OC SlamJam - Round 2 · 5:17pm Jun 2nd, 2015
Hi guys. The OC SlamJam is rolling on strong. We got a lot of entries last time, and I was utterly surprised by the number of votes piled on the First Round. One of my main concerns for the first round was actually that there'd be so many entries that a lot of them would go without votes! LOOKS LIKE THAT WAS SOME MISPLACED CONCERN.
And, uh, this may have been unclear last time, so I'll just say it here up-front to be clear. Even if your competitor has dropped out of the contest, for whatever reason (just didn't send an entry in on time, personal affairs, or whatever), you still need to send in an entry of your own to take the win. You don't need to make it particularly long or good to take a win by default, unless your personal pride as a writer says so, but you need to send something that proves you're more in this contest to let me know that you're breathing more than your opponent is. I wasn't super clear about this earlier, so nobody's been penalized for it, but this will be the rule in effect from this round onward.
Secondary side note I forgot to mention: Please be sure to send your entries to me on an unpublished Fimfiction story. Don't send your story to me in a PM or in a Google doc page. It's both a bigger hassle for me and I can't guarantee your formatting will come through perfectly if you send your entry as anything else.
Anywhatsit, I've done some vote-counting, and I have the brackets now for Round 2.
Second Round, Bracket One
Second Round, Bracket Two
I might have been sliiiightly off on the voting count in a couple of places, but it didn't matter in a surprisingly large number of cases. I did try to go back and doublecheck for most of them, and I paid much closer attention to the close calls. If you guys want to make things easier for me on the vote-counting end, please please try to format your vote correctly: "[OC Name]'s Author" at the top of your comment in bold. At the top and in bold. Not somewhere slightly off to the right or in not-bold. Please try to do that, guys. For my sake. It takes you like two seconds, and it makes my job a lot easier.
ANYWAYS
I was sincerely surprised to see how many blow-outs there were, although I did note that the RNG threw up a couple tough matches. Definitely sad to see some of these competitors go, but I guess that's just the nature of this contest. IF YOU CAN'T SLAM WITH THE BEST, THEN JAM WITH THE REST. Rest assured, now that the second round has been stocked with some battle-hardened veterans from the first, the slams and the jams will get ever more violent and spectacular.
DO NOT TALK ABOUT YOUR OPPONENT. Since, you know, that information could obviously be used to trace you.
As always, HERE is the Giant OC Compendium, which contains every OC entered into this contest. You'll probably want to look up the name of your opponent's OC in it, so you can write your entry effectively. Your own OC will be in there too, just for reference.
A quick reminder on what you need to do:
Round 2 Edit: Now that the number of competitors has been cut from 63 to a slightly more reasonable 32, I'm bringing the word max up to a round 3000. Use the space wisely.
Once you recognize your opponent, your task will be to write a short story (500 words minimum, 3000 words maximum) of any subject matter and in any genre, involving both your OC and your opponent's OC. A comedy story where your OC gets into a piefight with theirs, a romance where they compete with each other for a partner (or fall in love themselves), a horror story with both of your characters as survivors in the post-cyberpocalypse--whatever. Once you have your entry done, send it to me as a link to an unpublished Fimfiction story.
You have until 11:59 PM CST next Tuesday (June 9) to get your entry in. Be sure to send your entry to OBSELESCENCE, not OC SLAMJAM. It'll be much easier for everyone that way.
Entries will be posted, like last time, as a compilation story on the OC Slamjam account. Both your entry and your opponent's will be posted together in a single chapter. Voting on who moves on to the next round will take place in the comments of that chapter.
-Remember to keep it PG-13 with respect to sex/gore. If your entry would need a Mature rating on Fimfiction.net, it's not kosher.
-No crackfics/crossovers, please. Write a story in good faith.
-Some overage on the 3000 word max is okay (especially given Fimfic's inflated wordcount), but try to keep that as your baseline max. You'll want to be efficient with how you set your scene and work with your characters to get the most out of your own OC and your opponent's.
-Remember anonymity. You can get your editor/discrete friend's approval on your entry, but don't let it become general knowledge as to which OC is yours. Especially not to anyone you know is in the contest.
-Voters will be encouraged to cast their votes based on general writing quality, overall characterization, and how well you used what the character sheets provided. You should ideally try to emphasize both character's strengths/weaknesses with your entry, rather than write a role that could have been filled by anyone.
