Showing Posts For Bazompora.2635:

Fix Kormir's hair + nose job?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Kormir had afro-textured hair, the natural hair type of black Africans as well as Negritoes and Melanesians.

She wore her hair as an afro, the hairstyle that is the namesake of the abovementioned hairtype.

  • She had all-African hair as a mortal spearmarchal.
  • She had all-African hair when she became a god.
  • She had all-African hair on her first statues.
  • She has all-African hair on her statue in the Godslost Swamp, Old Krytan ruins.
  • She has all-African hair on her banner in Divinity’s Reach, New Krytan city.
  • She has non-African hair in the Free City of Amnoon, Elonian city.

Why should Africans favor straight, non-African hair?

Alright folks time for show and tell. Lets take a closer look at all the pictures YOU posted.

I would just like to say if you want to actually make a point about the shape of someones nose, you should take screen shots FROM THE SAME ANGLE. Regardless I think anyone with eye balls in their head can see these noses are basically all the same.

You did a commendable job on the outlines nevertheless.
Yet I can immediately spot the odd one among the outlines:
ALL noses have more height at the nose tip than on the nose bridge,
EXCEPT for the nose of the unnatural Statue of Kormir its angular outline.
And if you go back and look at that statue without blindfold, you can make out a much higher nose bridge, unlike any other Kormir or Elonian.

After afro-textured hair, the nose shape is one of the the most conspicuous markers of geographical origin.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

(edited by Bazompora.2635)

Fix Kormir's hair + nose job?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

I beg to differ between phenotypes and stereotypes;
the former are the wealth of physical diversity,
while the latter reproduce poor understanding.

  • Dwayna is always depicted as white with straight flowing non-African hair, described with pale skin and nobody is taking issue with how white she is.
  • Kormir is still remembered as an Elonian and like most Elonians, she was black, immortalised with her featherlight Afro-textured hair and African nose; how did that become too black?
Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Questions about Demo Characters (Saved Names)

in Account & Technical Support

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Maybe they have not deleted the beta characters yet due to the upcoming stress test or maybe they will delete them shortly before?

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Path-of-Fire-Stress-Test-August-31-2017/

Anyway, if your old beta characters are still available during the stress test it might be a good idea to delete them when you are done participating so you can free the name up for use on your normal characters right away.

Many thanks for the heads-up!

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Fix Kormir's hair + nose job?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Note that Aaliyah’s hair was artificially straightened and, unfortunately,
that which is supposed to represent Truth now likewise is unnatural and Europeanized.

I investigated your earlier claim and went literally standing on the statue,
to unsurprisingly uncover nothing but more parted straight hair.

Attachments:

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Questions about Demo Characters (Saved Names)

in Account & Technical Support

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

I am having this issue too:

I used the same name in both demo events,
but now it says the name is already taken.

But if I try and send mail to the name,
it says I can’t send mail to myself.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Fix Kormir's hair + nose job?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Stone Tablets thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis big!

<cough>

Nightfall’s Kormir (collage, 1st in attachments) was true to her conception. The first Goddess of Truth statue was erected immediately after her ascension (screenshot, 2nd in attachments). A closely observable replica exists in Guild Wars 2 (screenshot, 3rd in attachments), yet this black model is left abandoned in the Godslost Swamp. Presently, a buste of the Goddess of Truth with her natural African hair is also visible on banners in Divinity’s Reach (picture, 4th in attachments). Yet in African Elona, you will be greeted by a non-Elonian, non-African Kormir.

Can the Goddess of Truth be redeemed now that her motherland, Elona, becomes part of the world again? Resize it, the way the Orrian-styled statues of the Human Gods have been shrunk into the Shrine to the Six in Ascalon Settlement, with a texture swap to stem division?

Or is a makeover, done to de-de-Africanize Kormir, something that can?
The Orrian-styled statue has been updated once before already, from when it was first revealed without a blindfold six years ago (detail, 5th in attachment).

If it can’t be done right now, can at least wrong be undone for now:
then, how about a quick fix by retexturizing her straightened hair into dreadlocks?

Attachments:

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

What am I to do with unuseable birthday dyes

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

C’mon, guys!
No need to turn this celebratory event into a punishment for the OP,
who after all sounds like a big supporter of Arenanet.

All he asked for, was a way to enjoy a thank you from Arenanet just like everyone else.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

What am I to do with unuseable birthday dyes

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

So all I can do is salvage them for a few silver worth of pigments, thats awful and this should be addressed as these birthday dyes are supposed to be the “big” gift. Just because someone has certain dyes unlocked shouldnt mean they get practically nothing. It would be better to never salvage them and hope anet does something in future.

Can you not also combine 4 of them into a possibly unbound dye in the Mystic Forge?

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

[Feedback]Path of Fire Preview - August 11 - 13

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Major issue with Whitewashed Kormir statues,
in Elona, the land of Black Humans like her.

Other than that, I’m all sold.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Fix Kormir's hair + nose job?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

In addition to everything fantastic about the upcoming offer of Path of Fire, the free inclusion of Human diversity is beautiful, exceeding all expectations. Truly, all people are royally served now!

