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KupoCon Europe - Mind The Pom - March 25, 2017

Mage

She/They
AKA
Mage
I'm just overwhelmed by all of this still. You were all so kind despite me being poleaxed by a shit combination of too much drink, fatigue, anaemia and an oncoming migraine which I didn't want to harp on about. I was bummed out to miss as much as I did but so glad I went and don't regret a thing. Including stuffing :monster: up my dress. Meeting Lic was an amazing pleasure and you're just how I imagined. <3 Actually that goes for all of you (including Yop FFS), but Octo is far prettier than I was expecting and I was aware that I did stare a bit. >.<
Also the new ship on the street is Flopage Joe. Deal with it. :awesome:

I have moar photos to peruse now so I'm gonna go cry in private and gag on dog farts once more.

EDIT: CrashOuch beat me to the punch and I am proper bummed I didn't get the opportunity to meet you, though I did see you before the smell of alcohol got the better of me again!
 

Carlie

CltrAltDelicious
AKA
Chloe Frazer
Ok guys real talk who's this Enrique you keep mentioning? Did you guys kidnap a Spanish guy or something?

But seriously reading your thoughts on the trip has been hilarious and lovely, and hit me right in the feels. <3 <3 <3
 

Channy

Bad Habit
AKA
Ruby Rose, Lucy
I've just sat here for the last 2 hours reading through the last 4 pages since I've been absent and can't believe I missed it. It happened so fast and now it's over!! All the write ups were so lovely but we need more pictures!

How much would it cost?

I mean here's a random Plan / Idea; there was a separate room where a number of people had stands, selling fanart, random stuff, etc. We could do something similar, just set up a small stand, sell merchandise, etc, and use the proceeds to help pay for people coming over if they're not affluent enough on their own. I mean we could do some print-on-demand runs of the Hidden Text articles, hard copies of the podcasts (like CDs if anyone still does that, or USB sticks with all that stuff + some hidden extras), T-shirts and other such merchandise (insofar as we wouldn't get into trouble with Square for trademark wossnames), etc. Proceeds could be divided by whoever produced it, production costs, and the Fund.

I'd consider that a valid goal to raise money for TLS beyond server costs (besides lining my own pocketses off course).

As someone who's wanted/ing to go to any of the cons available thus far, this would be incredibly grateful. Canadian plane ticket prices are through the roof, whether it's international or domestic. I've checked all 3 times, and whether I went to New York, London or Toronto, plane tickets are $800 return for one person. And that's just the start. There's hotel and food costs that eat everything else up, but that first $800 is already a kick to the gnads.

As someone who's struggling to adult with a mortage, personal loan for all our house reno debt, a recent wedding and, our most current hurdle, whether Mr Channy is going to have a stable job through the summer... I just can't justify paying that. I know he'd want to go, and I can't just ditch him because these are my friends, nor would I want to, but it's just.. it's too hard.

This is why I've kept pushing for a westcoast con because I can handle the likely $150-200 gas cost it would take me to drive 8-10 hours to the nearest city for it (Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, etc...) and I would gladly do so.

I'm not saying this or chiming in to try and mooch. I kept saying to everyone that it boggles my mind how you're all virtually just hours away by train or whatever and this hasn't happened before. It takes me 45mins to leave my driveway ffs :monster: You're all so fortunate to be as close as you are, because I've traveled far more for far less. Wait. That sounds weirdly bitter. I don't know.

in closing, moar pictures and more west coast cons :monster:
 
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CrashOuch

she/her
AKA
Sara
EDIT: CrashOuch beat me to the punch and I am proper bummed I didn't get the opportunity to meet you, though I did see you before the smell of alcohol got the better of me again!

Awwww!!! I'm so sorry I missed you :( It's totally my bad for not finding any of y'all sooner, which is proper stupid of me cos I just made myself miss out on hugs. Would've been awesome to have spent more time with everyone AND definitely to have met you, Mage :D

NEXT TIME! <3
 

Octo

KULT OF KERMITU
AKA
Octo, Octorawk, Clarky Cat, Kissmammal2000
I don't know where to start, I've been putting this off all day cos I don't want to forget anyone or anything.

