Your Destiny Is You Should Be Writing

Hello again, puggerinos. This week's blog talks about, in such a SHOCKING twist, Destiny.

I know. You have more than likely seen lots of posts about this game in your feed. Considered already one of the most successful new IPs to launch this year, it has thousands of players and has been all the rage around gaming sites for the past three weeks.

For those of you who don't know what it's about, Destiny is a first person shooter where you take on the role of a Guardian trying to save the Last City from the Darkness and its minions who are trying to steal away the Light from the mysterious Traveler.

....yes, that's the story. But all of that aside, it's a surprising amount of fun, despite how frustrating its been for me. This is in spite of all the proper nouns it throws at you while you play.

I do love the game, and despite getting irritated with it constantly I always dream of playing it. I always want to do just one more Strike  (a leveled mission you can do with friends) or I want to play a few more rounds in the Crucible (their PvP arena.) I am addicted to buying ships, and I routinely take bounties that are as stimulating as SHOOT 200 FALLEN IN THEIR HEADZ BECAUSE SCIENCE.

Random gripe: Why can I only access the lore of the game by killing hundreds of thousands of dudes? Are my bullets really tiny anthropologists who report back to me "Hey! In this guy's spleen we found out why the Fallen breathe Ether Drops!"

Here's the thing; Destiny is not a friendly game towards the casual gamer. It can still be a lot of fun, but I've encountered a wall in the game that can only be overcome if I can devote massive amounts of time to it and that's something I just cannot do.

In Destiny, you needed to constantly get cooler and more powerful gear not just to kill bad guys in the game but to increase your level. Your level maxes out at 20, and only by getting more powerful pieces of gear could you improve your rating up to level 30. You could try to buy cooler gear in game, but to do so you had to get your reputation with a faction up to an insanely high amount so you could buy cooler gear or you had to hope you were lucky enough that legendary and exotic gear dropped for you on a whim.

Here's where the problem comes in for me. To quote Chuck Wendig, author and giver of amazing writing advice over at Terribleminds.net, if a writer ever finds himself with free time all to himself he really should be writing. Books are not going to write themself and if you have a deadline you have to meet, the deadline needs to come first. I can't convince my boss that I'll have my redlines in "After we kill Xyor the Unwed once and for all!" I can't tell my freelancers I'll edit their work "Just as soon as I get 23 Strange Coins." I'm starting up a whole new business venture but that will go nowhere if instead of filing paperwork and writing out the game I'm on Mars  looking for Relic Iron.

I like to consider myself pretty successful, with many shipped titles under my belt and with a really cool new project coming up soon that I hope to share with you. The thing is, I wouldn't be that successful if I gave in to my inner video gamer and never wrote a thing. Sometimes, my most boring nights have been spent editing with a Netflix on in the background instead of playing.

That is the other thing about why I should be writing. You see, I am in a business where I can get paid for my writing. Sure, if I write up "The Adventures of Karlyle Dracofist", my old Gemstone 3 character from the days of MUDs and MUCKs, I probably wouldn't make any money. But if I accept a contract from someone under the auspices of "If you write well, we will not only publish this but give you money for it," I am losing money to not be writing. I like eating. I like to travel. I like to not worry about not having enough money.

With Destiny, you have to devote yourself to grinding. And don't fool yourself by saying "You can wear all Rare gear and still do well in Crucible." I used to do really well in PvP in the game until each opponent I had to deal  with was armed with Exotic weapons capable of firing multiple  rounds a second, extremely accurate  shotguns, or fusion rifles whose charge time was almost zero. Soon I'm forced to rely upon all of my skill to hope to survive and even then, I watched my ratings slowly slip in the game.

The way I had around this wall was to participate in the legendary Loot Cave exploit that players had discovered in the first week of the game. It consisted of Guardians standing in a firing line firing shot after shot into a cave in the Cosmodrome where Hive soldiers were spawning every 6 seconds. The reward for this was that there was a 10% chance they would drop an Ingram, which would turn into a random piece of equipment that you could either dissasemble for parts and money or equip your character with.

The whole  thing reached almost ludicrous proportions. I once took part in a 30 man firing line into the cave, only taking breaks when a Daily Event took place. Since ammo and Ingram drops only appear in your version of the game there was no competition between players to scoop up all the Ingrams before someone else could. In no time at all you were swimming in money and Ingrams which you needed to improve other pieces of equipment.

