DLC 4 aftermath: GOSH DARN NEW JERSEY ROADS

[Excal]

And by same model you mean same colour?  Aside from limited edition paint jobs, there's only like half a dozen unique ones (never mind that that is a lot in the console world).

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

More or less.

[metroid composite]

Back at work, so I'll keep this in point form.

Nitori: seriously makes me think of aquatic things.  Like, appearance-wise for some reason I just associate him with having freshly risen from a river.

Djinn and Tonic: lots of fun, probably hung out with him more than any of the others new people to the con.

Meeple's Brother: X_X.  If he happens to read this: Jeff, you seem to have a fair number of interesting things to talk about, but the universe does not revolve around you, and when you suggest a topic of conversation, people are not guaranteed to be interested.  If they're not, then please don't keep trying to force the conversation, and just let someone else take the spotlight.  DLC4 had 25+ extremely interesting people at this con, ergo you should only be the center of attention about 4% of the time on average.

Fighting game tournament:
1. Battle Fantasia.  Quick rounds, ultra stylish, and honestly had the most exciting final in the tournament, and the most intense atmosphere in the tournament.
2. Brawl.  Not exceptional like Melee was at DLC2.  A few fights still stick out in my head--mostly the Zelda player was very fun to watch (Tally?  I keep getting the names mixed up).  Reflector/absorb tricks I always find very entertaining, and we had both Lucas and Zelda making very good use of them.
3. Soul Calibur.  Didn't see much of this (for some reason the finals weren't announced).  I'm told CK had an awesome upset, so I guess I'll take that on faith.
4. Blazblue.  The differences between this and Guilty Gear don't seem too significant for DLC level play.  I mean, saying "you can only roman cancel, not false roman cancel" is like saying "Brawl is more accessible than Melee because it lacks wavedashing."  Doesn't matter for DLC tournaments.  That said, Guilty Gear is still Guilty Gear.  Very fun to watch for me (I spent much of my time watching it when the rooms split). Now, I would totally rate it higher just for being fun to watch, but it gets an extra mark against it for scheduling issues (matches were much longer than other games).
5. SF4.  Bland.  Don't really see what people felt made the game stylish (in that to me it was easily the second least stylish game...after Brawl).  The matches I saw did not really excite me in terms of what was happening gameplaywise, either.

Person I found sexiest (as in noticed "hey, weird, I'm feeling attracted to this person"): Grefter.  Not what I was expecting going into the con.

Pronouns: get them right people >_>

Ciato: We've had a bit of an older-sister-younger-sister relationship ever since DLC2, but it was a lot more obvious and felt more natural this time.

Most memorable game of the con: Tie between Castlevania Trainwreck and Battle Fantasia.

Award for "whoa, I've met you but didn't recognize you": NotMiki.  Changed haircut; that's really all it took.  (Runner up to Zenny, also for changed haircut, just...he is the only redhead in the DL).

Most screwed by the universe this con: Oblivion Knight.  In addition to everything else (car breakdown, lost in jersey for 5 hours with Super), apparently Hatbot wanted to put him into every single "play in" match in the fighting game tournament.

Arkam Horror: good stuff.  Talking about it extensively with Gate afterwards, I think he's right in calling Betrayal at House on the Hill a slightly better game (scenario variety, faster, and doesn't need a DM), but as long as we have Andy or LD there to do the DMing and make sure each campaign is different, Arkam Horror is pretty awesome too, and gets lots of style points for the Cthulu atmosphere.  (Also doesn't have the flaw of "newbie drew the traitor and nobody is instructing her due to being on the other team" which is one big advantage over Betrayal).



I know I'm forgetting lots of people/things, but...airport failure.  Missed connection.  No sleep.

[Mad Fnorder]

Was good to see the people I saw- special bonus thanks for everyone who lent me cash to get home when I derped out on bus-fare. I will not forget this. Yay for fighting games, boo for 360 controllers and getting rained on. Apologies if I came off as over-hyper, I was, as I said, running entirely on caffeine and hope, for JUSTICE!

[Hunter Sopko]

As opposed to last year, I'll post everyone's favorite part of DLC first... bowling scores!

Game 1
1. Djinn - 111
2. Pyro - 104
3. Dhyer - 103
4. Soppy - 102
5. Andy - 101
6. Grefter - 100
7. Tal - 97
8. Ciato - 95
9. mc - 94
10. notMiki - 91
11. NEB - 89
12. Meeple - 84
13. Tonfa - 81
14. Lady Door - 80
15. Sage - 78
16. Shale - 75
17. Zenny - 62
18. Xeroma - 58
19. CK - 52
20. Super - 46
21. Nitori - 37

Game 1 Average - 82.8

Game 2
1. Tal - 152
2. Grefter - 146
3. Ciato - 129
4. Meeple - 125
5. Tonfa - 119
6t. Dhyer - 118
6t. Lady Door - 118
6t. Soppy - 118
9. NEB - 101
10. notMiki - 91
11. Sage - 83
12. Andy - 82
13. Zenny - 79
14. Pyro - 76
15. Shale - 70
16. Djinn - 69
17. mc - 61
18. CK - 53
19. Xeroma - 47
20. Super - 39
21. Nitori - 37

Game 2 Average - 91.0

Best Single Game
1. Tal - 152 (2)
2. Grefter - 146 (2)
3. Ciato - 129 (2)
4. Meeple - 125 (2)
5. Tonfa - 119 (2)
6t. Dhyer - 118 (2)
6t. Lady Door - 118 (2)
6t. Soppy - 118 (2)
9. Djinn - 111 (1)
10. Pyro - 110 (1)
11t. Andy - 101 (1)
11t. NEB - 101 (2)
13. mc - 94 (1)
14. notMiki - 91 (Both!)
15. Sage - 83 (2)
16. Zenny - 79 (2)
17. Shale - 75 (1)
18. Xeroma - 58 (1)
19. CK - 53 (2)
20. Super - 46 (1)
21. Nitori - 37 (Both!)

Best Single Game Average - 98

Total Combined Scores
1. Tal - 249
2. Grefter - 246
3. Ciato - 224
4. Dhyer - 221
5. Soppy - 220
6. Meeple - 209
7. Tonfa - 200
8. Lady Door - 198
9. NEB - 190
10. Andy - 183
11. notMiki - 182
12t. Djinn - 180
12t. Pyro - 180
14. Sage - 161
15. mc - 155
16. Shale - 145
17. Zenny - 141
18t. CK - 105
18t. Xeroma - 105
20. Super - 85
21. Nitori - 74

Combined Scores Average - 173.9

Woo. Congrats to Tal, and really to the entire DL, who overall bowled much better than usual. Since there was a lot of talk about it due to Tal's commanding performance, I've compiled the top 5 single game and overall scores from the past events. Note: I'm missing DLC2 and Mini-Meet 1 scores.

So the DL Records stand as follows:

Best Single Game
1. Tal - 152 (DLC4)
2. OK - 147 (DLC3)
3. Grefter - 146 (DLC4)
4. Soppy - 135 (DLC3)
5. mc - 134 (DLC1)

Best Overall Score
1. Tal - 249 (DLC4)
2. Grefter - 246 (DLC4)
3. Yakko - 245 (DLC1)
4. Yakko - 230 (DLC3)
5. OK - 229 (DLC3)

[Pyro]

Lets see here...

Day 1: We got lost going back from the airport because Super was in the car. Luckily not even Super can (completely) overwhelm the power of GPS navigation. When we finally got there I was a bit overwhelmed by all the new people (pretty much, well, everyone). Still, lots of fun to be had. Got to meet everyone and get a feel for personalities, etc... Stayed a little later into the evening than I would have liked at Meeple's house (I was worried his family wouldn't get peaceful rest and I was tired myself), but all in all it was great.

Day 2: Fighting game tourney! So not my style. I at least beat Meeple at SC4 despite having no idea what any buttons did. I guess that is something. It was also fun to watch Tal smash things in the face with color guard princess. As far as the music quiz went, well... I got the VC track before Soppy! Very satisfying. Other than that, the day featured some rad cheesecake and lots of hanging out/relaxing. And buying games because we are the DL.

Day 3: Bowling was fun. Watching Tal JUST AS PLANNED his way to >150 points was awesome. And I at least broke 100 points in a game. Super is totally faking how bad he is at bowling. I refuse to accept he was being serious. I DO NOT ACCEPT THIS!!! But yeah, lots of fun to be had talking with everyone.

Day 4: Said goodbyes and went to the airport.
SCREW YOU NEWARK.

Overall:
- Lots of walking, which is pleasant when you actually have people to talk with.
- No one to talk with in the mornings when I went to exercise. So P4 music it was. (Screw you OK you ruined Reach Out to The Truth for me!)
- Board games mostly didn't interest me, but it was neat to watch Grefter get a 0 when rolling seven dice ( a one in 2187 chance. Yes.)
- Picked up lots of games. Steambot Chronicles, Rhapsody, DMC1/3, Phoenix Wrights, and ended up borrowing EO2 from Tal. I also nabbed the Firefly series.
- Kind of worried that we were imposing on Meeple's family, but his siblings at least didn't mind. Meeple's little sister is awesome. ANCIENT CATASTROPHE! ^_^. Meeple's brother MC covered pretty well. Also if I hear the word trainwreck used again in a context that does not involve literal trains and explosions and so forth I will kill something. With a plastic spork.

