Con Blues – A Thread

Isn’t it weird how you do something for year after year, taking it for granted, and when it ends, you’re heartbroken, but after a while, life goes on…and then, a couple of years later, you get to do it again for just a couple of hours and you’re suddenly thrown back into it and realize how much you miss that time of your life?

For me, that was Convention Life. From 2011 to 2013, I went to 4 Conventions – 3 AECON’s and 1 Bloody Con, and I made memories I never want to miss, and friendships I never want to end. It was normal to go back every year to the different places, to freak out over guest announcements, to go skint by buying Photo Ops like there’s no tomorrow. But what I loved the most about it was the whole experience, the atmosphere you feel when you’re there. Even though there are exceptions, it all feels like a big family, everyone is there for the same reason, and even though you may not talk to most of the people, you all are connected in your minds and hearts, because you all share the love for the theme of those conventions. You have the time of your life, and just for that weekend, you forget anything you’re worrying about in your life, leave reality outside the doors.

And when it’s over, the “Conblues” sets in, even though you might not even be able to say why, because basically, what you’ve experienced was something good, something that makes you happy. You just want to go back and do it all over again, but knowing that you can’t right away is hitting you pretty hard, at the latest once you’re back home.

I haven’t experienced this in over 6 years – until two days ago, when I spontaneously went to CCXP in Cologne, only to meet one of my favourite actors for the past 10 years, Zachary Levi, for a short couple of seconds. And I have to say, I came back with more than what I went there for.

First of all – I met the damned BEST Cosplay I have ever seen in my entire life, and ever since, I just can’t seem to get the 5 guys out of my head:

As a huge Marvel fan, this “Avengers” group has rocked my world as much as nothing at such an event has ever done before, and the guys – all of them from Italy – are just mindblowingly good. Especially Marco Spatola, the one as Tony Stark is just…let’s just say I obviously am still able to become a massive fangirl 6 years on, with no sign of it fading away any time soon. Hell, I’ve printed the picture I took with them out and it now hangs next to my bed!  It shook me even more than the fact that after 10 years I finally met one of my idols, Zachary Levi – CRAZY.  By the way – I am even more amazed by that man than I already was before. He’s humble, kind, funny, a gentleman, and he gives you nothing but good feelings when you meet him. And when you’re anxious or nervous, it instantly fades once you stand face to face with that amazing human being. He just has this wonderful aura that makes you feel better and all warm and happy inside.

And even though I’m turning 33 in just three weeks, I’ve felt the Conblues set in the moment I waited for my train home after less than 3 hours at CCXP. Despite being there on my own, not being able to experience it with a friend for the first time since 2011, I missed everything about it already. The atmosphere at these events still feels like something else entirely. The adrenaline rush when meeting your stars, of getting in touch with other fans, and for the first time for me, also with Cosplayers of all kinds, the feeling like being in a completely different world for just a bit. I’ve been talking to a girl I met online when we both saw Zachary Levi was attending, and hearing my feelings about that entire day being redirected at me from her, all that shared love and happiness, is something I haven’t felt since my last Convention in 2013, and though it’s crazy at my age, I feel like I’m 25 again, when I first experienced it. It’s crazy, and weird, and I want to talk about it 24/7 right now. And despite the fact that a couple of years back I knew I was getting too old for these events, I know for a fact now that you’re never too old for them. Because once you’re back there, with all those fellow souls, it doesn’t matter how old you are, what you look like, the only thing that counts is the atmosphere completely taking you in and embracing you like an old friend, as if you’ve never been away.

See you June 25th-28th 2020, CCXP. See you, Gabriele, Marco, Michele, Matteo & Marko. Can’t wait to feel the same exhilaration all over again, there’s not much like it.

How did the Avengers phrase it?

“Whatever it takes.”