So I'm in the middle of writing a new alt-Rufus and Hazel story and I'm scraping for where to send the plot next after the tale has sat moribund for several months. Then I take a look at the picture did for me [link] of them sitting at a bar with a Galapagos about to get into a fight in the reflection of the mirror in the background.

That was enough to get the story going again as I maneuvered the characters to that point so I could right the scene. [link] Heaven knows what I'm going to do afterward though. Because at this point I really can't afford to buy another illo from her for inspiration.

Why has the view count on all my deviations reset themselves?! The look okay in the overall statistics listing, but looking at the individual pieces reveals everything has been set back to zero, even for "Epic Fail" which had 5000+ views before.

I came, I saw, I took a buttload of pictures: [link]

Overall I had a good time, but man my legs were starting to hurt by the end of Day One. The Baltimore Convention center is huge, and I walked from one to the other at lease ten times Friday and Saturday. Sunday I just stayed home since there weren't any panels or videos I wanted to see.

Yep, it's the fortieth anneversary of the Apollo 11 landing Sunday, and like everyone else in the USA I'm going to be enjoying Monday off for the federal holiday.

[/Sarcasm Mode Self-Check Complete]

Okay, here's a meme challenge for the weekend. Let's assume Nixon actually did something admirable during his presidency and had Congress declare Apollo Day a real national holiday. On Monday, why don't you post about how you celebrated it (watching fireworks, launching model rockets, decorating the house, having little Neil Armstrong cosplayers trick or treating...) Use your imagination!

I've been archive diving through Erfworld [link] the past couple of days at work. The concept is simple: Like Order of the Stick it's a fantasy story set in a world using rules mechanics that the characters are aware of (a computer turned based fantasy war game in this case, not a tabletop RPG.) Unlike OOTS it plays the concept mostly straight.

"I won't be a game piece. You hear me? I'm a player! FUCK YOU!"

Anyway, Parson Gotti (an anagram of "Protagonist") is an overweight, twenty-something gaming obsessed geek out of college and stuck with a car that's half dead and a lousy job at Kinkos. Until he gets pulled into Erfworld and is made "Lord Hamster", after being summoned by Overlord Stanley's minions who were seeking the Perfect Warlord to defend their city. It would seem they're really short on troops and hope, since the Royal Crown Coalition, led by Prince Ansom, is on the verge of taking their last city.

Mild problem: They also happen to be the bad guys.

Review: This is a story that digs its claws into you. It's easy to sympathize with Gotti. He might be (bluntly) overweight and unattractive, but he's smart and he does his research as he tries to figure out the world's rules, compelled by the loyalty spell that Stanley slapped on him as part of the summoning ritual. And it's a real war being fought, with real casualties, and real horrors. Which are made all the worse by the damned cutesy names and creatures (you don't die, you "croak", dragons are "dwagons", Ansom's main flying steeds are dried out Peeps, and his second in command is a cross between a vampire and The Fonz) It isn't long before Lord Hamster starts to figure out that maybe gaming the system isn't going to be as fun as he wants it to be.

It also didn't help that I heard about Micheal Jackson dying just before I got to this page. [link]