Otakon 2012
Aug. 18th, 2012 01:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rose_of_painI started this report like almost a week ago...XD And kept gradually working at it bit by bit...just hadn't had much time to actually write it up. Had been waiting for some more photos but got tired of waiting so here goes...
So yeah...Otakon happened. Seemed like it wasn't quite as crowded as last year but I've had other friends say they felt like it was worse. So I dunno. XD But it just didn't seem QUITE as bad as last year to me. But maybe just 'cause I wasn't wearing as many costumes this time around? I think I've finally learned my limits with Ota.
Anywho, onto the actual report...
Thursday:
Come Thursday afternoon and I so totally was not done but decided to stop and pack up so I'd be ready for my ride. Luckily I planned it right so all I'd have left to do was handstitching and gluing and such, which can be done in the hotel room. I was also still slightly sick but feeling a lot better at this point. For the most part. Katie and Ian showed up right as I was just about done packing though I still have to print some things out but luckily they didn't have to wait too long and my dogs seemed to be keeping them amused at least. XD Packed up and was sweating rather bad from the hot weather which didn't bode well but I think it was also because I was still sick that made it feel so much worse. The ride to the con was pretty nice. Ian's GPS lead us down a much more scenic route than the usual route so we got to avoid most of the traffic too and actually arrived at the time we estimated...which like never happens. XD It was also nice getting caught up with the two of them as I hadn't seen them in several years...which is pretty lame considering we don't live that far away. But I'm a super hermit so...yeah. ^^;;
We had 3 rooms this time around and two of the rooms were connected but the other one was a bit further down the hall so we didn't get to be all next to each other this time around. Lame. But I was in one of the connecting rooms at least. Which is always a party in itself. XD Once everyone had arrived, we went to get badges. Line was a lot longer than we thought but it moved pretty fast once it started going. I got the Madoka badge...again. lol 'Cause once again it was like the only thing I knew from the badge selection. XD; Then we went to eat but the Cheesecake Factory had a pretty long wait and said our group would have to be split up. Which didn't bode well for everyone in the group as some wanted to have all of us together, etc. So everyone was debating, yadda yadda and I'm like gradually feeling worse and worse so I was kinda like "screw you guys, I'm going to go sit down over there where I can feel the air conditioning better" because oh my god, I had like sweat dripping down my back in buckets and it was gross and I hate how easily I sweat. x_x Like I said before, I think just 'cause I was still sick, I was taking the heat a lot worse than normal. Laura sat with me though while people tried to figure out what they were doing. I didn't mind the wait for the restaurant. I just wanted to sit. Dan, Ethan, and Alex had decided they didn't want to wait though and were going to look for faster and cheaper food so I decided to join them just so I'd get something in my stomach sooner. We were going to go to the Japanese place but we swear the prices had been jacked up from last year as it seemed way more than we remembered it (Ethan even noticed the menus they had out were freshly printed so we think they did it just for Ota weekend >>). So instead we went to the Irish restaurant, which had a shorter wait and let us sit at the bar while we waited. Chatted with Alex and I swear time seemed to go by super slow 'cause we were hungry. x_x But then I got a text from Katie saying they had been seated already! Wtf! So luckily there was room for one more so I quickly made my way BACK over there and got food. XD; Which worked out better 'cause they had much smaller food items and my stomach can't handle much at a con. I mean I got an appetizer and wasn't even able to finish it. Took it back to the room and it ended up being my Friday dinner. lol
So while we're eating...it suddenly starts POURING. And we're like "well...shit" so we take our time to finish up but eventually we still had to leave. So we walk through the little mall area as long as we can to put off having to go out, hoping the rain will stop. It doesn't. But we're like "well it looks like its lighter now so might as well go before it gets bad again". So we buckle down. I made sure to put all important things in my con bag inside my regular bag for extra protection and we dashed out. And well. It didn't look that bad but omg as soon as it hit we were like "OH GOD" 'cause it was kinda hitting hard and then it started pouring harder and we were totally stuck in the middle of it with a lot of distance to go. XD It kinda sucked but we managed to laugh it off, stopping at every overhang we could find. By the time we got to the con center, we were all completely drenched and we took a break there for a bit. Though because the rain was mostly going one direction, our backsides were almost completely dry. XDXD My butt wasn't wet at all. lol We eventually got back to our room and stripped and put all our clothes in one pile for the one single dryer in the hotel. lol But we had to wait 'cause it was being used. We used Emily's hair dryer to dry our shoes and bags and man that thing was damn good. Should have just used it on the clothes too. XD 'Cause our clothes still weren't completely dry when we did get them done.
But yeah, the rain actually made me feel better? XD I think it just cleared out my sinuses for a moment and such and helped wake me up a bit. But after a few hours, the effects wore off and I was pretty tired. I did at least make sure to get the last bits of Van done and went to deliver that costume to Corey and Jon and had Corey help me fix up Soushi's wig a little. Tried to do some work on Luze but everyone was getting in bed and I was so insanely tired so I decided I'd just do it all Friday night since I didn't have to wear it til Saturday and got some sleep instead. Though granted we didn't go to bed til pretty late. XD
Oh and at some point that night I got my FFXIII-2 Lightning figure from Dan who had been holding one for me. Its super nice~! *_* Though I still haven't figured out where to put it. lol Though the lame thing is that her gun totally broke AS I was taking it out of the box. x_x wtf. I have no luck with the Kai figures, I swear (since Cloud's hand also broke shortly after I took him out arrrrgh).
Friday:
Felt a lot better after a good night's sleep. And was quite happy to see that I no longer was sick so yay! That certainly made the rest of the con a lot easier and more enjoyable. So got into Soushi and made my way over to the Hilton for the Inu x Boku SS gathering. We were smart and decided to do it in the hotel lobby instead of in the actual con center. Mainly so it'd make for better background for the photos and to try to make it like the lobby of the Maison de Ayakashi. We had a pretty good turnout. Almost the full cast even and everyone was pretty mature and awesome. Also realized later on that almost all of them were around my age, which was a nice change 'cause lately any gathering I've gone to has been mostly people 10 years younger than me. T_T; Some of the group was running late though so we didn't have our Nobara and two of the Ririchiyos til much later. And Corey could only stay for a short time in Zange due to working the Funimation booth. But we still had a pretty good time and lots of photos happened. We had one photographer who had agreed in advance to come to the shoot and then after he left and we were just fooling around at the Hilton bar area, another photographer came by who actually knew the series (that was shocking! lol) and wanted to take some photos as well.
I'm still waiting on the photos from the first photographer but here's from the 2nd and from our various cameras...
Kagerou looking very much like an anime master villain XD with his Karuta harem and Watanuki "minion". Our Kagerou was pretty amazing in general. And yes, she did in fact go around labeling everyone and everything "S" or "M". XDXD
So at one point, the Oni Ririchiyo and I were standing there, kinda starring at each other as we were both kinda shy and hadn't really done any photos yet while it had been mainly just the Karutas with Watanuki and Kagerou at this point. So I was like "ok, this needs to change" and did like a dramatic running "Ririchyo-sama~" and to my relief, she did the same from across the other side of the room. Except it didn't end that gracefully as I totally ran my chin into one of her horns. XDXD But it made everyone laugh and "aw". But then they wanted us to try to recreate it for photos. And that proved hard to get the pose right...
'Cause instead it looks like I'm trying to push her away. XD Oops!
But this one is kinda cute, even if I couldn't stop laughing so I have all these dorky faces in these. Oh well. XD
Kagerou and I then had our little showdown from the end of episode 10
Early on in the series, when Ririchiyo tells Soushi she doesn't want him as her SS and to go away, he offers out his sword and tells her to please do away with his life then. XD (with poor Ririchiyo being like "ahgaipdhapsi wtf! no!) So this is me trying to recreate that.
Watanuki isn't quite sure how to handle this many Karutas XD
And finally Nobara showed up with two more Ririchiyos. They were friends with one of the Karutas who had been texting them the whole time trying to ask where they were and they kept saying they were on their way but kept getting delayed. After hearing they had a wardrobe issue and had to fix it in the bathroom, we all started joking about Nobara being alone with two Ririchiyos...no wonder they were taking so long. Perhaps it was better not knowing what was going on there. XDXD (Nobara has an obsession with young girls, especially Ririchiyo and Karuta).
Mini Ririchiyo harem XD I originally wanted to do this sitting in the chair but my tails, I've discovered, make it kinda hard to sit. lol
And Nobara being quite happy with all the girls XD We kept saying someone needs to photoshop a major nosebleed and her glasses fogging up. XDXD But I'm not very good with that.
Zange, Kagerou, and Soushi decide poor Watanuki's fate XDXD (Still not sure where this idea came from though. lol Did I miss something? XD Or was this just a random idea by the group?)
Soushi bowing to his master. Photo by Mark Clifton.
I rather like this angle. ^^ Photo by Mark Clifton.
