rose_of_pain (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rose_of_pain) wrote2015-08-14 02:24 pm
rose_of_pain) wrote2015-08-14 02:24 pm
Entry tags:
Katsucon 2015
I seem to be taking longer and longer to write these. XD I now have THREE more con reports to do after this too. x_x;; I know no one reads them but I like to be able to refer back to these when my memory fails me.
Thursday:
I hadn't been to the con on Thurs night in several years but I wanted to try to finally take advantage of getting my badge early considering how long it took the year before. And there was no snow to stop me this time. Thank god. I gave up on finishing Ludwig the night before so just planned to finish him at con. Packed up early and headed out in the afternoon so for once I was heading out there before nightfall. I was rooming with Corey this year due to the fact my normal crew decided to no longer get a hotel room for the con and were just going to commute from Brittany and Forest's place. But Corey had gotten us a room in the hotel across the street which had really big rooms with a full kitchen! And the price wasn't bad at all. So it was pretty awesome and we were able to fit everyone comfortably in. The only downside was we had to go out in the cold to get to the Gaylord.
Settled in and headed over to the con for a bit to try to catch Utai while she was still in Queen Esther. I had originally wanted to wear one of my own costumes during this time but realized I needed to finish Ludwig instead, especially since he was the one I wanted to wear. But I was happy to finally see Utai's costume! It was even more incredible in person. ^.^ I almost missed her too as she was heading back to her room at the time but managed to run after them in time. Went to their room for a little bit to chat but then eventually went back to my room to work on Ludwig while I waited for Courtney to arrive. Hadn't seen her in over a year now since she moved to Seattle so was excited she was coming to the con to visit us East Coast people. She was pretty hungry when she got in so we agreed to go eat dinner at one of the nearby restaurants and caught up with each others' lives. ...mostly talked about our cats though. lol Then I went to pick up my badge at the con. Everyone else had either gotten theirs already and Courtney was getting hers from a friend on Friday so ended up by myself. Kinda sucked since time goes by a lot slower when you have no one to talk to. XD So just collected Miis on my DS and such. Ended up in line for about an hour and a half. Definitely better than the 4 hours last year but still was annoying that even on Thurs it took that long so that didn't bode well for the rest of the weekend. But boy am I glad I got it when I did. After that I went to Courtney's room to work on Ludwig while she worked on her own costume. We were both in the same hotel so that made life pretty convenient. Got most of the sewing done but didn't quite finish and realized I left part of what I needed to work on back in my room. But Courtney was done for the night so I figured I'd finish in my own room...only to come back to see that everyone was asleep and the lights were out. Well then. lol They had put the air mattress out for me but had forgotten to put any sheets or blankets out with it. Just one single pillow. And it was too dark for me to see much so was unable to find any and didn't want to wake anyone up. Soooo just kinda stumbled through the room, took a shower, and kinda just huddled on the mattress in my hoodie. After a little while of being very cold, realized I had a cloak for Leo so grabbed that and used it as a blanket. Wasn't the best but was far better than what I had before.
Friday:
Woke up to Corey throwing a blanket on me and hearing them all being surprised that I actually slept that way. Didn't help that the air mattress deflated too so I was nearly on the floor at this point. lol Turns out there were indeed blankets but Corey's bf fell asleep on top of them (didn't even pull any on top of himself) without realizing it. But made sure that I would have actual blankets and pillow for the rest of the con. XD The hotel had free breakfast downstairs so we all headed there still in our pjs and oh my god it was worth it. I don't usually do breakfast but it was good and helped me get through the con, especially with how badly I slept the night before. Then went and vegged in the room for a little, laid on the bed while the rest of the gang got ready. Eventually worked up the energy to finish Ludwig. I had originally intended on wearing him first but kinda ran out of time so decided I'd just wear him on Sat instead. So I went ahead and got into Diamond and took my time so Courtney could also get into Esmeraude (I know its silly that I call him Diamond and not Demando when I call her Esmeraude instead of Emerald but I'm not a fan of the "Demando" spelling lol).
The truth is, Diamond doesn't even really want Neo Queen Serenity...he just wants her crown XD (though technically this was stolen from Corey's Queen Serenity cosplay, as in "Mama-Moon" lol but hey whateves)
Went over to the con once we were finally ready. Tom and Alyce had been in line trying to get badges for the weekend but they gave up after being told the wait was going to be really long, even for on-site registration so they gave up and decided they'd just wait til Sat when the badges would be cheaper at least but still decided to hang around us for a little while to make the trip worth it. Made me glad I got my badge Thurs night cause it seemed the wait was horrid all weekend. Katsu really needs to fix that issue.
Managed to run into Luna while she was still in Wicked Lady. Though at the time her black moon had fallen off but we still managed to get one photo together. Yay Black Moon Clan XD
While chatting in the hallway, Alyce and I both kinda stopped and turned our heads in silence as this cosplayer went up the escalator and we both kinda whispered to each other "...is that?" and finally we just said right aloud "Are you cosplaying Elisabeth?" to which she answered very happily "YES!" and I did my duty and ran up after her to get a photo. XD
I geeked out with her for a bit over our mutual love of Elisabeth Das Musical. She geeked about having Mate tweet her photo of her in costume and I geeked over seeing the Takarazuka version live. Ahh I love meeting other fans of small fandoms. XD Its what makes going to cons worth it.
