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2024 Contest Postmortem

This is more of a personal post, where I'll be discussing my impressions on how this contest went and future plans for the Sprite Comic Contest.

Avid followers of this contest will remember that in 2021, when we saw only half the entrants we saw the previous year in 2020, we conducted an exit poll to attempt to address issues people had with the contest so that more entrants would be able to participate. Despite complications and other priorities getting in the way, I was able to run the contest again this year and make good on the things the exit poll promised.

In this regard, at least, I am incredibly grateful to have run the contest as well as I possibly could, and my gratitude towards our entrants holds true. However, the fact remains: despite these efforts, scores of users dropped out during the submission period, and we had even fewer entrants than the 2021 contest, going down from six to four.

There are many factors that contribute to our decreasing turnouts, but one of the two most important ones is just that…people in the UTDR fandom don't seem to be interested in the sprite comic as a storytelling medium anymore. Many of the old blood who were around when the tradition started no longer have the time to devote to it, and newer would-be contenders are more interested in other mediums like hand-drawn comics or sprite animations.

Perhaps the humble sprite comic has served its purpose in this fanbase. Perhaps it would be wiser of me to simply accept that, regardless of my personal passion for the medium.

But, then again, when have I ever been wise?

After all, I think the other big reason attendance was low is because people weren't ready for the sprite comic contest to suddenly come back. Despite my efforts to spread the news as far as I'm personally able to, there were demonstrably people who were unaware of the contest's existence until it was too late (Most exemplified by FutureGamer25).

Next year will be Undertale's 10th anniversary. We might even have the next part of Deltarune to build off of by then. Will any of that excitement reach this contest? I wish I knew. What I do know is that I have to run this contest one more time, if for no other reason than giving the people who wanted to submit this year but couldn't one more shot.

We'll be back next year, running our same main contest at the same time. In the meantime, unlike previous off-seasons, our Discord server will remain open so anyone can join in, ask questions and provide feedback on how to make this next contest the best it can be.

"…Wait. Main contest?" How astute of you, FAQ sock-puppet. There will be more than just sprite comics to make next year.

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2025 Judge Application Form

Last year, I employed an application form in order to select judges to assist me in the comic rating process. While the judges chosen this year have served me quite well, they have expressed they would rather be entrants than judges in next year's contest, and there's a new character design contest sideshow that will need its own set of judges besides.

(Oh yeah, I guess I haven't announced that yet here, huh? Well, full details pending, but hopefully it'll be a decent alternative to people who wish to participate but can't dedicate the amount of time making a sprite comic requires.)

Anyway, to that end, I'm taking this judge application form even more public this year, hoping to cast as wide a net as possible so we can get the judges we need for next year's contests. Please spread this around to anyone you think might be interested!

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🚨🇵🇸🍉 After collecting an amount of 4,038 euros out of 20,000 through GovendMe, this link will be stopped for special reasons and donations will be received through [ PayPal ] only.

Thank you for your understanding, friends

A brief part of your story 🍉🇵🇸 ⤵️

A Father’s Cry for Help: Save My Daughter’s Future

My name is Ahmed, a teacher from Gaza. I lost my son, Tamim

And now my daughter Najah, just one year and three months old, is trapped with her mother in northern Gaza, suffering from hunger, fear, and homelessness😭 We are separated by war, and I haven’t seen her take her first steps or hear her laugh. Every day without her breaks my heart 💔

Tamim above and Najah below 👇🏻

I’m in southern Gaza, caring for my sick father, my injured brother, and my younger siblings.

I need help to send my daughter food, diapers, and basic necessities—but most of all, I need to get her out of Gaza. I dream of giving her a life free from war, where she can grow up in peace and safety.🙏

Please help me give my daughter the future every child deserves. Every moment counts.

🔴 This is the brother I told you about in my story.

On the morning of October 13th, we woke up to a devastating explosion that shook our neighborhood. As we searched through the rubble for survivors, we heard the faint voice of my younger brother calling from beneath the debris of a nearby house. He was pulled out with partial memory loss and a skull fracture, and every day since, he has endured his pain in silence. The doctors have stressed the urgent need for surgery to remove the shrapnel lodged in his head, but this operation can only be performed abroad.

We humbly ask for your donations to help save my brother’s life and give him the chance to heal. Your generosity can make all the difference.🙏🇵🇸🍉

My campaign was vetted by:

@gaza-evacuation-funds

@gazavetters , my verified number on the list is (#113)

@90-ghost

@nesmamomen

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Hello,

I hope my message finds you well. I am addressing you from the war-torn Gaza, seeking your help to save my family.

We are a 5-member family, living in constant fear amidst raids and bombings, and suffering from the lack of food, drinking water and other essentials. 😞😞

I have never thought I would be asking people for help to leave my hometown, but the safety and survival of my family stand at stakes.💔

Please, donate to my GFM campaign or share my story for the world to see.🙏🙏

✅️Vetted by @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is (#217)✅️

Best wishes,

Ahmad

https://gofund.me/4f615392

BOOST!!! i hope i can help 💚

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Eldritch god possesses man’s eyes, still requires use of his glasses. More at 11

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wanted to try my hand at making show-styled drawings of my gem ocs. i think i did pretty alright!

