The Weasel Museum Of SOTF History

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V4 Second Character Of The Month Contest (September 2010)

[+] V4 Second COTM Nominations

Nominate up to THREE characters.


Notes:
* You must have a good reason for your nomination. We're not asking for dissertations, but 'Cuz he's mai favrite' is not going to stand.
* Try to nominate on merit as opposed to simply people you like or RP with. This is about acknowledging good writing, not a popularity contest.
* There is no reward for winning except praise.
* Winners will not be eligible for nomination in consecutive months.


THIS IS NOT POLITICAL. Please don't start making it that.

- Mimi's characters are ineligible this month.


Nominations:

1. Josie Vernon - By ZombiexCreame
With "We are the Sleepyheads" essentially a critically acclaimed topic at this point, I think that Josie deserves some recognition too. Mimi's contributions to the topic were incredible, there's no denying that. But the saying goes it takes two to tango, and I enjoyed Zombie's writing just as much as Mimi's. Frankly I wish that last month both of them could have received recognition as character of the month. Josie and Sierra's idea feels real, and the 'execution' is pretty much what you would expect. The amount of passion put into this though is what really sets Josie apart from the rest. Really Chelsea deserves more recognition than she gets sometimes, every single one of her characters is fantastic. Josie just really steals the spotlight this month though.

2. Kristina 'Kris' Hartmann - By Che Cluvera
Kris is again extremely realistic, and Josh's writing of her is impeccable. You can almost feel the pain she goes through as she slowly loses control of herself; and you can just watch the effect that one broken piece of her brain is having on her. She's snapped, she's already dealing with an advanced mental disorder. But with how quickly the stresses of the island and her actions are weighing down on her, unlike most who have to deal with these types of disorders, poor Kris can actually watch it coming. I know some people like to poke fun, but really; can you really say that you would be able to hold your sanity after a bad twitch of the finger? And the other important thing that tends to be overlooked. Not only is Kris realistic and well written; she is an entertaining read. Sure, every character I've read this version is extremely entertaining, but Kris really draws you in and tickles the fancies of the animal deep down in all of us. Impeccably done Josh.

3. Jay Holland - By Little Boy
Jay is extremely entertaining as well, but in a different way than Kris. Sure, we all know the "PANTIES PANTIES PANTIES" post, but that's not even what I'm referring to. I've followed Jay since then; and barring the initial freak out, he's still been a light hearted, humorous boy. Everything I've seen him do is towards the end of lifting the spirit of his comrades, whether or not it succeeds in universe. Something else strikes a cord in me about Jay. He reminds me a lot about the type of person I used to hang out with in High School. The plucky kid who lets absolutely NOTHING get him down. And I can say from experience that Jay is faithful to the outward optimist, the guy who tries to keep himself happy so others can see that not everything is all that bad.

In no particular order:

1. Every game needs that character you just love to hate, be it Cody, or Mariavel, or the Riz, and V4 has no shortage, what with Philip Ward and Maxwell Lombardi on the loose. However, it's Pigeon Army's Rachel Gettys who gets the nomination here, for her wonderfully written, self-righteous brand of evil, her every post making her inevitable comeuppance that much sweeter.

2. And you know what? Why stop there, when Maxwell Lombardi himself, played delightfully by Fioriboy, is on the loose? His sheer asshattery is maddeningly over the top, yet at the same time, even more maddeningly believable. Gandhi would punch Maxwell in the face if he were a real person, which is convenient, as he could be any number of real people.

3. On the less blatantly evil front, we have Super Llama's Maria Graham. Like the others I've nominated, she's killed someone, but the circumstances as to how it came about, along with her mental state afterward, are entirely different, and remarkably handled. Really, she's one of those rare characters in the game right now who I wanna give a big hug and tell it'll all be okay.

Alright. Here go my nominations.

First up: R.J. Lowe. This was the easiest pick for me this month. R.J. has so many things going for him. To start with, he's a character I feel about and care for. He's trying to do the right thing, but he doesn't succeed all the time. He killed someone in a situation where it seemed perfectly reasonable, yet the whole thing was an awful misunderstanding, and then, rather than delve too deeply into angst or blow it off entirely, he reacted just right. R.J. can always provoke an emotional response from me. Also, mad props to Stark for writing a character with a disability without making it a gimmick or an all-consuming character trait.

Next on the list: Nathan Choultard. The "Flowerhead" group as a whole is absolutely amazing, and each character in it deserves a lot of love, but the one I consistently feel the most for is Nathan. He's not the leader of the group, but he seems to be its spirit in a way, the glue that holds it together. He's always there to support his compatriots, always ready to back up anyone who needs it. Most importantly, he keeps a cool head in a realistic way. Each time I see Nathan make a choice, I know why he does it, and it makes perfect sense to me.

Finally, Jeremy Franco. I know we aren't supposed to say these speak for themselves, but I think Jeremy really does. He's assertive:

"SHUT THE FUCK UP JIMMY BRENNAN I'M SHOUTING OVER YOU."

He's good at diffusing situations:

"Hey, champ, how about let's put the gun away? Or I mean, at the very least, keep it pointed at Jimmy Brennan!"

He's good at making deals:

I don't roll like that, honest, promise, so like if King Perv shows up I'll kick his ass for you and I won't even need anything in return so don't worry!"

And he knows where he stands:

"So that makes us all brothers, okay? We're all brothers! Except since I'm on baseball team that also means I can hit things really fucking hard, so that means I'm like a notch above you- though we're still brothers and I'm not looking down on you, not one bit- so I think it's best that leadership role goes to me!"

In all seriousness, though, just the dialogue quoted above would earn a nomination from me, assuming an otherwise pretty good character, but Jeremy is so much more. He's a humorous character who also has a serious side. He's realistic, which, given his concept, is a testament to Jonny's skill. He's a character who brings life to threads, and enhances interactions.


Also, honorary mention to a whole bunch of other characters. It was a tough call this month, and I want to acknowledge the awesomeness of Bounce Volkova, Zach Jamis, Ivan Kuznetsov, Raidon Naoko, Roland Harte, Sarah Atwell, Mizore Soryu, and probably more who I'm forgetting. You all rock.

It was difficult making a top three. There were so many characters I wanted. Here are my choices in no particular order.

My first choice is Ivan Kuznetsov by MK Kilmarnock. Why? Why are you asking me that? He should be a shoe-in. The writing on Ricky’s part is amazing and the character is down to earth, so much so that when he kills someone you don't think "This guy is a bad guy." Yet Ivan feels very distinct. Original. You can’t really compare him to anyone in past versions. Ivan is Ivan. In the past month both Ivan and Greg's Tabi Gweneth have grown on me – they used to be two characters from great writers, and now they're two of my favorite characters that I hope make it big. They are at the top of my list right now. However, I'm only choosing one. I feel guilty actually leaving Tabi out but I didn’t want two characters in the same thread dominating my list. So I had to choose, and Ivan is getting this seat.

My second is Jasper-Declan MacDermott from Hollyquin. I really wanted to come up with a good reason to put him on this list out of the twelve people I was considering. I tried to. But I can't help it - I just really, really, really like him. I can't put my finger on why I like him so much. Maybe it's the fact that every single bit of dialogue makes him out to be this guy who is stoned out of his mind and it makes me giggle. It's not in a ridiculously way either - Jasper is more of a mellow guy who's just calm in a irrational way. Not a single action is ever unrealistic or forced. Like Ivan, Jasper is Jasper and I love every post of his.

The last one was really close. I had so many characters that I wanted to list here. It really came down to which character I found myself rushing off to read. It ultimately came to Nick LeMonde by Ruggahissy. I like Rugga's style, and Nick is the right amounts of sympathetic while at the same time not being a pushover. I like where he and Fanatic's Teo are going right now. He's honestly considering playing the game, and instead of shooting at random and angsting, he made a decision with Teo and they're going to stick to it. Again, this was a hard decision and it was by a nose.

Honorable mention - The last one was between Nick and Ilario Fiametta III by faceinabook. However, when I went to write this post, I just realized that I generally liked the scene more than the character. Plus choic's Jackson Ockley is damn good too and when it came down to the wire I didn't want to put one in front of the other. They're both great characters and anyone who honestly disagrees must have never seen their thread. Kudos to the both of them.

Alrighty so I think I got this narrowed down.

First one I'd like to nominate is Alice Blake from Sister Grimm. I hadn't really read much of Alice until I came upon Death at a Funeral and after that I went back and read her up from her start. Sister Grimm has a really nice, detailed way that she writes about what's going on with Alice but I don't feel like I get bogged down in the details. I find her very very funny in a subtle way and at the same time she feels really well rounded. She wants to find her girlfriend, but she's not above thinking of herself for a while. She's straight forward and realistic and I think she's really entertaining so I'd like to give it up to Sister Grimm.

Second one is Hayley Kelly. I've always like Hayley, she's tough and she's a bit of a partier but you can tell she really does care about others demonstrated by her care of the group in White Knight Nightmare and also in her determination to find Kyle. I also really liked her kill post and the one leading up to it, I think Holly does a good job of writing what her characters are going through internally and the rationalization and argument in her mind abotu whether or not to kill and what that meant to her was a good insight into the character. Thumbs up.

Lastly I'd like to throw in a vote for Dominic Stratford. I just want to give this boy a hug and make him some soup. He's sort of gone off his rocker a bit as of late but I think the way that his break from reality is writen is so heartbreaking and beautiful that he's one of my favorites.

It wasn't intentional but it looks like I nominated three female handlers so this nomination post is offically going out to aaaaaaaalll the laaadddies.

Rightio then, I'll throw in my two cents on the three characters I think should win it!

My first choice is Colin Falcone, the unlucky musician as written by T-Fox. Seriously, the guy just couldn't catch a break in those tunnels besides the fact that he's found a companion in his friend Tim. And... really, that's about it. Colin had the misfortune to accidentally wound another student (Tony Russo, to be precise), and the poor guy was forced to put Tony out of his misery. This is probably one of the only examples of a completely unwilling killer this version that'll really tug at the heartstrings in terms of its motive and the emotions behind it. Colin got to me, and as such, he is my first nomination.

Second up for nominations is Clio Gabriella, as written by Brackie. "But, but MK-" "That's MK, oh great and powerful ruler to you, peon!" "... Fine... but, great and powerful ruler, you harp on Clio Gabriella all the time!" Yes. Yes I do. That is because Clio is an absolute bitch who will eventually get what's coming to her. But, you know, Clio could easily be a character that I actually WOULD hate just on principle alone, were it not for how Brackie writes her. Pay enough attention, and you'll see the girl fighting through the intense pain in her hand to... slaughter her schoolmates. Okay, but work with me here. Clio decided right off that she wants to play the game, and she's trying to be smart about it, but you can tell she's breaking. The infinite paths that Clio could take, her complex persona, and the pain that drives it all cause her to be my second nomination.

Last but not least, as my third nomination, I select Tabi Gweneth, as written by Greg the Anti-Viking. Yeah, she was in a thread with Ivan. More than one, in fact, I know. Shut up. However, the very concept that Tabi is born from is just an incredible one. She's an innocent girl, just like how many (if not all, since I don't mean virginity-wise) of the other girls in her high school, who's just hoping and praying that everything will be alright while her world falls apart around her. She's been shot at (the reaction to the near miss, which she only finds out about later, is tremendous), seen people be shot if only non-fatally, and has seen somebody be brutally murdered in front of her very eyes. Tabi epitomizes the base concept of what SoTF truly is: a normal high school student who has been forced to deal with the game, and most of us wouldn't exactly become Jacob Starrs or Hawley Fausts, or even Neil Sinclairs. No, a few of us would probably be Branca Braunsteins, and quite a few of us, male and female would be Tabi Gweneth. This is why she's my third nomination for Character of the Month.

This was so hard you guys. like, christ, you people are talented. There were a LOT of contenders for me but I got it narrowed down eventually:

Up first is Grim Wolf's Naoko Raidon because at some point during The Quiet Lives Of Baron Saturday I fell in love. It was actually tough for me to choose between him and Mizore Soryu, because they're both amazing in this thread, but I eventually gave it to Raidon after going back and reading his previous actions. He's gonna be a contender, I feel, and I look forward to seeing where he goes from The Quiet Lives Of Baron Saturday.

Second is Fioriboy's Maxwell Lombardi because as Clue said- he's a gigantic cock. He reminds me so much of certain people I know that I want to go out and punch those people in the mouth because Maxwell isn't real for me to do it to. The biggest douchebags are always the most fun to read, anyway.

And last but certainly not least is Little Boy's Dutchy. Yes, I nominated him last time, sue me. But it's his plan to get off the island, how utterly optimistic he is that showing the damn map to the camera is gonna get them all rescued, how sure he is that things are gonna be okay...breaks my little heart, it does. If I could save Dutchy by killing off all my characters I'd probably do it because otherwise I'd feel so guilty.

I have three nominations, here are my three nominations.

First is Aaron Hughes, played by KillerVole. I know I nominated him last month. I plan to stop nominating him when he stops being the single most enjoyable character for me to read in V4. It's extremely hard to pull off a manipulator, since most of the time they just come off as way too oily and obvious that nobody would actually fall for any of their schemes. Aaron is a fascinating villain (yes, he is a villain, he has not killed anyone but he is more effective and villainous than most of the killers) who you just keep wanting to read more of. I want to know what he's going to do next, who he's going to manipulate next, what line of dialogue of internal monologue is gonna make me break into a huge grin and think "Aaron, you sly fucker" next. Props also go to Blastinus's (also very well-written) Tom Guthrie, because I don't think Aaron would be quite as fun without the tension in their dynamic.

Next we have RJ Lowe, played by Stark. RJ can't talk. That sounds like a gimmick character at first glance. And you know what? Even if RJ had little characterization outside the gimmick, he'd be a great character. He'd be an incredibly thought-provoking examination of the theme of communication. He can't verbally lash out at people when they piss him off. He can't tell Kris about how he believes that she's a good person. He has to write little messages in the ground if he wants to communicate at all (by the way, "TAKE THIS, DON'T DIE" is one of the best lines of 'dialogue' in V4). It's been explored in so many ways already, and the game is just starting. But perhaps the coolest thing about RJ is that even though he could stick to that gimmick and one theme and be a good-to-great character, Stark gives RJ a lot more depth and dimensions. A great writer is never satisfied with making a character "good enough", and Stark has proven himself to be a great writer with RJ.

Finally, I'll nominate Naoko Raidon, played by Grim Wolf. The Quiet Lives of Baron Saturday has been an absolute joy to read, since it's a complex and engaging scene (or pair of scenes, really) anchored by two awesome characters who are kinda perfect for each other. For a thread to move seamlessly in and out of artistic expression, a tense gun standoff, philosophical debate (which, though a little stilted at times, is one of the best examinations of the morality of on-island killing I've read), and touching romance is a huge accomplishment. Really, either Mizore or Raidon deserve the nomination, but I give it to Raidon because he's the one that triggered both of the scene's unexpected and well-handled twists (the transition to romance, and then the abrupt, just-a-little-bit-heartbreaking ending). Great thread, great character, great job.

So there's my three. In addition to the two characters I've already given props without nomming them (Tom and Mizore), I'd also like to give some official recognition to Liam "Brook" Brooks, played by MK Kilmarnock. Like Mizore, he just missed getting a nomination. He's my favorite member of my favorite V4 group, and his attempts at displaying confidence and his plant similes are the most endearing things. Keep rocking, Ricky!

I should be doing homework right now, so obviously this is the right thing to do.

Anyways.

1. William Hearst by Dr. Nic. The posts I've read from Dr. Nic tend to be long-winded in the extreme, but that isn't necessarily a point against him. A big selling point on realistic characters for me is the ability to follow their thoughts and the authenticity of their thoughts, and so far William has sold me on this point. I can sense both his desperation and his goodness, this sort of half-hearted striving to be what he thinks she should be. I haven't read nearly enough of him, but so far I like him quite a bit.

2. Julian Avery by Jonny. I believe I'm going to keep voting for Julian Avery until either a) he wins b) he fails me completely or c) someone even awesomer comes along. I love Julian Avery; he is consistently funny, his jumpy stream of consciousness is always entertaining, and the way he's able to keep being fun one foot in insanity is always interesting. It may just be my imagination, but I really like how his level of desperation appears to be increasing as time goes on--he loses himself a little more to fantasy, he gets a little more depressed without giving up. He keeps surprising me, so I keep following right along.

3. Mizore Soryu by storyspoiler. So I'm obviously half-in-love with storyspoiler, and I desperately want to vote for Miss Mizore Soryu because I had so much goddamn fun RPing Baron Saturday with her. And I'm going to. I liked everything I read with Mizore in it, and I'm glad as hell she wanted to do an RP with Raidon. Her personality is original without being forced, she's got consistent strengths and flaws, and she was a complete joy to RP with.

Shoutouts also go to Imrann Al-Hariq and Liz Polanski, and given how our RP goes I may vote Imraan for October.

Alright kids, it's time for another one of them COTM nominations, as a personal rule for myself, I'm not going to nominate the same 3 handlers in a row as I think we have many many good writers that deserve to be mentioned, so, without taking up too much time blabbing, here is my three nominations.

1. Colin Falcone by T-Fox: I've been having a hard time debating as to who the top 3 were going to be, but in my rereading I eventually came across Falcone. In this case it was actually by way of the aftermath of the death that happened in Tunnel Vision(a thread in which I highly recommend to all to read) however it was in that, that I read Tunnel Vision. In this thread, I watched as Colin was forced to kill a then dying Tony Russo. The amount of pain that he goes through in preforming the dead and now currently in handling the aftermath has been a wonderful read. I'm very interested in where the pacifist is to go from here and I certainly hope that he will live for a nice long while. Well done Trav, you deserve this one.

2. Sarah Atwell by Fanatic: Fanatic is a wonderful writer, and it is very tough to choose just one today. Today though, I decide that it is Sarah's turn for the acclaim. Putting it bluntly, Sarah is freaking creepy. The thing that is most creepy about her turn is that it's all driven by fear. Fear of dying after seeing the murder of Paige which has, for lack of a better word, knocked a few screws loose, so to speak. Reading her torture of Eve was extremely disconcerting, all while filming it too on the camcorder. For handling someones descent into madness, Fanatic's Sarah gets my vote.

3. Ivan Kuznetsov by MK Kilmarnock: Ok, I know full well that I am nominating for a character heavily involved in my threads, however Ivan is totally deserving of this nomination. There is so much that Ivan does over the course of a month and it'd take too much time to go over all of them. However I will say a couple things about him. The first thing that I shall say is that, like a few other kills that have happened, he preformed an admirable job at being just plan scary. However despite the very good kill, it is what happens after that when the real powerful stuff came out. The reaction to the fact that he had killed someone was phenomenal. The reaction to the announcement however, was one of, if not the very best posts of V4 so far. The amount of emotion that was brought to the table was nothing short of astounding for me and I am quite proud to give Ivan Kuznetsov my final vote.

So there you have it folks, these are the three I have chosen. I'll see you all next month with another three nominations!

So, I picked the top three people that I've thoroughly enjoyed reading thus far. These are all characters that compel me and force me to read further with everything these handlers type. I just love them all to death, honestly.



1. Felicia Carmichael My first choice is Felicia Carmichael, handled by MK Kilmarnock. Felicia is a character that is written with such careful detail. The opening line of her post made me feel like I was actually reading a small excerpt from a book, but I just love how she's written. Felicia has so much personality, and she's so funny. I love picking out the little references she's talking about. It's really nice and refreshing to read a character in Survival of the Fittest that isn't panicking or crying or killing people. It's just a girl wanting to survive, but she's making us laugh too, and I love that. And did I mention I thoroughly enjoy the writing?


2. Zach Jamis Zach Jamis, written by Ciel, is another favorite of mine. Ciel is an extremely talented writer, and he seriously has such a great array of characters that are so different. Zach is so quirky, and the writing style of his posts really makes me see his inner personality. Even when he's not talking (which is almost always entertaining to read Zach's dialogue), it's still outrageously full of personality. I really enjoy Zach's way of taking charge of situations, and the snappy tongue and expletives that he'll use with others. It's really colorful. Gaahh, I just love this character, and I can't wait to read more. 'Nuff said!


3. Joshua Krakowski Joshua Krakowsi, written by Floriboy, has been a personal favorite of mine since pregame. When I read posts with Joshua and Marty, I always knew that it was going to be a real treat. The dialogue between them was always rich, funny, and realistic, but this isn't about pregame, I suppose. Joshua, on the island, is still great to read about. Floriboy is great with detailing his posts and giving it a spark of personality, but I feel like in Joshua's posts, I can 'see' this character a lot better. Joshua is an entity of his own, and while I always found him quite funny, he goes through a change which is always refreshing to read. (What I'm referring to is Joshua crying and contemplating suicide in Mad World) I actually hope to see Joshua and Marty get out of this together, even though I know it most likely won't happen.

Peer pressure counts for a lot, so I guess here are my three nominations.

Roland Harte by Little Boy - The character is a complete and utter hypocrite. He thinks he's a hero, yet he doesn't quite meet the mark all the while looking down at other characters. I love the way he's handled as well. It's like he's a bully that isn't quite ready to face up to the fact that he's a bully. There's just something about the writing that I love.

Aaron Hughes by KillerVole - What a lovely, sneaky, manipulative guy! The way his inner thoughts work are great - I mean, he literally sizes up people according to "usefulness" as soon as he meets them, all the while trying to be a leader. I like the way he's written, but I do hope to see more of that distrust come out in the future. This kid has potential.

Peter Siu by Solomir - I think I got the name right this time. Peter's a nice guy who is trying his best in a situation that's difficult. I do love that little niggling thoughts that he has in the back of his mind all the time urging him to be "bad", but having to highlight them irritates me a little... That being said, all around, he's an interesting read and I've been happy to follow his character around.

So that's it from me.

Come ON folks. This is nothing close to the turnout we got last month. More noms, please?

Okay, nominations:

Naoko Raidon: Yes, I know he's in a thread with me (because I asked him to be). Yes, I know his character and my character are shipped (yessssssssssssssss). He's also the person I look forward most to reading in V4. Like Hollyquin, after reading Two Roads Diverged in a Dark Hellhole, I fell a little bit in love--with a complex, tortured, ruthless soon-to-be killer with a compelling internal monologue and a tragic past. Watch his thoughts, watch him go--it's beautiful.

Nick Reid: Another character with a compelling, believable internal monologue, and a sharp intelligence to go with it. None of the conviction of Raidon, but instead confusion, shock, believable reactions. Spelunking is what did it for me--the balanced between precise and panicked, between holding it together and forgetting to lie, falling apart, between thinking of what to do now and distracting himself by calculating the number of water molecules in his canteen. He portrays shock in a way that's realistic to me.

Samya Franklin: I guess my third nomination, once again, goes to an insecure girl--this time, Samya Franklin, for her painful self-awareness regarding her crush on Dustin Royal. There are a lot of insecure girls on this island, but Samya gets it spot-on; she's competent, not comic, and she knows exactly how her crush is screwing with her head, and how unlikely Dustin is to respond--and yet the girl can't help it. Props to Sunny for being able to write that particular painful state of mind so realistically.

Honorable mentions go to Jeremy Franco (because I can only nominate one character for two months in a row, and it probably shouldn't be Jonny's--but seriously, Jeremy makes me laugh my ass off, partially because seriously, you know this guy), Sarah Atwell and Eve Walker-Luther for my favorite thread of Day 2, The Prime Time Of Your Life (and unless someone else really impresses me, Sarah is a shoo-in for Best Kill), and Frankie Fiametta, who I just caught in The Man-slut, the Cocktease, and the Whore for being a scary, crazy, angry bitch. I'm watching y'all

Sorry but this week we're in the process of moving at work, as such what with student appointments etc I don't have much time on the computer.

Leila Langford By Stefan Hallucinogenic. Apart from a few very minor inconsistencies Leila is a believable stuck up high school girl, she react realistically to most situations and her 'huff's are very well done as I can very much 'see' the character when she does this. This ability to actually 'see' in my mind the actions of a character is one that is paramount for me.

Radio Asuka But spelled correctly. Mizore is a fantastic character and I have to say both her and Naikon were a great read especially in Quiet Lives. The portrayed the fumbling need and unsurity of two young adults discovering things for the first time. I suggest everyone does read this thread. Naikon is fantastic but Mizore takes the spotlight here. Everyone talks about how they love Liz but I for one find myself following Mizore a little closer. GW Story.

Adrian Staib by Vanikaro is a great read, a little background is needed but you can really see him forming in to a strong character with the potential to do something fantastic soon. It feels like a build up for me and I, for one am eager to see how it turns out.

1. Jonny's Jeremy Franco: Vole really covered it pretty well. Besides having my favorite quote of v4 so far ("SHUT THE FUCK UP JIMMY BRENNAN I'M SHOUTING OVER YOU."), the character in general is a fun read. He's got a distinct sort of thought process which manages to be straightforward and reads very well. It's tempting to say he's a "comic relief" character, but I don't want him to come after me with his sword cane.

2. Little Boy's Jimmy Brennan: Maybe I'm a sucker for that type of character, because Jimmy Brennan is fun to read for the same reasons as Jeremy Franco. A fun character that retains a serious edge, and a very realistic thought process. Reading through his posts, I find myself thinking that that is exactly how some students would act, making bluff after bluff while giving everything a saturation F-bombing. Oh, and he's the Keeper of the Moxie. You can't argue with that.

3. Fioriboy's Maxwell Lombardi: And now I tip my hat to the biggest jerk on the island. Again, my thoughts have been covered pretty well, this time on the podcast. He's such a monumentally selfish, aggressive, unpleasant guy, yet I can't help but like him. He also acts as a good, effective villain without going over the top. He won't, perhaps, rape you and wear your skin as a coat, but you sure as heck don't want to meet him in a dark alley.

Radio Asuka (ya'll know her name) by storyspoiler: Because her concept was awesome. I read her profile and was excited to see what she'd do on the island. And she has made me a happy girl, because Quiet Lives has been my favorite day 2 thread. A realistic romance? I'm sold. (Also, I ship Mizore/Raidon and you should too!)

Juilan Avery by Jonny: Don't you want to be in the samurai club? Because Juilian totally makes me want to join it, and any other club he's in. He manages to be a fun read as well as a good one, a hard feat when people are dying around you. While I sigh at some of these kids misery, I grin at his antics.

And following my grand tradition of nomming someone I thread with and not caring what you think about it . . .

Ethan Kent by Ruggahissy: Does anyone want to argue with me that she doesn't deserve this? Ethan is one creepy, devious mofo, and it's amazing that Rugga can get in that kind of headspace. Would you turn your back on this guy? Really, he's a fun read and he's the type that could be a major villain in this game. Yes, I'm calling it now.

Just two, here.

Aaron Hughes by KillerVole: Because... you evil, evil bastard. That most recent post in Spelunking is incredibly chilling. Aaron is amongst the most calculating, scheming characters in SotF full stop, and his veneer of justifications make him doing stuff like that all the more horrific.

Jeremy Franco by Jonny: I have laughed, and I have laughed consistently. Jonny has a great knack for humour, and some of the dialogue from Jeremy has been great - as have the thought processes.

I'm not a hundred percent sure I can do this, but I'll say it here and edit my original post for good measure. I'm changing my vote from "Liz" to "Mizore", because, you know what? Mizore's fucking great.

OK, let's see how I go about this.

First nomination is for Marybeth Witherspoon. Out of all the heel characters featured in V4 thus far, this girl has succeeded the most in getting me to boo her. She's out of her mind, and having her cheer for slaughter and blatantly push all responsibility for Francine's death onto everyone else was a masterstroke. I can't wait to see what she's gonna do next.

Second nomination is for Jeremy Franco. I've always been a fan of well-done comic relief in SOTF, because sometimes I need a break from all of the angst that happens on the island. Jeremy Franco is the character that stands out the most to me in this regard. As has been said, he has a ton of great lines, AND HE'LL THROW IN THREE SLICES OF BREAD.

