The Grand Experiment has reached a new stage.

As some of you may know, I've been actively testing the sentiment of Mass Effect gamers about the character James Vega, a new addition to the Bioware Family. I was not a lover at first, but I grew to like him and was really surprised when I saw the volatile response this character engendered in many ME fans. I wanted to know why.

It started with an Opinion Piece "What James Vega Hatin' Says About You" on the Bioware Social Network (here on dA), followed up by a poll, which currently looks like this:



I don't know why it didn't occur to me until right now to post the poll here too, so here it is: abstract1106.deviantart.com/jo…

The Challenge

Now that I have a better idea about where people stand on this oddly controversial character, I'd like to extend a challenge to all Vega Haters. I challenge you to read "The One That Got Away" and still hate him as much as ever, still think he's a dimensionless meathead, still think that he's just as much a waste of gameplay resources. I'm willing to go so far as to say that if you describe in erudite, lucid terms why this character continues to deserve such hatred despite the character development in each chapter, documenting your opinion every step of the way, I will buy you a one year membership to deviantArt when the story is finished. No sh*t. (See official rules at the bottom. There's something for Vega lovers, too.)

Let me be clear: I'm talking about those who hate Vega as a character, not those who are just so into another character that they didn't see enough of in ME3 that they latched onto him and are using him as the Official Bioware Whipping Boy.

And for the record, I totally agree that you shouldn't be forced to flirt with him in the game. They don't give you any options to make the conversation go another way, and they should. But as I said in an OP response, lack of dialogue options is a gameplay issue and not a characterization issue.

Do I have ulterior motives?  I wrote this, and every other ME story I've written, for two reasons: to fill in the back story of this underdeveloped character and to gain feedback so that I become a better writer. I'm not here for fame. I'm here for the improvement of my Craft, as proven by my repeated requests for harder crit. This is why the contest focus is on critiques in the Official Rules. But I'm also interested in seeing if there are any Vega Haters with the balls to take me up on the challenge.

The Story:

This story, while based in the Mass Effect universe, is a story that can be read and enjoyed by anyone that likes dark, exciting, character-driven dramas, even if you don't like James Vega. A story that knows when to be serious, when to be joyful and how war really feels to a soldier. Starts with James as a kid and watches him grow into a man with the help of a force of nature named Lola.

M for violence, language and adult themes. AU after a point. Romance: femShep Not at all fluff.

Official Rules

1. Entering: You must first take The Poll and mention in the comments that you are officially entering the Challenge. The story is for mature audiences, so you must also be over 18.
2. Participation: To show that you are giving it an honest try, you must write an official critique of each chapter of TOTGA. You are free to flame, but in order to make the critique count in the contest you must provide supporting evidence. You can't just say "he gives me the creeps", you have to say, "I felt that he acted inappropriately because...", and it must be relevant to the content of the chapter.
3. Winning: When the story is finished (no worries, I have it all planned out), the winner will be chosen. Winners will be one of the following:
     A) A deviant who has demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that they haven't changed their minds one bit and have provided evidence every step of the way, providing supportive evidence. I will determine the winner with the help of my beta and will publicly display my reasoning for fairness.
     B) If that person does not appear, the person who shows the most improvement in sentiment will be awarded the prize, but only if there is not an A) type winner. This person must have commented on every chapter to qualify, and will be chosen by public poll.
4. Prizes:
     A) First prize is a one-year premium membership to deviantArt.
     B) All entrants who complete the contest as per guidelines (provide official, thoughtful critiques on each chapter) will receive 400 each.
     C) All deviants who comment, favorite or critique, even without entering, will receive llamas. I will be retroactively giving llamas to those who have done so to date, though I'm pretty sure I already have.

Please share this contest to any deviants or groups you think are relevant.

I think that's it. This is the first contest I've run, so let me know if I missed covering something.