{"id":23872,"date":"2026-05-02T17:20:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T17:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scarlet-rhapsody.com\/?p=23872"},"modified":"2026-08-12T19:10:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T19:10:53","slug":"zot-con-26-whats-the-story-morning-glory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scarlet-rhapsody.com\/?p=23872","title":{"rendered":"[Zot Con ’26] (What’s The Story) Morning Glory"},"content":{"rendered":"

I really like supporting Zot Con. I’m not saying this as an employee of the University of California, but I love seeing small university cons create “by fans for fans” space that’s affordable to attend and an IRL third space for local otaku to gather. I have attended college cons since Recca Con in the early 00’s<\/a> up in Northern California. The way Zot Con is ran is similar – a mix of current students, alumni, and some UC Irvine staff to run the one day event. The event was highly publicized around campus. Calls for performers and panelists brought Geki and I to give back to the college anime con.<\/p>\n

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Agnes Tachyon beckons you to join Zot Con!<\/p><\/div>\n

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Zot Con registration<\/p><\/div>\n

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Artist Alley at Zot Con<\/p><\/div>\n

I would say the major highlight of Zot Con is the artist alley. Artist tables filled most of the student center ballroom. Geki and I participated in a Final Fantasy XIV<\/em> stamp rally which required spending a few dollars at two booths to claim a Chocobo egg. Artists were from the Orange County area, a few were UC Irvine students. Part of UC Irvine culture involves creating stickers of their unique mascot, Peter the Anteater. I love this con because I can get my fill of Peter the Anteater stickers.<\/p>\n

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Artist Alley was poppin’ off<\/p><\/div>\n

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Our friend, Peter the Anteater!<\/p><\/div>\n

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Roaming VTubers<\/p><\/div>\n

There were also clubs and organizations that had tables. Geki and I went one-versus-one with the Tetris Club (and we got Peter the Anteater stickers for participating!). Geki also wanted to check out the E-Sports Arena. UC Irvine has a huge e-sports culture. We thought about maybe getting in a game of Team Fight Tactics while we were there.<\/p>\n

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Zot Con attendees check out clubs and orgs<\/p><\/div>\n

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Geki meets Peter the Anteater<\/p><\/div>\n

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Cosplayers hanging out a the student center lobby<\/p><\/div>\n

Programming at Zot Con was fun. Geki presented on the history and real life inspiration behind the horse girls of Uma Musume. We were only given half an hour to present. The set up wasn’t the most ideal. The main stage and artist alley shared the same space. I also had to use the same stage to discuss the history of early fandom. We appreciated the invitation, but a room that was equipped to hold panels and presentations would have been a much more ideal situation.<\/p>\n

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Geki discussing horses<\/p><\/div>\n

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Zot Con vibe check<\/p><\/div>\n

Zot Con also had a cosplay contest that highlighted the best cosplayers at the college con. The show was judged by local veteran costumers.<\/p>\n

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Cosplay contest selfie<\/p><\/div>\n

My favorite parts about Zot Con include the community aspect. I had friend from Cosplay Wrestling Federation running tabletop. Had my panels not been at the same time, I would have joined them.<\/p>\n

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Tabletop at Zot Con<\/p><\/div>\n

The karaoke room was poppin’. I sang “Sweet Soul Revue” by Pizzicato Five. However, the biggest highlight was the whole room singing “At the Start” by Laufey.<\/p>\n

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Karaoke Room was lit!<\/p><\/div>\n

Overall, Zot Con is worth checking out. In an era of boisterous celebrity zoo trade shows, affordable third spaces that celebrate anime culture are very important to have for young people. I’m far from young, but if us older, veteran otaku can give them the space and continue to nurture these spaces, the new generation of otaku will be all right.<\/p>\n

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Nice…<\/p><\/div>\n

Zot, zot, zot!<\/p>\n

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Written by Cosplay Ancestor Eri IG: @cosplayancestoreri TikTok: @cosplayancestoreri BluSky: scarlet-rhapsody.com<\/p><\/div>\n