Third nomination is for Garrett Hunter, mostly because he seems very unique to me. He has a special sort of belligerence and misogyny that I can't really remember seeing before here. Politically incorrect characters like him are also refreshing and stand out pretty easily among the forward-thinking, non-prejudiced characters.

Harhar, look who's late in typical Mimi-Fashiioooon.

Dominic Stratford by faceinabook: I meant to vote for my poor, sweet, brutalized Dommy last month, but wow. If That Looking Glass Gets Broke really reaffirms what an amazing character he is. He's the dude that you just always want the best for and that kid you don't want anything bad to happen to, but Rose knows her characters. She knows how they'd react, how they'd break in the situation and she's not going to jeopardize them in order to do give them a happy-rainbow story-- which is something I love most about her writing. She's not afraid to do grit and just pummel her characters and put them through the wringer and it really works with Dom. He's lost his marbles and yet, I still want to hug him and console the poor guy. So utterly amazing<3.

Hayley Kelly by Hollyquin: I can't lie and say I liked Hayley from the get-go, never really been a fan of the archetype she fell under, but wow. I think it's a testimony to Holly's incredible solid writing that she's able to really fight and inevitably put first impressions behind her, because I honestly can't get enough of Hayley now. She's this hard-edged girl, but underneath you can really tell that she /does/ care and that she /wants/ to save the people she loves. I'm a sucker for the protector types and Hayley just makes you feel so warm and safe, even though there's not really any hope at all. Keep it up, girly!

Nick LeMonde by Ruggahissy: THE BOY HAS DEPTH, THE BOY HAS DEPTTH!! I know it's completely wrong of me to vote for someone I'm in a thread with-- I FEEL BAD, OKAY. GIVE ME A BREAK-- but the last few posts of his have solidified him as one of my favorite characters<3. Rugga does a beautiful job in making him sympathetic, but then you remember 'Oh, this kid is playing', which is something I'm constantly looking for in SOTF. I /want/ my villains to remind me that they /were/ just normal kids a few days ago, they had lives and relationships and friends and they /aren't/ completely evil. Rugga does all that and so much more with him. Loooove it.

Honorable mentions to my ever lovely Jen Perez, creepy doctor Sarah Atwell, and poor shoeless Aislyn McCreery

Josie Vernon (1)
Kris Hartmann (1)
Jay Holland (1)
Rachel Gettys (1)
Maxwell Lombardi (3)
Maria Graham (1)
R.J Lowe (2)
Nathan Choultard (1)
Jeremy Franco (4)
Ivan Kuznetsov (2)
Jasper-Declan MacDermott (1)
Nick LeMonde (2)
Alice Blake (1)
Hayley Kelly (2)
Dominic Stratford (2)
Colin Falcone (2)
Clio Gabriella (1)
Tabi Gweneth (1)
Naoko Raidon (3)
Dutchy (1)
Aaron Hughes (3)
William Hearst (1)
Julian Avery (2)
Mizore Soryu (3)
Sarah Atwell (1)
Felicia Carmichael (1)
Zach Jamis (1)
Joshua Karkowski (1)
Roland Harte (1)
Peter Siu (1)
Nick Reid (1)
Samya Franklin (1)
Leila Langford (1)
Adrian Staib (1)
Jimmy Brennan (1)
Ethan Kent (1)
Marybeth Witherspoon (1)
Garrett Hunter (1)

This should be the count. Making the poll.

[+] V4 Second COTM Votes

Vote for one of the following...

Jeremy Franco (3)
Maxwell Lombardi (1)
Naoko Raidon
Aaron Hughes (2)
Mizore Soryu

Very close field this time guys. Nice one.

Jeremy Franco.

If you also vote for him he'll also throw in 3 slices of bread.

Aaron Hughes, you are just....so cold. I like it.

Jeremy Franco - the lovable rat-boy.

Aaron Hughes.

Gotta go with Maxwell Lombardi. Tempting as those three slices of bread were.

Out of these guys? This is actually really close between Hughes and Franco, but, uh...

Jeremy Franco.

I gotta go with Mizore Soryu (Radio Asuka).

Aaron Hughes

Aaron Hughes

Colin Falcone is not one of the available choices, sorry.

Aaron Huges

Jeremy Franco, bitches.

This one was tough. Really, really tough. I like all the characters presented here, but I'm gonna have to swing towards Jeremy Franco. What can I say? He drives a hard bargain.

Jeremy Franco WITH THREE SLICES OF BREAD

Yeah, this was pretty damn tough. I like all the characters. They're all either really sympathetic or just downright entertaining. Of the two, Jeremy Franco and Maxwell Lombardi are probably my favs. Jeremy Franco was not only in one of the most entertaining, hilarious threads I've read, but he is a very convincing, hilarious character and played a pretty damn big role in making that thread so great. I actually know people like that with similar egos and personalities, who print business cards and think they're the bees knees even though they're still in school. Maxwell was just a prick, in the most delightful way possible, and he is just so fun to hate. However, I'll have to go with Jeremy Franco, but well done to all the others who got nominations as well!

Naoko Raidon.

Aaron Hughes because he is a scary scary man.

Voting for Aaron Hughes. Out of all the characters, he is the only real villain. I have mad respect for that.

Almost villan - Naoko Raidon

Aaron Hughes

Both Jeremy Franco and Aaron Hughes outshine so many other characters, for various reasons, but I have to honour the character who pulls off comedy in a situation where comedy seems impossible. This one goes to Jeremy Franco.

Well, unless I can't count, this month's CotM, with eight votes each, is split between Jeremy Franco and Aaron Hughes.

CONGRATUMALATIONS.

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V4 Third Character Of The Month Contest (October 2010)

[+] V4 Third COTM Nominations

Sorry for this being late! It slipped my mind, what with being ill and all.


Notes:
* You must have a good reason for your nomination. We're not asking for dissertations, but 'Cuz he's mai favrite' is not going to stand.
* Try to nominate on merit as opposed to simply people you like or RP with. This is about acknowledging good writing, not a popularity contest.
* There is no reward for winning except praise.
* Winners will not be eligible for nomination in consecutive months.


THIS IS NOT POLITICAL. Please don't start making it that.


Killer Vole and Jonny's characters are ineligible this month.


Nominees:

My first vote goes to Liz Polanski I was in a thread with her in the tunnels, and I thought the description used when this character was written really painted a picture. For this reason I also checked out other threads with Liz in, and I liked them quite alot. The general writing is brilliant, but I'm really flat out impressed by the ammount of description, I can really picture what happens.

A big mention probably goes to the description of the bedroom with the red princess phone. Liz is also a really good character, yes I used the words "really good" : / but seriously, I'm impressed by how she comes across so realistically.

I know you could say that about most of the characters, but given Liz's drug dealing/athletic side/goth stuff she actually does kind of come across as somebody I could sort of picture in reality. I must admit judging by her profile I wasn't overly impressed but seeing her in threads has really changed my mind, and that is why I'm voting for her.

Second vote goes to Sarah Xui I've only just started reading her, (I'm on D-DAY) but she is by far my favourite character. I know I've gone into big detail with my first vote, but I'm in a lazy mood. Sarah is believable, her thoughts mix well with the narrative giving her posts a sort of personality of their own, whilst she is an activist it hasn't been jabbed at repeatedly so far so it obviously isn't her main trait, I don't know terribly much about her but from what I have seen she is well rounded, well written and well, my favourite.



Third vote goes to Zach Jamis I kind of see him as a bit of a douche but he's also funny. "It was a shock, definitely, but for the first time in years he felt a LITTLE regretful for something he said. Call the national news. Zach Jamis was apologizing. CALL THE MAN POLICE, ZACH HAS LOST HIS DICK." He's not a humour character, I know that, but he's one I can read and at times, no matter how infrequent find things he does and say funny. I like how he plays the game without a plan in mind, and how despite being a generally mean character, he isn't an antagonist, just cocky, although if I knew him, I'd feel compelled to slap him. I know thats not one of the best reasons, but he still gets my vote.

Okay, I'll actually vote this month :B

My first nomination is Colin Falcone. So far, we've had our fair share of psychopathic killers (which I am totally not in any way responsible for contributing to at all, no siree) but Colin is the first person who really stood out to me as being so affected by having to kill, or in his case choosing to kill. I know I AM currently in a thread with him, and as such am a little biased, but the way that he reacts to the situations presented to him is so well done, that screw it, I'm nominating him anyway.

My second nomination is Milo Taylor. I'll be the first to say that I am pretty surprised at the abundance of comedic characters this version. It's not a bad thing, mind you, but it shows how willing people are to take such a grim view in such a matter. While Jeremy Franco is a pretty funny guy, I'll be the first to say that he kind of unnerves me. Jimmy Brennan is pretty good as well, I can't really nominate him becase, well, he's no Milo! This guy, however, is such a riot that I am not ashamed to admit that I actually once fell off my seat laughing when I realised where he got the inspiration for his post in Hideaway. If he doesn't die in an incredibly over the top manner, then I will only be a little bit disappointed.

My final nomination is Sarah Xu. I just love this character, full stop. I have never seen a more likeable portrayal of this character archetype in my history of SOTF. You read all this stuff about her in her profile, and it's stuff you would only guess about her in the posts. She doesn't obsess with her gf, she doesn't obsess with activism, she doesn't obsess with anything else that someone in their right mind should not obsess about in this situation. She is just wonderfully portrayed, and very well rounded to boot. Well done Geno

EDIT 29/10: Okay, I have 3 honorable mentions to add here, which I won't go into any detail for. Sammy Franklin, who I nominate just on this post alone, Hermione Miller, who's death and deconstruction was very striking for me, and Etain Brennan, who is possibly one of my everlasting favourite characters that I haven't had the time to read.

NOMMANAMATIONS

First nomination is Mizore Soryu by storyspoiler. Oh Radio, you've had quite a month, haven't you? Her stint in instinct*algorithm was a wonderful time, showcasing a rare occasion where the normally zen and unflappable Mizore became really vulnerable. I like seeing characters at their strongest, sure, but seeing how they react and how they're written when they're weak is often what separates the good characters from the great ones. Mizore knocked it out of the park, and even managed to transition quickly into some genuinely endearing goofiness straight after. The girl just loves her spraypaint, and I just love her. And then, after that, we... oh, she's in The Moon is Laughing at You! And she's having another one of her fascinating, naturalistic philosophical debates while creating beautiful art! One thing that I really appreciate is that Story, when she's writing Mizore's philosophies, isn't afraid to make her awkward and not-all-that-eloquent. Mizore's a hell of a weirdo, but she's a weirdo I could imagine knowing in real life. And one I'd really like knowing in real life. She's awesome.

Next, there is Zach Jamis by Ciel (arf arf). I'll be honest here: I read some of Ciel's other writing and the general verdict was "this is good standout, but not really a standout". Then I started to read Zach. Holy shit. Ciel really just brings his A-game to the table when writing Zach, creating such an entertaining and fascinating asshole that I just can't stop reading him. He has the distinction of being one of the only two characters in the game to make me laugh out loud, with the line "Death has become the new N'sync and you and me are the Justin and Lance." Hahahahaha beautiful, any character that can say a line like that with a straight face is pretty much automatically a wonderful character. And it's not just the humor. His philosophies, his reactions, his internal monologue, the way his kinda-actually-sound ideas conflict with his inherent dickishness, the entire apology section from his latest post... I love this dude. Great things are in his future.

Finally, we have Milo Taylor by Wicked Icon. Hey, remember how only two characters have made me laugh out loud? I think maybe Milo might be the other one. Every post is entertaining, every line is hilarious ("Are you down with the clown?" being my personal favorite), and everything about him just brings a smile to my face. What's more is that... Milo, at least to me, is one of the most genuinely likable people on the island. He's loud and obnoxious and entitled and cocky, sure, and I suppose you could try to explain some of his positive qualities away with "that's just because he's dumb". But he's also really brave, he trusts in people, he's friendly and sociable, and he doesn't actually ever hurt anyone. No, he actually goes out of his way to help them, in his dorky ridiculous way. Milo has a good heart, in a way that speaks to me a lot more strongly than some of the more obvious "here's a kind and friendly and altruistic person" characters. He's the most endearing and entertaining juggalo I've ever read, knocking Gamzee Makara down to #2. Let me repeat that for emphasis: Wicked Icon out-wrote Andrew Hussie. That deserves at least a nomination.

EDIT: Fuuuuuuuuck I forgot honorable mentions. THEY ARE: Mary-Ann Warren and RJ Lowe. Cries of the Voiceless was one of the best threads written this month, and it was really a team effort by those two to make it so honestly touching.

Okay. Had some time to mull this one over, and I'm ready with nominations.

In no particular order:

First up, we've got Ciel's Zach Jamis. Zach is a fascinating character for a large number of reasons. He's a jerk, but he's doing the right thing. He's an awful people person, but a passable leader. But, more than all that, he's got an incredibly strong voice, which carries throughout all his posts. You can tell a Zach post at a glance, just from the writing. And, through it all, he manages to be a persistently likeable character on an emotional level, even as he's telling an idealistic girl that her actions are just going to further Danya's corporate empire. Zach has just missed my nomination the past two months, but this month, his writing has been the best yet, and he's easily earned a spot on the list.

Next, we have Chib's Logan Reynolds. Logan is an absolutely fascinating character. He's had high quality writing throughout the version, but what really stands out is his story. Logan met up with the also-excellent Daisuke Nagazawa early on, and the two of them immediately decided to become player hunters. I honestly wasn't expecting a ton, but the dynamic between the two was totally awesome, as was their evolving friendship. Then, though, the real whammy came, when they encountered Kris Hartmann. While a fight was averted, this was enough to shake Logan's confidence, and he realized he couldn't actually kill anyone, and admitted such to his companion, who had just come to the opposite conclusion. That scene, and its resolution, is one of my favorites in V4, and is handled beautifully and realistically. Also, big nods to RJ Lowe, Kris Hartmann, and Daisuke Nagazawa, without whom it wouldn't have occurred.

Finally, I'm nominating Blastinus' Madeleine Smith. Madeleine wasn't a character I paid too much attention to early on. She had high quality writing, but nothing really made her stand out. Then she killed Jonathan Jarocki, and her reaction to that event was absolutely wonderful. Madeleine's continued questioning of her feelings and culpability, as well as her future interactions and the awkward timing of the revelation of her kill, have turned a good character into a great one. Hats off to Blast for Madeleine.

1. Kris Hartmann as written by Che Cluvera:
Alright, I may be re-hashing an old nomination here, but it deserves it. Kris has remained one of my favorite to read characters all through the past... 3? 4 months? Jeez time is flying. Her psychosis is so real to me though. A mistake which slowly rends her from neuron to neuron, the progression downhill coupled with the momentary glimpses of sanity that she has, in addition to the regret she feels. Some people may say it's not realistic, but I wholeheartedly disagree. I can definitely see someone making that mistake and taking the path Kris is taking. Plus, some of the scenes are just so... Imaginative. Such as the last one where she ended the life of Albert Lions. Her reactions are entertaining to read, and believable as well. All around incredibly written.

2. Tabitha Gweneth as written by Greg the Anti-Viking:
Another two characters that I have been reading almost religiously are Ivan Kuznetsov and Tabitha Gweneth. Yes, Ivan is an incredible character, I think we all can agree on that. However, Tabi definitely provides a stark contrast to Ivan that helps bolster the pair to the impeccable read that they are. I consider these pair my special little dose of welcomed island drama, since that seems to follow them wherever they go. Greg plays the fearful, "naive" girl well. And note the quotation marks. I honestly don't think that Tabi is naive by any normal meaning of the word. However, the way she is played, that's the only way I can find myself describing her.

3. Ilario Fiametta III as written by faceinabook
What can I say? Ilario is a character who doesn't get enough attention for his level of writing. The intricate attention to detail that Rosie paints is phenominal, and beautifully paints the picture of a boy who struggles between responsibility of his past and self interest. You can almost feel how much he cares about finding his siblings and protecting them, but you also get the thought in the back of your head he's partially doing it for his father's sake. It definitely makes for an interesting, three dimensional character that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. And the most recent kill, it's painfully obvious that his mind can't comprehend what he has let loose on his poor unsuspecting companion. I think Rosie definitely deserves some attention for this fantastic character.

Alright, it's about time I put in my two (or three) cents in on this one.

Hayley Kelly, as written by Hollyquin: Rewarding reading with some risque behavior? Check. Character development? Check. Slow descent into giggly madness? Check. Hayley definitely flew under my radar until recently. I began reading her when I found the thread 'Sorry Mom, Sorry God', then did a bit of a character binge as I jammed on each link to progressively backstep through Hayley's story. This is really the only way to appreciate Hayley exactly as written. Sure, she ends up without clothes... well, surprisingly quickly, but what could've ended up as a gimmick or blatant fanservice ends up integrated with the character and really pushes her along. Go ahead, read that thread , you'll see what I'm talking about. She's practically indescribable.

Daniel Kensrue, as written by Wheeler: The recently-passed Daniel was something of a shocker for me. First, being a self-insert, very few were prepared to actually see him die off early, which gives his death that 'sucker-punch' factor and makes for a bigger emotional impact. Also... DAMN. You can write a gory death to make somebody cringe, but that's just the cheap way of doing it. Daniel's death goes for the other angle, representing a boy who has a family, who had a life outside of this hellish island. The cuts to Daniel's family are, to say the least, melancholy. This one didn't actually have me in tears or even on the verge thereof, but it doesn't really have to; it leaves a bad taste in one's mouth as they think about just how senseless it was for DK to die, how senseless it is for ANYBODY to die in a manner like this.

Kris Hartmann, as written by Cluevara: I didn't like Kris. There, I said it. I honestly thought she was just a quick switch-to-psycho chick who was built to be one of the main killers of the island (and honestly, it's not the first time we've seen anything like this). Then Kris began to go bat-shit insane, and this has actually changed her in my eyes. I'm really quite fond of Kris now, and her rapid transition to a strange amalgamation of villain/anti-villain/repentant killer/psycho just strikes a chord with me. She's recognizing she's bad and coming face-to-face with what she's done and... oh hell, the whole encounter between her and Reiko is basically why she earns this nomination. It's fantastic.

Aaaaaaand looks like I'm finally voting this month! Yay!

~ I would like to cast my first vote for Mizore Soryu. I'm going to admit something I'm not proud of here- when I first saw Mizore's profile, all I saw was the japanese name and the pseudonym and I kind of stopped paying attention after that. Bad, bad call on my part. Feel free to slap me, Betsy- I deserve it because now that I've actually started to read her, Mizore is one of the most refreshing characters I've seen in a while. Most pacifist characters just kind of run around flailing their arms and hiding from baddies. Admittedly, that's kind of all they can do, given the situation- but it gets a little boring after a while. Mizore doesn't do that. She may not be trying to get off the island, but out of the characters who aren't trying to kill or escape or anything, Mizore is one of very few (if not the only) character doing something productive while she waits to die. I hope she sticks around for a good while, because I want her paintings to stay visible all over the island for years and years to come.

~ My second vote goes to Zach Jamis. Ok fine, this might look like kind of a copout since I already nominated someone who was in a scene with him. But Zach is just too awesome to pass up here. Sometimes when reading a story, or watching someone perform music, or viewing a painting, I can just feel how much the artist enjoyed producing that art and bringing it to my eyes and ears. That's the feeling I get from Zach. Zach is undoubtedly Jeff's best written character, and I think this feeling is the reason for that. I particularly enjoyed him in The Moon is Laughing at You- not only his conversation with Mizore, but his actions before that, with the kicking through the door of the ladies' bathroom. One important factor in stories involving separation from society is the breaking down of taboos- which makes Zach's actions believable and very relatable. I wonder if Jeff plans to develop on that breakdown? We'll just have to see.

~ And finally, I nominate R.J. Lowe. Yeah, yeah, I know, you're not supposed to just look at characters you've interacted with. But I doubt I'd forgive myself if I ruled out one of my favorite characters this version for such reasons. He is such a well-written, believable character, and probably one of the best-written SI's I've ever read. His guilt from killing Eva, his desire to protect those still alive and to take vengeance for those who aren't- these emotions are portrayed so well and reading them breaks my heart knowing how futile they are in the world of SOTF. Though this is more personal and probably not the best reason to nominate a character, Stark has been a joy to write with in my own character's interations with R.J. (and very helpful with my writing for Mary Ann, even before the couple met on the island). He and Mary Ann have such wonderful chemistry, and R.J's inability to speak brings an interesting challenge to their relationship and my own writing when it comes to their interactions. Those interactions have been my best writing so far and it certainly wouldn't have been possible without him.




Also, I feel obligated to extend an honorable mention to Jeremy Franco and Kimberly Nguyen- if you guys were eligible, you would be all over this thread.

Mizore Soryu. Let me tell you something. This thread is by far the best thread I've been in in a LONG long time. No offense to anyone else but I'm telling the honest truth. The whole thread is awesome, all of the writers in there are great and if I could I'd nominate every single last one. However storyspoiler h and I would hazard to guess that if she had not made her way in the thread would have suffered. That's not the end of it, no sir. Storyspoiler's posts all across the board have been solid without a single HINT of being rushed. She can consistently put out great posts, day after day after day. Mizore is a very unique character and she definitely deserves to be on here.

Ilario Fiametta III. I've been waiting for a very long time to put Ilario down here. Rosie is the best writer on the board and up until now she's been nearly missing the mark on my character of the month choices. This month I'm damn sure he deserves to be here. This thread is why I've changed my mind. Reading Jackson's death is like a brick to the face and Ilario's role in it is marvelous. Ilario's reaction is very heartwrenching. Ilario believes so deeply that he can save Jackson, even going so far as to fool himself into believing that Jackson is a-okay. I mean... wow. Ilario can't comprehend what he's done, it's just beyond him. And that just makes my heart sink.

RJ Lowe. RJ was in the same place as Ilario - I wanted to put him on here but I just haven't found a good reason. Until now. His thread with Mary-Ann is great, but that's not the only reason I'm putting him here. No to offend anyone here but SI's were never really my cup of tea, but when I read RJ Lowe before the start of V4 I thought he was a unique, believable character. He caught my eye even before Stark ever posted. What I like the most though is that RJ's ailment is not an essential part of his character. Here's what I mean. We've had a few mute characters before. I swear, each one of them could not go for two paragraphs without outright metioning being mute. The best part about RJ, for me, is that RJ's most prominent feature isn't that he's mute. Stark isn't point a neon sign at how RJ can't talk. I like that.

Honorable mentions:

Samya Franklin. Okay I can't vote for a fourth person but I feel terrible for not mention her. Samya needs to be here. Why? This post. Go ahead and read it. This post says so much in so few words. Samya has always been a favorite of mine and THIS post has transformed her from just a good character to a possible main character. I really feel that way. Sunny, you've done good. Keep going with Samya. Really.

And speaking of SI's, Daniel Kensrue needs to be mentioned. I wasn't really following him but Wheeler's posts in Dan's death thread went beyond the call of duty. Very nice.

1. Kristina Hartmann, as written by Che Cluevara.

Now, I know what you're thinking. I've threaded with her with two different characters, this much is true. However, let's examine cause and effect for a moment. Supposedly, we hold a degree of bias towards certain characters because we interact with them. However, at least in Kris' case, I submit that the opposite is true: I keep threading with her because she's such a damn joy to read. We see characters snap all the time in this game. It's a cliche, and considering the nature of SotF, it's inevitable. However, Clue's writing makes it perfectly believable, to the point where you sort of feel sorry for her, and she only keeps getting better with each post. The fact that I hate Reiko (In a good way, Rocky) as much as I do at the moment has as much to do with Clue's work with Kris in Lean on Me right now as it does anything else.

2. Zach Jamis, as written by Ciel.

Zach Jamis is a dick. You don't need me telling you this. When R.J. punched him in the jaw way back on Day 1, that was me acting vicariously through him. That said, it takes some solid writing to make me want to punch a fictional character, and while he's been hovering in second-tier territory for me, I've really come to warm up to him over the course of The Moon is Laughing at You. This is a guy with no real leadership traits being thrust into exactly that role because no one else can do it, and he fails at it with delightful aplomb. His conversation in the bathroom with Mizore Soryu, who I'll admit to never having cared too much for beforehand, has somehow managed to be a highlight of my October, as well.

3. Clio Gabriella, as written by Inky

So much has already been said about this girl that I'm not sure what I can possibly add, but damned if I won't try. With Clio, there's a sort of Jacks-esque anti-villain quality to her that makes you want to keep reading, and considering how many times she's been heroed, I can honestly say "makes you want to" and really mean it. Like Zach, she's been hovering just short of my A-List for a long time. Then Goodnight and Go happened, and it happened hard. It was one of the most feared characters in the game just breaking down, and it really went a long way to cementing her as one of the most three dimensional characters I've ever seen in RP.

Honorable mentions include Mary-Ann Warren by Ella, who is a joy to write with and without whom R.J. would have gone in a vastly different direction, Maria Graham by Super Llama, who is still my favorite overall, and Craig Hoyle by MK Kilmarnock, who nearly forced a coin flip with Clio, and deserves at least one mention here before his final sendoff.

CotM! (Oh man it's three guys who have already been nominated, what? I never do that)

Zach Jamis:

So yo! I'm in a thread with him! And didn't read him before I got in a thread with him! And then I got in a thread with him, and read him, and he was hilarious! And I was like HOLY SHIT THIS GUY IS SO GREAT and read all his back posts. And he was still great and awesome and unconventional and incredibly interesting. As you can probably see from my own characters, I love "freaks", and I love characters who are unpredictable (while being consistent, hopefully), and Zach is both. He is also multifaceted and (as Toben says) stupidly lovable even when he's being a jackass. So yeah. May he live long and continue to be frikkin' sweet.

Milo Taylor:

Another lovely, funny guy. Again, another person I've role-played with (GIANT HAX) and, in fact, the first time I started appreciating him is when I realized (rather belatedly) that he was the first person who'd interacted with Liz Polanski who hadn't flipped out/run away/tried to kill her and had (by virtue of not trying to do any of these three things) emotionally confused the fuck out of her. Instead, he was utterly convinced (correctly) that she wasn't a killer, and, after entangling himself in his own net-gun, asked her to free him. Yes, a lot of this action can be attributed to sheer idiocy and arrogance, but idiocy in and of itself doesn't get one so trusting of the world or willing to think good of others in the worst possible situations (especially goth-girl pariah knife-wielding freaks). And now, with his interaction with Rob Jenkins ("are you down with the clown?") and the absolute insanity it takes to play Insane Clown Posse on the loudest possible volume in the middle of a forest when you're utterly weaponless…he just wins.

Ilario Fiametta III:

Didn't start reading this guy until the death of Jackson Ockley. After the death of Jackson Ockley, he became my third nominee. His reaction to the death is just so believable, down to the details flitting through his head, and the amount of care that Rose puts into the writing is just incredible. She brings scenes alive, more than any other writer I've seen on the boards. Looking forward to reading more of her, and especially more Ilario--and oh, did I mention how much courage it takes to have one of your characters accidentally kill another one with a lipstick gun? Sucker-punch unexpected and full of awesome.

Bump. Only a couple of days left.

Imma try to squeeze in here at the last hour and apologize for the shortness of my reasons. LET'S ROLL


R.J. Lowe: I really really liked Cries of the Voiceless because of the interaction between R.J. and Mary Ann. The two of them really got to me and a credit to Stark's writing is half the time I don't even remember that R.J. can't talk until he needs to write something to Mary. He feels guilt for being a killer, yet his desire to protect the girl he loves (plus quite the last minute declaration of love) touched me. Good work, Stark T_T.


Illario Fiametta: This is my second time nominating Illario but he's only gotten better since his first appearance in Unquestioned Answers. Everything I liked about him then comes back in full force here. His duty to his family and sisters is interplayed with his sort of delicate nature in general and his reaction to Jackson's death was expert. Plus, I'm always a fan of faceinabook, no one can describe a scene like her.

Nick Ried: I'm a big fan of Sad!Nick because I feel like he's a very well written, realistic type of character. I loved how he and Jennifer got together in what seemed like a calm time only to have it whiplash right to hell. He's not a pushover and he is desperate to survive and as he goes on that survivalist in him is starting to take the wheel. His development has been well paced and satisfying to read. Cheer for you, Rattle!

