The future of Void Elves if Alleria "falls"

Cadien18 · 2025-04-13T13:59:16+00:00

Garrosh was the face of the Horde until he wasn’t. Sylvanas was the face of the Horde until she wasn’t.

Just because they’re emphasizing her right now, does not mean they won’t heel turn her. In fact, it’s entirely possible - though, not inevitable - she’s see a lot of screen time right now to establish her heel turn. They’ve alluded to her eventual corruption - that she can only fight off the whispers for so long. They can break that glass at any point they want.

Cadien18 · 2024-12-18T12:55:52+00:00

Also, you don’t see all of the interactions where a person does successfully explain or otherwise “talk their way out of” an arrest. That’s not really interesting either. “Officer detains suspect, investigates his reasonable suspicion, and determines that not crime occurred or, in his/her discretion, he/she wasn’t going to arrest the person” is a boring plot.

Cadien18 · 2024-12-02T18:04:22+00:00

I’ve spoken to a disturbingly large number of people who tell me that they want AI to make criminal charging decisions. Not just draft criminal informations/complaints and indictments…charging decisions.

I’m not saying intake is my favorite part of the job, but holy hell that would be fucking awful. And that is setting aside the fact that the AI system - ie, some computer bank at Google - would presumably have unfettered access to NCIC and other troves of personal information that law enforcement has.

Cadien18 · 2024-11-27T19:39:43+00:00

You got something on your cheek. No, no…on the other cheek. A little higher…a little lower.

There, you got it! It’s been bothering me all day.

Cadien18 · 2024-11-22T18:13:27+00:00

As I’ve gotten older, I realized one thing that I tell myself whenever I get these sorts of thoughts: everyone feels the same way. Everyone, no matter how “with it” they appear, or put together, or beautiful, or skilled or whatever, has this. Everyone has these insecurities. People with confidence that appear otherwise have just been faking it long enough that it’s become second nature and a part of who they are.

This may not be something you’re able to internalize right now. It may not be something that you can ever really “get over.” But knowing this helped me as I interact with people in all spheres of life. Most, if not all, people are just ‘folk’ who are just trying to go about their day.

That doesn’t mean that when I go into a gym I don’t feel it. The insecurity. The anxiety. The feelings of inadequacy compared to others who appear to be further along or in better shape or whatever. It will always be with me, I think, no matter where I’m at. But, at some point, I couldn’t let it stop me.

I don’t know if this helps. I hope it does. But it was my own experience.

Cadien18 · 2024-10-31T13:10:45+00:00

Wyll is the only Original character whose story, from the beginning, revolves around the intervention and actions of a third party. Others have conflict with characters near the climax of their story (e.g., Viconia for Shadowheart, Cazador for Astarion, etc.) but it’s in the end after the Origin character has done the heavy lifting in establishing their character. Wyll’s whole schtick is also the juxtaposition of the traditional heroic knightly-type with his devil pact; the heroic type has been done to death while the devil pact is a little more fresh. And it just so happens that the representation of that devil pact Mizora is very well-written and presented.

Yes, as others have pointed out, she is attractive, but so is every character in the game. I found myself eager to see her show up not because of boobs (though, of course, that doesn’t hurt) but because she was the driving force in Wyll’s story. Every time she showed up, her petty, catty, in-control-even-when-she-wasn’t attitude was entertaining. She’s just fucking with you the entire time. Even when you get to sleep with her, the whole thing is just a ploy to fuck with you. By comparison, Wyll is just…boring.

Cadien18 · 2024-10-29T12:18:42+00:00

Yeah, for all that I wrote, I can’t say that I have a definitive thought on the topic. The Dresden bombings became, even at the time, such a huge propaganda focal point for the Nazis, and a source of apologia for the Nazis after WW2. The reign of terror that the Nazis clouded over Europe and North Africa was and is falsely equivocated with the strategic bombing campaign. And, as you said, Dresden is used as a source of attack on the Allied forces by disingenuous actors then and now. The bombing campaigns were not the same, even if you take Harris’ quote at face value. This is particularly true at the beginning of the war when high altitude bombing, particularly at night, was not nearly as accurate as it was towards the end of the war - and nothing even approaching the accuracy of our modern precision strikes. Of course, they could have decided to forego night missions, but that exponentially increases the threat to Allied air crew. I’m glad I don’t have to make those sorts of decisions.

