#everyone needs to rewatch celebrity booze.

[dennisboobs]

not a dennis apologist but a ~dennis defender~ when i see everyone somehow missing the fact that mac is literally fucking stated to be the one pulling the strings from the shadows and has been for years while dennis, naïve, known idiot and chronic underestimater of his friends, is the one being played.

[absolutely-not-my-main-blog]

Aye I actually got to watch the episode tonight

Random 16x07 Notes I took while watching before scrolling my dash:

-Mac playing pool just like he plays hockey and bowls I see <3 something something putting too much power/pressure on things/being too forceful when you gotta guide the hockey puck like a little bowl of cream, or throw the bowling ball with gentle precision and finesse... something something previous years him putting too much pressure/force on Dennis but now...

-On a less conspiracy take note, I rewatched Mac’s Big Break recently and I find it fun how Charlie is just like better and knows more about sports and stuff like that and tells Mac what he has to do to play better. Also plays into this season’s theme of Charlie recurringly being the straight man, able to point out and notice things others don’t, but still being a bit of a helpless observer for the most part.

-Great Sharp title cut today, I should make a list of all the best ones/ones with best timing, I know one of the most iconic will always be Frank Sets Sweet Dee on Fire.

-The cackles and Charlie trying to mirror them <3 love that

-The horror sound effects when the McPoyles turn around and in the next few scenes are on point.

-Following that “Too many ideas, just stick with one” theme again just like in Celebrity Booze... interesting, very interesting. And what’s the main uniting idea that they want to stick it out with huh 👀 (or is it about the blend of ideas, the chili the cheese the fries.)

-Mac touches Den’s arm so much in this ep, they’re both very touchy, it’s nice to see them comfortable with that again.

-First time I’ve been able to watch the rip with commercials, Danny Devito Jersey Mike’s jump scare, how can I connect this to sunny he’s hiding behind the painting with the eyes cut out just like Dennis was in s15 and—*Jersey Mike himself drags me away*

-Dennis saying “it’s too sexually charged” while side eyeing Mac right next to him in frame like that, I don’t even need to comment

-Let’s go, Frank, slow and steady wins the race... slow like the structure, like 16 years wait.

-Artemis saying “hoor” like Frank does, okay, work it.

-Really interesting to me Charlie gets a strike without even needing to focus, something I wanted to say there but I don’t remember. We saw everyone else with their initial strategy and then psychologically affected to fail though and I wish we got to see Dennis in that context as well?

-Mac’s finesse ramble 🤝 Anya in Buffy “I have finesse coming out of my bottom!”

-“Just play the game and we’re gonna win, don’t spin, don’t do it.” This line I like because it feels very much in line with I’ve always been Dennis and you’re you you’ve always been you, and big mo again and just play the game and we’re gonna win, don’t spin, don’t do it, just be yourself, just be, just play.

-I can’t believe they cut off my man on his scream, the injustice! Anyway, gonna need more angst and pain from him, stat.

-Lick

-omg the McPoyle bowling scene was so much better than I expected, that was so funny. Also, Liam wants Dennis so bad.

-They should have trash twin telepathy stuff in this show more, let’s goo, they’re in each other’s heads, they’ve never been apart almost their whole life, we need Dee to figure out how to mess with Dennis’ head next.

-The cgi pin faces will haunt me, they also crashed my computer multiple times like the ep simply would not play beyond that scene.

———

Bonus: DTAMHD trailer thoughts

-Dennis having a new car when the old one is so inherently tied to his identity/the past, iCarly interesting.jpeg, trying to reconcile the new with the old and him not having control of it, a theme of control this season, who is in control? Charlie or Frank in the world of business? Dennis as Johnny? Aaron or Bryan... is it all an act? Is Mac...?

-Putting things under pressure so they become diamonds subplot to putting Dennis under pressure, I see you, I see you.

[ljandersen]

Damsel in Distress

Pairing:  FemShep/Kaidan Alenko, Mass Effect 3

Summary:  Celebrating the victory on Rannoch, Shepard has too much to drink.  Not everyone aboard has Shepard’s best interests at heart.  Someone sees opportunity.

~*~*~

Shepard teetered to her feet and braced a hand on the card table.  “Whoever said you couldn’t fight a reaper mono a mono?  Answer’s Kaidan, by the way.”  She threw back the shot.  “Salud!”

