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TrueAstralKnight
#801810
7 months ago
Discord and the Devil Arcana

For those who guessed this one beforehand(/hoof) give yourself a pat on the back. Yes, what better character to associate with devilish charm and selfish desire should be none other than Discord. The Devil Arcana consists of a negative and positive side, possibly to represent the fact that no one is born inherently evil, but are led astray. The Judeo-Christian Devil, Lucifer, didn’t start out as the master of Hell, but as an angel, his name literally meaning “bringer of light.” Who can say what happened to Discord that made him who he is in the show. Shunned for his looks? Rejected by his talents for the absurd? Something personal? (http://ponibooru.413chan.net/post/view/60314?search=artist%3Acrappyunicorn) Bottom line, monsters aren’t born, they’re created.

The Devil Arcana’s facet of selfish desire is originally seen in both big time entrepreneur, Tanaka and the flirtatious nurse, Sayoko, but over time, the positive aspect of the Devil Arcana begins to come forth: a healthy bond or commitment. Tanaka seems only interested in money at the start (especially since you have to pay up 40,000 yen to him to even start the Social Link) but by the end he makes a promise to use his wealth for more selfless motives. Sayoko only seemed interested in making you her boy toy through her tempting words, which stemmed from attachment issues with her patients. She eventually finds a new passion in her career towards nursing others back to health, and begins to dedicate more time to taking her job seriously.

Discord himself easily represents selfish wants with little regard for others in his acts of chaos. The other ponies of the world are just seen as playthings to him, and he’s a king with no room for empathy. Discord lives in his own little world where he’s the only one who matters, sealed off from the rest of Equestria, but is that something he truly wanted or the byproduct of society casting him out for his differences? No one knows for sure, but the ponies don’t seem to really care either, preferring to seal away the monster they might have created in yet another way: cold, lifeless stone. Discord’s amalgamation of multiple creatures in his physical appearance and the likelihood of him being socially exiled might also be an allegory referring to Frankenstein’s monster, but I’m getting ahead of myself here.
Anonymous
#802150
7 months ago
ok, this thing make me to want a ponysona 3 or 4
Anonymous
#802175
7 months ago
@TrueAstralKnight: YOU ARE AWESOME FOR WRITING ALL THAT. There is so much about Discord we don't know, and I'm glad you pointed this out in a way I couldn't.
AppleJackFrost
#802179
7 months ago
Here comes Tanakaaa
Over the airwaves to youuu
Anonymous
#802199
7 months ago
^see that is funny, damn i want to see another tarot cards spike is the lovers arcana and luna is the hanged Man arcana
Anonymous
#803351
7 months ago
The Discord being rejected for being a freak thing breaks down when you realise he doesn't look all that less freakish than the Gryphons, and they are accepted completely.

Word of God is that Discord wasn't made to be evil - he just naturally feels right hurting ponies. Hell, even CrappyUnicorn said that Discord was already a complete monster, that Celestia rejecting him didn't change things. You can try to say its not his fault, but in the end, what is in there is what has always been in there - pure evil.
TrueAstralKnight
#803438
7 months ago
@351
A Gryphons anatomy just flows much better with only two creatures compared to Discord who looks like about eleven creatures spliced together limb by limb. Plus, Gryphons are more common in the world of Equestria with their own society compared to Discord who is one-of-a-kind as far as we know.

Who/What is this 'Word of God'? The word from a writer/executive of the show?

I only included CrappyUnicorn's picture to provide a possibility and I'm not saying any of the scenarios I listed are the truth, denoted before by the "who can say" statement. None of what I listed could have happened, or maybe a combination of them could have, but I like to explore the possibilities. I haven't seen any word from official writers of the show saying Discord was an inherently evil being from birth.

On CrappyUnicorn's DA page for the picture I used as an example, CU says in the context of the picture, Discord was "on his way to Evilsville," when somebody you listed as "pure evil" from the start would have been the mayor rather than somebody moving into town.

In the end, what CU draws and what I write are only fan-made interpretations. It's fun to guess what might have happened to Discord or what he was like in his early life. For me, Discord being viewed and labeled as a "monster" for his appearance or his powers of chaos (if he could use them, but maybe not control them when he was born) provides an interesting back-story associated with the "social outcast" type of villain. Not to say that type of a background scenario is cliché, but being called a "freak" and shunned by society as a child is a common plot device to attribute to the origin of a unique creature or person's malevolence and lack of empathy for those around him.
LockTheDoors
#808264
6 months ago
I knew it!
Anonymous
#832800
6 months ago
Any ideas for the Tower arcanum?
TrueAstralKnight
#841319
6 months ago
@800
Yeah, I have the rest picked out so forgive my laziness in actually making the descriptions.