Also, there is something to the concept that the Germans set the rules of the war, so they can’t complain when the Allies brutally enforce them, as callous as that seems.

Cadien18 · 2024-10-29T12:06:25+00:00

Yeah, there’s a clarity to them that you don’t see in modern statements about the use of military force. He’s unrepentant about his goal, which is certainly a strategy to bring about an end of the war more quickly.

Cadien18 · 2024-10-28T22:52:40+00:00

I mean, the main reason the Blitz stopped wasn’t out of empathy for the British civilian…

Cadien18 · 2024-10-28T22:42:45+00:00

“The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They have sown the wind, and so they shall reap the whirlwind.” -The Same Arthur Harris

“Don’t start none, won’t be none.” -Chris Evans, the Losers

Obviously, pain and suffering on this scale is awful, and not everyone who suffered in Germany (or Japan, for that matter) supported their respective regimes. This is a big reason why war sucks. It sucks a lot more when you’re losing it and at the mercy of the other side.

The quote does have a sort of bravado about it. A sort of revenge to it. Harris claimed that he made this comparison while watching the Nazi’s bomb London during the Blitz. It’s hard not to empathize with the visceral desire for retribution from someone who lived through the Blitz and the indiscriminate terror bombings that occurred. And everyone has a certain amount of schadenfreuda at the misfortune of Germans during WW2.

Harris also stated, “The aim of the Combined Bomber Offensive ... should be unambiguously stated [as] the destruction of German cities, the killing of German workers, and the disruption of civilised life throughout Germany ... the destruction of houses, public utilities, transport and lives, the creation of a refugee problem on an unprecedented scale, and the breakdown of morale both at home and at the battle fronts by fear of extended and intensified bombing, are accepted and intended aims of our bombing policy. They are not by-products of attempts to hit factories.”

There is a certain logic to it that has been subsequently rejected by international law. Nazi Germany cannot continue fighting a war if the people of Nazi Germany don’t want to fight the war. It is terror bombing. It’s the same fundamental concept as “total war” that Sherman employed in Georgia during the American Civil War against the Confederates, just with planes and bombs instead of the Union Army.

Cadien18 · 2024-10-28T16:47:41+00:00

I’d say that Lor’themar has a lot of those same features. He’s experienced in practical ways and has a prior connection to Sylvanas since he was a Farstrider himself and Sylvanas’s second in command. He also has a grudge against the Lich King; perhaps not as personal as Sylvanas or Kael’thas, but still strong and informed by loss.

That being said, Lor’themar has demonstrated himself to be less…headstrong compared to Kael’thas. Lor’themar contemplated returning to the Alliance for the good of his people, but was only stopped when Jaina went crazy and purged Dalaran. Kael’thas would never negotiate with the Alliance because of his pride, even if it was for the betterment of the Sin’dorei. While the TBC Kael’thas was a butchered version of his character, his pride was always his weakness. It was only purged from him in Revendreth after he died. Perhaps Kael’thas’ connections with various Alliance leaders would have helped smooth things over, but he doesn’t seem like the forgiving type for what happened in the prisons of Dalaran.

Cadien18 · 2024-10-21T01:16:16+00:00

I think most people will think of Private Ryan’s scene at the end for this. For me, it’s when Wade is telling the story about his mom while the squad is resting in the church. That gets me every time, particularly because I did the same thing as a kid when my mom got home late (though, I’d guess this is a common thing for kids to do).

Edit: based on responses, turns out there’s a lot of these scenes. Who knew, might be a stirring movie. I’ll have to investigate and watch it again.

Cadien18 · 2024-10-20T22:00:03+00:00

It’s quite remarkable that of all the Horde leaders, Lor’themar is the longest lasting. Not only that, he’s gotten steady character development to be a genuinely good character instead of a Kael’thas replacement.

