#con recap

[dunderella]

kupocon pom west was so fun 😭💕

i got alot of great comments on my fit hehehe, and i had my special clive decoden photocard holder that i made with me for good luck 🌹💖

[setsuntamew]

Otakon 2023 - Day 0 Recap

DAY 0 WAS SO FUN!!!!!

We made the very smart plan to go down today and get our badges, instead of wasting a chunk of Friday in the pickup line. And it was a very good idea; it went sooooo smoothly and quickly. I got all my accessibility stuff taken care of, too, so waiting in line for the Studio Orange panel on Saturday should go smoothly :D

So after picking up badges, we sat sorta near the entrance and watched people go by. I love watching cosplayers go by and seeing everyone's stuff, and I'm always impressed by people who get fully in cosplay for Thursday of all days. I ended up wearing my Millennium Ring because I wanted something fun, and I also wore Thief King's coat until I was too hot.

We eventually got hungry and went to dinner, which ended up being an exercise in pain because it was so fucking hot sobs. Maybe I shouldn't have been wearing a long sleeve coat in 97 degree weather, but maybe I'm just not smart XD Pat found the place and it was only about 10 minutes away, but I was cursing him out at about 2/3 of the way there because I was so overheated ;w; It ended up being really good, so all was forgiven. Pat had a particularly good mango margarita!!

On the way back to the con center, we stopped at CVS so I could get a 5 hour energy - because I left all of mine in Baltimore - and I got fucked carded at the self checkout. Apparently you have to be 21 to buy them??? So that was funny to me XD

ANYWAY. We finally get back to the con center and see the Legato cosplayer I was trying to meet up with...having a photoshoot outside the building, as you do. It was really nice to meet up with them!!!! I got to share my millionsummers fic booklets and Liz's Legato zine :D And then one of their friends recognized my XiYao ita bag and mentioned that they liked SangCheng, and Liz was able to produce a SangCheng fic from my bag of mysteries uwu We're gonna see them again tomorrow (hopefully!) at the Trigun shoot *w*

It looked kinda overcast, so I made the decision to head home. Which was good! It started raining as we are trying to get into the parking garage XD

[mlobsters]

jared padalecki and jensen ackles nashville con 2024 - main panel

sweat towel duty 🫡

[ofmdrecaps]

09/20/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Call To Action: David Jenkins; Samba Schutte; Con O'Neill; Hugo Pierre Martin; How To Help; Other Cast & Crew Sightings: Rhys Darby; Rosie Carnahan Darby; Taika Waititi; Samba Schutte; Leslie Jones; Guz Khan; Damien Gerard; Kristian Nairn; Hugo Pierre Martin;

Well folks. It sure is wonderful to be honking loudly with you again! (Clown or Goose, however you prefer to consider it!). This morning, David Jenkins started us all off with a very specific tweet that set off a chain reaction!

= David Jenkins =

It APPEARS that David is telling us, the fans, that OFMD is "available", and that Netflix is the streaming service to woo. Now, does that mean it's just being bought and streamed? Or perhaps being picked up by a Season 3? There has been some discussion that Netflix sometimes likes to stream a cancelled show before they greenlight another season-- and well, who knows, maybe that's what OFMD is in line for!

Source: David Jenkins' Instagram

= Samba Schutte =

Then a little later in the day... Samba started us up with a new #, #supnetflix!

Source: Samba's Instagram

= Con O'Neill =

Con joined in on the sharing!

Source: Con's Instagram Stories

= Hugo Pierre Martin =

Our "one-line" friend, Hugo Pierre Martin is back at it! He's supporting OFMD in every way he can!

Source: Hugo's Twitter / 2

The fans took David and the Crew's call to action by starting up a tweet storm! Our friends over at @adoptourcrew also kept the momentum going by putting up prompts!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

Some of our crewmates reminded us, and Netflix, we had the numbers :)

Source: Florence aka single_cat_mom on Twitter!

As of the time this post was put together, the trends got up to the following! Thank you to APurplePatch on Twitter for captureing them!

Source: APurplePatch Twitter

And a little schadenfreude for today's festivities! Thank you Ashley!

Source: Ashley aka Seven_Sugars on Twitter

Well there we are-- great job today crew! Sure is feeling good in the fandom today! If we can, let's keep the momentum up through tomorrow! Are you excited about the possibility of an s3? Well, feel free to join in the manifestations from our friend @xray-vex!

Source: Xray_Vex Twitter

== How To Help ==

I can't believe I'm saying this again-- but hey! Wanna help out with the renewal (or at least selling OFMD) effort? Please consider some of the following!

Sign the Petition if you haven't already! (Change.org DOES clear out non-confirmed via email signatures every once in a while, so be sure to check your email.)

Request Our Flag Means Death on the Netflix form!

If you're interacting with social media, use these hashtags: #OurFlagMeansDeath #supnetflix #AdoptOurCrew #SaveOFMD

== Other Cast & Crew Sightings ==

= Rhys Darby =

New Bill Napier Weather Update from Rhys today on his Substack! There was even a shout out to some of our crewmembers you might recognize! Give it a listen!

Source: Rhys' Substack

= Rosie =

More Kitten Content from the Darby Household! (why yes, I will use my one movie allowed per tumblr post to add kitten content, I regret nothing).

Source: Rosie Carnahan Darby's Instagram

= Taika Waititi =

Taika's back to his "influencer" phase again!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Taika Waititi (@taikawaititi)

Source: Taika's Instagram

= Damien Gerard =

Damien's finally getting to get some relief! Congrats sir!

