Jared and I could not believe it was the last day of Anime Los Angeles. Friday evening felt like a Saturday night at the convention. Though we had a busy weekend, it was eventful and full of surprises. I had a bit of a headache as I was preparing for my “How Fandom Got Me Into College” panel. Luckily, Jared had breakfast treats and head medication to ease the pain.

At 11AM, I had my college panel. I was originally going to do it by myself, but I realized Jared and Deb also had stories to tell about how their hobbies sueded their career interest. This was the first time I did a panel of the sort. I thought it would be useful for Anime Los Angeles because a majority of anime fans are in high school. We covered the basics of how to present hobbies and volunteer work at cons into a college admissions essay. It seemed our panel really helped those who attended. We were amazed by the number of kids (and parents!) who showed up at the panel. Though it was cut short because we had to check out, we were able to get important information out to the kids and parents. Jared, Deb, and I agreed we could do something like this again at a future con.

Jared, Deb, and I went to go grab our belongings to pack into the car. The three of us had respective gatherings to attend to. Deb had to be at the Black Butler gathering at 1PM. We had the Baccano! Gathering at 2PM. Baccano! Cosplayers started to form up as early as 12:45PM. We were in no rush. The three of us (and Bart Boy) decided to have one last meal at Champions. Those fish and chips were the best $12 I spent at con.

Jared did one last saunter in the dealer’s hall. I wandered around the pool deck for the Black Butler gathering. Not much else was going on, save for a few cosplay panels and a Steampunk presentation by Tadao. Sunday was Steampunk Day, and I saw that there were costumers of all ages going all out for it. However, it still just felt like any other lazy Sunday.

The Baccano! gathering happened at 2PM, but few people showed up for it. Thanks to Ted, Kevin, and Jennifer for showing up! It was a short and sweet gathering. Jennifer and I were dressed up as Chane LaForet and we talked about the butterfly knife set she had.

Later in the day, we found other Baccano! cosplayers. They claimed there was a gathering at 1PM, though the listed gathering was at 2PM. However, it was still cool to get photos with them.

For the most part, it was last minute shopping and wandering around saying “bye bye for now” and “see you at the next con!” to our friends who had ways to go.

We went to check out con gripe. We saw that there were much more compliments than complaints. The only complaint that stood out was the noise level factor, though Jared and I had no issues going to sleep at night. Anything was better than the noise at Anime Vegas.

Jared and I went to the Spoony Bards concert. It was good to hear their cover of the Final Fantasy 7 boss fight theme again. We stayed for the remainder of the concert.

After the concert, we went to the main pool deck area to say “bye bye for now” to our friends and get our traditional cutesy couple photos by the bridge. From there, my camera ran out of batteries. Jared used his camera for the last shots of the con.

We went to closing ceremonies where we met up with Deb so we could interview the Spoony Bards after closing ceremonies. One of Anime Los Angeles’ weaknesses is that they do not have a press department to set up interview time and a space to hold interviews. Luckily, Stan found an open area that was quiet enough for masquerade rehearsal. We decided to use that space to interview the band from the Midwest.

Jared conducted the interview as I filmed. The Spoony Bards became our first official Scarlet Rhapsody interview. Many thanks to the bards for participating!

The evening was coming down to a close. Jared and I thought about going to the Regency Ball. As Tadao mentioned during Closing Ceremonies, “If you want to dance like they do in Firefly, come to Live Programming 2!” We checked out Live Programming 2, and it looked like nothing was set up for the dance. It still was a panel room complete with empty chairs and an empty panel table. Another girl was wondering where the Regency Ball had moved.

Finally, after much searching, we ran into Aldo (i360) and he told us where to find the Regency Ball. As we were about to hit the dance floor, it looked as if they were still going over lessons.

Much to our dismay, we went upstairs to the lobby for random chit chatting and just making the best of what was left to do.

Stan was finally relieved of his staff duties. It was time to say goodbye for now to Anime Los Angeles. Stan, Deb, Jared, and I headed back to the homestead. I had to help Deb navigate her way back onto the 405. It was rather amusing seeing Deb dressed up as Sebastian driving home. Once we got home, the Scarlet Rhapsody team had a nice, homemade meal. This was only the beginning of our 2010 adventures.

Pictures are copyright by Scarlet Rhapsody. If I took your picture, feel free to use it on your site or cosplay gallery. While you're here, do sign the guestbook. This site was brought to you by the font African. Many thanks to Chaz Boston Baden for the image resizing and watermarking program.