The world is yours... The second Praxis contest (extended)

[Boomerang]

Hello and welcome denizens of TMM and MGU to The Second Praxis Contest. The first contest ended just a little while ago, but we had such a blast and so many people asking if they could be in the next one that we're throwing the gates wide open right here and right now! If you haven't heard of the Praxis setting, it is a rich and diverse setting on the eponymous planet where Mamonme, Humans, Celestials and many others besides live, love and fight. Various factions vie for power while everyone's favourite Principal Goddess Eiraiha tries to guide Praxis to a better tomorrow while juggling her familial happiness and Celestial duties.

Praxis is a world where almost anything can happen, from a simple Mamonme becoming a Queen, alien settlers being spotted and even The Ancestor of the Shoggo meddling with mortals and immortals alike. Not everyone's nice, nor nasty; The inhabitants are as diverse and individual as you could hope for and the world on which they live reflects this as well: scorching deserts, almost Scottish moors, tropical rainforests and icy highlands. If you dare to explore it you will be amazed, even if the emphasis is not on sex.

Contest exposition

For the Second Praxis Contest we want to give writers and artists alike the freedom to explore the setting without setting too many bounds, but the one that remains is that your story or art has to be set on Praxis. Beyond that, and I'd like to stress this, it is fun to work together on something. Therefore as a special theme for this contest we're encouraging artists and writers to join forces and deliver a combined entry. In other words, a story with accompanying artwork. Feeling misanthropic? Or just unsure if you can get someone to enter with you? Not a problem since you can win with just a story or just an artwork too. In essence, the contest is about having fun, but there will be prizes too.

So, you are free to write and draw whatever you like, be it a Celestial bringing salvation, an Alva admiring natural beauty, Merfolk hunting with seals at their side or Mamonme and their husbands going at it. It would be nice to see something of an heirloom included though, something passed through the ages.

Rules

• You must set your story and art on Praxis, the world the setting revolves around.
• If you enter on TMM then you can't enter on MGU as well. If we find out that you did, then you'll be banned from future contests.
• Don't try to bribe, butter up or blackmail the judges.
• All entries must be given a title and the name/handle of the creator in bold, if you enter together then please list both artist and writer.
• All entries must be original work. Plagiarism or outright theft will net you banishment from future contests.
• All entries must be sent to praxiscontests@gmail.com.
• Please refrain from posting comments in this topic. Any and all who do not abide by this rule shall have their post removed.
• More of a guideline this one, but if you're stoked about the contest then by all means spread the word. The more people enter, the more fun we'll all have.

Prizes

Best Story
The best story as chosen by our judges will net the skilled writer €35 and an original drawing by Raet to their tastes. This can either be a game on Steam or a transfer via paypal.

Best Artwork
The best artwork as chosen by our judges will net the talented artist €35 and a story written by Boomerang to their tastes. This can either be a game on Steam or a transfer via paypal.

Best Team Effort
The best story and art combination as chosen by our judges will net the artist and writer €35 each and a free copy for both of the upcoming game known as The resettlement of Meliddis. The monetary prize part can either be a game on Steam or a transfer via paypal.

We'll also allow the public to vote for their favourite entries in a separate topic when judging starts.
Public judgement: First place
€30, this can either be a game on Steam or a transfer via paypal.

Public judgement: Second place
€20, this can either be a game on Steam or a transfer via paypal.

Public judgement: Third place
€10, this can either be a game on Steam or a transfer via paypal.

Since this contest is not limited to one forum, you will need to keep that in mind.

The contest runs from April 4th to September 26th. Judging wil finish a week later.

NB: If you have any questions, ask Boomerang by pm. I'll post them and the answers below.

[Boomerang]

Nabbed for future use. Also Q&A results here.

[Boomerang]

BUMP! One important bit changed! All entries go per e-mail.

[Raet]

Just reminding everyone that there is one month left, come on people you are being given an opportunity to enjoy a great world alongside your MGE and possibly win some money, if you have to you can enter anonymously if you feel you are somehow "betraying" the MGE by entering which really makes no sense. You can write or draw, it is really up to you so show me what you can do please.

[Raet]

Just reminding everyone that there is one month left, come on people you are being given an opportunity to enjoy a great world alongside your MGE and possibly win some money, if you have to you can enter anonymously if you feel you are somehow "betraying" the MGE by entering which really makes no sense.

I already like Praxis more than the MGE. I just don't have any ideas heh. I can't draw well, don't have a team, and I'm not much of a writer, either.

You could commission someone if you need to

[Zadocfish]

Hm. Well, I've been meaning to look into Praxis but I haven't made time for it. I can make something by the end of the month.

Can you link to some sort of compendium of Praxian knowledge as a learning base?