Source: Damien's Instagram

= Kristian Nairn =

Kristian catching up with one of his old co-stars, Issac Wright!

Source: Kristian Nairn Instagram

= Samba Schutte =

I realized I shared Samba's pics last time, but didn't say much about the new campaign! Samba's new Shop Stands campaign is benefiting the LA Regional Food Bank! First up, you can get a hoodie version of the Crew For Life T-Shirt! - Crew For Life Hoodie

Next up-- Samba is back with another cooking class! This time it's Death By Cheese! Death By Cheese Class

EVENT DATE: NOVEMBER 9 EVENT TIME: 10AM PT/1PM ET EVENT LOCATION: ONLINE

Source: Shop Stands

= Guz Khan =

New season of Man From Mobeen! Not sure if there's a date yet...but looks like Guz is sharing some pics!

Source: Guz Khan's Instagram

= Leslie Jones =

Leslie was on the Jennifer Hudson Show a couple days back!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Jennifer Hudson Show (@jenniferhudsonshow)

Source: Jennifer Hudson's Instagram

= Hugo Pierre Martin =

In case you haven't heard, Hugo is doing a Spotify Audio Series! Wanna check it out? Visit: Spotify

Source: Hugo's Twitter

== Articles ==

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

== Love Notes ==

Alright, lovelies. I have so many things to say and yet no stamina to do so. I'll try to pick up tomorrow-- I just wanted to send this your way, I hope you find the ones who make you feel like you're basking in warmth and love, like the sun.

Source: StayCloseToYourself_ Instagram

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

12/05-06/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill; Vico Ortiz; Nathan Foad; Kristian Nairn; Samba Schutte; David Fane; Nat Faxon; Alex Sherman; Guz Khan; Minnie Driver; Netflix on Bsky; Fan Spotlight: Ruby Deluxe Raleigh; Love Notes

= Rhys Darby =

As usual, lots going on with our Pirate Captain! He was out in Portland for two days and had a blast!

It looks like Sketch Fest has added a second show at the Gateway Theatre on January 22nd!

Rhys also ran into a fan who's been coming to shows for years!

Source: SF Sketch Fest / Instagram

= Darby Daily Doodle =

The epic continues!

Source: Rhys Darby's Free substack

= Taika Waititi =

Taika's been very busy too, as per usual! More pictures from his Koko Foundation appearance!

Source: My Beautiful City

This is just a quick picture of Taika from one of the recent Letters Live performances! Not sure if it's new or not but it's new to me so I wanted to share!

Source: Letters Live Instagram

Next up, Belvedere Vodka did some BTS with Taika! You can watch the video here.

Source: Belvedere Vodka Instagram

Taika and Jemaine's show, What We Do In the Shadows is up for 4 Critics Choice Awards! Best comedy series, best actress, actor, and supporting actor in a comedy series! Check out the Article here.

Source: Choice Awards

= Con O'Neill =

Con sent a shot of himself after he made it to Columbus!

Did you know he's got even more swag up on Stands? Now there are Hand signed autographs of THAT scene in s2! Check it out! Hand Signed Autograph on Stands.com

Source: Con O'Neill's Instagram

= Joel Fry =

Joel is going to be joining Ncuti Gatwe, and Nicola Coughlan for this years Doctor Who Christmas Special! check out the trailer below!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho)

Source: BBCWho on Instagram

= Vico Ortiz =

Some New S2 BTS from Vico! Buttons Character vs Buttons the Stuntman, Nathan and Ewen and Con giggling? Vico spoils us! Check them out on Vico's Patreon.

Source: Vico's Patreon

= Nathan Foad =

Nathan also sent out an arrival photo once he got into Columbus!

Souce: Nathan's Instagram Stories

= Kristian Nairn =

Same with Kristian! they love letting us know when they arrive places!

Source: Kristian's Instagram

= Samba Schutte =

More BTS from Samba's Advanced Chemistry Movie! Thank you as always to the writer, Alec Moore for sharing them! I realize they don't have Samba in them persay, but I thought they were pretty cool-- and Alec is a huge fan and support of OFMD! If you have seen the film and haven't reviewed it yet on amazon, please do! I know they are still looking for reviews here!

"When I saw the @advancedchemmov.bsky.social art department's collection of props that they brought to life from my crazy imagination, I literally teared up. And then Samba-- literally teared up for a scene. The difference is he was acting. "

Source: Alec Moore's Bsky

= David Fane =

Awhimai Fraser, David Fane, and Temuera Morrison were very busy interviewing at several AUS & Aotearoa NZ press junkets!

Source: awhimai_fraser instagram

An interview with ScreenRealm with about their favorite songs in Moana 2!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Screen Realm (@screen_realm)

They were also interviewed by Draw Your Box about Moana 2 and they got to discuss some Cricket for a bit!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alicia Vrajlal (@leeshiev)

and just for fun, I couldn't resist sharing David Fane laughing so giddly, you can really hear Fang in there.

Source: awhimai_fraser's Instagram

= Nat Faxon =

Our fantastic Swede, Nat Faxon is joining the cast of the (US version of) Ghosts Season 4 as Alexander Hamilton!

Source: Variety

= Alex Sherman =

Our sweetheart writer, Alex Sherman, is campaigning for a really amazing cause. He's created a fundraiser to help sponsor a free 1 week camp for kids who've lost a parent, sibling or caregiver. They've reached their goal, but it can't hurt to help kids in need if you're interested. Alex was a counselor there in the past and he continues to support these kids <3

https://give.experiencecamps.org/fundraiser/5933654

Source: Alex Sherman's twitter

= Guz Khan =

Guz just taking silly pictures with friend Haroon Mota!

