![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
DragonCon!
3 Sep 2013 07:56 pmThursday morning we left a bit later than I wanted to, around 9:30. After getting money from the ATM and properly inflating my tires, we got on the road about 9:45 which got us into metro Atlanta about 3:30 and to the hotel a little after 4. We got into our room, unpacked, got our badges, and went to dinner with Chrys and William. (The Mellow Mushroom is awesome. And cheap. Our room had a fridge, so we bought extra.)
Friday started with a surprisingly busy panel: the Genetics of X-Men. The room was packed, standing room only, and I had to watch from the doorway. After that, I think I went costume watching for a while until it was time for The Mechs Behind Pacific Rim, where I met a Tendo cosplayer named Bailey. She and I went over to the dealers' room after the panel. It was kind of a mess; there was a huge traffic jam right where you went in, but once you got through that, it wasn't too bad.
I bought a poster of Cherno Alpha signed by Guillermo del Toro with the extra note "MY FAVE!!" It was the most expensive thing I purchased. I also got a master grade Shining Gundam kit because it was $40, and I've never seen an MG kit that cheap. And I got BPAL's Peach 1, which, despite having tobacco listed as a note, didn't stink on me.
Ben was at a panel or something? And we went over to Truva for dinner. It was really good. Their falafel was crispy and tender and kinda kicky. The mezes are $6-7 each, and for the two of us, four were sufficient (Ben also ordered a shrimp casserole meze, which was $12, and was a pot of mushrooms and tomatoes with a couple huge shrimps on top). It's definitely on my go-again list.
I think we went costume watching after that.
Saturday was the parade. They changed the route a bit, so I didn't get to sit where I wanted to and ended up watching from the fifth floor of a parking deck. I took pictures, but they're all of tiny, indistinguishable people.
Then I went and put my costume on. After that, I costume watched some more until it was time for the Pacific Rim meetup and photoshoot, which was awesome and a lot of fun and really really hot with my coat on.
After that, it was back up to the Hyatt for my reading, where I got the weirdest mistaken cosplay identity. Someone decided I was Daenarys or however the fuck you spell it. Um. Modern combat boots and a tank top and dog tags? Totally looks like fantasy to me. Anyway. People seemed to like my pieces, though I suffered from being second to last.
Then dinner at the Pacific Rim bistro (I had to). I got a seared ahi tuna thing that was pretty decent, and Ben got a ginger martini that had actual ginger puree in it. At the bottom of the drink, you could chew it. Then back to the Marriott for costume watching, probably.
Sunday started similarly, and I got my costume back on. I have the problem of being a morning person with a strong internal clock, so I'll be awake by 7 no matter what. Also I'm a light sleeper, so loud-snoring roommate didn't help. (I tried earplugs, but after about an hour I started to feel dizzy and took them out. I wonder if the pressure buildup in my ear canals affects my inner ear and contributes to migraine.)
My Sunday schedule was completely clear, so I wandered around the art show and dealers' room with Ben until he went to a panel and I found a room I'd completely missed the first run through. Then we went to dinner in the food court and used the magic flavored soda machine at Moe's (I got peach-vanilla Sprite, which is awesome). We went to the Tom Smith concert, which was great. The Pinky & the Brain voice actors were in the next room over, so we had a cheering contest through the walls.
Then we went to our room to watch the Masquerade on DCTV so we could heckle it. Since I took my costume off, I couldn't go back out. My hair was ... well, it pointed upward without any assistance. Ben went back out, and I went to bed.
Monday we packed up and went to the Tom Smith concert on the concourse, ate lunch, and drove home. We left around 2:45, which was too late, and we got back around 8:30. I got gas station cappuccino in South Carolina when I stopped for gas (it's cheaper there). I love that stuff. It's *awful* and artificial, but it's cheap and tastes better than that burnt crap Starbucks sells.
Also: for future reference, the rest area with the pretty lake is the SECOND one northbound on 85 in SC, not the first.
I'm already planning an ambitious costume for next year with Ben: the Kaidonovskys' pilot armor. I'm looking up tutorials for Mass Effect and Gears of War and Stormtroopers to get an idea of how to assemble the whole thing. Craft foam is probably the way to go.
