The inmates are running the asylum.
I was going to write up a day-by-day report, but decided against it and just wrote up the highlights. There's still a lot to read!
Highlights:
I love seeing old friends and meeting new ones. It’s great since everyone, or a lot of people at least, have both their actual name and their screen name on their badge. I did my best to recognize peoples’ faces, but I’m awful at it, especially if I haven’t seen that person in a year. But yes, it was lovely to finally put faces to screen names.
After dinner on Friday night, we all hit up the Suite Party, where there was Wii and Doctor Who/Torchwood projected onto the ceiling. I also discovered that I quite like dessert wine. nnwest, I NEED MOAR. Nothing like a pile of intoxicated fangirls watching “Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang” and swooning over it!
Rob Shearman said that the drawing I did last Christmas was pinned in his office. I’m so pleased! He does have a story in The Story of Martha so I’m sure my arm can be twisted to draw kickass!Martha again. I’m so stoked for this book.
britgeekgrrl is a total liar and actually made me a couple of pins of the drawing she commissioned. I received a few inquiries of where I got it, and according to prof_pangaea, I never really said that I drew it. Oops. =^^=
It tickled me to no end to see so many kids at the con. I always forget, with all the fans I know being adults, that this IS a family show. I thought it was so sweet that at the panel I saw with Elisabeth Sladen that there were a bunch of kids asking questions. I was also giddy to see much more cosplay, too. There was a frighteningly accurate Tenth Doctor that freakishly looked a lot like Tennant. I mean, you had to do a double take. You’d see his profile down the hallway and would be like “OMG - oh, wait.” But I about died when there were two little boys around eight years old that were dressed up as Ten and Simm!Master. I’m sure kidnapping them would be frowned upon.
My last fannish moment was when I was crawling up to bed after chatting with several LJ friends in the lobby. My eyes were so bloodshot from not sleeping for four days, that I didn’t even realize that I had joined Nick Briggs and Colin Baker in the elevator. I asked Colin if his bright red Crocs were comfortable because I always thought they looked painful and I’ve never actually SEEN anyone wear them. He said that they were exceptionally comfy, but he was bummed that the weather outside (as in, snowing and such) wasn’t the proper weather for Crocs. We laughed and the doors opened to my floor. I thanked the two of them for coming to the con and then, in my sleep deprived-ness, skipped down the hallway, completely giddy that I had just chatted with the Doctor.
The Hug Story
So I was with prof_pangaea and elyssadc in the lobby amongst a few others and lo and behold, Ms. Sladen arrives! Apparently, the poor woman was out getting some Extra Strength Tylenol to fight a cold (she had to rush back to Englishland to play Mrs. Darling in a performance of Peter Pan). So as we’re standing around, chatting to the people there, elyssadc is whispering about how she has to go up and shake Lis’ hand. After building up her courage, she ventures forth and manages to get a change and talk with her. There’s a brief chat with us wishing her a speedy recovery (and/or a complete avoidance of a cold, you know how air travel and cons are with diseases), then elyssadc, calapine, prof_pangaea and I all gave and received hugs. I think there was a joke from Lis asking if she minded getting her germs, to which we all laughed. But in retrospect, I am actually not feeling all that great. It’s probably more due to the lack of sleep over the entire weekend and traveling, but who knows? Maybe I did catch something! (I’M JOKING)
But can I express how gorgeous she is? It’s not make-up, I saw her upclose. I think there was a comment about how to keep young, she bathes in the blood of virgins and that’s why she goes to conventions. But gorgeous, ABSOLUTELY gorgeous.
The Torchwood Babiez Story
Okay, this one is going to take some explaining. I do get a little weirded out when my SN is recognized and that someone has read the comic, but I had several people come up to me and say that they thoroughly enjoy it. Or, they’re like chloe_az and don’t put the two together until I’ve been with them for a couple of days (♥ ♥ ♥).
So on Saturday, I was all set to attend the Doctor Who Novel panel with dark_aegis and nnwest, but I was distracted by people and ended up sitting in one of the lobby seating arrangements for some lively conversation. We were also bombared by cosplayers wanting to take pictures in front of the fake waterfall (it DID look like that giant obelisk they’ve got in Cardiff).
ANYWAY. So the panel lets out and dark_aegis and nnwest come bolting out to let me know that Torchwood Babiez was brought up in the panel.
Me: …
I’m still a bit blurry about all this, so hopefully someone else can fill in the blanks. Supposedly, the discussion was about different reading levels, like how there should be more adult versions of the Torchwood and New Series!Who books. I believe there was a quip about a kids version of the Torchwood books, to which someone replied with “Torchwood Babiez!” Apparently, both Paul Cornell (writer of “Father’s Day” and “Human Nature/Family of Blood” amongst a billion other things) and Gary Russell (director of the animated “Infinite Quest”, produced/directed with Big Finish, Doctor Who novelist and now is a script editor for Team Cardiff) both read and adore Babiez.
