Rodrigo Istalindir
Explorer
It will make more sense when I post the pictures. Well, to the judges, anyway.
-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
CERAMIC DM March 2012
- Thread starter steeldragons
- Start date
It will make more sense when I post the pictures. Well, to the judges, anyway.
UselessTriviaMan
Explorer
...In a tree?
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32CwrOZVobo&feature=related"]...In a tree?[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32CwrOZVobo&feature=related"]...In a tree?[/ame]
Gregor's Judgement
Round 2, Match 1
Phoamslinger’s ‘The Favor’ vs. Piratecat’s ‘Repo the Seal’ vs. UselessTriviaMan’s ‘Royal Pains’
Apologies all around for the extreme delay in getting my post up. I've been really busy at work and just bought my first house (who knew there was so much paperwork!?) which has distracted me from this competition. I apologize again for keeping you all waiting. I'll endeavor to be way more punctual in the future.
Now, onto the judgement!
Writing Style & Skill
As per usual in this contest, and especially so in the second round, the writing quality is crazy high. There generally isn't anything constructive to recommend to you lads since you delivered such tight tales. However, lets go through them.
Phoamslinger, I think you delivered a pretty well written story. The style was pretty slick and your concept of players as PCs within a D&D game was delivered in a pretty clever way. The pace is snappy, the flow is good and you deftly wrote in some legitimate humor.
Piratecat, you delivered another very well written story. You produce really great scenes that have discernible texture and you write believable and convincing characters. Everything in the story feels the way it should and its a product of the little details you weave in. Its sharp, snappy, witty and clever. The only issue I noted was the weird name change at the end and I could not decide whether it was a typo or if Sheila was trying to protect Tony … but I oscillated back to it being a typo because I wasn’t convinced that Sheila was that smart based on the story. After mulling this over, I admit that I read your thoughts following the story and saw that you in fact meant to do it. That quenched my own thirst for the answer, but I think the lack of clarity on what you meant in the story remains. It’s the only blemish in an otherwise air-tight tale.
UselessTriviaMan, you also produced a well written and tight story. You had excellent pacing, good scene description and frequent but appropriate scene changes. The character dialogue is great and there was a taste of game design in the story (monster descriptions and abilities lend themselves to a great game. Gatorbear? Vipers whose venom turn you to stone ... great stuff).
Use of the Photo Elements
Phoamslinger, I think you did a pretty good job of using the pictures that were given to you. The candles didn’t blow me away, but they made sense as a set piece in the context of a Temple to Pelor. I like that you used the seal as a character who had lines and played a part in the story. The desert was the least interesting image we provided in this group and I think you did exactly as much as you could have with it: a setting. I’m torn on the earth head. On the one hand, you used it exactly as I thought you would at the beginning of your story: the earth creature the two adventurers are searching for. But maybe I was expecting more out of it when it was finally used. Though I don’t think that is a picture use issue per se so I’ll mull that over in the personal enjoyment section.
Piratecat, you used the same recipe for success that catapulted you over the competition in the first round: you draw your main characters and concepts from the pictures given to you, which keeps them going through the whole story. The perfect example of this is the seal. Also, you are deft at describing the image early in your work but you save the reveal of the illustration for a more appropriate time. I like that you focused on the white shrouded woman’s face behind the candelabra instead of the candelabra itself. The weakest picture is the desert, but as I mentioned in Phoamslinger’s review, there isn’t much to do with the desert picture beyond using it as a set piece.
UselessTriviaMan, you did a pretty great job using the pictures. I like that the seal was a key character (wizard's familiar) with a name and personality which was consistent across the whole story. You used good foreshadowing of your later use of the image of the stone head when you tell us about savage Halflings who believe the flowers to be sacred and turn their enemies to stone. As with the other competitors, the desert is a desert and while the candelabra didn't wow me, you used it fairly as the illustration for the opulent church where the royal wedding would take place.