People:
- Meeple: Is Meeple. It's been said. He is in person exactly as you would expect him to be after interacting online.
- OK: Is OK. It's been said. He is in person exactly as you would expect him to be after interacting online.
- Super: We've met before. Super is like the punching bag of the universe.
- Tal: Seemed more subdued than I expected him to be. But a great guy who is as enthusiastic about games as I had hoped.
- CK: Exactly as subdued as I expected him to be! He's pretty much what I was expecting, really. Calm but generally enjoyable to chat with.
- Ciato: Ciato is crazy. Fun. But crazy. Oh well I'm certainly in no position to criticize craziness so she was very awesome!
- Nitori: Seems placid but is in truth always plotting something insidious. Exactly like the Kappa we all know and love.
- Tonfa: Couldn't get a good feel for him, which was a shame.
- Djinn: Oddly more masculine looking than I was expecting. I guess that makes sense since he was mentally associated with an Arche avatar. He is completely a kid at heart without being really offensive about it (to me).
- Soppy: Smooth guy. Always seemed to maintain his cool without being really aloof. It was oddly enjoyable watching him trying to decide where to get lunch from. He seemed to put so much passion into it when he snapped to a decision.
- Jim (notmiki): Interesting fellow. I didn't get to talk with him as much as I wish I had, but there is always the internet. It's still kind of odd considering he basically introduced me to some of the liberal/progressive sources I peruse regularly now.
- Zenny: Is one part laid back and one part snarky bastard. Tons of (not exactly family-friendly) fun. Found him more likable in person than I would have thought.
- Gate: Gate is a friendly guy. A rather physically imposing friendly guy, so I guess a gentle giant. Genuinely enjoyed talking with him when were in the mall.
- MC: Didn't talk to her much, so I can't say I got a feel for her personality.
- Andrew: A lot more personable and, I dunno, "normal" than I was thinking! Generally good times to be had by all when he was around.
- Lady: Fairly reserved. Didn't talk to her too much so I can't really say more than that.
- Grefter: Is Grefter. He seemed younger than I would have though in person but there is no mistaking that it is definitely Grefter.
- NEB: The elf is a cool headed snarky bastard. But we knew that. He seemed tired, but that was understandable.
- Xer: Is as passionate about this stuff as I was expecting. Good times. Was totally wrong about that one FROM software game's style though. Armored Core is very distinct from ZoE!

Meeple's sister: ANCIENT CATASTROPHE ^_^. Cooler ToV fan than the DL will ever have (even if every single one of us plays it). Well behaved and friendly. Unlike...
Meeple's brother: He is DEFINITELY Meeple's brother. He has the same raw passion/energy, but significantly less control and massively less concern for accuracy of information. I always thought Meeple was exaggerating when he talked about his brother...

I may make more comments later.

[Cotigo]

Okay, so, yeah.  You guys.

Day 1:  Arrived at the airport, waited for some time.  This was perfectly acceptable as I had time to get a deal into The Road and because my wait was 100% Super's fault!  A lot of small talk and Smash.  The day's kind of a blur because of jetlag.

Day 2: Music quiz, failure score.  To put it in Grefter's words: "When Michael Jackson comes on and people start guessing video game music I die a little inside."  To put it in Jim's word's: "Holy crap this one was written by someone who knows how to compose." (I forget which one that was about though).  I believe this is when we played Arkham Horror and Betrayal at House on a Hill?  Really fun games, want to play Arkham again sometime when it will take 4 hours instead of 5 due to explanation.  Lots of bad and panic at the mall but that has little to do with the con. 

Day 3: Fighting game tourney.   Kind of amazed that, given how poorly organized the DL collective is, that Gate and Xer were able to keep it together without murdering someone.  Very close match against Nitori in Blazblue.  Not so close match against someone who kicked my ass in SF4.  Lost to button mashing Sages at SC4.  Battle Fantasia was a loss mostly 'cause I picked a character who is slow and powerful which are the characters I suck with most in fighting games.  Won Smash pretty handily, only Djinn and Sage really worried me (but then I figured out how to absorb cheese past Thunder Bolt and Pikachu was less of a bitch.  Bowling was fun, did far better than normal, especially after 3 or 4 beers.  Most of what happened after bowling is off the record but bwahahahaha. 

Jim is more impressive on some fronts than I which I kind of expected some people to be.  At least I'm not as bad as certain others though.  Djinn + Niu is as amusing as I have already stated.

Day 4:  Blarrgghh.  Tried playing Gloom, but was too out of it to really participate.  Game sounds really fun when you're not fighting back quease and headache. Almost lost my restraint at Meeple's brother after the retardation between him and his sister but thankfully Jim had advil. Fuck Newark airport.  Really glad I made my flight, in part because I couldn't afford another right now, and part because I sure as hell can't afford the legal fees associated with murdering every maggot employee in that fucking hellhole.

New Jersey is the hole it is advertised as, though Wayne is slightly less so.

Um.  People comments later.  Lazy and tired.

I will say this, though:  Dookie (I think that's the dog's name)>Every single one of you wankers.  That dog is just a baaaaaaaaaaby creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeatuuuure.  Just a baaaaaaaaabyyyyy.  Too damn cute.

[Shale]

I was only there for a day and a half, but it was good fun.

Arriving: Jersey streets can burn. BUUUUUUUUUUUUURN. I missed the turnoff to Meeple's place three times because the street signs are tiny and have large trees next to them, and the state as a whole doesn't believe in streetlights. Fuck New Jersey.

Also fuck the hotel. But not the hookers who were staying there, because I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be safe.

People: Are as awesome as always. The only con newbie I hadn't met before and really got to talk with was Djinn, who is almost exactly as I imagined him, only taller, drunker and wearing a necklace. "Kid at heart" is the right term. I can say that the next con Alex comes to we need to bring a spare Ran hat for Tal and take pictures. Also, glad to see Metroid's doing so well.

Fighting game tournament was great. Xer and Gate pulled it off without a hitch, the games were good, and I choked in Soul Calibur once again. I'd hoped to do well in Blazblue, it being a Guilty Gear-ish game, but then I remembered how long it took me to get decent with anybody other than Ky and Sol in GG. Should've just abandoned my pride and asked who the shotoclone was. Battle Fantasia was definitely the best tourney game for this group - not remotely technical, newbie-friendly, with Arcsys character designs to draw people in. Deathbringer was lots of fun to play as, and the fights were great. Super-deluxe thanks go out to Djinn for the cavalcade of prizes.

Bowling was DL bowling, no surprises (except Tal's new status as DL Bowling Overlord) but always a good time. Dinner was great - the food was shockingly good for a Chinese place in America, and I got o spend some time chatting in a quiet room with Grefter, Gate, Tai and LD, all of whom are great to hang out with. Relaxing at Meep's afterward was good, and murdering Nythoga in Arkham Horror was immensely satisfying. Sorry for booting Super/Jim/Zenny/Djinn unceremoniously out of the room; I'd like to bullshitted around with you guys for a while if I hadn't had to drive 70-odd miles six hours later.

Sunday was...hectic. taking OK's place as a taxi service wasn't what I'd have chosen to do with the day, but there are worse fates than spending half an hour in a car with you people. Lunch was great - I think it was the only time I got to spend more than five minutes with Ciato or Elfboy. I always want to talk to you two more in person, and I never actually get the chance to grab you because you're too popular. You bastards. Picking up Fnorder was good, since otherwise I'd have barely seen him before leaving, and he's awesome. Even though it did mean abandoning a Gloom game before I could have an androgynous waiter die of despair after binging on crumpets. 

[Niu]

Well, one of them is a far, far better reason than the first one, though you may not agree.  >_>

Thousand Arms artbooks are srs bsnss

The artbook is the the most fire worthy incident. One day I'll make Djinn bleed for that. How dare he.
The event in the third day is a lot more tolerable as I got something back in return.

[Hunter Sopko]

Well, one of them is a far, far better reason than the first one, though you may not agree.  >_>

Thousand Arms artbooks are srs bsnss

The artbook is the the most fire worthy incident. One day I'll make Djinn bleed for that. How dare he.
The event in the third day is a lot more tolerable as I got something back in return.

You should have been a more vocal fan of the game then!

[Cmdr_King]

Right then.

Thursday was a bit weird.  As often happens, flight was in almost exactly on time.  I proceed to wait 45 minutes as, for whatever reason, OK was assigned to this airport run and it took him that long to find Tal and work out how to get between the different terminals at Newark.
We proceed to miss our turn off to get back to Wayne and end up god knows where.  I blame super- in fact, I think this is even accurate, because super is if nothing else excellent at babbling at the driving and distracting him as much as possible.  Yeah.
This wasn't too bad though.  Pyro and Tal were the other people involved here, so a chance to at least visually acquaint myself with my roommates.  As well, OK had burned some nice battle track CDs, so we occupied ourselves guessing them in any lulls in conversation.
That said, New Jersey still has to take some blame here; apart from not labelling their roads, they've also managed to GPS proof their state by having large numbers of left-hand turns through multiple lanes of traffic which, despite the other road going through either side, there are no left-hand turning lights.  I'm not even sure the turns suggested by the GPS were legal, but they sure as hell weren't physically possible.
Rest of Thursday was pretty non-descript.  Something about pizza and some smash, otherwise nothing really got going.  I took that night on the floor, and actually ended up staying up until... 5? reading Elantris.  (I ended up finishing this on the flight home, very good actually).

Friday was largely my hanging out day, I think.  I forget who all I manged to sit in on conversations with, but did the most walks between Meeple's and the hotel that day.  Music quiz makes me sad, because I should really be better than that dammit.  No, I don't care if I'm competing with the vice president.
The mall trip was unexpectedly fruitful, and I ended up with AI2 and 3.  If I'd known we were going to the cheesecake place, I probably would have skipped dinner in the food court and had something there <.<  That said, did get to chat with met some, although it was actually about her job (and how insane Activision is right now) than anything.

Saturday was busier.  Got to chat with Gate some because I'd still gotten up fairly early, and he apparently had been door'd in the head and woken up that way.  I think a few other people might've gotten in on the conversation later, but eh, don't remember now.
Fighting game tourney was a lot of fun to watch in general.  For example, I remember watching people play Blaz Blue and thinking "... that is Sanger.  I must play as him".  Sadly I lost anyway.  Actually, I lost in the first round in everything... except Soul Calibur.  Apparently, either I'm an efficent button masher and SC4 negated everyone's previous experience with the game somehow, or Siegfried cannot handle faster characters at all and completely falls apart against Sophitia.
Bowling went better than I might have expected.  Sadly I ate too early again >.> (I'm beginning to think that last years experiment in pre-planning meals and the timing thereof was a necessary and vital service that will have to be resumed)

Sunday... for whatever reason I was completely out of it.  Dehydrated?  Underslept?  I dunno.  I eventually did end up actively playing Gloom, which was alright.  I liked some of my stuff, but not that I had to pause mid-sentence to gather my thoughts a few times.  Otherwise I dunno.  Had a long wait at the airport to save someone not-Shale running me up there and did lots of conspicuous reading, with the unfortunate side effect that I think I remember Elantris better than I do some of my conversations with DLers ._.

