I’m sorry for not responding to e-mails; I’ve only be on, briefly, and he and I have been rushing to get things in order just in case things go sour during his surgery or recovery, along with his post-hospital care.

I do promise to get to each of the things owed. I cannot at this point in time, but I will. I am sorry for my irresponsibility, but things are happening the way they are and quickly spiraling out of control.

But then I read the first three pages.

And the next three.

Before I knew it, I had finished the book, and found myself sorely disappointed. There was nothing more in my possession to read.

Butler’s careful wordcraft and thoughtful dialogue paints a picture of two deities, Loki and Sigyn, the stories surrounding them, and the love that comes to exist between them. This fantasy book touches upon a modern concept or two, yet despite this, there is a certain suspension of time that exists where you understand what event follows what, but one moment you may be in the times of the vikings, and the next in the times of modern man.

With words as her clay, Butler molds and shapes a sympathetic representation of Loki, not as a vindictive God with a penchant for mischief at the painful expense of others, but as the wounded hero, a lighthearted God who undergoes a transformation once, and then once again. In this story, Odin is his father, not his blood-brother, and Thor is his brother – and this provides all sorts of new perspectives on their relationships within the story. Additionally, in this story Loki has black hair instead of red, but this is something that can be easily overlooked for the content of the books.

Butler also provides a view of Sigyn not as the submissive wife who captures a snake’s venom to ease Loki’s pain, but as the loving Goddess who is clever in her own right with a strong sense of duty to her family. The belief by a number of Lokeans that Sigyn is a devoted, loving Goddess is echoed in this fantasy story, and I can think of a few Lokeans who would enjoy this book.

While not main characters, the author offers a look into the personalities of Vali and Narfi, and you’re left with a rather strong impression of these two on you, though not as much of an impression as their parents leave.

The author is unafraid in her writing, carefully touching on topics that are not often comfortably discussed in the real world. The fact she features these topics in her book proves her conviction as an author, and her apparent unwillingness to fit her story into the comfortable niche others do. There are some cheesy moments, but don’t let these fool you! There are real gems of moments that shouldn’t be passed up, including an interesting scene with Thor.

If you are looking for a strict-to-the-Eddas fantasy story, you should probably look elsewhere. But if you are searching for a romanticization of two deities and a fictional, yet passionately told, story, look no further. Butler’s story and style leaves you wanting for more, and if you plan to read this book, make sure you set aside time: it’s near impossible to stop reading.

If you’re interested, this book can be purchased from Amazon for the Kindle.

I WILL make custom games of a special mode only if I know how to play them.

I WILL NOT make a custom game labeled “30s only” or with any sort of level restriction, and let someone of a different level play, even if they are my friend, but ESPECIALLY if I’m not taking them on my team.

I WILL encourage my team and offer them tips if they need it.

I WILL NOT complain if I make a custom game and invite four of my friends to be on my team, when they all have 550+ wins, and it takes more than an hour to gather non-friends to play in my custom game.

I WILL make a custom game with fair teams, even if that means having one of my friends be on the other side.

I WILL NOT act like a d-bag in a custom game. I may take ARAM or ARAZ or ADAM or draft racing or ARAJ or any other mode very seriously, but I will not berate others who are not good at this mode but claim to be sincerely trying. On that note…

I WILL NOT cheat in a custom game. Even if I’m losing. Even if my team is losing. Even if it’s “just a custom game”, I will not cheat, for the sake of sportsmanship. If I want to be an exploitative a-hole, I will play a bugged and/or FoTM champ in a normal or ranked match.

I WILL sell back items I buy that are “illegal” in whatever mode I am playing. If this mode does not allow me to go back to base unless I die or an inhibitor is down, I will let the enemy team kill me in order to sell the item.

I WILL NOT buy items that are “illegal” in whatever mode I am playing.

I WILL pay attention to whatever mode I’m playing’s rules.

I WILL NOT take “illegal” summoner skills for the given mode of play.

I WILL NOT use “illegal” summoner skills for the given mode of play should I accidentally take them.

I WILL NOT go AFK if I get pissed off at my team for doing terrible.

I WILL report violations of the tribunal code, even though it is a custom game.

I WILL offer to switch my champion for another champion if I know I can’t play the champion I have.

