YaYcon report!

Oh lord. OH lord. OHH LORD! I am SO behind on updating this blog in EVERY way possible! I am slightly unlimitedly ashamed of myself. BUT! This does mean I have a lot to update about! For example, I'm doing pretty good on my project-a-month-challenge. But more about that later (in another post, in a week or so. Hopefully.)

© Teahouse

Now first, something that can't wait forever, a report about YaYcon! Which was absolutely amazing.
YaYcon is a dutch yaoi and yuri convention, held for the third time this year at the Atak in Enschede. It's a pretty small con still, mostly because the Netherlands isn't such a big country so the amount of yaoi/yuri fans isn't all that big and the (very logical) 16+ age limit (which I LOVE <3 ) takes away some of the fans as well... This DOES mean the con gets so cozy! It's a really small crowd with mostly likeminded people that are all there with the same interests and for the same purposes- have a good day out.

There were a ton of small events to visit- but unfortunately, I didn't do much else but run around and, funny enough, spending most of the con on a stage.

I went to the con with my friend and conbuddy Sabrina, arriving there with car and fixing my cosplay in the parking lot. I had decided to go cosplay Reed from the webcomic Teahouse. This did not go completely without trouble and I kept my friends updated about the progress of this project through my Facebook profile. The comments mostly were amazing, sweet and made me wear a pretty much permanent blush on my face. But one progress picture in particular stood out from all the others. Namely, the first picture on the progress of my pants. xD
Most people know by now that for a while now, I have a cat listening (well, not really listening...) to the name Perry. He's become somewhat of an "easter egg" in most of my pictures and turns out to be pretty photogenetic. And thus, while I was trying to make a decent picture of the pants progress, Perry decided to sit down behind me on my bed, stealing the show:

Well hello, cat!

© Melissa van den Hoogen 

Pretty much ALL comments I got on this picture resolved around Perry. And when I posted the second progress picture one of the very first comments I got was "Hey, where's Perry?". What I didn't know then was that Esther, a friend of mine and one of the main organizers of YaYcon, found this so funny that she decided to use this in the YaYcon openingceremony. Another friend came chasing me down all through the building and dragged me to the main stage where the ceremony was held, not telling me what this was about AT ALL until I got there- where I was pushed up the stage, all startled and having no idea at all what was going on! Suddenly, I got applauded for my pants. A more amazing start of your day is almost impossible.
In the back, on a big screen, they showed the progresspictures of my pants. First the one without Perry, which didn't do much to the audience (of which not much at all if not none I have on Facebook) and then the one with Perry, on which suddenly, everyone went "Ahwww!" What IS it with that cat?!
Then, after that, Esther (on my right here) gave me a small Hello Kitty plushie as a way to say sorry for pulling me up the stage and everyone thinking my cat is so much more awesome than my pants. Which I can forgive them for.

After this, Melissa took me apart for a small shoot- which I'm really thankful for. The main spot for the pictures was the MangaKissa there because even when it wasn't much of a couch, it was the fanciest seat present in the whole building. Which says quite a lot. I am the worst at pulling serious faces, so among the pretty pictures, quite a few were taken as well where I am the most out of character you can imagine. Some of them are pure gold. <3
By now, even though I'm only a starting cosplayer and I don't even know Melissa for that long, I'm starting to concider her a good friend and pretty much my personal photographer. :') I'm so honored!

© Melissa van den Hoogen

I finally had time to relax a bit, talk some with her about Tegendraads and hang around with friends before going to my next appointment- Gay's Anatomy!
My friend Lid'l had organized a live-model drawingworkshop on the con and clearly had decided that it needed a witty name, so named it Gay's Anatomy. I actually think I have to admit that the YaYcon crew is absolutely amazing in witty names- I forgot most of them, but if they could, they had thought up a name for something that would've surely given you giggles.
Anyway! She was kinda short on models (at first), so I offered to model for her. It was quite fun. Since I was crossplaying, I wasn't really sure if I had to be concidered a male or female model.
I got grouped up with one of the two artists from the doujinshi circle Tea Tales (I still don't know her name T^T ) and we had the most wonderful of conversations while modeling there and trying to stay serious and not awkward out. xD That's HARD!

