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Fan Fic Contest - Are you the best writer?

Dudes, it just occurred to me this whole time we should've been keeping some sort of track record for authors who post here. Judging is a great award, but having some metrics like how many responses people submitted and how many times they won might spice things up a bit...or bias the next judge hmmm.
We have that. Go to the competitive tab. You'll be able to see just how thoroughly TAF is mopping the floor with all of us. ;) It might not be completely up to date, but I get around to it every few months (which is about as often as we have winners any way).

~TGRF.
 
We have that. Go to the competitive tab. You'll be able to see just how thoroughly TAF is mopping the floor with all of us. ;) It might not be completely up to date, but I get around to it every few months (which is about as often as we have winners any way).

~TGRF.
You might want to double check that. There's a rating format but not ratings for FanFic Contest. At least not showing up for me.

EDIT: never mind. I was looking at the Competitive Spoiler. I found the tabs.
 
OK I have an idea. It took a minute with the prompt not being the one I expected, but being forced to think outside of the box typically yields better work for me. :lol:

~TAF
 
OK I have an idea. It took a minute with the prompt not being the one I expected, but being forced to think outside of the box typically yields better work for me. :lol:

~TAF
I'm almost tempted to let you guys pick which prompt you want to write about...mostly because I really want to see what you write for the crash landing one...and really want to see what TGRF writes for the utgar one ;D
 
I'll stick with this one. I'd hate to let an idea go, and you can keep them other prompts on the back-burner. Or maybe I'll "borrow" them once I triumph here :lol:

~TAF
 
I also have an idea. No promises - I know what I want to have happen... actually logistically making it happen is something else entirely.

~TGRF.
 
Take your time guys. I'll be monitoring this every couple of days between other responsibilities. Drop me an update once in a while so I know it hasn't died :D.
 
Take your time guys. I'll be monitoring this every couple of days between other responsibilities. Drop me an update once in a while so I know it hasn't died :D.

Mine should be ready soon. It took me a while to actually come up with an ending. I kind of winged it without knowing how it'd end :lol:

~TAF
 
I am in the process of writing mine. The outline is over 6k words, so there might be some editing difficulties involved. However, I've also come down with whatever cold/flu my folks have been battling, so I will likely be delayed in actually getting anywhere until next weekend. Don't judge without me though, I'll be there. Eventually. ;)

~TGRF.
 
Right. It weighs in at 11352 words and just over 25 pages. I'll see what editing can be done - provided this cold doesn't enter my head - but I'm not keen on cutting over 1K words. If there isn't a significant chunk I can leave out, I will likely just post it as its own short story, in which event I doubt I will be entering. I'll keep you updated.

~TGRF.
 
Right. It weighs in at 11352 words and just over 25 pages. I'll see what editing can be done - provided this cold doesn't enter my head - but I'm not keen on cutting over 1K words. If there isn't a significant chunk I can leave out, I will likely just post it as its own short story, in which event I doubt I will be entering. I'll keep you updated.

~TGRF.
I should have specified that by "word limit" I mean "I'm setting this arbitrary number for length so folks will try to get their stories close to it so I'm not spending a whole day trying to read a book." haha. I've gone over word limits before, and won't bash you if you're over by a bit. Try to shorten it a bit, but don't feel like the word limit is an iron barrier.

@TheAverageFan goes for you too brotha.
 
All right. I've been finished with this for a day or two now; there's no reason to sit on it any longer. ~7700 words. It's rare for me to come in that low under the word limit, so I hope you appreciate that! Like the last few of my entries, this one seems stricken with being almost entirely dialogue. Hope that makes it a faster read :lol:

I should warn you going in that this is probably the dumbest story I've written on here

Spoiler Alert!


~TAF
 
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Right. I go to edit and wind up adding 40 words. It is what it is. It weighs in at 26 pages and 11,392 words. It is divided into chapters, because I'm not going to assume you can read the whole thing in one sitting. Unlike... other authors on this site. ;)

This story is a continuation of my stories revolving around the origins of the war. It follows Dawn of Darkness, and can be considered a direct sequel. However, because I'm fairly certain EL hasn't read that story, I have included an introduction. Basically, the war is just getting started. Summoning has just begun, and well-known characters like Runa are still quite young. There are a lot of minor references in the story which will mean a lot more if you've read DoD, but hopefully I've done a good enough job setting things up so that you know what's going on. It's a sequel, but also designed to stand on its own as an entry. Unfortunately, there are spoilers in it for DoD. This is unavoidable.

Introduction
Spoiler Alert!

Prologue
Spoiler Alert!

Chapter One - The Arrival
Spoiler Alert!

Chapter Two - The Refusal
Spoiler Alert!

Because there seem to be a length limit on replies now, I will post the second half below.
~TGRF.
EDIT: Formatting carries over now?!? :woot:
 
Chapter Three - The Decision
Spoiler Alert!

Chapter Four - The Plea
Spoiler Alert!

Chapter Five - The Betrayal
Spoiler Alert!

And to finish, a final picture, courtesy of Midjourney:
Spoiler Alert!

