Road to Dragon*con

I have always described my first convention trip as an "Otaku Pilgrimage". It was 2003 and I was only fifteen. The convention was Animazement, only two hours from my house. My best friend and I had somehow convinced our mothers to take us.

It was incredible.

I had never been at anything like it. That weekend cemented in my mind that I would continue to take these various treks across the country to visit these large gatherings of like-minded geeks.

Of course obstacles have jumped in the way during these years of convention going. Whether it be financial, unsupportive parents, or just be a moment in time when I am completely unwillinging to submit myself to be around those people; there have been so many things that have hindered me from getting to a lot of conventions or even just the ones I really want to be at.

This year I am going to try something a bit different. I am going to potentially ditch all conventions just so I can go to what is presumably the mecca of geekdom in the South East: Dragon*Con.

For the past five years I have been trying to get to this convention. At first, I was a bit wary about attending - especially before I was 21. It did not seem like the convention would be for me if I was not of age, but also I did not want to be surrounded by a large crowd of drunk and naked people (and by no means am I a prude).

Now, I'm 23 - will be 24 before Dragon*Con - and being around drunk and naked people just seems FUN. Maybe I will be one of those drunk and/or naked people. Anime conventions are becoming a bit juvenile in my opinion. The young crowd runs around yelling their heads off while shouting out of date internet memes while the older crowd backstabs each other at costume contests and whatnot. Don't get me wrong, I can not completely give up on anime conventions. Dragon*Con does not seem a welcoming place for anime and gaming. Anime will always be something I enjoy watching and going to the conventions is one of the few places I can share that love with others, wearing costumes from the series that I love so much.

But I am still an adult now. I still want to do adult things at conventions. I want to have fun and I want to party. I want conventions to be my escape from my existence in my small, rural town in the South. I want to make up for the years in college when I did not really party.

Dragon*Con seems the perfect place to do that.
It seems like some four day costume party for adults and that is exactly what I need in my life.

Getting to Dragon*Con is not easy for me. With the adult crowd comes the adult prices. The pass is incredibly expensive in my opinion and so are the hotels which, by the way, sell out as soon as the reservations open. Also, I would pretty much be alone at Dragon*Con as I would probably drive the six hours to Atlanta alone and do not typically have one friend and/or significant other that I can spend countless hours with during the convention.

Despite all those little setbacks, I have to get to the convention this year. I would kick myself if I went another year without going - especially with the looming doom of 2012 and the end of the world coming.

I am, also, very very tired of hearing everyone talk about how awesome the convention is. I would rather experience it for myself so that I can make my own assessment of it.

So, here I am again. Planning yet another Dragon*Con. Hopefully this year I will go through with attending. Here is my potential costume list:

Baby Doll from Sucker Punch, a movie which will possibly prove to be very popular amongst the female population of conventions this year. And rightly so. The designs for the movie are spectacular. The trailers are visual orgasms of all kinds of action motifs that movie goers want to see. Now, lets hope the movie does not suck.

Robin from the line of Ame Comi DC statues. Ame Comi is not becoming as popular as I wish it would, but there have been several cosplayers that have created some Ame Comi statue costumes - mostly Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. The Robin version not only has the Boy Wonder genderbended into the Girl Wonder, but is also a very flirty and ridiculously cute costume design


Sally from SyFy's Being Human. The costume is remarkably easy if I could find a sweater exactly like the one she is wearing. I basically want something comfortable to run around it and see how many people notice me. Maybe even crash some Twilight related shoots looking for Aiden.

So, as I prepare for this convention I can only hope that everything pans out. It seems that I am having a difficult time this year and I can only chalk it up to finally crossing over in the adult world.