Nothing stays the sammmmmeeeeeee

The original Deadwood (described by many as Deadwood 1.0) is about to end, being replaced by Deadwood 2.0.

Deadwood will be going back in time, restarting. Those who are staying have choices about what to do with their characters, as the town burns just as it did in 1879, and then reopens a week later in real time as Deadwood, 1876 - the old beginnings of the town, with mud streets, tent shops and no law!

This should be exciting, if a bit messy.

It's a bit sad, too, as over the past couple of years, history has been created -- a lot of folks have come through Deadwood. One wonders how many of the old timers will recreate themselves, how many will never appear in this second life of Deadwood and how many new characters will be born from the old.

Lola Kanto, one of my favorite characters, won't be back. She's with JF, I know that - in their place in the hills of Kentucky with their children and grandchildren. Whether JF takes a trip to Deadwood remains to be seen - but Lola's busy.

This typist has tried out different roles and I imagine I'll show up as an adult since playing only children does limit your roleplay a bit.

But the kind of role I like the best is that of a youngster -- back to the days when you held an optomistic view of a world where anything seemed possible. Right and fairness conquer wrong and evil, without compromising your sense of self. Playing this age in the context of Deadwood brings with it the experience of that transitional period of coming of age - and that isn't a sexual knowledge - but a widening realization that things aren't always fair, the good guys don't always win...

It's an enjoyable age to play - like we probably all did as we grew up, the character of a child in Deadwood can one moment try to be brave and "grown up" in his or her actions, and the next revert to the protection of adults.

I'm sure I do this because I wish I could in real life, where life has been fairly difficult, where I've been a single mother for decades and now take care of my own mother. My escape from the demands of my own real life are to revert to the relative freedom of childhood, where I had no idea what lay ahead!

So Marrant will be back - with her twin sister,Mary - played by.. me. You can call them Mar and Mar (heh heh). These are the daughters of a new couple in town. The girls look only vaguely alike, though the parents insist they are identical twins. Their personalities are different and they are 13 - that awkward age when the mind and body seem totally out of control to their owners and those around them.

Somehow fitting as my youngest goes off to college and I'm left wondering what the hell am I supposed to do now? And while my own body goes through the changes at the other end of adolescence and the typist shrieks, "Who the hell is THAT in the mirror?"