But … with the release in a month, there’s still a fly in the soup.

“Kormir is beloved throughout Tyria, but Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.” — Small Kormir Icon

Yet, Elonians now on average look like this: afro-textured hair, a well-rounded nose tip and nostrils; chiefly African.
And Statues of Kormir still look like that: straight-haired, absent nose tip yet high nasal cavity; mainly European.

Non-Elonian Kormirs persist not only in Kryta, but also as Guild Hall decoration and,
yes, of all places, in Elona too now!

Can that outmoded redesign of Kormir <yet in some way> be updated before Path of Fire’s release?
Is it possible to restore everywhere the Goddess of Truth?
Or deal with it provisionally as done with Balthazar below?

Attachments:

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

"I will be the only God!"

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

The other of the Six True Gods can’t be in better shape. Given that Aatxes and other Underworld fiends invade through the weakened separation of realms at the Temple of the Ages, it can be surmised that Grenth shares the same fate as Balthazaar at best, lest that of Melandru.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

New Expansion New Profession?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

in addition to a different version of an existing race (i.e. Elonan human) that will play through that PS.

Hell yeah! Elonans of Istani descent are more due than Tengu or any other monster race remade as friendly.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

(edited by Bazompora.2635)

SAB Closure Time

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Same as the OP …

a long week gone to waste,
the reward snatched away from within grasp
and I feel cheated:

I had looked for an indication of the remaining time,
found the SAB dailies tab counting down the full remainder of the day (UTC)
and I believed it.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Unfounded Allegation: Mursaat origins

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

I already thought of them as “wingpacks” back in the days of the Mursaat Rallies, as that is when I examined Mursaat armor much more closely, for the whole dress like a Mursaat theme going back then.

And surely, if you look at Mursaat from Guild Wars “1”, the “wings” looked like held together by a back item already;

See

Attachments:

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Why do Sylvari have romance?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

The sylvari have an entirely different culture than humans. By the very fact that sylvari don’t worship the human gods, we already have probably the biggest split in culture that we can cover. Sylvari are also able to grow their own homes, one sylvari even made the design of the grove. That also creates a huge cultural difference between the sylvari and humans, because different cultures naturally create different architectures. This is true in humans even when there were similar building materials that resulted in widely different forms of architecture, this is especially true when it comes to humans that have very different materials available to create architecture. The sylvari grow every building they have, humans still use brick and mortar.

So now that we’ve established that, really, sylvari and human cultures are so vastly different from one another, we can now come to the taboo about incest. Since they have extremely different views on pretty much everything else from humans, they’d also have a different stance on who they see, culturally, as ‘family’. There’s a huge difference, considering that sylvari are infertile, and thus can’t have children, they can only choose from the other sylvari that are around them. Age is also seemingly something that isn’t a huge deal considering that the race is only 25 years old at most, and thus, only the firstborn are that old (actually, I think it’s 29 now because of the difference in time between when the game was released and now).

So, considering that sylvari will definitely view ‘family’ as something very different from what humans do, it is thus very easy to say that the sylvari would not have any fear of our standards of taboo.

Putting ALL of that together, we have every piece of evidence to conclude that romance can realistically exist in sylvari culture without any issues (aside from the twin thing but I don’t think that will ever come up in game).

(final part)

Cultural relativism has been thrown out before you joined the discussion. For, likewise, any reason why sylvari have romance in the first place is voided by it.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Why do Sylvari have romance?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

lets take a look at the incest argument shudder.

So, the incest taboo relies on the closeness of genetic ties resulting in many things going wrong with the children.

I’ll stop you right there, because the crux of my argument was that incest undermines the social fundaments of the family.
Besides, where incest would be normal, the higher rate of birth defects should be deemed normal too, which makes inbreeding too wishful a reason, for an ancient taboo that long precedes modern welfare.

Now we get to the fun bit.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Physical_appearance/Sylvari

Here’s the link to all the sylvari physical appearance options.
Look at the huge variation of sylvari appearances available for the player to choose from. Genetically speaking, if the sylvari WERE tied closely genetically, we’d have a MUCH more limited variety of body types, skin tones, eye colours and literally every defining feature of the sylvari.

If the sylvari were THAT genetically close, so close as to warrant any argument of the incest taboo, they would all be green, have maybe two ‘hair’ styles, be all of a similar height, have similar style ears etc.etc.etc.

Just looking at two of those ‘hair’ styles, we have one that’s a bunch of branches and one that’s a freaking mushroom cap, those two hair styles could NOT come from genetic closeness no matter how hard you tried. It would be physically impossible without enough genetic tampering to eliminate genetic closeness.

Now, on to real world stuff. Have you ever heard of doppelgängers? Where two people from two different families can look exactly the same? I actually KNOW two people who are dopplegangers, one is arab, the other is canadian. SO, we now have the possibility of a wide range of physical genetics (remember, genetics contribute to a WHOLE lot more than physical appearances), and still wind up with two people who look exactly the same. So, you can throw out that argument of two characters looking exactly the same and, therefore, must have the same or similar genetics.