Me: …
I’m sure I made a bit of scene, I don’t really remember. But that was a wonderful surprise!
Later on that evening, we wandered over to the “How to Write Fanfic Better” panel, which I don’t think that anybody really had any idea of what it was about, despite the title. Entertaining panel, and afterwards, Kate Orman asked where she had seen my SN before and if I wrote any Doctor/Master fic (I WISH). spastasmagoria and I corrected her that we wrote/drew Babiez and she immediately bowed down to us. Unexpected and shocking, but nice!
But wait! There’s more!
I think this is where many people at the con were left off at, so let’s flash forward to Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the Midwest was hit with a snowstorm, so many people had to leave earlier than planned, including my beloved dark_aegis and nnwest (and now chloe_az!). prof_pangaea and I wandered to the Dealer’s Room where the writers were signing books. I built up my courage (surprisingly, I’m a fairly shy person) and went up to get some things signed (Rob wrote a rather hilarious comment on my obsolete Dalek calendar from 2007 that had a bunch of poster images from “Dr. Who and the Daleks” - the movie poster art from that movie is AMAZING, but the posters are practically impossible to find. What made me even more pleased was that Rob wrote it all in Dalek font ♥ ). As Gary was signing, I said that I heard through the grapevine that Babiez was mentioned the previous day and I just wanted to say thank you for reading. Gary was like “That was YOU?” to which I replied that I was the artist. Both Gary and Paul complimented me on my artistic skillz (slight boost of self-confidence there, yo) and that they had considered attempting to ask Torchwood Magazine to contact spastasmagoria and I about it.
Me: …
Then, Gary drops the bombshell on me. He says that they have the whole damn thing printed out and pinned on the walls in his office. So, naturally, when John Barrowman entered, he immediately was like WTF IS THAT. He requested that Gary print out and blow up a picture of baby!Jack so that he could have it for his office/trailer.
Yes, my friends. JOHN BARROWMAN HAS READ TORCHWOOD BABIEZ.
Me: …
A Note: When I’m going “…”, I *REALLY* have blanked out as to what to say. I may have told Gary to shut up as a reaction. In fact, I think I did. So who knows who the Barrowman has shown it to! I almost wanted to ask if I could have someone’s email just so I could send a better res picture because those comics are at SUCH a low res and it’s making the artist in me cringe just imagining how bad it’d look all blown up, but I figured that‘d be not really polite.
It was such a surreal day.
The Not-So Highlights:
I had a couple of encounters with a very creepy drunk asshole that I know several other ladies here have had the experience of "enjoying". I’m glad to have found out that he was banned from the con next year. He literally broke up the last Suite Party by shoving his way onto the bed where our “clique-y” group was hanging out and in the process, fondled my foot. HANDS OFF, JERK-OFF. Ugh.
* * *
dark_aegis, thank you for picking me up! It was wonderful to see you and nnwest again, and now I can add chloe_az to the mix!
neadods and britgeekgrrl, you two will have to not do as many panels! I barely saw you guys! But it was fantastic when we did meet up. britgeekgrrl, the pin looks fab. And I’m not tooting my own horn here about the art, the print quality looks nice!
prof_pangaea, I had a blast hanging out with you! I’m so glad you were able to come this year and I hope things start working out for you. I want to see more drawings from you! And once I get some free time, I’m gonna have start putting together the Doctor Fetish Picspam request post.
rarelylynne and michaeldthomas, it was so great to see you guys again! I think I’ve learned everything I ever need to know about Doctor Who novels! I’m glad that I got to meet Caitlin and that she got to meet Lis.
calapine, it was wonderful to finally meet you! I read your short story on my flight back to NYC and it cracked me up. So much Four and Romana love. ♥ I might had to add a Doodle Bunny to my List of “Things to Draw”.
renn, THANK YOU. Wonderful con, I had so much fun. I hope you are getting plenty of rest and relaxation!
In short, amazing. The rumor mills were a-churning, but not much discussed about Series 5 or the next Doctor. Everyone was quite tight-lipped about it. It was interesting to hear about who might be attending future ChiTARDISes and Gallifreys, but I’m not gonna say a word about that. The panels were very insightful and thought-provoking. Even the Sex panel, which normally is a step up from the Fangirl Squee panel, had fascinating discussion. And it was quite a turnout too. And now I must keep an eye out for a bunch of books coming out in the future.
