[448] Otakon2003 highlights

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< Seraphim >

"Otakon Recapped"

Wednesday - August 13, 2003

I'm starting to feel like an authentic con vagabond. I now recognize people who are also on the con circuit like Rik and Jeff from Seattle who I saw at Katsucon, A-Cen and San Diego Comic Con. I know the names of other guests and the translators. We are even getting repeat visits from fans who I recognize. I would have thought that this would be impossible with the number of people we have met this year. I wish my memory was so good when it came to course work.

Piro has inadvertently created a monster. I love it. This con was especially fun - I actually got to go shopping. I got Piro a Nekobox t-shirt. He never says it but I know he thinks it. It's perfect for him. I also got him some Ruri stuff. I love giving Piro presents. Best of all for myself I found a Nohohon plushie and an Ah! My Goddess Belldandy image I have wanted for years. I like to think of it as supporting the weak economy.

The Naze Nani Panel went well. Our presentation was a top ten list of 'Why Megatokyo Sucks' by Piro and I did 'Seraphim's top 10 reasons Megatokyo doesn't suck'. In Chicago I messed up and said 6 when I should have said 5. Let me tell you, 1800 people yelling simultaneously "NO! Five" at you is scary. This time Piro mixed up the numbers. I'm glad it was him and not me. We also unveiled the prototype of the new 'Darkly Cute Blanket'. It isn't available yet but it will be this fall. Please read the previous line twice. All I can say is that it is being manufactured as you read this.

A fan happened to mention the radio play that was posted in the forum a few months back. Piro and I really enjoyed it. After I was reminded I got to tease Asmodeus about how the voice actor totally captured his sleazy side. It is really funny, people think Asmodeus and I don't get along in RL because what is going on in the comic. We are friends. Although, I think he secretly enjoys the torture of my Seraphim character in the comic.

We signed a lot of autographs and had a lot of pictures taken. After seeing so many bad pics of me taken at SDCC where I blinked or was talking and had that half closed eye stoned but happy look - I thought I should just start making faces when having my picture taken. Kind of like Calvin during school pictures. Do it on purpose! Go for the Astroboy Crisco look. Maybe I can draw a face on my abdomen. It can't look any worse than the unintentional goofy looks people seem to capture when I'm trying to be photogenic. Next time, I swear I'm doing it.

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< Dom >

"Strange Days"

Monday - August 11, 2003

[Dom] - 20:30:00 - [link here]

I suppose you're wondering what I've been up to. Especially since I wasn't at Otakon and haven't even checked my e-mail in days. I apologize for my absence, but it couldn't be helped, due to there being... y'know, no ticket and no time. I'd been to 5 conventions in 10 weeks, and that was just wearing on me.

So what have I been doing with my time? Well, while I haven't ditched Minesweeper, I did pick up Knights of the Old Republic last Sunday, which destroyed my productivity to the point where I had to lend it to a friend so I could get work done (as a sidenote, when I handed it to him he said "Well, there go my nights").

See, what happened is that after I bought it, I headed back to my apartment with a friend, and fired up KotOR at around 7:30. We blinked, and suddenly it was 3:30. I know that you've heard it before, but I'll repeat: it's that good. Bugs be damned, as soon as I'm settled back into a normal schedule again I'm getting it back from my friend and freeing up some weekends.

Unfortunately, in exchange for KotOR, I borrowed Da Capo from my friend, pictured above. It's an H visual novel that amuses me to no end, though the TV series amuses me too. For one thing, the main character is dumb as rocks when it comes to (most) girls, and it feels comforting to me that even the heroes of H games can be extraordinarily stupid about these things. He reminds me of me, really.

But no, the real reason I like Da Capo is its weird-ass sense of humor. I mean, c'mon. The upcoming PS2 version features a girl who looks like a normal girl to everyone except the main character, who sees her as a girl in a pink bear costume. Why? Who knows? It's Magic!

I've avoided talking about where I've worked for the past three years, since I didn't think it was anyone's business. But since I feel that I owe everyone a complete explanation for why I had to miss out on all of Otakon, I'll say it. I don't know how much longer I'll be working there, but hopefully I'll be able to stay on. See, for the past three years I've been an intern at GamePro Magazine, brushing up my writing skills and keeping a close eye on the video game world, which is why I laugh long and hard when someone accuses MegaTokyo of being uninformed about video games. And, in the past few months, I've been in charge of the online Entertainment section, struggling to keep it up to date pretty much by myself, with the exception of New Comics Day. And now, I've been placed in charge of daily gaming news, which is sucking up even more of what was once free time.

But then again, I'm having a grand time, so I don't mind. Anyway, this is probably the last time in a while you'll hear about my job, since I can't really talk much about it. You know, because there's this piece of paper I signed three years ago (at least, I think I signed it, and I'm not taking any risks) that holds me to this non-disclosure thing...

Oh. And did I mention that I'm graduating from UC Berkeley on Friday? I'm kinda excited about that one, and it's the primary reason I stayed home from Otakon. I still have a healthy bit of work to do before I finish, meaning that I have even less time to update MT over the next week.

But hey, time moves forward, and I'll eventually be able to rant with some sort of frequency again. On that note, I leave you to finish a few more articles...