My Saturday was all about the cosplay. Almost since last year’s Gally, the same group of friends who brought you the TARDISpod has been planning our next group cosplay: the Tin Litter. We each had our own unique take on K-9, and planned to bring them together for a photo op with Paul McGann Saturday afternoon. Since I also wanted to get a photo with Colin Baker, and his photo slot was across the end of my panel, I had to get in costume before my 11 am panel.

This proved easier said than done.

When I first hatched the idea of a Kimono!9 costume, I didn’t consider the logistics. Especially for a gaijin like me who hasn’t even attempted a yukata in decades, donning a kimono is a complicated and involved undertaking. I’ll just say I’m glad I started early. By the time I went down to the Lobby to meet up with some of my fellow panelists ahead of the actual panel, I was already amped from seeing most of the rest of the Tin Litter in full costume.

The panel I was on was entitled “Geronimo!” and was about how one introduces a friend who’s expressed interest in Doctor Who to the show. We had some good discussion about styles of episode one might try depending on specific characteristics of the interested friend, about how to ease resistance to certain Doctors or eras, about how not everyone enjoys Who in the same way (nor should they) and you can’t make your friends appreciate all the same things you do, and about the pros and cons of specific entry episodes (notably Blink). It was a great discussion, and all the panelists were awesome. Many thanks to the wonderful Paul Cornell for moderating.

I spent the five minutes immediately after my panel rushing around trying to find the photo studio, stopping several times along the way to have my picture taken (one doesn’t often see a kimono at Gally). The funny thing I noticed about how my costume was received was that a whole lot of folks didn’t get it (some asked, and had to be told; others never cottoned on, based on their blank looks as I passed), but those who did get it did so immediately, and really loved it.

By the time I made it to the studio, the one Litter-mate who was having her picture taken with me was waving at me frantically, as they were about to close down Colin’s session. I made it in by the skin of my teeth, and I’ve now had a photo taken with three different Doctors (~swoon~).

I took a lunch break at this point, and after I’d eaten, ended up wandering the con with one friend or another until another Litter-mate’s panel. It was another excellent one, talking about how the Doctor can still claim to be the hero and a pacifist when he so often resorts to violence—usually via the actions of his Companions. Again, there was an extensive discussion among the panelists and with the audience members that made me glad I’d attended.

Our next scheduled event was our group photo with Paul, so there was more wandering through the Dealers’ Room. At one point, three of us came across a group of Cybermen—five guys dressed in different-era Cyberman costumes—who were causing a serious clumping of folks with cameras out. I certainly can’t blame them; after all, they had Cybercontroller David Banks with them. As they trooped out of the Dealers’ Room, we decided it was too good an opportunity to be silly to pass up, and ran after them, barking. (Tin men, tin dogs… It was funny to us…) When one of them finally turned, we retreated, yipping. There was much general confusion in that part of the Dealers’ Room, but it made us giggle and did no one else any harm.

Soon it was time for our photo with Paul. I can’t pretend I wasn’t rather giddy to be cuddled up next to the man; as well as being a brilliant actor, he’s a lovely, kind person. With four fans in the shot, we had to scoot around a little to make it all work; he told the Litter-mate who ended up in the middle of the scrum, immediately to his left (I was on his right) that she was getting top billing at center stage. As we left, I took the liberty of telling him he was my favorite Doctor. He took my hand in his and told me very sincerely, “Hold that thought.”

It took a few minutes for all of us to come down off that high. Wandering around the con floor, we took many other photos with many other folks (including a lovely Romana II in her pink coat from Destiny of the Daleks). Eventually the four of us wound up on the patio, where we sat looking at each other with a sort of guilty horror. We had promised our fifth Litter-mate we would do the Masquerade with her as an exhibition group, but not one of us had really wanted to from the beginning. Realizing we were bad at standing up for ourselves from the beginning, and feeling like awful friends for bailing on her at the last minute, we sat debating for a long time whether or not we could muscle through. In the end, we decided the time commitment was more than we could bear, and backed out. While I enjoyed the rest of my evening a lot more than I would have otherwise, I still feel a bit sick to my stomach when I think about how much we must have disappointed our mutual friend.

The evening involved pizza by the pool, a little drinking, and—in the end—some Masquerade after all (as audience). We found plenty of seats at the back of the ballroom for the five of us who went together, and missed only the first eighteen or so entries. Got to see several wonderful ones, including a friend who even won an honorable mention for her makeup work on her Ada Gillyflower costume. Most importantly, though, we got to see the halftime show.

Last year, “Just a Minute” devolved into a constant mention of otters, so I was looking forward to seeing what would happen when Nicola Bryant, Katy Manning, Daphne Ashbrook, and Colin Baker had their turn. This year the recurring theme was a story that Nicola began in one round, and attempted to continue several times. The audience was chanting “story!” at several points, and she repeatedly tried to finish her tale. In fact, even Colin tried to tell it once, but the timer was against him. We had to wait till the entire game was over (complete with a couple of photo-bombing otters on the big screen) to hear the end of it. All in all, it was a great second day.

Next year I just have to remember to stand up for my introverted tendencies.