Judgment of Match 1-4: Mythago vs. Orchid Blossom.
Maldur:
Archeology must be a dangerous business. Great story, But Mythago left me gasping.
Mythago gets my vote.
Arwink:
Orchid Blossom - Disruption
A very nice introduction, with a nice balance being struck between the movements of Devakiri and giving us enough background to understand who and what she might be. The shift in tone back and forth between the Professors viewpoints and hers also adds to the effect of the story. While this still has the occasional rough edge, it is in the form of minor things that likely result from putting the story together so quickly. As usual, my awe for people able to put together this quality of work in such a short space of time is firmly in place.
Mythago – Lifespan
One of the things that I’ve always loved about ceramic DM is that it has always fed my love of the mythic tale, and Mythago produces some of the best. The story is very controlled and a pleasure to read, the only place where it seems to concede any ground to the rigors of the contest occurring when the choice is made to transform into a preying mantis – something that seems slightly out of place with the style of the story up to this point.
Judgment
A thousand curses upon Piratecat for making me chooses between these two tales so early in the contest – this is the kind of decision that I’d normally expect from the later parts of the competition rather than the first round. Both of these stories are very well down, with the style and voice showing the kind of control that is hard to master in such a short space of time. Choosing between them is largely a matter of splitting some very fine hairs, and in the end I give my vote to Mythago largely because I love the folkish overtones to her story.
Piratecat:
If I could, I'd advance both stories.
But I can't, can I? So let's look at the stories. Orchid Blossom starts off with a very nicely contained tale. Great characterizations throughout, good movement between the different characters in order to create tension, realistic conversation, and a fine ending that's happy -- sort of. Depending on who you're identifying with. I had no complaints with style, and the plotting was excellent. This is the first story so far that had a uniformly good beginning, middle and ending.
The illustrations were also used very well. While we usually have a prohibition against "illustration as in-story photo," the use of "Rest" as a cave wall carving was just right. Nice job comparing the closeup on the mantis to someone lifting it up to their eyes. The view of the hill from a distance was the weakest usage, but that's not saying much.
Then I read Mythago's tale. I'm a sucker for a fable, and you just don't see them very often. Like Orchid Blossom's, this story was almost perfectly constructed. There was a small logic gap when the mantis turned back into the woman, aging herself horribly in the process, but that's forgiveable when compared to the fine structure and tone of how the story was written.
With one notable exception, Mythago's photo usage was consistently weaker than Orchid Blossom's. The accordian was a little strained in the tone of the story, and while I liked the large mantis I'm not sure it fit the tone of the tale perfectly either. "Rest" was a little more throw-away than I'd have liked. Nevertheless, the usage of "Climb" helped balance things out; the inspiration of seeing a woman's body in the mountain and making that the emotional climax of the tale is simply breathtaking. Kudos. It's moments like this one that made me want to judge in the first place.
Judgment in this case is brutal, because both stories are great. My judgment goes to Orchid Blossom, on the strength of her comparative illustration usage. Nice job, both of you. This is the kind of match I'd expect to see in the Final, not the first round.
FINAL JUDGMENT: 2 out of 3 for Mythago, who will go on to the second round.
