Con was a whole lot of drama that mostly wasn't my own. It's a con, so I fully expect there to be a little drama, but holy hell! I'm so glad the people that were the main stressors of this con aren't people I make a habit of being around (in fact I try to avoid them at this point).
My weekend started on Wednesday after work, where I was picked by Nexus. We had dinner and cosplay workshop before heading to bed for the night. We had to run some errands Thursday when they came back from school and I changed into Poland. We got the to hotel a bit later than planned and my back was screaming at me. Due to Velocity not being done with her cosplay and my back hurting like crazy, we decided to put off the PoLeit shoot until later in the weekend if we had time. So we got into our swim gear and, after a whole lot of back and forth due to hotel roomies needing help, enjoyed the hot tub. Then we changed and went out for the annual pre-Detour dinner, where we started with 8 people with 4 more coming in shortly before some of us were leaving. Went to bed around 3 after having a shower. Got a bit of a late start because it was so hard for me to wake up. Headed out with Velocity to get our badges and grab some pizza for breakfast. While I got into my Leon cosplay, she curled up on my bed and tried to ward off a migraine, which was hard because there was like 10 people in the room, all trying to get into cosplay. Eventually, she left to her much quieter room to try to feel better and potentially work on cosplay while I headed off for Chess sign in. Just as the teams were lining up, Velocity and She came in, where I handed off my camera and got a good luck kiss. I was killed about a third of the way through the game and was treated to a back rub while I tried to film the rest of the game. Between sitting on the floor in the Chess room and trying to get to Sike's furry panel, I lost my phone. I found Taiyouko along the way and she helped me locate it and get it back. Between then and the time I changed into mpreg!Canada was just running around trying to find or avoid random people. I was going to do karaoke, but they didn't have what I wanted to sing, so Velocity and I went on a date instead. Got back to the con and managed to get some cute pics together before feeling tired enough to call it a night. Got up, showered and dressed in Toboe. Ran some errands and wasted some time before Mock Combat. During this time, not only did Chris Ayers, who was running the panel, use Velocity for demonstration, but she missed a call from her mother saying her sister was having her baby. After Mock Combat, we went to our own rooms to change into wedding!Canada and Ukraine. Once we got on the con floor, it was a symphony of "awwwwww" and "so cute". A small child actually was overheard asking her parents if we just got married. After a horrible experience with the group running the Hetalia shoot, there was too much anxiety and frustration passing between Velocity and I, so we canceled the big date we planned at MoA. So we improvised with a small shoot outside, one in her room involving feeding each other cake, and laying on the floor snuggling and chatting while we calmed down, and smaller shoots by random people on the con floor. We finally hit "fuck this shit" mode and went to my room to undress and relax. Had a quick, hot shower (as was advised by Ayers due to lots of muscle use during the panel) and we both laid on each other while watching the Competition on TV. We slowly changed into Poland and Lithuania and zombied around the con floor after getting out of a panel. Spent some time with Teny and Sun and a couple others before making a food run. We ate in Velocity's room while watching Adult Swim, then went back to my room. Since Nexus was in the process of packing up and getting their things outside, I thought I'd do the same while Velocity took a nap. We were able to get in our sexy PoLeit shoot, but it wasn't really what I think we were hoping for, partially due to having to find a new photographer that ended up being a stranger to Velocity, so some photos we'd planned for were too awkward for us to do in front of someone she didn't know. After we finished, we went out for some fresh air and then I walked her back to her room. I walked around for a bit longer, but I was surprised at the lack of activity for a Saturday night, so I went to bed sooner than I thought. Ignored my alarm and slept in another hour, showered and got into Toboe. After getting the rest of our things out to the van, I meandered for a while before meeting up with Velocity and made our first and only shopping trip through the DR and AA. I found some high school friends, who I chatted with for a bit while Velocity continued to browse the tables. We pre-regged for next year's con and then made a food run to DQ, which we ate in her room. We had some miscommunication on where to meet for our final shoot for the weekend, but we managed to get in pics of Toboe and Kiba before I had to leave.
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I can't even begin to explain how much I regretted going to this con and promised myself I would never go back (lies). So that I'm not eating up too much detail of the actual report: some panels didn't have hosts show up, some all ages panels were so horribly graphic that they should have been 18+ (some of which had staff in the room and they just let it happen) and schedule changes were not made aware to the attendees.