I just had a big sleep, I dreamed we were still doing the quiz only we were all sitting on some sort of weird bus. Even my dream self didn't know any of the fucking answers.

eeerkjbdlkjfgkjsfbglgjb

So, I still can't get over it. I feel like I just robbed a bank or something and got away with it.

And despite the fact I hardly have any fucking money, and free time is a bit of a bastard at the moment (despite me being unemployed!) the barrier to doing this thing was 90% psychological. It was all 'what if [insert bad thing] happens?!' The furthest I've ever traveled on my own before was 30 minute train rides to Liverpool. 15 years ago I couldn't even get on a fucking bus without having a panic attack. But now I've done it, I know it's possible.

And you guys made it so fucking easy it just, there was hardly any awkwardness at all. How is that possibru?!

Lex: I've decided you're my new cousin, thats how I'm going to refer to you from now on. Deal with it cuz! Gonna get my arse to Glasgow at some point, cos I haven't ever been north of the border and that's pretty shameful! I'll get my own hat of Scottishness in preparation. You were so easy to talk to <3


Mage
: I've just about come back in shape after that hug you gave me on the first night. I feel like a loaf of bread! But in a nice way. It still sucks about the hangover/migrane/anemia unholy trinity. But the time we had together was awesome. And it's cool because we're going to do it again but in a sedate tea room or something <3


Joe
: I'm not going to tell you to fuck off this time (for anyone wondering, it turned out that pretty much everyone had the ability to roll their tongues except me, and Joe chose to flaunt it and basically make fun of the fact that I have a disabled mouth. I have forgiven him. I WON'T FORGET THOUGH :@ ) No but we had great fun, it was what twats call 'great banter' but we're not twats so.... :monster: And you looked after us too, and were far too gentlemanly and I'm sure I must owe you at least £10. <3


Flint: You're like a male, organised, half-Finnish version of me. Only I think perhaps you're more tolerant? Tactful? You don't seem as vitriolic when it comes to slagging off bands anyway :lol: But we definitely need to discuss music moar. If you play bass now, Kev plays guitar. I can't sing....or play....or write lyrics.... but we should form a band anyway! Y/Y? And thanks for being so genuine and lovely. If you go to that Beatles thing we have to meet up <3


Kev: Brother from another mother.....sister from another Mister?....errr. No really, it wouldn't surprise me if we were related somehow, we seem to be on the same wavelength for a lot of things. And I think of all the guys here, this thing was probably as big a deal for you as it was for me - or in the same way. Cos, without wishing to be a bummer I know that 'am I even going to be around next month/year' thing. Sometimes the black dog just sinks it's teeth in a little too deep. But (and I'm really going to slaughter this metaphor now) I think we found a stick to throw for that dog and he's waaaaaaaaaay over the other side of the park now, maybe he's gonna bother somebody else for a bit, drag his wormy arse over the grass or whatever. He looks like Gmork from Neverending Story. On a lighter note, thanks for letting me and Lex abuse your hairs. <3


Ami: Alright cock? :awesome: When I next fancy a shopping spree I'm going to Manchester, and we'll go to Nandos, cos I know you're Nandos deficient after this weekend! I will reimburse you for your spilled cider *criiiiiinnnge* And I was doing so well not making a twat of myself until the last minute! :doh: Oh and thanks for keeping me well fed, I think I ate 90% of the Daim eggs and forfty percent of the Kettle Chips :monster: <3


Fangu: Faaaannnnguuu. I think you get the best dressed award. I forgot to ask but I really liked your jacket with the birds on, where was it from?! I just can't believe we've actually met! You and Lic 2 fav fanfic authors! In the same room. TOGETHER AT LAST. I think (despite what Lex says about the Shinra Mansion safe code) You Lex and Flint won the quiz for us, but you were our FF12 expert, so thank you cos I could piggyback of that glory :monster: I know money/time off is a pain to arrange but if you ever come to the UK again we have to meet up <3


Yop: I expected you to to be moar tentacley but you did a good job of hiding your eldritch monstrosity :monster: You're one swell guy. And as much as you probably hate to hear it, most of us would not have met if you hadn't set up the site in the first place. So we have you to thank for that. Also I'm gonna give you the money back for the tshirt, you can dontate it to the TLS benevolent fund or whatever we're gonna call it. PS I ship you and Mage so hard :awesome: I'll shut up now <3


