Well, looks like I forgot to update my journal to reflect that I was going to Fanime. Oh well! I'll keep my con notes as brief as I can (edit: so much for brief!) and post an expanded one on my fanpage ( [link] ).
Got there in the early evening on Thursday with the Blossomberry sisters. We took one look at the pre-reg line and nope'd right out of there. Ultimately, none of us got our badges until Sunday morning because the lines were so long all weekend!
On Friday, I rewore my red mage from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for most of the day. While the costume might look almost identical to how it appeared at ALA, it underwent a lot of touching up. The wig got a good trim and restyling, the rig for the ears overwent a total overhaul, and I made alterations to the stocking cuffs and loincloth piece so that none of the costume needed fashion tape. I was working hard on touching up my staff until two days before the con, when the house had a little accident and the head broke clean off! Luckily, Joe, my friend that I commissioned it from in the first place, was willing to do repairs and give it a new coat of paint in exchange for some last-minute Fanime fundage. It turned out even better than before, and I finally gave it that yellow tassle to finish it off. Expect some photos from my shoot with *ocwajbaum
On Saturday, I rewore my Zero Suit for what might just be the final time. While it's still not 100% accurate, I sort of loved it to pieces last time and it needed some hand-stitching to fix it back up. Overall, it was a fine stand-in for the costume I originally planned to wear instead--except the darned gloves! Luckily, my friends in the Queen's Blade group hand-fed me popcorn like I was part of a petting zoo. Photos from my shoot with ~DarkainMX coming soon!
Sunday, I debuted Mima Kirigoe from Perfect Blue. This costume got a lot more recognition than I thought it would! I've never really worn anything so pink and frilly and I felt like a big cupcake walking around the convention. I couldn't wear it as long as I wanted to because of the shoes; they ended up actually bruising my toes! But it inspired me to make the red dress from the end of the movie, if I have time. I did another shoot with ~DarkainMX in that one, too, so prepare for pink, frilly nightmare material!
Overall, I had a total blast at the con, but what made it so great was meeting new people and hanging out with old friends. The staff was--I'll be a little brutal here--poorly trained, and the organization as a whole really embarrassed itself this year. But celebrating two friends' birthdays, meeting new people, seeing great costumes, and rooming with two of the coolest chicks to walk the Earth just made my weekend. Lots of love to the people that spent time with me during Memorial Day weekend, whether hosting me at their parties, doing photoshoots with me, being patient enough to tolerate my dorkiness, or even just stopping to say hi. Fanime's decline in quality is unfortunate, but I think it emphasizes all the awesome fans that attend it. Since this was probably my last Fanime for some time, I think it ended on a positive note and I hope everyone has as much fun next year as I did this year.