I started the Saturday of Otakon the way I usually do these days, by treating myself to breakfast in the hotel's restaurant, before heading back up to my room to start getting ready for the day. But this year I was going to have a special guest: the pandemic had forced most upper management to realize the wonders that is remote/working from home, which meant that people had a *lot* more flexibility when it came to travel and scheduling. I bring all of this up to say, Saturday morning, I had a Reinii in my room! (Which I highly recommend.)

I figured Saturday would be the true test of the convention crowds, and sure enough, while it seemed like there were more people attending on Saturday than on Friday or Sunday, it also seemed like a far smaller crowd than usual. Granted, even after five years, I still think that part of that is that the Walter E. Washington Convention Center just has a lot more sprawling space than the old venue did in Baltimore, but I also think people were trying to respect the six foot social distancing, which was appreciated.

But! There were still costumes to see, people to meet, and booths to shop. Reinii was only planning on attending the one day, so we decided to try to fit everything in at once. I hadn't had a chance to check out the video game room yet and it was the closest stop on our way, so we decided to start there.

Reinii got stopped SO MUCH! The Loki TV series had wrapped up about 2 weeks before the con, and while as I said I wasn't current (I initially had only been interested in WandaVision, Reinii's the one who convinced me to go back and watch them all), I'd have to say at *least* half of the attendees, maybe more, were. (And then about 25% called her "Loki", which led to an interesting dilemma: it would be perfectly in character for Reinii to insist that she was Sylvie, and *not* Loki, but if you didn't know the character, you wouldn't know she was being *in* character and might think she was being insistently pedantic. Or you might even think she was introducing herself!)

At any rate, eventually we made our way to the video game room, and I found my friend Nick who, despite the fact that I knew 9/10ths of my friends had grown luxurious pandemic manes *and* I had seen a picture of said mane before I departed, I still almost didn't recognize. To be fair, though, it's hard to recognize people, even some of your nearest and dearest, when they're wearing masks. And in my defense I think it took him a minute to recognize me, too, although part of that was also because I had dyed my hair black again. Nevertheless we took a few minutes to hug and catch up before Reinii and I moved on to check out the games.

Honestly, if you go to cons mainly to play games, this was the year for you. Even with the super popular games, like the dancing and rhythm ones, there was maybe a one person wait ahead of you? A lot of games had no wait and sometimes no players at all. A lot of that was probably due to the lower attendance numbers, and then people not wanting to touch shared controllers due to Covid, but there was hand sanitizer everywhere and I happen to know the staff was taking cleaning and sterilization very seriously. It certainly wouldn't have kept me from playing, but I have video games at home; I only really play at a con if there's something worth playing, and someone worth playing against.

We did find one thing worth waiting in line for: Wild Bill's Soda! As long as you bought a mug from them (and the mugs were super cute; I can see them being reused for Ren Faires easily), you could bring that mug back to them for unlimited refills! I'm kind of a Diet Coke loyalist so it wasn't so much of a temptation for me, but Reinii took advantage of their offer. Even their kiosk was cute; it reminded me of an Old West saloon.

From the video game room we headed to the biggest draw, the Dealer's Room. Like Artist's Alley, it was a little less crowded than usual, but as far as I could tell every single vendor showed up. And, of course, we ran into tons of cosplayers--thanks to the remake, there were more Final Fantasy VII cosplayers than I'd seen in *years*, which made my nerdy little heart very happy, but I was surprised, very few of them seemed to recognize who I was. Surely more people picked the "exotic" option for Cloud and Tifa's date? But everyone was more than willing to pose for pictures for and with me. And I made sure to tell every single one about the meetup later that day (more about that later.)

It wasn't only cosplayers, for that matter; we ran into friends, too! Lauren and Stevie were touring the floor as well, so we merged our parties. And honestly I should have invented some sort of drinking game (alcohol preferred but not required) for how many Lokis (and variants) there were, though that may have ended with a trip to the ER. But really it was enough fun getting to once again roam the aisles with my friends, shopping for souvenirs, and shooting my favorite costumes.

Reinii would continue to be mobbed, but one of the intersections of the aisles, I spotted a cosplayer with a really well-made Cloud costume, and asked if he would mind posing with me. And as soon as he did, about seventeen photographers seemed to pop up out of nowhere and start taking our picture--and as soon as one of them drifted away, another one took their place. I can't remember the last time I was in a crowd like that, although I know better than to think that I was the draw. The cosplayer (I can't remember his real name now, only that omega_turdle was his Instagram handle--apparently all the cool kids use Insta these days) was really one of the nicest Clouds I ever met, so I asked him, too, if he was going to the Final Fantasy meetup, and promised to see him later.