Source: Guz's Instagram

= Minnie Driver =

Minnie was out slaying after her bout of Pneumonia!

Source: Minnie's Instagram

= Netflix on Bluesky =

Netflix officially joined bluesky back on the 3rd, and our resident Skyrates-- or whatever it is we're calling them these days-- started in the adoption requests again! If you have a Bluesky and you'd like to join the fun, remember to add the hashtag #OurFlagMeansDeath, #SaveOFMD, #AdoptOurCrew!

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Ruby Deluxe Raleigh =

There's been a request by several of our crew members to help out this wonderful gay bar in Raleigh. If you have some time this Saturday December 14th, at 9 PM and you're in the area, would you be kind enough to help out? "Hey friends! Ruby Deluxe, the gay bar that hosted our Calypso's birthday meetup at Galaxycon Raleigh, is asking for some help to stay running. If you can, consider making a donation or spread the word (or come through if you're local!)" Links to Socials

Source: Kate on Bsky

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies. I really am so late on this one, I'm sorry. It's been a lot lately. I know it has been for a lot of you too. I don't wanna hold this recap up any longer, so here's some love notes from SelfLoveRainbow <3

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dominee Calderon (@selfloverainbow)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dominee Calderon (@selfloverainbow)

Source: SelfLoveRainbow Instagram

[iknowshocker]

so chapter 25 is painful, your honor

Bonnie flinches back from the shadows of the cave, the sudden brush of cool water hitting her skin from the falls making goosebumps rise along her arms.

Next to her, Jo faces the waiting dark in silence, tears still streaming from her eyes, though she makes no move to scrub them away.

There's a strange stiffness to her body, each of her movements jagged and rough - as though she's fighting through the sensation of being turned to stone. Despite the fact that her switch has clearly been flipped back, an eerie sort of calm settles over her, another pulse of Kai’s magic spreading out from her pendant. 

It breaks the moment they round the corner into the main hall of the cave and see the body. 

Ric is on his knees beside Kai, one hand braced over his own ribs, the other tugging a charred stake from his brother-in-law's chest. His desiccated, unmoving, perfectly still chest - 

Jo’s hand slips from Bonnie’s as she flashes away, making Ric jump as she lands in the dirt across from him. The sound she makes as she looks down at her twin nearly sends Bonnie to her knees, her mind struggling to catch up as Jo’s fingers clench in the ruined fabric of Kai’s shirt. 

Magic howls through her blood, thrumming with the unbearable truth, but Bonnie pushes it away, shaking her head as she stumbles back. Even if it is real, it can't be permanent - Kai always has a plan.

If he's dead, then there must be a good reason.

[savebylou]

Hiiiiiiiiii

how are youuuuuu???? how was iiiiiiitttttt??????

WHAT EVEN IS THIS OUTFIT?!?! HOLY SHIT

DAMN NIALL JAMES HORAN?!?!

(you won you won you won! so happy for you cc! 💕🫶🏻💕🫶🏻💕🫶🏻💕)

Shay this is the first pic I see with the flag omg omg omg 😭❤️🇲🇽 I was manifesting so hard for this to happened and somehow it did. This is my favorite pic of Niall ever.

I saw the fan trying to throw the flag mutliple times and before Slow Hands he accept it and it was so gorgeous and magical.

He sang all the songs I wanted except Stockholm Syndrome (I call it the Night Changes curse I know you love the song but I prefer others 1d songs) but I forgive him because he sang Science and Cross Your Mind and Must be Love but especially the first two I've been praying and manifesting that he sing those and having 1% hope. When he sing Science I was shaking, I was so surprise of how lucky I was that he choose that day to perform it, it was so beautiful to hear it. And Elias show me the setlist, Cross your mind was a last minute change it wasn't on the setlist, it was meant to be for me to heart it ❤️😭.

Niall said this last 2 shows in Mexico City we were the loudest crowd of the tour so far. That this is what he dreams to be in front of crowds like this, we were so loud for every song and he was so happy.

The fan projects didn't work fully, only The Show a little bit but we did make the kill my mind lights spontaneously for Save My Life and he like it.

Everyone was having the best time and he took his shirt off before singing Heartbreak Weather and I lose my mind 🫠 he look so good and is the smallest tank top on Earth, like wow.

Anyway, that is a lot of ideas of what I could remember. I love Niall more than I already have. His love from México was beautiful to hear and he is an amazing performer, artist and songwriter. What a dream come true really, after all this months following his tour and doing updates of his tour living his tour in real live was such a magical experience, I feel so lucky to have whitness that show.

Thank you Shay for sharing this photo with me I will keep it in my heart and mind.

I hope you have a great day/afternoon/night.

[plusultraetc]

I can't believe I forgot to mention this but when I was at comic con this year I saw a pointy yellow thing in the distance and fully thought it was Present Mic's hair but when I got closer I realized it was just Swampfire from Ben 10 😭

[anthonyconh]

Hay dos tipos de personas: los que comparten 'Wrapped' de Spotify y los que comparten su 'Recap' de Youtube

[i-vrdude]

Here’s an entire slideshow of the recap for all the cosplay convention events I attended!

The ones I attended were AwesomeCon, PR Comic Con, Rio Comic and WasabiCon!

[tadeojonesmemes]

Can you make Recaps from Descubre Con Tadeo?

Sure, no problem ;)

Recaps moments (memes) from Descubre Con Tadeo

● How to describe it to make it Iconic.

Other people: Is there a way to prevent viewers or listeners from getting bored when giving lectures?

