Hello,
Does anyone remember Loooshus? A while back he held an essay contest, the winners of which received shiny, glorious looms from the venerable librarian's vault. Not only that, but it moved many members of the CRPG community to produce splendid works of literary art based on the topic "the unfortunate assassination of chadz." For an example of one of these masterpieces, check out "The Taste", found below.
I graded those essays, and therefore benefited from a portion of the proceeds of that contest. Now I am doing something similar.
Whoever can write the best poem (judged by me) will win my looms.
PRIZES+3 Green tunic over mail
+3 Mail gauntlets
+3 Rus bow
+3 Bodkin arrows
+3 One handed battle axe
1st prize: choose THREE LOOMS
2nd prize: Choose one loom and 50k gold
3rd prize: Receive remaining loom
The rules are below.
1. Yes, this is for reals.
2. There will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes as well as honorable mention.
3. All prizes are +3. Gold is available for honorable mentions, if any.
4. Deadline will be approx three weeks, subject to change.
5. The poems:
A. Must be creative.
B. Can be any style. Rhyming, free-verse, sonnet, psalm, limerick, or whatever. They can be inspiring, bawdy, mournful, quiet, provoking, epic, etc.
C. Can be as long or short as needed, as long as its creative.
D. Must be original work.
E. Must have a title.
F. Must be posted in this thread behind a spoiler.
G. Must have at least something to do with the topic- "
Melee: Battlegrounds"
Clarification on topic:
Although it was meant to be a lattice-work structure upon which your vine-like poems could grow, I realize it could be a burden as well.
It doesnt have to be the main topic of the poem, but it can be. As long as the poem even remotely suggests, hints at, mentions, or can in some way conceivably be applied to the required topic (in whole or in part), this requirement will be met. Benefit of the doubt will be given to the author.
It's meant to be less of a strict requirement and more of a loosely unifying theme that can remotely connect the submissions.
6. I am the sole judge, and the winners will be subjectively chosen based on how much I enjoy their poems.
Ask any questions here as well. Good Luck to all participants!
Update:
Update:
Contest closes feb 5th. So the 4th is the last day for submissions.
Note:
Entries can be edited or changed up to the deadline.
I've only read a couple entries so far, but from what I've seen I feel compelled to remind that all the rules must be followed to be considered for a prize.
Contest is over:
RESULTS:It is finished.
Thank you all for participating! There were some real gems, and those were quite enjoyable to read. It made me glad to hold this contest. Perhaps chadz can even use some of these as propaganda for his new game.
There were also some real shit-balls out there, and many poems that were pretty good but not quite good enough.
We will talk about those no further.
Before the winners are announced and prize instructions given, I have a poem for all of you.
HolocaustumA soft report piques eardrums.
A plaintive whine strikes a melancholy chord
An urgent cry knits a scarf of shame it fits me well.
The last straw clutched
is a fibrous crutch
dry to the touch and flimsy
It shoulders no weight
All fate collapses
On the floor the reed is ignited for warmth
Here blazed, heirlooms scatter like ashes
scattered and sewn as seed
This is my seed spilled, given up for you.
There were three frontrunners that really stood out to me. Picking the placement of these winners was difficult. Even though the prize discrepancies are large, the quality of the poems were very comparable…each in their own way.
1st Place
Commodore_Axephante for
The CrowsThis poem was fantastic. It had superb imagery and wonderful use of metaphor. It was dark and gritty enough that I could feel it. I think you may have used the wrong “bare/bear” at the end…but the ending was excellent. It’s hard to close a poem like this but you nailed it. It’s memorable. Long after reading it, the images are still fresh in my head. Thank you.
AWARDED 3 LOOOOOOMS!
2nd Place
Smegar for
How to Play 2hExcellent satire and use of rhythm. It actually made me laugh. It’s not just funny, but it’s funny in a way that is clever, sarcastic, and yet corrosive at the same time. It’s the best assault on 2h players I’ve ever seen on the forums. I recommend it be copied and pasted in every “nerf ranged/cav” whine thread on the forums. I enjoyed it very much.
AWARDED 1 LOOM and 130k GOLD
3rd Place
Tank Burner for
Many Tales to Come…
Very Good imagery and excellent concrete descriptions. Good metaphor/personification and sense of place. I’m not ashamed to say I got goose bumps at least once. The scene you paint is vivid. Very good poetic description of the Battle for Helms Deep. You didn’t quite clinch the ending, but it was very enjoyable to read.
AWARDED 1 LOOM
Jacee for Jest and Greed
Not only was this the first entry, but it was entered merely minutes after I posted the contest rules. It was also funny. I liked the ending.
80k AWARDED
Elmuri for The Truth
Whimsical, almost Dr. Suess-like. I liked the line breaks.
80k AWARDED
Leesin for
A day in the life of a Horse my old friendcherMade me laugh. Creative rhymes.
60K AWARDED
Place Winners:
Please put the trade offers up in the market for your prizes, and then post here with your prize choices and your player/marketplace name so I can find it.
Commodore_Axephante chooses 3 items first, and puts the trade.
Then Smegar chooses 1 and puts the trade +130k
Then Tanken will put up a trade for the remaining loom.
Available prizes:
+3 Rus Bow
+3 Bodkins
+3 Green Tunic over Mail
+3 One Handed Battle Axe
+3 Mail Gauntlets
Honorable mentions: Put up a trade in the market and post here with your player/market name when you have done so.
All winners: I will get to the trades when I can.
Congrats to the winners.
To all entrants:
May chadz shine his face upon thee, and grant thee peace.
