Nanashi Jones (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
nanashi_jones) wrote2021-09-12 01:44 pm
nanashi_jones) wrote2021-09-12 01:44 pm
Entry tags:
What a Ride
Back from a month of travel and PEOPLE. Holy shit. There were so many people.
Going to Seattle to face-to-face meet Geson and Jason (yep, learned that like I got slapped in the face with a fish), and experience my first Friendship is Magic convention. Genuinely loved it, though not for the reasons the boys probably did. I found there what I found in the show: the offer of community, the belief in harmony. And magical foci. Of course my Tarot and a new shielding bracelet come from FiM. Of course!
I think if I'd done Dragon*Con first, I would've been more outgoing, more social at the con. Certainly more willing to mingle. But, it was my first socializing, so I hugged the wall like my life depended on it. Because, in some ways, it did.
Not happy with how much I spent for food there. Good grief, but Geson didn't help with all their new dietary hang ups. Did my best to be patient, but I know I stepped on their toes once or twice because I was just fed up with the passive "do what I wanna do even though I said I'd be fine with us splitting up once or twice."
Seriously. The trip, while good for my exposure to pony conventions and the community there, was actually pretty hazardous to my relationship with Geson. Rather than getting to know him better, I more got to know him worse. I found he didn't just lean on me because he was stressed, he used me as an emotional crutch to the exception of a longer friend in Jason. Which makes me suspect he does the same with Stephanie and Bevin a lot.
I talked about the experience with Jessica when I got back, and she agreed that I needed to scale back being his big support. Friendship should be a two way street, not a one way dumping ground to support someone with a masculine background who is more than capable of learning how to manage emotional labor on his own.
I haven't talked with him since, and while I suspect part of that is his own limited social battery recharging, I bet he picked up on some of my hostility toward the end. Goddess knows I was in full Being Polite With The In-Laws mode. But I may just be over-thinking. I'll wait. See how long it takes for me to feel like reaching out on my own, and then go from there.
Fortunately, I didn't have to dwell on that for too long with Labyrinth of Jareth right after Everfree Northwest.
If EFNW was the tip toeing back into geeky society, LoJ was the total cannonball. Ugh. Just. We needed it. We both did. It was... such magic. The Pavilion tickets were really appreciated, even if not that much was available at the time- but I can see where Gabe's taking it. Give him three years or so to build it up, and we'll go again. Still, they gave Jess the chance to dance with her big time crush: Ser Angelique Rockwood. Twice! Heck, even I got a spin in my honkin' big ballgown. She was most gracious while I plodded along.
Of course I gave her a night flower. OF COURSE.
Actually. Seeing everyone's reactions to my little bits of the Night was nice. It was more of the magic of the weekend, kindling their wonder with a few well-placed words. I even got to drip a little magic in Kiri's ear, which made me super proud. Especially as we both had to lean in to share words- nice to have a familiar face who struggles to hear in loud places.
The weekend's a blur of such wonder. The goblin court, the improved Sparkles the Dragon, An'Havia... sigh Every time we go, it's like drinking a little more from that pure magical fountain we both go to. Not just in practical magic, but creativity and play and wonder. Oh, so much wonder and such whimsy.
I interacted a lot this year. Striking up conversations with characters left and right! I think it helped that I was restricted in my movements, and that our attendance count was lower. It made it easier to approach folks and mingle with the Sypher Court. I even got pictures of lots of their artifacts from over the years. Truly, after this year, I'm even MORE pumped to go back next year.
Hopefully, with my big honkin' ballgown adjusted so I can actually dance in it. I owe a decent waltz to Ser Rockwood.
Los Angeles itself was the usual background blip. Moreso thanks to the pandemic keeping us from dining in as much. We still got a lovely meal outside one day, and that was very very good.
Wish it hadn't involved so much flying. Gods. The convention and masquerade themselves were fine- maybe not perfect, but fine. The airports and the planes and the flying and eating and fucking pressurized masks thanks to the pressure drop and face seal- oof. I hates flying. Hates it to pieces.
Glad we didn't have to fly to Dragon*Con. It was enough of its own trial without the added layer of going through Hartsfield and another airport.
