I'M BACK FROM TOOMANYGAMES 2023!!

Everyone was making them, and I promised to myself I'd make one too once I had the energy after returning home, so here we are!

Initially, I was super nervous about attending the meetup, let alone speaking in the dedicated Discord server - I haven't been to a convention since I was still in high school, and that's way back when I thought I was an introvert. (But the reality was, I just haven't found the right crowd yet, now I consider myself incredibly extroverted and I love meeting new people!) The fact that everyone was so welcoming and excited to see each other really took some pressure off, everyone was just being their plain old selves. The past few days before the convention I prepped by making bracelets (yes, I am the bracelet guy, I will reply to everyone's thank you PMs soon!) - it's a way of showing appreciation for communities and people I hold dear to me. So I made 81 OF THEM AND GAVE THEM ALL WAY! I also got to talk to @Droid about music and what Jamuary2023 meant to both of us - it was a super exciting and refreshing conversation and I'm definitely inspired to make/upload more music! (I SWEAR Solstice II will be finished SOON! SOON!!) Meeting @MKMaffo was also very exciting! She's an amazing artist and getting to talk to her even for a little while is something super important to me!* (Updated because I wasn't sure how many people I wanted to mention in the initial post x_x)

I even got to give one to @TomFulp as shown in his own recap post!

Before I venture off to the other activities from TMG, I just wanted to thank @CorTat-G again for not only responding to my initial PM regarding the meetup and giving trinkets away but for organizing such an awesome event. This meetup was incredibly important to me and I'm sure plenty of others feel the same!

NOW ONTO EVERYTHING ELSE!

After the meetup I ventured off to get my Power Rangers VHS signed by Linkara and give him an AT4W-themed bracelet. History Of Power Rangers has been some of my favorite background noise material for a while now, and his live rendition of AT4W was fun! The best way to describe every panel I went to is to compare it to live concerts and how the singers sound the exact same as the studio recordings. Hope that makes sense to everyone who knows what I mean. Later Friday night I destroyed my knees and arms at the Screenwave Rave! Trey Frey and Creep-P were definitely my favorite sets - when Trey played Nanobii's Rainbow Road I got pretty emotional. I really hope that the event becomes part of the convention!

On Saturday I got to get signings and pictures with Caddicarus, Vinny Vinesauce (who I also gave a bracelet to Friday night - albeit on accident because I get clueless when I get excited. Thankfully it got all cleared up and I got super giddy when he thanked me for it and said how much he enjoyed the color scheme.), WoolieVS, and James Rolfe! I was also in cosplay for the first time in a while as Shingo Yabuki! More people thought I was Richter Belmont, which is understandable at a glance, but I was more than giddy to be greeted by Woolie as Shingo.

Now that I'm home I'm still trying to process the fact that I met so many of my childhood heroes and made so many new friends. I really, really, needed this weekend I think - I feel electrified and more than inspired to continue being myself. It really feels like I picked a good first year to attend the convention and I can't wait for next year's!

Below are some photos (of varying quality) from the weekend, thanks for reading!