RedFFWolf
: You're fucking awesome do you know that? I hope when the next con comes around that it's closer to Liverpool! that things will be a little easier for you and you'll be able to chill and not be rushing around like a blue-arsed fly. If you're ever in Liverpool or I'm in Dublin we have to get together. I can't thank you enough, cos I don't think I would have been able to afford it if it hadn't been for you. I owe you one <3


Lic
: LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCC I'm just blown away to have met you. I never thought that would ever happen because you're always somewhere in the world but never *here* I should have got your autograph really:lol: I really hope somehow we can meet again. Try and wangle a school trip to Liverpool. We were European Capital of Culture! in 2008 >.> You were lovely to talk to <3


Mo
: I think we've only had a little bit of interaction online, so like of all the people I guess you were one of the nearest to 'A STRANGER' dun dun duuuun! But again you were really fucking easy to talk to, especially as we were just left sitting outside the bar together within 5 minutes of meeting. But you really set my mind at ease. I hope whenever I can get up to Glasgow to meet Lex that you'll meet us too. <3


CrashOuch
: I'm sorry we didn't meet earlier, my mind is a little fuzzy but I feel like I probably just babbled at you incoherently, so er...sorry for that. Your hair was awesome...I think I touched it when I'd only just met you 5 seconds ago so sorry for that too. It woz the booze what did it! I don't normally grab peoples hairs! (I just realised what I said to Kev above kind of makes this a lie :/ ) From what I can remember you were lovely and I hope you post in the forums more <3


I hope I haven't forgotten anyone!


Final Fantasy to me has become a game series about costumes and haircuts, I was probably the least Final Fantasy fan there, except maybe the baby that was there. But it'll always have a place in my heart because without it I wouldn't have ever met such wonderful people. You were all so nice to me and I don't think I was nice enough to you I just sat back and had my ego stroked like a big fat cat. I hope I've at least gone some way to redressing the balance here!

I didn't go weird, except for a little mini-wobble just as I was going to bed on the last night where my brain was doing that thing of reminding me how I'm gonna die one day, how it's going to come sooner than I think and how it's probably going to be really fucking horrible when it happens.

Buuuuuut, given that death is inevitable there's no point worrying. I know I'll have many regrets, but this weekend will not be one of them. STOP TALKING ABOUT DEATH OCTO YOU TWAT.

aaaaaag I'm going to leave it there, I could go on for ages but I don't think I have enough time/alcohol. Everybody come to Liverpool right now, everything is cheaper. You guys who couldn't make it: Tets and Shad and Sprites and Pixel and my buddy Ciaran (who I don't know if he's reading this) and and and I'm probably forgetting loads of people but but but...

All come to Liverpool and get one of those Luxury Holiday Apartments so I don't have to get a fucking taxi home :monster: I love you all <3
 

Cthulhu

Administrator
AKA
Yop
Octo said:
there was hardly any awkwardness at all. How is that possibru?!

The combined awkwardness of everyone that was apprehensive about the meetup (not me, I'm awesome like that) caused a singularity causing everyone's wossname to flip to the shadow dimension and turn everyone in actually pretty decent people.

I'm still going to rehash my previous statement and say that people are different IRL than they are online - in the good sense of the word. On the internet, you (for example) are a shaky, insecure mess, someone that seems to trap herself in her house, carefully looking out the window to see if there's any people about. IRL on the other hand, you're a normal person. Besides the hair color, that's not natural, :monster:. My point being, I think online people are more likely to share more about their inner self, and while poasting, self-reflecting a lot. It's because despite you're on a forum talking to / with people you have known and trusted for years, it's still just you talking and thinking. IRL though, the self is only one of many; because you're in a group, the self becomes less prominent and less vulnerable. Plus there's the alcohol and shenanigans distracting one from self-reflection.

Source: self-reflection :wacky:. I am not a psychologist.

You lot are aight.