I'M CASHING IT IN RING THE DAMN BELL. K, so I'm gonna type really quickly and do this shit before Josh closes it because I figured out who I want to nom for! (Apologies if my reasons are kind of short)

First up is Isabel Guerra, handled by Ruggahissy. Yes, I'm in a thread with her, and yes, I've been in threads with her for the whole game, but I really think that Isabel this month has been great. RPing with Isabel has been a blast and I hope we can continue for as long as possible.

Second up is the incredibly obvious Zach Fucking Jamis, handled by Ciel. Yeah, I know pretty much everyone has voted for him so far, but I really believe that Zach was one of the best written characters this month. His recent posts, especially the very recent memory thread, have been a pleasure to read and I hope he carries on being awesome for a while to come.

Third and final for this month would be Leila Langford, handled as always by the great Hallucinogenic. Leila is, without a doubt, one of the most entertaining characters in V4, and she deserves way more than she gets. Yes, she's kind of a bitch, but she's a well-written, entertaining bitch, and it's that that's gained her a nomination from me this month.

Honourable mentions go to Roland Harte, who has also been a fun read, albeit he hasn't really done that much this month, which kind of kept me from nominating him, and Charlie DuClare, who I would have totally nominated this month if Jonny wasn't ineligable.

Firing off mine before I close this up.


Dustin Royal: Is it fair to nominate for a single moment? Maybe it isn't. But my god I laughed so hard. You all know what I'm talking about. Golden.

Samya Franklin: Reason? The post aforementioned by Ciel. It had a hell of a lot of emotion in it. A hell of a lot. Not much more I can say than that. I've enjoyed the dynamic with Dustin so far, but that really put it (and her) on the map.

Can you tell what thread I've been enjoying?

Liz Polanski (1)
Sarah Xu (2)
Zach Jamis (7)
Colin Falcone (1)
Milo Taylor (3)
Mizore Soryu (3)
Madelaine Smith (1)
Logan Reynolds (1)
Kris Hartmann (3)
Tabitha Gweneth (1)
Ilario Fiametta III (4)
Hayley Kelly (1)
DK (1)
R.J Lowe (3)
Clio Gabriella (1)
Nick Reid (1)
Isabel Guerra (1)
Leila Langford (1)
Samya Franklin (1)
Dustin Royal (1)

Thanks to all who nominated. Poll going up soon.

[+] V4 Third COTM Votes

Vote for one of the following.

Zach Jamis (7 noms)
Ilario Fiametta (4 noms)
Milo Tayor (3 noms)
Mizore Soryu (3 noms)
Kris Hartmann (3 noms)
R.J Lowe (3 noms)

R.J Lowe

Milo Taylor : D

Zach Jamis

Guys, don't vote for R.J.

Zach Jamis

R.J. Lowe.

Guys, don't vote for R.J.

Much as you may not be fond of it - they're just opinions my friend.

I ask that if you intended to vote for R.J, then do so, such that we can shove it down Stark's throat. ^^

Clu stop trying to rig the polls.

Mizore Soryu

Ilario Fiametta. Seriously guys, Rosie deserves this.

Zach Jamis

Mizore Soryu!

Close, but I'm gonna have to go with Ilario Fiametta.

Zach Jamis

Ilario Fiametta or Kris Harttman... Jeez, this is a close one. I'm gonna have to vote for Ilario Fiametta though.

So, so many good ones. This month, though, it's gotta be Zach Jamis.

Ilario Fiametta.

Even though he killed me.

Ilario Fiametta, hands-down.

Zach Jamis.

Zach Jamis.

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V4 Fourth Character Of The Month Contest (November 2010)

[+] V4 Fourth COTM Nominations

Notes:
* You must have a good reason for your nomination. We're not asking for dissertations, but 'Cuz he's mai favrite' is not going to stand.
* Try to nominate on merit as opposed to simply people you like or RP with. This is about acknowledging good writing, not a popularity contest.
* There is no reward for winning except praise.
* Winners will not be eligible for nomination in consecutive months.


THIS IS NOT POLITICAL. Please don't start making it that.


Ciel's characters are ineligible this month.

Sorry about how crappy these are, or if some of the explanations don't make sense. Turkey Coma. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

1. Liam "Brook" Brooks: Written by MK Kilmarnock.

Alright. I've been reading all of MK's characters, and as much as I love them, Brook really stands out this month. In his current topic, you can just feel what he's going through. Happiness turned to terror in the blink of an eye. Rick really handled this transition extremely well, and Brook is definitely going through some serious development as a character. Beautifully written, I can't stress it enough. I mean, seriously. His disbelief is obvious here, and the worst part is that Jason is the one that pulled the Trigger.

2. Peter Siu: Written by Solomir.

And not to neglect the other side of this equation. This spot was a toss up between Peter and Tiffany actually. However, I finally decided on Peter, because while he is playing himself through as the calm, collected person who knows what to do (the first aid, his suggestions on where to go), it's his internal thoughts that really make the character. Sure, we know what's going on in his head, but the other characters don't. I think when you look at Peter with that in mind, combined with his abrasive yet selfless demeanor, it blends into an incredible mix that is fantastic to read. You're really outdoing yourself with this one Joe.

3. Maxwell Lombardi: Written by Fioriboy

Okay, I'll admit I was extremely late to the game in starting to read Maxwell. I saw all the reviews of him being an asshole that everyone loves to hate, and honestly, I didn't bat much of an eyelash. Boy, was I missing out. Normally, I'm not the biggest fan of villain characters (hence why I tend to not write them). Fiori's writing is INSANE though, and you can tell just how little he cares about anything but getting home. Seriously, if anyone hasn't read this character yet, please go read him now. His latest topic shows him having just killed someone in cold blood, yet his only real concern is cleaning himself up a little. You can just see how desensitized he has become to what's going on, how focused his is on his goal. As far as villains go, no, as far as characters go Maxwell is completely worth the read. Awesome job Fiori.

Alright, so as usual, I see it fit to place my nominations!

1. Peter Siu, as played by Solomir - It's really difficult to explain why Peter is a good choice for CotM without just re-glossing over what Travis said, but I'll do my best to be unique. What's just happened in the swamp is pivotal for the development of Peter, Brook, Jason, and to an extent, Tiffany (death is a development, right?). So far, we've gotten to see one side of Peter: the side that valiantly flies in the face of the spirit of the game. He's an average joe (pun intended) highschooler with a realistic sense of goals and views who's been trying to make do with what he's given, but now with his world being turned upside down, we'll have to wait and see where he goes. The mere potential at this cross-roads coupled with the first few steps Peter has already taken make him a great candidate for CotM of November '10.

2. Feo Eleri Smith, as played by Fri'Chickenisha - I think it would be safe to say that Feo is currently one of the most underrated characters on the island. I had heard almost nothing about her until happening onto the thread The House of the Rising Sun'. I'll try to give a spoiler-free version of this evaluations for those who haven't read, but would wish to: the events unfolding in this thread alone qualify Feo for SOME recognition at least, and because all throughout the touching scene she fails to qualify for our other awards, I feel Feo is a deserving candidate for CotM of November '10.

3. Tabi Gweneth, as played by Greg the Anti-Viking - Yes, I have nominated Tabi once again. I skipped out on her last time in an effort to give somebody else a chance, but this month decided to include her once more. Why did I do this? Because if there was ever a third deserving candidate for this month's award, then that third spot is Tabi. The girl hasn't accomplished a whole lost just as far as her actions are concerned... and that's the point. What Greg's done is taking a high school girl, no less ordinary than one you used to go to school with (or are still going to school with), and having her cope with the terrors she's facing. Yes, we all do that, but if you want to read the tale of a slow struggle to find resolve and inner strength, then she's a good place to start. Tabi's feat of showing us how entertaining a character can be to read without performing a lot of actions makes her a great candidate for CotM of November '10.

Dang. Two posts in and my top two are already taken.

Well, here goes anyways:

Feo Eleri Smith, by Sunny. Feo is an awesome character, plain and simple. She managed to be involved in some genuinely touching moments, and, given the characters involved, that's saying a good bit. Feo is a really well-rounded character, with charm, assertiveness, and enough bite to always be fun. Plus, she was involved in an actually tasteful sex scene, which takes immense talent. Sunny deserves mad props.

Liam Brooks, by MK Kilmarnock. Ricky's characters are all great, plain and simple. Brook has reached a special level of awesome this month, though. His reactions in the tunnels, his range of emotions during his brief meeting with Tiffany, all of that combines for some of the best writing we've seen this version. I've always liked Brook, but now he's one of my clear favorites. Great job, Ricky. Keep it up.

Eiko Haraguchi, by Solitair. Eiko is an amazing character, because she manages to pull together some of the more difficult to RP character elements masterfully. She's a foreign exchange student, and shows very strong aspects of her original culture, but still has a very detailed personality outside of it. She's a bit of a manipulator and schemer, but is at the same time a sympathetic character who you can actually get behind. This month in specific, her reactions to some very tough situations have been spot on, and she's been a joy to read. I look forward to seeing where she goes. I'd like to give nods Eiko's frequent threadmate Peter Siu, who has been an excellent read since the start of pregame as well as throughout V4, and is, I see, getting the respect he deserves in the other nominations.

START THE NOM


Liam Brooks by MK Kilmarnock. Poor thing, from the betrayal in the tunnels up into Everything's Nature to Fall this boy's had a bad run but he's just so sympathetic. His writting in Fall is great, spanning a large range of emotions as he sees the girl he's always loved and then dropping down to the lowest low when he realizes his best friend was the one who did her in. Every transition feels natural and is somehow gentle. I really feel his horror and I feel for him.


Feo Eleri Smith by Fri'Chickenisha. Allllriiiggght, I know I shouldn't nom someone I've been with since the start of the game but I think she really really deserves it. She's tough, but she has those little insecurities that become clear once you look deeper into her, but those insecurities just drive her further more. Her emotion was fantastic in the scene I was in with her and she is always entertaining. She seems like a person you'd really find out in the real world and though I don't always expect the reactions she has, they always make sense. Her determination mixed in with her saddness made for a really touching read. A+.

Leila Langford by Hallucinogenic. I like strong girls, I really do. Leila's always been fun to read but I think she went the extra step this month. She started out in the tunnels with the boys where she made off with a weapon and she was a fantastic bitch. Though all the while you could feel hints of her concern for her best friend which really paid off when it came down to the beautiful death she had a hand in. It was nice to see her soft, but when she needed to straighten up and buckle down, she's capable of that too. There are a lot of different facets to her and for that reason I'm thowing her some nom love.

Okay, I shall nominate here and some people should actually nominate this time round :C


1) Liz Polanski: How many people can honestly say they have written a character that has had such a huge effect on SOTF? Okay, now narrow it down to how many honestly new people to SOTF can say they've done the same thing? Now I'm not gonna nominate Liz on that basis alone, but because of the way that betsy really springs forth with the wide range of emotions that Liz is going through right now. This is a girl who's gotten someone killed, royally fucked up the game and nearly everyone involved in it, and could probably almost do anything right now.

Yeah, I've run out of reasons really.

2) and 3) Rena Peters and Raine Schwarz: Now HERE are two vastly, and I mean VASTLY underappreciated writers. While you can say that chibinashiashiashi (>.<)'s posts are a little on the skimpy side, that's okay. You can say that CaseyNuge's posts are a little on the "generic" side, but that's okay. But what you NEED to know is that, as of their most recent posts in "It Knows Nothing Of Whim", these are two girls that are worn down to their wits end. One girl has finally snapped, and the other has finally broken down. You can tell there was a very good reason that chibi wanted to save Raine when she was rolled, and honestly, I couldn't have seen a more worthy person to save at the announcements (except someone who my character was in a thread with XD) than Raine Schwarz. A handler that truly cares a lot about their character, and I mean TRULY enough to grovel to that extent, and then go through with their promise and write one of the most moving scenes in v4 that isn't a death scene really deserves even this slightest honor.

Ethan Kent:

Yeah, he's dead. Yeah, he was a jerk. But he was an excellently-written touching jerk, and his death hit me like a motorcade on the I-57. He kept narrowly missing my CotM noms, but this time…yeah, he pulls it off. I've been rereading him, and he's easy to underestimate as a character--but take another look. He's complex, compelling and rich.

Aston Bennet:

So I'm doing something I really shouldn't do--I'm nominating Aston quite a lot on potential. I've liked how Inky writes her a lot--her narcissism is amusing and not a little bit tragic in this situation--but she hasn't "done much" until This Post (http://s10.zetaboards.com/SOTF_V2/single/?p=8696956&t=7305501), and suddenly I'm reading "Wind In The Willow" raptly and hoping it will update soon. Inky, you've done a job with a unique character, and damn, now I enjoy reading her more than ever.

Third person is Tiffany Baker.

It was between Peter Siu and Tiffany Baker this month, but Tiffany Baker wins by a nose, off of Solomir's amazing deathpost--Peter Siu will live to be nominated another day.

Tiffany, I've been following ever since the beginning. Her first post, The Worst Gun In The Game, was striking--how many characters get a nice gun on SOTF, and immediately, without hesitation, throw it away? But then she'd need to hurt people, to kill people. Tiffany couldn't accept that. That was wrong, even if it was easier. She had been taught many times that it was worth doing the right thing no matter how easy it was to not. Tiffany's not a ninja, a killer, or a self-proclaimed hero, but she's one of the best people on the island; striking because, until the end, she's loyal, good, and true, and I believe it. There's no manipulation in her innocence, in her fierce goodness and her ability to believe in people. And her relationship to Peter Siu, and her love for him, right to the end, is actually heartbreaking, in every serious use of the term.

If this doesn't get more involvement, I'm going to discontinue it. Not exactly much point with minimal contribution. It doesn't MATTER if you haven't read everyone or have nominated someone before. If you have really enjoyed a particular character, nominate them, otherwise COTM is gonna die a death pretty soon.

1) Liam Brooks by MK Kilmarnock - There's not much to say that hasn't already been said, but I'm going to say it anyway. Brook is, plain and simple, a wonderfully written and almost tragic character. You can really relate to what he feels during his betrayal, and he's a very real and poignant character.

2) Morgan Leftowitz by Greg the Anti- Viking.- Oh Morgan. Morgan is a character that almost never makes me stop giggling. His bumbling upon seeing Jen Romita nude is both hilarious and adorable, as is his attempted mug camouflage. His somewhat bumbling nature is endearing, and I love him to death. Really an enjoyable character to read.

3) Liz Ploanski by Storyspolier- I'm not going to lie, I never even thought about Liz until after the recent announcement. After hearing about her collar tampering, my curiosity was piqued, and I went to go check her out. And I was blown away. Liz is really ranged character, and well written and everything, but the true power of Liz is that she is one of only a handful of characters who have me on the edge of my seat waiting for their next post. Liz is a part of something huge this version, and I can't wait to see her story played out to it's full climax.

(Also, come one, lets get some more CotM noms! This took me a while to come up with, but everyone has at least one favorite character, and we really should honor them- and their fantastic writers!)

((Seriously. BKA, BDA, and CotM are incredible incentives to strive to write better, don't let it die guys. Please.))

Didn't really want to get involved in this again... but then again, no one wants to see this die.

Liam "Brook" Brooks, as written by MK: Yes, again. Brason!

Seriously though? He is an absolutely wonderful character and Ricky is an absolutely wonderful writer. I like all his characters so far and Brook has, so far, remained my favorite out of all of them. Following him and Jason from the moment they started to their current situation and even being able to have a hand in some of the events occurring, it's simply an amazing read and time well spent.

One thing though... where is Brason? QUICK, SOMEONE WRITE IT.

Jimmy fucking Brennan, as written by Little: Even if it was for only a few posts, I certainly enjoyed writing with Little and have since been following Jimmy quite closely. Despite my misgivings toward most characters who seem to be done for comic relief, I really enjoy Jimmy and am really looking forward to reading his story as it continues. It really does seem like Jimmy only had bad days and days where he isn't kicked in the nuts. Who knows, maybe by the end of his story he'll finally have one good day.

And then he'll die.

And it will have been amazing.

Finally, and this was a bit of a toss up, but I think I'll have to choose...

No one!

Really, I couldn't choose between everyone else I've been reading. It's quite hard to pick between them all, between Jason Harris and Tiffany Baker and Peter Siu and Peter McCue and Carly Jean and... yeah, there are too many to pick from. That's just the names I pulled off the top of my head, there are about six or seven more I wanted to nominate. Maybe I'll edit something in when and if I decide, but for now, I think I'll leave it at just two. Maybe.

If it seems like I had to take a while to think of people to nominate, that's not the fault of the writers. It's my fault for being to scatterbrained to remember everyone's high points. Regardless, I've finally came up with a few favorites of mine.

1. Liz Polanski: I don't know if Liz getting her collar to shut down was planned out by the mods ahead of time or if it was all story's idea. Either way, it was a really ballsy scene to pull off and I enjoyed reading it. Liz has always been a standout character in my mind, largely because of the whole beheading incident at the beginning of her story. Now she's gone in a new direction and I can't wait to see what happens to her next.

2. Jimmy Brennan: This guy walks a pretty fine line between being obnoxious and being pitiable. Sometimes it seems like he's only there to get kicked into the ground like Team Rocket, but I kind of feel sorry for him anyway. I want him to catch a break and win something even though it'll probably never happen and, let's face it, he probably doesn't deserve it.

3. Mizore Soryu: I'm nominating based on what I feel are unique characters, and Mizore is another good example. She doesn't seem all that concerned with the game, or at least the fighting aspect, just wanting an opportunity to make something beautiful before she dies. Her story has a detached feel to it, and has a lot of tender, talky bits to it. I happen to like that.

Honorable mention goes to Meredith Hemmings, who's beginning to make me laugh as Pandora Black.

Please, Clue, you won't discontinue this. Or at least, I don't believe you will.

1. Liz Polanski Mizore Soryu may be one of my favorite characters, but Liz has managed to pose a major threat to the structure of the Game by Day 5. That's quite a feat, at least in my book. Additionally, she's convenient and capable without being unbelievable, and she's clearly going to break the game without necessarily violating it's fundamental tenets. She's belieavable while still being her own character, and while Betsy's characters are always among my favorite, I still like Liz, especially this present game.

2. Maxwell Lombardi Maybe this is because Max killed Simon, but Max continues to impress me. He is a murderous sonofabitch without being unbelievable, and his violent tendencies are clear-cut without being ridiculous.

3. TBD

Okay I apologise if these come off as rambling because I'm typing really quickly at 8am while coming off of sickness, but here are my nominees from the last month:

1. Leila Langford, handled by Zeh- Hallucinogenic. Yes, I voted for her last month, however, I honestly do believe that Leila has become a hugely more sympathetic character in the past month, something that she was kind of lacking in before. This thread in particular is a must-read, and has really made Leila grow as a character. Well worth a vote this time around. You done good, Stef. <3

2. JJ Sturn, handled originally by GameMaker, adopted by Jonny. Wow. That's all I can really say about JJ this month. The whole thread with him, Claire and DK was by some of the oldest remaining handlers on the site and man, it showed. However I think the person who shined the most in that thread was JJ, who just hasn't suffered the character changes that most characters go through when they swap handlers; in fact I think Jonny's version of JJ has the potential to be better, if he keeps up what he's doing with him right now.

3. Bridget Connolly, handled by Rocky. Woah, this one was a shocker, wasn't it? Well, I've been reading Bridget since waaaaaaaaay back in the clusterfuck that was D-Day, and while she mostly went under the radar while that thread was going on (and on, and on, and on, and on) now that she's out of it, she's really starting to get some good momentum going, and has had a lot of pretty strong posts, in the group with Sarah, and in this thread right here which, although it's just started, has been really good so far, and I'm really eager to see it continue!

Honourary Mentions go to Claire Lambert and Daniel Kensrue, because I didn't want to nominate all three people in a thread, the awesome tag-team of Jen Romita and Morgan Leftowitz, who- as well as being awesome to write with- have been on a roll the last month, and Carol Burke, who was one of my favourite Pre-Game characters, and has been really good this month despite being slated to die ;~;

With the caveat that i've barely read anything in the past few weeks, and as such all my votes are horribly biased because they're for characters i've shared a thread with, I'm going to go ahead and do my first CotM voting (yaaay)

1. Alice Boucher - Another handler-swap which I think has been done really very well, I loved her in Heartbeat Symphony and the weird Stockholm syndrome and internal conflict about whether to assist or kill her captor and protector is an interesting one.

2. Bridget Connolly - This one feels like I'm cheating a bit, but anyway. Rocky has put a lot of thought and a lot of effort into characterising her and I think it's really starting to show. The reason it might be cheating a little bit is that I've had the privilege of planning and collaborating on the Bridget-related stuff with Rocky and that just makes me love her more.

3. Trent Savage - I know he's spent most of the game knocked the fuck out, but god I feel sorry for him. Stef has written him really, really well and I loved the way he thought about and interacted with Craig, and how he's now reacting to his death and the guilt he feels for it.

4. Aileen Borden - Apart from the fact she's wonderfully written by Kami, I'm just loving her particular brand of snark and exasperation with the people she's found herself having to work with. She might be the one sane person in Aaron's group.

I think honourable mentions are deserved by way, way too many people. If I could put down everyone I wanted this would be a long, long list and would include everyone I've had the opportunity to work with. SO, if you're not mentioned above you probably should be

So I think I'm going to actually vote on this this month xD

1. Feo Eleri Smith- I really don't think there's much more I can say that hasn't already been said. I've always been a fan of Feo, all the way back when she got her fingers blown off by a wayward stick of dynamite. But what really makes me deem her worthy of the CoTM nod for me is Sunny's work in House of the Rising Sun and the preceding thread What are Little Girls made of? If you haven't read either of those threads, then I urge you to do so now, because it is some amazing work.

2. Carol Burke- Okay, I might be a bit biased on this one, but hey. Kami has really put her all into all of her characters, but this month, at least for me, Carol stands head and shoulders above the rest. She has been through a whirlwind of emotions, from sadness, to fear, to joy, and back again leading up to her unfortunate and inevitable death, and you could feel the emotions resonating off her as she stuck to her morals to the bitter end. Kami made me feel bad about taking part in Carol's death, and for that, I tip my hat.

And that's all I have for this month for now, if I think of a third I'd like to nominate and there's still time, then I shall do so.

Okay well, I didn't do as much reading this month as I would have liked, but y'know. I figured it would be worth it to post anyway.

Maxwell Lombardi - In terms of bastards, Max consistently ranks in the upper tier of bastard-dom. I find him completely unsympathetic, but at the same time, that's really appealing in this game. At least the way Fiori has done it. A lot of the villians in SotF do have like, a level where we can be sympathetic towards them and the situation they're in. Maxwell doesn't have that, at least with me, and that usually makes for a boring villain. However Fiori isn't a bad writer. It works to his advantage and really, I enjoy reading every post he's had this month. Maxwell is a complete monster at times, but at the same time he's also very real.

Ethan Hunt - Can you nominate dead characters? Because I'm nominating Ethan not solely based on his death post (Which was also amazing btw). Up until his demise I was having a lot of fun watching and reading Ethan. My favorite characters in SotF are the ones that come off as real, as someone I could go to school and meet in the hallway. Ethan was pretty much that, and his interpretation of the game, wanting to be killed by Danya himself and all that, that was refreshing to read. I miss him already.

Liam "Brook" Brooks - I remember nominating Brook before, and I really hope he gets the recognition he deserves this Month. Out of all the characters who've been going through breakdowns and facing the reality of the game, Brook is by far one of the most realistic. His scene with Jason is just pure awesome and is a joy to read. In terms of like, consistent quality, Ricky is one of the best handlers on here and Brook would be one of the first characters I'd show to someone wanting to read SotF. Give a good first impression and whatnot.

No vote for this month was ever held, and Character Of The Month was discontinued afterwards.

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V5 First BKA/BDA (June 2013)

[+] V5 First Awards

Alrighty, folks! It is time for the first BKA/BDA of V5. I'm going to take a few moments to explain some changes that you may or may not be aware of.

First off, votes will remain hidden until the voting period has ended. This is to prevent a pattern we saw in V4, where handlers would vote more based on who they wanted to win of the characters getting votes than who they thought deserved to win overall.

Voting is, as in V4, anonymous. To vote, you must log out and post as a guest. You may not vote for yourself/your own character (and staff has a few ways to check this, and actually does). Also, please vote for the scene you truly feel was best, rather than the one your friend wrote. We get that they may be the same, but would really like to encourage everyone to really consider their votes. V4 had a lot of voting-for-a-friend going on. With the null as prize removed, we're hoping that will help remove incentive to do that sort of thing.

Votes for different deaths/kills by the same handler/character will not be compiled, as was finalized in late V4. Each kill/death stands alone.

Now, the prizes.

BKA will, as always, get you a weapon.

BDA will get the deceased character featured in the scrolling quote. The quote will be chosen by the site, through a poll, with nominations available for a short time beforehand (and yes, the character's handler is eligible to nominate quotes of their choosing). We've chosen this because it does what BDA was initially intended to do—celebrate an extraordinary piece of writing. It does not give any tangible benefit (which was the source of a lot of awfulness in BDA in V4), but lets the handler feel good about themselves and brings more attention to the scene.

Of course, this is a new idea, so we'll be seeing how it works, and welcome feedback/suggestions for changes through PMs to Help. Please note, we will not be considering any prizes that offer benefits to handlers as far as staying in the game/saving characters goes.

Also, a quick reminder: characters who miss the start of a contest, even with an extension, will no longer be rolled into the next month's contest. This is because it was leading to continuity snarls for BKA (the terrorists awarded several prizes a day late in V4) and to stalling for BDA (handlers would extend a scene to get more time to do a better job, in hopes of winning a null). With game-affecting prizes removed, we feel it's fair to enforce this rule, since it also significantly lightens the bookkeeping load for staff.

Also, remember that you must give your reasons for your votes, or they will be disqualified. As they are anonymous, tracking down people who fail to provide adequate reasoning is a huge hassle, and I don't think staff is gonna bother. So be sure to give your reasoning when you post.

Please be sure to read every kill and death before voting. Otherwise, it's super unfair to the people you skip, who may have produced really good work. We'd love to see a big turnout, but we'd prefer to see a small-yet-informed one.

Finally, a personal (that is, not staff-official) request: Please do not campaign for awards in chat. Please do not do the "Man, it'd be so cool to win BKA/BDA" thing. Please do not try to steer people towards one of your scenes if you have multiple ones up for consideration. Please do not, in short, try to influence the votes. V4's contests got very much into the realm of "This is why we can't have nice things", and while we'd love to keep the contests as a part of the site, if they cause nothing but trouble and drama I, at least, will vote against continuing them.

With that out of the way, it is time for the very first BKA/BDA of V5.

BEST KILL AWARD:
Theodore Fletcher, for killing Gabriella Parker
Hansel Williams, for killing Daniel Whitten
Theodore Fletcher, for killing Dan Liu
Joe Carrasco, for killing Jason Meyers
Katarina Konipaski, for killing Kelly Peterson
Iselle Ovalle-Vandermeer, for killing Sven Olsen

BEST DEATH AWARD:
Slamexo, for the death of Dave Russell
Slamexo, for the death of Gabriella Parker
dmboogie, for the death of Daniel Whitten
bacon, for the death of Dan Liu
leAloha, for the death of Jason Meyers
bacon, for the death of Kelly Peterson
Bikriki, for the death of David Zimmer
Mimi, for the death of Sven Olsen

This contest will run for five days, like we did in the past. The announcement will be up shortly after that. This should leave us on schedule to have mid-months at, well, the middle of the month.

First

BKA:My favorite kill was actually Joe Carrasco, just because it seemed like a really, really panicked and terrified kill. He freaked out, tried to defend his group, and accidentally mortally wounded a potential friend. To make matters worse, he was so traumatized by all the blood and whatnot that he went and killed the person in a mercy kill. It was very well done by the entire group, and the reactions to him were spot-on. Not to mention it'd be funny if they gave a mercy killer a cool weapon.

