The big kickoff day! The Scarlet Rhapsody team traveled from their New England location to the con. Li went via carpool down to Baltimore; it was a long trip down, but they managed to get there in time to pick up press badges. Jared and Eri K ended up taking JetBlue from Logan Airort down to BWI. Unfortunately, because it was an early morning flight, there were some travel hiccups; the alarm did not go off and the duo missed their flight by five minutes. However, thanks to Team Misaki, whom they ran into at the airport, pulled some strings to get them on the next flight out to Baltimore.

Matsuri + Linecon by Li Mei
Thursday, AKA Day Zero! Exhausted from the long car ride, two of my roommates didn't have time to rest since they needed to pick up their pre-registration badges. I went with them to check out the line, and I was shocked by how long it was; line curled around the convention center building, zig-zagging back and forth. I waited there (in the sunshine and heat) with them for a while, and I noticed that most of the people in line were in cosplay, including my roommates and myself. Even though the line was long, I noticed that many of the attendees were excited about the convention ahead; they bounced up and down when the line wasn't moving, chatting with friends in loud voices. Thursday was not all about lines though; there was also the Otakon Matsuri! I wasn't able to see all the events, but I did check out Project Beck's performance. The Matsuri was not too difficult to find; the concert location was a cute outdoor stage in a grassy area by the harbor. Project Beck's style was very pop-punk, with danceable rock rhythms. The vibe was positive, with cheers from the audience and some people dancing along to the music. It was definitely a fun way for people to enjoy Day Zero with other con attendees!

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