Moonlight Rising 2006 and Willow-chan
Moonlight Rising 2006 and Willow-chan
Shoulda posted this a while ago... Better late than never, ne?
Last year's report: Moonlight Rising 2005.
Moonlight Rising 05 BtVS/Ats Signature Scans
*****
There's something exciting
about leaving everything behind
something deep and moving
leaving everything behind
something about having everything
you think you'll ever need
sitting on the seat next to you.
~ "Another White Dash" by Butterfly Boucher
*****
~Thursday~
Ah. Packing for the convention. I was still packing when Rain-chan showed up shortly after 1:30am Thursday night. Shoved everything I could remember to grab into a bag and left the house at 2:30am.
So we're a half hour out and I realize that I forgot to grab Wills' shawl, and it's just not going to be the same if we don't all have our shawls, so we turn around and go back. (Wills, Rain and I each have primary colors... I got a shawl in my color, green, and then I got Rain one in her color, purple, and one for Wills in red.) It takes twenty minutes to get back. I realize that we're going to have to move the cars around, since we left Rain's car blocking my grandmother's car in the driveway and she will probably need it while we're gone, so I have Rain pull our car into the front yard so we can move the others around in the small driveway. She's just pulled into the yard when she sees a bunny and slams on the brakes. Bunny hops away. No sooner than we climb out of the car than there's a cop half-pulled into my driveway, eyeing us.
Him: ....what are you doing?
Us: Moving the cars around!
Him: ...is this your house?
Us: Yep!
So yeah. Picture this: 3:30am, and a car just slams to a halt in the middle of a suburban yard, and two girls tumble out of it giggling. Yeah. But he didn't even check our liscense to make sure we were telling the truth, he just pulled out and drove away. We moved the cars, grabbed the shawl, and left again. This time I drove since it was my turf, and we got to the same place we had originally turned around at in fifteen minutes. But then again I knew the area, was familiar with the car, and possess a lead foot.
~Friday~
We high-tail it across several states, switching off driving when the other got too tired, and stopping briefly for gas and snacks.
A favorite quote from Rain-chan, pertaining to my driving: "I'm not worried about you going eighty-five, I'm worried about the person in front of you going eighty-four!" Suffice it to say that my driving freaks her out, and I probably shaved several years off of her lifespan.
We arrive at the con at 11:50amish, and the Kelly photoshoot ended at 11:30. Dammit. But there's plans for another Kelly photoshoot to be done tomorrow, so there's hope. I ran into Kyle, Roschelle, Matt, and John from last year *bounces happily* Returned Roschelle's books that she leant to me at MR05. I didn't get into the Jossverse Jepordy, but looking at the test I will need to study the writers and airdates more, and I should be able to get in should there be another chance next year at the Boomer con. I would so kick their asses.
Found out that Adam Baldwin and Mark Metcalf wern't going to be able to make it, was tres disappointed but the news of Jonathan Woodward was a welcome distraction.
I bought two grab bags which included the following: a Lorne action figure, a Wesley action figure, several magazines with Jossverse actors on the covers, three thermus-mugs with pictures on them (one Buffy, one Spike, and one Fred), two bunches of 8x10 photos (including one Lorne, one nummy Superstar Jonathan, one hotter-than-hot Lilah, and several delicious Spike), a few postcards, a couple plastic cross necklaces, two pencils with "Slayer in Training" on them, and a hard-cover copy of "Pretty Maids All In A Row".
Other things I bought over the course of the weekend: Two Browncoatesque shirts, an Angel action figure, a JohnnyLightning Giles Citron car, a JohnnyLightning Spike DeSoto car, a JohnnyLightning Angel convertible car, two Buffy choose-your-own-adventure books, a MR06 shot glass, a silver ring, three Wuzzats (one is a gift for Mom), and that's about it.
Kelly and Stacey Q&A: very fun. Apparently the lights were so bright that he stood on his chair to be able to see the audience, and when she tried to get him to get down he was like "But I can see down your shirt from up here." I got him to do the snoopy dance, and he also later started purring and rolling around like a kitten. Plus, he also did a squirrel. T'was very much fun.
Rain-chan and I were like the walking-dead, so we headed over to find our hotel (t'was a flea-bag cheapie about fifteen minutes away). It was around 5pmish and we both collapsed. I heard the alarm go off at 7pm to wake us if we wanted to go to the cocktail party, but Rain-chan had already declined and I was too exausted to do anything other than roll over and go back to sleep. So we missed the cocktail party and slept through until the next morning.
~Saturday~
Woke up around 8am so we would have time to primp before the photoshoots. Amber's shoot was up first, but the line was so slow that I ducked out for a moment to say hi to Camden at a table in the dealer room, and to give him the drawing I did for him. Didn't stay to watch him open it, 'cause I was afraid the line would start moving. Rain-chan and I were later in the line but we got seated in the first row of chairs after the first row got their pics taken, so we got a fantastic view of Amber while we waited. Amber caught sight of us joking and talking, and dubbed Rain-chan with the nickname "Trouble". Finally it was our turn and we got our pics taken. In retrospect I wish I'd left my glasses on, but alas. The pic didn't turn out too badly. ^_^
Nathan's photoshoot was pushed later, so I headed back to the dealer room to give Kelly and Stacey their drawings, since they just arrived at their table and nobody was waiting in line for them. They both opened them in front of me, and they seemed to really like them (esp. Stacey. She hugged me over the table ^_^) Camden had opened his and had it set up on his table when I said hi again, so yay. Big success.
Rain hung out in the Clem panel while I went to the Nathan/Jonathan photoshoot (traded my Adam shoot for a Jonathan shoot and an extra Nathan signature). Damn, Nathan is tall. I felt tiny next to him, and I don't feel tiny very often. It was wonderful. Jonathan is so friendly and Nathan is very nice and smiles so prettily. I got my shoot with each of them, and then found Rain-chan. Got to hear the tail end of Clem's Q&A:
Host: What's your favorite word?
Clem: Poop.
Host: What's your least favorite word?
Clem: Poop. I'm a complex person.
and...
Host: If you could describe James Marsters in one word?
Clem: Delicious.
Host: *pause* Can you elaborate?
Clem: *long, drawn-out pause* No.
Host: Oh, please.
Clem: Sorry. I've been court-ordered not to say anything else. It was a gag order.
Then it was Amber's turn for a Q&A. I swear, that woman is so gorgeous. Don't know why it never really hit me before - guess because I started in Jossverse through fanfiction, and most every episode I watched I already knew about from fanfic, so I paid less attention to what the charas looked like specifically, and more to what they were like. Blonde. Blue-eyed. Shy, sweet, with an occasional backbone of steel. I do it to all the characters, picture their essence more than the actor's face. There was a time once when I went a couple months without watching any eps, just read fanfiction nonstop. And when I stuck a dvd in to rewatch an ep, I didn't recognize James Marsters at first. James' Spike wasn't exactly what I had been picturing. Or, more like I had been pictuing more of a vauge idea, and seeing him solidify on screen was too specific. Or maybe it was just the single-plotline of the show that solidified as opposed to the multiple directions an idea of Spike could go, and I was just translating it into a looks thing. I understand what I just said, but I'm not sure if I explained it well enough for someone else to have any clue about what I'm trying to describe, so I'll shut up now.
