MTAC 2015 Report & Haul!!

I'm back from this year's MTAC with only a bit of the con crud/post-con exhaustion. And I had fun!

2014 was pretty terrible. I didn't like any of the events, the venue was hot and crowded (yes, I know why we were there), and I just wanted to go home as soon as I got there. I wondered if maybe I was outgrowing anime conventions, or at least outgrowing MTAC. But this year was so much better, it really restored my faith. It was run by someone new this year, the guy who was actually president of my college anime club when I first joined, someone who really got me interested in anime and being in a social setting. Although my anxiety did spike a bit a few times during the con, I was able to keep it under check and really enjoyed myself!

This year, me and my fiance didn't get a hotel room to save on costs, but we probably will next year. When you have five or so hours in between panels you want to go to, and one of them is late at night, you realize how exhausted you are from the day and just want somewhere to sprawl out and nap.

So I was mostly with my fiance, my bestie Miraiina, and her husband this year, and Miraiina had never been to a con! So it was lots of fun to see how excited she was! The first day, we both twinned our lolita outfits! We wore Squirrel Party with similar wigs and accessories! I realize we never got any pictures of us together for ourselves, though other people took them. She looked way cuter then me :P

The first day we only stayed until about sundown. There were no panels we really wanted to go to, so we made it our shopping day! I have what I bought a bit lower down in the post. The second day I was feeling really hot so I didn't dress up. I helped my fiance with his panels and danced during the ParaPara Power Hour. The only other panel we went to was Religion in Anime, which was good but very basic. Next year's theme is "16 Bit" and I would love to do a video game panel, maybe on Animal Crossing, but I don't know what the point would be aside from, "This is Animal Crossing."

I guess now I'll get into what I bought or received~ The only thing I won't be talking about are the cans of coffee because...well, it's just a can of coffee.

I didn't have too much money going in but I did get a good bit, and then my fiance and bestie got me a few things!

I'll start with my favorite and biggest purchase, this giant, pink Yoshi! I'm proud of myself because while he was the first thing I saw, I bought him lastly just to make sure there was nothing else I wanted to spend that money on. I sleep cuddling him now!

Here is a size comparison! He really is big!

The other plushie I have was from my fiance! This adorable lavender (my favorite color!) sheep with a daisy (or egg XD) on its head. It's so fluffy. It also sleeps with me, usually above my head.

Next are two Yoshi keychains from a $3 bin. When did Yoshi become so important to me? I'm really glad I found him in his helicopter form from Yoshi's Island! They're both attached to my phone now.

Next is a sticker and some pins from NattoSoup! Miraiina got me the smaller pins! Unfortunately I think one of the gems from the big pin fell off when the pin fell off while I was dancing...

Lastly is something else the bestie got me, this cute Sailor Pluto figure!! This was something I was eyeing in the dealer room but decided against, so I'm very grateful that she bought this for me!

And I believe that's it! I have a touch of the con crud, so I haven't been doing much lately...I hope you all are doing well!!

Bonus, me at con with smeary smeary eyeliner under my eyes XD

Convention 101

Tomorrow is the first day of my local anime convention! As always, I'm excited to see old friends, dress up, and just be in such an exciting environment. This will be my ninth consecutive year of attending this convention, and almost every year has been unique and great! This year I'm only helping my fiance with his panels and only wearing a lolita coordinate one day - as opposed to past year where I've helped run panels or performed or such - so it's exciting to not be too stressed about things.

I loved the very first convention I attended, it was so exciting and magical! But thinking back, there were some things I wish I had known ahead of time, or even things I wished other people would have known. So I decided to write up a basic intro to conventions panel that might help some convention newbies out! I even drew some quick doodles because I couldn't find good images to use! Of course, don't follow my advice precisely - go off and be unprepared, it can be fun sometimes!

