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ZD Writing Competition Round 29: Results

Which Entry is Your Favorite?

  • Entry 1

    Votes: 2 28.6%
  • Entry 2

    Votes: 1 14.3%
  • Entry 3

    Votes: 4 57.1%

  • Total voters
    7
  • Poll closed .

Spiritual Mask Salesman

CHIMer Dragonborn
Staff member
Comm. Coordinator
Site Staff
Welcome back to the 29th ZD Writing Competition! The theme for this month was inspired by an idea from our fellow Forum member @AncientPoe! Without further adieu, this month's prompt is: Travels of a Silent Protagonist!

Choose any video game character who doesn't talk, and write a journal entry or entries that you think they might write.

Send all submissions to me via PM by Sunday, June 21st, 2020 at 23:59 EST (GMT -4).

I hope you all have some fun creating these entries!
 

Spiritual Mask Salesman

CHIMer Dragonborn
Staff member
Comm. Coordinator
Site Staff
Voting

The deadline for submissions has been reached. This month we got 3 entries! Voting will commence today, June 22 through June 30th, 2020 at 23:59 EST (GMT -4).

Dear diary,

Two daye i met a pritti laydee. She drived a Truck intwo meye face and made it ecksplowed. I think shi lieks mi. May bee Mrs X??

Luv,
Mr X

This following entry contains brief suggestive themes.
Pink cherry blossom petals fell down from the sky. Waves rippled across the beach shore as seagulls flew about and kids played in the water. The sound of planes flying overheard interrupted the tranquility every few minutes.

And then there was one teenage boy awkwardly hunkered behind a bush.

Kenji was eyeing the love of his life, May. He had been madly in love with her ever since the end of elementary school but he hadn’t confessed his love to her yet. It was already sophomore year of high school so he needed to do something before it was too late.

A few people walking on the nearby nature trail gave him some weird looks as they passed by but he didn’t mind. People had always considered him a bit strange at school and everywhere else he went in public. This was typical fare. He thought that maybe if he could break out of his shell, more people would appreciate him.

And confessing to his love was the first step he needed to take in that direction. It would be his breakout moment.

He could already imagine Justin – that was the most popular guy in his class – asking him for make-out tips after this caper worked out.

“Soon,” Kenji thought, “The other guys will be lining up inside the locker room to ask me about how to get all the hot girls instead.”

As Kenji got up, he could feel something poking him from behind. He turned around and realized it was just a tree branch. It had probably blown his way while he was focusing on what really mattered.

He moved forward and heard a rip.

Crap.

His pants had a massive rear end rip in them now.

“Damn,” he thought to himself, “I don’t want to embarrass myself by looking like one of those saggers.”

He was wearing some underpants from his favorite franchise, The Legend of Zelda, that day. While he loved playing as Link and pulling out the Master Sword, he didn’t want a certain other Master Sword to come out at the wrong time.

Luckily, he’d thought about taking his swim trunks with him. It was only natural for people to want to swim in such beautiful weather. Originally, he had thought about asking May if she’d spend some time with him in the water after they ate some ice cream at one of the snack shacks sprawled around the beach shore, but it was actually better things turned out this way. It’s never good swimming on a full stomach.

Kenji hurried into the men’s changing room. He donned his orange swim trunks and took a quick shower to cool off from the blistering heat outside.

Kenji exited the changing facility and looked around for May where he had previously seen her but she was no longer there.

He sighed. Looks like he had missed his chance.

He was supposed to be the protagonist of this story but he was a lame silent protagonist. Now he knew how Zelda felt when all Link could do was awkwardly grunt.

“Hey Kenji!”

Kenji’s face turned red as he turned around.

May wore a brilliant white bikini as she exited the female changing room. She looked like a goddess underneath the rays of the sun. Her long blonde hair flowed down her shoulders and her beautiful blue eyes lit up the clear skies.

Kenji tried to open his mouth but nothing would come out.

“It’s nice seeing someone else from school here. Wanna get some ice cream before we go into the water? It’s a great way to cool off!”

Kenji followed her like a dog on a leash. He wasn’t sure what to say. His heart was pounding so fast that he thought he would have a heat stroke.

“I’ll take a scoop of chocolate ice cream,” May said as he went up to the counter. “What about you, Kenji?”

He raised one thing and started mumbling something inaudibly.

“Okay, mister, my friend here will also take one scoop of chocolate ice cream.”

They sat down at a nearby table beneath the shade of an umbrella.

There was something oddly satisfying about sitting with the crush of his life, licking ice cream on a hot summer day.