I WILL NOT dodge at champion select because I got a champion I don’t like and nobody will switch with me, especially if it’s a random game.

————-

• ARAM/ADAM “Standard Rules” - All Random/Draft All Mid – Summoner’s Rift
• ARAZ/ADAZ Rules - All Random/Draft All Zeal – Any map
• ARAJ/ADAJ Rules – All Random/Draft All Jungle – Any map
• ARAB/ADAB Rules – All Random/Draft All Bottom – Crystal Scar
• Draft Racing Rules

1. Summoner Skills selectable are Ghost and Revive ONLY. 
1. It’s suggested you get the masteries for Ghost and Revive.
2. Items are Boots of Mobility and Phantom Dancers.
1. You must build all five zeals before starting your Phantom Dancers.
2. You must start with the basic boots (Boots of Speed).
3. You must build Boots of Mobility before starting to build a zeal.
4. You must finish a zeal before starting the next.
3. You may buy potions.
4. You may NOT buy elixirs until your build is complete.
5. Otherwise, standard Summoner’s Rift game procedure. Laning, jungling, ganking. NOT ALL MID!
6. You may take whatever masteries and runes you wish.

1. Summoner Skills will NOT include:
1. Teleport
2. Revive
3. Surge (trend currently since the change)
4. Promote (trend currently since the change)
2. Items bought will NOT include:
1. Guardian Angel
2. Specific Snowball Items:
1. Mejai’s Soul Stealer
2. Leviathan
3. Sword of the Occult
3. Stay in the middle lane.
1. Do not enter the brush.
2. Do not enter the jungle.
3. Do not enter the river.
4. Do not pull jungle creeps.
5. Do not pull side creeps.
4. No going back by the blue pillar, also known as “going b”, also known as hitting the b key and going back to the fountain.
5. No going back at all unless your middle inhibitor is down.
6. You may defend side lanes if one of the two is true, though which to follow is determined by the game’s creator:
1. The creeps/minions are attacking the side inhibitor turrets
2. The creeps/minions are attacking the side inhibitors

Variations may exist with more or less rules, but these are “standard”.

If I’m forgetting something, let me know.

But for a company that claims its excitement for new champions, its excitement for new abilities… why does it appear they’re running out of names for female champions?

Of the current 26 female champions, there are 12 whose first names end with the “ah” sound; 16 if you include the rest of their name or title.

1. Anivia
2. Cassiopeia
3. Emilia (LeBlanc) [NOTE: Real name is Evaine]
4. Irelia
5. Janna
6. Karma
7. Katarina
8. Leona
9. Luxanna (Lux)
10. Morgana
11. Orianna
12. Shauna (Vayne)
13. Sarah (Miss Fortune)
14. Sona
15. Soraka
16. Tristana

There is also another champion well under the works, named Shyvana. She is a female. That would make it 13/27, or 17/27.

That would mean that, with this new champion, 48% or 63% of the female champions have names that end in the “ah” sound.

But what of the Nine-Tailed Fox? She’s suspected to have a name that doesn’t end in an “ah” sound. Which would make it 46% or 60% of the female champions having the “ah” sound at the end of their name.

There are plenty of names for women that do NOT end in the “ah” sound, not only in English, but in languages from around the world. They can be beautiful and meaningful without ending in “ah” or even a vowel.

It makes me wonder if their mental databases of female names have begun to run dry.

I have recently read a number of people claiming to be one of Loki’s godspouses, and heard a few even claim that if you wish to worship Loki, you must be His godspouse.

Let me start by saying I am glad to be a Priestess with my Patron being Loki. You do NOT have to be Loki’s godspouse to be a Lokean. I would far sooner consider myself one of His children than one of His wives. And I wouldn’t want it any different. I pray no one is frightened away from being a Lokean because they think they have to wed Loki to be a Lokean.

A godspouse, as defined by anyakless, is “someone who has a longterm/lifetime intimate relationship with a deity that seems to somehow mirror human marriage (although there can be striking and important differences). This is usually a role officially acknowledged by the deity and confirmed by other members of your community in various ways.”

I have many issues in believing anyone to be a godspouse of Loki.

