ANIME EXPO | 2016

   ARE YOU EVEN READY
FOR THE INSANE AMOUNT OF PHOTOS

well too bad because i'm gonna write a lot of stuff, too.


BRUH.
I wasn't ready.
I mean, I was. This year I think is the first year I got a hotel in LA just for this damn con. It's a good thing though because fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccccck that traffic.
The insanity. Holy. shit.
This year, AX was basically one astronomical safety hazard.
Just... a building full of way too many people-- worse than last year-- who would all die if a fire started because the exits were hellishly bottlenecked at every corridor, hallway, door, and personal space.

BUT STILL
It was very fun :D

This year, I was accompanied by my equally dorky coworker, Mii ^_^ (not her real name)
We went halfsies on the hotel, and I discovered the magical ways of Uber.

AX I think has outgrown itself. Like it doesn't even understand it's own batshit crazy big-ness.
A good metaphor of this is like... my friend telling me about this girl he was with, and how he noticed she just kinda bumped into shit as well as people because she either
1. doesn't give a shit or
2. doesn't even know her own like, body dimensions or isn't self-aware enough of her size to be like... OH! I'm literally physical matter! And I bump into stuff! I should probably not do that!

Yeah. That's Anime Expo. It doesn't know it's own size. Or just blatantly ignores it and the organizers were like YOU KNOW WHAT GUYS? FUCK IT. CAPS ARE DUMB. SELL A BILLION TICKETS, IT'S FINE- Who knows.

Anyway.
The morning of the 1st day (I didn't go on Thursday, day 0), I set my alarm for 6:45am through 7:30am. I got out of bed around 7:15 and started packing lol.
I was impressed with myself though, because I got everything packed away and got ready all in time to get Mii around almost 10, and we were off!

Fortunately, we were able to check into our hotel crazy early. So we stopped by there, dropped off all our shit, and installed Uber on my phone. Off we went!

To eat.

Food truck heaven this year, for real. Lord.

But let me tell you how awful the line to get our badges was.

like wat the actual fak.
We got there a little after 12. Mii grabbed something from a nearby food truck, and we got in line for our badges at 12:43. I checked.
We didn't get our badges until a little after 2pm. It was stupid.
I felt bad for the volunteers, because they were overwhelmed, and the lines were all kinds of crazy disorganized, and they were short staffed, and just... ugh. Attendees were yelling at them because for a while, no one knew which direction the line went from so many people crowding in one area.
Not to mention the sun was out, and we were outside, and aye dios mio it was terribad.
My face got red from the sun exposure. yuck.
But once we got our badges, Cynthia was hungry, so we went to the food truck lot and Cynthia was finally able to eat something. 

 Favorite booth

\

Soooooo coooooool

 I got excited when I saw this thinking that maybe more volumes would be out.

They're not. I have them all already lol

 This Rachnera cosplay was kinda cool though. Wasn't expecting that at all.

 

This was some VR demo thingie

 Mii saw this booth and ended up buying an infinity of these. The lady was like, omg have one for free! And Mii said I could have her free one. She's so sweet.

They're all so sparkly!
I got a black one with purple sparklies lol

 ilu project-h
like, can i work there

 Wanted to finish Parasyte but all the episodes were taken down and now there are only a few :(

my soul, illustrated on khaki shirts.

The only time I pose for a picture in front of a booth, and someone goes "you just missed the Papi cosplayer!" and I was like HUH!? WHERE

 It's fine. Hi pedobear.

 Day 1 was definitely ... a day.

The Old Spice guy gets it

PRETTTYYYYYYYY GREAT FAIIIRRRYY 

I'm not even gonna lie, the eye-candy was real you guys.

 My nose was so sunburned >_<

This poor girl looked DEAD when we approached her for a photo. I still have guilt over it to this day because she looked like she was exhausted and just sooooo over people taking photos of her.
Thank you gorl, we appreciate you and your beautifulness and the work you put into looking so awesome.

It was pretty nice to be able to walk around everywhere without having to worry about a car. Not gonna lie.
I did however feel awful for being the source of horrible traffic-- but since I was one of many, it lessened the anxiety. (I still ran across when the timer was below 10 seconds-- even if there was a huge crowd behind me still crossing)

That evening, we went to Hooters for dinner.
Because I mean how could we not

The first day pretty much started around 3 for us, and we spent most of it inside the show floor just wandering around, trying not to buy stuff. Well, we bought stuff. I mostly bought food.
It was a dangerous weekend, because we had just gotten paid the day before.
The self control was real.


