I apologize for the overuse of the word "amazing." Also, HOLY FUCK DID THIS GET LONG.

First of all, many thanks go out to hazliya and elenuial for writing yet another amazing game and for casting me in a role that I adored. While BoD is not my favorite LARP of theirs (Leash was too awesome for words, Martha Stewart had perhaps the most quotable lines, and Everybody's Dying introduced me to zapf), it was still a wonderful, exciting, and completely fun game. Thank you so much for running it twice because I would have regretted not being able to play in this. As it was, this was easily my favorite LARP of the weekend and I'm still grinning when I think about it.

In addition to hazliya and elenuial, I owe humongous thanks to electric_d_monk, k1ttycat, lisefrac, lightgamer, morethings5, witticaster, staystrong62805, and zapf for being absolutely amazing people to interact with. I chatted with other people of course (including jacking shogunhb against a door, more on this later), and danced, and sang, and generally admired everyone's costumes, but those eight people were just incredible to play off of and let me sink my teeth into Moirabel in ways that I didn't entirely expect. Seriously, you guys were amazing and as great a game as hazliya and elenuial can write, it wouldn't have come alive in the same way it did without you.

Also thanks to in_water_writ for loaning me Moira's necklace. It was so beautiful, laura47 snapped a picture of it all by itself. Certainly not an excuse for a cleavage shot, amirite?.

Anyway, here's where I babble about my character. It's possible I will spend so much time talking about her, I forget to talk about the game. If that happens, my apologies. But, dammit, Moira is interesting!

( Cut for extensive Better Off Dead spoilers. The LARP, not the movie.Collapse )

( Pregame (still spoilertastic. In fact, assume everything under cuts is spoilertastic)Collapse )

( Where I talk about the actual game. Feel free to skip to this section.Collapse )

Oh my god, how did you read all that to get to this point? Are you crazy?! Anyway, suffice to say, the game was so much fun that I can't even say, I'm so sorry I had to cut out other bits, like my conversations with zapf, and with witticaster and so much else that contributed to a really, really amazing game.

EDIT: PHOTOS ADDED.

In all, thanks so much to everyone. There's not more I can really say, so thank you. So very much.

So, touchthesoul linked to this blog on Facebook, where the author is reading the Hunger Games trilogy for the first time, completely blind. And his very first chapter review reminded me of something I'd thought of when I first read the trilogy and had forgotten, caught up with everything else.

There're these two throw-away lines:

Electrified or not, the fence has been successful at keeping the flesh-eaters out of District 12. Inside the woods they roam freely, and there are added concerns like venomous snakes, rabid animals, and no real paths to follow.

We never fully understand the cataclysm that destroyed North America and gave rise to Panem. Reading that, I had assumed zombies. Technically, flesh-eaters could just mean carnivorous animals, but I think it would be awesome if there had been a zombie subplot. Think about it. The Capitol rising to such a position of power because they had the tech to keep the Districts safe. People voluntarily subjugating themselves to keep themselves safe from the zombie hordes. Sure, there are other ways this could have happened, but given how zombies are relevant to my interests, I'd like to think it was that way.

Think of how they could be used in the Arena, too. A very dangerous obstacle, because even the slightest bite could kill a Tribute, causing them to rise again and take down others. People might have to work together to finish off the zombie threat because, honestly, enough of them are more dangerous than any one or two of the Tributes. Add that to the other dangers inherent in the Arena and wow. Mindblowing terror there.

At least for me, anyway.

Regarding the review itself, I find myself liking Mark quite a lot. He focuses on a lot of the things I find fascinating: class, gender identity, history,

Some of the quotes I related to:

-...it’s like all of you who suggested this to me knew I get weak in the knees for stories about systematic oppression, rebellion, and the demonization of poverty.

-I’m interesting to see how this sort of gender interplay will flesh out, considering that we’re dealing with a female character who eschews most of the tropes of a female hero. (Though…is she a female hero trope herself? More on that as I read more of this.) I’m also wondering how the use of television is going to play out as well.

-I lived a large part of my life in poverty and Katniss’s story, which is way worse than anything I ever experience, still resonated pretty heavy with me. I know what it’s like to have hunger pains and to feel nothing but an intense jealousy when you see other people who are better off than you.

-she’s been hardened into a young woman who knows that expressions of emotions are signs of weakness in her society. I will say that I enjoy that there’s no real demonization of femininity, at least not yet. There’s no one (yet) in this story who strips Katniss of her womanhood for how she acts and behaves. I sort of expected that because that tends to happen in fantasy and adventure stories with a strong female lead. But here, she’s a woman and it’s uncontested. I dig it.

-Fuck this sort of “dignified” classism, by the way.

