Creating Your Own Fictional World by Jared
Another great opportunity for writers was a panel on world creation. It covered basic things like building the life of a character to more advanced questions such as the rules of a world. To remember that people will notice inconsisitancies and that people will have questions about your world be it modern, hisotirical, or fantasy. This was a great way to learn from from the author guests and it was nice to see the panel draw in a good group of fans.



Yume Nikki: The Sub Sub Culture by Jared
One of the more obscure games out there is Yume Nikki, Dream Diary. The game is simple on the surface, but has layers of symbolism that have fans of the game coming up with many theories about different things that happen. The panel explored the origins of the game and then played footage of some of the stranger moments and gave the theories as to what they mean. If you have an interest in obscure games this is a great panel to learn more about this free and very bizarre game.



Masquerade by Scarlet
Masquerae is a convention tradition. Cosplayers get craftsmanship judging in the morning and the rest of the show takes place later in the day. Another Anime Con treates masquerade like it's the main event. This is where cosplayers showcase their best in costume play and performing hillarious acts of grandeur. The pre-show played classic songs for the 90s kids, The Lion King soundtrack was played and everyone sang along to "I Just Can't Wait to be King." The 80s kids sang along to the Duck Tales theme. It was a great way to get the audienced pumped and excited for the show.

What I didn't like was the choice of hosts. Traditionally, the masqurerade has hosts matching the theme. While I did find the Kill La Kill Nudist Beach hosts funny, I wish they sorta tied it to the winter theme. However, the masquerade was still a well put together show. Highlights included Free: Iwatobi Swim Club, Attack on Titan, Tiger and Bunny, among others. There was also a seperate competition for non-anime themed entries. Highlights from Project Cosplay were also displayed.

While waiting for the winners to be announced, the amv winners were played. Most of it was hit and miss. I liked the Macross Frontier and best of show winner. I thought the Love Live mashup was immature and lacked taste. Then again, I'm a hardcore Love Live fangirl.



Shoujo Cosette and Why it Hurts by Scarlet

Whoever thought there would be a Les Miserables panel at an anime con! As a fan of Les Miserables since watching the 10th Anniversary Concert on PBS in 1996, I thought this would be an awesome way to meet other Mizzies. The panel covered the 2007 anime Shoujo Cosette character by character. Each character was discussed on how they were portrayed in the anime and how it compares to the musical version and the original text. I can tell that these were hardcore Les Miserables fans that knew their barricade boys from A to Z. It was nice seeing Les Miserables cosplayers and knowing that such a community exists in Boston.

 

JD's Tavern: What's on the Menu by Scarlet
Every year, Another Anime Con teams up with the local convention restaurant to conjour up some tasty food choices for con attendees. The menu is themed to the con. The menu changes up every year. JD's Tavern is open until the wee hours of the evening. It was a great place to grab some post-masquerade grub. Jared and I shared an appetizer - the baked potato plate was big enough to share between 2-3 people. We also ordered some alcoholic drinks. The drinks were themed around the Disney movie, Frozen. Jared ordered a Kristoff and Sven, a concoction of cider and guiness. Though not his style of drink, it had a nice apple aftertaste. I had th Olaf Spiced drink; it was a pumpkin spiced frappachino with alcohal, very smooth and very relaxing.

 

Informal Dance by Li Mei
Glow sticks... showing off dance moves... loud music. The AAC Saturday night dance returns! This year's informal Dance had a great turn-out. The crowd was just right -- there was enough people dancing to fill the floor, but it was never uncomfortably crowded. There was enough space for me to dance without awkwardly trying to tuck in my limbs. On the dance floor, there were moments where a circle would form and people would cheer on dancers in the center. There were other moments where people would clump into smaller groups to dance with their friends. And of course, there were some conga lines and similar trains of dancers. All in all, it looked like everyone had a lot of fun dancing. The DJ was great and there was a variety of music. During the time that I spent at the dance, the music was great for dancing. There were even some mixes of 90's songs! There was another (less fun, but more practical) feature of the dance that I want to point out. No bags or purses were allowed, but outside the dance hall, AAC staff had an area set up where attendees could drop off their bags. I left my stuff there, and had no problems with picking it up when I had to leave. I definitely felt safe, both feeling safe in the dance hall and feeling that my belongings were safe. I hope I can check out the dance again next year!

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