Hoooooly shit! I don't even know where to begin with how fucking amazing FWA was this year! From the moment I arrived Thursday morning, it was just a ton of fun. And special thanks to  ebonywolf99 for once again taking me to and from the airport again.

First off, of course FWA was in the same hotel as last year, The Westin. However, the elevators were MUCH BETTER this year. There was a still a bit of a wait sometimes, but was seriously like night and day compared to last year. Beyond that, I didn't really have any issues at all! I actually became a little more fond of Atlanta, too. I really enjoyed seeing so many of my east coast friends again; friends I only ever get to see at FWA and MFF. Especially since a lot of my west coast friends didn't make it this time around.

Now, highlights. Oh my God, again, where do I even start. Probably the biggest thing for me was that I DJed Friday night at midnight. My set was right after Firr, and I was actually freaking out beforehand, because I couldn't find the AC adaptor for my laptop, haha. But it was right beside me. XD The crowd during Firr's set was fucking crazy, and I've always looked up to that guy as a DJ, not only because of his mixing, but because he does so many things that most other DJs don't do. The guy knows how to work a crowd.

And then...I went on. This was only my second time DJing at a con, and I fucking blew the place apart. For one hour, I had the time of my life playing on that stage, and I had the most amazing crowd any DJ could ask for. It was also the biggest crowd I've played for thus far, and easily the best set I've ever done. It was just me and them as I took them on a journey with my music. It really is the greatest feeling in the world. It shocked me just how many people were also watching the livestream as well. I had people cheering me on who weren't even at the con. I can't even begin to describe how grateful I am for that. One of the best moments was when Oddy came running on stage, losing his fucking mind when I dropped that Combo Breaker mashup, haha. I think the greatest moment of that night was when I played my last song, though. When I dropped Language, it felt like I was one with the audience. I wanted to recreate that feeling that Akonite did when he played Language at the end of his tag set with Thumper at Rainfurrest last year. And I think I did. :) Honestly. I have NEVER felt better as a DJ.

Also, if you saw Valentine running around during my set, that obviously wasn't me. :P That was  trackfox wearing Valentine. :3

And then, staying on stage after to support both  Skroy and  Rawkz0rz was amazing. This is the second time in a row I've seen Skroy DJ and, again, I was just blown away.

So yeah, Friday night was definitely one of my best nights at a con.

Another notable thing was the music video I shot with Kiba. We shot this over the course of two days, and I was really happy to do that. Kiba is amazing with a camera and one of the best videographers I've ever seen. To me, he's the next Revit.

Next, Floor Wars. Now this was amazing. I was at Floor Wars at FWA last year, and I didn't compete, but everyone knows how amazing that was. And then I actually competed in Floor Wars at MFF, and that was a lot of fun. Probably still the best Floor Wars to date. I competed in this one, and it was a ton of fun, really invigorating. Really pushed me as a dancer, and I'd love to do it again.

Now, the big one. The Fursuit Dance Competition. A lot of people know I was on the fence about doing FWA's dance comp this year, because I didn't get in last year. And it was pretty hard on me. Even though I'd grown tremendously as a dancer in the year since then, I had wonder if I was good enough to get in this time. So, I did the prelims, and I was extremely happy to get in.

When it came to the actual dance competition itself, I was extremely nervous. My heart was beating like crazy. This is not only one of the best dance competitions, FWA was the very first fur con to host a fursuit dance competition. So it's important, it's history. At least to me.

And I went out there and...killed it. I was really happy with my dance and it was probably the best dance I've done up to this point. What I didn't expect to was to get an honorable mention (along with Buddy/JD Puppy)! I was honestly shocked at that. I never expect to place in dance competitions, because it's always the furthest thing from my mind, but I'm very happy and humbled that the judges thought I was good enough to warrant an honorable mention along with Buddy. People keep telling me that my dance was good enough that I could've placed in the top 3, and I don't even know what to say to that, haha. But I'm glad people liked my dance.

And speaking of the dance competition...I have to say, I'm a little disappointed in some of the commentary that I saw on Twitter. I was honestly shocked at some of the stuff people were saying. First of all, I wanna go on record and say that the dance competition's MC made some comments that were probably in bad taste. I'm not going to deny that for a second. Even when I was backstage, I was like "whoooooaaaaa, he probably shouldn't have said that." But I DID NOT expect people to freak out about it as much as they did. I really feel like everyone blew it out of proportion. The MC made the comment in jest, as a joke. He wasn't being serious. He did not ACTUALLY mean that people "suck". Again, he was in poor taste for saying what he said, but I feel like the some of the comments on Twitter were EQUALLY in poor taste. It made me sad as hell, because he actually is a very nice guy.

Most of you probably don't even know this, but that guy has actually been hosting FWA's dance competition longer than SOME of you have been DANCING. Seriously. He's been hosting it from the very beginning. That guy has been one of the biggest advocates for the dancer furs and most of you don't even fucking realize it. He's just as excited and enthusiastic about the fursuit dance competition as any of us dancers are. He, and the entire A/V staff bust their asses to put on this crazy event, and I feel like so many people just...take it for granted. Being staff at a fur con is such a stressful, thankless job, and they put in so much more work than you realize, at their own expense, all so WE can have a good fucking show. And furthermore, that guy is not just the MC/Host of the dance competition; he's ACTUALLY the main theatre/main events coordinator. He coordinates/approves EVERYTHING that happens in the main theatre.

Without his approval -- THERE IS NO FURSUIT DANCE COMPETITION.

THERE IS NO FLOOR WARS.

THERE ARE NO DANCES.

Even Oddy, the dance/DJ coordinator has to get things approved by HIM.

And I get it. Just because someone has been in a position of authority doesn't necessarily mean they're cut out for something as specific and unique as MCing. But again, he's been doing it for years. And I think he's been pretty great at it, thus far. He's probably my favorite MC out of all the dance competitions. So please, please, please don't hate him. :( He made one bad comment in poor taste. Please don't vilify him for it.

Beyond that, I know there was also a lot of salt about the placements, which I totally understand. I get it. We're all opinionated here (especially me). I'm still surprised myself that I even got an honorable mention especially because I think Buddy's performance was a little better than mine. XD But the more I see people blasting their opinions over a public forum like Twitter, the more I think it's kind of a bad idea. Simply put, blasting your opinions about the dance comp placements over a public forum like Twitter (especially right after the dance competition) is incredibly disrespectful to the dancers who actually got those placements. Whether or not you agree with the top 3 placements, it's all subjective, and EVERYONE has a right to their opinion, but you do so many people a disservice when you say that stuff in public. Because you can and probably WILL make those dancers feel like shit, if they happen to see your comments on Twitter. Because, again, it's a public forum.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade here, I'm really not. Again, EVERYONE is entitled to their opinion(s). I'm just saying, all of these comments and opinions would be much better suited to private conversations, not a huge public space like Twitter, where everyone (including the dancers who actually placed in the top 3) can see those comments.

And beyond that...what more can I say? FWA this year was incredible. So much better than last year, and even though a lot of my friends didn't come this year, I still had an amazing time. I met so many new people, made a ton of new friends, so much so that there's far too many to name. But you know who you are. And you guys fucking MADE my con this year.

I don't think I could've asked for a better FWA than what I got. :) And I really, really look forward to next year, in the Marriott. Seriously, that new hotel is FUCKING BEAUTIFUL, and to me, it's matched only by MFF's hotel. Yeah, I said that. It might even be better than MFF's Hyatt. Me and a couple friends actually explored the new hotel on Sunday, and we were by how beautiful it is. Words, even the pictures on the website don't do it justice. I honestly can't wait to attend. :)