WCPC '23 Con Report!! · 5:10pm Jul 6th, 2023

What’s this? A Whinny City Con Report??? A month after the con???????? It’s quite an adventure, so let’s hop right in!

Pre-Con
This year, I was an average attendee! Kind of! I was an Equestria-level sponsor, a CG, and a panelist, but that’s about as close to “average” as I get these days.

And oooooooh boy the script. I got to write a script for Braeburn. If you know me, you know how important that character is to me (and likely you, if you’re reading this), and I really, really wanted to do him justice. Michael is an absolute professional and does so much in the VO space that admittedly, I was pretty intimidated. I really, really, really wanted to write something he could have fun with, and I know myself well enough to know that I couldn’t avoid one simple truth: I was going to make it SUPER gay. I had my hooves crossed that he would be on board.

On top of that, it was AJ’s (Pipp Petals) first convention ever! I wanted it to be special, so I made it a Pipp story, one where she got to shine. Finding the lesson was a little tough, especially making it something concise, but I did what I usually do: channel whatever struggle I’m currently going through. In this case, it was “doing too much at once.”

Fortunately, Vincent Tong is a marvel and has a TON of characters to choose from, so I knew he’d make a great villain (and he did!). Brenda Hickey also wanted to hop in, which is fantastic, and I was able to give her the part for Sleepy Bean, which she ran with and did phenomenally at.

That script ate up so much of my free time in the 3 or so weeks I had after the GOH announcements. I spent my breaks at work writing and refining it, and there were a lot of late nights, but I was very happy with where it ended up. I also put my panels together, I guess.

With some last-minute panic-packing, it was time for the show!

Thursday

After working a full day Thursday, I set off directly from the office. This was a weird one – I’d dropped my son off at daycare that morning, and I felt so guilty leaving him for several days. He’s 18 months old now, so he’s still too young to understand, but I’m happy to say he was excited to see me when it was all over.

I raced against the rain and lost. For the first hour or so, there was blue sky about five miles ahead of me and rain on my windshield, which meant traffic slowdowns, which added about an hour to my trip. So it goes! At least I had the season 1 finale of Friendship is Content to listen to on the way there (check it out!).

I arrived late, but just in time to grab my sponsor bag and to drop off the scripts with Michelle. The handoff always feels super weird – I spent about 43 hours on this script, and once I hand it off, there are no more chances to change anything. There are two thoughts that always go through my head, always along the lines of:

1) “Wait, is AJ really the voice of Pipp!? What if I wrote for the wrong character? What if my memory, the WCPC website, IMDB, and the show credits are ALL wrong!?!?!?”
2) “I really hope they don’t walk off stage at that one joke.”

Literally every time.

I got checked into my room (a suite due to my Equestrian sponsor status), which had a door to another room on one of the walls. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. (This is called foreshadowing, friends.)

Look at that smug horse and his smug horse

A couple friends swung by for a bit for beer and to watch me iron my tropical shirts, and when that wasn’t particularly thrilling, they left to do, you know, fun things. I was responsible and got some sleep that night.

Friday

Since I was a Community Guest this time around, I got to stand in the special line of people at the side of the Mane Events room. Since my ponysona starts with the letter V, I was almost at the back of the line. But not quite! Online (and now in-person) friend Volrathxp and I got to hang out a bit for the first time. Opening Ceremonies was full of Opening Ceremonies things, and Charlie invited me up to plug both the script reading and the PVCF preview panel. Thanks, Charlie!

Fashion!

I swung by the vendor hall to get the coveted Donut Lord shirt, plus some merch for my friends, and then I went to the gaming room to play some Magic the Gathering. I got to play a 45-minute, 3-player game (thanks, Neheb! I love aggro minotaurs!), plus the first part of a learning game where I taught my buddy Zinn to play. He even knocked me out before we had to pack up. Well played, Zinn!

The sponsors had a painting event hosted by Cosmic Keyframe. I sat at Vincent Tong’s table, and we had a very therapeutic time. We were painting a pony flying through a beautiful, serene cloud scene. Mine ended up looking like a pony flying away from an explosion they’d just set off:

If you had to question whether it’s Soarin’, you clearly need to read more of my stories.