1. Meeple- Meeple was stressed and it showed.  Funny enough, I think he was more stressed over his brother being overbearing than about the hostly duties he was taking up.  Didn't see him one on one for probably obvious reasons.
2. super- Basically spent no time around him after the car thing.  Slightly influenced by the car thing.  As I remarked to... I believe it was Shale, on the way to bowling I basically waited until super got in a car and then got into a different car.
3. CK- sucks.
4. metroid- Maybe I was just sensitized due to an admitted desire to simply see how she was adapting to her new honesty, but she really seemed more talkative and comfortable this year than in years passed.  I think she even stands up straiter and the like now.  All previous commentary applies though, metroid is one of the coolest people I know <.<
5. Gate- I find myself convinced that I just don't talk to gate enough.  His observations and comments are almost always witty and helpful.
6. Xer- seemed too hard on himself over the fighting tourney.  I mean, somehow he thought people weren't liking BlazBlue.  Uh, no, no, that game is ridiculously pretty and awesome to watch man.  You did good.  Super secret special bonus game was also an excellent choice.
7. Shale- Nothing new, except it's a crime that he wasn't able to come for the whole con and got in so late Friday.
8. OK- Nothing new.  Hope they didn't molest you too bad on fixing up your car.
9. Soppy- what stands out to me most is, of all things, the point at which he basically told Jeff to get bent every time he talked >.>
10. Tonfa- didn't see much of Tonfa, oddly.  He played Smash, and led the charge in Judgement (...) and owned everyone in the music quiz but otherwise... I dunno.  Didn't stand out somehow.  I think he's too softspoken more than anything, since I know he was definitely talking.
11. Nitori- Needed more spinning and perkiness~
12. Notmiki- Jim felt more subdued this year than when last I saw him.  Still snarky, but I can't say I remember him ever tossing out a gratuitous your mom joke.  Maybe it's because there was a little girl in the house?
13. Niu- I think Niu was spending more time on the PSP than is usual for him.  he musta bought something new right before the con.  THAT said, his entrance was one of the most memorable moments of the con.  I wish we had video.
14. Djinny- Djinny is really too social for this group <.<  But nah, very bright, lively guy, nice to have him around.  Although what stood out to me is the contrast between, say, how eager he was to get a drinking game going and how happy he was to be watching Mandy play Prinny.  His reaction to my tales from DLC1 was quite the ego boost though >.>
15. Dhyer- Nothing new.  Still very quiet and unassuming.
16. Zenny- Zenny was a lot more active and engaged than I remember.  Great in group conversation in particular.
17. Pyro- Very unassuming and subdued.  Seemed to be waiting for a chance to interject if only the topic would turn to a point of his interest.  From experience, I say that this doesn't work and you must fight this instinct >.>
18. Grefter- His presence wasn't felt as strongly here as in cons past.  I think he saved his A material for casa de Sopko.
19. Ciato- Ciato is Ciato.  Moving on.
20. Fnorder- I didn't really get to see him.  he was there maybe 15 minutes before Shale headed out for his other engagements.  Seemed bubbly and memetic actually.
21. Tai- Tai was rather obviously suffering the entire con.  I felt bad.
22. Sage- is superior with the beard.  But then, so many are.
23. Tallychu- I really expected to talk with Tallychu more than I did.  I think he just picked up Smash and let that do his talking for him, outside some brief intervals of CrossEdge hype.
24. Andy- Getting Andy going on literature and the art thereof is awesomely fun.
25. LD- Ashley seemed really quiet.  I dunno why.
26. Elfboy- Elfboy probably wasn't even awake until sometime this morning, so yeah, barely saw him.

Jeff- he's kinda like Meeple, in terms of passion for his, uh, passions.  The energy with which he argues, I mean.  However, he really needs to develop a sense of humor about himself and ideally a sense of tact.  That said, I still had a long 'conversation' with him that was actually kinda fun, it was a chance to just babble at length on my part.

Mandy- She is the DL's Nanako.  That is all.

So everything said, despite some mechanical problems, DL Con 4 is a very fun game I would recommend to anyone with a soul.  10/10, would play again, etc.

[SageAcrin]

grlddflslkrglbdlynrsk.

Okay, keeping this brief since I just fucking got home and I want fud then sleep.

Okay, day started off fine, got to Winston Salem *early*, my bus was overfull in Richmond...so they pulled out a second. And I got no seatmate since I was on the second bus with 40% capacity filled. This is the best bus leg I have ever had.

So I make it to Salem, twenty minutes *early*. Seriously. No, really. I putter around, talk to IRC on the DS.

One thing sticks out. Jo'ou mentioning that someone needed to have good karma to balance out all the bad travel here.

Ahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahaa...

See, with my usual, paranoid care, I had checked the bus lines umpteen times to figure out which gate to be at.

At first it was gate 1 or 2. Then gate 2. Then gate 1. Okay, this is the fine service I have come to expect of Greyhound and pinning down gates.

Then it's...Gate 3. Another person headed my way(Named, I believe, Jacques, although myself and another person named Katrina never did pin down exactly if that was his name due to his Tonfa-level accent. Except it was german. Cool guy that came to the states to mountain climb.), with me-level paranoia, checks at the desk. Yep, gate 3. Okay. Wait, there's this other bus over there sorta milling around, it looks like the bus I came in. He goes to check it. Nope, not the bus. Okay! Everything's good.

Nope, Gate 3 bus is not the right bus. Okay we go check the one remaining bus. That one that we haven't checked twice already, the one that he went over to check and was told it was not the right one, the one that is not even at a fucking gate mind you.

Yeah, it's it. Nope, it's full. Wait, what.

Observant people will notice that Richmond's bus was full and they pulled out a second. Winston Salem didn't. Why? Not actually a Greyhound station. Evidently you get awesome "not following the fucking rules" abilities if you're just affiliated, or something.

So, what's the solution? Going two hours out of my way and then a three hour layover and a little extra travel time. Six hour boost to the amount of travel time overall, most of it being "I am sitting in a bus terminal reading a book off my DS, since thank god this place has a charging station.".

This is not the worst part, stress-wise, the worst part was when someone mistakenly told me I'd be getting in six hours later than that. That nearly triggered off a meltdown. Turns out stress is worse when you're really happy to start with, go fig.

Anyways, the rest of the way could have been worse, the other two people I mentioned, I basically introduced myself to and stuck by and we all shared info, so we basically had full information about everything by the end there and people to watch each other's bags. Was neat. But...still.

You think this is bad, though? Oh, no, this isn't even the end. I get in at the Asheville station. Find my stepfather waiting for me. Okay, cool, mom's just tired or something.

Oh, no, my brother evidently panicedly called my stepfather around 7 babbling something about mom having a heart attack or something, then never called him back. At the time, again, this was 9:30 and my stepfather had checked not one, but two hospitals. No one there. No one answering phone at home.

Now, I was worried sick, but I do know mom. Her medical condition in general is unstable, but I do know that she has cardiac arrythmyia(sp?) and that it's the sort of thing that my brother would react like a total idiot to this. (It's not that it's not serious, though. This is why I was worried sick. One time recently, she's had a weird form of it that spikes her blood pressure to high hell. It's scary. It also didn't kill her or come apparently close last time. Indeed, this is what she had happen again.)

So basically I got to worry about something I was completely right about, and my brother hadn't called because uh....uh....he claimed he couldn't find a phone, there was a free one in the emergency room waiting room. My brother, ladies and gentleman, is as competent as broccoli in anything even approaching a crisis.

My stepfather had evidently drove fast enough to *beat* him to the first hospital(He was out at the time of all this, obviously, though he wasn't much closer to the local hospital than mom was.), where mom ended up at, so that's why my stepfather didn't find her there. About two hours ago, she finally got out of the emergency room, with basically the knowledge that she got reaaaaaaaaally high blood pressure and they don't know what the fuck, otherwise. This is about par with doctors and mom's medical history, incidentally.

And now I'm going to go eat.

Edit: *Yawns, wakes up.* This isn't going to be my only rant, mind you. This is just the return home one. I suppose that trip could've been, you know, worse. It was just hideously stressful. Nothing really negative happened, on the balance. Just stress.

[DjinnAndTonic]

So I'm typing this up while I'm waiting for my connecting flight before I forget all of the insignificant little details of the con... like people's names. >.>;;

Basically, DLCon was a blast. You people are way more fun in person than you are here. Before I start delving into my individual impressions of each of you, there were some general observations that I made. First of all, I discovered that it was much MUCH easier for me to explain my viewpoints on games and voting in person than I have over the intarwebs. Apparently I'm just not very good at getting my point across in print. This is a weakness that I'm willing to accept, though it's somewhat disheartening. On the plus side, now that so many of you have had "The Djinn Experience" face-to-face, maybe my typing style will make more sense. Secondly, I was surprised at how unsurprising each person was compared to their online persona. For the most part, the individuals were exactly what I expected. To put this in perspective, I -have- read most of the previous "DLCon Aftermath" topics so a lot of the twist endings were already spoiled. Instead, the true surprises weren't to be found in the individual personalities, but in how the group dynamic worked. My impressions of how DLers interacted from chat/forums were almost entirely opposite to what I observed. I had greatly differing ideas of "Who was close friends with who" and "How the group reacted to so-and-so as a whole". I finally feel like I understand the tangled interpersonal web of this group now. >.>;;

Also, maybe it was selection bias, but I was under the impression that more of you weirdoes liked to drink! I suppose DLers can't afford to be addicted to alcohol AND video games... >.>;;

Alright then, let's start with the cast of this little adventure! In order of appearance!

