![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ximenSo, I got back from Otakon yesterday. It was tons of fun, my Dio costume (from Last Exile) was successful, and I am very glad I went. People who are actually interested in detail, read away.
Thursday morning, I got up early with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mitsuchan and went downtown with my dad. We waited for bakeneko, who had to turn in homework and was running pretty late, but just when we started toi get really worried, she showed up. Then we all went to the airport and got on the plane. It was Meru's first flight, so I swapped seats with a guy so I could sit next to her. Actuallky, I just sort of informed him that I was going to be sitting there, and while he seemed pretty cranky (he was trading an aisle seat for a middle one) he didn't really have much choice, so he agreed. She was kinda nervous, and I my teasing probably wasn't helping, but then again, every time I teased her I got hit, so I think we're even. ね、みつ？ We also met neechan's friend B-chan, who seemed a little snobby the last time I saw her, but she was friendly this time. After the flight, he four of us got our luggage and waited for akisis, who we stayed with Thursday night.She's nice and funny and speaks Japanese, and I like her. Two of her friends showed up soon after check-in, and the other found us in line for pre-reg, a two block-long line in the hot sun that lasted far too long.Afterwards it was beginning to get late and no one had the energy to actually go anywhere for food, so we ate at the hotel. The restaurant was expensive, so I just had soup, which is warm, cheap, and filling. I was planning on working on my costume that night, but instead I passed out on the floor.
Friday, Mel-chan and Aki-tachi woke up early and went to the convention center to wait in line for their stickers, necessary to guarantee a decent seat at the L~arc en Ciel concert. Neechan and I woke up about an hour later, planning to join them in the line. They were supposed to wait for us, but sort of forgot, and we were a little late getting there, so we didn't get a place in line saved. But we'd somehow managed to sneak into the convention center and thus cut almost all of the line, get our stickers, and go pick up neechan's costume from otherJen, who did most of the actual sewing and patterning. She also loaned us her sewing machine, for which I will be eternally grateful. In the meantime,vaeran showed up in Aki's room, so we met him when we returned. He's another person who is both fun and nice, and I am definitely glad we got to room with him. Amazingly enough, he's as funny in real life as he is online. picc also roomed with us, and he seems nice too, but since he had lots of other friends to see at the con, we didn't see as much of him. Neechan and I did do some con-going on Friday, but nothing too exciting- we mostly worked on our costumes and hung out with people. Everyone else ate early, so we were left to our own devices when we realized we needed food. Being both tired and hungry, we ended up looking for something fast-foody. Neechan suggested KFC, and we would have eaten there, but they were out of everything I wanted, and most everything she wanted, too. So instead we decided to try Shane's Sandwich Shop ("the sandwich for hungry people! best in it's class!"), which Aki said looked scary. It probably was by LA standards, but in Atlanta, many of the best southen meals can be found in small, dingy, greasy, and poorly-lit little places. Luckily, the place lived up to the Atlanta expectations, not the LA ones, and I had a very tasty BBQ sandwich and some watermelon, improving my mood and energy levels immensely. Then more sewing, hanging out with Pic and Colin, and then neechan Mel and I collapsed on the bed and again passed out from exhaustion. So really, nothing much of interest happened that day, but it was fun.
Saturday was a different story. We woke up around 9, finished a few last costume details, and began the laborous process of getting dressed. In neechan's case this involved two sets of lacing, three skirts, and flattening her hair, plus accesories and serious make-up work to turn from a quarter Romani into a true white girl. In my case, the process was as follows:
Step one: put on sports bra, followed by undershirt. Get out heavy duty packing tape, start wrapping. Two-thirds of the tape roll later, I was flatter than I've been since elementary school.
Step two: two pairs of control pantyhose, first a size that fits me, and then a size smaller. after that I no longer had such girly hips.
Step three: bodysuit, including attached shoes and gloves, all in one piece. Even with all the compression, it still took some serious squirming.
Step four: the outer robe. This was fairly easy, even if I did eed help velcroing it shut with my gloves on.
Step five: makeup. mel first powered me to death with pale-ish foundation and some sort silvery stuff, making me whiter than usual. Then came smal amounts of eyeliner, and then a combination of beige lipstick and orange eyeshadow to give me Dio's eye markings.
Final step: wig cap (pantyhose sock) and then the actual wig. It needs to be flattened a bit, because right now the curl makes it too short, but otherwise it looks pretty good.
So, nearly two hours later, I am covered from neck to fingertips to toes in a bodysuit, slightly choked by my tight collar, unable to breathe freely, buried under multiple layers of fabric and tape, and unable to operate touch-screens because of my gloves. Neechan was slightly more comfortable, but shoveing usually undisplayed portions in the face of the world, and wearing heels. And it was hot. We have suffered for our Art.