Re: the charity to get people to cons etc, I think it could work, but it'd need a lot of work - given how we're dealing with at least 200-300 pounds per person for e.g. Kupocon, it's a lot of money to handle. I was making coffee just now and pictured a big-ass website with just things like Patreon / Kickstarter / Indiegogo-like pages for individuals, artist / fanart pages, etc. The core would be three levels of where money (through donations or product purchases or commissions etc) would go - charity in general, a specific event, or an individual. Individuals would register themselves for an event and indicate how much they would need to make it (travel, stay and spending monies for food and shit), the page would indicate how far along they are for their goal. If the goal is reached, the charity would purchase tickets and travel arrangements and such - to avoid fraud, off course.

A simpler one would be a fund for just the stay itself - it'd be quite affordable I think to collect money for a shared hostel room or something. We can make it as big or small as need be.

I think the most realistic option to start off with is for someone to just pay for everything in advance and to see how much is recovered through e.g. a stand at a conference, all under the table (so without a formal charity and all the drama around it).

It'd be labor-intensive and emotionally charged (both good and bad (for the people that don't get to go)), but it might work. idk.
 

S and G

FFVII books and stuff
AKA
MJ Gallagher
I know my posting days seem few and far between, but I'd just like to mention how very grateful I am to have been welcomed in as one of the regular clan. It was a real privilege to meet you guys and share this weekend with you. And to share a "this train we on don't make no stops" joke with Lex just as our train was delayed for an hour.

EDIT: can we all just take a moment to appreciate that so little of our weekend would have been possible without Red? The man is quite simply a phenomenon.
 
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S and G

FFVII books and stuff
AKA
MJ Gallagher
I am currently back at Euston, finally about to make the journey home and about to unleash a flow of tears worthy of Leviathan
 

Flintlock

Pro Adventurer
I'm going to split this into two parts: a write-up of the weekend, including Mind the Pom, and my thanks to the people who made it so wonderful.

It was alright. :awesome:

I kid. It was so much more than that.

My weekend started with a visit to my parents in Berkhamsted, which is about half an hour from London on the Euston line. I hadn't seen them in almost exactly a year so it was nice to spend some time with them, albeit briefly. My dad picked me up from the airport on Thursday and we had a nice day together on Friday before I headed down to the London Pub to see some friends of mine.

I've gotta say, I felt almost no nerves on my way there. I've never had a problem meeting people, but more than that, I knew everyone would be cool. :monster: I suppose I was treating it more like a reunion than a first-time meeting, though I have to admit to being a bit starstruck in the same way Lex described earlier. I felt like I'd known everyone for ages but it was still surreal to be sitting around a table over some beers. Hopefully I didn't gawk too much. :P

I had a lot of fun keeping my "special guest" - Monster - a secret until everyone had shown up. Nobody managed to guess it, though Octo came closest when she suggested it might be a guy in a Cookie Monster outfit. :monster: Bringing Mon to the event went exactly how I had hoped it would - he spent all of Friday and Saturday with us as we took turns carrying him around, posing with him, dancing with him, making him do some fairly inappropriate things, etc. :monster: And of course, at the end of the evening celebration on Saturday, we presented him to Red (turns out that saying "RedFFWolf" as one syllable just comes out as "Red", who knew :awesome:) as a token of our appreciation, the TLS equivalent of a knighthood.

After a beer or five in the London Pub we popped to the next-door burger joint for some grub. Everyone else was raving about it but I thought it was just alright. Perhaps they were hungrier or drunker than I was. Though I was fairly drunk. :lol: I skedaddled back to Euston and Berkhamsted after that, chatting to about half a dozen people on the train, off course, though not about Kupocon or TLS. :P It would have been nice to stay out later but I needed a decent night's sleep ahead of the main event and I didn't want my parents to feel like I was just using their place as a hotel.

