I was tagged by plutitor RULES: Rule 1: Always post the rules Rule 2: Answer the questions the person who tagged you asked and then write your own 10 questions Rule 3: Tag 10 people and link them to the post Rule 4: Actually tell the people you tagged that you tagged plutitor’s questions: 1) what is your favorite toothpaste/mouthwash flavor peppermint always and forever 2) who is your same gender crush k flay always and forever 3) if you can be reborn into animal, what would it be some non migratory bird 4) do you like personal questions YES 5) favorite clothing store i dont remember 6) if you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be India 7) dream college or dream job Neurobiology 8) how long is/was your longest friendship relationship like, life. i think. idk 9) when is your birthday January ninth 10) what age do you think is appropriate to lose your virginity (male and female) well shit whenever you feel comfortable with it and have a comfortable and willing person to do it with MY QUESTIONS: 1) Favorite color? 2) What is your preferred form of jewelry? 3) Chrome or Firefox? 4) Do you believe in a religion? 5) What is your stance on universal pronouns? 6) Kinks? 7) Will you play with my wiggle stick? 8) Do you listen to "We Dem Boyz" on a regular basis? 9) How badly do you want to suck a dick right now 10) When will you sign up to join the skeleton army?
Here is my long post about Dashcon. Sit back and start the drinking...
warning: I swear a fuckton. also if you were tagged in this and know other people who should have been, feel free to reblog and add them.
Hi. My name is Sarah, I'm twenty-four years old and I attended Dashcon '14.
I fully expect people to throw hate at me but honestly I'm just sorry you feel that way. Let's start story time anyway.
When I first heard about Dashcon my first reaction was definitely doubt. "I appreciate Tumblr, but a convention for it? Really? And it's a fan-run convention? Oh boy." Anyway I had friends going and I told them I'd consider it. Then I heard:
Welcome to Night Vale would be doing a live show.
Um yes, I will happily hang out with my friends, meet talented individuals to support them in their love, and see the people who created something that has given me amusement. I was even willing to pre-register for the show and the q&a because I wanted to know I'd be able to sit ('n' Spin). Whatever. THIS IS NOT THE POINT.
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Some things to know about me:
I'm very caring. My mother was in the medical field and I take after her quite a bit. She was also the person who cultivated my love of reading and learning and nerdhood and just helped make me the person I am today.
I have no biological siblings but I have so many friends that are so close to me that I think of them and call them my siblings.
If you are clearly upset I will do my very best to cheer you up even at my own expense because honestly, your happiness is important me. God that sounds really, um, dumb but it's honestly how I feel about everything.
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I came to the convention as a part of the International Cosplay Corps. We are a group that attends cons prepared to help people - if their cosplay has malfunctioned, if they forgot Kleenex, if you need a safety pin, all that - we are on the scene to assist those in need no matter what.
This was my first convention since joining a week before; honestly it was a last minute thing, I had never done any sort of cosplay before, and I decided it was an investment into a costume that I would love to continue for cons in the future. I also thought that as a smaller convention it would be a good way to do some research about what I would need for said future cons.
We have context, now we skip this shitshow* to the end and my opinions and analysis:
*One of the friends I stayed with this weekend had a great portmanteau that she used to describe it, but I liked shitshow because it was pretty entertaining to watch but I definitely didn't want to get too close to the action. Also I can't remember exactly what the portmanteau was.
Yes, the organising of the convention itself was pretty much a mess, and if this does happen next year I hope that the staff really do learn from how fucked up this was. Basically: less money, mo' problems.
No, I did not donate any money when they gathered all of us in the hall for DashProm. I spent most of my time in there feeling incredulous (a leftover feeling from when I saw the original post about the incident) and comforting people who were sobbing their hearts out. I had also left all of my money in the room when I went downstairs and when I went upstairs I was too stressed out myself to do anything but lay in bed and read.
Yes, I'm sad WTNV didn't happen. (see: the non-Night Vale panel, Welcome To Night Fail, etc.) Obviously I was pissed at first, and I'm grumpy still but I don't have the emotional availability to care about everything and hate people for shit that just...it happened, okay. Dumb shit happened. I have no words for this.
