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Blizzcon is now well under way, but for the Scarlett fans out there that are bummed out about her absence, here's another Progamer's Day Off so that you can get to know your favorite Canadian Zerg a little better. Without further ado: Conversations with Scarlett.
The Red Bull Battlegrounds qualifiers had just finished, and Scarlett had just fended off QXC in a rather close series. We had arranged to get dinner after the tournament, and I approached her as she was just finishing up packing her things.
Me: You ready for dinner, Scarlett?
Scarlett: I dunno, they have pizza here. *points*
(You can always count on pizza to be served at WCS events)
Me: Didn't you say last time you wanted Korean chicken?
Scarlett: *lights up* Ok, let's go there.
We met up with a friend of mine and headed to the chicken spot, where we ordered basically every type of chicken on the menu.
Me: Ok so I think we got our bases covered, which kind do you want to take?
Scarlett: The spiciest. As spicy as the one you're getting.
Me: This isn't a competition, Scarlett.
Scarlett: I know.
We started eating, and while I was slowly realizing that the spicy chicken wings were being depleted at an alarming rate, various conversations sprung up.
Scarlett: All the korean players... they make fun of my accent. Especially Jaedong... it's non-stop.
Me: I can see Jaedong being the teasing type. But it's not so bad being teased by the greatest zerg of all time?
Scarlett: No, I guess not.
Me: So who would you say is your favorite korean player?
Scarlett: Probably Ryung... he's really silly and he makes me laugh.
Me: Ryung is also your teammate... seems like you have a pretty good relationship with your fellow pros.
Scarlett: *laughs* most of the time they're poking fun at me. But they're all very nice and we joke around a lot.
Me: Seems like you don't have too much trouble communicating with the Korean pros
Scarlett: They all speak English somewhat... but they say my Korean isn't bad
Some time passes, and Scarlett suddenly gets up from her seat.
Scarlett: What was this, the... spicy wings?
Me: You're gonna get more? :O
Scarlett: My two favorite foods are Korean chicken and Mexican. I don't usually eat this much... really.
Me: I dunno Scarlett, first impressions.
![[image loading]](https://scontent-a-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/1463177_10102814252337576_1501755468_n.jpg)
greedy zerg.
After dinner, it was too late to go out (it was Sunday), and due to Scarlett being underage for drinking in California, we opted to visit some more esoteric parts of LA. We headed up to a local spot on Mullholland Drive, where the view of the night city usually sparks up some good chats (sorry no pictures guys, was dark).
Scarlett: Mullholland Drive? Like the movie?
Me: Yeah... except nothing like the movie, that movie was fuckin weird.
Scarlett: Good movie, though.
Me: Aren't you a tad young for it? I didn't get it at all when I saw it.
Scarlett: I didn't either.
Me: So tell me a little about how you grew up, what was life like for you?
Scarlett: Hm... well, for a long time I was actually depressed... it wasn't always easy for me growing up. There are some chunks of time I'd rather not remember, if that makes any sense.
Me: It's alright, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.
Scarlett: I've always been a very shy person. It's been really hard at times.
Me: But now that you're internationally known and locally respected, hasn't that changed a bit?
Scarlett: Maybe. *flashes a smile* I guess so.
Me: You are pretty shy though, you don't even like me taking pictures.
Scarlett: I've gotten a lot better, actually. I used to be a lot worse 
Scarlett: I used to play the stock market, back in highschool.
Me: Whoa, like what, day trading?
Scarlett: Yeah. I used to trade during class with my iPod touch.
Me: I have no words for that.
Scarlett: I did extremely well in simulations.
Me: And in real life?
Scarlett: Not quite the same. But I did ok.
Some time passes, and we both sit in silence, listening to the roar of the city far away.
Me: Are you cold, Scarlett?
Scarlett: *stare* Are you... joking?
Me: Oh... right, yeah, you're from Canada.
Scarlett: I'm only wearing this jacket as a formality right now.
