My Con Adventure 2014
Yes, I survived Fan Expo 2014. Did I have fun? Honestly, no, there were a couple minor bright spots, but on the whole, it was depressing exhausting affair. I didn't even wind up taking many pictures.
I'll give a bit more detail behind the cut (feel free to ignore the whining and skip right to the pictures).
The Narrative:
There were some letdowns to the con, before it even started. The first was the lack of Firefly guests aside from Nathan Fillion who was there last year, but I'd made my peace with that. The second was that Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) cancelled... although I hadn't really planned on getting an autograph with her, it would have been nice to see her from a short distance (however, the schedule had previously said "Sunday only" for her anyway). The biggest was that the Prisoners of Gravity 25th Anniversary panel was on Friday evening, and as far as I could tell none of them were there at any other time in the con, so I missed my chance to meet Commander Rick and thank him for introducing me to so much great SF. But I decided despite that I'd make the trek out there and maybe enjoy some nice cosplayers, take a few pictures, maybe get a bit of swag.
Anyway, on the day, things started out okay, got up on time, got myself ready, caught the first subway, and didn't even have trouble finding the place this time around (there was a lot of construction around Union Station that threw me for a loop last year... it's still under construction, but I was better able to figure out where I was going right away). I even found and hooked up with a group of guys who were headed to the same place (and the same line, that for people who were buying tickets at the door), and they weren't sure exactly where they were going as it was their first time at that particular con, so I was able to help out with my superior Fan Expo knowledge. And, to my surprise, we seemed to be the very first in line (although that was an illusion, we later learned that there was a handful of people who somehow got in past a closed gate... or maybe the gate was closed after they entered, IDK... in any event, it was only a few, but we didn't learn of it until the gate was once again open some hour or so after we were waiting). I figured, okay, maybe at least I can have a conversation while waiting in line.
And that's where it started to go wrong. First mistake was I sat a tiny bit too far from the others, misjudging the amount of room we needed and not wanting to crowd people. Not significantly, just I was on the end, and there was space for one or maybe two people between me and the next guy, and I didn't want to correct. Actually the first mistake might have been there on the walk over, when they asked who I was there to see, I said nobody in particular, just the spectacle. If I'd made more effort to point out who I liked, maybe it would give us some common ground. In any event, I sat slightly apart, and somebody new joined the line (a father and young son, who was the first cosplayer I saw... he was as somebody from one of the Infamous games), and they started talking with the people already in the line... except they were mostly talking about games, ones I'd never played. And they briefly switched to Doctor Who, which I attempted to join in, but, I guess I wasn't assertive enough (I tried to bring up that Karen Gillan had cancelled, since what they said suggested they thought she was still there), because they didn't even seem to notice or hear me me. I watched for a while, waiting for an opening, but, I realized that my social confidence and capability were on a low ebb and dwindling rapidly. After maybe 20 minutes of watching a conversation with people who at first seemed possible to include me and yet and being unable to contribute in any way, I turned to my book.
We moved a few times, first into the little garage things and then a couple times forward or back as they tried to decide exactly where to be, and each time I hoped maybe the new shuffling of positions might allow me to join in some kind of conversation... but, it was too late, I had already become invisible, seemingly to everybody. I once managed to marshall my courage and speak up when two people right in front of me had mentioned Adam Baldwin, but as soon as it was done, they turned away (in fairness, it was towards where they were preparing to open for ticket buying).
Don't think I said a word to anybody else in the line after that... not deliberately, just, everybody had already formed their little conversational groups, and intruding is difficult enough when I'm feeling confident. So I just stayed quiet, hating myself and getting more and more depressed.
Anyway, before I skip ahead to how that affected the rest of my congoing experience, let's discuss the line. In previous years, they waited until right about 10am then opened the ticket buying line. This year, they did it a bit differently. They opened up the ticket buying line early, in groups, then had everyone who had tickets in a new line (which progressively ate back into was the start of the old line). This (aside from a little awkwardness at first because people were walking back and forth, and when you finished buying your ticket, to get to your new line you had to cross back through people who were coming to buy their tickets), I think turned out to be a good system, once it was actually time to get in there was much less of a bottleneck, just a steady stream of people moving inside. Then again, considering the rest of the con, maybe a bottleneck would have been a good thing.
