Hullo!

Day One. Despite knowing the weather forecast I decided to wear my hobbit vibes dress, but I did decide not to accessorize as I would just get annoyed with the temperature. I don't know why I explain this, because I took no selfies at all. I went with my bestie Eneath who I've actually been going with over the past couple of years; apparently they can put up with how I am about seeing every vendor thoroughly.

We did have a train hiccup as we had absolutely WILD thunder going on last night and therefore there was a tree on the rails; luckily my bestie could drive to a train station that wasn't affected and we could continue there. It was actually quite nice because of the airconditioning in the car, but I was the one having it easy of course, I wasn't the one driving.

We arrived nicely on-time and I was crazy enough to have a hot Starbucks drink. I'm positively insane. I didn't have coffee yet, so I was just happy to have one.

Most of Comic Con was just shopping. I love seeing the artist alley the most, but interestingly enough I did not buy anything at the artist alley. I did buy some from the dealer hall which had some stray artists here and there between the regular vendors.

This is my haul from Saturday, though the pack of noodles was a post-con freebie (spoiler alert: I got me some more the day after). The stone D&D coasters aren't all mine though, if you bought three there was a discount, so the top one is Eneath's. I do think it is very funny, but it felt wrong to own as it's really not me.

The D&D dice box was a very nice addition as it was in discount (maybe due to errors) and I have some special dice I want to store. On top of it is a 3D printed bearded dragon which I fell in love with as soon as I saw how it looked while placing it on my finger (I also need to credit Galavant for making me love bearded dragons). The scale keychain though? It's the coolest. I saw a bunch of scale key chains hanging and noticed a lot of rainbow ones, so I looked better and saw the asexual flag hanging there! A lot of pride flags were sold out and there was only one asexual one left, it was absolutely meant to be! If only they had the bi flag as well, my set would be complete... but alas. I am very happy nonetheless, I do tend to show my ace pride more anyway.

I did lurk a little at the Q&A from a Stranger Things actor (Jamie Campbell), but the audio was quite bad and I decided I did not care enough to visit the Q&A. It was cool to have seen him in the flesh and that's about it.

That evening I did fall ill rapidly. Not super ill, it was like a very instant cold. I grew tired, my nose started running... while there was no build-up for it during the day at all. I concluded that it must've been because of my poor self care; I had not eaten until 3 PM and that was just a Korean corn dog and my hydration that day was two Starbucks coffees until the train ride home where I finally had a water bottle. Why I think it was because of my poor self care? The next day I basically felt fine... worst is that all day I did kinda think about my poor self care and the temperatures did not help (though indoors it was very doable at the con, only certain rooms were not great). One day I will learn.

Day two. We did keep in the tradition of going an hour later on the Sunday, except that my bestie Eneath could not join in. I did not have to go alone though, because my other bestie Astra was going to come along as well and she also brought another friend of hers. As I feared getting sick I did decide on not wearing my dress and went in plain clothes. I did pick a shirt to wear with Ellie from The Last of Us on it, because I knew I was going to try and buy an autograph from Troy Baker. I don't have shirts with both Ellie and Joel on it anymore, so just Ellie had to do.

So this time we left without trees on the rails, that was pretty great. I did a lot of double activities like checking the artist alley again and I did find something I did not see the day before, so that's been added to my haul. The artist alley area also felt a lot hotter than the day before, so that was... not great. I really enjoyed seeing Astra shop and put together some items for what I call a starter kit to her fursona until she can afford anything actually custom made. At different stalls she found a small tail, some cat ears, and eventually some paws that can squeak. She was very happy she could find some fun little gadgets in at least somewhat the right colours. I did take a photo of when she just bought her tail to send to her husband, but I won't upload photos of my friends here; I assume everyone understands. It is her first time at Comic Con so I was also just very glad she enjoyed herself; even our Dutch version of Comic Con has become very big and it can be extremely overwhelming.

I also wanted to see what I saw at one of the artist shops:

How cute is that!!! She said that he is the boss. 😭

(I had a rant about trying on binders at the con here and decided it's a little too much information for a public website like Tumblr, but in summary I just felt super bad for making my con company wait on me after we had just finished a break)

After we finished the artist alley we walked through the guest square, so I decided to ask at what time Troy Baker would be at the signing table. I was told 14.30 and since it was already almost 14.00 knowing it was a more popular voice actor, I decided to tell my con company to just check out the dealer hall without me while I queue. I was actually hesitant since NO ONE was in the queue yet, so I stood there awkwardly alone for a little while before more joined. Queue wasn't busy at all, but it was a little atrocious we ended up waiting until at least 15.30 before he showed up. I know that this was out of his control, but standing there for one and a half hours was awful. 😭 Doesn't help I made a fool of myself trying to compliment the shirt of the guy behind me by mixing up Star Trek and Star Wars once again, FML. I will think about this for days.