And here are my photos (on tumblr)
Disney
anime
superheroes
miscellaneous
*punk
I haven't gotten to the PR photoshoot yet, and tumblr upload is REALLY SLOW, and it's time to watch cartoons now.
Friday started with a surprisingly busy panel: the Genetics of X-Men. The room was packed, standing room only, and I had to watch from the doorway. After that, I think I went costume watching for a while until it was time for The Mechs Behind Pacific Rim, where I met a Tendo cosplayer named Bailey. She and I went over to the dealers' room after the panel. It was kind of a mess; there was a huge traffic jam right where you went in, but once you got through that, it wasn't too bad.
I bought a poster of Cherno Alpha signed by Guillermo del Toro with the extra note "MY FAVE!!" It was the most expensive thing I purchased. I also got a master grade Shining Gundam kit because it was $40, and I've never seen an MG kit that cheap. And I got BPAL's Peach 1, which, despite having tobacco listed as a note, didn't stink on me.
Ben was at a panel or something? And we went over to Truva for dinner. It was really good. Their falafel was crispy and tender and kinda kicky. The mezes are $6-7 each, and for the two of us, four were sufficient (Ben also ordered a shrimp casserole meze, which was $12, and was a pot of mushrooms and tomatoes with a couple huge shrimps on top). It's definitely on my go-again list.
I think we went costume watching after that.
Saturday was the parade. They changed the route a bit, so I didn't get to sit where I wanted to and ended up watching from the fifth floor of a parking deck. I took pictures, but they're all of tiny, indistinguishable people.
Then I went and put my costume on. After that, I costume watched some more until it was time for the Pacific Rim meetup and photoshoot, which was awesome and a lot of fun and really really hot with my coat on.
After that, it was back up to the Hyatt for my reading, where I got the weirdest mistaken cosplay identity. Someone decided I was Daenarys or however the fuck you spell it. Um. Modern combat boots and a tank top and dog tags? Totally looks like fantasy to me. Anyway. People seemed to like my pieces, though I suffered from being second to last.
Then dinner at the Pacific Rim bistro (I had to). I got a seared ahi tuna thing that was pretty decent, and Ben got a ginger martini that had actual ginger puree in it. At the bottom of the drink, you could chew it. Then back to the Marriott for costume watching, probably.
Sunday started similarly, and I got my costume back on. I have the problem of being a morning person with a strong internal clock, so I'll be awake by 7 no matter what. Also I'm a light sleeper, so loud-snoring roommate didn't help. (I tried earplugs, but after about an hour I started to feel dizzy and took them out. I wonder if the pressure buildup in my ear canals affects my inner ear and contributes to migraine.)
My Sunday schedule was completely clear, so I wandered around the art show and dealers' room with Ben until he went to a panel and I found a room I'd completely missed the first run through. Then we went to dinner in the food court and used the magic flavored soda machine at Moe's (I got peach-vanilla Sprite, which is awesome). We went to the Tom Smith concert, which was great. The Pinky & the Brain voice actors were in the next room over, so we had a cheering contest through the walls.
Then we went to our room to watch the Masquerade on DCTV so we could heckle it. Since I took my costume off, I couldn't go back out. My hair was ... well, it pointed upward without any assistance. Ben went back out, and I went to bed.
Monday we packed up and went to the Tom Smith concert on the concourse, ate lunch, and drove home. We left around 2:45, which was too late, and we got back around 8:30. I got gas station cappuccino in South Carolina when I stopped for gas (it's cheaper there). I love that stuff. It's *awful* and artificial, but it's cheap and tastes better than that burnt crap Starbucks sells.
Also: for future reference, the rest area with the pretty lake is the SECOND one northbound on 85 in SC, not the first.
I'm already planning an ambitious costume for next year with Ben: the Kaidonovskys' pilot armor. I'm looking up tutorials for Mass Effect and Gears of War and Stormtroopers to get an idea of how to assemble the whole thing. Craft foam is probably the way to go.
And here are my photos (on tumblr)
Disney
anime
superheroes
miscellaneous
*punk
I haven't gotten to the PR photoshoot yet, and tumblr upload is REALLY SLOW, and it's time to watch cartoons now.