My con started quite late Friday night, as Nexus and Tobi were unable to pick me up on time. We finally arrived around 8 at night, me in my Natsuo cosplay. We perused the con while we waited for Velocity, as I was rooming with her, thus needed to know where I was staying. Having just had a car accident the month prior to con, I was slow moving and sore. This was made more evident when Velocity's way of greeting me was sneaking up behind me and nudging her shoulder none too gently into mine (probably the one and only time I wanted to strangler her). She went back and forth to Tobi's car with me to help me with my luggage. Walked around the con for a bit before holing myself up in the room with Serra, Asuma, Velocity and Crimson, to which there was a misunderstanding on my part over sleeping arrangements, which was begruingly looked over for the most part. Hit the sack early. Due to staff meetings and tensions rising, I spent most of my Saturday morning and afternoon hanging out with Tobi, Nexus, Unger and Tama. Poked around some panels and photoshoots and hung around the lobby, where the hotel, due to being safari themed, had tiger cubs. Once it was deemed "safe" for me to meet up with Velocity and return to the room, we piddled around in Touya and Kurama, trying to find things to do. She vented a bit to me, which she needed, and we figured out our nightly plans from there. Did a large con family dinner at Cracker Barrel and came back to change cosplays to wind down. I changed into Kaoru, while Velocity and the con parents got into their InuYasha group. After a 15 minute shpeel of Velocity wondering where her pants went (she was dressed as Kagome and is not fond of skirts), we finally got into the con space. After some walking and freezing outside, we hit the bar, the con parents leaving us alone after a while. After some drinks and a little dancing, we went back to the room to sleep. Packed up Sunday morning, got into Hetalia gear and we moved my things back to the car. Grabbed a quick snack before we really started to get moving, hit the DR and AA, then went to the Hetalia photoshoot, where we were able to get a free print off of one of our photos. There was some more miscommunication while sitting on the sidelines that really put my mood down, so by then I just wanted the con to be over. About 30 minutes later, Tobi and Nexus wanted to leave, so we walked around a bit together as a group and giving Velocity a backrub because her binding was hurting her. We said our goodbyes and headed home. Nearly got into an accident because Tobi nearly fell asleep at the wheel. Fucking terrifying T_T T'was another con in which I traveled with Luxy. He picked me up on Thursday after work and we went to my place to get all my things. After a bit of back tracking, we were finally on our way. We made it to Coloma around 10pm and parked the car in front of the hotel. Velocity had gone earlier that day to get our key so we wouldn't be locked out, so we met her halfway, grabbed the key and hung out at her house for a while. She came back to the hotel with us, to help with our bags and to unwrap the birthday presents I got her. Around 4am, Luxy wanted to go to bed. Velocity and I weren't tired and it was my first time in her hometown, so she showed me around. We walked around the entirety of the town, aside from maybe the back end because it was too dark to see. I walked her back to her house and she asked me if I wanted to stay for a bit longer. Declining because I knew we both needed sleep, she loaned me her flashlight so I could find my way back. We stood on her front porch for a bit, enjoying each other's company and watching the sky. We saw a shooting star and had our first kiss. Headed back on my own with a smile on my face and fell asleep without getting in my PJs.
Got up about 4 hours later, half assed into my England cosplay, walked to Velocity's to help her finish and gather things and then her and I walked around town for a bit, seeing the things I didn't the night before and meeting her dad. After that we loaded our things into the car and drove the car to her house. We dicked around while we waited for Asuma and Serra. We had the idea to have our con parents take her luggage and have Velocity ride with us. It was a great idea and all parties were good with it. We got to the con in about an hour, then tried to check in. I got overheated, so took off what I could of my cosplay without being indecent in public. We got to the room, brought in our luggage and settled in. I changed into civvies and tried to take care of my face, since I had no time that morning. Had a breakdown in the bathroom (I have PCOS and it causes me to have a decent amount of facial hair) and Velocity calmed me down. After that she showed me around the con so I could know where everything was. Poked around in some other places before heading back to the room and changing for the formal ball. It took me a while to get into my dress, as it was a lace up bodice type thing and it wasn't made very well by the commissioner. I didn't want Velocity to see me until I was done, so the poor woman was holed up in the bathroom dying of heat (we could hear "Are you done yet?" every 5 or so minutes). The effect was well worth it, as I could see her blush and she didn't say much when everyone asked her how I looked. She pinned my flower to me, we put on our masks and headed down. We stayed for all of an hour, two 15 minute stretches of that were used for actually getting out there and dancing together. We met up with Chibi and Snow while there, having made plans shortly after Detour to go on a double date. Before and after the dance we got stopped for a lot of pics. Oddly, Ukraine must be more ignored than Canada, since more people wanted pics of her alone than with me. The four of us went to Denny's for a couple hours and had a lot of fun that we made it an annual thing for Geek.Kon. On the walk back we all talked about our relationships together (how we met, how long we'd been together, etc.) and stopped in the lobby for pictures together. After getting news from Serra that the toilet had some issues, we went back and chilled after getting out of cosplay (Velocity fell asleep on my legs). We wanted to check out the game room, so while I donned raver!China, Velocity put on my punk!England shirt and pants and messed around there for a couple hours with Luxy after all 3 of us sharing a drink. Came back and went to bed. Slept until we couldn't sleep anymore, went outside so Velocity could smoke and we could look through Sohma's bag of anime swag she's trading and stuff. Went back in, took a shower and got into a casual Ukraine outfit while Velocity got into Canada and went down to get in line for Jerry Jewell's autograph. That was such a fun experience! I greeted him as Ukraine and he answered as Russia, where he also sat on Velocity (in reference to all the times Russia sits on Canada). We spent some time in the room to relax before getting ready for the Yu Yu Hakusho photoshoot, were Velocity had to run out to the car because she forgot her wig. We had a small group, but it was a wonderful variety with no doubles. Kurama, Touya, Jin, Botan, Suzaku and Kouko (later finding out Jin was the famous Apeliotus I'd been watching on DA for YEARS) and it was such a blast getting pictures with them all. Later Velocity and I got into civvies and went on a date alone together, getting to know each other a bit more in person, as it was the first time we'd seen each other for more than a few hours since Detour. Spent about an hour at MCD's, then came back to the con to meander for a bit, play more video games then went to bed. I borrowed Velocity's Canada wig that next morning and she borrowed the entirety of my England cosplay. We loaded everything into our respective cars and just went around the con, talking to friends and looking at things. Did a private photoshoot together, which ended up being cute and sweet. Not wanting to part ways so soon, the idea to go the way we came was proposed, so we drove her home. We all got some pictures together on her front porch, then she and I got pics in her backyard. We were about to leave when Velocity ran up to stop the car. She motioned for me to open my car door, which I did, and leaned in to kiss me for a prolonged amount of time (which, not only made me blush, Luxy gave me shit for ("MOMMY'S SUCKING FACE!")). After a hilarious ride home, which I was texting Velocity about half the trip for, I made it back around midnight and went to bed. I spent the night at Luxy's home Wednesday night. We hung out with Ammy for a while, shopping for con snacks and watching movies before taking her home. We stayed up online for a while, watching Torchwood and me plotting Velocity's birthday present before finally crashing during the AM hours.
