Aug. 9th, 2023 12:04 pm
ComiCon 2023: A Post-Mortem
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binary_sunset Wuff, that was one hell of a weekend! I'm still frickin exhausted, but I have the energy to post now. Which is an improvement from the last couple of days. This was the first con I've been to since COVID and I forgot how exhausting they can be.
Anyway, I think this is more of a diary entry than a public blog post, since I just kind of want to talk about the experience. So read on below the cut if you'd like, but I won't be offended if you don't. I'm also going to be redacting the location and name of the convention. I know it isn't super hard to find with a little googling, but my anonymity is pretty important to me. So just humour me, okay?
Preparation
My friend (who I'll call Percy) lives in [CITY REDACTED], so the plan was to buy tickets for the whole weekend and I'd sleep on her couch. I coopted her crock pot to make some stew so we wouldn't have to order out for our dinner on Saturday (I'd leave before dinner time on Sunday). I also planned to make some sandwiches for lunch on Saturday and Sunday (this did not work out because she had no ingredients and I forgot to ask her to buy anything o.O). We also made some kandi bracelets to give out at the convention. I saved up what I thought would be a reasonable amount of spending money, along with some extra for an autograph from a voice actor I like.
Friday
I left for the convention right after work and met Percy at the convention hall. We spent about an hour or so wandering around the different booths, browsing all the cool stuff people had on display. The con was kind of overwhelming for the first hour or two, especially after 4 years of no conventions. There were so many people, but the convention organisers did a good job of making sure there was plenty of space between booths and didn't overcrowd the con floor. I saw some nightmare images of people being packed in shoulder-to-shoulder at other conventions recently. I noticed a few choke points where pillars inhibited movement, but I think the organisers did a good job overall. The high-traffic areas (celebrity guests, comic artists, the 501st Legion) were all given extra floor space to accommodate the increased traffic. The only place that was prone to bottlenecks was the artist alley, which had the narrowest corridors and shortest booths. There were a couple of fairly popular artists who had a crowd in front of their booth, but people were generally very patient. The only issue I had regarding safety was that they didn't require a covid vaccination or masks. With exhibitors coming from all over the country, it seems like it would be a good idea to be safe. (Also it would be nice to accommodate the needs of immunocompromised fans but whatever).
This was also the day that I decided to get an autograph from my celebrity guest of choice, knowing that Friday is usually the least busy day. I ended up waiting about 20 minutes to see him. I know with a lot of guests they just kind of hurry you along, but it seemed like people were actually able to interact with him (which is why the line took so long). I gave him a bracelet that I made him and we got to chat a little bit. The interaction was only about five minutes, but it left me feeling positively giddy.
Percy and I ate dinner at a nearby hotel restaurant. It was fine. Then I went to her apartment, and we watched Star Trek Lower Decks. I prepped the crock pot for dinner the next day and let it simmer overnight.
Saturday
This was the big one. Honestly, if I had to only go to this convention for one day, it would be Saturday. The exhibition hall is open the longest, it has the most panels, and the most people are there. This was also the only day I dressed up! I went as a Homestuck character, and I was a bit worried no one would recognise him. I know it's kind of a silly thing to worry about, since Homestuck was completely inescapable from 2012-2016 if you went to an anime convention. But it's an older property and it's suffered a great deal of decay due to the discontinuation of flash player. So, I don't know, maybe everyone forgot about it in the last 7 or so years. I was also kind of sensitive about the costume, since my hair was the exact wrong length to be caught by my wig cap. So maybe everyone would make fun of my behind my back.
It ended up not being an issue. So many people recognised my character and were delighted to see him! A few people asked to take my picture, and I even ran into a handful of other people dressed like him! Some of them were, like, really young too. It makes me so happy to know that the kids these days still like Homestuck! We made quite a few Homestuck bracelets and gave them to everyone who recognised me (and a couple of the other Homestuck cosplayers!) I was also approached by an ecstatic Rainbow Dash who I gave a hug to!
This was also the day of the only event I actually went to, the Our Flag Means Death meetup. It was so fun, y'all! There were quite a few Blackbeards and even a Stede in Mandalorian armour. But mainly it was just cool to hang out with other people who also like my gay pirate show! We gave out more bracelets, including a couple deeply cursed ones that went to two very lovely Bungou Stray Dogs cosplayers. (I've never seen the show, but hearing them talk about their blorbos filled me with so much joy!)
Percy and I went out to lunch after the meetup. We went to a sandwich place, but we went through a door with no reentry and had to walk through Mordor to find the front again (and ended up going through the wrong door and getting the stink eye from security...). Next time, we are definitely packing a lunch: much cheaper and more convenient.