We also found Serge, who was once again staffing for Otakon (let me take this opportunity to say, again, because it can never be said nearly enough, thank your local staffers because without them we wouldn't have cons at all, they work hard out of love of the fandom), so we didn't have a lot of time to catch up, but we at least said hi! We missed Arlette again, of course, but I have high hopes she, Lady Terentia, and I will all be back in Magic Knight uniforms someday. (And/or a costume that Serge might be willing to join in on. Maybe something Disney?)

And maybe it was just my joy at being back at something in person again, but I had SO MUCH FUN shopping this year. Granted almost all of it were little gifts for my friends, but it really seemed like they had a lot more merchandise that appealed to A Crissy than usual. I was able to find something cute for almost all of the girlies in my group (and had to stop myself from buying more in some cases!) I was really impressed by the selection.

I had been texting with LunarChandelure much of this time, and she and her friend Owen soon found us and decided to shop with us a bit. Lunar looked absolutely fabulous in her Kinoko costume again, and got so much attention for her "shroom-shooters" that she 3D printed herself. I know 3D printing has been around for a while, but I think it's only recently become common enough/drop down in price low enough for an individual to own one, and I expect it to make a huge splash in the cosplay world. I really can't believe how many resources are available to cosplayers now. ("Back in MY day, we made costumes out of bridal satin and styrofoam, and we were THANKFUL to GET IT!" Except of course I don't make costumes...)

It was also nice having a chance to get to know Lunar's friend Owen, who is super sweet and a fellow fan of Sailor Moon (now we just have to corrupt Lunar; she's been brokering a deal wherein she agrees to watch all of Sailor Moon if I agree to watch Steven Universe. I did not actually agree to this deal, but so far she's seen at least ten episodes of Sailor Moon and I watched the pilot of Steven Universe. It's good, though I'm told it gets better.) I've been told he's not averse to joining us in our cosplay shenanigans, so...here's hoping? Watch this space for future exciting updates!

And finally, before I was ready to head off, we had a not-so-surprise visit from Doc, who would like me to tell you he was absolutely not attending Otakon, so there's no possible way he was there. Any further stories I tell about him being there will be lies, and any photographic evidence it may seem like I have is, in fact, either very clever Photoshop, or someone cosplaying Doc the Stampede. Doc is one of the few friends I had seen once the most stringent of restrictions lifted in NYC, so it hadn't been *as* long since I had seen him as for some of the rest, but even so, it was so good to see him--I mean not see him--at Otakon, which he definitely did not attend.

Now, originally, I was super excited to learn that there was going to be an honest-to-goodness Kabuki presentation on Saturday only, by Professor Kirk Kanesaka, the first non-Japanese citizen to become a professional Kabuki actor. This performace was going to be at 4:30 on Saturday only, through special arrangement with the Embassy of Japan. However, I *also* found out, as I mentioned earlier, that there was going to be a Final Fantasy meetup held at the same time, and...I'm ashamed to admit...my fandom won out. So when 4 PM approached I headed to the panel room to take part in the meetup and photoshoot.

That being admittedsaid I had a lot of fun! It was definitely less massive than the My Hero Academia photoshoot, but there were still a lot of people! I was most interested in the Final Fantasy VII folks, of course, but it was nice to see love for so many of the other Final Fantasies (although none that I recall for IV, though. I definitely would've fangirled over a Cecil or a Kain cosplayer.) The nice Cloud and a truly gorgeous Aerith I met were there, as well as a bunch of Tifas, all with their own spin on the Tifa costume. There's really no wrong way to cosplay, as long as you're 1) having a good time and 2) not being a metaphoric phallic symbol.

I took a bunch of selfies on my phone, as well as a few shots of the other cosplayers, but I'm really hoping to find the "official" photographs from the shoot at some point; there were tons of photographers there! Whole rows of them! I just don't know where people go to share their con photos anymore. I miss when every convention was followed by obsessively scrolling through Cosplay.com and American Cosplay Paradise, hoping to find photos of your costume. Now when people take your picture, if they don't send it to you immediately afterward, it's just kind of...gone, into the ether. I know everybody does private photoshoots these days, me included, but surely there is still some call for good old fashioned hall coverage?