After the rather long gathering (I think it lasted over an hour at least since we were all having so much fun goofying off and and its not like there were any other groups waiting to use the space), we broke off and the male Zange, Watanuki, one of the Karutas, and Kagerou decided to go get food together so I decided to join them. We originally intended on Jimmy John's but took one look at the line which went out the door and down the street some...and decided to try elsewhere. Went to California Tortilla which of course also had a huge line but the line was inside so we decided we much rather deal with that one instead of the outside line. And as we got into the line, Kagerou, of course, exclaimed "This Line is an S! And we are all Ms for standing in it." XD I at this point remembered I still had quite a bit of Quesidilla from the night before in my room and realized it was kinda silly to get mexican food again but I really wanted to hang with them a bit longer so decided to just get it and have that other food later on. The wait to order food wasn't too bad but the wait for the food was pretty damn long. Luckily we were smart and sent Watanuki to the upstairs area in advance to find a table and eventually get enough chairs so by the time we made it up there, we had space for all of us. I think it was a good like 30 minutes at least before we finally got our food. But that was ok as we were having a good time just chatting. And this is the point where I found out they were all around the same age as me (though I know some of the others that didn't eat with us were a lot younger). Despite how hungry I thought I was, I took like...3 bites of my burrito and was done. O_o My stomach was like "ok, that's good, we're done." x_x So I figured a way to wrap it up so I could take it back to the room with me and add it to my collection of food. lol
Got back to the room and took a shower to get all the sweat and ick off and relaxed for a bit since I was just waiting on when Corey and Co were ready to get into Tales of the Abyss stuff and turns out they were running late. I figured I'd wait until they were back in their room and actually getting ready before I started getting Asch on 'cause it doesn't take me long to get dressed as versus all the hairstyling and stuff that had to go on with the rest. I sadly didn't get a chance to fix Asch up as much as I wanted to before the con. Its an old costume, from 2008 and so its from before I knew how to do things properly and a lot of it is just not up to par with my current skills. But because of time restraints and being sick before the con, I only managed to fix up the boot covers so I could wear my heeled boots with them (and be a bit taller), fix the crooked stripe on the sword sheath, and fix a few seams that had come undone. ...so much more work was needed on that blasted thing though and I felt a bit embarrassed as I knew it wouldn't be as good as the Van outfit I had made for the group.
Turns out it had been so long that I had forgotten how to put this costume on. XD I kept putting things on in the wrong order, only to have to take it all off and put it back on in the correct way. And then I ran into issues with my boots as it was a lot tighter fit with the boots and my dress pants (I forgot that in the past I usually wore very thin pants with this thing for a reason) and so there was quite a bit of struggling with that. ^^;; And then I had wig issues and at this point, the rest of the group was wondering where the hell I was. ...lol So I guess I failed at that plan. XD But luckily they were only one floor above me so I was able to get to their room quickly and had Corey fix up my wig and help me style it. I had previously had the wig styled to look like Asch in that one scene in the game where his hair is wet from the rain. Just 'cause I wasn't a big fan of his regular slicked-back rooster look and I always felt he looked better with it down. But I had kinda decided that I really should go with the more familiar hairstyle this time around. And actually rather liked how it looked. But anywho we finished getting ready with just enough time to make it over to the Tales shoot with our group consisting of Luke, Asch, Van, Ion, and Anise from Abyss and Yuri from Vesperia.
The gathering was probably one of the most organized shoots I've EVER been to. It was fun without any drama or chaos. The girls running it had a list of shots to do and made sure to position everyone for the best outcome of photos. I was pretty impressed especially as it was a semi large shoot. But I know they've been doing it for quite a few years. I just haven't gone to one in years since I haven't had any new Tales costumes in years.
Tales of Bias Tape. ...or at least that's what I like to call them. XD Photo by Mark Clifton.
...but seriously, look at everyone in that photo! There isn't like a single person not covered in bias tape! Its true, every Tales cosplayer I know agrees to this and I know I'm not the only one that has nicknamed the series that. *raises angry fist* Curse you Namco and your designs! Also, I was pretty excited to hear them declare me as one of the taller people. XD That's certainly never happened to me before. lol Yay for heeled boots! I was just about the same height as Corey too with them on so it worked out well.
Jon wearing the Van commission I made for him. This thing is why I wasn't able to get my own costume done at this point. x_x I'm not 100% happy with it due to having to rush quite a bit of it due to being sick before the con and all and that slowing me down by a lot. The bias tape probably needs to be re-sewn as I kinda went all over the place when I sewed it at like...2 am while. x_x;;; The shoulder spikes could be better but I'm happy they at least stay up.
Back of the costume. 'Cause the back design was actually more intense than the front. XD Too bad like no one ever notices the back of a costume. T_T;
But I was pretty proud to see Jon get a lot of attention as Van. Like seriously. Everyone at the shoot was like "omg its a Van! I've never seen a Van cosplayer before!" and we proceeded to get a lot of that everywhere we went. XD I also love all the "MasterVanMasterVanMasterVan!" call outs we got from various Tales people. XD (not from any Lukes though, ironically!) Our group's Ion also got a lot of attention because she was so tiny and adorable! At one point Jon just hoisted her up and walked off with her in his arms (he wanted to sling her over his shoulder but we agreed we didn't want to impale her on his spikes). ...and took Luke a while to notice this before finally running after them. XD Sadly I don't think anyone got photos of it as he did it too quickly and without warning (and ran behind one of the other photos going on).
When the gathering finally started to disperse, our Anise decided she wanted to go to the Dealer's Room. And I was like "ooh yay, I can finally go as I haven't gotten a chance to yet!" ...and then realized I left my wallet in the room 'cause I didn't want to bother bringing my bag with me (Asch's wig always tends to get tangled in the strap when I carry it around) so T_T. lol And since it would be pretty sad just starring at things I want with no way to buy them, figured I'd go back to the room to chill out instead. Took off just part of the costume, mainly the boots and gloves and the wig (though that may have been a bad idea...since some of the hair decided to move after that. Didn't think to re-spray it. Oops). I swear I don't think I ever came into the room and was alone for long. XD Always had at least one other person in to chat with. Then put the wig and everything back on and headed back over to the con center to meet with the group and Lionel for our private shoot. Which we ended up doing outside which was fine at first but gradually began to melt as time went on. XD Luckily I don't look too wilted in the photos like I thought I would considering how much I was sweating.
I like this shot of me but I'm annoyed at that one loose strand of the wig. XD I kept trying to fix it but it kept coming back. And in general the wig wasn't looking as good at this point. Oh well.
I rather like this group shot. Oh and that random Jade there is a guy Corey invited at the Tales gathering to join us for the shoot.
Us trying to be rockstars XD
And kinda a spoiler but Corey really wanted to do this pose...even though I was totally terrified of being lifted up like this. o_o; But we did attempt it prior to the shoot just to see if we could get it to work beforehand. I know Lionel was a bit nervous about it (hell I was nervous about it XD) but I'm glad it came out well...
...even if my butt does look big here. XD
...and then I zombied out and tried to eat Luke's brains but the photo didn't come out that great for it. lol Glad he didn't post it online as I saw the preview and I looked pretty retarded. XDXD That's definitely one only for the personal collection, lol. ...if I remember to ask for the photo CD. I tend to forget. XDXD Usually Lionel is the one to remind me about that.
After that we all made it back to the Days Inn to collapse. I got out of the costume and took a MUCH needed shower (#2 of the day!). Ate my Cheesecake Factory leftovers and planned to spend the rest of the night chilling and working on Luze. Was going to get an early start after I relaxed a little on the bed while the others watched TV. But then my phone rang. And instead of working and resting in my room...
This happened...
That's me wearing that Origami Cyclone costume from Tiger & Bunny with Tohma as Wild Tiger. XD See Lionel had brought his costume to the con to go with Tohma's but the girl that was supposed to wear it for him didn't feel well enough to wear it so he called me to ask if I wanted to wear it 'cause 1) I know Tohma 2) He remembered reading on my LJ that I was having a tough time before con and 3) I was the right size. XD And like hell was I going to say no to that! lol So yeah, after a bit of confusion, went over to his room and got into the suit...which was damn impressive! I kept trying to study it to figure out how he does it but man, every time I try to work with craft foam it never looks that perfect or comes out that sturdy! The man has magic! Even when I sat down in the suit, nothing got messed up or bent. I was a little afraid the geta would be hard to walk in especially as I have tiny feet and I was worried they'd be too big but I guess Lionel has small feet too because they fit almost perfectly and were pretty easy to move in.
So yeah, it was A LOT of fun though I could barely see anything and couldn't hear well so I kept being like "...what?" every time Tohma tried to talk to me. XD Doesn't help that her voice was muffled by her suit as well. And I kept almost running into things. The mask kept falling down too so then I couldn't see at all so kept having to adjust it. And well...I'm bad at being silly so I was always second-guessing myself with poses and moves since people kept asking us to do stuff. Also doesn't help that I hadn't watched the show in ages so I couldn't remember how he posed, besides just being in the background. XD So I just went with kabuki-ish poses. But yeah, had fun photobombing. Sadly it was kinda late at night so there wasn't much there TO photobomb. Pffft. Oh well. It was still fun!
Photoboming Tiger
Photobombing down the escalator XD
Photobombing Eva
And advertising for our new sponsor? XDXD
I did a lot of knee bending poses which resulted in my legs...hurting quite a bit by the end of the night. XD But it was worth it. Also totally fell over when Tohma was chasing me outside for a silly video we were doing. And sadly Tohma's leg armor suffered some damage from our collision. Felt pretty bad about that but I think she managed to fix it up alright as I think I saw photos of her in it on Sunday? And even with me falling on the cement, Lionel's costume didn't even get a crease. O_o Seriously, how does he do it? Every time I make craft foam armor, I always end up getting a permanent crease somewhere from accidentally bending it. XD
But oh man it was great freaking out people I knew, who of course had no idea it was me in the suit until I took the helmet off. XDXDXD I attempted to photobomb Becca and Ben while they were having a photo taken of their Baccano group but totally didn't get to them in time so instead, I hung over their shoulders for a bit to weird them out before revealing it was me. lol And then at one point Tohma was talking to this one guy and I'm like totally not really paying attention and he's complimenting her on the suit and how it looks with her in it and then he goes "hey have you seen Lyn at all?" and Tohma and Co. start laughing and I'm thinking "...Lyn? As in me? Or does he mean someone else? Huh?" And Tohma keeps gesturing at me to take the helmet off and I'm like "huh what? Do I know you?" and he's like "Uh?" and then I'm like "Oh right! Helmet!" and I take it off and he's like "Lyn!" and it takes me a moment and I realize its Henry, my friend Helen's brother-in-law who I had helped find a room for him for Ota last minute with Tohma. XD Pffft once again this proves that I suck at remembering faces! But yeah, that was pretty amusing despite my derp-ness.