OblivionKnight: Seemingly one of the nicest guys I met! He went out of his way to pick me up from the airport at the same time as he was arriving in Meepletown despite multiple delays on my end from rained-out planes. Coincidentally, he was also delayed quite a bit due to rained-out traffic jams. His ebil plans to force me to listen to Miley Cyrus songs as soon as I arrived in America were foiled by computer trouble, so the ride from Airportland to the Meeple Pit was largely uneventful (probably due to my expert navigation skillz), which is more than I can say for subsequent trips he made to the airport to pick up DLers.... >.>;; He was one of the guys who went into New York City before the proper Con started, and I got to really see what he was like once he and Meeple started talking on the busride there. (For reference, there was a big discussion between them about which Dissidia character was the hottest. In the end, it was unanimously decided to be Jecht, especially if he was wearing Lederhosen. Hawt.) Skipping ahead a few days, he was also terribly entertaining to watch during the Music Quiz as I'm tempted to say he was the most excited guy there (and that's saying a LOT!). The next time I really got to interact with OK was during the Great DL Drinking Party (consisting of all of Six attendees, and only one injury...). The man is clearly of good stock as he managed to chug 3 full-sized glasses of straight vodka (not shots) and he was STILL less drunk than I was. He actually seemed a little more subdued while drinking than usual, though he was still much more likely to break out into song with me than anyone else there (not that OK needs alcohol for that). I'll leave it to OK himself to explain the car misfortunes that led him to seek solace in alcohol in the first place... >.>;;

Meeple: My host for the duration of my stay in Meepletown. Meeple's house is a frickin' mansion. It's absolutely beautiful, but "hueg liek xbox." Meeple is definitely the epitome of "exactly as advertised". Five minutes after meeting him, I felt like I had known him for ages. Since he was my host, I ended up spending more time with this guy than just about anyone else. He DOES talk extremely quickly, and it took me a while before my brain caught up to Meeple-speed. I'm both pleased and afraid to admit that Meeple's speed rubbed off on me after a bit, I found myself talking MUCH more quickly than I normally would. It was especially noticeable to me when I would trip over my sentences to keep up with my speaking speed. Damn you Meeple. But it was nice once I adjusted as Meeple's particular brand of discussing things grew on me. Also, I'll admit that he's even more knowledgable than I thought, even considering how he is on the boards. We had a few discussions about family dynamics, music, and theology (and somehow, FF12 simultaneously) which really put his personality into perspective for me. I learned a lot, so I will file this under "a good experience". Also, Meeple and I are to blame for the mistake that is "Castlevania Judgment taking over the Con". For those that don't know, Meeple took me to a GameStop so I could finally pick up some stuff in English and he accidentally pointed out the cheesy fighting game to me and expressed interest in it. Little did he know my love for cheesy crossover fighting games. Thirty dollars later and the trainwreck had been setup. The group energy surrounding the barely-entertaining game reached ridiculous levels as Meeple, Tonfa, and I began to plot how to force the rest of so-called 'friends' to play the horrible game. Luckily, Castlevania music managed to carry the experience into the realm of 'tolerable' and we all got sucked into the guilty pleasure. Well, not -everyone-... but far more than expected.

Meeple's Family:
Meeple's Brother: It's hard to bring up Caliburvania TrainwreckNote without mentioning Meeple's brother, henceforth referred to as "JM" (because his real name starts with "J" and this acronym could easily mean "Junior Meeple", which offends so many people I just can't resist). JM and Meeple are far more similar than either of them would ever admit and it's obvious to me how much JM idolizes his older brother, and how much this destroys Meeple's patience. JM is clearly a less-experienced version of Meeple, his social skills aren't quite as polished, but his interests and thought processes are very similar. He also parrots just about anything Meeple says like it's the Word of God, and this drives Meeple up the wall. Since I was staying in his house, I got more than a few chances to talk to him in a vacuum, away from both "the group" and Meeple. Unsurprisingly, in a vacuum, talking to JM is a lot like talking to Meeple. They have a similar energy, and they are both eager to share the things that interest them with anyone who will listen. And once the rush of excitement has subsided, both of them are able to really convey their opinions quite clearly and explain WHY they are interested in something. Of course, unlike Meeple, JM's initial burst of excitement -never- subsided when he was around "the group". I think their presence puts him in "trying too hard" mode. I suspect he'll grow out of this once he's moved out of his parents' house. Still, a cool kid.

Meeple's Sister: This adorable little munchkin will henceforth be referred to as "MM" (because her real name starts with "M" and the acronym would be "Mini-Meeple" or "Munchkin Meeple", which offends no one, but is adorable and convenient). She's an eight-year-old kid who reminds me of my baby cousin, so we got along pretty well. Meeple was pretty protective of her at first, but she got on well with nearly all of the DLers and he eased up a bit (good job, Mr. Big brother). MM loves video games, Meeple has raised her properly. She's the kind of Eight-year-old girl who knows to say "No" to things like "Barbie Horse Adventures" and instead spends her time destroying Coliseum bonus fights on Tales of Vesperia's Hard mode. Purely by coincidence I started playing "Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero?" on my PSP while I was hanging out towards the end of my stay and she came over and asked me what I was playing. So I started telling her and eventually we were both huddled over the game engrossed in its morbid take on Sidescrolling adventures with Penguins Made Out of C4 Explosives. By the time we said good-bye, I had her repeating phrases like "I Love Prinnies" and "Disgaea is the best game. Ever." in the same manner that zombies say "BRAAaaaiiiiiNNSSssss". Meeple was less-than-pleased. Mission Accomplished. ^_~

Meeple's Parents: They're like Super-Parents. I have no idea how they tolerated all of us. Apparently they play a few games like Guitar Hero, which is all kinds of awesome. I think they really enjoyed the idea that so many of us came from different parts of the world and had gathered in their home. I had a few conversations about cultural differences between America and Japan with them and they recommended some literature to me on the subject. They were quite cool. I hope I managed to thank them adequately.

Dukey: Meeple's most awesome dog ever. I stole him and stuffed him in my suitcase and left a robot facsimile in his place. The robot is programmed to bother Meeple every time he's playing video games and gets to a difficult part. So basically, he's practically the same as the real thing!

Tonfa: "Just in time." This crazy Finn got to the Meeple Mansion the day before me so I met him along with Meeple. Tonfa was probably my first surprise, as I had no idea he was Finnish until the first time he pronounced a "V" as a "W" and someone clued me in. Whoops. Tonfa was great and incredibly easy to get along with. His English is really good, though I would notice at times when it seemed like he was zoning out because he was sick of dealing with translating English mentally. Since I know that I do that quite a bit in Japan when I'm starting to get a "translation headache", I understand his pain! We had a few conversations about Finland since I've never been to Scandinavia and I always like learning about foreign places. Apparently not -everyone- is blonde and blue-eyed, though I'm skeptical because Tonfa has awesome bright blonde hair and light eyes. The Finns apparently also hate the Swedes. And, according to Tonfa, he actually -is- the Vice President of Finland. I don't know anything about Finland, so I'm not sure I can prove otherwise. I will simply accept his word for it and move on. Tonfa was the guy I spent most of the New York City day trip with. While Meeple and OK communicated in Yugioh Abridged quotes that we didn't understand, Tonfa and I talked about how sexy the women were in Finland and whether Swedish was a real language. We also took a trip the Toys 'R Us super-store in NYC, which was a cool place for photos. They had giant Lego sculptures and life-sized animatronic dinosaurs. There was also a Piplup statue, for the Ciatos. Back at the Meeple Manor, Tonfa and I decided on a fair system of trading off on who got to sleep on the fold-out bed and who got stuck on the too-small couch, so I can safely say that Tonfa is a better roommate than anyone else I've ever met. It was an honor to meet you, Mr. Vice President, I hope everything went "Just as planned."

Nitori: Roommate #2! Surprisingly, Nitori and I got very little time to sit and chat. We played some Smash and Castlevania Judgment together, but overall we just ended up in different areas for much of the con. I feel bad for letting him get taken out first during the Bang/Mafia game we played when he was my designated ally. Sorry man, I didn't know! >_<;;

Sopko: He seems very much like "One of the guys". When I first met him, he seemed like another guy I'd known forever. We didn't talk as much as I expected due to being in different places a lot of the time. He was also really worn out during most of the opportunities I got to talk to him one-on-one. I suppose this was to be expected considering the amount of driving he was responsible for. He did a good job organizing people when the situation called for it. And he clued me in on which anime was popular in Japan (yes, I know how ironic that sounds, but he was WAAAY more knowledgeable about it than me). My only regret is that he wasn't able to join us for The Great DL Drinking Party.

Grefter: Probably the biggest surprise on an individual level. I expected Grefter to be a bit different from how he is online, but it was still hard for me to imagine meeting him with so few firearms involved. He is actually quite a cordial and friendly person and I still have mental dissonance trying to associate the person I met at DLCon with the man I spent nearly twelve hours debating the merits of Tales of Symphonia and Disgaea with in IRC. Luckily, every once in a while, someone would pull a bonehead move and Grefter would snipe them from across the room with a Snark Cannon and all would be right with the world. My only regret here was not playing more of the tabletop games with him, as he seemed to be with that group most often. He's one of the few people who never submitted to playing Castlevania Trainwreck despite the hype.

Sage: I didn't really know what to expect from Sage, I suppose I never really had a good mental idea of him as a person, but he's an incredibly happy guy who is way more skilled at Fighting Games than I was expecting. My favorite experience with Sage was watching him bounce around like a squirrel after the sugar rush we all agreed to by going to the Cheesecake factory.

Xeroma: He did a good job putting the Fighting Game Tourney together, and I was somewhat surprised by how young he was, though in hindsight, it fits with what I knew about him from his online persona. His Japanese is probably better than mine and I'm a little embarrassed about that. Xeroma struck me as alternately "too shy" and "too assertive" at times... often in the span of a single conversation. One minute he would be talking over someone, and the next he'd be apologizing profusely. He seems like a really nice guy and I liked talking to him about games, but I always felt bad when he started apologizing so much for such small things. Don't worry so much, man, I'm not going to bite your head off for talking... >.>;;

Niu: Another example of "Just as advertised". It wasn't more than 20 minutes after he arrived that he turned on his PSP and buried himself in it to the exclusion of all other things. I wonder why someone would spend so much money to visit his friends only to ignore nearly all interaction with them for most of the trip. It was 3 seconds after I asked him this question that multiple people (including Niu himself) informed me of his personal philosophy: "Video games are more important than social interaction!" To each their own, I suppose. It DOES explain how he's able to play all those RPGs. We had a lot of conversations about Netherworld games, and I'm slowly being corrupted. Generation of Chaos is now purchased and -in- my PSP, so it shouldn't be long. He was also really vocal about Battle Fantasia and BlazBlue, and it was fun playing against him in those games. For the record, I'm including Niu as the sixth member of the Great DL Drinking Party, despite the fact that he never drank anything. Halfway through the party, the rest of us drunkards ended up in his hotel room. And like the man-whore that I am, I ended up hitting on him like crazy in my drunken stupor. We've come to an understanding: I'll lust over his body in secret and he'll ignore that and continue to try to corrupt me with Netherworld games.