Most of us met up at again at about half past nine the following morning, though some people were already inside and Mage, bless her, wasn't feeling up to it. I picked up my wristbands and my loot bag and got my book signed by Mo before entering the Orphans Cradle, the main conference hall. As some of us had Anima tickets and some had Cactuars, we ended up sitting separately for the opening ceremony, which felt a bit silly but did give me a chance to call the Cactuar-holders plebs for the rest of the day. :monster:

At the ceremony, Alex, the event's lead organiser, said that we should expect it to feel like a huge birthday party, and it really did. I haven't been to many cons - only a couple of Beatles events in the UK and Finland - but I can't imagine that they're usually quite as bonkers as this one was. Those of you who went to the Big Pom had some of the same events, but for everyone else, there were basically a bunch of games in the Event Square room that could have been taken straight out of a book of children's party ideas, except with a Final Fantasy twist to each one of them. :square: :x: :circle: ! :square: :x: :circle: !

The other parts of the programme were a bit more sedate: panel discussions, interviews, and so on. I tried to catch as much of it as possible but I did miss the "Who's your daddy?" event with Ray Chase and Jon Campling because we went out to eat. We went to a surprisingly decent eatery in the middle of the Russell Square park, which I think was Kev's idea.

My personal highlights of the daytime event were the Cosplay Catwalk and the cosplay awards at the closing ceremony. It was just incredible seeing the effort that so many people had put in, and I'm glad we had at least one person in their ranks - good job, Joe. :) I've never cosplayed in my life but I'd be totally down for coordinating Final Fantasy VII costumes with other TLSers next time around - and there's definitely going to be a next time.

On the theme of effort, this really felt like an event where the more you put in, the more you got out of it. I also had more fun than I reasonably should have doing a crappy Chocobo drawing and finding such redoubtable words as DOG and NAB in a Final Fantasy X-themed wordsearch with Joe, Kev and Lex. :D I also really got into collecting the Tri-Pom cards and while the trading element was fun, it was my habit of talking to anyone and everyone that really paid off as at least two different people handed me a stack of cards and said "take whatever you want". I eventually passed on the favour once I had completed my collection. Everyone I spoke to there was positively lovely (and one or two of them were, again, bonkers) and you just know I plugged our website whenever possible. Lex also did a super job repping us at the evening event so let's hope we managed to persuade a couple of people to follow us on Twitter/Facebook/whatever, or better yet, to sign up here. :)

Speaking of the evening event, it was insanely fun. After our pit-stop at a Greek restaurant across the street from the hotel (which, again, I enjoyed - we lucked into some really nice places without ever having to walk more than a few hundred metres), we headed back inside and the drinks began to flow. We started off with the quiz, which we won, because OF COURSE WE DID. Only by half a point out of 40 but still. :monstersmash: I don't buy into the "we won it because of X" stuff either; loads of people contributed. I'd love to see the full set of questions, answers and scores if they're available somewhere.

Then, uh, I did ballroom dancing with Joe. I feel like I have to repeat that: I did ballroom dancing with Joe and I never, ever dance. :wacky: It was partly the alcohol but it was mostly just because I felt super comfortable around everyone and not worried in the slightest about making a fool of myself. I took on the traditionally female role (follow) with quite some enthuasiasm, according to Joe - I don't really remember - and I ended up having to teach him most of the moves as well, which probably explains why we were so crap. But who cares? It was hilarious. I also learnt how to the Manderville and that pretty much means I have to play XIV now. :monster: And there was a conga line. Multiple conga lines. We literally found an extra TLS member at the other side of the room (CrashOuch) and invited her over to sit with us. We snacked on Finnish, Norwegian and British sweets and chocolates, plus some cupcakes Red brought over (which is why we were Team Diabetes in the quiz). We presented him with Monster. Ray Chase photobombed our massive group shot. I'd go on but it all started to become a blur around that point...

What I do remember is some painful departures when all was said and done. Lic and Crash already had to leave us before we headed to the "after-party" in the hotel bar. Enrique said something about having to check up on Maisie and left around that time as well. Mage was sadly not feeling up to it but at least we got to see her the next day, and I think Mo left us at around that point as well (see: previous paragraph, last sentence). Everyone else carried on for at least an hour though. I literally couldn't even when Octo and then Fangu said their goodbyes. "Tired and emotional" is a phrase that comes to mind; I shed more than a few tears. Yop then went up to see Mage but the last few of us - Lex, Kev, Joe and I - went up to Red's room for the orgy just for the craic. (See? I know Irish slang even if I can't understand a North Dublin accent!) I had said I wanted to stay up all night but by four AM I was on the verge of passing out so we called it a night after saying some heartfelt and probably very long-winded "thank you"s to Red and giving Lex a hug strong enough to prove Flex is canon... though I think Joe might want a word about that now. :awesomonster:

Five hours later I was dragging myself out of bed for breakfast. I almost skipped it but I'm glad I didn't, because the concierge just happened to sit me down next to Jon Campling. Perhaps it was a coincidence or perhaps he saw my Kupocon t-shirt. :P Five minutes later Ray Chase and Julia McIlvane showed up to join us and I couldn't quite believe my luck. I haven't even played XV or seen Kingsglaive but they were all just very nice people to chat with and I was delighted that Jon and Ray both said they'd visited our website on occasion. Yop, Mage and Ami joined us too. Yop said I was a bit shy around the "stars" but I don't think that was true; I just didn't want to bug them too much when they had their own actor-things to talk about and were presumably recovering, as we all were, from an exhausing day and night. They were, however, kind enough to give us an impromptu group photo before we headed back up to our hotel rooms and checked out.

After saying goodbye to Ami, I joined Yop and Mage at Café Nero for a moment's rest. We were chatting but we were all very tired and there was about a two-minute period before Joe showed up when we all just stayed quiet, leant back in our seats and stared out the window. It was another beautiful day in London and we quickly headed back to Russell Square to take in the sunshine. After Kev joined us we went back to the café-cum-restaurant from the previous day and attempted to eat and drink off our hangovers (with little success in my case). Then we took Mage to Euston, where she and Joe bought mother's day chocolates before Mage hopped on a train back to Brum. The final/fab four had a couple of last beers, then Kev went back to his hostel and the other three of us headed for Victoria line and Victoria station itself, where we finally parted ways on the platform after Yop chatted to us about upgrading the forum software XD. I didn't cry then but I'm getting a bit misty-eyed thinking about it now. :'(

My journey back to Finland was long but also rewarding. I made a friend at Heathrow after overhearing a woman sitting opposite me speak Finnish. Our seats were at opposite ends of the plane, however, so I had to chat to the people sitting around me instead. On my left were a couple of people who had been to the Kingdom Hearts concert - I think there were more of them sitting elsewhere on the plane as well. As I said in my earlier post, they hadn't heard of Kupocon so I gave them my commemorative ticket and told them to come visit our website. On my right was someone I recognised from my outbound flight who just happened to be taking the same bus home as me to the same bus stop as me. I got her number. :neom:

I was exhausted when I got back in but I couldn't sleep as long as people were still chatting about the event here, on Facebook, Twitter or Discord. It had just left me with such a wonderful feeling which I couldn't bring myself to let go of even for a few hours. Well, more than a few, because I slept like a baby last night. :) Today, however, I am very much the boy with the wrecked voice.

What an unbelievable, unforgettable experience. The organisers and volunteers of Kupocon deserve an enormous amount of credit and praise, and rest assured, I'll be sending a lot of it their way in the next day or two. But it was ultimately the attendees that made it so special. We have a great community - The Lifestream, of course, but also our extended community, all those "Friends of TLS" that we made, and pretty much everyone who likes Final Fantasy. As it turns out, if you like video games and stories of friendship, compassion and the triumph of good over evil, you're probably an Alright Person. My next post in this thread will be dedicated to some of those Alright People. :monster:
 

Flintlock

Pro Adventurer
You're a bundle of laughs. I can only echo what someone said above about the positivity you bring to any room you're in. And how the heck did you manage to find the time to work on all your personal projects, your vlogs and stuff, on top of everything else? I felt like I hardly had a moment to catch my breath let alone edit a video! I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised because you're full of energy and great fun to hang out with. :)

Next time you're spending the full weekend with us, you hear? I don't want to hear any of this "VIP table" nonsense - we're a big family on TLS and you are a part of it, no ifs or buts. I can't actually believe you said you thought we wouldn't know who you were; as Yop said, we know everyone who has made more than about five posts. :monster: I felt like we got on straight away but I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say it would have been great to spend more time with you. As an added bonus, next time you'll be on the winning quiz team. ;)