It was stupid, but for the casual gamer, it was a godsend.

It allowed people like me to have a decent chance of getting the Legendary and Exotic pieces of equipment we needed in order to compete with others. Right now, I have two pieces of Legendary armor,  a piece of Exotic armor, and everything else is Blue. I don't have the time to run around and hope I get lucky and get one of those pieces of equipment, nor can I hope to get lucky and get my faction ranks up high enough to hope I have the ultra rare currency to buy cooler equipment.

Seriously. To go up in rank I need 3000 points in this faction just to reach Rank 2 and I get maybe 200 if I can sit down and play it for 40 minutes.

Bungie, I love your game. But I'm looking at Battlefield 4 as a way to scratch my itch until the next Battlefield comes out.

The Conundrum with Cosplayers

Please note that I have no problem with cosplayers, I just wanted to reference this post in some way like one of my favorite series of books, Dealing with Dragons.

I've seen this post going around my feed. It's an editorial by Denise Dorman, wife of illustrator Dave Dorman, and she is pretty critical of cosplayers and attendees of comic book conventions. I'll let you read her wordsd first before I chime in.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/09/22/denise-dorman-asks-is-cosplay-killing-comic-con/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Damn it Cokie, you blocked my route! How will I ever link up Denver to-OH HEY YOU'RE BACK! I most certainly wasn't killing time by playing Ticket to Ride with Cokie.

....cheating Puggle......

Anyhoo, what did you think of what she had to say? I found myself disagreeing pretty early on, though I think I can see the source of her frustration. She seems to think that the trend of people not spending as much money at cons has to do with Cosplayers, who by themselves are a growing demographic in geekdom. You can't throw a rock these days without it bouncing off at least three Stormtroopers, a Bane, two Harley Quinns, and a severe lawsuit for throwing rocks inside a crowded convention hall.

I think the real issue is that people do not seem to be spending as much money at conventions and that Cosplayers are not to blame. People just are not spending as much money at conventions. Why? I don't have any conclusive proof, just a bunch of theories.

Look, it sucks when you don't even break even at a convention. It's even worse when you go in the red because of it. I've walked out of Gen Con thinking "Well....I could go back to shipping for a living." I've had friends who are dynamite artists pack up their booths and just give away free prints to people as they leave so that they A. don't have so much stuff to ship back home and B. they don't feel bad because they didn't sell much at all.

I think what we are seeing is a byproduct of the recession from a few years ago combined with a phasing out/phasing in of new fans into the convention scene. As the older guard no longer attends conventions, whether due to feeling that cons like Dragon Con have changed too much for their taste or because of health issues they cannot manage a 5 day trip, we see new blood entering the scene. These younger fans do not have the resources that others have. Many of them are still in high school or have just entered college, and do not have much in their budgets to buy a Limited Edition Malcolm Reynolds Light Saber.

At the same time, you cannot just tell people to spend more money at a con. I know I would love to spend the money I once did at Gen con. Hell, I remember having to make two trips out to my car because I had so many bags of swag to carry with me. I remember when if I left the con with any of my Gen Con budget left over I felt like I had lost the True Meaning of Gen Con and would wander around the Titan Games booth looking at books to add to my pile of books. (Which in some cases, I wouldn't even read and would sell to Half Price books later. Ahh. Decadence. Priveledge. Different time, different me.)

I would love to say to you all that you should go out and support artists and buy up as many prints as possible, but we both know that's not going to work. I can't boss people around and tell them to spend money. I will say that many of the artists you see in the artist gallery and many of the writers in the author alley are genuinely talented folks and you may be surprised at what you find waiting for you if you go and look.

Now as for the Cosplayers themselves...

There are more and more of them at conventions every year and that's pretty cool. I remember sitting in my neighbor's backyard and listening to him ask his son why our generation has such an obsession with costume parties because in his age, they stopped wearing costumes when they stopped going to Halloween. 15 years ago I remember when the guy walking around in his Mandalorian Power Armor was seen as kind of an interesting if weird guy who really loved Boba Fett. Now there's an entire Mandalorian Legion dedicated to constructing and displaying those suits of armor.

Maybe the ideals of our generation have shifted. Maybe we are more care free when it comes to how we dress and behave these days. I know several members of the 501st and they range from the Perpetual College Student to the Owns His Own Pool Business, and yet when you see them hanging out at cons showing off their armor they are as happy as can be. Outside of the con they are Bob Normalpants, but at the con they get to be TK1337, member of Vader's personal legion.

