Last weekend my husband and I took our daughter to an anime convention in
Orlando. While my daughter is a Star Wars fan (She was bred that way.),
she is also an anime/manga fan. After ditching her at Celebration V so that I
could get a Dark Horse freebie, I promised that we would
attend AFO as restitution. I must admit that I do watch some anime and have
Star Wars manga that I love, but it never occurred to me to attend an anime
convention.
I'm so glad we
went. Not only did I gain some RPG knowledge in the Mass Effect panel (I'm
gearing up for SWTOR since I'm a Noob.), but I also picked up some Star Wars
swag and made contact with other Star Wars fans.
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| Pew Pew! |
The
best moment of the entire convention was when we ran into another Star Wars fan
and found out that AFO was their first convention ever. I will call them Spidey
and MJ (He was also a Spider-man fan, as am I - 'Nuff Said!) Spidey
was really enjoying the AFO convention. He and MJ were fairly new
residents of Orlando and had been living there during Celebration V and didn't
even know that it had occurred.
"Celebration
V? What's that?" Spidey asked.
After picking myself up from the floor I learned that Spidey was a passionate Star Wars fan. His
fiancée, MJ, was standing there conferring with my husband about
what it was like to be engaged to a UPF of Star Wars. MJ shared tales of vanishing space
in their home that had succumbed to Spidey's Star Wars collection
as my husband nodded his head in agreement. He listened to her as the spouse of
an life-long alcoholic listens to a newlywed who has just found out their
spouse drinks. His gentle sighs comforting her as they simultaneously told her
that his own tribulations in that department were much worse since I was an
'old school' fan since the release of the original trilogy.
After learning that he had missed the biggest party this side of the galaxy, Spidey looked down trodden and dejected. His face frozen in grief. As if to say, there’s a recurring Star Wars convention and
I didn't know about it. I had just told him that not only had he missed a convention
center full of Star Wars swag that would make any fan's mouth water; but he also missed among other things:
Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, George Lucas and the chance to commune with other
fans just as insanely passionate as ourselves.
After
sharing stories about our favorite moments from the prequels, (Spidey was introduced
to Star Wars through their theatrical release.) I advised him that he must
immediately get online, join theFORCEbook and the Star Wars Celebration VI
group.
My mission in life was finally apparent to me. It was my vocation - dare I say my calling - to let other Star Wars fans know about Celebration, The
FORCEbook and the myriad other ways available for them to share the Force with
other Star Wars fans. As Yoda said, “Pass on what you have learned.”
The
other pivotal moment during AFO came when I saw the one thing I have been
looking for ever since I first laid eyes on the gaggle of Slave Leias at
Celebration VI. I have mentioned in previous blogs that there must be some
brave male souls out there who could supply eye candy for the rest of us pining
away for scenes reminiscent of Luke a la Bacta Tank.
Well I found him!
While waiting on the side
of a hallway for the next panel to begin, Darth Vader, wearing nothing more
than a helmet and a tiny Speedo, strutted past me Empire-Strikes-Back-style in
all his glory. I wish I could say that I have a photo for you, but I was struck
both dumb and paralyzed. Before I had time to fully recover, I later saw both a Boba & Jango Fett that were
similarly clothed.
All I can say is...
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| Thank the maker for fanboys! |
May the Force Be With Them, Always!
