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This journal is very late, and SUPER image heavy, but I wanted to document my amazing experience~ <3
Thursday"I dreamt that you were a dog. And the dog was my husband. Anyway, it was the worst dream ever."AcidicAutumn picked up
Mikayl & I - we hit the road around eight, and spent a seven hour drive eating carrots and admiring the scenery. We stopped in a sad, small town for gas, but aside from that, it was a straight and successful trip, since Autumn just rocks at driving.
When we arrived in the city of Baltimore, I was shocked to see the streets lined with con-goers! I had no idea attendees of Otakon would invade and take over a big chunk of the city. Everywhere we went, there were geeks and cosplayers. It was a thrilling and comfortable feeling, being surrounded by people that shared many of my interests, and were there for the same awesome weekend.
It took us all of ten minutes to locate our hotel: the Marriott Springhill Suites. The valet drove Autumn's car away and our bags were loaded onto a cart - when we entered the building, I knew our stay was going to be amazing. The three of us stayed in a big suite on the seventh floor (my lucky number~), and it was definitely worth every penny.
To pick up our pre-registration badges, we all donned Toradora wigs on a total whim! I brought my Taiga wig for fun, and we only later realized that my Simon wig and Autumn's Mamimi wig would work for Minori and Ryuuji~ I have so much fun roleplaying Toradora with friends, and this was a fun chance to do so, haha! (Although today I ordered a new Taiga wig, since the one I have is too dark~)
On our way to pick up our badges, we ran into
rizzapiff and
WTF-RedVira! I walked right by them until I thought, "Hey, I recognize that Draco wig".. so I stopped dead in my tracks and spun around, watching Liz walk until finally shouting out her name. Ah, it was total chance! Finding people at conventions almost never works out that smoothly! Anyway, they were total bros, and it's a huge bummer we didn't see each other again after that. We definitely have to hang out next convention, guys~
When we got to the front of the line and I realized one of the badge choices was Tiger & Bunny, I probably could have cried. UGHHHH. This series. It is so absolutely cool. Kotetsu is my husbando. <3 UNF.
It was already like eight million hundred degrees outside, so we walked back to our hotel, changed into pretty dresses, and finally found
Ginger-Hero and
satsuki0inuzuka! It was my first time meeting Noelle and Brenda face to face, but it didn't feel that way at all. a-and they are both so cute in real life. ; A ; my heart can't handle it!
So we were going to go out to dinner at the Hardrock Café, but Noelle had this crazy idea that we should eat next door instead, at Dick's Last Resort. Well, it was the best decision ever. At the restaurant, the servers are meant to be total dicks. They make fun of you, make snide remarks, and act as rude as possible. At the end of the meal, they give you these huge paper hats with an insult about you written on it. Noelle, being a ginger, got "I Have No Soul". Kayl got "Fake Blonde, Real Dumb". Autumn got "I'm just like this hat, White & Flat". Brenda got "Please use rear entrance, or both simultaneously".. xD And I got "I Represent the Lollipop Guild".
One of the servers commented on how we are all so damn short - not a single one of us is above 5'3". At the end, our waitress said, "Come back once you have more of mommy's money". Anyway, the food was great and I want to go back again next year.
After that, we parted ways, and Autumn, Kayl & I headed back to the hotel room to settle in and get ready for the first day of Otakon!
Friday"Earth to Japan, Agent White reporting!"Day 1 was our Tekkonkinkreet day! Like I said in my first related deviation, Tekkonkinkreet is a beautiful film layered with symbolism, metaphor, and absolutely memorable quotes. If you haven't seen it yet, there should be nothing stopping you! You must~
With Autumn as Black, Kayl as the Minotaur, and me as White, we had our first photoshoot in the alley right next to our hotel. A drunk guy stumbled down the alley and got in Kayl's face (or.. mask), but he could hardly keep himself from falling over, so he wasn't really a threat.
It got hot REAL fast, especially for Kayl in her zentai suit, so we made our way with the crowd to the BCC for the first day! Walking around, I was definitely amazed by how many people there were. It was difficult to maneuver, moreso on escalators. For the few hours we spent there, only three people recognized us! It's fun cosplaying obscure things, because the few that know who you are, are really friendly and excited with you.
After taking pictures of every cosplayer ever, we went back to the hotel to change out of our costumes and order Chinese food. We planned on eating and heading right back out, but we ended up watching House. --we ended up watching a House marathon for.. SIX HOURS.
But it was House! We couldn't stop. Everything was House and nothing hurt. B-but! We did get dressed and go back to check out the Artist Alley, running into
kingtomcat and her friends, all wearing Code Geass! Ahhh, she is such a doll, and by crazy chance once more, finding friends at conventions was super easy!
