Ohayocon 2010 Memories (Forgive the lack of cut...)
Ah, Ohayocon was such a blast! So much happened that it took me a couple days to get it all written out. (Please regard the numerous spelling/grammar errors. It is very late, and there are far too many foreign words here for me to bother running this through spell check.) Anyway, without further ado-- my Ohayocon memories!
EDIT: For some reason the cut function does not seem to be working. I have edited this entry six times, and have even deleted the entry and posted it again, but it doesn't seem to be working. I may try again tomorrow, but for now at least you'll have to forgive me clogging up your f-lists.
- The more relaxed pace this year. Last year was phenomenal, but also exhausting. I remember waking up early Saturday 2009 and wanting to cry at the prospect of getting my cosplay together and going through another con day. This time I promised to go more easy on myself. I woke later, left earlier, and wore normal clothes and comfortable shoes on Friday and Sunday. I had no money, so I was able to just go through the artist's alley and dealer's room and window shop. Also the convention was a little more "boring" than last year, which meant a lot of time could be spent hanging out with friends, chilling in the hallways snacking and playing, and actually going to some panels!
- Starting to lose my voice Friday night. This has never happened to me at a con before! Thankfully after sitting through Anime Hell it was back to normal.
- The cosplays. There weren't as many cosplayers as last year (and a pathetically small amount in the masquerade) but those in cosplay seemed to be channeling a lot of older, rarer cosplays. There were knots of FFVIII characters, a whole troupe of FFIX characters, some Digimon characters, a crew of Star Wars costumers (501st, Mandelorian Mercs, and my brother as Darth Maul) Pokemon everywhere, a baby Goku (so cute!) and a wonderful Ryoko!
- Overhearing bits of people's crazy conversations. My favorite was a guy who walked past me saying "See! That's why I'm the nice Itachi, the kind that does doesn't go around killing people all the time."
- Finally watching some Hetalia episodes, and becoming familiar with a few more characters. Apperantly, Hetalia was what my brothers and I refer to as the "Secret Undubbed Anime of Choice" for this year, previous years having been Soul Eater and D. Gray-Man. Thankfully I was somewhat informed (to the tune of "It's a show based off a webcomic where countries are portrayed as characters") and was soon able to recognized all the bunches of Hetalia cosplayers running around, but now I know enough to have a half-decent conversation about it.
- Feeling really easilly moved. Have you ever noticed that your emotions seem to heighten during convention time? I don't know if it's just me, or if maybe it has something to do with the fact that Ohayocon always seems to happen during "that time of the month".
- Forgetting my badge at home on Saturday morning and having to shell out $5 for a new one.
- Seeing the Fantasy Ball. My mother told me about it, and I went to check it out, but wasn't allowed in because of the dress code. However, I was able to watch for awhile through a back door, (I felt like I was in a movie for a moment, spying on a fancy ball) and it was quite lovely, all these beautifully dressed couples (some in cosplay, some not. There were even some Disney princesses!) dancing under pink lights. And the song they were dancing to? "Waltz for the Moon" from FFVIII. Now, FFVIII is my favorite video game barr none. I would take it with me to a desert island, even if I didn't have a system to play it on. It is difficult to explain just how important it is to me, and how much impact it had on me when I was growing up. It is to me what FFVII is to everyone else. And for quite awhile now I have secretly known I want to dance to "Waltz for the Moon" at my wedding, should I ever have one. Well, as I watched everyone dancing, to that song, in that setting, I was so moved I had to blink away tears.
- Wearing my new dress to the lolita crush, along with my rather uncomfortable black shoes. I was afraid I would be in agony by the end of the day, but it wasn't too bad, thank goodness. My baby toes went numb about halfway through the masquerade line however, and were sore for several days after. It was worth it though!
- The sight of Pedobear prancing through the foodcourt, surrounded by legions of oblivious cheerleaders.
- Getting tired and cranky/borderline PMSing late Friday night. Thankfully this set in very late, and by getting all frustrated on Friday I avoided last year's Saturday morning drama.
- Watching August (as a GRU soldier) sowing discord among the Hetalia cosplayers first by asking why Latveria wasn't represented, and then by claiming he was Soviet soldier working for Russia, who revealed that Britain was a Russian sleeper agent, and forcing America to surrender under their combined might.
- The constant yells of "boomer" during the masquerade. Totally rude! I couldn't help but feel bad for the poor judge in particular, she seemed really upset about it.
- Meeting up with/running into/kidnapping a lot of MGS cosplayers and hanging around with them all convention. We had hoped to put together another raid on Friday, but it didn't work out. We did have a really awesome photo shoot (with a Resident Evil photoshoot going on next to us) though, and met up with a lot of the people involved again on Saturday, as well as grabbing a bunch more members. One thing I love about MGS fans is they stay really up-to-date the latest fancomics, videos, skits, etc. We spent hours quoting random lines from the games, and then going back and forth about different comics and such. Everyone's favorites seemed to be Metal Gear Awesome and Hi I'm Daisie's comics (we shouted "Self Esteem Team" countless times.) We squeezed into the Metal Gear panel together (I was still in my lolita clothes, so I looked kind of funny against all the camo and manliness) and then made our way to the masquerade together. While we were going down the stairs a couple of us spontaneously began singing the MGS theme song. Within a few seconds we were all singing, moving down the hallway in this huge wall of MGS cosplay-wearing, gun-toting awesomeness, and random bystanders were singing along with us. If I had to pick a single favorite moment of the convention I think this would be it.
- Watching a couple guys get into a tussle by the escalators Saturday.
- Meeting J. Michael Tatum. Listening to him talk during the panel was so cool. I've never been to anything like that before, and he just seemed so down to earth and really passionate about his work. I think I fell a little bit in love! Afterwards I went to get my program signed. I was wearing my new dress and he complimented me on it! And even though I would probably never do this under normal circumstances, I gave him a hug before I left. ^^
- Arranging to meet a bunch of my brother's friends from last year to play Bijenga. I didn't get much of a chance to play (being a total Bijenga noobie I got to spend most of the time "out" watching everybody else.) but it was still fun. The epic meter rose to extreme heights when Alexander, the Bijenga "sensei" who taught my brothers how to play, happened to randomly walk in on us during a game. He goes "Are you all doing what I think you're doing?" and then "You guys just made my con."
- Walking up to a random elevator and noticing a pair of used men's underwear lying on the floor. o.0 I think this was the single most bizarre con moment I've ever experienced.