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Ladies and characters

 

Let’s start this thing with the best news I can about give you lot.
No, it’s not about having a child. No, it isn’t about marrying either… And NO! It is NOT about all evil being gone…
FINE! it is not THE best news, but it is for me, so there!

What it is about? Well, I have a girlfriend now. and yes, it is Didi, whom I posted about earlier.
I am very happy having her as my girlfriend, and I believe I haven’t stopped smiling since the start.
It was a bit inevitable that we hooked up though, most of my friends weren’t surprised that it happened(some even wondered why we took that long), in any case, still very much thrilled about her, and getting even more excited the more I learn about her. I could go on and on for hours about her, like how great it is to see her smile, the twinkling in her eyes as she does so. Or the smile on her face if she is waking up to a kiss, or the angelic look when she is still asleep. Or her puppy-eyes when she wants something… so irresistible.
Could go on an on… literally

But I want to touch other subjects as well, or rather, subject.
DnD…
It has now been… 3-4? months since I started to play along in Estanov’s group and had so much fun since, telling about it is hard, seeing the world I play in exists only in minds of the players and the DM(Dungeon Master).
I can however, tell about the characters I have played so far.
The first one being Borvir, a paladin of Shor, who is tasked to protect his land(in secrecy) after his order was attacked and he had to save the two numbskulls he is now travelling around with. This character is my main one, and so far, more fun each session.

Then we have Shuran(I believe, see job description), a teenager in the same setting(world/universe) as Borvir, but seeing everything from a different viewpoint as he is pretty much on the enemy’s side. He is getting trained to do High Level political missions(still in school) and it is fun to play him actually. He’s totally different from my normal characters, as I don’t normally do politics. I switched names with him for about 3 times now(and will do a lot more in the future).

Lastly, we have my Ogre Gunra(Joon-ra), also in the same setting, who is controlled by my handler Duran. We had lots of fun with that character, it is my first one being written before any play and as such I was excited to actually play him. So far only one session, but hopefully a lot more in the future.

 

And music:
only one today:

Woodkid – Run boy, run:

Of Friends and Monsters

 

This time it is only been 3 months, so we are improving, somewhat at the least.

So… no special theme here or something, just felt like writing something on my blog. Just because I can.
Quite a lot of stuff has happened the last few months, sometimes I feel like I am riding a rollercoaster and I don’t know when a quick part starts or ends, but I mostly enjoy it.
The last few months have mainly been about friends, new friends and a bit of old friends.

Let’s start with the old friends, these consist mostly of friends from across the globe, ones that I have known mainly through the interwebs, the ones that come and go, the ones that stay for a while and move on, you get the gist.
Lately I have thought of a few of them again, Lynn from Spokane, Raz from England, Oriagi  from England, Julia from Germany and Natalie from Blackpool.
All these people have been nice buddies and friends at some point in the last.. 10(already? geez I’m getting old) years or so. I have talked with you all, laughed with you, wanted to smack your head in and just hang out.
Some I have lost contact with, some I still have some words every now and then, but none of you have been forgotten.
Through games, websites or other (forgotten) friends we have found each other, picked up the talking and maintained contact. With some of you I have experienced the wildest adventures and tough emotions, I have scaled mountains, killed Pic’s, romanced as a detective, build mansions, arrested criminals, died in your arms, hyped about the next new game, mourned an old one going dark forever, discussed tactics and taunted you while dodging your bullets. Those were great times, and I know there are even greater times to come yet, perhaps with you, perhaps with new friends.  I still remember each and everyone, so if you read this, give a shout-out to me!

Now for friends, and I have to start with the most important update in that area, my friend Steven and his (now) wife Mariska are married now! They were a lovely couple to which I was his Best Man(damn, the honour) . The day was long, but so very worth it, had a lot of fun, and again I want to wish the couple the best in life!
On other news, I have really bonded with Didi(who plays Ardalys) lately. Been chatting a lot with her, and I think she is a great friend. I hope this won’t be over any time soon, all of this is way too much fun to have this end sometime soon. Which reminds me, I should start to discuss Artificial Intelligence with her, although I have a slight feeling she’d rather stick her sword in me rather then cutting this subject *grins*. Did I mention teasing her is fun? No? Well, it is, albeit slightly dangerous(but it is a good Dodge or Endurance training). Also, her dog, Mushu, can be real funny when you start calling him while on skype *grins*

As for new friends, quite a few of my acquaintances have been ‘upgraded’ to friends, after a good bit of talking with them and getting to know them(yes, I am very picky like that, I consider a friends(although the internet one is somewhat special for me) something you’d have to earn, someone I meet is an acquaintance, whom may or may not have the potential to grow into a friend). The biggest batch came with a new thing for me(more on it below), a new LARP, to which 2 of them asked me to join in on. I can say I was really flattered by it and try to live up to their expectations. Through them I have more contact with a few other friends, also connected via the LARP as well as a lost sister to one of them(and a girlfriend to another), to which I am happy to talk. I have had a great time with them so far on plotting for the LARP, DnDing(much better then the other DnD party I had) and fun in general. They helped me with a lot of my skeletons and opened a door to a new place, for which I am grateful.