Didn't stay in the suit for too long because it was pretty exhausting. Lionel was laughing at me at how much I was sweating when I was taking everything off. XD I can't help it if I sweat easily! He also had me attempt to get out of the costume without any help just to see if I could figure it out. lol I got pretty far at least. Up to the point where you need two people to get it off. But yeah, I'm really glad he asked me and I'm sad I won't be at Dragon*Con to do YipYips again as he kept reminding me about that and I was like "T_T Won't be there this time...". Ah well.
Got back to my room and took yet another shower (#3 in one day!) since I was feeling rather gross. XDXD Then finally got back to working on Luze. Went up to Corey's room for a little to deliver her patch and originally she had offered to help me sew up the bias tape but she passed out after cutting out the patch. Pffft. Ah well, I did tell her I'd be coming much earlier originally so partially my fault. Went back to my room, determined to get this thing done. The rest of my room turned up so at least I had company and they all stayed up really late so that made it easier with all the tons of bias tape I was doing up by hand. But then they went to bed and I was still going...and starting to fade. I did force myself not to stop until the bias tape was done though. But I still had the buttons and some of the decorative pieces to attach still, as well as fixing the wig and such. And I think I still had to close off the sleeves but I at least got that pinned. So I decided to just wake up early and finish that in the morning 'cause at least I didn't have to get into it until 1pm as Corey and Tohma weren't not going to be able to be in their Uraboku costumes til then. So I very happily passed out.
Saturday:
Saturday was a whole lot less eventful than Friday for me this year. I really didn't do much so this part is going to be a lot shorter. ^^;;
I totally failed at my plan to get up super early but did at least get up semi early to start. The other room was already up so I went over there to finish some of the sewing. Then went back into my room to do the buttons once people started getting up. They were done getting dressed and out before I finished, of course. And I missed the Pandora Hearts shoot while working on this but I had already pretty much figured I wouldn't be going to it anyways as I didn't want to change that many times since we had planned to wear PH later in the day as well since Corey wouldn't be able to make the shoot. But to be honest I'm kinda sad I missed the shoot as I saw photos from it later and it made me sad to realize this is the first Ota PH gathering I've missed in quite some time. That and I haven't worn any PH all year. T_T; Seems like a crime. And well I figured it'd be like last year with everyone there only having seen the anime and not really knowing the manga at all and it just being a small group. No, it was actually a pretty decent turnout! And they had several people doing manga-only outfits. And gaaah they did a scene from the manga I really wanted to do and super sad since there was no one doing Leo and I know they would've have loved a Leo for that shot. T___T; I swear every time I DON'T wear PH, suddenly PH people show up. I do wear it and there's...no one. >>;; wtf.
But anywho, the rest of the room got into their Street Fighter group assemble. Except for Laura who did this badass cosplay...
Lady Kayura from Ronin Warriors/Yorroiden Samurai Troopers. Fuck yeah! She seriously made me ridiculously happy with this cosplay. Kayura is one of my favorite characters too.
But anyways, I did manage to get Luze done just in time and so we decided to meet in the Hilton lobby. I braced myself as I pretty much knew I'd melt in this considering its a full black military uniform and all and I had already gotten warnings that it was pretty hot outside. So I step out of the hotel and...I'm totally fine. Like, didn't feel uncomfortable at all. lol So either this material is just really light or I got used to it? But yeah, I was totally cool all the way over to the other hotel and was fine there as poor Corey is already sweating. Though I did finally start to feel the heat after an hour or so in it but it was nowhere as bad as I thought it'd be, that's for sure.
Here's a quick full shot of Luze taken in the Hilton lobby while I was waiting. I need to fix the belt so its higher up as its making my body look...awkward. And so I don't look like I have a potbelly. >>;; That's what I get for rushing on something but that's easy to fix at least.
After Tohma joined us, we made our way over to the con center and decided to go to the Dealer's Room as it was pretty much my only chance to finally go. Though for some odd reason we decided to let Corey lead, thinking she knew where she was going since she had been working in the Dealer's Room all weekend...only for her to take us the LONG way around. XD I kept thinking "wait...why are we going in the regular way? Oh well maybe its in a different location this year?" but turns out no, it wasn't. Corey just didn't know about that way of getting there. ^^;; She claims part of that area had been closed off before and we couldn't take it in but I think it was only just when it wasn't open yet and probably why the people working in the Dealer's had to take a different entrance. But this did result in us making quite a few jokes about Reiga's failure as a leader and villain. ...which is very true. Reiga is meant to be the main villain of Uraboku but he's...kinda super fail. XD And my character, Luze, basically works for him so I kept making snide remarks ('cause Luze does get in Reiga's face a little about his lack of ability to not give into human emotions 'cause Luze rocks and is a far better villain, lol).
But anyways, once we were finally inside the Dealer's, made our way first to the wig booths and then over to Anime Sekai. Got my Persona 4 figures I had been planning to get. Though I only got Souji and Yosuke due to how expensive they were and trying to be good and not buy too much this con. Also got the Dissidia Cecil figure finally and got this cute Inu x Boku SS photo frame thing that has 2 artwork pieces from the anime. I'm not sure what to call it as I hadn't seen anything like it before but it was cute and there isn't much merchandise for Inu x Boku so I felt the need. XD They had several sets but I got the one with Soushi and Ririchiyo, of course. Tried to keep my eye out for the Chibi Cloud Kai figure but didn't manage to find one though it may have been there for all I know. Otakon's Dealer's is pretty huge and I get tired of looking at everything pretty fast in there. That and we were all pretty much done and had gotten the things we came to get so we decided to just go take a few photos before going off to our next plans of the day since we all had other costumes to wear. On our way back up to the main floor, a girl stopped me, asking for a photo. And we're all like "wait...do you know what we're from?" (and I'm expecting a "no") and she says "yes!" and Tohma and Corey are all excited and she takes the photo but then I'm like "wait...what do you think we're from?" "Uh, D.Gray-Man, right?". XD See, I had a feeling I was being mistaken for another series as I totally saw that happening though I had predicted more something like Trinity Blood. And we explain that its not and she admits she thought I was Kanda, which I'm just like...laughing my ass off over because I am in fact using my old Kanda wig that I revived and restyled a bit. But the outfit is so...not the right series. Granted I almost felt like I was making Kanda again when I first started sewing the uniform because of all the bias tape stripes. But still. XD Oh well. But anyways...there wasn't anywhere inside really to take photos so we forced ourselves to go outside for just long enough to get a few shots.
Our mini Uragiri wa Boku no Namae Shitteiru (or Uraboku for short) group. Corey as Reiga, Tohma as Yuki, and me as Luze
Better full shot of me. Though it came out a little dark but it was hard to get the light right in this spot. It was either blinding and in our face with half us in the shadow or us fully in shadow. lol
You can see the sleeve embroidery rather well here.
So I finally started to feel the heat in the costume at this point and we were all pretty welted and not really coming up with any photo ideas. We agreed we should just wear them at Katsu where its colder and we can last longer and get better shots. Was a little disappointed that I didn't get to wear Luze long so decided I might get back into it later on in the day. But I had promised Courtney that I'd put Blueblood on to join her at the MLP meet so she wouldn't have to face the scary Bronies alone. XDXD Though I didn't have enough time to change so ended up getting there a few minutes late and well...I checked the time and wasn't really that late, according to the time they should have just started so it would be fine. Only I get there...and they were pretty much...done. O_o Found Courtney and she told me they started like 20-30 minutes early. Like wtf. I guess a lot of them got there early all together and decided just to go ahead since it was hot out and all but seriously, to anyone who actually showed up at the actual time or was running late...kinda had no chance of getting in any photos. And ugh, I dunno, it was crowded and I immediately didn't want to be there. This is why I usually avoid larger gatherings. I'm too shy and even with Courtney there, felt too awkward. And it really was hot as balls out on that terrace. Then there was some announcement of them moving to another location inside but we decided...not to follow. XD
Poor Courtney was REALLY sweating even though her Zecora outfit was actually weather appropriate. I think she had just been out there for too long as she looked pretty wilted and during the group shot she ended up kneeling and since she had nothing on her legs, that meant her legs had direct contact with the BURNING CONCRETE. o_o; But yeah, ugh, I hate how huge the gathering was. I looked at the photos later on and really wish I had been able to go to the Friday meet instead as it seemed a lot smaller and more pleasant and they had more side characters so they didn't get ignored. (I noticed how Courtney really only was in the group shot as they didn't really call anything that she could fit in with since most characters had doubles and all. So pfffft at that.) Ah well, I don't plan to go to any MLP:FiM shoots anyways. Kinda annoyed with that fandom as a whole. I think I rather stick with just regular MLP cosplay if I do anymore. Just a shame as I do like a lot of the FiM designs. But anyways, we wandered for a little while but there wasn't really much to interest us so we headed back to the Hilton as Courtney offered to take photos for me there and we agreed its a better setting (lol I think I spent more time in that hotel than in the con center this year). We got there and noticed the bar was opening up so decided, hell, why not. And Courtney was all "Hell I could use a drink after that!" XD
Of course I didn't drink anything since I don't really drink and it was too early anyways but she did get a pizza so we split that. ...even if it did taste pretty much like a giant Lunchables pizza. I kid you not. Pffft. An expensive lunchable. >>; Had a pretty nice conversation though and somehow ended up getting into conversation with this other guy that was there and had a pretty long enjoyable chat. Though at one point I guess he thought we were leaving as he just suddenly says "Well, nice meeting you. Hope you have a good day." And yet he's still sitting there and we're still sitting there and we're like "...huh?" and when we both realize we aren't leaving, we joked about him just wanting to end the conversation there and how amusing it would be to just randomly do that to someone. Like stop them mid conversation and just be like "Good day, sir." and not even walk away, just like turn your back, being like "I'm done." XD 'Cause that's what it felt like he was doing even though he seriously thought we were leaving (we hadn't even paid the check yet lol). I dunno, it was a lot funnier at the time so I guess you had to be there. Eventually we did finish and leave though and said goodbye for real. But it was nice having an encounter that wasn't just a random awkward con creeper like what usually happens to us. And we did manage to get a few dorky shots at the bar before we left.