The portside lounge was overcrowded, full of booze and celebration.  Most of the senior crew were here.  Orbiting Rannoch, finishing up peace talks, it was nice having something worth toasting.  The geth and quarian were on the same side for the first time.  She didn’t want to think about the sacrifice to get there.  That was for another time.  Tonight, light years from a port, it was shore leave without leaving for shore.  Well earned.  Needed.  Granted, some responsible parties still held the reins upstairs.

“Haha!  You’re learning, Lola.”  James reached over the card table and clinked Shepard’s glass.  “Salud!” 

“Is it normal for a military vessel to carry this much alcohol?”  Liara hovered over the card table.

Most of the partiers buzzed around the bar across the room.  Others lounged over the furniture and crowded by the door toasting and talking over each other.  Only a few were willing to go head to head with James at the card table: Garrus, Tali, Kaidan, Dr. Chakwas, and Shepard herself.  Dr. Chakwas was a card shark, but a sleeping one at this point.  She rested her face in the crook of her elbow breathing in a steady snore. 

Tali looked up at Liara.   “This is a special – hic hic.”  Tali put a hand to her chest.  “Special – hic – Special occasion.” 

James laughed and pointed at Kaidan.  Kaidan sat at Tali's side.  “Got your work cut out for you, Major.  Your student’s about to fall off her chair.”

“We’re hustling you.”  Kaidan folded his arms and tipped back in his chair.  “Your call, Vega.”

Behind her, Joker and EDI sat on the couch rewatching footage from Rannoch.  Adams regaled Cortez, Donnelly, and Daniel with the genius of the quarian fusion generator he’d seen on the flotilla tour.  No one looked as interested as Adams himself, who offered up his own questions in a rhetorical fashion and then answered them.  

It made Shepard smile seeing them all cut loose for a while.  A little unconventional, maybe rebellious, but they had forty-eight hours of hang time until the quarian and geth finished up talks.  The navigator had the bridge covered.  Who knew when they’d be in port again?  By that time, there could be more losses than wins fueling the tab.  Shepard wobbled down onto her chair.

“Read ‘em and weep, Sparks.”  James spread his cards on the stable.  “Straight.”

Garrus threw his cards on the table.  “Every time.”

“Eh, I knew you had nothing, Scars.”  James didn’t spare him a glance.  He leaned forward, his eyes on Tali.  “Well?  Gotta show ‘em some time.  Don’t let your Jedi master use the hood of your suit for wiping his tears.”

Kaidan rolled his eyes and tipping back further in his chair.  “Go ahead, Tali.”

Tali held the cards close to her mask.  She looked between them and James’s straight laying on the table.

“Hmm.  Can’t tell.”  Tali put an elbow on the table, maybe to steady her wavering cards.  “Just can’t – hic – tell.”

“You don’t need to tell,” James said.  “Time for figuring it out is over.  I called.  Now it’s time to show.  You teaching her nothing over there, Major?”

“She’s beaten you a few times,” Kaidan said.

“Luck.  Come on, Sparks.  Lay ‘em down.”

Tali snapped one card down at a time and pulled her hands back.  James stood and squinted at them.

“That is higher?”  Tali tapped a card.

“Dammit!  No way. How with the --Then the -- Holy damn.”  James plopped down in his chair.  “You were twisting the fabric on your suit.  The left wrist.”

Tali turned to Kaidan.  “Fell for it.  Hic.”

“What?” James said.  “Alenko’s red herring deal?  Dammit.  Major, you got to keep some tricks in your own bag.  You want to be writing your paycheck to me and Tali.  Do not let the student surpass the master: Poker by Vega 101.”

“A class with that philosophy isn't worth the tuition.” Kaidan got to his feet.  He put a hand on Tali’s shoulder.  “Let me get it.”

“You just – hic – I didn’t knock over – hic – that much last time.”

“All quarians get this hiccupping?”  Garrus craned his head and looked at Tali over Kaidan’s arms.

“Quite normal,” Dr. Chakwas said.  Shepard jumped.  Dr. Chakwas lifted her face from the crook of her elbow and yawned.  “Quarians have tender digestive systems when it comes to ethanol.  Not uncommon to have a little intestinal rebellion.  Where are my chips?”

“Dr. Chakwas.”  EDI came to the table.  “As you were incognizant, it was suggested your chips be exchanged for digital credits.  I have made a direct deposit into the account specified on your Alliance paystub.”

“You can see our paystubs?” Traynor turned from the group at the bar. 

“I have access to all Alliance accounts.  This information is confidential.”

