Epic Comic-Con Report: Saturday and Sunday
At last we've reached the end! Of course, I haven't written up GenCon or Dragon*Con yet...
Saturday: BSG and Masquerade!!!
Costume: None, I wore civvies.
We got all our Masq supplies and costumes packed up and hauled it all downtown, where we took the trolley from Rogue's building instead of walking. Dad and Sean were in their Crystal Skull Indy and Mutt costumes; Rogue was...I don't remember. We had another shift in the booth to start off the day. The big excitement for me was making "Sold Out" signs for the R2D2s and key covers. Woo. We tried to get into the Sarah Connor Chronicles panel at 11:30, but there was just no way. Why did they think that they could put a major network show in 6A on Saturday??? We met people in line who wanted to see panels that weren't for another two and three hours, and they were doubtful they'd make it in. We snagged kay_dee70 as she walked by, and the three of us decided to just go over to Ballroom 20 and stake out seats for the BSG panel later that afternoon. Dean Koontz was speaking, and the room was barely a third full. Great planning, Comic-Con!
Since we had some time to kill, I verified with Cordelia that we could store our stuff in the Masquerade green room, so I went back downstairs and collected our suitcases and bags from the booth and from bag check, then dragged them all upstairs. Then back to B20, to wait through the rest of Dean Koontz. Bleh. After him was the Dollhouse panel, which was mostly Joss and Eliza Dushku chatting, with Tahmoh occasionally interjecting something. They hadn't filmed anything other than the pilot at that point, and it was being reshot, so they really couldn't answer all that many questions about the show. They did explain that they'd come up with the idea for the show when Eliza was updating Joss on all the crazy different things she does in her life-- not a wallflower, that one! At the break, we were able to move up a bit and grab a few more seats for Kathy's friends, who were coming over from Sarah Connor.
I remember surprisingly little from the BSG panel. Kevin Smith moderated, which was amusing and annoying at the same time. They showed a promo for the back half of S4 that had an ADAMA/ROSLIN KISS OMG, and I think that overloaded my brain enough that I didn't process a whole lot else. I do remember James Callis saying "badass" and pronouncing it "bad-ahss," which was really hilariously British.
Afterwards, I decided to go backstage and just chill for awhile, rather than fighting further with the crowds. Our group started to trickle in, since we had an afternoon slot on the rehearsal stage. Our rehearsal went well and people were already picking up on the theme, even without our costumes. Martin (the masquerade director) said, "Looks like another winner!" which made me ridiculously happy. I honestly didn't care if we won anything; as long as Martin liked it, I felt like we'd done a good job. I hate disappointing Martin. Also we spotted Jenwa's roommate Steph across the room, although it took us awhile to figure out it was her because it was such an out-of-context sighting. She was helping with makeup for the halftime show people.
Then things started chugging along, as they usually do; they opened up the dressing rooms, and we all started getting ready. We tried to go as quickly as possible, since dressing room space was at a premium. Poor ladyamaryllis and her group had nowhere to change, so as soon as we were dressed, we dragged all our bags out of our "room" and into the middle of the floor so that they could use the room. For a change, I was ready in plenty of time this year, and was able to steam everyone's costumes that needed steaming, get my contacts in, get my makeup done by the makeup lady, and get my costume and wig on without incident. sirrogue, though, had some trouble, as the makeup guy was having a hard time with his bald cap and ended up ruining both of the ones we had brought. So I walked up to Ming the Merciless, and I said, "Hi, Ming. We're in rather desperate need of a bald cap. Do you have any extras? I can pay you." Ming's wife (the actual one, not the character one) said they did, and we were welcome to one. All hail Ming and Ming's wife! They saved the day. Also saving the day was another one of the makeup people, who knew quite a bit about B5 (her boyfriend had worked on it, I think) and worked right down to the wire to get Rogue looking totally awesome. We were the last people out of the dressing room, but they got it done.
Then came the fun part: hanging out with everyone in the green room and meeting new people! My friend Beth had said that another friend of hers was in the masquerade and was wearing a black and white dress, so I was walking up to everyone in a black and white outfit and asking if they were her friend. I never found her, but I did meet hostclubgirl and company as a result, which was great! It was their first Masq, and I really hope they come back again! We also hung out a lot with dustyjack, kagomechan, mytsie, and the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors. There are some funny pictures of me sitting with them that makes it look like the Kyoshi girls are going to charm school or something. ;-) Also I saw a girl in the corner and I was like, "That looks like Tally!" So I went over and introduced myself, and it was her! Yay, random coincidence. I also got to meet phavorianne and her sister babysnowleopard in person! They were with the Nintendon'ts group which was once again hilarious.
