[Pictures update] Sakura-con 2012: ADVENTURE TIME!!!

[Ninahaza]

Original OP

You know i think there comes a time in every mans (or woman) life when he has to admit to himself and accept that he is just a big nerd, and that everything else he does is just him trying to be something he is not.

I do a lot of things, from partying on weekends, getting smashed and doing things with females, to doing stupid shit that i would never do if not for the fact that i was with friends and did not want to be the party pooper. Like just last weekend we got drunk and broke into an abandoned hospital. The next night the gang went back for round 2, and about an hour later cops where all over the place and we were in handcuffs, well i wasn't because luckily i couldn't join them for night #2. This however doesn't mean that i am in the clear; charges are being pressed.
however i think everything i do, i only do it because i am trying to be something i am not, which is one of the cool kids. Half the time i get home in the wee early hours of the morning, crash in my bed and wonder why i just spent all night out when i would rather have been at home, all cozy with one of my favorite video games or just hanging on IRC (LIKE I ORIGINALLY PLANNED). When i think about it, i have been trying to be something i am not for a very long time now. I even remember how in highschool when i was on the football team, almost all the time when the guys would go hang out after practice or go celebrate after a game, i almost ALWAYS chose to give them some bs excuse and go home instead because i just couldn't wait to log into World of Warcraft and have fun in the lands of Azeroth instead. I was soo happy too, GREAT times.

heh, you know some of my friends even make fun of me because i am on a forum on the interwebs. they also crack jokes when they see pictures of me from Pokemon VGC events (i should really kick more of them off my Facebook). But i don't even care about that. what really bothers me sometimes is; if i enjoy being a nerd so fucking much, then why do i try to be something else week after week? even though like half the time i end up regretting the things i just did.

Despite all of the above, i doubt i am done pretending to be something i'm not. I will probably continue pretending for years to come. Maybe if i am lucky i'll end up coming to the realization that maybe i am not pretending, maybe i just need both sides, both being a nerd and being whatever it is i am trying to be when i am pretending that i'm not a nerd. yeah! maybe i'll find a sweet spot.


UNLEASHING THE NERD WITHIN
so i am posting the thread because of Sakura con!!!!!!!!!!!! is anyone else going to be there this weekend? OMG LET ME KNOW :3
i went to last years sakura con and i had such a good time that i'm going again this year. Sakura con is an anime convention and one of the biggest in the United states. Here is last years thread. Last years thread should provide better info on what sakura con is

Last year was my first time at a convention like this (anime con, comic con, etc). This year i had hoped to attend San Diego's comic con, but things have gotten in the way. I am also hoping to attend PAX sometime in the future. I am not going to cosplay, but in the future maybe i will.

Now just like last year, i will update this thread with pictures of all the nerdiness that took place. who knew i would end up liking anime conventions. God i am such a nerd sometimes

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Sakura con ~

WARNING: this is not something your cell phone internet can handle.

So sakura con just ended. i had another fun experience. i tried to go to more panels and events this year so i ended up not taking as many pictures or seeing as many cosplays as i did last year. alright lets just jump into the pictures before i end up typing a long paragraph (its also pretty late and i got little sleep over the weekend so.........i kinda wanna crash)

like last year, i wont be posting all the pictures i took, but this time i will also try not to make the picking too random. i got pictures of some fan favorites, some old school characters, some child hood giants and even a few hot girls as well as a few hairy guys. Yeap, twas a fun convention.

The nerd test AKA the "how awesome are you" test
so i know we can all appreciate a good cosplay, who doesn't like looking at a well done costume right? But how many of you can actually tell whom the cosplayer is cosplaying? how many characters will you recognize? how much of a nerd are you really? some of you may be surprised at how many characters you pick out, and some of you will probably be a little letdown by how poorly you do.

starting off hella easy; i expect 90% of you to get this one.

haha, man i really enjoyed this cosplay of cute mons eevee and Jolteon.

so like, i am pretty sure this is just a random panda???? please correct me if i'm wrong

Battlefield Badass company? Call of cosplayer? Medal of honor? this is where we separate the true fans from the fanboys

RANDOM PLUSHIE PICTURE!!!
every now and then i will post a picture of random cute plushies.

