"We Don't Need Drugs"

Last night, 

Kristen, Liz, and I came together. 

We wolfed down bacon, button-mashed Pokemon Stadium, 

and then piled into my car to play Cards Against Humanity at KK's. 

Upon arriving at his doorstep, 

we soon discovered that nobody wanted to let us in. 

So, I unlocked the door and in we went, 

only to find the lights on, Twilight Imperium set up, 

but nobody there. 

Shrugging, we began setting up our game on the floor, 

when an idea wormed its way into my head: 

Let's hide in the back and surprise them when they return! 

We scrambled to gather the cards up and made a mad dash down the hall. 

Kristen yelped, "They'll see your car!" 

and I nearly fell over myself, rushing outside to hide it from sight. 

I charged back up the stairs and threw myself into the storage room, 

where we vowed to play our game in complete silence. Yeah right. 

Attempting Cards Against Humanity by phone light, 

with hands clamped like vices over our mouths, 

I believe both my kidneys exploded with suppressed laughter. 

Eventually, the others returned. 

I've never been good at pranks; I always mess up punch lines. 

I get too excited for the finale and stumble over myself, somehow. 

And, sure enough, when the moment came to reveal ourselves, 

my knees were knocking, and it was all I could do to follow Kristen's lead. 

We crept down the hallway, then straightened our spines 

and marched right past a very stunned group of T.I. gamers. 

I unlocked the door, wrenched it open, 

and into the night we fled, all our bottled laughter bursting from our lungs. 

"Phantom of the Venetian"

If school is driving you to the end of your rope, what do you do? 
You vacation, of course.
And so we did.

It took a bit of convincing, actually,
since I have no love in my heart for Vegas.
But Ken-kun waved Phantom of the Opera tickets in my face
and I couldn't say no.

Whilst waiting for our evening performance to start,
we explored the Strip, like any proper tourist should.

I began to warm up to the city
when we passed under the Eiffel's legs
and bopped around the European-themed hotels.

Someday, I will see the real things.
But these imitations were stunning, themselves.

Gorgeous architecture in Caesar's Palace.
{We got a bit turned around -- it's so big inside!}

I love aquariums. ~(*´∇｀*~)

Stoic dragon gargoyle is stoic.

I adored the ceilings in the Venetian.
Is it time to go to Europe yet please

It's wonderful how the hotels bring live, themed performers into their midsts. 

Makes the whole experience of touring even more authentic and magical. 

Apparently, Vegas had an enormous Chinese New Years bash.
We stumbled upon the remnants.
{The Palazzo had a dragon court, waterfall included.}

This serpentine fellow smoked from his nostrils.
He was huge.

Say hi, Ken-kun!

Whenever I think of Vegas,
this is one of the scenes that pops into my head.
Apparently, it struck a chord with me when I went with Papere.
I had to take a picture, this time.

Hello, sparkly horsey!

The Bellagio boasted a beautiful tribute to the Chinese New Year:
a dragon flower garden.

These lovely animatronics bobbed their heads and tails at us,
as we passed by them.

Flower children danced in the garden of the dragons.

When it was finally time for Phantom to woo us,
we settled into our seats with cheese popcorn and chocolate.
Good gravy, there's no comparison to a live show.
It. Was. Incredible.

After Phantom, we show-hopped 

to Mirage for a volcano show, 

and to Treasure Island for a siren show. 

Whilst the lava was bursting, there was a duck fight in front of us. 

It was dark, but finally I saw why: ducklings!

This was a massive mammoth's tusk.
Do you see the detail on the clothing?
I am forever astounded at the talent God blesses people with.
It makes this world such a better place.

Cthulhu cheesecake! 

Thus named because of its wiggly whipped cream 

and its impossibility to defeat. 

Road trips are always memorable. 

Even if your destination isn't somewhere exotic or breathtaking, 

the journey and companionship makes it all more than worthwhile. 

"Kami-Con: Season Four"

People down south are SO NICE.

Kami-Con's staff made me feel so wanted and welcome,
and everyone's Southern accents were darling.

After a hotel room mishap
{we were given LittleKuriboh's keys}
Erin, Liz, and I sallied forth to our first-ever anime convention.

I was wide-eyed to see all the various costumes in which people came.
This here's Miss Ariel & a blonde Sora from Kingdom Hearts.

Of course, we brought our own cosplays.
{Erin is Prussia from Hetalia & Liz is Chun Li from Street Fighter.}

Kami-Con's cute mascot, Shio.

And her sister, Kosho.

My nerves for being at an anime convention seemed to outweigh
my nerves for performing live.
{I would bite my fingernails until a mic was in my hand.}
This is a con-goer's snapshot of the end of Opening Ceremonies.

Our P.A. Will Crosswhite.
He helped the magic happen. {Thanks, Will!}

Erin {as Prussia}
with another Hetalian -- Russia!

Another Disney princess sighting -- Tiana!

Though it was sad LittleKuriboh and I weren't able to duet this Con,
I was still way stoked to see him in person. o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o
{Next time, maybe I'll talk to him.}

More Hetalians!
Southern Italy, England, America, and our lovely Prussia~

We wound up being fast friends with England and America
{thanks to Erin -- whoops, I mean Prussia}.
I even whipped out Celestia's masterpiece -- Hungary's traditional costume
and played along with the rest of the Hetalians.

Yee -- no England/America or Prussia/Hungary love, please!

More snaps of the Prussia/Hungary goodness.
{In the show, they're portrayed as childhood rivals.}

Celestia really did an incredible job on my costume.

I'll be wearing it to another Con,
up in Salt Lake City,
to continue to promote her craftsmanship.

Here is the Nostalgia Critic
with Will's horse mask.
{Fun times in the special guests' green room.}

More cosplaying goodness!
Spotted a Toph & Fire Nation Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

OH, AND.
I met the voice of my childhood: Eric Stuart.
{He voiced characters in Pokemon & Yu-Gi-Oh!}
Note to everyone: befriending your childhood gives you amazing feelings.

Liz seriously rocked her Chun Li costume.
Girl's got kicks.

Bryan Howard,
the man who started my whole involvement with Kami-Con.
{I will forever be grateful to him.}




Fun little story:
We were standing in line, waiting to get into the rave with everyone else,
when a Kami-Con staffer sauntered by, stopped, and tugged at my sleeve.

"Come with me," said he.
And just like that, we got into the rave.
{It's fun pretending to be a celebrity, guys.}

More Hetalians!
{I can't believe how many people know this show.}
I spy another Russia, a Lithuania, and Poland, I believe...

This cute girl was ever-so considerate and cheerful,
and helped me soften up to the Con better.

A darling little Kairi from Kingdom Hearts!

An Ishizu from Yu-Gi-Oh!

A Riku from Kingdom Hearts!

A Shura from Ao no Exorcist!

Liz found a well-garbed Red Ranger.

And an Ichigo and Orihime from Bleach!

She also spotted an R2-D2.

Good find, Rizu!

This Nurse Joy picked the perfect role.
She offered us her hair spray, when we forgot ours,
and she came to my concert and sang along. The sweetheart. (ﾉ´▽｀)ﾉ♪

Okay, see how you can't really see me?
I don't have good {or any} pictures of my performances.
BUT! They were filmed, by Erin and the Con.
Once I have them in my virtual hands, I will post them, promise~
Kami-Con was absolutely incredible, and I'm so happy I got to go!
☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆

{♪ "Pop Culture" mixed by Madeon}