Cmdr_King: Somewhat of a quiet guy, but more talkative than expected, I could always count on him to have something worth saying about whatever game the group was talking about at the time. Despite this, I didn't really get much one-on-one time with him... though I definitely made the most of the few conversations we had. He tells stories well. I hope he managed to win one of the prizes from 'The Stash' that he wanted.

Tallychu: Tal is ridiculously skilled at any game I've ever seen him touch. Even if he isn't professional-level, it was still amazing to see him pick up a controller for Smash or BlazBlue and just go to town like he played them everyday. Bowling, too! Curse your amazing score!

Gatewalker: He's a natural organizer, I've noticed. He doesn't really ever need to take charge to get things done, and I was impressed with how smoothly the Tournaments worked out behind the scenes. He's just a really nice guy, and he had far more tolerance for craziness than a lot of people. He was also really good at interacting with MM, and I got to see proof that he's definitely the kind of guy who deals with children pretty regularly. I remember we had a few exchanges about family dynamics and dealing with children based on that common ground.

Ciato: The other big surprise for me. Did you guys know Ciato was a girl? Crazy. More seriously, I had always been under the impression that Ciato saw me as a nuisance or an unintelligible Tales fanboy (one of those assessments is entirely true). But she and I actually got along really well once we finally met. I can only assume I made an excellent first impression by forcing her to play Trainwreck-Bondage-Light-Yagami Fighting Game in the first 3 seconds of meeting her. For the duration of the trip, Ciato was the one who really took me under her wing and filled me in on DLCon History and told all the horror stories about people's cars breaking down and getting lost. She was a really cheerful person and somehow our personalities just clicked. Part of it was probably that she was a very touchy-feely person and that I was deprived of hugs while I was in Japan (They just don't touch eachother in that culture...). Ciato also sat me down and showed me Touhou for the first time, and it was a really fun experience finally getting to see what all the hype was about (Note: I really liked the music, so if anyone wants to throw some of it my way, I'm open to corruption). It was awesome, Ciato, make sure to give Vivi a good home in Canadia~!

Metroid Composite: An awesome little girl as advertised. MC is super-smart and super-kawaii and super-infectious. Pretty much anytime I was around her, I got (more) hyper and energetic. This culminated in a moment where I had grabbed MC and Andrew around their necks and went skipping through the crowded mall singing at the top of my lungs to the ambiant music. She was also really fun at bowling whenever she did well!

Super: Ah, Super, how I loathe you! You've welcomed me into this group and now I'm stuck with you all. I've even spent thousands of dollars to finally meet all you weirdoes in person now. This is NOT how the internet is supposed to work. Despite that, it was awesome playing in the Music Quiz and forcing Castlevania on people. Super was another member of the Great DL Drinking Party, and it was mostly his fault that it happened. I wouldn't have been so adamant to get people drunk if Super hadn't told me that it was already on the itenerary. >.>;; The usual Super antics occurred with people getting lost, and generally failing. And falling. Super, you're not supposed to sprain your ankle on the way TO the bar... >.>;;

Pyro: Pyro is a naturally protective guy. I noticed that anytime there was a group activity, Pyro was always very watchful of problems that would pop up and he was really good at diffusing them. Also, when a bunch of us took a walk in the middle of the night, Pyro was the guy was out in front, making sure no one fell in any potholes or stepped out in front of speeding cars. He was a lot more subdued than I expected, and I think my energy was probably a bit too much for him at times... His protective nature was probably in overdrive trying to diffuse the situations that my hyperness might have caused... >.>;;

Taishyr: He seemed really out of sorts at the whole con and it worried me. Tai was probably the first person at the DL that I made friends with online and I had expected that we were going to talk more, but I could tell he wasn't in the best of moods and I wasn't going to force it.

Dhyer: A grade-A snarker. He always had a funny comment or a sardonic story to tell... when he wasn't sleepy. It seems like he was afflicted with insomnia for most of the trip, so I'm not sure I've gotten to see Dhyer at full strength. Maybe he's the legendary S-Class Snarker? I got the feeling my energy was a bit much for him, so I was kind of shy and got quiet whenever I hung out with him. Alternately, I might have been shy because Dhyer is a ridiculously cute boy. He's probably lucky he missed the Great DL Drinking Party... >.>;;

NotMiki: Jim is awesome. He's just as well-spoken in person (and drunk) as he is online (and sober.... assuming he's usually sober when he posts). We played Bang/Mafia together and destroyed the opposition. Clearly, he's very good at reading people. He and I had an extended political/sociological debate during the Great DL Drinking Party which (despite a few low blows that I spat out at him) continued in a very logical and reasonable manner until the rest of the party broke us up. He also asked some of the more cerebral questions about Japan that I've had since visiting home, such as "So how many Japanese women have you had sex with at once, you whore?" I can't wait to hang out with this guy again.

Zenny: I always used to refer to Zenny as "My Best Friend" ironically. But now... well, I -still- call him that ironically, but at least my smile is more genuine than it was before. Zenny and I are more alike than I'd care to admit and somehow seem completely different online. In person, our differences apparently aren't significant enough to keep us from wanting to team up like buddy cops. He reminds me a bit of my roommate from college, so I just kind of fell into the same 'trading mock insults' pattern that I always did with him. Unsurprisingly, they are both Irish. Also unsurprisingly, Zenny was one of the main instigators of the Great DL Drinking Party. This was a fun event starting from the moment we went to the liquor store and began debating the merits between getting the giant bottle of expensive vodka... or the giant-er bottle of cheap vodka. When we all gathered at the hotel to begin the Party and drink OK's sorrows away, we quickly realized that we didn't have any drinking games worth playing and it was soon decided we would watch a crappy movie on Comedy Central. Fortuitously, we caught the Tenacious D movie, which was a humorous retelling of how the band came into existence, with a lot of emphasis on absurdity and manliness as only Jack Black (or a six-year-old boy) can pull off. It also had Tenacious D songs, which accompany alcohol quite melodiously. Sometime after we finished off the alcohol, we decided to walk to a nearby bar, which never quite happened due to minor injuries (you can't take your eyes off of those mischievous Supers for even a moment!). All the while during the walk, Zenny is egging NotMiki and I on in our fruitless debate. Upon returning to the hotel, I end up crashing in Zenny's room (on the bed, while Zenny ends up on the floor. Just as planned.). As it turns out, while Super (newbie drinker), OK (drank way too much), Jim (drank expired beer), and I woke up the next morning clear-headed, Zenny had a bit of a hang-over. Oh, the irony.
Side note: Zenny and I had begun drinking that day at the bowling alley, that's probably when the bonding began. Proof that you find your true friends in drinking! >.>;; By the by, I hypothesize that's where Zenny left his Debit card when he opened up a tab.

Andrew: Not nearly enough time with this guy. I wanted to have all kinds of in-depth writing discussions and storyboard planning with this guy, but it just never happened in all the craziness of the con. He was always so busy hosting board games... Or kicking my ass at BlazBlue. He's just how I expected him, and we got along really well when we hung out... it just didn't seem to happen too often. I hope he got lots of cool Prizes from 'The Stash'.

Lady Door: I actually ended up hanging out with LD more than Andy somehow. LD was a really funny girl and a genius at Bang/Mafia, where she almost singlehandedly snatched the game from me with her strategic playing. She and Andy always seemed to be tired when I saw them, and it was adorable when they nearly fell asleep during the Music Quiz. They were cuddled up with eachother on the couch like a pile of puppies. It was a very "d'Aww..." moment.

Shale: Shale is awesome. That was the first thing someone told me when I asked what he was like, and it was the first thing I told him when I met him: "Hey, you're Shale. I hear you're awesome." For the record, he lives up to the hype. He was on my lane at bowling and it was a blast talking bowling scores and joking around about the strikes and screw-ups. He also gave me a lift back to the Meeple Pit when he noticed me walking back one time, so he saved me a walk. Awesome.

Elfboy: I didn't get much time with the Elf, but we went out to dinner/lunch at the Olive Garden with Ciato and Jim so I got to hear about his long, stormy, soap-opera-like relationship with the DL. ^_~ ....Actually, he told me more about Canada and Universities than any kind of drama, but I did hear about some of the earlier DLCons. I wish we had gotten to play more Smash, he seemed quite skilled.

Fnorder: He came! I saw him! I sort of met him! We didn't get to hang out much... >.>;; He was a pretty funny guy, though. Even though most of the jokes he made would only make sense to fellow DLers, when you consider the target audience, he was quite talented! Wish he showed up sooner!

ADDENDUM: I couldn't post this massive list at the airport, so I saved it and now I'm posting it from Japan. I found my missing games (yay!). My plane ride home was far more eventful than I would have expected - I ended up chatting with this really cute girl from MIT who was sitting next to me for the whole flight and we really hit it off. I got her phone number and email address, so yay! Good sign! Oh yeah, and the con was great and I hope to see you all next year for DLCon Japan. ^_~

[superaielman]

Thursday: I get to the airport early, get my tickets. Pyro shows up a bit after me, we talk a little. Our plane gets delayed an hour and a half since well, Newark. We get there, find OK/Tal/Cmdr, say hi. Naturally we take the wrong turn out of the airport and end up delayed by several hours. I did give good directions and helped turn us around though! PS New Jersey roads suck goat dick. We had lunch at burger king. I generally had a lot of fun talking in the car, as OK is one of my favorite people to talk with. He's about as foul mouthed/minded as I am, which is a feat. Thanks again for the Navigator thing Pyro.