This whole argument, really, relies on the ability of the Pale Tree to be able to provide a wide set of genes to her children, so much wider than what two human parents would be able to provide their children. Realistic? Maybe not exactly, but we are talking about sentient plant people, and as such, realism is thrown out the window right away.

So now that we’ve established all of that, we have enough physical, genetic differences between two randomly chosen sylvari to get rid of the incest argument. The ONLY case where the taboo might genetically rise from is if two sylvari are born from the same pod, aka twins. We HAVE heard of twins, so we know they exist. But that’s the only legitimate case genetics wise.

(part 1 because of length of post)

You have pointed out that sylvari possess a wide variety of phenotypes and that phenotypical similarities can conceal diverse genotypes. This does not, however, make a case for phenotypical diversity obliging genotypical diversity beyond those genes expressed in the phenotype.
To illustrate: Sub-Saharan Africans look quite different from white Europeans, but phenotypically share great continuity with Melanesians; yet Sub-Saharan Africans and Melanesians are genetically more divergent from eachother, than each is from white Europeans. Or take Negrito and mainland Asians, who look kittenid and mongoloid respectively, despite having closely related genotypes. Heck, we don’t even need to look on that large a scale, as even siblings can look convincingly unrelated.

Yet, if all sylvari are immaculate conceptions of the same mother, they share even more of the same genetic essence than non-twin siblings do. The phenotypical variation can furthermore be explained by epigenetic expressions of the same genes.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Why do Sylvari have romance?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

The Greyhawk, you’re saying the Pale Tree is not the parent of the sylvari,
but a mad genius, cloning cannon fodder, designer puppets and other test subjects,
after all?

You seem to be missing our argument. We’re not saying ‘’incest is biologically problematic, therefore humans are inherently hardwired to avoid it.’’ We’re saying ‘’incest is biologically problematic, therefore the groups of humans who just happened to learn to object to it, over the long run, fared better than the groups of humans who just happened to not learn to object to it, and so the groups of humans who are around today object to incest.’’

But that’s beside the point. As I’ve already said- twice- I don’t believe sylvari emotions are “of human origin.” The closest anyone else has come to saying that is Rognik, whose claim was that sylvari might have imitated what they saw humans doing after they came into contact, not that their psychological framework was laser-copied over from a human source. I also earlier marked off social reasons why romance may be attractive, even in beings that don’t have biological reasons or “animal programming”.

I still don’t see the advantage in prioritising pair bonds over communal bonds in social beings without individual fertility, as you did not elucidate beyond allusion.

I feel like I’m going to regret joining this conversation (especially because of the recent turn of events that took place) but whatever.

Firstly, the very idea that romance and sexuality are ultimately tied together is completely and laughably false as proven by the existence of asexual people who still partake in romantic relationships. While sexuality and romance can be tied together, and for many usually are, they are not inherently so because sexual orientation and romantic orientation are two separate things.

Right, now we have that out of the way,

No, we don’t.

While romance and sexuality are not the same, like eating and breathing, they are still evolutionary tied together. Romance maintains pair bonds, whereas sexuality regulates impregnation (unbridled heterosexuality is hazardous for a social species). Both sets of instincts are “K-selected” (intensive brood care rather than extensive breeding) through sexual reproduction in a highly competitive environment and further the K-strategy. The individual components, romance and sexual diversity, do not need to be linked directly, as they remain tied together in the population as a whole.
The Pale Tree, however, is an obvious r-strategist with her extensive, neglected and fast-maturing offspring, with an elevated probability of getting themselves killed through draconic predation. Romance is useless to her and moreso to her sylvari brood, that breeds nor raises infants.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Sab is coming back, third world or not?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

I just would love for SAB to be all summer long (I hate direct sunlight),
nevermind world 3.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Why do Sylvari have romance?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

For old times’ sake
.
.
.

My whole point was that “categories of emotion” are NOT additive. They aren’t even measurable! It doesn’t matter how many categories you put on one person, other person with less categories can be equally important to you.

Even worse: love is not the only thing that leads you to take a choice. Duty also exist, among a myriad of other similar principles. A couple being also brothers will not negate everything else in their lives, specially when their relationship exist in a place where the incest taboo doesn’t exist.

The correlation you are searching for is between reproduction and taboo. The incest taboo is stronger in real world humans because it has biological origins. Homosexuality creates a taboo because it doesn’t produce offsprings. Incest creates a taboo because it produce ill offsprings. Biologically, homosexuality have a minor cost to reproduction than incest.

However strong and ingrained, the taboo is still specific: to our species, in this world, on a certain timeframe (Yes, I think the incest taboo will dissapear along other fixed concepts about reproduction and family, just like the homosexuality taboo is actually disolving, the more our society drift away from our animal programming)

One mustn’t think in absolutes, but rather in the total picture:

  • chances are that the more bonds shared, the more importance given
  • duty exists in whatever measure, but love makes one neglectful therein
  • the ill effects weren’t well understood to result from inbreeding prior to modern science.

Correlation is not per se causation. As I mentioned before, incest can cause more accute problems for the group, than a larger minority of birth defects. Furthermore, in feudal cultures, where the division of land is a chief worry, incestuous relations have often been forced through arranged marriage.