It also allowed those of us at the front of the line see many more cosplayers as they walked past us to get their tickets, each in a small little group. Which was cool, although I am a little annoyed at the people near me. I overheard at least a couple different people use the "Wow, (so-and-so hero) really let herself go!" joke, or make somewhat sexually demeaning remarks... not to the cosplayers, but about them, both of which made me feel icky. These people are a large part of what makes the con experience enjoyable, being incredibly brave and dressing up in an elaborate getup (even if they don't have the perfect bodies of the people they emulate), and you gotta tear them down. The world's full of enough misery, why do you gotta add more? :P Of course, I said nothing, because as we all know I'm a coward in so many ways. But at least I try to be an empathetic coward!
Anyway, by the time we got in, my mood was pretty low. The fragile patchwork construction that functions as a semblance of self-confidence had suffered serious structural integrity failures, and I sort of shuffled through the con (half from mehness, half from the fact that that was the only way to move at times). I moved to the North Building first, thinking I could see Matt Smith at least, and maybe play line genie, getting tickets for a few celebrities early on and then deciding to give it up for some latecomer. That plan failed, they didn't start handing out tickets for the few I was going to do that for because they were all coming much later in the day, and by the time they might have been the crowds were so intense I couldn't even be sure where the line-ticket-people were. They put the celebs in a different place this time around, all in one line against a wall, and I think it was a very poor choice, there was much less area for people to walk around, and you couldn't even see celebrities from the walkway above (I suspect that may have been the point, but, still, bleh!). Nathan Fillion and Matt Smith weren't going to be there until afternoon (Btw, Nathan moved up to $80 for an autograph, and Matt Smith charged $110!! These prices are getting insane. :P). I did manage to get a good look at Arthur Darvill/Rory and some of the other lower level celebs (Edward James Olmos had a thick beard, if that was him and not some random old guy sitting in his place, I wasn't able to get too close).
I tried to set up a place and get some nice cosplay shots, but people either moved past too quickly or I just couldn't manage the words to ask them to pose. I had a nice spot that worked last year where people kept walking by and I could usually get a good spot... this worked okay in the early stages but at some point it turned into a massive wall of people, and I even got pinned in place for several minutes waiting for a spot to open up just so I could get out. And a while later I was just part of a massive wall of people, where even when I saw some people to take pictures of, and I was able to ask them, there was just no room to do it, nor even to really get a candid pic.
Anyway, I eventually moved back to the South building, which was a lot more open (although liabrown said that it was crazy early on, it seemed nicer by the time I got there, even if it was just by comparison). I wandered around, trying to take a few pictures but not really feeling it as I was already in a depressive funk. I did manage to ask a couple people for pictures, but many more people I wanted to take pictures of, but didn't.
I also found Adrian Alphona, artist of Runaways again, complimented him on his new book Ms. Marvel, and decided to get a $30 sketch from him of Karolina from Runaways flying, although I'm afraid I rushed him a bit... I initially set it up fairly early then did some wandering around, and eventually I realized I was getting near the point where I either have to escape or go insane, and he hadn't even started it, so I asked him if maybe I could give him some extra money and he could mail it, but he said he'd start it right then, and, although I did a few more circles, I think I loomed over him a little too often and I feel bad about that. He was very polite about it, though, even apologized for taking so long as it was just a 30 minute sketch but people kept stopping him to talk. In our various short-term conversations I also asked him if he'd seen any Runaways cosplayers (very few, and not at this con), and saw Ms. Marvel seemed to be popular among some of the congoers. I probably talked to him more than anybody else that whole day.
Other things I saw in the South Building:
They had a "get a free picture with Baymax" (the air-filled robot from Big Hero 6) that was pretty cool, but I just couldn't see myself showing a picture like that to anybody, or wanting to look at it myself, so I didn't partake.
Rainbow Sun Franks (Lt. Ford from the first couple years of Stargate Atlantis) was in a small little booth. He actually had a "autographs are free, photos $10" thing going. I didn't get one though, or talk to him (he seems like a nice guy and I felt bad for him he got written out, but I never really got attached to his character at all), but it was nice to see him up close.
