I finished my Otakon report!
I shouldn’t have left writing the Otakon report until a week later. Oh wellz. Warning: random tense changes etc. Sorry if I forget things. And as I'm posting this, I realize that I never mentioned the ice cream truck. Well, there was an ice cream truck outside pretty much the whole convention (Thursday night onward). I think they sold out of ice cream and had to go back for more at least twice.
And I still need to finish the ConnectiCon report. Oops.
Thursday: God doesn’t like me going to anime conventions. Srsly.
So I’m lying awake at 12:30 AM, trying to get to sleep because I know I’m going to have to get up in less than six hours so I can catch my plane flight, and I hear the phone ring. Since Dad is the one with a phone in his room, he answers it. He gets up, goes downstairs, comes back up later.
I manage to fall asleep at some point.
Wake up with my alarm. I go to grab breakfast when I see that Dad left me a note. My 8:30 flight got delayed 4 hours. Yay: more sleep. Boo: now instead of me waiting for my friends at the airport for an hour, they’ll be waiting for me for three hours.
Call up Chris to find out he’d pulled an all-nighter, tell him about the flight, go back to bed. Wake up about four hours later, run off to airport, get checked in, sit around and wait for the flight.
IT’S A SMALL WORLD (incident #1): one of the girls that I know from MIT Anime Club is on my flight. There’s like three groups of people going to Otakon.
So, yeah. Flight, land, call up Chris, walk to baggage claim. We’re waiting around for 20-30 minutes, me (and probably half the people there) wondering why the baggage isn’t showing up (me of course internally going “HOLY SHIT IF YOU’VE LOST MY LUGGAGE YOU OWE ME A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS AND SEVERAL HUNDRED HOURS OF MY TIME!”). Chris makes some cracks about how I have really bad luck with conventions; I threaten to kick him, HARD, if he kept talking. Then we notice the sign that says luggage may be delayed up to 40 minutes because of construction.
... OK, I’m a little more calm now.
Sure enough, about 40 minutes after I showed up, the luggage starts popping out. I grab my stuff, and Chris, Liz, and I make for the Light Rail. We get on, and start conversing about nothing.
IT’S A SMALL WORLD (incident #2 part 1): I mention JJ at some point, Chris and Liz mention that they met a JJ, maybe same person OMG?!
Get off at the BCC stop, notice that people are already lined up to pick up badges (which opens in 2 hours... wtf?), and we go to the hotel. We wait around until the girl who’s temporarily checking us in shows up, then we go up to our room to find it overflowing with... people. There’s over 10 people in the room at this point; luckily only 8 people are actually staying in the room.
A while later we head out. Chris and a few others pick up their badges while Liz and I wait for them, since we didn’t pre-register. Afterwards we head over to the food court, at some point meeting up with animelore (whose name escapes me at the moment XD).
We notice how few people are in costume, we wander around, we hand out, we go back to a different food court, more wandering around, more hanging out. At some point we went to animelore’s room and saw her ZOMG FUCKING AMAZING Sora costume. Wandered around a little bit more before heading back to the hotel to chill in the lobby for a while. Nikolai shows up, not recognizing me at first without my Sasuke wig (he said he finally got it because of my teeth... stupid genetics). We talk, I get a Tastycake three-pack out of the vending machine (mmmm... Tastycakes... ^^), and a while later we head up to get some sleep. Liz and I have an early day on Friday.
Friday: I’m late, I’m in pain, and I’m having a blast.
Liz and I get up... early very much. I change into Time Jump Sasuke and she into Karin. We head off to get our badges, at which point we start to categorize the people who take our pictures:
1) “EEEEE SASUKE!!!... And who are you?” (Response: “READ THE MANGA!”)
2) “Hey, it’s Sasuke and Karin!” (Response: “You’re awesome and not a tard. :D”)
After a while in the badge line we get our badges (I got the Black Cat one). We met up with Chris, our Juugo (who’d come over and hung out briefly while we were in line) and Joe, our Suigetsu (who walked right by us and I will probably thoroughly chew out one day). We paraded around as the FIRST COMPLETE TEAM HEBI COSPLAY GROUP EVAR!11
Right before the photoshoot, we met up with SORA OF AMAZINGNESS animelore and a female Naruto cosplayer whose name I never actually learned Jessie (kativa_chan), and we kinda hung out for a while eating edible bubbles.
