I haveth returned!

[azurite]

Back from Fanime!

Swag
* Ayashi no Ceres DVDs, episodes 7-19
* Kindaichi Case Files manga, #12: Tarot Lodge
* Purple dice earrings
* Aquamarine Mandarin short-sleeved shirt (zip-back)
* Shoujo Beat (June 2006)

I loved the Marriott. The hotel staff was insanely nice, the beds were super-comfy (zOMG king-sized MARSHMALLOW!), and the food was pretty damn good-- even if the portions, like the bedrooms, were huge. My Yuna cosplay was pretty successful, and I had no real qualms about my Anzu cosplay other than that there weren't that many other YGO cosplayers. BUT! I did meet chibipriestess, who cosplayed Malik, and her friend, who cosplayed bondage!Yuugi (I would say Yami no Yuugi, except she lacked the Millennium Puzzle, so we can just say that the puzzle got sucked into the 'Shadow Realm' or some such). There was one guy wandering around with a trenchcoat and a Duel Disk, but he was no more of a YGO cosplayer than I am a real pop superstar. :P

I got to meet many of my friends and hang out, so that was cool-- I even got to see some cool things, like "The Myth" and the live-action "Sekachu." I didn't find Gokusen on the schedule though, and I really wanted to see that, especially after mklutz said it was good. Plus, MatsuJun! I mean, that's just an Auto-WIN! I have 37 pics to upload, so you'll see them soon on my Scrapbook! :)

I went to the Fanfic panel on Saturday ... and I actually ended up running it for a while. It was kind of creepy, because I practically worship Joseph Palmer (which I'm sure he found somewhat creepy), but he is like, the ORIGINAL BNF in the Ranma fanfiction, and STILL ACTIVE! which makes him something of a miracle in the fandom. I liked Krista Perry and many others well enough, but Real Life just ate them all up. Even though the panel was smaller than past years, it still inspired a butt load of conversation, and I think there's so much to cover on Fanfiction, even if not every otaku even knows what it is, let alone does it. I met dawnsama there, and we went to the AMVs together, but other than that, it was a short, simple panel.

I hope AX will be more exciting.

Oh! I got some of my grades so far... okay, two of them:
Geography - B (to be expected. I bombed my midterm, so only a miracle could have landed me an A)
Japanese - A (YESSSSSSSS! We didn't have grade sheets this year, so I really didn't know how well I was doing. I had a general idea, but YAY!)

To do:
* Finish WDKY24
* Sell Yu-Gi-Oh cards on eBay
* The WDKY Calendar is something I came up with to support me in Japan and also have some fun. How it would work would be like so: I have some WDKY-based fanart I'd like to do or have commissioned, following themes that match chapters in WDKY. I'd compile all the fanart, add some Yu-Gi-Oh TCG card strategies, and put them on a 2007 Calendar. I would sell the calendar for maybe $15 USD (you would receive an actual print calendar, with full-color fanart), with the money supporting me in Japan. Contributing artists would get the calendar for free, and I would also pick them up a small gift in Japan.

I thought I had mentioned this before, or at the least written it down/typed it up somewhere, but I couldn't find it... so I'm typing up what I remember here, and hoping for suggestions or reminders.

Each month would include artwork themed around an event or chapter in WDKY, along with WDKY-based birthdays (technically, only Téa's birthday would change from August 18th to December 18th), Japanese holidays, and TCG strategies. The tentative list goes something like this:

January - Joey's birthday. New Year's holiday. Seto, Joey, and Yugi in a winter theme. TCG theme: strategizing
February - Duke's birthday. St. Valentine's holiday. Duke, Serenity, and Tristan in a love-triangle theme. TCG theme: Tag-teaming OR Dungeon Dice Monsters
March - Mako's birthday. White Day holiday - Seto & Téa in a White Day theme. TCG theme: Duel manners OR ???
April - Tristan's birthday. school starting/cherry blossom season starting. Tristan and Serenity holding an umbrella under a shower of cherry blossoms. Both are wearing their Domino High school uniforms. TCG theme: Deck "staples"
May - No birthdays. Boy's Day holiday. Featuring all the "main" boys in WDKY (Seto, Joey, Yugi, Tristan, Ryou/Bakura, Malik, Duke), perhaps in summer yukata? TCG theme: Deck "themes" (Beatdown, Dragon, Spellcaster, Light, etc.)
June - Yugi's birthday. No holidays. Yugi featured in his usual "duel regalia," with TCG theme: on the God Cards.
July - Mokuba's birthday. Summer starts! A giant group shot of everyone in swim suits (the girls are all in white swim suits) with signatures covering the page, rather than any TCG tips.
August - No birthdays. O-Bon Festival of the dead. May feature those that have lost someone, i.e. Mokuba, Seto, Téa, and Ryou. TCG focus: Graveyard (e.x. Exchange of the Spirits)
September - Ryou's birthday. Autumn Equinox. Would feature Ryou, and an Occult-themed TCG deck.
October - Seto's birthday. Halloween. Not sure of an image theme, since Halloween isn't really celebrated in Japan... any ideas? (Maybe something from the upcoming arc) TCG theme: Preparedness for a duel.
November - Mai's birthday. Culture Day. Image theme: Elegance. All the girls (Mai, Téa, Serenity. Maybe Chieko, Miho) in nice gowns. Téa would be in her  gown from "Carry On Dancing."
December - Malik and Téa's birthdays. Christmas. Téa and Malik standing back to back, holding their hands close together (but not holding hands) as snow falls. TCG theme: ???

I'm open to TCG themes, holiday suggestions, image theme ideas, and the like. I'm thinking about some of the TCG tips from Dark Beginnings and Dark Revelations, or the newer Structure Decks, so if you have any of those Player Tip cards or sheets, let me know!

Er yup. I think that's it. A new weekly_ygo should be coming out tomorrow.