Conventions » BUCK 2014 Write Up · 9:40am Aug 27th, 2014
BUCK is over for another year (and maybe forever? Who knows…) so of course I have to do a little write up on the weekend. It’s not going to be too long because I don’t have a ton to say this time compared to last time really but that’s fine by me!
I quite literally begged Blueshift to go, and it ended up that he was a panel member along with me which was excellent. I’ve been desperately wanting to meet him forever so BUCK was a great excuse to do so. Along with my friend Grandiose, Arcainum, his girlfriend Eevee, Zeeraw and Ruby (horse news person) we spent most of the time together drinking quite a lot on the Friday and just generally hanging out during the course of the convention. It was nice to spend time with them all because they’re all good fellas and ladies.
Our writing panel was actually the first of the weekend and I’m quite glad it was because it let me enjoy the rest of the weekend a bit more stress free! Thanks everyone who came along because I think it went really well. The format worked well for getting a lot of information out in the allotted hour. BUCK this year wasn’t doing Q and As which meant I had to come up with a bunch of topics beforehand, but I did let people ask relevant questions during the topics themselves which seemed to work for pushing the conversation along.
Following that we had the charity auction. After noticing a Derpy plushie for sale as I walked to the front I decided that was my target this year, and weirdly it was actually the 2nd item that went up for sale. £820 and arm pain later, she was mine! In total the auction raised over £11k to help against diabetes which is fantastic! I consider it a life investment incase I ever get it :P The cosplay contest was next and uh…..well…..it was interestingly run. There were some good cosplays as usual and lots of...kissing on stage….disgusting straight ships too. I almost vomited. The last event of the Saturday was the Lunar Eclipse. We stayed for Rc88’s set but not too much more because sadly the audio had a lot of issues :( so we just went off to Wetherspoons for a bit before calling it a night.
My charity auction plushie collection :p
The Sunday morning was the speedfic contest. This was at the totally unsociable time of 9am and in the same room as the LoE panel. Naturally we expected nobody to turn up but we actually got a good 30 or so people. Sadly we didn’t exactly have 30 pens provided so I had to run to the shop and buy some just before we started. Our prompt was “Ponyville’s small town charm is disrupted by something British”, which was relevant to the con but open enough to spark some creativity we hoped. The next 2 hours involved reading through that mass of stories to pick a winner which was a girl by the name of Jade, a Fluffle Puff cosplayer.
A lot of fanfic....
I had to go straight to the guest buffet after that where I spent most of the time chatting to either RC88/Pixc or various other people who came up to ask for signatures which was really flattering, especially the kid who asked me to sign his iPad cover! If I’m completely honest, I think the guest buffet is an off event and I half expected it to not happen again this year. You get all the guests sitting around 1 place while other people try and pluck up the courage to say hello. I understand what the organisers want to happen but it doesn’t really seem to. I think it needs more rigid organisation to achieve that.
After hanging outside the con for like another hour we went to Polsky’s panel which was really good! His episodes aren’t my favourites and I almost felt bad for that after his panel because he seemed like such an interesting guy with a lot of intelligence behind his writing. Of course the panel also had a bunch of super awkward idiots slagging his episodes off to his face, but he handled it like a pro and the crowd were clearly really on his side which was great to see. Blueshift did a write up that you can see here: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2014/08/dave-polsky-panel-at-buckcon-2014.html. We went to get dinner at this point at the Steak and Lobster restaurant next door which was DELISH. and took us up to the VIP panel. I’m really annoyed more people didn’t ask Heather things because she seemed like such an amazingly cool dork and I wanted to hear her talk the most of all. I had to disappear half way through to figure out what was supposed to be happening with the closing ceremony which I was supposed to be announcing the fanfic competition winner at but in the end that didn’t happen. I was a little disappointed because I did want to say what the prompt was at least but oh well.
On the Monday I ended up finding Jade, the contest winner, to give her back her fanfic. She was lovely and here from the Netherlands on her own. She had a bunch of stuff she couldn't take back on the plane that was supposed to be going to someone else who didn't turn up so....I ended up with it! She gave me an MLP towel and some alcohol from the Netherlands which I believe is a spiced rum but I'm not entirely sure yet!
In all, I had a lot of fun meeting people new and old. That’s why I go to conventions.
Classic knighty.
You BUCKed up, knighty.
If I could have afforded the Sunday I would totally have asked heather all the things. She's cool.
Bit bummed that you could not have been at Bronycon, cause you are on the list of those I STILL have yet to meet.
I was blessed to have met Alexstranza, Wanderer D, Opelescense, and many others while attending Bronycon.
any chance you might be there next year?
2405519 A huge maybe. Things are complex.
That picture...I look sooooo damn tired xD
I think Saturday's disappointing ending may have drained some of the enthusiasm =p I just couldn't bring myself to go to any events on Sunday. Still, it was cool hanging out and meeting people. I agree, it's why I go to cons in the first place.
