Oh man, not a super great Geek.Kon for me, among other things. I couldn't enjoy the whole con, as I had to work Friday morning. I got into Namine the minute I got home, but issues at home prevented us from leaving on time. From there we split off while I waited for Vix, talking with Yoko while I did so to help curb my growing anxiety. A quiet dinner with just us and Vix's wife turned into a group of about 10 strangers. I felt very out of place and awkward. After dinner, we had to pick up some friends of her's. As luck would have it, they got pissed at wating and got another hotel room elsewhere without warning instead of staying at Vix's place. They also needed all their belongings that they'd left at the apartment, so Vix had to drive out and about for about 2/3 hours going back and forth. Once we got back, I got a tour of the Vix's home and began to hunker down for bed. Finding I couldn't sleep, I worked on some cosplay stuff. I finally got to bed around 3am after cutting, fitting, and hand stitching Ren's armwarmer, since I'd be wearing him the next day.
Saturday had the worst fog I'd had to deal with for some time. I tried to get some breakfast, but I didn't drink enough coffee before going over a bump spilled some on the white undershirt of my cosplay. Vix forgot her badge at the apartment, so I had to deal with my own devices. I went to buy just a badge for Saturday, thinking there would be no point in getting one for the whole weekend, having missed Sunday, or a Saturday/Sunday combo since I assumed I'd have no time before leaving. Naga was behind the counter and was ccatching up with me, since it was my first time seeing her since I moved to WI. She ended up comping a weekend badge for me, I about started to cry. From there I played in the video game room for a bit when Vix finally came back. When she had to leave for AA set up, I left for the Chess panel to get signed up for the game later that day. Then headed over to a panel about crystals. Wandered around for a while, then made my way to the chess board. The game was poorly done, as several mistakes were made when moving pieces at least three times. It held up the game so badly at various times that the Chessmaster had to get involved to speed play until we could get to where we had to be and make sure the prior moves were made properly. We'd also been placed on the board wrong. The game was when a panic attack began to settle in. I'm used to knowing quite a few people watching, playing, and running the game at other cons I play at. Not a single familiar face was here and I was starting to have a meltdown in the middle of the board as all these issues with the game cropped up. About halfway through the game, I found an Aoba in the audience and I latched onto that person with my eyes. I didn't know them, but it was a character from the same series as mine, so I took the unintential help. When I was killed, I turned to that person, reached out and fell to ther ground. In doing so, I began to panic again, thinking this person likely assumes I'm really weird. So I sat down on the other side of the audience and watched the rest of the game. When it was over, I came up to her and tried to settle my nerves by talking to her. Turns out, she saw me from across the room and came to watch the game. We got pictures and hugs together and I felt a bit better. However, I was still in the throes of a panic attack, so meeting up with Velocity did not happen when originally planned, as I was trying to change into a Vaporeon themed cosplay while crying terribly as well. I finally found her when she was heading out for food with another group, even though I'd asked before the con if she wanted to come have dinner with me and she seemed to be up for it. Also didn't seem to want to talk to me either. Cue abandonment phobia triggering another panic attack. So I sat outside sobbing and curled into a ball on one of the benches. It wasn't terribly long before a stranger came up to see if I was okay. She was a mom waiting her for daughter to come back from dinner with friends and the con was her first for both of them, so she was nervous in her own right having to wait by herself and asked if she could sit with me. Ended up chatting for a few hours before I had to part ways to meet up with Vix because the AA closed. We stayed around for a bit more, grabbed food, watched some anime after I came back from a walk with Velocity, and then went back to the apartment. I crashed right after packing my things. I popped quickly into Raimei that following morning. Hauled all my things into the car and tried not to get doused by the rain. Snow and Chibi let me store my luggage under their table while I walked around the con and DR for a while. It was a pretty uneventful day aside from going to one of Jerry Jewell's panels. Grabbed my things from my friends and met up with my roommates to head home and go to work immediately.
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Probably one of the worst Detour's I've had. Of course, it had some good points, but it definitely sucked. Prismatic and Siberia were coming up from Iowa to spend the night at my house. They didn't arrive until about 1:30 in the morning. I had to help Prismatic with audio for her competition piece, so we stayed up for a while. I ended up not sleeping at all that night when I had to get ready for work. After getting into as much of Kotetsu as I could get away with and my uniform, I got to work around 4:45am (work couldn't NOT have the help, so we negotiated that I would do the order and nothing else). I tried to keep myself busy until the order came, which was an hour late. I made it JUST under the wire of being able to leave on time and finished getting into my cosplay and doing up the rest of my makeup. I might be bad with contouring right now, but I think I did a damn good job on making myself look like I got my ass kicked. As we neared the hotel, Siberia and Prismatic had issues with the person they were getting their hotel keys from. This girl refused to wait at the hotel and told us to meet her at MoA. This caused a really bad panic attack on my end due to knowing I was going to be late for my photoshoot because of the side trip. I also had some really mixed feelings about wearing Velocity's ring again since the breakup, but it made a good item to fiddle with while I was freaking out. We finally got there, I ran to reg, then ran to the shoot. I was only slightly relieved, as only three people showed up: Velocity, Oro, and AnimeGirl. We walked around for a bit and got separated after AnimeGirl changed cosplays. I met up with She for a bit and made plans for the evening, then I got my things up to Batou's room. Then I found Meika and went to help her get changed into Keith Goodman. We came to the Tiger & Bunny panel together and it was just the two of us and Oro for about a quarter of the panel. Oreo showed up around then, Velocity and AnimeGirl showing up halfway through. Needless to say, the panel was a flop due to so many late people and not many people in the crowd due to timing (check in was then and the hotel was being stupid). My plans shifted after feeling ignored and avoided, so I just dinked around with Meika for a bit, then found a large group of friends to kick back with. I got some help carrying my things back up to the room, but my key didn't work. So another panic attack ensued as I had to cut it close to my next panel by running down 15 flights of stairs, getting a new card, being allowed to cut in line, and having to change cosplays. My makeup wouldn't fully come off when I tried to redo it for Kevin, so I just left some of the blood behind (told myself it looked like he was working on a car). Then I ran to my equality panel. It was the most successful one, as it was the first time ALL the panelists showed up and we had drawn quite a crowd. Some of them were veterans from our first year, some were brand new. We were able to follow a nice layout and it worked well, though it didn't give much time for audience participation. We had people do cosplays and outfits purely because of the panel and some of the panelists. Some tears were shed due to feels. People connected with each other and we did an activity when it ended. After meeting She in the lobby, a girl from the panel audience found me and gave me praise for the things I talk about and for hosting the panel. From there we went out for dinner. Then we came back, hit some of the room parties for drinks, grabbed some of my luggage, then came back to her home. We caught up before I finally got to sleep for the first time in 40 hours.
