250k Contest Awards Show! · 8:49pm Jun 2nd, 2016
Awards Show!
(It's kind of a big deal!)
Was it really back in 2015 when I started this contest? Wow, has it consumed a lot of time or what? But it's been worth it, I think. Lots of really interesting entries, and a chance to interact with fans of my stories in a whole new way. I hope you all enjoyed participating (or watching people participate). Judging was tough. I couldn't ask anyone else to do it, not really. Any judge would have to read 55 stories, plus all the stories those were based on, and they would have to be someone with a professional demeanor and a reputation everyone here could respect. Well, obviously there is no person I could put that burden on. Hopefully I've done a good enough job in deciding. Some of the choices were very difficult and came down to very narrow margins, but if I manage to get through it without any death threats from the losers, I'll consider this a success. (Winners: I'll be contacting you by Fimfic PM to get payment information for monetary prizes. If you want to refuse the prize, I'll offer it to the honorable mentions listed here. In the case of a tie, prize money will be split evenly.)
But enough about that. You didn't come here to see me yapping away. I'll get off my soapbox and get on to the part you really came here for -- the results!
(The full results sheet is available, if you want to see exactly how your story stacked up.)
Sales Pitch
You sure know how to write a story description! ($1)
Winner:
Five To Seven Weeks Detention by NexusDragon
Honorable Mentions:
Integration is Better by Reykan
Batsy Fluffentuft the Magnificent Becomes an Alicorn by BronyWriter
A Ruler’s Regret Never Fades by DJ_Neon_Lights
Surprise!
Your story was the most surprising, either because you're a master of the twist ending, or maybe because you don't quite know what the tags mean. ($1)
Winner:
Changelings Never Really Change by 6samuelb
Honorable Mentions:
#DealWithIt by QuickFics
Tough Luck
Your story was the least popular in the contest's poll. Bummer. ($1)
A four-way tie with four stories recieving no votes for 'Winner'.
(Seriously, guys, can you not even vote for your own stories!?)
Winners:
Arachnophobic by SilverEyedWolf
Sex Ed: Diamond Dog style by Sirvanilla
Get Clean: Deodourizing by JediWyrm
Follower Bonus
The best story, out of all the ones submitted by my followers. Your loyalty is very appreciated. ($1)
Winner:
Batsy Fluffentuft the Magnificent's Grand Shower Quest by Iryerris
Judge a Book by its Cover
You've got the very best cover art. That's something we can all appreciate. Somebody frame this thing! ($1)
Winner:
The Most Annoying House Guest by Harmony Pie
Honorable Mentions:
Lyra's Candy Shoppe by Alaborn
Shortest
When people say 'brevity is the soul of wit', you take it seriously! Your story is shorter than any other contestant's. ($1)
Winner:
My Little Pony: Friendship is Overpowered (Equestria Girls) by Emotional Flight
Honorable Mentions:
Batsy Fluffentuft's Short Screwy Adventure by Snowdrifter
Longest
When you start pushing those keyboard buttons, you just don't stop! Your story is longer than any other contestant's. ($1)
Winner:
True Love Never Dies by CakeFlank
Honorable Mentions:
Drunk CelestAI Is In Your Bed by horizon
Master Procrastinator
You were the last person to submit a (valid) story before the deadline. You really know how to show all the other procrastinators how to do it ... tomorrow. ($1)
Winner:
Drunk CelestAI Is In Your Bed by horizon
Honorable Mentions:
Luna's Working Night by Celestial Pony
The Group Maniac
When you click that 'add to groups' button, you mean business. You've added your story to more groups than any other contestant. When they call you the Group Maniac, they do so with a deep respect in their voices. ($1)
Winner:
The Most Annoying House Guest by Harmony Pie
In the Red
Your story has the worst upvote/downvote ratio, as judged by Fimfic's 'sort by rating' algorithm. It's okay. Probably just a bunch of drive-by downvoters who didn't even read it, right? ($1)
Winner:
Unicorn Horns are. . . by Mister Coffee
Forever Alone
Nobody wants to read your story. There it sits, forever ignored. At least you get a dollar. ($1)
Winner:
An Impossible Letter by 6samuelb
Story Spammer
You took a shotgun approach to entering this contest: more stories means more chances of winning, right? You submitted more stories to the contest than anyone else. ($3)
Winner:
[Quite a lot of stories] by QuickFics
At Least it Doesn't Suck
Your story got the least downvotes. That's something. ($3)
Winners:
Unimaginable by DeathFox4
The Unsettling Suicide of Nurse Tenderheart by Weatherbug
An Impossible Letter by 6samuelb
A Ruler’s Regret Never Fades by DJ_Neon_Lights
Luna's Working Night by Celestial Pony
(All of these stories had 0 downvotes at the end of the contest's submission period, so it's a tie. The prize will be split between any of these authors who care to claim it, although if they all claim it, it would only be 43 cents each.)
