C: We went to Comic-Con for the first time recently.
A: We went to the one down in London, back in October.
C: Yeah; we went mainly because we wanted to see the cast from the D&D show Critical Role, who were over in the UK for the first time ever. And seeing them was incredible.
A: I don’t think the organisers of the con were prepared for how many Critical Role fans would descend on them. I know that we like the show, so it’s natural that we’d noticed other Critters more, but you couldn’t move without seeing Vexes and Percys or Fjords and Jesters; they were everywhere.
C: And the seating for the main stage was packed hours before the CR cast arrived. Like, you’re welcome The Last Kingdom and Slaughter School 5, or whatever that film was called, for the fact a four digit number of people crammed into the auditorium for your stuff because CR was on after you and none of us wanted to risk losing our seats.
A: But—aside from the fact I spent the entire time dying for the loo because, as you said, if you left your seat, you lost that seat—seeing CR live was great, and even if the rest of the con had been awful, it would still have been worth it.
C: CR live was such a treat. But the rest of the con was good too. I’m going to be totally honest here—I have friends in the UK and the US, and they love—
A: I thought for a minute you were just saying, ‘I have friends.’
C: I have friends. I definitely have friends.
A: No one can say that you do not have friends.
C: I have a lot of friends who love the con-life, but I’d never been to one before, and I didn’t really get it. I just thought they weren’t for me—I’ve never cosplayed, and I didn’t have any burning desire to try cosplaying.
A: ‘Cosplay’ is just short for ‘costume player’, right?
C: I—let me double-check.
[Googling]
C: Cosplay is a portmanteau of the words ‘costume’ and ‘play’. I must say, costume play sounds a little different—a little more formal, a little more spooky.
A: I can’t believe you spelled it wrong and Google had to correct you. Even I know there isn’t a space in it.
C: No, I put a space because I wanted the meaning, not—look, I know how to spell cosplay; I’m hip. I’m with it. Anyway, I have never cosplayed before, but after going to Comic-Con, that would totally change. One of the things I was thinking about a lot on my way out was basically ‘oh, this is what I’d do for my sweet Caleb costume.’
A: Caleb would be quite a good character for a beginner cosplayer. And maybe Taako—we saw some really good Taakos who didn’t look too complicated. Anyone else might be beyond us.
C: True. Holy shit, there were some amazing costumes. There were good costumes and then there were fucking incredible costumes. I wish I knew more about the etiquette amongst con people—connies? Con-heads? Con-boys?
A: Con-artists.
C: The etiquette about costumes-congratulations. Like, look: I’m a big, loud dumbass and if you’re in my presence, you’ll learn that the hard way.
A: It’s true.
C: But everyone in their costumes were so cool and I didn’t want to seem abrasive so I didn’t compliment anyone, even when their costumes were incredible. I don’t know if people are okay being approached, or if they think, ‘I’m doing this for me; I don’t need to know other people’s opinions on my kick-ass costume.’
A: I guess next time, if you dress up, you can find out.
C: True.
A: I realise that, much as I would love to cosplay, I don’t think I have the artistic talent to construct a costume.
C: An old friend of mine is, like, a cosplay fiend, so if you ever want learn tips, I could reach out to her.
A: I do. I want all that cosplay knowledge.
C: She did a mean Nott.
A: That’s cool. But to return to the con-etiquette, I think that everyone we interacted with or saw at Comic-Con was a positive, friendly person, so I feel like even if they didn’t need your cosplay-compliments, they wouldn’t take offence.
C: The community—especially amongst the CR fans—was fucking incredible. Everyone was so supportive of each other.
A: Yeah, I guess my takeaway from Comic-Con would be…what a lovely experience. I would definitely recommend it to other people. Though don’t forget to bring lots of money if you want to buy any of the beautiful artwork—I was too poor to buy anything this time round.
C: Agreed. Bring on Edinburgh Comic-Con 2019! We’ll cosplay, we’ll buy artwork…I’m hyped already. My final takeaway is about the Yasha who sat next to me and stabbed me with her sword at one point. I will direct this to her, specifically. I think you were really embarrassed about it, but genuinely, it was lovely to meet you and your sword is so cool.
A: ‘Dude, one time Yasha stabbed me with her sword. Best. Day. Ever.’
C: Legitimately though, yeah.
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