The best part about all of this post? I haven’t talked about missing or lost friends, for I haven’t got any! I have not lost a friend these past months, so jeey! for that.

As for the LARP, the only thing I am allowed to say, it is a LARP with a Western meets Steampunk feel, so basically a Western LARP with Steampunk touches to it. There is much more I know about it(well, duh) but which I am not allowed to say. Perhaps I can soon tell more about this, and then I most definately will say more about it. But for now, this is what you’ll have to do with.

Now for my usual closing of things, music!

I’ll start of with Axxis – The Monsters Crawl:

Second off, Tenacious D – Master Exploder

From Skyrim, sung by a beautiful voice: Malukah – The Dragonborn Comes

And lastly, University of Tennessee Men’s Chorale – John Williams Is The Man

About magical colourshifters and eight-legged horses

 

Today I will talk about LARP. More specifically, the Khaladani group I am with.
And I will do this because of ONE reason, they are so incredibly and utterly awesome that I found myself wanting to chatter about them, all of them, new and old. Silent on the background and those in the spotlights on the fore.

For those not knowing, the Khaladani is a race of magically gifted humanoids(very close resemblance) whom live on their home-world of Khaladan. They are divided into 4 sub-races, each one having a specific colour and an anti-colour. These four colours are Silver, Black, Green and Red. Green opposes Red and Silver opposes Black , it goes the other way around as well.

A Silver focusses on Serenity, Retaliation and Healing.
A Red focusses on Battle, Honour, Courage and the Red Haze.
A Black focusses on Hate, Destruction and Dominance.
A Green  focusses on Knowledge, Wisdom, Curiosity and an Iron Will.

These racial traits or focusses are not mandatory, everyone is an individual, but it is encouraged to have these traits coming back in one way or another in your character.
Mixes of these colours do happen, often between the non-opposing colours, but sometimes(very rarely) it happens between the opposing colours.
In our group we have one true mix, me. I am a mix between Red and Green, which makes me unique amongst ‘my people’.

You see, EVERY Khaladani possesses magic, for our world is a magical one. And not one where Magic can do all, but one where it is used in everyday life, but with modesty. So think raising buildings, adjusting small objects, making life easier and fighting. But not defying the general rules of physics and such(although, you can use it to, say, jump a tad bit further)
And it is in this world that my character is seemingly without magic, he cannot use it, although he can(with concentration) detect it. This little fact creates some play and I intend to expand on it, but this is a rather tedious thing, for not everything can be done in the event/setting where we go to.

Furthermore we have a counsel, consisting of 2 people(well, 3, but it’s complicated). And then we have one or more advisers with us, a Silver Lady(read queen like persona, really frecking awesome!) along with a Silver Guard. 2 or more diplomats(whom can co-incidentally kick some serious ass if need be, both verbally AND physically). And the Silver Lady is in this equation the most interesting. You see, in LARPs everyone and their mother wants to be a noble, because you are generally found important(or so they tend to think). The latter not being as found as important is usually due to the fact that most of these ‘nobles’ don’t have a following as they would have in real life. Well, with 15 to 20 people(as of moment of writing) we do fit that bill. It’s very fun to see that one of the guards goes ahead to actually announce her coming to a place. Very fun to see. This also creates the effect that she is genuinely looked up too by most folks, this is also supported by her flawless white outfit and scary/awesome visage(silver wig, silver coloured skin and silver coloured eyes). That, and anyone actually stupid enough to touch her dies a long and painful death, either by her hand or by our group’s.

Back to our world, the world itself is 5 times bigger then earth(resulting in a total surface area over 25 times that of earth!) and contains lots of water, it looks out to 3 visible suns and 1 not so visible one. Seven sacred moons and a lot of magic.
Most of our critters are of the mythical kind(think Dragons(extinct), Hydra’s and eight-legged horses(which we dubbed Fu’Jin)) but are not seen by any outworlder. Due to a recent war our people are rather wary of outworlders, in fact, they are  so wary of them, they built a special quarter(or city, if you like) around the portal to accommodate them. An outsider leaving the assigned compound is declared a fugitive and will be shot on sight(shot with a fireball that is). For a better explanation of how this would work, we based it on Dejima in ancient Japan, we pulled a Sakoku basically. With the exception of us leaving.

Coming weekend we have a(nother) meeting with the group, I can’t wait! The group has grown considerably and there are quite a few faces I haven’t met at all yet. There are also plans to talk about a variety of things and get our act a bit more tightly than the last time.

 

Now for the usual closing!
Music!