What is there to say? I don't think anyone was expecting to see you but it was great that you showed up, if only for a while. It was one of the highlights of the event. It's a shame that you're a bit camera-shy because you have a reason to be (see the "everyone" section below). And I never knew you were friends with Kev outside of TLS! That story of how you met was 2spooky4me. :scared:

You were my first friend on TLS and you've been one of my best friends for five years now, so meeting you was kind of a big deal for me, as I think you noticed. :monster: But as much as I've enjoyed knowing you online, it was an order of magnitude better in person. We didn't even have that much one-on-one conversation but I felt a connection to you the whole time and I was secretly chuffed to be sitting next to you in the quiz. And as much as it pains me to admit defeat, I think your Norwegian candies were better than my Finnish ones. Everyone loved Kremtopper in particular. I did too, but I liked the person who brought them even more. :joy:

You're my leading man now, you know that? Thank you for being the only one willing to dance with me and sorry for being a bad teacher. :lol: As I said to you shortly before we parted ways, you were a revelation. I don't think I was expecting a disconnect as much as I just wasn't expecting anything, because we haven't really bonded online before. But now? Now we've bonded offline and then some. You brought out the full range of emotions in me, from frequent and spontaneous laughter to full-on crying in Helsinki airport when I read what you said about me. You are a really easy guy to get along with and you come across as very caring and genuine. I'm glad to have met you and since I'm in or near London often anyway for non-TLS reasons we'll definitely be having a beer again before too long.

I only briefly touched on this at the event but I've been in a similar boat to you for a while, with life getting me down and little to look forward to. I probably wouldn't have made it to the event if it wasn't for Red and I never would have known what I was missing out on; for all these words we've written, nothing comes close to being there. So I empathised with you on that level and it was heartwarming to see you there. I'm really not trying to patronise you but you think a lot of things about yourself that are completely and utterly untrue. I probably do the same and sometimes it takes another person to point it out, so trust me when I say you're an amazing guy. Even before the event, I was really looking forward to meeting you despite not being sure if you liked me at all. I just hope you didn't get too annoyed at me trying to bring you out of your shell a bit. :monster:

Whereas with Joe I didn't know what to expect, you were pretty much what I was expecting, which is a funny, warm, all-around amazing individual with the sexiest accent going. Flex felt every bit as real in person as it has done online. I never once felt on edge with you because I just always thought "it's Lex!". I love you man.

It is not one iota of an exaggeration to say that everyone was thrilled to see you. Every time you weren't with us someone - often me - was saying "isn't it brilliant that Lic's here?", or words to that effect. In the space of a few hours I went from not even knowing what you looked like to feeling excited to be sitting next to you and chatting with you. I'd like to get to know you better and I really hope you come to more of these events in the future because you seem positively lovely. :)

If I could change one thing about the weekend it would be for you to have been healthy for the duration of it. It sucks that you had to miss out on any of it but it was straight-up awesome meeting you and spending time with you. And you win my "hug of the weekend" award for the one you gave me on Sunday morning at the breakfast table. It was the perfect mix of :properhug: and :loveglomp:.

Every bit as funny in person as online, but there's so much more to you than that. I have to admit I didn't recognise you at first. :P I know you've posted a picture or two but I have a crap memory; I need them shoved in face on a weekly basis or I'll forget. :monster: I really enjoyed your company and you saw how I reacted when you had to leave. Oh, but if I told you I play the bass, I was talking out of my arse. :lol: I'd like to though, so Octo and the Tentacles (band name TBC) is very much on! I'll let you know about the summer but it'll probably be a bit of a last-minute decision if I do go because money's a bit tight for multiple trips abroad in a single year.

ALAN! ALAN! ALAN! ALAN! AL! ALAN!

Heh, you're probably sick of that by now but I couldn't resist doing it one last time. Sorry not sorry. :monster:

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:bigmonster:

Now if you'll forgive me for all of that...

First, I want to thank you from an individual perspective. As I said to Kev above, I needed something to look forward to in my life, and this was it. The event managed to totally exceed my expectations, particularly the evening celebration, and your work was an enormous, nay, vital part of it all. From the moment we first met I could tell you were exhausted and that was about one hour in. :lol: You're an absolute trooper.