Gayo gayo, oh, ho!

xD

so cute

so so cute; always nice to see couples cosplaying

Love it!

xD

so fucking Good; one of my favorites from the weekend. such a good Hinata cosplay

i know some of you MUST KNOW this cosplay/cosplay group. i will be so sad if i am the only one. so, so sad.

hahahahaha, love it.

this guy looked like IPL to me for some reason, maybe its the smile

:3

thats a G.I.R.L

MARIO TAKE OVER
ok no joke, but this year i saw mario EVERYWHERE. Not even all the pictures i took here represent them all. seriously, i just got tired of taking mario pictures.

Rastafarian high as fuck Mario (no seriously, i think this guy was high, his music was amazing though)

Oh yeah, there was a tropius this year!!!!!!

hahahahaha, seriously. Moments that make me glad i attended Sakura con
OK, back to the Mario epidemic

Mexican mario, Asian mario

chick mario

Black mario (not making this up)

white mario (and luigi)

epic beard mario, they are all cool

BONUS POINTS COSPLAY!
extra nerd as well as awesomeness points for those that get this. let me know because i want to be impressed at you. i know this cosplay, but i still would like to be impressed at you

on a silver platter!!

I loved this guy, great guy. it was awesome talking to him and i hope he returns again.

when it comes to inducing fear, Bruce Wayne aint got NOTHING on me

hahahahahaha, LOVE IT!

This guy actually got very creative; he gave out quests throughout the weekend and had actual prizes. i completed one quest and got to know him in the process. After the talks we had, he made me almost want to start playing WoW again.

;)

Good old days

Because i am just that much of a nerd, yes.

ADVENTURE TIME!!!!

Holy Awesome Old School Cosplay, Batman.

God, so good; i just have no words

YEAH!!!!!!

again, i have no words

sirens of Gotham city

We all saw the new x-men movie right? we all know this badass right?

we all saw the show right? oh God, please tell me we all saw the show and know this favorite of mine

so this guy, OH MY GOD THIS GUY

OH MY FUCKING GOD THIS GUY. the happiness i felt when i saw this cosplay cannot be described (and the guy behind the cosplay was just so awesome oh my GOD THIS GUY)

<333333333

for all you old schoolers ^_^

i know i am still new to cons, but man, pokemon must always be heavy at these things, very popular.

So i saw house and just lost it. JUST.LOST.IT. he even had the walk down

i actually didnt lose it, but i was excited to see someone cosplaying as house

just awesome

a lot of hot mistys this year, you'll see

i really should have waited for him to reach the top

and some cute mistys as well, you'll see

Pain vs Hinata/naruto, a moment all true fans will never forget.

you know, this is probably how naruto would have looked in real life in that situation anyways

oh Mizukage, you are just one big tease

i miss him so much


And now we come to the "can kakashi look any cooler" section.

its like it doesn't even matter the pose he chooses

am i doing it right? i cant tell

yeah, i definitely got this shit down.

did i mention that this guy was pretty great?

yeap.

brought to you by coke

RANDOM POKEMON PLUSHIE TIME!!!!

;)

;)

awww

so good

close ups for details on a awesome cosplay

hahahahahahahaha, so awesome
/wipes tear off face

ah yes. You know you are awesome if you get this, and if you dont get the cosplay........well then

this is a good place to end off the first half. Pictures continued in post #2, just keep scrolling down :)

 

[Ninahaza]

PART 2

Original post #2 reservation post

also this year has some great guests. I skimmed over the list but one of the guys i am most excited for is Christopher R. Sabat.

Christopher R. Sabat - a little about the guy
Christopher R. Sabat has lived on a diet of Senzu Beans for nearly 15 years. As the Voice Director for Dragonaball Z as well as the actor behind Vegeta, Piccolo, Yamcha, Mr. Popo, Kami, Jeice, Recoome, Korin, Burter, Shenron, Zarbon, Guru, Porunga, and countless others, you could possibly say he is the voice of Dragonball Z. Christopher currently owns Okratron 5000, a game audio and voice-over production studio in Dallas, Texas.

