Ohh, right. Voting ends on the 7th of January at 00:01, and at that time I'll consider starting another contest if this goes well. Likely a full-on CYOA contest of the same theme.

>>/at/38117 Adult
>>/shorts/2019 Veteran
>>/shorts/2020 Newbies

Sounds neat. I'll try and write something.

Good luck to everyone!

Inb4 that dude from the idea exchange thread posts his Cirno/Letty story.

Blah, why did this have to come up when I'm already severely behind on updates?

Maybe I can barf something out like last time.

As it's dropped down a bit, I'll wish myself a happy birthday without a single ulterior motive.

Nope. Nothing sneaky here. No bumping on the activity chart.

I'll also ignore that my birthday ended an hour ago and that I actually thought of a better reason to bump.

>>14518

Do note that another contest will come next month and the month after. If you can't make it in time, there's always that.

>>14516

That'd be nice~

>>14514

Good luck~ I look forward to facing against you, assuming we both know our stuff and aren't throwing pornstaches around.

Not that I'm not writing porn, mind you, but...

Reminder that the deadline for entries is in ten days. While I'm poking you guys, what are your thoughts on the next contest being announced 7 days from the deadline?

[ ] Announce on the 31st
[ ] Announce on the 25th

Also, thoughts on voting.

[ ] End voting on the 7th
[ ] End voting on the 14th

[x] Everything as late as possible

>>14538

Alright, then we've 99 years till I tell you what it is or choose a winner!

Next contest starts on new years regardless, mind you.

>>14537
[x] End votes on on the 7th
[x] Start contest later

I don't personally see any point to starting the next contest while you're still in the middle of one. I'd give it at least a week or two between contests to let everybody chill.

>>14537
I would like to direct your attention to this thread:
>>13743

More specifically to these posts within that thread:
>>13953
>>13954
>>13955

Now having read all that, do you still think that holding your next contest a mere week after this one is good idea? Because there is a very real probability that it well end up the same way as that failure of a contest did.

>>14541

I'm confident there will be a turnout. You'll see why on the first.

>>14537
[x] End voting on the 7th.
[x] Start the next contest after voting for this one ends.

I don't mind if that means starting the next contest the day of the end of voting, I just don't want to have to deal with writing for another contest on top of voting for this one at the same time.

[X] Announce on the 31st
[X] End voting on the 7th

I'm fine for any schedule proposed. I think knowing what the contest is right when entries for this one ends is fine, because it'll give me time to think/write. It'll provide something more to do on-site while we're voting, unless I'm totally misunderstanding something.

Merry hugenumberofholidaysthatareonthesameday!

Bad jokes aside, it's a good day to bump it. Christmas and such.

With (hopefully) 24 hours remaining on the dot, I want to say, you guys have been wonderful! I can't wait to see if there's a last-minute rush of entries!

Now, as the vote had no real consensus, I've decided to simply consider your words and do my own thing!

This time, it's gonna be a unique contest that's more a test than anything. A year-long one! Will you be able to keep to your word in this newyears resolution contest? Will you taste the sweetness of victory, or will bitter defeat be all that's on your plate?

Let's find out!

Voting shall commence as soon as I compile all the stories into a hand dandy list!

>>14550

Now, one vote per category! With lewd and newbie, just toss out advice and thoughts, as, well... only one post each.

Categories are: lewd, newbie, shitpost, veteran, and general. I figured that a general category would allow the lewd and newbie to at least potentially get votes, so I included it.

------------

Newbie(s)!

A Story In Which Youkai Rhyme
>>/shorts/2055

Veterans!

Winter's Warmth
>>/shorts/2028

Krampus Steals Christmas
>>/shorts/2032
>>/shorts/2033

A Story in Which Letty Whiterock is Beaten With a Shovel
>>/shorts/2046

Out in the Cold
>>/shorts/2053

Under That Lake of Ice
>>/shorts/2054

Porn!

Between the Lines
>>/at/38119

>>14552
So you're putting the newbie up against a porn entry? The two aren't even alike... In past contests we put Newbie with Veterans and kept porn separate.

Alright, let's get this train rolling. I'm not the best at giving my thoughts on writing but I'll give it a shot.

General: [X] Between the Lines
I would vote for this twice if I could. I'd never thought I'd finally see the day when someone wrote lewds for Rin on THP. Rin X Kosuzu is something I never knew I needed. Overall I loved this, great job.

Veteran: [X] Krampus Steals Christmas
I had fun reading this, I'm a sucker for this sort of sillier style writing. Nice ending too.

