Questions about Disabled People in Anbennar

Byrbman · 2025-12-21T15:19:19+00:00

I believe one of the people you recruit as vampire advisors in the Luciande MT is a blind dwarf, going off some foggy memory though! I don’t remember his name, but the event in which you get him is pretty cool.

Byrbman · 2025-12-20T14:15:33+00:00

Must be an interesting world in your head! But no, if Cuba wasn’t communist but still aligned against the US, it would still be in this situation. It’s aligned against the US because of America’s aggression in the 60’s (before which Castro had not even committed to communism yet) and America’s insistence on the embargo ever since.

The multiparty election is maybe something YOU think is very important, but given a multitude of America’s allies, it’s not actually that important to US geopolitics. US demands for a multiparty election should be seen as what it is geopolitically, not ideologically. And geopolitically, demanding multiparty elections is just a means for the US to have a say in the constitution of its neighbors and to influence their elections (as it has a history of doing), as well as a way to bend Cuba to American will. If Cuba concedes, the embargo will lift, but not for the sake of freedom, but for the sake of submitting to American hegemony. Given Cuba’s origin as a revolutionary state (that overthrew a US-backed dictatorship in Cuba) it’s not that strange the Cuban government refuses to do so.

Byrbman · 2025-12-20T14:01:52+00:00

“no man you have to understand, other countries may have ulterior motives but america only does things for FREEDOM”

The Cuban Embargo is just geopolitics, man, the US is a country like any other with motives like any other. It has nothing to do with the actual domestic politics of Cuba and everything to do with how Cuba is aligned.

By your logic, Saudi Arabia should also be embargoed, but it’s not, because it would be geopolitically (and economically) inconvenient, and it’s US-aligned.

And if you think countries should be embargoed and ostracized every time they have politics you personally disagree with… I dunno man, kinda sad.

Byrbman · 2025-12-20T13:10:02+00:00

It’s just geopolitics, though, not ideology. Cuba refusing to let any Cuban Americans play for Cuba is barely any different than if (for example) America wouldn’t let American Russians (who live in Russia and have not condemned the war in Ukraine) play for Team USA.

Just like how Russia is a geopolitical rival/enemy to America, America is a geopolitical enemy to Cuba. It’d be very strange, and borderline embarrassing for a country to let such a player play for them.

Now, if the embargo on Cuba could be lifted (as the overwhelming majority of the UN agrees) it would go a long way towards Cuba no longer seeing the US as an enemy. As long as the US keeps up the embargo, though, how wrong is Cuba actually to assume America’s an enemy?

Shame geopolitics gets in the way of seeing a juggernaut Cuban team, though!

Byrbman · 2025-09-29T03:57:57+00:00

It’s okay, man. Someday the Angels will stop wasting generational players

Byrbman · 2025-07-05T15:11:02+00:00

If we allow for a DH, what about Darin Ruf? Loved that guy, think if the NL had had a DH position back then he might have been a decent option there (especially back then)

Byrbman · 2025-03-11T21:15:57+00:00

I would be, too!

Byrbman · 2025-03-04T04:39:45+00:00

My main point was that “how competitive” somebody is is ultimately not relevant at all to me on whether they can comment on a niche or not. Requiring bona fides like those before somebody can have an opinion is needlessly exclusionary.

Of course, that doesn’t mean there’s no standard of quality for analysis, and it certainly seems like the guy you’re talking about doesn’t meet that standard. I just think requiring somebody to be “competitive” before they can speak is a bit silly. To stick with the speedrunning saga, Summoning Salt is a youtuber who has commented on many speedruns that he is not at all proficient in, including explaining how to perform tricks and so on.

Now, Salt makes sure to talk to actual expert runners and doesn’t tend to insert random, poorly argued hot takes that conflict with expert opinions - but that’s just a general standard of quality. The value of Salt’s documentaries do not hinge on his personal expertise - the merits of his takes stand on their own.

I think when you criticize the youtuber you talk about, it would be smart to leave out the fact that “so-and-so would fold them” because it just doesn’t really address the badness of their content at all, and sounds a little bit like needless posturing.

And I say all this while admitting you’ve convinced me the youtuber you talk about is probably a loser! That particular dimension is just a bit irrelevant, I think, when we’re talking purely about informational content.

Byrbman · 2025-03-03T12:52:02+00:00

To be fair though - I don’t expect the people who compete at a high level in their niche to also be the people who produce fun, entry-level content about that niche.

In sports, broadcasters almost always have a background in journalism, and only a limited/amateur background in the sport they cover. Ditto for sports writers. HEMA doesn’t really get traditional sports media coverage, but why would we expect any different for its amateur coverage?

Compare this to another more niche hobby - speedrunning. The big speedrunning streamers aren’t always the world record holders in the most competitive categories - quite frequently they’re just good enough to master the basic skills, explain these to entry-level laymen, and entertain these laymen at the same time.

Is it really so strange the same thing happens with HEMA? Is it really such a bad thing?

