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Season VII
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Snawl
TASK 10 - A (sur)Real Pain in the Ass
Week Ten
Task
Final five, come on in and brace yourselves for a task I've been looking forward to so much, that it was actually one of the founding reasons why I even hosted a 7th season! If there is any week to "make me proud", it's this one.
Like Week 4, you will be designing an outfit based on a prompt in the form of a video. But where this gets weird is that this is a ten minute video, divided into three distinct sections.
For this task, you are designing two outfits instead of one. You must watch the video, and choose which 2/3 sections you will use to inspire your outfits. Unlike Week 4, your outfits cannot be vague or ambiguous. I want to see obvious textural and tonal references to the video. I will not accept anything along the lines of "It reminds me of a tree, so I made a hiking outfit!"
Tl;Dr - Watch the video, and design two outfits based on different points in the video.
Solipsist by Andrew Huang
Part 1 - Moss
0:18 to 2:45
Part 2 - Beacon
2:52 to 5:47
Part 3 - Indent
6:00 to 7:33
The due date for this task is Thursday, August 6th.
Menu
Panel
Hello my final five, and welcome to your tenth panel of Season 7. In an effort to speed this game up (because I've clearly failed my goal of having this season finished by August), I have decided to do one final surprise double elimination, which puts the three survivors of this task into the final 3 to work on their collections! This was a very important task which tested more than simple creativity, but fundamental patterns of creativity, as well as approach to impromptu tasks. While these eliminations may be shocking, I am genuinely convinced the three survivors of this task are the three most talented designers of this season, according to their individual performances, and I couldn't be happier with the results.
I've been doing really well financially lately (aka I'm on a hot streak in the casinos), and I cannot stomach the idea of anybody in my final 3 walking away empty-handed. So I am pleased to announce that I am upping the ante for this season's prizes! The winner will still receive their 300 coins, but first runner-up's prize has been increased from 100 to 150, and second runner-up has been increased from zero to 75! Don't thank me, thank yourselves, because you deserve it.
Now it's time to get to the most difficult panel I've had to make in this season...
zechariah
Moss
Indent
MOSS: I adore this outfit greatly. It is the best thing you've submitted since your magnum opus of Week 3. The way in which you captured the chaotic earthy energy of this part of the video with such a restricted colour palette is nothing short of amazing. It is avant garde in design; no ridiculous headpiece or horrid palette, but instead an artistic endeavour tackled with blueprints of what a fashion statement should look like. The way in which the leafs on your back are commemorated in the shirt is something so edgy & obvious that it would go untouched by so many other designers, and for good reason. But here, it is boundary-pushing and satisfying as all hell to stare at. Magnificent work on this one, Zechariah.
INDENT: While not as impactful as your Moss submission, this outfit is formidable regardless. My biggest issue is the skull area going largely unused, and the excess white adds a little too much negative space I would've rather seen dedicated to colour. But everything else from the neck, down: quite gorgeous. I know I've grilled you for using side poses, but this one is a really ingenious way to reduce colours to thin lines, much like the cascading sand in the video. I am quite happy with this, and I am relieved to finally see you putting my criticisms into practice. Thank you.
ZECHARIAH'S SUMMARY: I was a bit disturbed at how shook you were over this video, and how you seemed ... almost offended by it? If that's the case then I apologize for subjecting you to an uncomfortable experience, but I'd be lying if I said I regretted it. Your performance this week was an out-of-the-field near masterpiece which nobody saw coming. I cannot express how proud I am of you, and how happy I am to give you a spot in my final 3. Your journey through this season has been disorderly, tough, and sometimes painful, but we can all agree that it was worth it. Regardless of what happens in the upcoming finale, I can confidently say that you are a better designer today than when you entered this competition. I've grilled you harder than anyone else this season, and in retrospect I may've even crossed the line as a host (most notably in the chroma-tography week when I literally said I wanted to eliminate you - sorry for that), but I want you to know that my harsh comments came from a place of believing in you. I believed in your abilities to bounce back, and you did not disappoint, so in the end I regret nothing.
I wish you good luck in the finale.
filip
Beacon
Moss
MOSS: I never would have recommended doing a modern, power-dressing rendition in this task, and while I am fascinated by this outfit, I can't confidently say it was a great choice. On the positive, this outfit comes together flawlessly. The brown shows, the bejeweled dress, the muddy mosaic of colours on the upper bodice which I'm still not entirely sure how you achieved = Mwah! *chef's kiss*. However this was a task where one could really "get giddy" with silhouettes, furs, accessories, and essentially get away with designing something they otherwise could never design. Did you grab this task by the horns and hone in on its potential to the fullest? Not at all... but I do really enjoy this outfit for what it is.
