Thursday

My Furnal Equinox experience began with my drive up to Toronto Thursday morning. The drive was nice and smooth. I was stopped for inspection at the border, but that took all of eight minutes before I was on my way to pick up  Fulminar. We caught each other up on our lives during the drive to Toronto where we did run into some bad traffic that delayed us almost an hour. Still, we arrived at the hotel without issue, were checked-in within minutes, and in our room minutes later. It was the fastest check-in experience we've had at the Westin in the eight FEs we stayed there.

We then went down to pick up our registration badges and found that line effortless as well. Overall, very impressed by both hotel and FE staff in keeping lines moving and short. We then took advantge of our badges to explore the con space including the Dealer's Den which was in the middle of setup. We ran into and spent a good bit of time chatting with  catmonkshiro,  Moth Monarch, and  pakesh. We briefly saw  hbruton and  SandySchreiber as well, and I took some time to talk with  anyare and asked her whether she'd be willing to do our Roomies sketch this year (and she said yes!).

After fooling around there for a while, and being thrilled they didn't kick us out, we welcomed two of our other roomies,  Alganbord and  LurkingWolf as they arrived. This was LurkingWolf's first Furnal, and this was the first time we were sharing a room with Alganbord who I first met at FE many FE's ago (back in our Sheraton days at least). We played a cooperative card game that Alganbord brought for a bit (lost first game, won second game) before heading to the MLD Curbside restaurant for dinner (and to take advantage of the con discount they had). I ordered a pizza for myself and it was delicious.

We stopped by the little grocery market at the corner to grab some more goodies for the room, then headed up to the game room where I played a raccoon-themed game with LurkingWolf where we had to collect different types of garbage. The game started with Lurking getting great rolls and I getting terrible roles, but halfway through I managed to turn things around to rule the trashheap!

At some point we went back to our room and waited for our final roommate,  WolfFriend, to arrive. He ran into some issues getting in so was quite late. We chatted and caught up on various things to finish off the night. Good arrival day for the con and much needed.

Friday

Friday started around 5 AM with a trip to the hotel swimming pool and hot tub with Alganbord. Alganbord has used it every year and every year he's invited me to join him, but until this year I never had the chance. Since this was our last year in the Westin I made sure to give it a try. We chatted about various things while relaxing in the hot tub than cooled off in the pool for a bit before heading back to the room to get changed.

By seven o'clock two more of my roomies were awake, Fulminar and LurkingWolf, so we all headed to the Mizzen to enjoy the buffet breakfast. Afterward I went to the Game Room and chilled with AlphaZeron for about ninety minutes. He has the morning shift at the Game Room when it is very quiet so he was glad for the company.

Around nine-thirty I headed over to main programming to wait for Opening Ceremonies. I sat up front with Fulminar to enjoy one last opening ceremonies at the Westin; the constant space puns were amusing but it was much like any other Opening Ceremonies, but I'm glad to support the con by participating. Afterward we waited in line for the Dealer's Den; as Patrons we got in early (but not as early as the Benefactors). I made sure to hit up Anyare first to drop off my sketchbook and help arrange the Roomies pic with her. I then wandered about to check and see what was there. I made sure to stop by  Spiderdragon's table which she shared with  Utunu. SpiderDragon invited me to sit behind her booth so we could catch up, but she was so busy we barely had a chance to talk, but I did get caught up with Utunu which is good. Always nice to make a new furry friend!

I had to leave Dealer's Den earlier than I had intended because it was just too crowded for me so I headed back to the Game Room to catch my breath. I looked over the games, but ultimately didn't play anything. Rather I relaxed until the start of the Prehistoric Furs Meet n Greet. It was fun to meet a bunch of fellow dinosaurs (I wore all my Triceratops badges that day deliberately) as well as a few sabre-tooth tigers. It went much the same as any other Meet n Greet; I made sure to tell the story of how I have a Triceratops-sona (it's my father's favorite dinosaur and so for me it is a way I connect with him). Overall it was a fun panel and I enjoyed the chance to share a love for prehistoric critters.