Anyway, we went in costume around the area, stopping by the dealer's room (where I bought a present for my Sushu), and everywhere we walked we were stopped for photos. When not posing for others, we were walking around the dealers room taking pictures of each other in front of ラスエグ posters. At one point we saw a blowup of a magazine cover that had Claus and Lavi and Tatiana on the cover inside a booth and asked if we could take a picture in front of it. Not only did the guy manning the booth let us, he also gave us a copy of the magazine. At first I thought it was some sort of advertising-type thing, but it was actually a ten-dollar magazine, and contains an interview with my favorite new nemesis . Plus I got to sign up for Mojico. Just when my stomach was beginning to remember that it hadn't been filled all day, we bumped into Colin, who patiently waited while we posed for more pictures, then went with us to find food that I could eat without ruining the non-removeable gloves. Then a quick dash to the hotel to untape myself and uncorset Jyn, and then we joined Meru-tachi in the lineup. This was nice because I actually got to talk todoihachan and the others I didn't know very well.
And then came The Concert. If you want a set list and other details,mitsuchan and akisis are the people to go for. It's probably best to skip this paragraph and read their accounts, if you're at all interestedin J-rock. Anyone who has talked with Mel in the past couple of years probably knows at least a little about L~arc en Ciel. If not, I am amazed and slightly envious of you. But they're not a bad band, as J-rockers go, and they put on a excellent show. Huge gouts of flame, falling fireballs, shots of sparks, an impressive lightshow, and plenty of antics. Hyde is the ultimate Princess, but he uses his girlish charm to its fullest, and watching him lean on the speakers and wiggle his finegrs at the audience was quite entertaining. And he's not a bad singer either, even though it's not my kind of music. They all have a lot of energy, as did the fans. But the best part was definitely the MCs. Hyde screaming, "I am Evangelion! Going beserk! Evangelion! Going beserk! Going beserk!" and "Did you eat.... crab?!!" had me laughing, but not as much as Ken did. He walked onstage, wearing a mask and holding something yellow. A beak-shaped duck whistle. After getting the audience to cheer on pitch with the whistle, he asked us "Who am I?" but sadly rejected the obvious answer of "Keeeen!" After his repition of the question met with the same response, he said "No. I am Dolphin!" and explined that he was tired of jumping through hoops at the Baltimore aquarium, and so when he heard rumors of a great Japanese band coming to otakon, he escaped. The audience was torn between cheering and falling over with laughter. I opted for the latter, myself. There was also banana throwing by Tetsu, and many other antics. It was fun.
Afterwards we tried to eat dinner as a group, but I was overtired of people and lights and noise, and everyone else wanted to eat at the crowded, bright, and noisy food court, so I wandered off alone. I couldn't find Indian food, which was what I really wanted, but I did grab a quick bite, and when I came back mel and Colinwere waiting for me. I felt a little guilty about that, but I did need the walk, and it was fun talking to them. then people came over, which resulted in much hilarity ("where's my money?") but I was struggling to stay awake when they arrived, so I don't think I came off as very social. And then they left, and there was blissful sleep.
Sunday, we got up early for a ラスエグ photo shoot with a bunch of other people. Sadly, it started raining and my wig got wet, so I don't think my pictures turned out well. *sigh*. Then we hit the dealers' room again, and then the Artists Alley. The fangirls were even worse, including the scary one that got mad at Jyn for posing with her hand on my shoulder, but posing for pictures was fun and fed my ego. I know it's not me, or even my costume quality, that won them over, just the character, but it still felt fun. And I got Max an ROD fanart print in Artists' Alley, which he liked. Then came a return to the hotel, untaping again, a sad farewell to Colin, and consolation milkshakes. After that we left for the airport at Mel's insistence, getting there at 5:35 for a flight that left at 8:15, and was actually delayed until 9. On the plus side, this made getting seats next to each other quite easy. And we did get to hang out and play cards with Aki. Then came the quick flight home, a long marta ride, and an exhausted collapse on the futon.
Monday wasn't actually part of the con, but I did tell my mom about it, and she was thrilled with the success of my costume. Since she showed me how to make patterns and did a lot of the measuring and design (though none of the actual sewing, to my pride), she deserves much praise. I gavedragonpoker his fanart, and he, fresh from a transformers convention in Chicago, gave me an Inu-Yasha plushie. I'm not sure why I'm getting an anime good as a transformers con omiage, especially given that I was retuning from an actual anime con, but! It matters not. It is a cuddly plush and a sweet present, and I am happy. I have a wonderful little brother, and I would say that even if her weren't giving me presents.
And that was the far-too-long story of the con. I'm sure I left out many crucial details, but if you read enough journals, you can probably piece together a good idea of the con. Or ask Stephen, who apparently actually did anime-related constuffs. Tomorrow, tune in for the Alexis Family Update, and if you're lucky, a description of the waterfall I found tonight, the coolness of whichar outstrips any silly anime con. Goodnight, everyone.
