If you've been paying any attention to my posts on Facebook lately, you'll know that my cosplay group, Blue Lotus Cosplay, recently hosted a gathering: Doctor Who's Line is it Anyway? Now that I'm recovering from the weekend, let's look at how it went.
When we picked the day for this gathering, we had no idea just how many other things would clash with it. There was the first weekend of the Cherry Blossom Festival, which many people went to, even though the cosplay parade isn't until next weekend, some fantasy thing in San Jose the day before, and the Pokemon regionals, which I missed in order to make this gathering. There were also people who are just busy on Sundays, but we had to go with a Sunday date so that one of our group members could make it. In spite of that, only five members of our group could make it, since others had things come up or just couldn't get over there. As a result, the turnout was small, as many people couldn't make it because of the location (even though we said multiple times we could pick people up from the BART station), others decided to go to one of the other events, and some just flaked without explanation. That was disappointing, but we were still thankful for everyone who did attend, and those who were there had a great time. Everyone else, you missed out.
In spite of the small turnout, the gathering itself went very well. We started off with some nerf wars while waiting for attendees to show up, culminating in a zombie survival game. Once everyone had arrived, we took some group photos, then people split to get lunch and prepare for the improv games.
When everyone had finished eating, we began the improv. We had plenty of suggestions for "Scenes From A Hat," just enough personalities suggested for "Party Quirks" and "Let's Make a Date," and just enough lines for two rounds of "Whose Line." We also did New Choice, Freeze, Two-Line Vocabulary, and finally, Regeneration, the Doctor Who-inspired game I came up with. Each of the games went well, and everyone seemed to have a great time.
When the games ended, we had some small nerf battles, then it was mostly just hanging out until everyone had to go.
The Psychic Paper hunt didn't go quite as planned; the tape I brought didn't work, so we had to fold up the paper to hide them, and some got blown away. People did seem to enjoy finding the paper about, which I decoded with my sonic screwdriver, but since the more hardcore Who fans weren't there, the clues as to the invading aliens were lost on most of them. Still, you win some and lose some.
For a first gathering, we had some rough spots, but got through them well. I wish more people had attended, and I'm a little hurt that several said they'd attend then didn't even give an explanation as to why they weren't there, but frankly, it's their loss, because the gathering was great.
Our group will be hosting more gatherings in the future. The next one will be a One Piece-themed gathering near a water park, followed by an Avatar-themed gathering with Pro Bending matches, using rules I devised. We'll also have another Doctor Who's Line gathering for everyone who missed this one, and we're deciding on some other themes.
So thank you, everyone who attended, we're glad you all had a good time.
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Now then, on to my Fanime plans. My panel has been put on the wait-list, so it's unlikely that I'll hold it again this year.
I'll still be hosting the Negima/Love Hina gathering again, which will be on Monday at 1:00. There's also the Cosplay Battles, which I don't quite have a time for yet, but will figure it out soon.
Rather than trying to fit in every gathering I can, I'm waiting to see what gatherings there are, then see what costumes I want to bring. I'll be missing a few, but at least my schedule won't be so hectic.
So far, my unofficial plans are:
Friday: Kariya Matou from Fate/Zero (if I get it done on time), the Doctor from Doctor Who (not sure which one yet, if I go to the SuperWhoLock gathering). I'll also be at the BAC gathering.
Saturday: Giovanni from Pokemon for the Team Rocket and Pokemon gatherings, the Riddler from Batman for the Marvel/DC gathering, then Aizen for the Bleach gathering (first Hueco Mundo version)
Sunday: Melon Lord for the Avatar gathering, then Ryoga from Ranma 1/2, and a formal-version of Elan from Order of the Stick for the black and white ball.
Monday: Nagi Springfield from Negima for my gathering
These plans might change depending on if there's any other gatherings I can fit in my schedule, but it's what I've got planned at the moment, and it's much less hectic than last year.