Amazing Advancements [RESULTS]

All entries will be allowed to take their short story and use the arc xp conversion of 250 words is 1 xp.

All entries get flat XP bonus of...
1st place: 100 xp
2nd: 50 xp
3rd and below: 25 xp

1st place will get their advancement free of charge.

Each participant that is 2nd place or below will be allowed to have their advancement reviewed and are then able to purchase the advancement for their character at half the price of the advancement tier they are at for their character. Example: If it is the character's 1st advancement, it should be 5 xp. In order to never have any odd/decimal numbers, the advancement will be rounded to the nearest whole XP if it is a decimal at half price. (Sorry!)

Chellizard has converted your stories into XP in your prize pool as a separate amount. As this is a contest, words leftover do not count.

Chelle: 36

Zonkes: 38

Dan: 36





Chelle: Euna, Euna, Euna. She has always been quite the fire cracker. The back and forth banter between the characters! Her unruly, bossy attitude! (a bit oxy-moronic, but, you get me!) What more do we need? Honestly, Euna kicking the crap out of that guy was well deserved. He was a weird, weird man. I hope she seeks vengeance! The discovery of her new power was very well executed. Well done, Woof!!

Zonkes: This one I felt the best. Before today, I didn't know anything about Euna as a character, something that I now wish to rectify. It's clear to me that you have a solid grasp on this character, Woof. The story is about Euna inviting a strange man into her home to teach her telekinesis. I won't spoil anything, but it succeeded in making me feel... icky when I read what he was doing to our "friendly" neighborhood demon. I have no complaints. Well done Woof.

Dan: I must have been sleeping on this character, because Euna is absolutely amazing. While the idea of canceling out specific forms of powers isn't unique in and of itself, the implementation and ideas that went into this earned very high points from me. And the story was a fascinating glimpse into what may go into creating an item like this; the testing, the design, everything was absolutely amazing. I am very impressed.




Free Advancement
100 flat XP
Story XP: 20 XP

Chelle: 35

Zonkes: 36

Dan: 37





Chelle: Takuma missing his childhood really made me miss my own. I felt a connection with your character. The trip that Takuma went on was wild, and I feel that he could better control the power as he matures and focuses on his emotions. This is a great plot oriented advancement. The imagery you give us with your writing has become so much better. I am proud of you. Great job, Jax!

Zonkes: My dude... what the heck did I just read? You start out writing about Takuma not having anything for breakfast, and you end us with a hallucinogenic experience that brings up feelings of dread, grief, and bittersweet memories. The simple, yet masterful storytelling you are able to pull off so well is on full display here, and the music choices you have put here made the experience all the more enjoyable. The only genuine complaint I have is that I don't personally see how this advancement connects to Takuma in general, but it's a very nice entry all the same.

Dan: I can't say much about this, except that in every way I am wowed by what I just read. Like Lars said, it is a hell of a trip that explores aspects of the mortal condition normally found in far-more-serious writing formats. Absolutely amazing.




Half price advancement cost; if first, 3 XP.
50 flat XP
Story XP: 12 XP

Chelle: 35

Zonkes: 34

Dan: 36





Chelle: Sammy is such a tortured soul, and seeing him have to face his brother and then Adam's appearance was a nice touch. Belial is a punk, and I cannot believe he thought he could beat up Sammy! The pictures you paint with your text is very satisfying, to say the least. I loooved the bit where Belial got what he deserved. > Very well done, Pat! Turns out, it was a romance novella after all. <3

Zonkes: To no ones surprise, Pat has once again sent in a truly amazing entry. This time, Samael is sent up against his family in a truly gripping urban fantasy-esque adventure that I could see alongside the likes of Supernatural or The Dresden Files. As for the lower grammar score, the first letter of each sentence was not capitalized. I'd have rated it a 4, but I felt that it was a very simple thing to fix and/or remember to do, so I gave a lower score. Still, a truly excellent read and I recommend you read this one at your first convenience.

Dan: As expected, Pat once again delivers with a phenomenal story and fantastic character development. If I'm honest, I've been waiting for an advancement of this sort for a while; Sammy is just a fantastic character, and seeing him develop makes me all giddy inside. Overall, absolutely fantastic advancement.




Half price advancement cost; 13 XP
25 flat XP
Story XP: 24 XP

Chelle: 34

Zonkes: 34

Dan: 34





Chelle: Rai's unending determination to take down this big demon despite their clear size difference is admirable. I appreciate your imagery with your story, and how you were able to bring such vivid life to the character and her antagonist. Well done, Vexxlyn. I also really enjoyed this line, " “And fuck you.” She adds just before her scythes crash down into the back of his neck like a pair of ghostly guillotines. " Just... *chef's kiss.*

Zonkes: This one is a solid story and a very interesting advancement in and of itself. The new power is very well connected to the idea of a demon slayer, and I like Rai as a character. With all that being said, the high creativity score is due more to the story rather than the advancement itself. This isn't a problem, as I think the story is more important, however that is why I didn't rank it higher.

Dan: A great story for a great character.  While the  advancement is nothing extra special in terms of uniqueness or power, the story more than makes up for it. I had an overall enjoyable time reading it, and the narrative voice and story direction were top notch. Well done.




Half price advancement; if first 3 XP.
25 flat XP
Story XP: 10

Chelle: 30

Zonkes: 33

Dan: 31





Chelle: Sam has always been an interesting character to me. I feel this is a very appropriate advancement for him. I do love the back and forth banter between Melody and Sam. The two of them together was quite cute as well. I also kind of like the hint of future advancements with his portal power. Unless that wasn't intentional. Maybe it's just my interpretation. Either way, well done, Nate!

Zonkes: I enjoyed this one. Sam and Melody training together certainly wasn't what I expected when I thought this contest up, but it certainly works! The creativity of it is really well done overall in story terms, and while I am partial to the characters in the story, I do have to point out that this probably could've used a few proofreads before being brought to our attention. Missing words makes this one a more difficult read. Additionally, the lack of the advancement template makes me want to rate the execution lower. However, I won't purely because the story was executed very well.

Dan: Great story, as always; I really enjoyed it, but there's some fierce competition here. The idea is solid and inspired, and a great expansion on the original idea of portals, but a little underwhelming if I'm honest. I did greatly enjoy reading it, however, and its an absolutely fantastic idea.




Half price advancement; if first 3 XP
25 flat XP
Story XP: 10

Congratulations, everyone!