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Please help me save my mother's life😭

Verified by @90-ghost

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DO NOT IGNORE THIS POST.

Samah ( @samah-h ), verified by Bilal ( @bilal-salah0 ), needs to raise around $4,000 more dollars for the safety of her family. Their home was destroyed; they live in tents. Winter is fast approaching. She and her husband have young children. They need winter clothes, they need food, they need baby formula, they need healthcare. Like everyone, they deserve these things. It is just an accident of fate that most of us are not suffering the way they are. It's literally just a roll of the dice. So if you see this post, reblog and donate.

$6,194 / $10,000

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Greetings from Gaza, 🌍

I’m Waleed, a husband, father, and an electrical engineer living in the midst of the conflict in Gaza. 💔 It’s difficult for me to reach out like this, but the safety of my family is in serious jeopardy, and I have no other choice.

The ongoing war has made life unbearable, and with the situation growing more dangerous by the day, I’ve decided to launch a GoFundMe campaign. 🙏 This campaign aims to raise the funds we need to safely evacuate Gaza and provide my family with the chance to survive. 🛫

Every moment brings new risks, and our chances of survival are slipping away. 😢 I am pleading for your support to help us achieve this life-saving goal. Your donation, no matter how small, could make all the difference. If you cannot contribute financially, you can still help by sharing our story. 📢 Your voice could help us reach more people and spread awareness of our desperate situation.

Vetted by @gazavetters , my number verified on the list is ( #107 )✅

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness, compassion, and support. 💖

Sincerely,

Waleed & Family

https://gofund.me/e85369a1

boosting!!! 💚

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Amidst the Ruins of War and the Pain of Illness: A Mother's Journey to Save Her Son

One morning, the sun rose like any other day… but it wasn’t just another day.

It was Saturday, October 7th, and I woke up early, filled with hope and excitement, ready to head to my new job as a pharmacist — a dream I had long aspired to. I had landed the job just a week before the devastating war broke out. It was 5 a.m., and my responsibilities as both a mother and a pharmacist intertwined. I was preparing breakfast and lunch at the same time, getting clothes ready for my young son, Youssef, who was only 17 months old. We were supposed to go together to the nursery next to my workplace, where I had planned for an ordinary day, filled with work and life.

But fate had something different in store for us.

Suddenly... the missiles rained down.

Everything around us turned into smoke and terror. All the dreams I had painted for myself and my son’s future vanished in that moment. It felt like the world had crumbled around me. I called my manager, apologized for not being able to go to work, and told him I had no choice but to flee. Our home in East Gaza was no longer safe. From the experience of four wars and six escalations, we knew the west was usually safer.

As I hurried to pack up and prepare Youssef for the evacuation, I saw the fear in his little eyes. He looked at me softly, with the innocence of a child who had never known war, and asked, "Mama, what’s that loud sound?" How could I explain to him that it was the sound of destruction? I gently said, "Sweetheart, that’s thunder, the sky is going to rain."

But the truth was, the sky wasn’t going to rain anything but fire.

Youssef, my son, suffers from a chronic illness.

Just four months before this war, doctors discovered that Youssef had grade four esophageal varices, a serious condition. The only treatment was available in Israel. I had been taking him there for treatment with medical and security permits. His next surgery was scheduled for October 29th, but now everything was in turmoil.

We fled to the home of relatives in the west of the strip, trying to adjust to our new reality, gathering food and preparing ourselves for the worst. But the worst was yet to come. One day, on a Thursday, the house next to us was bombed, and the rubble fell on us. I screamed his name, searching for him through the debris. But God was merciful. Youssef emerged safely from the wreckage, and in that moment, I knew I would do anything to protect him.

The next day, came the order to evacuate from the north to the south.

My only thought was: How will I treat Youssef? How will I secure his needs amid this chaos? We fled to the central part of the strip, beginning a new chapter of suffering — finding food, water, gas for cooking. Everything became a battle.

Youssef couldn’t eat normally because of his illness. He survived on boiled eggs and fried potatoes, and I desperately tried to get him to eat some tahini to stimulate his appetite. With every bite he took, I exhaled a sigh of relief, knowing that my strength as a mother wasn’t just about feeding him but keeping him alive in the midst of lethal circumstances.

But time was not on our side.

Weeks passed, and his symptoms began to show again.

On December 17th, Youssef started vomiting blood. My heart jumped out of my chest as I rushed him into my arms and headed to the only central hospital. They did what they could with their limited resources, but they refused to refer him for treatment abroad, claiming his case wasn’t urgent enough. There were cancer patients, children with amputated limbs, and thousands of similar stories, all fighting for the same scarce medical attention.

But I wasn’t going to give up. We submitted the request for a referral and waited for our turn and a chance to travel, but the fear never left me.

Youssef, with his innocent nature, asks me every night, “Mama, when will we go back to our beautiful home?”