Christopher has also leant his voice to countless other roles in the anime and videogame world including Alex Luis Armstrong in Fullmetal Alchemist, Roronoa Zoro in One Piece, Ayame Sohma in Fruits Basket, Saiga Tatsumi in Speed Grapher, Kurogane in Tsubasa Chronicles, Daisuke Jigen in Lupin III, Garland in Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Rundas in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Alex D in Deus Ex: Invisible War, and both Captain Smiley and Star in Comic Jumper

ace

motherfucking

ventura

yeah, naruto was pretty big this year.

the show hasnt even started and she is already getting popular

i am EARTH-BENDING *.*

cool cosplay :)

the spots on the mask actually moved when he spoke, it was so freaking cool

xD

always great

OH YEAH! i only wish it was a complete group

ok so like

snake is all being snake and putting on a show for the crowed right

all crawling and rolling and shit

shooting people and what not

walking all cool and suave like

but then the music changes and something new emerges from God knows where

what can it be?

thats right, its a lugia

a motherfucking lugia, i just about lost it lol

also during all this, guess who is amongst the crowd

haha, yeap. can you guess which show this is?

Dragon age 2: Heroes of kirkwall
i thought this was just so damn cool; this is for all the dragon age fans

all the playable characters in dragon age 2

the heroes in action

the heroes in action part 2 (its too bad my friend couldn't get a clear picture)

ha, i just had to get a picture. Maybe next time i'll get one WITH him

this guy had such a cool cosplay; those things he is on, so awesome.

great cosplay group concept. i love Johnny and his many crazy faces

oh baby

HO-OH!

ARMSTRONG

ARMSTRONG!!!!!!

misty all over the place

misty in yo FACE

WITH A REAL SNAKE. i mean, i dont know what more you can ask for

Did someone call the doctor?

its ok, i am a doctor

its ok, i am a doctor ;)

its ok, i....am a...doctor?

another one of my favorites from the weekend. An actual old man cosplaying Gandalf
motherfucking Gandalf, OH MY GOD.

i just had to have a chat with the guy. GREAT cosplay
:what did you do this weekend Jesus?
:oh you know, met Gandalf, the usual' nothing special really.

hahahahah, Time of my life~

awwwww, so cute. Kids cosplaying, just adorable

ahhhhh, ENVY, please have mercy

nah, we made up

I'm seriously going to re-watch FMA

OH YEAH! a title belt that once belonged to THE BOULDER

God, i really hope that she is still alive in the new avatar

she also helped me perfect my earth bending, much appreciated

Mr. Badass himself

where my tales fans at?

Magic-mothrfucking-karp, words cannot describe

ladies!
i mean
Angels ;)

LADIES!!!
why/how the fuck do people hover hand again? the more i see people do it, the more i just don't get it


You know, of all the hot girls from the weekend, there was only one that truly struck my heart and took my breath away.

arrow straight through my heart, damn you cupid

Yeah, seriously though, couldnt make a left turn without seeing mario. make no mistake however, i still love that mario

man, so glad i received those earth bending lessons from Toph

ADVENTURE TIME

ADVENTURE TIME!!!!!!!

<3 adventure time <3

RANDOM POKEMON PLUSHIE TIME!!
oh wait........

SPEED!!!!!

is that candy in palms?
<3

God, i am so fucking short.
awesome cosplay ^_^

haha, remember these guys? i really hope new avatar doesnt disappoint

WINNER!!!!!!!!!
dont mess with pikachu and I. team rocket never learns

even more mistys
did you notice pokemon Onix?

BONUS POINTS!!!!
Do you remember this pokemon character?

surrounded by photographers and minions alike

OBJECTION!!


The final part, part 3 can be found in the post that bumped this thread back up.

 

[Every1XplodeNOW]

Moral of the story: Video games do keep people out of trouble.

I wish I could go to something like Sakura Con or PAX, but I live in dead zone virginia where the only conventions that happen are meth conventions. -__-

 

[Outlaw]

Hope those Statler and Waldorf guys show back up, and that you have a video cam ready.

 

[Unbreakable]

also this year has some great guests. I skimmed over the list but one of the guys i am most excited for is Christopher R. Sabat.

Christopher R. Sabat - a little about the guy
Christopher R. Sabat has lived on a diet of Senzu Beans for nearly 15 years. As the Voice Director for Dragonaball Z as well as the actor behind Vegeta, Piccolo, Yamcha, Mr. Popo, Kami, Jeice, Recoome, Korin, Burter, Shenron, Zarbon, Guru, Porunga, and countless others, you could possibly say he is the voice of Dragonball Z. Christopher currently owns Okratron 5000, a game audio and voice-over production studio in Dallas, Texas.