© Melissa van den Hoogen

So that was the second time I had to be on a stage that day... A little while after Gay's Anatomy was over the Crossplay fashion show/Cosplay acts, done by Lid'l and Stephanie. I had told myself I'd attend so that I would have a good motivation to finish my cosplay (which worked) and since I only attended for the fashion show-part, I didn't have to practice an act or anything, I only had to do a little round and be all pretty on nifty music. And since the character Reed is really all sophisticated, reserved and stick-up-his-beautiful-buttocks, I decided he needed epic music, so I chose Iron from Woodkid, prolly more known because it was used in the trailer/commercial for one of the Asassin's Creed games. But that's details.
It wasn't my first time on a stage for an act, but going on your own seems to be entirely different from going with a group. I tried to stay calm and not drink too much from my fake wine (which I carried around all day- advice to you guys: DONT DO IT. Luckily I didn't spill but gawd, was I scared for that a few times!). But all the stress and hard work seemingly paid off because at the end of the show, I walked off the stage with the prize for best costume! Melissa really caught my most beautiful moments that con.. :')
And as a prize, I got a little goodiebag with the most awesome of stuff in it. I only found time to look at it decently back at Sabrina's place that evening and we had a few good giggles about the precious pieces that we found in it. <3

It held:
- An artbook-y, full-color magazine with BL illustrations
- A small set of Metropolis figures
- A keychain from a FF:AdventChildren character (of which I forgot the name)
- A small set of three copics/markers, which I donated to Sabrina because I don't draw much.
- A postcard from the German doujinshi group FireAngels (which I censored pretty nicely, if I may say so C: ). It's totally gonna be on my wall!
- And last but not least, a button saying "I'm a filthy Seme". Seriously, YaYcon, where do you get that stuff? xD
... I'm thinking I forgot something. D:

Also, because I won, I got to wear this absolutely adorably cute little crown. I'm gonna save that picture for the last. :')

The convention was running pretty much on its end by then. I was absolutely exhausted from a whole day of running around but the day wasn't over YET. Because I had won, they wanted me on the stage at the ending ceremony as well. I practically lived on that stage that day! It was a little scary.
But then, finally, we could pack our bags. I stopped at the FireAngels stand for a bit, even though they had already packed up as well. One of them kept a vlog, seemingly, and asked me if I could dance for her for the camera. I told her I had absolutely NO idea how Reed would dance and she was like, "ohh, I don't care, just do something". And thus, I did the silliest thing my mind could come up with (which wasn't all that silly at all, but real fun none the less). Here's her youtube account on which it should eventually end up on, by the way.
After that and saying goodbye to our friends, we finally went home. It was one of the best cons of my life. <3

Oh, and what I haven't told you yet! I got recognised! OHMYGAWD! I didn't expect much of the dutch audience, because Teahouse isn't a really big-shot anime or anything, but only a (pretty well-known) webcomic. But there were still people recognising me! I was so happy! Three or four people wanted to take a picture with me, of which two were so shy a friend of theirs had to ask it, so cute! >///<
One of the girls that I went on a picture with is the Italian doujinshi artist Daeva and she featured our picture together in her Netherlands trip/YaYcon report on her Livejournal! Sabrina linked it to me, and I was so happy to see this! All the positive comments I got on my costume, the people that wanted to take a picture with/of me, I felt so blessed! They really made me feel as if all my hard work on this cosplay wasn't for nothing. <3 I loved it all so much, thank you!!

Oh, and that picture I promised you of me wearing my crown.

© Melissa van den Hoogen

I'm sorry this post ended up so long.. xD I hope you had fun reading it none the less! And I hope to see you all on this amazing piece of con next year! <3