~TGRF.
 
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Unexpected DoD sequel in the form of a contest entry? I shall have to read this as well!

If it's as good as the originals I will kind of regret entering this one :lol: Hopefully EL is one of those people who despises AI art and he flunks your entry for that alone :ponder:

~TAF
 
All right. I've been finished with this for a day or two now; there's no reason to sit on it any longer. ~7700 words. It's rare for me to come in that low under the word limit, so I hope you appreciate that! Like the last few of my entries, this one seems stricken with being almost entirely dialogue. Hope that makes it a faster read :lol:

I should warn you going in that this is probably the dumbest story I've written on here

~TAF
:rofl:Just read the story. That was... beautiful. Lol. Well done, TAF.

~TGRF.
 
I read TAF's story and the Intro/prologue of TGRF's story. TG wins (kidding!).

I really enjoyed TAF's story. It was goofy like me. I really like how you maintained the hippy vibe throughout.

And yes. It will take me a while to get through TGRF's, and no I did not read DoD. Which is probably good because it means I'm not biased! But I'll have to go read it after I'm sure.

I'll let you guys know the winner once I finish TG's story.

Side bar: I was thinking about the old days when we used to do collaborative stories. It wasn't a super popular trend but there were a few of them going, including one which I started and god modded the hell out of (leading to it's imminent and well deserved destruction in a fiery ball of vapid silence). But I figured with age comes maturity and with the talent we've all shown lately, I wonder if we can get more writers back in the game (forum) with a bit of knockoff DnD.

It wouldn't be like the real game with all the rules and restrictions and dice work. Just a handful of heroes (1 or 2 to a player) and a DM/narrator to describe the rooms and challenges. Like an ongoing short form writing contest. Each entry being a few hundred words (like CoNGS) and instead of a "judge" or a "winner" we have a DM who applies consequences to player actions in the context of the greater campaign. It might be interesting.
 
An intriguing idea. I think a DM would lend the project some much-needed structure the previous attempts lacked. I don't know if I'd be able to participate (leastways not reliably), but I'd be interested to see if it gains traction.

~TGRF.
 
This is TOUGH guys. Geez lol.

Ok so you both wrote flawless entries, and answered the prompt in completely different ways.

TAF wrote a story about hippy love vibes destroying an entire war effort in a relatively short period of time, much the same way that a messiah can pull up and upset the economic, social, and military infrastructure of an entire region. It’s happened in history a few times. While hippy love is this contrived, loose, comfort seeking sort of love it is still technically love and had a massive impact on our own history, culture, and social fabric.

TGRF wrote us a banger about a different sort of love. The kind that is difficult, sacrificial, and compromising. The kind that requires tremendous acts of the spirit. I felt like there was a bit of a gaping hole in the story between the prologue and the first chapter, but I made allowances for it given that it was, indeed, a prologue, the sort of chapter that gets referred to later without really needing to be brought up to date. And that got me good. The history personalizes Runa and makes her behavior more compelling (as difficult as it was to read about a little girl getting tortured). This is by far, one of the best written love stories I’ve ever read.

I’m grinding my teeth a bit saying this, but I have to give the victory here to TAF. TG, if your work on humanizing Utgar and making him a more sympathetic villain isn’t added to canon, I’ll probably raise hell. I don’t think anyone weaves better, more heroscape consistent stories about this side of the battle for all time than you do. And it's really important to do this with Utgar since he was originally a basic bad guy. Fine for kids, but the fan club is older now.

TAF’s story just happens to follow the prompt more closely. Love literally conquers, ending the war. The prompt didn’t need to be obeyed strictly in this sense, but in TG's, love compels Runa to betray her father but we don’t really see the affect it has on him. How does Utgar respond to Runa’s betrayal? Does her perspective on love overcome him and make him see how the war is changing him and does he strive to be better? Is he stuck in his way of loving her and becoming very angry in the way a concerned father does when his kid messes up?

We don’t really see that. And I’m a bit sad, because I feel like I should have given TG another 10,000 words to write with. I would really like to see more of that story, and will definitely have to read DoD when I have the time.

A couple things I found funny from both stories.

TG. You wrote that “the window wasn’t big enough for a kyrie to fly through.” This cracked me up a bit because I imagined the window being big enough and Utgar tearing his hair out with frustration as every boy in the neighborhood tried to fly into her room late at night.

TAF

“I love myself,” Utgar reasons.

Had me in tears. You should love yourself buddy, you should. 😀

Oh and then whatever this is, “It’s wrong to judge. We’re all tripping together same as any other. I ain’t walked a mile in anybody’s shoes, y’know? That’s why they call them soles.” Pfffft, lol. The most hippy phrase ever.
 
I don't envy your decision EL. Having to rate two completely tonally opposite entries is always difficult!

I'd definitely recommend DoD whenever you have time. My own Utgar entry from awhile back was heavily inspired by it.

I'll think of a prompt at some point in a day or two

~TAF

edit: I also enjoyed TGRF's entry. It was good to be back in Runa's head after her absence in the previous one
 
This is TOUGH guys. Geez lol.

