Teemu's quest for geekdom
Sami will have a wall of text regarding the expo so I’ll try not to drag on subjects for too long. I have actually never been in a convention before, not sure why. This would be big so I wanted to get the most out of it. I firmly decided to not regret anything and thus I didn't: it’s that easy.
The place was crowded. I knew it would be yet I was still astonished by the enormous mob of geeks slobbering for the contents of their Mecca. I also wanted to get myself some keepsakes of the event but I didn't really know what I was looking for. It would have been fine if I could carefully check out every booth and decide what to get but thanks to our local friend I got warned that the merchandise sells out really fast, especially the popular ones. As I hadn't got the time to search for what I wanted the most I had to secure at least something in the way before it was too late: needless to say, the method wasn't the healthiest possible for my wallet, but I had already decided to have no regrets.
I've never really cared too much about figurines, but they were the first things that came to my mind and the first ones to sell out so I started looking for some depicting characters from shows I really liked as I didn't really want to use a lot of money for a character I cannot connect to. My obvious target was Haruhi, but to my surprise there didn't seem to be almost any merchandise from the series. I settled for a figurine that I liked but wasn't super excited about it. Afterwards I could search for more with at least some insurance. Eventually I did find one (1) figurine, or indeed any kind of merchandise, of Haruhi; too bad it was mediocre at best. I bought it anyway, praise the fandom!
For the rest of the day I roamed the booths and places looking for something interesting as well as simply enjoying the event. There was a lot of cosplay and it did nothing but escalate as the day grew longer. After we came back from lunch everybody with a costume that takes preparation had finished them and the sight of all of it was breathtaking. Sami had taken my phone for the sake of actually getting more than, like, four photos of the event. As a result I had him take pictures of pretty much every time I got moderately interested in something (read, often), maybe I should have become a producer after all.
The more interesting events in the expo consisted of Japanese show-wrestling and a huge trading card game tournament area. The wrestling was amusing in its own over-the-top way but it was far too scripted for my liking. I was hoping to get to play some Magic in the card-game-area, but wasn't surprised by the fact that mtg had little place in a place like this. Instead the game of the day was Cardfight!! Vanguard, the trading card game. I am NOT going to take up another tcg, so I didn't really delve into it, but the tcg-focus was seen in the booths as well, for there were a lot of card sleeves, playmats etc. that work just as fine in Magic.
Wallpapers/art/whatever-you-want-to-call-them had probably the best quality- price ratio in the event. This was especially true in the second day when artists were more desperate to sell them off and they were really affordable. Aside from the figurines, mtg-related stuff and art, I looted random accessories, a canvas and a shirt that radiates manliness.
As for what the future holds, I haven’t eaten the ghost pepper wings yet. Also our next weekend will be quite a blast as well, I am sure, as we participate (not in the main event) in Grand-Prix. Hype!
The place was crowded. I knew it would be yet I was still astonished by the enormous mob of geeks slobbering for the contents of their Mecca. I also wanted to get myself some keepsakes of the event but I didn't really know what I was looking for. It would have been fine if I could carefully check out every booth and decide what to get but thanks to our local friend I got warned that the merchandise sells out really fast, especially the popular ones. As I hadn't got the time to search for what I wanted the most I had to secure at least something in the way before it was too late: needless to say, the method wasn't the healthiest possible for my wallet, but I had already decided to have no regrets.
I've never really cared too much about figurines, but they were the first things that came to my mind and the first ones to sell out so I started looking for some depicting characters from shows I really liked as I didn't really want to use a lot of money for a character I cannot connect to. My obvious target was Haruhi, but to my surprise there didn't seem to be almost any merchandise from the series. I settled for a figurine that I liked but wasn't super excited about it. Afterwards I could search for more with at least some insurance. Eventually I did find one (1) figurine, or indeed any kind of merchandise, of Haruhi; too bad it was mediocre at best. I bought it anyway, praise the fandom!
For the rest of the day I roamed the booths and places looking for something interesting as well as simply enjoying the event. There was a lot of cosplay and it did nothing but escalate as the day grew longer. After we came back from lunch everybody with a costume that takes preparation had finished them and the sight of all of it was breathtaking. Sami had taken my phone for the sake of actually getting more than, like, four photos of the event. As a result I had him take pictures of pretty much every time I got moderately interested in something (read, often), maybe I should have become a producer after all.
