Rating wars II: Electric boogaloo (Finals)

[gamecreator]

Yeah. Sorry Dusk! It was either that or a three way fight, and I'm not sure if I wanted to do something like that. Still, looking forward to your entry.

You should declare three-way fight in the finals.

[Dusk9]

Pretty sure that would only work if someone dropped out at the last minute. Since we'll be having an even number of participants in all the elimination rounds.

[Dusk9]

Sorry for the double post, but I have a question.
Since Felix, my opponent, can't actually progress to the next rounds, would it be okay for me to kill him? I've got the rough draft of an ending planned out in my head, but it pretty much requires his death in order to work. I could probably do it without killing him, if I had to, but I think it works much better as an ending with him dying. So I decided to ask first, before intentionally limiting my options like that.

[M0rtimer]

Hmm... I suppose so.

[LAYF]

Hmm... I suppose so.

Hmm.. wont that give you an uneaven number of characters for the elimination rounds?

[Dusk9]

Hmm... I suppose so.

Hmm.. wont that give you an uneaven number of characters for the elimination rounds?

Loki dropped out of the competition entirely, so he isn't going through no matter what. I'm just fighting his character, not him.

[LAYF]

Hmm... I suppose so.

Hmm.. wont that give you an uneaven number of characters for the elimination rounds?

Loki dropped out of the competition entirely, so he isn't going through no matter what. I'm just fighting his character, not him.

I know... but it will still remove a character, thet should be killed in an elemitation round... giving an auto win that might fall to another by random chanse....

[Dusk9]

It doesn't work like that.
After these battles are over, the 2 highest scoring writers from each bracket goes through to the semi-finals, which is the first of the elimination rounds. The losers are out of the running entirely, though they may actually have their own elimination rounds? I can't really remember.

Point is, only scores really matter right now. And if Felix dies, it won't affect the outcome of the final in any way.

[M0rtimer]

Actually, the original list was uneven as well- The goal of these first two rounds was to bring the amount of players to 8 so we could begin elimination rounds. However, we seem to have had such a large amount of dropoffs the amount of players is now seven. Assuming RunsAround isn't looking to still join, but as I've heard nothing of him I'm doubtful of that. So there's two ways I could handle that- The first one and what I think I'm going to do is give the average highest scoring player from the first two rounds a pass straight to the half-finals, while the six others duke it out with three man remaining. The other option is that instead I cut down the amount of players left to 4- Meaning three of the active participants so far would have been defeated, cutting to the half-finals immediately.

[Dusk9]

I like the first option. Gives me a chance to have a three way battle

[Arydra]

looks like I will be losing this round, can't finish my entry. I will submit what I have, but do not expect anything remotely interesting.

[Dusk9]

Question: When's the deadline again? Because I maaaaay have been distracted by DotA and completely forgotten that this was a thing

[M0rtimer]

23.59pm forum time, as usual. Which I think would be about... 11 hours and a bit from now. Good luck.

[Dusk9]

Yeah.....I'm not going to be able to do this. It's already 9pm, and while I've got the entire thing planned out, I've barely started the actually writing.
Plus I'm exhausted. Sleep's more important to me now. Sorry

[lingrem]

I spent most of yesterday sleeping and didn't get mine written either.

[M0rtimer]

I have to admit that it's... Disheartening to see so many drop-offs. Well, I guess not drop-offs, but still. I am strongly considering cutting straight to the half finals- Which would mean that 4 people would be left. It is not that there isn't enough time, is there? I figured that a full week, with the majority of a weekend to finish up would have been enough- If it isn't, that at the very least could be changed for the upcoming rounds.

Regardless, the final round of judging comes first. So here you go- The two entries that have been submitted.