I went back to the Dealer's Den afterward and found the guy selling coffee (bought three small packs; wish he sold them in larger quantities), and snagged a few stickers for my daughter. I believe the TF Meet and Greet was sometime after that and LurkingWolf and I were both there and chatted with various little groups for different TF interests. I do not recall which groups I chatted with, but eventually we headed back to the game room.

In the Game Room we played a game that Alganbord brought (WolfFriend had joined us by then, so it was four of us). I do not recall the name of the game, but the idea is that we have to snip live wires and have to avoid snipping the red wire until it's the only one left (or we go boom). I confess I figured out the rules very quickly so took over for Alganbord explaining the game to everyone else, and after doing one of the demo rounds, we took on the full game. Another cooperative game, it was very anxiety-inducing at certain points. Each wire has a number associated with it, and you know which two numbers the red wire is between. This means you have to use logic associated with known wire numbers to deduce which ones you can safely cut. We ended up winning, but there were definitely some tense moments as we worked through the logic and took some chances.

We met back up with Fulminar for dinner at Firkin's which has been our go-to restaurant on Friday's. I ordered the Fish n Chips (being Lent and all) and thoroughly enjoyed it as always. Afterwards we went back to the Game Room for a game of Betrayal at the House on the Hill which I had brought (Fulminar went back to the room as he wanted to rest). It was a strange game because nobody explored the upper floor at all, and the only reason any of us ended up in the basement was because of the coal chute. I ended up being the traitor and managed to win the game after some fits and starts. The heroes were hampered by the fact that they really needed good Might skills and I was the only one who had one. Still, we all had fun, and it was nice to get to play a game I always love playing with my friends.

We ended the night back in the room with Alganbord trying to get his phone to connect to the room TV so he could stream Puss n Boots The Last Wish. It took almost a half-hour to get it to work, but in the end it was worth it because it's a great movie, and neither Fulminar nor LurkingWolf had seen it before. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it and once done I dropped off to bed.

Saturday

Saturday started with grabbing a breakfast sandwich and mocha at the lobby barrista and then heading up to the Game Room to chill with AlphaZeron. Once the Dealer's Den opened I browsed and chatted; my sketch from Anyare was not quite done so after standing in line to get my con swag (and chatting with  seadog_driftwood) I headed up to my room to get into fursuit for my Rodents! panel.

The panel was well attended, but we still had plenty of space in the room. It was mostly mice and rats with a couple squirrels. No capybaras this year to my surprise. We spent more time discussing new video games featuring rodent characters this year instead of the usual collection of books and movies. Turns out there are lots of great games featuring rodent characters these days. I do wish I remembered what games were recommended as there were quite a few that sounded fantastic.

After the panel I wandered the Dealer's Den to make sure all my artist friends had a chance to see me in suit at least once. I then casually strolled back to my room, enjoying the experience of suiting, even though I don't have the stamina for staying in suit for hours on end anymore. I got back out of suit, cleaned up, then went back down to Dealer's Den to pick up Anyare's sketch, gushed over it in joy as it is very awesome (hope to get them posted soon).

I then took my book to SpiderDragon's table and hung out with her while she drew her sketch. We finally had the time to catch up on each other's lives. I mostly discussed my daughter who is a teenager now and how that's caused a lot of stress for my wife and I. I'm not going to go into detail on FA, but it felt like a relief to be able to discuss it with friends. And SpiderDragon has been a great friend ever since we met at FE about ten years ago.

After SpiderDragon finished my picture I dropped my sketchbook off with Heather and then headed to the Tabletop RPG panel. The panel was all about introducing everyone to various Tabletop RPGs that they may not have heard of (beyond D&D and Pathfinder). I had played a few that were recommended (notably Paranoia), and was glad I could contribute a few anecdotes to the panel. Also had the pleasure of running into  Pyat there who made sure we all heard about the glories of Ironclaw (which is a great game and one of the first big dedicated furry RPGs).