Then we went over to the hotel lobby in search of a chair to get this particular photo that I was determined to get...
I seriously love this photo XD I'm so glad Courtney and I finally got to do these costumes together
Then we met up with Utai and Mally up at the gazebo level. They were in Eternal Moon and Mars so we goofed off for a little bit. Courtney did the Esmeraude laugh a few times which resulted in some bystanders turning around and starring in horror. XD She was pretty good at it. lol
Then we had some cape action going on
The secret of the cape action XD
After we parted ways, I just happened to see out of the corner of my eye, Lome Lindi in her Myu-inspired Tuxedo Mask costume with a really cute Sailor Moon so, without even thinking about what I was wearing, went over to ask for a photo but didn't even get a word in before Lome immediately reacted with a "You!" and it took me a second before I was like "oh shit, right, I'm wearing Diamond XD" so we then proceeded to have a little "confrontation" which ended with a brofist in the end...until her Moon decided to loop her arm around mine. XD Oh man, it was super cute and made me happy cause I've always loved Lome's costumes and I love the fact that she's been channeling Tani's version of Mamoru whenever she does him. I don't really care much for Mamoru himself but I love Tani-Mamoru in the Myus. lol
And then I eventually got my photo from them. It was super cute too cause when I asked for it, Lome just immediately swung herself around that pole there that just happened to be in range and it was so natural and perfect.
Changed out of costume and then went out to eat. Poor Courtney was unable to join us due to being locked out of her room without a keycard and nobody was in and she didn't want to walk outside in Emeraude so she decided to just wait in the hall outside her room. So I offered to get her food to bring back for her. We ended up getting Potbelly's...which omg why did I never realize til this year that there was one near the con??? Like I would have just eaten there all these years if I knew. lol I guess I just never got myself to walk that far. Oh well. We ate there and I brought Courtney food back and luckily by then, her roomies had finally shown up and let her in. Alyce and Tom then decided to head out because there wasn't much they could do without a badge. So I finally made my way into the Dealer's while I had some time to kill and picked up some of the Count Cain volumes I was still missing since I had decided to finally collect the English version and try to re-read it before making the costume.
While on my way back to the room, Jo texted me asking what I was up to and I got nervous, thinking I got the shoot time wrong but turns out she had extra time and was just seeing if anyone wanted to do a shoot earlier but I still wasn't even in costume yet. XD Changed into Richard and managed to find Madison just in time for our Graces shoot with Jo at the scheduled time anyways. Though sadly we had lost a lot of light by then so wasn't able to do any outside like Jo had wanted. Instead we did a few upstairs in the brighter area.
I really like this solo shot she got of me
I was really excited to finally have an Asbel to pose with
My personal favorite from the shoot XD
During the shoot, Dian walked by in Harley which was horrible timing cause I couldn't stop to talk to her or take photos cause it would interrupt our shoot but I was so excited to see her in the finished costume. So as soon as we were done, I made sure to hunt her down again to get a photo of her. XD Cause I put a lot of work into that costume and I wanted at least one photo of her in it.
She was so cute! Though I felt bad that she was having trouble walking around without her glasses on since she'd get the make-up on them if she put them on in between photos. lol But she seemed to be doing pretty well. I also made the Joker dummy's outfit too.
Then Madison and I did our 2nd shoot of the night with her photographer friend. Though I have yet to see the photos from this one. I didn't get his info either so I'll just have to wait for her to pass it along I guess. But hopefully I will see them eventually cause we did a lot of fun and silly shots and we did quite a number. During one of our more serious shots, Utai, Liz, and Jon just had to walk by and I KNEW it was them from their voices and them being all "Oh I see an Asbel and Richard, is that Lyn? I think it is...ohhh yup it is!" and I'm trying NOT to laugh here. XD Managed to keep it up for at least a few shots before I turned to yell at them for it.
After the shoot, I wandered with Madison for a little bit and we talked with various cosplayers we encountered. Then eventually went our separate ways. I went back to the hotel room and changed into the sparkly vest with the intent of wandering and trying to find people since there was no one in our room. Sadly...I somehow managed to not find ANYONE at all lol and then realized I totally could have worn that to the Ball, but I never go to those things and it was already over by the time the thought occurred to me. I always manage to be appropriately dressed for those things even when I'm not going to them. I did finally go into the Artist Alley but ended up not getting to see much of it since it was getting close to closing. But I did have a lovely conversation with a Young Avengers artist who told me about a podcast she's involved for it. I keep forgetting to check it out though. ^^;; Then went back to the room and this time there were people in it and Corey helped me style Leo's wig in one more attempt to try to get it more accurate to the shorter haircut. I semi regret cutting it though. I should have just left it as is since it wasn't really the right length for his style in the end and it could have still worked for his slightly longer hair beforehand. Oh well. Unlikely I'll be doing him again anyways so best to just give up on it. We all went to bed shortly after and THIS time I had an actual blanket and pillow. XD
Saturday:
Even with another person on the air matress this time, the thing still deflated some. But it was still balanced out with both Ami and I on it. ...until she got up and I immediately sank, much to everyone's amusement. XD I think I once again ended up sleeping on Corey's bed for a bit or something after we had breakfast. I just remember being really out of it despite getting better sleep this time. Stef arrived and came up to our room during this point and next thing I know I'm looking over and see Zach, Stef's husband, in the room, who I had noooo idea was the one bringing her down to the con so I was so confused for a bit. It was nice seeing him though since I rarely see him these days. Though he wasn't staying with her so he headed back out to drive back to NJ.