Christopher has also leant his voice to countless other roles in the anime and videogame world including Alex Luis Armstrong in Fullmetal Alchemist, Roronoa Zoro in One Piece, Ayame Sohma in Fruits Basket, Saiga Tatsumi in Speed Grapher, Kurogane in Tsubasa Chronicles, Daisuke Jigen in Lupin III, Garland in Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Rundas in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Alex D in Deus Ex: Invisible War, and both Captain Smiley and Star in Comic Jumper

I would have to disagree with the first part. The most iconic voice of the series has got to be Sean Schemmel's Goku, though that is a really damn extensive list. Whether or not he's the next Mel Blanc, only time will tell.

 

[Cooky]

huh

mad respect for posting vgc photos on facebook, i would never have the balls to put myself out there like that. smogon is still very much a closeted part of my life, one i dont really ever plan on exposing. reasons: friend circle would rip the shit out of me, none of my friends would really care i dont think but i dont hang out with anyone whod have similar interests so its not like i'd gain anything.

also you said you really enjoy yknow video games and hanging on the internet and stuff and thats cool, but these days i mainly just use those to pass the time (being at uni i have a LOT of free time), i would always rather be hanging out with my friends or girlfriend and just fucking about in general. going out is always mental as well, unless theres some serious drama getting messy in a club and meeting new people and stuff is a big part of how i enjoy myself.

that convention sounds fun i always quite wanted to go to one just to revel in my inner rpg fanboy. maybe when im older and dont care as much

 

[Vineon]

Nah, theres no way I'm going to Sakura con, that's for nerds.

Probably something even more threatening to one's rep than to been seen at a Pokémon event.

 

[Feathers]

word ninahaza

i personally don't hide anything about my nerdy lifestyle. often one of the first things people find out about me is that i play competitive pokemon and that yes pokemon is still popular. i buy nerdy things and collect pokemon toys and games, i have a drawer filled with figures of twilight sparkle, my teen titans stuff is all on display, and i post pictures of me doing nerdy things like being at conventions all over the place. i have yet to lose any friends, as most if not all of my friends are exactly like me.

we get together to have "parties" but really it just means we're going to play brawl for a few hours and talk about how we all really want to go to PAX, and that i wish my hair wasn't so long that wigs are awkward for cosplay. though i don't really do cosplay like true cosplayers do cosplay. my last convention was NYCC in 2010 and i told myself i'm not going to any for a while unless tara strong or greg cipes is going. too much $$$ and now i can't deal with small cons. probably gonna stick with the big time comic-cons and PAX from now on, until i can get into E3.

however some friends of mine are planning a zelda group for a future PAX, which developed right after we all went to the zelda symphony. i'm gonna be skull kid 'cause i'm little.

i can't say i've ever been involved in general stupid stuff, but non of my friends have done anything extreme either. we're all too busy being big fat nerdy nerds.

anyone who has me added on FB knows i'm not really hiding anything haha

but maybe some people really do need both? if you absolutely didn't need it then maybe you wouldn't do it. who knows, everyone is different. and have fun at sakuracon! it's too animu for my tastes, but i have some friends who are going. if you see someone around as livewire, that's one of my nerdy friends.

 

[Ninahaza]

Yeah outlaw, statler and Waldorf better be there.


also Vincent, lol, yeah anime conventions would be worse for ones rep than the pokemon VGC events. But rep is something that is of so much importance when you are young and stupid anyways. I mean, rep is always going to be something important no matter how old you are, but that's not the kind of rep we are talking about.


Finally, feathers I want to say "yeah, fuck hiding things" but I never posted pics from last years Sakura con on my face book :(. I don't hide smogon, pokemon or vgc events though XD. I still have a ways to go I suppose.

Know what, yeah fuck hiding stuff, hella posting Sakura con pics on Facebook

 

[WaterBomb]

Don't get too excited about Sabat, he's a huge douchebag. Sorry to burst your bubble =/.

I attended a few cons in my time, namely Otakon in Baltimore and Katsucon in DC. I always enjoyed the dealers' room for collecting swords and other weapons, and sometimes the cosplays were good.

If you ever go to a con on the east coast (hint: Otakon is MASSIVE), let me know and I'll go. My sister goes every year anyway so it'd be a lot of fun!

