Con Reports: 2014 Edition

Overall Con Report

So… I realized after Ohayocon, I never did a review/report of each convention, mainly because I was busy at work or getting ready for the next one. So, here’s what I remember from each convention highlight wise. ^^”””

Zipcon:

So, this was its first year, and it went pretty well for the most part. It was small, but it just meant we got to talk with more people. We spent most of our time wandering around and doing photoshoots in the cosplay lounge thing they had. One of the greatest moments involved my roommate, dressed as the Nurse, and a teen, who was terrified of her. His friends asked her to creep up behind him and scary him, which we did. She even stalked him out of Dealers. And no, she didn’t actually hurt it. It was all in good fun, not meaning to actually scare him. I also got to meet (FINALLY) after our failed attempt to meet at Ohayocon. We realized right away we were very much alike, and we started making all sorts of plans, which haven’t stopped to this day.

So, the main highlight was the Masquerade. Our skit we did was definitely one of our best, both acting and contest wise. We did it with Tifa (me), Sailor Moon ( , and the Nurse, where Tifa and Moon were somehow stuck in Silent Hill after a few mishaps. They came across the Nurse and kind of fought, with a few funny moments in there. The first time we ran the skit during run-through, I actually ended up hitting the Nurse in the face... T.T I felt so bad... But when we actually performed, I ended up falling, so I think we’re even. It was fun, and we ended up winning Best in Show, a first for KSC Cosplay and my two friends.

Animarathon:

So, this was my… third? Animarathon. I didn’t get to go last year because of a band concert. This year was pretty fun, yet again. It was Kristi () (this time dressed as Misa from Death Note) and Brad with me, Brad because he wanted to play Magic and games and stuff. I entered in the contest, so I had to go through judging with Raven. I was really nervous about it, but it all turned out well. I also held an Attack on Titan panel about how to survive, basically making fun of certain parts of the show (all in good humor). Our resident Shadis also had a few words to say, especially to the Armin that entered moments before. The poor girl looked a little confused, but it was awesome because it was her first con and we had run into her earlier in the food court. But, it was fun hanging with the fandom, which filled the entire room. 

I saw a lot of familiar faces, but I spent most of my time talking with Kristi and hanging with and Cricket (I can’t remember the other guy’s name >.<’’).  But again, like most cons, the highlight was the Masquerade. This skit is definitely one of my all-time favorites. It involved Misa trying to get Raven to do things model-related, like wearing dresses and doing the model walk. This skit just had everything I would ever want in a skit, and we ended up winning 2^nd place. I couldn’t be prouder. ^^ I also won Novice Runner-Up for Raven, which was quite a shock to me.  But, it was a very fun time. ^^

ACEN:

So. ACEN.

One of my faves to go to. Rachel and I survived our 4+ hour drive up and hung out with for a bit before heading to the con for my photo shoot as Raven. Then, we went to eat before going to the hotel (eventually). We had a rough time with the guys doing duty at the parking garage, but we got it sorted and finally up to our room with my friends from last year. I was nervous at first, but it ended up being a blast hanging with Paulene , Aryn, and Bryce at night and random hours. And of course, I can’t forget Emily . It was so much fun just hanging out with everyone.

I hosted my Supernatural panel for the first time, which was pretty fun. I also held my Girls’ Generation Dance Tutorial, which had the best attendance I’ve ever had for that panel. The group was amazing and such fast learners.

The Masquerade was pretty fun, as well. I got to be with Emily in her first competition, which was awesome in itself. Rachel (as the Nurse) and I performed our skit about Raven ending up in Silent Hill. It went alright overall. I just wish the audio would’ve cooperated… It was so quiet… But, we still had fun, especially backstage with the con staff. We were the “creepy” skit, and I was perfectly okay with that title.

I do remember the Sora that performed (from Kaleidostar) to Gee, and I was so happy. I had just started the anime with Kristi, and to see her perform as Sora was awesome. There was also a little girl dressed as baby Godzilla, and she was SOOOO cute! We came across her and her parents later after she had taken the costume off, and we found out she was getting a plushie llama as a reward for doing well. I hope she got the biggest one they had. She was so adorable and such a trooper! There were also several little Ravens running around, so I made sure to get a picture with them. I also took a picture with a little Harley Quinn, and she was so cute because she had the attitude down pat. After I thanked her, she said, “Anytime, sugar.” I may or may not have squeed afterwards. ^^”

I also dressed as Aelita, which is special because that was where I debuted her last year. I had fun talking with people about Code Lyoko, even running into the other Odd (a staffer) who I had tried to find last year but didn’t in time. 

Colossalcon:

O.M.G. Colossalcon. It was definitely one of the greatest cons I had been to yet.

Thursday, I dressed as Gaara, for the first time in a year. I forgot how heavy Confucius Sr. was, but I also realized how much I missed that costume.  I spent most of my time wandering and hanging with my friends. I also did a mini-shoot with KRN photography, whom I had met before and talked with.

Friday: I participated in the Friday Night In-Character Contest as Raven. I didn’t expect to get far, but I actually made it into the second round. It was fun to watch, and I look forward to doing it next year. ^^ It was also the day I held my Supernatural panel as Charlie again, this time with a little help from Dean (aka ). It was such a blast. The crowd was awesome, and I just had the greatest time hosting it. We held a little Q/A with the extra time we had, pulling up , , , , and another Cas, and that was just awesome. Alora was so in character, and she had me laughing under my breath almost the entire time. Seriously, I can’t get over how much fun we had at the panel. It’s probably the best con moment for the entire year. We held a quick little shoot afterwards before I headed back to our hotel to get ready for Saturday.

