(no subject)
Aaaaand it's over, just like that, Eurofurence XII has run to completion and vanished like smoke. A diaspora of furries spreads out from Nuremberg, scattering across Europe like leaves on the autumn wind. For another year, farewell!
It was a good con; it had a nice personality, a good Geist. Each Eurofurence has its own character-some more distinctive than others, of course, like the ludicrous EF 9 with its Czechnological mishaps, or EFX with its compelling spirituality. EF 12, for me at least, will be labelled in memory as a Happy Furries Convention.
A furry convention is made of many parts: a venue, people, shows and SIGs and barbeques, T-shirts and fursuits and of course a big bunch of people. But most of these aren't specific to the con, with honourable exceptions like the Pawpet Show; they're just stuff put on by the guys. SIGs are interesting, but you can philosophise just as profoundly over a bottle of red wine. Heather Alexander rocks just great, but she's by no means my favourite musician (even if she did most graciously accept the bottle of Pope Benedict Beer that I bought for 6.66 euros in the Dealers' Den). Look too hard at the components of a con, and you'll wonder why you came. No wonder folk think furries are weird.
In short, if you manage to spend the entire con without once stopping to consider what you're doing or why, and if you avoid suicidal practices like annoying the Chief Improvisor, then you can barely avoid having a wonderful time. You just have to acknowledge that cons run on a slightly different and more idiosyncratic version of reality (version 0.98b, according to our causality engineer).
So how is this? Why does Eurofurence modify consensus reality? Why does each con have its own anima, and why can this not be predicted?
I conclude that a furry convention is a rite. It's a great big magical spell cast by hundreds to invoke a daemon, which is the wild spirit that infuses and pervades a successful con. The people who put in so much effort to make the con go, from cheetah_spotty down to glorified gophers such as myself, are the officiants. The SIGs and events are there to lend the daemon structure and form, for without these it cannot exist, but, once created, the thing itself takes wing on its own and takes us all with it... wherever it may go.
In honour of its eldritch number and its as-yet-unsummoned daemon, I would like to suggest that Eurofurence 13 should be named The Wild Magic. I'm sure the higher priests have other incantations in mind, but that's all good. EF 13, whoever you may be, I'm looking forward to meeting you.
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[Addendum: I wrote this on departure from the con. It no longer quite makes sense to me. I feel that this substantiates my point, whatever that was.]
It was a good con; it had a nice personality, a good Geist. Each Eurofurence has its own character-some more distinctive than others, of course, like the ludicrous EF 9 with its Czechnological mishaps, or EFX with its compelling spirituality. EF 12, for me at least, will be labelled in memory as a Happy Furries Convention.
A furry convention is made of many parts: a venue, people, shows and SIGs and barbeques, T-shirts and fursuits and of course a big bunch of people. But most of these aren't specific to the con, with honourable exceptions like the Pawpet Show; they're just stuff put on by the guys. SIGs are interesting, but you can philosophise just as profoundly over a bottle of red wine. Heather Alexander rocks just great, but she's by no means my favourite musician (even if she did most graciously accept the bottle of Pope Benedict Beer that I bought for 6.66 euros in the Dealers' Den). Look too hard at the components of a con, and you'll wonder why you came. No wonder folk think furries are weird.
In short, if you manage to spend the entire con without once stopping to consider what you're doing or why, and if you avoid suicidal practices like annoying the Chief Improvisor, then you can barely avoid having a wonderful time. You just have to acknowledge that cons run on a slightly different and more idiosyncratic version of reality (version 0.98b, according to our causality engineer).
So how is this? Why does Eurofurence modify consensus reality? Why does each con have its own anima, and why can this not be predicted?
I conclude that a furry convention is a rite. It's a great big magical spell cast by hundreds to invoke a daemon, which is the wild spirit that infuses and pervades a successful con. The people who put in so much effort to make the con go, from cheetah_spotty down to glorified gophers such as myself, are the officiants. The SIGs and events are there to lend the daemon structure and form, for without these it cannot exist, but, once created, the thing itself takes wing on its own and takes us all with it... wherever it may go.
In honour of its eldritch number and its as-yet-unsummoned daemon, I would like to suggest that Eurofurence 13 should be named The Wild Magic. I'm sure the higher priests have other incantations in mind, but that's all good. EF 13, whoever you may be, I'm looking forward to meeting you.
-
[Addendum: I wrote this on departure from the con. It no longer quite makes sense to me. I feel that this substantiates my point, whatever that was.]