Everything else:
A Story In Which Youkai Rhyme: I've got nothing to say for this one.

Winter's Warmth: A nice and cozy story. I liked it.

A Story in Which Letty Whiterock is Beaten With a Shovel: I'd give you something for effort, but you didn't even post in the right thread.

Out in the Cold: This one warmed my heart. It was a close contender for the veteran vote. Medicine has some very strong poison, poison for the heart.

Under That Lake of Ice: Another one I almost voted for. Great short, I love the writing. I can sort of see that aesopish feel in there.

Regardless of who wins or loses, congratulations and good job to all you folks for finishing a story for the contest. Happy new year.

>>14554

No, I'm putting newbies against porn and veterans. Both porn and newbie got one entry, meaning that they win by default in their respective categories. It's not meant to be a fair catagory, or even likely the best answer, but it would be sad if they didn't get to participate.

It's not that I put newbies against porn, it's that I put porn in with everyone.

General: [x] A Story In Which Youkai Rhyme

The rhyme sucks, but the story's cute, and the effort put in I cannot refute.

Veteran: [x] Under That Lake of Ice

It has Waggsaggy. It has Tokiko. My life is complete.



Thoughts:

Winter's Warmth: Too predictable. Still good though.

Krampus Steals Christmas: Very silly. Nice ending. A close second for my veteran vote.

A Story in Which Letty Whiterock is Beaten With a Shovel: ur a faget

Out in the Cold: Heartwarming but nonsensical. Rushed?

Between the Lines: Forgotten character, forgettable smut. Points for trying.

A Story In Which Youkai Rhyme: Short but sweet. Could have been a longer story for all that was written. Perhaps felt a bit rushed.

Winter's Warmth: Nice title. I like the overall execution and buildup of the central idea, if that makes sense.

Krampus Steals Christmas: No comment.

Letty Shitpost: Well, that was a perfectly reasonable plot twist. The execution, though... I was impressed with how you built up the characters to such a degree in so few words. We learnt that our protagonist is willing to hit women with shovels, not to mention that he is considerate enough to make sure he has the right person. It wouldn't do to be beating the wrong person after all. I hope there's a sequel, detailing the grand adventure that is sure to follow. A man, a shovel and a question. But what could that question be? Why, no doubt it's an inquiry meant to garner the truth. Obviously he's a self insert, beating PCB the only way he knows how. One shovel at a time. Why he bothers with Letty while already knowing the culprit is beyond me. Obviously you have more plot twists in mind.

Out in the Cold: Short but sweet as well. I love the way you made a play on poison. It suits one with such a name, after all.

[X] Under That Lake of Ice: Heh. That was cute in many ways. Quite the way with words, haven't you?

Overall, a nice selection of stories, all enjoyable.

Veteran: [X] Out in the Cold

Out of all the reasons I had for picking this, I feel no shame in admitting that the biggest one is because I just really like the phrase "Hidden Special Doll place".

General: [X] Krampus Steals Christmas

Though I think it fell just a tad flat at the end, the rest of it made me not care so much. What can I say? I'm a sucker for entertaining narration and banter, and this had both.

A Story in Which Youkai Rhyme

A few little nitpicks; those second two sentences in the first paragraph were fragments; they should probably be redressed. A few commas seem to be misplaced throughout, and there are a few other fragments that don't work in prose. Some pacing issues throughout.

However, I do like the story; I laughed when Waka asked about the hangover; it was quite jarring. And that was cute what Seki did at the end.

It needs some polish, but a good job all around.


Winter's Warmth

Good scene building in the beginning. You don't delve long into purple prose, which is something I know I have trouble doing. There's a quick move from the intro to the scene-setting-soliloquy. A few quibbles on word choice, but that's likely personal preference. There's nothing major I see wrong.

Was sweet how it was Kosuzu that got through to her at the end, even if it took the tanuki tag team to really make the point. Reimu will probably be back to her surly self later on... But I believe you did a good job showing her relenting. All of the other characters seem to be right on point as well.


Krampus Steals Christmas

Was unsure where you were going with this at first. It was cute how the little granddaughter kept on interrupting and correcting Grandpa. The accent was consistent and there really. Seemed odd seeing some dialogue in quotes, and some not, but I suppose you did that intentionally to differentiate (and hide who Grandpa actually is by not giving him a description).

Felt like it just needed a bit of prose to wrap it all up. The confession at the end of part one was good, but without the reaction of the granddaughter, it seemed to lose a bit. Although, showing them as more alike than not was a nice little twist. Was a bit jarring at the end, switching to a more traditional layout.