That rolled right into the Community Guest Meetup, where I got to hang with the real horse-famous folks and hobnob with attendees. It was super chill and out in the Sleepy Bean pavilion, which is a MASSIVE tent that worked wonderfully the whole weekend.

Next up was the Grand Galloping Luau, and Y’ALL!!!! I’ve never gotten to go to one before, and it was SO MUCH FUN! Jenni (of Crackle’s Cousin fame) and the team did a fantastic job, and it’s some of the most fun I’ve ever had at a convention. There was limbo, partner dancing, tons of fun, a great atmosphere, and plenty of new friends. I got to meet Amber Evergreen, who helped me brush the rust off my swing moves. Amber is wonderful, and you should check out her Twitch! And I got to hang out with Janice, who is an ALL STAR on the Ciderfest writing team!

It's blurry because of all the fun we're having!

AND I got to see Loudsdale perform live!!!! DoTheDaringDew and Luck Rock are my favorite Brony musicians by far, and they make an incredible team. Also apparently I asked Nevy for a VERY weird picture of them while I was drunk, I guess? I have no memory of the original ask.

BLURRY EQUALS FUN

After that was the bottle share, which I could only attend for 30 minutes. I stayed at the dark beer table and schmoozed, and I recommend it for any beer snobs out there.

So after dancing, cheering, and drinking, I was dehydrated and already buzzed, which is exactly where you want to be when hosting a drinking panel! With Volrathxp, Double R Forrest, and Rillegas08, we played a game of “Crack! That! Ship!” where we spun two random ponies from the big wheel and had 30 seconds to come up with a story about them. It got WILD and included:

Too many side-pieces
Mr. Cake’s cucking revenge
A racist old pony hitting on Double Diamond (i.e. the whitest pony)
Ally/Hag Rarity making the lesbians kiss
And much more!

I hung out at the Sleepy Bean Pavillion after Drink Ponies and talked shop with the other con runners. They picked up that I was nervous about the script this year, but I learned that the GOHs always list it as one of their favorite parts of the weekend when staff asks, which made me feel a little less stressed.

After lots of conversations and camaraderie, I went to bed.

Saturday

I woke up, got breakfast with friends again at the hotel restaurant, and did what I always do before a script reading: pace around my room for an hour practicing GOH intros and telling myself not to panic (to mild success).

But then it was time for the big event. I’ve said it before, but I feel so lucky that I get to do these. Charlie has told me over and over that he’s the one who’s lucky I do such a great job with it, and we will have that argument until the end of time.

I met the GOHs backstage, along with Silver Quill (Hoof Work), Harmony Iris (Deedee), and ACRacebest (Mustard Mark). I gave them the quick rundown, and it was time to take the stage.

Bluebrony was already up there, doing something special. Rather than finding music like I usually do, Blue provided improvised piano music for the scenes. He was an absolute hero, and I really hope he’ll do it for us again.

This is the part of the con where I always black out. I’ve been working on being more present, but once I’m up there, reading the narrator lines, it all kind of blurs together. I will say that I have some excellent memories:

AJ just abso-f***ing-lutely killing it as Pipp Petals, including leading the audience in singing the G5 theme song.
Vincent Tong ad-libbing a storm, including an entire through-line of jokes that I WISH I’d thought of.
And of course, Michael going along with aaaaall the nonsense I wrote for Braeburn.

There’s one moment in particular that was more perfect than I imagined (and thank HOOFNESS Michael knows and loves the fact that Braeburn is a gay icon). For the first two-thirds of the script, there’s a subplot where Pipp has fallen in love with Hoof Work. There’s a big confession scene, and the joke is that Hoof Work has to explain that, sorry Pipp, I only like stallions. (Pipp: “...Every time. Every time!”) She flies away, and Hoof Work is relieved to finally be done with all the lovey-dovey stuff.

…except Braeburn immediately appears by his side with a sultry: “Hey there~”

Michael leaned so hard into that line, and it was absolutely perfect. That whole scene got the biggest laughs of the script, including the joke that, as Charlie put it, “was exactly at the line we don’t want to cross, and maybe a toenail over it.”

It may have involved a gay cruise…

But overall, the jokes landed better than I think they ever have, and despite some technical difficulties, we ended about perfectly on time. I spent twenty minutes saying hello to all the people in Mane who kept coming up telling me how much they enjoyed it.

