dev diary: convention report (Patreon)

something a little different this week. i went to kumoricon over the weekend (just as a plain old attendee, not tabling or anything!) and i wanted to draw some diary comics to commemorate the experience. i didn't mention online anywhere that i was going because i didn't want to meet anyone this time, but maybe someday i will be less anxious about that kind of thing!

below is just rambling in more detail about how the con went. no game updates this time--still working on treat tho! i don't think i can finish the starry flowers comic this month, so i'll just work on it after the treat release is ready next month :) the next batch of another piece of candy vol. 1 books are arriving today as well, so public orders will be open soon! just in time for christmas (fear)...

kumoricon!

i live about an hour away by train, so getting to the convention center is a little bit of a journey. i also don't get out much and don't get a lot of exercise, so my body is still sore after going through the hell line on friday. ironically it would've been a shorter wait if i had bought my badge that day instead of in advance, but... i heard a lot of the con staff actually quit because they were promised their hotel rooms would be compensated, but then the con decided not to do that at the last minute. it seems like things were hectic for them, so i forgive the transgression... but really, they can't make people stand in 3 hour lines, it's so inaccessible!!! a lot of people had to sit down multiple times (me especially) and the person in front of me was talking to their friend about their bad knee and i was like man..... literally just mail out badges to people or at least print them in advance. what a disaster. i thought anime expo was bad, but i think this was the worst waiting-in-line experience i've ever had. this is my only real complaint about the con though, the rest of it was fine!!

all the panels i wanted to go to were on friday, and luckily they were all scheduled for late afternoon/evening because i would've missed them otherwise!!! once i got my badge it was only a half hour until kikuo's panel so i went straight there. i don't have any more thoughts about this one beyond the comic above. right after that, i went to the exhibitor hall where my friends were tabling and stuffed myself with tasty mac and cheese.

there was a panel about VNs, but i decided to skip it so i could eat. there was another panel that started during the VN panel that i kinda wanted to go to more anyway, but when i finally found the right room it turned out they canceled it... there was a yuri panel at like 9pm that i was also thinking of going to, but i was so exhausted by this point and it was already dark out and being on the train alone at night is scary!!!! i started feeling really overwhelmed/panicked by the large crowd too, so i just hopped on the train to get outta there... i walked home sadly in the dark........ ahh it wasn't a very good day, but at least kikuo's panel was really nice.

i didn't get to look around artist alley very much at all on that first day, so i went back on saturday! there was actually a space in the car for me that night so i could stay a little later too :) walking around was tough because my legs still hurt a lot, but i got to rest behind my friend's table for half the day so it was fine. there's not a lot to say about saturday since i was mostly looking at all the goods... my partner bought lots of gifts for me tho (like some cute hamtaro stuff waaah!) so i was happy.

i've tabled at cons in the past, usually with my friends who are really into it. i think it would be nice to do a nomnomnami table in the future, but it's also really scary to me for various reasons. logistically i'm not really able to do it on my own. i don't have a car, i'm anxious and weak, my partner is disabled and we don't have other friends available to help us. i think i would be more stressed out by it than anything. this was also the first public event i'd gone to since [the drama] and i was really anxious about getting recognized or seeing someone i used to know... but that didn't happen. i was just an anonymous attendee with a prinny backpack... idk, it was a stupid fear to have in the first place, but being able to have a normal time at a con was kind of healing for me. future nomnomnami table has gone from "completely impossible" to "maybe under the right circumstances"...

anyway, i ended up staying home on sunday so i could rest! i'm still sore, but i'm glad i went. kikuo is coming to kumoricon for sure next year, so i'll have to go back in 2024 to meet him for real....... ok that's all i had to say, i gotta go draw treat stuff now.

thanks for reading <3