But the expression Amber wore during the photoshoot was like the embodiment of "bedroom eyes". Dark, sultry, and *meep*-please-take-me-now-I-can't-resist-*whimper*. It's funny, too, because she reminds me of my sister. They're both tall with long dark hair, plump-curvy with a similar fashion sense. And I get the same kind of aura-sense when I look at them. They may not look exactly the same, but they feel like similar spirits. Anywhoo, I asked her about the Dragon's Inn shirt since both Chance and Oz wore it, hoping for a story, but apparently it was just that the they were able to borrow some of the BtVS wardrobe for Chance. Hmm. I'm still wondering where that shirt came from, and what "Dragon Inn" is. Is it a real inn? If so, where is it? If not, what does it mean? The mystery of the shirt has me in its clutches and will not be letting go any time soon. Someone asked what it was like kissing Alyson Hannigan, and Amber seemed to have fun with the question. She talked about a time when they kissed, and how Alyson is apparently always calm and collected when acting but when they kissed she startes sweating, and was like "Why am I sweating? I never sweat." and Amber said, "It's 'cause I slipped you the tongue." *squee* Muchos fun. When I get at that video room in my personal heaven, I'm gonna go back and voyer backstage at the episode tapings. I really really want to know what kind of dirty jokes Amber and Alyson traded. And apparently Alyson once hosted a sex-toy bingo night. *melts at the thought*
After her Q&A was the first round of autographs. Kelly and Stacey were first, and there was a slight hold-up later in the line, so Stacey took the time to flip through my autograph book and admire it. She found the page I had for Kelly last year, and turned to him and she was like "This page looks like it needs an autograph" and he didn't say anything, just took it, signed it again, and handed it back so she could continue to look though it. (Free extra Kelly auto! Squee!). Next was James, and I gave him the pressie, and he asked me if he could open it now. I said yes, and he did. I briefly explained why I drew what I drew (since it was more-in-depth explained in the accompanying letter), and he smiled and said he really liked it, and I smiled and said I was really glad that he liked it. Then there was Camden, sweet as always, and then Ken. While I was getting Camden's auto, the con-girl-employee sitting next to him squinted at my hair and was like, "Is your hair green?" and I was like, "yes", and she was like, "Ah." Another hold-up in the line, so Rain and I ended up chatting with Ken for a little bit, while I decided whether or not to splurge on the ten bucks for his auto. He was so nice and I didn't have his auto yet, so I gave in, but I resisted the urge to buy a copy of his tape too, because as much as I want to support all actors' endevors, I knew I would need the money to buy gas to get home. But how likely would it be for me to get his auto again? So I forked over a twenty, he nudged Camden for change, who nudged one of the con employees who provided change. And I got me a Chaos Demon siggy. ^_^ Next up was Nathan, and yet another line-holdup which was more than welcome. I handed him the wrapped framed drawing I'd done for him, and he was all surprised at the gift and smiley and was like "Can I open this now" which made me laugh since everyone kept asking me that. Rain-chan was next to me, and we shared in the amusement that I kept being asked two questions over and over, "Can I open this now?" and "Is your hair green?" I wondered why aloud about the first one, and Rain-chan said that it was probably because a lot of ppl might be too nervous or shy to have their gift opened in front of them, and I nodded and said that if the excitement and nervousness overwhelmed me I'd just faint. By this time Nathan had opened it and was admiring it as well as glancing at the letter to pick out the various symbols I'd used in it. Apparently he'd gone to school to be a high-school art teacher, but he hadn't done his student teaching yet. I think that's what he said, the nervousness and exitement was starting to overwhelm me. He asked if I was an majoring in art and I said no, that I was planning to be a high school english teacher, and we chatted about teaching for a bit.. Major squee that Nathan-the-art-student didn't think my drawing sucked. He even took the time to draw a little something in my signature book, which was ultra snazzy. Then the line moved and I was on to Jonathan. Since I didn't know he was going to be there I hadn't done a drawing, or pre-made a page in my signature book, so I just flipped to the next blank page and he signed it. As he was handing it back to me he was like, "Deb, right?" and I said, "Deborah" (yes, I'm picky about my name. There's a story there, but I'm not going to go into it. Suffice it to say that I have my reasons for not shortening my name), and he kinda stopped, stared, then yanked the book out of my hands and added the rest of my name to the inscription. Then as the line moved he stage-whispered to Amber somehting like, "Deborah, not Deb. Don't shorten it." She smiled, signed my book, I gave her the drawing I did for her, but she didn't unwrap it. Line moved quickly and we were out of there.
Rumor was that they were going to have another Kelly shoot after the autographs were over, so Rain and I hung out at a restaurant in the hotel and played cards while we waited. Finally it was time and we went over to hang outside of the photo-shoot room. A few other people showed up, and then all the actors trickled in - apparently they were going to do a couple shoots of all of the guests, and then finish up any missed shoots. The photographer himself was a little late showing up, so Anber was taking a few pictures with people who had their cameras ready, so Rain-chan and I got an extra picture with her. T'was interesting, because then I suddenly became the unofficial photographer, as the next three people handed me their cameras before siding up next to Amber. One guy only had a camera-phone, and it came out kinda grainy, so I offered to take the picture with my camera and mail it to him after the con, which he was agreeable to. Amber was so very nice, poising for the extra pics while we waited for the official photographer to show up.
Rain-chan and I got our pics with Kelly, and hung out until the shoot was over. A few of the actors hung around the lobby, and Rain and I got a few more pics...
Rain with James Leary.... Me with James... There's a little bit of a story here. If you look closely at my chest, there's some dots of light. Under my red shirt I was wearing a white camisole that had sequins on the bodice, and every so often the light shone just right and you could see a flash of glitter from under my shirt. Rain and I found this highly amusing.
Me and John... I'm so glad we became friends last year - it was lovely beyond the telling of it to see him again...
Rain with Ken... Me with Ken... Dude!!! He kissed my head!
Camden messing around and being creepy...
Me and Matt... too bad there wasn't kareoke this year!
Me and Camden... he's always so nice and always willing to pose for another pic...
Chris the Cosplayer, a.k.a. Cap't Tightpants. Rain said she hears some kids mistake him for Daniel Boone *chuckle*
The picture didn't turn out well, but somebody had a liscense plate that said "Spangel". Talk about niftyness.
Rain and I had tickets to the concert, but we were both really tired and about to drop, so we gave our tickets to Matt and called it a night.
Can't really remember what else happened Saturday, so I'm going to move on to Sunday. And my printed schedual is wrong since it changed so much, but since I don't really remember the order, I'm going to stick everything else under Sunday.
~Sunday~
I think the group Q&A was on Sunday morning, but I can't remember for sure - anywhoo, Whatever day it was, it was fun. Nathan was talking about when Joss came up to him and he thought that he was gonna get fired but it turned out that they were going to fire the actress originally slated to play Inara, and Nathan was all like "Yes! I'm not fired!" It was cute.
I got lots of good shots of Kelly... Of course, it's not hard to get a good picture of him, 'cause after all the man is gorgeous...*meep* Wish I had that kind of undivided attention...
