The Stick Awards II: Second Edition (Best of the Thousand) [Semi #1]

[Mordae]

367, because I'm reading about the Order of the Stick, not some B-list paladin antagonist. 464 was good for what it was, but 367 is about the point in the story where Elan becomes more character than caricature, and I find myself invested in his success.

I also highly suspect that both the wildcards will come from the other half, but that's just a suspicion at this point.

[nogall]

Great selection, representing a wide array of the Giant's abilities and why the OOTS is so great.
Still, it's a shame I can't vote for 449 and its Ghosts-martyrs.

I'm gonna go with 90, even though I'm pretty sure it won't win. But I think it best represents the goofy and very funny early strip that made so much people fall in love with the strip. Also, no such great comic should bow out with not a single vote to its name...

[Nazzo, the 102nd]

My little baby is all grown up! I'm so proud!

Thank you, Porthos, for taking so good care of it. Who knew that little idea I had would someday reach the Best of the Thousand! Beautiful.

As for my vote... I would say it's a tough call between 298 and 367. Both have laughs, plot advancement and character development. But 367 wins it because Thog.

I'm happy to take part on the Awards, one last time, before it enters hibernation. Thank you all.

[LadyEowyn]

Voting for 367. It's hilarious, and it and 464 are easily the best of the bunch. I disagree with 464 on religious and philosophical grounds, so 367 it is.

[Rakoa]

Innocent Man.

I love watching Nale panic and squirm.

[antipodeF]

No contest. 464.

[davidbofinger]

#367 please. None of the others strike me as finals material.

[declinator]

I'm happy to see both 367 and 464 ahead (didn't count though, impressions could be misleading). I think the final winner will be picked from the lower half of the BoT line-up, and I think I do prefer the philosophical implications of Miko's end, so I'll vote for 464 without too many thoughts at the moment.

[Rowan Mikaio]

I think other people have summed up my reactions and reasons fairly well, so I'll just leave it at the fact that it's no contest and 464 is the best of the bunch.

[Jasdoif]

Sad that 301 didn't make it this far....464 for me.

[137beth]

I find it a mildly amusing coincidence that the Stick Awards and the Ultimate Linear Guild Tournament will be ending at roughly the same time. I didn't plan it that way--I couldn't, since the total number of matches and Phases in the ULGT wasn't fixed (pairings are determined by the outcomes of previous pairings).
Then again, there always seems to be some voting process going on in the OOTS forum. Before the ULGT, there was the Best OOTS Book tournament, the Favorite Relationships Tournament, Oppyu's giant tournament of characters, the favorite OOTS member tournament, and the favorite goblin from strip one, panel one tournament. So, maybe the fact that two voting events are ending within a couple weeks of each other isn't that strange.

[Porthos]

I find it a mildly amusing coincidence that the Stick Awards and the Ultimate Linear Guild Tournament will be ending at roughly the same time. I didn't plan it that way--I couldn't, since the total number of matches and Phases in the ULGT wasn't fixed (pairings are determined by the outcomes of previous pairings).

And here I thought you had a byzantine and complex masterplan benefiting the Linear Guild itself to cause it to turn out this way.

[DaggerPen]

464: Not For Everyone

[Mordae]

I find it a mildly amusing coincidence that the Stick Awards and the Ultimate Linear Guild Tournament will be ending at roughly the same time. I didn't plan it that way--I couldn't, since the total number of matches and Phases in the ULGT wasn't fixed (pairings are determined by the outcomes of previous pairings).
Then again, there always seems to be some voting process going on in the OOTS forum. Before the ULGT, there was the Best OOTS Book tournament, the Favorite Relationships Tournament, Oppyu's giant tournament of characters, the favorite OOTS member tournament, and the favorite goblin from strip one, panel one tournament. So, maybe the fact that two voting events are ending within a couple weeks of each other isn't that strange.

Gents, this simply means that we need to have a new thread:

The Ultimate Decide on the Next Voting Contest Tournament!

[Pyrous]

464 - Not for Everyone

Besides Soon's speech about redemption*, I think the line "Have you been less hasty [...]" is very powerful. Had Miko been less hasty, the plot would have ended so much more time ago that I wouldn't even known OotS existed in the first place. Had she been less hasty in executing Shojo, she wouldn't have fallen. Had she been less hasty in jumping to conclusions, she wouldn't have, well, been Miko.
Also, the first thing that she asks Soon is whether she did the right thing and Soon is there to thank her. She still feels she is special, and that's part of the reason of her falling: being a Paladin has nothing to do about you, it's about others.

*EDIT: Which with I agree almost completely: substitute society, or better yet, the ones you wronged, for Twelve Gods and I'm good with it.

[ti'esar]

I suppose I'll vote for 367, pretty much entirely because Elan is a more central character than Miko and it marks the beginning of his character development.

[Gilphon]

So it's gotta be either 367 or 464. My first instinct was 464, but after thinking it over, 367 is a much better representative of the comic's first half- voting 464 would really just be stacking the deck in favour of the second half.

[littlebum2002]

Lots of good ones, but I'll go with 367.

Still, I have the feeling the Semi #2 will dominate this final.

[Emanick]

Sad that 301 didn't make it this far....464 for me.

Bah, you're just biased in favor of non-humanoids.

[Gift Jeraff]

Bah, you're just biased in favor of non-humanoids.

Friggin' food monsters.