I slept until my body wouldn't let me anymore. I showered and got into Raimei, helping She pick out an outfit to go with her fox ears and tail she'd bought the other day. We went out for breakfast at a nice pancake house and caught up there too. We got back to the con around 1pm and I met up with Meika right away for Nabari shenanigans. We dinked around the DR for a bit, then went back to the main floor to meet with a photographer that She knew, which took WAY too long to find. After the shoot (please note, we never did get those pictures), Meika left to change into Reno and I did the same up in Batou's room, getting into Elena. After some miscommunication, I finally found Meika. We took a lap around the con and quite a few people stopped us for pics, which NEVER happens when I wear Elena. Really made me reconsider retiring her. She wanted to get ready to go around 6, so we met up with her in the lobby again so she could do an impromptu shoot for us. After the shoot, She and I left to road trip up to Hinckley for a tattoo convention. Her artist comped our badges and then we began the lengthy process of waiting for She's tattoo to get done, then the short venture of getting my very first tattoo. Only took about a half hour and it didn't hurt a bit (I was insanely close to falling asleep actually). Then we came back around 1:30am, bought a pizza, and went back to the con. After getting my things, She and Emerald had some drama that put a damper on the rest of the night. We came back to the apartment and ate the pizza while watching Bob's Burgers. I ended up falling asleep shortly after. Sunday was quite dull. I woke up early to get into Makoto and hope I'd be ready to go visit my dad. The weather was not on my side and Meika didn't feel comfortable driving in weather in which she'd already seen accidents. We ended up going to the con early, sat and chatted while she put on her makeup, then we went inside so she could get into Gou. We grabbed my things from Batou's room, then helped Prismatic and Siberia get their things to the car. We headed to the pool area to wait for our photographer and Velocity. My phone died, so I didn't get a text from Velocity saying she wouldn't make it. With still no photographer, the rest of the group decided to check the their usual meet up spot and they weren't there either. There was no correspondence on their end and no replies to anyone trying to get ahold of them. So we just dinked around in the AA for a while until they closed. Siberia, Prismatic, and I went to DQ for lunch. Once again, I felt blatantly ignored and avoided like trash by a few people, so the end of the con had a sour end for me and I have never wanted to leave a Detour so badly before in my life. Then I had BS waiting for me at home as well. I unpacked right away, then began the tedious process of packing for the move that would come the next weekend. 2015 would end up being a 'slow' year for me cosplay wise because everything was easy to put together (but I was moving so I wasn't too bothered by it). I would debut my secret cosplay of Kotetsu (two outfits), a new outfit for Kevin, something 'formal' for Tomoe from my closet and Makoto. I would get another commission, this time a pair of earrings for Celes. I was INSANELY happy with how they turned out! I would end up making some progress on Yamato, Miaka, Austria and Fluttershy, by means of mostly clothing, while Mary and Kaoru would get minor upgrades. I would start working on Ai, Blake, Kreim, Ren, Nora, Octavia and Kirara, making some of my own accessories for some of them. Ai ended up with a failed wig attempt in terms of dyeing and heat. I would also manage to stumble across a REALLY nice tux in a bag of hand-me-downs from my egg donor's friend to use for formal cosplays. Also along the way, I would work on an anthro character I dubbed Lolita Lapin. Even though the latter word is French, she is in Japanese clothing. It happened by accident, when trying to purchase a tail for Ai. The ears that the seller was trying to get rid of REALLY wanted them to be sold as a set. I knew someone easily accessible with a kimono with matching colors they were trying to sell, so I broke down and bought the whole set AND the kimono, instead of merely borrowing the latter. Works even better now that I have a pink wig as well. Once again, another actual good year at Daisho! Only got to go for one day, but it was so worth it!
Woke up at 6am on Saturday, showered and ate breakfast. While I was eating, I got word from Velocity that we would be leaving at 8 as planned. Got into Makoto, did dishes and waited an extra hour for my ride to arrive. We got there just after 10, got our badges and got in line for Grant George's autograph. Meandered around with friends, did some shopping and took pictures. Velocity and Yoru left while I went to get Janet Varney's autograph for Prismatic. After that, I decided to meet up with Llama for when they came back so our group could get photos. Ended up running into Mako on my way to the lobby and so they tagged along with me. Once the rest of the group came, they stuck around to do a shoot for us before everyone had to leave (Mako had a scheduled shoot, Llama had the contest and the rest of us had to go home). We watched the baby tiger for a bit, hung out with Asuma and Serra before getting in the car. We made a pit stop at Arby's (I hadn't eaten since breakfast) and I ate most of it when I got home (it ended up sucking). I took a couple pictures before hitting the sack early because of work the next day. Started out Thursday night. Since I moved, no longer living in MN, the original plans got immensely changed around. Velocity came over to my house so we could make sure everyone arrived safely. Meika and AnimeGirl showed up first. Got some pics and just hung around until Prismatic and Siberia showed up super late. The first group left to catch some Zs at Velocity's house, while the second group stayed with me, working on our masks, trying on clothing and looking at my stock of beads/charms. We didn't finally go to bed until about 5am.