White Badge of Honor
For the best story that's based on one of dirty little secret's stories. You work hard for the money -- so hard for the money. ($3)
Winner:
We are not your Mares by iamjohndoe
Honorable Mentions:
On the Double: Moonlit Pleasure by ScratchnTavi
WTF
You made the craziest, crackfic-iest, most nonsensical story of the bunch. Papa Discord is proud. ($5)
Winner:
#DealWithIt by QuickFics
Honorable Mentions:
Over His Dead Body by QuickFics
Unicorn Horns are. . . by Mister Coffee
You've Probably Never Heard Of It
Of all the stories you could have based yours on, you chose the one with the least readers. You truly are a master of obscurity. ($5)
Winner:
True Love Never Dies by CakeFlank
Best Little-Known Author
You have under 100 followers, but damned if you didn't manage to write a solid story anyway! Looks like you deserve more followers than you've got. ($5)
Winner:
Redeliverable by Emotional Flight
Honorary Winner:
Batsy Fluffentuft the Magnificent's Grand Shower Quest by Iryerris
(Iryerris generously decided to help promote new writers by passing on this prize to the next person in line.)
Honorable Mentions:
Changelings Never Really Change by 6samuelb
Early Bird
You were the first person to submit a (valid) story to the contest. Here, have a $5 worm. ($5)
Winner:
Redeliverable by Emotional Flight
Honorable Mentions:
Princess Celestia is (still) in your Bed by Admiral Biscuit
Popularity Contest
Your story attracted more readers than any of the others. Must be doing something right! ($5)
Winner:
Princess Celestia Has Stolen All Your Bed Sheets by naturalbornderpy
Teh Feels
You wrote the most adorable cutefic, the steamiest clopfic, the most heartbreaking tragedy, or the most hilarious comedy, or all of those at the same time, why not? You did the best job of making me feel the feels. ($5)
Winner:
Five To Seven Weeks Detention by NexusDragon
Honorable Mentions:
The Unsettling Suicide of Nurse Tenderheart by Weatherbug
Homage
You did a really great job of replicating the tone, consistency, and/or theme of the original story, really doing it justice more than I could ever have asked for. Are you sure you're not me? ($5)
Winner:
Batsy Fluffentuft the Magnificent's Grand Shower Quest by Iryerris
Honorable Mentions:
Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Grand_Moff_Pony
Execution
Regardless of how good or bad your story idea was, you sure did a good job of writing it! Because even a turd can be polished. ($5)
Winner:
The Unsettling Suicide of Nurse Tenderheart by Weatherbug
Honorable Mentions:
Drunk CelestAI Is In Your Bed by horizon
Bright Idea
Regardless of how well you pulled it off, that was one heck of an idea to write! A good idea is half the battle. ($5)
Winner:
The Great, the Powerful, and the Magnificent by TodayIWriteFanfics
Honorable Mentions:
The Taste Of Madness by naturalbornderpy
Originality
Your story blew my mind, and it probably rearranged more than a few headcanons. ($5)
Winner:
Changelings Never Really Change by 6samuelb
Honorable Mentions:
Ghost Dusters by CoffeeMinion
Green Thumb
Your story has the best upvote/downvote ratio, as judged by Fimfic's 'sort by rating' algorithm. Finally, a use for all those votes! ($5)
Winner:
The Most Annoying House Guest by Harmony Pie
People's Choice
You sure know how to please a crowd! Your story was voted highest by the readers in the contest's poll. You were also voted 'most likely to succeed' in your highschool yearbook. Now it came true! ($20)
Winner:
The Most Annoying House Guest by Harmony Pie
Honorable Mentions:
Princess Celestia is (still) in your Bed by Admiral Biscuit
Best Newbie
Your very first published story is the one you submitted to this contest. Not only that, you did better than all those other newbies! ($25)
New Winner:
Changelings Never Really Change by 6samuelb
Honorary Winner:
Batsy Fluffentuft the Magnificent's Grand Shower Quest by Iryerris
(Iryerris generously decided to help promote new writers by passing on this prize to the next person in line.)
Honorable Mentions:
We are not your Mares by iamjohndoe
Consolation Prize
Well, you're not the best, but second best is still pretty good, right? (Not really. If you're not first, you're last. Everybody knows this.) ($30)
Winner:
Drunk CelestAI Is In Your Bed by horizon
Honorable Mentions:
Redeliverable by Emotional Flight
Changelings Never Really Change by 6samuelb
The Unsettling Suicide of Nurse Tenderheart by Weatherbug
Grand Prize
A winner is you! Shut up and take my money. ($100)
Winner:
Batsy Fluffentuft the Magnificent's Grand Shower Quest by Iryerris
Congratulations to the winners!
(And my condolences to the almost-winners. I tried to be as impartial and unbiased as I could.)
(Once again, the full results sheet is available, if you want to see exactly how these decisions were made.)
With this, the 250k contest is officially over.
I still have a couple things to do: making a box on my userpages to feature these stories, as well as putting a link to each of them in the description of the original story they're based on. I'll also be busy contacting all the winners in order to give them their prizes.
That's sure going to take a while, but it'll be worth it to make sure none of these get forgotten.
Thank you all for participating, and I wish you good fortune in your future writing!
Oh, joy! 43 cents!
Edit: Now to give my own story a downvote
3993068
Don't spend it all in one place!
