Alright, alright. It’s been almost a month since Megacon, i know- but, frankly, i wanna blab about the one con i go to. Sorry!
I’ll try to just go over the highlights, so let’s start with-
Thursday
Thursday is generally the calmest day of the con weekend. people don’t get off of work until 4 or 5, which is when the con floor opens to the public. if you get a four day, premium, or platinum, VIP, ETC. pass you can get in at 2. That’s typically what my dad and i do.
We wandered around to get a feel for the con floor an convention center (the con was held in the West and East concourse this year, which helped with the previous overcrowding due to overselling). Not much happened until around 6-ish when, after years of watching on Youtube- I got to meet Rachel Maksy!
She was an absolute sweetheart who took my awkward rambling like a champ, and her husband Nick was awesome, too. With a promise that i would come back the next day to show her a prop i made (which i immediately cringed at, but she seemed to at the very least take with grace and encouragement) went to meet some friends at a panel- a GOBLIN panel.
The week before my friend had texted me about a friend they and my other friend have- which is confusing, so i will from here on out call him a mutual friend- said mutual friend was doing a panel, and they offered to meet up at the con and see it together. It was the ~goblin panel~. After taking a moment to appreciate the fact I’m in the same social circle as someone doing a panel entirely about goblins, i said “hell yeah!” and we made the plans.
Friends. Lemme tell ya. This guy (Brian Henken) was absolutely hilarious. I don’t know if any of you know who Spenser Agnew is, but i felt like i was watching his cousin twice removed who also happened to be his twin sent to clown school. This is a compliment. Brian was absolutely hilarious, guy. and having my friends behind me the whole time giving me hidden lore truly added to the experience in a way i can’t describe. Literal tears ran down my face. He called my dad a goblin for being painted blue. I’d die for him.
Alright, let’s get normal again. SO normal.
After the panel my friends and I went roaming about the con floor, which is always a blast. There were goofs and gags of silly magnitudes and my one friend ended up buying an Ahsoka lightsaber as the doors were literally closing. (There were some issues with it, but Israel of the Legion booth was an absolute king and it all got resolved.)
Friday
Honest to god i blanked this day out. Nothing bad happened, i just was kinda checked out. The tape i used to add the yellow stripe to my Lower Decks boots wasn’t sticking and i was focused on getting my friend’s saber fixed. OH. OH MY GOD that’s the day we met Fred Tatasciore and Brandon Rogers. I’m so sorry.
These two were absolute gents. Fred was so kind and took the time to really personalize the experience. He signed my dad’s autograph “To: Shaxs. Love, Shaxs” and really got a kick out of our cosplays. Also, did you know he was the teacher fish in Bubble Guppies? Icon.
Brandon was an absolute sweetheart. He has the general aura of an aunt who doesn’t know how to deal with kids but kinda likes her nieces and nephews. I told him i’d been watching him for as long as i could remember and that while that was concerning, it shaped who i am. He promptly responded “Well, i love how you’re shaped!”. While taking the picture he exclaimed “Someone call the fire department, cause this is hot, hot, hot!” even though my fake mustache made me look toothless. It was one of those strange moments where someone who, without much presence but in some strange way, is a part of you. Like, I’m not deeply influenced by Brandon’s content nowadays. Where most of the crowd was there for Helluva Boss i was there to meet Brandon Rogers (and get and autograph for my friend who does love Helluva Boss’ birthday)- but in some weird way i can’t particularly describe, he’s part of what shaped me. and I, too, love the way i’m shaped.
ANYWAYS! We went back to see Rachel Maksy and make good on my promise. She and Nick seemed to enjoy Lancelot (my prop ferret). In fact, most people did! We got another picture-
and then hit the cosplay red carpet! Shout to Jeff Jenkins for being the awesome carpet photographer.
Saturday
Saturday is a cursed, cursed day. On top of the overcrowding issue Megacon has been dealing with the past few years, my dad and i pull out our classic cosplay- Marceline and Ice King. This is perhaps the one cosplay we have worn every year. Which sucks because as much as i love this cosplay, dealing with face paint, colored contacts, two wigs, docs, gloves i had to cut myself out, AND a giant prop bass- we also typically have to navigate small crowds of people stopping us for pictures.
Don’t get me wrong- i adore these interactions. I’ve met so many lovely people and, frankly, taking pictures with stunned little kids and nostalgic adults alike never gets old. But sometimes the places we get stopped are… unfortunate. Whether it’s in the middle of an aisle, right outside the bathroom or food court, or when we’re sat against a wall halfway out of what we can easily remove- people wanna make a memory. Totally chill. Just Inconvenient at times!
A funny moment that relates to this- when i managed to find a bathroom with a relatively short line and left my bass axed with my dad. He’d been getting stopped while waiting for me all day, but unbeknownst to me a literal line had formed for Ice King whilst i was peeing. I walked out to the amusing sight of some guy holding my bass. If you’re thinking “ooooooof” that’s understandable. my dad was thinking the same exact thing. Apparently rather than my dad keeping creeps away at cons, i’d been keeping Ice King chasers away. I walked up next to the person taking a picture and waited for my bass and we moved on with the day with relative ease.
Another notable event was meeting Felicia Day!
(This a photo of the physical print as we didn’t buy a digital version). As Photo OPs be, we didn’t get to have much time, but she complimented my bass and posed with her cartoon fiance. Every now and then you meet a celebrity who seems like they’d spend every minute with you if they good, who just exudes this kind nature. Felica Day is absolutely one of those people.
We once again waited for the red carpet (will add pictures when available) and promptly went HOOOOOME. Having been up since 5 in the morning simply to paint myself gray, we were done by, like, 5.
Sunday
The day of rest, thank GOD. hah.
We honestly took the day as such and just shopped. I did an artist alley scavenger hunt (check out fiveboos, leggydeco, appalling_hymns, and acwhite.art out on instagram) and finally sorted the lightsaber thing for my friend. Deciding we had enough, my dad and i said goodbye to Megacon for the year and headed home.
I still have to teach him how to turn off the beauty filter.
