Meresy's First Con: Part The Second!
Saturday!
What happened Saturday?
zabira and I managed to hoist ourselves out of our (very comfy) beds and get all pimped out for the first day of the con proper. Pimping in my case consisted of wearing my "Canada Likes It On Top" shirt, which I purchased last August in Toronto is what was clearly a fit of clairvoyance!
We collected secretlybronte, our partner in crime, who was only a little ways across the hall from us, and moseyed downstairs. I procured juice and danish with which to bolster my blood sugar, and wandered around talking to whomever I could successfully corner. And I got gifted! omphale23 bestowed upon me a lovely green and brown and white beaded bracelet, which went very well with my silver beaded Callum homage (which a few people remarked upon, since I managed to get the correct gauge of chain. I have more where that came from! Does anybody want me to make a Canadian Tire run?)
And then! Because one should never talk about the things one doesn't own on the internet, I was given a gift bag by nos4a2no9 who had been waiting to spring it on me when slidellra was in attendance. She said it was to correct an oversight, or something like that, and I immediately twigged to their evil plan to make me all wibbly.
Yes, that's right. They gave me the Due South DVDs. They claim it's because they want caps (which will happen, oh yes!) but I'm on to them. I also feel a little fail-like since I don't think I fully expressed how much I appreciated the gift to either of them. So here it is, ladies! I loff you a lot. *smooshes Nos and Sli* And I now have mad space on my external hard drive. What should I fill it with next?
I talked to many people! malnpudl and _unhurt_ and isiscolo, sisterofdream, and ifreet and keerawa and really anybody I could inflict myself on! And of course, Z and SB, since I was pretty much glued to them the whole time. On account of the awesome, you see.
There was a table of fannish swag! I snagged a few excellent stickers provided by the lovely bluebrocade, as seen below attached to my name tag. People had already made off with all the '\o/' stickers., which was sad, but I think I did all right.
Then it was time for opening remarks! We had to be shushed before we saw that brynnmck was ready to open the festivities. I think it might have been more effective to yell "QUIET, bitches!" or have sisterofdream do the chat countdown, but whatever. Brynn laid out the rules, and then sdwolfpup gifted her with special bling on account of the rockstardom. And then it was time to divide the room and begin!
I attended the Roll Out The Fandom Welcome Wagon panel by ignazwisdom and queenzulu, who know from crazy fandoms. Happily, it was also in the half of the room containing the danishes, several of which I liberated. I surprised myself by being totally comfortable raising my hand and waxing rhapsodic about my sideways and headfirst entry into dS/C6D fandom, and all the gloriousness associated therewith. I had been anticipating a total speech fail, but apparently that only happens around Bruce McDonald. So that was good. I think I came to the conclusion, along with the panel-goers that lurking MOAR is a very good idea (that's how I roll) and also that picspam is an instant crowd-pleaser. Bring the pretty and the squee and no one really cares if you've got no talent. *g* (I may have learned that part from Razzle Dazzle.)
Somewhere in there sisterofdream, A.K.A. The Cruise Director, gave me a tiny!Fraser and RayK! Fraser was in his brown uniform! Ray had his holster and bracelet! I made the tactical error of handing them to mrs_laugh_track in order to go snag another danish, and poor Ray's arm fell off. Oh, Ray. Fortunately, Cousin Sis was armed with super glue.
Then I attended Vidding For Beginners, by sdwolfpup and keerawa, who were both knowledgeable and totally faboo. I have to admit that the technical and time requirements for vidding freaked me out. How do people DO that and not go crazy? (Wait, don't answer that.) I think I'll leave it to the professionals. Picspam is about my speed of visual entertainment.
A few of us planned to go for sushi up the road, but since we kind of fail, zabira, secretlybronte, slidellra (we'd kidnapped her in the parking lot - she was only going for a booze run. Little did she know we were going to get her lost in the wilds of Issaquah!) and I lost the rest of the group somehow and ended up in a little Vietnamese restaurant where I ate a massive bowl of beef noodles. *nom* Slidellra acquired her alcohols and all was well. In conclusion, Issaquah is made of strip box malls.