We woke up around 11, anticipating the other group to come around noon, but it took longer for them to get ready than planned, so we didn't leave until about 2, once breakfast was eaten and gas/money was obtained. After errands and the GPS being an ass, we finally got to the hotel around 4. There was a lot of hassle with the room that I'm not going to get into because it still makes me angry. Let's just say they didn't give me the room I reserved, nor one they said they would give me. After the rigmarole and settling in, it was time to get ready for the ball. Sadly, the dress I had picked out for Tomoe (which was also my Leafeon dress), didn't fit, so I had to scramble to find a backup. After averting a crisis, Velocity (as Kotetsu), AnimeGirl (as Wild Tiger) and myself headed down to the ball. While Velocity hung off to the side, AnimeGirl and I danced a few times before it turned into a murder mystery (all three of us were not thrilled and wanted to leave). Meeting up with Meika, we went to Culvers for dinner and had a lot of fun making jokes at each others expense. We came back and just chilled in our room before bed. Woke up a bit early so I could make it to Chibi's panel. Got into Kevin and Velocity worked on my shirt while I waited. Was a bit late, but it was a good panel. Walked around, signed up for Daisho, drew them a picture, heading into the Artist Alley for a bit, chatted with Llama, then went back to my room, where Velocity was finishing getting into Ben. We walked around for a bit before running into Meika on our way out for food. We all headed to Milio's for lunch and had a good time. Headed back to hang with Vix for a bit, checked out more of the Alley and Dealer's Room, then went back up to the room to chill and change cosplays (me into Kotetsu and Velocity into Super Boy). After a few pics with Meika, we broke off to go solo for a while and attend some panels. I went to the Digimon one and it was so great! We met up later and did a group order for pizza. Finally got it after a mix up and ate happily. Then it was time for the Broken Bunny shoot Velocity and I planned for a while. While they changed into Barnaby, I dicked around online and finished eating. Once they were ready, we took some solo pics, then some together, which was a source of a mild argument. Deciding fighting wasn't worth it, I ended the shoot early. Then we got some info on when we needed to load up and such, which caused another argument. I ended up finally going to bed about an hour after Velocity. Sunday was another Ben 10 day for us, but it was incredibly lackluster, as I spent most of the day avoiding Velocity. Instead, I hung out with Vix and did a photoshoot for Meika and Prismatic. We hit Alley and Dealer's again, then decided to leave and get food. The 7 of us went to Arby's, hung out and ate for a little over an hour, then parted ways. Came home, had some issues when I got in, unpacked and went to bed. This has got to be the most fun at Detour I've had in YEARS! Revealed secret cosplays, hung out with friends, ran a panel, ran a photoshoot (something I haven't done in a while), was a legit photographer for a few cosplayers and drank til I was sick XD I really hope to have just as much fun next year.
I woke up a bit later than planned and started getting my luggage together. Apple and gang drove up around 12:30pm and we began to play a game of Tetris and Jenga to get my things in the car. Sat crosslegged for the whole hour ride. Unfolded myself when we got to the hotel and checked into my room (that wasn't without its issues, holy crap). Got unpacked and settled in, chilled in the hot tub for 30 minutes, showered, helped Velocity online with a cosplay issue and took a nap. Velocity arrived around 6:30pm and I helped her and Batou with their luggage. Then we took care of more room stuff, kicked back, then headed out around 8pm with Prismatic and Siberia for dinner, where we were joined by Kitty, Batou and Knives. Stayed until about 10pm, met up with Pixie and Luxy while Prismatic and Siberia unloaded their luggage and the four of us headed back to our room after getting their things to their room. Watched the second Tiger & Bunny movie while we did cosplay workshop. Dicked around with that until about 2am, when Velocity and I were finally able to go to bed. Got up around 8am and met up with Prismatic and Siberia for badges. Ran to Caribou for breakfast with Velocity, went back to the room to get dressed. Sike came up to the room to store his things and get into suit. Barely made it in time to the Tiger & Bunny photoshoot I was running, where we revealed our Kotetsu and Barnaby cosplays (the secret ones we've been planning for almost 2 years). We had some creeper issues that made things awkward for Velocity and myself. Wondering where Prismatic was in her Kaede cosplay, we spent the last 10 minutes of the shoot shouting "KAEDE" through the halls of the con, only to find her at Chess sign in after we stopped. Due to so many people showing up to participate, we got put onto the same square, for which my position was King. And since I was the highest rank, I got to stay for the WHOLE game, where I died epically. While Siberia and Velocity helped dismantle the board, we ran into Meika, who revealed her secret Sky High cosplay. We went outside shortly after to get photos, while being followed by some people from the shoot that saw we had new people with. Lost my badge and about had a meltdown. Found it with the help of friends and polite staff, quick hit the Artist Alley to show Snow and Chibi our cosplays they'd been looking forward to, talked with the Mohrs, helped Meika with her luggage, then came back to the room to get my things for the swap meet while Velocity chilled for a bit. Lined up with and sat next to Commander. Stayed for about an hour, mind fucked at least 2 people (they didn't know it was me) and made some good loot. Packed up, chatted with Silver and then headed into the Hetalia panel, where they let me be a plant in the audience. Velocity showed up about 10 minutes in and I caught up with Hatake after the panel was over. We went back to our room, shared a quick drink and relaxed a bit while I changed into a different outfit for Kotetsu. Went to run my cosplay equality panel, where three panelists didn't show up, but about half the Tiger & Bunny shoot was in the audience XD After that, I did a photoshoot for Prismatic and Meika in their Madoka cosplays. Went up to the room and tried to see what we could do for dinner, which ended up being a cosplay dinner date at Friday's. Went back to the room, drank a bit more then went to bed around 2:30am. Woke up probably around 9am and dicked around in the room for a long time watching TV. Velocity woke up with the start of a migraine, so we were trying to keep stress and such to a minimum. We got into Namine and Roxas, then headed to the con floor around noon. Met up with Mako for a photoshoot and Meika, cosplaying Olette, found us just as we were wrapping up, so we got pics with her. Got pictures with a whole BUNCH of furries, which made my heart so happy. Perused the con for a bit and then we went to Subway for lunch. Velocity's migraine got worse, so we finished up there and headed back to the room, where I dressed a bit more comfortably and headed down to do a shoot with Ammy and chat with friends. 