Before The Convention

• Buy your badge/pass ahead of time! I've never been at a convention where this wasn't cheaper then buying it at the door. Some bigger conventions even run out of badges and you're not able to just come the day of and pay to get in! Some conventions will actually mail your preordered admission to you so you don't have to stand in a line when you arrive to the convention. If this is not the case, the pre-reg line is usually shorter then the general admission line anyway, as well as quicker to get through.
• Buy a room and, if applicable, plan your roommates. This bullet point isn't going to be for everyone, and that's fine. Some people feel you absolutely need a hotel room to enjoy a con and that's just not true. I think a hotel room is good, however, if you don't live in the area, or you're changing outfits often, or if transportation back and forth would be a hassle. Also, it's a good idea not to let everyone in creation stay in your room, no matter how cheap it would make costs. Think about space, hygiene, and if all your proposed roommates would even get along. Stuck wanting a room? The convention forums usually have some posts from people needing roommates!
• Plan your cosplays/special outfits ahead of time! This applies moreso for cosplays, but always assume if you're ordering costume pieces or wigs or such that they'll arrive later then they should, so you're not stuck panicking at the mailbox the day before the convention. Also assume that life or something might get in the way and don't plan to finish your cosplays the day before! 
• Look at the schedule, guests, vendors, etc. before arriving, if you're able to. It's not good to make a concrete, wiggle room-free schedule, but it is a good idea to have a rough plan of what you might like to do and see, if there are any guests you need to get an autograph from, if there are any artists or vendors you just have to buy from, etc. A good idea might be to make a loose schedule, noting panels or events you just have to go to, some you really want to go to but won't be too upset if you miss, and so on. Some conventions have begun putting out apps that do this very thing!
• Save more then you think, especially if this is your first convention and everything is new and amazing. If you only bring a bit of money when you could have brought more, inevitably someone will just have that one item that's been sold out online at a good price and you're left wanting.
• Plan what you're going to be eating! Look around the area for food options, or think about bringing your own food (check to see if your hotel room has a microwave, fridge). Keep in mind if there's food to be purchased at the convention site it's more then likely going to be quite expensive. 
• Make a list of every little thing you need to bring, from cosplay parts to device chargers. This may sound like a no-brainer, but the one year I forgot to do this, I left my cash at home. Yeah. Don't be me.

In the Hotel Room

• Make room rules. Obviously don't be overly strict, but guidelines such as not having boys or girls in the room overnight, not playing loud music past x at night, and so forth might save you or your roommates from getting into disagreements.
• Think about who is best suited to have the room keys. Who is not only most responsible, but would always answer their phone in case someone needs in at a moment's notice. 
• Have a rough idea of who is sleeping where so someone who can't fall asleep anywhere but a bed is stuck on the floor with no blankets. 
• Don't feel shy about asking who is doing what! If you want to join up with a group, tag along with others. They might be going to panels or events you might normally not, so you might do something new and really fun!
• Unless you're setting someone's stuff gently aside because it's in your way, don't mess with anyone else's stuff. Just, don't.
• Unless you and your roommates are the closest of friends, not everyone is okay with you walking around naked after a shower or seeing a pile of hair clinging to the shower walls. Don't be gross. And do not, unless it's explicitly okay with all your roommates, bring someone back into the room to be dirty with. 
• Do not bring illegal substances into your hotel room, or drink when there are minors. Not only is the former illegal, but in both cases, if the police show up, they can find everyone in the room guilty because there is no way of proving only one person was the culprit. Not only could you get kicked out of the hotel, but kicked out of the convention, fined, or arrested.

At the Convention!

