GasparAKAShiggitay

I'm having mine mailed out of habit and tradition, but I get your point there....

As stated on the Otakon website: With that said @BortBorterson I'm not a staff member either, but I totally get your concern... I didn't go to ACen this year partially due to their flip floppy policies regarding COVID safety... and partially due to money... I've been unemployed basically since the pandemic started... Otakon won't be relaxing the rules until I'd assume next year at earliest as the pandemic goes more and more into its endemic stage... (Don't quote me though as that is pure speculation on my part, and as we all know this pandemic is an unpredictable beast, even if it's

I was there! It was fun besides the atrocious Friday lines... Ugh.

So here's a final update and after this post anyone with the power can lock this thread, but my mom finally gave in and she's "letting" me go. I'll do my best to socially distance when possible, but when it's not possible, I'll have my mask on tight and it'll be fine. Thanks to everyone that's been suggesting stuff. I appreciate it.

I recently got a mask that I think'll match my cosplay frickin' perfectly! I can't wait to go to con now! That's an interesting question... I'm sorta curious too. I'll have at least one mask on me but it'd be good to grab a backup if you leave it in your hotel room or something...

Another pseudo-update: I consulted with my brother and he suggests that I assure my mom that I'll make sure to be virus-free before coming home.... That's futile as I'm vaccinated, but I'll say anything within reason to have her "let me" go.

I could offer to do that but she'll not have faith that I'll actually do it. I might go to CVS in the morning and find a COVID test to have with me. That's a great idea. Thank you. Also, I might be staying with friends in NC after the con, so that'll further allow me to prove to her that I'll come home healthy and fine. EDIT: This one isn't TOO badly priced, and honestly I don't care... I just want to prove to my mom that even if I test "positive" it's because my VACCINATED system is taking care of it. https://www.cvs.com/shop/ellume-covid-19-home-test-prodid-431742

So here's a bit of a pseudo-update to my rant/vent regading my mom: She and I were watching a movie, and then she grabbed her phone and said "The pandemic is uncertain..." and mentioned that people from Europe are coming over to the US bring different strains with them. I just walked away (partially due to having to use the bathroom, but that's besides the point) when she started on that. She has no idea how low cases are in the US and she seems to not know/understand, as much as she'll insist the opposite, how the vaccines work, and what can and cannot happen when someone gets sick with COVI

Yeah but the fact that she "let" me go see local friends like 48h after my 2nd shot is enough for me to call her a hypocrite... I was literally in a crowd when at the restaurant we went to and I was fine afterwards. I do have a cold right now but only because my sleep cycle is horrid. I'm going to show her the articles linked in the OP of this thread in a few weeks, so as to give cases time to drop even more, and vaccinations to rise more as well. I'm going to go to Otakon this year whether she likes it or not. Also to reiterate, only my mom is all up in arms about me going out there again. My

If only it was that easy... Haha my friend on an FB Messenger call said the same thing... He's like "Mom, why don't you come with me?", though she wouldn't and she'd get even more upset... It's really irrational, and makes no sense... It's frustrating. Fully vaccinated individuals like myself do NOT have to quarantine! This country is slowing getting into better shape, so I'd understand the whole quarantine thing if I was going to say, Canada for a con or something, but within the US it's somewhat "normal" again to travel. Ugh.

So, as this doesn't really involve the convention directly directly, I thought I'd post it here. I'm planning on attending Otakon this year (I have roommates for a hotel room that I have booked at the Embassy Suites that I'm guessing is a carry-over from last year, I pre-registered, etc) but I live with my parents who are [somewhat] older. My dad, who just turned 72 about a week ago, seems to be indifferent with me going to a large scale event during a pandemic. It's gotten loads better than exactly a year ago, and he agrees. The thing is, my mom, who's 9 years younger, is SUPER paranoid I'll

hahah I know. I was just kidding.

I pre-regged with mailing today.... as it was the last day to do so. *phew* lol

OOPS lol. It's LineCon for you then! haha

So as I said on the Otakon Unofficial Discord Server (of which y'all should totally join pre-Ota and just overall https://discord.gg/wjrfMbH): "Holy crap... Reading up on the cleaning tech the WEWCC installed makes me REALLY wanna attend this year!! It feels like it'd potentially be "COVID-free" (notice I have it in quotations cuz we'll never be fully COVID-free, at least not for a long time) during the con!" I'm giving myself this weekend to fully decide (since this weekend is the badge mailing deadline), but I think I'm going! The fact that in-con-center I have to wear a mask most of