The photoshoot... well, it was alright once we got past the big group shot. I ran in during the Orochimaru and Kabuto picture and tried to stab Sarah/Orochimaru/blufiredragon67 with my sword. Joe left before the Team Hebi group shot (there was another Karin and another Sasuke). And um... stuff.
Then we went to get lunch, toting along a few people from the photoshoot.
Right afterwards I headed back to the hotel room with Liz. She helped me into Sync, and I ran off to the Tales shoot, getting there late.
Because when I say I need an hour to put that costume on, I am not exaggerating kthx. Oh, and I made the shirt a little bit small. It still fits and everything, but only when I BIND UNTIL IN PAIN. And even then if I inhale too deeply, the zipper starts to come undone. And I can only just barely put those ribbons and tags on by myself.
But anyways... The Tales shoot was a lot of fun. I met a bunch of people who I don’t have contact info for, including the Lacus I killed at AB’s cosplay chess that year. I found out that my mask is actually easier to see in than I initially thought (which isn’t saying much, really...). Met up briefly with Chris and Liz before wandering around some, then met up with them again along with animelore at the food court.
I went to grab my food, and when I came back, I made the observation of the con.
Liz = Karin = Spiky bright red hair + light purple outfit.
Chris = Juugo = Spiky bright orange hair + tan outfit.
Animelore = Master Form Sora = Spiky brown hair + yellow outfit.
Me = Sync = Green hair that wishes it were spiky + green and black outfit.
“We look like a retarded rainbow.”
I have no idea just why that was so hilarious. But it was.
Afterwards we headed back to the hotel room. Chris and Liz got ready for the PJ Party while I quickly changed into my ANBU getup for the ANBU shoot. I arrive (late). The shoot itself was a flop. There were like four planned pictures, and then it became “stand around chatting until someone shows up who wants to take our pictures”.
Eventually I just headed off to the PJ Party. Sat around there, until I noticed the suspicious combination of a man who looked startlingly like dr_teng and a Dramabomb cosplay.
By pure accident, I happened upon the CosFu gathering.
That, of course, resulted in much lulz, chatting, sympathetic bitching, reaming, Chibbles yelling at me because I’d stopped posting for a while, Chibbles giving me her number (purely platonic reasons I assure you), and general what-have-you.
After a while Nikolai texted me and I grabbed Chris and Liz and we went up and played Apples to Apples for a while (and damn did those ANBU gloves make it hard to handle cards. Oh, and there was a mouse.)
We headed back to the hotel room when the convention center closed at 2AM, and some people slept, some people visited rooms, and so on.
Saturday: I can’t think of anything witty.
Slept in. Woke up around 10:30 and got changed into Revival Sasuke, while Chris and Liz changed into Yondaime and Nidaime. I headed out to the photoshoot area, managing to see Ada along the way. She was waiting in line for Maki Murakami autographs. I said hi and sat down, she asked me who I was bringing to Anime Boston next year. Well, I don’t actually plan my costumes out more than a few months in advance generally, but I mentioned that if asked, I’d bring Sasuke in a heartbeat.
“Good, because Sasuke and Itachi have become sort of a running joke.”
I know, Ada. I know. lol
I also mentioned that I was thinking of making Excel and entering her in the Dating Game. Ada told me that she had a Hyatt and an Il Palazzo, so I was instantly like “Consider it done!”
After that I had to head over to the photoshoot to help crowd control while we waited for noon to roll around. At one point I was handed a megaphone. I looked at it, and instantly responded “Oh, you do not want me using this.” I think I managed well on my own.
The photoshoot went smoother than it did the previous day, even though there were more people (I think). The only problem we had was it briefly seemed like we’d have to clear out early for the Bleach shoot, but then they used the wallspace next to us, so there wasn’t an issue. Also, minimew led a group of us in doing the “Hare Hare Yukai” dance.