• Before you purchase that figure, think if you could maybe find the item cheaper online. Not saying you shouldn't purchase things from the dealer room in general, but a lot of dealers do mark up items that can be considered pretty common at conventions. Personally, I find buying things from artist alley is a better use for my money, as these items are more unique and the person selling may not even have an online store. Keep in mind that some artists and dealers may give special deals on the last day of the convention so they don't have to haul bak as much product.
• Don't be rude and block the hallways. There are usually people walking right behind you who would not appreciate if you suddenly stopped. If you want to take a picture of someone's cosplay, move aside to a less congested area. Many conventions have areas just for taking pictures.
• Don't be a creep and touch people. Even if you don't think it's a creepy thing and you're just admiring someone's costume, it's creepy to touch their wig or dress or what have you. The person may also have issues with being touched. Also, that intricate costume or prop you want to inspect might be very delicate. Always, always ask!!
• Don't ruin someone else's enjoyment just for your own amusement. Don't just run into a panel room shouting something stupid and interrupting the panel host or jump in front of a photo shoot. I've even heard of people knocking food or drink out of peoples' hands or even hitting others for the sake of "being funny" or because it was "in their character."
• Don't be stressed!! All this information I'm throwing out may make conventions not seem as fun as they are, but they really are a great time. Don't worry so much about not making this panel or getting to buy everything you wanted. Just relax and have fun!

That's it for conventions 101! If I missed anything, feel free to tell me what you would have liked to have known when you first went to a convention! Also, keep in mind every convention is different, in location, size, and events.

I might do maybe a "Conventions 201" post at some point where I talk about things like running panels or volunteering. I might also do a con experiences post? I know at least I'll be posting about this weekend's convention. See you Monday~!

March 2015 Favorites!!

I haven't done a favorites post in a while! I actually filmed this as a vlog as well and I'll be uploading it later tomorrow, so head over to my YouTube channel if you want to check that out! Let's get started~

Priceless.

My first favorite isn't an item at all - it's happiness! As I've mentioned before, I suffer with depression and anxiety as well as a few other mental funtime issues. But lately I've just been like, "No. No more of that." Of course, my issues haven't gone away, but lately I've just been really, really happy and getting a lot of things done and overall just feeling better about things. I still have a long way to go, but I feel like I'm starting to actually move again.

Pro Longwear Foundation: $32 // Pro Longwear Powder: ~$30??

I really only have two makeup favorites this month, and they're both from MAC! I've never had a high-end foundation, only drugstore ones, and I decided since foundation really was a base for everything I should try a high-end one. I believe my shade is NW15? Or NC...? NW sounds right, but it definitely is 15 (one of the lightest shades). It goes on so smooth and light and I fee it really does look so much better and offers great coverage without being heavy. I highly recommend it, even though it is pricy. I do feel that you don't use as much, as well.

bunny necklace: $12

This next favorite is actually a present from my best friend in the UK, Ashley! Along with a bunny patch and some heart earrings, she sent me this "bunny" necklace in pink! It obviously perfect for me since I am Bunny. It's pretty big and reflective and just overall wonderful.

Daisy Choker: $10?

I'm not sure of the prices of the last three jewelry items because they were gifts from bestie Miraiina, so I'm going to have to estimate. Also, this isn't even a picture of the choker I have because I couldn't find a picture of it on Claire's' website, so picture the black wiring as clear and the colored flowers as white daisies. I love the 90s so I love these chokers that everyone now has again. But this one has my third favorite flower on in!

Cherry Earrings: $8?

Even though I only have one hole open right now, I love earrings, especially dangling ones. I also really love cherries!! Not eating them, of course, I hate the taste. But I love the way cherries look, they're adorable! These earrings from Claire's aren't too big but big and pink enough to be noticeable.

Fake Septum: $14?

Hey look, not only is it a fake septum, but a hint of the daisy choker, bunny necklace, and cherry earrings! Either way, this fake septum ring from Claire's is also surprisingly comfortable and sturdy. It does take a bit to get used to the feeling of something dangling out of your nose, but I think it looks very cute. Also, I don't think I would ever get my septum pierced for real, so this fake jewelry is perfect!

Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millenium Girl: $40

Next are three games for the Nintendo 3DS! Firstly is a very cute RPG that I actually got half off while Atlus was doing their half-off sale (or are they still doing it?). It's honestly a bit difficult and very time consuming, but it's a very reasonable difficulty that makes the game more realistic. If you've never played an Etrian Odyssey game, I highly recommend this one!

Fairune: $3

Fairune is a retro-not-retro RPG avaliable on the eshop for a very reasonable price. This game mimics an older RPG, and as such, at times there may not really be clear objectives. But you have never played an older, harder RPG this one is a good jump into the genre. Fairune is also very cute! Actually, all the games that are on my favorites this month are cute.