30 minutes later, I came back to a room nearly plunged in darkness. Velocity was feeling much worse and said it was light that was bothering her. Highly concerned, I turned out whatever light was left and gave her a back massage. Let her talk about anything she wanted (which ended up being emotional), then sat in silence until she felt better. We got into Canada and Ukraine, did a lap around the con, then found our way to Artist Alley. Made some purchases before Velocity started overheating, so we left. Chatted with friends in an autograph line, where I helped a fan with a cosplay emergency. After that, we took refuge in our room and didn't leave the rest of the night. We chilled out of cosplay for a bit and semi argued over what to do for dinner. She started making the ramen and we did some photoshoots around the room, one of them was trying to do a sexy time shoot. Key word: trying. The fanart we tried to recreate didn't work out due to unrealistic proportions, so we scrapped it. We drank a bit more while trying to find other pictures to recreate, but by the time we found the ones we liked, we were too far gone to even do the ones we'd planned before the con. Instead, we got about 2 hours of video, recording our drunken shenanigans. Somewhere during this, Velocity and I fell asleep on the floor with each other and sometime during the night she helped me get back to bed. Woke up around 9am, confused as to how I got to bed. Took our sweet time getting ready, did some bathroom and crossover photoshoots, finished getting dressed in Kotetsu and Barnaby again and packed. At the last minute, Velocity decided she didn't want to go home so soon, so found someone to put her up for the night and take her home on Monday. So we rushed to get her things out to the van, then she helped me get my things to Apple's room (three of those trips were taken by stairs). We were about an hour late in checking out, but it all worked out in the end. We stood and chatted with Pirate and Zuko, then went to the Dealer's Room. We got separated until we found Prismatic and Siberia. I made one of the most selfish purchases I probably have in my whole life and I don't regret it for a second. After we left, I got a short but lovely backrub from Velocity and we got family photos taken with Prismatic before she had to go. Velocity and I perused the con for a bit, talked with the Mohrs again and met up with Meika for lunch. After that we sat and chatted with Prime and Silver. After closing ceremonies let out, we parted ways with our friends, had a bit of drama, grabbed Velocity's things from the room and said goodbye. I then headed over to Friday's for dinner with Apple and the gang. We talked about the highs and lows of the con, as well as other cons we'd gone to. Went back to the room, changed into swim wear and headed to the hot tub. I went back and forth between that and the pool. I had a stalking issue that just about tanked my whole night, but Apple was understanding and I was able to push through it. I had a relaxing shower, then we all curled up to watch Devil Is a Part Timer (after some issues working out the cables and remote). Drifted in and out of sleep while that played, then finally stayed asleep around 1am. Woke up to voices around 10am. Took my time getting dressed and packed. We headed out and went to EP Mall so Apple could get her favorite popcorn. After that we went to Eye of Horus, where I got some crystals to help me cleanse and better read my tarot cards. Then we hit Popeye's for lunch. After all that I finally came home around 2pm, where I promptly fell asleep for about 5 hours. 2004: This year was when cosplay would finally became a part of my life. Not really an active part, but still there. I started my cosplay career with InuYasha. I was CRAZY obsessed with the show at the time and I thought my first con would be better cosplaying from my favorite show. Mei-Fun, my partner at the time, and his mother made the belt, haori and hakama for me with a rayon blend, while I slightly altered them to look a bit more accurate. I purchased cord for the black string in front and a Halloween prop for my sword. Shortly before the con, I would buy a fake pearl necklace and paint the beads accordingly, along with fake nails for claws. My egg donor would help with dying a wig for me, but it all went horribly wrong. I also made my own ears with a headband, cardboard and felt. Used a white T-shirt for the undershirt, pinned and cut to look a bit more accurate. This was also during my weaboo phase, so the name I went by was my birth name, followed by -chan. 2005 - 2007: During these years, I was upgrading InuYasha, as he was my only cosplay. My sword broke, so I obtained a (still crappy) better one. I purchased stronger cord for the black string when the one I had frayed and pulled apart. I would also hand stitch the slits I had cut in the sleeves and pants to look a bit cleaner. I had also purchased the season 1 box set of the series, which came with a replica necklace. I also had to junk the wig and, in a fit of VERY bad judgement, attempted to use my real hair, since it was the proper length. This would also be the time frame in which I started puttering around with makeup, both feminine and otherwise. But during this time I had come across a new cosplay by accident. My egg donor had been given a genuine kimono by a friend of hers. It was purple with white cranes. Both my partner at the time, Battousai, and myself thought it reminded us of Kaoru. Since he had plans to eventually cosplay Kenshin, we decided this needed to happen. I would be using my real hair and made her ribbon out of an old pillow case that was about to be thrown out anyway. During my sewing class in high school, I would make a purple and black obi to go with it. I made it incorrectly, but it's not bad for something I can say I made with a sewing machine. For a long time I went without socks and just wore black flip flops. These were the years I went by the name of an OC, Ashira. 