Afterwards, Chris, Liz, animelore, Nikolai, the Naruto girl Jessie, and I headed out to get lunch. I think this was the time when the lines were disturbingly long (or maybe that was on Friday, I forget now). No, wait, that was Friday. Saturday I got some fast food from the fast place because it was fast, and we headed over to the Hyatt (where animelore was staying) to eat there because like hell we could get tablespace in the food court, much less six chairs. We chatted, we ate, we threw around ideas about going to Anime Expo (general consensus: you have to go at least once. It’s like the Mecca of anime conventions).
After that I headed back with Nikolai’s card to the room (because Chris had lost his card! *twitch*) and I changed into Sync on my own. I was late to the shoot again, but not as bad as before, except I did manage to lose a sock (which I later found) and had to improvise using my Time Jump Sasuke shin things. Nikolai came up to the shoot at some point to get his card, and I heard “Who is Sync?” and I turned, and asked if he was looking for me, and gave him back his room card.
After the photoshoot, ryuuraigeki and two others invited me along on their Tales of the Abyss mini-shoot (we had Luke, Guy, Ion, and Sync). The pictures came out absolutely amazing *must dig up link at some point*. Afterwards I met up with Chris, Liz, and... don’t remember person’s name, and we had dinner. After that came more wandering around as Sync.
IT’S A SMALL WORLD (incident #2 part 2): We ran into JJ, who recognized Chris immediately, but didn’t recognize me until I lifted my head to show her under the mask.
I saw bagu and said hi, then more wandering around. EBK took pictures of Liz and me while the others were off Ouran-ing. At some point I became separated from the rest of the group, so I hung out with the conveniently nearby JJ and friends until they left for food. I ended up retelling the story of my Katsucon flight fiasco.
Afterwards I met up with the group again, and we wandered until we found Nikolai. More Apples to Apples with random people, NONE OF WHOM HAD HEARD OF STRIPPER VASH.
They cleared us out of the convention center at 2 again, and we headed back to the room. Saturday night is Packing Night! since everyone has to be out of the room by 11 the next day. So, amongst the packing, the sorting, and the general stuffing-in-suitcase-ness, I polled the room.
“OK, who here knows who Stripper Vash is?”
Every person’s hand went up. So I knew I wasn’t crazy, at least about that.
Packed away my stuff except for my costume for Sunday, rolled over and slept.
Sunday: It feels so long until it’s the last day.
Woke up at 9:30, changed into Revival Sasuke, dragged my bags out into the hallway to wait for the elevator. And wait. And wait. And wait.
Finally, the woman I was waiting with and I got on an elevator going UP. Rode up to the eighth floor (we were on the fourth) where the elevator was filled up, and had a stuffy ride down. Checked my bags and wandered off.
I went through the Dealer’s Room, and then hung out in the Artist’s Alley for a while. There was a girl there who liked Sasuke so much, she gave me a free print for my costume ♥ And I saw Sarah, the SnJ Naruto who’s rather distinctive. And I chatted with Mookie (of Dominic Deegan fame) briefly.
I hung out reading my newly-purchased doujinshi for a while while the group made their way through the Dealer’s Room, then I waited for them outside the Artist’s Alley before following them around again. We then went and got lunch.
We hung out at the fountains for a while, until I caught sight of two of my local friends. Ran up to them and said hi.
IT’S A SMALL WORLD (incident #3): turns out they were rooming with Bagu.
Since it was getting late, I said my goodbyes to everyone, and headed off to reclaim my bags. After some interesting presto-change-o maneuvering, I changed out of Sasuke and into my normal clothes. Caught the Light Rail to the airport, got my ticket, waited around for an hour and a half (purchasing a meal from Wendy’s in the mean time... mmm, Frosty...). Oh, yeah, security searched my belly pack. I think it was because of the 70 billion safety pins I brought along. XD
The flight home was rather interesting. In the window seat was me, reading my Japanese doujinshi. In the aisle seat next to me was some guy reading a music score.
Got back, picked up my bag, got driven home by Dad.
