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HavenCon 2022/MondayCon 20hell
3 years ago
The ramblings and ingenious philosophizings of a Victorian Otter
So this weekend was a total . . . -sighs-
It was paradise.
I reluctantly, because I have an issue with allowing myself to have pleasure, attended HavenCon. For those of you who don't know, HavenCon is a convention about multifandoms, pretty much anything you love with an LGBTQIA+ bent. It's a small con, but it's beautiful. I took the kids to HaveCon 3 when their Mom and I split, and I was trying to create my new family (something that ended disastrously). So I have very fond memories of HavenCon. Sadly, I couldn't go with the kids this time, because they're living with their Mom and they mostly don't talk to me anymore. -sighs-
In any event, HavenCon 2022 happened and I got to go, and I was in heaven. I got to see old friends, people being their true selves, which is awesome. We don't have to imagine what it's like living in a hetero-normative world. What I have had to imagine my whole life is a homonormative world. Somewhere where homosexuality and genderfluidity, is the normal way of being. And that's what HavenCon is. A lot of the panels deal with a queer world view, the difficulties and changing faces of the world. One of the first panels I went to was about being gay in the tattoo industry and I came away learning that attitudes in the industry are rapidly changing. Especially in safe spaces like Austin and bigger cities. It's kind of nice knowing the world is changing, whether the bigots like it or not.
Saturday was filled with cute furries, OMG! they invaded and took over the con. They were everywhere, hugging and being cute, and I got to take a picture with a cute otter. There were anime cosplayers, and just tons of people of all ages running around. It's also the first con I've ever been to where I got to write my pronouns on my badge along with my preferred name. Going forward, every con I go to I plan to write my pronouns on my badges so that more people might do it and I normalize the use of pronouns as identifiers. Because there were a lot of people who don't identify as their biological gender and I'm totally cool with that.
The vendor hall wasn't very big, but I bought so many pins and cute charms. I discovered a game named Hades which is a couple of years old, thanks to an artist there who had these ridiculously cute small Greek God Charms, OMG! they were so cute. I got Hermes, Dionysus, the minotaur and Theseus both of whom I ship. Yes, I'm weird like that. I don't understand Hermione/Draco but I do ship Theseus/Minotaur, so sue me. LOL
I went to a panel with interesting writers talking about how to create more queer worlds, which was interesting and awesome. And I discovered what Fanbinding is. It is amazing. Sunday I got to go to a meet-up where these women who are rabid fans of fanfiction showed off their bound books, which are single books containing whole fanfictions from so many fandoms that they had created to in a way immortalize those stories. Why? Because they loved them, and reading them on a computer screen sucks and fandom is awesome.
Now mind you, all of these panels had guys in skirts, and trans people, and just people being their true gay, asexual, aromantic, gender fluid selves. It was beautiful to see. There was so much love, and respect everywhere. There was a board game room, a panel on growing community through RPG's and D&D and growing gay community and exploring your gay side or your true gender through characters in RPG's, which helped some trans people discover themselves. It was all just beautiful. I was living in a gay safe space this whole weekend. I can't recommend HavenCon enough. If you all can come to Austin, do it. Experience the convention for yourselves, help it grow, spread word of mouth about it. It was beautiful and amazing and I found pins for actual lizards, and Pokemon balls with little Pokemon and their little worlds and it was all beautiful.
I bought a tarot deck from this very talented artist, I got to meet. It took her 6 years to create. An absolute labor of love. Everythign was just so awesome. So awesome I came home and bought tickets to the local Comiccon, which I doubt will be as good, but -shrugs- I was living my con high. HavenCon will forever be special for me and I will definitely be there next year. Count on it. LOL Hope to see you there.
---
Sadly, Monday came around, and with it came work. Ugh, we had to stay overtime, and we are working on fulfilling our most popular, difficult to do, and most gruelling festival of the season so . . . yeah, every muscle in my body aches. I've been falling asleep all day and I well . . . here I am. Up late and going to regret it tomorrow cuz I have to stay late again and go in early, ugh. So yeah.
Haven't had time to work on my art, or to do any work on my sanctuary, which is what I call my room. Ugh. Life is hard. I have to buy all these frames for all these prints I bought at the con this year and years ago. Yes, I have no shame. I should have put them up ages ago. LOL
So yeah, reality sucks, but memories of HavenCon will pull me through, along with the hope and dream of attending next year. Seriously y'all check it out. It really is a welcoming and amazing convention and it is beautiful. I just wish they'd accept art fo tthe con book, but I plan to write them about that. I'd love to see images of gay slice of life in the book not just in the fanart on sale. :D
Hope you all find your safe space . . . and always be your true selves if only to yourselves or your closest friends. Because who you truly are is beautiful and amazing. ;)
It was paradise.
