Cypher flops down on the couch next to me and stretches out to take a nap, then leans over. “Hey do you have the new iPhone?” he asks.

“I just got mine!” Samwise Gamgee says, waving a new iPhone 6 plus.

We’re in the “special guest” room at Rose City Comic Con. I look over at my friend and we both do the eye contact thing where we mentally go “be cool.” and I concentrate on my salad. The leaves are very green and the dressing is a balsamic so it’s brown. “This is the food, that food eats.” Wil had said.

I’ve just gotten off stage from interviewing Wil. Ernie Hudson is chatting with Sasha Roiz who also drops by in a moment to say hi to us. Joe Pantoliano just asked me about an iPhone. Sean Astin just piped up to say how he got his. Nick Brendon tells us where he got his shoes from Australia. Wil’s munching a burger while he catches up with Sean.

YES I AM DROPPING NAMES LIKE A B-52.

Because of this: All of them were not only gracious nice people to us, they were happy to be at the con and seemed genuinely happy to be amongst their fans.

A lot of times we think of celebrity culture as being very fake, and it can be. But nerd celebrity culture I have found is different. Later walking the floor and getting to see fans of Gears of War or who liked my panel with Wil, then watching how a lot of the other people treated fans reminded me that while there are some outliers, most of them generally love events like these.

There’s a lot going on in geek culture that’s horrible lately. It overshadows the positivity.

But Rose City Comic Con was a great reminder of what brings us together. From the anti-harassment cosplay signs everywhere to the amazing cosplay to the gracious artists to the helpful henchmen, to the enthusiasm of the guests, it was a nerd meter recharge event and I am so happy to have been a part of it.