BDA: I was really, really fond of a couple deaths so far. Daniel Whitten was good, but I have to give it to Gabby Parker. Gabby's slow, painful breakdown as she realized that her killer could not be reasoned with no matter how hard she tried, and eventually her brutal, screaming death, was a really climactic and well-done buildup, and I think Slam did a great job with Gabby despite his minimal time to work on her.

BKA: Katarina Konipaski

BDA: Sven Olsen

THIS VOTE WAS DISQUALIFIED DUE TO LACK OF RATIONALE.

BKA: Katarina Konipaski, for killing Kelly Peterson. I felt that this was the best example of how an early killing should be. It wasn't rushed, it wasn't out out of self-defense, and she didn't decide to play. No, Katarina honestly felt that she had to kill at least one person, so everybody wouldn't get their heads blown off. KK felt like she would be letting everybody else on the island die is she didn't kill someone, only because she couldn't imagine any of her classmates stooping so low. She honestly felt like she had to force this burden onto herself, and that's a line of thinking that doesn't happen enough on the island.

BDA: leAloha, for the death of Jason Meyers. The reasoning behind this is a bit different then why I voted for Katarina. Instead of the reasoning and meaning behind it, this is one is purely for writing. I was honestly surprised about how the story turned out, and how cleverly it was pulled off. Everyone involved did great for their parts, making the death of Jason almost perfect as a whole. It's a good example of how to pull off a twist, and should be a goof note on story-telling for future V5 adventures.

Best Kill Award: Iselle Ovalle-Vandermeer, for killing Sven Olsen.

Best Death Award: bacon, for the death of Kelly Peterson.

THIS VOTE WAS DISQUALIFIED DUE TO LACK OF RATIONALE.

BKA: Katarina Konipaski, for killing Kelly Peterson

I appreciate navel-gazing. On a more serious note, I found it a nice touch how she lies to herself even while carrying out the deed. I also liked the motivation for the killing - it's reasoned out to a good degree, and we get some notion of the 24-hour-no-kills rule's effects on potential killers.

BDA: Mimi, for the death of Sven Olsen

I feel like Mimi has a knack for getting into the heads of characters. There's a sort of drive, I guess, from the beginning of their stories to the end, and although Sven didn't have much of an in-game presence, it's easy to get a feel for who he is. That carries through to his death in a good way, and we even get some comments about his relationship with Andi and Fiona. It's well-written, as well. I really like the sentence flow.

Also want to note (honorable mention, etc) leAloha and dmboogie for Jason Meyers' death and Daniel Whitten's death. I liked Jason's "heaven instead of home" line, and for Daniel, the omniscient narration was pulled off admirably.

I know I said I wouldn't do this, but I'm doing it anyways.

BROseidon and Docbalance, please resubmit your votes.

Also, remember that you must give your reasons for your votes, or they will be disqualified. As they are anonymous, tracking down people who fail to provide adequate reasoning is a huge hassle, and I don't think staff is gonna bother. So be sure to give your reasoning when you post.

Bka Katarina

It stands out for two reasons. One, rattle writes the kill very well. He does a good job invoking the terror of killing. Second, it was one of a few non-gun kills. That makes it stand out because its just more gruesome and brutal. There is more of a connection between Kat and Kelly.

Bda Sven

It really comes down to quality of writing for me. Mimi's prose is just superb, and she does a good job thematically tying together a character in a very short amount of time.

BKA: Had it not been ruled as an accident, I totally would have given Cassidy Kant my vote for BKA as an unconventional death. However, since this wasn't meant to be, I'm going to give my vote to Joe Carrasco.

Jesus, man, that mercy kill. Even though it was his fault for shooting Jason Meyers in the first place, I can't help but feel bad for him. Jason really had to fight through his fear of blood and the tears in order to end a life, which I really enjoyed reading up to the climactic moment. Now he'll have to deal with the repercussions, which will be fun to see.

Well done, Violent-Medic; I tip my hat to you.



BDA: I feel like Slamexo's portrayal of Gabriella Parker deserves the Best Death Award. There's, of course, the whole fact that she was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time as she was gunned down by Theo Fletcher for no reason other than because she was there, but one other thing I really like is how she was cornered.

Instead of simply being a physical struggle, she tried her best to appeal to Theo's logic and emotions, first commanding him to lower his gun and eventually degenerating into crying over being backed into a corner with no other options. The fear of this progression was really well written, and it was overall a really sad case of dying for a nihilistic reason. Really well done.

I'd like to vote for Iselle Ovalle-Vandermeer, for killing Sven Olsen.

To me this death makes the most sense. If deaths can make sense. Theodore Fletcher has turned into an instant player, which I dislike. Of the other deaths none of them seemed intentional, but Iselle is the only person who was provoked into an attack.

I would like to vote for Mimi and Sven for BDA. To me, most of the other death's border on being meta. The language changes from the character's voice, to the author's voice.

BKA: Iselle Ovalle-Vandermeer. I liked Iselle's killing because I could get why she did it. Sure, it wasn't exactly complicated, but I could understand the idea of just trying to defend herself, especially since it was violent but not what I would call malicious.

BDA: I'm gonna vote dmboogie for the death of Daniel Whitten. I feel like the death did a good job of illustrating why the death was senseless and unnecessary, and with what was being lost, without being overdramatic.

BKA: Hansel for Daniel - While I disagree with some of the way the kill was presented, namely in that the whole "accidental headshot" thing seemed a little improbable and the scene as a whole hinged on Hansel doing something stupid that he really should've known better than to ever do, I liked what Naft and Boogie were going for enough to overlook it a little. I liked the understated, over-in-an-instant manner of the kill, and the way it's affected the scene since, though I doubt Naft planned for it to turn into a clown-car thread.

BDA: Boogie for Daniel - This ties into a lot of what I said for Hansel, but I liked the lack of drama or overwrought bloodiness to this death. One second Dan's there, bam, next he's gone. It had a kind of punch that is often missing in the more drawn-out kills.

I'm voting for KK for Best Kill Award, because I was truly scared when reading her murder, and it was nice to see some variety amidst all the "Woe is me" kills this roll.

I'm voting dmboogie for Best Death Award, because he dared to do something different - kill off his character mid sentence without drawing it out or pleeing for emotion.

For BDA, I vote Slamexo for the death of Gabriela Parker. I felt that it was really well-written and her last post was actually chilling. Everything about that thread was perfect. I felt it was realistic and... I just loved it.

For BKA, I vote Iselle Ovalle-Vandermeer for killing Sven Olsen. It was quick, clean, and she managed to fight off a potential attacker and escape without so much as a little scrape.

For Best Kill Award, my vote goes to Katarina Konipaski for the murder of Kelly Peterson. I am choosing this because I find something very visceral about deaths by stabbing. Considering how many deaths by gunshots there have been, there's something that really stands out about someone being stabbed to death, especially since Kelly really had no chance to save herself. It definitely makes me curious as to where Katarina will go, and so I look forward to seeing what will happen.

For Best Death Award, my vote goes to the death of Sven Olsen, by Mimi. Sven might not have gotten to do a whole lot, but there was something about how he died at Iselle's hands that I really liked. I think it's mostly because it acknowledges how sudden and abrupt a lot of the deaths in this game are. Sven had potential for a story, but Iselle cut it completely short. He doesn't get the time to speak his regrets or have anything fancy to say. He's just a victim, one who will have no resolution to his story nor will be fulfilled as he expires, and that's what I really like about his death.

Having read all these threads at least twice now, I think I'm going to have to give my vote for BKA to Joe Carrasco. While there are a lot of solid reasons to vote for any of these choices, I like the kill by Joe because he wasn't setting out to murder anyone, let alone shoot his friend/ally. The fact that Joe was just intending to protect his friend, and get their attacker to rethink his plan without bloodshed, is what sells it to me. It was a well handled tragic accident that's gotten me curious where he's going from here.

Besides, I have to admit a sick part of me wants to see his reaction to getting the BKA prize after all of that.

Also, honorable mention to the kill that never happened; Theodore's assumption that he killed Hansel has been an interesting part of his plotline, and I'm looking forward to him finding out the truth come the announcements.


As for the BDA, I think I'm going to go with Gabriella Parker. It hurt a bit, to watch her start breaking down as she realized she couldn't reason with her killer. I have to admit to rooting for her a little, even knowing how it was going to end. I like how much effort Slam (and Espi) put into it, building up to the moment when Theodore shoots her, rather than simply getting the kill in and moving on.

Honorable mention to David Zimmer. I was really enjoying Bikriki's wry way of describing his character's extroverted personality, and I'm sorry to see him go this early.

Okay, uh, guys? Like, I know this is the first context and all, but this is about why you voted for what you voted for, not slagging on everyone you did not vote for. I know nobody else can see the votes right now, but I'm just gonna go ahead and say I'm pretty disappointed in the way a few people are approaching this.

We all have scenes we don't like. A lot of us have them already for V5. Yes, that includes me. And that's fine. And saying it is fine. But if you're gonna do that, then please at least attach your name to it.

The vast majority of people are being fine, but for people who are taking potshots... tch tch. I'm unimpressed.

BKA: Hansel Williams for killing Daniel Whitten

I found voting for BKA to be very difficult, as I was not sure about the criterias. In the end, I thought that trusting my guts plus thinking how the terrorists would see the situation would be the best approach. Now, I can imagine that there is some fan of child murdering who watched Hansel killing Daniel with a headshot and went "Yay! Violence!" Or somewhat along these lines.

BDA: Gabriella Parker, by Slamexo

This was a bit easier to decide. What I liked with Gabby's death was the build-up to the climax (ie, the death). I think that Slam did a wonderful job with creating an immersion, with making the viewer feel Gabby's raising desperation as every attempt to reason with Theodore fails.

Best kill goes to Kk. It was intentional, and it was messy. While The fact that the scene was so ominous added a lot to it.

Bacon's writing of Dan was fantastic. I loved that he died unsure of what he wanted. The fact that he doesn't dream about home or call for his friends or family asking reinforces just how sudden it was. I felt that dying full of anger and wishing you could change the past were very realistic emotions.

BKA: Katarina Konipaski

Alright, alright. This is a bit difficult because there were a lot of great killers over the last rolls, but this kill really caught my eye. First of all, interesting fact, the first kill by a female in BR and V5 both involved a cut to the throat by a scythe. I find that interesting. Now the writing itself was great. I just found this kill interesting and great, and it was also one of the only kills that didn't use a gun, so it gets originality points. But really, it was quick, it was efficient, it was brutal, it was a good kill all in all.

BDA: Gabriella Parker

Jesus, this one was really hard. But, after some really careful consideration, I had to choose her. Seriously, it took a lot of time to figure out. But Gabriella truly shone in her final moments. It was pretty hard to read, honestly. It was just heart-wrenching, nothing else to it. She was fighting to the end all for nothing. She never stood a chance against the boy. She had so much potential too, so it was sad to see her go so soon, but the rolls were not kind. I think Slamexo really deserves this award.

BKA: Katarina. Her reasoning made sense for the character. The build-up was incredibly tense. The actual death was quick, it was violent, it was frightening. Kat's thoughts as she deals the finishing blow to Kelly are visceral and real.

BDA: Sven. His death was sudden, but the final post really hammers in how much Sven lost, how much he still had to do in life. The description of Sven's corpse falling to the ground is chilling, and the final line is perfect for the character.

And so we're off to the races!

BKA: Preliminary favoritism went to Hansel, if only for the way in which his kill seems to result completely naturally from the shit he's been assailed by and evoke a desire for vengeance that I understand even if I don't sympathize with it. Isabel's was also nice, for the way it weaves together briefly into her past so you remember that she's just a high school girl. And Joe's was intense and understandable, the rhythm of the scene consistently distressing as he and Jason struggle against each other. I think reading Hansel's kill is going to make for an excellent start of darkness in the future, but for pure intensity this time around I have to go with JOE CARRASCO.

BDA: So I'm noticing a distinctly post-modernist flavor to the deaths this time around, each lampooning the narratively significant deaths of the previous versions? Some of these shone brighter than others, but once I read David Zimmer's death the choice was decided for me. I think because it quietly plays with your expectations in a way that just ends up confounding them? He leans on a railing, talks amicably for a little while, and then two posts later has fallen to his death. In a similar fashion to other deaths on the board (Sven and Dan Liu come to mind), it plays a death very realistically, but for some reason David's just caught me off-guard in a sad, slightly hilarious way. It's also a fantastic call back to Richard Han, intentional or unintentional. So yeah. DAVID ZIMMER.

Huh. First BKA/BDA and I'm already conflicted on who to choose. There were several good deaths and good kills here. That being said, here be my choices.

BKA: The easier of the two, but only by a tiny, tiny amount, this one goes to Theodore Fletcher for killing Gabby Parker. There's the fact that the death could easily have never happened, if Theo had just checked to make sure Hansel was alive. Once he was under the impression he'd already killed someone, from Theo's point of view, he was already stuck on the island till the end, which made sense but also provided a good deal of dramatic irony. Then there was the fact that, despite clearly knowing how wrong his actions are, Theo still believes he has to stick with them, partially due to the reasons outlined above. The kill gave some good insight into Theo's head, as well as being nicely tragic on the whole.

BDA: This was pretty dang tricky, really. There were about three deaths that I enjoyed, but my vote has to go to David Zimmer's death. I do enjoy the tragic deaths a lot, but sometimes I prefer something a little more outside the box, which this certainly was. The out-of-body view was neat, and the snarkiness did well to provide some light relief in the general despair of the island.

BKA: Iselle killing Sven. Iselle's general scorn of Sven was nicely reminiscent of the Pregame thread where all the softball girls are ragging on Andi for hanging onto Sven, and I'm looking forward to seeing the long-term effects of Sven's death on both Iselle and Andi. Plus, killing someone with one knock to the head? You know the terrorists are going to give her props for that.

BDA: Gabriella Parker's death. I really liked how Gabby's reasons for Theo to spare her emphasized the effect her death would have on people other than the two of them, especially people off the island. In my opinion, that really gave her death more impact than it would have had if she'd only asked him to spare her because she just didn't want to die.

BKA: For this, I'm going to go with Joe Carrasco's kill of Jason Meyers. The whole point of SOTF, as repeated by the terrorists and, well, US, is "friends having to kill friends", and I think this kill not only exemplified that the best, but did a really good job showing WHY that's such a dire thing. Violent-Medic did a fantastic job showing just how hard the decision was, even in the aftermath, and got me wondering how things are going to play out for Joe later. It was an incredibly effectively written mercy kill.

BDA: I really can't NOT (Yes, that was a double negative. What of it?) give this one to Dave Russell. I think the first death of any version has been thought of with a bit of... distrust, you might say, after what happened last version. In this case, however, Slam managed to make it into EXACTLY what an unrolled death should be - not only shocking, but effective and well-written. It wasn't a shocking death because OMG HE WASN'T ROLLED, it was shocking because it came right out of nowhere, yet made complete sense. It was something you would expect to happen to at least one person were this to actually happen, and it even smartly ended up being the end result of some misdirection within the thread regarding who was going to die. It was just all around impressive.

BEST KILL AWARD: Katarina Konipaski

There were a couple really strong kills this time, but what pushes Katarina above and beyond to me is that her kill came about in a very natural way that was also highly intentional. She took into account the changes to the rules, decided to take a logical action, and then followed through. It was brutal and effective, yet at the same time a good moment for her character; earlier in the game, we saw her struggling to back up her threats, but once she thought her back might truly be against the deadline wall she did pull out the stops and kill. Combined with her other actions, it was a great moment for her character as well as being a well-executed kill.

BEST DEATH AWARD: Sven Olsen

Early deaths are always going to be a little truncated, especially during the first rolls and double especially for characters with almost no pregame. What's impressive to me, then, is making the best of that short space to give a character some real oomph, and Sven displayed that in spades. We got to see him interact with a friend, respond exactly as an irresponsible teenager would to a tough situation, and then suffer for it. Sven wasn't a bad guy, but he made frequent, rash choices. These led to his death. The death itself was very minimal, but in a way that felt calculated. It pulled back (and deaths are the only time I'm okay with a narrative doing that if it's not an established feature of that character's narrative), and it let us know just that little bit more about Sven, making him both pitiable but also more than a little unpleasant. For a quick, fairly clean death, that's all I could ask for.

Thirteen hours and twenty-three minutes for votes. We're probably going to close this right at deadline, since there's an announcement all ready and waiting.

Alright, this was actually pretty tough as there were a few that really entertained me in each category and I wish I could give credit there, but to pick just one from each I'll go with:

BEST KILL AWARD:
Hansel Williams, for killing Daniel Whitten

Alright this kill/death entertained me quite a bit. It was sudden and I like that - it's realistic to me. Not every death/kill needs to be something dramatic and that's what won me over. The scenario was a fun thing that worked well in my imagination. It was chance meeting between three characters, where Hansel had his gun ready, not really looking to kill but to threaten the unknowing Daniel from a distance/hiding. Amaranta, might I add was an excellent fit as the unfortunate witness to the whole thing, bumping in Daniel when the whole surprise happened.

Best of all, it seems this scene will have a long lasting impact on many characters and not just the ones involved. Daniel was a friend to many and his death will shakes things on the island. Hansel has blood on his hands from this, and Mara after witnessing this just a few inches from her face, is already having a deep development on her character from when she first started and looks like she'll be taking this thing more seriously than before. Great, amusing scene that will leave an impact.

Joe Carrasco, for killing Jason Meyers

Honorable mention: I thought of the first couple deaths, this was probably the best thought out scenario and it played off interestingly. Nice swerve where it looked like Finn would be the killer, but it turned out to be Joe who did it instead. The kill also looks like it will have a strong impact on Joe's story.


BEST DEATH AWARD:
Slamexo, for the death of Gabriella Parker

What I really liked about this death scene. was Gabriella's reactions to Theodore through out the whole scene. it was different I thought and was a good first kill scene. What made it different to me, was Gabriella instead of trying to fight back or run or escape or anything like that... knew she was trapped and was determined to reason with him. Throughout that whole scene it was evident to me, where you could almost feel Gabby's increasing frustration after each post, when Theo just wouldn't listen to reason or the sense she made. The frustration and defeat was a pretty serious and dark moment that truly fit the SOTF feel for me.

Best Kill Award
My vote for this award goes to Theodore Fletcher's kill of Dan Liu. It's with this kill that we can really feel Theodore's despair as he digs himself deeper and deeper into that hole of killing people. It really captures that feeling of Survival of the Fittest best of all the kills for this day.

No vote for Best Death Award as nothing really seemed to stick out to me this time.

Ugh, I hate the Indulgence skin.


Anyway


BKA:

I'm going to give it to Hansel. It flowed really well as a state of mind from his previous thread where he'd been shot at so it made sense to me how paranoid and scared he'd have to be to fire that warning shot. He was angry and he was out of control and all that translates into how the death happened. I like that after he felt he had to act like it WAS intentional to scare the others off. I just felt like it was all keeping in character and had a progression that made sense.

Honorable mention here to Joe. I kind of thought it was going to be run of the mill when Jason was shot in the stomach but I was caught off guard when he was shot that second time.



BDA:

To Mimi and Sven. It wasn't long and it was fairly simple but there was a lot of character insight packed into that one post before his death. It was an interesting look and an interesting sort of character that was affective and not too dramatic or farfetched. He died quite quickly, but I also just like the type of boy-man jerk he kind of was. Good job on you.

If you're still going to vote, you have one hour and nineteen minutes.

That is a close to voting. The most egregiously problematic votes got disqualified on the grounds that they weren't actually anything staff felt comfortable revealing to the site, and the disqualified votes did not change the result of the contest.

For future reference, though, because there's still a bit of this in the votes that got left:

Staff does not care, even a little, why you are not voting for deaths. We want to know why you are voting for the ones you picked. BKA/BDA is a place to celebrate good writing, so we'd like to see discussions of what the kills and deaths you voted for did well, why they grabbed your interest.

Also, for future reference please bold or otherwise clearly indicate your choices for the awards. Saying nice things about a runner-up is fine (as long as you avoid trashing on them), but please make sure who you are actually voting for is crystal clear. Staff need to skim these a few times to count votes, and having everything clearly marked makes it way easier.

Finally, we'd really like to see at least a couple sentences explaining the whys of your vote. We didn't DQ over that this time, but "I liked this death because it was the best-written" isn't really a useful reason at all; we known you think it was the best-written since you are voting for it. We want to know why.

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V5 Second BKA/BDA (July 2013)

[+] V5 Second Awards

GREETINGS CITIZENS OF RUGGAPOLIS

I am the decidedly more feminine mod bringing you the BKA and BDA for the month. The contest will be up for 5 (five) days and will then be shut down so that we can get the announcement up to keep close to schedule.


A few reminders before we start:

- People will not be rolled over who miss the start of a contest, even with an extension. Sorry!
- Please read all deaths and kills before voting.
- Votes that do not provide a reason for the voting (at least sentence or two, though we'd love more) will be disqualified. Just tell us why you liked it.
- Tell us why you loved something, but don't say unkind things about the scenes you don't vote for.
- As always, votes are anonymous. Log out, first! You can deal with the Indulgence skin for five minutes before logging back in and returning to the sweet embrace of eVolution (or maybe you're the one person who uses Zetaboards original).


BEST KILL AWARD:

Megan Emerson, for killing Francis St. Ledger
Miranda Millers, for killing Kaitlyn Williamson
Maximilian Sawyer, for killing Becca Everett
Miles Strickland, for killing Chuck Soileau
Joachim Lovelace, for killing Carmina Maliksi
Summer Simms, for killing Naomi Bell
Lana Torres, for killing Venice Pennington-Johannes
Amaranta Montalvo, for killing Michael Whaley
Yukiko Sakurai, for killing Stacey Mordetsky
Eliza Patton, for killing Luca Johanssen



BEST DEATH AWARD:

Pippin, for the death of Francis St. Ledger
armeggedonCounselor, for the death of Kaitlyn Williamson
Namira, for the death of Becca Everett
The Burned Handler, for the death of Chuck Soileau
Maraoone, for the death of Carmina Maliksi
Violent Medic, for the death of Naomi Bell
Un-Persona, for the death of Venice Pennington-Johannes
decoy73, for the death of Michael Whaley
Aura Master Fox, for the death of Stacey Mordetsky
JamesRenard, for the death of Luca Johanssen

There were plenty of great deaths this set, so it was tough to pick this time!

BKA: Summer Simms. Her murder was brutal, ugly, and real. It was sick and gory in all the right ways, and Summer's emotional state was spot-on to lead to the murder to me. Mimi and Medic both did really well here, and I really loved how it was set up and how it was executed. Summer was clearly making a mistake, and Naomi's reactions were really well-done. I just really enjoyed the kill overall, especially since the killer winded up almost as fucked-up as the victim

BDA: Pippin for the death of Francis Ledger. The death, to me, was just a really natural flow of events with really sound justification and solid writing all around. It just made sense to me, because the flow of what led up to the shove was really well-done. The characterization that led up to the death was really sound to me, and while I'm probably repeating myself, I just love how the events that caused the death felt really natural to me.

Best Kill Award: For this month, I have selected Summer Simms' murder of Naomi Bell as my choice for Best Kill Award. I was completely enamored with this whole sequence. You have Naomi, who is currently acting as Class President and trying to be a leader to Aileen and Owen, running into Summer, who lost the election to Naomi and is fresh off the extremely well done but physically unnerving "Right Down the Line It's Been You and Me." Summer is clearly still reeling from what Brandon did to her, and she's not in the best of moods. In comes Naomi, her political rival, and the typical Naomi-isms push her over the edge.

I really liked this scene because everything about it was ugly and dirty. These girls are normally supposed to be peppy social girls, but here, they've devolved into savage animals. Summer is blinded by hatred and is so consumed with killing Naomi, even though Naomi didn't really give her any motive to. Summer doesn't come out of this unharmed, but she's pretty broken by the entire ordeal.

I feel this entire scene is probably going to be very important in Summer's story. She's clearly mentally fractured, and this is likely going to lead to several more terrible events. I feel Mimi is doing such a fantastic job with Summer, and I am so excited to see what she does next. For all those reasons, I feel Summer is deserving of this month's Best Kill Award.

Best Death Award: I really don't think I can get over how I loved this confrontation between Summer and Naomi. So much that I think I choose the death of Naomi Bell as my choice for Best Death Award. See, Naomi was someone I was very interested in reading in pregame. I did love the idea of such a prim and proper wannabe politician and I loved the potential she could have when she found herself in SOTF. When Medic swapped her for Joe, I was initially shocked, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was a good decision.

See, I think I did know how Naomi's story would go: she'd meet people, try to unite them under her authority, have run-ins with killers, maybe try to get the collars off, then probably die in a way that fractures her group. She began to do that, and then it all went to hell very quickly. She doesn't even give Summer any real incentive to kill her. She just says what she's doing to an unbalanced girl, and Summer attacks. Naomi does try to fight back and manages to hurt Summer's hand, but she's useless with a bec-de-corbin in her chest.

If anything, I think I like this death because it perfectly sums up the tragedy of Naomi's character: she was way too fucking arrogant. She could talk to people and they'd bow down. She'd know the answer to the problem, so they should trust her. She thought she could recruit Summer, but she never considered that Summer could have been through trauma. Naomi being killed early seems appropriate for someone who acted so haughty and had all expectations betrayed.

I think the death post worked for me because it completely portrays that Naomi has lost all authority and control and is reduced to begging. She's not even able to be eloquent while doing so. It reduces Naomi to what the game makes of her: a bag of meat meant to be killed. She's no longer in control, and she's no longer herself, and now she's just one of 151 corpses that will (possibly) litter the island. That's why I lect Naomi Bell to win Best Death Award.

For BKA I'm voting for Summer Simms for killing Naomi and for BDA I'm voting for Violent Medic for the death of Naomi Bell. Overall, I thought that it was a well written, gruesome and realistic portray of a fight. I liked Summer's motives and how she just snapped, as well as the struggle between the two of them and the helplessness of Naomi at the end of the scene.

Honourable mention to Mara for killing Mike. I liked the desperation to get out of the lighthouse that Mara was feeling as well as her crude and gruesome way of killing Mike.

Sorry! One last note: if you could bold or color your picks that'd be great.

For BKA and BDA, I have to choose Summer Simms and Violent Medic for the death of Naomi Bell, respectively. I cannot see a single flaw in that entire scene. It was REALLY good writing on the part of both Mimi and Medic, and maybe one of the best scenes so far. Everything about it was grim and brutal. I loved it.

Re-posted for bold.

BKA: Joachim Lovelace for the execution of Carmina Maliksi

Let's face it; the dynamic between Joachim and Jaq is starting to become interesting. They're the most murderous duo about. Jaq is an evil manipulative bitch, while Joachim is her partner in crime. They're basically turning into the Bonnie and Clyde of v5, and it's amazing. First they commit a successful robbery, then they slaughter the crap out of poor Carmina, then they frame poor Theo! I can seriously see them becoming a huge menace on the island in the grand scheme of things.

I also liked that part of at least Jaq's justification involved something that a lot of handlers and characters seem to forget. Namely, the fact that if no one kills in 24 hours, everyone will die. They also show good teamwork together, and as I said, I feel like they're going to be a menace. Therefore, my vote goes to Joachim.

BDA: Francis St. Ledger and his falling death

Lots of accidental deaths this time around, I have to admit. However, Francis' is my personal favorite out of the lot, simply because it's a pretty good set-up. Basically, what happens is that the announcements come on, and it turns out that someone in the group had a friend who had killed someone. Francis makes comments that rub Megan the wrong way, and they argue, only for her to throw him down the stairs on accident. It's a pretty good death in that it's not particularly contrived, and uses the announcements as basically the set-up of a kill in an unexpected way. Overall, this is my vote.