Personal Enjoyment
Phoamslinger, I think you delivered something clever, charming and legitimately funny. I really enjoyed the perspective of characters in a game world being manipulated by the DM who the world perceives as a god. I've sort of toyed with this idea myself and I'm impressed with how you delivered it. There are snips of really great writing in here (e.g. “wheels turned, synapses fired, and a bit of thinking went on outside of regularly shaped boxes”) which I wish there was a little more of. What I mean is that you have a definite talent in delivering lines like this and they turn sections of your story from just enjoyable to down right fantastic. I would have liked to have seen more of it. I like the running gag/theme of Asperon’s furs (blood splattered, too hot in the desert, forgets them before he goes somewhere chilly) and the teleporting was a neat way of tying together some rather divergent images especially in terms of environment/ecology. However, the ending left me a bit cold after what I considered to be a really engaging tale that held my attention. From my perspective, it begged for a more memorable final sentence so that you finish with a smile … maybe Asperon laying on his bedroll, staring at the skies and just mumbling to himself: “Wastelands…I told you it would be wastelands.”
Piratecat, you delivered another home run with this story. I'm not sure if you’re playing to my heritage, but I found the whole debate about where in Canada this seal might be from extremely entertaining (Tonto … haha). I am continuously impressed by your ability to craft great stories out of a pile of bizarre images. You distilled a storyline about a skeezy repo man, coke sniffing / idiot partners, a heist of a First Nations archaeological relic, a poor seal who wants to be eaten and a Wayne Newton criminal mob bad guy. Can I read this novel please ... or better yet, the movie. But in all seriousness, this story was absolutely fantastic. It had solid dialogue, great characters, fantastic scenes and was legitimately funny. I don't know what else to say other than you hit it out of the park and I hope to read more stories about that repo man.
UselessTriviaMan, I think you put something really great together. You sort of blended in some fairytale type vibes along with humour, high fantasy and then a bit of a dark turn towards the end. The frequent scene changes give the story some great pace, but things happened almost too quickly for me to get invested. Yet, its a testament to your world building that I wanted to learn more about those halfings, the story of Gregan, the relationship between Nuki and your court wizard protagonist, etc. I was a bit confused by the ending and since it all happened so fast, I had to go back and read it a couple of times. I didn't really piece together what was taking place and I thought that it was just inserted as a quick way to finish off the story. I would have happily read another five or six hundred words if the ending flowed a bit better. That being said, the overall story was highly engaging and you have a definite knack for dialogue. The conversations with the court wizard and Nuki, the discussion in garden with the princess, etc. were all solid.
Final Verdict
Based on the use of images and my own personal enjoyment, my vote for the winner of this round is Piratecat.
Round 2, Match 1
Phoamslinger’s ‘The Favor’ vs. Piratecat’s ‘Repo the Seal’ vs. UselessTriviaMan’s ‘Royal Pains’
Apologies all around for the extreme delay in getting my post up. I've been really busy at work and just bought my first house (who knew there was so much paperwork!?) which has distracted me from this competition. I apologize again for keeping you all waiting. I'll endeavor to be way more punctual in the future.
Now, onto the judgement!
Writing Style & Skill
As per usual in this contest, and especially so in the second round, the writing quality is crazy high. There generally isn't anything constructive to recommend to you lads since you delivered such tight tales. However, lets go through them.
Phoamslinger, I think you delivered a pretty well written story. The style was pretty slick and your concept of players as PCs within a D&D game was delivered in a pretty clever way. The pace is snappy, the flow is good and you deftly wrote in some legitimate humor.
Piratecat, you delivered another very well written story. You produce really great scenes that have discernible texture and you write believable and convincing characters. Everything in the story feels the way it should and its a product of the little details you weave in. Its sharp, snappy, witty and clever. The only issue I noted was the weird name change at the end and I could not decide whether it was a typo or if Sheila was trying to protect Tony … but I oscillated back to it being a typo because I wasn’t convinced that Sheila was that smart based on the story. After mulling this over, I admit that I read your thoughts following the story and saw that you in fact meant to do it. That quenched my own thirst for the answer, but I think the lack of clarity on what you meant in the story remains. It’s the only blemish in an otherwise air-tight tale.
UselessTriviaMan, you also produced a well written and tight story. You had excellent pacing, good scene description and frequent but appropriate scene changes. The character dialogue is great and there was a taste of game design in the story (monster descriptions and abilities lend themselves to a great game. Gatorbear? Vipers whose venom turn you to stone ... great stuff).
