Foxberry's Journal

Friday: I did get some sleep before the con this time however it still wasn’t enough sleep as I was exhausted even when I got up. Sunday was worse. Never the less, I did not attend Friday as Jon had work and I had to finish up costumes before Saturday. My roommate originally was going to go three days but he didn’t want to, instead he gave me his badge for Sunday and said to make use of it… So why would I argue? Haha. Anyway…

Saturday: Saturday rolled around 6:30am and I was up, tired, but getting ready despite the cold weather I was fully aware I was involving myself with. Jon and I both got to the convention center, waited in the line for saturday which was crazy… But since we had preregged we did not have to wait hours on end to get into the show. We still had to wait a little but we got through rather easy… However the task to get through the ginormous Dealers Hall/Artist Alley was crazy!!

It took us nearly four hours to get through the DH/AA the first time. However this was not because I was trying to shop, nor was it because I wanted to look at everything, it was actually a mix of these PLUS the fact that my costume was very popular. I cosplayed Leeloo Dallas in the thermal-bandages!Version. I would literally stop at a booth to look, but have to turn away as someone asked for a photo, hand over my things to Jon, take the photo, get my stuff back, turn back to the booth and then take two steps and again stopped for another time. It was overwhelming. I know I had to have over 100 photos taken of me that day, I don’t know the exact number but I know it was over that.

I had a few little issues; a group of guys came up and were like “Pants are on aisle 5!” with big dorky grins, trying to flirt. And then another time I was walking through the DH some idiot grinned and waved and flashed his camera right in my face causing me to barely see anything. I wanted to kick his ass but whatever, I couldn’t stop and chew his ear off.

While in the DH/AA we caught up with Kris and Jorge and we finished up what we could in the DH/AA and decided to shop on Sunday. We then saw Steff and Becca cosplaying from Metalocalypse and they danced on stage of the “Just Dance” as “the bird is the word” it was hilarious. We also got to meet up with Vanessa and CherryTeaGirl who were cosplaying from DigiChara and who too, danced on the game for the Spice Girls. It was funny as all hell. We then parted ways a bit and caught back up and asked if Vanessa and her friends wanted to go to lunch. We spent quite a bit of time trying to find food… But we finally found it at this hole in the wall deli…

Funny thing is after our group of 7 they ran out of sandwiches but I did have a great pastrami sandwich! After we had lunch we all hung out a little and again parted ways, I had my photoshoot with Kris inside the convention because I didn’t want to just wear my Leeloo outfit outside with kids around. (There were a lot of kids outside at the Metreon, I didn’t think the parents would appreciate it). With that being said, we ended up parting ways with Kris, walked around the con a bit and went home at 7pm.

We got quite a bit of swag that day and I bougt a tribble, which oh! Reminds me…

When we headed back to the con, there were two amazing Klingon cosplayers who I got my photo with. >3 Including the tribbles, one started screaming in Klingon the other was like “awwww I can translate for it”.

Sunday: Forcing myself out of bed on Sunday was amazingly difficult. I cosplayed Reno (Before Crisis) from FF7 and Jon cosplayed Turk!Vincent. We chose to do these because we realized any comic or movie cosplay was going to be troublesome to cosplay there. So we actually got shopping done. However when we were on the bus I realized I forgot my camera… So we stopped and got a disposable. Luckily there weren’t a lot of cosplayers on Sunday. Also what was lucky for us was the fact that Jon got his Sunday badge very quickly.

Afterwards we headed into the DH/AA. I got two volumes of Mouse Guard, hardback, a tribble shirt and a squid plushie which I carried around the entire con pretty much. we met up with Gloria and her friend, suggested food and said I wanted to look at the rest of the DH/AA. Which I did, I met up with Bunnywarez which I didn’t get to visit as Leeloo, and drew their first bunny for the day on their large sheet of paper. It was awesome. Afterwards we left the DH/AA to get food, contacted Gloria but ran into Celina and Julie who were cosplaying Amy and Yun Sung from SC4, we decided to wait for Gloria so we could get food, meanwhile I spoke a little with a really awesome Batman. Once Gloria and her friend caught up we went to Mel’s diner with our party of 9.

