Whoa! Thank you all so much!
Eclipse, I'm hardly a contestant to the two God Emperors, this is my fourth win in 3 years, but I love how each win is often on trying something different (a love story, a journal..). It's the very spirit of the contest for me, as Carter said, the perfect place to go and try new things.
Speaking of which, I voted for
@Carter, whose story sort of surprised me with unexpected typos and nagging things that I felt could have been smoothed out by re-reads, yet was so lovely in concept, so intense in emotions, I was totally caught. I loved as well that the MC, this river spirit, goes to do the good thing but then lashes out, and ends the story on a bitter, almost cruel note. It felt like the obvious thing to do for it though, so it had a bit of a "glimpse into an alien mindset" quality to that ending which I really liked.
it's an odd contest, when third place only has two votes.
Also voted for
@D_Bates, I just like your stories man! This one... there was a thing towards the end, when it became really lovecraftian that didn't please me all that much, because I felt like you had your own, honestly terrifying thing going, but it still worked very well overall. The part when they all go nuts or missing was quite chilly, even for such a short story. Tight!
Honourable mentions to Jmack's great Monsoon Dragon, and Nightwrite, whose concept was really cool, like a good water-bender idea, but felt too much like a chapter in a story. I think 500 more words to peak in drama and cut a sharper end would have made it perfect.
Norman Gray's story was also very good. Well written, but ultimately storms aren't just water, and there are floods and seas mentioned, for sure, but the story lacked independence as an autonomous short as well. Overall quality was strong though.
It was just tough to have only two votes with still so many good stories. I hope we have more entries for Jan, with everyone making good writing resolutions and upholding them for at least a month :p