BKA: I'm going to give my vote to Joachim Lovelace because I am a sucker for kills that are regretted almost immediately. Plus, the fact that he probably would not have gone through with it had Jaquilyn not egged him on in "The Visionary" just makes me love this from an in-universe standpoint. Plus firing knifes is always cool, and for that I will throw him my vote. (That last one was a joke. Mostly.)

BDA: Who else but the lovely Violent-Medic for the death of Naomi Bell? For the most part, the whole thread with Summer and Naomi made me cringe, and although it was pretty gory I never felt that it crossed the line into ridiculousness. Even with how headstrong Naomi is, in her final moments all she could do was break down and plea with Summer to stop, which of course she never does. Even her last words die off with her. For that, Medic gets my vote.

As an aside, the joke's on you, Rugga for I have the power to change my theme back to eVolution. You cannot stop me!

(Gonna wrap it in a quote this time in case the lousy forum breaks again.)

BKA: Megan Emerson. This was a really well-constructed scene which played the two characters off each other well, and flowed naturally from the preceding scenes. The dialogue, the pacing and the characterisation were all impeccable, making the thread just as exciting, if not more so, than any fight scene of equivalent length. The implications for Megan, after she let her temper momentarily get the better of her here, are interesting, to say the least.

BDA: Naomi Bell. I haven't read any pregame to speak of (something I intend to rectify RSN), so it's a testament to the skill of the two writers involved that I could just dive straight in and pick up the backstories as I went along, without in any way detracting from the enjoyability of the thread. It's always satisfying to see long-running subplots brought to a head, but the standout aspect of this scene was how Naomi died alone, humble, and terrified, after her long track record of arrogance and borderline callousness towards her friends.

BKA: Summer Simms, for killing Naomi Bell

I think that that this one has to be my favorite v5 death scene thus far. Why? Well, I am not a great fan of gore, but occasionally, there is an instance of violence that where I cannot resist. The violence in that scene was beautyful in its own sense. Brutal, direct, every strike made me flinch, and every strike raised the tension. It is rare for me to get such a strong affect in those scenes, so kudos to both Medic and Mimi.

Also, Summer finally wants the attention she deserves? Well, let's have her it.

BDA: pippin, for the death of Francis St. Ledger

I was so very tempted to vote Medic here, for the reasons I mentioned above, but hey, let us spread the love.

The reason I liked that death was because I appreciated the tragedy it contained. Also, because it kinda carried a message that I can only approve of. Namely, that anger will only to misery. It was on of these situations that could have been... more pleasant if all parties were actually calm.

And that, I like. In fiction. Do that in real life and I'll rant at you for how you are an inferior being.

For my Best Kill Award? Summer freaking Simms for her devastation of Naomi Bell. Holy mother of God, Mimi brought down the house with this one. With some really well done back-and-forth between Violent-Medic and Mimi, we got to see an ugly, brutal fight between bitter rivals, and both handlers made an excellent job of communicating it to the audience blow by blow. Props to both handlers for an excellent scene, and the best kill so far in this anonymous handler's opinion.

While I'd love to give this award to Violent-Medic as a BDA as well, I felt that Pippin brought out a very solid death post that encapsulated his character's frustration and utter anger at the whole thing. I love how it was a surprise death, that it didn't go the way I expected it to, and I especially love the way the narration goes outside of Francis' POV to change to a much more muted and colder tone as it dispassionately describes how Francis landed. Beautifully done.

See you all next month!

Best Kill Award: Megan Emerson.

Reason: I like this kill because it comes off as very real. It's not intentional, just a brief and sudden outburst with a tragic end that results in an instant and very human feeling of guilt and contrition on behalf of the killer. Other kills this version have been more impressive or dramatic, but few have appealed to me on a personal level so far.

Best Death Award: Naomi Bell.

Reason: Speaking of violent acts that appealed to me on a personal level, Naomi Bell's death scene also qualifies, but in a very different way. This was the first death I've read so far that made me cringe inside and hesitate to read the next sentence. That's not a bad thing at all; I like it for the very fact that it comes across as disturbing without resorting to childish levels of gore or ultra-violence.

Best Kill: This was a lot harder then my vote for Best Death, but in the end, I'm going to give it to Summer Simms, for killing Naomi Bell. It fits very well for Summer's character and shows an eye-catching future for her arc on the island. The scene as a whole is great, as Mimi and Medic worked very well together as writers. It was also very gritty, with neither of the girls coming out in their best shape. That was nice to see as well.

Best Death: Pippin, for the death of Francis St. Ledger. Again, this was a bit tough, but I came to this decision much easier then I thought I would have. Realism is a thing we as a board are trying to capture, especially in our deaths, and I think Pippin did well in making Francis' death come off as believable. His emotions, thoughts, and actions were very real with great characterization and a strong voice, and they also conveyed him as sympathetic while still letting him be the moody guy he is. I usually like deaths that are great scene as a whole, and while this was also a pretty great scene, I think it would still be my pick if Pippin did not have Jill doing his part of the deal nice too.

I only have a limited time to post as I need to head to work, so these reasons will be somewhat short and I'll copy/paste my BDA pick from the wiki:

BDA: Pippin, for the death of Francis St. Ledger

I was impressed with Francis' short time in the game. I mean, he was already an interesting commodity in the pregame as well and I love how Pippin stayed true to that 'bitching' personality that Francis was finally able to let loose on the island, which eventually led to Francis' death sequence. It was a unique scenario for a death, but at the same time very realistic and the sort I'd love to see again. It wasn't really a kill, more of an arguement with a great build up which led to one of the more realistic accidents I've ever read. Yes, I've read and have been apart of some contrived accidental death scenes before, so this one was refreshing as it felt a lot more natural than most.

---

BKA: Summer Simms, for killing Naomi Bell

The build from the beginning of the game.. no, actually from the pregame even that ultimately led to the kill here was n incredible read. What happened to Summer in the game, especially recently built up to the kill and the scene itself was well crafted with a good writing partner in Medic for Naomi. Summer's thoughts against Naomi from pregame served as a some interesting justifications, and I always love callbacks to pregame.

Kill: Summer Simms. I love it. It made sense for the characters, her state of mind was fantastic for the situation considering her personality and what she'd recently gone through and the kill was bloody and gruesome and cruel in the best ways possible. I loved it, so there's where my votes goes.


Death: Francis St. Ledger. This was an accidental death I really dug because both parties were fairly aggressive. It was very fast, due to the nature of the death (falling down stairs) but I liked the simplicity of his death and the way it was written. It felt real, but not showy and it was a character I enjoyed. So props to Pippin here.

Voting is closing in 12 minutes. Stragglers get in now or forever hold your peace(s?)

Time's up

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V5 Third BKA/BDA (August 2013)

[+] V5 Third Awards

Hellooo. Here's this month's BKA contest. As always, it'll be up for five (5) days and then shut down so we can get the announcement up and rolling.

Reminders, in case you don't know the drill:

- People will not be rolled over who miss the start of a contest, even if they have an extension.
- Please read all deaths and kills before voting.
- Votes that do not provide a reason for the voting (at least a sentence or two, though more is quite welcome) will be disqualified.
- Tell us why you loved your votes, but don't say mean things about the scenes you didn't vote for.
- Votes are anonymous, so log out first.

BEST KILL AWARD:

Rutherford Roger Jr., for killing Lauren Rowe
Madeline Wilcox, for killing Nina Clarke
Maximilian Sawyer, for killing Ilya Volkov
Maximilian Sawyer, for killing Lydia Robbins
Rosemary Michaels, for killing Joey Caputo
Joachim Lovelace, for killing Adonis Alba
Hansel Williams, for killing Mallory McCormick
Stephanie Chan, for killing Brian Zhdanovich
Kammy So'oialo, for killing Carlon Wheeler


BEST DEATH AWARD:

Iceblock, for the death of Lauren Rowe
Espional, for the death of Nina Clarke
Solitair, for the death of Ilya Volkov
MurderWeasel, for the death of Lydia Robbins
LocoBroJoe, for the death of Joey Caputo
chitoryu12, for the death of Clayton Leven
Rattlesnake, for the death of Tessa Blackridge
Aura Master Fox, for the death of Adonis Alba
ViolentMedic, for the death of Mallory McCormick
Fioriboy, for the death of Brian Zhdanovich
Imehal, for the death of Carlon Wheeler

BKA: Joachim Lovelace. This was a well-planned out and imaginative fight scene given a unique twist with the ballistic knife. The pacing was great and Joachim's five-word-long final post before the death comes across as more of a punchline than anything else - which, given Adonis's natural surprise at the sudden turnaround in events, seems oddly appropriate.

BDA: Joey Caputo. Not much to say here, I just thought it was a really well-written final post, made all the more immersive by the accelerating rhythm of the Beeps of Doom. The franticness of everyone involved in the scene is conveyed very effectively here.

BKA: Maximilian Sawyer for killing Lydia Robbins.

Absolutely loved everything about that thread. While the main eye catcher is that, yes, Max did just kill three people in rather quick fashion, that description is an injustice. What must have been the most troubling, especially in a scenario like that, is making it feel real. And that's what exactly it did. You can believe Max's reasons for what he is doing, albeit his actions are indeed very brutal, and show how a person will do what they need to do in order to live, without showing it as the necessarily right thing to do. The ending with Lydia shows that Max hasn't gone off the deep end, and is just another guy who's trying to live a bit longer. It's kind of sad in away, as while Max is willing to do these terrible things, he's either forced into doing them or he's going to let himself die. So it just shows how bleak things can become on the island, without forcing people to be either the hero or villain.

BDA: This one was really hard . But in the end, I have to make a decision: Aura Master Fox, for the death of Adonis Alba.

Why? Because it was...well, badass! I was getting very antsy and excited once the standoff between Joachim and Adonis began, and literally checking back frequently many times a day, hoping the story had continued till it's epic conclusion. More importantly, it gives a very good ending to Adonis's character arc, and it shows that you don't need to have a long adventure on the island to be a good read. His ending is actually very sad and tragic, and while he may not be hero, I couldn't hope he would be the one to come out on top, even though I knew that wouldn't happen. It's a very good scene if I ever want an emotional high.

BKA: I'm going to give it to Rosemary Michaels for the show we got during Joey Caputo's death sequence. I thought it was pretty unconventional and also a bit amusing in that she didn't seem to believe that history could repeat itself, though in this case it had much more dire consequences for her foolishness.

There's also the reason that I'd like to see how she would react to getting a weapon for committing a case of manslaughter against a friend, so there's that, too.

BDA: I'm going to give it to Iceblock for the death of Lauren Rowe. I like how, in her death post, she wasn't introspective at all, or she at least didn't have time to (which, if that was the point, I'll gladly applaud Iceblock for keeping the "time" theme going). I'm more of a fan of short-and-sweet over long-and-...uhm...prose, so that's kind of a part of it.

Overall, I thought she was an interesting character who had a good end from bad luck, and it's tragic that her Doom clock was shorter than the other 120 students who beat her out. Good job, Iceblock.

BKA: Maximilian Sawyer, for killing Lydia Robbins

I'm not picking this because of the triple kill, though it could very well be an IC reason.

Slayer's posts have a certain power to them. They flow, and then hit hard stops, just enough to emphasize what needs to be emphasized. And Max isn't bland - his personality drives the words. I particularly like the end of the fourth paragraph and fifth paragraph in Post #18 in Hollow Stars (the post after Lydia enters).

Honorable mention to Rosemary Michaels and MrMissMrs Random. The post immediately after Joey's death hit hard.

BDA: LocoBroJoe, for the death of Joey Caputo

This one was tough; lots of good deaths this month. There's just something about this one that draws me. It's not flawless, but there are some powerful sentiments in it. Like not knowing what to do with the adrenaline, not being able to pick an emotion in the short time he had before dying. That's the best I can articulate it.

Honorable mention to Adonis Alba and Aura Master Fox. I like seeing the pregame stuff wrap around, and it's interesting to see how he ended up developing from the typical bully jerk stereotype.

BKA: RJ, for killing Lauren. Not only do I feel like the terrorists would give it to him just to rub his blowing her away in his face, but I loved the way the scene was built up to its sudden but explosive climax, as cliche as that might sound. The combination of interesting circumstance, believable reactions and an understated but impactful death made this scene stand out.

BDA: Lauren Rowe. This might be a stylistic bias on my part, but I loved the punchy, relatively undramatic way her death post was written. No big melodrama, no closure, just dead because she was at the wrong place, at the wrong time. In its own way, that hits a lot harder than any longwinded dying speech could, because she never really even had a chance.

BKA: Maximilian Sawyer for killing everybodyLydia and Ilya (and maybe Amy?)

This here is mostly seen from the perspective of the terrorists. They want the students to rampage on and through each other, so they have this litte nifty BKA, to reward the one that turned on their fellow clasmates. At the end of day three, Max has proven himself to be one of the most dangerous people out there, who also racked up a nice body count already. I can see why the terrorists would love him.

BDA: Iceblock, for the death of Lauren Rowe

This is a bit tough to explain but I shall try nonetheless. What I like with her death was primarly the used writing style. Ice's ability to make me feel for and understand his character combined with the narrative creates a very enjoyable scene on the side of Lauren. In fact, it helped me getting over my slight sulkiness about the rolls back then, given that I wanted Lauren to advance further.

Honorable Mention: Death, for winning at a game of Go Fish

I like creative deaths. I like scenes that are not enterly real. I like Discworld. This should explain the reasons for my runner-up.

Best Kill Award: This month, I found my favorite killing to be Joachim Lovelace's murder of Adonis Alba. I think what I really liked about this kill is that it was a good sort of end for Adonis, while also being a pretty good kill at Joachim's hands. Joachim has been doing the dirty work with his alliance with Jaquilyn, something that I think is strange considering Jaquilyn has Matt Masters' gun. However, Joachim is clearly showboating by offering to be Adonis' opponent, something that clearly presents a strange dichotomy between how they act.

If anything, what is cool is that Joachim totally loses the fight. Adonis cuts him and gets his blade to Joachim's throat. By all means, Joachim should be dead. However, Joachim has the ballistic knife, something that he uses to his advantage. Sure, there's a strange corniness to the kill ("Looks like it's game over, bro." "Yes, it is." *fire*), but I kind of liked it. Adonis spent the whole game having his past catch up to him, and even though he tried to get better, he was just never going to win. It's a death that is going to put more pressure on Joachim and Jaquilyn, so their plans may be shaken up from this event. I look forward to the result of that.

Best Death Award: I'm choosing The Death of Mallory McCormick as my choice for best death. Mallory was a character like many of the students in this version: expecting to be rescued and simply trying to wait for any sign of help by distracting herself with a project or quest. Her's was a lot more childish, but kind of endearing. Build a pillow fort! Play tennis! I love it.

Of course, in comes Hansel to fuck up Fluffytown (or would it be Blanketburg?) I do like that there is some cyclical nature to Mallory's story, starting and ending with an encounter with the crazy cowboy of Seattle. Sure, it doesn't end well, but at least it meant that Stephanie was alive to be there for Mallory. I think I enjoy Mallory's death because she isn't even thinking about dying. She doesn't even believe she's dying. She simply thinks this is a minor setback and that they'll still be able to go play games together. I guess this is a fairly nice way to go. She's in pain, but she's not wallowing in regret or anger. She's simply annoyed, but thinks she can make it past this. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to, and because of that, she's my vote for Best Death.

BKA:

I'd go with Maximilian Sawyer for killing Lydia Robbins, though I'm kind of voting for him for the entire streak of kills he got right there. It can be really hard to write multiple kills without screwing up motivations or just being repetitive. Not only did Maximilian avoid that, all of the kills were written incredibly well and interestingly. He's got my vote.

BDA:

Hands down Rattlesnake for Tessa Blackridge. I just love seeing creative deaths, and this one really sticks out to me as an interesting and almost funny concept. Almost jealous I didn't think of it myself. Despite a little confusion first over how she actually died, the post kept me reading and entertained.

Sorry for missing the last round guys, I actually had no idea it was going on. Probably for the best though, I hadn't read most of those death scenes.

Anyway, best kill is going to Joachim Lovelace. It was very clear that the handlers worked together on this death given the irony in the dialogue, but that made it fun. It definitely wasn't the first nor last epic sneak kill, but it was entertaining. I bet you that Bikriki was waiting awhile to kill somebody that way, and I'm glad he got to do it.

And best death, while I liked a lot of them, is going to Mallory McCormick. She's her awkward self to the end, and you just hate that you love a dying character. She's so cute and naive and silly, and then she's bleeding all over her pillow fort. Really, Medic did a fantastic job balancing cute and horrifying in this entire thread. The end result is simply tragic, and it was fantastic.

For BKA: Rutherford Roger Jr. for killing Lauren Rowe.
For BDA: Iceblock's death of Lauren Rowe.

I loved the thread. I loved Iceblock's writing and Persy's lead in to the death. It was all very well written and I think they both deserve massive kudos in the form of the BKA/BDA.

First off, I want to say that it was incredibly difficult to choose just one person for either of these awards. So many of these scenes are favorites of mine now.

That said, after giving it some thought, I'm going to have to give my vote for BKA to Rosemary Michaels.

Those last few moments were exceptionally powerful because of how well both characters played off of each other. Rosemary stood out in particular for me because her reactions felt real the whole way through. You could really see the deep trust and friendship between her and Joey, making her last desperate efforts all the more heart-breaking for knowing it was futile.

Thank you to both MrMsRandom and Nuggets, as well as Watcher in the Night. That whole scene was an awesome read. As a side note, I also liked the build-up. It's nice to have a death scene that doesn't feel rushed.

---

This one was even harder, nearly coming down to a four-way tie, but since I only have one vote, I think Lydia Robbins deserves the BDA by a hair.

I feel a bit guilty voting for a scene I participated in, (assuming my subtle choice of alias hasn't given me away yet) but at the end of the day, I feel that MurderWeasel did an excellent job capturing Lydia's last few moments.

In a way, she's both pitiable and admirable at the end. She forced herself into a position where she would die, and yet her reasoning was always understandable, always in character for her. I loved the fact that, for all her doubts and worries, she was genuinely trying to avoid bloodshed, to the point that her first thought on getting shot was to be glad she hadn't accidently fired back.

She was my favorite of Murder's three characters, and I'm sorry to see her go so soon.

Honorable mentions go to Joey, Carlon, and Mallory. All of these scenes are favorites of mine.

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V5 Fourth BKA/BDA ("All That Time Since August" [January 2014])

[+] V5 Fourth Awards

Alrighty, guys! Here, as announced a few times, is the much-delayed BKA/BDA voting thread. We went ahead and left in any death/kill done between the last announcement and now because a lot of stuff got lost in the crash, including, among other things, some records of extensions/when stuff got done. Also, every death and kill from after was notably late to the point that there would be no contest if we didn't include them.

Do not get used to this. With the crash behind us, we're firing on all cylinders from here out.

BEST KILL AWARD:
Jaquilyn Locke, for killing Grace Faraday
Mara Montalvo, for killing Ray Gilbert
Sean Mulcahy, for killing Aria Samuels
Sunny Cho Lee, for killing Katy Warren
Hansel Williams, for killing Kyle Fitzpatrick
Katarina Konipaski, for killing Steven Salazar


BEST DEATH AWARD:
Randomness, for the death of Grace Faraday
Kalopsia, for the death of Ray Gilbert
jimmydalad, for the death of Aria Samuels
Outfoxd, for the death of Katy Warren
Skraal, for the death of Kyle Fitzpatrick
Slamexo, for the death of Alex King
MurderWeasel, for the death of Steven Salazar

We'll close the voting at the end of the 14th/whenever I get up on the 15th.

Also, on the off chance a death got missed, please let me know ASAP. This was compiled from the wiki and the announcement thread, but if anything got missed there, it won't be here.

Best Kill Award
Amaranta Montalvo for killing Ray Gilbert
Mara’s kill of Ray was brutal and angry, and her mental state in the scenes leading up to Ray’s death were spot on; the kill didn’t feel contrived or forced on her end. It was an interesting change of motivations for her, and it’s really gripping to see Mara’s gradually escalating mental decay over her time on the island - I’d love to see what winning BKA would do to Mara, especially when she’s just met up with fellow BKA winner, Summer Simms.

Best Death Award
MurderWeasel for the death of Steven Salazar
This whole scene was masterfully written, in my opinion. The back-and-forth between Steven and Katarina was engaging and tense, in spite of (or perhaps due to) the foregone conclusion of Steven dying. His final post was emotional and sad without being overwrought, and I felt it made a really good conclusion to Steven’s on-island arc - and to his character as a whole.

Slim pickings here, but alas, it wasn't much that could be helped. At the very least we have some ripe looking scenes.

BKA: I think I'm going to go with Mara Montalvo, for killing Ray Gilbert because that freak-out she had was absolutely ugly. In a good way! Yes, as Mara keeps losing her way while trying to stay to her true old self, anything that disrupts her facade is going to be meet full force no hold-punch resistance, especially as something so special to her as her face, which earned her so much pride before the island. I surely hope this is a good stepping stone into her plunge into depravity so she can pretend everything is normal if she gets off the island.

BDA: MurderWeasel, for the death of Steven Salazar. Yep. Once Steven decided he knew what he was gonna do on the island, it was pretty easy to see how it would end. You knew what he was going to do, what he was going to say, and what he would have continued to do had he been rolled so early. And yet despite all that, I am giving this what it deserves simply because of the high level of execution. Even though going in, it's fair to say it was predictable, but that didn't make it any less interesting. It was just an easy to follow, unique set-up that had you entertained the whole way through.

BKA: Sean Mulcahy. Sean's a great character, and this kill, while accidental, was really well done, and I like how the characters want to sort of brush past it and pretend it never happened, since it ties really well into their whole coping strategy. I enjoyed it a lot.

Honorable mention to Mara Montalvo and Paris Ardennes, who also had really good kills with really good scenes.

BDA: Ray Gilbert. The setup was excellent, and I enjoyed the tension and the whole of the moment. The climax was really well-done.

Honorable mention to Steven Salazar, who had a really strong pre-death scene, and Katy Warren, who had a really nice scene/

Best Kill Award: My vote for this month's BKA is for Mara Montalvo's killing of Ray Gilbert. I don't know why V5 has so many awesome scenes of girls killing people, but I really liked how Mara killed Ray. Rugga's one of my favorite writers in V5, and she continues to do great stuff with Mara. I sort of like how it plays into Mara's character, with her vanity being one of her sensitive points. It reminded me of Takako's scene in the Battle Royale movie, and I really just enjoyed how it went down. Ray's death is vicious and insane, and I give kudos for Rugga and Dom for how that went. With that, I choose Mara to get some snacks and a gun.

Best Death Award: My vote for this month's BDA goes to MurderWeasel for the death of Steven Salazar. I really like Steven, he's presently my favorite of Toben's V5 kids. He had some really good interactions with people like Katarina in V5. I really liked how this scene went, with Steven and Katarina having a long talk before Katarina decided to shoot him. There's a lot of regret and even some pettiness in his death (he wishes Sharon went after Katarina. That's kind of an awful thing to think now that you know Katarina would kill the person she talked to). Still, I think this was solid, so it gets my vote.

BDA goes to Ray Gilbert, written by Dom, for the panicked feel of the thread and the consequences that it'll have on Mara. While the deathpost wasn't excellent by itself, the entire situation had long-reaching effects and read very well, showcasing both Ruggahissy and Kalopsia's strengths.

BKA goes to Sunny, for her kill of Katy Warren. Once again, while the kill itself wasn't spectacular, I love what we saw in it - Sunny, having been deceived, still almost embraces the mentality of a killer and Paris shows his hand as a despicable human being. Further, I want to see the fallout when Sunny is awarded a BKA, and what that will mean for Paris, Sunny, and the island as a whole.

BDA: There were so many strong contenders for best death this round. I found that I had the most difficulty coming up with a winner for this. MurderWeasel’s Steven Salazar's death was fantastically written, as was Outfoxd's Katy Warren, but my vote for BDA goes to Kalopsia's Ray Gilbert.

Ray was a noteworthy example of an adoption done right. Kalopsia did incredible research into a character that wasn’t organic to his creation. Perhaps not calling Ray organic to Kalopsia is an unfair statement to make, since at the time of Ray's death, Kalopsia was very much in full force with characterization for Ray. What I enjoyed most about this death was how it very much balanced the rage, anguish and snark of a character even in their last moments. Ray was an antagonist character who rebelled against the system he was placed in.

I loved the ideation of the possible deaths that he could have died from (bleeding out, tripping into a doorway). It ultimately strengthened the death that he did choose, the relatively quick and painless death of being shot by Mara Montalvo. I felt that Ray Gilbert maintained a sense of control and rage in his final moments that were so germane to the character's cognitive schema.

Very well done, Kalopsia. Ray's death is certainly one of my favorites of the version.

BKA: I liked a lot of the kills that went on this round. While I enjoyed Rattlesnake's Katarina Konipaski's shooting of Steven Salazar, and NotAnotherFlyingToy's Hansel Williams' shooting of Kyle Fitzpatrick, I ultimately give my vote to (and I know this user as Nuggets, because that upside-down malarkey is too hard for me to try to mirror) Nuggets' Jaquilyn Locke's throat cutting of Grace Faraday.

Jaquilyn and her partner in crime, Joachim, serve as a great revisionist Bonnie and Clyde type of murder. I was fascinated with how in control Jaquilyn could be when she had an ally to do all of the dirty work. However, once alone, the fragility of Jaquilyn is something that had been long alluded to, and had a substantial pay off.

Her mantra of "one kill a day, keeps the Danya away" kept her in a constant state of paranoia. She needed to guarantee that there was at least one kill, else she die herself. So when Joachim was out of the picture, Jaquilyn's stability deteriorated, and she became animalistic. Shouting at Grace was a nice touch, since it showed that underneath her visceral, bestial murder, she had logic behind it.

For expertly melding the cold, calculated logic, and the sheer paranoia-induced rage, I commend Nuggets for a very well written murder.

BKA: Mara for killing Ray. There was a really vicious feeling to the kill that I feel like we haven't seen a lot yet in V5, and I liked the contrast between Mara's flashback and her actions in the present.

BDA: Outfoxd for Katy's death. It was really fitting that Katy went out just as angry as she'd always been, and I could sympathize with her; she 'd been tricked and both she and her killer were being manipulated without realizing it.

BKA: Mara Montalvo, for killing Ray Gilbert. Good lord this is an uncomfortable scene to read, in a very good way. I don't think Mara really intended to kill Ray until he lashed out at her, but when he did, she completely lost control. A character who, to this point, has been very calculating and careful just lets loose and descends into intense brutality. When she finally comes to her senses, she's sickened, but it's too late. She can't go back from that. The damage Ray has done, both physically and mentally, will be haunting Mara for the rest of her story.

BDA: Kalopsia, for the death of Ray Gilbert. A lot of what's said above cross-applies here, but from Ray's perspective. Ray ends up so desperate to not go out weakly that he lashed out at someone who probably would have otherwise left him alone, to ensure a quick, painless death. The brutal irony of Mara savagely beating him to death makes me cringe, but I can't keep from going back to read this death again and again. Really, really solid work from both handlers involved.

BKA: Katarina

BDA: Steven

Holy hell, there was some stiff competition this contest. However, this killer/death pair struck me as the best. I was really impressed by the entire thread, and the extended debate that these two had. Both characters were really at their best, here.

The actual kill/death were fantastically executed. Katarina's last thoughts and reasoning before shooting Steven, and Steven's regretful musing about always having to get the last word in were especially great.

Honorable mention goes to the Ray/Mara killerdesth combo. Especially impressed by the amount of pure rage that Mara showed here. Another mention goes to everyone's favorite manipulative bastard, Paris, even if he wasn't actually in the running.

My vote for BKA goes to Rattlesnake, for Katarina Konipaski, and BDA to MurderWeasel, for Steven Salazar.

I loved this scene so very much, from beginning to end. For Kat's part, it was a beautiful look into her thoughts and fears, that left me sympathetic even as she pulled the trigger. Meanwhile, Steven is genuinely cool here; he knows where he stands, what the risks are, and is genuinely likeable, articulate, and believable in the process of walking into the lion's den.

