All my Feelings...!! [[Going to you FList for help again...]]

[oriaon]

Okay, so maybe shampoo lather isn't the best hair gel substitute, but it's the closest thing I have and I sort of was able to get my hair looking Yuushi-ish, only I'm not too sure because the hand mirror was really small and I had to squint through the stream 'cause I'm blind. Hair's definitely too long still if I want it done properly, and the

Comments

[oriaon]

Anime Expo is probably what I'll end up leaning towards since it's the closest, but I'll be terrified going by myself so finding a group is a must! Hoping so hard I can find someone I know from either college or high school, potentially my roommate if I plead enough maybe xD;

Signing up in advance means I'll have to convince my parents earlier, haha. And somehow get them to not back out of the promise afterwards... though that might not be as much as a problem seeing as I'll already have bought the pass and barring me from going would be a waste of money. Or something.

If I go to AX I probably can get away with staying home and somehow convincing my dad to drive, or if I can find a friend to go with. It's a half hour drive to AX from home, and fifteen minutes from school but I won't be at school by then. Do different things happen each of the four days, or does it take that long to go around and see everything? Is it like Disneyland where you're not allowed to bring food in, or should I potentially eat breakfast before driving down, and then just grab dinner on the way home at night?

I'll definitely bother the TeniPuri comm when I know for sure what I'm getting myself into! And I'll look through the forums too. Thanks for all of this! xD;

[lucathia_rykatu]

Oh, only half hour drive? That's really close then. That's about the same for me (well, a bit less) to Fanime, so I never get a hotel for Fanime. Hotels are so expensive.

Definitely hang out with me if you ever go to AX! :3;; I generally go with just one friend, and we're always around in the Artist Alley since she sells her art there (and we can't leave the table unattended), so I'm quite easy to find. XD;;

Or you can always consider rooming with me. :D ♥ (I mean, if you need someone over 21 and all... XD;;; Both my friend and I are over 21 and long time convention attendees... perhaps too long..., and er, Asian too, if your parents care about that).

Different things happen each of the four days, yes, and it takes quite a long time to go around and see everything. There are panels held at different times, along with guests and concerts. It's impossible to see everything, so definitely plan ahead of time which events you want to go to! I usually decide on a few panels I want to attend, and then I spend the rest of my time going to gatherings and exploring the dealer's room (where merchandise is sold) and the artist alley. I love AX's concerts, but getting tickets for them is a pain. I was able to attend every single concert once with standby tickets (free), but now they've taken to charging for tickets, so you need to pay $15 to $20 extra for concerts.

You can bring your own food! Pack a lunch and some water! Don't get dehydrated! Eating breakfast before going and then grabbing dinner when you go home should work. I do that for Fanime since I don't stay at the convention for that con. :3

It sounds like AX shouldn't be too expensive a convention for you since you don't have to worry about plane tickets, and you might not even have to worry about hotels!

I started going to conventions when I was 14 (*coughs* it's now been 11 years), and always had my mom drive me. XD;; You can tell your parents that even young children attend conventions. Lots of parents bring their little kids to conventions nowadays. I think your parents might feel safer if they drive you to the convention? With AX being close'ish, it should also feel safer and not all the way out there?

[oriaon]

Ooh, this is definitely getting my hopes up!

If I do get the chance to go, I might end up being your second shadow xDD; Rooming with you and your friend might work too, just staying over there instead of commuting. I was wondering to myself whether it would be a stretch asking permission to have someone stay at my place if they came from far away, so they wouldn't have to pay for a hotel room and someone could drive me. Since my brother's staying in NorCal for summer school, we'll have space, but I dunno xD; We'll see! I don't think my parents even know what a con is, let alone me going to one :'D

Looks like I'll be going through the official site to look for things and plan around xD Potentially four days and running place to place, I think, haha. And since you say it's so large, I'm going to feel like I'm missing out on so much! This is how they get people coming back every year, huh? xD;

Are your parents very lenient? I'm relieved that AX is set right after school lets out, or I'll get "Concentrate on your schoolwork!" from my parents xD; I guess they're okay with me being driven by other people, just probably not me being by myself in such a crowded area. Which is why I can't just hop on a bus and go myself. I'll see!