It's not just even the fact that there are more costumes either. Cosplaying is getting so advanced! There was a guy at Dragon Con who had a huge ass suit of robotic armor complete with a built in display on his chest and a vocoder so he could amplify his voice. A friend of mine has a huge suit of Juggernaut armor, and another friend just finished stitching together from scratch a Victorian steampunk adventurer's outfit. These aren't costumes you buy off the rack at Halloween Spirit, my friends; these suits are works of love!

(And that's not a dig at those who can't afford to make fancy costumes. Wear what you want, be your own groovy self.)

I know that this rumor has been going around about how Cosplayers are vain and do not like to spend money. I too have felt the scourge of getting stuck in walking traffic at Gen Con because someone in their massive Halo suit had to pose in a vital travel way and traffic got backed up due to people stopping to take pictures. That sucks. But I think some people are choosing the wormiest apple out of the bushel, as it were.

Cosplayers are really hardcore fans. I mean, you have to be if you're going to set out to make a costume that's as accurate as possible. I don't know that many people who sit around and spontaneously say "Today I shall build the Cyclops outfit from the X-Men movie" and not be dedicated to it. Fan is a shortened version of the word fanatic, and the attention to detail Cosplayers put into their work shows.

As for them not spending money at conventions, I think people may be a little confused on something. Sure, I don't see Bane walking from booth to booth shopping alongside everyone else, but that's probably because he only has so much time he wants to spend in his outfit before he wants to take the mask off. The girl in her Mass Effect cosplay is probably not going to wander around the artist alley when she has a hard time walking due to the solid plates she's attached to her suit limiting movement.

When they're out of their costumes? I guarantee you they are visiting the exhibition hall and looking at stuff. Maybe they're not buying as much because their $1000 replica Final Fantasy suit set them back a lot, but consider what you are getting out of it. You get to look at their suit and go "Aww that's cool!" while they trudge about getting hot under the fluorescent lights and the stuffy atmosphere that can happen in conventions.

As for "Comic Con not being about the comics", that will be a topic for another day.

Numenera Organization: The Black Tigers

We've been playing Numenera since at least May and we are on our second campaign. It's an amazing game, both in system and in setting. The mechanics are simple yet there are dozens if not hundreds of options for your character based in the book. Set in the mythical Ninth World over a billion years into the future, you play as explorers seeking to understand their world and combat various menaces that seek to place it in jeopardy.

My character this time around is a Graceful Jack Who Fights With Panache, where I am a skilled swashbuckler and swordfighter. Caylen Cain, a captain in his country's famous Windrider Core, now lives in exile traveling from court to court and fighting evil while longing to free his homeland from the grip of the Council of Spheres.

Though the book talks about the Tiger Queen and how after her line died out the Council seized control of the country, it does not mention that much more of it. There is a regional option in the Character Options book where you play as a former soldier hoping to show off your skill and flare to the world, but that was about it. Fortunately, creating an organization for Numenera is really easy (3 points of XP and its yours!) So here is my take on the former elite guard of Draolis, the high flying Black Tiger Squadron.

For three hundred years, Draolis was a power to be feared in the region. It's people were fed, it's borders were secure, and it's diplomats welcomed at courts across the world. The Tiger Queens ruled from Qi with a firm yet benevolent hand, and though they came to power during a fierce war with Navarene they kept the country secure and content.

The rule of Amantha, the last Tiger Queen, was a contentious time. The Council of Spheres, refusing to cooperate with the monarchy, applied pressure on her allies and slowly reduced her control of her own nation. When Amantha died of a mysterious illness early on into her reign with no clear heir the Council acted quickly to silence all opposition and declare themselves the new leaders of Draolis.

The Black Tigers were once the premier fighting force of Draolis, and tales of their escapades thrilled children across the country as their Windblades flew gracefully through the air. Considered the protectors of the Tiger Queen, they fearlessly leapt into battle to defend the weak (and further the power of Draolis.) When the monarchy came to an end, the plutocrats of the Council of Spheres disbanded the unit and tried to send them out into the frontier, manning remote watch posts or sent to recover dangerous Numenera that would certainly lead to their deaths. Even the secrets of Windblade construction were banned save for the researchers at Fort Aventure, who are the only ones still allowed to produce the gliders.

