Fanime, here I come~!
Like, I knew that it was coming, but it took me a while to actually get really hyped for it? And now I can't wait to get there!I'll be bringing both of my new Pirate cosplays (Spain and Romano) as my mains, and MLP Spike and Soccer Spain as my relief costumes for when I need a break. Also random pajama America. XD But I'm not even sure I'll wear that except maybe to go to one of the late night panels.
If you're going to be there, let me know! I'd love to say hi to you people~
Sakura Con Report 2014
I know I haven’t written up a con report in a long time, but this one was especially fun and overall one of the best cons I’ve been to! Though really, I’ve never had a truly sucky con (thank goodness). I’m always having fun at these. 
Still, I’d like to blog about this one just so I can remember.
This was my second time at Sakura Con in Seattle. I flew in on Wednesday night after work and some delicious Thai food with my mom near San Jose airport. Unfortunately my friend who planned to pick me up missed her bus to the zip car, so she offered to pay for me to take a taxi to her apartment. The cabbie was a pretty cool guy from Kenya. I babbled to him about the convention and Japan for most of the trip, and he told me about Seattle and how he had been living there for 15 years. It was raining the whole time (and most of the weekend too), so I was happy to get to my friend Suupi’s place and settle in nice and cozy.
We had tea and caught up before bed. The next day she had to work, so I was on my own, but I took my umbrella out and caught a bus to downtown. Most of my morning and afternoon was spent in Pike Place market. I walked through the shopping center from top to bottom and explored the surrounding area too. I ended up buying a catnip toy for my cats (the same one they loved last year but ended up lost), an Ecuador patch to sew onto my bag, some cappuccino rooibos tea from a local tea shop, and a bag of exclusive coffee beans at the first Starbucks for my parents. For lunch, I found a place that had the gyros that I had been craving, and they served me such a big spicy platter that I had to take some to go. I also found the Piroshky Piroshky place that I remembered loving last year and bought a cranberry apple pastry for dessert (so good!). Later on, I scoped out the convention center which was buzzing with Day 0 activity, and finally made my way back towards the bus terminal.
On my way, I was stopped by a homeless lady who asked me for a can of soup. I had already turned down a man who had asked for food and felt bad for that- I don’t usually like to give money to the homeless when I’m alone in an isolated area because I’m afraid they’ll try to grab my wallet or use the money to buy drugs. However, when someone asks for food instead of money, I can’t help but feel sorry for them because really, they just look hungry. So I told the lady, Sandy, that I would buy her dinner and took her to Subway to get a foot long sandwich. She was very grateful and friendly, telling me it would last her at least two meals. I told her about the con, and she said she would keep an eye out for me. We chatted a bit and then I gave her a friendly hug goodbye before going to catch my bus back to Suupi’s neighborhood. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so comfortable around a homeless person before. It felt good to know I had helped her out a bit and probably shown her some kindness that she didn’t get regularly.
I met up with Suupi at a very interesting crepe cafe. The inside was decorated in almost a Victorian style, with a fireplace and comfy red velvet couches. The chicken and bacon crepe I had was excellent, too. After dinner, Suupi told me that she really wanted to see the new Captain America again, and since I hadn’t seen it, we opted to go. It was really good! I knew it had been getting a lot of hype, so I expected as much, but I’m glad I was able to see it while I was up there.
Suupi and I stayed up late drinking the Abuelita Mexican hot chocolate that I brought with me and playing my Japanese balancing game, Yura Yura Cafe. I laid out the cosplays and went to bed after my shower, very excited for the next day. In the morning, bright and early, my friend Claire drove over from Olympia, and we both got ready for the con. It was my first time cosplaying Pirate Spain, and Claire was breaking in the new Pirate Romano cosplay that I had also made, so we got to test both of them out. Both costumes held up really well! I lost a button on Spain’s boot covers, but it wasn’t noticeable, and we figured out where all the safety pins needed to go to help everything stay in place.
The cosplays were very well-received, and I was very happy with all the photo requests we got over the weekend. It made all the work I put into the costumes seem so worth it! Even so, the most important part was that we both had fun and got to cosplay a pairing that I absolutely adore (OTP!), all while having a full, fun con experience. I was smart enough to make a list of all the panels and events that I wanted to go to so that we had a plan and got the most out of it. Shopping was also a lot of fun. I ended up buying a couple things over the course of the weekend: a Spain coin figure, Zelda: History of Hyrule, an Eveelution shirt, a Eveelution mini print, a glow-in-the-dark star keychain, and Hetalia Vols. 4 and 5. Volume 5 had a BIG SURPRISE FOR ME! There in the back with all the cosplay photos, was a printed picture of my Renaissance Romano costume that I had submitted. 
