Man, I don't even know where to start...

FC was amazing this year. This was my 4th FC in a row, and it always feels good to go back to my home con, especially after the crazy time I had last year going to so many cons. FC 2013 last year had been my best con experience to date until MFF that same year. FC was absolutely perfect for me last year, so FC this year had a lot to live up to. And indeed, FC 2014 was amazing this year. I got to hang out with a lot of my friends, deepen some long-standing friendships, dance like crazy, and even film my second dance video.

The dances were special this year. In all my years of attending Further Confusion, I've never seen a crowd as big as there was at  skroy's set. That was by far the biggest crowd I'd ever seen for any dance at FC, ever. And then to have  Rawkz0rz on right after that was just...incredible. That's just perfect scheduling. And that's not even counting  Thumper, who played THE BEST FUCKING SET I've ever heard from him. As one of my top favorite DJs, I've listened to...literally every mix Thumper has posted since his RF 2011 mix, and I make no exaggeration when I say this set he played at FC was hands down his best solo set to date. At least that I've heard. I kept hoping he'd drop one of my favorite songs, and when he did...I lost my fucking mind on stage. And even still, that's in addition to absolutely stellar sets that  huepow00,  Stormhusky,  Croc, and  Genki all put on. Or the absolutely epic tag set that  reccasenli and  TekFox had on Sunday night. Oh my God, I don't even know what to say.

So yeah, these were the best dances Further Confusion has...ever had. Like, really. Really have to hand it to  djwolf for his amazing programming. Even though I didn't get to DJ at the con myself, I was extremely happy for that I got to dance as much as I did. And holy shit, there was a lot of dirty dancing, too, and you guys knoooooow I love my dirty dancing. >:3

I can certainly say I'll never get drunk before a dance again, though. Yeah, there's a story behind that. I was at  acefox27's party sometime before the dances, and I'd only had about two cups of Rum and Coke (which I mixed myself), and a couple sips of hard cider. I shouldn't have been as drunk as I was...but I was REALLY fucking drunk after that, and I was still in fursuit. So...I had to have about three handlers for a bit and they took me to the Headless Lounge, where I just hung out for a while. And sometime after that, I went back to my hotel room. At this point, it's like an hour before TekFox's and Recca's tag set, and I REALLY wanted to be there to support them, since they're two of my favorite DJs, and two DJs who've specifically gone out of their way to help me with my own DJing in the past. And after missing Recca's epic set at MFF (my biggest regret about that con), I was NOT GOING TO MISS THIS.

Unfortunately...I was not all well. I was starting to feel sick from all that alcohol. Now, anybody who knows me, or who has seen me at any of these dances knows I go hard as fuck, and I'm often there from start to finish. And I knew...or was at least afraid...that something bad was probably going to happen if I tried dancing with THAT much alcohol in my system, in fursuit. So, one of my roommates suggested I drink some water/gatorade to feel better. Aaaaaand it didn't work too well. He also suggesting vomitting, which would purge my system of the alcohol, but I really didn't wanna do that. Unfortunately, I didn't have much of a choice, since I was still feeling sick. So, I ended up vomitting a good...four times before I finally felt...okay. But my roommate and his buddy looked after me the whole time.

So, by this point, I felt okay to finally go to the dance. And it was 12:30, 30 minutes into Tek and Recca's set. Obviously, I wasn't too happy about that, but I still had plenty of time. So I headed over to the dance, to find Tek and Recca playing their tag set to a HUGE crowd. I was excited and ready to get on that stage. But when I did, I wasn't able to dance anywhere near like I normally am. It wasn't too long before I was backstage taking a break. Turns out I still had alcohol in my system, and I was pretty easily worn out. I don't know if I was overheating ot dehydrated or what, but WolfPupTK started looking after me. And then Dekks looked after me. And then Monk A. And theeeen Apollo. Con staff even called the paramedics on me, cause they were that worried. Apparently. They asked me some questions and made sure I was alright, but Apollo fought for me and took care of me. So I sat and relaxed for a good half hour, drinking tons of water, and just...hung out. And soon enough, after that, I did actually feel better. Legitimately better. And refreshed. I guess that was all I really needed, because I was fucking good after that. And soon enough, I was back on that stage dancing my ass off the way I always am at these dances. It was great. Apollo even took pictures of me on stage.

But yeah, I didn't pass out or anything. I was alright. But I'm still never drinking before a dance again. #Lightweight

Another notable event, as always, was the fursuit dance competition. It was great. But it was particularly special for me, because I performed a routine together with  phorphaux (the other dancing dingo), and we both wore our KLM Science shirts. We'd been planning this for months, and we rehearsed the routine a couple times during the dance comp rehearsals. Aaaand, I don't have any words to accurately describe how much this whole thing meant to me. As a dancer in this community... to be dancing on that stage, right alongside someone I've considered an idol, an inspiration, and a great friend...it was just...I don't even know what to say. I feel like I reached a personal goal. It's always been a dream of mine to see Valentine and Phor dance together (cause they're both dingoes) but to do so wearing our Science shirts, to bounce off each other the way we did...I can't believe it turned out as well as it did. Especially because I'm NOWHERE NEAR as good a dancer as Phor is.

I had this slight worry that I'd look like this...really inexperienced, mediocre dancer alongside this amazing technical dancer. But we actually worked pretty well together. I also think it's some of the best dancing either of us has ever done, especially Phor. That was some of the absolute BEST dancing Phor's done in years. I knew when I put that mix together that he'd dance pretty well to his parts, but I had no idea he'd fucking KILL it as well as he did. I was honestly blown away. I don't like putting people on a pedestal, but he really is one of the best dancers I've ever seen in this community. Half the stuff I do as a dancer is inspired by him, particularly his popping and isolations.

Check out mine and Phor's dance here -

So yeah, that was a pretty special thing for me. And it was just a showcase; we didn't actually compete. We opened up the dance competition, the same way most dance comps open with some kind of group choreo routine. Charm had us do our routine for the opening instead. And I was pretty okay with that. Believe it or not, it was actually kind of a relief to go out there and NOT compete for once. To just do an exhibition. It takes away so much of the pressure that I feel in most dance competitions.

Aside from that, the dance competition was great, but overall it didn't feel as...special as it did last year. Last year was different, I was in a different mindset, I competed, fucking  dancingduke was there and that feeling of comradery was so, so much stronger last year. It was just...different, more vibrant. But this was still a great year.

Also, last year I set a record of fursuiting 11-13 hours each day, every day. I didn't even come close to that this year. I actually haven't come close to that any any subsequent con since FC 2013, haha. But I did enjoy fursuiting for the time that I did, because I still did it plenty. Also, sooooooo much Hydration, haha. I must've gone there 8 times or something.

But yeah. Overall, FC was fantastic once again, I always love coming back, because it feels like home. Not entirely sure if it was as good as last year (certainly not better than MFF), but the highlights and memories I'll take from this con are ones that will stick with me for a long time. There were so many feels moments, I can't even count them. From the dances, the dance competition, hanging out with my friends, and just having a great time...FC remains one of my favorite cons, and I'll certainly be back next year. :)