But if the “incest taboo” has biological origins, then sylvari should have inherited it too, as the entirety of their emotions is purportedly of human origin. If them being infertile pod people and lacking in “animal programming” are arguments against the “incest taboo”, they also are arguments against romance altogether.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Unfounded Allegation: Mursaat origins

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Unless I’m entirely mistaken (possible since I’m a layman in this realm), given how biology works, the difference in both size and number of toes is enough of a difference to denote them as having relatively large DNA sequence in certain parts that would denote it a different species but the same genus.

Add in the wings and size difference, and it’s definitely a different species.

You may be mistaken.
Entirely.

Additionally, we don’t have much in way of indication that those feather-like appendages are true wings: they are too small and frail to be functional, seemingly just sway around in ondulations and their placement is akin an ornament part of mursaat garments.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Why do Sylvari have romance?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Thank you, Ardid. It’s good to know I’m not the only one with such a “charmed” view.
Nevertheless, it’s quite in agreement with your point, that I am arguing that clear-cut inequality is introduced with incestuous love:
“categories” A + B > “category” A or “category” B
.

I would add that fertility is not an issue in same-sex relations, yet I have not yet heard of incestuous homosexual communities, despite generations of gay subculture. Empirically, there’s no negative correlation between fertility and incest.

Also, coming back on heritage, which in fact provides motive for incest, as inbreeding is a means to concentrate wealth, which is why landed gentry more often broke the taboo. Conversely, Bantu peoples have a history of expansion and are anti-incestuous to the point of being exogamous, frowning upon marriage between members of the same clan (the equivalent of the same last name in the western world), even if no shared ancestry is known.

Given that that they aren’t even built for reproduction, sylvari aren’t compelled to “go forth and multiply” their breed, existentially nor hormonally. So, even if their siblings are the only potential conquests, for incestuous romance to be commonplace, sylvari would have to be disposed to

  1. feel good
  2. not feel bad

… which then could also explain why as many as 1 in 8 sylvari are down with torture.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Why do Sylvari have romance?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Love can exist without direct reproductive ends, even “romantic” one.
Also, IMO, the Sylvari “brotherhood” is more relevant in its social meaning (“We are equals and must love each other”) than in its biological one (“We were born from the same organism”), even though both are true.

Romance and “brotherhood” are two different, often conflicting, forces, that each prioritise a different type of relation. Each proposes a different model for who is more equal than others: companion or comrades. Sylvari romance cancels out sylvari brotherhood, as seen in-game, where sylvari aren’t really brotherly with eachother beyond clinging to the same mother. Without the pale tree, the sylvari race should be utterly atomised. Even free from direct reproductive consequences, incest erases the family on a social level.

Sorry but I think you got a fallacious reasoning running there.
Sylvari Romance conflicts with Sylvari Brotherhood (Which is debatable anyway) =/= Sylvari Incest atomizes their society.

Even if close and personal relatonship between two Sylvari could “cancel out” with their role as brothers, it doesn’t have to afect their society, or their brotherhood with other Sylvari.

In our real world society incest is taboo, denied and prosecuted because it has a lot of ugly consequences, mainly for the offspring health and for the inheritance mechanisms. However, if we had two siblings romanticing without responsability over family capital or reproduction, all our taboos become moot. They will probably still be rejected, but there will be no more reason for that than blind habit.

They wouldn’t be “erasing society”. Society would be erasing them.

If our rejection of incest were solely based on responsibility and habit, we wouldn’t extend the rejection to adoptive relations.

You can say you love your partner and your siblings equally and refuse to place one kind of kinship above the other. But if one of your siblings is your partner, no one would even entertain the pretense that you don’t value their kinship less than the double kinship you share with her. Add to that the compounding of rivalries, when everyone strives for the love of anyone among siblings, the way we already do for popularity and potential partners, and there is very little equality and trust left for a sense of brotherhood instilled by siblinghood. That’s why incest would remain a transgression against the familial vestiges of kinship, regardless of reproduction and inheritance.

But an atomised society with erased family ties isn’t the same as an “erased society” yet,
if that’s what you read from what I said.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

No new hairstyles yet? really?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

New hair styles means hair style makeover and total makeover kits bought, which means money coming in. This should be a bigger thing.

At this stage, I see more calls for horns, beards and ears than hairstyles, so if money is what we need, I’d suggest anet make those first. Especially since those could only be accessed by full makeover kits instead of hair style kits

Totally agree.

It’s all good stuff. I’m sure there are lots of viking style beards that norn could use.

yes
the norn need more beards
not the humans
I totally agree

<[This user was banned for overloading the sarcasm filters of the forum]>

Afro-textured facial hair for black humans hasn’t been done yet.

It’s kinda problematic to have only straight-haired beards to fully cover up bulging European chins.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

No new hairstyles yet? really?

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Afro/Elonian hair for human women,
African/Elonian faces for human men;
their first appearence will be for when?

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Why do Sylvari have romance?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

But romance isn’t just a sex thing: see asexuals. It’s about emotional intimacy, it’s about building tight-knit social units, it’s about companionship, and while these are traditionally tied up in who we sleep with, removing the sexual aspect doesn’t cause all the rest to lose its value.

