So I'm finally back and unpacked from ConFuzzled. I've got a lot of things I want to say, not all of it good, but let's get all the good stuff out the way first.

The con itself was an absolute joy as ever. The staff and crew put in so much time and effort into this con, and it shows. I am left with memories that will last a lifetime, and here are some of the highlights:

- Being stuck in  thestripedone's plush suit.

- The opening ceremony was really inventive, a fun break from the norm that fit the theme well. More of this kind of theme-specific opening, please!

- Getting an awesome birthday present from  graafen. I now have enough Super Sentai and Kamen Rider episodes to keep me entertained for a very long time. :D

- The snack exchange was a really great idea, and it got me trying stuff I never would have thought to do so otherwise. I was pleasantly surprised by the Japanese food, in-particular the green tea. However, I wasn't brave enough to try the Finnish super-hot candy that nearly blew  emberkomodog's mouth off. XD

- Taking part in the insanity that was the Fursuit Fiasco again, and displaying the correct way to play Musical Chairs.

-  jym's CatchFurase event, a fun and cosily crazy experience.

- Meeting  thatwickedsmile in the Dealer's Den, and getting a set of fantastic Five Nights at Freddy's prints. Also finding a Japanese Lucario plush. :P

- The Pawpets show was once again immensely enjoyable. The theme allowed for one of the most brilliantly bonkers plotlines the series has had so far, and it was nice to get a bit of insight into Frank's mind and backstory. The puppetry was really well-handled, and the jokes were good fun. Plus it saw the return of Klaus and Sebastien, who were sorely missed. XD

- Heading through to the Music Jam and finding out that a cardboard box was being used as a drum. Should've been a wheelie bin. :P

- Suiting with Ember and nomming on his noodle-heads dreadlocks. :P

- The Toku Furs event was a nice little gathering, and it was neat to see some of the Japanese toys based on Super Sentai and Kamen Rider.

-  lizard-guy's improv act with  godzuki,  flintgf and  blue in the Variety Show, as well as a great hula-hoop dance and a fun comedy song.

- Practically drowning in Bloo's ( kerijiano) fluff after getting dragged to the floor (Shartroose always knew he was the favourite ;D).

- The  deezlberries photoshoot. I definitely wanna get a Deez suit one of these days!

- Meeting  mrlean, a really nice guy and fun to talk to.

- Getting into an argument with a gang of chickens protesting against fox fursuiters. XD

- That same group patrolling as Ghostbusters. XD

- Having a drink and a meal with my GTA Online crew

-  chargan and I getting to reprise our routine for the Baha Men at the Dead Dog.

So yeah; I had an absolute blast overall. It's left me exhausted, but satisfied.

However, I do have to say something and be honest about it... I don't care for the venue much. Last year I thought it was just me pining for the Hinckley, but now I feel like I have a better idea of why I don't like the Hilton so much; the impression I got was that they don't want us there.

Don't get me wrong; I've been served by some lovely people there (there's one guy in-particular who works the concierge desk and really goes above and beyond for the guests). However, in a way I can't quite put my finger on, everything about the place just feels... well... cold. It's definitely a more formal venue, and I feel that doesn't mesh well with ConFuzzled, especially as we cannot get exclusivity of the hotel and thus deck it out with appropriate theme items.

Plus the lack of exclusivity can cause problems with the general public. Apparently there have already been reviews written online about the hotel, complaining not so much about us but more that apparently they weren't informed beforehand of ConFuzzled taking place. In their position, I don't doubt that I'd be annoyed by this, myself; I'd feel like I wasn't able to make an informed decision on whether or not I felt the convention would interfere with my holiday plans in any way or prevent me from being able to relax. Also doesn't help that apparently the room assignment seems to be completely random, so people like the pilots and flight attendants who stay there overnight can get woken up by room parties and thus feel somewhat less capable of doing their jobs in the morning.

The point I'm trying laboriously to get to is that the absence of hotel exclusivity is unfair to us and it's unfair to the regular guests, but we're obviously never going to fill the hotel and the Hilton feels too formal for a convention such as ours. I hate saying this because I know the ConFuzzled guys work damn hard at making sure we all have a good time, but it feels like the pursuit of getting as many attendees as possible has caused something fundamental about the convention to be lost.

Right, that's enough of the negativity. Many thanks to all the friends old and new that I met there for making the past few days so awesome. I really can't wait to hang out with you guys again. :D