#narcon

[transatlantic-crochet]

Some more photos of my NCC 2024 performance!

[sadfolkie]

the NärCon mods are fucked up

The NärCon discord is full of terrible mods. I can't believe they let a power hungry bully mod ban multiple people just for standing up to him LITERALLY lying, threatening people, and spreading misinformation. The mod called Svalan/Thomas at NärCon is such a massive douchbag it's unreal. I was silent the whole time and just left today after watching the shit show go down and finally realizing... these people are terrible. Genuinely bad toxic people, if I'm around them I might end up toxic like them. I don't want that. Another member posted they're leaving because they were scared of the mods oppression, and I agreed with them in my head and left too. I regret a tiny bit not leaving a message too, but we all know NärCon deletes any and all criticism they get in seconds so what's the point? They're not gonna care. He was joking about how he banned them instead of using time out or warning them. He clearly just wanted their messages calling out his disgusting behaviour out to be gone.

I believe EVERY person who called Svalan/thomas out has now been banned by him. Weird huh? NärCons mod Svalan/Thomas is manipulative and scary. No space is safe if he's in it. I truly fully believe that.

And the other NärCon mods and staff/"pandas"? One panda named Eskil admitted NärCon KNOWS pedophiles go there he even said they are "guranteed" to be at NärCon! He didn't see it as an issue or even a stupid ass statement to make?! Insane how little they care about kid's safety. And this guy works as a teacher?!?!?!? RED FLAG.

I don't know all the mods I dont think, but I know 2 more. The one called Sora can't tell sexual from non-sexual and thinks HIGHLY inappropriate sexual material should be shown to kids. Squeezing a woman's breast is serious sexual harassment, but Sora can't see why encouraging young kids to squeeze the foam tits of a drooling anime toy is fucked up? Like really really really fucked up… and Sora is the panda in charge of telling others what is and isn't allowed regarding sexual levels, so that's clearly a terrible job match. NärCon has no safeguarding for kids AT ALL.

But the saddest one for me is the mod afternoonfika aka Caro. I always admired afternoon fikas art, they were someone I looked up to as an aspiring artist. She silently watched other small artists get unfair threats, being treated like absolute shit just for standing up to Thomas/Svalan, and she said or did nothing. Just like the other mods. Didn't even correct Thomas/Svalan's lies about the rules or why he banned people. I thought maybe she was scared too and didn't want to get involved, but lo and behold, one of the banned users showed up in my other artist discord and just mentioned the abusive mod banning people, and like a hawk she told her to shut up. Caro attacked the victim and didn't even let them share their side of the story. That's so so so fucked up. I didn't think that about afternoonfika. Unfollowed them on all platforms, I can no longer support them after I know they side with bullying abusers. :(

[missladytale]

My lovely group of people ❤❤

Husk - Me Angel dust - Sabii Sir Pen - PonPon Alastor - Jan

[aesthetic-airhead]

Fulfilled my childhood dream of cosplaying Retasu🥬 from Tokyo Mew Mew 💖💖

It was the first cosplay I ever attempted making (I gave up on it immediately lol) so it feels pretty good to finally have made it even though it took me 15 years :)

[lightisacat]

Närcon still has so many issues in 2024.

It's so funny/tragic seeing people had valid complains and concerns about närcon from a decade ago - and nothing has changed since then! They are still magically understaffed EVERY year. It's on fucking purpose at this point - they want gullible naive teens to work for them for free under the guise of "we're family guys uwu this con wouldn't be anything without you we luw u guys sooo much little panda buddies uwuwuwuwu" and the poor teens who don't know better think that's sweet and not just a manipulation tactic made by greedy adults to make them work even longer, for free, while närcon lines their own pocket with more money every year. There is no age limit on kids working for free for närcon btw. Because 14 year olds make such good staff members right? They're totally ready to handle 12000 visitors! For 10-12h a day! Well, it's supposed to be like 6h, but every ex-panda/staff I've talked to was forced to work 10-12 instead (often in hot as hell sunny weather) because... they're understaffed. How convenient for närcon huh.

Of course those people are also not checked properly either. I've seen groups of teen staff be loud and rude as fuck to little kids. Causing havoc and certainly not doing any work. And judging from past discord drama, plenty of longer lasting staff members feel comfortable being quite rude to visitors too. Visitors paying for a sleeping hall being met witha bright fucking light that couldn't be turned off at night being told "well we're not a hotel" is just- bruh. Turning of the light is such a fucking minimal requirement and valid complaint. No reason for staff (who are clearly not trained to handle upset customers) to be snarky about their own freaking shortcomings.