Sex and reproduction aren’t synonymous. Social organisms tend to have diverse orientations, selected for on the benefit of complementary roles. Ant and bee colonies are for the largest part composed of asexual units that assist a heterosexual queen in the communal system of reproduction. None such thing would come about without reproduction. Because humans reproduce on a smaller scale and came thereby to operate on a different plane of intelligence, we obtained romance as a force beneficial for reproduction.

Also, I wouldn’t compare the lack of taboo on incest with homoromanticism, which is a minority orientation and not an exception.

I… didn’t, I don’t think. Are you referring to my reference to the dev quote?

Yes. Oftentimes, matters aren’t thought all the way through. Like, racial analogy, as the overarching example.

If sylvari manifest our social propensities, without natalist injunctions and inhibitions, they should still have our natural preference for unrelated partners.

Love can exist without direct reproductive ends, even “romantic” one.
Also, IMO, the Sylvari “brotherhood” is more relevant in its social meaning (“We are equals and must love each other”) than in its biological one (“We were born from the same organism”), even though both are true.

Romance and “brotherhood” are two different, often conflicting, forces, that each prioritise a different type of relation. Each proposes a different model for who is more equal than others: companion or comrades. Sylvari romance cancels out sylvari brotherhood, as seen in-game, where sylvari aren’t really brotherly with eachother beyond clinging to the same mother. Without the pale tree, the sylvari race should be utterly atomised. Even free from direct reproductive consequences, incest erases the family on a social level.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Why do Sylvari have romance?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

I don’t recall anyone saying they ‘inherited’ human notions of romance. That quote above lays out that they take a pretty different tack, and more generally speaking, it’s so common for non-human races to have human-like psychology, love included, in both fantasy and sci-fi, that it’s not something anyone feels a need to justify anymore. The things that set them apart are almost always built around specific exceptions, and this is just one of them- it’s accepted these days that the taboo against sibling relationships is rooted in the dangers on in-breeding. With a race that doesn’t have that danger, it follows that they wouldn’t have that taboo.

I don’t disagree that “non-human races” are by convention the way you describe, but the advanced premise on which sylvari are into romance is unconventional, so I beg to differ here. From a race that doesn’t do any kind of breeding, none kind of romantic relationships follows. Contradiction thus stems from, on one hand, the premise that sylvari have romance because of mimicking the human template and the proposition that they are a separate race that has nothing to with the human disinclination regarding incest, on the other hand.

Also, I wouldn’t compare the lack of taboo on incest with homoromanticism, which is a minority orientation and not an exception. The inclusion of the human couple of Marjorie and Kasmeer, is evidence that homoromanticism is not a racial thing.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Why do Sylvari have romance?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Also, since we know no sylvari can reproduce no matter how much they try, does it matter that they’re all technically siblings?

It should matter, if it’s human bonding they’ve inherited. Aren’t sibling pairs humanly aberrant, regardless of whether they are reproductive?

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Those Poor Black Lion NPCs

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Doesn’t anyone find that disturbing that the Black Lion company is working its workers to death!?! Literally.

I think you’re tying yourself up in knots worrying about Evon Gnashblade’s technological innovation, a mail carrier that looks like a person. They aren’t working their employees to death, they are conserving energy by allowing the projection to expire.

Yeah, they’re just charr pretending to be workpeople.
It’s perfectly legit. No one didn’t get what they deserved.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Why do Sylvari have romance?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

They would say that love is too precious to be passed over simply because someone’s eyes are blue, their hair is dark, or because they are of the same sex.

… or because they are all brothers and sisters.

Such general lack of humanity undercuts the argument for Sylvari romance.

Plot hole?

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Ways to increase dev resources quickly

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

“Dueling” was another thing that was asked for a lot. Yet, it already exists in a way with Costume Brawl. Therefore, wouldn’t endless “roleplay” versions, like generic Nightmare Court, Human Separatist, Charr Renegade, Son of Svanir, Inquest, White Mantle, etc., to brawl with skins and moves that already exist somewhere, be something?

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Ways to increase dev resources quickly

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Fix professions and gameplay in general, and I’ll return to my 30-60 bucks a month in gems for aesthetic items.

Otherwise, like many others, I’m just boycotting ANet until the essentials get fixed.

Wtf is this? boycotting the game are you serious? you either like the game or not theres no reason for you and many other to even care about the game if you don’t get what you want let alone not buying stuff. Not playing the game will do just fine don’t be a child the game is already consumer friendly to ungodly lvls.

Don’t you know nuance? It’s because the game has so many redeeming features that one boycotts rather than divests. I for one still like core gameplay, but I also haven’t bought HoT because it doesn’t fix any of the things that breaks RP/immersion, like not having Istani (African) character models, forcing you to play as a lawful bloodthirsty bioconservative nationless imperialist race traitor and then adding strongly colonialist overtones that began with the Living Story in the run-up to the expansion. Given that there’s apparently enough players who will pay regardless of function, the remainder of us who have had our voices ignored for years can still speak with our wallets, without having to worry about possibly bankrupting the game.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

(edited by Bazompora.2635)

[Fun] Tyria = early Europe?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Nope;
Tyria = the Western World.