Joker slouched back on the couch with a sigh.  “I’ve tried getting her to tell me how much Kaidan makes.  She won’t.”  He caught Kaidan’s sharp frown.  “What?  Just curious.  Shepard’s CO of a starship, but you’ve got the lapel chits.  Who wouldn’t want to know?  Right?  James?”

“Whoa.  Ha.  I’m not getting into that.”

“Liara,” Joker waved at her, “you’re academic.  Don’t you – Oh.  Wait.  You probably already know.”

“I do.”  Liara strolled to the bar.  “Speak to one of my brokers with five thousand credits ready, and we can talk.”

“What?  No favors?  You all forgot my birthday this year, by the way.  Not even a card.”

Shepard rested her forehead on the table.  Legion should be here.  She pulled her mind away from that trail.  No, it was a good day.  If she didn’t focus on the positives … She didn’t want to think about where that would go either.  Shepard toyed with the refilled shot by her face.

“Salud!”  She raised the glass then dribbled it into her mouth.

~*~*~

Shepard lurched upright in her chair.  A card fluttered off the sticky skin of her forehead.  She was still in the portside lounge.  Dr. Chakwas snored softly with her cheek against the table.  James slumped in his chair with closed eyes and an open mouth.  Garrus was sleeping facedown in the center of the card table, fully stretched in a chalk outline of poker chips.  She looked forward to hearing that story.  

Bodies lay across the furniture or on the floor slouched against the wall.  Donnelly looked particularly uncomfortable, folded like an accordion in the crevice between the couch and wall.

“Commander Shepard.”  EDI glided from her statured pose against the wall.

“We weren’t drugged, were we?”  Shepard laughed into the back of her hand.  The room sloshed around her with her wave of laughter. 

“Ethanol poisoning can be a serious medical condition,” EDI said, “but I do not detect levels near the threshold needed for lethality.”

“Guess that’s good.”  Shepard stood.  She stumbled forward and caught herself on EDI shoulder.  She gazed around them.  “Where, uh – they’re all here?  No.  Wait.  Who’s missing?  Don’t tell me. It’s Waldo again.”

“We do not have a crew member by the legal registered name of Waldo.  Is this colloquial for a more formalized version of another name?”

“You mean, like EDI is?”

“That is a correct example.”

Shepard patted EDI’s shoulder then used her as leverage to search the floor.  She found her comm halfway under the table and popped it into her ear.

“If you are still interested in the results of your earlier inquiry, I can update you on crew location throughout the ship.  For instance, Major Alenko –”

“Oh, yeah.  Right, right.”  Shepard wobbled around to face the table.  His chair was empty.  “Where’d he go?”

“Major Alenko is in engineering.”

“Huh?”  Shepard staggered across the room, bumping into chairs, and tripping over empty cups.  “Good night, EDI.”

In the elevator, Shepard swayed on her feet staring at the buttons.  Her cabin sounded good.  Engineering sounded better.  She punched it.  She had to check on her crew after all.  She’d just taken inventory of all her senior staff members minus one.  The elevator stopped, and she tumbled out.  The buzz of a hovercam made her look up.

“Commander!  Excellent timing.”  Allers’s stilettos clicked across the floor from her studio.  “Viewers were enthralled with footage of you taking down the reaper.  I’d love some live Q and A.”

“Oh.  Of course, of course.”  Shepard tugged on her uniform and tried to stand tall.  The floor kept moving, so it was harder than she remembered.

“Excellent.”  Allers clapped her hands and rushed to Shepard’s side.  “Any questions off limits?  Viewers like candor though.  Transparency.  Raw reactions.  Maybe some, uh, personal questions?  Just a few?”

“Give the viewers what they want.”  Shepard focused on the bot overhead.  It kept going in and out of focus.  Damn thing.  “I look at the lens, right?  No changes?”

“No changes.”  Allers clicked a button on her microphone and turned to the camera.  “Welcome to a live impromptu question and answer session with Commander Shepard aboard the SSV Normandy.  We have unrestricted access to discuss the now-infamous reaper takedown on Rannoch: Commander Shepard on foot, staring into the eye of annihilation.  We’ll discuss the liberation of Rannoch and the tenuous peace between machine and master.   Commander Shepard has also agreed to open up about her childhood, life on Mindoir before the attack, time in foster care, and the devastating massacre on Akuze.  Welcome, Commander.”

Shepard gripped Allers’s arm to steady herself.  The microphone filled her face.  “This is Commander Shepard.”

