Brynhilde

... What loot would they drop? Upon being defeated, Bryn would drop: Armour of the Penitent set : plate armour with strong tank stats, body piece would be a breastplate embossed with the Ala Mhigan Griffin. Ring of the Great Wolf : ring with STR, VIT, DET and Crit+ Ala Mhigan Banner furniture item. Armoured Aldgoat mount (rare drop). It's an Elder Longhorn Aldgoat in steel plate armour which does not scale to race. It's huge and magnificent. The tooltip would state that it is the one Aldgoat that cannot be tipped by any mortal. Fire crystals.

Depends who Bryn loses to. Losing a fight against a Highlander / Roegadyn = Instant Lady Boner. Losing a fight against anyone else = put on a nice smile and congratulate them while seething inwardly.

I'm operating on 4 hours sleep and therefore incapable and unwilling to do anything tonight aside from slob around in my Sonic PJs and stare vacantly at moving images until bedtime, so while I'd like to answer a few very good points made in recent posts here, I'll leave it. But I'd like to stress how bloody impressed I am that this thread still hasn't devolved into an ugly name calling fest and been locked. Go us.

IRL, I am a bookseller. Whenever I embark on something new, I turn first to books. Things I have researched for Bryn: The history, language and culture of the Germanic Celts. Noble titles of medieval Germany. The structure of a sword and the names of various types of swords. Sword fighting techniques and medieval martial arts, warfare and weapons. Guerilla warfare. Roman military structure (Garlemald). PTSD. Dyscalculia. Substance abuse. It always feels like there's so much more I need to learn, but thankfully I enjoy it.

Alas, that image is so true. And I agree re: the bad precedent. We seem to have made broadly the same point, and somehow arrived at an amiable resolution to a debate involving gender politics. If a pig doesn't fly past my bus when I'm heading to work in the morning, I'll be sorely disappointed.

Yeah. I took that quote to be directed at those who are asking if 'Mary Sue' is sexist, due to Zyrusticae's earlier point about the issue raised in the Tumblr post obscuring the 'real issues', which is a point made in many posts in this thread.

If you're referring to the instant and repeated dismissal of feminist critique of culture as either worthless on account of emotional basis or worthless on account of wrong and petty priorities, that was bothering me, too. [edit] i do wurds gud I do see that dismissal, and acknowledge that it is a potent thing, but I also see very quick and angry dismissals of a fair and honest attempt to incorporate a male perspective not to dismiss, but to understand and come to terms with, the stress and frustration these things develop. My point is that there is pettiness on BOTH sides, and a refusal to acknowledge that from the beginning instantly turns me off from "debate" in which I might hear the word "mansplaining" be thrown about as quickly as dismissal of the feminine perspective. Can't deny that, but I don't see it in this thread. I think we took different things from Zyrusticaev's post, as I read it as supporting the general sway of the thread. Which is why I wanted to clarify what you meant.

If you're referring to the instant and repeated dismissal of feminist critique of culture as either worthless on account of emotional basis or worthless on account of wrong and petty priorities, that was bothering me, too. It's important for us to recognise several simple facts. Firstly, someone criticizing or critiquing something doesn't mean that they're upset by it. Secondly, it is completely possible to be both upset about something, and still have a valid argument regarding it. So whether or not people we disagree with are 'upset', the fact doesn't have any value or basis in intelligent debate. Thirdly, people can have a plurality of concerns and focus their efforts on several issues at once. We're not beholden to focus on one concern exclusively until the job is done before we can move on to the next concern. We as feminists can be (and very often are) concerned about 'big' issues such as sex trafficking and the gender pay gap, and consider the gender issues behind language used in popular culture all at the same time. Also, if like many feminists you believe sexism to be present not only in our institutions but also in the ways we speak to each other and conduct our relationships, and to have a presence in our behaviour, our social structure as well as our language, then it becomes evident that it isn't enough to just focus on the 'big' issues; it is apparent that language matters, and should be a feminist concern. Giving time and thought to the 'trivial' things doesn't harm the feminist cause; in fact, it's vital that we do so. When we take these things into account, we can see that arguments that boil down to variations of, "you're way too sensitive" and "don't you have bigger things to worry about?" serve no purpose but to shut debate down before it begins. As a final point I'll say that you know there's something deeply wrong with our culture when the notion that it is possible to "think too much" is taken seriously. I'd say that a large part of the world's problems are down to people not thinking enough. Whether it be the meaning of life or how to build a more formally inclusive society; for the Twelves' and all of our sakes, don't be afraid to think! [edit] i do wurds gud

No, Batman is a canon sue if anything, and that's debatable. Mary Sue and Gary Stu doesn't apply to canon characters. They're a term specifically for original fanfiction characters. In fact the term isn't even supposed to apply to roleplaying game characters unless you're RPing an original character alongside canon characters. I don't personally see any importance in the distinction, but that may because I view the Sue problem as one of narrative value and not one of Sues being awful because they're wish fulfilment.