Saturday: We were up bright and early to do Masquerade run-through and judging. I was so happy of Rachel and Kristi for putting up with me and doing such a fantastic job. Zack, one of the MC’s, even told us that we integrated dancing in the best way possible: with Sona’s Crescendo attack.  Judging was a bit scary, but I got complemented on my pretty hand stitching, so it wasn’t so bad. I finally got to do a photo shoot with Yumi () after trying to do so for a while. It was a lot of fun hanging with her as Lyoko Warriors, though it was much too brief. >A<

Rachel also held her first panel (Soul Eater), and she did fairly well for her first time. Even after the whole incident beforehand. She was almost late to her panel because she couldn’t find a parking spot. So, Kristi ended up climbing in her car and parking it with help from Jake.

So, our skit went really well on stage, and I was so happy (nearly in tears afterwards).

Sunday: We basically just hung out and chilled.

This con was definitely one of the best I had been to in a long time. It was so much fun, with all my friends and people, the panels, the Masquerade… I can’t wait to go back next year.

AFO (Anime Festival Orlando):

The flight down was pretty uneventful, but trying to find the hotel lobby and our room was fun. It was nice being able to hang out with my cousin, especially since we both love Kpop a lot. We held an Intro to Kpop panel, which turned out very well surprisingly. We had a lot of fun with it. ^^ I also held my Girls’ Generation Dance panel, which was awesome. The group was fairly small, but they were so much fun. During one of the Kpop dance parties, some of the people there actually danced with me to one of the dances we did. It was awesome. We tried to enter in the Masquerade, but let’s just say that didn’t go through. So, I ended up doing a DC photo shoot as Raven, the first photo shoot I’ve done like that in years. It was fun, and some of us wandered around and ate together.

Somehow, I ended up pulling all the muscles in my thighs from my dance panel… So, that was an interesting night. ^^”

The flight home was rough, mainly because we were VERY late getting back and had to fly around/in some storms. Overall, it was a lot of fun. I just wish we could’ve done more pictures… It was wayyy too hot and muggy, not to mention it rained at some point nearly every day. I forgot what Florida was like. ^^”

Ikasucon:

Ikasucon was a lot of fun. , , and joined us, and we had a blast. We held our Supernatural panel, which didn’t have many people due to the very behind registration. We still had fun, but I think the most fun part of that day was getting all done up as Castiel for our End!verse/Croatoan photo shoot. It was so much fun, and it was made even better just because we did ON Croatoan (August 1^st, 2014).  Saturday was very tense and nerve-wracking for me. I was terrified for my skit and costume, mainly because I was afraid of what others would think and I was just freaking out the entire time. But, I got to hang with everyone, Taka (), Hachi, Asia, Emily (), Jynx (), Alex… It was fun being able to talk with them and everything. The Lightning and Maddie Hatter also helped calm me down before the Masquerade started, so I’m very grateful to them. So, I ended doing pretty well with my skit, thought I don’t remember much of it. I did get a few compliments, among other words, on it, so I guess it wasn’t too awful. One of the most memorable came from Em and Jynx’s Mom, who told me that she had no idea what was happening or what it was about, but she felt the emotion and felt it in her heart to the point of near-tears. That one really hit me hard. But after my skit, the MC made the joke that I needed to do it again, which made me laugh through the tears I was failing at containing. I blame that on Taka and Samm and everyone, who gave me a huge group hug afterwards. It was also awesome because FINALLY won Best in Show with her Seth costume. I was so proud of her, and we all gave her a huge group hug after she got off-stage. Let’s just say awesome friends are awesome. ^0^ Sunday was spent mostly wandering around and talking to people, taking pictures. Yumi () and I got more pictures together, which made me incredibly happy. And, I was so happy to take pictures of ’s Vaporeon because it was soooo pretty. I had such a hard time choosing pictures to edit of her. I loved them all. I’ve never been that happy doing editing on a photo shoot in a while. ^^ I really loved hanging with everyone, and I can’t wait for next year. ^-^

So… Yeah. ^^””” I feel bad for not updating in so long… >A<  But, I’ve been so busy with work and everything.. When I did get free time, most of it was spent sleeping.  But, I’m heading back to college, so I’ll be just as busy. But, I have a lot of plans in place for cons next year, and I’m so excited….

Future Cons: Ohayocon, Zipcon, Animarathon, ACEN, Colossalcon, Ikasucon

Future Cosplays in the Making: Princess Tutu with Kristi (for Ohayocon, hopefully) and LARPing Charlie from Supernatural (with for Colossalcon). Neither outfit is extremely difficult, so I’m hoping they’ll be a breeze to make. But, either way, I’m going to have fun with them.

Other Notes: I think I may either remake my Raven cloak or at least redo the hood… I also plan on doing better versions of some of our past skits, like my Tifa one from AFO last year (that wasn’t recorded), our ACEN and Animarathon ones from this year… Just because.

So.. Yeah. ^^ If you read all of that, congrats! I don’t know. Xp I’m tired, and have to move tomorrow… Hope you all had a fantastic summer! I’ll try and update more often. ^^””””

Later~

P.S.
Here's all the links I have to our skits!
Zipcon  Zipcon Link 2
Animarathon   Animarathon Link 2
ACEN
Colossalcon
Ikasucon  Ikasucon Masquerade