Prize List
Courtesy of WIL_I_ZIN:
To First place: a 10,000 word story commission.
To Second place: $30 in Steam Money
To Third place: $10 in Steam Money
Courtesy of nand:
A copy of Star Wars: KOTOR, and Magicka on Steam.
Courtesy of Thorax:
A copy of Dead Space 2 and Mass Effect 2 on Steam.
Courtesy of KwirkyJ:
Audiobook-reading, up to 2500 words in length. Any genre, topic, milieu—pony, sci-fi, or standard literature preferred. Only non-copyrighted material; nothing more objectionable/controversial/explicit than Teen (PG13) rating.
Sample reading of Pinkie Pie vs. the Souffle.
Courtesy of A Rare Sight:
A paid-for flat-color OC character commission from artist Arylett.
Courtesy of Anonymous:
Fifty bucks on Paypal
Think that should be just about everything for now, guys. Go nuts.
Bring it on!, I say! Bring. It. On!
handmadescotcheggs.co.uk/image/cache/data/braveheart-500x500.jpg
Ayyyye!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/492725/oc-slamjam-compendium-16-comments-alpha-ex-special-edition
One last time posting it--I have written comments on all the Compendium characters.
Also, I could have sworn you rigged some of those matches. Spring Heat vs Summer Blaze? A chance (sadly thwarted) for the two time travelers to meet in round 2?
And can I humbly suggest that we NOT let people regift stuff like Dead Space 2 as prizes? That's like giving out hand-me-downs or something.
I'm very happy to see that Luster Lock and Evergreen won their respective matches. Same for Caps Lock, even if it means we won't get to see the Loosestrife vs. Falcata showdown we all hoped for. Personally, I could've lived with that disappointment if it had only been Falcata that had been knocked out and Loosestrife was the one who advanced by default, but whatever. My favourites won the close calls, so I'm happy.
In fact, seeing these match-ups, it seems that all of my votes actually picked the winner in this round... except for two. I voted against both Firefly and Minie Ball. And sadly enough, I think they're both going to advance to the third round as well. Haystacks had my vote last round, but I'm not sure if he's strong enough to take down Minie Ball. As for Firefly, his next challenger is not just a default winner, but a no-show default winner, so I don't have much confidence in them. I'll be watching these two closely.
Round 3 match-up predictions:
Vanilla Skies vs. Heather Rose, Wispy Willow vs. Lilligold, Minie Ball vs. Rachis Barbule, Iron Curtain vs. Booster Bones, Foxglove vs. Ace Artisan, Redwood vs. Evergreen, Firefly vs. Mild Manners (or Trinket... actually not sure on this one), and Tidy Till vs. Caps Lock. At a guess.
Edit:
Also, another thing I thought of. Now that the first round is over, I'm assuming that the losing competitors are free to come forward? I'd be really curious to see who wrote some of these entries.
Interesting. Here's hoping people keep objective on their votes rather than which character seems "cooler"
3118014 yeah I'm hoping participants come out as it goes. There's no shame in losing and plenty of enjoyable stories didn't pass.
3118079
I think some of the authors who made a few of the more widely disliked characters might have good reason to be reluctant, but I'd still encourage them to come forward regardless.
I'm out. My OC was Lunar Glint. I'm not disappointed I lost, but I'm rather disappointed I won't be moving on, if that makes sense. It was fun while it lasted.
Good luck, Evergreen.
Alright. Round one went pretty well, but now it's time to up the stakes. Gotta keep gettin' better and better! Good luck to us all.
3118152
If it's any consolation, Lunar Glint vs. Evergreen was one of the toughest rounds for me to vote on. I'm still not sure if I voted the right way. Kudos on a good story and character.
3118079 3118014
I'm personally not planning on revealing which character is mine until the very end. I like keeping people in the dark on whether or not I'm still in the running.
3118014
Admittedly, I did have ulterior motives for rooting against Luster Lock on the final day.
RIP Bristle. I tried.
3118152
I was considering running some unofficial losers' exhibition rounds. If there's more interest, I'll get serious about it and set up some kind of structure.
3118247 dude Bristle vs Luster was tight.
3118152 you did a great job
3118152
Wow, wouldn't have guessed—it didn't feel like your style to me. Though I wasn't a big of your actual OC, your entry felt more cohesive and interesting to me than your opponent's did, man. Sorry to see you go.