D A Y 2 |

WAS STUPID.

It was all insanely kinds of crowded. We went, stupidly, into the show floor and couldn't take it so we decided to go to Artist Alley, which this year was also weird.

The GOOD thing about Artist Alley this year is that it was in the lower parking structure, which meant it was significantly bigger. This means more artists, and more exposure for everyone!

The BAD thing though was the layout.
The aisles were too narrow, and the crowding was ... so so so bad.
We did the best we could to cover all the aisles, but eventually split because there were just too many people.

Some pretty dope cosplays though :D

So we went back upstairs and hung out in the lobby for a little bit.

There's no way this guy isn't married. AMIRITE

 on our way back from getting food, I was just observing the insanity of the crosswalk in one of the most annoying intersections in DTLA.

I felt for the cars, because I've had to drive in these messes for years. It's impossible to make turns, and when there are so many people trying to get to the same place, it's hell.

BUT WE WERE WALKING, SO WHATEVER
I ran into a Jack and Sally, and moments later a Halloween Town Sora shows up and everything was just so cute omg

Honestly though, Day 2 was just so crazy and exhausting that I didn't take as many pictures as I would've liked to (in hindsight). We were just so ready to gtfo of there.
I'm not exactly sure what time we left, I think it was around 5 or 6?

--OH. WAIT.
LET ME TELL YOU A THING.

Cynthia is stupid and a sucker for a cute face. You will see him later.
I made an ass of myself. Because it's AX, and I was in cosplay, and.... whatever.

SO ANYWAY
We left, and that same evening (or weekend) was the 626 Night Market in Arcadia.
That's about 30 minutes east of L.A.

WHAT BETTER WAY TO SHIT AWAY YOUR SAVINGS THAN TO NOT JUST ATTEND AN ANIME CON FOR THE WEEKEND, BUT ALSO JUST EAT A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT SHIT AT A, BASICALLY, FOOD CON?

THE ANSWER IS: DO EXACTLY THAT

Originally, I thought it was going to be Mii, myself, and T.
But Mii had to leave-leave, so it ended up being just myself and T-- which is fine. Because we went together to the last one and it was kinda like.... destiny or something.
So, T drove up to the hotel and parked in my spot, and I drove us there.

Once we got there, my adorable friend who never doesn't smile ever not even if there was a fire, calls me. He was going too! *whispers* he was on a date!
I helped him navigate a little, and then headed inside w/ T.

 Okay, real talk;
I feel like I've seen that dude, w/ the white hair, LIKE 5 TIMES NOW out in the world.
I saw him at AX, here, obviously, and last night while walking through Downtown Disney, I swear I saw him again. He has that distinct hairstyle, and it's SO WEIRD. I should just start taking photos every time I see him. I saw him somewhere else too, but can't remember where. I think I saw him in Downtown Fullerton too. I don't know.... I DON'T KNOW. But yeah. That guy. He's definitely a real person. I'm sure of it.

So. It was crowded.

Like, insanely crowded.
Stinky tofu made it worse.
T and I didn't know where to start, until we found our booth. OUR booth.
The booth that is safe, and delicious. Soul Street. We love you. 

God, it was stupid crowded.

But we are baristas. We have the patience of angels.

So while we're waiting for our food, Smiley calls me basically crying (basically) all like, ommmmggggg i'm like loooost where do i gooooo waaaaaaahhhhh
and i was like, sigh. wait there, i'll come to you.
and he was like okay

So I walk through hell and stinky tofu towards the entrance of the park and wait for him.

When ALL OF A SUDDEN
This like, sweet lady taps me on the shoulder and starts talking to me with the biggest smile, and complimenting my outfit! And I'm like HI! And then like, random crazy handsome dude like, swoops in OUT OF NOWHERE and is like, hello, this is weird but she really likes your style, is it okay if she can get a picture with you? and I'm like
 HAYYYYYY ORLY? THEEEENKS, TOTALLY ^____________________^
And she and I chitchatted for a little bit. I liked what she had going on too! So colorful! And she was so sweet and it really made my heart happy.

There was um, a culture shock (백마를 타다) that I had experienced and it had, regrettably, left a negative impression on me. so this was just... really, really, really nice. and apparently, needed for my self esteem.

 and then, random handsome dude was like... is it okay if I can get a picture with you too? 

and I was like OH MY. WHY YES, SIR. YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN.

psyche, I didn't say that. But if I had had enough drinks... I would have.