It totally made my day! The editor had told me they liked my photos, but I hadn’t gotten an official confirmation that one would be appearing in the book. I was so happy and excited to find out that it had made it in.
Besides shopping, we hit up a couple of events. The Opening Ceremonies is always something I like to go to if I get a chance because it really pumps me up and makes me feel welcomed to the con. This year’s was very nice- they had taiko drummers and other musicians who did video game and Attack on Titan themes on their old Japanese instruments (I forgot what the string instrument is called). It was cute to see how excited the Japanese guests were, too. They had a lot of people who had worked on Attack on Titan including Mikasa’s voice actor who fed the audience some lines in perfect character.
I also enjoyed the Hetalia gathering and panels I went to, though I got put on the spot a few times since I kinda stood out as Pirate Spain… Not that I really minded, but I’m horrible at improvising. The panels were entertaining and funny. It was nice to get to hang out with other fans, especially in the 18+ crowd. Before the panels, we had an awesome dinner at Tango, the Spanish restaurant near the con. We ordered calamari, sangria, and some of the most delicious paella that I’ve had! 
My mouth still waters remembering it.
Saturday was just as fun. We went to watch the cosplay skit contest; some some cute kids performed, and there were some good dance numbers (Pit from Kid Icarus, and Vegeta and Bulma dancing to Hot N Cold were some of my faves). After that it was more shopping. We missed the My Little Pony Gathering, sadly, because of the rain, but fortunately it cleared up by the time the second Hetalia Gathering came around. We got some really nice shots, and Romano got kidnapped by Pirate England for one of them. 
On our way back to the con center, we saw a Link cosplayer playing his flute by the fountain area. Claire and I stopped to take photos/record him, and by the time we turned around, there was a whole swarm of people with cameras pointed at him. The sudden attention threw him off his song, but he picked it up and played beautifully. I realized I had been holding my camera sideways the whole time, though...Whoops.
The Writing for Anime panel by Leah Clarke was also interesting. She talked about what her team has to go through to write and translate a script for an American audience. Making certain word choices to match the movement of a character’s mouth must be tough! 
For dinner, we went to this really nice Italian restaurant near Pike Place. Since we had eaten Spanish food the night before for Antonio, it seemed only right to have Italian food for Lovino! And it was super tasty! The reaction we got to walking into the restaurant as pirates was pretty funny, but people were very nice about it. Our table neighbor even complimented our costumes. We both ate the penne pasta with veal and lamb in tomato sauce. It was soooo good. For dessert, we walked up the street to a little gelato shop, and I had chocolate hazelnut gelato mixed with berry gelato. Perfect!
We went back to the con and chatted a bit with a lady who had brought her daughter to her first con. It’s always interesting to see parents’ perspectives on this kind of event, especially when they recognize how awesome it is for their kids to have this kind of fun outlet. Better than doing drugs, right? (But it will still make you poor.)
Lastly, we caught some of the AMV contest before Late Night Cosplay Chess. Both were very entertaining. I love going to Cosplay Chess at Sakura Con because they do it on such a bigger scale. It’s a full-blown staged performance rather than just an improvised game that I see being played in most cons’ gaming halls. There were a lot of Supernatural characters that I’m unfamiliar with, but Claire was nice enough to explain the jokes to me. XD I also liked the showdown between Where’s Waldo and Attack on Titan (yay Hanji). One of the kings was Tony Stark, and he made a funny comment about Hanji wearing toasters and bondage gear. The Discord from My Little Pony was also spot-on, and I enjoyed the side comments by the two Chiis from Chobits.
I rode home with Claire that night and settled into her place. The next morning, we got dressed in cosplay again and stopped at Starbucks on the way to the con. We got compliments on our costumes, and one guy came up to us and started talking about a pirate ship play structure that he was building for his kids. Hilarious! I got a cranberry orange scone and caramel apple spice drink, and we drove the rest of the way to Seattle.
The last day of the con was a more relaxed one. We hit up the photo booth and got some professional pics taken. I ended up purchasing three of the shots I liked the best (which are up on Facebook and DA now). Then, we finished the rest of our shopping and chatted with some fellow Hetalia cosplayers, some of which I recognized from last year when I was casual Romano. It was nice to see them again and exchange contact info. I really should start bringing cosplay meishi with me to cons like I used to when I was in Japan. With all the people you meet, it’s nice to be able to keep in touch!
For lunch, we met up with Suupi and her date near the Cheesecake Factory and went to eat there. It was my first time! I got a buffalo burger, nice and spicy. Afterwards, we said goodbye to Suupi and went for a rest stop before our photoshoot that I scheduled outside with a photographer at 4. We had some very nice shots by the fountain area, and I’m really looking forward to seeing them once they’re posted on her site.
