Post by Cass on Dec 28, 2011 13:59:48 GMT 10
2011 Events Overview
by Rachy and Kypriotha
2011 was a fantastic and busy year for Goldenlake Events. From the release of two new books, Tortall and Other Lands and the highly anticipated Mastiff, to SMACKDOWN: Couples and smaller events like Decathlon or Themed Weeks, 2011 was jammed with fun times.
January
2011 began with a quiet month as Goldenlake settled into the new year. January’s main event was a themed week, the ‘Malories’ Peak Prompt Week’, which focused on writing prompts from our fortnightly Malories’ Peak Prompts. Any one of the almost fifty prompts could be written, and many members took up the challenge to fill in prompts they hadnt written for or to explore new ideas.
February
Goldenlake action picked up during February, with a ‘Love is in the Air’ week for St Valentine’s Day, the release of Tamora Pierce’s short story collection, Tortall and Other Lands and the announcement of a 2011 SMACKDOWN. The ‘Love is in the Air’ ran through the middle of February, with couples like Coram/Rispah or Roald/Lianne being celebrated, as well as the ideas of love. Suitably, 2011 SMACKDOWN was also announced during February for a start in March, with SMACKDOWN 2011 having a Couples theme, and kickstarted the board into a frenzy. Joining the frenzy was the release of Tortall and Other Lands on February 22, a slightly unexpected compilation of all of Tammy’s short stories, many of which were new to members who had not come across them in other anthologies. While not as eagerly anticipated as Mastiff, it still managed to delight with stories such as Lost or The Dragon’s Tale, and a brand new story focusing on Nawat and his new family, as well as a bonus sneak peek into Mastiff and some new quasi-canon from Tammy's chat with Random Buzzers.
March
March was the start of SMACKDOWN, the major event of the year that lasted until mid-June, and the much-hyped and eagerly anticipated event reached and surpassed new levels of excitement across the board. 2011 brought the second SMACKDOWN, the first occurring in 2010, and the immensely popular competition involved writing fanfiction in support of your chosen character in a fic battle to win Kel’s heart which ended in a fierce battle between Owen and Raoul. A special new twist was added for 2011; instead of character vs character, it would be couple vs couple for the title of SMACKDOWN winner. Anticipation was high across the board with couples being nominated, chosen and given names, sides were picked and fight lists drawn, fic was written and hoarded, and buttons and banners waved proudly.
The first fights of Round 1 were between Jon/Zahir and Dom/Evin in Arena 1, and Lark/Rosethon and Buri/Thayet in Arena 2. The fight in Arena 1, between Dom/Evin and Jonathan/Zahir, was amazingly competitive, ending in a shocking tie of 266 fics each. A Sudden Death was held in the space between rounds, in which an astounding 526 fics were written in the space of one weekend, with Dom/Evin being victorious. The fight between Lark/Rosethorn and Buri/Thayet in Arena 2 had the victory go to Lark/Rosethorn in a slightly surprising show of Emelan-love. After the first fights, and the Sudden Death, the second fights of Round 1 started up. In Arena 1, Kalasin/Wyldon battled against Kel/Maura, with Kel/Maura pronounced the winner. Arena 2 held the fight between Clary/Mattes and Aly/Taybur, with Clary/Mattes winning. The third fights of Round 1 crossed into April with battle between Gary/Raoul and Neal/Owen in Arena 1, and Jonathan/Kel against Rosethorn/Crane.
April
April opened in the midst of the third fight of SMACKDOWN, and Goldenlake celebrated the start of April by wearing its birthday suit for the day. April Fools’ Day coincides with Goldenlake’s birthday, and Goldenlake celebrated 2 years with a birthday suit, the theme changed to being white all over – text and all, and April Fools’ with a switcheroo of mod identities.
The third fight of Round 1 ended with a Gary/Raoul victory in Arena 1, and a Jonathan/Kel victory in Arena 2. The fourth and final fights of Round 1 were between Roger/Alanna and Raoul/Sabine in Arena 1, and Delia/Josiane vs. Circlecest (Briar/Daja/Sandry/Tris). Both fights were quite quiet, but Circlecest had a large victory over Delia/Josiane, and Raoul/Sabine won in Arena 1.
Once Round 1 concluded, the second half of April was host to Round 2 of SMACKDOWN. The first fight was between Dom/Evin (Team Underpants) vs Jonathan/Kel (Team Temptation) in Arena 1, whereas Arena 2 held the fight between Lark/Rosethorn (Team Discipline) and Clary/Mattes (Team Puppy Love). Team Royal and Team Puppy Love were both victorious. The third and fourth fights in Round 2 opened in the last week of April, Arena 1 hosting Gary/Raoul (Team Moustache Curtains) vs Circlecest and Arena 2 with Kel/Maura (Team Protector) vs Raoul/Sabine (Team Dark Knight).