Instead, we ended up having a very chill D*Con by comparison to our usual years. No less fruitful and fun. I was surprised when I pulled on my 13th Doctor so much, and that I got into Ghost-Spider at all!
Jess, of course, looked amazing in all her cosplay/outfits, but her Torchsinger TARDIS. Gods. Damn. That Torchsinger TARDIS. She looked amazing. Absolutely full stop amazing. Every time she puts together another costume, she looks more and more impressive and this one was no exception. Next thing she makes might actually knock me fully out.
We also found that due to us holding our line of quality, a lot of the people who usually show up for con, didn't it, so our relative skill rose to the top. I can't remember ever getting so many pictures.
I also am done with not being good at a feminine voice. Any time I strap on Ghost-Spider, I get clocked. I'm sick of it. I hate that I want a more feminine voice, hate that I get called dude unless I use it or am not wearing a mask. And it's ALWAYS AT DRAGON*CON WHEN I WANT TO BE RECOGNIZED AS A LADY THE MOST.
I didn't have this problem in LoJ! Better quality of attendee, I wager.
So, I need to look up vocal coaches. Wee. Jess helped me with some of it, but it's gonna take a lot of practice to remember her guidance. I'm up for it. I want to be recognized for who I am.
Aside from vocal issues, it was a good con. We stayed in our hotel room, unless we were getting food or going out to a specific panel or activity. We had a few folks over (one of whom tested positive for Covid, so we had to go get tested too; sigh), we watched DragonCon TV. We relaxed.
And Jess bought me a lightsaber.
*squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*
It's got a purple "blade" and it's perfect and I looooooooove it!
I love her. I'm so glad she's in my life.
Wish I could say it was total happy ending, but like the covid testing we had to get done, Jess came down with a case of hotel crud- that head cold/allergy like whammy that gets her when she stays in a less-than-clean hotel. It's kicking her ass good, and just got a buddy by her cramps kicking in. Ooof, she is getting it with both barrels. I'm doing what I can to take care of her, because of course I'm fine. OF COURSE.
It was a good year. I most likely won't be doing EFNW with it being so close to every literal thing else, but LoJ and Dragon*Con? Looking better and better with every trip.
Going to Seattle to face-to-face meet Geson and Jason (yep, learned that like I got slapped in the face with a fish), and experience my first Friendship is Magic convention. Genuinely loved it, though not for the reasons the boys probably did. I found there what I found in the show: the offer of community, the belief in harmony. And magical foci. Of course my Tarot and a new shielding bracelet come from FiM. Of course!
I think if I'd done Dragon*Con first, I would've been more outgoing, more social at the con. Certainly more willing to mingle. But, it was my first socializing, so I hugged the wall like my life depended on it. Because, in some ways, it did.
Not happy with how much I spent for food there. Good grief, but Geson didn't help with all their new dietary hang ups. Did my best to be patient, but I know I stepped on their toes once or twice because I was just fed up with the passive "do what I wanna do even though I said I'd be fine with us splitting up once or twice."
Seriously. The trip, while good for my exposure to pony conventions and the community there, was actually pretty hazardous to my relationship with Geson. Rather than getting to know him better, I more got to know him worse. I found he didn't just lean on me because he was stressed, he used me as an emotional crutch to the exception of a longer friend in Jason. Which makes me suspect he does the same with Stephanie and Bevin a lot.
I talked about the experience with Jessica when I got back, and she agreed that I needed to scale back being his big support. Friendship should be a two way street, not a one way dumping ground to support someone with a masculine background who is more than capable of learning how to manage emotional labor on his own.
I haven't talked with him since, and while I suspect part of that is his own limited social battery recharging, I bet he picked up on some of my hostility toward the end. Goddess knows I was in full Being Polite With The In-Laws mode. But I may just be over-thinking. I'll wait. See how long it takes for me to feel like reaching out on my own, and then go from there.
Fortunately, I didn't have to dwell on that for too long with Labyrinth of Jareth right after Everfree Northwest.
