tag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-13:51721I Am Completely Serioussnarp's blogSnarp2012-08-30T01:56:21Ztag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-13:51721:429757I hadn't played human character in Warcraft since Cataclysm came out.2012-08-30T01:56:21Z2012-08-30T01:56:21Zpublic3So I wasn't aware of this unpleasant plotline in Westfall where you're solving a murder, which is about how homeless refugees are dirty criminals whom you should not try to help. It's cool if they're like, space aliens who crashed their ship, I guess, but not if they're human? There are starving children who've been reduced to robbing corpses, but they're evil children so you shouldn't worry about them. One of the fetchquests is a "funny" one which involves gathering hair and dirt for people to eat, while your bags are full of coyote meat and eggs from all the coyotes and birds you've been killing down the road.<br /><br />I don't know about this game sometimes. At least they weren't hit by a hurricane.<br /><br />(I would say, "at least they aren't all black," but I think the people who program these scenarios tend to forget they've even got dark skin colors available. Except when the black dwarves are being evil, which they always are.<br /><br />And really, why can't you play as a Dark Iron dwarf? Their queen is 1/3 in charge of the dwarves at this point! The heir to Ironforge is half Dark Iron! And he's tiny and cute and in a cradle next to his mean mommy in the throne room, where he has to watch her get murdered over and over by Horde raids. Who could fail to sympathize with Fenran? His countrymen and -women need to be made playable to protect him.)<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=snarp&ditemid=429757" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-13:51721:427814The World of Warcraft comic books are pretty amazingly awful.2012-08-25T01:57:59Z2012-08-25T02:00:58Zpublic0This is like my third attempt to get through the one where Varian Wrynn gets amnesiac and split in two like in <i>Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.</i> I just can't do it. Syaoran needs to sit him down and give him a stern talk about how to handle this sort of sitution. "Listen, Varian - no, <i>listen,</i> stop scrunching your face up in an agonized way like that. If neither of your halves are interesting <i>in themselves,</i> then the fact that they're the same person will not be interesting, either. And this sort of Jungian double thing really works better if both halves have consistent personalities and motivations from one page to the next."<br /><br />I've decided that Varian envied Thrall's backstory and wanted it for himself, and thus the whole thing where he got himself enslaved and became a gladiator was planned and intentional. He just wanted to be more like Thrall! This is my new mental canon.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=snarp&ditemid=427814" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-13:51721:370728I have not accomplished much lately.2011-09-10T18:09:02Z2011-09-10T18:09:02Zpublic1I have not been studying Japanese, working seriously on any of my writing or translation projects, or working at all on my coding project. I have not been reading books, reading manga, or blogging substantively about the things that I do read. I have not been cooking or exercising. I haven't done my laundry. I <i>tried</i> to make a white-haired Blood Elf Hunter named Sybel, catch a boar, lion, panther, couple of birds, and dragonhawk for her, and name them Cyrin, Gules, Moriah, Ter, Tirlith, and Gyld; "Sybel" was taken.<br /><br />But I totally did convince Mom to read <a href="http://lparchive.org/Dwarf-Fortress-Boatmurdered/">Boatmurdered</a>.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=snarp&ditemid=370728" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-13:51721:369779I have been tired pretty much all the time for the past month.2011-09-03T23:45:58Z2011-09-03T23:48:24Zpublic1Hence, lots of Warcraft.<br /><br />Today I was being a low-level Orc Hunter. I had a <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=3243/savannah-highmane">lion</a> pet named Gules, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0152008691/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=snarp-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0152008691">for obvious reasons</a><img width="1" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=0152008691&camp=217145&creative=399369" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" height="1" border="0" />. A Troll Hunter came up to me with another lion. This is what he said:<br /><br /><b>Guy:</b> Hey.<br /><b>Guy:</b> Look at my lion!<br /><b>Guy:</b> He's WHITE! :D<br /><b>Me:</b> Is it from that Ekkayekee quest, or however it's spelled?<br /><i>(I notice <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=3475/echeyakee">what the lion's name is</a>.)</i><br /><b>Me:</b> Oh, apparently so.<br /><b>Guy:</b> lol<br /><b>Guy:</b> indeed he is.<br /><b>Me:</b> Congratulations on your white lion!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://www.dreamwidth.org/poll/?id=8000">View Poll: How old was the Troll?</a></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=snarp&ditemid=369779" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-13:51721:369185Blizzard has hurt my feelings.2011-09-02T03:31:32Z2011-09-02T03:31:32Zpublic2New Orgrimmar is very sad. I feel all homesick for old Orgrimmar. Where did Saurfang go? He's gone! And Grommash Hold is now where the bank used to be, which is extremely weird. I kind of expect to be able to ask Garrosh to hold on to my old armor.