Round 4: Battles
Dusk9's Kane versus Loki's Felix McMaster

No entries

Arydra's Firorn versus Lingrem's Naklin
Firorn

Light filters down between the canopy layers of the jungle, and reflects off the small and innocent river that wanders between the great trees and the small bushes alike. A light breeze rustles the leaves of nearby plants and stirs the thick humid air. Vines are brushed aside as small animals and creatures flutter to and fro. And everywhere you look the foliage supports vibrant blooming flowers.
Firorn stands on the edge of the grove, examining the dichotomy between the environments of the lush grove and the sparse hill country that surrounds it. He ask Silvara "Have you ever seen anything like this before?"
"No, I have not." comes the response.
"Huh." Firorn paused for a moment as he ponders the view in front of him. "Well," he says, "this does seem to be the type of place where we might find the stone."
"I doubt it. I think I would be able to sense the stone were it nearby. But, having never felt the stone's energy before, I could easily miss it amongst all the other energies flowing through this valley."
As they enter the a strange grove Firorn turns to her and says, "I have the utmost faith in you. I know you will never let me down, just as I will never let you down."
As the trees of the grove close around them, both Firorn and Silvara feel the oppressive energy that suddenly permeates the air. They both become aware of the decending quiet of their surroundings. The further Firorn takes them into the grove, the quieter the wildlife becomes. Weaving between the tall trees and the lush vines, he makes his way to the center of the grove, which is marked by a small, pristine pool. In the center of the pool, surrounded by emerald green water, stands a statue. The statue is comprised of various gems, and takes the shape of a woman balancing upon an open blossom.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Firorn nods in agreement as Silvara continues. "I have seen something like this before, but I am unable to recall where."
Firorn paces clockwise around the symmetrical pool, examining the statue as he does so. After completing a full circle he once again faces the statue. "My guess is that the statue is the reason for the groves existence."
"Undoubtedly. But why it is here? I can sense no purpose for the statue except to produce this type of environment, there is no reason for it beyond simply existing."
Firorn grunts, "Well, if it poses no threat we can pause here before continuing our search. This will allow you the opportunity to study the statue in greater detail. Unless of course you think the stone is somewhere nearby."
"I still doubt that this grove is the resting place of the stone. I know how eager you are to finally locate the stone and use it's power so I will attempt to find it for you as quickly as possible." Firorn nods in agreement as he unstraps Silvara from his back and rests her blade upon the statue. Upon insuring that she is stable, Firorn begins to explore his surroundings in greater detail.
After a short while, Firorn hears an unusual sound coming from the edge of the grove. The noise reminds him of cracking ice which would be highly improbable in the warm and humid enviornment of the jungle.
And then he dies and Naklin wins.

(He said in saddened voice as he did not manage to finish his entry. )

Naklin

No entry

I'mBob's Mazugord versus Ramsa's Konor Dunai
Mazugord

Mazugord started regretting going on the airship. First, it costed him way too much then he could afford. And second, they were too many humans on the ship and it was too small to keep a low profile. The humans just keep pointing at his tail and whispering about his wings, and "why would he fly in a airship if he have wings?" Stupid humans.

And there was that other reason. That brown skinned human that keeps looking at him with his weird eyes. The man always stared at him when the confronted each other, his hand on his sword, like he is going to draw at in any moment and kill everyone on the ship. His scars proves that he was in many battles before and he is muscular,so Mazugord wants to avoid him.

The humans also keep pointing at that human, whispering about a stone. Could they mean to the same stone he is looking for? Probably yes. Mazugord realizes that this human might be a threat to his quest. And so must be eliminated.

---

2 days after the take off Mazugord decided to act, but he would need to act smart. If people would see him attack the human they will throw him out of the ship. Not that he will die from the fall thanks to his wings, but it would take him a lot longer to walk by foot.

That noon, Mazugord hurried to the dining hall. He sat near the entrace and waited. A few minuted later the scarred human walked into the dining hall. Mazugord put his tail near The human leg to trip him. It was successful, the human fell forward and sent his hands to stop the fall. Now Mazugord just needs to wait.
"What do you think you are doing, stupid dragon?" the human shouted at him.
"Excuse me? What are you talking about?" Mazugord tried to keep a calm expression.
"You are dead, dragon. Dead!" He shouted and pulled his sword.
Mazugord noticed that there is something weird about this sword, but he could not point exactly what. He hurried to pull his own sword as well.
Mazugord was a bit worried, he hadn't participated in a sword duel for a long time, and he never actually fought with a sword outside of the training with his brother. The human however looks like he has been into fighting for a long time.

The battle was hard, Mazugord could barley block the attacks from the human. The human sword was lighter than his, and so the human stroke faster than Mazugord. Mazugord blocked all of his attacks but he knew he wont be able to hold for much longer. The humans around just stared at the battle, not knowing what to do. A human baby was crying and it distracted Mazugord's attention for a moment. And the human stroke, a deep cut has been made into Mazugord's leg. Mazugord ran up to the deck. When he was up, his injured leg has failed him and he fell on his back.

The human crouched above him, his sword near Mazugord's neck. Mazugord could have sworn he heard a laugh or two from the sword. "Any last words, dragon?"
"Well yes, actually." Mazugord said and opened his mouth. And suddenly, a spray of fire came out of it. The human caught on fire and started running around like a crazy person. Someone with a bucket of water put the fire out. Mazugord realized he is in danger on this ship and jumped away from the deck, using his wings to land safely and to continue his quest. The human probably wont stay on the ship for long as well, so it is a lose-lose.

Konor Dunai

No entry.

[I'mBob]

So much no entries again... I do not blame anyone but it starts to become boring.

[Dusk9]

Sorry

Again, I blame DotA. I was too busy at work during the week to do more than plan it out, thinking I would put it together on the weekend. But then when the weekend rolled in, I got completely distracted by finally playing real people at DotA (instead of just bots, like I was doing before). So I didn't remember "oh wait, this is something I should be doing" until Sunday night. Which was too late.

I might still finish it anyway, if I have the time. It might not count in terms of scoring, but I'd like to at least get it done.

As for why people didn't finish - I don't really know about the others, but for me, it was a combination of distraction and lack of time. If I'd had two weeks, I would have managed it easily. That said, giving people all of the time they need isn't the point of the competition - it's a timed writing tournament, and if you can't meet the deadline, you're going to do badly.
Although, one thing I have to say is that I preferred the Tuesday to Tuesday timed format which I had in the first match, since it gave me the Tuesday-Wedensday-Thursday to plan, the Friday-Saturday-Sunday to write out the main body of the entry, and then all of Monday night to edit and improve. That's just me, though - if more people prefer the weekend ending, then that's fine too. Especially since their Time Zone is going to be very different from mine in most cases.

[Arydra]

I had plenty of time, the problem is the actual writing. I suffer from writers block so it sometimes takes me a whole week to get 1,000 words down. Although this entry was longer, but then I accidentally deleted it without saving and had to redo several days of work. At which point I said screw it and submitted what I had.

[lingrem]

mine was just forgetting at the start of the week, as I'd normally do things on the weekend but it went up quite late. Late in the week was very busy and chaotic at work... and I distressed and went out at night on the weekend - hadn't planned on going out on Saturday (had planned on writing this then), and then spent Sunday mostly sleeping.

Springtime is a busy time

[Arydra]

Lingrem, it is a shame no one knows what was going to unfold between our characters. The tea party and then your suggestion afterwords.

[vidius]

M0rt, 1 week is heaps of time at this level on entry. However moving into the finals I would increase it to 2. The thing is, you don't want it to be much longer then 1 week as you need to appreciate that every single round takes 2 weeks minimum to finish (1 to write, 1 to mark) the more you increase this, the higher the chance of contestants losing interest.

At the end of the day though, if people do not allocate time to write the entries, the entries will not get written. it comes down to time management.

Side note to all contestants - try to write something - it doesn't have to be an essay. As the last 2 rounds have shown, sometimes if you have something down you may be able to pull an upset over a perceived 'powerhouse' in the competition.

finally, I have moved house and am waiting for the internet to get connected. Until you see me say otherwise, assume my capacity to post in haphazard at best.

Don't lose heart M0rt, you're doing an amazing job!

maybe in the next contest we will need to find short 'games' for writers who are not competing to engage in - like character building exercises etc.

hugs and kisses,
Vidius

[M0rtimer]

Alright, I received everything I needed in order to calculate the final scores. This will probably go up tomorrow. Though with that being said, I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to handle this. My original thought was to, essentially, allow everyone into the elimination rounds- With the highest scoring player getting a pass straight to the half-finals. As I'm considering it however, we've had such a large amount of only one submissions or dropouts I could potentially just skip through straight to the half finals, with only the 4 highest scoring competitors going on to the elimination rounds. On the other hand, I could stick with my original plan, as I do suppose that with it being an elimination round any remaining stragglers would quickly be dropped off. I'll think about it. If you guys have any suggestion or feedback yourself, feel free to say so.

[lozlo]

what is the reason of most of the 1 submition people? do they plan on posting int the future?

[M0rtimer]

I think that in total, 7 people have vouched interest to continue on (with some of those having sent only one entry).

So, I decided to look at it from the perspective of "what if 7 people signed up"... And pretty much came to the conclusion that I would have cut that down to four people. So that is probably what I'm going to end up doing. Hopefully tomorrow, though I might be too busy then... Wednesday at the latest.