Camden has Kelly's undivided attention... I would be grinning like a loon too if he looked at me like that. ^_^ There were two moments when he did look at me like that... one was when I gave him the drawing I did, and the other was as I was walking forward to have my pic taken with him during the photoshoot. I was damn near speechless and heart-thumpy both times.
Awww, Camden is bashful from Kelly's attention while Ken and Jonathan look at me as I step up to the mic. I ask them about the Diction Coalicktion cd that I'd gotten last year, and immediatelyJonathan gets two mics in his face... T'was very funny. Maybe nobody will let him hold a mic considering how he was holding it phallically last year? 'Cause when he does finally get a mic, everybody watches him closely to make sure he doesn't hold it between his legs like last year... Jonathan explains about cd while Camden and James - who were on it as well - are highly amused and everyone else just looks blank. There's a funny when Camden saying 'cock' on the cd comes up and they're all saying 'cock', and then when I try to ask if there's another one coming out, and I say "When is the next co--" I was going to say 'copy' but as I was talking I realized that saying 'copy' would sound like I wanted another copy of the original one, so I was going to change it to 'volume' or something, but my brain didn't register the change until I was half-way through the word 'copy', and I stopped, trying to exchange the word with 'volume' but they guys took my pause to mean that I'd been about to accidently say 'cock' 'cause they'd all been talking about the word two seconds ago. I was embarrassed, but they were amused.
Jonathan isn't bad looking himself...
I have no idea why James was wearing those glasses...
Awwww! Amber is so cute!!! Amber wants to say something...
Everybody look left! Okay! Quiet on the set, 'cause Kelly is talking! Hey, I said to look left! Even when Kelly is talking!
The actors filed off and Jossverse Jeopardy took its place. The Jossverse Jeopardy was lots of fun, but of course I knew it would be, 'cause John is the snazziest of snazzonia. I had to root for Matt 'cause he's cool and smart and a friend, although if Matt goes to the Booster con in Kentucky in '07 and John does the Jossverse Jeopardy again there, I will so kick Matt's ass. One of the questions was to complete the following quote: "Blah, blah, blah, I'm so stuffy..." and NOBODY GOT IT! What is, "GIVE ME A SCONE!" I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming the answer. As it was I had a major case of bouncing-in-the-seat-itis. And another question was "What planet does Mal come from?" That was one I didn't know, and the other guy competing jokingly said, "Tattooine?" T'was funny.
Then there was the Buffy Game Show. Mere words cannot describe the awesomeness of this show. Joss is GOD, but John rates pretty high up there in the pantheon. I helped a little setting up 'cause I could tell John was getting stressed, though he was a calm, cool, and very suave game show host. The game show itself was the most fun I had all weekend. It consisted of several different style rounds, like charades and family feud and stuff. Matt was the captian of team B and of course I made sure Rain-chan and I got on his team. Matt, Rain-chan, another person on our team, and I were the smartest in Jossverse matters, even though I know that sounds kinda narcisstic of me. But really, we were really really smart in Jossverse matters. At the end of the game Team A won, but I'll tell you why... Team A only had four kinda-smart players, but each of their players went twice in each round. Team B had four really kick-ass smart players, but we also had four really drop-the-ball players. If just the four of us had been up against the four of them, we so woulda wiped the floor with them. But the other four of us lost the team points overall. But at least I had the chance to prove that I was very wise in the ways of Joss, 'cause there was one round where each person in the team answered a question and you were kicked off the stage as soon as you got either 4 questions wrong or 6 questions right (I think), and I think I was the first person to get kicked off my team for getting my limit of right answers. There was clapping as I left the stage, which thrilled me to the core. At the start of another round Rain was debating not participating, but Matt was like, "No, you're good" which made her realize that she was also wise in the ways of Joss (even though I haven't had a chance to sit her down and convert her into a browncoat yet - as soon as she moves in, we're having a firefly marathon!) So she got a happy from that too, and when she got kicked of the stage soon after me for the limit of right answers. There was charades, where we were timed on trying to enacting things on a card. One girl had "the annointed one" and she passed, 'cause she couldn't figure out how to personify that. I got "The Mayor." How the heck do you mime being the mayor? I couldn't figure out how to personify his relationship with Faith, so I tried being smily and germ-obsessed, but that didn't translate well. Then I tried to be the giant snake running through the school, and that took a while but it was gotten finally. I wasn't too bad at guessing the others, though there were a few hard ones. Rain got lucky - she had "Dawn" and she mimed turning a key in a lock and one second later we'd guessed it. Another round was pictionary, and poor Matt got the Troika. He tried to draw the three with their jetpacks, and it took us all a while to figure out what the jetpacks were. Then I got "Pylea". *headdesk* That was hell. I used a green marker (I thought the color was appropriate) and drew music in the air and stick-figure people cringing in the ground with their hands over their ears. Ppl saw the music and kept guessing "Once More With Feeling". I tried drawing Fred getting beheaded at the bach'nal, but ppl thought I'd drawn the slayer scythe. So I drew a green cow and waited for ppl to figure out it was a cow, and then emphatically drew an arrow to the Fred stick figure. When Matt figured out it was Pylea I about cried in relief. So yeah. There was much frustrastion, but a million times more funness. We got Serenity promo postcards for playing, and I proudly taped mine to my bedroom wall. Happy memories.
Somewhere in there was the second round of autographs. Kelly and Stacey signed first 'cause they had to leave early, and so Rain and I got their 'graphs. I'd gotten an extra photoshoot of Rain and I with Kelly, and I asked him how much it would be to get one more signature on it, and he gave it to me for free! *squee!* So in a weekend when I was only expecting to get two Kelly autos, I ended up getting four! T'was awesome. Then while I was standing in line for Jonathan's autograph, Kelly went over to where Jonathan was and they said something to each other that I was too far away to hear and then Jonathan stood and they hugged.
And this was not a normal guy/guy hug. This was a SLASHY guy/guy hug. And extended hug, where straight guys proabbly would have broken apart by now, but they hadn't moved. From where I was standing I could see Kelly's back, and Jonathan's face was fricking *buried* in Kelly's neck, and I had a perfect view but I was paralized by a rush of slashy-girl endorphines that I couldn't move or speak, only stare. Wish I'd though to grab my camera, but alas. *sighs* I was frozen by my hormones. But the memory remains and is a ~very~ happy one.
So then I get autographs on the photoshoot pics, and I had my Sunnydale Yearbook with me and got a few autographs in it from actors that didn't show up until 4th season or after... yes, it makes no sense. I'm still amused by it.
Then when I went up to Nathan to get his auto, he called me 'Angel' ^_^ Lookit me, gathering the nicknames!
Rain-chan went back to our hotel to rest and I stayed for the Firefly MST3k. Camden and Jonathan took the stage and they played "The Message" ep. I nearly died laughing several times during it. When Zoe is taking the media player out of Tracey's dead hands, one of them said, "What is this, an Ipod? Damn, it only plays one track..." And when Kaylee was listening to it, it was called both an ipod and a vibrator. I can't remember any of the other jokes made, but the ipod/vibrator thing was the funniest. The second funniest thing was during the certian scene, Chris the Cosplayer went up to stand by Camden, then crouched down, ran under the screen, and popped up next to Jonathan. Then he crouched down, ran back across under the screen, and popped up next to Camden. Then down and back up next to Jonathan. Then down and under, and up next to Camden. I nearly fell off my chair laughing.