Legend of Dark Witch: $4

Also available on the Nintendo eshop is Legend of Dark Witch, a cute (see?) platformer that reminds me a lot of Megaman. I don't have much to say about this one as it is really just a basic platformer, but I recommend it as well!

Go! Princess Precure is the newest in the Precure series and is currently coming out in Japan. I've watched a few episodes of the original Precure, but just never got around to finishing it. I've been wanting to jump back in with one of the newest series, and to be honest it was the "princess" in the title of this anime that drew me in! The theme of this series is not only princesses, but dreams and happiness, which is something I can obviously get behind. It's very adorable and the fighting sequences are surprisingly well choreographed! 

Priceless as well (Or, $15)

Last favorite is a gift from my fiance, a Birdo plushie! We got this from a local video game store, so I can't really say where you could get one for sure local to you. They also had a lot of the Koopalings and some other enemies. This plushie isn't very big, but I love Birdo, so I don't care and love to cuddle with it.

That's it for this month! (And if you were wondering, an UNfavorite for this month would happen to be Starbuck's Smores Frappucinno Iced Drink Bottle thing! So gross!)

I actually uploaded my favorites vlog ahead of time, so go ahead and watch if you want to actually see these items~!

June 2014 Favorites!!

June went by super quickly for me. And you know, not a lot got done either. Kind of a blah month, to be honest. But in June, the fiance and I purchased lots of games and I did lots of thinking and sketching, so there's that. Here's hoping July will be a better month! I'm going to start working out again, so that will be fun.

Also, this isn't the official post about it, but I just hit 575 (well, 576) followers on my tumblr, melty-bunny! It's not a lot compared to others, but it's a lot to me, and 575 just happens to be my favorite number. So, I'm going to be hosting a giveaway!! It's not up yet, so I can't say exactly what's going to be in it, but it's going to be a lot of things that are special to me, or that I think are cool. I can already tell you Sailor Moon, Pokemon, and lolita fashion are going to be involved, so stay tuned ^_^ GIVEAWAY CAN BE FOUND HERE

Random OOTD from today? Okay. Also, before we get started, let me tell you about my hair trauma (because I don't want to dedicate a whole entry to it). I wanted the blue and pink out of my hair and wanted just a nice, normal lighter brown in my hair...and it was an ordeal. First I used a color stripper/remover product to remove the colors...but it barely worked. Then I thought, maybe the dye could cover it up anyways and it would just be darker. Nope. It looked really ugly. So I had to go out and get bleach, let it sit on as long as possible without my hair falling off and it almost got all the color out. Tried dying it again and it's...well, the parts that were pink are a cute color, but the parts that were blue is kind of a dull ashy color, plus that area got really destroyed by the bleach, so it's all frizzy and gross. But, I'm done messing with it for now. If I do anything with it, I'll dye it a little darker brown. No more bleaching or weird colors for me for a while. And definitely no cutting it. I want it to at least be at my shoulders, if not longer.

ANYWAY, onto my monthly favorites~

Let's start with my only beauty product for the month - Tarte's Lipsurgence in what I think is the shade Lust. I got a mini of these in a set my parents I got for my birthday (which is why I don't know the shade; it doesn't say on the packaging). I haven't worn much makeup at all or dressed up often in June because it's so hot. But this is a great product to just throw on alone or paired with other products, and it looks great and stays on long. I first learned about the brand Tarte through grav3yardgirl's videos, and had never really tried anything by them before. This product is very smooth and doesn't dry your lips out like a lot of other lip tints do. You can find this product at Tarte's website, Sephora, and Ulta for a little over $20.