Ebonhawke = Europe,
hystorically reduced as it is, with Ascalon being analogous to it’s lost Eurasian homeland which has gradually been lost to Mongolian peoples, for which the Charr from GW1 were an allegory. Just like how Europe is now a satellite to the USA, Ebonhawke now is a vassal state to …

Kryta = America,
its once melanin-dominated first nation having become replaced and dominated by colonizers, migrants and refugees, from Ebonhawke and predominantly former Ascalon. Like the US, Kryta has a bipolar political class, spans temperate and subtropical regions and the south of both has been devastated by flood.

This thread is fun though,
enough to have committed necro.

I also challenge more specifically:

Kryta: GW1: Polynesia mixed with mediterranean Europe. GW2: Renaissance mix of Italy, France and England, with a lot of other cultures too via the Elonians, Canthans, etc.

It’s Kryta from GW1 that had Renaissance time architecture, derived from Spanish colonial missions and fortresses, as found in Mexico and other Mesoamerican countries, complete with mestizo & mulatto human inhabitants, clothed in fantastic trappings with European, Amerindian and Afro-Brazilian touches.

Kryta from GW2 still follows a Spanish colonial style, but of the Modern Age, contemporary with Victorian Era.
However, whatever Canthan culture there be, it has collapsed into Ascalonian culture, only here and there resurfacing through odd idiosyncracies.
Elonian culture on the other hand is virtually non-existent in Kryta, for the Ossan Quarter, with its hybrid but uniform Elonian influences, stands out as the exceptional reminder of what the rest of Kryta is not.

It is only on the decidedly not-Elonian territory of Lion’s Arch from GW2, the literal multicultural haven that where humans became a minority, that you will find an a still-Istani-Elonian-looking statue of Kormir, can buy Elonian Wine and employ an Elonian Djinn. It must be noted that the latest incarnation of Lion’s Arch does bear resemblance to Portuguese colonial coastal fortresses, at least there where it’s architecture doesn’t veer off into theme park fantasy.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

To hair or not to hair

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

They could make new versions of the hats that appear to have hair sticking out from beneath them, but the hair would actually be part of the hat. It would take color from the hat’s color selections, not the hair’s. It would also be the same hair for everyone wearing that hat, no matter what style of hair they had before putting it on.

I can already bet what hair type texture that would be …

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

An alternative to new races.

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Would the better alternative not be to have players opt for reincarnating as Awakened, with Egyptian face options added and, regardless of the former, being able to switch to the Mordant Crescent as the final multiracial order?

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

If Crystal Desert would be an expension

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Don’t forget that the Tomb of the Primeval Kings should be a passageway into the Rifts again, now that Abaddon’s corruption has passed.

That said, the next frontier could be procedurally generated ever-shifting sands and rocks of the Crystal Desert, now Kralkatorrik’s dominion, moving the terrain and everyone upon it randomly about during sandstorms. Then, sand ships and everyone on board would be immune to the displacement.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

How did 99% of the Mursaat Die?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Saul didn’t stumble into a golden city. The mursaat city was alabaster with golden filigree. There is a HUGE difference.

And as stated, Tarir came to be post-GW1.

The mursaat city was alabaster AND golden filigree. I already had conceded my mistake on it, but the precise description has a huge difference from BOTH a city of massive gold AND the mursaat structures of massive nonmetal mineral found on the Ring of Fire.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Norns are not Humans

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

It doesn’t even matter if Norn and Humans have a common origin or not.

What matter is that Norn and KRYTAN culture are different. Different enough to have clearly distinguishable aesthetics, and therefore, different enough to need separated hairstyles.

As I said before, this doesn’t imply hairstyles shouldn’t be re-utilized across different playable races. It just imply Anet needs to make the effort to adjust some details here and there to make any re-utilized style properly localized to the culture which will use it.

TLDR: No matter geneticsNorn and Krytan cultures are different. Hairstyles should be shared across races as long as each one is properly adjusted to the new user culture.

You would have a point, if not for female dreads and war paint, facial tattoos and shaved heads on both men and women originating from Krytan culture,

while only body tattoos and braids — not dreads — in addition to their always unshaven heads were known from norn culture.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

(edited by Bazompora.2635)

How did 99% of the Mursaat Die?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Is it not possible that the golden city Saul saw in the Maguuma was Tarir,
occupied by the Mursaat while the Exalted were dormant?

Sry but it was never said that the City Saul found was golden. NEVER. He found a City atfer being exiled in a Forest and this City was described as Alabaster White with golden Filigree. Not the pure gold we see with the Exalted Structures.

We both remembered wrong: it was described as alabaster and golden filigree. So, it was golden, like I said, but also, as you say, not the “pure” gold of Exalted structures. Anyway, I no longer entertain the possibility now.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Hair and Height

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Yes! It may be a radical idea nowadays, but I support it: hair for everyone!

Now, can anyone explain to me why or how female afro-textured hair is an exclusively Asuran trait, not even shared by humans?

