PLEASE READ:

This was extremely hard to choose. Every author did incredible and I was amazed by all of your stories. All Taehyung ff writers, please give yourselves a pat on the back for doing so well! The Taehyung Showdown will be released this month, so keep an eye out for another chance to win big ;)

I've said it once, I'll say it again: please message me if you want to hear my thoughts on your story. I take notes of every story I read because I want to give feedback to those who would like it. Please let me know if you want the feedback!

And please don't feel discouraged if you didn't win. I am not kidding when I say literally every single Taehyung story was great. It took me longer to judge not because it took me longer to read (the stories were actually shorter than JK's category... by a lot), but because it took me longer to choose the winners.

If anyone wants to know what the common errors were, please let me know here and I will post them.

After rereading, stressing, rescoring, and more, here are the results.

WARNING: For the first place winner, I kinda became a simp for the author. Sorry-

Now, for the winners...

3rd Place

The Shadow Like Me by 123hikibakas

My review:

Characters: 10/10. Every character is engaging. Every character plays a part in setting up the suspense. I would love to see more from Jimin and Namjoon's perspectives since they're the ones investigating this case. I feel there's a lot of potential for emotional depth here, especially considering their past. Author can definitely lean into their characters and give them fleshed out arcs and backstories, but just having their perspectives works well too. Whatever way the author takes it, I'm sure it'll be great.

Plot: 9/10. When it comes to concept, this author has mastered creative ideas and presenting them in unique ways. It's no wonder why this author has seen great success with their work; every concept I have read from this author has been interesting and presented well. The only thing I knocked a point off for was the lack of a continuation. It's been a very long time since the story has been updated, so I don't know where the plot leads or if I should get invested or not.

Worldbuilding: 10/10. Pretty good worldbuilding. You get to see a lot of it when you're looking at things from Namjoon and Jimin's perspective, which is engaging.

Pacing: 8/10. I think the story really started gripping me by chapter 6. Although the first five chapters are very necessary, I feel there were some areas that could have been tightened. Or even combining some chapters to tighten the pace more. Otherwise, the pacing is solid and does a good job of revealing information one piece at a time without feeling over or underwhelming.

Themes: 9/10. See the last point of the 'plot' section. Otherwise, they're strong.

Consistency: 8/10. POV is a bit inconsistent, as is the tense. However, creatively, the story is consistent.

Creativity: 10/10. I don't think I need to explain myself, this section is an easy 10/10 thanks to the author's creative mind.

Grammar/spelling: 7/10. Tense issues. Spacing issues. Dialogue tag issues. Some incomplete sentences. Some capitalization issues (words that are not supposed to be capitalized are capitalized). Some misspells, but they aren't too frequent so I'll only take off .5 for that. It's weird that we go from third person to first person in chapter 7.

Cover and blurb: 9/10. Cover is good. Blurb is a bit short but it's engaging so I'm not gonna deduct much for the shortness. Quality over quantity, right?

Total: 80/90

Letter grade: A

Additional comments from Raven: Once again, this author nails creative concepts. Every work I've read from this author has always had creativity oozing from the words. I also notice that this author is particularly good with characters, and it shines in this story. The creativity this author has needs to be admired more because, my brothers in Christ, these ideas feel like they could be made into limited series on HBO.

No, seriously, please go read this story. You'll agree when I say it needs to be a TV show.

2nd Place

The Last Guardian by -agustellar

Science fiction and fantasy are two of my favorite genres. I tend to be very picky about which sci fis and fantasies I like because I have high standards for them, but this one flew into my heart with its rich world, showing over telling, and surprising characters.

My review:

Characters: 10/10. I'm pleasantly surprised by Zeila's character. At first, I was cautious, but Zeila turned out to be very engaging. Hyejin and Taehyung were two highlights as well.

Plot: 10/10. It's a beautiful story with beautiful writing, and it's backed up by a marvelous plot that I did not spot any holes in.

Worldbuilding: 10/10. Do I really need to explain myself?

Pacing: 9/10. Slow in some parts, particularly in the beginning, but is otherwise okay. I don't mind slow pacing as long as it doesn't completely bog down the story, and it doesn't here.

Themes: 10/10. I never have much to say about themes, but I will say they were clear and I have no criticisms.

Consistency: 8.5/10. Tense issues. Sometimes the author overuses adverbs, sometimes they don't. It's not consistent enough for me to deduct a point from creativity, but I will deduct it here. Overall, the most important parts are consistent. The world and its rules are consistent and I found no holes, which is why this author deserves a high above average score.

Creativity: 8.5/10. Very creative idea and interesting concepts. They're handled pretty well and the audience doesn't feel overwhelmed by them. The only deduction is because I'm not a fan of the dialogue tags being all fancy. It doesn't really service the story, in my opinion. Like 'asserted' and 'bargained' and 'glowered' and 'quibbled' all feel very... over-the-top, even for a fantasy (especially the last two). Using fancier dialogue tags is telling over showing, which is why I'm bringing this up. In a story where there's so much showing, the tags being an element of telling feels unnecessary, if that makes sense? Otherwise, the creativity is off the charts. Author, how did you come up with this beautiful world???

