MetroCon 2019: Maybe We Should Dance More

Most conventions I cover are physically and emotionally draining, because they're huge, crowded, and often filled with people annoyed by those things. MetroCon is different, though. For the third year now I've come back rested and refueled, happy, and only a little sleep-deprived. Because it's specifically an anime con, Metro has a smaller, younger crowd, and that seems to equal a happier crowd. There are no big name celebrities, so no one is griping about the cost of photo opps or autographs, and no one is rushing to go stand in line, either. It's much more relaxed, very social, very accepting, very fun.

 John and I drove up Friday afternoon to spend the last few hours that day shopping, because Metro has THE best vendor room when it comes to draining my bank account. The art! The giant plushies! The jewelry and charms and kawaii cuteness!

One of my favorite booths - and sellers! - Whimsy Kei.

  Saturday is the big cosplay day, so we spent that day roaming the perimeter of the floor with our flash rig, taking photos. There were so many beautiful cosplays... I can't wait to show you! 

Sunday was pretty sparse, cosplay-wise, so we took a break to play the Escape Room in the vendor room and shop a bit more. Along the way I also took pics & video with my phone, of course, so if you missed any of my Story updates over the weekend, here come the highlights:

(Watch your volume; about halfway through there's some loud music.)

 

That dance floor is my favorite thing at Metro, because - Awkward Confession Time - I don't dance. I don't know how, and the very thought of trying makes me lock up in terror. And yet, paradoxically, I love to watch people dance! It fills up my heart in a way nothing else can, and I get the biggest, goofiest grin when I watch from the sidelines. We never linger more than a minute or two, but I try to pass by the floor as often as possible, bopping my head to the music, often laughing out loud in delight from all the infectious JOY out there.

I wish every convention had a dance floor like this. Not hidden away in some ballroom, but right smack in the open areas as you walk in. I bet folks would be less grumpy after a long wait in the ticket line if they walked in to find all the Disney princesses (and several Deadpools, of course) dancing to Backstreet Boys. Ha!

 But wait, there's more.

I have a few more pretties I didn't post in my Story!

 

Always one of my favorites. Their makeup game is FLAWLESS.

This character comes in two sizes:

:D 

I found someone shorter than me, you guys!

This metallic Princess Peach had a holographic shine to her - it was mesmerizing in person.

We also took a photo of her with flash, and I'm really curious to see how it turns out.

Oh, that's another thing: at every other con the cosplayers have business cards - lots and lots of them. But not Metro. At Metro I didn't get a single card, not even from the most professional looking cosplayers. At one point a Nott from Critical Role reached into her pouch after I'd taken her photo, and I said, "Oh! A card! You're the first one this weekend." But it wasn't a card: it was a gift. Nott gave us each a little button. (Her character collects shiny buttons.)

That interaction really encapsulates MetroCon.

(Obviously there's nothing wrong with business cards, btw, and I dearly appreciate them when I'm trying to tag cosplayers! That's just an example of how much more low-key Metro is.)

 You'll notice I'm not even trying to name most of these characters, so feel free to help me out in the comments.

 Obviously it's mostly anime cosplay at Metro, but really there's a little of everything:

 

 Gorgeous Game of Thrones group.

And here's Hiccup & Astrid from How To Train Your Dragon!

Preeeetty sure this is Taako from The Adventure Zone:

If nothing else, these photos remind me how much I love our flash photography setup, since convention floor lighting is TERRIBLE, ha.

 

 She has a tray of milk and cookies! And her shoes look like skates!

 This Skull Kid had a speaker in his mask that played a rather disturbing laugh. o.0 And check out the floating fairy ball! It was lit up, and hanging from a thin line from Link's sword.

One last little happy thing, though I'm sorry I don't have a photo:

Metro is held in the Tampa Convention Center, the same building that also hosts Tampa Comic-Con & MegaCon Tampa every year, so we're in this building a lot. For each of those other conventions, every DAY of the convention, there's always a protester or two stationed right at the street corner, right where you have to pass by on the way in from the parking garage. 

These protesters are always the hateful sort, holding signs about judgement and how wearing costumes is a sin, glaring at everyone who walks by, and generally giving religion a bad name. (There are always several cops present, too, so we've never felt threatened. Just uncomfortable.) 

But at Metro, even here we were spared: there WAS a man on the corner holding a sign, but he wasn't yelling, he was dancing. 

Yep, this white-haired, almost stuffy-looking sort of fellow was out there straight up dad-dancing to his boombox - the kind of dancing that would make any middle-schooler cringe. He was blithely singing along to the music, his face lit up with a smile, and making no effort to stop us or catch our eye. I can't remember exactly what his sign said, but it was something about grace and love.

Whatever you think about religion, I think you'll agree that's a better example of it. And combined with the way I've watched our next generations embrace each other this past weekend, celebrate their differences, be respectful, and really TRY to just be better people, it makes me hopeful for our future. Maybe they won't have all the answers, but you know what? They're going to CARE. And that's enough of a start for me.

Keep dancing, my friends. I may be the one awkwardly bopping my head to the music over here on the sidelines, but I promise I'm also the one forever cheering you on.

*****

Also stay tuned for my flash portraits!

*****
Hey did you know you can send me a tip through Paypal, or even sign up to support me monthly? That's only if you have the means and are feeling super generous, though; I promise just your being here is enough for me. I love you all, thx for hanging out with me.