Use of the Photo Elements
Phoamslinger, I think you did a pretty good job of using the pictures that were given to you. The candles didn’t blow me away, but they made sense as a set piece in the context of a Temple to Pelor. I like that you used the seal as a character who had lines and played a part in the story. The desert was the least interesting image we provided in this group and I think you did exactly as much as you could have with it: a setting. I’m torn on the earth head. On the one hand, you used it exactly as I thought you would at the beginning of your story: the earth creature the two adventurers are searching for. But maybe I was expecting more out of it when it was finally used. Though I don’t think that is a picture use issue per se so I’ll mull that over in the personal enjoyment section.
Piratecat, you used the same recipe for success that catapulted you over the competition in the first round: you draw your main characters and concepts from the pictures given to you, which keeps them going through the whole story. The perfect example of this is the seal. Also, you are deft at describing the image early in your work but you save the reveal of the illustration for a more appropriate time. I like that you focused on the white shrouded woman’s face behind the candelabra instead of the candelabra itself. The weakest picture is the desert, but as I mentioned in Phoamslinger’s review, there isn’t much to do with the desert picture beyond using it as a set piece.
UselessTriviaMan, you did a pretty great job using the pictures. I like that the seal was a key character (wizard's familiar) with a name and personality which was consistent across the whole story. You used good foreshadowing of your later use of the image of the stone head when you tell us about savage Halflings who believe the flowers to be sacred and turn their enemies to stone. As with the other competitors, the desert is a desert and while the candelabra didn't wow me, you used it fairly as the illustration for the opulent church where the royal wedding would take place.
Personal Enjoyment
Phoamslinger, I think you delivered something clever, charming and legitimately funny. I really enjoyed the perspective of characters in a game world being manipulated by the DM who the world perceives as a god. I've sort of toyed with this idea myself and I'm impressed with how you delivered it. There are snips of really great writing in here (e.g. “wheels turned, synapses fired, and a bit of thinking went on outside of regularly shaped boxes”) which I wish there was a little more of. What I mean is that you have a definite talent in delivering lines like this and they turn sections of your story from just enjoyable to down right fantastic. I would have liked to have seen more of it. I like the running gag/theme of Asperon’s furs (blood splattered, too hot in the desert, forgets them before he goes somewhere chilly) and the teleporting was a neat way of tying together some rather divergent images especially in terms of environment/ecology. However, the ending left me a bit cold after what I considered to be a really engaging tale that held my attention. From my perspective, it begged for a more memorable final sentence so that you finish with a smile … maybe Asperon laying on his bedroll, staring at the skies and just mumbling to himself: “Wastelands…I told you it would be wastelands.”
Piratecat, you delivered another home run with this story. I'm not sure if you’re playing to my heritage, but I found the whole debate about where in Canada this seal might be from extremely entertaining (Tonto … haha). I am continuously impressed by your ability to craft great stories out of a pile of bizarre images. You distilled a storyline about a skeezy repo man, coke sniffing / idiot partners, a heist of a First Nations archaeological relic, a poor seal who wants to be eaten and a Wayne Newton criminal mob bad guy. Can I read this novel please ... or better yet, the movie. But in all seriousness, this story was absolutely fantastic. It had solid dialogue, great characters, fantastic scenes and was legitimately funny. I don't know what else to say other than you hit it out of the park and I hope to read more stories about that repo man.
UselessTriviaMan, I think you put something really great together. You sort of blended in some fairytale type vibes along with humour, high fantasy and then a bit of a dark turn towards the end. The frequent scene changes give the story some great pace, but things happened almost too quickly for me to get invested. Yet, its a testament to your world building that I wanted to learn more about those halfings, the story of Gregan, the relationship between Nuki and your court wizard protagonist, etc. I was a bit confused by the ending and since it all happened so fast, I had to go back and read it a couple of times. I didn't really piece together what was taking place and I thought that it was just inserted as a quick way to finish off the story. I would have happily read another five or six hundred words if the ending flowed a bit better. That being said, the overall story was highly engaging and you have a definite knack for dialogue. The conversations with the court wizard and Nuki, the discussion in garden with the princess, etc. were all solid.
Final Verdict
Based on the use of images and my own personal enjoyment, my vote for the winner of this round is Piratecat.
