SPAT HSD Meetup 2023

Another year done! This meetup took place in Washington DC, or more specifically a little outskirt called Falls Church in Virginia. Momocon was the subject of 2022, but for 2023 we planned to go to an anime convention called Otakon; the character Otacon from Metal Gear Solid was actually named after the portmanteau for “Otaku Convention,” and according to Mint the character actually has a credited role at this convention as a result.

Last year the hosting was done by splitting between three different airbnbs, where one was designated the main hangout spot. This year we decided to stay in one solitary airbnb: an erstwhile Vietnamese food market (there were even wild onions outside so you could pretend it was still a market if you really tried), it had been transformed into a decently sized ranch house. There was also a fantastically unkempt lawn which we were warned not to traipse in lest we step on something sharp; initially fearing the worst of broken glass or disposed needles, someone like Tay or WoC eventually discovered a bunch of broken plates in the weeds for some reason. We still have not come up with a reasonable explanation for this. Additionally, there was a small camper located on the premises for two more sleeping spots.

The house interior had a strange incongruity where some parts like the kitchen and living room were pretty nice, but there was an attachment to the upper floor which had a kind of strange bathroom attached to it. The downstairs was also kind of a mess, with a fourth shower just planted into the back of the laundry room which no one could use because it had no visual cover whatsoever. Behind this shower was the weirdest room in the entire house, a bedroom that had a doorless connection to another room that was left completely empty. We immediately dubbed this the Torture Room.

The week, beginning on July 24th, started off relatively tame. I can’t speak for Monday, but I arrived on Tuesday evening and things were fairly sedate. At this point it was almost everyone staying at the house except for Kreuz, including myself, Dero, Nut, Mint, Misha, Ifnar, Tay, Delux, and Wheals; there were also a couple of Mint’s friends from the area, nice fellows known as Tuck, Ben, Noah, and Bips. The dinner of choice was a local place called “Badd Pizza” or some such with a heavy helping of pizza and wings. I think most people were simply tired after traveling so much (Chasca was trying and failing to get some sleep by the time I made it, describing the walls as “paper-thin”), and after a few rounds of hugs and clapping people on the back and saying “I can’t believe we get to meet up like this,” most of us went to bed.

Wednesday morning started off quietly: a scant few of us woke up early for various reasons, and we chatted away the hours waiting for others to wake up. I don’t remember the nature of the original complaint, but “Biden’s America” was thrown out as a casual response (much in the vein of “Thanks, Obama” back when he was president). Without prompt, everyone else present intoned like a bunch of drunken monks at the same time: “Biden’s America.” It became a favorite phrase of the hangout.

A handful of us including Chasca, Nut, Mint, Dero, and myself all went to Target to pick up a few basic groceries. Dero and I actually wanted a box fan because we were staying in the torture-adjacent bedroom, which had no air circulation to speak of and thus caused us to wake up in a horrid sweat, though in retrospect that might just have been the ghosts of the house’s victims haunting us. We were derailed by the procurement of some clearance rack Nerf guns consisting of: a double-shot rifle, a triple-shot pistol, a single-shot pistol, and a single-shot Spiderman pistol. They proved to be a horror that we should have known better than to unleash upon the rest of the group.

Once we made it back to the airbnb, the guns immediately came out and were put to use. People just freshly waking up like Delux and Bips were not spared. The living room became a veritable war zone, with fighting intermittently ceasing only to be taken up hours later without warning. Chasca and Mint in particular unleashed unspeakable cruelty upon everyone, firing directly into our legs and arms and necks from across the room like snipers on coke. The kitchen and dining room were designated safe areas within the first thirty minutes of the frenzy, but this rule was almost completely ignored as the week went on. Of the roughly 20 or so darts that we started with, I was only sure of the existence of seven (just enough to fully load the guns) by the time we left.