 

He later sent these to me via Facebook. Thanks for the pictures, R.H.D.! :)

There was like, this shit going on at the Night Market, too.
I've noticed a thing... w/ raves. Definitely noticed a thing.
Not my scene. But you ravers do you and have fun and fuck like rabbits, I'll be so supportive. But it's just not my scene, lol. I can't... the music, the grinding, the drugs and the sort-of naked people, and the boners and everyone's horny... I can't. I just can't, lol ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Well... I did eventually run into Smiley, but not when I thought we would. Lol, turns out he went in without me (which i later discovered why) and he just ended up finding me and T at another spot.
I got to meet the pretty lady he was with, and was able to introduce him to T. While he and I chatted though, I felt a yucky vibe, and backed off after a bit.
I wanted to take a picture w/ him but.............. I could tell his date didn't like me, so I didn't push for that. BUT SHE WAS REALLY PRETTY! Like 76984759824932848920384x prettier than I could ever aspire to be! And I wished him all the luck in the world for a happy, fulfilling lay that night. 

Sooooo, after a little bit of awkwardness, they took off. T confirmed his date was like, looking me up and down and glaring so it was probably for the best that he didn't hang out w/ us?

I'M SORRY, SMILEY'S PRETTY DATE. YOU'RE LIKE, SUPER PRETTY AND PLEASE DON'T HATE ME I'M JUST AN IDIOT AROUND MY FRIENDS and act giddy and bubbly and stupid.

T and I actually didn't really eat that much that night. But we did wander around a lot. In fact, I can't recall everything that we had, but we did eventually get some amazing funnel cakes;

And we left shortly after. It had been a long day for the both of us, and we were beat.

 As we left, I took a photo of the charming aftermath at one of the seating areas. 

Lovely, isn't it?

Did I mention that I cosplayed as Sabrina on Saturday?

No? Well, I did. My stupid ass didn't realize there was a Pokemon gathering on Sunday, not Saturday.

And Mii was Eevee!

D A Y 3 | Dookie.

Busted out the Little Sister.

I'd been wanting to cosplay her forevvveerrrr, but just wasn't willing to shit out the money to achieve her at the time. 

And now I am very broke. So. THAT HAPPENED. 

Do I regret it? Not really, but lol.... man. Being this broke is depressing LOL

BUT WORTH IT.

Sunday, I actually arrived really early. Like, before 10AM. That NEVER happens.
But this was primarily because I was meeting up w/ my Delta at 11AM, and other Bioshock cosplayers. And the plan was just to walk around together and blow peoples' minds.

We did that.
But beforehand, I walked w/ him to the Westin to meet up w/ peeps, and to pick up his gear for his Subject Delta cosplay.

And then we walked back.
He put it all on in the hotel and walked out of the lobby w/ it with me next to him.
And then decided it was way too hot and too shitty to walk the whole way back to the convention center w/ his gear on. Thankfully we had help :)

 omg.

 Damnit, Left Shark.

We took a bunch of pictures, but my camera was being extra craptacular for some reason.
I sent the photos that were salvagable to Rachel, our handler (the redhead^_^). I'm hoping she can work some magic to make them less fugly. Some did turn out cute though.

I finally got a new phone though, with a significantly better camera.
Soon.

Best

I didn't stay in cosplay for long though. After a little while, I wanted to just be comfortable and walk around without the hassle of my wig and thick layers of clothing. That dress is stuffy!
So I took an Uber back to my hotel and changed, then came back to the con.

As I was approaching the convention center, there was a huge gathering outside. Bigger than normal.
I checked it out

This guy was an asshole. At first, before I approached, I wanted to hear him out because he was calm, and seemed collected, but then he wouldn't let anyone make their points and started talking over them.

Until this Christian dude stood up and started arguing back, SCHOOLING this guy, but the guy kept talking in circles. Was really irritating. He just wouldn't listen.

I respected Christian dude. He was throwing back verses and everything just totally obliterating asshole Christian guy, and I had to take a selfie w/ him, lol.
While I am not religious in the slightest, I am also not a dick, and at the end of the day will get along with just about anyone that is just... a person with like... values, lol. And common sense. And just isn't a shitty, prejudice douchebag.
Christian dude was cool. I like Christian dude. Thanks for being an example!