Tad:

...Tad, aren't you tired?

● Smile

A sincere smile...

● When I finish a project in PowerPoint but don't check it for completeness, the presentation is like this:

● Ahhhhhhhhhhh

When a movie I like has a sequel

● This is me when I talk to myself.

● When I want to be a teacher and try to simulate being a teacher...

● This is me when someone calls and I have to answer the phone even though I don't want to answer the phone.

h...h..hello...🥲

● What did you dream last night?

My dream:

● This is me when I watch Netflix until morning.

● Legendary slapping scene...

Is this a documentary for children?

bonus

I'm trying to escape old problems from last year.

● 🤷

My face when I realized that today I had work to submit but it wasn't finished yet.

● Me every day...

● When I saw this scene...

Me:

● I'm easily startled...

That's it all. Recaps the moments (memes) that I've gathered together, but actually there are a lot of memes here. If I posted more pictures, I probably wouldn't be able to handle it because there were a lot of memes.

[redcap3]

Charming - Pt. 1

Charmed. 

Since I became a part of the hypnosis community, it’s been this shining star on the horizon. 

“Oh, you should go to Charmed!”

“I got the best idea from this class at Charmed…”

“Last time at Charmed I got so melted…”

The star became even more intense when I became part of the Oikos family. 

“I wish you’d been with us for…”

“When you go to Charmed, we’ll…”

“I am going to collar you at Charmed.”

Well. We all know that last one didn’t work out, but the point remains that it took on a status beyond just “this is a big convention” for me. 

My Goddess and the other Chosen made it clear that Charmed is their event of the year, a celebration on par with and just as important as the recent winter holidays. 

In 2018 I was still navigating the end of my marriage. In 2019, I was too broke after my divorce. 

In 2020, I didn’t feel like I could make the money work, and I didn’t ask them to help because it didn’t feel right. 

In 2021, I attended online yet still knew I was missing out on the ‘real’ Charmed experience. 

In 2022, we were within a week of leaving for the con when the host city declared a health emergency due to spiking COVID delta variant cases, and the family made the decision we had to stay home for safety, even as it broke us. 

(There was deep, fundamental damage that day to all of us in the Oikos, and many of those wounds still haven’t healed.)

I don’t regret anything about the collaring that Goddess found a way to perform for me and for Camden Dawn, my amazing counterpart, but there was still a lingering ache of knowing it was not what we had wanted to do.

Last summer I finally made it to Beguiled, and got a taste of what the hypnocon experience could be like. 

When Camden came to me and said she needed to be at Charmed regardless of what the family chose to do, I agreed, and I promised her she wouldn’t go alone. 

I made every effort to ensure I would be as safe as possible to go. 

Third booster for immunocompromised patients? Grabbed mine within a week of the announcement. Bivalent booster? Hit it the day it became available in Minnesota. I asked my doctor if I could do anything else to protect myself, and she even got me the Evushield prophylactic shot series. 

I pulled finances together even as I sunk money into dealing with some major house repairs. I researched what would be the best routes if we drove, I checked flights and I watched rental car rates regularly. 

On some level I knew that Charmed had been built up in my head into something bigger than any one event could really be, but at the same time a part of my brain said ‘If we go to Charmed, everything finally gets to happen. I get to have my own Charmed stories! Everyone gets better. Everything will be OK again.’

So I basically needed Charmed to be perfect in a way that was genuinely impossible…and yet I am also going to tell you that I had a really great trip!

So how does that work?

Wednesday: In chaos there is…mostly just chaos, actually. 

(Administrative note: The Oikos family as a whole and I specifically wore N95 respirators with fitted seals, plugged valves, and disposable filters any time we were in a public space, and changed those filters daily. If I do not mention being masked, please assume that I was masked up in my interactions unless in a private space with the consent of all parties.)

So I should preface that Goddess charged me with doing logistics for the trip after a conversation where the majority of the family decided that we would fly rather than drive. 

(Camden and Sleepyhead had already booked plane tickets due to some circumstances, but we would all be in the same hotel)

Within 12 hours of that discussion I had plane tickets booked for Goddess, myself, Copper, Jukebox, Tigress, the younger spawn (hereby referred to YS), and Timbit. (I initially did Timbit's seat by paying for an additional seat under my own name when I booked our tickets online. This turned out to be Wrong. More on this later.)

I booked a rental car which was listed as being able to carry all of us and our luggage for a week, set to be picked up once the main group had landed, plans to get us to the hotel and meet friends, and to get access to two of our three hotel rooms. 

(One room was reserved outside of the con block for Goddess, Copper, Jukebox and YS, since they’re only 17 and really do not want to know what we get up to in our spare time. We also had a handicap accessible room paid for by a friend of Goddess’ as a holiday present that was supposed to be in the con block (it was four doors down from the “outside” room, and nowhere near the con block or the con area!), and a “standard” room Camden had booked that was in the con area and turned out to be much more accessible for me to get around the con than the accessible rooms!)

We all slept at the “prime” Oikos house Tuesday evening, with cabs scheduled to pick up the primary traveling groups and take us to the airport at 7:30am so we would be ready for our 10:20 flight to Baltimore. I even checked us all in, prepaid for checked bags and forwarded the electronic boarding passes to everyone Tuesday afternoon so we could get to our gate with as little stress as possible. 

(I had originally planned on a Lyft XL capable of taking the group, but there were some concerns about the Lyft driver not wanting to take a dog.)

There were expected to be some light snow flurries, but nothing that would cause too much trouble. We would get picked up, go to the Delta counter closest to the airport’s south security checkpoint which was almost directly across from our gate’s concourse, and be golden. 