For those of you who don't understand why Chris was doing that or why it was funny, go watch the Firefly blooper reel. The pan-camera scene where you see everybody looking down at Tracey in the casket, Nathan had stood in place, then as the camera panned away, he'd ducked under the camera and popped up on the other side, so to the viewer it looked like he was in two places at once. Very funny, and it was even funnier to see Chris reenact it for us. Of course, those of us who got it had to explain the joke to those who didn't get it, but it was so worth it. I'd liked Chris for dressing up, but that stunt made me fall in fangirlish teenybopper love with him. ^_~
If course, Jonathan had to *do things* with the microphone... he even used it to jump rope... and jump rope from the side...
After the MST, I saw Roschelle and got my picture taken with her. Two things I didn't realize until after the picture was developed: (1) We're wearing the same shirt, and (2) Jonathan is a spaz and a dork ^_^ I had to look at the other pictures of him on stage to make sure it was him ^_~
After that I went back with Rain to our hotel to change and rest until the dance party.
Random humerous thing: When we first saw this sign we didn't see the "left at light" part, and we were both looking at the rock quarry and were like, "There's a candleshop in the quarry?????" ^_~
Other random funny thing: This sign freaked Rain out. I think it was the whole idea of a snake petting zoo.
We happy few, we band of buggered...
Me and John and Matt! and thenRain and I realized that the weekend was almost over and we hadn't gotten any pics taken together yet!
The dance party was fun, though a different kind of fun from last year's. James wasn't there, so I couldn't ask him to dance again, and no decent songs came on so I didn't ask Camden to dance, but we all danced the electric slide, so that was fun. Camden's a wild and crazy guy. And Camden has a nice butt. I'm just saying. I participated in an ultimate version of musical chairs, except instead of music we all had to find items, like someone else's sock or someone else's glasses... thank Goddess Rain was there, 'cause I wouldn't have lasted ten seconds if she hasn't helped. I got most of the things I needed each round - I remember fondly racing to her seat to slide to my knees and YANK her sock off before running back to my seat ^_^
So the dance party started drifting and Rain and I ended up in the bar in the restaurant in the hotel, and we both had a tequila with a smirinoff ice chaser, and then a few more chasers after that. Camden was sitting next to me at the bar, and we were occasionally chatting while he ate and I smoked and tried not to exhale smoke in a direction that would drift into his face. I was still feeling a little sore about not getting a dance with him, but then I had the bloody brilliant notion of calling up my LJ and getting Camden to day hi on a phone post. T'was much fun, and Camden is such a good sport, and Rain is fun when she's drunk. After a while the alcohol was starting to get to me, so Rain and I wandered over to the lobby and Rain sat in a big comfy chair while I stretched out on this couch thing (but I got one more pic with Camden before he left!) and we happily chatted to whoever ventured close enough. I waved Chris the Cosplayer over and we chatted, and I got his autograph and a pic with him. Rain read his palm, and they talked for a long while - I think I drifted a bit. Being drunk with friends is a funness I rarely get to indulge in. After a long while of sleeping, Rain got sober and she woke me, and drove us back to our hotel (she holds her alcohol much better than I do) where we crashed and slept.
~Monday~
Slept in and left the hotel at around 11am, and Rain-chan drove most of the way to Willow's. Willow's a good friend of ours; I met her online first, and through her I met Rain. This was the first time we ever saw each other in person.
I had my green shawl, Rain had a matching purple shawl, and we gave Wills a dark red shawl to go with ours. That's our colors. Not quite sure how it happened, but it did. We also have alternate colors: Wills = Black, Rain = Blue, and Bryn = Brown. But we each had matching shawls of our primary colors, so it was cool. Also of note: Brynhild the Blellow, Faerie of Destruction; Dragon Rain the Bizarre, Faerie of Wisdom; Silver Willow the Bitter, Faerie of Happiness. We're strange.
We went out for pizza and then hung out at Will's place watching the anime "The Magic User's Club". Very kawaii. I am in love with the purple-haired guy. ^_^ Wills made tea and I drank some with her. Went to sleep some time that evening.
~Tuesday~
Woke up sometime that morning. Wills cooked eggs with sesame seeds and soy sauce for us. She also made tea, which I started getting used to drinking again. It's nice to drink tea with someone else.
Didn't even realize that it was 6-6-06 until Rain-chan, Willow-chan, and I were already on our way to visit Salem, Mass. Got lost on the drive over, and wound up on what was called "Dead Horse Beach". Nice beach, don't know what the name comes from. We wandered around collecting shells and relaxing, and then got back in the car. Parked and found ourselves in a mall, and there was a nifty store with a lot of Chinese-based stuff. I bought a teapot and four tea cups; hopefully with the right equipment I will enjoy making and drinking tea. Also bought Wills a teacup with a lid that she had her eye on.
The visitor's center was closed by the time we got there, so we wandered around taking in the sights for a few hours. Had some Witch's Brew, which both Rain and Willow swear is the best root beer ever made. I'm not a good judge since I don't drink root beer often, but I thought it was pretty good. After we got our fill of Salem we drove back to Will's.
Picked up some sake for Wills to cook with, and some alcohol to get drunk on, but I was too tired to drink. Went to bed late, as soon as we got back from Salem.
~Wednesday~
Woke up sometime in the morning. Nine-ish, I think. Watched Wills' guitar lesson. Went shopping for food, and Wills cooked this delicious spinage with sesame seeds and soy sauce concoction which I devoured. Must try to cook it for myself. Went shopping again for a hot-pot for Wills, and got a few other things while we were out. Rain was still passed-out when we got back, but she started waking up. It was 5ish in the afternoon, and Wills wanted a couple hours of sleep. I read a few chapters of printed fic before Rain ordered me to sleep also, since we were probably going to be leaving at 3am. Wills and I both slept long and heavy. Rain woke me up around midnightish, I read some more fic, and we finally got Wills up around 2:30 am.
~Thursday~
Woke Wills up around 2:30am and we made a circle and cast a spell together. Rain, Wills, and me. Power of three, baybee. We meditated and enjoyed the first time combining our powers. I found my personal symbol, made progress finsing my Goddess symbol, and met two of my spirit guides and my guardian angel, which was beyond nifty. Wills secretly spyed on me in my dreamscape and I was able to sense her watching me. Then Wills, Rain, and I joined each other on the same dreamscape and played around.
As much stress as leaving late caused, I cannot regret the time spent casting with Rain and Wills. I was well worth the long drive home and the sleepless shift at work.
Was planning to leave at 3am. Then changed it to 4am. Actually left at 6am. Rain and I switched off driving, and we finally made it back home at 9pm, giving me an hour to get ready for work. A few cat-naps in a car does not an awake Bryn make, and I proceeded to hang on my the skin of my teeth to make it though my shift. Tres Zombie-like. Crawled home and collapsed in bed.
All of the pictures I took at MR2006 (several of which were not linked here) are all avaliable here. Enjoy.
ETA: I now have a list of all my con attendances and info here, including links to my con reviews, scanned pictures, and scanned autographs.