2008: Venturing outside of my own closet, I began searching for a new cosplay, as I had retired InuYasha at the end of 2007. I began to compile a list of characters I wanted to do with Battousai as a couple. We had narrowed it down to Rick and Karen (Harvest Moon), Gohan and Videl (DBZ), Miroku and Sango (InuYasha), Joe and Mimi (Digimon) and, with some coercion for a same sex couple, Kuwabara and Kurama (Yu Yu Hakusho). Since our focus was the one that was already done (Kaoru, he hadn't purchased Kenshin yet) and Videl was simple enough to do on my own on a budget, he went for Gohan. I told him to pick a back up that was cheaper, just in case. We ended up with Miroku and Sango. Knowing she was beyond my limited skill set for making it, I poked around online to see what I could find. I was suggested to go to Cosplay Magic and found the cosplay I ended up buying. It wasn't without its issues though. The garment had been ordered as an XL. An XS was sent with some missing pieces. Returned and refunded, we reordered it and the item was received two days before the con and still with no footwear. Decided to say screw it and bought flip flops from Target. I would end up buying a Kirara plushie for someone else that accidentally turned into a prop for myself at a later time. I didn't have an alias this year, as I was just puttering around with what kind of cosplayer I wanted to be. 2009: This was the year I would make my debut as Kurama Babe. Battousai had scrapped doing Miroku sooner, as he began to love the idea of cosplaying Kuwabara. Shortly before we broke up, Kurama had been purchased and received. This year would also be used for upgrading Kaoru with a parasol, better ribbon, Kenshin plushie, tabi socks and better sandals. I would also receive Aerith (FF7) as a gift from a fan that summer, for which I would constantly be learning and using new techniques to style my own hair for her (LOTS of hair spray, teasing and curling irons). In the fall I would begin working on Raimei and raver versions of England, Kurama and Raimei (the latter of which got scrapped). Just a couple days before the end of the year, I would get another Aerith cosplay (KH2) from my friend Phantom, since it didn't fit her. It seemed that, as soon as I began using an alias that resonated with me, this year was the one where cosplay became an active part of my life. I would attend my first out of state con, AnimeIowa, that summer. 2010: I would debut 5 cosplays this year: Shizuru, Aerith, Raimei, England and Olette, with upgrades to Kurama, Raimei and starting work on Canada and China. Shizuru was an ongoing project with Chi. The cosplay was delivered at the con, was ill fitting and terrible quality. I'm usually not a stickler for accuracy, but this looked like she didn't know how to sew and was charging for it. England was made by my partner at the time, Ammy, with the pants being from her old Germany cosplay. Olette was mostly alteration work. An orange tank top was bought and painted on, while the old pants for Shizuru were tailored to fit and had drawstrings installed so I could easily turn them into capris. Kurama's upgrade was new shoes and my first pair of contacts. My first purchase for Canada was a red sweater while out on a date with Ammy. I also had to remake Raimei's bracelet, since the old one fell apart. China was an accidental cosplay, much like Kaoru. I was out with con family and one of them bought something and was able to get another item for free. She let me take the free item, which I chose a green, Mandarin top, only realizing it worked for China a couple weeks later. This would also be the year I finally got to toy around with the idea of mpreg cosplay. I'd been a fan for years, but never really found anyone in person that enjoyed it too. 2011: I would debut 4 new cosplays this year: Elena, China, Natsuo and Canada. This is also the year I would find that Ukraine was my spirit animal and be doing many different versions of her. I would dye a wig with Sharpies and do the same with some other cosplay items. I painted formal ballroom masks and made cosplay pieces for other people. I got to mess around a lot more heavily with mpreg cosplay and get other people involved with it. I would go to Wisconsin for the first time to attend Geek.Kon and Daisho Con. This was the year my cosplay list exploded, as Velocity, my partner, and I were getting each other into animes and such that we liked, as well as wanting to cosplay many couples together. 2012: This year I would debut 4 cosplays, one of them being from my favorite video game series: Leon, Poland, Toboe and Kumajiro. Leon was a work in progress that had started right after the new year. It would be my first time using Model Magic. I also did a lot of painting work and hand stitching. I would style my first wig, as well as cut and dye my hair for a specific character. Poland happened by accident and on a whim. It was just supposed to be something silly. But with some sniffing around and Velocity offering to be Lithuania, it came to life. I would also start making plans for gijinka designs of Houndour and Leafeon and start collecting things for them. I would attend my first furry con and get addicted to them but not being able to get my fix due to price and distance. I would make many more formal ball masks. Kumajiro, as much as I wanted more, was a one time cosplay, put together with things from my closet. I would also start my long process on beginning to get things for Ash. Kurama would go on hiatus this year, as I just felt I needed a break from him. 2013: Only 2 new characters this year would be debuted and only one was super legit: Kevin and Austria. Kevin was collected in one day of shopping (minus the wig). Austria, since I had gotten him in shitty make and condition in the mail, had to go with another outfit that made me look more like, unintentionally, Bruce Banner. I would also dabble in mpreg again. But it was QUITE a year for cosplay progress. Styling wigs for Leon and Kurama, starting work on Wataru, upgrades for Leon and random progress on Leafeon. Leafeon would be my first venture into using liquid latex and making my own jewelry. Made a couple masks for various Eeveelutions and hoping to make more. Bought materials for a tail that I have yet to mess with XP By the end of the year, I would start making progress on Mary by getting a wig and glasses. I would also start the long timeline of starting another secret cosplay. Sadly, this would also be the year I retired Kurama, though I'm constantly on the search for easy, official outfits to do for him, since he's still my baby. 2014: 4 cosplays to be debuted this year: Ash, Namine, Wataru and Ashira. Ashira, due to a technicality, is actually my first cosplay, as I dressed as her for a school function 2 or 3 years before I would actually start cosplaying. She is an OC of mine that went disused for about 10 years as I grew out of my Mary Sue/weaboo phase and I just never picked her up again for a while. Then the pieces fell together for me to debut her at a con, even though she wasn't perfect. It was great timing, as I had just revamped her character to be stripped of all fandom ties. Namine was my first secret cosplay that I ever planned and my first secret cosplay to ever be debuted. Wataru was to be done due to a funny bit of coincidence with the rings Velocity and I share as a matching set. It was too perfect not to and she already had Kazuki on her cosplay list. As for progress: new wig for Leon, my first jewelry commission (a Nuktuk necklace), a new kimono for Kaoru (deep purple with mid purple and white flowers), styling Mary's wig and a new tail for Natsuo. I would also start working on Mako and Makoto, as well as commissioning Prismatic for Seishun. I never thought I would hear myself say that I would highly consider going back to Daisho. This year was EXCEPTIONALLY better than my first time there.