Me: -_-
And then this happened:
![[image loading]](https://scontent-a-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1450112_10102814359482856_2045026714_n.jpg)
While Playing:
Me: It was fun drafting with Goswser a few months ago. How did you get into Magic, Scarlett?
Scarlett: My dad taught me, and gave me a bunch of cards. I'm in the process of making a cube right now, I only need like 6 more cards to finish it.
Me: Hell yeah, cube's like the best way to play Magic.
Scarlett: *looks at the board, then her hand* Our decks are terrible.
Me: Be nice.
After a few hours of senseless Magic playing, it was time to call it a night.
I met up with Scarlett the next day, and some Mexican food was in order. The promise of Southern Californian Mexican cuisine was yet unfulfilled for Scarlett, and that is just a shame.
![[image loading]](https://scontent-b-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1467441_10102814249129006_528722891_n.jpg)
Scarlett: This food is excellent.
Me: Huh, I didn't think you'd be into authentic Mexican food.
Scarlett: My parents used to take me to Texas when I was young, and I got to eat a lot of good Mexican food there. Since then Mexican food has always been my favorite.
Me: Guess that makes sense.
Scarlett: I make really good salsa.
Me: What?
Scarlett: Ever since little, whenever I made food for myself I would make salsa. I'm really good at it.
Me: This must be verified in the future.
I attempt to take another picture.
Scarlett: You're like a teenaged girl instagrammer
Me: Don't you dare, I don't even have an instagram account.
Scarlett: But look at you, taking pictures everywhere
Me: D: I'm just taking some pictures so that the people can see it on the interwebs... they like pictures
Scarlett: You know, first impressions...
Me: Well played.
After lunch, Scarlett had only a couple of hours before she had to meet up with the players and casters along with the Red Bull team to go go-karting. We decided to drive around for a bit before she had to return to her hotel.
Scarlett: What are those tubings on the ground?
Me: Those are sprinklers. They keep the vegetation here alive.
Scarlett: I did see rows of sprinklers on the way here.
Me: There's rows and grids, all across the land.
Scarlett: So none of these plants actually belong here...
Me: Wanna see our man-made lake?
Scarlett: ...
![[image loading]](https://scontent-a-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1392080_10102814386503706_723597842_n.jpg)
Scarlett: So the water here... where does it come from?
Me: Underground sprinklers that inject water directly into the lake.
Scarlett: ....
Scarlett: This water never freezes over?
Me: You're joking, right?
Scarlett: Back in Canada, we have a lake in our backyard... a huge lake. You can't see the other side... the other side is the United States.
Me: Wow that must be pretty wild to live right next to a lake like that. What do you guys do on the lake?
Scarlett: Well it's cold, for the most part... that's why we played video games. But sometimes when the weather was right we would get maybe... 3 foot waves on the lake, so we could play in it kind of like a beach.
Me: So, you're kind of making me feel inadaquate about our lake here.
Scarlett: It's very peaceful.
After a few more stops at random places, I dropper her off at her hotel (which is an insane journey on its own, maybe I'll write about it later).
Hope you guys enjoyed this report.
-karaokesalesman
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this reads like a first date
thanks for this though, very personal touch
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Great job! These insights are saving e-sporst!
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On November 10 2013 04:16 rift wrote:
this reads like a first date
I got that vibe too. Good stuff though.
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Wooooh! Great article, helping to humanize esports. Thanks!
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United States744 Posts
She sounds pretty chill. Nice of you to write this blog
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so this is how you get scarlett to actually open up for an interview, give her endless supplies of food.
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France7248 Posts
On November 10 2013 04:05 karaokesalesman wrote:
Hope you guys enjoyed this report.
-karaokesalesman love it. keep them coming
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Nice blog! Sasha Salsa
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Good read, nice to see an interview focused on something other than the game.
And yeah, this read like a first date lol
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this is like some kind of creepy romance
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isnt that lake in Irvine?
