14 April, 2018

Tekko 2018 (Part 4)



Sunday

I neglected to mention this yesterday, but I had more than enough to talk about for Saturday, so it's just as well. Anyway, we parked in the same place on Saturday and Sunday. The convention center garage was full all weekend, as I mentioned before. So were our second and third choices, all within a block or so of the convention center. But, to our luck, we happened to notice a sign advertising vacancies in the garage underneath the hotel attached to the convention center. So, after that parking garage debacle on Friday night, we had the good fortune of being able to park on Saturday and Sunday, go up the elevator into the hotel, walk across the sky bridge and take another elevator directly into the convention center, all without ever having to step outside! It's perhaps a few more steps (and probably more expensive) - although it depends which end of the convention center you're headed to, as the hotel elevator opens up right next to main events, while the escalators from the convention center garage (where most people enter) put you adjacent to the Exhibition Hall, and a longer walk from the panel rooms and everything else - but in terms of avoiding cold and blustery weather (as we tend to get during Tekkosnowcon these past few years - the weather this year was so cold, I never even made it up on to the roof of the convention center at any point during the weekend), it really is pretty ideal!

Dragonslayer!

Not much to do on Sunday except make one last sweep of the Exhibition Hall, and soak in the con atmosphere for as long as it lasts (which is 'til about three or four in the afternoon). Some people question the point of going to the con on Sunday, but being there is the whole point of the weekend. As soon as you leave, you're going to miss it. You might as well get as much of it as you can, while you still can. Plus, for someone like me who's racked up a bunch of cosplays (more than I can wear in one weekend), it's another excuse to get dressed up in something you probably couldn't wear back home. Like my sexy seifuku that I used for my tentacle rape cosplay last year. Though I left the tentacles behind, just because they're a real pain to deal with (getting all needy and everything).


At one point, a girl who herself was wearing an ultra skimpy cosplay (little more than a thong bikini with accessories), looked me over while I was sitting in a panel, and asked, "are you a trap?" It took me a moment to get my bearings - since I don't really see myself that way, even though I guess that's exactly how you could describe me when I'm dressed up like that - then replied with a straight face, "yes". She told me she had been about to remark at what a pretty girl I was until she sensed that there was more to the picture than meets the eye. -_^

As for activities, we caught the announcement of the winners of the AMV contest - although I didn't see anything super exciting this year. And then there was an 18+ panel I wanted to catch titled "The Cute Side of Rule 34". These things are always a gamble, but seeing as how I seem to have my wires crossed for cuteness and eroticism, I thought that maybe, just maybe, there might be some loli-friendly content. I should have known better. It was mostly yaoi - guys (and the occasional girl) in "adorable", yet also sexually explicit, situations. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, but it's not really what I'm interested in. Honestly, the panel was pretty much the panelist just showing some of her favorite porn. Which, I mean, is fine and all - if you share her interests - but I can have a better time on my own, finding stuff that better suits my own tastes.


The end of the day came too fast, as it always does on Sunday, but con staff were already starting to shoo people off the con floor, so we took our leave. We headed out to Oakland for one last meal at Lulu's Noodles before we hit the highway. Though I have to say that, now that we've discovered the Ramen Bar, I think the heyday of Lulu's Noodles has passed.

Before I wrap up this year's con journal, let me take a moment to discuss the cosplay we saw all weekend. I've been less obsessed with other people's cosplays than I have been in the past - and certainly taking less pictures - but it's still a joy to see all the people dressed up (and down). I already mentioned how many bare asses there were, which was awesome. Of the few cosplays that stood out to me, I saw at least three different Negans - one of which was clearly the standout. I was tempted to shout out to him, "I am Negan!", but every time I got close, I felt intimidated. Just by him standing there! That's how you know it's a good cosplay.


Seeing as Rhonda and I had just finished up watching season 2 of Stranger Things, I was disappointed that there weren't more Stranger Things cosplayers. It wasn't until Sunday that I spotted a really good Steve, hanging out with Billy (I didn't recognize him with his shirt on :-p). I actually walked past him, and had to stop and turn around, and walk back to compliment him on his cosplay and ask for a picture. He had the hair and the sunglasses, but the nail bat really gave it away. Not much later, Rhonda spotted an Elle cosplayer not far from that same spot, and texted me a picture of her.


If there's a cosplay that was over-represented this year, I'd have to say it was Rick from Rick & Morty. Not that I disparage those cosplayers - it's a good character from a great show. Besides, it's a pretty easy cosplay - just put on a blue shirt, a lab coat, and a spiky blue wig, and you're set! But seeing all of them around made me feel like I was lost at the Council of Ricks (there's a group photoshoot idea)! It's actually inspired me to do a lab coat cosplay of my own - an idea I had while watching World Conquest Zvezda Plot a couple years ago. The character - Natalia Vasylchenko - is a scientist with long, blonde hair, who likes to wear little more than a lab coat over her underwear. The great thing about the outfit is that it's skimpy (which I enjoy), but it has something I can wear over me to keep warm in those frigid panel rooms and convention corridors!

And I think that's it! Another con here and gone. Time to reluctantly go back to the default world... :-(


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