With everything we had come to do done (and then some), Claire and I finally left the con and headed back to Olympia. On the way, we stopped at Walgreens to print the photo booth pics and also Safeway to grab some groceries for dinner. There was a cute, shy little girl in front of us in line at the grocery store. She kept staring at us in our costumes and pointed at us before whispering to her mom. We explained why we were in costume and got a good laugh out of it. Later, I got to have the first soda I’ve had in a loooong time since I gave that up for Lent. XD A cherry pepsi that tasted really good...but the real winner of that night was the curry that we made for dinner at Claire’s place. Her roomies (two very nice guys) helped out, and together we created an awesome dinner that had everyone going back for seconds. *u* I also got to play with Claire’s very cute jack russel mix, Axel, a hyper little dog who I spoiled a bit with treats and a squeaky toy.
Monday was very chill, thankfully for my (and Claire’s) poor feet. We took Axel outside and saw a duck family with 10 little adorable ducklings. I got a video of the mama duck chasing some other ducks out of the pond and going back to her babies that were bobbing around, very confused.
When we went back, I cooked an omelette for us for breakfast and we drank some good coffee that her roomie made with the French press. For lunch, we went to an awesome sushi restaurant by Claire’s place, and I ordered a “911 roll” that had shrimp tempura and spicy mayo. It was superb! 
I can definitely see why the locals rave about it, lol.
I finished my packing, and then Claire and I played Yura Yura Cafe until it was time to go to the airport. We had dinner at a little restaurant there, and then I left to catch my flight back to the bay area. I was very sad to go, but at the same time, happy that I had had such a good time. 
I hope I’ll be able to make it out again to Washington next year, too.
Wow, if you actually read all this, I applaud you. XD I just wanted to record everything for my own memory. To all the people I met and hung out with during the con, THANK YOU! You made everything even more awesome! *pours out all the love*
Con Tips
Sakura Con and The Curl
It took me about two weeks to make, but I'm very happy with it! Making props is often more fun than sewing in my opinion. There hasn't been a lot of extravagant sewing for these costumes, but I did give Romano's vest some nice trim and made Spain's pirate coat extra fancy by adding a black velvet collar and some epaulettes. I can't wait for the debut!In other news, I'm working on The Curl again. Chapter 8's going to be rather dramatic, so I'm looking forward to finishing! It is a bit slow-going, though. I usually only get to work on it once a week when I go to the library after work. It's usually a pretty productive time, though. I think it should only take another week or two to get it up, hopefully.
Thank you everyone who's been patient with me so far! Your awesome comments are what motivate me to continue the story~Work has been quite a pain recently but at least this week is quiet. I can really use some time in Seattle to de-stress. Lately I've also been missing Japan a lot. Sometimes I muse about going back for another year, but I don't think I'd want to give up what I have here. I like being able to see my boyfriend once a month and talk to people online and on the phone at decent hours. Also, I have my kitties to take care of, and it wouldn't be fair to dump them on someone else for such a long period of time. Plus, I wouldn't be able to go to any American cons! Japan's cosplay events are fun, but they're just not the same. I do wish I could at least go and visit, though. I try to study Japanese for a little while on my library night before I write fiction, but it's a lot harder to learn without someone to practice with. I've thought about getting a speaking partner, but I'm not really sure how to go about that. It makes me frustrated that I didn't try harder to find a class or study more when I was in Japan. Hopefully I'll be able to improve slowly, though!
I miss the people I used to talk to on here so often. Hope you're all doing well! Drop me a comment or note anytime~
Cosplay Progress
It took a long time to get it ready because I had to use insulation foam and paper mache to get the shape right. It also required a lot of sanding. THEN I needed to wait for the right weather conditions. We've been having a drought here in California, but the last week or two finally brought a lot of rain. Last Saturday I got a nice sunny day, and Sunday was overcast but still not rainy, so I was able to do some work outside and finally finish! The only things I might still do are add leather around the grip to hide the connectors on the shaft and maybe tie some little decorative fabric strips onto the top. We'll see how it goes.I've also started sewing some pirate clothes! For Romano, I was able to add trim around a vest I picked up at the thrift shop. I still need to sew it on permanently with the machine, but at least everything's in place. I bought Spain's pirate coat on Ebay since I didn't think I'd have time/money to sew my own, but I do want to alter it a little to make it more interesting. Last weekend I sewed a big black collar that I'm going to add to the top.
There's actually very little sewing required for Spain's and Romano's pirate cosplays, but with only five weeks left before Sakura con, I'm still going to have my hands pretty full. I'll post pictures when I'm done!