Kawaii Kon Memories

 A week ago (couple weeks ago ... who knows, I write slow and don't spend time to editing) was Kawaii Kon - an annual 3-day event celebrating anime, manga, comics, movies, and well all sorts of other geeky stuff. Well, used to be annually, but you know. Anyways, it was back in-person, and after attending for ... mostly a full day (and not having anything new to write at the moment) and to break from my usual writing, I decided to write about this year's event as well as what ever is left of my memories of past ones too, like a memorial. Mostly though, I'm lazy and don't want to write. Okay, I want to write, I don't want to work.

We're going to take this, I guess, from Friday afternoon where I headed over to the Convention Center after work. Aiming to get there around 5:30pm or so, I didn't have much hope of doing a lot that day. All I planned to do was pick-up my badge, look around the sales floor for a bit, and get some autographs (not for me, but a co-worker who wanted stuff signed but didn't want to catch the COVID). Mistake, of course, as parking was full so I hid my car at Ala Moana and walked over. I got in line to pick up my badge at 5:45pm. And, if you went or know anyone who did, then you know about the line everyone stood in. For the next hour and a half, I trudged through the snaking line until I finally got my badge. The first step complete, I raced (walked slightly faster) inside hoping that Robbie Daymond was still signing autographs (one of the other guests cancelled and the other's autograph time ended while I stood in line). Luckily for me (by that I mean luckily for my co-worker) he was still there. Unfortunately for both of us, I have no idea who Robbie Daymond is. I guess now is also a good time to mention I've never gotten an autograph before. So, as Daymond is signing and talking with another fan, a guy next to him calls me over. At first I'm thinking, "Sorry dude, I don't want your autograph" but then I realize he's there to handle transactions (just because you paid admission doesn't mean autographs are free). So I gave him some cash, then explained to Daymond that my co-worker sent me to get a bag signed, a bag he received from funding a Kickstarter for Critical Role (and that's the extent of what I knew was going on). Of course (to be somewhat polite), I lied and explained that said co-worker was covering my shift which is why he wasn't here himself. Impolitely (in typical me fashion) I may have said I had no idea who he was. Then he signed the bag with something about dice-rolling and I was on my way. And that ends my entire Friday night as by then the Dealer section closed and the Artist Alley side would follow soon. 

Not an unexpected outcome however as this is how I've always attended Kawaii Kon - always going after work or school or the farm or whatever else I've got going on during the day - and usually get the same amount done - from as far back as the very first (and my very first) Kawaii Kon in 2005. That time, not only did I not know what Kawaii Kon was, but I didn't even know it was happening. It was junior year and we finished Damien's Field Day event when someone asked if I wanted to tag along. Barely anyone I knew had a license so I think we ended up catching a ride to Ala Moana with another classmate who wasn't even going to Kawaii Kon, he was getting measured for a tuxedo for the prom. Back then, and I guess a couple more years, they held Kawaii Kon at the Ala Moana Hotel and packed it all into one room. Besides all that, I don't remember much else except walking around, looking at different anime and manga-related items for sale. I don't even recall buying anything that year, being a cheap highschool student as well as not carrying a lot of cash back then.

There was one other time that I've actually done less at Kawaii Kon, and that's the year I didn't even make it to the doors. Right after getting my license, I drove Ben and I to Kawaii Kon while it was still held at the Ala Moana Hotel. The issue this time was my driving and navigational skills, which honestly haven't gotten better. As a dumb kid that never pays attention to where things are, we were at the mall but I couldn't figure out how to get to the Hotel part. Yeah, what a moron, as it's literally right there. But we spent (I spent, Ben wasn't driving) long enough driving in circles that I'm surprised no one pulled me over just to say, "Hey kid, what the fuck are you doing?" Well, enough frustrated circles were eventually driven that we completely missed the event. To add insult to injury, as we grabbed food at wherever we were (I want to say McDonalds or some other fast-food place) in walked a bunch of kids in costume who clearly didn't miss the convention.

Saturday was my first time getting into Kawaii Kon in the AM. It was the weirdest thing seeing everything in the daylight - the Convention Center, the people in costumes, everything. Going later in the day, I don't typically get the chance to attend panels and stuff. This time though, I arrived around 9:30am, early enough to get parking but also to attend a morning panel for writing fan-fiction (if you're reading my Emberwilde Comes Pokemon story, you know why). Turns out the panel wasn't just about writing fanfic but writing fiction in general, and led by at least one person probably over 10 years younger than me. It was a great writing refresher though, and I got some useful pointers I'm hoping to apply (not right now, obviously). I took notes. Plus, it was an hour and a half long panel on writing, and I rarely, rarely get the chance to talk writing shop with anyone, or even listen to people talk about writing, thus the reason for all these post-story notes following my stories.

As it was a panel involving writers, of course there was a reference to Dungeons and Dragons (one day I guess I'll find out why it's so popular with writers) which I only mention as a transition to the other panel I attended that day: A Dungeons and Dragons Character Building panel. As the title says, everyone learned to build their own character to use in an actual game of D&D. The only hiccup was that it was one guy helping a bunch of people figure out how to create the best versions of their characters (or in my case, attempting to create a self-sabotaging character, you know, art-imitating-life kind of stuff), and at one point there was myself, Kristian, and at least a half-dozen other people figuring out different races and classes and stats - and that's the easiest part of the creation process. We spent a good chunk of the time just flipping through the introduction book while he helped others at the table looking at random stuff (I want it, just to have, even if I never play). In the end, I got most of the way through creating a Human Rogue though I still need to finish the background details, you know the stuff I tend to skip in my regular story characters which I've determined is another reason they're horrible, a flaw I hope to fix with what I learned at the Fan-Fiction Writing panel - see, things coming around full circle, like it was all planned this way.