The Norse culture of the past did not condone a man having multiple wives. A man could sleep with many women, but as it was pointed out by Viking Answer Lady, “The only restriction that seems to have existed on a man’s sexual activity was to penalize a man for fornication, making him pay a small fine for sleeping with a woman not his wife. Sturlunga saga indicates that “almost universally, men indulged in extramarital affairs with numbers of women before, during, and after marriage” (Jenny M. Jochens, “The Church and Sexuality in Medieval Iceland,” Journal of Medieval History. 6 [1980]: pp.383-384).” Extramarital, as in they had one wife and numerous concubines.

Even the culture of the Norse Gods, Loki is married to Sigyn. He has slept with many beings, jotunn, man, horse. However, the only one He is wed to is Sigyn. Loki has, around myself, never used the term “godspouse” to refer to any of His other worshipers. If you discount my own personal experience – which you’re free to do – it’s nearly impossible to ignore the fact that Loki has taken on different forms and fathered and mothered numerous children without ever claiming to be wed to another.

The term godspouse may work with other deities, in my opinion, but Loki isn’t one of them.

It is possible to have an intimate, close connection with Loki without being His “godspouse.” I wouldn’t be one to throw the term around much anyway in referring to any form of worship, as the connotations for a godspouse sounds as if it is something sacred that takes many, many, many years to attain, and may not be applicable to all deities in the first place.

I myself feel a very deep, special connection between myself and Loki. Would I be so brash as to claim it is as if we are married? No. It is a connection like I am one of His children, where He takes me under His wing and protects me, and teaches me, and cares for me. I would never call our connection a marriage, and I believe we are both content with it being that way. Loki has been my patron for 9 years now, 10 come April.

I have consulted Him on this, and while I am not the “Voice of Loki” and would NEVER claim to be, it’s important to recognize that godspousery is a very serious thing to claim and does not make sense when claiming it with certain deities, Loki being one of them.

If you wish to portray a closeness and solidarity to Loki, similar to a Catholic nun or monk, that’s fine. But a godspouse does not sound like the correct word for it, if that’s the case. Spiritual concubine, perhaps? But not a godspouse.

Additionally, to achieve this sort of rank with any deity, removing the sexual aspect of the idea completely, where it would be as if you both are that intimate and close with one another… it does not happen instantly. Just because you can marry in 10 minutes in Las Vegas doesn’t mean it happens that quickly between yourself and a deity. Years of dedication, years of worship, years of learning and meditation should be present before even dancing with the term godspouse.

I am sure there will be those among you reading this who will say, “This woman is not a true Lokean, for I am wed to Loki!” You know what? That’s. Fine. Just don’t go telling people that you have to wed Loki to be a Lokean, and don’t tell me that after a month of reading about Loki and the occasional prayer you’re suddenly His godspouse. It just doesn’t fly.

That being said, anyone who has been called by Loki, welcome. And don’t be afraid of having to wed Loki in order to be a Lokean or to be close to Him – you don’t.

Edit as of October 25th, 2011: Elizabeth Vongvisith provides thoughtful insight on the matter. A must read for either side of the argument.

Let me begin by saying I am always amused by the level of confusion I receive when I tell someone that one of the deities I worship is Loki. The questions I get are so varied and in between, that I have decided to address some of them in a Q&A format. The “asker” category are those who usually ask me the question that follows. There are other “Loki FAQ” out there, but this one is mine. This is in whatever order it appears in.

Definitions

• Loki – a Norse deity
• Germanic Pagan – one who believes in the Norse pantheon and worships at least one of the deities present within the pantheon
• Monotheist – somebody who believes in one God
• Wiccan – somebody who practices Wicca
• Hard polytheist – somebody who believes that all deities are separate entities (antonym: soft polytheist)
• Pagans – soft polytheists, hard polytheists, duotheists, reconstructionists,  revivalists, eclectics, Wiccans, and more
• New Ager - one whose beliefs and practices align with the New Age movement

Questions

Asker: Everyone
Question: … you worship a comic book villain?
Answer: No. A thousand times, no. The comic book villain is a poor, warped imitation of the deity, which has been around FAR LONGER than Marvel.

Asker: Monotheists
Question: How could you worship this Loki-thing instead of God/G-d/Allah?
Answer: Loki is a God. A very confusing God, but a God nonetheless. And just as much as it’s your right to worship your God, it’s my right to worship mine.