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

How did 99% of the Mursaat Die?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

How did 99% of the Mursaat Die?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Is it not possible that the golden city Saul saw in the Maguuma was Tarir,
occupied by the Mursaat while the Exalted were dormant?

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Norns are not Humans

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

The definition of a species says that the members can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. Norn and humans can not interbreed. They cannot produce offspring, not even sterile hybrids, an example of which is a cross between a horse and a donkey (a mule). Therefore Norns are not human but are a separate species.

Norn

Although it is implied by some norn in Guild Wars that the norn are able to interbreed with humans, norn-human hybrids are not possible because the five main races cannot cross-fertilize each other.

Considering that it takes hundreds of thousand of generations for one species to separate into two and humans haven’t been on Tyria for that long, this means that humans and Norns were never the same species but evolved separately and look similar due to Convergent evolution.

A good example of convergent evolution would be dogs and Tasmanian tigers. One is a placental mammal and the other was a marsupial, however the appearance of the two species are very similar even though the last common ancestor of the two was millions of years ago.

I shall abide “by word of god” however and hereby incline before the speciation of norns and humans. Despite that, other points of contention remain: convergent evolution considered, the tasmanian wolf still carried its newborn in a pouch like other marsupials, while norns are identical to humans in everything but size and bulk, which corresponds with norn having adapted to cold by being more “top heavy” as vonbladewing calls it. Polar species tend to be sizeable yet stocky in relation to related species from warmer climates. A better analogy would be the differentiation between h. sapiens and h. neanderthalensis, where it is theorised that, like has been confirmed across a spectrum of same-species seagull populations around the world, the most distant ends would have already speciated to the point of genetic incompatibility. With a more clear-cut geographical separation between norns and humans, there would not have been any transitional humans and norn that could still interbreed like the early Out-of-Africa h. sapiens and the Near-East h. neanderthalensis had. This cut-off however did not require “hundreds of thousand of generations”, which wouldn’t fit in the five to eight hundred thousand years of separation between h. sapiens and h. neanderthalensis anyway. That said, speciation can be a much more rapid process as selective pressures accrue. And humans having not been that long on Tyria, the continent, means they have until then been either separate or separated from the norn for an unspecified amount of time. Also, when asked if norn and humans are related, Jeff Grubb stated: “the question of norn origins is something that we — I’d like to basically hop around that for a while.” As far as I know, that while still hasn’t come to pass. Insofar, common origin is not denied like interbreeding is.

Relatedness left to speculation, can we agree on one thing? Norns are not humans, but norns are similar to humans. That was not disputed.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

(edited by Bazompora.2635)

Norns are not Humans

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Technically, all humans were once Canthans as this is the place where humanity arrived after being brought to Tyria (the world, not the continent) by the Human Gods. That doesn’t mean, of course, that all were asians, by the way. Everything points out to humanity being genetically diverse at that point, and consisting of many different tribes, instead of being one united race.

That only supports my analogy: the Norn were once gathered in the Northern Shiverpeaks, but their nation may have coalesced from various ethnicities from other parts of the world. Hoelbrak is the most recent example of norn bands gathering from all over the Shiverpeaks and perhaps beyond, to face a global threat together.

Which means nothing, as there are no Norn native to Maguuma Wastes. The one you saw was also of shiverpeaks origin. Remember, they moved out from their ancestral homeland only recently. Very recently – as in, within last century or so (when they got pushed out by Jormag).

It does mean something:

  • either norn have a rapid phenotypical adaptation to climate that humans don’t possess (yet, Braham is counterindicative of this);
  • either norn have been migrating between places of livelihood in more widespread parts of Tyria and their trade hub in the Shiverpeaks all along and diversified like sinodant and sundadont Asians into differing phenotypes that still have closely related phenotypes (yet, entire non-white families still have to be discovered);
  • either some norn mixed with Kahmu and acquired black features into their gene pool , which makes the rare individuals that gathered the genes coding for a black phenotype more suited for adventure in tropical climates (this would explain why black and brown norn were never seen in GW1).

They are a distinct, separate species that’s not tied to humanity in any way. Any similarities are completely accidental.

That’s nowhere attested. And how much can be attributed to coincidence?

  • Norn have the same skin color range as humans (even chimps, our closest IRL extant relatives have an inhumanly grey skin color range), while other giants don’t.
  • Norn have the same kind of sexual dimorphism as humans.
  • Norn don’t have horns, tusks, claws, cyclopia or anything like other giant races that doesn’t just make them giant humans.
  • Norn have the same masculine-feminine gender role pattern as humans when it comes to clothes and make-up.
  • Norn are not mentioned among the races at the time of the previous rise of the Elder Dragons and anything we know about them correlates with the time of human history.
Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Joining the White mantle

in Living World

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

In other words, check your facts first. So far, from your posts, it’s clear you didn’t.