Me trying to look classy and snobby...with a drink that isn't even mine. XD Though I totally forgot to put my gloves back on. lol
Courtney and I both wanted to wander a bit and I mentioned I hadn't gone to the Artist Alley yet and she told me that the artists of both Starfighter and TeaHouse were here this year and I was like "aghapdgihaai omg" so of course we had to go in. XD Wandered a little until I got to the Starfighter booth. Teahouse had already packed up for the day but to be honest, I'm a bigger Starfighter fan anyways so I was more excited to meet Hamlet Machine...who is insanely adorabile! I was trying to be good this con and not spend too much considering I had just bought a doll beforehand but I couldn't just talk to her and NOT buy something and I've been meaning to get book 1 for a while now. Was going to just get that until I saw book 2 sitting there too...and so got both. XDXD Though I wish I had used my card instead of paying cash since she was one of the few who could take card. As I kept seeing tons of art I liked while walking around but had to make sure I'd have enough cash on me to pay for the parking. Ugh, it was torture as several of my favorite Avengers fanartists were there. x_x And I must admit...I was totally on the lookout for mainly that. >> Even though this was an anime con and all...lol I knew there would be at least some stuff. XD
Went back to the room and changed into regular clothes and picked more at my burrito (took me forever to finish that thing lol). I had intended to get back into Luze but figured I'd relax a bit first. Showed Dani my Starfighter books and was not at all surprised that she instantly liked it. XD Watched TV for a while and then got a text that Magenta and Mimi were finally making their way to the con (I had found out they were coming earlier that day but had no idea when) so I texted Ray since I know he would want to come by too since its been a while since we'd all seen each other. Turns out Ray was in the same hotel too so he came down for a little bit while we waited and we chatted. I also felt a little sad that I was pretty much the only one in the rooms that didn't have a 3DS yet. *raises fist* But I will eventually. XD Ray and Dani were comparing 3DS notes for a while, which was amusing. Eventually Magenta and Mimi showed up and we ended up just chatting the rest of the night away instead of actually doing anything. So never did get to put Luze back on but that's ok. I think I had more fun just goofying off in the room anyways. ...even if everyone did keep making fun of me and my lack of technology (mainly my old phone and lack of 3DS ^^;;). Time passed really quickly though and so Ray and I walked Mimi and Magenta back to their car so they could head out (they were going to drive all the way to NYC O_o which was crazy considering it was already almost midnight at this point). They gave us a ride back to the hotel which was nice so we didn't have to walk back as I was feeling pretty tired (and my legs still really hurt from Friday night lol).
Returned back to my room and spent the rest of the night talking about future cosplay plans and such. Most of the group went out to the con but Laura and Dani stayed and I was kinda dying at this point. lol I had intended to at least organize my stuff so it'd be easier to pack the next day...but that never happened. Instead kinda half passed out next to Dani while she and Laura kept trying to show me stuff. XD But the lack of sleep had finally caught up with me so I could barely function. The two of them had intended to go out to the con eventually but never did. lol Everyone came back at some point but no idea when as I was already half gone when they did. XD
So yeah...not a very interesting Saturday. lol
Sunday:
Did the usual Sunday thing. Reluctantly forced myself out of bed, which was hard even despite the fact that I had fallen asleep before everyone else. lol I was also like the last to get up. XDXD But considering I was the last to sleep the nights before and one of the first up...I think its understandable. And I'm able to get ready pretty fast. Packed my shit up and took it over to Katie and Ian's room down the hall so to get it out of the way while the others got their stuff in Dar's car. Then took our stuff down and packed Katie's car as well. I thought we had gotten stuff up early enough to maybe miss the brunt of the Sunday packing rush but no such luck. lol But it wasn't too bad and we only had a few things that had to be taken via elevator so we just used the stairs for the rest. Timed it pretty well though 'cause as we were leaving to go to the con, we ran into the majority of the rest of the group, waiting for Dar to finish checking us all out. So we just went all together to the con though we split up once there, those working the Dealer's Room going to their special entrance while the rest of us went to our peasant entrance. XD Though forgot that it had only just recently opened so had to stand in line for it for like the first time in a long time. lol
I really had no intention of buying anything more at this point but there's not much to do on Sun besides roam the Dealer's and Laura wanted to get a chance to look at every booth so I figured I might as well keep my eyes open for the few items I still was interested in. Did manage to find the 2nd Star Driver Blu-Ray and went ahead and got it there as I had meant to get it when it came out but kept forgetting to, so I figured that was an ok excuse to make one final purchase. XD Got a text from Alyce that she was done Sailor Moon shoot. She and Tom came down just for the day for her Sailor Moon group since they were doing a shoot outside of the con so they wouldn't need a badge or anything. They were going to borrow a badge from someone else in the group but it fell through. So Dani and I went outside to talk with them for a bit. Luckily it wasn't too bad outside at this point. Alyce was a little disappointed that she couldn't borrow a badge though as she had brought her Teahouse and The Dreamer books to get signed. So I offered to get them signed for her since the entrance to the AA was literally right next to the doors we were outside. Later I realized I could have given her my badge so she could do it herself and talk to the people ^^;; but also figured she would like some more time talking with Dani since Dani wasn't going to join us for lunch and they haven't seen each other in a while. That and well...I did kinda want to revisit those booths I had seen the day before one last time. XD And finally see the Teahouse people. Though I totally fail at finding things. Like I couldn't figure out how to get myself back to the Teahouse and Starfighter corner. I was a bit bawfled as I had been there before but I somehow got myself mixed up and totally at the wrong side. XD Luckily Otakon has a map of their AA in the booklet so I had to use that to guide me (and it was pretty sad how I to use it to guide me each step...lol I'm so hopeless.) But eventually got to Teahouse and was rather impressed with how big their booth was. Though it turns out all the books were already signed. Alyce just hadn't realized that. lol But she still agreed to personalize them so that was nice. Once again had to use my map to find The Dreamer, which I think I somehow managed to go past the first time. Not sure how since there was a very obvious stand of the main character directly in front of the booth. XD Got that book signed and even though I've never read that one, I let the artist know how big of a fan Alyce is and that she made the big ballgown from it. And she said that she'd die to see someone in the ballgown come up to her some day since she hasn't seen one in person yet, only in photos. So its a shame she tends to only come to Otakon as Alyce doesn't want to wear it at that one and risk getting the dress dirty.
And then I worked my way over to one of the Avengers booth...well mainly the one artist that I know on DA that does a lot of my fav Thorki art. XDXD And decided I had to buy at least something. lol Took me a while to decide on which print though as I like all her stuff but I got the one really pretty single shot of Loki in the end (though kinda wish I got the matching Thor too >>;;). When I came back out with obviously more than just the books, got a few laughs and looks as they were like "Ah, I see, there was another reason you wanted to go back in there. We were wondering what took you so long." XD Though truthfully it was more because of me getting lost a few times more than my side stop. Then Dani went back to join the others and I went with Tom and Alyce in search of food. Which...ended up being more difficult than we thought. lol First we went to Noodles and Co. but the line was out the door and we didn't want to deal with that. Though kinda wish we had after all... Took us over to Cosi's but forgot that Laura had said they were closed on weekends, which sucked as we had walked a bit to them. Tom had located this one cafe we had eaten in DC once and liked on his phone GPS so we decided to go there but the walk was a bit longer than expected. And it turned out to be in this Medical Center place...which was really weird. lol The guy at the door thought Alyce was a student (lol 'cause of her sailor outfit she was still half wearing? I don't know how you get student from that XD) and wanted her to check in. lol Had to keep explaining that no, we weren't there for that. Was almost afraid we wouldn't be able to go to the food place unless we were there for a reason but it seemed ok. Got some yummy sandwiches and sat in the AC and chatted for a while.
Parted ways with them and headed back into the con and wandered a little to see if I could find anyone I knew. Was unsucessful so pulled over to the railing to text Ray to see if he was still around so I could at least say hi before he left...only to have him walk right next to me and stand there for a while before I finally noticed him. XD I thought he was just someone else coming over to do the same as me. Pffft. Talk about timing though! lol So wandered a bit with him and found the rest of the room group, hanging by Starbucks and reading Chi's Sweet Home books while waiting for Dar, Mike, and Emily who were at closing ceremonies. Though we weren't there for long before it was announced the con was ending and the con center was closing up. Which shocked me as I didn't realize it was that late already. I'm so used to spending most of my Sunday wandering the con. Didn't realize I had spent so much time with Alyce and Tom. We were also surprised that closing ceremonies hadn't finished yet as we were outside for quite a while and Dar and them still hadn't come out yet even though the con was technically closed at this point. Though we did get kinda tired of waiting so Katie, Ian, and I said our goodbyes and headed back to the car. Had a pretty nice chat on the way back and agreed that we really do need to try to hang out more...since they don't live that far fro me. XD I'm such a hermit though.
So yeah...that was my con. Kinda boring, I'm afraid. lol So not a very interesting report. I still will probably keep going to the con even though I know its probably not worth the price. lol But I dunno, I still enjoy it. And plus we have a few cosplay groups planned so gotta at least go for that. XD
Rest of my photos are here: http://lyn.houjun.com/otakon12.html Not a huge amount but at least not as few as some of the other cons. Mostly just more Inu x Boku stuff though. XD
~Lyn
So yeah...Otakon happened. Seemed like it wasn't quite as crowded as last year but I've had other friends say they felt like it was worse. So I dunno. XD But it just didn't seem QUITE as bad as last year to me. But maybe just 'cause I wasn't wearing as many costumes this time around? I think I've finally learned my limits with Ota.