They also insist on everyone using their frankly garbage app that is held together with kindergarten level glue. It crashes about 50% of the time when I try to use it.

NärCon is honestly pretty shit. They act like they're so uwu welcoming on the outside but they're greedy and rotten on the inside.

[fairybeatsdragon]

Want to share opinions about NärCon fully anonymous? Submit posts to us! :)

MANY, many, visitors of närcon have for YEARS been saying they do not wish to do their post-con email survey because it's not anonymous enough. People fear närcon will find out and punish them for daring to speak up or for having a negative opinion, which staff often demonstrates is a thing they really do (yet of course they refuse to admit openly). So we aim to have this blog be a safe space for people to say what they REALLY think about NärCon and how they run things. Just submit an anon ask or post and we'll get to it eventually.

Thought because dealing with närcon is extremely tiring this blog won't be super active, we need to protect our own mental health and distance ourselves from närcon a lot - something I recommend you all do too!

[sparkles-and-trash]

So this big summer con right, the festival? It has an app.

With a social feed.

Around 20% is people sharing cosplay wip’s, asking about relevant stuff and just being excited, and the other 80% are pure unhinged chaos.

Parody accounts, bingo cards, overly specific memes, a new or old legendary character to spread stories about, tea from the sleeping hall, this app has it all!

It’s already started and the con isn’t until the end of July lmaooo

[insecurecosplayer]

Few pics of my Skizzle cosplay!

Wish I had more, but I love the ones I have!

-

Convention - NärCon summer24

Tango instagram- kierecko

Impulse Instagram- fibble_cos

Xisuma/zxoom zxoom - @astronomicaxp

[afklancelot]

recently got into HOL and my silly autism brain has taken the reigns with this book. anyways i would (capital L) Love to hear your theories/hidden symbolism notes on this book if youre willing to share

hello yea id love to! doubt it will be coherent at all cuz i didnt take notes but ill do my best

one of the more prevalent theories of HoL is that Pelafina is the true author of the book. The fact that "A Novel" text on the front page, the "First Edition" text, and the text Johnny uses just before getting into the baby story is purple, and Pelafina often being associated with purple, is definitely not a coincidence. In addition, the baby story being about a mother and her dying baby alludes to Pelafina and Johnny, implying Johnny never existed, at least as an adult (either he died as a baby/stillborn, or his mother actually succeeded in strangling him as a kid). One of Pelafina's coded letters (there's at least two if i remember correctly) also mentions Zampano, so it's plausible that Zampano was Pelafina's lover and later disappeared from her life, and Pelafina integrated him into the book she was writing.

A bit minor in terms of symbolism, but notably the word "changeling", according to the index, is only used two times: one in Johnny's section, and one in Pelafina's section. Johnny's a changeling in that he makes up stories to protect himself: pretend to be someone he's not, and he never told anyone, at least in LA, about his actual childhood. Pretty obvious, yes. Pelafina's also a changeling as well using the "Pelafina is the true author and Johnny was dead all along/never existed to begin with", in that she acts like johnny is alive by sending letters to him, when in reality he was killed by her/died in birth/never existed. She pretends to be someone she's not by acting like a mother, in other words.

That said, while I see the Pelafina author theory as the most plausible theory for HoL, i kinda ignore it cuz imagining a world w/o Johnny Truant makes me sad :,)

a connecting theme for all of HoL is obsession. Will obsesses over the house's changing architecture, Holloway obsesses over a potential beast within the labyrinth, Johnny obsesses over the manuscript of The Navidson Record, hell, even Karen expresses obsession in trying to ignore the house (through Feng Shui and whatnot). And of course, there's what happens when obsession takes hold, best seen in Will and Karen neglecting their kids and each other (Will moreso), Holloway's refusal to abandon a 'mission' and shooting Jed thinking the latter was the beast, Johnny not going outside his apartment for days on end and losing time, not seeing his friends at all, you get the drift. We the readers even emulate it, obsessing over the book, what it meant, and what actually was real or not. It's only when Will burns the book be brought, House of Leaves, that things start to take a turn for the better: he lets go of his obsession of the house, Karen rescues him, and they live a happier life away from the house. Also seen when Johnny meets the band who shows him the book as well, as the very last passage in chronological terms has him finding closure over finding the book in the band's hands ("It's going to be alright. It's going to be alright"). not rlly hidden symbolism or a theory but i always love talking bout the obsession theme and stuff.