Thursday we did some last minute cosplay prep before having lunch with his partner Elsy. Once we packed the car, we left right away from Burnsville. About an hour into the trip, we went to a rest stop to change into more comfortable clothes (it was really hot and humid and the car had no working AC). It was then that he realized he'd left an important cosplay piece back home, something that would make it impossible to use the cosplay during the weekend. Having to turn around, get the item and get as far on the way to Coralville added 2 hours onto our trip. On the way we sang as loud as we wanted to some mixed CDs I made just for the trip, and then some punks tried to race us on the highway. We got to the hotel around 10pm. I spent time with Songstress, Silver and Eillia, spending the night in the latter's room. She and I stayed up for a bit to chat and get to know each other better. Woke up and started my day in Kaoru. I had pre regged this time, but they really dropped the ball on my badge. Instead of the name I put on my form, Kurama Babe (as per usual), it said Lorelei. While I appreciate the nod to Irish folklore, it wasn't what I signed up with, nor can it be blamed on bad penmanship because of how drastically off it was. So they gave me a blank badge to put the info on that needed to be there. They didn't take the old one from me though, so my friend Sheep ended up pilfering it from me since she didn't have a badge and couldn't afford one. Found Songstress in her Kenshin cosplay and we went to the patio for our photoshoot. Walked around con with her, Kali and Koyuki before finding Luxy and Prismatic and tagged with them for a while. Got a text from Gigi telling me they checked in, so I grabbed my things and moved rooms and got acquainted with everyone. Took that advantage of not being rushed to change into Elena early. Hung out with Prismatic on the back patio until the Square shoot started. Found a Tseng and Reno to attach myself to during the shoot and had a lot of fun for that hour. Got the chance to spend time with Sailor Anime, just sitting and chatting in the lobby. Met up with her again after changing into raver!China, spent some time with Kitty, Luxy and Friskies at the bar before hitting the rave for a short while. Had a bad experience with someone being panic attack levels inappropriate with me, so I left. Hid in the karaoke room with Ember's group, used it for the other part of Velocity's present (singing one of her favorite songs). Went back to my room after that, Gigi leaving on the light for me, and went to bed. Started in China and had a blast at the Hetalia shoot. Made some new friends while I was there and a lot of crack took place. Spent some time again with Sailor Anime walking each other to the other's room. I changed into Kurama and made my way to the photoshoot, with the game show panel after that. It was a success just like the year prior. After the panel was finished, I just felt mentally drained from cosplay. So I said 'fuck it' and wanted to be a girl the rest of the day, wearing a white tank, pink skirt, pink Hetalia bandanna and flip flops. Got lunch with Kitty and hung out with various friends and fans. Had some drinks later in the night before hitting up the rave, which turned out much better than the night before. Dinner was pizza that Gigi and the group had ordered and they saved me some for when I got back to the room. I showered when I came back, pulled it into a braid so I could have the look I wanted in the morning, packed up some of my things while I ate and went to bed. Geared up to get into Natuso and packed the rest of my things, getting them into Luxy's car right away. Got pics with my hotel group before they left after check out, then hung out with Meika and Marin the rest of my stay. It was nice to do something low key for a change and not have a huge schedule. Then it was time to leave, Luxy needing energy to stay awake. On the ride back home, we had a 3 way call with Velocity, 2 hours on his phone and 2 hours on mine. She got to hear me jacked up on two energy drinks while we heard her on a gummy bear sugar high. Got home around midnight and crashed right away without any food, computer time or changing into pajamas. |
KB's Ramblings
Just writing here about my adventures in the cosplay scene. Archives
December 2016
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