“Uh, indeed.”  Allers pulled the microphone back.  “Let’s start at the beginning.  Mindoir.  Your parents.  You had extended family there.  Tell us about them.  What was life like?”

“Mindoir?”  Shepard scrunched her face.  “Well, uh – I guess.  Got some photos.”  She fumbled with her Omni-Tool.

“Excellent.”  Allers’s eyes glowed.  She looked over Shepard’s shoulder at the screen and waved the camera bot closer.  “Perhaps a family picture?  Your parents and –”

“Commander,” a male voice snapped.  “Alliance Command is on the comm for you.”

Allers’s mouth tightened.  She forced the corners up with a perky warble in her voice.  “Ah.  Humanity’s other Spectre.  Major Alenko.  Perhaps you can—”

“An emergency, Commander.  You’re needed right away.”

A hand grabbed Shepard’s wrist.  He spun her around to face him.  Her Omni-Tool screen dropped.

“I almost found it,” Shepard huffed.  “There’s an emergency?”

Kaidan gave her a pointed look.  “Alliance Command.  Immediately.”

“Just one question.”  Allers elbowed between them and faced Shepard.  “When Mindoir was—”

“I should go.  Emergency.”  Shepard decided.

Allers frowned.  “Can we just see that photo?”

“This way, Commander.”  Kaidan yanked her away.  They rounded the corner into the main engine room and shut the door.

“Kinda loud in here.”  Shepard clutched his arm.  “Why’s the floor like this?  Moving.  Is that the emergency?”

“I got you out of the emergency.”

“Alliance Command though …”

“Bluffing.”

“Oh.” 

Shepard’s legs gave way.  She slipped, and Kaidan caught her under the arms. 

“I can tell when you’re bluffing, you know.”  She tapped his chest with a finger.

“I know.  Why do you think I offered to teach Tali instead of playing?”

“You smell good.”

“Thanks.”

He helped her to the floor.  “Guess I should’ve put you in the elevator, not dragged you back here.  Allers’s probably circling the door now.  You want me to get you to your cabin?”

“What?  No, this is good.  I kind of like the way my skin feels in here.  Eezo.”

Kaidan slid down next to her but left open space between them.  He wasn’t going to be able to hear her from there though.  Shepard scooted over.

“Whatcha doing down here?” she asked.

“Aah.  Not in my ear.”

“So loud down here though.”

“I can hear you.  Doesn’t need to be in my ear.”  He laughed but scooted over a space.  “Why am I down here?  Because all your engineers are blowing bubbles against the carpet upstairs.  Came down to check on things.”

“Why aren’t you blowing bubbles?  And why won’t you sit by me?”

“At least one experienced officer should be sober.  Consider me the designated driver.”

“And?”

“And, I saw where things were going with the drinks, so I only dabbled.”

“Not that.  The other question.”

“Any closer, you’d be sitting on me, Shepard.”

“Not true.”  Shepard shuffled up against him.  Their arms stuck together.  “Ha.  See.”

“Drunk Shepard doesn’t have a personal bubble, hm?”

“Nope.  I’d rather sit close.”  She tipped her head against his shoulder and pulled up her Omni-Tool screen.  “That’s my dad.”  She raised her wrist to his face.

He pulled her hand down and turned off the screen.

“I was trying to show you something,” Shepard protested.

“You’re drunk.  You want to show me that, show it to me when you’re sober.”

Shepard relaxed her muscles and slouched against him.  She tapped the picture up again on her Omni-Tool and studied it in her lap.  “I miss him.  Sometimes when I wake up in a sky car – it’s going fast, up and down, jerky turns – sometimes, before my eyes clear, I think he’s there.  In the pilot’s seat.  He’ll tell me he was dodging a flock of gavas, but I’ll know that’s a lie.  We’re close to home, and he wanted to wake me up.”

Kaidan unstuck their arms and slid his arm around her shoulders. He didn’t say anything, just squeezed her arm.

“You were right about the thresher maw.”  She rested her cheek against his chest.  “On Tuchanka.  The ground rumbles, and I remember.  Killed so many of them now.  I think, if only I knew then what I know now, how to do it, if I could go back …”  Her finger circled a spot on his chest by her face.

“Shepard.”  He caught her hand.  He curled it back to her lap.  “Don’t let what Allers said get under your skin.”

Shepard drew in a deep breath of his aftershave.  His chest was warm under her cheek.  It felt like old times in some ways, except for this damn uniform in her way.  She wanted the smooth skin of his chest against her face, wanted him to quiver when she pressed her lips to it.  She wanted to hook him by the back of the neck and drag him to her lips. 

