Competition of the Month - October Edition!

[Taters]

Welcome one and all to the Competition of the Month!

These monthly competitions are a chance for you to demonstrate your creativity and talents while getting a chance to know your fellow members and have a little fun. Each month is going to have a different theme and a different talent – and maybe a surprise or two! But only one(?) member can wear the purple coins and fancy title of CotM Winner! Do you have what it takes?

The basic rules are as follows:

Spoiler:

» Members can contribute pieces based on the talent (writing, art, screenshots, etc.) and theme during the submission period, after which no further entries will be accepted. Then we will vote via a poll to see who gets to wear that month’s winner’s badge!

» If you are posting artwork, please post a link from an off-forum website such as Photobucket; if you are posting a written piece, please hide it under a spoiler when creating a new post. This is to ensure that posts are not too long and the thread appears orderly for everyone. If you are unsure how to do either of these, don’t be afraid to ask!

» Be respectful and polite about your fellow members’ work. Anyone who says anything rude about another’s work will be hearing from a member of the Mod Squad and may not be allowed to participate in the next competition. There is no such thing as “good” or “bad,” and everyone has a unique way of demonstrating his or her talents. Enjoy the variety!

» All members are welcome to join, including moderators. Don’t forget that we’re members, too!

This month it's not just October, it's Halloween!!

To top it all off, this CotM has the Double Impact perk! Two contests in one!

For the first, we want you to submit your best TES scary story! It can be about established characters or your own, as long as it's creepy and spooky!

For the second contest, we're having a Halloween costume contest! We want screenshots of your character, from any TES game, dressed up as someone else! You can dress up as another in-game character, or you can try to invent your own costume! Vanilla games and official DLC only, please, but lore breaking is allowed, so cobble together any costume you like!

You don't have to enter both contests to get consideration, but you certainly can if you want!

Our schedule for the October event is as follows:
October 1 - 25: Competition begins! Start planning and send in those submissions!
October 26 - 31: Voting period – vote for your favorites!
November 1: Our winner is announced!
Please note that all times are determined by me, Taters, and therefore will run according to GMT -5/Eastern Standard Time. (Click here if you’re unsure when, exactly, that is!)

Remember that the CotM is not possible without you, so please participate, contribute, discuss, and vote!

As an aside, if anyone would like to join the street team to help plan and set up the CotM, please send me or any of the mods a PM. Until then, have fun and good luck!

(This fun event is hosted by yours truly. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them within this thread or by sending me a PM by selecting the appropriate button below my signature. Have some suggestions on what you'd like to see? Head over to the ideas thread and join in on the discussion!)

Entries:

Hrolf Alfblood
Zephyr
Aarah
Dohvakiin2012
Jeelius-Tei
Psylocke

[Musicman247]

Will definitely enter this. Have a creepy story brewing in the back of my mind.

...of course, when do I not?

[The SheoDovah]

So will the Dovah. He shall rip off a horror story and pass it off as his own before being caught out and get a banstake through the heart despite the fact he is not a vampireget the creative juices flowing and write 2 stories. But is unable to enter the second one. Will both comps have seperate polls?

[Taters]

Short answer, yes. Long answer, it'll function as a combined poll, allowing you to select either one entry total, or one of each kind. That being said, this month will have 2 winners.

[Unionhack]

Will try to whip up something creepy when I have the time. Be on the lookout! :D

[Dohva.]

Question: can mods be used to pose our character?

[Taters]

Yeah, that'd be alright.

[Musicman247]

I'm not going to pose your character for you, Dohva.

[Zephyr]

About the stories:
1) How creepy can they be?
2) Can they be in journal form?

[Taters]

The stories can be in any format you like, and as creepy as you want, but remember, we try to stay PG-13 around here, so nothing too grotesque.

[Dohva.]

All right, here's my submission for the photo. I apologize if its large--I can't seem to get the sizing right. Anyway, this is my character Felina Imhatius dressed as her favorite jester Cicero. I think the outfit rather becomes her.

Spoiler:

[The SheoDovah]

Is it me or does Felina look like she has lost a bit of wieght in that picture?

[Dark Spark]

That costume contest is going to be so frickin' hard for a Dark Brotherhood assassin who usually walks around in a guard's uniform, and a chef's costume simply won't make the cut..

[Jeelius-Tei]

I used the console for this costume (not sure if that is allowed). I put a male Khajiit in a dress and bonnet, and I officially made... THE BIG BAD KHAJIIT.

Hidden:

Added hide tag.

[philfredobob]

Jeelius, That was hilarious, just great. I love it.

[Taters]

Using the console is perfectly allowed, and that's actually pretty darned clever. Now all you need is a Breton girl in a red hood.

[AKB]

I want to see someone recreate Chef from South Park.

You can have that idea for free.

[UnderSoul]

I will certainly be submitting a creepy story. Once i think of the perfect way to tie it all together...

[Hrolf Alfblod]

Since Halloween is my favorite holiday, I figured I'd finally enter one of these. Here's my attempt at a horror story in the world of The Elder Scrolls.

Orphan

Spoiler:

The screaming started again.

The doe-eyed, little, blonde girl huddled into a ball, on her bed, under the covers, trying desperately to muffle the sounds with her pillow. Oh how she desperately wished some kindly stranger would come and take her away, but that was no use. The monster had them, and she loved to make them suffer.

She couldn’t hear what was going on, over Samuel’s screaming, but the little girl could guess. Their hideous keeper was no doubt cutting away strips of skin off of the bottom of his feet again. It would prevent him from wandering the streets of Riften for a while.

Loud, sickening thuds could then be heard, along with renewed cries of pain.

