As Tom and I waited for masquerade to begin, we took photos of ourselves in our Full Metal Panic costumes.

As press, we had the privillage to enter the green room and watch the participants . Certainly, there seemed to be no tension in the green room. It seemed like a calm, cheery place before these talented folks would grace the stage.

Tom and I took our seats in the press aisle. Fellow press folks joked around that Tom's tripod could be construed as a weapon. Even the resin member of Traveling Valentine took her seat. Tom made sure Eponine made herself useful by standing guard with the tapes.

The masquerade had 30 or so entries. Several highlights of this year's cosplay show included God of War, two Metal Gear Solid sketches - a serious one and a public service annoucement for convention goers hosted by Paramedic, Fruits Basket and the same sex love potions, a twinkling (literally) Eternal Sailor Moon, chibified Sand Team from Naruto, and more. The masquerade went by smoothly hosted by the funny Brad DeMoss.

While waiting for awards, the audience was entertained by anime music videos. Much like a Vegas boxing match, just one trip to the bathroom made me miss the main event - Wedding Rings. Let's just say, there's something in that fan video for everyone - even if you played Oregan Trail in grade school! The winners were annouced. Thank you to the cosplay staff for putting on a great show this year.

Tom and I decided to have dinner at the hotel restaurant. Tom was very hungry and I was in the mood for something light. Whatever I don't finish is lunch for work on Monday. Chaz of Anime LA joined us for dinner as well. After dinner, we went around the swap meet to see if there was anything that perked our interest. I know Tom did not leave empty handed!

Pictures are copyright by Victoria Erica October 2005. If I took your picture, feel free to use it on your site or cosplay gallery. If you want me to remove something, kindly email me. While you're here, do sign the guestbook. Please let us know what you think of Traveling's new layout. This site was brought to you by the font Nixon.