We get to Meeple's house at 5pm after leaving the airport at 1pm. Several people are already there. I meet Djinn and the great VIce President and watch a little Castlevania: Judgement which I flatly refuse to play. I go with Ciato, Meeple, and I think Pyro to pick up pizza.  Dinner was good, got to talk to Gref and someone else then. After that people hang out and talk. I spent some time with Tonfa specifically. Oh! I also went with OK to pick up Dhyer/Gate/Tai. Meeple had to go as well. OK and I had too much fun catching up in the car. We then grab Tai and Gate (Meeple/Gate/MC waited). I picked those two as Tai looked fried and Gate/MC would be more comfortable in Meeple's car. We get back to Meeple's place and hang out a bit longer before splitting up and heading back to the hotel. Dhyer and I stay up about an hour and a half talking games, which was fun. Apologies for the snoring by the way.

Friday: OK slept in his car.I call him and get him up. He, Dhyer, and I head over to Meeple's place and then quickly go head out for breakfast. IHOP was good and it was a chance to talk to those two which was fun. We get back. Some games get going. I decide on the spur of the moment to run the music quiz a day early. It's a bit of a mess, which is my fault and some Meeple's but it was also good fun as well. Tonfa wins it fairly easily. I also get a Cristo action figure. ^__________________^ CT- I got those drawings from Djinn from that previous contest, I'll scan them and then mail them to you along with something else he picked up. Oh yeah. After the music quiz is a bit hazy- mostly hanging out some and playing games. OK got a very special avatar during this time period as well for last year's HP avatar.


Saturday: I am so fried when I get up that I can't remember how to actually eat food. Whoops. Get up, head over to Meeple's. Fighting game tournament eats up most of this day which I have no interest in. Bowling was after that, which was really delightful. I managed two strikes at the very beginning and end and generally sucked between that point. I ate at a steak place with Djinn/Tonfa/Miki and others and told stories. Food wasn't great but the company was. I skip out on Arkham horror to talk to Tai. Sadly we got booted out of his room because his roomies came in; I was enjoying the FFTA2 talk there. I also forgot to call my mother and let her know I landed safely. Go me.Oh yeah, Bang kicked ass.


Sunday: Pretty subdued. Meeple's brother: Dude, don't threaten your eight year old sister. It's just... um what. No.  Fnorder came by as people were leaving. Glad you could at least show up for a bit! Gloom got going but got derailed by a couple of things. I spent most of my time with Tonfa and Ciato, and Elf this day. Andy, Ashley, myself, Soppy, Gref, Miki, and Fnorder go back to Soppy's place for the night. IT's fun but I am dozing off pretty much constantly past 8pm or so.

Postcon will wait for then.


I spent the most time with Tonfa, OK, Dhyer, Miki, Djinn, Zenny, and Grefter.

[AndrewRogue]

The Long and Short: I'm back in the East Bay, alive in most senses and back to work. Dunno why you all have so much trouble with Newark, though. Never had an issue with that airport before and, much to my comfort, still haven't.

Talk more when I'm not at work/half asleep.

[Lady Door]

Things I learned from the Con:

1. Airplanes are my best friend. It is the cars, trains, buses and employees that make traveling a nightmare. That, and gerbil-sized seats. Despite this, I got everywhere I needed to be on time with only a slight cramp in my entire left side. Yay~ We were only slightly behind schedule when super joined the caravan, too, somehow.

2.  I fucking hate New Jersey roads. I spent ~$20 in tolls/bridge fees on the drive to Brooklyn (thanks for chipping in, guys!), up to Yonkers, and down to the airport. I also managed to consistently end up 2-3 miles past where I was trying to go thanks to the highway "U Turn" system and NJ's hatred of signage, except when telling you that you're on the same road still, yes, and there's a toll coming up. I, too, ended up passing Meeple Street a couple times because they conveniently placed the sign for it in a tree.

3. Despite the apparent chaos, the DL is pretty good at getting it together when necessary. Case in point: the car was paid for because people contributed. Hooray! Thanks everyone. ^_^ Also, no one got stranded when it came time for field trips. And despite several small injuries, no one died!

4. People are loud. Even generally quiet people get loud in groups as large as DLCon. Thus, sleepy me was a little overwhelmed.

5. Arkham is fun even though the instruction-giving part is always muddled and full of "Oh yeah, and--" moments. I hope the people who played it weren't too put off by the less-than-ideal experience. See #4.

I had a good time. Jet lag didn't kick my ass nearly as hard as I expected, ignoring the part where I fell asleep every time I sat somewhere halfway comfortable. I enjoyed the conversations I got to have with people, though they were briefer and with fewer DLers than I hoped. I promise my quietness had nothing to do with you guys; I was mostly just sleepy. The walk to the hotel was good times (if a bit wet), as was the quiet dinner at the Chinese place, the not-nearly-so-quiet monstrosity that was the Cheesecake Factory visit, the several games of Arkham, Bang, watching the tournaments, bowling badly but not as badly as usual, OH MY GOD RANDOM SC4 CUSTOM CHARACTERS, and other such things.

Those SC4 customs, man... I don't think I've laughed so hard in years.

Other things that happened that have no real relevance to anything:

• I got stuck eating soup and salad at a steakhouse when visiting Andy's aunt because the power went out for 2 hours there. Supposedly a tornado caused it.
• Brooklyn drivers only caused me problems AFTER super got out of the car. I ended up on a narrow street which a moving truck had conveniently stopped in the middle of. I had exactly enough room to squeeze my car through, and I still bumped my mirrors so doing.
• Soppy's mom sets out really awesome room and board. Soft, fluffy beds, breakfast and conversation in the morning, and awesome dinner. <3
• Meeple's parents were really cool people. Getting to talk to parents about Arkham Horror is definite good times.
• Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is a VERY stylish game.
• The absurdity of the game that Djinn brought back for prizes, combined with the cuteness of the character models, has me trying to play it despite 1) having no idea what's going on; 2) not even knowing what the game is called. I am about as bad at it as I am with Elite Beat Agents.
• 6 hour flights are too long. Next time I need to take a flight longer than 1 hour, I'm going to Australia. AussieCon4/WorldCon 68 is in Melbourne in September 2010... Though I'm totally up for going to Edinburgh more-or-less around the time of the Book Festival. Eh?

[Shale]

5. Arkham is fun even though the instruction-giving part is always muddled and full of "Oh yeah, and--" moments. I hope the people who played it weren't too put off by the less-than-ideal experience. See #4.

We took a -8 Ancient One that eats people as its standard attack and shotgunned its face in. Player satisfaction is not something you should be worried about. 

[Nitori]

5. Arkham is fun even though the instruction-giving part is always muddled and full of "Oh yeah, and--" moments. I hope the people who played it weren't too put off by the less-than-ideal experience. See #4.

We took a -8 Ancient One that eats people as its standard attack and shotgunned its face in. Player satisfaction is not something you should be worried about. 

Also I'm not talkative enough, clearly next time you will get Nitori: The Musical Edition~

[Bardiche]

5. Arkham is fun even though the instruction-giving part is always muddled and full of "Oh yeah, and--" moments. I hope the people who played it weren't too put off by the less-than-ideal experience. See #4.

We took a -8 Ancient One that eats people as its standard attack and shotgunned its face in. Player satisfaction is not something you should be worried about. 

Also I'm not talkative enough, clearly next time you will get Nitori: The Musical Edition~

Someone, please bring a recorder. I love karaoke.

Reading these comments always makes me wish I could attend.

[Cotigo]

Nope, fairly sure I didn't lose my debit card at the bowling alley; I paid cash the first drink, then opened a tab with my credit card the last two--fairly sure they would have given me back both cards had they been mistaken.

Anyway, people~

The Old:

Ciato:  Actually had a conversation with her this time!  We were wrong.  She is not a loathesome ogre ready to club someone to death and grind their bones to spice.  She is a loathesome hugmonster who insists on unnecessary physical contact.  Way happier and more excitable than she comes off online. 

NEB:  Talked to him less than at DLC2, but mostly because one day he was exhausted and sleepy and the other day I was.  May or may not be evil.

Super:  Jesus Christ this guy levelled up misdirection aura too much.  May or may not be to blame for everything that New Jersey and Meeple are not to blame for.

Meeple:  Stressed!  Still just as advertised.

MC:  Doing way better this con than the last time I saw her.  More talkative, more engaged in group activities, and overall more seemingly happy than two years ago.

Shale:  No longer holds the title for most normal guy at the con.  Still awesome.

OK:  Far more excitable than I recall.  Capable of drinking more than I.

Niu:  Niu.  Videogames are more important than social interaction.  Amused by the people around him, amuses those around him.

Gate:  Once more, far easier to talk to and get along with in person than online. 

Sage:  Needs to trim the beard a little.  Happy and easily excited.  Ditzy.  Otherwise just as advertised.

Dhyer:  Diagnosis: Sassy!  Actually had a conversation with him this time!  Sardonic asshole.  Don't ever change.

Tai:  Still invisible.  Obviously suffering the entire con.  Poor guy.

CK:  Actually heard him speak this time!  Still too shy for his own good but was clearly more at ease than he was at 2.

Anyone I forgot, well, now you clearly did something wrong to make me forget that you were there.

The New:

Djinn:  Biggest surprise of the con was that this guy was not only tolerable but a likeable guy.  More of a lightweight than I am.  Talkative, friendly, and I hate him rarrr die in a ditch.  If this were a crappy anime we would be rivals who eventually come to some understanding after a series of repetitive and melodramatic battles.

NotJiMiki:  Good guy once we started talking, which took a few drinks.  Talkative, friendly, capable of drinking more than I.  Seemingly has his life together, which is an enviable trait.  Easily steals the title of most normal guy at the con from Shale.  Good luck in law school.

Grefter:  Far less of a presence than I was lead to believe.  Snarky awesome guy, just more quiet and subdued than IRC interactions led me to believe.  I now am reading every post of his with his accent, though, which is an improvement.

Laptop battery is dying.  Rest of you will come later.

EDIT:  Internet at home is repaired.  Let's continue with the talking about you people behind your backs but not really.

