Liberty Gala Event: DefenderVision 2021 - Official Results!

[Tim-Opolis]

Post Title: We Didn't Break The Server
Name of Candidate: Ikania (on behalf of the Spear Danes)
Inspiration/Description of entry: A parody of Billy Joey's "We Didn't Start the Fire", accounting for 19 years of NationStates Gameplay history.
Entry: Song and lyrics.
Why should you win?!: I took a lot of efforts to bring this song into being, consulting every NS elder I knew for the history that went into it I'm very proud of it.
Do you want this song to be flagged as non-competing (e.g. will not be judged as a part of the competition): Competing, please

This was fucking amazing omg

[All Wild Things]

Wow.
I was loving Phoenix's vocals, and was thinking it was the winning entry. Then I heard Ikania.
How do you choose between them?
Showing my age, but it's like hearing Art Garfunkel's solo stuff vs Paul Simon solo stuff. One has the singing, the other has the song.
Simon and Garfunkel were better together. I think we need a Phoenix / Ikania collaboration. (Sorry Miravana!)
Awesome entries. Well done.

[Ikania]

Wow.
I was loving Phoenix's vocals, and was thinking it was the winning entry. Then I heard Ikania.
How do you choose between them?
Showing my age, but it's like hearing Art Garfunkel's solo stuff vs Paul Simon solo stuff. One has the singing, the other has the song.
Simon and Garfunkel were better together. I think we need a Phoenix / Ikania collaboration. (Sorry Miravana!)
Awesome entries. Well done.

We got the beat we got the beat! I like to think I can play guitar as well as Bob Dylan. And sing as well as him too

Post Title: We Didn't Break The Server
Name of Candidate: Ikania (on behalf of the Spear Danes)
Inspiration/Description of entry: A parody of Billy Joey's "We Didn't Start the Fire", accounting for 19 years of NationStates Gameplay history.
Entry: Song and lyrics.
Why should you win?!: I took a lot of efforts to bring this song into being, consulting every NS elder I knew for the history that went into it I'm very proud of it.
Do you want this song to be flagged as non-competing (e.g. will not be judged as a part of the competition): Competing, please

*standing applause*

Thanks to Reppy for naming the song

[Frenchy II]

Post Title: Lily's Entry

Name of Candidate: Frenchy
Inspiration/Description of entry: wiwy waida
Entry: (link to video, song or posting of lyrics) https://youtu.be/SQFvhV63fLk
Why should you win?! - im based

Do you want this song to be flagged as non-competing (e.g. will not be judged as a part of the competition) Choosing this is only advisable if your region has already submitted a song. i compete

[Matthew the Man]

Post Title: Come Out Ye Black Hawk Clan

Name of Candidate: Matthew
Inspiration/Description of entry: I saw Karp post the title originally so I reached out to see if he would do it, he wasn't so I decided to do it
Entry:
I started NS in 2018,
Refounded in ‘20 as a Lazarene

Then I joined the Grey Wardens cus the game was boring
So at night around update,
no matter whats the date
I end up typing .here (dot here) down in #staging

Come out ye Black Hawk clan
Come out, try to raid like you’d planned
Show the noobs how you’re the most feared org in the site
Tell em how Libcord tonight
Stomped you out in an easy fight
And wrote the most baity gloatpost you ever saw

Come let us hear you tell
How you raid regions so well
When you haven’t won in months
Where are your smug, gloatings jeers
That you typed throughout the year
When our deathstack didn’t let you get a hit once

Come out ye Black Hawk clan
Come out, try to raid like you’d planned
Show the noobs how you’re the most feared org in the site
Tell em how Libcord tonight
Stomped you out in an easy fight
And wrote the most baity gloatpost you ever saw

Come tell us how you raided
these regions, desecrated.
Even though these victories were in 2016 (twenty sixteen)
How are you the most feared org,
When incompetence is hailed as LORD?

Come out ye Black Hawk clan
Come out, try to raid like you’d planned
Show the noobs how you’re the most feared org in the site
Tell em how Libcord tonight
Stomped you out in an easy fight
And wrote the most baity gloatpost you ever saw

Update is coming fast
And the time will come at last
When us fendas will show up to shutdown a raid.
And when there is a need
We fendas will proceed
To make these raiders wish they had never played

Why should you win?! Because it makes fun of the hawks AND also is a parody of an IRA classic.

