So Friday morning I got into Seattle and headed to the convention center for Sakuracon. I had not been to this particular convention in years, and it had made me a bit antsy, since I do not do well in huge crowds. Though I do really miss the times with the old Gang, it was a bit liberating to head to a convention without a group, since it gave me more freedom in my choices of panels. I could hit up concerts, Gaia panels, Magic tournaments, console gaming, lolita tea parties, and studies of mythology and politics behind anime, without worrying that my interests would be uninteresting to companions. At the Gaia panel, I was chosen to participate in the contest run by DJ Helsing. Gosh, he's such a dork, especially stumbling over his words blazed off of energy drinks! The prizes weren't worth anything, but it was a super fun experience just to play along. ^^

Saturday night was magical, in particular, since I was front row for the Moi dix Mois concert. Kanon Wakeshima played first, and I got another crush on a female singer. Such a little angel in braces! When Mana came out, my first thought was, "Man, Mana, you're such a fairy." He looked like an ethereal little fey princess. Then K walked over and stood right in front of me left stage. When he began singing, he pointed towards me for almost the entire duration that he wasn't strumming. Oh my. I was having all sorts of trouble breathing and controlling my heart beat! And that was before he asked us to sing and dance along! I admit it. I have a HUGE crush on K. I wore out my voice screaming along with the crowd, and I could barely talk the next morning. People thought I was intentionally making my voice soft to be "moe-eh"? I just had nothin left!

The biggest part of Sunday, besides walking around and hanging out with various groups of congoers and making new friends, was getting my poster signed by the band. K scrawled his letter over a huge portion, and I hope I didn't swoon visibly. Mana gave me another of those, "God. WTF." looks of his, and I scurried away, then walked backwards, staring like a moron. : )

I had spent some time with the lovely Rebecca Barnes in the Artist Alley throughout the con. Perhaps you know her as Bluessence, the brilliant mind behind some well loved layouts on gaia, or the creator of beautiful artworks displayed here on deviantart. Now she's doing jewlery, too! I bought a dainty silver ring to wear on my middle finger with swirls that trail down in the direction of my nail. She gave me some advice on pricing, because I am thinking of doing a booth soon, if I can find a partner. It was nice to see someone I knew at the con.

I also ran into Crete, Anna's sister, and her partner and baby. They were dressed up as Jesse, James, and itty bitty Meowth. The little one is still so tiny! I had expected her to grow up overnight, as you see babies do, but perhaps she's secretly half fairy herself. She's still practically as petite as an infant, but she's running around and climbing things! She is about the same age as my baby sister, Lily, but Lil is already a bear (she even roars). Maybe some day I'll get to see these two tykes running around in magical school girl outfits at a con while I shake a cane at the new animefreak recruits.

A really nice guy who I spent a lot of time with at the con came with me to explore the Seattle docks. The last time I was there was with Ian, chasing seagulls. It was nostalgia. We stopped at a sweet shop, browsed some ancient books, and swam through a crowd in the fish market. I really loved the smell there, and it was awesome taking a gander at the giant boats and ships. Oh, to be a sailor! (Or a pirate! : D)

A different guy I met, dressed up as Eyebrows, got really, really plastered. I helped him out in his hotel room (he had been trying to go off to drink more, can you believe), and forced water down him by playing the "cute and bossy" card. He and I had a discussion on bio chemistry and engineering, since that is what he studies, but he could barely remember a sentence he had just uttered, so it was a long three hour conversation before he calmed down and fell asleep. I started counting how many times he would stop and say, "Why are you doing this... you are so nice.. You are so cute... You're really cute, you know that?" 22 times. He called me cute 22 times. Not counting the four times he called me pretty mingled with expletives. XD Oh, my. I was flattered and found him hilarious for being so inebriated. Don't drink at cons, people.

Throughout the con, I got the usual, "Can I take your picture?" Yet I was surprised when I started getting, "Can I take a picture with you?" or "Can I take a picture of my friend with you?" I felt like a side show attraction, but I don't fault the desire to take home a bit of the con magic. Even when I was just dressed in lolita, I suppose it was still part of the fandom that people admire and wish to preserve.

The creepy part was after I left the con, however. Apparently some of the photos taken of me ended up being shared somewhere in an article or something? Sunday night when I reached Portland, a man walked up to me and said, "You were just at Sakuracon!" I was like, "Ah.. Ha... Yes?" Then Tuesday I happened to be wearing one of my dresses because I was transporting my con suitcase back to my dorm and my dress didn't fit. A woman asked if I was at the anime convention in Seattle. Wondering again how people know this, unless she was just guessing by the dress, I asked about it. She told me that she saw me in a photo with an article. I wish I'd asked more about where this article was, because eee! I'm curious and a bit shifty footed. What's all this about, eh? Should I just stack it onto the "Things to expect when going to cons" list? I don't know how I feel about people I don't know being able to recognize me on the street. Hm.