I have returned and I already have the post-con depression. While the sweltering heat is nothing to miss, I am missing Austin and RTX already. It is going to be so incredibly difficult to summarize my experience there, but expect to hear more from me and the rest of the crew on our collective experience.
Highlight Day One: Game Grumps Panel
Unfortunately, I was dying in my hotel room, so I missed a solid chuck of day 1. The exhaustion, jet lag, dehydration, and hunger caught up with me and left me with a massive migraine. But I was determined that nothing was going to stop me from seeing the Game Grumps, as I’ve been lucky enough to bare witness to their antics live on more than one occasion. I also managed to say hi to Mica Burton from Rooster Teeth. Needless to say, it was worth getting out of the hotel for, even though I had to make a quick escape once it was over.
Highlight Day Two: First Day of Cosplay and On The Spot Live
I survived the night and got to the convention center bright and early. I was beyond floored by the response of my cosplay. The experiences I had with the other attendees asking about my cosplay and wanting pictures with me was incredible. I’ve gained many memories of truly heart-warming fan interactions that I will not soon forget.
Many hours later put me near the front at On The Spot Live. I don’t want to spoil anything from this event, you really need to go watch it yourself. My sides were hurting for the whole show. But I had the sweetest interaction with Danny of the Game Grumps during a game where they were looking for a cosplayer.
Highlight Day Three: Meeting and Interviewing Jessica Nigri
I think it goes without saying that Jessica Nigri is a cosplayer that I, and many, admire and adore. I’ve written about her in the past and appreciate her love of her fan base. So to not only have an opportunity to meet her, take crazy pictures with her, and even interview her, is probably the biggest achievement of my cosplay and writing career. She even mentioned recognizing me from posting online about cosplaying as Arcade Miss Fortune. Truly genuine and down to earth, I hope she knows how much this experience means to me and how grateful I am to her for setting aside time in her very busy schedule to chat with me.
You can see the full interview Here.
This is only the briefest of summaries of my experience at the event. I have so many more stories to share and would love to share them with you all. But soon it will be time for me to prepare for yet another convention. You had better believe that this will not be the only summary of RTX for my column. Look forward to another one in 2017.
J. Tanooki is a Contributor for aybonline.com. She has been a lover of cosplay for over 10 years and regularly works on new and exciting cosplay projects. She actively posts about her cosplay plans, progress, and random shenanigans on her Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram. Her opinion is her own.
