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Ari, the Danteshu Pope

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Of double standards. Or not. [12 Jan 2010|07:20pm]
Sometimes it's hard to tell when I'm being a humourless feminist, or just grimly realistic.

But I do know that if you think that Bayonetta's physique is any less realistic than, say, the men of Gears of War, or Chris Redfield of Resident Evil 5, you're an idiot.
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In Praise of Gaming, Part the First [12 Jan 2010|02:59pm]
Due to the surprisingly positive response to my most recent post, I thought I'd put in another good word for the hobby of tabletop gaming. It's an underrated pastime that receives a lot of bad press, but so does anime and manga, and so did video games back in the day, so I suspect my words will fall on sympathetic ears.

But the accusation that tabletop RPGs are the nerdiest of the nerdy is demonstrably false: it is a hobby that requires you to have friends. Not a "friend", friends. These games are played in a group, and unlike, say, surfing, you cannot do it by yourself. Nor does Blizzard have an online word set up for you to go and play with people who aren't your friends. You have to know these people in the flesh, meet up at someone's house, and socialize.

Nerds have friends. This is something that the gaming industry just now seems to realize, despite the fact that 4-player games like Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Goldeneye, etc., were always hugely popular. (Part of this is the difference between nerd socialization in the East versus the West, but that is a digression I'll undertake some other time. Assume that when I say "nerds" I mean the North American variety, not the Japanese.) It seemingly took Halo to get game designers to realize that people would like to play with their friends, yes even co-operatively, and that these friends might be in their living room as opposed to screen names on the internet that scream homophobic profanities through XBox Live.

As a result we have Gears of War, RE5, Army of Two, Left 4 Dead, and even co-op missions in Modern Warfare 2. In fact, one of my friends returned Left 4 Dead because he had been misled by the title into thinking it was a 4-player game, and a 2-player game meant that some of his friends would always be sitting around waiting for something to do. Gamers have friends, or at the very least a sibling, who would like to play too.

(Sure, some people like to watch. I don't, really, but I used to watch my older brother play when I was a tot and enjoyed it a great deal. My younger brother watched my entire playthrough of Persona 4 - which greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the experience, particularly when he began to vocally slash MC/Yosuke - but in an RPG all decisions are strategic, and can be made together. In an FPS a split-second hesitation could kill you. But do you know what would have improved the experience? If he could pick up a second controller and take over some of the characters. A two-player RPG would groundbreaking and innovative, and I think a two player co-op RTS would be incredible... but this is another digression.)

Ahem. As I was saying, nerds have friends. Friends like to play together. Tabletop RPGs let you do just that, and you can have as many players as you want (though for a roleplaying-intensive game I wouldn't recommend more than 5, but others would disagree). Throughout junior high and high school I socialized in groups that were larger and more active than those of my "cool" peers. The only difference was that we got together to drink and to play Dungeons & Dragons, Cyberpunk, and Warhammer, and marathon anime; whereas they got together to... do whatever it is the cool kids did in high school. Play basketball and get laid, I suppose. Frankly, we had more fun.

So if this sound like you - a nerd with friends - you may wish to consider tabletop RPGs. The smallest number you need is two - a Game Master and a player - but I would suggest at least three. It's a great excuse to hang out, and unlike poker or video games, it won't cost you a thing.
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Das table gamen [01 Jan 2010|08:15pm]
Reporting in to say that I survived a busy and somewhat depressing holiday season. I have been contemplating Big Life Changes, but more on that as the results come in.

First off: many thanks to [info]rhole and [info]_leareth! Your gifts are absolutely lovely! Yours are in the mail. Also, thanks to the man in the woods for the stylish watch. The rest of my Christmas haul was mostly money, but I'm certainly not complaining. That, and the means to caffinate myself.

Happy 2010 everyone!

Next: I have been eschewing my usual vidya in lieu of table top games for the past few months. Not that I have given up on the vidya - Strange Journey and The 40th Day, hurrah! - I'm just focusing on something a little more social right now because I could use the company. No, by table top games I do not mean Cranium. I mean Legend of the Five Rings. Not the CCG, either.

For the unfamiliar, L5R is basically Dungeons and Dragons with samurai.

Yes, I am that much of a nerd. Enough so that I am quite seriously considering organizing a West Coast Saga game for The Imperial Court. Yes, yes, I am a cosplayer, throw rocks at me.

Out of curiosity, do any of you play table top games? If so, what's your favourite? (I'm not expecting a whole lot of love here, because tabletop games are generally one of those Y-chromosome affairs, and as we all know there are no boys on LJ.) Over the course of my wasted youth I've played D&D, Call of Cthulu, L5R, CP2020, Rifts, Paranoia, Vampire, Mage, Hunter, and many, many more that aren't immediately coming to mind, but trust me when I say that I'm probably familiar with your game of choice. I'm about to play Exalted, which will be a far cry from the gritty lethality of L5R where one hit from a katana can, and very likely will, kill you.