 

[mattj]

Seriously man. If you have any friends at all that aren't comfortable with the things you like, they're not your friends. Every person I know, all of my family, every coworker I work with, and even my church family straight up to my 65-year-old pastor knows I'm a video game nerd who loves to record and play music, and no one at all treats me any differently. I've met people who have kind of looked at me funny when I've told them my hobbies and for some reason I haven't spent that much time with them.

 

[Dozz]

Jesus! Reading your posts like this mean that we HAVE, and I mean HAVE to meet at a VGC event this summer. Or else.

I liked what you said about balance though, as I spent so much time at school hiding the things I actually liked doing, and talking about. I mean, nearly everyone I've met in my first year at Uni knows now. I panicked in my "introduce yourself" speech, and just said "I play Pokemon a lot, competitively" which went down a lot better than expected. can now get my DS out in lectures, or just browse Smogon when my tutors talking about nonsense, without people asking me what on earth it is. It's a balance well worth finding. I still do "normal" things like playing football, and casually going to the pub, but I also don't have to make excuses anymore for not going out when I just want to sit inside, and play some n64, or rack up mindless hours on the PS3 while the world passes me by.

Mattj's got it right, if people aren't going to accept you for liking these things, they're not the best of friends. I know that everyone I met last summer, I'd consider a good friend, as I can while away so much time on IRC, talking about all nerdy pursuits.

 

[Darkaxis]

I'm a total closeted player. Mainly because my friends are mainly umm, err, female, and everybody knows that girls don't like nerds. Unless they're hot.(which I'm not) so I try to hide my geek escapades to myself and a select group of people.

Truth is? I can't decide. I mean I LOVE pokemon, and all the sort, but I also want to ''fit in''.

:/

 

[Stallion]

Idk it's weird for me. The stuff you described (partying, drinking, sports, exercise) IS definitely part of who I am, as is DJing and the music/nightclub industry. When I feel like down time though, and I do from time to time, Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh (the two games I play, Yu-Gi-Oh as of a week ago :D ) are definitely near the top of my things to do list. Both require a bit of thinking and strategy on my part, so I kind of think of it as when my body needs down time my brain takes over. That or I'm avoiding doing assignments xD. In short, I don't think I'm a nerd or a total meathead. I'd like to think I'm a well rounded person with many different aspects to make me who I am :) I hate the word nerd because of all the socially awkward/ugly connnotations attached it. I'm sure there are a few people on this site that meet that description, and the stereotype used to describe avid video gamers exists for a reason of course. Having said that, yourself (Ninahaza) and many others on this site are good socially and well rounded people, even in spite of having "nerdy" hobbies and pastimes. Dont stress man, both sides are part of who you are - even if you feel you neglect one too often haha!

 

[jonnyrolo]

The way I see it is its just part of evolution of the human being. As we lean more and more towards technology the desire for it grows as well. As for the whole playing video games aspect of the situation, theres lot of research that indicates that you just want to stay active even when you are in more relaxed eviroment. video games require lots of motor and cognitive skills such as hand-eye coordinationation and it is proven that the more healthy and active you are outside of video game land the better skilled you are while playing in video game land.

 

[Feathers]

I'm a total closeted player. Mainly because my friends are mainly umm, err, female, and everybody knows that girls don't like nerds. Unless they're hot.(which I'm not) so I try to hide my geek escapades to myself and a select group of people.

Truth is? I can't decide. I mean I LOVE pokemon, and all the sort, but I also want to ''fit in''.

i don't get this. i'm not that magical looking or anything, but i am a girl. 80% of my friends are girls and all of them are pretty gamers/nerds. i never understand when people hide hobbies because of...girls. i don't want to hang out with girls that would ditch you if they found out you play pokemon. or guys. on the other hand, i'd probably ditch a girl if all she talked about 24/7 was shoes or 90210 or something. so i guess there are always two sides.

"fitting in" isn't worth the effort of hiding something you really enjoy. at least, it isn't in my opinion. i don't think you're going to find the right people if you're busy hiding all the time...

but i obviously don't know your friends like you do. :U

 

[blarajan]

You know, I posted this in the college acceptances thread, but I think it's rather fitting here. This is the essay I used for my common application.