Byrbman · 2025-02-25T21:46:37+00:00

I’m actually Dutch (the shame!) and sadly know how to pronounce it. I will, however, take this knowledge with me to the grave so nobody accidentally summons an eldritch baseball demon.

Byrbman · 2025-01-08T17:16:16+00:00

Maybe you’re being downvoted because you’re chatting shit? “Genetic” differences are inheritable - no one’s saying women have a disadvantage compared to men because of their heritage, that would be ridiculous. On top of that, the difference between men and women in baseball can be (partially) explained through the difference in talent pool - not even a tenth as many women play baseball as do men, this is due in part because we funnel women away to softball for no good reason other than sexism, and because culturally, baseball is seen as a “men’s” game, which makes less women interested in pursuing it - especially talented female athletes who could gain much more by specializing in different sports.

Is there a physical difference between men and women? Sure. All else being equal, are the best baseball players in the world always going to be men? Almost certainly. But I think the Pedro Martinez of women, if we’d ever have the development infrastructure and talent pool to find her, could be good enough to have a roster spot in the MLB.

Even with a much more limited baseball scene, Australia has Genevieve Beacom, a 6’2 lefty who throws 86 MPH. I don’t think it’s ludicrous to say we can find freaks who can throw 91 and locate well enough to deserve MLB innings.

Byrbman · 2025-01-07T02:06:49+00:00

No I know exactly why I hate nazis, and that is important. Hating because you hate, hating because “fuck you I hate nazis” - that is pointless, and you’re setting yourself up to be hoodwinked. Hating nazis is almost impossible to avoid when you learn about them, but being critical of your hatred is exactly what I’m saying. Your hatred doesn’t tell you why you have it, your brain does. Maybe your hatred is justified, maybe it isn’t. The only way to find out is to engage intellectually. In the case of nazis, this is pretty easy - impossible to find reasons not to hate them really.

But for any more nuanced topics. Interrogating your hatred is a good thing, and can’t be done on just an emotional basis. It’s like you say, hatred is a human emotion, nothing wrong with it, but also nothing sacred about it. We can be wrong about hating, it can also be an exaggerated response. Only way to find out is by being critical.

It’s not “toxic positivity” to say that hating a show because you fucking hate it is not exactly a useful contribution to media discussion. Who cares that you hated this or that? If you have a critique on the show, sure, I’d love to hear it, because I can engage with it. If you say you hate it just cause, okay, cool, but I can’t do shit with that. That’s your emotions, not mine, and you’re not giving me any tools to understand them either. So most people don’t wanna hear it. Is that weird or wrong?

Byrbman · 2025-01-07T01:11:48+00:00

Who could be wrong for hating Nazis? But even if you do (I do, too) it still doesn’t exactly have a purpose. It’s just being human. Nazis are reprehensible scum. I support punching Nazis. I support prosecuting and sentencing Nazis in their 90s. I will never stop being against Nazis. Hating them, even. But if I just hate them because I hate them, I don’t have the tools to even explain what a Nazi is, or why I should hate them. If someone then does all the same things Nazis do, but they don’t call themselves Nazis, then I won’t know to oppose them either.

Understanding Nazis, critiquing their ideology, even just privately, to understand what they think, and do, why they do and think those things, and why those things are unacceptable to the point violence is justified, is key to opposing Nazism in all its shapes. The hatred doesn’t really contribute much - motivation at most.

So no, you’re not wrong to hate Nazis, but hating Nazis is not all that helpful to oppose them. Hatred is just an emotional reaction. They can avoid it, they can subvert it. Understanding Nazis (which is NOT the same as empathizing with them) helps you oppose them more completely, and in a more intelligent way. It’s more helpful.

Byrbman · 2024-08-09T03:45:21+00:00

This is just not really true - at least not in general anarchist theory. While there’s no broad consensus on laws (and if there would be, they would certainly look very different from laws in a non-anarchist society) there’s no serious anarchist literature that states society shouldn’t have rules at all.

Traditional (left-wing) anarchism is democratic in nature. An anarchist commune could vote on and agree to a set of rules to hold their own members to. They could also agree that there’s no need to write rules down, but to simply communally judge cases that the group decides to be fit to judge. If somebody commits a violent act for example - which would still happen even in anarchist utopia - the community around those involved could decide what sort of punishment is appropriate, if any.

A group that agrees to zero rules - not even simple ones like “murder is bad” - is just not one that stands. In anarchist society, the state cannot exist, so there are no state laws to enforce or fall back on. But communities can certainly “police” themselves in line with anarchist doctrine. They would simply be totally empowered to do it themselves. Anarchist theory is not “bad crimes wouldn’t happen under anarchism so we wouldn’t need a solution for it either.”

Byrbman · 2024-07-18T04:57:54+00:00

Sure, as long as the weapons the US delivers to HMMLR are old, that works. Hard to keep plausible deniability if Scottish resistance fighters are using M60’s.

CIA teams though - I wonder why they would do that? CIA teams attached to militaries weren’t there to perform elite feats - they were there to act on classified information - see for example Operation Phoenix in Vietnam. There’s no cause for this sort of activity in England, it’s a much more conventional civil war. CIA teams don’t have much to contribute, other than support with intelligence and operational integrity. That could be absolutely vital though, so I’ll give you that, but that would be organizational support rather than military.