After a day at work that Thursday, Meika came in during the early evening. We went to my town's annual Christmas Tree Lighting, bought things for the hotel room and had dinner. While going through some of my things to be packed, she went and complied a list of my music to have on CDs for the drive to and from (6 total). After a while I gave up on packing and sat with her while going between watching her fiddle around on my computer and making a vodka infusion. We finally crashed around 1am. We woke up much earlier than anticipated and took our sweet time getting ready. We got on the road around 8am and, with some pit stops hither and yon, got to the hotel around 1pm. We got some video blogging in and the CDs that were made were an epic failure. We got into the last bits and pieces of our cosplays in the van, then went inside to get our badges. Ran into a couple peeps and got my first autograph of the weekend from Brichibi. I also saw people early on that I knew I needed/wanted to avoid. Shortly thereafter we went to the Meet & Greet I had planned because so many people said they wanted to hang out/meet me/say hi. I have learned I will always be let down when I plan things like this (I will never do another one again). Meika and I got there at just before 2pm and I informed her it was lasting until 4. No one showed up until 20 minutes before we planned on leaving. It was Commander and Elf and, since our hotel room owners hadn't checked in yet, we decided to stay longer and chat with them. Just after 5, Raine and Kya got there and checked into the hotel. We got our things in, relaxed for a bit and exchanged greetings. I then made my way down to the Ashly Burch signing, where I met some fun people and got to catch up with old friends. Ashly was ECSTATIC that I was cosplaying from Harvest Moon, to the point of shaking the table and squeaking when I informed her of Raine cosplaying with me later. Then I went straight from her signing to Chris Sabat's, where I waited for about an hour to finally get into the room. I melted into a puddle of goo and had all kinds of nostalgia feels upon meeting and hearing him. I met up with Raine and Meika in the DR and sold my soul for a $35 Kotetsu figurine. Made some other purchases and made our way through the AA, where I stood and chatted with Apeliotus and his tablemates, before heading to the lobby for some photoshoots. Then we went back to the room, where Erin and Solus were waiting for Fae to finish putting on her cosplay. Then I slowly changed into my PJs and drank some of my infusion, which knocked me on my ass, while helping Meika with her cosplay. During my down time, Fae had come back to the room and we chatted for a bit, her not realizing who I was until I made mention of something that I can't remember off the top of my head. I hit the bed so hard I don't even remember falling asleep, but I know it was around midnight. I woke up to the alarm I set for Fae and had hoped to go back to sleep. But since Kya was awake, I ended up chatting with her for a while and just stayed up. As I started making my way into Namine, I got a text from Velocity saying she was almost to the hotel. About a half hour later, she and her sister, Yoru, came up, quickly dropped off their things and went to the con floor to get badges and line up for autographs. In between finishing getting into my cosplay and helping Fae while she ironed hers, I made my way to one of Ashly Burch's panels. With nothing going on for a while after, I chatted with Batou for a bit and hung out with Velocity and Yoru, deciding to skip the other panels I was interested in, as I had no dire need to go to them. So we walked around for a bit, then went to get food, where Meika met up with us in her Olette cosplay. After eating, we got photoshoots of each other and headed back to the room. Velocity and Yoru left shortly after, I started getting ready for when I'd have dinner with their family. I was done by the time they came back and all five of us went out to some diner that had taxidermy all over the place (gross) and served food and drinks on a toy train. This would be when the booze hounding started XP After getting taken back to the hotel, Velocity and I changed into our teaser cosplays, which we got some 'blooper' shots (not to the extent and hilarity we were hoping for though). Some people recognized what we were doing, which was pretty cool. We did a little bar hopping and did a smidge of obnoxious singing at the last stop, where she purchased a $25 drink that she couldn't finish (I did so happily back in the room). Giggling, snuggling and stumbling all over the bar and the con space, we finally made it back to the room around midnight after bumping into Raine and Kya. Velocity began shutting down out of tiredness, so we crashed before Meika and Fae even made it back to the room from photoshoots. I got up to pee around 7am and, upon seeing Velocity was awake for the day, stayed up. So that we wouldn't wake up everyone, we went out for coffee in our teaser cosplays, more people recognizing the characters, while meandering the con floor. Took some pics together while we woke up more and unwound. We went back to the room around 9 and started to get into Wataru and Kazuki. All the while, everyone in the room chatted and laughed with each other. Some of us parted ways for the weekend, some for just a bit, while the two of us and Meika went to load our crap into the van. Velocity and I went to get some of her things signed, but the line was terribly long, so she gave up. We went to get photoshoots with Raine and Meika, then wandered the AA for a bit. We noticed the line had gone down drastically, so we quick got in line and got stuff signed by Josh Grelle, Ashley Burch and Monica Rial. Then we said our goodbyes to Raine and went out for lunch at Culver's, which didn't account to much since Velocity's family had arrived to get her before she could get her food. After hugs and goodbyes, Meika and I hit the road, after getting gas, around 2pm. We made con songs out of Christmas tunes and shared a bit about ourselves. I got home at nearly 7pm, after having to take a really out of the way detour for some kind of issue that involved cones, flares and police. We got my things into the house, I tried a shot of the booze she'd brought with her and she offered to fix a botched cosplay commission and took it with her. I haven't been to a first year con since Detour, when I first started attending cons. It was so nostalgic and refreshing for me, I wish I could do it all over again! I nearly ended up not attending due to major panic attacks about being able to afford it. But I knew I needed to go and I'm glad I stuck with it.
