Hello, world! I’m HOME!

Where have I been, you might ask? Well, thank you for the hypothetical question: I just got back from Dragon Con in Atlanta, and if I’m reading particularly punchy today, that’s probably because I’ve had, at most, three hours sleep and have spent the greater majority of my day on airplanes or in airports. (By the time I actually post this, that likely won’t be true anymore — but I probably won’t edit the punchiness out.) I had an awesome time in Atlanta, and it went by ridiculously quick — as vacations always do when you’ve been looking forward to them for more than a year — but sweet Jesus, am I happy to be home.

So, Mek and I got into Atlanta last Thursday and met up with some of our friends at the airport. Then we all rode an insanely tall escalator together. I wish I had taken a picture of it, but frankly, I decided that looking anywhere except the steps themselves would probably result in my gruesome demise due to clumsiness, vertigo, and a broken neck. So, no pics of that.

I do have pics of cute toys, though.

I have discovered over my last two Dragon Cons that I really don’t go for the actual panels themselves — I go to hang out with friends who I rarely get to see and also to shop for things I absolutely don’t need. (Speaking of which — one of the pretty awesome panels I did attend was a demonstration of Victorian fighting techniques, so I now of course desperately want a ball cane. That’s a practical thing to own, right?)

I also bought myself an inspirational poster . . .

. . . and a somewhat less than inspirational poster:

Actually, this creepily awesome print will totally be inspirational, just, you know. Not so much for a positive, can-do attitude. Writing horror stories, though — I think I can find inspiration for that.

As to those friends I rarely spend time with:

This was my very first D&D game ever. We played in teams since we had more players than characters, and it was a whole lot of fun, even if the dice stuff seemed way more complicated than I originally anticipated. (Like, seriously — math was pretty much involved, and if you don’t know, I disapprove entirely of math.) My friend, Rob, was our awesome DM, and he may have been doing some hand-holding for the newbies, but my pride cares not because I had a really good time. Also, Mekaela and I were apparently very much in character as Millicent the Rat — we were all playing the animal familiars of heroes instead of the heroes themselves, which rocked — because Mek and I aren’t particularly brave people, and we highly value our own strong survival instincts over any silly cultural concepts like loyalty or honor.

The most fun I had at Dragon Con, actually, was probably the various game nights. There was the requisite Cards Against Humanity, of course, but I was also a fan of this bizarre and hilarious combination of Pictionary and Telephone. (I’m pretty sure there was an actual name, but I have long since forgotten it. I feel like someone suggested renaming it ‘What The Fuck’, and that does seem pretty apt, so. Yeah, let’s go with that.)

And, of course, there was ALL THE COSPLAY.

I primarily just took pictures of my friends, but if you’re interested in seeing some of the other amazing costumes at Dragon Con, you can look here. Otherwise, here are a few of my own pictures. (And, yes, pictures I shamelessly stole from said friends).

Quicksilver from X-Men: Days of Future Past

Shirley/Sheryl Holmes (I don’t think there was ever a consensus), Dr. Joan Watson, and Mr. Hudson

Kaylee Frye from Firefly. Also, Brandon (who had already de-costumed.)

Two-Face from Batman (and if you needed the reference point, I despair of you)

Everyone’s favorite dysfunctional family, the Lannisters from Game of Thrones.

Hipster Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Captain America, and Thor

Sailor Who!

Various Doctors from Doctor Who

Me as Spock from Star Trek: The Voyage Home. (And yes, I perhaps had pretty mixed feelings on the movie itself, but come on. I got to wear a bathrobe for a costume! It was awesome.)

There’s also a parade at Dragon Con every year, but unfortunately I got there a little late and — not being terribly tall — could see almost nothing. So I went back to my hotel room and watched the parade on TV, which really, was a lot more comfortable anyway and obviously had much better visibility. After that, I met up with my friend James (aka Detective James) from Clarion West for lunch.

We also did a girl’s night out at the aquarium . . . well, plus Pat, who I absolutely should have made wear my Helena wig if he wanted to come. Sadly, I did not think about this until we got there. I also wish I could offer you pictures of the totally insane dance thing that happened there (like there was a person dressed as a giant starfish and also a crab and, you know, Deadpool — because sure, why not Deadpool) but the pictures I took absolutely do not do it justice. I mean, there are simply no words for how totally fantastically bizarre and surreal this was.

Therefore, I simply offer you a somewhat grainy picture of some perty fish.

And, of course, there was the Miss Star Trek Universe pageant, which two of my friends — Robyn and Kate — entered.

This was almost as much fun as it was two years ago. There was a somewhat disappointing lack of actual Star Trek judges (usually, at least one Trek actor is a judge) but Garrett Wang continues to be a pretty excellent host, and the actual winner was probably the most unique contestant I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t get good pictures of the event itself — the lighting in that room continues to be AWFUL — but the person who won dressed up as Mother Horta. I was disappointed in Mother Horta’s talent, I’ll admit, but the sheer creativity of this costume was awesome and hilarious.

And, well. I guess that’s about it for Dragon Con 2014. I’d really love to go back next year, but I’m about 99.9% sure it won’t happen, mostly because I’m really hoping to attend Worldcon in Spokane next year, which happens like only two weeks before. (And vacation days don’t come easy, kids.) So my big nerd fest is probably going to end up an every other year event for me, but that’s okay. I just have more time to prepare for cosplay, right?

Hopefully see you in 2016, Atlanta. You were a blast . . . and not even as humid as I was expecting. Seriously, thanks for that.