We then split up again from Julie and Celina and their friend Donna who was cosplaying a Lugia Giginka. Finished our meal, I had an amazing cheesecake and chicken tenders and fries. And GLORIOUS coca-cola since I have gone 40 days without soda. We then headed back to the con, it was raining and it sucked. But we got there without too much problem. Went back to the DH/AA and went to a raffle at the Squib booth, where I got my squid. I won a postcard pack which is really awesome, then we went to the Final Fantasy booth type thing where Jon knew an ex-coworker and he won the Grand Prize! A white-mage chocobo plush. It’s so cute. XD

Afterwards we pretty much just hung out and wandered around with Celina and Julie. Though while we were sitting down near the balcony type thing a group of high-on-sugar teenagers came up to take pics of Donna’s costume but turned to Jon and was like “Wow you look really asian!” He was like ‘o_o uh… That’s because I am…” Everyone laughed and we enjoyed the rest of the hour we had and soon parted ways. On the way back home, we had forgotten our umbrellas, and got soaking wet, I hope I didn’t get sick >< but yeah… It was not fun going home. Then walgreen’s photo place was under maintenance so now I have to go pick up the image cd when Jon gets home.

Overall it was a wonderful time.

Pros: +Very mature convention, no squealing fangirls.
+Wonderful security! They even complemented me on my costume several times.
+DH/AA had wonderful guests, wish I could have gotten Kacee’s autograph from Chuck.
+Registration was very easy.
+Had fun taking photos.
+Met a bunch of awesome people and hung out with friends.
+Awesome photoshoot with Kris.
+Klingons
+Mel’s Diner
+So many other things I won’t lengthen the list with.

Cons: -Couldn’t do shopping at all on Saturday but that was alright. 4 1/2hrs to get through DH/AA
-Kind of wish that the DH/AA was split up it was very hard to get through.
-Some idiot flashed me with his camera.
-Some idiot fanboys flirting with pants joke, but I admit it was pretty funny.
-Didn’t get Kacee’s autograph from Chuck.
-Missed Millia Jovich she was at an RE panel. ;_;
-Some other things I’m sure but I can’t think of them right off.

Overall: Awesome con, I will be returning next year. I just hope to have certain costumes done by then.

*****Stars: Surprising right!? AOD had 5 stars, and now Wondercon. But Wondercon isn’t your typical convention either.

Photos will be up shortly.

NCC’s March Meetup

So like normal; I did not get sleep before said event. Which of course made me overly hyper and quite talkative. I suppose that’s a good thing to some extent, after all if I wasn’t like this I probably would have not been as outgoing. I’m rather anti-social, so lack of sleep apparently helps. Haha.In any case, I got ready to cosplay Reno, had a little issues with the face tattoos but got them fixed, Jon did not cosplay to this event, never the less we soon headed off to the BART, SamTrans is getting worse by the minute so we opted to walk to the BART while I spoke with a friend on the phone. Arrived at the BART, met up with Gloria who was going to cosplay Tsung, but decided on last minute that she didn’t want to wear the wig for him and ended up as Vincent Valentine as a Turk. And… That was pretty much it, fastest cosplay decision we’ve ever done. Got to the MUNI and then Japan Town, I was late by 10 minutes but luckily no one was there. We chatted up for a bit and Kei cosplaying as Grell ended up showing up but had to take care of things. Our second person was Kris (BlizzardTerrak) and overall we just goofed off. I made a comment on how it would be funny if we were screwed over and no one showed up I just had a blank stare from my small group of friends. Heh heh… So I was like what if everyone shows up again blank stare. Foxberry is not a comedian to say the very least. We soon gained more people, EliteSlayer and Mkamzng1 showed up, then Steff (Anti-Ai-Chan) and lastly Hatsune-Yuna and SuperTuna, we also had two other photographers, Maria and (I’m sorry but I forget your name all the time).

While we waited for Hatsune-Yuna to change into Yuna and take her stuff back to the car, we introduced each other and a bit about ourselves. Which was a lot of fun actually lol. Once Hatsune-Yuna returned, we went out for lunch at a very yummy place I forget their name all the time. We had about 13 members at that point who showed up. I figured “eh that’s fine it’s still a success” but Kei’s friends showed up and they waited for us which I still feel bad about… It took the restaurant a while to get our check. The food was good, which I always enjoy from the restaurant, no complaints there just a slow bill but that was to be expected. We then went back to the Peace Pagoda, ran into even more people and a Hetalia group. By this point our members were near 25 or so. We all decided to go to the market down the street and get snacks and stuff. I just wanted a drink since I couldn’t have soda at the restaurant (personal lenting promise blah). After that we headed back to the Pagoda and hung out for the rest of the evening pretty much there. We met up with Julie and Celina while we were there and that of course required me to give them hugs. X3 I luff you guys~!

