[Editor's Note: Say hello to LamoreVincera, everyone! A friend of our own Amanda's, she has graciously offered to share her DragonCon experience here on The Discriminating Fangirl!]

On Friday, September 3rd, my 30-year-old self went and purposely lost my virginity. Today is Tuesday the 7th, and all I can physically do today is type while I lie on the couch with my feet up.

I don’t have to be psychic to know that the reactions that this announcement are getting are 1) took you long enough, and 2) how the hell is this relevant to The Discriminating Fangirl?

As much as I wish my answer could be “because I lost it to Nathan Fillion”, that’s not it. It’s because it wasn’t my physical virginity that got lost, but rather that I gleefully popped my con cherry. I attended DragonCon in Atlanta for the very first time, and in keeping with the virginity allegory, if my first time at actual sex had been that good, I’d never get out of bed.

I arrived in a messy, crazy downtown Atlanta at 9 AM on Friday. I had a list of panels I wanted to attend and their locations, and my camera was primed. First on my list: a True Blood panel at 10 AM with Kristin Bauer Van Straten (Pam), Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette), and Sam Trammell (Sam). I got my badge, plopped myself down in line, and very quickly discovered the one thing that I would end up loving more about attending a con than any other aspect: communion with the other fans.

Sitting down in the massive, snaking line, I wasn’t sure what to do. Con etiquette? What’s that? Don’t throw elbows, and no flashing the celebrity panelists? I made a quick decision that ended up being exactly the right one: look at this like it’s a fan community online – except that all of the people behind the usernames are sitting here in front of me instead. I introduced myself, and before I knew it, I was neck-deep in a discussion on the King of Mississippi – good vampire or best vampire ever?

I would find this again and again, in every line I got in, no matter the subject. In a line for a Eureka panel, I geeked out with others over Nathan Stark’s return. (The panel itself rocked. Colin Ferguson was not able to make it, and the entire Q&A was held down impressively by Erica Cerra alone. She was cheery and witty, and admitted that she was geeking out just as much as we were.) In the “Firefly: Simon and Kaylee Reunited” line, I met a couple who run a local Firefly RPG, and in the panel itself sat next to a Kaylee cosplayer. When Sean Maher entered the room, she and I looked at each other, and we both knew exactly what the other was thinking. She grabbed my hand and grasped it in excitement as we both squeed loudly enough to burst eardrums.

In a line dedicated to the Eureka/Warehouse 13 panel, I met an older man who is an entertainment journalist and was friends back in the day with Gene and Majel Roddenberry. I listened to his stories, and told a few of my own, namely on how Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced me to science fiction as a kid (and to a terrible crush on Wil Wheaton).

On top of that, I was granted some amazing luck. I went to a secluded area to meet up with a friend, only to find True Blood’s Kristin Bauer standing there. I was able to have a very short conversation before her five DragonCon-assigned handlers jumped me, and my friend took a pic of us talking. Later, in one of the merchandise rooms, a man strolled up to me, and commented on the griffin figurines on the table in front of us. He just kept talking, and it turned out I was speaking to Larry Dixon, fantasy novelist and the husband of Mercedes Lackey, another popular fantasy author. More impressive, though, were his stories – he rehabs predator birds at his home in Oklahoma, and also specializes in special effects. The man created Buckbeak for the Harry Potter movies, Gwaihir for the Lord of the Rings movies, and any griffins in the Narnia movies. He spoke about his work with a sparkle in his eye and an amazing amount of love, and surprised me with six bookplates bearing Buckbeak’s image and both his and his wife’s autographs.

I walked out of the dealer room in something of a daze, and as I mulled over what had just happened, it struck me – if I needed to describe DragonCon in one word, “love” would be it. As I stood there, that’s all I saw. Lines forming, and at the same time, new friendships; adoration being proudly worn in the form of geeky t-shirts; affinity for fandoms, storytellers, and actors being shouted without words in lovingly made costumes. Glances were traded in mere seconds as people passed one another in the crowded hallways, and each person knew exactly what the other was thinking. I get you, I think you’re awesome, and I love your fandom just as much as you do.

This weekend, I went to a sci-fi/fantasy convention for the first time. I joke that I lost my virginity, but more importantly, I happily lost my heart to the wonderful insanity that is people getting together en masse to celebrate their shared geekiness.

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LamoreVincera

LamoreVincera has been a geek chick since the third grade, when she discovered Star Wars, Luke Skywalker, and a penchant for blond-haired farm boys. She has a lifetime-long love of fantasy, sci-fi, history, and medicine, and is currently working on achieving her dream of becoming a midwife, as well as working on a novel. She can be contacted at LamoreVincera @ hotmail . com and followed on Twitter at the link below.

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