Kingdom of Loathing: an adventurer is me!

Ages ago I used to play an online game called Kingdom of Loathing. I played several different characters and never could get the hang of it. So I quit and promptly forgot my login information.

Well, someone very special to me currently plays it, and has been hinting for a while that I should too, namely by copy-pasting funny bits from the Wiki or the game in Skype chats. (You may be able to guess that this special person is my boyfriend. If you haven't, well, now I've told you.)

So I decided to pick it up again. Mainly because I thought it would make him happy but also because I was laughing pretty hard at the things he linked me, and I figured my stress levels could use some lowering. Humor is a good way to do that. And KOL is not a time-intensive game: you only have so many adventures per day, so you only spend about 30 minutes to an hour adventuring. Especially if you use the Wiki to help you out.

I play a Seal Clubber, which is a strictly muscle class.  Every level you get a new title (see picture below). There are two muscle classes -- Seal Clubber and Turtle Tamer -- two magic classes -- Pastamancer and Sauceror -- and two moxie classes -- Disco Bandit and Accordion Thief. The first time I played I was a Disco Bandit and then a Pastamancer (two different accounts; I never ascended) -- and this was the source of my trouble. I do best with classes that just let me pummel without thinking. So the next time I played I tried Seal Clubber. It's much better. I can scream HULK SMASH and pummel puny enemies. Once I'm used to the game and ascend, I can choose different classes.

The reason this game is so fun is because it's based on humor almost entirely. Yes, there's adventure and meat gathering (meat is the currency of Loathing) and trophies to earn (important to me because I'm a Diamond), but mostly KOL should make you laugh.

Observe:

This is one of the familiars you can get. You can also get the Ghuol Whelp (from the Misspelled Cemetary), the Leprechaun, the Grue...the list is endless. Well. Not endless. Just really really big.

Familiars accompany you on your adventures and help you in battle. You can name them whatever you want. My familiars are shown below.

This is a Valentine, sent to me by my sweetie. Along with gifts. He sends me lots of stuff. And meat.

This is a possible room you can go into in the Daily Dungeon. It's full of badgers. You have to sneak by like a sneaky snake.

This is both a reference to Lord of the Rings and Harold and Kumar go to Whitecastle (though there is an entire quest chain dedicated to referencing H&K: The White Citadel Quest.) You first run into the eXtreme orc frat boys on the White Citadel quest chain, and they show up randomly after that.

This is only a small sample of the fun possible with Kingdom of Loathing. I'm sure you can see why I love the game so much.

Are you a gamer? What's your favourite game? Have you ever played Kingdom of Loathing? Would you like to?

 

SFFSat: wherein AHH ANIMAL ATTACK

To read the first part of this snippet click HERE.

The thought was half-formed in her mind when the sound became a high-pitched keening scream. She tried to clamp her hands over her ears but stood paralysed, rooted to the spot.

Out of the darkness came a lumbering white shape, galloping towards her with deadly purpose. It continued to scream and Yarrow felt her blood freeze in her veins as she realised what it was.

Flesh Screamer.

She stood, unable to move, desperately trying to draw her sword. Her body wouldn't obey. Her skin felt tight and hard, all suppleness lost, as if it had turned to stone around her and locked her in place. 

Be sure to read the other talented SFFSat authors HERE! 

And tune in next week for the conclusion of this snippet-set. ;)

 

"Today I" -- a points post

My mom does this thing where she lists the points of her day -- ie, every thing she accomplished, no matter the size. Her goal is 24 points a day. She doesn't give herself negative feedback; only positive. That's the theory, anyway.

So I'm giving it a whirl. I could use some positive encouragement.

Today I ....

1. Got up before 8am. 
2. Got out the door before 9 (that's when my class starts).
3. Did not cry when faced with the evil parking meter of doom nor my welling up feelings of anger surrounding the ableism in Canada's redundant bureaucracies. 
4. Managed to read a myth in pursuit of The One to turn into a skit for our class presentation.
5. Worked with my group to create our proposal.
6. Typed up the proposal.
7. Wrote an entry for the 55 Words Challenge. 
8. Re-organized my canned food. 
9. Cooked dinner. 
10. Did dishes. 
11. Started the process for my entry into the Blacksmith Liberty & Entrepreneurship Camp. (Lithuania July 2012 or bust!)
12. Resisted the siren call of McDonald's. 

12 points is good! Considering I have half as much energy as Mom does on a good day.

Do you have a points system similar to this? If your system is different, what's it like?

 

SFFSat: wherein Yarrow walks up Mt. Impri

In this snippet from Bellica Yarrow is walking back up the mountain after her hunting trip.

True to her pessimistic prediction, the sun had set by the time she reached the treeline, and she laboured up the rocky, snow-sprinkled slope in the dark. Soon the moons rose and cast their silver light, giving an eerie shine to the rust-coloured rock of the rest of the Blood Mountains that stretched away in a long range, far to the north, and the river with the same name that ran through them.

Yarrow stopped to look at the view behind her several times, and wondered what lay further north, beyond the mountain range that spanned the earth from her spot to the horizon. Did anything lie beyond it or was it just mountains and forest forever, as far as the earth went?

Maybe in summer, if Jules and I still live, we'll journey north. See what there is to be seen.
She turned back and continued her zig-zag hike up, cursing the Moirae and Fortuna with every step. It was windy and cold and miserable again, and all she could think about was the warm bath that she knew awaited her in the mountain.

A sound like a song came over the wind, and Yarrow frowned and looked around. It came again, like a woman singing mournfully. Damn mountain gets creepier every day.