For dinner my roomies and I stopped by the local market to grab a quick bite; I bought a nice sub, and we took them up to the game room. Fulminar had brought the original version of Talisman with all but one of the expansions he owned and we spent the rest of the evening playing that game. Five hours later I managed to actually win the game by acquiring the Belt of Hercules, which Pakesh noted made for a short game of Talisman. If I hadn't decided to say, "Heck with it, let's give this win condition thing a try" the game could have gone on for the rest of the weekend, it's that big!

As it was already almost midnight by this point we all called it quits and headed to bed.

Sunday

I started Sunday just like Saturday, with a breakfast sandwich and mocha from the lobby barrista chilling in the game room. I think I spend more time in the game room than just about anywhere else this con. Eventually I went back to the room, got dressed in my Sunday best, and went to Mass at St. Michael's Cathedral with WolfFriend. We got soaked along the way and on the way back, but otherwise it was a good Mass. Changing out of wet clothes back into con clothes, I headed back down to the Dealer's Den to pick up my sketchbook from Heather Bruton and do one last round of checking for last minute things to buy. The items I'd bid on in the auction were outbid at the last minute sadly, but what else is new.

I attended the Reptile panel at some point, and then I remember having a long conversation with SeaDog down in the hotel basement outside the panel rooms. Otherwise I don't recall too many details from the middle of the day. I attended closing ceremonies of course, had no idea who the guests for next year are, but did find the theme intersting; there will be three factions we have to chose from on registering and I already know which I'll chose.

After closing ceremonies we gathered in the lobby for a trip to the Old Spaghetti Factory. Joining us were CatMonkShiro, Moth,  DaiCymru, and  UrsusArctos. It was good to catch up with Ursus who I hadn't seen in three years and who actually grew up in the very area I live now. I mentioned that my daughter had just sung in the county chorus and he showed me the album he had of his own experience singing in the county chorus many moons ago.

Naturally it was bittersweet eating at Old Spaghetti Factory as we likely won't be eating there at next FE or possibly ever again. Still, I loved my meal and more importantly, the great friends I had there with me. This is the real reason why I always come back to Furnal Equinox, my friends who I get to make new memories with each year. Never neglect spending face-to-face time with friends; the screen is a poor substitute for reality.

Afterwards we headed back to the room, chatted extensively about what we did at the con, played a round of The Game, then Alganbord, WolfFriend, and I escorted LurkingWolf to the airport shuttle to say our first roomie goodbye of the year. After we got back to the hotel we all headed to bed.

Monday

Monday began with one last breakfast at the Mizzen. I then got us checked out and snagged a luggage cart. The elevators for this con were not great, but the hotel staff was very helpful in inviting us to use service elevators when the lines started getting long. Fulminar and I had our stuff packed, and by eight-thirty everybody was up, packed, and ready to leave. Nobody stayed in the room to sleep a couple more hours for once.

By nine o'clock we said our goodbyes to Alganbord and WolfFriend and then I took Fulminar back to his place. Traffic getting out of Toronto sucked, but once we got moving it was smooth sailing. Fulminar played "Try Everything" on his iPad which has become a tradition for us since Zootopia first came out ten years ago (it was a real joy getting to go see it with my friends at Furnal Equinox back in 2016), and also played the new song from Zootopia 2, and another song that he personally loved.

After dropping Fulminar off I made the long trek home, but it went smooth and I returned to my family safe and sound.

It was a great convention. I know I've forgotten a good number of people I chatted with (I know I caught up with  Faclan,  Leo.The.Ninja.Lion,  Mad_ferret,  Kokuei, and  ManuKoa as well over the weekend but cannot recall when), and I may have misplaced a few events in my timeline. Hopefully I'll be able to get my con report done in a more timely fashion next year!

I look forward to seeing all of my friends again in 2027!

Dominus vobiscum