I was going to go to Spotlight but the car lift wouldn't come to me. Dammit. I had to settle for Arthur Toyes instead, which is good in that I am not tempted to buy random other stuff, but bad because their fabric range is smaller.
I had a nap this afternoon and then got some writing done. I spoke to my mother and did some housework. I had a shower at 5pm. The madness!
I was thinking about typing up some of what I wrote but instead I feel compelled to blog about Bad Family. Steve's game that used to be called Lucky Joneses and is a huge hit with my Tuesday night roleplaying group right now. Basically it's a game meant to recreate a dysfunctional family sitcom.
You get a list of family members to choose from. We've been playing the following family members:
Elric is River, the youngest child. A girl of 13.
Star is Lee, the adopted child. A girl of 18.
Svend is Dick, the father.
and me as Jamie, the middle child. I am playing him as 17 years old.
Once the characters are sorted out you figure out what your character 'wants' for the game. We've played two sessions, so we've each had two sets of wants to work towards so far. Over the course of the games we've worked out that there is a perfect oldest son called Alex who is away at college. It's not clear if he even exists, but the family all believe he does and all the children have Alex's shining example to try and live up to.
River: get a room of my own and prove that this dodgy thing I found in Alex's room has nothing to do with Alex.
Lee: Make some money and get kicked out of home
Dick: Ensure one of my kids goes to college and make Lee feel more a part of the family.
Jamie: Find a place for my band to practise and then win the battle of the bands.
Here are some quotes from the sessions, so you can see both how incredibly, terrifyingly good we are at being a dysfunctional family and how some of those wants turned out.
Session one:
Jamie to Lee: I need this garage for band practice! Stop building a meth lab!
River: I need my own room, I don't want to share with Jamie any more!
Jamie: You should really get her her own room, one of my bandmates was going through her drawers the other day.
Dick: Maybe you shouldn't be spending time with such people?
Jamie: It's not their fault! She totally leads them on! She's like Paris Hilton!
Jenni to Steve: I think I've just established this isn't a G rated show.
Steve: Oh yeah?
Jenni: Well, I just swore and then implied that a 13 year old was a ho.
River: What the Hell do you think you are doing?
Lee (crucifying a Barbie): Vandalising your property.
Steve, as Dick, who has forgotten his children's names: I just pick a family at random and wipe their minds.
Back at the room debate:
Jamie: I notice that no one is using Alex's room.
Dad: That is Alex's room.
Jamie: But he lives at Harvard now!
Dad: not when he comes home to visit.
Jamie's band mate, to Dick, who has just walked into band practice:
Yo old man, what you doin? You're making a face like you are pooing!
Lee (threatening to damage it....): I thought you said your guitar was in the shop, but there it is.
Jamie: Uh, that's Alex's guitar.
River:no, his is in his room. I saw it.
Jamie: It's....his back up guitar.
River: no, he took that to Harvard.
Jamie: OK FINE! It's mine! *snatches it back*.
Session two:
Dick: Every time you go to tuba practice we put some money into your college fund. Isn't that tremendous!
Chris the dodgy bandmate is at breakfast, with a drunken mum sitting on his lap...
Jamie: Are you and Mum breaking up? Is Chris going to be my new father? Because I'm not really OK with that.
Dick: Neither am I.
Lee: *tazers Chris*
Dick: History is something we have to put behind us, like our broken dreams.
Star: I guess I could agree that if my father was reincarnated as a dog I would keep him in my handbag.
To get his band to focus for the battle of the bands, Jamie tazers Chris.
Chris: Argh!
Jamie: Dude, that was just a pepper grinder. Get it together.
Jamie, having lost the battle of the bands and then broken up the band:
I think I want pizza.
Dick: Well, if it's on the menu then that's fine.
Jamie: why would I order pizza if there is no pizza on the menu?
Mum: It might be a self hating thing dear. (moved closer to Jamie)
Jamie: Oh.
Mum: We can have pizza together.
Jamie: Can we have anchovies on it?
Mum: I hate them, so yes.
Jamie: So do I.....I love you Mum.
Mum: I love you, number two son.