Beyond the Borderlands Character Poll (Updated Day 2)! · 7:41pm Jul 22nd, 2015
All right guys, this one is just for fun!
Inspired by recent comments about how Blade was rapidly rising to be one of many readers favorite characters, followed by reactions to Barnabas's heart-to-heart with his sister in the most recent chapter, I've got a quiz for all of you!
It's an easy one. And there are no wrong answers. Well ... maybe.
Readers of all ages, I give you ...
The Beyond the Borderlands Character Poll!
That's right! Just click that link and let everyone know who your favorite is! Even better, you'll see the results after you've voted so that you can see how your favorite stacks up! I'll post the results after a few days as well, just to keep everyone update.
Please don't try to game the system, it's all for fun people.
Anyway, take the poll and then (for extra fun) post your answers in the comments below along with why you picked them. I'm curious, others are curious!
Who's your fave!? Let the poll begin!
UPDATES!
Holy cow guys, here's how things stand after Day 1!
As you can see, there are some fun results. Alchemy, to my surprise, has pulled into the lead, though he's followed by a collection of readers who just quite haven't warmed up to anyone yet (open your hearts, guys!) and then by Blade. Frost seems to have picked up quite a following, though poor Hain's attitude seems to have made even Dusty and Stal more likable.
As far as what's in the vault more than 40% of you seem sure that it's something bad at least, while there's a hilariously amusing split between Sombra and Griffimhotep coming up second and third. And at least 2 of you liked the Tirek option.
Anyway, that's day 1's results! Check back tomorrow!
UPDATES DAY 2!
All right, here's day 2 and our final results!
Alchemy continues to dominate, with 31% of those taking the poll loving the zebra-like alchemist. Blade pulled into the number two spot, followed by a bunch of readers still waiting for the Dusk Guard to show up. The biggest surprise was the small following behind Dusty and Stal. Maybe they should be pitching you guys for funding!
As far as what's in The Vault of Bones, the numbers haven't changed to much. 45% of you are still certain it's something bad, while Sombra supporters come in right behind that. Votes are even between it being a necromancer with spooky skeletons and the immortal, extremely dangerous Griffimhotep (and yes, at this point I think it's safe to assume that gag is going to stick around a while ...).
No one thinks it's just an old treasure vault.
Of course, I'm going to go hit "Publish" right now, so maybe we'll find out ...
Blade - because she's a badass and I'm a sucker for the jerk with a heart of gold trope
Something Bad - because it's going to be a surprise and that's the vaguest answer on the list
That made me chuckle.
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That is ... a valid point, lol. I'd better change that fast!
I couldn't choose one favorite character, so I chose "The Dusk Guard" because it's funny.
At this point, King Sombra actually being in the vault would the be surprising outcome. So I'm gonna go with that.
But what about the unfun people?
I voted for Blade. She's got the right mix of "Tirek May Care" when it comes to pragmatic property pulverization, and caring about doing something right and doing right by those she leads. If I had to pick an Element of Harmony for her, it'd be loyalty. It also helps that she's got a superhero origin story now, too.
My answer might shift over to Dusty and Stal, once they get more time in the spotlight, though. They seem pretty great, too, and I'm a sucker for cute couples.
As for what's in the
boxvault, I'd say it'sabsorutery nothing!Griffimhotep.Hain, mysterious past, balancing his cultures honor with what he knows is right. Horrible martyr complex, but hopefully the rest of the Dusk Guard's Plausible Deniability team can get his head on straight. He might take back the helm of leadership, can't wait to see how things develop.
Blade of course is awesome, she's the loose cannon cop from buddy cop movies, without the straight-laced one to balance her destructive habits.
The archaeologist odd couple are also interesting, they'd make a great spin off, but if I'm reading right, what happens to them is before the start of the story proper and something bad happens to them, I think when they find the Key and are attacked by the cult. Or maybe I'm wrong and they are the experts who know what the thing in the Vault's One Weakness is. Despite that narratively making sense I think...