[lucathia_rykatu]

It would be lots of fun if you were to ever room with us! :D Neither of us are partying people (we don't drink, smoke, or party... we just go to sleep and wake up early, haha), so we're always very quiet. XD;; My friend is always stuck at her table (while I'm there to help her, but I usually have lots of panels I want to go to and end up having to attend them all alone! ;_____; She also has to do the same... OTL, my friend and I need more buddies. XD;;). Oooh, yeah, that might also work too, if you offer to have someone stay at your place. :3 I've had two online friends stay over at my house for Fanime before, and it was great fun because I then had someone to hang out with at the con! :D

Looking through the official site would be good! :3 Usually they have a schedule up... around convention time. Schedules aren't ever ready until the last minute, haha. I think after my first few times, I just gave up on trying to do everything. I don't nearly do as much at conventions anymore. I mostly just hang around with people now. XD;;

My parents didn't know what conventions were either, but now they know a ton since I've been going for so many years. I think they find it amusing that I'm such a con goer. I show them pictures of cosplayers when I come home. Usually they find cosplayers who do wacky things like cosplaying mascots and such amusing. XD;; I suppose my parents can be considered to be fairly lenient... they let me indulge in a lot of my interests, but they're always fairly worried about letting me out of their sight... That's one reason I didn't go far for college. I think they're so used to me going to conventions though that they didn't think much of it when I started going to AX even though that convention's a bit farther away from home. :3;;

[oriaon]

My parents would definitely like you guys xD I'll see about living situations if/when I get the go ahead to actually attend! I have a feeling that if I were to go by myself, I would just be awkwardly taking photos of other people and be generally awkward xD;

Oh, that close? I guess that makes sense, in case things fall through, etc they don't want to make it official too far in advance xD; What sorts of things do people usually do at conventions besides the hanging out and buying things? I heard about concerts and stuff...?

I think my parents were sort of concerned about "wasting time" and "wasting money," or at least, that's what I assumed and never approached them about the subject :x Maybe if I had asked earlier, I could have already gone to a con xD; But I wouldn't know anyone or be very involved in a fandom, so maybe waiting was better anyways, haha.

[lucathia_rykatu]

Awww, yeah, don't be awkward by yourself. I imagine that wouldn't be very fun! AX is particularly large, so it could get a little lonely if you're all by yourself.

AX usually invites a number of guests, from animators to directors to seiyuu to mangaka to bands and singers... Most of them have panels where you can meet them and ask them questions. Singers and bands usually hold separate concerts on different days. There are also panels for various topics that are hosted by normal people and volunteers. There are always video rooms as well where there are screenings of anime and movies, but I usually don't go to them since I feel it's quite a waste of time to spend my time watching anime there when I could be out and about! Sometimes, they're pre-screenings of things that haven't been released though, so those are nice to go to. AX also has a cosplay contest (it's considered the big event, usually held on the second to last day at night), an idol contest where contestants compete in singing and voice acting, an AMV contest... and other contests. I don't remember them all. XD

Awww. But yeah, cons do take a lot of time and money. I look forward to conventions every year though. It's kind of become a yearly tradition for me. :3;;

[oriaon]

Oh whoa. And the seiyuu's and magaka's have translators in the room, right? Or, probably if it's a seiyuu, I'll be happy enough just to hear them speak/do the voices xDD
I'm not too familiar with singers/bands, but the cosplay contest seems like a must see, and the other contests too! xD

I *hope* it becomes a tradition! How many years of fun have I missed out on already? xDD

[lucathia_rykatu]

Yeah, there are translators in the room. XD;; Many seiyuu don't do voices at their panels though and only take questions. :3;;

A lot of years! XD; I started going in my freshman year of high school because of my anime club. Gosh, it's been too long... too many years for me. XD;;