I guess I do have another beauty favorite, sort of. This isn't so much a favorite yet as I know it will be in the future. I briefly mentioned Taobao in my post about plus size lolita fashion; it's a Chinese website that hosts thousands and thousands of stores that sell everything from clothing to furniture to electronics, kind of like Amazon. I had said in that post that Taobao slightly intimidated me and I had never ordered from them yet, as you need a shopping service to do so. But recently I've just spent literally days browsing shop after shop, searching for something and finding so much of it. Street fashion? Anime paraphernalia? Plus size clothing options? Makeup? They have everything I could want and more. And everything is SO AFFORDABLE. It looks a little intimidating, because everything is in yuan...but 400 yuan? That's a little over 60 US dollars. Yeah. And I have to look hard to find something that I would want to buy that is that expensive, anyways. It's the shipping and shopping service fees that are what drive the price up. I haven't ordered anything from Taobao yet, but I have a few hundred bookmarks dedicated to things I'd like to purchase. I want to solely order all my clothes and gifts and plushes from there from now on!! Next time I have some money to spare, I'm definitely placing an order. Expect a haul soonish!

Next is something else that I received for my birthday, this little red Keurig! Doesn't it look so retro? Anyone who knows me knows I have a serious coffee and tea addiction and love going out to Starbucks. This severely cuts down on those Starbucks trips, as I can have creamy iced coffee or a flavored iced tea any time I want! So far my favorite flavors have been Donut Shop's original iced coffee and the raspberry iced tea by...snapple, I think? But there are so many other flavors to try! I have to be good and not drink four cups of coffee in one day, hahaha. This Keurig is a lesson in moderation, heh.

I mentioned these stickers in an older post where I talked about things I wanted to purchase in the near future. And I did! These stickers are the creation of artist Kaiami. All together, plus shipping, they only cost $17. I have them on everything, pretty much. They are so much cuter in person!! And, um, through a shipping error I happen to have two sets of each, and she told me just to keep the extras! How nice!! The extra sheets are taped to my wall currently, but maybe I should include them in my tumblr giveaway, hmm?

I have a notebook and sketchbook fetish. There, I said it. It's a problem. I see a cute blank book, I get attached, then suddenly I end up with a whole shelf full of half-used journals and sketchbooks. Anyway, this cute sketchbook is a Barnes and Noble exclusive I bought during a trip to the Vanderbilt store, and it was pretty cheap too. The best part? All the pages are perforated! Also, this sketchbook has been covered in stickers.

I made a whole post about Vocaloid. It's no surprise I would purchase a new Project Diva game. Hatsune Miku Project Diva F is the first Project Diva game to appear on the PS3. It's loads of fun, but it does have a few flaws. I've been meaning to write a whole review of the game, but I've never really done a review on a video game before, so it's a bit intimidating to do so. But, hopefully this month I will. As always, there are tons of fun songs and loads of modules, room pieces, and other things to unlock. I've pretty much been addicted to this the first half of June.

Mario Kart 8 is a video game both me and my fiance can enjoy! We've been playing it pretty regularly, but there's still a few things we have left to unlock. I am pretty much in love. It's so gorgeous! The graphics are just so clear and that sort of cartoony-realistic that make you want to jump in! The characters handle great and I love all the new additions they added in. I might do a review of this, but I think everyone's beaten me to it, hah. Of course my main character to race as is Princess Daisy on her fast little bike. I'm actually pretty good at racing games!

This is the last video game this month, promise! Tomodachi Life is either a great or boring game, it all really depends on you. I am definitely going to do a long review of this game. I downloaded it launch day and it hasn't gotten boring or old yet. Tomodachi Life is kind of hard to describe...it's sort of like Animal Crossing, sort of like The Sims, and sort of like the popular app, Line Play. Except, with your Miis. You insert your own Mii and any other Mii your imagination can create into an apartment and see what they get up to. You can change their rooms and clothes, but what they do and where they go are pretty much up to them. If this game sounds unappealing, I wouldn't spend the money to try it out, but if it sounds cute or interesting, definitely give it a go!