May
May opened with the end of Round 2 of SMACKDOWN, with the third and fourth fights finishing. Team Circlecest was the winner in Arena 1, and Team Protector was the winner in Arena 2. This left Team Circlecest, Team Protector (Kel/Maura), Team Temptation (Jonathan/Kel) and Team Puppy Love (Clary/Mattes) all going into the semi-finals.
The first semi-finals was between Clary/Mattes and Jonathan/Kel. With 220 fics being written for Team Puppy Love and 116 fics being written for Team Temptation, Clary/Mattes raced into a spot in the finals. The second semi-final was between Circlecest and Kel/Maura. Team Protector ended their victorious run with 143 fics, close behind Team Circlecest with 169 fics, and it was Team Circlecest who advanced to the finals with Team Puppy Love.
The final of SMACKDOWN was held in the last full week of May, in a heated battle between Team Circlecest – Briar/Daja/Sandry/Tris - and Team Puppy Love – Clary/Mattes, two teams considered underdogs at the start of the competition and both from Tammy’s lesser-known universes. An epic – and close – battle took place, and the 2011 SMACKDOWN winner was pronounced to be Clary/Mattes, Team Puppy Love, with a victory of 345 fics to the 336 of Team Circlecest. SMACKDOWN 2011 was then complete and proven again to be an amazing event, with a great degree of fun, competitive spirit and love shown across the competition, board and everyone who participated and organised.
June
June was a breath of fresh air in the aftermath of SMACKDOWN, a much needed relief after the fever of SMACKDOWN. SMACKDOWN officially finished with Swinger’s Weekend, a last weekend of fic with any of the couples nominated for SMACKDOWN, or for any fic that didn’t get quite finished during the rounds. For the second year in a row, Kel/Wyldon had the most fic, and were winners of the Swinger’s Weekend, and then SMACKDOWN was finished for 2011. OSW was the next event in June, the first One Sentence Weekend of 2011, with no particular theme attached but much light-hearted fun for everyone involved.
July
The second half of 2011 started with a bang with the inaugural Goldenlake Decathlon in July. The five Track and five Field events provided something for everyone, including the Sin Relay, Humour High Jump and Love Long Jump, and ranged in length from one sentence to 1500 words. The challenge was taken up enthusiastically and resulted in 11 completed claims. The couples claimed ranged from under-appreciated canon couples including Gareth/Roanna and Roald/Lianne to the fanon pairings of Jon/George and Kel/Lindall. Minor characters were also given the chance to shine, including Kalasin jian Wilima and Winnamine Balitang.
August
August was a busy month, with the 5-0 MPP Countdown, Canon Week and the start of Seasonal Bingo. The 5-0 MPP Countdown ran for the five days before the release of the 50th Malorie’s Peak Prompt. It both celebrated the release of the landmark prompt and allowed people to revisit their favourite prompts. The second big event in August was Canon Week, which allowed GLakers to get back to our canon roots and revisit old friends. The couples covered ranged from old favourites such as Raoul/Buria and Okha/Nestor to more unusual or forgotten couples such as Keth/Yali and Old White/Night Black.
September
Seasonal Bingo, which began in August and ran into September, was characterised by beautiful cards and fun prompts. Many GLakers enthusiastically took up the challenge of the Bingo cards and produced an array of amazing responses. The Seasons began with Summer, before going into Autumn and Winter. In the middle was Talk Like A Pirate Day on 19 September, which not only resulted in new, wonderfully creative mod names, but also made the Bingo fic even more fun to read! After the swashbuckling fun on the board abated for another year, Seasonal Bingo wrapped up with Spring.
October
October was a particularly exciting month with the release of Mastiff on the 25th. To celebrate its release, as well as to keep everyone occupied whilst they impatiently waited to get their hands on the book, Provost’s Dog Week was held from 15 to 25 October. The responses written included a mixture of canon and fanon couples, as well as AU fic and even a surprise Royal appearance. The fabulous fic was accompanied by some equally fabulous PD-inspired Mod names. All in all, it was a very fun way to celebrate Mastiff's release.
November
With November came the One Sentence Weekend: Peculiar Pairings Edition. This event showcased the creativity and imagination of GLakers, as we tackled the more unusual or uncommon fanon pairings. The challenge of the Peculiar Pairings was taken up with gusto and produced 150 fics in only 3 days. Some of the most memorable pairings included Kyprioth/Eleni, Niko/Crane and Keth/Dema. November was otherwise a quiet month as everyone geared up for December and Christmas.
December
December began with the long awaited Australian and New Zealand release of Mastiff and only got better with the traditional December events: the Merry Ficmas Exchange and the Holiday Wishing Tree. The Merry Ficmas Exchange was a Secret Santa-type event where participants nominated their preferences and received the gift of fic. The Holiday Wishing Tree was a more open event, with participants able to post and receive as many Wish List responses as they liked. The sharing of fics helped everyone get into the festive nature of the season and was the perfect way to finish 2011.