A rather prominent photographer in the cosplay scene took photos and I was surprised to hear that I’d be on his cover for the meetup (sadly I forget his name and I cannot for the life of me remember who he is if anyone can tell me or lead me to a homepage of his I’d love to credit him!!). More people showed up by this point, Roxas, Sanji and others I really don’t recall their names but we all hung out by this point. However a security guard clearly wasn’t happy that we were there. He kept watching us as if we were delinquents, overall our cosplay group didn’t have any issues no one was rude or acting out. Only children who weren’t a part of our group were an issue. None the less he wouldn’t go away for the longest time. I guess it’s bound to happen.

By this point we had about 30-40 people around the area scattered. It started to get cold and many people opted to leave or go into the Mall, which we chose to do. We hung out a little longer near the steps but soon decided that it would be best to head home. Saying our goodbyes to our friends and the people who I didn’t know, we soon headed home, exhausted and happy. Saying goodbye till the next time always makes me a little sad, we dropped Gloria off at the BART and soon Jon and I went home, I crashed sometime after- tired.

Overall it was a wonderful experience and I enjoyed every moment. I really didn’t have any complaints other than the security guard. I can’t wait till April 10th where we will all meet again at Embarcadero Plaza if it’s not raining.

Hope to see you all there!

-Foxberry

Come check out my art if you are attending ASAHi-Con, I'll be selling not only Hetalia, but various other artwork from anime and game series and original pieces.

Here are a few samples below. Prices are still uncertain but feel free to post how much you'd like to pay for them if you'd like it will hold it's weight in water.

What I will be selling:

Postcard-sized Full-Color images: OOAK
Bookmarks
Paper-Child
Large Full colored images
Cheap commission sketches
*Prints

*-possibly










Visit me at ASAHi-Con Artist Alley, I'll be cosplaying Reno from FF7. X3

-Foxberry

*Forgot to submit this here on LJ, I apologize. On another note; I will be attending ASAHi-Con as an Artist in the ArtistAlley with hope, please come say hi if you attend!*

Friday: Day 0; Pre-con I did not attend the hotel. However I did stay up 24hrs prior to Friday... So I ended up falling asleep around 10pm and woke up Saturday at 7am.

Saturday: Day 1; Woke up at 7am... Got changed into my costume, had a lot of issues with my costume and prop... I really wasn't happy with the overall look the screw looked lopsided at some times of the day. It wasn't very fun wearing it either this time around... I'm thinking of sawing off the teeth for my next cosplay of Stein which will be Fanime.

Gloria was supposed to meet us at the BART once we got ready however she got a ride. When we arrived at the convention we went straight to Pre-Reg which seemed much longer to get through compared to At-Door registration. I didn't mind I got to speak with people in line.

Once we got our badges we went off to investigate the convention. We already had panels lined up, which was a good thing. People overall flipped out over my costume and the screw which clicked. For the most part we just hung around till Opening Ceremonies.

This was an interesting panel, got to meet the Guests of Honor. Which is typical for all cons. Once this was over we went to the MacHall panel which wasn't what I expected we ended up looking at a lot of images from Ian MacHall's computer. Pretty funny actually.

We ended up meeting up with several people through the con however we ended up meeting with Chris and ate at Popeyes and soon returned to the con afterward... The rest of the day went well, went to the Dealer's Hall, Jon picked up a signed copy of an artbook by MacHall. The New People CEO requested to click my screw and squealed once she got to do it... So did several other people who were amazed by it.

After all of this was done, hanging out with friends and other people we ended up going to a Bishounen Panel which was family friendly. It was alright, everything I knew pretty much. The rest of the day went nicely, while I was meeting up with a friend; Manya; a staff member from the Masquerade asked for me to join the Masquerade; more on that later, needless to say I accepted. Then hung out with Manya and her boyfriend.

Then I met up with Celina and Julie who were cosplaying Medusa and Stein. Ran into another friend who cosplays Aizen and CosplayRose who was cosplaying Amaratsu from Okami till Masquerade... We ended up missing the party at New People because we didn't want to take the chance to miss the Masquerade and the line was uber long. A young man during this time walked past me saying "Steeeiinnnn~" and right before he left the room I clicked the screw and the young man flipped out; wigging out on how COOL the screw was and etc. It was pretty fun.

