Dragon Con 2015: Post-Con Thoughts & Review

Dragon Con 2015 was amazing, and thanks to our Epbot meetup and the official DCon app, I had nearly a hundred separate reader encounters over the course of the weekend. A new record! I gave out around 95 of the new Epbot pins, and thankfully didn't run out 'til the very last day. There were so many laughs and hugs and even tears, and I'm grateful to every single one of you.

I kept our schedule extra light this year to account for all the socializing, and spent each night in the main Marriott lobby armed with my camera. John cosplayed 3 of the 4 nights, so he was equally occupied, being mobbed by photographers. (No cosplay for me this year; I left that to John!)

Our new Figment made John's Dreamfinder by far the most popular cosplay either of us have ever done. I felt bad for our friends and family trying to get anywhere with us, because we often couldn't take two steps without hearing, "FIGMENT!!" - and as soon as John stopped, more people would come running. Between that and so many Epbot/CW fans finding us, John and I felt like rock stars. (A nice memory to hang on to the next time I'm picking up cat puke.)

As always, seeing everyone react to John was my favorite part. Five minutes in as Dreamfinder, we came across a lady who literally jumped up and down and screamed. Ha! Plus it worked out great for me, since I could just wander off with my camera while John was stuck in one place. :D



Claptrap also got rave reviews, though with significantly less tears and requests for hugs. It wasn't easy navigating the crowds with a one-wheeled robot, of course, so John decided to stash him back in the car late Friday afternoon. We got all the way to the car, though, when John changed his mind - and was ultimately glad he did, since that night we stayed 'til after 1AM and had so. much. fun.

My friends Christie and Robyn were with us as a gender-swapped Handsome Jack and Mordecai, so together they all made a stellar Borderlands group:

When we first decided to do a gender-swapped Borderlands group, I was supposed to be Salvadore. Then Figment happened. Maybe some day?

Here's a shot of the sisters I took at the Borderlands meetup earlier:

  Their cell-shading is ridiculously good. I am in awe.

Just as we were about to call it a night on Friday, a woman spotted Claptrap and awarded John a Golden Ticket for a free professional photo shoot downstairs - for the whole group! So of course we had to stay for that.

We stayed away during Saturday's parade, waiting 'til 1pm to venture anywhere near downtown - but the rest of my family made the mistake of taking the Marta in that morning, hoping to make it to an early panel before the parade began.

I say "mistake" because the crowds were so suffocating that my mom - a former RN with nerves of steel - tells me she had the first panic attack of her entire life, and my dad had to physically hang on to a chain link fence to keep from being swept away and trampled. The mob was trying to break down construction fences around them just to have a place to go, since the Marta underground kept funneling more and more people up onto the street, and there just. wasn't. room.

Street view of the parade, taken by my friend John Strangeway.

I'm appalled to hear the parade crowds have gotten this bad (my older brother and his girlfriend were also there - for their very first DCon, natch), so from now on I'll be advising everyone to stay completely away from Dragon Con on Saturday morning, even if you're not trying to see the parade. It's just not worth it, guys, trust me!

Ok, back to the positive stuff.

I mentioned in my Reflections post how happy I am in the madness that is the Marriott lobby, and I realized this year that the dull roar of the crowd is remarkably soothing, almost like a white noise machine. So long as I wasn't trying to get anywhere in particular, it never really bothered me to be trapped by the crowd, and I was able to just live in each moment, soaking it all up.

 The Marriott lobby.

 (There are actually three levels to it; this is just the top-most one.)

It also helps that no one in the lobby is in much of a hurry to get anywhere; most are just standing/shuffling around talking, drinking, and people-watching.

We stayed 'til at least midnight each night, and I would go for long stretches separated from John, not even knowing where he was on the floor. Usually that kind of thing would spike my anxiety, but I never felt panic. In fact, I didn't need any anxiety meds the whole trip! I can't explain it, but I'm incredibly grateful.

That contented, calm bubble allowed me to do lots of non-introverty things, too, like find and fangirl over Norm of Tested, The Doubleclicks, and cosplayer Ryan Wells. Plus I was almost coherent while presenting our custom Pop figure to David Hewlett. I think talking with so many Epbot peeps kept me on a constant socializing high; I went from one conversation to the next almost seamlessly all day, every day, so it didn't seem strange to strike up a conversation with people I admire online, but have never met.

There was only one celeb I was interested in getting a picture with, though. This guy: 

 Sweet Staypuft!! 

(He's patting my head here. I think I scared his handler a little, since I came barreling in for a hug.)

By Sunday the constant emotional high was taking its toll, and I found myself getting a little weepy at the Doubleclicks' concert. Kind of a happy/stressed/overloaded weepy. Then another fan found me, and she stayed with me and my mom and laughed with us through the rest of the concert, and I was good to go again.

They all demanded he get in the picture. :D

We stayed the latest on Monday we ever have, since that was our first chance to see the vendor rooms. As a result, I got a new dragon friend:

SO CUTE.

(She's supposed to sit on your shoulder, and has a little cable attached so you can move her head.)

... and then we didn't get back home to Orlando until midnight. Worth it.

Oh, and topping off the awesome? Neither of us caught the con crud! I didn't know that was even possible!

Thanks again to all of you who helped make Dragon Con our best yet! Now stay tuned, because cosplay photos... ARE COMING.