[Raet]

No problem, you can use

http://the-praxis-compendium.wikia.com/ ... ndium_Wiki

Or you can look at

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2109#p54967

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2119#p55062

viewtopic.php?f=40&t=2158#p55957 for WIP monster girls and yes, Shoggo has been one of them for ages (since 2013 in fact)

viewtopic.php?f=40&t=2108#p54966 for completed images

[Zadocfish]

Oh, right. Reading a little of the wiki reminded me of why I've never looked far into Praxis when I tried before... I can't ever seem to stand "pantheon" situations in these settings, I find them too messy (and samey) for my taste. I'm terribly sorry, I have to drop out...

[Raet]

Oh, right. Reading a little of the wiki reminded me of why I've never looked far into Praxis when I tried before... I can't ever seem to stand "pantheon" situations in these settings, I find them too messy (and samey) for my taste. I'm terribly sorry, I have to drop out...

Well the fact that many cultures across our planet have pantheons may be a reason why it is so popular, in Praxis it is more like God has lesser gods who collect faith etcetera for Him and are also responsible for certain aspects of reality. The main reason I chose this is that it would give a plausible reason for me to have goddesses romanceable later on, not to mention having Valkyries as one of Heaven's forces. It also helped with the past of both minotaurides and bovitaurides, their ancient ancestor being a goddess named Sabalha who threw herself into the Samudra Manthan or Cosmic Ocean and emerged as Io a form of cow being. i also think very carefully about what I create.

Of course if you don't like that you are free to write in a timeline where there is no pantheon... I still don't really consider it a pantheon, more of a society.

[Boomerang]

Okay, due to some requests and deliberations, the 2nd Praxis contest is extended slightly. And Zadocfish, I guarantee that the Praxian pantheon is quite diverse and original. Where else is the Principal Goddess a little sister type woman with an incredibly extended family? Eiraiha's übercute and yet can kick ass, though she's currently careful about 'being grumpy'. The reason? There's a team of three little girls on standby to give her the ultimate cure. XD

[Raet]

Just a reminder to those of you out there, please do enter there are many of you who I know can write and or draw so please, do so.

[Feathers]

As much as I'd like to participate, I'm no where near "best" when it comes to writing or art, and I have no team to speak of. Therefore, I can't see a point in entering as a doomed-to-lose contestant.

[Raet]

Therefore, I can't see a point in entering as a doomed-to-lose contestant.

Nothing ventured nothing gained, it's better to at least try

[Feathers]

Are you looking to gain something from this contest?

[Raet]

Are you looking to gain something from this contest?

Just trying to get more people involved really, part of the reason for this contest is to get more people interested and involved in the setting. We are also creating the Meliddis Resettlement game for the same reason. It seems people only show interest in already established settings which is why I am working so hard to get people more involved so they can experience the setting in all of it's glory. Boomerangflash wrote one custom Sorceress profile before become extremely interested in ureonggaksi and has since wrote many stories set in the setting and started this contest himself because he wants more people to enjoy it too. Timiddarkspy has wrote a few stories in the setting already, all extremely enjoyable... his favourite mamonme is erumo, Killmoves is in the process of writing a great story for the setting, it is even on this site. He enjoys the setting but is irritated that he gets so few comments from others at least telling him what they enjoyed about the chapter. His oneshot story "You are going to go far kid" received loads more comments, but it seems it was only because it was MGE. Hence this contest and the game, MGE is fine, but there is space for other settings too or worlds. Praxis is waiting for you.

[Feathers]

So in short- You are (what seems to be) seeking project members, advertising the Praxis world, and looking to entertain the Monster Girl fandom without using a non-MGE setting. Quite honorable reasons!

Truth be told, I was brainstorming last night, but I was looking more into a visual novel type of submission (if I enter). Heck, I was even thinking of making a song for the Lichen (sadly, I already forgot the lyrics though, my creativity fleets like the wind). Would those types of submissions be acceptable? No promises, as I said, I'm unreliable when it comes to imagination.

[Raet]

Of course they would be , on the other site Boomerang frequently had spring and autumn Poetry contests too, but few people entered because they were too intimidated by it. Also most entries usually ended up being MGE to our dismay, but things are starting to get better it seems.

[Feathers]

Yeah I can get into a world when I really work at it. I'm just hesitant to invest time, because the last person's world I joined up with on here ditched their world and vanished without a word. You seem like you are going to "stick to your guns" though, so maybe.

However, I do have one very important question on creative freedom here- How much am I allowed to change? Is everything strictly by-the-profile and that's that? Most great stories are about "The One" who changed everything, not the ones who go with the norm. Disney's Little Mermaid (yep, this movie basically was my first favorite Monster Girl movie as kid, haha, though I didn't care for the original tragic version) is probably my favorite example, since she liked humans a lot and wasn't prejudiced like her father was. That's how I tend to start with characters, making them different from their common lore. I don't want to step all over your settings though, so I thought I'd ask first.

[Raet]

You are welcome to change things a bit when writing, MGExaminor wrote a story last year where an erumo was completely serious while her husband had his head in the clouds. It was quite good. Also i have been working on this setting for two or more years and I don't plan to quit it because there are people who are interested.

[Boomerang]

Okay, tomorrow's d-day, officially, but in truth we'll accept entries up until sunday as well. Judging begins monday.