With the London May MCM expo next week I decided to make a quick survival guide for new expo goers. The expo is a brilliant place to make new friends so I highly recommend you come along. I'll be going on the Saturday as Mami Tomoe so feel free to come up and say hello. I love meeting new people!

Chanirra's Survival guide: The London MCM Expo

Preparations
Get everything together that you're going to need the night before if necessary. Do make sure you get a good night's sleep and leave yourself enough time in the morning to get ready. It's stressful enough trying to get yourself to your destination on time. You don't want to add to that by risking being late or wandering about in a blurry daze because you stayed up to the early hours of the morning. Make sure your costume is complete a day or two before the expo. Don't leave it to the last minute. People can generally tell if you put the effort into your costume or not.

Water
Trust me, there's nothing worse than trudging around a hot convention hall while slowly dying of dehydration. Bring a bottle of water or two along with you to keep up your liquid intakes. The water in these venues is ridiculously priced and it could save you a bob. Of course, if you drink though your supply of water for that day, and there's nowhere to fill up your bottle, you'll just have to take the plunge (no pun intended) and splurge on another bottle, but bring some emergency money along and you should be ok!

Hygiene
Please take a shower and apply deodorant before you come to a convention, if not for yourself, then for the sake of the other con goers. Walking around for hours in a hot convention room (sometimes in a hot, heavy cosplay) with the combined heat of the other con goers, your more than likely going to sweat  and no one wants to catch a whiff of another person's body odour. If you sweat a lot, try to drink lots and in doubt, bring deodorant with you for top ups.
(And if you're staying more than one day, take a shower at the hotel or wherever you're staying too!)

Food
It's bad enough being dehydrated at the expo. If you're starving as well on top of that, it won't be a very nice experience at all. Bring some snacks to keep you going and try to have a decent breakfast on the morning as well. Like water, the food prices at conventions are generally very high.

Money and Belongings
Money: Keep it in a safe place! Split it up if necessary so if in the unfortunate situation some goes missing, all you're hard earned savings haven't been scattered to the wind. Same goes for other valuables like camera's, phones, cash cards etc.

General Etiquette
Please be respectful of other con goers. They are human as well. And crude behaviour can ruin a good convention.

DON'T
-Harass abuse or hound other cosplayers, they're trying to have a good time as well you know! And don't think just because they're dressed as Sasuke Uchiha or another character you love, that means your best buddies and you can tell each other everything from DNA to what you ate this morning. It's still a stranger under there, be careful what you give out.

-Make nasty comments about someone else or their costume. It's mean and shallow, and you could really hurt someone's feelings, especially if it's a costume they worked hard on. Every cosplayer is equal. (And it does make you look like a bit of a jerk.)

-Invade someone's personal space before asking. If you want a hug, just ask! The other person is likely to say yes and if they do decline, respect that. Glomping people may seem like a fun idea but you could damage a person's costume by hurling yourself on them. Also what if the person had back problems.

-Be annoying e.g. screaming, shouting, re-enacting battle scenes. If you want to do this stuff, move outside or move somewhere you won't be disturbing others. Also be aware of the language you're using doesn't offend someone.

-Randomly waltz up to someone and take a photograph. The person might not feel they or their costume weren't looking their best and it's probably quite humiliating having images of your grandest derp face pasted over the internet. If you want a photo, it's always polite to ask first so the person can prepare themselves for it i.e. get into the correct pose, pull the right expression. Also if a cosplayer looks like they are in a rush, it's probably best to wait to later to ask for a photo. Being stopped and expected to pose for a photo while rushing to catch a train is very annoying.

DO:
-Approach other cosplayers sensibly. Like I mentioned before, maybe give the Glomping a miss! And talk to them sensibly to. Running up to someone and yelling 'GIN-KUN YOUR SO KAWAII DESU NE!' probably isn't the best way to introduce yourself.

-Be friendly and courteous. Don't push through crowds. Use your P's and Q's. Give way to others once in a while.

-Enjoy yourself! That's what conventions are all about. It's not about how many competitions you win with your cosplay or how many photos get taken of you, it's about having a good memorable time.

See you there!
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