As it should.

Poll #1506101 Poll for those too lazy to comment
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 21

Have you ever played a table top RPG?

View Answers

Never, you worthless loser! Now excuse me while I watch anime alone in my room.
2 (9.5%)

I've thought about it. In my weaker moments.
6 (28.6%)

I played some D&D/Rifts in grade school. You seriously still do that?
2 (9.5%)

Whenever I can manage to get a game together. Good players are so hard to come by.
5 (23.8%)

Every single week.
6 (28.6%)

Have you heard of L5R?

View Answers

Nope. Dork.
3 (15.0%)

No, but the idea of D&D with samurai is one of the best I've ever heard.
5 (25.0%)

Just the card game. I didn't know there was an RPG, too.
2 (10.0%)

Yes, but I've never played it.
5 (25.0%)

Yes. What's your favourite Clan? (Answer: The Scorpion.)
5 (25.0%)

Is anyone interested in hearing about table top games?

View Answers

Ugh, no!
0 (0.0%)

Not really. Keep that stuff on your Dreamwidth account.
0 (0.0%)

Not really familiar, but I'd rather you blogged about vidya and animu and tv here.
0 (0.0%)

Not really familiar, but I am interested in hearing about it.
8 (44.4%)

Yes, please. I THOUGHT I WAS ALL ALONE.
10 (55.6%)

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Reflections on the last exam of the year [19 Dec 2009|02:07pm]
Composed by the poet Ari as she studied in the basement of the library in early winter:

Nibbling on green grass
the rabbit does not know what
semester it is
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Oh wouldn't it be nice [03 Dec 2009|09:50pm]
Doing some readings on epic bakumatsu samurai during study breaks for THE TEST this weekend, and I stumbled across this line from Nagakura Shinpachi's profile:

At age nineteen he left the service of the Matsumae clan in order to travel and improve his technique.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all just ditch our responsibilities and go on a warrior pilgrimage? Hey mom and dad, college was great, but I think I need to go travel to improve my technique before I settle down (or was this the samurai equivalent of backpacking across Europe? With considerably less partying and getting laid, I suspect, but possibly just as much). Oh, Japanese landed gentry. You were in so many ways so much more badass than my own ancestors. (Related: oh Hetalia, thanks to you I can finally say "Prussia" without having to explain myself. Or why they left.)

That said, the most striking thing about this to me is that this is not the 15th, or even 18th century. This is the 1860s. After a full century of the Industrial Revolution in the West, while Louis Pasteur was elucidating germ theory, and Darwin was publishing the Origin of Species, young samurai were still wandering the countryside dueling each other to better understand bushido.

Poll #1494249 Musha shugyou
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 22

If you could go on a warrior pilgrimage, would you?

View Answers

JUST LET ME GET MY KATANA. (Clearly you are in need of one - why isn't your katana at your side?)
10 (45.5%)

No, I understand bushido and am content with the level of my technique.
1 (4.5%)

No, my lord needs my service.
2 (9.1%)

No, I am a gaijin and would have to become a Knight Errant instead. I can understand courage and compassion, but not honour.
7 (31.8%)

No, I am a coward.
2 (9.1%)

Which of the seven virtues do you feel your warrior pilgrimage would help you improve?

View Answers

Duty.
1 (4.5%)

Courage.
5 (22.7%)

Compassion.
2 (9.1%)

Respect.
2 (9.1%)

Honesty.
0 (0.0%)

Honour.
1 (4.5%)

Loyalty.
0 (0.0%)

All of the above.
7 (31.8%)

None, if my heart lacks sincerity and my mind wisdom.
3 (13.6%)

None, I am a coward.
1 (4.5%)

Do you feel it is right for a bushi to use any weapon other than his katana?

View Answers

Yes, as long as they are a warrior's weapons like a spear or bow, not a coward's weapons like a gun or shuriken.
3 (13.6%)

Yes, but only in battle. A bushi should use only his sword in duels.
11 (50.0%)

No. His katana is his heart and soul - the only time he should put it as side is to use his wakizashi for seppuku.
1 (4.5%)

He should use any weapon his lord asks him to use.
4 (18.2%)

I don't know. I am a coward and I don't understand a bushi's honour.
3 (13.6%)

Besides your daisho, what weapon would you bring on your warrior pilgrimage?

View Answers

Naginata.
6 (30.0%)

Tetsubou.
1 (5.0%)

Yari.
1 (5.0%)

Yumi.
4 (20.0%)

I need only my sword.
8 (40.0%)

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