MOMOCON 2o14
Managing to get my time approved off from work, my
friend Emi and I decided to go to MomoCon in Atlanta! It was Emi's second time
going to that specific convention and my first time. I was looking forward to a
couple things, such as: getting out of Charlotte for a small vacation, seeing
the Animaniacs reunion, and visiting my friend 3bstylez from IchibanCon. ^^
With that in mind, I came up with a few outfits for
the convention. Firstly, since a Disney party that I attended two years ago,
I've been meaning to upgrade my Minnie Mouse costume. So, I upgraded the dress
to make it cuter. On top of that, I made brand new (puffy) mouse ears with a
huge bow (I wanted to make her as hime as possible). I was really pleased with
the ears that I made. It took a little while to accomplish, but I was thrilled
with the result. What was great was the fact that I could have them reversed if
I felt like it! The bow could face either way, which made me happy. Instead of
adding on another layer to the dress, I ended up making a small underskirt. It
was a task that took under an hour to make and if worn by itself... looks
awful. lol. Yet, with the combination with the dress, I think that it's cute. I
didn't change up my bloomers at all, since I like the way that they look. I might
eventually make more bloomers in the future, but right now, it's not on the
priority list. lol. I ended up wearing some really nice black tights and paired
them with bright yellow heels. I was thrilled that last year I located some
yellow heels. To me, Minnie has to have heels... I felt bad that I only had
yellow shoes back when I dressed as her the first time. The small lace jacket
was an awesome purchase from The Rugged Wearhouse. I originally wasn't going to
use it for the costume, but I absolutely adored it matched with the rest of the
outfit... it also made the lace gloves fit in better. I wore my beautiful
hime-styled wig that I luckily found at the local wig shop. Best purchase ever!
I love how nice the bump is... and I got it for a great deal! It was about
$30.. for the style, hair, and it was even lace front! What a treat that find
was!
I also decided to cosplay Rin's version of Karakuri
Burst. After watching the Vocaloid video online, I was absolutely in LOVE with
her character design. I ended up drafting patterns myself for the whole outfit.
The socks were from Sock Dreams; however, I ended up placing the designs on
them myself. I ended up buying the wig online. I wanted to style my own, but
didn't have the time or resources to do it cheaper than just buying one. I was
actually happy overall with the wig's quality. I just wish that it was a little
bit larger. My contacts I ordered specificially for this cosplay. I knew that I
had to have the contacts.... if I didn't, it would've broken the entire look
imo. The bandages were from The Dollar Tree. Cheap and easy. I just added a bit
of blood when I was doing my makeup. I actually held the bandages in place
underneath my wig cap... but geez... seeing and hearing on the left side was a
pain. lol. Yet, I had fun. I had a blast with my makeup. I didn't have to worry
about things being even, which made me happy. lol. I ended up using bbcream and
a little bit of foundation on the full face. After that, I messed with the eye.
Nothing really big, just black eyeliner, black mascara with an already used
false eyelash, and a bit of brown eyeshadow. I darkened certain areas of my
eyebrow for small effect. Simple red lipstick, then the making of the scars!
For the scar, I started off drawing a line with black eyeliner. After that, I
placed a few coats of Rigid Collodion (scarring liquid - Mehron) on it. After a
couple coatings, I used some food coloring with a q-tip to give the scar some
color. I kind of take things to the extreme... for normal people... red makeups
would probably be the better solution... I just love messing with blood, so I
had to use the food coloring. lol. Anyways, after that, I added some more Rigid Collodion on it, then
finished with more food coloring on top. The food coloring ended up running
down my face, which kind of made me happy. It looked more realistic. The issue
with using food coloring is that it's extremely hard to get off your skin. So,
it's really best to find a substitute. If I had more time, I would've homemade
some really nice blood, but alas, that can be saved for another time. Either
way, I enjoyed going blood crazy... even if I used more than her character
design. In the context of the video, I feel that it's appropriate for her to be
covered in blood. So~ there you go! My interpretation!
The
last outfit was a pirate lolita outfit! My friend Emi and I decided to twin!