Piratecat
Sesquipedalian
Gregor, thank you for posting your judgment. I'm so glad you liked it! I was (and am) conscious that this would make a nifty Leverage/ Savage World / Modern game, but it's sure not fantasy or magical realism. That can be a risk in Ceramic DM, especially when your opponents are writing strong stories in Fantasy.
Two more judges to go. Will we have a three-way tie? STAY TUNED!
Two more judges to go. Will we have a three-way tie? STAY TUNED!
Woohoo, finally someone who gets it!!
Piratecat
Sesquipedalian
Oh, I got it as well -- I've now been humming that song for days. Thanks a lot.
While we wait, I'll ponder how interesting it is that my writing works better with external constraints. If you said "write a story about skeezy repo men," it would not be as interesting as one that forced me to include a seal. I think the lesson from this is that I should use this method when writing my own fiction. Pick a bunch of constraints, whether internal or from a photo -- "Grasping hands. Stone ball. Pool of bloody water. Annoyed looking sheep." -- and then tell a story around them. Presumably you can then remove the really goofy bits in the editing stage, but it's a nice technique.
I'll also mention that I'm currently taking a storytelling class. You can bet that I'm yoinking as many techniques for oral telling as I can and shoving them into my written work. Heck, I always read my stuff aloud before hitting Submit; that's the best way I've found to remove awkward dialogue and bad sentence construction.
While we wait, I'll ponder how interesting it is that my writing works better with external constraints. If you said "write a story about skeezy repo men," it would not be as interesting as one that forced me to include a seal. I think the lesson from this is that I should use this method when writing my own fiction. Pick a bunch of constraints, whether internal or from a photo -- "Grasping hands. Stone ball. Pool of bloody water. Annoyed looking sheep." -- and then tell a story around them. Presumably you can then remove the really goofy bits in the editing stage, but it's a nice technique.
I'll also mention that I'm currently taking a storytelling class. You can bet that I'm yoinking as many techniques for oral telling as I can and shoving them into my written work. Heck, I always read my stuff aloud before hitting Submit; that's the best way I've found to remove awkward dialogue and bad sentence construction.
Ok. Antibiotics have done their thing. Taxes done (don't owe. woohoo! But with my dad dying last year, there was all kindsa extra forms/paperwork I've never had to deal with before. Not gettin' anything back. But don't owe. Which is more important...to me.) ANYwho...on to the judgements.
Round II: Match 1
phoamslinger's The Favor
vs.
PirateCat's Repo Seal
vs.
UselessTriviaMan's Royal Pains
1) Writing Style/Skill: Who's brilliant idea was it to have to judge 3 of you at the same time?! Ugh. Ok, we have here three great tales. Three adept writers. Three stories with great plots, solid character development, descriptive text and a multitude of evocative settings...and a couple of typos (thanks phoamslinger
that really don't impact the skill or style points all that much...if at all.
I'll get into more of all of this under the "Enjoyment" section. But for strict Skill and Style, each does their job admirably and notably well. No edges here. This is a 3 horse race for sure!
2) Picture Use: Favor's use of the images are all fairly straight forward. I very much enjoyed the magical everburning chandelier/candelabra in the temple. Made a ton of sense and evocative as a "temple of the sun god" ornament.
Repo's image of a Vegas "chapel" and the incorporating of the figure behind it as the "nun/call girl" uses it a bit more thoroughly.
But then Royal Pains comes in with the elaborate candelabra that the main character actually interacts with versus just sees, use of the figure behind as Vashka (in a funny headdress the magess doesn't quite know why she's wearing) AND the bouquets of white lilies, which admittedly I really didn't notice until reading your story, as an essential element of plot. Wow. Way to use an image's details, UselessTriviaMan.
The seal. [everybody say "Awwww"] The seal on the rock. Favor's use as one of the pivotal elements for the "Dei Ehm" (which I LOVED, but more on that later) plot device was not at all what I was expecting and enjoyed since I thought, at first, it was simple window dressing. Nicely done. I will admit being comPLETEly horrified at themention of the PC with the seal hat! lol. But, it is totally in keeping with what/how PCs will do things...and I can think of several players I've known over the years who would have done the extact same thing. hahaha. Very funny and a nice add.