So I ended up in the Masquerade, Number 17. We had a briefdown in the masquerade hall and I soon went off to talk with my boyfriend and returned, chatted with Rose and a few other friends and soon the masquerade started and enjoyed it entirely. It was a lot of fun so many good skits. I especially liked Jango from One Piece's Skit, Rose's walk-on and Cooking Mama panel. Though there was one panel that stood out, but in an odd way, they lost their wigs and knocked down the mic. o_o;

When it came down to mine, my heart was pounding! I walked onto stage, people screaming out for Stein and I proceeded to take one pose, and then the second and moved the screw; the clicks echoed throughout the room and everyone screamed even louder. I finished up my skit and headed off stage. The rest of the masquerade finished and soon it was a half-time, the show was hilarious. As was the MC for the entire event.

Soon it was time to hand out the prizes. Judge's Awards went out first, and the Judge Kane absolutely loved my screw and went on about details and called me onto stage. I accepted my award and took photos. I was taken back, shocked that I would have won. I was so happy. X3

Afterwards, we headed off to the cosplay room to wait for our prizes. I said goodbye to Rose who also placed, runner up for best construction and went to the swap meet where I got a really cute little Miku figure. Swap meet was small and had a lot of con funk. .___.; After that we got changed and went home.

Sunday: Day 2; Got up early again changed into my Leeloo cosplay and headed off to the con again... Dressed in pants and a kimono shirt. I had Jon make a multipass for me I was so exhausted; I lost the multipass on the BART. And... I found out yesterday that I forgot to put my tattoo on my wrist for Leeloo (feck). In any case I went to get changed and ended up hanging out with Gloria while Jon went to a webcomic panel. I had a lot of people come up to me, asking me for photos and squealing over my Leeloo costume. This was the majority of the day, people freaking out over the costume. I had a LOT of fans for this costume and I can't wait to cosplay it again.

Not a lot of happenings on this day... I did enter the Hall Cosplay contest, didn't win but a friend of mine did. X3 Had lunch with Tatiana and some of her friends, including a Reno I had met at AnimeDestiny. Also met up with the daughter of Conpix who held a panel at Anime Destiny. Jon lost his badge sometime after, we think it got set down probably when we were taking pictures. Also Jon thought he lost his Zune, but luckily he found it yesterday... It nearly costed his fun at the convention. So those who are wondering; we found the Zune! We ended up losing Gloria a lot of the time through both cons but we finally found her right before we left. There were also several other people I wasn't able to find which bummed me out. Manya lost her badge and Hatsune-Yuna I didn't see at all on Saturday but she had called out for me. Other than that I had a lot of fun! We hung out at the con till 5 and then headed home... On the way home a crazy old lady ran up to me and screamed "I WANT YOUR HAIR!!!!!" ...Yep.

Pros: +Just overall wonderful time enjoyable small con.
+ The attendees were great.
+ Staff was AMAZINGLY sweet and helpful! First time I didn't have ANY trouble with ANY staff at a convention.
+MC was hilarious at Masquerade.
+People staffing masquerade were very helpful especially since it was my first time entering a masquerade.
+Dealer's Hall wasn't cramped like most cons, rather spaced out compared to most.
+Registration was a breeze.
+Panels were awesome.
+Right near Japan Town.

Cons: -Layout was a little odd for the con.
-Artist Alley at the top where there were like 6 booths near the Dealer's Hall wasn't a good idea it got backed up really quick and it was hard to make it through.
-Artist Alley below was a little... Awkward as well.
-Photographers taking photos on the steps leading up from the AA to the Dealer's Hall.
-Wasn't three days, but I still had fun for the two days I was there. X3

Overall: Wonderful convention I WILL be returning for next year. I adored this convention and it's staff members, as well as it's attendees. I was completely amazed with this convention and I look forward to next year.

***** Stars: It's been a long while since I've posted this many stars for a convention. I think the last time was my first convention; Animazement 09. Overall this convention was amazing and had the same feel that AZ09 had. I will be returning for 2011.

AOD Gallery: http://s583.photobucket.com/albums/ss274/foxberryconventions/AOD2010/
KValentine's Masquerade Video: (Stein's Segment): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLnWZ9Hh2do

Okay here's the deal guys~!

I recently put up on facebook that I want to start a cosplay group. And because I really can't sleep not that tired I've decided to go through and start working on the requirements.

Please note; just because I do not choose you doesn't mean that I don't love you any less than I do now. I am looking for a certain group of individuals that fit my requirements and desires.

So lets get to business shall we?