Thursday morning, I got up early with
mitsuchan and went downtown with my dad. We waited for bakeneko, who had to turn in homework and was running pretty late, but just when we started toi get really worried, she showed up. Then we all went to the airport and got on the plane. It was Meru's first flight, so I swapped seats with a guy so I could sit next to her. Actuallky, I just sort of informed him that I was going to be sitting there, and while he seemed pretty cranky (he was trading an aisle seat for a middle one) he didn't really have much choice, so he agreed. She was kinda nervous, and I my teasing probably wasn't helping, but then again, every time I teased her I got hit, so I think we're even. ね、みつ？ We also met neechan's friend B-chan, who seemed a little snobby the last time I saw her, but she was friendly this time. After the flight, he four of us got our luggage and waited for akisis, who we stayed with Thursday night.She's nice and funny and speaks Japanese, and I like her. Two of her friends showed up soon after check-in, and the other found us in line for pre-reg, a two block-long line in the hot sun that lasted far too long.Afterwards it was beginning to get late and no one had the energy to actually go anywhere for food, so we ate at the hotel. The restaurant was expensive, so I just had soup, which is warm, cheap, and filling. I was planning on working on my costume that night, but instead I passed out on the floor.Friday, Mel-chan and Aki-tachi woke up early and went to the convention center to wait in line for their stickers, necessary to guarantee a decent seat at the L~arc en Ciel concert. Neechan and I woke up about an hour later, planning to join them in the line. They were supposed to wait for us, but sort of forgot, and we were a little late getting there, so we didn't get a place in line saved. But we'd somehow managed to sneak into the convention center and thus cut almost all of the line, get our stickers, and go pick up neechan's costume from otherJen, who did most of the actual sewing and patterning. She also loaned us her sewing machine, for which I will be eternally grateful. In the meantime,
vaeran showed up in Aki's room, so we met him when we returned. He's another person who is both fun and nice, and I am definitely glad we got to room with him. Amazingly enough, he's as funny in real life as he is online. picc also roomed with us, and he seems nice too, but since he had lots of other friends to see at the con, we didn't see as much of him. Neechan and I did do some con-going on Friday, but nothing too exciting- we mostly worked on our costumes and hung out with people. Everyone else ate early, so we were left to our own devices when we realized we needed food. Being both tired and hungry, we ended up looking for something fast-foody. Neechan suggested KFC, and we would have eaten there, but they were out of everything I wanted, and most everything she wanted, too. So instead we decided to try Shane's Sandwich Shop ("the sandwich for hungry people! best in it's class!"), which Aki said looked scary. It probably was by LA standards, but in Atlanta, many of the best southen meals can be found in small, dingy, greasy, and poorly-lit little places. Luckily, the place lived up to the Atlanta expectations, not the LA ones, and I had a very tasty BBQ sandwich and some watermelon, improving my mood and energy levels immensely. Then more sewing, hanging out with Pic and Colin, and then neechan Mel and I collapsed on the bed and again passed out from exhaustion. So really, nothing much of interest happened that day, but it was fun.Saturday was a different story. We woke up around 9, finished a few last costume details, and began the laborous process of getting dressed. In neechan's case this involved two sets of lacing, three skirts, and flattening her hair, plus accesories and serious make-up work to turn from a quarter Romani into a true white girl. In my case, the process was as follows:
Step one: put on sports bra, followed by undershirt. Get out heavy duty packing tape, start wrapping. Two-thirds of the tape roll later, I was flatter than I've been since elementary school.
Step two: two pairs of control pantyhose, first a size that fits me, and then a size smaller. after that I no longer had such girly hips.
Step three: bodysuit, including attached shoes and gloves, all in one piece. Even with all the compression, it still took some serious squirming.
Step four: the outer robe. This was fairly easy, even if I did eed help velcroing it shut with my gloves on.
Step five: makeup. mel first powered me to death with pale-ish foundation and some sort silvery stuff, making me whiter than usual. Then came smal amounts of eyeliner, and then a combination of beige lipstick and orange eyeshadow to give me Dio's eye markings.
Final step: wig cap (pantyhose sock) and then the actual wig. It needs to be flattened a bit, because right now the curl makes it too short, but otherwise it looks pretty good.
So, nearly two hours later, I am covered from neck to fingertips to toes in a bodysuit, slightly choked by my tight collar, unable to breathe freely, buried under multiple layers of fabric and tape, and unable to operate touch-screens because of my gloves. Neechan was slightly more comfortable, but shoveing usually undisplayed portions in the face of the world, and wearing heels. And it was hot. We have suffered for our Art.