She lifted her eyes.  “Kaidan, I never told you, but –”

“No, Shepard.  Unless it’s a knock-knock joke, I don’t want to hear it.  Whatever it is.  Not like this.”

“Just one thing I wanted to –”

“Come on.”  Kaidan lifted her to her feet.  “Let’s go.  I’ll check for Allers.”

Shepard tripped along behind him holding the sleeve of his shirt.  “I kept thinking as we played cards.  You know, I should stop.  Last one, last one.  I think I had too much.”

Kaidan peered around the corner toward the elevator then guided Shepard ahead of him.  The elevator doors opened.  He pushed the button for her cabin and stepped back.

“Kaidan, come with me.”  Shepard put a hand out.

Kaidan folded his arms.  “Night, Shepard.”

The doors slid shut.  Shepard slouched back against the wall.  He smelled so good.

~*~*~

From “About Mars”:

AO3:  https://archiveofourown.org/works/21369139/chapters/52243954

FFN:  https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13428855/1/About-Mars-Mass-Effect

[huntedbyacreature]

my SWCO highlights

First of all, it was so lovely to meet people I’ve connected with online (@bastila-bae, @vulpeculavincere) in the flesh, see some tumblr friends I’d met up with before (@holocroning, @starwarssuccumbed), and meet other Reylo supporters who have crossed my dash (@cobwebbing, @mnemehoshiko, @theknightsjedi, @judaas, @bensolodefensesquad, @thewayofthetrashcompactor, among others).

Day-by-day highlights and some photos of my Aphra cosplay below the cut.

Thursday, April 13

Watched 40th Anniversary panel livestreamed into one of the overflow stages because I didn’t arrive early enough the night before to make it to the sleepover. I got up at 4 am instead. I hadn’t slept much the past few nights due to work and personal stress. But had I known (or had it been rumored) John Williams would be gracing us with a live performance I would have rearranged my life to be in queue by 7 pm. Even though not all of us made it to the live room, we all received that beautiful limited edition Carrie Fisher tribute poster (an increasingly valuable item on eBay).

Missed the live Ian McDiarmid panel but caught livestream. What a sparkling wit and fine classical talent. Can you believe he’s 72? One of my favorite speakers of all the panelists.

Having learned my lesson, queued up early (5 pm or so) with @vulpeculavincere, @bastila-bae, @holocroning, @starwarssuccumbed and others for the sleepover for the next day’s Last Jedi panel. Navigating the interminable queue was a deathly underworld-like experience but I’m glad I made that journey with such an excellent group and oh, yes, the payoff was well worth it.

Rian Johnson. By now everyone knows about his surprise visit around 11 pm as captured on video and reposted on various media outlets. And what a surprise! You see the camera panning to shocked fans. I had been napping and when I awoke to the megaphone, with Rian Johnson standing right there, I just ... could not believe my eyes and could not function. Was I dreaming? Dazed and then jolted with the dawning realization Rian was just a few feet from where I was a disheveled lump shivering in my sleeping bag in the queue, all I could do was mutter “oh shit oh shit oh shit” under my breath in shock. Later, when Rian was working through a tunnel of fans signing badges and posing for photos (bless him, what a magnanimous gift of four hours of his time), I worked up the nerve to meet him and tell him how much I loved all his films. I’m so grateful for that opportunity.

Friday, April 14

The Last Jedi panel. I was tired and listless that morning. Yet, once in the room, my heart began to race. Thanks to @holocroning and @bastila-bae for enduring my screams and enthused hand-grabbing during the poster reveal and teaser trailer premiere. I’m told my hand squeezing intensified when we got a glimpse of the Jedi Order starbust symbol on the cover of that ancient tome, with its promise of Jedi lore yet to be explored. There were SO MANY HIGHS from this panel, too much to relive here, need to gather my thoughts later. (Now I’m experiencing a sort of post-SWCO comedown after all the endorphins released.)

Post-panel boozing. Also refueling, rehydrating and finally reuniting with a bed after nearly 18 hours on a concrete floor. A nap, to booze again. Of course, the rest of the day also involved obsessively rewatching the trailer and reading the breakdowns and watching the discourse unfold.