If EFNW was the tip toeing back into geeky society, LoJ was the total cannonball. Ugh. Just. We needed it. We both did. It was... such magic. The Pavilion tickets were really appreciated, even if not that much was available at the time- but I can see where Gabe's taking it. Give him three years or so to build it up, and we'll go again. Still, they gave Jess the chance to dance with her big time crush: Ser Angelique Rockwood. Twice! Heck, even I got a spin in my honkin' big ballgown. She was most gracious while I plodded along.
Of course I gave her a night flower. OF COURSE.
Actually. Seeing everyone's reactions to my little bits of the Night was nice. It was more of the magic of the weekend, kindling their wonder with a few well-placed words. I even got to drip a little magic in Kiri's ear, which made me super proud. Especially as we both had to lean in to share words- nice to have a familiar face who struggles to hear in loud places.
The weekend's a blur of such wonder. The goblin court, the improved Sparkles the Dragon, An'Havia... sigh Every time we go, it's like drinking a little more from that pure magical fountain we both go to. Not just in practical magic, but creativity and play and wonder. Oh, so much wonder and such whimsy.
I interacted a lot this year. Striking up conversations with characters left and right! I think it helped that I was restricted in my movements, and that our attendance count was lower. It made it easier to approach folks and mingle with the Sypher Court. I even got pictures of lots of their artifacts from over the years. Truly, after this year, I'm even MORE pumped to go back next year.
Hopefully, with my big honkin' ballgown adjusted so I can actually dance in it. I owe a decent waltz to Ser Rockwood.
Los Angeles itself was the usual background blip. Moreso thanks to the pandemic keeping us from dining in as much. We still got a lovely meal outside one day, and that was very very good.
Wish it hadn't involved so much flying. Gods. The convention and masquerade themselves were fine- maybe not perfect, but fine. The airports and the planes and the flying and eating and fucking pressurized masks thanks to the pressure drop and face seal- oof. I hates flying. Hates it to pieces.
Glad we didn't have to fly to Dragon*Con. It was enough of its own trial without the added layer of going through Hartsfield and another airport.
Instead, we ended up having a very chill D*Con by comparison to our usual years. No less fruitful and fun. I was surprised when I pulled on my 13th Doctor so much, and that I got into Ghost-Spider at all!
Jess, of course, looked amazing in all her cosplay/outfits, but her Torchsinger TARDIS. Gods. Damn. That Torchsinger TARDIS. She looked amazing. Absolutely full stop amazing. Every time she puts together another costume, she looks more and more impressive and this one was no exception. Next thing she makes might actually knock me fully out.
We also found that due to us holding our line of quality, a lot of the people who usually show up for con, didn't it, so our relative skill rose to the top. I can't remember ever getting so many pictures.
I also am done with not being good at a feminine voice. Any time I strap on Ghost-Spider, I get clocked. I'm sick of it. I hate that I want a more feminine voice, hate that I get called dude unless I use it or am not wearing a mask. And it's ALWAYS AT DRAGON*CON WHEN I WANT TO BE RECOGNIZED AS A LADY THE MOST.
I didn't have this problem in LoJ! Better quality of attendee, I wager.
So, I need to look up vocal coaches. Wee. Jess helped me with some of it, but it's gonna take a lot of practice to remember her guidance. I'm up for it. I want to be recognized for who I am.
Aside from vocal issues, it was a good con. We stayed in our hotel room, unless we were getting food or going out to a specific panel or activity. We had a few folks over (one of whom tested positive for Covid, so we had to go get tested too; sigh), we watched DragonCon TV. We relaxed.
And Jess bought me a lightsaber.
*squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*
It's got a purple "blade" and it's perfect and I looooooooove it!
I love her. I'm so glad she's in my life.
Wish I could say it was total happy ending, but like the covid testing we had to get done, Jess came down with a case of hotel crud- that head cold/allergy like whammy that gets her when she stays in a less-than-clean hotel. It's kicking her ass good, and just got a buddy by her cramps kicking in. Ooof, she is getting it with both barrels. I'm doing what I can to take care of her, because of course I'm fine. OF COURSE.
It was a good year. I most likely won't be doing EFNW with it being so close to every literal thing else, but LoJ and Dragon*Con? Looking better and better with every trip.