“Maybe,” Kenji thought, “I’m acting all awkward for nothing.”

He leaned back.

“There is nothing to worry about. I’ve just gotta act natural. Girls like guys that act natural.”

He felt a weird tingling go through his hair.

May giggled.

A dog had licked Kenji’s hair.

“Gross!”, he thought. “This is not happening. Everything was going so well and now I’m acting awkward as hell again. It’s just my luck. Nothing ever goes well for me in social situations.”

“Okay, calm down. May found that funny. It’s not the end of the world. I’ll draw her in with my slick humor and she’ll never see it coming.”

Kenji stood up and began walking towards the water. May got up to follow as she finished off her ice cream.

If there is one thing hotter than watching a pretty girl consume sweets, it’s watching a pretty girl swim. This was Kenji’s chance to man up and tell May how he truly felt. This was his chance to become more than a simple high school sophomore. He would become a man!

He felt something hit his head from behind.

It was a hand making a karate chop motion.

“Yo, if it isn’t Kenji. Looks like you got yourself a girlfriend! Go get her, tiger!,” a muscular, brown haired, tall high school kid wearing dark blue swim trunks said.

“Damn it!,” Kenji panicked. “This is not happening! Justin’s here!” His thoughts suddenly all started to swell up. This had been his chance to finally have his breakaway moment, and now Justin was here to steal his girl. Life really is unfair.

“I’ll go on up ahead if you guys wanna talk for a bit,” May said with a huge grin on her face as she slowly resumed making her way towards the pool.

Kenji needed to think of a way to get rid of Justin fast. This wouldn’t end well if that jock got near May.

But how could he shake Justin?

Kenji looked around him. There was sand, sand, and more sand.

Of course! In a time like this, he needed to take some inspiration from Star Wars. Anakin Skywalker was right when he said, “I don’t like sand. It’s coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere.” Yes, it really does get everywhere. Even in the places you don’t want to think about.

Kenji quickly raised his index finger and pointed at the sky.

“What’s there?” Justin asked as he looked up.

Kenji scooped up a large handful of sand and grabbed Justin by the swim trunks. Kenji winced. That was some serious chafing he wish he didn’t have to inflict on anyone.

“Well,” Kenji thought, “Good luck getting that out of your ass hair” as he poured the sand down Justin’s trunks and ran.

Kenji could hear howling behind him.

May was already by the water when he arrived. She looked majestic in the sunlight. Calling her a goddess was an understatement. She was a being beyond human comprehension.

Kenji started to feel that he was unworthy of her presence. His outright awkwardness, uncanny knowledge of nerd trivia, and devious plots to get Justin out of May’s way made him a lesser man.

But he had come so far and he needed to say something. High school wouldn’t last forever. And who knows if he would stay in contact with May after graduation if he didn’t say anything now.

He opened his mouth and –

“Shhhh!” May said, raising her index finger to her mouth. “I love the sound of the seagulls flying overhead and the waves rippling along the beach front. The sun also adds a very pretty sight. It just feels so pure when kids play in such perfection. It puts my heart at ease.”

Kenji smiled. Not only was May so pretty, she was also very kind hearted.

“I don’t know if you know this, Kenji, but I used to live in the country side before moving to the city. It was back when I was little, so I don’t remember all that much anymore, but something that always stood out to me was the beauty of nature. I think here in the city we often get so worked up in the daily grind that we don’t notice the beauty around us.”

“You’re right. We’re like specks in the sand. Our lives are ultimately part of something bigger and we need to stop sometimes and think about that.”

May turned around and smiled.

“That’s the first time you’ve said anything to me, Kenji. Thanks for understanding where I’m coming from.”

“I DID IT!” Kenji thought. “I actually talked to a girl!”

He was no longer the silent protagonist.

“I need to keep this momentum up. Maybe ask her out on a date.”

“So, I was wondering, if you wanted to go out sometime with me. M-m-maybe to see a movie. How about it?” Kenji stammered.

“Sounds good to me! I like movies!”

“So it’s a d-d-date?”

“Well,” May said, turning her back to Kenji. “I don’t know if I’d go that far. I guess I’m still discovering myself, but I don’t know if I’m into boys that much. I think I prefer the cuteness of girls. Sorry.”

“Oh, it’s okay.” Kenji retorted.

Great. The girl he’d had his eyes on for years was probably a lesbian. Oh well. Guess he would go back to being a shut-in.

He’d been playing the wrong videogames his entire life. His princess was in another castle.

Kenji felt a light touch on his cheek and suddenly turned red.

