Heh, apparently I forgot I have a pet peeve of the protagonist being too "Like me!" Kinda got me in the mindset of dissecting the ending like it was a biology lab

Personally, I like the Prince's new abilities. They're playful, and I really like that in a story!

Although...

“Well, this may sound strange but we reside in the imagination of a writer.”

Serif couldn’t believe his eyes and George stood there frozen.

FUCK

@Irakeyou: I noticed that. Can we not?
@crank:I fail to understand the last bit.

The bottom quote was from Saul's Battle Royal, so George met Serif, which puts Serif in the Writer's World. Also, technically, George met Dante, brother of Epsilon who was the 'brother' of my John, who was friends with August, an acquaintance of Hollywood. Are you familiar with the St. Elsewhere theory? I just find it interesting!

EDIT: Forgot to mention, both battles were extremely good, and a nice change of pace from the traditional setup!

@Alphaeus:

I'd like to take my time to think of a concept for a gladiator, but I'll probably join sometime. And thanks, I'll remember that for next time!



@Urako:

I do agree. It is a written RHG for a reason, after all. And to answer your query, it is no.

The analysis of the battle between characters based on weaponry and abilities was because I thought that if I were to go into this, I wouldn't want to do things halfway. Analysing the story, in my opinion, isn't simply about who writes better, but also which story captures the audience more, which story made you (as a reader) feel for/with the characters, et cetera. In short, I find Transcendence to have a writing style that I agree with more, but overall, I prefer Business Exams, which is why my vote went to Alphaeus.



I can see why you'd be concerned - after all, a large part of the message was an analysis on character power, and I did seem to praise Transcendence a little more. Still, I hope this reply clears up on why I voted the way I did.

@Crank: Its a very good thing that the fourth wall exists. Or at least that it used to before SaulMurphy's fight came along.

@SaulMurphy: Honestly SaulMurphy I don't dislike the break from combat. It's just that i'm not too keen on this particular story. I suppose in essence, I tend to care too much about the scripts of stories. When I said your story was beautiful, you pretty much nailed all the other aspects.

@969_DoomsDruid_969: Do you really want it to be based on character power instead of story quality? I assure you the negative consequences including less fights and story quality would spike.

@Everyone else: Does anyone else agree that winning fights should be based on which story is better?

@Rake: Alright you misunderstand me. I'm gonna state my opinion on the matter. My opinion is straight up this. Yes. A battle between two writers should not be judged by the characters they are writing from. That is pants-on-head retarded. Straight up. As for what I meant by my earlier statement, I was pissed because I read this:

Quote from Urako

Because there have been some really overpowered gladiators in the last few months

and every time someone says that I become enraged because I assume they are referring to _x (who I thought we agreed not to talk about, because that char still #feelsbadman) and Al.ice, who I maintain is misunderstood. I assume this because I am a self-entitled little prick with a vendetta against this shit so I feelbadman and it takes me several hours to stop thinking about it(in between getting shit done).

Quote from 969_DoomsDruid_969

@Rake: Alright you misunderstand me. I'm gonna state my opinion on the matter. My opinion is straight up this. Yes. A battle between two writers should not be judged by the characters they are writing from. That is pants-on-head retarded. Straight up. As for what I meant by my earlier statement, I was pissed because I read this:

and every time someone says that I become enraged because I assume they are referring to _x (who I thought we agreed not to talk about, because that char still #feelsbadman) and Al.ice, who I maintain is misunderstood. I assume this because I am a self-entitled little prick with a vendetta against this shit so I feelbadman and it takes me several hours to stop thinking about it(in between getting shit done).

I barely even know the first character and I assure you it is in the past. I am not referencing your characters every time I say a character is overpowered. If I wanted to mention the gladiator in question, I would have. Honestly try not to feel defensive because its not directed towards or at you or your creations and getting defensive doesn't help you either. Now to get back on topic, I do not want to continue this conversation here.

Alright glad we've cleared that up. Moving on!
I don't know why that is even a question though. I could come up with a character with INSANE full potential (:rolleyes:) and that would make me win? WTF is that? That would have almost literally no purpose. That would just be fucking bad. Please, nobody disagree, because I will have(assuming you don't want me to, although I don't know why I am assuming that)an aneurysm out of pure stupidity.

Quote from 969_DoomsDruid_969

Alright glad we've cleared that up. Moving on!
I don't know why that is even a question though. I could come up with a character with INSANE full potential (:rolleyes:) and that would make me win? WTF is that? That would have almost literally no purpose. That would just be fucking bad. Please, nobody disagree, because I will have(assuming you don't want me to, although I don't know why I am assuming that)an aneurysm out of pure stupidity.

I asked the question because I believe character power did in fact influence one of the votes but I think I explained it alright to the guy.

Assuming that SaulMurphy wins (which is not a certainty yet), I've already prepared David's tactful explanation for his failure to kill The Gentleman.

It's simple.

The Prince patriarch was not just a friend of David's but secretly Nehushtan's first Serpent. Thus, out of honor for that position, David refrained from using lethal methods on the boy (yes, boy). Otherwise, he would have just slit George's throat instead of wrestling him. :stickpage:

Also, David has decided against changing the name of Prince Industries. Again, an honor thing. Still, the business will be buried in the massive portfolio managed vicariously by Viktor Gustav -- Nehushtan's business manager.

@Urako:
Am I right in assuming that "the guy" refers to myself? I'm not offended, just wondering here because I find that vague explanations cause me a little disorientation considering the multiple people in this thread.
If you are indeed referring to myself, then my earlier reply should have clarified things. If you are still uncertain on several points, I would be more than happy to further elaborate.

Also, to answer the next query: I feel that characters play an important role in the judging. Of course, the work itself is the most major, but it is my opinion that the characters are fundamental to the story - without the characters, there wouldn't be a story. Still, it is of course unacceptable to judge a story solely based on the characters themselves - on who has more potential, who has cooler powers and stuff like that. What I felt that I should be looking out for were the following:



I think that's about it for now. Generally, I find selecting pieces to be an instinctive process, due to preference. It's not quite right in my opinion to have everyone selecting winners based on solely the writing talent, but it's not wrong to insist that greater emphasis be placed on it given that it is a writting challenge. But in any case, the above are my opinions, and are certainly not meant to offend anyone. If you disagree, feel free to bring it up and we can have a healthy debate! (Or don't, and we can agree to disagree. (✿╹◡╹))

@Alphaeus: Just being curious here, but how did you pick the name Nehushtan? Did you select it for its biblical meaning or??

Quote from Alphaeus

Assuming that SaulMurphy wins (which is not a certainty yet), I've already prepared David's tactful explanation for his failure to kill The Gentleman.

It's simple.

The Prince patriarch was not just a friend of David's but secretly Nehushtan's first Serpent. Thus, out of honor for that position, David refrained from using lethal methods on the boy (yes, boy). Otherwise, he would have just slit George's throat instead of wrestling him. :stickpage:

Also, David has decided against changing the name of Prince Industries. Again, an honor thing. Still, the business will be buried in the massive portfolio managed vicariously by Viktor Gustav -- Nehushtan's business manager.

Heh, ya know, your characters can just lose sometimes, right?

Quote from Crank

Heh, ya know, your characters can just lose sometimes, right?

Shh, let him continue to live in his little bubble.

Quote from Crank

Heh, ya know, your characters can just lose sometimes, right?

Losing a literary battle can be a very traumatic experience you know:rolleyes:

No I wouldn't

Fluidanims people shhhhh