I was originally going to wear Richard for the Tales Of gathering but decided to put on Ludwig finally instead since I realized I'd have very little time to wear him otherwise and I already knew there was at least 2 other Richards coming to the gathering. So I put Ludwig on, Mach helped me with the make-up, and I once again questioned why I decided to do this costume. XD It seemed like a cool design on the cover. But on me? Ehhh. lol Though it did look a lot better once the wig was on. I think this will be my last Ludwig outfit though considering I'm not even sure why I keep doing outfits of his. lol I only ever intended to do one. He's not even my favorite Kaori Yuki character.
Went to the Tales Of gathering to watch and take photos even though I wasn't dressed for it. Even as just a spectator, it was a lot of fun though and there was a pretty good turnout for it. Got to see Stephanie during this as she was there as Vera from Xillia 2, even though her and her group were a bit late to it. Also said hi to Madison briefly since she was there in Asbel.
I couldn't get over the fact that Nova had Ludger's huge check for his debt with her XD Brilliant!
And here's the full turnout by the end of the shoot.
After that, met up with Alyce, Beth, and Tom as they came out of the Dealer's Room as they finally got their badges. We then went outside to take some photos of each other.
These are my two favorites that Tom got of me in Ludwig. Though it seems I kept scowling in the photos. XD I think in part because the sun was in my eyes and in part because the make-up was starting to bother me (Mach put some pretty intense make-up on me).
Behold the ridiculous-ness that is this costume XD
Alyce and Beth did some cute shots in their webcomic costumes and then we figured that was enough and we were starting to get cold. I went and then changed into Leo for the Pandora Hearts gathering...which ended up being pretty tiny. ^^;; Utai, Mally, and Jon were getting food so they weren't able to make it and Corey was off doing some other cosplay at the time. So there went half the group. lol Oh well. So it ended up just being like three Oz, three Alices, one Alyss, Echo, and me as Leo. XD So I didn't even have anyone to really take photos with other than Oz since I was doing the Glen version of Leo. But we did get the one photographer who likes to do our PH photos at all the cons. She just hasn't put hers up yet (in fact, I think we're still waiting on her photos from last Otakon too...huh).
So here's me with the new Leo cut. I'm still unsure if I like how the wig came out. But it's not a total lost as I recently realized I may be able to use it for some other future cosplays. I also find it funny someone tagged me as Sebastian from Black Butler on acp XD lol Close...but not really.
I did at least manage to get this shot with one Oz, based off the most recent chapter at the time. Though now that I look at the manga, totally got it wrong. lol They're grabbing each other's cloaks, not forehead touching. Oh well. Close enough. XD
Saw Lome Lindi again but this time in her King Endymion costume from the 2nd musical, which was totally gorgeous! And got to see Luna in her Princess Serenity. ^.^ This photo is pretty amusing too since its basically Endymion with his wife...past and future. XD
Ran into Dian around this time and got my copy of James' book from her...which I still need to read because I'm a horrible friend who keeps forgetting. T_T; Its a short book too with mostly pictures too but its super cute from what I've looked at so far. She also had green tea flavored cookies with her so I got one and omg it was delicious. XD
Saw Forest and Brittany briefly in their Dark Souls costumes but couldn't get too close to them due to everyone wanting photos. Don't blame them though.
And also ran into Tohma, Shey, and crew and Shey was in casual hide. I missed seeing them in their actual X costumes the day before but Shey decided to keep the wig on and do this version and it worked really well! I mean the sweater she used definitely looks like something he would have worn. The rest of them were in their K-Pop costumes so I wasn't to familiar with who they were meant to be. lol
I was originally going to stay in Leo for several more hours but Jessica convinced me to change into Gil early since she was getting into Alice and was going to meet up with a Cheshire and Oz. So still did Pandora Hearts but in a different costume. XD I had actually only brought Gil for late night silliness since Utai and Mally requested it cause I've worn that costume enough but eh well. lol Gil is a lot more recognizable and easier to work with the other characters though. On our way into the Gaylord, we ran into Brittany and everyone standing around and Brittany runs up to me with "did you see? did you see?" and I thought she meant her and Forest's costumes from earlier so I was like "oh yeah, I saw you guys..." and then she holds up her hand, showing the new shiny ENGAGEMENT RING on it. "...oh. OHHHHHH!" lmao So yeah, Forest proposed to her. While they were in the costumes which in my opinion, majorly rocks. So I squeed with them a bit and looked at the photos Beth and Alyce managed to snag of the event. Luckily Jessica and her friends were understanding on the delay in our wandering but eventually we headed off, though not without being chased around the lobby by Cheshire a few times. XD Oh the joys of being Gil. I forgot how much energy being him requires cause somehow there's always a Cheshire cosplayer when I put him on. Always. (for those that don't know PH: Gil is afraid of cats so I've always taken to being in character and running when one comes after me)
Alyce and Beth decided to join us as they wanted to peruse the artist alley one more time before they all left for the day so I mostly conversed with them and accidentally lost my PH people for a little bit but figured I'd find them again somewhere in the room. Saw Dan and Lex briefly while in there and they reminded me of the artist with all the cute FF characters in cat form art so I gave in and bought a chibi Cloud-cat keychain and an angry chibi Cloud magnet cause I have problems and can't say no to Cloud. XD Then Alyce and Beth headed out and I tried to refind my group...only to not see them anywhere and then also realized I didn't have Jessica's phone number or anything. Doh. x_x;; So wandered through the halls and saw Mally who had happened to see them recently and directed me to where they last were heading and luckily managed to catch up with them. They too were equally dumbfounded on how we managed to lose each other. lol We decided then to pick a spot up on the gazebo level and just sit for a while until the others who were also going to do PH that night would come join us. Corey somehow managed to walk right by us without even noticing us, which I'm not sure how she did considering we were right in the path to Utai's room. They all took forever to get ready so the group sent me to investigate which led to Gil scratching on the door and getting...Jack of all people. XD But I got them to hurry up and Utai gave me valentine's chocolate as Vincent cause we both ship Gil/Vincent even though its incredibly wrong. lol