But at some point Troy Baker was finally there. I decided on getting an autograph on one of their posters as I could not decide on an item for him to sign (I have the Joel Edition of The Last of Us, but the box is in poor condition, it would be a waste). The posters weren't like... super cool though, but it's a solid one. Look.

It's a nice and big signature, I appreciate that lots.

He did thank me for my patience and complimented my Ellie shirt, but I honestly forgot what I said to him. Mostly that I was just glad he was still there, which is such a stupid thing to say as it's literally his job to be there, but that is because in my head I was thinking about that his Q&A was coming up soon and I basically just meant that there was time between stuff... ugh. Whatever, I also have a record history of being embarrassing with celebrities. No selfies or whatever, because just like the last voice actor I got an autograph from, it's about their voice acting and not their face (even though I'd recognize them). I even had a frame the right size for this one at home!

However, I was awkwardly walking with that after getting the signature; they don't come with any form of protection. Good thing I remembered that for several editions I had been pining over a print of Castlevania's Alucard and I was sure they would offer me a protective something to put it in, which means it is now time to show my Sunday haul.

This time it includes two freebie noodles of different spice levels.

The print on the right side is the Alucard print I had been wanting. It looks rainbow on the photo, but it is basically silver foil that glimmers in very pretty ways; that is what drew me most to it. The reason I did not buy it before is because I always felt like the chest window is a little too exaggerated and I did not really care for such fanart from Alucard; I just think he is really cool as fuck, and pretty too, but I do not care for any sex appeal. 🤣 I think in the game he is most commonly portrayed with a cravat of some sorts.

There is also a little Digivice pin on top of the print, that was the item from the artist alley I did not see the day before.

In the middle of my queue I had a text from Astra saying they were done shopping already, and seeing the time I already had a feeling: they quit shopping due to their budget having ran out. Makes sense, but now I felt like I was making them wait on me again and I felt bad. Astra and her friend did say they didn't mind at all cuz they could use the time to chill, I still feel bad when I make people wait. Her friend did end up leaving a little earlier than we did, so we did venture the dealer hall a little afterwards just to check it out. By the time we were done we noticed it was actually close to closing time and therefore we headed home as well, finding two different noodles giveaways and outside they were handing out cold Fanta cans. That was especially welcoming.

Before I forget, despite not really having partaken in the Q&A session of Troy Baker, I did take a photo; he was an absolute king on that stage. I had not seen an actor actually walking closer to the audience standing up with the microphone in hand, what a power move. Sadly not as visible in the photos.

Either way, like I said, I did not really visit the Q&A. It wasn't that I did not care at all, but he has voice acted for so many roles and I am mostly a fan of Joel. His portfolio holds so much more than that, I did not want to really listen to a lot of talk about the other projects if I only really care for so little. I don't even mean it in an offensive way, because he is good at what he's doing, it's just like being a fan of an actor when they perform in very specific roles - and then there is also the risk of spoilers if I did not know if he voice acted for a game I intend to play. Fun fact: did you know it was Troy Baker who voiced Gul'dan in World of Warcraft? I actually did not know it was Troy until recently, I just knew he did some WoW work.

I do think that actually summarizes the event. We did end our weekend on a very low note with the worst Burger King meal I've ever had. Sure, they were understaffed, but it also wasn't busy at all. There was no reason for lukewarm food and drink... yeah, both of them were lukewarm. The cheese wasn't even molten. It genuinely was the worst I've ever had at a Burger King. 😭 This is where the free noodles packs come in handy!

Thanks for reading my dumb little stories. They are mostly for me, but honestly... if anyone is reading this, thanks mate.

--------------

The amount of emotion & excitement I experienced

Feeling betrayed when I found out that it wasn't real stained glass behind them (wasn't a realistic expectation anyway)

The blue rose when Fiancailles started playing 😭 (it was red during any other song)

The betrayal of Kamijo not pulling out the iconic blue cloak for Lillie Charlotte (but at least he made it very cool by making it just him and the orchestra, no band)

Speaking of the orchestra, now that I have seen an orchestra IRL I was just in awe

The amusement when it was quite clear he forgot lyrics during Revenant Choir (in his defense, that sons is mostly English) and I think the other Versailles members were a little amused as they were suddenly smiling

The Yuki jumpscare - Kamijo listed Yuki and Jasmine You as eternal members and I freaked out thinking Yuki died, but I am bearer of good news: he is just retired (besides, Yuki brought roses after the concert despite not having been part of it)

The joy I got from every time anyone on stage did a little twirl, especially when synchronized with others

Teru using his guitar as a gun!!!

