Trotcon 2017 post-con blog! · 10:09pm Jul 16th, 2017
I got home about an hour and a half ago, but I do believe Trotcon is still going on as I write this. Not for long, but still going on.
It's weird. I've lately been thinking that, at this point in my fanfiction career (if those words can even be used together), that my primary role is in being "Present Perfect". Like, I generally act online as I would IRL, just less subdued -- I still make the same terrible jokes, I still have nothing useful to contribute to conversations -- and this persona is supposed to be me, but the name has taken on a greater connotation than just "being me". Like, does that make sense? Does that seem to ring true? Do you get what I'm saying?
Anyway, I guess the point is, people seem to like having me around despite the fact that I consider myself an annoying depressio, and I am filled with the milk of human kindness after this weekend due to that fact. And now I'm back home, where I don't have to be anyone, and it's kind of boring already. :B
Friday saw me and my buddy Max leave here early. We stopped at a Tim Horton's in Ashland, likely the closest one to us (I just checked; it's either that or Youngstown, which is in the wrong direction!), and I had a sandwich that turned out to be a bad idea. :B We rolled into da cluhb around 1ish, and wouldn't'ya know it, the first person I see is Bad Horse, standing right there in the reg line! So things got off to a good start.
Now, my plan for the weekend was simple: Set up in the tabletop gaming room when no one was using it, in the lobby where they have tables and chairs when they were, and try and get people interested in Sentinels of the Multiverse. Though my plan was overall successful, Friday was a wash in this regard. The FoE PnP group had the game room scheduled at 3, so I didn't have enough time to get in there, and there were no tables and chairs in the lobby. D: Hindsight failed me! So I spent most of the day trying to figure out a Plan C. I did a little (very little) writing, I crashed the speedfic panel, I went to the dealer's room after it opened (the hotel fucked up, so everything started really late on Friday), I hung out with people.
Let's see, who all did I see over the weekend. ROBCakeran53, of course, he's always a lot of fun. (Hey, if you haven't looked at MLD in the past month, go check out the description, something's changed. :V) There was Holly Oats, my con sidekick, Admiral Biscuit (so many Biscuits!), Trick Question and Zyrian, who are kind of the main Trotcon writers' crew along with Rob and BH. Vengeful Spirit was there, he's pretty cool. I met Csquared08 for the first time; dinner Friday night was me, Max, C and his creepy stalker close friend and former roommate willtngl, who, now that I think about it, looks a lot like his avatar. Good Chinese food! Perhaps most importantly, I finally met Corejo, who is almost always working Trotcon weekend. I'm glad he could finally make it. :D
I saw a lot of the old Trotcon/Ohio Bronies crew whose faces I know better than names. I ran into Argembarger on Saturday evening, and he was likely blitzed out of his mind, but a con is always better for his presence. (Direct quote: "I should never have become a recreational methadone user.") I didn't get to say hi (this was right before I left today), but Von Snootingham was there. Hi, Von Snootingham! There was also a dude named crunchy, who had a banjo. I can't think of anyone else whose name I recall, so I will also mention I met OleGrayMane.
I would like to apologize to OleGrayMane for fucking up the crosspost of his RCL feature. D: I think he was trying to hint about it on Friday, and I just was not getting that, and I was too busy stomping around trying to find table space and shitposting at Admiral Biscuit's behest. That shoulda been my 1500th post, that would've been cool. :( I wanted to apologize to him in person, but I never saw him after Friday!
That's likely because, come Saturday, my plan was successful. I got up fairly early -- okay, 7 AM is normal for me, but earlier than I wanted -- got my shit together, and went out to the lone table in the lobby, surrounded by high chairs, that had been occupied the day earlier. Now, I was able to run a teaching game on Friday, with Csquared, Max, Oats and Brony Critic, of all people, who was already familiar with the game. But that was on the floor in the middle of an alcove, and not a very comfortable place to play.
I created a monster, though. I have not seen someone as into Sentinels as Csquared since I got into the game. (By which I mean, I was the same way back then. :V) He literally told me, "I want to do nothing this weekend but play Sentinels." So Saturday, he got his wish. I ran games for about 7 hours straight, risking both voice and butt. It was so great. I put a little sign out, I got people showing up who'd never played before and even a few who had. So many games were played. So much punching of villains! I called the session after a marathon 2.5 hour game against the Ennead. @_@ We won, because Argent Adept is that awesome.