Asker: Germanic Pagans
Question: Why do you call Loki a God and worship him?! He’s a jotunn, not a God!
Answer: Loki, for me, is a God. He is the bloodbrother of Odin, and that in and of itself is good enough. If you were to consider the fact that the jotunn do interweave themselves into the Norse pantheon, that deities are born of jotunn and jotunn marry deities, it clearly points out they have some source of divine energy. That the Gods would call on Loki time and again for solving problems (even if he’s the one who created them most of the time) proves there is some significance to His power and rank.

Asker: Germanic Pagans
Question: Whether or not you consider Loki a God, how could you worship him, he killed Baldr and brought about Ragnarok!
Answer: If we’re following Snorri’s accounts, yes, Loki did kill Baldr and did bring about Ragnarok. However, consider this: if Baldr had not died, Hel would not set Him free at the end of Ragnarok when the world starts over to lead man as the new head of the pantheon. Consider that Loki and Odin were bloodbrothers. Consider that Odin probably knew of what was to come after Ragnarok. Consider that Hel is Loki’s daughter. Consider that it is not until Loki waltzes in on Odin’s party to bash everyone in attendance (Lokasenna) that He is truly reprimanded – not for His actions, but for His words. And when He is bound, it is not said which Gods played the hand in binding Him.

Asker: Everyone
Question: Isn’t Loki evil?
Answer: Loki is not evil, He is chaotic. If you can come to grips with the difference between the two, you may be on the path to understanding Loki.

Asker: Everyone
Question: If Loki’s such an ass, why would you worship Him?
Answer: He’s an honest ass. “What, Loki the Liar, honest!?” Also, His attitude is beyond tolerable if you can learn to understand Him. Understand does not mean know. But if you are able to understand Loki and the way He works, He is only an ass to play tricks for fun, to make you frustrated so that you smile, should you be wakeful enough to realize it’s His doing. For every issue Loki places before you – and you can always spot them, when things seem to spiral out of control or go beyond terrible suddenly – there is always something good to come out of it that would not have appeared if it weren’t for that terrible thing.

Asker: Everyone
Question: Why would you worship a selfish God?
Answer: Selfish? Loki? Hah, hardly. Whenever He has done something to help the other Gods, He is always the one who ultimately suffers for it. No praise is bestowed upon him when He wins something for the Gods, nor when He fixes an issue – even if He’s not the one who caused it! He continually puts himself in a position where He is in pain and made fun of and laughed at, but for whose benefit? Not His own. Would you, if you are a man, tie a rope around your testicles and a goat’s beard and get into a tug of war with said goat to make a female laugh? Not for your own benefit, but the benefit of the Gods? I’d say that’s mighty selfless… and painful.

Asker: Monotheists
Question: So are the Eddas the holy words of Loki that he influenced someone to write?
Answer: No.

Asker: Wiccans
Question: Why worship Loki? Just worship the God, as Loki is merely one of his aspects.
Answer: For you, Loki is one of the aspects of the Wiccan God. For me, though, Loki is His own entity, an entity that would not easily mix with others.

Asker: Everyone who isn’t a Germanic Pagan or hard polytheist
Question: So do you worship Mercury/Hermes/Set/Anubis/Apep/Ellegua/Coyote/Anansi/Xbalanque and Hunahpu/Li-Nezha the same way?
Answer: Good GODS no! First of all, equating Loki with any of these deities runs a risky mistake on so many levels, especially since they each play different roles. Second of all, if you feel all these deities above are the same or similar – especially throwing APEP into the mix – you should reexamine whatever sources you’ve been reading with a careful eye. A very. Careful. Eye.

Asker: Everyone
Question: What is wrong with Loki? How could you worship a genderbending freak?
Answer: Hey now. Let’s get something straight here. Our understanding of the world is very weak. The concept of man and woman that we have come to accept modern day was placed upon us by monotheists in the past, and has persisted for a long time. But many pantheons have deities that are born woman who act manly, who are born man and act womanly, who were born both female and male, who were born neither female or male, or who are able to freely change their gender. Now whether or not Loki is a freak is another story altogether, but His genderbending did not make Him a freak. I do not ignore, nor do I shun, Loki’s dressing in drag to aid Thor (who was also dressed in drag) in retrieving Mjollnir. I do not ignore, nor do I shun, Loki’s turning into a mare to conceive and birth Sleipnir. I do not ignore, nor do I shun, Loki’s time as a milkmaid where he bore numerous children. It was part of who He is, and it is part of what makes Him the God I love.