But it's how well the two play off each other that really sells it for me. Each character was excellent on their own, but the whole is something even greater than the sum of its parts. The interplay between Kat and Steven is amazing; each character is understandable, relatable, and best of all, unforced. It's hard not to sympathize with Kat, it's hard not to root for Steven, even knowing how things were necessarily going to turn out in advance.

That brings me to my favorite point, which was the kill itself. Until that point, I'd been at a loss for how things would end in bloodshed without seeming forced. The understanding between the two was palpable, even across the chasm of their very different choices, and it wasn't until the last two posts that I realized it was because of that understanding that Steven had to die. The death had to happen that way, not so much because of the rolls, but the characters themselves, because of who they were, and that's a pretty cool thing to realize.

---

I'd also like to give an honorable mention to Ruggahissy, Namira, and OutFoxd for "The Farmer and the Viper". While parts of the shooting felt a little contrived, it works beautifully because every character is firing on all cylinders throughout it all. Katy's death left me shaking my head in amazement, and I can't wait to see where Paris and Sunny go from here.

Tired vote. In at the end


BKA: Hansel. He's so hot right now. Hansel. But really, I liked his cold efficiency with which he dispatches kids who should be paying more attention to who might be skulking around. He is focussed on the task at hand, killing and has come to the point where it's just a part of his daily life. I also enjoyed his hostage taking of Sophie after gunning down her partner Kyle.


BDA: Steven. I enjoyed his talk with Kat before his death. He had a good goal, he thought he could talk her out of the road she was going down and had good points to make. He was pretty brave to try and talk it out with Kat and when he dies he thinks of his friend he's sent off into danger. I really dug his approach and it's too bad it didnt take

BKA: Hansel Williams

Hansel's been one of the killers I've been most interested in over the course of the game, and this kill was particularly interesting to me as a development of his methodology. Where before, Hansel's kills were largely spur of the moment or accidental, here he displayed much more intent, which is fascinating in its implications for his arc. Hansel is becoming more adapted to the island, more calculating and pragmatic, but also, as we see in the aftermath, less willing to use force as a first result. This month was absolutely packed with awesomely-written, deserving kills, but Hansel wins my vote today for a well-executed scene that greatly contributes to his character development.

BDA: Ray Gilbert

Ray wins this one on brutality and scene. His death is violent and horrific, yet at the same time it forms a nice conclusion to his burst of characterization. Ray was a solid character before, but really came into his own in this last thread, finally finding some form of purpose only to watch it draw him inexorably towards his death. Ray's death shows that it's never too late to give a character some greater depth, and, in fact, that late developments can become a character's defining moments. Well done to Dom.

That's a wrap. Votes will be revealed with the announcement tomorrow.

EDIT: And, I logged into Help by mistake. Whoops. Whatever.

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V5 Fifth BKA/BDA (February 2014)

[+] V5 Fifth Awards

Alrighty! Everyone knows the deal, so without much further ado, we'll be starting BKA/BDA. A quick note since it's relevant here for the first time this version: kills by dead characters are not eligible for BKA because, as an IC award, there's no way the terrorists would vote it as they can't deliver any prize. Also, deaths due to reasons other than voting, as in the escape plot or unrolled deaths, are included since they were not tied to any specific deadline. Finally, as we're back to normal, we have excluded kills/deaths from the previous month's rolls and those that went over without extensions, as is policy.

BEST KILL AWARD:
Mara Montalvo, for killing Summer Simms
Hansel Williams, for killing Theodore Fletcher
Katarina Konipaski, for killing Lana Torres
Eliza Patton, for killing Michelle Wexler
Ian Williams, for killing Paulo Abbate
Travis Webster, for killing Edgar Tolstoff

BEST DEATH AWARD:
Grim Wolf, for the death of Karen Idel
Ghost of Ravenstar, for the death of Gavin Hunter
simpleinsanity, for the death of Cyrus White
Laurels, for the death of Sophie McDowell
Mimi, for the death of Summer Simms
Arscapi, for the death of Bianca Howard
Espi, for the death of Theodore Fletcher
KamiKaze, for the death of Lana Torres
Shangela, for the death of Brianna Battaglia
D/N, for the death of Jesse Jennings
Ruggahissy, for the death of Michelle Wexler
Outfoxd, for the death of Paulo Abbate
swirlythingy, for the death of Edgar Tolstoff

Voting will probably close on the 14th, around the same time this is going up, which is a day less than usual but should keep us on track for announcements.

BKA: Mara Montalvo. I really enjoyed the scene overall. Summer busting in, throwing grenades, shooting shit and screwing herself up in the process. I loved Summer's part, but I think Mara's actions in the thread were really well-done and I enjoyed seeing how it all went down.

BDA: Mimi/Summer Simms because that death was really well-done. Summer was a fantastic character and her death was a really solid capstone. I especially liked the last line, how it tied off her neuroses and craziness in a very simple manner. Plus her involvement with the action beforehand was really fun.

BKA: Ian Williams, for killing Paulo Abbate. This was the sort of no holds barred, visceral scene that I wouldn't except for a character like Ian Williams. I had no idea what Vyse and Outfoxd were planning when Ian entered the thread, but it turned out brilliantly. It established Ian's direction a little stronger, and it allowed Paulo to go out swinging while still turning his death into a form of tragedy, given that it was mostly his own rage and aggression that was his undoing.

Good stuff. I dig it.

BDA: Mimi, for the death of Summer Simms. Summer's death was pretty much a perfect conclusion for her arc. Consumed by anger and heady invincibility, she charges after Mara, blazes up the room, and blows her foot off in the process. In her last moments, she's not looking for her friends or dwelling on her mistakes or throwing out pleas for forgiveness or remorse. She's looking for the terrorists who she truly believes treasure her. And in response?

"In a corner of the room, a glossy eye lingered on Summer as the boom of a gunshot echoed throughout the area and the last of her warmth was seeped into the air.

With one more kid down and one less story to watch, it turned its attention to Amaranta Montalvo."

One of the most powerful, simple pairs of lines I've read in V5. Fantastic, A++ work on Mimi's part.

BKA nomination goes to Hansel Williams for killing Theo Fletcher. While there were good kills this month from Mara and Ian Williams, Hansel's kill of Theo edges them out by being a brutal and visceral sequence of short, sharp posts that highlighted the best of both writers involved. Good work all around (especially in the ridiculously short time-frame the scene was written in), but I feel like the real strength of the scene is in Hansel's kill, rather than Theo's death.

BDA nomination goes to Mimi for the death of Summer Simms and wasn't Summer just the most heart-breaking character to watch spiral into insanity possibly in the history of the site? Summer dies just as tragically insane as she lived, and her death is a brutal, bloody reminder that some people just don't get that moment of clarity before they die. Bonus points for the haunting depiction of losing a limb in an explosion that really stuck with me.

Best Kill Award: This was a hard month. We only had six kills to choose from, and they were all fantastic. It was hard to choose, but my vote goes to Hansel Williams for killing Theodore Fletcher. It's a brutal scene between two of the main antagonists of V5, and I thought it was well done. Theo getting blinded was a neat touch, and I like that Hansel had to beat Theo to death instead of just shooting him. Hansel's had the luxury of killing his targets from a distance or without giving them much time to talk, and I think him going apeshit on Theo really showed a break in his character. Theo hurt him on Day One, and Hansel's time has been chaotic. It's unleashing a lot of anger and frustration, and I think it was just a good kill.

Best Death Award: As for my BDA vote, I choose Mimi for the death of Summer Simms. Man, this was such an exciting scene, and I think Summer's death was the best part about it. She comes into the scene a complete mess and takes charge of the scene, tossing a grenade and opening fire on the four in the room. However, in her insanity, she got too close to the grenade and destroyed her own leg, leaving her to injured and mad to stop Mara from shooting her.

What I love about the final post Mimi wrote for Summer was how it basically summed up all of Summer's character, and showed the tragedy in it. She wasn't cut out to survive the game, and since she's someone who craves attention, she tried to fall back on that to keep her around. Her killing of Naomi was a desperate move to get notoriety, and her issues with Mara stemmed from not having someone there from her. Even after losing her leg, she's still concerned about how the terrorists will view her. Of course, as the final line illustrates, once she's dead, she doesn't really matter to them anymore.

This was an amazing scene and one of my favorites of V5 so far, and I'm really amazed at how Mimi handled Summer, who is definitely one of my favorite characters who died before the halfway point. I now really hope to see what she does with Andi and Phoebe, as I know it will be fantastic.

I'M GONNA WRECK IT

BKA: Mara for shooting Summer. I liked how that whole scene played out - especially the whole grenade toss-and-run-in aspect of the scene. I also liked how this kill is so much different than her previous few, resulting in a possible paradigm shift for Mara. Having to basically mercy-kill a friend is far more emotionally impactful than Ray or Mike will have on her and I'm looking forward to it.

BDA: Karen Idel. This was an excellent post all around, and nearly singlehandedly won me over to Karen's story despite a somewhat lacking start in the midst of an escape attempt that was crowded and noisy. The themes established, the pain, defeat, and misery of Karen when she realizes that she's truly failed, was powerful and emotional.

Big, big thumbs up to Grim.

STILL GONNA WRECK IT.

BKA: Hansel Williams, for killing Theodore Fletcher - Hurrah for character arcs! Really, it was a really well done fight scene that was very important for both characters stories, and I think Hansel will be all the better for it. Plus, ICly, I think the guys upstairs always love two players fighting and killing one another, so it also just makes good sense.

BDA: Grim Wolf, for the death of Karen Idel - This one needs a longer explanation. What I like about Karen's death is that it's incredibly hard to argue with. What I mean by that is, too often (in all media, not just SOTF) writers will try to hit their audiences with the dark emotional stuff through ridiculously contrived and ugly circumstances, or them just being needlessly cruel to the characters for some kind of "lesson" on hardship. On the other hand, Karen's death is hard and heavy and touches upon a lot of unfortunate things that I think aren't handled properly by so many. It's not happy or hopeful, it doesn't stand on it's higher moral ground or try to give kudos for just trying. It's honest, that this was the truly sad outcome that happened and there's nothing that can be done. That's not something you see writers tackle or choose to do, and it's not done right when it is, but unlike those, it was an actual plausible ending for her story that doesn't come up for no reason, and it's written with a lot of sincerity.

BKA: Ian Williams for killing Paulo Abbate. A nice actiony fight scene that brought an end to Paulo's arc and promises good things for Ian, I think. It was a pretty unique build-up and execution, and I felt for both the killer and victim.

BDA: The death of Jesse Jennings. Jesse was a victim of his own plan, but damned if he wasn't fully devoted to it right to the end. I like that his motives weren't entirely heroic, and he did get to feel a little bit of the glory he wanted, at least in his head. It was a nice, neat close to his arc that fit perfectly with the rest of Jesse's story.

Best Kill Award
Ian Williams for killing Paulo Abbate
If one were to put Ian and Paulo together in a fight with their pre-island mindsets, I don’t think many would peg Ian down as the victor. But with all of the mental duress Ian’s had to go through, as well as the rapid loss of his allies, it’s not much of a surprise (aside from the fact that Paulo was rolled >.>) that he was able to wipe out Paulo so well. This scene was just really really good, and considering that Ian originated with such an anti-killing mindset, I’d love to see the impact winning BKA would have on his psyche.

Best Death Award
Mimi for the death of Summer Simms
I’ve been a massive fan of Summer since her very first post, and seeing her slip off the edge has been such an enjoyable and heartbreaking ride. Although I was initially shocked to see her swapped in place of Cooper (a heroing that was really deserved; go read Cooper, guys), it makes complete sense, and although I was sad to see her go, her final scene and post were more than worth it and were a superb and emotional conclusion to her character. Goodbye, Summer. You will be missed.

Oh wow, this month is probably the hardest month yet. So many good deaths by so many wonderful handlers.

BKA: This award wasn't any easier to assign, just because we had only six killings to choose from. I absolutely loved the way violence erupted in panicked, frenzied kills for certain characters, such as Eliza Patton and Ian Williams. However, my favorite killing would have to be the refined mercy killing carried out by Ruggahissy's Mara Montalvo.
Rugga and Mimi set up their friendship so beautifully in this thread. It was truly heartbreaking to see Mara give up on Summer because she'd devolved so far down the line of sanity. However, she still cared, no matter how much she tried to cast off her former friend. Even after Summer had assaulted an entire group, Mara still cared enough to deliver her friend a swift kill.

BDA: This was a tremendously difficult one. We had some really epic deaths by proxy of the story, such as Theodore Fletcher's fitting mauling, and Summer Simms's mercy killing. Of course, Ghost of Ravenstar's Gavin Hunter also deserves a silly vote, because it was so utterly strange.
However, I felt that Shangela's Brianna Battaglia was phenomenally done. Watching a character shift from somewhat still hopeful, to utterly hopeless in just three posts is tremendously hard to do, yet Brianna did it well. I liked that she attempted to actually play by the rules of the game, but valued being a good person even more. I like that she didn't die a victim, but felt defiant against the game to the end.

Dang, this is gonna be a hard choice x_x

For BKA, I choose Amaranta Montalvo, for killing Summer Simms. I was pretty divided on this choice, so first, I'll give a shout-out to Katarina Konipaski and Ian Williams.

Going back to the topic, the entire scene was chaotic when Summer came and I simply loved every bit of it. I don't know how to describe it (I kinda suck at this). I just loved it. Maybe it was simply the execution. I really can't tell you why.

For BDA, I choose Ruggahissy, for the death of Michelle Wexler. I'm going to give a shout-out this time to Mimi for Summer Simms (I loved that last line), Shangela for Brianna Battaglia, and Grim Wolf for Karen Idel.

I like stuff on this site almost all the time. I get entertained very easily here. However, it's very, very rare that a death makes me feel something. Rugga managed to do that with Michelle. The formatting of the death post and her last words made the entire thing very sad, and the fact that she was probably one of the nicest people on the island made it worse. Looking at it again made me feel sad, which is even more phenomenal. So congrats, Rugga, for writing one of, in my opinion, the best deaths in v5.

BKA: Hansel Williams. Why? Firstly Theo vs. Hansel, was a very amazing fight. Also IC it'd make sense giving Hansel the BKA, as it was a showdown between both topkillers. He also got no weapon from Theo and his only useful weapon is the FAMAS. And I bet the terrorists would love to give him another weapon so he can take out more people.

BDA: Cyrus White. Man there were so many awesome deaths, and I have to admit it's hard to decide who to nominate as I liked every death. But why did I choose Cyrus? Well he panicked and regretted joining the Escape group. His death reminded me a bit of Alex Miller. Or a reverse George Leidman in The Cavalry Arrives. I think Cyrus' panic and despair is a realistic and well written reaction to his collar beeping. simpleinsanity did a good job, it's his first character after all.

BKA: Mara Montalvo for killing Summer Simms. This is the picturesque SOTF situation: your friend is dying and you're not. Should you put them out of their misery or just leave them to die? Mara clearly did the former, and her last speech to Summer was touching enough to make her stick out.

BDA: Laurels' death of Sophie McDowell. I absolutely love Laurels' writing, for one, and the last few lines of her death post really pulled at my heartstrings. It's always nice to see a kid complacent with death, and I personally find it really heartwarming.

Special mention goes to Espi's death of Theodore Fletcher, again mostly due to the last few paragraphs. Shame that he repented too late.

BKA – Travis Webster, for killing Edgar Tolstoff

The reason for this vote has to do with the fact that, from the perverse entertainment perspective of the terrorists, this is the most visceral kill of the options. With 1/2 the kills being clean gunshots, they aren't as entertaining kills as the drawn out fight scenes of the other three. Of the fight scenes, Travis's with Edgar stands out for a few reasons. First, it's drawn out. A lot of stuff happens over the fight. Second, the way in which Travis wins in the end is more remarkable. He manages to pull a trick that doesn't just involve out-strengthing or skilling his opponent, but he out-mindgames Edgar at the very end. It makes the whole fight feel a bit more impressive.

BDA – Ruggahissy, for the death of Michelle Wexler

The reason for this vote has to do with the combination of how great Rugga's writing is and how well she ties Michelle's story up at the end. To elaborate on that second point, there are a few points I want to mention. First, Michelle integrates the EMT motif into the post beautifully, which contributes to the consistency of the character. Second, she keeps Michelle's motivations consistent. It would have been incredibly awkward had Michelle suddenly gone, "OH GOD I DON'T WANT TO DIE BECAUSE FEAR OF DEATH/FAMILY/REASONS." Rugga does Michelle a huge favor in keeping Michelle's motivations consistent to the very end, even knowing that Michelle's death spells the end of Group Nap Time. Third, I like how she closes Michelle's dialogue on very personal notes. While the most important line she says in terms of Virgil's response is her asking him not to kill, that's not the last thing she says. Instead, she closes with something very banal. This, again, contributes to making Michelle seem very human and emotional, instead of just a character in a game.

Best Kill

For Best Kill I'm picking Hansel Williams for the kill of Theo Fletcher.

The kill itself was gritty and well-written but the thing that makes it is Hansel's reaction after the kill and what it means for Hansel as a character. His biggest enemy on the island is dead and I'm interested in seeing where he goes from here. On top that I'd like to see what happens if he's rewarded for killing when he's trying to stop playing.

Best Death

For Best Death I'm picking Mimi for the death of Summer Simms.

In my opinion Summer's death is the perfect way to end her story. She doesn't die happy. She dies failing and full of fear. Her last effort to search for the camera encapsulate her insanity. She wanted to be loved but in the end she was deluding herself that she's loved and friends with the terrorists. Mimi's writing for the whole thread also helps since it's top notch.

BKA: Travis Webster

I want to vote for Mara. I really do. But I have a problem with letting the same character win BKA twice in a row. Just a personal bias for me. I'm going with Travis because, considering I read this before the awards ever went up, it still sticks out to me way more than the rest of the kills available. It gave off this Battle Royale vibe that I kind of dug at the time. Also, on an ooc level, I just came out of it smiling. From peeking back at the thread before it, I get the impression that Delroy has been sitting in suspense for months, waiting for the right moment to have Travis strike. It also has none of that, dignified crap that I've been seeing that's a real pet peeve of mine. It sounds like Delroy was having fun with the scene. You can feel it from each little word he typed into every last post and I don't

Honestly if this were any normal round, these wouldn't be great grounds to vote for someone. No offense but I don't have much to choose from here, and even though it isn't perfect, it's nice to see someone like Delroy letting loose and giving this whole 'playing' thing a shot. Especially considering we've had a drought of them for the first half of V5.

BDA: Summer Simms

Holy shit what a way to go out. How fitting too. Even seconds before Mara is about to put a cap in her head, she's worried about the cameras watching her, how people see her. The last few sentences cement almost everything Mimi was building up for the past couple of months. It feels like Mimi knew how Summer's death was supposed to go right around she finished killing Naomi. It's really cool to see it all come around full circle. I had a lot more choice for BDA than I did BKA, but in my mind Summer's is really the only choice. Also, no offense, no name calling, no judging, but this is my opinion; at least Summer's death didn't make me giggle like an idiot.

Honorary mentions go to Karen Idle and Cyrus White because their death posts were tailored to the characters without being preachy. They were given the stage for one post and they gave it their all here, both of them. Also Paulo Abbate. How blunt.

If anyone gives Gavin the BDA I'm seriously going to quit this community

BKA: Hansel Williams
What stands out to me particularly about Hansel's kill is that it's a well choreographed fight that manages to both have a sense of some real time passing yet also flow quickly and smoothly, in an easily-read fashion. Hansel's had a string of pretty good kills, ones that aren't particularly flashy, but that advance his characterization and move his story along. This one, in particular, serves as closure for one of his earliest arcs, and leaves him with a lot of places to go with its fallout. It's opened up a lot of possibilities, and I'm excited to see where it takes him.

BDA: Jesse Jennings
Jesse's death was very well-handled because of how it flowed with his voice and his narrative. All this time, Jesse's confidence has been front and center, leading him slowly into more and more questionable courses of action. Here, he finds himself mutilating a corpse in a vague hope of finding some way to escape. It's desperate and crazy, but it sure never feels that way from Jesse's point of view. When he dies, it's a sudden shock, something he can't quite process due to his confidence, and so he doesn't. It's quick, yet the entire setting of the scene leaves it brutal and disturbing, which takes a lot of skill to handle tastefully.

The competition for BDA this month was tough, and I'd like to give a particular nod to Karen Idel as well, for a job extremely well done.

BKA: Hansel Williams

I really loved the entire fight scene between Hansel and Theo. It flowed well, it was realistic, it was pretty flipping brutal, too. No real fancy reasons behind this, I'm just a sucker for well-written fight scenes, I guess.

BDA: Jesse Jennings

Jesse's always been a kid who simply exploded with personality, and that definitely shined bright in his death, especially right before he, well, exploded. Jesse having delusions of grandeur instants before everything blew up in his face was a great end to a great character.

That's a wrap! Hand on for results soon.

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V5 Sixth BKA/BDA (March 2014)

[+] V5 Sixth Awards

It's that time again: BKA and BDA are here! As usual, late deaths have been left out, and those not done will not be rolled over into next month.

BEST KILL AWARD:
Tyler Lucas, for killing Cassidy Kant
Katarina Konipaski, for killing Cassandra Black
Benjamin Ward, for killing Oscar Trig
Andi Victorino, for killing Garrett Wilde
Katarina Konipaski, for killing Chase Rodriguez

BEST DEATH AWARD:
Espi, for the death of Gwen O'Connor
umop-ap!sdn, for the death of Cassidy Kant
BROseidon, for the death of Cassandra Black
Maraoone, for the death of Oscar Trig
DocBalance, for the death of Garrett Wilde
VysePresident, for the death of Chase Rodriguez

In other news, guys, we really need to work on getting stuff in a little bit more promptly, please. :/

The contest will run for 4-5 days, after which the announcement will go up. Anticipate four, to be on the safe end.

Good round as usual, though the style of kills and deaths were a bit different from the last rounds' have been. I like the variety of this voting period.

BKA: Out of all the kills we've seen during this round, only two came from characters who'd otherwise been inactive this game. As the game has dwindled on, I think we've seen a shift to create these parallels between players and non-players. I enjoy Rattlesnake's Katarina Konipaski for her ability to be a fantastic player, but my vote goes to Shangela's Benjamin Ward,
For someone who's as caustic and brutish as him, I would have expected him to dive right into the killing. He's cocky, self-important, and ultimately a grotesquely narcissistic jerk. Which is why when he finally broke down after recognizing that he'd been the one that tore apart his group, not an outside force, that I really enjoyed this death.

BDA: The deaths this round were a bit more brief and straight forward. There seemed to be this pervasive element of surprise and shockingly curt endings for the majority of these people. I enjoyed BROseidon's Cassandra Black's prolonged struggle to survive, but my vote goes to Maraoone's Oscar Trig.
I liked that this death was an escalating situation that ultimately got out of hand. At first Oscar had given up and tried to walk out on the conversation, but as tensions grew, the situation exploded. I liked that Maraoone tried to interject rational thinking into Oscar's schema, but ultimately he lost his cool edge to his anger, and paid his life for it.

BKA: Benjamin Ward, for killing Oscar Trig.

I really liked the dynamics of this kill and how the whole thing inter-played. It was almost a perfect storm of misunderstanding that was also very realistic, which in a way makes it stand out above the pack. Accidental kills can some off awkwardly at times, but this is one that made perfect sense to me. I'm not sure what Ben will do with a bigger, badder weapon, but I'm intrigued and I think he's earned it.

For BAKA, I'm going to vote for KK, specifically for the death of Chase Rodriguez. I love how KK is coming across in all of her kill posts, the escalation and sudden death was emigrating, and I want to see how KK's psyche handles continually being rewarded for the murder of her classmates.

BDA is going to DocBalance for me, because his death post is a clinic in how to cap a story. The death is nice, sudden, with a realization that I can swallow without choking and an excellent bookend stinger line. Holy shit.

Best Kill Award: This month, I feel the best kill was when Andi Victorino killed Garrett Wilde. The whole scene is fantastic, probably one of the better confrontations we've seen at this stage of the game. Garrett and Hansel are really good characters, and their fight was really interesting to watch. However, Andi stealing the kill is really great. It's Andi finally coming starting to take an active role in the game. Now that she's saved Hansel, I can imagine that will change their dynamic as well. It's an awesome start to what I think will be an interesting story.

Best Death Award: I pick Doc Balance for the death of Garrett Wilde. Garrett was one of the best characters in early V5, and I really enjoyed his story. I feel the death post has Garrett looking at a lot of his time in V5. He realizes his error (not considering Hansel could have an ally), and also realizes the absurdity of his situation. He wasn't in as much control as he thought, and now he was paying for it. I like when character's have these sorts of realizations at the end of their lives, and I thought this was a really good one.

For best kill I'm going to go with Andi Victorino's kill of Garrett Wilde mainly because it's such a great scene with good foreshadowing of the actual kill. The thing that really makes the scene so good though is the interaction between Hansel and Garrett that is amazingly intense before building up to the eventual climax.

For death I'm going to go with Doc for Garrett Wilde's death from the same thread because instead of going with the typical death post style of the character having a positive realization Doc flips it and Garrett dies realizing he hasn't actually achieved anything besides making things worse for everyone. Which I think is a nice play on the typical death post.

The BKA and BDA vote
- By Anonymous

It's hard to decide for a Best Death Award
And believe me, many deaths have scored
But there was a special one
Creative, Innovative and something new
Standing out like a kangaroo
And much effort was put in it, too

It is a pity she was killed that roll
But it fit her character very well
And I don't like poems, as long my name's RemoteContol
But this one was awesome as hell

It was an incomparable conclusion
And poor Espi had to kill his character again
His last V5 character, which lead to his exclusion
And therefore I vote O'Connor, Gwen

-

Four Killers in One Day
All of 'em would've deserved the BKA
All of 'em survived the Halfway
None of 'em had become decay

KK had even a double kill!
But I doubt the terrorists will
Give her another weapon or food
As she already has enough from the people she screwed.

And two adopted characters, adopted very fitting
One killed the other, the scene was really befitting

And finally a killer team, very
Like Uriel and Jacob, Like Stevan and Peri
Like Franco and Russ, Like Saul and Garry?
Andi and Hansel sure killed Wilde merry

His alignment was discussed in a thread and in the chat
But I don't give a fuck, as I'm a cat
He had no allies, just like Theodore
He had tried to kill before
With no success whatsoever
And his first kill was not so clever
Trying to kill the pantshead
Hitting the meatshield instead
And overall it was a fantastic scene
With that I give Tyler Lucas a new machine

BKA: Andi Victorino
In a version that has seen some really remarkable kill and death scenes, Mimi has once again managed to make something that stands out. Andi's kill is a nice little bundle of creepiness, brutality, and character development. What's especially interesting about it to me, though, is what it represents in terms of the great Hansel/Garrett conflict. All this time, Garrett has built up a certain image of Hansel in his head, one that led to him being the one to actually throw the first blow. This same impression prevents him from foreseeing the possibility of an intervention. Andi's actions simultaneously provides perfect closure to a plot that has been brewing since pregame yet also drives that plot in a new, somewhat unforeseen direction, preventing it from falling into the trap of perfect book-ending. It's a kill that's great both on its own merits and in its relationship to the story, and for that it gets my vote.

BDA: Garrett Wilde
And, following along nicely from that, Garrett earns my vote for BDA. As I mentioned above, Garrett and Hansel have had one of the longest running storylines of V5, and so it was nice to see it draw to a conclusion in a way that was satisfying and also not forced. Garrett's story was one which, all the way to the end, had potential to go in many directions. It's fitting, then, in a way, that in finally settling into a fall from grace narrative, his story also drew to a close. His tale was an enjoyable ride the whole way, and his death managed to keep him relatable while also implicitly questioning whether he could truly be viewed as better than Hansel. It's also got one heck of a stinger line at the end. Well done.

BKA: Andi Victorino, for killing Garrett Wilde - Even when Mimi hadn't posted with Andi to certify she killed Garrett, I could already tell it was her. thanks to the theatrical narrative of Doc's death post, but all the same I thought it somehow ended up more fitting then Hansel being the one to do it, for all characters involved.

