Monthly Create-A-Servant Contest

[Wan Dering'cul Tivator]

3 points to: Wyvern's Francisca Edviges Neves Gonzaga

2 points to: Drangle's Hotu Matu'a

1 point to: Vance's Therese of Bavaria

[WhiteFrenzy]

3 POINTS
Brasil-Bumbá
(pinetree)

Call me biased, I don't care. The presentation, the idea, the characters... Sometimes, everything works in harmony to create the perfect sheet, and sometimes we're lucky enough to be alive and see this miracle. This is one of those times.


2 POINTS
King Momo
(Wyvern)

CALL ME BIASED, I DON'T CARE. Much like the King contest, this is the Come to Brazil contest. Wyvern has a way of infusing so much personality into his characters, and King Momo already is something so larger-than-life. The sheet was flooding with charisma, you just CAN'T not vote on the guy.


1 POINT
Thaïs
(Random)

She celebrates... Celebration. The very act of being alive. And I think this is something amazing, it was a charming idea presented by a charming lady, it ressonated with me so much. Take your point and stop hurting my heart in all the good ways!

---

HONORABLE MENTIONS:


Fengmeng: Absolutely amazing. I just want to see an entire story with them now and I hate the world for the things it'll never give to me ;_;
Walpurga: NNGGGGGGH. There was no way this idea could go wrong. Thank you.
Dewi Sri: SHE'S THE CUTEST EVER. You're always giving us that wholesome, angsty content.
Hotu-Matu'a: AYO. Drangle with the bangers, as always. This was no different.
Valentine: It was the funniest Valentine sheet yet. I absolutely adore it!
Henry VIII (Groom) : Just the crazy idea behind this sheet alone deserves a 4th honorary place, I hope you know that.

[DelRey]

Thanks to all participants. It was a colorful mix of various celebrations, and I learned so much stuff from them.

And I am biased too.

1st Place - 3 points: Brasil-Bumba.
It oozes character, it educates, it is alive, i love it. pinetree, it is time you win a contest, buddy. You deserve a place in the Hall of Fame.

2nd Place - 2 points: King Momo.
Same as B-B. It makes me smile the whole time, you used Queen and made a great King. It is worthy of the first place for sure. But I wanna see the green-yellow triad in the Hall of Fame here completed. I believe in Brazil Supremacy.

3rd Place - 1 Point: Hotu-Matu'a
How can I not? Our little woke buddy charged his batteries over the last contests and released a NP lv4 thats super effective against Foreigner Dude Rey. Formatting is a unique experience, the writing added mystery step by step and the sheet was just a thrill to read.

4th Place - a firm handshake of appreciation and an uncomfy deep stare into your eyes: Dewi Sri
Exactly what I wanted. A cute goddess that taught me about a festival I never heard of about some delicious food. But she put rice on pizza. This meme will be kept alive.

5th Place - a pat on the back that pins a note saying "KICK ME!": Morg van Destro
oh myyy~

Honorable mentions:
WF: The member of the Brazilian Triad. Thank you for this sheet and making me want this strange drink, i doubt I can get in my city.
Random: the size of your balls to create such a unique class are proportionate to the size of the boobs of your faceclaims.
NittyGritty: What.
Kamera: Powerful goddess. Finally a sheet of a complex goddess like Hera.
Type-Lune: I expect great things from you. I really do.
sutaa: Shielder deserves more credit. It is a really well done and creative sheet. And it looks great too.
I better stop here before I rattle down the whole cast.
Please you all, stay and continue to participate.

[NINE-lives]

3 points Brasil-bumba

2-points thais

1 point Hera

[BnEl15]

Honorable Mentions:

Bento Gonçalves (WF)
Cool freedom fighter, and an all-around great sheet as expected of Queen WF.

Mari Lwyd (Morg)
I love your use of rhymes to tell your story here. A hauntingly beautiful sheet.

Thais (Random)
Oho, an experimental new Class. I like it. No lines to either of my Ptolemies, tho? Anyway, the Class works well enough imo, but more than that, I love her character. I live for such wholesomeness.

King Momo (Wyvern)
I love this party animal. 'Nuff said.

St. Walpurga (Scribe)
A nice way of tying the two figures together. The sheer gap between their two personalities also add another charm to the overall sheet.

1pt

Therese of Bavaria (Vance)
The contrast between a lively celebration and a tragic backstory! The subtle angst beneath the festivities! Her character! It's a simple sheet, but one that managed to hit all my buttons.