Vaguely, yes. The term does describe a real phenomenon; we've all seen Mary Sues (possibly RP'd one in our younger years. Cough.), and as already pointed out, there is a male equivalent: Marty or Gary Stu. They are awful. But as the Tumblr post states, that's Batman. And no-one bats an eyelid pun intended. In fact, he's a hugely beloved cultural icon. So I do think that accusations of Sue-ism are levelled at female characters more often, because female creations and interests are more frequently derided, attacked and seen as lesser. For example, look at the vitriol levelled at the recent woman-centric media of Twilight and 50 Shades. It's not enough for these things to just simply be shit (they are), but hating on them becomes a kind of public performance. It's a bit like that.

Loud words! Pretentious symbolism! ANNUNCIATION The snow falls on Mt Fuji? Farts. An original piece by Flynt Reddard. There are no buffs to prepare me for the strength of your encounter you are awe, you are power, you are final. boss. and i am but a clumsy pug group in the shadow of your heart I SCREAM INTO THE VOID, BUT YOU CAST SILENCE. ... ... ... I succumb. I reach the limit. break. enraptured by the ubiquitous marvel of your plumes i wipe

pen0rs

I'm keen to attend. Judging by attendance of server events, I'm guessing a Sunday would be the best bet for maximum attendance.

Polyamorous primal events I didn't go to. Underage Lalafell law enforcement.

Mildly related : Last night I had a dream that I went to work, headed straight up to the staff room, and slept through my whole 8 hour shift. And my colleagues were totally okay with it. Best dream.

Well, it seems like there's plenty of interest in here at least. I admit that the fem Au Ra - as we've seen them - are not my cup of tea, personally. But perhaps I'm being hasty, and the customization options will be amazing. Here's hoping.

Out of pure curiosity dont lynch me, did anyone upon seeing the fem Au Ra for the firs time go, "YES THAT'S ME I WILL PLAY THAT"? I have a few friends in my FC and elsewhere who are planning on going male Au Ra, but I haven't heard from anyone going female.

Can I quote Judith Butler yet?

If you touch them, they feel like the finest slate rock from the majestic slopes of Gyr Abania.

What bothers me is the degree of sexual dimorphism introduced simply to appeal to conventional notions of attractiveness: Males can be beastly. Females cannot. I don't care for that. The style of the race should make sense as a holistic whole. It doesn't, and the reason is because they were afraid the player base would reject a beastly female. I don't see a positive in this, though it is not surprising. I'm just going to quote this for emphasis because Aya is much better at wording things than I am. This is the reason why I don't like the sexual dimorphism in Au Ra. Thirded. I was thrilled when I heard SE were adding Fem!Highlanders and Roes for ARR. I choose to play a Fem!Highlander for 3 core reasons. 1) I wanted to look like a grown-ass woman, damnit. 2) I'm a huge Celtic history nerd, and the Hyurans are based off of Celtic cultures, and 3) Wanted to look disdainful and disapproving of everything, all of the time. Bryn does not disappoint. I'm still frustrated that I can't actually make her look at least like she's in her 30s, but at least she doesn't look 15. Options are good. From what we've seen, the Fem Au Ra just don't really add anything new. I think that's the crux of a lot of the disappointment.

How about ANY BODY HAIR AT ALL?! I want to look like I'm wearing a sweater when I unequip my chest slot! Y-yes pls... Why don't dudes get beard options at the Aesthetician!?

What's interesting about the Au Ra is that they came about directly as the result of a poll SE held, in which the player base voted that they wanted a more 'bestial'-type race. I guess we got that with the male Au Ra. But I definitely understand the frustration about female Au Ra. To me, they just look like a half-assed job. Male Au Ra look fairly unique; dark, broody and badass. But the females, to me, look like Midlander #2 with little horns stuck on. I'm waiting to see the 'darker, more demonic' type Au Ra fem SE has promised, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Also

When we get our chat server, I demand a poetry slam.

Sounds grand. If it's not at a time too insane for EU, I'll be there.