I was super excited for Otakuthon this year mostly because I decided that I would enter in the masquerade for the first time. I was also slightly pissed off because I had a final on the Friday night which meant that I missed one of the days. It also meant that I had to balance studying and finishing up Sailor Jupiter. I wanted to bring Sheeta as well but I didn't have enough time to finish it before the con. Before the con, I corresponded with a cosplayer from Toronto who was coming down for the first time. We decided that we would meet up during the weekend to chill and get to know one another. Thursday my friends and I met up for pre-registration which took up about five minutes of our time. Afterwards we went out to eat at the restaurant we traditionally eat at during the con.
Friday was hectic for me. I had to finish up my studying for Statistics. My exam was at 7 pm and ended at 10 pm. I decided that I was going to rush to the con right afterwards and so I decided to wear my Mokona costume to my exam :) I had many comments from people, one guy even asked if I was eloping (lol). As soon as the exam ended, I dropped off my stuff at my boyfriend's apartment, did my makeup and headed to the con. I didn't really do anything that night, I mostly just hung out with my friends and took pictures of Mokona. Knowing that I had to get up early for masquerade registration, we decided to get to sleep at a decent time. Our plan was foiled however when I realized that my brooch wasn't staying on the Jupiter costume. We were up for a while trying to figure out how to fix it.
Saturday started out bright and early. I got dressed as Sailor Jupiter and left without eating anything. The registration for the masquerade opened at 10 am but I wanted to be there a bit earlier as there were only 60 spots available. Along the way I got a text from the cosplayer from Toronto saying that there was already a line up for registration. I hurried along, knowing that I would get there soon. We waited for a good while before it opened up. I am very glad that I decided to wear my crocs that morning instead of putting on my Jupiter boots right away. I didn't do very much between registering and heading to the green room. In the green room I met some really awesome cosplayers from different regions. I was very helpful for a few of them as well :)
I decided to get judged for my crasftmanship. I surprised the judge by revealing that my gloves were hand made and that my wig was not my real hair. I then had a couple of professional photos taken of me to be used by Otakuthon for their judges as well as to put up on their facebook page. While in the green room we actually discovered that 80 contestants were chosen instead of the original cap of 60. This made some of us a little upset and mad because it made the wait so much longer than it should have been. I was entry 62, even though I was the 20th person to register.
Before getting on stage some of the more experienced cosplayers gave me some really good advice. I think that helped me to be a bit more calm when I was on stage. I was still quite nervous though when it was my turn to walk out to show off my costume. Luckily I couldn't see past the first couple of rows because the lights were so bright. My costume also got a warm welcome so that made me happy :).
After the masquerade, we went to the hotel room that we had booked for the night and chilled with our friends. We stayed up quite late, getting to bed at 5 am! Luckily I only had to be at the award ceremony at noon the next day so we were able to get a bit of sleep.
Sunday was nice and calm. As I didn't go home that night I wore Jupiter again. I went to the award ceremony for the masquerade and cheered on my fellow cosplayers. Everyone did such a great job! Afterwards we went to the dealers room and shopped around. I learned a very valuable lesson Never wear heels two days in a row at a con! My feet were so painful the second day that I actually had to change into my crocs halfway through. At the end of the day, we went to the closing ceremonies and the feedback panel. I gave my feedback regarding the masquerade.
All in all I didn't really do much besides the masquerade but I think it was worth it. The panels at Otakuthon weren't very interesting to me and there were some awesome costumes to take pictures of. I think eventually I shall have to host a panel myself and I shall definitely enter the masquerade again!