The Black Tigers now find themselves soldiers without a country though still determined to show the 9th World their skill and heroism. All of them wear the Tiger banner patch proudly on their clothing and gather in secret to toast their fallen brothers and plot ways to overthrow the Council. They see the Council of Spheres as a corrupt organization that seeks to weaken Draolis by selling off its lands to decadent nobles and instead chooses to give away their borders to their enemies instead of meeting them with honor on the battlefield.

Though they prefer to recruit from their countrymen the Black Tigers look for those with a sense of adventure and the desire to meet challenges head on instead of shirking their duties and refusing to help. They encourage their members to always look their best, and though many of their members can be considered arrogant and decadent for their ways, their heroism and flare cannot be denied.

Membership Bonuses: Members of the Black Tigers seem to always be able to find lodging in Draolis among those who remember the prestige of their corp. They also receive one free Asset to rolls involving the use of a Windblade.

What factions do you guys think should be added in addition to the Black Tigers? I'm debating writing up a faction for Techo-Unionists and a merchant's guild.

Gaming Bucket List, Baby Bestiary, and a Grayhaven Comics Submissions

THE GAMING BUCKET LIST

As I went through my book cases and dusted my many volumes of quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore, I found myself singling out a few games that I have never had a chance to play but I have been in love with for a long, long time. Some of them I have the complete set for, while others I find myself staring at DriveThruRPG and thinking "Ooh, I could own all the books in that bundle! It's just a click away!"

Those thieving bastards, so insidiously offering PDFs at discounted prices. I'm onto their chicanery.

Anyays, I found myself thinking that sometime throughout October I should go back to games that I either haven't played in years or haven't played ever. I either never found a group willing to play them or the game wasn't as popular as I would have liked. Still, before I go up to meet that Dungeon Master In The Sky, I'd like to play each of these games at least once.

• As you can tell by the first logo I posted, I really want to play Demon: the Fallen. When it came out I remember being very skeptical of it but after following its development on Shadownessence and the old WoD forums, it's a really cool game! I remember making several characters for it (and even won a competition on Shadownessence for it) and I would love to play it. 
• Mummy: the Resurrection. Still one of my all time favorite games and because of it I have several friends who I have known for more than half my life. A very underrated game, it was nice to see one book in the WoD that took a stand against the dark evil. 
• Heavy Gear is a game that was my first introduction to mech RPGs and had a lasting influence on me. Hell, because of Heavy Gear I discovered my love of heavy tanks in Mech RPGs and led to me being a member of the Hell's Horses clan from Mechwarrior.
• A Tragedy In Five Acts is a really cool indie game by the folks at Growling Door Games. Five players work together to tell a story of Shakespearean tragedy. 
• World of Warcraft d20 may seem like an odd duck on this list, but it was the game I played throughout college and I still look back on it fondly. I really want to get the old gang together and do a "10 years later" story with our old characters.
• Hunter: the Reckoning was a game I played on the old White Wolf forums. I was Cameraman1345, an Avenger who became Imbued while filming a low budget ripoff of COPS and the criminal they chased turned out to be a Kindred.
• Dawg: the RPG. I know, I wrote the Player's Guide and the Dawg Master's Guide but I have yet to play a full game of it! Loogie the Pug shall live! 

There are many, many more but that's just a start. What games would be on your bucket list?

THE BABY BESTIARY

Andreas Walters over at Metal Weave Design has a Kickstarter up at the moment. I could tell you about it, but I think I'll show you the artwork first.

That's right, it's an art book and calendar series dedicated to the baby/cub/hatchlings (or in the Chimera's sake, all three!) of famous fantasy monsters. It looks amazing, and Andreas has been pretty excited about this thing for a while.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/metalweavedesigns/the-baby-bestiary

Course we all know what has to come next Andreas....LOLHATCH! LOLstiary? LOL....funny captioned monsters!

GRAYHAVEN COMICS OPENS SUBMISSIONS

And finally, Grayhaven Comics is opening their last round of submissions for the year! If you are an aspiring artist, colorist, or writer I wholeheartedly suggest checking them out. I have worked with them in the past and they are just great people to work with.

http://www.grayhavencomics.com/submit/

Dragon Con 2014 report!

