Bronycon: the afterglow · 1:31am Aug 4th, 2014
Well, that was something. I've never been to a fan convention of anything before, just professional or hobby ones. I kind of knew what to expect, at least in terms of how things would look, based on news footage and such of ComiCon. So it didn't catch me off guard at all to see the variety of fan-generated merchandise, the elaborate costumes, or the sheer number of people.
But of course the visual can't give you the sense of what it's like to be there right in the middle of it.
MLP hasn't changed my mind about cons in that I'm still not a fan of it enough to attend one just for the sake of doing so, but since panelists can get complimentary badges, I figured why not take advantage of the opportunity to meet some of the people whose stories I'd reviewed or read, who'd read or reviewed my stories, who'd been my colleagues at Equestria Daily, or who'd simply chatted with me before.
And in a brilliant revelation that must be old news to a lot of you, it really was more about the people than anything else. It was great to put names to faces, to shake the hands of writers and reviewers I'd come to respect, and to have the humbling experience of people whose names I definitely know somehow recognize who the hell I am. I mean, to flash my name to Jake the Army Guy only to have him immediately break into a smile and shake my hand and say yes, he absolutely knew the name and was glad to meet in person. Not to belittle anyone else or say who was the greatest or the least, just that it was the first such encounter of my day. Many more followed. I should say briefly that I only went up for Saturday, since the EqD panel was scheduled for then. I live about two hours away, which is too much of a commute to make all three days, and I didn't want to stay up in Baltimore and leave wifey alone with our son all weekend.
Even in such a small and somewhat insular segment of the fandom as fanfiction writers, just the presence of so many who loved to talk about the craft of writing, what to do, what not to do, listening to someone list his stories and being able to say, "Yes! I've read those!" and have others do the same to me. I got all I thought I would out of the con and then some. I didn't get anything unexpected other than quantity. I went for the people, and I got that in spades.
And after my one day, having to leave a little earlier than I wanted to avoid the traffic rush at the end of the Orioles game and thus missing CyborgSamurai's panel, I already miss it. I didn't even do that much. I attended two panels, sat on another, walked through the vendor hall without seeing anything I just had to take home with me, had lunch and dinner among friends, talked a lot, and spent some time sitting there staring off into space. But even in the last case, I was simply overwhelmed at how much fun everyone who wouldn't have otherwise encountered each other could have. Friends just because of a common enchantment with ponies and good writing, a hobby which I didn't even take up until a few years ago, precisely due to this fandom, and all gathered in Quills & Sofas.
So I finally got to meet a few of the other pre-readers, Couch Crusader, Alexstrazsa, Present Perfect, Cupcakes Nom, Pegasus Rescue Brigade, and Masked Ferret (who, knowing my geological hobby, asked me to bring her a suitable rock for her Maud Pie costume). I finally met some of my WRITE coworkers, including Burraku_Pansa, obselescence, Lord Sunder, and Kalash. I finally met a few of my old Training Grounds compadres from Ponychan, Bleeding Raindrops, Pav Feira, Golden Vision, and Flashgen. And many other authors whose stories I've read or reviewed, including Jake the Army Guy, CyborgSamurai, Skeeter the Lurker, Cloud Hop, ABagOVicodin, GaryOak, Admiral Biscuit, Ruirik, alexmagnet, Bad Horse, TheJediMasterEd, Wanderer D, Midnight Dancer, and Solitair. If I omitted anyone, no disrespect intended. It's just so much in so little time that it's overflowed from my brain.
It was weird. It was interesting. It was fun. And I just might do it again next year.
Sounds like my experience last year. It's great fun. Quills & Sofas is the greatest thing.
I'm sorry if I was weird. :( Or smelly. My deodorant apparently cannot stand up against a full day of con and is not formulated to block weirdness.
2341779
Your weirdness (and odor) were presaged by a timely tarot session. I was not caught by surprise in that regard (in that Right Guard?).
2341779 Present, we can smell you from heeeeeeerrreeeeeee.
It's good you enjoyed yourself, Pas. You come next year, I'd be happy to treat you to lunch.
2341847
I bought Pres lunch and dinner. Heh. I'll treat you, Siraj. You're the one more in need of a treat.
2341825
gross, cut off your nose D:
2341900
Thank you for that. :) Of course, you just enabled me to buy more pony merch that I really didn't need. :V
2341900
Tit for tat, then. I'll buy you nom, you buy me nom. Inevitably, I will trot down to the local Dunkin Donuts and come back with a couple dozen for everybody anyway some morning.