WALLSCROLL OF THE CON: Black Cat, with Eve and Sven in the foreground, Train and... what’s-her-face, the female bounty hunter in the kimono, in the background. (I originally found it priced at $18, figured that that was too much, and found it at a different vendor for $12. Hah.)
And I still need to finish the ConnectiCon report. Oops.
Thursday: God doesn’t like me going to anime conventions. Srsly.
So I’m lying awake at 12:30 AM, trying to get to sleep because I know I’m going to have to get up in less than six hours so I can catch my plane flight, and I hear the phone ring. Since Dad is the one with a phone in his room, he answers it. He gets up, goes downstairs, comes back up later.
I manage to fall asleep at some point.
Wake up with my alarm. I go to grab breakfast when I see that Dad left me a note. My 8:30 flight got delayed 4 hours. Yay: more sleep. Boo: now instead of me waiting for my friends at the airport for an hour, they’ll be waiting for me for three hours.
Call up Chris to find out he’d pulled an all-nighter, tell him about the flight, go back to bed. Wake up about four hours later, run off to airport, get checked in, sit around and wait for the flight.
IT’S A SMALL WORLD (incident #1): one of the girls that I know from MIT Anime Club is on my flight. There’s like three groups of people going to Otakon.
So, yeah. Flight, land, call up Chris, walk to baggage claim. We’re waiting around for 20-30 minutes, me (and probably half the people there) wondering why the baggage isn’t showing up (me of course internally going “HOLY SHIT IF YOU’VE LOST MY LUGGAGE YOU OWE ME A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS AND SEVERAL HUNDRED HOURS OF MY TIME!”). Chris makes some cracks about how I have really bad luck with conventions; I threaten to kick him, HARD, if he kept talking. Then we notice the sign that says luggage may be delayed up to 40 minutes because of construction.
... OK, I’m a little more calm now.
Sure enough, about 40 minutes after I showed up, the luggage starts popping out. I grab my stuff, and Chris, Liz, and I make for the Light Rail. We get on, and start conversing about nothing.
IT’S A SMALL WORLD (incident #2 part 1): I mention JJ at some point, Chris and Liz mention that they met a JJ, maybe same person OMG?!
Get off at the BCC stop, notice that people are already lined up to pick up badges (which opens in 2 hours... wtf?), and we go to the hotel. We wait around until the girl who’s temporarily checking us in shows up, then we go up to our room to find it overflowing with... people. There’s over 10 people in the room at this point; luckily only 8 people are actually staying in the room.
A while later we head out. Chris and a few others pick up their badges while Liz and I wait for them, since we didn’t pre-register. Afterwards we head over to the food court, at some point meeting up with animelore (whose name escapes me at the moment XD).
We notice how few people are in costume, we wander around, we hand out, we go back to a different food court, more wandering around, more hanging out. At some point we went to animelore’s room and saw her ZOMG FUCKING AMAZING Sora costume. Wandered around a little bit more before heading back to the hotel to chill in the lobby for a while. Nikolai shows up, not recognizing me at first without my Sasuke wig (he said he finally got it because of my teeth... stupid genetics). We talk, I get a Tastycake three-pack out of the vending machine (mmmm... Tastycakes... ^^), and a while later we head up to get some sleep. Liz and I have an early day on Friday.
Friday: I’m late, I’m in pain, and I’m having a blast.
Liz and I get up... early very much. I change into Time Jump Sasuke and she into Karin. We head off to get our badges, at which point we start to categorize the people who take our pictures:
1) “EEEEE SASUKE!!!... And who are you?” (Response: “READ THE MANGA!”)
2) “Hey, it’s Sasuke and Karin!” (Response: “You’re awesome and not a tard. :D”)
After a while in the badge line we get our badges (I got the Black Cat one). We met up with Chris, our Juugo (who’d come over and hung out briefly while we were in line) and Joe, our Suigetsu (who walked right by us and I will probably thoroughly chew out one day). We paraded around as the FIRST COMPLETE TEAM HEBI COSPLAY GROUP EVAR!11
Right before the photoshoot, we met up with SORA OF AMAZINGNESS animelore and a female Naruto cosplayer whose name I never actually learned Jessie (kativa_chan), and we kinda hung out for a while eating edible bubbles.
