Difference between revisions of "CoolQuotes"

Revision as of 05:14, 4 May 2005

This page is for those quotes which people on forums have created that seemed cool, interesting, insightful, or clarifying, found about the web in places like web forums, chat rooms, or games even.

Note that the QuotesofGoodness page is for posts that are meant to be atleast remotely funny before useful. While there's some insightful stuff there, that page is for mostly quotes that make you laugh. Some of the posts here are from there.

Also, be sure to update the "Last Updated" date. It helps folks keep track of things.

Newest stuff at bottem.
Created by Blaque

I find most people's problems with Raksha stem from thinking of these things in real terms. Try thinking of them in the terms of a story instead. Consider "Super Hero Crossovers." If people discuss who would win, Batman or Captain America, we don't really consider their real capabilities (Surely, with his super human prowess, inhuman fighting skill and nearly a century of combat experience, the Cap is the prime choice) but instead, we consider their narrative weight (without a doubt, Batman is more popular than Captain America. More people would prefer to see the Dark Knight victorious), and thus Batman would defeat Captain America, not because Batman is physically more capable, but narratively.

Once you're in this frame of thought, things become clearer. Batman's cape and cowl are more than just cloth to him. They are his identity as a stalker of the night, they are his ability to inflict terror. They are his Greatness: thus, it is his Sword Grace. His belt is his ability to alter the world around him: his Ring Grace. Steal his belt and steal his ability to rework the world around him. And stealing his belt must be done in a proper manner. A villain does not simply walk up to Batman and take it, even if Bats is unconcious. He goes through the appropriate machinations and plotting until we, the reader, accept that the belt can be stolen. In short, the villain must manipulate the narrative until we buy that the belt can be stolen. If you were to transport a "real person" into that world (something you occassionally see in comedy movies), that person can violate the "rules" of the world. He can walk up to batman and just pull the cape and cowl away like so much gossamer, and suddenly, Batman is exposed, naked, and looks silly. His greatness has been lost, but the human violated the "rules"... because he could. Because he had his own reality.

For more esoteric graces, consider the importance and impact of Batman's secret identity. Stealing that, too, greatly diminishes Batman. And, at his heart, Batman is about the tragedy of losing a loved one. If you rip away Batman's tragedy, you've stolen his very ability to exist: his heart.

(Mailanka, on RPG.net, making the Fair Folk make sense)

If you want things a little more messed-up, here's another possibility:

So, Creation. If you aren't an Exalt or a powerful god or elemental, life basically sucks hard. You've got pain, misery, suffering, evil, death, tyranny, disease and basically every bad thing there is, in quantities as large as you want. Why would anyone create a universe so terrible? The answer is the Games of Divinity. They are a transcendent piece of artwork, so marvelous and brilliant and astonishing that their genius justifies all the suffering in Creation. Imagine the most horrible perversion you can, happening to the most wonderful, enlightened and least deserving person that you can conceive of. The art of the Games justifies that injustice, a million times over. But -- the Games of Divinity are a game, and the art of a game only lives when it is played. The Celestines play the Games of Divinity, and do not cease, even when all the demons and deathlords range themselves against Creation, for if they stop -- even for an instant -- the moral justification for Creation is lost.

-- Neel Krishnaswami, channeling Rebecca Borgstrom

Last Updated May 3, 2005

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