Anywho, onto the actual report...
Thursday:
Come Thursday afternoon and I so totally was not done but decided to stop and pack up so I'd be ready for my ride. Luckily I planned it right so all I'd have left to do was handstitching and gluing and such, which can be done in the hotel room. I was also still slightly sick but feeling a lot better at this point. For the most part. Katie and Ian showed up right as I was just about done packing though I still have to print some things out but luckily they didn't have to wait too long and my dogs seemed to be keeping them amused at least. XD Packed up and was sweating rather bad from the hot weather which didn't bode well but I think it was also because I was still sick that made it feel so much worse. The ride to the con was pretty nice. Ian's GPS lead us down a much more scenic route than the usual route so we got to avoid most of the traffic too and actually arrived at the time we estimated...which like never happens. XD It was also nice getting caught up with the two of them as I hadn't seen them in several years...which is pretty lame considering we don't live that far away. But I'm a super hermit so...yeah. ^^;;
We had 3 rooms this time around and two of the rooms were connected but the other one was a bit further down the hall so we didn't get to be all next to each other this time around. Lame. But I was in one of the connecting rooms at least. Which is always a party in itself. XD Once everyone had arrived, we went to get badges. Line was a lot longer than we thought but it moved pretty fast once it started going. I got the Madoka badge...again. lol 'Cause once again it was like the only thing I knew from the badge selection. XD; Then we went to eat but the Cheesecake Factory had a pretty long wait and said our group would have to be split up. Which didn't bode well for everyone in the group as some wanted to have all of us together, etc. So everyone was debating, yadda yadda and I'm like gradually feeling worse and worse so I was kinda like "screw you guys, I'm going to go sit down over there where I can feel the air conditioning better" because oh my god, I had like sweat dripping down my back in buckets and it was gross and I hate how easily I sweat. x_x Like I said before, I think just 'cause I was still sick, I was taking the heat a lot worse than normal. Laura sat with me though while people tried to figure out what they were doing. I didn't mind the wait for the restaurant. I just wanted to sit. Dan, Ethan, and Alex had decided they didn't want to wait though and were going to look for faster and cheaper food so I decided to join them just so I'd get something in my stomach sooner. We were going to go to the Japanese place but we swear the prices had been jacked up from last year as it seemed way more than we remembered it (Ethan even noticed the menus they had out were freshly printed so we think they did it just for Ota weekend >>). So instead we went to the Irish restaurant, which had a shorter wait and let us sit at the bar while we waited. Chatted with Alex and I swear time seemed to go by super slow 'cause we were hungry. x_x But then I got a text from Katie saying they had been seated already! Wtf! So luckily there was room for one more so I quickly made my way BACK over there and got food. XD; Which worked out better 'cause they had much smaller food items and my stomach can't handle much at a con. I mean I got an appetizer and wasn't even able to finish it. Took it back to the room and it ended up being my Friday dinner. lol
So while we're eating...it suddenly starts POURING. And we're like "well...shit" so we take our time to finish up but eventually we still had to leave. So we walk through the little mall area as long as we can to put off having to go out, hoping the rain will stop. It doesn't. But we're like "well it looks like its lighter now so might as well go before it gets bad again". So we buckle down. I made sure to put all important things in my con bag inside my regular bag for extra protection and we dashed out. And well. It didn't look that bad but omg as soon as it hit we were like "OH GOD" 'cause it was kinda hitting hard and then it started pouring harder and we were totally stuck in the middle of it with a lot of distance to go. XD It kinda sucked but we managed to laugh it off, stopping at every overhang we could find. By the time we got to the con center, we were all completely drenched and we took a break there for a bit. Though because the rain was mostly going one direction, our backsides were almost completely dry. XDXD My butt wasn't wet at all. lol We eventually got back to our room and stripped and put all our clothes in one pile for the one single dryer in the hotel. lol But we had to wait 'cause it was being used. We used Emily's hair dryer to dry our shoes and bags and man that thing was damn good. Should have just used it on the clothes too. XD 'Cause our clothes still weren't completely dry when we did get them done.
But yeah, the rain actually made me feel better? XD I think it just cleared out my sinuses for a moment and such and helped wake me up a bit. But after a few hours, the effects wore off and I was pretty tired. I did at least make sure to get the last bits of Van done and went to deliver that costume to Corey and Jon and had Corey help me fix up Soushi's wig a little. Tried to do some work on Luze but everyone was getting in bed and I was so insanely tired so I decided I'd just do it all Friday night since I didn't have to wear it til Saturday and got some sleep instead. Though granted we didn't go to bed til pretty late. XD
Oh and at some point that night I got my FFXIII-2 Lightning figure from Dan who had been holding one for me. Its super nice~! *_* Though I still haven't figured out where to put it. lol Though the lame thing is that her gun totally broke AS I was taking it out of the box. x_x wtf. I have no luck with the Kai figures, I swear (since Cloud's hand also broke shortly after I took him out arrrrgh).
Friday:
Felt a lot better after a good night's sleep. And was quite happy to see that I no longer was sick so yay! That certainly made the rest of the con a lot easier and more enjoyable. So got into Soushi and made my way over to the Hilton for the Inu x Boku SS gathering. We were smart and decided to do it in the hotel lobby instead of in the actual con center. Mainly so it'd make for better background for the photos and to try to make it like the lobby of the Maison de Ayakashi. We had a pretty good turnout. Almost the full cast even and everyone was pretty mature and awesome. Also realized later on that almost all of them were around my age, which was a nice change 'cause lately any gathering I've gone to has been mostly people 10 years younger than me. T_T; Some of the group was running late though so we didn't have our Nobara and two of the Ririchiyos til much later. And Corey could only stay for a short time in Zange due to working the Funimation booth. But we still had a pretty good time and lots of photos happened. We had one photographer who had agreed in advance to come to the shoot and then after he left and we were just fooling around at the Hilton bar area, another photographer came by who actually knew the series (that was shocking! lol) and wanted to take some photos as well.
I'm still waiting on the photos from the first photographer but here's from the 2nd and from our various cameras...
Kagerou looking very much like an anime master villain XD with his Karuta harem and Watanuki "minion". Our Kagerou was pretty amazing in general. And yes, she did in fact go around labeling everyone and everything "S" or "M". XDXD
So at one point, the Oni Ririchiyo and I were standing there, kinda starring at each other as we were both kinda shy and hadn't really done any photos yet while it had been mainly just the Karutas with Watanuki and Kagerou at this point. So I was like "ok, this needs to change" and did like a dramatic running "Ririchyo-sama~" and to my relief, she did the same from across the other side of the room. Except it didn't end that gracefully as I totally ran my chin into one of her horns. XDXD But it made everyone laugh and "aw". But then they wanted us to try to recreate it for photos. And that proved hard to get the pose right...
'Cause instead it looks like I'm trying to push her away. XD Oops!
But this one is kinda cute, even if I couldn't stop laughing so I have all these dorky faces in these. Oh well. XD
Kagerou and I then had our little showdown from the end of episode 10
Early on in the series, when Ririchiyo tells Soushi she doesn't want him as her SS and to go away, he offers out his sword and tells her to please do away with his life then. XD (with poor Ririchiyo being like "ahgaipdhapsi wtf! no!) So this is me trying to recreate that.
Watanuki isn't quite sure how to handle this many Karutas XD
And finally Nobara showed up with two more Ririchiyos. They were friends with one of the Karutas who had been texting them the whole time trying to ask where they were and they kept saying they were on their way but kept getting delayed. After hearing they had a wardrobe issue and had to fix it in the bathroom, we all started joking about Nobara being alone with two Ririchiyos...no wonder they were taking so long. Perhaps it was better not knowing what was going on there. XDXD (Nobara has an obsession with young girls, especially Ririchiyo and Karuta).
Mini Ririchiyo harem XD I originally wanted to do this sitting in the chair but my tails, I've discovered, make it kinda hard to sit. lol
And Nobara being quite happy with all the girls XD We kept saying someone needs to photoshop a major nosebleed and her glasses fogging up. XDXD But I'm not very good with that.
Zange, Kagerou, and Soushi decide poor Watanuki's fate XDXD (Still not sure where this idea came from though. lol Did I miss something? XD Or was this just a random idea by the group?)
Soushi bowing to his master. Photo by Mark Clifton.
I rather like this angle. ^^ Photo by Mark Clifton.
After the rather long gathering (I think it lasted over an hour at least since we were all having so much fun goofying off and and its not like there were any other groups waiting to use the space), we broke off and the male Zange, Watanuki, one of the Karutas, and Kagerou decided to go get food together so I decided to join them. We originally intended on Jimmy John's but took one look at the line which went out the door and down the street some...and decided to try elsewhere. Went to California Tortilla which of course also had a huge line but the line was inside so we decided we much rather deal with that one instead of the outside line. And as we got into the line, Kagerou, of course, exclaimed "This Line is an S! And we are all Ms for standing in it." XD I at this point remembered I still had quite a bit of Quesidilla from the night before in my room and realized it was kinda silly to get mexican food again but I really wanted to hang with them a bit longer so decided to just get it and have that other food later on. The wait to order food wasn't too bad but the wait for the food was pretty damn long. Luckily we were smart and sent Watanuki to the upstairs area in advance to find a table and eventually get enough chairs so by the time we made it up there, we had space for all of us. I think it was a good like 30 minutes at least before we finally got our food. But that was ok as we were having a good time just chatting. And this is the point where I found out they were all around the same age as me (though I know some of the others that didn't eat with us were a lot younger). Despite how hungry I thought I was, I took like...3 bites of my burrito and was done. O_o My stomach was like "ok, that's good, we're done." x_x So I figured a way to wrap it up so I could take it back to the room with me and add it to my collection of food. lol
Got back to the room and took a shower to get all the sweat and ick off and relaxed for a bit since I was just waiting on when Corey and Co were ready to get into Tales of the Abyss stuff and turns out they were running late. I figured I'd wait until they were back in their room and actually getting ready before I started getting Asch on 'cause it doesn't take me long to get dressed as versus all the hairstyling and stuff that had to go on with the rest. I sadly didn't get a chance to fix Asch up as much as I wanted to before the con. Its an old costume, from 2008 and so its from before I knew how to do things properly and a lot of it is just not up to par with my current skills. But because of time restraints and being sick before the con, I only managed to fix up the boot covers so I could wear my heeled boots with them (and be a bit taller), fix the crooked stripe on the sword sheath, and fix a few seams that had come undone. ...so much more work was needed on that blasted thing though and I felt a bit embarrassed as I knew it wouldn't be as good as the Van outfit I had made for the group.