Sopko:  About what I imagined.  Mostly laid back, cool guy.  Apparently I am his bro, or "homeslice" if you will, but only if he says it like Billy Quizboy.

Andy:  More normal in person than I imagined.  Fun guy though I never really talked to him unless he was explaining a tabletop game to me.  Clearly a writer in that he is holding back a lot of self loathing and doubt. 

Ashley: About what I expected.  Seemed exhausted (and thus subdued) most of the time, didn't really get a read on her. 

Tallychu:  A lot quieter than I expected, and somehow really good at any game he picks up.  Beat all of us at bowling pretty handily.  Didn't have many conversations with him, mostly because he was really quiet.

Nitori:  Nice guy, plays a lot of fighters.  Friendly enough though I don't remember many of our conversations enough to have too much of a read on him. 

Xeroma:  Manic depressive.  Extremely talkative and enthusiastic one moment and worried he's annoying everyone the next.  Like I told him there, he's not nearly as bad as Meeple's brother on the annoyance front.  A little more practice in social situations and he seems like he'd be a good enough guy.

Pyro:  Nice guy, quiet.  Had a few conversations with him but not enough to get more of a read on him than "mostly normal, mostly harmless."  Oh well, next con then.

Fnorder:  Uh.  He was there for 5 minutes before I left.  Next time, maybe.

Tonfa:  Cool guy, is better than me at bowling.  I apologize for not being able to understand the accent a lot, that was more me than you.  My ears suck.  Only had a few convos with him, but I got the impression that he is the Vice President and he is to be respected.  Anyone who does not respect him gets a fist full of RICHAAAAAAAAAARD

Uh, if I forgot anybody, sorry.  I am still dead.

Meeplechan gokazoku wa ....

The Parents:  I never really spoke with them, but they seemed like very nice, very patient people.  Meeple should pass along how grateful everyone was to them for letting us use their house and try their patience for a weekend. 

The Sister:  A child who, thank Satan, knows exactly how to deal with her brothers.  Awesome little girl who games, will probably grow up to be jaded and cynical after putting up with...

The Brother:  I apologise if you're reading this, but you need to chill the fuck out Jeff.  At first, when I arrived, and every time he spoke Meeple chewed him out and I thought he was just overreacting because, hey, siblings.  After a while, though... the constant enthusiasm and talking about shit nobody cares about (at the moment) wore thin quick, and when he started arguing with his sister like a whiny snot nosed brat over who gets to play Gloom, I almost lost it.  Seriously, guy.  Chill.

Well, I think that's everyone?

tl;dr: You all should die in a fire.

EDIT2:  Oh, yes, pictures will be coming soon when I am less dead inside and out.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

• The absurdity of the game that Djinn brought back for prizes, combined with the cuteness of the character models, has me trying to play it despite 1) having no idea what's going on; 2) not even knowing what the game is called. I am about as bad at it as I am with Elite Beat Agents.

If I make it to DLC5, I'm going to pester you with EBA/Ouendan until you're good at it barring things bigger than I am assaulting me.

I totally didn't set myself up to be killed by Andy and Ashley's golden retriever for life insurance. No sir.

[Xeroma]

Wednesday: Picked up Sage, who was a little late/had some trouble finding him but otherwise went smoothly. We played some games and chatted for the night before going to bed.

Thursday: FUCK DC. FUUUUUCK DC. Okay I told a lot of people at the con this, but I have to say it again. We[me/Sage/dad] got lost in DC traffic for an hour, and got lost WITHIN DC for an hour because the road system makes no sense. And when we got through that, Dad had to pay $30~ both to and back after dropping me and Sage off on toll roads, and while we were in Jersey we managed to get lost until Meeple came by and helped us get to the con space.

After all that mess though the con started well. Castlevania Trainwreck was kinda fun to watch/make fun of, Smash is always amusing, etc;. Most of the day was just walking around and talking to people as far as I remember[my memory gets fuzzy at times].

Friday: Awww, mini-golf didn't happen. Damn rain :<. Mall trip lasted a bit longer than I expected, but was a good chance to buy some games/DVD-R's and to talk to some people. But besides that I was mostly talking to people and playing random games. I did way better at the music quiz than I thought I would. Curse you Tonfa and your slight lead in obscura bonus music!!!

Saturday: Tournament! Went over as well as it could have I think. There won't be one next year unless there's demand for fairly obvious reasons I think, but in a few years there could be another, who knows. Massive thanks to Gate, without him it would not have happened. Additional big thanks to Djinn for supplying so many things for people to win, both for FG and Music tourneys.
Bowling was fun, played with Nitori/Tonfa/Zenny and Tonfa kicked all of our asses. After that I got to see drunk super, Djinn, and Zenny in my hotel room. While Zenny is barely different when drunk... I could probably do without seeing Djinn or super drunk again anytime soon >_>;

Sunday: Talked with mc/Ciato/Elf some in the morning during breakfast, after which I just played random games for a bit and then said goodbyes to folks when my dad showed up to pick me and Sage up. The drive back... the storm at the start and the traffic we ran into afterwards delayed us about an hour from getting home on time. Once we got back we chatted, played some Espgaluda[what the fuck Cave] and Blazblue, chatted, and then went to bed. Woke up early next morning and saw him off, and that was the end of the con for me.

More to come later, possibly.

[OblivionKnight]

Back, finally.  

And exhausted.  

But nonetheless, I'm ready to do an account of everything, as I feel the need to rant.  

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN LONG RANTS OF VILE ANGER


Day 1 - Ahead on Our Way

The day started for me on Tuesday, July 28th, when I got back from work at a bit shy of midnight.  I came home, called Meeple EXACTLY 5 hours and 40 minutes before I left, and then did some work on packing and preparing to bring things.  Sadly, my torture CDs didn't get completed - apparently, all the CDs I had were corrupted or something - this meant I would have to rely on the radio for the drive, which usually isn't too bad.  Otherwise, not too much to do while packing - was ready to go to bed by 0100 on Wednesday, which was good.  Woke up at 0500, showered, packed the car, cleaned the car out, and proceeded to DRIVE.  TO.  MEEPLELAND.

Unfortunately, this could have gone a lot better than it did.  As everyone there I'm sure remembers, it rained all the damn time.  Such was the way it worked for the entire trip - a massive rain and lightning storm, which lengthened the trip by a significant amount - 2.5 hours extra.  On 68E from WV, a truck overturned, setting me back (and a whole load of other people) for that entire time.  Yay delays!  I called Meeple about now and told him what had happened, and tried to call Djinn (whom I was on the way to pick up at ~1200), but to no avail.  However, this all worked out - I got a call from Djinn around 1200 that he was delayed for the same amount of time that I was.  So that worked out real well.  Except for the fact that NJ and Eastern PA have really shitty radio stations, so I drove the last leg of the trip to Newark in silence, effectively.  I finally reached the airport at ~1400.

As you will no doubt find throughout this, I fucking hate NJ.  I will colour-code the NJ hate, so you may avoid it (or find it easily) as needed.

WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THE AIRPORT?  SERIOUSLY, IT'S CONFUSING, POORLY ORGANIZED, UNLABELLED, ETC.  I SPENT ABOUT 40 MINUTES ON THE PHONE WITH DJINN JUST ATTEMPTING TO FIND OUT WHERE HE WAS.  SERIOUSLY, YOU'D THINK THERE WOULD BE SIGNS THAT SPECIFICALLY SAY, "PARKING", NOT A GENERAL SIGN THAT POINTS IN A DIRECTION WITH NO LABELS AS TO WHICH WAY IS WHICH!  TAPDANCING CHRIST ON A POGOSTICK WEARING A TUTU.

Ahem.  Eventually, in the pouring rain, I found Djinn, at around 1500.  I'll save comments (on people) until the end of the post regarding the actual experience at the Con.  Anyway, we loaded up, and then proceeded to get stuck in traffic for 2 hours until we reached Meepleville.  Thankfully, Djinn was a good replacement for the shitty radio stations.  The best part of this was Meeple coming out to meet us on the road, and then, as he ran back home, I drove at the same pace.  It was awesome.  

Once we got to the house, we dropped all our stuff off, and then started mingling (with the 4 of us there).  Met the VICE PRESIDENT, Meeple's Sister.  We were home for about an hour before heading off to NYC to visit with the Vice President for a while.  We took a bus, which was pleasant - decent ride, decent seats, kept entertained.  The ride actually started very well, as I got a call from Ryan (one of my co-residents and a co-author on a letter we wrote last year) saying that the letter was getting published in AAC next month, so YES.  The Con was starting out very well.  Talked with Meeple a lot during the ride, then we got out at the terminal and ate at an (typical for NYC) overpriced restaurant ($11 for freaking pasta?).  We explored several areas, and I failed to find my Kaiba costume ;_;.  We couldn't get to the Nintendo store in time, and unfortunately a lot of areas were closing when we got there, but it was overall fun, and the VP and Djinn got some pictures, which they liked.  We came back, pretty uneventful, at which point I went to bed, and set my alarm nice and early for the next day of fun times picking people up.  

Day 2 - Faith, Trick, and Hope

God, I was exhausted.  I woke up at 0730 for some reason - so late compared to the usual 0500 >_>.  Woke up, showered, did whatever...and then drove.  Finding the way to Newark was not hard.  I got there around 1200 when Tal arrived - the unfortunate part was that I did not have any idea where he was.  Thank god for cellphones.  Apparently, the 4 people I had to pick up this day were all in different terminals - so yay.  I parked the car around A, and walked around until I found Tal.  As is my prerogative to be an oddball, I was pretty sure I recognized him when I saw him, so I sat down next to him, phoned him, and confirmed it.  I am weird, I know.  We then proceeded to travel between the different terminals to find the entire party of Super, Pyro, and Cmdr. in addition to Tal.  Super and Pyro were an hour late, but considering the amount of time it took to find everyone, this worked out fine.  We left at about 1300.

