Tales From the Con Floor (Slightly NSFW)

[PastryGal]

One bonus though is that due to everything I did at the con is that I got invited to the after-con event with the guests. Getting to party with the EMH, the voice of Inuyasha's Miroku, Lancel Lannister, and an awesome Canadian author was frickin' amazing...and I may have some pictures of them all getting screeched in. Okay, I have a LOT of those LOL

I attended that convention this year, lol, was my first con ever and I had a blast! Nice to find another local on here. I was over the moon to meet Robert Picardo. Got his autographed EMH pic on the wall by my computer.

[KellyHabersham]

Or -- worse -- they just don't care and believe the rest of the world should bend around their Speshul Snowflake because to complain is to be a heartless bitch/bastard because "They can't help it!" That may indeed be so, but if they truly cannot, it's YOUR responsibility not to put them into situations where they're going to get into trouble or annoy everyone within earshot. I am sympathetic to those with developmental disabilities, but if I'm in a movie theater and someone who is OBVIOUSLY mentally challenged sits down behind me with their "caretaker" and starts to make distracting vocalizations, I am going to get up and either movie seats or leave.

Reminds me of a woman and her adult "special needs" son ("Jerry") who used to attend the same church as my family......the details are more appropriate for Fratching, so I'll just say this guy had some behaviors that were causing problems, his mom/other family members seemed oblivious about it, and they got VERY upset when our then-pastor had to talk to them about keeping a closer watch on "Jerry".

[Mr Hero]

I'm kinda curious about the details. Would you mind posting a topic there if you have an account?

[eltf177]

There was an article in THE WASHINGTON POST a few years back about problems at Cons.

One in particular was young girls cosplaying who were getting a lot of unwanted attention and even solicitations from older men. Cons were having to keep a very close eye on the younger cosplayers to try and keep them safe...

[Akasa]

Then there's the underage girls who keep trying to get into my friend's pants.

Every time a girl asks to sit on his lap he has to ask how old they are, because one year the girl on his lap was 15.

Freaked him the fuck out when he found out.(He was 24 at the time)


While its true some are being preyed on, some are predators too.

[wolfie]

Who the hell takes their child to a con knowing he won't be able to control himself and will start doing the secret handshake right in front of everyone?

Does anyone ever go to a con cosplaying as Lorena Bobbit?

[LillFilly]

Reminds me of how rules were / were not being enforced at a con my 2- male housemates went to. Their costumes were furry/mad-max themed and they had large painted nerf guns with maybe 3-ft of dangling gun belt; the belts were nowhere near touching the floor, but con ops told them they couldn't carry the guns because of the safety/ trip hazard...even without the belts! The housemates pointed-out females with long trailing gowns other congoers were tripping over, females with monstrous cosplay prop guns that they kept hitting people in the heads with, and females with big wings that were running into people. Nope, they were not allowed to bring those guns into the con! Yet as they discussed this they stopped another male with a nerf gun, yet let a female with the same gun in....? Yes, these were obviously nerf guns with no ammo.

[KellyHabersham]

I'm kinda curious about the details. Would you mind posting a topic there if you have an account?

Just did.....hope it's okay to say that it's in the "Social Woes" section. Might add the part later where I encountered him on Facebook.

[Crossbow]

Yeah as a veteran staffer of many conventions over the years, I can definitely say cons can bring out the best, the worst, and the weirdest in people. Hell, it's not even just the attendees. Staff, and even the general public all have their own breeds of WTF...

All things considered, though, I'll take the weird and ewww if I never have to deal with the downright dangerous. There's a reason that one of the first Star Trek cons is frequently called "Riot Con"...

[Argus]

Even worse are the ones who can't seem to get it through their heads that they really must supervise their youngsters.

"Unattended children will be given to the Goblin King." Yes, we had that sign at a con where I volunteer.

[WishfulSpirit]

I didn't understand the appeal of cons until someone (my husband) pointed out they are basically Halloween on steroids. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and now I want to go, but I don't know enough about anime.

[RealUnimportant]

...I don't know enough about anime.

No biggie. Most people are just fans of their one show, some know more about a few different shows, and the people who know every tiny detail and look down on you for not having a similarly encyclopaedic memory are usually the people to avoid! There's cons for Anime, Sci-Fi, movies in general, cartoons in general, furries, individual shows... You're bound to fit in somewhere, and even if you don't when you arrive you probably will by the time you leave.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I didn't understand the appeal of cons until someone (my husband) pointed out they are basically Halloween on steroids. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and now I want to go, but I don't know enough about anime.

Don't feel bad. I don't watch as much anime as I used to, and given my build, there's not many characters I can cosplay.

But there's nothing stopping you dressing up as video game characters or anyone else you can actually put together a costume for.

For instance, the last few years at MAGFest and Katsucon, I've gone dressed as Stone Cold Steve Austin and gotten lots of people asking for pictures. Even had a couple other wrestling cosplayers to stop for pics together, too.

(That said, I'm going to be trying to make an Undertale cosplay of Dr. W.D. Gaster for MAGFest next year.)

[Cecily]

I didn't understand the appeal of cons until someone (my husband) pointed out they are basically Halloween on steroids. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and now I want to go, but I don't know enough about anime.

You don't have to dress up to go to a Con. You have to go and experience one, then you'll know if you like it, love it or it's just "meh". Go to what I would describe as a "general" Con, where different fandoms and medias are represented. You'll probably know a lot more than you think. General Cons cover everything from Jurassic Park to Disney princesses, anime, comic books, movies and a lot more.

The first time I went to a Con, it was for one day. The following year, I spent three whole days. I've been a volunteer for the last three years.

I don't know any game characters but I can still admire the cosplayers and all the work they put into it. I'm more into movies and some TV shows.

And may I point out that bodytype does NOT matter. Superman can have a muffin top, Hulk can be just over 1.2 meters and Princess Ariel can have a beard. The point is to have fun, enjoy the guests, spend way too much money on that rare action figure and meet people who will not judge your enjoyment of Dr. Who or Batman.

[WishfulSpirit]

I do like Sci Fi (Star Trek in particular). Could pull off 7 of 9 if my hair was lighter (tall and skinny), but there just isn't the kind of detail to work with in Trek Starfleet costumes (though I could do the Borg queen or something Klingon). Knowing myself, I'd have to make my costume dead nuts perfect to be happy with it. We did talk about going to ComicCon with Hubby as Professor X. He's already got the bald head and the wheelchair!