One of the other Alices from the earlier gathering joined us and we mostly just goofed off for a few hours in that spot. Of all the photos people did take of us, I only managed to ever find the ridiculous ones of us being silly. Oh well. XD
Like usual, I spent most of the time trying to hide from Cheshire XD
So much abuse T_T Alice ran off with my hat too but Vincent did return it for me. Heck most of this was a session of "pass the hat" >_>;;
But in the end, it was Jack who received the most abuse from us all. XD Jon is under there...somewhere. You can see his feet at least? lol This is us basically expressing our feelings towards Jack at the time considering the manga was in its final chapters at the time and Jack was still being a big douche.
Then we acted like adults...and played a game of spin the bottle? With an empty water bottle. And no actual kissing. Just hugging. Because we're apparently 5. XD But it was fun though poor Vincent had terrible luck at never having it land on Gil and I kept getting freaking Cheshire. T_T; ...nobody wanted to get Jack. lol Eventually Mally joined us in Echo but didn't get any group photos with her cause kinda forgot to. Oops. Once we finally tired of that game cause there's only so many rounds you can do before its the same thing over and over, we decided we should finally go to the bar like we planned...except the bar was PACKED. And in hindsight, I don't know why we didn't go there earlier cause that's what we did last year. Slightly sucked cause I rather enjoyed our goofy times there last year but there was no way we'd ever get a table for all of us so instead Corey decided we should go drink in our room...which didn't make the best sense since it meant everyone going out in the cold but our room did have the most space. Alice, Cheshire, and Oz weren't so keen on the idea so they headed off while the rest of us braced the cold...which was really fucking cold as it happened to be SNOWING at the time. T_T;; And really really windy and poor Echo froze her little butt off. But we got to the room and alcohol was served, even if we did end up taking a lot from the stock meant for Corey and co's Attack on Titan panel...meeeeeh. And a majority of the group decided to dine on mac and cheese cups cause that's pretty much all we had. XD It was fun though and there was more goofing off though then everyone got to ranting about cosplay stuff and I went...quiet on purpose because there were a lot of things I disagreed with but didn't want to start up an argument there.
Eventually everyone dispersed though as most of them had to get ready for the panel and the rest were planning to go attend. I really had no interest in it but turns out I was the only one not involved. Meh. I thought about going back to the con but I heard the wind howling and decided against that real quick. Poked Courtney but she sounded like her room was having too much fun drinking and figured that might be awkward for me so I just sat in the room...and stupidly decided to check tumblr and such which reminded me that Teru was retiring from zuka in a few hours and so I ended up getting depressed about it. Which ugh, I had fully intended not to be alone during that time so it wouldn't happen. Oh well. Stef eventually showed up in the hallway, a bit drunk but luckily escorted over by one of her friends who let her borrow his coat so she didn't freeze as she was only in her tiny Bulma dress. She was pretty tired so we got out the air mattress and decided to just call it a night...and somehow we didn't even get bothered by everyone else when they finally came back from their panel at like...4am or whatever it was. lol They did wake me up but I passed out pretty soon after cause I was too tired to care. XD
Sunday:
The air mattress did not super deflate this time around. XD And Stef and I got up and off of it at the same time so there was nobody sinking into it. Had breakfast once more and it was nice not having to rush to pack up because they had the room through Monday so didn't have to do the check-out rush. Most of the room was still pretty much passed out though since they had such a late night. Stef had an early shoot so she rushed off and I just took my time getting back into Ludwig since I felt like I didn't get enough time in it yet. Met up with Alyce and Beth who were just hanging around while the rest of their crew was in the Dealer's and then we switched so I mostly just chatted with them while looking around for any last minute needs. Talked with Tom about 3D printing possibilities but I'm still not sure if I want to go that route just cause it does kinda feel like cheating. lol But if I ever get stuck on a piece and I'm not entering it, maybe I'll ask him for help with it. Then they all headed out and I gradually said my goodbyes to everyone leaving. I thought I'd be stuck at con for pretty late originally due to Dad having work that day but as it turns out, things changed and they said they could get me earlier than expected so pretty much after everyone I knew was gone, I headed back to the room and finally started packing up. Stef was in the room so I chatted a little with her, catching up a little since we hadn't really talked much during the weekend despite being in the same room. lol Then headed out and had late lunch/early dinner with the parents. So nothing too exciting there. XD
~Lyn
Thursday:
I hadn't been to the con on Thurs night in several years but I wanted to try to finally take advantage of getting my badge early considering how long it took the year before. And there was no snow to stop me this time. Thank god. I gave up on finishing Ludwig the night before so just planned to finish him at con. Packed up early and headed out in the afternoon so for once I was heading out there before nightfall. I was rooming with Corey this year due to the fact my normal crew decided to no longer get a hotel room for the con and were just going to commute from Brittany and Forest's place. But Corey had gotten us a room in the hotel across the street which had really big rooms with a full kitchen! And the price wasn't bad at all. So it was pretty awesome and we were able to fit everyone comfortably in. The only downside was we had to go out in the cold to get to the Gaylord.
