When you're a mutant kaled from the planet Skaro, otherwise known as a dalek, you can't just show up at the main entrance to CN Centre and expect to get through security at Northern FanCon.
They're liable to send you to the dungeon entrance - where all the Zambonis hang out.
Conan Veitch learned that the hard way Saturday.
As the human behind the controls of one of the most wretched Doctor Who villains, he had no choice but to the enter FanCon through the back door, simply because his sawed-in-half ride 'em lawnmower was too big to fit through the front door.
Using a voice modulator as he joined the queue of cosplay participants waiting to be prejudged before they made their stage entrances in front of an audience, Veitch's electronically-scrambled metallic cries of "exterminate" sent chills down the spines of the assortment of monsters, forest creatures, thugs and superheroes who feared getting assassinated by his ray gun.
"There was a bit of fear that maybe I didn't do a good job on it and I'd get torn apart by rabid Doctor Who fans," said Veitch, a UNBC masters student in robotics.
"I had planned to have a CO2 bottle in the ray gun to spray air at people but it's not allowed. Because I'm new to this and haven't dressed up before I don't know the rules and I found out today I can't fit through doors. But all the cosplay (organizers) and security have been amazing and I got in the Zamboni entrance and elevatored myself up here."
Veitch started building his dalek in December and he leaned up the expertise of his friend Darrell Martens, an autobody painter, for some help.
"This is less cosplay, it's more like building a car, and I didn't expect that going in," said Veitch, 34, whose wife Cecelia was dressed as Doctor Who. "I finished it at 10 a.m. this morning when we attached the last bulb, after it fell off. We were cutting it close."
Veitch has been to Northern FanCon before but, inspired by his friends, Dylan and Karen, this was his first time to enter the cosplay contest. Judging by the reactions he was getting, his mechanical getup was a huge hit. He made his one-wheeled dalek base out of steel, used a stretched bedsheet covered in resin for the midsection, and made the dome covering his head out of autobody bondo.
"One of the best things about this costume is that people don't expect rational conversation, they expect you to scream nonsense at them and I'm beautiful at that," Veitch said. "The voice modulator helps a lot.
"Next year I'll have tank treads on this, so it will go anywhere," he said.
Much less menacing on the cosplay scale were Heather Staats and Jade Wood, who ditched their zombie ways from the previous day and took on more friendly personas for the second day of the three-day convention. Wood, 32, was dressed in a cuddly koala bear kigurumi, while Staats donned a harmless-looking shark outfit she had stashed in her closet. Unlike their zombie attire from the night before, which they used to introduce themselves to Walking Dead actress Alicia Witt, neither costume they wore Saturday involved applying loose folds of latex skin to their faces and hair.
"The zombie face makeup was painful to get off so I wasn't putting it on today," said Staats, 25. "But we weren't coming back here not dressed up."
"We're big Walking Dead fans," said Wood.
Having won three-day VIP passes on the Northern FanCon Facebook page, both were first-time attendees at the convention but they are both regular cosplayers and vowed to make FanCon an annual habit.
"It's fun, it's a chance to be somebody else or be somebody different for a day, it's like another Halloween," said Wood, 32. "I go to a lot of zombie events and I watch YouTube videos and get inspiration from there and every year my makeup gets crazier and more realistic. You just evolve and become freakier every year.
"Alicia Witt loved our makeup and was impressed we did it ourselves. They have great guests I think this will definitely become a regular thing for me. People spend months putting their costumes together and they're amazing, I'd love to learn more about it in the workshops on costume-building."
The city of Terrace was well-represented with cosplay regulars Amanda Ramsay and Melanie Sinnott bringing anime and video game characters to life. Ramsay, 31, was the crusader Johanna from Heroes of the Storm - Diablo 3 and looked ready for battle, holding a shield in one hand and a chain-linked mace in the other.
"It's quite the menacing look," said Ramsay. "I've been to the previous two FanCons and I think it's fun because everyone is accepting, there are no presumptions or anything about people. Someone could come and wear a tiara and totally fit in, nobody is going to mock you."
By comparison, Sinnott, 37, appeared much more vulnerable as 1980's cartoon character Rainbow Brite, who made it her mission to spread colour crystals around Prince George, eliminating all traces of gray.
"I've been here all three years, I like that it's close by in the north," said Sinnott. "I like the feeling of family you get here. You see all these people who have this passion for making costumes and being creative.
"Every year I come here I meet people I add on Facebook - your social circle grows bigtime. It's an excuse to be a kid again and be a cool mom. My daughter says, 'Your awesome.'"
Both plan on bringing their kids to FanCon next year.
Sporting a five-inch mohawk, narrow-slit fun shades and dressed in chains, Chris Bennett was at his third Northern FanCon paying tribute to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as one of Shredder's goons, Bebop. Bennett, 29, stays in fighting form racing triathlons, ski racing and doing Tough Mudder obstacle courses. He's known to dress up for a triathlon in his Spiderman costume.
"Turtles are great but they're a lot more work, the villains are always easier to do than the heroes because villains aren't jacked (with muscles)," said Bennett, back for a third year at FanCon. "I don't have the build for that, so Bebop and The Joker fits well.
"You get to geek out at this. I thoroughly enjoy this and I push everyone to cosplay. If you're shy or an introvert, throw on a mask, come out and have fun."
Celebrity cartoon/video game voice actress Erin Fitzgerald, who was signing autographs for fans at Kin 1, has never been a professional cosplayer, but the voice of Yrel in World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor was blown away with the elaborate getups she saw at Northern FanCon.
"I'm a big fan of cosplay because there's no greater compliment to me than somebody showing up as one of my characters," said Fitzgerald, a native of Victoria.
"There are just so many different amazing design styles coming out of animation in all forms and to see that manifested in real life from somebody who actually took the time to craft it is mindblowing. I get more excited at that than anything else at conventions. Seeing someone cosplay my character, I lose my mind and I usually post it all over the internet. I'm 20 years in and it still thrills me to the core."