Wednesday afternoon is when the hangout began in earnest, though we were still missing a few members. Unfortunately I was bone tired and didn’t make it to the end of the night, missing Misha’s delightful lasagna, but there was much frivolity and I could occasionally hear darts being fired into the backs of people’s skulls even from downstairs. Kreuz was acquired from the airport around 10 PM and was immediately executed upon arrival, so in all it was a fine day.

It was at this point that we realized Tuck was taking pictures of people at random and applying a chad filter.

We implored him to stop doing so, but I believe there are reams of evidence of his further malfeasance as the trip went on.

At this point the group split up: some people wanted to grab their badges and do a little con-seeing, while a group consisting of myself, Dero, Nut, Ifnar, Chasca, Tay, and Kreuz went to Washington DC to tour the national mall.

Once underneath the Washington Monument proper, we took a small breather under its shade. Tay accidentally brushed up against some sort of stain on the side of the monument, and Chasca warned them away from “the piss spot.” It would have to have been a pretty impressive jet of piss to reach up to torso level but nonetheless, better safe than sorry.

The party continued on through the World War II veterans’ memorial where Nut dipped their toes in the water, then through a shaded path along the reflecting pool towards the Lincoln Memorial (I’ll refrain from sharing pictures of the memorials by themselves, as I’m sure they rank up there as among the most photographed places in the world already. Google them if you’re curious). Though the initial plan was to go to the Air and Space Museum, it was out of tickets for the day–not a thing back when I last visited–and instead we went to the Museum of Natural History, which proved to be a fine replacement. Much time was spent in the sections about the oceans and human history. Chasca got jumpscared by a guard telling her it was time to go while she was sketching a stuffed boar.

At this point it was time to meet up with METY, who had arrived and gotten his badge from the con as well. To do so we doggedly made our way up to the White House for a group photo, where he approached us saying he had been trying to get our attention for like twenty minutes and eventually just fell in with the group. It had been four years since I had seen him, and it was a delightful reunion.

Soon after this, we were spent and decided to return to the airbnb via metro as quickly as possible.

Shortly, everyone made it back. To those of us coming back from DC, WoC had appeared as if out of thin air and was forcing everyone to watch The Venture Bros, with positive reception. Mint had created a veritable feast composed of tteokboki and kimbap, the latter of which she describes as “failed” due to the mistake of excluding pickled radish, even though everything was promptly devoured.

After this, we decided to go en masse to watch the Barbie movie (Oppenheimer was off the table, I think it would have been too much for everyone to do both movies). Chasca watched me pregame a little too hard and I was resultantly blitzed throughout the whole thing; all I remember was thoroughly enjoying watching Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling be dressed in garish pink clothing, and then all I could do was endlessly repeat “it was a masterpiece” to anyone who bothered talking to me. I passed out instantaneously once we got home.

The next day was the first con day. After some thinking, I remember that I was chilling out at the airbnb with others periodically throughout that Friday, day drinking and forcing people to watch Tom and Jerry and Popeye cartoons with me. Those who went to the con snapped a few pictures (I’ve included pics from Saturday and Sunday here also):

There are more pictures, although most are just more abominations from Tuck where everyone looks like chads or crying babies. I shall do all reading this a favor by not posting them.

Back at the Airbnb, Dero was cooking some homemade pasta sauce, which turned out immaculately. Despite the kitchen being a blazing pit, I helped a little by making some nice olive oil toast in the oven. The pasta, like the tteokboki, was almost immediately consumed by everyone at the airbnb.

After some time of watching more of the Venture Bros, we started up Jackbox games. Quiplash 2 went about as well as expected, though after some drinking the answers all became a little more… racy. I distinctly remember at one point that almost every answer had something to do with bodily fluids of one type or another. Then someone decided to put on TKO, a game that revolves around designing shirts and adding logos to them. The first round was fine, but as the drinking continued everything turned into piss and shit, literally.

Following this, most of us got entirely too drunk and I was challenged to arm wrestle people. I ended up running a solid gauntlet of like five or six people and I beat EVERYONE, including WoC and Misha AND Dero AND Mint’s friends. There can only be ONE champion (though his arms were very sore the next day). Friday ended thus, on a very pleasant note.