And, I lucked out, right when I was passing by the Space booth, they were doing an interview with the stars of the upcoming space-bounty-hunters show Killjoys. Two of the three I didn't recognize, but one of them is Aaron Ashmore, known to me for a few episodes of Veronica Mars (briefly Veronica's boyfriend in the first season, then returning the next to be accused of rape and needing Veronica's help to prove his innocence), and Jimmy Olsen from Smallville, and he's also known for looking EXACTLY like Iceman from the X-Men movies (but that was of course his twin brother... I overheard a few people making the mistake, though). I later saw him again at the tail end of an signing/meeting session, but too late to get one (I don't think he charged, probably because they were promoting their new show), they were just getting ready to leave, and, just as he did, making his way out of the booth, there was a point where he was literally right in front of me, close enough to shake hands. I was actually going to try and say hi to him, but the guy who was literally right beside me asked him for a quick pic, and he did, doing a dual selfie with the guy. And the guy WAS on his way out, I didn't want to impose extra on his time (though I did notice a couple other people asking the same thing while he was on the con floor and he obliged, and I didn't want to be one more person who was getting in his way. But, I did get a very close up look at him.
I think all that's left, before the photos, is to talk about Cosplay... I expected Doctor Who to be well-represented, and it was... mostly Eleven was the predominant costume, and a lot of Amys, but a few of the others. And last year there were a lot of Daleks, this year, very few. Instead, there were a lot of TARDISes (or at least wearing a dress like one... it's hard to say when to call it a costume and when to call it a fan shirt/dress... obviously, when they have a light on their head I'd call it a costume). No Capaldi-Doctors that I saw. No Rory's, either, but aside from his centurion costume I probably wouldn't recognize a costume of his if I saw one.
Lots of comic costumes, but none that really blew me away (no Runaways, a few Young Avengers, though), save one who looked like she was wearing Batgirl's NEW outfit (the one that's gotten a lot of attention on social media), but I only saw her from the back and I tried to follow her for awhile hoping to ask for a picture or at least see her from the front, but I never managed to, she turned one direction and I gambled and hoped I could circle around the other way and find her, but it didn't work out. Plenty of Walking Dead, too, but not as many zombies.
One of the biggest surprises was Winter Soldier cosplays, not just for the number, but also because the vast majority of them were female. I think I saw maybe 2 males, and what I think was 7-8 different female WSes. I guess I can see the costume design appealing to women (interesting and not oversexualized), I'm just surprised at the number.
On the Firefly front, a few different Mals, a couple Jaynes (assuming "Blue Sun Shirt and Jayne hat" counts), but didn't notice anybody else this time around. (Abbyshot did have an outlet up at the con, so I got to see a real Mal Browncoat up close, and it was cool, but way too rich for my blood).
Anyway, after I got my sketch, I made one last trip to the North Building, caught a fleeting glimpse of Matt Smith through the crowds (at least now I can say I've seen the Eleventh Doctor in person!) and then made my way for the exit. On the way home, I stopped off at the UPS store where they were holding a package for me, and it was a bit of a surprise. See, I often enter Giveaways for SF books I like, and I thought this was one I one a short time back for a book I'm a little interested in, but not especially so. I had also recently entered several for Echopraxia by Peter Watts (sidequel to Blindsight). I thought I didn't win any of them... except, it turns out, I did, they just didn't give me an e-mail notification (they posted it on their website, but the website requires javascript just to see so I don't go there regularly). Anyway, this would have been an incredibly great surprise... if I didn't just purchase the book online! (It arrived in fact the day before... or actually, the same day, but the single book didn't make delivery and so sent it to the UPS store, the ones I ordered actually bothered to buzz up). I decided I'd offer my second copy up free to people on a reddit board I'm on devoted to print SF, and setting up a meeting with the first person who responded tomorrow morning (he also suggested he might give me a few books in exchange... I didn't ask for it, but hey, if he doesn't want them anymore, I'll give them a good home).
I also got a gyro after picking up the package because I was hungry and drained (hadn't eaten anything since a Timbit from one of the guys in line right as we sat down, and only drank one free sample of energy drink). The temperature actually wasn't as oppressive as I thought it was going to be... sure it was warm, but I guess the convention hall was air conditioned, because though the outside temperatures were sweat-inducing, it wasn't too bad inside.
Then watched Doctor Who, but, I don't have the energy to write a post on that right now. :)
Picture time! Not very many!
A big con shot from an overhead walkway you take to get onto the show floor of the North Building. The celebs are lined up on the left, you can see the huge masses of people (and many of the biggest celebs weren't even there yet).
This same Twelve impersonator was at the con last year (with a TARDIS console rather than an exterior). Got a few tentative shots but too many people walking around.
