Well, if our evil plans worked, many of you here got the Ryuhana Press web address from the Otakon Preview Mini-Books we gave out at the 'con. The whole gang was there; Kate, Ed, our friends Erin and Tiffany, and I all cosplayed as the characters from Kate's upcoming graphic novel, Oasis Destiny.

Otakon was great, though parking really sucked. There were Orioles games during all three days of the convention, plus there was a Hispanic Pride Festival on Saturday, so it was hectic as all hell trying to find parking in the city. Running late to sign up for the costume contest, Kate and Ed dropped Erin and I off while they sat in traffic. Erin and I were too late to make it into the costume judging room, and Kate and Ed made it to the convention center over an hour later.

Another disappointment was when Kate, Tiffany, Erin, and I were unable to get into the Mystery Anime Theater 3000. While the four of us waited in line, Ed left to scout out an alternate entrance to the ballroom. (He was cosplaying as a rogue afterall...) He did find his way into the room, and thinking we were there as well, spent his time looking for us. Coincidentally, while in the theater, Ed saw a group of four people wearing purple, red, blonde, and green wigs. Thinking it was us, he found a seat not far behind and stayed in the theater. Little did he know that we never made it in because they reached maximum capacity before our part of the line got there. Shannon declared that Anime Mystery Theater 3000 was a riot, while Ed said it sucked. We'll never know…..

We did make it to the Music Video Contest, and it was a blast. Our personal favorites would have to be "Hit Me", "Hubba Hubba Zoot Zoot", "She's so High", "Survivor", "Desert Rose", and "This is your life" (Fight Club soundtrack).

The Dealer's room was huge. There was an unending supply of anime merchandise and, much to my delight, plenty of sharp knives and swords to be found. Unfortunately, the gang spent most of Saturday inside the Karaoke room, subjecting their eardrums to hours of unrelenting audio assault. However, the room fell completely silent as Kate amazed the crowd with a superb, 'a cappella' rendition of "Voices" from Macross Plus.

The Cosplay was impressive, I saw living anime characters everywhere I looked! People wanted to take my picture a lot too. ^_^ I cosplayed as Terril both Friday and Saturday, and then I went as Mae on Sunday. Ed cosplayed as Hakeem Friday and Saturday, Tiffany as Syd on those same days and Erin as Kiana all three days. Kate cosplayed as Rynna on Friday and as Mae on Saturday. Please check out the Otakon Cosplay Gallery while you're here, A-num-num!

Chainmail you say? Why yes, apparently someone out there really does enjoy chainmail. I was waiting with Erin and a bunch of friends while Kate and Ed stood in line to get their Saturday passes, when a very peculiar man approached us.

Man: "Do you like chainmail? I like chainmail. Everyone should buy chainmail. Say it with me! Buy Chainmail!" *raises his hands in the air* "Buy Chainmail!"
Ryan: "Chainmail?"
Man: "Chainmail! Buy Chainmail!"
Lindsey and Ryan: "Buy Chainmail!"
Lindsey, Ryan, and Ed: "Buy Chainmail!"
Man: "That's right, chainmail!"
Everyone: "Chainmail!"
Lindsey: *is standing right in front of the guy, looks up and snaps a picture, probably blinding him for the next ten minutes*
Man: "Ahhhhh! You have stolen my soul!"
Everyone: *starting to walk away* "Chainmail! Chainmail!"
Man: *is now several feet away* "Chainmail!"
Ryan: *waves bye-bye* "Chainmail!"

And that pretty much summarizes our amazing Otakon adventures!