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Love getting to know more about Scarlett. Thanks for the post!
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On November 10 2013 04:16 rift wrote:
this reads like a first date
thanks for this though, very personal touch
Yeah.
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Oh god no what did you guys doooo Modern Masters you can't just crack those that's like using cavier as a pizza topping
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So... did you guys open all the MMA packs?
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katawa shoujo scarlett route
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Loved the read. It actually made me smile from time to time :D I consider it an honor to da--- meet our queen! :3
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Where to get spicy chicken ??
Nom nom nom!
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I was expecting something along the lines of "and then I put my arm around Scarlett and whispered in her ear: I love you," to show up at the end. lol
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Honestly, loved it. More, please!
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Theres a lot of talk about how this was a first date... And now that I read it again it totally does lol. I was trying to really get to know Scarlett, beyond Starcraft and what we read by the typical interviews so yea I guess I can see how it reads like a date. Just wanted to share the experience, plz no mean comments please!
We didn't open all the modern masters, we came to our senses. But I have more boxes of MMA at home, so why not crack one open? Not everyday you get to play magic with Scarlett!
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Thanks for this, really interesting to see her insight
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On November 10 2013 07:32 karaokesalesman wrote:
Theres a lot of talk about how this was a first date... And now that I read it again it totally does lol. I was trying to really get to know Scarlett, beyond Starcraft and what we read by the typical interviews so yea I guess I can see how it reads like a date. Just wanted to share the experience, plz no mean comments please!
We didn't open all the modern masters, we came to our senses. But I have more boxes of MMA at home, so why not crack one open? Not everyday you get to play magic with Scarlett!
I think the "first date" vibe comes from your introspective writing style, which I personally find to be very fluid and easy to read. But don't worry, I think most people are just poking fun. Great job, and hope to read more from you!
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Haha, nice read! Thanks!
+ Show Spoiler +So is there going to be a second date? :p, sorry just jealous!
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hmm, how did you get into touch with scarlett? are you really good friends with scarlett or something?
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Really great writeup. It only reads like a first date because you were both a bit shy but still teasing one another. Almost flirtatious.
She's a really interesting person, in any case, and your writing style is great!
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On November 10 2013 08:21 askmc70 wrote:
hmm, how did you get into touch with scarlett? are you really good friends with scarlett or something?
He's the WCS America translator, so likely association through work. He also posted the (also great) article where he hung out with Oz, Jaedong, Byul and HerO.
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Nice to know she likes Magic
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These are awesome! Thanks so much for posting c:
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Thanks for the article! Good read.
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how cute
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Pretty cool to find out she likes Magic ^^.
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Am I the only one that finds Scarlett super adorable?
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It definitely sounds like a first date LOL.
But hey, props to the guy for showing Scarlett's human side!
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;o
at least a third of that night is missing
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Awesome awesome blog! Keep them coming, it was quite insightful... Thanks!
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Canada16217 Posts
scarlett <3
Thanks
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On November 10 2013 11:39 Acer.Scarlett` wrote:
;o
at least a third of that night is missing
the last third?
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I love this type of stuff. Keep doing it please!
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Haha this was so cute, had me smiling while I was reading it .
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Fiddler's Green42661 Posts
Scarlett loves Ryung.
Idra loves Ryung.
MMA loves Ryung.
Who doesn't love Ryung?
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It almost sounds like a romantic first date.
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;o
at least a third of that night is missing
Scarlett, why r u trying to cause trouble D:
the last third?
see?
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On November 10 2013 14:02 karaokesalesman wrote:Scarlett, why r u trying to cause trouble D: see?
Daww! :3
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On November 10 2013 11:39 Acer.Scarlett` wrote:
;o
at least a third of that night is missing
Pretty sure that's on purpose 
Although here, let me insert a memorable moment that was left out:
![[image loading]](http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a582/metroidcomposite/ScarlettAtRedbullQualifier2_zpsadfbfa4b.png)
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Fun fact about lakes in Ontario: Lake Superior is about 4/5ths the size of South Korea. All five great lakes combined are 2.5x the size of South Korea :D.
