Fan of the Week: Barsoom

[Midnite Duke]

I wish to thank @alscon for making me the most undeserving fan of the week of all time. I have left fewer than 20 comments and have only read two CK2 aar's. The two being @Bullfilter's wonderful guide to play CK2 while telling the tale of the Rurikids and @JabberJock14's historical novel of the D'Anjou family (it should be on a best seller list). My current goal is to leave a "like" on every comment and a comment to every author's tale when I am caught up (I have read over 3200 posts of the D'Anjous and I am still over 4 months behind). I wish to apologize to the EU4 writers that I read but never left a comment and many that I did not even hit the like button. My advice to fellow lurkers and new players: DO NOT BE AFRAID. The parade is more fun if you are participating (commenting and liking) than just standing on the sidewalk. Do not be afraid to follow the game and use some sub-optimal gameplay choices. (I use random realm finder to give me a more varied experience and CKharmony to pick 99% of my marriages.) The comments are almost as important to an AAR as the actual story.
My nominee for fan of the week is the person who moved this old dinosaur from lurking on the sidewalk to commenting. The process began with the author thanking me for leaving a like. Imagine that! That person is: @Bullfilter.
I hope that I have not broken any rules with this post. Thank you for reading. If I failed to correctly nominate @Bullfilter, can someone please fix for me.

 

[Bullfilter]

Both the nomination and the comments are very generous of you @Midnite Duke and I really thank you for them. I checked and I last got this on 1 January this year, so the informal 'six month rule' between nominations has been complied with, thus I don't feel compelled to offer it back to another nominee and therefore graciously accept it. This is a very special award as it honours those who support others on this forum, which is what it is all about.

And I really agree with what you have said about participation - 100%. I think we all start as lurkers, whether for a short or a long time. But being part of it all really enriches your experience, plus comments or simple 'likes' to show people appreciate what our fantastic writAARs do. Anyone who writes here will tell you how important it is to them to have that visible support.

Thanks once again, @Midnite Duke

 

[Nikolai]

Congratulations @Bullfilter ! And @Midnite Duke , that was a good speech!

 

[diskoerekto]

congrats for this great award, my dear friend @Bullfilter it's greatly deserved!

 

[alscon]

Congratulations .

 

[Idhrendur]

Congratulations!

 

[DensleyBlair]

Congratulations @Bullfilter! And many thanks to @Midnite Duke for an excellent speech.

 

[Cromwell]

Well done to @Midnite Duke and to @Bullfilter both great choices.

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

Ah, an excellent choice. Well done indeed.

 

[stnylan]

Many congratulations my friend.

 

[HistoryDude]

Congrats @Bullfilter and @Midnite Duke

 

[JSB217118]

Congratulations to @Bullfilter and @Midnite Duke. Thank you for liking all of my comments.

 

[Specialist290]

My advice to fellow lurkers and new players: DO NOT BE AFRAID. The parade is more fun if you are participating (commenting and liking) than just standing on the sidewalk. Do not be afraid to follow the game and use some sub-optimal gameplay choices. (I use random realm finder to give me a more varied experience and CKharmony to pick 99% of my marriages.) The comments are almost as important to an AAR as the actual story.

Absolutely agree with this. The opportunity to comment on an AAR as it's being written and hold engaging discussions in "real time" with the author and other fans is something I've always seen as one of the strong points of this community

And congrats @Bullfilter!

 

[JSB217118]

I have not heard of an AARuthor who hasn't been encouraged by comments.

 

[El Pip]

It remains sickening that @Bullfilter has the time to both write half a dozen excellent AARs simultaneously and be so active and thoughtful in his commenting to utterly deserve this award.

So, through gritted teeth, congratulations @Bullfilter ( )

 

[JabberJock14]

Congrats to both @Midnite Duke and @Bullfilter . Given how much I look forward to your commentary, I have to agree with these nominations! And Midnite Duke, I appreciate you leaving the loves on the posts you're reading! It let me know you were working your way through it (and also, when you comment, gives me a good idea of what I can and cannot say in response as not to spoil!)

 

[The Number 9]

Congratulations @Bullfilter !

 

[Nikolai]

To all fellow fans, if I may: Please vote in the ACAs - running now!

 

[Bullfilter]

First, I'll provide a semi-traditional Fan of the Week list of some AARs I'm reading at the moment. This time, I'm taking a 'sample' approach: that is, AARs on my current watch list that posted a chapter update in the last week. This is to give a few shouts out to AARs that are currently active during the 'northern holiday period', where the forum tends to slow down a little.

So, it's simple (just AAR name and author, no additional commentary), by game category (I'm only active in certain niches) and in the order they appear on my watch list, working backwards from today to last Sunday 5 July.

CK2
Before Plantagenet – A House d’Anjou AAR by @JabberJock14
Lancaster: The King in the North by @TheButterflyComposer
A Tale as Old as Time: Book I - House Hayyid of Mallorca by @ibicko
Road of Queens - CKII India AAR by @Eurasia
Give 'Em the Ol' Basel Razzle-Dazzle - A Habsburg AAR by @Green Rice

HOI3
'Odin' and Stalin's Secret Committee by @roverS3

HOI4
The Thorn of the Rose by @stnylan
Rise of Eagles - A Dream of White Russian Victory Mod AAR by @Henry v. Keiper
A Royal Prerogative - A UK AAR by @Le Jones

Vicky2
Echoes of A New Tomorrow: Life after Revolution in the Commonwealth of Britain by @DensleyBlair

EU4
Here Dwells God - A Jewish Poland AAR, Part Two by @Tommy4ever

I am reading and enjoy others, but this is just a 'list of the last week', so there it is.

Also, what @Nikolai said:

To all fellow fans, if I may: Please vote in the ACAs - running now!

(I promise I will put my own vote in soon, too )

Now, to a new Fan of the Week. For me, it's got to be someone who has been actively commenting in the last week and who hasn't received the award within the last six months, and (selfishly perhaps, but <shrugs> it's who I'm familiar with) perhaps someone who has also commented on one of my AARs recently (and preferably others I also watch).

So ‘recently awarded’ knocks out a bunch of my favourite commentAARs (eg shouts out to @TheButterflyComposer, @El Pip, @diskoerekto, @Wraith11B, @Le Jones, @roverS3, @nuclearslurpee, @Midnite Duke, @alscon, @Cromwell). Thanks also to everyone else who comments on my various works - it's super appreciated.

Now, this list of recent winners might make things difficult for me, but right up at the top of my list was someone who comments not only on all four of my own AARs but just about everyone else's. And who (almost unbelievably) has not received this award since winning it for the 14th time on 19 May last year. @stnylan, my very good friend, please put a 15th notch on your belt as the Fan of the Week. Congratulations.

 

[Nikolai]

The Eternal Fan. Of the Week, of the Month, of the Year, of the Decade. The one and only @stnylan ! Congratulations my friend!