Sombra is in the vault, the timing is right canon-wise. The Sisters locked him up in the one place that could hold him, some ancient griffon vault. The language and placement is a red herring. He'll escape and bring back the Crystal Empire. That's why in the show, he's not inside the city, he's outside trying to return.
Of course, I like being surprised, I look forward to being totally wrong on where this story is going. Except about characters being awesome, I stand by that.
I love how "Griffimhotep" is in second place for what is in there.
I don't see Tia. *grumbles*
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I can't express how happy it makes me that that took off.
(And Viking? In response to your post in the fic comments, I recently rewatched it and I think The Mummy holds up twice as well now as it did when I was a kid. It's not any great literary or artistic merit, mind, but it's truly fun in a way that's not dissimilar to what's become Marvel's schtick of late.)
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Speaking of The Mummy, I totally agree. In fact, here's a great quote about it:
That quote? Ebert. He loved The Mummy, and spoke fondly of it (as well as defended it, I understand), years later.
He is barely a caricature at this point. We only in the last few chapters even learned the barest details about his past. Other than that he is an even more boring version of Blade. Tough to care about that.
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Depends on how much you're willing to read between the lines. There's a lot of detail about him buried in very small details scattered throughout the story, but unless you're really paying attention, you miss it. It's actually deliberate behavior on Hain's part, too, if you pay attention.
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Ex-Great General
Martyr complex
Excommunicated by his people/family
This doesn't make you care about a character even when it is deliberate.
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I didn't say it was designed to make people care about him. I said it was deliberate. I didn't expect to see much of a response to Hain, except to those who were curious or the ones who had really paid attention to his specific moments.
Part of the design with Hain is that compared the other characters thus far in the story, he is the one with most show instead of tell. The other characters have all had viewpoint perspectives. Hain has not, which gives the reader only a read on who Hain is and what he is like based on both how the other characters perceive him and how he interacts with them.
I don't at all disagree that he's hard to like, but I thoroughly disagree that he's anything close to resembling a caricature. Hain's actually had quite a bit of very subtle development and characterization thus far in the story, but catching it requires a very keen eye for detail and a willingness to push past the facade that he himself deliberately keeps up. He's perhaps the most difficult to understand character, and the most difficult to read because of his presentation, but digging into all the little details beforehand makes him quite a bit more understandable and sheds some light on his personality, attitudes, and history (more than has been said).
That said, I know those details require a close eye, very close, to catch. Some of them are still nebulous, but the pathways can be seen.
I'm all well and fine with people not liking Hain, as he's not very likeable (he's a crotchety old griffon). In fact, I was surprised that some have latched onto him as is. But I wouldn't at all call him a caricature. Some may not like the fact that he's an exiled great general with a bit of a martyr complex, but that's certainly not all he is (nor is such a thing something that hasn't happened, but rather a trope as old as time).
Again, I don't disagree that he's hard to like, I disagree that he's a caricature. He may be a caricature to the reader who simply reads him as one and doesn't feel like looking, but there's more to him than that if one pays attention to the small details various actions amd vocalizations have let slip. And as I said, this is deliberate. It's up to the reader to discover more on who Hain is, and their action/reaction to the character is a reflection of who they are ... which makes it a bit introspective.
I honestly went with the Necromancer, since I was the one who suggested it. It would make sense on both parts, considering Dusty and Sal are looking for a city of the dead and the vault is called the Vault of Bones. I personally think that the expedition and Blade's "Crusade" are going on at the same time, rather than before and after. It wouldn't surprise me if Mint some how manages to get involved with Dusty and Sal's search. I mean the crazy Unicorn will probably try to use the city as a place to amass power and conquer Equestria.
I picked Blade as my favorite character, she's a fun person, really. I mean who can say they got kicked out of a place based on an honor code because she racked up too many fines?
I hope you do more of these in the future. I quite enjoyed it.