-I do love that Katniss seems to be doing what our society might consider “masculine” things (which is bullshit, by the way) and doesn’t ever seem to make her out to be less of a woman. It’s just who she is

-We learn about how the tributes are prepared for the opening ceremony by a group of stylists whose main inspiration for design is cultural appropriation.

-I like the juxtaposition present in the two cultures and how Collins makes sure that Katniss seems offended by how bizarre this all is. It’s even weirder for her because of the way they deal with her body...

-I want to read into this a sharp commentary on the absurdity of fashion, especially fashion aimed at cultural exploitation and appropriation, but I fear I’m being a bit too harsh. Still, it’s a horrifying concept, that people in the Capitol can view hardships and suffering as a method for dressing their tributes.

-I hate this sort of self-congratulatory shittery. Not only are you wrong about the science, but you’re doing that well-intentioned condescension thing that privileged people do when they think they’re doing you a service by insulting you. NO, YOU ARE NOT. Go away, Effie.

All of this from just his first six chapter reviews. For the longest time, I was unsure of Mark's gender identity. His name is male, but the reviews really 'read' like a woman had written them. Until he referred to himself as 'boy' in a later review, I honestly had no idea. Whether that says more about me or him or society at large that I read gender from words on a page, I'm not sure, but, either way I'm really impressed with his take on a lot of issues. I'm looking forward to going back and reading more of his reviews.

shogunhb: I'm going to put a dot in ride. I know how to ride a pony. I have a pony!

ddrpolaris: How many dots or Resources do you have?

shogunhb: ...None?

ddrpolaris: Sorry. Ponies are for little girls who have trust funds.

Me: "So, ddrpolaris and I have been discussing the homophobia implicit in Chuck."

Me: *prepares to defend statement*

shogunhb: *snorts* "Not to mention the deep-seated fear of women."

Me: *momentarily gapes*

shogunhb: *continues making dinner*

Me: "Well, it's really hard to separate misogyny from homophobia, since it can practically be defined as the fear of the feminine in the male."

shogunhb: *details the bros-before-hos mentality of Lester and Jeff from the show*

Me: *starry-eyed romanticism*

For those who asked (or, more specifically, for those who asked to never be reminded of it ever again), I present ( the speech presented by Savannah as the close to Leash*.Collapse )

I'll hopefully write up a big, long post about the games I was in this weekend, but that'll have to wait. I just wanted to get this speech typed up (took longer to transcribe than write!) before I accidentally threw my copy away. I mean, I couldn't let this languish at the bottom of the dustbin, now, could I?

--[bonisagus lists off all his lying/acting knacks]

--thorgodoft: I'm glad it takes you three godly knacks to pass as a heterosexual.

____

thorgodoft: Why is Valdis's box exploding?!?

I'm feeling pretty lousy today (sore throat, headache, general malaise), but this website did put a smile on my face. Okay and made me cry. h/t to touchthesoul.

* While doing homework on one of the university computers, I spied Sailor Moon manga on one of the others. It turned out to be a very large, imposing football player reading it. He told me that it was his little sister's new obsession and he wanted to be able to talk to her about it when she called. GMH


*Today, I proposed to my girlfriend of four years in a nice restaurant. When she said yes, the entire restaurant stood up and applauded.

We're both women.

Understanding of true love GMH.


*Today when I walked into the student center at my college, there was a table raising money and awareness for victims of sexual assault on my campus. It was full of pamphlets with information on what to do if raped, and information on abusive relationships and ways to fight violence against women. The table was being run entirely by guys. GMH

---

*You all stuck with me last year, when I was grumpy, when I was too tired to do anything fun, and when I was a miserable bitch in the hospital. You let me complain when I hurt, were patient when I was sickly, and gave me the unconditional friendship I needed to get through it. Y'all GMH.

Played in hazliya's game Martha Stewart's Guide to Interdimensional Summoning (and Basting a Turkey) yesterday and had a blast. My character was a bit of a deviation from the norm: she was neither a thief, a whore, or an assassin (though she was a princess). Instead, she was the mental equivalent of a 14 year old girl obsessed with Disney movies and happily-ever-afters. In fact, when asked what she was looking for, I answered, "I want it all--true love, romance...I'm looking for the Edward to my Bella."

The game around me stopped, mostly so all three GMs could come over, hit me, and shake their heads. To which I replied, "I LEARNED IT FROM YOU YOU MADE ME THIS WAY!!!" In my defense, it was completely, utterly, and honestly within character. Haz referred to it as a literary rick-roll, which was awesome because we had a regular rick-roll, too.

I learned several things from this LARP. The first is I am a terrible LARPer when I'm playing the vapidest vapid nitwit who was ever incredibly vapid. Don't get me wrong--I totally rocked the the character, but I kept breaking character to hide behind my sheet and laugh at myself. I could play her and play her well, I just couldn't play her for more than seven or so minutes without breaking.