During the pre-encore finale song my face was permanently stuck in 😱 (in an excited way) - this is when they brought in the guest artists from JVM Roses Blood Symphony

The way my instant reaction was "MY KING. My LIEGE." as soon as Asagi takes the stage

It was super sick to see Seth again, and although I am not too familiar with Sono, he seemed really cute (vibe-wise), a happy little nugget, but of course Asagi mostly stole the show for me here

The worry whether Mana was actually enjoying himself due to his iconic pokerface (it's part of his image) while watching everyone be so happy, smiling

I am not sure what Kamijo was thinking trying to eat the wings that are on Asagi's head 🤣

I couldn't help but think of how teenager me would've been absolutely feral over finally seeing Kamijo and Asagi take a stage together, interacting and singing together

It also warmed my heart to see what a hugger Kamijo is, guy's just here showing affection to the homies, even mimicking a hug towards the dummer

Just the genuine happiness in people their eyes, and ofc I mostly watched Kamijo, but seeing his eye genuinely go ^^ with that smile, it's very nice (the concert was also a day before his birthday, which is funny cuz in Japan timezone the DVD released a day before my birthday, he turned 50 last year and that's so surreal to me), it's been so nice watching him have so much fun and smiling, there was so much joy on stage from several people

During the encore, Vampire Rockstar, Kamijo always has a cheeky or even naughty moment and he victimized the conductor which was hilarious - the conductor was just not having it and ignored Kamijo completely

Speaking of the conductor, it is amazing to see how calm he was while basically giving the orchestra instructions for metal music, and his arms are just waving calmly

And lastly I am embarrassed to mention that just because I headbanged during 1 song only (other than wobbling and shit to other songs too of course), I had a pretty rough neck pain the next day; I'm out of touch :(

I genuinely felt like my teenager self again while watching the concert, minus the romantic infatuation - I am quite over him in that regard. Kamijo absolutely shaped my teens and I am surprised my parents helped me pay for the Blu-ray since they always mocked Kamijo and me being a fan, always commentary on the language barrier... so it's kinda cool they were there for me to get me this concert, I had no memory of complaining about it to them (the price is a bit much).

I notice that I immediately dived deep into nostalgia since watching the concert, which is ironic since I am also playing a nostalgic video game from back in those days as well at the moment, but yeah... I've been rewatching a few Lareine concerts (back then he also hydrated through wine glasses during concerts, I had not noticed this before due to bad quality videos), found their discography, and gosh hearing Asagi again during that one song - I only now realize how distinguishable his voice is for me - when I heard him I just felt it (whatever 'it' is). This 30th anniversary concert has been such a wild ride for me - the only downside is that members of Lareine were not here like on the 20th anniversary, that would've made it absolutely perfect, but I love that my adoration for both Kamijo and Asagi were convered by this one concert, even if Asagi was only there for a single song. In the end, Versailles and D were my favourite bands, after all.

I am also half-reminiscing over the times back then. Part of me loved the visual kei era I had, the vk community was fun back then, but the other part of me also acknowledges that i was dealing with double depression at the time and expressed my emotions too much (probably why I now do the opposite 💀). Sure, these bands helped greatly dealing with depression and I am ever so grateful they were part of my life, but it is still a reminder of darker times (perhaps unfair as I only got out of depression a mere 3 years ago), so I need to really hold onto the positive. I am very thankful for my vk era and I will always (platonically) love Kamijo, he means so much to me and has done so much for me (not in a literal sense of course) and gosh. People who know me from that time truly have known me as a different person, and sometimes I think about all the new friends I've made who have never known me back then... it's different.

Day One. I think it is standard now that I am traveling in my hobbit vibes dress. For the first time ever I tried on a flower crown that had to be tied to on the back, only to learn that it is hard to tie it well since ya know... it's on the back of my head. Ended up needing my bestie (who went with me) to put a double knot in it. Apparently even when applied appropriately, it is recommended to re-do it at some point if you intend to wear a flower crown the whole day, it ended up a little lower on my face than it started, haha. Either way, that was just my little flower crown adventure. I truly wish I could somehow normalize wearing one every day, but my current 'dress code' does not allow for it (it would look out of place).

My bestie and I did not really want to see any specific actors this time around. The voice actor of Astarion was there, but I had already seen him during Comic Con Holland where I learned how hellish his queues are (read about that in the post dedicated to that linked below, can't believe that was earlier this year in 2025). I did originally want to visit his panels (Gale's voice actor and Mystra's voice actress was there too), but they insisted on combining the BG3 cast with the Expedition 33 cast, a game I did not want spoilers for... I am genuinely bothered by that, since they planned it that way on both days. Luckily, despite being such a huge Astarion fan (understatement of the year), I am not as fascinated with his voice actor, so I am not too bummed. They are two completely different entities to me.

That turned into a rant, my bad.