BDA: DocBalance, for the death of Garret Wilde - Usually, I feel there's always someone who just comes out a little more on top when it comes to death scenes, but Andi and Garrett were both done comparatively well in terms of storytelling. I feel a bit cheap since the reasons I like Garrett's death are much the same reasons I like Andi's kill, but can't control what I like, so there it is.

That's a wrap (a bit late). Please stay tuned for announcement and results somewhat soon here.

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V5 Seventh BKA/BDA (April 2014)

[+] V5 Seventh Awards

Once more, it is time for BKA/BDA!

A reminder, because we needed it last time: DO NOT trash on scenes/characters, or your vote will not be counted. If you don't like any of the scenes, just abstain from voting.

BEST KILL AWARD:
Maynard Hurst, for killing Adam Morgan
Cody Patton, for killing Alice Gilman
Madeline Wilcox, for killing Veronica McDonald
Hansel Williams, for killing Logan Cadegon
Hansel Williams, for killing Rebecca Kiesling
Sharon Austin, for killing Cammy Davidson
Travis Webster, for killing Aileen Abdallah
Joe Carrasco, for killing Benjamin Ward

BEST DEATH AWARD:
Kalopsia, for the death of Zoe Leverett
MK Kilmarnock, for the death of Jessica Sanders
MurderWeasel, for the death of Adam Morgan
dmboogie, for the death of Alice Gilman
Un-Persona, for the death of Rutherford Roger Jr.
leAloha, for the death of Veronica McDonald
Arscapi, for the death of Logan Cadegon
Betaknight, for the death of Rebecca Kiesling
jimmydalad, for the death of Cammy Davidson
Bikriki, for the death of Aileen Abdallah
Shangela, for the death of Benjamn Ward
Inky, for the death of Janie Sinneave
CondorTalon, for the death of Corey Esposito
bacon, for the death of Jessica Murphy

The contest will run for 4-5 days, followed by the announcement.

I'm going to skip BKA this month if that's okay.

BDA: bacon, for the death of Jessica Murphy.

Not only short and sweet
But also kind of unique
A haiku is fine too

Best Kill Award: I think the Best Kill of the month should go to Maynard Hurst for killing Adam Morgan. I think it was a bold move for Sansa to have Maynard kill one of his oldest allies in the game. It's surely going to affect Maynard from here on out, and I look forward to seeing what comes next. Giving him a dangerous weapon and some food might cause him to think about his actions, especially since he's running out of allies and friends. Maynard's at a very fluid moment in his story, and I feel this is something that would affect his story greatly.

Best Death Award: I think Kalopsia had the best death with Zoe Leverett. I feel it was a really good adoption, and Kalopsia carried the character well after taking her from Jonny. Her death really threw me for a loop, especially putting the death tag at the start. It was a pretty harsh way to go, but I definitely feel like Rachel made me understand why Zoe would do such a thing. Zoe's such an interesting character, and I think it was definitely a good death.

Best Death: MurderWeasel, for Adam Morgan. It's rare to see a very tight, controlled collaboration post, and even rarer to see a post that encompasses a character so neatly and tidily. It was one of those posts that retroactively betters a character - not that Adam was bad by any stretch of the imagination - and for that he gets my vote.

Best Kill: Joe Carrasco, for the murder of Benjamin Ward. Joe's been through a ton, and finally has reached a complete and total tonal shift with him cutting ties to his best friend killer, and murdering another one in a very satisfying scene to read. Props to all involved, and I look forward to seeing how Joe handles the shift.

Heya, all! Gonna close this tonight, most likely. We have super low voter turnout at the moment though, so now's the time to get involved.

BKA: Madeline Wilcox, for killing Veronica McDonald. Veronica's unrolled death came as a big surprise, and a big part of selling it was Maddie's reaction to R.J. dying and her desire for revenge. I think this kill is going to take Maddie in some interesting directions, and seeing her get recognized for it with the combination of justification and regret that she feels towards it would be really interesting.

BDA: Bacon, for the death of Jessica Murphy. There's been a lot of poetry this version, but I thought that Bacon's short, blunt haiku best fit both Jessica's character arc and her general writing style better than other attempts. There's also a certain dark irony to a strong swimmer dying by drowning that I appreciate. Of all the deaths this round, Jessica's felt most like the conclusion to an arc, and I enjoyed that.

BKA: Cody Patton, for killing Alice Gilman

Aw jeez, poor Cody. Just chilling with a friend, when a ragtag duo comes up and talks. One bluffs about a gun and gets shot for it. I mostly like this scene because of the acknowledgment of pre-island recognition: he knees they're weirdos, and I haven't seen much of that so far.

BDA: Un-Persona, for the death of RJ Roger Jr.

I like the surrealism of the initial part of the post, and I like how he had time to forgive. Overall it was a nicely woven turn of events, and Persy pulled off his part perfectly.

About time I actually voted, since this is the first time in ages I've read everything. Almost forgot. Whoops.

For BKA I had to think for a while. Settled on Maynard Hurst for killing Adam, because that kill was just kind of mix of freaking out and misunderstanding and concerns and that's always fun.

For BDA I'm going to pick Adam Morgan as well. Not because of the same BKA reasons. More because although sometimes I'm a bit iffy about peaceful deaths, Adam's was not peaceful in that 'I am at peace with myself' way. Like, he was, sort of, or at least said he was because it coulda been worse. But at the same time he's most focused on his failures. He's semi-delirious and incoherent and he just keeps repeating himself and it feels like just a very quiet, downplayed breakdown, and I really like that.

BKA: While we had an impressive and spectacular turn out for this round of kills, I'd have to give my vote to SansaSaver for Maynard Hurst. The brutality of the attack was wonderfully framed by the brutality of his fragile mind snapping under the pressure. It didn't feel like a murder, so much as an accidental lashing out. It's a great move for the character's story, so I ultimately enjoyed this from Sansa and MurderWeasel's writing.

BDA: This was extraordinarily hard for me to ultimately isolate, but I'd have to give my vote to Shangela for Benjamin Ward. I really enjoyed the anger, the vengeance, and the drive that Ben had while slowly dying out. It was an ugly death, yet very engrossing to read.

BKA: Joe Carrasco

Joe's been on my radar for a while, one of the characters really bubbling under in V5, and it was great to see him take a more active role in events this past month. Joe's entire scene, from his falling out with Travis to his eventual decision to kill Ben in the name of keeping others safe, marks a big change for him, and one that bodes interestingly for his future. The kill itself was well handled, but what really stands out to me and makes it so appealing is that it's both the result of and the inevitable cause for character development. That Joe would kill again shows that a lot has changed for him, and that he has done so means his path is about to head some very interesting places indeed.

BDA: Rutherford Roger Jr.

I was very sad to see RJ die, but his death was very well handled, especially the final few posts, which do a good job of capturing the sudden nature of things. It's a nice little mix between the artsy/abstract and the really blunt and down to earth--not something that would work for every character, for sure, but for RJ it really fits nicely with the way his whole story's been told up until this point. His death was a good character moment, and it's also something that will surely reverberate and shape Maddie's tale as well, so some bonus points for that. All in all, just a solidly handled death that brings some freshness into the mix without feeling like it has to reinvent the wheel. Well done.

That'll be a wrap. Stay tuned for results with the announcement, in the next couple days.

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V5 Eighth BKA/BDA (May/June 2014)

[+] V5 Eighth Awards

You know the drill! BKA/BDA is live once again. As always, DO NOT trash on scenes/characters, or your vote will not be counted. If you don't like any of the scenes, just abstain from voting.

BEST KILL AWARD:
Ruby Forrester, for killing Sharon Austin
Leona Van Kamp, for killing Jenna Rhodes
Katarina Konipaski, for killing Rosemary Michaels
Marcus Leung, for killing Rachael Langdon

BEST DEATH AWARD:
jimmydalad, for the death of Sharon Austin
Skraal, for the death of Eliza Patton
MK Kilmarnock, for the death of Cody Patton
Fioriboy, for the death of Jenna Rhodes
MrMissMrs Random, for the death of Rosemary Michaels
Laurels, for the death of Rachael Langdon

This will run for four or five days, followed fairly promptly by the announcement. We're also still short about half the deaths for this month; please try to get those in ASAP, so they can at least be in the next announcement.

BKA - Leona Van Kamp
From a terrorist's point of view, giving Leona the shiny new weapon definitely makes sense, when I compare the four kills of the people alive. Giving a heavy-armed girl or somebody who just euthanized somebody a new weapon, wouldn't make much sense. And even though I liked Ruby's kill, too, this kill was the most brutal. It had gore. It had blood. And that's exactly what terrorists want to see. And Jenna was also a killer, a motivator, which makes the death special, too as she was killed by a girl with 0 kills. The terrorists would probably give her the weapon to motivate her to kill more. The suddenness and the fact that she killed with a shard reminds me of the past BKA winners, which is pretty cool.

BDA - Rosemary Michaels
It was a fitting conclusion, getting killed by the first girl she met on the island. In addition the scene was writting well and was touching and I pity Rosemary. Also Rosemary is an excellent V5 character who should definitely be quoted or get at least some honour by getting the Best Death Award.

Best Kill Award: This month's Best Kill, for me, should go to Katarina Konipaski's murder of Rosemary Michaels. As I see it, Katarina had a moment to weigh the choices she made so far, and having reached a moment of peace with Rosemary, decided to give in to the desire to kill, strangling the girl to death. To me, I feel that's an interesting choice, since Katarina is basically deciding to continue doing evil since it has worked for her so far. It's not morally correct but it's what's keeping Katarina alive in this game, and I feel that's something the terrorists would reward.

Best Death Award: I think MK Kilmarnock's writing for the death of Cody Patton was the best death of the last period. Cody was a very interesting character, one who made some really hard choices in this game and went through lots of hell on the island. Because Cody is killed by his sister, I feel there's a bit of irony involved that is even mentioned. In a way, it's representative of Cody's time on the island. Nothing works out for him, and there's always some sick cosmic joke at play with how things go wrong for him. It's why I think this is the best death of this group.

BKA: Marcus Leung, for killing Rachael Langdon.

This kill was really neat and unique at a stage of the game when a lot of what we're going to see in terms of character innovation has already happened and most people are on fairly firm paths that they're not going to stray too far from. Marcus comes off as a really sympathetic killer in a way that I didn't expect at all. This scene genuinely surprised me with the quality of both characters.

BDA: Laurels, for the death of Rachael Langdon.

I wasn't following Rachael very closely for most of the game. She never really clicked with me, and I tended to write her off in scenes. This death completely reversed that. It perfectly plays her out and sparks what may be a very memorable late game arc, both putting her killer over and capping off her story in a way that ultimately enriches the whole experience.

BDA/BKA: My votes goes to Rosemary and KK this time around, respectively, despite my dislike of repeat winners. I'm a fan of things ending the way they began, and that was clearly the intent here. It's just a really poignant point arc in both characters story who I enjoy, and was all around simply something good to read.

I'll close this down in... let's say two days. Would love to see more votes; things are currently looking pretty sparse.

For BKA, I vote KK Konipaski. I think her killing of Rosemary was a really interesting scene that really marks a change in KK as a person and gives her a lot of potential henceforth. It's also a really nice tie-up for Rosemary, which is why for BDA, I vote Rosemary Michaels, since this book-end to her story is a really interesting and well-done scene. I especially appreciate in this scene how both of them really appreciate the irony of meeting up again.

So going through the list, and I want to throw out some things. Going into this, I honestly expected to be voting for the Pattons. I liked the way the Pattons death was turned into a symbol of their perpetual conflicts in the game. That alone gave it weight, and since I've interacted with both of them I was really pretty sure I'd be voting for them...

But then I read BDA: Rachael Langdon and BKA: Marcus Leung.

I'm not sure what about this death speaks to me. I liked interacting with Rachael, but there's something more. This death feels strangely fitting. The characters exist in this weird ghostly space where the things they're doing shouldn't feel possible but they're happening anyways, and they're both suffering for it. It's weirdly heartbreaking, and it only works because they're both there--in Marcus' bizarre, regretful, methodical act and in Rachael's forgiveness, disbelief, and reluctant acceptance.

I was unexpectedly touched.

BKA – KK for killing Rosemary

Simply put, I think it was the most gruesome, interesting death. The building of trust into the backstab was cool, as was the visceral strangling. It seems like the sort of thing the terrorists would go for, the way comfort so quickly turned into something terrible for both involved.

BDA – MK Kilmarnok, for the death of Cody

I think that it was a really strong thematic tie-in to the rest of the character and his relation to Eliza. I think he did a good job closing out the character throughout the scene, building up both to Cody shooting Eliza and Eliza getting the revenge kill, and the quality of the writing was, as always, very good.

BKA: Katarina Konipaski
I'm usually a little hesitant about voting for characters who already won BKA, but KK blew this one out of the park. The scene between her and Rosemary is great because it hits a bunch of notes in a small space, ranging from something almost sweet to something truly terrifying, yet it all hangs cohesively together. It's another strong scene from KK, and marks an interesting point in her story. I look forward to seeing where she goes from here.

BDA: Rosemary Michaels
Rosemary is a character who I never fully clicked with until this last scene of hers, which makes the degree to which it hooked me all the more impressive. I like for a character's last scene to be their best, and that's definitely true here. Rosemary's death just does a great job of making her real, painting a picture of her as someone with hopes and fears and thoughts and then seeing that all ripped away. It's a great little tragedy, and a fitting end to one on V5's notables.

I'd also like to give a shout out to Cody Patton here. Cody's a great character and his death was a great closer.

That's a wrap! Stay tuned for results and announcements. Probably not tomorrow, but possibly as soon as Saturday or Sunday.

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V5 Ninth BKA/BDA (July 2014)

[+] V5 Ninth Awards

Alrighty! It's that time again. As a quick reminder, since it will likely be highly relevant here, remember to specify which kill you are voting for if voting for a character who killed multiple times this cycle, since by V4 precedent votes for different scenes are not compiled.

That said, have at.

BEST KILL AWARD:
Kathryn Nguyen, for killing Iselle Ovalle-Vandermeer
Hansel Williams, for killing Marcus Leung
Leona Van Camp, for killing Timothy Abrams
Katarina Konipaski, for killing Deanna Hull
Ami Flynn, for killing Maynard Hurst
Tyler Lucas, for killing Cooper Komorowski
Ami Flynn, for killing Joachim Lovelace
Hansel Williams, for killing Virgil Jefferson-Davis
Hansel Williams, for killing Christopher Harlin
Katarina Konipaski, for killing Claire Monaghan

BEST DEATH AWARD:
Betaknight, for the death of Iselle Ovalle-Vandermeer
Un-Persona, for the death of Marcus Leung
Skraal, for the death of Timothy Abrams
D/N, for the death of Deanna Hull
SansaSaver, for the death of Maynard Hurst
Ruggahissy, for the death of Paris Ardennes
Betaknight, for the death of Cooper Komorowski
DocBalance, for the death of Joachim Lovelace
BROseidon, for the death of Virgil Jefferson-Davis
Deamon, for the death of Christopher Harlin
Laurels, for the death of Claire Monaghan

Voting will run for five days. The announcement will come sometime thereafter, though we're trying to get as many outstanding deaths as possible in beforehand and thus there may be a slight delay.

BKA: Ami Flynn for killing Maynard Hurst. I really appreciated how this kill affects Ami and her story. She's killed before, and it affected her for a long time and now she's had to do it again and it's exciting to see where this takes her. Props as well to Sansa for his end; it was a solid death scene for him. I also really like the concept of the botched suicide needing a mercy kill.

Honorable mention to Hansel for killing like 3 people and making each one work (especially Marcus and Chris).

BDA: Ruggavicky for the death of Paris Ardennes. I think this was a really fun scene for Joachim and Paris to die in and I loved it as an ending to Paris' story because it really made sense. I think it really worked because (and I'm ripping someone off here >_>) he "wins" without winning. His death was nicely written and it was a great finisher to his story, so bravo.

Honorable mention to Laurels for Claire with an overall great death. Wasn't her biggest fan before but this was a nice capstone. Also to D/N for Deanna because her dying oneshot was a lot of fun to read as were her penultimate threads.

So, this is the last one I guess, eh? Or one more? Whatever:

BKA: Ami Flynn, for killing Joachim Lovelace
I liked the recent kills of Ami, Maynard's was pretty cool, too. Reason why I chose Joachim's death is because I think the terrorist would've rewarded her for that kill, because it shows a good scene of the game. It also was a nice ending for Joachim, a nice scene overall with Paris and I gotta love that Rosemary was honoured there.

BDA: Deamon, for the death of Christopher Harlin
It was a wonderful adoption, Lexi would be proud. I think Chris' last post seriously fit his concept well! No doubt that that death post really got me.

BKA: HANSEL WILLIAMS

For killing Marcus Leung. It's brutal and beautiful. I've actually had the occasional problem with Hansel's kills, in that he seems too much an all-purpose murder machine. This in no way detracts from my love of the character (it's how I feel about Maxwell Lombardi, too), but this kill made total sense.

BDA: MARCUS LEUNG

Thematically, there are better deaths on the table (points to Beta, Laurels, and Doc), but there are none that are quite so perfectly bleak. Marcus and Hansel are having a frank conversation, and Marcus gets blown away without fanfare. Perfection.

Bump! A bit over two days left for votes.

For my BKA: KK's kill of Claire Monaghan. Even though the actual kill post hasn't yet been written (as of this typing (where is my SC epilogue while you're at it)) KK's prose throughout the entire scene is seriously jaw-dropping. Beautiful, beautiful writing combined with a unique situation and a character that consistently wows me. Well done, Rattle and KK.

For my BDA: Gonna give my ups to Deanna Hull and D/N, for their wonderful closing oneshot that encapsulated a character that's been with us for over a year. Really well done sequence preceding the oneshot, and an excellent, tight conclusion to a great story. My runner-up here is Deamon and Chris. Really hard to choose one over the other.

Best Kill goes to Hansel Williams, who killed Marcus Leung. Honestly, it was a choice between this and Katarina's two kills. While I perfectly understand that Marcus's death is very controversial, because his handler let him die. However, apart from Claire's death, it is the only one that has stuck out to me this month. It seriously came out of nowhere and shocked me, and that's probably why it's even considered as a candidate for me. Plus, I think Marcus's death marked a turning point for Hansel that quickly rolled into his Thread Tour 2012. Plus plus, Hansel dun good this month. So says Black Jesus.

And Best Death goes to Laurels for Claire Monaghan. Holy shit Laurels, way to pull out the big guns the second your last character's supposed to die. I feel somewhat biased because I was tangentially involved with the death but this is all Laurels. This death was all his idea and while Rattlesnake made it exciting, Laurels truly made this death shine. It made like Claire as a character and I actually felt emotions with her death. Really awesome stuff, so proclaims Black Jesus.

Best Kill Award: I choose Ami Flynn killing Maynard Hurst as my pick for the BKA this month. It's a different kind of death, since Maynard attempted suicide and failed, putting himself in a coma. It robs Maynard of the chance to end things on his term, but also puts control of the situation into Ami's hands. Ami could have let him lie there and eventually pass away, but she had to get the nerve to actually finish him. It means she's allowing herself to have another kill to her name, something that could turn player hunters against her, but it's also her attempt to be merciful to a friend. I'm excited to see what effect this has on her remaining time in the game, so I feel rewarding her for the kill will be interesting.

Best Death Award: This was a really hard one, but after some deliberation, I decided on D/N for the death of Deanna Hull. I feel Deanna's going to be one of the better remembered students in V5. She had a great start, had good chemistry with Kyran, and I found her to be an interesting perspective. Her death following her fight with KK was a pretty good end for the character, since it felt a bit like a Shakespearean. monologue. I also liked some of the touches, like Deanna trying to have one last cigarette but being unable to light it, since it adds some levity to a serious moment. It's a nice scene, and a fitting end for a good character.

BKA: Hansel Williams for killing Chris Harlin

Hansel had a good number of deaths this month, and as usual all were competently executed, but it was his killing of Chris that stood out to me the most because of the way it contrasts a lot of what we've seen of him. It's not a fight, not exactly an ambush or snap shot the way so many of Hansel's other kills have been. He takes that next step, looks his victim in the eye, and pulls the trigger anyways. It's a great moment of insight into who Hansel has become, and is also a very well staged scene that is an enjoyable read on the whole.

BDA: Ruggahissy for the death of Paris

Paris' death is interesting to me in that everything else going on sort of fades into the background to give us a really in depth look into the mind of a character who has historically been something of a closed book to us. Paris' death serves as an arc in itself, moving him through denial into horror and then, interestingly, back into denial. We get to see the core fears that have driven Paris, and it's an effective humanizing moment for him. It's exactly the sort of thing I wanted to see from him at the end, and it's a very fitting capstone to his time in the game.

That's a wrap. Results and announcements will be up in the next few days, most likely.

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V5 Tenth BKA/BDA (August/September 2014)

[+] V5 Tenth Awards

You all know the drill by now. We'll leave this running for four days or so. These are the last awards for V5; we'll probably pull exciting quotes from Endgame as it unfolds after this month.

BEST KILL AWARD:
Hansel Williams, for killing Leona Van Kamp
Gray Emerson, for killing Sean Mulcahy
Matt Vartoogian, for killing Tyler Lucas
KK Konipaski, for killing Finn Grant

BEST DEATH AWARD:
Outfoxd, for the death of Leona Van Kamp
Munnin, for the death of Takeshi Yoshikawa
Maraoone, for the death of Juhan Levandi
Fioriboy, for the death of Ruby Forrester
MK Kilmarnock, for the death of Sean Mulcahy
Grim Wolf, for the death of Tyler Lucas
Will, for the death of Finn Grant
dmboogie, for the death of Michael Mitchellson

The final votes! I'm gonna make it simple and explain both of my choices since they are in the same scene.

For this vote, I vote for Gray Emerson's murder of Sean Mulcahy as the Best Kill and Sean Mulcahy's death for Best Death. I really liked this scene because it payed off for a lot of build up for both Gray and Sean's stories. Sean's been going mad the whole time, with one bad incident after another pushing him further off the deep end. Gray, I feel, is someone who has just been overwhelmed by the whole situation, losing friend after friend and just generally being exacerbated by being in such a stressful environment for so long. I like this scene for both characters because it's finally when everything breaks apart.

Gray finally realizes how far gone Sean is, and makes the very serious decision to end his friend's life. It's not an easy choice, but I feel Sean killing Ami is what gave him that final push to realize there was no saving Sean. Sean, meanwhile, has to accept that his friend has killed him. Since his first post, Sean is clearly someone who is afraid of dying, trying to mask it by being a pirate. It's finally come down on him, and for him to die knowing it was his friend who did it is such a tragic way to go.

I applaud Deamon and Kilmarnock for being awesome in this scene, and I'm really glad I followed these characters for so long. I think they're both deserving of these awards, and I can't wait to see what comes next from the handlers.

BKA: KK, because the fight between Finn and her was pretty nice and became even more awesome when Mara came. And how she killed him was also pretty worth to note. And KK getting the last BKA ends the BKAs in a circle, which is nice. She seems to be the terrorists favourite. And I know why. Cause awesome.

BDA: dmboogie, because Michael has very good quotes that I could see on the top of the site. That and the death was super unexpected. Like, it really was. The fight with Joe and Hansel was a epic stand off and what I said. I did not expect that. It was awesome.

For my BDA award, I nominate Mararoone, for the death of Juhan Levandi. Juhan wasn't a great character to me throughout his run, but Mara really brought it in the death thread, really hammering home some excellent themes and doing really really great legwork to make the audience feel Juhan's pain.

BKA, which was much tougher, goes to Gray, for killing Sean. This is twofold in reasoning: firstly, because the Gray/Sean exchange is a truly fine piece of writing and deserves recognition, and secondly I want to see how Gray handles being rewarded in character for a murder of a friend. Lots of momentum to be won and lost there.

For BKA, I'm going to choose Gray Emerson, for killing Sean Mulcahy.

I really liked what went on in this scene. Mainly the fact that Gray didn't feel like he was choosing, but that he had to kill Sean, and the brevity of the actual kill-post. It was really neat.

For BDA, I choose dmboogie, for the death of Michael Mitchellson. Honestly, everyone in this scene did an incredibly amazing job, and what I liked the most here was the bitterness and the desperation involved. It was really shocking to see a character who, from being some silly comic-relief character at his start and up until rather recently, had turned into this. And I loved it.

BKA: Gray Emerson for killing Sean Mulcahy. It was a great end for Sean and Gray's story together and is one of the most fitting ends to a group or partnership in V5, in my opinion.

BDA: Maraoone for the death of Juhan Levandi. Juhan's whole story is a great marker of how Mara has improved as a writer over the course of V5, and his death scene is a lot of fun to read.

Skipping BKA, sorry.

BDA: Man, for me, this was nearly a coin toss between Takeshi and Michael. I really liked the bitterness and surprise of Takeshi's, but in the end, I'm going with dmboogie, for the death of Michael Mitchellson, who really delivered on a violent, saddening front. I also find it fitting that V5's funny man was the last one to die before the final 10 were left, and the idea of trying to find quotes for him amuses me.

BKA: Gray Emerson

Out of the four available kills, this is a very easy choice. Gray killing Sean was a huge plot point and I got goosebumps when I read it. Deamon really carried the tone of the thread and made Gray really sing. I cannot wait to see where he takes this BKA.

BDA: Takeshi Yoshikawa

Way to close out a character with a nice spin on the final thoughts trope. Muinnin/Maraoone/Sansa really knocked it out of the park but thinking about it Takeshi's death post is the biggest thing I took away from that thread. That last line blew me the fuck away. Way to go.

BKA: Gray Emerson

There were a lot of really good kills this round from a writing perspective, but for me what puts Gray a notch up is how big a risk for his story his kill was. Gray has been one of the most solidly moral characters in V5 for much of the game, and his choice to kill one of his friends, in my opinion, flies completely in the face of that. The thing is, it also makes total sense. It's the culmination of a plot that's been bubbling for over half the game, one where Gray's own trusting nature coupled with just a hint too much stubbornness pushes him to the last place he would ever want to go. I have no idea where Gray's going to go from here, but in a good way--it's rare to see such a turn so late in the game, and I can't wait to see how it plays out.

BDA: Sean Mulcahy

This was a really tough one. Lots of worthy deaths this time around, and I had to go reread to tiebreak a three-way dilemma. What pushes Sean over the top for me is the way his death functions with the themes of his story. He's been all over the spectrum of grounded vs. out there, and it would've been very easy to have Sean's death be a total flight of fantasy. Instead, it quite cannily is one of the most physical and real moments of his story, full of the right sorts of details and never pushing too far on any one idea. It's really well done overall--not perfect, but a super respectable death amid a whole month of such.

That's past time (by a good bit ><). Stay tuned for results and the announcement pretty soon here!

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V6 First BKA/BDA (September 2016)

[+] V6 First Awards

It is time for the first BKA/BDA of V6! First, we're going to take a few moments to explain some changes that you may or may not be aware of.

First off, votes will remain hidden until the voting period has ended. This is to prevent a pattern we saw way back in V4, where handlers would vote more based on who they wanted to win of the characters getting votes than who they thought deserved to win overall.

Voting is, as in V4 and V5, anonymous. To vote, you must log out and post as a guest. You may not vote for yourself/your own character (and staff has a few ways to check this, and actually does). Also, please vote for the scene you truly feel was best, rather than the one your friend wrote. We get that they may be the same, but would really like to encourage everyone to really consider their votes.

Votes for different deaths/kills by the same handler/character will not be compiled, as was finalized in late V4. Each kill/death stands alone.

Now, the prizes.

BKA will, as in V5, get the winning character a weapon and a treat in the form of food.

BDA will, as in V5, get the deceased character featured in the scrolling quote. The quote will be chosen by the site, through a poll, with nominations available for a short time beforehand (and yes, the character's handler is eligible to nominate quotes of their choosing).