Anyway, with sandwiches eaten and front door found, we returned to the con floor to check out artists alley for real this time. In addition to about 3 inches worth of collected business cards, I also got to chat with some of the artists at the booths. I really hit it off with a couple of them! One of them was a comic artist whose work I bought (and will likely review once I finish it). The other was an independent fan artist whose booth caught my eye because of the many pictures of Seto Kaiba that decorated it. (The tip jar was labelled "Kaiba's College Fund," which is a very funny joke if you're a Yu-Gi-Oh fan). We got to talking about Yu-Gi-Oh and a mutual favourite fan artist. I ended up commissioning them for a picture of Marik and now we're friends on Discord!
The stew was good. It's better with my homemade stock and the herbs that usually go into it, but I think anything is good if you add a bunch of root vegetables and chicken and let it simmer all day lol.
Sunday
If you're not familair with convention Sundays, they usually start later and end earlier than Saturdays. Which was fine by me, because I was ready to leave around 2. Percy and I were exhausted, but it was still definitely worth the time! Percy wore her Camp Half Blood shirt for a Percy Jackson closet cosplay (hence the code name), and we bumped into several Annabeths who wanted pictures with her (including one that even had the grey streak from Titan's Curse!). We also ran into a Grell from Black Butler, who was there with their mom and a couple remote control Star Wars droids. We actually ended up sitting at the same Sabbac table! (If you're not as lost in the Star Wars sauce as I am, Sabbac is the card game where Han Solo won the Millennium Falcon from Lando). We also ate an overpriced lunch in the convention food court and then went home.
Reflections
First of all, I am absolutely going back again next year. I had an amazing time, and I'd love to spend more money on art again! I also think I'll be cosplaying again, since I had so much fun this time around! I think I'll do Dave again. I'm not sure who I'd add the the lineup, as most of my current blorbos are book characters (that no one would recognise) and Witcher characters (whose costumes are fairly complex). And I liked being recognised and having my picture taken! It's a great reminder that so many more people are just as in love with their favourite media as I am. It also made me want to watch a bunch of shows, including Bungou Stray Dogs and Chainsaw Man. On more algorithm-centric social media, it's easy to just be in an echo chamber of your own shows. It's nice to see what people like enough to dress as! It's also just a nice reminder that adult life is not always this slog of trying desperately to convince people that you're "normal." There are times where you can just step into the magic circle and be yourself. And I like that.
Anyway, I think this is more of a diary entry than a public blog post, since I just kind of want to talk about the experience. So read on below the cut if you'd like, but I won't be offended if you don't. I'm also going to be redacting the location and name of the convention. I know it isn't super hard to find with a little googling, but my anonymity is pretty important to me. So just humour me, okay?
Preparation
My friend (who I'll call Percy) lives in [CITY REDACTED], so the plan was to buy tickets for the whole weekend and I'd sleep on her couch. I coopted her crock pot to make some stew so we wouldn't have to order out for our dinner on Saturday (I'd leave before dinner time on Sunday). I also planned to make some sandwiches for lunch on Saturday and Sunday (this did not work out because she had no ingredients and I forgot to ask her to buy anything o.O). We also made some kandi bracelets to give out at the convention. I saved up what I thought would be a reasonable amount of spending money, along with some extra for an autograph from a voice actor I like.
Friday
I left for the convention right after work and met Percy at the convention hall. We spent about an hour or so wandering around the different booths, browsing all the cool stuff people had on display. The con was kind of overwhelming for the first hour or two, especially after 4 years of no conventions. There were so many people, but the convention organisers did a good job of making sure there was plenty of space between booths and didn't overcrowd the con floor. I saw some nightmare images of people being packed in shoulder-to-shoulder at other conventions recently. I noticed a few choke points where pillars inhibited movement, but I think the organisers did a good job overall. The high-traffic areas (celebrity guests, comic artists, the 501st Legion) were all given extra floor space to accommodate the increased traffic. The only place that was prone to bottlenecks was the artist alley, which had the narrowest corridors and shortest booths. There were a couple of fairly popular artists who had a crowd in front of their booth, but people were generally very patient. The only issue I had regarding safety was that they didn't require a covid vaccination or masks. With exhibitors coming from all over the country, it seems like it would be a good idea to be safe. (Also it would be nice to accommodate the needs of immunocompromised fans but whatever).
This was also the day that I decided to get an autograph from my celebrity guest of choice, knowing that Friday is usually the least busy day. I ended up waiting about 20 minutes to see him. I know with a lot of guests they just kind of hurry you along, but it seemed like people were actually able to interact with him (which is why the line took so long). I gave him a bracelet that I made him and we got to chat a little bit. The interaction was only about five minutes, but it left me feeling positively giddy.