Some Legend of Korra cosplayers, I'd tried to get them earlier and when I was taking an escalator between buildings I saw them so I grabbed a pic.
Speaking of Avatar, these next two pics illustrate my problem with the cons... in terms of getting pictures, it was... Two Toph! (yuk yuk)
They were both cool, and both had Momos. The first were just having fun amongs themselves putting Momo's hands over Toph-player's eyes and it would have made a cute picture but I waited for an opportunity where they saw me.
The second one was hardcore, though, with the white contacts (at times she needed a guide to get around, although I overheard her telling somebody else that she can still see, it's just foggy), and, although you can't see it in the picture, she actually went barefoot (or, had some kind of flesh colored sock that wrapped around individual toes, I couldn't tell for sure). For those who don't know the character, she's blind but, as an Earthbender, she senses vibrations with her feet and uses that to 'see' what's going on around her.
The most creative of the DW cosplays I saw was this:
Cassandra, the last human, from a few stories in Ten's era. Moisturization probably wasn't required with all the humidity.
I don't even know what this is, but it's a fantastic costume I saw as I was leaving.
That concludes the costume part of my pictures. I know, not very many? I also got a few blurry pictures of random line people that I snapped accidentally, and one blurry butt shot. I don't know if it was a male butt or female butt. I apologize for violating your butt privacy, whoever you are, it wasn't intentional, by the thing about smart phones is any inadvertent press or swipe against you or your body does something (I also somehow removed an icon from my start page). Anyway, I'll spare you those pictures.
Next, a few shots of the cast of Killjoys (I eventually saw the girl and Aaron Ashmore much closer, though I didn't speak to them):
This is the batmobile from the upcoming Batman: Arkham Knight video game. I don't know who the guy is, lots of people were taking their picture with it.
And, for locker_monster, something they set up for Assassin's Creed: Unity.
I thought when I took this pic, that this was the game set partly in Quebec, but I later found out that it isn't (at least I don't think so). Oops. :)
But that concludes the photo portion... not very many, huh? Oh well.
Oh, and the sketch I got from Adrian Alphona (Runaways artist):
I think, in the future, unless there is a specific person I want to see and get an autograph from (or I ever figure out somebody I want to cosplay), I'm going to skip cons from now on. I always wind up depressed after, and it was even worse this time around. And I'm still feeling run-down and drained.
I'll give a bit more detail behind the cut (feel free to ignore the whining and skip right to the pictures).
The Narrative:
There were some letdowns to the con, before it even started. The first was the lack of Firefly guests aside from Nathan Fillion who was there last year, but I'd made my peace with that. The second was that Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) cancelled... although I hadn't really planned on getting an autograph with her, it would have been nice to see her from a short distance (however, the schedule had previously said "Sunday only" for her anyway). The biggest was that the Prisoners of Gravity 25th Anniversary panel was on Friday evening, and as far as I could tell none of them were there at any other time in the con, so I missed my chance to meet Commander Rick and thank him for introducing me to so much great SF. But I decided despite that I'd make the trek out there and maybe enjoy some nice cosplayers, take a few pictures, maybe get a bit of swag.
Anyway, on the day, things started out okay, got up on time, got myself ready, caught the first subway, and didn't even have trouble finding the place this time around (there was a lot of construction around Union Station that threw me for a loop last year... it's still under construction, but I was better able to figure out where I was going right away). I even found and hooked up with a group of guys who were headed to the same place (and the same line, that for people who were buying tickets at the door), and they weren't sure exactly where they were going as it was their first time at that particular con, so I was able to help out with my superior Fan Expo knowledge. And, to my surprise, we seemed to be the very first in line (although that was an illusion, we later learned that there was a handful of people who somehow got in past a closed gate... or maybe the gate was closed after they entered, IDK... in any event, it was only a few, but we didn't learn of it until the gate was once again open some hour or so after we were waiting). I figured, okay, maybe at least I can have a conversation while waiting in line.
