All Eyes on Me

I haven't managed to make a post on a weekend for a long time now. Ah, well. I guess I should be glad I have enough of a life to take me away from the computer every once in a while.

Perhaps as part of my sudden yet still-unabated desire to goth it up, I find I would like to go out to a goth club. The first, last, and only other time I did was when a group of Brandeisians went to XMortis almost year and a half ago. It was a blast, and not only because of how hot Jared looked in leather pants and his vinyl trench coat. ;-) I think it would be really fun to get a group together and go again. Besides my current wish to express my inner darkness (heh), I haven't gone to a good dance since the queer Halloween dance Jared and I went to for the commemoration of our first date. ;-)

I did a little research, and found a couple of possibilities. Unfortunately there don't seem to be many places that you can go to any old night, but there seem to be a couple of places with regular goth events.

As for 18+ events, XMortis itself next goes up on Sunday, August 8th, at 10 Brookline St., Cambridge, MA. Doors at 9 p.m., $5 before 10:30, $10 after. Dress code is either goth and related or straight black. Dead Pool seems to be a goth-themed pool night seemingly affiliated with XMortis at Kendall Square in Cambridge. Doors are at 8 p.m., $3 cover, no dress code. The next one looks to be Sunday, July 27th. As for 21+, Ceremony sounds good, and I think I have a vague memory of somebody liking/going ot that place. Goth Nights are Mondays at An Tua Nua, 835 Beacon Street, Boston, MA. Open 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., free BEFORE 9:30, $5 after 9:30. Dress code is goth or flat black. That goes up next on Monday, July 21st.

If anyone more familiar with the scene than I am has any suggestions or opinions (such as go there, it's fun, or don't go there, it's no fun) I'd love to hear them. I wouldn't mind planning something for quite a bit in the future, if we can nail down something good. Though I'd look to go sooner rather than later, as in sometime this summer. 18+ would be preferable-- I'm legal, but some people who I'd want to come aren't. Particularly Jared, if we plan for anything after he gets back in the area. Though if somebody has a good 21+ plan, I'd still be willing to go.

So do any of these things sound fun to people? Would anybody go with me? Anybody want to dress up goth and go dancing with me?

 A lovely, lovely weekend all around, and many thanks to all who made it possible. This is an elaborated version of what I posted to interconlarp.

Friday I helped zapfrun the debut of his new game Last Stop, which will also be running at Brandeis Festival of the Larps. I was so proud of him. It will be running again at Brandeis Festival of the Larps and though I will be not be able to help him run it again because I'm in Marlowe 2020, I plan on helping him with the edits and with casting this next run. Just out of curiosity, who all is in it? I'll ask Sheena eventually, but I'm curious.

Saturday morning was Railways and Respectability, an absolutely excellent Regency-era game that was talked up to me last year by  captainecchiand  electric_d_monk, in which I thoroughly enjoyed my fragile, unhappy character. It is beautiful and thickly plotted, and sported some of the best costumes of any game I saw. The most amusing part for me was being cajoled into taking a temperence oath despite, in fact, being a raging alcoholic. I accomplished my major goals, that of having a railway to Oxford built, as well as secure the funding to found a college of divinity in my late husband's name, due to excellent social interaction. I did not, however, find anyone to marry, I felt as if I were still too deeply in mourning for my husband. I was even invited to waltz by a gentleman at the end of the game. I've never waltzed before but I'm a decent dancer, so I was pleased to have caught on quickly. 

I also heard a great deal about other people's games. Desperadoes Under the Eaves sounded fantastic, and apparently jh1230owned that game. I'm proud of him. I also loved rigel's costume for it. Wonderland 2.1 got good reviews too, and it still tickles me that Jared reprised his Alice character. I really enjoyed hearing about L'Enfer, C'est Les Autres and Skid Row from morethings5, who I was fascinated to hear really loves having a clear character and just running with his personality rather than going down a checklist of goals. That was his first Intercon, and he was so fun to have along. Everyone in our group was, and I was so glad that in_water_writ could make it. She was our lovely roommate. 

Saturday evening, however, was the highlight of the weekend. I ran my larp, Alice, for the second time ever with Jared as my other GM and it went spectacularly. I had some truly excellent players who did some amazing things. They even managed to surprise us and we had to roll with them! And yet the game ran so smoothly that we GMs could stand back and watch most of the time, and you know a game is going well when the people running it are so often whispering "Oh, my God, did you just see what happened?" to each other. The best part was when two of the larpers who impressed me the most, those who played the White Rabbit and Humpty Dumpty, came up to me afterward and declared it their favorite game of the weekend. *Blush* Jared and I had long conversations with some of the players and I loved getting their perspectives. This run was significantly different than the first, but still the "happy ending" was the one that came through, with fifteen minutes to spare!

I also got to meet Randy Milholland, whose comic I've been reading for five years now. He's an incredibly nice guy who drew me a picture of Avogadro from the strip. I got off the waitlist for the Sunday Bunnies and Burrows mod, but sadly missed the phone call telling me so. Ah, well, at least I got to watch some of it.

By the way, at conwrap I found that someone had bought a raffle ticket for the "Alice GMs" and I ended up winning a copy of The Trial of the Big Bad Wolf, which made me very happy. But I don't know who it was that bought the ticket. Can anyone tell me who this kind soul is, so I can thank them?

All in all, a truly excellent weekend. :-) Now on to Festival!

 We are finally going up! My goth-punk production is Hamlet is finally going!

The Tragedy of
HAMLET
Prince of Denmark

Directed by
PHOEBE ROBERTS

Stage Managed by
JOSHUA SHEENA

Produced by
MATTHEW KAMM

in Brandeis University's 
Carl J. Shapiro Theater

November 8th, 9th, and 10th
at 8PM

and

November 11th
at 2PM

Starring such familiar faces as 

HOLLY BIANCHI!

DIANNA BARRY!

JONATHAN KINDNESS!

JARED HITE!

Come see  it, you're guaranteed a good time at least seeing pretty people in hot gothy clothes. :-)