[Mordae]

The Best of the Thousand has a much bigger draw and an impressive number of votes. For lesser rounds, the 15 votes amassed by 367 would be sufficient to win. Now, it's dwarfed by the 21 votes held by 464. Add in the handful of votes for the dark horse candidates, and there are 40-ish total votes cast.

I would, however, like to revise my previous hypothesis that both the wild cards will come from the bottom half of the draw. It seems highly unlikely that there will be 3 of the 4 with 16+ votes.

[Killer Angel]

My little baby is all grown up! I'm so proud!

Thank you, Porthos, for taking so good care of it. Who knew that little idea I had would someday reach the Best of the Thousand! Beautiful.

Nazzo!!!!!
You're certainly a welcomed guest in this thread!

[The gF]

I gotta go with 464 for the musing on the nature of redemption, both in and out of DnD context, as well as the emotionally powerful speech that humanizes Soon and marks an emotional send-off for a character who represented a major driving force in the plot-- better than she deserved, I'm sure many people thought. The page, like redemption, is a rare and special thing.

It also sets up for one of the best uses of dramatic irony in all of webcomicdom, when Tsukiko decides Miko wouldn't be a very powerful undead anyway.

[Pyrous]

It also sets up for one of the best uses of dramatic irony in all of webcomicdom, when Tsukiko decides Miko wouldn't be a very powerful undead anyway.

Mostly because she would be two undeads, probably. Sorry, I couldn't resist...

[Porthos]

My little baby is all grown up! I'm so proud!

Thank you, Porthos, for taking so good care of it. Who knew that little idea I had would someday reach the Best of the Thousand! Beautiful.

As for my vote... I would say it's a tough call between 298 and 367. Both have laughs, plot advancement and character development. But 367 wins it because Thog.

I'm happy to take part on the Awards, one last time, before it enters hibernation. Thank you all.

So glad to see you here at the end of all things of the Awards.

Couldn't have done any of this without you. I truly thank you for starting all of this and allowing me to continue on in your stead.

---

Enough mushy stuff, on to my vote!

Poor 298. I always new it was going to be a weak link (the voting during the 200s was... interesting), but it's sad to see it get obliterated like this. But not sad enuf for me to vote for it.

Tiny bit surprised that 90 received one lone vote, but I suppose it's the mood of the board right now. Well that and it simply can't compete with some of the others.

In the end, 464 is simply too powerful. I don't entirely agree with the point that Soon made there (and, indeed, I think it might be overbought into by the forum at times), but that really does show how well it was written, I suppose.

And with that.....

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED!

464 - Not for Everyone is the winner of this semi-final! It now moves on to the finals for the Best of the Thousand tournament!

367 - Innocent Man is currently holding down Wild Card spot #1 with 15 votes and 200 - The Confrontation is holding down Wild Card spot #2 with 4 votes.

Full Results are as follows:

.............THE STICK AWARDS II:
..BEST OF THE THOUSAND TOURNAMENT
......... (Semi-Final #1)

	Comic Number	Votes Received	Vote Percentage
	90	1	2.33
	200	4	9.30
	298	0	0.00
	367	15	34.88
	464	23	53.49

Please join us as we continue the Best of the Thousand tournament, in this thread here.

[Bird]

Poor 298. I always new it was going to be a weak link (the voting during the 200s was... interesting)

Oh, don't be coy, Porthos. You've got feelings to share. Out with them, then!

[Jaxzan Proditor]

Wow, the best of #1000 has gotten a massive turn out! Even Nazzo returned just in time.

[Porthos]

Oh, don't be coy, Porthos. You've got feelings to share. Out with them, then!

The Belkar fans really didn't turn out as expected, for one.

This is also right around the time I realized that having just one strip out of every ten move on in voting could be.... problematic for some strips.

This will be addressed if and when we ever get to SA III (which won't be for a good while).

[Laurana]

The Belkar fans really didn't turn out as expected, for one.

This is also right around the time I realized that having just one strip out of every ten move on in voting could be.... problematic for some strips.

This will be addressed if and when we ever get to SA III (which won't be for a good while).

Noooo.

<chants> Do it again! Do it again! Do it again!!!

I'm voting for S.A. III right after this ends. OK, maybe we can have a blank week in-between.

Besides, I do agree with what Soon says to Miko. I only disagree that redemption is not for everyone: it is, it's just that not everyone can reach it. Indeed, as he says, if you don't recognize your mistakes and wrong-doing, how can you obtain redemption?

[Emanick]

Noooo.

<chants> Do it again! Do it again! Do it again!!!

I'm voting for S.A. III right after this ends. OK, maybe we can have a blank week in-between.

Besides, I do agree with what Soon says to Miko. I only disagree that redemption is not for everyone: it is, it's just that not everyone can reach it. Indeed, as he says, if you don't recognize your mistakes and wrong-doing, how can you obtain redemption?

I don't think Soon is saying that there are some people who the cosmic forces of the universe will not allow to the chance to be redeemed, no matter how hard they tried, at least not per se. My understanding is that he's suggesting that, in practice, not everyone is capable of doing the incredibly hard work of redeeming themselves, and not everyone lives long enough to be granted the opportunity of redemption. Similarly, some might simply have sinned too much and too often to realistically have a shot at redeeming themselves before it is too late. Belkar might be a case in point there - if he were to live to a ripe old age, I'd bet on his redemption, but given the way things are today, I wouldn't.