I have already written up about FanX 2017 for The Geeky Mormon, but I feel the need to go back and share more of the cool photos I got at con of all the cosplayers, characters, and creatures I met.
For instance, this adorable Jawa.
Agent 13 got to meet a lot of her fellow Marvel heroes, including Iron Patriot
Jyn Erso ran into a couple of very bizarre-looking and bizarre sounding aliens.
Serious props to this girl for portraying Shmi Skywalker. She is such an undervalued character.
Not to be outdone, here is Padme rocking her baby bump.
Padme's burial gown--I told this girl that this was one of the most beautiful cosplays I saw the whole con.
I'd like you to meet my Sithsters Brittany and Melanie
Victor Sine and Marial Clark as the Green Lanterns
Sharon made it a point to say hi Cap--including my friend Ryan Stevens
She is a Wasp. Best beware her sting.
Princess Leia and a Jedi bodyguard
The Dark Side of the Force was strong at this convention
I'm not much of a Star Trek fan, but I know enough about the fandom to respect it--and enough to pull over Riker and Troy for a photo.
Anastaisa!!!!!!!!!!
Odin and Thor of Asgard. This father and son duo placed in the cosplay contest.
My friend Benji as Fred from Big Hero 6, who couldn't help posing for a bueno photo with Deadpool
I also haven't actually had the chance to sit down and watch Doctor Who, but I respect the fandom. A lot. And this duo as Twelve and a Weeping Angel were spectacular.
I asked the Doctor if I could get a photo with him. If Sharon Carter is up to anything after Civil War, why not having adventures in space and time?
Another VERY beautiful cosplay--Arwen from The Lord of the Rings
I found this Gandalf tramping around not far away from Arwen.
I saw several Moana cosplays at FanX, but this one was by far my favorite. Because Heihei.
My friend Stephan Watson as a Stormtrooper
A Hawkgirl with a very breathtaking wingspan
And last but definitely not least, Tai Lung from Kung Fu Panda
Last weekend was Salt Lake Comic Con’s FanX event. I had a great time there and I definitely made some memories. And this happened to be an occasion where I took the time to meet a couple of celebrities--one of them planned, the other unexpected.
Friday
I had debated whether or not to get John Rhys-Davies’ autograph when it had been announced he was coming to FanX. Forty dollars is a lot for someone living paycheck-to-paycheck. But it’s not nearly as much as the sixty I spent for Carrie Fisher, or the amounts over a hundred for some of the other big-name stars that come to Salt Lake.
Then two days before con, I was at work when a DVD copy of the Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert Let the Season In came through the line--still factory sealed. This is my absolute FAVORITE Tab Choir Christmas concert (AKA The very fun one in 2013!)--and among other reasons, because John Rhys-Davies, the actor known for playing Sallah in Indiana Jones and Gimli in The Lord of the Rings, had been one of the guest stars. I thought, you know what, after work you can go and buy that, and when you get to con you can ask John Rhys-Davies to sign it. And I did. And I got him to sign it.
His handlers took the cover out of the protective sleeve on the DVD case so he could sign the front cover. While he was writing his name, I said to him, “I graduated in English at BYU. And the summer before your concert, I actually wrote a term paper on A Christmas Carol” for a Victorian literature class.” Not sure he heard that part.
He looked up at me. “And what are you doing now?” he asked.
I hadn’t anticipated that. “I’m a writer, and a cosplayer, and I do volunteering sometimes. And some blogging.” How do you tell somebody famous that your life is actually kind of a mess right now?
Pinterest
Then I leaned in closer to him and said, “Are you morally opposed to fanfiction?”
“To what?”
“Fanfiction?”
“Oh, no.”
“Do you know who the Winter Soldier is?”
“Yes.”
“I wrote a fanfic about his first Christmas after leaving Hydra. He is visited by the three ghosts from A Christmas Carol.” At the Tab Choir Christmas concert, Rhys-Davies had played the Ghost of Christmas Present. So I told him, “And in this story, the Ghost of Christmas Present is you.”
Deseret News
“Ah-ha!” Well, he thought that was wonderful. Leaned back and clapped his hands.
And then Mr. Rhys-davies leaned closer to me. And he looked me in the eye. “Keep writing,” he said. “Write every day. The first twenty years of your career is your apprenticeship.”
“I will. Thank you, sir. It was a pleasure to meet you.” We shook hands and I left the signing booth.
The forty dollars was definitely worth it.
Saturday
I had never been to the cosplay contest at the end of a convention before. I was exhausted and it might have been smarter to just go straight home. But it was something to do. I hadn’t been to any of the big celebrity panels all day. I didn’t go to a single smaller panel. And plus, I had a friend participating, that is Cassidy Beihn as Eliza Schuyler Hamilton.
They definitely took their sweet time starting the contest--at least that was how I felt. If they didn’t start in a timely manner or if I wasn’t entertained by the contest I would bounce out early. The emcee announced the judges for the competition. They seemed cool enough--I liked the bird guy’s costume.
