So, I might just be discussing past projects this whole week. Today was somewhat stressful, therein, I'm not terribly in the mood to try and actually be productive. So...I figured I'd do some more of my past work today!
In 2007 my close friends (herein referred to as "The Group") invited me to Sakura-Con, a large local Anime Convention here in Seattle that they had attended the year before and enjoyed thoroughly. I, as I MUST state again, wasn't a big anime fan but I was interested in the idea and spent the next few months obsessively studying and examining what conventions were like. I played around with what I was going to dress up as, pretty sure that I wanted to blow people away with my costumes. (It was always about the costumes). However, how was I to know what people at conventions were really like? I assumed that the costumes I found online were just the rare people who were "really good". Actually, in real life, 90% of people at conventions actually have pretty impressive costumes. Mine never even had a chance.
I don't have pictures of this year's costumes. For this I am secretly grateful. Well, not all that secretly.....
Most people attending their first convention start small. My friends who had already attended had made simple, easy "closet cosplays" for themselves and had a great time. I, armed with my new sewing machine that I had no idea how to use, aimed higher. I cosplayed a soot sprite from Spirited Away; a (previously mentioned shiesty) Skull kid from Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask; and a personal character.
Only the personal character turned out good. He was simple, interesting and just bizarre enough to garner attention from people who had no idea who it was. The soot sprite was poorly constructed, saggy and sad. The skull kid was...racist? hrm.
Despite this, I fell in love with the atmosphere. How could I not? The passion of the people and the insanity of conventions is far too addictive. That year I learned everything I needed to know about conventions:
1.Cosplay and Halloween costumes are NOT the same thing
2. crossplay is ok for girls, not ok for big, hairy men
3. Despite the previous rule, there will be big hairy men who crossplay regardless...Scarring every first time con-goer forever.
4. Everybody should shower; not everybody does
5. There are these things called webcomics, they are excellent.
6. Yaoi sounds funny. Until you look it up 0.0
7. There is nothing funnier than exploring outside of con-space in costume
8. people love people with the same hobbies
9. Conventions are like what the would be like if everybody got a +100 of extroversion.
10. I love it here.
11. Next year would be better.
Rule 3: I think the number of BHM has gone down significantly...though maybe I'm just desensitized or I notice from the far away blur what it is before it is within full burning your eyes range.
ReplyDeleteRule 5: I don't think we got as much until Kumori Con and better photo applied last KCon.
Rule 11: true for eevery year we go! We just keep getting the bar higher!
I am also grateful for the lack of pictures! You know the first time you go to a con is like your first day of high school homecoming week. You want to dress all out but you're worried that no one else will and you'll be out of place so you don't go as nuts. Later you wish you did. I also would experience the checking the calendar fifty billion times to make sure it really was homecoming week not wanting to do it on the wrong day!