The Story of Us Part 1: How We Meet
My next plan...thought...dream was to post on a date that is significance to our relationship. It would be super sweet and connect to the story I was telling. A good idea, however it faced the same execution challenges. With each passing luna-versary of our meeting (the 11th), first date (the 18th), or the engagement (the 25th) I've put more pressure on myself to write without having the time to actually write. 'Til today, I am going to write.
The Quick Version:
We met while standing in line for a panel at a comic con. Yes, I was in cosplay. He was not. Our first date was a week later. We went to a board game convention.
The Longer Version:
It was May 11th, the second day of comic con and I had a weekend pass. Mum and I had gone in Zootopia cosplay on the Friday (did I ever share those photos? Would you like to see them? Leave a comment if you do). The friends I had planned to go with couldn't make it. There were guests I was looking forward to seeing so I decided to go anyway.
After a quick walk through the con floor (merchandise tables) I lined up for the first panel I was interested in, Catherine Tate, who played Donna Noble on Doctor Who. It was still very early so I sat on the ground and played a game on my phone; it was Clash of Clans. At the same time, two guys lined near by and filled the space just beside me. They were chatting about video games. Bored and an extrovert I wanted to join the conversation but I didn't know the games they were talking about.
The taller of the two asked his friend mobile games he was playing. After answering the friend asked the same question. The taller one, who I was soon to learn was Alex, said "Clash of Clans." I looked up from my game, showed my phone screen and commented, "oh, that's what I'm playing now." And then went back to my game. ALEX: I had noticed the game Liz was playing and asked my question in hopes she might talk with us.
Alex then asked a few question about town hall, and then another about progress in the game, and then another. The three of us chatted during the rest of the wait in line. As the line began to move I asked if they would mind if I sat with them since none of my friends could make it. They agreed. ALEX: cute geeky girl asks to sit with us, of course we said yes.
Catherine Tate was a wonderful guest. The panel was great. As it wrapped up the guys invited me to join them for the next panel, a panel I had already intended to see. It was Gina Torres (Zoe from Firefly). Of course I agreed; having people to talk with in line was good. We chatted about geeky stuff, Japan, and life. It made the wait fun and go quicker. It was another amazing panel. After which I was going to go off but the guys invited me to the next panel and I decided to join them in line again.
They invited me to another panel. I declined because I was meeting up with a friend. Which was good, it lead to my greatest moment of the con. I had a spontaneous interaction with Gina Torres on the con floor (if you're interested in the story, this is another please leave a comment to let me know.) Before we parted ways, the three of us exchanged contact info so we could meet up for a panel the next day.
Alex and I chatted that night and made plans to meet up at the con that worked with my Sunday schedule. I made it in time for Sean Austin (Samwise Gamgee). Alex had saved me a place in line. There were no celebrity panels after that so Alex and I wandered around the con floor chatting, sat in on a cosplay Q and A. As he walked me to the exit he said something like, "I really enjoyed hanging out with you and would like to see you outside of the con, if that interested you." I agreed.
Monday night, Alex asked if I had any plans for Saturday. I had planned to attend a game con but hadn't gone my ticket yet. He asked if I was going with friends and on learning that I wasn't he asked if I wanted company. I did! Then I had to explained I was a geek, which he knew but a big geek and that I was planning to play at least one session of Adventure League D&D, and that I understood if he wasn't interested in going after all. He was still interested but didn't have a character. This was a problem I knew how to fix. We agreed to meet on the Thursday for coffee after work and make a character. I am super geeky and brought my game books. It felt a bit like a gender reversal since normally it's the guy dragging his girlfriend into the game. The character creation lasted about an hour. We continued to talk until the point that I got quite hungry and told him so. He suggested a nearby pizza place and we walked over to have food together. Our conversation continued until after 10 PM, which was a good sign.
We used that character on our first date, May 18th, but that is part twos story. And you can find part three here.
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