3118247
Do we take that to mean that you were Bristle? If so, I half-suspected that after seeing said last-minute rooting. Sorry to see you go, too.
3118277
I think I lost any pretense of subtlety (which is what it always is for me) when I started arguing with anybody and everybody over how to interpret the entry I totally didn't write.
Again, I tried.
3118211
Oh, you are such a tease.
3118247
3118284
I feel like I should've caught on that it was you, but for some reason I didn't. Not sure why. I think I was just really convinced that you were someone else. Evergreen maybe. She has that vibe of famous FimFic author about her.
3118258
I'm not out yet, but I may well be interested in this idea. If there is indeed plenty of interest, I'll help out running it, if'n you like. I do a fair bit with collab work.
My OC was Candy Cane. I wasn't actually expecting to make it through the first round, though, so I'm completely okay with losing.
3118152 All that matters is that you didn't chicken out and get DQ'd. The fact that you followed through is enough reason to feel proud of yourself. So, please, feel proud of yourself.
3118258
This is a great idea. I'd love to see it, especially if it allows for some of the more interesting OC matchups to happen.
3118284
Well. Someone gets to know that they knocked out Aquaman.
3118405
You never released The Album 2, jerkface.
3117822
3118211
Yeah, a couple of people commented on how difficult it was to choose.
3118258
I'd definitely be up for some of that. I had fun.
3118266
Thank you.
3118277
As an afterthought, I was surprised you didn't know who it was. Next time, I'll be sure to forgo my signature ellipsis style in favor of something much more inconspicuous.
Either way, thanks for the vote. I do appreciate it.
3118152
3118247
It seems Luster Lock v. Bristle and Evergreen v. Lunar Glint were the two closest matches in this round. I certainly know they were the toughest for me to call. Whatever else, it seems you guys offered some good competition to your opponents. That's a badge to wear all the way to this thing's conclusion.
3118492
Mostly 'cause I hardly got any interest! I keep meaning to get back to it and try and resurrect it, but life, other projects, my original stuff... These things happen.
3118554
…I'm an idiot. I completely forgot it was you who does that ellipsis thing. Even as I was reading it, I was saying to myself, "This isn't the first time I've seen this", yet I didn't think any further than that.
3118405
Here's what I'm thinking.
1. Get Obs to plug it.
2. Nominate potential exhibition matches.
3. Decide on one or more winners and invite everyone to write them. Same time limit.
4. Repeat?
3118608
2/3. Have the public suggest pairings they'd like to see as well?
3118247 I voted for you. I thought you did great.
Oh man, Caps Lock gets Falcata right after Loosestrife. That's just as crazy as having them go up against each other.
3118415 I was hoping you'd make it farther. Candy Cane is totes adorable.
3118551 Are you going to keep using that same video? C'mon man, mix it up a little!
3118071 One can only hope.
3118776 Thanks.
I almost made an adult OC because you can generally do more with their character, but then I realized that, being a kid myself, I have absolutely no idea how to write from an adult's perspective. So then I went with a foal. Glad you liked her!
Oh hey, you voted for me too. I appreciate it.
3118817 You're very welcome.
3118776
3118817 Hey, don't put yourself down with the expecting to lose! I thought it was a great story!
3118992 Thanks.
Although I liked Mango Leaf's story much better than mine.
If anyone wants opinions on stuff, I reviewed the character names here and the characters themselves here. I really hope people reveal their OCs, because I want to keep track and kinda figured that would be done for us. :B
Mine was Loosestrife. D: I had such plans for her. ;_; At least now I can post something for June and be done with it.
3118247
I totally knew Bristle was you, though I had my suspicions about a couple others.
EVERGREEN YOU'D BETTER NOT SCREW THIS UP I HAVE A LOT RIDING ON YOU NOW D:
3119064
Woah, seriously? Aquaman and Present Perfect out in the first round? Damn, this contest is brutal.
Wrote Silver Lining's story, wasn't expecting to win as I simply ran out of time to get myself an editor and run by it a few times. I'm pretty relatively new to this story-writing thingy-a-bob. Oh well, things happen, however the criticism was quite a good feedback. Good luck to those in Round 2!
I've started an author roundup, because it's 3 in the morning and I have nothing better to do.
Tell me if I've missed stuff, because I'm sure I have.