And~ she wanted to design the outfit, so I let her. In return, I made our
chests! She already had a hat from the Carolina Renaissance Festival, so I made
my own pirate hat. It was a lot of trial and error, but I really love how my
hat looks. The chests was REALLY time consuming! I think that I spent more time
on the chests than on anything else I worked on; however, people seemed to like
them. Overall, I like them... but... I could've done better. Yet~ not bad for a
first attempt! And it's kind of nice having a chest around.
Now!
For an actual talk about the con~
Friday:
Emi
and I left Charlotte a little after noon. We were expecting all sorts of
traffic, since it was a holiday weekend. We ended up making pretty good time
imo. Nothing too exciting about the trip down... except the fact that QuikTrips have
AMAZING beverage choices. lol. So, we got to Atlanta around 5ish. It was a bit
of hell figuring out where to park for the hotel, but that's that. We checked
in and started to get ready.
I
decided to wear Minnie Mouse. I was really proud of that costume and it's
fairly low-maintenance. Emi and I decided to walk to the con from the hotel. On
the way, we met a few nice guys. We talked to them a little, but after the
first day, didn't really see them after that. The con was in two hotels. I was
ok with that, but didn't really care for it. Probably because I like to wander
around one building. So, if I didn't have Emi there, I never would've found
anything. lol. There wasn't too much that went on Friday. Mainly wandering. We
made some lolita friends from Virginia! They were really awesome! So sad that
we didn't see them after Friday. :/ They convinced us to go take the scary elevator
ride to the 47th floor! It was horrifying!!! SERIOUSLY! Though! We did get to
see 3bstylez in his AMAZING pirate boystyle! He looked really awesome!
Especially with the pizza he ended up carrying around. :P He was nice enough to
buy us pizza for dinner... best part... it was covered in MEAT! Soooooo
tasty!!!! <3 After that, wandered
into the Animaniacs panel~ SO AMAZING! They were singing songs from the show
and songs that never aired! The song writer is just a freaking genious! I was
on a huge high after that. lol. Back in the hotel, I got maybe an hour total of
sleep due to horrible walls.... being able to hear the idiots who blasted the
Discovery Channel while they proceeded to have sex. If I wasn't a nice person,
I would've blasted Arashi music while screaming, "SHE'S FAKING IT!"
at them...
SATURDAY
Got
up early thanks to a screaming kid outside and her father making noise.
>.> But, managed to wander to breakfast... where the restaurant had RICE!
I was THRILLED! <3 I love rice~ so I mixed egg in my rice and had an amazing
breakfast!! Must admit that it would've been better if they had curry sauce...
but can't get everything lol. Dressed in Rin! Emi dressed as Miku and 3bstylez
as Len! EVERYONE LOOKED AWESOME!!! So... the fun...
 |
| Me, 3bstylez, and Emi |
Being
a holiday weekend, the roads were closed off for a parade... so walking was the
only option. So, you have two people with one eye for sight and one person with
two eyes... who kinda looked like a stripper. (Sorry Emi!) For people who had
no clue... it looked like a stripper was walking with a beaten up woman behind
her walking next to a guy who could've easily passed as a taxi driver. lol. We
got quite a few odd stares. Some people tried to direct us to where the start
of the parade was... my favorite... was a guy who said, "The confessional
is that way". I laughed. Eventually made it to the con. Learned that
people think of us as elitists... idk why.... for me... maybe it's because I
look like I hate humans? Who knows... but we met some really nice, Vocaloid
cosplayers. Made it to a random video room, where we watched the first half of JoJo's
Bizarre Adventure.If I get the time... I might actually watch that full
series... I was intrigued... due to the hilarity and randomness of it all. I'm
quite curious how the series goes. Dairy Queen provided a DELICIOUS smoothie
and 3bstylez had fun (I think) taking pictures using his tripod. Another
Animaniacs panel... I was a bit disappointed with this one... mainly because
the people asking questions kept asking stupid questions. If they asked better
ones... it would've been an AMAZING panel... but hey... can't really control
those people.
After
messing at the con for awhile, 3bstylez introduced us to an AMAZING Korean
restaurant, where Emi and I had our first Korean BBQ experience. ALL THE FOOD!