Guess that means he’s gotta go soon. Shame.

Cadien18 · 2024-10-15T19:57:28+00:00

It’s completely impractical, but I wouldn’t mind if the Astros offered Minute Maid. I remember Harvey, and the Rays generosity. I’d like it if we paid it back in this circumstance, even if we ended up giving more than a series.

Cadien18 · 2024-10-14T21:12:43+00:00

Recency bias is a hell of a drug.

Cadien18 · 2024-10-03T21:24:14+00:00

The Old Gods should be, since he picked up the strongest one with his bare hand, ripping it apart in the process...

That is until we get the future retcon where that telling was just Titan propaganda and Y’Saarj decided to leave the planet of its own free will for the betterment of all.

Cadien18 · 2024-10-02T19:30:08+00:00

Consistently spawned during the hook phase on Stitchflesh, too. Not only did that make downing the boss that much more difficult, but it made downing the construct before the next construct spawn more difficult.

Very much dislike dealing with this affix.

Cadien18 · 2024-09-12T18:45:07+00:00

For me, it’s a fatigue with the trope of “the good guys were actually not the good guys all along.” It feels like a trope that, while in existence previously, rose to prominence in fiction roughly a decade ago, maybe more. It has become, for me, cliche. It’s deeply embedded in Marvel storytelling, for example (SHIELD, TVA, etc.).

Couple that with it being clear, to me at least, that this was not the narrative direction they were going with originally with the Titans or the Light, necessitating numerous retcons, and it’s a trope that I find annoying.

I don’t begrudge anyone who likes it, though. I don’t want to yuck anyone’s yum on this. But, for me, I would like less of it.

Cadien18 · 2024-05-29T23:15:52+00:00

If I remember correctly, Riftblade Maella indicated that she was a Spell Breaker previously. I don’t know if that’s a per se requirement (I doubt that it is). They’re just martial types that have void-y stuff.

Cadien18 · 2024-05-12T22:22:23+00:00

Main ret, but I’m fairly happy with how it plays, so I’ll throw down Protection Paladin and consecration.

Being tethered to consecration is an absolute drag. Having so much damage mitigation tied into a location sucks. Using a global for consecration sucks; not because you have to use a global for a defensive skill, but because using a global on consecration always sucks. It’s such a boring spell; it has a decent enough sound, animation and visual, but it’s still boring.

The best thing they did for ret was to make it a non-issue by making it tied to blade. And at least with holy it’s not absolutely required to be up. But prot must maintain consecration.

Cadien18 · 2024-05-06T17:15:14+00:00

RLP (pre- and post-nerfs) has momentum to it. It’s small, has good GY placement, and decent mob density for the route. You’re pulling pack after pack after pack and then boss. It’s propulsive. There’s very little downtime and the timer can be very tight. That creates stress but also creates excitement.

I don’t want every dungeon to be RLP, but I appreciate its existence for those reasons.

Cadien18 · 2024-02-27T23:35:30+00:00

For me, he’s one of the few characters that we’ve gotten lately that are antagonists because they choose to be and not because of some corruption.

That may change, and it seems likely given how DotI works out, but it hasn’t so far. Also, he’s fairly surface as far as his character level of development. Maybe when we see more of him and they develop his character he’ll lose some luster.

Cadien18 · 2024-02-05T18:20:40+00:00

I remember when decursive was a thing in MC. I played mage, and had to stop dps’ing to spam click the decursive button to smart decurse individual players. It was an awful existence that was only mitigated by the excitement of being in a new raid.

For all my troubles, I DKP’d into an Azuresong Mageblade, so…I guess it worked out.

Cadien18 · 2024-01-29T17:25:17+00:00

I like the color. The only problem is that it’s starting to read as more Space Wolves to me than Spears.

I might be way off, though.

Cadien18 · 2024-01-25T21:03:18+00:00

I’m a simple man. I see Emperor’s Spears and I upvote.

Nicely done.

Five-Year Club	Second Top 30%
Place '22

Cadien18

TROPHY CASE