We made it back just in time for nos4a2no9's Fraser Panel! Nos had done some quick-and-dirty panel prep, and came up with excellent questions. Any worrying was for naught, however, because honestly. You think a pile of fangirls can't talk their faces off about Benton freaking Fraser? I opined that the aforementioned Mountie and I have a common ground in Fun Canadian Facts, and forgot to mention that we also both seem to be in love with Ray Kowalski. Extremely interesting discussion was had on Fraser's capacity for violence - how despite his morals and his characterisation as a man of honour and courtesy, he does not hesitate to use deadly force when he believes it is called for. We're all pretty sure that Fraser is switchy like a switchy thing. *g*
In conclusion, Benton Fraser: we think he's kind of interesting and also pretty okay.
Then! I was in the BEST PANEL EVER. bluebrocade and _unhurt_'s guided tour of Special Hell, otherwise known as the RPS panel. It was a total riot, with everyone outlining their likes and dislikes and squicks and lines both hilarious and thinky. I exposed my deep aversion to smexy photomanipulations. Most agreed that divorce fic is whack. malnpudl was deeply awesome, in that way she has.
I snuck out to catch the last ten minutes of omphale23 and wordplay's Blame Canada panel, but wasn't in it enough to contribute anything substantive. They were talking about liminality and other things that hurt my poor molecular biologist's head. And, like Nos, I found it a little odd to be in a room full of Americans outlining the Canadian Experience. Not that y'all were off the mark, but you know. It was just a little strange, since in general the U.S. pays us no mind at all unless they want rocks and trees or something.
It was time for Fannish Pictionary.
Oh my God, you guys. It was EPIC. It was ART. china_shop is the Face of All Evil! (Mal said so, and Z and I agreed. I think three fangirls is quorum, right?) I laughed so hard. And I fully salute everyone who took a clue. Those things were HARD. I just. "Darren Nicholls and Newbie explore a neo-modernist necrophiliac landscape with the body of Joe Dick. (Sorry!)"???? WTF.
I think it's even crazier that we managed to guess pretty effectively each topic that came up. The fannish hivemind is a scary place, yo.
Then we all chattered some more and decamped for dinner/more talking. I did not actually eat any dinner, having eaten many Jelly Belly beans during pictionary and also not being able to STOP TALKING to Z. We went up to sexify ourselves for the vidshow and yakked the dinner hour away. zabira and secretlybronte got all fancy in skirts and stuff, while I just changed my top, ironed my hair and put on a bit of makeup.
I don't know if this needs repeating at this juncture, but you guys.
BEST. VIDSHOW. EVER.
sdwolfpup and the other shiny, shiny vidders she pimped to us outdid themselves. Don't believe me, CHECK OUT THIS BITCHIN LIST. And then imagine you're watching it on a big screen in a room of enthralled and cheering fangirls. Right. (P.S. That Hornblower vid? Made my LIFE. *flails*)
(Aaaaaand now I have "We Built This City" stuck in my head. Again. Damn.)
Then all kinds of bitchin' people piled upstairs to get to the bar room, but it was so crowded that we decided not to add to the madness (ignazwisdom and I attempted to procure a drink, but it was too crazy. And I figured I shouldn't be boozing anyhow.) So we went to the other party room! There was Nos, and Dess and Iggy, and Z and SB, etcetera_cat and arrow00 and sisterofdream and torra and isiscolo and maybe some other awesomes I'm forgetting/failed to identify! We watched Blades of Glory which is hilare and wrong and is something I think I could really enjoy watching whilst drunk. arrow00 had brought some vidshow DVDs, and we watched Northwest Passage and sang it aloud like the sappy saps we are.
Then we watched Wilby Wonderful, and I passed out on the bed at little and really only raised my head to ogle Duck and offer my considered opinion on the sexiness of his leaning.
We eventually moseyed back to our rooms, and I think zabira and I must have talked more, because we really couldn't shut up at each other, but I forget precisely what was said. Mostly I cozied up in that comfy hotel bed and slept the sleep of the congoing fangirl.