<br /><br />(Actually, I will do that anyway. Garrosh! Take my cloak.)<br /><br />And Zamja the cooking trainer's shop is still there, but she's not in it anymore. She's kind of standing on a dock with a bunch of mudskippers now. She's the only trainer-NPC whose name I ever remember, and she's <i>not where she should be!</i> I'm extremely upset.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=snarp&ditemid=369185" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-13:51721:368610Warcraft is not real.2011-08-28T17:26:02Z2011-08-28T17:26:40Zpublic3And sometimes this is unfortunate, because if it were, all we'd need to do about the hurricane would be this: I could go kite Malfurion over to the eye, and some Alliance person could do the same to Thrall, and they'd probably deal with it before they started fighting each other.<br /><br />I'm sure Anderson Cooper would report on this in a neutral manner, without letting his elven heritage bias him.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=snarp&ditemid=368610" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-13:51721:313491I must be stopped.2010-09-20T20:25:52Z2010-09-20T20:28:32Zpublic9<a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/World_of_Warcraft:_Cataclysm">Cataclysm</a> is coming out soon. I cannot be permitted to restart my subscription to see what the lead-up events are like. I'm probably not high enough level to access most of them, but I will be sucked back in nonetheless. My heart will be broken by the Orgrimmar redesign. My nerves will be shattered anew by <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Tauren">the</a> <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Goblin">ethnic</a> <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Troll">stereotypes</a> and <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Varian#Gladiator">poor storytelling decisions</a>. Dudes will say stuff about my hat.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=snarp&ditemid=313491" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-13:51721:241290Warcraft is so awesome.2009-09-08T00:32:20Z2009-09-08T00:34:08Zpublic0<p>The <a href="http://www.wow.com/goblins/">Jewish stereotype race</a>’s innate skills will include “Best Deals Anywhere” and “Time Is Money.”</p>
<p>The fact that I play this game is giving me, like, <em>complexes</em>.</p>
<p style="font-style:italic; font-size:smaller">(Crossposted to <a href="http://www.sarahpin.com/2009/09/08/warcraft-is-so-awesome/">SarahPin.com</a>, <a href="http://snarp.dreamwidth.org/">Dreamwidth</a>, and <a href="http://snarp.livejournal.com/">LiveJournal</a>. You can leave comments at whichever.)</p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=snarp&ditemid=241290" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-13:51721:240960Rosencrantz the Draenei2009-09-05T16:05:32Z2009-09-08T00:34:16Zpublic1<p>Had two anxiety dreams last night, then went back to sleep and had a Warcraft dream. I was a Blood Elf attempting to control my demoralized Horde scouting party in the Swamp of Sorrows, where a disaster had taken place, and some sort of level-?? sentient gas creature was stalking the Horde and Alliance in the area.</p>
<p><a name="cutid1"></a>With the party was a Broken Draenei who was very sad and listless all the time, as well as kind of dumb. But he was the best Mage we had (can Draenei even be Mages?), so I bullied him into doing stuff. His name was “Rosencrantz,” and he had a one-handed mace and nothing in his off-hand. I don’t know.</p>
<p>I should mention that I was a fairly unambiguously evil Blood Elf - I killed some guy for purely character-establishment-related reasons early on - even though I was wearing plate, and so presumably a Paladin. I was also dual-wielding a sword and a polearm. This is clearly badass. I don’t know what a Paladin was doing with Titan’s Grip, maybe I just hit a Warrior so hard it like, <i>fell out</i>.</p>
<p>(Man, I just looked it up and Titan’s Grip doesn’t work on Polearms. Screw that.)</p>
<p>Finally most of my party rebelled against me and ran off to join a party of Dark Iron dwarves nearby, taking Rosencrantz with them, just as the gas creature overwhelmed us. My PoV then switched over to Rosencrantz, and I was feeling guilty about having left the Blood Elf behind, despite the fact that she said mean things to me. I think the dream was setting up to have her come back and sneak into the dwarf encampment and demand I help her with something. But then a dog or something banged into my door and I woke up.</p>
<p>This is not a particularly interesting dream, but it amuses me how clear my subconscious was about everyone’s classes and gear. Also, that it made the Dark Iron dwarves nice and helpful to the defectors - clearly it is impatient with this creepy The Black Dwarves And Tauren Are Evil shit of Blizzard’s. I just wish it had specified whether or not the Blood Elf’s name was Guildenstern.</p>
<p style="font-style:italic; font-size:smaller">(Crossposted to <a href="http://www.sarahpin.com/2009/09/06/rosencrantz-the-draenei/">SarahPin.com</a>, <a href="http://snarp.dreamwidth.org/">Dreamwidth</a>, and <a href="http://snarp.livejournal.com/">LiveJournal</a>. You can leave comments at whichever.)</p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=snarp&ditemid=240960" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-13:51721:238152Too much WoW + rereading Queens’ Play =2009-08-18T07:43:13Z2009-08-18T07:45:22Zpublic2<p>I dreamed that Obama was forced to participate in a gladiatorial competition, and he gave away his true identity when he was forced to use his signature martial arts move to end a fight.</p>
