There's some controversy right now about the new OGL (Open Gaming License) published by Wizards of the Coast, the company behind Dungeons & Dragons.
I don't talk about D&D here a lot, since I know it's not relevant to Fimfiction, but I think it's worth getting this news out. Also they're owned by Hasbro, the same company that own MLP, so it's worth knowing what they're up to.
We, the contest judges, being of sound mind and body, have read all the submitted stories, compared notes, argued a bit, changed our minds, shuffled some numbers on a spreadsheet, argued some more, and finally came to a decision. We hereby present the winners of the Season 9 Bingo Writing Contest.
First, a quick reminder of the rules of this contest. Each author was secretly sent a bingo-like prompt card with five randomly-selected ideas on it and had to come up with a story that used as many of those ideas as possible, in the best way possible. The deadline for the contest was the start of season 9 - which meant that until the premiere date was published, authors didn't know how much time they had.
And a lot of those random prompts were really hard. Out of 80 prompts given out, we got 21 stories submitted.
This story was a hit with all our judges. It uses an unlikely set of characters in creative ways, and it’s fun. MitchH found it “Sprightly, well paced and amusing, this managed to make me like a Daring Do story, which is rare because generally they get up my nose.”
Venerable Ro confirmed that it was “entertaining throughout. FOME's take on the relationship betwixt Daring and Ahuizotl is one I hadn't seen before, and one that has potential for future work. Shoeshine was brilliant, a classic example of bringing a background character to life and giving them their own little slice of the world.”
I felt Chrysalis’ redemption is what made this story work, in part because it wasn't a complete change to her character, just the first step on the path; but perhaps more importantly because it's something only Diamond Tiara could have done.
MitchH liked that “it takes a lot of chances and tries honestly difficult things. I ended up liking where it went, and I kind of want to see more of Diamond Tiara and Chrysalis.”
Sea monsters, ghosts, and narrowly avoiding the destruction of both griffon and pony society through baking. This story has it all, with plenty of fun along the way to being one of the longest stories entered in the contest.
Cozy Glow trying to harness the power of music to conquer Equestria? Yes please. MitchH called it “a solid up-vote,” adding that, “I'm not generally much for Octavia-and-Vinyl stories, but it's a new characterization of Berry Punch, for me at least.”
“Berry's part was uniquely brilliant,” agreed Venerable Ro. “Marks don't always have a literal meaning, and I found the idea of expanding Berry's bunch-of-grapes mark to the greater concept of "eat, drink, and be merry" to be quite original.”
This story was able to spin together all five of its prompts more cohesively than just about any other. It trades away some characterization, but in return we get rule of cool, which is a better deal than many episodes of the show.
Although it takes some time to get going, this story does get places I didn't expect to go. Of all possible 'Starlight has a relapse' stories, setting Twilight's parents up with an Abyssinian sex slavery business in Baltimare has to top the list.
This story throws Moondancer and Minuette into a Daring Do adventure for which they’re utterly unprepared, but which works out in a way that’s fun and clever. Its only real failing is that it only uses a few of the ideas on its prompt card, which held it back in this contest.
Though I would have preferred if it had taken more time to explore the various scenes and events, and though there was a misunderstanding of one of the prompts on the author's side, I very much liked the humour in this. The opening scene is delightfully silly in its setting, and the closing joke is a rather good punchline. I certainly enjoyed the ideas behind the story, and found the narrative structure fitting if a little underdeveloped. Certainly a good read though, and one I would recommend to anyone interested in seeing Berry handle some technically-not-illegal smuggling through technically-not-legal means.
A humorous account of villains doing their best to fulfill their purpose in life. Dedication is a wonderful thing, even if all you get for your efforts is Rainbows.
And finally, a big thank you to all the authors who entered. There are some good stories we weren’t able to feature here, and you can find them in this folder here.
Oh. Uh. Hmm. Thank you? I never know how to react to actually winning one of these things.
Congrats to the HMs and runners up, thank you all for your decision, and extra thanks to Shrink for putting the contest together in the first place. Very glad to see my particular pot of madness went over so well with you.
Thanks very much! I'm delighted to be a runner up (and especially to the esteemed FOME, who was on excellent form this challenge). Congrats to all mentioned, and thanks to Shrink for running the contest, and to all the judges!
Oh. Uh. Hmm. Thank you? I never know how to react to actually winning one of these things.
Congrats to the HMs and runners up, thank you all for your decision, and extra thanks to Shrink for putting the contest together in the first place. Very glad to see my particular pot of madness went over so well with you.
Congrats to FanOfMostEverything and all others mentioned. This was a cool concept for a contest.
Thanks Shrink for putting this on. It was a lot of fun.
5051265
So... let's do this again?
5051269
I'm in.
I just want to echo the sentiment that this was a huge amount of fun, and I'd love to take part in something like this again sometime!
Congrats to all the authors who got a story in, and especially those who got a mention up there!
A well deserved first place, and a good showing all around.
5051269
Sure, whenever you need me.
Was my story the least liked one by the judges? I hope it was.
Congratulations to the winners!
Congrats:
To all involved for a bunch of fine stories, and thanks for the honorable mention!
Mike
Thank, this was a lot of fun. Congrats to the winners!
Thanks very much! I'm delighted to be a runner up (and especially to the esteemed FOME, who was on excellent form this challenge). Congrats to all mentioned, and thanks to Shrink for running the contest, and to all the judges!
5051269
I had to rush before, hopefully I can pace myself next time. I’m in.
Which prompt was that? I'd be curious to know.
In any case, thanks for running the contest and awarding of an honorable mention!