Happy Thursday! How are you all enjoying your mid-summer fall? We here on the coast sure are. Although I guess everywhere else is burning up. Lucky. I mean, it RAINED here on Tuesday.
So Thursday bright and early we set off to the AX, stopping only to pick up our newcomers. Because we always bring someone who has never gone before. Want to come next year?
Carolyn made six Dai Li outfits. I, of course, was Speed Racer. I think it worked out well to have the group and then the auxiliary member (me) because then I got to take pictures of them so they'd have at least one good one. Because people may be your friends, but that doesn't mean they know how to use your camera.
It's nice being at the LA Convention Center for a number of years in a row now, because everything's familiar. We know where the food is and where the panel rooms are and where the cosplay is at.
OH and can I tell you what being at the AX is like? It's like being on both sides of Brigadoon--it's gone 99% of the year, but when you're there, it feels like the sun went down on one AX and rose on the next. Everything is the same. The people, the events, the people AT the events. It's a wondrous haven for "[]our [kind]," as the hotelman (somewhat) put it. (He said "your group," meaning everyone at the AX. I liked the exclusivity of it.)
The exhibit hall was so packed this year, and there seemed to be so little to buy, that we made it through there end to end twice in as many days. Some years, crawling the whole of the exhibit hall is a con-wide process. It's not my thing, anyway. I happened to buy two pieces of Naruto swag: a sweet mug with the Kyuubi and Naruto's seal on it as well as a Icha Icha Tactics wallet. Steven also procured a lil Sasuke thing, which, after careful application of Japanese, was revealed to be a scented bath toy.
I guess it was a Naruto year. My purchases may have been influenced by the fact that all last week I watched like thirty episodes of the thing, trying to catch up. That's the most anime I watched in the entire year. But it was worth it!!!
Between the shops and the cosplay, it seemed a popular move to stick with what worked. I'd say that 90% of all cosplay was from the big titles, Naruto, Bleach, Final Fantasy, Pokemon. And even within those groups it was mostly the same thing over and over; Akatsuki, Ichigo, Cloud, Organization XIII, misc Pokemon trainers. So a lot of things that were iconic and recognizable, but not altogether varied or unique. These are the people I generally don't take pictures of, because there's so many all over the place. If I do, it's because they were my fave or because their costume is super good. Generally I try to take pictures of things that are amazing (like the Pokemon ANBU) or less common cosplays of things I really like.
Here are my pictures, btw.
There aren't too many stories to tell. We tried to watch Chocolate Underground, but it was moved so we watched ICE instead, and boy was that crazy. Full of eye-licking and birds turning into flowers (watch for it @ 1:28). We left early to go to the "Laser Spectacular" from which we also left early because it was a choreographed glowstick dance. But then we watched Ninja Nonsense, and that was well worth it.
If you skip ahead to 5 minutes on this video, you can see Carolyn and them up at the Avatar panel. They won books!
Geez I just spent half an hour looking at youtube vids to see if we were in any more. Not yet.
So now I'm all amped up on sewing stuff?! I made a fleece hat ('cause those are super popular with this crowd) and today I made these lil charm/coin purses. One step closer to an Etsy shop, I'm tellin ya. What else can I make that's super cute?
Well okay, I'mma watch the new Naruto and then it's sleepstiem.
-Steph
PS
I liked the AX. I forgot how much I loved it until I was there.
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