And that's where it started to go wrong. First mistake was I sat a tiny bit too far from the others, misjudging the amount of room we needed and not wanting to crowd people. Not significantly, just I was on the end, and there was space for one or maybe two people between me and the next guy, and I didn't want to correct. Actually the first mistake might have been there on the walk over, when they asked who I was there to see, I said nobody in particular, just the spectacle. If I'd made more effort to point out who I liked, maybe it would give us some common ground. In any event, I sat slightly apart, and somebody new joined the line (a father and young son, who was the first cosplayer I saw... he was as somebody from one of the Infamous games), and they started talking with the people already in the line... except they were mostly talking about games, ones I'd never played. And they briefly switched to Doctor Who, which I attempted to join in, but, I guess I wasn't assertive enough (I tried to bring up that Karen Gillan had cancelled, since what they said suggested they thought she was still there), because they didn't even seem to notice or hear me me. I watched for a while, waiting for an opening, but, I realized that my social confidence and capability were on a low ebb and dwindling rapidly. After maybe 20 minutes of watching a conversation with people who at first seemed possible to include me and yet and being unable to contribute in any way, I turned to my book.
We moved a few times, first into the little garage things and then a couple times forward or back as they tried to decide exactly where to be, and each time I hoped maybe the new shuffling of positions might allow me to join in some kind of conversation... but, it was too late, I had already become invisible, seemingly to everybody. I once managed to marshall my courage and speak up when two people right in front of me had mentioned Adam Baldwin, but as soon as it was done, they turned away (in fairness, it was towards where they were preparing to open for ticket buying).
Don't think I said a word to anybody else in the line after that... not deliberately, just, everybody had already formed their little conversational groups, and intruding is difficult enough when I'm feeling confident. So I just stayed quiet, hating myself and getting more and more depressed.
Anyway, before I skip ahead to how that affected the rest of my congoing experience, let's discuss the line. In previous years, they waited until right about 10am then opened the ticket buying line. This year, they did it a bit differently. They opened up the ticket buying line early, in groups, then had everyone who had tickets in a new line (which progressively ate back into was the start of the old line). This (aside from a little awkwardness at first because people were walking back and forth, and when you finished buying your ticket, to get to your new line you had to cross back through people who were coming to buy their tickets), I think turned out to be a good system, once it was actually time to get in there was much less of a bottleneck, just a steady stream of people moving inside. Then again, considering the rest of the con, maybe a bottleneck would have been a good thing.
It also allowed those of us at the front of the line see many more cosplayers as they walked past us to get their tickets, each in a small little group. Which was cool, although I am a little annoyed at the people near me. I overheard at least a couple different people use the "Wow, (so-and-so hero) really let herself go!" joke, or make somewhat sexually demeaning remarks... not to the cosplayers, but about them, both of which made me feel icky. These people are a large part of what makes the con experience enjoyable, being incredibly brave and dressing up in an elaborate getup (even if they don't have the perfect bodies of the people they emulate), and you gotta tear them down. The world's full of enough misery, why do you gotta add more? :P Of course, I said nothing, because as we all know I'm a coward in so many ways. But at least I try to be an empathetic coward!
Anyway, by the time we got in, my mood was pretty low. The fragile patchwork construction that functions as a semblance of self-confidence had suffered serious structural integrity failures, and I sort of shuffled through the con (half from mehness, half from the fact that that was the only way to move at times). I moved to the North Building first, thinking I could see Matt Smith at least, and maybe play line genie, getting tickets for a few celebrities early on and then deciding to give it up for some latecomer. That plan failed, they didn't start handing out tickets for the few I was going to do that for because they were all coming much later in the day, and by the time they might have been the crowds were so intense I couldn't even be sure where the line-ticket-people were. They put the celebs in a different place this time around, all in one line against a wall, and I think it was a very poor choice, there was much less area for people to walk around, and you couldn't even see celebrities from the walkway above (I suspect that may have been the point, but, still, bleh!). Nathan Fillion and Matt Smith weren't going to be there until afternoon (Btw, Nathan moved up to $80 for an autograph, and Matt Smith charged $110!! These prices are getting insane. :P). I did manage to get a good look at Arthur Darvill/Rory and some of the other lower level celebs (Edward James Olmos had a thick beard, if that was him and not some random old guy sitting in his place, I wasn't able to get too close).
I tried to set up a place and get some nice cosplay shots, but people either moved past too quickly or I just couldn't manage the words to ask them to pose. I had a nice spot that worked last year where people kept walking by and I could usually get a good spot... this worked okay in the early stages but at some point it turned into a massive wall of people, and I even got pinned in place for several minutes waiting for a spot to open up just so I could get out. And a while later I was just part of a massive wall of people, where even when I saw some people to take pictures of, and I was able to ask them, there was just no room to do it, nor even to really get a candid pic.