“But we need one more person, someone who’s both local and a celebrity,” the emcee said. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Daniel Logan!”
He wasn't even a formally announced guest this time--he just came as a friend and fellow enthusiast, you could say.
For those of you who don’t know, Daniel Logan played kid Boba Fett in Attack of the Clones. He also reprised the role in the Clone Wars television series (Boba's character arc in Season 2 actually destroyed me but that's another subject). He visited the first-ever FanX in 2014. Daniel is currently working for Funko Pops and touring Asia for them. “I’m not into cosplay yet,” he admitted, but he says he wants to do it. But he is plenty geeky: he came wearing a Captain America shirt.
So, summary: the cosplay contest was excellent. Lots of beautiful costumes. My friend Cassidy won a prize in the Retro category for her Eliza, and my friend Mandi Ham for her Carlotta.
Smol and angry young Boba Fett from Season 2 of Clone Wars and I'm giving myself a feels attack
I didn't need to feel bad saying hi to Daniel since I've seen Clone Wars up through season 5 now. But I think regardless I still would have done it. As the party was breaking up, I moved to the front of the auditorium. He was putting away some things in a backpack.
I approached cautiously. “Do you mind if people say hi to you?” I asked him.
“Not at all.”
“I’m actually an admin for a Prequels fan page,” I said. Those were the most relevant credentials. “My name is Lizy.”
“Lizy. Where are you from?”
“Provo, but before then, Texas.”
When he was introduced on stage, Daniel said that he had moved to California. But up until a couple of years ago he was actually living in Draper. He told me that he moved back to Cali because he got lonely. But he was glad for the experience of living here in Utah.
“What part of Texas are you from?”
“San Antonio.”
He told me he’d actually been there and he thought it was beautiful.
I told him it was nice to meet him. We took a quick selfie, and he told me to tag him on Instagram.
That was a sort-of celebrity encounter that I wasn’t planning for. But it was definitely worth staying all the way through the cosplay contest. And it’s actually kind of a big deal. Because, he was in STAR WARS and it’s not every day you meet somebody who was actually in STAR WARS, Clone Wars or the Prequels, period. But yeah, that was pretty special.
Dang, he grew up! (my photo)
Just to be clear, I'm not writing this post to brag about anything (ok, maybe I'm bragging a little), but I just want to share a couple of the highlights of the last weekend with my readers (notably my family). And before I close, I just want to say a very big THANK YOU to Daniel Logan, John Rhys-Davies, and of course Salt Lake Comic Con for making last weekend possible.
Side note: yes, I am going public now, I have been prolifically writing fanfiction since I got out of college. So for those of you who are curious about how it went down with Bucky Barnes and the Ghost of Christmas Present, click the link: Bucky & the Ghost of Christmas Present. Yes, this fic was heavily influenced by Dickens and the concert that Rhys-Davies did with the Choir (as well as the concert they did with Alfie Boe the year before). I may write more on the subject later--that is, A Christmas Carol, the Winter Soldier, my term paper, and the importance of memory.
I look on Social Media, and everybody says that 2016 was the worst year ever. Everybody is SO GLAD it is over. Even on Facebook, friends of mine are saying that they had a tough time.
I have to say that I agree on a few points. Although we narrowly avoided electing Lady Palpatine to the office of President of the United States, we did get Jabba that Trump instead.
There were a lot of celebrity deaths, and that was hard to swallow for the fans of those celebrities. But I have to admit I wasn’t affected by this trend until the very end.
This year was also really cruel to fictional characters. I won’t name names. *coughingattackBuckycoughcough*
It was a hard year personally. I had some real struggles with my depression and self-esteem and there were some scary moments. Even the things that were good to me, my mental issues turned or tried to turn into bad things. You could say that this was the year I realized that I was in trouble and I needed to do something about it.
But in reality, my 2016 was not a complete disaster. There were a lot of good things that happened this year. It is important in any reflection to remember the positives. So here are 16 reasons my 2016 didn’t suck (completely):
The Martian--Seems like a good place to start. First thing I did when I got home from Christmas vacation last year was walk up the street to the Dollar Theater to see The Martian (and that fact is probably one of those things I will never get tired of mentioning). I have seen it three times since. I know I’m going to watch it one more time at some point in the future because I need to introduce my best friend to it. It is a fun, uplifting movie based on a fun, uplifting book. And now that I’ve read the book and seen the movie I get to be in the fandom and make contributions to it. The 70’s mix was a great jam for this year and probably deserves a category by itself. And The Martian is a movie I actually enjoyed that stars Matt Damon so now I can’t say I don’t watch his movies without lying. (I can also say that I’ve seen a movie that Sebastian Stan was in that wasn’t Marvel. ;’) )
I Started This Blog--Not only that, but I’ve written in it almost every week--I mean, 49/52 is PHENOMENAL. This is a new record for me. I am proud of myself.
