Another year, another con...  Ah, but I can hardly say that, can I?  It's a new experience every year, a renewing of the passion that is otakuism..  *heh*  But I blather.

I feel it is important to mention that this year, unlike others, money was in fairly good supply, as my financial aid had recently come in...  Though that money is meant to be used all the way through December..  But I digress.  ((*Yukino Miyazawa appears, giggling devilishly..*  Ha!  What Beverly is really planning is to do is replace that money with the money she makes from taking commissions this year, so she thinks!  Nevermind counting her chickens before they are hatched...  She's counted them before the eggs were even layed!  *Oh ho ho ho hoho!*  Whoring her website out among the costumed masses like she did!  What a plan!  *Yukino is suddenly squashed by a tremendously large foot... said foot being Beverly's...*  Eiii...  Urusai-ne!))

Anyway, as I was saying...  Tyler and I were suddenly bestowed the financial freedom to create the costumes we'd been wishing for, and all was done in fairly good time before hand.  For once.  Costumes finished before the con.  Huh.  What a concept.

Moving on!  *ahem*  We hauled out of Greeley with the back of the car on fire, as seems to be tradition now, and arrived at a relatively late 5:30, just enough time for us to get registered before I needed to skitter off and sigh us up for the costume contest.  On the way ran into the ever-so-lovely Chris, one of the Yume no Senshi founders, but lacked the time to chat just right then...  However, a great surprise awaited me at the costume sign up...  My dear friend Van Donovan, who I hadn't seen in nearly six years, since our first RL meeting in 1998 (during my trip to Cali in which I went to my first con..  Aww...  *^^*).  It was a very happy reunion, and a very thoroughly renewed friendship.

At the end of the signup, I also ran into Kimberly, the other founder of YnS, as well as some of the rest of her group.  Also another long-removed friend, Widya Santoso.  I definitely knew this was a con for friends.  ^^

After all that, it was off to dinner for Tyler and me.  On the way and somewhat during, I managed to say hello to all my people, Matt, Katie, and co, my darling imouto-chan and the fabulous supplier of my Miaka costume... my Ami-chan, Merlyn, Loretta, Sarah Roach, Pete, ((*Yukino again*  This is where Beverly panics, trying not to leave anyone out...  *more devilish giggles.. promptly squashed*  Itai...)) and the rest of YnS, including Layne, another long-lost-acquaintance from the days of AVA'ing and such.

Here I must stop for a moment...  If you dislike mush, you might wish to look away for a moment.  *^^*  I can't go on without expressing how wonderful it was to see and be so enthusiastically welcomed by friends both old and new, particularly my friends in YnS.  I'd been having doubts about if I was going to enjoy myself this con, having lived much lately with stress and strife over cosplay.  You guys changed my attitude completely, you were the anathema to the horror I was expecting.  You were all so welcoming, so enthusiastic, and so sweet to me I can hardly express my gratitude.  I was - and am - absolutely joyful.  Thank you all so much.  You really and truly made the con for me.

Okay, mush over.  *^^*  Heehe...  Merlyn joined Tyler and I for a bit during dinner, and then we escaped to change into the beautiful Fushigi Yuugi seifukus that Merlyn had made...  Definitely the best birthday/Christmas present I ever received, Ami-chan.  Thank you.  Thank you.

After that, there was much wandering of the halls, chatting with friends, a bit of anime watching (X/1999 TV series..  *drool*), a good bit of dancing, and then much exhaustion, as there always is.  I crashed about midnight.  Saturday morning brought much of the same, dressed as Tomoe.  There were a few good trips into the Dealers Room, where possible purchases were scoped in anticipation of the Sunday afternoon sales...  I know how to shop, baby.  More happy meetings and chattings with friends, watching a bit of stuff, etc.  A very nice chat with Kevin Lillard, such a sweet, awesome guy he is.  *^^*

And then there was a wonderful cosplay roundtable with Nov Takahashi, the very man who invented the word.  It was a unique perspective from both sides...  Takahashi-san has basically watched cosplay grow up, in the US as well as Japan.  He recounted a tale of the first cosplay in Japan he saw...  ^^  People with their favorite characters emblazoned on their t-shirts.  It's certainly moved on from there.

Certain cultural differences are to be found between Japanese and American cosplay (as there is between Japanese and American TV, animation, education, etc etc etc).  Americans are famous for their desire and ability to masquerade, put on skits.  This doesn't tend to happen in Japan very much.  Takahashi-san explained that performing arts are not taught in their schools, whereas they are highly encouraged in American schools (I was quite interested in this, since I'm currently studying to be a music teacher.  I would have liked to speak in length to Takahashi-san about that).  However, American cosplayers are not as "in-character" as Japanese cosplayers are.  They tend to work very hard at practicing poses based on manga and other magazines.

Met up with Kimberly, Chris, Van and co. after that (I think it was then.  I'm not sure.  I'm getting my days mixed up..  *O.o*  Frightening, isn't it?), and another happy meeting, with Laura and Shadow, more friends from back in the day.  It was so wonderful finally getting to meet them, especially with them living relatively close, here in Co.  More random wanderings, hanging with friends, shopping, until about 4:30, when came time to prepare for the cosplay.  The details of waiting for the cosplay are relatively mundane, besides the obscene amount of time we waited.  ^^  Nevertheless, the patience of the con staff is appreciated, and it's always fun to chat with friends and other cosplayers.

Then came the actual stage time.  Tyler, confidant musician that he is, wasn't as nervous as I was, the anxious cosplayer that I am.  We had drafted many plans over the few hours in the green room...  And in the end, we went with the drama.

As Tomoe and Kenshin, we went onstage, to the ever-lovable Kelly Wensing's butchering of Japanese (we love you anyway...  actually, I think especially).  It was a simple plan..  A well known verse from the OVA...  "You made the bloody rain fall."  That said, I as Tomoe fainted delicately (*Yukino* HA!  *smother*) into Tyler-as-Kenshin's arms, whereupon he lifted me up a little, and kissed me.  And thus, as later events would prove, this is where this website got it's name.  *^^*  Kelly announced with some interest that it was NDK's first stage kiss...  Though afterthought said that she and Scott McNeil had one...  But I'm stuck up and like to think we got the real thing down.  *^^*

Cosplay over, without awards, but fun and enjoyable as always, Tyler, Merlyn, and I headed for much needed food, and then the ritual passing out.

Sunday morning called for Kotori and Kamui costumes for Tyler and I.  By then the costuming of the masses was dying down, and we were of only a few.  But the more exciting part came later...  The Yume no Senshi performance.  ^^

I snuck in a bit early, looking to take photos of the rehearsal for an upcoming interview feature for Method: Cosplay, and of course to cheer on my friends.  Laura, Shadow, Claudine, and Van were all there already, doing the same.  As for the performance, to put it shortly, it was stunning, and simply wonderful!  The place was packed.  ^^

Congratulations were given, and a mad search for paper and pen then ensued.  It was very interesting.  *O.o*  Somewhere in the middle of the quest for writing materials, I met up with Merlyn again to change back into Miaka.  Then I scampered back to the lobby of the hotel to do the interview with YnS.  It was highly enjoyable, and apparently videotaped, and the finished feature article will eventually be up at Method: Cosplay.  It was such a pleasure...  The girls are all such good friends, close like family.  So many of them said just that.  I'm glad that I'll be a part soon...  ^^  ..since later that morning I had my own audition.

There was a bit more shopping (I bought my first two DVDs ever!  Whoohoo!), coordinating with Tyler, watching a big of Excel Saga, and then the long goodbyes, consisting of hugs, promises to visit soon, and more hugs.  While Tyler and I were both feeling tired and overwhelmed, con depression set in as soon as we arrived back in Greeley.  As always, we look very forward to next year.  ^^  It just can't seem to get here soon enough.

So, we come away from this con very happy, myself particularly, thanks to all my dear friends.  See you all next year.  *^^*

*Yukino* Arigatou!  Beverly wishes to say that you should definitely visit the following websites...

Usagichan Search and Rescue
A Fan's View
Nan Desu Kan's Official Website

...and please excuse the quality of the thumbnails...  The use of FrontPage did indeed speed up the arrival of this con report.  *^^*  So it manages to have some use after all.