Turns out it had been so long that I had forgotten how to put this costume on. XD I kept putting things on in the wrong order, only to have to take it all off and put it back on in the correct way. And then I ran into issues with my boots as it was a lot tighter fit with the boots and my dress pants (I forgot that in the past I usually wore very thin pants with this thing for a reason) and so there was quite a bit of struggling with that. ^^;; And then I had wig issues and at this point, the rest of the group was wondering where the hell I was. ...lol So I guess I failed at that plan. XD But luckily they were only one floor above me so I was able to get to their room quickly and had Corey fix up my wig and help me style it. I had previously had the wig styled to look like Asch in that one scene in the game where his hair is wet from the rain. Just 'cause I wasn't a big fan of his regular slicked-back rooster look and I always felt he looked better with it down. But I had kinda decided that I really should go with the more familiar hairstyle this time around. And actually rather liked how it looked. But anywho we finished getting ready with just enough time to make it over to the Tales shoot with our group consisting of Luke, Asch, Van, Ion, and Anise from Abyss and Yuri from Vesperia.
The gathering was probably one of the most organized shoots I've EVER been to. It was fun without any drama or chaos. The girls running it had a list of shots to do and made sure to position everyone for the best outcome of photos. I was pretty impressed especially as it was a semi large shoot. But I know they've been doing it for quite a few years. I just haven't gone to one in years since I haven't had any new Tales costumes in years.
Tales of Bias Tape. ...or at least that's what I like to call them. XD Photo by Mark Clifton.
...but seriously, look at everyone in that photo! There isn't like a single person not covered in bias tape! Its true, every Tales cosplayer I know agrees to this and I know I'm not the only one that has nicknamed the series that. *raises angry fist* Curse you Namco and your designs! Also, I was pretty excited to hear them declare me as one of the taller people. XD That's certainly never happened to me before. lol Yay for heeled boots! I was just about the same height as Corey too with them on so it worked out well.
Jon wearing the Van commission I made for him. This thing is why I wasn't able to get my own costume done at this point. x_x I'm not 100% happy with it due to having to rush quite a bit of it due to being sick before the con and all and that slowing me down by a lot. The bias tape probably needs to be re-sewn as I kinda went all over the place when I sewed it at like...2 am while. x_x;;; The shoulder spikes could be better but I'm happy they at least stay up.
Back of the costume. 'Cause the back design was actually more intense than the front. XD Too bad like no one ever notices the back of a costume. T_T;
But I was pretty proud to see Jon get a lot of attention as Van. Like seriously. Everyone at the shoot was like "omg its a Van! I've never seen a Van cosplayer before!" and we proceeded to get a lot of that everywhere we went. XD I also love all the "MasterVanMasterVanMasterVan!" call outs we got from various Tales people. XD (not from any Lukes though, ironically!) Our group's Ion also got a lot of attention because she was so tiny and adorable! At one point Jon just hoisted her up and walked off with her in his arms (he wanted to sling her over his shoulder but we agreed we didn't want to impale her on his spikes). ...and took Luke a while to notice this before finally running after them. XD Sadly I don't think anyone got photos of it as he did it too quickly and without warning (and ran behind one of the other photos going on).
When the gathering finally started to disperse, our Anise decided she wanted to go to the Dealer's Room. And I was like "ooh yay, I can finally go as I haven't gotten a chance to yet!" ...and then realized I left my wallet in the room 'cause I didn't want to bother bringing my bag with me (Asch's wig always tends to get tangled in the strap when I carry it around) so T_T. lol And since it would be pretty sad just starring at things I want with no way to buy them, figured I'd go back to the room to chill out instead. Took off just part of the costume, mainly the boots and gloves and the wig (though that may have been a bad idea...since some of the hair decided to move after that. Didn't think to re-spray it. Oops). I swear I don't think I ever came into the room and was alone for long. XD Always had at least one other person in to chat with. Then put the wig and everything back on and headed back over to the con center to meet with the group and Lionel for our private shoot. Which we ended up doing outside which was fine at first but gradually began to melt as time went on. XD Luckily I don't look too wilted in the photos like I thought I would considering how much I was sweating.
I like this shot of me but I'm annoyed at that one loose strand of the wig. XD I kept trying to fix it but it kept coming back. And in general the wig wasn't looking as good at this point. Oh well.
I rather like this group shot. Oh and that random Jade there is a guy Corey invited at the Tales gathering to join us for the shoot.
Us trying to be rockstars XD
And kinda a spoiler but Corey really wanted to do this pose...even though I was totally terrified of being lifted up like this. o_o; But we did attempt it prior to the shoot just to see if we could get it to work beforehand. I know Lionel was a bit nervous about it (hell I was nervous about it XD) but I'm glad it came out well...
...even if my butt does look big here. XD
...and then I zombied out and tried to eat Luke's brains but the photo didn't come out that great for it. lol Glad he didn't post it online as I saw the preview and I looked pretty retarded. XDXD That's definitely one only for the personal collection, lol. ...if I remember to ask for the photo CD. I tend to forget. XDXD Usually Lionel is the one to remind me about that.
After that we all made it back to the Days Inn to collapse. I got out of the costume and took a MUCH needed shower (#2 of the day!). Ate my Cheesecake Factory leftovers and planned to spend the rest of the night chilling and working on Luze. Was going to get an early start after I relaxed a little on the bed while the others watched TV. But then my phone rang. And instead of working and resting in my room...
This happened...
That's me wearing that Origami Cyclone costume from Tiger & Bunny with Tohma as Wild Tiger. XD See Lionel had brought his costume to the con to go with Tohma's but the girl that was supposed to wear it for him didn't feel well enough to wear it so he called me to ask if I wanted to wear it 'cause 1) I know Tohma 2) He remembered reading on my LJ that I was having a tough time before con and 3) I was the right size. XD And like hell was I going to say no to that! lol So yeah, after a bit of confusion, went over to his room and got into the suit...which was damn impressive! I kept trying to study it to figure out how he does it but man, every time I try to work with craft foam it never looks that perfect or comes out that sturdy! The man has magic! Even when I sat down in the suit, nothing got messed up or bent. I was a little afraid the geta would be hard to walk in especially as I have tiny feet and I was worried they'd be too big but I guess Lionel has small feet too because they fit almost perfectly and were pretty easy to move in.
So yeah, it was A LOT of fun though I could barely see anything and couldn't hear well so I kept being like "...what?" every time Tohma tried to talk to me. XD Doesn't help that her voice was muffled by her suit as well. And I kept almost running into things. The mask kept falling down too so then I couldn't see at all so kept having to adjust it. And well...I'm bad at being silly so I was always second-guessing myself with poses and moves since people kept asking us to do stuff. Also doesn't help that I hadn't watched the show in ages so I couldn't remember how he posed, besides just being in the background. XD So I just went with kabuki-ish poses. But yeah, had fun photobombing. Sadly it was kinda late at night so there wasn't much there TO photobomb. Pffft. Oh well. It was still fun!
Photoboming Tiger
Photobombing down the escalator XD
Photobombing Eva
And advertising for our new sponsor? XDXD
I did a lot of knee bending poses which resulted in my legs...hurting quite a bit by the end of the night. XD But it was worth it. Also totally fell over when Tohma was chasing me outside for a silly video we were doing. And sadly Tohma's leg armor suffered some damage from our collision. Felt pretty bad about that but I think she managed to fix it up alright as I think I saw photos of her in it on Sunday? And even with me falling on the cement, Lionel's costume didn't even get a crease. O_o Seriously, how does he do it? Every time I make craft foam armor, I always end up getting a permanent crease somewhere from accidentally bending it. XD
But oh man it was great freaking out people I knew, who of course had no idea it was me in the suit until I took the helmet off. XDXDXD I attempted to photobomb Becca and Ben while they were having a photo taken of their Baccano group but totally didn't get to them in time so instead, I hung over their shoulders for a bit to weird them out before revealing it was me. lol And then at one point Tohma was talking to this one guy and I'm like totally not really paying attention and he's complimenting her on the suit and how it looks with her in it and then he goes "hey have you seen Lyn at all?" and Tohma and Co. start laughing and I'm thinking "...Lyn? As in me? Or does he mean someone else? Huh?" And Tohma keeps gesturing at me to take the helmet off and I'm like "huh what? Do I know you?" and he's like "Uh?" and then I'm like "Oh right! Helmet!" and I take it off and he's like "Lyn!" and it takes me a moment and I realize its Henry, my friend Helen's brother-in-law who I had helped find a room for him for Ota last minute with Tohma. XD Pffft once again this proves that I suck at remembering faces! But yeah, that was pretty amusing despite my derp-ness.