 Also, this guy.

 Asshole Christian Guy was a douchebag.

I feel sorry for him.

It made me feel good that other religious people, who were also Christian, stood up and spoke against him. He even had the balls to tell them they weren't of their faith. Asshole.

"God" loves everyone, even your sorry, hypocrite ass. 

I don't wanna get into it, so lets move on!

Armor made from Mt. Dew and Pepsi.

fucking BOSS

So cuuuute

 JASON FOUND ME! 

I haven't spoken to him in a while. It was good to see him! 

Him and his lady are so cute omg she's so little compared to him. I love them, and she's so pretttyyyyyy

He calls her his strawberry U______U 

cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute

 Dope.

 Walter!

 Witch pokemangs GUYS

 SHE'S A GENGAR.

And... this one confused me a bit, because her mask looked more like Cyrax's mask, but Scorpion wears robes. So I think she's Scorpion? 

Either way, they looked cute.

LATER THAT EVENING, KIND OF:
Just kidding, I was on my way to the entertainment hall.
I spotted a Snorlax, which only meant that Dippy was there.

I know it's "D-Piddy" but I call him Dippy, k? He's just Dippy to me.
So.
Yeah.

aaand BAHB!

I hung out there for a while before going off to charge my phone.

At the time, I was by myself because our Bioshock group had to split off. Which was fine, I already had my evening planned for myself.
But not gonna lie... I was pooped, lol. And I got sick! Hahaha. But that's nothing new at cons. My only concern really was having to go into work at 4AM the next morning.
But thankfully, I was able to get my shift covered and ended up having a really cool night.

 The outlet where I was charging my phone was right next to where that girl w/ the blue wig is sitting, in the below photo. So I had a pretty interesting view of things, lol.

I was not unhappy. 

After a little while, I left to go walk around some more and kill some time.

There was a dance that started at like 9 or something that I had planned on going to, and I think it was like 8ish? I wasn't doing anything in particular, except I knew I was hungry. And needed something to do, so I went back to the entertainment hall (the only other hall that was open and maybe had some cosplayers I could take photos of).

That's when I found a Dippy.

We said hi and chatted for a bit. but then left because I was hungry, and went to go get hot dogs w/ a friend.

I call this friend, "Oppa."
We went to the entertainment hall, and hung out with a few people.

LIKE THIS ADORABLE WIDDLE RILAKKUMA BABY WITH AU NATURAL FANGS
Those are his real teeth and I'm so jealous because I have ugly horse teeth but he has the cutest teeth in the world and omg 

Oppa and I ended up going to the dance.
We sat for a little while just talking for aw hile. It felt really good to connect w/ someone like that. Was therapeutic. He felt it was better if he went home, but I was a horrible influence and convinced him into staying, in hopes that it may distract him and make him feel better. So, we got up, walked back to the convention center and went to the dance, lol. 

sigh.

that's a dildo. yep.

 ISN'T HE SO CUTE!?!?

Don't. 

Ask.

Just don't.

Oppa and I didn't stay at the dance long. 

He was nice enough to give me a ride back to my car at the hotel. (I've known him for a few years-- I'm not that stupid.)

 We ended up chillin in his car until 4 am.
The last time we hung out, it was actually really late then too, lol. But... idk. It was just nice. I don't think I've been able to just sit w/ someone in a car and talk for hours like that in a really long time. I can't even really remember even being able to do that. I mean, I've done that, but idk. This was cool.

I laughed too much.

whatever.

fries.

I was falling asleep in his passenger seat, and he had to be home, so we said goodnight. Saw some fireworks, too!
Aaaaaaaannnndddd....
This is what I came home to.

Anime Expo was *really* fun.
I have to be really careful w/ spendings now lol... like, I don't even know how I'm going to pay for my classes this next semester but... YOLO
lol
At least I have my classes registered I guess. That's all that matters. I'll pay for it in a few daysss.... >_> lol


Yeah, this post was way overdue, lol and I'm so sorry.
I still have like, an infinity photos to share. But I just really wanted to get this out of the way.

And I can't wait to show you everything else!
But now, I have to go get ready.

Everyone's talking about EXO and SDCC and I'm just here like... reading hentai and avoiding folding and putting away my laundry and going out hunting Pokemon IT'S CRAZY.
Guys. You don't even KNOW.
But I'll talk about that later.


Fries.
I want fries.