I know Death, it's a stupid line from Star Trek V, which was an absolute wreck of a movie where Kirk takes on an energy being claiming to be god and is apparently the one person in the entire film with the wherewithal to question the situation until "God" starts hurting people. I had forgotten how awful the movie was until I saw it last night when some friends and I decided to marathon the first 6 Trek films. Damn it, now as awful as the fifth movie is, I can't help but want a ponified Sybok.

@ Ginger: I can understand why it'd be infuriating if the fic has done that with every single major villain it's introduced. It's okay to mislead once or twice, but I feel that repeatedly misleading the reader and hoping it has the same impact each time is a sign of weak writing. If you're going to give your villain sympathetic motivations, fine. Just don't expect that it'll have the same impact when you do it the third, fourth, or fifth time.

edited 24th Jun '12 6:10:23 AM by Drenius

Good News: My sister's party is over and I can be an antisocial again. Bad News: My house is still flooded with people I don't care to be around, since three kids from the party slept over. Ever since I moved to upstate NY from Florida, then my house is crowded waaaay more often then I'd like.

@Drenius a villain being sympathetic I'm perfectly okay with. Just be up front about it.

@Drenius

I like that line. But shouldn't be used to define "God"

That move was terrible but Nemesis is much more worse.

@Super Gex I hate the feeling of being around others too, but that's an excellent way of meeting new dudes, dude

@Chad You're right. In fact, I was talking to a couple of friends from school I usually never got to talk to last night after my 8th grade graduation ceremony, and we had a riot.

That's the gist of what I was saying, Ginger. I'm absolutely fine with villains being sympathetic and even hiding that fact for a central villain or two, but it feels as if PH tries to apply this to all of its villains. Eventually the impact of the reason the villain is sympathetic lessens if an author keeps trying to pull the wool over the reader's eyes as to the exact motivations of his villainous characters. I like having a sympathetic villain or two, it adds depth to the character, after all.

edited 24th Jun '12 6:25:34 AM by Drenius

Wait, 8th Grade?

I think you just beat Kalloon for youngest poster.

edited 24th Jun '12 6:20:13 AM by crowlover

Well, now that ze moment has passed, back to work. I personally believe that (STOP ME IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS ONE) Harmony is created from a balance of Chaos and Order, instead of Chaos simply being the opposite of Harmony. Just as Discord represents a saturation of Chaos, there must be another villain that represents the opposite. My vote's for Tirek, since his description seems close to a corrupt king.

Welp, at least I'm finally beginning to SORT of like Goldenblood.

Strange how it takes murder in cold blood to get me to like someone

Here's something, if Harmony is as Gex says, a balance, then wouldn't that mean that half of the element bearers should represent order and the other half should represent chaos?

Who'd belong to which side?

@Gex I think the thread made a villain called Order. I forgot exactly what his main goal was, though.

Honesty is Order, Laughter is Chaos.

edited 24th Jun '12 6:29:50 AM by crowlover

I'm thinking of the bearers themselves, not the elements.

Celestia was order. Luna was Chaos.

Pinkie, RD and another are Chaos. The rest are Order

edited 24th Jun '12 6:31:35 AM by gingerninja666

@ginger Well, Laughter is shown as chaotic, Magic can be used for any purpose, and Honesty is the easiest to corrupt, so those are my picks.

As for the bearers, I'd go with your picks plus Fluttershy, since her personality makes chaotic situations much easier.

Twilight is Order. I think Applejack is too.

I'd go with Rarity for the other Chaos, for some reason.

edited 24th Jun '12 6:35:40 AM by crowlover

Twilight could be either chaos or order. See Lesson Zero.

Well, considering Twilight's organized and scientific nature, I'd say she's order.

Except when she's crazy, she's Chaos.

Um.

But when she's not affected by CMFIS, she's clearly Order.

edited 24th Jun '12 6:39:25 AM by crowlover

@crow Yeah, I was thinking of Rarity too.

The line "organized chaos" came to mind.

I think it wouldn't be so simple as an element being either Orderly or Chaotic, and the set averaging out to being balanced, but more like each of the elements representing a sort of balance.

Order: Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy

Chaos: Pinkie Pie, Rainbow dash, Twilight (Well, perhaps not, but the only other one that could possibly fit. Perhaps swap with Rarity?)

edited 24th Jun '12 6:42:31 AM by Cookoo

I don't mean the elements THEMSELVES. I mean their wielders. Like on average half of them will represent order and half will be chaotic

Post of the Day #52