Crystal Fair Con: A Report

This summer, in the land of the midnight sun, a fresh, new event took place. The event was Crystal Fair Con, held in Helsinki over the 4th of July weekend. And while there were no actual fireworks, there was still a spectacular display to be seen. Fans from all over the world converged on Finlandia Hall to see Tabitha St. Germane, Daniel Ingram, and Anneli Heed, as well as a whole roster of community guests. As for me, I was volunteering on the guest team, which meant that I was tasked with making sure the community guests had everything they needed, and made it to their panels and events on time. I was looking forward to it, not only because it would mean I’d have a chance to look after some of the names from the fandom that I’d known and been a fan of for some time, but also because I’d be working with one of my close friends from Twitter, Avaya.
The trip there was anything other than uneventful. It started out as we boarded the ICE from Stuttgart to Frankfurt. Before the train started, some poor woman had her purse stolen right from under her nose - including her passport, valuables, cash, and smartphone. It seems this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, and served as a reminder why you never EVER leave your bags unattended.
We did arrive at Frankfurt on time, and had no problem getting our luggage checked and through security. Our gate was a hive of activity though - apparently the flight had been overbooked, and they were looking for volunteers to take a later flight. The whole operation was chaotic, and they didn’t even start boarding until the time the flight was supposed to leave.
Once on the plane, things didn’t get any less chaotic. The plane started taxiing before most of the passengers had even found their seats. And somehow - and I’m not sure how this didn’t break like a dozen regulations - the plane took off with three passengers who didn’t even have seats! They were standing in the galley once the plane hit altitude, and the flight attendants were trying to figure out where to put them.
There was a medical transport that took up three or four rows of seats (probably why the plane was overbooked), and the row of seats just in front of it was completely empty. There was probably a good reason for that, but the flight attendants must have decided that filling three purposely-empty seats was better than landing with three standing passengers, so they let them sit there.
Once we were finally on the ground, things proceeded in much the same way they had begun, with my bags, as well as those of about thirty other passengers, not being on the baggage carousel. After filling out a form and deciding to head for the hostel, as we were already way later than we had expected, I got a call from the airport saying they had another load of bags show up on the carousel, and whether I wanted to see if mine was there. Sure enough it was! I was able to catch the next bus to the city with all my possessions, and day 0 of the con could finally get underway!
It started with meeting the team I would be working with and picking up my badge and tshirt, followed by a brief tour of the city. I actually had to cut it short, as I really wanted to drop my things off at the hostel, and my co/traveler was feeling lonely. Also I wanted to get some food before heading back to the airport to pick up another Twitter friend. It was a good thing too, because I ended up having to head back out pretty much immediately after arriving at the hostel. The entire day was spent pretty much running from one place to the next - a feeling I would grow very accustomed to over the next few days.
Day 1:
This day started with too little sleep and a bout of extreme dysphoria.
Let me explain: I am gender...something. Genderfluid is the closest I’ve come to a term that describes it, but even that doesn’t quite hit the mark (I’ll explain later). One thing I’d always wanted to do was just go somewhere on vacation and, from the moment I landed to the moment I left, just be a girl. Well, this trip seemed a perfect opportunity to do exactly that. It was made easier by the fact that half that time would be spent in cosplay (as Octavia - best background pony!), and crossplaying is nothing too out of the ordinary at conventions. Still, there would be plenty of times I’d be spending outside the convention center, and I decided I would be presenting as female then as well.
I had originally planned to change into female clothes before meeting the team on Thursday, but sadly I had not time for that, so I had to meet them first in my (very feminine, yet still decidedly) male outfit. It was a minor setback, but I was at least grateful not to have to take the long bus ride to the airport by myself in girl mode, since that made me a bit nervous.
As I said, I started this morning with too little sleep and too little time. My makeup was, to put it mildly, a disaster. I looked like a clown, and nothing I could do could fix it. I didn’t have time to redo everything, so I salvaged what I could, tried to hold back the tears, and ran as best I could in my unfamiliar heels to the venue, almost a half hour late. Not a great first impression. In addition, I was so distracted (and unmedicated - I have ADHD, but my meds are technically narcotics, and I didn’t have the necessary paperwork) that I forgot half of my cosplay, including my bowtie (which, if you’re going to cosplay as Octavia, is pretty damn crucial).
It was honestly one of the first experiences I had with dysphoria, and it was no fun. I feel really bad for the people who have to go through that every day of their lives.
Despite getting off to a rough start, the day quickly improved for me. I met the rest of the team for real this time, and had some really nice chats with them. It turns out my team is full of really cool people! Most of the day, when I wasn’t running around to panels or corralling guests, was spent at the Guest Team Table in the green room, listening to the radio and running to where we were needed. I served as the “translator” for the radio - probably a combination of having English as my mother language, and being used to low-fi communications - and often interpreted what was said for the others. Oh, I was also fighting to stay awake the whole time, having skipped my morning coffee.
What else happened that day? Well, it’s a bit of a blur. There were panels - Anneli’s and Daniel’s were the only ones I went to. There was a bit of mingling backstage with the GoH’s. Not a lot because that would be uncouth, and I certainly didn’t want to come across as a fangirl. But Daniel told some interesting stories about his work on season 5, and somehow we got into a discussion about leaving toilet seats up. Which he later tweeted about. Mentioning me.
...so much squee!
I eventually left to go to the hostel and complete my makeup, as well as give me the opportunity to fix my makeup and grab some well-needed coffee. On my way back to the green room, I happened to pass Tabitha in the hallway, on her way to the meet and greet (I think). I got out of the way and smiled politely, and as she passed Tabitha said to me “Hello gorgeous!”
I’ll be honest, I barely made it back to the green room, and I almost literally fainted. Tabitha, the voice of Rarity, the most fashionable pony in all Equestria, just called me gorgeous! (No, I have no problem separating fiction from reality, why do you ask?)
Lol okay I know her character and she are worlds apart, but it was still a huge compliment from someone I respect greatly, and it almost literally floored me! It was a few minutes before I could stop from giggling like a schoolgirl at it (she would later say it again at the photoshoot, with a little pinch on the arm as reinforcement).
As all things must, day one eventually came to an end. I actually left a bit early, which I found out later was a mistake, but one a lot of people made. Afterwards, with a quick shower and change and reapplication of makeup (had to cover up my shadow; curse my dark, fast-growing hair!) Myself and my teammate headed to a meetup of the Twitterbronies. It was a lot of fun, football and overpriced food and drama notwithstanding! I actually made it to bed a decent time that evening, and for the first time really experienced the strangeness of a midnight sky that is still brightly lit by the setting sun. It was so bizarre!