Let’s start of with a nice little song(don’t mind the video, it’s the only copy I could find…)
Marley’s Ghost – Sugar Trade

Next up, an oldie; Billy Joel – Goodnight Saigon

now for something completely different; Yoshida Brothers – Storm (T.M. Remix)

another one by Yoshida Brothers, Fuyu no Sakura. Very melancholic, but beautiful.

and another, cause they are awesome; Yoshida Brothers – Yuunagi(Evening Calm)

Holy long time without a post batman!

 

it has been 7 months! seven… S-E-V-E-N… I ought to be ashamed of myself!

but then, I am not, I’m just lazy. So there, now you know it.
What you can do with it? Idaknow… shout it to the world? or perhaps write it on some paper and mail it to me, so I am reminded of it?

anyways, a lot of things have happened since the last post in March(hell, with the time passed I could almost claim the last post to be in the last millenia or something…. perhaps I should ask some archaeologist?).
I can’t remember all of them even if I wanted to, so just a short summup of what I can actually remember:
– I went to this new LARP called Aragnes. It is a nice concept they are making there; instead of getting points at the end of an event(which is rather the standard) you don’t get them, instead, if you want to learn a new skill, you actually go and request a teacher(or kick one of the other players who can teach it) and you practice on it for 3 days, and then you can use it. I know it doesn’t sound reasonable for a thing like that to be that short, but you have to strike the balance between realism and playability as you only have 2 events a year(quests not counted in). it also has a food system, eg. you have to get 5 food by the end of a big event, or else you will starve!(not OC, but IC of course). anyways, went to the event in may I believe and I liked it, but not sure what to think of it. and a couple of weeks back I had the second event, and now I absolutely LOVED it! They did this end boss ‘battle’ which was the most awesome one I have ever seen and the best part: hardly any fighting involved! only 2 mobs(for me) in the beginning, after that only traps and the final encounter. which was very awesomely done(can’t stress that enough). Kudos to the NPCs and Gamemasters!
– I went to the Summoning. it’s the biggest LARP in the Netherlands(afaik) with about 500 players(so about 700-750 people in total if you count everyone else working on it, if not more). now on this scale a lot of things shift, you can forget the person to person diplomatic crap, now it’s group vs group. A lot more diplomatics(and I mean a lot more). Bluff-checks(you don’t know what the other can do, are you ready to test it?(read: to every kiddo you do the Dirty Harry’s(Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?) thing and see if your bluff get’s checked(which is loads of fun, and I seem to win a lot of them, strangely enough))) and just Big Cojones esé! Best part: Playing a Khaladan there! We are a tight group of 11(or as we are now: 15) and we have the habit of picking the stupid most idea(not to be confused with suicidal, which we don’t do…mostly) and execute it. and we get away with it, why? see the bluff-check for that. example: one of our team was stricken down by 6 man. I storm at them(that is, with shield first, weapon drawn and in a heavy armour), position myself in between them and bluff them on attacking me. which was an awesome action. not the best of ideas, but hey it worked, I won that fight without even dishing out a blow.
– work and all that jazz is same old, same old
– Kung Fu Panda 2 and X-men: First Class were as enjoyable as my partner in crime was(we really ought to pick a new movie some time)
– Music was found
– Lost
– and found again
– Epic Rap Battles of History
– and much, much more.

Now, On to ze music Maestro!
Imma starting with a Disney song(yeah, Disney) because my partner in crime posted a reference a few days ago that made me find it… plus, it’s too happy 😉

Next is another Disney song, cause everybody wants to be a Cat:

now, above song made me want to listen to that kind of jazz, behold: Louis Armstrong vs The Duke(Ellington that is) and It don’t mean a thing:

Found this one some time ago, Rondo Veneziano – Musica Fantasia:

and through above one I found Emma Shapplin, and her song Reprendo Mai Più

and I found this old classic again: Margaret Singana – We are growing:

I can remember this song(dunno how I found it again, but it was lost to me a loooong time) from my childhood. An older friend at the time(read, me being 4 years or so, he was the son of some acquaintances from my parents) made this tape for me and My First Sony because I always pestered him about these Synthesizer songs to be played when I was over at theirs. Theme from Rain Man(originally composed by Hans Zimmer, not sure whom played this particular version):

and to close off: some more rock-y songs, because I wouldn’t be me without them 😛
Billy Talent – Devil in a midnight mass:

One of the most awesome songs ever, by Queen:

don’t ask how I found this one: Five Finger Death Punch(kudos for he(or she) who knows the reference) – 100 ways to hate:

and thanks to Salvi(you metal bitch! m/): Sabaton – Ghost Division:

and I close this post with a classic(seriously, that guitar♥): Still got the Blues for you – Gary Moore

Lands of the Pharaoh 4

 

Last weekend I had this awesome LARP event, Keeper of Dreams: Lands of the Pharaoh 4. Do note that the word awesome is only a substitute for when I find a better, more fitting, word for it.
I have not experienced many LARPs, but compared with the other ones, this one is in it’s own league. it’s that awesome. Continue reading