1. Cosplay Group Deadline!!!: Animation On Display! January30th-31st. Now I'm not asking you to get a costume ready before this convention; but this will be when I made my final decision on who is going to be in the cosplay group. If you are attending Animation On Display please seek me out if you are applying to be in the cosplay group. And if you arent; then just say hi anyway X3

2. I want to have a 5-7 person group. Currently I have two/three solid members. Myself, Kinderwulf and possibly my boyfriend (I still have to talk with him). As such that leaves me, if I go with 7 people, with four more.

3. I preferably want individuals who do not have any current cosplay groups. I say this because people end up getting busy with other groups and forget groups and blah blah. I don't want to steal people from other groups!

4. I do not mind if you buy your costume however; I do want people to CREDIT their commissioner. I do not however want costumes that are from chinese-warehouses... Usually this quality sucks.

5. When making your own costume; I don't want half assed cosplays. Meaning no badly done SnJ cosplays.

6. If you apply I'd like it if you post THREE photos from your cosplay portfolio that are your best quality. I do not mean shopped the death either. It can be shopped but please don't put something that's going to make me squeal in terror of the shooping-kawaii-desu-neee!!?11!? This does not mean you have to have three cosplays, if you have only one cosplay then three photos works fine. If you have any less; I'll arrange something with you just talk to me. ^__^

7. If you are going to apply you must be active. I will be attending about 7 cons this upcoming year + events. Now I am not asking you all to attend every single convention that I attend... However I do ask that you attend at least ONE to TWO conventions in the Bay Area (excluding SacAnime- sorry I will not attend this con again). Also please attend whatever events you can because usually these are free and are short in time span.

8. I really can't think of anything else right now but these qualifications may change. Just keep a lookout for updates~!


Things that I will cosplay or I'd like to include in the cosplay group:

Axis Powers Hetalia
Soul Eater
The World Ends with You
TeamFortress2 *Props if you guys are interested in this. XD
Final Fantasy Series
Vocaloids
5th Element
Pokemon
Phoenix Wright

Things that I will NOT cosplay or I would NOT want to do in the cosplay group:

Naruto
Bleach
Organization 13
Kingdom Hearts
Full Metal Alchemist
Dragon Ball Z
Gothic-Lolita Versions of Cosplay (Ex: Gothic Lolita Naruto)
Sexy no Jutsu Cosplay
Raver Versions of Cosplay (Other than in Raves)
Various other "alternate" Cosplay (Ex: Gangsta Kingdom Hearts)

Once AOD has passed; I will be thinking of names for our cosplay group. If you are accepted you are free to suggest names. I already have a few in mind:

Baka Neko Productions/Studios/Cosplay (whichever of the three)

Well okay I only have one, but I'll come up with more soon. Haha. XD

2009 was a wonderful year for me, filled with change and transition. I find myself thinking over all that has come to pass and I'm a little overwhelmed. Not only for just 1 year, but thinking of the past ten years I've come a long way since that troubled 16 year old girl... Uncertain and worried about how my life would change... the divorce of my parents, the alienation from my mother, troubles within school, my creative years of my life, writing, drawing... gaining friends and losing them.


I've come to think of the past ten years as a blur, something that I've lost so much track of. It's hard to believe that my main story character Drayne Xaphon is 10 years old... The stories that I have written with this character sometimes reflects my own troubles, sometimes extended past what I've suffered. Roleplay has had a great place in my life... Ironically if I had never roleplayed I would have never met my boyfriend.


The internet has come a long way. I remember when thinking dialup was the best thing since sliced bread, and now here I am ten years later saying "I can never go back to that piece of shit". Technology in general has changed and sometimes I wonder for the better or for the worst? Skynet anyone? Haha... Just kidding, but seriously. Just this past year California has banned cellphone use (without handsfree) while driving. Good move, and I applaud our 'govenator' for it. (Need I say I love Arnold?)


That aside; not only has technology has changed, but it's changed me, and us all. Truly without it I would have never met the person I love. Funny thing roleplaying has done for me. It's also brought me pain, with the situation with my ex Than and the near loss of my best friend Gwen... I count my blessings that I still have her so close. It was she who brought me to roleplay and my newest love; cosplay.


I have only been cosplaying for less than a year and yet it's brought me so much enjoyment... It's brought me new friends and new confidence within myself... And all of this within less than a year! Cosplaying and moving in with my significant other truly has been a life changing experience... 2009 will always live within my memory and I will always cherish it.