Hide

I’m supposed to use this essay to convince you to accept me to your school by illustrating how desirable I am. I could do so by discussing one of the unverifiable past experiences that have “changed me.” Having lived a relatively sheltered life, with a loving family and my basic needs provided for, I don't have access to a medley of riveting experiences I can pull from. Fortunately, I could very easily exaggerate a past experience. In spite of this, I would rather not, and will discuss something I wholeheartedly enjoy: Pokemon.

All kids my age have picked up a Pokemon game at one point in their lives, still remembering that level 100 Pikachu they had. Though while most shelved their Game Boys, I always retained some degree of interest even after getting “too old for that kid's game.” Over a year ago, I picked the game up in an entirely different way: competitively. Now, I was playing actual people, who were all much smarter than the computer-controlled opponents in-game. Having come from cartridge play, I was shocked that there was so much to keep in mind. Discovering this entirely new side of my childhood favorite intrigued me, and I soon found myself playing more and more, even to this day.

When I enjoy something, I like to share that joy with others. When Pokemon is involved, that might lead me to discussing various intricacies of the game to a friend that just wants to quickly escape. Most of my enjoyment comes from sharing what I love with who I love.

Apparently this is a luxury. A lot of my Pokemon friends do not have this option. I've heard “My friends will think I'm weird” or even “I don't think they'll like me anymore.” From this, I realized just how lucky I am. It's wrong to judge a person's race, gender, or sexual orientation. Why is it less wrong to judge a person's passions? The things that make a person happy are just as important as the immutable characteristics that make up a person's exterior. If you can't share these passions with the people you care about without fear of ridicule, how can they make you happy? You have to be able to share who you are with who you love. Otherwise, your passions boil down to a single question: “How long can I keep this a secret?” You shouldn't.

So far, I haven't really been able to discover much about life's truths. But from my loving family and my welcoming experiences in the Montgomery Blair Magnet Program, I think I've found a pretty important one. I've learned the importance of being yourself—I know if I couldn’t share who I was or what I enjoy, I wouldn't be who I am today. And hopefully, all of you reading this like who I am today and are willing to let me discover the rest of myself at your college.

I've never felt the need to hide what I am or what I enjoy. I am rather open with my interests, be them Pokemon, Yugioh, or other similarly "nerdy" things. I've always thought "if they're my friends, then they'll like me for me--not for what I pretend to be." So I'm pretty comfortable in sharing my nerdy side. I just can't imagine hiding what I am.

 

[bearsfan092]

Ninahaza, you sound like me three years ago. I ended up "resolving" it by basically throwing it out there that I play competitive Pokemon, but I don't shove it in people's faces. You find out that most people simply do not give a shit about what you do in your spare time provided they aren't reminded all the time.

Darkaxis: As far as girls are concerned, they deal with guys playing CoD or similar. If they differentiate between that and Pokemon, they're probably shallow as hell. On top of that, there are quite a few cute "nerds" or at least girls who dabble in gaming.

 

[Ninahaza]

yeah bearsfan, its like you and cooky said, my friends dont really care that i play pokemon and that i am on smogon etc etc. The problem isnt so much that i am a closeted nerd or something along those lines; i have always been open about my hobbies to my friends. although they may crack jokes every now and then, my friends dont give 2 shits in the end. they know who i am and accept me for that. the problem also isn't about fitting in. i have always had little to no trouble "fitting in", guess i should thank God for that.

what the real issue is, and Dozz and especially stallion touched on it abit, is this inner struggle of what i think of myself (did that make sense?)
there was even a point where i just wanted to completely throw out everything "nerdy" about me and just try to be someone/something new.

i dont know why there is even an inner struggle going on. I REALLY liked your post stallion, maybe i just need to look at myself more as a rounded person like you stated.

 

[junior]

real life: uni, work, clubs, karaoke, shopping etc.

nerd life: basically close friends know I stream tennis all day, use tumblr quite a bit, talk to internet peeps like katya gouki and someone else from a tennis forum. Nobody/not many people know I read One Piece though, but that's only because I literally know nobody who reads it and so it's not like I get the opportunity to discuss it. Can't think of any other "nerdy" activity I do off the top of my head. xbox? but gaming consoles are pretty normal.

but really, there's nothing wrong with liking Pokemon, One Piece, DBZ, other animes, going to comic cons and anime cons etc. Plenty of "normal" people irl I knowhave on facebook occasionally post photos or update their status about those "nerdy" topics. Besides, look at how deep Pokemon can be:

yeah you know it.