The more interesting events in the expo consisted of Japanese show-wrestling and a huge trading card game tournament area. The wrestling was amusing in its own over-the-top way but it was far too scripted for my liking. I was hoping to get to play some Magic in the card-game-area, but wasn't surprised by the fact that mtg had little place in a place like this. Instead the game of the day was Cardfight!! Vanguard, the trading card game. I am NOT going to take up another tcg, so I didn't really delve into it, but the tcg-focus was seen in the booths as well, for there were a lot of card sleeves, playmats etc. that work just as fine in Magic.
Wallpapers/art/whatever-you-want-to-call-them had probably the best quality- price ratio in the event. This was especially true in the second day when artists were more desperate to sell them off and they were really affordable. Aside from the figurines, mtg-related stuff and art, I looted random accessories, a canvas and a shirt that radiates manliness.
As for what the future holds, I haven’t eaten the ghost pepper wings yet. Also our next weekend will be quite a blast as well, I am sure, as we participate (not in the main event) in Grand-Prix. Hype!
Sami - Awakened
The slight exhaustion brought by the three day marathon of video games didn't make it's way through a good nights sleep. I prepared myself for the upcoming journey with a luxurious breakfast of noodle soup made using our brand new electric kettle. CharaExpo would be located quite a ways away and we would be meeting our flatmate engineer's colleague at the expo station. We walked in the warm dawn through the campus of our school, heading towards the metro station on the commonly traversed path in the beautiful city adorned with it's common, seemingly exotic trees planted all round the busy streets and roads.
I had prepared myself for the upcoming event, being my first time in such an environment, not to mention this particular adventure takes place on the edge of the globe. I was sure to spend money, and to possibly regret my spending later on.
We made way for dozens of minutes standing in the hollow, bleeping rail caterpillar filled to the brim with people, transferring to ever more colourful groups along the way. Finally arriving to our destination four of us, that's two engineers, Yours Truly and Teemu, now waiting for our local friend. Contrary to our broken sweat about us being late, he was there over half an hour later than us, apologizing the timing of his arrival.
We now made way to the Expo hall, where we'd pay eight Singaporean Uncles for entry. The warm air made my large body sweat further surely making me a stereotypical sight later on, but once the gates were passed, the cool air within this new contained hub refreshed my mind. A huge mass of people going about the many organized booths, women and men dressed up as familiar characters all round and electronic music with exotic languages filled the hall decorated with a card game tournament area as well as a professional wrestling ring, I felt the need to seek something I had forgotten before.
I started my quest for simple figurines, settling myself in line that went around a section of booths just to grab myself something that I may never find in my homeland. Names of characters filled my mind as I looked at the models on display. The laws on certain content in Singapore seemed illusive as many of the dolls shown creep towards that border and perhaps beyond, but still there they were.
I fell victim to the expenses, but I was prepared with my shameful European bank-borrowed wealth. I decided to borrow a better phone since Teemu didn't have a habit of taking photos, and I tried to document our day the best I could. I didn't take photos of myself or the group I was with however, partially due to my dislike of photos taken of me and mostly due my own stupidity, Batman had convinced me otherwise at one point. After my first purchase and my first dozen photos, not to mention after the few series of anime I've watched recently, something awakened in me and I felt the thirst for more merchandise as the slippery bills tried to crawl out of their safe lodging in my pocket. Throughout the day I went by many booths and spent a lot of time in the creators corner hoarding artwork, figurines and other small merchandise. A lot of things that I didn't even know the origin of, at least yet. As I browsed through trading card sleeves trying to find ones decorated with amusingly lewd images, a character popped in my head and began my quest to find anything of this character from the event. I grasped a few sleeves and started to go around different booths asking for items referring to this character sadly to no avail. However, a friendly man behind a counter mentioned that they may have the thing I'm looking for at their store, but didn't bring any to the event. I started a bombardment of inquiries if he'd be here the next day and if he'd pass through their store after sundown or before dawn, he said he'll see what he can do and gave me his business card. I had hope for tomorrow.
The structure of time seemed to change as I indulged myself in the many joys of the event: watching wrestlers do their rehearsed exotic dances, hearing out creators of shows talk about things while the seemingly afraid security asked me not to take photographs in this area, watching different card games play out and finding many characters both unknown and familiar and both alive and sculpted. Doppelgängers in the many forms of Hatsune Miku was a common sight. Our group shattered and reformed many times as each of us walked about finding our own cup of tea.