So... here's a list of things that changed my life within 2009~!


1. Graduated from my 2year college; South Side Virginia Community College

2. Visited California for the first time.

3. Flown in a plane for the first time.

4. Been in various states that I've never been in before (granted in the airport).

5. Moved in with my boyfriend.

6. Started cosplaying.

7. Moved away from my home of 25 years.

8. Got majorly hung over for the first time. XD 7 double-shot shooters in an hour... Not a lot of fun.

9. Been to 5 different anime conventions.

10. Lost friends and gained friends.


Amongst many other things, I just can't remember all of it... it's just the first ten that I can remember and has stuck out at me.


Now the top things for the decade.Some happy, others not.


1.) Graduated Highschool

2.) Graduated College

3.) Parents divorced

4.) Found my heart shattered

5.) Having it mended again (finding my soul mate)

6.) Moving away from my home of 25 years

7.) Being a rape survivor and becoming a stronger person

8.) Roleplaying

9.) Cosplaying

10.) And again; found and lost friends.


8 and 9 have brought me so many friends people who I see as family, I have also lost friends because of them as well... But I'd never change anything, even the bad things... For they have made me stronger.


So without further adiu; I wish you all...


A Happy New Years!


-苔桃 (Foxberry)

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Merry Christmas! メリークリスマス!

-苔桃 (Foxberry)

So I forgot~!

To post yesterday, I apologize for that. I was really busy and I didn't get around to posting before I went to my boyfriend's parents house.

So my early Christmas turned out wonderful.

We went over my boyfriend's brother's house where I got to meet the immediate family. They were really nice and I enjoyed my time there. Jon's nephews are adorable and I can't wait to be an aunt for them. X3

My boyfriend's sister had a game called Scribblenauts- awesome game very cute. Look it up. Hehe.

We had dinner over there; I had medium steak, rice and salad. I'm not too fond of crabs so I didn't really eat any but I did have cheesecake and it was yummy.

OH and the BRIE!! The BRIE is the god of cheeses besides mozerella and colby jack. X3

For Christmas I got three books I was looking for; Kite Runner, Magic's Pawn and Killer Angels.

Also got a sweater, hoodie, p.j's, a 25$ borders gift card and godiva candy, sucker and a stocking.

Oh and from my boyfriend I got a snuggie! It's awesome.

After hanging out with Stacy; Jon's brother we headed back to Jon's parents house and went to sleep- I finished Bluestar's Prophecy by Erin Hunter before going to bed though.

I got home earlier and I tried everything on and now I'm watching Iron Chef America.

That aside do have a rant... And it's not just about cosplay it's about issues in general.

Butthurt people who BAWW after they post controverisal issues. Whether it be cosplay or otherwise.

If you're going to post controverisal issues, don't BAWW over the situation that someone criticizes your point of view. Not everyone is going to see eye to eye. So accept it!

If you want to remove me from your list because I don't think like you do; then do so. Bawww all you want and whine to your friends that someone was lulmean to you. If you're going to post controversial issues EXPECT people to not agree with you. I guess one could say that if you don't have anything nice; don't say it.

However, what I said was nice, I was simply pointing out what I thought about a specific situation. I won't go further than that... But if you are going to open yourself up to the world and rant then you should expect other people have different opinions.

If you're not mature enough to accept another's thoughts, then seriously grow up.

I have dealt with a lot of this in cosplay and I feel that the fandom has a lot of this going on and they apply it to other things as well... Not just cosplay. If someone does not agree with you, then you're automatically labled as a black sheep and someone who isn't worth the time of day.

It's even more so apparent in cosplay. This is where I'm dipping into the cosplay portion of this situation.

If you don't agree with others on topics of cosplay it opens a whole new can of worms. Sometimes you're outright shunned from a group of people because you feel differently on a topic. I suppose though drama follows cosplay and it's always a troublesome thing.

I try to stay away from it, but I guess it's more common in cosplay because we are dealing with a younger crowd at times. Especially when it comes to conventions. Granted the majority of people I hang out with aren't like this, I think it's because I hang out with a more mature and older crowd of cosplayers.

I wonder why that is; not the situation that I hang out with older cosplayers but instead why drama=cosplay. Is it because it's a younger crowd hobby sometimes or is it something more? Maybe because we're artists and drama=art? I wonder... What do you guys think?

Well with that said; I'll go ahead and mirror this on deviantArt and LiveJournal because I'm curious about your opinions. Feel free to share them.

And...