The photoshoot... well, it was alright once we got past the big group shot. I ran in during the Orochimaru and Kabuto picture and tried to stab Sarah/Orochimaru/blufiredragon67 with my sword. Joe left before the Team Hebi group shot (there was another Karin and another Sasuke). And um... stuff.
Then we went to get lunch, toting along a few people from the photoshoot.
Right afterwards I headed back to the hotel room with Liz. She helped me into Sync, and I ran off to the Tales shoot, getting there late.
Because when I say I need an hour to put that costume on, I am not exaggerating kthx. Oh, and I made the shirt a little bit small. It still fits and everything, but only when I BIND UNTIL IN PAIN. And even then if I inhale too deeply, the zipper starts to come undone. And I can only just barely put those ribbons and tags on by myself.
But anyways... The Tales shoot was a lot of fun. I met a bunch of people who I don’t have contact info for, including the Lacus I killed at AB’s cosplay chess that year. I found out that my mask is actually easier to see in than I initially thought (which isn’t saying much, really...). Met up briefly with Chris and Liz before wandering around some, then met up with them again along with animelore at the food court.
I went to grab my food, and when I came back, I made the observation of the con.
Liz = Karin = Spiky bright red hair + light purple outfit.
Chris = Juugo = Spiky bright orange hair + tan outfit.
Animelore = Master Form Sora = Spiky brown hair + yellow outfit.
Me = Sync = Green hair that wishes it were spiky + green and black outfit.
“We look like a retarded rainbow.”
I have no idea just why that was so hilarious. But it was.
Afterwards we headed back to the hotel room. Chris and Liz got ready for the PJ Party while I quickly changed into my ANBU getup for the ANBU shoot. I arrive (late). The shoot itself was a flop. There were like four planned pictures, and then it became “stand around chatting until someone shows up who wants to take our pictures”.
Eventually I just headed off to the PJ Party. Sat around there, until I noticed the suspicious combination of a man who looked startlingly like dr_teng and a Dramabomb cosplay.
By pure accident, I happened upon the CosFu gathering.
That, of course, resulted in much lulz, chatting, sympathetic bitching, reaming, Chibbles yelling at me because I’d stopped posting for a while, Chibbles giving me her number (purely platonic reasons I assure you), and general what-have-you.
After a while Nikolai texted me and I grabbed Chris and Liz and we went up and played Apples to Apples for a while (and damn did those ANBU gloves make it hard to handle cards. Oh, and there was a mouse.)
We headed back to the hotel room when the convention center closed at 2AM, and some people slept, some people visited rooms, and so on.
Saturday: I can’t think of anything witty.
Slept in. Woke up around 10:30 and got changed into Revival Sasuke, while Chris and Liz changed into Yondaime and Nidaime. I headed out to the photoshoot area, managing to see Ada along the way. She was waiting in line for Maki Murakami autographs. I said hi and sat down, she asked me who I was bringing to Anime Boston next year. Well, I don’t actually plan my costumes out more than a few months in advance generally, but I mentioned that if asked, I’d bring Sasuke in a heartbeat.
“Good, because Sasuke and Itachi have become sort of a running joke.”
I know, Ada. I know. lol
I also mentioned that I was thinking of making Excel and entering her in the Dating Game. Ada told me that she had a Hyatt and an Il Palazzo, so I was instantly like “Consider it done!”
After that I had to head over to the photoshoot to help crowd control while we waited for noon to roll around. At one point I was handed a megaphone. I looked at it, and instantly responded “Oh, you do not want me using this.” I think I managed well on my own.
The photoshoot went smoother than it did the previous day, even though there were more people (I think). The only problem we had was it briefly seemed like we’d have to clear out early for the Bleach shoot, but then they used the wallspace next to us, so there wasn’t an issue. Also, minimew led a group of us in doing the “Hare Hare Yukai” dance.