Do you want this song to be flagged as non-competing (e.g. will not be judged as a part of the competition) Choosing this is only advisable if your region has already submitted a song. No

[The Liberty Gala]

Name of Candidate: Goobergunchia II
Inspiration/Description of entry: This was originally a Rejectvision entry but I figured I might as well submit it to a song competition that is actually NS-themed.
Entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M7Q4_GytDY
Why should you win?! Because otherwise I might actually have to go coup something.

Do you want this song to be flagged as non-competing (e.g. will not be judged as a part of the competition) Choosing this is only advisable if your region has already submitted a song. No. If necessary, note that this is being submitted from my Nasicournian nation.

[The Liberty Gala]

Name of Candidate: Liberdon
Inspiration/Description of entry: Wischland’s delegacy and trying to get nations to endorse her
Entry: (to the tune of Shut Up and Dance)

[chorus]
Oh, don’t you dare forget
Our safety rests on her
I say you can’t forget
Just shut up and endorse Wischland
The best delegate in history
I say quit arguing
Shut up and endorse Wischland

[Verse 1]
Once those raiders came along
Every nation knew what to do
Scrolled down to her page and clicked endorse
Oh, those raiders never had a chance
Never had any chance!
Click the button
It is as simple as that
We celebrate, and I say

[chorus]

[Verse 2]
World Assembly votes and security
I only wisch she had more endorsements
So I post and repost and remind some more
I know those raiders never had a chance
Never had any chance!
Click the button
It is as simple as that
We celebrate, and I say

[chorus]

[Verse 3]
Don’t be lazy
You are so close
This’ll defend our region
Move your mouse, just one final step
Click the button
It is as simple as that
We celebrate, and I say

Oh, don’t you dare forget
Our safety rests on her
I say you can’t forget
Just shut up and endorse Wischland
The best delegate in history
I say quit arguing
Shut up and endorse

[chorus]

Oh oh oh shut up and endorse Wischland
Oh oh oh shut up and endorse Wischland

Why should you win?! Because, as the song states, Wischland is the best delegate ever!

Do you want this song to be flagged as non-competing (e.g. will not be judged as a part of the competition) Choosing this is only advisable if your region has already submitted a song. No. Btw, I didn’t want to go over the character limit, so the [chorus] indicates the chorus verse, which is the first section of the song marked [chorus]

[The Liberty Gala]

Name of Candidate: walrus & queb - lyrics, bob - vocals
Inspiration/Description of entry: Closing Time is a song about hating people and we hate each and everyone one of you
Entry: lyrics - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gV6VJ3dql5pYcsOtY6BxlcvqWKmEnnsZhRRL0iT1oO8/edit?usp=sharing
audio - https://soundcloud.com/matthew-from-ns/coping-time?si=f83b4d914551473a8163826bd9298b70
Why should you win?! We're kings lol, cope harder.

Do you want this song to be flagged as non-competing (e.g. will not be judged as a part of the competition) Choosing this is only advisable if your region has already submitted a song. Competing

[The Liberty Gala]

With a slight extension for technical difficulties, that closes our submission period and voting will begin! We've also opened a public poll in the Liberty Gala server to pick out the public favorite submission for this year

[Refuge Isle]

Post Title: A BC RO

Name of Candidate: Refuge Isle
Inspiration/Description of entry: A historical recollection of The West Pacific being reduced in size by half during the great marsupial purge of late 2021.
To the tune of: Smooth Criminal. Particularly the good version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00ce5qjAV_w

[Album Art]

---

[eloquent cello intro]

As he came into the RO. It was the sound of. A crescendo.

Ah

She came into his department. With some blood stains. On the carpet.

Ah

"Can you make the region stable?" He could see she. Wasn't able.

Mn

So he ran into the ban room. She was struck down. It was her doom.

Gio are you okay?
(So Gio are you okay)

Are you okay, Gio?