To discover the source of the song, come back next Saturday for the continuation of this scene!

Be sure to check out the other talented SFFSat authors HERE! 

Fiction Friday: in which I eat all of my mom's Nutella

What are kids for, right?

This week I am not reading any fiction -- all my reads are currently a) serious academic tomes or b) books on paganism and witchcraft. Or both.

However, I did write a short piece of fiction for Three Word Wednesday, now showing at live in demons and absent angels.  Go read that if you like dystopian stories. It's about 750 words, give or take a few.

I'm also hard at work on The Jade Star of Athering. I may not finish it by the 5th, as I'm also filming a documentary this weekend, but I will finish it soon -- never fear!

And my brain is just coughing up plot bunnies like it's got a hairball problem. I seriously have more story ideas than I know what to do with right now. So I'm hoping that once I finish JSOA and let it sit before editing a bit I can sit down and work on some of these other ideas before they die from lack of attention.

Plot bunnies. So needy, I tell ya.

As well, Dead Transgressions will be getting my attention sometime this summer, and The Man of Bronze will also be tackled this year. So hopefully I'll have more fodder for my Fiction Friday posts and will be actually, you know, writing them.

(And posting them the night before because that's how I roll.)

 

Brought to you by the letter P

How to Play: Comment to this entry and I’ll give you a letter. List ten things that you love that begin with that letter and then post that list on your blog. I got P from Pippa Jay (and no, that wasn't intentional; she uses random.org).

10 Purrr-fect things

1. Paper packages tied up with string Okay so I won't be that cliché. I do really love getting parcels in the mail though. It's like Yule and my birthday. But on random days. 


2. Plays. I've been in theatre for 20+ years so I suppose I must like them at least a little bit.

3. Performing. This I love even more than just plays. I like performing in all guises: singing, burlesque, acting, dancing if I could do it. I don't like public speaking, however -- the difference? When I'm performing I'm putting on a character, and thus am safe. It's not me. Public speaking is all me. (So I'm working on putting together an "author persona" for when I have to do public speaking as an author. Also I randomly have huge conversations with Invisible Jon Stewart, etc, in preparation for when he'll obviously want me on his show because of my awesome novels.)

4. Publishing. Okay so it's overwhelming and a crapton of work and I'm frazzled from it most of the time...but I do like being a publisher. It gives me an edge as an author. More control. And as we know, I'm a super-control-freak.

5. Pie. Oh my freaking gods I love pie so much. 


6. Pets. I like having my hair petted by someone I love and trust. It's a cat thing.

7. Purring. I also like to purr to hear cats purr. It's a lovely sound.

8. Paper. I love getting new, pretty papers. Especially in notebook-form.

9. Passports. Specifically, I like it when I don't lose them.

10. Pagan, being a. I really love being a pagan. Sure, pagandom can be a little a freaking lot crazy at times, and many days the higher the number of times I'm willing to just roll my eyes and move along the happier I am, but overall I'm really happy I made the choice to start exploring pagan religions fourteen years ago.


This was fun! I'm glad I decided to participate. And if you decide to participate, comment below and I'll give you a letter.
 

Happy Beltane!

Today is May 1st, making it the traditional day for Beltane, a Pagan festival. (Or, okay, well, my traditional day for Beltane.)

In the Neo-Wiccan Wheel of the Year, Beltane is one of eight sabbats (solar festivals; the others are the solstices, equinoxes, Imbolc, Lughnasadh, and Samhain). It is based off older traditions from various parts of Europe and the British Isles, but its modern-day celebrations are a mishmash of these traditions. Like Wicca, today's Neo-Pagan Beltane is new.

Celebrations of Beltane can include jumping the fire for fertility (of any sort; not just baby-making), dancing around the May-pole (which, yes, is supposed to be a phallus), making lewd motions with ritual implements (or perhaps that's just me), candy shaped like genitalia, getting married or handfasted for a year and a day, and unbridled coupling in the woods. Or your bedroom; whatevs.

Beltane is also known as the sex holiday, and for good reason. 

For me personally, Beltane is sacred to Morrigan, who is so much more than a "goddess of war and death". She's the goddess of sovereignty, which is inherently tied up with sexuality and being a warrior. (For more on my take on the Morrigan and many other topics related to paganism, check out my writings under the name Morag Spinner at Innocence and Immanence.)

Also, the sex celebrated at Beltane is, to me, more than just what I do with my boyfriend (though that is quite awesome, don't get me wrong). If you were to ask me to define "The Force" or the divine source of life pulsing through the universe, I would say "sex". Sex is what makes us; sex continues the cycle of life. The earth is teeming with the life force, and it's inherently sexual -- if you do energy work, you may know what I mean. There's a thrill that comes with really great connection during ritual or magic.

What am I doing for Beltane this year?

I'll be doing a small ritual re-affirming my bond with the Morrigan and re-opening my connection to the land and its life-force. I'll also be writing, hard at work on The Jade Star of Athering.

If you want to do something to commemorate the day but you're not sure where to start, you could consider downloading Bellica on the Kindle. Today is the last promo day for Bellica, and it's full of pretty sexy prose. (Check out my SSFSat snippets if you don't believe me.) Besides, what better way to celebrate a pagan holiday than by reading some pagan fiction?

If you've been waiting for Bellica to come out on other formats, today is your lucky day! My Kindle select period ends tomorrow, and as soon as possible I'll be releasing Bellica through Smashwords (I'm working on the file right now). I'm also working on the proof from Createspace, so if you prefer a paperback version that will be available this month as well.