GalacticMu

It all started with something called Space Buddies 2000.

The year was 2001.   It was early spring.  In Washington State early spring is not unlike winter, or late fall, or late spring, or parts of summer: rain.  Pervasive, monochrome, characterless rain.  Living in that kind of environment requires at least two bars per city block, and the equivalent number of coffee shops.  It’s the environment that spawned Starbucks, Kurt Cobain and Bacon Salt.  And me.

The way I remember it is as follows: a group of kids were sitting around in one of the divier local dives when we drunkenly agreed to start a science fiction gang.  We’d been haphazardly meeting for sci-fi TV and movies, booze and dinner for a short time already, and it seemed harmless to make it official.  We made a toast and each gave ourselves new names.  “Subspace Eddy” had already been a joke name of mine since I’d made the inebriated comment to a Star Trek episode, “Why are they always on about that Subspace Eddie guy?”  BattleGate will have to tell you her own story, because I have no memory of how it came about, other than that she, like I, already had her name.

Years passed.  Members came and went.  Other member’s loony-tunes girlfriends accused BattleGate and I of trying to steal their boyfriends away* because they were third-wave feminists who didn’t believe that any women could actually be that into watching the 1979 Black Hole unless they had a nefarious motivation.  Space Buddies 2000, over the years, dwindled down to four: thee who nowst form GalacticMu.  Something had to be done.

But, since I don’t believe in linear timelines, we are going back again.  Back to 2004.  Enter: Dungeon Majesty.

A cult public-access TV show of moderate renown, Dungeon Majesty was the epitome of nerd-girl-dom: four D&D players and a Dungeon Master in a live-action, poorly greenscreened serial.  Holy shit!  Homemade live-action D&D!  BattleGate and I swooned.  If only we were skinnier and lived in LA and had though of it sooner.  Years passed, but the inspiration didn’t.

Continued in PART 2. 

Link to Dungeon Majesty.

Link to Dungeon Majesty Wikipedia deletion discussion, a prime example of why I don’t participate in Wikipedia  (short version: DM drew attention from multiple geek sources - both online and off - was publicly embraced by Wizards of the Coast and Dungeons & Dragons, was picked up for over a dozen MTV2 microspots to air between videos, and most recently joined forces with famous web artist Leslie Hall - and was deleted by the Wiki-ghouls for a lack of notability).

*As a side note to the ladies: yes, if you want to get pollinated,  being able to have an informed opinion about the efficacy of space elevators while also dressing up like Kaylee from Firefly is a stone-solid way of guaranteeing your choices amongst a wide selection of attentive, eager nerd-boys.