Gio are you okay?
(So Gio are you okay)

Are you okay, Gio?

Gio are you okay?
(So Gio are you okay)

Are you okay, Gio?

Gio are you okay?
(So Gio are you okay) -- Are you okay, Gio!

Gio are you okay? Would you tell us. That you're okay

Ah

If they're missing an endo. Are they kicked out. Of the window, Gio?!

She came into your department. There was a bloodstain. On the carpet.

Ah

Then you ran into the ban room. She was struck down. It was her doom.

Gio are you okay?
(So Gio are you okay)

Are you okay, Gio?

Gio are you okay?
(So Gio are you okay)

Are you okay, Gio?

Gio are you okay?
(So Gio are you okay)

You've been hit by. You've been stuck by. A BC RO.

[The cello plays for an additional three days]

Do you want this song to be flagged as non-competing: Yes, it is long past due for valid entries, but sometimes you just have a shitpost in your heart~

[The Liberty Gala]

Results

Having closed voting and counted the ballots, the results for DefenderVision 2021 are officially here!

Thank you to all of our wonderful attendees, contestants, and voters for putting your time into this event and making it an incredibly fun experience. Events like DefenderVision are a rare opportunity to flex hidden talents not normally used in NS, and it's safe to say we saw plenty of talent this year alongside diversity in the range of submissions. There were several entries worked on weeks in advance in a labor of artistic creativity and while others are a result of last-minute lightning inspiration for the perfect song made with friends. Ultimately, DefenderVision saw 14 entries total by the end of the submission period.

Voting representatives were collected from regions throughout gameplay and cast their ballots alongside ballots from the contestants to give the following final results of DefenderVision:

The third place finisher was a creation of last-minute inspiration scrambled together in the final few hours of DefenderVision submissions to sing about everyone's least favorite gameplay word: cope. Based on the song "Closing Time", creators Minskiev, Quebecshire, and Bobberino pulled together an audio rendition of their creative lyrics about coping, flaming, and gameplay salt. "Coping Time" by Minskiev, Quebecshire, and Bob took the third place Quarter Note Award with 118 points.

Second place was won by a slim 6 point margin in a wistful Queen reflection about finding the perfect raid target and the challenges of picking raids. Based on "Somebody to Love", Miravana and Phoenix did an audio and lyrical submission with lovely lead vocals lamenting the criticism, difficulty, and unrecognized effort that goes into finding someone to raid. "Somebody to Raid" by Miravana and Phoenix took the second place Half Note Award with 124 points.

First place was won in an uncontested landslide to absolutely no one's surprise because gameplay is a sucker for history. Ikania put together a detailed and hilarious summary of gameplay history reminding us of how much changes and how little we learn in audio and lyrical form based on "We Didn't Start the Fire". "We Didn't Break the Server" by Ikania took the first place Whole Note Award with 222 points.

"We Didn't Break the Server" by Ikania also stole the Crowd Favorite award by a landslide in people's choice voting done separately from formal judging.

The full ranking of submissions was as follows:

"We Didn't Break the Server" by Ikania - 222 points
"Somebody to Raid" by Miravana/Phoenix - 124 points
"Coping Time" by Minskiev/Quebecshire/Bobberino - 118 points
"Come Out Ye Black Hawk Clan" by Matthew - 76 points
"Wiwy Waida" by Frenchy - 76 points
"One Coup Glory" by Goobergunchia - 56 points
"In Lieu of a Homebody" by Balder - 44 points
"Shut up and Endorse (Wischland) by Liberdon - 44 points
"Gotta Click Fast" by Sylh Alanor - 18 points
"James Monroe" by Sincluda - 18 points
"South China Sea" by Venatrix - 4 points
"Algerstonia's Entry" by Algerstonia - 0 points
"Apatosaurus' Entry" by Apatosaurus - 0 points
"Honeydewstania's Entry" by Honeydewstania - 0 points

Thank you to everyone who put themselves out there to submit and for everyone's collective creative work! This was an amazing event to host and would not have been so without all of your hard work and enthusiasm. In keeping with tradition, we will be offering a host position to the winner/winner's region which will be discussed privately with Ikania for DefenderVision return in 2022.