Unsatisfied with life after death (society’s got me down in a hole)

OK, this song The Replacements rocked out in 1984 is so punk, and it’s not even fast. It just drips with discontent and social discord. It’s making a big old piss puddle of dissatisfaction on the floor, that’s how angsty it is. Go ahead, listen to it again: you might drown in cynicism, but it’d be well worth it.

Because this song strikes a chord — oh man, does it strike a chord. Who can honestly say they are completely satisfied with their lot in life? The mechanics of this game are totally broken, man. Paul Westerberg knew this, and you can hear it in the raw emotion in his voice. Damn. So good.

And hey, you know who else knew this fact of life? Courtney Love. No kidding, and I mean seriously: she got to the top by marrying a rich rock star and putting out a decade-defining album of her own, and what did she find? Harrowing addiction problems, her husband blows his head off, everybody hates her for it, and she goes on to be literally despised for decades afterward. WTF...

Here’s a cover of Courtney singing Unsatisfied live, the year after Kurt’s death. How tragic is this?

I'll come right out and say for the record: I’m not a Courtney Love hater. I think she’s probably a shitty person (probably; never met her personally). But I also think that deep down most people are selfish jerks. It’s a part of human nature, the survival instinct, the lizard brain. We’re all pieces of shit, but most of us try very hard to wipe that crap off so we don’t stink, because it’s also human nature to be good and decent despite our faults. It’s just that some people seem to possess the ass-wiping skills of a four-year-old. But anyway, hey, whatever man. I think Courtney’s about on par with lots of other disagreeable white trash out there, but certainly not worthy of the ire of an entire generation, for generations. Give her a break. Live and let live, yeah?

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OK, here’s some game content for ya. Let’s take a disheveled, disgruntled, dishonored widow and give her some social discord to protest. And let’s make it a Traveller plot hook, because this sounds exactly like the kind of shit that might go down in a Government 11 star system.

The Planet

Name: Rainhell 6

UWP: A 4 6 8 8 B 7 - A

NOTES

The only thing more miserable than the weather in Rainhell is the people. The government is a total dystopia. They control their citizens through a “social points” system in which a person’s worth in life is determined by how useful their household is to society. Doesn’t matter how hard you work, really: Your kid’s a black sheep? You lose points. Someone in your family dies? You lose points. And for those who live and strive to succeed, life is just incredibly stressful with the constant competition for high score, so much so that many turn to drugs to cope with the stress, resulting in wide-spread addiction and rampant suicide. Not to mention that the conspiracy theories about the government controlling the illegal drug trade are probably totally true. But even worse is the (FYI, totally true) conspiracy theory that:

1. Last year, the government ordered a hit on the biggest rock star in the subsector, Burdt Couré, because he wrote a social protest song. They made his death look like a suicide.
2. As above, but Burdt was actually offed because he had uncovered proof of the government’s backing of the illegal drug trade. A few of his friends know some of his story.
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3. As above, but it’s not the government who’s in control. The mafia actually pulls all the strings in the upper echelons of the government.
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4. As above, but there are actually two gangs that constantly battle for control of the movers and shakers on this world. One of the gangs controls the drugs. The other controls the entertainment industry. Both have their double agents in the government.
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5. As above, but Burdt Couré’s last album actually contains the truth about the government’s corruption hidden in a bonus track digitally programmed to surface *tomorrow* in game time.
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6. As above, but Burdt Couré actually faked his death and left his wife to suffer the fallout, because as it turns out, he’s just another piece of shit too.

The Widow

Name: Francis Couré

UPP: 7 8 5 9 6 C

Story

Francis is a tragic anti-heroine, and she’s at her wit’s end. She rose to stardom by marrying the most famous rock star in the subsector, Burdt Couré. However, stardom took its toll on both of them, leading to a destructive cycle of drug addiction and manipulation from the entertainment industry. After two years of marriage, her husband blew his brains out with a phaser. And now everybody blames Francis for Burdt’s suicide and she is absolutely despised by everybody in the world. Only now, she has received a reliable tip that the government assassinated Burdt, and she wants revenge. She is hiring mercenaries (and absolutely prefers offworlders) to:

1. Take the government down with a scandal of its own. There is an investigative journalist who claims to have proof that the government runs the trade drug trade. Meet with him and blow the whole case wide open.
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2. As above, but also prove the government assassinated Burdt Couré.
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3. As above, but also recover Burdt’s missing home recordings. They were stolen in a break-in a year ago.
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4. As above, but also instigate a gang war in the city. She wants to watch the whole world burn!
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5. As above, but also take out a senior government official — the same guy who ordered Burdt’s death.
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6. As above, but also help Francis escape the system alive with a fake passport so she can take out a new lease on life.

In all cases, Francis is happy to let the travellers remain anonymous or take full credit for their work. (Being known as the gang who uncovered the shocking truth about the most famous rock star in the subsystem could have its benefits.) Payment is very generous, half up front, and half upon completion.

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What do you think? Is Courtney Love a terrible person? Could anything matter less? Hit me up in the comments on Facebook, Twitter or MeWe!