2pts

Brasil-Bumbá (Pine)
An amazing celebration of Brazilian culture. Their whole theme of diversity and laughing in the face of adversity is just excellent, coming from an outsider's perspective.

3pts

Hotu-Matu'a (Drangle)
I think one of the best things a horror writer can do is take a seemingly innocent concept and turn them into something terrifying, all while maintaining the "innocence" of said concept. The contrast between "haha funny easter bunny" and "oh shit, it's an eldritch horror all along!" is a perfect example of this. Honestly a very close match between the first and second placers, but this one ended up winning by just a tiny bit.

[pinetree]

3pts - Saint Walpurga by SimpleScribe
2pts - Karl Heinrich Ulrichs by sutaa
1pt - Mari Lwyd by Morg

I already commented on two of those, but I gotta say some words for Ulrichs and its wonderful integration of character and celebration.
Using the foam to give him the sparkle aesthetic and then the Pride Parade scenario on the NP was a stroke of genius and I adora his personal skills. That said, as someone who also did an Aphrodite related-social Shielder not too long ago, I didn't like how you tossed all the class skills aside. Mentioning the NP to justify why he has these skills instead would have been a better move, imo. As it is you are completely decharacterizing the Class choice. Mentioning Funny Vamp at all was also a pretty bad move. Giving him a joke as the sole Class Skill when the rest has been scrapped clashes hard with the tone of the rest of the sheet, and while the justification is nice, you could have easily achieved the same result by just using the Bloodsucker/Vampirism personal skill instead.
I'd like to end it on a nice note and mention everything else that I loved but it's the end of the semester and I never want to type again so I hope the vote is enough

Special mentions to Chiquinha, Thais and Fengmeng, who also deserve more than just special mentions.

[Kamera]

3 Points - Fengmeng

2 Points - Walpurga

1 Point - Dewi Sri

[asterism42]

ANNOUNCEMENT

I will be away for most of Wednesday, so voting will close on Thursday 30th instead

[TYPE-Lune]

1 Point - Chiquinha Gonzaga by Wyvern

A really enjoyable sheet, and one that fits the spirit of the prompt incredibly well! Of the Wyvern sheets, Momo might stand out as a bit more charismatic, but I found myself appreciating Chiquinha's overall design a bit more. What I think you've done particularly well is build a distinct character out of what is sort of an archetype of Heroic Spirits in canon - a musician that feels very different from the ones we've already seen, in keeping with what she represents. The skill choices all make sense, and the Noble Phantasm works well as a festive version of an army summon with some really unique and thematic mechanics! Her personality is also great, of course. I especially like that you've blended elements of festivity and performance with the personality traits of a musician dedicated to her craft, resulting in some pretty realistic flaws (more like quirks, I guess) like how she can be difficult to engage with at times. I can honestly imagine her being a fun character to read about...!


2 Points - Thaïs by Random

To get the obvious out of the way, I really like the visual presentation of the sheet, and the concept itself is certainly unique. She feels like a pretty perfect fit for this sort of prompt and her interactions with literally every other Servant submitted before her help to sell both her concept and characterization. Plus, she's really likeable! For some more specific praise, and for what I think made this my second place pick, I like how her skills sell the idea that, although she qualifies to be in the Throne of Heroes, she really isn't the sort of thing that belongs in any standard Servant class or really in a Holy Grail War at all. Said skills are all high-ranked, but pretty much useless in most scenarios of conflict, and even her Noble Phantasm is only at its best when she's gathering the powers of others. The sheet really captures the feeling of "someone that shouldn't be here" quite well, which plays perfectly into her theme and her personality. I also really really liked (and really really hope that this isn't me reading into things too much) that amidst all the joy this sheet captures, there were some small, nagging bits of wrongness sprinkled throughout, like the sheet's mysterious prelude, or the error class card, the glitchy text for the "Scenario" section and the fact that she's apparently spawning a whole singularity! It's the kind of contrast that makes me super curious about where this character might be headed.

I can't help but wonder what would happen if Chiquinha and Thais used their Noble Phantasms in tandem, though...