*drools* If I had an endless amount of money, I would be there everyday! It's
so tasty! The whole table seemed packed with food... and when one area of food
would go away... more would appear! My kind of restaurant~ <3 The staff was
really nice too! All-in-all, an amazing experience! Then, we went to the bakery
called White Windmill. DAMN! I could live there! It's adorable and they serve
some really delicious food and beverages. The tarou (sp?) boba was really
delicious! AND I GOT FREE BREAD! I swear though... there must be a requirement
for all their workers to be hot males... because.... damn, they all were
gorgeous! (Especially the manager~) In any case! Their uniforms were cute...
and everyone looked like they belonged in some sort of Korean drama. lol. It's
a great place to relax at though! I really felt comfortable there. ^^ I was so
happy to bring home some delicious bread to share~ <3 Aaahhh... I wish that
I bought more!! Next time I go, I'll probably get one of the large loafs of
bread.
SUNDAY
It was just Emi and I~ we dressed in our pirate lolita
outfits, which I think were ADORABLE! We'll probably update them to make them
look even cuter in the future. But~ we had some issues with getting the car
before we checked out of the hotel... eventually, we made it. Parked in $10
parking lot not too far from the con. We then managed to go to Dante's (voice
actor of Prince Zuko) panel. Little did I know that he played Rufio from Hook.
Aaah! Once I found that out, I was THRILLED! I swear, Rufio was my childhood
crush! While all the other girls were fangirling over people like Hanson... I
was ALL ABOUT Rufio. So.. it was amazing seeing him in the flesh... older...
still attractive and VERY down to earth! I blame him for starting my Asian
fetish lololol jk
 |
| Me, Dante, and Emi~ |
After his panel, Emi wanted to go to his meet and
greet, so we went! Barely made it in the line too! Momocon really should work
on fixing the meetup lines... a bunch of people couldn't get in. So... people
in line assumed that we dressed as pirates for Dante. lol. It just so happened
that we were lucky enough to be pirates to meet him. The girl infront of us in
line was a hardcore, nice, but a little too crazy fan. lol. Emi and I... we
just don't get all hardcore worked up over meeting people. (Though... I'd
probably go insane if I met either Nino or Aiba...) In any case, we had a
pleasant conversation with him and he took a selfie with us. lol. I told him
that he was my childhood crush, which really flattered him. He gave the both of
us hugs and I was like "This day is awesome!" After that... it was
time for what I was heavily looking forward to: PINKY AND THE BRAIN!
The Pinky and the Brain panel was everything and
anything that I wanted it to be. They were just so perfect and the people asking
questions had some really good questions. I was a happy person.
After the con, we ate at The Varsity, which was
tasty... we had a small issue with them not giving us our onion rings, but that
was easily taken care of after about 5 minutes. Though, we ended up with a
giant pile of cut up onions. lol. The food was decent. I wouldn't say amazing,
but it was pretty good. I think that I would've enjoyed it better if they
weren't so slammed. Yet, the interior and exterior made me happy. If I wore
Minnie there, I would look SO CUTE with that background. lol.
When we left, it was raining... of course... we can't
go to Georgia without rain. lol. The way home seemed to go really fast. Got
into Charlotte around 9:00pm. Not bad.
Overall, I had fun at the con. It's not a favorite by
far though. lol. I would've enjoyed it if they had a bunch of fashion related
panels... but the Animaniacs and Dante totally made up for the price. If they
weren't there, I would've felt pretty disappointed... considering that AZ has a
lot MORE to offer that I'm interested in. (It also helps that I know more
people at AZ lol) Yet, it was nice to experience another out of state con and
it was great being able to catch up with 3bstylez.
I have no clue when my next con is, but hopefully I
can manage to go to one before the end of the year. If not, Carolina Kei (the
j-fashion group that I'm in) is having their first meetup in July! So, I plan
to wear Amekaji... if not Amekaji, I'll try Shironuri... though, I'm hoping to
get my full amekaji outfit together! Amekaji isn't widely known over here and
I've never seen anyone do that style, so here's to hoping!
