Every con is something different, you know? Every time, it’s like falling into this environment, and for me, every time it’s like I’m a different person. As if the Role Play wasn’t enough, I myself evolve in leaps and bounds, sometimes in the middle of the con itself, and sometimes because of long-ranging after effects. It’s literally chemistry, each of us with loose bits and pieces that spin off and connect to others…we bond, we separate, we spin, (or we remain noble, like the gases, and not changing no matter what happens to us). There are catalysts that change us long after we are gone, if we sit, digest, examine. I love being with my people. This time around was me learning that yes, they like to be with me too. I forget that sometimes. The Elder had said, “See yourself the way we see you and rejoice, the way we rejoice when we see you.” There was a lot of looking to see myself in the face of others. I love what I see, so thank you all.

My favorite moments at the con were surprising ones for me. I was overwhelmed by Giganta in her wrestling glory, cracking coconuts on her biceps and roaring. That woman brought so much RP to the table it expanded my capabilities at later games. She, AHT , managed to spread it around for me so I could do and be more later on. Thank you A….I feel like you made me a better gamer. That was run by the lovely JZ, wrestling fan extraordinaire….I think my favorite prop is the microphone and when he does the commentary. It’s just different when you can ask a question and push the microphone into someone’s face, somehow.

In Bulldogs with Brennan I played a character that was physically cute (kind of like the Geico lizard) and every person at the table was so open to rolling with whatever that I turned into a tourist in the bad neighborhood, snapping Selfies when there was a mugging in the background, and doing the equivalent of wearing an “I ♥ NY” shirt and carrying around a map looking at the sky scrapers. It was ridiculous and fun, and I really liked how we all just rolled with that character in the same game as Steve’s raptor, literally trying to kill and eat people for starting trouble with us. Bulldogs is a lovely universe. There needs to be stories written in this venue. Brennan Taylor, is there fan fiction here? There should be.

I was most surprised by the blood lust raised in S’s Velvet Glove game. By the end of the game I had used a soldering iron to brand the words “Not Safe. Do Not Fuck,” on this guy’s chest because he put one of our girl gang members in the hospital. I forget, sometimes, how I have such a vindictive side. It feels like this game is a safe outlet for that. I’ll have to try again to be sure, though, so expect me again at some point, Seraphina, if you’ll have me.

Out of character there were surprises too. KS ran a Swords Without Master game, which ran primarily on storytelling, and only used dice to determine the tone of the story at a given moment. I spent some time rolling around in that, feeling what it was like to have complete freedom, and how we could all be collaborative about that. K had made me feel safe as a player in a different game, which in turn made me realize exactly how UNsafe I had been feeling up until then. (Some burdens you can’t feel until you put them down.) So I jumped on the opportunity to game with him as an ST so I could feel that a bit more. In-character play leads to out-of-character evolution. I’ll take it. I’ll take it every chance I can.

TR and I had a talk which reminded me of a quote from Neil Gaiman. “Just because a story never happened, doesn’t mean it isn’t true.” Sometimes bigger truths are revealed through small fictions. I am grateful to have met these guys, really. All of them are awesome.

I tried gaming with MQfor the first time. I’d do that again, thank you. I’m not sure how I feel about the Seven Wonders system, but I like the IDEA of it very much. I love the front cover of the book too, like anything and everything can and does happen.

I got more JB than I usually get, and that was lovely. I’m so glad he’s not tired of me. I’m absolutely going to do more of that if he lets me. His Bulldogs game with CV was a blast (I loved the Ursemenite claiming to go through rehab and complaining because he got caffeinated iced tea sending it back for a decaf) and like everything in Bulldogs, it’s all gold. His Dune game was awesome too, though I accidentally figured out the plot line very early in the game, I didn’t KNOW I figured it out…so it was like Conspiracy Theory where I didn’t know which theory I guessed was right. I played that twice, once with C and R, and the next with RF and JF. I was just glad to be at the table, and the tone of the two games was very different, which was also interesting.

Final Girl was wonderful as always…a monster movie in the Australian Outback, and one of the characters I invented turned out to be the betrayer of the party. It’s always a wonderful way to end the con. It was great. It also had JB AND KS at the table, so that was like I lucked into a Bonus Round. Super fun all around.

Thank you all. I’ll be around as long as you’ll have me at your various tables!