Asker: Pagans
Question: What do you offer to Loki?
Answer: Like numerous deities, Loki appears to appreciate prose, poetry, song, and music offered to him. In my experience, He is especially fond of riddles offered to him, or pranks done in His name where there is no intended negative outcome. As for food, I’m going to guess not snake meat. I’m also going to wager that worshiping Loki and owning a snake are a bad mix, as I do not own a snake and have no intention to do so.

Asker: Everyone
Question: How do you piss off Loki?
Answer: Same way you piss off any deity: doing stupid things in their name.

Asker: Everyone
Question: What is Loki’s symbol?
Answer: To my knowledge, He lacks one. I have seen people use the anarchy symbol in honor of Him, and I have seen people use the symbol of chaos in honor of Him. Out of the two, I prefer using the symbol of chaos.

Asker: Everyone
Question: What does Loki look like?
Answer: Whatever He feels like. It is usually agreed that He is pleasing and agreeable in looks, though.

Asker: Everyone
Question: Why do you sometimes refer to Loki as Lopt?
Answer: Same deities, different names/titles.

Asker: Wiccans, New Agers
Question: What element does Loki align with?
Answer: To wrap one element around a deity is foolish, especially since the elements often considered – the Western elements – do not necessarily apply to all deities, especially those from the East. Loki is associated with fire, partially thanks to Jacob Grimm’s theory of Loki as a deity of fire and partially thanks to the meaning of His parents’ names. Loki is also associated with air, as one of His titles, Lopt, comes from a word that means air.

Asker: Pagans
Question: How do you feel about Lothurr, with regards to Loki?
Answer: I am inclined to believe they are one and the same, especially if you take into account a few things. Two speculated etymologies for Lothurr mean “shape” and “to blaze,” and Loki was known as a shapeshifter and considered a deity of fire. There is also the suspected triad present in the Eddas, as pointed out by Ursula Dronke. For me, that means I believe Loki helped play a hand in creating mankind, giving them both blood and their looks. It should be noted that in the Prose Edda, Lothurr is not mentioned, but as it is Snorri’s version is not infallible.

Asker: Everyone (okay, I mean it comes from all groups, not everyone’s dying to know)
Question: How do I become a Lokean?
Answer: Worshiping Loki is easy enough. Being a Lokean is another thing. A Lokean is one who welcomes Loki into their life, with all the chaos that comes with Him. I have not known a Lokean to be of perfectly sane mind, nor have I known a Lokean to be without a story to tell. If you wish to worship and honor Loki, realize you are welcoming Him into your life, even if a little, by doing so. Ultimately, He will decide if you are ready for Him. If you’re not ready and you invite Him, He may try to force you to be ready if He believes you two are meant for each other, which could mean a whirlwind of events happening in your life all at once seemingly out of control and beyond your grasp.

If you are reading this to figure out if you should buy this book, I’m going to stop you here and tell you, “No; do NOT buy this book.” If you’re curious as to why, read on.

I purchased this book from Barnes and Noble online. I was looking for a book that covered the various lore of mermaids, from their place in religion to their place in pop-culture. When I ordered the book, I was under the understanding that this book would be an analysis of the Wikipedia pages combined with further sources, put into a meaningful format.

Instead, the book is pretty much the Wikipedia articles being copy + pasted into the book. Including things like “Wikipedia:Please clarify.”

On a grammatical basis, the book has a typo in the back – “maintaing.” How anybody could allow this go to through, I do not know. If this book was written in Microsoft Word, there’s spell check. If it was done purely in InDesign, that would explain the issue a little. Additionally, on the back cover, the phrase exists “in it’s traditional form.” Again, how any author could send a book to print like this is beyond me.

I spent roughly $22 on a book that failed to deliver new information or present it in a meaningful format.

If you have access to Wikipedia, you can learn EVERYTHING this book offers… because it’s the Wikipedia articles copy and pasted.

The creator of this book should be ashamed for “creating” this abomination, and I pray nobody invests any money in it.

The original was my own.

The counter was his.

He live streams ranked games in League of Legends, so if you’re looking for a streamer to watch, he’s rather well-mannered and not ragetastic. Check out his blog also, though it’s just starting out.