Conventions

[Barbas]

I've never really been comfortable with the idea of going to a big convention. Every time someone mentions one, the first thing to jump to mind is that RedLetterMedia video of NoBrandCon. I don't want to be a penis about something that a lot of people get excited about, but it doesn't really appeal to me much. It's sort of like a rave, I suppose. Surely they're not typically like that, though. You ever been to one? What was it like? Share some stories from your favourite (or worst) conventions.


I went to an art convention once. I think that's what it was, because there was some art on the walls and it was in part of a convention centre. It was all right, I guess. Later on we went for milkshakes, though, and that was great.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Well, I have a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq7x66N3ntM] few [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vNFHoNbu6s] videos [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq5KWY13G4E] from the last convention I went to. Thrown together by some website; the name escapists me at the moment....

 

[Barbas]

Well, I have a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq7x66N3ntM] few [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vNFHoNbu6s] videos [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq5KWY13G4E] from the last convention I went to. Thrown together by some website; the name escapists me at the moment....

It's like watching old footage from before the fall of the Berlin Wall...hand-held cameras have really come a long way in a short time.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

What a coinkydink! I'm going to an anime convention next week with a friend! It's Anime USA in Washington DC, and I'm going as Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite!

I'll post my stories afterwards, I guess.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

Seattle area, never traveled out of state for one so I go to PAX Prime (technically an Expo I guess but whatever) an Emerald City Comic-Con on the regular and I've gone to Sakura-Con twice and Everfree Northwest once; not a "veteran" like some but I like to think I'm a regular.

PAX: Fun stuff, I would consider that I get the most enjoyment out of this one since it's all games. I usually float around (as is a theme for me at Cons) and try to check out stuff that doesn't have a line too long. That's the thing, packed with people, if you're not the waiting or crowd type, really won't be thing. I'm not really that type either but I tolerate it at worst and make time for at least one thing I know is gonna have a long line, Gears of War 4 this year, Halo 5 before that, but only one.

ECCC: This one I'm gonna say I get the most *personal* enjoyment because I like getting stuff and I love getting my comics signed. I never make time for celebrity guests, too expensive and too long for my tastes but hey, comic writers and artists are free for signatures so heck, I go for it.

Sakura-Con: Big anime con, or so I hear, went once when I was into anime, liked it, didn't love it but it wasn't bad I suppose. Masquerade Ball was fun, got my yearly dose of feelin' like a man, it's a good memory. Went again for a friend when I wasn't really into Asia-brand entertainment, wasn't great but I was with friends so it wasn't bad either. Would've gone to the Ball again but there was a concert that night that I wanted to be at more.

Everfree Northwest: Seattle brony-con. What can I say, used to be a fan. Was always a teeny bit embarrassed to be a fan of My Little Pony so I could've enjoyed it more but I'll say this: The nicest people were at that convention. Back when the ponies thing was in it's heyday, I'll freely admit, we had the worst online presence but I'll tell ya, these attendees, the nicest people.

Oh, wait, I guess there's one more. My hometown tried to get a Con going once, didn't go so well. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't any fun, the books can say they tried and hey, if that's my worst Con experience, I'd say I'm doin' pretty good.

Also a scrub-tier cosplayer here, only ever made one costume, bought everything else. It's fun getting a costume together, probably means more if you make it yourself but I don't know how so, you know. But still, I'm very proud of some of the characters I've been.

 

[Fijiman]

Personally I would love to go to a convertion. However, I have a few problems that have kept me from ever going to one. First is that I don't feel like I could make the time to go to one given my work schedule, and I don't generally keep tabs on what convention is going one when and where so ,I usually don't know about them until after the fact. Second is that I'm well aware of the cost of going to a convertion, especially if you have to travel long distance, and I don't like spending large amounts of money like that unless I have to. Third is is that I really do not like the idea of going somewhere I've never been by myself, both because I am terrified and hateful of the idea of getting completely lost(which would likely happen) and because something like that is way more fun if you have a friend or someone else to enjoy it with and I generally don't have anyone I could go with.

 

[Phasmal]

So, I'm planning on taking my little brother to London MCM next year, assuming I have the money.

I'm kind of nervous because I've never been to a convention before (and I've heard some particularly unflattering stories about conventions), but it's something that I've wanted to do for quite some time.
Hopefully we'll have a good time. Mostly I'm excited to pick up stuff for my developing nerd cabinet.

 

[Catnip1024]

Dunno what it's like in the US, but the UK stuff I've been to has been pretty chilled out. You wander in, you wander around looking at people in costumes and shelves of overpriced stuff, possibly buy something, then you wander on. Could be a cultural difference thing, though. The queueing to get in can be awful though, especially in the rain.

I'm not sure it was a convention, but I wandered into an art sales / display thing in Vienna once that was very interesting. Followed a red carpet into one of the posh palace-style buildings, full of vastly overpriced art and people in suits. If I'd had 10,000 Euros on me, I would totally have bought that life-sized Nazgul statue, though...

 

[Hazy992]

Harley Quinns! Harley Quinns everywhere!

Also Deadpool, and pretty much every Deadpool cosplayer uses it as an excuse to be annoying or a creep.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Also Deadpool, and pretty much every Deadpool cosplayer uses it as an excuse to be annoying or a creep.

While I'm sure there are *some* that are douchecanoes that have no sense of boundaries, from all the people I've heard from and general consensus stories I've read, the majority of Deadpool cosplayers are respectful and get consent from other congoers/cosplayers before they get into their wacky Deadpooly antics. I get that, yes there are a lot of people who cosplay as him and all but lumping a majority of them in with the small, stupid minorities sounds more like a personal problem and not an actual, factual issue. In all I know about cosplayers at cons, there's a general community sense anyway and anyone being creepy/douchey probably won't last very long.

OT: I used to go to conventions back in the late 90s/early 2000's but they've since become a lot more crowded than I want to handle, and while the stereotype of unwashed nerd-stench is smaller than portrayed, the exponential growth of said conventions has meant that while still a smaller portion of the congoers fall into that category, the stench itself has also grown. I'm honestly not a fan of large gatherings of people, and I have a limit of how many of these public appearances I can withstand before I want to retreat to my home and stay indoors as long as possible... its nothing against people, really, I just have gotten more hermit-like as I get older and want to be around small groups of people I know more than I want to go to a convention full of strangers, who're probably mostly decent folks but I've just got personal issues that get amped up in crowds.