Video Games, Belly Dancing, and Fire-Spinning, Oh My!

Friday night was a pretty typical girls' night out. After work, I went out with my friend Miranda for dinner at Demera Ethiopian Restaurant (so damn good) and to watch a show at the Uptown Underground involving video game-themed belly dancing, burlesque, and fire-spinning routines. You know, same ol' same ol'.

Miranda's the inspiration for one of the main characters in my WIP, actually

The show we watched was Ready Player Two by Raks Geek, and it was so much fun. I was a little worried since Miranda's not into geeky stuff (just a good friend willing to indulge my oddities) and I had no idea what to expect (seriously, go to that website and see what you think). But you know what? We both had a a fantastic time.

I managed to get at least one picture of each performer, but honestly, I'm not a great photographer. I'm the kind of person who has so much fun at an event that I forget to take any pictures, then kick myself afterwards. These are the best quality ones I took. I wish I could've taken more, but I was seriously so enthralled by most of the performances that I literally forgot to clap and cheer sometimes, let alone take pics.

Diana Xiana Moon as Elizabeth from BioShock

Kamrah as Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII

Watching Sephiroth belly-dancing to One-Winged Angel (his theme song) was surreal and amazing.

Lee Na-Moo as Ermac from Mortal Kombat

I couldn't get more than one picture because he was so fast and the choreography was so cool, I gave up trying.

Michi Trota as The Assassin from Assassin's Creed

Assassin Fire-Spinning

 I was so tense throughout this routine! So freakin' cool.

Gaea Lady as Poison Ivy (Batman villain)

 So, so mad that I only have this one picture of Poison Ivy because her costumes (there was a burlesque bit where she shed this dress) were AMAZING. Absolutely beautiful and the routine was fantastic too.

Lee Na-Moo as Mario 

 The audience laughed when he came out because that Super Mario hat seemed so silly, but when he started to dance...OMG. Another time where I was so into the performance, I forgot to react.

Michi Trota as the Last Starfighter

More fire, more fun, more tension.

TERRIFYING 

Kamrah as the Nurse from Silent Hill

THIS PERFORMANCE. I never thought that the carefully controlled movements of belly-dancing would pair so well with the terrifying movements of the nurse from Silent Hill, but holy crap. Miranda literally had her mouth hanging open this entire performance. Ah-mazing.

Gaea Lady as Jade from Mortal Kombat

Seriously, Idk why I was terrible at taking pictures of Gaea Lady. Another gorgeous costume and wonderful performance.

Diana Xiana Moon as Wookie

The showstopper! The last performance of the night was this hilarious and fantastic belly dancing Wookie routine. The audience couldn't stop laughing the entire time and it was a great way to end the night.

I was really excited to see Michi Trota there, because she's a contact I've been wanting to make for a while. A feminist Filipino woman heavily involved in the geek community and using her platform to push for more diversity and #ownvoice creators? Sign me up. I managed to introduce myself and give her a business card without being too awkward (I hope). Since my WIP is about a Fil-Am amateur sleuth solving a murder at a comic book convention, I'd love to get her insights. Fingers crossed, but I know she's a very busy woman.

The girly bonding, nerd-themed drinks, and geeky dance performances were enough to make a pretty fantastic night, but what I loved most of all was that this was a charity event with partial proceeds going to I Need Diverse Games, a non-profit I hadn't known about, but now wholeheartedly support (donated on Patreon). The founder of I Need Diverse Games came out to explain what the organization was, and I not only loved her passion, I also loved that she was decked out in Mass Effect swag.

In case you were wondering, the Mass Effect series is my 3rd favorite video game series, with the first two positions being held by the Persona series (Persona 4 Golden is my shit) and the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney series (maximum ridiculosity).

...nobody was wondering, were they?

Anyways, their next show is in June and has a space/sci-fi theme. Think I might have to check that one out as well ^^