Well, this weekend was... long. I had very mixed feelings about AAC this year. I had a blast mainly because of the people there. I was a tad disappointed about the schedule, but I'm not gonna bitch because I still had a damn good time. My comments on the hotel this year... It's a beautiful hotel, but I think they're a bit stingy.
Anyway, no complaints, seriously. It'd be stupid since I did have a fucking awesome time. Con report.


I changed into Itsuki and Caitlin, Shara, and I got into the car and headed up for 9AM. We thought that registration was at 9, but as it turned out, it was at noon. There were more people that thought that as well so we weren't the only ones waiting for three hours. Fortunately, we used that three hours to have a hell of a good time. After sitting around the hotel lobby for a while, I suggested we go outside and have a mini photoshoot near the hotel's lake. There were eleven of us that went but we didn't last long since it was cold out and some people weren't dressed for that sort of weather. Unfortunately, we were kicked out of the hotel (which was stupid because it was cold out) because they were finishing up another event.
Registration started outside around noon so all of us that had been waiting around finally got our badges. No events actually started until 3PM so a group of us went to the Panera Bread down the road and got breakfast. Since roughly half of us were in cosplay, we got a LOT of stares. (I feel a bit more comfortable when there's a group but there were instances where I was just with Caitlin and Shara and refused to go to the mall because I was the only one in cosplay.)
The dealer's room/artist's alley opened at 2. I was kind of sad that they didn't have a booth that sold DVDs and manga (and I know there was one but the selection sucks and it's way overpriced.) I think the best booths in the dealer's room this year was the guy with the doujinshi, figurines, etc. that's there every year and the people selling old school video games. I didn't buy terribly much. I bought two Bleach posters, a Haruhi wallscroll, a clay Kodama sculpture, four Saiyuki keychains, Edgeworth and Kuwabara stickers, a Youzen x Taikoubou doujinshi (I nearly died when I saw it), and I FOUND A FUCKING TOTA PHONESTRAP. And it's Anise which makes me happy because she's my second favorite character tied with like... everyone else. Unfortunately, the strap is too thick to fit in my phone.
I did change into Guy for a little while. I also signed up for Next Top Cosplay Model and got a mini-photoshoot done. I was happy because I made it in as the alternate. I felt really proud of that since I wasn't expecting it at all.
I honestly don't remember much of Friday. We didn't really do any events... I did go to the formal ball though which was a lot of fun. I changed into Itsuki for it (Good Spirits!Guy didn't work out...) and went with Ilona and Tony. Tony and I have no clue how to formal dance so we just made asses of ourselves attempting to. I danced with a few different people which was nice.
Around 9, I left the ball since I was sore in many different places and was sick and feeling it so we headed back home for the night.


Luckily, I got about 8 hours of sleep on Friday night so I was ready to go on Saturday. I wore Guy all day up until the rave and it was more comfortable than I expected... minus the damn BOOTS. Those things killed my feet. I wore three pairs of socks since I shoes I used were too big.
I really don't remember much of Saturday either, to be honest. I do remember walking around a LOT and going in to see if I was needed for Project Cosplay, but I wasn't. I didn't mind since I really did it for fun. Though, I have to say that I am still incredibly confused about the concept of Project Cosplay. Either way, I was very impressed with the work of the contestants.
The masquerade was fucking EPIC. I'm still sad to see that Naruto and Death Note skits dominate but there were some really great skits this year. The Yuki (Grandia III) from the Matsuri was there and won an award and I nearly fangirl squealed. I love that game and I've been wanting to cosplay as Yuki since playing last year so to see such an amazing Yuki made me really happy. The AMVs were also very impressive. One of them got me looking into a new series called Kimi ga Nozomu Eien (Rumbling Hearts in the US) that looks super sad and angsty. I love that stuff so I plan on watching it this week. (Probably tomorrow because I know I'll want to cry after my anthropology exam.)
The intermission skits in the masquerade (the dance one from the epic Haruhi group I adore and the one with Ginger and everybody) were two of the coolest things I've ever seen in my entire life. And even more fun for the audience was when they played the Cotton Eyed Joe and a bunch of us started dancing in the aisles.
I changed into Nami for the rave (the new version which I was SO happy I made.) I'd never worn something that skimpy (excluding Sailor uniform) to a con before so I was a bit uncomfortable walking around, but I eventually got used to it. Tim and I completely decked ourselves out with glowsticks. He and Shara only lasted a little while, but Caitlin and I went through the entire three hours with only less than ten minutes outside the room. I was pretty excited when a girl asked me to dance with her especially when I noticed her "I love yuri" hat. In the end, I'm sad to say I ended up dancing with more guys than girls. More towards the end since that's when I got a burst of energy. I think I'm getting a bit better on the con dance floor. Granted, I'm a dirty dancer like everyone else (yes, there was much close-contact dancing for me last night), but that's just more fun.
Caitlin and I left around 1AM and I came home and passed out in bed around 2.


I was pissed when I woke up at 6AM and couldn't get back to sleep. So, I ran off of four hours of sleep today. I had a heavy debate on what to wear today. Nami's cold and Itsuki was getting con funk and Guy was falling apart. I ended up wearing Itsuki in the end and I'm glad I did since I still froze my ass off.
I went alone this morning since Caitlin had work and Shara wasn't feeling well the night before. I met Tim in the cafeteria at 9 and then I ended up hanging out with Tony and a Shanks cosplayer/staffer for a while. I eventually found Meggles and then got a call from Shara who decided to come. I met her in the lobby and we went to the fusion dance panel hosted by the incredibly amazing belly dancer that AAC has every year. The dance was amazing and incredibly fun and a freaking workout. It's no wonder she's in such fantastic shape. That's what I need.
After that panel, we went straight to the Con Prov since the Haruhi from the large Haruhi staff group wanted me to be there. It was hosted by the main five of that group and we pretty much played improv games. It was so damn fun. I volunteered for a couple of games but only played one because I'm awful at coming up with things on the spot. It was a slide-show game where four people would pose and then there'd be an expert that would talk about a subject and use the posing four to describe it. And then there was the host. Haruhi shoved me into the position of the expert which was quite possibly the worst position for me since I'm so uncreative it's embarassing, hahaha. It was still fun though and thankfully Spike (the host, not to mention the Soubi from the PCM masquerade) really helped me out when I was stumped.
After was closing ceremonies. Not much to say about it, honestly. I was sad I didn't get to say goodbye to a lot of people, but I'm sure I'll see them again before the next AAC.

AAC this year for me was fun because of the people I interacted with and the masquerade. And the best panels were all today. I was really happy that people recognized me as Guy because it shows that people know the game. Anyway, I miss everybody already.
I can't wait for next year's AAC. Fuck AB, fuck PCM... I want AAC.

Now, I have a midterm in the morning and I also have the cough of death and virtually no voice due to all the cheering and whatnot. Good night!