Which is why we were totally shocked to wake up and find that freezing rain had coated everything in about a quarter inch of ice. 

For those who don’t know: I have RA and mobility issues, and was planning on using my cane to get around the airport. 

But first I had to get my luggage. From my car. Parked on the driveway. 

The roughly fifty degree slope driveway. Covered in ice. 

Worse, as we attempted to abseil down the slopes to get everything together from the house for the trip to the airport, we quickly realized our cabs were nowhere to be found. 

We ended up taking two Lyft rides after all, though I was so deep into trying to adjust the plans on the fly that I didn’t even notice Goddess, Tigress, Timbit, and YS getting picked up from the other side of the house!

Once Copper, Jukebox, the rest of the bags and I were on the way, I got a notification on my phone that our gate had changed from Concourse G to Concourse F, but at least it was still in the same general area. 

Then we got to the Delta counter and found out our gate was now in “C” concourse - on the opposite side of the airport. 

I took my bag to the drop, and found out my main bag that I had (over) packed with outfits, rope, and toys was seven pounds overweight. 

Rather than try to repack my carryon and checked bag, I took the financial hit, got into the precheck lane at the south checkpoint, and asked for help from a handicap assistance cart to run me over to the gate while Copper and Jukebox headed for the north checkpoint. 

At the same time, Goddess and her party were being dropped off, and thanks to our heads up they went to the North checkpoint. 

Unfortunately, a TSA agent decided to give Goddess a headache about YS’s legal gender on their passport not marching the ticket (YS found themselves to be non-binary since the passport was issued) and then wanted to know why Timbit didn’t have an animal pass. 

That would be my fuckup, since I didn’t know Timbit needed an animal pass since she was in a carrier and had a ticket to travel in the main cabin. 

Goddess, YS, and Tigress went back to the Delta counter, finding Copper along the way, and eventually sorted the situation out while I sat at our gate, increasingly confused and hungry. 

(I had planned to get something from a caribou by our original gate and use a straw / strategic positioning to be able to lift my mask seal long enough to eat, but with the gate change there was nothing close enough to get to easily with my carryon and cane.)

My solution, once I was caught up via discord on what was going on, was to provide as much info as I could to Goddess until the Delta agent was able to help sort it all out, and to put in a mobile order at the Dunkin Donuts near-ish to our gate on the concourse with a request for Tigress to grab it in exchange for getting her a Diet Coke. In the meantime, Delta provided Goddess with a wheelchair and attendant to get her down to the gate, and everyone else followed suit. 

Now I need you to know I used the Dunkin app to order egg bites, an iced coffee, Tigress’ Diet Coke, and on impulse, a brownie batter donut. 

Boarding was called shortly after Tigress let me know she had the order, so I let her know Goddess and I were pre-boarding with Timbit, and to please bring me the food and I’d try to eat on the plane before the doors were closed. 

Long story short, Tigress arrived with a donut and a Diet Coke because that was all the Dunkin staff gave her, and I had to open a ticket with Dunkin’s mobile order support to see if I could get the other $10 of stuff refunded. 

It had been aggravating, stressful, and I got a big blob of chocolate goo on my t-shirt, but we all got on the plane and into our seats without further incident. 

(Well, aside from the ticket agent wondering why I had two tickets, which I had to explain again about Timbit (and my size making it generally a good policy to have an extra seat next to me) and the agent said “Oh, you didn’t have to do it that way! You could have saved some money!”

Notice she didn’t actually offer to refund me that money. Yeah. Thanks, Delta!)

The flight itself was pretty uneventful, and I have to praise the best pup here - Timbit (who was admittedly stoned out of her little puppy mind on CBD dog treats) didn’t bark, whine, or make a mess in her carrier. She was sweet and good and Goddess and I did our best to open the carrier when possible and give her pets, contact, and reassurance. 

(Oh, and we were miraculously not caught in the FAA shutting down a majority of air traffic that morning! A bit of luck I am still grateful for.)

We finally reached Baltimore, waited for most of the passengers to deplane, and eventually got off the plane and down to baggage claim, and I suggested to Copper that the two of us go to the rental car depot to get the rental and have him added as an additional driver so he could take YS out to the Smithsonian at a couple points during the con, while the others got bags together and took a break to rest.

(For those who have never needed to acquire ground transportation at BWI, it is a bit different from most of the airports in the US, where a rental car garage / parking deck will be located adjacent to the Terminal. To get a rental car at BWI, you must take a shuttle bus out to a facility that is about 3 miles away from the airport, where you will also return the car when it is time to go home. For Copper and I, this meant a ~10 minute bus ride (after hustling, and failing, to catch the one going by as we left baggage claim), then a short walk to the Enterprise counter.

Unlike our airline experience, getting the car reservation pulled up and having Copper added as a driver was pretty painless!

I was starting to drag a bit (a lot) due to lack of food / water and wearing my Envo N95 respirator for the better part of six hours at that point, but a reprieve was in sight. 

Sort of.

Y’see, I mentioned reserving a “Full Size” SUV / Crossover? The first two options we were shown were both crossovers with only 5 seats. 

Third time was mostly a charm with a Nissan Armada that we dubbed “Cyclonus the Rental Tank.” It had three full rows of seats with decent legroom, but loading cargo required a bit of tetris when we got back to BWI to load the family in. Still, it was a vehicle, it ran, and we’d fit in it. Good enough.

(It turns out it also had a hair trigger throttle, an acceleration curve that was more like a sheer cliff, and a navigation system that I well and truly hated by the end of the drive to the hotel, but hey, it did the job!)