I am home! Dragon Con 2014 was an amazing convention, and it has been a while since I've had that level of fun at a convention. Usually I am running about, either checking on booths, running games, attending meetings or trying to run down other freelancers to kill them and claim their power I mean, to talk shop.

This was my first D*C, and it probably will not be the last. It had been a long time since I had been able to relax, and that kind of disturbed me at first. I had time to take naps. I could go where I pleased, when I pleased. I really, really miss that about Gen Con, though for obvious reasons I have to work that one if I am to make money to feed Cokie.

I missed having Eloy with me at the convention. He couldn't make it due to last minute issues and I know he missed every second of it, but there were plenty of people who offered him kind words. Hell, Clint at the "How to Break Into Gaming" panel talked him up! Eloy and Chris Wilde were there in spirit. Mainly because I used Soul Steal on them but the thought counts!

D*C is different from Gen Con in that it is not just a gaming convention. It's a little bit of everything. Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, Comics, Gaming...these but scratch the surface! If there's something you want to do at the con you can do it. There was a codebreaker panel and a Skeptics tract at the con. The biggest part of the convention, at least to me, was the cosplaying aspect of it.

Cosplaying is where you design costumes of famous characters, pop culture icons, or characters of their own design. Over the weekend I ran into so many characters that I ended up taking the most pictures I ever had at a con. I saw the many common characters I've gotten used to at Gen Con; Deadpool, Spider-Man, Halo Spartans, etc. At this con I saw home made robot suits, intricately sewn fantasy garb, and many random hilarious characters as well.

Thus began a long line of me wearing bowls as hats.

I also learned that my theory of saying out loud the obscure character someone has dressed as will Make. Their. Fucking. Day! I saw a guy from the 76th Independent Batallion break into a big grin when I recognized his suit and the two Shi'ar Guardsmen were overjoyed I knew who they were. (People thought they were Coneheads!)

All hail Imperator Gladiator!

I'm not going to bore people with summaries of each day, but here are the highlights of the con:

• The Venture Brothers panel! It was amazing to see Doc Hammer, James Urbaniak, and Dana Snyder in person. They talked about the upcoming season and let people ask them questions. I laughed hard during their panel, especially when they gave relationship advice to someone or when Doc Hammer talked about the first time he jerked off. 
• I saw the Patrick Stewart panel! Granted, I was in the far back, but he was hilarious. He also suffers from allergies, which for some bizarre reason made it really relate able to him. He talked about his upcoming projects and his acting on stage. He also mentioned how he was trying to get Sir Ian McKellen to come to conventions like that. 
• Meeting several friends of mine who live in the South was really great. It was great running into Michelle Phillips and her fiance Eric, Michelle Flamm, Nik, Bryan Bailey and his Ingress buddies, Bill Bridges, the Brobdingnagian Bards, JP Gagnon, Clint, JP, JP's boss, James Wulfgar, James Dawsey, Cris, and the guy who roomed with us and I forgot his name. :P A lot of you did a lot for helping me get over any social anxiety I had at the con.
• It was a little weird for me when I recognized Eric from Facebook and had to figure out how to walk up to him without being weird. "Hey, you're Eric! I've seen your pictures on Facebook." 
• The Everquest panel reminded me of how I enjoyed playing that game briefly many years ago. I may pick it up again.
• Live messaging the Star Citizen panel for Dereke was fun, though their Racing simulator crashed midpanel. It was cool seeing the new M50 Fighter/Racer on screen. 
• I ran into Dana Snyder briefly and asked if he could record a message for Dereke. He said he was about to leave but for me to write a message down for him. "Dear Dereke, get a new friend. This one is WORTHLESS!" He said all that in Master Shake's voice. :P He then apologized and thanked Dereke for being a fan.
• Trivia contest/biggest failures panel for Venture Brothers! At two points I got a decorative Venture Brothers tote and a pin to let me into the Guild of Calamitous Intent. MUAHAHAHA FEAR MY EVIL!
• Played Warhammer Quest, which I hadn't played in forever! I wish I could buy another copy of it but they all sell for insane amounts on Ebay.
• Though spread out among other hotels the hotels were easy to go between. I loved how each hotel had their own specialty. The Hilton was gaming. The Westin was horror, urban horror, the Spectrum party, and others. The Hyatt had lots of trivia panels as well.
• The Spectrum Party, or GLBTI and Ally party, was amazing. I had a blast with friends there.
• Artax Entertainment panel was a lot of fun as well! 
• Oddly enough I loved the Dragon Con TV channel they played in the hotel rooms. I know it had some cheesy skits and jokes at times but I liked how they aired panels for people who missed it or provided cartoons and jokes for people who were bored. 

