burntcopper | Discworld '08

Discworld con : I is knackered. So very, very knackered. Am croaking.

Swigging a third of a bottle of Baileys during the closing ceremony is a mistake, even if it does mean you have more space in your luggage.

Apparently I have more cleavage than I thought I did after going down a couple bra sizes. Several people's photos confirm this.

Going for cool appreciation points (with different values for individual coolness, attending other guilds' stuff, winning competitions, volunteering for gophering or tech, organising new activities and so on) rather than collecting guild tokens is actually more exhausting and means you spend your time running around like a blue-arsed fly more than ever before. But it is more fun and people have to be significantly more inventive.

random points :

Bri Tze opening the opening ceremony with 'Go away, all finished.' 'But we only just got here!'

red dress, worn for the dragon races - This creates even more staring and compliments than the barbarian outfit. Possibly because they get used to the barbarian outfit and the dress is somewhat more obviously figure-hugging. and this was before Sandra tightened the bodice strap. 'Heather! You're dressed!' ' You do know you flashed your knickers during the can-can?' 'The entire con has already seen my knickers.' 'So, Rosie Palm off-duty?' Dragon racing fun diversion for the first one, but went off and chatted with Sandra and Iain in the corridor instead for most of it. Until the violin people came in after the gala dinner finished and three of us took to the floor for a display of fusion ballet, polka and irish dancing (all faked, natch), then came the waltz - grabbed by Iain who kept spinning me, one number utterly ruled by one couple, and the can-can. Lots of applause all over the place.

toast and jam the miniature, + toast and jam : mini was supposed to finish at 12 on friday. Kept going til 2 because everyone kept thinking of more stuff. Especially if it was Tom Lehrer or insane twisted ballads. Remember, it is impossible to stop Eric Jarvis. Everything from performance art (usually Ben) to poetry to singing (I did the Jessica Rabbit song, as usual, there were the usual suspect songs... and thanks to CounterTony and Mole, medieval stuff). Toast + Jam, I dragged Jackie up to sing it since we'd done it at Clarecraft and we were both wearing slinky red dresses, so clearly fate. I explained to the audience that we'd been supremely pissed when we'd done it then. I think it may have been a success judging by the gulping and wolf whistles...

Finally got round to talking to Stephen on sunday night. Stephen Briggs, due to charisma, being a good conversationalist and ... other stuff achieves harems without trying. Several newbies: 'Did you *see* the size of Terry's harem last night? Must be nice to be Guest of Honour.' 'That wasn't Terry's harem. It was Stephen's. Terry had merely drifted over to talk to someone.' Got told at one point by Stephen to move over to the corner with one of the other girls due to us speaking science and such technical things. Stephen's canvassing for next time to be Uberwald. Plus the important fun of getting Martyn to blush.

I now have special dispensation from Terry to not wear a corset. Partly because I compensate, though he did blink a bit when I informed him that I get panic attacks if someone puts me in one. And

samphirette told me that he'd commented one time when I ran past him in the corridor at one point 'It's so nice to be in an atmosphere that young women feel safe enough to run around semi-naked.'

double entendre olympics, massage & mornington crescent - seamstress guild entertainment + one event. DEO was tuppenny upright, mattress dancing, and hide the sausage. Tuppenny upright - you try keeping two pennies on your head whilst doing the can-can and bellydancing. Mattress dancing - dance in style of judges' choosing on air mattress. Special mentions to the assassins' waltz, and the conjurors' existentialist something-or-other, especially since he ended it with a surfing USA landing. The massage session was also somewhat popular - three minutes per customer, four rounds. managed to skin my knuckle due to forgetting that fabric is somewhat tougher on your knuckles than skin. And I'm never going to forget the sight of the customers approaching the chairs at a dead run. Essy created an entire Mornington Crescent giant map of Ankh-Morpork, mostly by herself, for the monday morning guild kiddie entertainment. Us and the Alchemists noticed that no-one had turned up, so we buggered off to reception and did it there. We will find the little bastard that won the first round in three moves and do terrible things to him.

all the regulars going '...omg tattoo.' including stephen. kept getting stopped and having to flip the fur up so they could see the extent of it.

Utterly scarred Taz and a few people with the lacy white dress of wholesomeness.

Me + Gideon singing as much of Dr Horrible as we could remember. Me and Essy (spent con dressed as Igorina in long blonde plaits, dirndl, and attractive scar) and her mate singing a bunch of Cabaret, Chicago and Avenue Q. Everyone singing mad stuff in the bar on saturday.

Praise Om. Church on sunday morning strengthens the soul.

...it appears my old costumes are rather sought-after as material. I dumped several on chaos costuming and kept seeing bits of them turn up in hall costumes and guild creations and maskerade outfits. Especially the iridescent translucent stuff I used for Meg in the Phantom entry. Explosion signs, bellydancing skirts, dragon flames... Special mention to the boy whose girlfriend shoved him in and said 'make him look pretty' and the girls who needed last minute capelets before the gala after we'd packed everything away.

just a minute - first time playing it in the adult round in the bar. Got Davina to a draw (previous unbeaten champion) of 31 points each. Labelled vicious. Lots of arguments on whether something was allowable. Hee.

how to buckle a swash - vikings in england history re-enactment! How to get killed! Why one-on-one during hollywood battles just doesn't happen! Fencing! Me being handed lots of big weapons! (apparently holding a six-foot axe as a fencing spotter makes an impression) Impromptu martial arts fights from the audience!

Maskerade : Dwarf Seamstress singing a variant on House of the Rising Sun. (Oh dear god). Exploding dragons. Empress of Klatch. Assassin sword dancing. Painful singing. Lancre Royal Family Portrait. Ptraci bellydancing by Jen Austen (where the judges drooled on their shoes). The female Watch's list of demands (extra chocolate, and 3 days a month in which they are given special dispensation from the excessive violence rules, and remember, Om loves you)

Got a massage during Toast and Jam - apparently I have no tense muscles or knots (just tendon inflammation. HOW?) and being able to consciously relax everything is freaky.

we need to kill Laura for turning up as Bethan from Light Fantastic, aka Conina's mum. Laura is Trainee!Seamstress, now the grand old age of 14. Caused headaches for History Monks, clearly.