As the photoshoot was wrapping up my party of friends reunited, and we started to talk about where to go for dinner. Originally Doc and I were going to steal away for our traditional Otakon Date Night (I'm officially naming it that) but we were having so much fun all together that we decided to make it into a group hang. This did necessitate changing our plans, but we were lucky in that (as my friends now know) Doc is the Resident Gourmet and is thankfully pretty familiar with the DC area. Some restaurants had changed their menus and/or their hours due to Covid, but Doc was able to find this neat bar and grill named Wild Days on the rooftop of the nearby Eaton DC hotel. They offered a really eclectic menu that seemed almost entirely composed of tacos and s'mores, which got Reinii really excited, so we decided to give them a try.

So a quick aside the Eton DC looks *super* interesting. It wasn't close enough to the convention center for me to consider it a viable alternative (and I'm in love with the Henley Park Hotel anyhow), but it's not just a hotel, it's also a...radio station? You could see DJs through the glass right from the sidewalk, and the neon "On Air" sign was lit. And it's a coffee shop? With art exhibits? And holds concerts sometimes? And this is all besides the rooftop bar with the outdoor fire pits. It's seriously worth checking out. (And the lobby was beautiful--Reinii and I got good pictures of each other there.)

Sadly, once we got upstairs we were told the outdoor pits were out of service, so there would be no s'mores for us, but the taco menu was still pretty impressive. I couldn't make up my mind between the chicken, the beef, or the plant-based, so I ordered the sampler, and was not disappointed. And of course we ordered some chips and guac for the table, which were quickly devoured. Some of the girls ordered the specialty cocktails too, which seemed quite tasty, but I generally try to avoid alcohol at cons (it messes with my sleep, which makes me look tired, which messes with my pictures, which qualifies as a ttragedy) so I gave those a pass.

The food and drinks were good, but of course the best part was getting to decompress and talk about anything and everything, both fandom-related at not: what we bought that day, how our families are doing, what shows we're watching, theoretical discussions about topics both silly and serious, just, everything. Nothing beats the feeling of getting off of your feet after a day of walking (often in uncomfortable shoes!) and just letting your body dissolve while your brain takes over. It's lovely.

After we were all adequately fed and rested, we agreed it was time to head back--I have been an Old Person since my teenage years, and especially need a lot of rest the day before I have a long road trip to make, so most of us said goodbye and went our separate ways. Reinii came back with me to undress and pick up the stuff she had stashed in my hotel room, so we got some more quiet one-on-one time that I really treasure. I really do have some of the best friends anybody could ever ask for.

After Reinii left I finished taking off the rest of my costume and headed to bed. There was still one day left to go!

Cloud and Tifa

More Tifas!

Wall Market Aerith and Cloud

Their costumes were really amazing

And they looked so much like the characters

Aerith, Cloud, and Tifa

These are my favorite outfits for both Aerith and Tifa

I imagine Cloud likes them as well.

"Off to beat Don Corneo BBL"

Cloud and Tifa

Sailor Saturn

Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Saturn

Or as we joked: Reinii, me, and baby Avi

Neptune and Uranus

Sailor Jupiter and Tuxedo Kamen

Ready to rock!

Me and Reinii

I did not know that lock of hair was not supposed to fall there; I thought it looked cool

Another Tifa I met

Twin Tifas!

Most of the Tifas I met were in her new main outfit

All Lokis are valid

When Tifa Met Cloud

Honestly he was so nice though

We took a lot of pictures.

Mainly because as soon as we started taking pictures, other photographers showed up.

Which is a phenomenon I haven't enjoyed for a long time.

Sylive and Lady Loki

Wall Market versions of Aerith and Tifa

"A Chocobo!"

I didn't even have any gyashi greens!

But I caught a Chocobo!

"HE'S SO FLUFFY!"

I had to hug him.

Oh he's got a Thanos head. That's fabulous.

I'm thinking of making a quilt, and I'm thinking these DDR arrow patches might make an awesome addition to said hypothetical quilt

I fell in love with these gorgeous pins

I love running into other Final Fantasy cosplayers

Especially Final Fantasy VII

Which is one of the reasons I'm so grateful for the remake

Reinii was even more excited about Totoro than I was about the Chocobo

Long awaited dinner

The taco sampler was a big hit

Although just being able to sit was the biggest hit of all