Well, at least I had fun.
Close, but not quite. Oh well, it was fun. Thanks for the opportunity.
Congratulations to all the winners!
Yay! I can't believe it's finally over
3993077 Your criticism was fair. I just wrote a random one-shots, and threw it in. I didn't really put effort into it, I was just trying to get over my writer's block.
27 dollars!
3993082
That's what counts. ^.^
3993084
Yeah... now I wish there were more prizes to give out.
3993085
Heh, and you won some pretty big prizes!
3993086
Fair enough. ^.^ At least I could help with that. And you did technically win something!
3993095 Indeed!
Now where do we redeem it?
Heh, I tried at least xD
It was fun^^
Wooo I'm on the page. Also, It's uncouth to vote for oneself in a contest. As such, one of the other 3 can have the dollar.
I know I haven't participated in the contest, but seeing that I read a story that ultimately turned out to be the winner of this contest makes me feel like a winner.
Shame I didn't make it, but I never really expected to. Just happy to participate.
3993098
I'll be contacting all the winners shortly.
3993102
Heh, well, it'll be split among any who want to claim it, so 33 cents, unless other ones also don't want it.
3993148
Heh. You should have!
3993167
Well, on the plus side, you also didn't get any of the bad awards, which means while yours might not have been the best, it also wasn't one of the worst.
So close. Got excited every time I saw a pic of Batsy.
Ah well. Good show everyone!
3993400
Ah, so it goes.
Well, I didn't expect that. There were certainly some great entries, and it was a close finish!
Congrats to the rest of the winners, and applause for everyone who entered.
Now I need to get to actually posting a new story so I won't be a simple one-shot.
3993460
I hope the rest are as good as that one!
(Then I can claim credit for getting a good writer started. Muahahaha!)
Thanks for the reviews, and for the couple awards that I did win! In fact, thanks for doing this contest in general!
I suppose that now would probably be a good time to say that I just entered for fun (and, admittedly, to see if I would win anything). I'd like to defer all $6 of the prize money to the runners-up - yes, even the story spammer prize. I didn't think I should say anything about it until now in case it might affect the judging in some way.
Anyway, now that the contest awards and everything are over, there's a decent chance that I might write more at some point (I had ended up deciding to make ocalhoun's guess of 11 contest-entry stories correct, so I stopped there), but if I do, whether everything will continue to follow the same theme or not remains to be seen...
3993677
Mind blown.
I wish to redeem my prize in the form of a similar value of Strawberry Fanta.
Rather pleased with a lot of these. I'm glad you had so many categories to help promote newbie authors. :D
Yay I had the worst fic and one of the WTF-iest fics.
My life is complete now.
Of course not, that's the lowest form of bias. I voted for the best story
Anyhow, I am... kinda happy for at least winning... a thing... yeah. Thanks for hosting the contest, Ocal!
3993794
1: Receive Paypal payment.
2: Deposit in Paypal balance.
3: Find Strawberry Fanta on Amazon
4: Pay with Paypal balance
5: ???
6: Strawberry Profit!
3993821
I'm glad you approve! ^.^ Makes my choices feel justified.
And yeah, promoting newbies is super-fun!
3994004
Well, you should expect that when you're having Big Mac get pregnant from Rarity's horngasm.
3994292
Heh, congrats on that. ^.^ Doing this contest has been a lot of fun.
Also a lot of tediousness (just think about how many links are in this blog post), but a lot of fun.
Finally! It feels like it's been a year. Congratulations, all!
3994551
It was a pretty long time...
3994355 You know, I was actually feelin' kinda crappy about, well, about what I 'won'. But then, I saw the breakdown graph, and even though I submitted... well, that story, I feel that you scored me well in most of the qualities that I found were important to me (Originality, Execution, Feels, and Overall Rating). I feel much better about that now... I feel like I should write you a make-up story, for making you read Arachnophobia.
3995181
Ha! Well, I wouldn't complain if you did, but it's not really necessary. Even when the stories are like ... that, it's interesting to see where people go with them.
It's finally over! Congrats to all those who won!
I remain absolutely floored at the reception to a story whose literal reason for existence was me saying, "What's the meme-iest base I can use, how can I make it wronger, and then what can I add in that will drive off any remaining readers?" Apparently in mixing together three things that should never have worked together, I hit upon some sort of crazy bacon-jalapeno-chocolate combo.
I was skimming down the list thinking to myself, "Runner-up for longest, hunh, I hadn't realized I wrote quite so much", and then "Runner-up for Execution ... hunh! That's pretty flattering, I'm happy with that and my dollar," and then was completely thrown by my Consolation Prize.
Guess I should have kept a closer eye on the spreadsheets! Anyway, I'm glad you liked it, and I reckon it's about time for me to get the epilogue polished and posted. 
Congratulations to 3993460 for a contest win with their first FIMFic story!
h
May I still claim my 43 cents? It's not much, but it's something.
4006139
Of course you can.
I've been swamped sorting everything out during finals week, but I plan to get the PM's going out Thursday.
I won some things!
Now just to decide what to do with
$6$11$14.4011795
Oh please do! ^.^
4036049
So it goes...