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So I never actually did a write-up for AnimeNEXT 2015, but I did want to make sure I told the story of how the course of my entire weekend was changed by a single tiny act of chance. This isnāt a full write-up, hence the title, though it is still a long read. Anyway, it all started with a spider.
We got to the con on Thursday and checked into the hotel. After getting our badges, we chilled outside for a while people-watching. It was super hot outside, and my skin was crawling, but I was enjoying seeing everyone.
We ended up on the benches by the exit from the hall-- some of our group were sitting on one bench, a few were standing, and I retreated to the other bench across the way to be lazy and just observe. A few minutes later, all of a sudden, a spider dropped down from the tree branch above me, right onto my arm.
Iām arachnophobic. Iāve definitely gotten better about it over the years, but itās still something I have to deal with, and when Iām caught by surprise it can seriously freak me out.
I swatted the spider away and stood to breathe and calm myself down, but I was so hot, and I kept feeling the crawling sensation on my skin. I kept rubbing my hands down my arms, and through my hair, but I couldnāt calm down. I was on the verge of a panic attack.
I went up to the exit doors of the hall and asked the girls guarding the entrance if I could go in to use the bathroom. I knew the hall was only open for badges that day, and only one-way traffic except for con staff, so I wasnāt surprised when they didnāt want to let me in. They were just following orders, and they were like 14, so I tried not to hold it against them. But I seriously needed to wash my face and cool down a bit so I could breathe. I hastily explained the situation, but they wouldnāt budge. So I turned around and started back towards the hotel.
(Later I found out that within seconds one of our group went up to the door and asked for their boss who, upon hearing the explanation, said that of course I could come in to use the bathroom, but by then I was already too far down the path to hear them calling me back.)
I got to the hotel and washed my face and arms in a bathroom sink, then got some water and sat down on the cool marble counter along the main hallway. One of our group caught up with me, and sat with me while I calmed down. We chilled there for awhile, watching the world go by. Then a Solaire of Astora cosplayer passed by (the āPraise the Sunā guy from Dark Souls), and some dude went sprinting after him to get a photo. I praised the guy for his commitment to getting his picture, and we started chatting. Somehow the conversation shifted to the conās LARP-- which the guy was working on setting up at that moment.
He convinced me to check it out when it opened the next day, and Iām so glad I did. I ended up spending every spare moment at the LARP, something Iād never done before. I played Tamaki Suoh. I was in mundanes as much as possible, but half the time I was in cosplay as other characters because Iād duck in for an hour or two on my way to or from photoshoots.
Tamaki spent the first day and a half tracking down Haruhi, and somehow ended up working for Satsuki Kiryuin-- who had pretty much fallen in love with him by the end of the weekend. Crazy things happened, Tamaki got a Goku Uniform, and around half a dozen characters kept pointing out to him that he was 100% not acting like a father to Haruhi and was 1000% acting like a dude in love with Haruhi (my favorite of these was Baymax, who detected high levels of endorphins and diagnosed Tamaki with love). By the end of the weekend enough insanity had happened that, if I had been able to stay at the LARP till it closed on Sunday, Tamaki would have probably ended up proposing to Haruhi (which would have been kinda hilarious, because apparently Haruhiās player was actually proposed to for real that very same weekend!)-- weāre going to talk about an epilogue at some point.
Anyway, I had an absolute blast, and I made a bunch of new friends whom Iām looking forward to seeing again at next yearās LARP!
And all because of a tiny little spider.
Other highlights from the weekend include:
Running my Cosplay Is Acting panel again, always a blast
Some great cosplay photoshoots
Creating a card game with ijamethings
Being called ācanon Junko,ā at the Dangan Ronpa shoot and being asked, āMama Junko, teach me how to be canon!ā
Getting Terra done in time for the con (though his Keyblade had to wait until CTcon)
Making one of the LARPers almost cry by reciting the Keyblade ceremony speech
Definitely looking foward to next year, and the next LARP!