Settled in and headed over to the con for a bit to try to catch Utai while she was still in Queen Esther. I had originally wanted to wear one of my own costumes during this time but realized I needed to finish Ludwig instead, especially since he was the one I wanted to wear. But I was happy to finally see Utai's costume! It was even more incredible in person. ^.^ I almost missed her too as she was heading back to her room at the time but managed to run after them in time. Went to their room for a little bit to chat but then eventually went back to my room to work on Ludwig while I waited for Courtney to arrive. Hadn't seen her in over a year now since she moved to Seattle so was excited she was coming to the con to visit us East Coast people. She was pretty hungry when she got in so we agreed to go eat dinner at one of the nearby restaurants and caught up with each others' lives. ...mostly talked about our cats though. lol Then I went to pick up my badge at the con. Everyone else had either gotten theirs already and Courtney was getting hers from a friend on Friday so ended up by myself. Kinda sucked since time goes by a lot slower when you have no one to talk to. XD So just collected Miis on my DS and such. Ended up in line for about an hour and a half. Definitely better than the 4 hours last year but still was annoying that even on Thurs it took that long so that didn't bode well for the rest of the weekend. But boy am I glad I got it when I did. After that I went to Courtney's room to work on Ludwig while she worked on her own costume. We were both in the same hotel so that made life pretty convenient. Got most of the sewing done but didn't quite finish and realized I left part of what I needed to work on back in my room. But Courtney was done for the night so I figured I'd finish in my own room...only to come back to see that everyone was asleep and the lights were out. Well then. lol They had put the air mattress out for me but had forgotten to put any sheets or blankets out with it. Just one single pillow. And it was too dark for me to see much so was unable to find any and didn't want to wake anyone up. Soooo just kinda stumbled through the room, took a shower, and kinda just huddled on the mattress in my hoodie. After a little while of being very cold, realized I had a cloak for Leo so grabbed that and used it as a blanket. Wasn't the best but was far better than what I had before.
Friday:
Woke up to Corey throwing a blanket on me and hearing them all being surprised that I actually slept that way. Didn't help that the air mattress deflated too so I was nearly on the floor at this point. lol Turns out there were indeed blankets but Corey's bf fell asleep on top of them (didn't even pull any on top of himself) without realizing it. But made sure that I would have actual blankets and pillow for the rest of the con. XD The hotel had free breakfast downstairs so we all headed there still in our pjs and oh my god it was worth it. I don't usually do breakfast but it was good and helped me get through the con, especially with how badly I slept the night before. Then went and vegged in the room for a little, laid on the bed while the rest of the gang got ready. Eventually worked up the energy to finish Ludwig. I had originally intended on wearing him first but kinda ran out of time so decided I'd just wear him on Sat instead. So I went ahead and got into Diamond and took my time so Courtney could also get into Esmeraude (I know its silly that I call him Diamond and not Demando when I call her Esmeraude instead of Emerald but I'm not a fan of the "Demando" spelling lol).
The truth is, Diamond doesn't even really want Neo Queen Serenity...he just wants her crown XD (though technically this was stolen from Corey's Queen Serenity cosplay, as in "Mama-Moon" lol but hey whateves)
Went over to the con once we were finally ready. Tom and Alyce had been in line trying to get badges for the weekend but they gave up after being told the wait was going to be really long, even for on-site registration so they gave up and decided they'd just wait til Sat when the badges would be cheaper at least but still decided to hang around us for a little while to make the trip worth it. Made me glad I got my badge Thurs night cause it seemed the wait was horrid all weekend. Katsu really needs to fix that issue.
Managed to run into Luna while she was still in Wicked Lady. Though at the time her black moon had fallen off but we still managed to get one photo together. Yay Black Moon Clan XD
While chatting in the hallway, Alyce and I both kinda stopped and turned our heads in silence as this cosplayer went up the escalator and we both kinda whispered to each other "...is that?" and finally we just said right aloud "Are you cosplaying Elisabeth?" to which she answered very happily "YES!" and I did my duty and ran up after her to get a photo. XD
I geeked out with her for a bit over our mutual love of Elisabeth Das Musical. She geeked about having Mate tweet her photo of her in costume and I geeked over seeing the Takarazuka version live. Ahh I love meeting other fans of small fandoms. XD Its what makes going to cons worth it.
Then we went over to the hotel lobby in search of a chair to get this particular photo that I was determined to get...