We made the way down to the hotel, got our first room secured, and got everyone and their things inside while we tried to work on the second. (Oh - and those ‘accessible’ rooms? Required you to take a half flight of stairs unless you wanted to enter or leave the hotel from a side door! I might have been a bit peeved about that.)

I had already planned to make a Target run for needed supplies (CPAP water, potable water, drinks, snacks, first aid stuff), and we ordered some pizza for everyone because I was about ready to start eating some of my metamours at that point. 

(Sorry, Jukebox.)

After pizza arrived and I managed to eat and have some water, my mood was back up into at least “mildly chuffed”, and I began texting with Panda, who had graciously offered to re-color my hair when I had lamented not having time to dye it during my con prep. (OK, I actually started texting Panda after we had boarded the flight, but now we got serious.)

Getting the information to get into the second room took a lot longer than we had expected, and I was way past overstimmed and overwhelmed by that point. Even busying myself with putting the Target order in so I could pick it up later didn’t really help much, and it was an incredible relief when we finally got the keys and I could retreat for a few minutes…just as I got the notification that the Target order was ready.

I took a deep breath, asked Tigress if she would come with me, and we made our way over to get the stuff, which was mostly uneventful.

(Note: WHO PUTS MULTIPLE DRIVE-UP AREAS IN DIFFERENT LEVELS OF THE RAMP?) We would return to the hotel, get stuff distributed, and I was finally able to tell Panda that it could come down to start having hair fun, and I let another friend, Linnybee, know that I had the “Trance Cards” she had asked me to print ready so that we could hole punch them, attach ribbons / twine, and hopefully distribute them during the con as fun ways to keep track of scenes and as souvenirs. 

Not too long after we started making good progress on the cards, Panda arrived, and I broke out the various (and generally less than ⅓ full) bottles of color I’d had left in my house from the last time I had a friend help me color it at home. It was not long before I was changing into pajama pants and an old tank top so Panda could get to work mixing up purples, blues, and pinks, and place a very shiny cape around my neck. (“I’ve got foils and everything!”) Side note: Panda and I have been friends since sometime in 2020, but this was our first in person meeting instead of zoom, discord, or text conversations. It gave me an amazing hug when we finally got to be in person, and squished very nicely. Huzzah. It will probably not surprise anyone that after a long and stressful day, sitting down and letting Panda mess with my hair eventually turned into Panda messing with my head, getting nicely relaxed and trancy as it took care of  me, lightly fractionating me but being careful not to completely melt my brain since I still had things to do. (Turns out this also did Tigress some splash damage, which, well, whoops!) Goddess and Timbit dropped by while we waited for the color to set, and it wasn’t long before I was stripping down to shower and rinse off the excess dye while Panda made sure everything was combed out and looking good, then washed my hair with color protecting shampoo and conditioner. By the end my hair was purple and pink with blue accents that looked amazing and I got the chance to spend a bit more time with Panda and Linny before they each needed to be off to their next adventures, while I got dressed again to head back to BWI to pick up Camden and Sleepy.

We had passed a Steak & Shake on the highway on our way between the airport and hotel, making plans to grab food there for a late dinner with everyone on the way back from BWI, but in the post pandemic world it appears that S&S is no longer a 24/7 beacon of grease and hand spun goodness, so a backup plan of chicken, biscuits, and fries was arranged to be delivered to Goddess’ room while I made my way up to the Arrivals section of the terminal and found a good spot to wait, pulling up to the curb moments before I got a message from Sleepyhead that their plane had touched down.

When they emerged and made their way to the car with their bags there were hugs and a few kisses before we got back on the road, and I happily listened to how they had each tranced each other during the flight. I had known that Daja and Sleepy had planned a special experience for Cammie on the plane, but I was just as squeeful with compersion to hear about Miss Dawn putting our lovely dolly into her own deep trance.

I dropped them at the front of the hotel so that Camden could get checked in and acquire room keys, then parked the tank as close to Goddess’ room as I could, meeting everyone inside for a meal and some quiet hanging out time before I eventually went down to take a look at Camden’s room and I asked if it would be OK for me to stay down in their room rather than try to do a lot of stairs and walk about two-thirds of the length of the hotel any time I wanted to go back and forth. I was concerned about Tigress feeling abandoned, but she completely understood why I needed that access, and I was grateful for her acceptance. Bags were grabbed, stuff was shifted, and I ended up getting ready for bed with Sleepy curled up against me in one of the two queens and Camden in the other, listening to Goddess’ peaceful sleep file as the three of us drifted off. Thursday: Pre-Con sounds great, but…

Somehow, despite going to bed closer to 2am than not, the three of us woke around 8 and no-one died. I had originally planned to attend EnScenic’s Music, Hypnosis, & Hijinx class that morning at 10, but after I took my meds and did some self reflection, it was clear that what I really needed was to take it easy that morning. 

I am reasonably sure I had breakfast, though I genuinely do not remember what it was, grabbed some extra naptime with Sleepyhead, and eventually arranged to get some additional groceries for the weekend delivered to our room, though I was continually thwarted in my search for the high-protein shakes my dietician recent recommended I add to my meal planning.

I also stopped by registration and got my badge somewhere in there, but I genuinely don’t remember when or how, though I did run into several friends and acquaintances along the way to say “Hi!”