Canada is very big. And very empty.
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Thank you so much for this - the little conversation about the lake and Magic cards was touching ^^.
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"So none of these plants actually belong here..."
Scarlett reminds me of the sly old master who teaches the protagonist a number of important life lessons with their mildly sarcastic wisdom.
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On November 10 2013 11:25 Xova wrote:
Am I the only one that finds Scarlett super adorable?
nah, you're not alone
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On November 10 2013 17:36 Pontius Pirate wrote:
"So none of these plants actually belong here..."
Scarlett reminds me of the sly old master who teaches the protagonist a number of important life lessons with their mildly sarcastic wisdom.
Scarlett does have a way of making me feel dumb by pointing out the obvious, yeah. And like...I swear I'm not dumb guys (I skipped three grades of high school, graduated top 10 in my university math department...). Scarlett's just smart.
On November 10 2013 19:04 deus.machinarum wrote:Show nested quote +On November 10 2013 11:25 Xova wrote:
Am I the only one that finds Scarlett super adorable?
nah, you're not alone
She's girly in some pretty adorable ways where you can tell she's really having fun. Like...she painted her nails different colours. I totally did stuff like that when I was 15. It's not something you do if you're trying to look professional--it's something you do when you're having fun with pretty colours :D
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Now I really want her salsa recipe so I can follow along at home ;_;
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you never know, maybe one day Scarlett will post up her salsa build order.
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omggggggggg sugoi desu ne!!!!!!! Thank you so much.
awesome bracelet btw scar
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On November 10 2013 13:18 stuchiu wrote:
Scarlett loves Ryung.
Idra loves Ryung.
MMA loves Ryung.
Who doesn't love Ryung?
To be fair along with his amazing photoshop (paint) skills there's pretty much no reason not to love him. Except his form doesn't love him atm 
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On November 10 2013 14:33 metroid composite wrote:Show nested quote +On November 10 2013 11:39 Acer.Scarlett` wrote:
;o
at least a third of that night is missing Pretty sure that's on purpose Although here, let me insert a memorable moment that was left out:
I can totally see that happening....
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Dang this totally does read like a first date.
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Northern Ireland25344 Posts
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I really like how these "day off" interviews really humanize our eSports heroes. With all the hype and competition, it's nice to see these gems of real life
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Word, consistently enjoying these posts :D
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god damnit it's 2am and I'm suddenly having a huge craving...
nice read
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Was the mexican food at Super Antojitos in Tustin?
That place is great!
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I am actually laughing at the part about JD being a tease, for some reason that was just very funny.
Good stuff man, appreciated. Now we must dig deeper to uncover the fabled secrets of this Canadian Salsa, the ambrosia of the world of Esports. And also she needs to teach me how to play the stockmarket, being a full time student does not a wealthy man make.
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Me: Are you cold, Scarlett?
Scarlett: *stare* Are you... joking?
Sweet date :x
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A nice read as usual
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Bosnia-Herzegovina261 Posts
The whole interview feels like a first date to be honest.
It's cool nevertheless ^^
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love these progamer's day off...MORE PLZZ!!!
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On November 10 2013 04:05 karaokesalesman wrote:
Me: Are you cold, Scarlett?
Scarlett: *stare* Are you... joking?
Me: Oh... right, yeah, you're from Canada.
Scarlett: I'm only wearing this jacket as a formality right now.
Me: -_-
best part, made me laugh
as a norwegian i absolutely understand that she don't think its cold during night in california
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Am I the only one who is still on the floor laughing about the fact that Scarlett is as adorable as a CarBot zergling, but eats like an ultralisk?
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Ah, great interview! Scarlett seems quite funny :D
After a few more stops at random places, I dropper her off at her hotel Scarlett the water to your eye?