See? I told you so! Serving dish as a crown, for I am KING OF TRADER VICKS!

One goal I had was to try as much different cuisine while I was in Atlanta. Indy gets a bad reputation for having mainly chain restaurants and I wanted to try something different. Restaraunts ended up being where I spent the majority of my money, but they were WELL worth it!

• Yami Yami Sushi and Buffet in the Peachtree Center Food Court: Not bad, but their signs were misleading. I thought it was by the pound but instead it was by the roll. The food was tasty, but I ended up paying $20 and not really enjoying it. Apart from their Yami Spicy Roll, most were made up of wet rice.
• Haveli Indian Cuisine: Horrible place to eat. The food was watery, the Chicken Tikka Masala had this weird smokey flavor to it, and the staff did not seem to want to be there. She seemed completely disinterested in serving anyone, as seen by the fact I never got refills, I had to ask for cutlerly, and not only did I eventually have to ask for my check but she forgot about processing it. 
• Meehan's Public House: An Irish pub, this place was just fucking fantastic in every way. Great food, great beer, and very affordable. Bill Bridges recommended it and it was great.
• Corner Bakery Cafe: I ate here twice. Recommended by JP Gagnon, it was a very affordable and great tasting breakfast. The French Toast and breakfast sandwiches are great.
• Trader Vicks: I liked it, but it was very expensive. The waitress was amazing though, as was the ahi tuna steak. We also did another round of using plates as crowns for this one. :P
• Sear at the Marriott Marquis Hotel: I only got breakfast here as the dinner was too pricey. The breakfast was good, but there was a huge price hike between Friday and Saturday. At $27, I don't recommend their buffet for that price.
• High Velocity at the Marriott Marquis Hotel: This place on the other hand was great! Affordable and their special sandwich was amazing. It was packed cause of the other con goers but the speed of it allowed for the line to move down quickly. 
• Mandarin House Restaurant: Great food, and amazing service! It was funny watching the many different cosplayers eat there. I ate at a table next to some fairies and X-Men cosplayers. The Mongolian chicken, which I ate because I didn't understand the other meals they had (the titles were in Chinese), was great.
• As for other meals, I either had no time to eat or got hot dogs and pretzels at various places.  
• A lot of room parties offered free alcohol, and I know we had plenty in our room. Mmm Maker's Mark.

A grouping of Deadpools is called "Hilarious."

The Cons

• The MARTA, though convenient, is a hell of a walk when you have all your luggage with you.
• Not enough time in a day to get enough sleep. Events go 24 hours and it's impossible to do everything.
• The humidity was a bit unbearable at times. Same with the hills. 
• There was a gentleman who ruined my dinner Sunday night, and even though the manager apologized and comped my meal I don't really like going to bars in Atlanta when the football teams are there. Long story short: A guy objected to the fact I had a table near the bar and he didn't, and he flipped out and well...flipped the table. His wife dragged him out. Nothing else happened, and I was fine. Not really proud of the fact I was paralyzed by fear, but oh well.
• I'm not a huge fan of waiting in massive lines for hours for panels. The ones I did manage to attend were pretty cool.
• The elevators were either constantly broken or taken up by people. Even when I was on the bottom floor and needed to board to go up they would sometimes be crammed full. Lots of people used the phrase "You have to go down to go up" or "You have to go up to go down."
• Cellular reception was shit!
• The Star Wars trivia contest was so challenging I saw many people walk up, turn in their tests, and say they couldn't do it. I didn't even place in the rankings for it. It was focused more on the minor minutiae of the Star Wars universe such as what type of blasters Jango Fett wielded or what type of generator powered the X-Wing.
• I had the world's worst hangover Sunday morning. Though it was due to some amazing partying with friends Saturday night!
• I was not overly impressed with the dealer's room, and the decentralized nature of it drove me nuts.
• I had a bit of social anxiety about the crowds there. I know, I'm normally very outgoing, but when you see thousands of people in one room it can be a bit nerve wracking. Texts from Kat and hanging out with other people helped break down the barriers.

I do not know when I'll be back but I guarantee you, some day I will return to Dragon Con!

Some day.