Now he was being punished for his thieving. When Samuel escaped for a bit, he always stole things. It would be impossible for him to steal, for a long time, now that the monster had crushed his fingers with a hammer.

The wicked old crone could be heard talking, although her words were too low to be made out clearly.

Hroar was next, she knew. He always came next. He was being given something to cry about. The torturer had a particular iron dagger, which was completely dull, that she loved to use on him. She would stab him, slowly, for his nighttime crying, in a place that wouldn’t prove fatal. When Hroar screamed and cried from the damage of the knife, she would stab him more, until he passed out from the pain.

Muffled hollers of no could be heard, coming from the “dungeon”, which soon turned to shrieks of agony.

It was Francois’ turn to endure the monster’s punishment. One day, he had slipped, while cleaning the hearth and his clothes had caught fire. Since then, he had become terrified of any open flame. The evil one delighted in this, and would hold a lit torch under various parts of his body. The frightened, little girl could smell the scent of roasting flesh.

After an unknown amount of time, silence took over, and, even though she didn’t want to, the little girl fell asleep.


* * * * * * * * * *


She was startled awake by the sound of the torture room’s door slamming against the wall. Her body began to shake uncontrollably, as she heard unconscious bodies being drug across the floor, and thrown in their beds. The little girl was desperate to remain quiet, biting her pillow to prevent the sobs from escaping. If she was silent and still, maybe she would be forgotten.

When the foul witch finished putting the tortured boys to bed, she could hear her move off to her room, closing the door. Had she been spared? Had she been forgotten? Oh how she hoped! After several minutes of lying absolutely still, she allowed herself to relax. For some reason, Old Grelod had left her alone this night. Sending a silent prayer, in thanks, to Mara, the little, doe-eyed, blonde girl fell fast asleep.


* * * * * * * * * *


Suddenly, pain exploded through her scalp, as she was yanked out of bed by her hair and drug across the floor. She felt her wrist being shacked in the irons, and then more pain burst through her head, as it was slammed into the wall. Dry, claw-like hands held her face in an unmoving grip, and a lantern suddenly lit the horrendous monster’s face.

“Did you really think I would forget about you, Runa?!”

[Derp53]

I'll reword it, is there an accepted limit to how [&@%!] up said tale can be?

[Dohva.]

Derp, so long as its PG13 you're good. Think anything you wouldn't want your kid sister reading.

[Taters]

Since Halloween is my favorite holiday, I figured I'd finally enter one of these. Here's my attempt at a horror story in the world of The Elder Scrolls.

Orphan

Spoiler:

The screaming started again.

The doe-eyed, little, blonde girl huddled into a ball, on her bed, under the covers, trying desperately to muffle the sounds with her pillow. Oh how she desperately wished some kindly stranger would come and take her away, but that was no use. The monster had them, and she loved to make them suffer.

She couldn’t hear what was going on, over Samuel’s screaming, but the little girl could guess. Their hideous keeper was no doubt cutting away strips of skin off of the bottom of his feet again. It would prevent him from wandering the streets of Riften for a while.

Loud, sickening thuds could then be heard, along with renewed cries of pain.

Now he was being punished for his thieving. When Samuel escaped for a bit, he always stole things. It would be impossible for him to steal, for a long time, now that the monster had crushed his fingers with a hammer.

The wicked old crone could be heard talking, although her words were too low to be made out clearly.

Hroar was next, she knew. He always came next. He was being given something to cry about. The torturer had a particular iron dagger, which was completely dull, that she loved to use on him. She would stab him, slowly, for his nighttime crying, in a place that wouldn’t prove fatal. When Hroar screamed and cried from the damage of the knife, she would stab him more, until he passed out from the pain.

Muffled hollers of no could be heard, coming from the “dungeon”, which soon turned to shrieks of agony.

It was Francois’ turn to endure the monster’s punishment. One day, he had slipped, while cleaning the hearth and his clothes had caught fire. Since then, he had become terrified of any open flame. The evil one delighted in this, and would hold a lit torch under various parts of his body. The frightened, little girl could smell the scent of roasting flesh.

After an unknown amount of time, silence took over, and, even though she didn’t want to, the little girl fell asleep.


* * * * * * * * * *


She was startled awake by the sound of the torture room’s door slamming against the wall. Her body began to shake uncontrollably, as she heard unconscious bodies being drug across the floor, and thrown in their beds. The little girl was desperate to remain quiet, biting her pillow to prevent the sobs from escaping. If she was silent and still, maybe she would be forgotten.

When the foul witch finished putting the tortured boys to bed, she could hear her move off to her room, closing the door. Had she been spared? Had she been forgotten? Oh how she hoped! After several minutes of lying absolutely still, she allowed herself to relax. For some reason, Old Grelod had left her alone this night. Sending a silent prayer, in thanks, to Mara, the little, doe-eyed, blonde girl fell fast asleep.


* * * * * * * * * *


Suddenly, pain exploded through her scalp, as she was yanked out of bed by her hair and drug across the floor. She felt her wrist being shacked in the irons, and then more pain burst through her head, as it was slammed into the wall. Dry, claw-like hands held her face in an unmoving grip, and a lantern suddenly lit the horrendous monster’s face.

“Did you really think I would forget about you, Runa?!”

That is dark, twisted and sick.

I love it!

[Hrolf Alfblod]

Awesome! I was afraid I'd pushed the limit too far.

[Nutmeg1855]

Brewing up an idea for a creepy story...just one question, is there a length requirement ir limit?

[Musicman247]

Nope, no length requirement or limit. Just have fun with it!

Know that if it's too long you may lose some of the more impatient members, though. Not me, of course. >_>