Didn't stay in the suit for too long because it was pretty exhausting. Lionel was laughing at me at how much I was sweating when I was taking everything off. XD I can't help it if I sweat easily! He also had me attempt to get out of the costume without any help just to see if I could figure it out. lol I got pretty far at least. Up to the point where you need two people to get it off. But yeah, I'm really glad he asked me and I'm sad I won't be at Dragon*Con to do YipYips again as he kept reminding me about that and I was like "T_T Won't be there this time...". Ah well.
Got back to my room and took yet another shower (#3 in one day!) since I was feeling rather gross. XDXD Then finally got back to working on Luze. Went up to Corey's room for a little to deliver her patch and originally she had offered to help me sew up the bias tape but she passed out after cutting out the patch. Pffft. Ah well, I did tell her I'd be coming much earlier originally so partially my fault. Went back to my room, determined to get this thing done. The rest of my room turned up so at least I had company and they all stayed up really late so that made it easier with all the tons of bias tape I was doing up by hand. But then they went to bed and I was still going...and starting to fade. I did force myself not to stop until the bias tape was done though. But I still had the buttons and some of the decorative pieces to attach still, as well as fixing the wig and such. And I think I still had to close off the sleeves but I at least got that pinned. So I decided to just wake up early and finish that in the morning 'cause at least I didn't have to get into it until 1pm as Corey and Tohma weren't not going to be able to be in their Uraboku costumes til then. So I very happily passed out.
Saturday:
Saturday was a whole lot less eventful than Friday for me this year. I really didn't do much so this part is going to be a lot shorter. ^^;;
I totally failed at my plan to get up super early but did at least get up semi early to start. The other room was already up so I went over there to finish some of the sewing. Then went back into my room to do the buttons once people started getting up. They were done getting dressed and out before I finished, of course. And I missed the Pandora Hearts shoot while working on this but I had already pretty much figured I wouldn't be going to it anyways as I didn't want to change that many times since we had planned to wear PH later in the day as well since Corey wouldn't be able to make the shoot. But to be honest I'm kinda sad I missed the shoot as I saw photos from it later and it made me sad to realize this is the first Ota PH gathering I've missed in quite some time. That and I haven't worn any PH all year. T_T; Seems like a crime. And well I figured it'd be like last year with everyone there only having seen the anime and not really knowing the manga at all and it just being a small group. No, it was actually a pretty decent turnout! And they had several people doing manga-only outfits. And gaaah they did a scene from the manga I really wanted to do and super sad since there was no one doing Leo and I know they would've have loved a Leo for that shot. T___T; I swear every time I DON'T wear PH, suddenly PH people show up. I do wear it and there's...no one. >>;; wtf.
But anywho, the rest of the room got into their Street Fighter group assemble. Except for Laura who did this badass cosplay...
Lady Kayura from Ronin Warriors/Yorroiden Samurai Troopers. Fuck yeah! She seriously made me ridiculously happy with this cosplay. Kayura is one of my favorite characters too.
But anyways, I did manage to get Luze done just in time and so we decided to meet in the Hilton lobby. I braced myself as I pretty much knew I'd melt in this considering its a full black military uniform and all and I had already gotten warnings that it was pretty hot outside. So I step out of the hotel and...I'm totally fine. Like, didn't feel uncomfortable at all. lol So either this material is just really light or I got used to it? But yeah, I was totally cool all the way over to the other hotel and was fine there as poor Corey is already sweating. Though I did finally start to feel the heat after an hour or so in it but it was nowhere as bad as I thought it'd be, that's for sure.
Here's a quick full shot of Luze taken in the Hilton lobby while I was waiting. I need to fix the belt so its higher up as its making my body look...awkward. And so I don't look like I have a potbelly. >>;; That's what I get for rushing on something but that's easy to fix at least.
After Tohma joined us, we made our way over to the con center and decided to go to the Dealer's Room as it was pretty much my only chance to finally go. Though for some odd reason we decided to let Corey lead, thinking she knew where she was going since she had been working in the Dealer's Room all weekend...only for her to take us the LONG way around. XD I kept thinking "wait...why are we going in the regular way? Oh well maybe its in a different location this year?" but turns out no, it wasn't. Corey just didn't know about that way of getting there. ^^;; She claims part of that area had been closed off before and we couldn't take it in but I think it was only just when it wasn't open yet and probably why the people working in the Dealer's had to take a different entrance. But this did result in us making quite a few jokes about Reiga's failure as a leader and villain. ...which is very true. Reiga is meant to be the main villain of Uraboku but he's...kinda super fail. XD And my character, Luze, basically works for him so I kept making snide remarks ('cause Luze does get in Reiga's face a little about his lack of ability to not give into human emotions 'cause Luze rocks and is a far better villain, lol).
But anyways, once we were finally inside the Dealer's, made our way first to the wig booths and then over to Anime Sekai. Got my Persona 4 figures I had been planning to get. Though I only got Souji and Yosuke due to how expensive they were and trying to be good and not buy too much this con. Also got the Dissidia Cecil figure finally and got this cute Inu x Boku SS photo frame thing that has 2 artwork pieces from the anime. I'm not sure what to call it as I hadn't seen anything like it before but it was cute and there isn't much merchandise for Inu x Boku so I felt the need. XD They had several sets but I got the one with Soushi and Ririchiyo, of course. Tried to keep my eye out for the Chibi Cloud Kai figure but didn't manage to find one though it may have been there for all I know. Otakon's Dealer's is pretty huge and I get tired of looking at everything pretty fast in there. That and we were all pretty much done and had gotten the things we came to get so we decided to just go take a few photos before going off to our next plans of the day since we all had other costumes to wear. On our way back up to the main floor, a girl stopped me, asking for a photo. And we're all like "wait...do you know what we're from?" (and I'm expecting a "no") and she says "yes!" and Tohma and Corey are all excited and she takes the photo but then I'm like "wait...what do you think we're from?" "Uh, D.Gray-Man, right?". XD See, I had a feeling I was being mistaken for another series as I totally saw that happening though I had predicted more something like Trinity Blood. And we explain that its not and she admits she thought I was Kanda, which I'm just like...laughing my ass off over because I am in fact using my old Kanda wig that I revived and restyled a bit. But the outfit is so...not the right series. Granted I almost felt like I was making Kanda again when I first started sewing the uniform because of all the bias tape stripes. But still. XD Oh well. But anyways...there wasn't anywhere inside really to take photos so we forced ourselves to go outside for just long enough to get a few shots.
Our mini Uragiri wa Boku no Namae Shitteiru (or Uraboku for short) group. Corey as Reiga, Tohma as Yuki, and me as Luze
Better full shot of me. Though it came out a little dark but it was hard to get the light right in this spot. It was either blinding and in our face with half us in the shadow or us fully in shadow. lol
You can see the sleeve embroidery rather well here.
So I finally started to feel the heat in the costume at this point and we were all pretty welted and not really coming up with any photo ideas. We agreed we should just wear them at Katsu where its colder and we can last longer and get better shots. Was a little disappointed that I didn't get to wear Luze long so decided I might get back into it later on in the day. But I had promised Courtney that I'd put Blueblood on to join her at the MLP meet so she wouldn't have to face the scary Bronies alone. XDXD Though I didn't have enough time to change so ended up getting there a few minutes late and well...I checked the time and wasn't really that late, according to the time they should have just started so it would be fine. Only I get there...and they were pretty much...done. O_o Found Courtney and she told me they started like 20-30 minutes early. Like wtf. I guess a lot of them got there early all together and decided just to go ahead since it was hot out and all but seriously, to anyone who actually showed up at the actual time or was running late...kinda had no chance of getting in any photos. And ugh, I dunno, it was crowded and I immediately didn't want to be there. This is why I usually avoid larger gatherings. I'm too shy and even with Courtney there, felt too awkward. And it really was hot as balls out on that terrace. Then there was some announcement of them moving to another location inside but we decided...not to follow. XD
Poor Courtney was REALLY sweating even though her Zecora outfit was actually weather appropriate. I think she had just been out there for too long as she looked pretty wilted and during the group shot she ended up kneeling and since she had nothing on her legs, that meant her legs had direct contact with the BURNING CONCRETE. o_o; But yeah, ugh, I hate how huge the gathering was. I looked at the photos later on and really wish I had been able to go to the Friday meet instead as it seemed a lot smaller and more pleasant and they had more side characters so they didn't get ignored. (I noticed how Courtney really only was in the group shot as they didn't really call anything that she could fit in with since most characters had doubles and all. So pfffft at that.) Ah well, I don't plan to go to any MLP:FiM shoots anyways. Kinda annoyed with that fandom as a whole. I think I rather stick with just regular MLP cosplay if I do anymore. Just a shame as I do like a lot of the FiM designs. But anyways, we wandered for a little while but there wasn't really much to interest us so we headed back to the Hilton as Courtney offered to take photos for me there and we agreed its a better setting (lol I think I spent more time in that hotel than in the con center this year). We got there and noticed the bar was opening up so decided, hell, why not. And Courtney was all "Hell I could use a drink after that!" XD
Of course I didn't drink anything since I don't really drink and it was too early anyways but she did get a pizza so we split that. ...even if it did taste pretty much like a giant Lunchables pizza. I kid you not. Pffft. An expensive lunchable. >>; Had a pretty nice conversation though and somehow ended up getting into conversation with this other guy that was there and had a pretty long enjoyable chat. Though at one point I guess he thought we were leaving as he just suddenly says "Well, nice meeting you. Hope you have a good day." And yet he's still sitting there and we're still sitting there and we're like "...huh?" and when we both realize we aren't leaving, we joked about him just wanting to end the conversation there and how amusing it would be to just randomly do that to someone. Like stop them mid conversation and just be like "Good day, sir." and not even walk away, just like turn your back, being like "I'm done." XD 'Cause that's what it felt like he was doing even though he seriously thought we were leaving (we hadn't even paid the check yet lol). I dunno, it was a lot funnier at the time so I guess you had to be there. Eventually we did finish and leave though and said goodbye for real. But it was nice having an encounter that wasn't just a random awkward con creeper like what usually happens to us. And we did manage to get a few dorky shots at the bar before we left.