Afterwards, Chris, Liz, animelore, Nikolai, the Naruto girl Jessie, and I headed out to get lunch. I think this was the time when the lines were disturbingly long (or maybe that was on Friday, I forget now). No, wait, that was Friday. Saturday I got some fast food from the fast place because it was fast, and we headed over to the Hyatt (where animelore was staying) to eat there because like hell we could get tablespace in the food court, much less six chairs. We chatted, we ate, we threw around ideas about going to Anime Expo (general consensus: you have to go at least once. It’s like the Mecca of anime conventions).
After that I headed back with Nikolai’s card to the room (because Chris had lost his card! *twitch*) and I changed into Sync on my own. I was late to the shoot again, but not as bad as before, except I did manage to lose a sock (which I later found) and had to improvise using my Time Jump Sasuke shin things. Nikolai came up to the shoot at some point to get his card, and I heard “Who is Sync?” and I turned, and asked if he was looking for me, and gave him back his room card.
After the photoshoot, ryuuraigeki and two others invited me along on their Tales of the Abyss mini-shoot (we had Luke, Guy, Ion, and Sync). The pictures came out absolutely amazing *must dig up link at some point*. Afterwards I met up with Chris, Liz, and... don’t remember person’s name, and we had dinner. After that came more wandering around as Sync.
IT’S A SMALL WORLD (incident #2 part 2): We ran into JJ, who recognized Chris immediately, but didn’t recognize me until I lifted my head to show her under the mask.
I saw bagu and said hi, then more wandering around. EBK took pictures of Liz and me while the others were off Ouran-ing. At some point I became separated from the rest of the group, so I hung out with the conveniently nearby JJ and friends until they left for food. I ended up retelling the story of my Katsucon flight fiasco.
Afterwards I met up with the group again, and we wandered until we found Nikolai. More Apples to Apples with random people, NONE OF WHOM HAD HEARD OF STRIPPER VASH.
They cleared us out of the convention center at 2 again, and we headed back to the room. Saturday night is Packing Night! since everyone has to be out of the room by 11 the next day. So, amongst the packing, the sorting, and the general stuffing-in-suitcase-ness, I polled the room.
“OK, who here knows who Stripper Vash is?”
Every person’s hand went up. So I knew I wasn’t crazy, at least about that.
Packed away my stuff except for my costume for Sunday, rolled over and slept.
Sunday: It feels so long until it’s the last day.
Woke up at 9:30, changed into Revival Sasuke, dragged my bags out into the hallway to wait for the elevator. And wait. And wait. And wait.
Finally, the woman I was waiting with and I got on an elevator going UP. Rode up to the eighth floor (we were on the fourth) where the elevator was filled up, and had a stuffy ride down. Checked my bags and wandered off.
I went through the Dealer’s Room, and then hung out in the Artist’s Alley for a while. There was a girl there who liked Sasuke so much, she gave me a free print for my costume ♥ And I saw Sarah, the SnJ Naruto who’s rather distinctive. And I chatted with Mookie (of Dominic Deegan fame) briefly.
I hung out reading my newly-purchased doujinshi for a while while the group made their way through the Dealer’s Room, then I waited for them outside the Artist’s Alley before following them around again. We then went and got lunch.
We hung out at the fountains for a while, until I caught sight of two of my local friends. Ran up to them and said hi.
IT’S A SMALL WORLD (incident #3): turns out they were rooming with Bagu.
Since it was getting late, I said my goodbyes to everyone, and headed off to reclaim my bags. After some interesting presto-change-o maneuvering, I changed out of Sasuke and into my normal clothes. Caught the Light Rail to the airport, got my ticket, waited around for an hour and a half (purchasing a meal from Wendy’s in the mean time... mmm, Frosty...). Oh, yeah, security searched my belly pack. I think it was because of the 70 billion safety pins I brought along. XD
The flight home was rather interesting. In the window seat was me, reading my Japanese doujinshi. In the aisle seat next to me was some guy reading a music score.
Got back, picked up my bag, got driven home by Dad.
WALLSCROLL OF THE CON: Black Cat, with Eve and Sven in the foreground, Train and... what’s-her-face, the female bounty hunter in the kimono, in the background. (I originally found it priced at $18, figured that that was too much, and found it at a different vendor for $12. Hah.)