Katsucon review and beyond!

To all my new watchers, hello and thank you for taking an interest in my cosplay! To all the old watchers, welcome back!

Wow! Busiest con I've ever attended haha XD I had so many costume changes and photoshoots that I barely went to any panels at all! But it was soooooooooooo much fun! (Lots of video links at the end of this journal, btw!)

Thursday we got there much later than intended.... my friend had to finish up her costumes, so I went over to her house to help her finish... We meant to get to the Gaylord by 4 but we didn't get there until after 8 or something XD

So she and I decided to derp around in Tifa and Selphie...and we ended up having the most amazing photoshoot with a photographer named Scott...I can't remember his contact details... I hope he finds us! >_< But our shoot lasted until like 3:30 am...it was so fun because nobody was in the atrium except for us!

Friday was Rinoa day. I had rehearsal for the Symphonic Anime Orchestra (SAO) at 11am, then I hung around as Rinoa for a while, and to the FF photoshoot at 4. So glad I got to see !! She's a gorgeous Relm! At like 6pm I changed into Android 18 for a photoshoot with a 17 and Dr. Gero, eventually joined by Trunks () and Bra. Then I changed into formal Rinoa and changed into a pretty wedding gown because we intended to go to the formal but didn't quite make it in time...so we just walked around all pretty lol. Eventually we went back to the room and watched TV with our roommates until we went to bed.

Saturday I had rehearsal for SAO at 9:30, then I put Terra on for a while. I got to meet Linda Le (aka VampyBitMe) and got a picture with her!! Ah she's soooo nice! As I walked around as Terra I got lots of compliments and pictures, even though I only wore her for a few hours until the FF photoshoot at 4. I also got to see my love, Han-Pan! I'm so glad she was able to make it! She was a gorgeous White Mage coat Princess Garnet. Then I changed back into Rinoa for some more pictures and derping around. That night I put Tifa back on as and I went to our first 18+ panel ever...a strange panel about fetishes XD It was interesting because they gave a lot of factual information about why fetishes might exist and stuff, but it started getting gross later on. We left early because we were sleepy at like...4:30 am. However we ended up talking to our roommates for a while and didn't end up going to sleep until like 6:15 XD

And I had to be up at 7am for SAO rehearsal at 8. Ugh! So after rehearsal we hurriedly packed the rest of our stuff and packed the car, and my fiance arrived to come see the concert He really doesn't like cons or cosplay, so even though he was VERY out of his element, he came to see me perform. How sweet of him <3 So we hit up the dealers room for awhile, but I didn't really have time to buy anything before I had to go get ready for the SAO concert at 1. The concert went pretty well considering we're a group of volunteers of multiple ages and skill levels who only had three rehearsals total and then a concert! @_@ (Videos will be posted below.) After the concert, and I, along with our friends Allen and Leon, had like a 2hr long Final Fantasy 8 photoshoot... Sorry in advance for the huge spam of FF8 pics...but we got so many! And they turned out soooooooooooooo amazing. I can't wait to post them all, but I'll limit them to like one a day so I don't flood your inboxes haha.

So then we went out to eat burgers and drove home. Overall it was a GREAT con... no complaints really, although I only used my badge a few times...my time was mostly eaten up by cosplaying and photoshoots...but I got to spend time with my friends so it was soooooooooo much fun! I can't wait for next year

Upcoming nerdy things: Midnight of March 5/6 I'm attending the midnight release of Mass Effect 3 at Tyson's Corner Mall in VA! Then gonna come home and play til I pass out XD
March 17th I'm going to the Art of Gaming exhibit in DC The museum is encouraging cosplayers so you better believe I'll be there!
And April 14th is the Sakura Matsuri in DC. AUSA is holding a cosplay fashion show there, so I'll most likely be doing that!
I'll be vlogging at all of these things so if you're there, make sure to say hi!

Speaking of vlogging, I've been attempting to vlog more! So the links to my vlogs are below:

Thursday: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyCi6A…
Friday: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN_6xw…
Saturday: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CMuL2…
Sunday: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG1alf…

I'm also in someone's fanvideo from Katsucon! Look for me in Rinoa at 40 seconds in! www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVEj_M…


SAO video links (will be updated as more are uploaded):

My Soul, Your Beats (Angel Beats) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwDgUX… have a duet [on oboe] with the bassoon starting at 2:00!)
Cruel Angel's Thesis (Evangelion) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xzMhY…
Hikari Kingdom Overture (Kingdom Hearts) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsb57v…
Nausicaa Valley of the Wind Opening Credits -  www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3-Glt… (My short and sweet solo [on oboe] begins at 2:03, alternating with the flutes)
The World (.hack) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY27uw…


I'm also still in Love Cosplay Magazine's photo contest! Please vote for me here by liking my photo! www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbi…

And I think that's all for now...sorry for the long post! See you later!

<3 Val <3