MAARC LXXIX - the Winners!

**Caillagh de Bodemloze** · January 15, 2019, 11:11 AM

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Image by cedric37.

MAARC LXXIX

Congratulations to the winners!

In FIRST PLACE is The Last Chariots of the Tarquins by Skotos of Sinope. From the very beginning of this story, we have known it would be a tragedy. We know it will end badly, but the excellence of the writing means that we don't want it to end yet. The story of the curse, and the chariots, is full of great characters, descriptions, and atmosphere as well as action. Congratulations to Skotos on his first-place win, which earns him four Writers' Study competition points (giving him a total of nine) and a bronze Writers' Study competition medal!

In SECOND PLACE is God's Justice by Swaeft. This story of Crusaders and Saracens continues to draw the crowds with its combination of action and thoughtfulness, showing us the darker side of war, but still finding nobility within some of the characters. Swaeft's three Writers' Study competition points for this second-place win mean that he now has a total of nine points.

In THIRD PLACE is Derc Plays Through World History, by, unsurprisingly, Derc, who earns eternal glory in the Hall of Fame and his first two Writers' Study competition points. Derc's plan of playing through world history using different games may seem ambitious, but he's making it look easy with an AAR full of life, energy, and marvellous images!

Thanks to all those who submitted and those who voted, and many congratulations to our winners!

The submission thread is here, and the voting thread is here.

**Kilo11** · January 15, 2019, 11:37 AM

Nicely done Gents! My hat is off to you three (and the other entrants, whose tales are also wonderful)!

And I gotta say, it really does warm my heart to see three of the AARs I'm avidly following being spotlighted like this. Just great! Now you all keep up the good work and submit for the next MAARC (except you Skotos, you need a time out for everyone else to get a leg up on you

).

**Swaeft** · January 15, 2019, 08:33 PM

Congrats all, especially to you Skotos for 1st place and the new medal. And thank you to everyone who submitted, please keep up the good writing

**Turkafinwë** · January 16, 2019, 01:21 AM

I couldn't have said it better myself Kilo11. Well done chaps!

Onto the next MAARC!

**Alexander78** · January 16, 2019, 01:48 AM

I sincerely congratulate you guys! You did a great job, and you're all great writers, well done!

**Alwyn** · January 16, 2019, 03:08 PM

Congratulations, Skotos, Swaeft and Derc!

Thanks to Caillagh for running the competition and to everyone who submitted/nominated and voted!

**Skotos of Sinope** · January 16, 2019, 05:09 PM

Whoah. Seems I've been so swamped trying to learn the ropes of the news team that I miss news about myself. I had no idea until Alexander78 congratulated me.

Belated congrats to Swaeft and Derc. Swaeft, you're a machine, man. If Writer's Study staff can see the poll voting then you already know how many times I've voted for you. Derc, you're an original and I've recommended your AAR every time someone brings up mine. This was a really tough field and not just because it was a full competition. I'm actually more relieved than anything else right now, because this means I can sit out next month. February is going to be brutal.

The only way it'll be a tougher competition is if Alwyn decides to get back in the game. (Deeewww it!)

I love you guys, and I'll give you the best compliment a writer can give another one: You guys are way too good for anyone to rest on their laurels. You raise the bar. Everyone here is making everyone else better. Just think: Derc mostly started his AAR just to improve his english, not knowing all the fans his epic play-through was going to get. I don't know where my AAR would be without the feedback I've gotten or the inspiration I've gotten from what's been posted here.

Thanks all and thanks Caillagh for being the ringmaster of our circus.

**Swaeft** · January 16, 2019, 06:56 PM

Agreed, it is the community that helps and supports us with their feedback. Big props to all of you for doing so!

**Derc** · January 17, 2019, 03:04 AM

Congratulations to all participients and especially the winners, except to this strange guy with the bronze medal.
Nah, but in all honesty, thank you.

Skotos, I'm almost done reading your AAR. I can absolutely understand why it is #1. I shall post there soon.

Swaeft, your AAR is great too. And also very long. I once played a Hotseat as Jerusalem against one of, or maybe THE, best HS-Player in my local country. It was so exhausting that I made a Jerusalem-HS-AAR afterwards. Your AAR brings me back to these times. Which is good. Bad? I don't know. But none of that matters. It is your story, and, judging by the part that I've read, it's great.

Please allow me just one small criticism: The MAARC was not easy to notice. I only discovered it because I was informed about it.
There a lot of Competitions happening in TWC, spread all over the forums. The staff needs to bring all current Competitions into the spotlight. A infobox at the front page or at the right side of the forum index maybe. Just as a suggestion. There need to be more voters, people!

Originally Posted by Skotos of Sinope

Just think: Derc mostly started his AAR just to improve his english, ...

And to improve my history knowledge a bit, to review TW and of course to share all that insanity that happened there. Would've been thrown away time to just keep it for oneself.

Originally Posted by Skotos of Sinope

... not knowing all the fans his epic play-through was going to get.

It is good when we do, but we shouldn't rely on 'em. Fans and readers are like nitro in a race: It makes the machine all the more efficient, but you shouldn't solely rely on it/them.

**Caillagh de Bodemloze** · January 17, 2019, 11:10 AM

(Psst, Skotos! Anybody can see the results of the WS polls* - you don't have to be WS Staff! What you need to do is to click on one of the numbers showing how many people voted for an entry. It doesn't matter which number you pick; they all work. So, in this case, if you click on the 6 that shows the number of votes for God's Justice, you should see who voted for what.

(It took me ages to realise you could do that.

))

*Unless I've done it wrong, which is highly likely.

**Skotos of Sinope** · January 17, 2019, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by Caillagh de Bodemloze

(Psst, Skotos! Anybody can see the results of the WS polls* - you don't have to be WS Staff!

Oops.

Me every day trying to navigate forum software:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

**Welsh Dragon** · January 19, 2019, 03:33 PM

Congratulations on taking the podium places Skotos of Sinope, Swaeft and Derc. I hope that this will inspire you to even greater writing feats in the future.

And also honourable mentions to Maltacus, Turkafinwë and San Felipe for both writing and entering the competition, that's no mean feat in itself.

Good luck to everyone with the next MAARC, entries for which are open here. (Just in case people haven't seen it.

)

All the Best,

Welsh Dragon.