Day 2

Day 2 started out much better already. I got up earlier, and put on my makeup much faster and, in my opinion, much more expertly. I had so much time, in fact, that I was able to stop for a coffee on the way to the venue. (Not Starbucks, because they opened at 8 - the heretics!). I had my first real experience with “being clocked” here, as there was a pair of teenage girls who were obviously giggling their butts off at me, but I didn’t really care. It was bound to happen, and at least they weren’t staring - or worse.
The day started well, with a slight reassigning of duties in the team, and an order to “go out and mingle” more, which was fine by me. The first event of the day was Tabitha’s panel, which was standing room only, and such a joy to watch. Tabitha really isn't anything like what I expected, but she really is something else entirely!
After that, my next assignment was to be Yami’s Björk’s shadow for a while. The first job of finding her was easy - just look for the girl in the gorgeous Luna cosplay :D She was going to be taking charge of the cosplay contest, but she didn't want to miss the opportunity to have her photo taken with Anneli and Tabitha.
Sneaking her in the back door for that had the added bonus of ME being able to meet Anneli and Tabitha. They insisted I get in on the pictures with Yami, and Tabitha repeated her earlier compliment - which, again, made me nearly faint.
Then came the cosplay contest. While I was supposed to just be watching and making sure Yami had what she needed, I somehow got myself roped into (it’s a nicer way of saying “inserted myself into”) helping with the contest. I mostly tried to organize the herds of people in costume, and cued them in on stage when they needed to go out. It was fun, and the costumes were all amazing!
After that wrapped up, my next task was to take care of EileMonty. She had a panel with two of the GoHs, Tabitha and Anneli, and after that I was to take her to Nosturi for her sound check. Monty is a really cool person, and she was a joy to hang out with. I only wish I had had more time to do so! Also, she gendered me female without any prompting or questions, and that really made me bubbly inside.
The Nosturi party was, in a word, amazing! I went to the hostel to change for it, into a little white number that was kind-of-but-not-really a Rarity costume. The music was awesome, and all the performers really rocked their flanks off! There was a surprise (to most people) performance by Anneli and Daniel, which was incredible but too short. Anneli and Daniel later hung around the bar, and Anneli took my picture. I chatted with some friends, I danced to some EDM, I maybe drank a bit too much, but I had a wonderful time. I left fairly early (because I’m old lol), but you wouldn't have known it from looking at the sky.

Day 3
Sunday was, well, interesting. The morning felt a bit like a zombie apocalypse. I was again without any decent coffee, since not only was Starbucks not open, but neither was the cafe where I got a cup the day before. I resorted to convenience store coffee, and made my way to the venue. I was about the only one there. Even the staff dribbled in slowly over the course of the morning, with some people being ordered to sleep in whether they had wanted to be there or not. My tasks were similarly light, with my only real fetch quest being to make sure that the artists were at the workshop in time. Which left me with time to watch the fanfic panel, which I had been looking forward to, and which was very entertaining. I did miss some of the bigger panels, but at that point I was too tired to care much. I made sure that I mingled with the guests as much as possible, which mostly meant hanging around Yami and Monty’s booth (I’ll be honest - that part of the job was super fun). I also somehow managed to get involved in choosing the cosplay contest winners, which may have caused some controversy, but I stand by the decisions that were made.
The closing ceremony came too soon. The speeches made by the staff nearly had me in tears, and I realized that I would miss my fellow volunteers more than I would have thought coming in.
Cleanup was quick and mostly well organized, the goodbyes were bittersweet, and I will miss everyone I worked with. I was especially surprised to see how well the Twitterbronies and I got along in real life, and it added a whole new aspect to our online friendships for me.
I won’t go into too much detail about the night after the con wrapped up. If you want details, ask me about the Czech brony getting locked in the bathroom sometime when we meet in person. The next day involved a 5am taxi, a relaxing flight and train ride home, and a head full of memories of what is probably going to rank up there for me with some of the best conventions in my life.

Thankfully, I get to see most of my friends again in a month at Galacon.