BEACON: This is a very strong outfit: easily my favourite of the two, and a much better offering of what this task was capable of conveying. While we can all agree the norm skirt + jagged belt is a common pairing, I am still in awe over your use of it. Your lower colours & textures are a picturesque allusion to a sporadic, complicated part of the video, and the addition of fur along your arm holes is the catalyst that holds this outfit together as a unified piece. The bountiful black is dominating, but not obnoxious. You could have used a more interesting neck accessory as well as something above the neck to further convey feathery, furry details, but nevertheless I am very satisfied with how you handled my personal favourite section of this video. Bravo, Filip.
FILIP'S SUMMARY: To say you were a front-runner in this season would be like saying Helen Keller maybe had a slight hearing problem. You obliterated your competition week by week, and deftly handled every task I put in front of you, regardless of how ludicrous some of them were. You have not only the best Snawlterm track record, but the most impressive track record of any contestant in a PR longterm, ever - yes, even better than Arber's 4-task win streak in CorpeTerm. Sending you home pre-finale would be heart-wrenching, but luckily I don't have to do that, because you delivered near perfection again this week with your Beacon outfit. Regardless of what happens in the finale, nobody can take away the records you have shattered in my Season 7. Your annihilation of this season got so out of control, that I frequently found myself questioning whether or not casting you was contestant neglect on my part as a host, and how maybe I should've rejected you entirely and picked you up as an occasional guest judge or something. Your week 5 coroner table outfit is, as it stands, my favourite outfit of Season 5, and frankly I don't expect anything submitted in the finale to top it.
However, despite the abundance of praise I just hurled your way, do not think for a second that this finale is "in the bag" for you. Everybody knows I don't give half a shit about history, especially pertaining to the finale. Your two fellow competitors may not have the flawless record you have, but they're just as talented, just as hungry, and if you let your guard down, they will kick your ass. So good luck, Filip, and may the best designer win.
jenna
Indent
Beacon
BEACON: This is your strongest outfit to date, and one of my favourites of the entire season. I love that you picked a very simple, on-the-nose colour palette and splashed it across your outfit unapologetically. The tiara and the Indian jewels are the perfect synthetic touches that tie this outfit into the video. This outfit showcases your brilliance, resourcefulness, and commitment as a designer. You even went the extra mile with a fur hood? My goodness, what a masterpiece this is. I have nothing else to say that isn't redundant lip service, so I'm going to move on. Phenomenal work on this one, Jenna!
INDENT: This outfit captures the sinking sand quite well. It gets messy, unpredictable, and almost "ruined", just like in the video. Admittedly, people have been using that apron with the chest straps in backwards poses for a while now, but I can't necessarily admonish you for using it when you've done it better than the rest of them. The dollops of colour that seem random throughout this outfit - the orange on the shoes, the purple up top, the violet on the bee icon - all come together to evoke the messy illusion that the body of the outfit is caving in, just like the video. The only thing I would change about this outfit would be to replace the white with a sandy creme colour to evoke sand better. Besides that, I am really taken aback by this beautiful creation.
JENNA'S SUMMARY: You were the true underdog of this season. My mental process of casting you was something like, "I remember seeing her play PR years ago. She was good... I think?" Not only have you blown me away multiple times in this LT, but your creations in both MajesusTerm and various shortterms since casting you has affirmed in my mind that you are a long-lost talent, but you're back and I sincerely hope you're here to stay. For you to be absent in the scene, then come back and adapt to new principles, techniques, expectations, and trends so quickly is mind-boggling to me, and it makes me green with jealousy. P.s. I applaud you for avoiding Moss, which is the easiest of the 3.
Regardless of what happens in this finale, you are the final Rookie of the 11 I cast, and you've also outlasted three very talented black jacket redemptionists. You have everything to be proud of. Good luck in your first ever finale, Jenna!
amina
Beacon
Moss
MOSS: I look at this outfit and I am immediately reminded of Kaytie's Week 1 outfit from Season 6 - an outfit done before and much better. As someone who is extremely busy with real life, I of course can't expect you to be in tune with every outfit ever made, nor can I expect you to know that posing sideways with the chest straps is extremely over-done... but I also can't hold certain designers up to different standards either. I'm just not impressed with this layout at all. But where your layout falls flat, you succeed tremendously with colour. If this outfit had a bit more loose, unruly synthetic materials, this very well could've been a winning outfit. Close, but no cigar.
