Katsucon. Having never been before our expectations were quite…well…nonexistent. I know, I know, you're surprised. So, the question on everyone's mind that wasn't there: "What did I miss?"

All-in-all it was an impressive convention. Shannon, Kate, Lindsey and I were in attendance. Justin had some lame excuse why he couldn't go, but we forgive him. With the threat of snow lingering, I found myself inserting my rather large foot into my rather large mouth. I proclaimed constantly that the snow was not to be feared, and then…well…I'm getting ahead of myself.

The first thing that you noticed about the con was that it was tight. Not like, "Yo! That is TIGHT!", but negative tight, as in cramped. This con was so popular that it seemed like every Otaku and their brother were there, and it was sometimes difficult to manuver through the crowds. None-the-less, we secured our location in Artist Alley, and began the tedious setup of our booth.

It was a sight to behold upon completion. We had invested in grid wall, and it worked quite nicely as a backdrop as well as a place to hold signs and things we were selling. It didn't take long for us to see some familiar faces from Otakon and Anime USA. Likewise, our artists were already getting requests for customized commissions.

Being Valentine's Day we decided to do some low cost Anime Valentines that people could give to their significant other. It was very popular and we hope the people who got them liked them! We were also selling hugs and kisses to all those who wanted one or the other. (Kate got most of the love there.) Like most Fridays, it was fairly uneventful, but the booth remained busy. We were hoping to make it to some Karaoke this year, but Kate got a little sick and we had to cancel. Sorry fanboys. ~_^

That night, I got my first con experience of a "Vending Machine" dinner. $4.00 later a feast laid before me. -_-'

Saturday, we hit the floor running. People were already coming by and asking to see art, talk to the artists, and pick up more commissions, and Kate and Shannon hadn't even had their coffee yet! I did my homework before this con and was actually able to help answer questions so the artists could concentrate on their scribbling.

There were some relatively famous people there too. Lindsey got to go and meet up with Fred Gallagher and the gang from MegaTokyo for the signing session they had. And it wouldn't be Valentine's Day weekend without a love story right? Right. Shannon, through her girlie charms, landed herself a boyfriend, to which there was "positive" heckling from us and her other friends. We really do wish her the best of luck though. ~_^

The room continued to be busy with a steady stream of traffic as people lined up for the Duel Jewel concert. Then things got quiet, which is against some law at these cons. Ironically enough, it was Silent Bob who started causing a ruckus when he posted a sign for "Jay Tryouts." Even I had to get up and check it out. Some people were right on the money. They quoted lines from the movies and some even improvised quite impressively. It mainly killed time between the concert and the rave. Determined not to feast upon another bag of Doritos we closed up a little early and got some grub.

Sunday morning I was shocked when I awoke to see what lay before me. Six inches of snow had fallen and it was still coming down. I was not to be swayed! We would make it home today. Then…I had a reality check. This was of course after checking out of the hotel already. After talking it over with Kate and Shannon we decided that we did need to stay the extra night. This put both our and our families' minds at ease. Luckily, I was able to reacquire a room at the hotel and they even extended the con rates to help all the trapped Otaku.

So, we got comfy with everyone else and stayed out the remaining time of the convention. Our hotel room was like the Sahara, so we stayed at the con for as long as possible on Sunday. While talking to people, I didn't even realize it but I was shooting the breeze with Ukyo from MegaTokyo. We connected on a Con Slave level. It was funny as we exchanged war stories about cons, and he was obviously able to out do me with MegaTokyo being so popular. Kate cosplayed as her "winter pinup girl" Sugar, and all the artists were hustling to get all their commissions wrapped up. Unfortunately we ran out of doodle boards!! Sorry to everyone who has a commission pending, everyone is working on them and will get them out ASAP!

Cosplay over all this convention was really impressive. Some of the ones that stood out to me were: the couple that was playing Terra and Locke from Final Fantasy III (VI JP) based on the original art, Dark Cloud from Kingdom Hearts, the giant robot dude from Five Star Stories (Sorry I don't have a better description, he was HUGE and gold. Very cool.), Buddy Christ (Watch Dogma, then you'll see why.), and The Knight of the Round Table from Monty Python's Holy Grail. There were tons of other great costumes, but like a said, these kinda stood out. Kate was the only one from Team Ryuhana doing cosplay this time, although I donned my Oasis Destiny "Kwake X" shirt and claimed to be cosplaying as "Mae's Fanboy" on Saturday. (When Kate was coincidentally dressed like Mae...) I still don't understand how it can take two hours to put on make-up, but at least this gave me a chance to sleep in.

Well, we are all home safe and sound, and gearing up for Otakon which is a WAYS off, but as big as it is, we need to get ready very early. To all of those that went, I hope you had a great time and to those of you who didn't, we'll catch you at Otakon.