I probably could have spent my life savings in the Artist Alley. Autumn just made love to so many Harry Potter prints, and Kayl bought a bunch of stuff, too. I picked up two Tekkonkinkreet prints - while cosplayers don't know about the movie, artists seem to really love it~
Friday concluded with leftover Chinese and fruit roll-ups. We went to bed that night incredibly pumped for our favorite day and favorite costumes: FLCL.
Saturday"Please don't tell people our bakery's motorbike ran you over."On our way to the BCC, we found a vespa chained to a lamp right around the corner from our hotel. Oh my God, best find ever. Our luck the entire weekend was awesome.
We posed for a lot of photos on Saturday, unlike Friday. We also ran into
sorairo-days and her friends, as they were walking to a panel! She looked so adorable all dressed up as Tsuna~ Any Eyebrows we found, we also found the need to pose with. Haha~ From there, Autumn, Kayl & I did two photoshoots, one inside and one outside.
We then went to the Dealer's Room, where I saw the best Barnaby I have ever seen ever. --among other things~ then, chilling in the hallway for a break, I was texting with
Thornrose. Suddenly he says, "Look across the hallway", and BAM! there is a super tall, super perfect Zero cosplayer. So I finally got to meet Guy for the first time! We ended up not getting to talk at all, since we were both simultaneously posing for photos and holding up traffic. xD But we will definitely be hanging out next time~
Then there was Subway.
After lunch, I ran back to the hotel for the speediest costume change known to man. I made it back to the convention to finally spend time with Noelle and Brenda - we all donned Gurren Lagann, which is ALWAYS amazing to wear.
Noelle and I did a mini shoot in a stairwell, but I just couldn't keep a straight face with her ROCKIN' body all like. just right there. in front of me. My binding also just fell off - like bam, it's gone. Luckily I've got itty bitty AA cups, or there would have been some serious problems.
That night, Autumn, Kayl & I went to dinner with
Kusariku,
vintageaerith,
jaypoynotgpoy, and all of their friends. It was really awesome, and they're all such chill and hilarious people, oh my God. It was THE best night out.
After dinner, it was about 9:30. Autumn went back to the hotel, but Kayl and I decided we wanted to experience some late night convention events. Noelle was amazing and jacked me an 18+ wristband (since I'm a couple months too shy). Kayl and I went to a Crossplayer panel, which we stayed in for about an hour, but I had already learned everything from fabri/c gl/adiators, so we went back to wandering. The convention at night was mad relaxed and unified. Everyone was playing games and lounging around.
So finally, we saw a showing for some series called Bible Black. Kayl and I didn't know what it was, but it was midnight, and we just wanted to hang out and have something to do. Spur of the moment we hopped in this huge line, found seats in the second row of the big auditorium, and waited for the show to start. Standing in line, I got more and more concerned, what with people shouting "chicks with dicks" all over the place. xD Kayl just laughed hard. --and when the show started, I was like "OH SWEET MOTHER OF-- WHAT ARE WE WATCHING". And suddenly there were dicks and huge boobs everywhere --and Kayl laughed harder.
Anyway, we made it out of the auditorium after the first episode. xD It really was hilarious, and I don't think the lines could have been more cliché. (read: "Suck my dick, you bitch." and "Please put it in my pussy!") It's one series I have no intention of continuing. ever.
On the way out for the night, stumbled into
RandomKween looking absolutely ADORABLE! We're so similar in appearance, hahaha~! Found out she's only about an inch or two taller. So cute!
Saturday wrapped itself up with a deep night's sleep.
Sunday"Beyond the noise of the world there's a stairway leading to the basement of a fantastic world."We donned Paradise Kiss for our final day!
Miwako is my first official girl cosplay, with Autumn as my big sissy and Kayl as my punk boyfriend~
While Kayl spent eight million hours spiking her hair, Autumn and I went down for breakfast and photos. I felt super uncomfortable trying to get into character as Miwako, and it was a lot harder than I anticipated. I was dissatisfied with basically all of the photos, since I thought I looked totally ridiculous. I'm just so used to being bratty boys, it's difficult to be a kawaii*desu~neeee~* girl.
Kayl finally made it down in time for waffles. While I didn't eat any, she said they were the best waffles in the world.
We ended up getting a few really pretty photos - our candid shots ended up being our cutest shots, in my opinion~
Then, we headed back to the BCC for one last time. We stayed there for about two hours, running into
kingtomcat AGAIN, just sitting on a staircase!
Anyway, I was sad that we had to leave, but our checkout was at twelve, so we had to hit the road. Despite the fact that I promised Autumn I wouldn't fall asleep, I slept nearly the entire car ride home;; b-but I did wake up and talk, occasionally!
We made it home in one piece, we all gave hugs goodbye, and thus the best weekend in the world came to a close. (Even though there are a lot of photos here, these are nothing! Add me on my facebook~!
www.facebook.com/leekaaralove ) I forgot a lot, omitted a lot, and probably forgot to include someone very important. But it was a couple weeks ago! ; A ; But seriously, I plan on going back next year.
The End.
<3