Debate Club Contest
debateclub

And thus, just as quickly as they appeared, the doors to the Debate Hall have disappeared once more. The debate was finally settled, firmly now on the side of…

THE WINNER:

TEAM RARE

306 Points
14 Entries (2 Co-authored)

THE RUNNER-UP:

TEAM COMMON

285 Points
18 Entries


Disagreements have been rumbling through the Library. Two opposing concepts are the focus. Which makes the better story? Research papers are written with intent of battle, treatises are fired across the trenches, and words are smelted into proverbial swords. Librarians whisper to each other about the merits of either side, their memories of repositories of millions of books aiding in their ideation, but with near-infinite stories there are near-infinite arguments to be made. A decision must be made, a consensus reached. A new door has appeared in the middle of the Main Hall, leading to an area deep within the Library. A long hallway, the end imperceptible, lies beyond the door. Grandstands line both sides of the hall, towering high up into the Rafters, but instead of seating there are podiums shaped for every size and shape of Wanderer. The time for the Debate Club to reconvene has come.

Theme: Common vs Rare

Breakfast on an overcast morning, the change in your pocket, fast food, that graffiti you pass on the way back home, a global pandemic, the air in your lungs. Proponents of Commonality believe beauty is found in what is taken for granted. A normal life can hold so many stories. What makes up one's life, the few and far between fantastic moments or the much larger majority of consistent, average days? What do we share as individuals, as groups, as people? What is completely normal for one but bizarre for the other? These are just a few of the many essences of Common.

A star-filled sky, a new sensation, a discovered species of salamander, a bloody steak, an unprecedented disaster, a soul. Proponents of Rareness believe that a great story focuses on the unbeaten path, the uncommon experience. What moments do someone hold deep in their heart, never to forget? An abnormal experience can change an entire outlook on life. What makes up one's life, the many forgettable days or the moments that define a personality? What makes something unlike any other thing? What drives a man to act like he wouldn't? These are just a few of the many essences of Rare.



Final Rankings

Team Title Author Ranking
Common Mima Uncle NicoliniUncle Nicolini 48
Rare A Pale Petal, Adrift At Sea meltedbeemeltedbee 34
Rare Luckless Lucien Din-BidorDin-Bidor & Crow-CatCrow-Cat 29
Common Concrete, Steel, and Sodium Sobek109Sobek109 27
Common Speakers of the Wood scalykittyscalykitty 26
Rare Rarer Still RounderhouseRounderhouse 26
Common Cleaning Out the Rooms SpoddetmanSpoddetman 24
Rare An Introduction to Immature Taxidermy SWEET2OOTHSWEET2OOTH 24
Common An Evening Market rumetzenrumetzen 23
Common Where I Sleep at Night UncertaintyCrossingUncertaintyCrossing 22
Common Anatomy of a Swingset Stygian BlueStygian Blue 21
Common after the magnetic fields UncannyClown276UncannyClown276 21
Common Deus ex Mundo NotAnOligarchNotAnOligarch 19
Rare Mile High FLOORBOARDSFLOORBOARDS & FishishFishish 19
Rare Sal's Steakhouse TrarTrar 19
Common Lesson One: Manifeasto MaddGasserGatonMaddGasserGaton 17
Rare Worlds of a Dreamer ParallelPotatoesParallelPotatoes 17
Rare Once in a lifetime commute Sirslash47Sirslash47 16
Rare Why am I loved, after all that happened? SeraphannimSeraphannim 15
Rare Running Late cafecowcafecow 15
Common A Short Written Account of the Various Tea and Refreshments Sections Scattered Across the Library by a Dapper Handsome Creature basirskipreaderbasirskipreader 13
Rare The Five Senses of You AstersQuillAstersQuill 13
Rare Towers; or How the Boy Learned to Dream ProgressMadeProgressMade 12
Common Affliction Maxyfran73Maxyfran73 11
Rare Rare Morsels Alexander the JarAlexander the Jar 10
Rare Notes Plucked to Hum, Heart Plucked too AKAM80AKAM80 10
Common i warned you TrintavonTrintavon 8
Common A World of Beauty VoiiiiiVoiiiii 4
Common Universe in a Limestone Tim JimTim Jim 1
Common The Collected Bestiary of Rex and Daniel, Monster Hunters Of Marecai, Volume One: Common Beasts LemonsenseLemonsense -5
Common An Amateur Poets Attempt At Poetry With a Side of Magic HeWhoSpeaksInFeetHeWhoSpeaksInFeet -6
Common The Rain Plasma562Plasma562 -9

Cream of the Crop

Congratulations to Uncle NicoliniUncle Nicolini and meltedbeemeltedbee for achieving the highest rated entries from each team (along with the two highest rated overall)! You will be contacted for your feature requests.

Critics Choice Award 2: Revenge of the Role

We were overjoyed to see so many people dedicate themselves to commenting on as many entries for the contest as they could, but we felt like one individual clearly earned the role for their in-depth commenting and food-based analogies. Congrats to Stygian BlueStygian Blue! The discord role will be applied posthaste.
Honorable mentions are due for Din-BidorDin-Bidor, NotAnOligarchNotAnOligarch, RounderhouseRounderhouse, destinysdaydestinysday and Maxyfran73Maxyfran73. Thank you for commenting so much!

Additional Awards

Least Words (how?)

Where I Sleep at Night by UncertaintyCrossingUncertaintyCrossing

Strongest Turnaround

Why am I loved, after all that happened? by SeraphannimSeraphannim

Throwback Award

Speakers of the Wood by scalykittyscalykitty

Took the Steak Suggestion Too Seriously1

Sal's Steakhouse by TrarTrar

A Little On the Nose Award

Rarer Still by RounderhouseRounderhouse
Rare Morsels by Alexander the JarAlexander the Jar

Best Image Usage

An Introduction To Immature Taxidermy by SWEET2OOTHSWEET2OOTH

Title Character Limit Advocate

A Short Written Account of the Various Tea and Refreshments Sections Scattered Across the Library by a Dapper Handsome Creature by basirskipreaderbasirskipreader

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