So! Post con thoughts!!
First off, I will be making a con compilation video soon so look out for that! More pictures! Videos too! You’ll get to see me doing Emmet Karaoke and also the cosplay fashion show :) I’ll rehash this post in the video as well
But okay!
First off, I want to say I’ve had more fun than i can ever remember having this weekend. The reception to my cosplay and everything I did this weekend was... Astounding. I expected a handful of people to enjoy my cosplay and know who i was. Maybe more to know “hey that pokemon black and white train guy!” (Actual comment i heard)
But no. I got 100+ people commenting and asking for pictures and freaking out about my cosplay (and posters). In the registration line, several people told me they loved me. Today, one person said “HEY! My friend Emmet! Wait nevermind that’s weird you don’t know me.” (that cracked me up) Several people had me pose with plushies or props they had! People freaked OUT when they saw me, and today I got MULTIPLE PEOPLE saying they were searching for me all day after hearing about me yesterday. When I did find Ingos, and we did the pose, so many people wanted pictures. It was awesome!! There’s got to be SO MANY pics floating around out there!
The first Ingo I found was a fan of my fanfics. That was an INSANE feeling, meeting someone who was a fan of me. I also met an author that I’ve been enjoying the works of, which was almost equally as wild! Fun fun time, there (we’ll both be going to another con at the same time, totally gonna meet up there.)
The flyers were such a hit. People cracked UP when I handed them to them. One person SHOUTED “NOOOOOO!” loudly in the artist alley. They were one of the artists. There were groups who crowded around and read it aloud. The line “we are different people” SENT THEM. Three people said they’d frame it. The mask was another thing that people loved! They thought it was wonderful! My con badge also said I AM EMMET and so did the LED badge I pinned to my lanyard. Those who noticed the triplicate thought it was hilarious. Glad it wasn’t overkill like I’d thought!
Now, I will say I was a bit bummed there was not one single HINT of submas merch ANYWHERE in artist alley. OF COURSE this isn’t the artists’ faults, duh, I just wish I would’ve seen some! I had submas fans asking me if I’d found anything, and nothing. Had to tell several folks the pins and keychains I had were all bought beforehand!
One artist in the artist alley asked me to keep a lookout for Ingo merch for their little sister, who apparently loves Ingo to pieces. I found nothing, but gave the artist a flyer to pass along, and they took a pic of me holding it :) They said I’d make her day, which was such a good feeling.
Even after the con, folks on discords (that I wasn’t in at the time!) were talking about the “Emmet cosplayer with the missing posters.” Someone else on tumblr complimented the Emmet cosplayer while we were chatting, all the while unaware that I was the person who was in that cosplay!
That’s the core of it, really. While cosplaying and having people interact with me gives me free serotonin, it’s because I fuckin love making people smile. The amount of days I apparently made is.... a lot!! I did that! I made people smile! People posted pictures on twitter yelling over getting to meet me! I just... brought joy to people. And that is an immensely good feeling.
Aside from all that, I had a photoshoot in the Boston subway system (aka the T). I was quite lucky the con was in a location with its own stop! My wonderful photographer was happy to go down there for a shoot. It was even on the Green Line, just like the one Ingo runs. So me pretending to put up missing posters there will be extra evocative. :) I’ll post those pics, and the ones from the photo room at the con, as soon as I get them! :D
I learned a few things that I’m going to incorporate into my writing as well! Like how even if you are a different color, even if you are LABELED IN 3 PLACES! People will still get you and your twin confused. And how even if you’ve been doing the same pose all day, sometimes you will almost run into the person you’re standing next to in an attempt to get to the right position. And sometimes you’ll forget for a moment and face the person you’re SUPPOSED to be posing back-to-back to like a dummy.
Fun way to do fic research, I guess! Live as the character(s) for a few days! :D
So now that this con is over.... Now what?? What happens next? Well, aside from having to go back to work (boo), I have a lot of plans. There are some locations in the area where I eventually want to have some photoshoots. I’ll be going to Vancouver and might be bringing my cosplay along, and I definitely want to go to NYC soon. For cons, Connecticon is coming up, and Fan Expo Boston is as well! Along with some smaller Massachusetts cons and ones in the surrounding areas that I might hit up :) Unless my life takes a verrry sudden detour or my outfit gets completely ruined, I will be cosplaying Emmet at all these events.
But until then...
I’m planning on taking a few of each version of the posters and sticking them in the Boston subway and seeing what happens. It’s obviously just a silly thing, so no one will be bothered sfjslfghsfhgj I wanna see if anyone takes the tear tabs. If you’re in Boston and find one, you get a free doodle from me.
Until my next con this summer! If anyone’s going to Connecticon, let me know! I can’t wait to go do this all over again :)
(Post mostly written on Sunday, May 29 2022)