Keeping In Touch

So. Back from GenCon, which was a hoot. I didn't actually end up playing many games, because socializing was far more fun, and it was too much work to sort out a schedule on the fly. Man, there were a lot of choices. Too many, I almost think. I did make three LARPS, one of which was run by my second-favourite Cthulhu Live ST (my first favourite being, of course, R:tAG). This guy is one of the few STs I know to obsess as much as I do about setting, props and costumes. We shamelessly begged our way into his full-up game despite having only generic tickets. It was Cthulhu Dark Ages, the first he'd ever done, and while I had great fun I felt my familiar problems with any Dark Ages game surface. It's just too hard to get into a mediaeval mindset, in my opinion, even if you're trying, and I was surprised to see some people not even trying. I mean, you don't have to have a degree in history to understand that society was different then, do you? And if you sign up for a LARP, you do understand that you're playing a role, don't you? But I don't want to sound like a total snark, most did well, and the game was fun. Crusaders and Muslims facing eldritch horrors that threatened all humanity, and still killing each other. Heh.

(That game of his wasn't the one that I wanted to get into, though. That one was the WWII German U-boat one, where he and his crew had constructed a 16' x 24' submarine interior out of PVC pipe and sheeting, complete with control panels, lighting, a working vintage phonograph and field telephone, and a galley filled with potatoes and Spam. The attendance limit in that game was, for obvious reasons, non-negotiable. I did get a tour of the set after, though, and it was mighty impressive.)

Deciding at the last minute to enter the costume contest also played hob with my plans, since that ended up taking most of Saturday what with the dressing up and the running about and the actual contest and the hey hey hey. Jen and I decided to steal a brilliant idea from Carla, Layne et al. (don't remember who all was involved, sorry) and dress up like teddy bear hunters. As in, hunters of teddy bears. We spent Saturday morning stalking catgirls and stuffed animals carried by small children. We had so many people say "You'll win the costume contest!" that we decided to enter the costume contest. And we did indeed win our category, and $100. The overall winner had taken 5 months to make her costume, which involved 12' moveable wings and 5,000 golden pheasant feathers. Considering I spent $20 on teddy bears and 2 days gutting them (with Suz's unnervingly willing help), and the costumes started out as a joke about catgirls, I can't complain.


(I am slightly worried that my first picture ever on this blog shows me like this. Honestly, I'm an adult.)