And if there are any LJ people that I met at the con and are lurking, HI! Stop by, I don’t bite!
Highlights:
I love seeing old friends and meeting new ones. It’s great since everyone, or a lot of people at least, have both their actual name and their screen name on their badge. I did my best to recognize peoples’ faces, but I’m awful at it, especially if I haven’t seen that person in a year. But yes, it was lovely to finally put faces to screen names.
After dinner on Friday night, we all hit up the Suite Party, where there was Wii and Doctor Who/Torchwood projected onto the ceiling. I also discovered that I quite like dessert wine. nnwest, I NEED MOAR. Nothing like a pile of intoxicated fangirls watching “Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang” and swooning over it!
Rob Shearman said that the drawing I did last Christmas was pinned in his office. I’m so pleased! He does have a story in The Story of Martha so I’m sure my arm can be twisted to draw kickass!Martha again. I’m so stoked for this book.
britgeekgrrl is a total liar and actually made me a couple of pins of the drawing she commissioned. I received a few inquiries of where I got it, and according to prof_pangaea, I never really said that I drew it. Oops. =^^=
It tickled me to no end to see so many kids at the con. I always forget, with all the fans I know being adults, that this IS a family show. I thought it was so sweet that at the panel I saw with Elisabeth Sladen that there were a bunch of kids asking questions. I was also giddy to see much more cosplay, too. There was a frighteningly accurate Tenth Doctor that freakishly looked a lot like Tennant. I mean, you had to do a double take. You’d see his profile down the hallway and would be like “OMG - oh, wait.” But I about died when there were two little boys around eight years old that were dressed up as Ten and Simm!Master. I’m sure kidnapping them would be frowned upon.
My last fannish moment was when I was crawling up to bed after chatting with several LJ friends in the lobby. My eyes were so bloodshot from not sleeping for four days, that I didn’t even realize that I had joined Nick Briggs and Colin Baker in the elevator. I asked Colin if his bright red Crocs were comfortable because I always thought they looked painful and I’ve never actually SEEN anyone wear them. He said that they were exceptionally comfy, but he was bummed that the weather outside (as in, snowing and such) wasn’t the proper weather for Crocs. We laughed and the doors opened to my floor. I thanked the two of them for coming to the con and then, in my sleep deprived-ness, skipped down the hallway, completely giddy that I had just chatted with the Doctor.
The Hug Story
So I was with prof_pangaea and elyssadc in the lobby amongst a few others and lo and behold, Ms. Sladen arrives! Apparently, the poor woman was out getting some Extra Strength Tylenol to fight a cold (she had to rush back to Englishland to play Mrs. Darling in a performance of Peter Pan). So as we’re standing around, chatting to the people there, elyssadc is whispering about how she has to go up and shake Lis’ hand. After building up her courage, she ventures forth and manages to get a change and talk with her. There’s a brief chat with us wishing her a speedy recovery (and/or a complete avoidance of a cold, you know how air travel and cons are with diseases), then elyssadc, calapine, prof_pangaea and I all gave and received hugs. I think there was a joke from Lis asking if she minded getting her germs, to which we all laughed. But in retrospect, I am actually not feeling all that great. It’s probably more due to the lack of sleep over the entire weekend and traveling, but who knows? Maybe I did catch something! (I’M JOKING)
But can I express how gorgeous she is? It’s not make-up, I saw her upclose. I think there was a comment about how to keep young, she bathes in the blood of virgins and that’s why she goes to conventions. But gorgeous, ABSOLUTELY gorgeous.
The Torchwood Babiez Story
Okay, this one is going to take some explaining. I do get a little weirded out when my SN is recognized and that someone has read the comic, but I had several people come up to me and say that they thoroughly enjoy it. Or, they’re like chloe_az and don’t put the two together until I’ve been with them for a couple of days (♥ ♥ ♥).
So on Saturday, I was all set to attend the Doctor Who Novel panel with dark_aegis and nnwest, but I was distracted by people and ended up sitting in one of the lobby seating arrangements for some lively conversation. We were also bombared by cosplayers wanting to take pictures in front of the fake waterfall (it DID look like that giant obelisk they’ve got in Cardiff).
ANYWAY. So the panel lets out and dark_aegis and nnwest come bolting out to let me know that Torchwood Babiez was brought up in the panel.
Me: …
I’m still a bit blurry about all this, so hopefully someone else can fill in the blanks. Supposedly, the discussion was about different reading levels, like how there should be more adult versions of the Torchwood and New Series!Who books. I believe there was a quip about a kids version of the Torchwood books, to which someone replied with “Torchwood Babiez!” Apparently, both Paul Cornell (writer of “Father’s Day” and “Human Nature/Family of Blood” amongst a billion other things) and Gary Russell (director of the animated “Infinite Quest”, produced/directed with Big Finish, Doctor Who novelist and now is a script editor for Team Cardiff) both read and adore Babiez.