In Repo Seal, obviously, the seal is a major element if not actual character, per se. But integral to the story and again, went from being "Ok, so they have a seal with them" in the beginning to fleshing out the how and why it is there was beautifully done. Perhaps, more importantly, it gives us a nice facet to the main characters (who, admittedly, up to that point are not the most likeable individuals) and makes them sympathetic. Again, wonderfully done.
In Royal Pains, the seal is an actual character. Humorous. Independent despite being a "familiar" as we understand it in D&D. Very nicely done and, again, integral to the plot and with a hand in the resolution.
I do think, however, the beautifully woven crafting of the animal in Repo Seal and what it does for the story as a whole does go to PirateCat for this pic.
The desert, as my esteemed fellow judge mentions, it's a desert. It's a set piece and used nicely as such by all three. While the desert is a bit more important, fleshed out and interesting as a setting in Royal Pains, I don't really see an advantage here. It was a desert. There ya go.
The rock head of Favor was exactly as I expected, the earth elemental creature that the Players/PCs searched for. Having read your expanded explanation of it being a galeb duhr...I really didn't get that from the story. Just that it was the elemental creature...and that's fine. It did what it had to do.
The use as an indian artifact in Repo was well done. Simple and furthering, if not initiating, the plot. The way you take each image and really make it count, not just as an image, but as intrinsic to character motivations is very much admired.
Royal Pains' petrifying venom was where I was thinking it was going. You had statues all over the desert and I thought, at first, that the head was just some throw away nod toward that. Come to find, while it is a petrified person from the deadly-halfling desert, but is actually the source or, well, the focus, of the princess' madness. Again, caught me off guard and pleasantly surprised me as more than I expected it to be.
I think in the case of the stone head, again, we have a 3-way happening.
Grr. SOMEbody's gotta get an edge around here someplace.
3) Personal Enjoyment: The Favor was, for me, the most entertaining read. The recurring humor. The tropes. The "zapping green ball of light" known in the ancient tongue as the Dei Ehm. The PC/player interactions that I could "hear" occurring at any number of my tables. Very funny, a bit nostalgic and highly entertaining.
Repo Seal is a brilliantly told brilliant tale. While I'm not big on the "modern" genre, the detail, darker interactions/humor and characters, and creativity in general cannot be denied. We have stealth and intrigue, pacing, action...even a touch of horror (he's gonna EAT the cutesy wootsy seal?! NOOOO!) It is a great read without a shred of "magic" or "fantasy" to be found. I could see this as a great game/scenario/adventure in whatever modern genre game system you like.
Royal Pains started out, for me, kinda "eh." But very quickly became "oo!" The character development was solid. The setting sparked all kinds of things for me to use in an adventure. From the gatorbear to the petrifying venom and "primitive halfling tribe" who ride "ostretches" with the sacred/spiritual connection to their ancestors...lots of great ideas here. Throw in some dark insanity and a few flavorful snapshots of "life in the castle." I enjoyed this, ultimately, as much as The Favor for a [non-spoofy] fantasy story.
Final Decision: I read all of these twice over...and didn't mind one moment of reading any of them. These are wonderful tales that might each be an exemplar for their type. When I boil everything down to a gooey thick paste of flavor and fun, I am left with only the most marginal of "leads." This 3 horse race ends in a photo finish, quite literally.
Steel Dragons' pick for Round II: Match 1 goes to
UselessTriviaMan's Royal Pains.
Round II: Match 1
phoamslinger's The Favor
vs.
PirateCat's Repo Seal
vs.
UselessTriviaMan's Royal Pains
1) Writing Style/Skill: Who's brilliant idea was it to have to judge 3 of you at the same time?! Ugh. Ok, we have here three great tales. Three adept writers. Three stories with great plots, solid character development, descriptive text and a multitude of evocative settings...and a couple of typos (thanks phoamslinger
that really don't impact the skill or style points all that much...if at all.I'll get into more of all of this under the "Enjoyment" section. But for strict Skill and Style, each does their job admirably and notably well. No edges here. This is a 3 horse race for sure!
2) Picture Use: Favor's use of the images are all fairly straight forward. I very much enjoyed the magical everburning chandelier/candelabra in the temple. Made a ton of sense and evocative as a "temple of the sun god" ornament.
Repo's image of a Vegas "chapel" and the incorporating of the figure behind it as the "nun/call girl" uses it a bit more thoroughly.