BEACON: I'm going to apologize in advance if I come off as rude or upset over this one, but this is my least favourite outfit of the entire week. While I do enjoy the fabrics you chose and how the overall silhouette is far more intriguing than your other submission, the colour palette is extremely uninspiring and doesn't use the source material at all. This level of unnoticeable, unremarkable outfits is not expected at the final five, but least of all from a designer as powerful as you. Is this Amina at her best? Hell no.
AMINA'S SUMMARY: I cast you in Season 7 with the expectation that you were going to dominate the competition, and you did exactly that for a large portion of this game. Once again, you've proven yourself to be an incredibly reliable designer who is able to churn out creative projects week after week. However, given your extremely hectic real life, I knew you were walking a tight-rope that was getting narrower with every passing week. Every week I counted my blessings that you were still here, still finding time to submit an outfit. You were (almost) never late, you always had a great attitude, and you never failed to make me feel appreciated for what I do as a host.
My heart broke on Friday when I logged on and found out you wanted to resubmit your Beacon outfit. I wanted to let you resubmit it so badly, because I know you submitted it in a fit of frustration... but I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to bend the rules for my favourite contestant. That's right, you were my favourite of this season. As hosts we're not supposed to even have favourites, but you were mine. Winning a PR longterm is the equivalent of winning an Oscar for Habbo designers, and I want nothing more than to give you a much-deserved Oscar before you inevitably disappear from Habbo. But after this week's performance, I simply cannot. If I was a lesser host who had no moral qualms with rigging, I'd shove you through, but I'm not so I can't. But what I can do is tout your talents for years to come, and once again, shower you in endless gratitude for choosing Snawlterm to showcase your undeniable creative talents. Thank you, Amina. Designers like you make these games worth hosting. I will never forget you.
peter
Moss
Beacon
MOSS: This outfit certainly has a cute charm to it. The vine in your hair is a bit silly, and I find the panda face to be a poorly thought-out decision. However, as a structure, this outfit holds up pretty well. I love the straps and suspenders replicating the rope effect in the video. The furry backpack creating the back sprouting effect is genius! Even the make-up was a cool nod to the video. My biggest worry is that this outfit is a bit too over-reliant on the novelty of the new clothes. And as expected, I would've loved to see a lot more inclusion of colour from the video in this outfit. Overall not bad, but I expected a bit more.
BEACON: This outfit stands strong on it's own. A very interesting textural continuation from top to bottom. However the palette falls apart for me when compared to the source material. I find this to be far too bright and off-base with what the video was blatantly conveying. You then proceeded to shoot yourself in the feet when you explained the outfit to me, saying your main inspiration was simply water. You literally did what I asked you not to do in the task's briefings - I didn't want you to latch onto one item or idea in the video and base your entire outfit around it. If I wanted a water outfit I wouldn't have made this an impromptu task. There are essences of this error in your other outfit too, with the "Panda face equals nature" reasoning. From my perspective, you seem to have restricted yourself too much this week and refused to let yourself be inspired by anything in the video.
PETER'S SUMMARY: Peter, listen... You have done phenomenally well in this game. You outlasted 11 designers, and everyone's expectations. You proved everyone wrong, even me. When I cast you, I didn't think I was casting a black jacket holder, but here you are in the final five. Your journey through this game has been very rocky - not only in terms of your performances but also with your relationships with the fellow contestants. And while everyone is entitled to their opinions, only a dishonest person would still call you a "bad designer" after everything you've achieved in this game. You ARE a good designer, Peter. And what is even more impressive is that PR isn't even your game, RPDR is. So if this is what you're capable of in this field, I can only imagine how much of a powerhouse you are in the other one.
It has been made obvious from the critiques that you will not be advancing to the final 3. Hopefully, despite everything said & done, you can walk away from this longterm with positive experiences, a new appreciation for PR, and a new hunger to share your innovative designs. Even people who you think hate you came to me and admitted they liked a lot of your outfits. So Peter, before I bid you farewell, I want to thank you for taking another chance on me & my hosting. Thank you for staying true to your RPDR aesthetic while also pandering to a more editorial PR style for me. Thank you for continuously trying your best in every given week, regardless of the challenges you faced. From where I stand, you are an ideal contestant. Dedicated, passionate, enthusiastic, resilient, and eager. I am forever appreciative of you.