My trip starting on Friday, I showered, ate yummies, packed and got into my Wistful Wolf character. I managed to get all my clothes and such into a regular duffel bag, since nothing I was going to be wearing was super layered, complicated or bulky. Not that it was easier to carry, but it took up less space in the car and the hotel. Mouse drove me to the hotel, all the while asking me questions about the con because she's never heard/seen stuff like this before. She had the pleasure of seeing a couple suits right outside the hotel as she was dropping me off. Dragging everything by myself to the room, which was on the whole OTHER side of the hotel, I was greeted by Vix, who ran into me in the hallway. While I settled into the room, I met Folf and Okami, with Red coming in a bit later. I was happy to have everyone pay their share in a timely manner so I was relieved that I didn't have to hound anyone. Sike came in shortly after and we went to peace tie my weapon and get a room issue taken care of at the front desk. From there, Vix and I went to MoA, since she hadn't been there in over a decade and I had errands to run there anyway. We dicked around for a while, went to the face painting booth (I got an orca on my hand because Makoto), did some shopping and ate before trying to find our way back. During the mall time, the belt holding my tail in place broke and I was NOT happy. We finished a bit of food in the room before Vix thought it would be fun to paint my face. We went around the con to get a better layout of the place and hung out by the bonfire for some fresh air. We came back to the room, washed up, had a shot of pie, then went to bed. I barely got any sleep, as the bed felt a bit cramped and the mattress was very uncomfortable. Right before 8am, someone in the next room was pounding. They had been doing this the day prior, as well as well after midnight that night. The running joke was that they couldn't last long in bed, due to the pounding happening two or three times, then stopping for a long period of time before starting again. Red finally got pissed and went to tell them off. Turns out the person didn't finish his costume in time and was making armor in his room. We never heard a peep the rest of the weekend. I started slowly motivating into Ashira and made my way to the Warriors panel. Was late, but stuck it through to the end and loved it. Chatted with some of the people in the audience before heading back to my room and stripping out of some of my clothes just to take a breather. Dicked around online, ate a little food, then got back into my cosplay and headed down with Vix and Folf to watch the parade. We then went around the DR for a bit and there I found Mr. Mohr and got a special video of him for my girlfriend. I looked around for a bit and bought a small con button for my bag. Upon mentioning to Vix that I was hungry, a cute cat girl told us the consuite had hot dogs and nachos, so she lead us to the food and we sat and chatted with Red and Folf while we ate. After some time, Vix and I went back to the mall to do some things we didn't/couldn't do the day before. I started getting a bit bitchy due to various reasons, so we went back to the con and hit the pool. After trying to plan with Okami how to do the rest of the night, we went to the hot tub, went back to the room, ordered pizza and started playing Cards Against Humanity. After some time, a couple of us headed down to the Howl, I walked back with Sike to do a couple things and then came back to the room. Started to drink with some of them while we played and ate. Right around one of the roommates starting to suffer from con drama was when the game winded down and we quit early. I packed a couple of my bags and attempted sleep. Sleep was the same as the night before: non-existent. But I just rolled with it. Helped Sike, Folf and Okami get things into their car and Red had packed up and left by the time I came back. I just relaxed for a bit while I waited for Vix to fully wake up. Then I went between getting into my Casual Cat character and packing the rest of my things, all while checking over the room to make sure everything was in place and nothing was left behind that didn't need to be. We hit the DR again after I checked us out and I started spending my money willy nilly now that I knew I could afford it. Shortly thereafter, we left the con with Keero and another fur, Vix brought me home and I passed out without unpacking. All in all, it was a fantastic con for me. As per usual, a con is not without its drama, but this was, by far, LOADS better than Kitsune Kon. It seemed to be a lot better dealt with.
