July 30, 2000
Hail, Hail, the Gang's All (Mostly) Here
Today was a wonderful Sunday. While I didn't make it to church as I keep saying I'm going to, I did have a nice, quiet morning. That was why I didn't go, actually. I was awake and could have gotten ready, but the calm, orderly (!) quiet of my apartment was too appealing, so I hung around here. I baked some nut bread for breakfast and watched a movie -- Blade. So much for the quiet, eh? After that I did some last minute house-straightening, because my old gaming group was coming over.
I missed these guys. Back when I first moved to Ann Arbor, in 1995, I was living with a fellow SCAdian named Sharon, and we shared the same group of friends, all also in the SCA. We did everything together. The lot of us danced and sang and played roleplaying games. If someone ever got an idea of something fun to do, they'd call around and invite everyone else. It's the only other time (aside from college) where I've had a gang of friends.
They were my first gaming group. We had one campaign that lasted for several years, and did several others as well. About the time I moved in with Hollingsworth, I sort of drifted away from the SCA, but we still gamed for a while. Then, as I started to get into Changeling, I got frustrated with the extremely combat oriented game we were playing, so I drifted from that as well.
Now that I'm back in the area, and getting back involved with the SCA, I wanted to catch up with these guys too. And, as it turns out, the group had hit a lull and was looking for something to jump start them again. So, we got together today to figure out what we want to do. I'd say about two-thirds of the group was around, including me, Mark, Kevin, Magda (who I hadn't seen in years!) and yes, Hollingsworth. We batted some character ideas around, went to dinner, and figured out pretty much what we're doing -- sort of. For all practical intents and purposes, Kevin and I and who knows who else are all co-GMing a campaign set in the world we've played in for so many years.
They're giving me pretty much free rein to determine the faerie culture and society and are letting me run amok with them. The silly fools! *insert cackle here* It sounds like each of the GMs will have their own areas of society to focus on, and whenever the story crosses from one to the area, tag team! I think it'll be fun. It'll keep me on my toes for sure. While I'll have sessions where I've planned stuff out, there's no telling when the story might cross into my territory, and I'll have to come up with stuff spur of the moment.
I think the greatest thing was that the group dynamic hasn't changed much. I think I'm a little more active, mostly because I'm more experienced (and therefore more comfortable) as a gamer, but that's about it. I was worried about things being awkward between Hollingsworth and I, but I don't think they were, really. It was a little strange, seeing someone I used to be so close to from such a distance, but it wasn't awkward. I kept wanting to ask him all these personal questions, but I didn't feel like they were appropriate. I felt a little weird asking him where he lived, much less if he was still with his girlfriend or where he was working now.
What was oddest of all was that some things between he and I didn't seem like they'd changed, although I knew they had. At one point, we ended up sitting next to each other, and I had to stop and remind myself not to do silly flirty things like poke him in the side or touch his arm. Discovering that I'm still at least marginally attracted to him was the only disconcerting part of the day, but I think I kept that to myself. Until now, of course, when I've written it and posted it for all the world to see. Heh.
Posted by Lisa at July 30, 2000 10:34 PM