Ok so you both wrote flawless entries, and answered the prompt in completely different ways.

TAF wrote a story about hippy love vibes destroying an entire war effort in a relatively short period of time, much the same way that a messiah can pull up and upset the economic, social, and military infrastructure of an entire region. It’s happened in history a few times. While hippy love is this contrived, loose, comfort seeking sort of love it is still technically love and had a massive impact on our own history, culture, and social fabric.

TGRF wrote us a banger about a different sort of love. The kind that is difficult, sacrificial, and compromising. The kind that requires tremendous acts of the spirit. I felt like there was a bit of a gaping hole in the story between the prologue and the first chapter, but I made allowances for it given that it was, indeed, a prologue, the sort of chapter that gets referred to later without really needing to be brought up to date. And that got me good. The history personalizes Runa and makes her behavior more compelling (as difficult as it was to read about a little girl getting tortured). This is by far, one of the best written love stories I’ve ever read.

I’m grinding my teeth a bit saying this, but I have to give the victory here to TAF. TG, if your work on humanizing Utgar and making him a more sympathetic villain isn’t added to canon, I’ll probably raise hell. I don’t think anyone weaves better, more heroscape consistent stories about this side of the battle for all time than you do. And it's really important to do this with Utgar since he was originally a basic bad guy. Fine for kids, but the fan club is older now.

TAF’s story just happens to follow the prompt more closely. Love literally conquers, ending the war. The prompt didn’t need to be obeyed strictly in this sense, but in TG's, love compels Runa to betray her father but we don’t really see the affect it has on him. How does Utgar respond to Runa’s betrayal? Does her perspective on love overcome him and make him see how the war is changing him and does he strive to be better? Is he stuck in his way of loving her and becoming very angry in the way a concerned father does when his kid messes up?

We don’t really see that. And I’m a bit sad, because I feel like I should have given TG another 10,000 words to write with. I would really like to see more of that story, and will definitely have to read DoD when I have the time.

A couple things I found funny from both stories.

TG. You wrote that “the window wasn’t big enough for a kyrie to fly through.” This cracked me up a bit because I imagined the window being big enough and Utgar tearing his hair out with frustration as every boy in the neighborhood tried to fly into her room late at night.

TAF

“I love myself,” Utgar reasons.

Had me in tears. You should love yourself buddy, you should. 😀

Oh and then whatever this is, “It’s wrong to judge. We’re all tripping together same as any other. I ain’t walked a mile in anybody’s shoes, y’know? That’s why they call them soles.” Pfffft, lol. The most hippy phrase ever.
Well dang, well fought and won TAF! I'd have to agree that TAF definitely followed the prompt better. That was one misgiving I had while writing: that the prompt got a bit lost in the story. I feel like I should however point out that the connection to the prompt wasn't Runa's love for Utgar. It was Jandar's assumed love for Raelin, which Utgar sought to weaponize. Thus answering the prompt. But I can understand that might get missed, especially with so much eclipsing it from Runa's perspective.

I am also interested in how this will effect the relationship between Utgar and Runa. However, I don't plan on writing that next chapter just yet. If there is a next story, there is a good chance it will involve Taelord, the protagonist from DoD. Runa may make an appearance, or at least be mentioned if she doesn't, so there may be some hints there. If you do read DoD, I would suggest reading Valkyrie first, as DoD is the sequel to that story, and Valkyrie is quite short. DoD is better, but Valkyrie sets it up.

~TGRF, who admits that the more conducive a prompt is to fitting the DoD world, the more likely he is to write an entry in said world.
 
Well dang, well fought and won TAF! I'd have to agree that TAF definitely followed the prompt better. That was one misgiving I had while writing: that the prompt got a bit lost in the story. I feel like I should however point out that the connection to the prompt wasn't Runa's love for Utgar. It was Jandar's assumed love for Raelin, which Utgar sought to weaponize. Thus answering the prompt. But I can understand that might get missed, especially with so much eclipsing it from Runa's perspective.

I am also interested in how this will effect the relationship between Utgar and Runa. However, I don't plan on writing that next chapter just yet. If there is a next story, there is a good chance it will involve Taelord, the protagonist from DoD. Runa may make an appearance, or at least be mentioned if she doesn't, so there may be some hints there. If you do read DoD, I would suggest reading Valkyrie first, as DoD is the sequel to that story, and Valkyrie is quite short. DoD is better, but Valkyrie sets it up.

~TGRF, who admits that the more conducive a prompt is to fitting the DoD world, the more likely he is to write an entry in said world.
lol, I love you bro. :D

I did miss the weaponization of Jandar's love for Raelin. Well, not missed. I got it from the story, but the Runa/Utgar content threw me off because the story seemed focused on that. I also didn't really get why Jandar loved her so much, but figured that the story was being told from the Volcarren perspective and they didn't know either.
 
All right, new prompt: inspired by EL's recent comments in TGRF's thread:

Spoiler Alert!


Begin!

~TAF
 
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