This, of course, refers to the fact that I debuted my Hanamaru Kunikida (from Love Live Sunshine) cosplay at an anime con this past weekend. The outfit is actually quite warm (it's her winter school uniform) and I might actually have a suitable cosplay for cold-weather photo shoots (as you know, both Leaf and Serena have sleeveless tops; great for summer but not so much when the temps struggle to reach 50 degrees F.) So yeah, I'm pretty excited to have Zuramaru in my cosplay lineup :)
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I must say that the Get-Together was perfectly timed. If it were a week later, I would be slammed with anime convention preparation. I'm doing two in a row, this weekend and next, which is something I haven't done since 2010, and since one of the cons involved is the beast known as Otakon (30,000+ people last year)...

Didn't care for the Olympic theme, or that teams were forced upon us and that there was little actual teamwork, but I still count it a success since (a) I did more events...

I will be attending the following anime conventions this year if anyone is looking to meet me in person (most likely in cosplay, which is an added bonus)
NashiCon, Columbia, SC (April 17-19)
Animazement, Raleigh, NC (May 22-24)
Hoshicon, Charlotte, NC (July 17-19)
Otakon, Baltimore, MD (July 24-26)
Kantaicon, Charleston/Mt. Pleasant, SC (August 21-23)
Banzaicon, Columbia, SC (October 30-November 1)

Two additional cons (Colossalcon and Nekocon)...

Some background: Starting in 2014, I began attempting to do more than just basic "hall shots" of cosplayers during conventions. I've been trying to do more professional-type photoshoots where I find an uncrowded spot away from the action and have my subject do various poses. It can be hard for me to find volunteers, but I've gotten a good number of them done. But of course, there is a bucket list, and here it is:

1. Leaf (Pokemon) : I've already done one shoot with a Leaf...

... I took more pictures of the venue at an anime convention than of cosplayers.

The convention in question: Kantaicon, which was September 6th in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, just outside of historic Charleston.

The convention itself was held on the USS Yorktown, a massive WWII-era aircraft carrier. There was room for about four panel rooms (sectioned off by black curtains) and a small dealer's room (where I dropped $60 on a limited -edition K-On! figurine after...