But then Royal Pains comes in with the elaborate candelabra that the main character actually interacts with versus just sees, use of the figure behind as Vashka (in a funny headdress the magess doesn't quite know why she's wearing) AND the bouquets of white lilies, which admittedly I really didn't notice until reading your story, as an essential element of plot. Wow. Way to use an image's details, UselessTriviaMan.
The seal. [everybody say "Awwww"] The seal on the rock. Favor's use as one of the pivotal elements for the "Dei Ehm" (which I LOVED, but more on that later) plot device was not at all what I was expecting and enjoyed since I thought, at first, it was simple window dressing. Nicely done. I will admit being comPLETEly horrified at themention of the PC with the seal hat! lol. But, it is totally in keeping with what/how PCs will do things...and I can think of several players I've known over the years who would have done the extact same thing. hahaha. Very funny and a nice add.
In Repo Seal, obviously, the seal is a major element if not actual character, per se. But integral to the story and again, went from being "Ok, so they have a seal with them" in the beginning to fleshing out the how and why it is there was beautifully done. Perhaps, more importantly, it gives us a nice facet to the main characters (who, admittedly, up to that point are not the most likeable individuals) and makes them sympathetic. Again, wonderfully done.
In Royal Pains, the seal is an actual character. Humorous. Independent despite being a "familiar" as we understand it in D&D. Very nicely done and, again, integral to the plot and with a hand in the resolution.
I do think, however, the beautifully woven crafting of the animal in Repo Seal and what it does for the story as a whole does go to PirateCat for this pic.
The desert, as my esteemed fellow judge mentions, it's a desert. It's a set piece and used nicely as such by all three. While the desert is a bit more important, fleshed out and interesting as a setting in Royal Pains, I don't really see an advantage here. It was a desert. There ya go.
The rock head of Favor was exactly as I expected, the earth elemental creature that the Players/PCs searched for. Having read your expanded explanation of it being a galeb duhr...I really didn't get that from the story. Just that it was the elemental creature...and that's fine. It did what it had to do.
The use as an indian artifact in Repo was well done. Simple and furthering, if not initiating, the plot. The way you take each image and really make it count, not just as an image, but as intrinsic to character motivations is very much admired.
Royal Pains' petrifying venom was where I was thinking it was going. You had statues all over the desert and I thought, at first, that the head was just some throw away nod toward that. Come to find, while it is a petrified person from the deadly-halfling desert, but is actually the source or, well, the focus, of the princess' madness. Again, caught me off guard and pleasantly surprised me as more than I expected it to be.
I think in the case of the stone head, again, we have a 3-way happening.
Grr. SOMEbody's gotta get an edge around here someplace.
3) Personal Enjoyment: The Favor was, for me, the most entertaining read. The recurring humor. The tropes. The "zapping green ball of light" known in the ancient tongue as the Dei Ehm. The PC/player interactions that I could "hear" occurring at any number of my tables. Very funny, a bit nostalgic and highly entertaining.
Repo Seal is a brilliantly told brilliant tale. While I'm not big on the "modern" genre, the detail, darker interactions/humor and characters, and creativity in general cannot be denied. We have stealth and intrigue, pacing, action...even a touch of horror (he's gonna EAT the cutesy wootsy seal?! NOOOO!) It is a great read without a shred of "magic" or "fantasy" to be found. I could see this as a great game/scenario/adventure in whatever modern genre game system you like.
Royal Pains started out, for me, kinda "eh." But very quickly became "oo!" The character development was solid. The setting sparked all kinds of things for me to use in an adventure. From the gatorbear to the petrifying venom and "primitive halfling tribe" who ride "ostretches" with the sacred/spiritual connection to their ancestors...lots of great ideas here. Throw in some dark insanity and a few flavorful snapshots of "life in the castle." I enjoyed this, ultimately, as much as The Favor for a [non-spoofy] fantasy story.
Final Decision: I read all of these twice over...and didn't mind one moment of reading any of them. These are wonderful tales that might each be an exemplar for their type. When I boil everything down to a gooey thick paste of flavor and fun, I am left with only the most marginal of "leads." This 3 horse race ends in a photo finish, quite literally.
Steel Dragons' pick for Round II: Match 1 goes to
UselessTriviaMan's Royal Pains.