(which is an insane journey on its own, maybe I'll write about it later). I assume this is the third of the night you haven't yet written about?
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who is karaokesalesman exactly?
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On November 17 2013 15:40 JoeSchmoe wrote:
who is karaokesalesman exactly?
On November 10 2013 08:29 WolfintheSheep wrote:Show nested quote +On November 10 2013 08:21 askmc70 wrote:
hmm, how did you get into touch with scarlett? are you really good friends with scarlett or something? He's the WCS America translator, so likely association through work. He also posted the (also great) article where he hung out with Oz, Jaedong, Byul and HerO.
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1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts
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On November 17 2013 14:43 Obeast96 wrote:
Am I the only one who is still on the floor laughing about the fact that Scarlett is as adorable as a CarBot zergling, but eats like an ultralisk?
To be fair, carbot zerglings probably do eat like ultralisks
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Wow I thought this thread would be long gone by now... Scarlett has some great fans. I initially left these parts out because I thought it would make the interview sound too much like a date. A fat lot of good that did, so fuck it here's the rest.
Conversations with Scarlett (Part 2) - The Missing Third
Immediately following the korean chicken dinner...
Me: So it's Sunday, not too many things are open right now.
Scarlett: Mm...
Me: You want to go get some dessert?
Scarlett: Didn't you just say that places are closed?
Me: Most. There are a few that don't play by those rules.
10 minutes later
Scarlett: This is where we get dessert?
Me: Yeah, it's called a Sprinkles ATM. You put in money and a cupcake pops out.
Scarlett: And it's open?
Me: Runs 24/7 as far as I know.
Scarlett: But, there's someone behind the machine right now?
Me: Yeah, they have little elves making cupcakes behind the machine year round.
Scarlett: *smack*
back into the car
Scarlett: Where are we going now?
Me: Illegal street racing.
Scarlett: ....What?
Me: It's not like Fast and Furious, it's just a mountain road nearby called _______ Blvd. It doesn't see too much traffic so the road's in great condition, and there's enough people with fast cars around here that once in a while you'll get someone who wants to race you.
Scarlett: How can you tell if they want to race you?
Me: Well if they chase you, then they're taking you up on the offer. If they accelerate in front of you, they're inviting you to join. It's really free form and super casual.
Scarlett: Such a corrupting influence.
Me: What are you talking about?
Scarlett: You're like, way older than I am.
Me: This is stuff I was doing when I was back in college, so right around your age.
Scarlett: I see.
Scarlett: That... was fun.
Me: Isn't it? You can really feel the adrenaline afterwards. I haven't done that in a while.
Scarlett: Why don't you do it more often?
Me: Good question... I haven't even been around here in years, I guess I got preoccupied with life, and other things....
Scarlett: You should, if it's what you like to do
Me: Hm... hard to argue with that.
Scarlett: So what did you like more about Broodwar, that you think is missing in the new game?
Me: Where did this come from?
Scarlett: You mentioned it a while back, you said you enjoyed watching SC1 more.
Me: I think Starcraft used to be more of a spectator sport back then cuz it was unfathomable the amount of APM and multitasking was necessary to play it at a high level. Now it's kind of a participation game, where you look at the pros and you try to copy what they do. A little of the freak show aspect is gone... think about watching breakdancers, or boxers. We're not watching them because we necessarily want to be in their shoes, we watch them because they're doing something we can't. Broodwar allowed so many broken things to happen with proper control that the elite could further distinguish themselves in how freakishly good they were at the game. I loved seeing the sandbox nature of the game, because at any moment some new secret tech (glitch) would be discovered, and the entire game could change.
Scarlett: I see
Me: That's it? I see? What do you think?
Scarlett: I only played broodwar for a little bit. I wasn't super serious back then.
Me: SC2 is still a great game. I definitely have faith in Legacy of the Void. It's just how game development has evolved, in our age of AAA titles and insta-patch fixes, we just wont get a quality game that glitchy anymore.