The second thing I learned was that usernamenumber and I are NOT ALLOWED TO GAME TOGETHER. We were awesomeful, which, yes, is a mix of awful and awesome.

Some memorable quotes (it helps to read them all like lines in a soap opera):
usernamenumber (while giving my character a magical back-rub of utter sexiness): "You're a diamond. No--you're a piece of coal on the brink of becoming a diamond!"
Me: "Well, I'm on the brink all right..."

usernamenumber: "...unless you think I'm too much of a monster!" (Dramatic arm gesture as he turns away)
Me: "No! Never! I could never think of you as a monster. In fact--you're the only person who understands me--down to the depths of my soul! If you're a monster, then I'm one, too! And I couldn't care less!"

usernamenumber: "You're a diamond, refracting the light of truth to its component spectra...that metaphor got away from be a bit, didn't it?"

There were a bunch more. After awhile, I was too busy laughing to remember them properly. They were appropriately epic, though, I know that much.

shogunhb had a great time, too. He was an adorably earnest demon with a slightly-askew bow-tie who was voted 'Most Eligible Demon.' He wibbled when he won. IT WAS SO ADORABLE I NEARLY CRIED. how_low_am_i also played, it being her very firstest LARP ever and had a blast. Her character won 'Most Eligible Human.' Then she and shogunhb bonded. I'd be all stupid-jealous, cause, uhh, I so am and stuff, but my character had run off to another section of Martha's mansion to have sex so mindblowing she blacked out. Oh well, no fits of insane jealousy for me.

I am now trying to convince her to come to Intercon. I suggest everyone go to her LJ and back me up, but THE POST WHERE SHE ADMITS LIKING TO LARP IS F-LOCKED, PROBABLY CAUSE SHE DOESN'T WANT HER COOL FRIENDS TO KNOW THE TRUTH.

I'd say "Ha! Now they know for sure!" but I'm pretty sure she makes sure her cool friends don't know my LJ exists. Except maybe yonaruth. Hi yonaruth! Except yonaruth played in the Buffy game with us, so she's prolly safe.

In summary: Game fun, people great, good time was had by all. I'd say that it was a LARP with a high replay value since there are no Big Secrets or Plot Twists that would make it impossible to play again. It's a game driven purely by character interaction, so as long as you always have a solid cast, it'll be a new game every time.

Thanks a ton, Haz, for letting me play.

Looks like fall lasted as long as spring did this year. shogunhb and I left the restaurant to find it...snowing. *shudders* Blecch.


Me: *stepping out of the restaurant* It's SNOWING! *is offended*
shogunhb: No it's not. It's...err...rain!
Me: Frozen, crystalline rain maybe--otherwise colloquially known as snow!
Other patrons: *give me odd looks and hurry to their car*


Have I mentioned how much I despise snow? Lots. MY PEOPLE* CAME FROM A WARM CLIMATE, DAMMIT!!


*(about a quarter of them, anyway)

ddrpolaris: offering character types in a possible upcoming game You can play a sex-bot...
Me: I already play a sexbot in another transhuman game.
ddrpolaris: No, you play a killbot pretending to be a sexbot. One that just likes to have sex before killing things.
Me: No, she has sex after killing things. It's in her programming.
ddrpolaris: Really?
Me: Yeah, anytime she's got to get a-killin', her appetite and libido speed up.
ddrpolaris: Still--killbot. Here, you can play a sexbot! Who likes to kill things after sex! Completely different.
ddrpolaris: I'm sorry, shadowravyn, they don't have princesses anymore. Your choices are: thief, assassin, or whore. Or assassin-whore. Or thief-assassin-whore.
Me: Can I be--
ddrpolaris: No, you can't be a courtesan assassin. Unless you're a sexbot. Or a hypercorp secretary. I guess that counts.

Mind you, this comes after a conversation with lucasthegray from earlier this week.

Me: *admiring the crystal skull in his car seat.*
lucasthegray: It's for a LARP
Me: Can I be in the LARP?
lucasthegray: We were gonna ask you. It takes place in an absinthe bar/brothel. We were thinking you could be the madam.
Me: I could be something else! Like a noblewoman who's not a whore, but who' not afraid to use sex to get what she wants.
lucasthegray: Oh, you mean a courtesan
Me: No! ...not exactly.
lucasthegray: A doxy? A strumpet? A harlot?
Me: Those are all fancy words for whore.
lucasthegray: I know. Exactly.
Me: *sulks*
lucasthegray: Why are you sulking, you're going to play a madam.
Me: Oh yeah! *perks*
lucasthegray: But not an assassin.
Me: Oh. *sulks*


EDIT: My other favorite type is the magic-wielding noblewoman. Yeah, I bet that doesn't sound familiar, huh?