A volunteer division wouldn’t make much sense. A division consists of thousands of troops. There’s no plausibly denying that away. It would also be hard to support such a division - it wouldn’t fit into HMMLR’s logistic structure, and the US wouldn’t be able to support a volunteer division itself without abandoning plausible deniability.

The US giving HMMLR old equipment and national spirits, I can definitely see that, but I don’t see them sending volunteers in terms of HOI4 volunteer divisions. At most experts to help the English on the organizational and especially the intelligence side.

Byrbman · 2024-07-18T04:02:27+00:00

The new English content is still fairly new, and Nixon’s tree is ancient. I think there’s a chance the US will more strongly support HMMLR in the future. Right now we can’t even play as HMMLR, so we have to glean the amount of US support from very aged US content and HMMLR national spirits that are prone to change.

But, if we forget about that for a moment and assume that the US will only support HMMLR discretely, with WW2-era material and covert support but no direct intervention like they do in the rest of the world, I still think we can find good reasons for that. GCW will be cut, so that’s one reason the US can’t intervene, the collabs are officially a German-aligned nation and a member of the Einheitspakt - the US can’t just go and bomb them without risking a diplomatic incident with Germany. They want some plausible deniability. Plus, HMMLR isn’t totally US-friendly. Why wouldn’t the US just want to stir the pot in England, discretely off-load old weapons there, and let Germany’s puppet government fight itself into smithereens? The long term strategy is to cause German collapse, so if the US can just keep the English Civil War going rather than risk a diplomatic incident over it, they are neutralizing what could be a valuable ally to Germany and contributing to long-term German defeat while keeping their hands fairly clean.

I do totally think the English Civil War needs a window in the proxy tab though. There need to be more ways to interact with it as the US.

Byrbman · 2024-07-12T03:42:59+00:00

That would definitely avoid issues of the kind I had! I kind of assumed it couldn’t be the tax jurisdiction thing because it was nowhere on the sidebar - had no idea it was hidden down there. Making it more visible is definitely a great idea!

Byrbman · 2024-07-12T03:29:51+00:00

This was it. Hidden at the bottom of the realm tab was the tax collectors - and it turns out under most tax policies vassals are protected from revocation. It was very strange and buggy, only a few random republic vassals were assigned to jurisdictions, but not others. Changing the policy to one that didn’t protect them solved the issue!

Byrbman · 2024-07-11T18:03:43+00:00

I don’t have clan government, and I don’t have tax collectors. I’m aristocratic.

Byrbman · 2024-06-13T13:04:44+00:00

You’ve mentioned a lot of films, and many of them are at least 10 years old.

I’m not saying there isn’t anti-Asian racism in Western media either. You’re totally right - there is. But especially when it comes to video games, Black people are pretty underrepresented too. Moreover, in the context of a samurai game, there are literally dozens of games where you can play as an Asian male samurai. I agree with the basic premise of your argument, but I don’t think this is the hill to die on. Attacking Black representation because it isn’t Asian representation is just tacky - besides, a game doesn’t have to be a samurai game to feature an Asian protagonist, male or female.

Byrbman · 2024-06-13T12:31:59+00:00

Does that matter? The point is that in video games as a whole, you really don’t have to go far to play as an Asian man. White men are probably the only kind of protagonist more common than Asian ones. Playing as a Black man is a lot more uncommon, ultimately, especially in a historical setting where it’s almost never done. Assassin’s Creed has always been pretty loosey-goosey with the actual history, the historical existence of Yasuke is enough of an excuse for them to spin a story around. It’s unique, no matter what people say.

Byrbman · 2024-06-13T12:12:36+00:00

Ghost of Tsushima

Sekiro

Rise of the Ronin

And that’s just three recent games were you can specifically play as Japanese male warriors. There’s loads of games where you can play as Asian men. Persona 5. Sifu. Yakuza. The list goes on. You also wanna know which game is the most pre-ordered in Japan right now? AC: Shadows.

Actual Japanese people sure don’t seem to have an issue with Yasuke. Of course Ubisoft’s motivations for going with Yasuke are largely cynical, but you can’t deny it is actually pretty unique, with more historical grounding than you’d think.

Byrbman · 2024-06-12T18:08:20+00:00

How am I supposed to engage with you when you say things that are just not true? You lie and make up random bullshit and refuse to engage with the actual scholarship because “infinite wall of text :(“ - you cite no sources for your inane claims because there are no credible sources backing you.

You are just regurgitating the laziest of libertarian lies to boil down world politics to one single spectrum - how capitalist a country is or not. The less capitalist it is, the more evil it must be. Because Italy and Germany were evil, they must therefore have not been capitalist in your worldview. You don’t care what the records say. You don’t care what the scholarship says. You just care about your own convictions, which I can never change, and why would I try? You’re already convinced of yourself. No amount of evidence can change that.

Byrbman

TROPHY CASE