Saturday was not to follow suit, however: I had planned to stick around at the airbnb and continue lightly daydrinking while watching Jerma, and it was my turn to cook anyway. While preparing the same thing I made last year, the shredded Mexican chicken, a freak storm descended upon Washington DC. It started lightly raining outside, which I was pleased with, but in the span of 15 minutes the rain increased in severity until it was coming down sideways in buckets. Right as the storm seemed it was about to lighten a bit, the airbnb’s transformer fucking exploded, plunging Otahouse into darkness.

Cue the rush for emergency gear, mostly candles and little battery powered lanterns, though I remember asking Wheals to bring more mixers for the drinks. Thanks to a gas stove I was able to finish cooking, but a fair few people decided to go to a Korean BBQ place instead. Those of us who remained instead had story time when Lat and Claire came to visit.

Despite this interruption, we managed to have a fun time together: Lat and Claire were only present for a short time on Saturday but Claire offered a campfire story about some SCP-esque building or society called “The Purple Palace.” I honestly cannot remember the full breadth of the story, but it involved people’s heads exploding a la Scanners, purple drugs being done at a rave with purple lights, a fight between a modern Gilgamesh and Enkidu with the Bull of Heaven (branded with the mark of the Purple Palace, of course), the Iron Giant and Hogarth from the movie somehow? It was such amazing bullshit, really. Eventually, Lat was falling asleep in his chair and Claire had to them both back to their hotel, and the night deepend a little.

Regardless of having no electricity it was still remarkably pleasant to hang out. Most people staying at the airbnb kept talking and playing 20 Questions until about 3 AM to try and put off sleeping in the oppressive heat. Around two in the morning, Tay came into the house saying they had thrown up out in the grass: the camper’s AC had of course stopped, and the smell of shit had started to fill the camper for no perceivable reason (for a picture of said camper, check Tay's entry below).

Somehow none of us drew parallels to the “I frowed up” meme until later, but Tay was thankfully able to find a different place to sleep inside the house.

Sunday found the power still out. METY, bless him, tried his best on the phone to get the power company out to fix the transformer, but to no avail. Most people decided to leave the house even just for a bit to secure food and electricity. In the morning, Wheals took me, Dero, Chasca, and Delux to a place called Shilla Bakery (an appropriate name, looking back) so we could get some bread and charge our phones. This being completed, some people went back to the con, although I stayed in until we decided to go to a place called the Union Market, a food court in DC.

It happened to be my birthday that day, and the gang decided to surprise me as I was coming out with some food.

Everyone was kind enough to sign a couple cards for me, the contents of which I shall keep to myself. Delux also continued the tradition from last year of getting two big posters for everyone to sign, one for himself and one for me.

After this, we decided to cap off the night by going back to the airbnb and hanging out in the dark. There was much drinking and I was challenged to a followup arm wrestle by Misha, which I still won handily.

At some point Mint came up with the idea to go do karaoke, an offer which was taken up by about 14 of us. I can’t recall who all went, I was three sheets to the wind at this point in the night. I’ve never expected I would like karaoke but it was surprisingly one of the most fun points of the entire trip.

Two hours of karaoke flew by in record time and then it was back again to the warm, dark Otahouse. We passed yet more time drinking and talking with each other–Misha and I in particular kept imbibing whiskey at an alarming rate and bullshitting about the nature of life and humanity, sharing pearls of intoxicated wisdom with each other and generally basking in each other’s presence.

Finally, though, the fun had to come to a close. A few had already left before Monday but July 31st was when the vast majority of us decided to haul up and get out of town. Tragically, the power was only restored that afternoon, a few hours before I had to be taken to the airport. Many hungover goodbyes were had, hugs shared. People I had gained a newfound appreciation for boarded flights or drove home.

Even being without electricity for two days could not dampen our spirits. We had nothing short of a fucking blast. In fact, despite the obtuse conditions, I think it’s safe to say that this year was even better than last. All I could think as my plane took off from Reagan airport was to look out the window and think, “I hope next year comes quickly.” I will miss you all until then.