We were...damn, I've already forgotten our number. 19? It was in the middle enough that we missed the biggest chunk of entries possible! We were able to see quite a bit while we were waiting backstage and while we waited for pictures, though. Also, they gave contestants a couple of VIP passes each this year, so Dad and Sean were able to get into B20 without having to wait. Cordelia gave them her video camera so they could tape us, as well as all of our friends' skits. You can get a copy of the Masq video if you're a contestant, but it always has bizarre close-ups and cuts and you never get the full effect of a skit the way it's meant to be seen from the audience.
Anyhow! I was only middling nervous before our skit. Mostly I just wanted to get out there and dance and have a great time, the way we did with Space Girls. It felt really good while we were out there-- it was a little iffy in the beginning, but as soon as Londo came out and we heard the crowd roar, I knew we were set. It didn't seem to go by quite as fast as it usually does; I think I was just enjoying myself and enjoying the moment. We were really, really excited about the reaction we got. Honestly, we weren't sure if people were going to like it or get it-- this was a skit that Cordelia thought up in June, after we decided we would postpone our original idea till next year, and more than anything else, I did it because I couldn't bear the thought of skipping Masq. But I ended up absolutely loving the skit and our group, and I'm so glad I got to be a part of it. *group hug*
Pictures was the usual ordeal, and then we got to go back to the green room and relax a bit with everyone else and watch the last of the entries. We pretty much ignored the halftime show in favor of chatting with everyone, discussing the skits we'd been able to see, and taking pictures-- I got my picture with Tiny X-Wing Girl, who was AWESOME! What a trouper. Corli's mom came back to say hi, too. It seemed to take forever for the judging results to come in, and when they finally came with the list, we all sat there trying to pretend that we weren't nervous at all. For the unfamiliar, the way they announce the winners backstage is by calling the numbers of the winning groups all at once; no indication of what you won. If they call your number, you go out in the hallway, and they line you up in the order they're giving the awards out. Industry awards are given first, then trophy awards.
They called our number pretty early on, and we were super super excited! We truly did not expect to win anything. Because they called us so early, we figured it was probably an industry award, but as we waited out in the hall, they kept putting more and more groups before us. Lots of our friends were called too-- the Undergrounders, Kent and his group (the Emerald Citizens), the We Lost people, hostclubgirl and her group, and our dressing-room-mate from last year. The Undergrounders kept getting called again and again! So did Tiny X-Wing Girl and We Lost. Eventually we realized that there was nobody after us in line, and we were seriously starting to wonder what we'd won. The Undergrounders won Recreation, and Kent & company won Presentation, and we're standing there thinking, there is no way in hell we can be Best in Show. And finally we get up to the stage, and we see We Lost across from us, waiting, and we realized we got Judges' Choice, which was SO AWESOME! ("Second place, hell yeah!")
Then we went for more photos with our trophy, and saw Dad and Sean and gave them hugs, and did lots of congratulating of everyone else for all their amazing work, and took pictures, and then *finally* we changed and packed up and drove home. It was roundabout 2 am by then. Phew! Dad and Sean had a super super early flight out, so they decided to just stay up. I made a quick lj post and then completely crashed, because it had been a loooooong and excellent day.
Sunday: The Aftermath, and free stuff
Costume: Hairspray dress
Sunday was the Day of Swag and Hanging Out. I didn't go to a single panel, unless you count Masquerade Playback. Rogue and I had another morning shift at the booth. It was slow again, so I went on a quest for a Big Frakking Bag, which I'd been coveting all weekend. No joy on the trip out, but after collecting some Fairly Oddparents buttons for the LGBs at the Nick booth, they were handing out the BFBs on my way back! I got the very last one. Many thanks to the nice gentleman who let me have it, when it came down to just the two of us.
