A new convention on the list for me: Viencon. I’ve been staying away for a while, since a lot of people who dropped me in my worst time went there and are friends with the main organizer. But now I found new and cool people, I’m giving it a shot. Was I nervous? Yes. My PTSD (officially diagnosed, not self-proclaimed) might be triggered and that’s nasty when it happens. But staying home forever is no option.
So Viencon: I went together with Fhant, Elianzi and Diafragment Media. We decided to go from Friday to Monday and meet up on Friday near a supermarket for shopping. I packed 4 costumes (SAO Asuna, Titania Asuna, Prestige Ocean Song Seraphine, Synchronicity Miku), and had no idea when I would wear which. It was time to just vibe and such.
The supermarket beforehand was a smart move, as we needed not much from the park supermarket (which is more expensive). We loaded all our groceries into my car and off to the park we went! The check-in was rather easy: Fhant and I drove past the drive-through check-in and got the keys etc. Driving to the cottage was not chill, people with no traffic awareness kept driving in front of us with karts (that can be rented there) and delayed our arrival for five minutes. Also the signage is kinda bad. The signs are often hidden behind big flower pots or people parking their car in front of them, so that stresses me out. :/
But when we got there, unpacked and I drank a well-deserved cola, I decided to change into Hatsune Miku (Synchronicity) and make most of the evening/night in cosplay.
Picture by Elianzi
Sadly, I knew this outfit wasn’t my best and I was grumpy about it. But Elianzi cheered me up and brought me to watch an idol show (my first ever!). I didn’t expect it to be this much fun and I’d definetly go again when it fits my schedule. After that, we drew on the big paper boards and made some snapshots of our outfits to have something. 🙂
Saturday was the first big, full day! I really wanted some pictures in/near/with the waterfall, so that’s the first thing we looked for after breakfast and changing into cosplay. I decided on Asuna (default) for the morning as it was a bit colder than I expected. We found the waterfall and had it all to ourselves! I love being an morning person for things like this. 🙂 Elianzi went first, so I helped out with the bubble gun and Diafragment media took some pictures of her.
Picture by Diafragment Media
She then went to prepare for the Artist Alley, so I went for a few pictures and met up with a few people who I had talked to before online. At some point, this version of Asuna became too hot for me to wear, so I decided to change into Titania Asuna. Without the ears, as Elianzi borrowed them.
Picture by Diafragment Media
I noticed a few things about this cosplay and most of all that I wasn’t as uncomfortable in such a revealing cosplay as I used to be. That’s when I decided that I will remake this cosplay myself and make it bigger and prettier. Diafragment also made some pictures of this one and when we all were kinda done with the day, we had dinner at the cottage. After dinner, we went for a swim and just took it easy.
Elianzi as Brazilian/Dutch Hatsune Miku. Picture by me
Sunday was the last day and I wore Prestige Ocean Song Seraphine. I decided to wear it to the pool and see how much I could swim with it. (As a former synchronised swimmer and trainer, I just wanted to see how much I’d struggle.) It was kinda neat really and I got inspired for what I would do if I get into a pool with a cosplay again. While wearing Seraphine, I took some pictures of Elianzi as Brazilian/Dutch Miku and had a blast. Even though I was scared for my phone, the results make me so happy! When it got too busy, I decided to sit down and drip off a bit before drying off and changing clothes. Fhant asked us if we wanted to eat lunch together at the cafe and we decided that was a yes. After a nice lunch, I went back to the cottage to change and organise my stuff. Then I went back out again to shop some at the Artist Alley and Fhant and I decided to try the Matsuri too. We had a chill afternoon and I tried some more cosplay photography. After dinner, I packed most of my stuff into my car and made sure that I wouldn’t be in a rush on Monday morning.
On Monday we were nicely on time with leaving. We only lost one bracelet temporarily and that’s it. The travel back home was better than getting here. No 50kms/h on the highway this time! So I did it all in one go and hugged Dalischa immediately when I got home.
Did I see people who were in the group that trigger my PTSD? Yes. But they apparently still think I am a pathetic girl and a liar. And not a survivor of four years of domestic abuse. My ex (and abuser) loved saying that I was always playing victim and they still believe him. I have no need for those people in my life and I have found so many better people. It’s about ten years ago and even though I can be and am grumpy at times, I know I am better off now than ever before.
Keep on crafting (or fighting <3),
Amirine