Shoulda posted this a while ago... Better late than never, ne?
Last year's report: Moonlight Rising 2005.
Moonlight Rising 05 BtVS/Ats Signature Scans
*****
There's something exciting
about leaving everything behind
something deep and moving
leaving everything behind
something about having everything
you think you'll ever need
sitting on the seat next to you.
~ "Another White Dash" by Butterfly Boucher
*****
~Thursday~
Ah. Packing for the convention. I was still packing when Rain-chan showed up shortly after 1:30am Thursday night. Shoved everything I could remember to grab into a bag and left the house at 2:30am.
So we're a half hour out and I realize that I forgot to grab Wills' shawl, and it's just not going to be the same if we don't all have our shawls, so we turn around and go back. (Wills, Rain and I each have primary colors... I got a shawl in my color, green, and then I got Rain one in her color, purple, and one for Wills in red.) It takes twenty minutes to get back. I realize that we're going to have to move the cars around, since we left Rain's car blocking my grandmother's car in the driveway and she will probably need it while we're gone, so I have Rain pull our car into the front yard so we can move the others around in the small driveway. She's just pulled into the yard when she sees a bunny and slams on the brakes. Bunny hops away. No sooner than we climb out of the car than there's a cop half-pulled into my driveway, eyeing us.
Him: ....what are you doing?
Us: Moving the cars around!
Him: ...is this your house?
Us: Yep!
So yeah. Picture this: 3:30am, and a car just slams to a halt in the middle of a suburban yard, and two girls tumble out of it giggling. Yeah. But he didn't even check our liscense to make sure we were telling the truth, he just pulled out and drove away. We moved the cars, grabbed the shawl, and left again. This time I drove since it was my turf, and we got to the same place we had originally turned around at in fifteen minutes. But then again I knew the area, was familiar with the car, and possess a lead foot.
~Friday~
We high-tail it across several states, switching off driving when the other got too tired, and stopping briefly for gas and snacks.
A favorite quote from Rain-chan, pertaining to my driving: "I'm not worried about you going eighty-five, I'm worried about the person in front of you going eighty-four!" Suffice it to say that my driving freaks her out, and I probably shaved several years off of her lifespan.
We arrive at the con at 11:50amish, and the Kelly photoshoot ended at 11:30. Dammit. But there's plans for another Kelly photoshoot to be done tomorrow, so there's hope. I ran into Kyle, Roschelle, Matt, and John from last year *bounces happily* Returned Roschelle's books that she leant to me at MR05. I didn't get into the Jossverse Jepordy, but looking at the test I will need to study the writers and airdates more, and I should be able to get in should there be another chance next year at the Boomer con. I would so kick their asses.
Found out that Adam Baldwin and Mark Metcalf wern't going to be able to make it, was tres disappointed but the news of Jonathan Woodward was a welcome distraction.
I bought two grab bags which included the following: a Lorne action figure, a Wesley action figure, several magazines with Jossverse actors on the covers, three thermus-mugs with pictures on them (one Buffy, one Spike, and one Fred), two bunches of 8x10 photos (including one Lorne, one nummy Superstar Jonathan, one hotter-than-hot Lilah, and several delicious Spike), a few postcards, a couple plastic cross necklaces, two pencils with "Slayer in Training" on them, and a hard-cover copy of "Pretty Maids All In A Row".
Other things I bought over the course of the weekend: Two Browncoatesque shirts, an Angel action figure, a JohnnyLightning Giles Citron car, a JohnnyLightning Spike DeSoto car, a JohnnyLightning Angel convertible car, two Buffy choose-your-own-adventure books, a MR06 shot glass, a silver ring, three Wuzzats (one is a gift for Mom), and that's about it.
Kelly and Stacey Q&A: very fun. Apparently the lights were so bright that he stood on his chair to be able to see the audience, and when she tried to get him to get down he was like "But I can see down your shirt from up here." I got him to do the snoopy dance, and he also later started purring and rolling around like a kitten. Plus, he also did a squirrel. T'was very much fun.
Rain-chan and I were like the walking-dead, so we headed over to find our hotel (t'was a flea-bag cheapie about fifteen minutes away). It was around 5pmish and we both collapsed. I heard the alarm go off at 7pm to wake us if we wanted to go to the cocktail party, but Rain-chan had already declined and I was too exausted to do anything other than roll over and go back to sleep. So we missed the cocktail party and slept through until the next morning.
~Saturday~
Woke up around 8am so we would have time to primp before the photoshoots. Amber's shoot was up first, but the line was so slow that I ducked out for a moment to say hi to Camden at a table in the dealer room, and to give him the drawing I did for him. Didn't stay to watch him open it, 'cause I was afraid the line would start moving. Rain-chan and I were later in the line but we got seated in the first row of chairs after the first row got their pics taken, so we got a fantastic view of Amber while we waited. Amber caught sight of us joking and talking, and dubbed Rain-chan with the nickname "Trouble". Finally it was our turn and we got our pics taken. In retrospect I wish I'd left my glasses on, but alas. The pic didn't turn out too badly. ^_^
Nathan's photoshoot was pushed later, so I headed back to the dealer room to give Kelly and Stacey their drawings, since they just arrived at their table and nobody was waiting in line for them. They both opened them in front of me, and they seemed to really like them (esp. Stacey. She hugged me over the table ^_^) Camden had opened his and had it set up on his table when I said hi again, so yay. Big success.
Rain hung out in the Clem panel while I went to the Nathan/Jonathan photoshoot (traded my Adam shoot for a Jonathan shoot and an extra Nathan signature). Damn, Nathan is tall. I felt tiny next to him, and I don't feel tiny very often. It was wonderful. Jonathan is so friendly and Nathan is very nice and smiles so prettily. I got my shoot with each of them, and then found Rain-chan. Got to hear the tail end of Clem's Q&A:
Host: What's your favorite word?
Clem: Poop.
Host: What's your least favorite word?
Clem: Poop. I'm a complex person.
and...
Host: If you could describe James Marsters in one word?
Clem: Delicious.
Host: *pause* Can you elaborate?
Clem: *long, drawn-out pause* No.
Host: Oh, please.
Clem: Sorry. I've been court-ordered not to say anything else. It was a gag order.
Then it was Amber's turn for a Q&A. I swear, that woman is so gorgeous. Don't know why it never really hit me before - guess because I started in Jossverse through fanfiction, and most every episode I watched I already knew about from fanfic, so I paid less attention to what the charas looked like specifically, and more to what they were like. Blonde. Blue-eyed. Shy, sweet, with an occasional backbone of steel. I do it to all the characters, picture their essence more than the actor's face. There was a time once when I went a couple months without watching any eps, just read fanfiction nonstop. And when I stuck a dvd in to rewatch an ep, I didn't recognize James Marsters at first. James' Spike wasn't exactly what I had been picturing. Or, more like I had been pictuing more of a vauge idea, and seeing him solidify on screen was too specific. Or maybe it was just the single-plotline of the show that solidified as opposed to the multiple directions an idea of Spike could go, and I was just translating it into a looks thing. I understand what I just said, but I'm not sure if I explained it well enough for someone else to have any clue about what I'm trying to describe, so I'll shut up now.
