The Saga of Gen Con 2013

IT IS TIME.

Sit yourselves down and grab something to quaff, for the time has come for the Saga of Gen Con 2013.



(I first typed that as "the Sagan of Gen Con 2013". Oh, if only.)

So, Gen Con happened. And it was fun, and I got to try a lot of different stuff and learned a few new things (sometimes, learned things about myself). So, before I get into the pictures (sorry), here’s a rundown of some WINS and FAILS:

WIN: My costumes were technically very well done. I got a LOT of picture requests – on Sunday, Pieface and I could never walk more than 10 feet down a hall without getting stopped and asked for photos.

FAIL: I need to work on my posing, especially in the afternoon when I am tired and starting to slouch! I saw a few very bad/boring photos of me in the “everyone posting pictures” aftermath.

WIN: I had a lot of interesting workshops this year. Best of the lot was learning to needle felt, which earned its place by being a craft that is easy to carry around, pull out and work on for five minutes, and quickly put away.

FAIL: I had a LOT of workshops this year. On Friday, I had three of them, and I was in costume. By midway through the third, my corset was bothering me, my wig was itching, and I was trying to suppress yawns and not think about how much I wanted to see over in the dealer hall.

WIN: I fit into the Rapunzel dress. Without the aid of a corset.

FAIL: I so completely fell off the diet/fitness wagon, with the stress of finishing costumes, packing, attending, and the aftermath (see two posts ago).

WIN: I got to walk in the costume parade this year, which was fun!

FAIL: Thanks to overextending myself on workshops, I didn’t have time to watch the Costume Contest. My husband and friends wanted me to enter, but I want to see one before I try to actually go on stage!

WIN: I saw a lot of cool costumes…

FAIL: …and didn’t take nearly as many pictures. I have maybe 2 pictures of Robin with cosplayers. It’s just too much to carry around a doll and a costume kit (touchup makeup/emergency repair supplies) in one bag!

WIN: The husband and I stayed in a small B&B about a 10-minute drive away from the convention center. The room was great, it was quiet, and it was far cheaper than paying for a walking-distance hotel!

WIN: Our haul from the dealer hall was pretty great this year! I didn’t get any big-ticket items like last years’ corset, but I found some neat stuff. We spent a small fortune at the booth for Worldbuilders, a charity run by fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss. The husband really likes his books, and we attended one of his readings. Among the items they were selling were prints of Karen Hallion's Disney-Princesses-and-the-TARDIS artwork that I’ve seen all over Pinterest. I resisted those, but couldn’t pass up this print of Stitch in a Jayne hat.

I also bought a new pink wig, to replace my cheap Halloween Express one. The booth was The Five Wits, and they are worth checking out for their great wig names alone.

Pieface’s favorite find was this Folkmanis hedgehog puppet. As soon as we left the booth, that puppet was glued to Pie’s hands. There are a lot of Gen Con attendees out there wondering "at what point in “Brave” does Merida got a pet hedgehog…?"

The main takeaway I have for next year is to be mindful of my limits – don’t try to do too much! And work on that posing, so I can get good pictures of myself in costume!

But enough of my introspection…you lot want pictures!

Robin helps out with needle felting. Hey, it involves repeated stabbing of stuff with a big pointy sharp needle, that's right up her alley.

Giant King of Tokyo game! King of Tokyo's a pretty good game, y'all should try it. Pie loves it. It is not that big in real life.

Bob Ross cosplayer, doing his thing. I grew up under the watchful happy trees of a genuine Bob Ross painting (seriously, there is one hanging in my parents' living room right now).

Mai, from Avatar: The Last Airbender. She was working at a booth in the dealer hall and asked for my picture. I was like, "Sure - oh, hey, you're Mai! Can I get a picture of you, too? My family loves that show!"

A Wreck-It Ralph group in the costume parade.

Robin gets investigated by a Ghostbuster.

Robin with a very cool pair dressed as Ashitaka and San from Princess Mononoke.

Then San and I got a picture together.

In the Dungeons & Dragons hall, I did valiant battle with Lolth, the Spider Queen.

Sunday - a wild Pieface appears!

(She did not want anything to do with the Doctor Who booth this year. No Daleks for her!)

Pieface with Jack Frost and Hiccup. I wish I'd asked Hiccup where she got that adorable Toothless plushie.

Pieface is just out of frame, very wisely refusing gold from No-Face.

Pieface also did battle with Lolth.

"What? No biggie."

Lolth wasn't as charming as this friendly Doctor Horrible.

Portal turret!

Balloon Cthulhu. Every year, they make a giant balloon sculpture, then destroy it on Sunday. The rights to strike the first blow are auctioned off for charity.

A pair of  Sugar Rush racers from Wreck-It Ralph.

There's the hedgehog! With Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy was dead-on in character, I was impressed.

Pie with the giant King of Tokyo game.

And then Joe took a lot of shots of myself and Pie:

I don’t know if we’ll be attending next year – it might interfere with Pieface’s school calendar. I do hope we get to, because I’m already planning costumes!