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The Gathering - The Second Attempt
Aug. 28th, 2012 11:00 amSo... I went to my third LT event and my second Gathering. In general I coped so much better than last year. I only had 3 panics (a vast improvement on last years weekend long panic), I managed to talk to people (normally from behind a handy Steve, Andy or Ruth, but it was still talking!) and I felt more IC and more comfortable in the setting. I'm frustrated because I still didn't manage to stay up late and therefore missed out on fun stuff, panicked badly every time I needed to actually use my stats and being far more bothered than I'd like about not having someone I knew with me even if just for half an hour.
Some awesome points in no particular order -
The children's rite we watched. A group of small and very small children talking to Erdreja about what to do if you have nightmares, how to cope, how to play buckaroo and giving Erdreja presents to make her feel better. So unbelievably cute! If they do the ritual to summon the giant teddy bear they've promised I want to be there to see that as well!
A little girl of maybe three solemnly informing me we're walking on a dragons egg.
So much to translate! And handily in a script I already had in my notebook. I can now read Norscan Runes. It's slow and occasionally letter by letter but I can do it. Which is kind of cool.
Putting in a research request to learn Mauritanian languages, being given access to the Orders Library and deciding to pay to use the big IC library. Then first being given money from Tim's newbies have fun fund and then not needing it as the Bards Guild let us have our first requests for free!
Shopping! Not really IC I know, but I do so dearly love wandering round the market place. I've come away with a sword and dagger for next year, really pretty glass potion bottles, lots of weapons loops and a scroll tube. Oh, and a hip flask! I also have business cards for emailing about breastplates and pretty Cathayan style kit.
Taking tea to Ruth in Games Control. Not really sure why this was fun, but I did enjoy keep wandering in and saying hi whilst plying her with tea.
Breakfast club. So nice to be able to wake up in the morning and not wonder where everyone else was but to just be able to get up and dressed and head to a set point, secure in the knowledge there would be people I knew, bacon and tea.
The Pencethren IC tent. Such a nice thing to have an IC safe space to hide in, where I either knew everyone or it was only one or two people I didn't know. It meant I had somewhere I could purposefully head to when entering camp and when I did lose everyone else I could hide in there and wait, with my notes or crochet calm in the knowledge someone would eventually turn up again.
Lord Dredd wandering in on Friday night an having a lovely 'I'm your big brother and I will look after you' type of chat. Him agreeing to outlaw the stealing of beards was also genius!
Andy as Morgan collapsing under a voluntary debilitation after Dredd's body had been borne off to Mauritania. All of us pencethren newbies moved as one at that point. I screamed the alarm, as Ingrid dropped esde him to see if he needed healing. Once it had been established he was just exhausted Ingrid and I carrying him up to camp, Urzak, Thlora and Vexx guarding and Gaheris running on ahead to get water and clear the way. We did a lot of shouting and I think we surprised a lot of people, as we'd mostly been fairly mild and nondescript til that point.
Being introduced to someone by Elspeth as 'this is Astrid, one of our scribes'. I'm a scribe now! Woo!
Being thanked for healing, even when I'd stuffed it up.
Being called fair maiden.
Snarking at Ingrid in that family - I love you, but goodness you bug me way
Avoiding becoming a healers guild oath-sworn and later finding out my 'boss' would have ordered me not to do it anyway so I'm not going to get into trouble for disobeying the War Marm.
Being invited to join the Unicorns Choir. Too scary to actually contemplate, but nice to have been asked.
Using a herb. Ok, it didn't work quite the way I'd intended it too, but it was fun to actually use one!
Some less good stuff, again in no real order -
Dredd being poisoned and the general rush to the ritual circle. So scary. I didn't know what to do, where I'd be needed and there were so many people I got stuck.
Dredd dying. It was so emotional, and again quite scary, for not knowing what I should do or where I should go.
Freaking out in the monster room and needing Steve to stay with us thereby stopping him going and fighting things. When am I going to manage to cope on my own?!
One of the traders telling me my ideas for kit were going too far and I'd be better just buying her stuff. Maybe, but that's not how you win my money.
So, um yeah. A busy long weekend!
Some awesome points in no particular order -
The children's rite we watched. A group of small and very small children talking to Erdreja about what to do if you have nightmares, how to cope, how to play buckaroo and giving Erdreja presents to make her feel better. So unbelievably cute! If they do the ritual to summon the giant teddy bear they've promised I want to be there to see that as well!
A little girl of maybe three solemnly informing me we're walking on a dragons egg.
So much to translate! And handily in a script I already had in my notebook. I can now read Norscan Runes. It's slow and occasionally letter by letter but I can do it. Which is kind of cool.
Putting in a research request to learn Mauritanian languages, being given access to the Orders Library and deciding to pay to use the big IC library. Then first being given money from Tim's newbies have fun fund and then not needing it as the Bards Guild let us have our first requests for free!
Shopping! Not really IC I know, but I do so dearly love wandering round the market place. I've come away with a sword and dagger for next year, really pretty glass potion bottles, lots of weapons loops and a scroll tube. Oh, and a hip flask! I also have business cards for emailing about breastplates and pretty Cathayan style kit.
Taking tea to Ruth in Games Control. Not really sure why this was fun, but I did enjoy keep wandering in and saying hi whilst plying her with tea.
Breakfast club. So nice to be able to wake up in the morning and not wonder where everyone else was but to just be able to get up and dressed and head to a set point, secure in the knowledge there would be people I knew, bacon and tea.
The Pencethren IC tent. Such a nice thing to have an IC safe space to hide in, where I either knew everyone or it was only one or two people I didn't know. It meant I had somewhere I could purposefully head to when entering camp and when I did lose everyone else I could hide in there and wait, with my notes or crochet calm in the knowledge someone would eventually turn up again.
Lord Dredd wandering in on Friday night an having a lovely 'I'm your big brother and I will look after you' type of chat. Him agreeing to outlaw the stealing of beards was also genius!
Andy as Morgan collapsing under a voluntary debilitation after Dredd's body had been borne off to Mauritania. All of us pencethren newbies moved as one at that point. I screamed the alarm, as Ingrid dropped esde him to see if he needed healing. Once it had been established he was just exhausted Ingrid and I carrying him up to camp, Urzak, Thlora and Vexx guarding and Gaheris running on ahead to get water and clear the way. We did a lot of shouting and I think we surprised a lot of people, as we'd mostly been fairly mild and nondescript til that point.
Being introduced to someone by Elspeth as 'this is Astrid, one of our scribes'. I'm a scribe now! Woo!
Being thanked for healing, even when I'd stuffed it up.
Being called fair maiden.
Snarking at Ingrid in that family - I love you, but goodness you bug me way
Avoiding becoming a healers guild oath-sworn and later finding out my 'boss' would have ordered me not to do it anyway so I'm not going to get into trouble for disobeying the War Marm.
Being invited to join the Unicorns Choir. Too scary to actually contemplate, but nice to have been asked.
Using a herb. Ok, it didn't work quite the way I'd intended it too, but it was fun to actually use one!
Some less good stuff, again in no real order -
Dredd being poisoned and the general rush to the ritual circle. So scary. I didn't know what to do, where I'd be needed and there were so many people I got stuck.
Dredd dying. It was so emotional, and again quite scary, for not knowing what I should do or where I should go.
Freaking out in the monster room and needing Steve to stay with us thereby stopping him going and fighting things. When am I going to manage to cope on my own?!
One of the traders telling me my ideas for kit were going too far and I'd be better just buying her stuff. Maybe, but that's not how you win my money.
So, um yeah. A busy long weekend!