WHAT.  THE.  FUCK.  NJ.  WE GOT LOST FOR 3 FUCKING HOURS, SAVED BY THE MIGHTY PYRO'S GPS.  HOW THE HELL DO YOU HAVE ROADSIGNS FROM A MAJOUR CITY WITH THE SAME ROUTE DIVERGING IN TWO DIRECTIONS WITH NO NOTATIONS AS TO WHICH WAY YOU'RE GOING?  JESUS TAPDANCING CHRIST ON A POGOSTICK IN A TUTU WHILE FLYING AN AIRPLANE.

Ahem.  At the very least, Super's bet that we'd be back at 1700 was off - it was 1659 >_>  The ride was overall fun - lots of talking with everyone, as well as ETERNITY hype in the car.  Of course, as soon as I got there, I had to turn around and go back to get Zenny and Nitori...unfortunately very late.  Still, they went much smoother, and I got them in time to come back to pizza at the house, which, while greasy, was still tasty, and we had a great time talking to everyone.  After which, Meeple and I (with Super in my car) left for the airport to pick up the last group of people.  Again, this was not as bad as the first trip, so we didn't spend forever on the road.  Unfortunately, by the time I got back, it was about 2200, so the day had been spent.  Also, fucking NJ gas attendants - YOU DON'T FUCKING PUMP GAS WHILE THE CAR IS ON, MORONS.  I think I talked to people a bit, played Betrayal, and then went over to the hotel and went to bed.

A bit of a sidenote - it's a good thing I called the hotel early, before coming out.  I called them on Monday, and apparently, they lost my reservation I made 4 fucking months ago, so we had to "downgrade" to a single queen bed room for $98 a night, because too many hookers were having orgies in the larger rooms.  What the hell?  Seriously, fucking shit - the people there are utterly retarded at La Quinta, giving me shit like, "well, if we see more than 2 people going in to that room, we're charging you extra!"  I gave a call to the corporate office to discuss this, and they were a bit nicer - unfortunately, we couldn't get any 2 bed rooms, but we did get a "discount" to $69 a night in the single queen bed room.  So it could have been worse.  

Still, what the hell?  

Day 3 - Excuse Me, I Think I Dropped My Testicles Somewhere...

Anyway, first night was generally uneventful, which was nice - slept in the car by accident, as the girlfriend called me and talked for 2 hours, so it was about 0230 when she stopped talking, and I was already in the car, and it was raining, and I didn't feel like walking...  Breakfast was ok at the hotel (although, being served from 0630 to 2230 was a nice touch), but even better was Super, Dhyer and myself going to IHOP.  Mmm...  

In other news, thankfully, no one for me to pick up today.  I pulled the group over to Meeple's, and the fun times started.  Talked, played a bit - Betrayal is awesome as always, though I couldn't get any Bang! going.  About mid-day, Super decided to do the music quiz - a bit haphazardly, but it was still fun.  I scored 3rd (9 right), but I gave my prize up to the Vice President (A FFTLW GUIDE BOOK IN JAPANESE!!!!).  Right after this, I got a call (message, mostly) from one of my other co-authors telling me that my other manuscript was rejected (the cost one I worked the entire year on) from Annals of Emergency Medicine.  This doesn't bother me much - AEM is very anal with what they publish, and don't like pharmacy works in general, and the rejection claims, "Your article is well-written, and the bottom line is surely correct, but since people do what you're suggesting without the data backing it up, we feel there is no need to publish your article which provides evidence supporting the standards of practice, despite t here being nothing there already", to be frank, are completely retarded.  I was expecting it anyway, and I have other places to submit to that I know will take it right away (Clinical Toxicology, Annals of Pharmacotherapy).  

I once again feel the need to bitch here, in regards to driving to IHOP...

ALL DRIVERS IN NJ ARE GODDAMNED DICKS.  SERIOUSLY, THEY DON'T SIGNAL, THEY CUT YOU OFF, THEY SWEAR, THEY BEEP...ARGH.  AND ISN'T A U-TURN SUPPOSED TO TAKE YOUR IN THE REVERSE DIRECTION YOU CAME, AND NOT AN ENTIRELY NEW ONE?  WHAT THE FUCK, STUPID GODDAMNED WORTHLESS PATHETIC ASS-LICKING SHIT-STUFFING STATE.

I don't really remember what else we did that night - mostly games and the like again, and getting eaten by the Great Old One.  Apparently, Zenny could not solo it with a shotgun ;_;.  It was a fun time.  Still tired, though.  But hey, SHALE arrived, and that made everything better.  

Day 4 - Scissors in Your Anus!

Seriously, this hotel was renting all the fucking rooms out to hookers.  I AM NOT KIDDING.  SERIOUSLY.  These women looked like them, dressed like them, acted like them, and I could swear I could smell the faint stench of HAART in the air.

Woke up, again, exhausted.  FINALLY got some Bang! going in the morning.  This was awesome, even if I did have to refresh myself on the rules.  We need to play more of this at DL Con 5 - it's generally quick, hilarious, and fun to play.  Super fails the first game by killing his deputies, while Sheriff Djinn wins round 2 against a well played LD.  Good times.  Fighting Game Tournament was...interesting.  I failed it up, getting the absolute dead last position in the tournament.  It was still awesome, and I was more entertained by watching and laughing than playing.  

Unfortunately, when we went for bowling the car died.  Would not start.  

Fuck.

Called AAA, a service truck came out, and after being a colossal dick, helped me get my car to a service station.  Car is a 2003 Ford Taurus SES, and this was the first time anything happened, so...apart from picking a bad time, I guess it could have been worse?  Unfortunately, they closed at the same time I got there, so not going anywhere for a while.  Sat outside and read for a bit, Meeple picked me up, and we visited Ciato, NEB, MC at a pizza place Meeple frequents, while Niu played his PSP.  Ate, went back home.  

Djinn, Zenny had wanted to drink (not to the drunken extent, don't get me wrong - I'm not in to that - we just wanted to sit around, shoot the shit, etc.), and figured this would be a good time.  We went back with Miki in tow to our room, watched The Pick of Destiny (badass), talked, drank, etc.  It was fun, and one of the best parts of the Con.  Just general laid back, quiet, etc.  That ended the night.


Day 5 - Home is Where  the Heart is!

Woke up around 0700, but didn't bother getting out of bed, which was a mistake - I forgot people were leaving in between Niu and Dhyer's group, so I missed Tal and Tai.  Really sorry.  

On the way walking (no car ;_;) to Meeple's, I got two phone calls.  One from Fnorder (asking for directions, etc. - now might be a good time to RANT ABOUT MEEPLE'S HOUSE BEING A GODDAMNED BLACK HOLE), one from my mother telling me my aunt and uncle are getting divorced.  Yay.  

When it rains, it pours, although this latter point surprises me not as much as I expected.

Didn't do too much when I got back to the house except calling about the car and trying to talk with people as best I could.  People leaving at odd times SUCKED, as I missed a lot.  Day kind of petered out in the end - I eventually got on the road around 1800.  UNFORTUNATELY NOT AS PLANNED - when I hit Maryland around 0000, fog was so thick, I thought I'd see a dead body on a telephone pole - so I had to sleep in my car until 0600 the next morning.  Suffice to say, I didn't go to work.  


The 3 Best Parts
1) The obvious I love everyone here.  It's great to see people in person.  I love you guys, I really do.
2) Board games!  Needed more Children's Card Games, though.  And Bang!
3) The one good thing NJ does - the toilets actually flush without getting clogged.  Amazing.

The 3 Worst Parts
1) Just...I felt so disconnected this time.  This is because I was driving so much, and doing a lot of other stuff, I think.  I felt like I didn't talk to people as much as last year, didn't do as much as I wanted to, etc.  Really disappointing from my end, and I really, really wish I hadn't been so exhausted, and could have done a bit more than I did.
2) FUCK NEW JERSEY.
3) FUCK NEW JERSEY.

Suffice to say, I did love it, as always, but I definitely don't feel I was at my top level, like the past 2 years.  Nonetheless, I'd still do it again - I love you guys so very much, and as I've said many times, I find all of you much more closer than I do people I've known in "real life" first.  

Will talk about individual people later, most likely - that was long, and I'm still tired >_>

[DjinnAndTonic]

• The absurdity of the game that Djinn brought back for prizes, combined with the cuteness of the character models, has me trying to play it despite 1) having no idea what's going on; 2) not even knowing what the game is called. I am about as bad at it as I am with Elite Beat Agents.

The name of this game is "Taiko no tatsujin". I think one version or another has been released in the US as "Taiko Drum Master". Small circles mean hit one side of the 'drum' (either side is fine), and big circles mean hit both sides. Red means to hit the main part of the drum, blue means to tap the 'edge'. Yellow means beat the living shit out of that drum for massive pointage. Everything else is about timing. It IS a beat game after all.

[Tonfa]

Alright. 33 hours after returning home, I no longer have any of the following status effects: "hurr durr fever dreams", "khfdsghk just let me sleep" or "oh god someone's trying to split open my head with a drill"

It still feels like someone's trying to split open my head with a pickaxe, but anyway. Trying ot make some kind of recap post here regardless.

So! First off, The Great United States of America themselves. Land of an incredible amount of signs for the most obvious things. Yet they somehow tend to fail utterly at giving information you -need-. This is most obvious with the road system, what is wrong with you people. Prices tend to be "oh wow this is cheap" and "how do they get away with this kind of ripoff?", never anything in between, which was funny.

I was disappointed with myself in that some of the DLers found my accent apparently hard to understand. I was just fine interacting with shop clerks and other people so I dunno. Well, apart from the time -I- ran into a shop clerk with an incomprehensible accent on the JFK airport waiting for my flight back. After several unsuccessful communication attempts I resorted to throwing more quarters at her and she was satisfied. Stupid sales tax. (How is having a listed value that does not match the actual price even legal?)

Flights were very nice, with invidual entertainment systems, good food and such, though I was a little paranoid on my first flight experiences. Caught a cold or something on the flight home, though it seems to be subsiding after spending over 24 of the last 32 hours asleep.

Con! Arrived on Tuesday, it was just me at that point. Spent the evening getting used to Meepleland (it really is gigantic) and Meeple demoed me on DMC and some other stuff. Managed to get sleep right on time. Apparently I am immune to jetlag due to my screwed up sleeping habits.

...more later on. Headache has upgraded back to "skull being split open by drill" again.