also one more thing: Johnny thinks the number nine is connected with him, and seeing his math i can't disagree. what's interesting, and i found out only recently from going thru the eht namuh website, is that the number nine in the Bible is a symbol of finality and completeness (as a TF fan, this statement feels ironic). His musing pops up around his final chapter he actually appears in the book, where while it does leave him w an ambiguous ending, it also completes his story arc, including giving him some closure. idk where im going with this but it's just something neat.

[iristhemammoth]

Furmeet at Närcon Summer 2022 ( i think?)

I had both Kipp and Iris with me, but I could only bring Iris to the meetup.

[boneless-mika]

Honestly the only thing stopping me from being a travel vlogger is the money to travel lol

[lostandbackagain]

the admins at my company unfortunately have the ability to email everyone at the same time and right now they're fear-mongering fentanyl and preventing anyone from working so I'm sending my coworkers all my favorite fentanyl memes

[jadenvargen]

ONE MORE narcon question sorry. but are you going to be selling any of your brba prints? 🥺 i wont be there but a friend of mine is going to your stall for me so I'm just curious !

AW yay!! I'll be selling the jesse one where he's smoking, and a gus one with a blue background, plus this here catboy sticker sheet (as well as all my bcs stickers as individuals)

[missladytale]

We are the Link's! Link - Me Link - Sabii Link - PonPon Link - Jan

[remembertheplunge]

Raps of faith

On February 7th, 2020, my friend Martin Allen Cantwell (MAC) gave me a tout of a homeless encampment where he had been living. It stretched along the embankment which ran along side Highway 99 where the Highway elevated to cross 9th street at the southern edge of Modesto, California.

The encampment was built along a trail that ran parallel to the freeway embankment. Tents and make shift structures lined the trail. Hundreds of them stretching out for about 1/2 mile on both sides of the trail.  There were no nearby buildings.  And, the “home” occupants were out and talking. I heard some of their stories. I will have to find my journal entries from that time for details, But, I realized that it was an honor and a privilege to be allowed to take the sacred tour.

However, I did write some margin notes about the tent city tour in my 2019 journal.

That journal entry and the 2/8/2020 margin note, written the day after the tent city tour, follow;

 Journal entry 10/17/2019 Preservation Coffee House 3:19pm Thursday

“The dark night saves you from being stuck in your small life. It makes you a hero. It grows you into your fate and into becoming a responsive member of your community. You are becoming a soul.” Page 13 Dark Night of the Soul by Thomas Moore

(A Dark night of the soul refers to passing through a very difficult, dark life experience. It’s hitting bottom. Knowing the blackest of black times.)

End of entry

My margin note to above entry: 2/8/2020

Post 9th Street—Highway 99 Tent City visit and tour yesterday, MAC said “ I love you.”

The events of yesterday swept through like a shallow wave over a desert island beach. ‘I need socks.” MAC. He looks bedraggled. He saved a life. He gave Narcon to a heroin overdose victim. “Did the police call you? He wanted them to let me know how the OD guy was. They never called.

Tents and a freeway embankment up to the sun and raps of faith."

[lightisacat]

Whenever I see the social media people at närcon (especially one person...) interact with närcon attendees they seem so dismissive, deflective and rude. If someone brings up ANY flaw or problem they just have to make sure they first deflect the blame away from närcon and themselves. And don't forget to insinuate that actually, it must have been the attendees fault! And they do it so openly, they'll use passive aggressive snark towards their paying customers in public spaces. Of course that only intimidates people into not saying anything. But you can grab almost any antendee and in private they'll all talk about how much they dislike the people who run närcon. I've bonded with so many strangers over it! It's kind of an open secret at this point.

But if any panda happens to read this - it's probably not about you. Most of the people will also say how much they despise närcon for forcing the poor pandas to work too hard for no pay. They see how stresses you are, they don't get mad at YOU, they get mad at the top people who run närcon (who do it on purpose).

They take everything way too personally, as if you insult närcon you insult them personally. They are not at all for the role they have been handed.