Here the journey ends, here our stories converge and find their climax.
This week, voted for our top three most favourite entries. Each of you were given three chances to pick and though not all of you were able to vote, these are the long-awaited results.
There were several ties as we had suspected, henceforth, we decided on having three picks as well as having special mentions.
Top Picks
Kiradog234 with 'When Leave Falls'
When leaves fall, Autumn rises. In this entry, you can feel the sweet perfume of autumn leaves because of the extent to which the descriptions extend. I loved the descriptions in this entry, they introduced me to a poetic way of describing things. It also succeeded in breaking my heart, hats off to Emma for that. She succeeded in breaking my heart twice, that's a rare achievement. With a backstory that extends beyond people to the very beginning of seasons, the heartbreak is strong with this one. Fletcher is an interesting character and exceptionally shippable. With a genius plot designed to ward off shippers, it shattered a beautiful ship.
Overall, the entry is a beautiful work of prose which deserves to share the first place.
In the end, no matter how much Emma broke my heart, Fletcher did save Dresden from getting punched, so I really have to thank her for that
RoxyPuppyLove with 'The Follower'
Okay, so I'll be honest, this one was very unexpected and I actually didn't expect Jas to tie up with Emma. When I saw the results, I was simply astounded. I had always known that Jaslyn loved references, but mixing pop-culture references with horror and dark humour has never been more hilarious and entertaining. I found The Follower, Jas' entry to be one of the best of the bunch. Though the grammar could do some work, I found myself reading the entry every other day. It's just too amazing to not keep reading.
Damien is a complex character and his relationships with the other characters are far more deep than the naked eyes may at first perceive. Though I admit that everyone gives him a hard time because of his status as a creepy priest, you don't have a life if you can't bring yourself to love him and his alter-ego, Toby. There was a time when Jaslyn and I were discussing Damien when she told me: "I wanted him to be an irredeemable, evil priest. But somehow, he became a dad."
Well, Jaslyn, my friend, I have news for you. He is still pretty much an evil priest, but he's also a dad and not as irredeemable as originally planned. I actually have to apologise to you for the hundredth time. I accidentally wrote your character into a father-figure, hence, that's why he's a dad now.
Overall, this is a book that I would read on lazy Saturdays; or when I decide that life is getting dull and I need to spice it up with some humour.
VexHellfire with 'And Midnight Will Reign'
I have the absolute highest regard for Vex – She is singlehandedly the personified saint of our community projects (minus all the chaos and destruction, of course).
These projects function on three levels;
Firstly, we want to practice our craft, and stretch our horizons, learn new things, try different things, develop new stories. A large part of this growth is the interaction between the authors, and the development of their stories through shared input and collective design. While many of us do interact with other narratives, I think Vex really took it to the next level with MHoH, and her story for Kira Kirova expand not only on the personal narrative of the character, but incorporates the narratives of the other characters so well.
Secondly, we develop communal narratives in order to create something that is not only unique to our individuals, but to our community – something we can proudly say is ours.For this to happen, there is a prerequisite level of interaction and discussion that needs to take place, not only for the lore of our world, or the stories of our characters, but the academic planning for the bigger picture that we need to piece together in the chaos of so many artists. Vex has always been at the forefront of that, and without that contribution and initiative from her, I think this project would have been much more lacking. This is an experience we can trace in Kira's story.
Finally, we want to develop our community, and every piece we push out is another painting in the museum of wonderful things we've done as the Weekly Wattpad Contests. Kira Kirova's story is somehow central to that web we've spinned, and her story not only influences others, but draws from them too – a truly collective design that advocates for collaboration – that give and take - that pushes us towards being one of the coolest communities (in my opinion, at least).
So, yes, Vex did all that, while writing an exceptionally interesting character story as well. Truly a sigil of everything we stand for here. Thank you, Vex.