Even more later! It is the never ending con report!
What happened Saturday?
zabira and I managed to hoist ourselves out of our (very comfy) beds and get all pimped out for the first day of the con proper. Pimping in my case consisted of wearing my "Canada Likes It On Top" shirt, which I purchased last August in Toronto is what was clearly a fit of clairvoyance!
We collected secretlybronte, our partner in crime, who was only a little ways across the hall from us, and moseyed downstairs. I procured juice and danish with which to bolster my blood sugar, and wandered around talking to whomever I could successfully corner. And I got gifted! omphale23 bestowed upon me a lovely green and brown and white beaded bracelet, which went very well with my silver beaded Callum homage (which a few people remarked upon, since I managed to get the correct gauge of chain. I have more where that came from! Does anybody want me to make a Canadian Tire run?)
And then! Because one should never talk about the things one doesn't own on the internet, I was given a gift bag by nos4a2no9 who had been waiting to spring it on me when slidellra was in attendance. She said it was to correct an oversight, or something like that, and I immediately twigged to their evil plan to make me all wibbly.
Yes, that's right. They gave me the Due South DVDs. They claim it's because they want caps (which will happen, oh yes!) but I'm on to them. I also feel a little fail-like since I don't think I fully expressed how much I appreciated the gift to either of them. So here it is, ladies! I loff you a lot. *smooshes Nos and Sli* And I now have mad space on my external hard drive. What should I fill it with next?
I talked to many people! malnpudl and _unhurt_ and isiscolo, sisterofdream, and ifreet and keerawa and really anybody I could inflict myself on! And of course, Z and SB, since I was pretty much glued to them the whole time. On account of the awesome, you see.
There was a table of fannish swag! I snagged a few excellent stickers provided by the lovely bluebrocade, as seen below attached to my name tag. People had already made off with all the '\o/' stickers., which was sad, but I think I did all right.
Then it was time for opening remarks! We had to be shushed before we saw that brynnmck was ready to open the festivities. I think it might have been more effective to yell "QUIET, bitches!" or have sisterofdream do the chat countdown, but whatever. Brynn laid out the rules, and then sdwolfpup gifted her with special bling on account of the rockstardom. And then it was time to divide the room and begin!
I attended the Roll Out The Fandom Welcome Wagon panel by ignazwisdom and queenzulu, who know from crazy fandoms. Happily, it was also in the half of the room containing the danishes, several of which I liberated. I surprised myself by being totally comfortable raising my hand and waxing rhapsodic about my sideways and headfirst entry into dS/C6D fandom, and all the gloriousness associated therewith. I had been anticipating a total speech fail, but apparently that only happens around Bruce McDonald. So that was good. I think I came to the conclusion, along with the panel-goers that lurking MOAR is a very good idea (that's how I roll) and also that picspam is an instant crowd-pleaser. Bring the pretty and the squee and no one really cares if you've got no talent. *g* (I may have learned that part from Razzle Dazzle.)
Somewhere in there sisterofdream, A.K.A. The Cruise Director, gave me a tiny!Fraser and RayK! Fraser was in his brown uniform! Ray had his holster and bracelet! I made the tactical error of handing them to mrs_laugh_track in order to go snag another danish, and poor Ray's arm fell off. Oh, Ray. Fortunately, Cousin Sis was armed with super glue.
Then I attended Vidding For Beginners, by sdwolfpup and keerawa, who were both knowledgeable and totally faboo. I have to admit that the technical and time requirements for vidding freaked me out. How do people DO that and not go crazy? (Wait, don't answer that.) I think I'll leave it to the professionals. Picspam is about my speed of visual entertainment.
A few of us planned to go for sushi up the road, but since we kind of fail, zabira, secretlybronte, slidellra (we'd kidnapped her in the parking lot - she was only going for a booze run. Little did she know we were going to get her lost in the wilds of Issaquah!) and I lost the rest of the group somehow and ended up in a little Vietnamese restaurant where I ate a massive bowl of beef noodles. *nom* Slidellra acquired her alcohols and all was well. In conclusion, Issaquah is made of strip box malls.