I reluctantly, because I have an issue with allowing myself to have pleasure, attended HavenCon. For those of you who don't know, HavenCon is a convention about multifandoms, pretty much anything you love with an LGBTQIA+ bent. It's a small con, but it's beautiful. I took the kids to HaveCon 3 when their Mom and I split, and I was trying to create my new family (something that ended disastrously). So I have very fond memories of HavenCon. Sadly, I couldn't go with the kids this time, because they're living with their Mom and they mostly don't talk to me anymore. -sighs-
In any event, HavenCon 2022 happened and I got to go, and I was in heaven. I got to see old friends, people being their true selves, which is awesome. We don't have to imagine what it's like living in a hetero-normative world. What I have had to imagine my whole life is a homonormative world. Somewhere where homosexuality and genderfluidity, is the normal way of being. And that's what HavenCon is. A lot of the panels deal with a queer world view, the difficulties and changing faces of the world. One of the first panels I went to was about being gay in the tattoo industry and I came away learning that attitudes in the industry are rapidly changing. Especially in safe spaces like Austin and bigger cities. It's kind of nice knowing the world is changing, whether the bigots like it or not.
Saturday was filled with cute furries, OMG! they invaded and took over the con. They were everywhere, hugging and being cute, and I got to take a picture with a cute otter. There were anime cosplayers, and just tons of people of all ages running around. It's also the first con I've ever been to where I got to write my pronouns on my badge along with my preferred name. Going forward, every con I go to I plan to write my pronouns on my badges so that more people might do it and I normalize the use of pronouns as identifiers. Because there were a lot of people who don't identify as their biological gender and I'm totally cool with that.
The vendor hall wasn't very big, but I bought so many pins and cute charms. I discovered a game named Hades which is a couple of years old, thanks to an artist there who had these ridiculously cute small Greek God Charms, OMG! they were so cute. I got Hermes, Dionysus, the minotaur and Theseus both of whom I ship. Yes, I'm weird like that. I don't understand Hermione/Draco but I do ship Theseus/Minotaur, so sue me. LOL
I went to a panel with interesting writers talking about how to create more queer worlds, which was interesting and awesome. And I discovered what Fanbinding is. It is amazing. Sunday I got to go to a meet-up where these women who are rabid fans of fanfiction showed off their bound books, which are single books containing whole fanfictions from so many fandoms that they had created to in a way immortalize those stories. Why? Because they loved them, and reading them on a computer screen sucks and fandom is awesome.
Now mind you, all of these panels had guys in skirts, and trans people, and just people being their true gay, asexual, aromantic, gender fluid selves. It was beautiful to see. There was so much love, and respect everywhere. There was a board game room, a panel on growing community through RPG's and D&D and growing gay community and exploring your gay side or your true gender through characters in RPG's, which helped some trans people discover themselves. It was all just beautiful. I was living in a gay safe space this whole weekend. I can't recommend HavenCon enough. If you all can come to Austin, do it. Experience the convention for yourselves, help it grow, spread word of mouth about it. It was beautiful and amazing and I found pins for actual lizards, and Pokemon balls with little Pokemon and their little worlds and it was all beautiful.
I bought a tarot deck from this very talented artist, I got to meet. It took her 6 years to create. An absolute labor of love. Everythign was just so awesome. So awesome I came home and bought tickets to the local Comiccon, which I doubt will be as good, but -shrugs- I was living my con high. HavenCon will forever be special for me and I will definitely be there next year. Count on it. LOL Hope to see you there.
---
Sadly, Monday came around, and with it came work. Ugh, we had to stay overtime, and we are working on fulfilling our most popular, difficult to do, and most gruelling festival of the season so . . . yeah, every muscle in my body aches. I've been falling asleep all day and I well . . . here I am. Up late and going to regret it tomorrow cuz I have to stay late again and go in early, ugh. So yeah.
Haven't had time to work on my art, or to do any work on my sanctuary, which is what I call my room. Ugh. Life is hard. I have to buy all these frames for all these prints I bought at the con this year and years ago. Yes, I have no shame. I should have put them up ages ago. LOL
So yeah, reality sucks, but memories of HavenCon will pull me through, along with the hope and dream of attending next year. Seriously y'all check it out. It really is a welcoming and amazing convention and it is beautiful. I just wish they'd accept art fo tthe con book, but I plan to write them about that. I'd love to see images of gay slice of life in the book not just in the fanart on sale. :D
Hope you all find your safe space . . . and always be your true selves if only to yourselves or your closest friends. Because who you truly are is beautiful and amazing. ;)