3 Points - Saint Walpurga by SimpleScribe

I want to really stress how hard it was to settle on a three-pointer, mostly because I didn't know what kind of criteria I wanted to use. There were a lot of sheets that fit the spirit of the prompt, sheets that were well designed on a mechanical level or really well written. I found Saint Walpurga to be the most enjoyable sheet to read in terms of its structure, and that's definitely what I want to highlight here! The way the sheet is composed as a mystery that pulls you along and eventually builds up to the reveal of a second identity was honestly really striking, and it stuck with me for a while. It's basically like a miniature story, and the amount of effort it takes to highlight the hidden text and go through all the numerous spoilers makes that eventual reveal really feel like some kind of payoff. Beyond that, I really liked the concept and how the sheet presented the dual personalities. It was honestly great!

[RoydGolden]

3 points: Hotu Matu'a
2 points: St. Valentine
1 point: Fengmeng

[Mycielhasbroken]

1 pt - Fengmeng
2 pts - Dewi Sri
3 pts - Saint Walpurga

[Morg van Destro]

Good Servants, this batch. Had to judge mostly based on the prompt because of it. Who here is best tied to their holiday/celebration?

---

Honorable Mentions

Fengmeng/Chang'e: Starting off with the conflicted goddess. I think it's a good sheet with an interesting interpretation of the story, but I don't feel it really ties back to the celebration itself. Still good, but I have to slide it off because of that.

Henry (Groom): Obvious Rider joke is obvious. Letting this sleaze run wild on Valentine'sn day is a recipe for disaster. Imagine the havoc while everyone's under Valentine's effects. Boggles the mind and perplexes the senses. Boggles, I say!

Bento Gonçalves: Hello? Yes, I'd like to order a batch of blueberries and a dozen chocolate. Maybe some poppy seed... What do you mean this isn't a muffin store? I've seen your delivery man biking around town! No, I don't want tea!

La Befana: Fun little Christmas Witch. Learned some new folklore, and was succinct ennough that I wasn't pulling my hair out reading it.

Chiquinha Gonzaga: Interesting person to read about. Good Skills and NP befitting her. Likeable in all the right ways. I just don't feel the connection to Carnival as much as, well, we'll get to him. Connection to celebration in general? Definitely there.

1 Point

Maibaum:

O Mai~baum, o Mai~baum
Berserker wasn't expected~

I was surprised when I found she survived my cleaving through Servants. Maybe it was the enjoyment I had reading about Maibaumfest combined with the interesting portrayal and incorporation of it into a fun-sized Servant. The playful, childlike wonder this sheet exudes is endearing, and she certainly feels pretty exemplary of the festival. Great job.

2 Points

Brasil-Bumbá: These two almost didn't make it just because I couldn't stand the way they talked. It's like a couple of white girls in an SNL sketch.
Still, I can appreciate the spirit behind them and how they themselves turn into a celebration of culture and folklore, making their own party and festival. Add in some Skills geared towards their characterized brand of craziness, and I can believe what they represent.

3 Points

Momo: This is Carnival! Keep the good times rolling! Throw yourselves into it! Party like there's no tomorrow because it will come before you know!
Just the energy of this sheet is enough to put a smile on your face. The greatest showman taking the stage of one of the greatest shows. Others come close, but he's the one I think shows off his celebration the most just by his mere existence.

---

Now, if only my laptop with all my files wasn't having issues. I have Servants I want to put out, and this was a nightmare to try and make on mobile.

[Drangle]

Hon' Mentions

Fengmeng: Beautifully creative take on a story that's been done a dozen times on these forums. Just barely muscled out of thrid place.

Karl H. Ulrichs: I wanted to find space to give this a point, I really and truly did. But there just wasn't enough space. But you get five Drangle Points which are no good in the contest but plenty good in my heart.

Every Brazillian I Didn't Vote For: you were all lovely, but there's only room for one of you on the podium

Easter Bunny: Three Drangle Points for sort of kind of sniping me.

Votes

1 pt - King Momo by Wyvern. He's simply correct. If one had to make a Brazilian Heroic Spirit for this prompt, and god knows Wyvern *did*, King Momo is just the right answer. Only reason it isnt higher is ebcause I didn't feel sold on the class so much, and he generally felt like anybody who set out to make a King Momo sheet would do most of this the same, if that makes sense.

2 pts - St. Walpurga by SimpleScribe. One look at my own entry tells you all you need to know about why I like this one. It's sinister, but in a nice sort of way. Really plays with the prompt rather than straining to meet its restrictions.

3 pts - Carol by NittyGritty. Just a decadently perfect buzzer beater. It's hard to put into words, but this sheet is simply the best Yuletime servant this month, and that couts for so much. The vibes, the presentation, the touch of humor, the Mari Lywd NP... Mwah.