But the expression Amber wore during the photoshoot was like the embodiment of "bedroom eyes". Dark, sultry, and *meep*-please-take-me-now-I-can't-resist-*whimper*. It's funny, too, because she reminds me of my sister. They're both tall with long dark hair, plump-curvy with a similar fashion sense. And I get the same kind of aura-sense when I look at them. They may not look exactly the same, but they feel like similar spirits. Anywhoo, I asked her about the Dragon's Inn shirt since both Chance and Oz wore it, hoping for a story, but apparently it was just that the they were able to borrow some of the BtVS wardrobe for Chance. Hmm. I'm still wondering where that shirt came from, and what "Dragon Inn" is. Is it a real inn? If so, where is it? If not, what does it mean? The mystery of the shirt has me in its clutches and will not be letting go any time soon. Someone asked what it was like kissing Alyson Hannigan, and Amber seemed to have fun with the question. She talked about a time when they kissed, and how Alyson is apparently always calm and collected when acting but when they kissed she startes sweating, and was like "Why am I sweating? I never sweat." and Amber said, "It's 'cause I slipped you the tongue." *squee* Muchos fun. When I get at that video room in my personal heaven, I'm gonna go back and voyer backstage at the episode tapings. I really really want to know what kind of dirty jokes Amber and Alyson traded. And apparently Alyson once hosted a sex-toy bingo night. *melts at the thought*
After her Q&A was the first round of autographs. Kelly and Stacey were first, and there was a slight hold-up later in the line, so Stacey took the time to flip through my autograph book and admire it. She found the page I had for Kelly last year, and turned to him and she was like "This page looks like it needs an autograph" and he didn't say anything, just took it, signed it again, and handed it back so she could continue to look though it. (Free extra Kelly auto! Squee!). Next was James, and I gave him the pressie, and he asked me if he could open it now. I said yes, and he did. I briefly explained why I drew what I drew (since it was more-in-depth explained in the accompanying letter), and he smiled and said he really liked it, and I smiled and said I was really glad that he liked it. Then there was Camden, sweet as always, and then Ken. While I was getting Camden's auto, the con-girl-employee sitting next to him squinted at my hair and was like, "Is your hair green?" and I was like, "yes", and she was like, "Ah." Another hold-up in the line, so Rain and I ended up chatting with Ken for a little bit, while I decided whether or not to splurge on the ten bucks for his auto. He was so nice and I didn't have his auto yet, so I gave in, but I resisted the urge to buy a copy of his tape too, because as much as I want to support all actors' endevors, I knew I would need the money to buy gas to get home. But how likely would it be for me to get his auto again? So I forked over a twenty, he nudged Camden for change, who nudged one of the con employees who provided change. And I got me a Chaos Demon siggy. ^_^ Next up was Nathan, and yet another line-holdup which was more than welcome. I handed him the wrapped framed drawing I'd done for him, and he was all surprised at the gift and smiley and was like "Can I open this now" which made me laugh since everyone kept asking me that. Rain-chan was next to me, and we shared in the amusement that I kept being asked two questions over and over, "Can I open this now?" and "Is your hair green?" I wondered why aloud about the first one, and Rain-chan said that it was probably because a lot of ppl might be too nervous or shy to have their gift opened in front of them, and I nodded and said that if the excitement and nervousness overwhelmed me I'd just faint. By this time Nathan had opened it and was admiring it as well as glancing at the letter to pick out the various symbols I'd used in it. Apparently he'd gone to school to be a high-school art teacher, but he hadn't done his student teaching yet. I think that's what he said, the nervousness and exitement was starting to overwhelm me. He asked if I was an majoring in art and I said no, that I was planning to be a high school english teacher, and we chatted about teaching for a bit.. Major squee that Nathan-the-art-student didn't think my drawing sucked. He even took the time to draw a little something in my signature book, which was ultra snazzy. Then the line moved and I was on to Jonathan. Since I didn't know he was going to be there I hadn't done a drawing, or pre-made a page in my signature book, so I just flipped to the next blank page and he signed it. As he was handing it back to me he was like, "Deb, right?" and I said, "Deborah" (yes, I'm picky about my name. There's a story there, but I'm not going to go into it. Suffice it to say that I have my reasons for not shortening my name), and he kinda stopped, stared, then yanked the book out of my hands and added the rest of my name to the inscription. Then as the line moved he stage-whispered to Amber somehting like, "Deborah, not Deb. Don't shorten it." She smiled, signed my book, I gave her the drawing I did for her, but she didn't unwrap it. Line moved quickly and we were out of there.
Rumor was that they were going to have another Kelly shoot after the autographs were over, so Rain and I hung out at a restaurant in the hotel and played cards while we waited. Finally it was time and we went over to hang outside of the photo-shoot room. A few other people showed up, and then all the actors trickled in - apparently they were going to do a couple shoots of all of the guests, and then finish up any missed shoots. The photographer himself was a little late showing up, so Anber was taking a few pictures with people who had their cameras ready, so Rain-chan and I got an extra picture with her. T'was interesting, because then I suddenly became the unofficial photographer, as the next three people handed me their cameras before siding up next to Amber. One guy only had a camera-phone, and it came out kinda grainy, so I offered to take the picture with my camera and mail it to him after the con, which he was agreeable to. Amber was so very nice, poising for the extra pics while we waited for the official photographer to show up.
Rain-chan and I got our pics with Kelly, and hung out until the shoot was over. A few of the actors hung around the lobby, and Rain and I got a few more pics...
Rain with James Leary.... Me with James... There's a little bit of a story here. If you look closely at my chest, there's some dots of light. Under my red shirt I was wearing a white camisole that had sequins on the bodice, and every so often the light shone just right and you could see a flash of glitter from under my shirt. Rain and I found this highly amusing.
Me and John... I'm so glad we became friends last year - it was lovely beyond the telling of it to see him again...
Rain with Ken... Me with Ken... Dude!!! He kissed my head!
Camden messing around and being creepy...
Me and Matt... too bad there wasn't kareoke this year!
Me and Camden... he's always so nice and always willing to pose for another pic...
Chris the Cosplayer, a.k.a. Cap't Tightpants. Rain said she hears some kids mistake him for Daniel Boone *chuckle*
The picture didn't turn out well, but somebody had a liscense plate that said "Spangel". Talk about niftyness.
Rain and I had tickets to the concert, but we were both really tired and about to drop, so we gave our tickets to Matt and called it a night.
Can't really remember what else happened Saturday, so I'm going to move on to Sunday. And my printed schedual is wrong since it changed so much, but since I don't really remember the order, I'm going to stick everything else under Sunday.
~Sunday~
I think the group Q&A was on Sunday morning, but I can't remember for sure - anywhoo, Whatever day it was, it was fun. Nathan was talking about when Joss came up to him and he thought that he was gonna get fired but it turned out that they were going to fire the actress originally slated to play Inara, and Nathan was all like "Yes! I'm not fired!" It was cute.
I got lots of good shots of Kelly... Of course, it's not hard to get a good picture of him, 'cause after all the man is gorgeous...*meep* Wish I had that kind of undivided attention...