Back at the booth, Mary put us on line management duty for the podium, where people could get their picture taken with Clone Wars characters. Rogue was actually managing the line, and I was "security" and kept people from coming up the back side of the podium and interrupting the flow of pictures. People kept asking me which Star Wars character I was dressed up as. *g* One really jerky guy did *not* want to listen to me and kept trying to go up the back of the podium to take a picture and kept snapping things like "I *made* that costume up there" and "Who are you to tell me what to do!?" Seriously, if he'd just asked nicely, I'd have let him up there to take the picture. He was just such a jerk about it. But other than that, it was fine. A lady and a little girl came up to me, and the woman asked if I was Cinderella. I told her I wasn't, and she said, "My daughter thinks you're Cinderella." "You don't have to tell her I'm not," I replied, and we took a picture.
After our shift was over, we hooked up with Cordelia, Angie, and Brianna and wandered the floor together. We got some great feedback on our costumes and our skit, which made me very happy. Continuing the "free swag" theme of the day, Brianna and Angie had been in line for Disney shirts, and they gave me the Sleeping Beauty one! Thank you, girls! :D We also scored free T-shirts at the Paramount t-shirt bar, where the girl in charge of the line gave us passes because she liked our costumes, and we got three of the four free Star Trek posters while we were in line for the T-shirts. Rogue and I both picked Avatar shirts, although I think the transfer on mine is a bit dodgy. I'm wondering if I should try ironing it a bit more before I wash it. Rogue and I also *finally* got the poster tubes Fox was giving out, which was handy for all the posters we were suddenly acquiring.
And then it was Playback time! As I've said before, I enjoy Playback not just because we get to see the skits we missed, but because the contestants all get to applaud and acknowledge each other's entries. It's a nice sense of community. I loved seeing the Avatar-West Side Story skit for the first time (so funny!), as well as the Undergrounders' and Emerald Citizens' entries. I was glad to see the rest of the Nintendon'ts skit, because I laughed so hard at the Dr. Horrible stuff the first time around that I missed a bunch of stuff after that.
Once Playback was over, that was pretty much the end of the con! We went down to the floor one last time, and retrieved the fourth Star Trek poster from Angie and Brianna, who'd snagged it for us. And then the floor closed, and that was the end! We came home and changed, and then we had dinner with tirianmal and yandros et al. It was nice to spend some time with them-- we'd only seen them fleetingly throughout the weekend. And-- that was it! No more till next year.
Great Comic-Con, y'all. Let's do it again sometime.
Saturday: BSG and Masquerade!!!
Costume: None, I wore civvies.
We got all our Masq supplies and costumes packed up and hauled it all downtown, where we took the trolley from Rogue's building instead of walking. Dad and Sean were in their Crystal Skull Indy and Mutt costumes; Rogue was...I don't remember. We had another shift in the booth to start off the day. The big excitement for me was making "Sold Out" signs for the R2D2s and key covers. Woo. We tried to get into the Sarah Connor Chronicles panel at 11:30, but there was just no way. Why did they think that they could put a major network show in 6A on Saturday??? We met people in line who wanted to see panels that weren't for another two and three hours, and they were doubtful they'd make it in. We snagged kay_dee70 as she walked by, and the three of us decided to just go over to Ballroom 20 and stake out seats for the BSG panel later that afternoon. Dean Koontz was speaking, and the room was barely a third full. Great planning, Comic-Con!
Since we had some time to kill, I verified with Cordelia that we could store our stuff in the Masquerade green room, so I went back downstairs and collected our suitcases and bags from the booth and from bag check, then dragged them all upstairs. Then back to B20, to wait through the rest of Dean Koontz. Bleh. After him was the Dollhouse panel, which was mostly Joss and Eliza Dushku chatting, with Tahmoh occasionally interjecting something. They hadn't filmed anything other than the pilot at that point, and it was being reshot, so they really couldn't answer all that many questions about the show. They did explain that they'd come up with the idea for the show when Eliza was updating Joss on all the crazy different things she does in her life-- not a wallflower, that one! At the break, we were able to move up a bit and grab a few more seats for Kathy's friends, who were coming over from Sarah Connor.
I remember surprisingly little from the BSG panel. Kevin Smith moderated, which was amusing and annoying at the same time. They showed a promo for the back half of S4 that had an ADAMA/ROSLIN KISS OMG, and I think that overloaded my brain enough that I didn't process a whole lot else. I do remember James Callis saying "badass" and pronouncing it "bad-ahss," which was really hilariously British.
