Round One

[saingirl101]

((Copied over from the main comm))

ROUND ONE: GAMBLING

they call you lady luck


Hey shippers!
We are so incredibly excited to announce the first main round prompt and the official start of the HSO!
This year, we’re loosely theming the prompts around patron trolls. We’re also trying to give you a little more creative space with this year’s prompts, so we’ll see how this works out!

For Round One, incorporate gambling--literal or metaphorical--in your submission. It doesn't need to be the central focus, but it should be a major theme.


And as always, if you are unsure whether something counts or not, just ask! You can reach us at homestuck.shipping@gmail.com

All submissions must be created/assembled new for this round by members of your team.
No fan-created content is allowed that has not been made by members of your team specifically in response to the prompt. Mainstream creative content is fine (e.g. popular music, well-known art pieces, the Homestuck soundtrack), but not fanart, fan music, etc. This is largely to ensure that the original content in your entry is clearly identifiable as distinct from the borrowed content.

This challenge will run until 11:59PM EDT June 23. If your Palhoncho sends it in after that time according to the gmail timestamp, your team’s submission will get posted--but we cannot guarantee that it will be posted in a timely manner.

Requirements (as stated in the Info Post)
Fic/meta must be between 800-3000 words.
Combination fic/art entries cannot have more than 4 images.
All other image-based media (including comics) cannot exceed 10 images/panels.
Cosplay must be at least 75% created or assembled new for the challenge.
The penalties for going over 3k words will be as follows:
3000-3050: no penalty (to allow for disparities in wordcount software)
3051-3150: -30 points
3151-3250: -60 points
etc.
PLEASE NOTE that gdocs is notoriously bad at generating an accurate wordcount, so you should probably check your submission at http://www.wordcounter.net/ just to make sure.
Also, this year we are requiring transcriptions of all text on images. These transcriptions count towards the wordcount.

Please remember not to post your HSO creations publicly until voting ends, whether or not they are chosen as part of the team submission. We would like to keep things as anonymous as possible!

Submission Format
We’re still working out the details, but this year we’re probably going to ask palhonchos to post their entries directly to the round comm! Stay tuned for more details.

Questions about this challenge should be emailed to homestuck.shipping@gmail.com; we will attempt to check the comments on this post, but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to see all of them.

So our theme is gambling. I bet all the scorpio related troll pairings are thrilled. But, we can still do this because this theme will actually make sense within a blackrom.

So what approach are we going for? Where do we feel we can make a bigger impact? Art? Fic? Combined and making a comic?

What versions do we want to use? Post-scratch? AU? Or Pre Scratch?

How do you convey the theme and how do you think it can get across on your medium of work?

These are all questions that I want you to think about before posting an answer with your ideas. AS well as what you initially thought of when you read this prompt.

((I'm not going to lie when I first read this, the image that popped into my head was the two of them playing poker with the summoner tied up going stop cheating you great beast of burden. I'm trying to win my freedom here. But thats just me and everyone ignore me))

Anyway if any of you have any questions at all, please ask me or if I can't answer ask the hso mods or ask me to ask them for you. They aren't intentionally trying to make this complicated.

As for what's left to say, let the round officially commence and let's win this guys!

But also be respectful as well and have fun!

Comments

[thepioden]

My first thought was just the Summoner's entire rebellion gig: every choice he makes is a risk, a gamble, taking a chance. Which would be fine in fic but I am seriously just an illustrator, I don't really write at all.

Although! I have a really strong image in my head that is straight up NSFW using the whole suits of cards thing Homestuck has going on with DRAMATIC LIGHTING, but it's not a very creative interpretation of the prompt. Russian Roulette works well for these two, also. Hell, that could describe their entire relationship: GH Isn't stable, each time the Summoner heads Highblood-wards for some blackrom might be the time the GH gets bored and up and kills him. The Summoner keeps coming back anyway. This is also a thing that needs a fic, dammit self.

Pre-Scratch strippoker!stuck or some such nonsense would mesh nicely with my pre-scratch ideas of them hmm HMMMMMM.

Also a lyricomic would be really cool if we can find the right song! (Immediate thought: Poker Face. Second thought: no, everyone else had that immediate thought).

[saingirl101]

Actually fun fact.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KchPWBKazuE

I actually did a video for them to that song.

A lyric comic would be cool but the art page limit would be a killer. Although there's always the option of doing a small collaboration each round, where you could draw a picture and have a small fanfiction blurb under-neath.