Next, if I'm allowed to speak on TLS's behalf for a moment (and I think I am): words cannot describe just how much you've done for our community. There are about two dozen people, on both sides of the Atlantic, who have had the experiences of their lifetimes thanks to your unbelievable dedication and generosity. Most of us hadn't met before and I dare say many of us would never have met were it not for you. You have strengthened the bonds between many of us and that is going to hold us in very good stead as a community. It was our privilege to give you Monster but really it was only a small token of our enormous apprecation. I think each one of us at Mind the Pom poured a little bit of love into him over the course of the weekend before we handed him over and we hope you will continue to show him love as well.

I can also announce that we've added you to our "special thanks" section on our staff list, but really, you deserve more than we can possibly give you. Thank you.

Of everyone on this last, I dare say you're the one I'd interacted the least with before this event, but I felt totally at ease with you from the moment we met. You're a super affable guy and I'm glad we got to share a few laughs when you had a moment between book signings, panels and the rest of it. I'm sure you had a fairly different experience to the rest of us but I'm delighted you chose to spend your "downtime" with us. And I have to say, one of my memories of the weekend was you and Lex debating the Shinra Mansion safe code. My reaction was just... *hands over paper and pen and gets out of the way*. :lol: All I could remember was 97. Anyway, I hope this spurs you into posting here more and I look forward to reading my signed copy of A New Threat!

You're probably sick of hearing this but thank you for setting up, running and paying for TLS for all these years. Kupocon might have happened anyway but I probably wouldn't have been there and even if I had, I wouldn't have known or necessarily even met any of these wonderful people. I hope you saw how much we all enjoyed ourselves. As for meeting you personally, you lived up to your Great Old One tag - or at least the Great part of it. At the same time, I feel like there's more to come from you and it might taken another meeting or three to see it. Luckily that's something I'm very happy to do. :) Thank you also for looking after Mage when she needed it and for being half of a great double act when she was feeling better.

I could have said this about each one of you but it's easier to do it this way: you are all genuinely beautiful people. Joe even noticed how much I kept saying it, and I suppose it's a bit superficial, but I couldn't stop thinking about how drawn I was to all of you on a physical level as well as an emotional one. Call me? :awesome:

No but seriously, I kept wanting to hug everyone and I'm so happy that you all let me. You'll hardly find a photo where I'm not smiling while talking to any of you because you are very, very special to me. I'm going to miss all of you. Aaand now I'm crying again.

The Turks, Crash's brother and sister, the ConQuest pair, Ray, Jon, Julia, Miss Cloud, team losers runners-up, Nerdstrodamus, that one photographer who ate our sweets, everyone we danced and conga'd with, the people who recognised Monster, everyone who gave or traded me cards, everyone who took cards from me, everyone I randomly chatted to, my friends on the plane (one of whom just added me on Facebook as I was posting this!), all the organisers and volunteers, and probably many other people besides: you helped make this weekend special and I won't be forgetting about you any time soon. If you're reading this and thinking "that's me!", drop us a line! :)

To our members who couldn't make it to this event, know that you were frequently in our thoughts and conversations - "wouldn't it be great if X was here", for example, or "Y would totally know the answer to this quiz question". :D I know the world's a big place, but any time you have the opportunity to meet anyone from TLS, my advice is to go for it, 100%, because you won't regret it. As has been discussed above, we're already trying to come up with ways for more people to join us, and if I ever find myself in a position of financial stability I'll try to be as generous as Red has been to me and many others. Gotta pass on the love!
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Flintlock

Pro Adventurer
If you're reading this and thinking "that's me!", drop us a line! :)
I just realised non-members can't actually see this. 'tis a shame but I understand the need for privacy when it comes to discussing in-person meetups. We should make something publicly visible soon though, maybe just a front page post or something.
 

Octo

KULT OF KERMITU
AKA
Octo, Octorawk, Clarky Cat, Kissmammal2000
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Was this taken before or after you called Kev an 'Irish cunt'? :lol:

Flint, learn to play bass, or keyboard, or something goddammit. This has to happen! And anybody else who is even vaguely musical, get involved FGJ.
 
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