— pr image citing my presence at BACon 2024
smol update -- updated the names of the two cosers mentioned in this blog!! I'm a bit scared abt it tho-
this admittedly is my very first 'proper' cosplaying experience that is closer to home, since I usually do cosplays in my free time!! caught wind of it during its first day so I thought I missed out on it; but upon realizing that there will be a second part the other day, I decided to pull it through and wing it -- here are some highlights to keep you in the loop!!
so admittedly, I'm currently living here in this province since my man Emi was also around here, but in terms of cosplaying shenanigans I've always been out of the loop. (for reference, the first proper cosplay I went to was Cosplay Matsuri 2023 - Day 3.) oftentimes, I usually cosplay myself in random places, just like what I did some times ago. but hey, it took me to places where people usually can't see cosplayers, which took the gamble out of me but it was definitely worth the patience!! I had a number of friends whom I can appreciate having around since it was them among those who encouraged me to cosplay in the first place.
I heard all about this convention from an artist fwen of mine who actually had a booth in there when I looked at her socials. (in actuality, I saw a number of cosplayers taking public transport before I realized, assuming I knew there was a local con there lmao) I thought that I was abt to reconsider giving another go whenever the time comes, but I quickly looked up the said convention and just realized they had a two-day event there, so I had to just check it out!! opportunity did rise tho as I was very eager to get in there with ~style~, so I prepped my cosplay stuff as I normally would.
only this time, except of transforming to my cosplay self inside the venue, I had let the neighborhood see my transformation from within it for the SECOND time. (yes, second time, since I did it before which confuses everybody around the perimeter lolz)
I also made this note prior to the event:
— pr image citing my presence at BACon 2024
somehow I headed into the venue where the convention was taking place -- Vista Mall Bataan -- for lunch first before participating for real. it was good tho, had a few chicken and pizza with some drinks. had to head out for a bit cuz I had to adjust my breastpads (I got sweaty on the way there) but I somehow managed to snag some greetings to some of the fellows throughout the way -- with among em being curious on who I was for the first time. I could still remember the conversation I had with some of em who told me the exact same thing when they saw me walking outside the resto -- but atleast I had quite some talk throughout the process.
somehow I had some improvements on the way -- given the fact that I don't have the eyelashes I first wore back at Matsuri. main reason for this is that I was looking at the specs (aka the png) again and I realized that the eyelashes I used were waaaay too much for me so I had to take em off. I opted for a 'cleaner' approach this time -- using simple eyelashes and a mascara. I also had my contact lenses again after quite some looong time, since I wanted to try wearing em myself for a change of pace. everything still remained the same as it was tho.
regardless, I went ahead and visited around booths, to which I can recognize quite a few. (some of em were upstairs so I had to take an escalator.) from there, I finally found Haryu's booth -- the one that I discovered on X the moment I realized about the con taking place. I even took a snap or three -- here's some of em:
— the whole booth!!
— arts and pins section
— the First Maria🍃 meets Haryu-chan!! (follow her on X at @Haryu_chee)
one of the booths that I also discovered was literally a vtuber booth -- housed by none other than Riikochan!! it somehow felt surreal cuz I haven't seen related booths like that in a while (again, among the first were from Matsuri), but to see that its vtuber parents (artists and riggers) band together to represent the pact is a sight to behold!! have greeted most of the staff there -- here are some to accommodate this paragraph:
— the booth in all its crowning glory!!
— the staff that I met along the way -- had a lot of fun talking to em!!
you can check out Rikko on X at @RiikochanArt!!
(also, I didn't realize that back on Day 1 there's literally a portion dedicated to vtubers -- now all we need are vtubers who are based here in this province other than myself.)
ofc, there won't be a successful convention experience without soem selfies from yours truly and some of the cosplayers that she met along the way!! anyway, here are some of em in full detail~
— with Mario and Luigi (Super Mario)!!
— with Kanroji Mitsuri (Kimetsu no Yaiba)!! somehow this reminded me of Matsuri again (cuz I met a cosplayer who did just that)
— with Anya (SPYxFAMILY)!! long story short -- I met her before I actually took lunch -- somehow she was among those that I saw frequently during the event
— with Jogo (Jujutsu Kaisen)!! I met him when I was on the way to the venue via public transport lmao
— with 2B (NieR Automata)!!