We made it back just in time for nos4a2no9's Fraser Panel! Nos had done some quick-and-dirty panel prep, and came up with excellent questions. Any worrying was for naught, however, because honestly. You think a pile of fangirls can't talk their faces off about Benton freaking Fraser? I opined that the aforementioned Mountie and I have a common ground in Fun Canadian Facts, and forgot to mention that we also both seem to be in love with Ray Kowalski. Extremely interesting discussion was had on Fraser's capacity for violence - how despite his morals and his characterisation as a man of honour and courtesy, he does not hesitate to use deadly force when he believes it is called for. We're all pretty sure that Fraser is switchy like a switchy thing. *g*
In conclusion, Benton Fraser: we think he's kind of interesting and also pretty okay.
Then! I was in the BEST PANEL EVER. bluebrocade and _unhurt_'s guided tour of Special Hell, otherwise known as the RPS panel. It was a total riot, with everyone outlining their likes and dislikes and squicks and lines both hilarious and thinky. I exposed my deep aversion to smexy photomanipulations. Most agreed that divorce fic is whack. malnpudl was deeply awesome, in that way she has.
I snuck out to catch the last ten minutes of omphale23 and wordplay's Blame Canada panel, but wasn't in it enough to contribute anything substantive. They were talking about liminality and other things that hurt my poor molecular biologist's head. And, like Nos, I found it a little odd to be in a room full of Americans outlining the Canadian Experience. Not that y'all were off the mark, but you know. It was just a little strange, since in general the U.S. pays us no mind at all unless they want rocks and trees or something.
It was time for Fannish Pictionary.
Oh my God, you guys. It was EPIC. It was ART. china_shop is the Face of All Evil! (Mal said so, and Z and I agreed. I think three fangirls is quorum, right?) I laughed so hard. And I fully salute everyone who took a clue. Those things were HARD. I just. "Darren Nicholls and Newbie explore a neo-modernist necrophiliac landscape with the body of Joe Dick. (Sorry!)"???? WTF.
I think it's even crazier that we managed to guess pretty effectively each topic that came up. The fannish hivemind is a scary place, yo.
Then we all chattered some more and decamped for dinner/more talking. I did not actually eat any dinner, having eaten many Jelly Belly beans during pictionary and also not being able to STOP TALKING to Z. We went up to sexify ourselves for the vidshow and yakked the dinner hour away. zabira and secretlybronte got all fancy in skirts and stuff, while I just changed my top, ironed my hair and put on a bit of makeup.
I don't know if this needs repeating at this juncture, but you guys.
BEST. VIDSHOW. EVER.
sdwolfpup and the other shiny, shiny vidders she pimped to us outdid themselves. Don't believe me, CHECK OUT THIS BITCHIN LIST. And then imagine you're watching it on a big screen in a room of enthralled and cheering fangirls. Right. (P.S. That Hornblower vid? Made my LIFE. *flails*)
(Aaaaaand now I have "We Built This City" stuck in my head. Again. Damn.)
Then all kinds of bitchin' people piled upstairs to get to the bar room, but it was so crowded that we decided not to add to the madness (ignazwisdom and I attempted to procure a drink, but it was too crazy. And I figured I shouldn't be boozing anyhow.) So we went to the other party room! There was Nos, and Dess and Iggy, and Z and SB, etcetera_cat and arrow00 and sisterofdream and torra and isiscolo and maybe some other awesomes I'm forgetting/failed to identify! We watched Blades of Glory which is hilare and wrong and is something I think I could really enjoy watching whilst drunk. arrow00 had brought some vidshow DVDs, and we watched Northwest Passage and sang it aloud like the sappy saps we are.
Then we watched Wilby Wonderful, and I passed out on the bed at little and really only raised my head to ogle Duck and offer my considered opinion on the sexiness of his leaning.
We eventually moseyed back to our rooms, and I think zabira and I must have talked more, because we really couldn't shut up at each other, but I forget precisely what was said. Mostly I cozied up in that comfy hotel bed and slept the sleep of the congoing fangirl.
Even more later! It is the never ending con report!