Me trying to look classy and snobby...with a drink that isn't even mine. XD Though I totally forgot to put my gloves back on. lol
Courtney and I both wanted to wander a bit and I mentioned I hadn't gone to the Artist Alley yet and she told me that the artists of both Starfighter and TeaHouse were here this year and I was like "aghapdgihaai omg" so of course we had to go in. XD Wandered a little until I got to the Starfighter booth. Teahouse had already packed up for the day but to be honest, I'm a bigger Starfighter fan anyways so I was more excited to meet Hamlet Machine...who is insanely adorabile! I was trying to be good this con and not spend too much considering I had just bought a doll beforehand but I couldn't just talk to her and NOT buy something and I've been meaning to get book 1 for a while now. Was going to just get that until I saw book 2 sitting there too...and so got both. XDXD Though I wish I had used my card instead of paying cash since she was one of the few who could take card. As I kept seeing tons of art I liked while walking around but had to make sure I'd have enough cash on me to pay for the parking. Ugh, it was torture as several of my favorite Avengers fanartists were there. x_x And I must admit...I was totally on the lookout for mainly that. >> Even though this was an anime con and all...lol I knew there would be at least some stuff. XD
Went back to the room and changed into regular clothes and picked more at my burrito (took me forever to finish that thing lol). I had intended to get back into Luze but figured I'd relax a bit first. Showed Dani my Starfighter books and was not at all surprised that she instantly liked it. XD Watched TV for a while and then got a text that Magenta and Mimi were finally making their way to the con (I had found out they were coming earlier that day but had no idea when) so I texted Ray since I know he would want to come by too since its been a while since we'd all seen each other. Turns out Ray was in the same hotel too so he came down for a little bit while we waited and we chatted. I also felt a little sad that I was pretty much the only one in the rooms that didn't have a 3DS yet. *raises fist* But I will eventually. XD Ray and Dani were comparing 3DS notes for a while, which was amusing. Eventually Magenta and Mimi showed up and we ended up just chatting the rest of the night away instead of actually doing anything. So never did get to put Luze back on but that's ok. I think I had more fun just goofying off in the room anyways. ...even if everyone did keep making fun of me and my lack of technology (mainly my old phone and lack of 3DS ^^;;). Time passed really quickly though and so Ray and I walked Mimi and Magenta back to their car so they could head out (they were going to drive all the way to NYC O_o which was crazy considering it was already almost midnight at this point). They gave us a ride back to the hotel which was nice so we didn't have to walk back as I was feeling pretty tired (and my legs still really hurt from Friday night lol).
Returned back to my room and spent the rest of the night talking about future cosplay plans and such. Most of the group went out to the con but Laura and Dani stayed and I was kinda dying at this point. lol I had intended to at least organize my stuff so it'd be easier to pack the next day...but that never happened. Instead kinda half passed out next to Dani while she and Laura kept trying to show me stuff. XD But the lack of sleep had finally caught up with me so I could barely function. The two of them had intended to go out to the con eventually but never did. lol Everyone came back at some point but no idea when as I was already half gone when they did. XD
So yeah...not a very interesting Saturday. lol
Sunday:
Did the usual Sunday thing. Reluctantly forced myself out of bed, which was hard even despite the fact that I had fallen asleep before everyone else. lol I was also like the last to get up. XDXD But considering I was the last to sleep the nights before and one of the first up...I think its understandable. And I'm able to get ready pretty fast. Packed my shit up and took it over to Katie and Ian's room down the hall so to get it out of the way while the others got their stuff in Dar's car. Then took our stuff down and packed Katie's car as well. I thought we had gotten stuff up early enough to maybe miss the brunt of the Sunday packing rush but no such luck. lol But it wasn't too bad and we only had a few things that had to be taken via elevator so we just used the stairs for the rest. Timed it pretty well though 'cause as we were leaving to go to the con, we ran into the majority of the rest of the group, waiting for Dar to finish checking us all out. So we just went all together to the con though we split up once there, those working the Dealer's Room going to their special entrance while the rest of us went to our peasant entrance. XD Though forgot that it had only just recently opened so had to stand in line for it for like the first time in a long time. lol
I really had no intention of buying anything more at this point but there's not much to do on Sun besides roam the Dealer's and Laura wanted to get a chance to look at every booth so I figured I might as well keep my eyes open for the few items I still was interested in. Did manage to find the 2nd Star Driver Blu-Ray and went ahead and got it there as I had meant to get it when it came out but kept forgetting to, so I figured that was an ok excuse to make one final purchase. XD Got a text from Alyce that she was done Sailor Moon shoot. She and Tom came down just for the day for her Sailor Moon group since they were doing a shoot outside of the con so they wouldn't need a badge or anything. They were going to borrow a badge from someone else in the group but it fell through. So Dani and I went outside to talk with them for a bit. Luckily it wasn't too bad outside at this point. Alyce was a little disappointed that she couldn't borrow a badge though as she had brought her Teahouse and The Dreamer books to get signed. So I offered to get them signed for her since the entrance to the AA was literally right next to the doors we were outside. Later I realized I could have given her my badge so she could do it herself and talk to the people ^^;; but also figured she would like some more time talking with Dani since Dani wasn't going to join us for lunch and they haven't seen each other in a while. That and well...I did kinda want to revisit those booths I had seen the day before one last time. XD And finally see the Teahouse people. Though I totally fail at finding things. Like I couldn't figure out how to get myself back to the Teahouse and Starfighter corner. I was a bit bawfled as I had been there before but I somehow got myself mixed up and totally at the wrong side. XD Luckily Otakon has a map of their AA in the booklet so I had to use that to guide me (and it was pretty sad how I to use it to guide me each step...lol I'm so hopeless.) But eventually got to Teahouse and was rather impressed with how big their booth was. Though it turns out all the books were already signed. Alyce just hadn't realized that. lol But she still agreed to personalize them so that was nice. Once again had to use my map to find The Dreamer, which I think I somehow managed to go past the first time. Not sure how since there was a very obvious stand of the main character directly in front of the booth. XD Got that book signed and even though I've never read that one, I let the artist know how big of a fan Alyce is and that she made the big ballgown from it. And she said that she'd die to see someone in the ballgown come up to her some day since she hasn't seen one in person yet, only in photos. So its a shame she tends to only come to Otakon as Alyce doesn't want to wear it at that one and risk getting the dress dirty.
And then I worked my way over to one of the Avengers booth...well mainly the one artist that I know on DA that does a lot of my fav Thorki art. XDXD And decided I had to buy at least something. lol Took me a while to decide on which print though as I like all her stuff but I got the one really pretty single shot of Loki in the end (though kinda wish I got the matching Thor too >>;;). When I came back out with obviously more than just the books, got a few laughs and looks as they were like "Ah, I see, there was another reason you wanted to go back in there. We were wondering what took you so long." XD Though truthfully it was more because of me getting lost a few times more than my side stop. Then Dani went back to join the others and I went with Tom and Alyce in search of food. Which...ended up being more difficult than we thought. lol First we went to Noodles and Co. but the line was out the door and we didn't want to deal with that. Though kinda wish we had after all... Took us over to Cosi's but forgot that Laura had said they were closed on weekends, which sucked as we had walked a bit to them. Tom had located this one cafe we had eaten in DC once and liked on his phone GPS so we decided to go there but the walk was a bit longer than expected. And it turned out to be in this Medical Center place...which was really weird. lol The guy at the door thought Alyce was a student (lol 'cause of her sailor outfit she was still half wearing? I don't know how you get student from that XD) and wanted her to check in. lol Had to keep explaining that no, we weren't there for that. Was almost afraid we wouldn't be able to go to the food place unless we were there for a reason but it seemed ok. Got some yummy sandwiches and sat in the AC and chatted for a while.
Parted ways with them and headed back into the con and wandered a little to see if I could find anyone I knew. Was unsucessful so pulled over to the railing to text Ray to see if he was still around so I could at least say hi before he left...only to have him walk right next to me and stand there for a while before I finally noticed him. XD I thought he was just someone else coming over to do the same as me. Pffft. Talk about timing though! lol So wandered a bit with him and found the rest of the room group, hanging by Starbucks and reading Chi's Sweet Home books while waiting for Dar, Mike, and Emily who were at closing ceremonies. Though we weren't there for long before it was announced the con was ending and the con center was closing up. Which shocked me as I didn't realize it was that late already. I'm so used to spending most of my Sunday wandering the con. Didn't realize I had spent so much time with Alyce and Tom. We were also surprised that closing ceremonies hadn't finished yet as we were outside for quite a while and Dar and them still hadn't come out yet even though the con was technically closed at this point. Though we did get kinda tired of waiting so Katie, Ian, and I said our goodbyes and headed back to the car. Had a pretty nice chat on the way back and agreed that we really do need to try to hang out more...since they don't live that far fro me. XD I'm such a hermit though.
So yeah...that was my con. Kinda boring, I'm afraid. lol So not a very interesting report. I still will probably keep going to the con even though I know its probably not worth the price. lol But I dunno, I still enjoy it. And plus we have a few cosplay groups planned so gotta at least go for that. XD
Rest of my photos are here: http://lyn.houjun.com/otakon12.html Not a huge amount but at least not as few as some of the other cons. Mostly just more Inu x Boku stuff though. XD
~Lyn
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Date: 2012-08-21 10:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-28 07:36 pm (UTC)And I rather like the one stray lick of red hair for your next cosplay. It makes it feel a little cuter.
But its not supposed to be cute! XD He's an angry angsty character!