When a Plan Comes Together, MTAC 2018
Another squad convention trip in the books, and what an adventure this one was. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by so much love and so many wonderful people. It is no easy thing to find people who you can be yourself around. Not only be yourself around, but leap right into hanging out irl after getting to know each other online.
The convention itself merely served as backdrop for our good times, with this year being one of the most unremarkable years of MTAC I’ve ever experienced. One merely needs to step into a Vic Mignongna panel about his Star Trek fan series at noon on a Friday to realize that perhaps some of the regulars in the convention scene are out of touch. Not just when it comes to content and fan interest, but fashion as well. If you saw Vic’s uncomfortably tight purple jeans, adorned in black flames and green skulls...you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Our Team Skull group was decided upon less than two months before the con and for it to all come together so smoothly (not without 4 AM cosplay crafting the night before, of course) was really cool. I’ve never had such a good time cosplaying. Even though my Guzma jacket didn’t arrive on time, I had a gang of badasses to distract from my inaccuracies. Seriously, how lovely is this squad? Damn.
Having great friends who you can keep it 100% real with is a very freeing feeling. Witnessing people who have had to put up walls because of what they’ve experienced in the past shed their defenses and be accepted wholeheartedly by people who love them is genuinely one of the greatest things you can experience in a friendship. To see it happen to a whole big group of people is even more amazing.
This experience, much like my trip to AnimeFest last year, has given me some much needed perspective. I’m reminded why I want to keep working hard and pushing forward.
I’ve said it before, but I wanted to become a lighthouse of sorts, bringing in those who were wandering, lost, or somewhere in between. As I see my friends come together and walk away with positive experiences and outlooks, I am starting to feel like I’ve found something that had been missing for a long time.
It’s hard to say goodbye, especially when I feel like I’m a better version of myself when surrounded by these friends, but I’m inspired and determined to work hard so that I can bridge that distance between us once again.