I seriously love this photo XD I'm so glad Courtney and I finally got to do these costumes together
Then we met up with Utai and Mally up at the gazebo level. They were in Eternal Moon and Mars so we goofed off for a little bit. Courtney did the Esmeraude laugh a few times which resulted in some bystanders turning around and starring in horror. XD She was pretty good at it. lol
Then we had some cape action going on
The secret of the cape action XD
After we parted ways, I just happened to see out of the corner of my eye, Lome Lindi in her Myu-inspired Tuxedo Mask costume with a really cute Sailor Moon so, without even thinking about what I was wearing, went over to ask for a photo but didn't even get a word in before Lome immediately reacted with a "You!" and it took me a second before I was like "oh shit, right, I'm wearing Diamond XD" so we then proceeded to have a little "confrontation" which ended with a brofist in the end...until her Moon decided to loop her arm around mine. XD Oh man, it was super cute and made me happy cause I've always loved Lome's costumes and I love the fact that she's been channeling Tani's version of Mamoru whenever she does him. I don't really care much for Mamoru himself but I love Tani-Mamoru in the Myus. lol
And then I eventually got my photo from them. It was super cute too cause when I asked for it, Lome just immediately swung herself around that pole there that just happened to be in range and it was so natural and perfect.
Changed out of costume and then went out to eat. Poor Courtney was unable to join us due to being locked out of her room without a keycard and nobody was in and she didn't want to walk outside in Emeraude so she decided to just wait in the hall outside her room. So I offered to get her food to bring back for her. We ended up getting Potbelly's...which omg why did I never realize til this year that there was one near the con??? Like I would have just eaten there all these years if I knew. lol I guess I just never got myself to walk that far. Oh well. We ate there and I brought Courtney food back and luckily by then, her roomies had finally shown up and let her in. Alyce and Tom then decided to head out because there wasn't much they could do without a badge. So I finally made my way into the Dealer's while I had some time to kill and picked up some of the Count Cain volumes I was still missing since I had decided to finally collect the English version and try to re-read it before making the costume.
While on my way back to the room, Jo texted me asking what I was up to and I got nervous, thinking I got the shoot time wrong but turns out she had extra time and was just seeing if anyone wanted to do a shoot earlier but I still wasn't even in costume yet. XD Changed into Richard and managed to find Madison just in time for our Graces shoot with Jo at the scheduled time anyways. Though sadly we had lost a lot of light by then so wasn't able to do any outside like Jo had wanted. Instead we did a few upstairs in the brighter area.
I really like this solo shot she got of me
I was really excited to finally have an Asbel to pose with
My personal favorite from the shoot XD
During the shoot, Dian walked by in Harley which was horrible timing cause I couldn't stop to talk to her or take photos cause it would interrupt our shoot but I was so excited to see her in the finished costume. So as soon as we were done, I made sure to hunt her down again to get a photo of her. XD Cause I put a lot of work into that costume and I wanted at least one photo of her in it.
She was so cute! Though I felt bad that she was having trouble walking around without her glasses on since she'd get the make-up on them if she put them on in between photos. lol But she seemed to be doing pretty well. I also made the Joker dummy's outfit too.
Then Madison and I did our 2nd shoot of the night with her photographer friend. Though I have yet to see the photos from this one. I didn't get his info either so I'll just have to wait for her to pass it along I guess. But hopefully I will see them eventually cause we did a lot of fun and silly shots and we did quite a number. During one of our more serious shots, Utai, Liz, and Jon just had to walk by and I KNEW it was them from their voices and them being all "Oh I see an Asbel and Richard, is that Lyn? I think it is...ohhh yup it is!" and I'm trying NOT to laugh here. XD Managed to keep it up for at least a few shots before I turned to yell at them for it.
After the shoot, I wandered with Madison for a little bit and we talked with various cosplayers we encountered. Then eventually went our separate ways. I went back to the hotel room and changed into the sparkly vest with the intent of wandering and trying to find people since there was no one in our room. Sadly...I somehow managed to not find ANYONE at all lol and then realized I totally could have worn that to the Ball, but I never go to those things and it was already over by the time the thought occurred to me. I always manage to be appropriately dressed for those things even when I'm not going to them. I did finally go into the Artist Alley but ended up not getting to see much of it since it was getting close to closing. But I did have a lovely conversation with a Young Avengers artist who told me about a podcast she's involved for it. I keep forgetting to check it out though. ^^;; Then went back to the room and this time there were people in it and Corey helped me style Leo's wig in one more attempt to try to get it more accurate to the shorter haircut. I semi regret cutting it though. I should have just left it as is since it wasn't really the right length for his style in the end and it could have still worked for his slightly longer hair beforehand. Oh well. Unlikely I'll be doing him again anyways so best to just give up on it. We all went to bed shortly after and THIS time I had an actual blanket and pillow. XD
Saturday:
Even with another person on the air matress this time, the thing still deflated some. But it was still balanced out with both Ami and I on it. ...until she got up and I immediately sank, much to everyone's amusement. XD I think I once again ended up sleeping on Corey's bed for a bit or something after we had breakfast. I just remember being really out of it despite getting better sleep this time. Stef arrived and came up to our room during this point and next thing I know I'm looking over and see Zach, Stef's husband, in the room, who I had noooo idea was the one bringing her down to the con so I was so confused for a bit. It was nice seeing him though since I rarely see him these days. Though he wasn't staying with her so he headed back out to drive back to NJ.