Scarlett: You play League though, so I can't take you seriously
Me: Such a snob.
Scarlett: DOTA 1 player 4 life.
Me: I remember back when I was in college, days didn't really exist, only hours. classes were the only things that kept track of time.
Scarlett: That's pretty much how it is for me. As long as I get practice in, I just stay up until I feel like sleeping. One time I literally slept for 48 hours straight
Me: No. I don't believe you.
Scarlett: I think I woke up to drink some water, and went back to sleep. When I woke up 2 days had passed
Me: Yeah that's kinda out of control. I don't think I've said this to anyone before but you need to fix your sleeping schedule.
Me: So what do you want to do after SC2?
Scarlett: Hm... I'm not too sure
Me: Have you thought about it much?
Scarlett: Yeah, of course... I think I want to learn programming. I think I can be good at it.
Me: I'm sure you can. Do you have any background in programming?
Scarlett: I used to work on WC3 mods. I still keep in touch with the other modders I used to talk to back then.
Me: You'd be surprised how many people you already know that can help you transition into that.
Scarlett: I would have to go back to school
Me: Most likely, yes.
next day, after eating Mexican food...
Me: My friend Ethan works at a huge magic store in San Gabriel, if we don't spend more than 15 minutes there I think we can stop by the card store and drop you off at the hotel by 5.
Scarlett: Sounds good. I want to pick up some cards for my cube, and I think I'm gonna buy some arena lands.
Me: Fancy. But remember, we can't spend more than 15 minutes at the store... Otherwise I can't guarantee that I'll be able to get you back to the hotel on time.
Scarlett: Right, it'll be super quick. I can't be late.
after the magic store
Me: So, we stayed there about 15 minutes longer than we should have
Scarlett: Yeah, that was a mistake.
Me: From here to make it to the coast... at least 45 minutes, under the most ideal conditions.
Scarlett: We have 35.
Me: *accelerates*
after one of the craziest drives from east LA to the PCH...
Me: 5:05.
Scarlett: That should work.
Me: It's here for sure?
Scarlett: I see QXC right there.
*high five*
Me: Well now you got a taste of what people really drive like in LA. Goodbye Scarlett.
Scarlett: See ya.
I might splice these into the original post to make it one big article eventually, for right now I just took a break from working to write this for those who showed interest in this thread. Thanks for reading.
Scarlett, good luck on your coming tournaments and whatever you plan on doing after progaming. Scarlett gogo!
-karaokesalesman
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You are a terrible, terrible influence.
And we love you for it.
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France7248 Posts
good stuff :D
what was your car?
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So it was a date then? XD
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2010 335i, stock except for some sticky michelin summer tires. nothing crazy, enough to have fun with
So it was a date then? XD
this guy...
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Oh, ha, I thought you weren't posting about the illegal street racing part because it was illegal, not because you thought people weren't interested in it. Literally the first thing you texted me the next day was "after you left we went illegal street racing" (paraphrased). Actually here, let me add fuel to the theories by selectively transcribing some of the texts out of context:
Me: "So did you race with scarlett?"
Mike: "Yeah, I took her for a spin."
Mike: "She really liked it... Most girls get a kick out of the adrenalinep"
Me: "Yeah, I've felt that at times"
Me: "When I didn't think that I would be that kind of girl."
Mike: "Labels... Everything is everything"
And as for going into programming afterwards: hard to say if she'd need to go back to school. I didn't--went straight from a theoretical math degree to PS2 development. I also sucked at it for like...a year, though. >_>
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Wow this was a wonderful read, she's unbelievably sweet. And very witty, I don't know many who are that spontaneous.
Cannot thank you enough, really...
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really nice read! thanks for posting this!
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O, I didn't even see this before. Good thing someone bumped it ^_~.
It's nice getting to see more of the players' actual personalities instead of whatever they show at tournaments/on stream.
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OMG you went on a semi date with scarlett. jelly
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EPT
