DAY TWO: FRIDAY
Friday began at 7 AM, as my roommates hadn’t pre-registered, and wanted to be first in line to buy their badges. I didn’t have to worry about that, but I did want to be up relatively early so I would have plenty of time to get into my Sorceress Adel costume for Masquerade judging at 10. I snoozed until around 8, then began the long process of transforming myself into the Sorceress. It worked out that my roommates had gone downstairs to get in line, as it gave me the bathroom to myself. By the time they got back around 9, I was unrecognizable. Matt almost fell over when I opened the door. xD The guys then changed into their J-Rock outfits for their concert at karaoke later that day, and Kat and Kitty got into their sweet Naruto costumes. I got the rest of my get up on, and by 9:30 was ready to shuffle out the door (sideways, because of the wings) and head down to the con.
I was excited to debut my Adel costume; I knew it was likely to get a reaction, even if few people actually recognized who I was supposed to be. However, I was not prepared for how big a response I was going to get. As soon as I walked into the con, a staff member stopped me to vote for my costume, and a ton of people asked for pics as I made my way to the con security center to get my staff peace bonded. 
My favorite compliment, however, was as I was walking through Artist’s Alley on my way to security, somebody walked by and said, “Wow- your costume looks SO much cooler in person!” They must have seen my progress pics on cosplay.com and was comparing it to that, and I was happy to hear that it looked better up close than it did in front of the camera lens. After getting my peace bond, I headed over to Masquerade HQ for my judging slot. I’d never done a masquerade or had craftsmanship judging done before, so I was a little nervous about what the judges would think. However, I love talking about my costumes, and I was really proud of the two years of work that had gone into this one, so I wasn’t worried about not having anything to say. I got my Masquerade pass and hooked it onto my con badge, and when it was my turn, ducked into the curtained off room to be judged. All three of the judges were really enthusiastic and very friendly. One, SakiB, I recognized from cosplay.com, so it was heartening to see a familiar face. They asked me all sorts of questions about it which I happily answered, and I was really relieved to hear that they were impressed with my hand sewing - I was afraid my complete ignorance of sewing machines, or even of stitches beyond the one I know would really make my costume look bad. Although I had no idea if I would win anything or not on my way out, I felt I had already had fun anyway. 
The judging was actually a really positive experience. Then I got to have my picture taken by Bruce in his studio, before heading out to enjoy the con for a bit. Because it was so early, nothing was really going on yet, so I enjoyed wandering the halls, taking pics of cosplayers and posing for my own. I met up with Crazy Flower in her really awesome Chinese Opera outfit, and we took lots of pics together. Finally by noontime, I’d had enough of my getup, and headed back to the room to change for a pool gathering at 1. I took a shower and scrubbed all my makeup off, and given how hot it had become outside, was grateful to change into my Rinoa swimsuit and head up to the hotel pool. The Sheraton pool is beautiful - it has lots of plants, a hot tub, and a retractable roof that opens up to the sky letting nice natural light in. The place was deserted other than for us, so I had fun taking a few pics of my costume before doing a few laps in the pool and soaking in the hot tub. Then I took a brief nap in the comfortable lounge chairs. By the time I left around 2:30, I felt refreshed and relaxed. It was a perfect way to gear up for the rest of the day, and I didn’t really miss much.
For the afternoon, I debuted my Amano Rinoa costume, which I was also really excited to wear. Of course, that meant shuffling through doors sideways again, as my feather angel wings were almost as big as my Adel ones. Crazy Flower and I headed straight out to the Prudential Center's courtyard fountains to get some beautiful pics. The scenery actually looked a lot like Balamb Garden! Unfortunately I got part of my train wet, but it dried up in time for my Hall Costume Contest judging. Like with Adel, the Hall Contest judging was another really positive experience; one of the judges in particular really liked my costume, and even chased me down for a photo after I left my session! I got some great pics with an awesome Squall and Seifer I met, and with Opera Phantom in her classic Rinoa outfit, then enjoyed some of the con events. By then, dinnertime had rolled around, and since I'd only had a granola bar for breakfast/lunch, I was STARVING! I met up with some cosplay.com buddies for dinner at the food court. There were lots of people in costume, confusing and amusing the regular patrons of the mall. Lots of people asked me what was going on, but all thought that the whole con thing was really cool when I explained it. The woman who gave me my food asked if I could fly in my Rinoa wings, and while I was walking back to my table, a little girl was awed by them. She was so cute, so I bent down and asked her name and how old she was, so which she said "I'm 5!" Her mom was really cool too--she asked if they would see more costumes if they walked closer to the Hynes, and were ecstatic when I said yes. 
After dinner, a few of us did an impromptu photoshoot in the mall's flower shop, and I found an abandoned hallway in the con center to get some great pics before it got dark. Pretty soon, however, I had to change again into my Rinoa PJs for the PJ Gathering at 8. Amano Rinoa was getting kind of hot and gross after five or six hours, and the PJs felt so comfy after wandering around in heels and wings all day! We all met in the main hallway of the con, hotel pillows, blankets, and plushies in tow. Hanging around and taking pics was so relaxing, that I just wanted to stay there for the rest of the night. However, for some insane reason, I'd agreed to help out and make an appearance as Tifa for the Yaoi/Yuri Dating Game at 11PM, so into another costume I went.
By 10:30 I was in the panel room where the game was being held. The Yaoi/Yuri Dating Game is just like the old '70s game show, except that the contestants are of the same gender, and the audience is 18+, so the contestants are allowed to be raunchier with their answers. Myself as Tifa and Mystic Blossom as Aeris weren't contestants for the game, but rather had been recruited to make a special appearance. Sephiroth (Dizzy) was playing "Bachelor #3," and we were supposed to improv some kind of a scene with him. Mystic and I decided that she would go up and get all mad at Sephiroth for killing her and then leaving her for a guy, and after they had gone at it for a bit, I would come interrupt. I would basically say something along the lines of "Aeris, you're better off with me," and we've kiss and let all the fanboys go nuts. It sounded good, but there were two hangups - one, this whole thing would only really be effective if Sephiroth was actually picked as the winner, and two, dizzy had no clue what we were planning, and the game staff wanted to keep it that way. Rock on. 
So Mystic and I sat in the back of the audience, and waited, crossing our fingers that Dizzy would be chosen as the lucky bachelor. When the contestant asked the audience for suggestions, we were jumping out of our seats, screaming, "Three! Three!" When the contestant picked Bachelor #3, we were squealing with delight. Mystic marched right up the center aisle, and gave Sephiroth a piece of her mind--she even commandeered his Masamume! By that point, I started walking up the aisle, and told her to forget about these boys and their stupid big swords, and we kissed and the fanboys swooned. You can watch our round of the dating game HERE. After hanging around there for a bit, I went back to my room and drank and bonded with my roommates a bit before crashing for the evening.
Continue to Saturday
Back to Anime Boston 2006 Mainpage