Con report!
Sep. 8th, 2011 12:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
holliSo I was waiting until I had proper Internet access again to write up my time at Dragoncon, but it looks like that's not actually happening until the 15th. So phone posting it is.
So I drove down with Lizz and Shira, and the drive went surprisingly fast. We listened to music and the PoA audiobook, stopped at a roadside stand to buy peaches and cider, and generally had a good time. We got in to Atlanta around 5, checked in, and got our badges.
Badge-getting was downright MAGICAL this year, I have to say. It took about twenty minutes, most of which was spent going through the line turnstiles at top speed. Any con where I don't have to spend four hours in a sweaty ballroom to get my badge is a good con right from the start. I then wandered around in my Eleven costume for a while, which was good times.
Friday my first panel was Write a Story in an Hour, which was not what I was expecting. It turned out to be a sort of collaborative story-building, with the moderator taking suggestions from the audience to put a plot together. Also the moderator was kind of crappy- when someone suggested that a character in the steampunk story we were putting together be an escaped slave, he vetoed them on the grounds that it would "take over the story," and vetoed gay characters on the same grounds. Not cool. I ended up spending the panel getting down about 600 words of a story about witches that's been in my head for a while.
Then I went to the Buffy panel, in which Nick Brendon was kind of off-color, and a fan was really nasty to him. He shouldn't have walked offstage, but the remark she made was uncalled for.
After that, the YA lit panel, which ended up being more about middle-grade.
From there, back to the room.aria, srevans, and 10littlebullets came with me to drink wine and talk fandom, which was awesome. Thence to Klingon Karaoke-- I sang Fortunate Son-- and the Buffy singalong. Then Jen and I went to Lightspeed Dating, which was seriously a lot of talking, but fun.
Up early for the parade on Saturday, so I managed to get awesome curbside seats. Aria and Sarah met me after a bit, and we watched the parade together. It was GREAT-- so many cool groups and awesome costumes. Some of the kids' costumes were total heartbreakers. I noted that I never really want kids of my own except when I'm at con, because I get to see how fun it must be to dress them up.
The only panels I went to on Saturday were a Pratchett panel and the Doctor Who viewing. The Pratchett panel was kind of disappointing-- mostly people just naming characters and bits of Discworld that they liked, and too much time spent explaining things to one panelist who, mysteriously, had not actually read much Discworld. I need to rematch Who before I have any
Thoughts on it.
Saturday night was Jonathan Coulton, which I caught a bit of, and the Rainbow Flag Party. Both very fun. I didn't make it to Rocky Horror due to extreme tiredness.
Sunday was my Day of Panels. Went to another Pratchett panel, which was exactly what I'd been hoping for-- meaty and thoughtful. One person, who turned out to bescribe, brought up fic during the panel, so I asked her for recs once it was over. She said I should read The Brain Thief! Such an ego boost, I'm not gonna lie.
Next was Carrie Fisher withhradzka, and I must say that Carrie Fisher is awesome. Totally fearless. I asked her if she was sad to see her mom's costume collection go, and she admitted it was a bit of a relief.
Then the Torchwood commentary panel with Sarah. GDL was very funny, although I question his choice of episode. Countrycide, really? He kept going, "visit Wales, everyone!" during the unpleasant bits, which was funny.
I ended my Day of Panels with the Comics and Feminism panel, which was excellent. Someone asked the stupid question about costumes and was duly smacked down. The panelist basically advocated that we let DC and Marvel pull up the ladder to their no-girls-allowed treehouse, and make our own fun without them.
We watched the Masqueradeon on TV in the room-- the hosts were awful-- and then I got into my steampunk outfit and put in an appearance at the Time Traveler's Ball. Saw some awesome costumes, and talked comics with my match from Lightspeed Dating. Then wandered the Marriott for a while with Shira and Lizz and Meg, where I met a super-cute John Crichton cosplayer. Nothing happened, but not for lack of trying on my part.
We left early Monday, so that was my con: very fun, and full of awesome people.
So I drove down with Lizz and Shira, and the drive went surprisingly fast. We listened to music and the PoA audiobook, stopped at a roadside stand to buy peaches and cider, and generally had a good time. We got in to Atlanta around 5, checked in, and got our badges.