Anyway, we went in costume around the area, stopping by the dealer's room (where I bought a present for my Sushu), and everywhere we walked we were stopped for photos. When not posing for others, we were walking around the dealers room taking pictures of each other in front of ラスエグ posters. At one point we saw a blowup of a magazine cover that had Claus and Lavi and Tatiana on the cover inside a booth and asked if we could take a picture in front of it. Not only did the guy manning the booth let us, he also gave us a copy of the magazine. At first I thought it was some sort of advertising-type thing, but it was actually a ten-dollar magazine, and contains an interview with my favorite new nemesis . Plus I got to sign up for Mojico. Just when my stomach was beginning to remember that it hadn't been filled all day, we bumped into Colin, who patiently waited while we posed for more pictures, then went with us to find food that I could eat without ruining the non-removeable gloves. Then a quick dash to the hotel to untape myself and uncorset Jyn, and then we joined Meru-tachi in the lineup. This was nice because I actually got to talk to
doihachan and the others I didn't know very well. And then came The Concert. If you want a set list and other details,
mitsuchan and akisis are the people to go for. It's probably best to skip this paragraph and read their accounts, if you're at all interestedin J-rock. Anyone who has talked with Mel in the past couple of years probably knows at least a little about L~arc en Ciel. If not, I am amazed and slightly envious of you. But they're not a bad band, as J-rockers go, and they put on a excellent show. Huge gouts of flame, falling fireballs, shots of sparks, an impressive lightshow, and plenty of antics. Hyde is the ultimate Princess, but he uses his girlish charm to its fullest, and watching him lean on the speakers and wiggle his finegrs at the audience was quite entertaining. And he's not a bad singer either, even though it's not my kind of music. They all have a lot of energy, as did the fans. But the best part was definitely the MCs. Hyde screaming, "I am Evangelion! Going beserk! Evangelion! Going beserk! Going beserk!" and "Did you eat.... crab?!!" had me laughing, but not as much as Ken did. He walked onstage, wearing a mask and holding something yellow. A beak-shaped duck whistle. After getting the audience to cheer on pitch with the whistle, he asked us "Who am I?" but sadly rejected the obvious answer of "Keeeen!" After his repition of the question met with the same response, he said "No. I am Dolphin!" and explined that he was tired of jumping through hoops at the Baltimore aquarium, and so when he heard rumors of a great Japanese band coming to otakon, he escaped. The audience was torn between cheering and falling over with laughter. I opted for the latter, myself. There was also banana throwing by Tetsu, and many other antics. It was fun.Afterwards we tried to eat dinner as a group, but I was overtired of people and lights and noise, and everyone else wanted to eat at the crowded, bright, and noisy food court, so I wandered off alone. I couldn't find Indian food, which was what I really wanted, but I did grab a quick bite, and when I came back mel and Colinwere waiting for me. I felt a little guilty about that, but I did need the walk, and it was fun talking to them. then people came over, which resulted in much hilarity ("where's my money?") but I was struggling to stay awake when they arrived, so I don't think I came off as very social. And then they left, and there was blissful sleep.
Sunday, we got up early for a ラスエグ photo shoot with a bunch of other people. Sadly, it started raining and my wig got wet, so I don't think my pictures turned out well. *sigh*. Then we hit the dealers' room again, and then the Artists Alley. The fangirls were even worse, including the scary one that got mad at Jyn for posing with her hand on my shoulder, but posing for pictures was fun and fed my ego. I know it's not me, or even my costume quality, that won them over, just the character, but it still felt fun. And I got Max an ROD fanart print in Artists' Alley, which he liked. Then came a return to the hotel, untaping again, a sad farewell to Colin, and consolation milkshakes. After that we left for the airport at Mel's insistence, getting there at 5:35 for a flight that left at 8:15, and was actually delayed until 9. On the plus side, this made getting seats next to each other quite easy. And we did get to hang out and play cards with Aki. Then came the quick flight home, a long marta ride, and an exhausted collapse on the futon.
Monday wasn't actually part of the con, but I did tell my mom about it, and she was thrilled with the success of my costume. Since she showed me how to make patterns and did a lot of the measuring and design (though none of the actual sewing, to my pride), she deserves much praise. I gave
dragonpoker his fanart, and he, fresh from a transformers convention in Chicago, gave me an Inu-Yasha plushie. I'm not sure why I'm getting an anime good as a transformers con omiage, especially given that I was retuning from an actual anime con, but! It matters not. It is a cuddly plush and a sweet present, and I am happy. I have a wonderful little brother, and I would say that even if her weren't giving me presents. And that was the far-too-long story of the con. I'm sure I left out many crucial details, but if you read enough journals, you can probably piece together a good idea of the con. Or ask Stephen, who apparently actually did anime-related constuffs. Tomorrow, tune in for the Alexis Family Update, and if you're lucky, a description of the waterfall I found tonight, the coolness of whichar outstrips any silly anime con. Goodnight, everyone.