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Tales Of The Industry - Trapped at a Convention

"Hentai anime! Get it while it's still warm!" would eventually turn into lines like, "Get yet hentai on DVD! They're easier to clean!"

...he looked up at me and said in a thick Southern accent, "people ask me what kind of pornography I like. I like the anthropomorphic pornography." And with that, he walked away.

the boyfriend of one of the chairwomen was declared the official con mascot, presumably because he was a scrawny guy that they referred to as a "bishounen." He was immortalized in artwork on every sign for the show, as well as the website and program guide, and every portrayal was of him in a spiked dog collar and mesh T-shirt, being led around on a leash by his cackling girlfriend.

While he was speaking, and while he was making eye contact with me, he raised his hand up to his face. Without breaking sentence cadence or tone of voice, his index finger penetrated a nostril. And in, it plunged.

Deeper.

Deeper.

He twisted it, finding a target, and then -- after what seemed like hours -- retreating back out bearing a large and particularly wet looking payload.

If you google pics of the con you will find art work and pictures of the cons "mascot".

There was never another Shojocon.

I have observed some rather odd behavior at cons (not to the level of picking your nose in front of people) but enough to make me wonder if being at a convention makes some people lose track of basic etiquette and social cues, or if they never learned them in the first place.

While he was speaking, and while he was making eye contact with me, he raised his hand up to his face. Without breaking sentence cadence or tone of voice, his index finger penetrated a nostril.

I stood there, temporarily unable to move or form words. Finally, fight-or-flight instinct kicked in. Still aiming for politeness, I managed to say, "I'm sorry -- I can't talk to you anymore." And I ran. Oh, god, how I ran.

She then noticed that a gaunt, oddly-costumed young man was clumsily peering at her from behind a pillar. He wasn't trying to stay hidden, but chuckled to himself as if he were a comic relief cartoon villain. Confused, she asked, "what are you doing?"

"Heh heh, I'm schtalking youuu!"

Oh god, it's these kinds of people at conventions which give anime a bad name.

Related to this though, I'm contributing over 20 hours of volunteer time at Tekkoshocon next weekend. It's the first time I've ever worked at a con, so it's going to be a new experience for me.