Crowning Moments of Awesome

[Caden Law]

The moment when a fictional character does something for which they will be remembered forever, winning for them the eternal loyalty of fans.

Sometimes occurs just before the character dies. But usually it doesn't. If there's a long gap between the last Crowning Moment Of Awesome and the death of the character, the period with the crowning moment may become that character's Glory Days.

It should be noted that Crowning Moments of Awesome are subjective, and what strikes one as being pure awesome may generate a 'meh' reaction from another. It is also possible for certain characters to have more than one moment of awesome during their existence, both for the above-mentioned reasons of audience subjectivity, and because some characters are just that awesome.

Nonetheless, the merely very cool is not necessarily a CMOA, even if it seems like that at the time. During gameplay or show time, the immediate circumstances are (if well-done) intentionally designed to increase the excitement, satisfaction, or relief of any particular climax, but not every climax does a CMOA make. In general, just to fit the name, in order to be a Crowning Moment of Awesome an act must be:
Awesome. Not fun, not intellectually satisfying, not vindicating, not a shout out or a piece of the metaplot or metagame. Awesome: whatever it is, it has to be that thing several times over, maybe in several ways, and it has to go beyond what you have come to expect or, possibly, could predict.
A moment. Some characters are Crazy Awesome indeed, but their entire existence is not a CMOA for them. Honestly, there is nothing wrong with being so awesome that everything you do would be a CMOA for someone else, but not for you, because it makes your own actual CMOA's just that much better.
Crowning. It is the cherry on the icing on the cake, bringing the personal story of its participants to a climax. It's the best thing that's ever happened to them, even better than all the other, similar but somehow lesser things that they have done.
Of course, you already think that all these things are true of your example, which is why this trope is subjective.
Courtesy TVTropes.org's CMoA home page. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfAwesome?from=Main.CrowningMomentOf Awesome)

Now that you've read all that, the question is simple: Has your character ever had one? Do you know of anyone who has? If so, what was it?

Dethroning Moments of Suck are fine too.

[Sighter Tnailog]

The crowning moment that I will always remember came from Devon in the final round of the very first Althanas tournament, the first Serenti Invitational, ah...now at least seven years ago.

Kaltrenix Gartoic threw a dagger at Devon's familiar, Sabriel, and the sparrow was cleaved in the breast. Devon cradled Sabriel in his arms and walked out of the arena, blood seeping from his own chest due to the mystic link between the two. And Devon's concluding prose talked about how people would later come to talk about this moment, what they would say when reminiscing on the great event they had witnessed in Althanas history, and he concluded:

"They would say he died of a broken heart."

And it's funny, I look back on Devon in a lot of ways, mainly wondering if he was really as good as my freshman-in-high-school eyes saw him. But to this day, when reminiscing on the event, these are indeed the words I say.

And so this for me is the crowning moment of Devon dan Sabriel. And I think it fits the definition because the mood of Althanas at the time was one of unbridled fun. Everyone who was anyone had competed in the Serenti; the entire board had participated. It was the only thing that was really happening at the time, the solo quest phenomenon had yet to take off, battles were still in vogue as the primary way of writing on Althanas. Battles were also faster; each round of the Serenti had lasted only a week. So it had been a week where we had all hung on each person's every word, watched Kaltrenix (also known as Treslizn) and Devon go at it, and I'll be honest, Devon was the board's poster-boy hero. So the feeling, the thrill, of watching him go out in that sort of prose, well, it was definitely a Crowning Moment of Awesome.

If my memory serves, this was also Althanas's very first Judge's Choice thread. It was a paradigmatic moment, maybe the one that has kept me coming back to Althanas even when life pulls me away.

Also, How I Met Your Mother. Is it just me, or does Crowning Moment of Awesome sound like something Marshall would say?

[Mutant_Lorenor]

In and old incarnation of the Cell I was actually in the top-three back when my writing didn't suck ;) . Now, my current crowning moment was all the FQ stuff I've managed to complete, oh and hitting level 7.

[Sighter Tnailog]

This thread is dying. That is sad. It is a good thread. More CMoA please!

[Duffy]

My crowning moment of glory will be topping a 70 score whilst pwning Sighter Tnailog in the Citadel ;)

[Saxon]

Character defining moment? Realizing that I'll never get anywhere with Saxon anyway and I should be writing elsewhere.

<3

[Caden Law]

Character defining moment? Realizing that I'll never get anywhere with Saxon anyway and I should be writing elsewhere.

<3

...that is the most depressing CMoA ever. :p

[Saxon]

...that is the most depressing CMoA ever. :p

Yeah, well, growth as a writer isn't always pleasant.

[Godhand]

Frankly I'm glad this thread is dead. I mean Sighter had the right idea with making it about other people's greatest moments but then the rest of you turned it into the sort of thread where you just jack it, JACK IT RAW, in front of everybody else.

[Visla Eraclaire]

My crowning moment of awesome was changing my avatar, sig, and status line ironically, like an obnoxious hipster.

I think Wings of Endymon's recent thread that I judged had some pretty awesome stuff in it. Duffy's How The Orb came to pass tried to have one, but was just too damned confusing. Godhand tries so hard all the time, you wouldn't know if he had one.

[Sighter Tnailog]

Yeah, Godhand, I tried, didn't I? I think the Crowning Moment of Awesome was when I, like a hipster, decided to hate hipsters ironically.

[Logan]

Hmm, I can think of a few in particular.