After that, it was time for autographs, and that meant it was time to get my script signed. And something pretty magical happened.

Michael’s table was just inside the door, and when I was next in line to go into the autograph room, I could overhear his conversation with the person getting his autograph. Normally, I wouldn’t want to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help it for one reason: he was gushing about the script.

I cannot tell you how much that meant to me. Like many creatives, there’s that voice in the back of my head that says, “They’re just being nice. They didn’t like it that much.” Hearing Michael – someone whose work has inspired me to write more words than are in the Lord of the Rings trilogy – talk so positively about my writing gave me a boost to my confidence that has stuck for weeks.

Michael even greeted me when I walked in. “There’s the man of the hour himself!” and struck up a conversation between autograph-seekers. When it was my turn, I thanked him profusely, and he thanked me back. He told me he believes I could really make it as a script writer professionally, and I’m taking that compliment to heart. I remember him talking about how I understand “the characters, their voices, flow, callbacks, structure,” and more. He also loves being a positive force for the LGBTQ+ community and encouraging everyone he meets.

I also told him about Sensation, what it’s meant to me, and what it’s meant to readers (including a few stories I’ve never shared on here), and he was blown away. The most amazing thing is how genuine he was the whole time. He is so personable and very clearly cares so much about everyone he meets. Michael is an absolute gem, and I will never stop singing his praises.

The people that say to never meet your heroes are 100% wrong.

After spending probably way more time than I was supposed to at his table, I moved on to see both Vincent and AJ, and they were just as spectacular face to face as they are on stage. AJ agreed then and there to help with the bonus scene for charity, and I got a recording for a friend from Vincent. I really, really hope we can have both of them back, because their energy is utterly spectacular.

Up next was my panel on “Setting the Emotional Scenery.” I made two different people cry with my examples from “And You Said Yes,” so I knew it was working!

Then, in the hallway, Charlie asked me how many rooms I got access to. I replied, “Uh… one?” because that was the sensible thing to say. But do you remember that mysterious door I mentioned earlier? Apparently my room came with a big ol’ meeting room! I could throw a room party!

…except oh crap, I’d never thrown a room party. I rapidly texted friends to see if anyone could show up. I had VERY little faith in myself to make something work.

But there was no time to panic, because it was time for the sponsor dinner! Heads-up, I’m going to keep gushing about Michael, since I sat at his table. He is the most genuine human being I’ve ever met. With almost every GOH, there’s always just a hint of “being on” that’s basically necessary in a social situation like that. Not with Michael, though. He was open, hilarious, incredibly kind, and so interested in the experiences of everyone at the table. I was once again floored by what a treasure he is. Go see him if you ever get the chance.

Dinner led right into cocktail hour, then the emergency sale for Crackle’s Cousin’s own Jenni. Please check out her GoFundMe if you have a chance. She is a pillar of our community, and she needs some help.

After some shopping for snacks and booze for the room party, I did some last-minute editing on a special bonus scene for the script reading (for the charity auction), then went to Taylor’s Match Game panel. OH MY GOD. Ask him about it sometime. It was hilarious, but… OH MY GOD.

And then people showed up to the room party! Charlie and Michelle even showed up, and Michelle mentioned it was the first room party she’d been invited to, which, like, WHAT? You’re always welcome, Michelle.

Look at all the pretty horses!

I stayed up with my late-night con buddy Dewie until 4am, and I finally crashed into bed.

Sunday

I spent the morning freaking out about the bonus script reading, but at some point, I had to call it.

I went and got bubble tea with Zinn at a fantastic place just a short drive from the hotel. I usually don’t like leaving hotels during the con, but it was nice to force myself to relax a bit. Thanks, Zinn!

Putting the tea in tastea... or something.

Up next was our Ciderfest preview panel (by the way, sign up here!). It was SUPER well! Sonic, Steel, and Janice were on the panel with me, and folks seemed really excited.

Up next was the main event: the Charity Auction! First up, MAD respect for Cosmic Keyframe for running the whole thing alone for the first hour. It’s super tough to do that even with a team, and I’m SUPER impressed at her endurance. Amazing work!

I came at the second hour for my shift, and shortly thereafter, Taylor joined as well! It was his first time doing the auction, and he was superb! Honestly I feel like the other two carried the whole thing. I was just there to keep it moving. And we would finish on time, dag-nabbit!

