Harvest Festival | Astania Awards

🍂 WINNERS: Romance 🍂

Thank you to ganbaruby and laurendoubleu for judging this category!

Please join us in congratulating the Romance winners of the Astania Community's Harvest Festival 2024:

FIRST PLACE
with a score of 99.5/110...

Power Trio by DukeyRhino 

This power trio (plus Sion) makes for an entertaining cast in this fantastic story! Your writing style is distinct and full of character, and with clever descriptions and unexpected humor, there's never a dull moment.

Despite the fact that fairfolk don't exist in our world (yet), the relatability of the characters, plus the sociopolitical issues of their world, does a great job at immersing me in the story. Even if readers don't share the same level of passion for music, the way you describe it is magical and emotional, and it's those emotions that do a great job at helping us connect with the characters.

Speaking of, my favorite aspect of this story has to be the characters. Each of them is so different with strong personalities that make them feel real, and while I'm not sure I would get along with all of them in real life (looking at you, Sion), reading about them is very entertaining.

The introduction to the attraction between Evan, Thekla, and Kell was well done, and I can easily see why Evan and Thekla are infatuated with Kell—I'd be right there with them! Evan's admiration of her is so sweet, and Thekla's long-term sapphic pining is painfully relatable. Together, this band has an amazing, and possibly tumultuous, journey ahead of them, and I'm excited to see where it leads.

This story was such a joy to read. Thank you for sharing it with us, and congratulations!

SECOND PLACE
with a score of 98/110...

Royally Bumped by MiniMoxx 

This story clearly sets up a royal, unforgettable romance! Everything, even the blurb, connects to the main ideas so nicely that it feels natural and well thought-out. I loved the presentation of this story–from the cover, to the title, to the blurb: it all works together to convey the pregnancy and royalty aspects so effortlessly. The writing style flows, making the story always easy to read and fall back into.

Mila is relatable, especially in her stress, and she makes for a strong main character right from the beginning. Her narration carries the story well. Her inner voice in narration gives her a fun character. The story kicks off right where it needs to, and Mila finding out Kai's secret immediately works great for tension, driving the plot forward in a way that makes the reader excited to continue in order to find out what happens. The casual conversations between Mila and Kai were enjoyable, and her interaction with her father was very charming and cute to read.

The mystery oozing from Kai also helped me feel like I wanted to find out what would happen between them. I felt like it was easy to get swept up into the idealistic life Mila could have, while her narration kept me grounded in the real life she was living. Both sides of the romantic ideal were discussed, which fit well into the story. The story starts out at the right place and moves forward smoothly, while giving the reader enough time to be pushed forward by the intrigue!

Thank you for sharing your story, and congratulations!

THIRD PLACE
with a score of 93/110...

I Like Your Venom Sweet (... And Your Poison Deadly) by lemonsindecay 

Every once in a while, I like my stories sweet and my characters deadly, and this story delivers on both accounts! With a smooth writing style, prose that captures the narrator's personality, and an intriguing plot, this story did a great job at grabbing my attention. What I initially enjoyed was the presence of morally gray characters and the fact that, judging by the author's notes, the writer seemed intent on not romanticizing toxic topics. And from what I've read so far, I have a feeling this will stay true until the end!

Further into the story, I was pleasantly surprised that, while there were a lot of characters right off the bat, their abundance wasn't overwhelming. In fact, each of them was entertaining to read about with their distinct personalities and voices, and they were easy to differentiate—even the background characters who I knew were going to die right away.

Out of the main characters, their mysterious backstories and unique personalities had me itching to read more. Sienna is such a cool character, especially at the end of chapter 3, and the leaders of the Hydras also had me intrigued about their intentions. Their interactions and perspectives of each other, including their attraction to one another, hint at an exciting romance ahead. That, plus the thrilling action and politics in the background, have me eager to see what's in store for these characters and their world.

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Winners, to receive your stickers, please create a ticket in our Discord server, The Writer's Hoard. Without the private messaging system on Wattpad, this is the best way for our staff to communicate effectively. In the ticket, please include the following information: your Wattpad username, your winning category, your placement (first, second, or third), and your story title.

Participants 1-10 (as listed in the Entries chapter) may request their scorecards by reaching out to their judge through Discord DMs, by reaching out to their judge in this chapter, or by reaching out to their judge on their message board.

 Participants 11-20 (as listed in the Entries chapter) may request their scorecards through our Discord server's help ticket system, or by reaching out to their judge in this chapter.

Thanks to everyone for entering the Astania Awards! Congratulations to all!