[morriganfearn]

I reallly love the idea of the rebellion as a gamble ending with the biggest gamble of all just how far he can trust his highblood antagonist. I'm perfectly willing to take a crack at ficcing these ideas. I like them both. But it would be wonderful if we could have the art. It's very useful for setting mood, particularly with people who we don't actually have the full designs for.

The problem with comics is that we're restricted on image length, and as I discovered with the 15 panel last Orkneystuck page I'm working on, those limits can really limit the story you're trying to tell.

[saingirl101]

I really think we should go with a combining of the two ideas. Either doing a picture or two and combining it with a fic.

Here's the approval from the HSO tumblr:
Anonymous asked: I'm a little confused about a part of the requirements. When it says that a fic can be submitted with art, does the author of the fic have to also do the art for it? Or can one team member draw pictures for the fic, and another actually write it?

Collaborations are not only permitted, they are encouraged!

So if we all really wanted too and were willing to put in the effort, we could go both directions and it might actually be able to convey an overall better entry. The only thing to keep in mind would be that any words in the picture would count in the 3000 word limit.

[thepioden]

So what if I just spammed the comm with thumbnails and sketches once I get back from my Family Thing and then you guys tell me which ones you like and I can make them into finished pretty images?

The Summoner's rebellion isn't successful, so what if I did a sequence of a few images following the whole Gambler's Fallacy idea? The Summoner keeps making risky choices that fail, but each one has a definite chance of success, so he goes again, and as the images progress the tone goes from a really bright brown to a kind of oppressive, claustrophobic murky purple because SUBTLETY IN REGARDS TO COLOR THEORY: I don't have it.

[saingirl101]

I think this is a great idea. But I'd also like to wait and see what the other 2 members of our group think and have ideas about on this. But this is definitely of the options I'll be putting in the possible prompt post later.

[morriganfearn]

I think this is perfect. Subtle color theory? Whass zat?

[morriganfearn]

Hmm. Potential incorporation of Ohthesparkels' idea: "It's just that my idea was that it would focus on the summoners first meeting with GH, and he knows it's a bad idea but does it anyway, and GH almost kills him but doesn't, and tells the summoner that he "got lucky""

The sequence could be of the risks that the Summoner takes in order to get the rebellion started, and then the oh shit moment when it gets the attention of the Highblood, and the even wierder Enjolras moment where he stands up to the GHB and something sparks angrily, instead of a what he assumed would be a martyrdom.

[saingirl101]

I think while combining the two ideas would be amazing and flesh things out, we have to be careful of the pitfalls of this. For example things becoming to complex or complicated that people aren't really sure what's going on.

But I do agree that the idea of 1. The Summoner's rebellion being a huge gamble ((That he ultimately loses)) is a good one 2. The relationship between the two, one that you aren't sure what will happen, is a good gamble and 3. The joke

I think if we all can figure out a way to combine these three ideas, we have our official thing to go for.

[siadea]

WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING SUBTLE

I like this one too - their story is pretty much a tragedy, after all. As for color theory, I really love the inversion of brown and purple as regards mood. I'd love to see you pull it off!

[saingirl101]

What is this subtly that you speak off?

Joking aside though this is a great idea. Although you do have to keep in mind that when you are doing gradations like this, purple is a really dark color which fits but you don't people complaining that they can't really see the picture or its TOO dark for them. But I completely trust your skill, just something to keep in mind.

[ohthesparkels]

do you think including mindfang would be going to far?

[saingirl101]

I should think so. The idea is to focus on our own pairing. And to be quite honest I think it would be a poor interpretation of the prompt to just go for the most straight foward thing.

[ohthesparkels]

Ok, got it.

[ohthesparkels]

It's just that my idea was that it would focus on the summoners first meeting with GH, and he knows it's a bad idea but does it anyway, and GH almost kills him but doesn't, and tells the summoner that he "got lucky"

[siadea]

I like this one - when you think about it, if the Summoner is going to get close enough for them to actually touch, he's taking his life into his own hands because of GHB's size etc. (Also my headcanon is that those wings are hellaciously delicate, since butterfly/moth wings are.)

[saingirl101]

Ah well that makes a lot of sense. A few other people have commented as well about the situation being similar to what you were saying. About how the relationship itself is one huge gamble. The Grand Highblood from what we can discern from mindfang and aranea seems to be a loose canon or someone who is unpredictable. You aren't quite sure what he will actually do. I would take a look at the other comments and talk to them as well about this idea.

[siadea]

I would like to say that I am willing to write for any and all of these scenarios!

[saingirl101]

Haha sounds like a plan. I'm actually going to compile everyone's suggestions in a post in a few minutes where we can figure out a solid idea and such.