“I’ve been kissed by a girl! This is not happening!”

“I can tell from talking to you for just a few minutes that you have a big heart,” May said.

“Well, thanks for the good time, Kenji! I gotta get going. It was nice to finally get to meet you. We’ve known each other for so many years, but this is the first time we’ve truly spoken to each other. I definitely know that feeling of trying to get to know people and not knowing what to say or do to break the ice. I felt that way when I first moved here from the countryside.”

The sun had started to set and May looked even prettier in the setting sun. But now Kenji knew that her outer beauty wasn’t the most important thing about her. Perhaps that was something he would never be able to fully experience himself. No. The true beauty in May was in her heart.

“So this is what it means to be human. It’s about forming connections that make you feel like you’re part of something bigger even when you’re but a speck of dust in the universe,” Kenji thought.

May headed off.

Kenji stood there in stunned silence for a minute. He hadn’t been able to get what he wanted. But perhaps he found something more important. He found his confidence. He found a new friendship. He found the desire to better understand his role in the world.

Kenji had been trying to rush through life to become a man. But adolescence was something that he would only get to experience once. In the end, that awkwardness is just part of growing up and discovering who you are.

Now he just needed to apologize to Justin. That was a dick move he did to him earlier.

Suddenly, Kenji felt sand going down his swim trunks.

Looks like Justin had found him first.

“Karma’s a *****!,” Kenji yelled as Justin cackled into the brilliant orange of the setting sun.

I don’t talk.
Sometimes it confuses people. “Why?” they ask. I don’t answer. “What happened?” I glare at them. They tend to not say anything more.
Once I met a pretty girl at a bar. Her chestnut hair flowed down her shoulders in a way I would not be able to describe even if I could speak. Our eyes met, and I could tell we felt the same way about each other. I bought her a drink. It was hard. The bartender took a second to understand the meaning of what I was trying to signal to him. She tried to make conversation. I nodded and shook my head, trying to answer her questions. She grew more and more confused. “Why are you ignoring me?” I signaled to my throat. She didn’t understand. With a disappointed look, she walked away.

I won’t talk.
When I was young, I was often bullied. Kids seemed to think that if they hurt me enough I would say something. They would pin me down into the dirt and bend my arm back. “Say stop if it hurts. We’ll let you go.” We both knew I wouldn’t say anything. I only let out a gasp of pain. As I grew older, it was worse. They grew smarter. I was constantly harassed. They gave the same threat they did when they were younger. I still said nothing.
I try not to feel too sorry for myself. I had friends. They were kind to me. Some were condescending. I could tell by their faces that they only wanted to feel better about themselves by helping me. As I grew older, these types of people became more and more common. But some I could always trust. They were my light.

I can’t talk.
I was walking along a bridge one night when I saw a man standing at the edge. The moonlight was obscured by clouds, and I could not make out his face. He looked at me. “Please, tell me it’ll all be ok.” I couldn’t say anything. “That, no matter how hard it gets, someone cares about me. Everyone in my life is against me or gone. I have nothing but darkness. Do you care about me?”

“Of course I care. I’ll be your light.”
Is what I would’ve said. If I could. Instead, the distant sound of traffic echoed across the empty bridge.

“I thought so.” He jumped.
 
Last edited:

Spiritual Mask Salesman

CHIMer Dragonborn
Staff member
Comm. Coordinator
Site Staff
Results

Voting has ended! The winner of the 29th ZD Writing Competition is @MapelSerup! Congratulations on your first writing competition win!

Entry 1 - Cfrock
Entry 2 - A Link in Time
Entry 3 - MapelSerup


Thank you to everyone who submitted entries, and voted! I feel like maybe this month's theme was a bit too restrictive, afterall, only one entry actually followed the prompt. Some feedback would be appreciated. We'll see you all again in August with the 30th Round!
 

Ragnarokio

AVATAR NOT BY JIMMU
Joined
Jan 19, 2018
Gender
If you don't identify as the default options of Male/Female, you may enter your gender here.
i wonder how much easier the life of the third person would be if he used a digital device to communicate with people or even just a chalkboard
 

MapelSerup

not actually Canadian
Joined
Feb 19, 2020
Thanks everyone! Thought I’d finally try my hand at this. I realized it was supposed to be a video game character, but I couldn’t think of a good way to make it work.

i wonder how much easier the life of the third person would be if he used a digital device to communicate with people or even just a chalkboard
Shhh!
If I do this again, it’ll probably be a bit less dark. Thanks again everyone!
 

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