<p style="font-style:italic; font-size:smaller">(Crossposted to <a href="http://www.sarahpin.com/2009/08/18/too-much-wow-rereading-queens-play/">SarahPin.com</a>, <a href="http://snarp.dreamwidth.org/">Dreamwidth</a>, and <a href="http://snarp.livejournal.com/">LiveJournal</a>. You can leave comments at whichever.)</p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=snarp&ditemid=238152" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-13:51721:237403Thrall makes bad decisions.2009-08-15T13:18:12Z2009-08-17T06:05:00Zpublic1<p>Expansion spoilers again.</p>
<a name="cutid1"></a><p><a href="http://www.mmo-champion.com/index.php?topic=92919.0">You put <i>Garrosh</i> in charge, Thrall?</a> Seriously? He tried to kill you, like, five minutes ago. Didn’t apologize or anything! And now you are putting him in charge.</p>
<p>Yes, I know, <em>plot</em> isn’t really the point of this game, but… geez.</p>
<p style="font-style:italic; font-size:smaller">(Crossposted to <a href="http://www.sarahpin.com/2009/08/15/thrall-makes-bad-decisions/">SarahPin.com</a>, <a href="http://snarp.dreamwidth.org/">Dreamwidth</a>, and <a href="http://snarp.livejournal.com/">LiveJournal</a>. You can leave comments at whichever.)</p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=snarp&ditemid=237403" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-13:51721:236427I’m a bad person.2009-08-13T12:06:39Z2009-08-14T09:52:53Zpublic0<p><a href="http://www.wow.com/2009/08/10/cataclysm-races-leaked/">Apparently</a> there have been leaks about the next WoW expansion?</p>
<p>I can tell I’m not really invested in the <em>canonical</em> WoW storyline because:</p>
<p>1) It didn’t even occur to me not to read the spoilers. It didn’t even occur to me to consider them spoilers. I guess that on some level, I do not feel a story is being told here.</p>
<p>2) My big reaction to the Big Major Spoiler that totally shifts the sociopolitical balance of the game’s society was not “wow, that totally shifts the sociopolitical balance of the game’s society!” but rather “man, that totally screws up my awesome fanfic.”</p>
<p>The exciting plot news is that…</p>
<a name="cutid1"></a><p>The Goblins, the “neutral” group who have always acted as go-betweens between the Alliance and the Horde - and who are, incidentally, horrible Jewish stereotypes - are joining the Horde. Given that the only other neutral party, the Cenarian Circle, is geographically confined to a small area and takes frequent naps, I think that if the goblins join the Horde, everyone just dies.</p>
<p>This messes up my fanfic because it was set in the Goblin capital city of the Undermine, which previously didn’t exist in the game. If the Undermine is, in fact, going live, I can no longer make stuff up to make it less anti-Semitic. Part of the plot was that a Troll diplomat has been killed in the Undermine and Thrall sent a party to investigate, with the ostensible aim of using the incident as a lever to get a mutual defense pact out of them. This is, however, merely a ploy to mess with Varian Wrynn’s head - Thrall, being really smart, obviously agrees with me that things are generally more pleasant for everyone if the Goblins remain neutral. I’d scripted this whole secret conference with Sylvanus about it.</p>
<p>Shut up.</p>
<p>(I hadn’t actually written any of this down, but I’ve been plotting out the first few chapters in my head during my walks the past couple days.)</p>
<p style="font-style:italic; font-size:smaller">(Crossposted to <a href="http://www.sarahpin.com/2009/08/13/im-a-bad-person/">SarahPin.com</a>, <a href="http://snarp.dreamwidth.org/">Dreamwidth</a>, and <a href="http://snarp.livejournal.com/">LiveJournal</a>. You can leave comments at whichever.)</p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=snarp&ditemid=236427" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-13:51721:235603I might be playing WoW again.2009-08-06T09:43:19Z2009-08-06T09:46:46Zpublic0<p>So we’ve got Varian Wrynn who leads the humans, and Thrall who leads the orcs. And Thrall is the nice one who reads books and sincerely regrets the necessity of ripping your legs off, and Varian is the angry one who yells “traitor!” a lot and whose ten-year-old* keeps having to talk him down.** And they’ve got to have their angsty backstory to explain how they turned out like this, of course.</p>
<p>But why is it <em>the same backstory?</em> Is being enslaved and forced to become a gladiator just some kind of rite of <em>passage</em> in Azeroth?</p>
<p>* I think the endgame plan is probably that Thrall and Prince Anduin get married.</p>
<p>** If the description of their personalities sounds intriguing to you, please just like… <em>imagine</em> the story you want to go there. You do <em>not</em> want to try and read the books. I promise.</p>
<p style="font-style:italic; font-size:smaller">(Crossposted to <a href="http://www.sarahpin.com/2009/08/06/i-might-be-playing-wow-again/">SarahPin.com</a>, <a href="http://snarp.dreamwidth.org/">Dreamwidth</a>, and <a href="http://snarp.livejournal.com/">LiveJournal</a>. You can leave comments at whichever.)</p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=snarp&ditemid=235603" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments