I didn't take a lot of pictures, but I don't really care. A few is more than the none I managed to get last year!

I think this year was the best con I've been to yet, if only because it was our first full-weekend con.

Steve and Joe got to my place WAY late on Friday. They were supposed to be staying over, so we could leave early on Saturday, and Steve called around seven saying "I just got back from the mandarin, we're gonna chill for a bit, and then head over." So I'm thinking half-an-hour to forty-five minutes, tops. At nine, I'm wondering where the hell they are. Steve didn't show up 'til ten. Joe came 15 minutes later. I was not happy. Who the hell shows up at 10?! That's putting it a little late, isn't it?

But anyway, I got over it, being that I haven't seen Steve in months, and I haven't seen Joe in nearly a year. Steve whined all night about being tired, before crashing at around one in the morning. Joe and I were too wired to sleep, so we stayed up talking 'til like 3:30 AM. It was awesome, it was like me and Joe still see each other every day, when really it's been nearly a year since the last time I've had ANY interaction with Joe at all. But I finally crashed at three-thirty-ish. I didn't get any sleep, because my alarm clock got me up an hour and a half later, to start Saturday. XD

I was the first one up on Saturday, at five. Steve and Joe were still out cold on their respective couches, so I had my shower, and got my costume on, before waking up first my mom, then the boys.

We were on the road between 6:30 and seven, but not before stopping at McDonald's for breakfast. My mom proved that she was pure awesome by buying all of us Egg McMuffins and iced coffee, even though she'd said we'd be buying ALL our own food, and then, we were on our way to AN. It was really, really crowded. Mom and Matt had the front seats, so Steve, Joe, and I all had to cram into the backseat. None of us are exactly 'Petite'. That, and the sun was in my eyes the whole way to Toronto. So it wasn't a comfortable trip.

We got there at almost eight, and not even the first cosplayers were out yet, so my mom didn't get to see what it's like. The line had already started though, but there was only ONE. Not pre-reg and normal reg, just one. And it wasn't hugely long at that point, maybe a hundred people. So I waited with Steve and Joe, in line. Joe stole my cane for a bit, and we just watched the cosplayers arrive, and the line expand behind us. Finally, when the doors were about to open, they called pre-reggers to another line. I got fairly close to the beginning, and we waited for the staffers to throw open the doors to the hordes of Otaku.

I was one of the first twenty through the pre-reg desk, and the sixth through weapons check, so once we were inside, I was lucky enough to be done in around fifteen minutes. RECORD TIME! Steve and Joe were still waiting, but they were in the last stretch of line, when I rejoined them. Steve and I were pre-regged, so we waited for Joe to get through the line, and watched cosplayers. It was then that I spotted an Indiana Jones cosplayer going through weapons check. Joe caught up at that point, and we waited for the Indy to finish so I could ambush him for pictures. ^_^

Then we noticed the crowd surging toward the dealer's room, and joined the throng. It so happened that the dealer room had not yet opened, and we were in line again, for another 45 minutes. During which there was much complaining. At one point, someone shouted "I LOST THE GAME!". To those not familiar, the game is that you cannot think about the game. Meaning you all just lost, now that I've explained it. However, you have to announce it, when you lose the game. I have just lost the game. And of course, when someone shouted "I LOST THE GAME" I was like...>.> craaaappp... Of course Steve and Joe didn't know the game, so I had to explain.

Finally, after much waiting, the dealer room opened, and the crowd broke into loud, loud cheers. When we first went in, I was determined. "I'm not going to spend any money, until I've looked at everything!". That's what I told Steve and Joe. ...That was before I saw the gothic costume booths. Five minutes in, and I was down fifty dollars. I picked up a black lace parasol, which I've been looking for FOREVER, and striped stockings. I also managed to find the second volume of the English Gothic and Lolita Bible, which isn't due to be released for another month. After some browsing of the dealer room, we all retired to the chairs set up for anime extreme wrestling, for some rest. We hadn't been sitting for a few minutes, when I heard "MEGAN!!" and turned around to see my friends heading our way. Breanna, Jen, Brynn, and Josh were there. Josh, of course, came running up right away, and stole my hat, before taking off running.

After getting my hat back, Josh told me he'd seen some Sweeney Todd stuff in the Artist Alley, so I let him lead the way. I ended up buying a Sweeney bookmark, and four buttons. One Sweeney, one Mrs. Lovett, one Snape, and one Raito Yagami. Then we headed back to the others. We hung out for a few minutes, wherein Jen kidnapped my parasol, and then split off and headed back to the dealer room. I was with Brynn, Steve and Joe were together, and Jen and Breanna were together.