How do I answer? Do I tell him that our house no longer exists, just like everything else we lost? I would tell him, "Soon, my love, soon." He would then ask for his favorite green car. I promised him I’d buy him a new one when we found it, but each night he would fall asleep, and the car never came.

As I lived through this daily anxiety, the painful decision arrived.

My husband and I decided to sell everything we owned and borrow what we could so we could travel before the border closed and Rafah was overtaken. Travel was our last hope for Youssef’s treatment, but what we didn’t know was that fate was already reshaping our tragedy.

The border was closed, Rafah was completely destroyed.

The dream of treating my son now seemed unreachable. I watched him grow before my eyes, suffering — not only from his internal bleeding illness but also from the destruction that surrounded us from all sides. Every day, I see the pain growing in his innocent eyes, and I feel an overwhelming sense of helplessness, as a mother, as a pharmacist, as a human being, unable to save him from this nightmare.

I cannot describe the weight of the pain that resides in my heart now; Youssef, who should be playing and laughing, is living every day under the weight of his illness and the fires filling the skies above us. Every night, after his questions about his green car and "when will we go back home?" I try to stay strong, but inside, endless tears of helplessness flow.

I am fighting to keep my son alive, but each day, I see the hope slipping further away…

@rinnie @sweetoothgirl @sar-soor @timetravellingkitty @deathlonging @briarhips @mazzikah @mahoushojo @rhubarbspring @schoolhater @pcktknife @transmutationisms @sawasawako @appsa @irhabiya @commissions4aid-international @wellwaterhysteria @junglejim432 @kibumki @neechees   @kyra45-helping-others @nabulsi @komsomolka @neptunerings @riding-with-the-wild-hunt @heritageposts   @fromjannah @omegaversereloaded @vague-humanoid @evillesbianvillainarchive @ot3 @amygdalae @ankle-beez @dykesbat @stuckinapril @violentrevolution-blog @mavigator @lacecap   @socalgal @chilewithcarnage @ghelgheli @sayruq @papenathys @slicedblackolives @heritagepostsbot @90-ghost @olovelymoon-slow-answers @mangocheesecakes @ibtisams @lamngen

@palestinegenocide

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Hey friends, my campaign has been closed by GoFundMe.Because of their policy against the people of Gaza 💔

So I ask you all to spread my new campaign so that my voice reaches the largest number of supporters.🗣️

I also created a new Tumblr account that you can share or communicate on.👇 @safafamily

Please share and donate to my new campaign, Enough of What You've Lost .

@nabulsi @90-ghost @el-shab-hussein @aria-ashryver @northgazaupdates2 @sar-soor @flower-tea-fairies @palestinegenocide @gazagfmboost @palestine-info-uncensored @heba-20-deactivated20241031 @aces-and-angels @fairycosmos @greenpinkstraw @ibtisams

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it's like he's still here

which stage of grief is buying your dead boyfriend's cologne drinking his favourite drink chainsmoking like he used to and lying down in his jacket he gave to you? all after you shot him point blank ofc

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Lol get hotdogged idiot/overflowing with affection

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Not you defending North Korea 🤡

almost every single shocking story about North Korea you have ever read (if not all of them) was either made up wholesale or sourced from North Korean defectors. these defectors are paid ludicrous sums of money by the South Korean government for their testimony, but that cash flow gets cut off if the defector comes across as even slightly sympathetic to their home country, which obviously leads to stories that make NK look good getting buried and stories that make them look bad getting spread to American media, regardless of how obviously fake they are, since anyone who questions them is obviously a fascist apologist who wants the world to get nuked.

i’m sure you already know this since you know so much about North Korea, but the US bombed almost the entire fucking country off the map and still holds annual military drills with South Korea in preparation to do it again right on the border as an intimidation attempt. if you can be cognizant of both of these facts and still take stories about officials being fed to 120 starving dogs at face value, you might be a fucking idiot

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hello star trek

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Please Don't Skip 🍉 !!

Hello everyone

My name is Ali from Gaza 🇵🇸,

a place that has seen unimaginable suffering. In a matter of moments, everything I had was taken away. My home, which held all my memories, dreams, and moments of joy, was reduced to rubble in the recent war. I no longer have a place to call home, and the security I once knew is gone. Every day is a struggle—no electricity, no clean water, and a constant sense of fear and uncertainty.

I have lost not just my home, but also my sense of normalcy. The nights are filled with the sounds of war, and the days are spent trying to survive. I never thought I would find myself in this position, where basic human needs are a luxury. But here I am, reaching out to you in one of the most difficult moments of my life.

I am not alone in this. So many of us here in Gaza are trying to pick up the pieces of our shattered lives. Your help means more than just financial support—it’s a message of hope. It’s a reminder that we are not forgotten. Every donation brings us closer to rebuilding not just our homes, but our lives and our future.

Please, stand with us in this dark time. Your kindness can light the way for those of us who are desperately searching for hope. Thank you for your generosity and for giving us a chance to rebuild and recover from this devastation."

Please make a donation your donation makes a huge difference

You can save a life !!

100$ ≈ 1000 kr !!

donating via this link:

Thank You 🤍🙏