~Special Mentions~
Darling was an amazing monster and we really need to give Ash the props for being the first to finish an entry. This was an entry that had just the right mix of romance, heartbreak, and horror. As the story progresses, you can see a visible line that draws from the introduction to the final climax to the resolution. Dresden Veins had to be one of the most severely flawed characters in the entirety of MHoH yet he was also the most redeemable.
In the tale of Dresden Veins, he is in love with Latherna whom he considers his saving grace, his love for her is the thing that redeems him in the end, even though the redemption on both parts were painful and agonising.
As I was re-reading this book, I came to the realisation that Darling and Dresden are both opposite and similar at the same time. In addition, it came to my focus that Darling may just be the strongest and most potent of the monsters. Had Dresden never fought against him in the climax of the story, I can only imagine what would become of places other than Carsden with Mother and Darling standing side by side to wreak havoc and destruction. If anything, Darling himself is to thank for the prevention of a much greater evil. He sealed his own doom in the climax, after killing Latherna.
Perhaps one of the most clever of entries, I absolutely enjoyed this entry. Ash, you are one great writer and never think that you are not. In this life we live, we face many challenges, but never forget that there are people who surround us, people who care for us. In the end, the moral of this tale is that no one is truly alone, whether in the darkness or in the light.
Be ready to be breathless even before the clouds gather with this entry. Latherna sees Carsden through a lens different than others which I found very intriguing. Her family history is based off in Carsden and magic courses through her veins(no pun intended), which gives her narrative a unique air. I found this entry to be brilliant. Lyssa has taken time to add and describe things very well which is a Herculean task. She executed this task very well. The story unfolds into a mixture of drama, horror, romance and prose which is on the brink of being poetry. The plot is well-driven with attention to detail and a great backstory.
In a nutshell, this entry took a lot of dedication, talent and hard work and deserves a special mention.
You might think this bright ray of sunshine will not disappear with the sunset but you may be wrong. Darwin is one of the most interesting characters to emerge out of this contest. Mostly all entries are concerned with adult characters but this one was a fresh take as it follows Darwin, a teenager. With a narrative that hints that there's more to Darwin than his fluffy exterior, Poppy has proved her efficiency as a writer. She has nailed the thought-process of a boy like Darwin, which is a difficult task. The hint of uncertainty which looms over everyone's future in Carsden is visible in this entry and it does a great job of giving a child's perspective to a situation which affects everyone.
Poppy' writing ability has no bounds, she tackles unknown horizons in this one with exceptional talent. It offers a unique outlook and stands out from the crowd in its own beautiful style, hence it resides in the special mentions.
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Many congratulations to the winners!
So, as you guys may have noticed, there is a trailer in the media portion of the chapter. The trailer was created by the most talented grudgeme. (The link to the trailer is attatched)
She is a wonderful artist so do check out her YouTube as well as her WattPad. I am very proud of her work and I highly appreciate her for the effort. It took a while for both of us to finally figure something that would work for the trailer thanks to the vast worldbuilding contained within the small town of Carsden. It is my hope and my wish that you guys check her out and perhaps share your thoughts on the trailer in the comments down below.
Remember, if you guys want trailers for your books, do check out her trailer shop! The link is attached to the chapter, and we'll make an announcement with it.
Before posting this trailer here on Contests, I decided to show it to some of the people at Discord and here are their comments:
If the entries for the October Contest haven't sent chills up your spine already, the new trailer just might. Revolving around the story of Latherna Demetria - a character by QueenXirinOfArvada, this trailer runs us through her story providing some unpredictable twists and turns and leaving us scared shitless. However, I'd strongly recommend not watching it at 3am. I still haven't recovered from that.
And if you're a fan of Robert Sheehan, squealing during his cameo which lasted for approximately 0.0001 seconds is completely normal.
Gothic, catholic, and fantastic.
It's really well edited and I love the voice over in the beginning because it makes feel like a real trailer.(still trying to figure out where that's from lol) I'd said the only problem would be that I didn't know which characters were which (besides the obviously ones)and who the face claims were. The music though, fit it perfectly for me, I really liked it. The creator is a really great editor and I'm glad she took the time to do this, it was a real treat