I was originally going to wear Richard for the Tales Of gathering but decided to put on Ludwig finally instead since I realized I'd have very little time to wear him otherwise and I already knew there was at least 2 other Richards coming to the gathering. So I put Ludwig on, Mach helped me with the make-up, and I once again questioned why I decided to do this costume. XD It seemed like a cool design on the cover. But on me? Ehhh. lol Though it did look a lot better once the wig was on. I think this will be my last Ludwig outfit though considering I'm not even sure why I keep doing outfits of his. lol I only ever intended to do one. He's not even my favorite Kaori Yuki character.
Went to the Tales Of gathering to watch and take photos even though I wasn't dressed for it. Even as just a spectator, it was a lot of fun though and there was a pretty good turnout for it. Got to see Stephanie during this as she was there as Vera from Xillia 2, even though her and her group were a bit late to it. Also said hi to Madison briefly since she was there in Asbel.
I couldn't get over the fact that Nova had Ludger's huge check for his debt with her XD Brilliant!
And here's the full turnout by the end of the shoot.
After that, met up with Alyce, Beth, and Tom as they came out of the Dealer's Room as they finally got their badges. We then went outside to take some photos of each other.
These are my two favorites that Tom got of me in Ludwig. Though it seems I kept scowling in the photos. XD I think in part because the sun was in my eyes and in part because the make-up was starting to bother me (Mach put some pretty intense make-up on me).
Behold the ridiculous-ness that is this costume XD
Alyce and Beth did some cute shots in their webcomic costumes and then we figured that was enough and we were starting to get cold. I went and then changed into Leo for the Pandora Hearts gathering...which ended up being pretty tiny. ^^;; Utai, Mally, and Jon were getting food so they weren't able to make it and Corey was off doing some other cosplay at the time. So there went half the group. lol Oh well. So it ended up just being like three Oz, three Alices, one Alyss, Echo, and me as Leo. XD So I didn't even have anyone to really take photos with other than Oz since I was doing the Glen version of Leo. But we did get the one photographer who likes to do our PH photos at all the cons. She just hasn't put hers up yet (in fact, I think we're still waiting on her photos from last Otakon too...huh).
So here's me with the new Leo cut. I'm still unsure if I like how the wig came out. But it's not a total lost as I recently realized I may be able to use it for some other future cosplays. I also find it funny someone tagged me as Sebastian from Black Butler on acp XD lol Close...but not really.
I did at least manage to get this shot with one Oz, based off the most recent chapter at the time. Though now that I look at the manga, totally got it wrong. lol They're grabbing each other's cloaks, not forehead touching. Oh well. Close enough. XD
Saw Lome Lindi again but this time in her King Endymion costume from the 2nd musical, which was totally gorgeous! And got to see Luna in her Princess Serenity. ^.^ This photo is pretty amusing too since its basically Endymion with his wife...past and future. XD
Ran into Dian around this time and got my copy of James' book from her...which I still need to read because I'm a horrible friend who keeps forgetting. T_T; Its a short book too with mostly pictures too but its super cute from what I've looked at so far. She also had green tea flavored cookies with her so I got one and omg it was delicious. XD
Saw Forest and Brittany briefly in their Dark Souls costumes but couldn't get too close to them due to everyone wanting photos. Don't blame them though.
And also ran into Tohma, Shey, and crew and Shey was in casual hide. I missed seeing them in their actual X costumes the day before but Shey decided to keep the wig on and do this version and it worked really well! I mean the sweater she used definitely looks like something he would have worn. The rest of them were in their K-Pop costumes so I wasn't to familiar with who they were meant to be. lol
I was originally going to stay in Leo for several more hours but Jessica convinced me to change into Gil early since she was getting into Alice and was going to meet up with a Cheshire and Oz. So still did Pandora Hearts but in a different costume. XD I had actually only brought Gil for late night silliness since Utai and Mally requested it cause I've worn that costume enough but eh well. lol Gil is a lot more recognizable and easier to work with the other characters though. On our way into the Gaylord, we ran into Brittany and everyone standing around and Brittany runs up to me with "did you see? did you see?" and I thought she meant her and Forest's costumes from earlier so I was like "oh yeah, I saw you guys..." and then she holds up her hand, showing the new shiny ENGAGEMENT RING on it. "...oh. OHHHHHH!" lmao So yeah, Forest proposed to her. While they were in the costumes which in my opinion, majorly rocks. So I squeed with them a bit and looked at the photos Beth and Alyce managed to snag of the event. Luckily Jessica and her friends were understanding on the delay in our wandering but eventually we headed off, though not without being chased around the lobby by Cheshire a few times. XD Oh the joys of being Gil. I forgot how much energy being him requires cause somehow there's always a Cheshire cosplayer when I put him on. Always. (for those that don't know PH: Gil is afraid of cats so I've always taken to being in character and running when one comes after me)
Alyce and Beth decided to join us as they wanted to peruse the artist alley one more time before they all left for the day so I mostly conversed with them and accidentally lost my PH people for a little bit but figured I'd find them again somewhere in the room. Saw Dan and Lex briefly while in there and they reminded me of the artist with all the cute FF characters in cat form art so I gave in and bought a chibi Cloud-cat keychain and an angry chibi Cloud magnet cause I have problems and can't say no to Cloud. XD Then Alyce and Beth headed out and I tried to refind my group...only to not see them anywhere and then also realized I didn't have Jessica's phone number or anything. Doh. x_x;; So wandered through the halls and saw Mally who had happened to see them recently and directed me to where they last were heading and luckily managed to catch up with them. They too were equally dumbfounded on how we managed to lose each other. lol We decided then to pick a spot up on the gazebo level and just sit for a while until the others who were also going to do PH that night would come join us. Corey somehow managed to walk right by us without even noticing us, which I'm not sure how she did considering we were right in the path to Utai's room. They all took forever to get ready so the group sent me to investigate which led to Gil scratching on the door and getting...Jack of all people. XD But I got them to hurry up and Utai gave me valentine's chocolate as Vincent cause we both ship Gil/Vincent even though its incredibly wrong. lol
One of the other Alices from the earlier gathering joined us and we mostly just goofed off for a few hours in that spot. Of all the photos people did take of us, I only managed to ever find the ridiculous ones of us being silly. Oh well. XD
Like usual, I spent most of the time trying to hide from Cheshire XD
So much abuse T_T Alice ran off with my hat too but Vincent did return it for me. Heck most of this was a session of "pass the hat" >_>;;
But in the end, it was Jack who received the most abuse from us all. XD Jon is under there...somewhere. You can see his feet at least? lol This is us basically expressing our feelings towards Jack at the time considering the manga was in its final chapters at the time and Jack was still being a big douche.
