It's time for me to write a journal - one that was long overdue, the conclusion of a tale likely long-forgotten by its writers. Last year, there was a contest, and three stories were submitted. I promised a reward of two video games to be distributed among those participants. That has not happened yet, and I take full responsibility for this failure.

I won't tell you about the personal troubles that led to things playing out the way it did, because it's no excuse for leaving the contest unfulfilled for such a vast amount of time. I could have finished it much earlier and I didn't. I am sorry.

So who was the winner of this contest? Well, it was going to be Qwazzy. I found his story about the misadventures of science quite enjoyable. All three of the submissions were great, but that's the one that stood out to me.

But I'm now at a dilemma, because that story has been deleted from his gallery. You can only find it if you browse through an archive folder linked from his profile. The spirit of these contests has been to promote writing and encourage authors to share and to read each other's stories. Because of this, I feel that I can't award a prize for a story that is no longer submitted to any website.

I've made the following decision. ALL THREE of the writers who participated may pick a game from the contest prize list. However, Qwazzy cannot claim his prize unless he reposts his story to his gallery first. If he does not wish to do so, then only Flygon and Delete341 will receive prizes. I think that should be fair to everyone involved.

I am sorry, again, for how things turned out with this contest. In the future, I will not attempt to judge contests on my own again. I've proven myself incapable of this task. From now on, I will ask a friend to handle any such decisions, and I will simply contribute with the rewards given to the winner they decide upon.