Competition » RIGHT BACK AT IT AGAIN! 2020 SHIPPING COMPETITION · 1:25am Jun 3rd, 2020
Hey everyone!
So it's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to host a contest, but you know what they say: There's no time like the present! That being said, I think it's high time I host another one... and an interesting one at that!
RIGHT BACK AT IT AGAIN!
2020 SHIPPING COMPETITION
If you've been around as long as I have, you probably remember the old days of FimFiction. Drama around every corner, groups were bustling and live and it seemed you could always count on your favorite author dropping an awesome OctaScratch or LyraBon fic when you needed it most. It's definitely true that some things have changed since then. New ships with new characters, an expanded universe, and plenty of new plot points to write about. I'd say a lot of these changes have been good, but I'm in the mood for something a little old-school.
That, my friends, is what this contest will be about: bringing back old-school ships in a big way! For this contest, I want to see you all write about ships that were popular back in the earlier days, ships that my have fallen out of favor recently for one reason or another. Whether that reason be canon ruining it or maybe we've all just moved on to other interests in the shipping world, I think it's time we take a step back and have some fun with this one!
Here be the rules:
1. Your story must tackle some kind of important moment in a relationship. Whether that be the first date, marriage, first kiss, etc., it's really up to you. So long as it's an important relationship moment, it will pass. If you have questions, you can always reach out to me or one of the other judges that will be listed below via PM.
2. The story should feature a ship from back in the earlier days of the fandom. Now, that's a broad topic, so to make it simple: Your story must feature a ship that consists of characters that were in the show prior to Season 4.
3. Your story can take place in any time period of canon, so just because your ship might be an older one, you can still write it in today's canon if you wish. The Alt. Universe tag is allowed, so feel free to get creative!
4. Any rating is allowed, but if you're writing an erotic story, please make sure it has an actual story to it as opposed to just sex.
5. There is no minimum word count, but please don't let your entry exceed 15k words. I feel that's enough to write a multitude of engaging stories.
6. It must be a new story, published on or after 5/18.
7. The contest will run from 5/18-6/30. So any story submitted after 6/30 will not be accepted.
8. You may enter as many entries as you wish.
9. All entries must be added to this group: Right Back At It Again Group!
Pretty simple, right? Well, I know that having a list of ships to choose from may be restrictive, but I have full faith that we can come up with tons of great ideas for them and it's a chance from some of us to step out of our comfort zone a bit. In fact, I think this could open us all up creatively and flood this site with some really fresh ideas!
Now, as far as judges go, I selected four in addition to myself. I like to have more judges than necessary at times because that ensures once the contest is over, we can drill through the review process and announce the winners within a week. Also, the five I selected all have different opinions, interests, and viewpoints so every story has a fair shot. They are: ChappedPenguinLips, Freedom, Lucky Seven, and Note Pad.
Well, there's only one more thing to talk about and we all know what that is... PRIZES!
FIRST PLACE: $100
SECOND PLACE: $50
THIRD PLACE: $20
Well, I suppose that's it then! Enter if you can, tell your friends and let's make this a fun time! I can't wait to read all the fantastic stories that you guys can come up with!
Good luck!
- FamousLastWords
Thanks! I cant wait to see what kind of entries roll in!
This is the second contest announcement in a row that doesn’t make it very clear right away who’s actually running the thing; I saw at least two people, I think, posting entries to “Wanderer D’s May 2020 Pairing Contest,” recently, which makes me suspect there’s some occasional confusion. Which doesn’t surprise me, given the first-person language of the blog. That feels like something that should maybe be made more explicit upfront? I know there’ve been times when a particular author being on the judging panel made a contest more enticing for me than it would’ve been otherwise.
I'm thinking there's a 1k words minimum for entries?
I write 150 word stories pretty often, so might want to specify...
--Sweetie Belle
5274559
Yeah, thousand word minimum. Thanks for the heads up!
Twidash time?
Twidash time.
5274563
No problem! I participate in the Flashfic competition pretty often, with a 150 work maximum, so word length is on my mind. This month, I got to pick the prompt, too!
--Sweetie Belle
5274552 Did they? Well, I added 5274547 as a signature at the end. I hope that helps.
Darn you, WD! Here I am, finally getting into the stories I need to be working on, and you go and announce this!