Okay, technically this isn't a video game, so I didn't lie! It's an app! Line Play, made by the same people who made the popular Line messaging program and Line camera, is a cute little program where you dress up your character, change their room, and interact with others (except if you're me, then you only do the first two). You can socialize and visit strangers, friends, or even licensed characters such as Hello Kitty, Marie Antoinette from the classic anime Rose of Versailles,  and a bar keep from Dragon Quest. It's pretty cute and a fun way to waste a little bit of time. Line Play is free, but of course you can purchase more hearts to give people or more gems to buy clothes and furnishings. I haven't (and probably won't) used real-people money in this app, but the prices are pretty reasonable.

Okay, technically Tomodachi Life was still the last video game, this is just a gaming apparatus, haha! This is my new baby, a blue (and now stickered) 3DS XL in blue. Honestly  I wanted a pink one, but I got this used, so I didn't get much choice. I also got this for free by trading in some old gaming things I didn't use anymore, so that's pretty cool, because the first store I went to to trade in stuff said I'd still have to pay like...more then $70. Free is better. The store owner transferred all my data over for free, so it's like my old 3DS is living in a bigger body. I looove the bigger screens. It's so nice and immersing.

My second to last favorite is a Korilakkuma phone case for my iPhone 5C. I'm going to go ahead and say that I'm very sure this isn't a licensed product. I got it off Amazon for about one dollar with five dollars shipping. It was supposed to arrive this month, actually, but it came within two weeks! It fits perfectly and isn't in any way cumbersome. My phone was cute before but now it's even cuter!!

My last favorite...maybe shouldn't be in my favorites because I haven't watched or read too much of it yet. But Ai no Exorcist/Blue Exorcist is in my favorites because I had avoided it for too long, never liked what I saw and hated its fans...and then I watched a few episodes and was hooked. Family, religion, and demons? Awesome. I will definitely be watching more, and I recommend it!

I had a lot of favorites, even though it was such a boring month! Hopefully next month has a lot of favorites as well. What were some of your favorite things this month?

As for upcoming posts...I'm going to try and actually dress like a normal human, so maybe a few OOTDs, some game reviews, summer anime first impressions, a link to the upcoming tumblr giveaway, aaand...who knows what else~

May Favorites 2014

I'm only a week and a half late...anyways, May was a kind of stressful month at the beginning and great during the end. So here's five things I was loving during the month of May! Um, this month is a little unconventional - no makeup or fashion products, and some of the favorites aren't exactly things you can purchase...sorry haha.

First up is more of a concept then an item...it's a newer art style! I've been having artist block for who knows how long. I recently got inspired by a new favorite artist, Kaiami, to draw a bit in her style. The more I drew, the more it evolved from a copy of her style into something of my own. It's not perfect yet, but I'm actually making art and I'm liking what I'm doing! If you have a deviantArt account, you can follow me there at MeltyBunny and my tumblr art blog at meltybunny-art.

My second favorite is kind of weird? SWEET TEA. For the longest time I hated sweet tea. I liked iced tea with flavors, but not just straight, Southern sweet tea. And then I was at Thornton's and instead of coffee, I had the strangest desire to get some. And it tasted a little gross, but I liked it. Now I'm drinking it non stop. I know that it's no good for me because of all the sugar but I. Can't. Stop.

Probably the most normal favorite on my list is a new anime called Is The Order a Rabbit? It combines slice of life with rabbits and coffee, so I really don't see any faults with it at all. If you love cute, fluffy anime, I highly recommend it. The ninth episode was just released, and the fifth is up on Hulu+.

My fourth favorite...is the lack of spiders in my apartment. You can see why I didn't put an image there, yes? We had an incident with a giant spider in our apartment. No, you don't get it. Giant. In the bed. But it was taken care of, and we got pest control to come and search, and they didn't find anything. It most likely came from a box I ordered from Poland. Thanks, Amazon!

Lastly is...this blog post that I made XD Why? Because it got liked and reblogged over six hundred times on tumblr and got almost twice those views on the post itself, so that means it reached a LOT of people...and hopefully that means it helped a lot of people as well! That's what I want - to help people.

I know this was a really short and not so organized/cool favorites post, hopefully next month will actually have interesting favorites on it.

Are you watching E3? I got up early to watch Nintendo's segment. I saw Sony's and was pleasantly surprised.