Sleepy has been open about her battles with anxiety and depression as she prepared for and attended the con, so I will say that I spent some time comforting her while Camden went out to explore and meet up with several people (including Daja, once she arrived), and not too long after we had a nice lunch sent over from the Double T diner, she asked if I could use some pallet wrapI had in my bag to give her a nice comfy bondage hug and a trance that soon turned into restful sleep. (Note: Double T is a descendent of the Greek Diner tradition, and their Moussaka was amazing. It reminded me so much of the Moussaka I used to get at Matsos’ back in Wooster that I would not be shocked to learn their family recipes both came from the same part of the country. Not a crucial part of the weekend, but it was a nice and unexpected bit of comfort and nostalgia for me!) I eventually decided to skip the afternoon classes as well, given that I needed to (in no particular order) acquire our massive household cookie order from EnScenic, pick up the books I had shipped to the Con via Daja to sell and drop them off with EnScenic so she could vend them when I wasn’t available, pick up rope I had ordered ahead of time from Lynx and her company MFA designs that I secretly intended to gift to Daja since she had expressed an interest in learning how to do rigging and I had offered to show her some of the basic ties I use with Cammie as her subject and Sleepy as my demo partner, go to a hardware store (or arrange delivery) for hex keys because I forgot my lightsabers’ set screw keys, my wife to murder and Guilder to blame for it.

(If it sounds like I was kinda overcommitted this weekend, you are exactly right. A big lesson I am taking away is to really think about how many hours are in the day, and how much I actually will feel able to do.) Oh, and did I mention that I was part of the on-site consent team, and was on-call in case any issues came up before our kickoff meeting / pizza party that night?

Yeah.

Thankfully we did not get any calls for consent issues that I was asked to help with that day, but it was a constant tickle in the back of my head as I tried to keep an eye on our reporting channels and discord chats.

Somehow, 90% of what I wanted to do got done, and I even managed to pick up a couple of badge ribbons from Meraklis, who I had done a fun scene with at Beguiled and was looking forward to seeing more of later.

Daja, her spouse Turq, and Cammie came back to the room for dinner, and we picked up Italian as a compromise between most of the group wanting pizza, and me already being pizza’d out thanks to having a lot of pizza on Monday and Wednesday, and knowing more pizza was in my future for the late evening. We ordered from a local restaurant called Bella Italia, and my eggplant rollatini was delicious, thank you. 

There was a bit of light play before and after we ate, but it was generally just a happy hangout time with good friends and watching some AGDQ speedruns. Daja was given the rope (though we kinda had to do a raincheck on the lesson - more on that later), and Turq and I got to vibe a bit while mutually appreciating Sleepy.

(For those not familiar with Sleepyhead, A) How? and B) You should know that basically everyone in the community is a little bit in love with her, and it is a beautiful thing. Since this was our first time attending a hypnocon together, I privately made a promise to myself to give her as much freedom as she wanted to play with friends, other partners, and potential play or romantic  partners. I didn’t want her to feel I was constantly following her around or breathing down her neck, and I think we both did a good job of letting each other do what we needed to do while communicating and occasionally sharing fun stories or experiences when we had proper permission.)

I went to part of the “Welcome” event hosted by Psy and the concom that evening, but lack of seating eventually made me move over to the room where the Consent Team meeting was to be held while I read a bit and futzed with my phone.

One of my goals for Charmed was to try to get out in the community more, since most people either knew me from my writing or an online event or two. I made a goal to be more social and make more connections in the community, so I decided to put a post out in the “Looking For Play At Hotel” channel to let people know I was open to play on both sides of the watch, so to speak, and that I had brought stuff to do rope, impact, and sensation play. Once that was done I also reached out to some friends and previous play partners who were doing classes, and asked about being a potential demo bottom for a few of them.

Well, I quickly learned that offering to be a top at a kink con will get you a lot of attention, as my messages exploded within moments of the post going up. 

I replied to as many as I could, making plans to negotiate and potentially play on Friday or Saturday, generally with an eye for making use of the dungeon while it would be open, but leaving in-room play on the table as well.

The consent team kickoff would go smoothly, with our fearless leaders Spinfrog and T distributing plastic file folders to keep our paperwork, notepads, kleenex, and some emergency candy in, and we made sure everyone had their ground rules (and more pizza) before breaking up. I ended up bumping into Meraklis again while she was talking to several people about her Jedi Mind Trick triggers, and she asked if I’d mind being an impromptu demo, since I wanted to have the trigger refreshed anyway. (Oh no, please don’t throw me into that briar patch...)

The trigger is pretty simple: If Merkalis or someone you trust waved their hand in front of you in the usual “Jedi” manner, you froze for a few seconds and then went back to normal. If they waved and said a phrase (“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for”), you would blank out, repeat the phrase, and then surface again. 

It’s cute, it’s silly, and I love it dearly. When it was set up at Beguiled she had put a limit of the trigger expiring once the convention ended, but this time we left it a bit more open ended as long as I was in a safe place with people I was comfortable going into trance around.

I had a few more hallway conversations on my way back, including bumping into someone who I had a warm and happy conversation with, and knew I recognized, but my brain utterly failed to identify her(?) by name, and since they didn’t have a badge on, I was SOL.

(You were wearing a cute motorcycle jacket, skirt, and a steel infinity collar, and I had hoped to run into you again and say Hi / actually get your name! If you read this, please ping me so we can catch up more?)

I would return to the room, a bit tired but still in good emotional space, and Sleepy would ask if her friend gothsocks could come down to say hello for a bit. 

I had also been talking to socks and getting to know her better, so I happily agreed. We had been discussing the possibility of doing a dollification and cuddles / light play scene during the weekend, so I was happy to just have some low key, no pressure hang out time to build some groundwork and rapport.