Afterwards, I decided to go backstage and just chill for awhile, rather than fighting further with the crowds. Our group started to trickle in, since we had an afternoon slot on the rehearsal stage. Our rehearsal went well and people were already picking up on the theme, even without our costumes. Martin (the masquerade director) said, "Looks like another winner!" which made me ridiculously happy. I honestly didn't care if we won anything; as long as Martin liked it, I felt like we'd done a good job. I hate disappointing Martin. Also we spotted Jenwa's roommate Steph across the room, although it took us awhile to figure out it was her because it was such an out-of-context sighting. She was helping with makeup for the halftime show people.
Then things started chugging along, as they usually do; they opened up the dressing rooms, and we all started getting ready. We tried to go as quickly as possible, since dressing room space was at a premium. Poor ladyamaryllis and her group had nowhere to change, so as soon as we were dressed, we dragged all our bags out of our "room" and into the middle of the floor so that they could use the room. For a change, I was ready in plenty of time this year, and was able to steam everyone's costumes that needed steaming, get my contacts in, get my makeup done by the makeup lady, and get my costume and wig on without incident. sirrogue, though, had some trouble, as the makeup guy was having a hard time with his bald cap and ended up ruining both of the ones we had brought. So I walked up to Ming the Merciless, and I said, "Hi, Ming. We're in rather desperate need of a bald cap. Do you have any extras? I can pay you." Ming's wife (the actual one, not the character one) said they did, and we were welcome to one. All hail Ming and Ming's wife! They saved the day. Also saving the day was another one of the makeup people, who knew quite a bit about B5 (her boyfriend had worked on it, I think) and worked right down to the wire to get Rogue looking totally awesome. We were the last people out of the dressing room, but they got it done.
Then came the fun part: hanging out with everyone in the green room and meeting new people! My friend Beth had said that another friend of hers was in the masquerade and was wearing a black and white dress, so I was walking up to everyone in a black and white outfit and asking if they were her friend. I never found her, but I did meet hostclubgirl and company as a result, which was great! It was their first Masq, and I really hope they come back again! We also hung out a lot with dustyjack, kagomechan, mytsie, and the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors. There are some funny pictures of me sitting with them that makes it look like the Kyoshi girls are going to charm school or something. ;-) Also I saw a girl in the corner and I was like, "That looks like Tally!" So I went over and introduced myself, and it was her! Yay, random coincidence. I also got to meet phavorianne and her sister babysnowleopard in person! They were with the Nintendon'ts group which was once again hilarious.
We were...damn, I've already forgotten our number. 19? It was in the middle enough that we missed the biggest chunk of entries possible! We were able to see quite a bit while we were waiting backstage and while we waited for pictures, though. Also, they gave contestants a couple of VIP passes each this year, so Dad and Sean were able to get into B20 without having to wait. Cordelia gave them her video camera so they could tape us, as well as all of our friends' skits. You can get a copy of the Masq video if you're a contestant, but it always has bizarre close-ups and cuts and you never get the full effect of a skit the way it's meant to be seen from the audience.
Anyhow! I was only middling nervous before our skit. Mostly I just wanted to get out there and dance and have a great time, the way we did with Space Girls. It felt really good while we were out there-- it was a little iffy in the beginning, but as soon as Londo came out and we heard the crowd roar, I knew we were set. It didn't seem to go by quite as fast as it usually does; I think I was just enjoying myself and enjoying the moment. We were really, really excited about the reaction we got. Honestly, we weren't sure if people were going to like it or get it-- this was a skit that Cordelia thought up in June, after we decided we would postpone our original idea till next year, and more than anything else, I did it because I couldn't bear the thought of skipping Masq. But I ended up absolutely loving the skit and our group, and I'm so glad I got to be a part of it. *group hug*
Pictures was the usual ordeal, and then we got to go back to the green room and relax a bit with everyone else and watch the last of the entries. We pretty much ignored the halftime show in favor of chatting with everyone, discussing the skits we'd been able to see, and taking pictures-- I got my picture with Tiny X-Wing Girl, who was AWESOME! What a trouper. Corli's mom came back to say hi, too. It seemed to take forever for the judging results to come in, and when they finally came with the list, we all sat there trying to pretend that we weren't nervous at all. For the unfamiliar, the way they announce the winners backstage is by calling the numbers of the winning groups all at once; no indication of what you won. If they call your number, you go out in the hallway, and they line you up in the order they're giving the awards out. Industry awards are given first, then trophy awards.