What we did want to see were, as always, all the little shops. My favourite area is always the artist alley, because it is more varied and I usually score at least something there. I indeed did; my first purchase was a little bat someone's mom created and they sold them there. On the image below you can see it is the on covered in stars. Little did I know this started a theme, because later in the dealer hall I found a bat squishmallow (I think it is technically an off-brand variant). It was too cute and squishy; I had to get it. By the time I then found a stand selling bat charms (which I just HAD to get), my bestie started asking if I had a new favourite animal... it was pure coincidence they had so much good bad stuff this time! Though I must say that the white bat charm (also on the image below) is definitely because it reminded me of Astarion. There is more I bought, but let me post the photo first.

I stalled it on the kitchen sink, as the lighting is best over there.

When I later found a box of some mixed mini plush charms I wanted to hold it up to my bestie to show how cute they were, and unconsciously I picked up the bat-shaped one. I swear to god... that was such a hilarious coincidence as I had not noticed its shape when I picked it up. It became a bit of a joke between me and my bestie.

As you can see I also found some new Astarion merch, a small standee and a small charm, which came with sticker designs as well. The weird object below the black bat charm is a 3D printed fidget toy which was satisfying to play with. Behind the charms is a Ladybug figurine; I asked if they had Chat Noir, but it was created in a collaboration with an artist and only Ladybug has been made. You cannot see it in my photo, but it has a low polygon look and it is absolutely sick as hell. Lastly I wanted to mention my candle which looks like a realistic glass of iced coffee.

It actually smells EXACTLY like iced coffee, my mind was blown. Only downside is that its odour is so strong, I have to leave it in the kitchen or my entire living room smells of iced coffee. Now my kitchen is overtaken by the scent, I fear I need to buy a box to store it in; as much as I love the way it smells, to be continuously exposed to the scent of a beverage is perhaps a bit much (and would encourage unhealthy cravings).

I added a close-up of the card (www.cloudcandles.nl), because as real as the iced coffee looks, it is perhaps the most underwhelming design of everything she has in store. What I am saying is, everything else she made is even more impressive. Every candle she makes is an actual work of art, please check it out even if you're just looking. She said she used to work in pastry and it shows. It is amazing. Please keep in mind you absolutely cannot eat these candles.

Speaking of eating though, I of course did not take a picture of the many Starbucks coffees I had, I also had some lovely churros, Korean corn dog, ... yum!

Lastly I did want to show some selfies and you can see that I ended up too tired - this is the flower crown I specifically bought for autumn!

Sadly my eye make-up tends to fade pretty quickly, I should probably look up some tips for that.

Once again a con without photos with other cosplay by the way. I've noticed I've become very critical.

Day two. Like every Sunday we left a little later, and sadly my bestie also had to leave early. Not gonna lie, that also had me decide to leave a lot earlier than I usually do, so today was a short one.

But first off, it had been freezing overnight and I was all to excited about the tiny bit of lingering snow as I was on the train.

And as you can see, I am not wearing a flower crown. Blasphemy!

I figured that after all the bat things I bought the day before, and all the jokes we were making about it, I had to lean into it.

I decided that today I am a vampire's familiar; vampire familiars are common in some vampire lore, but not all. I think anyone who also loves vampires is aware of the concept.

I really don't know how to make proper selfies, but I wore a necklace with it (of which the pearls kept overlapping) to fit the vampire's familiar theme. Downside of the bat hairband is that even though it really is centered, because of my asymmetrical hair style it looks off. There is no fixing it and it's why I probably won't be wearing it often.

I honestly wish I had a full-body standalone photo of me in my dress, but by the time I made this selfie my bestie already left so I could not ask her to take one and I was way too nervous to ask a stranger. I also made it my goal to find an Astarion cosplayer to make a photo with, but I could not find any. I remembered I had seen an Alucard cosplayer from Castlevania in the morning, but I failed to find them as well. So much for the vampire thing, huh?

Lastly I wanted to show a photo of some snowflakes in my hair; on my way home it started snowing properly! Big flakes.

I may not show excitement in the photo (it's been a long weekend, look at my tired eyes ha!), but I was genuinely excited about the snow.

That roughly sums up my Comic Con I think. Dominic Monaghan was there, but I decided to just skip his panel and go home. Maybe if his wasn't so late in the noon... don't get me wrong, I love Merry, but I kinda also only know Dominic as Merry. That reminds me, I did meet an old acquaintance the day before; a woman I met when I queued for Elijah Wood. That was a lot of fun, I was surprised how quickly she recognized me.

But yeah, that's about it. Thanks for reading!

(Also: two weekends ago I went all the way to Edinburgh to see Joey Batey, I've not posted about it as it's not con related, but I really wanted to mention it somewhere!!! I will post about it eventually as I was excited about our brief interaction)

--------------