At some point in time, in some point of space we gathered together and decided to go for a meal, the meal I showed you earlier in my case. We got out of the hall and ventured a little on the public transportation to have a new food court shown to us. Albeit very typical of the courts seen before, this also had a charm of it's own. Many small kitchens in a tightly packed space serving many different dishes for many different tastes, as was the norm. It wasn't crowded, but there were some people. Then again it is one or the other everywhere in here. I decided to obliterate a bird's walking mechanism while others settled for other dishes. Our local friend introduced us to some additional treats, salmon with soy and wasabi. We returned this favour by handing him our precious ammonium chloride flavoured treats, salmiak. The reaction was mixed I'd say, as his eyebrows wiggled in a rapid frequency as he chewed down these questionable black diamonds.
Once we would return home with full hands and spacier pockets, we had already separated from our local guide. With a tired body and mind I drifted towards our home-for-now and settled to rest and prepare for tomorrow, while an engineer succumbed to temporal madness much to the confusion of myself and a few others. Such is the way of the Eastern winds.
The next day was bittersweet. I managed to grab more artwork, but while the friendly merchant was located in the same booth as the day before, he hadn't gone back to bring the goods I had desired. He spotted me from a distance and was already distraught realizing I kept my word, and his apology seemed sincere when I said he'd know what I was going to ask. Thus I have two quests: Turtle soup and this merchant's store. Seems it is in a convenient place with potential for pleasant photos, so that is fine by me. It also was definitely a business scheme by him, whether his words were sincere or not. All in all the day was more calm. There was less people around, cheaper prices and we stuck our ground for a shorter time. We had to make a re-entry due to my own thoughtlessness how ever, as I had left an important blueprint to a booth. Luckily the people there were kind enough to hold on to it in case I would return and the recovery was successful with an exchange of a few words.
As the day turned to dusk, new schemes were created for next weekend as we'd head for Grand Prix. And as of this writing, I do not regret my spending as much as I had anticipated. In fact, I feel I should have grabbed a few more items that I passed. Perhaps the merchant has some irresistible items among his wares, and I do not doubt this.
The structure of time seemed to change as I indulged myself in the many joys of the event: watching wrestlers do their rehearsed exotic dances, hearing out creators of shows talk about things while the seemingly afraid security asked me not to take photographs in this area, watching different card games play out and finding many characters both unknown and familiar and both alive and sculpted. Doppelgängers in the many forms of Hatsune Miku was a common sight. Our group shattered and reformed many times as each of us walked about finding our own cup of tea.
At some point in time, in some point of space we gathered together and decided to go for a meal, the meal I showed you earlier in my case. We got out of the hall and ventured a little on the public transportation to have a new food court shown to us. Albeit very typical of the courts seen before, this also had a charm of it's own. Many small kitchens in a tightly packed space serving many different dishes for many different tastes, as was the norm. It wasn't crowded, but there were some people. Then again it is one or the other everywhere in here. I decided to obliterate a bird's walking mechanism while others settled for other dishes. Our local friend introduced us to some additional treats, salmon with soy and wasabi. We returned this favour by handing him our precious ammonium chloride flavoured treats, salmiak. The reaction was mixed I'd say, as his eyebrows wiggled in a rapid frequency as he chewed down these questionable black diamonds.
Once we would return home with full hands and spacier pockets, we had already separated from our local guide. With a tired body and mind I drifted towards our home-for-now and settled to rest and prepare for tomorrow, while an engineer succumbed to temporal madness much to the confusion of myself and a few others. Such is the way of the Eastern winds.
The next day was bittersweet. I managed to grab more artwork, but while the friendly merchant was located in the same booth as the day before, he hadn't gone back to bring the goods I had desired. He spotted me from a distance and was already distraught realizing I kept my word, and his apology seemed sincere when I said he'd know what I was going to ask. Thus I have two quests: Turtle soup and this merchant's store. Seems it is in a convenient place with potential for pleasant photos, so that is fine by me. It also was definitely a business scheme by him, whether his words were sincere or not. All in all the day was more calm. There was less people around, cheaper prices and we stuck our ground for a shorter time. We had to make a re-entry due to my own thoughtlessness how ever, as I had left an important blueprint to a booth. Luckily the people there were kind enough to hold on to it in case I would return and the recovery was successful with an exchange of a few words.
As the day turned to dusk, new schemes were created for next weekend as we'd head for Grand Prix. And as of this writing, I do not regret my spending as much as I had anticipated. In fact, I feel I should have grabbed a few more items that I passed. Perhaps the merchant has some irresistible items among his wares, and I do not doubt this.
Images
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These photos are few of many. The rest of the photos may be viewed in a compilation that I will share on this post later.
These photos are few of many. The rest of the photos may be viewed in a compilation that I will share on this post later.
Booths and general view:
Activities;
Cosplay:
Figurine examples:
Loot:
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