Saturday night was the big writers' dinner at Old Bag of Nails in Worthington. TheJediMasterEd showed up, though he wasn't attending the actual con. I regret I didn't get to talk to him more, but there were twelve of us split across two tables, and he was at the Grownup Table of Serious and Sober Discussion, and I was at the kids' table with Rob, Biscuit and Zyrian. :V I had the best clams I have ever eaten; actually probably the best meal I've had at that place in three years, and that's saying something! There were no drunken shenanigans this year; remember, kids, alcoholism is only enjoyable for those watching! :B
I was very frugal with the merchases. My parents gave me some cash before I left and were like, "Spend most of this on food", and I definitely did. :) But I also had a small shopping list: something Pinkie for my Pinkie Pie friend, something Blackjack for me (:V), and this. I ended up only buying two things I hadn't expected: a print of the cover art for Epic Unicorn History from the guy who drew it, and a button that says something like "The will to be stupid is something I'm good at", which I am going to give to my crazy friend Miles. Whatever it said, it described him to a T. I also got this print (seriously, the only Blackjack merch there was either prints or amazing plushies that I can never afford D: ), more than one Pinkie thing, and a couple of nifty pop-art cutie mark buttons from one Nightengale Needles. (I wore the Derpy one for the rest of the con, because lanyards need buttons.) Ms. Needles had lots of fabric-based crafts, most of them LGBTQ-themed (the plush cats with the pride flags on the bottom are the cutest, cleverest thing I've ever seen), but more importantly, she is really, really, really into Kamen Rider. <.< And she talked Max and my ears off for like a solid hour about a series that neither of us is into to that degree. I was impressed. :D
Saturday night was the big to-do. For me, I had exactly two panels I wanted to go to: Rob's annual writing panel, which I finagled a seat on, and volrathxp's panel about FoE sidefics. Well, it turns out they were both scheduled at the same fucking time, the latter from 10-midnight and the former from 11-midnight, right across the hall from each other. So I made sure to hit the FoE panel, cuz I'd told volrath I'd be there (at the very least, I was able to get some validation for some of my RIL entries; also, volrath has always been a really cool guy, despite the fact I didn't like Starlight; also also, I really want to read Pink Eyes now c.c), then cut out halfway through for the Shits 'n Giggles panel.
Now, the reason that panel was at 11 PM was that Rob fucked up and made it 18+. How do you fuck that up? I do not actually know. But a grand larf was had by all, even me, despite the fact that I was poured out on the table, sleepy as fuck because past my bedtime. ;_; I slept real good that night, lemme tell you.
Funny sidenote: Saturday, I wore my Admiral Biscuit shirt, and I was sitting right next to him on the panel. He introduced himself, then I introduced myself as also Admiral Biscuit, and "You may know me from such ass-kickings as yours". I don't know why I said that.
Today, then, was mostly more Sentinels, after going to Tim Horton's for the annual donut hole hunt to bring back to my clan. :V (They got apple fritters now!) Also, totally did not talk with Biscuit about his story like we said we were gonna do -- he was even playing Sentinels with us! -- and I am mentioning it here because I do not know if he got my text. <.<
Max and I said our goodbyes, got on the road around 1, and made it home by 3:30, a far shorter ride, likely because we didn't stop in Ashland. :B It was a good con. If I didn't say it before, the more of these I go to, the less I do that doesn't involve just hanging out with people I otherwise only see online. I mean, that's really all I go to these for anymore, I ain't got the money to do otherwise. D: But that's really all I need, and having a low bar for success means I enjoyed my time quite a lot. :) Thanks to all the awesome folks who made that possible!
And if you were playing Sentinels with me and have read down this far, you have only tasted the multiverse. :V You'll want to consult these links, and the ones above, for more info:
Handelabra Games on Twitch, streaming Sentinels Live every Tuesday at 7 PM Eastern!
If not, stay tuned for a big announcement tomorrow!
Man, sounds like fun. Sorry I missed it
4603611
I was wondering if you were there. Sorry you couldn't make it. :C
PP, we went over this. We met at Bronycon 2013 D:
I strongly disagree. I thoroughly enjoyed all of my time spent playing Sentinels, and that's both because of the game itself and the people playing it. Granted, I enjoyed playing with some people more than others, but you're leading that "some" group. Don't be so hard on yourself.
Also, your jokes are great because they're so terrible.
You honestly just found me in my natural habitat. Board games are great. Card games are great. I will play them forever, but not just because they're great. They are, in my opinion, one of the best forms of hanging out with friends. Lots of interactions, communications, competitions, and stories to tell later.
Case in point:
That game was great. 4 heroes entered. 2 died (RIP PP
), but me (Argent Adept) and Admiral Biscuit (Unity) pulled it out. Somehow. Probably not gonna forget that game, ever.
Tabletop Simulator when?
4603626
I missed all my buddies, :C. I couldn't get off work
Well, then I must not have been doing it right, eh?
No, man, chill. Look, I am SO freaking happy you guys fell into the oubliette that is my corner of FF and read a story, I practically had a brown-trousers moment. It's a super big thing for me, ya know, so my excitement just added to an already high background level of anxiety. But mostly I've wanted to meet all these horse-famous people like you. I scribbled my flash fic, bolted out of Rob's panel and hunted you down. And, er, well, you know how well that worked out!
