And To the Winner Go the Laurels

[Cricket Argyll]

Just wanted to give a big congratulations to our lucky lady, Eliza Lacrimosa, on winning RV5. Excellent job, miss! Yours was a character that I truly loved to hate. Your writing was superb from start to finish and you've had one of the most consistent characters throughout. While I don't expect them for a while, I look forward to seeing where the characters go in their epilogues, especially Eliza. I can't imagine how she'll get a happy ending what with her scars and nastiness and all that.

And, of course, congrats to the other ladies in the Top 3, the tied 2nd-placers, Bellona and Revel. These were also very consistent characters. Revel, I especially enjoyed the unique view of the world your very STOAT stoat had. Bellona, I think the thing I liked most about you was that you weren't afraid to be the 'bad guy' in this story.

Good on the lot of you! I think this is one of the few contests to actually finish in a reasonable time frame. 'Hip, hip, hurrah!' for that.

And to the other members of the cast. You all made this an enjoyable experience for me as an audience member. There were so many touching moments, not the least of which were the death scenes. Rath, you had one of the best I've seen. So selfless for that jerk of a marten. Su, you, too, tugging at the heartstrings with that little hoglet in Dark Forest. And Damask: no death, but blimey you could make a lip quiver with those goodbyes. I really loved the irony of Deadtail's death. He survived so many battles and wars and ran like a coward (a smart fellow, but a coward) and then when he finally tries to do something good (helping an innocent, defenseless race), he gets killed by one of his pupils. Life sucks. Speaking of life sucking... Keane! Our cocaine kitty left so soon, but he was really one of the most likable characters in this contest. And while were on the topic of likable: Venril. Venny Vidi Vici. Our clerk was the last likable fellow in the contest and while I'm happy with the Top 3, your character concept was truly interesting. Venny probably had the most development over the course of the story. Other than Damask (whose changes can be attributed to brain damage XD), Venril was the only character who really grew and learned from his encounters. He was also a lynch-pin in terms of keeping the separate groups interacting because of his neutrality.

Great story, all! Wandered a bit 'round the middle, but I read through and was quite satisfied with the conclusion.

[Cairn Destop]

The victory by Eliza is indeed a well deserved one.  She took command of the story and the others followed.  If that was intended via the storyboard developed on the private board or if her writer took the lead, she did it.  I do believe she became the leader early and never relinquished it.  Congrats.

As to the tie for second, that actually surprised me.  Bellona seemed like a lock for second, almost from Week Three.  All stories need a hero and villain.  For RV5, Eliza played that villain, though hers was a subtle version.  Bellona became her foil.  Without these two, there would have been no real conflict of personalities.  The adventure might have been enjoyable, but the clashes between these two ladies created the necessary conflict.

The old hedgehog is expecting a lot of flaming on this next comment.  I'll thank Tara for removing the smite feature.  

Revel's finish surprised me.  No, I expected her to finish high.  Though I found her writings the strongest of the contestants, her character never became part of the story.  She existed on the outside, which always bothered me.  

Her role reminded me of "Triss," the book.  If the title character's story were eliminated, the book would be much better.  In the same way, if Revel's role were eliminated, the story would not have changed.

Before anyone gets upset, let me call her character the most amazing one in survivor history.  Using her condition was a masterful stroke.  Since the objective of this writing contest is surviving, her writer became the true genius.  Finishing in a tie for second only proves the validity of her writer's strategy.

And now I'll extend my sincere congratulations to every member of the cast.  Each of you gave us a story worthy of following.  Best of all, it came to a conclusion without any loss of continuity and in a timely manner.  To those who have joined the zombie league, here's hoping you try again.  To our one live eliminated player, an honorary membership in the zombie league.

[Damask the Minstrel]

Two bits:

First, a congrats to Liza from here (Damask: I love you!). As Cricket said, you were an amazing writer, and, well, you know how I felt. I eventually cast my vote differently, but I fully expected you to pull off the win and was glad to see your ending -- it was nice seeing some mettle! Your writing style was entertaining and unique and you brought out some of the best (if not the best) in so many other writers. Kudos.

Second, to Cairn. No flames, here! Revel and I (among others) talked and bandied and argued about her role constantly. I think comparing her to Triss is unfair, as the plot would be the same, but the story would be worse off without her. In the end, her author stayed true to character: Revel isn't the "take up arms against the invading horde" type that we see in Redwall and the ROC. She's half-feral, selfish, and completely anti-plot. She doesn't /want/ this... she wants her moldy log. And while I was an early proponent of Revel changing to fit the plot, I'm glad she didn't. She's the "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" of ROC contests -- she gives us everything through a different view. (Kind of like how Liza did it, just less snarky.)

[Revel]

*bites Damask* *hugs Cairn*

Cairn's allowed to speak his mind! I don't mind. He wasn't flaming anyway. Thanks to both of you for your comments.  :) And to you Cricket!

[Norf]

It might be horrible to leech, but I must admit that from what I've read, I have to agree with most of Cricket's points, in particular with Venril being the last likable beast and the only one to actually develop over the course of the contest.

But I will admit, that though Eliza was the same beast from the beginning to the end, it was admirable how she felt the obligation to go back and save her companions when she found the mushrooms instead of just fleeing, which she would have done if she were the same as she was in the beginning. In the end...I sorta got to liking her, to the point she was almost likable.

I really must read back and see what I've missed in this contest, because though it got strange and convoluted in the middle (and even in the beginning for that matter) this character had an impressively strong cast of honest to goodness characters who stood apart from each other, and each one had an distinct... flavor. The plot may have been muddled, but only because the writers were trying so hard to interest the audience that they overshot the mark at times (or at least that's the impressions I got from chatting with the ventures during CMI).

[Eliza Lacrimosa]

Heh. *shuffles bashfully and digs toe in the sand*

Thanks, guys. Cricky, thanks for all of your efforts with the Audience Guide. That was pretty awesome of you. Damask, you know I was always a fan of yours. Cairn, thanks for all the reviews. (And, I actually didn't see Eliza as being the leader, so much. She was pretty much Matukhana's pawn, and despite her control over Damask and Venril, she never actually did much with it.) Norf, thanks for the Interviews. Those definitely made my day. And continue to, when I listen to them.