General con thread. Cosplay stuff too. If this belongs in General Chatter instead feel free to move it. :) I love going to cons. I went to Fanime this past weekend and had a blast, let me tell you all about it! Spoiler: pic spaaaaaaaaaam I was Roxy on Friday... ...Rose on Saturday... ...and Kanaya on Sunday. A bunch of nerds asked me if I wanted to join them in their trek to a nearby pizza place on Friday. I gladly accepted, of course. Badger GET! Rose got to meet a new friend--a tentacle monster. Here's me, as Kanaya, returning to the ancestral homeworld of all Homestucks... ...and then, in true Kanaya fashion, sitting on it. I also completed my consort collection. Their names are, in order, Shell Silverstein and Yiffyiff. (Upon arriving home, they quickly befriended Nakolas Cage and Lisbeth Salamander.) This despicable criminal followed me home as well. Isabelle was kind enough to let me and Ingrid stay with her at the town hall hotel. And of course... ...since it was a convention... ...I wound up leaving with way more crap than I brought. Overall I had an awesome time hanging out with rad friends and shopping and doing Nerd Shit. It was truly a wonderful weekend and I'm so bummed it's over! Anyone else like going to cons?
cons are great, even if im not useful for anything the week after, heh if its an anime con i usually spend the prior months making or repairing costumes, heh but its always cool to meet similarily weird people, and old acquaintances ::D tabletop cons tend to be less stressful and preparation-intensive, and it's sometimes fascinating to find out who knows whom (so many people know my dad oo_oo)
Yep, small local one all weekend. It was ridiculously fun; the friends I went with are talking about going to Gencon this summer too, and I think I'm going to tag along. Sounds like overload central but also really fun...
I've only been to a con once, but it was a blast. I dressed up as Madotsuki from Yume Nikki, got lost like five times, and accidentally became part of a crack crossover ship with my friend who was dressed as Dave. It was wonderful.
They can be, but it's usually possible to find a quiet-ish corner of the convention center to chill in if you need some alone time. And if your hotel is close to the con, you can always just head back to your room and relax for a bit. In my experience, people at cons are generally able to understand that kinda thing.
That's awesome; should work out, then! Thank you. :D I can pretty much deal with overloady if I have friends to stim on and quiet time, I think, as long as it's just for a weekend... I've only been to the little local one before, and that one is... um... Tumblr if Tumblr were run by thirty-somethings instead of teenagers. So there is a literal quiet reading room for all of the anxious/spergy folks.
Not gonna lie, the quiet room actually sounds like a really brilliant idea. It'd be cool if more cons implemented stuff like that. But yeah, at the cons I generally go to it's pretty easy to find a little corner or whatever to just relax in. A lot of people at Fanime and SacAnime just chill on the floor anyway (especially since there are often power outlets close to the ground--gotta keep your 3DS/phone/whatever charged!), so no one's even gonna question it. And since you're gonna be with friends, if anyone asks if they can join you, your friends can always say "sorry, he kinda needs some time to himself" or whatever. People will generally respect that, in my experience.
Definitely. It's got its flaws - largely that it's run by hideously disorganized people, afaik - but it's a really nice time. That's what I've been up to all weekend. And that definitely would help. Thank you. :) Awesome to know; I'm nervous about my first big con.
I don't blame you for being a bit nervous, but I will say that there's not much to be nervous about. People at cons are, for the most part, pretty chill, and unless you're sitting somewhere where you're blocking a path or a door, staff generally won't care if you just chill off to the side. Brainbent!Nepeta's suggestion for a comfort bag is really useful too. I don't always need it, but I've taken to bringing one to cons.
I go to Anime Boston every year. I spend the whole time running around doing EVERYTHING and then I crash hard the Monday following. It's the only time of year I get to see a lot of my friends.