Good humor, and good characterization all around.


A Story in Which Letty Whiterock is Beaten With a Shovel

Shitpost. No Koishi. Moving on.


Out in the Cold

Nice little short story, although I'm a little confused why Keine is at the Youkai Mountain (unless I've missed some of the meta). A couple of nice twists on words, though most of those were poisonous as well. The part about the deadliest poison (Moe?) was also nice, with it taking effect.

In the end, I feel that there just wasn't enough storybuilding and setup to explain "how we got here". The Kagiyama shrine portion was definitely a nice addition, and that paragraph's description was excellent. Just felt that there was more to get from a to b. A Medicine-Keine dynamic is interesting, though. There's the beginning of a setup, and a good ending, but this could be better with an expanded section connecting all the dots.

...Hidden Special Doll Place. Heh.


Under That Lake of Ice

Can't do my own.


So, as to the votes...

General Category:
[x] A Story in Which Youkai Rhyme

Just enough silliness to be enjoyable; the nitpicks are many, but most are minor and the rhymes flow decently well (even if a few are groan-worthy).

Veteran Category:
[x] Winter's Warmth

I feel like this was the most complete and consistent one. As mentioned by others, a bit predictable in its ending, but it was executed the best.

Here's hoping the tie is broken by the time I post this! Tallying time!

Guess it's that time again, where we claim our stories, huh?

General

A Story in Which Youkai Rhyme is the winner, with, erm... two votes!

Runners up include...

Krampus Steals Christmas: 1
Under That Lake of Ice: 1
Between the Lines: 1

As such, second place is a three-way tie!

Vet

As for this category, well... It's a four-way tie!

Winter's Warmth: 1
Out in the Cold: 1
Under That Lake of Ice:1
Krampus Steals Christmas: 1

Newbie

Sadly we had only one newbie, so we had to include them in with the veterans and porn, but hey! They were the winner!

Porn

Same for this one. My entry into the porn category was made in hope that it would perhaps cause others to join in, but, well... sadly that wasn't the case.

Final thoughts

While I felt that we had plenty of entries, sadly we lacked in voters. I feel that this was also a wonderful learning experience, and that this shall help next time. All I've been told, it has all been taken into consideration for the February contest, as well as the New Year's "contest" that started on the first, which will be running the whole year. I feel I well need to advertise better next time, but need to consider how best to do as such. I likely will have a longer voting period as well.

Here's to another great year of THP!

Ohh, as for what I wrote, they were Krampus Steals Christmas and Between the Lines. The latter was made in the spur of the moment, not to mention in a single sitting. It wasn't quite as shit posty as my Koishi one from the annual contest, but I'll admit I didn't really make any plan going in. I more or less just kinda didn't want there to not be a Lewd in the event someone actually posted one, much like I did last time. The former, well... I more or less knew what I wanted to do, but not how. Towards the end, it finally started to come together, but the ending just didn't work so well with the narrator/audience interaction I had set up, forcing me to switch. Still, I feel that I learned a lot from trying some stuff I wouldn't likely try in a normal story.

Noooooo my zero vote run! My masterwork of mediocrity! I knew stealing a phrase from a crappy porn fic was a bad idea!

I shat my entry out in the last 50 minutes of free time I had before the deadline. Proofreading is for smart people.

Medicine was supposed to monologue about poison from start to finish but only ended up mentioning snow and happiness.

Keine living with the tengu and other shit no-one cares about is from stories I haven't posted and probably never will.

Which reminds me, Miko Miko Kogasa is now a year late. FML

I'm sorry. I put off reading/voting until it was too late.

>>14571
Did you have any comments for the authors? Even if it's late, I'm sure those would be appreciated.

I wrote the newbie entry. I've only written one other story on this site, and it was for the last contest. Once again I ended up writing something at the very end, rushing to get it done. I wasn't planning on writing anything for this contest, but I wanted there to be at least one story in the newbie category. If I knew I would get one more vote than the other stories I probably would have spent more than a minute thinking of a title. I thought up the idea for a story like this a while ago when I was sick, after I finished reading curiosities of lotus asia. Next time I write something I'll put more thought and effort into it. Still, this was fun.

I wrote Winter's Warmth. My goal was to create a work that perfectly encapsulated certain feelings, so I'm glad that the execution of that worked out for most of you. I don't mind that it's a little predictable. Thank you all for your feedback, and congratulations to everyone who wrote for the contest! You're all winners to me.