I want to wish everyone a Merry CHRISTMAS! And a Happy New Year!!

With love,

-苔桃 (Foxberry)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Everyone!!

It's me again with another update; I've been procrastinating a little so I am covering two events at the same time. I hope you don't mind, and I know I've been promising that I'd get around to it, and ya' know- I never did till now.

With my apologies said; lets get down to business, yes?

Holiday Hetalia Meetup Dec 05 2009



Like normal I ended up not getting any sleep before this event; My sleeping schedule really is screwed up. Despite the exhaustion Jon and I got ready for the event rather quickly and headed out for our meeting place; Westfield Mall in SF. I suggested this mall for the meetup due to the fact that I didn't feel that people would really want to hang out outside in the chilled air the entire time. Everyone seemed to agree that Westfield would be a good place to meet at and so it was settled that we'd go to Westfield and then head off to Union Square for a nice group photo infront of the Christmas tree there.

In any case; I was a little late, as we were waiting for a friend who was going by the BART as well- but that's small potatoes really. After arriving at the BART to wait for Gloria and her friends (the ones we were waiting for) Jon and I decided to let the others know that we'd be up there soon... Needless to say; I always, always get missplaced in this mall and we failed to meet up with everyone so we went back down to the BART- by this point Gloria had arrived and our entire little group headed up to the Bloomingdales Dome rather than the Nordstrom Dome like I thought it was originally supposed to be at. We ended up losing the mother of France that was with us at the time... *sighs* that was a bit mess.

Security came and found France after we all had finally met up with the rest of the group. For a while everyone; including the others that had met up earlier here and those who followed in after our small group; all got together and took photos. We then went out to get food... Jon, myself, a very cute England and America couple, France and a few others ended up losing the main group... We finally found where the majority went- they went for PASTA! I didn't want any and instead ate hot yummy oatmeal from Jamba Juice. America and England decided to eat at this other place and then caught back up with us once we were all done eating.

We then all went back to the Bloomingdale's Dome and I finally was able to get ahold of all the cosplayers; which seems to be like coralling wayward sheep (hehe teasing guys)... Finally I was able to get everyone to stop looking at my fake boobs (As I was cosplaying Christmas!Ukraine) and focus on me. We then all went down to UnionSquare with people staring... Jon (Prussia) lead the group and I headed the back. We all got to Union Square in one piece! We met up with a group of people giving free hugs! Which of course as you all know; Hetalia people love free hugs for some reason... And finally we went to take our group photo... Once this was done we ended up mauling the Grinch since we could not find Santa (the one at the mall was busy) and took a few photos with him.

Afterwards we were all going to go to Westfield again but I was told by the mother of France that we were "unofficially" kicked out of the mall. Apparently they did not like us "loitering" there, so Jon and I attempted to grab everyone who was heading back but the main group just wanted to split ways and go shopping... Which was a good idea. So with a small group of our own, we managed back to Westfield to find anyone who else would like to go down to Embarcadero Center... We found people and decided to do just that. So Jon and I gathered our group and headed down to the center; which was like normal; abandoned. We all took photos there and ended up on Pier 1, the Ferry Building, and walked around a little until I had to take Sailor!Italy back to her parents and Mafiso!Italy and Lichtenstein to their's. I then went back to our ever thinning group and we decided to go down to Pier 39, Red!China decided to head on home; and we decided after a little while to do the same rather than go down to Pier39... And so our group headed on home parting ways at the BART.

I zoned out on the BART and fell asleep promptly when I got home.

Pros:-Getting together with people that I got to hang out at WorldHetaliaDay with.
-Receiving the weird stares and smiles from the norms.
-Going to the Embarcadero Center and Pier 1

Cons:-Getting kicked out of the mall
-Splitting ways with everyone pretty much two hours after the meetup gathered.

Overall: I enjoyed myself; maybe not as much as World Hetalia Day but enjoyed myself none the less. Next time we will look elsewhere to cosplay at and not Westfield as the security were rather rude with some people apparently.

**** Stars: Would have given it more considering the situation with the mall security and the small amount of time we all hung out.

Hetalia Cosplay Photos: http://s583.photobucket.com/albums/ss274/foxberryconventions/HolidayAPHMeet09/

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Holiday J-Town Meetup Dec 12 2009



Again another event I did not sleep before; though despite this I enjoyed myself.