...I shall try to resist, but I'm sure the ideas will be running like water for the next few days. If I can think of something quick, then maybe.
Is it through midnight on 6/30? If so, what time zone?
Not that I intend to be last minute, but it be like that sometimes.
5274611 Don't blame it on me! Blame it on 5274547 I'm just the messenger
5274615
What's they common phrase? Shoot the messenger?
Except I don't have a gun on me. Maybe I can find a convenient bottomless pit to kick you into while screaming "This is RARIJACK!"
Ha ha I like when there’s a contest because then the people I follow put out awesome new stories for me to read.
Cloud Chaser/Stormwalker and Flitter is legit right? Long as it's pre-Alicorn Twilight era, I'm guessing?
I'll have CherriMac, LyraBon and Wild Fire/Clover stories in as well to make sure (they were a couple shown in Canterlot Wedding and Wild Fire's a diamond in the rough in terms of storytelling), but I wanna be sure I'm in the right wheelhouse.
And since you mentioned A.U.s are accepted, half of em'll be part of the Carnation-verse I've been dying to start up myself.
Possibly dumb question but I want to make sure I’m reading this right...When you say ‘prior to season 4’, does that include characters introduced in season 4? Or are we only doing characters from season 1-3, stopping at The Magical Mystery Cure where Twilight becomes an alicorn?
Oh boy, here I go shippin' again...
Old school, huh?
Luckily I have just the ship that would work for this. Now I just need to find the first part of it I wrote a long time ago now.
5274637
They have to have been introduced prior to the beginning of season 4, so yes, only seasons 1-3. Sorry about any confusion.
5274655
Thanks for clearing that up, just wanted to be sure
Bon bon x lyra and octavia x vinyl ♥
5274655
*thinks*
And, presumably, EQG? Or are we sticking to Equestrian origin?
Gallus x silverstream
5274666
So, somebody else asked about EqG, too. The first movie did come out before Season 4 started, so characters for the first movie do count based on the rules.
Would flashlight be acceptable
Nifty, perhaps someone will take a stab at Applecore, that one has been neglected for far too long.
This feels like a perfect excuse for me to write Twidash again.
...
Ох я в предвкушении, они будут ЕБАТЬСЯ, ЕБАТЬСЯ В ПИЗДУ, В ЖОПУ. БЛЯ Я МЕРЗКИЙ. Ну да ладно. Ахх пойду просвещать мир о том, что нужно стать без эмоциональными андроидами во благо человечества!
What's that? An excuse to write up some more Rarijack hijinks?
CHALLENGEMENT ACCEPTED.
5274563
1k is barely a scene though...
5274748
That's why it's just the minimum word count. The maximum is 15k.
5274672
Another post said that Sunset counts as third season so I'm assuming Flash would too.
5274626
It’s legit. Go for it.
time to rewatch the earlier seasons i guess
I assume Equestria Girls is allowed since that came out before season 4.
I literally searched up when Discord was introduced to see if I could do Fluttercord and since he is in season two, I'm gonna make another attempt at a Fluttercord story!
PINKIESHY! MY SHIP
New pairing contest in May and old pairing contest in June? Seem like no ship falls through the crack huh?
5274685
Applecore?
5274751
Too short
5274848
Applejack/Zecora. The rhyming puts folks off.
5275044
Ah
5274547
I think you may have started an old-school war, this should be entertaining.
5274751
It wouldn't be a shipping competition without you in it, now would it?
5275230
You know it!
Oooh, maybe I can write a good Royal SunLight. SciSet banished that one to the aether before I'd even gotten into the fandom, but with a bit of work I'm sure I can-
DANGIT!
5275232
I have an idea on a shipping that has never been attempted before, but I need two questions asked first.
1. The two characters appeared as early as season 1, but the setting for the story wasn't constructed until season 5. Will this be alright?
2. It doesn't need to be a romantic relationship, right? Because I don't think I can make a filly and a bunny anything more than friends.
5275293
So, the characters and setting are fine since the characters started in season 1.
However, it has to be about an important phase of a relationship. If you can make your story fit that description, you're in the clear.
5274820
Yep! Only the original Equestria Girls canon. Anything in or after Rainbow Rocks is not allowed for this contest. It's only before Season 4, after all. :)
So... I might come off as a dumb dumb but would my most recent story count as being accepted? I ask because in context, it does involve a relationship (more will be established later).