The day was chock full of miscommunication. My boss didn't understand that I was leaving early, so I almost didn't get out of work on time, then times got screwy with my ride. Got to the hotel around 5:30pm, then met up with half of my hotel group. Changed into something cutesty to go with my teaser cosplay. Walked around for a bit and ran into Asuma. Upon telling me Velocity was busy, I decided to meet up with Rin and Batou to just chill. After about an hour, I finally met up with Velocity, who I ended up going on a date with at Friday's before my annual group dinner. During the date, I noticed a piece of my teaser cosplay was ruined by the weather. To top it all off, I managed to break my ring that is half of a set with her, because I'm special like that XP About 2 hours later, people for the dinner started to come in, but both of us were pretty toasted by that time, so there's a chance things got awkward and I don't recall some of it. We finally left around midnight, got killed by the weather and hung out in Nexus's room. Found random friends to chat with, then hauled my ass to my room around 2am. After unpacking and getting in my PJs, I chatted with Jess for a bit before going to bed at 3:30am. Waking up around 7:30am, I started to motivate myself into Kevin while helping Lux with her cosplay. I left the room to wait for Velocity, hanging with Snow, Chibi and Tori during that time. Velocity and I went to go get our badges, but my badge was misspelled and I tried to see if something could be done about it. While Velocity and Nexus did some cosplay workshop, Sylus and I decided to walk around con together and catch up. After just under an hour of doing that, I grabbed Velocity so we could head back to my room (I had to get some things) before going to Chess. The pre panel having JUST started, we thought we'd be fine. Not even 5 minutes after it started, Velocity was texted by someone to say the person running the game was pissed that we weren't there yet. Needless to say, I was in a BAD mood before the game even started. After getting acquainted with the other pieces and getting set up, things got better once the game was underway. The game was to be scripted this year, but things didn't pan out correctly and they ended up throwing out the script. I enjoyed doing something different this year. After the game, I got some pics of the Tiger & Bunny photoshoot, then went to lunch with Kanda and Allen to celebrate their engagement. Headed back to my room and began to change into Ash. Got distracted by TV, but still managed to make it to the Young Justice panel on time with Velocity. After that we headed down to Artist Alley, where my cosplay was recognized by a young girl, so we could say hi to Snow and Chibi. Then we went to watch the Probending Tournament. After another hour or so, Velocity was exhausted (she'd been feeling ill since that afternoon) so we decided to change and chill in her room until she wanted to go to bed. After that, I found various friends and strangers to chat with, then weaved my way into a party room. Drank my ASS off there and stayed until the room closed. After that, I went to consuite to hang with local/grad friends, until I ended up spilling soy sauce on my dress. Booked it to my room to change, Sike helped me rinse the stains out and hang it up to dry. Went back downstairs to continue hanging out and eating. After being left alone around 3am, I thought it would be a good idea to go to bed. Nope, KB had to be a drunken silly goose and find Marth badging consuite, so I sat with him for a while. I don't see him often and we really don't talk when we do, so it was kinda nice to catch up with him for as long as I did. It was about 5:30 by the time I went back to my room, but no one was answering when I would knock, so I was there for about a half hour before I was let in. Pretty sure I didn't even get into my PJs, I was so tired. Woke up at various intervals due to how frigid it was in my room. Shaking like I was having a seizure kind of cold. I even just about puked in the shower. Thankfully Sike turned the heat on while I was washing up, so I didn't feel so terrible once I got out of the bathroom. Took my sweet time getting into Namine, walked for a bit with Sylus, then met up with Velocity around noon. We went into the Artist Alley and actually looked around for a bit, then hit the Dealer's Room and went batshit insane over all the Tiger & Bunny merch there was, particularly the keychains and doujins. After a while, Velocity wanted some time to relax, so we curled up in her room and ate while she showed me DRAMAtical Murder on her laptop and trying to make Serra feel better. Then we went out into the crowds again and completed our rounds in the Dealer's Room. Right around this time, my coworker Lady Majora wanted to meet up and my con kids, Luxy and Pixie, texted me to let me know they had arrived. We met them in the lobby and I got to see my con granddaughter, Merida, for the first time (cutie patootie~). After showing Pixie around for a bit and a bit of drama there, Velocity was starting to overheat, so we parted ways while the rest of us headed up to my room to drink and watch the Competition. While this happened, I slowly made my way into my Wataru cosplay. After the Competition ended, I finished getting dressed and made my way to Velocity's room, where I waited for her to finish getting dressed. We then made our rounds around the con, but her health was steadily decreasing as the night went on, so we weren't in them long and didn't get many pics. She went back to her room while I had another night of drinking, this time finding Brite and Furer to hang out with and bumping into someone I had been hoping to avoid. After getting a bit of food in me and chatting with other friends, I headed back up to my room around 3am, packed up a lot of my things and went to bed. Woke up around 9am, finished packing the things I didn't need and tried to find all the pieces for the outfit I would be using for Raimei. There was all kinds of last minute running around. I had to get Sike's and my luggage out to his car by myself, then I had to get back up to my room to finish changing. This meant I couldn't take too long to try to find my missing Raimei socks (never did find them or my black Kevin shirt) and I couldn't put on makeup (which made a little piece of me die on the inside). But some lovely girls in front of me to get on the elevators made me a part of their group so I could get on (they cut off just before me), since I'd asked them the time and explained my panel time to them. After changing and hauling all my bags on my shoulders, I ran down 18 flights of stairs because it was faster. Made it to my panel with only a minute to spare. The panel was Cosplay Is For Every Body and it was so successful that I want to do it again next year, maybe even for other cons too! I ran it with several close friends of various sizes and backgrounds, it was such an interesting panel with some of the things that were talked about. Definitely things to pull up as topics next year. I already have an idea of who to have for panelists next year, if the people I ask agree to it. Lots of us were approached after the panel too, I think we really made a difference for a lot of people. We even ran about 15 minutes over just to try to accommodate the audience. After the panel, I had to book it over to the lobby to meet up with my Nabari no Ou group. Save for one person, we had everyone from the original group, plus a new face for a character we'd been missing for ages. The original group hasn't cosplayed together since Nabari and that was 3 or 4 years ago. It was a reunion of sorts, one that had to be cut short since I had to leave early. I hope we can do this again sometime in the near future and actually make a full day of it. After the shoot finished, I met up with someone to get some items she was giving me, then Sike and I left to go home. We summarized our weekend with the good and bad points, stopped for gas, then got me home around 3pm. I helped out in the garage for a bit, then passed out for several hours. |
KB's Ramblings
Just writing here about my adventures in the cosplay scene. Archives
December 2016
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