Have some random pictures from throughout the week. Submissions from attendees to follow.

It was amazing, I'm so happy I got to meet with all of you (some for the first time). The lack of AC seemed to affect me the least out of everyone, I was doing Fine. Karaoke night was the highlight for me, I had so much fun. I hope we get to meet up again but with no issues this time.

I've been to a lot of local cons in my day, both with and without Homestuck cosplay, but I'd never been to one anywhere nearly as big Otakon. I always wanted to branch out to a bigger con. But actually, fuck Otakon. What I really came here for was to spend every night getting plastered with a house full of nerds, and that's exactly what I got. I don't get invited to a lot of parties, so spending all evening hanging out with everyone was just the best. Exactly what I needed. I've never heard "METY" spoken out loud anywhere near this much before. The power going out sucked, and I'm not going to sugarcoat it by going all like "but the power going out let us REALLY connect to each other without PHONE BAD", it fucking sucked. I enjoy not being drenched in sweat, and at one point I spent half an hour sitting shirtless in my idling car just to charge my phone and get some AC in the middle of the night. But it was all more than worth it. My favorite moments are just sitting back watching Drew arm-wrestling everyone and taking in the moment, and drunk karaoke. Didn't think I had it in me to sing Barbie Girl ahead of any of the weeb songs, but I nailed it if I say so myself. Guess anything's possible on enough soju.

This trip deserves nothing less than 5 out of 5 hats, despite everything. Probably would've given it less if I'd chosen to stay in the shit-wagon though. Either way, enjoy your four-years-overdue shirt, Drew.

I highly enjoyed everyone's company, and I might have to actually participate in gen now instead of walling myself off in the Dracula-esque evil fortress that is shills. Hopefully I'll get to see everyone again next year.

I’ll admit, I was pretty anxious leading up to Otakon. It’s not the first time I met up with people online, but it is the first time I did with people I knew for a long long time. I was really worried that I or others would come across differently in-person, and there might not be as much chemistry.

As it turns out: everyone was pretty much exactly the same in person as they were online. If you know someone for 5+ years you’ve already got a good handle of them. Who knew? Now you just get the chance to put mannerisms together with the personality.

Now, for the convention itself. I’³m gonna admit, I recognized maybe 40% of the cosplays. Still, they were *really good* cosplays. Also a honestly a bit tasteless CWC cosplay which caught both me and WoC completely fucking off guard. I was not brave enough to ask for a photo. I wasn’t sure what exactly I would be doing for the con, but people-watching proved remarkably fun.

Oh, I also had a really good haul from the dealer’s hall. Most of it was tabletop stuff, including a really beautiful reprint of the 1983 Palladium RPG, but I also snagged these incredibly beautiful Dark Souls prints.

It was good to meet people. Sometimes I think it’s really important to remind yourself that you are more than an infinitesimal mass hurtling through space. Existing primarily online can distort your self-perception that way. I’m really glad I did this.

So, Drew probably will describe it in more detail in his entry, but the airbnb we stayed at was a bit scuffed. Strange rooms in the house with no discernible purpose, the ability to crawl into the foundation if you so chose, and sharp objects apparently strewn about the yard. (This was mentioned in the welcome form right after saying that the neighbors may be anti-airbnb. These may be connected facts)

Anyway, one of the scuffs was a trailer that kind of smelled bad. People weren’t sure why (although now I believe it’s probably because its septic tank didn’t get cleaned), but after Mint and Misha set the air conditioning on for a full day, it was at least tolerable. This was where Delux’s and my sleeping accommodations were. I claimed the cot, Delux got the bed.

It was fine for most of the week, but then the power went out Saturday. With that, went the ac. Now that we were all stuck in a ac-less house in the dc heat, I opted to retire early that night, hoping to avoid the worst of it.