Brynn and I set off in search of music. Within moments, I had laid down another $20 on a Gackt and Malice Mizer single collection. We looked around at a bunch of other stuff, and Brynn found some non-carbonated soft drink she used to have all the time when she was in Japan. It looked rather milky, and I wasn't sure what the hell it was, but I tryed it, and it was AMAZING. Brynn totally freaked out when she found it, and I now understand why. She got me addicted to it. It's called Calpis (carpis), and its got fruit stuff and modified milk in it, which sounds disgusting, but isn't. It's IMPOSSIBLE to describe what it tastes like, there's nothing else like it. Like Sushi, there's nothing really you can liken it to. The Japanese come up with some pretty original edibles. But anyway, after a tour of the dealer room, wherein I laid down another $12 for a Dir en Grey Japanese single (and I Brynn can't read the kanji, so I don't know what one), and $4 on Pocky, we headed back to meet up with Steve and Joe. Joe had spent $70 on a Legend of Zelda shield. We watched some of the anime extreme wrestling (which I wasn't paying attention to), and I broke open my box of Pocky. IT WAS THE BEST POCKY I'VE EVER TASTED. It wasn't like, cheap grocery store Pocky, it was like, chocolate mouse, drizzeled in milk chocolate. Joe sent us to buy him four boxes after trying it. XD

After a while, I left Steve and Joe to watch wrestling, while I went to search out the Lolita fashion Panel I'd wanted to go to. On the way there, I saw Jen and Breanna, briefly, who were panicking that they were late to check into the hotel, then I lost them. When I GOT to the Double Tree, I was ambushed by Josh, screaming "YOU'RE LATE!!!!!", but Brynn shut him up, by pointing out that I was not, in fact, with there group anymore. I actually beat Jen and Breanna, who showed up moments later. On their arrival the others departed, and I went to find the Halton room. I had just turned the corner, when I heard Josh yelling again. "MEGAN!!! DIR EN GREY!!!". Naturally, no four words would make me turn around faster, and I was faced with a Dir en Grey cosplay group. Which was pure epic awesome win!! I took a picture, and got hugs from the whole "band", before waiting outside the Halton room for the censorship panel to end. The Lolita panel was PACKED. Like, there was people in all the chairs, on the floor, packed in around the walls. All in all, the panel wasn't all that great. The panelists weren't that well informed, and made mistakes. I was actually better informed about the fashion than they were, I think. The one with the most knowledge was the one who wasn't even DRESSED lolita. But it was okay, I suppose. I stuck around for the "Shopping in Tokyo" panel, which was very good. They talked about the train lines, the districts, and spent most of the panel talking about food, love hotels, and vending machines.

After that, I met back up with Steve and Joe, who were STILL watching wrestling. After the last match ended, we headed out to the front of the Congress Center, and called my mom, to find out where the hotel room was. She refused to come pick us up, and the hotel was a really, really, long walk. So we ended up hiring a cab. The jerk did a turn around thing to drive up our rate, and it ended up costing $9, even though the hotel was really close. Joe and I split the fare, I paid $5, and he chipped in the other $4. We were in the Weston Bristol, which is a REALLY nice hotel. But the front door is an automated revolving door, and I tried to go in after Steve, but it started talking and turning and it nearly ATE me. It was rather terrifying. I never used that door again. We were on the sixth floor, and mom let us in when we got up there.

It was an awesome room. Nice and big, with two pillow-top beds with feather duvets. We had a big plasma TV too. It was awesome. We decided to chill for a bit in the hotel, and mom ended up ordering us pizza, again, even though we were supposed to buy our own food. We didn't end up going back to the con, that night.

The next morning, we got all our stuff together and packed the car. I had mom take some pictures of my lolita outfit, and then of Steve, Joe, and I, in the lobby. Then we were back off to the con, I spotted the others (Jen, Brynn, Josh, and the twins) walking from the car. Turns out their hotel was the Holiday Inn RIGHT next door to our hotel. Mom dropped us off at the con, and we headed for the dealer's room, to spend the last of our money.

We lost Joe almost immediately, so Steve and I looked around. I ended up buying a bottle of Calpis and a box of Pocky for mom, and Steve went around the dealer room not finding ANYTHING. I ran into my other friends a few times, and took pictures of the twins' Matt and Mello cosplays. We found Joe looking at a new Akatsuki cloak (even though he already has one). He ended up buying it for $80, and then the three of us set off again, to search the dealer room. Steve FINALLY found a Gundam Wing DVD, which he bought, and we left. I found a spot in the shade in front of the Congress Center, while the guys went to get some Subway. I ended up taking pictures of cosplayers while I waited. We ended up spending the rest of the day under the trees there. My other friends came and joined us too, for awhile. Then a Near cosplayer, and her maid friend. We hooked up the ipod speakers and just chilled for the rest of the day. It was a blast. Everyone started heading home around 3-ish though, and eventually, we were the only ones left, so we called my mom, and asked if she could come get us early. She did. It was at that point that I started feeling really sick, so I was lieing on the ground, face down. Something randomly hit me, at one point, and I grabbed it to see what it was, and it was a random box of Pocky, still sealed. O_o Pocky from heaven? Unfortunately no, it ended up belonging to the group sitting near us on the grass, and I went back to lieing in agony on the ground 'till mom came.
All in all, AWESOME con. Unfortunately, I forgot my favourite plushie, Axel, in the hotel room. T__T

I'm going to try to get my pics up for you guys, ASAP!