Me: …
I’m sure I made a bit of scene, I don’t really remember. But that was a wonderful surprise!
Later on that evening, we wandered over to the “How to Write Fanfic Better” panel, which I don’t think that anybody really had any idea of what it was about, despite the title. Entertaining panel, and afterwards, Kate Orman asked where she had seen my SN before and if I wrote any Doctor/Master fic (I WISH). spastasmagoria and I corrected her that we wrote/drew Babiez and she immediately bowed down to us. Unexpected and shocking, but nice!
But wait! There’s more!
I think this is where many people at the con were left off at, so let’s flash forward to Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the Midwest was hit with a snowstorm, so many people had to leave earlier than planned, including my beloved dark_aegis and nnwest (and now chloe_az!). prof_pangaea and I wandered to the Dealer’s Room where the writers were signing books. I built up my courage (surprisingly, I’m a fairly shy person) and went up to get some things signed (Rob wrote a rather hilarious comment on my obsolete Dalek calendar from 2007 that had a bunch of poster images from “Dr. Who and the Daleks” - the movie poster art from that movie is AMAZING, but the posters are practically impossible to find. What made me even more pleased was that Rob wrote it all in Dalek font ♥ ). As Gary was signing, I said that I heard through the grapevine that Babiez was mentioned the previous day and I just wanted to say thank you for reading. Gary was like “That was YOU?” to which I replied that I was the artist. Both Gary and Paul complimented me on my artistic skillz (slight boost of self-confidence there, yo) and that they had considered attempting to ask Torchwood Magazine to contact spastasmagoria and I about it.
Me: …
Then, Gary drops the bombshell on me. He says that they have the whole damn thing printed out and pinned on the walls in his office. So, naturally, when John Barrowman entered, he immediately was like WTF IS THAT. He requested that Gary print out and blow up a picture of baby!Jack so that he could have it for his office/trailer.
Yes, my friends. JOHN BARROWMAN HAS READ TORCHWOOD BABIEZ.
Me: …
A Note: When I’m going “…”, I *REALLY* have blanked out as to what to say. I may have told Gary to shut up as a reaction. In fact, I think I did. So who knows who the Barrowman has shown it to! I almost wanted to ask if I could have someone’s email just so I could send a better res picture because those comics are at SUCH a low res and it’s making the artist in me cringe just imagining how bad it’d look all blown up, but I figured that‘d be not really polite.
It was such a surreal day.
The Not-So Highlights:
I had a couple of encounters with a very creepy drunk asshole that I know several other ladies here have had the experience of "enjoying". I’m glad to have found out that he was banned from the con next year. He literally broke up the last Suite Party by shoving his way onto the bed where our “clique-y” group was hanging out and in the process, fondled my foot. HANDS OFF, JERK-OFF. Ugh.
* * *
dark_aegis, thank you for picking me up! It was wonderful to see you and nnwest again, and now I can add chloe_az to the mix!
neadods and britgeekgrrl, you two will have to not do as many panels! I barely saw you guys! But it was fantastic when we did meet up. britgeekgrrl, the pin looks fab. And I’m not tooting my own horn here about the art, the print quality looks nice!
prof_pangaea, I had a blast hanging out with you! I’m so glad you were able to come this year and I hope things start working out for you. I want to see more drawings from you! And once I get some free time, I’m gonna have start putting together the Doctor Fetish Picspam request post.
rarelylynne and michaeldthomas, it was so great to see you guys again! I think I’ve learned everything I ever need to know about Doctor Who novels! I’m glad that I got to meet Caitlin and that she got to meet Lis.
calapine, it was wonderful to finally meet you! I read your short story on my flight back to NYC and it cracked me up. So much Four and Romana love. ♥ I might had to add a Doodle Bunny to my List of “Things to Draw”.
renn, THANK YOU. Wonderful con, I had so much fun. I hope you are getting plenty of rest and relaxation!
In short, amazing. The rumor mills were a-churning, but not much discussed about Series 5 or the next Doctor. Everyone was quite tight-lipped about it. It was interesting to hear about who might be attending future ChiTARDISes and Gallifreys, but I’m not gonna say a word about that. The panels were very insightful and thought-provoking. Even the Sex panel, which normally is a step up from the Fangirl Squee panel, had fascinating discussion. And it was quite a turnout too. And now I must keep an eye out for a bunch of books coming out in the future.
And if there are any LJ people that I met at the con and are lurking, HI! Stop by, I don’t bite!