YES, APPARENTLY SOMEONE PEED IN THE BALLPIT.
NO, IT WASN'T ME.
Yes, the EXTRA HOUR IN THE BALLPIT was an absolute fucking joke. I found out when I was driving friends home that it wasn't owned by anyone on staff for the con. This honestly stunned me more than anything that happened this weekend because just...someone basically bought a inflated pool and hella balls and then staff was like "yeah spend more time in it" but what about the person who actually owned it, were they consulted first? This is one area I'm very unknowledgable about, but that's my opinion. I would love to know more, though.
Speaking of AN EXTRA HOUR IN THE BALLPIT, I didn't even bother with the ballpit in the slightest. I meant to go and demand (yes, demand) my money back instead, but I got distracted and suddenly the con was over. I have decided to take this as a fee for a hard lesson learned and whatever. I sincerely hope that all of the extra money they took in this weekend gets donated to charity and not towards next year. Because [insert "what did DashCon really spend the $17,000 on" jokes] are hilarious but seriously, charity.
Also, what did I win in the raffle, huh?
DID ANYONE WIN ANYTHING IN THE RAFFLE.
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But you know what I did win this weekend?
I met a hell of a lot of people that I absolutely adored. I may not be interested in all of their interests, but I loved their personalities and the various incidents that occurred bonded us together. WE EXPERIENCED DASHCON '14.
I attended a total of two panels: the Night Vale reading and "Agents of SHIELD: Level 1", both on Saturday and in that order on the schedule. We all know about the first one, and the staff who put on the SHIELD panel were awesome. I went in not knowing exactly what to expect, not to mention having angry Night Vale feelings, but I came out feeling better and happier.
HOWEVER
You know where I had the most fun? In the hallways, interacting wtih people, making memories and playing card games (AND WEREWOLVES - IF YOU PLAYED WEREWOLVES WITH US AND THE SMILING GODS PLEASE SAY HI AND POST YOUR PICTURES AND REACTIONS UNDER THE TAGS "everybodydies" and "Icameheretodie" - WE ARE FOREVER A VILLAGE). It was basically just a giant ass-meetup. I'll probably forget names and faces but I'll always remember things that we would never have done at home facing our keyboards.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, because god bless computers.
And I even had fun in the non-Night Vale panel, because I made friends with people who were stuck in the same sinking boat as I was and we enjoyed each others' company.
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I am really sick of the people who are saying "ew you went to dashcon what's wrong with you" (an actual ask a friend I made at the con received). No one has said this to me yet, and honestly my friends have been concerned about my wellbeing rather than judging me for trying something new, so it's nice to know that I do surround myself with people who are caring.
One post I regularly see on my dash is (generalised): "PEOPLE WHO ARE *SEXUAL ORIENTATION* AREN'T *insert adjective here*" The one currently coming to mind is "just because someone's asexual doesn't mean they don't flirt or find people attractive or have feelings".
Want to know the reason? At one point in a Werewolves game a player casually mentioned they were asexual, and at least four other people in our group exclaimed "YOU'RE ACE?! ME TOO!" and that brought me so much joy. There is so much hate about this topic nowadays and it was wonderful to see people finding others who cared about them and knew what they were going through and could connect.
And let me tell you I did nothing but flirt with the player who announced this fact first because they were an absolute delight. (And the flirting definitely started hours before they said anything.) To this person,
(I apparently don't have a winking gif, but this is just as good.)
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I also am kinda absolutely pissed about this person I walked past Saturday night who was shitting on SuperWhoLockians to their friend.
FIRST OF ALL, you knew what to expect when you decided to attend - THIS WAS FREAKING DASHCON. Second of all, you were wearing a piece of apparel that has become a meme so you just needed to stop talking shit about other people at the con anyway. I'm not personally a SuperWhoLockian, I have been part of each fandom separately at some point, but I can't hate someone for something they want to believe in. If it helps you cope with the world, brings you happiness, whatever.
YOU DO YOU.
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So, thank you new friends and old. I want to keep in touch with all of you and be safe so I don't have to cry. Because when you cry, I cry. And I love you. Honest to the Smiling God.
Hateful people, do your worst. But thanks for reading!
