My husband reminded me yesterday of a piece of content from the game The Kingdom of Loathing. It's a browser RPG by Asymmetric Productions that came out in 2004, which my husband still plays but I stopped playing back in around 2013. While it probably didn't invent the concept of "play through the game multiple times to gain a new, permanent skill or upgrade to use in future runs" which is common in games now, it's one of the oldest games to use it. It still has monthly and quarterly content updates, which is what's kept it alive with a rabid fanbase, enough that its revenue has been enough to fund the development of Asymmetric's other games, West of Loathing and Shadows over Loathing, which have also been hugely successful -- they're both "overwhelming positive" on Steam.

The thing that KoL is known for, though, is its absurd and irreverent humor. You can tell this from the fact that the characters and monsters are all stick figures, the main currency is meat, and in order to wear a shirt, you have to acquire a skill to do so -- people in Loathing (that's the name of the country) don't know that they have a torso, so in order to wear shirts, you have to learn Torso Awaregness. (Yes, there's a reason there's a silent "g" in that word, but I'm not going to explain it.)

The writing is also stellar. All the quests have stories and the characters are inventive and vivid. (Ed the Undying is my favorite.) Every item in the game has a description that's a joy to read. The reason I stopped playing the game was because it just took way too much time, and I'm lucky to have my husband showing me all the new stuff as it comes out.

Anyway, yesterday, he showed me an item that was in the game back when I played it. I'd completely forgotten about it, but wow, when I read the description...

----
Hippopotamus.
Anti-hippopotamus.
Annihilation.
----

I laughed to the point of tears. And I remember laughing to the point of tears fifteen years ago when this item came out.

Then, I thought more about it, and you know, it's the best piece of flash fiction I've ever read. In three words, it tells a full story that paints a vivid picture in your mind, AND it's a haiku. A three-word haiku.

Now, that's writing.