Also, a quick reminder from the V5 rule changes:

9. Deadlines for Deaths and Contests:

From here out both deaths and kills will be held to the death deadline as regards contests. V4 had way too many delays, often due to the killers as much as the victims. Therefore, from now on, if a death is disqualified from contention for BDA, the kill will also be disqualified from contention for BKA. We will also no longer be rolling over deaths and kills into the next month's contest, even in cases where an extension has been granted. The bookkeeping involved is too much of a hassle, and it in effect promotes slower deaths, which we do not wish to do.

Also, remember that you must give your reasons for your votes, or they will be disqualified. As they are anonymous, tracking down people who fail to provide adequate reasoning is a huge hassle, and staff isn't going to bother. So be sure to give your reasoning when you post.

Please be sure to read every kill and death before voting. Otherwise, it's super unfair to the people you skip, who may have produced really good work. We'd love to see a big turnout, but we'd prefer to see a small-yet-informed one.

Finally, a request: Please do not campaign for awards in chat. Please do not do the "Man, it'd be so cool to win BKA/BDA" thing. Please do not try to steer people towards one of your scenes if you have multiple ones up for consideration. Please do not, in short, try to influence the votes.

With that out of the way, it is time for the very first BKA/BDA of V6.

BEST KILL AWARD:
Isabel Ramirez, for killing Tina Luz
Nancy Kyle, for killing Scarlett McAfee
Kimiko Kao, for killing Cristo Morales
Alvaro Vacanti, for killing Barry Banks
Alex Tarquin, for killing Rea Adams
Isabel Ramirez, for killing Conrad Harrod

BEST DEATH AWARD:
CondorTalon, for the death of Jennifer Su
CicadaDays, for the death of Tina Luz
Primrosette, for the death of Scarlett McAfee
backslash, for the death of Cristo Morales
Aura, for the death of Barry Banks
Empress Plush, for the death of Abigail Floyd
dmboogie, for the death of Harold Porter
Spinnentier, for the death of Rea Adams
RC, for the death of Conrad Harrod

This contest will run for five days, like we did in the past. The announcement will be up shortly after that. This should leave us on schedule to have mid-months at, well, the middle of the month.

BKA: Isabel Ramirez for killing Conrad Harrod
I really felt the brutality of this scene. Many early deaths in previous versions have been relatively low-intensity; accidents, heat of the moment sort of deals. Of course, many are also intense scenarios evocative of a thriller, where you know who's going to die but not how or at what player's hand.

I think Isabel gave the scene a lot of fervor. A big part of my enjoyment is that it wasn't gratuitous for the sake of gratuity; while it was a vicious, violent, messy scene, it didn't make Conrad feel like worthless fodder, only existing to be the splattered victim. Conrad was helpless, sure, but that was the point! The scene is a power struggle, and I love that because really, Isabel is clinging to a dream she's always had, which is control over other people, and in this situation where she has no control over her own life, she has more power than ever before.

Of course, Conrad plays an important part too; you feel so bad watching him be sliced up like that, but like Conrad, there's nothing you can do. Philosophy aside, I believe Conrad was a solid part in the piece as the foil. He'd killed Harold, so he had power, but he transferred it to Isabel when she killed him. It's a really interesting scene that could have gone really badly but I think even where there are issues it's a really emotionally shocking thing to see and I like that. Kudos!

BDA: Scarlett McAfee
Low-key deaths are great, and I love the pacing in Scarlett's. It goes from frantic as Nancy panics, to a swift strike into Scarlett, and a slower scene as she dies with Aiden. It's very cinematic in that way, and I like that. The speed and tone work well together because Nancy's going nuts, Scarlett's scared half to death already and Aiden is out of his mind with worry.

I think the deathpost in particular works really well for its potential foibles. A lot of touching dying scenes are hard because they feel cheesy, but this suits Scarlett's personality and the scene well enough that I like it a lot. It's a clean, solid death that really makes all three participants shine and that's a great sign for the other two early on. There's less to analyze here than with the BKA, but I don't think that's a bad thing; it's a quick, fluid, and neat, without a lot of flowery prose or melodrama. It's very strong mechanically for its simplicity while still having enough layers to make it interesting.

A good death is always a shame because the character often had potential, but at least they went out well.

BKA: Isabel's party with Conrad. Brutal enough to punch you in the gut, but not excessive. Went into Isabel's thoughts enough to justify why she's doing all this horrible shit. Very effective prose. Only minor quibble is that it would have been nice to intersperse more of Conrad's reactions in the post itself, but time is time is time.

BDA: CRISTÓBAL MORALES. I'm sad. Very sudden, very tragic. Cristo was a very nice dude and it hurt to see him hurt, especially so early. The mentions of Abby (especially when he laid his hand on hers) and the final line were the real kickers. Rest in death, bro.

BDA: Cristo Morales. We had a couple really good deaths this time around (honourable mentions going to Jennifer, Barry, and Harold, the last of which I almost voted for), but off of the top of my head this is the one that shines out. Partially due to the ideas that are brought up during the death post of trying/having done enough (which can be seen as a call to his opening oneshot, which makes it even neater) and also due to the effect that it has on Abby, who is now that I think about it also an honourable mention for BDA. Can't really specify for it but it's definitely worth reading, and while I'm not sure what the quote would be for it it gets my vote.

BKA: This one's a little harder, but I think that due to the fact that this is a more IC reward than anything, I'm going to go with Alex Tarquin. The terrorists, at this point in the game, would like to reward people who killed deliberately, to push them towards performing further action. Out of the two killers who I'd say did their actions entirely deliberately - those two being Isabel and Alex - I'd say that the terrorists would go more towards pushing Alex, as Isabel has already set her path of being a murderous psychopath and doesn't really need that extra motivation. Also: Grim's a good writer and while I can't say I totally understand Alex since I'm a terrible reader I am interested in him and hope to see him do more.

My vote for BKA goes to Kimiko Kao. It was a tough decision, truth be told, but in the end, I felt out of all the killers, the rashness of her actions coupled with her self-awareness shimmering through made her special to me. I suppose I am somewhat biased here, as I have a weakness for accidental kills rather than cold-blooded murder, but in the end, I feel this is the vote I'm most confident in.

As for BDA, I vote for Harold Porter. This choice was more simple for me to make: I chose based on whose death made me feel the most. While there were several deaths managing to invoke emotion within me, Harold's made me feel tthe most sorrow.

He stays who he is up until the very end, even after being stabbed by someone he never harmed. His beliefs are not shattered, even in light of his advancing death. All events leading up to his death make me appreciate him both as a -albeit fictional - person and a character. That is why my vote goes to him.

BKA award goes to Isabel Ramirez for the murder of Conrad Harrod. I must admit, I was skeptical about this one at first because it comes across as quite dramatic and over the top, but at the same time, that's what makes it really stand out from the rest of the deaths here: it's a scene from a slasher flick brought to life. I think VoltTurtle did the best job of conveying the emotion and brutality of the scene, and on the whole that makes it the most memorable in my opinion.

BDA goes to Conrad Harrod. On the other end, RC manages to best represent what being murdered so viciously should look like. Rather than spending moments during his death pondering about his loved ones or thinking too much, he's responding in the most human way out of all the deaths as far as I'm concerned. It's not overly emotional or heartbreaking, it's morbidly natural.

BKA: Kimiko Kao, for the killing of Cristo Morales.

Poor communication kills, and nobody's got as much of a natural disadvantage in that department as poor little Kimiko. The way the whole scene played out is your bread and butter of a day one kill. Little things spiral out of control, actions are done that people just can't take back, somebody gets shanked with a spear. As bonus points, Kimiko's next thread adds more spice to the death, showing the weight it had on her even as she wonders whether Cristo actually died or not.

BDA: RC, for the death of Conrad Harrod.

Bouncing between a couple for this one. In the end, I decided to give it to Conrad Harrod due to the clear effort RC threw into it. Wild spacing and odd formatting can be touch-and-go with me. This time it just happened to press all the right buttons and get in the mind of somebody who just tried to make sense of a completely senseless situation. Swimming through that haze while experiencing pain is one heck of a trip, and RC really did his best to give us that... and I think he did a pretty good job of it, too.

BKA - Alvaro Vacanti (Yugikun) for Barry Banks

So the writing here with Alvaro was really solid. Looking at the killer exclusively in this scene Yugikun just does an excellent job with maintaining a consistent voice of character, very important so that sentence to sentence the character remains consistent and produces a certain tonal quality, which Alvaro manages very richly. He's a good character and while his death scene doesn't necessarily have the most meta impact it handily wins on basis of writing. Alvaro's character exists seamlessly in both his actions and his writing. I like it a lot.

BDA - Harold Porter (dmboogie) by Conrad Herrod

Harold also benefits from strong writing with the added plus that his death is likely going to have long reaching consequences through affecting two other characters directly in Tyler and Clarice. It also indirectly affected Isabel via the events leading to her being able to kill Conrad. His writing is solid and paced well to his death, the internal philosophical musing is measured and it effectively tapers off to it's end. Optimistic, hopeful, and then cut short with a few sentences. Also a character that exists in his prose and narrative along with his actions.

BKA: Alvaro
BDA: Abigail

THIS VOTE WAS DISQUALIFIED DUE TO LACK OF RATIONALE.

Best Kill - Alex Tarquin. Probably the scene that I felt most from the killer's side this round, with a little extra there to really get you into his head and understand why things happened the way he did. Interesting prose and a pretty neat fight scene to follow it up.

Best Death - RC for Conrad Harrod. A nice, detailed post that works great as the last moments of a kind of self-centered, cowardly character and really showcases how RC has grown as a writer since joining the site. Really brought things into focus and tied the scene together with his killer's half of things.

BKA: I’m voting for Kimiko Kao for killing Cristo Morales. I liked the gradual transition from looking for supplies and possibly allies to thief. I like that as an early kill it was killing more out of panic in a theft gone wrong than actively murderous.

BDA: I’m voting for dmboogie for the death of Harold Porter. With Harold. I like how the death did a good job of being consistent with how he had been portrayed in prior scenes. I like how he was focused on reassuring others and continuing to try and do the right thing.

Best Kill Award: My vote goes towards Isabel Ramirez for the death of Conrad Herrod. It's certainly not the kind of death I'd have expected on Day One, but I really enjoyed it. Isabel goes completely off the deep end, committing to the atrocities she has and will commit on V6 Island. What better way to show that than to torture someone? I feel it's the sort of event that will carry a lot of consequences in Isabel's story and play into other stories as well. It's the sort of death that we need on Day One, and I think it's the most chilling of the lot.

Best Death Award: My vote here goes to Empress Plush for the death of Abigail Floyd. Damn you, Plush, for pulling out an unrolled death and making me feel things about it. It's a brutal scene, emotionally. Abby was a very likable person in pregame, and to see her completely give up after watching Cristo die was really tragic. It's normal to see suicides on the first day, and I think this one was one of the better Day One suicide deaths we've seen. It shows how quickly Abby lost all her hope, and I liked that it was more spurred by something that happened during her time on the island and not an immediate reaction to being on the island. It's a great death, and Plush deserves accolades for it.

BKA
Isabel Ramirez, for killing Conrad Harrod

I found it difficult to continue reading the post in which Isabel kills Conrad after the half-way point or something (and boy was that a long post), but not because it was mechanically terrible or the narrative was lacking. I am simply to squeamish for all of this stuff. Still, I feel as recognition of making me look away in sheer horror I should be voting for Isabel.

BDA
dmboogie for the death of Harold Porter

It made me sad, okay? ;~;

(No, seriously. Evoked the strongest emotional response in me, so that's my choice)

BKA: Alvaro Vacanti. I really like this as a first kill early on in the game, it's panicked, it's simple, and it doesn't require too much premeditation. It's very believable how someone could be pushed over the edge to this position early on and do something terrible without really thinking it through, and those are my favorite kind of early game kills. The way Alvaro tunes Barry's words and intent out until he can only see the possibility that he might get hurt, or even killed, really sells that, and it's a two way street, which leads me to...

BDA: Barry Banks. Alvaro's kill wouldn't be as satisfying if it wasn't for the context of what Barry is actually doing. These two opposite mindsets are clashing, and Barry doesn't realize how he's coming off. I think it might read as a little cheesy to some, but for me it was perfect; Barry doesn't seem to be able to conceive someone like Alvaro as a threat, he just sees someone hurt and scared who he could try to help. The crazy, reeling cycle of hope he goes through as he falls is great as well, it's the sort of desperate "last thoughts" kind of deal that ends up coming across as very reasonable in a panicked sort of way. He's so desperately trying to convince himself things are going to be okay, even when they're clearly not. It's a delicious delusion, and one Aura handled well!

I'm voting for Harold Porter for the BDA. His death was heartfelt and peaceful, full of emotion and creates a sad, yet memorable and satisfying (though that may not be the right word) conclusion to Harold Porter's story. Despite it being a clear ending, however, it also gives a hint of the effect Harold's death will have on Ty and Clarice, and therefore not only finished Harold's story, but gave much for the continuation of Ty's and Clarice's. What really pushed me over the edge to choose this one instead of Barry's, though, was that dmboogie did a fantastic job with the prose, creating the peaceful and deliberate atmosphere of one who has truly accepted his death. Barry's death was good too, but just didn't manage to capture the atmosphere like Harold's did.

For the BKA, I'm voting for Alex Tarquin. His was the first kill truly done in the heat of the moment and that couldn't be argued it was an accident, but it contrasts that with a piece-by-piece breakdown of why he acted in that way, or at least, why he thinks he acted in that way. While the other kills were either done by people of questionable sanity, not in fact on purpose or partially on purpose through premeditation, Alex's kill was done by someone sane, someone who swung to kill and someone who really hadn't planned it. This is the first kill of the drafted soldier and carries all the implications of that.

Best Kill Award

Isabel Ramirez is our post prolific killer so far, and my pick for BKA. However, I think it should be for the death of Tina Luz. While Conrad's death sticks out in most people's minds because of its sheer cruelty, I personally think Tina's death is a more interesting look into Isabel's psyche. Isabel committed the first deliberate murder of V6, and Turtle did an excellent job of developing her rationale. Tina's death is part of Isabel's buildup as a character, and the first stepping stone deserves to be remembered.

Best Death Award

There's a couple of tragic deaths this time around: Abby Floyd in particular has truly heartbreaking death post. However, she is narrowly beaten by Harold Porter's, because the emotion of his death extends past his death post. Most of the other deaths are over quickly, or at least contained in a few posts. But Harold filled a thread with a long, drawn-out death, and his companions contributed a lot as well. Harold's, Ty's, and Clarice's posts weave together to create a truly heartbreaking death scene. Boogie, Medic, and Plush all deserve commendations for how well the thread was put together.

Best Kill : Alvaro Vacanti for chucking Barry Banks off the belltower, holy shit this was great. One of two deaths that I did not see coming. When you choose Best Kills from an IC perspective however, you have to take into account how it will affect the winner. I get the sense that a lot of our killers this month would be killing no matter what. But Alvaro? Barry's death cannot be called an accident, but Alvaro isn't exactly planning to do it again. Winning the BKA will leave plenty of impact. It will turn what would be a one-off killer into a player. I like that. I want that. Give the pizza and katana to Alf.

Best Death : Abby Floyd. Mad respect for someone knowing when the time is right to pull the trigger. Abby's death was shocking. It was also incredibly fitting. It is the only death I can say with full confidence that has stuck with me the most since reading it.

bka - Boy 032

Well, it was a great choreographed scene with Rea being killed and Will wanting to seek revenge. IC giving Alex a good weapon is extremely entertaining for the terrorists. Even with the scene currently being ongoing, it is thrilling to see the dynamic that happened to the killer of rea and the boyfriend of rea. I sense a rivalry incoming. Also, do I even need to mention Alex' profile? Alex+guns = murder. The terrorists love that. Also Grim+Guns = awesome fight scenes incoming. Alex Tarqwins my vote with that kill.

bda - Aura the Master of all Foxes who also are kinda misfortunate (tm)

The scene was really perfect. It was really creative to use the 'falling out of the tower thing' with the fact that the island is hella old and that he falls down from it with the allusion of the tower being really instable. It was believeable. Also, the Jonathan and Barry chemistry was great and Jonathan's mourning really made Barry's death even more sad. 'twas for me the most moving death of day 1. It was a good, believable and not too-silly or comedic accidental death and I felt really, really sorry for Barry. This is how a day 1 accidental death should be. Barry did not only have an impact for having a really sad death, but should also be rewarded with a quote.

Even if he already has one quote captured IC.

My vote for BKA goes to Deamon's Kimiko Kao. Early kills are always hard to pull of well, but this kill flows well from the characters and the situation around them. The escalation from theft to the fight is natural and you can feel the shift from doubt to panic in Kimiko that leads the death. Her panic is all too real, and the feeling works very well for this scene.

For BDA, I nominate RC's Conrad Harrod. While the lack of breaks hamper the flow of Isabel's kill, it provides an amazing space for Conrad's reaction. The use of length and short punctuating lines help extend the timeframe of the death making the sheer torture of the situation clear and the interweaving of dialogue and thought is done particularly well to emphasise the sheer desperation of the situation.

BKA: Kimiko Kao. Nice paranoid escalation, beautiful accidental kill.

BDA: RC for Conrad Harrod. Far and away the best death post. Existential, serious, lovely.

Isabel Ramirez, for killing Conrad Harrod

dmboogie, for the death of Harold Porter

THIS VOTE WAS DISQUALIFIED DUE TO LACK OF RATIONALE.

Hmm, best Kill has to go to Nancy Kyle for me. The pure tragedy of her descent into madness had already resulted in two injuries, and this is arguably the point where she crossed the moral event horizon. Her mentally unstable personality plays out really well in this scene, and I almost feel really bad for her here. She's like a cornered animal, lashing out in self defense. It wasn't her fault at all...

My vote for Best Death Award goes to Abigail Floyd. This death hit me the hardest, out of all the deaths this time around. Inter spaced biblical quotes with descriptions of her further descent into despair, culminating in an ambiguous end. We don't read a description of how she felt when the pain shot through her arms, or how much blood there was, because we don't need to, here. All we know is that she's in a better place, and that itself is heartbreaking enough.

BKA: Alvaro Vacanti, for ending the life of Barry Banks.

This early portion of the game seemed to have a lot of instances of "Character A kills Character B by reflex/in a struggle gone wrong/etc". Of these, I think that Alvaro's posts best captured the terror felt by somebody who hadn't meant to take things quite that far.


BDA: dmboogie, for the death of Harold Porter.

I feel that these posts really did a good job of conveying someone feeling at peace even as they know that they're dying.

Reminder: Just under eight hours left for votes. Also, all votes need an explanation/ stated reasons or will be disqualified.If you voted and did not provide any discussion, you should resubmit your vote with reasons stated; staff will check the IPs and delete the older, invalid votes.

Best Kill: Kimiko Kao. This kill was appropriately brutal and also something that was really unique to Kimiko as a character. It's quiet, fearful and I love the motivations in the scene and the atmosphere. She's not perhaps a bad person, but SOTF pushed her to do things she thought were a good idea at the time which will have fascinating consequences. A tip of the hat to her scene partners especially for making it all-around great, but I really liked the writing and the complicated emotional nature of the kill.

Best Death: Harold Porter. This was a lot tougher. I think we had a lot of good deaths this month. Short as it was, I wanted to shout out Cristo Morales, Jennifer Su (short as it was) as well as Scarlett McAfee and Barry Banks for also having great deaths. There was something in each of these deaths that hit me right in the blood pump, but I'm giving it to Harold. It was an appropriately touching scene and I liked how his relationships played into the death. Heartwarming, hopeful and sad.

That's a wrap! Vote reveal and announcement are forthcoming.

[Grand Moff Hissa]

V6 Second BKA/BDA (October 2016)

[+] V6 Second Awards

It's time for V6's second round of contest voting! Here's a quick recap of the rules for your benefit when voting:

Votes will remain hidden until the voting is done.

Votes are made anonymously, so you'll need to log out of your account and post as a guest.

You may not vote for yourself for either award.

Votes must come with reasoning, or they will not be counted.

As a reminder on points of courtesy: please be sure to read every kill and death before voting, please vote for your genuine favourites rather than just voting for your friends, and please don't campaign for awards in the chat or otherwise try to influence the vote.

BEST KILL AWARD:
Jasmine Reed, for killing Joshua Bracewell
Oskar Pearce, for killing Jane Madison
Nancy Kyle, for killing Sabrina Luz
Kimiko Kao, for killing Bradley Floyd
Nancy Kyle, for killing Sandy Bricks
Brendan Harte, for killing Jeremiah Larkin
Isabel Ramirez, for killing Danny Brooks

BEST DEATH AWARD:
Ciel, for the death of Joshua Bracewell
Rorick Skyve, for the death of Jane Madison
Yugikun, for the death of Jasmine King
decoy73, for the death of Sabrina Luz
General Goosebumps, for the death of Bradley Floyd
The Slamtichrist, for the death of Sandy Bricks
Lolita, for the death of Jeremiah Larkin
Violent-Medic, for the death of Danny Brooks

Voting will run for five days, with the winners being declared in the following announcement.

BKA: Brendan Harte, for one of the most startling deaths this far. This was a risky scene to do as well, because unrevealed killers have had trouble in the past, but I really liked the execution on this one. The thought processes of the victim(s(?)) and Brendan's flawed understanding of the situation makes for a really shocking and exciting scene that will definitely have long-term ramifications.

BDA: Bradley Floyd. For all the jokes we've made about Bradley's death being a good thing, and as unpleasant as he was as a person for much of his time, I think Bradley's death scene and death post in particular are really compelling characterization points for every character, but especially Bradley. He's thought-provoking, flavorful, well-written in voice and content, and overall a really interesting death that has a lot to look at.

Best Kill: Brendan Harte for killing Jeremiah Larkin. One of the better "misunderstanding leads to a murder" scenes I've read, the kill stems logically from Brendan's character as he is set up in pregame and early V6 and how he interprets the fight he stumbles upon and the people involved. It feels very significant for him as a character and informs how his story might progress from here on, which is what a kill should accomplish for the killer.

Best Death: General Goose with Bradley Floyd. A long-winded death that sums up Bradley as a character, both as he sees himself and as the massive douchebag everyone else sees him as. He's making off-color jokes right up to the end, staying true to himself no matter what, and it manages to get the reader to really see things from his angle and sympathize with him as a person, despite everything you've seen him do for shits and giggles up to that point.

BKA: Jasmine Reed, for killing Joshua Bracewell. Crazy looks real cute on Jazzy. I'm loving it so far. It's nice to see some of that formatting swagger done to its subtle best, and this kill is really the catalyst of all that. I can't wait to see where she goes with the rest of her arc, because right now it's looking like a real fun ride.

BDA: Bradley Floyd, by General Goose. Bradley is a shit bird. Always has been, always will be. But even a shit bird can sing a pretty little swan song :c I love this character and I think seeing some of the moments of genuine vulnerability and care in his final moments helped open up without seeming contrived. Bradley doesn't think of himself as a bad person and he's not trying to hurt people even if he doesn't understand how terrible his attitude back home was. He's still human. I think a lot of people felt like we'd look forward to seeing Bradley die for narrative catharsis, especially for someone who got as much of his pre-game nastiness as Kimiko, but...damn. It really ended up being very sad instead, and I think Goose deserves some major props for pulling that off!

BKA: Oskar Pearce for killing Jane Madison. What I liked about this kill was how Oskar had to gradually build himself up to the kill through escalating the situation, from a robbery to avoiding actually fighting Jane. I also appreciated the need for reassurance afterward. I found it very realistic that he latches on to someone else justifying his behavior.

BDA: General Goosebumps for the death of Bradley Floyd. There were multiple things to like here. One was that Bradley got killed due to his signature flaw: saying shit that pisses people off. He even continued with the bad jokes as he was dying, which I found made him consistent instead of radically changing the writing style for the death itself. Additionally, that he had all those other thoughts to distract him a bit from dying was something I liked.

Sorry if this double or triple posts, I got told to submit my post again?

BKA: Kimiko. I really liked the no-nonsense approach she took to it, and how abrupt it was. Blah blah blah STAB. Also I'd be amused if she won two BKAs in a row.

BDA: Bradley. He had it coming from his very first pregame post, but seriously, I felt it was a good culmination of his various actions over pregame and main game up until his (now literal) fatal flaw rears its head one last time.

BKA (Oskar Pearce / Jane Madison)
BDA (General Goosebumps / Bradley Floyd)

This was a hard one. For BKA it was a combination of OOC and IC factors. The dynamic of the kill was excellently played and set up, shout out to all three handlers. Oskar played a fascinating role as hero. Character-ful in a very minimalist set up, which is hard. Every word sold exactly what the kill and it's aftermath meant. What's left to come will probably be awesome. And in terms of IC I think the terrorists would love to bestow the Caedyn/Oskar duo with a prize, due to the extra potential to explore the power dynamic... BDA was a tough field and a lot of the deaths were considered at some point. Bradley's death was even almost too verbose and overwhelmingly detail packed to seem appropriate, but what really sold it was the quality of the writing. The structure of every sentence and every word chosen was nigh immaculate. Bradley's character as a whole is wrapped up neatly into his death, packaged, and effectively sold. The consistency within the build up, climax, and resolution was well played. Another way I guess I could say it? It was a perfectly 'Bradley' death, and I like that.

BKA: Nancy Kyle for the death of Sandyyy.

Nancy caused a massacre and then caused a second murder. Nancy needs a better weapon than Mitch's gun. Nancy is such an interesting read and I like her concept of killing people. I choose Sandy's death scene specifically, because the fight scene was beautifully choreographed.

BDA: Jerry's death

It was the best death of V6 so far. I never expected that to happen. Besides, it was a very fitting end to Jeremiah and it has a cool prose. I especially liked the bits of him turning back and the flowery prose about him dying as if he was in some movie. Very dramatic, very awesome.

Two days left for votes guys. So get them in quick if you want your favourite kill or death to win.

Best Kill Award

It was a close call, but in the end, I think my vote has to go to Brendan Harte for the death of Jerry Larkin. Brendan had finally worked up the guts to try and be a hero, but he failed miserably - he ended up killing an innocent person, and let a murderer escape. Giving Brendan BKA would also have interesting in-character effects, as he'd try and grapple with winning something for this accident.

Best Death Award

Jasmine King, admittedly, kind of deserved it. She died for her insensitivity. However, she managed to turn the tables on Sandy very quickly and wonderfully. The emotional downward spiral was well written, and made the sudden rebellion at the end so much better. She left the world in spite, not even giving Sandy the satisfaction of killing her. It's an incredible piece worthy of BDA.

My vote goes to both NAFT and Rorick Skyve for BKA/BDA, for Oskar Pearce killing Jane Madison. I just couldn't separate the two, honestly; the scene worked due to the well-executed pacing between the two handlers, in my mind. There was some very palpable tension between Jane and Oskar, especially considering Jane, so often the cause of antagonism back home, was perfectly within her rights to be angry at the situation she found herself in. It was well written on both sides and generally just enjoyable to read!

Just under fifteen hours left to get your votes in if you haven't already.

Best Kill Award: My vote for Best Kill goes to Brendan Harte for the death of Jeremiah Larkin. I never saw this coming. I didn't think Brendan would be Jerry's killer, and I never thought Brendan would be pushed to commit murder. Likewise, I never thought Brendan would kill this way. This was a brutal death, and for it to come out of nowhere was really neat. It's also neat to see Brendan's thought process behind this, since it informs us of the levels of irony in the scene. I know this will definitely play a big part in Brendan's story, and I can't wait to see what happens.

Best Death Award: My vote for Best Death goes to General Goose for the death of Bradley Floyd. While part of this is to see the plethora of choices in Bradley's quote for the scrolling quote, it's also just such a good scene for such a garbage pail kid like Bradley. It's got some humor, got some heart, and also shows some real depth to Bradley. He may have only had two threads to be such a dick, but here, I was somewhat sad to see him go, and I thought it was an excellent send off.

Voting is closed. The winners shall be revealed in the next announcement.