Okay so I’m a slacker. I’ll deal. I haven’t had much to write on but today I had a day that gave me material. And while I’m bone tired, I still feel the need to strike while the iron’s hot.
I went to Dragon*Con today. I didn’t get a pass but as a native Atlantan I decided what the hell, might as well go and see what‘s what. It’s in my city and I like to watch. So I got up early and went down to the parade with two friends. I love the parade. It’s just a celebration of nerds doing what we do best, playing pretend. And making really cool shit. The costumes are fabulous and the crowd has a wonderfully infectious enthusiasm. It’s just a wonderful celebration of all things nerd, from Comics, to movies, to books, to realms of fantasy. If it has a fandom, it is represented, and not by people who make their livelihoods off of this but by average folks with abnormal devotion. For most of these people this something you spend all year tucking away (or so it seems more on this later) and then for one glorious weekend in September you flaunt it.
And that brings to the part of any con that just disappoints me. The supposed partying. Now I spent several summers working for an opera company out west. In a state where most people don’t drink. Our weekly themed party (we were bored and there was nothing going on in town) put the supposed craziness of con to shame. Now maybe I missed something but honestly women walking around in states undress just aren’t my thing. Sorry nope. Some of the costumes are great; some are not (more on this later). There is none of the familiarity and boredom that breeds in my opinion true debauchery, madness and generally doing crazy shit that you end up laughing about the next day. Like climbing a mountain while very intoxicated. Or craving Mc Donalds so bad that several of you pile into car drive and get and then go drive up the canyon to watch the sunrise while still drinking scotch and eating out egg mcmuffin ( by the way our driver didn’t drink but found us drunks amusing so she humored us). Or climbing up the side of a cliff and continuing after it was to dark to do so, just to watch the sunset. Or crawling under a glacier because it’s really pretty. Or watching the Northern Lights after having a few beers. Or driving down to the Grand Canyon cause, what the hell we’re close enough any way.
The other thing that strikes me, is that it seems that quite a few people play nerd for one weekend and wait a year, or if they are a full time nerd they hide it or something. Most people who know me know I game. I love it. It’s an awesome outlet and I’ve made close friends because of it. It’s not something I hide. Like my love of music and comics, I wear it on my sleeve. If you’re gonna look down on me because of it that’s your problem, not mine. It’s taken me too long to get comfy to give shit. I’ve got the people that love me, the people that like me, the people I get on with and that for me is good enough. I won’t rule new people out. But if people want to throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak, fuck em. Not worth it. So for me I guess I’m comfortable as a nerd girl and admitting it and I feel that a lot of people at con haven’t reached the fuck ‘em point. If I want to go wear a corset out, I will, normally under something (it was originally underwear thank you). At con or on Halloween I might work it into outwear but that’s not the point. The point is that I’m me and if I’m going to bother I might as well go as me. I raided my closet for a last minute costume tonight, threw something together in 30 minutes, went to con, and got complements on it. But part of it was that I was comfortable with a. being me and b. being on my own. I carried myself like I do when I’m out by myself. Like I can do you serious harm, but won’t, unless provoked. And when approach in a non threatening way, I open up to talk. And when people do engage me I think we have fun.
Also I’m not trying to hard to be all sexy nerd girl (i.e. jacking the girls up to my chin, wearing the shortest skirt possible, and wearing my corset waaay to tight or two sizes too small). Sorry ladies, know your body type. I know that me wearing a short skirt just doesn’t look good. Really I’m tall but my height’s in my torso, not my legs, so in a short skirt they look top heavy and stumpy. I also realize that my corset is and under bust corset and has no support so I gotta wear a bra.
There are women who can wear the Baroness from GI Joe’s cat suit and look hot. One of my former bosses is one such woman, I on the other hand, not so much. And that’s fine. I might want to do the Baroness, but I need to get creative with how, since the most obvious answer to that costume will be really unflattering. Or maybe I just shouldn’t do that character. Simple, find what works and make it work for you. If you’ve got the body for Princess Leia’s costume in the Return of the Jedi (y’all know which one I’m talking about) go nuts. If your like me, its not gonna look the way you want it too. So just do the costume from the first movie, or the second. Don’t do something that’s gonna make you look like shit when all you want is to look your best. Don’t sabotage your self. And sometimes how you hide stuff can make an outfit sexy as hell too.
Also there are some worlds that no matter how into you are, you don’t do. From ever thing I know which I admit is not a lot, if your not part of and MC don’t wear a cut, even if it’s from a fictional one. Seriously if the wrong people catch you wearing it, your gonna get your ass kicked. I don’t care how big a fan you are you are wearing something that to the people who live in that world is unearned. And those are emulating gang colors. Think about it. Seriously you might as well go up and punch these people in the face. Cause that’s what you’re doing. And they don’t take kindly to that. When the creator of the show tells you this is a very very very bad idea to wear a cut modeled after the ones on the show you might want to listen.
Also if you dress up as Special Forces don’t do the tats. These are things that have to be earned and mean a lot to people in that community. I was talking with an ex SEAL tonight, who was an old school steam punk enthusiast, who had seen someone dressed up as Special Forces with these tats and insignia that mean a lot to that community. He was furious. He seemed for the most part a very kind a gregarious fellow, but he had to restrain himself from causing this person harm. Cause the tats were obviously fake and therefore unearned. And the gentleman wearing them was completely unaware of the fact that this 1. Cheapened the meaning of those markings and 2. Disrespected the people he was trying to emulate. Be careful with real life things, and be respectful of the people who actually live in those worlds. Or it might end in you needing to get dentures.
Sorry that’s my soapbox I crawl up onto every time I go to a con, or a Ren Faire or hell now a days Highland games. And all the things I said above about members of my sex goes for men as well. No one wants to see some dressed up from 300 that is walking Skelton or is morbidly obese. I know this is an outlet and an anything goes type thing and maybe I’m a conservative asshat. Whatever. All I know is that I want people to know that you don’t have to show it all off to pull a hot outfit off. And please keep the girls and the boys, tucked in.
Still I’ll wander back tomorrow, with a cup of coffee and find a nice perch to watch things. However most of my day will be devoted to something near and dearer to my heart, than all things nerd, a perfectly grilled stake. Hello Meatfest, quite possibly my new favorite Labor Day tradition.
Later-C
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