Saturday, April 15

Slept in, then dressed up in my Aphra cosplay. (Yes, it was the first time I used any marker on my skin, and I hadn’t thought to apply any fancy tape technique. So my rendition of Aphra’s neuro-hacked arm was rather sloppy.) What was really cool throughout the day was how many people approached me to tell me that Aphra was their new favorite character (in addition to complimenting me and asking for a photo). She’s flawed and messy, a mercenary who looks out for herself and makes some morally questionable choices as opposed to a pure “do the right thing” type, so it’s wonderful that people seem to embrace such a roguish female character. She’s also gay and hits on women in the comics. 

One of those people who stopped to ask for a photo, as I was walking around checking out the exhibit hall show floor, offhandedly mentioned he was going to be on the Marvel Comics panel. As my slow mind searched for possibilities, given the only panelists announced were editor Jordan White, writer Charles Soule, and artist Phil Noto, @bastila-bae kindly jumped in to fill in the gap: “You’re Matt Martin, aren’t you?” My jaw dropped and I think I could only manage to repeat his name with a dumbfounded and then mortified look on my face. (Clearly, I have very limited social recovery skills.) Somehow, I expected the Lucasfilm Story Group creative executive, one of the hallowed keepers of the canon who sift out the apocrypha, to look ...older? 

Marvel Comics panel. So many exciting projects in the works. For example, the new Vader comic that picks up right after ROTS, or ”Vader Year One” as Charles Soule puts it. Charles thinks of Anakin and Vader as a spectrum and loves “sneaky Sheev” so I’m thrilled someone who can uncover psychologically complex angles is writing this series. Also, coming this May is Screaming Castle, the crossover comic arc that features Luke and Aphra teaming up “on a faraway alien planet and winding up in the clutches of a sinister alien queen”, playing with the gothic fantasy horror genre (which Matt is apparently a big fan of). During the panel, Jordan White asked the Aphras in the room to raise their hands and then picked out another Aphra and me, inviting us to come up to the stage. Then he handed over his iPad with the first issue of Screaming Castle. I was, again, in a state of confusion and shock. “Go on, read it, you can sit over there.” So, during the panel, I got to read Screaming Castle! As I told Jordan after the panel when all the Aphras were invited backstage for a group photo, it was such a treat to get a first look at the comic, especially for Marco Checchetto’s stunning artwork. 

Backstage post-panel. Here I am, in close proximity to those who actually know all the secrets (Matt and the Marvel Comics editors) and of course I can’t pester them with my burning questions. Besides, at that moment I’m too overwhelmed (fangirling overload) to formulate any coherent thoughts. I manage to chat a bit with Charles Soule (center photo below). Later on, I see that Matt tweeted the group photo below with the caption “my year is made” (he’s so kind), Marvel Comics editors Jordan White and Heather Antos also posted group photos, and the creator of Aphra himself, Kieron Gillen, retweeted in approval. Same, Matt, my year is made.

Sunday, April 16

This anticlimactic last day was all about slinking back into my usual anonymity, walking around the convention halls observing all the ingenious cosplays, taking it all in. Some Easter Sunday highlights included a Stormtrooper sporting bunny ears walking around with an Easter basket and a Lego Hux cosplayer in pink cap and yellow romper complete with pink ice cream in a cone. 

I met another Aphra, who really identified with the character, as a half-Korean, as a gay woman herself (her girlfriend stitched together part of the outfit) and as ...a droid builder! She showed me the BB-8 she built, which was on display in one of the show rooms. Exploring the rooms set up by fans exposed me to a part of the fandom (the crafty guilds of droid builders, helmet and suit fabricators, and other professional quality costume and prop makers) I had never interacted with.

I saw David Collins randomly, at the bottom of the stairwell outside the exhibit hall, and was able to tell him how much I appreciated his Star Wars Oxygen music analyses (given my classical music background).

Generally, across the four days, I was so impressed by the quality and variety of cosplays, the creativity and labor-intensiveness involved. There were mass gatherings of rebel pilots and imperial pilots. Stormtroopers, deathtroopers, snowtroopers, sandtroopers. Plenty of mashups, including sandtroopers in beach outfits. A group of Matt the Radar technicians. KOTOR cosplayers with Darth Revan a popular choice. Elaborately regal Padme cosplays. And of course all the Kylos and Reys. Families of Han, Leia and Kylo. Lots of Rogue One characters as well, including a skillfully wrought Saw Gerrera and several Chirrut and Baze pairs. 

This was my first Star Wars Celebration, and I’ve never been to any comic con either, so it was an unparalleled experience for me. Unforgettable, for all the highlights above and more. This fandom ... it’s so much bigger.