There was a time a while back when Silence Sei and Logan were very close, long before Sei was left for dead in some dying thread somewhere, and Sei rescued Logan from his own inner demons. It was a deeply internal thread, and a battle that carried over from a battle to a quest. It was powerful for me, mostly because of his talent and ability, and because of the sheer vast quantities of character he displayed in those two threads. Those stock with me, a lot, and very little of it because I wrote in them.


Also, there is the one that I do remember of Thoracis and Wolftrappe vs Logan and someone who's name I forget at the moment. It was a Crowning Moment of Awesome because Thoracis played such an incredibly amazing character. So intricately deep in his story and character's growth, and yet so vastly held captive by the mask and facade his character wore with such symbolism and personal conviction. The shining moment in that thread was a conversation in the midst of a battle between Logan and Thoracis that essentially took on a life of it's own, and became the battle inside the battle. The words themselves were intriguing, and held power, but they paled in comparison to the symbolism and power that Thoracis exerted over Logan. It was quite the piece to be involved with, more so because of the respect and adoration I had for him.


Another I recall would be a battle between Ithermoss and Kylin Rogue in a tournament. The sheer caliber of these two writers at that time was impossible to even quantify right now. The writing was stellar, and the movements and battle within the thread was glorious to read. From the table being flipped on end to be used as a shield, to the sarcastic pointed references to one another's past in dialogue, the whole thread was a joy to read, and one which I continuously remind myself of in terms of my goal in writing. To become better so that other's desire to read and reminisce about my work.


And yet another would be a thread in which Dirks was in the Gisela and was playing Logan as a NPC. It was quite interesting and powerful to see him play a more powerful, future Logan, and the manner in which he portrayed that future. He incorporated mannerisms I myself hadn't noticed until that point. It was a Crowning Moment of Awesome because he took something not of his own creation, and still played it in a caliber that left a memory upon my mind, so vivid and fixated. There was power in that thread in how he wrote. A lot of it, too.


Yet another would be when Logan was seeking to gain entry into his first PG way back when and he was pitted against KurtoxKobaine. It was a pretty fun thread, but it was made more unbelievably memorable by how strong kurt's character perception was even in that early stage. It was one of my first threads, too, where I actually scored somewhat decently. If I recall, I also beat him to gain entry into the PG.


The final thread of CMoA would be one in which Logan and HybridHeero fought. It wasn't because of how I played or wrote in that thread, though it was some of my best writing. It was so damn memorable and awesome because of how strong Elric, his character, was, and how he played so unbelievably beautifully off the environment and movements of Logan. I tried a number of different techniques in that thread, and he responded and wrote with an eloquence that I remember so vividly. The beauty of the environment, and the sheer power of Hybrid mixed with a very not powerful Logan and an environment that seemed to echo his own emotions and thoughts...it will go down as one of those threads you just will always remember, no matter how old you get.


What's ironic and has made me think is how each of these threads would've never happened without one thing. Someone to roleplay and write with who could push me, or another, to a whole other level of depth and passion. I think it bears and begs the mention that a vast majority of the most memorable threads have not been solos, and in fact have been epic conflicts or confrontations of some sort.

Interesting, no?

[Sighter Tnailog]

Omg why do you hate solo quets

[Logan]

I don't. They just tend to be less epic in nature than threads that utilize multiple players and characters.

[Lord Anglekos]

CMoA. Hmm.
Eric hasn't done a lot, really. But there was one moment where he took down a wyvern in a solo quest by shooting it through the mouth with an arrow while riding on horseback. Pierced it's brain in mid-flight. Was pure luck, but was still pretty awesome. Maybe a five point five out of ten on the awesometer. (Whatever the hell that is.)
So there.

In respect to other members...
Godhand's an ass, but he's had plenty CMoA. Perhaps he "tries too hard", but it works for him. Would Althanas really be the same if Godhand started throwing flowers and daises at his opponents in a pink man thong, rather than smashing them through the earth in a choke hold?
Case in point.
I have to say I know of two CMoA for Slayer of the Rot. One, when he took Letho's gunblade blast head-on, and two, the famous moment/solo where he stuck his namesake into the side of a mountain. Epicness comes not only from violent pornography (although, admittedly, 9/10 percent does).
And I'm too tired to think up any more.
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[Visla Eraclaire]

If someone has "plenty" of CMoA's they cease to be what they are alleged to be.

[Sighter Tnailog]

I am in full agreement with Visla. Also, I don't think a "Crowning Moment of Awesome" really counts on Althanas if you "did cool thing A with weapon B." Anyone can write something that seems like a good scene in an action movie, it seems like a true CMoA on Althanas would need to involve something special about the writing style, the presentation, the way in which the moment perfectly matched the character, etc.

After all, this is not a "Moment of Awesome." This is a "CROWNING" Moment of Awesome.

[Lord Anglekos]

Ah well. I tried.
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[Cyrus the virus]

Sounds more like a Barney comment.

I think if Luc's had any kind of moment like this, it was in a battle against Slayer of the Rot. They had some great encounters, but one in particular that I liked was when they battled in the Citadel amongst hordes of infantry, in the middle of a huge war. It was raining hard and muddy, giant war elephants trampled the area, horns blasted and thunder shook the place. Eventually the ground gave out and many of them tumbled into a pit, but Luc and Dan survived. Finally Luc buried him within the pit by causing it to collapse upon itself.

Another time they fought in mid-air while falling, but that was a different battle that I don't think we completed.