I became the weekly correspondent for The Geeky Mormon. I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to handle that with writing weekly for this blog, but I did it. It was great to have more space to write geeky things about. I was even able to keep it going when I got a job and my life got even more busy. I have even used TGM as a platform to spotlight my other friends in the geek community.
I got an actual job--they say you’re not supposed to talk about your employers on social media, so just to be safe I won’t mention names here. I will say it is a thrift store, in Provo. If you know me personally then you know what I’m referring to. I got hired in the middle of May and I’ve been working there since. That’s the longest I’ve had a job since I got out of college but that’s partly because my supervisors have been very flexible with my personal needs. But it’s something else to feel good about. I have an income. I can buy my own rent and groceries. I’m able to pay for my own cosplays with what’s left over. My supervisors are great and willing to give me time off to go do volunteering, and my coworkers are wonderful to work with.
Mark Loertscher Photography
It was an excellent year to be the Scarlet Witch--ahhh, yes. The Avengers: Age of Ultron introduced Scarlet Witch to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2015 and so at the following comic-cons Scarlet Witch cosplays were everywhere. But that didn’t stop me from putting on the arm warmers and black nail polish whenever I got the chance, especially for charity work. And seeing Wanda Maximoff kick butt in Captain America: Civil War was one of the highlights of that film. #TeamCap #TeamWanda
I resumed regular visits with a therapist--I did say this was a rough year for me mentally, didn’t I? Well, thankfully I had a therapist to help me talk through the harder stuff.
There was a Cole Family Reunion--Basically we rented a huge resort cabin in Duchesne and chilled for a few days, which was fine by me. It’s kind of hard to want to be around all these people when you’re an introvert but it does pay off when you make an effort. You love these people for a reason.
Also a Cole Family Wedding--I didn’t get to go to the Fourth of July in Taylor this year due to work, which was a travesty. But I did get to sneak down to Mesa for my cousin Hannah’s wedding. I went down with her brother Cole and helped pay for gas and slept in the car like an adult. I had fun fixing flower arrangements, celebrating my cousin’s marriage and seeing my relatives again.
My best friend got married and I got to be a bridesmaid--Right before I went home for Christmas this year (so only a couple of weeks ago, but still it was last year) I got to be a bridesmaid. Abby and I met the first day of Freshman orientation at BYU and we’ve been tight ever since. She and her hubby Bryce are so sweet together. I am so happy I got to be a part of her special day, even if it was on December 16th ;)
Photo courtesy of Abigail Prince
Jeremy Renner came to FanX--Hawkeye never looked more like a hawk in his life. I mean:
The Salt Lake Tribune
Mark Hamill came to Comic Con--That was a treat. Salt Lake Comic Con rented out the Vivint SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake and while I was afraid it was going to be a hassle it really wasn’t. I got to sit for about an hour and listen to him tell stories about his career, about being the Joker but more importantly (to me) being Luke Skywalker. And the pre-show with my fellow Star Wars fans? Worth coming early for!
Everything Cosplay--Last year, one of my New Year’s resolutions, along with this blog, was to step up my cosplay game. And I did it. I’ve made at least fifteen cosplays, most of them from casual clothes but a handful from scratch. I’ve gone out and done more with my cosplays this year, too--in addition to comic con, I’ve also done fan videos and photo shoots. My resolution this year? Keep going. I have at least fifteen more cosplay ideas in my head, and some are already in the works.
Kids Heroes--The trick with all of those costumes I have is to have a use for them. Some of my more kid-friendly or popular characters I have a niche for with the Kids Heroes Foundation. But while going out and being a character is fun, it’s been even more special to go out and serve people, to actually make a difference by being someone they know and love.
I ended this year right by getting a new smartphone that I can actually use--Yes, you heard that right. I now have a Microsoft Lumia 640. I can now use social media and internet on my phone. I now have apps on a phone that is appropriate for using apps. I HAVE A CAMERA THAT TAKES QUALITY PICTURES THAT I CAN POST DIRECTLY TO THE INTERWEBS. TO SAY I’M EXCITED WOULD BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT.
BLOODLINE--I don’t consider myself a judge of Star Wars books since I didn’t read the EU. But I have read a few other titles in the new Star Wars canon, some of them are great and some of them are meh. But none of them are as amazing as Bloodline. I can't say enough about how great this book is.
I made an abundance of wonderful new friends--Some of these friends were in the singles wards I was in, but most of them were cosplayers like myself, and a good share of them are in Kids Heroes. Some of them I won’t get to see again or I’ve only met once or twice, but I love them just as much. Some of them I’ve only friended on Facebook and met in person if I was lucky. To all of you, thank you for this wonderful year we’ve shared together. Thank you for the memories we’ve made together and the fun times we’ve had. You were the best part. You made 2016 worth it.