Camden has Kelly's undivided attention... I would be grinning like a loon too if he looked at me like that. ^_^ There were two moments when he did look at me like that... one was when I gave him the drawing I did, and the other was as I was walking forward to have my pic taken with him during the photoshoot. I was damn near speechless and heart-thumpy both times.
Awww, Camden is bashful from Kelly's attention while Ken and Jonathan look at me as I step up to the mic. I ask them about the Diction Coalicktion cd that I'd gotten last year, and immediatelyJonathan gets two mics in his face... T'was very funny. Maybe nobody will let him hold a mic considering how he was holding it phallically last year? 'Cause when he does finally get a mic, everybody watches him closely to make sure he doesn't hold it between his legs like last year... Jonathan explains about cd while Camden and James - who were on it as well - are highly amused and everyone else just looks blank. There's a funny when Camden saying 'cock' on the cd comes up and they're all saying 'cock', and then when I try to ask if there's another one coming out, and I say "When is the next co--" I was going to say 'copy' but as I was talking I realized that saying 'copy' would sound like I wanted another copy of the original one, so I was going to change it to 'volume' or something, but my brain didn't register the change until I was half-way through the word 'copy', and I stopped, trying to exchange the word with 'volume' but they guys took my pause to mean that I'd been about to accidently say 'cock' 'cause they'd all been talking about the word two seconds ago. I was embarrassed, but they were amused.
Jonathan isn't bad looking himself...
I have no idea why James was wearing those glasses...
Awwww! Amber is so cute!!! Amber wants to say something...
Everybody look left! Okay! Quiet on the set, 'cause Kelly is talking! Hey, I said to look left! Even when Kelly is talking!
The actors filed off and Jossverse Jeopardy took its place. The Jossverse Jeopardy was lots of fun, but of course I knew it would be, 'cause John is the snazziest of snazzonia. I had to root for Matt 'cause he's cool and smart and a friend, although if Matt goes to the Booster con in Kentucky in '07 and John does the Jossverse Jeopardy again there, I will so kick Matt's ass. One of the questions was to complete the following quote: "Blah, blah, blah, I'm so stuffy..." and NOBODY GOT IT! What is, "GIVE ME A SCONE!" I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming the answer. As it was I had a major case of bouncing-in-the-seat-itis. And another question was "What planet does Mal come from?" That was one I didn't know, and the other guy competing jokingly said, "Tattooine?" T'was funny.
Then there was the Buffy Game Show. Mere words cannot describe the awesomeness of this show. Joss is GOD, but John rates pretty high up there in the pantheon. I helped a little setting up 'cause I could tell John was getting stressed, though he was a calm, cool, and very suave game show host. The game show itself was the most fun I had all weekend. It consisted of several different style rounds, like charades and family feud and stuff. Matt was the captian of team B and of course I made sure Rain-chan and I got on his team. Matt, Rain-chan, another person on our team, and I were the smartest in Jossverse matters, even though I know that sounds kinda narcisstic of me. But really, we were really really smart in Jossverse matters. At the end of the game Team A won, but I'll tell you why... Team A only had four kinda-smart players, but each of their players went twice in each round. Team B had four really kick-ass smart players, but we also had four really drop-the-ball players. If just the four of us had been up against the four of them, we so woulda wiped the floor with them. But the other four of us lost the team points overall. But at least I had the chance to prove that I was very wise in the ways of Joss, 'cause there was one round where each person in the team answered a question and you were kicked off the stage as soon as you got either 4 questions wrong or 6 questions right (I think), and I think I was the first person to get kicked off my team for getting my limit of right answers. There was clapping as I left the stage, which thrilled me to the core. At the start of another round Rain was debating not participating, but Matt was like, "No, you're good" which made her realize that she was also wise in the ways of Joss (even though I haven't had a chance to sit her down and convert her into a browncoat yet - as soon as she moves in, we're having a firefly marathon!) So she got a happy from that too, and when she got kicked of the stage soon after me for the limit of right answers. There was charades, where we were timed on trying to enacting things on a card. One girl had "the annointed one" and she passed, 'cause she couldn't figure out how to personify that. I got "The Mayor." How the heck do you mime being the mayor? I couldn't figure out how to personify his relationship with Faith, so I tried being smily and germ-obsessed, but that didn't translate well. Then I tried to be the giant snake running through the school, and that took a while but it was gotten finally. I wasn't too bad at guessing the others, though there were a few hard ones. Rain got lucky - she had "Dawn" and she mimed turning a key in a lock and one second later we'd guessed it. Another round was pictionary, and poor Matt got the Troika. He tried to draw the three with their jetpacks, and it took us all a while to figure out what the jetpacks were. Then I got "Pylea". *headdesk* That was hell. I used a green marker (I thought the color was appropriate) and drew music in the air and stick-figure people cringing in the ground with their hands over their ears. Ppl saw the music and kept guessing "Once More With Feeling". I tried drawing Fred getting beheaded at the bach'nal, but ppl thought I'd drawn the slayer scythe. So I drew a green cow and waited for ppl to figure out it was a cow, and then emphatically drew an arrow to the Fred stick figure. When Matt figured out it was Pylea I about cried in relief. So yeah. There was much frustrastion, but a million times more funness. We got Serenity promo postcards for playing, and I proudly taped mine to my bedroom wall. Happy memories.
Somewhere in there was the second round of autographs. Kelly and Stacey signed first 'cause they had to leave early, and so Rain and I got their 'graphs. I'd gotten an extra photoshoot of Rain and I with Kelly, and I asked him how much it would be to get one more signature on it, and he gave it to me for free! *squee!* So in a weekend when I was only expecting to get two Kelly autos, I ended up getting four! T'was awesome. Then while I was standing in line for Jonathan's autograph, Kelly went over to where Jonathan was and they said something to each other that I was too far away to hear and then Jonathan stood and they hugged.
And this was not a normal guy/guy hug. This was a SLASHY guy/guy hug. And extended hug, where straight guys proabbly would have broken apart by now, but they hadn't moved. From where I was standing I could see Kelly's back, and Jonathan's face was fricking *buried* in Kelly's neck, and I had a perfect view but I was paralized by a rush of slashy-girl endorphines that I couldn't move or speak, only stare. Wish I'd though to grab my camera, but alas. *sighs* I was frozen by my hormones. But the memory remains and is a ~very~ happy one.
So then I get autographs on the photoshoot pics, and I had my Sunnydale Yearbook with me and got a few autographs in it from actors that didn't show up until 4th season or after... yes, it makes no sense. I'm still amused by it.
Then when I went up to Nathan to get his auto, he called me 'Angel' ^_^ Lookit me, gathering the nicknames!
Rain-chan went back to our hotel to rest and I stayed for the Firefly MST3k. Camden and Jonathan took the stage and they played "The Message" ep. I nearly died laughing several times during it. When Zoe is taking the media player out of Tracey's dead hands, one of them said, "What is this, an Ipod? Damn, it only plays one track..." And when Kaylee was listening to it, it was called both an ipod and a vibrator. I can't remember any of the other jokes made, but the ipod/vibrator thing was the funniest. The second funniest thing was during the certian scene, Chris the Cosplayer went up to stand by Camden, then crouched down, ran under the screen, and popped up next to Jonathan. Then he crouched down, ran back across under the screen, and popped up next to Camden. Then down and back up next to Jonathan. Then down and under, and up next to Camden. I nearly fell off my chair laughing.
