#rihouston

Happy to see @jhaletweets get inducted to the @mandomercs http://pic.twitter.com/o9mvdirGGj

A long-standing admirer of Bioware men, @rihouston has expressed her love for our cheese king many times in lots of fantastic art- check it out here!

This is a preview of her “Surprise” piece:

All I can think is ‘please don’t let this be me’! ��

I am going in blind hopefully to enjoy it all. My second PT can be more anticipated. :) I wish everyone good luck on avoiding things they don't want spoiled for them!

I really want to go in blind too >_< There are a few things I wouldn’t mind knowing, but yeah, I want a clean play, since everything before Descent had been spoiled for me (due to starting the games so late, lol) but I really liked doing that blind, so yeah, I really want to do that here tooo

Sorry I didn’t get around to this yesterday!

1. One of your best cosplay memories? 

Back in 2011, when Bioware had their costume contest at SDCC, that was the best.  Geoff was Anders and I was Morrigan.  I got to meet David Gaider, and I remember he said, among other things, that he did not know how many hit points the Maker had, and it was pretty great.  

But it was also just super fun hanging out with all the other cosplayers while we were waiting for the contest to start/end.  Like I got to meet captainallegra​ as Isabela, and virusq​, and clearingpuppy​, and payroo​, and Taylor, and a ton of other people I’m forgetting.  And Julia was still in SoCal back then, and she was our Leliana, and she printed these silly flyers for our group.  And of course aicosu was there, and Sheila also answered this contest for this question because it was just that rad.  

We were all just having a goof together. I’d been cosplaying for a few years, but that was when I saw how much fun the community of cosplay could be.

Plus Geoff won an award so that was nice. :)

4. Stupidest thing you’ve done for cosplay?

Oh my gosh what a question lol, I don’t even know how to rate stupidity in cosplay.

I buy way too much fabric.  Like sometimes I think I’ve found the right fabric, and I spend too much money on it, but then I’ll start fretting about perfection and accuracy and I change my mind and then I’m stuck with three yards of bright yellow pleather I’ll never need.  I have a closet full of regret.

This also happens to me with wigs more than I care to admit.  I fret a lot.

18. Any funny experiences being misidentified as a certain character?

Bethany and ballgown Morrigan both get pinned as princesses by little girls, who then want to pose with me, which is super adorable and I love it.

Hey friends, if you’re heading to Birmingham, AL for Magic City Con this weekend, here is a short list of extra places you might want/need to visit, just because you have extra time or need to eat or because stuff happens.  I don’t have an affiliation with any of these places.  I’m just thinking of what is closest to the hotel and what won’t have you eating at MackDo the whole weekend.

By the way, traffic on Hwy 280, especially on Friday afternoon heading south, WILL be ridiculous.  I recommend avoiding high traffic times if at all possible.

Super Markets

Target 4616 Highway 280 S, Birmingham, AL 35242 (205) 408-7687 8am-11pm Sprouts Farmer’s Market (food only-not WF expensive) Brook Highland Plaza 5265 US-280, Birmingham, AL 35242 (205) 263-2808 7am-10pm Walmart 5335 Highway 280, Birmingham, AL 35242 24 hours, probably

Petco (ya never know) 5269 Highway 280 South Suite B6 Birmingham, AL 35242 (205) 995-1013 9am-9pm

Local Food (near the hotel)

Big Bad Breakfast - breakfast only, buuuusy if you don’t get there early Krispy Kreme (not exactly local, but some of y’all don’t have Krispey Kreme and that is just tragic) Steel City Pops - local, artisan popsicles! Surin 280 - Thai and sushi Taziki’s - mild Greek Jim ‘N Nick’s - BBQ (Don’t eat at Dreamland!  It’s OK, but not great.  Jim and Nicks is much better if you want BBQ.  Eat there).

There are other local/non-local places, but these aren’t horribly expensive.

Coffee

Unfortunately there are no good coffee houses near the hotel (there is a Starbucks a mile or so south on 280), but if you are willing to drive another mile or three north, there are some really good local places.  I will recommend 2 that are decently close to the hotel:

O’Henry’s  569 Brookwood Village, Ste. 101, Birmingham, AL 35209           205-870-1148 Sat 7am-10pm Octane 2821 Central Ave #105, Homewood, AL 35209 (205) 969-1177 Sat 8am-12am

Urgent Care

American Family Care 5410 US-280 Birmingham, AL (205) 201-7290 8am-6pm I have only used the greater Birmingham area’s AFC once (not this clinic) and my experience was satisfactory but prepare to pay up front out of pocket.

St. Vincent’s Hospital - emergency room* 810 St Vincents Dr Birmingham, AL (205) 939-7000 If for some reason you have an emergency but are not in need of an ambulance, St. Vincent’s hospital is the closest emergency room to the hotel that is, in my opinion, the easiest to reach.  They also have pay programs that will work with you to lower your expenses if you don’t have insurance. *Brookwood Medical Center is closer as the crow flies, but it’s a little complicated to navigate if you’ve never been there.  It is also a for-profit hospital, which means it’s gonna be expensive if you incur any bills there. *UAB Hospital - amazing in terms of patient-centered care and is not much farther than STV, but it’s a little complicated to reach if you’ve never been there. 

Riverview Animal Clinic 4640 Highway 280 S Birmingham, AL 35242 (205) 991-9580 7am-9pm

Local Radio

107.3 FM Birmingham Mountain Radio The only radio station worth listening to in this area, imho.

Gas/Petrol

There are lots of stations in this area, but the cheapest is probably going to be the Murphy’s in the Walmart parking lot.  Either that or Race Trak across the street (these are about a mile or two south of the hotel).  Basically, the farther south you get away from Birmingham, the cheaper things become :D (but if you reach Childersburg, you’ve probably gone too far).

If you would like an opinion about a place you’re thinking about going, reply to this message, and I will answer you as soon as I am able.  

Completely restarted my contributions for Mr. Blum's care package. A lot happier with these bad boys!