Again NP. We had "issues" on Saturday and the fact that we even made it back by 1㏘ proves the Staties along 71 ain't doin' their job.
Hey! We can form a club, but I get to be president. I'll introduce you to my spirit animal: Eeyore.
Great to meet you, as well as the other famous folk, and if you make BC this year, drop me a line so we can talk or whatever.
Edit/PS—I could have saved myself some embarrassment in my introduction had I clicked on the links to your YT channel. Ima derp.
Sounds like you had your fun with the socializing and hanging out in public with the cool kids.
Ahhh, Trotcon.
A shame I've never hit a con before :V
We still have Trotcon to thank for Swooty Bell so that's a plus.
Where I think I was comic relief
I'm sorry we didn't get to chat. But I'll be at BronyCon. Look me up!
Sounds like a blast! I gonna make a pony con sometime, I swear!
Sounds like a really good time! I'd love to go some time, meeting everyone sounds incredible. Even not attending I managed to meet Stahl as he made his way there.
Just curious, is this Ashland, Ohio or Ashland, Kentucky?
"Annoying depressio filled with the milk of human kindness" sounds like a drink that might appear on the menu board of a cafe run by gothic hipsters.
Dude, get the fuck out of my head. It's weird to realize we feel the same way about ourselves (though I imagine it's fairly common in this fandom), because I think you're a great guy to hang out with and I can't wait to do so again. Also, regarding conversational contributions: while I love learning about set theory and whatnot from people like Trixie or Bad Horse, it can get super intimidating at times; it's nice to be able to talk to an intelligent person without feeling like a complete idiot, so thanks for being that guy
Shit, was I at the wrong table?
Honestly, it was was pretty interesting. I may not be as smart as them, but I was familiar enough with most of what they'd discussed that I could keep up as a listener. I couldn't contribute much, but at least none of it went over my head like when they get to talking about chemistry
I totally misread the URL for that plush cats link by switching "pride" and "white". I can't imagine Nightengale Needles would be interested in making alt-right Loaflings
4603820
I'll see you at Brony con!
4603672
The first time that
mattersI will actually remember. :V4603687
A) I don't get hints, like, at all, and B) I also don't keep a running track of who's in the queue, otherwise I might have realized. I mean, I was talking to you, and going, "Oh yeah, we featured him!" and I wasn't wrong, I had just forgotten it was "We just featured him". :B
4603820
I won't be. :C
4603896
Ohio, I go south from the Akron area to get to C-bus.
4603954
If you ever need to feel like a smart person, just ask, and I can probably find something I know absolutely nothing about to start expounding upon. :V
4603672 Oh, I see how it is.
4603954 You were totally at the wrong table. Should've been at the fun table with us. ;)
4604238
Wat
(Also, you should have come)
Trotcon has come up a few times since I've been here and it always sounds like fun. Unfortunately I live way the hell too far away. Hell, I've never even flown off the west coast for a convention before Bronycon 2016.
I'll keep claws crossed that I'm able to hit TC in some future year. In the meantime, I'm glad I got to experience it vicariously through your post!
As always Present, it was fun to see you again! Sorry we didn't hang out as much, but I know you were on a mission with your board game. At least we go to go out to dinner and I wasn't completely fuck this time.
I joined in on two rounds of Sentinels - I had a ton of fun playing. Thanks for introducing me to that game :D
4604886
You're welcome! :D Thanks for joining us! I didn't get everyone's names, do you remember who you played?
Most importantly, indeed. Err, I mean finally, indeed. Yes. That's what I meant.
I would happily argue against this claim. Just ask Pav.
4605181
I would if he wuddint ded :C
RUDE! Granted you only saw me for like 30 seconds because I am me and busybusybusy BUT
BUT
RUDE
4605238
Ha! I thought i passed you in the hall. You were on your way to the vendor hall. Saw you and was like, 'was that Morning?' By the time I realized it was you, it was too late. :(
4605168
Yeah, I played Expatriot during one round on Saturday, and then Haka during the massacre game that lasted three rounds on Sunday
4605313
The easiest place to find me was the charity auction, because I was very visible etc during that! Vendor hall was 2nd most likely though so yea, you probably did see me and then it was 'Blink and she's gone!'
4605238
Yeah, I think I just waved at you a couple times. D:
4605405
Going straight from Expatriette to Iron Legacy. XD You poor thing. Still, glad to have you around!
4605483
Oh yeah, the second round was brutal! I had a ton of fun though :D
Sounds like you had a great time; glad that was the case! Too bad you won't be making Bronycon, but then, I'm almost certain I won't be either. :(
Love that print; I got the set of 3 at Bronycon last year (surprise, I know), and they're over my desk at home, with this, this, and this on the wall to the left. And, of course, the Lyra and Bon Bon thing is, like most of Bobdude's stuff, super adorable. Good choices.