Regarding Toa Salvus:

Salvus, have you had a significant other break up with you, or a loved one die, over the past week? That's how you seem to be talking, from the dark side of a deep bout of depression.

I don't think we should be making assumptions here. His words probably only sound depressive because what he is defending with them is depressive. He's exhibiting classic smoke-screen behavior, throwing objection after objection after objection to try to defend himself, even when the objections are depressing and don't make much sense. Mr. Salvus has some unique and interesting preferences, and he feels the need to defend them against others who find them reprehensible.

 

It's an old pattern. I used to get kicks out of it myself (NOT saying that Salvus does) because if you defend your preference, your statement is ALWAYS objectively true, so you're always right! Being right is a huge boost to the ego...you can totally walk away laughing, every time. It's damaging to others, however, which is why I try not to do it any more, as evilly fun as it is.

 

I would disagree. I've read, watched, and written enough to see the good and bad of something like that. Of course, that's just my opinion, so that's neither here nor there.

 

You simply expanded upon my point, in the negative aspect. ("CAN be")

I don't think anyone is arguing that shocking twists can't be good storytelling, or that this shocking twist was bad. But part of what made this twist so shocking is that we expected the good guys to win (like they had every year for pretty much all 7 years prior).

 

But in this case (but perhaps, not necessarily in all cases), this twist left several things unresolved. Ending with it would have proved to be an unsatisfactory resolution because the story isn't really resolved. (What happened to Mata Nui? How will the Toa survive? etc being the most pressing questions.)

 

Most of us are just stating opinions; they aren't necessarily objectively true.

All taste-preference-opinions are objectively true. ToaSalvus' opinion "I would have liked the Bionicle story to have ended in 2008" is an objectively true statement - that's his valid preference. What is getting people here is that they don't share that preference and find it unstomachable - and that Salvus has implied that it was the best way to end Bionicle. That implication - not the valid taste-preference - is anathema (and very wrong, as all of you have pointed out for very valid reasons).

 

If I walked in here and said that "I would have liked Bionicle to end in 2008 with the big twist but I understand that it wouldn't have happened for XYZ reasons." I bet you $50 no debate would have broken out here. But it took me years of life changes and refining my way of thinking before I fully understood the difference between what I wanted, what was actually real, and what was going to happen, and could accurately reflect that in my wording. Even now sometimes that distinction wants to blur, and I've caught myself talking smoke screens.

 

As one wise debater once said "if someone won't stop blowing smoke, leave them alone". The man is right. If this being spewing nonsense everywhere drives you up the wall, try rephrasing his statements in terms of "I like this to have happened" rather than "It should happen". Because that is the way this matter is solved in the end - eventually the smoke-screen-blower finds themselves alone in a corner, unable to get the attention they crave through their smoke-screen-antagonism. They realize that nobody cares about their taste-preference any more.

 

And the sooner that happens, the sooner they start searching for something that people will actually listen to. When that happens, truth tends to seep in through the cracks. Sometimes they can come up with new lies, though, which is why this process can take years to unwind. (That, and the fact that other people can agree with their screens, making it even harder.)

 

The bottom line is, having an eccentric-taste-preference does not give you a license to shove it down everyone else's throat. But writing a bunch of posts saying so won't change this situation. Failing to give this person the attention they want will.

Source: Journey's End = The End?

I'm locking this up to avoid flames, but I thought this needed a bit further outreach.