(Plus socks is neat, and again: trying to be a more social creature.) 

What mostly ended up happening was socks and I nerding out over FFXIV’s latest expansion and new classes / raids / dungeons for a while before we all needed to get some sleep while Sleepyhead watched us infodump back and forth, and it was great.

Not long after goth left Sleepy and I planned out a few things for Friday before we got cuddled up for bed again, knowing that Camden was likely to be spending the night elsewhere.

[thresholdbb]

I don't really understand the point of autographs, but it's a low effort way for actors (especially smaller ones) to make money

Won Nana Visitor and Garrett Wang signed photos

Got a special signing with the Rat Pack cause they held the cosplay contest at the same time as the signatures, so I missed every one of the ones that came with my pass. Dr. Trek made it happen for me though, and he was super cool

Casey Biggs and Jeffrey Combs made it happen, wish I'd gotten them at the normal time. Sort of caught them all on the side of the stage

Vaughn Armstrong was very, very sweet, especially considering I didn't have a photo for him to sign

Max Grodénchik took about 10 minutes to sign, meticulously picking out the right location on the picture, right pen, and right color. He wished me luck "much profit," saying it didn't have to be money. Abundance in life. When he was done, talked to him a little bit about the Rat Pack show (and the special Strike version) since he wrote most of the songs

Ethan Phillips recommended some books to me (though I can't for the life of me remember them, I cry), and he was overall very nice

Jeri Ryan was completely swamped but I told her voyager was my absolute favorite and she acknowledged my Janeway cosplay and asked how to say my name. She even laughed at my little name joke

Robert Picardo made minimal conversation, and he picked up and started reading his book to make me go away (it was like 2 minutes max, he had no line, and it was quiet in there. Same vibe both times I've talked to him)

Brent Spiner and I talked about his book for at least 5 minutes, even with his unending line

Michelle Hurd was again very lovely, and I was asking her about the SAG strike

Eugene Cordero hung out at the after party, and he signed my useless gift certificate making it "worth less". I paid for an autograph after just cause he was such a cool, chill guy

Only took pictures with Bonnie Gordon because of my deep cut Prodigy cosplay, which she recognized immediately. She stole my coffee cup. I went back and had her sign because supporting less famous talent is very important

Every. single. one. of them asked or made conversation about my name

[modularmedia]

SDCC 2023 - Modular Components Episode One Hundred and Three

These mad lads talked about pictures of toys and vague hints towards comic plot lines for three and a half hours. If you watch all the way to the end then you're a champ.

[ofmdrecaps]

11/29-30/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill; Nathan Foad; Ruibo Qian; David Fane; Megan Vertelle BTS; Fan Spotlight: One More Song Drag; Articles; Love Notes;

= David Jenkins =

Chaos Dad is out helping to fuel the clowning! The big point of that interview that @adoptourcrew was kind enough to point out was that Rhys is absolutely ready to hop back into ofmd.

Source: David Jenkins Bsky

= Rhys Darby =

- Daily Darby Doodles -

More Daily Doodles from the Darbs!

Source: Rhys Free Substack

And Rhys doing a little advertising, and getting heckled by the kids.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The CryptidFactor podcast (@thecryptidfactor)

Source: TheCryptidFactor Instagram

Rhys also did a short video while at the StarFury Event in the UK for his paid Substack.

Source: Rhys' Paid Substack

= Taika Waititi =

A little blep from Taika's Interior Chinatown interview!

Source: YulYY4 Bsky

Rita crumbs of Taika and his goofy self.

And some rugby going on with friends! You can see David Fane and Robbie Magasiva there too!

Source: Marsgee13

= Con O'Neill =

Some more pictures of Con from the Republic of Pirates that were posted after the con!

Source: Starfury Events

= Nathan Foad =

Nathan keeping us entertained with bratwurst, I love this man.

Source: Nathan's Instagram Stories

= Ruibo Qian =

A quick sketch of our lovely Pirate Queen out on the town with a friend.

Source: Ruibo Qian's Instagram Stories

= David Fane =

Looks like David Fane's old work Bro'town (with Oscar Knightly and so many others) has some new swag up! If you're interested, check it out on their Redbubble!

Source: David Fane's Instagram

= Megan Vertelle =

Our sweet Set Decorator Megan Vertelle was kind enough to give us some more BTS of Mary and Anne's antique shop! You can view them all here: OFMD Renewal Repo or on Megan Vertelle's Instagram

Source: Megan Vertelle's Instagram

== Fan Spotlight ==

= One More Song =

This is actually happening as we speak in Columbus OH because this recap is very very very late. For those of you who end up attending, please let us know how it was! It sounds absolutely phenomenal, so many great crew member (and even VICO!) joining this fabulous Drag & Variety Show! Wanna learn more about these awesome performers? Check out their Instagram posts (linked below) for their socials and introductions!

Vico Suave! / V.C. De Arte

Polly Amour / Zalestorm

Krill Collins / Polly Cocktail

Snake / Honeybee

BBQ Guo / Elixir Kant

G Wiz / Gagatha Christea

Keela Mann / Irritable Brat Syndrome

Source: One More Song OFMD Instagram

== Articles ==

Thank you to @adoptourcrew for continuing to keep us apprised of ofmd related articles!

Source: AdoptOurCrew

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies. These are so late and I'm very sorry for that-- but I'll be honest I've been dealing with a lot at home and it's been hard to get to them. I still think of you all every day, and I hope you're hanging in there. Remember to take some time for yourself if you need it. Sending love <3

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A post shared by @thelatestkate

Source: The Latest Kate's Instagram

[ariesxcove]