more speed.

“Randy, can’t you drive faster?” Mrs. McGrath says irritably.

“No, we’ll skid off the road. I ain’t risking killing everyone because of some little b*****d tryin’ to beat us to the next town!”

“Dad, stop sign!” Thomas warns.

Mr. McGrath presses on the brake, but the tires lose some of their traction and when they slide a few inches towards the gravel, it throws Reid off-balance. Thomas screams when Reid slams into the side of the trailer, left behind as Mr. McGrath starts driving again.

“Oh my God, you killed ‘im!” Mrs. McGrath is wailing. Thomas can only stare at the empty background beyond the window, wondering if Reid was dead. Well, the van hadn’t been going very fast. Maybe Reid would get the point, go home. They could text. They could just text and it would be fine.

“I ain’ killed him. Shut up, Molly!”

His parents start to yell at each other, raising their voices against the rain beating on the windshield. When the thunder rolls, Thomas covers his ears and hopes they will stop at a gas station within the hour so he can sob in the bathroom while pretending to pee.

Reid isn’t dead.

“s**t!” Mr. McGrath presses the gas pedal a little harder when Reid’s form suddenly appears next to the car again. Rather than grinning, Reid’s expression is determined now as he rides. His mouth is open with panting breaths, and he’s probably inhaling more rain than air. Past the swim goggles over Reid’s eyes, Thomas can see the wink sent his way.

“Good boy, Reid!” Thomas says under his breath approvingly. His parents are stunned.

“He’s really going to follow us all the way into town, isn’t he?” Mrs. McGrath moans.

“He can’t.” Mr. McGrath sounds like he’s lost in disbelief. “It’s over a hundred miles away. He can’t possibly keep up with us that long.”

Thomas puffs a steamy circle of condensation on the window and draws an arrow pointing in the direction the van is going. Then, he gives Reid a hesitant smile. Reid nods at the wordless instruction, gives him a thumbs-up, and seems to pedal harder.

“Persistent little b*****d,” Mr. McGrath says, but there seems to be more awe in his voice than disdain, and Thomas decides that it’s a suitable start, if anything.

[RoseMiles]

I'd like to participate, tell me where I should put my story.

[maiden of the stars]

I think I'll give it a shot :] When is the deadline exactly?