But the nerves shot up when the GOHs arrived. I was super excited again, and to our great fortune, all of them were able to join us for one more bit of fun. I handed out the scripts, and it is one of my great joys in the fandom seeing Michael realize that he got to say “Everypony’s gay for Braeburn” in-character. The excited noise he made reminded me of the N64 kids.

The script sold for $1,000 (thanks, Xargos!!!) so we got to do a little bonus reading. It went over really well despite having to be a bit slap-dash due to timing and last-minute changes, but everyone had a good time. I also got to have a visual gag that was 100% for me, but I promise to never do that again (by the way, Soarburn is canon now - Braeburn said so). Thank you thank you THANK YOU to the GOHs for being such incredible sports all weekend. I hope we can have all of you back.

Writing horse words for charity!

Among my haul from the auction: D&D ponies, some beautiful custom art, and I even sold my skills to Spiky Dash, who’s getting a 20k-word story that I’ll start publishing soon (chapter 1 is in editing as we speak!). I hope you like Zipp and Starlight Glimmer, because I’m VERY excited about where this is going!

There was a TON of hype for Ciderfest, so a big thanks to Jenni and Bronze from Crackle’s Cousin, Sonicsuns, and Paleo for reading the teaser!

Closing Ceremonies ended, and I grabbed dinner with Volrath and his family. Was great nerding out about Magic, ponies, and writing. Thanks for letting me crash dinner!

I hung out with Zinn, Janice, Snow, Pinkie, and a few others in the hotel, and then it was off to Nevy’s super secret not-official panel. I think I won one of the Jackbox games, but the whole thing was a hoot. I also lost my stuff in his room at one point (including my signed scripts!!!), but Nevy was a bro and let me come back later to grab them.

Lobby con!!!!!

After that was the Dead Pony party. I saw LOTS of people there, but at that point, it was all a blur. I think I turned in early, and after a conversation with somepony who needed an ear, I went to bed.

Monday

Monday was a lot of lingering and long goodbyes at the hotel room, but I set off at around 11am or so.

And something interesting happened on the way back. I didn’t listen to music. I didn’t listen to podcasts or try to think about what was next. I just… felt. I was present. I kept my badge on my neck, and I allowed myself to decompress for a whole four hours on the drive back to Minnesota.

It’s been years since I’ve spent that much time letting my thoughts just be what they are. I’m always rushing to the next thing or working on a project, ever more efficient with my time, but those four hours were something magical. I felt like everything was okay, and that it was fine to take a moment to myself. I’m very grateful for that ride.

Closing Thoughts

Every piece has a memory attached

Pony conventions are magical. I hope you get the chance to go to one, and if you do, please say hello. I love meeting others who are passionate about this fandom. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

I’m still shocked I get to do the script-writing, but I’ll keep doing it as long as they’ll keep having me (or until someone better comes along to write it). It’s a huge blessing, and even though Charlie says that he’s the lucky one for getting to have me do it every con, it’s not lost on me what a cool experience this is.

There are so, so many stories still to tell in this fandom. Whinny City 2023 is going to hold a special place in my heart for a long time. For now, though, we look ahead to Ponyville Ciderfest: An Interactive Storytelling Adventure!

Report Vivid Syntax · 245 views · #WCPC #Con Report #Life of Syn #Whinny City

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Themaskedferret

Themaskedferret #1 · Jul 6th, 2023 · · ·

Ahh this felt like being at a con again. So delighted you shared it with us n_n

And hey now, just cuz you can't appreciate your amazing wordsmithing skills doesn't mean others can't. I may be more lurkery but even I know you're a go-to for good writing.

Hope Ciderfest is equally fun!

volrathxp

volrathxp #2 · Jul 6th, 2023 · · ·

It was a real pleasure getting to hang with you. Looking forward to Ciderfest!

Double R Forrest

Double R Forrest #3 · Jul 7th, 2023 · · ·

It was awesome seeing you again, Vivid! I still can't believe how well the Crackship panel went. Hopefully, we'll get to hang out once more at Ciderfest!

Also, I really thought as the GoH script reader, you'd get inside knowledge of the guest lineup, but the fact that you don't know who's coming until the rest of us do, and you still have to get the whole script written on time... that's crazy!