I did not avoid the worst of it. It was fucking hot in that trailer, and it smelled really, really bad. I got more and more nauseous as the night went on. At 2 am, I reached a breaking point. Bursting out of my cot, I ran out half naked, and vomited into the grass. Delirious, I went back inside to grab my phone, before running back out to vomit again.

That morning, I went back to pick up my things from the camper. As it turns out, my entire change of clothes for the trip now smelled like poo. Faced with the prospect of sleeping without ac and my clothes being ruined, (not to mention that it was the last day of the con anyway) I decided to just buy a train ticket back home. On that train, someone in my cabin peed themself.

I've been asked to write about my experience at the HSD meetup at Otacaon 2023. It was both my first time in the US and my first time meeting most of the people attending as well. Regarding the first part, I was rather impressed by how closely the region in the DC suburbs where we were based resembled what I had come to expect from american movies and TV shows. I did not however expect the confusing lack of geographical centers in this region. I am familiar with extended metropolitan areas in europe where a central population center has overgrown smaller, previously separate communities. This creates a structure where now and then, a clear central hub emerges where for the most part at least the rough structure of a town square has been preserved and from which a rather consistent set of layers of land usage extends radially outwards. Not so in the US, where small-house residential areas seemingly randomly cede to larger passthrough roads with some businesses or the parking lots in front of strip malls.

That aside, the american experience was rather pleasant; many of the DC monuments were conveniently accessible by foot in luckily dry and warm summer weather and aside from the convention, sightseeing and museum visits took up much of my time. We also took the time to visit at least one authentic american fast food place, with breakfast at IHOP (TM), get 5% off your pancakes with the affiliate link below the post. The food was very plentiful for actual breakfast (at least for my personal standards of only eating a yoghurt and a glass of milk), but given it was at 11am, it made for a serviceable brunch. The pancakes were actually pretty good, even if a lot of that was likely owed to the generous use of salt in the batter. Other than that, we subsisted largely off of either smaller restaurants or homecooking by a fantastic set of attendees. I do vaguely regret not experiencing more of the chain restaurants not available to me normally as well as an american dinner at this occasion, but these things can be rectified in the future.

The con itself (my first one) was a great experience; I was mainly occupied by wandering the halls and taking in the plethora of cool and interesting cosplays as well as idly browsing the wares of the vendors. I was actually pleasantly surprised that someone recognised my own cosplay at one point and I will certainly want to cosplay again at eventual future conventions, though hopefully with more than a week of preparation time.

As for the actual meetup, the principal takeaway which I already stated to some people in chat is how the knowledge of how someone behaves in real life has an exceptional effect on how I perceive their discord messages. Highly recommend experiencing it for yourselves sometime. That aside, hanging out with a bunch of nerds in a single overdimensioned house was a blast (aside from trying to fall asleep in the evenings) even though my natural shyness prevented me from engaging with fellow HSD members as much as I would have liked in retrospect. Still, meeting people like Drew, Misha and deLux in the flesh has left me with a lot of cherished memories of us fucking around together and having an overall great time which I am sure everyone is already confirming in their own summary writeups. I for one certainly hope that another meetup materialises next year so we can hang out together again.

Even though I forgot my bingo card, I still had tons of fun experiencing the US for the first time. Even more so because I got to do it with you all! It was exciting to see just how much everyone lived up to their online personas, and I loved the sense of community that grew throughout the week.

Looking forward to seeing you all again next year, and hoping that the AirBnB curse upon us will lift before then.

I anticipated this year more than I did last year, since now I had some idea of what I could expect from a con. Plus with a new extremely demanding job, I was itching to get some free time. I took a train into DC which was a new and extremely positive experience. I would highly recommend train travel over airplane travel to anyone who is weighing the two against each other.

Mint and Misha picked up Tay, Dero, and me from the various train and airplane stations around DC. I’ve already been to a con or two with Mint, and Misha has an extremely similar vibe so I fell right into a comfortable and friendly interaction with them. It took me a little longer to warm up to the newcomers but I felt like within a day I was best friends with everyone. Meeting new people in person for the first time is also such an exciting experience that it more than makes up for the initial awkwardness. This year I got to meet a bunch of new people with whom I had only ever interacted online, and it was just as good as last year.