Actually, coming to think of it, just as hipster is the new mainstream, nerdiness is the new cool in a way lol.

That being said, nobody knew I played competitive Pokemon but that was more me trying to block out things irl and using it as an escape so naturally I never told anyone.

 

[Every1XplodeNOW]

I personally think it's just a phase in life that some people go through. I sort went through the same thing, except well, it was a way more tone down. I found myself acting differently, dressing differently, being more social, actually going out and doing things I wouldn't normally do. (In high school, I was a loner and I barely talked to anyone, even though I wasn't picked on or anything-well my high school years are for a different thread) But hear lately, I've been slowly going back to my video game-playing-anime-watching-pokemon-loving self, but I'm still a lot more social than I was. I would just give yourself some time(if that makes any sense) and you'll eventually return to your old self, and maybe you would gain some traits from your acting out(hopefully the good ones).


I use to be very cautious of letting people know I played pokemon(I didn't care too much about the Yugioh side of me since there was a lot people playing it), but I was the only person who played pokemon. Only a few of my close friends knew I played it and even though I seriously doubt my other friends would not have cared, the fear of reaction kept me from telling them. But since I'm now a lot older, I simply don't care what other people think. And the funny thing is, since I've been more open about it, I actually found some of my co-workers play it too, which was a total moral boost for me.

 

[Ninahaza]

nah, i wish this was a phase or something like that.

Like i said in the OP, this has been going on for years and will most likely continue for years to come. This, whatever it is, has actually spawned more of the issues that i face today. it is actually deeper than i let on/described in the OP. I am now beginning to sound like a whinny kid, so i wont get into it.

You know what i thought would be a phase? smogon

 

[Eiganjo]

heh, I have long ago accepted the fact I am who I am, pretending to be something I'm not only led to me feeling like something was missing.

I like playing pokemon, I love playing other games, and I fucking love watching over the top Horror gore movies and laugh while doing so, and no-one ever bitched at me about it, heck ive had enough support when I told people I was going to go to worlds later this year to people saying they wanted to come along with me XD and the few "friends" that didnt accept me for who I am, well they're history.

as for the future, I can see myself still playing video games, maybe a bit less when I find a significant other, or maybe a like minded girl to play games with eh ;) :P but we'll see what the future brings, no one knows but I'm open for a lot of possibilities :P

 

[Dozz]

nah, i wish this was a phase or something like that.

I thought that my VGC playing would be a phase. I really did. The only reason I paid my way to Worlds last year, was because I thought I wouldn't be motivated enough this year to play to a decent standard again, and be in with a shot of getting to play again. This didn't happen, I met so many great people which meant I kept playing, and getting myself to (I think) a decent standard again. Although I didn't qualify in Europe, I don't regret the time spent going to those events, and just doing what I love with people I really like.

I don't think it's possible to go into something you really like thinking it'll be "Just a phase". You wouldn't be getting into it if you only wanted to be at it for a bit. I think that entering into these things, is 'embracing' it, and every time you do, you just accept that that's what you're into.

 

[TheWalrus9]

Dang, I was supposed to go to sakura-con for the first time this year, but my nerdy friend who is big into that scene had to bail and im not going it alone heh. i'm more curious than anything and I wanted her to show me the ropes. but I hope you have a great time, maybe now that you're out of the nerd closet we can organize a meet-up next year for those around the seattle area.

Confidence and acceptance of one's self is something which comes with age. Returning to grad school, I was immediately immersed in a culture of 18-22 year olds (im in my later 20s) who were looking up to me as an elder. And I'm sure I disappointed some of them. I've never been the "popular" or "cool" kid. My first time through, I tried to fit into that, to go partying and keeping up with the music and pop culture. It was tiring, and it wasn't me. I learned it wasn't worth it; sure I had more friends and "respect", but what is it worth when you're not happy with yourself.

So yeah, this time around I was more honest to myself. I didn't make it widely known that I was just a big nerd, but I also didn't hide it when people started to get to know me. And for the most part, the kind of friends I did want gravitated towards me. Some are gamers, some are not. People are attracted to honesty and openness, and the friends that are important are the ones who don't give a rip if you play pokemon or go to conventions or whatever we all do that makes us unique (and nerdy as hell)