  • Fact: the original Shining Blade were already a minority among Old Krytans, just like their brown kin is now among New Krytans.
  • Fact: New Krytans like Logan Thackeray, though identifying as Krytans and not Ascalonians, are of Ascalonian ancestry.
  • Fact: the effects of Zhaitan’s flood have left no trace as far north as Nebo Terrace, Beetletun, Demetra or Divinity’s Coast; all formerly having brown populations on average.
  • Fact: floods aren’t racist.
  • Fact: with one exception, Demetra is haunted by white Ascalonian ghosts and their minions even have the ‘Ascalonian’ prefix!
    *Fact: Old Krytan ghosts, civilians and White Mantle alike are brown.

I have done my work, so speak for yourself.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Joining the White mantle

in Living World

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Sorry your bringing real world problems to a game where there are none, sorry but you need to stop talking,

Are you for real? This isn’t the Mushroom Kingdom we’re talking! Real world problems are an integral part of this franchise: nationalism, social stratification, political assassinations, societal collapse and refugee crises are all themes in Guild Wars 2. Deal with it.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

(edited by Bazompora.2635)

Norns are not Humans

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

It’s wrong to assume our ancient ancestors looked like modern Africans. That would be like saying modern Africans hadn’t evolved in all that time but everyone else had.

Can I point out that I did not say modern Africans. But before humans spread out from Africa, they would all been adopted to life in Africa, thus African still.

Tyrian humans arrived in Orr from another world, brought here by the gods. So humans in Tyria are actually an alien race, unlike the norn who are native Tyrians.

Norn also don’t need to follow human ethnic rules. Skin colour among norn can vary in the same way as hair colour and is not a regional marker, like it is with humans, since “black” and “white” norn are both from the shiverpeaks and there is no distinction between them.

And by what measure are norn not just the biggest variant of humans? I don’t know if others noticed, but for some reason you can make African heads with norn, unlike with humans.

Like I mentioned earlier, humans and norn are from two different worlds. Norn are Tyrians, whose kin include the Jotun and the true giants like Lupicus. Humans were brought by the gods through the mists from their old world and then left behind.

The similarities in appearance appear to be a coincidence, and follow different rules.

Yet, ethnic features in norn do seem to follow human biology to particular extent, as norn in the shiverpeaks tend to be white, while I’ve seen a black norn only in the Maguuma Wastes. And Braham, the child of a white norn and a dark-skinned norn of unspecified origin, has a mix of caucasoid and australoid features.

Norn are also human-like when it comes to sexual dimorphy. Dwarves are even more like giants here, all having their females look like males. Add to that that some norn in GW1 have claimed human ancestry or considered founding a family with the human player character of that series.

And what with the giganticus lupicus being a colossal warg-faced troll, one cannot stick with the assumption that the classification of giants is based on genetic proximity relative to the other races. Giant races seem to be a social construct much like the ‘lesser races’ of GW2. Unless one is going to make a case for hylek, quaggan and skritt descending from the same sapient ancestral species.

In short, norns are human.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Joining the White mantle

in Living World

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

lolwhat? Divinity’s Reach is built on top of one of the White Mantles Holy Citys. The Queen is “brown”. Yes your right it’s all about white power………………….

And the president of the USA is half-black; therefore, that country has no tradition of white supremacy nor been evil unto black people, by the same logic. No, like Native Americans, queen Jennah is part of a small brown minority, that only 250 years before was the majority. Kryta after the White Mantle is still a bad place of oppression and even greater inequality, just like the charr are still belligerent sadists after the Flame Legion was cast out. Yet, you don’t have any objection to joining either of these two powers. I see a double standard there.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Joining the White mantle

in Living World

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

Lions arch was taken over by pirates, while the rest of kryta was coming to turns with what had happened, the pirates where not there to start with, it was never theses it belonged to Kryta, it only became more of a civilized place shortly before the book edge of destiny. And that was only because they had to more or less give up there life at sea because of Zhitan. The Mantle on the other had, they are true believers in the Unseen ones, or only out for the power the white mantle can bring them. Good being do not join a group of mass murders, then think, I can change them from the inside, they’d end up dead.

Yet, that’s already the default position. Villages like Demetra, that sided with the White Mantle during and after the War in Kryta, have been wiped out off the map and the ‘New Krytan’ (Ascalonian settlers and Shining Blade) offensive, also described as a war of attrition, resulted in a demographic shift from a brown Krytan population to a nigh-all white Kryta. This is the nation you hold up on higher moral ground than the White Mantle, even though Ascalonian settlers and Divinity’s still deny Kormir’s blackness and worship a horned effigy instead.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Playable races sticky threads?

in Lore

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

It’s a shame they removed these subfora. Lots of discussions no longer have a place to be and I wonder if that was intended.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.

Let's face it, linking failed completely

in WvW

Posted by: Bazompora.2635

Bazompora.2635

I am one of the rare cases that joined a smaller server (Vabbi, the smallest in fact) on purpose, when such transfer was temporarely free of cost. We were the few against the zerg. Familiar faces were common and commanders were legends.

But then, with server linking, I found myself fighting in the name of strangers that clock out for other strangers; and that is before rotation turned these allied strangers into opponents the following week and put me together with another cycle of strangers under their banner. This is how being from a low tier server is like now. Strangers from large servers often don’t resurrect you either and ever since, I only clock in for dailies and the dungeon reward track.

Elonians who know her history are often proud to have one of their own in the pantheon.