Monday, May 08, 2006

Before the story contest results - Addventure thread of the week:

Werewolf Meredith - a tale of werewolves, witches, love triangles and Jim.

Foreword:

The entries for the competition varied considerably in almost all aspects – style, length, quality, plot, characters, themes, perspective and breasts. We had writers varying from first timers to established authors to nigh legends.

Judging the contest was made very hard by the high quality of the majority of stories. Much mulling and re-reading was required to arrive at these results and it’s a great shame that there can only be three prizes. It should be noted that the intermediate rankings were possibly the hardest to place. That’s where most of the difficulty and mulling came.

In a way, you’re all winners. In another – more accurate – way, here are the final rankings, in ascending order.

16. flapjack – Windy City Story (DISQUALIFIED)

This wasn’t a bad story. In fact, it was rather good… sadly, ostensibly the only BE in it was the fact that the female character conceals she has large breasts until later on in the story and briefly. This despite the fact the rules of the contest making it VERY clear that BE had to be a main theme.

15. Tendrak – Strained Conclusions

Old school - in all the wrong ways. It was perhaps too much to hope that the days of breasts being described almost purely alphabetically had passed. Just a bit too slap dash and cliché but without any real hint of irony.

14. Sick Of Life – Sin In The Flesh

A rather disturbing read, which focuses extremely heavily on none too pleasant non-consensual sex and transformation. It’s also not a story – it’s just a rather long scene with no real plot, characterisation… At the end, it leaves one feeling somewhat dirty and doesn’t make for particularly erotic reading.

13. Alex Streuth – Fidelity

This story felt a great deal like it had been conceived primarily as a mind control story. It also feel rather contrived in that the male character chooses a woman who he has little interest in physically or mentally. The BE that occurs is late on and seems to be an afterthought for what amounts to textbook MC.

12. Varla – Office Romance

The main problem with Office Romance, is that it doesn’t stand alone. So one is left feeling as though you’ve walked in on the middle of a film. Naturally, this makes things rather less solid. This combined with some rather shallow characterisations – I don’t think I can imagine any woman realistically not being pissed as being used as a guinea pig without her explicit consent.

11. Derob Jacobs – Tits On A Plane

This story marks a sizable deviation in style for Derob… it’s robust in its form and characterisation but it lacks… for want of a better term, soul. It’s also marred by a lack of description of the BE.

10. gblock01 – Emotional Traumas

Illusions that become real… given out by a temporally displaced fellow who has his powers bestowed by some higher being to make two women bigger and bustier. The two main flaws are the somewhat improbable plot… and the somewhat unpolished style of writing.

9. Derob Jacobs – Tits On A Plane: The Movie

This was a rather more interesting proposition than Derob’s other story, in that it has a rather more esoteric narration style (someone pitching a movie based on the other story). It aptly mixes a rather satirical view of Hollywood with a generous helping of BE.

8. Xenodora – Mittens

Thieves, mages, catgirls and potions that induce BE and lactation… That pretty much sums up this entry. It’s made all the more enjoyable by some genuinely touching scenes between a few of the characters.

7. Superguyfeldman – Based On A True Story

Another playful piece. One should never tire of stories about women who love the idea of BE and this one makes good use of Mika’s own interests. It makes playful fun of the (many) clichés of the genre. It is a well constructed piece but the ending feels rather rushed.

6. Wren – Story Idea #2

What a wonderful little tale this was. It’s been a long time since Wren wrote anything… this story shows that he’s clearly lost none of his skill. The story just feels so mischievous, it effortless conveys an erotic energy that any BE fan would appreciate. If only there had been more of it…

5. Laelia - Synethesia

Some authors have a style that allows one to read something and think that’s it’s very much their style. So this story is very much a Laelia story, the mixture of pseudoscience and mind powers is executed with his normal skill. The characters all act appropriately, it’s all in all – a very solidly written story.

4. Quadhouse – Goddess’ Fun Shop

Eminently enjoyable, there’s just something very right about this story. It’s a prime example of a simple idea, executed very well. Girl gets pendant that makes her breasts larger when she dreams about them – breasts grow. The alteration of reality is done nicely and the story moves along at a good pace, some nice BE as well.

3. Blake Isaac Gordon – Ectoplasm Tales

This story starts as the general – guys try out stuff they shouldn’t on their wives type fair… It might seem that it’s all over before it’s begun… but Blake manages to turn the tables on the men and sexy fun ensues (inevitably). Some wonderful wacky transformation occurs.

2. Nobilis - The Nefarious Plot Of Professor Bolster

Stories told from a female perspective aren’t that uncommon… ones that do it well are quite infrequent but both of those AND adds in a rather unusual early 20th century setting and you’ve already got an interesting mix. The story sits together very well and progresses in a realistic manner, not just that but its got more than enough BE. A unique and memorable story to be sure.

1. Bill Pratt – Full Bodied Shampoo

Old school – in all the right ways. Suitably epic and just all around good fun. Bill did win The Overflowing Bra contest… but to be honest, should he keep writing stories of this calibre, he’s going to keep on winning them. There is an originality and energy that infuses the story from start to finish. In many ways, it was reminiscent of reading a story by Fret Pearson – and that is a compliment of the highest magnitude.

Anyway, that concludes the results for the 1st BESC story contest. Thank you to all the contestants – you made it extremely hard to judge by contributing such generally excellent stories. All judgements are final – this listing will not be changed, so please don’t beg for reconsiderations. Anyone wanting more detailed feedback can e-mail me about it.

All authors should be contacted shortly regarding their prizes and/or payment.