Friday Night: Muppets.
My God, Miss Piggy was the role of a lifetime. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to karate-chop people. And all the players KNOWING that would be a thing- as Prema started to explain special abilities and Jarratt as Kermit quietly stepped out of arm’s reach of me. Then deciding to test whether the karate-chop still worked (because I was human now!) and deciding with Janice that I should test it on Sweetums, only to have him back away and throw Fozzie Bear in between him and me…later on threatening Fozzie with my karate hand when he was in the middle of agreeing with Kermit that a sing-off between me and Annie Sue would be a great idea (Not that Miss Piggy has anything to worry about, she’s the STAR after all), and watching Joseph, without missing a beat, immediately start frantically backtracking. Also giving Sam the Eagle a well-deserved HIYAH (OK, two HIYAHs) for agreeing with Waldorf that we were all talentless hacks.
Finally getting my Kermy to admit that he loved me back (Thanks Jarratt for putting up with me in Piggy mode!), and being very understanding and saying he could propose whenever he was ready but really we COULD have had another wedding next week on the show… being the consummate gracious Star and allowing Annie Sue to sing a duet with me (which we know would end how any Muppet act would end), and the look on Michelle’s face as Annie Sue- “I get to be on stage…with you?”- Piggy is nothing if not appreciative of suitably worshipful fans.
This was not the first time that spontaneous Bohemian Rhapsody has happened to me, but it was the best.
Saturday morning: Wands at the Ready
Okowaran is the best house. It’s just a fact. I had so much fun with you guys running around the forest looking for things, convinced it was a test, and plotting how we might be able to get into town- if only by the end I’d got more people in on the plan. The Masters can’t catch all of us, after all! - a moment of triumph and then…well, oops. THE BOX, MAN. Oh, and now that Dixon can I am so reading everything in the library. EVERYTHING.
Saturday afternoon: Napping. And set dressing. Napping is good.
Saturday evening: GMing ‘Dry Spell’. Anna said to me at one point this weekend that I shouldn’t be thinking about writing other flagships because “you go crazy when you write flagships!” but GMing this one was SUCH a treat. I was excited to see how differently it would run in Auckland as opposed to Wellington. Seeing the characters come to life again was a joy, you guys caused so much mayhem and a lot of things went VERY differently to the Hydra run. Dave in his alternate form for a good 10 minutes outside where nobody but me could see him was such fun. Anna’s wedding dress survived the tumble outside. And Linda, I promise, next time I GM for you you and Rob will be a badass couple with no tragedy!
Also that point at which , and I’m lying on the ground deaded, and feel this soft WHUMP on my stomach, and realise that Porl as the Troll has just hit me with his stuffed ROUS. “Troll hit you, you dead, TROLL WIN!”. It’s the second time I have been unable to successfully play dead because I was laughing too hard.
And especially happy-making was how the newer players took to the game. Alexander (Mr Fish) came up to me before the start of the game and said he was feeling awfully daunted by the character- so watching him go in and OWN was really cool.
I wish I could’ve stayed and frothed afterwards, but I was just too tired.
Sunday morning: Slash. Oh Slash. When I saw my players walking up to the Muster I knew I was in for a fun session. You guys are amazing and I love you all. There’s a lot I cannot unsee. And of course as you all know, what happens in Slash stays in Slash but I will share two things: one of my favourite GM conversations happened more than once in the game:
Player: Do you have any more glitter?
Me: holds up GIANT TUB OF GLITTER “What kind of a question is that?!”
Also thank you, I think, to the two players who scored the game as ‘penis out of 10’. I think that’s a compliment.
And, yeah. Sorry about the glitter everywhere, people. It does go away eventually…
Sunday afternoon: ‘Angels in the Fog’. Nothing brings on nihilism like being very very tired, but I did enjoy this game. The conversations with Kara, Vanya and I as the world-weary bar regulars where we bounced off one another (plus the accidental double-entendre which broke Kara and I after having just come from Slash) were a real pleasure. Going on an arc from thinking Beth’s character was far too nice for it to be genuine, then realising she really WAS that nice and just wanting to look after her and get her away from . I was relieved I managed to sort out the payoff. And the looks on peoples’ faces when Russ asked a GM plot reveal question after the game and I quietly raised my hand were priceless- I would’ve revealed that in game but I honestly was expecting the cops to catch wise to my game.
Finally, this exchange with Vanya as Tyler the bartender:
Vanya: F*** me sideways!
Me: Oh, honey, no, I’m MUCH too old for you!
Vanya: lying down on a bench Oh, that’s the final blow!
And one out-of-character moment:
Walter (running down the Road of Pain behind me and sounding urgent as I’m walking to lunch with Gaffy): Ellen! Ellen! Ellen! (repeated until he reaches me).
Me (turning round with Gaffy): Yes?
Walter: Gaffy was looking for you.
Me: O_O
All in all a splendiferous weekend. Need more Chimera please! Thank you to Anna for her tireless devotion to making the convention happen, to all those who kept her going through the weekend, to Kim and team for the fabulous food, to Linda and Rob and the Red Hats, to everyone I roleplayed with or GM’d for, you are all wonderful. Can’t wait for the next one!