Anyway, I eventually moved back to the South building, which was a lot more open (although liabrown said that it was crazy early on, it seemed nicer by the time I got there, even if it was just by comparison). I wandered around, trying to take a few pictures but not really feeling it as I was already in a depressive funk. I did manage to ask a couple people for pictures, but many more people I wanted to take pictures of, but didn't.
I also found Adrian Alphona, artist of Runaways again, complimented him on his new book Ms. Marvel, and decided to get a $30 sketch from him of Karolina from Runaways flying, although I'm afraid I rushed him a bit... I initially set it up fairly early then did some wandering around, and eventually I realized I was getting near the point where I either have to escape or go insane, and he hadn't even started it, so I asked him if maybe I could give him some extra money and he could mail it, but he said he'd start it right then, and, although I did a few more circles, I think I loomed over him a little too often and I feel bad about that. He was very polite about it, though, even apologized for taking so long as it was just a 30 minute sketch but people kept stopping him to talk. In our various short-term conversations I also asked him if he'd seen any Runaways cosplayers (very few, and not at this con), and saw Ms. Marvel seemed to be popular among some of the congoers. I probably talked to him more than anybody else that whole day.
Other things I saw in the South Building:
They had a "get a free picture with Baymax" (the air-filled robot from Big Hero 6) that was pretty cool, but I just couldn't see myself showing a picture like that to anybody, or wanting to look at it myself, so I didn't partake.
Rainbow Sun Franks (Lt. Ford from the first couple years of Stargate Atlantis) was in a small little booth. He actually had a "autographs are free, photos $10" thing going. I didn't get one though, or talk to him (he seems like a nice guy and I felt bad for him he got written out, but I never really got attached to his character at all), but it was nice to see him up close.
And, I lucked out, right when I was passing by the Space booth, they were doing an interview with the stars of the upcoming space-bounty-hunters show Killjoys. Two of the three I didn't recognize, but one of them is Aaron Ashmore, known to me for a few episodes of Veronica Mars (briefly Veronica's boyfriend in the first season, then returning the next to be accused of rape and needing Veronica's help to prove his innocence), and Jimmy Olsen from Smallville, and he's also known for looking EXACTLY like Iceman from the X-Men movies (but that was of course his twin brother... I overheard a few people making the mistake, though). I later saw him again at the tail end of an signing/meeting session, but too late to get one (I don't think he charged, probably because they were promoting their new show), they were just getting ready to leave, and, just as he did, making his way out of the booth, there was a point where he was literally right in front of me, close enough to shake hands. I was actually going to try and say hi to him, but the guy who was literally right beside me asked him for a quick pic, and he did, doing a dual selfie with the guy. And the guy WAS on his way out, I didn't want to impose extra on his time (though I did notice a couple other people asking the same thing while he was on the con floor and he obliged, and I didn't want to be one more person who was getting in his way. But, I did get a very close up look at him.
I think all that's left, before the photos, is to talk about Cosplay... I expected Doctor Who to be well-represented, and it was... mostly Eleven was the predominant costume, and a lot of Amys, but a few of the others. And last year there were a lot of Daleks, this year, very few. Instead, there were a lot of TARDISes (or at least wearing a dress like one... it's hard to say when to call it a costume and when to call it a fan shirt/dress... obviously, when they have a light on their head I'd call it a costume). No Capaldi-Doctors that I saw. No Rory's, either, but aside from his centurion costume I probably wouldn't recognize a costume of his if I saw one.
Lots of comic costumes, but none that really blew me away (no Runaways, a few Young Avengers, though), save one who looked like she was wearing Batgirl's NEW outfit (the one that's gotten a lot of attention on social media), but I only saw her from the back and I tried to follow her for awhile hoping to ask for a picture or at least see her from the front, but I never managed to, she turned one direction and I gambled and hoped I could circle around the other way and find her, but it didn't work out. Plenty of Walking Dead, too, but not as many zombies.
One of the biggest surprises was Winter Soldier cosplays, not just for the number, but also because the vast majority of them were female. I think I saw maybe 2 males, and what I think was 7-8 different female WSes. I guess I can see the costume design appealing to women (interesting and not oversexualized), I'm just surprised at the number.
On the Firefly front, a few different Mals, a couple Jaynes (assuming "Blue Sun Shirt and Jayne hat" counts), but didn't notice anybody else this time around. (Abbyshot did have an outlet up at the con, so I got to see a real Mal Browncoat up close, and it was cool, but way too rich for my blood).