Badge-getting was downright MAGICAL this year, I have to say. It took about twenty minutes, most of which was spent going through the line turnstiles at top speed. Any con where I don't have to spend four hours in a sweaty ballroom to get my badge is a good con right from the start. I then wandered around in my Eleven costume for a while, which was good times.
Friday my first panel was Write a Story in an Hour, which was not what I was expecting. It turned out to be a sort of collaborative story-building, with the moderator taking suggestions from the audience to put a plot together. Also the moderator was kind of crappy- when someone suggested that a character in the steampunk story we were putting together be an escaped slave, he vetoed them on the grounds that it would "take over the story," and vetoed gay characters on the same grounds. Not cool. I ended up spending the panel getting down about 600 words of a story about witches that's been in my head for a while.
Then I went to the Buffy panel, in which Nick Brendon was kind of off-color, and a fan was really nasty to him. He shouldn't have walked offstage, but the remark she made was uncalled for.
After that, the YA lit panel, which ended up being more about middle-grade.
From there, back to the room.
aria, srevans, and 10littlebullets came with me to drink wine and talk fandom, which was awesome. Thence to Klingon Karaoke-- I sang Fortunate Son-- and the Buffy singalong. Then Jen and I went to Lightspeed Dating, which was seriously a lot of talking, but fun.Up early for the parade on Saturday, so I managed to get awesome curbside seats. Aria and Sarah met me after a bit, and we watched the parade together. It was GREAT-- so many cool groups and awesome costumes. Some of the kids' costumes were total heartbreakers. I noted that I never really want kids of my own except when I'm at con, because I get to see how fun it must be to dress them up.
The only panels I went to on Saturday were a Pratchett panel and the Doctor Who viewing. The Pratchett panel was kind of disappointing-- mostly people just naming characters and bits of Discworld that they liked, and too much time spent explaining things to one panelist who, mysteriously, had not actually read much Discworld. I need to rematch Who before I have any
Thoughts on it.
Saturday night was Jonathan Coulton, which I caught a bit of, and the Rainbow Flag Party. Both very fun. I didn't make it to Rocky Horror due to extreme tiredness.
Sunday was my Day of Panels. Went to another Pratchett panel, which was exactly what I'd been hoping for-- meaty and thoughtful. One person, who turned out to be
scribe, brought up fic during the panel, so I asked her for recs once it was over. She said I should read The Brain Thief! Such an ego boost, I'm not gonna lie.Next was Carrie Fisher with
hradzka, and I must say that Carrie Fisher is awesome. Totally fearless. I asked her if she was sad to see her mom's costume collection go, and she admitted it was a bit of a relief.Then the Torchwood commentary panel with Sarah. GDL was very funny, although I question his choice of episode. Countrycide, really? He kept going, "visit Wales, everyone!" during the unpleasant bits, which was funny.
I ended my Day of Panels with the Comics and Feminism panel, which was excellent. Someone asked the stupid question about costumes and was duly smacked down. The panelist basically advocated that we let DC and Marvel pull up the ladder to their no-girls-allowed treehouse, and make our own fun without them.
We watched the Masqueradeon on TV in the room-- the hosts were awful-- and then I got into my steampunk outfit and put in an appearance at the Time Traveler's Ball. Saw some awesome costumes, and talked comics with my match from Lightspeed Dating. Then wandered the Marriott for a while with Shira and Lizz and Meg, where I met a super-cute John Crichton cosplayer. Nothing happened, but not for lack of trying on my part.
We left early Monday, so that was my con: very fun, and full of awesome people.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-08 05:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-08 07:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-09 01:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-09 03:29 am (UTC)It made me want to do a feminist panel next year, if you can believe that. (I would probably call it "feminism for non-feminists.")
no subject
Date: 2011-09-09 05:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-09 01:46 am (UTC)I asked her if she was sad to see her mom's costume collection go, and she admitted it was a bit of a relief.
That was you! I watched that panel on TV!
We were also at the GDL commentary thing. Honestly, I'm glad he did Countrycide rather than, say, Cyberwoman. I was also at his panel Friday, and he says he's a big horror fan, so I wasn't surprised with the choice.