An awesome fan-fiction mashup could gather all your favorite characters in one world, but only an awesome convention can attempt to replicate that in real life. If you’re the type to spin long and complicated yarns about fictional people, you might as well hoof it to D.C.’s Awesome Con to meet the humans who play them. This year’s guests include Billie Piper, who played Rose Tyler on Dr. Who; Sean Astin, who shrunk down to the role of Samwise in the Lord of the Rings trilogy; and Cary Elwes, most famously known as Westley in The Princess Bride. Each day of the convention, festival-goers can partake in activities like sci-fi speed dating, video game rooms, tabletop gaming, and panel discussions on geeky subjects like aliens and zombies. On Saturday, the celebration of all things nerd culminates with a performance by Andrew W.K. at the Black Cat, and on Sunday, the “Party Hard” rocker discusses the merits of “positive partying” at a motivational seminar. Step away from the keyboard and create your live-action fan fiction at Awesome Con. Just don’t scare downtown tourists with your costume. Awesome Con runs April 18 to 20 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW. $30–$200. (240) 346-0399. awesomecondc.com.