Anyway, after I got my sketch, I made one last trip to the North Building, caught a fleeting glimpse of Matt Smith through the crowds (at least now I can say I've seen the Eleventh Doctor in person!) and then made my way for the exit. On the way home, I stopped off at the UPS store where they were holding a package for me, and it was a bit of a surprise. See, I often enter Giveaways for SF books I like, and I thought this was one I one a short time back for a book I'm a little interested in, but not especially so. I had also recently entered several for Echopraxia by Peter Watts (sidequel to Blindsight). I thought I didn't win any of them... except, it turns out, I did, they just didn't give me an e-mail notification (they posted it on their website, but the website requires javascript just to see so I don't go there regularly). Anyway, this would have been an incredibly great surprise... if I didn't just purchase the book online! (It arrived in fact the day before... or actually, the same day, but the single book didn't make delivery and so sent it to the UPS store, the ones I ordered actually bothered to buzz up). I decided I'd offer my second copy up free to people on a reddit board I'm on devoted to print SF, and setting up a meeting with the first person who responded tomorrow morning (he also suggested he might give me a few books in exchange... I didn't ask for it, but hey, if he doesn't want them anymore, I'll give them a good home).
I also got a gyro after picking up the package because I was hungry and drained (hadn't eaten anything since a Timbit from one of the guys in line right as we sat down, and only drank one free sample of energy drink). The temperature actually wasn't as oppressive as I thought it was going to be... sure it was warm, but I guess the convention hall was air conditioned, because though the outside temperatures were sweat-inducing, it wasn't too bad inside.
Then watched Doctor Who, but, I don't have the energy to write a post on that right now. :)
Picture time! Not very many!
A big con shot from an overhead walkway you take to get onto the show floor of the North Building. The celebs are lined up on the left, you can see the huge masses of people (and many of the biggest celebs weren't even there yet).
This same Twelve impersonator was at the con last year (with a TARDIS console rather than an exterior). Got a few tentative shots but too many people walking around.
Some Legend of Korra cosplayers, I'd tried to get them earlier and when I was taking an escalator between buildings I saw them so I grabbed a pic.
Speaking of Avatar, these next two pics illustrate my problem with the cons... in terms of getting pictures, it was... Two Toph! (yuk yuk)
They were both cool, and both had Momos. The first were just having fun amongs themselves putting Momo's hands over Toph-player's eyes and it would have made a cute picture but I waited for an opportunity where they saw me.
The second one was hardcore, though, with the white contacts (at times she needed a guide to get around, although I overheard her telling somebody else that she can still see, it's just foggy), and, although you can't see it in the picture, she actually went barefoot (or, had some kind of flesh colored sock that wrapped around individual toes, I couldn't tell for sure). For those who don't know the character, she's blind but, as an Earthbender, she senses vibrations with her feet and uses that to 'see' what's going on around her.
The most creative of the DW cosplays I saw was this:
Cassandra, the last human, from a few stories in Ten's era. Moisturization probably wasn't required with all the humidity.
I don't even know what this is, but it's a fantastic costume I saw as I was leaving.
That concludes the costume part of my pictures. I know, not very many? I also got a few blurry pictures of random line people that I snapped accidentally, and one blurry butt shot. I don't know if it was a male butt or female butt. I apologize for violating your butt privacy, whoever you are, it wasn't intentional, by the thing about smart phones is any inadvertent press or swipe against you or your body does something (I also somehow removed an icon from my start page). Anyway, I'll spare you those pictures.
Next, a few shots of the cast of Killjoys (I eventually saw the girl and Aaron Ashmore much closer, though I didn't speak to them):
This is the batmobile from the upcoming Batman: Arkham Knight video game. I don't know who the guy is, lots of people were taking their picture with it.
And, for locker_monster, something they set up for Assassin's Creed: Unity.
I thought when I took this pic, that this was the game set partly in Quebec, but I later found out that it isn't (at least I don't think so). Oops. :)
But that concludes the photo portion... not very many, huh? Oh well.
Oh, and the sketch I got from Adrian Alphona (Runaways artist):
I think, in the future, unless there is a specific person I want to see and get an autograph from (or I ever figure out somebody I want to cosplay), I'm going to skip cons from now on. I always wind up depressed after, and it was even worse this time around. And I'm still feeling run-down and drained.