Grammar/spelling: 9/10. THIS AUTHOR DOES DIALOGUE TAGS RIGHT 🥳🥳🥳💃💃💃💃💃❤️❤️❤️❤️ Point deducted for minor tense issues. Also watch all caps. I always recommend not using them at all, or at least, very sparingly since they're distracting, hard to read, and are primary examples of telling over showing.

Cover and blurb: 10/10. Cover is awesome. Blurb is great too.

Total: 85/90

Letter grade: A+

Additional Raven comments: I appreciate that you didn't just use the 'terms' chapter as a way to dump exposition on the reader and you actually took the time to flesh everything out. It's hard for many readers to digest new information so quickly, so thank you for taking the time to give us an insight into the world. The worldbuilding is very strong.

1st Place

Inner Child by 4eversherlocked

Yeah, I can talk about this story all day.

I was absolutely blown away.

Review:

Characters: 10/10. I know I'm biased but I really, really love Jimin in this story. Like, really. Jimin as a person is very emotionally intelligent, and you take that trait of his and amplify it to the max. The way every character has something going wrong in their life makes them super engaging, not to mention none of them are perfect. Taehyung has the right intentions but the wrong execution, Jimin can help others but he can barely help himself, Shora is struggling both mentally and physically and is just trying to be a good mom. Every character is incredible.

Plot: 10/10. Everything moves smoothly, it's straightforward but it's creative at the same time.

Worldbuilding: 10/10. The world feels very realistic. The way the author is able to capture the misery of adulthood is fascinating. Even the environments they're in are depressing, like they smell of cigarette smoke or the VHS tapes are falling over.

Pacing: 10/10. Never moves too fast or too slow. Information is revealed at an even pace and it's enough to keep me hooked.

Themes: 10/10. The theme is simple but powerful and captured in a unique way. As mentioned in the worldbuilding section, the way the author writes is super engaging.

Consistency: 10/10. I didn't notice any tense or POV issues. If there were any, they were so minor I didn't notice. Characters and plot are consistent.

Creativity: 10/10. The concept is great and although it's early in the story, I'm already wanting to know what comes next.

Grammar/spelling: 9/10. One too many dashes for my liking and some minor dialogue tag errors, but they stopped happening later in the story so I'm only gonna take off a point for those two things.

Cover and blurb: 10/10. No criticisms. Blurb is interesting and cover is colorful, representing that of a child's imagination (fits the story).

Total: 89/90

Letter grade: A+

Additional Raven comments, but it's more like me rambling about good storytelling:

Highest score I've ever given.

Can I curse? Am I allowed to curse? 

I'll say the PG version: Holy McJesus on a McDonald's McDouble served with a side of Namtiddies: author, what crack did you put in this story???

The way you capture adulthood in such a miserable light with brief moments of relief is beyond incredible; it's inspiring. The characters are realistic and you feel for them. Even though most people would be frustrated by Taehyung's mannerisms, you can't help but feel for the guy. Every character has nuance and subtext to them, and it's absolutely just-

Bro.

What the heck.

How is this legal???

I'm a huge character person. To me, I can forgive a poor plot, messy worldbuilding, and scrambled themes if the characters are great. This story has amazing, heartfelt characters that I became invested in despite the story not being too long. I know for a fact I will continue to read this story, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

I wonder if you've added anything new since I judged... I should check!

I can really ramble on about this story all day. Thank you.

I'm limiting myself because this chapter is already almost 2k words long lmao.

Author, I apologize in advance. The in-depth review I'm gonna do for this story is gonna be longer than the analytical essay I did on Masque of the Red Death by EAP for my upper-level, college-level English class last semester 💀💀💀

Honorable Mentions:

My favorite concept... Blood and Ash by SummerCharlton - Score: A or 79/90

- Comments: The opening was super engaging and Namjoon's character hooked me in right away. Your description, particularly in the first chapter, sets the tone of the narrative and has such gritty detail that I, someone who doesn't get squeamish easily, went 'ewww' when I read it (and I mean that in the best way possible).

Most interesting protagonist... Switched by RavenAkemi (for character: Nara) - Score: B+ or 75/90

- Comments: Nara impressed me the most as I feel she has an intriguing motivation and an interesting speaking style. While I enjoy the other characters in the narrative very much, I'm most excited to see where Nara goes.

Most interesting writing style... Wish by Cool_Summer29 - Score: B+ or 71.5/90

- Comments: Out of the 15 stories I read, this author has the most intriguing writing style I've seen. It's different, but not in a bad way. The quickness of the writing style mixed with interesting descriptions makes for an engaging read.

My favorite cover... Lethal Love by evnshyy - Score: B+ or 74.5/90

- Comments: In my notes, I put in all caps: "COVER IS GORGEOUS." I think I liked the cover 💀 It's simple yet elegant and sets the tone for the story that awaits the reader. I love the picture used, the font used, and the coloring.

All honorable mentions will get a follow 💜

Thank you to everyone who participated. If you are not on this list, please do not get discouraged. Please talk to me and I will help you! We're buddies now, okay? Once you Jimin, you can't Jimout. Talk to me whenever you need something, even if it's not writing-related.

The Taehyung Showdown will be out in late July. I already began drafting the rules and prizes.

Prizes for this category will roll out after I am done giving an interview and review to the lovely winner of the Jungkook category. The smaller prizes like the follows, shoutouts, reading lists, etc. will be distributed within 48 hours. Reviews and interviews will take longer.

Thank you again!

Any questions? Put them here!