Then we acted like adults...and played a game of spin the bottle? With an empty water bottle. And no actual kissing. Just hugging. Because we're apparently 5. XD But it was fun though poor Vincent had terrible luck at never having it land on Gil and I kept getting freaking Cheshire. T_T; ...nobody wanted to get Jack. lol Eventually Mally joined us in Echo but didn't get any group photos with her cause kinda forgot to. Oops. Once we finally tired of that game cause there's only so many rounds you can do before its the same thing over and over, we decided we should finally go to the bar like we planned...except the bar was PACKED. And in hindsight, I don't know why we didn't go there earlier cause that's what we did last year. Slightly sucked cause I rather enjoyed our goofy times there last year but there was no way we'd ever get a table for all of us so instead Corey decided we should go drink in our room...which didn't make the best sense since it meant everyone going out in the cold but our room did have the most space. Alice, Cheshire, and Oz weren't so keen on the idea so they headed off while the rest of us braced the cold...which was really fucking cold as it happened to be SNOWING at the time. T_T;; And really really windy and poor Echo froze her little butt off. But we got to the room and alcohol was served, even if we did end up taking a lot from the stock meant for Corey and co's Attack on Titan panel...meeeeeh. And a majority of the group decided to dine on mac and cheese cups cause that's pretty much all we had. XD It was fun though and there was more goofing off though then everyone got to ranting about cosplay stuff and I went...quiet on purpose because there were a lot of things I disagreed with but didn't want to start up an argument there.
Eventually everyone dispersed though as most of them had to get ready for the panel and the rest were planning to go attend. I really had no interest in it but turns out I was the only one not involved. Meh. I thought about going back to the con but I heard the wind howling and decided against that real quick. Poked Courtney but she sounded like her room was having too much fun drinking and figured that might be awkward for me so I just sat in the room...and stupidly decided to check tumblr and such which reminded me that Teru was retiring from zuka in a few hours and so I ended up getting depressed about it. Which ugh, I had fully intended not to be alone during that time so it wouldn't happen. Oh well. Stef eventually showed up in the hallway, a bit drunk but luckily escorted over by one of her friends who let her borrow his coat so she didn't freeze as she was only in her tiny Bulma dress. She was pretty tired so we got out the air mattress and decided to just call it a night...and somehow we didn't even get bothered by everyone else when they finally came back from their panel at like...4am or whatever it was. lol They did wake me up but I passed out pretty soon after cause I was too tired to care. XD
Sunday:
The air mattress did not super deflate this time around. XD And Stef and I got up and off of it at the same time so there was nobody sinking into it. Had breakfast once more and it was nice not having to rush to pack up because they had the room through Monday so didn't have to do the check-out rush. Most of the room was still pretty much passed out though since they had such a late night. Stef had an early shoot so she rushed off and I just took my time getting back into Ludwig since I felt like I didn't get enough time in it yet. Met up with Alyce and Beth who were just hanging around while the rest of their crew was in the Dealer's and then we switched so I mostly just chatted with them while looking around for any last minute needs. Talked with Tom about 3D printing possibilities but I'm still not sure if I want to go that route just cause it does kinda feel like cheating. lol But if I ever get stuck on a piece and I'm not entering it, maybe I'll ask him for help with it. Then they all headed out and I gradually said my goodbyes to everyone leaving. I thought I'd be stuck at con for pretty late originally due to Dad having work that day but as it turns out, things changed and they said they could get me earlier than expected so pretty much after everyone I knew was gone, I headed back to the room and finally started packing up. Stef was in the room so I chatted a little with her, catching up a little since we hadn't really talked much during the weekend despite being in the same room. lol Then headed out and had late lunch/early dinner with the parents. So nothing too exciting there. XD
~Lyn