kurofai | Rounding Up Suggestions

In only alphabetical order (and taking out only the two explicitly sexual ones), here is the Team Suggestion Roundup:

Adventure vs Domestic / Adventure vs Slice of Life?
Alien Vs Predator
Alternate Canon vs. Alternate Universe?
Business vs Casual
Cannon vs Au?
Comedy Vs Tragedy?
Convention vs. Rebellion
Dragon vs Phoenix / Fai vs Kurogane
Eros vs Agape
Fantasy vs Sci-fi
Fluff vs. Angst!
Heaven vs Hell / Angels vs Demons
HGTV (Home & Garden TV) vs Food Network
Historical vs Folklore
Horror vs comedy
Love at first sight vs Slow burn
Nature vs machine
Nature vs Nurture?
New vs Old? Or Maybe Beginnings vs Endings
Pirate vs ninja
Police vs. Mafia
Sky vs Sea
Vices vs Virtues / Good vs. Bad
War vs. Peace
West vs east
Winter Vs. Summer; could also be Heat vs. Chill

And suggestions without a corresponding partner:

Action
Adventure
Comedy
Crossover
Drama
Horror
Hurt/comfort
Legend
Mystery
Romance
Sci-fi
Songfic
Steampunk
Thriller
Western

Mods, please pick out your favorite two from this list in the comment section below. Since I did the roundup, I'll wait till last to place my vote. Otherwise, I'll feel I prejudiced the list.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I was hoping that a vote would narrow the field a bit, but it looks like opinions are still pretty scattered all over the place; so far we have:

3 vote for canon vs au
3 vote for vices vs virtues
2 vote for fantasty vs scifi
3 vote for dragon vs phoenix
3 vote for sky vs sea
2 vote for nature vs machine
2 vote for fluff vs angst

So there's really no clear consensus. I think we need to call in a heavyweight to be our tiebreaker. @cloverfield, as this is your Olympics, perhaps you can provide your veto?

Hmm. Lemme put on my thinking cap.

Okay, I've read over the prompts and I've read everyone's comments, and this is what I think. Seeing as we're in a tied situation for votes, as per Mikke's comment here, I'd like to give you two options that I - as a previous event mod, an experienced participant, and a third-party from the moderation team - think would work best to break the stalemate.

Option One: Team Dragon (Kurogane-POV) vs. Team Phoenix (Fai-POV).
This is a new theme we haven't had before, but one that has been previously suggested in years past; a POV-based Olympics has been requested before, and is deceptively simple but at the same time gives us a lot of room to move.

Like a genre-based theme, it opens up the possibilities of us having a wide variety of prompts, but allows for two very distinct takes on them, whatever they may be: Kurogane and Fai are very different, characterisation-wise, and that means that we're going to get two different works from the same prompt no matter what the prompt is. Also, by using a theme that allows the prompts to bear the brunt of the creative inspiration, it means our writers are going to have a lot of options, but at the same time, a very simple theme that provides a firm guide for each team.

I also suggest that, if we take this option, we stick with the Team Dragon vs. Team Phoenix names for the beauty of the symbolism, and also because it sounds cool, which is definitely a plus in my book!

Option Two: Canon vs. AU.
Now, this option is a tried and tested theme; we know it works, as it has worked well before, but it's been about five years since it was last used so it's not too fresh - it's been long enough now that we don't have to worry about repetition.

Canon vs. AU is a very simple theme (simple themes seem to work best - just because it's simple doesn't mean it's not good, and often a simple theme actually allows for more creativity) and it means that the two teams are going to have very distinct takes on the prompts, no matter what they are; we don't have to worry about the teams ending up with similar writing, because even if they share a common prompt, their approaches are going to be radically different.

Like option one, it allows for the prompts themselves to do the brunt of the creative work: the theme is a guide, but the prompts should be the inspiration, and this also means we can have a little fun working in vastly different ideas into the prompt list. We don't have to restrict ourselves to prompts we think "fit" with the theme: we can choose whatever we like, as long as it is something that we think would feasibly work for both teams. (It also means we can totally have Ninjas and Pirates as a prompt if we want, which is awesome.)

Now. Here comes the tricky part: we need to pick which option we want to use.

My personal preference is for the POV-based theme, because it's not been done before and I honestly think it would work really, really well. That said, I do love Canon vs. AU (I've written for it myself in the past) and I know it definitely works.

Mods, if you could please reply with which option of the two I have suggested that you personally prefer, we can hopefully get the ball rolling for this year's Olympics :D

p.s. please note I'm not trying to take over the organisation of the events - I'm just hoping to lend my opinion and thoughts on the thematic choices, as someone who's been on both sides of the fence as a participant and as a moderator. I have every faith that, once we can get the details ironed out, you wonderful people are going to do a great job as our moderator team!

Ah, the old 5-2-1 method :D Well, I will put in a vote for Canon Vs AU, but I'll be perfectly happy if the vote goes the other way, since I like both options!

Seconded o/

Actually, I just remembered that sci fi vs. fantasy was just a couple years ago. I must have blocked my poor attempt at participation that year. >.<

For option 1, I might just be a little confused on the specifics. Would narrative POV matter? Does it have to be 1st person for Kurogane or Fai? Or would the story's narrative just have to center around them. This is an interesting idea. I'm just wondering how limiting it is. If a story is 3rd person omniscient, would it be judged as not following the Kurogane/Fai guidelines close enough?

My vote can be swayed easily. I am definitely attracted to new shiny ideas. And whenever I'm given the option, I like to choose a new and exciting path at full throttle. It's worth a shot!

Okay, to clarify: it's narrative POV. So like, for Team Kuro-POV, it doesn't matter if it's 1st, 2nd or 3rd POV, as long as it centres around Kurogane. In this example, 3rd person restricted is probably your best bet in terms of 3rd person, but you could do omniscient as long as it was focused on Kurogane. Does that make sense?

Yes, thank you. Glad the POV isn't limited.

I vote for team Dragon vs team Phoenix because it sounds awesome and it hasn't been done before, but I'm 100% on board with canon vs. au if more people prefer it^^

My preferred vote then is for Dragon vs Phoenix but if Canon vs AU wins that's fine too.

Edited 2017-07-08 12:40 (UTC)

Rounding Up Suggestions

no subject

Two options for a theme selection tie-breaker - please read!

Re: Two options for a theme selection tie-breaker - please read!

Re: Two options for a theme selection tie-breaker - please read!

Re: Two options for a theme selection tie-breaker - please read!

Re: Two options for a theme selection tie-breaker - please read!

Re: Two options for a theme selection tie-breaker - please read!

Re: Two options for a theme selection tie-breaker - please read!

Re: Two options for a theme selection tie-breaker - please read!