ACEN 2019!
2019-May-19, Sunday 16:40
This is the first time I've gone to a con on Thursday in over a decade, since the last time I went to Ohayocon. But Anime Chicago was having one of their monthly mixers at the hotel where the con was taking place, and I really didn't want to head out all the way to Rosemont on a Thursday night, hang out, go back home, then turn around and go back to the hotel the next morning. I had kind of resigned myself to it when ![[facebook.com profile]](https://www.facebook.com/favicon.ico)
RogueNire reached out and said I was welcome to stay Thursday night with her and zbrund in their friends' room, so I prepped for a long con weekend.
I also took Monday off. Going to need extra recovery time.
( Thursday )
( Friday )
( Saturday )
( Sunday )
There was a lot of great cosplay I saw that I didn't have the chance to take a picture of. The NCR Ranger I mentioned up top. A group of Asian women dressed as platelets from Hataraku Saibō. A picture-perfect Violet Evergarden. A Dokukurage (Eng: Tentacruel) with a decorated parasol and ball gown to form the head and body. Solaire and a Dark Souls III Firekeeper. Banana from Revue Starlight. The Final Fantasy white mage and black mage. The various "loving father looking for missing daughter and dog" Shō Tucker cosplays. The squad of Princess Crown cosplayers with Bowsette, Booette, Tanooki Mario-ette, and Goombette who all went in separate directions just as I reached them.
ACEN is still a ton of fun, but there are definitely changes. I was talking with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
stephen_poon about how fewer people we know are going and it gets less and less likely that we'll run into people we know as the years progress. I didn't see ping816 or mabown or smtemp or shane.suydam at all, since mabown didn't get a room this year. I've run into ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
theome the last few ACENs, but not this one. I hung out with all the Anime Chicago people and that was a great time, but of course it's not like it was. We are not like we were. I still see the excitement and energy I had back when I was going to Otakon in 2006 in a lot of the attendees at ACEN, but I was thirteen years younger then and I hadn't yet lived in Japan. Of course I was excited to be among my people. Now, my people are tea ceremony enthusiasts, kagura lovers, Japanese learners, and the friends I've been coming to ACEN to see for over a decade, and going to a panel that's all about how great a particular series is just doesn't appeal.
I kind of want to do a kagura panel now, but I can't imagine anyone would attend it.
Every year I gauge how I feel. At ACEN 2012 and ACEN 2014, I wasn't certain I wanted to keep coming back and only tradition kept me going. Now I’m back in the camp (ACEN) of having a great time! I’m looking forward to another great time next year, too.
I also took Monday off. Going to need extra recovery time.
( Thursday )
( Friday )
( Saturday )
( Sunday )
There was a lot of great cosplay I saw that I didn't have the chance to take a picture of. The NCR Ranger I mentioned up top. A group of Asian women dressed as platelets from Hataraku Saibō. A picture-perfect Violet Evergarden. A Dokukurage (Eng: Tentacruel) with a decorated parasol and ball gown to form the head and body. Solaire and a Dark Souls III Firekeeper. Banana from Revue Starlight. The Final Fantasy white mage and black mage. The various "loving father looking for missing daughter and dog" Shō Tucker cosplays. The squad of Princess Crown cosplayers with Bowsette, Booette, Tanooki Mario-ette, and Goombette who all went in separate directions just as I reached them.
ACEN is still a ton of fun, but there are definitely changes. I was talking with
stephen_poon about how fewer people we know are going and it gets less and less likely that we'll run into people we know as the years progress. I didn't see ping816 or smtemp or theome the last few ACENs, but not this one. I hung out with all the Anime Chicago people and that was a great time, but of course it's not like it was. We are not like we were. I still see the excitement and energy I had back when I was going to Otakon in 2006 in a lot of the attendees at ACEN, but I was thirteen years younger then and I hadn't yet lived in Japan. Of course I was excited to be among my people. Now, my people are tea ceremony enthusiasts, kagura lovers, Japanese learners, and the friends I've been coming to ACEN to see for over a decade, and going to a panel that's all about how great a particular series is just doesn't appeal. I kind of want to do a kagura panel now, but I can't imagine anyone would attend it.
Every year I gauge how I feel. At ACEN 2012 and ACEN 2014, I wasn't certain I wanted to keep coming back and only tradition kept me going. Now I’m back in the camp (ACEN) of having a great time! I’m looking forward to another great time next year, too.
