AND I'M FREAKING OUT A LITTLE
between spells of self-deluded calm. If it were just a two-day weekend trip, that'd be one thing, but--I'm taking the train (Amtrak) to Atlanta and I'll get there Thursday evening, and I won't be leaving until Tuesday morning. So--even though I have friends in Atlanta, even though it is a two-hour drive to/from Birmingham if someone absolutely had to come rescue me, even though I can change that return ticket at any time and go home sooner--I am kind of treating this like I'm going to summer camp FOREVER. You should SEE my packing lists. LISTS, PLURAL. They have CHECK BOXES. I have been studying maps of the convention hotels. I have the Dragon Con app and have had my schedule on it for about two weeks. I printed out my train tickets three weeks ago. I'm getting a Tattle Crime "press pass" laminated today. I have TWO (2) Fannibal hats FLOWER CROWNS.
My paisley black ribbon lanyard is READY TO GO.
All my exploits and preparations are on my
THE GREAT RED DRAGON CON Tumblr tag; if you want to see posts by all/any users with that tag over the weekend,
those will be here. I've also collected various bits on
Storify. I know it's kind of silly to document this so thoroughly, but I haven't left town since I went to New Orleans TEN YEARS AGO. I am willing to be the wide-eyed country mouse for your entertainment, whether you're loling at my inexperience or living through it vicariously.
You may also have realized that I haven't posted any pictures of myself in the 10-11 years I've had this journal. Plenty of podcasts, plenty of sound, but no one knows what I look like. So... yeah. People are going to want to take pictures--as you do, of anyone you meet or make friends with--and I've heard rumblings of recording the panels. So I'm just convincing myself to be at peace with that. I mean, I'm heavy, big, "junoesque passion flower," however the fuck you want to phrase it, and while I've mentioned that before, I don't know that this concept has really sunk in with people. (I looked somewhat more like my Yahoo cartoon avatar ten years ago than I do now; I look even less like Galadriel or Pallas cats.) I'm to a point where I'm moving beyond "afraid I'm going to disappoint people" and on to "gonna see who loses interest once they see what I look like, and who sticks around." I'm anxious about 1) the logistics of convention living for better part of a week and 2) revealing myself. Other than that, I'm not really worried about much at all.
( Except losing my luggage. I have a bone-deep terror of that.)
(Speaking of podcasts, I was just on A Matter of Taste for their
Prometheus Summer Movie Alien Series episode, having already done
Aliens with them the month before.)
SOOOOOO. Here is my schedule as I currently know it (Athena's Daughters signings to be determined); I will post a picture of myself on Thursday, probably, and I will be covered in Tattle Crime buttons and a press pass, and you know what my lanyard looks like, and may very well be wearing a flower crown at any given point. COME UP AND SAY HI.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29
May go hit the vendors (BPAAAAAAL) that morning, then see some of the panels at the
horror track in the Westin--most likely Twilight Zone and Slenderman & creepypasta. Might have a signing at an Artists Alley table; don't know. I'm not "on" that day. I will, however, have
my business cards and Freddie's on my person to give out. I think. We are having so many giveaways that there is a schedule for it.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 30
THIS IS THE BIG DAY. If you go to no other Hannibal event, even mine, COME THIS DAY.
10:00-11:00 AM: ATHENA'S DAUGHTERS MEET & GREET. (Marriott A708,
Kaleidoscope track.) Due to the rest of the day's schedule, I very likely cannot go to this, which is why I offered to do as any signings as they might want me for (to be determined). If the logistics clear up and I'm able to go, I'll mention it on Twitter/Tumblr; I definitely wanted to make sure you guys know about it, though.
1:00-2:00 PM: HANNIBAL FANNIBAL PANEL. (Westin Peachtree Room 1-2, horror track.) Panelists are Catherine Scully, Karen E. Taylor, Damien Williams (@wolven, who got me into this in the first place), Freddie (@tattle_crime) calling in, and me, with Henry Hanks (@hankscnn) moderating. We will have THINGS and STUFF that I am guarding with my life to raffle away at the end. We will also have
the Tattle Crime buttons in my purple there, IIRC.
3:00-4? 5? PM: FANNIBAL MEETUP. We're not sure yet where we'll gather; I'll scope out the Westin while I'm there on Friday. Freddie will call in again; we will have more stuff to give away. (Spoiler: I am bringing a shit-ton of
This Is My Design eyeshadow. Among other things, many of them already in Atlanta with Damien.) Initially I thought the panel lasted until 2:30, but then they told me they take half an hour to clear out the rooms between panels; I still consider the meetup to be "immediately after" the panel, given how difficult it is to get through crowds, have time for food and water breaks, etc. If you want to go with me and we all troop wherever together, picking up additional fannibals as we go, feel free. One hour seems reasonable; I have two hours blocked off just in case, because...
I will have colorful pens and things I want you to sign, because I'd really like to gather up some messages from y'all to tell the producers (Bryan, Martha, and Loretta) how much we appreciate them, and maybe also plead for them to come for an official panel next year. (DOOOO IT. DO THE THING.) I'll also have a notebook for y'all to sign for Freddie; I may have one for me as well, kind of like signing yearbooks?
I may also go to the Penny Dreadful panel at 7 pm, depending on how completely exhausted I am and whether I consume actual food before that time.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 31
If nothing else, I want to go to the Sleepy Hollow panel at 4 pm; I might get to Serialized Terror before that at 2:30. At 5:30, there's
another Hannibal meetup in the Hilton (where I'm staying!). I get to relax because I'm not organizing this one; that said, there's going to be a casual photoshoot for fannibal cosplayers, who I really wanted to track down and get pictures of, so I definitely want to be there for that.
10:00-11:00 PM: DREAM LOGIC AND MURDER WIZARDRY. (Westin, same Peachtree Room as before.) It's an academic panel with just me and Damien, basically--I'm imagining it's going to sound a lot like a podcast, fun and low-key. I really, really hope people come to this, too. I'll be honest--if for some reason you want to hear me teal deer it up, I'll probably be talking more at this one than the one where I hope to make interesting but modest contributions to a conversation with five other people. This is the last panel of the day on the horror track, so--again, I may be wiped at this point, but it can run long if necessary, or it can evolve into a meetup or end up with us trooping off for refreshments afterwards, I don't know.
(This is all kind of weird to talk about, because I'm trying to fight the whole "women are always supposed to deprecate themselves and be modest to a fault" thing and be all "well, I was invited to do these panels so I should be confident about that," but at the same time, I am genuinely unsure how much anyone actually wants to come to any of this. I'm trying to prepare myself for a spectrum of eventualities here.)
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
The 1 pm Spirit Mediums panel in the Sheraton is relevant to my interests, so I want to go to that. Other than that... I'm willing to sleep in and laze around, I don't know. If anyone's still around on Monday and wants to hang out, a super informal meetup might could happen.
(If I can dig up some Movies in Fifteen Minutes paperbacks, I may give those away, but I don't know when or how. Probably ought to do that before people start leaving on Monday, though.)
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
Going home, and immediately going to bed with the massive case of con crud I am absolutely certain I will have come down with, despite my early course of Airborne and fist-bump policy.
PRAY FOR ME.