Heh. Mostly nervous about Scary Nerd Guys, because I have a history of Nerd Activities ending badly, and I'm only slowly deprogramming that assumption. Also it is big and full of humans, yep. That's an awesome idea. I usually carry a bag o' stim with me, but bulking it up for convention sounds like an excellent plan. (Things I have on me at all times: At least two books, charged ipod with stim games, fuck-off headphones, stimmy ipod case, notebook and pen in case of going nonverbal, nail file and tweezers so I don't bite my nails off accidentally if they get rough/broken. >>;)
Hey anyone going to Midwest this year? :D it's a big con so I thought I might get lucky and find that some other kintsugi peeps are going too.
Btw would anyone like me to make a list of recommended things to bring to conventions? Most of its fairly obvious, but I know lists help me out big time when I'm getting ready, and it can be sort of a base for your own lists so like, feel free to take it and add or remove stuff for your own convience
I like conventions! They're my preferred type of social interaction: intense enough to satisfy my social interaction cravings, but also time-limited so that there is very definitely an end point. Also I appear to have gotten into cosplay, which I swear was a complete accident. See, first I wanted to wear a Jade shirt, and then I found a nice khaki skirt at the thrift store and sewed buttons down the side, then I got a cheap Nerf rifle, and then I found this black belt with a stupendous silver tentacle clasp and built a whole steampunk Rose around that, and... I am now knitting about three yards of trim to go around a jacket because I did not plan ahead properly and decided to use the stuff I already had on hand. This was a Bad Decision. Knitting that much i-cord on teensy needles with teensy yarn (size 0 needles and fingering-weight yarn, to be specific, if you're up on knitting terminology) is a terrible idea. But I have already gotten more than three-quarters of the way through, and it's not like I'm short on time.
Here's what I bring to every con: -my iPod+ earbuds. I would like headphones, but the only ones that are big enough to fit over my big ears are spendy, so I make due with earbuds. -my 3ds, because I can sit somewhere and streetpass for a while and that is fun -My wallet, because duh -My sketchbook, which occasionally actually means sketchbook but usually means a bunch of printer paper in a clipboard, and one of my smaller notebooks. I usually don't use either, but it's really comforting to me to know that I have them. - Some dice! Which is pretty silly since I usaully get at least one new set of dice at con, but I love rolling dice and playing around with them, it helps calm me down. -My Leafeon plush Quest and the Eevee that I co-own with a friend. They are so soft and are great for cuddling. - Any stuff I'll need for cosplay touch up, like extra pins and makeup and such. Aaannddd that's about it- I just bring a tote bag to cons, and much else would get super cumbersome for me. Thankfully the only con I go to (SacAnime) has a second/kinda third floor area that, while still pretty crowded because con, is usually a bit quieter and less bustly, and there's always a lot of people sitting on the sides chilling around, so it's a pretty nice place to kinda detox. The big problem I have is always getting food, because the local convenience stores and fast food places are so small and cramped and noisy that I can't even step foot in them- I always have to get a friend to get me food.
For food definitely bring some of your own things- I always bring trail mix, Gatorade, jerky, and sometimes cereal. Your options are a lot wider if your hotel room includes a fridge and or microwave. Also many cons now have con sweets where you can get some rice or ramen, for free. Don't plan to live off this all weekend of course, but it is a good option for a quick snack. If you can, get a room at where the convention is being held, or as close as possible. This gives you the option of going back to your room and crashing for and hour or two if you need a break, or even a short nap.
I usually tend to bring way too much stuff and, as such, have a heavy bag with me, but.... yeah. i like being prepared for everything. band-aids, maybe antiseptic, aspirin safety pins, needles, some thread, a pocket knife with a scissor (lbm last year: "i need a screwdriver. does anyone have a screwdriver?") my thermos with a litre of tea snacks (granola bars are rly great for this) my 3ds. corner and streetpass and all that ::D pencilcase with pens and batteries, and all other mentioned small stuff my con-hon camera mobile phone depending on your costume: duct tape and a pair of scissors that can cut duct tape depending on your costume: make-up & powder & sealing spray & the stuff you need to apply all that TISSUES
@Acey Yeah I've been going to SacAnime since aaabout 2007? It's the only con I've ever been to though lol