Originally this meetup was supposed to be at Golden Gate Park; however rain doused the plans and we all had to end up at Japan Town; calling was made a day before the event and sadly enough it was a very rainy and damp day to the point that Jon and I were planning on backing out if not many people showed up. It's been quite a while since it had rained this much in San Francisco.

Jon and I decided to cosplay Prussia and Ukraine again because of the rain; knowing it would only damage the cosplays if we were to do Spirit and Stein. It also sort of "rained on" our plans, pun not really intended as we couldn't really bring food to J-Town being that it is a business area. So Jon and I decided to put our RiceCrispyTreat sushi in little treat bags and hand them out... That was a great success and a lot of people loved them.

We were again; late to this event as well thanks to the Bus being late and the BART being late and the Muni being late... Everything runs slower on rainy days in SF. But we finally got there. We met up with Gloria and a few of her friends, and I got to see the cosplayer/judge who cosplayed Death the Kidd at Yaoi-con and of course got to see EBK. We all took photos infront of a Christmas tree that was set up inside and afterwards went and did some group shots; rain let up just enough for that... Afterwards we all went to lunch and well... The group ended up doing the same thing the Hetalia Group did; and split up and went our own ways.

Once we were done eating we returned to the main area where we met up; talked with a few people then did the Purikura booths; which I still need to upload. After that we went to the bookstore, picked up copies of the photos and returned home. I again proceeded to pass out when I got home.

Pros:-Got to take some very awesome photos.
-There was a very cool Captain America cosplayer which I ogled the costume of- very well made.
-Hung out with Gloria and other cool cosplayers.
-Got to talk with EBK and a few of the other photographers there.

Cons:-RAIN~! RAIN! RAIN!!!
-Cosplay meetup was very short and I didn't really get to talk to many of the others as everyone really just wanted to take the photos and go home since it was such a rainy event.
-Did not take place at GoldenGate Park as I would have hoped; thanks to weather.
-JapanTown was rather small and I've been there a lot so it's nothing new to me.

Overall: The cons above really had nothing to do with the host BARTBoy; he did what he could with the situation that he had. None the less I still have to pretty much grade the event with my overall experience. Other than the cons, I did enjoy myself it wasn't the strongest event that I've been to- but that's because of the weather and I feel it could have been better if it wasn't raining and it was at GoldenGate but again the host couldn't do anything about this. I will be attending another meetup by BARTBoy however as I did enjoy my time.

*** Stars: Would have given it more if the situation was not how it was. None the less the event itself was fun.

J-Town Holiday Meetup Photos: http://s583.photobucket.com/albums/ss274/foxberryconventions/JTownChristmasMeet09/

Next Event/Convention: Animation On Display; Hotel Kabuki- San Francisco CA

Wishing you a wonderful Holiday Season from Foxberry Studios!

Quoted from BARTBoy!

"Attention - The Gathering taking place tomorrow at Golden Gate Park will now be moved to Japantown and will start at 12PM!

Please note that all these decisions are made not soley by myself but by myself and a group of people within my group that is hosting this event. It's not easy making these decisions because we are doing what's best in the interest of the people who are attending this gathering. We're trying to be fair as much as possible. Those of you who were hoping for this gathering to take place in the park. We dearly apologize for this event being forced to move.

We understand if you do not wish to attend because of the move, we thank you for taking interest in wanting to come for this event. We thank you all for showing patience and being flexible with all these changes being made.

The meeting spot will be in front of Sophie's Crepes located located by the Kinokuniya Bookstore on the upper level of the Kinokuniya Mall. The time for meeting will stand at 12:00PM!

PLEASE NOTE - DUE TO THE NEW LOCATION PLEASE BE ADVISE TO NOT BRING FOOD TO THIS GATHERING!!!!

Thank you!

See you all tomororw! Information on how to get to Japantown will be posted in the following post.



MUNI INFORMATION UPDATE

If you are taking BART via Downtown San Francisco, GET OFF AT MONTGOMEREY! Not Powell St. Getting off at Montgomerey will give you direct access to the 38 Geary Line on Market St. Take the 38 Geary going towards Ocean Beach/48th Ave./V.A. Hospital and get off at Laguna.

For those of you coming from the San Jose area via Caltrain. Take the 47 Van Ness Bus going towards Fisherman's Wharf, get off on Geary. Then transfer to the 38 Geary line going towards Ocean Beach/48th Ave./V.A. Hospital.

DRIVING INFORMATION

If you are driving, the cross streets for Japantown is Geary Blvd. & Laguna St. in San Francisco, CA!

Thank you!"