[DelRey]

half a day left. the top3 are actually quite close. any vote could change the outcome now.

[SimpleScribe]

	"A tale is meant to entertain. It fills us with enjoyment and wonder. Pilgrims would often eat such stories along with their bread and milk. Therefore, I feel it is fitting to give accolades to those whose sheets have weaved their life stories into a tale that filled our hearts aplenty, especially those who challenge their mold. We all know the stories of our Lord and Savior as we knew them, but I believe it is also important to introduce a different interpretation of such tales."	"It is simply never enough to plainly say who you are nowadays! You ought to bedazzle, impress, entertain while you're showing off your stuff! Just look at me! It's my whole schtick! If you're just rattling off what you can do and accomplished, then your sheet's just a resume! Especially when you're just a carbon copy of yourself! What History saw you as is too boring! Instead, try reinventing yourself next time! Elevate! Never emulate! Add a twist to your show and amaze!"
1 Point: Rider - Dewi Sri by BnEl15	"The tragic tale of a goddess who held much love for the world, but the world had eaten enough of her love. She is a cautionary tale for those who strive for the pinnacle, but she is also a paragon for those who endeavor to become like Saints. I shall pray for her, in spite of her being a pagan goddess."	"It is one thing to be good at something. It is another thing to be waaay too good. I know a bit of something about perfection, especially since my skills were given to me, tempered by my eternity of experience. This gal... She struck a chord with me. I'm definitely doing her festival next at the Heart!"
2 Points: Archer - Easter Bunny by MyCielhasbroken	"The day of the Lord's Rebirth is an auspicious one, but as with all things, there is lies the tragedy behind the joys. This poor child is without mother and despite it all, he performs his duties for the dearly departed. Easter is meant to be a day of joy for all, but... What about the child? This rabbit? He is to stay at my monastery without question."	"I never really had a kid. Witches don't think about progeny when they're pretty much immortal. I can't remember if I even had a mother. That said, I already adopted the kid. His story was the same like any other. Mortal. Fey. God. Like mine. He was given a duty that dwarfed him, but it had to be done. People looked forward to him and now so do I."
3 Points: "Voyager" - Hotu-Matu'a by Drangle	"A story with a clear beginning and conclusion. One that instills hidden terror and offers magnanimous trials. A thrilling epic never before done that warns ones to never worship the Pagan Gods. This Servant has performed splendidly to the criteria that I have laid with flying golden colors. I was at the edge of my seat learning the horrors of the far oceans. Of the Pagans. I am grateful to have listen to this tale."	"Ahhhh.... Crap. Did I forget to leave the offerings at Rapa Nui again? Ah well, all's well that ends well! I gotta say, the chief sure knows how to stir up the hornet's nest! I would help spring Uoke from his slumber, but the Heart didn't really want that... Anyway! It was a three part play with everything you could ever want from it! Mystery! Thrills! Excitement! Novelty! It makes me want to do the same thing! Just kidding~!"

"And thus ends our decision. We had a delight in reading each and every one of the entries. We wish we could comment on every single one of them, but we fear of burning out once again and fading away. So instead, we shall say... May we celebrate this joyous festival with laughter and see its satisfactory conclusion with contentment!"

AN

pinetree.

You absolute genius.

Tables within tables.

I have been enlightened.

I have been ascended.

To a new level of formatting.

P.S. I WANTED TO GIVE POINTS TO BUMBA, PINE BUT THE OTHERS... THE OTHERSSSSSS. EVERYONE IS SO GOOD. THEY'RE SO GOOD. I am like an indecisive mother that can't choose between their favorite children. I love them all. I can't just pick one! I LOVED ALL THE SHEETS. ALL OF YOU AUTHORS WHO WROTE THEM GET THREE POINTS PER SHEET IN MY BOOK.

[asterism42]

Joint 3rd place with 14 points

King Momo
Hotu-Matua

2nd place with 15 points

Saint Walpurga

1st place with 16 points

Brasil-Bumba

[NINE-lives]

Holy shit that was close.

[jishara]

Congratulations Pine! And great job, everyone!

[DelRey]

Extra: 4th place are fengmeng and dewi, 5th is Thais

And the creator with the most points is wyvern, because his gonzaga got 4 points too.

Congratulations to the winners, the brazilian triad is now eternalized, am happy with what you all did with this prompt

[BnEl15]

Woo, congrats, Pine! And damn, it was real close.
Guess I better get ready for the syncretization contest in August.