ConCarolinas Recap Part 1: Travels and Reuniting with the BWB

Nothing like a typical FanGirl recap that's over a month overdue. Anyway here is a look at my experience at ConCarolinas in Charlotte North Carolina.

As I live in Maryland, I really didn't feel up to the drive down to NC, although I do know some people that did do it. My mom picked me and Brian up and we headed to what was supposed to be a simple trip to the airport. That did not happen. There was a crazy accident on the interstate so traffic was backed up. What was supposed to take 35-45 minutes took two hours. The funny thing is our flight was barely two hours and we ended up being stuck in traffic longer than that.

Anyway we made it to the airport (and had enough time for food and a double shot of my amaretto sour) and our flight got underway. Once we finally got to Charlotte, it was a 20 minute long cab ride before we got to the hotel. The hotel was really nice and I was starting to get excited to see everyone from Capclave again.

Mascot of CapClave

*Short Aside*---err...or not, oh well!

Capclave is a small sci-fi-fantasy fiction convention. It's held in Gaithersburg every year, and this past year, George RR Martin was the Guest of Honor, so I obviously had to go. After looking online, I discovered that GRRM had an official fan group called the Brotherhood Without Banners that basically throws epic parties at all the conventions they attend. To join all you have to do is show up to an event. It's cool because you kind of become "vetted" with GRRM and he knows that you're a respectful fan that he can also hangout with (which we did!). I would describe the BWB as pretty "ride or die", meaning that they pretty much have a presence at most things GRRM goes to. Ta give you an idea I met one person from Portland and another all the way from Dublin, so the BWB pretty much has a fairly large span of members.
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So once we settled in a bit I nervously met with some members that I recognized (since I had only met them once before). We were planning on doing a group costume so it was fun to talk about it and make some plans for the first day of the conventions. We were going to become the (Not-so) Silent Sisters form Game of Thrones. They have actually featured in a few episodes but obviously had no speaking parts (ha!). They are a religious sect/order of women who travel Westeros collecting and preparing the dead. It sounds creepy and off-putting because they cover everything but their eyes and don't speak.

That was basically the end of the travel/preparation leading up to the convention so stay tuned for Part Two: Lunches and Costumes Galore!

Monday Madness: Cosplay Edition

Despite my relief that my busy period was over, it seems I'm still doing a ton of stuff all at once. I'm working full time and attempting to also study for the psych and regular GREs. I'm also currently working on my first ever fully handmade cosplay, which is equally fun and challenging.

I will starting posting all of my progress pictures on here so, so I can see my process. Hopefully I can look back and see howfar I've come in my skills with making costumes. The costume I am currently making is a Weeping Angel from the show Doctor Who.

Don't Blink

When I first saw the episode, I thought they were absolutely terrifying. Imagine if the only way you can survive is to make sure you don't blink when you see them. Anyway I figured this would be a good first cosplay as it has equal elements of crafting and sewing. As of right now I'm done almost all of the crafting which, I'm excited about. So far I've had to make a wig, gloves, balaclava-type cover and wings.

It's so weird that the more I work on this project the more projects I want to do. My list so far includes: Princess Jasmine (of course!), Arianne Martell (asoiaf), Sarella Sand (asoiaf), Patty Mayonnaise (from Doug), Sailor Mars, a GOT spin on Where's Waldo (Walda Frey-Bolton) and a stewardess from the Fifth Element.

So yeah, I'll see how that goes, especially once I start making my dress for my current costume. I'm considering going to a con in September and competing so hopefully evertyhing will work out.

Also I've finally been reading more and even have gotten into a comic book series (Fables) so it's nice to do what I love.

In other first world problems news, I currently can't decide between paying for season 5 of Archer or to wait for it to show up on Netflix. haha Such is my life.

Story Review: The Rogue Prince or A King's Brother

And I'm back! I plan on doing a bunch of posts so just be prepared for the deluge. Anyway, I've actually been reading a decent amount so I figured I can come back with some reviews to get this blog started back up again.

The first is a story from an anthology set in the Song of Ice and Fire universe set nearly 200 years before A Game of Thrones.

Anthology Title: Rogues
Editors: George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois

Source

Story: The Rogue Prince or A King's Brother
Author: George R.R. Martin

Characters:

Prince Daemon Targaryen- the younger brother of the king, his behavior leads to many conflicts and confrontations. A very driven man, he will do whatever it takes to get the crown that he believes he deserves. Caraxes is his dragon.

Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen- the would-be queen. She is the only surviving child of her father's first marriage to Aemma Arryn and is the oldest sibling by ten years, leading her father to declare her the heir to the Iron Throne (which may be due to the fact that she has more Targaryen blood tha her half-siblings). Syrax is her dragon.

King Viserys I Targaryen- the firstborn son of Prince Baelon, who died before he ever could become king, devastating the Good King Jaehaerys and throwing Viserys into king hood. He doesn't like confrontation, which leads to a lot of future problems due to his inaction at times.

Queen Alicent Hightower- the second wife of the king. She will do whatever it takes to maintain her power and see her children on the throne/the line of succession. She previously was a caretaker to the Good King and her father serves as Hand of the King.

Setting: During the years 103 AC-129 AC, which cover the period beginning with the death of King Jaehaerys and the ending with the death of King Viserys. The Targaryens are at the peak of their rule and there are numerous dragons (and some wild ones to boot).

Overview: It's hard to describe the plot as this is more of a historical retelling rather than an actual story. Like The Princess and the Queen, Rogues has less focus on the title (meaning the brother) and more focus on the overall conflicts and scandals leading up to the Dance (read: Death) of the Dragons. The most interesting aspect of this story is the fact that we get three different ideas of what could have happened from chaste to salacious which are left open ended, so the reader can decide their own truths. I feel like this was less of a story and more of a prologue info dump but I still found all of the new information interesting. Guidance would be to read this and then read The Princess and the Queen for the most complete story (well...with all of the editing, it'll be the most complete story until we can get the complete unedited version of the entire before, during , after of the war).

FanGirl Rating: 3.5/5 Stars