Percy and I ate dinner at a nearby hotel restaurant. It was fine. Then I went to her apartment, and we watched Star Trek Lower Decks. I prepped the crock pot for dinner the next day and let it simmer overnight.
Saturday
This was the big one. Honestly, if I had to only go to this convention for one day, it would be Saturday. The exhibition hall is open the longest, it has the most panels, and the most people are there. This was also the only day I dressed up! I went as a Homestuck character, and I was a bit worried no one would recognise him. I know it's kind of a silly thing to worry about, since Homestuck was completely inescapable from 2012-2016 if you went to an anime convention. But it's an older property and it's suffered a great deal of decay due to the discontinuation of flash player. So, I don't know, maybe everyone forgot about it in the last 7 or so years. I was also kind of sensitive about the costume, since my hair was the exact wrong length to be caught by my wig cap. So maybe everyone would make fun of my behind my back.
It ended up not being an issue. So many people recognised my character and were delighted to see him! A few people asked to take my picture, and I even ran into a handful of other people dressed like him! Some of them were, like, really young too. It makes me so happy to know that the kids these days still like Homestuck! We made quite a few Homestuck bracelets and gave them to everyone who recognised me (and a couple of the other Homestuck cosplayers!) I was also approached by an ecstatic Rainbow Dash who I gave a hug to!
This was also the day of the only event I actually went to, the Our Flag Means Death meetup. It was so fun, y'all! There were quite a few Blackbeards and even a Stede in Mandalorian armour. But mainly it was just cool to hang out with other people who also like my gay pirate show! We gave out more bracelets, including a couple deeply cursed ones that went to two very lovely Bungou Stray Dogs cosplayers. (I've never seen the show, but hearing them talk about their blorbos filled me with so much joy!)
Percy and I went out to lunch after the meetup. We went to a sandwich place, but we went through a door with no reentry and had to walk through Mordor to find the front again (and ended up going through the wrong door and getting the stink eye from security...). Next time, we are definitely packing a lunch: much cheaper and more convenient.
Anyway, with sandwiches eaten and front door found, we returned to the con floor to check out artists alley for real this time. In addition to about 3 inches worth of collected business cards, I also got to chat with some of the artists at the booths. I really hit it off with a couple of them! One of them was a comic artist whose work I bought (and will likely review once I finish it). The other was an independent fan artist whose booth caught my eye because of the many pictures of Seto Kaiba that decorated it. (The tip jar was labelled "Kaiba's College Fund," which is a very funny joke if you're a Yu-Gi-Oh fan). We got to talking about Yu-Gi-Oh and a mutual favourite fan artist. I ended up commissioning them for a picture of Marik and now we're friends on Discord!
The stew was good. It's better with my homemade stock and the herbs that usually go into it, but I think anything is good if you add a bunch of root vegetables and chicken and let it simmer all day lol.
Sunday
If you're not familair with convention Sundays, they usually start later and end earlier than Saturdays. Which was fine by me, because I was ready to leave around 2. Percy and I were exhausted, but it was still definitely worth the time! Percy wore her Camp Half Blood shirt for a Percy Jackson closet cosplay (hence the code name), and we bumped into several Annabeths who wanted pictures with her (including one that even had the grey streak from Titan's Curse!). We also ran into a Grell from Black Butler, who was there with their mom and a couple remote control Star Wars droids. We actually ended up sitting at the same Sabbac table! (If you're not as lost in the Star Wars sauce as I am, Sabbac is the card game where Han Solo won the Millennium Falcon from Lando). We also ate an overpriced lunch in the convention food court and then went home.
Reflections
First of all, I am absolutely going back again next year. I had an amazing time, and I'd love to spend more money on art again! I also think I'll be cosplaying again, since I had so much fun this time around! I think I'll do Dave again. I'm not sure who I'd add the the lineup, as most of my current blorbos are book characters (that no one would recognise) and Witcher characters (whose costumes are fairly complex). And I liked being recognised and having my picture taken! It's a great reminder that so many more people are just as in love with their favourite media as I am. It also made me want to watch a bunch of shows, including Bungou Stray Dogs and Chainsaw Man. On more algorithm-centric social media, it's easy to just be in an echo chamber of your own shows. It's nice to see what people like enough to dress as! It's also just a nice reminder that adult life is not always this slog of trying desperately to convince people that you're "normal." There are times where you can just step into the magic circle and be yourself. And I like that.
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