The house, like most of the Airbnb places I’ve stayed at, gave the vague impression that the owner of the property was getting away with something shady. The house itself was weirdly constructed, and had weird quirks like the “Soviet Torture Room,” a completely bare cube of a cinder block room in the furthest corner of the basement where no light reached. The owner of the bnb warned us in our welcome memo about the neighbors being “anti-airbnb” and leaving “sharp objects” in the yard. Caltrops and architectural quirks aside, the most prominent weird thing about the house, and what affected us the most, was the attached Jetstream camper. We came to call it the Poop Camper. (Ominous thunderclap for effect) When we lost power on day 4 of the meetup, and without the HVAC constantly pushing new air into the confines of the camper, the fumes from the onboard sewage tank rose up and choked out anyone who dared enter. Two of us were using it to sleep in, too, so it pushed even more of us into the hot airless house during the night.

On the second or third night we went to see the Barbie movie together which was a lot of fun. I maintain that the dance scene was a transcendental experience. Despite being a Transformers-level exercise in product placement and stealth advertisement, it was a fun movie. For me, seeing movies with friends is kind of the only way I can enjoy cinema so I’m glad I got to see it.

I feel like I’m coming to appreciate Drew’s perspective with respect to the con itself a little more. The con wasn’t as much fun as I remembered and I enjoyed the time I spent with my friends proportionally more. I was separated from the group for most of my time inside the convention center which probably dampened my experience a little bit. It’s not as much fun to look at all the things when you don’t have a friend or two to slow you down. Going into all the little booths to look at the trinkets is fun, and I kind of robbed myself of it this year. Most of the arcade games were 2-player competitive setups, so without a friend I was out of luck there as well. The highlights of the convention experience for me were playing some cool board games when I did manage to meet up with everyone, successfully completing and wearing my cosplay, and seeing all the other cool costumes that people had come up with.

I actually finished a cosplay this year, and I was very happy about that. I was even pretty satisfied with how it came out, and I can imagine how much better it could have been if I had started working on it before I got to DC. Now that it’s done, I have plans to do an improved version of the same cosplay next year, and attempt a more ambitious one for the second day besides. Now that I see how easy it is my enthusiasm for making real garments has been re-kindled. There are so many shirts that I want to make. The only potentially negative thing about the cosplay is that it was extremely time consuming. I made some serious sacrifices with respect to the activities I participated in to get it finished. Working around the big dinner table with everyone else who had last minute cosplay work was fun in its own way, but it did prevent me from hanging out with the main group as much as I would have liked. Next year I plan to have the greater part of my cosplays done well in advance so I can spend more time actually doing things with my friends.

The power outage was a huge feature of the trip. Almost half our time in DC was spent with no reliable access to power of any kind. The mild anxiety of conserving our devices’ batteries and taking advantage of free power outlets around the places we went was a constant presence for the rest of the trip. We immediately lost access to the camper as a place to sleep, and the house became an oven. In our desperation to escape the house, we ended up doing a lot of fun stuff, including midnight karaoke which was a real highlight of the trip. Turns out stuffing all your friends into a room with a bunch of soju while you shout out your favorite songs, is a recipe for euphoria. I super want to do karaoke again sometime.

Now that the con is over and everyone has gone back home, it pains me to think that it will be at least another year before I’m able to see some of my friends again. Especially for my friends in other countries, it’s going to take deliberate planning and effort if I ever want to see them again. (I do want to see them all again!) I am reminded of how important it is to see the people you really care about. Going to meet up with my wacky internet friends was the highlight of my year last year, and this year has been the same. I feel like a new person, full of life and energy. I already can’t wait for the next meetup, and I hope to see everyone again next year, wherever we end up meeting. In the intervening time I’m going to make more efforts to reach out to friends and spend time with them.