They called our number pretty early on, and we were super super excited! We truly did not expect to win anything. Because they called us so early, we figured it was probably an industry award, but as we waited out in the hall, they kept putting more and more groups before us. Lots of our friends were called too-- the Undergrounders, Kent and his group (the Emerald Citizens), the We Lost people, hostclubgirl and her group, and our dressing-room-mate from last year. The Undergrounders kept getting called again and again! So did Tiny X-Wing Girl and We Lost. Eventually we realized that there was nobody after us in line, and we were seriously starting to wonder what we'd won. The Undergrounders won Recreation, and Kent & company won Presentation, and we're standing there thinking, there is no way in hell we can be Best in Show. And finally we get up to the stage, and we see We Lost across from us, waiting, and we realized we got Judges' Choice, which was SO AWESOME! ("Second place, hell yeah!")
Then we went for more photos with our trophy, and saw Dad and Sean and gave them hugs, and did lots of congratulating of everyone else for all their amazing work, and took pictures, and then *finally* we changed and packed up and drove home. It was roundabout 2 am by then. Phew! Dad and Sean had a super super early flight out, so they decided to just stay up. I made a quick lj post and then completely crashed, because it had been a loooooong and excellent day.
Sunday: The Aftermath, and free stuff
Costume: Hairspray dress
Sunday was the Day of Swag and Hanging Out. I didn't go to a single panel, unless you count Masquerade Playback. Rogue and I had another morning shift at the booth. It was slow again, so I went on a quest for a Big Frakking Bag, which I'd been coveting all weekend. No joy on the trip out, but after collecting some Fairly Oddparents buttons for the LGBs at the Nick booth, they were handing out the BFBs on my way back! I got the very last one. Many thanks to the nice gentleman who let me have it, when it came down to just the two of us.
Back at the booth, Mary put us on line management duty for the podium, where people could get their picture taken with Clone Wars characters. Rogue was actually managing the line, and I was "security" and kept people from coming up the back side of the podium and interrupting the flow of pictures. People kept asking me which Star Wars character I was dressed up as. *g* One really jerky guy did *not* want to listen to me and kept trying to go up the back of the podium to take a picture and kept snapping things like "I *made* that costume up there" and "Who are you to tell me what to do!?" Seriously, if he'd just asked nicely, I'd have let him up there to take the picture. He was just such a jerk about it. But other than that, it was fine. A lady and a little girl came up to me, and the woman asked if I was Cinderella. I told her I wasn't, and she said, "My daughter thinks you're Cinderella." "You don't have to tell her I'm not," I replied, and we took a picture.
After our shift was over, we hooked up with Cordelia, Angie, and Brianna and wandered the floor together. We got some great feedback on our costumes and our skit, which made me very happy. Continuing the "free swag" theme of the day, Brianna and Angie had been in line for Disney shirts, and they gave me the Sleeping Beauty one! Thank you, girls! :D We also scored free T-shirts at the Paramount t-shirt bar, where the girl in charge of the line gave us passes because she liked our costumes, and we got three of the four free Star Trek posters while we were in line for the T-shirts. Rogue and I both picked Avatar shirts, although I think the transfer on mine is a bit dodgy. I'm wondering if I should try ironing it a bit more before I wash it. Rogue and I also *finally* got the poster tubes Fox was giving out, which was handy for all the posters we were suddenly acquiring.
And then it was Playback time! As I've said before, I enjoy Playback not just because we get to see the skits we missed, but because the contestants all get to applaud and acknowledge each other's entries. It's a nice sense of community. I loved seeing the Avatar-West Side Story skit for the first time (so funny!), as well as the Undergrounders' and Emerald Citizens' entries. I was glad to see the rest of the Nintendon'ts skit, because I laughed so hard at the Dr. Horrible stuff the first time around that I missed a bunch of stuff after that.
Once Playback was over, that was pretty much the end of the con! We went down to the floor one last time, and retrieved the fourth Star Trek poster from Angie and Brianna, who'd snagged it for us. And then the floor closed, and that was the end! We came home and changed, and then we had dinner with tirianmal and yandros et al. It was nice to spend some time with them-- we'd only seen them fleetingly throughout the weekend. And-- that was it! No more till next year.
Great Comic-Con, y'all. Let's do it again sometime.