As great as these panels were (I'm definitely going to try to get a day-off for the next Kawaii Kon, panels are fun), the panel I will forever remember as the best ever was the FAKKU! panel hosted by the founder himself several years ago. I didn't even mean to go (... promise), I was just at Kawaii Kon with Kristian and this was the only other thing going on that late in the night. If you don't know and haven't googled the name yet (hopefully not on your fucking work computer or HR is definitely paying you a visit), FAKKU! was, is (I don't know) the biggest, I guess, collection of hentai content on the internet (at least that's what I think it was, I'm not going to do research). Obviously, the first thing that catches my eye is a huge projector screen covered in hentai, and I'm thinking, "We'd be able to see the screen better if they turned off the lights," then I look around the room and immediately realized, no, I'd rather not sit in the dark with this crowd. The guy (I forgot his name) talked about his background, how he put the site together, the people and companies he works with, his future hopes for the site, a new game they were in the process of creating - honestly, a lot more business than I expected. Of course, I don't remember everything he said. I do remember he was informative and funny, self-deprecating at times, proud of his work other times - all while pornographic images scrolled by in the background. It was fucking brilliant. That I was more interested in his talk than the boobs behind him speaks to the attention his presentation pulled from the crowd. If you want a Masterclass in public speaking, this is your guy. Oh, and the best part - when the audience got involved, especially when he revealed the game in development. "How do you feel about traps?" or "What if I prefer the girl less willing?" and he just expertly worked his way around these questions without making anyone upset or ashamed or, you know, fully-endorsing rape. "It isn't what I'm into, but we will try to accommodate all of our users' tastes" or something like that. It was magical.

Of course, I didn't just jump from panel to panel. In between, I wandered the main hall which split between a Dealer section and an Artist section. The Dealer section sold licensed merchandise, people in booths representing businesses. In the past, this is where I've bought books and toys and model kits and where I was first introduced to Black Rifle Coffee Company (I miss "Caffeine and Hate"). Besides another Gundam model kit (it was 25% off), the main appeal of the Dealer Room this year was the Crappy Kids booth. I'd heard from a friend that this would be the brand's last year and I confirmed with Chad when I got there. It felt nostalgic to spin the sticker machine a few times after all these years, and a little sad that it would also be the last time. As always (why ruin tradition), I didn't win any of the rare ones, which, not a big deal this time as those sweet, sweet rare, elusive ones were for sale this time around.

This year's haul

 

Snagging my last batch of Crappy Kids stickers, I wandered the Artist Alley half, making the rounds through the aisles. This half of the room is where people sell their own artwork in all forms from posters and banners and stickers to keychains and dolls and lighters. I think I still have a flask with the Flamel symbol from Full Metal Alchemist lying around somewhere. I avoided buying a bunch of posters as I usually do, mostly because I don't tape them up to the wall anymore. I did buy a whole lot of stickers though from several different booths, as well as a couple keychain charms. Though most times it all tends to sit unused, I do like to stick them on my notebooks. Usually one or two random stickers for the notebooks I'm going to toss once filled, but others (like the notebooks for my longer serials - I promise, more of those when I start writing better) I like to match the stickers with the story, like some pokemon stickers in my Emberwilde Comes notebook. Walking along the aisles, looking at each of the booths, I really couldn't figure out if there was one factor that drew a crowd to a booth, or if it really was a matter of personal preference. I know that there's no way I could've done it, to display my hard work and have random folks like myself just give it a cursory glance before moving along. I even bought a book some guy was selling that he'd written (for $5, I've spent more for less), because, well, writer.

And that was my day. Like with any great event you can't get to everything, and there's always stuff I regret not doing because I simply didn't have the time. In past events, I usually regret simply not going to panels that seemed interesting. This year I'm happy I got to do a bunch of stuff that I wanted though I do regret running out of time and not being able to play an actual game of Dungeons and Dragons. Apparently, even at the beginner level, games can run almost three hours long! so there were only a couple time slots available l, and I unfortunately wasn't able to make it to one before I leaving for the day. Unlike previous years, I didn't even attempt to look for anyone offering commission work to create a cover piece to use with my Emberwilde Comes Pokemon fanfic story, so you'll have to be content with my terrible words instead. If I spent more time there though, I probably would've ended up buying a shit-ton more stickers.

I know what you're thinking, "Really, an Author's Note when all you're doing is re-living your Kawaii Kon experiences? It's not like you even worked hard putting together what amounts to a diary entry, and it still took you forever." Sure, not as hard as my usual stories, but it still had its challenges. Taking that picture, for one because of my naturally shaky hands (is that something I should seek medical attention for?) and making sure I don't look like some lunatic scattering trinkets on my bed. Though it isn't how my brain works, my writing in these cases usually tends to flow linearly, list-like, point one, point two, point three, etc but that gets boring. Thanks to a couple of Jim Jefferies comedy specials, this time I tried out starting a story (this year's Kawaii Kon) and dipping into shorter, specific memories of previous Kawaii Kons before circling back to the main story. Frame Story! Fuck, I can't believe I forgot the term. Well, I guess thanks as well to Junior year British Literature class for "Canterbury Tales." So, that was at least a bit of work figuring out how to piece the tiny stories into the bigger one. Plus, you know, not a great character or a very reliable narrator. Also, to be perfectly honest, I wrote this whole thing out just so I could talk about the FAKKU! panel, so great!