Gen Con Day 1 Addendum: My Visit With Wil

So, as I mentioned in my earlier day's post, Wil Wheaton was the Guest of Honor when I stopped by the Dealer's Hall this afternoon. I'll keep the slathering fanboy praise to a minimum, but suffice to say that I really like Wil's professional work, and his embrace of gaming culture is damn cool. So I was really looking forward to meeting him and letting him know I was a fan. He engaged each person in turn; talking, joking, and genuinely giving everyone his undivided attention. Very cool of him to make that connection with each well-wisher.

It's funny, but while I stood in line and worked my way up to the front, I found myself getting a bit lightheaded and short of breath. No, not in a "OMG I'MMA GONNA FAINT"-type swoon. That'd be weak. No, this was the same feeling you get when you're 5 years old and waiting to meet Santa at the Mall (to stretch an analogy). The months of anticipation have built up to this one short "dear God, don't let me do or say anything stupid" moment. And then I was next.

"Wil, it's a genuine pleasure to meet you," I said. Wil smiled and said thanks. I slid my copy of Mutant Future over to him.

"I'd appreciate it if you could inscribe Wheaton's Law on the title page. Having it in your hand would be very cool. And take your time. I'm trying to absorb some of your residual awesome." Wil laughed at this and graciously inscribed Wheaton's Law on the title page, followed with his signature.

I reached into my pocket and handed him one of my Savage AfterWorld dice as well as a Thundarr the Barbarian button I had given out at my game earlier. Wil's face lit up.

"Aw, no way! I loved Thundarr the Barbarian!" Wil said, turning the button over in his hand. "The other cartoons of the 80s were all trying to sell you something: GI Joe, Transformers, He-Man... But Thundarr was just awesome. The way it mixed up genres and settings. Thundarr was a gateway to heavy metal to me."

Taken aback that I had apparently hit a "nerd nerve," I told him that my blog hosts Thundarr Thursday, and that I've actually created a Mutant Future supplement based on the Thundarr the Barbarian universe. He looked at the dice.

"Is this your blog? The Savage AfterWorld?" When I said yup, Wil took out his Smartphone and said "savage afterworld" into it. My blog popped up.

"You're in my browser history now," Wil said. "When I get a chance, I'm totally downloading that Thundarr supplement. And Mutant Future, did you say? Too cool."

As one final request, I asked Wil if he could pop that ever-famous eyebrow arch of his while I did the same with my own bemused eyebrow arch. Pictures were snapped, thanks and goodbyes shared, and I wandered off, totally elated by the encounter. Thanks Wil. Your appreciation for All Things Thundarr and seeing you check out this lil' piece of the Internet did me a world of good. Appreciated, man! Hope you enjoy thumbing through the supplement. And I'll be happy to set aside a seat at next year's Thundarr game for you if you feel like swinging a Sun Sword.

Wil and I engage in an "Eyebrow Arch-off." Wil won handily with the Ming the Merciless scowl, whereas I can only muster a bemused smirk.

 And Wheaton's Law in the author's own hand now graces my Mutant Future rulebook. Awesome-sauce.