We came, we saw, we sweat our asses off. What an excellent group of people to finally meet! Lots of booze, general rowdiness, and great vibes all around. I enjoyed the day of the con I went, and enjoyed even more the company I had during the stay. He was a twink.

Captain's Log, Star Date 101241.58. I fear the only words to describe my experiences at "Otakon" (It stands for Otaku Convention) are "fear" and "trepidation". For there are wonders in our universe that are as terrible as they are mysterious, and one such wonder counts itself among the stars we have so recently travelled. This beast was designed specimen "Linky", a stone-creature capable of moving mountains and consuming the work of five bakers within a minute. Hostilities started soon after first contact, with a ferocious death-grip embrace that surely would've been the end of me, if not for timely intrusion with our patented Nerf™ weaponry. Later in the week ok I'm tired of the bit

It was great meeting everyone properly for the first time, and it's a great reminder people are usually more real and betterer in person, except Drew, who's usually great in any form encountered. Overall I feel there's joy to be found in the small miracle that we're all adults that can meet up, cook for most days of a weeklong stay for ourselves and generally keep ourselves clothed, fed and entertained for the entire duration of the process.

It's the sign of good company when little 'accidents' cough do not affect my memories of the overall experience, and the power going out, while a major inconvenience, is not something that retroactively marrs it but rather makes me enjoy the company of everyone that was there. People came out of their shells, we designed bad t-shirts, shot each other with nerf guns, watched shit, sang drunken soju-powered karaoke at 2 AM and I BEAT DREW AT ARM WRESTLING AT A TABLE OK THE SECRET IS DON'T FIGHT HIM ON THE GROUND HE GETS HIS POWERS FROM THE DIRT

If I have one regret is that exceedingly poor planning (by my part, with no blame for my lovely plus one, who worked really hard on making a lot of this trip happen) ((with special given thanks to Bips on the front of making the trip happen)) me, Mint and Bips spent a good while working on cosplay rather than hanging out with everyone for the first few days. While I enjoyed looking embarrassing in an armor that was falling apart, in the future, I'll aim to maximize time spent with good friends.

Everyone there is a good reminder on my journey to self-improvement that people are usually actually really great and lovely, if you give them a chance, and I hope to see everyone I met there again. And to beat Drew on the ground next time, with my left hand. That is my trial of power.

Monday: Left the house with Leo, Noah, and Ben. We gassed up a poor guy's Airbnb with our cosplay materials.

Tuesday: Showtime! Thanks to Nut, we were able to split up the pick yp process. We had a running gag where we would go "Is that Dero from Homestuck?" while waiting to pick them up from the airport. Misha also got to run around Union Station while looking for Tay and Delux. A little pizza, wings, and games helped us ease in with each other.

Wednesday: Most of this day was cosplay prep from my perspective. Misha and Bips took on the burden of cooking dinner that night, leading to some banging lasagna. Drinks were plenty, too!

Thursday: We had breakfast at IHOP, and Ifnar downed an entire vanilla milkshake in a matter of minutes. The group split and I spent most of the day working on cosplay and hanging out at the Airbnb.

Friday: I always forget how massive the Dealer's Hall is. I wandered around a good bit with Misha and Tuck, gawking at anime figures and whatever bizarre merchandise we could find. We swung by Anime Rockband as well, which is always a joy.

Saturday: I learned an important lesson: never work on cosplay the day of a con. It never works out well. Misha, Bips, and I rolled into the convention at about 2PM. Our photographer's camera died, so we just had our own mini photoshoot and got McDonald's afterwards. Then, God struck us all down and the dark days began... At least we got to play a card game with Tuck until the convention closed.

Sunday: Went to the con to avoid the heat. We came back after the closing ceremonies, which were mostly the AMV winners and an announcement or two from the board. The AMVs were surprisingly entertaining to watch, and I definitely don't regret hanging around. They also had a t-shirt cannon with a rotating barrel for some reason? We ended the day with karaoke, which is one of my highlights from the trip because of how everyone ended up participating.