For those of you who don't understand why Chris was doing that or why it was funny, go watch the Firefly blooper reel. The pan-camera scene where you see everybody looking down at Tracey in the casket, Nathan had stood in place, then as the camera panned away, he'd ducked under the camera and popped up on the other side, so to the viewer it looked like he was in two places at once. Very funny, and it was even funnier to see Chris reenact it for us. Of course, those of us who got it had to explain the joke to those who didn't get it, but it was so worth it. I'd liked Chris for dressing up, but that stunt made me fall in fangirlish teenybopper love with him. ^_~
If course, Jonathan had to *do things* with the microphone... he even used it to jump rope... and jump rope from the side...
After the MST, I saw Roschelle and got my picture taken with her. Two things I didn't realize until after the picture was developed: (1) We're wearing the same shirt, and (2) Jonathan is a spaz and a dork ^_^ I had to look at the other pictures of him on stage to make sure it was him ^_~
After that I went back with Rain to our hotel to change and rest until the dance party.
Random humerous thing: When we first saw this sign we didn't see the "left at light" part, and we were both looking at the rock quarry and were like, "There's a candleshop in the quarry?????" ^_~
Other random funny thing: This sign freaked Rain out. I think it was the whole idea of a snake petting zoo.
We happy few, we band of buggered...
Me and John and Matt! and thenRain and I realized that the weekend was almost over and we hadn't gotten any pics taken together yet!
The dance party was fun, though a different kind of fun from last year's. James wasn't there, so I couldn't ask him to dance again, and no decent songs came on so I didn't ask Camden to dance, but we all danced the electric slide, so that was fun. Camden's a wild and crazy guy. And Camden has a nice butt. I'm just saying. I participated in an ultimate version of musical chairs, except instead of music we all had to find items, like someone else's sock or someone else's glasses... thank Goddess Rain was there, 'cause I wouldn't have lasted ten seconds if she hasn't helped. I got most of the things I needed each round - I remember fondly racing to her seat to slide to my knees and YANK her sock off before running back to my seat ^_^
So the dance party started drifting and Rain and I ended up in the bar in the restaurant in the hotel, and we both had a tequila with a smirinoff ice chaser, and then a few more chasers after that. Camden was sitting next to me at the bar, and we were occasionally chatting while he ate and I smoked and tried not to exhale smoke in a direction that would drift into his face. I was still feeling a little sore about not getting a dance with him, but then I had the bloody brilliant notion of calling up my LJ and getting Camden to day hi on a phone post. T'was much fun, and Camden is such a good sport, and Rain is fun when she's drunk. After a while the alcohol was starting to get to me, so Rain and I wandered over to the lobby and Rain sat in a big comfy chair while I stretched out on this couch thing (but I got one more pic with Camden before he left!) and we happily chatted to whoever ventured close enough. I waved Chris the Cosplayer over and we chatted, and I got his autograph and a pic with him. Rain read his palm, and they talked for a long while - I think I drifted a bit. Being drunk with friends is a funness I rarely get to indulge in. After a long while of sleeping, Rain got sober and she woke me, and drove us back to our hotel (she holds her alcohol much better than I do) where we crashed and slept.
~Monday~
Slept in and left the hotel at around 11am, and Rain-chan drove most of the way to Willow's. Willow's a good friend of ours; I met her online first, and through her I met Rain. This was the first time we ever saw each other in person.
I had my green shawl, Rain had a matching purple shawl, and we gave Wills a dark red shawl to go with ours. That's our colors. Not quite sure how it happened, but it did. We also have alternate colors: Wills = Black, Rain = Blue, and Bryn = Brown. But we each had matching shawls of our primary colors, so it was cool. Also of note: Brynhild the Blellow, Faerie of Destruction; Dragon Rain the Bizarre, Faerie of Wisdom; Silver Willow the Bitter, Faerie of Happiness. We're strange.
We went out for pizza and then hung out at Will's place watching the anime "The Magic User's Club". Very kawaii. I am in love with the purple-haired guy. ^_^ Wills made tea and I drank some with her. Went to sleep some time that evening.
~Tuesday~
Woke up sometime that morning. Wills cooked eggs with sesame seeds and soy sauce for us. She also made tea, which I started getting used to drinking again. It's nice to drink tea with someone else.
Didn't even realize that it was 6-6-06 until Rain-chan, Willow-chan, and I were already on our way to visit Salem, Mass. Got lost on the drive over, and wound up on what was called "Dead Horse Beach". Nice beach, don't know what the name comes from. We wandered around collecting shells and relaxing, and then got back in the car. Parked and found ourselves in a mall, and there was a nifty store with a lot of Chinese-based stuff. I bought a teapot and four tea cups; hopefully with the right equipment I will enjoy making and drinking tea. Also bought Wills a teacup with a lid that she had her eye on.
The visitor's center was closed by the time we got there, so we wandered around taking in the sights for a few hours. Had some Witch's Brew, which both Rain and Willow swear is the best root beer ever made. I'm not a good judge since I don't drink root beer often, but I thought it was pretty good. After we got our fill of Salem we drove back to Will's.
Picked up some sake for Wills to cook with, and some alcohol to get drunk on, but I was too tired to drink. Went to bed late, as soon as we got back from Salem.
~Wednesday~
Woke up sometime in the morning. Nine-ish, I think. Watched Wills' guitar lesson. Went shopping for food, and Wills cooked this delicious spinage with sesame seeds and soy sauce concoction which I devoured. Must try to cook it for myself. Went shopping again for a hot-pot for Wills, and got a few other things while we were out. Rain was still passed-out when we got back, but she started waking up. It was 5ish in the afternoon, and Wills wanted a couple hours of sleep. I read a few chapters of printed fic before Rain ordered me to sleep also, since we were probably going to be leaving at 3am. Wills and I both slept long and heavy. Rain woke me up around midnightish, I read some more fic, and we finally got Wills up around 2:30 am.
~Thursday~
Woke Wills up around 2:30am and we made a circle and cast a spell together. Rain, Wills, and me. Power of three, baybee. We meditated and enjoyed the first time combining our powers. I found my personal symbol, made progress finsing my Goddess symbol, and met two of my spirit guides and my guardian angel, which was beyond nifty. Wills secretly spyed on me in my dreamscape and I was able to sense her watching me. Then Wills, Rain, and I joined each other on the same dreamscape and played around.
As much stress as leaving late caused, I cannot regret the time spent casting with Rain and Wills. I was well worth the long drive home and the sleepless shift at work.
Was planning to leave at 3am. Then changed it to 4am. Actually left at 6am. Rain and I switched off driving, and we finally made it back home at 9pm, giving me an hour to get ready for work. A few cat-naps in a car does not an awake Bryn make, and I proceeded to hang on my the skin of my teeth to make it though my shift. Tres Zombie-like. Crawled home and collapsed in bed.
All of the pictures I took at MR2006 (several of which were not linked here) are all avaliable here. Enjoy.
ETA: I now have a list of all my con attendances and info here, including links to my con reviews, scanned pictures, and scanned autographs.