Raleigh Disaster

Thank you for reading this and for reaching out. That really means a lot to me. I understand that we all act and react in ways that we don't always mean to do. It's simply part of being human. It's sad that the person in front of me didn't have the decency to know how to act and what to say/not say. You shouldn't have to deal with people acting that way.

Hopefully, you'll come within my range of travel again, and I'll have the chance to come back to your table. I am sure it will be a much better experience, and I do look forward to that opportunity!

I'm happy Marina saw your post and responded. Hopefully you're feeling better about the situation now.

I very much appreciate that she saw it and responded. I never expected that, really, though I was hopeful she would at least see it. I am feeling better, and I am hopeful that, at some point, I'll have another chance to meet her and things will go positively. I look forward to having the good memory of that encounter.

Thank you. I know what you mean. I have anxiety as it is, and that's one reason my friend went with me. She figured that she could spur me on, if necessary. I can confidently say there was no word vomit on this occasion. 😂 I didn't say much at all, and certainly not a thing that I'd planned.

The guy was very entitled, and he was definitely disgruntled over the idea that he wasn't getting what he wanted in exactly the way he wanted.

I have no doubt that Marina is an awesome person, and it looks like everyone had an excellent experience! I'm sure that is the most common experience!

Hopefully, eventually, things will line up for me to have another chance. I am sure it will be great. Honestly, it would almost have to be better, though I wouldn't want to jinx it in advance. (I don't ever like saying that things couldn't be worse because, let's just face it, that is like a challenge to the universe!)

I think your idea of a feedback box for cons would be a good idea, especially if suggestions were taken into account. I think that they weren't prepared for that number of people, honestly. They hadn't planned and organized things well. It's possible, though, that they will take some of the chaos into account for future cons.

Thank you. I'm still working on the "positive" side, honestly, but I'm sure that I'll get there. I think it'll take some time, honestly, to get beyond the disappointment and hurt. It was my first (and possibly only) time meeting her, and I have to get past the fact that it was a negative experience that in no way looked anything like what I would have wanted for myself or anyone. I will definitely look for your appreciation thread, when I have had a little time to figure out exactly what I might want to say there, and how I'd like to say it. Thank you for letting me know it's there!

With as many comments that this thread has received, I'd venture to say don't worry. It will be seen.

Thank you. I hope that I get the chance to meet her again, too, and that it goes dramatically differently.

Thank you. I can see from everything that people are posting and saying that everyone had wonderful experiences. I'm glad that is the normal experience. Believe me, I know how much these things mean to people. I do hope to have the chance to meet her again, someday, if everything works out. Things have to align pretty specifically for that to happen, so I'm not sure it will, but I will hope that it will. I would like the chance for a positive experience. I will also hope for the chance to stay a great distance from jerks in the line. I'm serious. I will leave the line and come back, if there's anyone around me that looks like they don't know how to behave in public. There were a lot of things at the con that could have/should have been done differently. I could probably write a laundry list of things just from the one day that I spent there. (I drove up for just the one day, so I don't know what happened during the rest of the con.)

Some of the people working there were awfully rude. There were a lot of fans that were difficult to deal with, too, and they complained about everything.

I'm so sorry that people were mean to you about your tattoo and your outfit. That kind of behavior is always unacceptable. The person in front of me in line was out of line, really, and Marina had all right and reason to be angry with him. Again, no matter the heat or the stir craziness, there's no excuse for being rude and treating people disrespectfully. There was so much negativity and rudeness that we encountered in that one day, that it just zapped all the energy and positivity out of us. My best friend went as my "emotional support person" (her joke) because of my anxiety. By the end of our "day" (we left after we finished things with Marina, because we really didn't go to the con for more than meeting and greeting), she just looked at me and was like "we deserve cheese dip..." and we went to get food. We were so drained that we ate in silence and got coffee to keep us awake until bedtime. 😂

Generally people at comic cons are accepting of EVERYONE, never mind appearance, outfit, or gender. To receive those type of horrible comments are rare and I've been to countless conventions now with Marina.

BUT, this event was wayyyyy too crowded, too many vendors, artists, and guest stars let alone customers. Photo ops had a major cluster f***. And HOT 🥵 I bitched about the heat constantly.

Some of the guests deserved better treatment as well. Jerks may have been present 😕 End of rant.

Thank you! I don't actually think that she'd be mad at me. She doesn't know me and has no reason to remember me. I think she was angry with him, and I happened to be next in line.

Thank you. I don't think that she was angry with me. I think she was blindsided by the audacity of the person in front of me and unable to really say what she wanted to him, because he left. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is extra upsetting because, in all honesty, it's not something that will likely happen again. I don't really have the opportunity to go to a lot of cons, since I'm very limited by location and finances. It was one of those "probably the only time I'm going to be able to do this" situations, and I am sure that I'm going to be disappointed and upset for some time. Like everyone else, I wanted a positive experience with a person that I have admired for a very long time. I really like your idea of writing things down, if I ever go again. I absolutely believe we're all human, and I certainly remember that we all have bad days/moments/etc. I know that she was reacting to him, and it just so happened that the few minutes of reacting to him coincided with the few minutes that I had there at the table. I'm sorry for the loss of your dog. I'm honestly still not over the loss of my cat. They're very much family. I do hope that your mother remains in remission and recovers well! Thank you. If there is another, I hope it'll be better. I just felt like I had to say something/get some of this off my chest. I'm so happy for everyone that they had great experiences, but I have to admit that it does make me feel jealous and a little hurt that I can't exactly say the same (especially when people who knew I was going ask me how it went).