— .. aaand with our cwutie Albedo (Overlord)!! note on this oen: she has the most significance to the interactions during the event that it reminded me of Musashi back at Matsuri ehehe
now some of the spectators might have noticed that I've gone through many places throughout the event with my phone and bag on hand. the reason is simple: I did some attempts at photography since I've been missing out on it for so long!! I've been in different booths trying my best to cover the best shots -- somehow which some of em may be my absolute favorites!!
I mighta start working on gettin some more photography work done real soon -- but for now, here are the selection!! all of these were taken in 20:9 using Samsung Galaxy A05s~
— I should be able to buy the Baal banner on the next cosplay meet.. hopefully
— I didn't know Star Wars collided with the event..
— does anybody have a literal PS5? they have it here!!
— I had to move in conjunction to the videographer's to get a best shot like this qwq | related vod
— it's a rare sight that you get to take good pictures [literally] at the front seat. in this case, however, we're looking at the hosts' table.
— .. I think I liked this photography style the more I get used to it owo
— free admissions have its own set of benefits \o/
if you want to download all the pictures I took for this event (and more), keep on reading!!
— the First Maria🍃 meets Albedo!! (cosers: me and Eri)
somehow this interaction that I had with Albedo (coser: Eri) aptly reminded me of the last time I had with Musashi back at Matsuri (coser: Dani). now that I think abt it, I do feel an affinity with both of em cuz of this circumstance.
— for reference, here's me and Dani during Day 3 of Matsuri 2023. check out this blogpost when you're done reading this article.
in fact, she was among the first cosers I met during lunch (the other being Anya) when I was looking around booths on my way to the restrooms. somehow those mini-encounters we had were significant as we talked about it once things settle down -- we talked a lot about some cosplay-related stuff and most importantly, fostered our friendship like never before. I feel suuuper grateful having to do something like this; cuz it not only gave me experience in portraying certain characters, it helped me get to interact more with people in greater detail.
.. maybe we could do a mini-reunion once we meet again in the next con?? not sure abt it, but I'm excited either way!! :3
I would like to send my thanks to all who worked on to make this convention possible!! it's been a tumultuous and fulfilling journey and I'm suuuper grateful to have represented vtubers in this spectrum along with the others!!
I have to admit, it's been a while since I did a proper presence at a convention since during my free time I freely cosplay just about everywhere!! it helped me attain confidence in myself, and it will certainly help others who also want to pursue a hobby such as this one.
in addition, I would like to thank all who worked at the con for the extraordinary hospitality to all who participated in those two days!! regardless of my one-day presence, it's been the most fulfilling I have in a while!! I'll be sure to drop by again to represent vtubers; and most importantly, the Marias -- as we look forward to forging these great moments together~
are you curious about more content other than the one mentioned here?? look no further -- I've compiled all of em (including past cosplays I did) in a unified G Drive folder!! each cosplays are grouped into folders named in YYYYMMDD dateformat -- with the first attempt (and my debut as a cosplayer) being 20231230!!
you can check em out by clicking the button below:
absolutely!! you're all set to check out some of the photos I've taken and the cosplays I did -- granted that you'll be using them with intent of goodwill. everyone deserves to treat each other with positivity, and it's the First Maria🍃's job to ensure that it stays that way!!
anyway, be sure to credit me aswell if you're planning on using em!! you can use the following included in the below blockquote:
photo taken for/by Aga, the incumbent First CosMaria
check out her other ventures at https://bit.ly/AgaCosplay
if you're also planning on posting my cosplays, use the hashtag #AgaCosplay on your socials so that I can check it out in my spare time!! you can also send me the URL to your post assuming you posted em on my email at jelsa14018@gmail.com.
read through all of it but didn't understand a single thing? I got you -- here's your bite-sized highlights:
maaaan it took too long to write some stuff, but I got everything compiled (and hopefully things turn out well)!! another one-day experience has been completed on a good note.
I can't wait to participate in more cosplay conventions than ever before, carrying the flag of the Marias and the whole vtuber community -- while at the same time prepping for some typical neighborhood cosplays like I usually do!! I wonder which town would I visit next..🤔
until the next blogpost!! 💚🍃Aga-chuu loves you uwu💗🌸
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