Monday: Misha and I had to leave early because of work, but not without dropping a few folks off and saying our goodbyes. I used to feel sad at these meetups, but nowadays, I only get more hope and excitement for the next one!

Internet meetups have always been a source of anxiety for me. You really do have no idea how people will get along, or if things will even work out until the end of the trip. This one was no exception! We had over 10 people coming from across multiple states and continents to see each other. For some people, this was their first time interacting with people from the HSD, and for others, it was an anticipated reunion. But to see everyone come together, whisk drinks around a rental affectionally called "the crack house," and leading people into the torture basement was worth the anxiety and frantic coordinating.

From TKO to NERF gun assassinations, 2-hour meal prep and drinking so much that you're comfortable roasting in candlelight while nursing your eighth drink of the night, this trip really embodied what an internet meetup is like. Chaos, candor, and communion (over a few bottles of soju)-- it really had it all.

Each year gives me something to hold onto, and something to hope for. Last year, it was the ability to be with the person I love outside the bounds of a few international flights and video calls. This year, it is the chance to meet with this group again without the looming fear of the power never coming back.

I'm grateful we could all make it and enjoy each others' company without too many complications. This meetup wouldn't be what it was without everyone opening up and occasionally stirring up the chaos.

I had so much fun at this meetup, just like last year. The lack of power gave a nice camping-like vibe to the airbnb for the first night but then immediately overstayed its welcome. You'd think that having done this more than once would make it easier to say goodbye at the end, but it was just as sad a moment for me.

Fun convention, fun people, I met most of you guys at previous conventions and it was just as good this time. I am disturbed by the frequency with which I was mentioned in jackbox games despite not being a participant. Nice to see both old and new faces, and it was especially fun getting to be the con sherpa this time and show some of the new faces around the convention and watch their reactions.

More people were exposed to liquor that actually tastes good, Venture Bros, kigus, man-made horrors given form via cosplay and most importantly a brand new stock of internet weirdos that they had never met before. I feel that all of these things are important for their development as adults and am pleased to have done my part.

In the future I will leave deadlifting @tuckthor to sober me, add ice packs to my Stargate cosplay so I do not boil alive, and lift more weights so I will crush Drew at arm wrestling such as the bugman that he is. The next BnB should have a generator and maybe not as many deer with missing limbs.

Last year I participated in my first large-scale HSD meetup. I recall being pleasantly surprised by just how comfortable spending time together in person felt; how quickly this sensation arose after the initial jolt of 3-dimensional recognition of someone who, until that moment, had been words on a screen.

This meetup felt even comfier. It felt like a family reunion. I'd compare the friends whom I was meeting a second time to close cousins; the friends whom I was meeting for the first time IRL to more distant cousins; and the friends of Mint who I was unfamiliar with until this event to even more distant cousins still. The crucial aspect is that everyone felt like I knew them. How often do you experience meeting, effectively, a stranger, and feeling comfortable enough to hug and share meals with them immediately? It's a sign of the good taste in people that we collectively have.

The camraderie was palpable. There was a sense of everyone wanting to get to know one another and work together to make the house run smoothly. My personal highlight would have to be Luxie and Tuck and Misha hitting the griddy while a group of us played TKO. It's been a while since I've had that level of hysterical laughter.

This needs to become a tradition. I've had two years in a row of meeting with Linky, Luxie, Mint, Woc, and Wheals. I deeply desire to continue this trend, and add more and more friends to the group. Once a year is not enough but it's better than not at all. We are all pals via a shitty webcomic that explores, among many other things, the trials of having friends who live so very far away. But, we are going to keep making it work.

The worst part of the trip was the fact that I tore a chunk of skin out of my pinky toe on the stupid fucking couch that ate all of our Nerf darts and literally no one assisted me in bandaging it. I blame every single attendee for this and I will never feel vindicated.

Bonus quote of the week courtesy of Misha: "You're a lot cooler than I expected you to be." catYell