I do feel bad for having to leave before we could physically hunt down the winner though. I wish I'd been there to explain why she won.
Oh I forgot to mention, if you'd gone past the steak and lobster and down to the AMC there was a restaurant called "Almost Famous", selling "unicorn meat".
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We ain't sentimental up north.
Thank you for signing my plushy trout btw knighty :P Glad you had fun! :D
2405550 I was there.
It was a bizarre restaurant, more geared to the mature taste.
There's a sauce called phokin amazing.
Looked fun and I was smiling while reading this, and what ships were on stage? Kinda curious to which ones and why...
And stop reminding me that I feel sorta badmfor snowdrop.
2405588 There was a fluttercord, celestia x discord and um....I forgot the third one now....
2405589
Oh celestia, the horrer...
Ohhh is that why Blueshift wrote a story about Marmite? <.< That explains everything. Also, the dreaded "having to hunt people down and return their fanfics" panel.
2405589
derpicdn.net/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTIvMTEvMjIvMjFfMTdfMzVfNjI0XzE2MDEwNF9fVU5PUFRfXyJdXQ/160104__safe_twilight-sparkle_animated_wat_scrunchy-face_angry_funny_vibrating_anger.gif
I'm surprised I'm actually still alive. For the fanfic contest I had a load of ponified RAF flyers turn up and went from there
. I figured either you or Blueshift would be hunting me down. 
I still can't believe you paid that much for even beloved Derpy, Knighty. But on the other hand, Chrysalis went for over a grand. I do hope we have a BUCK 2016.
Yeah I was sat behind you in the cosplay competition I think (I wasn't the noisy one, haha) and it was a little strange with all the kissing. I also thought a lot of people were rather rude to Polsky too, especially as he seemed so intelligent and likeable. Overall I enjoyed the weekend but not as much as last year, the far bigger venue changed the atmosphere and Saturday was a little too slow for me.
Ew, gross.
It saddens me that these people reject the superior glory of universal lesbian shipping.
Just like at Bronycon.
2405500
Don't forget about the trees
Sounds like loads of fun. I've never attended a convention. I think I'll pass on the cosplay part though.
._.
2405589
We also had Cadence x Shining Armor, with Flash walking with them (they won the cosplay competition). I'm not sure if they kissed though, was too busy playing "The Game the Princesses Play".
(Oh, and I'm the guy who asked you about the database and the web-framework of fimfiction.net at the end of the fanfiction panel.)
So sad I missed the fanfic challenge. I thought it was starting at 10 so I got there an hour late ><;;
Look, I know that you guys on the other side of the pond do lots of weird shit. You add extra u's to your words, you call things by the wrong words (e.g. those aren't chips, they're French fries. From France.), you drive on the wrong side of the road, you're trying to shove this "metric system" nonsense down our throats... The list goes on.
But straight shipping.
Straight shipping.
This is where I must draw the line.
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You mean the entire reason why I don't go to conventions? Weird. It's almost like you're a different person with different tastes, or something. I should probably shun you now.
Didn't know that was a thing.
What....
Impossible!
The only thing that's straight in this fandom are the penises of the bronies as they jerk off to lesbian horses.
2406221 You could have still entered, we'd have picked it up at the end :P
I enjoyed that panel immensely. ^_^ I was a bit sad I didn't get to be at the fanfic contest but it sounds like you had fun without me.
*spots self in photo*
...
Eep.
2406830 Yeah, it sucked you or Great or Metaphor couldn't be there. Welp, there's always another event!
2406858
Indeed.
2406670
... Any chance you could implement a time machine feature into fimfic?
Good to hear things went well for you. With any luck I'll be able to sit in on the pannel next year.
The writing panel was great. Well, apart from the fact that we couldn't see any of you, but still. The format worked fine, and you covered a lot of ground in the hour. Annoyed to miss the fanfic contest, since I had an existing idea (involving cricket) I could have used for that, but I was staying out of town and Sunday morning public transport is pathetic. Ah well, there's always next year. Or not. Who knows?
Gah! I should have come to BUCK! I could have gotten a signature from knighty!
Just wanted to say knighty it was an honor to meet the founder of my favourite website at the guest buffet, I'm glad you enjoyed the con I know I did
2406367
The metric system is WAY better than the imperial system.
The fic in the middle of the bottom row is my favorite.
Oh, shut up, it's the other kinds that are disgusting. Not really into the CelestiaxDiscord thing myself, granted.
P.S.
People kissing on stage is kinda weird regardless, really.
I'll rip your balls off so you can't contaminate the rest of the world!
Okay, we REALLY need to bring this to attention!
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2411758 that was the best.