A-Kon 24 – 2013: Cosplay, Comics & Friends

This past weekend was A-Kon 24 in Dallas, Tx at the Hilton Anatole! This was my second year to attend. Last year I was only able to go on Sunday, and dressed up as Ramona Flowers. I had a wonderful time seeing so many friends and meeting new ones. I can’t believe how many awesome people I have been lucky to get to know just by going to conventions. Last year I didn’t know anyone! I even went with my friend Brandon on Friday for my first group cosplay doing Sith assassins. The hotel was pretty incredible, but the parking was awful. I am thankful my dad was willing to drop us off so we could avoid the hassle. I also didn’t like how crowded the hallways were to register and get into the Dealer’s room. This has been a common complaint from other con goers. Last year, at the Sheraton Hotel, it felt more spread out.. so even though it was crowded it didn’t feel like a fire hazard waiting to happen. Except for Yaya Han, there weren’t any celebrity guests I wanted to meet. So I just had fun walking around in my costumes and admiring everyone else’s.

I took this video when I got home as a quick little review of my weekend. This was my first time using Photobooth to record a video and for some reason the volume is really low and it’s also mirrored. I thought it would look normal when I replayed it, but nope! lol .. Sorry about that. I will get better at videos hopefully.

So click the link below to view my full review! Lots of photos ahead!

A-Kon was Friday through Sunday, but you could pick up your badge on Thursday. I was nervous I wouldn’t make it to get my badge early because I was booked at work all day. So in both good and bad ways my last client of the day “no showed” .. meaning they didn’t come in or call to let me know! I was bummed, but it also meant I could rush downtown to try and get my badge. Brandon picked me up and we drove around in circles trying to find a place to park. It was awful! We found a sketchy alley and hoped for the best. When I got inside the line was CRAZY. Brandon and I got separated because I pre-ordered and he needed on-site purchase. My line eventually got cut off, but they said I would still get my badge. Then about 30 minutes later they changed their mind and cut the line off about 60 people in front of me. I was so upset!

Then I saw my friend Cody who already had his badge. He went up to this super nice lady who was one of the lucky ones that was still in line and asked her if I could get in line with her. I was so nervous she’d say no way or that the people behind her would get mad. But she said sure and hugged me! lol .. What an angel! And no one else said anything because technically everyone in that line was going to get their badge no matter what. So I am thankful for her and Cody!

Finally, I made it into the actual registration room and saw Brandon was still in his line, too. Craziest thing ever was we both made it up to the table at the same time! What are the odds of that??

My pre-order goodie bag included some awesome comics, a cool A-Kon official program book, my badge with my name on it, and a 50% off coupon to Medieval Times!

Friday, I went as Asajj Ventress. This was just my second time dressing up as her. I picked her since Brandon was going as a really cool Sith assassin.

Took me 2 hours to get ready that day.

Brandon, Obi-Wan Kenobi (I don’t remember his real name), and me as Asajj Ventress. Obi-Wan invited us to a Star Wars photoshoot. There were about 5 or 6 other Star Wars cosplays and we got to take some good group shots. The group had members from the Lone Star Jedi of Dallas. They surprised me with Best Dressed in their unofficial costume contest! I won a Star Wars lanyard and a Darth Maul M&M mini fan! I am SO happy I won! 🙂

I didn’t get many photos because I kept my phone in my boots. But I had to get a picture of my friend Jared! I’ve been cutting his hair for a couple years.. It’s so fun seeing someone you know. I was just surprised he recognized me lol

The Hilton Anatole had all kinds of amazing art throughout the hotel. This is from the Berlin Wall. How cool is that?!

When I got to A-Kon Saturday morning, I had 3 things I definitely wanted to do! The first was meet Yaya Han. I was so lucky she was at her booth and there wasn’t a huge crowd. She loved my Fiona cosplay and even shared it on her social pages! The photo on her Facebook has over 3500 Likes! She was super nice and is such a talented artist.

The second thing on my list was to purchase this Sailor Moon backpack. I saw it Friday and meant to buy it before Brandon and I left, but the dealer’s room had already closed. So when my dad dropped me off Saturday he waited for me to go in and buy it then bring it back for him to take home. This way I wouldn’t be stuck carrying it around all day!

And the third thing I wanted to do was meet up with my friend Ejen. He published the book Cosplay In America and goes from con to con sharing pictures of cosplays on his website. I got to meet him at Ikkicon last year, and we’ve stayed email pals since then. It was fun getting a few photos of my Fiona with him.

Once I accomplished the three things on my list, it was time to wander around and look for friends. First one I found was Mia Moore! She is my blogging buddy and was also one of the winners of my Wizard Wand Contest! She is dressed up as Engineer from Team Fortress 2.

I also ran into another Warrior Fiona! I was surprised and excited to see someone else do this costume since it’s not super common. She used an actual tree branch for her axe, too. I thought that was amazing!

This is my friend Marianne dressed as a character from One Piece. She and her boyfriend, Eric, drove from Austin to come to A-Kon. I was super excited to see them because I went to high school with Eric! I think it’s great we’ve stayed friends for this long and get to see each other at conventions.

I was so glad I got to see my friend Jason again, too! His Link costume is one of the bests ever!

At first, I didn’t understand this .. then it clicked … SAILOR AVENGERS!!! Omg So amazing! 🙂

These two lolitas were adorable!

I was watching this epic Zelda photo shoot happen from a distance and secretly wished I was wearing my Skyward Sword dress so I could jump in it. Everyone looked amazing. This is definitely my favorite video game and all the costumes were spot on!

Not exactly sure what this is from.. Anyone know? Regardless they looked incredible.

At Dallas Comic Con I saw an Ariel and was inspired to do Ursula for my next cosplay. I researched it some and found some super cool versions of her online. Then at A-Kon I got to see an Ursula in person! Her dress was really well-made and I loved the hair!

I spotted this on Instagram while searching the #akon24 tag and just had to share it. How stinkin’ cute are these two?!

Sunday is usually the slowest day so I wanted to wear something comfy. I had bought this Sailor Venus costume online for $10 a few weeks ago, but it didn’t quite fit. So I took apart each piece and sewed it all back together to fit just right. It took a couple hours, but wasn’t too bad! And turns out I had an absolute blast in this costume. I’ve loved Sailor Moon since I was a kid, and Sailor Venus was always a favorite of mine. So this was a dream come true to get to become her character for a day!

I really can’t put into words how happy this outfit made me. 🙂

Coolest thing was seeing other Sailor Scouts. This Sailor Mars had tattoos as well!

I also got to meet Yaya Han one more time. She even recognized me and said you were the Fiona!

Crunchyroll had a live stream from the convention where you could wave to people at home. I texted my mom to look for me and waved for her! 🙂

This was a couple doing Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. They were so cute!!

I took a break in the atrium to sit down for a few and suddenly ran into a bunch more friends! This was Payton as Samus and Krystle as Marshal Lee.

And here’s my friends Eric and Marianne. I am so glad I got to hang out with them for most of the weekend. Eric took some really good photos of my costumes, too. I can’t wait to see those. I had so much fun spending time with them!

On the way home now to recover from post-con depression! lol

But had to stop to get some Lo Mein first! How fitting for an anime character, right??

:+:+:+:+:+:

To view more of my photos check out my album on my Facebook Page!

And here are some other albums with awesome photos:

Samaze

Alan Tijerina

If you would like me to post a link to your photo album let me know in the comments!

Did you go to A-Kon 24?

Do you think you will go next year?

Which costume was your favorite?